A/N I do not own John McBain or any of the other OLTL characters. All others are my own creation. Please don't sue cause I am broke and have nothing to be sued for anyway.

This is a John fic and I am not sure if Natalie will be in this at all. It is also an AU fic.John hasn't left the FBI yet and its only about 3 years after Caitlin's death. Michael lives and works in Llanview but John hasn't gone to visit him. He is working on an important case instead. This one is also going to be posted on and probably won't get updated as frequently as quickly as I would hope.

Chapter 1

John sat in his office at the Atlantic City FBI headquarters lost in thought. He had been contemplating taking a vacation to visit his brother in Llanview PA. He hadn't seen is brother in months. But that would have to wait until he was done with this case. After Caitlin had been murdered he hadn't wanted to socialize with anyone. He had his work and that was enough. Currently he was working a cold case involving a kidnapping ring. He was waiting for a contact to call him and was getting pretty impatient about it.

Running a hand through his long hair he sighed. He hated working cold cases but this one would be worth it if he could crack it. This case could make his career. So he would stick with it until he had something to show for his efforts. That's why he was such a good agent; his determination was his greatest strength. John didn't like to play by the rules. He preferred to make his own rules and that had hurt him in the end even as it helped him solve many a case. All he needed was a lead, something… anything. He thought to himself.

As John again ran an impatient hand through his hair he looked up to see his boss in the doorway. Spanky, his nickname that every one called him; behind his back of course, Earl Spangler was his real name. He was a heavyset man about 5'10" in his mid fifties. He had a distinguished look that wasn't hampered by his slightly balding head and was one of the toughest directors John had ever encountered. Despite all that he seemed to like John and had actually taken him under his wing when John had first joined the FBI. Seeing the serious look on his face John questioned, "Boss?"

"John can I see you in my office?" Spangler said. He had some news for John and was pretty sure this was gonna rock the younger man to his roots. He thought of John like a son even if he was a difficult man to get to know. Ever since his fiancé Caitlin died he had been closed off and very somber. It was such a shame because John had a loving heart if only he would let himself feel again.

John nodded and got up from his desk and followed his boss into his spacious office. As Spangler sat down he motioned for John to sit across from him. When John was settled he looked at his boss and asked, "Ok what's this about?"

Taking a breath Spangler took out a file and handed it to John then began to speak, "We might have a lead on the case you're working on. This is the file of a young woman who has applied for a job as a summer intern. The department was serious enough about her to conduct an interview and do a back round check on her."

"I don't understand what this has to do with my case." John said breaking in.

"Look at the file then I'll explain." Spangler said, watching John begin to look at the file.

John opened the file to reveal a picture of a young woman who looked to be about 18 or 19 years old. She had long dark hair and intelligent green eyes. She was a very pretty young woman but looked like she should be going to the prom not joining the FBI. He looked up at his boss quickly before looking at the first page with her name and other personal information on it. Her name was Michelle Falk and was actually only 16 years old. "She's only 16 years old. The bureau was actually thinking about hiring her?" He asked incredulously.

"She had to submit her fingerprints," Spangler said and turned his monitor around so that John could see it. "When we ran them this came up."

John looked at the screen and was astonished to see that she was listed as a missing person. He looked again at the file and saw that she was indeed the right age to be one of the victims of his kidnapper. "So you think she was a victim of my guy?" John asked.

Seeing that John hadn't fully grasped the situation he said, "John, look at the parents listed on the police report."

John looked more carefully at the screen and gasped, "Oh my god." he murmured. The names listed were Thomas and Eve McBain.

Michelle Falk (Shelly to anyone that knew her) was a typical teenage girl for the most part. Her long dark hair hung down her back like a silky curtain. With her striking green eyes and willowy figure she was an attractive young woman. Smart too as she would graduate this year, almost a full year and a half ahead of the rest of her class. Her dream was to become an FBI agent. She loved the thought of going undercover and catching the bad guys. She wasn't afraid; she had seen many terrible things in her young age. She didn't speak of that though, some things she didn't tell anyone, not even her parents.

She had a steady boyfriend and several close friends. She loved her family, her 2 brothers and her parents. But that was about as normal as she could get. For Michelle was 'special'. Michelle had 'visions'. She had been seeing terrible images in her dreams ever since she was 10 years old and had cracked her skull open on a cement mixer her father had kept on the front porch. She knew no one would believe her if she told them about her dreams and she didn't want people thinking she was a freak. But she knew that they were real. They had to be, too many things she had dreamed had actually happened for them to be anything but real.

She kept a secret journal of her special dreams so she could keep track of them. She had dreamed of a certain man over and over. He was the reason she wanted to become an FBI agent. That's what he was and she felt a connection to him. Not a romantic like connection but something more basic. Something that she couldn't explain, it was almost like she knew him, had know him all her life. It was very strange but there none the less. So she had secretly begun to prepare for her career choice. Saving up her money she had started taking lessons in martial arts. She loved it and was a quick study; she also spent her spare time at the library looking up laws and things she thought she might need to know for her future.

Looking at her toenails she flexed her toes admiring the color she had just put on them she smiled. They looked really good she thought! Her hair was in curlers as she waited for her nails to dry. She was going out with Herbie, her boyfriend. He was a freshman in college and worked in town at the local hardware store. She hadn't even told him about her wish to become a FBI agent fearing he would disapprove. She would have to tell him if she got that internship she had applied for. But until she heard back she would keep quiet.

"Shelly! Phone!" Her mother, Anna called up to her room. Anna was a strict mother. She didn't have a lot of patience and tended to be stricter with Michelle then with her brothers, David and Jerry. Michelle and her mother didn't get along at all. But she still loved her mother no matter their differences she just couldn't help but resent the treatment she received from her.

"Thanks Mom!" Shelly called down picking up her phone she said, "Hello?"

"Hey Shel," her best friend Christina (Chris for short) said. "So you going out with Herbie tonight?"

Shelly smiled and said, "Yeah. I'm thinking of telling him." Christina was the only person Shelly had ever told about her 'dreams' and her wish to join the FBI. Christina didn't make fun of her and call her a freak she had accepted what Shelly had said as fact and supported her friend in her quest to become an FBI agent. Christina had also warned her against telling Herbie about her 'dreams' because she thought that he might not understand or worse yet not believe her.

"Oh Shelly. Are you sure you want to do that?" Chris asked, worried that her friend was gonna be hurt. She really worried about Shelly sometimes. After her dreams/visions she would become obsessed with finding out who was in them and what really happened. Sometimes the accuracy of Shelly's dreams scared even her. It was traumatic for Shelly and the dreams, if particularly violent, left Shelly with terrible headaches for days afterwards.

"I don't know Chris. I hate keeping things from him." Shelly said and settled down for a lengthy conversation. They talked for a while, Shelly had decided that now was not the time to tell Herbie about her visions, and then Shelly had to get ready for her date.