Author's Note: Hi everyone, so I really shouldn't be starting a different story with my limited time but this would not leave me alone. Like the summary said it's my take on how Carter makes it back with her family. I'll try my best to answer some of questions that were left unanswered in the finale and incorporate them into it, but this is mainly about how everyone deals with her being gone and what they will do to get her back. Who knows how far I'll take it, it just depends on how much love it gets from you readers, if there's interest I'll keep going I do have a plan for this story. Alright that's it, happy reading.

Disclaimer: I don't own Finding Carter or any characters from it. This is purely for fun.

"Carter! Carter!" Elizabeth yelled running out of the back of the coffee shop. No, no, no this cannot be happening again, the thought the only thing running through her mind, everything else a blur. She ran her hand through her hair, distraughtly looking around but not making out much, the tears clouding her vision.

"Carter!...Carter… Cart…" her shouts turning into sobs. Her breaths were uneven as she tried to choke back all the emotions and memories that came flooding back. It was all too much and soon she was doubled over, her hands on her knees unable to move, barely able to keep herself standing.

"Elizabeth," Kyle shouted as he came running from around the corner. He tried to get her to straighten up but the attempt was futile. "Which way did they go? Did you see?"

She shook her head and he looked up to survey the surrounding alleyway. No obvious clues let him know which way they had headed so he pulled out his phone to get a general search started.

"Listen I need all roads leading out of town within a 15 mile radius shut down and checkpoints set up. Alert all train and bus stations; give information out to TSA and all the news stations. Lori Stevens does not get away," he yelled the orders to the person on the other end.

"Carter," Elizabeth whispered to herself. The memories of Carter calling her mom came rushing to her, once filled with joy they now seemed to bring sadness and guilt. "I told her I would protect her, that I was going to catch Lori"

Kyle turned back to her and tried to reassure her, "We are going to find her, they aren't going to make it far." Elizabeth desperately nodded back; trying to convince herself what he was telling her was true. The motion only caused her to lose more control and she soon found herself crumpled in Kyle's arms, almost on the ground.

"I'm sorry Carter."

It was dim, the only light coming from an old lamp, and it took a moment for her eyes to make out her surroundings. She was confused. Where was she, Carter asked herself. Her head was throbbing and she turned to see a bottle of water on the table next to the bed she was lying on.

Slowly she sat up and the motion caused her world to spin until her equilibrium came back a few moments later. As she drank a few gulps she looked around and took it all in. Clearly she was in a motel room, and a cheap one at that. The floral bedspread was scratchy, the carpet looked like it hadn't been vacuumed in months, and the walls were dingy with years of built up grime.

What happened, she silently asked herself, still in a fog and unsure of how she ended up where she had. At that moment the locks on the door began to turn and it was thrust open, sunlight pouring into the dark room causing Carter to shield her eyes until it was shut again.

"Ah good you're up we need to get moving," Lori said to her as she set down a few of the bags that were hanging on her arm. She moved to the table and began to sweep everything into the backpack on the chair, completely unaware how disoriented the young girl was.

"Mom?" Carter asked, clearly confused as to why she was with her, but the word triggered something.

"Here you go," a man said to her, sliding a cup of coffee across the table.

"Oh I didn't order this," she replied, turning from the window to look up at him.

"It's from your mom," he explained before turning around to leave her be.

She looked back out the window to the center of the park, where her mom was waiting, and smiled before bringing the mug to her lips and taking a sip.

And suddenly everything snapped back into place. The fake therapy session with Lori, the attempt to capture her at the town square, the coffee in the small café.

"Carter," Lori said loudly, this time really focusing on her. "Did you hear me, we need to get going."

"You drugged me," Carter said back, astounded by what she had managed to remember and piece together.

Lori let out a soft sigh and began to move towards her. Carter jumped up from the bed and stepped further back from the woman, the trust and love she once held for her now gone and replaced with disgust and a small amount of fear.

"Hey don't be like that," Lori said, taken aback by Carter's movement away from her. "It was the only way I could get the two of us together again, the way it was always supposed to be."

"This was never how it was supposed to be. I was never meant to be yours and you…you just took me, and now you did it again," she said back, her voice raising with each word. The look on Lori's face after her words made her retract some of the harshness in her tone as she tried to stabilize the crumbling relationship between them. "You will always be a part of my life, but please let me go back to my family, to where I belong"

"You don't belong with them, you are MY daughter," this time Lori's voice was the one that was raising. "I am your mom, not that other woman. Now, like I said earlier we need to get going, so grab up your stuff and let's move."

Carter remained rooted where she was, her head slowly shaking back and forth, tears built up in her eyes. If she had been given the option of running away with Lori months ago she would have gone in a heartbeat, but standing there in that room all she could think about were her parents, Taylor, and Grant. All she wanted was to get back to them. She wanted to get back to the safety she felt in her mom's arms, to the warmth of her dad's reassuring smiles, to Taylor's home cooking, and to Grant's witty charm.

Lori let out a large sigh as Carter remained still before she spoke up again, "Carter, we can do this the easy or the hard way. What's it gonna be?"

Carter crossed her arms defiantly, "I'm not going with you anywhere until you at least let me talk with them. Just one phone call to let them know I'm okay."

"I don't think so, not here, we're too close," Lori replied. It seemed like they were at a stand still, neither one wanting to give into the other but eventually Lori spoke up. "Carter I have a plan. You need to trust me again, one more time. I will let you call those people but we are too close and we need to get moving. The offer for that single call and you coming willingly expires in five seconds and then I am dragging you out of here. Five…four…three…"

"Fine," Carter finally agreed. Her tone made her come off as compliant, but she had started to scheme a plan together. "I just need to go to the bathroom first."

Lori nodded as she glanced at her watch and Carter rushed into the bathroom. She closed and locked the door and began to quickly search through her pockets. She let out a breath when she managed to find a pen and an old gum wrapper. It was small but it would have to work.

She knew she didn't have much more time before Lori became suspicious so Carter jotted down a note before folding it up and putting it back in her pocket.

Mom,

I'm okay. Please find me. I love you.

Carter

Makin it seem like she had actually used the bathroom, she flushed the toilet and washed her hands. Before she left she took a deep breath in to steady all her emotions and then walked back out into the room. She needed a place in plain sight to hide the note and she scanned the room, her eyes settling on the table lamp, before she tentatively smiled over a Lori's watchful eye.

"Ready?" Lori asked.

"Sure," she simply replied. Slowly she walked over to the door before she stopped, "Oh the water bottle, I want it for the road."

Carter walked to the table and angled herself so Lori couldn't see her slip the note under the base of the lamp, leaving only a small amount of the corner exposed. She turned back around and held up the bottle before walking back over.

Lori threw her arm over Carter's shoulders and pulled her tightly to her side, to which the girl tried to pull away from the contact slightly. "Isn't this going to be fun baby. Just the two of us on an adventure. Back together to take on the world."

She plastered a fake smile on her face as the older woman looked down at her. Her mind was consumed with thoughts on the past about how, although she didn't remember it, she had been in this position before. This time though she wasn't going to let it be 13 years before she saw her family again. This time her mom would find her because she had another ally, herself.

It was her family that would get her through this, not the woman that clung around her shoulders and only called herself that. No, she was going to get back to them that she was sure of.