Disclaimer: All characters are property of ABC/Disney. I'm just using them to share a little new creativity with you.

A/N: Yep, I'm back-with a chapter story! Woo hoo! I really didn't see this coming, but there is a future scene that has been sitting on my Google drive since I guess 2008/2009 wanting to be worked in some how. The rest of the story just came to me and I'm kinda glad it did. Ya'll enjoy! Until next time-PCGirl.


Bo took a deep breath as he walked off the elevator and onto the maternity floor where he was told he'd find his brother and Viki. He wasn't sure exactly how to explain what had happened over the last few hours and knowing why they were here now threw a bigger wrench into the mix than he planned.

Clint spotted his brother and walked over to shake his hand, "Bo, I'm surprised to see you. Jessica had the baby early, but everything is ok."

"Good," he nodded, keeping his head down for a moment. "I'm here about Natalie and Jared."

"Did they show back up?" asked Viki, hopeful for good news.

"Viki-there was an explosion in the basement of Llanfair. Nobody else was home, and we're not completely sure what happened."

"Oh God," she said as she pressed her hand to her chest. "Where is she? Where's my daughter, Bo?"

"That's the thing. There was apparently a sound proof room down there-we found Banks and he's being taken to ICU now-but he's muttered Natalie's name a few times."

"And Natalie?" questioned Viki again.

"So far we've found no sign of her in the rubble. The structure took a definite hit so we're having to be very careful to not cause any collapsing. You won't be able to go back home for quite a while, Viki. I'm sorry."

"You can stay with me," said Clint as he placed his hands firmly on her shoulders to hold both of them upright.

"He was keeping her there all this time?" questioned Clint, ready to head off this floor and pull the plug on Jared himself if he was the one keeping her from her family.

"We're not sure he was," he said with a sigh. "He also mentioned Tess."

"Tess?" they both repeated and then looked at the room where their one daughter was resting.

"I don't know anything-and I won't until Jared wakes up. I know Jess just had the baby, but I need to talk to her-need to find out if it's been her or Tess all these months."

"I understand," nodded Viki solemnly-hating the thought of not seeing what was clearly in front of her all this time. "She's resting now-when she wakes, we'll call you."

"Thanks, I need to get back to Llanfair. As soon as we know something, I'll let you know," he said and walked away quietly, hoping for some good news soon.


Bo walked into the holding cell area with his head down-it felt like time was against them as they searched for Natalie and now he was having to deal with this. Walking to the cell in question he yelled at his best detective that was lying on a cot on the other side, "John!"

"Bo-hey. Listen-I'm sorry I did it the way I did," he said as he jumped off the cot and began explaining himself on the rescue of Marty Saybrooke that put him on this side of the bars once again.

"Can it. I don't care why the hell you decided to go all Batman and crash through Manning's window the way you did. But you did it-and that's that. Now I have a great detective suspended while the Mayor is breathing down my neck to fire you. And I could really use your help on a new case that's come up."

"What is it? I still have my contacts with the Bureau that can help out."

"I have my own-don't worry. Nora says arraignment for bail will be in the morning. Get some sleep," he said without bringing up his niece's name. He knew John-knew he'd flip his lid for the second time tonight if he knew she was in danger and he couldn't help find her.

John watched as his colleague walked off-there was something he wasn't telling him-something big. "Jack," he hollered and waited for the officer to walk over towards him. He knew if it was big then Antonio and Talia would be handling it.

"What, McBain?"

"Do you know where Antonio and Sahid are right now?"

"I think they are over at Llanfair with the heat radar."

"What the hell for?" he asked, the bile rising in his throat and feeling like he was going to be sick.

"The explosion at Llanfair-a bomb went off in a room in the basement. I don't know much else."

He did though-he could read it on the man's face. Most everyone in this building cared for her-even if she wasn't one of them anymore, "Who are they looking for?"

"Natalie," he said, and John just nodded and went back to sit on his cot. He waited until he heard the officer out of earshot and then grabbed the trashcan in the corner and let himself be sick.

He closed his eyes and tried to think-tried to remember the last time he'd seen her. He realized he couldn't-that it had been over six months since they spoke last-and hoping it wasn't the last time he suddenly said a prayer to St Jude for the impossible and St Dwynwen to watch after her until he could get to her.


Antonio knew who it was when the banging on the door started-he'd worked through the night at Llanfair-watching the field tech's work slowly through the debris trying to find some proof of Natalie. Had she been in the room or not? That was the main question-and then about 3 in the morning they found some hair and had confirmation that she had been in the room at some point. They were pretty sure she wasn't there now-in any form.

Which led to the question-where the hell was she?

After calling Bo with that update he'd bipassed the warnings of the building being possibly unstable and gone upstairs and began investigating the main floor of Llanfair. He'd spotted the camera in the library-Tess hadn't even tried to hide them. With them being in plain sight he started searching for a recording machine hoping maybe she was keeping track of everyone else's movements in the house. He'd found that too-in Jessica's closet.

Opening the door he looked at John-he seemed to be as tired and worn down as Antonio felt.

"Why are you here? Why aren't you out there looking for her?" questioned John, pushing his way into the apartment.

"You know I can't talk to you about an ongoing investigation, John."

"An ongoing investigation?" he laughed. "Is that all she is to you now?"

Antonio's eyes got dark at the insinuation in John's voice, "No. She's a former sister-in-law twice. She's a friend. And for the past two months she was being held down in that room against her will by her mentally unstable sister. So, no-she's more than just an ongoing investigation."

"Just tell me what you know," he said, his eyes pleading with his friend for some assurance she was going to be ok.

"I can't. I'm sorry, John."

"I need to help," he said as he sat down on the couch and covered his face with his hands. He hadn't felt so useless since he was in the burn unit in Atlantic City, unable to move, unable to speak-and right now he felt like he could barely breathe. "At least tell me if there's a body."

Antonio took a gulp-he knew Bo would yell at him later for letting John in on any part of the investigation, "No-there's no body. They finished sifting through the rubble earlier. I found some stuff that is now being looked over by the guys in Forensics. I came back awhile ago to try and get some sleep," he said with a slight laugh. Sleep had never come.

John laughed at the word sleep-every time he closed his eyes while in the holding cell earlier he'd see her-not just the good memories but the bad. When he'd deny how he felt about her. When he pushed her away as he recovered last year. When he turned her into someone neither of them could stand so she left the police station and he saw less and less of her as she moved into another man's orbit and out of his.

He wondered how they'd gotten to this point of it all. When Banks had brought him the letter from her he'd thought she was off enjoying herself-figuring herself out once again. That's what he kept telling himself even after she never came back when Rex was shot. But he'd been so wrong-so focused on the potential of Marty being alive that he couldn't feel her screaming for him to rescue her.

Standing back up he said nothing else to his friend-just walked out of the apartment and began working on a plan to find someone that had meant so much to him for so long.