So I posted this on LJ, but I thought I should put it up over here too. Please read and let me know what you think!

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters.


Kirsten moaned and glanced around her surroundings. She blinked a few times and it came rushing back to her.

"Ryan," she breathed. She sat up panicked and glanced around. She found Ryan lying a few feet away from her and she immediately reached out and touched his arm. He woke with a start and looked around. "Ryan." She said it louder this time. This time he turned and looked at her.

"Kirsten? Are you okay?" She nodded numbly and reached out and wrapped her arms around him.

"Are you okay?" She whispered.

"Yeah," he said. "I'm all right. Or as all right as I can be, I guess." He sighed. "What do we do now?" Kirsten shook her head.

"I have no idea," she said holding onto her son.


Sandy was pacing in the living room, completely unsatisfied with the job that the police were doing.

This was his son.

This was his wife.

They had better hurry the fuck up and find them.

Seth was sitting on the edge of the couch, his arms wrapped around his long legs, and his chin resting on his knee. He looked like a little boy, and Sandy wanted to hold him, and tell him that they were going to be okay, they would find them. But he wasn't sure how much he believed that himself at this point, and so he couldn't find the words to reassure Seth.

"Mr. Cohen," Officer Davies stepped into the room hanging up the phone.

"Yes?" Seth's head shot up and he stood up next to his father.

"They found your wife's car."


The room that Kirsten and Ryan were in was bare besides two dirty mattresses on the floor. The lights were fluorescent and flickered above them. They were sitting on one of the mattresses, leaning against the wall. Kirsten shivered and Ryan reached out and took her hand.

"It's going to be okay," he said softly. She nodded, and knew that she was the adult, it was her job to remain calm, her job to reassure Ryan. But she was cold, and tired, and terrified, and she wasn't sure how she was going to reassure Ryan when she was having a hard time convincing herself that they were going to make it out of this okay.

"Where did they go?" She asked. Ryan shrugged.

It had started that morning in the kitchen. Seth was going to the comic book store, and Ryan had opted out. Sandy was working, like usual, and Kirsten had asked Ryan if he had any plans for the day.

"No?" He said. She had spent some quality time with Seth recently, and figured that it was about time that she did the same for Ryan.

"I was thinking we could hit up a few markets? I have to get some flowers for outside, and we could get some lunch? Drive along the coast?" Markets weren't really his thing, but Ryan agreed anyway, seeing how excited Kirsten seemed to be about this idea.

"Sure," he said nodding. He gave her a small smile. "That sounds great."

At the first market, Ryan found a stand with old books and began to flip through as Kirsten went to haggle with the man selling flowers. She came over with her arms full of tulips and looked over his shoulder at the book he was flipping through. He put it down immediately and moved to take the flowers from her. She picked up the book he had just put down. It was The People's History of the United States.

"Interesting choice," she said smiling at him.

"It looked pretty good," he replied shrugging. "Taylor, of all people, recommended it."

"How much?" She asked the guy.

"You don't have to…" Ryan started. Kirsten waved him away.

"I want to," she said smiling. She grabbed a law book for Sandy, and an old edition of Pride and Prejudice for herself and paid for the three. "I'm starving. Let's go get something to eat."

"Thanks, for the book," he said. Kirsten grinned and placed her arm around his shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

"Not a problem," she assured him. "Let's go, I have a craving for a hamburger." Ryan raised his eyebrows in surprise, and it was Kirsten's turn to shrug.


"Where was her car found?" Sandy asked Officer Davies.

"Abandoned on the shoulder of the 101," Officer Davies answered. "The steering wheel is the only thing missing." Not the only thing, Sandy thought. Kirsten's missing. Ryan's missing.

"What does that mean? That you found her car? Does that mean you know where they are?" Seth spoke up.

"No," Sandy said bitterly. "It just means they found her car. Right? It means absolutely nothing. You still have no idea where they are!" Why hadn't they found them by now? It had been hours since the phone call from Kirsten. She had called Sandy to check in, to tell him how wonderful of a day she and Ryan were having. They were stopped at a rest stop, Ryan had run into the bathroom.

"We're having a really great time, Sandy," she said, and he could feel her smiling over the phone.

"That's great, sweetheart," Sandy replied. He heard Ryan's voice in the background, and Kirsten said something to Ryan that Sandy couldn't quite place, and then there was another voice.

"Oh God," Kirsten had breathed.

"Kirsten, what's wrong?" Sandy asked. But all he heard was the phone clatter to the ground and the sound of Kirsten's screams for help.

"Don't hurt her!" Ryan yelled. And then the sound of a car driving away and Sandy had called the police, and they had traced where Kirsten had made the call, but both she and Ryan and her car were all gone.

"Dad," Seth said placing a calming hand on Sandy's arm. Sandy turned to look at his son. What if Seth had gone with Kirsten and Ryan this morning? What if he was standing there all alone? Trying to deal with this. He wrapped his arms around Seth and held him close for a minute, closing his eyes and just holding his son.

"Mr. Cohen, why don't we go over one more time what your wife and son were wearing?" It was something to make Sandy feel at least a little more useful than he was feeling at that particular moment.

"Um, Kirsten was wearing…she was wearing jeans, and a cream sweater, a turtleneck
I think…and Ryan was wearing, he was wearing a pair of jeans and a blue t-shirt. Uh, and probably a leather jacket. And Kirsten's jacket is pink…pink tweed…" He shook his head. Another officer hurried into the living room, and whispered something into Officer Davies' ear.

"They found a ransom note."


Ryan's breathing was finally even, and Kirsten knew that he was asleep. He was lying within reach of her, per her request, and every so often she would reach out and run a hand through his hair.

They had been having a great day. They had a great lunch, and they were driving back to Newport looking for another market when Ryan asked if they could stop at the next rest stop. The next one was only a few minutes away, and Kirsten turned off and he thanked her and jumped out of the car and ran into the bathroom. They were the only ones in the parking lot, and she climbed out of the car to stretch her legs and wait for Ryan. She pulled out her phone and smiled to herself as she dialed Sandy's number. He answered on the second ring and she immediately started gushing about how much fun they were having.

"Hey, you ready?" Ryan asked as he reappeared.

"Yeah, just a second," she said giving him a smile. She heard the other car pull up, but she didn't pay any attention as she finished up the conversation. It was when Ryan made a noise that Kirsten noticed the three men in all black approaching them.

"Mrs. Cohen? It's nice to meet you." She started to back away, started to try to open the car door, and she could see Ryan doing the same, but they weren't fast enough.

"Oh God," she murmured. One of the men grabbed her wrist and the phone dropped from her hand and she screamed for help as he dragged her towards the van.

"Don't hurt her!" She heard Ryan scream, and she saw him struggling against one of the men. She was tossed in the back of the van and she hit her head against the metal door and she struggled to stay conscious. Ryan was thrown in next to her, and one of the men climbed into the driver's seat and started the car, while the other two climbed in the back with them.

One grabbed Kirsten's arms and yanked them roughly behind her.

"I told you not to hurt her!" Ryan said between clenched teeth as his arms were also tied behind him. The man ignored him, instead placing a cloth over Ryan's mouth and his body slumped.

"What did you do to him!" Kirsten yelled. Her head hurt and the world was spinning and the rope cut into her skin and she found it hard to stay awake, and before she knew it, her body was slumped down next to Ryan's.


"A ransom note?" Sandy questioned.

"They're asking for a million. 500,000 for your wife, and 500,000 for your son," Officer Davies replied. "They want you to drop off the money."

"Dad," Seth started. Ransom. That meant that it wasn't random, Ryan and Kirsten weren't taken randomly, they were targeted. Sandy wasn't sure if that made him feel better or worse.

"A million," Sandy repeated.

"Dad, we have to pay them," Seth said. Sandy nodded and touched Seth's shoulders.

"I know kid," he said. He would pay twice as much to get them back safely. Three times as much, he would sell the house if he had to, to get them back. A million they could do. "We'll pay. I'll drop off the money. We'll pay."

"You have the money?" Officer Davies questioned. Sandy knew that it would be a significant withdrawal from their back account, but they had it, and he nodded.

"We have it. We'll pay."