Shayne arrived at the Beacon in record time. He lost count of how many speed limits he might have broken. It didn't matter. None of that mattered now. The only thing that mattered to him was understanding what all this meant. Vanessa had to have known. She had been in touch with Dinah. Dinah would have told her mother, wouldn't she? All of the questions would drive him crazy. He raced to the door of the hotel. He hoped she'd be there. He didn't need to waste any more time tracking her down.

Vanessa paced the length of the tan suede couch in the center of the living room. She was dying to know what the contents of her daughter's letter were. Dinah seemed so insistent upon getting the letter to Shayne quickly. She hoped that was because the news was good. That she was coming home and she wanted Shayne to know. Part of her wanted to go over to Shayne's and ask him, but that she reasoned, would be the picture of the meddling mother-in-law. She couldn't do that. A pounding knock on the door jerked her from her thoughts. Whoever this was, they definitely wanted to come in she thought.

Vanessa opened the door to see a disheveled Shayne standing there. A mix of emotions radiated from him. Anger, fear, sadness, but more than anything, a sense of urgency that Vanessa didn't understand.

"Shayne, what's happened? What's wrong?"

Shayne raised the two envelopes up to his face and shook them. "Did you know," he said with a force that startled Vanessa.

"Know what?," she said, genuinely confused.

"Did you know?!," Shayne said, his voice growing louder.

Vanessa stepped to the side and gestured for him to step inside.

Calmly she began, "Shayne, I don't know what you're talking about. Why don't you sit down and we'll sort all this out."

"I don't want to sit down! I don't have time for this! I need to know if you knew about all this!". Shayne kept waving the envelopes around.

Vanessa looked at him. "This is about Dinah's letter. Shayne, I have no idea what's in those letters. She didn't tell me anything. Nothing. I was waiting for you to tell me,"

She looked at her son-in-law, "What's the matter? What's wrong?"

Shayne handed Vanessa both envelopes and watched as she read the letter. Her face was one of confusion and sadness. Shayne realized that he had been mistaken. She truly didn't have any idea about any of this.

Before she could open the second envelope he said, "You really don't know."

Vanessa looked at him, "Know what, Shayne".

"Open it," Shayne whispered, his voice breaking with the depth of emotion that was overcoming him.

Vanessa opened the envelope and pulled out the paper. She immediately understood Shayne's reaction. "Oh my. Oh, Shayne. I…..I…didn't know. I promise. I had no idea."

Shayne looked at her face, "I know. I know that now. I can't believe she's pregnant."

Vanessa and Shayne looked at each other. Both of them were in total shock.

Shayne spoke first, "Her letter said that this didn't change anything, but she's wrong. It changes everything. Now I just need to bring both of them home."

Dinah's hotel room

Dinah stared at her cell phone. She turned it off and then on again. She checked the screen for message alerts. Nothing. She had hoped for something from Shayne. She knew that this baby didn't change the fact that they couldn't be together, but she thought he might at least call. Maybe that was too much to expect, she reasoned. Maybe she'd just hurt him too much. Dinah placed her hand on her stomach again. 9 weeks, it had now been 9 weeks since she conceived. The doctor couldn't give her an exact date of course, but she didn't care. Something about knowing that she wasn't alone anymore gave her some comfort. Missing Shayne was still difficult. It still left her with an emptiness that she had no idea how to fill, but she had to remember the letter she sent him. She promised him that they would be ok. Slowly she slid her hand over her flat stomach.

"We will be ok," she said quietly, "No matter what happens. We'll be ok."

The Beacon

Shayne sat on the couch and waited for Vanessa to return. He stared at the black and white sonogram image in his hand. He smiled. It didn't look like much of anything, at least to him, but he knew it was much more than something. It was his child. It was their child. Just knowing that Dinah was alone in some other country drove him crazy, but now, knowing that she was pregnant, it was unbearable. He had to do something. The thought of not being a part of this pregnancy was something he couldn't accept. He wouldn't accept it. Dinah needed him and he needed her. He looked back at the photo. He loved Dinah and now there was a baby. One thing was for certain. He was going to find his wife, and he was going to bring his family home.

Vanessa walked back into the room and caught sight of Shayne staring at the sonogram photo. She smiled a bit. He daughter had found a man that loved her no matter what, and for that, she was grateful.

Shayne turned and put the picture down, a little embarrassed. "I was just…uh…", Shayne stammered, unsure of what he was actually doing.

"It's ok. I know. It's hard to believe. It's an amazing thing, having a child, and I'm so glad that my daughter is having one with you."

Shayne smiled at that. Dinah was having a child with him. He had to make that a reality. That was his top priority. Shayne glanced at Vanessa's hands and saw that there were two bottles of beer there.

He smirked and pointed, "You?"

"You'd be surprised," Vanessa replied.

As they both began to drink from the bottles, Shayne locked eyes with Vanessa, swallowed and said, "You know I'm gonna need your help."

"I'll do anything I can to help," Vanessa said.

"Good," Shayne said, "Take me to my wife."

Vanessa stared at Shayne in silence. She completely understood why he wanted to go to Dinah.

That was her first instinct as well, but she feared for her as well. "Shayne, I don't know if that's such a good idea," she explained, "I know that you want to be there for her, but think about this. She's still wanted for murder. If she comes back here, she could still go to jail."

Shayne thought about this for a moment. The last thing in the world he wanted was to see Dinah in jail. He knew that seeing her behind bars would kill him, but the thought of her in jail while she was carrying his child….Vanessa was right. That was a big risk.

"Vanessa," Shayne began, "I hear what you're saying and I know there's a huge risk if she comes back here, but I could go to her, right? I could go wherever she is and let her know how I feel and make sure that she's ok. Then I'll come back and talk to Frank and I'll even talk to Mallet. I'll fix this. I make this ok for her."

He paused for a moment, checking her reaction. Vanessa still looked unsure.

"I have to do this," Shayne said, "You said yourself, she's alone, and she's scared. She's my wife, Vanessa. She's…She's..," Shayne's voice gave out. It was difficult to even say it. "She's the mother of my child. I have to go to her. I have to tell her that I love her and that I'm going to fix it. I have to tell her that I'm sorry. She has to know. I can't just sit here. I can't sit here imagining her alone and scared in some country with no one to talk to. What if she needs help? What if something happens? What if she thinks…What if she thinks…I don't care…that I don't want this."

Vanessa stopped him then. "Go home, Shayne."

Shayne looked at her, "Vanessa, Please, I…" Vanessa stopped him again.

"Go home and pack. We've got a plane to catch."

Dinah's hotel room

Dinah folded the outfits neatly and fit them into the bag. Anya stood behind her watching her friend pack.

"You sure you go now," she asked, her voice full of concern.

"Yes, Anya," Dinah said, "I have to go now. I have to see Shayne. I thought writing would be enough, but I need to see his face. I need to know that he understands and I need to see my mother.

"You come back?," Anya asked hopefully.

"I don't know," Dinah said honestly, "It depends on how things go. Sometimes things work out better than you think. Thank you for everything." She hugged the young girl. "You were the best friend a girl could ask for."

Anya smiled at her. "Good luck. I wish you all the happiness you hope to find". Dinah smiled at her friend and quickly made her way out of the room. The flight departed right on time.

Anya walked back into the room and began to straighten things up. She convinced the manager not to rent the room out right away. She hoped things worked out for Dinah, but she would miss her friend, and if she came back, she wanted to make sure she stayed here, in this room. As Anya began to strip the sheets she glanced down behind the mattress.

"What's this?," she said aloud. "Hmm…" She put the envelope into the pocket of her apron and continued to clean. She'd make sure to send this to the messenger that Dinah had told her about. It could be important.

Vanessa and Shayne arrived at the airport at the same moment.

"Talk about perfect timing," Shayne said.

"Ok," Vanessa started, "We need to make sure that we are as discreet as possible. Dinah probably doesn't have a lot of traffic in and out of her room, so we need to try to get in without a lot of people noticing."

Shayne nodded. He was listening, but all he could think of was the moment he could put his arms around his wife and tell her how much he loved her. Why he never said it to her before, he'd never know, but he promised himself when he got her back he'd tell her every day for the rest of their lives.

Vanessa was still talking when Shayne shook himself out of his thoughts, "We need to think of her feelings as well and she may not want to come back with us. We need to prepare for that. Are you ready for that, Shayne?"

Shayne nodded. "I'm not going to bring her back here until I know she's safe. I'd never put her in that situation. She means to much to me." He reached into his pocket and felt the photo of the sonogram. Since Dinah had sent it to him, he never left home without it, "they both do."

Frank and Mallet entered the airport and looked around. The woman at the ticket counter had called in an anonymous tip about seeing Vanessa and Shayne Lewis together at the airport. That could only mean one thing. They were going to find Dinah. Shayne spotted them first.

"Uh, Vanessa, We've got trouble." Vanessa looked up to find Frank hovering over her chair.

"You guys planning a trip?," Frank asked, his voice dripping with condescension.

"Frank, come on," Mallet said, "Give them a break."

"Mallet, this case needs to be solved, NOW. I'm gonna tell you what I think is going on and then you tell me if I'm on the right track, ok?"

Neither Shayne or Vanessa said a word.

"I think you and your new mother-in-law are headed out of the country to find your wife. The same wife that confessed to a murder and then skipped town. Now, I don't want to make this difficult for any of you, so if you just tell me where she is. I'll take those tickets off your hands and we'll bring Dinah back safe and sound for you."

"I'm not gonna tell you anything," Shayne spat angrily.

Mallet looked at Shayne. "Can I talk to for a minute," Mallet asked. Shayne eyed him suspiciously but stood and walked over to the wall.

Mallet started to speak. "I know that you're going to find Dinah and I want you to know that I don't want her locked up. I'll do anything I can to help you keep her safe."

Shayne looked at Mallet. He didn't know if he trusted him completely, but he also knew he didn't have a lot of options.

"Mallet, I found out something about Dinah. She's pregnant, and I need to get to her to see her…make sure she's ok."

Mallet looked at Shayne. "I get it man. I get it. Let me see what I can do."

Mallet walked over to Frank who was busy grilling Vanessa.

"Frank, I just got a phone call. They think they've got a lead on Dinah's whereabouts. We've got to get back to the station."

"Look Mallet, I think we've got a much stronger lead right out." He turned around to gesture to Shayne and Vanessa, but they were nowhere to be found.

Hotel Luxembourg

Shayne and Vanessa made their way to Dinah's hotel room. When they reached the door, they found it open. Vanessa stepped inside to see a young girl wiping down counters and cleaning the fixtures.

"Hello," Vanessa said.

Anya turned around to see Vanessa standing there.

"I'm looking for the woman who was staying in this room," she said. Anya looked at her.

"I don't know…". Shayne stepped into the room. Anya recognized him immediately from the picture Dinah had.

"It's you," Anya said. Shayne stared at her.

"Dinah not here. She go back home."

Shayne and Vanessa looked at each other. "We have to get back. She's not safe. They're looking for her," Shayne and Vanessa started for the door.

Anya stopped them. "Wait. I find this behind the bed. It is not open. Dinah needs to have it."

Shayne grabbed the letter from her hand. This was all beginning to make sense. Dinah never got the letter. She didn't know what it said. He had to find her now. He had to tell her himself.

Shayne and Vanessa sat on the plane. Vanessa looked over at Shayne. The worry was evident on his face.

Vanessa reached out to touch his arm, "Shayne, she's going to be ok."

Shayne looked at her with tears in his eyes. "God, Vanessa, I'm so scared for her. If they find her, they'll take her to jail. They'll lock her up. I can't let that happen."

Shayne knew what he had to do. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out his phone. Dialing Mallet's number was a last resort, but he had to do it.

"Mallet", the detective answered the phone.

"Mallet, it's Shayne. Can you talk?"

Mallet stepped outside and looked around. "Yeah, Shayne. Did you find her? Is she ok?" Mallet was truly worried about her.

"No," Shayne replied, growing impatient, "that's the problem. When we got here, Dinah had headed back to Springfield. I'm afraid she's going to beat us back there. I need your help. I need you to make sure Frank doesn't find her."

Mallet understood, "I'll do everything I can Shayne. Are you on your way back?"

"Yeah, Vanessa and I are on a plane now. When I get home I'll try to make some calls and see if anyone has seen her. I'm hoping maybe Bill or Remy knows something," Shayne replied.

"Ok," Mallet said, "Let me know if there's anything I can do."

"Thanks Mallet, Listen we're getting ready to land. I've got to go, but just keep Frank busy for now. I'll take care of the rest." Shayne hung up the phone and looked at Vanessa.

"Everything ok?," Vanessa asked.

"I hope so," Shayne said.

Shayne's hotel room

Dinah looked around the hallway before making her way to the door of Shayne's room. She took a deep breath. He hands were shaking. She didn't know if she was ready for this. She didn't know if she would ever be ready for this. She knocked on the door and waited…and waited…and waited…. He's not here she thought. She started to turn and walk away and then she remembered the key. She reached into her purse and pulled the key out of her pocket. She placed it into the lock and with a quick turn, the door was unlocked. Dinah stepped into the room and looked around. Shayne was nowhere to be seen. She shut the door behind her and put down her purse. She looked over to the table and saw the music box. Her eyes filled with tears. At least he still had it. That gave her hope. Hope that he still felt something for her. Hope that they love they shared was not completely gone.

She glanced over to the bed and saw Shayne's t-shirt thrown haphazardly over the post of the double bed. She picked it up and held it up to her face. God she missed him. She looked around the room and laid down on the bed holding the t-shirt close to her. She knew she shouldn't be here. She should be out looking for Shayne, but she was so tired. It was a long flight and it had been a long day. She'd rest for just a moment and then she'd find the man she loved.

"Just a moment," she muttered….just before she fell asleep.