Hey Lovely Readers!

Thanks for the reviews for chapter 1. They're greatly appreciated. I promise things will become clearer in the next chapter regarding Dan's family. Hope you enjoy!

Leeese

Wednesday, 30th October 2013

Los Angeles, California

"Who are you?" Alex asked the man that was at her front door in a sleepy tone. She tightened the belt on her robe as she did.

"My name is Julian Durham. I'm a detective from North Carolina," Julian told her as he showed her his ID. "I was wondering if I could talk to you about something."

"What?" Alex asked bluntly. She wasn't in the mood for being questioned by a cop; especially at 3:30 in the morning.

"Perhaps it would be best if you were sitting down." He told her softly. He didn't want to break the news to her in the doorway of her house.

"Do you have any idea what time it is?" she asked, still sounding annoyed.

"I do. And I wouldn't bother you at such an unearthly hour unless it was important." Julian told her sincerely.

"Fine. Come in," Alex relented with a heavy sigh. She then stood back and opened the door wider to let him in. Julian stepped into the house and made sure to wipe his feet on the doormat before he followed Alex to the lounge. She indicated him to sit on the sofa and he did; making sure not to sit too close to her. "So what do you want to talk to me about?"

"I'm not sure where to start." Julian admitted.

"How about at the beginning?" Alex suggested before she yawned. She then frowned as she added. "Wait a second. I need coffee. Do you want one?"

"Uh sure." Julian replied in a weary tone as he watched Alex walk out of the lounge.

While he was alone he allowed himself a few moments of rest. He hadn't slept since before his last shift at the precinct; that was now over 24 hours ago. He hadn't a clue on how to break the news to Alex. He wasn't sure on how much she would know. Or in fact if she knew anything of her past. He was drawn out of his thoughts as Alex came back with two cups of steaming coffee. She handed one to him as she sat back down.

"It's instant. I'm too tired to wait for a pot to brew," she told him. "And I don't have milk or sugar so you'll just have to have it black."

"I like it that way anyway." Julian told her as he gave her a weary smile.

"So what's so urgent that you have to drag me out of bed at five thirty in the morning?" Alex asked not wanting to beat around the bush any longer. "Just tell me straight out. I don't want you going the long way round and taking twice as long."

"Okay then." Julian replied. He then took a deep breath before he began to tell her the reason why he was there.

~X~X~X~X~

Seattle, Washington

Lying in bed still mostly asleep, Brooke felt Lucas's body wrap protectively around her from behind. She welcomed the warmth of his body against her. She kept her eyes closed and took in the sensations slowly. She felt Lucas's breath on her neck as their legs tangled together. His left arm was around her waist and she smiled sleepily to herself as she felt his hand run up her torso and cup her breasts. She snuggled further against him as he did and breathed in his masculine scent, as she felt him beginning to harden against her.

Brooke felt Lucas's chest expand against her back as he breathed deeply. His breath tickled her ear as he exhaled. She slowly moved her hips back against him as she felt herself becoming aroused. It earned her a soft moan from Lucas in response as his hand began to lightly squeeze her breast. Her nipple hardened against his palm as he kissed the sensitive spot on her neck that was right behind her ear.

His hand then stroked downwards over her toned stomach, her hip and to her thigh. His fingers bunched the material of her nightdress before he pulled it upwards. Brooke wiggled to help him raise it higher until it was bunched around her waist. She opened her eyes as she felt Lucas position himself at her opening. She turned her head towards him and their eyes locked as he slowly thrust into her. Their lips joined in a deep, passionate kiss as Lucas slowly filled her. Her inner muscles flexed around him and they both moaned into each other's mouths, as he filled her completely.

"Mmm that feels good." Brooke said in a sleepy tone as their lips separated.

"It does. Now prepare for it to get even better." Lucas replied as he began to slowly move within her.

"Mommy! Mommy!" Sienna screamed from her bedroom. Brooke and Lucas let out a disappointed groan as Lucas carefully withdrew from Brooke. "Mommy!"

"I bet she's had that nightmare again." Lucas said to Brooke as she climbed out of bed and smoothed her nightdress down.

"Yeah. That'll be the sixth day in a row." Brooke said as she yawned.

"Do you want me to go?"

"No I'll go. She's calling for me," Brooke told him. She then grinned playfully as she added. "And you can't really go in there in your current state can you?"

"That's true," Lucas replied as Sienna screamed again. "I'll keep the bed warm. Right after I put my PJ's back on."

"You better," Brooke said as she left their bedroom. She then headed down the hallway towards Sienna's room. She pushed the door open and headed inside. "Hey Pumpkin. Did you have the bad dream again?"

"Uh huh!" Sienna said as she nodded. Sienna's blue eyes were wide with fear as Brooke made her way over to the bed and sat down. The little girl practically jumped in her lap as she did. Brooke stroked her mousy brown hair

"It's okay," Brooke told her in a soothing tone. "There's no bad man after you."

"He was after daddy this time," Sienna mumbled as she buried her face against Brooke. Brooke's eyebrows rose in surprise at what she hear. "He was chasing daddy and daddy couldn't run fast enough."

"Ssh it's okay," Brooke repeated. "Your daddy is just fine. He's nice, safe and warm in bed. Do you want to see for yourself?"

"Uh huh." Sienna said. Brooke stood and lifted her as her daughter held onto her tightly. She turned the nightlight off and then headed back down the hallway and to her bedroom.

"Somebody needs to see that her daddy is okay." Brooke said as she went through the door. Lucas was in the process of sitting up in bed in his pajamas.

"I'm fine SiSi," Lucas said as Sienna turned her head to look at her father. "See."

"I wanna hug daddy," Sienna said as she moved out of Brooke's arms. Luckily she was near the bed and Sienna quickly crawled over to her father and pounced on him. Lucas held her tightly as she began to cry. "The bad man was after you."

"Hey SiSi, there's no bad man," Lucas assured her as Brooke climbed back into bed. "I'm okay."

"Can I sleep in here with you and mommy?" Sienna asked as she sniffled.

"Of course you can," Brooke told her as she rubbed her back. "Do you want some hot milk first?"

"Uh huh." Sienna replied as she remained clung to Lucas.

"I'll go and make us all some then." Brooke told her as she got back out of the bed.

"I'll look after daddy." Sienna told her. Brooke smiled at Lucas before she turned and headed out of the room once again. As she made her way down to the kitchen, she wondered what could have caused Sienna to start having the vivid nightmares.

~X~X~X~X~

"What are you doing?" Karl asked Katherine as he walked into their closet.

"Packing." she replied in a distracted tone.

"Well I can see that," Karl said. "But why? It's practically the middle of the night."

"For the vacation," she answered. "I'm packing for the both of us. Then once we're dressed we can go to Lucas's house and get him, Brooke and Sienna packed. We'll be out of town well before breakfast."

"How can you be so sure that they'll come with us?"

"They have to come with us. I have a really bad feeling," Katherine admitted. "I've not had the feeling be this strong since that night. Look what happened."

"Have you spoke to Dina and told her how you feel?"

"Yes. She's packing things for her and Andy. Then they're going to go to Nathan's house to get him, Haley and Jamie out of Seattle."

"Where are we going to go?" Karl asked with a worried frown. He could see how worried his wife looked.

"I haven't thought that far ahead," Katherine admitted. "We only need someplace for a couple nights anyway so it should be easy to find a motel wherever we end up."

"Are we taking the cars?"

"We'll take them to the airport. Then we'll fly someplace."

"Well I'll go and get our passports then." Karl said as he walked out of the closet. As he made his way to his office, he noticed that he felt waves of uneasiness building within his gut. He was suddenly glad that his wife had decided to have them all flit for Halloween.

~X~X~X~X~

Los Angeles, California

"I thought I told you to stay in the car?" Julian asked Alex as she followed him up the path to her parents' home.

"You really think I'm going to be staying in a car out in the dark by myself when there's a nut job on the loose?" she asked with a frown. "I've seen horror movies. That person always gets it. Well I'm not going to be that moron."

"Well just be quiet," Julian told her in a quiet tone. "Because that nut job might just be here."

"What makes you say that?" Alex asked beginning to sound worried.

"Do your parents usually leave their front door open at this hour?" he asked as he indicated the ajar front door. Alex peered around him and got a sinking feeling as she saw the door.

"No." she admitted in a whisper.

"Stay behind me." Julian told her as he took his gun out of the holster he wore. He too spoke in a whisper.

Alex stayed behind him as the two of them crept up the garden path. Both were on alert for any form of movement. Alex was glad that she had dressed down in jeans and sneakers instead of her usual glam office wardrobe. She bumped into Julian as he stopped at the door. She covered her mouth to muffle her surprised gasp. The two of them then slowly moved into the house. Alex suddenly found herself wishing that she had stayed in the car after all.

She stayed as close to Julian as she could as he checked the ground floor of the house. She almost tripped as the two of them began to head up the stairs. Both kept on their guards for the slightest movement or noise. They reached the top of the stairs and headed down the hallway. They checked the rooms as they went until they finally reached the master bedroom. They went inside and again Alex bumped into Julian as he stopped.

"Why are we stopping?" Alex whispered.

"We need to get out of here." Julian told her as his eyes remained transfixed on the bed.

"Why?"

"We just do."

"Are my parents there?" Alex asked as she stepped out from behind Julian.

She gasped as her own eyes fell on the bed. The lifeless bodies of her parents lay there in a sea of blood. She was too shocked to make anymore noise, which Julian was grateful for. She was unable to take her eyes from the horrific sight in front of her. Julian gathered her into his arms and began to guide her out of the bedroom.

"Come on," he told her softly. "We need to get out of here and call the local cops. This is a crime scene and we don't want to disturb any evidence."

"Are they alive?" she asked as she let him move her back down the staircase.

"No," he told her gently. Their glazed eyes had told Julian they had been dead for a while and he wondered how far ahead of them Dan Scott actually was. "We'll get you sat in the car and I'll call the cops."

"Okay." Alex replied in an emotionless tone. She let him guide her out of the house and back to his rental car. When she was sat in the front passenger seat, he sat in the driver's seat and pulled out his cell phone. After he had spoken to the local police department he put the phone back into his pocket.

"They'll be here shortly," Julian told her. "When they're done we'll head to Seattle. Hopefully we won't be too late."

~X~X~X~X~

Seattle, Washington

"Hey mom," Lucas greeted as he opened the front door. "What are you doing here at this time of morning?"

""We've come to tell you to get packing," Katherine said as she and Karl stepped into their son's home. "We're taking you, Brooke and Sienna on vacation for Halloween."

"What?!" Lucas asked in a surprised tone as the three of them made their way to the kitchen. "When did you decide to take us on vacation?"

"Yesterday," Katherine told him as they went through the kitchen door. "I know its a little last minute, but I thought it would be a nice treat for the whole family to get away. Dina, Andy, Nathan, Haley and Jamie are coming too."

"Coming where?" Brooke asked as she looked over from her spot at the stove. She was in the process of making them more warm milk.

"On vacation." Karl said as he joined Sienna at the table.

"Hi Grandpa!" she greeted as she moved out of her seat and went over to him. He picked her up and sat her in his lap.

"Hey pumpkin." He greeted as Katherine sat beside them.

"Where on vacation?" Brooke asked as she poured the milk into cups. "Do you want coffee?"

"No we're good thanks," Katherine told her with a smile. "And to answer your question; anywhere that isn't Seattle."

"When?" Brooke asked as she placed Sienna's milk on the table in front of her.

"Within the next hour." Katherine answered.

"Seriously?" Lucas asked as he and Brooke shared a look. "That's a little short notice."

"Yeah it is," Brooke agreed. "I have an appointment book full of clients today and tomorrow. There's no way Rachel can cope by herself."

"Nathan and I have to work on a Halloween display in front of the hotel near your surgery too," Lucas told his mother. "Maybe after Halloween we can go away. Like Thanksgiving."

"No!" Katherine said in an urgent tone. "We all need to go away for Halloween."

"Why?" Lucas asked as he and Brooke joined them at the table.

"We just do." Katherine replied. There was then an uneasy silence around the table.

"So how come you three are up so early?" Karl asked after a few minutes.

"I had a bad dream," Sienna told him. "There was a bad man chasing daddy and he couldn't run fast enough."

"What?!" Katherine asked as she paled. She and Karl shared a worried look.

"She's had a dream about a bad man for almost the past week." Lucas told them.

"I'm worried about what started her having them." Brooke added as she gave her daughter a concerned look.

"What does the bad man look like SiSi?" Karl asked his grand daughter softly.

"I don't remember what the bad man looks like," Sienna said in a small voice. "He won't hurt daddy will he?"

"Of course not." Karl replied hoping that he sounded convincing. He had a hard time believing his words.

"We could always go away after the salon is closed tomorrow," Brooke suggested. "We're closing early so there'll still be chance to get out of Seattle for Halloween."

"That would work," Katherine said as she nodded. "We can pick somewhere to go and book the flights so everything is ready."

"And it'll give me more time to pack," Brooke added with a smile. "I can't pack in a hurry. I always forget something important."

"Does that mean no trick or treating?" Sienna asked sounding disappointed.

"You can still do that Pumpkin," Katherine assured her. She then looked at her son. "Do you have any preferences to where we go?"

"What about San Francisco?" Lucas suggested. "It's not too far away. We can do tourist things and Sienna and Jamie can still go trick or treating. We'll just find a nice neighborhood and do it there."

"I'll book the plane tickets and hotel once I've spoken to your Aunt Dina." Katherine said as she managed a smile. She felt better knowing that they would be out of Seattle in just over 24 hours.

"Can I wear my costume on the plane?" Sienna asked.

"It'll end up all creased if you do that," Brooke told her. "How about you get changed when we get there. There'll be plenty of time."

"I'll call your aunt now actually." Katherine said as she pulled her cell phone from her purse.

"Hey how about we all go out for breakfast?" Lucas suggested as the idea popped into his head. "Aunt Dina and Uncle Andy should come too. As well as Naley and Jamie obviously."

"I'll see what they say." Katherine said as she pressed the call button.

~X~X~X~X~

Sacramento, California

"How are you feeling?" Julian asked Alex as he handed her a cup of coffee.

They had stopped off at a diner for food and to give Julian a chance to rest his eyes. He was finding it hard to concentrate on driving as he was heading towards exhausted. The only thing that was keeping him going was his last promise to his father.

"How do you think?" Alex asked as she looked up from the cup. "Some psycho just killed my parents."

"I know what you're going through." Julian told her.

"Yeah of course you do." Alex scoffed as she looked away.

"Hey look at me," Julian said as he frowned. Alex decided to obey and did. "I do know what you're going through. That psycho killed my parents just yesterday. The only difference is I was able to say goodbye to my father."

"I'm sorry," Alex said in a small voice. "I didn't know."

"I know you didn't. So don't feel bad about it okay?" Julian replied.

"I just feel so bad," Alex said as tears began to slip from her eyes. "The last thing I said to my mom was horrible. I wish I could take it back and tell her that I love her."

"Hey it's okay," Julian said as he got out of his seat and moved to her side of the booth. He gently wrapped his arms around her and she sank against him as she cried. "You're parents would have known that you loved them and that you were upset because of what was going on at that time."

"It doesn't stop me from feeling like such a bitch." She said through her tears.

She clung to Julian tightly as her tears fell heavier. Several people in the diner they were in looked over at them curiously. Julian closed his eyes tiredly so that he didn't have to look at them as he stroked Alex's hair soothingly. He couldn't help but notice how soft it felt beneath his hand. He found himself hoping that he was able to keep her safe from whatever lay ahead.

~X~X~X~X~

Seattle, Washington

"Are you okay?" Brooke asked Haley as she came out of a cubicle in the restroom looking a little peaky.

"Mmm hmm." she replied as she headed over to a sink. She switched the tap on, cupped some water in her hand and brought it to her mouth. She then rinsed her mouth and spat the water back out.

"Oh my God!" Brooke said as a smile broke out on her face. "You're totally pregnant."

"Yeah I am," Haley replied as she straightened. "I just found out yesterday. Mouth made me go and get a test because I didn't look well. He's promised not to tell Nathan until I've been to the doctor."

"Well I won't say anything either," Brooke assured her. "How long were you planning this one for?"

"We weren't," Haley replied. "It's as much of a surprise to me as it is to everyone else."

"How do you and Nathan get pregnant so easily?" Brooke asked curiously. "It took me ages to get pregnant with Sienna. We've been careless regarding protection countless times and there's been no baby from that. I'm kind of jealous."

"Well I've been vigorous in taking my birth control pills," Haley told her. "This happened because I was sick."

"Isn't that how you got pregnant with Jamie too?"

"Yeah." Haley confirmed as she took a deep breath. Another wave of nausea had crept over her.

"Why can't I have an overactive womb like you?" Brooke asked in a playful tone. "Sienna really wants siblings."

"I'm sure if you and Lucas try hard enough, then it'll happen," Haley told her. "No pun intended."

"Well we've been trying but as soon as we start, something always interrupts us." Brooke said with a frustrated sigh.

"When we get to San Fran, me and Nathan can watch Sienna for you if you want," Haley told her. "Then you and Lucas can make use of the do not disturb sign."

"Hales that would be awesome!" Brooke said as she smiled.

"Yeah well you'll owe me." Haley replied with a chuckle as the two of them headed back out of the restrooms to go and finish their breakfast.

~X~X~X~X~

Longview, Washington

Alex concentrated hard on the road as she drove Julian's rental car. He was fast asleep in the passenger seat beside her. He had finally succumbed to his exhaustion about an hour previously. They were roughly two hours away from Seattle and Alex found herself getting more anxious the closer they came to their destination. It was now early evening and she dreaded to imagine what would be waiting for them when they reached where they were going. She found that it wasn't just fear that was growing more intense by the minute, but also excitement. There was a hint of trepidation lacing her too. She knew that if they all managed to survive until November 1st, she would finally be getting answers to something that had been plaguing her for a while.

~X~X~X~X~

Des Moines, Washington

The ramshackle car spluttered to a stop at the side of a quiet suburban street. The latest car that Dan had "borrowed" to help him on his quest had finally run out of gas. He smirked to himself as he opened the door and climbed out. He was near his target and he knew that he could make it there in time on foot. He estimated that it would take him several hours to walk the last 15 or 20 miles. That left him plenty of time to rest before he finished what he started 25 years ago.