I'm going to upload a chapter of this a week.

Enjoy and review!

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Mal ran his hands over his pants legs nervously. He didn't know what to do with himself. He'd been waiting three hours but that was his fault. He'd shown up nearly four hours early.

"Mal?!" A voice yelled out.

He turned to view who spoke. He stood when he saw Josh. With him were two five year olds. His heart stopped. They were beautiful…

Josh stopped in front of him and shook his hand vigorously. "It's great to see you again!"

Mal nodded but frowned a little as he looked at Josh. He appeared sick. Very sick. "It's great to see you, too."

Josh knelt in back of the gawking kids. "Mally, Mickey? This is your first daddy, Mal Chang."

Mickey looked between all three males before craning her neck to speak directly to Mal. "Mally looks like you."

Mal smiled. Her tiny voice was heavenly. "I see."

She paused before asking him a question. "Do I look like my mommy?"

"Just as beautiful." He knelt next to her.

"Daddy and Daddy say that she was a raving beauty. Was she?"

"Yes, she was."

"They said you were deeply in love."

"We were."

"They said she was really smart."

"She was the smartest person I know."

"Where is she now?"

Mal paled and looked at Josh.

Josh gulped. "Don't you want to show Daddy the pictures we brought with us?"

"Uh huh!" Mickey nodded and took Mal's hand.

As she led him back to the bench he'd been sitting on, Mal's heart flip-flopped. He was going to look through pictures with his little girl.

She let him go to climb on the seat then reached out for her adoptive father. "Books, Daddy!"

Mal smiled. She was as bossy as her mother.

Josh brought over the photo albums.

"Would you like to see, Mally?"

The little boy shook his head. He looked to Josh. "Daddy, can I go play with that dog?"

Josh wanted them to bond but knew he couldn't force it. Still… he only had a limited amount of time. "For a little bit. Then I want you to come over and sit with us."

Mally threw an evil look at Mal and ran off.

"I'm sorry about him." Josh apologized. "He hit his terrible twos early and never let them go."

"Have you met Marcy?" Mal smirked.

Mickey beamed at having both of them relaxed. She opened the top photo album and pointed. "This is my favoritest picture."

OF

"How are you, sweetie?" Greg poked his head around the curtain with a large smile.

Marcy looked at him.

"Remember me from yesterday?"

She blinked.

"What about the day before? When you woke up?"

She said nothing.

He tapped the nurse on the arm. "Has she spoken at all?"

The nurse shook her head. "She bad with lights. Loud noises. Men. Hurt big time."

Greg made a low growling noise low in his throat. "She doesn't seem bothered by me though?"

"Maybe she remember you?" The nurse left.

Greg sat down. "Can you even understand me?"

Marcy stared at him.

"The doctor explained that you had a concussion, right? You know what that means? You might have some memory loss."

She blinked.

"Do you remember the video I played for you two days ago?"

She said nothing.

He took his phone out and showed her. He played the video but as soon as she saw who was in it, she took it from him and put it under her pillow.

He found that quite strange. "Do you want to keep it? I can put it on a DVD. Would you like that?"

"I'm not a child." Though soft and raspy, her voice was clear.

"You can talk?!" He wasn't sure if it was a question.

"My throat works fine."

"You haven't said anything in two days!"

"I've gone longer."

He didn't know how to respond to that so he didn't. "Well this is easier. I'm taking you back to America."

She was shaking her head before he even finished.

"Yes, I am."

She shook her head again.

"Marcy, they will not let you go without supervision. I volunteered. That may not be what you want-"

"It's not."

He stared at her flatly. "You're coming with me. Back to America. To San Francisco."

"No."

"Yes."

"I am not."

He was tired of arguing with her. "Maybe I should just call your father-?"

"No!" She leaned forward with her hands outstretched as if to physically stop him.

"Then what is it going to take to get you to California?"

"Hotel."

"Hotel?" He cocked his head.

"I want to stay in a hotel. Not even a fancy one. It can be Motel 6."

He frowned. He wasn't going to have her stay in a motel. "Marcy,-"

"Take it or leave it."

"Fine. I'll book you a room."

"And leave my father out of this."

"I can do that."

"And when we part ways, you don't contact me again."

His heart sank. "Agreed."

"Then I'll go to California with you."

"Thank you."

"But I don't want to see them."

He stilled from getting a glass of water. "Huh?"

"You heard me. I don't want to see your children."

He debated arguing and instead lied. "Done."

OF

Mal breathed deeply, still overly excited from his day. His princess was just as he'd imagined her to be; brilliant, capable, determined, strong, sweet, funny. He was as in love with her as the first time he held her.

He continued breathing as he dialed his mother's work number. She answered in her soft, meek voice. "Hello?"

"Hey, Mom. It's me."

"Mal?" So much hope was in her tone.

It broke his heart to know he broke hers by leaving. "Yeah."

"Hi, baby."

"Hi, Mom."

"Today is Saturday, isn't it?"

"Yep."

"So how was it?"

He blew out a big breath. "I can't believe it. I got to meet them. They're beautiful."

"They were born beautiful." There was a smile in her voice.

"I know but they're so much bigger now."

"Well they're five…"

"Mom…" He smiled. "He's taking a bit to warm up to me but she's all set. She showed me tons of pictures of them. Greg and Josh didn't miss a moment."

"Your pictures would have been better."

He stopped, unsure of how to go on. "They found her."

"Who found whom?"

"Greg and Josh. They found Marcy."

Mal could hear the phone clatter to a hard surface. A scream came down the line from far away before he heard the phone lifting. "Where is she?!"

"In a hospital in Russia."

"A hospital?! In Russia?!"

"Yeah."

"How many hospitals are in Russia?! We have to go! We have to find her!"

"Mom? Mom. Mom!"

"Yes?" Her breath came down the line harshly.

"Calm down."

He could hear her taking deep breaths. "I'm calm. But I have to call everyone."

"She's in a coma."

"What?! My baby!"

"Josh knows something but he's not telling me. I didn't want to scare the kids but I'm definitely going to get it out of him. Soon."

"Don't go to jail, honey." She said dryly.

"Thanks, Mom." His tone was just as arid.

"I love you. I don't want you in any more trouble. Although I would understand. Have you talked to your therapist about what's going on?"

"Um… no…" He tapped his fingers against his kitchen counter in an uneven rhythm.

"Mal! Talk to your therapist!"

"I will!" The day after I die.

"You better, young man! I have to get back to work and call everyone. Be very happy you had today. Mally will come around. He loves you. They both do. And so do I."

"I love you, too Mom."

"Goodbye, Mal."

"Goodbye, Mom." He hung up. That was the most spirit he'd heard out of his mom in years.

He set the phone aside and laid on the counter. He was freefalling again. He had no idea what to do with himself so he got up and grabbed his keys.

He left his apartment to go to the gym. Working out put him in a better mood and cleared his mind.

Hopefully it continued its success rate…

OF

Jeanette Chang had been broken for a long time. Most would say it was when her daughter ran away but honestly it started the day she was born. The cards were stacked against her since before that date so when it came, it all crumbled.

Her father was a stock broker, a businessman and a mobster. It didn't even sound good on paper and the reality was much worse. On top of it was his personality. The man was impossible to please and he liked no one.

Her mother was difficult but not impossible to please, strict and very distant. The Asian stereotype Jeanette had tried so hard to distance herself from. While Po had been the breadwinner and the most feared man in Japan, Xhi-Xhi had become the most feared housewife to other housewives although she technically had a high profile job. She was an art buyer.

Jeanette had never seen much of her parents growing up and still didn't so she barely knew them as people. At least until she started having kids. Then her parents started paying attention to her.

She was closer to her parents than before but it was still rocky. She was terrified of them. In every way that mattered when it came to fear.

But when Marcy first ran away, something in Jeanette broke. She couldn't believe the then sixteen year old would ever do such a thing.

And of course Jeanette's parents blamed Jeanette.

Especially Po, who was very fond of Marcy. Jeanette had been devastated and now was blamed.

It was harsh all the way around.

But now Marcy was found. Maybe they could put their family back together again?