Welcome back! Not much action in this chapter, but I promise you more for next time. I'm visiting relatives this weekend, so it may be a bit longer before I update again, but I got half of the chapter written already so maybe I'll find some time to finish it. Please let me know what you think!

"Owen Brooks, son of sergeant Rodger Brooks. Andy first met him at a police charity function." Tommy McNally sat slumped behind a desk in the detective's office, looking sickened with worry. He must have spent countless hours in this same room when he was still in the force, would he ever have imagined to be brought back here, but this time as a family member of a kidnap victim?

"I guess they could relate. Both raised by single dads in the police force."

Sam remembered the sergeant; a particularly nasty son of a bitch. He had quite he reputation for being one of the toughest, anger-prone cops of his time. They had celebrated his retirement with delight (and a good bottle of scotch). Never knew he had a son, though.

"Owen immediately took a shine to Andy. He started coming over to our house, and calling her, a lot. He was a few years older than her, and the complete opposite, it seemed. But Andy saw something in him. Before long they were madly in love."

Sam tried to picture teenage Andy, swept of her feet. Was this one of the guys she was referring to, when she informed him once about her youthful indiscretions of 'making out with the wrong guy'?

"I wasn't around… Much. And when I was, well… I wasn't there for her as I should have been. I did not notice how spiraled out of control it had gotten, before it was almost too late." Feelings of guilt swept over his face. None of the people present needed an explanation of what was going on with him at that time. Everybody knew Tommy McNally was a drunk, those days.

"He changed her. We fought almost daily. She missed curfew repeatedly, and started to neglect her schoolwork. So I said she couldn't see him anymore, that was nothing like her."

It still wasn't. Andy was just about the most responsible person Sam had ever met.

"One night, sergeant Brooks drove Andy home. His son and Andy had taken his car out without permission, when they were pulled over for speeding. Andy later confessed to me Owen had been drinking, and almost crashed the car while fleeing from the police. Brooks had made sure no charges were filed; he wanted to make sure his kid and mine still had the chance to become coppers."

Tommy looked around the room, scanning the faces. No shock there. Everyone on the force knew that issues (depending on the arresting officer) affecting police officers or their family were regularly handled within the force. Whether anyone liked it or not, that was just the way it was done. They were one big family after all; and family took care of its own.

"I unconditionally forbade Andy to see Owen after that. After a while, she agreed to avoid him. To be honest, I think the whole experience shocked her so much she started to doubt Owen herself a little, too. But he was relentless. He kept calling her, filling up our machine with pleading messages. He showed up at her school, and lingered around our street. He was obsessed with her.

I could see how it affected Andy. She had strong feelings for him, but he also scared her, kept her on edge continuously. So I talked to Owen's dad again. He said he would handle it. But his punishment probably only made it worse."

Okay, so there was a pattern with this guy. Any remaining doubt Sam might have had that this was the guy that had Andy, was fading rapidly.

But why now? How did he come back into her life, after all these years? Why had she let him in? And why didn't she just tell someone right away when she heard from him again?

"All hell broke loose. Owen blamed his father and me for keeping them apart. He broke into his father's safe, and took his valuables. He went to her school, and tried to convince her to come with him. He wanted to run away with her. When she denied him, he struck her. Gave her quite the shiner."

Tommy took a sip of water, obviously struggling with the memory.

"A teacher saw them, came to her rescue, and called me. I should have reported him, then. But Brooks was my superior, and I was running out of favors in the force as it was…

Plus, Andy begged me to let it be. She couldn't help still feeling for him, I guess. Brooks assured me Owen would never get near her again. So, I agreed to let it be. And he was right; the next thing I heard was that he had sent his son away somewhere, to live with a distant relative. I really thought that would be the last we would ever hear from him. But now there's this message… Are you close to finding him yet?"

A plan. She needed a plan. He was clearly not going to let her go. Andy felt a little more clear-headed now; the fog was finally lifted from her mind. Owen kept talking to her, ranting while he circled the room.

Looking at him now, she could not remember why she had ever loved him. Had he always been this angry? Was that the whole extent of their shared feelings from the past, that he had met her at a time when she was feeling particularly upset with her dad? It felt good, at the time, to share everything with someone who understood. Someone who cared. Let it all out, and not be so responsible for everything all the time. But she and Owen were not the same. Her dad had been a drunk, but he had always treated her with love. His dad was a sadistic jerk. Though Owen had never told her, she knew he was his dad's punching bag on a regular basis. Whereas Andy's dad sometimes cared a little too much, Owen's dad couldn't care less about his son. Provided that he kept himself out of trouble, he was pretty much on his own ever since his mother had died. But if he messed up in any way at all, he had hell to pay at home. After all, nothing was as important to the sergeant as his precious reputation. Owen had hated him, but was also discernably scared of his father.

"He can never hurt us again, sweetheart. My father can never keep us apart, anymore."

Andy waited until he looked at her. "Owen, listen to me", she said softly. "There are people looking for me. The people I work with, the police. If you don't let me go, this is going to end badly." Surely they would be looking for her now. They had to be on their way… She was going to see Sam again soon. But if she had no idea where she was, how could they?

A smirk came to his lips. "I've been more or less running from a cop my whole life, I can deal with it. I'm not going to let them take you away from me." He was still pacing endlessly around the room.

"What do you plan to do?" The question filled the air. Are you going to kill me? Do you plan to keep me here forever, cuffed to the bed?

Owen stopped in his tracks. "I'm going to do what I should have done, years ago. I'm going to take you away from here. Somewhere, where we can be together, at last."

Was there any point in trying to talk sense to him? Was he not aware of the seriousness of the situation?

"That's a long time ago. I'm not the same girl I was back then." Maybe he had not changed a bit, just got worse and more detached from reality, but she definitely had. She was much stronger now, more assured, and she would never let anyone treat her like Owen had done. That little unsecure attention-seeking girl was long gone.

"No, you're not." He chuckled. "You're much prettier now, all grown-up. And you are free of your dad, just like me." He came towards her, knelt on the bed. "I know we can be together now." His hand was touching her cheek, caressing it. Why did he have to get so close?

Andy suppressed the urge to yell at him. "When I saw you in that bar, I knew it was faith telling me it was finally time."

Time for what? For losing it completely and go nuts?

His other hand was on the back of her head now, pulling her close. He bent over to kiss her. Andy tried not to let him know how he freaked her out (he was unstable, and she had to be careful), how much she didn't want this, but she couldn't help to flinch at his touch. He noticed right away, and backed up from her. Suddenly his voice was full of anger.

"Why do you have to be so difficult? Don't you see what I'm doing for you? Why won't you cut me some slack for once?"

That was almost funny. Cut him some slack? She was the one cuffed to the bed.

"Owen, please… Don't be mad. Let's just talk about it, okay?"

Andy tried to keep her voice steady. It was very important to keep him calm right now. He nodded softly in agreement.

"But it's kinda hard to talk to you, with these on." She rattled her cuffs.

He seemed to think about it, weighing the decision in his mind. "How will I know you won't just run away from me?" He was examining her eyes for the answer.

Andy did her best to make her smile seem sincere and loving. Don't let him know how scared you are, how much you despise him right now…"You're going to have to trust me."

Sam had to do something. He had to keep busy. Anything to keep him from thinking about Andy. But what could he do? They had spoken with every witness at least twice. Sam had been door to door around Andy's apartment. They had pulled up Owen's record, which was quite a sheet. The sergeant had moved his son to live with a great-uncle in Washington, DC, where Owen stayed until the uncle died. Only a few speeding tickets the first year, two reports of drunk and disorderly, but later he graduated to multiple arrests for drug possession and assault. He had been incarcerated for a bar fight with some friends, while intoxicated. He apparently beat some guy so hard he wound up in the intensive care, and would never fully recover.

Overall, he sounded to Sam like an unstable maniac: not the best person to imagine being all alone with Andy. But would Owen seriously hurt her? Would he touch her? She must be so scared… He clenched his fists at the thought. If he only could get his hands on this guy! But first he had to find him.

Why did his rookie keep getting in this type of situations? Why was she so darn stubborn? She wanted to do everything herself, never daring to ask for help. If she had only told him when she had the chance, he could have fixed it right away, and she wouldn't be in this mess. Why couldn't she just have trusted him? Was she afraid to be judged, or found weak? She had to know he could never think any less of her. He knew what she was capable of, how strong she was. If he had only made sure she knew that, let her know how much he valued her.

But he had to admit his feelings for her went deeper than just respecting her as a colleague and partner. She was in his mind way too much for that. After almost two years of trying to deny it, he still wanted her, longed for her. He desperately wanted to hold her, kiss her, and make her smile. He adored her smile; it could brighten up his day any time.

The physical attraction between them was apparent from day one. Once he got over his anger towards her for blowing the case (eight months undercover for nothing) by arresting him on her first day, he was secretly impressed. And he had to admit it was not entirely her fault, he would have gotten away with being arrested for possession (after all, it fit the persona), if Jerry hadn't greeted him in booking while his contact stood beside him, thus effectively outing him to everyone on the streets.

The next day, she was assigned to him. Boyko's idea of a good laugh, probably. Not looking forward to babysitting an eager rookie, he had dragged her along while he tied up loose ends from his undercover case, testing her. But she had only impressed him more, with her initiative, and her fearlessness.

Sam knew the attraction wasn't one-sided. He picked up on the way her body reacted to him too, and was ready to take her home that same night. But she had been too responsible to give in. After all, he was her superior and training officer. 'Fine. I'll wait', he had thought then. But she had kept him waiting.

Then she started seeing Luke Callaghan. Why, he had no idea. The blond-haired detective had never been any kind of friend of his, but seeing him with 'his rookie' only made Sam's resentment of him grow.

Still, she did come to him: The night of the blackout, after she had shot a kidnapper and child-murderer dead. She had looked so fragile that night, so hurt. When she pushed him against the wall and kissed him, he knew she was doing it for the wrong reasons. Those hands, that hours before squeezed a trigger and killed someone were now touching his bare skin. She wanted to forget, to feel better, and he should have stopped her before she did anything she'd regret later on. But her mouth on his felt so good and he couldn't bear the thought of releasing her sweet form for even just a second. His own body would not let him. Then the damned lights came on. He had her on his bed, ready for him, but then she was gone. Blackouts would never be the same anymore.

After that terrible and at the same time magnificent night, Sam had promised himself to stop caring so much. He was probably fooling himself thinking he could manage that, but he had to try. No thinking about how good it had felt to touch her all over, or how much he wanted to pull her close to him and hold her until the sun came up. Like it or not, she had chosen Callaghan, he had to respect that.

And after they broke up (or Andy left the bastard for cheating, to be accurate), he couldn't just sweep in there and try his luck, could he? She was way too hurt for that.

But what if he had? What if he had just told her how much she meant to him, how strongly he wanted her? Would she have wanted to hear that from him, at all? He wondered if she really didn't know already.

Sam had never been good at expressing his feelings, he knew that, but he had done everything he could to show her, in his own way.

Maybe if he had come clean to her, she would be here with him right now, where he could keep her safe from everything and anything. But instead she was gone from his sight and in the hands of a lunatic.

"Any luck on locating sergeant Brooks?" Sam walked over to the desk where Diaz was sitting surrounded by piles of files and loose papers, looking for an adequate place for his mug.

"Uh, well not exactly sir… He died a couple of weeks ago. Heart attack."

Sam clenched his jaw. Could they never catch a break? They had to get some solid leads, fast, but everywhere they turned the trail seemed to go cold.

"What about any other relatives? Anyone see Owen lately?" Diaz rummaged through a pile on his left, picked a sheet and read from it aloud. "There is an aunt, she lives over in Brampton. Said she hasn't seen her nephew in years, ever since he moved to Washington, DC. He was not present at the funeral, either."

"Anything else? What about the inheritance, didn't he come back for that?" Sam grunted.

Chris stuttered. "No, sir. He was written out of the will. He got nothing at all." He looked up at Sam with puppy-dog eyes. "Sir? Do you think Andy is…?" He paused, not wanting to finish his sentence.

He sneered in response. "Do I think she's what?" Sam crossed his arms tight around his chest, daring him to continue. He knew exactly what Diaz was hinting at. But he wasn't going there, refused to even entertain the thought.

"Do you think she's alright? If this Owen is really that in love with her, he won't hurt her, will he?" A glimmer of hope shone in his young eyes.

'All we know for sure is that he is aggressive, unpredictable, and he has already hit her before.' But no, he couldn't say that to this rookie. Diaz was already upset enough as it was, and he needed everyone sharp for Andy's sake.

"Let's hope so."

Sam was on his way to the locker room, escaping the worried looks his colleagues kept throwing him, when his pocket vibrated. Who the hell dared to call him now? Unknown number. Not really in the mood to talk to anyone, he picked up anyway: Maybe it was finally a lead that took them somewhere.

"Yeah?"

The hushed voice on the other side of the line made his heart jump.

"Sam? It's me. I don't have much time, he'll come soon…"

For a moment, Sam froze. Was this really happening, or was he imagining this? Then it all seemed to click, and his mind went into overdrive. It was her. It was really her.

"Andy? Are you okay? Tell me where you are."