Six months later…
"Isabella McKenzie Messer, if you are not ready in 10 minutes I am going to call your school and tell them you cannot go on your field trip today." Lindsay yelled from the kitchen. With in seconds the six year old appeared, dressed and ready for school.
"That would just be mean mom." Bella replied.
"Mean or not, it got you moving." Lindsay smiled as she placed a plate of food in front of her daughter. Bella ate like she had never eaten before. It still amazed her how much Bella looked and acted like Danny. "You better slow down or you are going to make yourself sick." Bella looked up at her mother and smiled.
"Where is d..." Bella stopped in mid sentence, hoping her mom had not caught what she was about to say. Luckily Lindsay was busy cleaning up the kitchen and was only half listening.
"What did you say sweetie?"
"I asked where Uncle Flack was?" Flack had all but moved into Lindsay and Bella's apartment. Flack still had his apartment because his lease was not up for another couple months. So right now it was more like an expensive storage shed, than it was an apartment.
"He got called into work early, but he will pick you up after school today." Lindsay paused when she noticed the look on Bella's face. "Is everything okay?" Lindsay knew that having Flack live with them had been a big adjustment for Bella. After all she was just six and it was very confusing for her. Lindsay and Flack had decided early on in their relationship that no matter what happened, Bella would be their number one priority.
"Mom, I have been wondering if it would be okay if…." Before Bella could finish she was interrupted by Lindsay's cell phone ringing.
"Just a second sweetie." Lindsay grabbed her phone. "Messer."
"Lindsay it is Mac, I know that you have to drop Bella off at school but after that I need you at a crime scene in Central Park. I wanted to give you a heads up so that you did not drive all the way to the lab."
"Thanks Mac. I will see you in a little while." Lindsay closed her phone and glanced down at her watch. "Oh man you are going to be late. Grab your stuff we need to go." Lindsay grabbed her purse, Bella grabbed her back pack and they headed for the door, the question that Bella had wanted to ask her mother, completely forgotten.
Five hours later, Lindsay was in the break room at the lab reading through a file that Flack had just brought her regarding her BD in Central Park, when her cell phone rang.
"Messer."
"Mrs. Messer this is Mrs. Thompson, Bella's teacher." The women on the other end of the phone replied.
"Yes, of course. Is everything okay?" Lindsay asked, suddenly very nervous. Noticing the change in Lindsay demeanor, Flack became very interested in Lindsay's conversation.
"Well there is no easy way of saying this, but Bella is missing."
"She is missing! What do you mean Bella is missing?" Lindsay could feel the tears forming in her eyes.
"We were doing our final head count before we left the zoo and Bella was not there. Zoo security it searching the Zoo, but so far they have not found her. I am really sorry."
Flack looked at the pained look in Lindsay's eyes and he too wanted to start crying. He caught Mac coming down the hallway with a very concerned look on his face and he was pretty sure he already knew what was going on.
"Tell them to check the tiger exhibit really good. She loves the tigers. That is where her father and I met, so she loves the tiger exhibit." Lindsay took a deep breath as the tears started to fall. She could see Flack and Mac talking, both men looked like they wanted to cry as well. "I will be there is few minutes." Lindsay quickly closed her phone and let the tears pour down. "This cannot be happening." Flack quickly wrapped Lindsay up in a hug.
"We will find her, I promise." Flack said softly in her ear.
"Lindsay I need you to focus, do you remember what she had on this morning?" Mac asked.
"Yeah, it was her green sweater, the one that Peyton gave her, the one with the blue stripes and a pair of blue jeans. She was wearing tennis shoes, I think. I don't know it might have been her boots. I cannot remember. Damn it!" Lindsay slammed her fist onto the break room table.
"Linds, baby, you need to stay calm."
"Don't tell me to stay calm Don. My daughter is missing!" Lindsay hissed at him, before collapsing into his arms.
"I have sent the lead detective Bella's picture. They have every officer they can looking for her. The Zoo officials are still searching the zoo, while the officers are focusing their search outside. We will find her." Mac said in his usual firm voice, placing his hand on her back.
"Oh my god, Lindsay I just heard." Stella said with tears in her eyes as she ran into the break room, Peyton following close behind. "Is there anything we can do?"
"Peyton I want you to stay here with Lindsay while Flack, Stella and I go to the zoo. Finding Bella is our number one priority." Mac stated.
"I am going with you." Lindsay said firmly.
"No you are not. You are going to stay here with Peyton. We will call…"
"Like hell Mac. She is my daughter. I need to help look for her." Lindsay yelled at Mac. Lindsay was the only one who could yell at Mac like that and get away with it.
"Exactly Lindsay, she is your daughter. You are too close to this." He yelled right back.
"Too close? Of course I am too close to this. What about you? She is your god daughter. Don't you think that you are too close to this also?" Lindsay spat back at him.
"She has a point Mac." Flack said in defense of Lindsay, to which Mac just leered at him.
"Fine but you stay with Flack." Mac turned to Flack before continuing. "I am counting on you to look after her."
"You can count on me Mac."
"What can I do?" Peyton asked, placing a hand on Mac's shoulder, trying to offer him some comfort.
"You can come with us and help us search. We can us all the extra eyes we can get."