This is insane. I never meant to stop writing for so long. And I find it amazing that there's still some of you out there, waiting on updates, hoping for them. I'll finish this guys, that's my promise to you.

Movers carried in couches and tables of all kinds, bedframes and rugs in which Buttercup never thought she could ever afford on her own. Of course, it wasn't all on her own. Sure, she had a little help but it felt good to think she was finally able to give her little girl the exceptional, loving home she deserved. Bella ran around the yard bouncing her new basketball as she dodged the men and the furniture. Although she was happy as could be, Buttercup couldn't help but still worry about Mitch, he could find her.

She was sure of that.

Buttercup tied the final knot, securing her little booby-trap set outside the front door. Was it being a little paranoid? Probably, but she wasn't taking any chances, not when he daughter's (and her own) well being was at stake. She had built a small wooden plank along with her trap, set to fall in front of the doorway when the rope was yanked, she hoped it would work. As a final precaution, she placed a couple baby monitors around the small house. Never know when someone could come sneaking around.

Finally satisfied with her work, Buttercup went in search for her daughter, as she could no longer hear her dribbling her ball outside. She found Bella had retreated to her room and began painting her walls as Buttercup had told her she could. She was crafting a lovely tree with apples and flowers all around.

"So, what do we think? We like it here?" Buttercup asked, smiling at her little girl's creation.

Bella suddenly turned with fear across her face, "Why? Are we moving again?"

"No. We just-"

"Good! Because I'm sick and tired to death of moving" Bella said dramatically as she began to clean up her paint brushes. She wandered into the hall with her water cup full of dirty brushes and Buttercup followed her to the kitchen.

"Me, too. So here's the deal, Cutie. You can call me Mom or you can call me Buttercup, but you cannot call me BC."

Bella rinsed out her cup and turned around, confused. "I never call you BC"

Buttercup sighed, of course her girl never even said her first name before, but it's just too easy to get a child to accidentally give someone up. Bella hardly even knows what is going on. "I know, but just in case somebody asks you someday-"

"Do I get a new name too?" Suddenly Bella was very excited. Buttercup giggled at her innocence.

"I guess. If you want one."

"Excuse me!" Buttercup was careful not to run too fast for Bella's tiny legs, and was relieved when the woman she was calling after finally saw them.

"Yes?"

"Hi, Betty?" She said as her and Bella approached the woman. "I'm Buttercup Utonium, I called you yesterday."

"Oh yes, I remember!"

"This is my daughter." Buttercup motioned toward Bella's smiley form, excited to start school. Betty kneeled down to greet her.

"Look at you, you're so precious. What's your name, sweetie?"

Bella's grin only widened as she proclaimed: "Queen Elizabeth!"

Betty chuckled to herself and Buttercup smiled awkwardly at the introduction. Thankfully Betty took Bella's hand and lead her up the stairs and into the schoolhouse. "Welcome, Queen Elizabeth. You'll have a good time here. May I call you 'Queen' for short?"

"I like talking to Grandma, but every Sunday do we have to drive for fifty-five hours just to reach some phone booth?"

Buttercup sighed as she peek into the rearview mirror at a highly annoyed and talkative Bella, messily eating a chocolate sprinkled doughnut. She'd hoped the treat would have quieted her down a bit and made her more patient. She was mistaken. Even the sugar in her half eaten doughy treat was enough to unleash a hyperactive Bella.

"Can I call Daddy this time?" Bella whined.

"No." Buttercup said coldly, hoping her girl would take the hint.

"Please? Please?" Of course she didn't take the hint, she's only four!

"Don't beg. You look like a dog." Buttercup teased, causing Bella to pout as she continued to enjoy her doughnut. Within an hour the two finally arrived at a gas station, far away from the city. Buttercup took no risks.

"You know he has friends in the police department and you're depriving him of his rights as a father, nonsense like that. It's all leading up to a big custody hearing."

Buttercup rolled her eyes, thankful her mother-in-law couldn't see. She tried to keep her attitude in check, however, she did promise the woman she'd call regularly for advice and general knowledge that they were doing okay. "What are you saying?"

"Talk to him. Calm him down. Call him right now before he does something stupid. It's might even help if he talked to Bella…" The woman was crazy. "...for her sake, too I mean you of all people know it's not healthy to be without a father."

Great. Buttercup thought. Throwing her biological parent-less childhood in her face, a low blow."You know what, we better keep this short. I'll call you next week." With that Buttercup hung up, ignoring her mother-in-law's shouting that she wanted to speak to Bella as well. Despite the anger she felt looking at Bella, now sitting on the steps of the sidewalk with a look of longing and sadness , Buttercup knew she had a point.

"Hi, Daddy! We're having a great vacation!" Bella exclaimed happily on the telephone. Buttercup listened closely, monitoring.

"Oh yeah, where?"

"We've been everywhere! Chicago and-"

Buttercup gently took the phone from Bella, feeling mildly sorry for cutting her daughter off, but she knew Mitch would try to take advantage of the opportunity for information. "Look, no questions, okay? Or it ends now." She put the phone back to Bella's ear, who took the phone back into her hands.

"Listen, bitch. She's my daughter, too. So don't fucking tell me how I can talk to her-"He sighed, obviously irritated and Bella looked up to Buttercup with hurt and confusion in her little green eyes. "-Just put me back on the phone with Bella. Give her the damn phone!"

Buttercup kneeled down to meet her daughter's heartbreaking gaze. "Listen, just tell Daddy that you love him and say goodbye, okay?" She was close enough to the phone that he could hear, and when he realized he had been cursing at his four-year old the whole time, Mitch only grew more frustrated, but fixed his tone.

"Bella, you there, honey? Sweetheart, talk to me."

"Bye, Daddy." Bella said in her softest and most painful voice.

"Honey, I'm sorry, baby. Daddy didn't mean to use bad words…"

Bella ignored him as she handed the phone to Buttercup to hang up. "I'm really, really sad."

Buttercup got on her knees, despite the fact that Mitch wasn't able to get any information out of Bella, she still felt defeated. "I'm sorry, kid. It was my mistake." Yet Bella immediately embraced her mother, allowing Buttercup to pick her up in her arms and begin their drive back home.

Back in their old hometown, Mitch sat in an office with a good friend. Despite his frustration, he was pleased with what he saw on the computer screen across the room.

TRACE COMPLETE

COIN OPERATED UNIT

8111 HIGHWAY 72

FAIRVIEW, MICHIGAN 48621

Found her.

"So what do you think?" He asked his friend, Boomer, as he turned in his desk chair. "Her voice?"

"Yeah, she sounds the same." Boomer replied.

"Good. 'Cause if she's changed her appearance-"

"I remember her. I told you. The diner. The scam. The only thing I don't remember is why you broke the rules, and decided to marry the bitch." Boomer cut him off. Mitch got surprisingly defensive at that remark.

"She's not a bitch."

Boomer chuckled. "Sorry. She is a waitress."

"What does that mean, Boomie?"

"Mean's she's stupid."

"She's not stupid. She thinks if the calls are short they can't be traced."

"I still want to know. With all the girls we pulled that scheme on, why her?"

"Maybe it's love."

Boomer laughed. "Yeah, I know what that means. If you we're smart, you'd forget her."

"I can't simply forget her! She kidnaped my kid."

Boomer shut his office door. "How many times to I have to go there? It's not kidnapping. Kidnapping is when someone who isn't the mother takes the kid. When the mother takes the kid, it's called parenting."

Mitch was about done with the pointless banter. He stood from his seat and began to gather his things. "How soon can you get there?"

Boomer shook his head. "I don't know. You know, i could lose my job for this."

"Boomer, you could lose your job for a lot of other things. You know what I mean?" Of course Mitch had some dirt on his best friend. And he wasn't against using it to make him cooperate.

"You got to be reasonable… I know some guys in Detroit." Boomer offered.

"Oh, like your guys in Seattle? I don't think so. I know what they're like. They've never met her, never heard her voice. She'll spot them and run before they even see her, just like in Seattle. It's gotta be you Boomie."

Buttercup was never a very talented cook. Despite working in a restaurant for years, she was never able to pick up any good skills. She normally left dinner up to Mitch. But being settled in a nice home meant more than just school and having fun, Buttercup had to come up with some sort of meal for her daughter that didn't involve simply microwaving. She watched nervously as Bella picked at the plate in front of her. Not very satisfied.

"What do you think? Is it okay? It's okay, right?" Bella only peeked up from her plate to give her mother a sympathetic glance. Buttercup knew it was disgusting, she had tried it before she put it on the plates. "No, it's not. It's horrible."

"It's not horrible, Mom"

"Yeah, but it's not good, it it?"

"Mom, you tasted it." Buttercup nodded, understanding. She stood and took her plate into the kitchen, tossing it into the sink. She started to tear up. It felt awful knowing she wasn't very good at being a single parent.

"You know what I think?" Bella piped up from the dinner table sweetly.

Buttercup wiped away her tears so she couldn't see. "No, what's that?"

"I think you miss Daddy."

"Daddy yells at me, cutie."

"Well, you miss somebody."

And Buttercup knew she was all too right...

Sorry it's probably much shorter than the past chapters, but this was originally my planned stop point for this chapter (surprised I was able to find my notebook full of outlines and plans!) I will try to get the next chapter out either next Friday or the one after that. Thank you to everyone still reading out there, this actually helped me a lot, keeping my mind off of things for a while. I'll be back soon!

XOXO