The first thing Aidan became conscious of was a steady beeping sound. She hated that sound, especially since it felt like it was a kettledrum pounding in her head. Aidan also felt like she had fought a bear again, had rocks thrown on her, and for some reason, someone covered her in five day old spaghetti sauce.

A voice - female, she thought with relief started to seep into her head. "Ade, come on sweetheart, wake up," said Pam's voice. "Tony and I want to see you open your eyes."

It took a couple of tries, but Aidan's eyes blinked open, only to wince and closed her eyes again. She groaned, partially from remembering what happened, but more from her injuries.

"There you go, just try again," Pam said as she held Aidan's hand. She smiled when Aidan opened them again. "Hey sweetheart, glad to see those blue eyes again. Do you know where you are?"

Aidan glanced around, frowning. "Let me guess… I'm in my favorite hospital, UCLA Med, after being pummeled at the mall," she said softly, and wryly.

"How did ya know that?" said Tony, surprised.

"Because of the frieze," she said. Seeing the agent was confused, she continued. "The pattern along the top of the wall. I'm going to have to do a beaded bracelet based on that pattern…"

"Yep, just so long as you don't go 'quackers' about being here again," said Tony chuckling as he tapped Aidan on the arm. Seeing her goddaughter unconsciously flinch and jerk her arm away from the touch, Pam glared at Tony. Realizing his mistake, he apologized. "Sorry there Cub… I'll go get the doctor and tell her you're awake."

After Tony left, Aidan turned to Pam and gave a curious look. "What was that all about?" she said softly.

"The doctor told us to have me speak first when you came to…"

Aidan groaned, remembering part of the fight. "Because my shirt and bra were torn by men," she said embarrassed. "Not surprised, for a moment I thought it'd happen."

Pam nodded sadly. "Yes, but I guess you can tell you weren't raped," she said, and Aidan nodded. "How do you feel?"

"Like I've been put through a meat grinder with a bear fighting me all the way," said the younger woman said as Tony and the doctor returned. "Where's Ralph?"

"He went outside for a few minutes Ade," said her godmother, deciding to not say everything yet.

"Oh," said Aidan as the doctor came over to her side to check the young woman's pulse.

As Aidan was questioned by Tyler to ascertain her level of injury, Tony fidgeted. He wanted to ask her one vital question, and here he was listening to Aidan play Twenty Questions with the doctor.

Once the doctor was finished and left, Tony went back over to Aidan's bedside. "OK, now that the doctor has checked ta see if the spiders left your head, can ya tell …?" he started but Aidan interrupted

"What's taking Ralph so long?" she asked, clearer now as she was more awake, realizing Ralph still hadn't returned. "He's never been away this long from my room when I've been at the hospital, except when Misha ordered him to…"

The other two gave each other a look, which made Aidan worried. "Guys, what's going on?" she said.

Tony cleared his throat, hoping to say this as gently as possible. "Ade, when ya were at the mall, ya woke up briefly and said something."

"I did?" she said, confused.

"Well, yeah… ya don't remember?" he said, and Aidan shook her head. Seeing it had been a little over an hour and a half since they presumed she was knocked out, Tony continued. "OK, anyway you mentioned Kevin before ya blacked out again…"

"Is he all right?" she said abruptly, and apparently worried.

"'Is he all right?' I don't know… Cub, ya mentioned his name when Mr. H asked who did this stuff to ya," said Tony, confused. "What was his part in turning ya inta a kaleidoscope?"

Now it was Aidan's turn to be confused. "Kevin didn't hurt me," she said, then paused, remembering more of the fight. "He kicked me though…"

"Uh, that would be hurting you…" said Tony, starting to wonder if Aidan's memory was as sharp as she claimed.

"Not if it was either that or us both being killed," said Aidan simply. Seeing the other two's now very confused looks, she continued. "After these jackasses started beating me up, Kevin came back and tried to stop them. He found out they were his friends."

"Do ya know who?"

"Only their first names - Jayson and Zane," she said. "Anyway, I tried to get him to call the police, but they taunted him, saying was he lying about hating me. I could tell he was trying to avoid admitting it, but they told him to prove it or he was next."

"So then what?"

"He looked at me in apology, and then kicked me in the ribs. One of the guys, Jayson I think, then suggested… raping me so I wouldn't be 'daddy's little princess' anymore, but I started fighting again. He… tackled me to the ground then after punching me… ripped my shirt apart," she said, and her voice broke slightly. "Kevin tried to stop him, but the other two seemed even more turned on with knowing I was a virgin…."

Seeing Aidan start to shake, from worry and the tears that were starting to flow, Pam moved over to sit on the bed and wrapped an arm around Aidan's shoulders. "Take it easy Aidan. You're safe now," she said, hugging her goddaughter.

Aidan took a shaky breath and nodded. "Anyway, it was enough to let me get Jayson off me, but before I could escape the other guy - Zane - grabbed me. Told Kevin to get help, but he froze when Zane threatened my life then… Well, here it's a bit spotty, but I remember kicking Jayson in the groin again and then a sharp pain in my head. Next thing I know, I'm here."

Tony frowned, realizing what she said. "So, you're saying you're sure Kevin didn't beat ya up?" he said, confirming.

"Yes Villacana, I am…. why?" she said, annoyed. Seeing Tony look away, it clicked in Aidan's mind where Ralph really was. "Oh my… Tony, does Ralph know I wasn't raped?"

Pam answered instead. "He does sweetheart, but he did leave to find Kevin to get some answers."

Aidan didn't miss the tone in her voice. "Pam, if Ralph's trying to find Kevin and doesn't know the whole story…"

Tony, remembering to not touch Aidan, put his hand up to get her attention. "Maxwell's with him Ade…."

"Tony… you don't get it. When Ralph found out about the porn ring sting, it took a bit of convincing that you didn't harm me in any way," she interrupted. "And, after what Kevin said to me at the reunion last week, if Ralph thinks Kevin was the main perpetrator…"

Tony nodded. "I getcha Cub," he said as he picked up the phone to call the agency and tell Cyler that Aidan was awake and what he found out from her.

After hanging up that phone, Tony then picked up his cell and found he had a voice mail. Dialing it, he received what Bill had left. "Damn it Maxwell, and ya tell me off about not keeping my cell charged," he said. Seeing Aidan and Pam look at him in confusion, he continued. "He left a message to say they found Kevin, but it cut off after he gave the number. Don't have the street name."

"Terrific. Did either of you bring the suit," said Aidan trying to sit up. She was rewarded with a slight dizzy spell.

Seeing Aidan start to tilt slightly to the left, Pam grabbed her shoulders and eased her back to the bed. "What makes you think you're going anywhere Aidan," she scolded gently.

"Pam, I've got to help Tony stop Ralph from making a big mistake…"

Tony shook his head. "Uh un, Cub. This is one time I can handle it without the suit. We don't need ya ta do another impression of Sleeping Beauty."

Aidan, however, remained defiant, even if her body wanted to protest otherwise. "Listen, I'm not staying here. You need my help."

"You're not going to be any help if ya pass out on us."

"But…"

Pam nodded. "He's right sweetheart. You were out for about an hour, and that's been from when we found you. And, we don't know for sure how long you were unconscious at the mall. We've guessed a half an hour, but if it was longer, you could have more problems than you believe."

"I know, but I also know the suit will help me out some. It has before," she said, trying to sit up again, this time succeeding. "Plus, given that Ralph thinks Kevin hurt me based on a misunderstood answer, he'll definitely listen to me totally conscious."

Tony and Pam looked at each other. She had a point, but they also knew that the suit could cause her just as much harm. They could tell she knew the risks, as she was carefully phrasing her current well-being - as if she had the suit on.

Realizing Aidan was going to not take "no" for an answer, Tony sighed. "Cub… you have a point, but how are ya gonna get outta here?" he said just as the doctor arrived.

Tyler looked at Aidan and the others, frowning at what she was seeing. "Aidan, what are you doing? The last thing you need to do is get this active so soon after regaining consciousness," she said.

"I'm sorry doctor," said Aidan contrite. "I just have some worries…"

"Well, just relax, you're going to be fine. After answering me as well as you did, the other doctors and I agreed that you could be released as soon as tomorrow morning."

"Tomorrow? Oh no…" said Aidan, now starting to get worried.

Tony, realizing that with as many doctors around, there was no way Aidan was going to sneak out of the hospital. Even with the suit, she couldn't turn invisible, and if anyone saw her in it, she'd probably wind up spending more days in the hospital… that is if they didn't consider committing her.

After a moment, he came up with an idea, and hoped that when he called Cyler, he wouldn't get into trouble for it as it wasn't standard operating procedures. "Ma'am, as you know I'm an agent with the FBI. I just got a call from my boss, who said they have a suspect in Miss Hinkley's assault in custody. We need her to identify the creep. Can't ya let her out early?"

"I'm sorry, but Aidan needs her rest…"

"I will keep an eye on her for the rest of the night, and if she feels bad again, I'll rush her back to the hospital," he said. "The agency will take responsibility if something happens."

Tyler stood her ground. "She'll have to identify them tomorrow…"

Knowing time might be of essence, Tony tried a stronger tactic. "Doctor Tyler, we can't keep the suspects in lockup longer than a few hours at most. Tomorrow will be too long, and if we hold him much longer, this creep will claim his rights are being violated and we'll have to let him go. If he's the one who beat up Miss Hinkley and he goes free and finds her, she might not be lucky next time."

Tyler, looking at Aidan again, nodded. While she didn't like the idea of releasing Aidan early, Tyler didn't want her to become a statistic. "All right, I'll release her… but in your guard and only for an hour. She needs to really spend the night here just as a precaution from her other injuries."

Aidan glanced at Tony and, blinking, gave a very sly wink. Tony accepted it and watched as Tyler checked Aidan's vitals and, finding them strong, removed the saline IV. After the doctor left, Pam reached into her bag and pulled out a familiar black box. "Here you go Aidan," she said, handing her goddaughter the box.

"You had the suit here all the time?" said Aidan, confused.

"Yes, I got it out of your car before we followed the ambulance to the hospital. And, after Ralph left, I knew you were going to be stubborn like Ralph and go save him," said Pam with a smile. "I also brought a change of clothes, just so you could cover the suit long enough to get out of the hospital."

"Pam, I could just morph it…" said Aidan as she quickly changed into the suit.

Tony shook his head, remembering when she tried that at another - though abandoned - hospital. "Not this time Cub, not with us knowing the suit doesn't protect ya if it's morphed," he said. "Now, get a move on, 'cause time's ticking now before ya haveta return here."

"I hope it's just not too late," said Aidan, and the three quickly headed toward the parking lot. Getting into Tony's car and stripping back down to the suit, Aidan started touching items that Ralph and Bill had handled, hoping to get a holograph. As she did, she also started to pray that Ralph and Kevin weren't at each other's throats… literally.