Chapter Ten – Nightmare

Christina stared out the window as Lou sped in the direction of her home. Not seeing the familiar scenery, she replayed Ricky's frantic words in her mind.

"I can't find her anywhere. The front door's open."

How many times had she told the girls not to go outside alone? Who had left the door unlocked, enabling Sophie to leave? Had someone shown up and snatched her?

Her heart ached and she willed Lou to drive faster. But she was slowing down. Blinking, Christina realized the car was pulling up in front of the house. She had the door open before the car was stopped and rushed to the door. All the lights were on, and she saw that the Jones' house was lit up as well.

The front door opened as her foot touched the first step. Ricky's mother, face pale, came out to greet her with a hug.

A flurry of questions tumbled from Christina as she held onto the older woman. She heard Scarlett's voice and broke away to clutch her daughter. Her heart ached at the thought that she may never be able to do the same with Sophie. Something soft bumped against her neck when she picked her oldest up. Sophie's favorite stuffed bear.

"What's happened?" she asked Mrs. Jones.

"Ed and Ricky are checking the block. I've been calling neighbors but..." Mrs. Jones guided her inside, greeting Lou with a nod as they entered the house. "I don't know all the details."

"I was helping Ricky unload the dishwasher." Scarlett's voice was tiny but steady as she wrapped her arms around Christina. "Sophie was playing in the living room. It got quiet so Ricky went to check on her and she was gone. I should have been with her, Mama. I'm so—"

"Shh. You didn't do anything wrong," Christina promised, tightening her grip on the girl. She looked to Ricky's mother. "You've checked the house, right? She's not hiding upstairs in a closet?" She clung to that little bit of hope, but it started to slip when Mrs. Jones shook her head. Another hope sprung. "Maybe she went next door to the—"

She cut off when she heard feet on the walk outside. Fingers tangling in Scarlett's loose waves, she turned to see Ricky and his father coming up. The looks on their faces answered her question before she could vocalize it. They hadn't found her. Her baby. Out there. In the dark. Cold. Hungry. Was she crying for her? Was she able to cry? Knees threatening to buckle, she sank onto the bench beneath the mirror, pressing reassuring kisses to Scarlett's cheek.

"Go with Lou into the kitchen," she whispered. "She'll give you dinner."

"Sophie's okay, right Mama?" the girl asked.

"I'm sure she is. We'll find her, don't worry." She kissed her cheek again and looked to Lou. "Do you mind?"

"Of course not. Come on, Scarlett." Lou took the girl's hand and led her into the kitchen. Christina saw the large bag of takeout in the woman's hand and couldn't remember getting it. Had they paid? All she could remember was laughing at something Lou had said while speaking to Stephen. And then Ricky's call.

"No one's seen her." The young man was hugging himself. His eyes were red and there were fresh tears on his cheeks. "I'm so sorry, Mrs. Fitzgerald. I didn't realize the door was unlocked. I should have—"

"How long has she been gone?" Christina tried to keep her voice calm. She knew if she began to crack she would become useless in searching for her daughter. She closed her eyes briefly and took a deep breath. "You called me twenty minutes ago."

"It was at least twenty minutes before that. I checked the house and the yard. Called Mom and Dad. It could have been almost an hour."

Her heart shattered at the thought of her baby outside, alone, for that long. The sun had been setting when she and Lou had left the house. Sophie had to be cold. Wherever she was.

"I'll call," Mrs. Jones offered gently.

"No." Christina was on her feet, rushing into the living room for the cordless phone. "I'll do it."

In the kitchen, Lou meticulously placed the containers of Chinese food on the table. Painfully aware of the voices coming from the foyer, she cleared her throat and looked to Scarlett. "What do you want to drink?"

"May I have a soda? Please?"

Lou nodded. She had no idea if Christina allowed the girls to have sodas or if they were a rare treat. But now wasn't the time for that sort of worrying. She crossed to the refrigerator and looked inside, chewing on her thumbnail as she took in the contents. Juice boxes, a pitcher of filtered water, a jug of milk, and two bottles of wine. In one of the drawers she located a can of Sprite and popped it open to pour into one of the brightly colored plastic cups on the counter.

She recognized the other. Bright pink and emblazoned with Disney princesses, it was Sophie's favorite.

"Lou? Your phone."

Broken from her thoughts of the little girl, she turned and rushed back to the table. "Here you go." Her phone continued to ring from within her purse but she ignored it, wanting to focus on Scarlett. "Pick out what you want and I'll serve you."

The ringing stopped and she heard a sob from the living room. She admired Christina's strength; she doubted she would have been able to move if her child went missing. Her phone beeped with a message but she continued to ignore it, focusing on serving Scarlett from the containers.

"I'm not really hungry."

"I know." Lou scraped most of the rice back into the container. "But you need to eat. That sounds like something my mother would say."

"Mama says that, too." A glimmer of a smile and Scarlett reached for a packet of soy sauce.

"Mothers are good at that sort of thing. They don't know how to act if a child doesn't want to eat. Egg roll?"

Scarlett nodded, and once Lou was satisfied she had enough on her plate she handed her a paper napkin. "You'll make a good mama, Miss Lou."

Lou blinked rapidly, a thousand ways to brush off the comment springing to her mind. Instead, she leaned over and embraced the girl. "Thank you for that," she whispered. "Now eat."

Her phone began to ring again and she finally dug it out, moving to the doorway so she could peek through to the living room. Connecting the call, she murmured for the caller to hold on a second before lightly touching Ricky's arm.

"She's calling the police." Ricky dragged a hand over his face and zipped up his hooded sweatshirt. "I'm going to check the next block."

With a shaky breath Lou turned to keep an eye on Scarlett. Phone tucked to her ear she heard Stu muttering. "Sophie's gone," she whispered. Her hands were trembling and she hugged herself, clutching her opposite elbows. "They can't find her anywhere. Christina just called the police."

"Fuck." A loud bang sounded from Stu's end of the call and Lou pictured him slamming his fist against a locker.

"She needs Ste." Lou continued to speak softly, glancing from Scarlett to the living room. She could just see Christina, hunched over as she spoke into the phone. "Stu. She needs him."

"He's already talking to Paul. Don't tell her, though. He might not be able to come out immediately."

"Okay." Lou bit her lip as something outside caught Scarlett's attention. Craning her neck, she saw the flash of police lights outside. "I'll probably stay here tonight. In case she needs a shoulder. Or something."

"Good idea. She needs you."

"No, she needs—"

"I know, love." He paused. "He's going into the locker room. Nothing's being thrown so he's probably coming down."

"Good. I better go." She needed to be with Christina. And Scarlett, who was rushing by to join her mother in the living room.

"Stay strong. I'll come home as soon as I'm finished tomorrow night."

She wished he could go with Stephen to keep him calm on the way home. But she nodded, even though he couldn't see her. "Okay. I love you. I'll call when I know something."

The highway stretched ahead of the car, dotted randomly with red taillights in the distance. A long expanse that seemed to go on forever. Beyond the beam of the headlights the countryside was pitch black.

Stephen stared out the window at absolutely nothing. The cars they passed were but a blur, the lights at the exits brief flashes before his eyes. He could feel the car vibrating slightly, could hear the engine, the faint hesitation as it slipped into a lower or higher gear.

Turning to glance at the driver, he instead settled his gaze on the speedometer. Stu was driving as fast as he could without getting stopped. But to Stephen it seemed they were crawling along at a snail's pace. He stretched his legs out as best he could, cursing the uncomfortable seat under his breath. As he adjusted the seat belt he felt his phone begin to vibrate in his lap and looked down at the screen.

"Armstrong?" Stu guessed when Stephen ignored the call.

"Yeah." He had at least two dozen messages from coworkers, all asking why he had left so early. He was surprised that Paul had told Stu to drive with him. But his friend and mentor had been looking at the photo of his daughters on the screen of his phone and insisted they leave as soon as possible. The wait for a flight had been too long and it had been decided – by Stu and Paul – that it was best to just get a rental and hit the road.

"Have you tried calling her again?"

Stephen shook his head. "Ah told her ah'd call when we got closer. The police were there..." He blew out a breath. "They're searching the neighborhood."

"Are they going to do the Amber Alert?'

"That's only done if a child's been abducted. Right now there's no proof." He was grateful of that. Wasn't he?

It seemed hours before Stu murmured that he had stop for gas. Stephen nodded and looked at his phone again. No more missed calls. More messages than he wanted to deal with at the moment. He climbed out of the car when Stu parked at the pump, scrolling through the message list. One from Lou requesting that he or Stu call her when they close to Tampa.

"Ah'm goin' in to get a drink," he told Stu, who nodded.

He crossed the lot to the well-lit store, his lower back complaining with each step at being cramped in the car for so long. As he neared the door he reached out to pull it open, only to step to one side when it was pushed from the inside. He and the man sidestepped each other and Stephen's heart did a funny twist in his chest when a childish giggle sounded. Finally looking to the man, he saw a small girl balanced on one hip. For a second his heart stopped completely.

It wasn't Sophie. She was too small, too dark, and Stephen felt his heart break as he held the door open for them to go on their way. Questions began to run through his mind. Questions he'd held back since Christina's frantic words.

How could she just disappear? Had she just walked outside? If so, why? Had no one noticed her walking down the street? Had someone grabbed her? Was she someplace comfortable? Was she scared? Hungry? Cold? Crying? Had she done something to get into trouble and slipped out to avoid confrontation? If so, where would she hide? Where the hell could a three year old go in a neighborhood full of families and not be seen?

He grabbed several energy drinks from the cooler, not caring whether they were ones he liked or not. Thinking of Stu, he grabbed a few more and carried them to the front. As he waited for the clerk to ring them up he added some candy bars, eyes on the garish Halloween decorations that surrounded the counter. Without thinking, he tossed two stuffed, neon green spiders in with the rest and reached for his wallet.

Back in the car, he sipped from the first can he opened as Stu muttered complaints about the price of gas. They were on the road within moments, the interior of the car silent.

Horrible thoughts began to creep in with each mile marker they passed. Had Sophie been lured away from her safe home? By some perverted psycho? She loved animals and despite Christina's diligent instruction she could probably be coaxed away with promises of a cute puppy or a fluffy kitten. Was she tied up in the back of a dirty van? Was she being raped? Beaten? Was she even alive anymore?

With that question echoing in his mind he put his head in his hands and shuddered.

"You can't think the worst." Stu's voice was gentle and attempting comfort. "I know what you're thinking. Sophie's too smart to fall for that. She's probably tucked herself somewhere no one's thought to look and fallen asleep."

"Christina said they've turned the house upside down looking for her. She's not there," Stephen ground out.

"Do you really want to spend the next few hours coming up with all the terrible things that could have happened to her?"

"No," he wheezed, yanking a hand through his hair as he sat back up. "Ah love her, Stu."

"I know." There was no mocking in his closest friend's voice. "It would be impossible not to."

"She's become a light in my life, yeh know? Scarlett, too. An' Christina." His eyes began to burn. "She's gone through so much already. She lost her husband when Sophie was just a wee baby. She's had to fend for herself wit' only her daughters." Tears were threatening but he ignored them. "She'd die of something happened to either of 'em."

"No, she won't," Stu insisted. "And nothing's happened. She's fine. You'll see."

"What if she's not?"

No answer was forthcoming. None was needed.

Her throat was raw from calling out her daughter's name. In her mind she could still hear the echo of her cries and those of the neighbors that had joined in the search. Her legs ached from pounding the pavement looking for even the smallest hint of Sophie. Her head throbbed, and her eyes burned with unshed tears.

The house was blessedly silent now. The police had come immediately after her call, taking Sophie's description and Ricky's statement. She hadn't recognized her voice as she rattled off her daughter's height, weight, eye color, hair color, and what she'd been wearing. When they'd requested a recent photo of the girl she'd pulled one up on her phone and sent it to the stoic but sympathetic detective's email address.

She could recall the bright lights and strangers in her house and yard, each one searching every nook and cranny just in case before fanning out over the neighborhood. Ricky's story had been repeated so much that she could recite it from memory. Scarlett had stayed by her side.

There had been a few rays of hope. One elderly lady had sworn she'd seen a van in front of Christina's house around the time the girl went missing. But after questioning other neighbors the detective had come back, still stoic, to tell her that the van had been there days before, and in front of the Jones house.

Those rays had died and she was certain a small part of her heart had died as well.

The cup of tea someone had fixed her was cold in front of her. Her house had emptied out in the wee hours of the morning, the detective suggesting she get some rest. Even now she scoffed out of the idea. As though she could even think of rest. She was just biding her time until Lou awoke, then she would start searching again. She could find no solace in these quiet moments as the first hint of sunlight began creeping through the window.

Ignoring the protest of her muscles she rose to her feet and moved quietly upstairs. She tiptoed down the hall, taking a deep breath to steel herself as she passed Sophie's room. When she reached the the next bedroom she peeked in and breathed a little easier upon seeing Scarlett fast asleep in the middle of her bed. The blanket had been kicked off at some point and she moved forward to pull it back into place, swallowing back the tears when she saw the teddy bear the girl held. Sophie's beloved, ragged bear. Leaving the room as quietly as she had entered, she pulled the door to and went back downstairs.

As she reached the bottom she heard a car outside. Her heart leaped in her chest and she bolted forward to see who it was. The police. They'd found her. As soon as she opened the door she would be able to hold Sophie in her arms. And she would never let her go again.

She frowned upon peering out the window and seeing a strange car parked at the curb. She looked on, gasping when the passenger door opened and Stephen climbed out. She'd only spoken to him only once since getting Ricky's initial call. It had been hectic and she could barely remember what she'd said to him. But knowing that he drove all night to be with her was overwhelming. He'd come. He'd left work without knowing all of the details. For Sophie.

The first tears slipped free as she fumbled to remove the chain and unfasten the locks. A strangled sob lodged in her throat as the deadbolt jammed but she finally freed it, wrenching the door open just as he stepped onto the porch.

Within seconds she was in his arms. She buried her face in his chest, sobbing hysterically as his strength and warmth surrounded her. Grabbing fistfuls of his sweatshirt she felt him guide her back into the house. He didn't speak, didn't try to calm her, and she briefly thought him the most wonderful person on earth. His arms tightened around her as his lips rested against the top of her head. Christina continued to cry, frustration coming out as she beat her fist on his chest.

When the tears stopped he continued to hold her. He whispered her name, one hand moving up to cup the back of her head.

"Have yeh slept?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper. She shook her head. "Yeh need some rest."

"I can't—"

"Shh." His fingers gently massaged her scalp. "Yeh can't help Sophie if yeh let yehself get exhausted. Come on, upstairs."

Meekly, she nodded, letting him guide her upstairs. She pulled away to go and close the door, only to rear back at the sight of Stu. Stephen's hand rested on her arm. She wondered if he thought she would fall over if he let her go.

"I'll lock up," the Englishman promised gently.

Christina nodded again and found her voice. "Lou's asleep on the couch." She followed the guiding of Stephen's hand back to the stairs but turned back and met Stu's gaze. "Thank you for getting him here."

Stu gave her a nod, and she let Stephen lead her upstairs. Feeling like a stranger in her own home, she stood in the center of her bedroom as he rifled through the basket of laundry on the floor. A pair of pajama pants and white tank top were placed in her hands. Staring down at them, she clenched her fingers tightly to keep them from shaking.

"Get changed," Stephen murmured, pressing a kiss to her forehead. Before she could answer he moved into the bathroom. The gentle click of the door closing behind hm caused her to jump.

She did as instructed, sniffling as she went to sit on the edge of the bed. How many times had she fussed at Sophie not to jump on the bed? What she wouldn't give to have her there now, jumping hard enough to shake the entire house.

Stephen returned, looking as exhausted as she suddenly felt. He knelt in front of her, one hand brushing the hair from her face. Silent, he used a warm, damp cloth to clean the tears from her face. Numb now she could only stare into his eyes, looking for at least one answer to the countless questions in her mind. When her face was clear he rose, tossing the cloth into the bathroom.

"In yeh go."

Christina blinked up at him, having no clue what he meant. She must have not moved fast enough for him because he leaned over, pulling down the covers. A gasp pulled from her lungs at the feel of his hands on her hips, lifting her up and gently placing her in the center of the bed. He tucked her in almost reverently and she sighed when he pulled away.

"Stay," she whispered, reaching for him.

He nodded, pulling his arm free of her grasp. She watched him cross the room to close the door, hiding a yawn against her shoulder as he removed his shoes and sweatshirt. His gray t-shirt fell to the floor with the other clothing and she slid over on the bed to make room for him. It felt so right to curl close to his side when he joined her, so natural to drape her arm across his waist and rest her head on his chest. Gentle fingers combed through her hair and this time she didn't bother hiding her yawn.

The worry was still there. The fear, the dread, the terrible ache in her chest were all still there. But there was comfort in his embrace. There was reassurance in the steady pound of his heartbeat. Tears started up again and the prayer for Sophie's safety that had become her mantra overnight repeated itself. Above the cacophony in her mind she heard his voice. Gentle, soothing words that she didn't understand. She let them lull her, though, and her last conscious thought before slipping into comfort was that maybe things would be alright.

A/N: A special thank you to Malabrigo, katiefabe, whtevritis2, WitchKel14, ThatGirl54, Keeper of Oz, canadice, foldintothenight, Jojo, Amber, Lou, Nikki, MistyKnight, LilOrchidJenny, Shamaness1171, prettybaby69, and wibragirl for the reviews. Hopefully you all no longer hate me. I adore you all!