Chapter IX: Fear and Panic

A/N: This was a fast turnaround! It was easy to write. Thanks IzzieStar, she knows what she did. Also, please don't go ballistic on me, everything has a reason. Enjoy the chapter! Sparky She-Demon.

One of the first things John did when he got back to Nellis and was in the privacy of his office was to print off the transfer request. Despite Elizabeth's protestations, he was going to at least try for the transfer to Luke AFB. There was no guarantee that it would be allowed. Especially, when he got to putting down the reason why he was requesting the transfer in the first place as he had no idea what to put down.

"Obviously I can't put down the real reason. So I have to come up with a BS reason that sounds plausible enough."

When he first got to that question, he still had most of the form to fill out so he skipped it. When he was all finished, save for that question. He had to put something there; otherwise it would be rejected right off the bat. So he put down:

It would open up new opportunities for me.

Once John finished writing it, he realized that he really wasn't lying on the form. Going to Luke AFB would open up opportunities, they just weren't military related.

"Opportunities will open up, but they will be opportunities for me to be a real father to my kids."

Elizabeth awoke to the sound of her fading alarm clock and the realization that she was in very much back into the normality of life. With a sigh she tapped the top of the alarm clock and, alone in the deafening silence; she slipped her feet into her slippers. She padded her way down the hallway and paused at the twins' door and listened. Silence! Bringing her hand up to knock, she smiled wistfully, knowing just how exhausted they were after their vacation, and ultimately let her hand fall into the pocket of her robe. They could sleep for now. It would prolong the time until the moment when they woke up and remembered that they were home and their father was gone.

As she came into the kitchen, seeking a mug of black coffee, Elizabeth's eyes fell on the "Daddy phone". To her surprise, he'd called the moment he touched down to check that the kids were okay and to simply say goodnight. They'd barely uttered a word to each other, but Elizabeth had found herself slightly tearful as it really hit her for the first time that he'd gone. Still, dwelling on it wasn't going to do any good for either her or the children, and she tucked the phone away in her purse, out of sight.

Elizabeth sat down with her coffee and flipped through the bills which she had missed, in her absence. There was nothing from the IOA, and there hadn't been any messages on the answering machine; she'd managed to get away with it.

With her bills organized and her mug empty, Elizabeth crept back upstairs and tapped on the children's door this time. Letting them sleep longer meant it would be more difficult to get them to sleep at their usual bedtime, and Elizabeth wasn't prepared to chase two six year olds around the house at eight o'clock. It was hard enough getting them to bed as it was some nights.

Hearing no answer, Elizabeth tapped on the door again calling their names, but was met, once again, with no sound. She rolled her eyes, and opened the door to the room shrouded in darkness. She flicked the switch to the light and her eyes fell on Olivia's bed. Her eyes immediately shifted to John Junior's bed and Elizabeth felt a clawing panic as she saw that it was equally empty.

Remembering their 'prank', a sense of creeping exasperation hit Elizabeth as she realised that the children had probably woken whilst she was downstairs and were hiding in an effort to prolong their holiday. Elizabeth grabbed the handle of their closet, and rifled through their clothes, feeling for the presence of a mischievous six-year old. When this proved fruitless, Elizabeth pulled the covers from their beds to look underneath them, revealing nothing but stray toys.

As she stood in their bedroom, looking out into the hallway, the silence once again hit her. Had her children been hiding, she knew that they wouldn't have been able to suppress their giggles for this long, but it wouldn't do to think like that, after all, where else would they be?

Continuing through the house, at a speed just sort of running, Elizabeth clutched at fabrics and doors with a sickening combination of both anticipation and fear. As she found herself back in the kitchen, Elizabeth let out a strangled call of their names and she reached for the surface to steady herself as her legs weakened beneath her.

"Please tell Mommy where you are." Elizabeth let out in a desperate whisper, "Please. Please. Please."

Elizabeth waited, but there was nothing as there had been all morning. She pushed herself off the side of the counter and ran back to their bedroom, all the while calling their names in a tone that gave away both the fear and desperation she felt. When she reached the room, the realization that they were gone hit her, and she collapsed in the middle of the room, tears running down her face. For the first time in her adult life, Elizabeth didn't fear what tears said about her; she feared what had caused the tears. Looking to her son's bed, she grabbed his comforter and enveloped it in her arms breathing in the scent of him.

Her moment of solitude was interrupted by a rap at the door. Looking in the direction of the sound Elizabeth immediately pulled herself and stumbled towards the door, grabbing at it with a force she didn't even realise she had; anything to fulfill the hope that her children were on the other side of that door.

The reality was devastating as she came face to face with the man in the suit who had driven her to this house all those years ago.

"You've taken them, haven't you?" Elizabeth cried.

A/N 2: dives behind a bullet-proof barrier…