Lou Vartann raced through the automatic doors leading into the main reception area of Desert Palm. His bare feet slapped against the cold tiled floor as he ran down the corridors, his eyes scanning every sign he passed for directions to his destination. He didn't slow his frantic pace once, even when he collided with a couple walking hand in hand, he merely rushed past them with an apology thrown carelessly over his shoulder. He had much more important things on his mind than the feelings of perfect strangers. Catherine was here and nothing was going to stop him from getting to her. He wanted nothing more than to hold her in his arms, make sure she and the baby were okay and never let her out of his sight again.

Brass had called him a little over fifteen minutes ago with the news that they had found Catherine, he hadn't said much about how she was, and just that Lou needed to get there ASAP.

And he had.

He'd definitely broken a few speed limits and moving violations to get there and his car was parked outside the building's main entrance, probably earning him a ticket or a tow. Right now, he didn't care; he'd deal with the repercussions later.

His breath coming in pants he took a left then a right as per the directions on the sign that he whizzed past. He came to a stop outside the elevators and pressed the call button for the elevator which would take him to the 3rd floor and to Catherine. He shifted his feet anxiously and jabbed the button repeatedly when the elevator didn't immediately come. "Come on!"

He was agitated, he just wanted to get to Catherine but the damn lift was taking forever. He slammed his hand against the cool metal door in a fit of anger before turning around and looking for the stairwell. Locating it over to the left he made a beeline for it just as the elevator pinged and the doors opened, he quickly changed course and dashed inside. He pressed the button for the third floor and leant against the wall opposite taking deep breaths, he needed to calm down before seeing Catherine.

He was eager to see her and check on her and Brass' unwillingness to answer his questions had his mind going crazy over the possibilities. Was she seriously hurt? Was there something wrong with the baby? Had she lost the baby?

As the questions buzzed he felt the sting of sorrow deep in his heart, something had to be seriously wrong if Jim couldn't tell him over the phone.

The elevator ride seemed to take an age but thankfully hadn't made any other stops on the way so Lou was free to worry without the prying eyes of curious strangers. When the doors finally opened on the 3rd floor Lou marched down the hall to where he could see Jim Brass talking to what looked like a nurse.

"Where is she Jim?" He called before he'd even reached him.

Jim dismissed the nurse and turned to face Lou, his face was set in an almost unreadable mask but Lou had known this man for almost all of his career in the force and knew that when Jim's face held that look he was about to deliver devastating news to some poor family member.

He briefly closed his eyes. "Just tell me Jim." He murmured and opened his eyes, looking at his long term friend. "It's the baby isn't it? She lost it."

Jim could practically hear the poor guy's heart shattering and put a supportive hand on his arm. "The baby is fine."

Lou's breath left his body in a rush as relief flooded him; he thanked all the gods out there for saving his child. Jim watched his friend and sighed softly, he didn't want to have to tell him but he knew it would be better coming from him than from a stranger.

"Lou, we need to talk before you see Catherine." He looked over to the nurses' station, eyes connecting with the nurse he had been talking with before Lou's arrival had interrupted them. She subtly nodded down the corridor in the direction Lou had come from. "Come on, let's go somewhere private."

Lou wearily looked at him and nodded before following his friends lead and walking slowly down to the family room, the room where doctors gave families bad news about their relatives, the room where lives where families were torn apart and lives were shattered.

Jim shut the door once Lou had walked in and offered him a seat, Lou declined with a shake of his head and stared at Jim. "Please Jim; just tell me what's wrong with her." Lou pleaded.

Jim lowered himself into one of the overstuffed chairs, buying himself some time to think of how he was going to tell the broken man in front of him that the woman he loved more than anything was a shell of the woman she had been before.

Lou rubbed his hand over his face. "Was she..." He paused; he didn't want to say the word that caused bile to rise in his throat and his fists to clench in anger. "Raped?" He finally whispered.

"They haven't done the rape kit yet, they've been checking on the baby since we arrived." He paused and watched the emotions run across Lou's face. "Physically, she looks fine but..."

"What?" Lou stepped closer.

"She's not speaking to anyone, she won't answer any of our questions, and she won't eat or drink. Lou, she's pulled into herself. Whatever happened to her there, it was bad."

Jim's gaze fell to his lap, only momentarily, the sound of Lou's fist hitting the wall caused him to jump up and put a hand on the distraught mans shoulder.

He put on his best calming voice. "Hey now, don't go trashing the place."

Lou turned his hand over and stared at his red knuckles, he clenched his fist a few times before speaking in a low voice. "I want to see her."

Jim knew there would be no point in trying to talk him out of it and nodded, he silently led him back the way they had come, around the nurse's desk and paused outside a room. He turned and looked at Lou before knocking and entering the room.

"Hey Cath, look who's here." He plastered a smile across his face despite the circumstances and made his voice as cheerful as he could.

Lou stepped around him and saw Catherine lay on her side in the bed, her eyes trained on the monitor beside her, a steady beeping emitting from it. His eyes followed the wires from the machine to where they disappeared under Catherine's hospital gown; he knew that machine she was so intently watching was monitoring their baby. He took a step towards the bed and gently took her hand in his.

"Hey sweetheart."

Upon hearing his voice and knowing it was his touch she was feeling Catherine quickly snatched her hand away and pulled the covers up higher, covering her from the neck down. Lou's face fell at her response to him, he had dreaded this happening and he didn't blame her for not wanting to be near him. He had failed her; he hadn't protected her when she had needed him the most.

He glanced at Jim who gave him a sympathetic smile and left the room to give them some privacy.

Lou stared at Catherine's back for a couple of minutes before attempting to talk to her again.

"I'm sorry baby, please talk to me. Let me help you." Catherine's response was to remain perfectly still, not acknowledging his presence at all. Lou nodded softly and pulled the hard plastic chair over to the side of the bed, the legs dragging loudly across the floor in the quiet room. He pulled it as close as he could and sat down, his upturned hand on the bed next to her in the hopes that she would hold it.

His eyes watched the steady blink of the machine. "I've missed you." He whispered, he didn't expect a response and he didn't get one so he carried on talking. He told her about how everyone had been working hard to find her, he told her about Lindsey and about how Greg had been keeping her occupied with silly games in the den. He chuckled slightly as he told her about Greg using the drapes they had brought for the new house to make a den. He noticed her shift slightly on the bed and rest her hand over her abdomen when he spoke of Lindsey but she still didn't speak or show any other emotion.

He spent the next half an hour telling her everything he could think of, including how much he loved her but he still got no response. He was interrupted by the nurse knocking lightly on the door and walking into the room. "Ms. Willows, it's time."

Lou frowned and looked at the nurse. Time? Time for what?

Whatever it was Catherine seemed to understand and nodded her acceptance, she pushed the blankets down her legs and kicked them off. A light went on in Lou's head and he stood up next to where Catherine's head rested as the nurse prepared the rape kit. Catherine quietly pulled the hospital gown up and bent her knees, almost as if she had become accustomed to this routine.

Lou gently ran his fingers through her hair in a soothing motion; he looked down at her face as the nurse put on her latex gloves and gently parted Catherine's legs. His heart shattered again as he saw the tears slowly marching their way down her cheeks, it was the first emotion she had shown and it hurt him to see her cry.

He leant down and whispered in her ear. "It's okay sweetheart, I'm here."

She closed her eyes and turned her face to the side, her hands bunched up in the crisp white sheets. "I wasn't raped." Her quiet voice whispered to the occupants in the room.

The nurse paused and looked up, Lou gently touched her shoulder.

"Are you sure sweetheart?" He wasn't sure whether she was just saying it to avoid the examination.

Catherine's eyes opened and she addressed the nurse as she spoke."I was taken by a woman, she didn't rape me." She paused briefly, recalling what had happened in captivity. "She examined me and...she...humiliated me but she didn't sexually assault me."

The nurse nodded and removed her gloves, she told them she would speak to an officer and send one in then left the room. Lou's hand slipped down to stroke her arm, his face falling once again as she recoiled from him again. He sighed softly and settled back in the hard plastic chair.

"I'll be right here." He whispered, the only response he received was her rolling onto her side again so her back was to him.

It was going to be a long night.