Elizabeth sat on a set of stairs that led to the second floor of the motel bent over, her forearms resting on her knees, head hung staring at the pavement. It had been hours since Lori had been taken into custody, and yet she still found herself in that parking lot. Unable to move, or do anything for that matter as she had been formally distanced from actively participating in any investigation into Carter's kidnapping.
Agent Sands had been none too pleased with her actions, but it had been her own commander that had pulled her off the case. And he was none too forgiving to Kyle as well. Something about bringing the entire department under scrutiny, but she couldn't remember exactly what had been said. By that time, she had practically tuned out, realizing she could no longer help her own daughter. That she had ruined her best shot at getting Carter back.
And so she continued to sit. A few tears occasionally escaping from the corner of her eyes. Her mind exhausted from trying to think of all the potential places Lori could have taken Carter, yet frustrated she couldn't follow up with any of the ideas.
Slowly she felt herself begin to slip into a dark place, full of blame and guilt. Different than what she had experienced 13 years ago. This time she had put Carter back within the grasps of that woman, allowing her to come along for Lori's capture, and now she had failed at protecting her. The one thing she promised she would always do.
Never had she let her mind wander to the possibility of not getting Carter back this time, but she found herself in that place. The strength that she had managed to cling on to the past week, the previous 13 years, crumbled around her. Suddenly unsure of where to turn, who to trust, how she was going to continue.
The tears started to flow harder until she was startled from her thoughts by a loud shout.
"Lizzy!"
"David?" she said softly as she stood from the step and quickly wiped the tears from her cheek. She was visibly confused and watched as he raced towards her, unconsciously stiffening as he neared her. She could see the fear etched across his face and felt torn between the want to comfort him, comfort herself, and the awkwardness…tension that still rested between them after she had learned about his past with Lori.
David picked up Elizabeth's hesitancy and stopped a foot in front of her, arms at his side. He could see her eyes were red, and all he wanted was to bring her close to him, but he refrained knowing he no longer had her trust, that she had to be the one that directed how they proceeded with each other.
"David, what are you doing here?" she asked, still confused by his presence. She had called him shortly after they arrested Lori to tell him the devastating news that Carter still hadn't been found, but she hadn't asked that he drive all the way to the motel, nor had he given any indication that was his plan.
"I…I wanted to be here for you…" he stumbled through the sentence. He had tried to prepare what he wanted to say to her during the drive, but now everything he had wanted to explain seemed inadequate.
"If you're here because you hope it will help me forgive you, I can't…" Elizabeth started.
"I'm not here for that. I don't think I'll ever be able to forgive myself, and I don't expect you to either. I'm here to ask to help in finding our daughter. I may not have a gun or badge, but I'm here for you. I want to do the rest of this together…" he began to trail off.
Elizabeth looked down and started shaking her head in a slow, deliberate manner. David found himself crestfallen, thinking she wasn't even going to give him a chance until he heard her whisper.
"I've been removed from the case. There isn't anything I can do anymore to get information or leads or…"
"What?" David interrupted. "They can't do that. You're the one that has gotten us this far, this close. Don't they understand you are our best shot? They just can't…"
"Yes they can!" Elizabeth said sharply, this time being the one that interrupted. The two locked eyes and David could see that she wasn't lashing out at him, but rather the situation. Elizabeth let her eyes fall and head hang slightly, trying to prevent him from seeing the tears that had started to slide down her cheek.
"You can't give up," he said softly, having seen the tears she was trying to hide and hoping to get her to look back at him again.
Elizabeth shook her head, but her gaze remained downward. "They're not. A team is still investigating…" she trailed off.
David started to reach out his hand, hesitating for a moment, unsure if she would be receptive to his touch, but deciding to take the chance anyway. Gently he placed his hand under Elizabeth's chin and lifted her head so they once again held each other's gaze.
"That's not what I meant," he started. "I mean you can't give up. You are the reason Lori is behind bars. You are the reason we are so close to getting our daughter back. You are the one Carter wants to find her. You can't give up."
Elizabeth stood there stunned. He was right. She had let herself get wrapped up in all that was going around her, in all the things that were out of her control. Carter wouldn't care if she went behind her supervisor's back to bring her home. Taylor and Grant wouldn't mind if a few rules were bent in order to see their sister again. And she and David certainly didn't care if they got in trouble for doing their own investigation so long as they had their daughter back. She needed to get Carter back.
A small smile spread on her face and David wiped a few of the tears off of her cheek. And much to his surprise Elizabeth wrapped her arms around him, pulling him close, to which he gratefully returned the gesture. The two stood there, thankful to have the other to lean upon, Elizabeth's head resting against his chest and David's chin set upon the crown of her head.
Elizabeth was the first to break the silence. "How are we going to keep searching if I don't have access to anything?"
They broke the embrace and took a step back from each other.
"I don't know," David responded, his voice heavy, reflecting the weight of the situation they were facing. "Are you sure they won't let you back to investigate? Even in an advising position?"
Elizabeth recalled the lecture she had received earlier from her boss and knew without a doubt it wasn't a possibility. There was no way her department or the FBI would let her anywhere near the case.
"No," she said, almost guiltily. "They won't allow me back in any role. They made that very clear."
"Okay, well what about everything that you've investigated up to this point. Maybe there is something we missed," David suggested.
"Everything is back at the house. And I don't think any of it would help us," she started to explain, earning a questioned look from her husband so she continued. "All the evidence we have back at home is from when Lori was organized and had a plan. The last day she's been sporadic, seemingly acting in the heat of the moment because we were on to her. I don't know how much we will actually be able to find without talking with her."
"Which you can't do," David said softly, mostly to himself but Elizabeth still heard and gave a small nod.
They both fell silent, their minds going off in a million directions trying to come up with some way to produce something useful in finding Carter. And then an idea hit David.
"What if I talk with Lori," he suggested, the words almost coming out as a whisper. He himself unsure if was a good idea or not.
"What?" Elizabeth replied, almost unsure she had heard him right.
"If you can't do anything then maybe I can. Let me be the one that talks with her. I can get information from her I know it."
"I've spoken with Kyle, she won't speak with anyone," Elizabeth told him.
David nodded but continued on. "Well maybe she'll talk with me. We have history. We both want what's best for Carter. I have to give it a shot."
"David…" Elizabeth trailed off trying to find the right words. She could tell the suggestion wasn't an easy one for him to make. That he was trying his best to tread carefully around the topic of his past. And she could also see that he appeared unsettled at the thought of talking to the woman, as if it would bring up old scars he preferred to leave untouched, yet was willing to do it for her. For Carter. "…David you don't have to; we can figure something else out."
He shook his head adamantly. "You said it yourself, speaking directly to Lori is our best shot at getting Carter back. And this is my fault. Everything that has happened has been because of my terrible decisions and I am going to spend the rest of my life making up for the unforgivable mistake I made. To you, Carter, Taylor, and Grant. To you all. Starting now. By doing this to bring our daughter home."
"Alright, I'll call Kyle and hopefully he can work something out."
Elizabeth turned and took a few steps in the opposite direction, reaching for her phone to give Kyle a call and hope he persuade her boss and the FBI to allow for a meeting. She stopped after a few feet and turned back to David, the last few days, this last conversation, all replaying in her head.
"David," she said, getting his attention.
"Yeah."
"I hope you know I still love you."
He shot her a small grin. It wasn't something he had expected to hear, especially this soon after everything and in their current situation, but he was certainly glad to.
"I love you too."
And with that he watched her walk off to make a call to Kyle, one he prayed would go in their favor. He never thought it would ever enter his mind, but he found himself hoping he would have the chance to Lori. After all these years, to have a real conversation with the woman who had loved him and also destroyed his world.
David glanced around the small, bare room. Only a few metal chairs and a table making up its contents. His watch beeped, letting him know it was the top of the hour and he let out a sigh to release his frustration. It had been 26 hours since his wife had finally caught Lori. And as relieving as that thought had been at the time, it had been over a day and they still weren't any closer to finding Carter.
That was what was so unbearable. The idea that they were so close to finally ending this 13-year nightmare, and yet they weren't certain about anything when it came to information on their own daughter. They didn't know of her location, whether Lori had been working with anyone else, and the most frightening, they weren't sure of Carter's well being. Whether she was conscious, in pain, completely fine, or… David had tried to stop the thought by couldn't. Or if Carter was still alive.
It was a thought he had managed to keep at bay, certain Lori wouldn't … couldn't do any serious harm to Carter, but as time crept on, that possibility became more dominant in his mind. Mainly because he wasn't sure of the conditions Lori had put her in.
He was startled from his thoughts by a loud rap from someone on the other side of the one-way mirror. It was the signal to let him know that Lori was on her way in and he sat up a little straighter. David found his breath caught in his throat as the door opened and a guard escorted Lori in. The first thing he noticed was how tired she looked, what 13 years of being on the run had done to the woman he had once known so well.
They sat there in silence for what seemed like a lengthy amount of time. Neither one of them seeming to know where to begin the conversation. It was Lori that finally broke the rising tension in the room.
"When they said I had a visitor with the last name Wilson, I was expecting to be interrogated by your wife. But seeing you here instead really threw me off. Is this some type of way to get me to open up, using someone I used to have a relationship with to get information," she stopped talking to David and turned her attention to the mirror, speaking those behind it. "Well, Elizabeth, I applaud the effort but you're still wasting everyone's time because I will never tell you, or David, or anyone else anything. Nothing."
"She's not behind the glass," David said sternly, the frustration he had tried to release earlier coming back. "Elizabeth was removed from the case. That's why I'm here. Not because of some tactic or a way to manipulate you, but because our daughter is missing. And even if my wife can't be in here, I can. All I'm trying to do is get my daughter back home where she belongs. I'm here for Carter."
He watched as the woman's eyes seemed to soften slightly and he could tell that he had already started to break through some of the walls that she had put up before walking in.
"Lori, where is she?" his tone softer, more gentle than before.
He was met with more silence, but could tell that Lori had something on her mind she wanted to say. The wheels in her head turning as she thought about the answer to his question. So he gave her some time, not wanting to push too hard, but as the silence continued to linger, David tried again.
"Lori?"
"Do you ever think about us? About what we had?" Lori asked, ignoring the question he had asked.
David let his eyes fall from her face to the table, trying to hide the internal conflict he was sure she could read. He wasn't sure how much he wanted to share, how much he should play into the game she was clearly starting. But after a moment he realized indulging her was the only way he was going to get information about Carter. Slowly he looked back up, staring directly into her gaze and gave a slight nod.
"I've thought about us, about what we shared, every so often. Probably more than I'd actually like to admit," he replied, or confessed, he wasn't really certain.
Lori tilted her head to the side ever so slightly, a smile curled at the edge of her mouth. It was a look David had seen many times before and he understood she wanted him to continue.
"I think about our chemistry. How effortless it seemed making things work between us. It wasn't until after we…" he paused, not sure if he wanted to use the phrase "broke up" in case it would upset her and cause her to close up. "…until after you that I realized relationships are not normally that easy.
"I think about our conversations. The silly ones that meant nothing but had us doubled over laughing. And the serious ones at 2 am that had us planning out our entire lives together," he stopped before sharing something he had never told anyone. "You don't know this, nobody does, but those talks, all of them, are what made me realize I wanted to become a writer. Almost always I scribbled down what we talked about, where we were, what you were wearing, and I found that I loved it."
"That's why you switched your major," Lori said, the sentence falling somewhere in between a statement and question.
David only nodded in reply and the two fell silent. This wasn't where he had planned on the conversation going, but he found himself almost relieved having been able to get it off his chest. But that sense of ease was short lived as his thoughts turned back to the point of their meeting, Carter.
"Lori…" David started.
"Do you know what I think about?" Lori cut him off.
David only shook his head, knowing it wasn't really a question he needed to answer, she was going to tell him anyway, but offering the gesture never the less.
"I think back to the memories of all our firsts. That old shipping warehouse where we first met, both of us just starting at that summer job. Our first kiss after that concert in the park. The time I told you you were going to be a first time father, the joy and fear in your eyes. The first, the only, name we chose. Do you remember?" Lori asked, stopping to wait for an answer.
David nodded and replied, barely above a whisper. "Carter."
"Carter," Lori reaffirmed, a small smile jumping back to her face, lingering only a moment before becoming solemn once again. "Do you know why I brought all of this up? Because for all the good, a single decision can erase it all. I also remember the first time you broke my heart, at that small roadside diner practically in the middle of nowhere. Where you told me you were choosing Elizabeth over me, causing me some of the worst pain I've ever experienced.
"Well, I began to realize I was facing the same with Carter. 13 years of a great life, full of first times and treasured memories, and yet she still decided to choose you and Elizabeth over me. I can't face that heartbreak again. It's your turn."
David now saw the full nature of Lori's plan. When she had taken Carter for the first time it had been to get back at Elizabeth for what she felt was stealing someone from her life, and wanting to do the same in return. But now, stashing Carter away, leaving them helpless and distraught, was to get back at him. All to make him now feel the way she had when he told her goodbye for the last time.
David could tell she was already beginning to withdraw, close up, and he knew that if he didn't get information from her know about Carter's location, he never would.
"Lori, she's my daughter. Your daughter… our daughter," he started. "I know you don't want anything to happen to her. You would never intentionally hurt her like this. This isn't the type of person you are. I know that more than anyone else. Please, I'm begging you…"
"Begging me?" she cut him off. There was a new sharpness to her voice. "Do you think that actually works? Because if I recall correctly, when I was begging you to leave Elizabeth, to choose me like we had planned, that did nothing to change your mind. Why would it do anything to change mine?"
David didn't answer. Instead he stared directly into Lori's eyes. Looking so deeply he was sure they would offer him some answers, but instead all he saw was anger, betrayal, and grief behind a thin sheen of tears.
He felt frozen as he watched Lori push away from the table, signaling she was done with the conversation, a guard taking her by the arm to direct her towards the door. All he felt was agony seeing his best chance at getting his daughter back, turn her back on him.
"Lori… Lor…" he stopped and decided to try one more desperate attempt. "Hannah."
The woman froze midway through the doorway. It was a name she hadn't heard anyone use towards her in 13 years. The last person being the same one that had just uttered it. She had gone by many names, even before going on the run just to have fun, but she had told David her real name the moment they first met. At the time she had had a feeling he would be important in her life and really needed to know her. And hearing it said again from him, all these years later even with the history written between them, she couldn't push aside the feelings she had always held for him.
Slowly she turned, recognizing his fear as their eyes met, and gave him one last thought.
"When you go back to your wife, David, remember this. Every word. Every memory the two of us just shared in this room. And be thankful the pain you feel now didn't last as long as what I experienced by your hands. I love Carter and I always will. Goodbye David."
Slightly stunned, and more than a bit confused, David watched as Lori disappeared through the door. He leaned back in the metal chair, her last statement running through his head, and though he tried to make sense of it he honestly had no idea what she meant. It had carried a tone that was sincere, no evident malice, but he still wasn't sure how any of their conversation helped him in rescuing his daughter from wherever Lori had taken her.
He could only assume that somehow it did and that either he and his wife, or the detectives that had listened from behind the glass, would figure out how.
Carter struggled to open her eyes as she finally came to. They were heavy, and as much as she willed them to open, they wouldn't move. The rest of her attempts to fully pull free from the drug's grasp weren't any more successful. Her tongue felt thick in her mouth, and in addition to the duct tape that was plastered over her lips, she recognized that letting out a shout for someone to hear was nearly impossible.
Her head pounded with an intensity she had never felt before, even her worst hangovers hadn't been as bad. And she could only hope that the pain would start to dull. Her fingers had fallen asleep as well, her hands zip-tied behind her, a metal pole between her back and wrists. She gave a quick tug, but could feel that they was no way she was going to break free from the restraints.
Finally, she felt her eyes begin to peel open, and after adjusting to the dim lighting, she could see that she was in an old, run down restaurant. It was grimy and clearly abandoned. Dirt and leaves had swept in through numerous cracks, and large wooden boards covered most of the windows. Carter could now tell that she was tied to a bolted down bar stool, right near the middle of the room, out of reach of anything she could use to get free.
Looking around, seeing no way out or even try and get help, she felt the frustration get the better of her. Tears began to fall down her checks, and she let her head hang as exhaustion, along with a small amount of residual drug, swept over her. Carter closed her eyes and hoped that somehow her mom, her family, would rescue her.
Elizabeth watched with a frown as David ran his hand through his hair once again, his tell that he was beyond frustrated. They had gone over the conversation more times than either of them could count, and yet they still found themselves coming up against a wall. There seemed to be nothing of use from David's conversation with Lori, nothing hidden within her words, and yet both of them had a gut feeling that that wasn't the case. There was something there, they were just missing it.
It would have been so much easier if she were still allowed within the investigation. Access to the video and recordings were so much more precise compared to going off of memory, but they had to make do. They had holed up in a small hotel on the outskirts of the town. Close enough to the investigation if Agent Sands or Kyle found something they could be right there, but far enough away that they could conduct their own search and not raise awareness to themselves.
She looked over the notes she had jotted down before closing her eyes and hoping something would come to her.
"…memories of all our firsts…"
"…all the good, a single decision can erase everything…"
"…remember every word. Every memory…"
"…be thankful the pain didn't last as long as mine…"
But after a minute, nothing had popped and she reopened her eyes to find David staring at her. She simply stared back at him, when an idea came to mind. Lori had given him all the answers, even if he couldn't figure it out at the moment, but she was going to get them from him. Just like she always did.
"David," she started.
"Yeah," he replied, his focus having shifted back to his own notes.
"As much as I hate to admit it, we haven't gotten anywhere in the past three hours. This isn't working."
David looked up, his expression showing just how drained he really was. Neither of them had gotten much sleep the last few days, and almost none in the past 24 hours. Just a 20-minute nap here or there before they would wake with a start, their minds solely on Carter.
He nodded. "I know, but I don't know what else to do besides go over this conversation again and again."
"I think we need to take a step back," Elizabeth suggested, earning a slightly confused look from her husband. "I've seen it too many times to count. Relatives, loved ones, getting caught up on one particular detail. They let it cloud their vision, even to the evidence that is right in front of them."
David nodded once again, knowing that she was right. "How do we continue then?"
"We need to take on a different role. Ones that aren't as emotionally attached to everything. No longer mom and dad, but I need to be the detective and you, the witness with information."
Elizabeth could see her husband trying to process everything.
"Lots of times when I'm working a case, witnesses or bystanders don't realize how much extra, and often times useful, information they hold until they are asked the right question. They just need the right prompting, and I think the same holds true for you. All the answers are there; we just need to find them. And to do so, I want to interrogate you."
David let the idea sink in. He knew his wife was one of the best detectives on the force. And it had been her skills that had gotten them this far in their current search for Carter. So it only made sense for them to approach this in a similar manner. And he only wondered why they hadn't thought of it earlier.
"Okay. Ask whatever you need to," he replied.
"Alright. Don't think too much about the questions. Just answer with what comes to mind," Elizabeth started, earning another nod from David. She took out her notes and began to ask. "The memories you two talked about, are you sure that these are all of them?"
David looked down at the list his wife placed in front of him. He scanned over the bullet points, each of them triggering the corresponding memory.
Chemistry
English Major
Summer Job
First Kiss
Father and Name
Broken Heart
"Yeah. Those are all of them."
"You're positive that there isn't any other one missing."
"There weren't any others. I'm sure," he answered.
Elizabeth took back the sheet of paper and scanned it over herself once more. Something registered this time though as she read it back to herself. All of the memories were good ones, except one. And she didn't know if that meant anything, but she jotted down a note to herself just in case.
"Why did Lori take Carter 13 years ago?" she asked, knowing the answer but wanting to set up her newly forming hunch.
"She wanted…" David paused, still having difficulty with the subject all these years later. "She wanted to get back at you for what she viewed as you taking me away from her."
"And why as she hidden Carter away this time?"
"To get back at me," he replied with a heavy sigh. "I broke her heart a long time ago, and she thought that Carter was doing the same thing. So she wanted to pass off the pain to me by making sure we wouldn't be able to find her."
Elizabeth nodded and wrote more down on the notepad. Her mind churning.
"She wanted to pass off the pain, when would you say you caused her the most amount of pain during your relationship with her?" she asked.
David thought about it a moment before answering. "Probably when I broke up with her. Why?" He could tell that there was something he was clearly missing.
"The break up in the memory she mentioned during your talk?"
"Yeah, that's the one. Lizzy, what are you thinking?"
She ignored his question, looking down at her notes. Connecting all the dots one last time before looking back up to him. "David where were you when you broke up with Lori?"
David didn't have to think long. Lori had mentioned it during their initial conversation, but it appeared he had forgotten to tell his wife during his recounting of the event.
"It was at some run down diner off the freeway," he replied.
"That's it," Elizabeth said, almost as a whisper. "There is an abandoned diner about fifteen minutes West of here along a small freeway. If she wanted you to feel her same pain, if she felt that Carter were doing the exact same thing as you had all those years ago, maybe she brought her there. As some type of equal justice."
David ran through his conversation with Lori again, this time keeping Elizabeth's idea in the forefront of his mind. It all seemed to add up. She had made sure to bring the memory up. And replaying what she told him, "…be thankful the pain didn't last as long as what I experienced by your hands…", he knew that this was right. That his wife had done what she promised she would, find Carter, and now all they had to do was bring her home.
"Lizzy," his voice no louder than a whisper, still in shock from what they had managed to piece together. "You found her."
Elizabeth's eyes were glassy and she could feel herself trembling from a mix of adrenaline and pure fear, but she gave David a smile and nodded. This was it. There was no more threat of ever losing her again. Once they had Carter back, she would be able to breathe for the first time in 13 years. Carter would be home. For good.
"Now, let's go get our daughter."
