Chapter 14

Jessie and Richard sat at the table and talked all night long. They barely touched their food but talked about everything. They filled in the blanks from when they saw each other last until that very day. After they were done with all of that, they rekindled all their old memories.

Jessie was no longer tied by a chain but by a desperate need to stay. She was tied to Richard by an invisible strength that was formed a long time ago. John was hovering everywhere, obviously not happy that she was no longer tied. After several hours, Jessie started to yawn and Richard helped her to the room in the basement. The basement was made up of four rooms. An entrance/storage space which had been the room that John hovered in before Richard got there, the bedroom and a bathroom and then another large storage area. The bedroom had had no door because in fact, the wall closed in on itself, hiding the room from view.

"Your phone is ringing" John said as he raced down the stairs behind them. Richard nodded but ignored the comment as he walked into the bedroom behind Jessie. "It looked important." John insisted. Richard said good night to Jessie and ran up. Jessie was left staring at John accusingly.

"For both our sakes, let's keep our little accident from earlier, to ourselves." John whispered to Jessie.

"Why?" Jessie asked. Something about John just ticked her off.

"Trust me, I know the new Richard, we don't want him knowing. Okay?" John said with a smile as Richard entered the room again.

"Was it important?" Jessie asked Richard, deciding to ignore John's presence.

"Yeah, it was Mrs. Gaskell. From the office. Someone was there tonight after closing time..." Jessie noted his tone. He was hiding something. But she swallowed it down and continued listening "…but they'll probably be back. We do offer the best rates."

Jessie faked a yawn this time. And also faked hiding it from him. Richard smiled and bid her good night. He hugged her and told her how much he'd missed her and then went up stairs. John offered to show here where to find her new clothes and Richard left them there together. John dosed Jessie with morphine for the pain that was resurfacing and she passed out faster than she wanted to.

In the early hours of the morning, Jessie woke up with a start but bit her lip before she could scream. She wasn't tied to the chain but the wall had been closed and Jessie was trapped. She needed Richard to comfort her but he was two stories up, and fast asleep. She started pacing around the room as all her thoughts flooded back. Her first thought was of Richard's most recent lie.

Someone had been at the office and his tone implied that he wasn't too happy about it. Chances were that it was the FBI, more likely was the BAU. Jessie had left them without a clue but John had dropped them one without knowing. She knew it wouldn't take them long to find Richard. Jessie knew that Garcia would find this address and they would go in there and not find her.

Jessie decided to take another bath while her captors were sleeping and she started wondering whether she even wanted to be found. At some point, she heard the bedroom door/wall open and Richard greeted her with a smile and a wild flower. She went upstairs with him and they made breakfast together. Like old times, Jessie just forgot about everything that was outside their world and lived just in the moment. John was out for breakfast and Jessie could just imagine him walking down a street and mumbling to himself.

"Do you remember that day in lab when Professor Hawk talked about the five important safety measures…" Richard started with a giggle.

"And he had his hand up as he numbered them on his fingers and when Kyle walked in late, he high fived Professor Hawk as he passed him…" Jessie finished with a giggle. But it was cut short when John walked in.

"We have to hide." John said quickly. "We have unwanted guests."

John raced down to the basement. Richard looked through the window and saw a car pull up the driveway. Jessie stood, not knowing what to do but her heart started racing out of control. She know who their guests where. John came back up reached for Jessie. She dodged his reach and walked to Richard's side.

"you have to go with him" Richard assured her. She couldn't help but pout. "it's just for a little while until we can leave."

Jessie sighed and ran her fingers through her hair with frustration. She nodded and walked back around the table, tapping it as she passed and reached John. He grabbed her arm and pulled her up the stairs. Jessie was instantly confused. Upstairs made no sense but she glanced back at Richard just before he was out of view.

Jessie counted nineteen steps to the top and then twelve steps to a bedroom when John pulled down the stairs to the attic. He motioned for her to go up and she sighed before doing so. She heard the knock on the door before she was inside the attic. Her heart ran away from her when she heard Rossie's voice just before John pulled the stairs back up. It was dark and suddenly very quiet. But all that Jessie could hear was her heart hammering in her chest. She felt something cold on her collarbone and suddenly John held her from behind.

Jessie didn't care that he was holding her so tightly that she could barely breathe, she was trying to hear the voiced from down stairs.