Okay guys…here it is finally! I have to warn you all that there may be more mistakes than usual because I didn't have a chance to proofread as well as I would have liked to. I wanted to get this chapter up tonight though since I had already put it off for two days after I said it would be up. I am going to sleep now so I can work tomorrow and I hope you all enjoy this and hopefully it wont take me as long to get the next chap up. Thank you all for being so patient and thank you for all of the great reviews. Good night, and enjoy!

Chapter 21

Marco and Annie headed out. They took her Escalade to the hospital. During the ride there Annie noticed that the pain was getting a little worse, but still was nothing compared to what she had felt the last few days. "You doin okay?" Marco asked, noticing how quiet she was.

"Yea, just wondering if this jackass is gonna show," she said, still looking out the window.

"I dunno…didn't you say that they were talking bout abducting some teacher at a park?" Marco asked.

Annie nodded, "Yea, but there was no way to know which park or which teacher. They could have just been trying to throw us off."

A few minutes later Marco pulled up to the hospital. "Looks like there isn't a very close parking spot…you gonna be okay to walk a little ways?"

"Yea Marco, I'm fine." She was a little irritated that everyone was always assuming that she was too weak to do something as easy as walk a little ways. She knew he was just trying to be considerate, but it still graded on her nerves.

Annie and Marco both kept their eyes peeled as they made their way across the parking lot. When they got into the building, Annie noticed Marco relax a bit. They made their way up to the clinic and Annie found Maya waiting on her up front with the receptionist. Maya came out into the waiting room and sat beside Annie. "How you doing?"

Annie nodded a little, "I'm okay today. A lot better than yesterday."

Maya smiled, "So, no more pain today?"

Annie shook her head but stayed silent. The pain in her stomach kicking up a notch as if on cue.

Maya looked at her skeptically, "Not even a little."

"Maybe just a little, but nothing severe. That usually doesn't happen till a little later on," Annie said truthfully.

Maya shook her head, "I wish you would let me check you out really quick. It would only take a minute."

Annie thought for a second, "Daisy should be here any minute and Jimmy and I need to get back so we can coordinate with everyone. This has to be done right or people could die. I promise I will be back as soon as I can, and if I get bad I will come back right away. For the moment, I really think everything's fine."

Maya nodded, "Jimmy wasn't lying when he said you were stubborn. Okay, I guess you win, but I want you back here asap, I wanna have a look at that cyst on your ovary."

Annie nodded, "Thanks Maya."

A few minutes later Daisy and Micah entered the waiting room. Micah was wearing the same outfit as Annie, a pair of dark wash citizens jeans, a button up shirt, and cowboy boots. From a distance you couldn't tell them apart. "Wow, it's almost like lookin in a mirror," Annie said.

Micah smiled, "Hey, we gotta do this right or it's not gonna work."

"I agree, you did good, right down to the belt and gun." Annie looked to Daisy, "Shall we?"

Daisy nodded, "As soon as we get you a wheel chair." Annie looked at her questioningly. "Jimmy's orders. It's a long walk and we have to hurry."

Annie rolled her eyes. "I'm fine Daisy. Let's go."

Daisy shrugged and followed her out, "It's your ass."

Half way into the walk back to where Jimmy was waiting, Annie found that she probably should have taken Daisy up on the wheel chair. She was starting to slow down and this didn't go unnoticed by Daisy. "You need me to get that wheel chair now?" she asked.

Annie glared at her but Daisy just smiled, "I'm not Jimmy, those looks don't work on me. Annie if you want a chair, just say so. It doesn't make you weak, it makes you smart. You shouldn't have tried to walk this far this fast in the shape your in. Hell, if everything that had happened to you had just happened to me, I'd probably still be laying in that hospital bed."

Annie finally nodded, "Yea…maybe I need that chair." She stopped and leaned against the wall, feeling the pain in her stomach get a little worse. "Dammit, I thought I could make it through this," she said as Daisy quickly found a wheel chair in one of the hall closets.

"You will. Just take it easy and let us help you. You hurt worse when you overexert yourself. You'd know that by now if you weren't too damn stubborn to realize," Daisy said as she waited on her to sit in the chair.

They continued on, Daisy pushing Annie quickly down many hallways. They were almost to the exit where Jimmy was waiting on them when a familiar face walked around the corner and almost ran over them. Annie felt her stomach drop as she met the woman's eyes.

"Annie, what happened? Are you okay?" Natalie asked worried.

Annie was at a loss for words for a moment, but somehow recovered quickly. "We…We're on a case."

Natalie smiled a little, "Wow, a case that requires you to ride in a wheelchair?"

"Yea…we can't really discuss the particulars," Daisy cut in.

"Natalie, we really have to get going. We'll talk to you later okay?" Annie said politely.

"Okay," Natalie said, still a little disbelieving. "You guys be careful okay. And I hope you get whoever your after." She turned to go, "Tell Jimmy I said hey."

Annie rolled her eyes as Daisy pushed her on out. Why hadn't she thought of the possibility of running into Natalie? How could she forget that she worked at that hospital. She didn't know why it bothered her so much, but Natalie was the last person she wanted to see her in a wheelchair. And then the last comment, to tell Jimmy she said hi, that really rubbed Annie the wrong way. She probably didn't mean anything by it, and Annie was not a jealous person, but for some reason the way Natalie had said the words had pushed Annie's buttons.

Daisy noticed how quiet she was as they neared the doors. "You okay?"

Annie nodded slightly, "I cannot believe we ran into her. What the hell was I thinking?"

"Don't worry about it. Why do you care so much anyways?" Daisy asked.

Annie shrugged, "I don't know…I guess it's just that I have always felt like she really respected me when her and Jimmy were together. We were friends, and now that Jimmy and I are together I just feel like I'm betraying her somehow. It's stupid, I know."

Daisy smiled as they exited the hospital and seen Jimmy waiting. "Your not betraying her Annie. You didn't steel Jimmy from her, because he was never actually hers. He's been yours all along, it just took you guys a while to figure that out."

Annie thought back to a long time ago, when her and Jimmy had a different kind of relationship. If it hadn't of been for her insecurities and Jimmy's immaturity, they would have more than likely gotten married and started a life seven or eight years ago. They were together most nights, mostly just for physical needs, and when the emotions got stronger Annie pushed him away. Breaking things off with him had nearly killed her, but at the time she just couldn't afford to put her heart on the line. She knew that if she did that he would eventually be the one doing the leaving and it would definitely kill her. They had fought, over and over. But in the end insecurity and immaturity had won out. They were distant from each for a long time after that. And then they started working together. They got close again then. They even ended up drunk and naked a few times, but they never let themselves talk about it after it happened. Then Jimmy and Natalie had gotten together. Jimmy had some on again off again girlfriends in the past, but Natalie lasted longer than the rest. It was the first woman he had actually stayed faithful to, with a little help from Annie that is. There had been a few times, after some especially tough cases, that he had ended up on Annie's door step. She had always let him in, put him back together, and sent him home to Natalie before one thing could lead to another, like she knew it would if she didn't make him leave.

Then the McGraw case had hit. It's not like it was the most terrible case that either of them had ever worked. But for some reason it hit Annie hard. She had been the one that needed put back together that night, and of course, Jimmy had done just that. And so much more. When Annie thought back to the way it had happened, she couldn't help but feel a little bit like the 'other woman'. That is what made her so uncomfortable in front of Natalie right now. When she finds out that Annie is pregnant, and how far along she is, she is going to assume that Jimmy and Annie were sleeping together while Jimmy was with her. And that was something that bothered Annie a lot.

She shook her head to clear the old memories. She got into the expedition quickly and as soon as Daisy was in Jimmy sped off towards the office. Daisy pulled out her cell, dialing Marco. "Gomez show?" Daisy asked when he picked up.

"Not yet," Marco replied.

Just then Annie's phone rang. She looked at the ID, "It's Jess," she told them with furrowed brows. She hit a button and answered, "This is Annie."

"Annie…" Jessica was crying.

"Jess, what's wrong? Are you okay?" Annie pleaded.

"No…he, he found me," she mumbled as someone jerked the phone away from her.

"I hope you enjoyed your time with your old friend yesterday, because you are never going to see her again," a deep male voice with a Mexican accent said on the other line.

"Don't touch her you son of bitch…you let her go. It's me you're after, not her," Annie spoke angrily.

But then the phone went silent. Annie listened for a minute to make sure he had hung up, then she threw her phone on the dash. "Which motel is Jess at?" she asked Daisy in a bit of a panic.

"Days Inn, the one close to the office," Daisy said quickly.

Annie picked up the radio, "I need all HPD units within the area to get to the Days Inn on Central right now. We are in pursuit of a Latino male with a hostage. Hostage is 45 years old, brown hair, brown eyes, approximately 5'6''." She stopped for a minute, looking back to Daisy, "what room?"

"Room 434," she said quickly.

"Hostage may be in room 434," she said into the radio again. Then she looked to Jimmy, "Hurry up and get there," she snapped.

He didn't respond. He just concentrated on the traffic and getting through it. He knew Annie was on the verge of panic. He also knew there was nothing he could say to calm her down. So he stayed quiet and just drove.

When they pulled up to the motel Annie had the door open and was jumping out before Jimmy put the vehicle in park. "Whoa, Annie wait a minute." There was police cars everywhere but Jimmy didn't know if they had already cleared the scene. Annie never checked up though. She had one thought on her mind, and that was Jessica Harmon. Jimmy raced to catch her before she got to the stairs. He grabbed her arm to stop her.

"Dammit Jimmy, let me go!" She tried to jerk away but he held firm.

"You have to make sure the scene is clear first Annie," he said.

"I know how to do my job," she snapped. "I have to get to her."

Just then a young cop was coming down the stairs, "She's not here. The room was tossed. We found blood, but not much. There was a note," he said as he handed the marshals a small piece of paper in an evidence bag.

Jimmy took it before Annie could. "Too Late," he read out loud.

"Son of a bitch," Annie said slapping the wall beside her. "He's got her. Why didn't I see this coming? How could I have not thought about it?"

"Annie, no one could have predicted this. It's not your fault," Jimmy said.

She jerked her arm away from him now and made her way back to the vehicle. She was on the verge of losing it and the last thing she wanted to do was break down in front of half of the Houston Police Department.

She walked to the far side of the expedition. The tears were rolling in full force now. She knew she couldn't stop them so she didn't even try. She leaned over with her hands on her knees, feeling like she was going to be sick. A few seconds later, the sickness came, along with stronger pain. She clutched her stomach as she wretched. Finally, she leaned back against the vehicle, crying hard. Things just kept getting worse. Just when they thought they may have a plan to get to the two fugitives, things had taken another turn. Annie was strong, but she didn't know how much more of this she could take. It was getting ridiculous. And now things had really turned personal. They had taken a piece of Annie's past when they took Jess. Annie's heart was breaking all over again, just like it had when she was twelve years old.

Just then Jimmy walked around the vehicle and found Annie in the midst of her break down. His heart ached for her, but there wasn't much he could do to comfort her. He tried taking her in his arms but she shook him off. "Don't," she cried. "That's not what I need right now."

He leaned up against the expedition beside her. "Annie, we will do everything we can…maybe we'll find her."

She shook her head, "Jimmy just…don't." She held her hand up to silence him. Annie's cell phone rang. She looked at the ID and seen it was someone from back at the office. She took a couple breaths and pulled herself together before answering. "Annie Frost," she said with no hint of the tears that were still wet on her face.

She listened for a minute and then she hung up. "Dammit," she said running both hands through her hair and looking up at the sky, determined to stop the new tears that were forming from falling.

"What is it?" Jimmy asked, not even knowing who the call had been from.

"It was Ramirez," she said taking a breath. "They just found Gomez's body in the ditch out on highway 59. No sign of her kid."

Jimmy sighed, "Damn," he said shaking his head.

"It's never gonna end," she laughed sarcastically as the tears continued to roll down her cheeks. "I don't know what else we can do. Gomez was our only chance and now she's dead and has a four year old daughter that is still unaccounted for."

"Let's get back to the office. I'll go get Daisy and call Marco and tell him to tell everyone to stand down." Jimmy headed off to find Daisy, leaving Annie to finish composing herself.

She leaned back against the vehicle again, her pain continuing to get worse. She was so tired, mentally, physically, and most of all emotionally. Her team was once again at the end of it's rope and that was the worst feeling in the world. She felt like most of all she had betrayed Jess. She had promised to help her but in all likelihood had led her to her death.

She climbed into the vehicle, leaning her head back on the headrest and closing her eyes. By the time Jimmy and Daisy made their way back to the truck Annie had almost completely composed herself. Jimmy watched her closely as they made their way back to the office. When they finally got there, Annie was fighting not to let the pain show, but she was pretty sure Jimmy was onto her.

"Annie, we need to go back and see Maya," he said as he pulled into the parking garage at the office.

She nodded her head, "We will, let's just see what's going on in here first," she said a little desperately.

He sighed but agreed. "Twenty minutes."

The three marshals met Marco on their way in. "You guys hear about Esperanza?"

"Yea," they all nodded at once.

"These assholes aren't giving us any breaks," Marco said shaking his head and following them into the office.

They found Luke pacing frantically when they entered the bullpen. When he seen them he practically ran over, "Annie, they dropped the girl off!" he said excitedly.

She looked at him puzzled. "What are you talkin bout Luke?" she said shaking her head.

"The girl, Gomez's daughter…she's in the conference room with Micah. She wouldn't let anyone else near her," Luke said.

Annie looked at him with wide eyes, "They just…dropped her off?" she asked heading straight for the conference room.

"Yea, across the street at the restaurant. One of the waitresses brought her over with this note," Luke handed her a small piece of paper.

She took it, reading as she walked.

Dear Annie, here is a little present. I'm sure you need something to make this day a little brighter after everything else that has happened. We just couldn't bring ourselves to send her to the same hell that we sent her mother to. Find her a good home, she has been through a lot. See you soon. Love Always, Diablo.

She handed the note to Jimmy without saying a word. "Did she say anything Luke? About where they kept her, what they did to her?"

Luke shook his head, "I don't know, she screamed every time a man got close to her. Micah has been the only person she would talk to."

Annie nodded, "Okay, Daisy and I are going in. You guys stay out here and we'll be out in a minute."

Jimmy looked at her and nodded. "Okay, but don't forget about your appointment."

Annie half nodded and half rolled her eyes. She and Daisy went into the conference room to find a scared four year old little girl. Her brown eyes were red and puffy from crying, and she looked at them with a million questions in her eyes.

"How is she?" Annie asked softly.

"Confused mostly," Micah answered.

Annie sat down beside the little girl, "Hey sweetie, I'm Annie and this is Daisy…what's your name?"

The girl looked up at her sadly. Finally she spoke quietly, "Se…Selena. Where's my momma?"

Annie looked to Daisy and then back at the little girl, "I'm not sure. Are you okay honey? Are you hungry?"

Selena nodded shyly, her eyes full of fear.

"How about a cheeseburger and fries? That sound good?" Annie asked.

The girl nodded again. "Is my momma still with the men?"

Annie's heart broke for Selena. She had never had to tell a four year old about someone's death before and she wasn't really sure how to do it. She decided that she should probably put it off at least until they had a positive ID on the body. "I'm not sure sweetie, do you know if you have any aunts and uncles, or maybe grandparents?"

"I have a nana and a papa. I haven't seen them since Christmas," Selena said.

"Are they your momma's parents?"

"No, they are my nana and papa…not my momma's" Selena said sighing like that was the dumbest question she had ever heard.

"Do you want us to call them for you?" Annie smiled.

The girl looked up hopefully, nodding her head. "Do you know their number?"

Annie smiled, "I bet we can figure it out. Now let me get you that cheeseburger. I will be back in a few minutes okay" Annie said.

The little girl clung to Micah as Annie walked out. She found the guys waiting impatiently. She sent Luke to get the food for Selena as she talked to Jimmy and Marco.

"Did she say anything about Vasquez or Diablo?" Jimmy asked.

Annie shook her head. "I didn't ask her anything yet. She is so traumatized…I hate to make her relive anything right now. She has lost her mother and her father all in a week."

Jimmy nodded sympathetically. "You're right Boots, but this is all still fresh on her mind. She is only four and I understand she is traumatized but if she knows anything that could help us we need to know. I'll call and see if we can get a therapist down here, Lord knows she's gonna need one."

"I'll go back in and talk to her. See if she can tell us anything without upsetting her too much," Annie said.

She went back in to find Selena still holding on to Micah like a security blanket. She sat down in a chair in front of them. "Selena, I need to ask you a few questions, and if you don't know the answers its okay."

The little girl nodded slowly, "Okay."

Annie took a breath before she began, "Selena, do you remember anything about where you have been staying these last few days?"

Selena thought for a minute, "There were no buildings, just a lot of trees."

Annie nodded, "So you were in the woods?"

Selena nodded. "I think so."

"Okay, you're doing so good. Do you remember anything else, like what kind of vehicle the men were driving?" Annie asked.

"They have a truck and a car," she said.

Annie nodded, "Do you remember what color the truck was?" Annie asked.

"I think it was black. It has a big back seat. I remember because they made me lay down in it while they drove."

"And when they put you in the truck today, did it take you a long time to get here?" Annie asked.

The little girl nodded, "It took forever. I asked them where my momma was and they wouldn't tell me. I was so scared. They were mean. They hit mom and she cried a lot while we were there," Selena started crying.

"It's okay, you're safe now. You will never have to see those men again. I am going to go try to call your nana and papa now okay. You stay with Micah and we will bring you your food as soon as it gets here." Annie and Daisy walked back out and relayed what the girl had said to the rest of the team.

Annie went and sat down at her desk to try and figure out the names of Selena's grandparents. The moderate pain she was feeling had leveled out but was still starting to wear on her. After a few minutes of research she found that Esperanza's in laws were both deceased. After another few minutes she had found Esperanza's parents address and phone number. They lived in Houston, which Annie was very thankful for. They would be devastated when they learned about their daughter, but Selena needed them right now. She picked up her phone, dialing the number to Roberta and Fredrico Cruz.

"Hola," a woman with a Mexican accent answered on the second ring.

"Habla English?" Annie asked.

"Yes," the woman said.

"Mrs. Cruz, this is Annie Frost. I'm with the US Marshals. Are you Esperanza Gomez's mother?"

"Si…yes," the woman said quickly. "You know where my daughter is?"

"Ma'am, I need you and your husband to come down to my office. I really need to talk to you in person." Annie didn't want to tell the woman anything over the phone.

"K…where is your office?" Roberta Cruz asked.

Annie gave her the address and a few directions, hoping that the woman could find the place. Roberta assured her that she and her husband would be there within the hour.

After Annie hung up she seen Jimmy walking over. She immediately shook her head, "Not now Jimmy. I am not leaving right now."

Jimmy put his hands up in a defeated manner, "How are you? And don't lie to me."

She shook her head a little, "I'm okay…really. I am hurting a little but I'm fine. If I thought anything was wrong I would tell you. Now please, just let me get through this. Let's get this little girl situated with her grandparents and then I will go wherever you want."

He sighed and sat down at his desk. "I know you're worried about this little girl, but I'm worried about you. I just wish you wouldn't put yourself in any more stressful situations than you absolutely have to. You have already had to handle a lot today, I just wish you would let someone else handle this and give yourself a break."

Annie swallowed hard. "Esperanza Gomez is dead, Jess is either dead or will be soon, and there is a four year old girl in there that has lost both of her parents and witnessed God knows what in the last few days, and you're sitting here worried about what I have been through today? Give me a break Jimmy." She glared at him for a minute and when he didn't respond she closed her eyes and shook her head, "I'm sorry. I just…I need to work right now. I need to see this through. Besides, it would be just as stressful not being here right now because I would constantly be wondering and worrying about Selena, about Jess…" she trailed off.

Jimmy closed his eyes now. "I understand Boots…I really do. But that doesn't keep me from worrying about you. I just don't want you to end up in the kind of pain you were in the other night. And you heard Maya, if you're not careful, you could end up right back there in the same situation…and next time you may not be so lucky."

Annie nodded, "I know Jimmy. But I'm not gonna just stop everything and lay in bed because there is a chance that it could happen again. The baby's life is not in danger right now and that's what matters."

Jimmy rolled his eyes and got up, "Whatever. I'm gonna go see if Marco found anything else out about Esperanza Gomez. We will need to know what to tell her parents when they get here."

Annie watched him go. She knew he was mad, but she just really wished he would listen to her. If she wasn't here working, she would be somewhere else worried about Jess and what was happening to her. She was already making herself miserable because there was absolutely nothing she could do to find the woman that had made such a difference in her life so long ago. Annie would do anything and everything to find Jess, to get to her, but she had no way to even know where to start. Selena had said that she and her mother had been kept in the woods. That didn't help any though. There were hundreds of wooded areas in and around Houston.

Luke brought Annie out of her thoughts as he walked up and set the take out box of food that he had gotten for Selena down on her desk. "You wanna take this in to her? I don't think she would like it if I did.

Annie's hand flew to her mouth as the smell of the food hit her. She grabbed the trash can just in time, and Luke grabbed the food and quickly took it across the room to get it away from her. By the time he returned Annie was finished. "I'm so sorry Annie…I wasn't thinking…"

"It's okay," she cut him off. "You just caught me off guard. The smell kind of got to me I guess. I'm fine now. Bring me the food and I will take it in."

Luke looked at her, "You sure?"

She stood slowly, "Yes Luke, I'm sure."

She took the food, the smell still wasn't pleasant but she controlled the nausea this time. Selena dug in as soon as Annie set the box down on the table. A few minutes later Annie seen an older couple walk into the bullpen and Jimmy and Marco meet up with them. She took a breath and looked to Daisy and Micah. "Keep her in here, I will be back in a few minutes."

They both nodded and Annie turned to the door. She dreaded the next few minutes but she knew they couldn't be put off any longer. 'Here goes nothing', she thought as she entered back into the bullpen.

Well, there you have it…finally! Hope you all enjoyed and I will work on the next chap every chance I get and post it as quickly as I can!