Esha Napoleon and cathy: Thank you! jadeMK11: The sicko's nuts definitely need to go. And Mark really doesn't know shit; he just wants to maneuver himself back into a vulnerable James's life. Ilse'sPurpleSummer: We'll be getting that answer in this chapter. Either way, it's NOT good news for her.

…

James shook his head and took a few steps back. Mark was just standing there, watching him carefully with narrowed eyes. "You gotta go," he said, having this really horrible feeling in his stomach that that wasn't going to really work on Mark. He looked bound and determined to not go anywhere even if he wasn't welcomed here. "I gotta call Baby Doll-"

"You need to call the cops," Mark stated bluntly. He had heard pretty much all of James's screaming; it wouldn't be a shock if the entire neighborhood had heard him. "That fucker called you, you need to let the authorities know so they can fucking tap your phone in case he calls back again."

Logically speaking, Mark was absolutely right. That was what needed to be done. But James couldn't even begin to think logically. His mind was racing and going in so many directions he couldn't even begin to really focus properly. His daughter screams were echoing in his mind and it was killing him beyond the telling of it. And who did he want to somehow make it all better? Mindy of course. Even though there was really nothing she could do he needed to talk to her. Their baby was sick…their precious Elizabeth was sick they had to find her. That bastard wasn't going to make sure she got better they had to find her they did.

"God damn it Lawson," Mark said as James struggled to get a hold of his cell phone. His hands were shaking so much that he couldn't keep them steady at all. "Are you even listening to me?" Stupid question, one that was answered with James ignoring him and attempting to dial Mindy's number. Before he could control his fingers enough to actually press the buttons properly though, Mark had grabbed his wrists and was squeezing them so tight that he left finger shaped bruises behind. "Lawson! Fucking listen to me damn it!"

"Let me go!" James tried to yank himself out of Mark's grasp, which only made the other man tighten his grip. James tried to hide his wince but he couldn't. Mark was squeezing him way way too tightly and it fucking hurt. It was fucking hurting when the fuck did Mark get this strong? As James was wondering if Mark was on roids or something, it didn't really occur to him that he was getting weaker from his extreme lack of eating. "Mark stop it!"

"Then listen to me damn it." James was being ridiculous and he wasn't going to put up with it.

"No-OW!" Mark had just twisted his wrists really hard. "Mark stop it! Jesus fucking Christ!"

"I'll stop when you stop," Mark replied as he gave James a good hard shake. He couldn't just coddle James and let him fucking run around like a chicken with his head cut off. Mindy had done that by leaving him all alone and now he was going to try to clean up the mess she had left behind. "I don't want to hurt you but you have to fucking pull yourself together. You think this is going to help Elizabeth? You think this is going to bring her back?" Mark waited but he wasn't getting anything from James. He was just trembling and muttering something under his breath that couldn't really be understood. "Call the cops Lawson. I know you don't trust them for shit but they can tap your phone and shit so if he calls again they can fucking try to find out where he is."

"Too much time," James said under his breath. He was trying to somehow get out of Mark's grip and finally succeeded it by kicking Mark in the knee. His wrists were so sore and the bruises on him were already turning really ugly. "There's not enough time! What if he don't call back? Or what if Lizzie dies before then? She's fucking sick! She's fucking sick she's never sick I gotta fucking go!"

"Go where Lawson?" Mark grabbed James's arm to stop him from just running off. "Do you have any idea where to start looking? Or are you going off to call HER?"

"It's not your business!" James informed him. He yanked his arm out of Mark's grip and shook his head. "And why do you suddenly care? Is it because she's not here? You wanna swoop back in and get back with me?"

"I'm here to take care of you Lawson," Mark said, making sure to get in James's way when he tried to leave. "Look at you! You're a wreck! And where is she? She leaves you here all alone to deal with this shit."

"She had to go! She had to take care of Amber!"

"She couldn't do that here?" Mark wasn't about to back off this subject for a second. "There are hospitals here Lawson that could have taken great care of Amber. They could have helped her gone better and SHE could have fucking stayed here with you. Her child is missing what the fuck is she doing running off to Texas?"

"You're questioning her parenting skills?" James said incredulously. "YOU of all people-"

"Hey, my kids have never turned up missing-"

"Cooper was missing for MONTHS one time and YOU never gave a shit!" Score one James. "Texas is the best place for Amber right now."

"And what about what's best for you Lawson? Huh? Is it best for you to be all alone and waste away from the stress?"

"Since when do you care about me?"

"You're fucking wasting away! She's letting you waste-"

"NO SHE'S NOT!" James was ready to rip his own hair out he was so frustrated. "Just GO! Leave me ALONE!"

"James did she even talk to you about going to Texas before she decided it?" Mark asked coolly. "I mean really, did she even bother to run that by you before she decided it?"

"You gotta leave," James snarled, motioning angrily towards the door. "Fucking go. Just fucking go."

Mark tilted his head to the side and studied James in a way that made him feel completely uncomfortable and then made a move that completely surprised him; he backed off. "Fine. Whatever you say Lawson." He started walking off, moving backwards so his back wouldn't actually be to James. "I'll be back later though."

"You fucking better not-"

"Someone around here needs to make sure you're taken care of, don't they?"

James clenched his fists and stood there a confused, manic fuming mess until he heard Mark leave. Then he collapsed down into the nearest chair and called Mindy. He didn't even give his actions a second thought; he needed Mindy there but she couldn't be there so he had to hear her voice. That would at least be better than nothing.

The only problem was, Mindy didn't answer her phone. He waited and waited but the phone just kept ringing and eventually went to voicemail. "Baby Doll?" James bit at his nails compulsively because he didn't know what to do with himself. "Baby Doll please pick up. I gotta talk to you please…please Baby Doll?" He waited, hoping and praying that she would answer the phone and talk to him. When she didn't he very reluctantly hung up and stared around the room helplessly. He didn't know where to start. He had to find Elizabeth but he didn't know where to start looking. He had to get the locks changed but he didn't know where the phone book was to call the locksmith or whatever. The cops did needed to be called but what the fuck good was that going to do? They hadn't fucking found her yet and what if they never did? This guy was a fucking ghost. A ghost that got his baby sick. She was sick she was sick she was sick-that was the only thing he could focus on. He had to do something instead of just sitting here…

"DA DA DA!"

"What was that Jamie? Might wanna scream it a little louder you whipped bitch."

"DA DA DA DA DA!"

"This ether stuff you know…it's not so bad."

James was suddenly back on his feet and he grabbed the chair next to him, picking it up and swinging it against the wall as hard as he possibly could. He put everything he had into it, screaming at the top of his lungs and scaring the fuck out of Taylor, Connor and Tryg, who had come in to get something to drink. Even if he had known he had scared them though, he wouldn't have been able to care right at that moment. He was too focused on taking out every moment of fear, anger and frustration out on that wall, imagining that it was the guy's face he was beating to a bloody pulp. That bastard…oh that fucking bastard…words wouldn't do justice to what he wanted to do to him. That man took his baby and he would destroy him. He would fucking annihilate him…and he would enjoy every fucking second of doing it.

…

"Mom?" Cooper called out as he walked towards the bathroom. She was supposed to have gone there and when she didn't return at first he and Steve had thought she was finally breaking down and crying and had tried to be respectful and keep their distance. She seemed so adamant to hold it all in even though she didn't need to that they hadn't wanted to stop her if she was finally letting it all out. It wasn't healthy for her to be holding it in so much. Given the circumstances, she had the right to bawl like a baby. So they had let her be for awhile but now Cooper was going to check on her and make sure she was alright. "Mom?" He knocked on the bathroom door and glanced around at the doctors and nurses not giving him a second look as they walked down the hallway. "Mom?"

He wasn't getting any kind of answer, which made him start to feel pretty apprehensive. "Mom?" Deciding the risk was worth it, he grabbed the door handle and twisted it, opening the door and poking his head in there. "Mom?" There wasn't any sign of her in there. "Mommy?" He went all the way in, checking every nook and cranny of the room, his heart sinking when he found no trace of her. "Oh no…" He exited the bathroom and looked around, trying to decide what to do. He almost went to tell Steve but then decided against it for the moment. Steve was watching over the kids, who were all awake and didn't need to overhear him saying that Mindy couldn't be found. That would just make them all upset, which was not what he wanted to do.

"Excuse me?" Cooper decided to go to the group of nurses that were talking nearby. "Have you seen my mom anywhere?" Everyone here knew he was Mindy's stepson so he didn't have to clarify anymore of that.

They all shook their heads. "No. Is she not with you?"

"She was supposed to be in the bathroom," Cooper said, his stomach now twisting in a way he did not care for at all. "But she's not there. We gotta find her." He wasn't giving these nurses any kind choice but to help him. There was no way he had time to search this entire place by himself and there was no way he wanted to do so. That would just take way too long.

"We will sweetheart," one of the younger nurses quickly assured him. She was blonde and probably in her early to mid-twenties and he was sure she had a crush on him because every time he saw her she was making googly eyes at him. "I'm sure she's around here somewhere."

She better be…or we're going to have major MAJOR problem…

…

"Guys don't bug him," Taylor pleaded with Tryg and Connor. They were all up in the locksmith's business, asking questions and trying to touch his tools as he changed the locks on the doors. "Leave him be, we're not paying him to get bugged by you."

"We're not bugging him!" Connor claimed defensively. He looked down at Tryg for support. For the moment they were getting along the way they used to before Connor's dislike for Mindy split them apart. "Tell her Tryggy!"

"We're just watching him," Tryg said, putting on a sweet innocent face that didn't fool Taylor because she was wise to his act. "We are. We want to know how he does it, honest."

As Taylor shook her head and kept trying to get the boys out of the way, James was up in the upstairs hallway, pacing back and forth wildly and making yet another phone call to Mindy's phone. He had called her a dozen times already but he hadn't been getting any kind of answer from her and it was scaring him to death. She never went this long without calling him back. Something was wrong. He could feel it in his gut and it was tearing him up. "Baby Doll please, please pick up…"

She didn't pick up though and now her voicemail was full so he couldn't leave her another message. "Fuck!" He hung up the phone and shook his head before going down the stairs, hopping the rail halfway down because the boys were doing something and blocking the bottom of the staircase. He needed to call Steve but he couldn't fucking remember his number. The one he had in his phone was Steve's old number and he needed the new one, which was written on a piece of paper somewhere. He had meant to put it in his phone but then it had slipped his mind. "Be in here be in here…" He went into his office and started searching all over the place, getting more and more frustrated when he didn't find it. "Fuck!" He decided to just say to hell with it and he called Cooper's number instead-and of course he didn't get an answer there.

"What the fuck is going on?" He was so frustrated that he was just about to toss his phone across the room when it rang and made him stop in his tracks. His heart leapt up in his chest when he saw Mindy's number flash across the screen and he answered it before the second ring could even be complete. "Baby Doll!"

"…Wow you really are pathetic, aren't you James?"

James's eyes just about popped out of his head. "How did you that phone?"

"How the fuck do you think?" There was the sound of flesh hitting flesh and then Mindy screamed.

And that was when James felt his heart literally stop.