Sorry, sorry, I know I'm late. Again.

Jeff hurried alongside Flinn, trying to follow what the man was saying as they walked down the corridor, knowing that he was issuing orders in regards to Cowlishaw. Most of it went over his head, but something caught Jeff's attention and he stopped, staring at the man.

"All of this just to get a warrant to seize his laptop?" the father practically yelled, his voice carrying as he tried to vent his frustration. Flinn came to a halt, turning to face him.

"Jeff…"

"You've spent all this time trying to get a warrant for a laptop? My sons are missing!"

"In here." Flinn opened a nearby door, jerking his head to indicate that he wanted Jeff to step through. Knowing that he had no choice and there was no telling who might be listening, the man complied. He didn't go far into the room, however, before he turned, his hands on his hips as he stared at Flinn. The officer entered the room almost painfully slowly before shutting the door, finally turning to face Jeff.

"What is going on? You've got the evidence, we know it is him…"

"Do we?"

"What?" Jeff frowned, getting the very strong feeling that he was not going to like how this conversation was going to go. Flinn sighed, running a hand over his eyes and leaning against the wall.

"I don't like the guy, Jeff, I truly want to believe that it is him. I know you believe it, but still…" Flinn finally met Jeff's gaze head on. "I can't arrest someone on so-called evidence that your son stole. As much as we might believe that Cowlishaw is the one behind the disappearances, I can't just go on a gut feeling. If we are wrong about anything, even the smallest detail, this whole thing will come crashing down around us."

"But John showed us…"

"Showed us what? That Cowlishaw was possibly just practising drafts in case things went badly? It's not easy to write about a child going missing, Jeff, he might just be trying to find the words in case things took a turn for the worst. Hell, he might not have even written it…"

Jeff swallowed hard, mirroring Flinn's position as he sagged against the wall. He knew, knew deep down, that it was the journalist behind it all. He couldn't say why he was so sure, he had nothing to go on other than the way the man had been behaving around his family, yet there was just a gut feeling that Cowlishaw was the one responsible. They couldn't go after the man on gut feelings, no matter how strong they might be. He knew in that moment exactly what Flinn was implying, though.

"What do you mean, he might not have written it?"

"Well, John's creative, isn't he?"

Jeff didn't want to nod, having a horrible feeling that he knew where this was going, yet Flinn left him no choice. As soon as the father had confirmed the fact, the officer pressed on. "And most of the staff in the hotel know that they had some sort of run-in, I heard them gossiping about your call to security to have him thrown from the hotel. You yourself told me what happened between John and Cowlishaw, the fact that your son had the marks to prove it confirming that. But John is thirteen, and two of his brothers have just been kidnapped, one from right in front of him. He only saw the man's shoes, and he has a hatred of someone in the hotel. His lawyer can just say that John forged that story himself in order to shift the blame onto Cowlishaw…"

"But he didn't!" Jeff exclaimed, feeling outraged that Flinn could even suggest such a thing. The man held out his hand calmingly.

"I'm not saying that he did. Didn't I just say that I believed him, that I'm getting the feeling that there is more to Cowlishaw than he is saying? But he has been with us most of the time. It's going to take some wild guess work or very careful investigationin order to be able to find out how he is managing it without anyone noticing. If it is him, it means that he is clever. If he gets a hint of what we are doing, he is going to be able to cover himself. And if he finds out where the source came from, John could be in danger."

Jeff felt the strong urge to bang his head against the wall. Nick had taken John up to the rooms when everything had kicked off, and Jeff wasn't sure he wanted to know what his mother had been told. To know that now it wasn't just her middle grandson that was missing, but her eldest as well… Jeff knew that there would only be so long that he could hide behind the investigation before he would have to go up there and face her.

"So what do we do?" he muttered, wondering if his voice sounded as bad to Flinn as it did to him. If he was honest, he couldn't even say what was running through his head right now, everything seemed to be one big jumbled mess of emotions. He knew that he needed to work through it all in order to be any help, but it was so hard. Worry and fear over his two missing sons – especially Virgil, considering how long it had been – was the dominant thought in his mind, but there was a spark of anger beginning to come through. He knew it was Cowlishaw, now all they had to do was prove it to the rest of the world.

"We get that warrant to seize his laptop. Proving that the file is on there as well and not just something that John made up is our first step. Then we go from there, depending on what is revealed."

Jeff nodded his understanding, hating how they had to go through all the correct channels in order for this to happen. It just seemed to take so much time, something that Jeff wasn't sure if they had or not. He wanted his sons back now, regardless of how they did it.

"So what can I do to help?"

Flinn looked at him steadily and there almost seemed to be a hint of amusement dancing in the depths of his eyes. He let his hand rest on the door handle again, clearly about to open it.

"You can go and be with the rest of your family."

Jeff opened his mouth to protest, but Flinn cut him swiftly off.

"I mean it, Jeff. You have to talk to your boys, to your mother, about what has happened to Scott. I don't want you to mention Cowlishaw, though. If the younger ones are anything like their older brothers, they'll try and hunt him down themselves. But you can also make sure they stay out of trouble. We're lucky that John is so young, or his actions with the computers could have caused more problems than either of you understand. Now go, and don't let me see you back down here until tomorrow morning at the very earliest."

Flinn pulled open the door, and whilst Jeff hesitated for a split second, he knew that he had no choice in the matter. It was obvious that there was nothing he could do in regards to helping the police and, even with his mother around, it had been a while since he had properly seen Gordon and Alan. They were going to need him more than ever now that Scott wasn't there to pick up the pieces. He had been the one that they had turned to after their mother's death, and judging by how content the younger two at least had seemed to be even before their father resumed his position in their life, he knew that Scott had been successful in reassuring them. Now it was just a matter of seeing if Jeff could handle them as well as his missing son could.

He left the room and strode quickly down the hallway, ignoring the stares that he could feel being shot his way as he passed. There could be no denying that everyone knew what was going on, Cowlishaw's story was seeing to that, not to mention the constant police presence that had infiltrated the hotel. Jeff didn't let himself think about it though, but just took the stairs two at a time. Thinking about what Flinn had said about John potentially being in danger, Jeff found that he was glancing around as he left the staircase on the correct floor. He couldn't help but think that there probably wasn't much point, though. If it was Cowlishaw, and he had indeed been pulling the wool over their eyes for all of this time, then he probably would have his own way of getting to John. Even so, that didn't stop the father from checking over his shoulder in an almost paranoid manner with each step he took.

Jeff headed towards his room, blinking in surprise when he saw Thomas Howard standing outside the door. Jeff had never quite got the full story from Flinn about what was going on with this man, and so couldn't help but regard him slightly suspiciously.

"What are you doing here?"

The man didn't even blink at the hostility in Jeff's voice, but just regarded the father calmly.

"Nick asked me to come up and stay. John trusts me. I was the one that he came to when he couldn't find you. If it makes the little dude feel better having me outside the door, then that is where I shall be. He did a brave thing today, Tracy."

"I know." Jeff found himself softening at Howard's words and let his hand rest on the door handle. "Do you want to come in?"

"I'll stay right here, Sir."

"Okay… um, thanks?" Swiftly letting himself in before the situation could get any more awkward, Jeff shut the door behind him and leant back on it. Within seconds, his mother had appeared, and one look at her pale face proved that John had indeed told her. Without waiting for her to speak, Jeff nodded.

"It's true," he whispered, not knowing where the other boys were. It was late, potentially meaning that they were in bed, asleep with any luck. Grandma's hand flew to her mouth as she gasped, tears swimming in her eyes.

"Oh, Jeff… I didn't want to believe it…"

"I still don't," Jeff muttered, pushing himself away from the door. He walked a few steps forward, wrapping his arms around the old lady and kissing her forehead. He only held on for a moment, however, before he was pushed away and she bustled back into the room. Jeff followed more slowly, bracing himself against anything that was about to come his way. Grandma had hitched herself onto one of the beds, the easy way that Alan immediately leant against her side showing that was where she had been before. John was curled up in a chair in the corner, gazing off into space.

"Where's Gordon?"

"The balcony, dear," Grandma sighed, clearly trying to hold it together for the younger ones. Jeff crossed the room, smoothing back Alan's hair and giving his son a kiss goodnight. The little boy simply blinked up at him, obvious tear tracks on his face and Jeff sighed, leaving the youngest to his mother. Just as he went to walk away, however, Alan called out.

"Daddy!"

Glancing back, Jeff saw that his little boy had his arms outstretched, clearly wanting his father. Jeff leant over, gently pushing him back against his mother.

"You just cuddle Grandma for now, and I'll be back to give you a cuddle in a moment, okay?" Alan snuffled slightly, but moved into Grandma's side even as she held him gently. Nodding at her, Jeff turned away again, worrying about Gordon being out on the balcony on his own. He knew what a magnet for trouble that boy was. Ruffling John's hair lightly on his way outside, he tried to smile reassuringly at his son, but knew that it came out as more of a grimace.

Opening the doors, Jeff just about held back a groan at seeing Gordon almost level with his head, clinging on to some sort of trellis on the wall and just hanging there.

"Gordon?" The red-head didn't answer, but now that Jeff had made his presence obvious, he moved in closer. Hooking his hands under Gordon's shoulders, he pulled the child down to the floor again, spinning him around to face as him even as he crouched down.

"What are you doing, buddy?"

"Jack got the whole way around on the balconies. I can search every room like this. I can find them."

Gordon's wording showed Jeff that the others all knew about Scott by now, for he was sure that the child wouldn't have been meaning Oscar. In fact, he was almost convinced that Gordon and Alan had forgotten about the other missing child now that they were so worked up about Virgil and Scott.

"I don't think so," Jeff said firmly, knowing that he had to do something before the boys got out of hand. They had been stuck here without any true information for days now, it was only natural that they were more than restless.

"But…"

"Gordon. No. I'm not saying it again, you are not to go climbing over the balconies, do you hear me?"

"I just want to find them!" Gordon cried, fighting against Jeff's hold. His father sighed, resisting his son's tugs and instead pulled the boy into him, hugging him tightly.

"We will, son. I promise that I will do everything that I can to get them back. I won't stop until I do. But I need you to promise that you aren't going to be climbing over the balconies."

Gordon stiffened in Jeff's hold, but his father did feel the small nod before the child completely sagged against him, exhaustion more than apparent. Jeff leant back, combing his fingers softly through Gordon's hair even as the red-head yawned.

"Come on, champ," Jeff muttered, shifting his position until he had a good grip on his son and hoisting him into his arms. Gordon wrapped his arms around Jeff's neck and let his father carry him in, again without too much of a protest. In Jeff's mind, that just showed how wrong things were right now, for Gordon never gave in that easily.

It didn't take him long at all to get the boy into some pyjamas and into bed quietly, Alan having fallen asleep whilst they were outside. Jeff had had a feeling that would have happened, but it meant that both of them could receive the comfort they needed – Alan from Grandma, Gordon from him. Gordon let his father put him to bed, but when Jeff tucked the covers up around him and made to pull away, a hand shot out and grabbed hold of Jeff's tightly.

"Don't go," he whispered, looking at his father with such a pleading expression that Jeff smiled reassuringly.

"It's okay, I'm right here, Gordon." Kicking off his shoes, Jeff pulled himself onto the bed, propping himself up on his elbow as he lay on his side next to Gordon.

"I'm not going anywhere, you just go to sleep now."

Gordon looked like he was going to protest, but settled for holding onto Jeff's hand even as his eyes flickered shut, seemingly of their own accord. Once again brushing back his son's hair, Jeff sighed heavily before letting his gaze cross the room.

He met his mother's eyes, and knew that the expression on her face was the one on his. No wonder the boys seemed so worried and scared when the adults looked almost terrified about what was happening. Jeff just hoped that Flinn found something they could use against Cowlishaw.

TBTBTB

Virgil breathed in deeply as he woke up, the back of his neck stiff and uncomfortable from where he had yet again slept leaning against the wall. There was a frown on his face and tears lingered in his eyes as he straightened up, and whilst he couldn't remember what it was that he had been dreaming about, he knew that was the reason why he was upset. Dashing the tears away, Virgil glanced to the side and found that it was something of a relief that Oscar was still asleep. He didn't know what it was, but Virgil was beginning to feel responsible for the other boy. Oscar had been adamant that Virgil was going to get them out of there, yet everything they had tried had not only not worked, but more often than not had backfired completely and left them in a worse position than they had been before. Virgil knew that if it wasn't for his encouragement, Oscar would have never fought back, and so would never have had to go through the experience of being tied up again. As a result of that, Virgil now felt that it was up to him to make sure that the boy who had previously made his life hell was okay.

But then the ten-year-old looked the other way, and shock ran through Virgil so fast that he completely froze to the spot. It hadn't been some dream that Scott had been here, it was really true. His brother was in exactly the same position as before, with his hands cuffed to the bar above his head. Scott's head was hanging and Virgil couldn't tell if he was asleep or not, but that wasn't what made him start to scramble across the floor. It was the scarf he could see tied around his brother's mouth.

Scott hadn't been gagged before, had he? Virgil wasn't so sure now; he couldn't remember what he had dreamt and what was actually happening, the lack of food and sleep slowly beginning to catch up with him. But no, now Virgil was thinking about it, he was almost certain that Scott had been able to talk to them. He had said that John knew what was happening and who was behind it all, meaning that he would go and fetch their father and then everything was going to be okay. Virgil was adamant that hadn't been part of his dream, but had actually happened. He had also passed on the knowledge about who it was that was behind their abduction, yet Virgil couldn't bring himself to think about that. He would never be able to see past the mask, and right now, that was the only thing he was letting cross his mind.

Yet that would mean that their kidnapper had been back in the room whilst Virgil had been asleep. Not realising that he was reacting in precisely the way that Cowlishaw wanted him to, Virgil sucked in a sharp breath as he crawled closer to Scott, not wanting to think about what could have happened to his big brother whilst he had been asleep. Unlike the way that Cowlishaw had restrained Virgil and Oscar, there was no way that Scott could escape from the cuffs. For the first time ever, Virgil knew that it was going to have to be up to him to make sure that Scott stayed safe rather than his big brother taking the lead. Scott had looked after him for the last year - and longer. It was time that Virgil repaid the favour and made sure that he looked after his brother. If Scott could do it, then so could he.

"Scotty?"

His voice was barely a whisper, yet Scott's head shot up so fast that Virgil knew that there was no way that he had been asleep, especially not if the dark circles already beginning to shadow his eyes were anything to go by. He could tell that the older boy was trying to smile at him reassuringly, he could see it in the way that the corners of his eyes crinkled ever so slightly, but Virgil didn't smile back. How could he when the figure that was now haunting his dreams had come back in and potentially hurt his brother without Virgil knowing? He moved even closer until his hands could reach behind Scott's head.

"I'll get it off," Virgil said firmly, his fingers beginning to feel out the knot as he spoke. After all, both he and Oscar had been able to get out of everything that the man had tied them up with before, why should this be any different? Virgil just had no idea that beforehand, it had been more for their father's benefit than theirs. Vader had simply tied them up as a warning of what could happen if they misbehaved. But with Scott, the deranged man was making sure that he couldn't say who it was behind the mask, not knowing that knowledge had already been imparted. Much as Virgil's fingers scrambled and tugged, he couldn't get the knot to give in the slightest and eventually he fell back, sitting on the floor in front of Scott and staring up at his big brother with wide eyes.

Having his older sibling in the room, yet not being able to hear Scott tell him that it was all going to be okay was almost worse than not having Scott in there at all. Scott had always been the one to reassure him, to tell him softly that it was going to be alright when Virgil had once again felt like their father had abandoned them. He needed to hear that now, he needed to know that his brother was confident that they were going to get out of this. Having Scott muted was almost a sign in Virgil's mind that things weren't going to be okay. If Scott couldn't tell him so, then how on earth would things work out alright?

"Oscar, wake up, I need you!" Virgil practically yelled, startling the other boy awake. He had half-turned back towards where Oscar had been sleeping, but also seemed reluctant to pull away from Scott entirely, as if scared that should he look away, something else would happen to his brother that he wouldn't be able to stop. Oscar jolted awake, letting out a soft gasp at the panic in Virgil's voice but quickly managed to collect himself. He blinked as he looked around, but within seconds seemed to realise what had Virgil sounding so upset and he hurried over. Dropping to his knees, he crawled over to where Virgil was sitting, then paused. Glancing up at Scott, he waited until the older boy had nodded his permission before he moved again. This time, he didn't even hesitate, but began to try and untie the gag. Unlike Virgil, he realised with one glance that it meant someone had come in again because there was no way that Scott had been gagged before. He didn't have Cowlishaw's threats about going after the rest of his brothers ringing in his ears almost constantly and therefore plaguing his dreams. But just like Virgil, he couldn't get the scarf to shift.

"I can't do it."

"You have to!" Virgil yelled, staring up at him in something that could resemble anger. "We have to get it off!" Before Virgil could continue on his tirade, Scott let out a muffled noise and when the younger brother turned to look at him, he shook his head warningly. Virgil knew the expression on Scott's face, knew that it meant that his brother was not approving of him yelling at Oscar and so wanted him to stop. Scott had never truly needed words in order to get through to his younger brothers, having mastered the same look that their father would use in order to get them to do something. Virgil sighed, muttered an apology to Oscar and moved in closer to Scott's side.

Scott automatically moved his legs around so that Virgil could lean against him, and the ten-year-old didn't even hesitate, but did so, his head resting against Scott's chest as his fingers traced patterns onto his brother's leg.

"Dad will come, won't he?" he asked softly, glancing up to see Scott nodding slightly. Sighing, Virgil dropped his gaze again, watching his fingers rather than looking at anything else in the room. What was the point? He knew that there wasn't anything to look at. They had spent days in here, they had seen all there was to see – or rather, not see. Oscar had backed away again slightly, and Virgil shot him a grateful smile, knowing that he needed this time with his brother. He had got his position just right, he could hear the steady beat of Scott's heart in his ear and that gave Virgil courage. Whilst Scott's voice might not have been able to say that things were going to be okay, his body still could, and Virgil told himself that was good enough for now.

His finger continued to move almost of its own accord for a few moments before he yawned, automatically snuggling in closer to Scott as he did so. His older brother shifted slightly, bending one leg up so that Virgil was almost surrounded by him. Smiling slightly at what Scott was trying to do, Virgil wriggled until he was in a more comfortable position. He hadn't been awake for long enough for his body to really get going again and before he could truly comprehend what was happening, he had fallen asleep on Scott, the steady rising and falling of his brother's chest lulling him into a sense of security that nothing else so far had been able to create.

Cowlishaw might have thought – and quite rightly so – that gagging Scott would freak Virgil out. But what he had underestimated was the bond between the Tracy brothers. Just being togetherwas enough to give more reassurance that most people would ever be able to voice even if they had all of the words in the world.