A/N: Sorry for the delay. I had to write the next few chapters simultaneously to preserve continuity. The good news is that I'll be posting them all in the next few days. It's getting intense, but hang in there, please. This is a nice long chapter.

Thanks for all the great responses to my first fan fiction!

Chapter 29: A Tough One

It was the hardest case that Kate had ever handled. Not because she didn't know who the murderer was. She was almost 100 sure of his identity. But he had disappeared. And he had taken his thirteen year old daughter with him. Kate was determined that she would find the guy and rescue the girl as well.

It had been just after Christmas that Jack Pearson had murdered his wife. When Kate investigated the scene and talked to friends and relatives of the victim, she had found plenty of evidence of abuse, both of his wife and his daughter. Pearson had a successful career as an engineer, yet immediately after the murder, he had disappeared along with his daughter, Monica.

Kate spent long hours following multiple leads to find him, but everything came up blank. Three months after the murder, the police department put the case in their cold files and told Kate to leave it and concentrate on her other cases. They believed that most of the evidence pointed to the man leaving the country and they just did not have the resources to pursue it.

Kate couldn't leave it. She put in her day's work, then when she came home, she spread out the files looking for something she may have missed. On her day off she re-interviewed people that knew Pearson, searching for that one piece of information that would lead to finding him and the young girl.

House was worried about his wife. She was obsessed with this case. She had stopped working out in the morning. Instead she would review the files or go talk to someone before she began her regular work day. She usually arrived home late, staying at work to look up information on the department's computer system. When she did get home, she would close herself into the spare bedroom she had set up as an office, with files, bulletin boards, pictures, etc. She almost never ate dinner, though sometimes she would accept a slice of pizza if House brought it into the room. She stayed up late reviewing the files, usually later than House and falling exhausted into the bed and sleeping fitfully. Her nightmares returned.

Weekends just became extended days to work on the case. She never spent any time with House or Emily. House understood obsessing over a case. He had done it many times himself. But his wife's health and the well-being of their family was at stake now.

He caught her as she came in from work one day and before she could hole up in her office.

"Kate, stop. We need to talk."

"Sorry, Greg, no time. I have some information that I need to add to my notes."

He grabbed her arms. "That wasn't a request. You need to stop this now."

"What? What are you talking about?"

"This obsession over this case. It's gone far enough."

"You're kidding me, right? I've seen you do exactly the same thing. Hell, you told me about that woman that died and it took you eight years, but you kept looking until you found the reason."

"True, but I kept on living in the meantime. I don't expect you to give it up. Just give it a rest."

"I can't! Don't you understand?"

"I do understand. It's because of the girl. You see yourself in her. Abused childhood, mother killed by this man, I get it."

Kate swallowed hard, trying not to let tears come. She had already cried for Monica and what she must be going through. But she couldn't admit any of that to anyone. She had to convince everyone (including herself) that this was just about catching a murderer.

'That's not it. I can't leave a murderer out there. That's all it is."

House gave her a withering look that told her he didn't believe her.

"Does your lieutenant want you to keep pursuing this?"

"No," she said, disgusted. "They think he left the area, probably the country. He ordered me to give it up."

"Well, that's a sure way to guarantee you won't. No one orders you to do anything."

"You should talk." She shot back.

"How do you think I understand that?" he smirked. "But that's not the point. You know that they're probably right? He's probably long gone."

"No, I don't believe it. Something about this guy. He's still here, in this area. He's hiding out somewhere. I can feel it."

House couldn't argue with her. How many times had he fought everyone on a case based on a feeling that he'd had, an innate knowledge of his own certainty. Kate was the same way. Probably why he loved her.

"Okay, I can understand that too. But you're not going to catch him or save the kid if you wear yourself down to nothing. If he is hiding out, he's good at it, since no one's had a glimpse of him in over five months."

"I know." She said, frustrated. "And I know you're right. But I just can't give this up."

"Don't give it up. Just give it a break. Don't study the files every day, pick one day a week to do that. Don't spend all weekend working it, spend an hour or two. You'll come at it with fresher ideas if you walk away from it a bit. And you might find your answers somewhere else. That's what happened to me with my eight-year old case."

She knew he was right. She tried to take his advice and began to spend some more time with her family. She didn't spend every evening working on it and she began to get home at a reasonable hour. Her health improved.

She even began to believe that possibly the other cops were right, maybe Pearson had left the area. There was certainly no sign of him anywhere.

Then she got the first phone call.

She was at her desk, completing some paperwork when her phone rang.

"Detective Martin." She answered.

"De-tec-tive." A voice said, drawing out each syllable of the word.

"Who am I speaking to, please?" Kate said, expecting it to be a prank call. They loved to get through to cops.

"Why, you should know me by now. You've certainly studied me very well for the last few months."

A cold chill ran through her.

"Identify yourself."

"I'm not that stupid. But I will say that Monica is fine."

Kate could hardly manage to speak, but she still ground out, 'Pearson."

"I don't know why you want me so much, but if that's the case, then we must arrange to meet."

Kate started to get excited. "When? Where?"

"Not so fast. We will meet. But I will determine the parameters. And I can guarantee, you will not have the upper hand. Since you've spent so much time investigating me, I've investigated you as well. You're a very lovely woman. I believe that we might enjoy each other."

"You're a scumbag. The only thing I will enjoy with you is putting you behind bars."

"I'm sorry, Kate – oh, may I call you Kate, thank you – this will not end with me incarcerated."

"That's where you're wrong."

He just laughed and said, "Kate, Kate, you may have been studying me, but you still have a lot to learn. And now, I must say goodbye. But we will speak again. And very soon."

He hung up. Kate just looked at the receiver in her hand. She couldn't believe after all these months, she had finally spoken to Jack Pearson. If he called her, she must be getting to him. This was the first break she'd had on this case.

She almost ran to the lieutenant's office. She gave a brief knock, then entered. Paul was sitting at his desk.

"Paul, he called." She said, excitedly.

"Who called? What are you talking about?"

Briefly, she filled him in on the phone call. She started to list things that should be done to pursue it.

"Whoa, Kate, wait a minute. How do we even know the call was from Pearson?"

"Who else would it be?"

"Anyone. You've been all over town asking about him. Any crazy could be calling you and saying it was Jack Pearson. You need more to go on than one phone call before I'm going to commit department resources on a cold case."

"Dammit, Paul, this was him! I know it. He knows I've been looking for him and he was taunting me!"

"Yeah, you just proved my point. He knows you've been looking for him." He shook his head. "Sorry, Kate, I just can't authorize it."

She wanted to say more, but she knew from experience that when Paul made a decision, you couldn't change his mind. Unless you proved him wrong. Which was what she intended to do.

She smiled at him. "Fine, Lieutenant. If that's what you want, then that's it. Thanks."

She turned and walked out of the office. Once the door closed behind her, Paul smiled.

He called again, of course. Kate placed a trace on her office line and tried to keep him talking. But he was smart enough to know how long to talk before ending the call and avoiding any trace.

He called her three times on her office phone over a week. Then he called her cell phone. That worried her a little, but then she reasoned that her cell number was on her business card and she gave them out to the people she had questioned about the case. It was not unreasonable for him to have it.

The calls were much the same each time. He had moved from calling her 'Detective Martin' to calling her 'Kate'. It creeped her out, but she wanted to keep him talking, so she didn't say anything. She pretended to go along with his talk, hoping to get his trust.

"Hello, Kate," he would say, "Guess who?"

"Hello, Jack, good to talk to you again."

"I am so looking forward to when we can be together. I have wonderful things planned for you."

"Why don't you tell me? In detail."

"Kate, Kate, Kate, I know you're trying to get me talk long enough to trace the call. It won't work, my dear. I'll never stay on long enough and even if I did, I don't call from the same phone or location. You won't find me."

"Then how will we ever be able to get together and do all those 'wonderful things' that you have planned?"

"All in good time, all in good time. When the time is right, you'll know it."

He would usually end the call after that. Kate usually tried to ask about the young girl, but he would only say something like, "she's fine."

When he called her at home, she started to get scared. It was the same type of call, but it was to their private, unlisted home number.

The second time he called her at home, House was in the kitchen while Kate was in her office. He didn't normally answer the phone, but he was waiting for his team to call with test results. He picked it up seconds after she did and almost hung up when he heard her talking. But something about the call sounded odd to him.

After she hung up, House replaced the receiver and went into her office. She was holding a pen as if it was a knife and she wanted to stab someone.

"Who was on the phone?" he asked.

"Who, uh, no one. Just, uh, someone from work." She stammered.

He pierced her with his blue eyes, but she wouldn't meet them. He waited for her to say something more, but when she didn't, he said, "Bullshit."

"What?"

"It wasn't someone from work. I heard it. It was that psycho, wasn't it?"

"No, it wasn't…it was…" she looked at the expression on his face and knew that she couldn't lie to him. She sighed. "Yes, it was Jack Pearson."

He looked at the floor briefly, then back at her. "How long has he been calling you?"

"A couple of weeks. But this is only the second time he's called here."

"How did he get our home number?"

"I don't know."

"You realize that if he has the phone number, he probably has the address."

"Of course I realize that!" she yelled.

"Well, then, next time he calls, be sure to invite him for dinner." he yelled back.

"What do you suggest I do?"

"Cop things. Get them to watch the house. Put a tap on the phone. I don't know, I'm a doctor, not a cop."

"They won't do that." She said quietly.

"What? Why not?"

"Paul doesn't believe it's really Pearson. He thinks it's a copycat just taunting me. He told me to let it go."

House swore. He knew better than anyone that a sure way to make Kate do something was to order her not to. Her lieutenant knew that as well.

"Even if it's not Pearson, it's someone who's stalking you. That should get you police protection."

"I'm the police. I can protect myself.'

"How about Emily? Can you protect her 24 hours a day?"

Kate paled. Her expression said that she had thought of that. In fact she was worried about House as well as Emily. He might be a man, but he wasn't a cop, he wasn't armed and he couldn't run away from an attacker.

"Kate, you have to end this. You're going to end up dead. Is it worth it just to catch this guy?"

'I can't end it even if I wanted to. He knows I want him, so I'm the one he's talking to. And I won't give it up in any case."

"Your life means that little to you?"

"It's my job. You knew that when we met. I'm a cop. I'll always be a cop. It's a dangerous job, but it's the only job I want."

"It's not worth losing you."

"People die every day for lots of reasons. You're a doctor, you should know that. Hell, you were shot in your office!"

House knew she was right about that. He looked down again and said, quietly, "I couldn't handle it if something happened to you."

"Nothing's going to happen to me."

"You don't know that."

She sighed. "No, I don't know that. But I believe it. And even if, by some chance, it did, you could handle it. You'd have to because of Emily."

He looked at her. "Do you think I could take care of her without you?"

"Of course I do."

"Well, you're wrong. I'm barely functioning as a father now, and only because you're here. Without you, that kid's in trouble."

She walked up to him and took his hand. "No, you're wrong. You're a terrific father. You love her and that's number one. You'd do anything to protect her. And if I wasn't here, you'd be father and mother to her because you'd have to be and you'd know that's what I want."

House put his arm around her waist and pulled her to him. She rested her head on his shoulder. "Please don't put me to the test on that."

"I won't."

House, Kate and Emily, like most families, had a routine that they followed. Kate was up first and usually took Emily to day care on her way to work. Since House started work at erratic times, it was easier on the day care staff to have the child arrive at the same time each day. Kate was usually at her desk by 8 AM and stayed until 5 or 6 PM, unless she was working on something.

House never arrived at the hospital before 9 and usually closer to 10. He always went to the day care center at lunchtime to spend a few minutes with Emily. He had gotten into the habit when he and Kate were separated and he enjoyed it. The baby was always excited to see her daddy. He stayed at work most of the time until 5 or 6 as well, also, unless he had a case.

The college student who worked as their nanny picked up Emily around 3 PM and brought her home. She fed her, bathed her, and if both parents worked extra late, put her to bed as well. When House or Kate came home, the nanny left.

With a routine like that, it wasn't hard for someone watching to know when a member of the family was vulnerable.

It had seemed like a normal day to House. It was late June and the weather was warm, but not too hot. He had arrived at his office around ten and had just sat down at his desk with his coffee when his phone rang. He hated answering the phone, but the ring told him it was an outside call. Good, not Cuddy bugging him about clinic. He picked it up.

"House." He said.

"Greg, this is Lt. Rogers." House sneered. That man loved throwing around his rank. "I was, um, hoping you might know where Kate is."

"Isn't she at work?"

"No, she never came into the office today. I was thinking maybe she was sick and just forgot to call in?"

"No, she left before I did with the baby…" House got a sick feeling in his gut – Emily! "Hold on a second." He put Rogers on hold and dialed the hospital day care center.

"This is Dr. House" he said when one of the employees answered. "Did my wife bring my daughter in today?"

"Yes, of course she did, Dr. House. Det. Martin brought her in around 7:30 as usual."

"So my daughter is there?"

"Yes, she's a few feet away from me having her morning snack."

He ended the call and went back to Rogers. "She brought Emily to day care at 7:30."

Rogers swore. "I was afraid of that."

"What were you afraid of?"

Paul hesitated. "I don't know if she told you about some phone calls she's been getting…"

"Yeah, I found out about them. I also know you didn't do a damn thing to help her."

"There was no proof…"

"You are so full of shit! You told her to let it go, knowing she never would and you'd get her working on the case in her spare time, saving you paying cops overtime to help her."

"I had no way of knowing that she…"

"You are such a son of a bitch. You've known her longer than I have. You dated her. You slept with her! You know what she's like."

"Look, this is not getting us anywhere."

"You're right it's not. You'd better get every goddamn cop out there and find my wife."

"We've already started, I just wanted to be sure it was necessary."

"Find her. Or you'll be sorry." He hung up. He stared at his coffee cup for a few moments. Then he banged his fist on the desk hard enough to splash the coffee and have papers flying.

Chase was just walking into the conference room when House banged his fist. He looked up and saw by the look on House's face that something was wrong. He went into the office and said, "What's the matter?"

'Leave me alone." House growled.

"Is it the patient?" he asked.

"No, it's not the goddamn patient. LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Chase turned and left the office and the conference room, heading straight into Wilson's office.

Not more than three minutes later, Wilson was walking into House's office. One look at his friend's face told him something was terribly wrong.

"What's happened?" Wilson asked.

House looked up at him. "That was fast. Are they wired into you?"

Wilson sat down and just looked at House, waiting.

House sighed and told Wilson about Paul Rogers' phone call.

"Well, I'm sure she's fine. She's a good cop, she's probably…"

"No. Something's happened." Then he told him about Pearson and the phone calls.

"My God." Wilson said, sitting back in his chair. Then he said again, "My God!"

"That about covers it." House said grimly.

"So you think this guy has, what, kidnapped her?"

That thought had come to House, but he didn't want to think that. "I don't know." He said. "Maybe she's just pursuing him and …" He stopped because he knew that he was grasping at straws. She would have called for backup or at least answered her cell phone if she could.

"Yeah, I think he kidnapped her."

"Is that what the cops think?"

"I don't know!" House spat out, frustrated. "I've tried calling Rogers back, but he won't answer my calls."

Wilson thought for a minute, then picked up the phone and dialed a number. When someone answered, he said, "Joanne, what's happening with Kate?"

He listened for a minute, then said, "Okay, thanks…Yeah, I'll talk to you later."

He looked at House. "She doesn't know, but she said the cops seem upset. Rogers left the office a few minutes ago."

"So what does that mean?"

"I wish I knew."

They were both about to find out. At that moment, Paul Rogers walked into House's office. The man looked grim.

"Greg, I hate to have to say this to you."

House felt a lump form in his gut. "Then don't say it."

Paul shook his head. "I have to. I'm sorry, Kate is dead."