Charlotte was wheeled into Amelia's room late in the afternoon the next day. She smiled at the young brunette, despite the pain she was in. "Hey," she whispered, cringing at the nauseating, painful, clicking in her throat.

Amelia opened her eyes and turned her head towards the blonde. "Hey," she said, sleepily.

Charlotte typed something on the Ipad she had on her lap and the words echoed through the small speaker on the device.

"I'm sore. Getting stabbed has that effect on you."

"Mmhmm." She shifted on the chair. "Ow."

"How are you doing?"

Charlotte typed her answer and again, it echoed out of the speaker. "Ok, I guess. It hurts like a bitch."

Amelia laughed and winced. "Looks like we're two peas in a pod." She paused. "You hear I'm having a girl?"

"Mmhmm."

Amelia rubbed her stomach gently. "I guess I should start thinking about names then." She paused. "You ok?"

"Mmhmm." She typed something in the Ipad, it spewing out in spoken speech. "It hurts and I'm nauseous. I'm trying not to throw up."

"Ouch and gross." Amelia paused. "Any news on Ava?"

She shook her head—that was a big mistake. She scooted back on the chair and closed her eyes.

"You should go back to your room, Char."

She wiped the few tears that were dripping down her cheeks, and breathed in and out through her nose.

A nurse walked in. "Is there a problem in here, ladies?"

"Take Charlotte back to her room—1232."

The nurse nodded.

Amelia looked at Charlotte. "I'm sorry about Ava. I hope you find her soon."

She blinked back tears and was taken out of the room.


Charlotte was lying in her hospital bed again, staring at the wall. She closed her eyes and scrunched the sheet in her fingers. She was shaking and tears were streaming down her cheeks. Her bottom lip quivered and she curled her toes under.

Cooper walked in the room with a bouquet of different colored tulips. He smiled at her as he set the flowers on the table by the window. He sighed when he got a good look at her expression. "Sweetie, what's wrong?" He walked over to her and rested his hand on her shoulder. "Sweetie?"

She wrote something on the pad of paper that was on her lap and angled it towards him.

"Ouch. Sneezing doesn't sound like much fun." He rubbed her shoulder and kissed the top of her head. "I heard you went to see Amelia earlier?"

She blinked once.

"You both got lucky."

She blinked again.

"I know this has to be frustrating for you."

She blinked.

"Hang in there, sweetie."

She closed her eyes and shifted on the mattress.

"You want some nasty cherry jello from the cafeteria?"

She laughed, but then glared at him.

"I'm sorry." He brushed his hand against her cheek, catching her tears as they slid down her face. "I didn't mean to make you laugh. I wasn't trying to be funny." He paused. "Can I get you anything?"

She blinked once.

"What?"

She wrote down something and then looked at him.

"In your top left drawer?"

She blinked again.

"Ok." He paused. "I hear there's pudding today. Chocolate and vanilla swirl."

She smiled.

"I know it'll be a bit painful to swallow, but it's cold, so it may feel good." He kissed the top of her head again. "I'll be right back." He smiled and left the room.


Cooper walked back into the room with three patient files under his arm and a pudding cup in his hand.

Charlotte was watching TV when he walked in.

He smiled and handed her the manila folders. "The files you requested."

She smiled and took them from him. She blinked five times.

"You're welcome?"

She blinked once.

He laughed. "We have an awesome shorthand." He sat down on the bed and leaned back against the footboard. He pulled back the sheets and lifted up her right leg. He looked at her as he dug his thumbs into the bottom of her foot.

She wrote something down on the paper and showed it to him.

"No, there wasn't a line. I'm late because I was on the phone with the lead detective on our case. I was yelling at him for twenty minutes, trying to get answers. I'm starting to think that I can find Ava faster by myself."

Her hands were shaking a little as she looked at him. She wrote something else down, her hands slippery with sweat and too shaky to make her handwriting very legible.

"I'm trying to get answers, Char. I can't just leave you and I have Mason to think about too. But I was on the phone with the detective and I called the local reporter earlier, while you were seeing Amelia—I got nowhere. I even drove to the precinct this morning, but they just kept telling me there was nothing more they could do and that I was getting in the way of the investigation. I'm her father damn it! I'm supposed to get in the way. That's my job."

She sighed.

"I was sort of in shock yesterday, but it's been a day since she went missing and we're getting closer that pivotal 48 hour mark, and she's just a baby. She can't fight him off."

She scribbled something down.

"I'll go hound the detectives again, get more press involved. We'll find her, sweetie."

"Go-o. I—I a—am fi-ine."

"Wish you could come with me." He paused. "I'll go now." His pager went off his pocket so he pulled it out. He looked down at it and sighed. "I'm being paged. I'm not on-call. Who would want me seeing patients right now?" He ignored it and looked at Charlotte. "I'm gonna swing by the house and get more pictures, make copies of them, and show them around the city. People must have seen her."

Charlotte wrote something down.

"We'll find her. Even if I have to show her picture to every single person in this town, we'll find her. We have to." He sighed.

She raised an eyebrow at him, seeing his change in his expression.

"I feel horrible."

"Hmm?"

"Yesterday, I was so worried about you that I didn't really think about Ava. And now she might be dead because I didn't do all I could to find her. The police are useless. They're more concerned about their donuts than finding our daughter. I should be doing more."

She grabbed his hand and squeezed.

"And don't even say that I should stop feeling guilty." He paused. "If that bastard killed her, I—I just—I'll never forgive myself."

She blinked back tears.

"I can't believe I—I was joking around, I was laughing while our daughter's out there scared, alone, and hurt. I'm a horrible father. I'm a horrible person."

She scribbled something down and turned it towards him.

"But the difference, Char, is that you can't do anything. You're stuck in that bed, you're injured, you're in pain, and you can hardly breathe or speak without being in severe discomfort. I'm not. I'm completely fine. I could have done more. I could have been out there, circulating her picture, doing press interviews, hounding the police more. But I was here joking about Cruella and the wicked witch. While my sweet girl is out there by herself, probably dead, I'm here, laughing and smiling and making light of this. I'm a horrible person." He let out a breath. "But I'm gonna make up for it right now." He stood up and his pager went off again. He looked at it and grunted. "Ok, maybe I'm gonna make up for it after I see why the hell they're paging me."

"Go—o."

He placed a soft kiss on her lips. "I'm on a mission. I'll be back later." He slipped his phone back into his pocket and left the room.


Cooper walked through the hallway doors and into the ER. He padded up to the nurses' station and tapped on the counter. "You paged? I'm not on-call. My wife is hurt and my daughter is missing. This better be important."

The redheaded nurse nodded. "Dr. Sheetz told me to page you."

"Ok? I'm still waiting for the important part."

"Curtain three."

He was confused but walked towards the trauma bays. He pulled back the curtain. "What do we ha—." He gasped. "Ava." He ran up to the bed and grabbed his daughter's tiny hand. He kissed her hand five times and swallowed. "Where'd you, um, where'd you find her?"

"Under some bushes at the park," a paramedic said, standing back, watching the doctors work. "Two joggers spotted her."

Dr. Sheetz turned around. "I'm taking her down to radiology. She'll be sedated for the scan."

Cooper nodded. "What's wrong?"

"She has a lot of bruising around her eyes and a bump on the top of her head. It's most likely a skull fracture. I'll know more after the X-ray and CT."

"I'm coming with you."

Dr. Sheetz nodded and they made their way over to the elevator and up to radiology.


After the X-ray and CT scan were finished, Cooper was in a hospital room in the PICU, looking over his daughter's crib.

Dr. Sheetz walked in, knocking on the door, and attached the films onto the light board. "I consulted with Dr. James because he's the neurosurgeon on-call. Anyway, she has a small fracture in her parietal bone and another larger one in her frontal bone. CT scan is clean, though. She has a little bit of swelling on her brain, which should go down on its own. I'll just stitch up the gash on her forehead and the left side of her head, and get the orthopedic surgeon up here to set and cast her right arm."

"But she's ok? She doesn't need extensive treatment?"

Dr. Sheetz shook his head and lowered the crib railing. "We'll keep her in the hospital for a few days to keep an eye on the swelling, but she's ok. As of right now, she won't need surgery, but that could change tomorrow or even an hour from now."

He nodded. "Ok."

Dr. Sheetz stitched up the gashes and smiled down at the infant. "She'll be a little groggy and restless for a few hours while she comes out of sedation. This button controls her pain medication, she's been given extra fluids because she was a little dehydrated when she came in, as well as an antiemetic to help control nausea and vomiting."

"Thanks." He brushed his hand against his daughter's warm cheek. He had tears in his eyes as he looked down at her. "Panda bear, I knew we'd find you." He rubbed her stomach and looked up at Dr. Sheetz. "Thanks," he repeated.

"Her skull fractures should heal fully in about three to six months. I know you and your wife are both doctors so she'll be in good hands when she gets released." Dr. Sheetz paused. "Someone will be up in a couple minutes to take inferred pictures and take some blood samples, hair samples, and the like—for the investigation."

He nodded and swallowed—he just wanted all this to disappear.

Dr. Sheetz half smiled and walked out of the room.


Cooper looked at Ava lying there in the crib and sighed. She was pale, her eyelids were painted deep purple, her hair was matted with streaks of blood, and her right cheek was black and blue. The top of her head was visibly deformed and her wrist and hand were swollen. He took out his cell phone and dialed Charlotte's hospital room phone. He listened to the rings and then they stopped. "Don't speak, just listen." He paused. "They found Ava. I'm with her now. She has two skull fractures, a broken wrist and hand, with three broken and dislocated fingers. There's no brain bleed, just swelling. She's ok." He could hear a soft whimper on the other end. "She's alive, sweetie."

A petite, brown-haired woman with glasses walked into the room.

"Dr. McRoy just walked in. She's gonna set and cast Ava's arm." He swallowed. "I'm gonna send you a picture of our baby girl, just so you know she's here and she's ok." He pulled the phone away from his ear and snapped a photo of his daughter. He sent it to Charlotte's email and then got back on the phone. "I'm staying with Ava for a little while. They have to take pictures and samples and all that. I love you." He smiled. "Bye." He heard the click on the other end and then the line went dead. He hung up the phone and looked the doctor. "Hey, Dr. McRoy."

"Good afternoon, Dr. Freedman." Dr. McRoy looked at Ava. "She's beautiful."

"Thanks." He rubbed his daughter's foot while the doctor encased Ava's right arm, hand, and three fingers in hot pink fiberglass.

"That should do it."

"Thanks."

"I heard about what happened. I'm sorry. I don't know what it must have been like, but I can imagine it was pretty scary."

He nodded. "Uh-huh."

"I'll see her for a follow-up X-ray in three weeks—just to make sure the bones are healing properly."

"I'm a pediatrician, Dr. McRoy, I know."

"Sorry. I'm just used to the parents not being doctors."

"It's ok." He ran his fingers through Ava's blonde hair and tweaked her nose.

"I'll come back later to see how she's doing." Dr. McRoy smiled and walked out of the room.


Cooper scooped Ava into his arms and moved the wires and tubes out of the way. He sat in the rocking chair and cradled her, very carefully supporting her head. He placed a soft kiss on her bruised cheek and smiled. "Panda bear, my sweet girl, I love you and I'm sorry this happened to you and I'm sorry I didn't try harder to find you. I'm so glad you're ok. I don't know—I'm just so glad you're ok." He ran his hand up and down her stomach and rocked slowly. He let out a sigh of relief and closed his eyes. She was hurt, but at least she was alive and in his arms. He shifted on the cushion and looked at her again.

Ava opened her eyes and scrunched up her face. Her eyes were glazed over with tears and she started crying.

He sighed and held her close to him. "It's ok, Panda bear, daddy's got you." He wiped away her tears as they fell, and smiled down at her. "I know it hurts and you're confused, but you're safe now," he whispered, slowing down his rocking. He started singing "Hush, Little Baby," his soft voice calming her down. He smiled and repeated the lullaby until she was asleep in his arms. "Your momma and I were really worried about you. We didn't sleep at all last night 'cause we didn't know where you were. But you're a fighter and a survivor and you're safe now. Momma's doing ok. She's probably doing better now that she knows you're ok." He smiled and smoothed down her hair. "We love you so, so much, Panda bear." He closed his eyes again and took in the silence of the small room, the warmth of his daughter in his arms, and the hushed snores coming from the infant.