After four years of living in captivity basically underground, there are a lot of every day things Jade realizes she took for granted as a teenager. There are the more obvious things, such as her freedom to go where she wants and do what she chooses, but there are also less palpable things, like feeling warm sunshine on her skin or riding in a car.

It's invigorating riding in the passenger's seat of Beck's truck as they drive through the streets of downtown Los Angeles. Her window is rolled all the way down and she sticks her right arm out as far as it's safe to. Despite the large hat and sunglasses that she wears to keep people in the other cars from recognizing her as 'that girl who went missing', the sun is warm on her face and her arm and the air that rushes past her feels cool even though its close to eighty degrees and humid outside.

Beck can't help but smile as he looks over at Jade. He can't watch her for too long at a time, because Los Angeles has some of the worst traffic in the country and he needs to keep his eyes on the road, but when he does get a glimpse of her she seems more content than he's seen her in a while. It reminds him of when he first got his driver's license and they were young, broke, and bored. They would drive up and down the Pacific Coast Highway for hours just for something to do. She would just sit like she is now, her left arm wrapped around her left leg that she has pulled up against her chest with her right arm dangling out the window as far as it's safe for her to let it. They would talk and listen to the radio and enjoy each other's company. He makes a mental note to suggest they try it again sometime, hoping that they would still find it as enjoyable now as they did then.

Jade's happiness is brief and disappears as soon as Beck pulls his truck into the parking lot of the Los Angeles Police Department. With a sigh, she brings her arm back inside the car and rolls up the window. Beck parks and shuts the engine off, and they both sit there for a few seconds before he says anything.

"It's okay if you don't want to do this today." He reminds Jade "It's not too late to go home and play baseball with Aiden and Tyler."

"I need to do this..." Jade sighs, looking down at her lap "The longer I put it off...the worse it will get."

"Hey..." He reaches across the center console and grabs her hand, squeezing it reassuringly "I'm here for you, okay? I'll be right there with you the entire time."

"I know..." She nods, pulling the sunglasses off of her face "Thank you."

They each open their doors and climb out of the truck. Jade opts to leave her hat and glasses on her seat rather than wearing them into the building, knowing that they'll most likely stick out and draw even more attention to her. Beck locks the car and sticks his keys in his pocket, then grabs Jade's hand and interlocks their fingers. He offers her a smile and a nod of encouragement before they set off across the parking lot towards the building.

There are a few people around, but not as many as they expected there to be. Two women walk pass them on their way out of the building and then turn to do a double-take, their eyes locked on Jade. The first woman whispers something to the second woman, and she nods. Beck doesn't even notice them, but Jade is hyperaware of everything and everyone around her. She slowly feels her cheeks turning red with embarrassment as Beck opens the door for her and she steps inside the police department.

Inside it's even worse. Everyone who worked for the police, whether it be actual officers themselves or secretaries who did clerical work, knew about Jade and her case. The fact that she had been found alive was probably the biggest thing the department had dealt with in the past decade, and everyone in the building at least knows her face. Most of the people they pass on their way to the elevators do the same thing that the two women outside did, make eye contact long enough to smile politely and then do a double-take as they pass her. They're all thinking the same thing.

Wait, isn't she that girl? What is she doing here?

Jade hopes that she'll have a moment to relax once they're inside the elevator, but she doesn't. Three other people climb on with her and Beck and she feels herself holding her breath as the doors close. One woman is too preoccupied with her phone to look up at anyone else, but the other woman and the man that are also there are very obviously trying their best not to stare at her. She feels herself tense up, and Beck notices as she does. He squeezes her hand tightly and offers her a smile to let her know that everything is okay.

They take the elevator up to the top floor. Beck personally has never been in this part of the building, but Jade has a few times in high school when Tori brought her and Cat along to visit her dad while he was working. When she came with Tori, they always went left when they got off the elevator, but this time Beck leads her to the right.

"I thought his office was the other way?" Jade asks him

It's the first time she's spoken since they entered the building and she notices how dry her throat is now after being so anxious.

"It probably used to be." Beck nods "But he got promoted, remember? He got a new office in a new department."

"Oh...right..."

Beck pushes open a door to an office and leads her inside. There's a secretary sitting at a desk, typing something on her computer, who looks up when they walk in. She too recognizes Jade and wonders not only why she's there, but also how on earth she could stomach being in this particular office. She can't help but stare.

"Can I help you?" The secretary asks

Jade feels the woman staring at her and opens her mouth to respond, but she isn't able to form any words to communicate with her.

"We're here to see David Vega." Beck explains

"Well I figured as such, this is his office." The secretary nods "But the chief of police is very busy, you can't just walk in. Even if you're...never mind. Do you have an appointment?"

"Uh, no." Beck chuckles nervously "We...well, we're friends of his family. We just need to ask him a quick question."

"You still need an-"

"It's alright."

David has appeared out of the doorway behind the woman's desk, and is giving her a look that assures her it's alright that Beck and Jade are there. He motions for them to follow him out of the reception area and into his actual office.

The first thing Jade notices are the boxes that are still strewn around the room. Mr. Vega had been promoted to Chief of Police just a little under two months ago and it appears that he's still unpacking. The second thing she notices is the smell. It's musty and mixed with the scent of cigar smoke. It smells just like Ron.

Of course.

Of course it smells like him. This had been his office once too, before he died. He probably sat in this very room and plotted how he was going to abduct some innocent girl...the innocent girl that ended up being her. He probably sat at that very desk used that very computer to destroy evidence and cover up his involvement in the whole thing. He probably paced back and forth along the same hardwood floor and worried about what to do when she got pregnant, and then started the process all over again when he decided that the only way to move forward would be to abduct Ashley too.

"No..." Jade shakes her head, stumbling backwards into the wall "No, I need to get out of here."

"Woah." Beck reaches out to steady her "Hey, what's wrong?"

"Jade?" David moves towards her to try and help

Suddenly vivid memories come flooding back to her, and she can't fight them off. She can feel the heaviness of Ron's body on top of her's, whispering horrible things in her ear as he pins her down against the bed...his cold, empty, heartless eyes staring deep into her soul and draining all of her hope and all of her energy right out of her body. Jade closes her eyes tightly in an attempt to push the memories away, but it only makes things worse. Between the darkness, the smell, and the memories, now she's afraid that if she opens her eyes again...the past few months will have all been some kind of dream. Her family, her friends, and her freedom will all be fine...she'll be right back in Ron's basement, fighting for her wellbeing, and Aiden's, every single moment of every single day.

She feels like she can't breathe.

"I-I-I can't be in h-h-here." She stammers, fumbling for the door handle "I need to get out of here!"

She's gasping for air as she stumbles back out into the reception area. The secretary stands up from her desk, intending to help her, but sits back down again as Beck and David both file out of the office behind her as well. Jade rushes back into the hallway, pressing her back to the far wall and sliding down to the floor as she pulls her knees up to her chest and buries her face in her hands.

"Jade?" Beck sits down next to her "Hey, what's going on?"

He's careful not to touch her unless she gives him a sign that it's okay to. There are still instances where touching her without warning will scare her, and he doesn't want to make the situation any worse.

"I'm sorry." She cries "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make a scene or anything."

"It's alright." Beck assures her "You're safe, Jade. It's okay."

"What's going on, Jade?" David asks as he kneels down in front of her "Can I help?"

"That was his office too..." Jade says quietly, as she leans her head against Beck's shoulder "It still smells like him."

"Fuck..." Beck sighs "Shit, Jade. I'm sorry. I didn't even think about that."

"I should have thought of that too before I invited you in." David nods in agreement "I'm sorry, Jade."

She's right, the office does still smell like Ronald Cook. The scent stuck to his clothes and followed him home at night, and he hated it. Even if Jade hadn't been one of Tori's best friends, the constant reminders of the ex-chief of police would still make him sick. He had trusted that man, befriended him, looked up to him as a mentor even...all while he was doing such horrible and disgusting things right under everyone's noses. He's been meaning to do something to take care of that smell for weeks now, and makes a mental note to tell his secretary to call a professional service to come and deep clean it. He'll be on the look out for some kind of air freshener or candle as well to help even more.

"I'm sorry I freaked out." Jade apologizes

"Don't be sorry." David shakes his head "We can find somewhere else to talk."

"Thank you..." Jade says quietly as David's secretary hands her a paper cup of water

They're in a conference room down the hallway from David's office now, it was the closest open space he could find for them on that floor.

"You sure you're alright, hon?" The secretary inquires sympathetically as she meets Jade's eyes

"Yeah...I'm okay..." Jade nods "Thank you."

She's embarrassed more than anything at this point. Even though her reaction was incredibly valid, she had still caused a scene. She had still allowed people to see her at her most desperate and vulnerable, and that has left a deep pit in her stomach. Not to mention she still feels a bit uneasy, after a flashback like that the anxiety can be a bit difficult to shake. All she really wants is to get this meeting over with so she can go home and be with Aiden in an environment she knows is safe.

"Just let me know if you need anything." The woman tells her before exiting the conference room

Beck and Jade are each sitting in their own chair, but Jade has pushed her's as close to Beck's as she can get it and his holding his hand tightly. It's reassuring for him to know that in a time of fear and desperation like the one that had just occurred, she found comfort in him. He's still her rock, and nothing that had happened to her has appeared to change that.

"How's Aiden doing, Jade?" David asks as he sits down in the chair next to Beck

"He's good." Jade nods, smiling a bit at the mention of her son "My brother already has him obsessed with baseball."

"He's adjusting okay?"

"More than okay." Jade tells him "He's...the happiest I've ever seen him."

"Good." David smiles "That's really good. Now, what was it that you two wanted to talk to me about?"

Jade looks to Beck and he shakes his head, letting her know that part of this whole ordeal is that she needs to be able to advocate for herself on her own without the help of him or anyone else.

"Um..." She hesitates, setting her cup of water down on the table in front of her "I was wondering if you would be able to help me get in touch with Ashley's family..."

"Ashley Whitt?" David clarifies "The girl who-"

"That's her." Jade cuts him off "The last time I ever saw her...she was fighting for her life so that I could save mine and Aiden's...and I didn't get to go to her funeral...I haven't really been able to process her death. I was hoping that maybe if I got to talk to her parents or maybe even her sister...that maybe it would help me find some closure."

"Well, if I'm remembering correctly her sister lives out of state. I'm not sure if she would have stuck around this long. But her parents live in Riverside." David informs her "I'm sure I would be able to help you connect with them."

"Thank you, Mr. Vega." Jade nods "I...I really appreciate it."

"Of course." He assures her "I'm happy to do anything I can to help."

After everything she had been through, he feels that it's the least he can do.