Adam came back in the door after going to Adrien's house. He carried Adrien and Rebecca's things over to the stairs, then he grabbed his jacket and pulled it on as he went to his father's desk.

"Are you going to go join the posse?" Ben asked.

"Yes, I am for little while. She wants me to stay here though. Just a…" He leaned in close to his father, "watch Adrien. This whole thing has gotten her really upset."

"Alright, I'll keep her occupied." Ben answered. Adam rose and headed for the door. He paused to watch Hoss in the floor playing with Rebecca and her dolls.

She's so sweet and innocent. She has no clue what's going on around her.

"Adam, I like the results you've been having, but I'm starting to get nervous." Adrien commented looking at some of the tests that Adam was grading at the end of the day.

"What would you be getting nervous about?" Adam smirked, but didn't look up from his project.

"I think if you keep doing this well, then my job could be in danger." She answered. Hop Sing came into the dining room and sat some cookies out on the table in front of him.

Adam reached for one, but Hop sing was quicker and slapped him on the hand.

"Bad, Mista' Adam, bad!" He yelled.

"What was that for?" Adam asked rubbing his hand.

"Hop Sing make cookies for sweet litta' Miss Becky, not big greedy Mista' Adam!"

"You know, Hop Sing, Hoss is gonna get real jealous if he finds out that you're making his favorite cookies for Rebecca."

"Hop Sing no care." And with that he picked up the plate and went back in the kitchen.

"I heard that Irish tempers were bad," Adam commented, "and I've seen your Scottish at its worst, but nothing, and I mean nothing has ever prepared me for that Chinese temper. There's some days that I won't go in the kitchen for fear of being shot."

Adrien laughed.

"You're so cute when you laugh you know that." Adam said looking at her.

"Oh, Adam you're such a kidder."

"I'm not kidding, and I've been meaning to ask you something."

"Why don't you ask me now?" She asked.

"When are you going to teach Rebecca to dance?"

"Adam, I don't want her to have anything to do with dancing."

"Why not darling?" Adam asked, surprised at her decision.

"With as much heart break as dancing brought me, I don't her to have any part of it." Adrien answered, "I couldn't go on with it after everything happened."

"But how do you know that something like that will happen to her?"

"You fell in love with me when you saw me dance didn't you?"

"Yes, that's one thing that drew me to you," he answered, "but I know that there is so much more to you than that. He leaned over to kiss her quickly.

"And it got me into a lot of trouble didn't it?"

"Yes, but you got through it, you recovered."

"Adam, can't we save this till later, I have enough things on my mind."

"I know darling. I know." He reached over and took her hand.

"Are you sure that they haven't found anything?" she asked.

"No, dear, I'm sorry." He gathered up the papers and set them aside. "Something will come up soon."

"Adam, I don't like this, it's been two weeks. He's planning something. I can feel it."

"Don't worry, Adrien." He looked her straight in the eye. "You need to relax, dear."

"I can't …not when everything's like this."

"You're going to. Really, I'm going to take Rebecca out to the house, and we're going to check on things." As he spoke, he stood up and then gave Adrien his hand and helped her from her seat. "You are going to take this," he handed her a book, "You're going to go upstairs, and I'm going to have Hop Sing bring you a cup of tea. And you're going to lie up there, and read and drink your tea, until we come back, and then me and you and Becca, are for a ride all together, just the three of us, okay?"

Adrien smiled.

"Okay." She went across the room and headed upstairs. "I'll send Becca down in a minute."

Adam and Rebecca arrived at the house.

"Rebecca, stay here, I'll be back in a moment."

"But I want to see the kitties," she protested, folding her arms over her doll, her shoulders sagging, and her bottom lip in a pout.

"You can go to the barn and see the kittens, but I want you to go and be right back."

"Okay." Her smile returned, and she went running for the barn. Adam went inside the house and upstairs, going into her room, he spotted the music he had framed above her bed.

This might make Adrien feel more at home, Adam thought as he took it off the wall. He stood there looking at it for a moment; he spotted her bottle of perfume on the vanity. He picked it up and sprayed it once. The scent filled the room. Adam was lost in thought, then suddenly…

"Help! Help! Somebody! Help!"

Adam jumped, that was Rebecca screaming. He ran down the stairs and out of the house. She was being carried, kicking and screaming, by a man in a dark coat and his hat over his eyes.

"Help, Help!" she pleaded seeing Adam.

"Stop right there." Adam shouted at the man, drawing his gun.

But the man didn't care; Adam drew and fired at the horse but missed. He ran and got in the carriage, he fired at them again, he immediately put the horse into a dead run, but it was still too slow, and he lost them.

"Rebecca, Rebecca!" he called. He tracked the horse until nightfall, but the dusk and the tears in his eyes faded the trail, and he had to turn back.

His steps were heavy, almost ringing the news with his every resonant step. He seemed to fall through the door when he came in.

"Adam, are you alright?" his father asked. Adrien ran to his side, as he fell down on his knees. Seeing the tears in his eyes she almost knew before she asked.

"Where's Rebecca?" she asked falling to her knees beside him.

"I'm so sorry, Adrien," he whispered in answer, "I'm so sorry."

"Hoss, ride into town and get the Sheriff." His father ordered in the background. Hoss left almost in a run.

"It was him, wasn't it, Adam?" Adrien asked, her voice cracking; Adam nodded. "He was waiting, wasn't he?" Adam nodded again.

Adrien seemed to almost collapse in herself. The only sound in the room was the sound of Adrien gasping for air between her silent sobs. Adam slowly rose from the floor, picked her up and carried her to her room.

A little while later, Hoss returned with Sheriff Coffee. Adrien was brought downstairs and sat beside Adam, but both of them were depending on the other to themselves up.

"I don't know what more we can do." Coffee said, "There's already a posse looking for him, and we haven't seen hide nor hair of him."

Adam leaned forward, put his head in his hands, and gazed down at the floor.

"But Adam was tracking him until nightfall." Ben added, "You have something to follow now."

"Yes, but by morning, that trail might as well be cold." Coffee answered.

"But it's a chance." Ben argued.

"So you're not going to do anything?" Adam asked. All eyes were on him now. He had not looked up, as they looked another tear fell onto the floor to mingle with the others that had fallen there.

"You're going to stand there and tell me she's gone." He looked up as he continued, "You're going to tell me, when we came to you for help, that that girl, that sweet innocent girl, is gone," He rose to his feet as the rage rose within him. "and you're not going to do a single damn thing." He was in Coffee's face now. "My Rebecca has been taken by the common criminal that you have been half assed looking for." He picked up Coffee by the shirt. "Do you hear me? That's my daughter he's got, and I don't care what I have to do, she's going to be safely in her bed before you ever sleep again."

"Adam, stop!" Adrien shouted as she sobbed with her head in her hands. Everyone sat there stunned.

Adam sat back down and gathered Adrien up in his arms.

"I'm sorry dear, I got out of control. I'm so, so sorry," he whispered in her ear, but everyone else could still here. "I'm taking her back upstairs. She shouldn't have to go through this." And he carried her back to her room.

Adrien was so upset that it made her sick. Adam sat through the night with her. She was very angry with him; he had done it. He had destroyed her, now she would be the one that had to leave. She and Rebecca would have to pack their things and … but she could not do that. Rebecca was gone. Every time that thought went through her mind another wave of nausea came over her. Finally, she cried herself to sleep.

Adam sat in a chair in the corner of the room, his head in his hands, blaming himself for everything. He would not only put Rebecca in danger, but he had blown their secret. Adrien seemed so far away now, further than ever before.

Have I lost her? he thought, Oh God, don't let me lose her.

There was a knock at the door. Adam was jerked from the midst of his thoughts.

"Adam, can I speak with you?" his father asked.

"Yes, just a second." Adam answered. He got up, kissed Adrien on the cheek and stepped outside the room. "What is it, Pa?"

"We need to talk, Adam. Apparently, there's a lot that you still haven't told me."

"Pa, there's a lot of explaining and it's …it's complicated. It's a long story. I need to be with Adrien right now." Adam turned to go back to her room.

"Adam, you have completely embarrassed me, and this family. I had no clue what you meant downstairs, and your behavior was uncalled for anyway." Adam could see the rage in his father's face. "How did this happen and why did you never tell me?"

"Pa, I told you that this is hard to explain…I will, just not right now. Adrien needs me."

"Isn't she asleep?" his father asked. Adam nodded. "Then come downstairs and we'll talk."

"I don't want her to wake up alone." Adam revealed.

"She won't. Now come downstairs."

Adam reluctantly followed his father. Ben poured his son a brandy and sat down by the fireplace.

"Adam, how did you first meet her?" Ben asked, hoping for the complete story this time.

"I met her while I was in college." Adam answered, trying to keep it short.

"How did you two meet?" Ben persisted.

"Do you mean the first time? Or how I found her?" Adam asked.

"Both but start with which ever one came first."

"Well, I moved into a boarding house on the edge of town. There was a small stream in walking distance, so I went for a swim after getting settled in."

"And how did you find out about that stream?"

"A friend who lived in the room across from mine."

"So she was swimming when you got there?" his father asked, hoping for some answer.

"No, I was swimming. There was very tall grass around the area, that's why I picked it." Adam became very fidgety. "I got tired and went to leave, I was going through the grass and there she was in the middle of it with a guitar and writing." Adam smiled remembering the moment, how she was looked sophisticated and innocent at the same time.

"And what happened then?" Ben asked.

"She ran away." Adam answered.

"And so how did you meet, and get so…so... close?" His father asked still wondering.

"Well, I'd heard that there were dancers living in the boarding house too. One was supposed to be John's cousin. He was my roommate. Her and a couple friends were supposed to be between residences. None of them were ever really home."

"So did you see her at the house?"

"No, not exactly. I heard her before I saw her, but I didn't know it was her." Adam laughed quietly again; he lay down on the couch. "I was reading in the parlor that night. I heard a few girls come in the door, they were laughing. I heard them all go upstairs, but one stayed behind. I heard the maid, Mary Margaret, ask how the audition went. Then I heard the girl answer, that the decision for the lead was all but officially made, and that they were watching her. Then she went upstairs."

Adam took a quick sip of the brandy and continued, "When I got up the next morning, the dancers were already headed for the studio. I never saw them, but I heard them come in at night. John told me that his cousin was competing with his girlfriend for the lead. A couple weeks later, there was a performance and John asked me to come watch it with him. The girls had split up the lead, and it was sort of final audition. They were best friends and were finding it funny to be in so close competition. John wanted some support since he didn't know who to cheer on for. I went and when she came out on stage, I was mystified. I couldn't move. I'll admit, Pa, I wanted her from then on. She was magnificent. No woman has ever been more beautiful on stage."

"I understand, son, I understand completely." Ben commented, "But I don't have it all yet. I still don't know how I ended up a grandfather."

"I know. I'm not done yet, Pa."

"Then, please continue."

"She got that lead in that role and performed the lead role in every production. I was there in prime seats every night. John always had tickets since his cousin was a lead and his girl was a principal dancer. He invited me to a cast party at the close of this particular production. I'd still never seen her as close as I did that day at the stream. I'd caught glimpses, but I was afraid to look at her too much, I was afraid that the beauty and the grace weren't real that she wasn't real. Sometimes I thought if I got to close, she'd be like that illusion that I had of my mother as a child, and she'd disappear when I tried to touch her."

He smiled at the thought.

"Well, finale night came, and with a lot of coaxing, John got me to go. I was waiting for the girls in the gala room with John. His girl, Jessica, came out in an evening gown. I had met her, so I knew that she was not the girl I had met on the stream. She had a slender figure, pretty green eyes, and nice blonde hair. We began a conversation. I began to get jealous of John for getting such a good catch. Then behind me I heard a very melodious voice. She said, "Well, I see you two have a new friend, who's this?". I turned around, and there she was. Right there, in front of me. She didn't disappear, and she didn't mutate into something hideous. She looked like an angel standing in front of me."

Adam's face looked lost in wonder as the memory the night overtook him. A small smile went across his face.

"And then she realized who I was and her entire face turned bright red. " Adam's smile became wider and wider as he spoke.

"John looked at her and noticed that apparently we'd met then with as much grandeur as he could muster announced, 'Adam, I'd like you to meet, one of the best dancers that Boston has ever seen, Miss Adrianna Michaela Cooper'"

"Jessica could barely keep herself from rolling on the floor. Then making it even better Adrien just reached over and shook my hand and said "I'm pleased to meet you, Mr…" and I answered "Cartwright." Then she said, "John, since this is Mr. Cartwright's first time with us, why don't we show him a good time." So we left, and we went to this little restaurant. There we were met by four more of their friends. One of them, Grace, was a dancer. One was the stage manager, Gabe. The other two, Will and Karen played in the orchestra. It seemed like we talked about everything, Adrien and I were just drawn to each other. Then we went dancing. I thought it was funny that they wanted to go dancing after already dancing all night, but I went along. At the end of the night, we walked home together, and I walked her to her room."

He took another sip of the brandy.

"We were just friends for a little bit. By then, I had earned that she was only 16 and I was 19 at the time, almost 20. I really tried not to fall for her, but I did anyway. Eventually, they all bought a pub that they ran together, and they lived above it. This was so the girls would have an income in between productions. It was all really quaint and beautiful. I wasn't happy at the boarding house anymore so when John invited me to live with them, I accepted. We were closer to each other that way I loved it. As time went by, we got closer and closer to each other. We were in love, and there was a lot of passion between us. It began to go too far, and … Adam stopped there.

"Rebecca happened?" Ben asked.

"Yes and no." Adam answered. "Adrien went to rehearsal one night, and she didn't come back."

"And why did she not come back?"

"She disappeared, Jess saw her leave, but she never came home. Will found her three days later on the other side of town, in an old storage shed. She'd been beaten unconscious. There's no telling what happened to her. I've always had an idea of what happened, and I'm almost sure of who did it, but anyway, after that was when she found out that she was pregnant, and she wasn't sure if the baby was mine or who's it was."

"Adam, what did you do when Adrien found out that she was pregnant?" Ben asked.

"When Adrien found out, she reacted much like she did tonight. She stayed in her room for three days, and then she ran away. I found her by the stream where we first saw each other. She was sitting on a rock crying. She took a leave of absence from the ballet. Jessica took her place. Before Adrien's time came, we went to a little secluded place in the middle of nowhere. We went back under the illusion that we'd gone to find her mother and that she'd died after childbirth because of her age. Those closest to us knew what was going on, but most people didn't."

"I see and people believed it?" Ben asked.

"Yes, they did. No one was the wiser. We moved back into the room above the pub on the edge of town. Adrien went back to dancing, I went to school. And then when I left, she sent Rebecca to her family until she got past her grief. And the rest you know already."

"Have you ever been sure who Rebecca's father is?" Ben asked.

"No, sometimes I think that maybe it was him, I see him in her personality, but I see a lot of me in her physically. She has the same nose as my mother."

"But how did she end up with blue eyes like that?"

"Have you looked deeply into Adrien's? They're exactly the same. There's no doubt that her eyes are Adrien's, but really does it matter who the real father is? I love that girl like she's mine. I fully believe she is. It's not like what happened was Adrien's fault. How could I turn my back on her?"

Adam took in a deep breath and finished off the brandy. The room was silent.

It's over, he thought, I'm no longer living a lie.

"Pa, what are you thinking?" Adam asked.

"I can't say I'm not disappointed in you, Adam. But I can't say I'm not proud of you either. You did what any good man and father would have done. You respected her when you thought that she didn't want you in her life anymore, but you still should have kept in touch with your daughter."

"I know."

"And you should have respected Adrianna more than you did then."

"I know, Pa." Adam answered, looking down at the floor. "Everything she ever did was because I wanted her to."

"Do you respect her more now?"

"Yes, Pa, of course I do. How couldn't I? Look at what she's been through. Look at what she going through. Any other woman would have crumbled the day Cooper showed up."

"I know. She's extraordinary," Ben replied, "I thought a lot of her before, but knowing what I do now, that respect has grown."

"Adam," Adrien called weakly from the top of the stairs. Adam looked up at her. The pain in her eyes seemed to send a chill through the room. Adam stood and went to her at the top and picked her up in to his arms.

"Pa, I don't care what it takes." Adam declared, "I'm finding her."