"Elliot, don't you understand?! What you did was dangerous!" Vanessa scolded, as Elliot stood mid-way down the stairs. "What sort of thing could have possessed you to do that?!"

Elliot glanced at Gilbert. There was no escaping the fury of his sister, and Gilbert didn't seem at all like he was going to be of any assistance in softening the scolding. "I'm sorry, Vanessa…."

"You'd better be!" Vanessa burst out, "Do you have any idea how scared I was?! I probably broke the speed limit a dozen times to get here!" She ascended the stairs, dragging Elliot back down with her. "You are never going to associate with that boy again, not if I have anything to say about it!"

Elliot's eyes widened. He had just managed to have a semi normal conversation with Leo, and now he was being told he could never speak to him again! "Vanessa!" He protested in disbelief. "You've never even met him!"

"And I don't have to!" Vanessa spoke with finality. "Anyone that kidnaps my little brother is not someone that should be associated with!" She stormed out of the apartment complex, still pulling Elliot along.

Elliot knew there would be no way to convince Vanessa otherwise. Her mind was made up. To her, there would be no reason whatsoever that would be good enough for her to allow Elliot even the possibility of seeing Leo again. But yet, he couldn't help but feel as if he would be making a mistake by giving in to what Vanessa wished. So making up his mind, he said in a resolute, and slightly defiant tone, "No."

"What did you just say?!" Vanessa stopped, her voice incredulous. "Elliot please tell me I did not just hear what I think I just heard. You'd better have a very good reason for why you just said that."

Elliot knew Vanessa would not be happy with his words. But he also knew, somehow, that he was doing the right thing. "I said no. Vanessa I know you won't like hearing me say this, but I'm going to talk to him again. We had a good conversation, believe it or not. And I'm not willing to give up what little progress I've managed to make, just because you said so!"

Vanessa gaped in shock, unable to form words for several moments. "You…...you what?!" She managed finally, her face going red. "I don't believe what I'm hearing! First you willingly go along with a kidnapper, and now you want to associate with him again?!" She shook her head, taking her car keys out of her purse and unlocking her car as she spoke. "As soon as we get home, I'm reporting him to the police!"

"No, don't!" Elliot yelled desperately. "That's the last thing he needs right now!"

"And why not?!" Vanessa stared at her brother in shock. "Give me one, no, wait, give me five good reasons why I shouldn't." She crossed her arms, a stern expression settling on her face. "And they'd better be very good ones."

Elliot's mind raced. What could he tell Vanessa, that wouldn't be a violation of Leo's privacy? There wasn't much for him to go on. Everything that he knew about Leo, as little as it was, was stuff that he was sure Leo wouldn't want him to go announcing, even to just one person. "How do I do this?!" Finally, he decided to just bite the bullet, tell Vanessa the truth, and apologize profusely to Leo later. "He's a foster child, he's been dragged around from place to place who knows how many times, I literally just got him fired, I got him kicked out of his current home, so he's moving again, and I want to get to know him!" Elliot held his breath, hoping his words would convince Vanessa. "Sorry Leo, but this is for the sake of both of us."

Vanessa was silent for several moments. For several long, agonizing moments, a suffocating, stifling silence hung in the air between the two of them. "I'm really, really opposed to this." She stated, pulling open the driver side door to her car. "This is your safety we're talking about. I'm sorry, Elliot, but to me, protecting your safety comes before protecting someone you just met yesterday."

"I understand that, Vanessa!" Elliot was adamant, not willing to give up without a fight. "But I still don't want to mess up his life more than I already have! So please, if nothing else, don't report him. I swear, he didn't hurt me, and all we did was talk."

Vanessa pressed her lips into a thin line, and once again silence descended between the two. Without speaking a word, she got into the driver's seat, motioning for Elliot to follow. Once he got in the car, finally she spoke. "I don't like this, Elliot. I really don't. You're too important to me, I don't want to even think about the possibility of losing you. Not to mention the possibility of that boy kidnapping anyone else."

"He has a name, and it's Leo." Elliot muttered quietly, then added in a normal tone, "I don't think he will. Please Vanessa, just let me give him a chance."

"Elliot, do you even hear yourself?" Vanessa questioned, backing her car up and driving out onto the street. "What you're saying, it's just…...it's insane. I can't even believe you're suggesting such a thing!"

"I know. I can't really believe it either." Elliot admitted, "But somehow, something is telling me that walking away from Leo and leaving him alone will be the worst mistake of my life. Call it a hunch, gut instinct, call it whatever you want, I'm going to listen to it."

"You're insane." Vanessa declared, shaking her head. "That is absolutely insane. No-one in their right mind would be able to say what you're saying. No-one in their right mind would even listen to what you're saying. And yet…..."

"And yet what?" Elliot felt a small spark of hope flickering in his chest. Maybe, just maybe, his words were getting through to Vanessa.

"I guess I'm insane too."

"Whoa wait you did what?!"

Elliot sighed in exasperation, face-palming. Of course the first thing Oz would do after being told about the events that had just transpired, would be to flip out. A normal reaction, sure, but it was a reaction that becomes oddly annoying when done by a certain blonde. "I told you already. We just talked for a bit."

"Yeah, yeah, I got that part, but before that. He kidnapped you?!" Oz's emerald eyes were wide, full of concern. The two were video calling, and Oz was laying across his bed, kicking his feet behind him. "Dang…..Elliot that's insane!"

"Yeah no kidding, and you're the one who encouraged me to talk to him!" Elliot thought to himself, but aloud he just said, "I'm fine, really. He didn't hurt me or anything. We literally just talked, that's it." He didn't go into details, not yet at least.

"Yeah, but I never would have encouraged it if I'd known he'd kidnap you!" Oz frowned, his forehead and nose scrunching. "And to think I was right there!" He was gripping a small rabbit plushie, a white rabbit with a bow. "Alice, Ada, and I, we were all right there!" Oz seemed horrified at the idea, the fact that his best friend had been so close to him, and in so much potential danger.

"It's fine, really." Elliot insisted, "Don't worry about it, OK? Gilbert and Vincent already gave me that speech." He grimaced, remembering the expression on Vincent's face. "And Vanessa…." Even remembering the argument with Vanessa was enough to give Elliot the chills.

Oz's expression morphed to match Elliot's, and he hugged his bunny plush tighter. "Ouch…..I bet that wasn't fun…..."

"No, it really wasn't." Elliot agreed, "I'm still surprised I managed to convince her not to report him."

"At least things all worked out!" Oz pointed out, his cheerful grin returning once more. "So, did you guys plan some time to talk again?"

"Well…..." Elliot shrugged, "We kinda parted ways without giving any contact info or anything. I have no clue how to get in contact with him." He admitted, beginning to realize that he should have said something about that to Leo.

Oz frowned and bit his lip, clearly thinking the matter over. "Well, maybe you could ask one of his co-workers? They might have his number."

Elliot pondered this for a moment. He could ask that pink-haired girl. But would she give the number? Most likely not, and it might be against their policy. "I don't think that will work. I doubt someone would just give contact info of their coworker to someone random, just because they claim that they're a friend."

"Yeah…...that's true…." Oz sighed, "I guess that was a far-fetched idea. Well then, how about going to see Vincent at work tomorrow? Maybe Leo will show up to get a coffee?"

"That's a possibility." Elliot agreed, "I guess it's better than nothing."

Before Elliot could say anything else, a voice called from beside Oz. "Oz, who're you talking to?!" Alice bounded onto Oz's bed and peered at the screen. "Oh hey, it's you." She wrinkled her nose, falling so that she laid across Oz's back. "Come on Oz, let's go get some ice cream or something."

"We got ice cream earlier!" Oz protested, "And I'm talking to Elliot…"

"There's no such thing as too much ice cream." Alice argued, "Or we could get something to eat. I'm thinking a meat buffet, that sounds good."

"Alice…..." Oz shook his head, "I've been out with you and Ada all day, I'm tired. We'll go out again tomorrow, OK?"

Elliot watched the two for a moment before cutting in, "Should I hang up and let you two settle this?"

"Ah, no, it's fine." Oz sat up, as far as he could with Alice on his back anyways. "So what were we talking about? You were gonna go back to the coffee shop tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah, I think I will." Elliot affirmed, "If Leo doesn't show up, I'll still get a coffee at least. I could always bring something to do and hang out over there for a while."

"Sounds like a good-" Oz was cut off by Alice biting on his cheek. "Alice! Ow! That hurt!"

Alice smirked slyly, leaning against Oz once more. "That's your own fault for ignoring me." She tugged gently on his ear, glancing at his computer, and by extension, Elliot.

"If you two are just going to be flirting, I'll go ahead and hang up now." Elliot reached for his trackpad, prepping to end the video call. "That OK with you, Oz?"

"Yeah, I guess. Might as well since-" Oz cringed, "Ah, Alice! Stop that!"

"Bye Oz." Elliot clicked the button to hang up, sighing as the last thing he heard was Alice once again asking for ice cream. "I swear those two….."

Elliot folded down his laptop, staring at the ceiling for a moment in contemplation. Would going to the coffee shop really be his best bet for finding Leo again? Was there a simpler way, was there something he could have possibly been missing?

Finally, he sighed in resignation. "I guess that's really the best lead for now." He spoke aloud to no-one, save for himself. "I guess I might as well follow it."

Taking a glance at his clock, Elliot was surprised to find it was already 9 PM. "Alice wanted to go out this late? Well, I guess that does sound like her."

Elliot checked his phone, and noticed that he had a text. "From Oz, I'll bet." He thought to himself, pulling up his texting app, after which his suspicion was proven correct.

Have a good time tomorrow! I hope Leo shows up!

"That makes two of us." Elliot muttered, putting away his phone. "I did not just go through all that for him to not show up."

Elliot turned off his light, laying in the dark for several minutes, thoughts randomly floating in and out of his head. Some were of Leo, some were of the scolding he had received because of Leo, and some were of his plans to hopefully find Leo again.

And so, with those thoughts in mind, Elliot fell asleep, a small smile gracing his lips.

A/N: I had to give a bit of a fun break during the second half of the chapter (and who doesn't love Alice biting on Oz's cheek?).

I also really wanted to get this chapter out for Elliot's birthday, but it's a day late, so happy belated birthday to Elliot!

As always, comments are always appreciated!