"And then can we go on the swings?" Tyler asked his mom.
"Sure sweetie. We can do whatever you want. This is your day," Jen answered.
She had taken her son to the playground to escape the pressures of the search. She felt her son was too young to be around such things. She smiled at her son's excitement. She was so happy she had not stayed an Oz soldier. She could never have had such a great son if she had. As she pushed Tyler on the swings, she heard a crunch behind her. She turned, guard up to protect her son, but saw that it was only Tracy, not a mugger.
"Tracy! You scared me!" she said.
"Oh! I'm sorry. I just needed a break so I unwittingly came here. This is the kid's favorite place."
"I'm going on the slide, mommy, k?" Tyler said.
"O.k., hun. Don't fall!" and miraculously, he didn't...yet. Tracy and Jen sat next to each other on the swings.
"They'll come back you know," Jen said.
"I hope so. But it just seems so impossible and out of reach right now."
"Yes, but Robert and all of the other pilots are working on this. It will happen."
"Maybe we should go to the police--" Tracy started to say, but then Jen cut her off.
"NO! I know what Oz is like and if you do that, your children may never come back."
"Yes, I guess you're right."
"Come on. Let's go back to my house. We haven't had girl talk in a while."
"Yes," Tracy smiled, grateful for such a great friend. Jen called to her son with promises to play with him once they got home and the 3 left the playground.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Daddy! Mommy took me to the zoo and then the playground!" Tyler said, bursting into the office and climbing onto Quatre's lap.
"That's great, son! What did you see?" Tyler started naming all the animals he could pronounce. Quatre smiled at Jen over the boy's head. He was so lucky to have such a wonderful wife. Tracy and Duo came into the room.
"Where is everyone else?" Duo asked.
"They are still at Relena's office," Jen said
"Hey, where's Kaylee?" Tracy asked.
"She went into the other room. We figured she was taking a nap." Quatre said.
"Kaylee!" Jen called at the bottom of the stairs. "I don't hear anything."
"I'm sure she is just somewhere in the back of the house and she can't hear you from there," Duo said. He stood up and went upstairs. The others kept working. Jen walks into the kitchen to make a snack. Something seemed out of place, but she couldn't figure out what. She straightened a picture on the wall, and then noticed a note on the counter. She figured Kaylee left it, rather than disturb the pilots about where she was going.
I have your wife, the children's mother. If you want to see her alive, meet me at the park fountain at 11 PM tomorrow. I will have more instructions for you then.
The note was obviously for Robert, but Jen couldn't understand what it meant. Tracy was right in the next room. She could see her through the doorway.
"I can't find her," Duo yelled, coming down the stairs. Then it hit Jen like a train.
"Quatre!!!"
He came running into the kitchen with Duo behind him. The other's followed close behind. They read the note.
"Holy shit..." Duo said. " How does this keep happening? They took Kaylee, thinking it was Tracy."
Trowa was reading the note, and he visibly tensed, a pursing his lips together in a thin line. He crumpled the piece of paper and threw it in a corner. He stalked out the door.
"Trowa!" Heero called. Trowa stopped halfway down the driveway.
"I'm going to find her," Trowa said.
"You don't even know where to start. Let's tell the Preventers. I'm going with you." Trowa nodded and they left, the rest staring after them from the doorway.
1) Uruhu – Means 'wolf' in Japanese.