Pulling the Blazer into his father-in-law's driveway, Frank glanced into the rearview mirror.  Frankie was still uncharacteristically quiet, and Jake...well, Jake was just plain confused.  "I'll just be a minute, but if you want to see your godchildren, hurry it up, Jake.  Frankie?"

Frankie kind of scowled at him for a moment, but she shrugged and slid out. "All right, all right... I'll go in and play nice..." It nearly proved her undoing however, as she followed Jake in. The sight of his rear-end in those jeans set her insides on fire again and despite her decision to remain cold to him, she whimpered softly in her throat.

Jake and Frankie joined Frank at the front door just as he pushed opened the door.  "Shay?! Let's go...we've got a lot of work to do!"

"We're in here, Frank!" Thomas yelled from the family room.

Frank led them to the back of the house to the cozy family room.  Thomas met them in the doorway; he was holding Ariel in his arms.  LJ was on the floor playing with his building blocks.  Sweeping past him, Frank looked around the room quickly.  "Where's Shay?"

"Uncew Jake!" LJ cried and ran to hug his leg.  Jake reached down and swung him up into his arms and proceeded to tickle LJ's belly until he giggled madly.

Jesus Christ in a ford pick up truck, Frankie groaned inwardly. He looks so perfect with that little boy.

Thomas was distracted by Frank's question and instinctively handed Ariel to the only female in the room.  Frankie looked a bit surprised to be suddenly holding the infant.  Ariel's large brown eyes twinkled as she smiled happily up at Frankie.

She'd wanted kids. But no one else knew that little secret. She didn't even know how to 'hold' kids this small. Frankie stared down at the baby girl in her arms. So like her father...

Jake looked over to see Frankie holding Ariel. She looked like a natural. If it weren't for the fact that he knew who the parents were, you could swear that the girl was Frankie's. As he tickled LJ, he had a brief mental flash of Frankie holding their child.

"What do you mean, 'where's Shay'?" Thomas asked, concerned.  "She's with you."

Frank was growing anxious now.  "No...she called from the morgue.  She was taking a taxi here to see the kids."  He walked to the mantle and absently picked up a photograph closest to him.  It was of he and Shay on their wedding day.  He ran his finger down her picture.  She had insisted on keeping the wedding small and informal.  He wore his best black suit and she wore a simple off-white suit-dress and she swore it was the one of the happiest days of her life--the birth of her son, being the other. 

"Snap out of it, Donovan," Frankie ordered, taking the photo from his hand and placing it gently on the mantle.  She placed Ariel in his arms and dug out her cell phone.   She dialed Shay's number and let it ring until it was answered with a tentative, "Hello?"

"Who is this?" Frankie demanded from the male voice that answered Shay's cell.

"Officer Richards, CPD."

"Where did you get that phone?" She watched Frank's head whip up to stare at her.

"Ma'am...it was found at the scene of an abduction.  The desk clerk at the county morgue saw a woman taken by force and tossed into the back of a van.  The phone was found on the curb.  As a matter of fact, I was about to run a check on the number when you called."

"Shay Donovan," Frankie whispered.  "Her name is Shay Donovan, she's an agent for the Justice Department.  Did you get a description...anything on her abductor?"

Abductor.  Frank hugged his daughter and buried his face against her little body.  He was now living out his nightmare.  All that was left was to pull back the sheet and find her lying underneath instead of the other faces of the victims that flashed through his mind.

Jake crossed the room and placed a hand on Frank's shoulder.  When he looked up, Jake saw the tears he was fighting to hide.  "We'll find her, Frank."  He looked from LJ to Ariel, reaching out to touch the little girl's cheek.  "We have to."

Frankie ended the call, shaking her head.  "Nothing.  They've got nothing.  Tall, dark hair.  That's all the desk clerk saw.  No license plate...blue van.  That's it."

Frank's shoulders slumped visibly as he walked over to his father-in-law and gave the baby over to him.  He moved to leave the room; he had no idea what to say to Thomas.  His wife ...Thomas' daughter was missing.  No words could make it right.

"Frank," Thomas called after him, stopping Frank before he could leave the room.  Frank turned slowly to face Shay's father.  "You'll find her, Frank.  Believe that.  Shay would never doubt you, so don't you start."

Frank nodded and left without replying.

Frankie looked at Jake and then started to follow. She stopped and turned back. "Mr. Renquist. I know that your daughter and I got off to a bad start... but we'll get her back. I owe Frank my life and a deep debt. This is where I pay it back."

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