A/N: Hey all! Sorry, I know it's been a long time since I updated. I have been sick with migraines and girly issues and all types of stuff this last week. It seems my body decided to just give me everything all at once and just let me deal with it. Ugh. But anyway, I'm back now!

I know I said I'd update this story after Walker 3x02, and I meant to, but I'm actually glad I waited until this week. This episode was a lot better than I thought it would be. This chapter here is Liam trying to deal with what happened to him, as the episode was, but with Lulu thrown in too. Most of the chapter is from Liam's POV, with a little bit of Lulu thrown in there.

I know in last week's episode it was said that Liam had left the house to meet Ben somewhere for lunch, but I decided to keep it like I had it in the last chapter-Liam steps out to his car to get something then goes missing. It was just easier to keep the flow of the story going that way.

To Dean'sGirl1979-yes, I am still planning to write that Winchester story. I have the basic outline planned, I just want to iron out a couple details before I really dig deep into the storyline for it. Work is insane right now, so for at least a few days (hopefully NOT weeks, but with my job there's just no way to tell), I'll be busy with that. But keep checking back! As long as my fingers can type I'll never stop writing. I might slow down, but I never plan to stop.

The truck pulled to a stop in front of the bunkhouse, where Liam was the first to spot Geri. A wave of relief washed over him. Things really were back to normal now. He was safe. He didn't feel that way, but maybe, as Cordell had tried to assure him back at ranger headquarters, the feeling would come back. Liam got out of the truck and embraced Geri, but there was one thing he was waiting for. Geri seemed to sense it and pointed inside.

"Lulu tried to wait up for you but didn't quite make it. She's inside asleep on the couch."

Liam nodded, the prospect of actually seeing Lulu bringing a strange sense of anxiety to him. It was all he'd wanted for the last day and a half, but all the questions swirled in his head at once. What was he going to tell Lulu? How much did she know? What if she thought that Daddy had just left her? A sense of shame filled him, reminding that it wouldn't be the first time he had left her. The rational part of his brain told him that Lulu was forgiving and wouldn't hold his past mistakes against him, but the fear was still there.

Geri, who'd moved to hug Cordell, suddenly looked back at Liam. Mistaking his silence for him being upset with her, Geri said,

"Did you want me to keep her at the ranch house? I'm sorry. She just seemed a little overstimulated by the party your mom was setting up…"

"No. No, it's okay." Liam said. "It really is. I'm just…kinda nervous, I guess. Wondering if I should wake her up or not."

"Definitely." Geri said. She seemed reluctant to say something, looking to Cordell for reassurance before she did. "She hasn't slept much at all. She fell asleep crying last night and tonight. Go on and wake her up. I know you want to."

Liam smiled slightly and nodded. Geri and Cordell turned to each other, Liam assumed to talk, and he walked inside. The lights were off, with just enough of the light from the front porch that he could make out Lulu's silhouette under the blanket. Liam moved closer and knelt down, wincing as his painful side reminded him yet again of his horrific time in the abandoned asylum. Lulu's hair was in a mess, as if it hadn't been brushed in a while. A sliver of guilt made its way through Liam's heart. Lulu was meticulous about keeping her hair brushed. It only got messy when she was anxious and tossed and turned in her sleep.

Lulu stirred a bit, and Liam saw she was holding something. It wasn't the teddy bear she sometimes slept with, but something smaller. Liam's heart cracked when he realized what it was. Lulu was sleeping with one of his t-shirts.

Liam swallowed and brushed some of Lulu's hair out of his face. He had to force back the tears that wanted to spill out, from joy and fear and a desire to just pull Lulu close and never let her go. Finally, Liam gathered his courage and called Lulu's name.

"Lulu bear. Wake up."

Lulu stirred again and whined slightly.

Liam felt his first smile in days creep onto his face. "I know you don't want to wake up, bear. Come on, though. Please."

Lulu's eyes fluttered open slowly and she looked around. Her eyes took a moment to adjust to the darkness before she jumped slightly at the unfamiliar figure in the room.

"Whoa. Calm down, Lulu bear. It's me."

Lulu stared in disbelief for a few seconds before reaching a hand out to Liam's cheek. Liam tried to stop the flinch he made, but it was impossible. If Lulu noticed, she didn't say anything about it.

"Daddy?"

Liam smiled again and took Lulu's hand. He kissed her palm and nodded. "I missed you, Lulu bear."

Lulu finally believed she wasn't dreaming and wrapped her arms around Liam's neck. Liam hugged her back, but couldn't hold on for longer than a few seconds before he let out a groan. The frightened Lulu pulled back from him, eyes wide and filling with tears.

"Daddy? Did I hurt you?"

"No, baby." Liam assured her. "No. I've got, kind of, a big bruise on my side here. I'm okay, you just got to be gentle with me for a little while, okay?"

"I'm sorry…"

"Don't be." Liam said sincerely. "Don't be sorry. Okay?"

"Okay." Lulu said unsurely.

"Do you want to go up to the ranch house with us?" Liam asked. "I can stay here with you if you'd rather do that instead."

Lulu took a few seconds to think about it. "I'll go. Mama wants to see you too. But can I sleep in your room with you? I promise I'll be real gentle."

Liam smiled. "You bet we can. Come on."

"Daddy? I'm sorry you got hurt. But I'm glad you're back."

Liam found himself swallowing tears back again. "Thanks, Lulu bear. Come on, let's go to the house."

Two Months Later

Liam left the house in a barely contained rage. Once again, his brother's wellbeing was taking precedence over his own. He understood that Cordell had been through hell, and had probably been through things before when in the marines that Liam could hardly wrap his mind around.

But no one seemed to believe that Liam had been through hell too.

It had been weeks, but he was still reliving every single moment of the kidnapping. Walking out to his car and feeling someone grab him. Being thrown into the back of some vehicle and driven somewhere that seemed far away, but which Liam now knew was only a few miles. The thoughts racing through his head during the journey. Had someone taken Lulu too? Was she safe? Did anyone realize yet that he was gone?

Lulu had told him what happened immediately after he disappeared. Part of him understood, but a part of him wanted to be resentful for it. It had been Lulu that discovered Liam was missing. She had told Liam about looking all over the house for him and not finding him, then getting scared and asking Auggie to help her find him. From Lulu's description, Liam had been missing for around two hours before anyone realized he was gone too.

No part of him held any resentment towards Lulu. She was a child. It was not her job to keep track of him. The fact that she'd been so wrapped up in the coloring book she'd been working on that day told him that he'd done a good job keeping her distracted from the stress and anxiety the rest of the family was going through.

But his mother? His father? None of the hordes or rangers that had been roaming the ranch that entire time?

Not one single person noticed him gone?

And now, it seemed, no one noticed his pain either. His mother, who could normally tell something was wrong with Liam if he breathed the wrong way, had given up after a few days asking if he was okay. His father had dealt with the situation the same way he always did-involving Liam in all the ranch chores, trying hard to show Liam without actually saying that he was there for him. Even Lulu tried her best to keep up his spirits, and if Liam were entirely honest with himself, Lulu was the only one who could keep him feeling halfway normal.

Halfway happy even.

But his mother's words in the kitchen just a few minutes earlier had made something in Liam snap. Equilibrium she had called it. Cordell was acting like he was okay, so the family had reached a fragile equilibrium. Not once had she asked if Liam was okay. If he felt like he was part of this equilibrium his mother believed there was. What little equilibrium Liam had accomplished in the last eight weeks now felt like it was coming apart.

His parents had always told him growing up that he could talk about anything with them. He knew on a basic level that that was still true. But it wasn't really talking he wanted then. He wanted someone to ask him if he was okay, and really be prepared to listen to the answer. He wanted to be able to know for certain that if they asked him that question they would be prepared to hear the true answer in all its ugliness without flinching. He wanted someone to listen to what he had to say about what he went through and not try to comfort him, not try to reassure him he was safe and that it was over, because for him, it wasn't over. It was still happening, every time he closed his eyes.

He wanted someone, anyone at this point, to be able to take a small piece of what he'd went through and be properly horrified by it.

But that didn't seem to be coming. His brother refused to talk about it with him, even when asked directly, and his parents seemed intent on pretending that everything was okay no matter what. As Liam walked around the property, he felt his heart speed up in his chest. He felt his breath start to leave him all over again and come to him in short, painful bursts. He felt the urgent need to weep, but didn't seem to have the ability. Whatever was wrong with him, it had happened multiple times in the past eight weeks, but Liam had given up the idea of getting help for it. Instead, he did what he'd done all the other times. He found a tree and sat at the base of it.

"Daddy?"

Liam jumped and looked up, the sudden noise making his breathing go into hyperdrive even more. He was certain, for one horrifying second, that the ones that had taken him were back and that he was going to be taken again. But it wasn't his kidnappers. It was Lulu, standing about three feet away, clutching her teddy bear and staring at him with wide eyes. Liam wiped his face and tried his best to put on a smile.

"Hey, Lulu bear."

"Daddy, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, honey. I'm fine."

"No, you're not. You're crying."

Lulu got on her knees beside Liam and cautiously grabbed his arm. She'd noticed since Liam had returned home that if she touched him too fast or without some kind of warning that he would jump like he was scared. So she had instead started asking if she could hug him first, or just touching him very slowly and carefully. That seemed to help, though she could still tell that he was afraid.

Liam tried to calm himself but the effort was futile. He was still breathing fast and found it hard to focus. He closed his eyes, hoping he could open them again and be able to comfort Lulu, when he felt the bottom of his shirt being lifted up. He was so distracted by whatever was going on with him that feeling the shirt being lifted up didn't even phase him.

"Daddy? Will you look at me, please?"

Lulu's simple plea brought Liam around enough that opened his eyes and looked over at her. For a brief moment that Liam would remember forever, Lulu wasn't the seven year old little girl she usually was. She seemed older, more mature, as if she'd gained years of wisdom in just those few seconds. Lulu took a deep breath and gathered her composure.

"I know you don't want to scare me with what happened when those bad guys took you and uncle Cory. I know I can't help you not be afraid. But I can help you. I love you and I don't like to see you like this."

Liam's eyes filled with tears he so desperately didn't want to shed, but Lulu's next words broke the dam.

"I'm sorry they hurt you."

The simple statement was enough. Liam finally felt heard, understood, and validated. Even though Lulu didn't know the details, and Liam would sooner be taken and tortured again before he did tell her, she did know that her daddy had been taken by bad guys and hurt. He'd come back almost the same as before, but not quite, and she had worked out that the 'bad guys' that had taken him had hurt him.

She didn't want her daddy to be hurt. She loved her uncle, and Liam wanted her to be close to her uncle, but right then, she was only concerned with him.

Liam didn't know how long he cried, but it felt like hours. He worried that it would scare Lulu, but she just sat next to him and hugged him around the waist. The ugly purple bruise had faded to a dull throb, but Lulu there with him gave the ache a strange sort of distance now. It was no longer the source of trauma, of pain that he would still have to deal with as the time passed. It was now a reminder that even though he'd gone through something terrible, he'd gotten through it and back to the most important thing there was.

When he was finally calm enough to speak, Liam kissed the top of Lulu's head. She looked up at him, toothy grin there in all its glory.

"I love you so much. You know that?"

"I love you too, Daddy. Do I look different?"

"Different? What do you…Wait. You lost your tooth?"

"Yep." Lulu said. "It came out when I was eating an apple."

"Well, put it under your pillow tonight."

"Okay, Daddy. I will. Do you feel any better?"

Liam smiled. "Yeah. I do. Thanks, Lulu bear. Come on, let's go take care of this tooth."