Taken

The phone rang while Rae was sitting reading her daughter a very late story. When Rae had been a little girl her father had made up tales about the badger and fox that lived in the oak tree at the bottom of the garden. Unbeknownst to her he had also written them down and illustrated them. Her mother had passed the notebook on to Rae when John had been born and she had read them to her three children when she lived in England. Rae had been delighted to receive it from Tony after the fire with a note saying that he hoped it would start a new set of memories for her. So now she had begun to read the stories to Eliana and she had no doubt that she would be doing the same with Anneya before the little girl was that much older.

"Hold on, Honey, Mummy has to go and answer the phone." Rae put Eliana onto the floor, picked up the notebook and headed for the hallway. She lifted the receiver and answered happily. "Travis residence… Hey, Mark, how are you today…? No, he's not here… He was due to start at one and I picked the girls up from Sally so he must have dropped them there… about twelve I would guess … I'll … I'll call her and see if he said anything … but, Mark, if he didn't arrive … No, no, I mustn't jump to conclusions. I'll call you straight back." Rae put the phone down and tried to get her emotions under control.

"Towi Momma." Eliana came out into the hallway to join her mother.

"No more stories, not now, Sweetie, Mummy has to make a call." Rae didn't even look at her daughter as she put her little hand round the notebook and went back to her playroom, but instead, with trembling fingers, she dialled the number for her daughters' day care provider. "Sally? Hi, it's Rae, I'm sorry to bother you, but did Jesse say where he was going when he dropped the girls off today…? He what…? He had … who, oh, God…" Rae's heart sank like a stone and for a moment she shut her eyes, forcing herself to be strong. "No, no, he didn't turn up at work … yeah, I'll let you know, bye, Sally."

Rae began to dial again and it was picked up on the first ring. "Mark? I … I spoke to Sally and Jess dropped the girls off as planned and was heading straight for the hospital. He was running a little late …" Rae's voice wavered and she had to stop talking for a moment. "No, I'm still here. Mark … he had Texas with him… No, I'll go tell him… But, Mark, if you hear anything … anything at all … yeah, I know. Take care."

Rae put the phone down again and went to get the stroller from its place under the staircase. "Eliana, we are gonna go see Uncle Steve." The little girl heard her mother's voice and came happily out to her; she waited while Rae set up the buggy and then climbed into her seat. Rae did up the straps, went into the playroom, carefully picked Anneya up out of her bouncy chair where she was fast asleep, returned to the hallway and fastened her into the stroller next to her sister, then with a heavy heart she headed towards Steve and Jo's house.

Michael had told Steve that Jo had left just before lunch with Jesse and had said that she would be back in time for dinner. Since he had returned home Steve had been trying to help Daniel with some work that he hadn't completed before he had been suspended. Steve had handed the boy the papers he had picked up on his way to work, and his son's face had been a picture of absolute disgust. Although the phone call that Steve had made to the principal had resulted in the assurance that nothing would be put on his son's permanent record, Steve had been unable to get Daniel accepted back to school before Thursday, and so he had insisted that the boy do any homework that he had so there would be no further trouble when he did return. As Steve was searching through an Internet site on the affects of the depression in the 1930's on the movie industry he heard the doorbell, and broke off from his work to listen to Michael's feet as they moved across to answer it.

"Mrs. Travis, won't you please come in? Was it the Lieutenant or Mrs. Sloan that you wished to see?"

"Are they both here, Michael?" The hope in Rae's voice puzzled Steve and with a brief glance at Daniel he rose from his seat and moved towards the hallway.

"No, Madam, the Lieutenant is at home, but I regret that Mrs Sloan has been out all afternoon."

"Oh." This time it was the disappointment that Steve heard, but there was something else too, almost an acceptance of something that she hadn't wanted to hear.

"Rae? Is there a problem?" Steve had moved across to almost where she was standing before he had been noticed by anyone.

"Steve, have you heard from Texas, or from Jesse?"

"No, Honey, why?" He didn't know what was up but Steve was aware that his heart was beating loudly in his chest, and all his instincts told him that there was something very wrong.

"Steve, Jesse didn't turn up for work, he dropped the girls off but he never got to the hospital… and Texas was with him."

Steve looked over at Michael and saw that the butler was also trying, successfully so far, to keep his emotions under control.

"Madam called Doctor Travis this morning just before noon. She was upset about something, and then she grabbed her purse and left… I haven't seen her since."

"Steve, they must have had an accident, we have to get on to the station, maybe they've heard something, maybe they've been taken to another hospital … Steve." Rae finished her words as she had started them, she was panicking now, and almost unable to stop herself from verging on hysteria.

"Rae, wait, we don't know anything yet, just let me have the licence plate number of Jesse's car. It's a blue BMW isn't it?" Steve watched as Rae nodded, unable to speak any further. He looked down into the stroller by her side and saw her two children both now awake and sitting wide eyed but silent; as if they knew that something was happening and not to interrupt.

"Here, this is what you need." Rae wrote quickly and then handed over a piece of paper with the number on it and watched as Steve picked up the phone. As he did so there was another ring on the doorbell and they both turned in anticipation, but Rae's expression changed to horror as she saw who it was.

"No, Steve, no… They wouldn't send someone here, not unless it was bad news." Rae was shaking, and she knew that she had to sit down. She found her way onto the stairs as Michael opened the door to let Cheryl and Captain Newman into the house and Daniel came into the hallway.

"Steve, what's happening?"

"Nothing, go to your room, Daniel." Steve's tone was short, and the boy looked surprised and hurt.

"What, why?"

"Don't argue with me, just go!" Steve knew that he was shouting and being unfair, but he couldn't have his son with him, not right now.

"Ok, ok, I'm going, jeez, anybody would think I couldn't be trusted." The two friends heard every step as Daniel mounted the stairs, and then thumped his way down the upstairs hallway, normally it would have made them smile, but now, as soon as he was out of sight, they forgot about him.

Michael closed the door after Cheryl and the Captain entered. "Lieutenant, Detective Banks and Captain Newman."

"Michael, I can see them! ... I'm sorry, thank you."

Steve looked at his boss and his old partner, and the look in their eyes made him lose a little of his grip on the situation. He was standing at the end of the staircase and he sat heavily on the third stair from the bottom.

Cheryl had come out to Beverley Hills to see Rae. When the information she had was relayed to the station someone had recognised Jesse's name and passed it on to her. "Rae, we just tried your house, I figured you might be here, is there somewhere we can go to talk?"

"If you would like to come this way to the morning room." Michael showed them into Jo's favourite room and then returned to where Rae and Steve were still sitting together on the stairs. "Sir, I really think that you should go in and hear what they have to say, I don't think that Mrs Travis will be able to do this alone."

"What? Oh, yeah, thank you, Michael." Steve stood up heavily, and put his arm round Rae. She seemed to have been rooted to the step she was on, but as she felt his pressure across her back, she looked up at him and then back to the Englishman.

"Michael, will you look after the girls for me? They can stay in the stroller, Anneya will probably fall asleep again and Eliana would just love a cookie." Although Rae was able to organise her children her voice was distant and a little removed from reality.

"Yes, of course, Madam."

Gently, Steve directed Rae towards the morning room, and then, each of them trying to regain their strength for the benefit of the other; they prepared to listen to news they knew they didn't want to hear.

"Rae, when did you last see Jesse?" Cheryl crouched down next to where Rae had sat on the sofa and looked into her friend's eyes.

"This morning, before I went to work… He isn't home, Cheryl, and he isn't at the hospital, and Texas was with him…and … What's happened? Tell me what's happened."

"Easy, Detective. Who is Texas?" Captain Newman's authoritative voice cut into her panic and Rae nodded her head.

"Yes, Sir, I'm sorry, Sir. Texas is Steve's wife."

"I see. Well, Detective, Doctor Travis's car was found about a half mile from Community General. It was parked on the side of the highway. There was no one in it."

Rae shut her eyes for a moment, and then she forced herself to look at the other people in the room. "Did you find anything? Prints … blood?"

"No, but if what you say is right and Mrs Sloan was with your husband, then maybe there is more to this than an abandoned car." Captain Newman had leant forward in his chair as Rae mentioned that Texas had been with Jesse.

For a moment Rae was confused, she didn't know what her boss meant, she just knew that Jesse was gone, and no matter what her police training told her, that whatever the official line might be, her heart knew he was probably already dead.

"Lieutenant, have you received any strange phone calls, or had any mail left for you in the last couple of hours?"

"No, Sir. And I came straight home from work. All the letters today were just ordinary bills, or letters about the ball." Steve found the taste of panic very difficult to get out of his mouth.

"Your wife is very wealthy, isn't she?" Although the Chief knew that Jo Sloan had money, he had no idea quite how much.

"Yes, Sir, she is exceptionally well off…" Steve's words were cut off as suddenly without warning Rae launched at him.

"I knew it; I knew that bloody money would come between us in the end! If he dies Steve, I will never forgive you, never!" Rae stood up and before anybody could stop her she stormed out of the room, grabbed the stroller from Michael and left the house.

Cheryl went to go after her but was stopped by her boss. "No, Detective, wait for a moment or two. Once she has had time to return home you may follow her."

"Yes, Sir." Cheryl turned towards Steve who was standing, obviously in shock, looking in the direction that his partner and friend had just taken off in.

"She … I can't believe she said that, oh, God, Cheryl, who would have taken her? She never felt in any danger, nothing was ever said … Daniel, I have to go tell Daniel."

"No, Steve, leave him be. You'll only upset him right now. They're still searching the area, and if this is a kidnapping then you will be contacted. I'll call and get the guys in to put a tap on your line, and then I'll go see Rae…" Cheryl was silent for a moment, and then with a heavy sigh she began to talk again. "Steve, Jo and Jesse are good friends, has there been any indication that it was more than that?"

"NO! You think they ran off together? No, no way, Jo loves me, and Jesse, well you know how he feels about … about her." Suddenly Steve couldn't say his partner's name. The hurt he felt at what she had said was almost as tangible as the panic and dread he felt for the safety of his wife.

"I'm sorry, Steve, but I had to ask."

"Yeah, I know, but you're wrong, Cheryl, you are so wrong."

Rae had stormed back home, the anger she felt battling it out with the fear for the safety of her husband and her best friend. She let herself in, and, not even bothering to shut the front door, pushed the stroller into the hallway and then undid the straps and let Eliana free. The little girl smiled at her mommy and made her way into the playroom, and two minutes later was back.

"Towi, Mommy." Eliana handed over the notebook with a smile, but it was now ripped and screwed up.

"Eliana, you naughty girl, how could you do that to my book? You are very, very, naughty!"  Without even thinking Rae lashed out with her hand smacking her daughter across the back of her legs. The little girl began to scream instantly.

"No, Mommy! Sowee, Mommy!"

Suddenly Rae realised what she had done and grabbed her child to her. "Oh, God, Honey, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." Rae let go of her daughter, as all her anger, fear and every other emotion that had been holding her together suddenly left her, and she collapsed to the floor, sobbing uncontrollably as the guilt took over.

Cheryl had just turned into the driveway of Rae's home when she heard the unmistakable scream of a child and rushed for the doorway. To her relief the door swung at her touch and she looked in to see Rae release her hold on Eliana and slump to the floor. The little girl was still crying bitterly, and, not knowing who to go too first, Cheryl held out her arms, hoping that the child would move towards her and she could comfort her and then Rae.

"Come here, Sweetie, it's ok, Mommy's just a little bit sad right now." Something in Cheryl's tone must have registered with Eliana, because even though she didn't know the lady in front of her she smiled a very tremulous smile and came over to her. Cheryl took her into her arms and gently rocked her, stroking her hair as she had seen Rae do in the past as she did so. "It's ok, Baby, it's ok. Shhh." Gradually Eliana began to calm down, and Cheryl gently placed her back on her feet.

"Rae?" Cheryl didn't think she would need to say anything else and she was right. Slowly Rae looked up from where she was and then she too rushed over to her friend.

"I hit her, Cheryl, I hit my baby, I've never done that before. Oh, God, help me, I am just so scared."

Cheryl looked back at the little girl next to her and she could see a hand mark raised on the back of her leg. "I know, I know you are, come on, come sit in the other room, Eliana will be all right, one smack won't harm her for life, she'll be fine. My dad used his belt on me, and I'm ok."

Rae smiled at her friend's words, and then together they went into the breakfast room, the little girl, now holding tightly to her Mommy's hand, walking with them.

Steve had been sitting in the morning room for an indeterminate amount of time. He still couldn't believe that Rae had said that to him, how could she think that money would come between them, and Jesse… he loved him like a brother, hated it when they had been apart, and had been just delighted when they moved into Jo's rental. But now, when they got them back would Rae make him move? Rae … there were three women in his life that he loved unconditionally, Jo, of course, Amanda and Rae. Maybe that was why her words had hurt him so much.

"Lieutenant?" The voice that cut through his thoughts belonged to their butler and he turned to see Michael looking the most anxious he had ever witnessed.

"Yes, Michael?"

"Madam, do you know where she is?"

"No, Michael, I don't. Jesse took her with him when he went to work apparently, but he never got there, the car was found abandoned and since then there has been nothing. I'm sorry; I don't have anything more to tell you."

"Oh, I see… Sir, when you do have more information … you will let me know, won't you?" Michael's voice wavered a little bit and Steve got to his feet. He loved his wife with all his heart, but Michael had been such an integral part of Jo's life for longer than he had, and she to him that, in many ways, he may even be suffering more than he was right now.

"Michael, of course I'll keep you informed, but I don't know anything at the moment … do you think that maybe she was threatened this morning and that was why she called Jesse?"

"No, Sir, she spoke with Master David, and then the next thing I knew she was getting ready to go out.

"David! I haven't called him. Michael, everything I know you will know, I promise you that." Steve moved out into the hallway. There was a phone in the morning room, there was one in almost every room, but Michael always answered it in the hall and they always came to him.

Steve didn't know the number for the Walters mansion in Texas, and so flicking through the pages of the address book he scanned all the names wondering if any of them had his wife. Finally he got to W and wondered why he had started at A. Carefully, he punched the number in and then waited. He heard the butler announce 'Walters residence', and with his heart in his mouth he began to speak.

Cheryl had waited until Rae was in control of herself once again and then she had headed in what she hoped was the general direction of the kitchen and begun to make a cup of tea. As she did so the phone in the hallway began to ring and she hurried back out, needing to beat Rae to it.

"This is the Travis residence… Who may I say is calling…?" Cheryl put her hand over the mouthpiece and turned to see her friend standing directly behind her. "Rae, it's your mom."

Rae's shoulders seemed to sag. She loved her mother, but she always called at the most inopportune moments. With a small nod she took the receiver and began to speak. "Mum… No, I don't have a maid, I just have a friend here … Look, Mum, I'm really sorry but now isn't a good time… No, Jesse isn't here, Mum, I don't know where he is, and I need to clear the line until I do, I will e-mail or phone, I promise… Yeah, I love you too, bye now." Rae put the phone down and seemed to waiver for a moment. Cheryl put her arm round her but she shook her off.

"Steve… Cheryl, I was so awful, I have to go see him … do you think he will see me?"

Cheryl nodded her head, glad that she hadn't had to bring the subject up.

"He must hate me, what a terrible thing to say." Rae turned her head away from her friend, tears forming in her eyes once again. Then she took a deep breath, squared her shoulders and moved towards her front door.

Steve finished his conversation with David and walked straight back into the morning room, sat in one of the chairs by the French doors and put his head in his hands. He knew now why Jo had been upset, why she had spoken to Jesse, but he still had no idea where she was, and he needed that, desperately.

The doorbell rang and the familiar and reassuring sound of Michael going to answer it relieved his heart a little, there was a quiet murmur of voices and then suddenly Rae was there and he stood and all the hurt was forgotten as took her into his arms.

"Steve, I am so sorry." Rae's voice was choked with emotion and she couldn't get any further words out. The feel of his arms around her bolstered her confidence a lot, and she hoped that she was doing the same to him. Finally with a sigh Steve stepped back and looked into her eyes.

"Underneath I'm still the same guy, Rae, and you became friends with Jo long before you knew about her money. If it is the reason that Jo and Jess have been taken then I will give it all up to get them back."

Rae had a hold of Steve's hands and she could feel them shaking in her grasp. "I know that, and I was wrong to say what I did. I have never, before Saturday night, felt that you had changed, except for the better, since you met Texas, but you bid all that money on a poster, and when you found Jo owned it already you weren't even angry. I don't know why it got me but it did. Please, Steve, forget I said it, I need you so much and I am so scared for them." Rae began to shake herself and was relieved when Steve sat back down on the sofa, taking her with him.

Rae sat with her partner not saying a word for over a half hour, then she gathered herself together and kissing him gently on the cheek walked back to her own house. The Captain had gone, although Cheryl was still with her daughters, and she knew she needed to get back to them.

Once Rae arrived home Cheryl had made sure that her phone also had a tap on it, and then she left, promising to keep in touch. Rae had put both her girls to bed, and then come back downstairs. She looked at the phone as she stood in the hallway not really knowing what to do next. Normally if she had a worry or a problem she would call either Jesse or Texas, but this time she could do neither.

The panic of not knowing where Jesse was rushed up at her, she felt the familiar but unpleasant tightness in her chest, and she began to go cold all over. Rae sank down onto the floor and leant up against the side of the staircase. Her breathing became ragged and the edges of her vision began to blur. "Jesse … Jesse … help me." But, this time Rae knew that her husband couldn't come and rescue her, wouldn't be able to take her in his arms and make everything better, she had to do it for herself. Slowly she began to imagine Mark's voice in her head, listened to him telling her to breathe, and gradually it began, as it always did, to work. She sat there for a long time, not wanting to move in case the panic overtook her once more. Finally after what seemed like hours Rae got up and slowly walked towards the stairs.

Suddenly, Rae knew that she wouldn't be able to go up to bed and sleep, the bedroom was too big and airy, too small and intimate, too different without Jesse. Looking round for something to do to occupy her time Rae saw the box for a storage unit to go in the playroom. Grabbing the drill that Jesse had left on the kitchen counter Rae pulled the box, with the tools on the top of it, into the girls' nursery and began to unpack the parts she would need. She would keep busy, that way she wouldn't panic, wouldn't be able to spend hours imagining worse and worse fates for the man she loved most in all the world.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Rae was sitting watching Eliana eat her breakfast as she fed Anneya. She couldn't remember actually getting the food ready, but the proof that she had done so was right there in front of her. As she put another spoonful into her daughter's mouth Rae heard the doorbell, got up and hurried out into the hallway to greet her childminder.

As she looked through the glass Rae saw that she was wrong, Sally wasn't here yet, but she could see Steve and so she quickly opened the door. Her partner looked as haunted as she was sure she must and without a word they hugged each other close, both of them trying to keep the tears at bay, knowing that they would only cause each other more pain if they let them fall.

"Rae, I've spoken to Dad, and he's been in touch with the other hospitals in the area and nothing, he said he was sorry he hadn't come last night, but he'd been due in the OR … and Cheryl called." Steve pulled back as he spoke.

"What … what did she say? Have they found them? Steve, what did she say?" Rae's questions flew out of her, and Steve didn't even try to answer any of them.

"What are you doing about the girls?" Steve changed the subject for a moment, not really wanting to return to the matter at hand. He had persuaded his Dad to stay at work, at least until they knew something more positive. With Jesse unaccounted for they were short staffed, and he didn't want his father feeling guilty about not being with him and then coming over and feeling guilty about not being at work. In the end Mark had agreed that he was, at least at present, needed more at the hospital. Rae's answer to his question cut into his thoughts.

"Sally is gonna come over and stay here. Her husband is away on business this week, and so she offered. She should be here any minute." As Rae spoke they both heard the noise of a car drawing up, and moved back over to the front door. They watched as the child carer got out of her car and then took a bag from the trunk. She locked up her vehicle and with a quick glance around her made her way up to the entrance.

Rae opened the door just before she got there, and the woman drew her friend into her arms. "Honey, I am so sorry. I don't know what to say, but at least I can make sure that you don't have to worry about your little ones. Lieutenant, how are you holding up?"  Sally rested her hand on Steve's arm, and the comfort that she offered him was gratefully received.

"Not too bad, I just want her back; I want both of them back." The tears were threatening him again, and the presence of Sally seemed to be making him more vulnerable. He knew from what Rae had told him in the past that she was a very kind and caring person, but right now he wasn't sure if he could cope with kind and caring.

"Ok, well, I would guess that my charges are in the kitchen, so I'll leave you two together and go sort them out. Take all the time you need, I will be either in the kitchen or the bedroom if you need me."

"Um, they have a playroom; it's the door just down there, the one with the lion on the handle."

Sally nodded and headed into the kitchen as Rae turned back to Steve.

"What did Cheryl say, Steve? You have to tell me."

"Come and sit down, I can't do this standing up." Steve put his arm around Rae and they walked into the equivalent of Jo's morning room. It was another light and airy room, and Steve could see that already it had become the room of choice for the Travis's. There was a pile of newspapers, a book that Rae had been reading, as well as a couple of note pads that Steve knew Rae made all her personal notes on at work.

The sofas were deep and comfortable looking, covered in a white material with blown roses all over it. The two chairs that matched were positioned at an angle either side of the patio doors, and Steve knew that Rae would normally sit in one of those, but now, without a word, they sat together on one of the sofas. Steve pulled Rae into his arms and kept her near him as he began to speak.

"A letter arrived at the station this morning, addressed to me."

"Who from, what did it say, Steve, was it a ransom note, do they want money … I have money too if they want more than you can get your hands on…" Rae ran out of breath. She knew that she was behaving like a hysterical member of the public rather than a highly trained cop.

"Rae, I don't know what it says … I didn't want to hear it read over the phone.  Cheryl is coming to me." Steve stopped talking.

"I could come to your place, and then we can hear it together… Steve, I know I said I wouldn't mention the money thing, but what if this guy only wanted Texas … Jesse could already be dead couldn't he?"

Steve looked at her. Anybody else and he would be able to string together a few platitudes and get himself out of an awkward situation, but Rae was a cop, and a good one. "Honey, I guess he could be, but we can't think like that. He's a doctor, maybe they will keep him handy in case Jo gets sick."

Rae just nodded, and then she moved slowly into the kitchen to tell Sally that she would be at Steve's should she need her.

It took Cheryl over an hour to get to Steve's house and the two friends sat together in the morning room drinking tea and not saying a word until she arrived, but then it seemed that all the words they hadn't used came tumbling out at once.

"Cheryl, what does it say?" Rae got to the detective first. "The letter does it mention Jesse, or say where they are?"

"Did you get a clear postmark? Were there any prints on the envelope?" Steve fell back on routine, not wanting to ask the type of question that Rae was.

"Guys, we need to sit down somewhere, the room we were in last night would be good." Cheryl knew that the news she had was not the sort of thing they could discuss in the hallway.

Once they were all sitting Cheryl got a sheet of paper out of the folder she had brought with her. "Steve, Rae; Jo and Jesse haven't been kidnapped for ransom."

"What? Where are they then? We checked all the hospitals, they aren't there." Steve was confused now, but he knew that the news wasn't good.

"Steve, they've been taken by Todd."