In a few minutes, the Commander had one of his assistants bring in flight suits and protective radio helmets for both women. Laurie picked up her gear and started to follow Jaime to the omen's locker room when she heard her name paged over the intercom.
"I'll be right there, Jaime." she said, then holding her clothes, went down the hall to the visitors area. As she walked past an empty office, someone grabbed her from behind, knocking the helmet and outfit from her grasp while a cloth was shoved over her face.
A muffled scream rose from her lips only to have a hand slapped over her mouth, crushing her breath. She resisted futilely against an iron arm that picked her up effortlessly then carried her into an enclosed area as she twisted in his grasp.
"Stop struggling, Mrs. Simon or I'll break your neck." a voice hissed in her ear, and terrified, Laurie froze. At once she heard a door shut, then another man spoke.
"Put her in there, no one will hear her and we can contact Goldman with our demands."
"Dear God, I've been taken hostage to stop Dad!" she realized, then "called" "Steve, get ahold of Oscar, I'm being held to stop Dad from rescuing you guys."
Laurie felt the person holding her set her down, then bind her wrists and arms to a metal pole or stand of some kind. She tried to struggle, then a heavy hand grasped her chin painfully.
"Struggle all you want, Mrs. Simon, maybe someone will find you eventually." her abductor taunted her, then he released her and she heard the door close and a lock click.
Immediately she leaned her face toward her bound wrists, and managed to use her numb fingers to pull at the cloth tied over her face, only able to loosen it around her mouth.
Laurie heard a voice, then realized her watch was on . Taking a deep breath, she whispered, "Dad, Rick?"
"Laurie, thank God, where are you?" she heard Oscar and she felt like bursting into tears.
"Near the Commander's office, two men grabbed me and stuck me in a closet of some kind. I'm blindfolded, I can't see but I think it's an office supply room." she replied as calmly as possible.
"We're coming, honey, Jaime heard you cry out and we're following your signal." Oscar answered.
At once Laurie heard Steve faintly tell her, "Rick says hang on, sweetheart."
"I will." now she really wanted to cry. Just then there were scuffling noises, then Jaime's voice echoed nearby. "Where is she, tell me or I'll put you through the wall," she threatened.
She heard mumbled conversation, then Jaime spoke. "Stand back, Oscar."
Abruptly a crashing noise caused her to jump, then footsteps and Oscar's voice. "There she is, Laurie!" Hands pulled the covering from her face, then she blinked as the image of her father came into view in the light of a flashlight.
"I'll have you free in a moment, baby. Are you all right?" he asked in a frantic tone, and she nodded as he cut the ropes around her wrists.
As soon as she was free, Oscar picked her up and insisted on carrying her out into the lighted hallway, where she put her arms around him.
"Dad, thank God you and Jaime found me. We have to hurry, they're going to stop us from rescuing the guys. It's got something to do with that machine." she gasped, clinging to him as he set her down.
"I know, we got a message that if we took off, you would be dead. I'm not letting you out of my sight, honey. If you hadn't called out..." Oscar's voice cracked, then he held her tightly against him.
"I'll be all right, just let me get my gear on and we can go, oh, they took it from me!" Laurie remembered, fighting back tears.
"We found it, Laurie, I'll help you change. I won't leave her, Oscar, we'll be right out." Jaime said as they stopped in front of the locker room.
"I'll wait right here, babe." Oscar told her. In no time Jaime helped Laurie change clothes, then they went out into a harsh wind and climbed into a large transport helicopter. Laurie took a seat between Oscar and Rudy, then felt uneasy suddenly, like something was wrong.
Glancing over at the two pilots, she saw them working the controls, then she saw one of them turn around to their passengers. "Everyone fasten your seat belts, we're taking off."
As she buckled up, Laurie felt her husbands thoughts, and "told" him, "I'm coming, love. We'll be up there within the hour. Stay under cover."
"Thank God my angel is safe., you don't move one inch without Oscar or Jaime." Rick ordered. "I promise, darling. But I'm not letting you leave me behind ever again." Laurie replied.
Standing in the freezing wind, Rick smiled, then he saw Towne come under the tarp and lean against the rocks, "We need to get Steve ready for moving, Rick."
"Good idea, Towne. Steve, we need to get you onto a litter of some kind.." Rick turned to their friend. "If you guys help me up, I can climb onto the copter when it lands." Steve told them.
"Nope, I'm not taking any chances here, Steve." Rick informed him. "I'm getting you to Jaime in one piece. She just helped save Laurie from those two men, and they caught only one of them That means there's at least one attacker still out there."
"This gets worse and worse, thank God Laurie's all right." Steve let out a sigh of relief.
In the end, Rick and Robbie pieced together two of the torn tents to form a stretcher strong enough to bear the big man. As they finished, Oscar's voice came over Rick's transmitter.
"We'll be landing in a few minutes, Rick. Can you get Steve read to load into the helicopter, our pilots say our window of safety is only ten minutes."
"We're ready, Oscar, I think everyone wants to go home. Just let us know when you're coming in." Rick smiled at Ian's packing up all the stuff they had salvaged, he didn't have the heart to tell him they might not be able to take any of it.
As the wind started to die down, Rick turned toward his son, "Okay, Robbie, let's get Steve ready for transport."
Patiently, their friend let them tie him onto the makeshift litter, then Robbie and Ian carefully lifted him up and started to carry him toward the edge of the clearing. Suddenly a low growling sound sounded nearby, then Rick's stomach dropped as he saw a large mountain lion come out of the surrounding forest.
Stopping at the edge of the crash site, it opened it's mouth then licked it's lips as it stared at the group of men, seemingly focusing on Steve.
Ian whispered "don't anyone move, I'll make some noise to scare him off!"
Instantly he yelled loudly, "Get, get out of here, go!" He repeated it several times as the large animal appeared to size up the situation, then started to advance very rapidly towards Steve and Robbie, who froze in mid-step.
Realizing the mountain lion had figured them as defenseless, Rick spoke out of the side of his mouth to Towne, "Take Steve." As his friend carefully slid over and took the edge of the stretcher from Ian, Rick then yelled, "come get me!" at the beast. Picking up a log, he tossed it at the big cat then ran away from the group, shouting over his shoulder, "I'll lead him away from here."
Seeing the animal immediately give chase, Robbie and Towne quickly placed the makeshift litter on a flat rock then heard Oscar's voice over the transmitter. "Rick! Robbie, we're coming in for a landing!"
"All ready, Uncle Oscar!" Robbie replied, relieved that the older man had arrived, but anxious for his father's safety. Ian gave both men a hand in carrying Steve to the edge of the clearing then spying the chopper, signaled that they were out of the way.
Abruptly Laurie's voice was heard over the transmitter, "Robbie, where's your father, I keep getting that he's being chased, what happened?"
"Mama! Where are you?" Robbie was overjoyed to hear her voice.
"I'm in the chopper with Jamie, we see you. What's after your father?" he heard the anxiety in her voice. "A mountain lion, Mom, it started to come after Steve and I , then he tried to lead it away from us. As soon as you land we can try to find him."
"We'll be down in a minute, son." Oscar came back on, and at once a cloud of dust and leaves kicked up as the large military helicopter landed in the tight space.
"Mr. Goldman, we have only a ten minute window for your people to get on and then lift off. You may have to leave that missing man behind until tomorrow." One of the pilots advised, then caught a glimpse of Laurie's pale face.
"I'll find him, mister." She said quietly, then made way for first Rudy then Oscar to get out before taking the big man's hand and stepping under the rotors and into the clearing. Immediately the doctor went to Steve's side. "Well, pal, I always knew you had a hard head, glad to see I was right." he joked, bringing a groan from his friend.
Grabbing first her son then Ian and Towne in a quick embrace, Laurie then heard Rick's voice over the transmitter. "I need help, this thing's chased me up a tree!"
"Robbie, do you have a gun?" Laurie asked, then smiled as he produced his own version of the Range Rider. "Mom, I'll go after Pop, you stay here." Robbie said firmly. "Son, I'll go with you." Oscar pulled out his weapon, then grabbed Laurie's hand as she started to protest. "Dad, I want to..."
"No, Laurie, you said you'd listen to me, and you're going to. You have no experience with mountain lions, your son and I do. We'll get Rick, I promise you."
Laurie took a look at their set faces. "All right, just be careful." she managed to say, her voice not quite steady.
Robbie quickly hugged his mother, then the two men ran out of the clearing in the direction of Rick's last position on his transmitter.
Just then one of the pilots spoke up. "They've got to hurry, we'll have to leave with Colonel Austin and the others in five minutes if they're not back."
Startled, Laurie swung back to stare him in the face. "You will wait for them. We're not leaving anyone behind."
"Mrs. Simon, I'm the one running this show, we have to beat the bad weather...." he started to yell only to have her say quietly, "That window will stay open, I know these mountains pretty well and if you leave them you'll leave me. I won't leave my family behind. I nearly lost my husband and son once yesterday, I won't let it happen again."
The captain immediately subsided, realizing they were in a losing battle. Jaime looked at her friend, then put her hand on Laurie's arm as she sat next to Steve's gurney.
"They'll find him, honey, I know they will."
As the anxious group waited, Rick kept trying to keep his grip on his slowly crumbling perch, the branch unable to bear his total weight. His arm, already aching from the crash, was now throbbing angrily from having banged it climbing up a wind-damaged tree.
He had almost made it back to the clearing, only the mountain lion had doubled back too, and now was leaping at his legs, pawing and snarling.
"Damn, why did I put my gun in my knapsack, real good place for it." He groused inwardly.
At once he felt his wife's thoughts reaching to him, "Rick, hold on, Robbie and Dad are on their way!"
Relieved that she hadn't insisted on coming with them, he 'replied" "Sweetheart, I'm all right, I'll start hollering for them."
"Oscar, Robbie! Over here, watch out for this big ....cat!" he yelled, wincing as he jerked his leg up from the claws of the animal. Suddenly he spotted his son and Oscar, then the mountain lion turned, his tail swishing back and forth.
"Don't move, Pop!" Robbie warned, then pulled his weapon and fired a warning shot, surprising the lion and causing it to race out of the area. Rick took a deep breath, then accepted Oscar's help down the tree trunk. As he landed on the ground, the branch he had balanced on snapped and landed next to them.
"That was too close, son." Oscar managed, then put an arm around Rick as Robbie holstered his weapon and embraced his father.
"Thanks, Robbie. That was smart shooting." Rick grinned with pride as they started toward the helicopter.
"Thank Mom for not arguing, she was bound and determined to come get you, Pop. The only one she listens to other then you is Uncle Oscar." Robbie chuckled, then gasped as he saw his mother jump out of the copter as it started to lift off.
"Laurie!" Rick let go of Robbie and Oscar and rushed ahead, seeing Laurie hit the ground hard. Immediately the copter landed back down as Rick reached his wife and picked her up with his good arm.
"Rick, darling, you're safe. He was going to take off without you, I couldn't go without you, oh, my love." She blinked back tears as he held her and kissed her all over her face.
"All right, who made the decision to leave us behind!" Oscar angrily faced the two pilots, then saw Laurie staring over Rick's shoulder at the co-pilot, who got up from his seat and in one motion pulled out a gun.
"I did, Mr. Goldman, sit down or I start firing. You too, Simon." Jackson waved Robbie to the seat next to Towne, who was glaring balefully at the gunman.
As Robbie climbed in, the seargant pushed him onto the floor then pointed the gun at Laurie, saying, "Since Mrs. Simon figured out who I am, she gets the honor of being my ticket out of here. Me and that great little device are taking a ride out of here, as soon as I see the coast is clear I'll release her. Any one who follows me will only find a body."
Terrified, Laurie's eyes widened as she saw the pistol, then she stared at Rick, "telling" him, "I'm going to faint, love, don't let go."
Rick fought the desire to smile, he knew his girl wouldn't let this guy take her away from him. Feinting concern, he spoke up. "Please don't take my wife, she has a heart condition."
Suddenly Laurie moaned, "I can't breathe." then started to collapse against her husband. Grabbing for her arm, Jackson panicked and let her slide out of his grasp, then realized his mistake as Jamie slugged him, knocking him unconscious and sending him crashing to the ground a good ten feet away.
With the gun falling harmlessly at their feet, Rick took a deep breath as Laurie opened her eyes, then kissed him as he lifted her in his arms and helped her inside the helicopter as both Robbie and Jamie retrieved their assailant and restrained him in the back of the cabin.
Oscar gave the signal to Captain Martin and he lifted off, causing everyone to say a quick prayer as they skimmed the treetops, then flew over the mountains toward Flagstaff.
"Darlin', are you all right, you were wonderful." He soothed her as she rested her head against his chest, still shaking a little.
"Rick, he was the one who told Steve to take that horrible machine with you. I saw his face when I felt Steve get hurt. I think he's also the one who grabbed me." she choked, amazing the others with the news.
"Bless you, honey." Steve held out a hand to her and she reached out and squeezed it. "Thank God you stayed awake all that time. I was trying to remember Jackson's face so I could describe him to Oscar. I'm just glad you understood what I was doing."
"Anything for my best friend." Laurie managed a smile then put her head against Rick's shoulder as he quietly told her "I'm so proud of you, you listened to your father like I asked you to." He kissed her, then felt her relax as Ian spoke up. "Dad, how did you know Mom was faking a faint?"
Rick chuckled as Oscar said, "It's one of the oldest tricks in the book, and this daughter of mine." He leaned over and stroked her hair, "has mastered it. She's scared me a couple of times when she's pulled it!"
"It's all I could think of, Ian. I knew something was wrong when Captain Martin said we had to take off, now." Laurie looked at the pilot, who nodded, shamefaced, at them.
"I'm sorry, ma'am, he showed me the gun and said if I didn't lift off he'd shoot into the gas tanks. When I sat the copter back down I thought I could grab his weapon, but he was too fast for me."
Laurie stroked Rick's injured arm. "My poor love, does it hurt bad?" she asked softly, seeing him shift uncomfortably then settle against her.
"It feels better with your magic fingers, sweetheart." Rick answered, then sighed as she massaged the injured muscles. "They're magic because of you, darling." She whispered, then kissed him on the neck and rested her arms around him.
Before leaving the mountain area, Rick directed the pilot to the place where the imobilizer weapon was dropped, and Jaime threw a non-explosive marker flare down to mark the spot. Almost immediately a small helicopter flew into the area, and Oscar sternly directed the flight crew to the nearest landing area.
"All right, Captain, God help them if that thing goes off again, let's head for home." the former OSI Chief requested.
Within the hour they were cleared for landing at a small base field near Phoenix, and Oscar was heartened to see Robin and A.J. waiting on the tarmac with an ambulance.
When they landed Oscar took charge of opening the door and helping everyone out so first Rudy could climb out then Steve could be lifted down. Gregson drove up just then and took charge of the renegade airman.
As the doctor wheeled Steve to the ambulance, Robin and A.J. embraced everyone then helped Laurie and Rick to a waiting car as the others unloaded the few items retrieved from the crash site and then piled into the vehicle.
Taking the wheel, A.J. looked at his brother, then put an arm around him. "I don't care about tradition, Rick, next year we camp in back of your place, it's safer."
"It's a date!" Rick hugged him back, then heard a heartfelt "Amen" from his wife and daughter.
Ten minutes later they were at Phoenix General, where their friend Dr. Allen took charge of his patients and had Rudy assist with examining Steve and Rick.
While he waited for his turn with the doctor, Rick let his wife help him into a hospital gown, then pulled her onto the gurney with him. "Better, darlin'?" he asked, feeling her relax against him.
"Yes, love. As long as you're all right." she sighed, laying her head on his chest.
"Only thing that hurts is my shoulder, sweetheart. How about you, did those creeps hurt you?" he worried, kissing her cheek.
"No, darling. One of them threatened to break my neck if I didn't stop struggling, then they tied me up and abandoned me in a closet. Jaime heard me though, Rick. She and Dad found me." Laurie finished, still frightened by the thought of her ordeal.
Rick swore, then caught Laurie's eye and immediately started to apologize, only to find her lips on his. When she finally let him come up for air, she said breathlessly, "What they did was horrible, dearest. They deserve being cussed at, but I 'd rather you kiss me instead."
"Whatever my brave girl wants." he smiled, then obeyed her wishes.
A week later, both Laurie and Rick sat watching Towne and Temple as her Christmas show wound down. It had been a surprise to their friends that Towne had agreed to be on his wife's show, but Temple had been so reluctant to be away from him after the ordeal on the mountain that everyone had ben happy to see him do the taping.
Towne was teasing her as the makeup artist touched up Temple's lipstick and mascara, "You're just cried it off with Laurie's Christmas story, you know I'll kiss it off when you're done."
Laurie giggled as she saw Temple laugh at her husband. "Rick, look at them, she's having such a good time with him here. This is what she needs, Towne reminding her he's there for her."
"And he needed to be needed, darlin'. I'm glad they're here for Christmas, we can finish the exterior of their house then they can move in next month instead of March." Rick grinned, pulling her into his lap. He too was unwilling to be away from his family for very long these days, especially after hearing from Oscar the terror his wife was put through. Laurie had only had one nightmare from her experience in being locked up in the dark, and he had been able to wake his wife and comfort her before it overwhelmed her.
He and A.J. had decided to close the office for the holidays early. A.J. cast the deciding vote when he reminded Rick "wouldn't you rather be in a warm bed instead of a cold office, I would!"
The reward was being home with his grandchild, watching Andy learn to walk, then seeing his son and daughter-in-law prepare for a new Simon in the spring.
Just then the director started the countdown then Temple smiled and said "We're back with my best friends Laurie and Rick Simon, and my husband Towne. Before I say goodbye, I wanted to announce that I'll be returning in February with a new weekly format, featuring not only your favorite personalities, but the people and places that make a difference in our lives."
Laurie saw the surprise in her husband's eyes, then Towne's as Temple wished everyone a Happy Holiday, then the director called, "cut!"
Immediately Temple turned to Towne, who picked up her and kissed her as the audience members cheered. Putting her down at last, the former detective whispered, "thank you, Baby, I love you."
"I love you too." Temple told him softly. "It took nearly losing you for me to realize nothing in my life is more important then you and me. When you offered to help me with today's show, I knew it was time for us, not just me."
As Towne swept his wife up in his arms and carried her off the set, Rick turned and saw Laurie wiping her eyes. "My tender heart." He whispered, then embraced her.
"I'm just happy for them, darling." She smiled, then squealed with delight as Rick picked her up.
"Just keeping up with my friends." He chuckled, then carried her out of the studio.