Sunlight woke Rick, and at first he thought the injury to Oscar and Blair's attempt to take his wife were just a bad dream, until he realized he'd slept with his clothes on.
"Good morning, my lionheart." He heard Laurie's whisper, then saw her beaming up at him from the pillow next to him. Instantly he met her lips with his, then groaned as she kissed him under his ear, then nuzzled his neck.
"Sweetheart, if we didn't have company…." He said, then chuckled as she whispered, "Just wait until we're alone again, Rick. I'm all yours."
Hearing the sound of Rudy's sedan pull in, Rick discovered it was already mid-morning,
"We must have been tired, darling. I can't remember the last time we slept in." Laurie grinned, as Rick kissed her throat. "I can, but I want a repeat, capice?" he insisted. "Capice!" she replied happily.
Once they were dressed, the two Simons opened the door of their room to find Chief Joseph putting breakfast on the table.
"Good morning, Light, Rick. You must be hungry." He smiled gravely at them, then greeted Rudy and Oscar, who were just coming in.
Over bacon and eggs, Rick found out that Barnabas and Quentin had gone to locate another way into the caves behind the Cultural Center and hospital.
"They must have been awfully quiet, I didn't hear a thing." He said, then laughed as the Chief informed him, "That's because you snore, Rick."
"I do not!" he protested, then pulled a grumpy face as Laurie snickered. "All right, my silly girl, go ahead and encourage them!"
"I'm sorry, my love, you're so funny." She wiped her eyes, then looked around, her humorous mood fading.
"Rick, have you seen Mike?"
Suddenly Rick could have kicked himself, he'd forgotten to get their dog in the night before.
"No, Laurie, Chief?"
The older man shook his head. "I'm sorry, Light. I haven't seen him since last night. I'll go outside and look for him.
"I'll go with you." Laurie said, then Rick cleared his throat. "All right, stay withinhis sight, Okay?"
"Yes, love." She agreed, as he took her hand.
After an hour, Rick took Laurie back to the ranch, trying not to think of all the things that could have happened to their pet.
Rudy insisted Laurie rest, then met Rick at the back door.
"Son, I'm afraid something may have happened to Mike, I think Blair did something to him."
Rick agreed. "I can't imagine Mike staying away that long, Rudy. I'll have to tell Laurie that he's probably gone." The doctor frowned, "No, not yet, son. Oscar and I will go search over by our cabin, we'll be back in an hour or so. I'll call if we find anything."
As the sun started to set, a tired but satisfied pair of Collins arrived home having discovered an unblocked way into the Lost Valley caverns.
" Tonight we'll go and eliminate Blair's last possible hiding place. " Barnabas looked at Rick, who agreed.
"Yeah, I don't want to go another night worrying about that spook. "
Quentin spoke up. "Do you want me to stay with Laurie, Rick? She shouldn't be alone. When are Oscar and Rudy due back?"
"Oscar's got a bad headache, so I told Rudy to stay with him. They'll join us later if we need them, I've got my transmitter in case we have to reach them."
Barnabas nodded. "Good idea. Quentin, Rick and the Chief and I will leave in a few minutes."
As the three men headed out the door, Rick turned and embraced his wife, saying "You mind Quentin now, darlin'."
"Yes, love. Please be careful, come home to me." Laurie whispered, then kissed him passionately;
Finally breaking for air, Rick turned and headed out the door.
As the hours passed, the two cousins played bridge until a noise from the patio startled them both.
"Maybe it's Mike!" Laurie cheered up, then Quentin got up from the table.
"I'll take a turn around the ranch real quick, honey. You go to your room and I'll lock you in so you'll be safe." he explained.
As she listened from her bedroom, Quentin left only the living room light on as he stepped outside, then followed the noise of growling near the barn.
Abruptly there was a sound of angry words, then Rick's voice called, "Laurie!".
Puzzled, Laurie went to the bedroom window, then opened it to peer around in the moonlight, calling "Rick? Do you see Quentin?"
"Yes, Laurie. He's just around the corner. Everything is all right." Rick said, then Laurie saw his approaching shadow.
"Where's Barnabas and ….oh no!"
Laurie stared at the face of Nicholas Blair, then started to back away, letting out a scream. Almost immediately he crashed through the partially open window, then seized her in an iron grip, a hand over her mouth muffling her cries.
"No, No!" she protested, trying to kick and wriggle her way out of his grasp. He laughed in such an evil way she was almost frozen with fear, as he climbed back through the window and carried her to a waiting jeep. On the ground next to the car was an unconscious Quentin. " Quentin!" she cried, jerking her face from his suffocating hand. As Blair opened the car door, Laurie screamed Quentin's name again then caught him in the ribs with her elbows.
Unfortunately all that seemed to do was make him angry, as he tightened his grip on her arms, thenflung her face down onto the rear seat.
Forcing her wrists and ankles together, Blair bound them with a rope, then tied a scarf around her mouth. Pushing her down onto the floor of the vehicle, he gazed at her, then taunted, "You thought your husband and your cousins would defeat me, did you. When I lure them to their death, it'll be the Collins family that will be destroyed."
As he left her sight and climbed into the driver's seat to drive away, Laurie managed to calm her thoughts down and respond to the frantic "calls" from Rick.
"Laurie! Sweetheart, answer me, tell me you're all right."
Rick was pale and sweating as Chief Joseph grabbed his arm and made him sit on a rock at the edge of the caves. They had just come to a convergence of two tunnels when he realized his wife was in danger.
"He's taken Laurie, she says he called her in my voice to open the window. Blair's knocked out Quentin and left him on the driveway. Chief, he told her he's going to destroy the Collins family by using her as bait." Rick told him, trying to get his emotions under control.
"We will find her, Rick. I believe he's bringing Light to these caves. Ask her if she can turn on her transmitter." The older man calmly said, then told the approaching Barnabas what had happened.
"Let me have your keys, Chief. I'll go find Quentin and be right back." He added, angrily.
Rick focused on his wife, telling her "Laurie, we're going to find you, he's not going to hurt you anymore. Can you turn your watch on?"
"Yes, love. I think we're coming around the back of the Cultural Center. Rick, it's a trap, don't come, darling, please. I'll play possum and see if he leaves me alone." She tried to reassure him, then listened as he "replied", "Sweetheart, I don't want you to take any chances. I'll find you, just hold on to my thoughts, Laurie. I love you."
"I love you too, Rick. Wait a minute, we're stopping, if I could see where we are. .."
Laurie tried to crane her neck to look, then cringed as Blair reached in and pulled her out of the back of the jeep.
"Time to go, Mrs. Simon." He sneered at her, then untied her ankles. Forcing her to walk with him over the rocky ground, she uttered a muffled gasp as she recognized the crumpled entrance to the caves of Lost Valley.
"Rick, he's taken me to the back of Lost Valley, there is another entrance to the caves opposite the hospital!"
Immediately Rick told the Chief, "Blair's forcing her into the caverns across from the hospital, doesn't the map show an entrance around here?"
"Yes, we can go get her and stop his evil where it all began, ahh, here's Barnabas and Quentin." Chief Joseph beckoned them over and told them where Laurie was.
"Quentin and I will go in first, Chief. You and Rick can go in behind them, and as soon as you get her away from him…." Barnabas produced the stub end of the old relic, now sharpened and gleaming as if on fire.
Rick nodded, then watched Quentin produce 2 flashlights.
"Here, Rick, you'll need this. Tell Laurie that we'll be right there." The younger cousin explained, a makeshift bandage on his head, then lowered his voice. "Be careful. Blair tricked me with your voice, he might try to lure you in with anyone's."
"I will, thanks." Rick was heartened by his concern; then remembered Oscar's words about Quentin.
"I guess he has changed." He thought, then realized he heard Blair's voice from his transmitter. Lowering the volume, he saw the startled face of Quentin and hastened to explain the receiver in his watch.
"Let me see." Quentin looked at the portrait in the watch lid of Laurie and Rick, then recognized the warlock's voice.
"Now, my dear. I'm going to leave you for just a little while. I need to let your family know where you are." I won't be long, I need to make sure they're greeted properly." A muffled protest from his wife sounded as Blair let out a chuckle, then Rick's stomach turned as the man whispered seemingly next to her transmitter.
"When I come back, I'll let them watch me initiate you myself."
As his laugh died off, Quentin's face darkened.
"Rick, you and the Chief go to her now." He said in a menacing tone, then strode away to meet Barnabas.
As Rick followed the elder into the tunnel, he decided he wouldn't want to get on Quentin's bad side, ex-werewolf or not.
Staying within the small beam of light, the two men crept through the old caves, stopping to listen at various points for footsteps.
Rick "called" to his wife, "Laurie, we're coming. Do you hear any footsteps."
"Yes, Rick, please hurry." She returned, her tone fearful. Suddenly Rick felt panic in her thoughts
As Rick and the Chief rounded a corner, the older man held up a hand, then the sound of Blair's voice vibrated off the walls. Peering over a rock wall, Rick saw Nicholas Blair with a knife standing next to his wife's outstretched body. Bound hand and foot, she was struggling to get away from him as he chanted some kind of ritual.
Suddenly he raised the ornate dagger, "If any of you can hear me, I will kill your precious cousin if you do not show yourself."
Horrified, Rick was ready to reveal himself when Barnabas suddenly stepped forward, gun in hand.
"Drop the dagger on the ground, Blair and move away from her."
The warlock merely laughed. "You're getting a little old there, Barnabas. I'll take her life faster then you can shoot." As if to emphasis the point, he began to lower the weapon towards Laurie's chest. Rick was just about to level his gun at Blair when his wife jackknifed her legs and caught him below the belt. Taken by surprise, Blair fell backwards, then got to his feet with incredible speed and grabbing up the dagger, came flying toward Laurie, who managed to roll off the stone altar and land hard on the ground.
"Now, Rick!" the Chief hissed in his ear and Rick instantly fired, striking the knife and shattering it into pieces.
As Blair turned, howling with rage, Barnabas fired at him, then hurled himself at the warlock, knocking him to the ground. Rick rushed to Laurie's side as she tried to sit up.
"Sweetheart. I've got you, don't move." He whispered, pulling the scarf off her mouth and gathering her into his arms.
"Rick, thank God." Laurie moaned, then put her head against his shoulder as he got to his feet and rushed her toward the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a wall of flame was in his path, and Rick immediately whirled in time to see Blair standing over a collapsed Barnabas, aiming his fingers at the two Simons and Chief Joseph. The fire advanced toward them, scorching in it's intensity, and Rick tried to shield Laurie from the heat.
"You will all burn!" Blair yelled, then was driven to the ground by a right hook by Quentin, who slipped out of the shadows and half-carried Barnabas out of Blair's reach.
"Nooooooo! You have no power here!" the warlock screamed in anger. Rick looked around to see what he was reacting to, then heard Laurie murmur, "Grandmother", as the fire disappeared.
With Blair's attention away from him, the older Collins managed to get to his feet, staring at the appearance of Kasey Adams. "Kasey,….
The firm voice of the spirit reverberated in the still air. "Blair, you will not hurt my grandchild! Your evil is ended." she declared, then as Laurie glanced at her ancestor,Kasey looked at Barnabas, then said "now!"
Holding on to Quentin, Barnabas flung the silver relic at Blair, catching him in the heart. A burst of flame erupted from his chest, and a monstrous howl came from the slowly disingrating figure.
"Go, now!" Kasey's spirit started to waver, then Rick watched as she gave one more glance at Barnabas, who seemed to recover his strength, whispering "farewell". At once the cave began to vibrate and crumble, and Rick heeded Kasey's words and carried Laurie quickly out of the cavern, following the others back into the tunnels.
Just as the five of them burst into the early morning air, a great roar came from the caverns, then smoke belched out of the rocks as almost instantly the entrance was sealed.
Coughing and choking, Rick managed to set Laurie down, then untied her, saying, "Are you all right, darlin', did he hurt you?"
"He hit me, Rick. I…refused to call your name so he slapped my face, that's when he started to threaten me with the dagger." She choked, then let out a small cry as she tried to stand.
"Sweetheart, just stay still, let me see." Rick bit back a curse as he looked at her knee, swollen and bleeding. "Laurie, I'm sorry, I should have stayed with you, he wouldn't have hurt you if I…."
"No, darling,." Laurie put her arms around his neck and clung to him, saying, "You found me, you stopped him from killing me. You're always there when I need you, my braveheart."
"Is she all right." Quentin dropped down beside Rick, then grinned as Laurie nodded.
"Yes, thanks to all of you. Oh Quentin, I'm sorry I made you go look for Mike . Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Honey. I would have gone to find out what that noise was, anyway." He said, then took her hand as he said. "While you get checked out, I'll go over by Oscar's cabin and look there, just in case."
"Thank you, Quentin." She sniffed, then leaned against her husband, her energy spent. Rick stroked her face, "It's all right, Laurie. We'll find Mike." At once she looked around, worried.
"Is Barnabas and the Chief all right, I saw Blair knock Barnabas down." Laurie asked, then breathed a sigh of relief when Barnabas and the Chief came to her side.
"Don't worry about me, my dear. Your grandmother saved us all, her energy gave me strength." The older man told her, then smiled as Chief Joseph added, "Blair's defeat insures he will not return. Your family is safe."
"Yes, thank God." She beamed, then put laid her face against Rick's "I feel much better, my love. Let's go home."
"Nope, " Rick shook his head as he picked his wife up. "I want Doc to look at you, darlin'."
Laurie opened her mouth to tell him she was okay, then caught the look in his eyes.
"Yes, Rick. I can never say no to you." she said, than kissed him.
Rick returned her kiss, then as he started toward the rear of the hospital, heard Quentin say "Talk about spoiled…."
"Yes, she is." He grinned, "And that's how I like it!"
A couple of hours later, Rick was dozing until a page alerted him to a call at the admissions desk.
"Pop, I found him!" Rick couldn't believe his ears.
"Are you sure, son? Where was he?"
"In the barn, I guess Blair lured him in there then shut him in. He's hungry and dirty, but I think he's all right." Robbie said, relieved. "When are you and Mom coming home?"
"In a few minutes, she's bruised and had to have stitches in her left knee, but your Mom's going to be all right. Your cousins should be there in a few minutes, Quentin'll be glad to know about Mike." Rick replied, realizing how the younger Collins had come through for them.
Just then the lobby door opened, then Doc wheeled Laurie out into the waiting area. Saying a quick goodbye to their son, he hung up the phone, then greeted his wife with a hug.
"All right, Light, you go right home and straight to bed. Rick, she's to stay put for the next couple of days so that knee can heal." The gruff doctor explained, then leaned down and dropped a kiss on her forehead.
"Thanks, Doc. Just for that, you can come for grilled fish the first night you're off." She smiled, then giggled as Rick added facetiously, "Be warned, Rudy may make you clean them first!"
"If it includes Robin's salsa, I'll risk it!" Doc chuckled, coming out to the truck with them and helping Laurie out of the wheelchair and into the cab.
As they drove home, Rick put his arm around Laurie, then started to say, "Sweetheart, I've got good.."
Just then his transmitter went off, and answering it, found a very worried A.J. on the other end.
"Rick, what happened? Are you and Laurie all right?"
Preoccupied with telling his brother their enemy was gone, Rick forgot to tell his wife the good news about their dog until he pulled into the driveway.
"I'll see you later, A.J.." he finished, then saw Laurie's face as she looked at their house.
"Darlin', what is it?"
"Rick, what if Mike's gone for good?" She sniffed, then Rick remembered.
"Laurie, I'm sorry, I started to tell you, Robbie found him!" he said, and her face lit up.
"Rick, oh that's wonderful!" she beamed, then they both heard a loud barking as the front door opened.
As Rick got out, a dirty brown streak raced out of the house and jumped into his arms.
"Mike! Oh, good dog, where have you been?" He choked, suddenly overcome.
Climbing out behind him, Laurie put her arm around his shoulders as he petted the ecstatic Mike.
"He missed you, darling. Good boy, Mikey. Where were you?"
"He was in the barn, Mom." Robbie came and hugged his parents, then took Mike from his father as Rick turned and scooped her up in his embrace.
"Rick, I can walk, oh love." She saw the tears on his face, then kissed him. "Everything's all right now, darling. We're home."
"Yes, my bride" he whispered, then carried her over the threshold.