A/N: I would like to thank you for the great reviews. I know some of you have asked some questions. I love that because I know that you are thinking about the story. I always finish my stories before I post them because I'm the queen of procrastination. This is only fiction and I hope that as you read your questions will be answered. I also hope that you will continue to enjoy the story.

Chapter Three

Steve changed into his new work clothes as quickly as possible and headed out the door to find Isaiah. The last thing he wanted was for anyone to think that he couldn't hold up to his share of the work. Although, for the life of him, he couldn't think why he cared one way or the other. Here he was being held against his will and made to work for these people who had kidnapped and drugged him.

Steve found Isaiah by the shed putting tools in a wheelbarrow. He walked over to him, offering to help wherever he was needed. Isaiah gave him a grunt and Steve had a feeling that the old man didn't have much respect for him and from what he had been able to learn from the two, he wasn't too sure he blamed him. The younger man did however want to prove that he could handle anything that was thrown at him.

For the next two hours Isaiah and Steve worked at mending the fence down by the creek bed. The Lieutenant had always felt that he had managed to keep himself in pretty good shape. He had never shied away from any type of work and was always willing to do his part. But today he wasn't so sure if he was really going to be able to keep up with the old man. His part of the work consisted of digging postholes, stringing barbed wire and holding it tight as Isaiah nailed it secured to the post.

By the time that his captor was satisfied with the job, Steve was pretty shaky from the strenuous work out. He never complained but he was aching in places that he didn't even know existed. Steve knew it was a given that he was going to be sore tomorrow.

Once they reached the shed Isaiah put him to work cleaning and oiling the tools so that they wouldn't rust. Steve wasn't really used to doing this but he went to work the best he could. At home when he got through with a hammer he just threw it back into the toolbox. Once the tools had been cleaned and put away, Steve decided to go in search of some water.

He went back to the house and as he walked in he stopped and listened to Emma as she sang the same hymn she had been singing earlier. He stood for just a second and enjoyed the scene, knowing he couldn't stay there long before Isaiah would be looking for him. Not wanting to startle her by just suddenly appearing, Steve cleared his throat as he started towards her. She turned and smiled surveying him with her head cocked to one side.

"Now what can I get for you, Hon?" She walked up to him wiping the flour from her hands, the whole time surveying him. She wanted to be sure that Isaiah wasn't pushing him too hard or too fast.

"I just thought I would see if I could get a drink of water. I got pretty thirsty while we were fixing the fence." Steve felt something stir inside of him as he noticed her looking at him from head to toe. It was a feeling he hadn't felt for a long time and thought to be lost forever. It was the same love and concern he had gotten from his own mom. Katherine Sloan had a way of checking her son out to make sure he hadn't overdone a workout or played to hard with his friends without making a fuss about it. It was a feeling of knowing someone worried about the little things as well as the big things. Being proud of how well you were turning out and of all the accomplishments in your life. Loving you just because you are their son. So why did he have this feeling now? This woman wasn't his mother. As sweet as she was she would not ever be his mother.

"I'll get you a drink but you be careful about how fast you drink it. I ain't had time to mix up any sweet ginger water yet." She fussed around as she dipped water from the bucket and filled a glass for Steve.

"What's ginger water?" Steve asked while reaching for the cool glass of liquid.

"It's just a concoction I mix up that won't make you cramp if you drink a lot of it or if you drink it too fast. People get hot and thirsty so they tend to drink cool water too fast and they drink too much." She eyed Steve critically as he tipped the glass to his lips and drank the water down.

"I see that you managed to keep up with papa. He likes to put in a full day's work before lunch if you didn't notice." She smiled up at the sweaty young man who was asking for more water.

"I noticed. Trust me I noticed. I wasn't sure that I would be able to keep up with him for a while. He really pushes you hard. I don't see how a man his age can keep up that kind of pace." Steve accepted the water frowning a little when he saw that she had only given him half a glass.

"You drink too much, son and it'll make you cramp up." She said as she responded to his pout. "You don't worry about old Isaiah. He's as strong today as he was the day we was married. He carried you in from the car yesterday and didn't even grunt when he hefted you over his shoulder. I warn you now he ain't one to tangle with. He can still whup up on the best of 'em." Steve could see the pride in her face as she talked about her husband.

Steve handed back the empty glass and with a sigh he headed for outside. "I better go see what he wants me to do for him now. I don't want him to 'whup' up on me." With a grin he winked at Emma and disappeared out the back door.

DM

"Any word on Steve yet?" asked a very worried Jesse Travis.

"No, not yet. I just talked to his Captain and they still don't know where he is."

"I thought they knew who took him." Jesse looked questioningly at Mark.

"Oh they know who took him. And they went out to their place. But it was locked up tight. In fact it looks like no one has been there for several weeks. I don't know what to think." Mark turned to his young friend, obvious concern written all over his face.

"It doesn't make sense to me. If they only stole the deed to their property then why aren't they out there defending it? I mean you would think that they would be out there with shotguns and booby traps all over the place. Barbed wire surrounding the perimeter. Stacks of grenades sitting by the door just ready and waiting for the military to come and drive them off." It was plain to Mark that Jesse had once again launched his imagination into overdrive.

"Jesse, I think you've been reading those mercenary magazines too much lately." Mark couldn't help but laugh at the boy.

Jesse looked up at his friend and smiled sheepishly, "Sorry. I guess I just tend to get carried away sometimes. But you have to admit that it's odd that they aren't at least out there trying to hold off a posse with at least one of those shotguns that they said the old man and woman were waving around."

"I agree it does sound odd. I'm thinking that maybe they just might be hiding out some place on that land. There's hills and woods all up through there. They could be holding Steve any where." Mark shook his head thoughtfully.

"I wonder how Steve is doing? I hope that they haven't hurt him." Jesse looked worried.

"You know, for some reason I'm not worried about him. I feel they're taking good care of him." Mark mused.

"How can you be so certain? You don't know anything about them. I mean it could be 'Deliverance' all over again." Jesse was starting to once more go off on a tangent.

"Deliverance?" Mark smiled at his little friend and chuckled.

"Yeah. You know that movie with Ned Beatty and Burt Reynolds in it. You know where those hillbillies kidnapped them and stuff. Going down a river. Running for their lives." When Jesse saw the look on Mark's face he began to loose steam and just settled for, "Well it could happen. Maybe not quite like that but you know sort of like that. Ok, but I bet he's eating possum and grits. I bet by now he'd even settle for something you cooked up from that gourmet cooking web site that you like so well."

Mark continued to chuckle at his friend amused at how he could conjure up the most fantastic scenarios. Mark had watched the video over and over from the surveillance cameras at the bank. There was something about the old couple that made him think they weren't quite the bandits every one else believed them to be. After all, the only thing taken was the deed to their property. No money or bonds, just the deed.

Mark still wanted his son home with him but he truly felt that the old couple would not hurt Steve in any way. He smiled at the mental picture of Steve trying to eat possum and grits or any other hillbilly cuisine. And just what did Jesse mean by the statement he made about Steve would even like something he cooked.

"Jesse how about you and I see if we can find a copy of that deed somewhere. It might help us to find out where they have stashed themselves and Steve. I know that they have to be holding up somewhere on that land. If we can get a look at the boundaries and see what is in that area we might be able to get an idea of where they are hiding." Mark was already gathering his jacket and keys heading for the front door.

DM

Steve spent the rest of the day just trying to keep up with the old man. He was sure that Isaiah was trying to push him to see if would be able to endure the grueling pace. The younger man did his best to keep up his end of the work but by suppertime he could feel himself fading fast. When Isaiah finally said it was time to quit for the day Steve felt that he had just been given a reprieve. He slowly made his way back to the house wishing that he could climb into a hot shower. But since the toilet was outdoors he doubted that they even had a shower.

He settled for scrubbing his face and arms with lots of hot soapy water that Emma had heated up for the men to wash with. He managed to get most of the dirt off and with aching arms he combed his hair back off his forehead giving himself a fresh scrubbed look. He made his way to the table and all but fell into the chair. It took all of his strength to sit up straight and not slump over.

After the grace had been said Emma started to pile his plate full of fresh cooked vegetables, homemade biscuits, and fried chicken. Steve was so tired that he really couldn't appreciate the wonderful food that Emma had worked so hard on. About half way through the meal Isaiah just happened to look up and managed to move Steve's plate out of the way as the young cop fell over onto the table in a dead sleep.

"That's the trouble with younguns today. They don't know how to put in a days worth of work." Complained Isaiah.

"You hush up, old man. Seems to me that boy done put in a day just like you. He managed to hold up and didn't once complain about it neither. I know what you was trying to do too." Emma scolded her husband.

"What's that, old woman?" Isaiah shot back at his wife.

"You wanted to show him up. You wanted to prove that he wasn't as good as Robbie. Well he fooled you didn't he? He stuck right with you all the way. He don't know farm life. He ain't never lived on a farm. But he sure enough stuck it out. That alone earns him my respect and it should earn him yours too." Emma reached over and gently caressed Steve's cheek as his head rested on the table.

Isaiah looked at his wife as she stroked the boy's face. Not that he would ever admit it but he was extremely impressed with the way Steve had stuck in there with him until he had finally said it was time to quit. The truth of the matter was Emma was right. He had tried to prove that the city kid couldn't handle the same work out that he put himself through everyday. He had pushed himself a little hard hoping that Steve would give out before him. He had finally given up after they finished re-roofing the hen house. In fact it was Steve who had climbed up on the ladder and hammered all the boards into place and shingled it. Isaiah had merely handed him the materials.

"Well it don't matter now. He's so far gone we won't ever get him awake. I better haul him to bed before he gets a crick in his neck." Isaiah swiftly hauled Steve over his shoulder and carried him to his room. Emma scurried ahead in order to pull the covers back. Once they had settled the tired detective for the night, the couple went back into the kitchen where Emma began cleaning up after their supper.

While Isaiah sat at the table sharpening his work knives he began to chuckle. "That kid is goin' to be so sore tomorrow he ain't gonna be able to move."

"Shame on you for laughin' about that. He's a good boy and don't deserve you makin' fun of him." Emma was a little more than put out with her husband.

"I think since tomorrow is Sunday, you can just do what little chores there are and that boy in there can take the day off. I'm goin' to first soak him in a hot tub of water, then rub him down with that liniment oil. If I do that a couple of times then by Monday he ought to be back good as new."

"He'll be a lovin' you for that. If the smell don't get to him the burn from that liniment will." Isaiah continued to chuckle over what lay in store for the city boy tomorrow.