Holds Me Together
Rating: T-M Just in case
Disclaimer: You know the drill.
A/N: I love you people! You make my day! Sorry for the proofreading as always. FYI: My responses to reviews are going to be at the bottom of each chapter instead of the top, just so that everyone doesn't have to scroll to get to the story. Don't' feel unloved, it's not like I'm going to ignore the reviews! I swear! Read on with yo bad self, now!

Chapter 8 – The Devil Inside

"Joan, you should walk faster, you'll be late,"

Joan nearly jumped out of her skin when a jogger caught up to her and started speaking. She was coming from the bookstore and along with her over packed bag; she had books in her arms and a coffee in her hand. All of the contents in her arm nearly went crashing to the ground when she jumped. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath she turned to Jogger God, whom she had to admit was pretty hot. He looked like he'd been running long. His long golden hair was soaked and a t-shirt was folded in half and hanging from the waistband of his soccer shorts, so he'd obviously taken it off because it was too hot.

"You know, I swear I'm probably the only one you scare the hell out of every time you come to talk to me," She mumbled tiredly. The hot Jogger God smiled wistfully.

"If that's what you'd like to believe, that's fine with me," He said.

"So what's wrong with the universe now?" Joan asked. "And I am not late, I'm totally on time."

"For now you are, but you're slowing down to talk to me," He said, jogging more in place to keep himself next to Joan who seemed like she was forcing herself to go each step further. "You're going to want to get some vitamin C, orange juice even, to keep your immune system up, Joan. We can't have you getting sick now."

Joan stopped, trying to grasp this situation. "Are you seriously telling me to take vitamins as an assignment?"

Jogger God laughed. "I just don't want you getting sick. I care, Joan, is that so bad?"

"Oh-ho, no, no, no, no, it is never just about caring whether I'm sick or not," Joan stated. Jogger God stopped and lifted his foot up to a bench before leaning down to tie the shoe. He cast a sideways glance to Joan.

"A simple cold can turn into pneumonia or even bronchitis before you know it," He shrugged. "I doubt you'd want that for the upcoming school break when you'll be returning home…"

"Well no I don't want to be sick at home…" Joan narrowed her eyes at God. "Wait a minute, I'm going to get pneumonia?"

Jogger God laughed. "Not if you take care of yourself." He stepped closer to her. "You're going to need to keep your strength up Joan. Things are going to start getting dangerous. In fact, I suggest you take Professor Brink's invitation," He winked before he turned to jog off.

"Wait! Hey! You can't just leave me after telling me something like that!" She called out to him, causing people to stare at her. Story of my life, she thought. Jogger God offered Joan a backward wave and picked up his pace. Joan sighed and picked up her own pace, heading for class.

"Just in time, Miss Girardi," Professor Brink said as she and Joan arrived at the door of the classroom at the same time. Joan smiled and shrugged.

"I have a way with timing," She said sarcastically. Professor Brink chuckled as she followed Joan in. Joan headed for her seat in the second row, next to Hayley.

"You're a comedian, that's good. It'll get you through a lot of things in life," Professor Brink said to Joan before she called the class to order.

"Hey," Hayley whispered to her as class started. "What do you think it would take to be her age and have a figure like that still?" Hayley asked, noting Professor Brink's athletically toned figure as she started writing on the board and talking. Joan was taken back momentarily to her AP science classes. Grace would always ask random questions when class had just started. Of course, those had never been questions about how to stay fit. Joan smiled slightly before being brought back to reality as Professor Brink was passing out handouts.

"A well structured diet, exercise, and my kickboxing class ladies," She said with a knowing smile as she passed them. "You should join, check it out on the sign-up board in the gym. Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Now, can we get back to class?"

Hayley offered a nod as she blushed. Joan nodded as well. She felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. If God wanted her to learn to fight, did that mean that something more dangerous than everything she's already faced is coming for her? Joan shuddered, closing her eyes for a moment.

Hayley noticed the color drain from Joan's face and grew concerned. She scribbled a note in the side space of her notebook and moved it so Joan could see. Joan glanced at it and then at Hayley, to see a worried look on her face. Leaving one hand on her stomach in a useless attempt to quell her nausea, she wrote next to Hayley's note: 'I'm fine…thank you," and nodded. Hayley didn't really believe her but decided against inquiring further.

"Grace! You're back!" Danica screamed excitedly when she'd entered the diner with her mother and Rush closed behind. Izzy cast a knowing glance at Grace and Luke who both gave a nod, to signify that they would keep and eye on both Danica and Rush as she went in the back to talk to JB. Grace and Luke were just starting in on their burgers and fries. Rush climbed up on Luke's side of the booth and started stealing fries. Danica dove into Grace's side and hugged her.

"Whoa! Hey, kid," Grace said, granting the girl a hug back. "How was your Thanksgiving?"

Danica's eyes lit up. "Mommy almost had the baby!" She cheered. Grace's eyebrows arched into her head.

"Almost?" She asked, wondering how someone could almost give birth but not quite. Danica nodded furiously.

"Yeah! She and Daddy were finishing dinner and she dropped the bowl of corn and grabbed her stomach," Danica started to explain.

"We got to ride in a cop car with the sirens on to the hospital!" Rush cheered with a mouthful of fries.

"Yeah! And the lights were on too!" Danica joined in. "And then we were there for a long time and Junior remembered that there was still biscuits and stuffing in the oven and he called Avery to go to the house and she got there just in time, 'cause the oven was almost completely on fire!"

Grace's eyes widened. She would have asked if Avery was okay, but she had already seen Avery and besides some bandaging wrapped around her right forearm, Avery was still at work and looked okay.

"Is your house okay?" She asked Danica instead. Danica nodded.

"We have to get a new oven, which mommy's happy about. And Avery had to get her arm wrapped up. But we got to eat the rest of our dinner and even extra dessert because of everything that happened!" Danica cheered.

"And your mom and the baby are okay too?" Grace asked. Danica nodded eagerly.

"They said it was a fake alarm and that everything's okay. Then they sent us home," She told Grace. Grace nodded as Danica started in on her fries. She looked at Luke who was in a conversation with Rush about Star Wars. When she looked up, she saw someone in the window of the diner, staring back at her. Grace narrowed her eyes. He simply smiled and wiggled his eyebrows at her.

"Here, let me get out for a minute okay?" Grace waited for Danica to move and climbed out. Danica climbed right back in.

"What's up?" Luke asked, concerned at the look on Grace's face.

"I'll be back in a minute," Grace said, heading for the door. She walked outside and around the corner to where the man had gone. He was now at the other corner reading a tabloid at the newspaper stand. "Collier, haven't we fully discussed the stalker bit yet?"

Collier simply smiled at her. "You're lucky I'm such an understanding person, Grace, or I'd probably have already lost my temperament with you permanently," He put the tabloid back on the rack and bought a candy bar.

"Oh. Please, do tell what button I have to push to get that reaction so I can get rid of you," she crossed her arms.

"You know at first, I was tempted to grant your request and leave you alone because basically, you're rude. Of course I know there's probably a reason for your tough woman façade but frankly I don't care to know what it is," He shrugged, taking a bite out of his Milky Way bar and chewing.

"Then why are you still following me?" Grace asked. "Don't tell me," She held her hand up sarcastically like she was about to read his mind. "You forgot to take notes and you want to borrow mine? No, that's not it…"

"Cute. Really," Collier said just as dryly. "You have quite a way with quick witted comebacks. It's not surprising, really." He took another bite and held it out to her. "Want some?"

"No. Answer my question," Grace ordered. Collier stood up straight and saluted.

"Ma'am, yes, ma'am!" He said loudly. Grace's fists balled as she still kept her arms crossed.

"You're about 2 seconds away from a broken nose," She warned. Collier smiled.

"There's the sunny disposition I love about you," He retorted. Grace clenched her jaw. "Maybe it's these lovely little banter chats we have every other day, or maybe it's the way that you force feed Henley and Tex their own testicles every class period. Perhaps it could even be that I know what you're in for, and though deep down you know the storm's coming, you're positive you'd battened down all the hatches and you're going to make it out with a few scrapes and bruises that's keeping me around." Collier shrugged. "I think it could even be that I'm so fascinated by your raging, thriving, growing, radiating fortitude, that I want to stick around and see what becomes of you and your crew in the end."

Grace felt her spine squirm and she stifled a shudder. She narrowed her eyes suspiciously and studied Collier, lost for what he was talking about, but feeling that something important was taking place between them.

"You see! That's it right there!" He almost jumped up and down as he laughed.

"What drugs are you-,"

"You know something's going down, Grace, as we speak," Collier said, his smile fading. "You know it and you know what else? You haven't even begun to unlock and grasp your ability to tap into that." He almost laughed excitedly again. Grace looked utterly perplexed. She buried the fear that was creeping up in her at the way Collier was talking, refusing to let it show through in her facial expressions. Collier eyed her for a moment and then leaned closer.

"You don't honestly think, Grace…that you are helpless in this battle?" Collier didn't seem to Grace at least, to grasp that she wasn't understanding what he was talking about.

"Collier-,"

"Stop acting like you don't know what I'm talking about," Collier demanded. "God may speak to Joan and Ryan Hunter, but do you really, in that sharp, diligent, ever alert brain of yours, honestly think that he wouldn't equip you…Luke, even Adam with the abilities to rise above?"

Grace's eyes expanded until it looked to collier like there was only pupil and whites left. He gave her a half grin. How in the hell did Collier know this much? What the hell is going on. She was about to vocalize this question when Collier interrupted her.

"Think about it Grace. Logic will help you at some point," He smiled. "It's time now to figure out what your part in all of this is because if you don't, you're going to suffer great loss."

"Just me?" Grace pondered. Collier shook his head.

"For now, I was sent to you specifically yes. The others are closer on the edge of figuring out their roles than you are." He told her. Grace shook her head.

"I must be crazy. This is insane," She shook her head. Collier almost laughed.

"That's usually the response we get," He nodded. Grace studied him warily for a minute.

"So, what are you then? Like a messed up Angel, who got stuck perpetually going to college or something?" Grace asked, still only half believing this was happening. Collier snickered.

"Well…Angel, divine messenger, cherub, celestial being, seraph, spirit, guardian, etc, etc." Collier listed off synonyms. Grace put her hands to the side of her head for a minute.

"Do you really expect me to believe this acid trip you're on?" She asked him, looking at him. Collier shrugged.

"It's not up to me to make you believe the message, just to deliver it." He explained.

"And what exactly was your message?" Grace asked. Collier stepped closer.

"Stop squandering your potential. Stop underachieving." He said. He grinned when this caught Grace's attention. It had been one of the first things Joan had told her that had gotten her to ease up on the excessive anti-handing homework in. Grace shook her head as collier continued. "Now, that I have your attention listen up. I don't like to repeat myself. It's not my style." He straightened his collar dramatically. Grace stood there impatiently. "God did not bestow upon Ryan anything that was not bestowed upon you, or even any other being on this planet. The simple fact is that some people tune into it better than others. You, Adam, Luke, all three of you are closer than most to this fact because you are conscious of the possibilities thanks to Joan." He looked at Grace to see if she grasped this concept. Grace, seeming to figure this out, nodded. "I'm here, to assure that you get the message, and support you need to take the leap that's coming in the near future."

"What leap?" Grace asked.

"The leap of faith, of course," He winked at her. Looking past Grace, Collier saw Luke coming out of the diner's door. "That's all for now. I'll see you in class."

"You can't just leave now!" Grace whispered harshly as she turned to see Luke heading for her. She turned back around but Collier was gone.

"Hey, are you okay?" Luke asked after seeing that Grace was visibly distraught. Grace looked around again a few times, crossing her arms and rubbing her arms to warm up. She nodded eventually.

"Yeah. I was just, talking to a classmate I saw out here," She assured. Luke nodded as if accepting this.

"Come on, it's freezing out here," He turned to lead her back inside. He cleared their plates and headed back to work. Grace sat down next to Danica.

"Grace are you all right?" Isabel asked when she sat down, still staring out at the window as if Collier would return. Grace snapped out of her trance and rubbed her hands together.

"Oh, yeah. I'm good, just cold," She assured. "So, I hear you had a Thanksgiving scare?" She quickly shifted the focus of the conversation, glad she convinced them that her slightly trembling was due to the coldness that she could now feel in her bones.

"Will Girardi?" Will answered the phone in his office. It was nearly 6 and he was just about to leave his office when the phone had started ringing. He had answered it, assuming it was Helen to ask him when he would be home. He wasn't expecting the person on the other end of the line.

"Detective, this is Chief Oswald. We met over the summer, the Hunter case," Oswald reminded Will. Will nodded to himself.

"Yes, sir, I remember," Will said, wishing the man would just tell him what the big deal was.

"Yes. I don't know if you've seen the news today yet," Oswald began.

"No, I haven't gotten home just yet," Will explained.

"Right. Okay." Oswald coughed.

"No disrespect intended, sir, but can you tell me what this is about? My wife is waiting for me and I'm already a half hour late-,"

"Ryan Hunter escaped, Girardi," Oswald cut Will off. Will felt himself sink into his desk chair. Rage, some fear, and astonishment coursed through him. He ran his hand through his hair. The possibilities of what Ryan could do outside of prison ran rampant through his mind.

"How…did this happen?" Will asked, trying not to go through the phone and strangle Oswald.

"He was on work detail just off the highway," Oswald explained. "He switched clothes with an officer and took off before anyone could miss him."

"An officer is involved in this?" Will asked incredulously.

"He says he doesn't know what came over him. He just remembered bringing Hunter back to the bus for getting in a fight, and the next thing he remembers is sitting on a seat in the bus with a jumpsuit on and his ankle cuffed to the rail," Oswald said. Will took a deep breath.

"I want that officer put in lock down until I get a detective down there to question him, do you understand?" Will asked. Oswald huffed for a moment.

"Fine." Oswald said. "We've set up blockades, put out a nationwide APB and have his picture up on every news broadcast in the country."

"You don't know this guy, chief." Will said angrily. "You're not going to catch him that easily, not a second time. He knows you're looking for him. Expect him to change his hair color, even eye color, anything to set him apart from the pictures and descriptions you're distributing. I want hourly updates directly from you do you get me?" Will ordered. Oswald agreed and Will slammed the phone down angrily. He quickly called Helen and told her to head over to Kevin and Lily's and he would pick her up when he was finished. Helen hadn't asked any questions, she just agreed.

After hanging up, Will walked into the squad room. "All right listen up! We have a situation we need to take care of. I want it taken care of now," Will began shouting out orders.

"Hey, you've got a letter," Johana said when Joan entered her dorm. It was her first day at Professor Brink's kickboxing class, which had been from 6 am until 7 am. This fact had given Joan an hour to get back to her dorm, shower and change, and then get to class, followed by work, then her night class. It was 7:30pm by the time she'd walked back into the dorm. Colby was already gone, at a party or hooking up with Cody no doubt. Johana was at her desk with her reading glasses on, doing a paper.

"Uh…thanks?" Joan asked. "Since when does the mail come to our rooms?"

"It doesn't. Some weirdo slid it under the door. He looked crazy when I looked through the peephole so I pretended no one was here and her slid it under the door," Johana turned in her chair to see if Joan would tell her what the letter was or if she knew the weird man that had been at the door.

Joan looked at the envelope. The return address was their dorm address. There were many postage marks including a "Address not valid, return to sender," stamp. Joan looked at whom the envelope was addressed to. It simply read "123 Headedur Way." Joan furrowed her brow. Who would be that lame? She carefully opened the envelope and pulled the letter out. She unfolded it and began to read.

Dear Jeanne d'Arc,

How interesting it is to think of you that way. It seems we've come so far from where we were. You've gone and crossed the country. I hope that wasn't to escape from me? I was hoping that with your move the G-O-D would have abandoned all hope and move on to a more reliable, faithful slave. Once day you'll understand why I stopped listening to him. You will too. When it's time. I'll make sure of that. So you think you have an army do you? Don't fool yourself. You don't. You have an artist who can weld metal to look like a twisted silver turd, an anarchist who's claiming to be falling in line so that she can change things in the end (what a joke!), an younger brother who, in al likelihood, will use is scientific powers to create the world's next Atomic bomb equivalent (maybe he'll wipe out the whole world instead of just some cities in Japan though), a nerd gone wild with a new outlook on life that's going to take her far from the likes of you, and a genius with a curly afro whom no one has heard of or seen since graduation. You have an army? HA! You have nothing. But that's just as well. It will make the transition easier. You'll be more equipped to understand why you're listening to a fraud. Things can be so much easier for you. You just have to open up to it, Joan. Do you really want to be a martyr for a cause that's not your own?

Ah well, it is your "choice" after all. Isn't that what he tells you? It's not true. Think about it. I'm on the move so this must end here. Give Adam a hello for me, tell him I'm sorry he missed my explosive show at the art gallery. I'll let you know that I won't miss next time so say goodbye now. I must be going now, actually. A visit with my dear little sister awaits me.

See you soon,

R.H.

"Joan?" Johana crossed the room and waved her hand in front of Joan's face. Joan shook her head, snapping out of a trance. Her eyes were wide and tears were in them. She noticed her hands were trembling.

"Wha? What?" She asked looking at Johana, looking dazed.

"Bad news?" Johana asked. Joan looked at Johana and then at the letter.

"E-Excuse me. I'll be back," Joan didn't give Johana a chance to respond. She jumped to her feet and ran out the door, heading for Adam's room where she pounded on the door furiously until he answered, confused.

"Jane?" Adam asked, almost not recognizing her from her liquid eyes and red face. She looked like she was about to collapse. She was shaking and breathing hard. She had a piece of paper gripped tightly in her hand and she couldn't force any words out. "Come in here," He moved aside and put his arm around her to help her through the door and to a chair. Crouching down in front of her, he brushed her hair out of her face and wiped at her tears. "What's going on?"

Joan looked at him. The fear in her eyes made Adam squirm. He'd never seen her this shaken up, and after all they'd been through, that was saying something.

"Jane, I can't do anything if you don't let me know what's going on," Adam said desperate to find away to calm her. With a quaking arm she held the letter out to him. Adam took it. "What's this?" He asked. His eyes began to read the letter.

"Can I help you?" An old woman probably about the age of 80 answered the door when he'd knocked. Her gray hair was in curlers. Her face and body were plump from years of living on a farm and cooking for probably tons of kids. He looked passed her into the house to see if anyone else was there.

"Yes, Ma'am, may I come in and use your phone?" He asked. She looked wary of his wounded appearance. However, he was wearing a police uniform so it must be okay to let him in. He smiled slightly, seeing her hesitation. "I was in a bit of a scuffle back, and the perpetrator made off with my radio and my cruiser. I just need to call in and report it, ma'am."

"Oh, please, come in. I'll find a first-aid kit," she moved aside and let him step through the threshold. "What did you say your name was?" She asked as she used two hands to shut the door. He glanced quickly at the nametag on his chest and smiled at her glad she didn't notice.

"Officer Clausen." He said. "Where's your phone?" He asked her.

"Right this way," She waved him to follow her. Once at the phone in her kitchen, she began to pour him some water and look for a first-aid kit that she kept in the cabinet with the glasses. He pretended he was dialing and talking into the phone.

"Yes, this is officer Clausen calling from Mooreland Ave, cross street Evergreen Terrace." He said as he quietly walked up behind the old woman. She didn't even get a chance to look up or scream before he reached up and twisted her head. A slight gasp escaped before he let go and she slid down to the floor in a heap. He looked down at her. "I'm truly sorry for including you in this…" He said, looking at her. "But there are bigger things going on here."

Moving through the house, Ryan cleaned himself off and disinfected his scrapes and cuts. He took the peroxide he found and managed to give his short hair a new color. He inspected this new look in the mirror. After decided it was good enough, he took the police officer, who's clothes he was wearing, sunglasses and put them on. Then he found the keys to the woman's beat up truck, which had been sitting in the driveway. He knew this woman couldn't drive such a vehicle at her age, so hopefully her husband hadn't died too long ago and the truck was still usable. Finally he rummaged for food, and money before checking to make sure no one was outside when he made his way to the truck and climbed in. He placed the key into the ignition, took a deep breath and turned it.

The truck roared to life and he laughed maniacally. "Yes!" He cheered to himself, slipping it into reverse and noticing that it had a full tank of gas. Opening the glove compartment as he pulled out he found, to his luck, a map. Putting it on the steering wheel, he began to map out his route using back roads. He grinned.

"Try and stop me now you bastard," He laughed to himself as he took a right. "Let's start with the little fish and work our way up…Arcadia, here I come."

"Hello?" Grace's tired voice rang through the phone to whoever was on the other line calling her at; she checked the clock, 2 am. She rubbed her face and sat up, shivering. She wrapped her blanket around her and tried to be quiet so that she didn't wake Missy up. She had only fallen asleep 20 minutes ago. This always happened to her on days when she and Luke were just too busy to be around each other. They had too much due to put it off by getting distracting by each other. Of course it would happen that someone would call her just as she was falling deep into sleep.

"Grace, it's Adam," Adam's voice echoed through Grace's heavy head and it took a few seconds for her to register this.

"Adam?" She whispered harshly. "Hello…time zones, dude. It might be early there but it's late as hell here." She complained.

"Grace, you have to wake yourself up and listen to me," Adam said, ignoring her complaint. The urgency in his voice alarmed Grace. Adam didn't get that spooked easily anymore. Grace sniffed in a deep breath and let it out in a sigh, scratching her head before running her hands through her messed hair. She stood up and stretched.

"What's the deal, Rove?" She asked, sounding more awake now.

"Ryan's on his way for you," Adam said bluntly. Grace nearly dropped the phone. Her brain's logic kicked in.

"Rove, tell Joan that the Koala bears in hats is a funnier nightmare to have," Grace said. "Hunter's in jail. He's not coming anywhere."

"You haven't watched TV either. Grace he's not in jail. He escaped during a work detail just off the highway in Maryland." Adam explained. "Joan just got a letter today. You have to go to Luke and get to a police station or something. I don't know."

"How the…why didn't Mr. Girardi call us?" She asked Adam.

"I don't know, we can't get a hold of him," Adam replied. "Grace stop talking to me. He's been out since yesterday around noon. Hang up and call Luke. Get a cab to him and go. Call us when you get to the police station."

Grace was about to answer when there was a hard knock on the door. Missy stirred but didn't quite wake up. Grace almost screamed at the sudden noise, but stopped herself, on emitting a slight gasp.

"Grace? What's wrong?" Adam asked, sounding terrified.

"I think he's here…" Grace whispered. Adam barely heard her. He heard a loud banging as the person knocked on the door again. Missy woke up this time. Her eyes focused and she saw Grace in the dim moonlight. Grace motioned for Missy to be quiet. Missy nodded. Slowly, she made her way over to the peephole. Just was she looked in it a shadow fly by and she couldn't see anyone in the hallway. Swallowing hard, she leaned her forehead against the door. This is not happening, she thought to herself.

"Grace?" Adam asked. "Grace?"

"I think he's gone-," Grace's sentence was cut off by another knock on the door. She lifted her head and looked out the peephole, nearly jumping out of her skin when she saw two campus security guards standing there.

"Miss Polk, we're here to escort you to the precinct," One of them said as the other knocked.

"Adam, I'll call you in a bit," She promised.

"Okay," Adam agreed when they both hung up. Grace turned the light on as Missy was just climbing down. Grace unlocked the door and opened it. The two guards looked at her.

"Are you Grace Polk?" The female officer-Hinson-asked. Grace nodded. "If you could please get changed, a Detective Will Girardi sent us to get you and bring you down to the station.

"What about Luke?" She asked, hoping they could tell her something.

"We don't know anything about a Luke," The other officer-Krantz-said. Grace nodded.

"What's going on?" Missy asked. Grace looked at the officers and then at Missy and back.

"Can my roommate come with me?" She asked the officers. They looked at each other, shrugged and then nodded. Grace's shoulder slumped slightly, relieved. At least if Ryan was coming after her, he wouldn't find Missy and do anything to her if she was with Grace.

"Why are we going to the police station?" Missy asked as she and Grace threw sweat clothes over their pajamas and tied boots to their feet. Each packed a messenger bag full of their essential belongings. They pulled their jackets on and locked the door before following the guards out to their SUV.

"I'll explain on the way…" Grace told her. Missy nodded and climbed in the back next to Grace who was dialing Luke's number on her cell phone.

"Are you kidding me?" Grace yelled nearly three hours later. They were in an interrogation room, Luke, Grace and Missy, with two detectives who had been briefed on the situation by Will. "He killed me and he gets to roam free searching for me and I have to stay in a shabby precinct like a criminal?"

Missy stared between Luke and Grace as Grace posed this question. Luke, she noticed, cringed at the word 'killed.'

"Miss Polk-," One of the detectives tried to interrupt her.

"I'm sorry…did you say killed?" Missy interjected.

"Uh, 4 minutes…long story…has to do with an ocean…" Grace said distracted. "I have class in a few hours!" She yelled at the detectives.

"Grace…" Luke said quietly. Grace looked at him.

"I can't stay cooped up here like this," She said. "He's winning because now we're the caged ones! He's a manipulative, scuzz ball and he will get past the officers in here and we are sitting ducks!" Grace paced as she said this.

"Miss Polk-," the detective tried again.

"Don't you 'Miss Polk' me!" Grace demanded.

"Grace!" Luke stood up and stopped her from pacing. Grace looked at him. "We're going to be fine," He said firmly. "Just…sit down. I'm sure my dad will call soon."

"No I won't. Sorry kids, I would've been here sooner but my plane was late. Are you all okay?" Will entered the room speaking. The two detectives leapt to their feet. Will shook Luke's hand and Luke nodded. Will then looked at Grace. He put a hand on her shoulder. "Are you all right?" He asked her. Grace nodded. Will noticed Missy. "What about you?" He asked. Missy shrugged.

"I'm not really sure what's going on, but I'm all right," She answered.

"Okay." Will nodded. He looked at the detectives. "Could you give me some time alone with them?" He asked. The disgruntled detectives left the room and Will shut the door behind him.

"Dad what's going on?" Luke asked. Will held his hands up as if to calm Luke and the others down.

"I'm going to explain everything I know right now, okay?" Will pointed to a chair. "Why don't we all sit down and we'll get down to business?"

Despite the fact that none of them wished to sit, they all found themselves seated around the interrogation table with various soda cans, coffee cups and donuts in front of them as Will began to explain everything that had and was going on.

"Are you all right, Helen?" Lily asked as she joined Helen in the living room. Helen was watching the news. It 6am. Helen had heard Kevin wake up and start a shower. Lily was in the process of feeding Caleb his bottle as she sat down on the couch next to Helen. Helen looked at Lily and her grandson and offered a small smile.

"I'm fine. I just couldn't sleep any longer," She told Lily.

"How is everything going with this?" She asked, indicating the report they were doing on Ryan Hunter on the news. Helen sighed.

"Will's with the kids right now. So far Ryan hasn't made an appearance up there." She sighed, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Well, I've got a light day today," Lily assured. "Just some errands to run. You're welcome to come with me if you want to keep yourself busy?"

Helen smiled at Caleb, whose eyes were roaming all around trying to keep his attention on his bottle but find the other person talking at the same time. She nodded. "Sure. I think I'd like that."

"Good." Lily nodded.

"I think I'll go and call Joan before I get ready for the day," Helen excused herself.

"Okay, I'll be down here if you need anything," Lily told her. Helen nodded as she headed up to the guest room.

"Well, well," Ryan smiled through his sunglasses at the blonde haired woman sitting at the end of the bar a stool away from him. He looked starkly different then the last time she'd seen him, and with her beer goggles on she couldn't quite place who the man was. He had bright blond hair that was a few inches long and spiked about in a mess. The roots at the bottom of his hair by his scalp were brown. His eyebrows were as bright as his hair though and she could tell he hadn't shaved in a few days. "I'm not surprised to find you in here so early in the day, Sarah. Actually, I saw you from across the street, waiting for them to open," He smiled at her.

Sarah looked up. Her eyes squinted at him. Ryan could see she was having trouble placing who he was. He smiled at her.

"Come on, you don't remember me?" He asked. Sarah wearily shook her head. He could tell she'd downed at least a bottle of something before she'd even gotten here. He remnants of a basket of wings sat to her right and she had just finished drinking what was in her cup when she reached a shaky hand towards the half empty bottle of Southern Comfort that as just in front of her glass. Ryan reached out and grabbed it. "Here let me pour that for you," He smiled. "I can't believe you don't remember me," He said warmly. "I don't think I know you," Sarah said, her speech slurred.

"Oh, sure you do!" Ryan said with a wave of his hand.

"You know, I really don't know you," Sarah's slurring had increased so dramatically over the course of her and Ryan's hour-long conversation that he had offered, politely, to bring her home. Sarah had been too drunk to protest and the bartender thought nothing of this man helping this woman out of the bar. In fact he saw this scene quite often in the bar.

"Of course you do," He smiled warmly. "Come on this is my truck here," Ryan pointed. After he helped Sarah in, he climbed into the driver side and turned the truck on. Sarah hiccupped. She looked at Ryan again. He still had his dark sunglasses on, shielding his eyes completely. She knew much about him was familiar but she couldn't get her mind to focus enough to figure out what it was.

"No…I can't place you. Why don't you just tell me?" Sarah suggested with a laugh, putting her head back on the bench seat.

"It's amazing isn't it…" He glanced at her as he drove. Pulling his glasses down to the bottom of his nose. "Animals can detect their children just by smelling them."
Sarah was staring at him now, a little confused. "What I'm saying is, most mothers," He glanced at her again. "They recognize their children by sight, and by sound." He smiled brightly at her. Sarah's eyes widened in realization as Ryan began to drive again. "That's it, Sarah! Now you're getting it!" He laughed. "And here I thought you'd completely forgotten about me ma!"

"What do you want with me?" Sarah asked him, only vaguely aware of what was going on. She felt everything spinning. The movement of the car made her nauseous. She kept shaking her head and trying to clear the cobwebs. She couldn't make out a clear shape. She couldn't even get any more words out.

"Do you feel that spinning?" Ryan asked Sarah with a maniacal chortle. "Yeah. You can't quite figure out just why, when you can normally drink this much and still not get the dizzies, or that cramping in your stomach, no?" He asked. "Well then let me tell you what's going on in your body right now. When you wake up, mom, you will no doubt start spouting off about mumbled bullshit about 'seeing God' and 'out of body experiences.'" He laughed. "Just enough to have you committed. That is, if you survive with your brain intact. You see, your last three glasses were not just filled with your drug of choice. Oh no. I added my own little cocktail for you. Tasteless, odorless, and lethal. You'll look like Linda Blair, hallucinating, horny, drugged and drunk out of your mind, ha!" He laughed at her. "I mean, why not? I figure your liver's already pickled anyhow, right? All those years of drinking, trying to forget about ME!" He screamed in her face, startling her in her dazed state.

"How much time you got left anyhow? I know you know. Have you told that dear little sister of mine? Hmm? Probably not." He laughed again. "Not that she'd even care after all you've done. Ha, ha, ha, look where you've gotten yourself." He laughed like a little kid this time, getting caught in the moment. "Now, your husband, he's not home right now. So you know what we're going to do? We're going to bring you home, and set you up to be found. Maybe…someone'll get to you in time." He laughed again as Sarah began to slump against the seat involuntarily. "Yeah, see, they're all occupied. Will Girardi, you know him? He's up in Cambridge right now. He thinks I'm going after your daughter-,"

"No," Sarah said forcefully. Ryan laughed. It seemed the only part of this entire monologue was that Ryan could possibly go after Grace. He laughed harder.

"Oh, you don't want me to go after little Gracie? Hmmm, is that it?" He snickered. "You spend mostly her whole life hiding from her and now, now, you want to protect her, is that it?"

"Leave…" Sarah mumbled. "Gracie…"

"Leave Gracie? Leave Gracie to what? Drink like you? Hmmm?" Ryan asked. Sarah offered a weak nod. Ryan laughed. "You want to know what else? You may be the first one I get to, but you will not be the last. I'll lead them left and head right. By the time the pigs figure it out, I'll be done and gone," He parked the truck out front of Sarah's house. He walked around to her side and helped her out, being sure to make it look like he was helping Sarah walk. He was sure that any neighbors that saw this would be used to the sight. Just as easily as he slipped into the house, he slipped out and was gone without anyone, that he knew of, walking by to spot him going in or going out.

As he got back in the truck he flipped the radio on and put his sunglasses back on.

"Now this is a song!" He proclaimed with the windows down despite the cold. The sleeves of his blue flannel shirt were rolled up and he looked like he'd just gotten off a farm. He turned up the song and sang along at the top of his lungs as he went for his next stop. "The devil inside, the devil inside, every single one of us has the devil inside! Here come the world, with the look in its eye! Future uncertain but certainly slight…look at the faces, listen to bells! It's hard to believe, we need a place like hellllll…wooooohoooooo! Place called hell…" He cheered, honking at some girls who had noticed him at a red light. He winked at them shaped his hand in the form of a gun as he did so. Then he smiled warmly at them as the waved and he turned the corner. "Oh, life is good, ha, ha, ha." Ryan said to himself as he drove on, still laughing every now and then.

A/N: Well now…that was certainly a long chapter wasn't it? Well what did you think? Did it suck? Did it rock your world? Was it what you expected? Tell me! Chapter title from INXS "Devil Inside."

Review Responses: Here we go: Kool-Wolf – Dude, whoever said I didn't hate you? Hey, if you got at least one that likes you! I only have one sibling. Of course, I can't imagine having as many siblings as you, my antifriend. I'm NOT GOING TO STOP WRITING TO EVERYONE, YOU PUNK! I'm taking up room at the bottom, does that make you feel better? (I hope not cause I hate you!) How can I just stop writing? It's easy…my fingers stop hitting the keys and go occupy my time. Here's your update, punk! Audrey – Hey sista, what's shakin? You like the wedding couple stuff? I did too, but I'm biased. I figured if they were spending that much time together, hey, natural progression right? I feel the addiction thing. Is it sad that I'm addicted to updating this story? Payton – Hello again! How are you? I hope you liked this chapter as much as the last one despite less G/L scene-age. ) Sam – Oh yes…morning. ) Yeah, Brandon's family's gonna get worse, just you wait. Glad you liked the G/H interaction. The flashback was a little longer then I meant but I think it needed to be. Glad you liked it. Mrs. P…yeah…I made her pretty awful huh? Aha, Grace and Caleb, the element of surprise! Woohoo. Babies are great dude…unless you're squeamish with like…bodily fluids? I love kids though, babies included. ) Grace is definitely part of their family, wouldn't you be with one of them being your best friend and the other your boyfriend? Hey, Luke should get the funny lines too right? I laughed at myself for that one actually. And hey! Mrs. G is totally in the know about these situations, don't you think? P.S. – just in case I wrote it wrong early this morning when I couldn't sleep and as typing, it was my cousin's brother in law that passed away. My cousin's husband is taking hard though, considering they had their baby three days later. Can you imagine having to be so happy at the same time that you're totally sad? That's depressing though, so, moving on. How was this chapter? Tiffany – Hey it was either Breakfast at Tiffany's or I Think We're Alone Now, sooo! Dude, I should so give you the email! AHHHH! Thanks for the tip off! I'm waiting on pins and needles! Have fun on your vacation (in advance)! I've never been to Myrtle Beach let me know how it is! (Where are you originally from? Have I asked that before?) What do you think of where I took the chapter? Are you nervous? Excited? Dude you're totally on my A list, just FYI. 20 chapters too short? With my long windedness? Are you serious? You're crazy!

P.S. – Thanks for the reviews. I told you the next update would be sooner then the last one. Tell me whatcha think!