"Mommy?" Maia uncertainly asked as she walked into the kitchen.
"Maia? I'm sorry, your mother had to go into work early today. I was sent to watch you. My name's Shawn. I'm a 4400, just like you." Shawn Farrell said to the 9-year-old girl in front of him.
"Hi." Maia said politely.
"I guess I'm supposed to make you breakfast now?" Shawn asked.
"Yeah, that's what you're supposed to do." Maia told Shawn as her stomach growled.
"Look, Maia, I'm not much of a cook. Do you want to go out to breakfast? I know a little restaurant that has great hash browns." Shawn asked, hoping she would agree.
"Sure. What are we going to do after that?" Maia asked him.
"I'm not sure, Maia. We can do whatever you want." Shawn said, smiling at the little blonde girl.
"Can we go to the park? I love the swings." Maia asked.
"That sounds like fun. Now go get dressed and we'll go to breakfast." Shawn suggested with a smile.
"Okay." Maia answered.
Maia got dressed in a Georgia Tech sweatshirt and jeans and then came back into the kitchen where Shawn was sitting.
"Can you do pigtails?" Maia asked the handsome 18-year-old.
"I can try." He told her, even though he knew they would turn out awful.
Shawn tried a few times, and then finally they agreed that the pigtails looked good enough.
"You'll have to work on that incase you baby-sit me again." Maia said with a giggle.
"Yeah, I guess I will." Shawn said as he grabbed his car keys.
"Can we listen to music?" Maia asked Shawn when they were in his car.
"Sure. What kind of music do you like? I have almost everything on my iPod." He said with a smile.
"Relient K?" Maia asked him.
"Works for me." Shawn said as he selected "Sadie Hawkins Dance" off a play list.
"Now let's go to breakfast!" Maia said, getting excited as she sang along.
"Sadie Hawkins dance! In my khaki pants! There's nothing better! Oh, oh, oh! The girls ask the guys, it's always a surprise, there's nothing better, baby, do you like my sweater! Scan the cafeteria for some good seating, I found a good spot by the cheerleaders eating. The quarterback asked me if I'd like a beating, I said that's one thing I won't be needing!" Shawn and Maia sang until they got to the small restaurant.
"You're pretty good at singing." Shawn complimented Maia.
"You're not that bad yourself." Maia said with a huge smile.
A waitress named "Martha" who was at least 70 years old seated them, and then they both ordered eggs and hash browns.
"How is it, Maia?" Shawn asked when their food had come.
"It's awesome!" Maia told Shawn after she tasted the food.
"I'm glad you like it." Shawn said right before his cell phone rang.
"Are you going to get that?" Maia asked Shawn as they both looked at the phone.
"Yeah, I guess I probably should. I'll be right back" Shawn said after a moment.
Shawn walked out of the small restaurant and leaned against the brick wall, staring out at the street.
"Shawn Farrell here." He said into the small phone.
"Shawn, it's Diana. I need you to take Maia back to the center with you. It looks like Tom and I are going to be on this case a little longer than we expected. This 4400 is able to teleport, which doesn't sound too bad, but he has no control over it." Diana explained to Shawn.
"No problem, Diana. Maia is so nice, I'd be glad to take her to the center with me. Before you go, would you like to talk to her?" Shawn asked Maia's mother.
"No thanks. Just give her a kiss, tell her that I love her, and that I'll be back as soon as I can." Diana told Shawn.
"Sure, but I'm not sure it'll be the same coming from me." Shawn replied with a chuckle.
"We'll manage. Look, Shawn, I've got to go now, but thanks so much." Diana said and then hung up her phone.
Shawn walked back into the restaurant where Maia was quietly eating her food while examining the photos and trophies along the walls.
"This is from your mom," Shawn said, leaning over and kissing the top of Maia's head, "and she says that she loves you and will be home as soon as she can. But, Maia, she's going to be longer than she though. You're going to come to The 4400 Center with me. That's okay, right?"
"Sure. I'm ready to go." Maia told Shawn.
"That's great, Maia, but first we need to go back to your house so you can pack." Shawn said, smiling at Maia's eagerness.
They got into Shawn's car and silently drove back to where Maia and Diana lived. Maia didn't ask for any music, so Shawn decided to leave the radio off.
"Okay, Maia, you go pack, if you need any help, I'm right here." Shawn said as Maia ran up to her room.
"I'm fine, Shawn." She responsibly told him.
Maia hurried to find a tennis bag where she could fit most of her clothes. She grabbed her Georgia Tech t-shirt and sweatpants, her tie-dye t-shirt, her navy blue skirt, her flannel pajama bottoms, her 3 pairs of jeans, and any other t-shirts that were in her drawer. Then she ran to the bathroom to get her toothbrush, hairbrush, and hair ties.
"Shawn," Maia called, "I need help getting it to fit!"
"I'll be right there, Maia!" Shawn called back as he got off the couch and made his way to the young girl's room.
Together they tried to stuff half of Maia's wardrobe into a bag. After a few minutes of laughing, pushing, shoving, and zippering, everything fit into the bag.
"That should do." Shawn said, sounding accomplished.
"Now, off we go!" Maia said as she ran out of her room to get Shawn's car keys.
In a few minutes the two of them were in the car, getting ready for their 2 hour drive.