Rick's first inclination was to rush Bear and throw him to the ground, then get his wife out of the way before he could act on his murderous intentions. Common sense reared its ugly head as he remembered his injured knee, and what would happen if he wasn't fast enough.

"Ron, I'm going to distract him, but if he doesn't drop the weapon……" he whispered into his transmitter. "Go for it Rick, I'll make him think you're in front." Ron quietly said.

"Bear, give up now. The whole shopping center is surrounded." The younger Simon replied, then looked toward his left, as if glancing at his brother. A.J. took a deep breath and called, "Rick?"

As Andrew Bear swiveled his eyes toward an unseen target, Rick tossed a rock in that direction, then launched himself at the tall man.

Taken completely by surprise, Bear was no match for the weight of Rick knocking him to the ground, gun skittering from one hand as the older man snatched the grenade, pin and all from him. Forcing the pin back in with his thumb, he tossed it out of harm's way.

"Nooooooo!" the fugitive cried, as Rick struck him with his free hand, then pinned him flat to the pavement. Andrew Bear struggled underneath Rick, then viciously kicked his knee. Gasping in pain, Rick was taken by surprise and fell off Bear, then found himself facing the man's crazed eyes.

"You're dead…..then she'll be mine…." Bear snarled, pulling a knife from his belt. Fighting against the pain, Rick managed to jackknife his good leg, causing Bear to fall backwards. Regaining his balance, Andrew Bear howled in anger then started to lunge at Rick with the knife.

Two shots sounded, then Rick saw blood pour from Bear's chest, and the maniac fell lifeless on the ground.

Instantly Rick looked to see who had fired, then his eyes focused on his son, a stricken look on his face.

"Robbie." Rick spoke to him, then called louder "ROBBIE!"

At once his son's eyes met his, then he let out a deep breath. "Pop, are you okay?"

"Yes, son. You saved me, and your mother. He would have killed us all."

"That's right, Robbie." Ron approached them, and after seeing that Rick was unhurt, he gently led Robbie away to be questioned.

Immediately Rick jumped into the van and found Laurie bound and gagged with tape, laying on the cold metal floor. Her eyes were wide with fright and it tore his heart as he pulled the tape from her mouth, then held her close to him as he managed "Laurie, darlin'." Laurie was visibly shaking as she whispered "Rick, is he gone? I was so frightened, darling …He was going to kill you in front of me….."

"He's gone forever, Angel. Are you all right? Did he hurt you?" Rick asked, cutting the bindings off her wrists and and legs, then rubbing them to restore the circulation.

"He hit me, love, then stuck a cloth with some kind of drug over my face so I couldn't fight him. I tried, Rick. But he was so strong, and ….oh, no, Andy and Lala…" Laurie tried to sit up, only to calm down when Rick comforted her, "Sweetheart, it's okay, the kids are fine, they're safe with Abby. You saved them, they hid until we got to the car." He stroked her face as she relaxed against him.

"Thank you, God." Laurie sighed, then rested her head against Rick's chest as she murmured, " Please take me home, Rick. I want to show my knight how very brave he was…you came, you saved me."

Rick kissed her, a relieved smile on his face as he replied, "I will, Laurie. First we have to let everyone know you're safe….."

"Laurie?" A.J. was at the door of the van and helped Rick lift Laurie out of the van and then gave her a heartfelt hug.

"I'm all right, A.J.. Thanks to you guys, it's okay." She reassured him, seeing the worry on his face. Rick slipped his arm around his wife as Ron and Abby joined them.

"I'm so sorry, buddy, I shouldn't have left you…." Abby started, then Laurie embraced her.

"Honey, no…it was a trap. Andrew wanted you out of the way, but he said if you hadn't gone, he was going to blow you up. He wanted me alone, he was going to kill everyone I loved…" she said, then tears filled her eyes as Ron shook his head.

"I know, Laurie, but he's dead. Robbie will be relieved of his weapon of course until the investigation is done…"

"Wait a minute, you mean my Robbie…is he all right?" Laurie was startled by his words, then she caught sight of her son being questioned by a pair of detectives.

"Robbie!" she cried, then started towards him. At once Rick followed her, fearing she was still in shock from her ordeal. Their son looked up at the sound of his name, then seeing his mother coming, held out his arms. "Mom!"

Rick had to choke back tears as his tall boy wrapped his arms around Laurie, then broke down as she told him "Robbie, I was so afraid he was going to kill your father in front of me, then you and all our family. He wanted me to suffer, he wanted you to suffer. You did the right thing, you saved us."

"I know, Mama. I saw the look on his face, he was going to kill Pop. And he tried to kill Ramona and the children, but I almost froze…" Robbie answered, his voice cracking.

"But you didn't, son. You only hesitated because you're not a killer, you're a protector. Like your father." Laurie added, looking up at Rick with a smile that took his breath away.

Despite the pain in his knee, Rick gathered Laurie in his arms and kissed her. "Always, my angel."

"One thing, Mama, how did you know he was coming, so you could have the children hide?" Robbie asked, then Rick looked puzzled at her. "Sweetheart?"

"I had a bad feeling, then I thought I saw his figure in the rear view mirror. I couldn't let him hurt Andy and Lala, so I had them hide under the laundry." Laurie explained, then paled as she saw Rick wince from the pain he was in from his knee.

"Rick, darling, let Rudy take care of your knee when we get home, please?"

Rick sighed, then seeing the paramedics nearby, nodded reluctantly. "All right, my princess. But I want him to check you out too, capice?"

Laurie kissed him, whispering, "Capice, my love."