"I just don't understand what's taking so long," Lucy said to her sister-in-law. "I mean, the court ordered Ian released two days ago—and they still haven't found him. How can he just disappear into the system like that?"
"I don't know, Lucy, but we'll have to find a way to make sure this never happens to anyone else once we get Ian back," Marty replied with a frown.
The women were sitting in the kitchen feeding the babies, and talking about the latest turn of events. Two days prior, there was a flurry of activity at the Thornhart household as Lucy received news that court papers had been filed calling for Ian's immediate release from custody. Scott brought a copy of the court order releasing Ian directly to the house, and was momentarily afraid of asphyxiation from Lucy's excited embrace. However, he had to bring her the bad news later that Ian could not be located, as he was not in custody at the location indicated by the INS.
Lucy gave them all the information she had gleaned from her "visits" with Ian, in the hopes that they could find the facility where he was being held. Normal channels had been stymied and although both Scott and the immigration attorney, Williams, were exploring all legal options, Ian had not been located. Victor was using his contacts to locate facilities being used to house suspected terrorists in the hopes of locating Ian. Although no one voiced it, they were all concerned that Ian had been buried away under an assumed name and wouldn't be found.
Victor had been able to assemble the pieces of the puzzle, and finally figured out why Ian had been harassed and arrested in the first place. It seemed that Agent Limm had a personal vendetta against the IRA that extended to all Irishmen in general. Limm had a younger half-brother who went to study abroad in Ireland at the University of Dublin—ironically the same university that housed Trinity College where Patrick taught. On a long weekend, Limm's brother and some friends decided to visit Northern Ireland and were in the wrong place at the wrong time. They had been eating at a pub in Belfast when a bomb went off, killing his brother and his friends. Limm had been pursuing his vendetta against Irish immigrants through his position in the INS, carefully making sure that no one knew about his brother—and the opinion of his superiors had been that he was aggressive and tenacious, qualities that they considered important for his job. Agent Heckert, unfortunately, could provide no assistance in locating Ian, as she had not accompanied them to the final destination. She did, however, provide information about a general direction where they might find the prison facility where Ian was incarcerated.
Patrick had taken Aisling and Christina to the guesthouse to play, giving Lucy and Marty a break from the constant noise and activity. The two girls were very close and they did everything together. They had been clamoring for Marty and Lucy to take them shopping to buy matching clothing, and insisted on sleeping with each other at night. The only reason Danny hadn't joined the girls was exhaustion—it was hard to keep up with them, but Danny tried his best. However, he had crashed on the living room sofa before Patrick and the girls left for the guesthouse. Lucy had told Patrick not to worry about him, when he woke he'd find them in the kitchen and she'd feed him some lunch.
It took Ian a few minutes to realize that they were pulling him off of laundry detail in the middle of a shift. The monotony of his days was never broken, and he didn't know whether to be glad or afraid when he was told by the guards to stop working and follow them. He was hoping that perhaps they had verified his medical credentials and were going to allow him to work in the infirmary. However, when he followed them past the infirmary toward the warden's office—Ian decided that fear was probably the right emotion. He was sure that someone had falsely accused him of another crime—and before ever entering the office he was absolutely convinced that he'd never see his family again.
Victor was seated in front of the warden's desk when Ian entered the office. He stood up and put out his hand to shake Ian's. Ian was so pleased to see a familiar face that he pulled Victor into a hug, slapping him on the back and laughing and smiling, while tears ran down his cheeks. Victor was appalled at Ian's appearance—with no mirror, Ian was unaware of just how badly he looked. Three weeks in that environment had taken a toll on him physically as well as emotionally, he had lost weight and the jumpsuit was hanging loosely on him, he hadn't shaved since being apprehended and was sporting a scruffy beard, and his normally unruly hair was growing long and uneven. Even worse was the haunted look in his eyes from weeks of isolation and fear.
After completing the necessary paperwork, Ian's clothing was returned to him. He went into a restroom to change before leaving with Victor. He saw himself in the mirror, and how loosely his own clothing hung on his frame, and sat down and cried. Victor knocked on the door before opening it to find Ian sitting desolately on a bench.
"How am I goin' to be able to go home lookin' like this? I'll scare Lucy and the wee ones half to death!" Ian said through his tears.
"It's going to be all right, Ian," Victor reassured him. "We've thought of everything. Chris Ramsey is at a hotel about half an hour down the road. You'll be able to take a shower, and shave and have a decent meal before we take you home. We didn't know what to expect, so we brought medical supplies in case we needed them. But you look healthy enough—if undernourished. You haven't been ill have you?"
"Na, I've been sick in spirit and mind, but not body. They work us hard and feed us hardly at all. And what there is to eat ain't fit fer swine, I'll tell ya that! It's bloody inhuman what they been doin' to us!" Ian answered vehemently. "Let's get outta this hell hole and off to that hotel. I want to get back to Lucy and the kids as quick as I can."
Victor agreed and he and Ian left together. After driving through the gates, Ian rolled down the window and spat on the road, "I hope never to lay eyes on that place again in my life!"
Just as Victor had told him, there was a simple strip motel about half an hour down the road. Its business was mostly providing accommodations to visitors of the prison, which Ian found out was a high-security facility. He couldn't believe that anyone could accuse him of crimes heinous enough to justify putting him there. Victor had told Patrick that they might have found Ian, and Patrick had packed up a suitcase of clean clothing and toiletries for Ian. After a long shower and shave, Chris helped Ian trim his hair neatly before they had lunch at the diner. The men sat down in the diner and ordered a meal—Ian ate his food as if he was starving to death. In fact, they ordered him a second meal because the first one barely made a dent in his hunger. After finishing their food, they left in Victor's car to take Ian home. Although he was anxious to get home, he could barely stay awake in the car. He finally fell into a fitful sleep for most of the ride home.
"I'm going to peek in on Danny while you finish making that pot of tea," Lucy said to Marty. They had finished feeding the babies and decided to have some tea until Danny woke. Marty's goal was to keep life revolving around Lucy as normal as possible so that she didn't lose control. Lucy was trying very, very hard to stay calm—but inside she was just a mess—if Ian didn't come home soon she didn't know what she was going to do.
"Go on, I'll bring it out to the living room when it's finished brewing," Marty answered. "Chamomile or jasmine?"
"I think…jasmine. If I drink any more chamomile I'll be so relaxed you'll have to scrape me up off the floor. Thanks, Marty, you're the best."
"I know…and we're lucky to have each other," Marty answered softly.
Lucy just nodded as she took Caroline into the living room to check on Danny. Her eyes had filled with tears, and she didn't want to cry again in front of Marty. Danny was laying flat on his back on the sofa, with his arms and legs spread out, snoring softly. Lucy couldn't help but giggle at him lying there so still—he was such a bundle of energy when he was awake. She loved watching her children sleep, but Caroline was wide-awake and ready to play. She sat down on the floor and spread out a blanket to play with the baby until Danny finished his nap.
She heard the front door opening, but didn't think anything about it. She assumed that Patrick was tired of the girls screaming through the guesthouse and was bringing them back. She looked up expecting to see Patrick's face, and for one split second she thought it was. Then Ian—the essence of Ian—hit her full force. She left Caroline lying on her blanket and ran into his arms—they just stood their holding each other like they would never let go again.