Disclaimer: Sorry. Don't own the show. Don't own the characters. They all belong to someone else. Well, most of them do anyway.

The fifth chapter is finally here! It was a hard one to churn out, and I hope everyone enjoys it!

The sound of sirens was an unpleasant greeting to Don's ears as he drove into the parking lot in front of Terry's apartment. After her kidnapper's call had been terminated, Don had dialed the sheriff's number so quickly that he forgot that it was a few minutes past midnight. All his thoughts were with his partner, praying and wishing that she was alright. Even now, as he got down from his SUV with a feeling of dread in his heart, Don couldn't remove the fear in her voice from his mind. He couldn't remember a time when his focused and enthusiastic partner had been frightened, and this scared him.

"Sir, this is Agent Eppes from the FBI…" Don spoke as soon as the sheriff answered his phone. Beside him, Lydia looked on helplessly, still unsure of what had just happened, "You have to send some men to my partner's apartment immediately! I just got a call from…"

"Agent Eppes, please calm down." The sheriff's voice was very composed for someone who had just received a midnight call, "There has already been a team dispatched to Agent Lake's residence. We were informed almost ten minutes ago that a man had been shot in the lobby of her apartment building. If you wish you can make your way there now, and talk to the detectives who have just arrived at the scene."

Don's blood ran cold at the news of someone being killed where Terry lived just ten minutes before he received the call from her cell phone. He knew for a fact that she was alive; yet… knowing that whoever had taken her had probably just murdered an innocent man was not a comforting thought.

"Sir…" Don tried desperately to sound calmer than he felt, "I just spoke with a man who has abducted Agent Lake from her apartment. Your men need to search her room for any clues that might lead us to them… They told me that they have some demands."

That had been news for the sheriff. He had been called by a senior officer who alerted him of the killing of a night watchman on duty in a commercial apartment building, but no one had mentioned that a federal agent had just been taken forcibly from her home. This had put a whole new spin on things, and made what appeared to be a routine homicide investigation a lot more serious.

Don jogged over to where the detectives stood and greeted them bluntly. He wasn't in the mood for pleasantries and they understood. The two detectives were just informed of his partner's kidnapping, and realized soon after that this was not going to be a simple case. "I'm Detective Gray, and this is my partner, Detective Harris. We just heard about your partner, Agent Eppes. I'm very sorry." The tall, lanky man introduced himself and the shorter man beside him. Don shook their hands as they walked towards the body, his head still spinning from the night's events. First he found out about Delta Blue, and then the fourth victim's body was found… and now Terry was missing. Don felt like hitting himself.

It was his fault that she was kidnapped. He was the one who told her to go home. If she had been in the office with him… this would be a different story. But it was just that she looked so tired… I did what any partner would do. Don mentally berated himself. Terry was in dangerous hands. He needed to focus.

"His name is Gerald Smith." Gray handed Don a pair of white gloves and bent over the body. "He was killed with a single shot to the heart. Bullet killed him instantly. The boys from the crime lab said something about the blood spatter indicating that he was shot from about ten feet away, near that door. Whoever did this was a pretty good shot."

Don looked at the body and let out a slow breath. "He probably just heard noises and came out to investigate… Then the kidnapper decided to kill Mr. Smith before he alerted the police." Don recognized the old man as the night watchman who he had seen several times hovering around the block whenever he gave Terry a ride home late at night. Terry always greeted Gerald when she saw him. She must be distraught, thought Don. This guy was an innocent victim and she seemed fond of him.

"That's what we're thinking, Agent Eppes." Harris said, sighing. "Poor old man... Wife's been dead for years. His daughter, an only child, lives just a few blocks away. The officers are going to break the news to her at a more decent hour."

The three men straightened solemnly and stood over the body. A young police officer emerged from the door that led to the fire escape stairs and nodded sharply in greeting. "Forensics are done processing apartment 302, sir," she said to Gray. Terry's apartment… Don couldn't shake the feeling of guilt off his chest. I should have protected her. "There was nothing much that they could find. They said that you can go in there now." Oh please, let Terry not be hurt… please…

&&&&

They had been driving for such a long time that Terry no longer knew where she was, or how long it had been since she had been so rudely awaken. About ten minutes after Raspy Voice (She still didn't know his name) had spoken to Don using her cell phone, she had been blindfolded and pushed into the back of the van. Having her hands and feet bound turned out to be very uncomfortable, and in spite of her exhaustion Terry found that she couldn't fall asleep.

The conversations that the men sitting in front of her had were intriguing, to say the least. The annoying thing was that they were speaking very softly, and the padded wall that separated the back of the van from the seats in front didn't help. However, she did hear the word MINOTAUR being mentioned several times. These must be the people who murdered the four members of Delta Blue. Terry struggled to keep herself conscious. But what do they want me for…?

A sudden frightening thought hit her. What if they knew that Larry told Don and I the names of all Delta Blue members? She had seen one of the men shoot a defenseless old man in cold blood. They would do whatever it took to get the information out of her. Terry shivered. Or maybe… maybe they were using her as a hostage to threaten the FBI. That made more sense. But that's not much better! Don must be under a lot of stress…

Terry would have kicked herself if her ankles weren't tied together. She felt stupid thinking about him all the time. He's my partner, for goodness sakes! She had lost count of the number of times she had repeated that line to herself, after moments of plain daydreaming about what it would have been like if they hadn't broken up after leaving the academy. Terry could remember everything they had done together- from studying to watching movies to just fooling around. It was crazy how she wanted to remember her every moment together with Don Eppes forever.

Stop it! Terry shook her head violently, regretting the sudden movements instantly as her nausea returned. Right now, I'm in the back of a van full of murderers and all I can think about is my extremely illogical and undeniably unrequited feelings for Don? This is just ridiculous! It must be the tiredness making me delusional…

They were slowing down. The sudden change in speed brought Terry back to senses and she turned her head around nervously. Although she shouldn't see anything, she felt as though they had moved indoors- into a garage or warehouse perhaps. From somewhere behind the van, there was the sound of a mechanical door shutting. Terry's heart thudded painfully as she heard the back door of the van open. Even with her blindfold on, Terry could tell that they had entered a brightly lit area.

Someone jumped into the back of the van and lifted her under her arms. Terry didn't know whether she should struggle or just let herself be taken. Her head was spinning too much for her to think properly as a pair of strong arms carried her out of her van. Still nauseas, Terry felt her feet touch the cold ground. The floor is made of cement, she noted. But… that doesn't really give away a location.

"Fix the scrambler." Raspy Voice started giving orders once more. The sound of many footsteps tapping on the cement floor in different directions made her feel dizzy. The lump on the back of her head where one of the men Terry's pulse rate accelerated when she realized that his voice was getting louder- he was approaching her…

Her blindfold was suddenly removed. Terry blinked several times as her unfocused vision slowly became clearer, taking deep breaths in an attempt to cure her nausea. The place looked like a small office, with a few desks situated next to one another, with two very expensive computers, some electrical equipment and a radio placed neatly on each desk. It was all very neat and organized. Terry wasn't surprised. Her profiling skills learnt from the academy taught her a few things about the men who kidnapped her.

She was fairly certain that they were after MINOTAUR, and were aiming to retrieve all the pass numbers from members of Delta Blue. What puzzled her was her role in the whole business. If they wanted the names from her they would have at least tried to ask for them already. So far, not one of them had asked her anything about Delta Blue. It was almost as though they didn't know that she knew of the organization. But then again… there was no reason for them to suspect that she knew anything of their plans.

Raspy Voice was definitely the leader of the group. He shot Gerald… Terry struggled to keep her emotions in check as she surveyed her surroundings. He shot a defenseless man in cold blood. Now this man seemed to know what he was doing. The way he walked, and the way he spoke to the other men who worked with him told Terry that he held himself in high regard. His condescending manner and ego probably stem from his cleverness, Terry thought. He was undoubtedly very brilliant. If it was him who planned and pulled off the four murders without allowing investigators a single lead… then she had to admit that he was very intelligent. She was amazed at the thoroughness of the whole plan. Terry knew it must have taken months, even years to plan how they would access MINOTAUR.

He is very meticulous, Terry glanced at him as he folded the blindfold into a neat square and tucked it away into his pocket. He had been carrying a piece of rope, and now used it to attach Terry to an immovable pipe. A very careful planner… He plans his every move before acting. Terry's head was hurting so much that she couldn't think straight. She had to practically force herself to keep concentrating on her profiling skills.

"We're going to call Agent Eppes in four hours time. Make sure that they can't trace us when we speak to the good agent." Raspy Voice called out to his accomplices, as he secured her to the metal pipe by the wall. Terry looked over to see what they were doing. The four of them had removed their masks and were seated around the equipment on the tables. One man had a thin, stiff moustache. He was fidgety, but was handling some delicate mechanism with expertise. Another was quite young, and looked sullen. He was seated in front of a computer and was typing furiously. The other two looked like brothers. Both had light coloured hair and solid builds.

"Profiling my men won't help you, Agent Lake…" Raspy Voice spoke suddenly, in a mocking tone of voice, as he noticed her studying his team. "By the time the FBI figure out what we want from them, we will have achieved our goal… and will be a thousand miles from here."

&&&&

"Don! Are you actually studying?" Terry looked at him, smiling, with a laughing expression in her eyes. "I don't believe you've turned a page in the last ten minutes." She put her notebook on her lap and crossed her arms, trying to look cross with him. Needless to say, she failed miserably.

Don grinned and pulled her closer to him. They were sitting together in the library, looking over some notes and pretending to revise for a practical assessment that would be held in a week. He couldn't remember a time when he was happier than with this brilliant, beautiful young woman. His days at the Academy, away from his family and home, were made sweeter by his budding relationship with Terry Lake. Putting his arms around her waist, Don spoke into her ear. "I've just been too busy staring at you… If I fail that test, I'm going to blame it on you, Lake."

Terry laughed softly, aware that they were in a library and ought to keep it quiet. It didn't matter though. Most of the people around them didn't seem to mind very much that the two agents-in-training were somewhat distracted.

It felt so good to just be sitting there with her, sharing a moment together. Don realized that he laughed a lot more when Terry was around. "I'm glad you're so utterly and helplessly in love with me," she smiled and put her arms around his neck, planting a kiss on his cheek. "But I would like you to graduate, really…"

Don had to fight down the goofy grin he knew was threatening to reveal itself. "Well, you do know that since I inherited all the brains in the family… I'm free to be in love with you as much as I want. I'll still pass everything with flying colours."

Terry had to chuckle as he pulled her into a gentle embrace. Don's hand stroked her back lightly, enjoying the feel of her fingers on his chin. "And whatever happened to you blaming me when you fail the exam next week?" she teased, making herself comfortable in her current position.

"Ah, you caught me again, Lake!" He laughed and put his hand on her cheek, his tone suddenly serious. "I love you, you know."

"Hey, I love you too. Don't ever forget that."

Don woke up with a start, almost forgetting where he was. His mind taking a few seconds to process that he had just been dreaming, Don sat up and looked around for his cell phone, which was ringing insistently. It was a good dream too… He hardly remembered coming home from Terry's apartment. All he recalled was falling on top of his unmade bed and giving up to exhaustion. Now glancing at the clock on the bedside table, Don answered the call gruffly.

"Eppes." It was fifteen minutes to six AM. Any second now his alarm would go off. I guess that dream was meant to end there… Don could still remember that precious moment at the Academy in incredible detail. Knowing her had been the highlight of his time there, although he never told anyone that.

David Sinclair answered; his voice unable to conceal his obvious concern for his senior agent as he struggled to find the words. "Hey Don... I just wanted to let you know that I arrived from Washington just an hour ago. Merrick called me and… he told me about Terry. He said that you went home…" there was a pause. "How are you?"

"Not so good…" Don replied truthfully. He got out of bed, still dressed in yesterday's work clothes, and rubbed his temples roughly. "Is there any update from the kidnappers?"

"None yet…" He could hear the sound of paper rustling from David's end of the line. "Crime lab tested some black fibers that they found on the floor of Terry's apartment. It's black cotton, very common… so it isn't much help. I'm sorry."

Don sighed. He recalled entering Terry's apartment the night before, still partly in shock from the realization that his partner had been abducted. The lock on her front door had been expertly picked, and there was no sign of a violent attack. In her bedroom, the heater was still switched on and her bed was messy. Very unlike Terry, Don remembered thinking. Her drawers and cupboards were ransacked, but her weapon appeared to be untouched. The kidnappers knew exactly what they were looking for.

"Don…" David had to force some calmness into his voice. "They're going to call you at eight o' clock. I'm arriving at the office in fifteen minutes to set up the tracing equipment. And I… well, I know you probably wouldn't want him involved, but I called Charlie and informed him of our situation."

Don's alarm clock went off and he slammed a hand on it impatiently. He hadn't wanted Charlie to be too involved in the case now that Terry had been kidnapped. What if his younger brother became a target? Don wouldn't be able to handle it. But the professional agent inside of him reminded Don that he would need Charlie's help to track down the men who kidnapped Terry as well as those who killed the four members of Delta Blue. His hands were full, and he would need all the help he could get. Some protective part of him wondered how Charlie took the news of Terry being taken, and at such an hour. Don worried how his brother would react.

"Alright…" Don took out a clean set of clothes and picked up his toothbrush. "I'll be there soon."

TBC

Well there was a nice happy bit for everyone in the middle of all the gloom… the next chapter will be up soon so please hang around and review!