On Your Mind

Disclaimer; I don't own anything related to Red Eye!

Chapter Two

Jackson Rippner was rather pleased with himself. In his arms he held the answer to trapping his Lisa. The answer only weighed a few pounds and had no name, but it mattered not. A baby was sleeping soundly in his arms and he knew that she would do anything in her power to retrieve it. She would come back to him.

That's right, Lisa. You never wanted her, but you won't be able to let go. And neither will I. I'll never let either of you go.

Of course, Lisa was already letting go because of his nasty little trick. A simple switch was all that had been required and now he was tormenting her from afar. Eventually, she would come to her senses and come after him, but for now, she would suffer for ever leaving him in the first place.

You don't screw with me and come out unscathed.

Jackson had no qualms with kidnapping his daughter and convincing Lisa that the newborn had perished. Technically, he was not committing a crime because she was his child and Lisa was far too mentally unstable to care for a baby. At least he had ensured that depiction of her. He could almost hear her ranting and raving about him snatching her baby.

He knew her too well. He could always predict what his Lisa was up to. Even after all the months that had passed, she was still an open book to him. As a matter of fact, their time apart had only caused him to become more aware about her little tricks.

She might think that she can outsmart me, but that will never happen. She's mine for the taking and I will have her.

The newborn baby in his grasp stirred slightly, breaking his demented thoughts of Lisa and the punishment that she would endure for escaping him.

"Ssh," he said softly. Crying would not be tolerated. Once he was settled in a house, he would hire a nanny for care for the child. His current situation was only temporary.

He would be a good father, but he did not want to be the one dealing with diaper duty and screaming in the middle of the night. He did not even know how to prepare a bottle, or change a diaper, or burp a baby. He knew absolutely nothing about infant care and he did not care to know.

I only do the dirty work when I want to. This is not the kind of stuff that I would want to do, even if I knew how to do it. Lisa would probably enjoy it, but not me.

"You need a name."

Little baby noises were his only reply. He had never known that something so small could be so noisy and irritating even when it was asleep.

I should really just kill it. Why keep it around? Why bother? Lisa's enough of a handful as it is…

"I want to call you Lisa, but that would get too confusing. And Henrietta is too stuffy. You need something fresh. What about Abby? Abby Rippner… I like it."

Stop it…you're getting attached to it. You should kill it.

But then I wouldn't be able to control Lisa. I need it to control Lisa. His logic was finally kicking in.

Little Abby did not have an opinion. She was still soundly asleep much to his delight. He had been slightly worried at first that she would be screaming from parted from her mother. But the newborn was taking to him without a fuss.

She'll grow up with both of her parents—unlike me. She'll have both a mother and a father. I'll never abandon her. Lisa won't either. I'll make sure of it.

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Jackson hurried home and called a nanny service, which eagerly sent someone over. The nanny had been shocked to hear his sad tale. His wife had just given birth to their daughter and she had disappeared from the hospital, leaving him to care for the baby. He admittedly knew nothing about children and had no supplies besides the meager bag of formula and diapers from the hospital (which he had nicked).

The nanny, a middle-aged woman named Norma Andrews, had been fine with him rushing out to buy supplies. She had actually offered to accompany him and he relented. He needed her help to gather the necessities. He made it clear from the start that price did not bother him.

Norma had eagerly taken over the shopping and explained to him what he needed and the safety bits of each item and why she chose it. Jackson just listened and nodded. He had given her his alias of Jackson Rippner and carried all the credit cards and licenses that were made out in that name. He had arranged it so that George King had been the man who was caught, not Jackson Rippner. Of course, George King had not a mark on his record and was the reason why Jackson was now shopping for baby necessities with a nanny.

Later that evening, while Norma was caring for Abby, Jackson was struggling with the assembly of a cradle. He had turned on the flat screen TV in his bedroom to block out whatever noise the baby did or did not make. He ignored whatever he was watching until he heard Lisa's name.

"…Lisa Reisert, the unlikely heroine of the attempted assignation of Charles Keefe, has been involved in yet another tragedy. Early this morning, the young woman gave birth to a baby girl, only for the child to die of heart failure moments later. As you may recall, Lisa Reisert was nearly killed a few months back in her own home. A brutal killer by the name of George King invaded her Miami home with the intent of killing her…" droned the hypnotic news anchor.

Jackson snorted at the TV. Brutal killer my ass…

"Residents are warned to be on the lookout for George King. He has dark brown hair and bright blue eyes. He escaped the hospital in which he had been under observation in this day as well. It is speculated that he might try to harm Lisa Reisert. He is not to be approached and is to be considered armed and extremely dangerous."

A loud knocking at his bedroom door drew his attention. "Mr. Rippner? Abby is asleep now. Is the cradle finished?" called Norma.

"Not quite," he replied, glaring hatefully at the contraption that littered the immaculate room. Parts were spread out all over the usually clutter-free space.

"Do you need some help?"

"No, I'm doing fine. Just see to Abby."

"As you wish, Mr. Rippner."

He was taking a gamble by allowing her to use his alias. He would have to make sure that she did not connect him to the man wanted by police. He could always dispose of her if she grew too curious and hire another nanny in her place. It would be all too easy for a highly-trained manager, such as himself, to pull it off.

And no one would suspect a thing—not even you, Lisa. Not even you…

He would get her back. Everything would be worth it in the end.

It's only a matter of time until we are reunited. Think about what a happy family we could all be, sweetheart. You, me, and little Abby. Think about it, Leese.

Lisa would come back to him because he held all the cards. But she would stay out of love. He would make her love him.

You'll never want to leave. I'll give you everything you could ever dream of.

It would be perfect.

Author's Notes:

Jackson is quite possibly the world's most clueless father. The nanny he hired is somewhat naive as well. Thanks for the reviews and enjoy!