"Hey girlie---tomorrow's Christmas," John said, hobbling over to where Amanda was sitting.

"Seems like a hollow promise this year, don't you think?" she replied from her spot by the window.

"Not at all. We've got each other. We've got beautiful children. Aunt Jessica is here and the good Doctor. What more could you need?"

"John, I want to understand," she told him, but stopped short and continued her trance, watching the snow fall softly outside her window.

"Amanda, I'm trying to make you understand, but I don't know what you want to hear."

"I just want to know why you're putting your life at risk like you are. I want to understand why you're so willing to die and leave Christine and I here to mourn you." She turned her head away from John and a tear rolled down her cheek. "I can't lose you, John. I don't know what I'd do. I don't know how I'd pick up the pieces of my life and move on, because I don't think there would be any pieces left. I love you." Her face was moist from her tears when John sat next to her and cradled her in his arms. She clung to him.

"I love you, Amanda. More than anything. But I can't sit back and allow others to get hurt. It's not because I have a death wish, or because I want to leave you. You can understand that, can't you? You wouldn't sit back and do nothing if Jessica were in trouble, would you? I do love you, but I'm not going to leave you anytime soon."

Amanda slowed raised her head to look him in the eye, a single tear rolling down her left cheek. "Promise?"

He gently tilted her chin up and drew her into a loving kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck and returned the kiss, content and safe in his arms.

"Mom! Dad!" Christine's voice floated up the stairs.

"Well, is that why we had children? I wasn't good enough at ruining the moment, eh?" John asked, grinning.

"Mom! It's Aunt Jess! I think she's been kidnapped!" Christine said, running up the stairs and stopping at her parents' open door, gasping for air.

Jessica awoke and found herself in a large, dark room.

"Seth?" she asked, her voice shaky. She couldn't remember many of the events that led her to this moment, but she was sure that she had remembered Seth by her side, and she knew that if he had tried to play the gallant soldier, as he was apt to do, he may have been hurt in whatever it was that had found her in this particular room.

"Seth, are you there?" she called out again, this time summoning enough of herself to call out louder. She heard a ruffling sound to her right and then what sounded like the squeaking of mice. "I don't suppose one of you is named Seth," she remarked, more to herself than the critters she knew were keeping her company in the room.

She sat up straight, blinking in an effort to adjust to the darkness. Instead, she found herself staring into a black ocean of nothingness. "Come on, woman," she told herself. "What have you gotten yourself into this time? Where are you?"

The answer came from a stack of cardboard boxes falling, almost on top of her, revealing a bit of a small, dirty window. The window, though caked with dust, allowed for a pool of light to bathe the room, as if it were a soft summer day. She walked over to the sliver of light, careful not to trip over anything that might be in her path, and removed a box from it's place on top of an old wooden chest. Though the window was merely half a foot long and half a foot wide, the small room was then filled with light, allowing Jessica to recognize the objects with which she'd been occupying the room. An old wooden rocking chair sat in the corner pile, amidst other bits of old furniture probably made for pennies when originally crafted, but now worth thousands of dollars.

"Of course!" she said aloud. "The attic! But still no sign of Seth," she worried.

Continuing to search the room while trying to adjust to the minimal light, Jessica spotted what she thought must have been the attic door. Or at least, hidden behing a terrible large stack of giant, heavy boxes, she assumed would be the door. But there had to be another way in and out---for how could someone stack the boxes there and still leave the room? Or maybe they hadn't LEFT the room at all. Jessica suddenly became chilly and goosebumps started to appear on her arms.

"She's WHAT?" Amanda nearly screamed, startled for both herself and her Aunt.

"She told me to drop her and Seth off at Emma Donnovan's and then go visit Sargeant Malin and pick her up in a half an hour. I did that, but when I went back, I waited for nearly a half an hour before I realized something HAD to have been wrong! There's a terribly scary looking cellar door not far from where I parked my car. I went investigating over by that and I heard noises coming from inside the cellar. They could be there," Christine said most of this quickly, and without breathing, requiring her to stop and take a few deep breaths afterward.

"What are we going to do?" Amanda asked, half to herself, half to the other two in the room.

"YOU are not going to worry about it," John spoke up. "We'll call Sargeant Malin and tell him all that we know."

"Are you sure?" Christine asked. "I mean, what if Jessica KNEW that Sargeant Malin was in on it, and that he wouldn't be in his office?"

"He wasn't in his office?" John questioned.

"No."

"Well, that doesn't necessarily mean he has anything to do with this," John told them.

"But it means that he COULD," Amanda spoke up. "I never liked him and his...his...sneaky-ness!"

"Calm down, Amanda. We don't know anything, yet." Turning to Christine he added, "Do you know if Jessica kept any notes on this?

"Probably not, but I've been eavesdropping a lot, lately. What do you want to know?"

"Christine!" Amanda scolded.

"Well, how else am I suppose to find out what goes on around here? Nobody ever TELLS me!"

"Okay you two, enough," John interrupted. "Now, what do you know, Christine?"

"Well, for starters, Charlotte Plank stopped by the other day to tell you how much money had been taken from the union accounts. Jessica asked her not to tell so that if anyone DID know the exact amount, we would know who to investigate further. Although, I guess now we know, anyway..."

"Do you remember the amount, Christine?"

"Yeah, two---"

"No, no. Don't tell me," John interrupted. "Just remember it. I'll call a meeting of the union members."

"Emma Donnovan's not going to be there..." Amanda suggested.

"She will if she doesn't want to be suspected."

"But what do we do between now and the meeting?" Christine asked. "Something could happen between now and then!"

"We'll look for anything Jessica may have written down or alluded to--maybe she did something without even knowing," John said, starting to get up.

"Oh, no you don't," Amanda said, gently sitting him back down. "You sit tight. Christine and I will look around."

"Amanda, I--"
"YOU, are going to sit there and recover. Christine and I are quite capable of searcing for anything Jessica may have left behind."

"Hey, what about all the stuff I've heard?" Christine asked.

"You stay here with your father and make sure he sits there," Amanda said, turning to leave.

"Amanda---,"John started.

She turned to face him.

"Thank you."

She smiled a sparkling white, ear-to-ear smile at him and hummed her way down the hallway.

Okay,I lied. Ch.3 ISN'T my last chapter. mwahaha. Now that I know how to add chapters, I can post less at a time, and leave you with cliff hangers. That's makes life fun. Not to worry. I have MOST of the story planned in my head.;) Let's hope I don't get amnesia.

Also, wanted to take this time, whilst I've got you, my captive little audience, to dedicate this fan fiction to Lizz Browne---for being herself. No one could do it better than you do, Lizz, and you're my favourite;), just don't tell. Love you! And I promise to TRY to do my best work, JUST for you.