A/N: Well, this is the final chapter, bar the epilogue which isn't really very long at all. I just want to take this time to thank everyone that reviewed, especially Lizzie and Stacy. I truly appreciate the kind words that you sent and it honestly makes me try harder with my writing, just so I can get more awesome reviews from you guys. Thanks and huge hugs. Let me know what you think of this chapter...
Before long, Roderick pulled the car into Austin's driveway. He shut off the engine and sat looking up at the house. Raven and Cassidy seemed to be in the same sort of trance – at least until Cassidy made the first move and got out of the car. He was already heading for the house by the time Roderick and Raven had snapped into motion. Cassidy banged on the front door as his friends finally caught up. Austin opened the door, saw the three of them and tried to close the door again.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! What's the deal?" Raven asked, pushing the door inwards again. Austin gave up trying to force the door closed and let it open, leaving him to stare into three very angry faces.
"What do you want?" Austin asked, trying to keep himself calm.
"Heard anything from Jessie since Impact?" Raven asked quickly, not bothering to sugarcoat his dislike for the younger man.
"No, I haven't. Is this about that stupid cat?" Austin wondered.
"Not quite. This is about Jessie having disappeared." Roderick told him honestly, watching his face closely. He noticed the flicker of realization appear for a moment before Austin wiped his face clean and put a stony look in it's place.
"Like I told Lacey, she's probably just hiding out somewhere. You know what she's like, Rod. She's a complete flake." Austin replied, the corner of his mouth creeping up into a smirk.
"You made her that way! You fucking piece of shit!" Cassidy yelled as he lunged forward and tried to hit Austin.
Raven caught hold of him and pulled him away from the door. Austin took the opportunity and slammed the door in Roderick's face. Roderick heard the lock click into place and turned to stare at Cassidy. Where had that outburst come from? If anything, it should have been Roderick, himself, to try and attack Austin – Jessie was his best friend, after all.
"Calm down, Cass." Raven stated calmly, still physically trying to restrain him.
"Get off me." Cassidy ordered as he pushed Raven away. He started to walk back towards Lacey's car but then changed direction. Raven shook his head as he watched Cassidy disappear around the side of Austin's house.
"This isn't what I meant by winging it." Raven muttered to Roderick as they silently agreed to follow Cassidy.
"You guys, get over here." Cassidy's voice called out. It sounded like he was trying to be quiet but there was an urgency in his voice that made Raven and Roderick speed up.
"What's up?" Raven wondered when they met up with Cassidy. He was standing at a window and pointed towards it.
"Something in there look familiar to anyone else?" Cassidy asked. Raven and Roderick both peered into the window to see what Cassidy meant.
"Jessie's necklace. Lacey gave it to her for her birthday last year." Roderick whispered to Raven. The necklace was laying on the floor, as if it had been torn from around Jessie's neck and tossed aside.
"She was wearing it last night." Cassidy remembered.
"She never takes it off. Sometimes she hides it under her shirt but it's always there." Roderick confirmed. The trio shared worried glances before Raven decided, finally, on a plan of action.
"Rod, go back to the car, start it up and go park further up the street. Call the cops from there and explain what's going on. Cass, you and I are going to the door again. I'll take care of Austin and you'll go in and look around." Raven explained quickly.
The younger men nodded in agreement before they all sprang into action. Raven held Cassidy back as Roderick pulled the car out of Austin's driveway. Once the car was out of sight, Raven turned his attention to the curtains in the living room. They shifted back into place and Raven knew Austin had seen the car leave. He was hoping Austin hadn't seen that there was only one person in it.
"Now." He told Cassidy before he headed for the door.
Cassidy followed close behind him and waited as Raven banged on the door. When Austin pulled the door open, Raven punched him in the temple, knocking him out. Austin's body fell to the floor. Raven stepped into the house and stood over Austin before turning towards Cass.
"Go. Let me know if you find her." Raven commanded.
Cassidy wasted little time in making his way into the house and down the hall into the bedroom he'd looked into through the window. He picked up Jessie's necklace and played it through his fingers as he looked around the room a little. Blood spots... on the wall and the carpet. Cassidy bent to inspect the blood, being careful not to touch it. It was definitely fresh.
Cassidy went back into the living room and forcefully rolled Austin onto his back. He looked him over, checking for shaving slip ups or other cuts. Not finding any, Cassidy checked Austin's knuckles. They were bruised and swollen.
"She's here somewhere, man. There's blood in the bedroom, his knuckles are messed up." Cassidy explained. Raven had been content to let the younger man do his investigation and now nodded in understanding.
"Keep looking. Don't touch her if you find her, though. The cops should be here soon." He told Cassidy calmly.
Cassidy nodded and made his way further into the house. After looking through the other bedroom, the kitchen and the bathroom, Cassidy was getting frustrated. Other than the necklace and blood in Austin's room, there were no signs of Jessie being there at all.
"Fuck. Where are you, Jess. I know you're here somewhere." He muttered to himself as he made his way back towards Raven.
"Nothing. Wake his scummy ass up and beat it out of him." Cassidy suggested, motioning towards Austin's still lifeless body.
"It'll be easier to have him out when the cops get here." Raven shrugged.
"Fucking piece of scum sucking shit." Cassidy cursed, attempting to kick Austin. Raven pulled him away from the unconscious body and held his face between his hands so that Cassidy was forced to look at him.
"You need to calm down and focus on Jessie, not Austin. You said yourself that she's here somewhere. Find her." Raven urged. Cassidy nodded as best he could and went back to search the house again.
Moments later, Roderick came into the house with two police officers following him. He took one look at Austin on the ground and raised his eyebrow at Raven. Raven shrugged calmly.
"He tripped, knocked himself out." He stated. Roderick caught the look in his eye and didn't question him further. No point in having Raven arrested for assaulting Austin.
"Any sign of Jessie?" Roderick asked hopefully.
"None yet. Cass said that there's blood in the bedroom – you guys might want to go take a look. Cassidy's around here somewhere, still searching." Raven explained.
"We're going to need backup." One of the police officers told the other. The second officer stepped outside and radioed for backup as the first officer made his way down the hall to look at the blood in the bedroom.
"Cassidy, cops are here." Raven called out.
Cassidy made his way back to the living room and paced the floor, rubbing a hand over his head in disbelief of the fact that he hadn't been able to find Jessie. Roderick looked worriedly at Raven and Raven shook his head, knowing that Cassidy wouldn't calm down until Jessie was found.
The second officer made his way back inside and began taking statements, starting with Raven who seemed to be the calmer of the three other conscious men in the room. Once he'd heard Raven's story, he took Roderick aside. Cassidy continued pacing.
"Tom, can you come help me with something." The first officer called out. The second officer, Tom, made his way over to his partner and they had a whispered conversation. Tom nodded and motioned for Cassidy to join them.
"Have any of you been down to the basement?" Tom asked Cassidy calmly.
"I didn't know this place had a basement. We haven't been down there." Cassidy answered, mentally kicking himself for not investigating the idea of a basement. Tom and his partner nodded and motioned for Cassidy to go back over to Raven and Roderick.
"Did you know this place has a fucking basement?" Cassidy asked Roderick. Of any of them, he'd be the one to know.
"I... yeah, I guess so. I mean, I've never been down there but... yeah I guess I knew." Roderick nodded, wondering why Cassidy had asked.
"She's down there. Jessie's down there. What are they waiting for?" Cassidy questioned desperately.
"Their backup will be here soon. They can't go down and leave us up here to tamper with evidence or whatever." Raven figured.
Cassidy agreed distractedly and began pacing the room again. Before long, the backup arrived and Tom and his partner explained the situation. Tom was sent back over to Raven, Cassidy and Roderick soon after.
"I'm going to have to ask you three to come outside with me. Officer Walker will take care of Mr Aries." Tom told them.
Raven nodded and motioned for Roderick to follow Tom out, then he grabbed Cassidy by the shoulders and pushed him out of the house ahead of himself. Cassidy tried to protest leaving but Raven shoved him out the door and then stood between the younger man and the entrance to the house.
"Why are we standing out here. Jessie's in there somewhere... we have to find her." Cassidy stated adamantly.
"Let them do their job, Cass. They'll find her." Roderick assured him, hoping he sounded more sure of it than he felt.
"I should've found her." Cassidy muttered, a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach now that he wasn't inside. He couldn't see what the cops were doing, didn't know if they'd found her yet.
"You tried, Cass. You did a good job convincing us not to leave." Raven reminded him.
Cassidy barely acknowledged it. He was watching the front door, waiting to see if anyone would come out to let them know what was going on. His patience was wearing thin and he desperately wanted to be inside, to go down into the basement and to see Jessie. He was sure she was down there. And he was sure that she wouldn't want to be faced with 5 unfamiliar police officers – if she was conscious enough, or even still alive. She would need a familiar face.
"One of us should be allowed in there. She'll freak out seeing a bunch of guys she doesn't know... even if they are cops." Cassidy voiced his thoughts.
"Give them a chance to check things out." Raven told him calmly, though he agreed with what Cass had just said. He knew that they'd just be in the way at this stage.
After a tense few minutes, Tom's radio flared to life. He listened intently for a moment before turning the volume down. Shaking his head, he pulled Raven aside. Roderick took it upon himself to make sure Cassidy didn't make a break for the door.
"Seems they found the girl. They've called for an ambulance. I can let one of you go in there but I don't think it should be him, he's too worked up." Tom told Raven seriously, motioning towards Cassidy.
"I'll let you tell him that." Raven joked. Tom paled visibly which made Raven laugh.
"I was kidding. I'll tell him. Rod should be the one to go in – he's her best friend." He decided. Tom nodded and the pair made their way back over to Cassidy and Roderick.
"Rod, go with the officer, would you." Raven told him without explaining the situation. Roderick nodded and followed Tom towards the house.
"What's going on?" Cassidy asked Raven suspiciously.
"They found Jessie. The call on the radio was them calling for an ambulance. Rod's going in to be with her. You're too worked up, you'd stress her out." Raven told him honestly. Cassidy glared at him.
"I have to see her, man. I have to..." Cassidy trailed off. Raven nodded.
"I understand how you feel, Cass, I really do. But right now it's better that Rod's there for her. He's a lot calmer than you are. Just take a few breaths and we'll see what happens, okay?" Raven replied, trying to calm the man down.
"I guess you're right. Rod's her best friend. I just... I feel useless." Cassidy stammered. Raven reached out a hand and squeezed his shoulder.
"You're far from useless. If it wasn't for you going around the back of the house, we wouldn't have been able to prove that she was here." Raven pointed out, just as an ambulance pulled into the driveway.
The paramedics wasted no time in getting a gurney out and heading into the house. Raven felt Cassidy trying to pull away from him so he squeezed his shoulder again, reminding him he wasn't going anywhere just yet. They stood in silence and waited, hoping for the best but not able to avoid thoughts of the worst. Had they found Jessie in time? Had the paramedics gotten to her soon enough?
A few moments later, Tom came back out to where they were standing. He offered them a weak smile but looked a little green around the gills. Raven guessed that Jessie must have been in a pretty bad way if it had affected him this much.
"What's going on?" Cassidy asked quickly. Tom took a deep breath before answering.
"She's been beaten to within an inch of her life, I'd say. She's a mess. Rod's in there holding her hand while they get her ready for the trip to the hospital." Tom explained.
Two officers appeared at the door then, Austin stumbling between them. His hands were cuffed behind his back and he was still a little dazed. Tom scoffed a little.
"Tripped and knocked himself out, huh? I'll believe that." He smiled. Raven cleared his throat a little and smiled sheepishly.
"Yeah, he... uh... hit his head on my fist." He admitted. Tom nodded.
"I didn't just hear that, okay? He deserved it." He told them.
Cassidy glared at Austin, wanting the officers to leave him alone, even if only for a minute. A fist to the temple would be the least of his worries if they did. His attention was only diverted from Austin when Raven tapped him and motioned to the door. The paramedics were bringing Jessie out on the gurney, Rod following close behind them.
Rod's hands were covered in blood but he was oblivious to it. Cassidy made his way over and the paramedics thankfully stopped wheeling her to the ambulance for a moment so that Cassidy and Raven could see her. A sheet was pulled up, almost to Jessie's chin. Her face was a bloody mess but they could tell that she was actually conscious – just.
"Hey, you. You're hard to find when you play hide and seek, ya know." Raven joked. Jessie laughed slightly but cringed in pain and started coughing. Once the coughing fit was over, she reached out a hand to Cassidy.
"I heard your voice... you were so close but I couldn't call out. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything. I should've listened to you guys." She told him, sobs building up and overtaking her.
"It's okay. It's all over now. You're safe." Cassidy assured her. She nodded and tried to get the sobs under control.
"What's going to happen now?" Roderick wondered aloud.
"Hospital, then rehab." Jessie spoke up before the paramedics continued on their way to the ambulance. Roderick looked from Raven to Cassidy, raising an eyebrow.
"I'll go with her. You guys go get Lacey." Cassidy decided. Raven chose not to disagree with him and nodded.
A/N2: So... this is the end. The epilogue chapter will be up soon. It's just a quick chapter to tie up any loose ends. Let me know what you thought of this chapter, and the story as a whole. I truly appreciate the reviews. Thanks all.
Phoenix