Author's Notes: Well, now, I haven't updated in forever...sorry about that...I've had things to do...which I'm sure you all understand...we're all busy in our own way. I don't deserve any reviews, but I would love you all so much if you would review anyway: ) Thank you to all who reviewed last time! Um, I hope you like this chapter, I'm not sure how much I do, but I hope you all do! Let me know...seriously feel free to be very critical...I want to know if I'm headed in a direction you guys like or if you're thinking "oh wow this is getting really boring." Again, just please let me know! Thanks!

3 Callie

Chapter Seven

"I can't believe this," Summer said numbly. Her hands formed into angry fists as she muttered those words.

"Summer, we know-" Sandy started to speak in his calm, soothing voice before Summer interrupted him.

"Like hell you do. You don't know. She's not your daughter," Summer snapped.

"Summer-" Mark stepped forward and tried to reason with her.

"NO," Summer yelled. "Don't you dare say another thing. None of you understand. There are only two people in this world who know what this is like. Don't tell me you know anything about this situation when you don't know shit about it."

"Summer, we know we can't possibly understand how you and Seth are feeling. However, we do understand how difficult this situation is. We know why you're upset and frusturated-" Kirsten stepped forward and spoke in a calm voice, but Summer still cut her off. This time, however, it was in a weak, defeated voice.

"They said they had a lead. They said it was a good, solid lead. They made it sound like they were going to find her. Find her…alive. They sounded so positive," Summer crumbled at this point. She felt her knees getting weaker as she dropped to the floor. The tears came without warning and soon she was laying on the floor sobbing.

Summer felt Kirsten sink down to the floor next to her. Kirsten pulled Summer into her arms and hugged her lovingly. "Shh," Kirsten whispered to Summer. Kirsten continued to comfort Summer as best as she could while she looked over her shoulder and mouthed something to Sandy. 'Get Seth' Kirsten mouthed to him. Sandy nodded and walked down the hall.

He found Seth standing in a hall that was just around the corner from where he had left an able pair (Kirsten and Mark) to watch over a distraught Summer.

"So you checked all the hospitals and not one in the area has a girl matching that description?" Seth asked. His voice sounded fairly calm, but Sandy could tell that Seth was close to the breaking point.

"Mr. Cohen, we're very sorry. As we've told you several times, we received a phone call from an ambulance in the L.A. area saying that they had picked up a girl who matched the description of your daughter. She wasn't conscious at the time and had no ID on her. We can't be positive she was your daughter," a police officer whom Sandy did not recognize was telling Seth all this.

"But you have no idea what happened to this girl? She didn't show up at any of those hospitals?" Seth inquired, clearly irritated.

"No, she hasn't. Mr. Cohen, this was just one lead-" the officer started again.

"What do you mean she hasn't shown up at the hospital? What does that mean? How does she not show up at the hospital? Didn't the ambulance tell you where they were going?" Seth asked angrily. His voice was getting more and more hostile as the minutes flew by.

"I understand you're upset. Honestly, they're not sure what happened to that ambulance. They haven't shown up at the hospital they were supposed to," the police officer said in an exhausted tone.

"I don't understand how this could happen," Seth snapped angrily.

"Mr. Cohen, leads, tips, and clues are going to keep pouring in about your daughter. Most of these are going to mean nothing at this point…you're probably not going to get a solid lead from now on. You should get use to being let down by these tips and clues and little hints that the police are going to get. I wouldn't get my hopes up if I were you. Seventy four percent of abducted children are murdered within the first three hours of their kidnapping. And that's only if the kidnapping isn't a family related abduction," the police officer stopped abruptly as if he suddenly felt guilty for being so forward and upsetting. "Look, Mr. Cohen, I'm not trying to be a wet blanket, but I'm only speaking from experience." He glanced at Seth for a moment before adding in a soft voice, "I am, however, very sorry for your loss."

And with those last words, the police officer turned away and walked down the hallway. Sandy stepped forward and stood by Seth's side. He glanced at Seth and opened his mouth to speak, but Seth beat him to it.

"I bet you heard all that," Seth said in a strange voice. Sandy nodded, affirming what Seth said. Sandy placed one hand on Seth's shoulder, comfortingly. "Dad…she's alive. I know she is. She's a survivor."

"Seth, I want Shannon to be alive as much as you do…but at some point…if she's not found…you and Summer might have to accept that she may not becoming home…" Sandy said slowly. His facial expressions proved that these were painful things for him to say to anyone, especially his son.

Seth looked up at Sandy with a hard stare. "I am not," Seth said in a defiant voice, "burying another one of my daughters. That is not an option."

Before either could say another word, Kirsten appeared from an adjacent hallway. "Seth, Summer needs you…now," Kirsten explained as she noticed the tension between two of the most important men in her life. She looked, clearly worried, at the two.

Seth nodded and moved quickly down the hall and around the corner. Kirsten watched him until he was out of his parents' sight. "And," Kirsten said as she turned to her husband, "what was that all about?"

"Well…he brought up Sarah," Sandy stated as simply as he could.

Kirsten looked taken back. "Well…why?" she asked Sandy, clearly feeling quite shocked.

"I told him that I wanted Shannon to come home alive as much as he does-" Sandy started.

"Well, of course you do," Kirsten muttered.

"But that he and Summer need to realize she may not becoming home…and Seth became angry and said that he wasn't burying another one of his daughters," Sandy said sighing as he placed his hands in his pant pockets.

"Oh," Kirsten said quietly. Kirsten never knew what to say when Seth said something like that. Kirsten never knew what to say to her son about Sarah. Sarah was Seth and Summer's second daughter, whom was born about thirteen months after Shannon. Sarah had died while Summer was pregnant with Kaylie. She had been almost three years old at the time and had died from a rare blood disorder. Seth and Summer had almost been destroyed by their daughter's death, but had been saved by another daughter's life. Summer and Seth still joked around with Kaylie that she was the glue that held their family together, but only Summer and Seth knew that she really was the reason they had gone on. Kaylie was their hero. They had found a reason to live again in Kaylie, a reason that neither Shannon nor Courtney seemed to be able to give them at the time.

"No, I'm not going to becoming back in for a few weeks. Probably months," Summer grimaced. She hated saying that. She hated admitting that she probably wouldn't know much else in the next few weeks.

"That's fine. You take all the time you need. Your character will be in a coma, and whenever you're ready to come back to us, you just let us know. In the mean time, Summer, please, keep us updated on Shannon and what's going on. If there's anything we can do, just let us know," Jeff Kettering replied.

Summer couldn't help but smile. Jeff Kettering had been the director of her soap for about three years now, and he was always just the most amazing director. He was not only an awesome director, but an even better person. He was always understanding and caring…and Summer's current situation with Shannon was no exception.

"Well, thank you so much, Jeff. I mean, honestly, you've taken at least one thing off my mind and made everything just a bit more easy for the time being," Summer said sincerely.

"No need to thank me. I have two daughters, you know…Kellie and Keegan. They're twins actually. Anyway, that's not the point, the point is we're all thinking of you, and we'll be ready and waiting for when you want to come back. And just let us know if there is anything, and I mean anything, we can do for you," Jeff told her sweetly. "We'll check in with you sometime soon."

The two said their good byes and Summer hung up the cordless phone. She was all alone in the Atwood house. Seth was out at the volunteer center with Mark, organizing more searches to be carried out later that night and the following days. Kirsten was busy making more flyers, Sandy was contacting his police friends to help get more involvement from the law enforcement in searching for Shannon, and Marissa was busy organizing things for the volunteers.

So many things had happened in the past few days that Summer had a hard time keeping everything straight in her head. Mark had launched right into publicist mode and was doing an excellent job of it. Before Shannon was gone even two days, Mark had started a web site called "Help Us Find Shannon Elizabeth." There were pictures of Shannon, information about her kidnapping, and an exclusive email account where people could send tips and leads about Shannon directly to the Cohen family. Ryan was currently looking into and managing most of the leads and tips. Any major leads or tips would be brought to the police, but this way the Cohens were assured that even minor tips or leads were being looked into.

Summer was supposed to be sleeping, but she found that she couldn't bring herself to sleep. Instead, she was returning phone calls from well-wishers and do-gooders. She was also separating the personal calls from the media ones, so that Mark could look through them and pick out the interviews that would be worth while.

Summer sighed. She might as well just keep going through all the phone calls until she made a bigger dent in the messages. She sat down at the kitchen table and hit the 'play back' button on the machine.

"You have thirty three new messages," the machine's electronic voice stated.

The messages started to play. "Hi, Summer, it's Diane Ruback. I wanted to call and let you know that if you ever want to talk, you can call me. I understand what you're going through. I also wanted to let you know that Allie and Natalie were on the phone yesterday and decided that they want to help Shannon in some way. They were thinking of making ribbons for Shannon, probably in that same lavender color she loves so much. We wanted to double check with you and make sure it's okay with you. When you're ready to call me, please do. Remember we love you all." BEEP! "Summer, Seth…it's Kaitlin Cooper. I don't even know what to say. There are no words to possibly express how terrible I feel. I just wanted to call and let you know that I love Shannon and your entire family. I'll be at the volunteer center as soon as my flight gets in. Call me if there's anything else I can do." BEEP! "This is the Brady family from down the street. We just wanted to call and let you know that we love you and we're thinking about you. You are in our hearts and prayers, as well as Shannon. Let us know if there is anything we can do." BEEP! "Summer…Seth…it's Zack. I just wanted to call and let you know that I saw Shannon on TV this morning. I am so sorry. If there is anything I can do, call me. It's 235-725-0049. Bye." BEEP! "Summer, it's Carly Keenan, we lived in the same dorm at Brown…I just wanted to call and let you know that I saw Shannon on TV this morning…"

Summer wasn't even listening to Carly Keenan. How did Zack find their number? Well, forget that question. She didn't know how anyone had found their number…especially since they were staying with Marissa and Ryan. Neither the Cohens nor the Atwoods were listed in the yellow pages because of their somewhat famous selves.

As Summer was contemplating how weird it was to hear from Zack, even if he had seen Shannon on TV, a sinking thought came to her mind. Not only was it weird, but it was one of the things the police kept stressing to them. The police kept insisting that the chances were in favor of Shannon's kidnapper being someone her parents knew. The police kept asking during rounds of interrogation if anyone from their pasts had recently reappeared in their lives.

Summer shook her head. Zack couldn't be Shannon's kidnapper. No way. Not in a million years. Summer tried endlessly for about ten minutes to convince herself of this, but it wasn't working. She had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. This was weird. Zack hadn't been in contact with herself or Seth since Shannon was about one. Zack hadn't even been at Sarah's funeral. He had eventually moved to the east coast and that had been the last they had heard of him. They hadn't received a phone call or even an email from him since he moved. Yet here he was, not even five days after Shannon's kidnapping, calling the Atwood home to let the Cohens know how sorry he was about Shannon. It all just seemed a bit too weird.

Summer sighed for what seemed like the umpteenth time that night and hit the 'stop' button on their answering machine. She picked up the phone and dialed Seth's cell. Summer knew what she needed: a second and third opinion. Seth and Mark were just the people to give it to her.