Chapter 6

The next morning it was Frank that woke up first. He stretched his arms above his head and let out a big yawn. He brought his arms back down from above his head to check the time on his watch and it read: 815am. He had slept for just over 8 hours but he still felt emotionally drained from yesterday. Comforting James and Sally whilst also having to deal with his 6-month-old daughter being kidnapped and his own emotions was enough to drain anyone. Last night when he was sleeping, he felt Sally's tears fall on his arm as she tried to sleep but eventually she had fallen asleep. He turned to his side to see if Sally was still in bed or if she had gotten up because she couldn't sleep. To his surprise she was still in bed and fast asleep.

As he looked at her sleeping form, she was still as beautiful as the first day he seen her. She was as strong and brave as any fire fighter he had ever known but she was also the best looking female fire fighter he had ever known as well. He was determined to make her his girl and all the work he had done to get her was worth it. He didn't think she could get more beautiful but when she was pregnant with the twins, it did something to her that made her even more beautiful and it had stayed even once the twins were born. Yesterday he had seen a whole different side to her, a vulnerability side. He knew that side would stay until Sarah was back with her family. He was happy to be the strong one just now but it was going to be a test for their relationship for the next few days.

Knowing that he wouldn't get back to sleep and he didn't want to disturb Sally, he slipped out of bed and put on his red dressing gown – he and Sally had untangled themselves when they were sleeping, so he didn't need to risk waking her. Before he left the room, he walked over to Sally's side of the bed and turned off James's baby monitor. The monitor showed that James was still asleep but as he was getting up, he would be able to hear if James woke up from the living room and it gave Sally more time to sleep. He wanted to bend down and kiss her forehead but he knew it would wake her up. Once the monitor was off he left their bedroom and quietly closed the door behind him. Once he was in the main hallway, he grabbed his mobile phone off one of the tables and shoved it into his dressing gown pocket. He knew the police would do their best to find Sarah but Frank had his own enquiries to make. He walked into the kitchen to make a cup of tea as he thought about how he was going to go about his plan.

The day that Sally told him she hadn't terminated her pregnancy, she had moved in with him and they had laid everything on the table. Frank had told her all about Jimmy's world including the beatings, debt collections and clubs. Sally had made him promise that he wouldn't beat anyone up for money, which he had kept. A few days later he had met up with Jimmy and told him he wanted out. Jimmy had surprisingly agreed that he could leave his part time job with no strings attached and he would tell their mutual friends that Frank wasn't to be contacted again. Frank suspected it was because of the trouble with Adam and Jimmy thought he was too reckless now to be trusted with jobs. Although he told Jimmy he wanted out, he wasn't completely stupid. He and Jimmy had kept in contact as they were still friends and Frank knew Jimmy had dirt on him that could potentially send him to jail. Sally knew that Frank was still in contact with Jimmy and was ok with it as long as he didn't break his promise. When the twins were born, Jimmy had also sent them a card and a small gift for the twins. When they had decided to call their son James, Frank was on the fence with the name as the name James was usually shorted to Jim or Jimmy. His mind was soon put as ease by Sally when one of the midwives in the hospital called James little Jim. Sally quickly but politely corrected her and told her if she wanted her son to be called Jim or Jimmy, she would have called him that. From that day on Frank didn't have any second thoughts about naming his son James. Frank needed to know if Jimmy or someone in his world had taken Sarah to get Frank's attention and draw him back into the world of crime that had nearly cost him his family.

Once the kettle was boiled, he made himself a cup of tea and went to the living room to drink it and contact Jimmy. As he sat down and took the first sip of tea, it gave him the rush of caffeine that he needed to wake up and feel semi normal. Placing the mug back on the table, he took his phone out of his pocket and typed a text to Jimmy saying that he wanted to meet today. There was the possibility that Jimmy would say no but he had to try and speed things up. Once the text was sent, Frank let out a sigh and reached back to the table to get his mug. He sat and enjoyed his alone time with his mug of tea as he waited for Jimmy's reply. After another 20 minutes there was still no reply from Jimmy but it was still early in the morning. After finishing his tea, he went back into the kitchen to put the mug in the sink but he heard a noise coming from the twin's room. He froze for a minute to check that he wasn't hearing things. After another few seconds the noises started again and he knew he wasn't hearing things. With other heavy sigh Frank left the kitchen to see to James. James wasn't whimpering or crying but making baby noises. When James and Sarah woke up, they lay on their sides facing each other's crib, and both making the noises as if they were talking to each other in their own language. Frank and Sally would often lie in bed listening to their baby conversation on the baby monitor's as it was too cute. Today it would be a one-way conversation for James and Frank wanted to get him up before he starting whimpering again and possibility waking Sally up.

He opened the door to the twin's room and the sight was heart breaking. James was lying on his side, making baby noises and looking into Sarah's crib as if he expected her to be there and talking back to him. When James heard the door open, he turned his eyes to see his dad and then turned to lie on his back and reached his arms out towards his dad.

"Morning son." Frank said as he bent down, pulled away James's blanket and picked James up from his crib.

"Dd Dd." James said as he was lifted from his crib and placed on his dad's hip.

"Thanks for letting me and mummy sleep all night even though you did keep us up yesterday." Frank said to James with a smile as he tickled his cheek.

When he tickled James's cheek, James didn't smile or laugh but swatted his dad's finger away and yawned in response. Luckily so far there were no tears, whimpering or crying from James today but maybe it was because he had just woken up. Before he took James through to get a bottle, Frank quickly checked to see if he needed his nappy changed which unfortunately he did.

"Mate you gotta lay off the banana." Frank laughed as he took James over to the changing table and laid him down to change his nappy. He made quick work of changing James, buttoned up his onesie and picked him up to take him to get some breakfast. As James settled on his hip, he started making noises again and Frank was concerned that the noises would turn into whimpers. He picked up one of the sterilized dummies on the chest of drawers and moved to place it in James's mouth. Unlike yesterday, James happily opened his mouth to let his dad put the dummy in his mouth and went silent once it was in.

Frank quietly closed the bedroom door and walked into the kitchen to make James a bottle. As he made the bottle, it was harder than usual, as he had to do it one handed because he was still holding James in his other arm. He could put him in his high chair but after last night, he didn't want any more cries from James, especially if they could be avoided. After a few fumbles, Frank managed to make James his breakfast as James snuggled into his dad the whole time. He was probably still exhausted from yesterday and had run out of energy to cry and fuss. Once the lid was securely on the bottle, Frank picked it up and walked into the living room to feed James. Normally the twins got the majority of their bottles and solid food in their high chairs at the kitchen table but it wouldn't hurt to give James his morning bottle in the living room on the couch. Frank chose the cream sofa to sit on, as it was comfier than the blue one. He placed the bottle on the coffee table so he could move James before feeding him. He sat down on the couch and moved James from his hip to cradle him in his left arm, took the dummy out of his mouth and once he was settled, he leaned forward to get the bottle from the table and put the dummy on the table. As he leaned back on the couch, he turned to look at James who had his mouth wide open and seemed to have woken up more knowing he was going to be fed.

"Calm down mate it's coming." Frank said with a smile on his face. It was a good sign that James was wanting his food as meant he was more like himself and had calm down from yesterday. Either that or he was still upset but just wanted fed.

Frank placed the bottle in James mouth and James happily took it this time but he didn't drink it as fast this time. Happy that James wasn't going to try and get the bottle out of his mouth, Frank smiled and leaned back on couch as James enjoyed his bottle. It was strange having only one baby to feed, when there were usually two babies instead. Although it was nice to have some one on one time with James. James didn't have a favourite parent and didn't mind if Sally or Frank held him or fed him unlike his twin. Sarah was happy if Sally was holding her or feeding her but if she seen Frank, within two minutes her arms would be reached out to him asking him to hold her or feed her. He knew that he shouldn't give into Sarah so easily but she was his little girl and he powerless to say no but he did try and spend time with his son as well, something that his dad never did. There were no pictures taken of Frank's dad holding him or his younger brother and his dad never gave them hugs or any affection. He thought that a man shouldn't be soft on his son's and a women should do most of the caring for them. Now that he was a father himself, Frank knew his dad was from an older generation but he couldn't understand his father's views. Whether he was holding the twins, feeding them, bathing them or just holding them in his arms, it was the best thing in the world and it put the biggest smile on his face. Frank didn't treat James differently to Sarah because he was a boy and gave him cuddles and kisses as well, just not as much as Sarah as she always wanted him over Sally. His kids and Sally were the best things in his life and he would never turn into the bully that his dad was to his family.

Back in the main bedroom, Sally had just woken up and still felt as exhausted as she did yesterday. She had slept on and off all night but even when she was asleep it wasn't a proper sleep. When she closed her eyes all she could picture was Sarah with a big smile on her face and her arms reaching out to her but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get to her. When she wasn't sleeping Sally's eyes were fixed on James's baby monitor and her ears were listening to for any kind of noise that sounded like he was waking up. Luckily he had slept all night and didn't need Frank to get up to see to him. All of that crying and fussing must have tired him out yesterday but hopefully after a full nights sleep he wouldn't be as upset today. He still wouldn't be himself without Sarah but hopefully he would be better than he was.

Sally could see light streaming through the room from under the blinds and knew it was morning but she didn't know how early it was. She quickly glanced at clock on her bedside table, which read 8:50am. Being a full time working mum and having two six month old babies to look after, to wake up at this time was like waking up at lunchtime but it was nice not to be up at the crack of dawn. She let out a yawn and turned over to see if Frank was awake, as she was normally the first one awake out of the two of them. As she turned around, she was surprised to see that he wasn't in bed. She listened for a minute to see if he was in the bathroom but as she listened, she realised there was a more important noise missing from the room. The sound of James sleeping. Quickly she turned back around to her side of the bed and panicked when she seen that James's baby monitor was switched off and no noise was coming from it. Sally did panic for a moment at the monitor being off but then she realised that Frank's dressing gown was missing from the hook on the wall. He must have gotten up and switched the monitor off when he left the bedroom, knowing that he would be able to hear James from the living room. Sally was seeing a new side of him during all of this and she liked it, although she would show her appreciation in another way once all this was over.

Knowing that she wouldn't be able to sleep again and knowing that Frank was up, Sally pulled the covers back and got up to put her dressing gown on. She quickly made the bed and slipped out of their room. Not knowing if James was still sleeping, she closed the bedroom door quietly and was about to walk to the twin's door to see if she could hear noises but as she turned around from closing the door, she didn't need to check. She saw Frank sitting on one of the couches giving James his morning bottle. It was a bittersweet sight. It was nice to see Frank getting some on alone time with James but in Frank's other arm there should have been Sarah. Hopefully they would get an update today and be closer to getting her back. As she had closed the bedroom door, Frank had heard her and looked up from feeding James to smile at her.

"Morning." Sally said as she walked over to the living room.

"Morning. Did we wake you?" Frank asked as he sat up on the couch, taking care not to disturb James.

"No, you's didn't. I didn't sleep properly all night anyway." Sally said as she sat down beside Frank.

She placed her arm around his shoulders to lean in close to him. As she did this, Frank turned his head to hers to lean in to kiss her and their lips met.

"Has anyone called this morning?" Sally asked him as their lips parted.

"No not yet." Frank said but as he said it he could see the sadness spread across Sally's face. "They will later. Mind it's only the back of 9." Frank said to her with a reassuring smile.

"Yeah your right. Still early. Just the waiting and not knowing is driving me up the wall." Sally said returning his smile and leaned more into Frank's side.

"Yeah me to." Frank said as he looked down at James.

As he looked down at James, he had just finished the last drop of milk in his bottle. Frank carefully removed the bottle from James's mouth as James looked drunk again from his milk but at least he wasn't whimpering again. As he took the bottle away from James, Sally stood up and got the burping rag from the arm of the blue sofa as Frank sat James up in his lap. Sally walked back over to the other sofa and passed the rag to Frank.

"Cheers." Frank said as he took it from her and placed it over his shoulder.

Once the rag was in place, he moved James so his head was over his shoulder but also on the rag and hugged James to his chest to burp him. Frank slowly became patting and rubbing his son's back to get any wind out of him. Sally sat down beside Frank and gently stroked James hand that was placed on Frank's shoulder.

"He looks more and more like you everyday." Sally said with a smile as James let out a big burp.

"Yeah it's scary how much he looks like me isn't it?" Frank as he continued to pat and rub James back as he kept burping.

When James was born you could tell straightaway who his dad was and everyone had said that he looked like Frank when they met him for the first time. As the months had gone on, James's features had gotten more and more like his dad. He had big brown eyes, tuffs of dark brown hair on his head and his facial features got more like Frank everyday except James had his baby chubby cheeks. Sarah was different in the way that she didn't look exactly like Sally or Frank. Like her brother she also had tuffs of dark brown hair but she had big blue/grey eyes like Sally and the top part of her face had Sally's features and she had Sally's nose but from her nose down she had her dads facial features and mouth – a mix of both her mum and dad. At times Sally would look at Sarah and think that she did look like her but when she looked at her again, she thought she looked like Frank. One thing was sure – no paternity test was needed for the twins. You knew Frank was definitely their dad just by looking at them.

"Gonna be a heartbreaker one day, aren't you?" Sally cooed to James as Frank finished burping him and moved him to sit on his lap.

"Like father like son. You let all the girls come to you son until you find a good one like your mum and you never let her go." Frank said to James but looked up to smile at Sally at the last part.

"Oh and if any boy even blinks at your sister, especially that Ajay, you know what to do.' Frank said looked back at James in his lap.

"Alright ." Sally said as she rolled her eyes at Frank and reached to take James from his lap. 'Luckily we've got plenty of time before we need to worry about any of that."

"Gotta tell him early Sal so he's ready. Sarah may the oldest but he's gotta ward of any boys that go near her." Frank replied as he got off the couch and walked into the kitchen.

"Don't listen to what he tells you." Sally said to James as she adjusted him on her lap to that he was facing her.

"You are gonna have a lot of girls after you with your looks but as long as you treat a girl properly and remember that I'm the most important one, then it's ok. Watch out for sister but I have a feeling she'll be able to handle herself." Sally cooed to James.

As she talked to him, James still looked tired and lost without his sister. Sally lifted him up to her face and kissed his cheek. Before she put him back down, she blew a raspberry on his cheek hoping for a smile or giggle from James but yet again he didn't even make a sound. Knowing he was still tired, Sally placed him back on her lap but positioned him so he was leaning sideways into her and facing Frank when he came back. As he got comfy, James started to make fussing noises again but Sally quickly spotted his dummy on the coffee table. In a flash, she gently leaned over to the table, picked up the dummy, leaned back on the couch and placed the dummy in James's mouth. Once the dummy was in, James stopped making noises and happily slumped against Sally's side as she stroked the top of his head and gave a relieved sigh that he wasn't as fussy as yesterday. As she sat stroking James's head, she heard Frank coming back into the living room. She looked up to see that he was walking back over to the couch with two mugs of tea in his hand.

"Thanks." Sally said to him as he placed her mug on a coaster on the coffee table.

Frank gave her a smile in response and sat down beside her again on the couch. Just as he sat down, his phone buzzed in his pocket. He dug the phone out of his pocket to see who the message was from.

"Whose texting you this early?" Sally asked nervously as she caught the disappointed look on Frank's face.

"Just Adam asking if we're up." Frank replied as he texted Adam back. He was disappointed when he saw it was Adam and not Jimmy that had text him.

"Must have news on Elaine." Sally said.

"Yeah and hopefully she remembers something." Frank said as he looked back to James who was now sat up in Sally's lap and looking between his mum and dad.

Just at that moment the house phone rang and Frank reached over the arm of the couch to answer it.

"If it's my mum, tell her I'm not here." Sally said quickly before Frank answered the phone.

"Hello." Frank said as he settled back down on the couch beside Sally.

"Alright mate." Frank said back to the person on the phone and then went silent as the other person talked.

"We've had easier nights. How was yours?" Frank replied down the phone before going silent again for a few moments.

"Yeah sure. Say just over an hours time?" Frank said to the phone. There was silence again while he got his reply.

"Course. Might cheer James up a bit. See you soon. Bye." Frank said as he removed the phone from his ear and placed it back on the holder.

"Who was that?' Sally asked as she moved her hands to James's side encase he took a tumble.

"Adam. Says he's gonna come over to tell us about Elaine and if the coppers call to get anything they need from him. Bringing Ajay to try and cheer this one up as well." Frank replied as tickled James's cheek but again James swapped his finger away.

"I don't think it will but I'll try anything to make him smile just now." Sally said as she kissed the top of James head.

Frank moved his finger to tickle between James shoulder and neck knowing he was tickly there but yet again James swatted his finger and slumped into Sally's again.

"Me to Sal." Frank sighed as he leaned forward to grab his mug off the table and take a sip of tea.

They both sat and drank their tea, although eventually Sally had to pass James back to Frank once he finished his cup as James thought the mug of hot tea was a toy to play with and she didn't want to scold him. Once Sally was finished, she went into the bathroom first to shower while Frank watched James and once she was out the shower, she took James while Frank went to shower. As she got changed, James sat on his parents bed and watched Sally like a hawk encase she left the room without him. As she watched him, Sally hoped this wasn't a permanent thing. The twins never cried or got upset if she or Frank left the room or left them with other people, which was great for them. If James was now going to be a clingy and needy baby, they'd have to fix it quickly but once Sarah was back with them, hopefully he would go back to his old self. Once she was changed and brushed her hair, Sally lay James down on the bed to change him out of his night onesie and into jeans, socks, an under vest and a long sleeved stripped t-shirt. Luckily there was a spare set of clothes for James in their room so she didn't have to go into the twin's room to get more clothes for James. Once he was changed, Sally picked James up and went to the kitchen to make some breakfast before Adam arrived. As she walked into the kitchen, she heard Frank coming out of the shower.

'Do you want Toast?" Sally called to him from the kitchen.

"Yeah." Frank shouted back before closing the bedroom to get changed.

Sally walked over to the breadbin to get the bread out but it would be difficult with just one hand, so she decide to try and put James in his highchair. She walked back over to the kitchen table, took James off her hip and placed him in his highchair and strapped him in so he didn't fall out. Once he was secure, she took a few steps back into the kitchen but luckily James was fine. A baby spoon had been left on his highchair tray and he was amusing himself by playing with it. A wave of relief washed through Sally as he wasn't as clingy as yesterday and didn't need held all the time. Happy that James wasn't going to cry, Sally went back into the kitchen and put the toast on. As she waited for the bread to toast, she turned her head around to check on James but he was still happily playing with his spoon. Once the toast popped up, she placed it on two plates, spread it with butter and jam and carried the plates back to the table. As she sat down at the table, Frank came out of the bedroom and sat down opposite Sally.

"Thanks." Frank said as he took a bite of toast.

Sally smiled back in response as she ate her toast as well. They ate in mid silence until James threw his spoon and it landed beside Frank's plate with a clatter. James sat still having realised his mistake at throwing it away and began slapping his little hands on the highchair tray to ask his mum or dad to pass it back to him.

"Careful mate." Frank said as he picked up the spoon and placed it back on the tray.

James stopped slapping his hands on the tray, picked up the spoon and went back to playing with it, learning from his mistake not to throw it away.

"Who would have thought a spoon would be so much fun." Frank said as he took a bite of toast, happy that his son wasn't as fussy as yesterday.

"He probably thinks there's food coming. The boy loves his grub." Sally replied smiling at James as he played with the spoon.

They both went back to eating their toast while watching James play with his spoon, both hoping that he would eventually crack a smile or laugh but he didn't. Once they were finished, they both stood up from the table but before Frank could pick up the plates, Sally walked over to him and wrapped her arms around him to cuddle him. Frank responded by doing the same and pulling her closer to him. When Adam arrived there would be more mention of Sarah and what happened yesterday. It was going to be hard but the comfort of his arms was what she needed and it felt good. After a moment, she slowly let her arms go from around his shoulders and moved back to face him, before giving him a long lingering kiss on his lips.

"You don't have to be here when Adam comes. Why don't you go out and I'll tell him what happened." Frank said as their lips parted and they faced each other.

"No. I'll be ok. It's still going to be hard but not as bad as the initial shock yesterday. I want to know how Elaine is as well." Sally replied to him.

"Ok." Frank said as he pulled her back into his arms.

They stayed in each other's embrace for a moment until a clattering sound interrupted them. They broke apart and looked at the highchair to see James staring down at the floor and looking at his spoon, which had landed on the floor. Not knowing what to do, James started to whimper as it looked like there was no way to get his spoon back.

"You can't play with that now. It's dirty." Sally said to James as she left Frank's arms and bent down to pick up the spoon. The floor was clean but she didn't want James getting sick right now.

Once she had the spoon in her hand, Sally picked up the dirty plates and went into the kitchen to wash them. Seeing his mum take away his new favourite toy, James started sobbing again.

'Come on mate." Frank said to James as he unclipped the highchair clips securing James and lifted him out of the chair and onto his hip.

"You got another toys to play with." Frank said to James as he walked back over to the living room. Before he sat down, he walked over the box of teddies, teething rings and other infant toys that they kept in the living room. He put his hand in the box and grabbed the first thing that he came to, which was a set of plastic baby car keys. He went back to the cream sofa and sat down adjusting James on his lap. Once James was settled on his lap, he dangled and shook the keys in front of James. Once James seen the keys, he stopped sobbing and took the keys from Frank and started to entertain himself by playing with them. Once James stopped sobbing, Frank smiled at him and watched him as he played with his toy. He watched James for a few more moments but he felt his phone vibrate in his trouser pocket. He carefully reached into his pocket to get his phone out, whilst trying not to disturb James's happiness. As he managed to get the phone out, he looked at it and was glad to see that it was Jimmy that had text him back.

"Meet me at the restaurant at 12:30" The text read from Jimmy.

He lifted his arm up to check his watch and seen it was 10:05. That should be enough time and hopefully Adam wouldn't linger for long. He text Jimmy back saying that was fine and he would see him then. He didn't need to wait for a reply and carefully put the phone back in his pocket. Now he just had to decide to tell Sally or not. They both promised there would be no more secrets between them and he had kept that promise but if Jimmy hadn't done anything wrong, was it worth telling her encase she got her hopes up of getting Sarah back in 4 hours time. Just at that Sally came back into the living room but before he could say anything, the phone rang and she picked it up off the hanger.

"Hello." She said politely and then listened to other person talk.

"Oh morning. Is there any news or suspects?" Sally almost shouted down the phone and Frank knew it was detective Campbell.

Frank couldn't hear what he said back to Sally but he knew it wasn't good as her face dropped when he spoke again.

"Ok. No I understand. So around 3ish yeah?" Sally said down the phone before going silent again.

"Ok we'll see you then. Bye." Sally replied as she hung up the phone and placed it back on the handset.

Frank could see fresh tears appear in her eyes as she took a deep breath before sitting down beside him on the couch.

"What's the latest with the coppers?" Frank asked as she sat down beside him.

"They're still waiting on some evidence coming back so no updates now but there will be this afternoon. The coppers will be around later this afternoon when they have the updates but in the meantime their contacting people on the lists we made." Sally said a tear that fell from her eyes.

"Hey." Frank said as he wiped away her tear with his thumb and placed the palm of his hand on her cheek. "It's better than no evidence at all and they may even show up with Sarah with them." He said to her.

"Your right. It's just hard as right now there should be a baby in both our laps or we should be on our way out to take them to the park or taking them swimming. I want her back where she belongs." Sally said as she let her face lean into Frank's hand.

"I know but it won't long before she's back." Frank reassured her as he removed his hand from her cheek.

He leaned forward and rested his forehead against hers and she leaned against him. As well as James not being as fussy today, Frank was glad that Sally was willing to accept his support and comfort today but she was still as emotional as yesterday but he knew she would be like that until their little girl was back. As they sat with their foreheads against each other, they were interrupted as something hit Sally in the stomach.

"Ow." Sally said as she moved her head away from Frank.

She looked down to her lap and seen the baby keys lying on her lap. She looked back up to James, who was staring at the keys in her lap.

"So it's like that is it?" Sally asked as she leaned in closer to James. "I carried you in my belly for 9 months, I feed you, bath you and cuddle you and this is how you say thank you. By throwing toys at me." Sally said with a smile as she tickled James cheek.

He swatted her finger away and looked at her as if to say, " yeah, yeah mum. Can you just pass my toy back please?"

As he swatted her finger away, both Sally and Frank laughed at him as Sally passed him back his toy and he went back to playing with them.

"Only 6 months old and already giving me grief." Sally said as she watched James play with the keys.

"At least we'll be ready for when he is older." Frank said as kissed the top of James's head.

They sat for a few more moments watching James play with the keys until someone knocked on the door.

"That'll be Adam." Sally said as she got off the couch and went to answer the door.

She walked into the entrance room and opened the door to let Adam in. She opened the door and seen Adam standing there with a very active Ajay in his arms.

"Hi. Come in." Sally said when she seen him.

"Alright Sal. Did you manage to sleep last night?" Adam asked her as he came in the door and kicked his shoes off.

"On and off but not really. What about you and Kate?" Sally asked him as she closed the door.

"Yeah same. She looked knackered when she left for work this morning. Think she was gonna try and get away early." Adam replied as he looked back at Sally. She looked worn out and like she had aged ten years but if Ajay had been taken, he would be in the same state as she was.

"Hope she gets away early." Sally said as she led Adam back into the living room to where James and Frank were. "You want a cup of tea?" Sally asked before she sat down.

"Yeah please." Adam replied.

"Frank?" Sally asked Frank.

"Nah I'm alright." Frank replied

"Alright Frank." Adam asked him as he sat down on the blue sofa.

"Yeah. You?" Frank replied as he shifted on the couch as Sally went to make her and Adam a cup of tea.

"Yeah." Adam said as he sat down and adjusted Ajay on his lap. "Look, there's your best mate." Adam cooed to his son as he pointed at James.

The two boys looked at each other. Ajay looked at James with a big gummy smile as if to say. "Hiya James. You'll never guess what I did this morning?"

James still had his dummy in his mouth and turned away from Ajay as if to say. "Mate, come off it. You would not believe what I'm going through right now."

"Still not himself is he." Adam said as he noticed James turn away from Ajay.

"No. Not been right since yesterday." Frank said as he looked down to James who was still playing the keys.

"He'll be alright. Just needs his sister back." Adam replied as he looked at the little boy who was always so full of smiles and laughter but right now looked miserable.

Sally came back into the room and placed a mug of tea on a coaster for Adam and placed hers on another coaster on the table.

"Cheers Sal." Adam said as he leaned forward and took a drink from the cup.

"No problem." Sally said as she sat down beside Frank.

"How's your mum?" Frank asked not wanting to tiptoe round the subject.

"Surprisingly ok." Adam said with a look of pain on his face

"When me and Kate got to the hospital she was still out of it but the doctor had already done a lot of tests and x-rays. She hasn't broken any bones just a concussion. Doctor said being hit over the head with something heavy likely caused the gash on her head and the concussion. They gave her some pain meds through a drip and we sat at her bed for about an hour before she woke up. Once we told her where she was, she panicked and the first thing she asked if all the kids were ok. We got her calmed down but then we had to explain what had happened. She feels terrible and hopes that you both can forgive her." Adam said to them.

"Adam come on. There's nothing to forgive. Whoever did this planned it and it could have easily been Andy or Kate instead of your mum that was looking after the kids. It's not your mum's fault. There's nothing to forgive. Someone did this to get back at us and your mum was caught in it. We should be sorry to her." Sally said as she leaned over and gave Adam's hand a squeeze.

"It's not your fault either. It's whoever did this needs to be sorry to all of us. Anyway we eventually got her calmed down again. I asked her if she remembered anything but all she remembers is someone ringing the doorbell and she put all three kids in the playpen. She went to answer the door but she remembers opening the door and then waking up in the hospital. With her just waking up, I didn't want to force her to remember anymore. We stayed with her a bit longer but she was tired and Ajay needed his bed so we left. I phoned this morning and she was still sleeping but I'll go and see her later. I'm sorry it doesn't give you two much detail about what happened to Sarah." Adam said as he finished telling them about Elaine.

"Maybe she'll remember a bit more later but at least she's ok." Sally replied as she let go of his hand.

"Yeah could have been worse. How did it go with coppers?" Adam asked nervously knowing it would be tough for them.

"Went as well as it could really." Sally said as she took Frank's hand and gave it a squeeze. "They didn't have any suspects as to who has taken Sarah and they will have CCTV and evidence results back this afternoon. They asked about who looks after the kids when we work, anyone that would want to hurt either of us and our routine with the kids. They took a list of blue watch names and numbers and other people that we know to get in touch with them and ask them some questions. The detective in charge is coming over this afternoon to give us an update on evidence and if they have any suspects." Sally said as managed to tell Adam without tearing up.

"They'll have news when they arrive Sal. She'll be back in your arms in no time." Adam said as he held Ajay tighter as his son wriggled about.

"Sooner rather than later. Think the cops will want to speak to your mum at some point as well." Frank replied to Adam.

"I thought that. If they call to ask me and Kate anything, I can be there when they talk to mum. She should be out of hospital in a few days but she's gonna stay with us for a bit until she feels better. Kate's asking her boss if she can work from home to help look after the kids as well. She'll look after James when we go back to work." Adam said as he leaned forward to take another drink of his tea.

"Be good to make sure your mums ok as well but if Sarah isn't found by the time its day shift again, I'm not going back to work yet." Sally said as squeezed Frank's hand again.

"You're not?" Frank asked her.

"No I'm not. How am I suppose to concentrate on emergencies and helping people when our baby girl is still missing. I could hurt myself or someone else." Sally said as she looked between Adam and Frank.

Frank knew that if Sarah wasn't back in time for them returning to work, Sally would struggle with going back to work and that they would have to talk about it but she had already decided. He wasn't mad but relieved. He knew she would be distracted at work with Sarah still missing and wondering how James would be coping if he was left again. If Sally went back to work, he'd have to watch her back as well as his. Staying at home with James would be the best option for both of them.

"You won't have to as she'll be back before then." Adam said as he gave her a half smile. "Kate was saying when all this is over, you should both have a mum's night out and we can stay home with the kids."

"Sounds good but let's just see what happens first." Sally replied to him.

A night out with Kate sounded good. Both Kate and Sally had completely different personalities and interests but they had become really close friends and not just because of the kids. Sally knew that Kate was good for Adam as well. She kept him grounded, called him out on his bull crap but she also accepted Adam for who he was and loved him as much as he loved her.

Adam finished his tea and they spent time talking and entertaining the two boys. Although it was mostly Ajay that was being entertained as James hadn't cracked a smile or laughed the whole time. After some time had passed, Adam's phone started ringing and he dug into his jacket pocket to answer it.

"Can you take him Sal?" Adam asked as he passed Ajay to her.

"Sure. Come and see Auntie Sally." Sally cooed to Ajay as she took him from Adam and Adam disappeared around the corner to talk on the phone.

As she adjusted Ajay on her lap, she tickled his cheek and Ajay let out a squeal of delight and she tickled his cheek again. Ajay was born a month after the twins but he was a big baby and looked the same age as the twins. As Ajay laughed Sally smiled at the sound of his baby laughter but she wished it was James's laugh instead of Ajay's that she was hearing. As Ajay kept laughing Sally looked over to see if James was laughing but instead he was slumped into Frank's chest and had lost interest the car keys.

"I think someone needs to go back to sleep." Sally said to Frank as she nodded at James.

"Yeah get him settled once Adam leaves." Frank replied as James yawned and rubbed his face with his hands.

"I'm gonna head back to sleep myself. You gonna join me?" Sally asked as she yawned as well.

"Normally I'd never say no to that but I wanna go out and get some fresh air. I need cigs as well." Frank said as he moved James from his lap and placed him over his shoulder hoping he would fall asleep.

"I'll just snuggle up with this one instead then." Sally said as rubbed James hand that was resting on Frank's shoulder.

Frank smiled at her as he rubbed James's back to help him drift off to sleep. If he told her where he was going, she probably wouldn't be able to sleep but was it worth lying to her? He would have to make his decision soon as Adam had finished his call and had walked back into the room.

"Everything ok?" Frank asked Adam as he continued to rub James's back hoping he would fall sleep.

"Yeah it was the coppers. They were asking how mum was and wanted to ask me, mum and Kate questions about Sarah's disappearance. I wanna be there when they talk to mum and Kate's managed to leave work early, so gonna meet the coppers with her at hospital in an hour." Adam said as went over to Sally and took Ajay from her.

"Hopefully she'll remember something today." Sally said hopefully as Ajay was lifted from her lap.

"Me to Sal." Adam said as he adjusted Ajay on his hip. "Right mate, let's get you dropped off at Auntie Rachel's." Adam cooed to his son.

"Tell your mum we'll pop in and see her soon." Sally said as she stood up off the couch to walk Adam out.

Frank stood up as well, taking care not to disturb his almost sleeping son on his shoulder.

"Will do. Let us know if the police have any more news or if me and Kate can do anything?" Adam replied as he reached the front door of the flat.

"We will. Tell Kate I'll speak to her later." Sally said as she opened the door for Adam.

"Yeah sure. Right Say bye to Uncle Frank and Auntie Sally. Your best mate's a bit tired to say bye." Adam as picked up Ajay's hand and waved back at Frank, Sally and James.

Ajay got excited by this and tried to wave back on his own as if to say "bye everyone. I'm going to Auntie Rachel's and I'm so excited. Talk to you later James."

"See you later." Frank said as he walked back into the flat and continued to rub James's back hoping he was sleeping now.

"Speak to you later. Bye." Sally said as she closed the door behind Adam once he left. Once it was closed, she walked back into the flat.

"Is he sleeping?" Frank asked her as she walked back into the flat.

Sally looked behind Frank's shoulder to check what state James was in. He was just about sleeping but he was still fighting to keep his eyes open.

"Just about. Another 5 minutes and he'll be out for the count." She replied as moved back to face Frank.

"Good. When he's asleep where am I gonna put him Sal?" Frank asked. He couldn't put James back in his crib as Sally didn't want to see Sarah's empty crib and he wouldn't be able to get James if he woke up as he was going out.

"His old Moses basket is in the cupboard. I'll put it back beside my side of the bed." Sally replied as walked over to one of the cupboards to the get the basket and put in their room.

As Sally walked away, Frank sat back down on one of the couches and kept rubbing James's back. Once she came back, he was going to tell her where he was really going. It might get her hopes up but it was better than lying to her. He didn't have to wait long as she came back pretty quickly.

"Not quite there yet." Sally said as she peered at James over Frank's shoulder and seen he was not fully asleep.

"Not be to much longer." Frank said as he thought of what to tell her. "Sal sit down a sec, I wanna talk."

Sally's face dropped. "Well this can't be good." She said as she sat down beside him.

"What?" Frank asked her as she sat down.

"You only tell me bad things when your holding a baby cause you know I can't shout or get angry at you." Sally replied as she glanced over his shoulder at James again.

"Lucky coincidence." Frank said with a half smile. "When we first found out Sarah was taken, part of me wondered if Jimmy has anything to do with it."

"I did wonder that as well. Do you think he could have done this to get your attention?" Sally asked with a slight shake in her voice.

"Not him directly but he may know something about it. The one thing I do know is that we can't tell the police he might be involved." Frank said choosing his words carefully.

"Ok so what do we do then?" Sally asked, as her face was full of pain and worry.

"I'm meeting him in half an hour. I'll find out if he knows anything or if he's involved. I didn't want to tell you encase it's a waste of time but I couldn't lie to you." Frank said he felt James go heavy on his shoulder.

Sally took a deep breathe but instead of answering Frank, she peered around his shoulder and seen that James was now fast asleep on his shoulder.

"He's out. Let's put him to bed." Sally replied as she got up off the couch and headed towards her and Frank's room.

Frank couldn't tell if she was angry, sad, happy or relieved but he didn't question her. Instead he slowly got off the couch and walked towards their bedroom with James still sleeping on his shoulder. Sally opened the bedroom door and let Frank walk in first. He went straight over to where Sally had placed the Moses basket beside the bed and gently placed James inside it. He carefully put a blanket on James that covered him from the waist down and once he was happy that his son was comfy and happy, he stood up to see Sally. Once he had stood up and turned around, Sally threw herself into his arms. Once the initial shock was over, he wrapped his arms tightly around her and held onto her.

"I get why you didn't want to tell me but I'm glad you did." Sally said to him after hugging for a few minutes.

"Like we said. No more secrets." Frank said as turned and kissed her cheek.

"You did the right thing. I just hope when you come back, you walk in with her in your arms." Sally replied as she hugged him tighter.

"Me to but try and sleep while I'm out." Frank said to her as he held her.

"I'll try." Sally replied as she loosened her hold on him.

Sensing that the meeting time was getting closer, Frank let go of Sally and walked out of her arms to get his jacket. He put on his grey hoodie and slipped his leather jacket over it as well.

"I'll be back soon. You need anything else while I'm out." Frank asked as he walked back over to her.

"No we've got everything." Sally said as he walked back over to her.

"See you in a bit. I love you." Frank replied as placed both his hands on either side of her face.

"I love you to. Be careful." Sally said back to him.

Frank moved his head towards her and their lips met as he gave her a long lingering kiss. As their lips parted, Frank gave her another quick kiss before removing his hands from her face and he walked out of the bedroom.

Sally heard him as he grabbed his phone, keys and wallet off one of the tables and heard the front door quietly open and then close again. She didn't need to latch the door as Frank could get back in himself and the door locked automatically.

Once she heard the door close, Sally let the tears that had built up in her eyes fall down her cheeks. Part of the reason for the tears was happiness. Frank had been honest with her again and it proved once again that she had done the right thing by choosing him and having his babies. The tears were also sad tears. Last night she dreamt of Sarah all night long but had hoped that when she spoke up it was just a horrible nightmare and it wasn't real but it wasn't. Today was proof that yesterday wasn't a nightmare and that she was still missing one of her babies. Hopefully the police would at least have a suspect today but Frank was speeding things up and she could only hope that when he came back, he would have Sarah in his arms.

Wiping the tears away, she lay down on top of the bed and turned so that she was facing James, so was still fast asleep. It was so good to see him not as clingy and sad today. He still wasn't his usually laughing and smiling self but it was way better than yesterday,

Happy that James was still asleep, she said her down on the pillow and slowly drifted off to sleep.

TO BE CONTINUED