Annabel Bradey felt like her tears were hypocritical as she heard his words echo around her mind. He had taken her back into his embrace, holding her as tightly as he dared given her fragile appearance. Being able to feel his chest moving with every breath was oddly reassuring to Annabel, who had had this exact dream so many times. Her fists tightened their grip on his jacket, afraid that the man would slip through her fingers at any point.

She was aware that her disappearance had caused him such pain, yet she was the one sobbing into his jacket. Had she have tried harder, or been stronger, she was sure she could have returned to him sooner. In that moment she knew, her short comings had not only been her undoing but those she loved too. Annabel was unsure why Aaron had held onto her for all those years, it would have been much easier for him to forget her and move on.

Thinking about the last time he had saw her, Aaron didn't care about the argument they had had that day. He didn't care about the names she had called him; nor did he linger on the way her voice had been laced with a poisonous tone, that unknown to him had been circling around in her mind since the day she had been captive. All that Aaron was thinking about at that moment was how lucky he was to have her back in his arms, where he could keep her safe.

She had known him to be overprotective of her, always shielding her when she was cornered at her locker in High School, but she had never been aware of how much his protective nature comforted her. She was sure that Jack must be fearless with Aaron as his father. Every time he found himself in an embrace, similar to the one she was in at that very moment, she knew the boy must have realised that no matter what his father would save him.

She felt him let out a larger breath, but his voice didn't turn harsh at all. There was a softness that she had never heard before, as he whispered his comforts, she assumed it was a side effect of being a father. One thing she knew for sure was that his voice made her feel too safe, he was disarming her without even trying.

"I told Jack about you," He stated, causing Annabel to pull away from him with a slight smile on her face. "When we light a candle for Haley, we would always light one for you. And then, yesterday, Jessica showed him an old photo album she had found while cleaning out the loft, and he started asking questions."

Letting out a shaky breath, she asked, "Can I meet him?"

Aaron was silent for a moment, wanting more than anything to introduce his childhood friend to his son. She would have been his Godmother had nothing have happened, so he knew that it was only right he introduced Annabel to Jack. However, he had lost his mother already and he didn't want to risk introducing someone who could cause him to feel the same loss again.

"Everything is safe, Aaron," She explained, in a tone that told him that she was trying just as hard to convince herself as she was him. "They think I'm dead, that was how I got out."

"Annie, where have you been?" He asked, finally catching the courage he needed to ask that question. She moved her gaze looking at her hands and shaking her head, her hand was trembling again, and her breath had quickened. Taking her hands, Aaron reassured, "You're safe, Annie. This is a building filled with federal agents, no-one can get to you here."

She continued to shake her head, her lips trembling as she stammered through her sentences, "I wanted to come home. I-I want to come back so badly, but he wouldn't let me."

"Who's 'he'?" Aaron asked, not wanting to push too much. He wasn't sure that the woman was stable, her eyes were wide with fear as continued to speak about the man who she had been "Annie, I want to help you."

"He wanted me to do things, bad things." She rambled, not having heard Aaron's question. "I wouldn't do them, and he, he, didn't like it, Aaron. He didn't like me having a conscience."

Placing his hand on the side of her face, Aaron let his thumb trace her cheekbone as he whispered, "It's okay, Annie. He's not here, you're safe."

She nodded as her eyes moved to take in the man before her, having not taken the moment to take in how he had changed. She noticed that, despite the aging in his features, you could still see the boy she had grown up with in his eyes. Growing up, there were moments that they had been etched into a harsh glare, but they were most commonly as soft as they were in that moment. Annabel saw familiarity in his eyes, even if they had lost the shine she had been so used to seeing.

For a moment, Aaron met her gaze, she saw the slight smile form at the corner of his eyes. That was another thing that hadn't changed, Aaron rarely let a smile manifest physically onto his face, especially when he was trying to be strong for someone else. She had seen it when he had run to her house that night, when she ran out, he didn't let a smile spread across his face no matter how relieved he had been.

"I want you to stay with me Annie." Aaron announced, catching Annabel off guard with his question. She began to speak but her words got caught in her throat. "I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I didn't do everything I could to make sure you were safe. I've lost you once before, and I won't lose you again."

Nodding her head, Annabel whispered, "Okay."