AN – Thanks for the comments! I appreciate them. I know some of you don't like Jake in the mob, but that was part of the original premise of the request for the story.

I'm just another warning again that Patient 6's experience is not going to differ much from the show version for a while, so don't expect him to quickly run after Liz. That wouldn't be realistic.

Chapter 13

Patient 6 makes his way through several hallways and then made it outside and then slipped onto a landing, trying to find a way to get out of the area fast. He is barefoot, which gives him a disadvantage considering it is cold there, but his mind is not on his comfort, instead, it's on his freedom. At the top of a stairwell, he spots a man and briefly pauses before deciding to move by him.

The man clears his throat and grabs Patient 6's arm causing him to react and wrestle out of his grip.

The man smiles and in Russian says he meant no harm and he must be cold with no shoes.

"I don't speak Russian."

"My English not good. Why no shoes?"

"I had to leave without them."

"This place you leave, not good?"

"No."

"Can I help?"

"Where is the train station?"

The man's brow raises. "How will you pay?"

"I'll figure it out."

Patient 6 looks over the landing to make sure he isn't being followed.

"Please, just show me the way."

"It's long walk and need shoes."

"You have something that will fit me?"

"I am priest and we get donations. Something will fit. Come."

Patient 6 looks around again. "I can do this on my own."

"God disagrees. I will help. Come."

Patient 6 nods and then follows the man hopefully, to his freedom.

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Liz moves towards the stairs. "Jake! You're going to be late."

Jake rushes down the stairs. His hair is longer, choosing to have longer hair like his father did when he was with his mom, and he is wearing a black t-shirt and jeans. Liz swears he is just trying to drive her crazy.

"I put some pastries in a bag."

He kisses her on the cheek. "Thanks, mom." He is off to a training session.

Aidan rushes behind him and kisses her too. "Later, mom."

"Later."

They take off and Liz grabs her keys and heads to the shop. Just as she gets out of her car, her phone flies out of her purse and slides into the middle of the street. "Damn," she says before starting to retrieve it.

Not paying attention, she takes a few steps and then someone grabs her and yanks her back.

"You should pay better attention," he said in Italian.

She grimaces when she spots her crushed phone.

He gently releases her and then lifts his arms as a guard makes his presence known.

"I meant no harm."

She spins around and almost gulps. He is devastatingly handsome.

He smiled. "I'm Antonio."

"Hi."

Chuckling, he runs his hand through his hair which flashes his wedding ring. "And you are?"

She sputtered. "I—um—Elizabeth."

"Bella… It was nice meeting you. Be more careful next time."

She nods as he moves towards a sports car and then gets in.

"You're drooling," Johnny said moving forward. He had been getting some pastries down the street.

"I think a bit of drool was called for."

"I'm glad you still have a pulse. I was questioning it since clearly, I'm drool-worthy too."

"Smartass…"

He looked behind her. "Ouch. What did that phone do to you?"

She rolled her eyes. "Nothing. I guess I'll need a new one." He probably thinks she deserved that.

"I'm on it."

She moves to the door. "What a way to start my day."

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Griffin is in Russia at the church looking for Ava and gives Patient 6 his phone.

Patient 6 moved to the back of the small church and dialed.

Jason picked up. "Hello?"

"Hello?"

Before he can engage, some men enter the church and he ends the call and hides behind a wooden pew.

"We're looking for a patient. He's a little shorter than you with blue eyes."

"I saw him, but he ran out," the priest said.

They seem satisfied with his answer and leave.

Patient 6 stands and hands Griffin back his phone.

"You can use it again."

Patient 6 shakes his head. "It's okay."

"I'm looking for a clinic."

"Drive to fork and make a right onto a dirt road."

"Thank you."

Griffin takes out his wallet. "Let me give you some money."

"I can't—"

"Please…" Griffin hands him some cash and then leaves.

When he shows up at Ava's room a half-hour later, he explained how he had managed to drug Klein to keep him occupied.

"How did you find me?"

"I met a man in a church."

She is stunned that he found her but so grateful.

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The priest joins Patient 6.

"You can't take train."

"Why? I can afford a ticket now." Patient 6 holds up the cash.

"You need papers."

Patient 6 sighs.

"There's another way—a boat to America."

Patient 6 considers his options. Maybe the boat is the answer and a more direct route.

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Back at the hospital, Griffin makes sure it's clear.

"We can leave."

"What were they going to do you?"

"I'm not sure, but Klein was distracted by another patient who escaped."

"American with medium brown hair and very blue eyes?"

Griffin frowned. "How did you know?"

"Lucky guess…"

"He told me where to find you."

She is immediately concerned. "Is he okay?"

"Yes. Where is your passport?"

"It's locked in a room down the hall."

Griffin pulls out a card. "I took this from Klein."

She grins when she realizes it's Klein's keycard. "I'm impressed, Father. Maybe there is still hope for you."

She takes it from him and rushes down the hallway to retrieve her documents.

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The priest introduces Patient 6 to the owner of the boat.

"He will take you."

"Let me give you some money."

"He won't take. He does it for God."

Patient 6 moves his hand towards the priest. "Then you take it."

The Priest holds up his hands. "No, you have greater need."

"Thank you."

There is a knock on the door, and then someone demands that they open up.

"We're searching for an escaped mental patient. Let us in."

"Is there another way out?" Patient 6 asked.

"Yes, go through there," he said pointing.

"Not for me, for you. I don't want you hurt. They will come in here and beat you and destroy everything."

"You don't understand."

Harsh knocking fills the room. "Open up now. This is your last chance."

"Go!" Patient 6 said.

"I cannot let you fight in house of God. He has helped you. Don't repay in violence. Go now."

"Thank you." Patient 6 goes around the corner but doesn't leave just in case."

The Priest opens the door.

"We're looking for an escaped patient."

"An American?"

"We know he was here. We can't involve the police."

"You can call if you want, but you can see there is no one here."

"We'll see." One of the men moves away to search and does not find Patient 6 and the Priest is relieved.

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Ava manages to leave the hospital with Griffin, and they get on a plane going home.

"I can't believe we got out of there."

He gives her a drink.

"Weren't you scared?"

"Yes. I was scared to death."

"Well, now you don't have to be afraid at all."

The stewardess comes on. "Ladies and gentlemen, we've been detained for some kind of security issue."

Panic fills Ava's eyes.

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Patient 6 heads to the boat and is led to a room.

"Thank you."

"Until underway, don't leave this level."

"Where is this ship headed?"

"New York." He leaves and Patient 6 lets out a sigh of relief. He's finally heading home.

Unfortunately, a man sneaks up behind him and tries to strike.

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Liz takes the phone from Johnny. "Thanks."

"You're welcome. Try not to let it commit suicide again."

She smirked. "I will try to be more careful. So, you look like you want to say something."

"I do. Listen, things might start to get dicey."

She frowns. "Are we in danger?"

"I hope not, but I can't guarantee that you are under the radar. People know you are associated with Maximus now. It's not a secret."

She nodded. "Is it an enemy?"

"Yes."

She motions for him to sit at a table and she joins him.

"I can't tell you everything, but let's just say it's an old nemesis."

"That's cryptic."

"They've had a beef for a long time."

"Are the boys safe in school?"

"Yes." Aidan knows basic self-defense. Liz had pushed back at first but later decided that it's smart that he learn just in case. Jake is scrappy. He's lean, but muscular and is more highly trained. He works out with the guards and knows how to shoot and use a knife.

"What about Cam?"

"I put an extra guard on him."

"I guess you have your bases covered then?"

Johnny smiled. "I do as long as you don't ditch."

"When have I ever done that?"

She looks so cute when she is miffed. Sometimes she still gets moody about Jake, but she had calmed to a degree.

"Never, but you do have a rep from back in the day."

"Very funny… Can you at least show me who I'm dealing with in case they come by for some brownies."

"I'll show you later. Now, get to work, you slacker."

She smacked him on the arm as she stood and then headed into the kitchen.

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Since the security threat was a false alarm, Ava and Griffin talk things over.

"I came to find you because I felt like it was partly my fault that you went to the clinic. I sent you mixed signals and I shouldn't have gone there, so I had to make it right."

"You wanted to apologize for rejecting me?"

"Yes. I'm sorry."

"Wow."

"That's not the only reason I came."

She searches his eyes for answers and what she sees scares her a little.

"I care about you."

"Like you do for many of your flock?"

"I don't have one of those, but I have you and I don't want to lose you."

"Lose me? I—I don't understand."

"I don't want to lose our friendship. It probably isn't enough for you, but I can't say more right now."

She is slightly disappointed but feels there are deeper feelings there then he's willing to admit. "Okay. It's enough."

"So, was I right about the reason you went to the clinic?"

"Your interest gave me hope that maybe I could somehow be redeemed. When you pushed me away, I had it in my head that if I became the woman I was then maybe it would change things. I wanted to be a better person on the inside too."

"You shouldn't have risked your life to save someone you didn't even know."

She chuckled. "I kind of blew my chances of full recovery with that one. It's too late now. I guess this is who I am now and I'll just have to deal with it."

"Did you do it because you wanted to help someone or because you gave up and didn't care about the consequences?"

"I wasn't trying to hurt myself. I was just curious. When I realized they were drugging him so badly, I felt like I needed to help him."

"Why?"

"You shouldn't be impressed. I didn't do that much. I got him to write a phone number. I wasn't a hero. Patient 6 was handcuffed to a bed and was trying to pick the lock and it fell. I gave it back to him. That's it. He did the rest."

"You helped him. You're just being modest."

She chuckled not used to being praised.

"You saved his life and it sounds like that helped save you too."

"Karma?"

"Maybe it was divine intervention. He led me to the clinic and I did meet him in a church."

"How did you know where to start looking?"

"Sonny."

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Patient 6 manages to knock the other man out and then ties him to a chair. He does some pushups until the man stirs.

"Who the hell are you?"

Patient 6 stares at him. People will probably never realize just how much he takes in when he's focused.

"Why did you attack me?"

"I didn't."

"Then why am I tied up."

"You attacked me with a pipe and that can't happen again."

Patient 6 held out the pipe.

"I am trying to escape from some unsavory characters and I thought they had followed me here and you were one of them. Considering your girth, you can understand why I would form that conclusion." He struggles against the ropes. "I suppose we should probably greet one another. I am Huxley Lynch. And you are?"

Patient 6 doesn't move. It's better to let the man ramble so he can get a feel for him. His clipped accent is annoying though.

"The strong and silent type, eh? I was on a business trip, but my investments didn't pay off and they tried to blame me for Brexit."

"Brexit?"

"It's a British exit from the EU. How can you not know that? Don't you have an interest in things other than so-called celebrities and gossip like most Americans?"

When Patient 6 still doesn't answer, Huxley rolled his eyes.

"Clearly, you are not fond of the English language. This is going to be a long ride. Could I at least persuade you to remove the ropes?"

Patient 6 stood. "I'll let you stretch your legs."

"Oh, thank you."

"Then I'll have to tie you back up so I can sleep."

"You are perfectly safe with me."

"If you are tied up…"

"You have nothing to fear from me. In fact, I will show my gratitude by sharing. Look in the bag over there and you are welcome to whatever I have."

Patient 6 rummaged through the bag and picked up a newspaper and is shocked as he stared at the date.

"What is this?"

"It's a newspaper."

"The date—it can't be right." His stomach acid builds as he tries to process it.

"Of course not, I bought it a week ago."

"This can't be. Are you telling me that it's 2019?"

Huxley is confused.

A minute passes before Patient 6 numbly picks up the phone.

"I'm sorry, but there is no cell reception here."

Patient 6 spots the date on the phone and whispers, "It's been seven years."

"What do you mean?"

Almost dropping the phone as if it had burnt him, Patient 6 starts to hand it over.

"You'll have to untie me."

"Don't try anything."

"I won't."

"I'm very serious. I'm a little messed up right now and I could kill you without meaning too." Not only is his body still trying to adjust from being off the drugs, but now, he must come to grips with how much time he has lost. While his memories of his former life are returning, most of the last seven years are a complete blur to him and that is unnerving.

"I am no fool. I won't tempt fate a second time."

Patient Six eyes him for a long moment and then unties him, prompting Huxley to unlock the phone.

"I just need to see the dates on the pictures." He needs more proof. Huxley could be a plant. It's clear he's some sort of a conman and can lie as he breathes. He can understand why someone would want to kill the man if only to shut him up.

Patient Six searches the phone as Huxley chatters away. His breath is shallow, and pain shot through him as tears prick his eyes. How can this be? How can he be missing so much time? What happened to him?

Noticing his change in demeanor, Huxley is intrigued. "What is so important about that date?"

"I ran into trouble and lost track of time." Patient Six can barely breathe as the room goes in and out of focus. Nothing makes sense and he has a feeling that this won't be the last time he feels so overwhelmed.

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Ava is surprised. "Sonny helped you?"

"I needed his resource, so I went to him and pled my case. When I arrived, he was dealing with some mysterious phone call from his private line that originated in Russia. I narrowed it down to near your clinic."

"That's insane. Oh, my God!"

"What?"

"That's who Patient 6 called."

"That's a big leap."

"Everything about this is crazy."

"Sonny thinks you're working with his enemies."

She sighed. "Well, I guess I deserve that." There is no love between them. The hatred is strong.

"Somehow, Patient 6 knows Sonny. What a small world," Griffen said.