A\N: HazelI'd wrote this chapter and I think she did a pretty amazing job. She's pretty busy with real life right now so that's why the wait was longer then usual. We both hope everyone enjoys this chapter.

Disclaimer: Neither of us own anything.

Spoilers: None

Warnings: None

Chapter 7

When the case finally broke, it was in the most unlikely of was. Jacinda Almora was one of several officers who had been working the NYPD tip line for the past week. It wasn't the most exciting work for a young police officer completing her eighteen month probationary period, but it wasn't without its moments. THe past few days certainly had been busy, with the news of the kidnapping of the children of two former district attorneys. The calls had been coming hot and heavy from all over the five boroughs and stretching out across the country to the missing childrens' home state of California. And while the volume of calls had been steady, none of them had yet to lead to any viable information as to their current whereabouts.

As another call came in, Jacinda returned her focus to the computer screen in front of her, ready to log the call.

"NYPD Tip Line. Please be advised, you do not have to give your name or identify yourself in anyway."

There was a long pause, then a feminine voice, shaking with fear that Jacinda found palpable even over the phone, began to speak.

"I think I know where Marcus Woll has those kids."

From there, the wheels turned round at lightning speed. The frightened voice on the other end of the tip line, it turned out, belonged to Kaylin Dow, a graduate student from Hudson University. She had quite a story to tell, and soon found herself in an interrogation room at the 27th Precinct, sitting opposite Detective Cyrus Lupo.

Lupo listened attentively as the young woman spoke. Kaylin had been finishing the last semester of her first year of grad school in the criminal psychology program at Hudson. As such, she had been chosen for an internship with a local psychologist, Dr. Palmer GIbson, who frequently worked in coordination with the department of corrections. Kaylin told Lupo about the visits she had begun making to the prisons - Attica, Rikers, to observe and assist with some of the group therapy sessions.

It was during one such visit that Kaylin's path crossed with that of Marcus Woll.

Kaylin had studied many cases in both her undergrad and gradute work. From the most heinous serial killers to leaders of organized crime, she learned much about the workings of the criminal mind.

But she had never met anyone like Marcus Woll.

Their moments together were brief. Kaylin would excuse herself to use the restroom before they began their trip back to the city. Dr. Gibson, who had an awfully high opinion of himself and looked upon these university students as a somewhat bothersome task that netted him little more than unpaid labor to complete the worst of his "grunt work," paid little mind to her, and barely noticed that these little breaks away soon increased in both frequency and duration.

Woll had charmed her. He had convinced her that he was innocent, a victim of a broken justice system. Kaylin didn't realize how she had been manipulated until she saw his face on television when news of the kidnapping broke. And she realized the part that she had played, when she managed to keep her visitor's badge one week. The following day, she had returned to the prison on her own.

"He somehow managed to get his hands on street clothes" Kaylin surmised, tears filling her voice. "All we had to do was wait for the shift change, and then walk right out together."

Lupo leaned across the table. "Kaylin, listen to me. Woll manipulated you. He confused you. But you can still help us." The young woman's tears started to fall more quickly. "You said on the tip line that you knew where he took the kids. Now I need you to tell me what you know."

Kaylin scrubbed at her eyes. She knew she was in trouble. She knew her career was likely over before it had even started, but the lives of two innocent children were at stake. She placed her hands flat on the table in front of her, not meeting Lupo's eyes as she spoke.

"He talked about a cabin upstate," Kaylin finally looked up and met the detective's eyes. "I think he has them there."

With the sun not yet peeking above the horizon, little Claire Cutter was trying as hard as she could not to burst into tears once again. Not because she wasn't scared or she didn't miss her mommy and daddy, but because she didn't want the Bad Man to start yelling at her again.

That's how she thought of him now - the Bad Man. Not Mr. Marcus, who had seemed so nice when they first met him in the park. It was a long, long time ago not. Claire wondered where Mommy was, when Daddy would come, and if Maddie was okay.

James Cutter was wondering the same things, but he was also hungry.

The twins both jumped and looked up as the Bad Man entered the room. They wanted to once again pepper him with questions because they had so many, but they had learned the hard way - that only made him mad.

"Hi guys!" Woll addressed the children, a wide but insincere smile spread across his face. He had, admittedly, little experience with children of any age, but Marcus and been ill-prepared to deal with the neediness of toddlers.

Not much longer now, he thought to himself. He knew without a doubt, that Mike Cutter and Connie Rubirosa would waste no time chasing him across the country. He was sure they were already in New York. It's almost time to make them pay the ultimate price.

"I'm hungry," James finally spoke.

"And I want to go outside," Claire added.

Woll's eyes hardened as the twins both began whining at once, their volume only increasing as the spoke. He turned away from them, heading toward the kitchen, distracted for a moment by their incessant noise. He failed to hear the banging on the door until it was too late.

"MARCUS WOLL! THIS IS THE NYPD! COME OUT WITH YOUR HANDS UP!"

Before Marcus could formulate the thought that he had stupidly left his gun in the bedroom, the door had been breached. Three officers rushed in, weapons drawn, as Claire made a bee line out. Woll reached out to grab at James, know that having a hostage was his only hope at this point, but he quickly learned another truth about toddlers - they could be very fast when the wanted to.

Woll cowered on the floor, the three officers hovering over his as he saw Kevin Bernard and Cyrus Lupo approach. Lupo help Claire in one arm, holding out the other to James who was just peeking out from the bathroom. James ran across the room to them as Bernard pulled his handcuffs from his belt.

"Marcus Woll, you are under arrest."

In the hour just before dawn, the battling ringtones of the cell phones belonging to Mike and Connie simultaneously cut through the silence in the room around them, followed moments later by the ringing of Peter Stone's own cell phone as well as the Stone's home phone. Though they had barely closed their eyes for more than a few minutes' time during the past few days, Mike and Connie were each fully awake in an instant, fumbling in the unfamiliar surroundings to find their respective phones and turn on lamps perched on bedside tables. Connie was a half second faster answering the call when she saw on the screen that it was from Anita Van Buren than Mike was answering his own call from Cyrus Lupo.

But they received the long awaited for good news at almost the same time.

Connie gasped. Mike reached blindly behind himself, searching for her hand, which she immediately grasped in her own. They turned to each other, eyes filling with tears of relief as Peter appeared in the doorway, Anna right behind him. Peter watched in silence, his arm sliding around his wife's waist to pull her close as Mike and Connie each finished their calls. Mike finally turned to look at Connie. She held one hand tightly over her mouth, as if holding in the tears that threatened to fall. Mike reached out and pulled her into his arms, murmured soothingly into her ear.

"It's alright, babe. They're okay now. We've got them back."

Peter, who couldn't make out the words whispered between his friends, called out softly from the doorway. "Mike?"

Mike turned to look at them, Connie still in his arms, and gave them a watery smile. "They found the kids. They're okay."

Mike and Connie found themselves being driven by Peter to JFK, where the three of them hopped the first flight to Syracuse. Thankfully, there was a flight leaving within thirty minutes of their arrival. They were expedited through security with the help of the NYPD, and were soon in the air. The flight was a quick one, but still seemed endless to the worried parents. Still, in less than an hour, they were once again on the ground and on their way to Golisano Children's Hospital. Mike had placed a call to Jack as they sped their way towards the hospital, towards their children.

"No, we just were able to talk to the chief resident for a few minutes, but she said the kids are okay," Mike told him, "The detectives just wanted to be sure, so they took them to get checked."

"Mike, that's great news!" Jack replied. "I let Maddie and Andy know as soon as they wake up."

"Tell them we love them, and that we'll call them as soon as we can," Mike said, smiling over at Connie as he relayed the message she had asked Mike to give Jack.

"I will," he agreed. Jack was silent for a beat before finally asking, "Mike, what happened to Woll."

A muscle in Mike's cheek twitched as he tightened his jaw. "He's currently being held at the Onondago County Justice Center. Peter's with us and he's going there as soon as we are back with the kids."

Peter Stone glanced over his shoulder at his friends in the backseat of the cab as he heard his name. While he was beyond relieved that the worst of the nightmare was over for his friends, Peter knew that his job was really only beginning.

They had known from the get-go that Woll was on the hook for attempted murder and aggrivated kidnapping. What they had only recently discovered, was that during the first night, Woll had made a late night stop at an out of the way gas station. When the young man behind the counter had started asking too many questions, Woll uncharacteristically panicked. Standing in the deserted convenience store in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night, Woll made a split second decision. He shot the kid, barely out of his teens, leaving him for dead on the floor behind the counter. By the time his coworkers arrived in the morning for their next shift, it was too late. He was gone.

Peter knew the laws in California. He knew If murder or another specified crime happens during a kidnapping, the prosecutor can charge the defendant with first degree murder using the felony murder rule. Peter also knew that a murder conviction for homicide during a kidnapping in California can result in a sentence of life imprisonment without parole or the death penalty.

Peter had mentioned this to Mike and Connie when they had first arrived in the city, and he remembered Connie's strong reaction. He knew there were some difficult conversations and decisions ahead. But for the time being, Peter decided to focus on the fact that in a matter of minutes he would have the opportunity to bear witness to a beautiful reunion.

The taxi had barely stopped before Connie threw the backdoor open and sprinted toward the entrance of the Pediatric Emergency Department at Golisano Children's Hospital. Mike was right behind her as the entered the lobby. They both stopped short, looking around to get their bearings, trying to decide what to do next, when Anita Van Buren appeared at their sides.

"Mike, Connie," she said, grabbing their attention. "The kids are just fine, they are back here in an observation room." She smiled slightly. "Lupo and Bernard haven't let them out of their sight since we found them," she said, taking Connie's arm and leading them through a door into the treatment area of the Emergency Department.

Mike had about a hundred questions running through his mind that he knew he needed to ask. Questions about where the kids had been found, how they had gotten from Los Angeles to upstate New York, and most pointedly, where was Marcus Woll now? He knew from talking to Peter that the man was in custody, and right now, maybe that was enough. Mike looked over Connie's shoulder as Anita led them around a curtained area, where Mike heard two beautiful and sorely missed voices call out almost in unison.

"Mommy! Daddy!"

The rest of the room seemed to fade away. They barely noticed Lupo, Bernard, and Van Buren slip silently from the area. They heard none of the normal bustle and noise of a busy emergency room. All Mike and Connie saw and all they heard were their children. The crossed the space between them in two large steps and then, finally, once again held their babies in their arms.

"Mommy, you're squishing me!" James protested. Connie couldn't help but laugh through her tears. She released him just enough to look down into his brown eyes, kissing his forehead.

"I'm sorry baby," she said in a tremulous voice.

"Daddy, why are you and Mommy crying?" Claire asked from her spot on Mike's lap, reaching up to pat his cheek.

Mike, too, couldn't help but laugh. He took Claire's little hand in his, kissing her palm. "We just missed you both so much, and we are so glad that you're both okay and that we are here with you again."

That seemed to satisfy Claire. She looked over at Connie, a deadly serious look on her little face, "Mommy, Mr. Marcus was a bad man."

Connie reached out to caress her daughter's cheek. "I know, But he's not going to get anywhere near you ever again."

"Is Maddie okay?" James suddenly asked.

"Yes, buddy, Maddie is okay. We'll all call her and Andy if a little while," Mike reassured him.

"Maddie tried to make the bad men go away," James said. "She tried hard."

Connie hugged him close. "We know she did. She was so brave, and you and Claire were very brave, too."

"Mommy, can we go it smells here."

Departure from the hospital didn't happen as quickly as any of them would have liked. Mike and Connie talked to the attending physician, who assured them that the twins were just fine. They had both been given complete check ups and it was determined that the ordeal with Woll had left them with no physical harm. Mike thought he could detect the first signs of the emotional effects when Claire pressed as close to him as she could, hiding her face in his chest when a male nurse came into the room. Luckily, this reticence around others did not extend to the two detectives, who Claire and James now looked on as their own personal super heroes. Mike and Connie both stayed very close, and they were also happy to see Daddy's friend Peter, who arrived just as the detectives began gently questioning the twins to get their official statements. Luckily, with Woll already in custody, there wasn't too much that they needed from the kids.

When they were finally released from the hospital, Mike and Connie were both surprised to see the sun setting low in the horizon as the exited the emergency department, realizing that the entire day had gone by. The kids had been troopers through the day, but Mike and Connie could tell that they were quickly nearing the end of their ropes. Rather than heading to the airport to get a flight back to the city, they decided to just get a hotel room in Syracuse for the night.

The first order of business once they checked in was ordering room service, consisting of a grilled cheese sandwich for Claire and a plate of pancakes for James. While they waited for their dinner, Connie grabbed her phone to place a most important call.

Maddie answered on the first ring. "Mom?" She asked anxiously.

"Yes, sweetheart, it's me," Connie answered.

"Are James and Claire okay?"

"They are just fine," Connie told her, hearing an audible sigh of relief from the other end of the line. "Hang on just a minute, I'm going to put you on speaker phone."

Maddie held her breath for just a second, then finally began to breathe again when she heard, "Hi Maddie!"

Maddie sagged with relief at the dining room table in her home, Jack and Andy sitting to either side of her. "Hi guys," she answered.

The conversation continued long enough for James and Claire to check in with everyone and assure them that they were missed dearly. Everyone laughed when Claire asked if they could have another big party like Maddie's birthday when they got home. By the time the twins' dinner arrived, Connie was just wrapping up the call, speaking with Maddie again one on one.

"I'm so sorry," Maddie whispered, her voice tight with tears. "I can't believe I let this happen, that I did something so stupid."

"Maddie," Connie said gently, catching Mike's eye as he sat nearby helping the twins cut their food up into bite sized pieces. "You didn't do this sweetheart. We all know who is responsible for this, and it is NOT you."

"I know, but,"

"No, stop right there," Connie interrupted. "Listen, I know how much you love your brother and sister, and I know that you are feeling some guilt right now. But you are not responsible for this. And the one who is, will never be able to hurt us again. All you need to remember for now is this - we love you, always."

Connie knew it would take many more conversations like this to convince Maddie that what they were trying to tell her was the truth. She and Mike switched places, passing him the phone as she took over with the twins. When Mike finally disconnected the call, there was a knock at their hotel room door. Peter smiled at his friend as Mike ushered him into the room, his smile widening as he took in the scene before him.

"Hey guys, looks good," Peter told the twins, glancing down at their plates. The twins just smiled as they continued eating. Peter looked over at Mike. "Um, do you have a few minutes that we could talk?"

Mike looked over at Connie, who simply nodded. "Sure," he said, gesturing toward the door.

The two men made their way to the elevator in silence. They found a quiet corner of the lobby and sat down facing each other. Peter broke the silence.

"I've been in contact with the Los Angeles DA's office," he began. "Right now we have Woll on two counts of aggravated kidnapping for the twins, one count of attempted murder for Maddie, and one count of murder for the convenience store clerk. He's being held here in Syracuse until we can get him transported to LA."

"I want to see him," Mike cut in.

"Mike," Peter sighed. He had expected this, and while he didn't think it was a good idea, he saw a steely resolve in his friend's eyes. He also knew that, were he in Mike's place, he, too, would want to confront the man who had brought so much harm to his family. He finally nodded. "Tomorrow morning," he said. "We're going to try to get him back in LA by the end of the week. I know you're probably anxious to get home, but I think you should consider staying in New York until he's been arraigned, You're all more than welcome to stay with us. Might be good for the kids to get some time with Benji and Charlotte."

Mike agreed absently, his mind already thinking of the confrontation with Woll that awaited him tomorrow. "Mike," Peter interrupted his thoughts, "there's something else we'll need to talk about."

Mike looked up at his friend, and could see in his eyes what Peter meant. "The death penalty?" he asked.

Peter shrugged, "The death of the store clerk makes him eligible. It is something we need to discuss, but I know Connie has strong feelings about it. Look, it's not something that needs to be decided, or something you even need to be thinking about right now. I just wanted to put it on your radar."

Mike simply nodded. Both men stood, and Mike reached out to shake his friend's hand. "Peter, thank you."

Peter dismissed his thanks with a shake of his head as the two men headed back upstairs. Peter retired to his room, as Mike made his way on down the hall. He slid the key card into the slot and opened the door quietly, just in case Connie was trying the settle the twins down to sleep. Mike moved farther into the room, and stopped short, his heart tightening with gratitude at the scene before him.

Connie was sound asleep on the bed, James and Claire tucked in tightly on either side of her. Connie had her arms wrapped protectively around her babies. Mike knew, it would be the most peaceful sleep his wife had had in days.

TBC

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