Erin had been almost immediately rushed to a private room in the Emergency Department at the hospital, and Dave had been asked to wait for her to be admitted. When he had pressed the matter, filling in the doctor on why he needed to be with Erin, he had been told that security had already been informed and given pictures of John, saying that they would come get him as soon as she had her own room on a ward. Knowing it would be a fruitless battle, he had nodded, his shoulders sagging with defeat as he waited to hear or see his teammates.

He had been waiting for twenty minutes when his phone rang, and he fumbled with it, nearly dropping the device as he went to answer. "Hello?"

"Dave! I know that you're with Erin right now, but…"

Penelope's voice was frantic, and he wondered what was happening to send her into such a frenzy. "Slow down and tell me what's wrong, Kitten."

"We were right to be concerned about Alex. She was taken by Curtis."

"And how do we know this?"

"I found them on CCTV, and once I was certain that he had her, I used the tracking in her phone to find out where he had taken her. She's closer to your location than the rest of the team. I hate to ask this of you, but I know that you would want to know. Is Erin well enough so that you can leave her and rescue Alex?"

He let out a long, low, breath as he rubbed his hand over his goatee. "Let me go talk to someone in charge. Stay on the line."

"Of course."

Dave rose to his feet and made his way over to the room where they had taken Erin. The same doctor was currently speaking to a nurse, and he waggled his fingers to get the man's attention. "There's been no change yet, sir."

"I figured as much. However, there is something that needs my attention immediately. Will Erin be all right until I can get back to her?"

"She's made it this far, and it seems like she's a fighter. I would say that the odds are good that she'll pull through this, yes."

Dave nodded as he pulled out one of his cards, quickly scrawling Penelope's name and number on the back. "All right, I'll be headed out then. If there's any change to Erin's condition, either call me or the woman on the back of the card. And make certain that the security detail stays in place until we return. If there's a worry about cost, I will cover it."

"Of course, I hope that whatever you need to do goes well."

"So do I. Also? I'll need to get in touch with a cop, since I don't have a vehicle." The doctor beckoned someone over, and Dave was relieved to find it was an officer, and after showing him his badge, he quickly explained what he needed. "All right, Kitten, hit us with where we're going."

Her voice came over the phone, and the cop nodded as they rushed out to his patrol car. As they drove, he realized just how far out of the city they were going, and he wondered just where Curtis was heading. "The others are on their way, Dave, but it looks like they'll be about ten minutes behind you. I also have backup in the form of the local force, but you'll know what to look out for."

"Thank you, Kitten."

"And as soon as I'm off the phone with you, I'll be calling New Amsterdam to get an update on Erin, and I'll be texting you with news as it comes in to me. Again, please, stay safe out there, all of you. I do not want to have to tell Erin that you were hurt."

"I'll do my best, I promise."

"Okay. I'll hold you to that."

They hung up, and the officer in the driver's seat chuckled a little. "Is that your girlfriend?"

"Penelope? No. She's more like a daughter to me. The woman fighting for her life in the hospital is my fiancée, and I am heading away from her to rescue her best friend and hopefully take down the man who hurt them both." He nodded and a tense silence fell over the vehicle as they sped on into the night. Finally, they reached the dilapidated house that Alex's phone had pinged at, and he frowned a little as he gazed at the dark edifice.

The radio crackled to life, and he listened intently to the person speaking. "We'll be at your location in three minutes. Do not engage until backup arrives. Repeat, do not engage until backup arrives."

He frowned as his hand went for the handle, wanting to rush in there headlong. "Please, don't. If you want to make certain that there's even a chance to rescue your partner's best friend, we need to listen to reason."

Giving a little nod, he dropped his hand back into his lap and took a deep breath. "I just want to make everything right."

"You will. You don't get to where you are in the FBI if you weren't good at your job."

"Thanks, but waiting and patience are the least of my virtues. There was many a time, early in my career, where I just headed into a situation headlong, heedless of the danger I might place myself in. I suppose that I should think about my children and grandchild right now, though."

"Yes. Show me pictures while we wait, it might help you to be less keyed up."

He nodded sagely, opening up his photo app and clicking on the latest picture that Harriet had sent of Helena. "This is my baby, Helena. She's had a rough go at life, and needed a liver transplant a few months ago. She has a bit of me in her now, beyond my DNA, and I am so glad that I was able to give her the gift of life."

"She's beautiful," the officer said before looking back up at him. "You truly lucked out, there."

"I did, yeah. I am so lucky that this little one is in my life, and I cannot wait until we're home and can cuddle her once more." He then started showing the young man pictures of the kids, and he found that his suggestion was right, by talking about the ones he loved so dearly, he was able to better focus and collect himself as he waited to hear the sirens come up behind them. To his surprise, though, there was no typical indication that the cavalry had arrived, the only indication was headlights coming up the drive.

Instantly, his nerves keyed up once more, and he looked at the officer, giving him a small nod as he clambered from the car, not surprised to see that Derek had managed to somehow fly up there, parking next to their squad car and hopping from the vehicle. "Are you ready to head in, Rossi?"

"I've been ready since I heard the news. Let's do this, and bring Alex to the hospital so that she can recover next to Erin, just in case anything's happened to her." Derek nodded sharply and they took off for the house, their hands going for their guns as they headed in.