Jonathan sat in the back with Jessalynn, and Rachel and Jack sat up front.
They had an easy drive, and made it back to Los Angeles without hardly any traffic.
"Honey, can you drop me off at the house?"
"Yeah, why?"
"I don't think Jennifer will want to see me".
"Rachel, I've been thinking. You bringing Jessalynn into the house might be just the thing to snap Jennifer out of it".
"You think so? I don't want to make her uncomfortable".
"I promise you she will be so overjoyed she won't have time to be uncomfortable".
"Just give it a shot, baby".
"Ok. I hope she will at least talk to me".
"I'm sure she will".
They pulled up to the house, and parked.
"Ok, I'm going to go inside, and get her. Once I get her downstairs, I'll open the door and you can bring Jessalynn in".
Rachel nodded.
She got Jessalynn out of her car seat, and held her for a few moments.
"I know your mommy can't wait to see you, and give you tons and tons of kisses and a bath and do your hair".
Jessalynn was clinging tight to Rachel's shirt.
Jack could tell Rachel was nervous.
"It's going to be ok, babe."
"I hope so. If she doesn't at least talk to me after this, I don't think she ever will".
***Upstairs***
Jonathan came in the house, and saw Max in the living room.
"Where's Jennifer?"
"She ain't been down all day, Mr. H."
He headed upstairs to get her, and found her lying in bed.
"Darling, are you awake?"
"Unfortunately, yes".
"Can you come downstairs with me, please?"
"For what?"
"I need to tell you something and show you something and it has to take place downstairs".
"Jonathan, I'm really not in the mood".
"Just trust me, ok?"
"Fine".
She got up and made herself presentable and then followed him downstairs.
"Ok, darling, stay there".
"Jonathan, this is insane".
"Just stay there".
He opened the door, and Rachel was standing on the other side with Jessalynn.
"How…?"
"I'll explain everything, darling".
Jennifer teared up and reached for Jessalynn, who was reaching for her.
"Hi sweetheart! Momma missed you so, so much".
She took her and they immediately went to sit on the couch.
Jonathan came over and sat next to them, and Rachel and Jack sat on the opposite couch, next to Marnie and Jagger.
Max was looking on, in shock from the recliner.
"Mr. H., where did you find her?"
"Well, a lady called the tip line, and told us that her neighbor had a baby that looked identical to Jessalynn, so we went up to check it out. She was in a town called Meadow Springs, about 2 ½ hours from here."
"Glad you got her back, Mr. H."
"Actually, it wasn't me who got her back. It was Rachel. She went to the house, acted like she was looking for a job, and confirmed it was Jessalynn, and then came back next door to the tip ladies' house. The person who had her was calling herself Katherine and calling Jessalynn Tiffany. Rachel said she recognized her from the hospital. So, we called the police and got her. None of this would have been possible without Rachel's help".
Jennifer looked at Rachel.
"Thank you for helping out".
"My pleasure".
"Darling, I think we should call Susan, and see if she can come check Jessalynn out, and make sure she's ok. And then I guess we need to call Lt. Gray, and release a statement to the press. And by the way, they caught Tucker Collins last night at the border. He's in custody".
"So you mean it's over?"
"It's over".
She leaned her head on his shoulder and kissed Jessalynn's forehead.
Jonathan reached over and picked up the phone and called Susan.
"Hi, it's Jonathan. We found Jessalynn, and we want you to check her out, and make sure she's ok. I don't see any evident signs of anything, but we still want you to check her out".
"I'll be right there. I'm sure she's probably fine, but don't let her eat or drink anything till I get there".
"You got it. Thank you so much".
He hung up and looked at Jennifer.
"She's on her way. No bottles or food till she gets here".
He called Lt. Gray next.
"Hey, it's Jonathan. We found Jessalynn. Can you come to the house?"
"Be there in a few".
"Great, thanks".
Jennifer passed Jessalynn to Jonathan, and went to get her a fresh diaper and wipes, and a fresh outfit.
Lt. Gray arrived first, so Max let him in.
He took Jonathan's statement, and then Rachel's statement.
Jennifer was listening, but didn't say anything.
"Jonathan, I need to call the Lt. of Meadow Springs. Do you mind?"
"Not at all. Help yourself. There's a phone in the study".
"Great, I'll make it quick".
Lt. Gray disappeared into the study, as Rachel and Jack got up and headed to the kitchen.
Jack came out a few minutes later.
"As soon as Rachel gets out of the bathroom, we are heading home".
Jagger started to get fussy, so Jennifer got up and went to make him a bottle.
She was in the kitchen when Rachel came out of the bathroom.
"Well, we are going now. I'm glad you got her back".
Jennifer turned and wrapped her arms around Rachel.
"I'm sorry I was so horrible to you. I cannot thank you enough for finding her and helping us get her back".
"I love you, Squishy. I love her too, and of course I was going to help you get her back. And I wasn't trying to say she was dead, I would have never said that to you. I was trying to tell you what you told me back at Gresham. When you're sad, think of the happy times".
"I'm sorry for overreacting. I just wanted her back so bad".
"You don't have to apologize. I understand completely. As soon as I held her today, she latched on to me so tight".
"She loves you. And so does her Momma, and her Daddy and her Aunt Marnie and her Grampy and her Poppy".
They were both laughing and wiping their tears away.
They walked into the living room with Jagger's bottle, and Rachel volunteered to take him upstairs and feed him and change him and get him to sleep.
"Sure".
As she carried the baby past Jack, she looked at him and said "We don't have to go now after all".
Jonathan, Max, and Jack all looked at each other.
"Women", they said, in unison.
Jennifer took Jessalynn from Jonathan and just held her close and was talking to her.
"Momma's sorry, sweetheart. Really sorry. She's sorry she couldn't protect you from that crazy person. She's sorry you had to be away from us all those days. We missed you, you have no idea how much we missed you. And we are never, ever, ever, ever, never, going to let that woman near you ever again".
Susan arrived and rang the doorbell, so Max let her in.
"Hi, come on in".
Susan came into the living room.
"Hi everyone. Hi Sweet Pea!"
Jennifer handed Jessalynn over.
"Jessalynn, tell Dr. Kendall how your mommy did not dress you like this. Tell her mommy has a fresh diaper and wipes and a fresh outfit all ready, and as soon as she's done with you, mommy is going to give you a bath and get you all clean".
"Sounds good".
They laid her down on the ottoman. Jessalynn was upset, but as long as Jennifer was touching her, she did ok.
Susan checked her out very thoroughly, and then looked at Jennifer.
"Ok, so for this next part, I am going to have to undress her and take her diaper off".
Jennifer nodded.
Susan examined Jessalynn after she was naked, and then put another diaper on her.
"Ok, so I don't see anything that is obviously wrong, or any obvious signs of trauma, other than an ear infection developing. I'll give her some ear drops for that. I don't see anything that would lead me to suspect that she has been traumatized. However, those signs might show up in time. When did you get her back?"
"This morning. Jonathan, Rachel and Jack found her about 11, and brought her home."
"Has she had a diaper change in that time?"
"No. Nor has she had a bottle. Darling, did you change her diaper before you all left with Jessalynn, or give her a bottle?"
"She had a bottle right before we got there. And Rachel changed her diaper in the tipster's house before we got in the car".
"Do you know if it was wet or muddy?"
"I did it with her. It was wet, and it was literally about to explode".
"Ok, so as soon as you feed her, she'll probably start going to the bathroom again. If she still isn't having diaper changes by tomorrow, call me".
Jennifer nodded.
"Has she been fussy at all?"
"No, but she has been clingy".
"Don't be surprised if she is still clingy for a while".
"I hope she is. I plan on clinging to both of my children".
Rachel came downstairs.
"Jagger is out like a light".
"Thank you".
Lt. Gray came out of the study.
"Herschel, this is our good friend and doctor, Dr. Susan Kendall. Susan, this is Lt. Gray of the LAPD".
"Hi, nice to meet you".
"Likewise".
They shook hands.
"Ok folks. Lt. Crews and I pieced this together. So, Tucker Collins came up with this plan to get back at Jennifer. And he enlisted Grant, his biological twin to help him. Grant wanted to get back at Jonathan, so he readily agreed. Tucker Collins met the guy going by Buck in prison, and recruited him. Once they found out you two had a daughter, they recruited Misty, Buck's daughter to kidnap Jessalynn. So, she signed up to be a volunteer and started taking shifts, trying to find you and Jessalynn. You were the only family she volunteered with. The plan was to hold you for ransom, Jonathan, and then hold Jessalynn for ransom, and then run off to Mexico. Buck and Tucker, who was calling himself Ace, kidnapped you and Jack. The plane crash happened, and there is some speculation that Buck caused it to avoid going back to prison. Tucker Collins gave border patrol a statement that indicated that he woke up first, and hiked through the woods, and called Buck's daughter Misty. He stated that they were living in your guesthouse together for about 2 or 3 days, just watching the house, watching the comings and goings, and figuring out the patterns. Then, once they knew they were going to do it, Tucker secured them a hotel room, and helped Misty pull it off. Essentially, he was driving the getaway car. They were going to call you for a ransom, and then head to Mexico, but they saw the press conference instead. So, he told Misty to take care of it, and he headed for the border alone, and she decided to forego the ransom and just raise Jessalynn. She says Jessalynn is the spitting image of her late daughter, Maribelle".
"Yeah, she mentioned that this morning. Maribelle apparently died last year, and was just a few months old".
"So, Tucker Collins is in custody-he is facing charges of attempting to cross the border unauthorized, conspiracy to kidnap you, conspiracy to kidnap Jessalynn, stalking, burglary in the second degree, false imprisonment of you, false imprisonment of Jack, extortion, conspiracy to extort, violation of probation, tampering with an official tracking device, and unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. In short, they will be making snowballs in hell before he ever lives one minute as a free citizen again".
"And what about Misty?"
"Kidnapping, false imprisonment, second-degree burglary, stalking, and fraud. Dr. Kendall, any signs of abuse or trauma on Jessalynn?"
"None that I have found".
"Well, if you find any, call me. We will add those too. She isn't facing as much as he is, but she will definitely be there for a while".
"I am going to call the district attorney tomorrow. I am not so much interested in her having a long prison sentence as I am her getting the mental health treatment that she needs".
"That's very generous of you".
"Thank you for all your help, Lt. We couldn't have made this past week without you helping us".
"Just doing my job, ma'am".
Jonathan walked Herschel out, and he agreed to release the security.
Jonathan came back inside and he and Jennifer wrote out their statement, and then he called Stanley and asked him to call a press conference and then read it.
"Well, I have to get back to my patients. I'm sure you don't need me to tell you to just follow your instincts, Jennifer. If you want to hold her all night long, I don't think anyone would blame you".
"Thank you for coming on such short notice. We really appreciate it".
"No problem. I'm so overjoyed that she's back where she belongs".
"Darling, can you watch her? I'm going to go call Pa".
"Certainly".
She passed Jessalynn to him, walked Susan out and then headed into the study and dialed her father's number.
"Hello?"
"Pa? Hi, it's Jennifer".
"Hi sweetheart. How are you?"
"Great. We found Jessalynn. It's a long story, but Jonathan, Rachel and Jack went up and verified it was her, and then brought her back home. She's fine, but I think she's scared. She will barely let us out of her sight, but that's ok, because I don't want to let her out of mine. Anyways, there's going to be a press conference in a little bit, so I wanted you to hear it from us".
"Good deal. Well, now that you have Jessalynn back and this nightmare is over, I can tell you-I'm having surgery next Monday. I'm having a double knee replacement."
"What? Why, Pa?"
"Because the doctor says my left knee is about to give out and my right knee is about half gone, so I told him, let's just do it all at once".
"Do you need us to come out?"
"No, you have your hands full with the babies, sweetheart. I'll be fine. But I do need Marnie, if she's willing".
"I'll ask her".
"Thank you. Well, I better go, I have to head to my doctor's appointment. Give that granddaughter of mine a kiss for me, will ya?"
"I certainly will. I love you".
"I love you too".
She hung up and went back to the living room.
"Ok princess, how about a bath?"
Jessalynn smiled really big.
Jennifer and Jessalynn went and sat next to Aunt Marnie.
"Aunt Marnie, I just spoke with Pa. He's having a double knee replacement next week, and he requested two things. The first thing he requested is that Jonathan and I and the babies stay home, as we have had enough upheaval. And the second thing he requested is that you do come".
"I am happy to. But I hate to leave you all".
"We hate for you to leave too, but you can literally come back whenever you want to. An extra set of hands around here is always welcome".
"She's right. Our house is your house, Aunt Marnie".
"Thank you, that's awfully sweet".
Jennifer and Rachel headed to the kitchen to give Jessalynn a bath.
Aunt Marnie headed upstairs to take a nap.
When Jack headed to the bathroom for a moment, Jonathan took the opportunity to talk to Max.
"Listen, tomorrow night, can you make something really special for dinner? I think it would be nice if we had a really nice dinner for Marnie and Rachel and Jack. I'm talking good china, in the dining room, all the stops."
"How about Filet mignons and grilled lobster tails?"
"Perfect! You're the best Max. And can you get the meat from Dino's Meat Market? Spare no expense, I mean that".
"You got it, Mr. H."