Guys, something terrible happened. I lost all my notes, all my ideas for this story. That's a big problem. So, this is what I came up with. I hope it's up to par with the rest of the story! Please let me know what you think.
Doranwen, I hope this is what you were looking for. And for the guest who made another special request about OA, I hope you enjoy as well.
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There's no evidence left behind by the man who took Morgan. Just a huge mess. It looks like she put up a fight. There's a vase and flowers smashed on the floor, a couple books thrown haphazardly across the floor and the table upon which they sat is over turned.
What really catches my attention is a small pool of blood the size of my palm and droplets that mark a trail out of the apartment, down the hall and out of the building. One of them is hurt. My bet is the young woman.
"Kristen is looking for video footage of the guy on surrounding cameras, but hasn't found anything yet. There's not much in the area. The building manager just arrived and will get the footage from the one lobby camera for us as soon as he can. Find anything here?" OA asks coming back into the living room.
"Just blood," I tell him pointing. "I swabbed a sample and had it sent to the lab."
He nods as he surveys the apartment.
Another agent comes into the room. "I'll wait for the footage and then get it back to the JOC. I'll have Kristen call you if she finds anything on it."
My thoughts already drift back momentarily to Ria. Then it drifts back to Morgan and I'm torn. But in the end, there is nothing more I can do right now for Morgan. Not yet. But I can help Ria.
OA reads my mind. "Let's go to the hospital," he says.
I nod, and we head for the door.
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Ria is sitting in the same chair I put her in, but has regular clothes on this time rather than the hospital gown she had been wearing. She has more color in her face and seems to have a bit more energy. There is a tray of food on the table in the corner half eaten.
I see the doctor, Doctor Alexander, down the hall. She sees us standing by the door and heads toward us.
"She's been waiting for you, has asked for you a couple times. She won't take off your jacket." She's smiling at us as she talks. "She hasn't said much else yet, but is nodding and shaking her head to answer most questions I ask as long as they aren't about anything before she got here. Nothing about where she was being kept or who had her. A psychologist was here to talk earlier and left about twenty minutes ago. She didn't get much."
Ria turns and sees me. A smile spreads across her face and her hand comes up to wave me in.
"You better get in there," Alexander says.
I open the door and OA follows me in.
"Hi," I say, smiling. "You kept my jacket safe, I see."
She nods enthusiastically as she slides out of the chair and goes to the side of the room where she grabs a book off a shelf. She brings it to me and grabs my hand leading me to the chair. I sit down and pull her up onto my lap. OA sits on the love seat across the room, corners of his mouth turned up a little as he watches.
I open the book and begin to read as Ria lays back against me and rests her head against the crook of my neck. That's how we sit, me reading, her listening. I finish once, twice and begin again as she flips the book back to the beginning each time it ends. As I finish the third time she stays still and I realize she has fallen asleep.
"Wow," OA quietly chuckles.
"What?" I ask, tilting my head just a little.
"Look at you. You're a natural."
At first I think he's teasing and maybe he means it that way, but truth covers his words and I'm momentarily lost for words.
I open my mouth to speak but am interrupted as the door to the room opens and Doctor Alexander walks in.
"I'm impressed," she says. "I haven't seen anything like that from Ria other than with you. She definitely trusts you. I think you might be the one who gets her to talk about what happened. When she wakes up you should see if you can learn anything."
"That's what I was thinking," I say with a sigh. "Is ther any way she can get in to see her brother?"
"We aren't really sure how she will handle it, but we can try. She is doing so much better now than when she first arrived."
I nod, thinking carefully. "I'll do that with her first, then see if she will answer some questions. Then we can visit him again. But she can sleep for awhile, can't she? We're not in a huge hurry?" I'm looking at OA as I finish speaking.
He shakes his head. "No, there's no immediate rush."
Doctor Alexander agrees and walks to the door. Once it's closed behind her, OA looks to me again. I gently turn aria in my arms so her legs are pulled up across my lap and my arms can wrap around her. I reach up to brush a strand of hair from her face and shrug as I return his gaze.
"I'll be back shortly. I'm just going to see if Kristen has found anything helpful yet," he says as he stands and heads for the hallway so as not to wake Ria. I relax into the chair, the warmth from her body releasing some of the stress of the case. My eyes drift shut and before I know it I'm sleeping.
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I awake some time later because the weight in my arms begins to thrash violently. I open my eyes as an arm slams into my cheek. The quiet grunt I make at the unexpected contact catches OA's attention and he turns to look as her hand connects with my jaw.
He's up in a second looking for a way to help, but I tell him no and shake my head. Instead I pull her to me. I'm saying her name, telling her she's fine, willing her to awake from this nightmare.
A few moments later, she lets out a yelp as her eyes fly open, and then her arms close around me grasping for dear life. She is shaking and I feel her tears before I realize she's crying.
OA is still hovering near us in case either of us need help. I nod at him letting him know we're fine without having to say a word. He understands and returns to his spot on the love seat.
I just keep holding her, gently swaying back and forth, reminding her she's okay, that I'm here and she's safe. Eventually, her grasp becomes more relaxed and her tears subside. She cuddles into my neck and pulls her arms in between our bodies.
I pull back just enough to get her to look at me. I wipe the last trace of tears from her cheek and smile just a little. To my surprise she hugs me tight and then has a small smile in return.
"Are you better now?" I ask while smoothing her hair.
She nods slowly. I smooth my hand over her hair.
"I have a surprise for you."
She tilts her head and stares at me. I move to stand and put her on her feet, but her body immediately tenses up and she starts mumbling. At first I can't make out what she is saying, but then I decipher her whispers.
"Stay. Stay. Stay. Please, stay."
She keeps repeating herself over and over as I pull her up into my arms. She wraps her legs and arms around me.
"Don't go," she says again.
"It's okay. You're coming with me this time. I want to show you something."
I walk to the door which OA holds open for us. He leads the way to the nursery. I stop when we get to the window that allows us to see al the babies. I tuck Ria's hair behind her ear and coax her to look.
"Baby Javí!" she says loudly. "Baby!" She's laughing now and it's impossible not to feel her joy. When I start to walk to the adjoining room where we can see Javí better, it's clear she doesn't understand. She starts to shake her head and whimpers a little.
"Hold on, Ria. A nurse is getting baby Javí. Just wait," I soothe.
Soon the adjoining door opens and a nurse walks in with Javí. Ria jumps down out of my arms and quickly makes her way to the nurse. The nurse then hands me the baby and says he will be back soon to check in with us. Ria is pulling on me to get lower so she can see him. I sit on a large comfy chair and Ria climbs up beside me. I lay the baby in her arms carefully.
Ria pulls Javí up to hug him close. He immediately grabs her finger with his hand and her smile grows impossibly brighter. I'm watching her love on the little boy when suddenly I'm pulled back to OA as he says my name forcefully.
"What's wrong?" I asked noting the tension in his voice and face.
"Look!" he says at the same time.
I follow his gaze to the large window that shows the hallway. I gasp because there is Juan himself. OA is already moving as I notice the man standing there glaring at Ria. OA catches his eye because just as suddenly, he's gone.
"Stay here!" OA shouts as the door closed behind him. Ria looks at me with concern not having seen Juan, but I force a smile and she relaxes and returns her attention to the little boy in her arms.
My desire to help my partner, to have his back is pulling at me, but I know I can't leave Ria and Javí here alone, nor do I want to. I stand, and pull my phone out of my pocket to dial Dana's number. I stand by the window watching for any signs of trouble as the line rings.
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AN: Thank you, Whiz, for reviewing last chapter, and to all of you who have reviewed others. I appreciate it more than you know! This next week I will be taking a hiatus from writing because I am spending next week on a five day field trip with my students. I won't have much down time, but will try to at least start the next chapter so I can get one posted as soon as possible. Thanks for being awesome and so supportive!