In Time

"April!" Tara exclaimed, walking into the house the next morning after the chaos of the night had faded out, "April, where-" Tara paused, noticing the dried in blood at the doorway and some on the walls, stepping around it and gulping as she looked at the closed kitchen door.

"AJ!" Tara yelled, rushing down the hall and bursting into the kitchen as she paused and saw one of the most unlikeliest sights, "Uh…" Tara looked around.

"Who are you?" Raimy questioned, sitting at the kitchen table.

"We're making breakfast. Do you want some?" Vivian turned around, standing up on the chair at the stove, appearing to be making breakfast. The radio was on, drinks were poured, James was drawing and Raimy was playing on her switch whilst Vivian seemed to making them a pancake breakfast.

"Uh…" Tara shook her head with confusion, "Where is your mommy?" She asked.

"Don't know." Vivian answered before anyone else, "We woke up and mommy and daddy weren't here." She shrugged, "Who are you?" She pointed the spatula at her as Tara raised her eyebrows, "We don't know you." She realised.

"I'm… I'm Tara." Tara nodded, "I'm a friend of your mom's." She smiled, "Are you making pancakes?" She questioned, "What age are you?"

"I'm six. Almost seven." Vivian nodded, "Would you like some?"

"I'm ok, thank you." Tara shook her head, "Do you guys know where your mommy would be? Does she… normally leave you guys alone in the house?" Tara questioned. She was immediately getting to understand that something bad must have happened last night when she left. Mihcelle was no longer in the house, there was blood splatted around in places and AJ and Punk had clearly been taken from the house, not at their own will.

"No, never." Raimy answered, "They never leave us alone." Raimy said, "But we can make breakfast and go to school. But James can't come with us so…" Raimy turned to James.

"Do you guys have like… an aunt or something?" Tara questioned.

"Auntie Cole." Vivian nodded, "She's mommy's sister." Vivian said, flipping a pancake as Tara watched in awe. She was surprised at how calm and able these children were at taking care of themselves. And she supposed it made since. When she met AJ on the streets at a young age, she definitely knew how to take care of herself.

"Is this an emergency?" Raimy asked.

"What?" Tara shook her head.

"If it's an emergency then the emergency numbers are on the fridge." She pointed as Tara looked over, walking over to the fridge and ripping the piece of paper off it.

"Doctor, Phil's work, Dean, Coleen, Eve, Seth… who are all of these people?" Tara shook her head.

"Emergency numbers in case something goes wrong. That's what mom says." Raimy said, "If we can't get her or dad then that's the numbers we call. And the doctor is for if one of us is hurt. But we're all fine so we don't need a doctor." Raimy shrugged.

"I see." Tara nodded slowly.

"Lady, do you want pancakes or not?" Vivian turned around.

"Her name is Tara." Raimy told her sister.

"Tara." Vivian corrected.

"No." Tara said, "I'm gonna call your aunt and get her to come look after you guys, ok? Just… just stay here." She told them, walking out of the kitchen and taking her phone out.

She knew this wasn't good at all.

AJ had spent the entire night trying to break free of the hand cuff attaching her to the bed post. She'd been pulling so much on it that her wrist was bleeding. She refused to give up but she could only try so much. The most traumatic part about it was all she could think about was the times she spent as a teen in the exact same position, trying so hard to free herself. It was the most terrified she'd been in a long time.

And she couldn't get her husband and her children out of her mind. Not knowing if they were ok, not knowing where they were was just terrifying and torture itself.

"Please." AJ started whispering to herself, "Please." She leaned her head against the wall behind her.

She then looked up when she heard the door open, watching as Michelle walked in with a glass of water, closing the door behind.

"Morning." Michelle smiled chirpily as AJ glared at her, "Thirsty?" She asked as AJ looked at her, "Here." She nodded, extending the water as AJ refused to take it. She wasn't dumb. She wouldn't touch anything given to anyone whilst being tied up.

"No thanks." AJ said.

"Oh, suit yourself." Michelle shook her head, sitting the water down on the bedside table, "Look at the mess your wrist is in now." She noticed, "You can't break metal." She rolled her eyes.

"I'm gonna break your face." AJ spat as Michelle rolled her eyes, "Tell me what's happening with my husband. Where is he?" AJ asked.

"He's down in the basement." Michelle nodded, "My dad will be here soon… I assume he'll wanna talk to you first probably." She smiled as AJ looked at her.

"How can you do this?" AJ shook her head, "As a woman yourself, how can you entertain all of this and encourage it?" AJ questioned.

"It's not up to me." Michelle shrugged.

"You could do something to stop it. You and your mom, but you're choosing not to." AJ said, "All those girls are living in hell because you want money." AJ shook her head, "What if it was you? In their position."

"Well it's not." Michelle shrugged, "So… not really my problem, is it?" She said as AJ shook her head.

"You're disgusting." AJ spat, "You'll get what you deserve."

"I think it's the other way around actually." Michelle nodded, "Maybe we'll let Phil go and… keep you here. You'd be much more useful to us than him." She nodded, "And let's just say you… you have all the experience." She shrugged as AJ glared at her.

"Please tell me where my kids?" AJ shook her head.

"I told you last night. Your kids at the house. We left them untouched." Michelle said.

"But they're on their own." AJ said, "Anything could happen to them."

"Well if they're like their mom, I'm sure they'll figure it out for themselves." Michelle smiled, walking back out of the door and locking it behind her as she walked across into the kitchen where Hilary was, "She hasn't slept, she's not drinking the water and I think her hand is about to fall off."

"Well your dad is almost home." Hilary nodded.

"Did you go down and see Phil?" Michelle asked.

"I will later on." Hilary said.

"And what about the girls?" Michelle asked, looking around the empty house which was normally full.

"They're at the other house with the other guys right now. Until we get this sorted." Hilary nodded.

"What do you think he'll do?" Michelle asked.

"It's none of our business." Hilary made clear just as the front door opened.

A larger man walked in the door in a suit and tie, muscles everywhere, tattoos around his neck and one down the side of his face, "Not used to this type of quiet." He scoffed as Hilary looked over.

"The girls are at the other house with the boys, for the time being." Hilary nodded to him.

"Ok." Paul nodded, taking his suit jacket off, rolling up his shirt sleeves and taking his tie off, "And where are these two fuckers trying to ruin my business, huh?" He asked.

"April is in the bedroom and Phil is downstairs." Hilary answered.

"I leave town for a week and your bastard son and his wife try and blow this entire thing up." Paul scoffed, "How does that even happen?"

"Well the girl, April… she runs an organization and she… she got word of this place. I don't know how. We… we do everything we can to protect it." Hilary nodded as Paul looked at her.

"Well obviously you haven't." Paul spat, "Well what's your solution?"

"We had a temporary one but that didn't work." Michelle said as Hilary turned to her angrily, "So now we… we brought them here so you can decide." She nodded and smiled.

"I can decide?" Paul questioned, "And what do you suggest I do?"

"Well when I told you on the phone you asked if… if they had children. They do. I was planning on bringing the oldest one here but… it all failed last minute-"

"What age is the oldest?" Paul questioned.

"None or ten." Hilary nodded.

"That's a good age. We could keep her here a few years, send her out when she's… fourteen or fifteen." He thought to himself.

"Whatever you think." Hilary nodded, almost like a robot.

"But that doesn't solve the problem we have with the mother and father." Paul huffed to himself, "Maybe we'll just need to kill them." He nodded as Hilary looked across at him.

"Right." Hilary nodded as Michelle looked over. They didn't know how to live their own lives. All they knew was to please this man and go along with whatever he said.

"Where is Phil?" Paul asked.

"Basement." Hilary said.

"Ok, I'll sort the girl out first. You guys can leave the house." Paul said as Hilary looked at him.

"We can stay and… and keep watch-"

"Keep watch for who?" Paul questioned, "No, I said leave. Things could get loud." He nodded as Hilary nodded slowly, "Go… go to the other house and check on the other girls." He nodded, "Once I'm done with these two we can get the girl."

"There's another one." Michelle nodded, like a student trying to please her teacher, "There's another girl. She's seven or something." She shrugged.

"Sisters?" Paul nodded slowly, thinking to himself, "Leave it with me." He nodded, "Off you both go." He told them as they quickly left the house whilst Paul looked over at the locked bedroom door.

He walked across and opened it up, looking over at AJ who was still trying to free herself, "Oh wow… Hilary never mentioned how beautiful you were." He smirked as AJ looked over, breathing rapidly as she watched the bigger man walk further into the room, "You must be April." He smiled, sitting down on the edge of the bed whilst AJ pushed herself up towards the bed post as far away as she could, "You are just… beautiful." He smiled as AJ started to feel sick.

"Please." AJ shook her head, "Please just let me go." She said. She hadn't felt this weak and vulnerable since she was a little girl. She felt exactly like that little girl again. She felt weak. Like she'd never find her strength again.

"Well I'm not gonna do that. I'd be a fool." Paul smiled, edging further and further up the bed as AJ watched him carefully, trying to kick him as he grabbed her ankles, "I wouldn't do that, if I were you." He said, "Now we can do this the nice way. A pleasant way." He nodded, "Or I can take you downstairs and do it in front of your husband." He spat, "And don't think I won't." Paul said as AJ felt tears rising to her eyes.

"Please." AJ begged, watching as he stood up and took his shirt off, "No, please." She shook her head, "Please don't!" AJ yelled.

"How am I supposed to trust you?" Tara questioned as Dean scoffed, pulling up outside the house which Tara had directed him to.

"Me? How am I supposed to trust you? You're wearing fishnets. Didn't they die out like I don't know, 10 years ago?" Dean questioned as Tara rolled her eyes.

"They won't be the only thing dying out." Tara glared at him.

"I'm Phil's best friend. You can trust me." Dean shook his head, "God, you're just like April." He said, getting out of the car as Tara followed.

"Where are you going?" Tara questioned, grabbing him and pulling him back, "This is an old house, they'll have a door to the basement in the back garden. If they're hiding anyone anywhere, they'll be hiding them in the basement." She said as Dean nodded, following her around the back of the house.

Once Coleen had come, she had stayed to watch the kids and called Dean to join Tara in finding Punk and AJ. They knew they had to be at the house. They hoped so. Or they were just wasting time.

"I can't get it." Dean moaned, trying to pull on the latch.

"Oh, move you idiot." Tara shoved him, taking over and knocking the latch off, climbing into the basement and jumping down as she found a light switch, looking around at the empty basement and shaking her head with confusion.

"Well there goes your theory." Dean shook his head.

"Wait, look." Tara pointed, looking on at the broken rope lying by a post, some dried in blood around it. She then turned around and saw the basement door was lying opened, "Maybe they got out." She said, suddenly listening to screams coming from upstairs.

Upstairs AJ lay in her underwear, still attached to the bed post, looking on at her husband as he dropped the knife on the floor, blood running down his hands as he looked across at her.

He'd broken free as soon as he heard AJ screaming from upstairs. He had no choice but to use every bit of strength he had whilst also using whatever tools he could get around him. He then reached upstairs and burst into the bedroom where a half-naked man was hovering over his wife. So he put a knife in him.

"Key… key." AJ nodded to him as Punk left the room, looking around in the kitchen, in drawers, in cupboards as he finally found a small key, rushing back into the room whilst AJ stared at the man who had bled out to death, some of his blood over her body, Punk's hands covered in them. But she didn't care. She hadn't ever been rescued like that in a situation. All she'd ever had was herself to rescue, but having family now was such a different transition.

"Ok." Punk nodded, his hands shaking as he unlocked the handcuffs as she immediately wrapped her arms around him, his arms circling her tightly as he kissed her head and sighed to himself, "It's ok." He nodded, "It's ok, I got you." He said as AJ buried her face into him just as Dean and Tara ran into the room.

"Oh God." Dean looked down at the dead man, looking over to Punk and AJ.

Punk could feel AJ shaking as he cupped the back of her head and held her closely into him. He watched Dean throw his zipper over as Punk took it and wrapped it around AJ's shoulders.

"There's another house." AJ whispered, her body shaking with fear, "The address will be in the kitchen. That's where the other girls are." She nodded as Dean left the room to go find the address.

"Are you ok?" Punk asked softly.

"Where are the kids? They're on their own." AJ looked up at Punk.

"Your sister is with them, April. They're all fine." Tara assured her as AJ sighed to herself with relief, crying to herself as she rested her head into Punk again as he hugged her tightly.

Punk just held her tightly, closing his eyes as he thanked himself lucky he got to her, looking over at the dead man on the ground, "I think we can call the cops now." Punk nodded.

"I got the address!" Dean called from the kitchen as Tara nodded.

"Yeah, I think that's a good idea." Tara said as Punk looked down at AJ who was staying curled into him, shaking and sobbing as he sighed to himself, kissing her head softly and doing all he could to make her feel safe in such a scary incident.