A Family Stolen

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N:

Chapter 4 (Hope and Determination)

"When are we going to talk about the other night?" Robbie inquired. The group was sitting around a picnic table at the park near the Vega house. Each person was solemn and quiet. Jade wasn't wanting to think about the fight, but she agreed it was best not to ignore the event.

They needed to assess everything anyhow and figure out where they stood. "It was pretty bad." She folded her hands inwards along her thighs and leaned back. Her eyes traveled past the group and focused on a pair of ducks in the distance walking towards the lake. "I saw her getting upset and should have said something, but I…I didn't know what to say or how to diffuse it."

"I don't think any of us meant to make her that angry." Robbie crossed his arms and turned his head. Jade smiled sadly, watching the smaller duck rub its back with its bill. "Then we had to be dicks when she mentioned Trina's boyfriend. How could we be that stupid? That ignorant?"

"There's nothing we're not used to," Andre replied. He shrugged and his eyebrows closed towards the center. "I just wish she would have told us why she insulted her family just as much…"

In the corner of her eyes, she saw Cat twist her head away. The girl's red hair slid up and over her shoulder and her expression grew soft and somber. "She did. She said she just wanted to be accepted, like she was afraid defending her family would make us dislike her."

"Did she think we were that vain? I mean, come on…"

"Yes." A gruff voice approached from behind, making Jade twist around. Jason was walking towards them, wearing a white t-shirt and blue denim jeans. His eyes were sharp and his lips were turned to a deep frown. "Trina told me a good deal about all of you." His arms were crossed and his muscles tense,.

Jade wanted to be careful not to antagonize him, especially given how connected he was to the Vega family. She tried to smile, mustering the best polite smile she could. "Hey Jason. I remember you from that sleepover a few years back."

Jason didn't smile back, his eyes were dim and full of mourning. "I remember you guys too." He glanced at Cat, his muscles relaxing for a second as the girl looked up at him. "I remember you too. I never got to thank you." Cat spun her hair around her finger and giggled lightly.

Jade blinked in the confusion and the guys stared at Cat. "I introduced him to Trina." Cat shrugged as if it were nothing. Jade dropped her jaw and leaned back, shaking her head in shock. "I mean I thought he was hot, that's why I latched on…but we had nothing in common. He was into martial arts and military, I really wasn't; but I had actually seen Trina practicing MMA before and thought I'd introduce them."

Glancing over, Jade saw the Marine crack a smile finally. Impressed and proud, she smiled and leaned upright. "Well, looks like it was good. I mean Jason, how long have you and Trina been together?"

"We were friendly for about a year, sparring together and taking some martial arts classes." Jason uncrossed his arms and took a seat on the bench of a table close to them. He leaned his back against the edge and propped his elbows on the top. "We started dating after about a year and have been together ever since. She actually asked Tori not to mention me to you guys because she didn't want any drama over it."

"She thought there'd be drama?"

"She talked enough about you guys, it seemed clear to me why she suspected drama." He closed his eyes and exhaled. "She wasn't fond of you, and I don't blame her after all that I've heard." The others shifted nervously and Jason's gaze dropped for a moment. "I know the things that you've said about her, I know the things you've done. I can't say honestly that my opinion of you is great, and right now I most certainly do not trust any of you."

"Give us a chance first."

Jason raised his gaze and huffed. "Like you gave her one?" Jade winced, but she understood where he was coming from. He was in the right for the bitterness in his voice and animosity in his statement. "It's enough you're working to try and find her family, however, so I'll commend you on that."

"Jason, we…" She bit her lip and linked her index fingers together. "We don't want to come across vain or problematic." Jason pat his knee and studied her for a moment, she could feel his gaze burning through her.

"Right." He leaned his head back slowly and Jade noticed for the first time the exhaustion in him. His eyes were red and raw, he was incredibly tense, and it looked as though he'd not slept in days. "You know, there's a song my grandfather listened to a few times, a verse in it if I recall right…" He took a deep breath. "She wasn't always the way she is now, she had to make mistakes like everyone else; so don't go pointing fingers because it's plain to see you're no saint yourself."

"Ah." Beck nodded and the left corner of his lip twitched upwards. "'She's my Rock', by George Jones. I've heard that song before, an old one but a good one. My dad's favorite artist. I guess to you, that song would say all you need to say about Trina…you love her, and that's all that matters."

Jade looked at Beck, her heart swelling as tears started to form under her eyelids. Jason nodded gently. "I'll always love her. No matter what, I will always be there for her." He leaned forward, sweeping his trembling hand through his hair and releasing a broken sigh. "I should have come home early. I should have been there for her…I have to find her."

"Maybe it's for the best." Jason snapped his glare to Beck, raising an eyebrow slowly. "Think about it, what if you were there and taken with them? What if you'd been killed? You're here, you can help her best by finding her. I mean look at Tori, she may have saved all of us without knowing it. Hell."

"Maybe…"

Jade leaned away, her eyes growing large as Beck's words hit her. "Shit, that abduction had to have happened not long after we left." Her hand trembled over her heart and the air in her lungs was swept away by the horrific thought that they could have ended up murdered or left for dead.

She remembered what Beck said about the security cameras in the house and wondered if they could have caught something. "B-Beck, didn't you say there were cameras?" Beck nodded and Jason spoke up.

"My uncle's already viewing them. I told him about them since Mr. Vega had those cameras placed for security reasons. He's hoping there will be something." Jason placed his palms together and bent forward. "He asked me to come talk to you guys, told me we need to try and figure out who would have had something against the family. Since we were all close to them, and we're the only ones working this…we should confer with each other…"

"He's not wrong," Beck replied. "I don't know anyone that would want to hurt them, but I know Mr. Vega's profession could have earned him plenty of enemies." David was the best to look at, and since Detective Malone was missing as well, it was likely there was a tie there.

She noticed how much tenser Jason was growing, and the hardened expression that came across his face. At first she didn't know why he would look so troubled, but then she realized that Jason would be the one to know more about the Vegas than they would. "How much about them do we not know?" She asked. Jason looked over to her, furrowing his brow. "I know what Tori said, that she didn't trust us with a lot of personal information…"

"There's a lot in their past. They were afraid to bring up a lot with anyone outside the family. Trina trusted me with some of her own information…things in their past, her past, I can't figure if coming forward with that information would be right or a betrayal to her trust in me."

Cat leaned forward, patting Jason's wrist and waiting for him to make eye contact. "Don't break her trust in you, Jason. Unless you think there's something that may help, don't do it. If there's something that happened that she doesn't want others to know about…"

Startled yet again, Jade's lips parted and her eyes fell onto Cat with suspicion. How much did Cat know that the others didn't, if she knew anything at all? "I am not sure if anyone in Trina's past would be the problem." He pulled away and closed his eyes. His eyelids crinkled with his nose and his forehead. "She, and Tori actually, have had a few bad exes in the past-but I doubt they'd be involved in something like this…"

Robbie hummed and lowered the paper plate he'd been holding, having been eating a slice of pizza. "We should take all consideration, I mean who knows?" Jason looked over and Beck acknowledged with his agreement. "I knew Tori had exes, but Trina?" Jade shot him a look and he started to pale, quickly backpedaling. "I don't mean it like how that came out, I meant only I hadn't heard she dated anyone. I mean, nobody ever talked about people she dated."

"Of course not," Jason remarked with a scornful voice, "Lest you sing her another breakup song." Robbie sank and Jason breathed out slowly. "There were a couple people she dated, a couple Tori dated, but none of them were good people. Jerome Klein, Samuel Ross, Daniel, Stephen, Marcus Grant…they were all train wrecks, in the worst possible way."

When he listed the names, it was Samuel that Jade caught a glimpse of hatred and anger flash through Jason's eyes for. The man tensed more mentioning Ross than he did the others. "What's up with Ross?" Jason averted his gaze and shook his head. "I don't mean to push, and I'm not going to…you're probably right, an abduction this scale doesn't sound like something an ex would do. I mean hell, they even have the means to make the police ignore this-so I doubt it's an ex either."

"Yeah."

"We should probably focus on David's enemies. It could be possible the captors intend to cause him pain by harming his family, so right now it looks like he's the best lead."

Jason sighed and bowed his head. "Maybe." It made since to her anyway. As far as the exes went, she didn't know a thing about them beyond Daniel. Daniel, or Danny, was the guy that Tori dated when she went to Sherwood that cheated on her and then dated Cat-while then using Cat by trying to get back with Tori. "We should still investigate the exes."

"Why?"

"Because who knows if they know anything." He ran his hand down his face and groaned softly. "You guys know Trina doesn't trust easily? She hides who she is because of the people that have hurt her." Jade leaned her head sideways and pursed her lips as Jason exhaled. "Ross and Marcus are just examples of people who have hurt her horrifically. I…I know how beautiful she is inside, she's tough-extremely tough. She's protective of her sister too. I mean Daniel and Stephen…Tori's got her trust issues."

"Okay, so we'll check up on them. What do you know about Jerome?"

Jason leaned back against the table's edge and scoffed. "Jerome was an ass. He used both sisters. He dated them both, before Ross and Danny-who most that might know the girls would consider their first boyfriends. He was a bit older than Trina, which made it worse…led a gang even. When the Vegas found out, it was one hell of a shitstorm."

Jade was floored by the news. If this Jerome led a gang and caused a confrontation with the family, then he definitely needed to be checked out. She would have to remember his name, but then she needed to refocus on David. "Okay, now have you heard of any people that might have vendettas against Mr. Vega?"

"Not really. He's a homicide detective, just about anyone he's put away might want to get back at him." Jason leaned his head back, his eyes zeroed in on Robbie and his frown seemed to intensify. "Robbie, right?" Robbie jumped upright and cleared his throat. "I'm not accusing or anything, but Trina and Tori both spoke of how you stalked them once. What was that about?"

Robbie's eyes rolled and he let out a heavy breath of air. "Yes, yes I did." Jason closed his hands tight and Robbie flinched. "I don't anymore, though! I just…I was stupid back then. I wouldn't ever hurt them like this, though."

"No, but you'd drop Trina on a stage, right?" Robbie bowed his head and Jason scratched his forehead. "Sorry, I'm not trying to be difficult."

"I get it man, I understand." Robbie raised his hands and chuckled sorely. "I wouldn't be quick to trust or get along with people that mistreated someone I cared about either…I just hope you know, we do care."

"I understand you guys might care about Tori."

"We care about all of them," Andre interjected. Jade nodded and the others turned towards Andre. "We've been fools, and Tori was right. Right now, none of them deserve whatever's happened to them. They've got to be alive somewhere, and we want all of them to be safe-make no mistake about it."

"Okay." Jade exhaled and stood up. The others quieted down and watched her as she moved beside Jason. She knew what was important to him right now and while investigating this matter was, she wanted to try and get him to open up a little more. "Jason…"

"What?"

She sat down and faced him, looking into his eyes. "How are you holding up? All of this, I know you probably aren't thrilled to have to be involved with us. I know you've got to be going through shit. What are you feeling right now? Talk to me. Talk to us. You may not feel like you can trust us, but…you can…"

His lips were tight and his gaze heavy. Her gaze didn't move away from his, she remained calm and stoic, knowing it was best when dealing with him. "I'm a military brat, Jason." His eyebrows slid upwards and a faint smile grew on his face. "My mother's family primarily. She uh, she died in duty."

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Her heartbeat flickered and she held her breath. Tears fell from her eyelids and she cleared her throat, knowing she wouldn't be able to conceal the pain she was feeling inside. "I um…I miss her sometimes. It isn't easy waiting for someone you care about to come home." Her breathing grew shallow and her head ached as the memory of the nights she cried out for her mom to return. "Tori said…she said you were away for a year."

"I was."

"That must have been hell for Trina, having to wait-afraid you wouldn't make it back." Jason shut his eyes and Jade began to tremble, her voice breaking between her words. "I get it. I know it can't have been easy for you."

Jason leaned forward, burying his head in his hands. His body started to tremble and his voice cracked. "I swore I'd protect her, keep her safe." Jade watched the tears fall from his eyes and smiled through her own. "She's out there, hurting. I want to know she's alive, I can't stand thinking she might not be…"

"Yeah."

"I-I'm afraid." Jade pat his shoulder and Jason leaned upright, sighing heavily. "I can't lose her."

"I can't say for sure, obviously, but if she's alive out there I know she's got to be waiting for you still. We're going to find her, Tori, and we'll save them. You'd do anything for her, wouldn't you?"

"I'd do anything for her, for her sister, for her parents."

"Right." She remembered the last thing Tori told them, her heart broke as those words replayed in her head. "Tori said she didn't believe we cared about her, but we do. She said to prove it, but we have no way to do that. Still, we would go through hell for her and her family, and we're willing to do exactly that now…I believe they have to be out there somewhere, and we'll find them."

"There is one thing." Jason's muscles began to relax and he uncurled his hands. "David and Holly, you know…Trina says they're ferociously protective. More so than she is." Jade's eyebrows curled together and her head tilted a bit.

"What does that mean?"

"I don't know, but when Trina talks about Tori-and vice versa-it sounds like they think it's the two of them against everyone else. Trina hasn't said a great deal about it, but I know how protective she is of Tori…she doesn't think you guys have any reason for being around her sister, but because she wants Tori to be happy, she hasn't said anything. Her parents hate all of you, however…"

The shocking news struck her hard, tearing through her heart. She couldn't find the words to respond. If this were true, then it could be likely that the parents were pushing Tori to end her friendships with them.

"Wow…exactly how protective are their parents?"

"Not sure. It sounds like both girls have done their fair share of trying to defend you guys to them." Jason crossed his arms and raised his shoulders. "To be perfectly honest, Tori once told me it all hinged on whether or not Trina told her to give you guys up because her parents had been wanting it for so long and Trina was the only thing keeping them from becoming a major issue."

Jade wasn't sure how to take this news. It was important to know, not only for the group to try and change the way they were coming across but to know if this protectiveness of the parents could have also been an issue for anybody else. "What about those exes? Do you think that Mr. and Mrs. Vega could have done something?"

Jason raised a hand towards his face, curling his finger over his mouth and narrowing his eyes. "I'm not sure. It's possible, given how Trina talks about them, but I wouldn't think they'd do anything too tremendous. Not sure on that, however. They really just sound like overprotective parents to me."

That's what they sounded like to her, to the point that she doubted their overprotectiveness would cause any great issue that would lead to their entire family being abducted. "Okay Jason." She smiled gently and rubbed his shoulder. "Thank you for talking to us. I want you to know it's okay, we're all in this together, and I think we'll find the girls…Trina's got to be out there alive, just hold onto that would you?"

Jason cracked a smile back at her and nodded gently. "I will. Thank you…"

It would be one hell of a road, but she had faith they could get where they needed as long as they all worked together. In her gut she felt Jason would be an important asset for them, so it was important to be on good terms. She also wanted him to see them in good light, even if it took time, because then he would give them a positive chance and likely Trina could see them as okay.

It would take time, but things would work out, she was confident. Still, she needed to find the Vegas first; and it was her hope that they'd find the Vegas alive.

Tell me your thoughts, what is on your mind?