Thanks to those of you who are continuing to read. I know that this story may be long but I hope that it manages to keep you interested. There is quite a bit still to come.

The rescue mission

A short time later Ryan and Marissa were in the car driving back to the house at Newport.

"So Sandy is going to talk to his contacts and hopefully everything can be sorted out tomorrow or the next day at the latest. We have to petition the court to be appointed temporary guardians but he thinks they should be able to rush that through because of the situation. Hopefully tomorrow. And he said that we may need to get in touch with the staff at the clinic to get them to vouch for the fact that Cheryl was happy to leave Emily in my care. But I don't think that should be a problem. Do you?" Marissa asked.

"No. The supervisor there was the one that offered you a job. I'm sure she'll remember what happened and the fact that it was Cheryl that left Emily with you in the first place." Ryan answered.

"Sandy also said that we will probably have a few forms to fill out but they should be straightforward and if we have any problems to just call him. The people from Child Services will probably want to interview us but he thought they would waive the home inspection since we won't be staying in San Fran, or if they decide that it still needs to be done then Sandy will arrange for it to happen. He has a set of keys that you left with him for emergencies, so he can let them in." Marissa said.

"Okay. And Sue said that Emily wouldn't be able to be released until tomorrow at the earliest anyhow, so that should be fine. And I spoke with J.B. He'll clear things with work so that you can have a few days off." Ryan replied as they pulled into the garage. "Why don't you go and pack our things and I'll get on the net and book us some seats on the first plane available."

"How long do you think we'll be gone?" Marissa asked.

"I guess at least a day or two. We can always stop by and pick up some more clothes at the apartment on the way to LAX if you need." Ryan added.

"Okay. You just get those plane seats organised." She replied.

---

Ryan had looked at everything. He didn't know why, but there was only one seat left to San Fran that day. And it was on the last flight. He knew he could wait and fly up tomorrow but he didn't want Marissa arriving, on her own, after midnight. Ryan knew that, even though Emily wouldn't be released until tomorrow at the earliest, Marissa wanted to get there as soon as possible. She wouldn't rest until she'd seen the little girl. So he reached for the phone and dialled. It rang and rang. Finally the answering machine clicked in. Ryan waited for the message and then said. "Skip, it's me. I'll try your cell but if I don't reach you, can you give me a call as soon as you can. It's urgent." Ryan ended the call and then tried Skip's cell. It answered straight away.

"That was quick." Ryan said.

"Yeah." Skip was obviously short of breathe. "I heard your message. I was just …" he searched for the right words " ... in the middle of something … and couldn't get to the phone." Skip replied still panting. "What's the problem?"

"Exactly how far did you run?" Ryan asked listening to his friend's laboured breathing.

"Run?" Skip asked.

"Well from all the panting ... I mean I know you're not as fit as you used to be but you're really huffing and puffing." Ryan said and then he noticed another voice in the background and it all made sense. He smiled realising just what ... or more importantly who ... Skip had been 'in the middle of'. He smiled and then said "Sorry about the timing, tell Annabel I said hi."

Skip laughed. There wasn't much else he could do since Ryan had obviously worked out exactly what he had been doing. He looked over at Annabel now lying prone in his bed still recovering from their latest bout of love making. "Okay I will. But I'm sure that's not what you called me for. What's the problem?"

"We need to get to San Fran as soon as possible and there are no seats to be had anywhere. Can you take us?" Ryan asked.

"What tonight?" Skip asked.

"Yeah. Do you remember the little girl we told you about when we had dinner up there with you?" Ryan asked.

"Yeah."

"Well, it turns out that she was in a really bad car accident on Friday night. Her father and sister are dead and her mother is going to be in hospital for quite a while. Marissa and I need to get up there. Turns out Emily has no one else. Her grandparents are off driving around Canada and the authorities haven't been able to contact them. So, can you help?"

"Sure." Skip replied looking over at the naked woman beside him and regretting the fact that he wasn't going to be able to finish the day off the way they had planned but how could he say no? "When do you want to leave?"

"As soon as we can." Ryan replied.

"Okay. How about I'll meet you at Orange County airport in an hour?" he suggested.

"Thanks Skip. I really appreciate it."

"What are friends for?" he laughed and then glanced again at the naked body beside him. "When do you think we'll be back?"

"At best tomorrow night. Maybe the day after. Actually, I need to get Annabel to re-arrange a few things for me." Ryan added. "Can you put her on the phone?" he asked.

Skip looked back down at the red head beside him who still hadn't moved. "How about I get her to give you a call in a little while?" Skip suggested.

"You must be good if she still hasn't recovered." Ryan teased.

"What can I say?" Skip replied. "I'm a natural."

Ryan laughed. "Okay just don't be au natural by the time I see you. We'll see you at the airport in an hour."

---

Ryan had a car waiting for them when they got off the plane and they drove straight to the hospital. He had let Sue know that they were on their way and she had promised to wait there for them.

They parked. And went to reception and the young girl behind the counter called Sue to let her know they were there and then directed them to an office on the second floor. Sue was waiting nervously for them. She knew from talking to Ryan that they were only normal people but she couldn't help but be a bit overwhelmed by the thought of the fact that she was going to be talking to the couple on the front of the magazine she was reading. She glanced over at it and then decided to put it in a drawer. She didn't think that it would help for them to know that she had just been reading about them. There was a knock at her door. She stood to open it, only to be confronted by the most beautiful blue eyes she had ever seen. She felt her knees go weak.

"Sue?" Ryan asked.

It took her a minute to gather her senses. "Um Yeah. Ryan. It's nice to meet you." She said as she held her hand out to him. "Thank you for coming so quickly." She added scared that he would notice how sweaty her palms were as he shook her hand.

"We just wanted to see Emily as soon as we could. And this is Marissa." He stood to one side for Marissa to step forward.

"Hi." Marissa greeted.

Again Sue was overwhelmed. They were both so much better looking in real life than they were in the magazine. "Um. Hi. I'm pleased to meet you."

There was deathly silence as Sue tried to calm her racing heart. She needed to get a grip. These people were here for one of the patients. Not to see her.

Marissa hesitated and then said. "Could you take us to see Emily?"

Sue was startled. "Sorry. Of course. Just follow me."

---

As they walked along the hall Sue said to them. "Just to warn you, I don't know what Emily is usually like, but she's been very quiet since the accident. We've struggled to get her to say anything at all."

"Does she know what's happened?" Marissa asked.

"Yes. We've explained it to her and we've taken her to see her mother but of course Cheryl was unconscious. We have told her that her mother will be fine but I'm not sure if she believed us or not? It has to be very hard." Sue suggested still having trouble coming to terms with who she was talking to. "If you think it may be too difficult to cope with her, then don't feel badly about it. We can still try to find some foster care for her." She added.

"No. We'll take her. I don't want her going to strangers." Marissa replied instantly, even though she realised that she was only 1 hour from being a stranger herself. But she had felt a connection to the little girl. She just hoped the feeling was mutual.

Sue stood to one side to let them enter the room. Emily was lying with her back to them and she rolled over when she heard them enter. She just stared at them saying nothing.

Marissa walked over to the side of the bed and sat on the edge. "Hey, Emily. Remember me? Marissa."

Emily nodded and glanced over at Ryan and Sue who were still standing just inside the door.

"How's your arm feeling?" Marissa asked.

Emily just held it up to Marissa showing her the cast.

"Is it still hurting?" Marissa said hoping to elicit some kind of reply from the little girl.

Emily shook her head from side to side to indicate no.

"Do you remember Ryan? He was with me when I met you and your mom."

Emily's eyes darted back to Ryan and she looked at him. The same scowl that Ryan remembered from when he first met her on her face. Her head moved up and down.

"Sue here was telling us that you're so much better that you don't need to stay in hospital anymore. So Ryan and I were wondering if you might like to come and stay with us. Just until you're mommy's feeling better." Marissa asked.

Emily shrugged her shoulders. She stared at the adults in turn and then turned her eyes back to Marissa. "Grace and daddy have gone to live with the angels." She said quietly, the sad, frightened expression never leaving her face.

Marissa smoothed the hair back off Emily's face. "I know darling."

"And mommy won't talk to me." Emily added almost in tears.

Marissa's heart broke for this little girl who was trying to cope with so much. "It's not that she won't talk to you. She just can't right now. Mommy's not feeling very well and she needs lots of rest so that she can get better. But since that's going to take a while, Ryan and I would like you to come and live with us until she's able to take you home." Marissa said trying to reassure her.

Emily looked at Ryan. Her eyes were like saucers and it was as if she was sizing him up. He didn't remember ever being under more intense scrutiny.

Ryan sensed that she was happy to be with Marissa but was still unsure about him. And why wouldn't she be, he thought to himself. She blamed him for taking Marissa away when she and Marissa first met. He moved over to stand beside Marissa. "We really hope that you will say yes? Marissa needs someone to keep her company while I'm away at work everyday." He said, thinking that if she realised that she would have Marissa to herself for some of the time then the idea might appeal more.

Marissa looked at Ryan and smiled knowing exactly what he was trying to do. She took his hand in hers, linking their fingers and squeezing firmly as a sign of thanks. "That's right. I hate to be on my own. We can have fun together. You can come shopping with me. Ryan hates shopping. We can go to the movies and the park. And when your arms better then we can swim in Ryan's pool. Can you swim?" Marissa asked all of a sudden scared that perhaps Emily may have been scared of the water.

The little girl nodded. "My mommy took me to lessons but I'm not very good."

"Well maybe we can organise some more lessons and you'll have a pool of your own to practise in. So … what do you think?" Marissa asked holding her breath. She thought this was much worse than going for a job interview.

Emily looked at the two adults before her, still with not a hint of a smile on her face. "Okay." She said more with a tone of acceptance than anticipation. "Do we go now?" she asked.

Marissa took a big sigh of relief. "Not just yet. Maybe tomorrow. You need to get some sleep now and Ryan and I will see you in the morning." Marissa added and then leant down and gave the little girl a big hug.

Ryan placed his hand lightly on Marissa's back; just a touch, to let her know that he was with her in whatever she chose to do. As Sue watched from the doorway she felt a lump in her throat. This couple who were sensationalised in all the gossip mags were prepared to make room in their busy lives for a little girl who needed someone. It was times like these that she knew why she did this job.