NOTE- This is mainly meant to be funny with a little romance thrown in.

Happy New Year Everyone. Have a great holiday,

Sara

Chapter Three- Bump in the Night

Night had faded into morning, the daylight hours were spent zooming down a highway, and when they finally reached Tennessee the sun started to fall.

They circled the town of Oakfield for hours, looking for Spinelli's grandmother's house.

"They all look alike," Lulu whined. "It's too dark to tell which one is like what I saw in the picture."

"Keep trying." Jason insisted.

Gently Carly said, "She's right. We should call this off until morning, Jase."

He groaned.

"Or," Carly said "We can spend all night together in this car, getting on each other's nerves."

"Fine. Lets find a hotel," Jason said.

Lulu smiled at Milo, thinking it would be great to be free of this car.

Milo swallowed, thinking it would be great to see Lulu in the night shirt he packed her. It was girly, pink and hung to her knees.

Once they got into the hotel room, Jason opened an adjoining door and said to Lulu, in a firm voice, "Get some rest. We start back out at dawn."

"Aye, aye, captain!" Lulu saluted him.

"So..." Milo let the word drag out, trying to sound casual "how are we handling these sleeping arraignments?"

Jason shot him a look.

Carly smirked and said, "I know what I would prefer."

"There are two beds in each room," Lulu said "So I say youth in one and old fogies in..."

Jason glared at her.

" I mean, you two in the other." Lulu finished.

Milo said, "Makes sense." and starting walking into the adjoining room.

Jason grabbed the back of his collar. "You're in here with me."

Lulu gave Milo a flirty wave before following Carly into the other room.

LONG AFTER LULU fell asleep, Carly stepped onto the balcony. The night sky cast the area in darkness, with the only light coming from around the pool which was in the courtyard ten floor below.

Carly called Jax on her cell phone.

His voice mail picked up. Carly said, in a hurt filled voice, "Hey, where are you? Did you really go to Australia? Are you staying there? What is going on with us? What about the wedding? Come on, Jax, you have to talk to me. Everything can't just be over, just like that. Jax... call me back."

She hung up.

"Carly."

She turned at the sound of the whispered word, and saw Jason sitting on a chair on the balcony next to her, the one that went with his room.

"Hey, I didn't even realize you were there," she said softly. "You should be asleep."

"You should too."

"Are you worrying about Sam? We'll find Spinelli tomorrow. Don't worry, Jase."

"I can't believe I am relying on a sixteen year old to help me."

"She's eighteen. And Lulu will come through. You have to be more patient with her."

"Ha."

Carly chuckled. "I would love to see you raising a teenager daughter. Being in over protective daddy mode. Worrying about the kind of guys she was bringing home or, more than likely, not bringing home so you wouldn't be able to scare them off."

Jason shook his head, shuddering. But then a small smile curved his lips.

"It will happen, one day." Carly said

"Lets worry about tomorrow, not one day." Jason said, but he couldn't stop smiling. Carly could make him imagine things he otherwise never would.

But it's not like he wanted to encourage her to dream of things that might never be.

Maybe, he thought as he smiled, she can't see me since it is so dark.

But she didn't have to see him to know what he was thinking, feeling, or doing. And they both knew that.

INSIDE, Lulu woke up and wandered to the bathroom. On her way back, she noticed the door between the rooms were open. She walked over and leaned on the door frame, watching Milo sleep.

His face was relaxed, a portrait of innocence.

She noticed the other bed was empty. This would be the perfect time to wake up Milo and sneak off to have some fun, because Jason would never let them have any when he was around.

Lulu crept into the room. She gently shook Milo. His chest was bare, the blanket covered the rest of him.

"Hey," she said softly.

He rolled toward her.

"Milo," she said. She shook her some more, leaning closer. She could smell the faint scent of soap on his skin.

Around his neck, he wore a medallion. She wondered what it might symbolize.

"Lulu," he said, still asleep. "Beautiful Lulu..."

She smiled and stepped back.

Milo softly snored.

Lulu giggled and headed back to bed.

SPINELLI was at his computer, in the spare room at his grandmother's house.

Murder, She Wrote blasted out of the TV his grandma was watching in the living room.

He would have to remember, he decided in that moment, to get her some new batteries for her hearing aid for Christmas. But first he would have to remember to borrow some money from her.

These days thinking about anything- beyond computer codes, hot chicks, computer games, even hotter chicks, and that some mobster dude wanted to kill him- was pretty hard to do so, he figured, Grandma was probably out of luck for any Christmas gift at all.

"AHHH!" Grandma Spinelli yelled

"It's just a show, geez." Spinelli mumbled. " The butler probably did it. Nothing to get worked up about."

He continued typing away. He was writing a email to Lulu. So far it read

Hey Blonde One,

Sorry I had to cut out on you- and the whole being held captive thing- but I kinda like breathing, so I figured it was best to bail.

But it wasn't nothing personal. Okay?

When the dudes (who shall remain nameless in case anyone else reads this) stop hunting me down, I will be back. And then, maybe, we could chill or something?

Spinelli was trying to think of a better way to ask her if she wanted to go out some time or if not, did she think Sam might leave Jason for The Jackal, when he heard the sound of glass breaking in the other room.

CRASH.

"Where is he?" a man with a Spanish accent demanded to know.

Spinelli froze.

That crazy Alcazar dude's goons got my Grammy! he thought to himself