Parental Obligations: Of Emotions and Sadness

Elizabeth groaned as Kenneth's fist struck her face. "You do realize mom's going to take this out of your hide, right?" she said, her tongue darting out to get the blood on the corner of her mouth.

Kenneth sneered. Sometimes, he wasn't so sure why he ever put up with her in the first place. He should've just put everyone out of her misery long ago. "But darling," he crooned, "she knows I like it rough."

Elizabeth's stomach literally jerked. "That's gross. Besides, her current guy won't be liking that too much. He's kind of protective." She was tied to a chair in the middle of the bedroom that they had slept in the night before.

Kenneth paused, his fists curling and his knuckles crackling. He was ready to beat her into oblivion. "What was that?" he asked dangerously.

Elizabeth swallowed thickly. She could taste the blood in her mouth. She must look a sight. It had been a full twenty-four hours since she had been taken from her mom's apartment. Kenneth hadn't taken too kindly to her telling his "business associates" that he had kidnapped and beat her.

Apparently, he was an honest criminal. The kind that hired all kinds of dads looking for ways to keep their kids fed.

"You know, I think I'm feeling a bit delirious. Like maybe my brain has been rattled a little, ya know?" Elizabeth blinked slowly for effect.

Kenneth grabbed her pony tail. "What did you say?" he asked, his minty fresh breath making Elizabeth's empty stomach revolt.

"Mom's dating someone," she said. "His name is Danny, and he can so take you."

Kenneth hit her again, hard enough to knock her out. "I don't think so," he murmured. Glancing at the closet where he had locked Sam, he went to the bathroom and got a wet washcloth. Cleaning Elizabeth's face, he saw he was really going to have to make some kind of contact with Lindsay.

((((((((((CSI:NY))))))))))

Lindsay's face was red and puffy from her night of crying. Danny silently handed her a cup of coffee and offered her a bowl of cereal. She had stayed at his place, but he, even though it almost killed him to hear her crying, had stayed on the couch all night while she stayed in his bedroom.

"No thanks," Lindsay said, taking the cup.

"You know, I don't think you should be alone today," Danny said.

Lindsay stared into the dark coffee. "I don't think it will really matter," she said flatly.

Danny's heart twisted. Her voice sounded so lifeless. "Lindsay," he said gently, moving in front of her. He lifted her chin so he could look into her eyes. "We're going to find them, and you need to stay strong for when we do. You need to stay safe so we can kick this guy's ass."

Lindsay felt miserable looking into his adamant eyes. He was so optimistic, and he had so much hope. "Danny, my babies are out there, and I need to get them back. I'm so close to going out and searching for them. I didn't know he was in New York, but I'm sure I could find him. I know where his sister lives, and I know he's doing this to get me back."

"So, what's your plan?" Danny asked, his grip on her chin firm as he held her gaze. She looked like she had given up hope, and that's one of the worst things you can do in a kidnapping case. "Are you going to go back to him, hoping he'll…what? Stop hitting Elizabeth if you be with him?"

Lindsay tried to turn away, but he wouldn't let her. She closed her eyes and a single tear squeezed past her defenses, falling down her face. "I don't know, but it's better than doing nothing," she whispered.

When Lindsay opened her eyes again, all her emotions were laid bare, completely within his sight. The windows to the soul. Her eyes had been shuttered for so long that the raw pain took his breath away. "It's not your fault," he said, his grip loosening so that he was cupping her chin rather than holding it.

Lindsay's breath caught and she struggled to get it back. He had pinpointed everything she was feeling in just that sentence. "I know," she choked out. "I do. I know."

"But you can't shake the feeling," Danny finished. "When we get her back, Elizabeth's going to kick your ass."

That brought Lindsay out of her self-absorbed misery. "No, she won't. She blamed me the first time, and she was right."

Danny's hand fell, but he didn't back away. He found it hard to believe that Elizabeth would blame her mom for anything, much less something she had to have known wasn't her fault.

"She has never talked about it," Lindsay said. "She never told me how long it had been going on for. She never said anything, except that she was fine and that he had never touched her in a sexual way."

Danny sighed deeply. "I know you're her mom, but maybe she just needed to…process it on her own? I don't know, but I highly doubt she blamed you."

Lindsay wanted to believe him. She probably needed to believe him, for her own mental well-being, but she couldn't. "I should've protected her better," she finally said.

Danny stared at her in disbelief. Nothing he said had gotten through to her. "Come on," he finally said. "You can watch Grace, but you're going to have to do it at the lab or around the station. That way, you're surrounded by plenty of uniforms."

Lindsay grabbed Danny's arm when he started to turn away. "Thank you," she said genuinely. "I really needed that."

Danny pushed her hair behind her ear and stared into her red-rimmed eyes. For a brief moment, he actually got lost in them and she in his.

"I—I don't have any clothes to wear," Lindsay said, finally breaking the stare.

Danny smirked, despite the situation. "Why, Monroe, just what are you trying to say?"

Lindsay's face colored at the innuendo. "Not on your life, Messer," she said, releasing him from her grasp.

Danny's smirk faded. "I'll get you some clothes," he said. "You gonna be okay out here?"

Lindsay nodded gratefully and went through his cabinets for some crackers or something. He had no semblance of order, and everything was piled higgledy-piggledy into random places. Studying the motley assembly of cups and foods, Lindsay stood on her tip-toes to grab a box of crackers on a higher shelf.

Her cell phone rang as she finally got a hold on the box. Letting the box drop as she scrambled for the phone, she flipped it open. "Hello?"

"Lindsay."

"Let me talk to Elizabeth," Lindsay said immediately.

Kenneth laughed. "Lindsay," he said, as if his ex had been particularly naughty. "I'm hurt that you won't even say hi. Darling, we haven't talked in so long."

"Kenneth, let me talk to my daughter," Lindsay said, her voice shaking.

"You don't understand," Kenneth said, his voice like poisoned honey. "You don't have a leg to stand on. You don't get to—"

"'Ey, Montana," Danny called. "I found some clothes, but they look a little big." He entered the room, looking down at the jogging pants he was holding. "I'm not sure—" His words died in his throat when he saw Lindsay's face and the fact that she was on the phone.

Acting swiftly, Danny pulled out his phone and called Mac.

"Lindsay," Kenneth said. His voice broke. "I can't believe you would do this to me."

"Nononono," Lindsay cried as she heard the click on the other end of the line. "Kenneth!" She quickly called the number back, but it went straight to voice mail.

Danny watched as Lindsay crumbled to the floor as she tried to call Kenneth back. "He called her," he said as soon as Mac answered. "Manchetti. He called her."

Mac glanced at Stella, who was trying to dress Grace without waking her. "When?"

"Just now. I think he heard me talking to Lindsay, and I don't think he took it too well," Danny said quietly, turning away so Lindsay wouldn't hear him talking.

Lindsay quietly pushed herself up and took Danny's cell phone from his hand. "I have his number," she said strongly. "If he calls back, we can get his location."

Stella came to stand beside Mac, having given up trying to dress Grace when the little girl took a sloppy swing at her. He put it on speaker phone so Stella could hear the conversation. "What did he say, Lindsay?"

"He didn't say anything," Lindsay said. "I asked—demanded—to talk to Elizabeth, but he started to tell me that I couldn't make demands or something. Then Danny came in and he said that he couldn't believe I would do this to him and hung up. I think he'll call back."

Stella gave Mac a worried look. On the bed, Grace's eyes were squeezed shut, but her breathing was no longer steady and she was listening to every word the adults said.

"Lindsay, you need to get to the station. If he calls again, we'll have our best people on it."

"Mac, I don't think he was too happy with me," Lindsay said, her voice starting to tremble.

"Lindsay, we'll find them," Mac said gently.

Stella squeezed his hand. "Get to the station so we can bring those babies home," she said.

Lindsay flipped the phone shut and gave it back to Danny. "Let's go," she said without a backward glance. She needed to find her kids before it was too late.

((((((((((CSI:NY))))))))))

Kenneth was feeling downright murderous. Elizabeth was out cold so she wasn't awake to make smart ass comments. He wished she was just so he would have something to hit.

"Shut the hell up!" Kenneth said, kicking the closet door.

Inside, Sam huddled against the far wall, trying to muffle her sobs. She wanted her mom. She wanted her sister to tell her everything was going to be okay. She wanted Grace to tell her stories about the paste at school. She wanted to be anywhere but there.

With a roar, Kenneth yanked open the door and plucked Sam up. "What part of shut up don't you understand?"

Sam squeezed her eyes shut tight and bit her lip. A sob wracked her little body.

Kenneth looked down at her face and almost dropped her in shock. He was horrified at himself. "I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry," he said, putting her on the bed. He backed away, feeling worse than ever when she curled up into a ball and tried to stop crying.

Pulling his gun out, he checked the clip and put it back in. He backed out of the room and locked the door. Then he slid down the wall and pulled his cell phone back out. She was making him crazy. Why wouldn't she just love him?

((((((((((CSI:NY))))))))))

Lindsay's phone rang and she almost jumped out of her skin.

"Don't do anything to provoke him, alright?" Mac said firmly.

Lindsay nodded and answered. "Hello?"

"Lindsay," Kenneth said shakily.

Lindsay inhaled sharply. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"I hate what you do to me," he whispered. "I hate this. Why can't you just love me?"

"Kenneth—" Her voice broke. "You hurt my baby."

On the other end of the line, Kenneth pulled his right knee to his chest and rested his forehead against it. "You don't understand," he said. "I tried for so long and I held my tongue. She's a good kid, but she just needs some straightening."

Lindsay's face contorted like she was in physical pain. She wanted to argue, but the whole 'don't provoke him' thing kind of contradicted that. "Kenneth," she said, "I understand you were angry at her, but you should have come to me. The way you punished Elizabeth is not the way I handle things."

"I know," Kenneth said, openly crying. "That's why I couldn't tell you. I know you're not capable of the punishment Lizzie needed."

Lindsay's hand fisted around the cell phone, her knuckles turning white. "Can I talk to her? Please, let me talk to her."

Kenneth shook his head and laughed through his tears.

The raw emotion surprised her, and the rough laugh made her want to cry. "What did you do?" she whispered.

"I tried to get her to stop, but she kept saying the most awful things," Kenneth said. "Said you were dating a guy…Danny. Was that him, Linds? She wasn't lying, was she?"

Lindsay's face crumbled. "Don't hurt her because of something I did!" she said, stomping her foot as she cried.

"I thought she was lying, but then…you just made me so mad, and Sammie wouldn't stop crying—"

"What did you do?" Lindsay yelled, her voice rising.

Mac exchanged worried looks with Danny. Stella was in his office with Grace. She was doing some work from his computer while Grace slept.

"I didn't do anything, but you don't know how bad I wanted to," Kenneth said, his voice cracking.

Lindsay didn't know what to do. On one hand, she didn't want him to hurt her daughters over something she had supposedly done. On the other, she didn't know what he would do to Elizabeth if he found out she had lied to him. "What do you want from me?"

"I want you to love me!" Kenneth said. "Dammit, Lindsay, I've missed you so much."

Lindsay breathed in deeply. "I loved you, Kenneth. I was prepared to marry you, but you hurt my baby, my firstborn, my reason for living."

Kenneth slammed his fist into the floor. "You say loved, like it's the past tense. Lindsay, baby, you know that's not me. It was just—I love you, and I love Sammie and Elizabeth. Please."

Lindsay tried to stop her tears, but she couldn't. "Kenneth, I need my babies back."

"Sammie is just as much mine as she is yours! I was there…I rocked her and I changed her diapers. Dada was her first word!"

"Kenneth," Lindsay whispered, "she doesn't even remember you. You're just another face, and, right now, you're the face that's terrorizing her and her sister."

There was a thump from inside the room, followed by a scream. "I gotta go," Kenneth said slowly, his hand automatically going to his gun.

"NO!" Lindsay said. "Kenneth, don't—" She stopped when she heard the click. She looked over at Mac and Danny with a frantic look in her eyes. "I heard Sammie scream. She screamed. Sammie doesn't scream. Oh, God."

Danny pulled her in his arms, and Mac turned away to talk to the tech who had been tracing the call. Over Lindsay's head, Danny saw Mac shake his head, lips pursed in frustration.

"We have to find them," Lindsay whispered. "He's crazy."

((((((((((CSI:NY))))))))))

When Kenneth entered the room, he found Elizabeth on the floor. Apparently, she had tried to get out of her restraints, and her chair had fallen over. Her hands and feet were bleeding from where the cuffs were cutting into them, and her head had struck the edge of the bed.

Kenneth swore as he hurriedly uncuffed her. Samantha was sobbing at the sight of her sister bleeding profusely from a large gash in her head. "Shhh," Kenneth said soothingly.

He left the room to get a rag and some bandages to stop the flow. The possibility of it being a trick did cross his mind, but, when he returned and she was still on the floor, he figured she was really injured.

The blood wouldn't stop, and the gash looked like it would definitely need medical attention.

Kenneth poured water on Elizabeth to wake her up. Elizabeth woke up crying. "Ow," she said, her voice clouded with tears.

"I think you have a concussion," Kenneth said gently, relieved that she was okay.

Elizabeth tried to stop crying so she could say something smart aleck-y, but it hurt too badly. "It hurts," she whimpered.

"I know." Kenneth scooped her up and put her on the bed. "Sammie, hold this to Lizzie's head while I go get some ice."

His paternal instincts having kicked in, he didn't think twice about leaving the door open. Elizabeth tried to sit up, but the dizziness made her sick.

Kenneth ran back when he heard Elizabeth getting sick. "What do I do now?" he whispered, backing out of the room to look for a towel. He had no idea what he was supposed to do about the pain or anything. He knew he couldn't take her to the hospital or he would get caught, but what if her brain was, like, bleeding or something?

"It's okay, Sammie," Elizabeth soothed. Sam's little body shook as she silently cried. "I'm gonna be fine." Even if my head does hurt like hell…

Out in the hall, Kenneth felt ill himself. Elizabeth was hurt badly, and she was comforting her sister. He retreated back into the kitchen and made a quick phone call.

TBC…I was trying to make Kenneth a little more humane even though I still really really hate him. WHERE ARE MY REVIEWS? So far, I've got, like, four reviews for chapter 10. I'm going to need more than that if you're really expecting an ending…