Author Note: I must apologize to those of you who read my previous chapters and wrote such thoughtful and kind reviews. My intent was to continue this story right away, but unfortunately real life got in the way. I do know where I am going with this so hopefully my next chapter won't be too long in the making. Thanks again to those of you who have been waiting for this. I hope it was worth the wait!

CHAPTER 4

With the paper in one hand and a coffee in the other, Chris Larabee found himself walking through the hospital parking lot Sunday morning. He and the rest of his team had finished their Friday without any surprises. Larabee always sighed in relief when the end of the week came around and his team was safe and sound.

He and his men had finished getting ready for their testimony in next week's trial. It had been a complicated case with a bust that resulted in some fatalities, so they had to review all the evidence that had been collected and make sure their it's were crossed and it's were dotted. The DA had not been subtle in his desire to win this case, and he was putting the pressure on Team 7. But Chris wasn't worried about the trial. His men had done their work and the bust went relatively smoothly.

The meeting with the FBI was also ironed out during the day Friday. A couple of agents were to meet with the girl Monday morning at 9:00 in Team 7's conference room to take her statement and have her look over some mug shots. After the meeting, she would be taken to the safe house that Travis had arranged with the DEA. Since there was a question over a possible leak in either the FBI or the Denver PD, Travis wanted a completely neutral and unknown location to house the girl.

Chris rode the elevator up to the third floor and walked down the hall to the room where the guard stood out front. After showing his ID, he softly knocked on the door and walked in.

Nathan was sitting next to the bed, reading a book. The only light on in the room was pointed in his direction. The girl seemed to be sleeping, lying on her side facing away from Nathan. At least Chris assumed it was the girl. All he could see of her was her hair sticking out from under the blankets.

Nathan motioned for Chris to step back out into the hallway and he followed. Once the door was shut, Nathan sighed. "It's been a tough night."

"What do you mean? Is she getting worse?"

"No, not really. She has a low-grade fever, probably a reaction to the antibiotics. The last time they checked her lungs, they were better. And the fever isn't too bad so they aren't going to change the meds."

"What's the problem?"

"She's having nightmares. Not just last night either. I called the other boys and they said she had some when they were here. The doctor finally convinced her to take a sleeping pill."

"Damn. Does Josiah know? He seems to be able to get through to her."

Nathan nodded. "He tried to get her to talk yesterday, but I guess she wasn't sharing. He said he'd be back today, had some idea to get her to open up."

"An idea? Knowing Josiah, it probably involves some ancient Chinese ceremony and a bowl of his chili."

Both men chuckled. Josiah was known to have some strange ideas, but they always seemed to work out in the end.

"How about her father?" asked Nathan.

Chris shook his head. He shared with the team medic what he learned from Carlisle's captain, John Needham. Internal Affairs had put an APB on his car and were watching his bank accounts and credit cards, but so far nothing had come up. It was as if Carlisle had taken off . . . or something worse.

Both men went back into the room. The room light was now on. The bed was empty, but coughing from the closed bathroom explained why. Chris noticed that some items were littering the small table beside the bed. There was a bouquet of roses, a deck of playing cards, and an iPod.

Chris picked up the cards. "Aren't these Ezra's?"

"Yep," Nathan replied. "He 'left' them behind. Said Jill could bring them to him on Monday."

"And the flowers?"

"That would be Buck. Seems he can't help but flirt with any female, even ones he could be a daddy to. And J.D. let him bring his iPod for her to borrow." The team medic smiled. "Looks like she's got a couple of us wrapped around her finger, doesn't it?"

The bathroom door opened and the girl stepped out. The first thing Chris noticed was the dark circles under her eyes, and decided to talk to the doctor about another sleeping pill. The bruise on her face was fading to a yellowish-brown. Her arm was still strapped in a sling. "Good morning," she mumbled.

"Morning, Jill." Nathan picked up his book. "I'm going to head home now. Chris will keep ya company for a while. They should be serving breakfast soon. Are you hungry at all?"

She just shook her head and climbed back into the bed, turning away from them. Nathan looked at Chris and mouthed 'Get her to eat something.' They said their good-byes and Nathan left.

Not quite sure what to do next, Chris settled down in the chair next to the bed and opened the paper. After a few minutes, he glanced over the paper. The girl was still turned away. She looked small on the large white bed. Chris estimated she was a couple of inches shorter than J.D. and way too thin. Her hair reminded him of Sarah's, a sandy brown that could look lighter or darker depending on the day.

He realized he was staring when she started turning towards him. Feeling foolish, he hurriedly raised up the paper.

"Excuse me, sir?"

Casually lowering the paper, he replied, "You can call me Chris, remember?"

"Sorry. I forgot. Um, there was a man here yesterday. He had a moustache. What's his name again?"

"That would be Buck."

"Right. Well, he told me you were the one who pulled me of the water. I wanted . . . to say . . . um, thanks."

"You're welcome."

The girl touched the necklace that was back around her neck. "He also said that you were the one in charge. Is that true?"

"When my team actually listens to me, yes, I'm the one in charge." He wanted to add 'Why are you asking?' but sensed that rushing her would not be the right thing to do. He watched her pull on the necklace nervously.

"Being in charge means you have to tell the truth, right?"

Not sure where this was going, Chris folded up the newspaper and set it down on the floor. "Yes, most of the time."

The girl continued to fiddle with the necklace. Hoping it wouldn't frighten her, Chris got up and sat down on the edge of the bed. He wasn't entirely comfortable with talking about his own feelings, but he was good at getting someone else to talk. "Is there something you want to know?" he asked softly.

"I . . . Do you . . ." The girl started to cough. Chris waited for her to finish. He passed a cup of water from the bedside table to her. He saw her wince when she swallowed. He pressed the call button.

A moment later, there was a knock on the door and a nurse walked in. Chris asked, "Could she get tea with honey with her breakfast?" Before the girl could open her mouth, he said, "Yes, you are eating breakfast, young lady, whether you want to or not. You're not going to get any better if you don't get some food in your stomach."

The nurse smiled. "It seems that Mr. Jackson has had a positive influence on you."

"Well, let's keep that to ourselves or I'll never hear the end of it," he replied, winking at the girl. She weakly smiled back. The nurse quickly checked the girl's vitals before she left.

"Okay, you were going to ask me something?" Chris turned back to the girl.

Her hand found its way back to the necklace, tugging at it again. "Will you tell me the truth?" she asked softly.

"I will if I can."

Chris could tell she was struggling with whatever was bothering her. She was biting her bottom lip so hard that it looked like it could start bleeding. Her eyes were looking down, but he could see them filling.

"Is . . . my dad . . . is he dead?"

"I honestly don't know." Chris knew that this was the question the girl wanted to ask, and was sorry he was the one here to answer it. Josiah or Nathan would probably know just what to say. Even Ezra could figure out some words of comfort.

The girl just nodded and turned away, tears streaming down her face. Chris suddenly knew what to do. He gently pushed her head so she was facing him again. "Don't you give up on him now. Until you hear anything different, just keep thinking he's out there, looking for you. Can you do that?"

She sniffled and wiped at her face. "I . . . but what if he's dead?"

"Right now you need to believe he's OK. He wouldn't want you to be making yourself sick. You need to focus on getting better." Chris paused to grab some tissues for her. "Those nightmares? They've been about him, right?"

"I . . . I don't want to talk about them right now." The girl took the tissues from him and coughed a little. "God, I hate crying," he heard her mumble.

Chris didn't know what to say to that, so he got up off the bed. "I'm gonna check on your breakfast. And I'll get check on getting you something for that cough."

He stepped out of the room and was surprised to see Josiah leaning against the wall in the hallway. "How long have you been here, Josiah?"

The team profiler had a smirk on his face. "Long enough to hear Chris Larabee being miraculously optimistic. I sure wish our brothers were here to witness this blessed event."

"Shut up," Chris mumbled, trying to ignore the rising heat on his face. He lowered his voice. "You must be rubbing off on me. It seems that I've heard those words from you a few times in this place."

"I'm glad someone has been listening. You seem to be very comfortable with her."

Chris shrugged. "She just asked for me to be honest. That I can do." He saw the nurse coming towards them with a tray of food. "Ma'am, I'll take that in if you could find some cough syrup."

The nurse smiled. "Now, you'll make sure she eats everything here, right?"

Before he could answer, the ringing of a phone could be heard from inside the hospital room. With speed that belied his age, Josiah raced into the room. Chris was just a step behind. "Don't answer it!" they both yelled. Jill's hand froze over the handset.

She watched with wide eyes as Josiah picked up the phone. "Hello? Hello?" After a few seconds, he hung the phone up. He shook his head at Chris's unasked question.

Chris turned to the girl. "Have you called anyone from this room?"

"I wanted to try my friends, but Mr. Sanchez said that I couldn't. He said that I couldn't let anyone know where I was yet." Her hand gripped her necklace. "I thought no one know that I was here. Who was on the phone?"

Josiah placed a hand on her shoulder. "It will be all right. I'm sure it was just a wrong number."

Just then, the sound of a fire alarm rang through the air.