The Long Recovery:

UCLA Medical Center: Kali's ICU Room:

Kali was sitting up, laughing [well as much as she could without being in pain] about something Amita had said. The boy she had remembered from high school had shown up after hearing about what had happened to her and how it had been Zoran that had ended up doing something to her yet again. She was happy he was there and he hadn't left her side since arriving at the hospital nearly a day ago. Kali's team seemed to see the sparkle in both of their eyes as they looked at each other and talked. They didn't yet know that this was the boy that had gotten Kali to press charges against Zoran in the first place.

The boy, whose name Kali had remembered, was James Carter, a very nice man who had grown up to be a US Marshall. He'd been worried about Kali since hearing that Zoran had escaped jail but he hadn't known where she had moved to and hadn't known her number. Kali and James seemed to click, as if this wasn't the first time something bad had happened to her in his presence. Don and the team wanted to know how Kali knew James but weren't going to ruin a perfectly good reunion for that information at the moment.

Kali had woken up two days after being found, one day after James had arrived to help with the investigation. James' boss had temporarily re-assigned James and his partner Jackie to the investigation in order to keep Kali safer then just being let out of the hospital to go back to her apartment. But what James and Jackie didn't know was that she wouldn't be going home, she would be going to Charlie's house. The Solarium had already been set up with an actual bed instead of the couch, which had been moved under one of the windows. Book cases-for the books that Colby, Liz, and Nikki had gotten from her apartment were stacked on the shelves as were some movies-were standing up next to the far wall on either side of the couch. A desk had been moved in as well, under the window that pointed out towards the coy pond. Charlie, Amita and Allen were trying to make the Solarium as comfortable for Kali as possible seeing as she was going to be spending the better part of a month at the house, under protection from James and Jackie of course.

Jackie was told that Kali would be staying at Charlie's house shortly after they arrived and James had gone into the room to see Kali. When asked how James and Kali knew each other, Jackie had said that they had been friends in high school and that that was all she really knew about the situation. They had taken the explanation, but knew that there was more to the situation then even Jackie knew about. James and Kali would have to explain the reason they were so close and the reason he was willing to risk his life just to keep her safe. But that would be later.

Kali was being discharged that very day. The doctor had examined her that morning and told Don and the team that she would be released as soon as she felt up to it. She of course wanted to get out of the hospital as soon as possible, since, according to her, she felt like a burden to the hospital staff now that she wasn't in serious condition. The staff in turn told her that she was still in serious condition but that she was well enough to go home. She had smiled at that. James seemed not to be able to keep his gaze off of her smile or for that matter; any part of her and everyone could tell that he cared deeply for her.

Charlie's House:

As soon as she was discharged from the hospital, James and Jackie drove her to Charlie's house, with an FBI escort of course. Kali would have to go into the FBI Headquarters tomorrow to give her statement, but for now, she was getting out of the hospital and would be eating normal food. James was driving and knew, as he looked in the rear-view mirror at her, that this was going to be an even longer recovery then it had been the first time. The first time Zoran had gotten his hands on her, they had been eighteen and he was the one that had persuaded her to go to the cops about him. In fact she was the one that had inspired him to become a US Marshall in the first place.

Charlie, Larry, Amita, and Allen were at the house when Don and the team, Lt. Walker and Ian and James, Jackie and Kali drove up. They would all be staying the night at Charlie's house this first night, just to make sure Zoran really couldn't get to Kali without any of them knowing about it. James stopped his SUV and turned the engine off then got out of the vehicle and helped Kali out of the back seat. He was protective of her because he had been there the first time and he was going to be there for her this time as well.

When everyone was in the house and Kali was resting on the couch, Don turned towards James and asked him the one question all of them had been wondering about. How did he know Kali and why was he so protective of her? And they got the answer from the both of us. James only knew what happened when we were dating, before that; I had been on my own. So the talking began.

Talking:

"So, James, now that we're not in the hospital anymore and now that Kali is somewhere safe for the time being, how did you know of Zoran? I mean you told the Director that you had information about Zoran that we didn't or don't know. And how do you and Kali know each other. Your partner Jackie said that you guys used to know each other in high school." Don asked.

"Well, I…we knew that this question would come up in the investigation. I've talked it over with Kali, when no one else was in the room with her and she's agreed to tell her story over again, like we did the first time, when we put Zoran in jail the first time, while we were living in New York and going to school there. I personally met Kali the summer before our senior year in high school. We started going out and she seemed to be afraid all the time. I started to ask questions but she stopped me, saying that it wasn't something I could help her with. That's when I started to notice that someone was following us wherever we went and asked Kali about it. The night she told me, I knew that we had to go to the cops."

"What did she tell you?" Ian asked.

"I told him that Zoran had been stalking me since I was sixteen, since he tried to get me to go out with him when I was working at this little Podunk diner a few blocks from our school. I turned him down, but he didn't seem to take it as a refusal and so that's when he started to stalk me. I tried to tell my parents, but they either didn't seem to mind or didn't believe me. My father worked for the CIA so he was always gone and my mother was a soldier in the Army. Whenever they were gone, I would go and live with my aunt and when I tried to tell her what was going on, she told me that I was just imagining it, that someone like Zoran wouldn't spend his time stalking a young high school girl. Apparently, my aunt knew who Zoran was and still she didn't think it was necessary for me to be obsessing over the fact that he was stalking me. So, when I started dating James, I thought that he would get bored of me when he realized I was dating someone. I was wrong. The night I told James, he was sitting outside in his car. The reason I know that he was was because I saw him out there. I didn't tell James but I guess he figured it out because I didn't want to go home that night. I stayed over at James' house and in the morning, instead of going to school, he got me to go to the cops instead. Zoran was found outside of the school a few hours later, waiting for me to leave school and go home. He was arrested and taken to jail. I thought my nightmare was over then, but I see now that he was only waiting and building up anger that I should have known was coming. I know that I should've told you that I knew him when everyone was told but I honestly didn't think he would be able to find me and the fact that I hadn't told anyone where I had moved to was why I didn't think that he would be able to find me."

"That was a lengthy explanation, but you still should have told someone that you knew him. We understand that you didn't think he could find you or know where you lived when you told no one where you were going, but the Director isn't going to like the fact that you knew him when you were a kid. If he had known the whole time, before Zoran had grabbed you, then he would've had you in a Safe House and we would've been able to protect you this time." Colby said. Fear had grown in all of their eyes as I told my side of the story about how I had known who Zoran was and why I hadn't said anything.

"She knows that, but I think the other reason she didn't say anything was because she didn't want anyone to worry about her. When she first told me what was happening, she immediately told me the only other reason for not telling anyone was because she didn't want anyone to worry about her. When the case went to trial, our high school emptied out and everyone went to the courtroom to support the one person we thought at the time that had overcome the worst kind of monster. She was a hero to most people that knew who she was but never had the time or courtesy to talk to her."

"I had become a burden without knowing it. Apparently, James wasn't the only one that had figured out something was wrong in my life, they just hadn't figured out how to say anything. The fact that a lot of people who I knew from school showed up at the courtroom told me that people cared more about me then I knew even existed. I even got some out-of-state support from people who had gone through something similar to what I had gone through with Zoran."

"Well, this time, he may actually get the death penalty for going after an FBI Agent. He didn't get the death penalty before because you weren't law enforcement, but now, he may actually get it and go to a High Security Prison." David said.

"And I know the perfect prison he'd do just great in. I read about this new prison that they just built down south for the worst of the worst criminals. Apparently it's going to be called Force Prison. Something to do with a former Sex Slave who asked legislators to build a prison where even if criminals did get away, they wouldn't make it even twenty feet before they died." I said.

"And where is this prison supposed to me located?" Ian asked.

"Antarctica of course, though it's only for the worst of the worst criminals, like those that are supposed to be on Death Row, but get a Life Sentence instead."

"I'd hate to be a prisoner that was sent there. No privileges, no nothing, exposed to the elements and the guards that are down there." Nikki said.

"Yeah, except, that all the prisoners are blindfolded until they get down to the prison. There's supposed to be a heated hanger bay that leads straight into the prison after the plane is unloaded. And there's no windows, except up high where no one can get to them. As well as the fact that the outside time or 'yard' time is a big gym within the facility."

"Well, maybe we should send all the prisoners in the world there. Then they would never be able to escape. I wonder what kind of guards there is." Liz said.

"Apparently the military is the security for the facility so that they can make sure for sure that no one escapes, though it's not like they could anyways, if you know what I mean. I mean, who would want to escape just to die twenty feet later?"

"Good point."

The talking stopped, though no one knew if I wanted to continue talking or not. They had seen how tired I had gotten during the talking and had wondered why I still kept displaying the same look that I had worn since getting inside. They knew it probably had something to do with the fact that I didn't want to be a bother to anyone but didn't understand why. James saw the far away look in my eyes that he had seen the first day he had met me and spoke up.

"So who wants food? I'm a pretty good cook, anyone up for bar-b-que?"

"That sounds great." Lt. Walker said getting up with everyone else.

The look in my eyes told him thank you. He knew that I wanted to be alone for a while, even if that did mean falling asleep for an hour or so.