This is kind of sappy...but necessary to get where I'm going. Hope you like.:-)

Chapter Thirteen: Stress Syndrome Therapy

It was past dinner, and they still hadn't gotten anywhere. Seely hadn't been kidding about forcing them to stay in that room, either. He even intimidated a young rookie cop into playing guard dog.

Bug sighed, rubbing his eyes and looking up from the autopsy file he was reading. "This man," he said softly, "he left behind a two-year-old daughter. She won't get to be "daddy's girl," or have anyone walk her down the aisle. I doubt she'll even remember him."

Everyone else looked up at him, but didn't say anything.

"I was afraid of that happening to Maddie," he continued. "I know she'd still have Jeffery…but he hardly gives her the time of day…I feel like her real father. Thinking that I wouldn't be able to be there for her scared me the most up there."

Lily linked her arm through Bug's. "No one knew anything over here…I mean, we knew something had gone wrong…you were supposed to be back that night. But no one told us anything—we didn't even know that the plane had crashed. I was sick with worry. I even went to the precinct, but they didn't know anything, either. I had all of these scary possibilities running threw my head, some of them worse than what actually happened. I don't think I would have made it if all of you were gone." She sniffed and wiped away a few tears.

Kate snorted. "I'm sure you could have done just fine without me," she added a bit sourly. Everyone turned and stared at her.

"Why on earth would you say that?" Nigel asked.

"Because I'm not part of your little group…and no one really likes me anyway," she replied. "I'm used to it…it's been that way everywhere I've been…but having it stare me in the face was…was…."

"We do like you," Jordan cut in. "Yeah, you're a bit abrasive and stubborn…it's more something you have in common with us that not," she smirked a bit.

"And, you are part of our 'little group.' You have been for quite a while…no one here hates you, and we all would have been devastated if you died up there," Nigel added. "Especially me."

Kate looked at him then. "I've grown on you, have I?" she asked.

Nigel smiled. "Who else am I going to get to compete with?"

Suddenly, Jordan turned to Garret. "Why didn't you tell any of us that you were injured? You had to have known long before we figured it out."

Garret sighed. "I did know. I didn't want to give you all extra worries…and at the beginning, I thought that we'd be found before it got bad. You all had enough to do without me being a burden."

"You're not a burden, Dr. Macy," Bug said. "Your our friend…we would have helped you."

"We were all worried about everyone dying, knowing about your injury wouldn't have added that much too it," Woody said.

Garret just shrugged. "It still made me feel better to keep it from you, in a small way."

Everyone's eyes turned to Woody and Jordan.

Woody laughed nervously. "It's our turn, right?"

Jordan opened her mouth before Woody could get any farther. "I was afraid of being the last one left…of having to watch everyone I love die. I wasn't as much concerned about me dying…I've come so close to it so much, I figured I had finally run out of luck. But I couldn't watch all of you…." Tears spilled down her face. "I….I love you all too much for that," she whispered.

Woody pulled her into a sideways hug. "We all feel the same about you, Jordan. I don't know how I felt…just lost, I guess. I am so used to being able to fix things…and I couldn't fix this. No matter what I tried, it didn't help anything."

"But it did," Lily said forcefully. "That transmitter you all said failed, how else could they have found you? That had to have been it!"

Thinking about it, everyone nodded. "We thought that had failed…it was such a long shot," said Bug.

Nigel smiled. "I guess our luck hasn't run out yet," he said.

Kate shook her head and wiped her eyes. "I guess Seely knows more than it looks like he does," she commented. "I think we needed this."

"Yeah, we did," said Jordan. "We're a family…we needed to sort this out together."

"Well, then," Garret said. "Let's solve this thing the family way." He turned toward Jordan and winked. "Any ideas?"