James made his way into Central Park after parking his taxi cab along 5th Avenue. His earlier prediction appeared to have been true. There was no sign of any cop car coming. He didn't think there would be, anyway. It was just as well, after all. He wanted to do this alone.

As he made his way along the path, in a set course to the Bandshell, his mind went back to that time long ago, when he and Hannah had visited New York after high school graduation.

Flashback

Rain was falling from the sky in torrents. In Central Park, a young couple was running along the water-soaked pavement, with the young man trying to use his navy blue windbreaker as a makeshift umbrella. In spite of his attempts, the young couple was still getting quite soaked, but that didn't stop the girl from laughing in enjoyment. The sound of her laughter also placed a large grin on the young man's face.

"James, over there!" the girl pointed to a location nearby. Catching on to her meaning, James redirected them over towards the Bandshell to find shelter from the rain. After they'd made it to the temporary cover, the girl proceeded over to the door that would lead them backstage.

"Hannah, I don't think we're allowed back there," James called over to her, a large smile on his face.

"Oh, come on, James!" Hannah winked back at him as she tested the door, which had been left unlocked. "Where's your sense of excitement? Besides, back here, we'll be out of the wind as well." James gave in instantly, and followed Hannah backstage. The moment he'd joined her, Hannah launched herself at him, hugging his neck. In response, James's arms latched themselves around Hannah's waist, laying his cheek on her hair.

"Hannah, you're soaking wet," James laughed after a moment. Hannah smirked up at him, her blonde hair sticking to her face.

"Hey, mister, you're not exactly towel dry yourself," she pointed out, smoothing out James' hair, which was also dripping wet, creating a small puddle on the floor. "Besides, does it really matter?"

"Not at all," James shook his head, pushing some of the soaked hair out of Hannah's face, his hands remaining on her cheeks. "Besides, wet hair makes you look even cuter." To prove his statement, James bent down to kiss her tenderly. When he'd pulled back, Hannah returned the term of affection by moving her lips to his neck, an act that made James sigh in contentment. The young couple continued with their caresses, using both their lips and their hands. Very slowly, James became aware that the two of them were slowly moving down to the floor. At this point, however, he really didn't care about that. It was something he wanted very much, and seeing how Hannah wasn't resisting, he was quite sure she wanted this just as much.

End Flashback

James' eyes clenched shut as he forced that old memory to the back of his mind. That part of his life was over for good, and dwelling on it would not help him with what he needed to do now. He'd just arrived at the Bandshell, where he was sure Hannah was holding Penny captive.

Making his way to the backstage door, James was relieved to find that it had been left unlocked once again. Once he was inside, James carefully closed the door behind him, trying to not make any noise that would alert Hannah of his presence. Moving further along into the backstage room, he strained his eyes to see in the limited light. Before long, he stopped in his tracks, seeing the figure tied to the chair. Urgently, James looked around, and to his relief, there was no sign of Hannah anywhere. Not hesitating a moment longer, James crossed the room to Penny's side in an instant. The moment he touched her shoulder, Penny gave a sudden jump, turning her head in fear. The terrified look on her face quickly disappeared upon her seeing who it was. Instead, her eyes were immediately filled with joyful tears. Even with the gag in place, James could tell she was smiling as well.

"Shhh," James whispered, going right to work at untying the robes that held Penny to the chair. "It's okay, Penny. I'll have you out of this in a minute." Once James had undid the robes, Penny pulled off the gag.

"James," Penny whispered, lightly touching his face. For a brief moment, James' eyes met Penny's as he covered her hand with his own, but then he stepped back, pulling her up out of the chair.

"Come on, Penny," James instructed quietly, starting to lead her out of the backstage room. "We gotta get you out of here before Hannah figures out I'm here."

"James?" Penny's voice made him turn back for a moment. The young girl was gazing at him with a face filled with joy, love, and gratefulness. "I… I knew you'd come. I never doubted it." James was momentarily frozen at Penny's words, and he was rooted to the spot for a second or two. When he snapped out of it, he pulled Penny into the tightest hug he could possibly manage.

"Penny, I'm sorry!" James spoke into her hair, his voice carrying a strong hint of tears. "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have kept away from you like that. I was just so scared Hannah would use you to get to me, so I though you'd be safe if I stayed away. But she still dragged you into this anyway.

"I'm so, so sorry, Penny. I love you so much. I'm not gonna let you down again, and…"

"James," Penny cut him off by placing two of her fingers over his lips. The smile on her face grew even larger before she continued. "It's okay. Apology accepted. All is forgiven." With these words, Penny replaced her fingers with her own lips, giving James a loving kiss, which he returned whole-heartedly.

"Come on," James took her by the hand once the kiss had ended. "Let's get you home." With a wide smile, Penny let James lead her out of the backstage room. Once they started going out the door, however, she stopped in her tracks. James looked back at her in confusion, and saw her staring wide eyed at something behind him. With a set, determined expression on his face, James turned to face Hannah, who was blocking their way.

"I knew you'd remember, James," Hannah smiled. "I knew you'd remember what this place meant to us. We're right back to where we all started, at the place where you and I made love for the first time."

"No, I haven't forgotten," James replied. "Hannah, this has to stop. It's bad enough you've tried to kidnap our son, but to abduct Penny…"

"Well, you know all about kidnapping our son," Hannah pointed out. "As for Penny, she's free to go. After all, she's done her part by bringing you here."

"Penny?" James spoke to his girlfriend, without taking his eyes of Hannah. "I want you to get out of here."

"You're not serious!" Penny cried. "After all of this, you seriously think I'd just walk away and leave you?"

"Please, Penny," James begged. "I don't want to see you get hurt. I couldn't bear that. Just…go back home. Your parents are worried sick." Penny stood firm for a second or two, but then stood on her tiptoes to kiss James' cheek before hurrying off.

Unknown to James and Hannah, however, she didn't go far at all, and doubled back to hide close by so she would be able to help if she could. By the time she managed to make it to her hiding place, James and Hannah were already talking.

"Why won't you understand this, Hannah?" James spoke with a small hint of desperation in her voice. "After everything that you've done...Mattie's gone because of you, and you still aren't as sorry as you should be!"

"I think you'll find I am, James," Hannah replied. "Do you really think I wasn't hurt by what happened to our daughter? You really think I don't regret what I did?"

"If you did regret it as much as you say you would, you would have done everything you've done to change. But everything you've done here in the city, Hannah; that fire at the hospital, trying to take Sammy by force, and now kidnapping Penny! That just proves you haven't even tried to change. Because of that, what we once shared here will never happen again."

"Oh, come on James," Hannah crooned, inching closer to James. "You're not fooling anyone. You know you still want me, and you want us all to be a family again."

"No," James stepped away. "I don't, Hannah. Not anymore. Because you've changed too much for me to just pretend that everything's the same between us. The Hannah I loved died a long time ago, and a part of me will always care about her because she's the mother of my son. But as for being the person I love, that label is Penny's, and no one else's.

"Goodbye, Hannah," James turned away with a tone of finality. "I just hope you'll eventually learn to help yourself."

"Oh, no," Hannah's voice changed to a cruel, hardened tone. "Not goodbye, James. You see, you and I made a promise on this very spot. A promise that we'd stay together forever. You don't just get to walk away from that, and I intend to make sure you won't, one way or the other."

From her hiding place, Penny watched as Hannah reached behind her back, taking out something that had been hidden beneath her shirt. The light from the lamppost nearby reflected off the object in Hannah's hand, making it possible for her to identify it.

"NO!" In a flash, Penny abandoned her hiding place, hurrying back to James as quickly as she could. Without giving a second thought to the danger involved, Penny shielded James from Hannah, just as the trigger on the gun was pulled.

James' shock reached its highest point when he felt Penny's body lurch forward from the impact of the projectile. Trembling, he glanced down to see the red stain starting to form on the back of Penny's nursing scrub.

"Penny," James whispered in horror, carefully lowering her to the floor, making sure she didn't go down too hard. "Oh, please, no. Why'd you…da-n, Penny! What were you thinking?"

"James, don't be mad," Penny forced a weak smile. "I just… couldn't let you get hurt. I love you too much, and I always will."

"Penny, please!" James begged, the tears starting to flow as he held her closer, "Don't…don't close your eyes. Stay with me, please! I love you! Don't do this to me!" Very slowly, Penny raised a hand to cup James' cheek, but the moment she managed to touch his tear-stained skin, her eyes slipped shut. "Penny, no!" James broke down, cradling Penny's still form, almost forgetting that Hannah was still standing there, watching the scene in silence.

"James," Hannah's voice interrupted James' soft sobs. Tearing his eyes away from Penny, James glared at Hannah in hatred, but before he could say a word, Hannah beat him to the punch. "Please understand. The family we shared was everything to me. The things I did…without you and Sammy, I had no life." Without another word, Hannah closed her eyes, once again raising the gun. This time, however, she pointed it at her own temple.

"Hannah!" James cried out at the same second the gun went off again. Seeing the woman who'd given birth to his son fall to the ground shocked James beyond tears. For a brief moment, he knelt there, too stunned to even move, with Penny still held firmly in his arms.

In the distance, the sounds of police sirens broke through the silence, indicating the police were finally arriving.

AN: Sorry, but I'm going to be evil and leave it here for a while. All I'm going to say about this cliffhanger is that there's still one more chapter left to this story. and that it takes place a few weeks later. Until I finish it to my satisfaction, however, you're just going to have to wait.