Chapter 14

November 2019

"David, go get your sister and your cousin, please. "Elaine Schmidt asked her oldest grandkid who was nearest from the bench she was sitting at while she was fixing the other boy's outfit, getting ready to head to the Schmidt's house in Clyde Hill where she and the kids were staying since the Karev's house was being remodeled.

It was a beautiful sunny afternoon, even though it was just a few days from Thanksgiving, so she decided to take her four grandchildren to the park to get some air. Her son and his wife had taken a little break from the kids along with Alex and Jo, so she was in charge of taking care of them all, not that she really did mind, she loved it. David immediately spotted his sister and went to get her but had a hard time finding Camilla; he looked all around for her but just could not find her.

"Grandma, I can't find Camilla..." he said holding his sister's hand as he approached her grandmother.

"What do you mean? She is behind you." She said pointing behind the boy. David turned around surprise for seeing his cousin standing right there when he couldn't find her. They walked over to their car and David kept eyeing Camilla wondering where she had been.

"Hey! Where were you?" he asked her after they entered their car and were all buckled up on their seats "I looked all over and didn't see you. Were you hiding?"

"No." she answered smiling, "I was with mommy."

"Were not." Sadie, her cousin, contradicted her.

"Were too." She argued.

"Your mom is not even here, Camilla. How were you with her?" David accused.

"But she was at the park" she said now whimpering for being contradicted by both of her cousins.

"Kids, leave your cousin alone," Mrs. Schmidt warned them "Sweetie, it's okay. Do you miss your mommy? Is that why you think you saw her at the park? It's just a few more days then she'll be here..."

"She was at the park, grandma. She tied my shoe."

"Okay, baby girl..." Mrs. Schmidt said ignoring that Camilla's shoes laces were actually tied.

The days had passed with the same routine they had started the day the kids' parents left that include waking up, having breakfast, taking shower, playing, having lunch, playing a little more, throwing tantrums on napping time, waking up again, eating a snack, playing, eating dinner, another tantrum and then sleeping. Ryan, Sarah, Alex and Jo returned to the Schmidt's house with Jane her husband Chris and their two boys the night before thanksgiving and Jo's birthday. To their dismay, they found all of the four kids already asleep. They all greeted Mrs. Schmidt, the men went to hang out on the living room quiet to not wake the kids up, while Jane went to put her boys to bed too and then went to the kitchen to be with the women and help to cook the food for the night after that. The girls chitchat and laughed, Mrs. Schmidt sharing the kids' week without their parents.

"How did she do?" Jo asked.

"Poor child missed you so much, she was seeing you everywhere," Mrs. Schmidt informed Jo with a tiny smile on her face.

"Aww my poor baby..." Jo said pouting and putting her hands on her heart.

"I know, sweetheart, she missed a lot. She was so convinced she had spent the days with you." She said and they all chuckled "You should have seen her. But she only missed you... she apparently forgot she had a father"

"My poor little thing. She had never been this long without us... Now I want to wake her up and kiss all over her chubby face"

They chat all night long until it was time for them to go to bed. They all said their goodnights to and retrieved to bed. In the next morning, all of the grown-ups woke up before the kids and even though it was way after time for them to wake up, they just left the children sleep. Jo went to the bathroom upstairs and heard giggles coming from the girls' bedroom. She opened the door quietly and then closed it behind her and stood there until the girls noticed her presence. They both stood up from Sadie's bed were they had been sleeping in and ran to Jo hugging her and wishing her a happy birthday.

"Mommy, Sadie says I didn't see you at the park the other day and that you didn't tie my shoe laces." Camilla informed her mother "But you were there and you tied my shoe laces."

"Of course, honey. Of course mommy was there" she told Camilla and then winked her eye at Sadie who nodded her head.

"Told ya." Camilla told Sadie. "Where's daddy?"

They spent the day enjoying each other's company, laughing and recounting life events. The dinner went well. They all gave her thanks. Jo thanked for finding the family she never thought one day she would ever have.

"Who were you talking to for that long?" Alex asked Jo when she appeared in the kitchen.

"Nobody important and Elaine, she wanted us to know that she is at her son's and wants us to see us" she answered him.

"And who was the 'nobody important' that annoyed you that much?"

"It was just phones companies trying to make adhere their services... Same old, same old" she said rolling her eyes.

"Okay... So I called Izzie..." he started motioning his hand for her to sit down on the chair to the kitchen table.

"What did she say?" she asked receiving a plate of food Alex was giving her.

"She said she will be out of work in a couple hours then she'll pass by here... but she has to bring Abby with her... " he answered and she nodded her head understanding.

"Okay..." they ate their lunch practically in silence and after that Jo told Alex she had grocery shopping to do and left only returning a few minutes after Izzie and Abby arrival to their house. She greeted them both and the three of them moved to the kitchen, leaving Abigail in the living room watching cartoons, to talk in private without the little girl hearing what they were talking about. Izzie started to apologize to both of them and then explained how she found out she was pregnant with Abby and had returned to Seattle to tell Alex but he just sent her away without giving her a chance to tell him. She raised Abby by herself until two years ago when Abby was seven and she met Morgan. She apologized again for taking Alex away from his daughter's life and said she would understand if they didn't want anything to do with Abigail, which made them both go mad but were interrupted by Abby coming in into the kitchen with a framed picture of Camilla on her hand. They all stop their conversation and stared at the girl's hand.

"Is she my sister?" she asked the adults pointing at the girl on the picture. When they didn't answer her question she sighed and elaborated why she had asked that "Well... I know you are my dad." She said looking at Alex who only looked back at her "I heard mom and Will talking about how she wanted me to meet you, the other day" she explained.

"Oh my God, Abby" Izzie said shaking her head "You know better than eavesdropping!"

"I wasn't. You were just talking loud enough for me to hear it... is she?" she asked them but only looking at Alex.

"Yes, she is" he said after sighing and closing his eyes.

"Really?" she beamed "I met her today at the park and didn't even know I had a little sister. When is she coming here? Can I stay, mom?"

"What do you mean you met her at the park... today..?" Jo asked her slowly getting up

"Her name is Skye and she is four." Abby told them trying to prove she was right.

"This girl is Camilla, honey. Not Skye." Izzie told the girl pulling her towards her lap "Maybe you just met someone that looked alike her"

"Oh God" both Alex and Jo said at the same time, making both Abby and Izzie look at them.

"Where was this park, Abby?" Alex asked her.

"I don't know. My nanny took me there, why?" she answered and Alex balled his right hand into a fist and pounded the kitchen's table startling the girl

"Alex! I don't understand what is going on," Izzie said.

"Skye is her middle name." Jo responded.

XXXXXXXX

"Why did you hurt her?" Camilla asked Mia crying scared, while Mia walk up and down on the living room. Since Mia wasn't responding any of the girl's questions, Camilla just kept crying terrified of what she had witnessed. "I want daddy... Mia, I want to go home" Mia shook stopped pacing and squatted down to be at the same eye position as Camilla.

"Home? You want to go home?" she asked her laughing hysterically only scaring even more the child in front of her.

"Yes..." Camilla choked out between her sob "Yes, please. I want my dad"

"Yeah? Well, guess what? Home is gone." She whispered to the little girl stroking her cheek. Camilla stepped back and started screaming and crying, coughing every other time.

"I want daddy... Daddy?"

"STOP CRYING SKYLAR!" Mia yelled at her now grabbing her own her and shaking her head

"I'm not Skylar..." Camilla cried "I'm Camilla."

"Careful kid, Daddy isn't coming and you are going to choke yourself," The child only continued to cry and scream for her dad. "Hey! Where are you going? Get back in here!" Mia ordered her after Camilla started stepping away from her and reaching for the house door. Camilla shook her head at Mia and stood by the door breathing hard and opening her eyes wide when she noticed Mia coming closer and closer to her. "Oh don't be scared, sweet pie. I would never hurt you"

"Daddy..." she whispered crying for him "Blankie...Blankie"

"Oh baby, I'm sorry" Mia said going back into the living room to get Camilla's blanket. "I'm so sorry..." she said again turning into her normal self and handing Camilla her blanket, "I'm sorry baby, I didn't mean to" she pulled Camilla and hugged her to her body against the girl's will until Camilla stopped fighting and accepted Mia's embrace.

xxxxxxxxx

"Oh my god Stephanie. Are you okay?" Jo asked as soon as she and Alex did entered the hospital room Stephanie was staying at talking to the Detective who had called them to meet at the hospital. "What happened?"

"Why are you here?" Alex asked the Detective "I thought the case had been closed!"

"I know but Miss Edwards contacted me and asked me to be present while she talked to you"

"What is it, Steph?" Jo asked grasping her friend's hand.

"I had her, Jo I'm sorry." She said starting to shed some tears "I had her..."

"You had who? Camilla?" Alex asked and Stephanie nodded "Explain yourself Stephanie!"

"I was at Houghton Park in Kirkland... and she... and she... she was there too"

"Mind me if I ask what you were doing in Kirkland?" The detective asked

"I live there..."

"What the hell happened, Stephanie? Where is she?!" Alex yelled.

"I don't know, Alex. One minute she was with me and the next one, somebody woke me up and I drove here."

"What do you mean?" Jo asked.

"Jo? Did you take her?" Stephanie asked her best friend with an apologetic voice.

"What makes you say that?" the detective asked her once again.

"She saw me, and she... she hugged me from behind and when I turned around I couldn't believe that I was actually looking at her." She started "They died her hair blonder bur it was her I swear."

"Why isn't she here, Steph?" Alex asked her, after looking at Jo through the corner of hi eyes.

"I tried... I held her up on my arms and took her to the parking lot. When I put her down to look for my car' keys, she panicked and started saying she had to go back to the park. I think somebody hit me on my head and it all went black. But before that, I told her I would bring her to you guys but she refused by saying that she couldn't come and she just kept saying 'Mommy will be mad at me', she said it over and over until it all went black!" she said that and then looked at Jo.

They all did.

A.N.: The first part in italics is a throwback to show that Camilla knew her kidnapper and had been with her several times before she was kidnapped. The rest of the chapter is set on current time which takes place a month and 12 days after Camilla's kidnap.