AUTHOR'S NOTE: Just realized that chapter twenty-four and twenty five somehow were duplicates, so this is just me republishing them. And then I realized after deleting them that there's a nifty button to move the chapters around. Go figure.

Megan walked into the house a couple hours later. She felt a little more at ease in her heart about the child that she was carrying, yet her heart was still heavy; about Charlee, her father, her son, and her past.

She had sat in the parking lot for at least ten minutes trying to process everything. Five years, it had taken her to find happiness again. Really, it had started with when she had run away from home. If she hadn't, she couldn't have imagined that she would have pursued joining the FBI as quickly as she did, but five years ago she had been working in Ohio and her heart had been broken when they had decided to break off the engagement after burying their son.

And now that she was with Larry, It scared her being in this moment again. Somewhere deep inside her heart knew that she wanted to be a mother. She had been both nervous and excited at the same time, just like she was now. In fact to her, this moment almost felt like déjà vu. But she knew that despite her excitement, it could all be lost in a moment.

It had been five years and Max would have been the same age as Charlee was now. She hadn't really been around many five year olds, but since Charlee had arrived a couple days ago, she had plenty of time to sit up at night and think about what he would have been like if he had been alive today. Fact was, she could only imagine that with her ex-fiancé's smarts and hers, she could only imagine that Max would have been a lot like Charlee.

So maybe that's why she felt so strongly about holding onto Charlee so tightly and didn't want her to leave—maybe a part of her past was being relived in a different form. Yet this whole moment felt so bittersweet and vile at the same time. Just like her son being buried into the ground was untouchable, so was Charlee.

She had a mother, a father—heck, even siblings. Megan had read the file over and over again in her spare time and had pretty much memorized the words that had been written years ago. Words like 'kidnapped' were now replaced by 'safe and wanted' at least in her mind they were.

Megan shook her head. Max would be almost six years old in October, almost the same age as Charlee. She wandered if he were still alive today, would he be like her?

A laugh came from the kitchen, and the door swung open before she could answer her own question. A tear ran down her cheek and she swiped it away with her hand. She forced a smile upon seeing Larry. "Hey, handsome." She sidestepped over and kissed him lightly on the lips. "

He tilted his head expectantly, trying to read her thoughts. "How did everything go?" Whispering, he softly touched her elbow and walked with her.

"I think things went pretty well. I have to admit that I was pretty nervous at first, but—"She trailed off, upon seeing Charlee standing behind him.

"Which is standard." Larry began following her gaze— then stopped talking as he turned towards her.

Clearing her throat, Megan greeted her as she stood behind Larry. "Hey Charlee."

The young girl's eyes were wild with fear, while darting back and forth between the two of them. "It's about earlier isn't it? Megan are you sick? Is that why you were sad earlier?"

Both Larry and Megan exchanged glances and she stepped forward. "No, not exactly" She closed her eyes. This was going to go against everything she had been taught, but the last time she had tried to shut that down, Charlee had almost shut down. "Charlee—"

"And don't tell me it's complicated." She pushed angrily and then sighed. "My mom always said that. "The young girl looked away, swinging her foot. That was the first time that she had mentioned Andrea in the last couple days; besides what she had given her for the case.

"Charlee, go sit down. We need to talk." Megan pointed her towards the couch. Charlee sighed and went straight for the couch and sat down.

"You okay doing this?" Larry inquired as she took in a deep breath.

"Not really. But really, what are my options on this one?" With that she went and sat down next to Charlee.

"You don't want to do this." Charlee offered, reading her mind. No, she didn't really want to do this, but she wanted Charlee to trust her, especially after she told her this.

"Not really Charlee—no, because there's really no easy way to tell you this."

"Tell me what?"

"Do you know why you're here?" Megan started simply, putting her hands in her lap.

"I don't know." She thought about it for a second, and then added. "Well, I was sick and you helped me feel better." She perked up, resting her head against the palm of her hand.

"That's a start. Charlee, your parents—"

"I don't want to talk about them."

"They're alive."

Chiming in, Charlee looked up at her almost startled; her body straightening as she raised her head from against the palm of her hand. "What? But I saw—"

"Come here." Megan prompted, so that the young girl was sitting snug in her lap. She wrapped her arms around her in comfort. "What you saw were two loving people who loved you, but you have other people who love you as well."

"Like my mom and dad." Charlee added, hesitance underlining the tone of her voice.

"And other people."

Charlee tilted her head up towards her. "Like who?"

"Well, for one—I know for a fact that you have a grandma and brothers and sisters." Megan gently tickled her side and Charlee laughed, trying to squirm away.

She thought about it and then brightened up. "Then do I get to live with them, and I don't have to go to foster care?"

Megan pretended to think about it for a moment, in almost a teasing manner. "Yes and yes."

Nodding, Charlee pushed back into her, so her legs were curled up on her leg. "Will I still get to see you?" She offered; her lip almost in a pout.

"Hey, no sad faces, okay?" Megan shook her jaw gently, which made Charlee giggle. "We will definitely be seeing each other. I'll even come and visit."

"Promise?" She stuck out her pinky to her, gazing at her with a sideways glance. Her lips turned with the slightest smile.

Sighing, Megan stuck out her own pinky and wrapped it around Charlee's. "I'm always here for you Charlee, even when it doesn't seem like it—I will always be thinking about you." Not really expecting it, Charlee turned around and wrapped her arms around her neck; holding onto her tightly.

Her face buried into her shoulder, that she almost missed the muffled words, "I love you Megan." that came from her lips.

Tears began to form in her eyes, voice wavering. "I love you too, Charlee." And then pulled her up so they were looking at each other as she cupped her face with her hands. "I don't want you to ever forget how special you are."

Charlee nodded, her pout returning. "What about my other parents?"

"I would like you to think of the fact that they're in a better place right now."

"Like heaven?" Charlee asked curiously, pressing a finger against her lip in thought. "Megan . . . Is my daddy in heaven too?"

Megan winced at Charlee's use of "daddy" for Anthony, when she couldn't think of him more than a monster, an abuser, and a source of pain in this child's innocent life. She swallowed the thought down, knowing that the young girl was waiting for a response. "Yes, I'm sure he's in heaven."

"Good. Now he can't hurt anyone."

It couldn't have been missed—the hurt that flashed through Charlee's expression, even though it lasted momentarily. Megan didn't know what to say to that, but she felt an overwhelming sense of wanting to protect her. "Tell you what. I will make sure to give my number to your parents, and if anyone tries to hurt you, you have them give me a call and you say the word and I will come get you."

"Really?"

"Really. But that means that you're actually going to have to tell them if something happens to you, not keep it all inside here." If making her point, Megan touched her stomach lightly with her finger. "And promise me one thing?"

"What?"

"That you'll draw me lots of pictures to let me know how you're doing? I know you're hurting a lot right now Charlee, but trust me, it doesn't help to keep it all inside."

She looked around shyly, catching Larry's eye as he stood by the stairs— nodding in agreement that Megan was right. "I know. I will. Can I call you to talk?"

"Always."

"Except for we don't call people in the middle of the night, unless it's an emer'gncy."

Megan looked slightly amazed at the smartness of the girl. "Who taught you that?"

"My mom, I guess." Charlee shrugged, looking slightly distant. "Can I go lay down in the guest bedroom? I'm starting to get tired." She stood and brushed her hands over her pants.

"Sure."Megan offered, clearly concerned, but Charlee didn't look back as she scrambled up the stairs and the door closed mildly.

Flipping his phone closed, Colby walked back to where Don and David were sitting. He placed the coffee he had just gotten from the break room, onto his desk and sat down with a sigh. It had been a long day, and Colby could tell that it was just about to get longer, after the phone call he had just received. Don looked at him expectantly.

"We just got a tip on the old antique store that Danny Carlos said his father likes to hang out at."

Don stretched in his chair. "Okay well, why we don't go check it out. Maybe we'll make a lucky break and catch this guy, once and for all."

Colby nodded, standing up and grabbing his coffee. "Anyone talk to Megan lately?"

David shook his head, and Don responded. "I left her a message, letting her know what we found. I'm sure since we cleared Charlee's mom for any involvement in the case, she's supposed to go pick up Charlee when the case is over."

"Do you think that's a good idea?" Colby wondered out loud as he pushed the down button for the elevator. It was almost strange how fast time was going by.

David shrugged, putting on his sunglasses. "Her mom has no involvement in this case, so she has got to go back some time."

"And to think it's almost over." Colby mused, taking another sip of his coffee as the doors opened. David and Colby stepped in first. The door closed, they were all quiet as the elevator gravitated downwards and the doors slid open on ground level.

Usually chatting about the case they were on, the enclosed space was completely quiet as the doors finally slid open. There was one things one thing on their minds: to catch Joe Carlos.

There was a distant look in each one of their eyes. Don looked the most concerned; his shoulders squared as he stepped out onto the tile floor. David and Colby followed close behind as they went through the building's metal detector and out into the parking lot.

Fifteen minutes later, they parked directly to the side of the antique store. A gathering crowd had been forced behind the yellow tape. All three drew their guns as they stepped out.

A man in his mid thirties, with short brown hair and amazing green eyes turned around, his hand held out. "Don Eppes. I heard you were on this case."

Don smirked, clasping his hand. "Bill Jones. The last time I saw you, you were lying down on a hospital bed."

"That was a couple years ago." Bill put mildly, looking around the scene.

"My point exactly." Don added in a teasing matter, but something underlining in his words were grim. "Bill Jones, Agents Sinclair and Granger." They both nodded in his direction.

"Six hostage. We're still trying to get a direct line to negotiate before going—" Before he could finish, there was a loud explosion from one of the cars directly parked on the left parking lot of the building. It was far enough that only a couple of trees caught on fire. But it was enough of a warning that Joe Carlos was not coming out without a fight.