* Please Review!*

Gideon cursed when he and Avalon came upon their house. Bright yellow tape, with the words Police Evidence written up and down it, was taped across their door. He squeezed Avalon's hand while sweeping his other hand down the tape. He ripped it from then pulled his keys out of his pocket and quickly unlocked the door. With a deep, dark frown, he pulled her into the house. He needed to get to the attic and fast.

" Should we be in here? I mean, with the tape on the door, maybe they aren't done looking around." Avalon said as she walked up the stairs.

" They are done." Gideon muttered.

He placed his fingertips against her lower back so she won't stop walking. He had a plan...not one she was going to like but she would understand, he would make her. In the trunk of his car was all the money they had, well over one hundred grand. Upon leaving the police station, Gideon had went to the bank, thankful that it was a bank that was nationally known, and closed out all their accounts. He had enough money to get them to Mexico and buy them a little house in a little known beach town. Some where far away from American justice, Randy Gibson and Van.

" Oh, Dad, look at this place. It's a wreck. It's going to take forever to clean." Avalon said. Gideon looked over his daughter's shoulder as they emerged into the main living part of the house. Drawers had been dumped out. Papers, nick knacks, and books were all over the floor. The couch cushions had been turned over and not put back in place. " What were they looking for?" Gideon gritted his teeth together and felt a muscle in his jaw tense.

" It doesn't matter. We need to go upstairs." He said, giving her a small push towards the stairs.

" Let me get a light." Avalon said, reaching out for the light switch on the wall by the stairs.

" No, don't!" Gideon said quickly, grabbing at her wrist. Avalon looked at him with her own frown and a question in her eyes. " We can't alert anyone that we are together, remember?" He asked. " We will use the moonlight to guide us."

" Okay." Avalon said slowly. She turned around and started walking up the stairs, throwing him a few glances as she did so.

" Go into your room and wait for me. I need to check something and then I will be right in to explain things." Gideon promised.

" Okay but we need to hurry up. Sometimes Chad wakes in the middle of the night and calls out to Van. If he wakes up and sees I'm gone, he'll freak." Avalon said.

" We will be fast." Gideon said.

He gave her shoulder a squeeze before she walked into her room. He almost ran down the long hallway ahead of him. When he reached the end of it, he reached up and grabbed the small string that hung from the trap door in the ceiling. He pulled it down then grabbed at the ladder and yanked it down also. He grabbed at the railings and hauled himself up. He didn't need to go into the attic, just needed to pop his head in. He'd know right away if his secret had been found or not.

Avalon frowned as she walked into her room. Her closet door was wide open and she could tell that they had went through her clothes. Her dresser drawers were open, the blankets from her bed were thrown onto the floor and the drawers in her night stand had been taken out and set on her bed. She shook her head with annoyance on her face. Those small town cops were going to feel like assholes once Gideon cleared everything up.

She sat on her bed, pulling her legs up so she could sit Indian style. She took a hold of her bare legs and waited for her dad. Her eyes shifted down to the tee shirt she was wearing. A smile tugged at her lips. She was wearing a pair of her cotton, grey shorts, small ankle socks, converses shoes that looked just like Van's, and her boyfriend's black Circle Jerk tee shirt. She grabbed at the collar of the shirt and lowered her head down as she brought it up. She closed her eyes and breathed in his scent. He also smelled amazing to her, like vanilla, spices and rain on a hot summer day. She smiled and started to rub her lips against the shirt.

" Okay, Baby," She looked up as Gideon hurried into her room and through the darkness. " you need to grab two bags and throw in as much clothes in those bags as you can and hurry."

" What?" She asked as the shirt slipped through her fingers. " Why?"

" Because we need to leave. We have to get out of here and now." Gideon said. Avalon shook her head with confusion setting in. This was not how she thought things would go. She stood up with a frown, needing to understand what was happening.

" No, why? What is going on?" She asked, standing up.

" Please, just do what I say!" Gideon snapped. " We are leaving!"

" No, Dad, we can't leave. You can fix this. Just...fix it. Just...do it." She said as her father started to pace.

" We are getting out of here! We are driving across the country and going to Mexico." He started saying at the same time she was saying,

" What is going on? What are you talking about? Daddy, talk to me!" She was still shaking her head, reaching out to him then pulling back then reaching again, unsure of what she should do.

" There is nothing else we can do, Avalon! We have to leave all this behind! We can only take what we can fit into bags! This is just shit! Shit I can replace!" Gideon rushed out.

" We aren't leaving! Everything will be fine! I gave a DNA sample!" Gideon's steps skidded to a halt shortly before he rounded to face her with anger twisting his expression.

" You did what!" He roared so loudly that Avalon took a step back. Her bed hit her knees and sent her down to her ass with her eyes wide.

" I...I gave a DNA sample. That guy they are trying to say is my real dad is here. He gave a sample and so did I but it's okay because he's not my dad. You are. The DNA will show that and then everything will be fine." She said. Her voice came out small and quiet, even to her. Her heart started to pound as her stomach dropped. Panic was starting to course into her bloodstream as she took in the look on his face. Could she be wrong? Could he not be...

" Do you have any idea what you have done!" Gideon yelled as he rushed her, making her jump.

" I don't understand why you're mad!" Avalon said. He grabbed her up by her upper arms so hard that she whined. He yanked her to her feet, making her head snap back slightly. " Daddy!"

" How could you have been so stupid!" He yelled in her face. She grabbed at his arms then his chest, clutching at his shirt as he squeezed her arms harder and pulled her in closer to him. She could feel bruises already starting to form, bruises that would be in the shape of his hands and fingers.

" You're hurting me, Gideon. Stop." She said, trying to keep the fear out of her voice. She had seen her dad mad before, had seen him angry with her and others but this anger, this darkness in his eyes, this was something new and terrifying

" Why would you do that!" He yelled, giving her another shake.

" Why does it matter? He's not my dad, you are." Avalon said. She swallowed hard as another round of fear started to take root deep inside her. When he didn't say anything, when he just panted hard and stared at her, Avalon's breath started to leave her body slowly and shaking as her stomach flip flopped. She felt the tempature of her body drop down, an unearthly chill was finding it's way into her bones. " You are my dad." She almost whispered.

" Pack your fucking bags." Gideon said. He said, not yelled. His voice had dropped down and she suddenly wished he was yelling again. She didn't like the dark, low tone he was taking as he glared at her. " We are leaving in five minutes." He released her arms in a shove. She stumbled back, placing her hand behind her to steady herself against her bed so she didn't fall.

" You are my dad, say it." Avalon said as he turned and gave her his back. " Gideon! Say it!" Panic made her voice raise up to a new level. Why wasn't he saying it? Why did he want to leave? " Gideon!" She grabbed at his arm to get his attention but to her shock, to her horror, he flung around and backhanded her so hard in the mouth that Avalon trip and fall onto her bed. A coppery taste filled her mouth as her side hit her bed. She slide down to the floor with one hand on her mouth. She stared up at Gideon as he stared down at her. Never had he ever laid his hands on her. Never in her life had he ever spanked or hit her, not once. He had come close but had always stopped himself...until now.

" You shut your fucking mouth and do what I say. If you had just kept to your fucking self and listen to me, none of this would have happen." He snapped.

" None of what? I don't understand." She said. Her eyes started to burn with unshred tears. Her vision blurred and pain was shooting through her jaw and cheek. She whined as her throat worked hard, swallowing over and over again while she tried not to cry.

" This! We'd be fine if you weren't such a disobedient bitch! Since I took you from that drunk whore, I have done everything for you! I have given you everything and look how you repay me! Look! This is all your fault! We are going into hiding because of you!" He snapped.

" What do you mean you took me?" She whispered as she blinked. A single tear slipped from her eye and started making its salty way down her cheek. He glared as reality slapped her hard in the face, harder then he had slapped her. No, no. no, no! This wasn't happening! " Oh my God..." All the blood drained out of her face as she started to hold her breath. This wasn't real. This wasn't really happening. No, it couldn't be real.

" You are not stupid, Avalon! Put the clues together! You look nothing like me! You act nothing like me! Why do you think I haven't permitted you to get your driver's licenses! Why do you think I refuse you to get a job! Your birth certificate isn't real and everyone would know it! Everyone but the stupid cocksuckers at the schools you have gone too! Why do you think I home-schooled you through grade school! I had to keep you hidden until the heat of your disappearence died down and your looks matured and changed!" Gideon yelled.

" Randy is my dad." She whispered.

" Don't say that shit! I am your father!" He exploded. He yanked a gun out from the waist band at his back and pointed it at her. Avalon jumped and started to cry at once, flinching away from the gun.

" Daddy, stop!" She yelled as she cried harder, turning her face from him and squeezing her eyes shut.

" They could have never cared for you like I have!" He continued to scream. He reached down and grabbed her arm, yanking it away from her face as she tried to shield herself from him. He gave her another hard yank, making her cry out as she sobbed harder. " I saved you! Do you understand me! I save you! Your bitch of a mother was like all the others I have killed! Drunks! All of them! I have done the world a favor by getting rid of them!"

" What are you talking about?" Avalon asked as she struggled to steady her voice.

" Jennifer Morningstar! She started it all! Drunken slut took my wife and child and I made it my mission to rid the world of trash like her!" Gideon screamed. He tugged on her hard again, waving the gun in front of her face and making her whine. " I killed them all! Every time I saw one that looked like Jennifer, I took her and killed her! Then I saw your mother! She was buying wine so I followed her home, fucking drunk! I went into the house because she was too fucking stupid to lock the door and you know what I saw! You! She was going to drink with you in the house!"

" Daddy, please..." Avalon begged quietly. Gideon crouched down in front of her, still holding her arm and the gun.

" You were sitting on the floor, looking like an angel. An angel my Abby was. You looked just like how I imagined she would look at that age." His lips twitched downwards and his chin quivered before he cleared his throat and continued speaking. " I had to save you, Avalon, don't you see that? She was going to drink while she took care of you."

" What did you do?" Avalon asked as they stared at each other.

" As soon as she came into the room and saw me looking at you, I attacked her. I strangled her until she stopped moving then made you a sandwich. I asked you to stay right there and like the good girl you used to be, you listened. So I took her out and put her in the trunk of my car then went back into your house. I packed a bag for you then we left, you, me and her. I buried her like I did the rest and we started our life. The life I was supposed to have with Abby." Gideon said.

" You took me to replace Abby?" She asked.

" I took you to save you. Why can't you see that? I loved you from the moment I saw you and knew I had to take care of you!" He was back to snapping at her again.

The anger was back in his voice and his eyes. The sadness was gone and seemed forgotten by him. The horror of what her life was and the things he had done was starting to turn her stomach. The articles she and Van had found were about the women Gideon had killed. The missing little girl...was her. Everything was clicking into place right in front of her. Bile was raising up the back of Avalon's throat, burning everything on it's way up her body. The life she thought had lived was a lie. Everything she believed in was false. The man she loved above everything was a killer and a kidnapper.

" Gideon..." She started in her best calming voice.

" And now what do you want to do? How do you want to repay me! By running around with a good for nothing laker boy! He's just as bad as the drunks! You think I haven't noticed the smell of pot coming off him and you! You think I haven't noticed when you stumble into here drunk! You think I haven't seen the marks he leaves on your neck! He is nothing! Do you hear me! Nothing!" Gideon yelled.

" Gideon, calm down, please." She urged.

" I am your father!" Gideon yelled.

In one fast, fluid movement, he brought his arm up then slammed the butt of the gun down on the back of her head. Pain exploded through her at once as she slumped down. Her vision fizzled as she blinked and fought with the darkness that was pulling her under. She whimpered and hoped she said his name but couldn't be sure. She thought he was laying her down on the floor of her room, but she couldn't be sure. She couldn't be sure of anything anymore.

" Just sleep, Baby." Gideon whispered as he ran one of his hands through her hair. " Daddy will take care of everything. Daddy will fix everything, like I always do. I love you." He dropped a light kiss against her cheek before darkness completely surrounded her.

NRNRNR

Van frowned and groaned, unsure of what had woke him up. He listened carefully but didn't hear his dad calling out to him. He also didn't feel a soft, warm little body laying next to his. Van turned his head towards her side of the bed and started patting around without opening his eyes. When he couldn't find her, he pushed himself up by his arms and opened his eyes.

" Avalon?" He called out. He sighed, bring a hand to his head. He started rubbing his scalp, sitting up on his knees. " Av?" He asked. He leaned over to look at the floor, frowning when he saw her shoes were gone. " Shit!" He whispered.