Chapter 6

…

Ressler drove along the dark roads, looking towards Liz now and again as she looked through the box of evidence they had collected from Kate's apartment.

"Liz…what was that back there?"

She looked up from the box, turning to Ressler to see a curious look on his face.

"What are you talking about?"

"Come on Liz, I heard what he said to you, what you said to him. You mentioned a baby?"

"It doesn't matter, not now?"

"Whose baby?"

"Ressler I…"

"Liz come on, if we have any chance of finding Mr Kaplan then you need to tell us everything, even if you don't think it's important? What baby were you talking about?"

Liz sighed, looking out the car window before turning her attentions back to Ressler.

"Mr Kaplan's."

Ressler's head shot around at her, before he pulled over and turned off the ignition before turning to her.

"Mr Kaplan's pregnant?" He asked, shock in his voice.

"What, pregnant? No of course she isn't."

"But you said Mr Kaplan's baby, what did you…"

"She had a baby, years ago…with Red."

"You are joking?"

"Believe me, I wish I was."

"Mr Kaplan and Red had a baby together."

"Yeah…he forced her to give it up."

"A termination."

"No, adoption. He couldn't wait, the second she'd had the baby, he took it away…so she wouldn't get attached, can you believe that…son of a bitch."

"How do you know al this?"

"He told me, what kind of a person forces a woman to give up her child."

"Mr Kaplan doesn't seem the type to let people tell her what to do."

"According to Dembe, she wasn't always like she is now. She's forced herself to be tough, strong and after what Red made her do, it's no wonder really."

"She never saw the baby at all."

"I don't know, by what Red said, it doesn't sound like it. I swear if any man tried that with me I…"

"How the hell did this even come up in conversation anyway?"

"The carousel?"

"What the broken ornament?"

"Dembe looked upset when he saw it broken on the floor when we found Molly, I asked him what was so special about it and he told me to ask Red so I did…it took a while but he eventually told me everything, about Mr Kaplan…the baby…the keepsake."

"What does this have to do with Mr Kaplan's disappearance, I thought this was connected to someone in Redgington's business deals."

"I could be, but to break something so sentimental. I would call that a person attack. When I suggested to Red that it could be the baby they gave up, he got angry, said it was impossible. That he'd made absolutely sure they'd never be traced."

"Well there you are then."

"Oh come on Ressler, you know as well as I do that the technology we have these days, it would be easy enough for their child to trace them."

"So you've convinced yourself that their long lost child is the one who's taken Mr Kaplan, it's a bit far fetched Liz."

"But it's possible, Red's adamant that it's not to do with his business so what else could it be. I can't imagine Mr Kaplan doing any dodgy business deals."

"She works with Raymond Reddington, you never know Liz. Maybe you don't know her like you thought you did."

"So you're on his side."

"I didn't say that, just don't go jumping to conclusions. Make sure you have enough facts before you go back to him with this theory of yours, proof is the key."

"Great, and that's the one thing I don't have. We're never going to find her."

"We will, we will find her. We're good at what we do. We will find her Liz."

Liz looked up at Ressler, a small smile on he face as she gripped his hand.

"Thanks, you're a good friend."

"We should get back."

Ressler started the car, making their way back.

…

Abigail walked around her home in a daze as she held on tightly to the stuffed bear, she's always kept it close when she was feeling low and vulnerable, scared. It somehow made her feel a little better, safe. She sat at the kitchen table, drinking some coffee, the bear still held tightly in her hand when she heard the cries from Kate. She was on her feet quickly, putting the small bear in her cardigan pocket before she rushed to the room she was keeping Kate in, turning the key and opening the door to see Kate on the bed, thrashing back and forth. Abigail checked her watch and realised that she should have given Kate more painkillers an hour before hand. She went over to Kate's bedside, seeing tears falling from her eyes as she cried out in pain.

"Mr Kaplan, oh my god I'm so sorry, I forgot. Abigail shoved her hand in to her pocket, feeling for the bottle of pills and quickly pulling them out, not realising the bear had fallen on the floor. She put her arms around Kate and helped her to sit up, feeling the older woman's arms coming around her, holding her tightly.

"Ssssh, it's okay…I've got your pills."

Abigail pulled back, sitting down on the bed, releasing one of he hands as she reached over and grabbed the bottle water, passing it to Kate before she handed the woman two more pills. Abigail too hold of her hand as Kate took the pills and drank some water. Abigail watched as Kate took some deep breathes, trying to calm herself before she looked up to see Abigail looking at her with nothing but concern in her eyes.

"Better?"

"A little, thank you dearie."

"I'm sorry, I lost track of time. I didn't mean to make you wait that long I…"

"I'll be okay."

Abigail went quiet and looked up when Kate tightened her hold on the young girls hand.

"How old are you dearie?"

"Thirty-three."

"You're so young, too young to be wasting your life kidnapping people"

"I…"

"You could let me go, I'll walk away and you can go back to your life."

"And I should trust you because?"

"I'm a woman of my word dearie."

"Really, well…I can't, not yet."

"Abigail I…"

"I'm going out, I'll be back in a few hours. If you like, you can shower, freshen up and then I'll make you something to eat."

"Thank you."

Abigail smiled at her, seeing the woman she wanted to know so badly. She got up and headed towards the door.

"I won't be long Ms Nemec." She said as she locked the door behind her.

Kate's head shot up when she heard what Abigail had called her, she got up from the bed and rushed towards the door.

"ABIGAIL…COME BACK DEARIE. HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT NAME…ABIGAIL."

Kate heard the front door slam as Abigail left the house, Kate turned, leaning on the door, her arms holding herself as she closed her eyes. She took a few steady breathes before looking ahead and spotting the stuffed bear on the floor by her bed. Kate walked over, slowly kneeling down and picking it up, instantly remembering the familiar animal, her stomach tightening as he held the bear close to her chest.

"Oh my god, it can't be…she's…Raymond, where are you." She whispered to herself, tears beginning.

…

To Be Continued…