Patrick stared at the speedometer as it continued to climb in multiples of ten. The red dial flicked cautiously, but his foot was pressed to the floor causing the car to jerk several times. He held the steering wheel in a white-knuckled grip and gave little warning or consideration to the drivers also occupying the highway. They all thought about laying on their horns when he would cut them off, but he gave absolutely no time for them to do so. By the time he swerved into their lane, efficiently cutting them off, they would still be recovering from the shock of the action as he prepared to do it again to some unsuspecting motorist.

The glow from the hospital sign almost blinded him and he forgot where the turn-in was leaving him with no other option than to do an illegal U-turn, head down a one-way the wrong way, and squint until he found the only way in. He barely gave his poor car a moment to catch up before he jammed it into park, hopped out of it, and clicked the lock button. The double doors shot open for him and he ran for the elevator, slamming the white button with the heel of his left hand.

Why was it taking so god damn long for the elevator to climb six floors? It was six floors, wasn't it? His brain was still spinning from Uncle Luke's phone call about Aunt Bobbie going into labor and Cruz getting shot, not to mention a third kidnapping attempt, this time for Cameron, and Lulu foiling the plan so that now she was the one missing. He could barely see straight for all of the information floating around in his head. It had to be six. He would search every floor until he found it.

Finally, finally, the elevator came to a jolt, the doors slid apart, and there was a Maternity sign staring at him when he climbed out of it onto the blessed sixth floor. He turned the corner sharply and almost collided with a five foot nothing nurse with short blonde hair and unflattering brown eyes. "I'm sorry." He apologized, rushing to help her pick up the charts he had knocked out of her hands in his haste to find Bobbie's room, or at the family since the idea of being in the delivery room was not a pleasant one.

"It's okay. You look like you've seen a ghost. Can I help you with something?" She asked sincerely.

"I'm looking for my aunt, Bobbie Spencer. She went into labor and she's been moved to the room. I guess I'm really just looking for my family." Patrick rambled out, his eyes searching for any familiar face.

"I can check for you." She assured him, throwing her charts onto the Information desk they were suddenly standing in front of and rounding the desk so that she had full access to the computer. "Bobbie Spencer. Yes, she is in delivery. Your family would have been asked to wait in waiting room number…four. I'll show you." She offered, leading him toward the bedraggled group he instantly recognized as Laura, Lucky, two women that must have been Cruz's mother and grandmother just from the stories he knew and the likelihood of them staying in town for the birth of the baby, Elizabeth, and Cameron. Cameron had his eyes opened, but they looked so full, so heavy that he might have been asleep without anyone realizing it.

"What's going on? What's happening?" Patrick demanded, startling all of them into meeting his worried stare with tired ones of their own.

"Cruz is still downstairs. Luke is in with Bobbie." Elizabeth responded, adjusting Cameron on her lap.

"Uncle Luke is in the delivery room?" Patrick asked, shocked.

"I wasn't consulted in that decision. I would have vetoed it." Elizabeth joked lightly.

"I made him go in." Laura managed, stretching her arms over her head.

"Aunt Laura, what if he comes out with the wrong baby?"

"We'll know right away." Isabella spoke up.

"It probably wouldn't be the first time. Remember when he got confused as to which baby Lulu was in the nursery?" Lucky remembered, and then winced as soon as he said his sister's name.

"She was the only blonde in the entire nursery and he brought out a little Asian baby." Patrick recalled.

Isabella looked worried.

"Note to you. Your father is not babysitting ever." Elizabeth pointed out to Lucky.

"And that's why I've always had the supervision policy." Lucky retorted. "Mom or Aunt Bobbie's presence is always required."

"I would volunteer..." Patrick told them. "But I don't think I'm quite qualified for the job. I mean, Cam's easy. It's every other kid..." His voice trailed off when he thought of the last conversation he had had with Morgan.

"Oh that's already solved. Robin will always be with you." Elizabeth pointed out.

"You haven't...talked to Robin tonight, have you?" Patrick wondered, nervous.

Elizabeth shook her head and bit her lower lip. "It's been a busy night."

"She snuck out and turned off her phone." Patrick admitted.

"Snuck out? I thought you were playing guard dog?" Lucky wondered.

"I fell asleep." Patrick muttered. It was bound to happen. He hadn't slept since before Kristina went missing. Logic didn't make him feel any better. Robin could be very destructive when her life started to tumble out of her hands.

"Robin will turn up. She wouldn't go far, not with Morgan..." Elizabeth felt her voice trail off, remembering acutely who else was missing from the family picture right now.

"I don't want to think about it. I just want to find her." Patrick told her.

"Anybody up for Poker?" Cruz's Aunt Theresa spoke up.

"I'm in." Lucky took Cameron off Elizabeth's lap and held him close to his chest. "Come on Champ. It's time I taught you a few lessons."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes at Lucky's comment but reached out to grab Patrick's sleeve. "Patrick?"

Like a flash, Patrick could remember the night Morgan had been sick and he had taught him how to play Poker. He could still see the surprise in Robin's face when he told her what he had done. "What? Did you say something?"

"I was just going to tell you that you will find Robin."

"But in what condition?" Patrick mumbled aloud.

"She won't let you find her until she can't fight anymore. You won't see her until she accepts she needs you more than anyone else right now. When she breaks, then she'll call you. But she will call you."

"You went to college to keep from having to go into the Army?" Maxie asked, shaking her head in mock disgust. "That's so lazy."

"No that was self-preservation." Ric countered, touching the tip of her nose with his finger.

"You wimp." Maxie teased with a smile. "Self-preservation," she repeated.

"You didn't grow up with Colonel Lansing." Ric pointed out. "I assume by your reaction you would be the first one to sign up for the police academy?"

Maxie scrunched up her face at that. "Blue isn't my color."

"But if Mac told you it was the police academy or college, what are you choosing?"

"I guess I can see that. Your dad's really strict, huh?"

"Up at five am every day. Meals at the same time every time. If you were one minute late, you didn't eat." Ric rubbed his thumb over Maxie's knuckle lightly. "If I didn't get straight A's there would be hell to pay."

"I got straight C's so I guess I wouldn't have survived in that house." Maxie replied, trying to imagine what it must have been like to grow up in a place like that.

"Probably not." Ric laughed. "But then again if you excelled in sports you might have survived."

"Did you?" Maxie wanted to know.

"I played baseball. Good enough to make the team, not good enough to be the star."

"Do you still have your uniform?" Maxie asked offhandedly.

Ric lifted one eyebrow and leaned closer to her. "Why? Are you interested?" he drawled into her ear.

"Very much so." Maxie whispered, shivering slightly at his nearness.

"I'll have to keep that in mind." He leaned back just far enough for her to see him wink. "What about you? Any uniforms I should know about?"

"I tried out for cheerleading all four years and made it senior year. I might still have it in a trunk somewhere."

"Now that is something I have to see." He whispered to her.

"Well you know," She watched him with dark eyes. "I only root for winners. If you win, maybe I'll show it to you."

"Haven't you figured out by now I only play to win?"

"Is that why you play?"

Ric bent his head just low enough to nibble on her ear. "It's why I play with you."

"What are you trying to win?"

"What are you offering?"

The pager clipped to his belt cut off whatever reply she might have had. He sat up as if he had been shot and she could feel her face burn. The door was open. If the pager hadn't stopped them, she doubted even her current condition would have done much to hinder the passion the room was currently suffocating her with. "What is it?"

"It's the maternity floor. A patient is in labor. I have to go." He smiled in apology. "I'll come back when I'm done."

"Come back in your uniform or just don't come back at all." She smirked.

Winking as he walked out of the door, Ric pointed in her direction. "Only if you find that cheerleader outfit."

"Any cute doctors in this town?"

Maxie looked up, startled, half certain the woman in front of her had read her mind. "I think it's part of the written exam."

"Good to know." Kate strode across the room with an easy confidence, her yellow high heels clicking on the linoleum floor. When she reached the bed, she held out her hand. "Kate Howard, WSBX News, New York."

"Maxie Jones." Maxie shook her hand awkwardly. What was a reporter doing here, and would there be more after her? "Can I help you with something?"

"You can tell me what you know about the Kristina Davis kidnapping." She could beat around the bush, but it rarely paid off for her. The police commissioner had done well keeping his daughter's name out of the media, but he hadn't counted on the presence of one determined Kate Howard. One well placed bribe and she had everything short of Maxie Jones' shoe size. She didn't doubt for a few dollars more, she could have gotten that information as well.

"I don't know anything." Maxie lied. She disliked the woman on sight, but she didn't know why. Maybe it was that she reeked of devious reporter and Maxie could find no respect for her.

Kate arched one perfectly sculpted eyebrow skyward. "Not very good for the star witness."

"I don't know what you mean." Maxie answered calmly.

"Miss Jones, you strike me as an intelligent person."

"I'd tell you what I think of you, but my mother used to wash out our mouths with soap when we used those kinds of words." Maxie shot back with a slight tilt of her head.

Kate continued on as if Maxie hadn't spoken. "So I fail to understand why you want to choose to play dumb. An intelligent woman such as yourself would realize that even when your father is the police commissioner there is no such thing as being anonymous in today's society."

"I'm not hiding behind my father." Maxie assured her. "I've never liked reporters. The fact that we've spoken this long only means that I can't get up and run away."

"The more information the public has, the more likely it is your step-sister will be found."

"Don't act like you care if we get her back or not." Maxie warned in a deadly tone.

Kate smiled at the young blonde with the narrow blue eyes, her fists clenched by her sides. She stood to her full height, smoothing out the wrinkles on her black skirt. She pulled a business card out of the front flap of her purse. "You'll see I'm right." She dropped the card onto the table next to Maxie. "When you decide this is the best course of action, give me a call."

"I'd rather roll up that card and smoke it than call you." Maxie told her frankly.

"You'll change your mind. And when you do, I'll be waiting." Kate waved from the doorway of the room. "Until we meet again Miss Jones."

"Oh, I'll be on pins and needles until then." Maxie rolled her eyes.

Robin made her way slowly to the sixth floor. She had been directed by this nurse and that, never paying enough attention to understand their directions. She must have passed this floor at least three times before she stumbled upon it. The large picture of a mother rocking her newborn was the only indication the floor gave of its purpose. She would have kept going if not for it, as well as the large sign that screamed Maternity. She had caught snippets of phone messages from both Patrick and Elizabeth, but it had taken her some time to make sense of it all. Apparently Cruz had been shot while trying to thwart the kidnapper's attempt to snatch Cameron and they had taken Lulu instead, which made so little sense. Amongst that tragedy, Bobbie had gone into labor early. Cruz was several floors up fighting for his life while Bobbie was struggling to bring a life into the world.

It was all coming at her so fast; she didn't try to stop the unrealistic scenarios from flashing in front of her eyes. She could easily see Cruz trying to stop the kidnapper, but since she didn't know the details, she could only imagine how the assailant had shot the gun, where he had been standing, how many times Cruz had tried to stand up and get out of the way of the bullet. She hated knowing these things. She hated that her childhood had been filled with so much violence and that her adult life was no different.

How had Cameron gotten away? Clearly that must have been when Lulu stepped in or Cruz. Her money was on Lulu. Ever since Cam's accident, the young woman had been hell-bent on proving herself to Lucky. She wouldn't have been able to differentiate between saving herself or saving Cameron: it would have been an automatic response. If a gun had been pointed at them, she would have stepped in front of her nephew before she would even let him know what was going on. She would never sacrifice him in the name of fear or second-guessing.

Lucky must be an absolute mess right now. No doubt he had Cameron with him and wouldn't be letting that sweet little boy out of his sight at least until the others were returned, maybe not even then. She couldn't blame him for that. She was seriously considering giving up the bakery and going to school for a teaching license so Morgan would never have to leave her, so she would know where he was at all times. When he got older, they would just work around sports and things which he would do through the local recreation center or something. She wouldn't be coaching these, but she wouldn't be letting him stay alone for any amount of time.

Robin didn't want to think about the kind of stress Elizabeth was under. Her friend was strong, but she was fragile in all the ways that mattered and Robin didn't want to think about what could happen if the children and Lulu weren't returned soon. Sometimes simply working too hard could bring on a miscarriage. Robin would have to do whatever she could to keep that from happening. Her friend wanted this baby so much and Robin wanted her to have it, her and Lucky. Lucky needed this baby as badly as he had needed Cameron which was why he had fought Jess' parents for so long and so hard.

Patrick met her at the elevator even though she had no idea how he had realized she was even there. He looked surprised to see her, so maybe he hadn't known. Maybe he had volunteered to get coffee for the group or something. Maybe he needed to stretch his legs. There was no way to know how long he had been here or how long Bobbie had been in labor without checking her phone and she didn't trust herself to complete even that small task. She couldn't ignore the hurt expression Patrick wore when their eyes met. She jerked her eyes away from his and she walked past him.

"Robin." Patrick reached for her but she just kept walking. "Where did you go?" He demanded, spinning her around.

At first Robin considered not answering on the grounds of not wanting to. Saying anything would fuel his temper and she didn't have the energy to fight with him. "Nowhere." She whispered.

"You went somewhere otherwise I wouldn't have woken up to find you gone and you would have answered the damn phone when I tried to tell you what was going on." Patrick snapped.

"I got your messages." Robin gestured toward her purse where her phone was.

"Then why didn't you come right away?" Patrick wanted to know.

"It doesn't matter." Robin shook her head.

"It does to me." Patrick countered, placing a hand against the wall to block her path. "And you're not going anywhere until you tell me."

"Patrick, I told you, it's not important." Robin clarified through gritted teeth. "Can we drop it?"

"No we cannot drop it. Tell me. Tell me." Patrick repeated sternly. "Robin, come on."

"I was just...walking around." Robin told him. "I wasn't anywhere."

"Walking around here?" Patrick wondered.

"Here. Outside. Down the block. Through the neighborhoods. I was just walking." Robin said.

"The last thing you should be doing is strolling through unfamiliar neighborhoods in the middle of the night." Patrick scolded her condescendingly.

"I needed to think." Robin shot back.

"What did you need to think about for three god damn hours?"

"Don't talk to me like that." Robin sneered at him.

"Like what? You scared the hell out of me!" Patrick informed her.

"I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself, Patrick. If something had gone wrong, I could have handled it."

"You shouldn't have to handle it alone." Patrick argued. "I don't like the idea of you going off and not telling anybody where you're going."

"Anybody or you?"

"Both."

"I didn't realize I needed you to run my life."

"What?" Patrick's eyes widened as if she had just slapped him.

"I'm not a child." She reminded him.

"Then why are you pouting like one?" He challenged.

Robin's eyes flared to life, leaving the dull look in the dust. "How dare you! My son was kidnapped yesterday! Do you even understand what that means?" Robin shrieked. "And I have no idea where he is, who he's with, if he's safe, if he's cold or hungry. I don't know anything! I didn't even get a call, so I don't know if the same people who have Kristina have him. I don't know anything but this pain. That's the only thing I recognize."

"Robin—" Patrick knew he wasn't going to get a word in edgewise now, but he had to try.

"I don't want to talk to you right now. Just leave me alone." Robin pushed his hand off the wall and went to sit with the rest of the family. Elizabeth didn't comment on the tears in her friend's eyes.

"Hey you." She whispered pulling Robin close to her. "Come to join the party?"

"I haven't missed one yet."

"Good. I do wish we could change locations once in awhile."