I actually forgot to post last night. The hurricane happened right where my brother and sister were with their families and my sister came up the night before last since power and water are out in Houston. I apologize, but I just forgot.

The first thing Cruz was aware of was the dryness of his throat. He immediately reached to his right—cringing slightly when something restrained him—seeking the water bottle he kept by the bed. Something was definitely pinching him and he instantly had to give into it and settle back against the pillow. He buried his face in the pillow as the sun shone brightly through the mini blinds in case he might mistake the time of day. He held his left hand up to block the offensive light and growled trying to turn over but again something was holding onto him. The sheets and blanket were restricting his legs as well so he would have to go about this some other way.

"Bobbie." He whined flicking his tongue across his upper lip and his teeth longing desperately for a glass of water. His eyes were too heavy to lift so he was left with no option but to depend on his other senses to determine what was going on. When he reached for Bobbie, his arms wrapped around nothingness. The bed even seemed to disappear. He must have been on the end of it which was strange considering he always slept on the left side of the bed with Bobbie cuddled up next to him.

Had he slept through the alarm clock or beat it by a few hours? The latter was probably true. Lately he hadn't been able to sleep long enough for his alarm to stir him. He supposed it had a lot to do with these last few weeks of Bobbie's pregnancy. Used to sleeping on her stomach, she had had to adjust to sleeping on her back or her side and she hadn't done so without a lot of complaining. He would usually find himself on the edge of the bed kind of like this morning but he was still on the wrong side.

"Alright," he muttered to himself, "time to get up." Again, he tried to kick the offensive covers away but they were enclosed around his legs like twigs. Frustrated, Cruz let out another disapproving growl and attempted opening his eyes. The light was brutal on his sensitive eyes even though it took him a lot more time to open them than usual. At first, all he could see were the thin brush of his eyelids. Slowly, ever so slowly, he was able to make out some distinct colors, the boring white merging into the brown chair next to the bed, the blue curtains draping over the top of the window, and the grayish-green of the end of the bed. What was going on?

Blinking, it all came to him in a rush: showing up at Lucky's to check on Lulu and Cameron, the kidnapper pulling a gun on them, rushing him, hearing Lulu scream, the burning in his chest when the first bullet was accompanied by a second, falling to his knees, watching the kidnapper knock Lulu out with the butt of the gun, and finally darkness. "Cameron!" He screamed, sitting up too fast, biting back the pain while his eyes jumped from one corner to the next. "Cameron!"

"Shh, shh baby." Bobbie moved closer to the bed, reaching out to hold his hands as they began to thrash about. She was supposed to be in her own room, recovering but she had bribed two of the nurses to let her come down here and see her husband. Using one hand she stroked his head. "You're ok. You're ok."

"Bobbie?" Cruz blinked at her.

"Yeah, it's me. I'm right here. I'm right here."

"Are you alright?" He couldn't just ignore the fact that she had come into the room in a wheelchair.

"I'm fine." Bobbie smiled at him. He woke up from surgery to remove bullets in his chest and he was worried about her. "This is only because it's hospital policy."

"What? What happened? Who did this to you?" He demanded.

Too late she realized her mistake. "No one did anything to me. Everything is perfectly fine."

"Bobbie..." He scolded. "I'm not an idiot."

"I'm not saying you are. But when it takes you three hours to give birth, the doctor just wants to make sure everything is fine before sending you home."

"You...you..." Cruz couldn't put two words together. It was unfathomable that he had missed the birth of his daughter.

"Our little girl apparently decided that she just couldn't wait any longer."

"Is she alright?"

"She's fine. A fighter." Bobbie held his hand close to her and kissed his knuckles lightly. "Just like her father."

"But two months early?" He couldn't keep the panic out of his voice.

"So far everything is fine. She's in the NICU as a precaution and the doctors are monitoring everything."

"Did you see her?" Cruz wondered.

"She's beautiful."

"Cameron?" Cruz remembered. "And Lulu?"

"Cameron is fine. He hid until Lucky got home. My brother is ridiculously proud of him for arguing with the police about coming out."

Cruz almost smiled, but then realized that she hadn't answered his other question. "And Lulu?"

Bobbie bit her lip and looked to the floor. The knowledge that Lulu was still missing wasn't any easier to understand in the light of day than it had been last night. She felt the stab of guilt at even being remotely happy about Maria Alejandra's birth with Lulu being God knows where and with God only knew what kind of monsters. She could lie to him, but Cruz would see right through it. "We don't know where Lulu is."

Cruz had to look away for a moment. It was too hard to look at her when his grief must be written all over his face. His daughter was okay and he wanted her to focus on that. "Do you think they'd let me see Maria?"

"I'd like to see them try and stop you."

This was the third morning Kristina had woken up in tears. It wasn't a nightmare that caused this but her current situation. She had tried to get away, but they always knew where she was. She wouldn't have been surprised if they had some kind of camera somewhere. They were gone for now, but she wasn't brave enough to try the door. The cabin was cold as it had been for three days. No amount of blankets ever got her warm enough. She refused to eat what they cooked for her so one of them had given her a box of crackers to keep her alive. They had made up a pallet for her in the living room next to the fireplace, but she hadn't been able to sleep there. She wanted her bed, her room, or at least her toys. She wanted Mommy.

There was a collection of books she recognized on the bookshelf in the corner of the living room and a plastic crate of toys she didn't like. Every time she brought it up, she was told to be quiet so she had just stopped talking. She didn't know exactly who had her because she had never met them before. What she did know was that they weren't working alone because one or both of them was always on the cell phone talking to someone else. They hadn't told her what they wanted her for, but she had thought maybe it had to do with Daddy. Mommy used to tell her that she would always protect her. When they had talked about Daddy, Mommy had tried to explain why she hadn't wanted him to see her or her to go and visit him: it wasn't safe. It was almost like Mommy wanted everyone to forget who her daddy was.

Even though Kristina hadn't thought it possible she missed Daddy Mac. She missed walking past the bathroom in the morning to catch him shaving and she missed his smiley face pancakes. She missed his stupid jokes and she missed her mommy's laugh. She missed Maxie too and the bedtime stories. She missed the park and playing with Morgan.

The only way Kristina knew how many days it had been was because she had stolen Logan's stupid watch and it showed the date in the right-hand corner. She only knew his name because the lady with him had used it several times. Kristina wondered what he done last night to spark the lady's temper. She had been so mad Kristina had hidden under the sofa and put her hands over her ears until she stopped. The one thing she never did was cry. After being taken from her home, she hadn't cried one single tear. There was still so much she didn't know about her own kidnapping, things that she figured she should have figured out by now. For instance, who was that guy that came out of her home and what had he been trying to do? Apparently he and Logan hadn't been friends or they wouldn't have started hitting each other. She could hear Maxie crying out her name when she closed her eyes.

They expected nothing of her, nothing more than to sit and be quiet. She had considered yelling until they grew tired of her and took her home but that was before she saw the gun. Logan's gun had scared her like nothing else. He was always playing with it, twisting it around his finger. Didn't he know that guns hurt people? She had tried to explain this to him, but like always his answer had been for her to shut up. Every morning since they had taken her, one of them would come downstairs and make her something to eat. Depending on which one it was determined what she would be doing for the rest of the day. Logan liked to leave her with cartoons and read some of the books to her when it got dark outside until she closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep. The lady made a much better breakfast and she was constantly giving Kristina books and puzzles making her feel as if she wasn't missing any school.

The front door was thrown open and Kristina started to retreat for the couch until she saw Logan and some woman she recognized carry in Morgan and Lulu. Well that didn't make any sense, Kristina thought to herself. Morgan was clung to the woman and Lulu was asleep. They walked past her and the woman kicked the door closed behind her. They paid Kristina little attention and set Lulu and Morgan on opposite sides of each other: one on the couch, one in the chair. "What's going on?" Kristina demanded. "What are you doing with my little brother?"

She would have been able to handle this better if she thought they only had her. If they had Morgan, did that mean that the remaining lady was going to bring in Michael? Or Maxie? Or Georgie? Or Mommy? Her head was spinning so fast she reached for it.

The blonde lady addressed her first. "It's alright Kristina. Calm down. We didn't hurt him."

"What are you doing with him? Why is he here? You got me! Who else do you need?" Kristina sobbed. She went to Lulu, pushing on her shoulder, but the older girl didn't move. "Lulu, come on." Kristina urged in an urgent whisper.

"She's sleeping. She'll wake up in a little while and then you can talk to her." Logan promised. "Unless you're bad. If you're bad, we'll take them away and you'll be all alone again. Do you understand?"

"She's a child you jerk." The lady hissed at him. "Don't threaten her."

"Get off your high horse. You're a part of this. You're a kidnapper." Logan taunted her.

"No." The lady argued.

Kristina blinked. How did she know this lady? Her voice was familiar and her face. It had been so long since she had gotten to visit her daddy she wondered if this lady had something to do with him. It was possible. Just like when she looked at the other lady and thought she knew her. Something was wrong. She wasn't a forgetful girl. She didn't forget faces. Why couldn't she concentrate? "I'm just driving a purpose through a few hearts."

"When can I go home?" Kristina wanted to know.

"Soon." The lady promised. "Soon."

"Yeah just as soon as Emily—" Logan began.

Repulsed by the action, the lady placed her hand over his mouth. "Hush. It's bad enough I'm stuck with you. Don't screw this up."

"You're the one who goes away stealing your nieces and nephews." Logan pointed out.

That's it! Kristina silently cheered. This must be Aunt Courtney. Despite her constant visits with Morgan and the fact that she used to live with him, this aunt of theirs held little or no consideration for her brother's only daughter. She didn't take time out to see her, call her on the phone, or anything. It hadn't ever bothered Kristina because she had plenty of family who wanted to see and hang out with her. Daddy had always been yelling about Aunt Courtney doing this or that but Kristina hadn't been paying attention. She hadn't been very old when Mommy made it so that she didn't get to see Daddy anymore. They had had a talk the night Daddy went to prison in which Mommy apologized to her for what she had done but swore it was the only thing she knew to do to keep them safe.

Aunt Courtney stomped up the stairs and Logan met Kristina's wide stare. "Don't worry kid."

Kristina's eyes narrowed in the same kind of disgust Aunt Courtney had just displayed. "My Daddy Mac is going to kill you."

Easing her way down the hall from the nursery, Georgie cringed as she realized how much like her sister she was acting. Her newest cousin was barely a few hours old, two months premature and in an incubator to keep her healthy, and she was sneaking off down the hall to try to find her boyfriend instead of cooing at the glass with the rest of her family. As she neared the elevator around the corner, she could see her older sister standing there smirking with her hands planted defiantly on her hips, laughing as she began to press the elevator buttons.

As the polished silver doors slid shut, Georgie blew out the breath she hadn't been aware she had been holding. She had kept her distance through the night, the combination of the three kidnappings, one hit by a car, one lung cancer, one stroke, and one premature birth making it all but impossible for either one to do much more than text a brief hi to each other. She had missed Steven's presence, his easy smile, his calm demeanor last night.

Georgie didn't even know if he was alright. She knew he would take care of his grandmother and Elizabeth, well as far as Elizabeth and Lucky would let him take care of her, but was he taking care of himself? Had he slept any? Eaten anything? Found out any more information than had been available when he arrived? He probably hadn't and she couldn't have that, if for no other reason than she needed him for her own selfish reasons. She needed him to keep her sane.

Staring at the floor buttons, she debated about where to start looking for him. The neurology floor was the logical first stop but if his family was there, it would prove difficult to explain why she was looking for him. She could always say she was just checking for Robin, and technically she would tell her cousin if anything important was going on. Closing her eyes and hoping for the best, she pressed the button that would hopefully take her to Steven and not open them up to a million and one questions from well-meaning relatives.

It had been easy to get wrapped up in their little world in Paris. The only two that really knew them there were Ronnie and Linds. There they could just be Georgie and Steven, without the eyes of everyone they knew watching them. In Paris they could forget for moments at a time that they had families, friends and lives back home. In Paris if she needed to hear his voice, all she had to do was pick up the phone and call. She could do the same here, but not without answering several questions as to when they became such good friends and how good of friends were they.

The doors slid open and Georgie cautiously stepped out, checking both ways before heading toward the waiting room. Hopefully Lucky and Elizabeth had made their way downstairs to wave at Maria from behind the glass wall. Hopefully his parents and other sister were in with Mrs. Hardy right now. Hopefully he hadn't decided to sneak off and find her at the exact same time she had decided to see him.

With the bad cup of hospital coffee halfway to his lips, Steven almost dropped it when he saw who had just stepped out of the elevator. He had thought about going to see her at least a thousand times once they parted ways to visit with family and check on those who had been hurt or were bringing babies into the world, but after his talk with Lucky he had wandered around aimlessly. And to think he had been on his way to snag a hospital bed and catch a few minutes of sleep when he could spend time with his girlfriend! "Hi." He couldn't help but whisper even though Elizabeth, Lucky, and Cameron were visiting Georgie's new cousin.

"Hi." She whispered right back. The dark circles and blood shot eyes confirmed her theory he hadn't slept at all last night. But somehow he still looked wonderful to her. "How are you doing?"

"So much better now." Steven assured her ardently. Leaving his coffee on the ground where he had been standing, he closed his arms around her and hugged her to him. Holding her was every bit of wonderful as he had remembered it being.

Burying her face into his chest, Georgie inhaled his unique scent. A combination of soap, detergent, and something purely Steven. This was what she had needed all night. One touch of him and she could feel the calm start to build in her. "Ditto." She barely breathed out.

"How are you?" Steven wanted to know stroking a careful hand through her hair.

Biting her lip she looked up into his blue eyes. "I'm fine. No need to worry about me."

"I'm sorry I didn't come see you sooner." Steven told her resting his cheek on the top of her head.

"It's ok. You had to deal with your own stuff." No matter how much she had wanted to see him, she had to remind herself he hadn't crossed the Atlantic just to see her.

"But you're just as important and I should have made you a priority." Steven chided himself.

She tried to fight the smile that threatened to consume her entire face. "I'm important huh?" she teased lightly, nudging him with her shoulder.

Steven smiled back lifting her mouth to his and taking in her subtle sweetness. It was amazing how the simple act of kissing her could reenergize him. He frowned at her when she abruptly ended the kiss. "What's wrong?"

Her eyes flitted wildly around the hall. "Where's your family?"

"Checking on your aunt and cousin." Steven explained kissing the side of her mouth.

"Your parents? Your other sister?" She sighed.

"Not here yet." Steven answered.

"In that case." Georgie smiled up at him and pulled him down to kiss him properly.