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Chapter 61

"Where is she?" Charlie questioned anxiously as she paced backwards and forwards in front of the couch "She's been gone for hours! Where could she possibly be?"

"Um..." Joey watched her wife pacing feeling herself getting dizzier by the second. She shook her head in an attempt to clear it and stood up grabbing Charlie's arms gently to stop her frantic pacing "I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation for this..."

"Right" Charlie took a deep breath and attempted to pull herself together. She pulled out her cell phone and for what felt like the fiftieth time dialled Ruby's number. She listened as the call rung off "No answer...It's not like Ruby to ignore her phone. She wouldn't. Especially not now with everything that's going on"

"I know" Joey said in agreement as she bit her lip anxiously "Maybe we should..." she was cut off as a knocking sounded at the door.

Charlie swallowed heavily her mind instantly conjuring the worst situations she could think of "Joey..."

"She might have forgotten her keys" Joey said though she too looked slightly alarmed as they made their way to the door. She breathed a sigh of partial relief when she opened it and found Cameron standing on the doorstep "Cam"

"Is Summer here?" Cameron asked nervously her gaze flitting past Joey and Charlie "Please tell me she's here with you"

"She's not" Charlie answered as she gently tugged Cameron into the house and shut the door behind her "But Ruby's not here either"

"They must be together" Cameron said sounding slightly calmer than before now that she knew her sister wasn't alone.

"Ruby said that she was going to meet Summer" Joey said as they walked back into the living room "That was about two hours ago though and she hasn't come back yet...It isn't like either of them to be this late or not to at least call"

"Summer was upset" Cameron said quietly as she slumped onto a chair and placed her head in her hands, her panic increasing by the second "We were arguing and she stormed out."

"That must have been why Ruby rushed off so quickly" Charlie said in realisation "You know she hates seeing Summer upset..."

"Okay" Joey said in an effort to stay calm "Then we can stop panicking right? If Summer's really upset maybe they just went somewhere quiet to talk. Maybe they lost track of the time or something"

"I hope so" Charlie said quietly as she sat down next to Cameron and placed a hand on her arm in an effort to provide comfort "It's dangerous out there right now with Grant losing the case and all..."

"He lost the case?" Cameron looked up and managed a weak smile at the news "That's great"

"Yeah" Charlie nodded slowly and bit her lip thoughtfully "But that means that he's going to be pissed off that he lost" as she vocalised her thoughts she jumped up from the couch feeling panic shoot through her once again "I need to go and look for them before he does"

"I'm coming with you" Cameron said instantly as she too stood up from the couch.

"But..." Joey began to protest half heartedly.

"We need to do something" Charlie implored quietly as she grasped Joey's hands in her own "We can't just do nothing. I need to know that they're safe...I need Ruby back here"

"Okay" Joey sighed but nodded in understanding "I'll stay her in case they come back"

"Thank you" Charlie said gratefully as she kissed Joey quickly before she rushed towards the doorway with Cameron hot on her heels.

"Be careful!" Joey called out just as the door slammed shut behind them. She released a breath and slumped down on the couch, feeling her worry for the two girls' amplify now that she found herself alone in the house.

"God, I hope they're okay" she whispered to herself.

---

"Mmmph" Ruby groaned as she stirred slightly from her slumber. She was instantly aware of the fact that she was lying on something warm and soft. Or at least her head was. The rest of her body ached in protest at the hard surface underneath her. She winced in pain as she became aware of the throbbing pain in the back of her head.

"Ruby?" at the sound of Summer's voice Ruby blinked her eyes open. She winced against the light of the room as she did so but she was able to focus enough to recognise Summer looking down at her.

"Sum..."

"Yeah, it's just me" Summer exclaimed in relief "I'm so glad you're okay. I thought you'd really hurt your head..."

"I'm fine" Ruby winced painfully and sat up slowly removing her head from Summer's lap. She whimpered slightly in pain at the movement and moved a hand to the back of her head. When she felt something wet on her hand she pulled it back to see a familiar red liquid.

"I tried to stop the bleeding..." Summer said quietly motioning towards her blood covered shirt "But I'm not really all that good with blood"

"Where are we?" Ruby asked as she looked around the unfamiliar room, feeling increasingly alarmed "And who hit me on the head?"

"It was Grant!" Summer exclaimed sounding on the verge of tears "I tried to stop him Rubz...I swear but he was too strong!" for the first time Ruby noticed the bruise on Summer's cheek as well as her bloody lip.

"its okay" she lifted a hand tenderly to the bruise on the older girl's cheek and trailed a finger gently across it "I know" she frowned in concern when Summer winced "that looks like it really hurts"

"It does" Summer answered quietly as she leaned unconsciously into Ruby's touch "He hit me when I tried to stop him"

"Great" Ruby muttered as she lowered her hand slowly "Kidnapped twice in less than a year...I'm on a roll"

"Twice?" Summer frowned in confusion.

"Yeah" Ruby nodded in response "Long story short...A guy who had something against Joey decided that the best way to get to her was through me and Charlie so he kidnapped me and as a result I caught hypothermia. Then Joey was kidnapped too and she was shot because she pushed me out of the way of the bullet..."

"Wow" Summer said in astonishment "And I thought my life was dramatic....Yours sounds more like a soap opera"

Ruby chuckled lightly as she glanced around the small room "You really don't know the half of it" they fell into a comfortable silence for a couple of minutes before Summer spoke up again.

"Do you mind if I..." she motioned towards Ruby's head and blushed slightly though she wasn't sure why exactly "I should make sure it's stopped bleeding"

"Go for it" Ruby said in a soft voice.

Summer sat up slightly and moved to kneel behind the younger girl. She gently moved Ruby's blood tangled hair in order to see the wound. She pulled her hand back when Ruby flinched "Sorry"

"It's okay" Ruby whispered.

"It's stopped bleeding" Summer said quietly as she moved back into her previous position next to Ruby "But you have to tell me if your head hurts really bad or you feel tired or dizzy, okay? You might have concussion"

"Okay" Ruby couldn't help the smile that tugged at her lips at Summer's obvious concern "I'll tell you" she leaned against the wall and shivered slightly against the chill in the room.

"You're cold" Summer observed quietly as she watched Goosebumps appear on Ruby's arms.

"A little bit" Ruby said softly as she glanced down at herself "I'm not exactly dressed for this"

"Here" Summer sat up slightly and pulled off her jacket "Put this on"

"I'm fine Sum" Ruby said instantly "You'll get cold if you don't keep that on"

"I don't care" Summer stated adamantly "It's important that we keep you warm because of erm...your head injury"

"What does that have to do with anything?" Ruby asked in confusion.

"I don't know...Just put it on" Summer rolled her eyes at Ruby's reluctance "I don't want you to get cold. That's all"

"But..." at Summer's look Ruby sighed and gave in pulling the jacket on "Fine...Thanks Summer"

Summer shrugged and looked down at the floor guiltily.

"What is it?" Ruby asked in concern.

"Nothing it's just...It's my fault you're here anyway" Summer said quietly "If I hadn't stormed away from Cameron you wouldn't have had to come to the beach"

"I didn't have to" Ruby corrected as she lowered her hand to grasp Summer's "I chose to go to the beach. You didn't make me do anything. It wasn't your fault"

Summer shrugged disbelievingly and Ruby sighed in exasperation at the older girl's stubbornness. She frowned as Summer shivered slightly against the cold "Do you want your..."

"No" Summer shook her head instantly "You can keep it. I'm fine"

"Well if you're not going to wear it we're going to have to share it" Ruby said as she shuffled closer and wrapped her arms loosely around Summer's waist effectively sharing the heat from the coat and her body. Her mind flashed back to their moment on the beach and she sighed wistfully.

"Thanks Rubz" Summer said gratefully "But you know you don't have to..."

"I know" Ruby interrupted "But I want to" they fell silent for a couple of minutes before she spoke up again "They're going to be worried sick"

"I know" Summer sighed sadly "Cameron's going to be blaming herself for arguing with me before I stormed off..."

Ruby nodded in response unable to think of anything else to say.

---

"They're not here" Cameron said in alarm as they scanned the length of the beach for the fifth time "I don't know where else they could be..."

"Damn it..." Charlie blew a strand of hair from her face and looked around hopefully "We've looked everywhere..."

"Maybe they went back to your place?" Cameron offered in an attempt to be optimistic.

"Joey would have called" Charlie responded fearfully still scanning the beach.

"Hey" Cameron said suddenly as she caught sight of a flash of metal "What's that?!" she jogged over to it and kneeled down next to it picking it up slowly.

"Cam?" Charlie asked in concern as she noticed tears suddenly glittering in the other woman's eyes. She knelt down next to her and placed a hand on her arm "What is it?" she looked down at the silver 'S' in Cameron's hand.

"Summer's" Cameron said softly "She would never have taken this off. She's had it for years..."

"What does that mean?"Charlie asked cautiously, though her police instincts were already screaming the answer at her.

"It means..." Cameron looked up and swallowed heavily "They're officially missing"

TBC