A/N: Hey guys, I'm back! Thank's so much for your patience, and the supportive comments :)

Chapter 22

"We lost track of the kid a while back." Gibby started, "But I think we found her." He continued. Sam listened intently, twirling a piece of her hair nervously.

"Where is she?" She asked excitedly. This was finally coming true. She was going to get her girl back. She heard a sigh on the other end of the phone.

"We believe she was taken from the hospital by a man that is friends with the kidnapper." He said cautiously. Sam began to grow impatient.

"So where are they?" She asked again, wanting his to tell her where she can go to get her daughter and kill who ever had her. Gibby ran a hand through his hair and searched for the words that would go over the best.

"Their leaving town." He said slowly, "I believe their heading towards California. Where Her 'mother' is currently in prison." He didn't quite know every detail yet, and there we're a select few that he was reluctant to tell her. "The hospital notified the police that she was taken. They're currently on the look out for them." He continued carefully. "I'll call you if anything comes up." he finished, not waiting for Sam to reply before hanging up.

Sam smiled happily. Things were finally going her way, now all she had to do was get Freddie on board. Her smile faded, Freddie had made it clear that he wasn't going to believe. Until she came back, then he would have to believe it, he would have to admit she was right.

"I think we better stop for the night." Carly said to her daughter, reaching back to unbuckle Emma and pull her onto the front seat. "Mommy's getting tired." She yawned, clicking the lock shut on her door. As it started to get darker, Carly had realized that there was no way they were going to get home before night. She had made the risky decision to park for the night, and hope that she could get an hour or two of sleep before morning. Emma looked at her in wonder,

"We're sleeping in the car?" She asked, surprised. She giggled into her hand, and settled into the seat. Carly looked over at her tiredly,

"I've got to rest for a minute baby. Settle down, OK?" She said with another yawn. She didn't know if it was a good idea to be asleep in a car with Emma awake and capable of opening the door, but she knew they weren't going to make it home if she didn't. Emma nodded, and settled into her seat quietly. Suddenly, she reached up and wrapped her arms around Carly, giving her a quick peck on the cheek.

"Night night mama." She said, holding back her own yawn. Carly smiled and closed her eyes,

"Night baby." Carly replied, leaning back in her seat. Emma snuggled into her own seat and closed her eyes, falling asleep quickly.

Carly tossed and turned in her sleep, her mind swirling with memories of that night.

She hadn't expected to see him again after she left Hollywood, and for a while she didn't. She was settling back into her normal life, working a part time job, spending time with her boyfriend Robert and shopping for baby clothes with Sam. Then he showed up again and again. At first, she thought it was just a coincidence. After all, she had met him in this town, so he obviously lived there. It wasn't suspicious to the that they would run into each other at grocery stores and on the streets on occasion.

It wasn't until he started showing up where he wasn't supposed to that she started to grow concerned. By the third week she was home, he seemed to show up every where she went. When she was working as a cashier at the super market, he always was there buying something. When she went to the salon with Sam, She noticed him standing outside the window, as if he was waiting for her.

"Sam, do you see that guy out there?" She asked, leaning towards her friend. Sam looked over and shrugged absently.

"Yeah. So what?" She asked casually, turning towards Carly. "He's kind of cute." She replied with a sly smile. Carly faked a shocked face and grabbed Sam's hand.

"Your married Sam." She said with a grin, motioning towards Sam's wedding ring. "And you've got the little one." She finished, putting a hand on her friends protruding belly. Sam grinned mischievously.

"Relax Carl's. I'm kidding." Sam replied, putting her own hand on her belly. "Anyway, What about him?" She asked, glancing back at the window.

"I think he's following me." Carly said simply, looking away. "He's everywhere that I am." She continued. Sam wasn't concerned.

"Maybe its just a coincidence?" She suggested, absently fixing her hair in a nearby mirror. Carly sighed, debating whether to tell about the indecent at the studio.

"Its just a coincidence that he showed up at the recording studio while I was?" She asked nervously, hoping Sam would have a logical answer for it. Sam looked surprised.

"Really? Sound's like you've got yourself a stalker!" She laughed, trying to lighten her friends mood. Instead, the comment just made her more nervous.

"You really think he's a stalker? Should I call the police or something?" She asked hurriedly, reaching for her purse. Sam stopped her before she could pull out her cell-phone.

"Whoa, calm down. Its probably just a coincidence." Sam said hastily, trying to calm her anxious friend. "Everything is alright."

Carly smiled, "Y-your right. I'm just being paranoid." Carly said. Suddenly, her phone slipped out of her hand and dropped to the floor. She sighed and reached over to pick it up, "These things are always slipping out of my hands!" Carly laughed. She felt someone behind her, and jumped slightly.

"Hey there!" She heard him say excitedly. "Fancy meeting you here!" He continued, sitting in the seat next to her. She looked over at Sam, who simply shrugged. "Who's your friend?" Jordan asked, motioning towards Sam.

"This is Sam. She's my best friend." Carly said, glancing from Sam to Jordan. "Sam, this is Jordan." She nodded at the man.

Much to Carly's horror, Sam grinned at him and said, "So...I heard you've been following Carly." Carly turned bright read in embarrassment.

"Sam!" She hissed, glaring at the blond. Sam smiled wickedly at her.

"I just want to know why he's stalking you!" She said casually, examining her finger nail. "So why are you following her?" Sam asked, eying Jordan and nodding towards Carly. Jordan looked at her with a confused face, and shrugged.

"Stalking? I'm not trying to be a stalker or anything..." He trailed off, glancing at Carly. "But you know, since you kiss-" Carly gasped and cut him off quickly.

"I think we need to get going now Sam." Carly said quickly, pulling Sam to her feet. Sam stared in shock at her friend.

"You kissed him? NO WAY!" She said, a grin on her face. "I didn't think you would ever do something like this." She said, apparently loving the awkwardness that had grown in the air. Carly dragged Sam towards the door.

"We've got to go. Bye Jordan!" She said, storming out of the salon. "Sam! What was that about?" Carly cried once they got into the car and she was backing out of the parking lot. "Why would you embarrass me like that?" She screeched, her knuckles white against her steering wheel. Sam looked at her with a guilty smile and shrugged.

"Sorry Carl's." She mumbled plainly, "I didn't mean to embarrass you." Carly relaxed and smiled at her friend.

"I know." She stated, her focus going back to the road. She was secretly hoping that Sam wasn't going to bring up what was said. Unfortunately, that's exactly what Sam did.

"So, you kissed him huh?" Sam said, receiving a groan and glare from Carly.

"I don't want to talk about it." She said plainly, hoping Sam would just drop the matter. Sam however, refused to let it go.

"Come on Carly!" Sam cried, "What happened?" She slumped in her seat and crossed her arms. "Please?" She knew that Carly would give in eventually. Carly wasn't budging.

"NO SAM!" Carly said, her voice raising. "I don't want to talk about it." She hissed. Sam didn't question her further, The two rode in silence for the rest of the trip.

After dropping Sam off at her house, Carly sighed and returned home. She pulled into the parking lot of her apartment building, she wished for nothing more than to curl up under her blankets and fall asleep for the night. She never expected Jordan to be there waiting for her. She never expected him to follow her into the building and into her apartment. She didn't say a word as she stepped into her apartment, him close behind. She just didn't have the energy to acknowledge his presents, to stop him from kissing her as if it was the most normal thing to do. She didn't stop him when he followed her into her bedroom and climbed into the bed next to her. She never stopped him, she just didn't have the energy.

Carly woke up with a start and instinctively looked towards the seat next to her. She was startled by the

empty seat next to her. Emma was no longer sitting in the seat next to her. In a panic, she whipped her head towards the back seat, and relaxed when she saw her curled into the back seat, her thumb stuck in her mouth. Carly sighed and started the car, pulling back onto the road.

They had been in the car for hours. She remembered falling asleep for a little bit, but had been woken up when the car swerved violently, causing her bump her head on the car door. She looked up towards the front seat, and found that the lady was driving now. The man was sitting in the passenger seat, glaring harshly out the window. She looked out the window, trying to locate where they were taking her. The man turned around suddenly,

"Get down." He hissed at her. She froze in her spot, unsure what to do. "Get down on the floor!" He snarled again, reaching back to unbuckle her seat belt. Scared, she slid out of her seat and squeezed herself onto the floor. "Stay quite." He told her, turning back around quickly, pulling a poker face.

A car pulled into the toll booth heading out out of the state. "$3.50." The person standing there said simply, a board expression on her face. Suddenly, something caught her eye. The women glanced slightly towards the back of the car, where she was surprised to see a small child laying silent on the floor of the backseat.

"Excuse me!" The women in the car said angrily, thrusting a handful of money towards the befuddled tollbooth worker. Before she could react, the car zoomed out of sight. Quickly, she closed the window and pulled a photograph off of the wall. It was a missing person flier, that she was required to have on hand. Thinking quickly, she pulled out her cell-phone and dialed the buttons.

"Yes, I'm currently on duty at the tollbooth heading into California. I think I may have found a missing child." She said quickly, looking out the window towards the road that the car had gone down.

A/N: Huge thanks for your patience with me :) I'm still not feeling as good as I should, (hehe that rhymes) but I think I'll be OK to update again!

Another thing, I think I'm going to give up the whole "Scheduled update" thing and just update when ever I get around to it. (it'll still be atleast once a week)

Thank's again to those who take the time to read and review! I love reading reviews, they make my day so much better :)

No flames please, that was part (not all, there were other things) of the reason I had to stop for a little bit. Even though it was just one, it kind of hurt a bit...

Watch for the next chapter, and take the time to review please! (with out flaming, constructive critism is accepted)