A/N: I am once again sorry for the long wait, but I have a feeling that updates will be coming a lot faster. A little change to the story, I know I changed Cody's age once before, but I'm changing him back to one year old. Sorry for the inconvenience and everything else is still the same. Enjoy. :)

Chapter Fifteen

Written by: TheEquestrianWriter

The baby's cry startled Sylvie Roberts out of a light sleep. She had been taking a small nap on the couch while her new son was sleeping. It had seemed like she was only asleep for five minutes. Tossing her long, dark hair behind her shoulders, she scrambled off the couch and hurried to the back of the apartment, almost tripping over a stroller on her way. The crying was getting louder.

The nursery was the last door in the hallway, it was the brightest room in the apartment. When Sylvie came into the nursery, the one-year-old, little boy was standing up in the mahogany crib. When he saw her, he reached out to her, tears leaking out his eyes. Sylvie's heart went out to the little boy. In one week, the child's life was turned upside down. Everything he had ever known was ripped away from him.

Six months ago, Sylvie and her husband of two years had lost a baby girl. She had been stillborn, and, though the pregnancy had been a surprise, they were devastated. They were young and hadn't thought about the prospect of children, until Sylvie went to the doctor with a really bad stomach ache and came back pregnant. After that, the two of them were excited to become parents. Seven months later, their baby girl was dead. It wasn't until a few weeks ago that they decided to try for another baby. So far, their attempts seemed futile, but the doctors were optimistic. She was young and healthy, with nothing preventing from getting pregnant. Except, Sylvie and her husband wanted to start their family now, so they went the adoption route.

Cody's persistent crying broke Sylvie out of her thoughts. She hurried over to the crib and picked up the one-year-old. Cody quieted down almost immediately; he was starting to settle into his new home. It was fate that the baby came into their lives. Yes, he had to lose his parents in a car accident, but he had found a loving, new family. Cody's parents had to be relieved he'd found a nice couple to take care of him.

Cody was sucking on his thumb, looking up at her with those big, brown eyes of his. She smiled down at him, so glad he was in her life. She picked up a stuffed, black horse and handed it to Cody. Cody smiled and wrapped it in a hug. That was one thing she found out about him; he loves horses. He made a sound that sounded like 'Blackie'.

"How about we get out of this pink room?" Sylvie said as she carried Cody out of the room. When she stepped into the hallway, she said, "I promise, we'll redo it soon. How about a baseball theme? Daddy will like that, or a horsey one?" Cody just stared up at her, clutching his horse.

Sylvie had just sat down on the couch in the living room and flipped on the television, when the apartment door opened. Corey, her husband, walked in and dropped his overnight bag by the door. He smiled when he saw the two of them sitting on the couch.

"Hey, there's my two favorite people in the whole world," Corey greeted. He came over and sat down next to them on the couch, giving Sylvie a quick kiss on the lips first. "How is he settling in?"

"Okay," Sylvie answered, looking down at Cody, who was staring at the television, where Thomas the Train was playing. "He misses his mommy and daddy, of course. It breaks my heart whenever he looks around the room like he's looking for them."

Corey nodded slowly. "It's not easy for any kid to lose their parents, like he did." he said as he stroked Cody's dark hair. It looked brown, but when the light hit it, there was a small tint of red to it. "But he's lucky to have found people like us, who love and care about him already."

They both smiled down at Cody, when he let out a laugh at something on the TV. Whatever had happened, had ended up with Thomas covered in coal. "Choochoo durdy," Cody said pointing at the TV.

"That's right, he is," Sylvie replied to him. "And so are you. Are you ready for a bath?"

Cody looked up at her. "Baff?"

"Yeah, do you want a bath?" she repeated. Cody nodded. Sylvie sat him down on the couch and stood up. She turned to her husband. "Can you watch him while I run the water?"

"Of course," Corey said. He picked up Cody's stuffed horse from where it had fallen to the floor and handed it to Cody with a smile. Sylvie turned to leave and then turned back around again.

"Oh, did you and Caleb end up finding his daughter?" Sylvie asked Corey.

Corey glanced up at her briefly. "Uh, yeah, we did," He fidgeted like he was uncomfortable. "She's with him now."

"That's good, right?" she said, taking a step toward him. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know," Corey sighed. "She just didn't seem that happy to see him."

"Well, she's bound to have some resentment toward him for not being in her life-"

Corey shook his head. "No, it was more than just resentment, it was pure hatred she showed him." He rubbed a hand over his face. "I don't really want to talk about this anymore. Besides, you should get that bath going, this guy's a little antsy." Corey stopped Cody from crawling off the couch and set him on his feet in front of the coffee table. Cody reached over and picked up a yellow block that was sitting on the table.

With a reassuring smile from Corey, Sylvie hurried off to get the bath started. Corey smiled at his soon-to-be adoptive son as the one-year-old stared at the TV and ran the block over the top of the table. He started to move closer to him, when his phone started ringing in his pocket. He held his breath, hoping it wasn't Caleb. Corey pulled his phone out and checked the caller id; it was his friend, Aaron.

"Hey, Aaron, what's up?" Corey answered. He got up and walked away, keeping within sight of Cody. "Yeah, I just got back..."

In that same moment, Sylvie's cellphone, that was sitting on the coffee table, starting ringing. Cody looked at the phone, then at at Corey, pointing at the phone. "Fone," he said, but Corey didn't hear him or the phone. Cody toddled over and picked up the phone, the screen brightening as he did. He put it to his ear like he saw Corey do and there was a female voice on the other end.

"Mama,"

/X/

"Let us out of here!" Sam yelled, her voice hoarse from all the yelling she'd been doing. "Just let us go!" She was back inside the van, but she wasn't alone this time. Jake was with her, though he'd been knocked unconscious and he hadn't regain consciousness yet. Sam kept vigilantly checking on him to make sure he was still breathing.

Receiving no answer, Sam slumped against the wall, feeling utterly defeated. They were never getting out of here. Caleb proved that a few hours ago when he refused to let her go. At least, Cody was safe, she was assuming. Sam blew out a sigh and that's when she saw a slight movement on the other side of the van. Jake was stirring.

He stretched his legs out first and then groaned when he tried to move his arms, and found he couldn't. They were bound together behind his back. Sam crawled over to Jake just as he lifted his head. "Jake," Sam breathed. "Don't move."

"Sam, I'm fine," Jake reassured her as he struggled to sit up. Seeing that it was futile to try and stop him, Sam helped Jake into a sitting position. For once, he didn't resist her help. Jake leaned his head back against the wall and blew out a long sigh, wincing at the strain in his shoulders. Now that he was up, Sam could see that the left side of his face was bruised and his hair hung loose and in his face. He looked like a wild mustang caught in the holding pens at Willow Springs. His body sagged with exhaustion, but his eyes glinted with determination.

"If you're going to keep staring at me, you might as well try and get these binds off of me." Jake said, breaking into her thoughts.

Sam started and averted her gaze. She shuffled behind Jake, he leaned forward so that she could see his hands. She drew in a sharp intake of breath when she saw the chains wrapping his hands together. "Jake, I don't think..." Sam admitted, feeling guilty that she couldn't help him.

"It's okay, Sam," Jake told her. He started to lean back again, but Sam put a hand on his back, stopping him. She had to at least try. When Sam started fussing with the chains, pulling them this way and that, Jake said, "Sam, it's okay."

"Jake, no, it's not okay," Sam said, wanting to cry out in frustration. It seemed like she was only making the chains tighter instead of looser. "I have to get these off of you."

"Sam, stop," Jake tried to make his voice sound stern, but it didn't work. Sam wasn't giving up.

"Shh, I can't concentrate when you keep talking," Sam replied. Jake actually listened to her for once and just sat there as she worked. The only sound in the van was the clinking of the chains falling against each other. She gritted her teeth in concentration. Finally, she was able to loosen it enough for Jake to slip one hand free, but the chains were still wrapped around the other one. Sam could see that the chains had started to dig into his wrist, leaving big, ugly, red welts behind.

"I'm sorry, I tried..." Sam started to apologize, but Jake stopped her.

"It's okay, you did good," Jake assured her. Then, he gave her his lazy tomcat smile. "And now, I can use this," He held up his right hand clutching the chain that dangled from his wrist. "As a weapon to smash Caleb's head in."

Sam didn't react. She just kept her eyes trained down. Jake was still and silent, like the rock he always was, until his fingertips grazed her bruised cheek. It was still sensitive, so a twinge of pain went through her at his touch, but she didn't let it show. He brushed her hair back behind her ear. Sam finally dared to look up and met Jake's eyes.

"What's the matter?" Jake asked her.

"I'm scared, Jake," Sam confessed, her voice barely above a whisper. "This is it. We're not getting out of here. I'm never going to see my family again."

"Hey," Jake scooted closer to her, the chain dragged on the floor behind him. "We are getting out of here. As soon as they open those doors." He nodded to the back doors. "Thanks to you, we even have a little advantage."

Sam watched him as Jake cupped her face with his hands. She thought he was going to kiss her, she wanted him to kiss her, but he only pressed his lips to her forehead. Sam closed her eyes, loving the feel of his lips on her skin. "Kiss me," she breathed, her lips barely forming the words. For a moment, Jake didn't move. Sam opened her eyes and looked at him. He was staring at her and then he obliged. His lips met hers in a slow, sweet kiss. Jake's hands still cupped her face as he continued to kiss her soft and slow. It was just like their first kiss, but yet different, better.

When Jake pulled back, Sam wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled herself onto his lap, resting her head on his chest. "You always make me feel better." she whispered into his shirt.

Jake wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. They stayed like that for a long time, holding on to each other. Neither one of them spoke, they didn't have to. The van kept driving down the road to wherever they were going. Good or bad, they were in this together.

/X/

"Mama,"

It has been an hour since Brynna called Sylvie Roberts' phone and heard Cody's voice on the other end. His small voice kept repeating on a loop in her mind. Mama. Mama. Mama. She couldn't explain how she knew it was him, maybe it was a mother's intuition, but she knew with every fiber of her being that her son had spoken to her. It had only been for thirty seconds and then they were disconnected, but that was all Brynna needed. A giant relief flooded through her, when she realized her son was alright. He wasn't hurt and didn't appear to be in any danger, if he was picking up phones. But where was he?

"Did you here any other voices in the background?" Sheriff Ballard asked. He sat across from her on the couch. Another officer stood next to him with an open notebook in his hand and a pencil. They've been at this for an hour, and Brynna was tired answering the same questions over and over again.

Brynna shook her head. "Well, I might have heard a male voice, but I couldn't make out what it said. Like I said before, I was so shocked to hear Cody's voice, I wasn't thinking clearly. And, then, the line went dead." She felt Wyatt put a hand on her shoulder from where he stood behind the reclining chair and she reached up and squeezed it.

Sheriff Ballard nodded understandingly. "We can trace the number and see what we come up with. This is a good sign, it means your son is okay."

"Thank you, sheriff," Wyatt mumbled. He hasn't said much since the phone call.

"What about Sam and Jake?" Louise suddenly spoke up. She had also been silent for the whole police questioning. "Caleb still has them."

"Now, let's not get ahead of ourselves," Sheriff Ballard held up a hand to stop her. "We don't know for sure Caleb has Jake, too. He could have just struck out on his own. Caleb didn't mention him at the school and he wasn't spotted in the area. As for Sam, we have the license plate number on the van and I have a team of officers tracking them as we speak. We should hear something soon."

"What should we do until then?" Wyatt asked.

"Keep the word out about the kids, newspapers, social media, anything to let people know what has happened," Sheriff Ballard answered, positively. "Someone is bound to see something eventually."

All three of them nodded. They were one step closer to finding Sam and Cody, but still so very far away.

A/N: What do you think? The next chapter will up, probably by next Saturday. Please review! :D