Author's Note: I meant to have another chapter before this, but the writing took me elsewhere. I have that chapter still to write and it will come next. Then the chapter after it just needs to be proofed and it will be up soon after.

Starr lay on the bed stunned at the events of the evening. Brody had called a friend at Scotland Yard and told her to call Gigi. Gigi had been very confused. Rex hasn't left the message for her, and Shane was fine. She wanted to know more about what was going on with Starr and how she was going to explain the kidnapping to Joey. Starr eventually got a word in edgewise, and she and Brody had convinced her and then Joey that coming to Ireland would just be putting more people in danger.

The hotel management had been extremely apologetic and quickly moved them to a penthouse suite with a 24/7 security guard. It was a beautiful with two bedrooms and equipped with everything they could need. The MI5 agents, led by Agent Whitney, were already there making sure it was secure. Hope was getting fussy, and Starr could tell Brody and the agent wanted to talk privately. She made an excuse that she and Hope were tired and would try to get to sleep. Hope fell asleep with relative ease. Starr had starred at the ceiling trying to make sense of, well, nothing in her life recently made sense. She must have dozed off because she startled at Hope crying.

She laid a hand on her back. "Hope honey, please don't cry."

Hope rolled over and buried her face into Starr's shoulder. "I miss Grandma Addie. I want to talk to Fred."

"I do, too. And Grandma and Grandpa, but we will see them soon."

"I want to see them now," Hope whimpered. "Where's Fred?"

"We'll see them soon. Do you want a drink of water?"

Hope nodded.

Starr laid her back down on the bed and got up. Thankfully, the suite included a kitchenette. As she walked over to the sink, she took a deep breathe to calm herself. It was childish, but she missed Fred, too. It was, also, another reason to hope that Patrick was brought to justice quickly and painfully. As the cup filled with water, Starr found herself fighting tears. Damn, the loss of a stuffed animal shouldn't bring her to tears. It wouldn't bring her to tears! When they got home, Starr would make sure Hope saw everyone she had missed. Next, she would buy the biggest frog she could find. She had to calm down before she took the water back to Hope. Hope really was starting to mirror her whether she was upset or happy.

"Why was Hope crying?" a voice softy asked from behind.

Starr flinched, "I am so sorry. I didn't want to wake you."

Brody moved around to lean against the counter next to her, "I wasn't asleep yet." He reached out to wipe a tear off of Starr's cheek, "I think Hope wasn't the only one crying."

"I'm not going to cry." Starr took a deep breath, "Hope can't see me cry."

"I'll take drink to Hope, and then you can tell me why the two of you weren't crying."

Starr nodded.

Brody took the glass from her hand and walked to the bedroom while Starr moved to the sofa.

"Hope had already fallen back to sleep when I brought the water in. Now what was going on with the two of you?"

"Hope woke up missing everyone back in Llanview. And that reminded her that she couldn't talk to Fred."

"Who's Fred?"

"Fred the frog was how I could tell my Dad anything when I was little. He gave it to me before he went away once. He said that Fred would let him know anything I told him, so it would be like he was there. You know he was away a lot – or a different person." Starr paused to shrug her shoulders at Brody, "I talked to Fred a lot. When Hope first started playing with stuffed animals, I passed Fred onto her. I told Hope that her family would always know what she told Fred and would come to help her. When Hannah kidnapped us, Hope dropped Fred. She was so upset, but I told her Fred was going to get us help. Langston and James found him and knew there was a problem. They confronted Hannah in front of Cole. Cole believed Hannah. I guess that should have given me a clue." Starr laughed bitterly for a second. "Where we stood as his priorities."

"Was Cole on drugs then?"

"No, he didn't get back on drugs until we got to Ireland. Patrick pushed him to deal."

"Still I can't believe he was so blinded by Hannah."

"I know. I can't believe some days that I thought Cole and I had much stronger feelings for each other than James and I did."

"Are you going to look James up when you get back to Llanview?"

"No, I've thought about it, but James dumped me. It's probably for the best, and James is such a great person I'm sure some girl has snapped him up." Starr turned to look at Brody next to her on the sofa. She needed to lighten the mood a bit before she started crying again. "Speaking of good looking nice guys, have you met anyone in London? My cousins were crazy to let you get away."

Brody smirked, "Anyone ever tell you that guys don't want to be called "nice"? The next thing you hear is how no one could ever be a better "friend." I'll find someone when the time is right. Enough avoiding the topic, what happened to Fred?"

"When he told me that Dad had been arrested, Patrick tossed Freddy into the fireplace. He said that my father couldn't come help us now. Hope cried. Patrick slapped her and threatened to give her something to really cry about."

"Patrick slapped Hope? I'm going to so take him down myself!"

"Don't worry. You would think Cole would have been a tenth as upset as you are."

"He wasn't?"

"No, Cole said that his father was the head of the family and must be obeyed. I know my father has his moments, but really!"

"No comment about your father. John always told me what a good kid Cole was, but he seemed to me to have a chip on his shoulder."

"Yeah," Starr gave a soft sigh.

"Why don't you try to go back to sleep? I just remembered a call I need to make."

"I'm not sleepy. But if you want to make a private phone call, I'll go lay down with Hope and try. Good night." Starr walked backed to the bedroom.

Brody leaned back against the sofa. The S.O.B had struck Hope and made both the girls cry. He really hoped that he got a chance to slam his fist into Patrick's face when they rescued Hope. How could he replace the toy? Agent Whitney had said to call for anything he needed day or night. A few years ago, he would have accepted the offer without a thought. Coming to Llandview and meeting Shane and Gigi had changed him. Now he was hoping that the offer included tracking down toys. A smirk crossed his face as he realized this was one of the reasons Gigi said he had a hero complex. He didn't think he was a hero – he just wanted to see Hope and Starr smile.

"Hope, I have a surprise for you," Brody called as he entered the suite after meeting with some contacts.

Starr and Hope were watching TV in the living area. Starr looked at Hope, "Race you to see what it is?"

"Yes!" Hope took off at top speed.

Starr stood up slower. She had been trying to distract Hope with games and TV in the hopes that she wouldn't pay attention to all the changes in her life. Poor Hope – her father must seem to drop in and out of her life at a whim. She came around the corner just as Hope skidded to a stop in front of Brody. "You won! You are so much faster than me! Can you say, "please' to Brody?"

"Peas, Body," Hope said jumping up and down.

Brody held out a stuffed toy. "Hope, I want you to meet a friend of mine. This is Sammy the Seal. Hold onto him, and he'll always protect you. Some of my best friends are SEALS, "Brody winked, "And we'll do all we can to keep you and your Mom safe. Besides, Seals are much better than frogs."

"They are?" Starr asked. Brody seemed really confident as he said it, like he meant something else.

"They are," Brody nodded confidently.

"Well, seals are mammals, but I've always been partial to reptiles. Ugh, I guess that explains Cole!" Starr ended with a scowl.

"I didn't mean seals or frogs. I meant Navy SEALS or frogmen. I'm not sure any of the Thorneharts have evolved to reptile."

"And there's a difference between SEALS and frogmen because…." Starr raised her eyebrows smiling.

"Frogmen blow stuff up to get it out of the way. Then the SEALS go in to do the hard part. It's a lot harder to become a SEAL."

"And you were a SEAL, right?" Starr remembered when he saved her from the drug dealer.

"Yes, ma'am!" Brody gave a crisp salute.

Starr remembered Brody had guarded them against the drug dealers and others. She had been so worried he would get hurt protecting them. And furious with Cole for getting involved in the first place. Brody seemed to be saving her while Cole got her in trouble.

Hope had started playing with Sammy not paying any attention to the adults.

Starr held Hope up, "Hope, can we thank Brody for the seal?" She and Hope leaned forward to give Brody a kiss on each cheek. Hope reached him first and smacked her lips against his cheek. Brody moved to take Hope into his arms for a hug; except somehow he turned his face away from Hope as Starr leaned forward. Their lips met unexpectedly. Starr knew she should pull away, but it had been a long time since she could lean on someone as strong as Brody felt.

Brody knew he should pull away, but he couldn't think of a good reason why at the moment. Starr smelled so good, and her lips were so sweet. Why shouldn't he enjoy this moment? Distantly, he heard a giggle. Then he felt something touch his cheek. Brody pulled back in time to see Hope laugh again while leaning in to kiss her mother's cheek. He smiled at her as he moved Hope from Starr's arms to the floor. Brody would have continued to the living room if he hadn't looked down. Starr's eyes were closed, and she sighed as she swayed forward a bit. Leaning back against the door to the suite, Brody wrapped his arms around Starr's waist and lowered his face back to her lips.

Starr ran her fingers through the ends of Brody's hair. He had let it grow out since she last saw him in Llanview. He was quite good at this. She could hear her heart pounding. Wait, it could be the knocking on the door behind Brody.

Brody seemed to realize it at the same moment. "Umm…What just happened? Someone's knocking on the door." He appeared to not quite know what was going on around him.

Starr smirked, "I think someone's at the door. Wait, you might want to fix your pink lipstick." She reached up to wipe it off.

"Uh, thanks?" Brody replied. He still wasn't sure of his bearings. He closed his eyes and knocked his head back against the door. What had possessed him to kiss Starr? Why was she looking at him so smugly? When could he kiss her again? Opening his eyes, Brody realized things could get complicated; he, also, realized he was watching Starr's hips as she walked away.