A/N NOPE NOT DEAD! just busy...Thank you for all your reviews, I am back to updating my stories in turn and trying to give you all extra long chapters as a thank you for waiting.

This one was hard to write, so I have added some time jumps. yes there's a flashback...but do you really need a neon sign to tell you where it is?

TOTALLY LOVE YOU GUYS...Yep I'm high on caffeine again!

Chapter 17

Todd sat in a chair in the corner of the room, it had been a month since Klaus had died and he hadn't said a word after he had been injected with sedatives. He flinched every time someone tried to touch him and refused to look anyone in the eye.

"Todd?" A voice said quietly as the door opened, "Your father and your sister are here to see you."

Todd stared at the man blankly.

"Hey Todd." Eric said with a hopeful smile. "It's me and Summer, Dr Brightling asked us to come and see you today. She said it would be good for you to see us again and talk."

"Todd, what do you say to your father and sister?" The doctor asked gently.

"Good afternoon." Todd said dispassionately.

"Todd come, sit on the chair next to your father." The doctor said. Todd immediately moved to do as he was ordered and Eric looked on concerned.

Dr Brightling turned to the pair of them, "Now Summer in your sessions, you know your therapy has been aimed at how you felt about what happened to you and how you can rebuild your life…" Summer nodded. "Todd's therapy is a little different, he has to be deprogrammed, right now we have gotten to the stage where he will respond to simple orders, he can't tell us yet how he feels about things. There are still some orders that interfere with what his last master left him with."

Eric looked confused, "Orders?"

Dr. Brightling sighed, "Todd was left with orders to kill himself. He has tried to complete these orders at least three times since he was placed in the unit."

Eric looked sadly at his son as Todd stared unseeing at the wall. "Todd, son….please I need, we…your sister and I need you to come out of this and come back to us." He begged.

Todd looked up briefly and a lone tear escaped and ran down his face. It was only a second and Eric caught it and latched onto the hope it held out for him. "Doctor?" he asked motioning to her.

"Todd, will you go outside with Summer?" Dr Brightling said then corrected herself as Todd didn't move, "Todd walk outside with Summer and once around the gardens then wait on the bench outside my office." She said.

After receiving specific instructions Todd got up as Eric motioned to Summer, "It's ok Hun, it's still on the grounds so you'll be fine."

She nodded to her father and followed her brother out of the door.

Eric turned to the Doctor. "Doc, tell me honestly, my kids will they be ok?"

The doctor looked at Eric, "Mr. Beale…"

"Eric… please," He said

The doctor nodded and started again, "Eric, both your children have suffered more than any child should ever…Summer is progressing well, and she is still having nightmares and flashbacks. But she is talking about it and isn't, like some victims of rape, holding onto the belief that it is somehow her fault. She knows she is totally blameless in this situation, finding out this morning that she wasn't pregnant was also a relief for her. We also had her test results; she is clear of any STD's and although she had a small infection and some internal bruising she, physically, is for the most part, recovered. Mentally it may take years before she is completely free, she was before this however a well adjusted child and a happy person, she has decided to go back to school and continue to work on her degree."

Eric smiled at this; It had been a long month for Summer, especially her not knowing whether or not she was pregnant. He was glad of the news that the doctor gave him.

The doctor coughed bringing Eric's attention back to her, "Todd however, I have been talking to a specialist who deals with cult members who need deprogramming, Todd spent many years in Klaus' hands. He was ok while he first stayed with you, from what I got from him, he had been under orders from Klaus to do what you told him, to blend in and settle. Then he was to eventually steal any useful information he could get from you and bring it back to his master."

"Why do you refer to my brother as his master?" Eric asked.

"That is how Todd refers to him. Todds' whole life he followed what Klaus told him to do, He has only known this master/slave life. He doesn't yet realize what he had with you as being real; he thinks you were in on it and following your own master's orders."

"My Master?" Eric asked confused.

Dr Brightling looked at her notes, "Yes a Hetty Lange?"

"Oh that's my boss." Eric explained with a smile.

The doctor nodded "I expected as much, I asked Hetty to come by tomorrow if that's ok with you, I need to see if he will listen to her, in the meantime we are still working with positive reinforcement therapy, he is slowly learning to follow orders of other people he sees as in a dominant position. However he is right now at his most venerable. If he left now, mostly anyone could order him to do anything." The doctor said, "My colleague and I think we can get him at least functioning to think on his own in three months, maybe sooner." She told him hopefully.

Eric nodded, "Thank you Doc," he said.

Callen and Hetty arrived as requested outside the secure unit that the Beale children were staying; Summer was due to go home today, Callen had offered to be there when Hetty saw Todd. Eric pulled up beside them.

"Hey guys, thanks for this." He said with a slight smile.

"I am pleased to hear that Miss Beale will be coming home today." Hetty said, "How is she?" she asked her concern genuine.

"Not fully recovered, but well enough to leave," Eric said, "She is going to have regular visits with a therapist at monthly intervals from now on, and we have a support mentor set up to help her back into college life." He felt with his daughter he had all of his bases covered.

They walked in and Summer had all her bags packed and was sitting in her room.

"Callen! Hetty!" She said smiling.

"Miss Summer, It's nice to see you again," Hetty said pleased to see Summer smiling.

"I get to go home today, I'm looking forward to getting out on my surf board again, I haven't been able to surf for far too long, I need the water." She replied honestly.

Callen laughed, "You're your father's daughter, for sure."

"Hey Sum," Eric said catching up and sticking his head in the door and throwing a piece of paper at her.

"Is that it?!" she asked excitedly.

"Yep, all up to date." Eric replied as Summer launched herself off her bed and hugged him,

"Thank you, thank you, and thank you!" She exclaimed excitedly.

Callen and Hetty looked confused.

"Up to date surf reports." Eric explained. "And Summer, your board is waxed an in the car with your wetsuit."

Her smile got even bigger, for Eric it was the most perfect thing he had seen in months.

It had been three months since both the children had been placed in the unit, Eric had been by most days after work, cases permitting. Todd had been progressing in the two months since the meeting with the doctor and he was glad one of his children was well enough to come home. Hetty had been a few times to visit with Todd as she had slowly convinced him that Eric was not her slave and was in fact her employee and that he was free to make his own decisions as was Todd.

Due to her standing in his eyes, Todd had slowly started to listen to her. Callen hadn't seen Todd yet, but he had asked about him. Every time Eric had asked him to go there had been a case or a reason why he couldn't, Finally Eric had cornered Callen in the mission after a case and had just asked him.

"Callen, why won't you visit Todd, He was close to you, I think it would do him a world of good to see you?" Eric asked.

"Not now Eric I have to go….help Sam in the gym."

"Sam's gone home." Eric said flatly. "Callen, if you don't want to be part of my kid's life it's fine, or has he done something to upset you…or have I?" Eric asked worried.

"GOD NO!" Callen exclaimed. He turned and leant over the railing on the balcony, noticing that everyone else had already left.

"Callen?" Eric asked.

"I know…" Callen said so softly Eric almost didn't catch it.

"You know what?" he asked.

"I know what Todd's going through, I've been there…I forgot all about it until this happened….She…." Callen's voice faltered. "She was my second foster mother…The last one I trusted, I was seven…" He walked towards a large plant in the corner and started picking at the leaves.

"I was with her until I accidently called her Miss…" His throat closed as the bile rose over the word. "I said it in front of a social worker, we were all moved a week later."

"A week?!" Eric asked his parental instincts saying he should have been taken out of there straight away.

"They had to investigate, I was just a kid, The day that they came of an unannounced visit, and I was being punished for speaking without permission. They found me in the Attic, in restraints." Callen told him refusing to look him in the eye,

A light of hope flared in Eric, "But you got past it…you got better?" he said.

"Not entirely Mr. Beale, there are and always will be parts of Mr. Callen that will still respond to his first training." Hetty said walking up on the two of them.

"But it was years ago?" Eric argued, "Callen's a grown man now."

"CAL. SIT!" Hetty snapped and without thinking Callen dropped to the ground and then glared at Hetty although he had understood why she had done it he hated that she had.

"Hetty!" Callen exclaimed.

Eric looked at him incredulously. "Callen?"

Callen got up and walked away unconsciously rubbing his wrist.

"He will be fine and I will talk to him later Mr. Beale, you have to understand, Mr. Callen went through the same techniques that Todd is going through now, No one and the emphasis is on NO ONE, knows of this, Mr. Callen talked to me a month ago about talking to you about this, but it goes no further than us three, ever!" she told him.

Looking over at Callen now he could see the trepidation in his eyes knowing that he wasn't only going to visit Todd, but he would come face to face with the man who had deprogrammed him as a child. But Callen was voluntarily taking this step in an attempt to show Todd that there was life after this and that he would eventually be ok.

"Are you sure he's ok to do this?" Eric asked Hetty.

Hetty looked at the man who was to all intents and purposes her surrogate son, "I think Mr. Beale, and he needs to do this as much as your son does."

She turned her attention to the young woman who was carrying her last bag to the car. "Mr. Beale, you need to go and bond again with your daughter, Your surfboard is in my car, the trunk is unlocked, and I thought it might save time for you if I brought it."

Eric looked at the small woman again, stunned, "How did you know?" he asked.

Hetty just smiled and turned away as Eric ran to catch up with his daughter.