A groan escaped his throat as his eyes tried to adjust to the dimness of the room he was in. Taking a deep breath, Chris licked his dry, cracked lips and tried to swallow the built-up saliva in the back of his throat. He grimaced as the moisture runs down his parched throat. "Where am I?" He asked no one in particular as he strained to see anything that would tell him where he was.

When he eyes finally adjusted to the ambiance, Chris could make out the shadowy shapes of what appeared to be a worktable and something bulky leaning against the side of the wall in the furtherest corner. Diaz tried to get to his feet then slammed back down against the wall. His head cracked against the side of the rough-hewn wall and he let out a groan of pain. 'Why can't I move my feet apart?' he asked himself as he tried to move his feet again. He tried to reach down to see if maybe, just maybe one of his friends might have tied his shoes together while he had been drunk, a stupid childish prank, but one that might have gotten a laugh out of one of the guys down out the bar. It was then that he realised that his hands had been tied together as well. 'What the hell happened? What is going on?' he questioned again as he tried to think back to the night before.

Blurry images danced circles around his psyche until a perfect image clicked into place. He may not have remembered what happened last night, but he did remember who he had ran into. "Shit," he muttered with a sigh as he allowed his head to thump back against the wall. Chris hissed in pain as the splinters in the panelling dug deep into his scalp, helping to clear some of the previous haze around his mind.

'The bar... that stupid fucking bar. Why did I have to go there to have a drink? I knew that was the place where I first met Jaime, why would I go there again?' his mind raced as he started to fit pieces together.

'I ran into Jaime last night, I think it was last night... Jaime and... some woman. God, why did she look familiar?' he thought to himself as the fog started to lift from his memory. Chris searched his brain, trying to recall why the woman had looked so familiar to him. He was so engrossed in his musings that he did not hear the subtle sigh of a door opening on his left.

"Well, look who's awake, Jaime," a woman's voice said in the darkness. The light flickered on in the room causing Chris's eyes to squeeze shut at the sudden brightness. When his eyes finally adjusted to his surroundings again, Diaz stared up at the woman, his mind finally clicking into place where he had met the woman before.

Dov tapped the steering wheel of the cruiser along with the beat of the steady rain that fell on the wind-shield as he waited at the red-light. They had received confirmation of the owner of the address and the Beaverton back-up was just waiting for them to arrive with the warrant so they could lend their support. He let out a sigh as he ran through the memories of the past few days. 'I'm ready for all of this to be over,' he thought to himself as he continued to tap the steering wheel. 'Maybe I should take Oliver up on that offer to borrow his cabin. I know I need a vacation after this is all over.'

Epstein was brought out of his thoughts when the passenger of his vehicle tapped his shoulder. "You do realise that you missed your chance to go?" Chloe asked with worry etched into her voice. "I'm pretty sure the long line of people behind you are pretty pissed that you didn't move, but since we are in a police car... I think they are afraid to show their feelings."

"What?" Dov exclaimed as he glanced up at the red-light to see that it was still in-fact red. "This is just a really long light, that's all."

Chloe sighed and eased herself against the door so she could stare at her boyfriend. "Sure, Dov. I guess when I saw the other line of cars move through the cross-section, I mistook it for ten drivers having the audacity to break the rules of traffic right in front of a police officer." She glanced up at the light and smirked, "By the way, the light turned green again."

"Shit," he muttered as he drove through the cross-section with a little more speed than necessary. "I'm sorry," he said, more emotion passing through his voice than he had allowed through the past few hours. "I'm just worried about Chris. I should have known something was up with him the other day, but I just put it off as another argument between Denise and himself. I should have seen the signs, you know? I can't believe my best friend was using and I didn't even know."

"You don't know if he was really using, Dov," Chloe began as she watched Epstein. "It might not even be cocaine... it could be..."

"What?! Baby powder?" Dov spat sarcastically as he rolled his eyes and turned the corner. "Sorry," he started a few moments later as he ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. "I didn't mean to snap just then. This is just really hard on me. First we all had that near scare with Gail and Holly and now Chris is missing. For all we know, he could be laying dead in a ditch somewhere."

"You know that's not the case," Chloe stated softly. "All the divisions know about the situation, well not all of the situation, but they do know that an officer is missing. If he has turned up, we would know by now. Maybe he went to Timmins to see Christian."

Dov sighed but kept his thoughts to himself. Thoughts that were becoming as dark as the sky above them. 'If only Oliver hadn't held us up,' he thought sourly as they edged their way out of the city. 'We could have been there already. I just know Steve and Traci are wondering where we are with the warrant.'

"Thank you," Gail said warmly as she reached for the proffered mug of coffee. The rain had started back up its onslaught as the day grew longer and she watched through the window as it sheeted across the front lawn.

"No, thank you for last night," Holly countered with a wink as she sat down beside the blonde on the sofa.

A smile graced the blonde's face as she wrapped an arm around the pathologist who sat down beside her. They sat in comfortable silence while drinking their morning coffee, as they stared out at the downpour outside.

"Do you think he is allright?" Gail asked softly, the sudden breach in silence caused Holly to stop drawing circles with her fingertips on the blonde woman's thigh.

The pathologist took a deep breath. "I honestly don't know, Gail," she replied. When Holly noticed the despondent look on her lover, she quickly continued. "I am going to be real with you because I don't want to get your hopes up, honey; but Chris has been gone for twenty-four hours. Consider the fact that he is an officer of the law, that narrows his chances. That is if he is missing. For all we know, he could be visiting his son or he could be in some dilapidated building somewhere trying to get a score."

Gail huffed and rolled her eyes, "Thanks for the pep talk, Hols." The blonde tried to stand up to move away from the sofa, but the pathologist reached for her hand and pulled her back onto the couch.

"What do you want me to do, Gail? Lie?" Holly let go of the officer's hand and sighed. "Look, I am just as worried about Chris as you are, but we have to be honest with ourselves. This is simply an unknown right now." She sat up straighter against the armrest of the couch so she could watch the blonde. "Chris is probably not the same man you remember from before. If he has been using... his thought patterns are not going to be the same as before. For all we know, he could have become paranoid and went into hiding so you and the rest of his friends couldn't see him the way he has become." She reached out for Gail's hand and squeezed it gently. "I spoke with Nick while we were all waiting for Steve and Traci. He said that Chris was acting strange the other day when they were canvassing the neighbourhood while we were stuck in that room. He said that Chris was moody and kept sniffling like he had a cold or something. Nick also mentioned that he saw Chris's hands shake a bit. You even said yourself that he seemed a bit off. I'm just trying to look at this thing at all angles. The address was a break for you guys, but what if Chris isn't there? What if no one is there? I'm sure that it would help out in the long run... finding the cabin, but for all we know, this could belong to another drug dealer named Jaime."

Gail sighed as she ran her hands through her short hair. Of course Holly was right. Holly is always right when it comes to thinking logically. She just never expected her lover to voice the same thing her brain had been screaming at her since Chris's disappearance. "You're right... what is that saying? Expect the worst but hope for the best?"

Holly smiled as she squeezed the blonde's hand. "I think you mean 'plan for the worst, hope for the best.' But I know what you meant. And that is what I was trying to get around to saying, but it was coming out terribly wrong. I just don't want you to set yourself up for heartache." She raised her hand to cup Gail's cheek. "Call me selfish, but I like to see you calm and in control of yourself. You are able to think more clearly when you rationalise everything."

The police officer smirked at the comment, "I am pretty sure that is true with everyone."

The pathologist rolled her eyes. "You know what I meant," she murmured as she ran a fingertip over the blonde's cheek. She leaned in closer to Gail and allowed her lips to graze the blonde's. "Look, I am sorry that I said what I said earlier, but I want to be sure that you are not getting your hopes up, to just have them dashed again."

"I know," Gail whispered against Holly's lips. "It's just that we have all known each other since the academy and we are all like one big family and it hurts to see a family member in that sort of situation, you know?"

"I understand," Holly said as she leaned her forehead against the blonde's. "I may not have known him very long, but I am worried too. Not just with his disappearance but with this possible drug issue. He's your friend and he is part of your past, anything that happens to him could cause you problems and that makes me worried in and of itself. I just always want what's best..."

Gail's phone rang cutting Holly off in the middle of her speech. Quirking an eyebrow, the pathologist watched as the officer bounded off the sofa and towards the kitchen. Holly strained as she tried to understand the mumbling from within the next room. She finally decided to follow the blonde. As she walked toward the kitchen, she almost crashed into Gail.

The blonde's eyes sparkled with delight as a brilliant smile etched its way onto her lips. "That was Steve."

Holly's own heart started to beat faster with anticipation as she waited for her lover to continue. "And?! What did he say?"

"They found Chris!"