Note: Thank you to all those reading and following. I am especially appreciative of those of you kind enough to leave a review, which makes it all worth it. Hope you all enjoy a day early! Thanks to Hero76, Red Hardy, ulstergirl, max2013, TinDog, East Blue, Paulina Ann, hlahabibty, and Caranath for reviews on the last chapter!

The Secret Spaces

Chapter 6

"Oh, this is incredible!" Vanessa gushed to Callie as they sat in Johnny's trailer on the set of Criminal Hunters. "I can't believe it!" She looked around in awe and sighed happily.

Callie smiled at her friend's enthusiasm. "I know. He has certainly come a long way since we used to eat Ramen noodles and rent movies to save money in college!" she responded, nostalgic.

"Cal!" Vanessa said, squeezing her hand. "Johnny is so great. I mean, look- I'm the first to admit that he's, like, the most beautiful man on earth, and I have had the biggest crush on him ever since we met. But other than that- he's so nice! And he's smart and funny and GORGEOUS and generous and-"

"And it sounds to me as if you could have stopped when you mentioned that you had a crush on him," Callie said with a laugh. "Yes, he's a doll."

Vanessa gave a silly grin. "Why are the good looking, amazing ones either always taken or gay?" she sighed dramatically.

Callie laughed again. "Van!" she reminded her. "You're MARRIED- and to a really great, smart, handsome, and funny guy yourself. I think you need to reign it in."

"I know," Vanessa said with a blush ."And you know I love Joe to pieces, but can't Johnny remain my not- so- secret crush? And besides- didn't you ever like him? LIKE-like him? Come on- 'fess up!"

Callie rolled her eyes. "You sound like a lovestruck teenager, Van! And the answer to your question- for real- is that I do like him- I love him, actually. But he's not...you know, Frank. Frank's been my dream guy forever- my best friend and true love. You know that." She blushed, realizing that she'd revealed more than she wanted to.

Vanessa looked at her affectionately for a moment before calling out, "BOOOORING!" and Callie just shook her head in amusement.

"I'm actually really excited to see Frank today," Callie said eagerly. "I've really missed him. In fact, I THINK he's going to try to stop by the set- Johnny got him clearance- in a little while. I think he said that Joe and Fenton were also coming back to Bayport, too- just a little later tonight. I guess their case isn't over yet."

"Yeah- Joe mentioned something about that on a text he sent me a while ago," Vanessa agreed. "I wish he could have come to the set, too. I feel like I'm meeting stars!"

"You ARE meeting stars," Callie said dryly.

Before their conversation could continue, Johnny came into the trailer, covered in mud and completely disheveled. He shut the door behind him.

"Johnny! Are you okay?" Vanessa asked concerned, and Johnny laughed.

"I'm great, Van! Don't forget- I'm currently kidnapped and trying to figure out a way to save myself and my girls!" He stretched. "I have no idea how this ends, though. They only give us a few pages at a time for security reasons. Still, it's pretty great writing and it's exciting to film. I'm sorry if this is boring for you both. I'll introduce you to everyone later."

"Even Angel Gonzales?" Vanessa asked, starstruck.

Johnny reached for a quick sip of soda. "Even Angel- anyone you want, honey." He looked quickly at his watch and spoke into it. "Cleared. Back lot 6. Send him back." He smiled at Callie and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Your husband is here. Tell him I'll talk to him later- I'm due back to film in 30 minutes." He paused as an idea struck him. "You know what? Come on, Van. Let's leave Frank and Callie alone for a few minutes. Let me show you around." He reached for her hand.

Vanessa's whole face lit up. "Really?" she asked, as she took his hand.

"Absolutely! Come on!" With a quick wave at Callie, they were gone.

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Less than five minutes later, Callie rose as she heard a knock on the door. Releasing the latch, she was incredibly happy to see Frank standing before her. He smiled the moment he saw her, and, as soon as he entered through the door, took her in his arms and held her to him. "I missed you," he whispered huskily into her ear.

Callie buried her face in Frank's chest and hugged him tightly. "I missed you, too, baby."

Slowly, Callie pulled away and took Frank's hand, leading him to the couch. Sitting down next to her, he wrapped his arms around her again, pulled her close, and kissed her forehead. "I know it's been under a week, but it feels like forever," he said gently. "How's your day here? Johnny knows how to live it up- this is a nice gig," he finished.

Callie smiled and snuggled into his arms. "It's great. Kind of exciting and also boring at the same time," she answered. "He warned us it would be like that."

"How are you holding up?" he asked, looking into her eyes.

"Honestly?" she asked. "I'm exhausted. My back is killing me. My ankles are swelling up. Pregnancy is really sexy," she teased.

Frank lightly brushed her lips with his. "You're always sexy," he said easily, tightening his hold on her. "But-on a more serious note, you need to take it easy. Don't overdo it today. I need you home, safe and sound, and back in my arms, as soon as possible. Of course," he interrupted himself, "it would be nice to actually see you! Instead, there's been a twist in our case and we have to meet up- me and Joe-at dad's tonight." He sighed and looked at her softly. "I'll be honest with you. For the first time I can remember, I'm having a hard time getting involved in a case. My mind's here with you- and the baby," he went on, gently resting a hand on her stomach. "I don't think I'm being terribly useful to anyone right now."

Callie pulled back slightly. "Are you okay, honey? Is anything wrong?"

Frank ran a hand through his dark hair and scowled slightly. "Well, I tore into Joe this morning for a stupid theory he has about the case. He won't let it go, and it's, in my opinion, distracting from getting real answers. Still," he went on dejectedly, "I shouldn't have yelled at him. That was wrong. He just-he kind of hit a nerve with me."

"Go on," she encouraged.

Frank rubbed her back as he sat silently, collecting his thoughts. When he did speak, his voice had an unusual edge to it. "I… are you okay, Cal?" he asked, hesitantly. "Are… are we okay?"

Callie met his eyes, stunned at the emotion in them. "I'm-" she began.

"I know. You're fine," he said in frustration. "Cal," he began again, "I've wracked my brain to try to figure out why you're upset. I'm sorry if I've been insensitive, or if I've hurt you in any way. It's the last thing I would ever want to do. Maybe not now, but promise me you'll talk to me. Please," he begged her. "You're my wife. You're my best friend. I can't concentrate on anything else until I know that we're okay." His voice caught in his throat.

Callie felt tears spring to her eyes and, in that moment, she knew that she was as much to blame for not talking as Frank was for not asking; probably more so. "We're okay," she whispered, and hugged him tightly. "I promise we'll talk soon. I love you, baby. And I'm sorry."

"Me, too," he replied. He tilted her face towards his and kissed her tenderly. "And I love you, too. Always."

The phone started buzzing and Frank groaned. "This damned thing never stops," he grumbled. Reading the text, he shook his head. "That's Joe," he said to her. "He needs me to look at something right away, and then I have to head to the Bayport PD, and then I need to talk to Liz's father-and I have to do all of this in the next five hours, at which time I'll have to meet up at my parents' house."

"Maybe you're the one who needs not to overdo it," she mentioned with a small smile. "How did you even make time to come here?"

"It was on the way," Frank replied honestly. "And I needed to see you." He touched her cheek gently. "But I DO have to go now. Warn Johnny please that, knowing Joe, he will be calling him about his dopey theory."

"Why would Joe call Johnny about your case?" Callie asked, confused.

Frank went to say something, then thought better of it. "I'll let Joe explain it to him if it even gets that far- which it probably won't."

He stood and helped Callie to her feet. "I'll see you tonight, okay?" he said to her happily, and she nodded and smiled. "Your daddy loves you," he said to Callie's stomach, and bent down to give it a quick kiss. "And your husband loves you," he said to her, and pulled her close for a final long, tender kiss that, even after all of these years, left her yearning for more. "Bye, babe," he said in a low, emotional voice her before heading out. "I'll see you soon."

At that moment, Callie found herself blushing, relieved and grateful for Frank. Maybe it was time to start letting her guard down. Things were looking up. What were the chances that anything could go wrong now?

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Several hours later, Johnny's day on the set was just wrapping up. "Girls!" he called to them. "Don't forget the finale just aired. We have several months before the new season starts, and we got great scenes done today." He sat down on the detective set and ushered them to sit down at his desk. Vanessa remained as awestruck now at being on the real set as she had been at the start of the day.

"Are you sure we're allowed here?" Vanessa asked, watching the actors and set crew milling around.

"Absolutely!" Johnny said. "Bill, the head writer, saw you two and I told him who you were. He told me you might enjoy just hanging out on the set while everyone wrapped up. This is exactly where the action from the finale picked up. Remember? There was a series of tiny explosions and then I was kidnapped with my bestie and the detective's wife. I thought you'd like to be in on the action, Van!" he said with a smile.

"I love it!" Vanessa cooed.

"How are you feeling, Cal?" Johnny asked, noticing she was somewhat quieter than normal. "You must be exhausted."

Callie went to reply when all of a sudden she heard screaming in the background. Before she knew what was going on, she heard explosions, saw fire in the distance. The air filled with smoke, and she started coughing violently.

"What the hell?" she heard Johnny shout, and Vanessa ducked for cover, hands over her ears.

Then, everything descended into chaos. Out of the corner of her eye, Callie saw someone grab for Vanessa; thought she saw Johnny struggling with an attacker. And then, before she could process anything more, she felt a rag go over her mouth and instantly recognized the sickly sweet smell of chloroform. As she struggled to maintain consciousness, she felt someone lift her up and slam her against vehicle. Then, with only the fleeting instinct to throw her hands over her stomach, she gave into the darkness against which she could struggle no longer.

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At 7:30 that night, at his parents' house, Joe had just finished telling his brother about the mysterious poem that had appeared in the classifieds section. Wanting to show the actual ad to Frank and his father, again, he flipped on his laptop and was assaulted by news headlines popping from his screen.

Life Imitates Art: Criminal Hunters Star and Friends Kidnapped in Exact Same Manner as Season Finale

Joe felt his heart stop beating as he stared at the screen, saw Frank's face completely drain of color.

"What the hell is happening?!" he cried, panicked. "Dad? Frank?!"

But there was no answer. Only a shocked, incredulous, and fear-filled silence that answered more forcefully than their voices ever could.