Disclaimer: I don't own anyone, other than Brielle and Lilly.
Rated: M
Warnings: Slash, Het, Exotic Dancing, Stripping, Violence, Domestic Violence, Child Abuse, etc.

"Mr. Reso?" The silken voice of Jay's secretary, Aksana, washed over the intercom. "You have a call on line five. The man says that his name is Officer Ryan Reeves. He's the head detective on the Copeland-Abduction Case."

Jay nodded briskly, before he turned his attention to his client. "Do you mind if I take this?" Adam shook his head. "I'll take that call now, Aksana. Thanks." He hit the button for line five and intercepted the call.

Adam closed his eyes and anxiously worried his bottom lip. He felt incredibly uncomfortable in the new leather armchair, surrounded by thousands of dollars worth of useless knickknacks that were only bought to waste away the excess money that he had. If he had half of the money that one of those items was worth, he wouldn't need to be here. But as soon as that thought came to him, he silently chastised himself. Nothing good ever came from wishing for something that you knew full-well you could never have.

And so, he busied himself with watching the lawyer as he went into his own little legal-zone. Legal terms that were much too complicated for Adam's overly exhausted brain to comprehend poured from his mouth. Briefly, he thought that he had heard Jay mention Brielle's name. But that moment of hope came and went, again to be veiled by legal terms out of his realm of understanding. And then, in an instant, the tone of the conversation changed. Jay seemed as if he were praising this 'Ryan' character for his hard work. But what had he done?

Finally, after several more minutes, Jay ended the call. He shuffled through some of the files, before he found a case file on Mark and Hunter Calloway and their medical state after an unknown shooter had nearly claimed both of their lives. Adam's eyes widened. Did he know who had attacked them? And then, when the papers were transferred over to Brielle's case file, it all became unbearably clear. In order to break him, Chris had taken Brielle. But in order to make his presence known, to make sure Adam knew it was him, he shot Mark and Hunter. It was sick.

"I'm sorry about that. I had to take that call. However, on the other hand, I have some excellent news for you. Officer Ryan Reeves with the FBI missing persons division has managed to locate your daughter." Jay said.

Adam blinked dumbly, almost as if he didn't understand the words as they came out of Jay's mouth. "He… He found her? Dear God, where is she? Is she okay? Is she healthy? Is she safe?" Adam ranted on and on.

Jay raised one hand and Adam fell silent. "There's a lot that we still don't know. Right now, she's in surgery." At Adam's look of confusion, he elaborated. "Her new heart valve defected."

Adam choked on a sob. "It's all his fucking fault! She shouldn't have been taken from the hospital so soon."

Jay nodded. "But we need to prove that and, in order to do so; I need you in the best frame of mind possible."

Adam sniffled. He scrubbed at his eyes with the back of his hand and let out a muted little wail. "I just miss her so, so much. I need to know that she's safe. Where… where is she?"

"Vancouver." Jay answered. "And as soon as she is healthy, she will be brought back to the US."

"To be thrust into the middle of a brutal custody battle." Adam finished sadly.

"To be thrust into the middle of a brutal custody battle that you will win." Jay countered.

"I'm just not so sure that that is what will happen. I'm scared that… that… Chris will gain full custody of Brielle."

Jay shook his head. Reaching across the table, he took Adam's hand and squeezed it slightly. "You just have to have a little confidence and a lot of faith. Confidence in yourself, faith in the system."

Adam looked him directly in the eyes, a cold honestly residing in the hazel depths. "I have a lot of reasons to not have faith in the system anymore."

It was true, however sad it sounded. When he had been raped, he had done everything that he was encouraged to do; no matter how horrifically it humiliated him. He'd gone to the hospital and let them run the rape kit. He'd answered all of the questions that the police had thrown at him. He'd gone to the station and picked him out of a lineup. But when it came time for him to have his day in court, the judge had thrown out the case because they didn't have 'enough evidence'. It had killed him, both physically and emotionally. But he never let it show.

But, of course, he didn't tell this to Jay. He hadn't told this to anyone. It was his burden to carry and for six years, he had carried that burden alone. Now, as Jay handed him file after file, explaining to him the case that had been carefully constructed against Chris, he wondered if, maybe, this time, it would work. Maybe, this time, the case would play in his favor and he would be allowed that moment of blissful happiness when Brielle would throw herself into his arms again. That was what he dreamed of, but he knew that it was only that. A dream.

"…And are you with me, Mr. Copeland?" Jay stopped mid-tirade to ask if Adam was even following him.

Adam blinked. "What?"

"I asked if you were listening to me. We were talking about Chris and the reason why he may want to hurt Mark and Hunter. That's when you zoned out, I think." Jay said.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Adam shook his head and cleared it. "Where were we?"

Mark came home later that week. Because Hunter was like a son to Vince, Vince had offered his home to Mark until the younger man could recuperate from his injury. After all, he wouldn't be able to tend to the upkeep of his house in his current state. That, and he would need someone to watch over Lilly. Mark had been hesitant to accept, but in the end, had seen no other alternative. So now, as Vince carried all of his belongings into the house, Mark held Lilly's hand and walked along the sidewalk. Lilly looked on sadly, looking for her Mommy.

Mark sighed. He honestly wasn't sure if Hunter would ever make it home. Last week, Hunter had been put on life support because it was discovered that his lungs could not function on their own. It had terrified Mark, but at the same time, he wasn't surprised. After all, the doctor had told him that some sick bastard had come up with the idea to stick their finger into his wound. Covered in gauze, of course. But it had torn all of the stitches and scratched some of the nerves raw. The wound was uncomfortably close to his heart and the doctors were worried over that.

Finally, Lilly turned to him and smiled sweetly at him. With her tiny little hand, she took his free hand and stepped onto his bigger feet. He knew what she wanted to do. She wanted to dance. This was what Hunter and Lilly used to do on days when there wasn't any 'quality' entertainment on TV (which, nowadays, consisted of Sesame Street and Looney Toons). Not wanting to stress his body out too much, he carefully moved around, swaying back and forth to make it seem as if they were dancing. He couldn't help but smile when Lilly started to hum off-key.

"Daddy? Can I ask you a question?" Lilly blinked at him innocently. There was such sweet sincerity in her voice, Mark had no choice but to nod. "Does Mommy love us?"

Mark looked at her, astonished. How could she think that Hunter didn't love her? "Of course he loves you, sweetie. You're his whole world. Why would you doubt that?"

"If he loves us so much, like you say that he does, then why doesn't he come home? My kisses should have made him better. I love him and he loves me, so my kisses should make him feel better."

Mark smiled sadly. "Honey, it doesn't always work like that."

Lilly continued to look at him in innocent confusion. "I don't understand."

"Life isn't always so cut and dry, Flower. Sometimes, stuff happens that just doesn't make any sense."

Lilly just blinked at him.

Mark bent at the waist and lifted Lilly into his arms carefully. His back protested, but he knew that, right now, he needed to hold his baby girl. He didn't know if this was a lie, the truth, or something in between. All he knew was that he had to tell her something. And so, he said, "He'll be home soon, Flower. He'll be home soon."