Steve was not sure how long he had wandered around the grounds outside Shane's house. All he knew was that sun was slowing burning off the frost from the night before and the cold snap seemed to be lifting slightly.

Walking back into the garden, Steve took a seat on the bench and rubbed his hands over his face. The long day and night were catching up to him, but even the exhaustion he was beginning to feel could not compete with the overwhelming fear that threatened to break through the last pieces of his self-control.

Steve could never remember being this frightened. The closest that came to mind was when Stephanie had been kidnapped by that psycho nanny, Sheila. Yet even that had been different because he had never truly feared that Sheila would harm Stephanie.

But Steve had no doubt that Cal would hurt - even kill - Kayla if he felt it was necessary or even just convenient.

It seemed almost ridiculous even to him given all that he and Kayla had been through, but this was the first time Steve had been forced to face the idea that he really might lose Kayla. Whenever she had been sick or injured in the past, he'd been scared - terrified - but his heart had never truly believed he would lose her.

But this was different. The other times, she was just sick or injured, but with doctors he trusted to take care of her around or in some situation where he at least had some measure of control. And, this time, she was not being held by somebody who was simply using her for leverage like Victor had.

No, this time, she was in the hands of a madman who had already shown that he had no conscience or hesitation in killing anybody who got in his way. And Steve had no control over anything right now.

As he sat on the bench in the garden, pictures of his life with Kayla flashed through his mind. Little moments like her smile, the way her eyes would light up when she was happy, or how they would darken when they made love. He had said it a million times, but it did not make it any less true - she was his life and he had no idea how to live without her.

Needing some kind of distraction before his thoughts drove him crazy, Steve got up and walked back into the house. Roman was on the phone at Shane's desk. There was no sign of Bo or Shane.

As Steve poured himself a cup of coffee, Roman hung up the phone. Steve did not even bother to ask the question; he just looked at Roman and quirked a brow.

Roman shook his head in response. "Nothing new, really. The boys in the lab got enough debris off of Cal's car to identify the make and color, but we haven't been able to find it yet."

"Are you checking all the backroads that Bo and I started on?" Steve asked.

"Yeah." Roman stifled a yawn. "I've got units out and a helicopter up in the air looking as well. We've also got people out talking to the farmers and landowners in the area. Maybe somebody saw or heard something that will give us the break we need."

"Maybe." Steve was not feeling any optimism. There were thousands of acres of land in the surrounding area. Searching them all would take weeks.

"So where are Bo and Shane?" Steve asked idly.

"Bo went home to check on Shawn Douglas and freshen up." Roman glanced at the stairs. "And Shane is . . . uh . . . sleeping."

"Really?" Steve was surprised. "I figured he'd still be down here pacing."

"Well, he probably would be if we hadn't . . . helped him get to sleep," Roman said with a small smile. At Steve's raised eyebrow, Roman continued. "The guy hasn't slept in days and he was about to lose it, so I had Neil give me something to spike his tea."

Steve had to chuckle at the thought of Mr. Uptight Spy being drugged. But he also knew that Roman would not have done it unless it was absolutely necessary. "So I guess he'll be out for a while then."

"A few more hours, probably." Roman checked his watch. "Maybe you should go home and get some sleep yourself. You know I'll call you if anything changes."

Steve shook his head. "I'm fine."

"Sure you are." Roman did not bother to hide his disbelief. "It's not going to do anyone any good if you put yourself in as bad a state as Shane was this morning."

"I said I'm fine, Roman." Steve's voice was firm. "Besides I want to be here if you get any news."

"All right." Roman held up his hands in surrender. "Simmons said he set up one of the guest rooms upstairs for us to use if we want. So if you change your mind, you can catch a nap there."

Steve nodded and turned back to his coffee as Roman reached for the phone again. The truth was Steve was tired, but he could not bear the thought of going back to his apartment without Kayla there. But with no news and no new leads to pursue, a little nap might not be a bad idea. The last thing he wanted was for Roman to decide to drug him too.

Putting down his coffee cup, Steve walked out of the room and headed up the stairs. Even with all that had happened, he could not help but feel a little awkward as he remembered that Kayla and Stephanie had once lived here.

Walking down the hall, he passed a couple of closed rooms, including the master bedroom on the right. He could see an open door down near the end of the hall and figured that was probably the guest room. As he walked in that direction he heard a voice calling out:

"Daddy! Daddy!"

That was Andrew, Steve immediately realized. He must have woken up and was now calling for Shane. Unfortunately, from what Roman had said, Shane was not going to hear Andrew's cries.

Hurrying forward, Steve pushed open the door to Andrew's room and saw him sitting up in bed, his eyes wide and scared.

"Hey, little dude." Steve walked towards the bed. "Are you okay?"

"Where's my daddy?" Andrew sounded scared and confused.

"He's just down the hall in his room," Steve replied, sounding as casual as possible. He sat down on the edge of Andrew's bed. "He's taking a little nap just like you're supposed to be doing."

Andrew looked at Steve like he almost did not believe him. His dark eyes narrowed with mistrust. Steve could hardly blame the kid, given all he had been through recently. Shaking his head, Andrew finally said, "Daddy promised me he'd be here when I woke up."

Reaching out, Steve brushed some hair out of Andrew's eyes and said, "I'm sure he did. But your daddy has been working really, really hard to find your mommy and Aunt Kayla."

Andrew slid away from Steve's hand and pulled his knees to his chest. In a voice tinged with anger, he asked, "Why should I believe you?"

Steve was taken aback by Andrew's anger. He was not accustomed to having a five-year-old accuse him of lying. "I'm telling the truth, Andrew." Steve took a second to think through how to explain the situation. "Look . . . have you ever tried to stay awake, but fell asleep anyway?"

Andrew pursed his lips, but eventually nodded. "I tried to stay up for Santa last Christmas."

Steve chuckled softly. "And even though you wanted to stay awake, you fell asleep, right?"

Andrew nodded again.

"Well, that's kind of what happened with your daddy. He wanted to stay up, but he was really tired and fell asleep. You can understand that, right? He really is just down the hall, sleeping."

Andrew seemed to accept that explanation and was quiet for a moment. The he looked at Steve and said, "When Daddy wakes up, is he going to go find Mommy and bring her home?"

Steve's heart nearly broke at the faith and hope in the boy's voice. Everything inside of him wanted to simply say yes, but he could not quite do it.

"We're all doing everything we can to find your mommy and Aunt Kayla," Steve said, putting his hand on Andrew's shoulder. "We're not going to stop until we find them. I promise you."

Andrew did not pull away this time. He nodded and then looked up at Steve. "Are you scared for Aunt Kayla like I'm scared for Mommy?"

Again Steve nearly choked at the simple emotion in Andrew's question. Not trusting his voice, Steve just nodded. After a moment, he said, "Yeah. I am. But I believe that your Mommy and Aunt Kayla will be coming home soon, and I need you to believe that too. Can you do that?"

Andrew nodded solemnly. "Good," Steve said. "Now, why don't you lay back down and try to go back to sleep."

Still nodding, Andrew snuggled back down into his bed and wrapped his arms around his teddy bear. Almost without thinking, Steve pulled his harmonica from his back pocket and softly played a lullaby, just as he often did for Stephanie. Soon Andrew's eyes grew heavy and Steve finished his song.

"Sleep well, little dude," Steve whispered as he stood up and walked out of the room. As he continued his journey to the guest room, he felt his fear dissipate just a little. He had meant what he had said to Andrew - Steve did believe Kim and Kayla would be coming home, and none of them would stop until that happened.