Author's Note: ~ "text" ~ indicates telepathy

Italicized text indicates thought

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Having found a bus stop to wait at, Cara paced back and forth in front of it, while Mike sat on the bench. Cara wanted to just teleport in, get John and teleport out, but knew it was a bad idea. There were too many people and she couldn't risk that kind of exposure.

~ "Stephen, where are you? Are you at the concert yet? John's in bad shape." ~ Cara urgently sent.

~ "Yes, we are almost there." ~ Stephen replied.

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Stephen and his Mom had just made it into Central Park, nearing the concert pavilion, when they were stopped.

"Jameson!" Agent Jones commanded as he approached the pair. "What are you doing here?"

"Just taking my Mom to the concert," Stephen responded as he turned and pulled his Mom in front of him to introduce her. "Mom, this is one of my co-workers, Mr. Jones."

"Oh," Jones said. "Pleased to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too," Marla replied politely then turned to her son. "Stephen, the concert is about to start, we need to find our seats."

"Right," Stephen said. "Of course. See you later, Mr. Jones."

They quickly passed by the agent, who went back to his post on the edge of the audience. Now it was just a matter of finding John.

~ "John, where are you?" ~ Stephen attempted to reach him.

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When the crowd settled down as the music began, Charlotte started to get an uneasy feeling. It was somewhat comforting knowing there were plenty of people around to keep them hidden, but she was sure John's arm needed to be checked out. She didn't like just sitting there doing nothing, not with Ultra so close and John injured. John had kept the broken limb close to his side, but she noticed how he winced whenever he moved it. It must be pretty bad.

John had told her he was just going to lay back and rest a bit. When she turned to look at him, it looked like he had fallen asleep. She shook him, but he didn't wake up. "John!"

~ "Cara, are you there?" ~ Charlotte tried to reach her, not knowing who else to contact.

~ "Yes, Charlotte, what is it?" ~ Cara responded.

~ "John won't wake up. What do I do?" ~ Charlotte was trying to remain calm, strong. She knew panicking would not help their situation.

~ "Hold tight. Look for Stephen. He's on his way and should be there any moment." ~ Cara replied.

Charlotte stood up and started to scan the area, searching for Stephen. Since people were still filing in, she walked over to a little clearing a few feet away.

Cara sent to Stephen ~ "Hurry, John needs help now." ~

Stephen didn't need the prompting because he had just spotted Charlotte. "Come on, Mom, right over here."

"Hi, Charlotte," Stephen said as they approached her. "Mom, this is Charlotte, she's uh ... John's ... little sister. Where is he?" Charlotte smiled at being called John's little sister.

"He's over there," Charlotte pointed to where John was lying. She was relieved that someone who could help finally showed up.

Marla, sensing something was wrong, hurried over to him and noticed his breathing seemed labored. In an attempt to check his pulse, she grabbed his arm and noticed it was swollen. Marla gently removed his jacket to get a better look at the limb. She could definitely tell it was broken even though the bone did not break through the skin.

"What the hell happened to him?" She said looking to her son and Charlotte.

"We fell down a hill," Charlotte told her, "and I landed on top of him. He thought he had broken it, but we weren't able to get it checked before he passed out here."

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Ultra agents maintained the perimeter during the concert, scrutinizing the crowd for any sign of John.

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Cara had felt Stephen's alarm at seeing John in such a weakened state.

~ "What happened? What's going on, Stephen?" ~ Cara sent.

~ "Not now, Cara. I'll contact you soon." ~ Stephen replied then cut the connection.

"Something's wrong," Cara said to Mike as her pacing intensified. "I can't just stand here doing nothing."

Cara paused for just a moment then made a definitive move toward the park. Mike jumped up and grabbed her arm. "No, Cara. It's too risky. Besides, Stephen will let us know if he needs help."

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It was difficult for Marla to find anything to create even a makeshift splint for John's arm. She had to settle for just wrapping it with the extra shirt Stephen was wearing. Marla was thankful for her son's fondness for the layered look. As she worked, John woke up.

"Where am I?" John said then looked around. "Stephen, what are you doing here?"

"Hey," Stephen said. "We're here for the concert."

When John tried to sit up, that's when he finally realized Marla was there and trying to take care of his arm.

"John, you need to go to a hospital to get this arm set properly," Marla told him.

"I can't," John replied, thinking Ultra is everywhere. "I need to get out of here ... I just want to go home."

Marla was going to press the issue, but there was something in the look John had given her that pleaded with her not to pursue it any further.

"Mom, I'll take care of it," Stephen said then grabbed John by his good arm and helped him get to his feet. "You stay here with Charlotte, while I try to talk some sense into John."

Marla searched her purse for something to write on and found an old shopping list. Turning it over, she quickly jotted something down and handed it to John.

"Here," Marla said to John. "If you won't go to a hospital, please go here. It's a free clinic that will take care of that arm ... no questions asked."

John nodded and shoved the piece of paper in his jeans pocket. He still had his doubts about going anywhere for medical treatment, but would consider it ... if they got out of this current situation. Still feeling a bit light-headed, he swayed a bit until Stephen steadied him.

"Okay, John, lean on me," Stephen instructed. "Charlotte, stay with my Mom and enjoy the concert. I'll come get you when it's sa ... time to go back home. Come on, John."

Charlotte was going to protest, but Stephen sent ~ "It's okay, I'll take care of John. You watch my Mom. Ultra shouldn't bother you as long as their focus is on him. Let me know if something does happen, okay?" ~

~ "Okay. Be careful." ~ Charlotte replied. She went over to John and carefully gave him a hug. She looked up at him before releasing him from the hug and said "See you soon, big brother," then smiled.

"See you later, Charlie," John replied quietly. "Be good for Mrs. Jameson, okay?" Charlotte nodded then walked over to sit next to Marla, who had already made herself comfortable. After one more glance at John and a little wave goodbye, she turned her attention to the orchestra on stage.

Stephen and John headed toward the closest exit. John, still a bit groggy and weak, had to lean on Stephen for support.

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As the orchestra began playing an uptempo favorite, everybody stood up and started clapping along, which helped keep Stephen and John hidden just a little bit longer. They snaked their way through the crowd as best they could.

"Stephen, this place is crawling with Ultra agents," John said. "How do you expect to get past them?"

"Not sure yet, " Stephen responded.

"Oh great," John replied sarcastically. "Jedikiah is going to love this."

"That's it," Stephen said as inspiration struck.

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As the music transitioned to a more mellow song, the concert-goers began to sit down.

"There he is," Agent Williams relayed to the other agents as he zoomed in on John and Stephen. "Is that ... it looks like .. Jameson? I think it is. He seems to be half dragging John out. John doesn't appear to be resisting. Odd."

"I see them too," Agent Jones responded. "I'll intercept and see what's going on, everyone else slowly make your way over, keeping any escape routes covered."

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John's fears were confirmed when he saw Agent Jones heading their way.

"Stephen, we've got trouble," John whispered. "One of your Ultra buddies is headed this way."

"Yeah, I saw him," Stephen replied. "I've got an idea, play along."

"Jameson, good work," Agent Jones said. "We can take it from here."

"No, no need," Stephen responded quickly. "Uncle Je ... I mean Dr. Price gave me strict orders to take him directly to a car that is waiting to take him back to Ultra."

"What about the girl that was with him," Agent Jones inquired.

"Girl? He was alone when I found him," Stephen said as innocently as he could. "My orders were if I found John, I was to bring him in. There wasn't anything about anybody else.

"Well, we don't want to keep the boss waiting. So, we'll be on our way."

"I'll come along just in case," Agent Jones said. He then motioned for the other agents to trail them. He wasn't going to take any chances of John getting away again.

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Once they got out of the park, Stephen and John crossed 5th Avenue, hoping Agent Jones would get stuck in traffic. No such luck. He was slightly delayed, but able to keep up with them.

As they got closer to 72nd Street, John thought he saw Mike pass them. He figured he was imagining things until they heard a commotion behind them. He tried to sneak a peek at what happened, but they had just arrived at 72nd and turned the corner. As they did, John felt someone grab him, turned to see Cara and then noticed that time had stopped.

"What the ..." was about all John could say before Stephen interrupted.

"Hurry, go," Stephen shouted. He gave them a few moments to get out of sight, then restarted time.