AUTHOR'S NOTE: The only medical knowledge I have is from personal experience or TV. Any medical information this contains is intended to move the story along and not for accuracy. This is a work of fiction, so if possible, please just go with the flow. ;)

~ "text" ~ indicates telepathy

Italicized text indicates thoughts

xxx TTP xxx

Stephen could hear Agent Jones swearing as the distraction held him up. Mike had tipped over a hot dog vendor. Then, for added effect, gave a little telekinetic push to a passing bicyclist, which caused him to fall onto the vendor creating quite the road block. Agent Jones had to call in the other Ultra agents just to help clear up the mess.

Stephen waited until he didn't hear Agent Jones screaming any more then headed back to 5th Avenue, running into the man as he turned the corner.

"Where's John?" Agent Jones asked.

"Oh, I helped him in the car and they took off already," Stephen said. "See you at the office."

As Stephen walked off, he heard Agent Jones call off the search, sending all the other agents back to headquarters.

~ "Charlotte, John's with Cara now. Russell is nearby. Once you leave the park, contact him and he can make sure you get back to the Lair safely." ~

~ "Got it. Thank you, Stephen." ~ Charlotte replied.

xxx TTP xxx

Cara and John were able to find a secluded spot where she could teleport them away from Central Park. Instead of taking him directly to the Lair, they ended up at the noodle shop. Cara had no intention of taking him home until he had been checked by a doctor.

"What are we doing here?" John inquired. "Come on, Cara, let's just get back to the Lair."

"Not until that's taken care of," Cara pointed to his injured arm.

"You know we can't do that," John replied then whispered, "Ultra is everywhere, they will know if I go to the hospital."

"There has to be another option," Cara sat down and looked up at him.

He hated it when she was this stubborn.

"Cara, just take me back to the Lair," John pleaded. He was exhausted, so he carefully sat down trying not to move his arm too much. "I'll be fine."

He winced a bit on that last word. Trying to settle into the booth, he hit his bad arm on the table.

"Clearly," she mocked. He glared at her.

"Just get me some aspirin for the pain," John said. "With that and some rest, I'll be better in no time."

"No, you need to see a doctor," Cara insisted.

John knew she was right. He didn't think it was a good sign that his fingers were becoming numb. Either he was just getting used to the pain or there was something seriously wrong. Reluctantly, he took out the piece of paper Marla had given him and placed it on the table.

"Here," John said as he slid it over to Cara. "Stephen's Mom recommended this place. She said they don't ask questions."

Cara looked at it then stood up.

"Let's go," she commanded as she held out her hand to help him up again.

Still dreading it, he slowly stood up on his own.

"If Ultra catches me this time, I'm blaming you," he quipped.

Cara just grinned as she followed him out of the noodle shop.

xxx TTP xxx

Distracted by her concern for John, Charlotte kept fidgeting and could not pay attention to anything going on at the concert. Knowing that he was with Cara, relieved some of her worry, but where were they? Were they able to avoid Ultra? Were they back at the Lair?

"Come on, Charlotte," Marla said as she took the girl's hand. "Let's go."

"What about the concert?" Charlotte asked. "Is it over?"

"No, but it's okay," Marla responded. "Let's get out of here and find out how John is doing."

xxx TTP xxx

Russell and Jody were starting to get anxious. They hadn't heard anything and were beginning to wonder if they had been forgotten.

~ "Russell, we're on Central Park Driveway heading to Columbus Circle. Meet us there." ~ Charlotte sent.

~ "Charlotte! Are you and John okay?" ~ Russell replied.

~ "Yes … well I'm fine. Just meet me at Columbus Circle." ~

~ "Okay, we're on our way." ~

"Come on, Jody," Russell said. "We're headed to Columbus Circle to meet Charlotte."

xxx TTP xxx

As Marla and Charlotte approached Columbus Circle, Marla stopped when she had an idea.

"Would you like to know if John went to the doctor?" Marla asked.

"Yes!" Charlotte responded emphatically.

"Well, we can swing by the clinic and see if he's been there," Marla said. "It would just be a short detour."

"Hey, Charlotte!" Russell called. "Is that you?"

"Hi, Russell," Charlotte turned to greet him.

"Mrs. Jameson?" Russell had just noticed her. "What are you doing here?"

"Hello, Russell," Marla replied. "Stephen and I ran into Charlotte and John at the concert."

"And ... where is John?" Russell said as he searched for his friend.

"Hopefully, at the doctor's," Marla stated. "John injured his arm pretty bad, so Stephen took him to talk some sense into him. We were just going to head over there to see if he succeeded."

xxx TTP xxx

When Agent Jones arrived back at Ultra, he reported directly to Jedikiah, immediately asking about John.

"What are you talking about?" Jedikiah said as he stopped what he was doing. He was looking at the Agent like he had lost his mind.

"A few of us … were … out on an op," Agent Jones was desperately trying to spin this, realizing that the second-in-command had no knowledge of the original mission to bring in John. "What was going on here, did the Founder go behind Dr. Price's back?"

"Okay, and what does that have to do with John?" Jedikiah was losing his patience.

"Nothing," Agent Jones said quickly, trying to recover. "I … I must be mistaken."

"Yes," Jedikiah approached the agent, stopping just a few feet from him. "Yes, you must be. Come with me."

Jedikiah put an arm around the agent and they left his office. Nobody knows where they went, but that was the last anybody saw of Agent Jones.

xxx TTP xxx

When the group arrived, they found Cara sitting in the waiting room.

"Hey, what's everyone doing here?" Cara was startled to see all of them.

"Well, we ran into them," Russell said as he indicated Marla and Charlotte, "in Columbus Circle and, once we found out where they were going, decided to tag along. How's John?"

"Don't know yet, they just took him back," Cara said then turned to Marla. "Thank you for bringing Charlotte, Mrs. Jameson."

"Not a problem," Marla replied. "I knew she would want to be with her big brother."

Before Cara could respond, Charlotte spoke first.

"Yes, I would," Charlotte stated quickly. "He's just about the only family I have, so thanks again, Mrs. Jameson."

"Speaking of family," Marla said as she checked her watch. "I should get back to mine. Please let me know how John is doing. Bye."

As Marla left, Cara turned to Charlotte.

"Big brother?" Cara questioned her.

"Well, that's what Stephen told her and I just went with it," Charlotte replied then grinned.

xxx TTP xxx

A few hours later, they were still waiting for John. Cara had sent Jody back to the Lair to let everyone know John was okay. Charlotte had fallen asleep using Cara's lap as a pillow.

Russell was entertaining a little boy by flipping a coin. These weren't just ordinary flips. He was giving it a bit of extra help to make some truly amazing and somewhat impossible acrobatics. The boy was mesmerized, Cara just rolled her eyes.

Finally John emerged from the examination room with his arm in a cast and a sling, carrying a little bag which appeared to have some medications in it.

"Okay, now can we go home," John said.

"John!" Cara exclaimed then gently woke up Charlotte. Russell quickly pocketed the coin.

"Hey, buddy," Russell greeted him.

Charlotte sat up yawning and rubbing her eyes. Once she was awake enough to register what was going on, she smiled and ran to John.

"Easy there, kid," John told her as he gave her half a hug. "Still in some pain here."

"Sorry," Charlotte said apologetically moving away from him. "I'm just so happy you're okay ... you are okay, right?"

"Yes, Charlie," John responded. "I'll be fine. Just have to take it extra easy for a few days then come back in six weeks to get the cast removed."

"What's in the bag?" Cara asked as she also took the opportunity to give him a gentle hug.

"Just some extra medication needed because of what I've been through," John explained, "but it will be fine."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes, the doctor said it was a good thing I came in when I did," John continued reluctantly, "or it could have been much worse."

Cara just gave him a knowing look.

"Yeah, yeah," John responded. "Let's go home."

xxx THE END xxx

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well that was quite a challenge, literally and figuratively. This was my first attempt at a multi-chapter continuing story. Wasn't able to update it as often as I would have liked, but hope those who have stuck with it, enjoyed it. Thank you for reading and please check out my other stories.