A/N: Sorry this is taking me so long, guys.

The agents from the FBI showed up at the house bright and early to begin their investigation. Adam and Lindsay were interviewed separately and extensively, going back not just to Monday afternoon, but even further than that, back to the last time they had seen Adam's father and working forward. Agents from the Phoenix field office were interviewing Adam's mom to try and get more history and maybe figure out hobbies and places he would go to, while other agents were interviewing his last wife to try and figure out his state of mind. It was several hours of talking and answering questions, and by mid-morning, they were both exhausted.

They kids were upstairs with Jo, and Austin was bringing her kids over soon. They had found that things were a lot easier on the kids if they could be together, so even if it made the house a little crowded, it also made things slightly more bearable. Ben was restless however, not happy about being kept from his mama and daddy and he was finally allowed to go downstairs and join them after what seemed to him like forever. They were sitting side by side on the couch, talking softly and he climbed up between them, making sure not to interrupt.

"How are you doin' buddy?" Adam asked.

"I'm fine. I miss Cole."

"I know."

"I done somethin' bad," he said quietly, pushing his glasses up.

"What did you do, baby?" Lindsay asked, tipping his chin up.

"I dunno. I done something bad, that's why Cole go away."

"Ben, this isn't happening because you did something bad."

"Sissy done something bad?"

"No."

"You guys done something bad? I will forgive ya."

"No Ben," Adam started, trying to figure out how to explain the harsh reality of life to his four year old. "No one did anything wrong. This isn't a punishment for us."

"But if we are good, why is this happenin'? I am not a understander."

"I don't really understand either, son."

"Why, daddy?"

"I don't know, Ben. I don't know why this is happening and I wish it would stop. It's not fair."

"I am not only sad. I am very, very mad at the bad person what stole my big brother."

"I'm mad too," Lindsay admitted. "I'm so mad I just want to yell and scream and cry."

"Yeah, that's how much mad I am too!" Ben said with a nod. "Our Cole is not for takin' for other people! He is for our family and no one else."

"You're absolutely right, Ben."

"If we done nothin' wrong, then doin' somethin' right will not make Cole come home, huh?"

"It doesn't work that way."

"We need changin' the rules, okay? I am tired of him bein' gone."

"I am too."

"What if he does not benember us?"

"Colton will remember us, buddy."

"You think he is thinkin' 'bout us right now? Wantin' to come home? You think he is cryin' for us? I would be cryin' if I was with a scary person. I am just glad if one of us was gettin' taked it was not sissy because she not be able to handle that. 'Specially if that bad person did not give her no food."

"Yeah, she'd have a meltdown, wouldn't she?"

"Yep. Cole is very much brave and smarty. He will be alright until his time to come home, yeah?"

"I hope so," Lindsay said softly.

"I got another question."

"What's that?"

"Why did the person take Cole?"

Adam and Lindsay glanced at each other warily; they hadn't discussed how much to tell the kids about everything, but it was getting increasingly harder to be vague.

"We think that this person took your brother because they were lonely," Adam started. "Maybe he wants a family of his own."

"But why doesn't he just fall in love like you and mama done?"

"I don't think that's worked out so well for him in the past, buddy."

"Well maybe he should have asked. Maybe we might said yes."

They didn't have an answer for that and he sighed and snuggled deeper into them, adjusting his suspenders and yawning.

"Can we go find a genie? I will just ask for one wish. For Cole come home. Then I set the genie free."

Lindsay smiled a little and he reached up to wipe the tear off her cheek.

"Don't cry, mama. He is still Cole, even when we don't gots him."

"I know."

"Everythin' gonna be alright. He come home and know what? I can't wait to hug him so big. And I will tell him how much we was lookin' for him. And then he will never ever leave us again. Okay mama? We gotta be patient."

She nodded and he climbed up into her lap, wrapping his arms around her neck and pressing himself as close as he could get. He brushed her hair aside and whispered in her ear gently, then sighed and rested against her, twirling her hair in his fingers. The three of them sat there for a while before Adam's phone rang and he left the room to answer it. It was his mom on the other end and he indicated he'd be tied up for a while.

"My mama," Avery said as Jo brought her down the stairs.

"Yeah, there she is. You want to cuddle her?"

"No, Jo-Jo, I am already doin' that," Ben announced. "Sissy can cuddle you."

"But she wants her mama," Jo said, sitting down next to them.

"Okay. I will play with Qwerty then," he said, clambering off the couch and onto the floor where the dog was sitting, watching the front door.

"Squirty!" Avery said, Lindsay forgotten as her one track mind focused on the dog. Jo chuckled and let Avery down to the floor, then looked over at Lindsay with a sigh.

"How are you doin' honey?"

"Not good."

"Come here, sweetheart."

Lindsay sniffled and closed her eyes, allowing herself to be comforted in a way she hadn't been since she was a child. Jo didn't say a word and Lindsay didn't cry a tear, they just sat in the kind of silence that could only be shared by mothers. It was the first moment of actual peace Lindsay had felt since Monday afternoon and she tried to relax into it for just a minute, get some clarity and balance that she knew she needed.

"Have you been talkin' to your mama?" Jo asked after a few minutes.

"Yeah. She calls every couple hours for updates. It's kind of hard to know what to say."

"What do you mean?"

"I've never heard her so upset and worried before. And it's the first time in my life that I'm ready to admit that I need her and she's not here. I just… I want my mama so bad."

"You have a hard time saying that, don't you?"

"Yeah. I don't think I've ever said it. Is that normal?"

"I think that you've got a lot of pride, Lindsay, and I think you have a hard time letting go of hurts. But right now you need to put that all away because she's your mama and you need her and there is nothing in the world she would rather do than be there for you."

"Why is it easier to talk to you than it is to talk to her?"

"Because she's your mama. That's why your kids have Austin and her kids have you. Sometimes you just need someone else."

Lindsay nodded and closed her eyes again, finding that if she couldn't have her mom right now, Jo was a pretty good substitute.

As much as Lindsay and Adam wanted to keep the kids close to them, it wasn't healthy for them to be cooped up in the house for this long, and their begging to please go outside was a getting to the point where it was annoying and setting their nerves on edge. Austin and Jo were gracious enough to take all five kids into the backyard to play, as Lindsay just couldn't let them go as far as the park. She and Adam stayed inside, knowing that they needed a little time together because as much as they loved each other, it was getting very hard to communicate when they were both hurting so badly.

They would have sat down on the couch, but he opted for the recliner and pulled her down with him, needing her to be close. She adjusted herself in his lap and curled against him, holding on for dear life.

"What are you thinkin' babe?"

"I'm not even sure anymore. I just keep wondering what he's doing and if he's okay. I don't even care what happens once we get him back. I just want him back."

"Linds… do you blame me at all? I know you're going to say no, but I want you to really think about it."

"No Adam, I don't blame you. I never will."

"I feel like we're pulling away from each other."

"I don't mean to be. I think I'm just scared. Are you scared?"

He nodded and pressed his forehead to hers.

"We can't let this tear us apart. We can't."

"We won't," she promised. "We just need to keep talking. I know I'm not telling you very much, I just don't want to pile too much on you."

"I know. No one ever tells you how to get through things like this."

"I think the only way we can is together."

He nodded in agreement, his hand finding hers and holding in tightly. They often felt the need to reconnect to each other, for no other reason than the great importance of always being bonded. But in times like these it was especially important and increasingly difficult. They both had so much on their minds that it was hard to listen to each other's non-verbal cues and even harder to take in what they did hear.

"Adam?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm really scared. I mean really, really scared. I'm scared for him and I'm scared for us and for the kids and I'm scared that this is going to mess me up again and I'm scared that all the horrible things I dream about at night are going to come true," she confessed, sniffling and rubbing her eyes. "I'm losing it, Adam. I don't think I can keep it together."

"Yes you can. Worry about today right now. Just make it through today. Tomorrow isn't here yet."

She nodded and looked up to meet his eyes, taking a deep breath before she spoke.

"Adam you can tell me things too."

He blinked twice and sighed once before reaching up and cupping her cheek in his hand, his thumb barely brushing away a tear.

"I don't know what's going to happen when he comes home. I don't know what kinds of questions he's going to have and I don't know if I'll have the answers. I don't want this to take away his childhood, or make him see the world as completely evil. I don't want him to know the truth about things just yet, I want him to still be innocent. I want him to still be that silly, thoughtful, wise, happy little boy that he's always been. I don't want him to change. I don't want him to be afraid. I don't want him to be bitter. I don't want him to lose faith in anything good. His whole life, I've promised that would never happen to him and I swore I would protect him and now I've failed."

"You didn't fail," she said softly. "Your father stole that right from you for now. But Adam, when Colton comes back, you're going to be the only one that understands and the only one that will be able to find those answers. I always knew that you would be a good daddy, but I think you're the only daddy in the world that could handle all this."

He nodded and she leaned up to kiss him softly.

"I think if I take a little of your fear and you take a little of mine, we might just be alright."

"It's a deal."

He gave her a reassuring smile and she sighed, watching the way his hand held hers, just how it always had. They weren't going to lose each other.

By the end of the day, emotions, exhaustion, and frustrations were running high. The FBI's ways were a lot different and instead of letting them know everything that was happening with the investigation, they stayed quiet. The agents were askers, not tellers so Adam and Lindsay felt very much in the dark about the progress and any new leads. Mac kept them up to date as much as he could, just enough to reassure them that things were happening, there were a few leads and the FBI wasn't slacking on the case. They had shifted their focus to Jersey and were certain beyond a shadow of a doubt that that's where Adam's father had taken Colton. They were getting close and the anticipation was high, but they were all still aware that things could change at any time.

It was later than usual when they finally got around to bathing Ben and Avery, taking extra time to just be with them, try and comfort and calm them before bed. Ben hadn't said very much for the last few hours, and when he did speak it was one word answers and short questions about when his brother would be back. Avery seemed absolutely discontent, not because she missed her brother so much as she knew something was wrong but she didn't really understand what that was. She'd been clingy all day, her feet rarely ever hitting the floor because someone was always willing to hold her. She couldn't ask questions or even understand many answers, so they just had to make her feel okay in the moment.

"Alright kids, time for bed," Lindsay said, leaning over to drain the tub while Adam wrapped both kids in warm towels.

"Mama," Avery said quietly, reaching her hands out and frowning until Lindsay picked her up.

"Let's go get you into some jammies and all tucked into bed. Ben, does that sound okay?"

"I not wanna sleep without Cole. He doesn't have no jammies with him."

"I know."

"How is he sleepin'?"

"I don't know, buddy," Adam said. "Let's go get you ready for bed."

Ben sighed and they went into the other room while Lindsay took Avery into her bedroom.

"Okay, we need a diaper and some nice jammies," she said, knowing that if she kept herself talking and distracted, it would be easier to get through the night time ritual. "How about these ones? They have birdies on them."

"Bud."

"Yeah, that's right. Birdies. What does a birdie say?"

Avery shook her head and frowned, pushing the shirt away when Lindsay tried to put it over her head.

"Sweetie, don't do that. You need to get dressed for bed. It's too cold for you to sleep in just your diaper."

"No, mama."

"Yes, Averylin."

"No."

"Stop pushing me away. It's time for you to go to bed."

Avery growled in frustration but gave up the fight, letting Lindsay dress her.

"There, that's better. Do you want to rock for a little while?"

"Coley, mama."

"I know," Lindsay breathed, grabbing a small quilt out of the crib and wrapping it around her squirming daughter. "I miss him too, baby."

They rocked back and forth, back and forth for a long time, Lindsay holding on as tightly as she could while Avery fussed and asked for her brother. There was no answer she could give, no promises she could make, so she just ignored the pleas, closing her eyes and wishing him back.

After a while Avery was quiet, blinking slowly and showing all signs of being ready to sleep. Lindsay placed her gently into the crib and settled the blanket over her, but was surprised when Avery sat up, rubbing her eyes and whining.

"No, honey. Time for sleep. Lay down."

She tucked the baby in again, but Avery was not going to be deterred now, and sat up again, grabbing onto the crib bars and holding on with all her strength.

"Averylin, it's time for bed. Let go."

"No!"

"Yes. You need to lay down and go to sleep."

"No! Coley!"

"Avery, stop."

"No!" she shrieked, trying to climb out of the crib. "Bad mama!"

Lindsay was dumbfounded for a moment, but recovered quite nicely.

"Averylin Grace you are going to bed right now."

"No! No! Coley!"

As her voice reached higher volumes and pitches, Lindsay could feel her resolve cracking and despite the knowledge that she needed to walk away, she carefully pried her daughters hands off the crib.

"Stop it! That is enough! Go to bed right now!"

She couldn't remember ever raising her voice at the kids like that before and Avery just stared at her for a moment before screaming and trying to climb out of the bed again.

"I said no!" Lindsay blurted out, grabbing Avery and tucking her into the bed, less than gently.

Avery burst into tears and screamed for Adam while Lindsay backed away from the crib, bumping into the wall and sliding to the floor, her own tears coming just as loudly as her daughters. Adam was there in seconds, looking from his wife to his daughter and back again, not knowing who to comfort first. Ben was right on his heels and went straight for Lindsay, kneeling down in front of her and wrapping his warm hands around her wrists.

"Mama, stop cryin'. Please stop. Cole not want you to cry. He not want you to be sad."

His words didn't help much but she was able to lift her head and pull him into her arms before the sobs came again. He held onto her and cried to as Adam and Avery slid down onto the floor next to them. They were all together in it, but that meant if one of them fell apart, they all did. A family of five could not function as a family of four, and if they could not function, how ever would they survive?