Little Girl Lost

Disclaimer: If you recognize it, it's not mine. This story is on an AU track.

Chapter 2: The Day The World Stopped

"Andrea!" Zach called up the stairs. "Come on or we're both going to be late!"

A dark-haired figure poked out over the top of the staircase, a slip-on sneaker in one hand. "I can't find my other shoe."

Zach couldn't help a sad smile. This was a problem Andrea had recently developed, and unlike what he'd been told about other children, it wasn't because she was messy or disorganized. It was because she wasn't used to owning enough things that one thing could be misplaced among others. "Can you wear a different pair?" he suggested, careful to phrase it as a suggestion instead of a recrimination. "I know those are your favorites, but how about you wear a different pair for today, and then I'll help you look for your other shoe tonight, okay?"

She considered it for a moment before smiling. "Okay." She turned around and ran back to her room, emerging a few minutes later with a different pair of sneakers, sitting down on the step to pull them on and tie them. "I'm ready," she said after a few minutes, jumping to her feet and running down the stairs.

Zach reached into the closet for his coat, pulling out Andrea's at the same time and handing it to her. She zipped it on. "Okay, let's go."

He couldn't help but laugh. "Yes, let's go."

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"Now don't forget," he said as he handed Andrea's backpack to her. "I have to work until six tonight, so Megan's picking you up at five."

"I remember," she said with as much aggravation as she ever mustered, gentle and compliant as she was.

"Sorry." He gave her a warm smile. "I just want to make sure."

"Okay," she replied, her frustration gone as quickly as it had appeared.

"And Andi?"

"Yes?"

"I have a surprise for you after school."

Now she smiled from ear to ear. "Really?"

"Yep. But I can't tell you what it is or it wouldn't be a surprise anymore." He reached into the backseat and gave her a quick hug. "Get going, sweetheart. I love you."

"I love you too." She smiled again as she climbed out of the car.

He watched her walk into the school, still smiling to himself. If someone had told me a year ago that I'd be dropping my daughter off at school, I might've considered arresting them for drug use. But this morning routine had become not only familiar but a welcome part of his day. I guess this is what being a parent is about.

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"What can you tell us about -?"

Serena's question was interrupted by the ringing of her partner's phone, and he looked up abashedly. "Sorry," he said to both his partner and the witness they were interviewing. "Excuse me, I have to take this." He stepped to the other side of the room's doorway before reaching into his pocket and activating the phone. "Nichols."

"Zach?"

"Megan?" He recognized his friend's voice instantly, and also recognized that she didn't sound like she normally did. "Is everything okay?"

"Did you, um," she hesitated, and he couldn't help but think she sounded scared. "Did you change the arrangements for Andrea today?"

"No," he replied immediately. "I thought you were picking her up. That is what we agreed on the other night." Could Megan have forgotten? If she had, he'd be more worried about her than anything. It wasn't like his friend to forget something like that.

There was silence on the other end for a moment and then a long, slow exhale. "I was afraid you were going to say that."

Her tone made clear to him that something was going on, and his instinct was telling him that it wasn't a mere case of forgetfulness. "Megan, what is going on?"

Another long silence. "Zach, I'm here," she said finally. "And Andrea's- not. She's not here."

Near-panic instantly flooded him. "What do you mean, she's not there?" He hoped desperately that he was misunderstanding.

"She's not with the other kids," Megan replied, sounding almost as panicked as he felt. "And no one knows where she is. We've already checked everywhere the after-school program kids went."

"No," he replied instantly, his mind refusing to process what he'd just been told. "That's not possible."

"I'm sorry," she replied brokenly. "Where are you?"

Not where I need to be, his mind replied, but all he said was, "Upstate. Probably about ninety minutes out. I'll be there as soon as I can. If you find her -"

"I'll call you. I promise."

"And Megan?"

"Yes?"

He swallowed hard, hating to even think of the possibility that what he anticipated might be necessary but knowing that he would hate himself more if it turned out to have been necessary and he failed to mention it. "When you think you've done all you can, if you still haven't found her, call the local precinct and file a report. You know the words to use to get their attention."

"Right. Got it." The tone in her voice suggested that she was uncomfortably close to that eventuality.

Zach realized his hand was shaking as he hung up the phone. No, this can't be happening. He forcibly collected himself outwardly before stepping back into the room. "Excuse me," he said to the witness, forcing his voice to remain steady. "Thank you for your time, Mrs. Derring. I'm afraid we have to cut this interview short, but we'll be in touch."

Without even waiting for an acknowledgment, he turned and headed back towards the front door. The sound of hurried footsteps told him Serena was running to catch up with him.

"What the hell was that?" she asked as soon as the door closed behind them. "I barely got through half of my questions, and her testimony could be crucial. The Captain knows that; he also knows how much of a waste of time it would be for us to head back now and drive all the way back another time. So what is going on?"

He could barely breathe. He knew Serena hadn't meant any harm, but just the reminder of how far they were from the city, how far he was from his daughter in this crisis, drove another spike of pain through his heart. "I'm sorry," he finally managed. "It's Andrea."

Serena's entire demeanor instantly changed from anger to worry. "What's happened? Is she okay?"

"I don't know," he replied, letting the helplessness and fear he felt finally show through. "She's disappeared."

Shock and horror crossed the female detective's face now. Short of a child's death, this was a parent's worst nightmare, and her partner was living through it right this moment. "I'm so sorry." She laid a gentle hand on his arm for a moment before turning it palm-up in front of him. "Keys."

"What?"

"If you think I'm going to let you behind the wheel right now, you're out of your mind. There's no way you can focus enough to drive." Her expression softened. "I'll get us there, Zach, as fast as possible. But I want to make sure we get there in one piece. Besides, this way if you get another call you can answer right away."

Still in a daze, he pulled out the keys and handed them to her. "Okay."

She watched him get into the car, still not really aware of the world around him, and wished there was more she could do or say. But there was nothing to be said. She couldn't answer any of the questions she knew he was silently asking. And she couldn't even offer a reassurance, because how could she tell him it was going to be okay when the truth was that she had no idea whether or not it was?

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Zach was out of the car almost before it came to a full stop, running around the front end and across the street, apparently unaware of the multiple horns that blared their distaste for his action. For her part, the moment she had the car safely in the parking space, Serena immediately shut off the engine and ran after him, waiting just long enough to make sure she was clear to cross. It was only after she turned off the lights on the sedan that she realized there were other flashing red and blue lights in the area. Her stomach churned. If they'd gotten to this point, that meant that at best, things weren't looking good.

Megan was standing just inside the school entryway, talking to a plainclothes detective as tears ran down her face. She turned as she heard footsteps, taking in her last partner's scared and worried expression just before he spoke. "What's the news?"

"Nothing," she replied, rubbing her eyes harshly. "Zach, I am so sorry. She was my responsibility today and I -"

"Don't blame yourself," he replied, realizing as he spoke that his voice sounded as shaky as hers. "The school was supposed to be watching her, not you."

"Zach Nichols, I presume?" the officer asked, and he nodded. "I'm sorry, but I have to ask for identification."

"Of course." He pulled his police ID and badge from his pocket, offering it to the officer.

The man took it, looking surprised. "You're a cop? Your friend didn't mention."

"I'm sorry," Megan said again. "I should've, I guess I wasn't thinking things through all the way."

"It's okay," he reassured her. "I wouldn't have either. That's just what I'm used to showing when people ask for ID."

The officer handed the badge back. "So, I just need to ask you a few questions -"

"Detective!"

Zach turned automatically at the call, even though he knew it probably wasn't meant for him. A female officer was running towards them. "I found something you need to see." She handed her phone to the detective who studied it.

"Detective Nichols?" he asked finally. "Do you recognize this?"

The phone was turned towards him and Zach thought he'd forgotten how to breathe. "It's hers," he gasped out once he finally managed to speak, still staring at the photo of a purple backpack with several distinctive patches ironed on and an equally distinctive, if small, darkened spot near the top. "That's Andi's bag. My God, is that blood? What does this mean?"

The detective considered the question for a moment but finally seemed to decide that he wouldn't be able to keep the truth from Zach anyway. "It means that our missing persons case has just escalated to a suspected abduction."

So now we get back to the beginning of the story. As I indicated in Chapter 1, the story will be linear from this point forward.

For those who are wondering why I haven't posted a cover photo yet when I usually have one up as soon as it's published, I really wanted the image for this story to be a picture of Andrea. Since she's an OC, no actual photo of her exists, so I'm working on drawing one and it's been kind of slow going. I promise I'll have it up as soon as it's done.

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