TW: Kidnapping/Abduction, Gun, minor injury
Disclaimer: I own nothing except for my plot.
Roy sighed as he rubbed his forehead and asked "You sure you're alright taking Chris out for the day while we set up his surprise birthday party?"
Johnny just smiled and said "Nah, Roy. I really don't mind. You know I never mind spending time with the kids."
Roy nodded in relief again "I'd have done it myself, but Jo needs help putting some of the decorations up and I'm going to be the one handling the grill."
Johnny just nodded and said "Still want me to pick him up around nine?"
Roy nodded and said "Yeah. The party'll be at 11. You think that you'll be able to kill that much time?"
Johnny puffed out a breath and said "Of course. if all else fails, I'll take him to the arcade for a little bit."
Roy nodded and said "Okay, Junior. I'll see you tomorrow then. Have a good night."
Johnny replied "Not a problem, partner. It was good hanging out with ya tonight, but I bet Jo's missing you so I won't keep you any longer."
Roy just laughed and Johnny turned to leave.
As expected, Johnny arrived at the DeSoto home minutes before nine in the morning.
Roy and Chris met him at the door.
Chris smiled wide and jumped at Johnny for a hug.
Johnny said "Good morning, birthday boy. How does it feel to be eleven?"
Chris smiled up at him and said "Not that different, Uncle Johnny."
Johnny laughed and said "I suppose not, kiddo."
Johnny looked back up at Roy and questioned "Anything you and Jo need me to pick up while we're out?"
Roy shook his head and said "Nah. I'll see you two in a little while. Try not to get into any trouble."
Johnny just laughed and shrugged his shoulders as he jokingly said "I'll try, but it tends to find me."
A dark brown haired woman sat outside of the ice cream store, holding her green purse in her pale and well manicured hands.
She watched everyone who entered or exited the little shop and smiled wistfully. How she wished that she had a little one and a husband that she could bring with her every time she came to the shop that she'd visited since she was a little girl.
The owners knew her personally, and she often volunteered to help them when they were short staffed, so she often received free ice cream and neither owner ever kicked her out.
Little did they know that she'd been returning to the place more frequently to scope out the people who brought their kids.
Soon, about a quarter past nine, a handsome man and a young boy came in and she couldn't draw her eyes away.
They were most definitely what she had been looking for.
Johnny laughed as Chris got ice cream all over his face and was trying to lick it all off without success.
He quickly grabbed some napkins and helped him clean some of it off.
Johnny popped off "I think you got more ice cream on your face than you did in your tummy, kiddo."
Chris smiled widely and laughed.
Johnny threw away the napkins and said "Now, since it's your birthday, how about we visit your favorite arcade for a little bit?"
Chris grinned and said "YES!"
Soon, the two were on their way to the arcade.
She waited in her car as she watched them enter the arcade. She'd easily followed them.
She was still trying to figure out how she could get both he and the child to follow her outside to her car.
Soon, a smile formed on her face.
She had a plan.
Sure, there's be witnesses, but that wouldn't be a problem.
After all, once she had her family, no one was going to take them away from her.
Johnny heard a cry for help come from outside of the arcade.
He could hear a woman saying "I NEED HELP, MY BABY's locked in my car!"
Johnny looked at Chris and said "Stay in here, kiddo. I'm going to go help."
Chris bit his lip and watched as Johnny walked to the arcade entrance.
Johnny had told him to stay, but Chris couldn't help it. Besides, from what he had heard it wasn't a dangerous situation for him to see.
Chris arrived at the door just in time to hear his Uncle's indignant shout of "What?!" and see her knock him on the head with a gun and push him into the back seat of her car.
He jumped and his eyes went wide when she immediately started looking around at everyone that had gathered and her eyes stopped on him.
She pointed the gun towards him.
Chris jumped again and looked up as another adult stepped in front of him and said "Lady, you better put down that gun. I've called the cops."
Chris gulped as he peeked out from behind the guy who was shielding him and saw that the woman was grinning and his Uncle was leaning on his forearms in the back of that car, facing away from everyone. He was still dazed.
The woman spoke "Move or I will shoot you."
The man didn't move and the woman's smile fell slightly as she shot him in the leg.
The crowd screamed and Chris stepped back as his protector fell.
He was frozen as the woman pointed the gun at him again and said "Come here, little one. If you don't, someone else will get hurt."
Someone else tried to grab at Chris's arm, but he moved too fast. He wasn't about to risk anyone else getting hurt because he refused to come to the woman who had already hurt his uncle.
He gulped as she forced him to get into the front seat.
He looked back at his uncle and noticed that there was a sluggishly bleeding cut on his temple.
Johnny was still dazed, but he understood to follow the woman's orders, lest he wanted Chris to be hurt. He quickly drew his legs into the vehicle and the door shut behind him.
The woman soon went around her own vehicle, and started it back up.
Chris yelped as he soon heard a shot being fired. He ducked down as the woman cursed.
He felt his Uncle Johnny duck towards the front and push his head further down.
Soon though, the woman had shifted gears and had them speeding down the street.
Johnny whispered "Stay down, Chris. I think that the police are chasing us."
Chris was shaking as he nodded.
The woman made a sharp turn and Chris grunted an "oof" when he slid against the door and away from Johnny's hand on his head.
Unfortunately, after a while, he heard his uncle release a groan.
He then heard the woman say "Now. We've finally lost those pesky officers. They dared to try and shoot at us. They could've hurt either of you! They're just a bunch of idiots aren't they?"
Johnny sat back up but kept his mouth shut.
Chris sniffled as he tried to keep his tears at bay. This woman was scaring him. He looked back at his uncle, unsure of what to do.
He was even more worried as it appeared that Johnny was also at a loss for what to do.
Jo hummed as she finished icing the cake.
She had to put down her tools when she heard the phone ring though.
She called out "I'll get it, Roy!"
Roy called out "Okay!"
She answered the phone and furrowed her brow at the voice which greeted her."
Officer Vince Howard was on the phone.
Jo knew that something had to be wrong.
Before Vince could tell her anything, she asked "Let me get Roy real quick."
She called "Roy, get in here!"
Roy quickly came to her side and stayed quiet as he saw her on the phone. He knew by her expression that something had to be wrong.
She held the phone where they could both listen.
Vince spoke "I'm sorry to have to tell you two this, but Chris and Johnny have both been taken."
Jo and Roy both paled as Vince continued "They were taken at about nine fifty from an arcade. There were multiple witnesses and we've gotten a sketch artist to come in and work with them so that we can get a picture out and try and identify who took them. You guys could come down to the station if you'd like, but you know that I'll keep you informed."
Roy took the phone from Jo as she leaned against the wall and started to slide down it.
Roy shakily said "Thanks, Vince." as he hung up the phone.
He carefully sat by Joanne on the ground for a few minutes and held her close.
Jo shakily said "I'm going to go get Jen from her friend's house instead of them coming here. I have to. I have to go get her right now. I have to have my other baby close."
She started to hyperventilate and Roy did his best to calm her.
He said "Okay, okay, Jo. Go ahead and go get her. I'm going to call friends and tell them not to come due to unforeseen circumstances. I've also got to call the guys from the station."
Jo sniffled and nodded. Roy helped her get up and she grabbed her purse. Jen was just down the street, but she wanted to have it with her just to be safe.
Roy questioned "Do you need me to go with you?"
Jo shook her head as she said "No. You stay here in case Vince calls again. I'll be back in a little bit."
Roy nodded and watched as she went out the door.
This was turning out to be a very bad day.
Johnny kept Chris closely tucked into his side as the woman had them sit on her couch.
Chris was still shaking against him.
She had locked the door with multiple locks behind them. They watched as she put the keys in her pocket. Johnny would have to figure out a way to get the keys from her or something.
He'd try to get through the windows, but from the outside he could tell that they were all boarded up even though they were far outside of the city and had no close neighbors.
They both listened as she hummed a lullaby and walked over to a table at the corner of the room and took the flowers out of the vase which sat there. She then unlocked and opened a drawer and put the gun in. They watched as she then closed the drawer, locked it, and caressed a photo frame that held a little abstract line drawing picture of a house and four people which was hanging above the table.
Johnny gulped as she began to speak while stroking the glass of the photo frame "Soon I'll have a full family to love me. All I need now is a daughter."
Chris shook a little bit harder when she turned around and focused on them.
"Hi. Oh, I've been so rude. My name's Julia Walters. What are your names?"
Johnny kept his arm around Chris as he cautiously said "My name is John and this is Chris. What do you want."
She just giggled and said "Why a family of course!"
She left them on the couch as she went further into the house.
Johnny still wasn't sure what to do, but he would not stop trying to figure out a safe and easy way to get both he and Chris out of there unharmed.
Julia grinned as she left to go get her first aid kit to bandage the small cut on her new husband's head. Her two boys had lovely names. Darling John and their kiddo Chris. So sweet.
All she'd need now was a daughter, but that could come a little bit later.
She couldn't help but squeal in happiness. She had always wanted a family to love her, but no one would, so she'd taken it into her own hands and made her own.
She'd had a family ages ago, but her parents and younger brother had all died in a car accident while she'd been at the very same ice cream shop working one day while she was raising money to pay for her college textbooks.
She'd tried for a while to fall in love, but no one was right, and they always looked at her strangely after a while when she talked about her desperation to have a family to replace her old one that she'd lost.
Her new son reminded her so much of her old little brother Billy. They looked so similar. Brownish-blonde hair with beautiful blue eyes.
Meanwhile, her new husband was quite a looker too with his dark eyes and hair.
She couldn't be more happy.
They may not love her at the moment, but they would learn to love her eventually.
Roy answered the phone as soon as it rang. He had left Jo curled up on the couch with Jen.
Roy began "What've you got?"
Vince answered "We've got a positive identification for who took them. A woman named Julia Walters. We've got some people getting ready to go to her properties. She's got a place here and one about thirty miles outside of town in a wooded area. I'll keep you updated."
Roy swallowed as his hope increased.
He replied "Thanks, Vince. Just let me know if there's anything I can do to help."
Vince said goodbye and Roy hung the phone up.
He'd update Jo on the news. He really hoped that Chris and Johnny would be at one of those locations.
Chris was quite uncomfortable in the pajamas the woman had provided him with to dress in after dinner. They were a little bit big on him as well as scratchy.
She hadn't done much other than order him around so far to do chores or eat, but he wasn't about to try and get comfortable with the situation.
She'd had Johnny doing handy work inside the kitchen to fix the dishwasher and the cabinet doors that were loose after she'd bandaged the cut on his head.
Now though, it had gotten late.
"Now, I think that it's time for teeth brushing and bedtime!" Julie said as she grabbed Chris's arm.
Johnny stood and went to Chris's side as she led them down the hall adjacent to the living room.
They'd just finished watching a movie of her choosing.
After dinner, she'd had them sit with her on the couch. Johnny on the left, Chris in the middle, and her on his right. Now though, it was apparently time for bed.
She stopped mid-way down the hallway and showed Chris where the toothpaste and brushes were.
Chris reluctantly stepped in and picked up one of the brushes while glancing at Johnny.
Johnny nodded at him to just do what she said. It would be best to just cooperate until he could figure out the best way to escape.
Chris turned towards the mirror and grabbed the toothpaste and brushed his teeth while the woman watched.
They were both alarmed when she squealed and pulled Chris into her arms for a hug while saying "Aw! You're such a good boy!"
Johnny clenched his hands into fists as he could see Chris's discomfort.
She then said "Now we have to get you to bed and tuck you in? You'd love to be tucked in by your father right? I remember loving that when I was your age!"
Chris glanced at Johnny for a second before looking back at her and saying "Yeah. I'd like that."
Soon, Chris got into the unfamiliar bed and Johnny pulled the covers up over him and tucked him in.
Once that was done, Julia came in and placed a kiss on his forehead.
She said "Sleep well, little one. I hope that you like your father's story."
Both Johnny and Chris watched as she left the room.
Once they were sure that she was out of hearing range, Chris questioned "What are we going to do, Uncle Johnny?"
Johnny answered "We're going to wait until she falls asleep to get out of here. I think that I have an idea."
Chris nodded and leaned up for a hug.
Johnny hugged him and said "I'm going to get us out of here tonight, Chris. Try not to fall asleep."
Chris nodded and Johnny soon left.
Jo cradled Jen against her as the three family members sat in the living room, anxious for an update.
All party preparations were long forgotten.
Roy had called the guys from the station, and they were wanting to help, but unsure of how they could.
Roy had told them not to come over yet and that he would call them again if any new information came in.
It was a waiting game.
Johnny sighed in relief when he finally took note that Julia had fallen asleep and was now snoring.
He had been lucky that she seemed to adhere to the fading out of style practice where partners slept in separate beds except for under certain circumstances. Not that he'd ever consider himself her partner though.
The unfortunate part was that she kept the keys on a chain around her neck.
He had come up with another plan though.
He'd been granted access to handy man tools. He could easily use some of those to break the locks to get he and Chris out. Even better was that he knew how to do it quietly from some of the shenanigans he and his friends had pulled back when he was in high school.
He quietly got out of his bed and watched Julia's figure as he opened the door. He released a relieved breath when the door didn't squeak and she remained asleep.
He made his way to Chris's bedroom and was pleased to note that he hadn't fallen asleep.
Chris had immediately noticed him and pushed his covers off and pattered to Johnny.
Johnny put a finger to his lips to indicate for Chris to be quiet and Chris nodded in understanding.
He led them down the hall and into the kitchen area. He grabbed a couple of the tools from the box that Julia had left out.
Soon, he and Chris made their ways to the heavily locked down door.
He motioned for Chris to get his shoes on. Julia had made them leave their shoes by the door after changing into the clothes that she'd given them.
Johnny whispered "I'm going to have to put a lot of pressure on a couple of these locks. It'll break some of the wood around the door, so I want you to cover your eyes just to be safe."
Chris nodded and did as asked.
Johnny gritted his teeth and grunted lightly as he put a lot of force into breaking the locks. It took a bit of time, but the two hardest locks had been broken. He soon got the other two locks loose.
He smiled at Chris as he opened the door.
Chris followed behind Johnny as they got to the woman's car. Johnny exhaled a relieved sigh as the doors weren't locked. All he'd have to do was hot-wire the car.
He went through the process and had Chris aid a couple of times and the car made a loud noise as it started up.
Johnny grimaced and said "Quickly, get in Chris."
Chris nodded, and he jumped in. Johnny had just put it into gear and started driving off as they heard Julia start yelling.
Johnny was quick to get out of that driveway.
He knew exactly how to leave thanks to the fact that she hadn't kept them from seeing the route she had taken them.
Chris shakily said "Are we safe now, Uncle Johnny?"
Johnny smiled as he said "I think so, but let's get back home first and call the police."
Chris nodded and soon drifted off. He knew that his uncle would get him home safely.
Julia screamed as she closed her eyes and gripped her hair close to the scalp.
She'd been too late to stop them from leaving!
She fell to her knees in anguish as she wept. Her family had left her again.
They always left!
She'd done everything she could have possibly thought of to keep them there without harming them, but it hadn't worked.
She was doomed to be lonely for the rest of her life.
Two cars were sent out to the location outside of the city.
Vince was in the second car. He was riding in the passenger seat as his partner for the night drove.
Vince caught sight of a familiar car once they reached about fifteen miles out of the city though.
He quickly said "Slow down for a second. I think that may be the car that was reported to belong to the woman who took John Gage and Chris DeSoto."
His partner nodded and quickly turned around while the other continued on to the location.
Soon, they approached the familiar vehicle which had slowed down.
Vince got out and kept his hand on his holster, ready to draw it if there was a threat.
He soon released a sigh of relief as John Gage was the one to get out of the driver's side.
He quickly told his partner to stand down.
He approached and could see the look of utter relief on Johnny's face.
Johnny said "Neither of us are injured aside from the small cut on my head. I got Chris and I both out of there pretty quickly after she fell asleep."
Vince nodded and said "Do you two want to ride with me back to the station?"
Johnny nodded and said "Yeah. That'd be great."
Vince nodded, and soon, both Chris and Johnny were in the back of his cruiser.
Vince kept his eye on them as they headed back towards home.
He couldn't hold back a smile as Chris fell asleep against Johnny, who was also asleep with his head rested atop of Chris's head. Johnny still held a protective arm around Chris.
Julia was still on her knees weeping in front of her place when the authorities arrived.
She went with them without a struggle.
There was nothing else left for her to do.
Johnny was startled awake as Vince's cruiser stopped.
He smiled and yawned when he realized that they had been taken directly to the DeSoto residence.
Soon, he saw both Jo and Roy stand at the door and Vince opened the back door. Johnny carefully slid out and Chris was in the process of yawning.
Chris rubbed his eyes and smiled wide when he realized that they were back home.
Vince escorted them to the front door.
Johnny stood to the side as Jo and Roy knelt and hugged Chris.
Johnny and Vince both smiled as Chris sniffled and hugged them back.
Jo looked up at Vince and Johnny and said "He's alright, right?"
Johnny answered "Yeah. The woman didn't hurt us after she took us to her place, and I got us out as soon as I could."
Jo and Roy stood back up. Jo held Chris close to her side and Roy drew Johnny into a hug.
Roy said "Thanks for keeping my kid safe, Junior."
Johnny smiled and patted Roy on the back as they withdrew from the hug.
He kept a hand on Roy's shoulder as he said "I'll always protect the kids."
Jo and Roy both smiled. They didn't need Johnny's reassurance to know that fact.
Soon Vince said "I've got to head back to the station. I just got word that Julia Walters has been taken into custody."
The three adults nodded.
Roy quickly said "Stay with us for tonight, Johnny. We'll get your Rover later, but for now, I want you to stay in my sight."
Johnny snickered and said "I'd be glad to stay."
Jo responded "And we're glad to have you and Chris back."
Johnny followed them inside, ready to fall into the guest bed and sleep for hours.
Julia Walters ended up being committed to a psychiatric institution not very long after everything went down on Chris's birthday.
In the following days, the guys of Station 51 had planned out a surprise party for Chris to make up for the one that had been ruined.
Chris had ended up loving the party even though it had been a week later than his actual birthday.
The best part of everything though, was that he got to spend more time with his extended family.
Things were going to be just fine.
A/N: Comments are welcome. Thanks for reading!