Jean Innocent had lost officers under her command before. This had the potential to upend her entire department. It had already damaged her. She had sought out Greg Henderson, not known for his subtlety, to help convince Luke Burgess to give them something. Anything. When the officers that brought Burgess in said he refused to talk, she had made that call to Henderson immediately, without hesitation. She had okayed the tactic, she would lie and cover up the fact that it happened, and she didn't feel a bit guilty about it. That was definitely a problem for a police officer to have, and she couldn't bring herself to care.

She watched helplessly as Peterson's squad raided the home and knew trying to stop James Hathaway from running in, and then Laura behind him, would have been futile. She should have tried harder. They were putting themselves in danger. She just didn't care. This situation had drained her entirely of caring about procedure and rules.

A few minutes later, Peterson had run out, waving to the medics. Jean wanted to follow them in, to take charge, make sure James and Laura was ok, and see Robbie Lewis. She knew from the frantic waving of Peterson's arms and the solemn looks of the officers coming from the home that what she would see would not be good. She had seen that look so many times, and she couldn't force herself to move forward.

It wasn't until officers came out, grim faced and angry, dragging a handcuffed Graham Lawrie and a screaming Pamela Carsen that she moved. Lawrie was fighting the whole way, laughing, screaming curses at everyone around him. She watched shell-shocked officers throw the man up against the car. Yeah, they were being rough. She didn't care about that, either. She willed them to be rougher. She watched Lawrie as he was shoved into the car and the door closed. She stared at him through the window of the car as she walked by him, to the home. She then steeled herself and went inside.

She saw a group of medics around a form on the floor, legs clothed in black trousers, bare bloody feet with strands of tape clinging to the fabric and skin. An arm, bruised and bloody, and limp. Her heart was pounding far too hard, too loud. James held Laura, her face buried in his chest. He was talking to her, and she was trying to pull away, still he held her. Innocent walked around the medics until she got her first look at what they were dealing with. She saw the blood, first. So much of it everywhere that she wasn't even sure where all the injuries were. It was Robbie, but his face was so battered and bruised she was sure the bone beneath was crushed to powder. She closed her eyes and felt small hot tears squeeze from beneath the lids. A terrible, cold hand brushed up her spine to grip her neck and then claw at her insides. She forced her eyes open.

They were intubating him, working on saving his life, but Jean had seen a lot of dead people over the years and Robbie Lewis did not look like he was in the land of the living. The medics were trying, she knew that, but all the fear and dread of the last few days had suddenly culminated for her in the worst possible scenario. The worst outcome. She wanted Lawrie dead. She wanted to do it herself. She shifted her eyes to James, wide-eyed, trying to hold on to his sanity for Laura. Laura, wracked with sobs, body heaving.

She heard the medics call, "Clear!" and looked back. Robbie…Robbie's body… stiffened, shocks contracting all the muscles as the machine worked to bring him back. They had worked fast, placing an IV, laying a thick bandage on his chest. They were calling for an air ambulance on the radio, Peterson working his mobile for a medevac. The medics called out again and the thump of the machine sending the jolt of electricity shook her core. There was a beep from the machine. The medics didn't heave a sigh of relief, they didn't dance in triumph, so it wasn't until one of them reported that they had a register on the machine that Innocent dared to believe Robbie Lewis was alive.

Laura heard the machine again and jumped. Then she heard them say he was back and she forced James to release her, running back to Robbie. She fell beside him and took his hand, careful to stay out of the way but refusing to budge. They didn't try to move her. She heard James behind her, praying softly under his breath. She just sat and held the hand. She didn't know how long it was, and she didn't pull herself from her thoughts until she heard the beating of the helicopter's rotors touching down.

\m/

Police were waiting on Lyn and Ken when they landed and whisked them through security faster than either of them thought possible. They led them quickly through the crowd and the older man, in a suit said, "We just heard they found your dad. He's on the way to hospital, now." The younger police officer, in uniform, was walking in front of them, parting the crowd.

Lyn nearly crumpled in relief. Ken said, "Hospital? Is he ok?"

The older man cleared his throat. "We aren't sure of his condition. We're taking you there, now."

Lyn fumbled for her mobile and dialed Laura Hobson. Not getting an answer, she almost hung up and then heard the voice on the other end. "Lyn?"

"Laura?" Lyn almost shouted. She was giddy, excitement and relief giving her a buzz. "Oh god, Laura, you found dad!" She was talking too loudly, and she knew it. Ken stared at her anxiously as they walked. "The officers that picked us up said he was being taken to hospital? Is he ok?" She strained to hear the answer to her question, and when she didn't hear one she asked, "Laura, are you there? Can you hear me?"

The officers were guiding her to a car, taking her bags. She got into the back with Ken and stuck her finger in her open ear as the siren started. She turned her head. "Laura?" She heard another voice on the phone, not Laura's, a woman, but older, maybe? At least more authoritative. "Hello, Lyn? This is Jean Innocent, we've met before? I work with your dad."

Lyn was confused but said, "Yes, uh, yes ma'am, I remember. The police just picked us up and said you found dad. Is he ok? What's going on?"

Ken was leaning over to her, trying to listen. "We did find your dad, but I won't lie to you, Lyn, he is hurt badly." Lyn closed her eyes and Ken said, "what? What's wrong, is he ok?" She cleared her throat and asked, "How bad is it?" Ken put his hands on his head, "oh, no."

Innocent wasn't sure how much to go into. She had taken the phone from Laura when it became clear that she wouldn't be able to talk to Robbie's only daughter. "He was alive, but unconscious when we found him. He was taken to A&E, we are following and will be there shortly. I can give you another update when I hear anything else. Can you pass the phone to one of the officers you are with, please?" Lyn did as asked and told Ken, "She said he was really hurt, unconscious, and on the way to the hospital." Ken had his head in his hands. Lyn heard the officer say 'about 45 minutes, ma'am' and gave the phone back to Lyn with a solemn smile. Lyn put the phone back to her ear. "Hello?"

She heard Innocent continue. "They will drop you off and we will find you when you get here. We will have someone take your bags to a hotel and get you rooms."

Lyn blinked. "They can just take the bags to Laura and Dad's. We don't need a hotel."

Innocent paused. "The house…it is better to stay at the hotel for now, you should be able to move back into the house shortly. We are on the way to your father. Myself, James Hathaway and Laura will be there before you get here. I promise I will let you know the second I hear anything."

Lyn was reminded of Laura. "Is Laura ok? I couldn't hear her when she answered…"

"She's just overwhelmed at the moment, her and James were the first to find your father, and both are exhausted. I promise I will call you."

Lyn said, "thank you." She hung up from her father's boss and choked back a sob. She wasn't sure if she should feel relieved or terrified. In what world are you supposed to be relieved to hear your father is on the way to hospital? She had been around cops long enough to read reality through the victim speech. She said he was really hurt, which meant he was in trouble.

\m/

James was scrubbing the blood off of his hands and arms in the hospital bathroom. He had been offered a t-shirt from one of the officers, he couldn't remember which, and pulled off his blood-soaked shirt and tie to change. Pink stained the skin of his chest in a large blob and he started scrubbing again. He didn't feel like he would ever be clean again. The smell of the soap from the bathroom dispenser was unpleasant and he knew that smell would forever be lodged in his brain, identifying the worst day of his life.

He saw himself in the mirror and didn't like what he saw. Pale, haggard, stubble taking over. Black rings under his eyes, making him look like a corpse. He forced himself to look as his pulled on the t-shirt and, without thinking much about it, stuffed his other clothes in the garbage. He looked back at himself until he couldn't look any longer. He lowered his head and prayed. Then he punched the wall.

\m/

They wouldn't let Laura stay with Robbie as they worked feverishly to stabilize him. She had never felt so alone in her life. Half of her had been ripped away. How was it possible that she had managed to live alone all those years? She couldn't believe she had managed. She didn't know if she could survive going back to that.

She knew the thoughts of doom were counter-productive. She walked back down the hall to Jean, feeling like a zombie, not sure how she was making her legs move. She looked down at her hands and realized that her clothes were spattered and stained with blood, Robbie's blood. Jean took her arm and led her toward a bathroom. She had scrubs in her hands and she ushered her in and closed the door. She watched closely as Laura turned the water on the tap, robotically scrubbing her hands as she had probably done in her lab thousands of times. They didn't need to say anything. They both knew how bad it was. Laura threw up in the sink.

\m/

Lyn and Ken were led by another policeman up to a private waiting are. Ken tried to pry information out of the officer, but he would simply shake his head and say, "I don't know." Ken was frustrated. No one was telling them anything. Lyn ran ahead to a group of three people, none of whom he knew. More of Dad's life that he wasn't a part of. Lyn obviously was and he found himself wound with jealousy. Lyn hugged a blond woman, dressed in scrubs, and then a tall man in a t-shirt. Another woman stood and Ken came to a stop next to his sister. He wondered which of them was Laura.

Lyn introduced them all and Ken found himself staring at Laura Hobson, wondering how exactly she fit into his father's life. What did they do, how did they spend their time? He had no idea, really. They all sat and he saw the tall man, introduced as James Hathaway, look quickly at the floor. Laura smiled weakly and said, "they still have him, and we haven't heard much, yet." Her words were measured, slow, halting. Ken didn't like it. He thought he would take a queue from Lyn, but he felt anger. Part of him knew it was irrational, but he couldn't seem to help it.

He suddenly broke in, "What happened to him?" Everyone turned to him. He continued. "What, exactly, happened? Why was this guy out of prison? Why did he take dad?" Lyn laid a hand on his arm but he shook her off. "Why did it take you so long to find him?" He stared at them all, demanding answers. The other woman, Jean Innocent, seemed to be the spokesperson for the group when questions got tough, and Ken didn't like that, either.

She smiled and nodded to Ken and Lyn, like a politician, Ken thought. "Your father was head of the Graham Lawrie case back when he was originally convicted of the first three murders. Recent evidence was found that allowed Lawrie to file an appeal to his case and led to his release. He held a grudge against Robbie, uh, your dad, and that's what led to the kidnapping. He had threatened your dad, just before he was released and..."

Ken stood, "What?" He looked at them all and back to Lyn, who he could tell didn't know this last bit of information, either. "This guy threatened dad? He knew Lawrie was coming after him and they got to him, anyway? How?" Hathaway was holding Laura's hand, and Ken found himself rankled by it.

"By the time we realized the threat was serious, your dad was already gone. Two men broke into their house and attacked your father. They were able to take him from there."

Ken shook his head in disbelief. Lyn laid a hand on him and he sat back down. Lyn said, "That's why you didn't want us to go to the house. Is there still a danger?"

Innocent shook her head. "No, we captured everyone involved."

Lyn nodded. Ken was kneading his temples with his palms. "So," Lyn started. "they took dad where? How badly was he hurt?" Ken noticed Hathaway's grip tighten on Laura Hobson's hand. What exactly was going on there?

"When we got there, special units stormed the house. Your father had been kept in the cellar of a house that they were using outside of Oxford proper." She stopped and seemed to consider if she should go on.

Ken exploded, "Just tell us!" He didn't notice the tears until Lyn went to Laura, who was snuggled up to the tall policeman, for some reason. Ken stared at them both with fury. He didn't know why he was angry at them. Maybe it wasn't them, he was angry at everything, right now. And scared.

Innocent said, "Your father was unconscious and had been beaten severely over the course of the three days he was missing. When we arrived, he was alive but we lost him soon after. The paramedics were able to bring him back. He was airlifted here and his condition is considered grave."

Ken wilted. He was shaking. "Three days? This guy tortured dad for three days?" He tried to add up the time. It had been three days? He had lost track in the artificial lighting of the airports and the struggle to find seats on flights. He was stunned and suddenly felt sick. He sat, staring at the wall. He didn't notice the doctor and nurse approaching them until everyone turned at hearing his father's name.

"Family of Robert Lewis?" The doctor looked at them as they nodded. Ken wondered what his father had seen in the doctor that had come out to tell them mum had died. He searched the doctor's face for anything and saw nothing. The doctor took a seat in the room as Innocent pointed out Robbie's children to the doctor.

"We have taken him up to surgery. We were able to get him stabilized and he should be in the operating theater for a few hours. They won't know how long until they are able to see the extent of his injuries. He was severely dehydrated, his blood count was low, and once we got that sorted, he stabilized enough for surgery."

"So he's going to be ok?" Ken was startled by the sound of his own voice.

The doctor studied the group. "We don't know, yet. He was severely injured. First he had several head injuries. Multiple concussions over several days, which has led to the worry about brain trauma. There is swelling on the brain, but it isn't severe enough to require surgery at the moment. He also has an orbital fracture around his left eye. The second most serious injuries are internal. He had two fractured ribs, one of which punctured his left lung and ruptured his spleen. This caused internal bleeding, collapsed his left lung, bleeding in the pleural cavity." The doctor flipped through pages and continued. "Three fingers on his left hand, and two bones in his left hand were fractured. Multiple serious cuts and contusions, including what seems to be knife wounds on his upper-right and lower-right chest."

The doctor saw them all subdued. He looked at Laura and tried to smile and nod to her in reassurance. Ken supposed they knew each other. The doctor then turned to Lyn and him. "These are severe injuries, and you should understand that while it is necessary to do surgery right now, there is a chance that he won't survive. We are doing everything we can for your father. We will be here if you have any questions and the staff will keep you updated on the surgery."

Ken sat back as the doctor left. All the relief he felt when his father was found, and all the anger was gone. He let go and began to cry.

\m/

Laura woke from a fitful sleep curled against James when she heard voices. A hand gently shook her. She looked up through bleary eyes to see Lyn waking James. "The doctor is here to talk to us. Dad is out of surgery." Laura sat up, rubbing her eyes.

A doctor Laura didn't recognize sat down in the waiting area. He looked as exhausted as she felt. She looked at her watch. Had it been nine hours already, since they took Robbie back? That was an unusually long time and she was immediately worried. "The surgery went well. We had difficulties at first, keeping him stabilized enough to perform the surgery, but we removed his spleen and repaired the puncture to his left lung. Eventually, we felt safe enough in his condition that the orthopaedic surgen was able to perform surgery on his left hand. He will talk to you separately, but he placed pins to stabilize the fractures. He is being moved to ICU and we will continue to monitor for signs of additional bleeding. Right now, we believe we have everything, but the risk that another bleed will appear is significant. The staff plastic surgeon repaired most of the cuts, he had to reopen and refresh the wounds and then suture them. He had several wounds that were open and were exposed to air, dirt and other contaminants. We have him on high strength antibiotics to try to counter any infection."

Laura asked, "Can we see him?"

The doctor smiled at her. "He will be kept sedated, probably for at least a week depending on how well the brain responds, and how well his breathing progresses. He is not breathing on his own, right now, he is on a ventilator. Once he is able to breathe on his own and we are certain the brain injuries are healing, we can remove him from sedation and work toward waking him up. Until then, we are going to have to be very patient." Laura watched him, looking at his eyes, reminding him that he didn't answer her question.

"Once he has been moved to ICU, you may see him for a few moments. As I said, he will be unresponsive, so it is best to use this time to get rest, and make sure you are taking care of yourselves. He will need a lot of support."

Laura felt James' arm around her and she smiled, for the first time in four days.

\m/

Lyn stood as the nurse led them down the hallway through double doors to a bank of rooms. She had experience in ICUs, but never as a family member of a patient. She was struggling to maintain composure and could relate to all of the family members over the years with whom she had lost her patience at the beginning of her career. She turned to grab Ken's hand, but saw him back, head down, talking to Laura and James. She frowned as he nodded and walked toward her, Laura and James following.

The nurse opened the door and stood back while the group were ushered into the cold room. It was larger than Lyn expected, a sofa on the wall, a chair. Observation windows faced the center of the unit, allowing a clear view into the room from the nurse's station. She heard Ken gasp and finally turned her eyes to the form in the bed.

She put her hands to her mouth and felt hot tears sting her eyes. She had promised herself that she wouldn't cry, she wouldn't break down. She would be positive. But this was almost too much. Ken slid by her a walked tentatively to Robbie's side, like a small child meeting someone for the first time. He said, "my god, what…" Lyn studied the face in the bed. Bandages covered and ventilation tubing covered most, but the swollen features that she could make out were unfamiliar. The feeding tube snaked out his nose, taped to his cheek and neck. A hospital gown draped over his bare chest, thick bandaging underneath. His left arm was propped on pillows, bandaged around surgical pins. She got as close as she dared, not wanting to disturb any wires or leads and gripped his hand.

Both children told their father that they loved him. Both tried to be as positive as they could. It was Ken that turned and hurriedly left the room, first.

\m/

Laura had watched the kids' shock at seeing Robbie, and she could understand. The nurse hadn't come back to usher them out of the room. It wouldn't matter if she had. Laura dragged the chair over to Robbie's bedside and pulled it close. She sat, so tired she could barely keep her eyes open. She took Robbie's hand, stroking it lightly.

James said, "right, then," and yawned. Laura smiled at him as he tried to maneuver himself onto the short sofa, legs hanging over the end. No, neither of them were leaving. Not for a while.

\m/

Ken Lewis stood inside the door of the home his father shared with Laura Hobson. He had apologized to her and his father's tall partner for his behavior, and they had been understanding, but Ken was still ashamed. He wasn't processing his feelings well, and he knew that but really didn't think he had the tools to process anything. He processed feelings by running away.

He wanted to know about his father's life, and the woman he was now dedicated to. So, he had waited until he figured Lyn was asleep in her room at the hotel before quietly exiting and calling a cab. He looked around the home and made his way to the kitchen. He opened the refrigerator and saw beer and fresh fruit, meat, and vegetables. That was an improvement over what he had assumed had been his father's pierce-and-ping lifestyle. Flowers sat in a vase, wilted, but beautiful. Everything was lived in and comfortable and inviting.

He went upstairs to the bedroom they shared. He didn't know what he expected, but the normalcy of it all shocked him. He made his way to the closet and studied Laura's clothes, pulling items out he thought might match. He looked at his dad's clothes and after some thought, selected a shirt and jeans. He piled both into the suitcase on the bed and then gathered toiletries from the bathroom.

Going down the stairs he stepped over the blood on the floor, now congealed black. He could smell it, a sour, acrid odor that stung his nostrils. He followed the streaks of blood back to the front door and sat it down, turning back to the home. He had run. He wondered what his life would be like if he had stayed, what would his dad's be like? Would he be living here, with this woman that so clearly loved him? Would his own anger and hurt have fueled his father's, creating a spiral of depression for them both? He supposed it didn't matter, but he was here, now, and he wasn't running from his dad anymore.

He went back to the kitchen and cleared out his pockets, placing his phone and the keys that Laura had given him on the table. He rolled up his sleeves and picked up the bag of cleaning supplies he had bought. He wasn't running. He knelt and started cleaning his father's blood from the floor.

\m/

Laura sat holding Robbie's hand, waiting impatiently for some sign. Anything. James came into the room, holding two coffee cups and a pastry between his teeth. He handed Laura a coffee, took a bite and said, "The kids will be on their way shortly, I told them that they had until at least this afternoon.

She smiled and nodded. With the ventilation tube removed, Robbie looked to simply be sleeping. He was almost beginning to look like himself and not the caricature that had been lying in the bed for the last week.

Laura felt a movement in her palm and started. She looked up, expectantly. "Robbie?" she asked, hopeful, not sure if what she had felt had been a twitch of a finger or her wishful imagination. James stood and joined her side. If this was the sedation wearing off, it was happening sooner than they expected. When she felt the movement again, she lifted their hands to her face and said again, "Robbie, can you hear me?"

Lips parted and then closed again. They saw Robbie's throat move, as if he had swallowed hard. His right eye cracked slowly open as far as the swelling would allow and an iris turned in the socket. His brow furrowed slightly as confusion took hold. "Robbie, it's Laura, you're in hospital, you're ok." She watched Robbie's eye close again and then reopen, searching the room. "Robbie? Can you hear me?"

Finally, after what seemed like hours, the eye turned to settle on her. A small sob escaped her, and she smiled at him. A small corner of his mouth hitched up, and his lips moved again.

"Don't try to talk, Robbie, just squeeze my hand if you can understand me." She showed him her hand intertwined with his and waited until she finally felt slight pressure from his fingers before finally letting the laugh break through. James pulled his mobile from his pocket and turned to the door. Robbie's eye closed and Laura felt herself relax. He was going to be ok.