Nearly all the rooms on the second floor stayed lit late in the evening hour. To say dinner had turned out to be a quiet affair was an understatement. If anyone actual ate, they did so when no one was looking. Conversation was light and bordered several times on the still cool temperatures. One by one, they ascended the stairs and each retired to their perspective rooms. If sleep did touch anyone, it wasn’t until much later, when the next day was almost at hand.

John checked the time again and called his wife. Marlena had been waiting by the phone for the past few hours, almost giving up hope that John would call that day.

"I’ve been so worried." She told him. "You said you would call as soon as you arrived there."

"I know Doc…but we got really… busy going through Lansing’s things. But tell me… how are things there? Have you heard about Belle?"

"No, nothing yet? I did speak with Bo and he seems to think they’re okay." A slight gasp was heard and it could only mean she was upset again. Whether it as at him or because of Belle, John just didn’t know.

"Just trust him… he’d tell you right away if something was wrong. I wish I could be there with you now."

"I wish that too, John." She grew quiet for a long minute. Marlena skirted her way around the information John was suppose to be looking into. How could she phrase herself without sounding bitter and jealous. She had felt that he left her to seek a family he’s not even sure he really had. "You haven’t said if you found anything? Were you able to go through Greyson Lansing’s papers? What did you find?"

John hesitated a moment and made a split second decision. He needed to lie just now, he hated doing it, but the last thing he wanted was for his wife to know about the photograph just yet. Until he could put a name with the face, he wasn’t going to say anything.

"Well right now, we find an entry in Lansing's files made about the attempted kidnapping and that it went wrong. Lots of mistakes happened that day. Jack and Jen also found a newspaper article collaborating the same."

"So you know who the woman and child are?"

"No Doc. We don’t know yet. All of his CDs are encrypted and we only just found one password to decoded one so far. We’re not even sure it will work on the others. Most of the papers deal with the military, so we have a lot more things to go through."

"Has… has Steve remembered anything else that could help you."

Heaving a deep sigh, John cleared his throat before answering. "He says he hasn’t… but he’s acting all moody."

"I’m not surprised." She answered him back. "You’ve got to remember, that was where he was held. It must be horrible for him… having to actually stay there again. I should have gone with you. I could have helped him with the fears he’s now experiencing."

"Steve’s got Kayla… he’ll be okay."

"What about you? I should be there for you."

"I know… I miss you too."

Her voice sounded so strained, John could almost envision the tears streaming down her face. He didn’t have to see her to know, he just felt it. "John?"

"Yes sweetheart?"

"I’m scared!"

"There’s nothing to be scared of Doc. I’ll be home soon."

"It’s not that. I’m scared of losing you to… to this other woman… to this part of your past. "

"You’re not going to lose me. I love you."

"And I love you so much, but… I’m all alone here… and…"

"There’s no buts… when this is over, I’ll be coming home to you."

"I feel like something's going to happen. I keep sensing that something will come between us and I'll lose you."

"You're just letting you imagination run wild. Nothing's going to happen."

"Then why won't you tell me what's wrong?"

"Who said anything was wrong. I just told you, we're still looking through the papers and discs. Might have to bring them back with us to London."

"I can hear it in your voice John. You're keeping something from me."

He almost chuckled to himself then. The woman knew him so well, but he wasn't going to spill. "I'm just tired. It's been a long day, and the funeral's tomorrow."

"You're not actually going. I mean... you don't even know the man."

"You're right I don't. I suppose I can stay behind and keep looking. Don't know about the others."

"Steve and Kayla will attend the burial"

"I think Steve wants to see for himself that he goes under ground. I don't blame him. In fact... if I was him, I might just spit on the man's grave afterwards."

"Will you call again tomorrow... afterwards?"

"Course I will. Look... it's pretty late here. I'm going to turn in and try to get some rest. Just think of when I will be home. It won't be much longer."

"I'll still miss you. The bed's awfully big without you here next to me."

Smiling to himself, John tried to picture his wife in his mind and thought, at least he could go to sleep with her in his dreams. "Night, Doc! I love you."

"I love you, John."

He heard her hang up first as he placed his phone on the night stand. He sat up in his bed, still wearing his trousers from that day. His shirt had been carelessly thrown at a chair. The house was eerily quiet and he was almost expecting to hear the usually creaks, but none came. Out there in the countryside, he should have heard something. He glanced out the window and saw the blackness. Even the moonlight had left them. There just wasn't anything there.

**********

Kayla had just gotten into bed when she called Steve over. Maybe it was being in a new place, but she was just having trouble sleeping there. The room was comfortable enough and the bed contained a very firm mattress. For a while Kayla had started to drift off, then sleep completely eluded her. She saw that Steve was still sitting at the window seat. Some of the files were next to him, but she wasn't sure if he had actually gone through any of them or not. Pressing her lips together, she began to wonder if the reason she couldn't sleep was because her husband wasn't there beside her.

Kayla almost smiled foolishly at the thought. For sixteen years he wasn't beside her and she was able to sleep. But not now, her heart told her. She just could live without him now. His pajama top was open and she could make out his dagger tattoo from where she lay. Usually, he slept topless, but there was a chill in the air. Earlier she heard the housekeeper saying how unusually cool it still was for May. The weather was something they could all talk about and not feel uncomfortable. It had made the rounds several times during dinner. It was past time to put that subject to bed, along with her husband.

"Steve?"

"Yeah, Baby?"

"Are you coming to bed?"

He looked at her then down at the files next to him. He hadn't touched a single one for the last half hour. Who was he kidding, he thought. All he could think about was how he hated being there. It made him angry, it made him want to scream. But he didn't, he kept quiet, too quiet. He kept holding it in and it wanted so much to leave, to escape. Just like him. To leave. Leave for good. He wanted to leave. Steve nodded at her and stood up. It was then that Kayla saw the change in his expression and her face formed a small frown.

"Tell me what's wrong."

"It's nothing, Sweetness." He tried to calm her. Steve looked back at his wife with that false cherry smile and hoped she could see the fear just beneath it.

He had spent the last hour or more just looking at the window. All sorts of images had popped into his head of seeing it broken, or shattered. It would let the air in, he thought. Then he wouldn't feel so confined, so trapped, like he couldn't breath... couldn't breath. He couldn't breath when it was closed like that. Everything felt closed there... the window, the doors, the curtains on the bed? To hold him in, to keep him there...for a while... a long while. So he'd have to stay. Stay for now.

The four-poster bed was an antique dealers dream, but the curtain and ropes made his skin crawl. They would cover him in sleep... close over, blocking the light... the air, the air he needed... so he could breath. Breath. He couldn't breath there. Kayla eyed him warily as he got in beside her and he pulled her into his arms. She was so soft against him, as though she was melting into him, molding herself around him. He closed his eye and tried to stop, but he couldn't. Steve could feel the panic rise up.

Only a minute passed before but it seemed shorter. His whole body had broken out in a chill and he trembled, all the way down to his heart. Steve didn't know where to look, to hide. It was everywhere, all around him. Kayla lifted herself and stared back at him confused.

"My god! You're trembling! What's wrong?"

Steve could feel the short burst of air in his throat. It strangled his breath as he would try to inhale. "Baby, it's here!"

"What? I don't understand? Steve... please talk to me!"

"I can't... if I let in it, it won't leave me. I... I can't breath in here."

"You've got to calm down. Just look at me. I'm here. I'm here!" She repeated at him, louder the second time.

He tried to focus on her but she felt so distant. He couldn't reach her and it made him more fearful. Kayla saw the fear and she tried to think of what she could do. She moved quickly and lay back down next to him, wrapping her arms around his waist. His heart was beating so fast, but she wasn't going that let that distract her.

"I with you, I'm with you..." She kept telling him. "Can you feel me?"

She waited what seemed like hours before Kayla felt the nod of his head. Her body had felt so tense, as his tremors continued. Kayla had reached for his hand and gripped hard, letting her warmth enter him. It was several more minutes before he had calmed down enough to speak.

"I'm sorry." He softly whispered to her

"Why are you apologizing? Please just tell me what's wrong." She waited again, but still Steve said nothing. His body had relaxed enough next to her, but something was still wrong. Kayla wished he would tell her what. "Is it being here?" She finally asked, then moved her head to look at him.

His gaze was so far away, Kayla wondered if he could even see her. Steve was staring off, looking at nothing, but seeing whatever he wished to see. It was all there in his thoughts, but he wasn't sharing it with her. Kayla tried to remain still, as she waited. Finally his arms moved to embrace her more fully. His head lowered towards hers and she felt him rub his chin against her forehead. He placed a gentle kiss upon her brow as Steve told her where his room was.

"They used some of the old servants quarters behind the kitchen. The three of us were placed there, side by side in our...rooms." He caught himself from saying cell since it wasn't.

The rooms were small and sparsely furnished. He had a bed, a nightstand, a small table and chair. There was one door and one small window. S single chest of drawers filled one wall and a tiny closet at another. Two rugs lay on the floor. One rug was under the entire length of the single sized bed and another in the room's center. It was the only thing he had two of there.

"I could see the open area where we trained at during the day from my window. At night, you couldn't see anything. It was pitch black. Even when there was a full moon, it always seemed darker. The wall to the gardens was nearby too. Sometimes the scent of flowers would drift towards us... but most of the time, it didn't."

Steve paused a moment. His hand began to rub against hers and she felt how strong and steady his fingers now were. Just a little while ago, they had been stiff and unyielding, unwilling to open up to her.

"We were never allowed out at night. After our meals, we would be briefed of what was to happen the next day, then sent to our rooms. No one spoke. No one ever said anything. It was as though we all lost our voices. You never heard such silence, Sweetness. It felt like sound just ceased all together, like it abandoned us. The light too."

"Oh Steve! My god! How did you bare it?"

"I don't know? I was just there, each day. I just lived.. but I didn't really."

"Some nights... I remember looking at the window, opening it a crack to let some air in. It never opened than a couple of inches at the most. I kept looking outside, wishing for something different to appear before me."

"What do you mean? For someone to find you?"

"No. I wanted to see something I didn't see before. It was always the same sight. The grass, the dirt, trees in the far distance. It always looked the same. I thought... let me see... something... else. Just anything." He took a deep breath before continuing, but his voice had grown flat and monotone. For a second Kayla thought he rehearsed this speech, as though he pre-planned what to say. It made her think again, that he was only saying what she wanted to hear. The real truth was still hidden.

"The days were hard enough to bare, but the nights... they just left you empty. You never had anything in the dark." A long moment of silence stretched between them. He shifted again in their bed as he moved his head on the pillow. "I don't know if I could sleep here. I'm so tired but... there's so much I don't want to remember."

"Then don't! Just think about us. Look at me." She raised her hand and took his face between her fingers and turned him to face her. "Look at me." She ordered him again.

"You're so beautiful Kayla. I love looking at you."

"So are you." She smiled at him. "Look at me then, until you're ready to rest. Can you do that?"

Steve smiled back and slowly nodded. He looked deep into her blue eyes and saw himself there. The lines across her brow were faint, but it couldn't mar her beauty, which still caught his breath. He let his fingers stroke her cheek as her smile grew larger and she moved to snuggle even closer to him. His hand moved down and rubbed against the small bump at her tummy. When he moved his hand again making another circle, he felt the kick and quickly stopped.

"I felt that too." Kayla told him. "He likes your touch."

Steve couldn't hide the smile broke out from him. His fame beamed with joy at the contact with his child and he moved his hand again, hoping to feel the baby's touch a second time. "Are you feeling alright, Sweetness?"

Kayla had placed her hand over his as he continued to rub circles on her tummy. "We're both fine."

"You know... I wish I had my harp with me... so I could play you both a song."

"I thought you brought it."

"JJ got hold of it and wouldn't let go." He smiled back. "Sorry Jr. Blues. You'll have to wait until London for a song."

"Well, how about just holding the two of us."

"I can do that." He told her as Kayla placed her hand upon his chest and let her eyes close.

She could feel the steady beat of his heart at her ear and she felt peaceful. Steve looked down a moment and back up again towards the window. His eye sought the handle at the top and held his breath, trying to look away. He tried counting to ten, but still looked back there when he finished. If only he opened the window, he thought. He should open it so he could breath.

**********

Scanning down the endless email entries, Elliot opened up the two from Benjamin. He had to admit, he was very disappointed that Benjamin couldn’t attend tomorrow. Elliot frowned deeply as he looked over the message his cousin sent to him. The same excuse about work was there, but that was partly Elliot’s fault too. If only he took up his share of the burden, it wouldn’t have fallen entirely on Benjamin’s shoulders.

The screen glared back at him, as his fingers poised over the keys. Elliot just let the words flow through and out of him. Please don’t be alone tomorrow? How can I not be, he thought to himself. The curser continued to flash in front of him and he was ready to write the words down. But they remained where they were, just inside of him, waiting.

He read the next email and saw the first page of the monthly reports for Brymera. Elliot closed the message before the remaining pages could be downloaded. That could wait. All those business emails could wait. He looked down the rest, eagerly searching for one in particular and felt his stomach fall when there was none to be found.

Elliot knew Stephanie would be busy, but he still hoped, he wished she would have sent him a message. Pushing away from the desk, he sat back in his chair and placed his hands across his chest. His feelings were all over the place right now. In his home were guests who frankly didn’t care all that much for him and what happened tomorrow.

As hard as Elliot tried to be accommodating and generous, that common response was still hostile. Being understanding and patient was hard under the circumstances and he wasn’t going to give in now. It was almost all over. Just one more long day and they can leave. His head bowed down a long moment before he gathered himself together and put his fingers back to the keys.

Choosing her name from the list, he started on his message and hoped it she would still be awake to receive. Checking the time he smiled ruefully, not realizing the lateness of the hour. At the earliest, she would see it tomorrow. The early morning hours just seemed so far away.

His words stopped abruptly while his hands hovered above the keyboard. Elliot hadn’t realized until that moment where his thoughts and feelings had led him. He understood how far his feelings had progressed, but it wasn’t until now, that he saw how it was to be concluded. Pressing his lips tightly together, he read over his email to her and felt the first sharp needles pierce his heart.

Steve Johnson didn’t approve of him now and probably never will. But it was a challenge and Elliot never backed down from one in his life. When he thought of what could happen, it made him all the more determined to try harder. Mr. Johnson might harbor disapproval towards him, but never was a long time. Times change. People change. Elliot had nothing else to do with his time. He could wait.

When he thought of his cousin, his frown returned. Would Benjamin be an allies or his competition? The Johnson’s already considered him a favored son. Though Dr. Johnson held no grudges against him, Elliot could still not expect her to turn a blind eye to his parents. It was Steve he had to win over. Steve Johnson who would as soon as see him fly to the moon than at his daughter’s side.

But how do you befriend such a man, Elliot thought, as the minutes ticked away. Sighing, he rubbed at his eyes, finally feeling the effects of the long day. The muscles around his neck pulled and strained in protest as he looked back at the screen. Deleting his last few words, he simply added his name and sent it off.

Turning off his system, he stood and walked over to his bed to turn in. He thought again on those blue sparkling eyes and her flowing red curls and smiled in spite of everything.

"I miss you Stephanie." He said to the empty room.

**********

Jennifer felt the bed dip slightly as Jack got up. She stayed hidden under the covers, assuming he went to use the bathroom and waited for his return. Minutes went by and she could hear him moving about the room. It wasn't until she heard the doorknob jiggle that Jennifer threw back the covers and turned on the light. Jack stood just at the door, clumsily fumbling with his robe. He turned around sharply as the light flooded the room and looked back at her in surprise.

"I thought you were asleep." His words sounded guilty, although nowhere near as guilty as he looked.

"I wasn't. Just what do you think you're doing?"

"I'm a... I'm hungry. You know, couldn't eat much at dinner... so I thought I go down for a sandwich."

Jennifer eyed him curiusly and suddenly swung out her legs and got out of bed as well. "Hungry huh? Okay, I guess I am too. I'll go with you."

Jack came rushing over, trying to push her back in bed. "No need. I'll just get a few for the both of us. Go on... get back in bed. I'll bring them up."

But Jennifer avoided his hands as she reached for her own robe and put it on. She got halfway to the door when her husband chased after her again. "But I don't know what I feel like eating. I want to see what they have first."

Her hand touched the door when Jack slumped back against it and looked strangely down at her. "You just had to wake up." He said sheepishly, then smiled. "Okay. I wasn't getting any food. I thought I'd go back to Lansing's office and do some more research. We only got to a few discs and there must be close to three, maybe even four dozen down there."

"You want to go now? It's past one am."

"Perfect time then. Everyone else's asleep and we'll have the whole room to ourselves. "

"But we should let John or at least Steve in on this? Just wait till morning."

"Why wait? Look... you want to tell Steve, go ahead... but I'm not waking him up."

Jennifer thought for a moment and grew tempted. "Well what if Elliot wakes up and catches us."

"He won't. I'm sure he's sound asleep."

"We could stll get caught, you know."

"By whom? Come on. Where's your sense of adventure?"

"I'd feel more adventurous if this didn't feel like we're breaking and entering."

"We're already inside... you can break in when you're inside the house."

"All right, let's go... but only for a couple of hours."

"Fine... fine. I just wanted to look through the discs anyway." He opened the door slightly as a beam of light shot out from their room and sent a white line against the floor and wall. "Turn off the light Jen." He whispered as she ran back and turned off the bedside lamp. Taking her hand in his, Jack slowly eased the door open. He looked both left and right before emerging fully and pulling at his wife's hand, they went down the hallway to the stair case. He bumped into a table just at the top of the stairs and almost let out a scream. Jennifer slapped her hand over his mouth as the urge subsided and he nodded at her to let go.

"Did you hurt yourself, Jack?"

"Yes!" He whispered. "I'm in pain."

"Well... don't hit anything else."

"I'll remember that."

Quickly making their way down, they walked through the living room and and made a bee line to the office door. Miscalculating the distance, Jack stubbed his toe at the door as the noise of his bump filled the air. He hobbled on one foot as Jennifer tried to shush him.

"Quiet! You're making too much noise!"

He fell against the door making a large thumping sound. "I think I broke a toe!"

"You should have turned on the light so we could see."

"And have everyone know we're down here."

"They probably know that already, with all the noise you're making."

Rubbing at his foot, he tried to give her menacing look but failed since she couldn't see him that well in the dark. He waited a moment and listened, but no sounds came from upstairs and he heaved a sigh of relief. "Good!" He told her. "No one heard." Jack turned and gripped the door handle then pushed it open.

The room was exactly at they left it. Most of the files had been returned to the chest, but the whole stack of discs were left on Lansing's desk and Jennifer's laptop was still on the coffee table. She moved through the darkened room and got down on the floor by the table. While she turned her system on, Jack tried to manuver his way across and bumped into the side table behind the sofa. A picture fell back on the table loudly as he pushed back at the table.

A third bruise was now forming on his injured arm as Jennifer yelled to him again. "Jack! Just turn on a light."

"I don't need one."

"You'll just hit something else."

"No I won't." He told her before, he tripped on the area rug again and crashed into the corner table.

Every single picture that was there fell to the floor. The glass on one frame shattered as Jennifer got up and tried to help him put them back. "Someone was bound to hear that." She told him.

"Well... if I'm lucky, no one did."

She just rolled her eyes at him and shook her head as she picked up the broken picture. Pieces of glass still littered the floor as she felt the frame fall apart in her hand. Bringing it over to her computer screen, she realizes that there are two pictures in her hand. Behind the one on display is another photo of a young boy and man. Jennifer looks closely at the child, but doesn't see anything remarkable about him. The man in the picture causes her eyes to widen and she lets out a huge gasp, calling her husband over to her side.

"Jack! Jack!" She nearly yells. "Look at this!"

Taking the picture from her, he looks at the man and stares back in shock. "It can't be!"

Steve was sure he heard something. Kayla had fallen asleep though it eluded him. Letting himself enjoy the feel of her in his arms, he had laid down beside her when he heard the first noise from outside the room. Disregarding it as normal house sounds, it continued downstairs. and finally seem to come from below their room. Easing himself up, he quietly got out of bed and exited the bedroom. He stood a moment in the hallway, deciding which way to go.

On a hunch, he went to his brother's room and softly knocked. Waiting a few seconds, he tried again. When he received no response, he tried opening the door and peered into the dark room. "Jack?" He whispered. He stuck his head in more and took a step in. "Jack? Jennifer?"

The darkness of the room was strong, and he focused on their bed, trying to see if he could discern their shapes there. He focused hard but couldn't make out anything. Taking a breath, he let it out before flipping on the light switch. He felt his hand twitch as a loud sigh followed. The bed was empty and the source of the mystery sounds no longer seemed mysterious. He shook his head and turned out the lights. Walking towards the staircase, Steve muttered under his breath as he made his way to Lansing's room. "Billy-Jack!"

"Jack!" Jennifer quickly yelled as she shut down her monitor and moved over to the the galss doors. "Someone's coming!"

"What?" He said, then heard the measured footsteps heading towards them "Hide!"

"Where?"

The picture still clasped in his head, he quickly looked around and saw nothing they could. The footsteps grew closer when Jennifer pulled at his arms and dragged him down under the desk. "Over here. Hurry up!" Jennifer pushed herself in as far as she could go. Jack fell hard on the floor and tried to squeeze himself next to her, but most of him stuck out

"There's not enough room?"

"Just move or he'll see you." She told him as the door swung open. She moved her hand over Jack's mouth again as the footsteps started walking first to the sofa and then to Lansing's table.

It stopped just on the other side of the desk as Jack and Jennifer huddled under the table. After a moment, the footsteps moved towards the corner table and they heard the crunch of the broken glass.

"What the...?"

Jack's eyes widened as he turned his head towards his wife. "That's Steve!" He mouth the words silently to her.

"Steve." She mouth back as he nodded and tried to push himself beneath the desk some more.

"Jack!" Steve called out.

He looked around the room, trying to figure out where his brother had gone too when he heard the movement from Lansing's desk. Just the top part of a head appeared first before it turned and Steve could see who was hiding under the table.

"Get out from under there!" He thundered at him as Jack crawled out followed by Jennifer. They both stood by the desk as Steve approached them and turned on the lamp light on the desk. "There's broken glass on the floor there. Did you do that?"

"Yeah well... a picture fell over... and the glass broke so... yeah it happened when I knocked it over."

"He didn't want to turn on the light, so he kept bumping into everything. See I told you to turn the lights on, but you wouldn't listen to me." She answered back.

"I didn't want anybody to know we were here... and they would have known if they saw the lights on."

"They would know anyway after all the noise you made." Jennifer argued back.

"It's only because I knocked that picture down."

"And stubbed your toe at the door and hit the side table... plus the one at the top of the stairs." She added.

"Okay! Enough!" Steve just shook his head at the two of them. "Look... it's late. Just go back upstairs and get some sleep."

"Don't you want to go through some more discs. I mean since we're down here already..."

"No I don't. I'm tired. Just go back upstairs."

Jennifer grabbed at her husband's arms and started to drag him back across the room when he stopped in his tracks and held the picture in his hand up. Steve was just about to turn off the lamp light when Jack came back towards him and shoved the picture at his face. He was rapidly losing his temper then, but Jennifer hurried back too and told him what they found.

"It was behind another picture. Look at this Steve." She told him. "Is it him?"

Taking the picture, he moved it under the light and focused on the face of the man. There was no denying he recognized the face, but it couldn't be the man they knew.

"It's Shane!" Jack said aloud. "But how can it be him?"

Steve put the picture down on the table and looked at the young boy beside the man. The same blue eyes stared up at him again and he wanted to hide the picture before John saw it. It was the boy but maybe a couple of years after. He didn't die afterall. When he looked back up, it was to see both Jack and Jennifer watching him intently. He shook his head at them before speaking.

"It's not Shane...it's Drew. That's Drew Donovan."