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What Dreams Are Made OF

Part 6

An Emergency Story by

Dee
 

 

Links to Parts 1. 2. 3. 4.

5. 6. 7.

 

 

He felt her pain…he heard her scream but he couldn’t see her.  The soft muted sound of her weeping tore at his heart.  The darkness seemed like it was going to envelop him…until he remembered something she had told him…that he needed to see with his heart, not with his mind, if he wanted to find her.

Johnny opened his eyes and was surprised by the woods that surrounded him.  Although he didn’t recognize the area, he could tell by the groomed trail he was on… it had to be a park.  He didn’t hesitate but began walking with a purpose…to locate her.  He tuned his hearing towards the sounds of her cries, believing they would steer him in the right direction.

 

Stopping to get his bearings, he realized she was no longer crying, but was singing.  He stepped off the walking path and followed a deer trail into the woods.  Johnny knew he was heading in the right direction as her singing grew stronger.  He smiled as he recognized the song she was singing as one he heard often being sung to their daughter.  The trees were growing thinner as he saw the approaching meadow.

 

In the middle of the meadow, he saw her…she was twirling and dipping as she sang her song.  ‘She’s safe,’ he sighed as he picked up the pace to cover the distance between them.

 

“Bree,” he shouted.  She stopped…staring his direction and smiled.  Before he could even reach her, the one who took her away, grabbed Bree from behind.  Johnny halted in his tracks as the man put a knife to Bree’s throat.

 

“Don’t hurt her,” Johnny pleaded.

 

“Then don’t come any closer,” the man said.  “I’ve killed before and I won’t hesitate to do it again.”

 

“What do you want from me?” he asked.

 

“To turn around and walk away,” the man replied.  “She is mine and will always be mine.”

 

“I can’t do that,” cried Johnny as he saw the fear in Bree’s eyes.  “She’s my life.”

 

“That’s too bad,” the man stated.  “You just sealed her fate.”  With those five words, the man grabbed Bree’s arm and with the hand holding the knife he pulled it sideways.

 

“NOoooooooooo!” screamed Johnny as he threw himself towards the pair.

Johnny almost launched himself out of the bed with his arms reaching forward.  The unevenness of his breathing was a loud echo in the darkened hospital room.  He could feel the tears flowing down his cheeks, dripping onto his hand.  Reaching to the side, he gently pulled the string that turned on the light above his bed.

Looking at the clock on the wall, he realized it was only three in the morning.  He could feel the trembling of his body in reaction to the violence of the dream.  Raising the head of the bed, he tried to relax against the pillows but nothing seemed to calm the racing of his heart.  Even with his eyes open, he could still see within his mind’s eye, the knife against Bree’s throat and the fear in her eyes as she looked at him.

Knowing for the time being that sleep would be elusive, Johnny swung his legs over the edge of the bed and just sat there.  He knew Mandy said this guy wouldn’t hurt Bree; that he fancied himself in love with her but none of them really understood how much of what this guy was actually capable of.  He had managed to elude all of their efforts to keep themselves safe and penetrated their sense of security.

Hearing footsteps in the hall, he knew the night shift was making their rounds and checking on their ‘guests’.  The door to his room opened as the night nurse had noted the light shining from underneath the door.  Johnny smiled when he saw Sharon pop her head in to ask if he was okay.  He told her that he was fine, just couldn’t sleep.

“Do you want one of the sleeping pills that Dr. Brackett has on order for you?” she asked him.

“Not really, Sharon, but thanks for asking,” he replied.  “I don’t really like sleeping pills and the aftereffects from them.”

“Okay, Johnny, that’s your choice but do try to get some rest,” she said with a wink as she closed the door.

Johnny leaned back against the pillows, wishing it was morning.  Numerous thoughts ran through his mind, piling on top and over the others.  The one thought that seemed to stand out was why the media hadn’t picked up on the kidnapping of Bree and their daughter.

He counted in his mind how many days it had been since the shooting and their kidnapping…six days.  By now the media should have picked up on their disappearance, but nothing was ever said when he watched the news and the papers had written nothing.  He made a mental note to check with Mandy or the detectives assigned to the case to find out why this has been hushed up.

As he thought of the questions he wanted to ask the detectives, he could feel the drowsiness creep up on him as a way of his body saying you need to sleep.  No longer wanting to fight sleep, he gave into his body’s request and closed his eyes.  His last conscious thought (more of a feeling really) was a soft, fleeting touch upon his forehead and the brush of a kiss upon his cheek.  He thought he heard his name whispered in his ear and a slight giggle as goodnight was said.

****************************

Bree gasped loudly as she sat up in the bed.  She could still hear the echo of Johnny’s cry in her ears.  As she let her eyes adjust to the darkness of the room, she wiped the tears from her cheeks.   This dream had been so vivid that it almost seemed real.  She even heard Johnny call out her name.

She knew that she wasn’t going to be able to sleep.  For the last six days she had found it difficult to turn off her mind so she could sleep.  Her mind kept going back to her childhood and how she could have missed the signs that would have told her how Ethan was feeling about her.  She also couldn’t quit thinking of where he had taken her daughter to.

Deciding that she might as well get up, Bree reached for the matches on the bedside table and lit the lantern she had located the first full day she had spent locked within the cabin.  The soft glow of the lantern hid the coarse frames of the walls.  She had been skeptical of the cabin and its ability to provide adequate shelter, but had been amazed when the first cold night in the mountains showed that the cabin would keep her safe and warm.

She chuckled as she remember the first day after Ethan left when she had explored every nook and cranny of the place trying to find some type of weakness that would help her in escaping if she ever gets the chain around her ankle removed.  Bree knew she needed to find a way to adapt to her situation so as to lull Ethan into a false sense of security.  If I can do that, she thought, it will make my chances of getting away a little bit easier. 

Setting the lantern down on the table next to the sofa bed, she grabbed the book she had started reading that morning and got comfortable.  She had been pleased to see that what few reading items in the cabin were of her favorite authors, but that feeling quickly went away as she realized it was just one more aspect of Ethan’s stalking.  She had almost thrown the book but reined that feeling in as knowing that she could be stuck there for a long time and would need something to occupy her time.

Not knowing what time it was, Bree settled in for a good long read.  She eventually slid down to a prone position, lying on her side to read.  Her head began to feel heavy and she adjusted the pillow for support.  Finally she gave into her body’s demand for sleep and closed her eyes.  As she drifted off, she thought she had heard Johnny’s voice telling her sleep well and to dream of him.

*****************************

  Johnny had just finished up another session with the respiratory therapist.  She was pleased with his progress but knew he wasn’t.  He was doing everything in his power to push himself to the limits.  His therapist had to on numerous occasions tell him to take it easy, but most everyone associated with Johnny’s care and treatment were aware of the reason why he felt the need to push himself yet at the same time were keeping wary eyes on him.

After seven days at ‘Hotel’ Rampart, boredom was starting to creep in.  With remote in hand Johnny channel-surfed through what few channels the TV had to offer.  He wasn’t crazy about talk shows and soap operas just about drove him nuts.  He just wished Roy didn’t have the honey-do list to work on first but was on his way there instead.

While waiting for Roy to show up, he once more went over in his mind the questions he wished to ask the detectives (if they ever decide show up at the hospital).  He was tired of lying around hospital and not being able to help in the search for his family.

He couldn’t help but chuckle when he remembered his reaction to Brackett coming in to his room four days ago to finally take out that chest tube.  That’s when he told him he would allow the detectives on Bree’s case to come visit him.  Their ‘little discussion’ about his length of recovery just about sent him over the edge and while he knew Brackett was only concerned for his wellbeing, he couldn’t help but project his frustration on the doctor for being stuck at Rampart…it was just that he had things he needed to do.

As he started on his umpteenth circle of the limited channels, one skipped by that caused him to pause.  He reversed his channel hopping back to the one that caught his attention and was stunned to see his daughter’s picture being shown on a local news program.

Quickly turning up the volume, he listened to the reporter talk about an abandoned child found in the rest room of a gas station in Beatty, Nevada.  Johnny just stared at Sierra’s picture, unable to comprehend why she had been found in Nevada.

Without a second thought, Johnny swung his legs over the edge of the bed.  He expertly removed the IV from his arm and placed pressure on the puncture mark to stem what little bleeding there was.  As he went to stand up, he was shocked at the dizziness and weariness that almost enveloped him immediately.  He sat back down to get his bearings and wondered how he was going to sneak out of the hospital as weak as he seemed to be.

*******************************

“Are you heading over to Rampart right now, Roy?” asked Jo as she finished making her daughter’s breakfast.

“Yes,” shouted Roy from the bedroom.  “If he didn’t see it the first time it was broadcast this morning, I’m sure he’s seen it by now.”

Roy walked briskly into the kitchen, placing a quick kiss on his daughter’s forehead before he took the cup of coffee from his wife.  He could see the concern in Joanne’s eyes as she knew exactly what Johnny would be doing right now if he has seen the news broadcast.

When the news first aired Sierra’s picture, he had just gotten home and found Joanne in a panic.  The phone was also ringing and when he finally got around his wife to grab it, he was listening to an agitated Mandy on the other end.  He pretty much got the whole story in stereo from his wife and from Bree’s cousin.  What amazed him was the fact that both women retold the news story almost verbatim, even though they had been watching two different news programs.

Finishing his coffee, Roy kissed Joanne good bye and promised to let her know immediately what was going on when he got to the hospital.  His next door neighbor gave him a strange look as he jumped back into his vehicle and left.  Roy smiled and waved at his neighbor as he pulled away.

*****************************

After getting his dizziness somewhat under control (or he thought), Johnny stood back up from his bed and slowly shuffled towards the closet.  Reaching inside, he grabbed his pants and shirt but thought again about bending down to pick up his shoes.  Those will wait he thought as he leaned against the open closet door.

It frustrated him that he could feel so weak even seven days post-op.  What Johnny was failing to take into consideration was the blood loss along with major surgery.  Patience had never been his strong suit and he was not going to let a ‘little thing’ like surgery stop him.

Johnny sat back down on the edge of the bed and listened to the raggedness of his breathing.  With dogged determination, he raised one leg and began to slide it into the right side of his pants.  He smiled as that was accomplished with very little dizziness.  He then turned slide his left leg into the other side.  As he stood up, the door to his room opened and in walked Roy.

“Just what the heck do you think you are doing, junior?!” exclaimed Roy, knowing exactly why Johnny was getting dressed.

“What do you think?” he retorted.  “Obviously you know why or you wouldn’t be here to talk me out of it.  In fact, Roy, save your breath.  There is no way you are going to talk me out of this.”

“Well, at least read the paper before you take off,” stated Roy.  “You might find the article in there interesting and fits in nicely with the news broadcast.”

Johnny finished buttoning his jeans.  He took the paper from Roy’s outstretched hand, giving him a funny look in the process.  Flipping through the paper, he wondered just what Roy was talking about until he came to the Variety section.  The title of the article read “Where did she disappear to this time?”

He tried to sit down so he could read the article but the jeans made his healing incision just a trifle bit irritated.  He could hear Roy’s chuckle as he stood back up to unbutton his jeans so he could sit down comfortably.

 

‘Where Did She Disappear To This Time?”

By Dana Reese

 

Rumor has it that Bree Montgomery has once more disappeared from

the face of this earth.  According to my sources, she has started recording

again and has almost completed her first studio album in over two years. 

But according to these very same sources, she hasn’t been seen in the

studio for over a week.

 

We all know about the article she was interviewed for in People Magazine. 

The title simply stated ‘Bree Montgomery Returns.’  It was

a nicely written piece that was split into two parts…the first part

covered her rise to fame and the price she paid for it later.  The

second part covered the reason for her breakdown and why she left

country music the way she did.

 

The truth about her reason for disappearing…she had a child out of wedlock.

 

So tell me, why did she come back to Southern CA?  Is it because the father

of her child is here?  She only hinted in the article that he works for LA County

but never said where in LA County.  There’s mystery number one we need to solve.

 

Mystery number two in this saga is this…why hasn’t she been at the recording

studio and just where has she disappeared to now?

 

Bree comes across as a sincere young woman but how sincere is she if she didn’t

trust her fans with the truth.  She is passionate and has a wonderful heart but

will she stay in music or will she walk away once more.  She had no problems

walking away from a lucrative career before, but who’s to say she hasn’t

done it again.

 

As much as I like this young country rock star, I wonder just what exactly she

is up to.  Like I said, She hasn’t been in the recording studio for a week and the

album is due to hit the shelves in around Halloween. 

 

So to all you Bree Montgomery fans out there, once again we have two

mysteries to solve.  Who the father of her child is and just where did

she disappear to now. You all know how to contact me.

 

“You have got to be kidding me.  Doesn’t this woman ever give up,” stated Johnny out loud.  “It’s a good thing this reporter isn’t within my reach right now.”

 

“Probably but she wouldn’t have gotten past your armed guard.  Come to think of it, junior, you wouldn’t have gotten very far either,” stated Roy as he watched the conflicting emotions run across Johnny’s face.  “There is a police officer stationed outside your door.”

“What?” he questioned as he looked up finally remembering that his friend was still in the room.

“Remember when I told you what happened after your surgery in the waiting room?” asked Roy.  Johnny shook his hand back and forth indicating kind of.  “An officer was placed outside your room as a precaution.  That’s why I said you probably wouldn’t get too far.”

“But…” started Johnny.

“No buts about it, junior.  The guy outside your room is under orders not to let you go anywhere unless I, Dr. Brackett or Dixie are escorting you.”

He almost laughed at the crestfallen look on Johnny’s face but was surprised at the determined look that replaced it.  He knew that look…it was one that ultimately challenged everyone around him.  It didn’t matter if Johnny was hurting or not, if he had a goal in mind he was going to accomplish it.

He watched as Johnny slowly put his shoes on.  It took everything in him not to help his friend but knew that Johnny would not appreciate the help.  Sometimes the boy was too independent for his own good, he thought.  By the time he was done tying his shoes, Roy noticed that his friend was sweating profusely.

Johnny glanced over at Roy almost daring him to say something.  He reached up and wiped his forehead off and grimaced when he realized how much he was sweating.  He grabbed his wallet from the bedside table.

“Well, if you want to see how this is going to end, follow me,” stated Johnny as he slowly walked to the door.

The officer stationed outside of Johnny’s room immediately came to attention when he heard the door open.  He stood in front of the door, blocking Johnny’s way.  He noticed the sweat beading on the patient’s forehead and looked over Johnny’s shoulder at Roy who was standing close behind.  Recognizing the slight nod that Roy gave him, he stepped aside to allow Johnny to pass.

Smiling at the guard, Johnny painstakingly made his way towards the elevator.  He didn’t see Roy stop to ask the guard to call down to the ER nurses’ station to warn them to expect an eloping patient shortly.  It didn’t take Roy long to catch up with Johnny.  He didn’t offer any encouragement or support to his friend, but kept a close eye on his progress just in case.

“Took you long enough to catch up with me,” stated Johnny, a little breathlessly.

“Didn’t think you wanted me that close to you, junior,” retorted Roy.  “I figured if you wanted to take a tumble, you wouldn’t need my assistance.”

“Funny,” chuckled Johnny as he stepped on to the elevator, pushing the button that would take them to the ER and leaned back against the wall.  The motion of the elevator dropping just about was Johnny’s undoing as the swift drop almost sent his breakfast contents back up.

Roy watched as what little color slowly drained from Johnny’s face.  He hoped the officer was able to get through to Dixie at the nurses’ station so they would be ready for their escaping patient.  Glancing at his watch, he wondered where Mandy was as she lived just as closer to Rampart than he did but she wasn’t there yet.

  Dixie sat at the base station frustrated with the nurses’ schedules for the next two weeks spread out in front of her.  She was short two nurses due to one on her honeymoon and one who just retired.  “How am I going to make this work?” she thought to herself as she tossed her pencil for the fourth time onto the desk.

So engrossed in the scheduling conflict was she that when the phone rang she jumped, almost knocking her coffee over in the process.  Picking up the phone, she identified herself and just about laughed out loud when the voice on the other end of the phone told her to expect an eloping patient any minute now coming off the elevator.  Thanking the officer for the heads up, she hung up the phone and giggled to herself.

She was taken aback by the commotion she could hear coming from the elevator before the door even opened up.  She wasn’t surprised as she watched Rampart’s favorite patient limp off the elevator (even though he was looking like death warmed over) and arguing with his friend/partner walking behind him.

Motioning to Carol to locate Dr. Brackett or Dr. Early, she stepped out from behind the nurses’ station and planted herself right in Johnny’s path.

“And just where do you think you are going, boy?” asked Dixie with one eyebrow raised with her best ‘Do not mess with me’ look.

“Dixie, unless you want to file charges against me for assault, get out of my way!”

Johnny exclaimed breathlessly as he tried to get around her.  He did hear the soft intake of breath from Roy behind him as no one had ever heard Johnny talk to Dixie McCall like that before.

“Boy…from the way you look, you couldn’t fight your way out of a wet paper bag right now!” retorted Dixie as she tried to hide her concern behind a devious smile. 

Before Johnny could react, she reached out and grabbed the lower lobe of his ear, totally ignored Roy and the police officer who finally joined them and walked him right down the hall and into the staff lounge.  With a little more force than she had planned on using, she shoved him right on to the couch in the lounge.

“Just why do you think you can treat me like that?” she questioned.  “You have not been discharged from this hospital and…”

Roy followed Dixie and Johnny into the staff lounge and leaned back against the wall as he watched Dixie begin to wind up for one of her infamous head nurse lectures aimed against his friend.  The look on Johnny’s face was priceless as he knew he had overstepped the line of common courtesy with the nurse.

While Roy was calmly listening to Dixie lecturing his partner, Mandy walked into the ER intent on getting upstairs to Johnny’s room and letting him know that Sierra was alright and by tomorrow night she should be back in Torrance and with her family.

She smiled at Carol who was on the phone at the nurses’ station and reached to push the up button for the elevator.  Roy had asked Carol to keep to keep an eye out for Mandy and to direct her to the staff lounge when she arrived.  Not able to tell Mandy outright that she needed to go to the lounge, Carol threw her pen at the girl to get her attention.

Mandy felt something hit her arm, glancing up to see Carol furiously motioning at her to come to the base station.  She chuckled as she turned to walk back to the station.  Without saying a word, Carol pointed towards the staff lounge where a uniformed officer was standing outside the door.  Mandy nodded her thanks to the nurse on the phone and changed directions.  She was joined by Dr. Brackett who did not look too happy at the moment.

The officer outside the staff lounge recognized the young woman and the doctor approaching him as frequent visitors of Johnny’s and stepped aside so they could enter the room.

“…and furthermore, if you think I am going to allow you to sneak out of here on your own, you have another think coming,’ continued Dixie not realizing she now had  two more members of the audience.

Johnny tried to peak around Dixie to give a pleading look to the ones who had walked in the room.  He had given up on Roy’s support the minute Dixie started lecturing as he knew Roy would back up the nurse.  When he saw the scowl on Brackett’s face, he knew that was a lost cause also.  But when he turned his gaze to Mandy, she raised her eyes to the ceiling and was trying not to laugh out loud.

Realizing she had lost his attention, Dixie snapped her fingers in front of his face a couple of times.  When she noticed he was trying to look around her, she fervently hoped it was Dr. Brackett who joined them as he might be able to talk some sense into this young man.   Her wish was answered as she spotted not only Dr. Brackett but Mandy as well.

“Well, if you won’t listen to me maybe you will listen to one of them,” she stated as she turned back to him.  Dixie leaned against the table nearest to the couch, crossing her arms as she stared back at Johnny.

Slowly and painfully, Johnny stood up, looked right at Dr. Brackett and said, “Don’t even try to talk me out of this.  I’m going and the only way you could get me to stay is to knock me out.”

Dr. Brackett glanced back at Roy and tried to hide the smile that was trembling behind the frown he was trying emit and failed miserably.  Roy grinned back at the doctor.  He stepped beside Kel and as he spotted the determined look on Johnny’s face and the just as equally determined look on Dixie’s, Roy asked him, “Did you even try to tell Dixie why you were trying to leave Rampart?”

A sheepish look crossed Johnny’s face before he answered, “How could I?  You were standing right there…she wouldn’t let me get a word in edgewise.”

Softening his tone, he glanced first at Dr. Brackett and then over to Dixie before he stated, “I have to leave.  Sierra was found in Beatty, Nevada.  I need to be there.  I just have to get her.”

Both Kel and Dixie started at Johnny in surprise.  “They found Sierra, not Bree?” the pair queried simultaneously.

“According to the news story, she was found abandoned in the rest room of a gas station in Beatty.  No signs of the mother anywhere,” replied Johnny.  “So you see I need to get to there, my daughter has got to be terrified being amongst strangers.”

“Johnny, you are still in no condition to be gallivanting around the countryside,” said Brackett quickly firmly.

Watching Johnny argue with the doctor while he gently swayed (without realizing it), Mandy decided it was time to step in and let him and the others know why she was late and why it was imperative that Johnny stay put.

“…and I am her father,” continued Johnny.  “She…”

“That’s enough, Johnny,” interrupted Mandy.  “You need to listen to Dr. Brackett…”

“NO!” shouted Johnny.  “She is my daughter!”

“Look at yourself, Johnny…you are out of breath and can barely hold yourself up.  With the blood you lost in the field and on the table during surgery, it’s a miracle you haven’t passed out from all this exertion.  You need more time to recuperate,” interjected Dr. Brackett.  “You are in no condition to leave this hospital right now.  Let the authorities handle this.”

Johnny looked around at the faces in the room and saw the concern in the eyes of his friends.  But all he could think about was his daughter…alone with strangers.  He remembered when his parents died and the loneliness that enveloped him when he was placed with relatives he barely knew.  He wasn’t going to let Sierra be cared for by strangers until they could bring her to him.  Determination won over common sense as Johnny tried to take one step towards the door.  That’s all it took…he felt his knees give away as the dizziness that plagued him since he got out of bed now enveloped him taking his consciousness away.

Roy instantly knew what was going to happen.  As he watched Johnny take that first step away from them, he saw the unsteadiness.   The moment his knees began to buckle, Roy sprang into action.  Johnny never hit the floor.   Roy caught him before he completed his collapse.  Kel also bolted into action, grabbing the gurney that was sitting in hall just across from the lounge and helped Roy lift him up onto it.

“That is one stubborn young man,” muttered Dixie under her breath as she held the door open for them.

Kel directed them to take Johnny into treatment room 4 which was nearest to the staff lounge.  Once in the room, Dixie immediately grabbed a blood pressure cuff, placing on Johnny’s right arm.  She relayed the readings to Dr. Brackett who was checking Johnny’s respirations.

When it was determined that Johnny had only passed out, Kel asked Dixie for an ammonia capsule.  He gently squeezed the capsule and waved it under Johnny’s nose to revive him.  Everyone laughed when his hand shot up to try and push the capsule away.

“Kno…knock it off!” he exclaimed as he pushed at Brackett’s hand one more time.  “That stinks!”

“Well, then listen to me when I say you are not going anywhere,” replied Kel as he handed the capsule to Dixie.  “You will do your daughter no good if you try and take off in your condition.”

Johnny looked around at everyone in the room.  “She has to be scared, doc.  She needs someone who knows her to be there so she won’t be alone.  Please let me go,” he pleaded.

“Johnny?” queried Mandy.

He had forgotten that Bree’s cousin had shown up.  She had been trying to tell him something before he cut her off by shouting.  He felt bad that he had treated her…not just her but everyone…rudely.  He knew they were only looking out for his wellbeing and if he would just admit it to himself, he knew deep down he wouldn’t have gotten far in his condition.

“What is it, Mandy?  I’m…” he started to say.

Knowing what he was going to say next, she jumped in and said, “No apology needed.  What I was trying to say earlier is the reason I was late was because I received a call from the detectives working Bree’s case.  They and an Orange County Social Worker are on their way to Beatty, Nevada as we speak.”

“What?  Why?” asked Johnny as he glanced at his partner who looked as confused as he felt.

“Shortly after I called Roy when I saw Sierra’s picture on the news, I received another call from Detective Crockett.  He had just gotten done talking with the sheriff in Beatty, Nevada, confirming that the child on the news was one that was missing from Torrance, California,” said Mandy.  “The reason he got a hold of me was that he wanted to let me know that he, Davison and the social worker were leaving shortly for Nevada to pick up Sierra.  She will be home in a couple of days.”

Johnny felt the tears fill up his eyes as he realized that in a few short days his daughter would be home.  He still wished deep down that he could have gone to get her, but was glad that she was safe.

“Thanks, Mandy,” replied Johnny in a soft but relieved tone as he reached for her hand.  “I really wish I was the one to going to pick up my daughter but at least I know she will be in good hands for her return home.”

The fatigue he had been fighting since he left his room began to take its toll on Johnny.  He laid his head back down on the gurney and said a silent prayer for his daughter’s safe return and for the safety of Bree who was still missing.  Closing his eyes, he faded off to sleep never feeling the gurney move or his companions placing him back in his bed.

***************************

  Bree leaned up against the kitchen cabinet, trying to control her breathing.  For the last three to four hours, she had been doing her best to get her chain loosened from the bolt in the floor.  When she pulled back that blanket and discovered the doll instead of Sierra, she was determined to get the hell out of there.  No matter how hard she tugged, the darn thing was not coming loose.

Sitting back down on the floor like she had been for the last seven days, she once again grabbed the end of the chain nearest to the bolt and proceeded to yank on it.  One time she even kicked at the bolt but all the resulted in was a sore foot.  Her hands hurt from all the pulling she had been doing so she knew she was going to have some nasty blisters forming once again.

He stood leaning against the wall, watching her futile efforts at loosening the chair that he had attached to the floor.  He couldn’t help but admire her pluck at trying to take on something that was firmly attached to floor and would eventually wear her out.  Finally he couldn’t help himself, he started to laugh.

Bree almost jumped straight up on her feet.  Dropping the chain, she stood to her full height of 5’2½”.  She glared at him, not for scaring her but for what he had done.

“So nice of you to return,” she spat at him sarcastically.

“Hello to you too, Bree,” he said.  “From the looks of it, you definitely didn’t miss me.”

“Now why in the hell would I want to miss you, Ethan?  It’s only been...let me see…seven days since you left me here.  Tell me this…WHAT DID YOU DO WITH MY DAUGHTER?”

“I’ve done nothing with your daughter.  I just left her where she will be found and well taken care of,” he replied quite patiently as he leaned against the kitchen counter opposite from where she was standing.  “But I will give you a little heads up there is no way you will ever get that bolt to loosen from the floor.  It is pretty secure under the floorboards.”

He heard the growl in the back of her throat and prepared himself for what was to happen next.  She grabbed the length of her chain and swung it at him.  He had already raised his arm and caught it neatly before it had a chance to make contact with his body.

“You know what I told you I would do the next time you tried that,” he said firmly but in a menacing tone.  He used the length of chain he had caught to pull her directly up against him.  She looked back at him with no fear in her eyes but with a look that said to him, ‘Do your worst.’

Keeping her tightly against him, he walked around to the cabinet on the other side of the kitchenette.  Reaching to the top of the cabinet, he pulled a tool from the back of the shelf.  He then used it to snap part of the chain attached to Bree’s wrist and shortened it by two links.  He then reattached the chain, put the tool back and took her back to the other room once again.  Setting her down, he smiled and stepped back.

“I hope you realize now that every time you fight me, you lose some of your freedom of movement.  As of right now you still have plenty of length to navigate to each room of the cabin …”

Bree snorted in derision at that statement.  “If you want to call it a bathroom.  A person can’t even use the damn bathtub that’s in there because of the lack of hot water!”

Shaking his head as he heard the sarcasm in her voice, Ethan looked at her and said, “You know you can catch more flies with honey than vinegar.  The more you act out against me fewer items you will have in the cabin.”

“Just what on God’s green earth do you mean by that?” she spat at him.

“It’s simple, Bree.  The more belligerent you are towards me, the less I am inclined to add items to this cabin.  So for now you will only have the beds and the blankets, the few books that are here for you to read.  Try to be nicer and I just might add a chair for you to sit on, a newspaper or magazine to read…get the picture?”

“Yeah, I get the picture…this cabin is my prison and you as the warden have the right to deny or grant items for my use,” retorted Bree very sarcastically.

Ethan threw his head back and laughed out loud.  He couldn’t help but admire once more the spunk that she had.

Bree cringed as she listened to him laugh.  There was something about that laugh that just did not sit right with her.  It was too maniacal, not a natural laugh.  She now knew she was going to have to tread lightly around him, but at the same time she just wanted to bash his head in.

His laughter died down when he realized she was watching him intently.  A parade of emotions flickered across her face before she realized he had quit laughing.  The smiled that she displayed for him did not quite reach her eyes.  He knew he would need to keep his wits about him or she just might get the upper hand.

“If you wish to look at it that way, be my guest,” he said with a slight chuckle.  “It’s all up to you what you want here or not.”

“I really don’t give a damn what you bring here,” retorted Bree without thinking of the consequences.  “All I know is that I am chained by my ankle to this floor.  This hovel has become my prison…for the time being.”  She waved her arm from right to left indicating the living area of the cabin.  Her contempt for the place showed brightly on her face.

This time it was his turn to growl.  She heard the rumble coming from him and realized she had once more pushed too far.  Having nowhere to run, she stood silently with a deer in the headlight look upon her face.

Without a second thought, Ethan reached out to grab the chain, pulling her tightly against him once more.  Using his free hand, he clenched a fist full of her hair and twisted it causing her head to tip back.  He captured her lips with his and violently kissed her.

Bree tried bringing her arms up but he had them pinned not only by the chain, but also in his embrace.  She closed her eyes and tried to imagine it was Johnny who was kissing her in a softer, more passionate way.  She couldn’t help the tears that escaped from her eyes as the brutality of the kiss sunk in.

He heard her soft cry in the back of his mind.  Releasing her from the kiss, he all but shoved her roughly towards the bed.  He could feel his anger at her rising up and knew that he needed to leave again.  Without another word, he grabbed his coat.  He slammed the door shut behind him, forcefully turning the key in the lock.

As soon as she heard him leave, the dam burst and her tears flowed forward.  She scooted back across the bed in the living area, leaning back against the wall.  Her body shook with tremors as she rocked back and forth in an effort to calm herself.  How am I going to survive this, she thought?

Exhaustion soon set in.  Not wanting to sleep in the living area, she got up and slowly walked to the bedroom.  Luckily her chain was still long enough to allow her to sprawl across the bed.  Grabbing the quilt from the end of the bed, she wrapped herself up and closed her eyes.  Her last conscious thought was of her daughter and Johnny, and how she needed to stay alive to see them once more.

**********************

His unsuccessful escape plan had taken a toll on Johnny.  Once Kel and Roy got him back up to his hospital room and into bed, he never stirred except when nature told him too.  Periodically Dixie would go upstairs and check on him.  Each time she would find him practically in the same position he had been in the last time she checked on him.

Almost forty-eight hours later, Dixie was finishing up another shift in the ER.  It had been a busy one so she hadn’t had the chance to sneak upstairs to check on Johnny.  But instead of heading home, she decided to go check on his status before leaving.

She peeked through the small glass window and saw he was still sleeping.  Quietly she opened the door enough to sneak in.  Softly she walked over to the bed, brushing the hair out of his eyes.  She could tell by the gentle rise and fall of his chest that he was finally sleeping comfortably.  Not wanting to disturb him, she turned to leave but felt something grasp at her hand.  Glancing down, she smiled when she spotted his sleepy eyes and lopsided grin.

“Doo…don’t go, Dixie.  I would really like the company right now,” Johnny said rather sleepily.

Dixie pulled the chair close to the bed and sat down.  “Are you sure you wouldn’t rather catch up on some sleep?  I know how hard it is for you to sleep when you are here.”

He struggled to get comfortable, raising the head of bed up.  “Since my little escapade a day or two ago, I’ve done pretty much of nothing but sleep.  If I keep this up, my name might get changed to Rip Van Winkle.”

She laughed at the sheepish grin that spread across his face.  Dixie could see that Johnny still wasn’t comfortable so she grabbed the other pillow from the closet, plumped it up a bit and helped situate it behind his back.

“Thanks, Dixie.  That feels better,” he stated as he settled back against the pillows.  “What is it about hospital beds that make them so uncomfortable?”

“It’s not the bed, it’s the complaining patients who won’t stay put,” she retorted.  They both had a good laugh over that but soon an uncomfortable silence filled the room.  Dixie finally had to ask him what was wrong.

“Spill it, Johnny.  It’s not like you to be so quiet,” said Dixie.

“I’m just worried,” he replied.  “It’s been almost two weeks and she was just found a few days ago.  And she was found all by herself.  What happened to Bree?  Did he harm her…did he harm Sierra?  My mind won’t shut off.  Even though I’ve been sleeping for most of the past twenty-four hours, I can’t quit thinking about them, about what might or might not have happened.”

“Don’t do that to yourself,” stated Dixie softly.  “You need to concentrate on your recovery and what you are going to do when you get out of here.  Sierra’s going to need her daddy to be in tiptop shape to keep up with her.”

“I know and that scares the hell out of me.  She is a very active child now that she is crawling and toddling with help.  What if I can’t handle it?  What if…”

The what-ifs continued on for a little while.  Dixie laughed over some of the sillier what-ifs that Johnny came up with and when she pointed the really silly ones out to him, even he couldn’t help but laugh at what he had said.  She couldn’t help but laugh even more at some of his comments as they were just what a new father would say about his child when faced with taking care of said child for the first time on his own.  Johnny blushed as he admitted to Dixie that he was terrified of taking care of a very active child by himself.

  Mandy held Sierra close to her as she entered Rampart Hospital ER.  She could only imagine how worried Johnny was about his child and even though it was only early evening, she didn’t want to wait any longer to reunite Johnny and his daughter.

She had been sitting at home, looking forward to enjoying a quiet evening by herself when her doorbell started ringing. Mandy he knew it wasn’t Marco because he was on duty.  Muttering to herself as she headed towards the door, she couldn’t help but wonder who was ringing her door incessantly.

Opening the door, Mandy was greeted with the best surprise of her life…Sierra.  Detective Crockett stood there along with the social worker who was holding her squirming ‘niece’.  All she had to do was put her arms out and Sierra all but launched herself into them.

She invited the detective and the social worker who identified herself as Miss Gibson into the house.  Half an hour later, they left and Mandy frantically searched for her car keys so she could head to the hospital.  She had tried calling Dixie first to give her a fair warning but had been told by the evening charge nurse that Dixie had left since her shift was over.

Now she was purposefully heading towards the elevator near the ER base station.  Dr. Morton had caught her when she came around the corner and she asked him to please not call ahead as she wanted to surprise Johnny.  He quickly checked Sierra over and clucked her under her chin which made the child giggle and hide her face in Mandy’s neck.

She yelled for them to hold the elevator for her.  Sierra snuggled close to Mandy and hid her face once again from the other occupants riding along with them.  But as the doors opened to the 3rd floor and Mandy started to walk past the nurses’ station, one of the nurses on the evening shift stopped her.

“Where do you think you are going with that child?” questioned the nurse as she walked around the counter.

“I am taking her to see her father,” replied Mandy, not liking the tone that was being taken with her.

“Well, I am afraid that you cannot do that.  Children are not allowed on this floor.  You must immediately take her back out of here,” stated the nurse as she put her hands on Mandy’s shoulders and began to turn her around.

“Listen, Miss Cole,” responded Mandy rather forcefully.  “I’m pretty sure you don’t understand the situation but they are expecting me to bring this child to her father …so please get your hands off of me.”

“I cannot and will not allow you to take that child anywhere but off this floor,” exclaimed the nurse one more time.

Mandy could feel Sierra stiffen in her arms at the tone of voice the nurse was taking with them.  No one else from the evening shift was around as they were more than likely doing vital checks and making rounds to see how their patients were doing, leaving this young woman in charge of the station.  She tried to soothe the child but knew if this nurse persisted in removing them from the floor, Sierra eventually would begin to cry.

“Ma’am, I am going to have to ask you to leave right now!” stated the nurse this time a little louder hoping to get her message across.

That’s all it took.  Sierra began to cry and threw herself forwards in Mandy arms, hitting Mandy squarely in the nose causing it to bleed.  Ignoring her bleeding nose, Mandy manipulated Sierra so her arms were pinned to her side and then held her close against her chest.

Dixie and Johnny heard the cry of a child out in the hallway.  Telling Johnny to stay put, she went to see what the commotion was all about.  As she rounded the corner, she spotted one of the new nurses trying to get Mandy and a very upset Sierra to leave the area.  She quickly hurried over to the where the fracas was occurring.  It stunned her to see Mandy with a bloody nose and Sierra inconsolable.

“What the devil is going on here?” she asked as she approached the trio.

“This woman was trying to bring this child onto the floor to see her father, Miss McCall,” stated Miss Cole when she realized who addressed her.  “I tried to explain to her that children are not allowed up here and to get her to leave but she is being most uncooperative.”

“That’s because she is expected,” replied Dixie in an authoritative voice.  “The child’s father is in room 306.  Did no one inform you of this during the change of shift meeting?”

Miss Cole mumbled something.  “Care to repeat that, Miss Cole?”

“I said I really wasn’t paying attention in the meeting, Miss McCall,” she replied.

Dixie leaned towards the nurse and said in a quiet but authoritative tone, “Then I suggest that at the next change of staff meeting you pay attention to any and all news that is imparted by the charge nurse from the previous shift or it could mean a written notice in your file.  Understood?”

“Yes, Miss McCall,” she said as she quietly went back to work, hoping that no one else ever hears about this.

Dixie took Mandy and Sierra (who had calmed down when she heard Dixie’s voice) to the washroom next to the nurses’ station.  She held the young child while Mandy cleaned up her face and dabbed at the drops of blood that managed to find their way on to her shirt.  The girls then walked to Johnny’s room.  Dixie told Mandy to go ahead and take Sierra in to be united with her father and that she would wait outside the room.

Johnny had been quietly wondering what was going on out in the hallway when he heard the door open.  He smiled as he saw Mandy’s face pop around the opened door.  When she stepped in to his room with Sierra in her arms, he could feel the tears of relief fill his eyes.  She was safe and well…and home.

As soon as she saw her daddy, Sierra began squirming in Mandy’s arms, begging to be released.  She all but flew towards her daddy as Mandy approached the bedside.  Heedless of the fact that he was still sore from his surgery, he pulled his little girl into his embrace and held her tightly against him.

Mandy stood back from the bed and watched the reunion.  The tears fell softly on her cheeks as Johnny held his daughter, rocking softly side-to-side.  He didn’t even notice when she slipped out of the room.

“How about we go and get some coffee in the waiting room?” asked Dixie as she put her arm around the tall brunette.  “We’ll give them some time to get reacquainted before we rescue him.”  All Mandy could do was nod her head in agreement to the plan.

While Dixie and Mandy headed to the waiting room, the anxious father who had been thinking the worst but realized the best was finally relaxing.  The weight of the child in his arms was a comfort to him, knowing that she was safe.  She clung to him as if he was the only lifeline in her world and Johnny was in no hurry to let her go.

                Her little head rested lightly on his chest.  He chuckled as her thumb found its way into her mouth, knowing her mother would not approve.  He reached with his right hand to smooth the hair on her head, leaning down to softly kiss her.  He smiled at the memories invoked by the smell of her baby shampoo mixed with the baby powder, the memory of the first time he helped with Sierra’s bath shortly after Bree had returned to California.

His heart contracted as the realization that Bree had not returned with their daughter hit him which made the reunion with his child bittersweet.  Once more he felt the tears well up in his eyes and blinked numerous times in the hopes they would go away.  Johnny pulled his daughter tighter into his embrace once more as if to surround himself in the knowledge that she was safe.  He felt her little hand grasp the fabric of the hospital gown as she relaxed in his arms.

As he and his daughter clung to each other, the tears that Johnny was so desperately holding back burst forth.  They flowed like rivers down his cheeks.  His daughter, feeling the trembling of his chest, raised her head to look up at her daddy.  To her little mind, the man she knew who would protect her had an ‘owie’.  She reached up with her little hand and placed on his cheek where she felt the ‘water’.

Johnny took a deep breath to try and get his emotions under control when he felt the softest of touches upon his cheek.  He glanced down to see his little girl gazing up at him with the wonderment of a child in her eyes.  Through a wavering gaze of his own, he smiled down at her and pulled her up to look directly in her eyes.

“I wish I knew what you were thinking, little one,” he said as he softly kissed her cheek.  “You know daddy loves you, sweetheart.”

Sierra smiled back at her daddy and cried out loud, “Daaaaa…daaa.”

“That’s right, little one.  I’m your dada.”  Johnny hugged her close to him.  It might not have been dada or even daddy but wrapped up in that little word was the trust and unconditional love of a child.

Keeping one arm tightly wrapped around Sierra, he slowly lowered the head of the bed in hopes that she would settle down some more and fall asleep.  He watched as she once more slipped her thumb into her mouth and closed her eyes.  Five minutes later, she was sound asleep on his chest.  It didn’t matter to him if she got heavy…to him it was a welcome feeling, of his daughter safely within his arms.  He never heard the door open as Mandy and Dixie quietly let themselves in.

Sensing someone had come into his room Johnny glanced up and smiled back at the two women who joined him.  He brought a finger up to his lips to signify quiet and the girls instantly knew Sierra had gone to sleep.

“She finally fell asleep,” he said with his voice barely above a whisper.

“You know she can’t spend the night on your chest,” said Dixie smiling at the pair on the bed.  “You’d never get any sleep then.”

“I know,” he replied with a slight smile.  “But it feels so good to have her in my arms.  I don’t mind the weight, in a way it’s comforting.  At least I know she is safe.  I just wish I knew if her mother was.”

“Johnny, he’s not going to do anything to hurt Bree.  He’s invested too much time in stalking her and waiting for the right moment to whisk her away,” said Mandy.  “He thinks he is in love with her and wants her to love him.”

“And what if she doesn’t reciprocate those feelings, what if she is fighting him all the way?” asked Johnny.  “He might hurt her because of that.  She’s not going to give into him…you and I both know that.”

“That’s true but she might also realize she won’t see you or Sierra again if she doesn’t play along with his game.  It will probably take her a few times before she realizes that but she will figure it out.”

“I sure hope so but I can tell you this as soon as I am out of here, I’m gonna go looking for her,” Johnny said with a little bit more force than he had planned.

Sierra stirred a little bit on Johnny’s chest but settled back down.  He looked down upon his daughter’s wavy hair smoothing in with his hand.  Smiling sheepishly at his two visitors, he continued the conversation.

“I know, I know…I can tell by the look in your eyes that neither one of you think it’s a good idea for me to take off looking for Bree.”

“Of course we are going to think that,” stated Dixie.  “Are you a fool?  Let the detectives figure this out.  You need to stay here and take care of your daughter…not go off on a foolish quest for Bree.  You have no idea where to even start looking.”

“Neither do the detectives,” retorted Johnny.  “But…”

“No buts about it, Johnny,” chimed in Mandy.  “Dixie is right.  Besides, the detectives haven’t finished going through the McNamara ranch yet.  From what Detective Crockett told me, there were a lot of file cabinets and boxes…and they plan on going through every one of them.”

Before Johnny could say another word, Mandy continued with her narrative.  “And another thing, just where in the world would you start looking?  He has training in survival skills.  He knows how to cover his tracks.  If anything, you could find yourself in the middle of nowhere, health going down the tubes and no one is here to help you.”

Both women stood on either side of his hospital bed.  From the looks he was getting and the way they were standing, Johnny knew he was not going to win this argument at all.  He lifted one hand in supplication and threw them a lopsided grin in hopes they would forget the whole thing.

He couldn’t help but chuckle as Dixie looked at him with one eyebrow raised up that pretty much said ‘You’ve already tried my patience once today…it’s not gonna happen again.’

The trio sat in silence, listening to the soft breathing of the child sleeping safely with the arms of her father.  The fluttering of her heartbeat assured him that her dreams were undisturbed, but the thought then came to him…who would watch her while he was stuck here recuperating.  He knew the likely choice was Mandy but he hated dumping his dilemma on her.

“Uh…Mandy…I got to ask you something,” he said.

“What’s up?” she queried even though she thought she knew what he was going to ask her to do.

“Is it gonna be an inconvenience if you have to take care of Sierra while I’m stuck here in the hospital?  I mean I know I don’t have the right to ask you this, but I don’t know who else I can ask.”

Glancing sideways at Dixie, Mandy replied to his question.  “Well, Johnny, you have to realize this is gonna put a bit monkey wrench in…” She stopped there and started to giggle when she was the stunned look on his face.

“Good grief, Johnny!” exclaimed Mandy.  “Do you honestly believe I would tell you no.  There is no way I would let you pass my niece off to anyone else.”

Blushing at the teasing he had gotten, Johnny replied, “Well I thought I’d better ask you.  My aunt told me to never assume someone will do something for you.  But seriously, I appreciate you taking care of her for me.”

“My pleasure and I’m gonna let you in on a little secret…the lab is giving me a couple of months leave of absence to take care of my niece during this little crisis.  Once you are one hundred percent healed and back to work, we will work out a schedule for Sierra’s care.”

Dixie looked up at the clock.  “You know, I think we had better call it a night.  It’s almost 7:30 and I have been here way longer than I planned.  Visiting hours ends in half an hour.”

Mandy took Sierra’s blanket and wrapped it around her before she picked the child up from Johnny’s chest.  He softly placed one more kiss on his daughter’s head before Mandy took her home.  He whispered goodbye with a promise from Mandy that she would bring Sierra back tomorrow afternoon to see her daddy.

**************************

Two days after Sierra’s return, anything that could go wrong did go wrong.  Johnny started running a temp along with fever and chills.   He did his hardest to keep it hidden from the nurses but eventually one caught on and ‘tattled’ on him as he put it when Brackett came bursting into his room.

 

Grabbing the stethoscope out of his pocket, he placed one end of Johnny’s chest and told him to take a deep breath.  Hearing the crackles and a few other abnormal breath sounds, Brackett ordered arterial blood gases, CBC and x-ray of Johnny’s chest to rule out pneumonia.  As they all suspected the results came back positive for pneumonia.

 

He then ordered O2 for Johnny via nasal cannula at first…if no improvement, he ordered a switch to the face mask.  Next he placed Johnny on a high dose of antibiotics and IV fluids in hopes of slowing down the progression of the pneumonia.

 

Johnny lay back in the bed and rolled his eyes at the commotion going on around in his room.  He knew he should have told them the minute he felt the rush of warm and then cold but he just didn’t want to admit that this was happening.  He couldn’t help feeling irritated that his body had betrayed him a week after his chest tube had finally been removed.  He knew that this meant now Mandy would not be able to bring Sierra up for visits.

 

He barely heard what Brackett had to say to the nurses as he let the weariness his body was once more feeling take over.  Sleep seemed like a really good idea at the time.

 

*************************

  He was all smiles a week and a half later when Brackett finally told him he would be released from the hospital.  The past four days had been hell around the hospital.  When the doctor came up to tell him about his discharge, he had half-jokingly/half-seriously stated that he would be glad to see his ‘infamous’ patient leave and maybe then the hospital would be back to normal.

 

While the guys were waiting for Johnny’s escort for discharge, they hashed over some of the stranger things that had happened while Johnny was a patient.  Johnny had confessed to Roy that all the attention he was getting there was starting to wear a little thin…especially from one nurse in particular.

He explained to Roy that on his fourth night in the ICU he had wound up with Traci as his nurse for the evening.  He said it had been hard to keep a civil tongue in his mouth while she was in the room.  In an appalled tone of voice, he embarrassingly squeaked out to Roy that the woman wanted to give him a sponge bath.  It took all of Roy’s self-control to keep him from laughing out, especially when he saw the look on Johnny’s face and the blush that was creeping up his face.

 

Roy couldn’t keep the laughter out of his voice as he asked Johnny how he was able to get out of that predicament Johnny chuckled as he said that if it hadn’t been for Dixie coming up on her break to see how he was doing, he didn’t think he would have gotten out of it.

 

The other topic of conversation was the media circus that had once more camped out on the lawn across the street from Rampart.  It turned out that even the station house was not immune to the reporters, due to the article that surfaced in the LA Times.

 

A week after Sierra had been found, a reporter for the LA Times who covered court proceedings had overheard a conversation between two women.  The discussion centered on a child that had turned up in a border town in Nevada.  The reporter’s eyes widen when he heard who the women were talking about.  Sitting for a few minutes longer, he strained his ears and smiled softly when he heard the name of the child’s father mentioned along with the fact that said father was currently at patient at Rampart General Hospital.

 

Roy recalled the morning he showed up to work and after their duties had been completed, had found Chet hunkered down in a corner of the sofa and softly chuckling to himself.  He recounted that day to Johnny while they waited for the discharge papers and instructions.

 

“Alright, Chet, give it up,” stated Roy.  “What is it that you are finding so amusing in today’s paper?”

 

Chet slowly lowered the newspaper in his hands down so he could see the others and threw a half-smile in their direction.  “Well, Roy, I don’t know if you would classify this as amusing or not, but I can guarantee what I am reading is definitely going to make life interesting around here…and maybe around Rampart too.”

 

“What the heck are you talking about, Kelly?” Roy asked impatiently.

 

“Don’t you get the paper at home, Roy?” countered Chet.  When Roy shook his head, Chet continued on.  “There is an article in here about Bree, her LA County firefighter and their love child.  Care to explain that one?”

 

Roy shot out of his chair, quickly strode over to Chet, literally grabbing the newspaper out his hands.  He stood there and read an article that talked of county rock singer, Bree Montgomery’s disappearance and her connection to LA County firefighter, John Gage, and their love child.  The story covered the missing parts of the stalker case that had been mentioned in the People Magazine article from a month ago and also revealed the name of the father of Bree’s child.

 

The article covered about half the page and continued on to say that a child who had recently been found in Beatty, Nevada was the daughter of Bree Montgomery and Johnny Gage of LA County Fire Station 51…but that the mother was still missing.  The writer was speculating if this was a case of a runaway mother or did Bree’s stalker actually achieve his goal of capturing the singer.  With the rumors that have been heard running rampant through the streets of LA and the music halls of Nashville, Bree Montgomery has been more than likely been taken by her stalker who was leaving a wave of destruction behind him.

 

“Holy crap!” exclaimed Roy.  Turning to Chet, he asked “Has Cap seen this?”

 

“No, I just spotted it as I was reaching for the sports page.”

 

“Damn,” he stated.  “I’ll be back.  I’d better let the Cap know about this.”

 

Roy swiftly walked to the Captain’s office.  Just outside the office door, Roy could hear that the captain was on the phone to headquarters and knew by the tone of his voice that he was being informed of the breech and to prepare for the onslaught of news media that would soon be bombarding them.

 

What happened after that caused nothing but chaos at Rampart Hospital.  The first two days were the worst.  Reporters left and right were trying their best to sneak into the hospital, even going so far as posing as someone in need of emergency care.  The head nurse in the ER put a stop to that charade.

 

A reporter who tried to sneak in under the guise of someone with severe abdominal distress and intestinal spasms found himself in the direct care of ER Head Nurse Dixie McCall.  Dixie immediately requested an order for a colonoscopy and endoscopy from Dr. Early for the poor soul.  When she explained to the patient what these procedures entailed, the ‘patient’ pronounced himself miraculously cured as he stood up to walk out of the treatment room.  Dixie forestalled him long enough to impart words of wisdom to him…spread the message, she said, that any other reporter tries to put this type of stunt again will be prosecuted for wasting the time of the hospital staff and of those patients who legitimately need their services.

 

Johnny laughed as that story was brought up once more.  He would never get tired of hearing it.  After that little incident, the reporters moved across the street once more, but the chaos didn’t stop with that.  Not only was it known that Johnny was a patient at Rampart but that he also worked at Station 51 on 223rd Street in Carson, California.  So the reporters who were tired watching the hospital now descended on the station house causing problems for the firefighters there.

 

“Quit your pacing and sit down, junior,” stated Roy with a chuckle.  “It’s not gonna help get the discharge papers here faster.”

Johnny stopped long enough to shoot a glare at his friends before he continued with his pacing.  “I know, Roy.  I just want to get out of here and start figuring out how to go about getting ahead of this…this guy who has Bree.”

Even though they knew the identity of Bree’s stalker, Johnny just couldn’t bring himself to say his name.  To say his name would make this nightmare all the more real to him and he just wasn’t ready for that.

“Johnny, you know what the detectives said to you…you need to stay out of the way and out of their investigation.  They have been at the McNamara ranch turning the place upside down in hopes of finding any type of clue of where he might have gone.”

“Yeah, I know but it doesn’t stop me from wanting to be a part of it,” replied Johnny.  “It’s just with being stuck here for three weeks, all I had time to do is think…think about where she could be, how she is and how he might be treating her.”

Knowing that Roy was playing the devil’s advocate, he decided to steer the topic away from the investigation.  “So how is the reporter problem at the station house?”

“Nice switch of the topic, junior,” chuckled Roy.  “It’s gotten better.  Headquarters put down the law just like Brackett did here.  There’s a few reporters sitting across from the station house but none of them have tried to step foot on the grounds.”

“Cap’s got to like that,” started Johnny with a hint of sarcasm.

“He just loves the attention,” retorted Roy with the same amount of sarcasm.  “The Chief was even more fun to deal with.  We thought for sure you were going to wind up with Cap as a roommate one night.”

“Anyone ready to blow this pop stand?” asked Dixie as she entered the room.

Johnny’s grin got wider as he realized he was free to go.  His smile dropped a bit when he saw the wheelchair that Dixie was pushing.

“Do I really have to ride in that thing?” he asked petulantly.

“You should know the hospital rules by now, Johnny,” she teased.  “Your chariot is awaiting your arrival…and so the public outside.”

“What?”

Roy chortled at the expression on Johnny’s face.  “Come on, junior.  After the conversation we just had about the media circus due to the LA Times article, do you honestly think they wouldn’t be waiting to see when you leave?”

“Aw, man, I was hoping that it had blown over,” stammered Johnny.

“Seriously, junior.  You and Bree are one of the hottest topics in LA right now,” stated Roy.  “I’ve even caught a few strange cars cruising down my street checking to see if you are at my place.”

“How the heck am I gonna get out of here in one piece without being seen by the goon squad out there?” queried Johnny with an irritated look on his face.

“Have you forgotten the policy in place that keeps the media from stepping foot in the hospital?” stated Dixie.  “Besides it’s not going to matter if you are seen or not, they know where you work and I am sure it won’t be long before they figure out where you live.”

Johnny’s reply was intelligible as he sat down in the wheelchair.  Just from his tone of voice, Roy knew he was rolling his eyes in exasperation at the whole thing.  He held the door open for Dixie to wheel Johnny out and followed closely behind.  A few of the student nurses were grouped around the edge of the nurses’ station hoping for a glimpse of their favorite patient.

Tilting his head towards the side and glancing up at Dixie, Johnny whispered for her to hurry up the elevator as the students were giggling when they saw him.  Dixie laughed at his discomfort but took pity on him.  She threw her “get to work” glare at the girls which sent them scattering in all directions.

***************************

Roy decided to take the long way around as to hopefully confuse anyone who had the idea of following them, but he really didn’t have to worry about it.  Most of the reporters who were waiting on the curb across the street from Rampart never gave his car a second look.

When Dixie had wheeled Johnny outside the ER door where Roy had parked, they discovered that luck was on their side as an ambulance was parked alongside obstructing the view from across the street.  To play it safe though, Johnny slouched down, pulling a baseball cap lower over his face Roy couldn’t help but chuckle as to him Johnny looked like a little old man.

He was still chuckling when he finally turned down the road that would get him back towards the highway and on the way back to Johnny’s ranch.

“Johnny, I think it’s safe for you to sit up,” chuckled Roy.

Shaking his head as he pulled the cap off, Johnny replied, “I was starting to feel a little cramped sitting like.  What’d you do…drive all over the place?”

“Pretty much.  I thought it best to take the long way just to make sure we weren’t being followed,” stated Roy.  “You never know…besides that LA Times reporter is pretty resourceful and she hasn’t printed anything since her rival scooped her.”

Johnny laughed at that one.  He finally breathed a sigh of relief that he was heading home.  Home…things will pretty much have changed out there.  He was still having a hard time dealing with the fact that the madman whom had been making all of their lives a living nightmare had finally achieved his goal…Bree.  He turned and stared out the window at the vehicles flying by them as Roy entered the highway for a short trip to the exit that would take him home.

Roy watched the conflicting emotions race across Johnny’s face.  For the last week when they knew he would be discharged shortly to home, they (meaning Dixie, Mandy, Joanne and Roy) were hoping that they would be able to talk Johnny into staying in town for a week or so, just to make sure that he was recovering okay. 

Johnny adamantly kept refusing as he said he didn’t want to be a burden to anyone.

Each was deep within their thoughts.  Johnny knew that Roy had been hoping that he would relent and stay in town.  He just didn’t want to.  He wanted to spend time with his daughter…definitely…but he had a ranch to take care of and deep within his heart he knew that Sierra was better with Mandy while Bree was missing.  He just didn’t think he would be able to cope with an active child.

It was so automatic to both Roy and Johnny that neither one of them paid attention to the landmarks that led them to Johnny’s home.  The car smoothly came to stop at the intersection, waited for its turn to cross the intersection before it proceeded.  Had they been paying attention, they might have recognized the news van parked at the gas station near that intersection.

Turning down the road that would bring them to the ranch, Roy glanced over at Johnny, concerned for his friend’s state of mind.  Ever since learning that Bree had been kidnapped from their home while he was lying injured in the hospital, Johnny had been beating himself up for not being there to protect her.  No matter what he, Joanne or Dixie said, they just couldn’t convince him that there was nothing he could have done considering the situation he himself had been in at that time.  Not even Bree’s cousin, Mandy, could get through to him.

He could tell that Johnny was deep in thought and knew it was more than likely over this whole situation and just how he was going to get through it.  During his time in the hospital after Sierra and he had been reunited, Johnny had confided in Roy…his doubts of being able to look after Sierra on his own.  He had never been alone with the child and his fears were coming to the forefront.

No matter how many times he, Joanne or Mandy, even Dixie, tried to tell him that he was a natural with children and especially with his own, Johnny just couldn’t get past his fear.  Roy knew that Johnny still needed to come to grips with the loss of Bree and the fact that he might not get her back…if this stalker is able to keep her hidden.  He hoped that once his friend accepted the possibility of Bree actually returning to him the longer she is missing was slim then maybe he would be able to accept the role of single parent with his daughter.

Bringing the car to a halt, Roy turned the engine off and waited for Johnny to rejoin the land of the living.  The lack of movement finally broke through Johnny’s thoughts and he smiled sheepishly at Roy when he turned towards him.

“Why didn’t you say that we were here?” he asked.

Chuckling, Roy replied “Because I know what you are like if I disturb your ‘deep thinking’.”

“Shut up,” groused Johnny.

 

 

Neither man made a move to exit the vehicle but instead just sat there in uncomfortable silence for what seemed like ages.  Finally, Johnny reached for the handle of the car door and opened it.

 

“Johnny, are you…” began Roy.

 

“We’ve been over this already, Roy,” interrupted Johnny.  “As much as I appreciate the offer, I want to be in my own home.  Besides, if someone tries to call about Bree, I need to be here.”

 

Roy opened the door to get out and help Johnny with his belongings when he heard his friend address him again.

 

“Get home to your own family, Roy.  Joanne and the kids need you right now.  They were still trying to deal with the car accident when my injury and Bree’s kidnapping took place.  That’s too much for them and they could use your strength.  I’ll be fine, Pally.”

 

Placing his hands on the roof of his vehicle, he glanced across at his partner and said, “Just promise me this, junior.  Don’t hesitate to call if it gets to be too much for you here on your own…and I’m not talking about your injury, I’m talking about the emotional side of this.”

 

“I promise, Roy,” said Johnny with sincerity.  “I really do appreciate what you and Joanne have done for me.  Now, get going.”

 

Grabbing his bag from the floor of the front seat, he headed towards his home.  Roy stood and watched him slowly walk up the sidewalk.  His heart broke as he could see the defeat in Johnny’s posture.

 

In six short months, Johnny found a lost love, learned he had a child and began a new life with both the mother of his child and the child herself.  But also within those six months, a danger had reared its ugly head in the form of a stalker that had followed Bree in the last year of her career as a country rock singer.  As he backed up and headed back towards town, Roy thought to himself that most people would have crumbled under that stress but instead those two had found an unusual strength in each other that was unbreakable…until now.

 

********************************

 

Opening the door to his home, Johnny took a deep breath and turned to wave goodbye to his friend, letting him know he would be okay.  He stood a little longer watching as Roy headed back home towards his family.  He had to take a few more deep breaths before he would allow himself into the ranch house.

 

He flipped the light switch and could see there was nothing left to indicate there had been a struggle in the house.  He let the bag in his hand drop to the ground, standing there listening to the silence in the house.  It no longer felt like a home.  No cooing or squealing coming from his daughter’s playpen.  No scrumptious smells wafting from the kitchen as Bree cooked.

 

As quickly as he felt the overwhelming desire to curl up and hide from the world, Johnny straightened his shoulders and purposefully strode towards the patio doors.  Resting his body against the patio window, he unlocked the door and wrenched it open.  He needed to smell the fresh air and hear the sounds of the world outside that door.

 

But before he could even step outside, the phone rang.  Surprisingly he jumped as the noise broke the silence he had surrounded himself.  Turning around, he walked the few steps to the kitchen and picked up the receiver.

 

“Hello.” he said to the phone.

 

There was no reply and once he said “Hello.”  When he did not receive an answer, he then asked “Is anyone there?”

 

He heard a click in his ear followed by the dial tone.  Johnny looked at the phone and wondered why someone couldn’t just tell him that they had the wrong number.  It was one of his pet peeves when people mistakenly dialed the wrong number and couldn’t say anything but instead would rudely hang up on you.  He placed the receiver back on the holder and headed back outside.

 

Johnny sat down on the lounge chair and gazed up towards the mountains he could see beyond the barn.  In his mind’s eye, he could see the horses he received as a birthday gift from Bree and his friends, running in the pasture just behind the corral.  He had shared that dream with Bree and she was wholeheartedly behind the idea as she loved horses and wished to ride again.

 

She had surprised him once again with that admission of hers.  In a way he still saw her as a city girl playing country girl.  She would laugh as she reminded him that her grandparents had owned the ranch that they were now living on and she learned how to ride horses under her grandfather’s tutelage.

 

Finding it hard to even sit outside without thinking of her, Johnny stood up and went back into the house.  He walked back to the front door to pick up his discarded bag.  With a deep sigh, he headed to the master bedroom and sat down on the edge of the bed.  He kicked the bag on the floor next to him towards the wall.  Maybe Roy was right, he thought, maybe I should have stayed with him and the family.

 

Johnny relaxed back upon the bed, resting his head on his pillow.  He glanced over at the clock noting that it was 4 p.m. in the afternoon.  Rolling onto his side, he pulled Bree’s pillow over to him and inhaled her scent that lingered in the folds of the pillowcase.  His last thought before sleep overtook him was that she was safe and unharmed.

 

Once more he found himself in the dark, only this time he recognized the scent in the air around him.  She was nearby but it would impossible to find her without light.  No sooner had the thought entered his mind did the room lighten up…not by much but enough so he could move around without tripping over something unseen.

 

Johnny placed his hand upon the wall and used it as a guide to feel what was around him.  Before too long he found a corner but no door.  He could feel the frustration in him rising to the surface as it became clear to him that there was no way out.  Suddenly he found himself enveloped by a stronger wave of Bree’s perfume.

 

“Bree?” he asked

 

He quickly turned around but saw nothing to indicate she was there with him.  Fear soon over took his frustration as deep down he knew he was running out of time…that if he didn’t locate her he would lose her.  Keeping one hand on the wall, he began to run.  He needed to find a way out and needed to find it fast.

 

Feeling the rough texture of the wall as he ran, he wondered why he hadn’t stumbled upon a door or a window.  All at once, he found himself falling to his knees and when he opened his eyes he now discovered himself in a meadow with the mountains and forest ahead of him.  Brushing himself off as he stood up, he couldn’t help wonder what Bree was trying to tell him this time.

 

Johnny then heard a child’s cry.  Sprinting into the meadow, he called out his daughter’s name, hoping that she wouldn’t quit crying.  Adrenaline kept him going when he felt like his lungs were ready to give out.  He spotted a child’s car seat a short distance ahead of him, right on the edge of the forest.

 

“Sierra!” he cried as he slid to stop next to the car seat and dropped to his knees.  Quickly he grabbed the car seat and turned it around…only to find it empty.  Looking up to the sky, he couldn’t help but scream in anguish…

 

His eyes flew open as he felt the hand cover his mouth.  Panic set in as he found he couldn’t move.  In the darkened room he discovered it was nigh to impossible to see who had invaded his home and was holding him down.

 

Softly a voice whispered in his ear, “You will never find her.”

 

Johnny struggled in vain against his captor.  He could hear the heartless chuckle and soft wisp of breath against his neck.

 

“Struggling will get you nowhere,” stated the voice.  “I want you to heed my warning.  If you try to find her, if you try to locate me…you will never see her again.  Do you understand?”

 

Johnny nodded his head in answer to the question.   He felt the weight on his chest lessen as the intruder’s knee was removed.  He tested the bindings that were wrapped around his wrists and ankles, tied to the bed posts.

 

“I am going to loosen only one of your bindings but remember, chase after me and it will be the last time.  I have no qualms about killing someone and you are no exception.  Do not move for ten minutes or I will make sure it is she who does not survive.”

 

Johnny’s eyes widen with that last statement.  The hand was removed from his mouth and as he moved his tongue over his teeth and the side of his cheeks in hopes that he could coax some moisture to appear, he felt the binding on his right wrist loosen up.  He then heard the voice say one last time, “Ten minutes,” before he heard the patio door in the master bedroom close.

 

Ten minutes be damned, he thought, as he pulled his arm in all directions causing the binding around his right wrist to finally fall off.  Shifting his position slightly, he was able to reach the dangling end of the rope around his left wrist.  He pulled once, then twice before it finally unraveled.  In a few short minutes, he had his ankles free and swung his legs over the end of the bed.

 

Heedless of the need to recover slowly, he jumped up and ran in the direction he thought the intruder had gone.  Reaching the edge of the patio, he saw no sign of the intruder anywhere.  As he listened to the night sounds, he could not make out anything that sounded like any type of vehicle.

 

Johnny leaned against a post to try to bring his racing heart under control and catch his breath, but he couldn’t rein in his mind.  All he could think about was that Bree’s kidnapper had gotten into the house…but how?  Different scenarios ran through his brain but the one he kept coming back to was that this guy is the real thing…he must have Bree’s key ring and that’s how he was able to get in without being detected.

 

As he realized that he couldn’t stay out at the ranch alone if this guy had a way into the house, he turned to slowly walk back in and call Roy.  As he reached for the light switch, he felt the vertigo hit him like a brick wall.  Slowly he inched his way back to the bed.  Sitting on the edge of it, he placed his head between his knees and waited for the dizziness to pass.

 

“Damn!” he said out loud as he sat back up.  “Brackett is not going to like this.  If he finds out I’m still experiencing dizziness, he’s gonna put me right back in Rampart.”

 

He groaned out loud as he thought how he was able to beat the pneumonia that plagued him shortly after the chest tube had been removed and had been able to hide the dizziness that plagued him.  He knew he had no choice but call his friend for help.

 

**************************************

 

Roy leaned back against the couch and sighed as Joanne rubbed the knots out of his shoulders.  The kids had just gone to bed and they were watching the movie of the week on TV.

 

As she absentmindedly rubbed her husband’s shoulders, Joanne could tell Roy wasn’t really into watching the movie.  She knew he was enjoying the shoulder rub as every so often as soft groan would escape from him.  She leaned down and placed a kiss on the top of his head and smiled as he reached up with his hand and squeezed her hand on his shoulder.

 

“Worried about Johnny?” she asked as she kept massaging him.

 

“I can’t help it,” he replied.  “He looked so defeated as he walked into the house.  It took everything I had not to go after him and insist that he come stay with us.”

 

“And if you had, he would have argued with you and then what…you would have left mad and he would be sitting there stewing about the argument,” stated Joanne.  “If you want me to, tomorrow after I drop Chris off at school I could drive out there and see how he is.”

 

Roy turned around and got up on his knees asking, “Would you mind doing that?”

 

Joanne just smiled at her husband and nodded.  Roy placed his hands on either side of his wife’s face and leaned to kiss her.  As he deepened his kiss, he pulled her into his embrace and felt her agreement to his unspoken request.   Standing up, Roy put his hand out to help Jo up off the couch.  In a spontaneous move, he swept her up into his arms and headed towards their bedroom.

 

He had only gone about halfway down the hall when the phone rang.  His plan was to ignore it but Joanne told him it could be Johnny.  She laughed when he set her back on her feet and shuffled back to the phone.

 

“Hello?” he asked.

 

“Roy, it’s Johnny,” was the reply.  Roy could tell that something wasn’t right just by the tone of Johnny’s voice.  Joanne could see the concern in her husband’s eyes and stepped closer to him.

 

“What’s the matter, Junior?” he asked as he pulled Joanne to his side.

 

“Roy, I think that Bree’s kidnapper has been in this house,” stated Johnny.  “I was tired so I went to lie down…”

 

Interrupting his partner as he knew Johnny could ramble when he was upset, Roy said, “Johnny, I’m on my way.  Don’t argue with me, Junior.  You are not staying out there and that’s that!”

 

Roy hung up the phone and turned to his wife and told his wife to get Johnny’s room ready as he grabbed his keys from the dresser in the bedroom.


“Roy, what happened?” she asked nervously.

 

“Johnny said he got woken up by someone in the house who told him that he will never find Bree.  I can’t tell if he is shook up about it or if he is really mad.”

 

Joanne couldn’t help but gasp out loud before she asked, “Is he going to come and stay with us?”

 

“Yes,” stated Roy.  “I’ll call you when I reach Johnny’s place.”

 

He quickly kissed her goodbye and ran out the door.  Joanne watched her husband as he backed out of the driveway and flew down the street.  She shut the door and locked it, saying a silent prayer as she headed into the room that Johnny used when he would stay with them.

************************************

After he talked with Roy, he ran back outside to look one more time to see there was any sign of the person who had gotten into his home.  He only had a small flashlight in which to conduct his search and when that didn’t help him locate even a footprint, he threw it in frustration.  His irritation was mounting with each passing day with no clue of Bree’s whereabouts.

Johnny leaned back against one of the supporting columns of the patio.  Staring up in the dark towards the outlines of the mountains, he went over and over in his mind what the man had said to him, “You will never find her.”  He wasn’t sure what irked him more…the fact that this idiot got into his home or the fact that he was told not to try and find her.  If anything he was more determined than ever to instigate himself into the investigation of Bree’s disappearance.

Deciding he didn’t want to spend another moment in the house, Johnny turned around.  Once back inside, he grabbed his gear and checked to make sure all doors and windows were locked.  Johnny took one more look around his home and wondered if it would ever feel like home again.  Shutting off the main light, he locked the door and shut it behind him.  For some reason, Johnny felt like it would never be the same again.

**************************

  Just a little bit closer, she thought, as she stretched her fingers over the top of the cabinet.  Even though she was too short to see over the edge of the cabinet, she had felt the key ring that Ethan had tossed up there.  So concentrated she was on getting the keys that she never heard the door open.

“What the hell do you think you are doing?” he shouted.  Bree swung around abruptly and in the process lost her precarious foothold on the counter. 

“That is gonna leave a mark,” she stated to herself as she slowly sat up.

“What stupid thing were you up to?” Ethan shouted at her as he yanked her to her feet. 

“Did you honestly think for one moment that I was sitting up here waiting patiently for your return?” replied Bree sarcastically.  “What surprised me was how long it took me to realize what you were tossing on top of that cupboard.”

Shaking his hand loose from her arm, she rubbed her backside as she stepped away from Ethan.  He didn’t miss the look of distain that she threw at him.

“Don’t you dare turn away from me, Bree, or I will…” he started to say.

She wheeled around and spat at him.  “Or you will what?  Lock me up.  That’s a little redundant since I already am.  You leave me to spend my days in this cabin with the books you know I like but pretty much nothing else to do.  So tell me what will you do to me?”

His eyes narrowed at her tirade as he struggled to maintain his control.   “I’m doing this for your own good.  You are far too reckless in what you do…”

Bree watched as Ethan paced back and forth in front of her, going on about how she should be more careful…more careful in who she associates with, who she is seen with, who she loves.  Confusion was written all over her face as she couldn’t keep up with his train of thought.  He seemed to be jumping from one topic to another never really finishing a sentence.

When he called her ‘Lilly’, she knew there was something deeply disturbed inside him.

“What did you call me?” she asked softly.  Ethan heard the soft spoken question and stopped his pacing to face Bree.

“I called you by your name, Bree,” he replied.

“No, you didn’t, Ethan.  You called me, Lilly.  Who is Lilly?”

“No one,” he stated nervously.  He could feel his self-control slowly unwinding.  “I hope you understand I am doing this for your own good.”

“The only thing I understand is that I am being held against my will somewhere I don’t know and chained to the floor,” Bree replied more calmly than she felt.  “Ethan, you disappear for days on end, leaving me chained.  I haven’t been able to take a decent bath in weeks.  I’m even still in the same shorts I had on when you were here three weeks ago.”

Plucking up some courage from who knows where, Bree walked up to her captor, placing her fingers on his arm.  He looked down at the hand on his arm and then into her pleading eyes.

“All I want is for you to remove the chain, Ethan.  I give you my word that I will not try to take off.  Besides, where would I go?  I have not a clue of where we are or how far civilization is from here.  You keep the door locked from the outside and with the windows barred…I couldn’t leave if I tried.”

Even though his self-control was close to fraying, Ethan walked over to the cupboard, reached up and grabbed the keys he had caught Bree trying to locate.  He knelt by her side, unlocking the shackle and removing it from her leg.  He cringed when he saw the red roughened scar around her ankle from the rubbing of the shackle.  She felt rather than saw him gently caress the wound on her ankle.  His gentleness surprised her.

“Ethan…” she started to say.

Not trusting himself to say another word, Ethan turned to walk away but Bree prevented him from reaching the front door.  She looked up at him with unanswered questions in her eyes.

“Please,” she said.

That was his undoing.  She heard the groan escape from him before she felt the grasp of his hands on her arms.  He pulled her to him, lowering his head to kiss her…gently.  Again the gentleness she felt from him astonished her.  He could feel her resistance waver for a second and deepened the kiss to drive his point home.

Emotions raced across Bree’s mind as for a split second she allowed herself to be carried away by his kiss.  The realization of what she was doing broke through her subconscious and drove home just how close she was to giving in to him.

With all her might, Bree brought her hands up to Ethan’s chest and shoved as hard as she could.  He staggered backwards as the shock of her strength registered in his eyes.

Self-control was lost.  His anger won out.  Within two steps, Ethan reached out for Bree who was cowering against the wall.  He reached out and grabbed her arm.  Pulling her towards him, he flung her over his shoulder and strode purposefully into the bedroom.  Tossing her on the bed, he turned and shut the door, locking it.

Once she stopped bouncing on the bed, Bree scrambled to get off it and tried to keep the bed between she and Ethan.  She had no idea what set him off but from the look in his eyes, he was hell-bent on hurting her…or someone.

Ethan slowly turned to face Bree.  He could see her on the other side of the bed…her chest heaving with her terrified breathing.  He took two steps before she threw the first item off the dresser at him.  He deflected it with his arm.  Two more missiles came in his direction but did not deter him from his mission.

She tried to scramble across the bed before he got to her but wasn’t fast enough.  She felt his strong hand grasp her good ankle and pull her back to the middle of the bed before she even had a chance to escape.  Her body did a flip before she landed back on the bed and found herself staring into his dark, dead eyes.

The last thing her conscious mind remembered was him reaching for her shirt and the weight of his body on the bed as he lowered himself towards her.

 

Continued in Part 7

Posted to Site 1/30/14

 

Links to Parts 1. 2. 3. 4.

5. 6. 7.

 

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