Chapter 13

If pacing could be an art, Nick was positive everyone in Brian’s house had perfected it.  Brian could be found pacing anywhere and everywhere, muttering little prayers and occasionally banging his head against a nearby wall until someone stopped him.  AJ would hover over Regan’s shoulder and, when she would get annoyed, he would pace behind her back.  Occasionally, when she was waiting for information, Regan would get up and pace with him.  Nick knew there was something going on between them, but he thought it best not to say anything. 

Finally, Nick thought, there was Kelly.  He still wasn’t sure how she and Brian had come to be such close friends, but she was there, sticking through the rough stuff with him.  Nick had often watched her force food into Brian just to make sure he wouldn’t turn into a skeleton.  Which, Nick knew, Brian was in danger of doing.  He’d brought the problem up with Kevin, AJ, Harry, and Howie, and the five of them had decided that whoever managed to get any sort of edible product into Brian had their full support.  Still, Nick thought it was strange that, while she was making sure Brian was still eating, Kelly looked as though she was losing weight each day she was with them.

Nick glanced around the nursery he stood in and shook his thoughts off.  Kelly could take care of herself, and, besides, he wasn’t here to worry about her.  He was worried about the kids and Sienna.

As his fingers brushed a plush teddy bear that sat on a shelf, he couldn’t help but remember holding Luke in his arms for the first time. That precious baby along with the twins had been born out of the amazing love Sienna and Brian had for each other.  He’d always been envious of those who found a love like that, but, with his best friend, he couldn’t have been happier.

He remembered the drama that had surrounded the birth of the twins.  How Brian had been angry, then shocked, and, finally, in awe of the fact that Sienna would give birth to their children.  After the twins were born and the Boys were still on tour, Brian would worry about the babies and how Sienna didn’t love him.  Of course, Nick remembered with a smile, there had been no reason to worry because everything had turned out perfectly.  Then Luke had come along.

When Nick had first seen Luke, the baby had been a week old.  Terrified that he would break him, Nick had stared down at the tiny baby and felt like the clumsiest idiot in the world.  Luke had stared up at him and just blinked his little eyes and made a face that seemed to say, “What? Haven’t you ever held a baby before? What’s wrong with you?”  When he’d said that to Brian, he’d laughed and said it was probably gas.  Babies made faces or smiled because of gas often.  Nick had been thoroughly disgusted but had still been in awe of the fact that he held such a tiny miracle.

Now, he looked down at the teddy bear he remembered giving to Serena on her first birthday and wondered where they were.  It was March twenty eighth, and it had been over a month since they had been taken.  Nick remembered watching the police officers sweep the sunroom for any material or biological evidence in the early days of the investigation.  They had seemed so sure of finding the kidnapper quickly, but it hadn’t happened yet.

Since then, the FBI had taken over, but they were still hitting dead ends.  He had heard Regan telling another member of her team that they no longer had any leads because the three men she had pinpointed had turned up clean.  It was back to the drawing board for the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  Nick felt bad for Regan because he’d heard her arguing with her superiors over continuing the search. They wanted to pull out some of her team to send off on different investigations, but Regan was fighting tooth and nail to keep them.

What about you? Nick asked himself as he headed towards the nursery door.  What have you done in the last few weeks when Brian’s needed you most?  The answer was nothing.  He’d given terrible advice and absolutely no consolation whatsoever.  He didn’t know what to do in a situation like the one they were currently in, and he felt so inept, so awkward.  And so out of place, Nick thought.  The only thing keeping him there was his love for Brian and his family.

Glancing around the pretty nursery decorated in blues, yellows, and greens, with traces of the twins and Luke everywhere, Nick closed his eyes.

“Please, God,” he whispered.  “Wherever they are, please keep them safe.  I haven’t been the best of people, but please do this for Brian and his innocent family.  Bring them home soon.”

Sighing, Nick stepped into the hallway and bumped into Brian.

“Hey,” Brian frowned.  “What were you doing in the nursery?”  He avoided looking over Nick’s shoulder into the room.

Nick shrugged and pulled the door closed behind him.  “I felt like seeing it.  I remembered the first time I ever held Luke.  How freaked out I was that I would break him,” Nick explained.

Brian smiled a little, remembering, too.  “You didn’t break him, Frack.  He’s a tough baby.”

Nick nodded.  “He is.  Your whole family’s tough.  You should remember that,” he told Brian.

Brian sighed.  “I’m trying, Nick.” He glanced down at his watch.  “It’s one in the morning.  Why are you still up?”

“Couldn’t sleep,” Nick said.  “What’s your excuse?”

Brian’s gaze shifted down.  “I can’t sleep either.  Have nightmares of finding my kids dead,” he mumbled.

“You’re still having those nightmares?” Nick asked gently.  “Brian, really, you shouldn’t have watched all those stupid movies on the tour buses when we were younger.”

“Hey! They were fun to watch!” Brian reminded him.

“But now that you’re reliving it in your subconscious with your kids replacing the movie characters? It’s not so fun,” Nick sighed.  “Look, I can go sit in your room until you fall asleep if that helps?”

Brian shook his head.  “No, I don’t want to ask you to do that again.  You should just go to sleep.  I’m gonna head back and try to close my eyes again.  See what happens.”

Nick shrugged.  “Okay, Bri.  But if you need anything, you know where to find me.” 

Squeezing Brian’s shoulder, he turned to walk down the hall towards the stairs.  He’d made it halfway to the stairs when Brian called to him.

“Nick!”

He turned and watched Brian expectantly.  “Yeah?”

Brian stared at the door to the nursery almost fearfully.  “I need to go in there.”

“Now?” Nick wondered what good it would do Brian to go in at so late at night when he was already exhausted and in emotional turmoil. Wouldn’t it make it worse?

Brian nodded, his gaze fixed on the door.  “Now.  Can you help me?”

Nick walked back to one of his oldest friends and placed a hand on his shoulder.  “Absolutely.”

Brian took a deep breath then, placing his hand on the doorknob, he turned it and stepped into the room.  The scent of baby powder hit him first.  The smell vividly brought his children to mind, and Brian’s eyes filled with tears he furiously tried to blink back.  Through the tears, he looked around the pastel-colored room.  He remembered painting it with Sienna looking over his shoulder to make sure everything was being done right.  He hadn’t let her help because he’d insisted that someone needed to take care of the girls.  She’d grumbled but had let him do what he wanted.

Knowing Nick was behind him, Brian walked over to the shelf full of toys and pictures.  His fingers trailed over the dolls, stuffed animals, and the little xylophone that Kara loved to bang her fists on.  He remembered joking with Sienna over how Kara was going to carry on the tradition of music.

When his fingers touched the painted wood of the shelf, he could remember when he’d been building it.  When he was younger, he’d hated woodshop because he’d always gotten splinters and, once, he’d broken the handsaw he’d been using.  The teacher hadn’t been too thrilled, but Brian had flashed him an innocent smile, and all had been well.  So, when he’d decided he was going to build some of the furniture for his children, he really hadn’t known what he was doing.  He’d screwed up so many times, but, in the end, he’d managed to build three bookcases and a chest for the toys.

Nick watched as Brian stood, his hand frozen on a shelf full of playthings, his eyes closed.  Worried, he made his way over to Brian and put a hand on his shoulder.

“Brian? Are you okay?”

Brian jolted and clouded blue eyes stared up at Nick, not recognizing him for a moment.  Then, he blinked.  “Nick? Yeah,” he sighed. “Yeah, I’m okay.  Just remembering when I built these.  They’ve managed to stay up.  Stay strong.”

“Like you,” Nick reminded him.  “Hang in there, buddy.”

Brian nodded and moved around the room, touching a stuffed penguin, the rocking chair, and a painting of a rainbow on one of the walls. Each thing he touched brought back a memory and made him smile.  He felt comforted by those memories and, somewhere inside his heart, a new bloom of hope blossomed.

He turned back to Nick.  “They’ll be home soon.  I can feel it,” Brian announced.

Nick smiled.  “That’s good.  Just keep your spirits up, Bri, because when they come home, you can’t look like you’ve been dying, either.  I mean, seriously, do you want Si to worry about you, too, on top of everything else?”

Brian shook his head.  “You’re right.  I know you’re right.  So, I’ll try being more optimistic, okay?”

“Okay.” Nick nodded and yawned.  “Bri, seriously, try to get some sleep.  You’ll feel better for it.”

“I feel better after being able to come in here,” Brian admitted, looking around the room again.  “It’s comforting.”

“Great,” Nick said.  “Stick with that comfort and get to bed.  You won’t have those nightmares, tonight.”

“Probably,” Brian mentally crossed his fingers.  “I’ll see you in the morning, Nick.”

They stepped into the hall, and Nick made his way to the stairs.  Pausing at the top, he looked back at Brian.

“Good night.”

***

“So close,” Regan murmured to herself as she scanned multiple files again.  “There’s something little missing here, somewhere.”

Regan knew she’d missed something the first time she’d been over the files of all her possible suspects.  Unless there was some random person who had just decided to kidnap the kids out of some psychological spite, she knew that she had missed something.

She had decided to bypass the three men she had done deep background checks on because they’d already come up clean and, this time, was going to go after all those she’d passed over before.  Regan knew she’d been careless the first time around, sure that she could figure it out so quickly because of her prior successes.  Pride had lead to the Littrell family still left out there, somewhere, in danger, and she knew it was her fault.  Which only made her work harder.

AJ stood in the doorway and watched her operate.  At one in the afternoon, she still wore pajamas, and her hair was up in a hastily-made bun.  He’d stayed with her the previous night, both of them falling asleep on the couch in the study.  He’d woken at six that morning to hear her mumbling about “needing to check on those two men again” and she’d been off.

From the past month, AJ had learned much about Regan, but not nearly as much as he wanted or needed to know.  He knew that she was obsessive, dedicated, driven to the point of exhaustion, and wouldn’t quit her work until she was falling down and apart.  He’d yet to see the falling apart, but he’d witnessed the falling down.  The first time had been the night he’d first kissed her. 

After that, once she’d begun to trust him and open up to him, he’d discovered that she wasn’t cold, not at all.  Lurking under the kick ass FBI agent was a caring, generous woman.  She had never met Sienna or Brian’s children, but her concern for them was beginning to surpass his own, AJ knew.  She dreamt of them and had told him about how she’d dreamed that Sienna was begging her to find them before it was too late.  That dream had spurred Regan to work herself harder and longer until she could find that missing link, that little bit of information that could pinpoint her kidnapper’s identity.

As for their relationship, AJ was content in letting it go wherever it pleased.  He’d never been with a woman who wasn’t trying to break into the music industry or establishing her career.  Regan was set in what she wanted to do with her life and was good at what she did. He knew she would never be completely dependent on him as so many other women had been, and the lack of that pressure made it easy for him to be around her. 

Since they’d decided to pursue a relationship, they’d kept everything low-key because Regan was terrified of Denise.  AJ knew his mother could be a little intimidating at times, so he hadn’t tried to persuade her to at least let him tell his mother what was between them. Besides, it had only been a week and a half since they’d begun their relationship, so AJ couldn’t actually see a reason to push for something more public.  He liked that she had begun to lean on him a little and was able to vent when things weren’t going well.

AJ straightened up from leaning against the doorframe and stepped into the room.

“Baby,” he murmured, pressing a kiss to her neck, “I think you should go get changed.  Take a shower.  You’ve got at least a half hour before a crisis could potentially hit.”

Regan turned around in her seat and smiled up at him.  “AJ, darling,” she began in a voice that told him she wasn’t serious.  “I need to concentrate, and that is impossible to do if I break that concentration by going and changing.”

“I’d rather you change first and then continue to search for my family,” Brian spoke up as he entered the study.

Regan looked over at him.  “Brian, I know you’re worried, but I feel like I’m really close to finding that missing link.”

Brian shook his head.  “That’s fine, Regan.  Really.  But AJ’s right.  I think you shouldn’t trade your life and health for the investigation.  I mean, if you get sick or don’t eat enough food, you might fall flat on your face.  And then, who’d help?”

Regan rolled her eyes.  “Men,” she muttered.  Then, sighing, she gave up.  “Okay.  I’ll go change, but, if something happens, it’s all your fault I wasn’t here.”

Brian nodded solemnly.  “I’ll take full responsibility for any crisis you’re not here to manage.  I promise.”  He tried to keep a straight face but burst into laughter at the stern look she gave him.  “Regan! It’s okay.  Look, I’m feeling really optimistic about this today.  I feel like we’re really close, too, and a half hour isn’t going to make a difference at this point in the investigation.”

Regan just rolled her eyes again and headed to the door.  As she reached it, Agent Bishop stepped in and, giving him quick instructions, Regan walked out.  Bishop, who Brian had pegged to be about forty five, nodded to both AJ and Brian then settled himself down at the desk with a stack of paperwork.

AJ raised a brow.  “What’s with all the paperwork?” he asked the agent.

Bishop looked over at AJ surprised.  “It’s a whole mess of paperwork,” he replied.  “Every step the team takes requires a whole slew of forms that detail the hows and whys of what we plan on doing.  Last week’s jaunts all over the country need a hell of a lot of papers to be filed and explained to the superiors back in D.C.”

“D.C.?” Brian wondered.  “So do all the agents on your team work and live in Washington?”

Bishop nodded.  “We do, indeed.  Headquarters is there, so that’s where we live, too.  It’s easier to live where you work.  Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to these.”

Brian nodded and motioned for AJ to follow him out of the room.  When they’d made it into the empty kitchen, Brian turned to AJ.

“What are you and Regan planning on doing once the investigation is over? Are you going to try to keep the relationship you’ve started?”

AJ’s brows shot up.  “How the hell do you know what’s going on between Regan and me?”

“AJ, anyone and everyone in this house can tell.  I think your mother figured it out last week when she was here.  There’s really no point in keeping it quiet,” Brian told him.  At AJ’s horrified look, Brian patted his shoulder.  “Relax AJ.  No one’s said anything because we’re focusing on my family, right now.  Though I think it’s great that you’re with Regan.  I mean, I would never have imagined you with an FBI agent, especially one as together as Regan is.  But, I guess the heart has its own mind, huh?”

AJ sighed.  “Believe me, if someone told me two months ago that I was going to start seeing an FBI agent, I would have laughed in their face.  But I really like Regan, and I’m going to do whatever it takes to keep this relationship going even after this whole nightmare is over,” he assured Brian.

Brian opened his mouth to say something, but the phone in his pocket rang.  Yanking it out as quickly as he could, he stared at the readout, a funny look crossing his face.

“What is it? Why aren’t you picking up?” AJ asked Brian.

Brian looked up at him, apprehension clearly stamped on his features.  “It’s from my place in Atlanta.  Who the hell would be calling from there?”

“Pick up the phone, Brian,” AJ told him.  “Just in case.”

Not bothering to ask what AJ meant by “just in case,” Brian answered the phone. 

“Hello?”

There was a short pause on the other end.  Then, the voice that cackled in Brian’s dreams spoke.  “It took you long enough to answer.  I thought you might not want your family back if you weren’t picking up.”

Brian tried not to panic.  “You’re calling from my house in Atlanta, aren’t you? How the hell did you get in?  Trespassing is a crime, you know,” he added casually.

Regan hurried into the kitchen, dressed, then, and, seeing Brian on the phone, her eyes widened.  She turned and hurried back down the hall to the study.  Brian watched her go then turned back to wait for an answer to his question.

“Well?” he asked again.

“No one could call you stupid, Brian,” the voice spoke in a much colder tone.  “You’re right, I am in your home.  It’s a very well kept place, and it’s obvious Sienna loves it.  I thought we might stay a while, but I must be going.”

Brian had latched onto one key piece.  “Sienna’s with you? Where is she? Where are the kids?” he demanded.

There was a chuckle on the other end.  “That’s right, your family is with me.  How else could I have gotten onto the property without setting off alarms.  Sienna knew the code, her fingerprints worked, and we were in so easily.  But, like I said, we must be going again. Although, I’ve left you a lovely present.  If you’d like it,” he added.

“What is it?” Brian asked, trying to calm himself down.  AJ squeezed his shoulder, comfortingly.

There was a pause, then, “Well, I can’t ruin the surprise.  But I really must be going.  Ciao,” and the line went dead.

Brian snapped the phone shut and bolted down to the study.  “He’s on my estate in Atlanta!” He rattled off the address to Regan, who was on the phone with the police in Atlanta.

When she’d given them all the information she had, Regan hung up and turned to Brian, who was now sitting on the floor, taking deep breaths.

She knelt next to him.  “Brian, tell me what happened,” she asked gently.

Brian exhaled and looked over at her.  “He said Sienna’s fingerprints got them onto the estate.  He’s still got my family with him and was planning on staying on that estate for a while, but he decided to keep moving.  That’s it,” Brian murmured.  “That’s all he said.  I couldn’t even hear any background noise.  I couldn’t tell if Sienna or the kids were there.”

Before Regan could respond, her phone rang again.  She snapped it up.  “Regan Daniels,” she began, then her brow furrowed.  “What? Why not?…Oh, well, if that’s all.”  She turned to Brian, holding out the phone.  “The police in Georgia need your permission to enter the premises of your estate,” she explained.

Brian nodded and, taking the phone, gave the police any information they needed.  When he hung up, he turned back to Regan.

“They’ll be gone by the time the cops get inside the gates.  I don’t know how he does it, but he manages to get in and out without anyone knowing it.  I have a special set up on the security system on that property,” he explained.  “Because I don’t use it often, any time anyone does get through those gates, the company automatically calls me to make sure everything is fine.  Most times, it is.  I just don’t understand how, this time, they slipped through.”

Regan pondered this for a few moments.  “What system do you have installed down there?  Is it Cartrech, too?”

Understanding dawning, Brian looked up at her, panicked.  “Yeah.  Yes, it is.  Damn it!” he stood and looked ready to put a fist through a wall.  “Of course he knew how to get past it.  He probably asked the company to change that policy on my account when he called about this place.  It’s like he’s had every step planned from the start,” Brian murmured.

Regan sighed.  “He seems meticulous.  He probably has had it planned from the beginning.”

AJ looked at both of them and glanced over at Nick and Kelly, who had both come in during all the commotion.  “So, now what?” he asked Regan.

She looked at him.  “Now? Now, we wait for the cops to call from Atlanta and let us know what’s going on,” she replied.

Within thirty seconds, the phone rang again, and Regan snatched it up.

“Well? Did you find anything?” she demanded.  After a short silence, she turned to Brian with a strange expression on her face.  Then, she held the phone out to him.  “They’d like to talk to you.”

Not knowing what was going on, Brian took the phone and held it to his ear.  “Hello?”

“Mr. Littrell, this is Detective Cameron with the APD,” an authoritative female voice spoke.  “We entered your property using the codes you provided us.  After spreading out across the entire property, we discovered tire tracks on the dirt path that exits onto a back road behind your property.  The FBI will probably analyze those tracks to identify the tire type and possible vehicle that the suspect is driving.”

Brian nodded.  “So, what you’re telling me is that we missed them again?”

“Well, not quite.” There was a pause.  “Mr. Littrell, does your son have dark blond hair and green eyes?”

Brian’s brows shot up and, though his heart had begun pounding in his ears, he managed to choke out, “Yes, he does.  Did you find him?” he whispered, terrified of the answer.

“Congratulations, Mr. Littrell.  We found your son asleep in a carrier on top of the kitchen counter,” the detective told him.  “We plan on taking him to a hospital to be examined, but from all outward appearances, he seems perfectly unharmed.”

“Oh, thank God,” Brian’s breath came out in a whoosh.  “Thank God,” he repeated, then turned to the others in the room.  “They found Luke! They found him in a carrier in the kitchen!”

Regan took the phone from him and asked the detective what they planned on doing with Luke.  After a short conversation, she looked over at Brian.

“Brian, they’re taking Luke to a hospital in Atlanta, and then they’ll have him sent up here as soon as possible,” she explained.

Brian shook his head.  “No.  No, please, either send him here first or I’ll fly down there.  I don’t want anymore strangers holding my son. Please, Regan,” he pleaded.

Regan watched him for a moment, then she put the phone back to her ear.  “Detective Cameron, do not take Luke Littrell to the hospital. Take him to the Atlanta airport.  I’ll have one of the FBI’s airplanes ready.  An agent will meet you there and bring the baby back to Lexington.  We’ll have him examined by his physician here.  I believe Mr. Littrell feels more comfortable doing this.”  She listened for a moment.  “Okay, thank you.  Good work, Detective.”

By the time she’d finished making all the necessary arrangements to fly Luke back to Lexington as quickly as possible, AJ and Nick had called Brian’s family and their own families and friends to let them know the good news, per Brian’s request.

Regan found Brian pulling on a coat in the foyer, while Kelly tried to persuade him to slow down.

“Bri, the plane’s not going to be here, yet,” Regan heard Kelly tell Brian.  “It probably just left Atlanta, and it’s going to take some time to get here.”

“Kelly, I need to get down there.  I don’t want Luke to be in a stranger’s arms longer than necessary.  I need to do this, Kel,” he added softly.

Kelly sighed and patted his cheek.  “Okay, Brian.  All right, but I’m coming with you.  I’ll drive,” she added, taking the keys from him.

Regan stepped forward.  “Brian, I’ll go with you, too.  They’ll require certified personnel at the landing strip, and it’s best if I’m there.”

Brian nodded.  “Okay.  Let’s go, then.”

***

“Brian!”

Brian turned as he heard his name being called.  On the opposite side of the fence, his parents had climbed out of their car.  He could see Kevin’s hybrid truck pulling up behind their car, followed by Nick’s rental car, and two others he recognized as Howie and Shane’s cars.

Jackie hurried up to the fence.  “Honey! Can we get on the other side of that fence?” she asked.

Brian looked at Regan.  She shook her head.

“Sorry, Brian, but they only allow two non-authorized personnel on this side of the fence, and you and Kelly are it,” Regan explained.

Brian repeated it to his mother, and Jackie frowned at Kelly, who stood shivering in the late March breeze.

“Okay,” she said finally.  “We’ll wait here.” And she stepped back to stand with the small crowd of friends and family.

Brian nodded his acknowledgement at everyone who waited.  He was so blessed, Brian thought, to have such a wonderful family.  They’d been there for him in the last month even when he’d asked them to back off.  Squeezing Kelly’s hand, he squinted up at the distant sky, waiting to hear any sound of an approaching airplane.

After a few moments, Regan’s cell phone rang.  She glanced down at it and acknowledged the message that had popped up.

“Ten minutes, Brian.  I think you can hear it,” she added, glancing towards the cloudless sky.

Sure enough, the low rumble of an approaching aircraft could be heard, and excited murmurs broke out among the twenty people that stood on the other side of the fence.  After a few minutes, the small airplane could be seen descending quickly, and Brian’s heart began to pound in anxious anticipation.  All he wanted was to hold his son as soon as possible.  God had sent him back to his safe home, and Brian just needed to feel Luke in his arms and reassure himself that if Luke was fine, so were Sienna and the twins.

The instant the airplane touched the ground, Brian began moving forward until Regan stopped him.

“It’s not safe until the airplane stops, Brian.  You have to wait here,” she reminded him.

Sighing he waited as the aircraft slowed down and came to a halt seventy five yards from where they stood.  Brian walked towards it quickly, then broke into a run, leaving Kelly and Regan to follow him.

By the time he made it to the airplane, the stairs had opened onto the ground and a dark suited young man stepped onto the tarmac holding a carrier.  He smiled at Brian.

“Congratulations, Mr. Littrell.  Your son is home,” he managed to say before Brian scooped Luke out of the carrier.

The baby was awake and he blinked wide, hazel eyes at his father.  Brian ran his hands over his son gingerly to ensure that he was in one piece.  Luke had grown, and Brian felt bitterness towards the man who had stolen a precious month from his life with his child. When Luke began to gurgle happily, Brian grinned and placed a kiss on his forehead.

He thanked the young agent and carried Luke to his family and friends. 

“He’s okay!” Brian couldn’t help but smile from ear to ear. 

Everyone crowded around to peek at the baby who had managed to escape from captivity, and more than a few people sent up silent thank you’s to God.

Regan leaned against AJ, a move that did not go unnoticed by Denise.

“Nice job, Agent Daniels,” AJ smiled down at her and kissed her lightly.

Regan sighed.  “I didn’t really do anything,” she told him.  “Besides, the rest of his family is still in danger,” she reminded AJ.

AJ shook his head.  “Don’t you know the hope you’ve given all of us by Luke having come home safely?”

Regan shook her head.  “It’s not enough.  It won’t be enough until they’re all home,” she said.  Then, giving him a quick kiss, she moved back into the fray of people gathered around Brian.

“Brian, you really need to take Luke to the hospital, now,” she told him firmly.

Brian looked up at her and smiled.  “I will, but I just want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for bringing him home safe.”

Regan nodded.  “It won’t be too long now before we find everyone else,” she promised him.  “But, you really should go.  It’s best for Luke to be checked out as soon as possible.”

Brian watched as the baby in his arms gurgled again.  “You’re right,” he said, looking back up at her.  “Hey, everybody, thank you for being here, but I gotta take Luke to the doctor, now.”

“I’ll go with you,” Jackie spoke up.

“Thanks, Mom, but I need to just be alone with my son, right now,” Brian told her gently.

Jackie nodded.  “Okay, then, but who’s going to drive you there?  Regan?”

Regan shook her head.  “Sorry, I have to get back to see if anything’s shown up in the sweeps of Brian’s house.  Why don’t you just drive them over, Kelly?” Regan turned to Kelly.

Kelly gave her a surprised look.  “I, well, I don’t know.  I mean, I don’t know where it is,” she told Regan.

“That’s not a problem,” Brian said.  “I’ll give you directions, and we’ll be there in no time.  Please, Kelly? Do it for Luke?” he asked, holding out the baby.

Kelly tried not to look in Jackie’s direction for she knew the older woman was sure to be furious. 

“Okay, Brian.  Let’s go, then.”

***

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