Secrets Can Be Deadly

By Katherine J. Barns

All Disclaimers apply. This is chapters one and two.

This is before Susan, before the hospital blew up, before Barbecue Bob's, and before Carter and Caitlin Sweeney.

Storyline: Steve's partner, Lily Calloway, witnesses a murder and the gang struggle to help her while endangering their own lives. Some surprises occur.

CHAPTER 1

Lt. Lily Calloway was sitting in front of her mirror combing her hair.

She was thinking hard about what was going to happen in less than fifteen minutes. She was meeting her boyfriend for lunch. She had just put on her shoes when she heard voices below her apartment window. She walked over to the window wondering what was going on. It wasn't unusual for people to have a conversation next to her apartment. What was unusual was for people to be arguing and yelling.

When she looked out the window, she quickly ducked back. Taking a peek, she

checked to see if what she saw was really what she saw. It was. Out there, two stories below, four men were dragging another into the side alley. All of the men had guns; and one man she recognized as her.... boyfriend!

Lily quietly watched as the men pushed the guy around and battered him

with questions. When he didn't give the right answer or they didn't like his

answer, they would beat him with the gun. She flinched as they, once again,

hit him in the stomach with the barrel of the gun. She had never seen anything like this and she definitely didn't think that her boyfriend would be involved. Lily gasped inwardly as she caught a trace of their argument.

"For the last time, Mr. Peters. Where is the money?!?"

"I tell yahs I don't got it!" Whack!

"Mr. Peters, our patience is wearing thin. Where is it?!?"

"Go to hell." Bang! Thud.

"No!" Lily yelled . They had just shot the poor guy in the head. Her anger

quickly faded as she saw her boyfriend look up and see her. Fire burned in

his eyes.

"Get up there! We can't have any witnesses."

All four guys came running to the door of the building. As soon as the door

closed behind them, she grabbed her purse and quickly climbed out the window

and dropped on to the fire escape. She didn't want them to catch her. She

dropped to the ground and ran towards her car. She had just got in when she

saw them in her room. She quickly started the engine and sped off, hearing

gunshots as they tried to hit her. Picking up her cell phone, she quickly

called the one person she could trust-- her partner, Lt. Steve Sloan.

"Sloan here."

"Steve? It's Lily. I just saw something I really wish I hadn't."

"What?"

Lily took a deep breath and said a word that could make anyone's blood run

cold.

"A murder."

"A murder?"

"Yeah, you know. A homicide, somebody kills another person?"

"I know that. Now, can you tell me what happened?"

"NOW’s not a good time, Steve."

"Why?"

"Cause they saw me." Lily could hear Steve swearing on the other end, even

though she could tell that he was trying to muffle it.

"Okay, can you at least tell me who did it?" Lily debated with herself whether or not she should tell him that her boyfriend was the ring leader. She quickly decided not to. She didn't want them to go after Steve too.

"How can I tell you that when I don't even know myself?" Lily asked.

"Okay." She could hear him sighing in aggravation. "Can you tell me whether

you are closer to the hospital or the police station?"

"I think the hospital."

"You think or you know?"

"I know." All of a sudden there was a gunshot, and a splatter of glass.

"Oh, God!"

"That wasn't a gunshot I just heard was it?"

"No. It was my car backfiring. Of course it was! Steve, what am I going to do? They're following me!!"

"Stay calm. We won't figure this out if you panic. You got that?"

Lily gave a weak "yes". Realizing it, Steve took a deep breath and said

calmly:

"Just get here as fast as you can. You'll be fine." Bam! More glass splattered

and Lily felt a sharp pain.

"Steve! I've been shot!" Steve swore on the other end.

"Stay calm. How close are you now?"

"I'm just about to pull in. Steve." Lily was close to passing out from pain.

"I know. I'll have somebody there be ready to get you fixed up." Steve said

and then, "Hang on, I'll be there as fast as I can."

"OK," Lily said. "Hurry." and he was gone.

* * * *

Lily stood slumped against the elevator wall. Her brain spinning with all that

had happened. She still couldn't believe that someone she thought could do no

harm, could actually kill a man. She was in complete shock over it. Not to

mention complete pain. She groaned.

"Damn, elevator." All Lily wanted to do was fall asleep and get rid of this

agony. If only she could, but no. She had to stay conscious. She had to make

it to Steve and the others. She had to.

The elevator door opened and she found herself looking at Steve, his father,

Dr. Mark Sloan, and his two doctor friends, Jesse Travis and Amanda Bentley.

Lily gave them a weak smile, but it was a smile non the less. You could see

everyone letting out their breaths in relief. Then they hurried in to help

her; Steve gently lifting her up on the stretcher, so not to make her wound

any more damaging. She sighed with gratification as she was laid on the soft

padding of the stretcher, letting herself relax, for the first time since she saw her boyfriend kill that poor man. She smiled up at Steve.

"How did you get here before me?" she asked weakly.

"I took a short cut."

"Cheater. Always have to be first don't you?" Steve smiled.

"Only when it's important."

"It's nice to be important," Lily said as she slipped off into blackness, a

small smile on her face.

CHAPTER 2

Lily awoke to the face of a man above her. She bolted up right in bed, hitting

the guy in the forehead. She fell back as the world spun beneath her. She

took a deep breath to clear her mind. It didn't work, but it did help her to

see that the face was only Jesse. She smiled a weak apology.

"Sorry Jesse. You startled me." Jesse was rubbing his head, but he smiled teasingly.

"Hey, it's okay. It's not everyday I get hit by a beautiful woman." Lily

struggled to hide a blush. Then she shot back:

"You know, if I hadn't just had an operation, I would throw a pillow at you."

Jesse laughed.

"That's why I said it now. I didn't want to risk a broken bone." Lily gave

him a "Very funny" smile and said:

"Aren't you supposed to be checking me, or are you just here to tease me?"

Jesse smiled apologetically, and did his doctor thing. When he was finished,

Lily asked:

"So, when do I get out of here?" Jesse was finishing signing whatever he was

signing, but he looked up long enough to say:

"About a month." Lily looked at him in disbelief.

"Month? You mean I have to sit here and grow hair for the next thirty days?"

Keeping his face straight, Jesse said:

"That's the basic idea." This time Lily did throw a pillow at him.

"Jesse!" Jesse ducked the oncoming pillow and, laughing, walked out of her

hospital room. Lily fell back on her pillow, groaning. A whole month? What

was she going to do the whole time? She felt herself falling away again. I

need to stay awake, she thought, but before she could think anymore, she

fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

A couple of weeks later.....

Lily felt like she would lose her mind. She had already been in the hospital

for two and a half weeks, and she hated it. She hated being cooped up in her room, she hated the hospital food, she hated puzzles, TV, and anything else that

had to do with staying in bed. The only thing she didn't hate was Jesse.

Actually, she was growing pretty close to Jesse. She was really into him. She

knew Jesse felt the same way. He had told her the other day while she was

eating a lunch that he had picked up for her. She was so surprised, she

dropped her sandwich. She, of course, told him that she felt the same way.

Still, that was the only thing she didn't hate. To top it all off, she was

still scared to death of what would happen to her if her boyfriend, excuse

me, ex-boyfriend, would do if he got to her. Steve had found nothing to tell

him of who shot that man; he was identified as Kenneth Peters, a nasty

tempered lawyer. Even Mark couldn't find any clues.

Lily groaned, and punched her fist against her pillow. She had to get out of

there. An idea came to her. She would leave. It was as simple as that. She

brightened at it and began mentally marking off things in her head. She still

had her clothes. In fact, they were evened washed, because one of the nurses

had found them and, disgusted, taken them home to wash. The nurse had even

mended the hole in her shirt where the bullet had gone. She turned back to her list.

She needed to wash her hair and put a little bit of makeup on. That

was easy. They allowed her to take showers, and in her purse, she always kept

a little makeup, just in case. This was one of those cases. If she hurried,

she could be done with her shower in about ten minutes, probably less, and

she was. She took her clothes out of the small closet in her room. She

quickly pulled them on and pulled on her shoes. While putting on her makeup,

she listened carefully for anything that meant that someone was coming in.

She was lucky.

Lily glanced outside and sighed in relief. The hall was empty, except for a

few patients, and a nurse that she didn't recognize. She had never met the

nurse, so she knew that she was okay. She could pretend she was a visitor to

one of the patients and that she was leaving. Lily walked down the hall

towards the elevator. It was a miracle that she could walk so calmly. She was

shaking inside from the excitement of leaving this dull place. When she

reached the elevator, she pressed the down button, and waited a bit impatiently for it to get there. She shouldn't have been so excited.

The elevator door opened, and Lily was face to face with .... Jesse. Both

Jesse’s and Lily's eyes opened wide in surprise. The Jesse put on a knowing

look. Lily did her best to act casual.

"Jesse, hi," she said, "How are you?"

"I'm fine," Jesse answered, then said, "Lily, may I ask you something?"

"Anything," Lily said.

"Why aren't you in bed?" Not that, Lily thought.

"I was just, I mean, I was going to, take a walk. Yes, I was just going to

take a walk. I was a little stiff, so I decided to stretch my legs a bit,"

Lily said in as good a voice as she could. Jesse just stared at her with that

look on his face. He rubbed his fingers against his chin as though thinking.

"Let me get this straight. You wanted to take a walk. So you put on your

clothes, your shoes, your makeup, and you did your hair; and you did all this,

just to take a short little walk?" Jesse asked. Lily nodded her head.

"Well, I couldn't wear my hospital gown." Jesse kept staring at her. Finally,

Lily sighed in resignation. She threw up her hands.

"All right, you caught me. What are you going to do? Condemn me?" Jesse

smiled and, taking her by the arms, he led her to her hospital room.

"No, but I am going to take you back to your room, and put you back in bed.

You aren't well enough yet to leave," he said kindly, but firmly. When they

reached her room her told her to change back into her gown, while he waited

outside, and get back in bed. Before he went out he said:

"Man, and I thought Steve was a troublesome patient." Lily threw a pillow at

the closed door.

* * * *

Lily sat quietly in her bed, picking at the sheet. Jesse was sitting at the

edge of it and was staring solemnly at her.

"You're not going to tell Steve and everyone else are you?" she asked uneasily.

Jesse thought for a moment. Then he shrugged his shoulders.

"That all depends on you." Lily hung her head. Then she got an idea. She put

her hand in Jesse’s. He squeezed it.

"What if I told you something that no one knew, but me?" Jesse gave her a

questioning look.

"Well, that depends on what it is," he said at last. Lily took his other hand.

"It's something so deep, I can scarcely believe I know it myself," she said

gravely. Jesse hesitated a moment before saying:

"You actually trust me enough to tell me something that big?" Jesse asked.

Lily nodded. "Well than I have to know!! What is it?" Lily was just about to

start when Jesse interrupted again.

"Before we turn all serious," he said, moving closer to her. "I have something

to say myself." Lily gave him an exasperated look.

"What?"

"Oh nothing, except this." Jesse leaned forward and gave her a kiss. Lily's

mouth dropped in surprise.

"Like that?" Lily just stared at him in shock. Jesse laughed.

"I'll take that as a yes," he said, "Now back to.." Jesse was stopped by Lily covering his mouth with hers, and wrapping her arms around him. Jesse pulled her closer to him. They kissed for a few moments before Lily, breathless, pulled away. Jesse ran his fingers through his hair while Lily took deep breaths, trying to still her pounding heart.

"Okay, back to what I was trying to tell you," Lily said, composing her self. Jesse was doing the same.

"What if I told you, that I knew who killed Kenneth Peters?"

"The man you saw murdered?" Lily nodded. "I'd ask why you haven't told Steve. He's the only other cop around here."

"I was scared. I guess I was still in shock," Lily said.

"We have to tell Steve," Jesse said. Lily grabbed his arm.

"You promised, Jesse! You can't tell anyone," Lily said panicky. Jesse sighed in frustration.

"I know. All right, I won't say anything," Jesse said, "Who was it?" Lily hesitated a moment and then hurriedly said:

"Richardjarmin."

"Who?" Lily took a deep breath.

"Richard Jarmin." Jesse looked at her in disbelief.

"Sheriff Richard Jarmin?" Lily nodded slowly. Jesse thought for a moment.

"I think I know why you didn't tell Steve. He wouldn't believe you," Jesse said thoughtfully. Lily nodded in agreement.

"That's exactly why."

"What are you going to do, now?" Jesse asked, taking her hands in his. Before she could answer, the door opened, and Mark, Amanda, and Steve came in. Lily quickly pulled her hands away, embarrassed. Mark, Amanda, and Steve gave each other knowing looks. Jesse stood up, flustered; his face was bright red.

"I'll, um, see you, I mean, check on you later, okay?" Jesse asked. Without looking up, Lily said:

"Sure," and Jesse hurried out, Amanda behind him. When they were out of earshot, Amanda pulled Jesse into an empty hospital room.

"What do you think you're doing?" Amanda asked him.

"I was just talking to her."

"Yeah, and I'm Whitney Houston. She is your patient. You are the doctor. You know that doctors aren't supposed to get involved with their patients." Jesse’s eyes narrowed

"You can't tell me who to care about," he said. Amanda calmed her voice.

"I'm not telling you who to care about. I'm just saying that as long as she is your patient, you have to cool it down."

"I know." Jesse sighed and nodded.

"You're right. I'll tell her we have to cool it down for a while," he said sadly. He left the room. Amanda watched him leave, shaking her head.

As she was leaving the room, she bumped into Steve and Mark. They both had

disappointing looks on their faces.

"Nothing new?" she asked.

"Nothing," Steve said, "She still can't recall their faces."

"Don't worry she will. Once she gets over the emotional shock of what she saw. It might take 2 minutes, and it might even be two days. Just give her time," Mark said and put his hand on his son’s shoulder. Steve gave half a smile.

"Okay. Since nothing is going on at the moment, why don't we all have lunch? I'll find Jesse and meet you down at the cafeteria." Mark and Amanda groaned.

Meanwhile.....

Jesse hurried down the hall towards ICU room 245, his last patient of the day. He had just reached the corner and was about to turn when he was grabbed from behind and a cloth covered his nose and mouth. He struggled, but he found he had no strength against whoever was holding him. A repulsive smell came from the cloth. Chloroform, he thought, don't breathe.

Jesse struggled not to breathe as he was yanked out a door that led to the back of the hospital. But you can only go so long without breathing. Jesse took a deep breath and immediately began to slip into darkness. His last memory was of being pulled down stairs and out into the evening air. Finally, the chloroform took over and everything went black.

CHAPTER 3

"Where's Jesse?" a voice behind Mark demanded. Mark turned around to see Lily, wrapped in a robe with her arms crossed, standing behind him. An angry look was on her face.

"Lily! What are you doing out of bed?" Mark asked.

"Never mind that. Jesse said he'd meet me at 8:00, after his shift ended. It is now," pausing to look at her watch, "8:42. So, I ask you again. Where is Jesse?"

"Calm down, Lily. I'm sure he's around here somewhere," Mark said soothingly,

putting his hands on her arm. She shrugged it off angrily.

Just then, Amanda came running up. She had a worried look on her face.

"Mark, I just got a disturbing call from Denise, the nurse for Ms. Hawkins."

Amanda said, then noticing Lily, she said: "You better hear this too. It's about Jesse." A concerned look replaced Lily's angry one as she and Mark hurried into the privacy of the doctor's lounge behind Amanda.

"What is it, Amanda?" Mark asked. Amanda took a deep breath.

"Jesse never showed up to check on Mrs. Hawkins. She waited for a half an hour before paging him. After doing that for ten minutes, she called me. She's really worried," Amanda said as Mark and Lily listened, troubled. Lily's face was pale.

"Jesse," Lily said weakly. She was starting to feel a little woozy. Mark pulled her into a hug.

"Did you call Steve?" Amanda nodded.

"He should be here any minute now." As if on cue, Steve walked in.

"Any word from Jesse?" he asked as he sat down next to Lily and his father. Lily was leaning against the back of the sofa, as if she didn't have the strength to sit up.

"Not since I got the call from Denise. I'm worried. This is not at all like Jesse," Amanda told him.

"He loves being a doctor to much to ruin it by not doing his job," Mark said and everyone nodded. Everyone except Lily, who almost too weak to even move. Amanda got up and helped her to her feet.

"I think you've had enough of this conversation," Amanda said to her. Lily held up her hand.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. Just a little woozy," Lily took a step and immediately passed out. Steve caught her before she hit her head on the table. He lifted her up and carried her to her room. Mark and Amanda watched.

"Jesse was right," Amanda said, "They do care about each other." Mark nodded. His face was grave. Amanda put his hand on her arm.

"You don't think Jesse could be in trouble do you?" she asked. Mark gave her a look that didn't make her feel all that good.

"I don't know, I just don't know."

* * * *

She opened her eyes and found herself in a lightly lit room on a soft bed. Steve was holding her arms so that she wouldn't fall off the bed. Mark and Amanda were staring worriedly at her.

"Was I dreaming?" she asked in a soft voice.

"Yeah you were," Steve said. Lily began to choke up a bit.

"It was horrible. Jesse... and me.." she said. Mark took her hand and squeezed it.

"Would you like to tell us?" he asked kindly. Lily shook her head vigorously.

"It wouldn't do us much good with Jesse missing, and all." They nodded sadly.

"Dr. Sloan to the front desk, Dr. Sloan to the front desk."

They all woke up as that announcement came over the intercom. Mark gave her hand another squeeze.

"I'll come and check up on you later," Mark said as he, Steve, and Amanda left the room. Lily collapsed on her pillow, tears coming to her eyes.

Riiing! Riiing!

Lily jumped as the phone next to her rang. She reached over and picked up the

phone, to get rid of the loud noise.

"Hello?" Lily asked groggily. The voice she heard made her cringe.

"Couldn't keep a secret could you Lil?"

"What do you want, Richard?"

"What? No, Ritchie baby?"

"You lost that privilege when you killed that man."

"Oh, you’re not going to hold that against me, are you?"

"Of course I am! Why did you do it?"

"He had something that I needed."

"Money?"

"Give the girl a prize!"

"Shut up! You are so full of crap. You're a millionaire. You don't need money."

"Let's just say that he owed me."

"Owed you? What?"

"You'll have to find that out when you get here."

"What make's you think that I would go to you?"

"Let's just say that I have something that you want."

"What could you possibly have that I would want?" she could hear him laughing on the other end. Lily got a funny feeling deep in the bottom of her stomach. "Richard."

"Dr. Jesse Travis." Lily gasped.

"You have Jesse? Why?"

"You should know. You're the reason he's going to die." Lily almost choked. "Unless, you meet me in back of George's Warehouse in one hour. And I mean one hour, or he dies." he hung up. Lily just gaped at the phone. Then she went into action. Closing the door, she quickly got dressed, not bothering with makeup this time. This time she went straight to the elevator, worrying too much to think about people seeing her. The elevator door had just opened when Steve came and pulled her aside.

"What are you doing? I've got to go," Lily said trying to get loose. Steve held her tightly.

"You're not supposed to leave for another week," Steve told her.

"This isn't about that. I have to find Jesse," she said breaking loose and hurrying to the elevator. Steve stood in front of her.

"We've got other people doing that. You just need to concentrate on getting well."

"I'm well enough," she said, trying to get passed him. Steve stopped her.

"I'm sorry, but I can't let you go."

"You don't understand. He'll die," Lily said, tears coming to her eyes.

"What?" Steve asked, bewildered.

"I can't tell you," Lily said, almost in tears. Pushing Steve aside, she hurried down the stairs that led to the front of the hospital. Letting the tears fall, she got in her car and drove off. Steve was about to chase after her when he realized something was missing. He hurried to find his father. His dad looked up in surprise when he saw him.

"Dad, we have a problem."

* * * *

Jesse woke up in a dimly lighted room. He could barely sit up. He was so

light-headed and his eyes were blurry as he looked around. Nothing there except the cot he was on. Where am I? he thought. He laid back as his head banged with the effort of getting up. He jerked up again when the door burst open and three men came in. His eyes narrowed when he saw who it was.

"Hi, Dr. Travis. Have a nice sleep?" Jesse glared at him. Richard laughed.

"Ooh. The big boy doctor doesn't want to talk," Richard said sarcastically. Then; "Inject him." One of the men behind him came up and took his arm. Jesse yanked it away and went to punch him, but his arm was taken and pinned behind him so hard that Jesse winced. Than something pierced his skin and he was enveloped in darkness. The two men with Richard dropped Jesse onto the cot and walked out. Richard stood watching him for a moment. Then walked out after them. One of his men turned to him.

"I don't like this. What if it doesn't work?"

"It will work. Don't doubt me, David, " Richard said unwavering. "Lily is too caring not to come when someone's in trouble."

"But what about Mark Sloan?" he asked defiantly. A mischievous look came to

Richard's eyes.

"Oh, there won't be any problem with Mark Sloan, or his son, after we take care of them."

* * * *

Mark and Steve were sitting in the doctor's lounge talking about Lily.

"Are you sure she took your gun?" Mark asked.

"Positive. I had it before she left and then it was gone," Steve explained.

"I can't imagine what could happen to her with that gun. In the state she's in, anything could happen."

Meanwhile.....

Lily shivered under her light T-shirt. She was behind George's Warehouse, in an alley that reminded her of her horrible dream; but it was light and Jesse was nowhere to be found. In his place was a small piece of paper.

Lily,

Go into the door that is right

behind you. When you get in

there, go down the hall and

turn left. Go in the first

door on your right. Then go

in the only door that is in that

room and wait for me there.

R.J.

Lily read the note twice before crumpling it up. She turned around and saw the door. Going in the door, she did everything the note said until she got to the last door. She hesitated in front of it, a little afraid. Then she felt for Steve's gun, reassured by its presence. She turned the knob and walked in. She looked around and saw an empty room that only held one cot with Jesse laying on it.

"Jesse!" She exclaimed and sank to her knees beside him. She hurriedly checked for a pulse and when she felt it, she let out the breath she didn't realize she was holding. She took his hand and looked at his face expectantly. Jesse moaned and his eyes fluttered open.

"Jesse," Lily said softly. Jesse looked at her for a few moments before recognition came to his face.

"Lily," he said gladly. They held each other tight as if to protect each other from whatever was going to happen.

"Well, well, well, what have we here?" Lily turned around and became face to face with her ex. Her face turned white with anger and Jesse’s body became rigid as he kept close to her.

"Let him go, Richard. He has nothing to with this," Lily said, her voice low and dangerous. Jesse kept his arm protectively around Lily as Richard moved closer to them.

"Oh, he has plenty to do with this," he said.

"Like what?" Lily asked defiantly.

"Well, first," Richard started, yanking Lily away from Jesse and pinning her against him. "He took you away from me." Lily struggled against his tight grip.

"He didn't take me away from you. You never had me. We never had anything in the first place!" Lily spat the last words at him. He slapped her and Jesse jumped up to protect her but was forced back by Richard's men.

"I had you all right," Richard said, "According to me, we never broke up; and I'm the one that says if we do or not, got that?" Lily just glared at him. He

shook her. Jesse struggled against the two men holding him; trying to get at Richard and Lily.

"Got that?" Lily nodded her head quickly.

"Good," he said and he pressed his lips against hers, but stopped when he felt something.

"What's this?" he said. Lily shrank away from him as he pulled out Steve's gun that she carried. "A gun? You brought a gun?" Richard grabbed her arm. "You idiot!" He pulled her out of the room. His two men followed, locking Jesse in the room. Jesse pounded on the door as hard as he could. Then, after one hard hit, he stopped. He was pacing around the room when he noticed something. The window. He hadn't noticed it before because either he was unconscious, or he was to worried to notice. He went and checked to see if it was locked. It opened easily. He laughed quietly to himself. How could someone so smart, forget this little detail? he thought to himself. He moved it up slowly and stuck his head out. No one was around. Good, he thought happily to himself. He quickly climbed out and silently slid to ground. Then, watching out for anyone who might see him, he hurried away.

CHAPTER 4

"Damn it." Amanda jumped as Steve pounded his hand against the doctors' lounge table. Mark put his hand on Steve's arm, comforting.

"Steve, calm down, please," Amanda said, relieved it was just Steve. "We're all worried about Jesse and Lily, but we have to stay calm if we are going to figure this out."

Steve sighed in frustration. Those were almost the exact words that he had said to Lily when she had been worried about being killed the first time around.

"I'm calm, I'm calm. I just don't see.." The door burst open just then and a haggard looking Jesse stood there.

"Jesse," Mark said in relief and all of them got up and Amanda helped Jesse sit down. He was having trouble breathing.

"Lily.... trouble....... help," Jesse said between gasps of breath. Amanda grabbed an oxygen mask and Jesse put it over his mouth and took deep breaths until he could breathe easier again.

"Now, Jesse. Can you tell us who took you?" Steve asked. Jesse nodded.

"Richard Jarmin," Jesse said. "He has Lily, and he killed Kenneth Peters." They all stared at him in surprise. Then Mark asked him the same question he had asked Lily.

"Sheriff Richard Jarmin?" Jesse nodded.

"He caught Lily with a gun and now I'm afraid of what he'll do to her. That guy’s nuts," he said. Steve shot him a LOOK.

"No kidding."

"Do you know where he took you?"

"Some kind of warehouse. I was in too big of hurry to check which."

Steve groaned.

"But I do know what area its in," he said. They all leaned in, listening intently. "It's near where Amanda lives."

"That's good enough. There are really only two near Amanda’s house." Steve stood up to leave when Jesse stopped him.

"I’m coming too."

"It’s too dangerous, Jess."

"Hey, that’s my girlfriend and I’m not about to stand around and watch her get killed." Steve sighed in resignation. It was hard to say 'no' to Jesse.

"All right, but stay behind me. I don’t want anything else to happen to you."

* * * *

"You brought a gun?" Richard yelled at her. Lily shriveled up in the chair she was in. "You actually thought that you could get away with bringing a gun? That is the stupidest mistake you have ever made!" Lily cringed with fright. Richard's face was red with fury and he brought it close to her, his hot breath in her face. "Do you know what I could do to you?" Richard slapped his hand hard across her face and he was about to do worse when Jacen, his other main man, came in.

"Sir?"

"What?!?!," Richard yelled and then took a deep breath and said again, calmly:

"What?"

"We have a small problem," Jacen said timidly. Richard gave him a weary look.

"What kind of problem?" he asked warily.

"Well, we sort of.... lost something," he said.

"Lost what?" Richard asked. Jacen gulped.

"Dr. Travis," Jacen said, cringing.

"What?!?!" Richard punched Jacen square in the face and ran out of the room. He ran back in, and dragged Lily out of the room.

When they reached the room, they opened the door and it was empty. Lily silently said a prayer of thanks. Richard slammed his fist into door, making a large hole. Then he grabbed Lily by the shoulders and threw her against the wall. He pinned her sore shoulders and put his face so close to hers that she could smell the cigarette he had smoked.

"You did this! You let him out! When I find him, both of you will die!" Richard pushed her aside and she fell to the floor. He kicked her in the side and walked to the door. He turned to David.

"David," he said, "Keep a close eye on her. Do with her whatever you want, as long as you keep her alive." David smiled cruelly.

"Don't worry about a thing, Boss," David said and gave her a leering smile. "She's in good hands." Richard left and David turned to her. At first, all Lily wanted to do was crawl into the corner and keep away from him, but then something happened. Anger started to rise in her. Now all she wanted was to beat David to the ground. She stood up, hands clenched into fists at her side. David noticed and laughed. He walked towards her, and put his gun down. His final mistake. Lily glanced at the gun and an idea came to her. She smiled to herself. David, the idiot that he was, thought she was smiling at him. She let him. It would help her plan.

She edged toward him with what she thought was a seductive look. David watched her warily, but also with a lot of curiosity and excitement. She reached out her hand towards his face, in her mind gagging at what she was doing. She touched his face in what she hoped was tenderly felt. She moved closer to where she was almost touching him. David was no longer weary of her and put his arms around her and pulled her against him. She resisted the urge to pull away and slap him. She took another look at the gun and prayed that this worked.

"Dance with me," she murmured. He looked at her in surprise.

"But we don't have any music," he said, confused. She put her arms around his neck.

"We don't need music." She started to sway a little and he moved along with her. She started to turn him around slowly. She finally managed to have him all the way turned. She started moving him slightly backwards. Just enough to be in reach of the gun. She brought her lips to his and nearly threw up but managed to keep her composure. His eyes opened in surprise but he soon closed them and pressed her closer. She slowly reached for the gun, being careful not to be conspicuous. When her hand was on the barrel, she pulled away from him and slammed it against his head. He fell to the floor unconscious.

"Good job, Sexy. Let's see you try that with me." Lily turned to see Jacen. She could tell that he was going to call for Richard. She quickly cocked the gun and pointed it at him. Jacen leering look turned to shock as he saw it pointed right at his heart.

"Drop the gun," she said evenly. Jacen dropped the gun at her feet and raised his hands. She quickly tied him up with the handcuffs he had and hooked him to the bed. She looked at him and thought 'Spineless bastard.' Picking up the other gun, she headed towards the door.

Suddenly she felt an arm go around her neck. A sharp knife was at her throat. She reached for his arm, struggling against his grip.

"Thought you could get away from me, huh?" David's voice came hot and raspy in her ear. "I'm not leaving until I get what I came for." He pushed her against the wall and started fumbling with her clothes. She got enough leeway to slam her knee in his groin. He pulled away from her, groaning in pain. She took the opportunity to grab a lamp and slammed it against his head. He fell again to the floor. First checking to see if he was alive, she pulled him over to Jacen and handcuffed him to the bed, as well. She grabbed both of the guns and headed out the door and outside. She ducked behind some bushes when she heard some voices, she peeked out and nearly screamed. There was Jesse with Mark, Amanda, and Steve! She saw the watch man handcuffed beside them.

Seeing that it was clear to go, she came out of the bushes and ran towards the group. Jesse turned and saw her and pulled her into a hug. Mark noticed her clothes and asked with concern:

"Are you all right?"

Lily nodded. "I have a few bruises, but nothing that can't be fixed," she said and then turned to Steve. "Richard is still in there, and you'll find his two 'macho' men handcuffed to a bed." Steve looked at her, impressed.

"You've been busy," he said. She shrugged her shoulders.

"Hey. When you're kidnapped and shut in a room, you have a lot of time on your hands." Steve took his gun out of her hands, took the gun he had and handed it to Amanda. She looked at him in surprise.

"What's this for?" she asked him.

"I'm surprised, Amanda. You don't know what a gun's for?" Amanda glared at him. "Don't worry. He's handcuffed," Steve reassured her. He moved towards the door and then stopped.

"Oh," he said, "If he even blinks, shoot him." Steve, Jesse, Lily, and Mark, hurried away. Amanda's eyes were open wide.

"Steve!" The guy moved and she pointed the gun at him. She prayed that he wouldn't move again.

* * * *

"Richard. Come out, come out wherever you are," Lily whispered. They were

searching for him, but they couldn't find him anywhere. They had been searching for over an hour.

"We have to accept that he's not here. I'll have a team go over the warehouse and another one search the surrounding areas. We'll find him," Steve said, wrapping a hand around her upper arm to stop her. Sighing in frustration, she nodded in agreement. Jesse put his arm around her and she leaned her head against his shoulder. Mark smiled and they headed out of the warehouse.

"How about some dinner?" he asked as they all squeezed themselves into Steve's car.

"Sure. Where to?" Amanda asked.

"Home and a box of pizza?" Steve asked. They nodded in agreement.

"What do you think, Jess? Lily?" Mark turned to see them.

"Amanda, look." They turned to see Jesse and Lily sound asleep with Jesse’s arm around Lily. They turned to each other and chuckled softly.

"Pizza, it is."