March 3^rd, 2017. 10:11am.

Katy checked the little cat’s water and food dish on the way out of the house, her hand tightly holding Tally’s. Alex had suggested taking her shopping, helping her pick out new clothes and a new bedspread, starting her new life proper. Tally didn’t seem to mind leaving the house, as long as she could stand between Katy and Alex.

Her adjustment home had gone well, too. She seemed comfortable in her own room, even though Alex and Katy had woken up one morning to find she’d rearranged all of her belongings. If anything, it made Katy smile. Tally was making it her home.

There had been a few nightmares, but nothing that surprised Katy or Alex. They had taken turns sitting with Tally and reading her stories, until she fell back to sleep. Sometimes they both stayed there, one on either side until Tally felt comfortable enough to drift off.

Alex had offered to take them out in her SUV, since it was the more official vehicle and a bit safer. Tally’s booster seat was secured in the back, and Katy would sit next to her. She just felt more comfortable that way, keeping an eye on Tally and ensuring she was still there. Last night she had woken up at 2am, had to go down the hallway and check, reassure herself that Tally was actually home.

“Ready?” Alex asked, glancing around the yard and ignoring the lingering reporter. Katy was shielding Tally on the short walk, Alex just in front of them. The reporters had either backed off, or left, after Alex had asked mostly politely. Tally deserved her privacy.

“Yup!” Katy crouched down and looked at Tally, meeting her at eye level. “You ready to go?”

Tally studied her for a few seconds in silence, then nodded, a sharp jerk of her head as if she was unfamiliar with the movement. She was becoming more communicative, using gestures and pointing at things to answer questions. She still wouldn’t speak, but baby steps. Katy didn’t get to sit in on therapy, except for a few minutes at the beginning, but Lisa indicated that things were going well. Tally had even brought home some drawings.

Katy got Tally settled in the car, Tally lifting her arms so Katy could buckle her. Then Katy buckled herself in, meeting Alex’s eyes in the rearview mirror.

“Where are we going?” Alex asked, backing out of the driveway carefully.

“Let’s leave town,” Katy said. She had tossed out a few ideas earlier, but still hadn’t decided. “Get on the 60 and head east.”

“Yes ma’am.” Alex threw a salute towards the mirror, and Katy saw a tiny smile on Tally’s face. That small movement, that small gesture, sent happiness radiating through her, made her want to melt. How had she gotten so lucky, to have her daughter with her again? And to have Alex there, who looked after both of them, who cared so deeply?

Katy picked a department store and Alex put it in the GPS. It was a twenty-minute drive, and not that bad. It was easy enough to pass with small talk, and Katy appreciated how conscientious Alex was of including Tally in the conversation, even if she had to depend on Katy to relay her answers.

Alex pulled into a parking spot and turned the car off. “Your chariot has arrived,” she announced.

Tally had that smile on her face again, the one that would have been accompanied by a giggle if she was speaking. She would get there, Katy reminded herself. She would. “Can I help you with your seat belt?” she asked Tally.

Tally shook her head, then reached over and fumbled with the seatbelt herself, until it popped free and she could retract it. She grinned at Katy, wide and open, and Katy opened her arms. Willingly, Tally scooted over into them, even though the hug was awkward.

It stole her breath away, every time she saw her daughter. A month ago, she would have never imagined this, outside of her most far-flung dreams. She hopped out of the car, held a hand out to help Tally out of the SUV. True to her age, Tally stood on the edge of the car and then leaped, using Katy’s hand to steady herself as she landed in a crouch.

“You’re going to give me a heart attack,” Katy scolded, but she was laughing, too.

Tally just squeezed her hand, let out a tiny, half-aborted giggle, and reached her other hand out towards Alex.

Alex looked from Tally to Katy, then let Tally take her hand. Katy glanced down at her daughter, who was swinging their hands, and then up at Alex, who was looking at Tally with something akin to wonder in her eyes. Then Alex looked up, and met Katy’s eyes, and that warmth that was so addictive pulsed between them, settling over Katy like a warm blanket. Not only was Tally home, but Alex felt like home, too.

However long she would stay. Part of Katy, a dangerous part, hoped it would be for a long time. If not forever.

“Let’s go get you stuff.” Alex squeezed Tally’s hand, and the three of them started forward.

* * *

Alex stood outside the changing room, listening to Katy help Tally try on some clothes. “Arm goes here, and here… good job!” Katy’s voice was exuberant. “That looks good on you.” Katy sounded satisfied. “That was the last one.”

“Give me the pile to return.” Alex tapped gently on the door, to let them know she was there. A few seconds later, a small pile of clothes flipped over the top, where Alex could grab their hangers. Alex had to give Katy some credit; she was a lot more organized than Alex was when she was clothes shopping. That was the advantage of the FBI: she wore the same outfit.

She handed the small pile off to the woman guarding the dressing rooms, hanging them up on the requisite clothes pole. Then Katy and Tally came out of the room, Katy with a pile of clothes over one arm and Tally hanging off the other.

Tally dragged Katy closer so she could grab Alex’s hand, too. She didn’t let go.

“Can Mom have her hands real quick so she can get your clothes ready to buy?” Katy looked down at Tally, her eyes serious but in the parenting way. Alex didn’t know how to replicate it, but she recognized good parenting when she saw it.

Tally nodded, reluctant, and then let go of Katy’s hand, instead using both to cling to Alex’s.

Katy handed the number back to the dressing room attendant, who smiled at them.

“You have an adorable family,” she said, her voice warm.

Alex opened her mouth and then closed it, blinked. Gob smacked.

Tally just gripped her hand tighter, but she didn’t look distressed. She looked pleased, almost.

“Thanks,” Alex said, once she’d found her voice again. Katy smiled, the type of smile that sent Alex’s heart aflutter.

“I’m quite fond of them.” Katy looked back at them, and Alex’s stomach flipped. “All right, ladies. Let’s go check out the bedding.”

Tally’s hand securely in hers, Alex followed. She wasn’t going to correct the attendant, either.

* * *

March 11^th, 2017. 11:32am.

It had been two weeks since Tally had come home, and it was going better than Alex could have expected. She recognized things, remembered. Didn’t need prompting to find the bathroom or the kitchen, to get snacks out of the fridge.

Katy’s eyes tracked her everywhere, and she was never far behind, as if Tally was a ghost she was afraid would vanish at any moment. To be fair, Alex was doing the same thing. She was always a step or two behind Katy to give Katy the opportunity to get there first, but she was there, just in case.

She tucked her feet up on the couch, barefoot, and turned so she could see Katy and Tally sitting at the table. There were papers strewn out around them, and Tally had crayons in her hand. She was working quite seriously on whatever was in front of her, while Katy was drawing or filling something out next to her.

It was oddly domestic. It was what Alex wanted. But she knew it was going to disappear, flutter out of her grasp, the moment things went back to normal.

Her phone rang, jarring her out of her thoughts. “Hello?” She tucked it to her ear, standing and heading into the other room. Caller ID had told her it was Greg, and that wasn’t a call she wanted to take in front of Tally.

“Alex?” Greg sounded harried.

There was that guilt again. When was the last time he’d slept? And there Alex was, with her cushy job supervising Katy and Tally, and having a bed and all of that. “Yeah?” She leaned back against the door, startled to realize she was in what served Katy as an office.

There was a cork board on the far wall, covered in photos of children. Missing children, Alex realized as she got closer. It wasn’t a room she’d been in before, not beyond a cursory glance.

“Devin and Susan are missing.” Greg’s voice pulled her out of her reverie, pulling her back to the ice-cold bath that was reality.

“What?” Alex stumbled over the word. “Both of them?”

“Susan didn’t report to work this morning, and when Greta checked on Devin, he was missing. Missing enough clothes and toiletries that it looks like he fled.” Greg sounded grim.

“Do we have anything on how they’re connected?” Alex left the office-room, closing the door securely behind her, and headed to find her keys and shoes. She’d go to the station for this one, help them find whatever they needed.

“Nothing we can find.” Greg let out a sigh.

“Send a patrol officer to Katy’s house, I’m coming in.” Alex switched ears so she could get her other shoe on. She was already dressed in the right outfit, even if it was a bit wrinkled.

“You don’t have to —”

“I’ll be there in ten.” Alex hung up the phone, tucked it into her pocket as she stood and rooted around for her keys. The booster seat had already been transferred to Katy’s car, and she didn’t think there was anything else Tally-specific that they would need while she was gone.

“I need to go to the station,” Alex said, double-checking her shoulder holsters and then buttoning her blazer.

“Did something happen?” Katy looked up at her, trying to keep the alarm off of her face.

Alex hesitated. “I don’t know,” she answered. She glanced over to Tally, hesitant to say any more. Katy nodded her understanding, both of the fact Alex didn’t want to speak in front of Tally and that Katy wasn’t going to leave Tally’s side long enough to talk without her in view.

“Text me when you can,” Katy said instead.

“I will.” Alex came closer to where Katy was sitting at the table, feeling irrationally domestic. She hesitated, then pecked a kiss to Katy’s temple. “Back later.” She waved to Tally, and then headed straight out the door.

She dialed Greg as she saw the patrol car pull up. “Hello?”

“It’s Alex.” She sat the phone down once it connected to her Bluetooth. “Do we have any idea how long they’ve been missing?”

“Susan had the past two days off, so it’s possible they have a two-day head start.” Greg sounded just as unhappy as Alex felt.

“Well, shit.”

“My sentiments exactly,” Greg drawled. “Except probably with more swear words.”

Alex smiled despite herself. “Have we talked to the press yet?”

“Not yet.” Greg didn’t sound thrilled about that. “We’re setting up road blocks in case they’re still in town, and sending out BOLOs to all local departments.”

“Do we know what car they have?” That could potentially be more important than the physical descriptions, depending on how crafty they were.

“I’ve included details for both Susan and Devin’s cars, both registered with the DMV. Including the one we have GPS on, even though it hasn’t moved on our system. It’s possible he ripped it off.” Greg hesitated; Alex could hear it. “I want you to find the connection between them.”

“Aren’t your people on it?” Alex almost paused in her driving, but she didn’t. She was on a major road, and could go pretty much anywhere from there.

“Yes, but you and your father have worked these cases more than we have and might be able to see something we’ve missed.” There was an undercurrent to Greg’s voice that Alex didn’t quite like, but she shoved it aside for the moment. They had higher priorities.

“Give me Susan’s address.” This time Alex did pull into a parking lot, stopping long enough to plug it into her GPS before she got back on the road. The faster she found them, the faster they’d go one more step towards figuring out what had happened to Tally for the last three years.

* * *

Katy kept glancing over her shoulder at Tally, every few seconds. It made making their sandwiches for lunch go abysmally slow. She’d only got Tally’s half-made, and all Tally was doing was coloring quietly at the table. She hadn’t moved, not since Alex had left, but Katy had watched her track Alex’s movements.

They had spent some time outside, the Siamese kitten coming close, apparently seeing Tally as a kindred spirit. Katy’s stomach had done a somersault when the kitten had crawled into Tally’s lap for pets, and Tally’s face had lit up like Christmas lights. Eventually the kitten had wandered off, and Katy had brought them back inside.

The house felt so quiet without Alex there. Lucia was working, and Eleanor was going to trial. Katy wasn’t going to let either of her friends give up her careers, not when she could ask Alex for help. She was grateful for everything she had saved up while Tally was missing; she didn’t need to work for at least six months. “Do you want your crusts on or off?”

When she looked at Tally, there was a faint crease between her eyes, as if she wasn’t used to being asked that question. Maybe she wasn’t. A vise threatened to grasp Katy’s heart; she could only imagine what Tally had gone through over the past three years. She took a deep breath, then another, pulling herself away from that train of thought. It didn’t do well to get upset in front of her daughter, who was already dealing with enough trauma of her own.

Tally shook her head.

Katy took a guess. “No crusts?”

A nod.

Katy smiled, then turned back to the sandwiches and cut the crusts off. Her house was silent, now. She hadn’t turned the TV on since Tally got home, afraid of exposing her to the media coverage about her case. She wanted to protect her from that, from the people who threatened to capitalize on what had happened to her.

Greg had suggested it, too, to keep her memory as pure as they could. Not that he thought she remembered a ton, three years later. Memory was funny that way, especially with children. In times of trauma, memories often found themselves changed or manifesting in a way that protected the child from reality.

Given the haunted look Katy saw on her daughter’s face sometimes, she doubted that it had completely gone away, but she wasn’t going to ask about it, wasn’t even going to touch on the subject. It hurt like hell to have her daughter home and not be able to hug her tightly, to keep her so close that there was no way she was going to disappear.

But she had to move at Tally’s pace. Had to let her daughter decide what she was comfortable with, what she wasn’t.

“Here.” She plated the sandwiches with a flourish, turning around with a teasing grin on her face. “No crust for you, Miss Thing, and crusts for me.” She plunked the plates down at the requisite spot.

Tally sat her crayons to the side, carefully shuffling her papers until there weren’t any where she put the plate. Her eyes flickered to Katy, and Katy smiled, trying to not let her nerves show. That was another thing Tally had never done, when she’d lived with Katy. Was it something her kidnapper had taught her?

“You have therapy with Miss Lisa later today,” Katy said, for the sake of having something to say.

Tally didn’t respond to that, so Katy kept talking, telling her stories of when she was little, describing the places they used to go.

She didn’t mention the park.

When they were done, Tally pushed the plate back, her eyes polite but wary. She’d only eaten about half the sandwich.

“Good job.” Katy smiled, picking up the plate and stacking it on top of hers. “Do you want some water?”

Tally shook her head, her gaze darting to the hallway that led to the bathroom.

“Go ahead.” Katy put the dishes on the counter, hearing the sound of Tally’s chair scraping as she stood, and then the soft noise of her footfall as she headed down the hallway.

Katy made herself put the rest of the sandwich into a baggie, saving it in case Tally wanted it later, and then put the plates in the dishwasher. She didn’t let herself go down the hallway, not wanting to follow Tally’s every movement, no matter how much she wanted to.

She had to let her have some independence, some autonomy, even though that was absolutely the last thing she wanted. Alex had said it, and so had her therapist.

What had she done in life to deserve her daughter’s disappearance? She closed her eyes, gripping the counter tightly as she tried to rid her body of some of the tension it carried. Maybe she could ask Alex for a massage later, when Tally was asleep.

The thought sent warmth spiraling out through her limbs, leaving her fuzzy-headed and content.

Then she heard faint talking sounds. Her heart skipped a beat, adrenaline surging, before she recognized it as the TV in the living room. Tally must have turned it on.

“Let’s not watch that,” Katy started, stepping into the living room and then stopping.

Tally was looking at the screen, her head tilted to one side as she looked at the images they were showing.

“Two persons of interest in the disappearance of Tally Sommers have been confirmed missing,” the reporter said. The story continued on, but Katy couldn’t move.

Tally was tracing their images with her fingers, and for the first time since she’d come back, Katy saw recognition there. She knew them.

Katy opened her mouth to speak, stopped. What would she say? Instead she darted back to the kitchen and grabbed her phone, dialing Alex immediately. Alex would know what to do with the information.