Cassie was fidgeting, breathing hard and all efforts to steady her hands had proved abortive. She looked up helplessly at Logan as sweat trickled down her forehead.

Flame had only offered fifteen minutes before they returned with one of their other personalities. This time, to murder both of them.

If only 15 minutes was time enough to use these good-for-nothing hands to set herself and Logan free and find a way out.

"Cassie, what's going on?"

"I c-can't..." She stuttered taking shallow breaths.

"Hey. Hey, look at me. You need to calm down. You need to breathe. You can do this. You can do this." Logan kept muttering encouraging words as she fought her nerves and struggled with the key to release herself from the handcuff.

After what felt like 48 hours, she succeeded.

Cassie leaned against the pole and closed her eyes to take in some air. "Good job." Logan's voice snapped her back to their reality and she could recollect that they hardly had any time left.

She got up and hurried towards him to release him. Lucky for her, this was much easier and once he was free, she embraced him. It was a reaction in the spur of the moment, as she felt so much burden lifted off her shoulders.

"So, how do we get out of here?"

Logan collected the key from her.  "I think... Flame looked at the window," he said, walking towards it.

"That was a clue?" She asked as she trailed behind him closely.

He pushed the window open even further and put his hand through the burglary, trying to find the lock.

A transient look of relief on his face told her he'd found it. And even after he'd gotten it open, the aperture was still quite small. It looked like getting out of here would require having to drag themselves out on their bellies.

"You go first," he whispered to Cassie.

She looked out into the terrifying, thick blackness. But at the thought of Flame returning in probably less than two minutes, she chose the lesser evil.

Cassie put her head through the hole and used her hands as support to pull herself through. She must've sustained some injuries on her trunk. But right now, there was so much adrenaline, she could hardly feel anything.

She got out and bent down, waiting for Logan who was right behind her.

"What do we do next?" She asked as he locked the burglary window.

He buried his face in his hands and replied with a similar whisper, "I don't know." 

"You're supposed to know. Think."

"Okay... Okay." He tried to calm himself down so he could take Cassie's advice. 

Cassie listened in the eerie silence of the night and she was convinced she could definitely hear footsteps. "I think they've gotten into the room. What do we do now?"

"Run!" Logan said.

That did not sound like a carefully thought-out decision. It was more like a last resort to survival. Without giving her any second to further process or digest the information, he held her hands tightly and led her as they began running into the night.

After a few minutes, which was more like an eternity, Cassie felt like all the air had escaped her lungs. She was drenched in cold sweat and tears and almost believed that if she took one more step, she might not survive it.

However, Logan held unto her tightly as they made way through the darkness of the night on a lonely highway. It was much to both of their reliefs to hear the revving of an engine at a distance.

Logan finally stopped and let go of her hands while she bent down with her hands on her knee to ease the throbbing pain at her sides like a knife had been stabbed through. 

Logan stood on the road and began screaming at the top of his lungs, waving at the oncoming vehicle to stop. The truck moved past him, swerving its tires to avoid running him over. Lucky for them, it finally stopped.

They got in and had the first breath of fresh air as it began to move.

The truck driver stopped them at a more familiar place and was kind enough to donate one dollar to the stranded couple.

Logan, with Cassie trailing closely behind him, walked hastily to find a payphone. He called James who was quite worried about them considering how things had left off and was more than willing to help.

"So, you two are like besties again?" Cassie asked leaning against the wall.

"We made up," Logan muttered, not bothering to look at her.

She sighed and folded her arms across her chest. "Just like that? After over 20 years."

"Yeah," Logan said and then turned to face her. "It's stupid to hold unto a grudge for 20 years, don't you think?"

She nodded in agreement. "Did you tell him about Lucia?"

Logan sighed and turned away. "There's nothing to tell." 

They waited in silence for a few minutes until a black car stopped in front of them and James alighted. He was a lot taller and more muscular than the last time she'd seen him when they were just teenagers.

Their breakup had been a terrible chapter in her life that left her with no closure. Because she was so ashamed of herself, she hid away from him, despite all the times he made effort to have a conversation with her even though she'd broken his heart to pieces. Cassie could not get herself to face him.

Sometimes, she often wondered how differently things might've played out in her life if she'd been able to earn his forgiveness. He might've been able to handle her shortcomings and be a better father.

"I was terrified. I was about to alert the police when I received your call. What the hell happened?" James asked as he scanned their appearance.

They both looked completely worn out and terrible.

"Thanks for coming," Logan said walking forward.

They all got into his car and he began driving them home. Cassie sat behind both men on the back seat as quietly as possible. The entire atmosphere was quite awkward and she was pretty exhausted.

James cleared his throat. "So, how did you both wind up getting kidnapped?" He asked.

"Long story," Logan said with a sigh as he watched Cassie from the rearview mirror and she stared at him too.

It looked like James had to accept the fact that none of them wanted to talk about it right away.

That made the rest of the journey to their home, appreciably quiet. "Thanks for the ride," Logan said as he got down from the car. Cassie was about to do likewise but had to stop as James spoke to her.

"I didn't know you were back in town."

"Yeah. I could say the same for you."

He turned back to face her with a small smile on his face and an unmistakable look of pity in his eyes. "How are you?"

Cassie chose not to reply but nodded before opening the door and getting out. She felt Logan's gaze on her, but she ignored him and walked into the house.

Even if she'd arrived there barely 17 hours earlier, being home felt like two lifetimes ago. The once beautiful home of the Richard's was nothing but a quiet shadow of its former self.

Cassie took out a bottle of alcohol from her bag and took slow steps towards their family portrait that she'd hung on the wall herself. She folded her hands across her chest and watched it.

There was a smile on Cameron's face that she would rather hold unto till forever. He was a replica of his father except for his much darker hair. He was a beautiful, little boy who had battled cancer without ever losing faith, hope, love, or his charming smile. He seemed to have done a great job keeping everyone together because once he died seven years ago, none of them remained the same.

Then there was Lucia, hiding behind like she always did. She was terribly shy and great at hiding how she felt.  The only times she smiled were when she was with Cameron. The rest of the world had been shut out and the loss of her brother made everything even worse for her.

"He was not a punishment, Cassie," Logan whispered as he stood so close behind her. "The years we spent with him, even though few, were beautiful."

Tears had found their way to her eyes and strolled down her cheek. It had only occurred to her that she and Logan had never really been able to process his death or discuss it. It was too painful and anger was the perfect shield to mask all her pain.

She turned to face Logan and nodded with a slight smile on her face. "He was perfect," she replied.

Logan stared at her intently and bit his lips as he took a step further to close the gap between them. She knew what he wanted, but surprisingly, she didn't want it to.

"Logan..."

"Hmm?" He replied, coming even closer.

"I'm going to find her."

He paused. "Yes." He nodded. "I'd hire the best P.I. We could try again, maybe we would get lucky this time."

She shook her head. "I mean, I..." Cassie pointed at herself. "I'm going to look for her. I have the address."

Logan's mouth hung open. "You have her address?"

She took hold of the bottle of alcohol and was about to bring it to his lips, but seeing how Logan stared at her, she stopped herself. "Flame gave it to me."

He placed his hands on her cheek and wiped her tears dry and then moving closer, he placed a kiss on her forehead.

Cassie let go of the bottle of alcohol and put her arms around Logan. For some reason, she just felt the need to do that. To hold unto him and draw some strength from him before she ventured on her new path into the future.

However, their little moment of peace was cut short as Natasha descended the stairs.

Logan sighting her was immediately on edge and Cassie could feel his heart beating hard against his chest.

"Hello, Logan. Happy to see me?"

"What the hell are you doing here?" Cassie asked, stepping away. She'd had enough of the nonsense.

Natasha smiled. "You better shut your mouth while you still can," she said.

"Why don't you take your advice, Goldilocks." Cassie took quick steps towards her and made an attempt to attack her. But Natasha was quick to block her and kicked her in the face instead, which sent her to the ground.

"Woah!" Logan exclaimed as he tried to reach for Cassie but Natasha was quick to stand in between them.

She smiled. "I was not prepared this morning." Then she frowned as though bipolar and glared at Logan.

"Natasha, where the hell did you keep my money?" Logan asked also glaring at her.

With a hair flip, she replied, "make a wild guess."

"Would you please stop doing this?"

"Did you ever love me?" She asked, folding her hands across her chest.

"I..." He stopped to think. "You are a beautiful girl."

"Answer the damn question."

Logan was quiet because he had no answers to her question that wouldn't cause even more damage.

"I was willing to give up everything for you. I loved you with all my heart, Logan. Yet, you trampled on it because of that woman."

"That woman is my wife."

"That's not what you said."

"Yes. I was blind and stupid. I'm sorry for leading you on or hurting you. But if you really want to be free from your father, and I can see a thousand reasons why, you still have a chance. You are a strong, beautiful woman. Any man would be lucky to have you."

She stared at him with a much softer expression that he could recognize. "If that's the case, why don't you want me?" She asked, fitting her hands in her back pocket.

"Natasha, I-" Logan was in the process of giving his reply when Cassie got up and smashed a bottle at the back of her head, letting all its contents spill to the floor, while Natasha fell to the ground unconscious.