They were forced to take Lauren's work car, the Nissan Versa. It was perfectly suited to her driving needs, but it wasn't very roomy, and she knew they would have a hell of a time bringing Joe home in this. She drove this time, more confident with the workings, and knowing if she didn't drive she would spend the whole time fidgeting and bouncing in her seat, like the kids were now, in the back.

"Auntie Rachel gave the game away," Lauren had explained to them after waking them with the news they'd found their dad. "She didn't want to hide anymore. She's ready to come home."

"Why are they at the hospital?" Naomi asked now.

"They spent too much time outside," she said, though she wasn't sure that was entirely accurate. "It gets cold at night, now. They might have caught colds."

"We don't go to the hospital when we get colds," Tosh said.

"That's because you're such strong, healthy kids," she said.

"Dad hardly ever gets sick," Naomi said. "Are you sure it's not something more serious?"

Naomi was far too smart. She'd have to be careful. "He might have gotten a boo-boo while he was hiding. He's a big boy, you know how often he bumps his head."

"Silly Daddy," Tosh said, chuckling.

"He is silly."

While Lauren drove, Al made the phone calls. To Sunny, to the police, to Johnny and to her in-laws, even to her own parents. He performed well, giving only the facts as they knew them and nothing else. She had a feeling that before long, whatever hospital room Joe and Rachel were in would be full.

Surprisingly, or maybe not surprisingly, he didn't call Rachel's mom. She didn't even know if Rachel's mom knew she'd been missing. Rachel and her mother might have been closer than they used to be, but they could still go days without calling each other. Al also didn't call his own mother, because Lauren remembered he'd never told her she was missing either. It was interesting how similarly Rachel and Al treated their mothers, holding back information from them, but for different reasons; Al, not to distress his, and Rachel, not to anger hers.

She took the Grandview Highway turnoff from Highway One, and it took them all the way there, becoming Twelfth Avenue as it took them into the west side of Vancouver. VGH was a sprawling complex taking many blocks from Ash Street all the way to Oak Street. Lauren found the directions to the parking garage, parked, and Al paid for parking while she stopped Tosh and Naomi from sprinting ahead and getting hit by reversing cars. They crossed the street to the hospital and found the directions to the emergency room.

Rachel found them before they could even begin to navigate their way through the maze of curtains, beeping machines, harried nurses and doctors, and gurneys. "Al!" she called.

When Al saw her, and Lauren saw his face, she knew for certain that, whatever might or might not have happened between them, there was only one woman in his heart, and that was a good thing, because it stopped her from getting any foolish ideas in her head about what might or might not have been in her own. Crisis was a terrible incubator for affections; it was more like a bellows, blowing the ember hot but, in the absence of continued effort, hardly more effective than a breath of air. The crisis had passed. The cooling would now begin.

He rushed to her and threw his arms around her. She yelped in pain, and he let go and said, "Sorry, sorry, oh, honey, oh, sweetie." Her face crumpled, and this time he hugged her more gently, and she sniffled into his shoulder. When Lauren got closer, she could see Rachel had a black eye, and her face was scraped, her hair was a tangled, greasy mess, and who knew what kinds of bruises she had under her hospital gown.

By the time Lauren and the kids caught up to them, they'd separated, Al wiping his eyes, and now Rachel was hers to hug. "Oh, God, I'm so glad you're okay!" Lauren blubbered, and Rachel was sobbing, and then Naomi and Tosh were crying because they were alarmed at all the adults crying, and Lauren had to let go and crouch to gather her children in her arms.

"Where's Dad?" Naomi asked.

"Come with me," Rachel said, wiping her eyes, and led them all. Lauren wondered if Rachel might have been a little out of it, because she didn't seem to be aware, or she didn't care, that she was flashing glimpses of her bare ass beneath the hospital gown; Al had to gently close the gown behind her. She could tell Rachel was favouring one socked foot, perhaps she'd twisted an ankle sometime between Saturday night and now. Lauren was dying to ask what had happened to them, but she didn't want to scare the kids in case it was something bad.

Rachel opened a curtain, and there lay the love of Lauren's life, spilling over his hospital bed.

"DaddyDaddyDaddy!" Tosh and Naomi shrieked in stereo, Naomi regressing to a younger state at the site of her father, whose face was a swollen, pulpy mess, whose one arm was in a cast and one leg in a knee brace.

Joe's eyes, near puffed shut, cracked open at the sight of his children. "Oh, hey, kids," he said, his voice a bit slurry, and Lauren wondered what they had him on. He must have been in incredible pain, and her heart broke for him, and she began sobbing uncontrollably, and she knew she was being a terrible mother because she wasn't keeping it together for the sake of the children.

The kids flocked to him, and he made an inhuman effort to enfold them in his arms. "You're hurt!" Naomi cried. "You're hurt so bad, Daddy!"

He chuckled, then groaned, and Lauren knew he might have a couple of cracked or broken ribs under his hospital gown. Jesus, had he been beaten with a baseball bat? Now fury replaced grief, and she vowed to avenge her husband. She'd go get her sword and deal out some justice.

"Aw, it looks worse than it is, honey," Joe said. He was being so brave for them, and that only made her cry harder.

"But you broke your arm!" Tosh said. "Did you trip while you were hiding?"

"Hiding?" Joe didn't understand at first, but then he looked at Lauren, read her mind and said, "Oh, yeah, clumsy me. Hey, you two can be the first to sign my cast."

"Yay!" Tosh said, but Naomi saw through her father's attempt to deflect, and she only glowered at him. Nevertheless, they stepped away to let her get in there.

She lowered herself to the bed and laid herself down on whatever free space was left, and Joe wrapped his unbroken arm around her, and its weight felt so good that she buried her face in the nape of his neck and sobbed again.

"Sorry, babe," Joe grunted, obviously wincing at her head on his chest, but he didn't try to shrug her off. "Didn't mean to worry you."

"It doesn't matter now," she blubbered. "You're here and you're safe. Oh, my love, my heart!"

They were all silent, because the moment didn't need any more words. The kids snuggled into any free space next to them, and she reached out blindly to take them in.

When she'd gotten a good cry out, she wiped her eyes on his hospital gown, sat back up, and blinked at Al and Rachel, arm in arm, looking at her. She looked at her kids, and she knew what the predicament was here. Al and Lauren needed to know what had happened to Joe and Rachel, but they couldn't give anything more than the PG version, and maybe the police would be here soon and push everybody out the door and they'd get nothing for hours. They needed to be quick.

"So... what happened?" Al asked.

Rachel and Joe traded a look. "We... had an adventure," Rachel said.

"Adventures are fun!" Tosh enthused.

Rachel chuckled. "Yeah, buddy, that's true, but they sometimes come with sticky situations that make them more... exciting."

"Were you scared, Auntie Rachel?" Naomi asked, huddling shyly against her.

Rachel absently put an arm around her. "Yup," she replied, and Lauren could tell she was trying to hold it together. "But your daddy... was so brave... he saved my life, and I'll never be able to repay him."

"Hey," Joe rasped. "No. Rachel, hey, you saved mine too. Remember that."

Al looked at his wife in wonder. "We could have lost you. I can't believe it. We were looking in every direction but you were closer than we realized, having..." He gestured to Joe, then to her. "... this... happen to you."

She shook her head. "Let's not talk about that now."

Suddenly the curtain twitched, and two people entered the room. Lauren could tell right away they were cops, even though they were in plain clothes. The man with grey hair said, "I'm Detective Parsons, and this is Detective Reynolds, Vancouver Police." He gestured to the brunette.

"Hello again," Al said.

Rachel blinked in surprise. "You called the police?"

"Of course I did, when I found the car and you two weren't there."

"You found the car?!" Rachel said in amazement. "So, you were busy!"

"Rachel, we were worried sick, Lauren and I."

"Looks like the two of you turned up in the nick of time," Reynolds said, and Lauren disliked her immediately.

"We're happy you're returned," Parsons said, "but we're going to need to talk to you both and get a full account of what happened to you."

"You can start with me," Rachel said. "Joe needs to rest."

"I'm sorry, but if Mr. DiTomaso can talk, we'd like to hear what you have to say," Reynolds said, turning to Joe. "Don't worry, I'll be gentle."

Lauren felt a flare of anger in her chest, knowing that the two of them had probably already negotiated who would interview whom, and determining that the female detective would get better responses from the male victim. Suddenly she remembered Naomi's account of Joe's cop friend, and noted that Reynolds was pretty in a severe, kick-ass way, and struggled to ward off jealousy, knowing this woman would get Joe's story before his own wife did.

"It's okay," Joe said. "If you're going to get those fuckers, then you need the information now."

Joe must have forgotten his children were in the room, or he would have never used such language. "Why don't I take the children and give you some privacy," she said, rounding up Tosh and Naomi.

"I'll come with you," Al said. "Rachel, we'll be just outside of Emergency."

"Okay," she said. "Detective Parsons, should we find another place to talk?"

"Yes, let's," Parsons said, smiling, obviously charmed by the tall blonde. Lauren couldn't blame him; she was radiant all the time, and her black eye and scraped, tear-streaked face only made her more sympathetic.

They parted the curtain and made their way back through the maze. Before they could say anything to each other, though, they noticed Sunny rushing through the sliding doors, wildly looking around.

"Sunny!" Al shouted.

He spotted them and sagged in relief. "Is it true?" he asked. "They're here? They're okay?"

"Here, yes," Al said. "Okay... well, that might be a relative thing."

"What happened?"

"We didn't get much out of them before the detectives showed up, but apparently they saved each other's lives."

"The police are here?" Sunny said.

"Yup," Lauren said. "They're interviewing them separately."

Sunny closed his eyes and sighed in frustration. "They should have representation."

"They're victims, not suspects," Al said.

"Are they, though?" he asked, eyes widening. "Did you get the story of what happened to them? What they did? Maybe they had to do something not entirely legal to survive, did you think of that?"

Al and Lauren looked at each other. "It's too late to stop this now," Lauren said. "If they need it, we'll get them lawyers later."

"I was the one who called the police," Al said. "Blame me if you want to blame someone, but I thought they needed to be updated. It is unfortunate they got here before you did, though, you could have informed them of their rights before they got started."

Sunny's face softened. "No one's to blame. It is what it is."

"I'm surprised you got here so quickly, though," Lauren said. "Aren't you supposed to be at work?"

Sunny grinned. "I'm playing hooky. I just needed to see them, and then I'll go back."

Lauren threw her arms around him and said, "You big softy."

They waited for almost an hour, and Al went to check on the meter. Finally, Parsons and Reynolds emerged, carrying clear plastic bags filled with what appeared to be Joe's and Rachel's clothes. "We're done here for now," Parsons said. "We'll close the missing persons file on them, but we'll leave the other part of our investigation open in regards to your situation, and a few other things have popped up while interviewing Joe and Rachel that we need to check on, so you'll hear from us again."

"Is that why you took the clothes?" Lauren asked.

Reynolds smirked at her. No doubt she knew Lauren's profession, and no doubt Lauren knew what Reynolds thought about it. "We'll return them once we're done with them," she said, not even bothering to answer her question.

"Thank you," said Al, ever so courteous to authority figures.

They left, and Lauren led the way back to the curtained room. Rachel and Joe brightened when they saw Sunny.

"Jesus Christ!" Sunny exclaimed when he saw Joe. "What the hell happened to you?"

"Long story," Joe said. "Tell you later." He looked pointedly at the kids, and Lauren knew he meant tell you when they're not around.

Sunny nodded and took Rachel gently in his arms. "I'm just so glad you're both here, and safe. When Al and Lauren told me they couldn't find you, I couldn't believe it."

"You wouldn't have known where we went," Rachel said, squeezing him as hard as she could. "You went home before this whole nightmare happened."

"You had a bad dream, Auntie Rachel?" Tosh asked innocently.

"It sure felt like one." she replied honestly.

"So, what happens now?" Sunny asked. "How did the police treat you? I just told Al and Lauren you should have had representation to protect your rights."

Rachel patted Sunny on the shoulder. "Always looking after us, aren't you. No, they were fine. They just needed our story."

Sunny cleared his throat. "And the story you gave them, was it consistent? Nothing they would have found holes in, or played you against each other to exploit?"

"We told them what happened," Joe rasped. "We were together the whole time, so our story couldn't be different. Don't worry so much, buddy. The female detective was as gentle as a mouse."

When Lauren heard that, she started to worry. Maybe Sunny was right. Joe wouldn't have seen Reynolds coming. He was too innocent, too willing to assume innocence in others, especially women; well, look how often I betrayed him without his knowledge, she thought, and felt wretched.

"If they want to talk to you, any of you, again, you call me, and I will find you lawyers, do you hear me?" Sunny asked. Actually, it wasn't a request. He was telling them.

"Yes," Lauren said. She looked pointedly at Rachel and Joe. "Yes?"

"Okay, okay, if it makes you feel better," Rachel said.

"In the meantime," Lauren said, "what about you two? When can you come home?"

"Come home, Daddy!" Tosh said.

"Not yet," Naomi said. "He's hurt. His face needs to get less puffy."

Joe chuckled, and groaned at his quivering muscles' effect on his ribs. "Thanks, sweetie," he said. "Yeah, I think I do need to stay here a couple more days. The doctors want to make sure nothing is wrong on the inside."

Of course. Jesus, he could have internal bleeding. He could be in even worse shape than he looked. "I'm staying right here until they let you go," she said.

"I appreciate that, babe, but the kids can't stay here all day," Joe said reasonably.

"Then I'll send them home with someone."

"No, Mommy, don't!" Tosh whined. "We want to stay with you!"

"We've stayed with Grandma and Grandpa enough," Naomi said angrily.

"See, there you go," Joe said. "Take them home, I'll be fine. I bet Johnny and my folks will be around soon, if you called them."

She sighed. "Okay. I'll go once they come. I don't want you left alone."

"That's the thing, babe, I haven't been alone," Joe said, almost tenderly. "Rachel's been my angel the whole time we were away."

Lauren looked at her best friend, and wondered what on Earth that meant. "Well, good. What about you, Rachel?"

"I'm already discharged. All of my cuts and bruises are external. The staff have to find some clothes for me in the lost and found, and then I can go home."

"Oh, thank God," Al said, holding her close. "I've missed you. So has Samson."

"Sure he has. He's probably scratched every piece of furniture in the house. We have a lot to do, Al. My purse was taken and my phone's gone, so I need to report them stolen and get new ones."

"Oh, didn't the detectives tell you?" Al asked. "They have your phone. They found it in the car." He turned to Joe. "Yours too, Joe."

"Mine?" Joe said, suddenly alert. "How did they find mine?"

"They didn't," Lauren said. "We did."

She saw the alarm in Joe's eyes and knew everything she'd suspected since last night was true.

Thanks for reading this far! They might be back, but they're a little too tight-lipped about the past two days. You'll need to read on to find out more, by clicking "Continue reading." If you liked what you just read, hit the "Vote" button and leave a comment.