"Oh my little sparrow, haven't you learned I can always eat!" Alik teased and reached back into the bag that held their food and clothing. "Can I get you something?"

"I'd love a drink, thanks."

Alik opened the sports drink container and handed the bottle to her. She took a long swig and sighed deeply feeling the still cool liquid splash into her empty stomach. She was hungry, but it was more important for Alik to eat than her. All she had to do was drive, not expend excess energy reading the past.

"Do you mind if we share it?"

"Sure," Farrow passed the bottle back to Alik and glanced at him as he took a big swig himself. She watched his Adam's apple move up and down with each swallow. Ripping her eyes away from him, she forced herself to focus on the road ahead.

Alik munched hungrily on the bar before stopping suddenly and looking over at Farrow with a raised brow.

"What?" she asked, confused.

He reached behind himself and found another protein bar. "You need to eat, too." He answered matter-of-factly. He opened it and held it out for her.

"I'm fine, Alik. Finish eating so we can get started." Farrow said in a voice more harsh than she intended.

"We sure get grumpy when we're hungry, don't we?" Alik chuckled, still holding the food out to her.

"I'm not grumpy and I'm not hungry. Just eat your damn food!" she bellowed.

"Oh no? Then that noise your stomach is making is completely indicative of what? Crohn's disease? Gas?"

"Alik Winter, don't you ever bring up such vulgar topics with me again," Farrow glared at his smiling face.

"Well, I'm not retro-cognition-ing until you eat something. It won't do me any good if you're growling for the next twelve hours-from your mouth and your stomach. Or worse, what if you get dizzy while driving, for goodness sake? Just eat the darn bar! We can stop and get more food when we need to! I'm loaded remember?"

"We've got money, but no time, Alik."

"I'm about to make us some time. We're clear for the next fifteen miles. Can you eat and punch it at the same time?"

"We're good to go?" Farrow asked excitedly.

Alik held the bar up to her mouth for her to take a bite then left it hanging between her teeth.

"Now, we're good to go," he smiled and got back to focusing his vision on the past.

Chapter 46 Danny and Mom.

Right after Alik and Farrow left, Theo had gone in to help Margo with Danny. What he overheard was one of the most beautiful sounds he could ever imagine. Margo was singing to Danny. He stopped in the corridor so as not to disturb them, but to listen to the love of his life, as she poured her devotion into each note.

Theo's heart swelled with pride at the woman in that room. He's seen her hold the most delicate medical instruments with precision. Watched her fight for what she knew was good and true. Protected her adopted children with her life, time and again, and would still think only to sacrifice her own well-being, her own needs, for theirs.

Her song wasn't complex. No record label would be pounding at their door. She didn't hit every note perfectly, but she sang with her whole heart. Theo heard the sweetness, the tender devotion behind each word and knew his fiancee to be the most beautiful, brilliant miracle in his life. He stood in the corridor with mist in his eyes thanking God for the blessing that was the woman singing like an angel to the little boy who had been left to die.

He rounded the corner slowly so as not to interrupt, but desperate to watch what he imagined would be an absolutely beautiful sight.

His red-rimmed eyes smiled at the sight before him.

Danny was sitting in Margo's lap very still and quiet as though he knew she was fragile. He was holding a board book in his hands, and slowly flipping the stiff pages to look at the pictures of puppies. Margo was still singing, gently running her beautiful fingers through his too-long blond curls.

Theo could almost see her heart swell with love in her chest, though her brows were heavy with the clouds of worry and fear for her other children. For now, Theo knew she was trying to find peace with what was happening to them. She was taking solace in just the simple act of holding a baby who needed to be held. Knowing her, she was probably deep in conversation with God, too.

Looking up, Margo's eyes watched Theo watching her. The sadness in her eyes still heavy, she offered a weak sigh of acceptance and held her hand out to the man she'd been in love with for nearly half her life. She couldn't imagine a life where he wasn't there. However many times they may disagree, or how many bad guys were hunting them, she loved that sweet man watching her as if she were the most beautiful woman on earth. Margo basked in his love, though she knew what she must really look like: A middle-aged woman in a wheelchair with a whole lot of family baggage. Please give me strength, she prayed.

Theo saw her as the strongest person he'd ever known and admired the heck out of her. "Can I get you something?" He asked when she stopped singing and started pointing to the pictures in the book with Danny.

"You know, now that you mention it, Danny wanted to play with his cool racetrack, but I can't reach the floor. Do you think you could bring the coffee table here and help us set it up on that?"

"Great idea, Mom." Theo winked at Margo and turned to head back to the living room, glad to have something to do. When he returned with the cumbersome rectangular piece of furniture in his hands, Danny was scooting the racetrack aside to make room.

"Wow, what a great helper you are, Danny," Theo commented genuinely happy to see the child so aware of what was going on around him.

It didn't take the boys long to have the figure-eight racetrack up on the table and their remote cars at the starting line. Margo watched, delighted as Theo and Danny played together. She remembered watching Theo with Cole when he was a baby, but Margo left with her three refugees before she got to see him at this age.

"On your mark, get set, go!" The boys forgot their worries for a little while, so lost in their game.

"Are you two getting hungry?" Theo thought to ask after an hour of play. "After the day we had, how about..."

"Pizza?"

"You read my mind," Theo offered a tired grin.

He pulled out his cell phone and checked for the hundredth time to see if any kids had called or sent a text, not that he wouldn't have leaped off the floor when he heard the chime set at the loudest volume, but still. It was just wishful checking.

"Hi, I'd like to place an order for delivery," Theo began.

"Name please?"

"Theo Andrews"

"Oh, hey Dr. Andrews, it's Pete. You want the usual?"

Theo's fragile hold on his emotions nearly bubbled over at the reminder that he usually ordered seven pizzas to feed all the kids. "No, Pete. Just a large cheese tonight." It was going to be a very long night of trying not to go insane with worry, taking care of a toddler and helping Margo manage. If he had any hair, he would be running his fingers through it to try to calm himself down.

Danny walked over to Theo, who was still plopped on the floor with his racecar remote in his lap. He leaned over and wrapped his little arms around Theo's neck and buried his face into Theo's cheek offering him a big, wet, baby kiss. Theo sighed deeply and sat rocking the little guy in his arms, back and forth. After a while, Margo had to wipe away her tears when she realized who was comforting whom.

Chapter 47 Cell #2-Creed.

Creed woke screaming and fighting.

He jumped to his feet, ignoring the wave of dizziness that hit him immediately, threatening to bring the blackness all around his already darkened line of sight.

He was in a cell. He knew that right away. It measured approximately ten by ten.

Oh, shit. This is not good. He began panting and tried to force himself to breathe slow, deep breaths.

Closed-in spaces had never been his favorite-especially when there was no window to the outside.

Creed frantically spun in place. Forget a window! Where the hell is the door?

The only thing in the room was a laptop lying on the floor next to where he'd awakened. On the keyboard was a note that read simply, "WATCH ME."

Creed frowned at the computer like it was the devil incarnate. Unless that thing is about to show me how to get the hell out of here, I can't imagine it's good news.

He ground his teeth and went back to pacing the small space, running his hands down the walls looking for any secret lever or something that would make getting out of there possible. After twenty-fruitless minutes, Creed forced himself to roll his shoulders and head taking slow, deep breaths.

That's when he saw it.

It blended with the rest of the darkened brick walls, but there was something up there. It looked like a slender ledge about ten feet above the ground. At six feet two inches, he knew he would do anything possible to reach up there.

Where am I?

MEG! He screamed in his mind, trying desperately to communicate with her through their empath connection.

He waited for a moment before screaming her name again.

Silence.

It scared the hell out of him that he couldn't feel her warm white blanket nearby. Since her evolution, he could always feel her, but now, there was only silence where she used to be.

Oh God, please don't let her be dead. His heart was a white-knuckle fist punching angrily in his chest.

With a burst of fury, Creed leaped to reach the ledge. His right hand clasped it for a moment before slipping off the slick grime. Determined to get out, he tried again, using his nails to dig into the filthy paste and gain traction.

Muscles bulging, he pulled himself up as though performing a chin-up and saw a thick, metal door with no handle.

What the hell kind of cell had a one-way door ten feet off the ground?

As the ledge was only about three inches deep, there was no way Creed would be able to pull himself onto it.

He let loose a mouthful of curses as he let go of the ledge and landed on his feet.

With a deep breath, he worked on controlling his fury at being trapped and his panic at not being able to sense Meg.

Unsure what else to do, he moved to crouch beside the laptop and ran his finger across the trackpad to wake it up. The screen was already set up and waiting for him to press play. He moved the curser into place and double tapped the pad. The screen came to life.

Chapter 48 "I Can't Drive Fifty-Five".

They were flying down the highway.

Farrow knew this was dangerous so she drove as carefully as possible, but she was still traveling at least twenty miles over the limit between towns. Alik had prevented four speeding tickets so far.

"Pull over," Alik moaned.

Farrow had been so focused on her driving she hadn't turned to look over at her companion. Alik's face was literally green.

"Oh God, Alik. You pushed yourself too hard." Farrow gently scolded as she pulled the SUV to the far-right lane, decelerating as quickly and safely as possible.

"Can't. Argue. Gonna. Hurl." Alik was already unfastening his seat belt with one hand and the other was on the handle of the door.

Farrow bit her tongue and pulled the car to a stop just in time for Alik to fling the door open and leap out. He made it a few feet and began retching behind a bush. After several graphic moments, Alik sat back on his haunches and held his still spinning head with both hands. His protein bar and sports drink were splattered all over the wild grass in front of him.

Farrow reached behind her to find bottled water, checked for traffic, then opened her door. She hurried around the car and found Alik trying to stand. She helped him hobble back to lean against the car. The night air felt cooling on his face and neck. Farrow handed him the water. "Here, you probably want to rinse." She offered with a sympathetic look.

Alik took the bottle, filled his mouth with water and swished the taste of bile off his tongue. He spat in the dirt away from Farrow and repeated three more times. "I brought our toothbrushes and paste, if you'd like."

"You did?" Alik asked, brightening as much as his aching body would allow.

Farrow nodded and ducked back in the car for a moment before coming out with his old-fashioned toothbrush and paste.

"Seeing you stand there right now, with my toiletries...well, it's just about the prettiest thing I've ever seen." Alik sighed, taking the items in his still shaking hands.

"Wait, let me do this part," Farrow uncapped the paste and squeezed a perfect line on the bristles before handing it back.

The look of sheer joy on his face as he started to brush the vile taste from his mouth made her giggle. He spent a good two minutes cleaning his mouth before rinsing with the rest of the bottled water.

"That was one of the sweetest things anyone has ever done for me," he smiled weakly handing her back the rinsed brush.

"Oh, I doubt that."

"I know it wasn't life or death, but in that moment, having you take care of me-priceless."

Farrow was pleased, but downplayed the compliment by changing the subject. "You want to tell me what happened back there? You don't usually have a problem with motion sickness, do you?"

"No, never." Alik was already opening the door and climbing stiffly inside. Farrow followed his lead.