Ike was the last one back in the van. Last call was made for bathroom trips. Zoe’s baby seat was rechecked to make sure it was secure and finally Walker drove back onto the highway. Ike had just finished a three hour stint at driving so he sat down in the back seat beside his brother. Taylor glared at him which had been enough to discourage all his other siblings from sitting beside him but it didn’t seem to make an impression on his brother. Ike just snapped the belt closed and ignored his glare.

"Tay, are you going to sulk all the way to Tulsa? That’s over a thousand miles unless you haven’t noticed."

Taylor glared at him again. "I’m not sulking!"

"Could have fooled me," Ike declared. "You haven’t said a decent word to anyone for the last five hours. We’ve been on this trip before Bubba, it’s long and it’s boring. Sulking is only going to make it worse."

Taylor leaned his forehead against the window. "Ike, they yelled at me for an hour and forty minutes this morning.!" he complained.

"You got off easy," Ike said grinning. "We got yelled at yesterday. We were guilty of aiding and abetting, you know."

"Tell me it gets better, as we older," Taylor begged looking forlorn.

"It gets better," Ike admitted agreeably. "Come on Tay, cheer up."

"An hour and forty minutes," Taylor repeated.

"In that hour and forty minutes, did either Mom or Dad mention the words, grounded or restriction?" Ike asked.

Taylor shook his head.

"Then what have you got to be bummed out about?" Ike asked. 

"Because they said words like psychologist and therapy," Taylor admitted unhappily. "While, you guys are having fun, I’m going to be locked up with a shrink!"

"Better that, then them putting you back in a coma to make sure you get some rest," Ike suggested. "Come on, Tay, you spend a couple hours with someone that might be able to help you. What’s so bad about that?"

Taylor just shrugged. 

"Well, personally I can’t wait to get back home," Ike said with enthusiasm. "I want to see all my friends again, Carrie, Trina, Lauren..."

Taylor couldn’t help but laugh. "Ike has it ever occurred to you that all your friends are girls?"

Ike grinned. "I have guy friends. I just happen to have more girl type friends."

"What is Lauren going to say when she finds out about Jenny?"

Ike looked over at his brother in mock surprise. "Lauren knows about Jenny. She’s already dating a guy named Chris. I wouldn’t two-time a girl like that. Did you think Lauren and I were still an item and I was dating Jenny?"

"It wasn’t any of my business, but yeah," Taylor admitted. "I mean, Ike, there was some major tongue hockey going on at Lauren’s party on Christmas Eve."

Ike reddened and he glanced around to make sure no one else in the van was listening and spoke in a low tone. "Lauren and I weren’t serious. She knew from the beginning that I was leaving in a month and that I wouldn’t be around much. She isn’t the kind of girl that could deal with a long distance relationship."

"So, you’re saying she knew the score, so making out was okay?" Taylor said in an equally soft tone, not to be overheard.

"No. I’m not saying that," Ike said thoughtfully. "Tay, when Lauren and I were dating neither of us was interested in anyone else. We were trying to push a friendship into something more serious and it wasn’t meant to be. Lauren and I are much more suited to be friends and I think we’ll be friends for a long time."

"Is that your way of telling me not to follow your example?" Taylor asked with a grin.

Ike slouched down in the seat and leaned back. "Just be careful, don’t be in a hurry and don’t think every girl you go out with is the love of your life."

"Isn’t that like the pot calling the kettle black?" Zac asked leaning over the back of his seat and proving that that he’d been eavesdropping.

"Shut up, Zac!" Ike and Taylor ordered at the same time.

"Besides," Ike grumbled. "Now, that I have Jenny, my free-wheeling days are over."

"Not again!" Zac moaned.

* * * *

The three day trip from LA to Tulsa was uneventful. They had one incident in a restaurant where they were recognized and put on the spot to sing but they took it as compliment. After all it wasn’t that long ago that Hanson had volunteered to sing in every restaurant they visited just for the opportunity of an audience.

They spent one night in a rather run-down looking motel. It was late, they were all tired and as long as the place had clean sheets and hot water they weren’t going to be to particular. Out on the long stretches of westen interstate sometimes it was a hundred miles to the next town and you couldn’t always be sure it would be anymore than a gas stop.

The family took two rooms side-by-side, each with two queen size beds. The brothers took one room and their parents took one with their sisters. Ike lost the coin toss on who got to share with Mackie. Not only did the five-year-old still have accidents but he was well know for his kicks and punches in his sleep.

After just a little over six hours of sleep the family pulled out of the parking lot and were on the open road again. Everyone was anxious to return home.

With a total of three days and twenty-ix hours of driving time logged the Hanson family finally pulled into their Tulsa residence.

It was after midnight and the entire family just dragged out the necessities and staggered to their own beds.

It was an easy night for Taylor. He was awakened by only one nightmare and Zac was there to shake him awake. By the time the family finally awakened, Taylor already had all the luggage out of the van. No one asked him why he was up so early. 

The younger kids settled right back into their home as if they had never been away.

Ike made two phones called almost immediately. One was to Jenny back in California and the second as to his best friend in Tulsa, Carrie.

"Tay, you want to go to Carrie’s?" Ike offered.

Taylor considered it but shook his head negatively. "No, I’ll hang around here. Maybe, I’ll call Mike or Eric."

"You’ll have to wait until after 3:00," Ike reminded him. "They’re attending regular school."

"Yeah, whatever," Taylor waved him off unconcerned.

Ike exchanged a glance with his mother and both of them were wondering if Taylor was slipping to another one of his ‘moods’. Later that morning Walker decided to go visit his father and he offered his son a chance to drive and he turned that down. Walker took the younger children, leaving Diana, Zoe, Zac and Taylor behind.

"Mom!" Zac exclaimed slamming his notebook shut from an assignment he was writing. "Done!" Can I go skate now?"

"Be careful, honey," Diana exclaimed. "Do not go outside the fensed area without permission."

"Will do," Zac exclaimed with a grin. "Tay, you coming?"

Again Taylor shook his head and ignored another chance to get out of the house.

Diana went about the business of sorting through an enormous pile of clothing for the family.

It took Taylor an hour before he started ‘working’ on his mother. His sole intention of staying behind was to get a chance to try to convince her mother he didn’t need to see a psychiatrist. He caught her just in time as she was getting information from a physician’s registry for the Tulsa area. Diana was taking notes and recommendations from the service.

"Mom, I don’t need to see a shrink!" Taylor flat out stated.

Diana looked up from her notes and took her half-moon reading glasses off. She’d been expected this.

"Taylor people who train for twelve to sixteen years to become a psychologists or psychiatrists deserve a little more respect. We’ve already discussed this, and I’m not changing my mind. I’m making an appointment and you’re going."

"If you guys keep dragging strangers into this or if someone sees me going into a shrinks office, it could make the papers. It could ruin us."

Diana hid a smile but she looked up with concern. "I seriously doubt if anyone the press has the time to follow you around and quite frankly even if they do I don’t care. You need help to face these nightmares."

"But," Taylor jumped in triumphantly. "I haven’t had any nightmares in the last three nights."

This didn’t impress his mother. She counted off the nights with her fingers. "The first night you slept out of pure exhaustion. The second night again, everyone was tired and yes you did have several dreams because I heard you and Zac talking. And third, you had them last night too, because I heard both of you up last night.

"They weren’t that bad," Taylor claimed. "Beside what were you doing? Spying on me?"

"If you want to call caring for you and watching out for you spying , then yes I was spying," Diana said a little impatiently. "If that’s the case, I’ve been doing it for sixteen years, and I expect I’ll be doing it for several more!"

Taylor had the grace to apologize. "I’m sorry, Mom. It’s just I really don’t want to talk to some stranger about this."

"I know that," Diana admitted. "But sometimes you have to trust that you father and I just might make decision in your best interest, whether you like it or not. It’s not easy being a parent, honey. We don’t like having to scold and lecture and discipline, but, it’s part of our job. If we disagree, as the parents we overrule. It might make you angry. It might make you not like us very much. That hurts us, but it doesn’t make a difference. We’re here to be your parents, not your best friends or your buddies. It’s our job to make those decisions."

"But, Mom..."

"This is not negotiable so you can give it up," Diana warned. "I’m making the appointment."

Taylor gave up his argument. Finally out of boredom he joined Zac skating on the concrete water overflow behind the property.

Zac and Taylor were setting the table when Walker returned. Avie came in carrying a little black kitten. 

"You’re letting Avie have a cat?" Zac squawked feeling betrayed because he’d been begging for a dog for months.

"He’s not really ours," Avie explained. "Grandpa says I can borrow him and then when we go on the road, Grandpa will take him back."

"Grandpa says Blackie is going to be a ‘mouser’." Mackie announced. "That means he gets to kill and eat mice for dinner!"

"That’s gross!" Jessica exclaimed.

"I agree, at least at dinner time," Diana interrupted. "Tay, you’ll have to dig the litter box out of the garage. The rest of you put the kitten down and go wash your hands. I fixed ham and the works."

"Yeah!" Mackie shouted and took off running for the stairs.

"Come on Zac," Taylor ordered and collared his brother. "Lets go find the litter box."

"Mom told you," Zac protested.

"And, I told you," Taylor ordered never taking his grip off his brothers arm.

"If Avie gets a cat, how come I can’t have a dog?" Zac complained climbing over some boxes.

"Cause dogs take more care," Taylor said looking through the contents of a cabinet. "And, of the last two dogs we had to put Wicket down because of cancer and PB just went missing."

"I think a fan stole him," Zac declared. "And, I it wasn’t my fault someone left the gate open."

"Doesn’t matter whose fault," Taylor said, checking on top of a shelf. "Here it is,"

"Well I’m gonna ask Dad for a dog again."

"Good luck," Tay said passing a half-full bag of kitty litter over to his brother. "Dad’s not going to get you another dog until you prove you can take care of it."

"Well, how can I prove it, if I don’t have a dog to prove it on?’ Zac asked comically.

"Maybe write a paper on dog care or something?" Taylor suggested.

Zac grinned. "How about I write it on the care and feeding of you and Mac?"

"Ha, ha," Taylor aimed the plastic box at his brothers head and barely missed as Zac ducked out of his reach.

They deposited their finds in the mud room and informed their Mom that they had found what was needed.

"Good, dinner’s ready. Wash your hands," Diana exclaimed distractedly as she was moving food from the stove.

Ike was late for supper and when he did show up he had his friend Carrie in tow.

Walker turned around when his son came through the door. "About time, young man. Ike!"

The entire family looked around and dinner was forgotten.

"Ike! You cut your hair!"

Diana was out of her chair, ruffling her fingers through his much shorter hair. "I love it!"

Walker was smiling and he ruffled his hand through his son’s hair something he hadn’t been about to do for years because of its length. "I like it."

Ike had to endure practically everyone in his family rubbing his head.

"You got your hair cut and you didn’t even tell us!" Zac accused.

"Why did you get your hair cut?" Diana asked.

"Actually, it was an accident, Mrs Hanson," Carrie apologized.

"Everyone sit down. Finish your dinner," Walker commanded.

Diana got another plate out of the cabinet and Jessica got the extra chair from the kitchen office. Everyone shifted over to make room for Ike friend.

Walker proceeded to fill the girls plate while Ike and she explained what happened.

"It was very simple actually," Ike said. "We were sitting on the couch and the two P’s were playing behind us."

"Two P’s?" Walker questioned.

"Plague and Pestilence," everyone at the table intoned together making Diana laugh as she explained.

"Carrie’s six-year-old twin sisters, Paige and Patricia."

"Otherwise known to the world as Plague and Pestilence because they are absolute terrors," Carrie offered.

"So, anyway," Ike continued. "The two P’s were playing behind us and the next thing I knew, Plague cut off a chunk of my hair."

"I am so sorry!" Carrie apologized.

Ike laughed. "I’m not. So, Carrie said it couldn’t be salvaged unless I wanted to walk around with a big chunk missing in the back so I ask her to cut it."

"Carrie, you did this?" Diana exclaimed running her fingers through Ike’s wavy hair. "You did a great job. I love it."

"I don’t," Zac exclaimed the only descending vote. "Now everyone’s going to expect all of us to get a hair cut!"

"No one is asking you to cut your hair," Walker admonished. "That is totally up to you."

"I like it!" Mackie shouted. "Now, I’m not the only guy around here that looks like a boy!"

"Hey!" Zac bopped his little brother in the back of the head and bopped his head downward and into his mashed potatoes.

Mackie’s head popped up to laughter from his family and a mean look of revenge in his eyes for Zac.

Walker made a motion and because he’d had years of practice, Taylor knew exactly what he meant. It was his job to get between his brothers before open war broke out. With a fluid motion he picked up Mackie and plopped him down in his chair and switched plates and silverware quickly. Mackie and Zac just glared at each other around their brother while Ike wiped his little brothers face off.

Carrie laughed. She’d been in and around the Hanson family most of her life and she loved the noisy confusion that was a normal part of their household. Ike had told her not to worry, but still she worried. Such as big deal had been made about their long hair that she had been worried about his parents reaction. But, as Ike had assured her. It was only hair.

* * * *

Screams of fear and terror over and over propelled every out of their beds. The pounding of footsteps and lights being switched on added to the confusion as Walker and Diana ran into each other before they both ran down the hall towards their sons room.

Ike got to Taylor’s bedside just in time to see Zac go flying across the room, the result of a fist in his face. 

Zac, thrown off balance, slammed into the dresser and stumped his toe against the hardwood. He ignored it, and limped back to Taylor bedside but by this time Walker and Diana were already trying to wake him up.

Walker was strong-arming him trying to hold down strong fists so they wouldn’t make contact with either himself or his wife. Diana held his head to her breast trying to calm him.

Jessica and Avery appeared in the doorway wide-eyed and scared.

Ike walked over and hugged his sisters and assured them that everything was going to be all right. He asked Jessica to take Avery back to their room so she wouldn’t be so frightened. Then he returned and wrapped an arm around Zac who was standing by the edge of bed watching.

"It’s never been this bad before. Never," Zac exclaimed his chin quivering.

Walker dipped his hand down into a glass of water and dashed the water off his hand into his sons face.

Startled by water, Taylor opened his eyes. At first he didn’t focus and when he did, he seemed confused to be the arms of his parents.

"Why won’t they stop?" he asked his eyes filling with tears. "Why? What did I do that was so bad to deserve this?"

Diana tightened his hold, her own tears flowing freely.

"You didn’t do any, Tay," she whispered.

Zac sucked in his own breath and ran from the room. A few seconds later the house alarm triggered causing the obnoxious siren to echo through the house.

"I’ll get it," Ike promised. "Zac too," he added and he ran out of room and took the steps at double time. He punched the override numbers into the keypad and picked up the telephone on the first ring.

"Everything is okay. We just ripped the alarm," he reported to the security company. Then he turned on the kitchen light along with the outside lights. There were drips of blood and toe prints on the tiled floor. Ike grabbed the first aid kit his Mom always kept in the laundry room and trailed his brother.

It wasn’t difficult to find Zac. Ike climbed the rope ladder to the ‘boys’ side of the tree house.

"Hey, Zac," Ike said as he climbed inside the small structure. "I haven’t been up here since you built it. He pulled on the string to turn on the single light bulb and surveyed his younger brother huddled up against the wall.

"Hey, bro," Ike said gently. "You got the rough end of that nightmare, didn’t you?"

"I don’t care about that," Zac sniffed. "Tay, didn’t know what he was doing."

Ike looked at his brother’s already swelling eye and then turned his attention to his big toe that was bleeding all over the floor. "Weather he does or not, it doesn’t make it hurt any less. You’re going to have a black eye tomorrow and you split your toenail. That is really going to hurt."

"Ike what did they do to him to make him scream like that?"

"I don’t know."

Zac buried his face down on his arms. ‘Do you think maybe they hurt him real bad?"

"There wasn’t too many bruises so they don’t think he was beaten, Ike said.

"Not that kind of hurt," Zac whispered.

Ike looked up and met his brothers eyes. "You mean was he molested?"

Zac nodded.

"No," Ike said firmly. "I thought you knew that. The doctors said he wasn’t molested."

"But how does he know?"

Ike’s eyebrows went up. "I don’t know exactly, but I know what he said and I believe him."

"Then what would make Tay so scared?"

Ike scooted over the rough plywood to sit by his brother.

"Zac, Tay spent four nights, tied up, hungry and hurt. He was probably thinking that he was going to die. I don’t know how I would react to that, or you. When you think about what could have happened, nightmares aren’t so bad."

"They weren’t so bad until tonight." Zac said. "I couldn’t wake him up. He just got wilder and wilder. I wanted to help him but I couldn’t."

"Zac, you have no idea, how much you’ve helped Tay since he’s come home and while he was in the hospital. Right now you’re sort of a life line for him. Something he can grab onto when he needs you the most. I’ve been watching and I’m real proud of the way you’ve stood by him. I’m sure he thinks so too, its’ just right now he’s not thinking straight enough to tell you so."

"I couldn’t help him," Zac repeated.

"You did your best. That’s all anyone can ask," Ike said quietly. "Mom’s made a doctor’s appointment for Tay on Friday. Maybe the doctor will be able to help."

"I hope so, he packs a mean wallop!" Zac said rubbing his eye.

Ike laughed. "How about coming back inside now. Mom and Dad will have Tay calmed down by now and they don’t need to worry about you too."

Zac limped back to the house, where his Dad hugged him and checked over Ike’s attempts at first aid and then shut off the lights and whey all returned to bed. Both, Ike and Zac checked in on their brother. He was sound asleep.

* * * *

Taylor was a no show for breakfast and he was late for school but neither of his parents remarked on it when he finally did show up to the school table.

"We’re up to Science," Walker coaxed and gave him time to locate his book.

Taylor looked around kind of expecting some reaction to his lateness but it seemed that his parents were going to cut him some slack. Looking over to his brothers he was waiting for some smart remark.

"Zac! You have a back eye!"

Zac looked up with a quirky look. "No kidding!"

There was a silence around the table as everyone waiting and looked at Taylor.

He looked around. "What?"

"Jeez, Tay, you could at least apologize," Jessica exclaimed with an accusing tone. "You hit him!"

Taylor’s mouth dropped open. "Did I do that?" he asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, Earkel, you did."

"Ah, man, I’m sorry. Did I do that last night?"

Zac nodded and grinned. "It’s okay, I kinda think it looks cool."

Ike caught his brothers chin and turned his head seriously inspecting the black eye. "Yep," he concurred. "Definitely cool."

"Hey, guys, lessons," Walker reminded his children and everyone went back to work.

A couple hours later chairs scraped back as Jessica and Zac finished and left the school room. Then Avery and Mackie and Ike finished and left. Taylor finished up his literature assignment and started to rise but his mother detailed him.

"No so fast. You missed Math."

Taylor made a face and dug out his Algebra book.

"Mom, can you give me one example of why I need Algebra?" he complained.

"You can’t get into college without it." Diana replied.

"Who says I’m going to college," Taylor groused and then when his mother gave him ‘that look’ he lowered his eyes back to the book to duck her wrath.

Fifteen minutes later with a puzzled look on his face he tried again. "Can you give me one example of how Algebra will help me with music?"

Diana paused in the letter she was writing. "No. I can’t"

"Then why do I have to study it?"

Diana paused again. "Because if I had to suffer through Math so do you."

Taylor chuckled. "Very mature Mom. Very mature."

Diana laughed. "Do you want some help?"

Taylor leaned back in his chair, tilting it dangerously. "Mom, you know how everyone says I’m just like you?"

"Yes?"

"You’re lousy at Math," Taylor said grinning and snapping his chair back upright.

Diana laughed and waved him out of the room freeing him from his lesson.

* * * *

"Tay!" Ike skidded into the living room and grabbed the remote and snapped off the television.

"Hey!"

"Grab your swimming trunks and suntan lotion, we’re going to Cottonwood Lake," Ike exclaimed excited.

"Why? The waters still to cold to swim."

"You can have fun without swimming," Ike exclaimed a little exasperated at his brother. "It’s going to top out at about eighty-five degrees today. You need some sun, you’re pale. Carrie and Jon and her brother and two sisters, Lauren and Samantha and Trina and her boyfriend and her little brother and his little brother and Zac, Jes, Avie, me and you." Ike completed his list out of breath. "Come on, let’s go have some fun."

"Aren’t they in school?"

"Parent Teacher conferences," Ike declared. "Come on. You either go with us or you go with Mom and Dad and they’re going to visit Uncle Frank."

"I’m with you," Taylor agreed very quickly because he really didn’t like his uncle very much.

The trip to Cottonwood Lake was a fun. There was a beach where they laid out on towels for sunning and a volleyball net set up and a playground for the little kids. All the teenagers agreed up front to take turns being responsible for the younger children. Taylor had just finished his turn and he decided to hike up to the top of the trail to an overlook area. 

"Taylor wait up!"

Taylor looked back to find Samantha trailing behind him. He had been kind of avoiding her all afternoon.

"Where are you headed?"

"Up to the overlook," Taylor said and he waited for her to catch up.

"So are you going to tell me?" Samantha exclaimed punching him in the arm. "Your e-mails stopped about six weeks ago. What happened?"

"I got sick," Taylor said turning and continuing to climb. "I’m sorry, I stopped writing you."

Samantha ran to catch up and walked beside him and finally Taylor put out his hand she linked hers with his.

Once they got to the top of trail they sat down on the warm rocks and looked over the lake. The silence between them was comfortable but unsettling.

"Tay, what happened in LA?" Sam finally asked.

Taylor look uncomfortable. "What do you mean?"

"Hey, it’s me. The person you e-mailed in a panic because you got a zit the day before shooting was supposed to start. I got e-mails everyday and then all of sudden nothing. Then when they started coming again, it was just quick, short notes; nothing personal."

"I told you I got sick," Taylor claimed.

"The appendix story," Sam scoffed. "Tay, the male anatomy is slightly different from the females,"

"No kidding?" Taylor snorted.

Sam threw a pebble at him. "I’m serious. If your appendix had been removed you’d have a scar above the waistline of your swim trunks. If it had burst like the news reports said, the scar would be even bigger."

Taylor looked down at his smooth belly. "I guess I’ll have to be more careful."

Samantha waited patiently.

Taylor looked over at his friend and studied her for a full minute before speaking.

"Sam if I tell you something, you have to swear on your life not to repeat it to anyone. Not your sister, your mother, anyone. This has to be top secret."

"Tay, I’m your friend," Sam snapped. "Friendship means trust. If you can’t trust me..." she dropped of the last of her sentence and started to get up.

"No, Sam. Wait." Taylor exclaimed.

Sam sat back down and Taylor moved to sit closer to her.

"You’re not going to believe this," Taylor warned.

By the time Taylor finished his story, Sam was sitting shoulder to shoulder with him.

"Tay, you are so lucky," Sam exclaimed.

"Lucky?" Taylor swallowed.

"Yes," Sam exclaimed. "I mean I know what you went through was rough but if Ike or Zac had veered off in another direction or if they had been ten minutes later, you might have been killed."

"That’s true," Taylor admitted.

"Plus, there’s a whole slew of nasty things that happen to people who are abducted. Maybe you were lucky they died of a drug overdose. It probably kept them from hurting you. You are okay aren’t you?" Sam questioned.

"Other than going crazy, sure,"

"You’re not crazy," Sam denied. "Disturbed maybe, a little demented, but you were that way before you were kidnapped."

Taylor grinned. "Zac will agree with you. That black eye he’s sporting; I gave it to him. I didn’t mean too, but I lashed out at him last night in my sleep."

"Zac’s quite proud of that black eye," Sam said smiling. "I heard him tell Lindsay that it was a badge of honor and he couldn’t tell her how he got it because it was top secret."

"My brother the drama queen," Taylor agreed. "But, that’s not far off base. At least he didn’t totally lie."

"So when’s you appointment with the psychiatrist?"

"Day after tomorrow. I don’t want to go but my parents aren’t giving me any choice about it. I’d rather work it out on my own." Taylor complained.

"My Mom went to a psychologist after she and my Dad broke up. It helped a lot. She stopped yelling at us so much."

"I think, if they’d just give a little more time, I’d remember," Taylor said. "I get little bits and pieces and then they’re gone again."

"Write them down," Sam suggested. When Taylor looked at her skeptically she continued. "No, I mean it. If you remember some little detail, write it down or draw pictures of it. That way you’ll be able to piece it together like a puzzle."

"Maybe I’ll try that," Taylor agreed. "It can’t hurt."

"Taylor! Samantha!"

Both of them turned towards the shouts.

"I guess we’ve been gone to long," Sam exclaimed.

Taylor offered his hand and Sam took it. "Thanks, Sam. It’s nice to have a friend I can trust."

"You can always trust me, Tay," Sam said serious and then she hauled back and punched him in the stomach.

"Ouch! What was that for?"

"For not telling me before. For letting me think you didn’t want me to be your friend any more and for sending me those stupid ‘I’m fine, how are you’ e-mails!" Sam exclaimed trying to fake that she was angry with him. But, Sam was not actress and she cracked a smile.

Taylor attacked, tickling her until she was giggling and out of breath and ran way ahead of him down the trail.

When they got back to the parking lot everyone was waiting for them and not to happy about it.

Ike noticed immediately how familiar Taylor was with Samantha. He seemed happier and more carefree than he had been in weeks. On the way back home he kept watching them in the rear view mirror wondering if anything was developing between them.

After Ike dropped the sisters off at their house he tried to casually inquire about his brothers interests.

"Did you have a good time today?"

"Yeah, it was a good idea. I think I got sunburned through," Taylor said rubbing his shoulders.

"You were gone an awfully long time with Sam. Anything thing you want to tell me about?" Ike asked.

Taylor looked over at his brother and then he caught on to the innuendo.

"Jeez, Ike, it’s Sam. She’s my friend."

* * * *

After the previous nights’ nightmare Walker and Diana were concerned about letting Taylor sleep alone. Walker offered to remain in his room with him but it was Zac who made the final decision. He just walked into Taylor’s room and unrolled his sleeping bag. He was pretty obvious that he was there to stay. With a warning to Zac to call for help if he needed it, Walker left the bedroom, but he left the door open.

Taylor rolled over and opened his eyes. It wasn’t a dream that awakened him this time. This time it was a memory. It was just a picture but he knew that if he waited he would lose it. He slipped out of bed, picked up a drawing off the desk and went into the walk-in closet where he could shut the door and the light would not disturb his brother.

Taylor drew his picture. It wasn’t pretty. In fact it was quite freighting but as he looked at it he felt strangely devoid of emotion. The picture was of two dead bodies lying in an empty room. One body was that of a man, one a woman. The room was empty, just long shadows drawn across the floor and in the window, a face of a screeching cat. It wasn’t really a memory he realized. He hadn’t seen his abductors, alive or dead. What he drew was what he imagined it must look like based on smell and sound. Taylor folded the cover down over his drawing pad and looked around the closet. This closet was almost exactly the same size as his closet in California. Except that this closet had build-in shelves on one side and most of his clothing was folded on shelves instead of handing on hangers. Taylor rummaged around in his box of colored pencils and came up with a black felt tip pen. Then he draw a grid on the wall and started to replicate the chart from the LA house.

"Tay?" Zac’s whisper made him jump.

"What?"

Zac limped into the closet and sat down holding and rocking his foot pulled up in his lap. "Why are you redrawing that? My toe is throbbing!"

"Because it might help me," Taylor explained and then he looked won at his brothers reddened and swollen toe. "That looks infected. You want me to call Mom?"

"No, I’ll just soak it in something," Zac said. "You missed some stuff. Do you want me to fill it in?"

Taylor handed Zac the magic marker. "I’ll go get the peroxide." He slipped out of the closet and into the bathroom. When he reentered the closet wit the bottle and towel Zac was just finished his writing.

"I think that’s it. If I remember anything else I’ll add it."

"Why? Ravi is a jerk?" Taylor asked.

Zac shrugged. "Because he is, in one of police reports he said he thought our management treated him unfairly. That he’d been released from the band without notice."

"He wasn’t ever part of the band, except as a backup," Taylor said.

"You know it, I know it, but the who knows what he goes around telling," Zac snapped. 

The two brothers sat in the closet and starred at the chart. It symbolized something different for each of them. To Zac it stood for accomplishment. He and Ike had done what it took to find their brother and it had worked. To Taylor it still symbolized a mystery, his perspective of the kidnapping being from a much more vulnerable and personal point of view.

Taylor held up the peroxide. "You ready?"

"It is going to sting?"

"I think that’s alcohol and iodine. I think this stuff just bubbles," Taylor said.

Zac closed his eyes, "Yes." Then they flew open, "No! Okay, now. Hold it."

"Zac, make up your mind," Taylor exclaimed.

"It’s going to hurt. I know it’s going to hurt," Zac moaned. "It already throbs. I don’t think I could stand it if it hurts any worst than now."

"Zac, you’ve got the guts of a Hercules," Taylor said encouragingly.

"I do?"

"Yeah, you’re my own private hero. I look up to you even if you are younger," Taylor said seriously and he met his brothers frightened eyes. "You can do this."

"I can do this," Zac repeated softly.

"You can," Taylor whispered.

"Do it!"

Taylor poured the contents of the bottle over Zac’s toe and although he sucked in his breath Zac didn’t complain. They both watched as the clear liquid bubbled and turned his toe white.

"Is it supposed to do that?" Zac asked with wide eyes.

"Darned if I know," Taylor admitted. "Zac, why don’t you sleep in my bed tonight?" Taylor offered.

"Where are you going to sleep?

"In yours," Taylor said and he pointed to the sleeping bag. "It’s the least I can do since I slugged you last night and crippled you tonight."

Zac grinned. "Deal!"

Zac made himself comfortable while Taylor crawled into his sleeping bag.

"Hey, Tay?" he whispered.

"Yeah?"

"Did you kiss Sam when you guys were up on the trail today?"

"That’s gross, Zac! Sam’s my friend-friend, not my girlfriend."

"Oh," Zac sounded disappointed. "Does that mean you’re sweet sixteen and never been kissed?"

"Go to sleep, Zac, and shut up!" Taylor ordered and rolled his eyes when his brother giggled.