"Are you sure you want to do this so soon?"

JC sighed, a bit aggravated. "It's already been long enough. The sooner I do this, the sooner we can get the ball rolling to get Alice back."

"I think what Lance is trying to say is that you were just shot yesterday," Joey said. "Maybe you should take it easy."

JC shook his head. If it'd been up to him, he would've told Lance to call the lawyer last night after he'd gotten his bath. It didn't matter that he'd barely been able to keep his eyes open once Justin had helped him back to bed. All he could think about was doing whatever he could to help Alice and that meant he had to put the things that would do that into motion. So as soon as he got up and managed to make his way downstairs, he'd told Lance to get the lawyer he had in mind to come over this morning.

Now they were about a half hour from the guy showing up and his friends were trying to convince him to reschedule, saying that he should be concerned with healing and getting better. But what they didn't get was that he didn't care about himself. The only thing he wanted was to get Alice away from her crazy, dangerous father. Everything else was going to take a backseat to that.

He sighed again as he turned to look at them. "I understand where you guys are coming from, but I'm okay. I swear."

The guys glanced at each other, clearly unwilling to believe him. "Why don't you at least get back into bed?" Chris suggested. "You can talk with the lawyer just as well in bed as you can downstairs in the kitchen."

If JC had been able to cross his arms, he would've. Instead he had to settled for narrowing his eyes and giving each of them a firm look. "I am not taking this meeting laying in bed."

"I told him about the situation, and he would totally understand," Lance said.

JC didn't even bother responding. He just walked out of his bedroom, letting the action speak for itself. Carefully, he made his way down the stairs so he could make some tea before the lawyer showed up.

Once he got to the kitchen and set about making his tea, he realized how much of a pain it was to do things with one hand. His left arm was set up in the sling, Justin having helped him back into it after his bath last night. JC hadn't really minded at the time because his shoulder was killing him so he didn't want to move it much anyway. Now though, it was just slowing him down and frustrating him that it would take him much longer to make tea than it normally did. At this point he wanted full mobility, crippling pain in his shoulder be damned.

JC was at the sink with the kettle, wondering how he was supposed to hold it and turn on the water to fill it without making a mess when the guys came walking in. Just as he reached out and was about to attempt it, Chris came walking over and turned on the faucet.

"It wouldn't kill you to ask for help, you know," he said.

JC glared at him. "I would've figured it out."

Chris turned off the water a moment later. "You can't do this all on your own."

JC took the kettle over to the stove and set it on one of the front burners, turning it on as he rolled his eyes. "It was just tea," he said, turning around to face not only Chris who was still standing by the sink but the others that were now sitting around the table. He didn't understand why this was a big deal.

They all glanced at each other, but it was Joey who spoke. "We just don't want you to refuse help from us because you're trying to protect us."

JC couldn't deny he was worried about what this might do to the guys, especially once Gabe found out he was going to try to take Alice away from him. He was afraid of what might happen, but that wasn't the only thing. He didn't want them to see him completely fall apart and potentially renew their objection that he wasn't fit to handle adopting Alice along with everything that came with it. It was essential he keep his wits about him and remain in control as he didn't want anything to jeopardize him being able to adopt Alice. Though, he had to admit he wasn't really equipped to handle this on his own either.

"I'm not trying to do this on my own," JC said, looking at each of them. "I know I'm going to need help to get Alice back and I appreciate you guys being here for that." He paused briefly to take a breath, his sinus congestion making him more easily winded. "But I don't need you getting on my case for moving about my own house or making tea. I'm not that weak."

"We didn't say you were," Justin objected.

"But we're concerned about you pushing yourself too hard. You were just shot yesterday." JC opened his mouth to object, annoyed they kept throwing that in his face. But Chris held up his hand to signal him to stop and continued, "You know you're supposed to be resting and yet we have to keep fighting you on it. You think we can't see how exhausted you are or how much pain you're in, but we can."

JC sighed. "And does it change anything? No. I'm the one that the police and lawyer and everyone else wants to talk to. So yeah, I'm going to push aside whatever I'm feeling so I can do what's needed to get Alice back."

"That's not healthy, JC," Lance said quietly. "You can't keep ignoring what your body needs because it seems inconvenient for you. To help Alice you have to first take care of yourself."

The whistling kettle kept JC from answering as he turned to shut off the gas burner and grab a mug from one of the nearby cabinets. As he set about making his tea, he couldn't help thinking that what Lance wanted - what they all wanted - just wasn't possible. In his eyes, he couldn't allow himself to stop and rest until he knew that Alice was okay, away from her obviously crazy father. Only then would he be able to relax a bit and maybe allow himself to finally feel all of the things he'd been pushing off since he saw Beth gunned down in front of him.

"JC..." Chris began just as JC finished pouring the boiled water into his mug. He shook his head as he started to steep the tea bag, knowing he should've figured he wouldn't get off that easy.

But then the doorbell rang, and JC knew this was the end of the conversation. More than likely that was the lawyer and they would all have completely different things on their minds by the time he left. Lance was already rising from the table to answer the door, and JC took his tea to the table, taking a seat.

Chris moved to sit down as well, and that was when Lance returned with another man following close behind that JC could only assume was the lawyer. The guy looked like he was at least in his fifties and he introduced himself as Phil Warner, reaching across the table to shake JC's hand before taking the last open chair.

"Mr. Bass briefed me on the situation over the phone," Phil began. He pulled a legal pad out of his leather bag along with a pen, sitting them on the table in front of him. He glanced at JC and continued, "But I'm best able to help when I know all the details. So if it's alright with you, Mr. Chasez, start at the beginning."

JC happened to glance over at Justin who was obviously trying hold back a smirk and failing pretty miserably. Despite the serious situation, he couldn't help but feel some amusement himself. It wasn't often they got called by their last names; it was a really odd feeling.

"We can be on a first name basis here, can't we?" he asked, looking over at the lawyer. "None of us are really used to people talking to us so formally."

Phil nodded once, smiling too. "Of course." He clicked his pen, readying it as he let his hand hover above the piece of paper. "Whenever you're ready, JC."

JC took a deep breath, and almost instantly regretted it as he felt a sharp stabbing pain in his left shoulder. He did his best not to react to it though and forced himself to release his breath slowly. The pain was fading a bit more manageable level, and he began to give Phil the rundown of everything that'd happened the last few days.

It took nearly twenty minutes to get through it all, and by the end of it JC was feeling a little winded. So much so it sparked a coughing fit that lasted several seconds, irritating his sore throat. A bottle of water suddenly appeared in front of him, and he looked up to see Joey returning to his seat. He nodded once at him, silently thanking him for it before he twisted the cap off and took a couple of long swallows.

When he was done, he found that Phil had finished up jotting down the notes he'd been writing throughout JC's explanation. The lawyer was looking at him with a serious expression, and JC lowered his water back to the table, sensing that things were about to take a serious turn.

"Whatever it is, just tell me," JC said.

"I appreciate the situation you're in and that you want do what you feel is right, but legally speaking you have no right to make a claim for Alice."

JC frowned. "What? Why not?"

"Because you're not family," Phil said.

"What does that matter?" Justin asked, the confusion evident on his face. But JC wasn't confused. He was downright pissed. The thought that he was being denied from adopting Alice just because he wasn't family had him seeing red.

"And she's better off with a father that abuses her?" he demanded. "How does that make any sense?"

The lawyer for his part didn't even so much as flinch at JC's raised tone and glare that was directed his way. "There's no proof that he abuses her," he started, but JC quickly cut him off.

"Beth said-"

"It doesn't matter what she said," Phil interrupted. "Maybe if she was around to give testimony to the fact. All you know is what she told you and you won't get anywhere with hearsay if you take this to a judge."

JC clenched the fist of his uninjured arm, feeling his anger rise up and get more intense. He tried to force it down, knowing he wasn't really mad at the lawyer but the situation. Still, it was hard to separate it out because he couldn't take his anger out on the one person that truly deserved it. Gabe.

"So where do we go from here? What can we do?" Lance asked, his voice calm. Clearly he was trying to be the reasonable one and keep things from getting too heated and out of control.

Phil put down his pen and glanced at JC before he looked over at Lance. "We can make a call to social services and get them to do an inspection. If they find something questionable or something that makes them give Mr. Hunter a negative review, then we'd have more of a reason to make a claim for Alice."

"What do you think the odds of that are?" Chris asked.

The lawyer shrugged and shook his head. "It's hard to say. If he really is hurting Alice, social services will likely find evidence of it. They know what to look for with these kinds of situations."

If he was hurting Alice? If? There was no doubt in JC's mind that everything Beth told him was true and that Alice was being abused by Gabe. Maybe it wasn't always physical, but that didn't mean it wasn't happening or that it wasn't just as damaging. She was a defenseless little girl that needed protecting, that needed saved from the crazy man that was her father. Was he the only one that saw that?

JC unconsciously curled his other hand into a fist, which sent shooting pain from his injured shoulder down through the rest of his arm. He gasped at the intensity of it, instantly relaxing his fingers. Chris was sitting next to him and he began to reach out, but JC roughly jerked his entire chair sideways so he was out of touching distance. The action almost caused the chair to topple over, but it managed to stabilize itself and remain upright after wobbling just briefly. In that moment, he didn't care that they were concerned and worried about him. It just fueled his anger that seemed to be growing more and more by the minute.

"What about the fact he had those guys break in here and steal her back?" he demanded, his eyes fixed solely on the lawyer.

Phil actually did look a little uneasy now, but he kept his voice and expression calm as he said, "I'm afraid there's no proof right now that he told those guys to do that, or that he's even connected to them. And technically..."

"What?" Lance prompted when he trailed off.

Phil looked away from JC, seeming unable to say whatever it was while JC was staring at him. His gaze was turned towards the other guys. "Technically Mr. Hunter could charge JC with kidnapping."

"You're kidding," Justin said, disbelief written all over his face. "But Beth told JC to watch her for a few days."

"That doesn't necessarily mean anything," Phil said. "There have been cases where one parent accuses the other of kidnapping the child, even if it wasn't necessarily true."

For a moment all JC felt was stunned. This couldn't be happening. He knew it wasn't going to be easy to adopt Alice, but this lawyer was basically saying it wasn't even possible. Not when they had no real proof Gabe had done any of the things that JC knew he had done, or at least put into motion. And without it, they had no case. No judge would take a case, much less rule against the only family she had, when there was no evidence of the things they were accusing Gabe of.

But quickly that feeling faded and the only thing that was left was rage. It'd been his job to protect Alice - that was what he'd promised to do by agreeing to look after her for Beth. He'd already failed at that once, and now the lawyer was telling him he going to do it again? No. It was unacceptable. He couldn't let her down, not when he knew the truth of what she experienced with Gabe. Even if he hadn't believed what Beth said, the constant nightmares he'd soothed Alice of would have convinced him.

He could almost hear her anguished cry as she'd wake violently, almost sobbing as he tried immediately to comfort her. It weakened him and spurred on his anger at the same time. Phil was speaking, responding to something one of the guys had said, and JC realized he'd had enough.

"We're going to do what we can," Phil was saying as JC shook his head and roughly pushed his chair away from the table.

It scraped loudly against the linoleum, which drew everyone's attention to him. But JC didn't pay them any attention, ignoring them as they asked him if he was okay, where he was going. He just got up, not even allowing himself a moment to make sure he was steady on his feet. His anger carried him out of the kitchen and up the stairs, and it was only when he reached the top that he realized he'd been holding his breath. He collapsed to his knees, coughing so hard that he almost felt like he was going to start gagging.

His coughing was so loud in his ears that he almost couldn't make out footsteps coming up behind him. He fell forward, his right arm coming out to catch himself so he wouldn't face plant just as a hand was placed on his back and someone knelt beside him.

"Jace?" It was Justin, who lifted him up and pulled him in for a hug. His voice was soothing as he said, "It's okay. Forget what the lawyer says. We're going to get her back. You know we will."

JC didn't understand at first why Justin was trying to console him, using that soothing tone of voice that he only pulled out the few times he'd caught him crying. But then he quickly realized that the wetness in his eyes that he'd thought was just from him coughing so hard was actually tears and that his coughing had turned into soft, breathless sobs. Normally, he would allow Justin's words to comfort him and allow himself to believe in his optimism, but not this time.

"You don't know that," JC protested, trying to pull away from Justin.

"Of course I do. We'll find another way, some way to prove that Gabe isn't fit."

For some reason, this just reignited JC's earlier anger and he roughly pushed away from Justin. It was a struggle to get to his feet, but he forced his sore, exhausted body to get up. "You don't get it," he said, his chest heaving slightly from the crying. "It's not that easy. You have no idea what he's capable of."

JC expected Justin to back off, to be hurt by the words that were snapped at him. But instead, Justin rose to his feet and met JC's gaze head on. "Considering what he did to Beth and to you, I'd say we know exactly what he's capable of."

"You don't," JC insisted. "You have no idea what it's like to watch his goons kill someone you love. To have them gunned down in front of you and not even have a chance to say goodbye. And that's only the tip of the iceberg. There's so much you don't know about him."

"I would if you would just tell me," Justin replied, his voice rising in annoyance. "You keep shutting us out and refusing to let us help." He looked at him with a serious expression. "We may not know exactly what you're going through, but that doesn't mean we don't understand."

"Yes, it does. None of you have even come close to experiencing something like this, so no you don't understand." JC shook his head then, and almost instantly regretted it as the world shifted on its axis. He knew he needed to escape to his bedroom or else he would shortly drop right where he was standing. "Just leave me alone."

"JC..." Justin reached out and just brushed his hand against his uninjured arm when JC turned on him.

"I said leave me alone!" he snapped, jerking out of Justin's grasp and half stumbled into his bedroom that was a few feet away.

After slamming the door behind him, he somehow managed to make it to his bed where he instantly collapsed feeling completely spent. He was exhausted, mentally and physically. It made him wonder how he was going to find the strength to go up against Gabe, but he knew he needed to figure it out somehow. Alice was depending on him.

**************

A loud ringing sliced through JC's dream, instantly pulling him out of sleep. He opened his eyes, feeling disoriented even as he turned towards the noise. As he did, he cried out as the move caused tense muscles to twist painfully. His left shoulder was practically throbbing, the pain bringing tears to his eyes and the knotted muscles at the base of his neck just added to it.

But he did his best to ignore it as he reached for his phone. It wasn't that he necessarily wanted to talk to anyone, but there were a few people he wouldn't mind hearing from. And the lawyer and Officer Strickland were at the top of the list. So he stretched, trying to push himself up so he could grab the still ringing phone.

He underestimated how close he was to the edge of the bed and how stiff his body was. It severely limited his movement, and he ended up falling off the bed, crashing to the floor with a loud bang. The sound instantly drew Chris into the room. JC was trying to use his good arm to push himself up as Chris quickly moved further into the room.

"Jesus, JC," he said, quickly moving to JC's side. "What the hell happened?"

Chris didn't even wait for JC to answer. He reached out to pull him to his feet, but JC waved him off as he reached up to grab the phone off his nightstand. It would surely stop ringing any second now, and he wanted to answer it before that could happen.

JC quickly hit a button to accept the call before he put it up to his ear. "Hello?" he said. His voice was hoarse and thick, making him sound much rougher than normal. He cleared his throat and repeated the greeting as the person on the other line hadn't answered him yet.

"Is this JC?"

JC frowned, hearing the female voice that didn't sound familiar. "Who is this?"

"Monica." The name didn't ring a bell, and she seemed to realize that because she clarified, "I'm a friend of Beth's."

JC sucked in a breath, his eyes filling with tears. Briefly he wondered how she got his number, but it didn't matter. She was clearly calling him for a reason, and he had to assume she was looking for Beth - that she didn't know what'd happened to her. And why would she? There had been nothing about her murder on the news, and he suspected it wouldn't until her body was found.

"I'm sorry to be the one to tell you this, but she's..." He paused, swallowing roughly as he worked up the courage to actually say it. He exhaled deeply and said, "She's dead."

There was a moment of silence before Monica said in a said voice, "I know."

"You know?" JC knew he sounded surprised and confused. The only people he figured knew about Beth's death was Gabe and the people he hired, himself, and the guys.

"Yes," she said, not offering any explanation. "And I have something to give you."

JC's brow furrowed, unable to figure out this woman. "What?"

"Can we meet?" she replied. "I can't tell you over the phone."

His mind immediately went back to the last phone call he'd had with Beth. She'd said the same thing, and he couldn't stop the fear that rose up in his chest. What if something like that happened again? Even more, what if it was some kind of a trap to draw him out into the open so Gabe could have those guys kill him?

JC shook his head, dismissing that thought. If Gabe had wanted him dead, he would've been killed when those guys broke in to take Alice. Still, he couldn't help the nervousness he felt.

"It'll be worth your time. I promise," Monica said when he remained silent.

JC hesitated for a second before he said, "Okay. Where do you want to meet?"

She rattled off the address of a coffee shop. Thankfully, it was a place he was familiar with so he didn't have to scramble to find a piece of paper to write it down. They agreed to meet in an hour and he hung up the phone, sighing as he leaned back tiredly against his bed.

"Who the hell was that?"

Chris's voice startled JC, and he looked up at his friend, somehow having forgot he was there. The hard expression on his face and the crossed arms told JC that he wasn't going to let him just leave to meet up with Monica. Not that it was going to deter him, not at all.

"A friend of Beth's," JC said. He positioned his right arm so he could use the bed to give him the leverage he needed to push himself to his feet. Chris stepped closer and offered out a hand to help him but he ignored him, determined to do it himself. Once he was on his feet he looked Chris in the eye. "I'm going to meet her."

"The hell you are," Chris replied. JC opened his mouth to object, but Chris continued. "This could be something set up by Gabe. He might be trying to get to you because you're the only person that knows what he did to Beth."

JC sighed. He wasn't surprised that Chris's thoughts immediately went there because his had too initially, but he had a feeling this wasn't anything orchestrated by Gabe. "In a crowded coffee shop?" he asked.

"You met Beth in a public place before and look how that turned out," Chris pointed out.

JC felt a sharp pain in his chest at the memory that was brought to the forefront of his mind at the words, but he forced himself to push it away. This wasn't the time to dwell on the grief. He had to get ready to meet Monica, and he knew he wouldn't be able to walk out the door until he convinced Chris there was no real risk involved.

"This is different. There are going to be a lot more people at a coffee shop than a train station." He paused and added, "And if Gabe really wanted to kill me, he knows where I live. He doesn't need to draw me out to do it because he proved those guys can get past any security I have no problem."

Chris stared at him, and JC forced himself not to look away from the intense gaze. He wanted Chris to see that he was determined to go meet this girl and see what she had for him. It had to be something from Beth, and there was no way he was going to stay home.

Finally, Chris let out a heavy sigh. JC could sense he was beginning to cave, but he wasn't there yet. "Are you sure you're up to it?" Chris asked.

JC couldn't help but groan in annoyance. "Why do you guys keep asking me that?"

"Because you like to ignore the fact that you were shot and have been dealing with it without painkillers." Chris sounded a bit annoyed himself. "Maybe if you didn't look like you could collapse at moment's notice, we wouldn't keep asking."

JC rolled his eyes. "I'll rest when I get back, okay?"

"I'm going to hold you to that."

JC nodded, knowing without a doubt that he would. Chris asked if he needed help getting dressed, and JC simply gave him a look that said he was not interested in him babying him. He seemed to take the hint because he told JC that he was going to let Lonnie and Mike know that they were going to leave.

As Chris left, JC sighed. He should've figured that Chris would insist on going along with dragging along a couple of bodyguards. Mike and Lonnie were the only ones that had stayed as the others had gone home. They wanted to remain watchful, but because Gabe had gotten what he really wanted - Alice - the likelihood that Gabe or those people would make another appearance was pretty slim. So they agreed that a couple would remain with them just in case and be relieved every day by two other bodyguards on their team. But JC wasn't going to argue them coming along. It would waste too much time, and honestly it would make him feel a little better since he didn't know exactly what this meeting would entail.

It was a bit of a struggle to change out of the t-shirt he slept in and into a sweatshirt, but he managed. The rest was easier to do and once he was dressed, he went downstairs to find that Chris and their bodyguards were ready, along with Lance who said he was going to come too. JC didn't think it was necessary, but he didn't object. He just wanted to get there on time because he was afraid if he showed up late that Monica wouldn't wait around.

The drive to the coffee shop was fairly short, and by the time they arrived, JC felt his body practically humming with nervousness or anticipation. He wasn't really sure which. There was nothing he could think of that Beth would want him to have, but he knew it had to be something important or else she wouldn't bother trying to get something to him via a friend.

They were actually about ten minutes early, and somehow they managed to find a table that would be big enough for all of them, including Monica. Lance went over to the counter to order some coffee for them, while JC let his eyes wander the room. He had no idea who he was looking for and they'd agreed that she would find him, but he couldn't help looking and wondering if she was maybe already there as well.

It was nearly ten minutes before Lance returned with their drinks as there had been a bit of a line. Though, the place wasn't anywhere close to being packed. They each took their drink and JC fidgeted, getting more impatient as each minute passed. Finally, after nearly ten minutes later than the time they'd agreed to meet, a woman approached their table.

"JC?" she asked, a hesitant look on her face. She was shorter than Beth and looked to be more petite.

JC nodded once. "You're Monica?"

"Yes," she said, her face relaxing a bit as she took the open seat across from him. She glanced at Lonnie, Chris, and Lance with an uneasy look on her face.

"It's okay. They're my friends," JC said quickly, trying to reassure her. He didn't want to scare her off. "They insisted on coming. They actually won't leave me alone given everything that's happened."

"Can you blame us?" Chris muttered. Lance elbowed him in the side, and he sighed, leaning back in his seat like he was signaling that he wouldn't say anything else.

Monica offered him a sympathetic expression. Then she gestured to his injured shoulder as she asked, "That from Gabe?"

"Sort of. The two guys he sent to break into my house," JC said.

She sighed. "Leon and Jesse probably."

Chris leaned in slightly, seeming unable to retain his unspoken promise of silence. "You know who they are?"

"No, not for sure. But Gabe usually always uses the same people to do his dirty work. I doubt that changed since I left."

"Left?" Lance asked. "So you were in the cult with Beth?"

"Yes. Gabe doesn't want anyone that isn't committed to what the group believes, what he's trying to accomplish," she explained. Then she met JC's eyes. "But it was much easier for me. I didn't have anything he wanted."

"Alice," JC said solemnly. His eyes filled with tears as he remembered how she'd screamed for him as she was violently ripped away from him, carried out of his house without much of a fight from him. "I'm trying to get her away from him, but it's hard when you don't have proof that he's not fit to have her."

"I think this should help."

Monica pulled out a large envelope from her purse and put it on the table, pushing it towards him. He looked down at it and saw his name was scrawled across the front in Beth's neat handwriting. After taking a shaky breath, he reached out and opened it. He found a couple of things inside: a smaller envelope and an official looking piece of paper.

"It's her will," he said. He looked up at Monica. "How did you get this?"

"She gave it to me. She wanted to make sure everything was in order before she left the cult, left Gabe because she wasn't sure what would happen." Her eyes were a soft brown that looked at him with sympathy as she encouraged, "Read it."

He set aside the letter and gave his full attention to the will. His eyes skimmed the official language part of the document, going down to the part where she could state what things she was giving to whom. It was a pretty short section, but it made it that much easier for him to spot his name. As he read the line, he felt a tear slip down his cheek.

"She requested I become Alice's guardian," he said, looking over at Chris and Lance.

Lance reached out and gently tugged the document out of his hands, reading over it himself as Chris leaned over his shoulder. When Lance was finished reading, he put the paper down and looked at JC. "You still have to fight with Gabe for custody, prove that he's not fit as a parent. But this should at least get you the opportunity you need to do so."

Chris was sitting next to JC, and he squeezed his uninjured shoulder. "You'll call the lawyer about this, right?" he asked, talking to Lance.

"I'll call as soon as we get home," Lance said.

JC wiped at his tears and looked at Monica. "Thank you."

"Of course," she replied, giving him a small, sad smile. She looked around almost nervously before glancing down at her watch. "But I have to go now."

JC wasn't going to object, knowing she'd just helped them in a huge way. But Chris didn't see it that way. He seemed sure that she could help them much more than with just what she'd delivered.

"Wait," he said. He looked at her with serious brown eyes. "Can't you tell us more? Surely you saw a lot in the cult, stuff that could help JC get custody of Alice."

She shook her head. "I really don't know much. Gabe kept a lot of things secret when it came to him. A lot of what I know came after I left from Beth." She tapped the letter that JC had set aside. "She probably explained everything in there."

She stood up, and JC knew that she was done. He still didn't understand what the purpose of Gabe's cult was, but all he knew was that whatever went on in it had to be something serious if people were afraid of him. Though, he reasoned that it could just be that because she was out of it now, she didn't want to get involved in anything having to do with him now. Either way, he sensed this would be the last they'd hear from Monica.

"Can you at least give us the last names of the guys you mentioned?" Chris pushed. "That will make it easier for the police to find them."

Monica bit her lip, and JC thought she was going to say no. But she eventually nodded, and Lance quickly produced a pen from his pocket. She grabbed a napkin and quickly wrote down the two names.

"I'm afraid that's as much as I can do to help," she said as she offered the napkin to Chris. Her eyes were fixed on JC.

"You did a lot. Thank you," he replied, sincerely.

She offered him one more smile and wished him luck before she left. JC sat at the table, feeling a bit in a daze. Just that morning he'd thought they'd hit a dead end with him adopting Alice, but now maybe they could actually get somewhere. He still had to read that letter from Beth, but he was waiting until they returned to his house to do so. There was no doubt in his mind that he would be driven to tears reading it, but part of him was looking forward to it. It would be one last moment with her, and he desperately needed that.