Two hours later, Steph was in her room still trying to contact Rose. She had called Gina to find out if she'd heard anything. Gina called Rose's house and asked for her. But she was told that Rose was at Stephanie's house. After that Stephanie had been on the phone for over an hour filling Gina in on some of the things that had happened. Of course she left out all the 'classified' information about Alex and CJs origin and powers or abilities, or whatever they were. Finally she had been able to get off the phone and resume her worried pacing.

Steph had told Mary that she and Rose were going to visit Gina and sleep over. Gina was bored out of her mind and no longer contagious. Mary thought it sounded like a good idea. She offered to drop Steph off. But Stephanie told her mom that CJ had offered to give her a ride since he wanted to drop by and check on Gina too.

Mary thought it odd that CJ was taking Steph, especially given that Steph was now interested in Alex. But she decided to keep the observation to herself. Since Rose had gone home to pick up some stuff, Steph and CJ would be picking her up on the way. Mary took some comfort knowing that Steph would have company.

Steph had just reached for her phone when it started ringing. "Hello? Rose?" she asked without bothering to check the caller ID.

"No, it's me Chris. Still no sign of her?"

"Nothing, she's not here or at home and Gina doesn't know where she's at either. I'm really worried."

"Look Steph, I'm sure she's okay. I've been thinking that we should get underway as soon as possible. Alex just took off to get a pizza. We should leave before he returns. You know, it's better to be safe than", he trailed off.

"Oh, okay. I guess you're right. I told my mom we were going to visit Gina and that you're giving me a ride. We're supposed to stop by for Rose at her place on the way."

"Steph, I know this is really hard. I myself can't believe that Alex would do anything to hurt you. But he's not willing to risk your life and neither am I. He needs you."

"I know CJ. Thanks for being so good about all this. I was planning on changing out of these clothes because, well you know. But I guess it doesn't matter. Just give me like five minutes to get an overnight bag together and come get me."

Exactly five minutes later, there was a knock on the door. Steph hurried to answer it, calling towards the kitchen, "Mom, CJ's here. I'm leaving. I'll call you later." She stepped out into the hallway and closed the door before Mary could come out and ask questions. Steph hated lying.

CJ took Stephanie's bag. As they walked by 22B Steph couldn't help casting a wistful glance towards the door. They walked down in silence. Steph was sure Alex had told CJ what Rose had found. She was curious to know what Chris had to say about the stranger with the scar. But she didn't have the energy to bring it up. She kept looking at her phone.

As she climbed into CJ's camaro, her sense of fear increased. Steph felt as if she were being watched by someone. She looked around trying to identify the source of her feelings. But the parking lot was empty. Steph leaned back into the seat; she was just overreacting and imagining things. Of course she had every reason to be scared. But she needed to calm down. It was going to be a long evening.

Alex climbed the stairs two at a time, balancing the pizza box as he did so. He hoped that Steph would come over and have a slice with him before it was time for Chris to take her away. Maybe she had heard from Rose, he hoped so. He too was starting to worry about her.

He was surprised to find that the condo was empty. He didn't know if Chris had just stepped out. He really hoped he wasn't pulling off another one of his disappearing acts. The timing couldn't have been worse, especially now that they knew there was some strange guy looking for them. He stood in the kitchen pulling out his cell. CJ answered on the second ring. "Where are you?"

"I'm gone. Don't worry, Steph is with me. Can't tell you where, you know", replied Chris.

"Yeah I know. I just didn't think you would be leaving so early. Have you guys heard from Rose?"

"No, nothing yet. I gotta let you go."

"Okay, I'll call you guys in a little bit."

"Listen Alex, I think it's best if you just stay home today and don't call us. You know, it's just safer and all."

The statement hung in the air like a wall, separating the two brothers. Finally, Alex broke the silence, "Yeah you're right. Take care of her Chris. You know what she means to me. No matter what happens and what you have to do, you have to swear to me you'll keep her safe, at any cost Chris."

"I know Alex, don't worry."

"No, swear to me you'll do whatever it takes to keep her from getting hurt", Alex replied adamantly. He realized he was gripping his cell so tightly it was on the verge of breaking.

"Okay, Alex, I swear it", said Chris and ended the call.

Alex put the phone on top of the kitchen table. He pulled out a chair and lowered himself to it. Already he missed Stephanie and Chris. The hours would drag by and Rose's sudden disappearance just added to his worries.

He didn't know how long he sat there looking at the closed pizza box. A loud pounding on the door pulled him from his thoughts. Stephanie, he thought as he ran to the door.

He was almost to the door when it was pushed open by Mary. She looked frightened. "Where is Stephanie?"

"Ms. Wright, I thought she told you, she's with Chris", he said, mentally keeping his fingers crossed that Steph had mentioned at least that to her mom. Alex could have kicked himself for not knowing the details of what Steph had told her mom. He was apprehensive about saying the wrong thing. She looked alarmed but he knew Steph wouldn't have left without giving her mom a reasonable excuse. He just wished he knew what it was.

"She told me the three of them were going to visit Gina. But I just got a call from Rose's mom and now I can't reach Steph", Mary screamed out the rest of it hysterically.

"Please, calm down, I'm sure she just didn't hear the phone. Don't worry", Alex replied soothingly. But in his gut he knew that things were about to get really bad. It was obvious that whatever Rose's mom had said upset Mary very much.

"I called Gina's parents and Steph hasn't shown up over there. They left hours ago and she said they were going to pick up Rose from her house. But Rose never went home. She's... she's in the hospital and she's not conscious", Mary said as she started to sob.

Alex's blood froze, his vision got blurry and he almost reached out to Mary seeking human contact. Fortunately Mary had already gone out the door and was halfway down the hall.

"Wait, what happened to Rose?" Alex managed to ask as he stepped out into the hallway, although he was scared to hear the answer.

"She was found by some kids at the park. The doctors aren't sure what's wrong with her, but she's unconscious and unresponsive. They said her brain waves were off the charts, like she was in extreme pain. I have to find Chris and Stephanie", she said as she ran down the hall.

Alex knew he had to call Chris, he just hoped he would answer his phone. After getting voicemail three consecutive times, he gave up. What could have happened to Rose? Could it have anything to do with the dreams and Chris' vision?

Alex paced for a few minutes. But staying locked up was just making him feel worse. He decided to head out and get some fresh air. The minute he got outside he saw the police cruiser pulling up to the curb. He knew without a doubt that Mary had called them. He couldn't blame her; he was also worried about Steph. He pulled out his phone and sent Chris a quick text. He wasn't answering his phone but that didn't mean he wouldn't check messages.

Alex crossed the street as non-chalantly as possible. The last thing he needed was to draw attention to himself. He knew that if he had stayed home, the cops would have come over to question him. He decided the best thing to do was stay out for a few hours.

He wandered the streets aimlessly for two hours. He'd had nothing to eat since breakfast. But the thought of eating, while Rose was in the hospital, while Mary was frantic with worry, and CJ and Steph were hiding, just made him break out in a nauseous sweat. He tried Chris again with the same results. He was no longer able to leave a message as his inbox was now full. No doubt Mary and the cops had been trying to reach him also. Wearily, he started his walk back home.

Alex was overcome by an uneasy feeling. He picked up his pace when he noticed the feeling getting stronger. He kept telling himself it was just due to everything going on. He needed to get home, lock his door, and stay there until the morning. Then he and Chris and Steph would be able to see Rose and make sure she was okay.

He passed by a house where a Shi-Tzu was running in the front yard. Suddenly the dog started running towards him and growling. He'd seen the dog before and it had always been friendly, even getting near the wrought iron bars of the gate to be petted. Now it was trying to reach through to attack him. Alex walked briskly down the street.

That's when he felt it. Chris had mentioned it before, a slight probing sensation. It felt almost as if there was a cold liquid surrounding his head. The implications made him stop in his tracks and gasp. Could this explain why he would have been able to hurt Steph?

He had to get himself together and concentrate on blocking whatever strange force this was. He took two deep breaths and it seemed to have helped. Taking his time, he took more deep even breaths and tried to clear his mind. He resumed his brisk pace. He needed to get home.

Chris and Stephanie had checked into the Millennium Biltmore in downtown Los Angeles. They'd dropped of their overnight bags and had headed downstairs to Smeraldi's, an Italian restaurant in the lobby of the hotel.

They'd enjoyed a relatively quiet lunch. Steph was not looking forward to spending the rest of the afternoon sitting in the hotel room. She remembered once having taken the Blue Metro Line to the Central Library. If she remembered correctly, they weren't too far from it. Chris asked the waiter for directions.

They walked over to the library and spent several hours looking for books and generally killing time. Finally, Steph checked out three books, two for herself and one for CJ.

When they had walked out of the restaurant, Steph had noticed what looked like a park across the street. She'd asked Chris if they could walk over and maybe find a nice place to sit and read. He readily agreed.

The sun had started to go down by the time they wound their way to Pershing Square and found a bench under a canopy of trees which was covered in lights. They sat with the pretense of reading for some time. Steph was really worried about Rose; she had yet to hear anything. Chris seemed to be lost in his own thoughts as well. She noticed he'd been staring at the same page for ten minutes.

Stephanie was about to suggest they go back to their room when she heard her phone ring. Chris gave her a look as if to say, if it's Alex, don't answer it. But it was Gina.

"Steph, I just heard about Rose, what happened? Are you there with her? Is she going to be all right?"

"Wait. What about Rose, What happened? Where is she?" asked Stephanie frantically. Chris stood up and dropped his book at the mention of Rose.

"You mean you don't know? She's in the hospital. No one knows what's wrong with her. They think she may have had some kind of seizure or something. My mom was talking to her mom and she said something about a shock to her nervous system. I can't believe you didn't know."

Steph was horrified. She asked tons of questions which Gina didn't have any answers for. Finally, after Gina promised to keep her up to date on any news, she hung up.

"Chris, we need to go see Rose. She's in the hospital", she said as she put her phone away. Chris was looking at her blankly. She wanted to shake the look off his face but knew better than to risk touching him. "Maybe you should call Alex and let him know what's happened."

With her friend in the hospital, she felt foolish about being in hiding. Obviously the one in danger was Rose, not her. She wanted to rush to the hospital and be by her side. But instead of springing into action, CJ just stood there with something like disbelief on his face.

"Steph, let me borrow your phone, my battery is almost dead", he said as he reached his hand out for her cell.

Steph noticed that the park was practically empty now. Even traffic seemed scarce. She pulled out the phone and gingerly handed it over to CJ making sure not to touch any part of his hand.

"Let's go get the car Steph; we'll call Alex on the way to the hospital. I don't want to waste any time", he smiled at her with a strange glimmer in his eye.

Stephanie attributed the smile to CJ being happy and relieved that Rose had been found. They walked in silence across the street, back to the hotel. They went directly to the underground parking to get CJ's car. After their visit at the hospital they would still come back to the hotel. CJ had made a promise after all. So there was not need to go up to the room for their belongings.

As they drove out onto the street, Stephanie started getting nervous. "CJ maybe you should call Alex now so he won't be worried about Rose. Just don't tell him where we're going and it should be fine."

"Don't worry little Stephie, I'll call him. But first I need to make sure you'll stay put. After all I need to make sure you don't get in the way", he smiled at her, causing a tremor to run through her body. Her nervousness instantly turned to outright fear. She didn't know what was going on with CJ but she was scared for her safety.

"Chris, what are you talking about? Where are we going?" she demanded with steel in her voice, though she was far from feeling it. They were driving down 4th street and had just passed Spring Street. They should have been on the freeway heading in the opposite direction; instead they were now in a fairly deserted, seamy part of town. Steph considered jumping out of the car as soon as CJ stopped for a light.

"No not so quick, Stephie", he said as he guessed her intentions. "They never should have been left behind. We know that now. You are not to be damaged. I just need to clean up the mess, honey. Don't worry, with time you will come to forget all about this unpleasant situation."

They were coming up to a red light. As the car started slowing, Steph reached for the door handle and CJ reached for her. Steph felt a jolt of alarm and then nothing. She slumped in her seat, unconscious.

Alex was sitting in his room playing. He'd had a few lyrics floating around his head. He couldn't stop thinking about Rose and he knew this song was inspired by her. Instead of sitting there going crazy he figured maybe he could surprise her when she finally woke up. She would be okay, he knew it. She had to, for Stephanie's sake, for all their sake.

Over the last few days he'd sensed that Rose was attracted to CJ. He played with the rhythm for the chorus.

Turn around and look at me, here I am

Right by your side, where I belong

Just waiting for your love

As he was trying to work on the first verse, his phone rang. Relief spread through him as he saw it was Stephanie calling.

"Steph, thank god. Look they found Rose", he broke off when he heard the laughter. Why would Chris be laughing? "Chris is everything okay? Where's Steph?" he asked as he got up from his bed and tossed his guitar aside.

"Oh don't worry about her. She's safe. I kept my promise. So, they found the blonde, it was nice seeing her again. Such a strong mind, you know; much stronger than your Stephie here. I'm a little disappointed you picked her over the blonde. After all, their mind is the only redeeming quality these pathetic humans posses. Then again, you're not the half-breed she was interested in are you? I just hope her mind didn't sustain too much permanent damage. It would be a shame to lose all that knowledge. Oh and what a strong will to protect her friend. Had she not put up such a fight to block me, I wouldn't have had to, well, let's not dwell on the details. After all she was really helpful, a truly insightful mind."

"Chris what are you talking about? Let me speak with Steph", he implored.

"I grow weary of you. I wonder if your mother had known what weak creatures she was creating. No matter, I'll deal with her mistakes soon enough. Let's not waste any more time. I still have lots of cleanup to do after you two. So let's finish the game so I can finally go home", was the response from Chris.

"Who are you? What are you talking about? What have you done with Chris and Steph?" asked Alex desperately. There was no answer. The call had ended.

Alex ran out of his room towards the front door. He didn't know where he was headed but he couldn't sit around and do nothing. Then his world went dark.

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