Shawn Farrell sat at his desk looking over some paperwork when he heard a female voice say; "I think its time for us to get to know each other."

Shawn looked up from his papers to see a very attractive naked woman in front of him. She looked to be in her early twenties with black curly hair, deep brown eyes, and medium brown skin. Shawn was at a loss, and tried to keep himself focused on her face instead of further down. He said, "Um…how did you…do I know you?"

"I'm Isabelle."

Shawn shook his head slightly and said, "As in Lily's baby Isabelle?"

Isabelle said, "I don't have much time. I came to tell you that Jordan is back."

Shawn just sat there staring at her not knowing what to say. Isabelle continued. "He's alive but he's in serious danger. You have to save him. If you don't, our entire movement will be dead within the month. We will all be exterminated one by one. You have to find him no matter what the cost."

Shawn wasn't sure he believed it or not, but he said, "I'll get every member of our security team working on it right now."

Isabelle shook her head and said urgently, "No! You can't trust them. You must not tell anyone about this. If you do, Jordan will be dead before you can bring him back here. He doesn't know who he is, and might not come back willingly. Maia will help."

Shawn looked down for a second to try and take all of this information in, and when he looked back up, Isabelle was gone. He jumped a little and frantically looked behind him to find nothing. He looked around the room and felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up. He said, "Isabelle?"

No one answered. Shawn sat thinking for a second, and then quickly went out to the hallway and headed for Lily's room. His bodyguards followed discretely behind him. Before he got there a frantic Lily came running down the hall yelling for her husband Richard. When Lily saw Shawn she ran to him and said, "Isabelle is gone!"

Shawn looked towards Lily's door and ran towards it to see for himself. Lily ran after him while saying, "I put her down for her nap half an hour ago, and when I went in to check on her, she was just gone! I didn't leave the room, and no one came in. Where could she be Shawn!?"

Shawn had made it to Isabelle's nursery by the time Lily was done. He looked into Isabelle's crib, and saw baby Isabelle looking back at him with a happy smile. Lily put her hand to her mouth and shook her head no. She backed away from the crib and muttered, "She doesn't like it here either. I thought she wanted to come back…."

Shawn turned to Lily and put a hand on her arm to get her attention, and to comfort her. He said, "Lily, when was the last time you slept?"

Lily looked confused, "What?"

Shawn said calmly, "You've been working like crazy to find the right people for me to heal. You've been taking care of Isabelle mostly by yourself, and I'm sure she keeps you up at night. Maybe you just need a few days off to rest."

Lily glared at him. She shrugged off his hand and said, "Are you implying that I imagined my daughter not being in her crib! That I'm so tired and stressed out that I hallucinated the empty crib! I'm telling you she was gone!"

Shawn thought about telling Lily what had happened, but he wasn't sure he believed it himself yet. He put his hands up in a surrendering gesture and said, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to imply anything. I'm just trying to help. Is there anything I can do for you? Would you like me to go find Richard for you?"

Lily had known Shawn for a few months, and she knew he was a good person, even if she did think he was a little young and naive for the gift the future had sent him back with. She calmed herself down and tried to stop being angry about what he had said. She nodded and said, "Yes, please find Richard for me. Thank you."

Shawn nodded, and took a good look at Isabelle who was now sitting up in the crib staring at him. He found it a little creepy. He left, and the bodyguards followed. He found Richard talking to some of the guys in security that he used to work with. Shawn said, "Richard, could I talk to you for a minute?"

Richard nodded and stepped aside to hear Shawn in private. Shawn said, "Lily is really upset, and needs to see you. I found her in the hallway, and she said Isabelle was missing, but then when I went in to see for myself, Isabelle was there in her crib."

Richard looked very worried. Shawn said, "Do you think she's imagining things?"

Richard said seriously, "No I don't." and headed to see his wife. Richard knew Isabelle could very well have been gone and then shown back up. No one knew exactly what her powers were yet, but he had seen enough to know she was powerful.

Shawn watched Richard go. After hearing both Richard and Lily, Shawn was starting to believe that he really had seen Isabelle, and that he should take what she said seriously. He headed back to his apartment. As usual the guards waited just outside his door, and he shut them out. He went to go sit on his couch and think about what Isabelle had told him.

Shawn had seen Jordan die. Jordan had been shot multiple times, and Shawn had tried to heal him, but it didn't work. But then later that day the body had gone missing, and no one had been able to find it. He didn't understand how Jordan could come back, but if the humans in the future had somehow found a way to time travel, maybe they could revive the dead too.

Shawn thought about Maia. He had met her when they were both sick a few weeks ago. Shawn's uncle and Maia's adoptive mother worked together at NTAC (National Threat Assessment Command). He knew Maia was clairvoyant, and that she probably could help him, he just wasn't sure if he could get her mother, Diana, to go along with it. Diana and his uncle Tom didn't exactly like Jordan Collier when he was alive, and using Maia to help find him probably wouldn't go over all that well. Not to mention Isabelle had told him not to tell anyone.

Shawn looked at his watch. It was one in the afternoon. He had talked to Maia quite a bit to pass the time while they were sick, and he knew she was home right now with the babysitter until her mom got home around six. Shawn looked over at his door. He knew it would be pointless to tell the bodyguards to let him go alone. He had tried that when he went to make amends with his brother, and they had insisted on going no matter what he had said. But he knew they would report his whereabouts to Matthew Ross his new advisor. Shawn rolled his eyes and thought to himself, 'More like overprotective, condescending, jerk.'

Then Shawn suddenly thought about his cousin, 'Kyle! Kyle said he was going to confess to killing Jordan today. He'll be in prison. He'll be accused of murder. If I can bring Jordan back, Kyle can go home.'

Shawn started to pace while he thought. He missed Jordan. Jordan wasn't always a good guy, but Shawn still found that he desperately wanted him back both for Kyle, and for himself. As he was pacing, he paused and looked one of his windows. He was on the second floor. He could see some people here and there walking around in the distance. He made up his mind. He not only felt it was his duty to find Jordan and bring him back, but he also found that he wanted to do it. Now the only problem was how.

As he was looking out he saw his little balcony. There was a sliding glass door with a balcony that was about six feet by three feet. It had a metal rail around it, and Shawn started to think that maybe he could give the guards the slip. He went to check his schedule. He didn't have an appointment until three o'clock, and then not another until five when he had to heal a little boy named Steve who was dying of Leukemia. He got on the phone and said, "Get me Matthew please."

Soon Matthew was on the phone and said, "Yes?"

"Hey, It's Shawn. I'm feeling kind of tired today. Is there any way I can get out of the meeting with the new recruits?"

"Are you all right? Do we need to cancel for the boy tonight too?"

"No, no. I'll be fine by then, I just want to stay in my room and have some alone time. Maybe take a nap or something. Can you arrange for me not to be disturbed until about four thirty?"

"Of course. I'll do that right now. You get some rest, and I'll see you after the boy leaves."

"His name is Steve."

Matthew's voice became condescending. "Yes Steve."

Shawn sighed. "Thanks."

They both hung up, and Shawn got his wallet, his keys, his cell phone, and a jacket. He went out to his balcony and shut the door behind him. He looked around the grounds of the 4400 center, but didn't see anyone very close. He climbed over the railing, and awkwardly lowered himself to the bottom of the railing. He looked down behind him and thought it looked like an awfully long ways down. But he didn't think he was strong enough to climb back up now, even if he wanted to. He closed his eyes, counted to three, and let go. He landed pretty hard, and it hurt the bottoms of his feet, but he didn't injure anything.

He headed towards the front gate. Then he realized he was going to have another problem. How to get past the guard there? His room had looked over the back of the building, and the grounds were surrounded by an eight-foot chain link fence with barbed wire around the top. There was only one way in or out, and that was through the one door that was manned by a security guard. Shawn saw a few people wandering around and smiled and waved at them. They waved back. Then he went to peek around the building to see who the guard was.

Shawn didn't recognize the guard. He sighed and leaned back against the building. He took a deep breath, and decided to see what kind of person he was dealing with. He walked boldly to the guard and said, "Hi."

The guard looked behind Shawn for more people and then said, "Hello Mr. Farrell, is anything wrong?"

"No, have we met before?"

The guard shook his head. "No Mr. Farrell, I've only been here for the past week."

Shawn smiled and said, "Then I guess you haven't heard about my little outings yet."

The guard looked unsure. Shawn said, "I don't think I got your name."

"It's Pete sir."

"Pete, it's good to meet you, and I'm happy to have you on the team. Are you one of the 4400?"

Pete smiled and shook his head no. Shawn nodded and said, "Even better, someone from the outside world who chooses to come be part of out team will always be highly valued around here."

"Thank you Mr. Farrell."

"It's Shawn, and you're welcome. Now as I was saying, you probably haven't been told about this yet, but about once a week I go to visit with my family. I don't like anyone going with me, because I don't want the press to know where I am. They hound me all the time, and it bothers my mother. So I sneak out of the center for a few hours, see my family, and then sneak back in before the press knows what hit them. You probably haven't heard yet, because we only tell people on a need to know basis. The fewer people who know, the better kept secret it is. I can count on you to keep it under wraps can't I?"

The guard nodded sincerely. "Of course Mr….. I mean Shawn. No one will hear about this from me."

"Thank you Pete. It really means a lot for me to be able to spend time with my family."

"I understand completely, and can I just say what an honor it is to met you. The way you heal people…. it's incredible."

Shawn looked slightly uncomfortable and said, "Thanks." as he walked out. He made it to the front of the center without anyone else recognizing him. He quickly ducked behind some bushes, and headed out towards the sidewalk. He got about three blocks away, and then used his cell phone to call a cab. Soon he was on his way to Maia's apartment. While he was riding there, he had time to think about what Isabelle had told him. He still didn't know if it was true, but the more Shawn thought about it, the more he missed Jordan. The whole movement that Shawn was now in charge of was Jordan's concept, and Shawn loved the thought of turning it all back over to him. Shawn would be very happy to play his music, write songs, and heal people a couple times a day. All of the meetings and political crap made him tired and frustrated.

Soon Shawn was standing in front of Diana's apartment door. He knocked and a woman in her late fifty's answered. He started to say 'Hi', when the woman squealed and put both hands over her mouth. He backed up a step, and the woman said, "You're Shawn Farrell! You're that man on TV who heals people!"

Shawn gave her a faint smile and a nod. She was able to put her hands down and said, "Come in, come in. What can I do for you?"

Shawn stepped in, and the woman closed the door behind him. He said, "Well actually, I was here to talk with Maia if she's around."

The woman nodded knowingly and said, "You came to ask her something. To find something out."

Shawn nodded, "That's right."

The woman turned and raised her voice a little as she said, "Maia sweetie, someone is here to see you."

The woman then turned back to Shawn and said, "I was just about to make us a late lunch. Would you like to stay for lunch?"

Shawn started to shake his head, and looked uncertain. The woman jumped in with; "I'm making tuna fish sandwiches."

Shawn looked at her and could tell it would mean a lot to her. After a short pause he smiled and said, "That's my favorite."

The woman gave him a big smile and said, "I'll be in the kitchen while the two of you talk."

Maia had come out of her room, and was leaning against the wall in the living room. Shawn smiled at her and said, "Hi Maia, how are you doing now that we're out of quarantine?"

Maia gave him a sad little look, "Mommy's not gonna like it. She'll be mad."

Shawn looked confused. "What?"

Maia said, "You want me to find that man for you. The one who died."

Shawn was a little overwhelmed by Maia. Then he wondered if this was the way people felt when they saw him. He said, "Can you tell me if he's alive?"

Maia nodded. "He is."

"Where is he?"

Maia closed her eyes tight and then after a few seconds said, "I just don't know. I see it, but I don't know where it is."

Shawn walked to the couch and sat down. He said, "What does it look like?"

Maia said, "A cabin, in the woods."

"Anything more specific? I really need to find him Maia. It's very important, not just to me, but to all of us. Every 4400 needs him to be found."

Maia looked down for a second. Shawn thought she looked like she was debating something. Then she said, "I can't tell you where it is, because I don't know how to say it, but I can take you there if we drive."

Shawn shook his head. "Your mom would never agree to that."

Maia nodded and said, "That's why she'll be mad. She'll probably say no TV for a week. Do you think she'll still let me go to the zoo next weekend? Probably not."

Shawn looked down and then said, "I don't understand."

Maia said, "If you want to find that man, we have to leave now. We can't tell anyone where we're going, or he'll be dead before we get there. Mommy won't like it, but you healed me, so she'll forgive you."

Shawn sat there in awe and said, "Do you just know everything that will happen?"

Maia shook her head. "Only some things. Some things I know for sure, and other things I don't know for sure. Like I know for sure that man is alive. I know for sure Mommy will be mad, but it's not very clear if I'll be able to go to the zoo."

"That's an amazing gift Maia."

Maia looked in his eyes and said, "I can't heal people."

Shawn looked down and said, "Will your babysitter let you go?"

Maia gave him a 'don't be stupid' look and shook her head no.

"Great."

While Shawn was sitting there thinking, the babysitter poked her head out from the kitchen and said, "Would you both like some soup with your sandwiches? We have chicken noodle, or tomato."

Maia said, "Tomato."

Shawn nodded and said, "Could I have some coffee too please?"

The babysitter smiled and nodded. "Coffee sounds great. I'll just be a few more minutes. You two talk and catch up."

As soon as she was gone, Maia said, "If we don't leave now, we won't have time to get away."

Shawn was reluctant, but stood and followed Maia to the door. As soon as they were in the hallway, and Maia had shut the door behind them she put her hand in his. She said, "The cab's still waiting."

Shawn nodded and led her out to his cab. They got in and Shawn looked to Maia. She pointed ahead of her. Shawn said, "We're going to be driving for quite a while, and we don't know exactly where we're going. So just drive forward until I tell you to turn."

The cab driver nodded and said, "You got it mister."

Shawn turned to Maia and said, "Why are you helping me? I mean you know you're gonna get in trouble, so why would you help me?"

Maia looked out the window and said, "Because if I don't we all could die."

# # #

Tom was sitting on the steps of the Department of Homeland Security trying not to cry. He had just watched his son turn himself in for the murder of Jordan Collier. Tom couldn't believe how brave Kyle had been about it. He had turned in his written confession, and then given a full confession with Tom standing by. Then they had taken him. Tom had high clearance, but because it was his son, and he was obviously emotionally invested, they shut him out, and asked him to leave. Tom had contacted a lawyer to meet them there, and he was with Kyle right now.

Tom was about to call Alana, to let her know what had happened, when his phone rang. He said, "Baldwin."

"Tom it's Diana. I need you to come in."

Tom shook his head, "I told you I was taking the afternoon off. Kyle just turned….."

Diana cut him off. "Shawn took Maia."

"What?"

"You're nephew showed up at my apartment about fifteen minutes ago, and took Maia while her babysitter, Rose, was making them lunch."

Tom rested his head in his free hand, and rubbed at his temple where he was starting to get a headache. He said, "I'll be there in ten."

"Meet me at my apartment. I want to talk to Rose in person."

"Okay."

Tom got up and walked to his car. He tried Shawn's cell phone. Shawn answered, "Hello."

Tom said, "Where are you?"

"Uncle Tommy?"

"Do you have Maia?"

Shawn wasn't sure what to say. He said, "She's fine." And hung up.

Tom said, "What the hell do….." and then realized no one was on the other end. He got in his car, and called Shawn again. No one answered. Tom called NTAC and asked for Marco. Soon Marco was on the phone. Tom said, "I need a favor."

"What's up?"

"I need you to try and trace a cell phone, but I don't want you to tell anyone else you're doing it for me."

"Sure, what's the number."

Tom gave it to him. Marco said, "Give me ten minutes."

"Call me when you have a location."

Marco hung up. Tom put his phone down, and started up his car.

# # #


Shawn looked at his cell phone as it rang a second time. He could clearly tell that his uncle wasn't very happy with him, but that was nothing new recently. Maia said, "Stop here please sir."

The cab driver pulled over. Shawn looked around, but didn't see much of anything. They were out of downtown, but not that far. They were in a suburban neighborhood. Shawn looked at Maia and said, "He's here?"

Maia leaned over and whispered in Shawn's ear. "Your uncle is gonna trace the phone. We need to get out and leave it."

Shawn looked at the phone and then at the driver. He got out his wallet and saw how much cash he had. He pulled it all out, gave the driver ninety three dollars, and said, "Could you please drive back into town and dump this cell phone in the first garbage you see?"

The cab driver took the money and the phone. He said, "Sure."

Shawn said, "Thank you very much."

Maia and Shawn got out, and watched the cab drive away. Shawn looked around. All he could see were residential houses for three blocks both directions. He looked at Maia and said, "What now?"

Maia put her hand in his and started walking. She said, "This way."

Shawn walked along and said, "Maia, I'm not sure this is the best plan. If Jordan is still a long ways away, we need to drive there. Maybe you don't quite understand. People are going to be looking for us. We need to get to Jordan fast."

Maia nodded. "I do understand. We need to go this way."

Shawn sighed and decided to at least walk until he saw a pay phone.

# # #


Tom arrived at Diana's apartment as his phone rang again. He answered, "Baldwin."

"It's Marco. I have a location."

Tom got out his notepad and a pen as he said, "Great, what is it?"

"It's on Jefferson Street between Ninth and Tenth."

"Thanks Marco."

Tom got out and headed up to Diana's apartment. Diana had just arrived a few minutes ago and was sitting on the couch next to Rose. Rose was clearly distraught and crying still. Diana was trying to calm her and get information out of her at the same time. Tom heard Rose say; "No he didn't say anything like that. He just said he wanted to talk to her. He said he wanted coffee."

At that pronouncement Rose had a fresh bout of sobs. Diana looked over at Tom. She said, "Shawn showed up her almost half an hour ago. He said he wanted to ask Maia something, and then he told Rose he would stay for lunch. While Rose was making lunch they both disappeared. Rose said they couldn't have been gone for more then ten minutes when she found they were missing. She called me, and I came straight here."

Tom nodded and said, "I called Shawn's cell phone. He answered, and said Maia is fine. He wouldn't tell me where he was, and he hung up on me before I could say much. He isn't answering now."

Diana nodded and said, "Can we trace him?"

Tom held up his note pad. "Marco already did. Let's go get them."

Diana nodded and patted Rose on the shoulder one more time. She said, "It's not your fault Rose. I would have trusted Shawn too. Why don't you take the rest of the afternoon off? I'll call you when we find Maia to let you know she's safe, and then I'll see you in the morning."

Rose nodded and wiped at her eyes. She said, "Again, I'm so sorry."

Diana nodded once and said, "Lock the door on your way out."

Diana walked purposefully towards Tom. They quickly got to Tom's car and got in. Once they were on their way Diana said, "Do you have any idea why Shawn would take her?"

Tom shook his head. "I'm sorry, I have no idea. But I know he won't hurt her."

Diana nodded and did feel slightly comforted by that.

# # #


Two blocks of walking and Maia suddenly stopped. She turned and looked at the small light blue house that they were next to. Shawn followed her gaze and looked at the house also. Maia pulled Shawn towards the house and said, "Come on. They will help us."

Shawn was reluctant. He said, "We can't just go knocking on someone's house and ask them to drive us somewhere!"

Maia looked up at him. "Why?"

"It's not normal. People won't just help."

Maia looked at the house again and said, "I know. You have to heal the woman first."

Shawn looked over at the house too and said, "I don't know Maia."

Maia let go of his hand and ran up to the house before he could stop her. She rang the bell, and Shawn quickly walked over to the porch with her. He said with irritation, "Maia!"

Maia put on her best smile as the door opened. A woman in her early twenties answered. She smiled at Maia and then looked at Shawn, "Can I help you?"

Shawn looked uncomfortable and said, "Hi….. Um…. We were wondering if you could….. Maybe…."

Maia said, "Shawn will heal your mother."

The woman's head whipped down to Maia and said, "What?"

Maia said, "This is the man from TV. He will heal your mother."

The woman looked back at Shawn, and he saw 'the look'. That mix of awe, fear, and gratitude that Shawn kind of hated. He could tell she knew who he was now. She said, "But how…. How did you know? How did you find us?"

Shawn said, "I don't have time to explain. I need help, and so do you. I'll heal your mother, if you give us a ride with no questions asked."

The woman slowly nodded and opened her screen door. Maia and Shawn both walked in. The woman said, "She's in the bedroom down the hall."

Shawn started that way. He said, "What's wrong with her."

"Lung cancer. She smoked for thirty years."

Shawn nodded and went in the open bedroom door. There was a woman who looked sixty, but was most likely in her early fifties. She was sitting in a rocking chair reading a book with an oxygen tank next to her and a tube under her nose. Her wheezing was audible from the other side of the room. She smiled and said, "Hello, Sheri didn't tell me we were having company."

Sheri said, "Mom, this is that man we saw on TV. He's the one who heals people. One of the 4400."

The woman slowly put her book down and her eyes started to fill with tears as she said, "Really?"

This threw her into a coughing fit, and Sheri went over to her and grabbed a tissue from the table beside her mom. She held the tissue to her mother's mouth, and when the coughing fit was over, there was more then a little blood on it. Sheri put in the garbage, and kept her arm around her mother. Shawn got down on his knees in front of the woman. He looked at Shari and said, "Stand by the bed please."

Sheri stepped back. Shawn took both of the woman's hands in his, and started his usual routine. He gave her a smile and said with calm, "My name is Shawn, what's yours?"

"Judith."

"Hi Judith. This is going to feel strange, and it may hurt just a little. It shouldn't last for more then two minutes, and then you should feel much better."

The woman nodded. Shawn closed his eyes and gripped her hands tightly in his. He blocked out everything else, and just concentrated on himself and the hands he held. He started to shake a little, and Judith gave a look of surprise, and sucked in some air while she started to shake with him.

Sheri took a step towards them and said, "Mom?"

Maia went over to Sheri and said, "It's fine. You'll see."

A minute later Shawn was a little drained. He let go of Judith's hands and opened his eyes, as he sat down on his knees. Healing people always made him feel a little weak for a few minutes after. Sheri said again, "Mom? Are you okay?"

Judith turned to look at her daughter. She reached up and took the tube away from her nose. She took a deep breath in, and there was no wheezing. Judith smiled and said, "I feel fine. No, not fine. I feel good. Really, really good."

Sheri started to cry and went to hug her mom. Judith started to cry too, and hugged her daughter tight. A few seconds later Sheri said, "I have to call Tom!"

Shawn sat up a little and said, "What?!"

Sheri looked confused and said; "I wanted to call my husband. He's at work."

Shawn felt relief go though him as he realized she wasn't talking about his uncle, and nodded at her. Then as Sheri was headed for the phone he suddenly said, "NO!"
Sheri looked surprised, and Shawn said, "Please, we need help, and time is of the essence. I healed your mom, now please will you give us a ride?"

Sheri looked over at her mother and said, "Anywhere you want to go."

Shawn nodded gratefully and stood up. Sheri looked over at her mom and said, "Will you be okay here by yourself?"

Judith smiled and said with disbelief, "I'll be fine dear."

Sheri gave her mother one more hug, and then headed for the living room. Maia followed, and Shawn turned to follow too. Then he felt a hand on his arm and turned back around. Judith looked up at him and said, "Thank you Shawn. Thank you with all my heart for this new life you've given me."

Shawn felt uncomfortable as usual, and felt a strong need to get away. He said, "You're welcome." as he quickly walked away. Soon Sheri was driving, with Maia in the front seat and Shawn in the back. Maia said, "That way. I'll tell you when to turn."

Sheri said, "Where are we going?"

Maia said, "I'll know when we get there."

Sheri darted a glance at Maia, and then a glance at Shawn in the rearview mirror, but neither of them seemed to think this statement was odd.

# # #


Tom and Diana arrived at the corner of Jefferson and Tenth, and parked their car. There were two restaurants on the block, and a large office building across the street. They got out and both looked around on the street. Not seeing anyone Tom called Marco again. He said, "Are you still tracking the cell phone?"

"Yes, it hasn't moved."

"Thanks. Call me if it does."

Tom looked around and said, "You take the restaurants, and I'll take the office building."

Diana nodded and headed towards the first restaurant. Fifteen minutes later they both ended up back in the street with no luck. Tom put his phone to his ear again and called the number. He said, "I'm calling Shawn's phone. You go walk down that side of the street, and see if you can hear it while I walk down this side."

Diana was soon digging through some garbage, and then waving at Tom with the phone in her hand. Tom muttered, "Damn it."

Diana was starting to panic. When Tom got across the street she said, "Why would he take her Tom? It doesn't make any sense. They were friends. She said they talked a lot, and she really liked him."

Tom shook his head. "I wish I knew, but I don't."

Diana looked around and then said, "I think we should go to the 4400 center and see if Matthew or Richard know what's going on."

Tom shook his head. "They won't help us. Richard maybe, but not Matthew."

Diana glared at no one in particular and said, "Oh they'll help us, or so help me, one of them will be in the hospital by the end of the day."

Tom knew better than to get in Diana's way when she was in protector mode, so he didn't say anything, but he knew he would have to stop her if she tried to actually hurt one of them. They both headed to Tom's car in silence. A few minutes into the ride Diana called Marco on her phone. She said, "Marco, do you think you could meet us at the 4400 center?"

Marco started to gather up his stuff and said, "Um… I guess. Why?"

Diana told him what was going on, and asked him not to say anything to anyone for the time being. He said, "I want to help, but I don't understand what you want me to do at the center."

Diana said, "I might not need you, but if no one knows what Shawn is up to, I thought we could check out his computer. Maybe he has shared his plans with someone in an email. Either way I want you there to check it out."

"I doubt they'll let me touch his computer."

Diana turned slightly away from Tom and looked out her window and said quietly, "Even if you can't help, I….. I would like for you to be there."

Marco was truly surprised that Diana said that. They were good friends, and they had kind of started dating, but they were not serious yet. Marco really liked her, but he wasn't all that sure how she felt about him until this moment. He knew that Diana must be really upset to show that kind of vulnerability to him. He said quietly back to her, "I'm already in my car."

Diana smiled and said, "Thank you."

"We'll find her."

Diana hung up and looked over at Tom who nodded and said, "Good idea. If Shawn does have anything hidden on the computer, I'm sure Marco can find it."

Diana gave him a smile for understanding, and then turned her thoughts back to worrying.

Marco arrived at the center first, and stood outside the main doors waiting. Diana and Tom arrived shortly after.

Diana looked at Marco and gave him a genuine smile. Tom led the way into the 4400 center, where they were met by the guards. Tom held up his badge and said, "We're here to see Matthew Ross."

The guards looked unimpressed and one of them said, "Do you have an appointment?"

Tom smiled dangerously at the guard and said, "He's gonna want to see us. Tell him we're here."

The guard still didn't look worried, but did call into his ear piece, "Please tell Mr. Ross someone from NTAC is here to see him."

Everyone waited for a few seconds. Then the guard said, "He'll be right down."

A few minutes later Matthew came down the stairs with an exasperated look on his face. He said, "Mr. Baldwin, Ms. Skouris, what brings you here today?"

Tom said, "Do you know where Shawn is?"

Matthew said, "Yes, he's resting. He doesn't want to be disturbed."

Diana said, "Really? Because he was in my apartment about half an hour ago and took my daughter without asking."

Diana and Tom could both tell that this was a surprise to Matthew. He recovered quickly and smiled. "I'm sure you're mistaken."

Diana got into his personal space and said, "I'm sure you're going to take me to his room, and let us see him unless you want me to make a public statement telling everyone your spokesperson has kidnapped a nine year old girl!"

Matthew glared at her and said, "You're threats don't concern me Ms. Skouris."

Tom put a hand on Diana's shoulder to hold her back and said, "Mr. Ross, we didn't come her to be at odds with you. I think we could work together on this. We all want Shawn and Maia found. They could be in danger. Could we please go see his room and make sure he's really there. Maybe someone who looks like him is out there kidnapping people."

Matthew considered this and then slowly nodded. He said, "Follow me."

The four of them went up the stairs and down the hall to Shawn's room. There was one bodyguard still outside his door. Matthew said, "Has anyone gone in or come out of this room since I called you and told you Shawn was not to be disturbed until 4:30?"

"No sir."

Matthew nodded and said, "Stay here."

Matthew, Tom, Diana, and Marco all went into the apartment. Matthew called out, "Shawn?"

Tom and Diana quickly went through the apartment and as they both came back into the living room Tom said, "He's not here."

Matthew shook his head and said, "But that's impossible."

Diana pointed to the sliding glass door and said, "I could get out."

Matthew searched the apartment for himself, even looking in the closet and under the bed. When he finally convinced himself that Shawn was in fact gone he said, "Idiot."

Diana said, "Do you have any idea where he might be going with my daughter?"

Matthew thought about it and shook his head no. Diana said to Marco, "Look at the laptop."

Marco started towards it, but Matthew got in the way. He said, "No. That is confidential information, and unless you have a warrant, I suggest you leave."

Tom said, "We don't give a damn what's on the laptop unless it has to do with Maia."

Matthew thought for a second and said, "I'll make you a deal. I'll let you look over the laptop, if you let Maia start coming here once a week to take some of our classes and get to know us."

Diana gave a short hard laugh and said, "No way am I letting her anywhere near you."

Matthew said, "How about just one visit. Let her see the center, and visit with me."

Diana was a little desperate at this point and said, "I'll give you ten minutes to talk with her, with me in the room."

Matthew smiled and said, "Done."

Marco went to the laptop and started it. He said, "This could take a while."

Tom asked Matthew, "If Shawn got out the back, wouldn't he have to get to the front of the building somehow?"

Matthew nodded and said, "There is a guard at the gate."

Tom looked at Diana and said, "I'll check it out, and meet you back here."

Matthew walked Tom to the door, and told the bodyguard to follow him, but give him cooperation too.

Tom, with a little help from Shawn's bodyguard and the head of security, quickly got the story from the guard at the gate. Tom called his sister on the off chance that Shawn had actually gone there, but Susan said she hadn't seen him for a few days. Tom reassured her that nothing was wrong, and hung up. He went back up and reported what he had found out to Diana. Then they both stood around and waited to see what Marco could come up with.

# # #


Sheri was true to her word and drove them around without asking any questions. Maia directed, and no one said much. Ten minutes into the drive, they passed a business area, and Maia saw a McDonalds. She turned to Shawn and said, "I'm hungry. We didn't have lunch. Can we have McDonalds?"

Shawn didn't want to take the time, but nodded and said, "Fine."

Sheri pulled into the drive through. Shawn didn't have any more cash, and didn't feel right asking Sheri, so he used his debit card. Shawn was too nervous to eat, and Sheri didn't want anything. Maia seemed quite pleased with her happy meal. They got back on the road and Maia told them which way to go again. By the time she was done eating, they were out of the business area, and the scenery became distinctly nature filled. Maia said, "We're close."

Sheri looked over at Maia with a little bit of fear. Further down the road Maia told her to turn off onto a dirt road, and she did. Soon they were driving with no other cars around, and the road was getting rough. Five minutes later Maia said, "Stop here."

Sheri did, and everyone looked around out the windows. Shawn said, "I don't see a cabin."

Maia said, "It's over the next hill. We should walk, and Sheri can wait here for us."

Shawn sighed and trusted Maia. He said, "Okay. Can you wait here Sheri? It might take a while. Maybe even an hour."

"Of course."

Shawn and Maia got out. Maia led the way. Soon they were out of site of the car. They walked for about half a mile on the dirt road, mostly up hill. They got to the top of the hill, and Shawn looked around. He could see a lake in the distance, and about half a mile away he could see a small cabin with some smoke coming out of the chimney. Maia pointed to the cabin and said, "He's in there."

Shawn nodded, and then took a closer look around. He said, "This is where we all arrived."

Maia looked around too and said, "No it's not."

Shawn looked down at her quizzically and said, "Yes it is."

Maia said, "It doesn't look the same at all. There was a big beach with sand by the lake. I would have known where to tell you to go if it had been the same place, and Mommy wouldn't be mad at me for leaving."

Shawn understood why Maia was confused and said, "We're on the other side of the lake. The beach is over there. I've been here lots of times, but not from this direction."

Maia looked across the lake where Shawn was pointing. Maia crossed her arms and pouted a little as she said, "Well that's stupid. Now Mommy's mad, and you could have gotten here quicker without me. If I'm gonna be able to see things, why can't I understand them."

Shawn patted her shoulder and said, "I don't have an answer to that. Let's go."

They made it down the hill and up the cabin steps in no time. Shawn knocked on the door. A few seconds later an elderly man with gray hair, leathery tan skin, and hunting clothes answered the door. He smiled and said, "Can I help you?"

Shawn was about to answer when he felt Maia's hand on his arm. He looked down at her, and could tell something was very wrong. Maia was staring at the man with wide eyes and an open mouth obviously terrified. Shawn turned back around to say something to the man, and barely had time to register the needle going towards his neck. Shawn felt the prick, and after a few seconds went down. Maia screamed. The man grabbed her around the waist as she turned to run. She struggled, kicked, and yelled as he picked her up. He held her tight and yelled himself; "You hush now! You be good, or I'll knock you out too."

Maia stopped her fighting. The man yelled over his shoulder, "You were right Hal, more o' them freaks just arrived."

Hal was a middle-aged man with red hair, blue eyes, and very pale skin. He was wearing hunting clothes as well. He looked down at Shawn and said, "You know who this is Frank? This is the head honcho! He's the one they claim can heal folks."

Frank said, "What about this one?"

Hal looked Maia over and said, "I don't know 'bout her."

Frank said, "We'll ask Collier."

Hal pulled Shawn up, and into the house. He closed the door behind them. He got out some rope and tied Shawn's hands together behind his back. Then he tied his feet as well. Frank carried Maia into the house. Maia was terrified, and kept looking around for something or someone to help. Frank took her to the bedroom, and she could see Jordan tied to a chair. He had crusted blood on his face, and bruising and swelling on his jaw and the side of his head. Frank kicked Jordan's feet and said, "Wake up Collier."

Jordan startled awake and focused on Frank. Frank held Maia up for Collier to see. He said, "Tell us who the girl is if you don't want her hurt."

Jordan looked tired and said, "I've told you and told you I don't know who I am, how the hell should I know who someone else is!!?"

Frank gave Maia a hard shake, which caused her to scream. He said, "You listen to me girlie! I'm gonna set you down, and if you even try to make a move without me telling you to move, I'm gonna knock you down so quick, your head will spin. You understand me?"

Maia was quietly crying and nodded her head yes. Frank set her down and kept a hand on her arm. He led her over to the bed, and reached into his back pocket. He pulled out a pair of handcuffs and put one cuff on Maia's right hand, and the other cuff on the bed's headboard. Maia stood quietly next to the bed. Frank gripped her chin and forced her to look at him. He said, "Are you one of them 4400?"

Maia knew what would happen if she told the truth. She shook her head no and said, "No sir."

Frank grunted not believing her. Then he said, "You two keep your mouths shut whilst I go help Hal."

Frank went out to the living room and said, "Collier's still playing dumb, and the girl says she ain't one of them."

Hal said, "Let's wait and see what this one can tell us about the girl."

Frank said, "Let's just kill them and be done with it. I don't much care who the girl is, if she's one of them, she needs to die, and if she's not one of them, then she's a casualty of war."

Hal shook his head. "I want to know who she is first."

"Why?"

"If she's important, maybe more of them will come to find her too. I know they'll come for this one."

Frank said, "Look Hal, we both want the same thing. We want to rid the planet of these freaks, but I don't see how keeping these two alive is gonna help. We need to kill them now before they get away."

Hal stood up exasperated. "They ain't getting away Frank. We'll kill them as soon as I find out who they are. I own this cabin, and I'm makin' the damn rules. Who's idea was it to wait until one of them freaks came back to the lake."

Frank conceded, "It was yours."

"That's right. And who said if we kept Collier alive that more of them would come?"

"You did."

"So trust me now old friend. We're gonna find out who that girl is before we go and kill her."

Frank sighed, "Okay." Then he pointed at Shawn and said, "He should wake up in an hour or so."

# # #


Half an hour after getting to the computer Marco had found nothing. He sighed and said, "Well if Shawn was planning something, he kept it out of his emails and documents."

Diana was sitting on the couch feeling helpless and nervous enough to vomit. She looked to Tom and said, "What now?"

Marco got a call on his cell phone. He answered it and after a few seconds he said, "That's great. Where?"

Marco wrote an address down, and then hung up. He looked at Diana and said, "I made a call on my way here, and had Shawn's credit cards monitored. He used one about ten minutes ago at a McDonalds in Auora."

Diana and Tom looked at each other. Tom said, "That's pretty close to the lake. You don't suppose they are headed over there do you?"

Diana said, "Let's go find out."

Tom, Diana, and Marco all headed towards the door. Matthew called out, "Don't forget our deal, and call me when you find Shawn."

No one answered him.

As they got to the parking lot, Marco headed for his car. Diana said, "Why don't you follow us? We could use another set of eyes."

Marco nodded and pulled out behind Tom. When Tom and Diana were on their way Tom said, "The lake and surrounding wilderness is a vast area. I think we should call in a couple of teams to help us search."

Diana nodded in agreement. Tom made the call and soon had four teams with ten members each headed for the lake.

# # #


Jordan and Maia looked at each other for a while, but neither one dared to talk. After Maia calmed down enough, she took a look around the room. There wasn't much there, but she did notice a telephone on the nightstand on the other side of the bed. She looked at the handcuff on her wrist, and started to fiddle with it. She quickly realized that the adult size handcuffs didn't fit her all that well. There was enough room on the squashed sides to get her hand out. She looked towards the doorway, but couldn't see much in the other room. She tried taking her hand out of the cuff, and it worked. Jordan made a noise of surprise, and Maia looked at him with surprise too. Then he shook his head no obviously worried for her, and she put her hand back in. She looked over at the phone and then back out the doorway. As she was trying to see out Hal appeared in the doorway. He smiled at her and said, "Hi there little one. Don't be afraid, no one is going to hurt you. I just need you to answer some questions honestly for me. Can you do that?"

Maia nodded her head. Hal stood by the end of the bed. He said, "Are you one of the 4400?"

Maia said, "No sir."

"Then why were you with one of them?"

"He's my cousin."

"Why are you guys out here?"

"He brought me to the lake to go fishing."

Hal nodded and said, "Why did you knock on our door?"

"I had to go potty."

"How did you guys get here? Are you alone?"

Maia said, "We drove, and then hiked in. It's just the two of us."

"Does anyone else know you're here?"

"My mom."

Hal said, "What about your cousin. Does anyone know he's here?"

Maia shrugged, "I don't know."

Hal didn't believe her story, but he nodded and said, "Okay. Do you still need to go to the bathroom?"

Maia nodded her head yes. Hal walked over and undid the handcuff from the bed frame, but left the other end on her hand. He put a hand on her shoulder and walked her to the bathroom. There were no windows, so he just put her in there and shut the door on her as he said, "Tell me when you're done."

When she was done, Hal put her back where she had been. He said, "If you want to get up on the bed to sit, you can. We're gonna wait until your cousin wakes up, and then we're gonna call your mom to let her know where you are."

Maia nodded in understanding, but she knew the man was lying. Maia did climb up on the bed to sit down. Hal left the two of them alone again. Maia looked out the window and waited.

# # #


Tom, Diana, and Marco had met up with the teams at the lake, and Tom had set up a search pattern. Tom Diana and Marco were searching the beach where the 4400 had first arrived, but had found nothing yet. Diana's cell phone rang. She answered it, "Skouris."

She could barely make out a whisper, "Mommy."

Diana stood still and took her ear piece out of her other ear. She said, "Maia?"

"We are in a cabin by the lake where we all came back, but on the other side. Two bad men live here. They are making us stay. They are going to hurt us. I have to hang up now."

Diana said, "Maia!"

Diana heard the phone click. Tom and Marco were both there looking at her, knowing that something had happened. Diana hung up her phone and said, "Maia and Shawn are being held captive by two men in a cabin beside this lake. She said they were on the opposite side of the lake, and that the men were planing to hurt them."

Tom used his ear piece to contact his team on the other side of the lake. He gave them the information, and then turned to Diana and said, "Let's drive."

Tom, Diana and Marco all ran back to Tom's car, and he sped all the way to the other side of the lake. In the car Marco got on his cell phone and had some guys back at NTAC give him the names and information of all the people who owned property by the lake. In the eight minutes it took them to get to the other side, Marco had three possible locations to check out.

They took the road to the first one, and Tom had to screech to a stop so that he didn't run into a car just sitting on the road. A woman started up her car and started to move to the side of the road. Tom got out of his car, and showed her his badge. She rolled down her window. He said, "Have you seen a teenage boy, and a little girl come down this road?"

She nodded wide-eyed and said, "I drove them here."

Tom said, "Where are they?"

"I don't know. They told me to wait here for them. They went that way."

Diana had gotten out and said, "How long ago was that?"

"Over an hour."

Tom said, "You wait here. I'm going to need to ask you some more questions as soon as we get the kids."

She nodded, and Tom called his other teams to meet them there, to help with the cabin, and to make sure that someone kept an eye on the woman. Tom and Diana got back in the car and drove a little slower. When they got to the top of a hill, they saw the cabin below. Tom drove fairly slowly half way, and then pulled to the side of the road. Tom turned to Marco and said, "Stay in the car until we give you the sign that it's all clear."

Marco wasn't a field agent, and nodded in agreement to this plan. Tom and Diana got out, and started towards the cabin with their guns drawn. Tom called to his teams, and two of them were already in place around the cabin, but keeping out of site. Tom told them all to hold position, and said he and Diana were going in first. Tom went to the side of the building and peeked in a window. He saw all he needed to see. He took aim and fired.

# # #


Maia sat and waited on the bed, until she heard Shawn start to groan. Then as both men were busy waking him up, she looked at Jordan and put her finger to her mouth in a gesture for him to be quiet. He shook his head no, not wanting her to do something dangerous, but she slipped her hand out of the handcuff. She picked up the phone and dialed her mother's number. She gave her mom the message as quickly, and as quietly as she could, and then hung up. She got her cuff back on her wrist, and then looked to the doorway. No one was there, and she could hear both men still trying to wake up a groggy Shawn. Maia looked at Jordan and smiled. Jordan just looked amazed.

Shawn felt sick to his stomach, and moaned. Then he heard someone tell him to wake up. He quickly remembered where he was, and tried to get up. He soon realized he was tied up, and as he looked around he noticed that the room was kind of blurry. The man from the doorway was crouched down next to him yelling again for him to wake up. Then Shawn saw another man who was telling him the same thing. He shook his head once, trying to focus. He looked around again and said, "Maia?"

Hal said, "The girl is fine. Who is she?"

Shawn managed to be confused and scared at the same time. "What?"

Frank said, "The little girl who was with you. Who is she."

Shawn wasn't sure why these men had done this to him, but he knew he was in serious danger. He said, "Her name is Maia. She's a friend."

Hal said, "Is she one of the 4400?"

Shawn wasn't sure why they wanted to know, but seeing how they were treating him he shook his head no. Hal said, "What are the two of you doing out here?"

Shawn didn't know what the best answer would be. He said, "We were hiking."

Hal nodded and then asked, "Why did you knock on the door?"

"We just wanted to use your phone. Why are you keeping us here?"

"We want to ask you some questions."

Shawn looked around and said, "Where's Maia?"

Hal said, "She's safe."

Shawn called out, "Maia!"

Maia called back, "In here!"

Shawn took a deep breath in relief and then said, "Please let her go. She doesn't know anything. She's just a kid."

Hal started pacing back and forth in front of Shawn who was still tied up and lying on the floor. Hal said, "Well I'd like to, but we've got ourselves a slight problem. Ya see, your stories don't match. So now the question is who is lying to me. I've got a real problem with liars."

Shawn felt acid in his stomach as he twisted his hands in his restraints. He said, "I'm sorry, I'm just a little out of it and confused. What did you have in that needle anyway?"

Frank, who had been mostly silent, said, "Tranquilizer."

"It must be messing with my head. Why don't you ask me again?"

Hal was fairly patient, and started asking Shawn questions about the center, and about his ability to heal people. Shawn answered those questions honestly. Then after a while Hal finally got back to the original questions of what they were doing there. Shawn mostly gave the same answers, but this time said they had knocked on the door because they needed to ask directions. Hal shook his head and said, "Sorry kid, wrong answers again."

Shawn said, "Why is it so important to you? Why can't you just let us go? I can pay you. I have money."

Hal sighed and said, "I didn't want it to come to this, but you've left me no choice. Hal kneeled down to check and make sure Shawn's ropes were tied tight before he started to beat the truth out of him. Shawn felt some skin brush against his hand, and he grabbed a hold of it as tightly as he could, and focused all his anger and hate at the man.

Hal suddenly felt like he couldn't breath. The tried to pull away from Shawn but couldn't. He felt as though he were being drained. Frank stood up from his chair and said, "What's wrong Hal? You're turning gray."

As Frank stood he could see that Shawn had a hold of Hal's arm. Frank reached behind him and pulled his handgun out of the back of his camo pants. He pointed it at Shawn and said, "You let go of my friend you mutant freak."

Shawn looked up at Frank, and as he was letting go of Hal, he heard a loud bang, and saw Frank fall backwards a few feet. Shawn saw the blood start to pool under Frank's head. Next he heard Hal fall back and take some raged breaths, and then Shawn heard the front door being kicked in. He looked over and saw his uncle pointing his gun at Hal. Diana was right behind Tom, and looked at him. She said, "Maia?"

Shawn nodded towards the bedroom and said, "In there."

Diana went forward with her gun, and kept an eye out for anyone else as she went. She heard Tom behind her asking Shawn if he was okay. She got to the bedroom and saw Maia sitting on the bed looking small and scared. Then she noticed a beat up Jordan Collier tied to a chair next to the bed. Diana just stared at him like she was seeing a ghost. Maia said, "I knew you'd come, Mommy."

Diana turned back to her daughter. She reached her in a few steps and pulled her into a hug. "I'll always come for you Maia."

Maia slipped her hand out of the handcuff and put her arm around Diana. Diana pulled back and looked at the handcuff. She smiled at Maia and said, "That was very smart of you."

Diana picked Maia up and said to Jordan, "I'll be right back for you."

Jordan nodded. Then Diana said to Maia, "Close your eyes tight until I tell you to open them again."

Maia shut them, and hugged her mom close while Diana carried her. Diana saw Tom had cuffs on Hal, and was untying Shawn. She talked into her ear piece to let everyone know it was all clear, and safe to come in. Then she walked out the front door, and got her daughter outside into the sun.

She walked down the steps and over to Marco who was coming towards her. Diana said, "Okay honey, you can open your eyes again."

Maia did, and looked around. She saw Marco and gave him a smile. He said, "Hi Maia, I'm glad to see you're okay."

Maia nodded and said, "Me too."

Diana set Maia down and said to her, "I need to go help Tom. You stay here with Marco."

Maia clung to Diana's arm and said, "Don't go."

Diana knelt down next to Maia and said, "I know you were scared, I was scared too, but you're safe now. I'll be back in just a few minutes, and Marco will protect you."

Maia reluctantly let go of Diana and let her go. Diana and Marco shared a look, and then Diana headed back into the cabin. Maia felt Marco put a hand on the top of her head, and she turned to him and hugged him around the waist. Marco was surprised, but pleased as he hugged her back and said, "It's gonna be fine. We'll get you home in a couple of hours."

When Diana got back into the cabin, she saw that Shawn was standing up and rubbing his wrists. Some team members were hauling Hal out of the cabin. Hal was yelling obscenities, and calling for a lawyer. As soon as he was gone, Tom turned to Shawn and said, "What are you doing here?"

Shawn said, "We came to find Jordan."

At that point Jordan walked out of the bedroom with a couple of other team members holding his arms. Tom shook his head with disbelief and thought about Kyle. Shawn smiled and got a little choked up at the same time as he said, "Jordan?"

Jordan said, "That's what they tell me."

Shawn walked over to him and gave him a hug while he said; "I can't even explain how happy I am to see you."

Jordan gave a faint smile, gave Shawn a one armed hug back since one team member was still holding his other arm, and said, "I think the feeling is mutual, since you and Maia just saved my life. But I'm sorry to be the one to tell you that I don't know who you are."

Shawn let go. "What?"

Jordan pointed at his own head. "It's kind of blank up here. I washed up on the beach earlier today, with no memory of how I got there, or even who I am. I wandered until I found this cabin, and instead of helping me, the men held me hostage, and beat me up when I didn't give them the answers they wanted."

Tom said to Jordan, "We're going to take you into custody for right now. We're gonna have the doctors check you out to make sure those guys didn't do any damage, and you can give your statement to help put the one guy away for a long time. Then we'll have them do some DNA testing to make sure you really are Jordan Collier. Then probably in a couple of days you can go back to the 4400 center."

Jordan nodded his acceptance of this plan. Tom told the two team members that were next to Jordan, "Take him back to NTAC and get him checked out."

Jordan followed the men out. Tom looked at Shawn who looked somewhat shell shocked, and Tom pulled him into a hug. Shawn was surprised at first, but then hugged him back. After a few seconds Tom pulled away and said, "Tell me the whole story."

Diana walked up to them as well and said, "And explain what the hell you were doing with my daughter."

Shawn cringed a little at the thought of Maia getting hurt because of all of this, and said, "I'm so sorry I got her into this. I had no idea it was going to be dangerous."

Diana didn't look convinced and Tom said, "Start at the beginning."

Shawn sighed and started in on the story, while the other NTAC members worked around them going through the cabin for information, and getting Frank in a body bag. Tom and Diana didn't interrupt, but Shawn could tell that his story was making them both pretty angry. Shawn finished up with, "And then you broke in and saved us."

Tom said, "Why didn't you call us? I thought you said you were going to try and work with us from now on."

"Isabelle said not to tell anyone."

Tom raised his voice and said, "Isabelle is six months old! Maybe you shouldn't trust her judgement in everything!"

Shawn remembered Jordan telling him that Isabelle lied, and he thought that maybe he should have called his uncle or at least shared information when his uncle called his cell phone.

Diana got in Shawn's personal space and said, "Isabelle warned you that Jordan was in danger, and you still took my daughter with you. If you hadn't saved her life a couple of weeks ago, you wouldn't be standing right now."

Shawn believed her and swallowed hard. Tom put a hand on Diana's shoulder to try and calm her down.

Shawn said, "I'm very sorry Diana. It won't happen again."

Tom said, "Okay we'll talk more later. Right now, we're all going back to NTAC, and you can give your statement along with Maia and Jordan."

Shawn asked, "How did you find us anyway?"

"We had your credit card traced, and then Maia called us when we were already at the lake looking for you."

Shawn looked surprised. Tom handed Shawn a phone and said, "Matthew Ross wanted a call when we found you. Why don't you tell him you'll be headed to NTAC right now, and then released by the end of the day today? Don't tell what you've done, and don't tell him about Jordan until we know for sure it's really him."

Shawn nodded and called, and Tom put an arm around Shawn's shoulders and led him outside while he was calling. Once Shawn was on the porch, Tom went back in. Matthew answered with, "Hello."

Shawn said, "Hi Matthew, its Shawn."

"Where are you?"

"I'm with my uncle. I'm going over to NTAC for a few hours, and then I'll be released."

The line was quiet for a few seconds and then Matthew said, "What were you doing?"

"I had something to do, and I didn't want an escort."

Matthew sounded irritated and patronizing as he said, "Shawn, it isn't safe for you to be walking around out in the world without some kind of bodyguard. I thought we had gone over this."

"Look, I don't want to talk about it right now. I'll call you from NTAC when I get released, and you can send someone to pick me up."

"I think….."

Shawn hung up on him. He went over to Maia and Marco and watched the men working around them.

Tom and Diana gave directions for getting things wrapped up at the cabin. Diana called Rose to let her know that Maia had been found and was okay. They found an old computer in the cabin, and before Tom and Diana left, they made sure Marco was in charge of getting that back to his lab to figure out if the two men were up to any other illegal acts.

Fifteen minutes later Tom and Shawn were in the front seat of Tom's car, and Diana and Maia were in the back. Maia was still a little shaken up, and held her mom's hand while they road. A few seconds into the drive Diana looked at Maia and said, "Shawn told us what happened, but I'd like to hear the story from you. Then you will have to tell an agent the same story when we get back to the center."

Maia gave Diana a sad look and said, "You're not gonna like it Mommy."

Diana nodded and said, "I know, but tell me anyway."

Maia looked down at her lap and said, "Shawn came over, and I knew he was looking for Jordan. I knew where Jordan was, but I couldn't say where, because I didn't know how. I knew we had to find him, so I went with Shawn to show him where Jordan was."

"Why did you have to find him?"

"Because if we didn't all of the 4400 could have died, and I was the only one who knew where he was."

"Why didn't you call me and tell me about it?"

Maia shrugged her shoulders, but didn't look up. Diana said, "Maia, you know you are not to leave the apartment without telling me or Rose where you're going. It's a very important rule, and I know we've talked about it, so you're going to have to give me some kind of explanation."

Maia said very quietly, "I didn't know if you'd let me go, and if you didn't let me go it might have been too late."

Diana said, "But you didn't know for sure if I would say yes or no?"

Maia shook her head. Diana said, "Why didn't you at least let Rose know you were going? She was very worried about you."

"Because we needed those ten minutes to get away."

Diana sat quietly thinking for a few minutes. As a decision was forming in her mind, Maia said loudly, "No Mommy, please don't!"

In the front seat Tom and Shawn had both heard the conversation so far, and now Tom looked in the rear view mirror, and Shawn turned around in his seat a little to see what Maia was worried about.

Diana was a little unsettled by all of this and pulled Maia into an awkward hug around the seatbelts. She said, "Don't what sweetie?"

Maia hugged her back and said in a more quiet voice, "Please don't spank me Mommy."

Diana had just been thinking about that very thing, and she had almost decided to do it, but now she wasn't sure. She said, "What makes you think I'm going to spank you?"

Tom focused his eyes back on the road. While he felt bad for both Diana and Maia, he trusted Diana's judgement either way. Shawn on the other hand was very unhappy with the direction of the conversation, and thought to himself that he was going to convince Diana not to, if she decided it was the right thing to do.

Maia started to cry a little and said, "Because you are."

Diana rubbed her hand up and down Maia's back and said, "It's been a really rough day for you today sweetie. Why don't you lay your head down on my lap, and try to rest? We have a long ride in front of us."

Maia nodded and did lay her head down. Shawn turned all the way around and looked at Diana when he said, "Diana I really don't think….."

Tom cut him off with a curt, "Shawn!"

Shawn looked over at Tom, and Tom glanced at Shawn as he said, "It's not any of your business. Stay out of it."

Shawn shook his head ready to disagree and Tom looked back at the road as he said, "I don't want to hear it. You have made one bad decision after another today, so I don't think you're in any position to give someone else advice about their decisions."

Shawn closed his mouth, and looked out the passenger side window. At first he felt hurt by what his uncle had said, but after thinking about it for the next fifteen minutes, he reluctantly accepted that his uncle had a point. Shawn also couldn't help but remember the one time his uncle had spanked him.

Tom had taken Kyle and Shawn out camping for the weekend when they were both eight. Shawn's Dad had left the year before, and his mom Susan had suggested the trip to Tom. Kyle and Shawn had always been close cousins, and good friends, so Tom had readily agreed. The trip had gone really well until Sunday afternoon.

Tom and the boys had gone fishing on the bank of a large river. The boys had quickly gotten bored with fishing, and wanted to explore the area. Tom told them they could walk up and down the bank a little bit, but that they needed to stay within his eyesight because there were no other people around for miles. He also said they were under no circumstances to get in the water without Tom present because the river had a strong current.

Kyle and Shawn had gone down the bank a ways and started to play and look around for frogs. Tom looked over at them every five minutes or so, and spent the rest of his time reading a book. Then as he was getting tired of fishing himself, he looked over to the spot where the boys had been less then four minutes ago, and saw nothing. Tom quickly scanned the area and realized he couldn't see them anywhere. He got up and walked the direction the boys had been. Later he found out they had left to follow a frog and try to catch it. He found the boys fairly quickly around the bend in the river. They were both knee deep in the water trying to catch tadpoles. When Tom got close enough he said, "What are the two of you doing!?"

Kyle looked very worried, and said, "Um…. catching tadpoles?"

Tom pointed to the spot in front of him and said, "Come here."

Both boys looked very nervous, and reluctantly walked over. Tom knelt down on one knee so he could be at their level and said, "What did I tell you about getting wet?"

Kyle said, "Not to."

Tom looked at Shawn and said, "And what did I tell you about wandering off?"

"To stay where you could see us."

Tom looked back in the direction their stuff was. He said, "Can you see where our chairs and poles are?"

Both boys shook their heads no. Tom pulled Kyle towards him, and bent him over his one knee. He gave him five hard smacks, while Shawn stood there wide-eyed. Tom stood Kyle back up and looked him in the eyes as he said, "You don't wander off."

Kyle gave him a tearful nod, and Tom kissed his forehead and let him go. Then he looked over at Shawn. Tom reached for him, and Shawn backed up a step, but he wasn't quick enough. Tom pulled Shawn over his knee and gave him five swats as well. Shawn had never been spanked before, and decided he never wanted to be again. Tom stood him up and said, "You don't wander off either."

Shawn was crying more then Kyle had, more from the shock then anything else, and Tom pulled him into a hug and held him for a few minutes until he calmed down. Tom soon let him go and stood up. He said to both of them, "Let's go back to camp, and see what we can make for an early dinner before we have to pack up and head for home."


The more Shawn thought about it, the more he realized that while he hadn't liked what had happened, it also hadn't seemed wrong to him at the time. But he still didn't think it was right for Diana to spank Maia, because he was the one who had gotten Maia into it.

The trip took about half an hour. Maia had fallen asleep very soon after lying down, and Diana had thought about everything. She had made up her mind that spanking Maia would be the right thing to do, but she wasn't sure she could actually do it. She hadn't even had Maia for a year yet, and she didn't even know if Maia's real parents had ever spanked her. But she thought that since Maia was abducted from the 1940's that it was a pretty good bet that she had been.

As soon as they were about two minutes away from NTAC Maia woke up with a start. Diana had a hand on Maia's back and felt it. She smiled down at Maia and said, "You woke up just in time, we're almost there."

Maia sat up, shook her head, and said with a pitiful voice, "You didn't change your mind."

Diana held one of Maia's hands and said, "It was wrong of you to leave the apartment without calling me. It was wrong of you to make Rose and me worry about you for the entire afternoon. I need to make sure you aren't going to do it again."

Maia sounded slightly louder as she said, "I won't. I promise I won't do it again. Not ever."

Diana thought about Maia and how many people would want to use her exactly the way Shawn had, and the way her sister had used her last month. Maia would meet many people in her life who would call her their friend, but in reality would only want something from her. Diana intended to make sure Maia had a clear picture in her head of what would happen to her if she decided to listen to one of her friends instead of her mother. Diana said, "I'm sure you won't sweetie."

Maia started to get even louder and said, "Then why are you still gonna spank me? If you know I won't do it again, then you shouldn't."

Diana sighed and said, "I'm sure you wouldn't plan to do it again, but I think it's important that you have a clear reminder of what will happen to you if you do."

As Diana was talking Tom had rolled down his window to show the guard at the NTAC parking structure his ID. The guard had let him pass, and as Tom was rolling his window back up, Maia yelled with panic in her voice, "But that's not fair! If I said I'm not gonna do it again, you should believe me! I promise I'll always call you from now on! I won't leave the apartment without telling you!"

Diana said as calmly as possible, "Maia, you need to calm down."

Maia yanked her hand out of Diana's and curled up against her side of the car away from Diana and started to cry loudly. Diana had planed to wait until they got home, but now she thought that would be even harder on Maia. As Tom pulled into a parking space Diana said, "Can I use your car for a few minutes Tom?"

Tom gave her an encouraging look and nodded. He said, "The keys will be on the front seat. Lock it when you're done, and I'll see you in the office."

Tom got out of the car, but Shawn just sat there and glared at Diana. He said, "She said she was sorry. Can't you see how upset she is? This isn't right."

Tom heard Shawn start talking as he closed his door. He quickly walked around to the passenger side door, and opened it for Shawn. Shawn turned around with surprise to see his uncle's face close to his. Tom said, "Out. Now."

Tom looked back to Diana and said, "Sorry."

Shawn slowly unbuckled, and got out of the car. Tom shut the door behind them, and put a hand on Shawn's upper arm to lead him away. They walked four car lengths away to the elevator, and Tom pushed the button.

In the car Diana undid her seatbelt, and Maia's seatbelt as well. Diana said, "Maia honey?"

Maia just curled up in a tighter ball. Diana knew she wasn't going to get anywhere with Maia this way. She made her voice more stern and said, "Maia, you sit up right now."

Maia put her legs down, and looked over at Diana with surprise. Diana said more quietly, "It's time."

Maia shook her head no, but Diana pulled Maia over her lap anyway. Diana gave Maia six strong swats, and Maia cried and apologized through them. Then Diana pulled Maia up, and sat her in her lap. They sat like that for a while until they both calmed down.

As Tom and Shawn were waiting for the elevator to arrive, they both could hear faint muffled sounds of smacking and crying. It was over before the elevator got there. Tom thought that seemed about right everything considered, and looked over to see Shawn's reaction. Shawn looked like he might cry himself. Tom put a hand on Shawn's shoulder, but Shawn shrugged it off and said, "You should have let me stop her."

Tom shook his head, and as the elevator doors opened he said, "You couldn't have stopped her, and she did the right thing. You just feel guilty about it because of your part in it."

Shawn got in and refused to acknowledge what Tom had said. Soon they were in the main office, and Shawn sat down to give his statement to one of the officials, and Tom went to his desk to try and type up his report. But instead stared at his computer screen and thought about Shawn.


Three minutes after the spanking, Maia was calmer then she had been since getting out of the cabin. Diana could tell her crying had stopped. Diana said, "Are you feeling better now?"

Maia nodded her head. Diana said, "Are you going to remember this the next time someone wants you to leave the apartment without calling me?"

Maia nodded again. Diana gave her a kiss and said, "Good. Are you ready to go upstairs and tell your story to a nice man named Bill?"

Maia took her head off Diana's shoulder so she could look at her and said, "Okay Mommy."

Diana wiped away Maia's tears and said, "I love you."

"I love you too."

Diana let Maia go and reached into the front seat to get Tom's keys. They both got out, and Diana locked it up before heading towards the elevators. Soon Maia was giving her statement as well.

Tom tried to concentrate on his reports, but his thoughts kept straying to Shawn, Kyle, and Jordan. He hoped to God that the DNA tests would prove that Jordan was in fact alive, so that he could get his son out of prison. There wasn't really anything he could do about that except for wait for the results, but he couldn't keep from thinking about it on and off.

Tom zoned out on his computer screen and thought about the life that could have been. The life Alana had shown him. Kyle was robbed of four years of his life, and in a separate way Shawn was too. Tom looked over at Shawn for a second and remembered who he could have been. Tom thought, 'It had to be hard on the kid coming home one day to find everyone he knew four years older, but that's not why he's living at the center instead of at home. He's there because of his ability to heal. It has to be a big responsibility, and a big burden to carry around that kind of power. And it has to be hard to go from being just a guy in high school to being a world wide hero overnight. And all he wanted to do was write music.'

A hand on his arm interrupted Tom's thoughts. He looked over to see Maia looking at him. Tom gave her a smile and said, "Hi there."

Maia gave him a serious look and said, "He feels all alone."

Tom looked over at Shawn, and then back to Maia. He said, "You can see that somehow?"

Maia shook her head no. "We talked a lot when we were all sick, and I could tell. He lives at the center with all those people, but he still feels all alone. I just live with Mommy, and she's at work a lot, but I don't feel alone. You could help him, but he won't want to let you."

"How can I help?"

Maia looked over at Shawn and then back at Tom. She said, "Seems like some people are scared of him now, but you're not. And lots of people want his help, but you don't. And some people want to make him do things for them, but you don't. You just love him for who he has always been. You have to make him see that."

Tom nodded and said, "Thank you Maia. That is very wise advice."

Maia gave him a smile and walked over to Diana who was at the next desk over.


Half an hour later most everything was wrapped up. Diana was getting ready to leave and call it an early night when Marco called them. Diana looked at Tom and said, "He wants us to come see something. He found something on the computer that was in the cabin."

Tom looked over at Shawn and saw that he was just sitting there in a chair staring at the floor. Tom went over to him and said, "Are they done questioning you?"

Shawn nodded. Tom said, "Marco found something on the computer. Did you want to come with us and see what it is?"

Shawn couldn't mask his surprise. He said, "Sure."

Shawn got up and followed Tom. Diana and Maia were already at the elevator waiting. They got to Marco's lab and Diana said, "Is it okay if Maia's here?"

Marco looked down at Maia thinking about it. She said, "It's okay, I know you found the list."

Marco nodded and said, "I guess it's okay then."

He turned to Diana and Tom and said, "We found a list of email addresses, and a list of phone numbers. There are over a thousand people on the list."

Tom said, "People they were going to go after?"

Marco shook his head. "Worse. It's a list of people who agreed with them. People who think the 4400 are evil. And there are a small group of about 40 people in that group that seem to think killing them off is a good plan. Hal and Frank were trying to set up a network of people who hate the 4400 enough to help kill them off."

Shawn looked a little sick. Tom said, "Over a thousand people? That's a lot more then I would have thought."

Marco said, "Like I said, only 40 of them think killing them is a good idea, but even if 5 of them agreed to do it, the results could be disastrous. Frank and Hal were in the process of whipping everyone in their group up into a frenzy. If Maia and Shawn hadn't found Collier, my guess is that by the end of this week there would have been at least 10 of the 4400 killed in the span of a day or two. Then that could have caused a huge division in the two sides of the debate. It could have been war."

Marco gave them a smile and said, "But Frank and Hal were stupid enough to leave personal information about these people on their computers, and we will be able to track them down and keep an eye on them. Maybe bring them in for questioning, and scare the crap out of them."

Diana nodded and said, "Good job. Find the addresses, and I'll assign teams to have them all checked out tonight."

Marco looked at his watch and noticed it was almost five o'clock. He said, "I'll have the addresses in half an hour."

Everyone went back to the main office, and Shawn could see that one of his bodyguards was waiting out in the hall for him. He turned to Tom and said, "Looks like that's my ride."

Tom looked over at the bodyguard, and then at Diana. He said, "Can you cover for me for a few minutes? I want to talk to Shawn before he goes."

Diana nodded and headed to her desk with Maia in tow. Shawn gave his uncle a questioning look. Tom said, "Can I talk to you in one of the interrogation rooms for a few minutes before you go?"

"Sure" Shawn said as he followed his uncle.

Tom went in one of the rooms and shut and locked the door behind them. Tom gestured to one of the chairs, and Shawn sat down. Tom sat down in the chair across from him.

Shawn looked at him expectantly and Tom said, "I… I'm not exactly sure how to start."

Shawn waited for a few seconds and then said, "I'm not sure how to help you with that."

Tom looked down for a second to gather his thoughts, and then looked back at Shawn. He said, "I've known you your whole life. You and Kyle have been best friends since you were little kids. You've stayed over at my house more times then I can count. I know almost as much about you as I know about my own son…."

Shawn nodded when Tom paused. Tom finally continued, "So I know you're not very happy right now."

Shawn shook his head to disagree. Tom said, "You're not happy that things are strained with Susan and Danny. You're not happy that you don't have time for your music. You're not happy that your life has changed so much and so fast. And mostly you're not happy with the way people treat you now."

Shawn got defensive, "Things aren't that bad with Mom and Danny, and healing people and playing a major role in changing the future of humanity seems more important then my music."

Tom shook his head, "More important in the big picture, but maybe not more important to you."

"Of course it's more important to me! It's incredible to see people feeling better after hurting for so long. It's a great gift I've been given."

Tom said, "I know you better than that Shawn. Healing people makes you feel good for a second, but then when they start to look at you like you're their personal savior, it makes you unhappy."

Shawn got mad and stood up. He said, "Whatever Uncle Tommy. It's been a long day and I'm tired. I'm going home."

Tom got up too and stood in Shawn's way. Shawn stopped and waited. Tom said, "Then to top things off, you feel guilty that you can't accept their gratitude. You heal them, and then they see you as better then human, and you can tell. But you know that you are only human with the same faults as everyone else, so when you see that look in their eyes, you don't feel worthy of their gratitude. Then you get mad at yourself for being unhappy with the gift you were sent back with."

Shawn lost some of his steam at being analyzed so well. He looked away and crossed his arms defensively and mumbled, "Maybe."

Tom put a hand on Shawn's shoulder and said, "It's okay Shawn. You are human. A lot of people will never understand that about you, but I always will. You can talk to me about this kind of thing any time you want to."

Shawn darted a look at his uncle, and mumbled, "Okay….. Thanks."

Tom sighed and said, "I also wanted to talk to you about the mistakes you made today."

Shawn quickly found his defenses kick back into high gear. He said, "Oh, you mean the mistake where I saved Jordan which will probably get your son out of prison, or the mistake where I brought down a group of people who were going to start killing us off?"

Tom's grip got a little stronger on Shawn's arm and he his voice started to rise as he said, "No, I mean the mistakes like ditching your own security team, taking Maia from her apartment, putting yourself and Maia in a very dangerous situation, and almost getting yourself killed!"

Shawn yelled back, "Well I'm sorry you're not happy about all that, but I have to look out for the best interests of the whole damn movement that I'm in charge of now."

Tom shook his head no and started walking both of them towards the table. Shawn gave a halfhearted attempt to get away. Tom said, "You may not be able to see it, but even looking at the big picture, and taking the whole damn movement into account, you still made the wrong choices today."

As Tom was talking he had walked to the table, and sat down with one leg on the edge of the table and one leg on the floor to balance himself. Shawn opened his mouth to protest what Tom had said, but before he could get the first word out he felt Tom pull him over the leg that was balanced on the table. Shawn caught his upper half from hitting the table with his hands. Before he had much time to react, Tom grabbed Shawn's wrist with his left hand and pulled it behind his back. Shawn yelled, "What the hell Uncle Tommy?!"

Tom brought his hand down on Shawn's slacks with a loud smack. Shawn jumped a little and started to try harder to get out of Tom's grip. Tom gave Shawn six spanks that were nowhere near full force, but hard enough to let Shawn know he wasn't fooling around. Then paused to say, "You should not have ditched your bodyguard."

Shawn said, "I had to do it alone! Isabelle said I couldn't trust them!"

Tom gave him six more and said, "Then you need to find a bodyguard you can trust."

Shawn wasn't in all that much pain yet, but it stung a little, and he was sure he wanted it to be over. His mind was still trying to wrap itself around the concept of getting spanked in the first place, and he thought cooperation would be good at this point. He said, "Okay, I will."

Tom gave him a couple of more and said, "Good, but even if you don't trust your bodyguard completely, it isn't safe for you to walk around out in public without one. I know that's not how you planned to live your life, but it's too late to go back now, and you have to be responsible with your own safety."

Shawn nodded in acceptance. Tom gave Shawn another six and said, "You should have never let Maia leave her apartment without telling someone about it. She considers you a friend, and she trusts you, but she's only nine. If she has an idea, and you don't think it's the best plan, then it's up to you to make the right choice."

Shawn did feel very guilty about getting Maia into trouble and said quietly, "I'm sorry."

Tom raised his hand higher then before and gave Shawn ten hard spanks. Shawn grunted in surprise at the first one, and couldn't believe how much more it hurt. As Tom continued Shawn found himself unable to keep quiet. By the time Tom had gotten to ten Shawn was breathing hard and close to tears. Tom paused again and said, "I can understand why you didn't call me right after you ditched your bodyguards. And even though I think it was wrong, I can understand why you didn't call me when you took Maia with you. But I can't for the life of me understand why you went down to that cabin and just knocked on the door without calling me first. Or if not me, then at least someone! Going down there without some kind of backup was unacceptable and taking Maia along made it worse."

Shawn said, "We didn't…. Maia didn't seem to think it was dangerous, and I was so excited to find Jordan that I….. I just didn't think anything like that could have happened."

Tom raised his hand high again and brought it down twenty more times. Shawn couldn't hold in an 'ow' after the first two. And then with sounds of pain in between the words he said, "I know it was wrong. I'm sorry about Maia! I didn't mean to get her hurt. It won't happen again! Uncle Tommy! Please, stop!"

By the time it was over Shawn was crying. Tom let go of his wrist, and patted his back once before helping him to stand up. Once he was up, Tom pulled him into a hug. Shawn continued to cry. Tom rubbed his hand up and down Shawn's back and said, "All done. You're forgiven, and I'm sure you won't do it again."

Shawn couldn't believe how much better those simple words made him feel. He had just been letting Tom hug him, but after that, he hugged him back. Shawn wasn't sure why he wasn't trying to leave, but he tried not to analyze that too carefully, and just let himself be held. Once Shawn's crying had stopped, Tom said, "I think your heart was in the right place Shawn. Finding Jordan was important, and it was the right thing to do for the movement, for yourself, and even for your cousin. You just needed to think it through a little better, so that you could keep yourself safe while doing it."

Shawn nodded his head on Tom's chest in agreement. Tom hugged him tighter and said, "Oh yeah, I almost forgot."

Shawn stiffened in his grip wondering what else he had done to make Tom angry. Tom said, "I have your cell phone up on my desk. But I'm not sure I should give it back to you after you hung up on me, and then threw it away. Maybe I should just keep it for myself."

Shawn could tell by his tone that his uncle was joking now and relaxed. He pulled himself out of Tom's hug, and wiped at his eyes and face with the palms of his hands. He sniffed loudly and said quietly but with some humor, "You can keep it if you want to pay the bill."

Tom smiled at him and said, "No thanks."

Shawn lost his smile and said, "I really am sorry Uncle Tommy."

Tom put a hand on Shawn's shoulder and said, "I know, but I didn't bring you in here because I wanted to make you sorry. I brought you in here to show you that I love you just the same as before you left, and to show you that you aren't alone. Anytime you need someone to talk to, I want you to feel that you can come to me. Okay?"

Shawn looked like he might cry again, and just nodded his head. Tom patted his shoulder and said, "It's been a long day. Are you ready to go home?"

Shawn looked towards the door and said, "I guess so."

Tom led them out, and kept an arm around Shawn's shoulders until he was introduced to the bodyguard who was there to take Shawn back to the center.

Tom watched Shawn leave and was pretty sure he had done the right thing. He went back in and saw Maia looking bored sitting next to Diana's desk. Tom said, "Hey Diana."

"Yeah?"

"Why don't you call it a night and take Maia home? I'll wrap up things here."

Diana nodded at him and said, "Okay thanks."

As they were headed out the door Maia turned to Tom and said, "It worked. He feels better now."


The End