Chapter Seventeen:

Five weeks have passed and Michael is still missing. Bo had been through all of his past and pending cases and so far nothing has helped them find him. Patrick had joined the search, trying to pull from his old contacts but still nothing.

One morning, five and a half weeks after Michael’s abduction Bo received a phone call at the house informing them of where they could find Michael. Bo gathered a few agents and took off to bring Michael home.

They pulled up to the abandoned building, the tires slipping on the loose gravel as they came to a stop. Bo looked around the grounds, praying that this wasn’t a set up. He turned to Agent O’Leary and motioned towards the side door. Within minutes the door was kicked down and they were standing in a large empty warehouse. Bo looked around the dimly lit room and spotted a hallway to his left. He motioned towards the entrance, slowly making his way towards a door at the far end. Bo paused for a moment and then gave the sign to have the door knocked down. Bo made his way into the room, his eyes scanning the room.

Bo heard his name, turning in the direction it was coming from he saw his form sitting on the floor, in the far corner of the room. Bo ran over and kneeled down in front of him, “Michael.” He motioned for the others to come and help him escort Michael out. They drove him straight to the hospital where he was evaluated and admitted for further observation.

Bo walked out into the hallway and called Bridget. He walked back into Michael’s room, “So I guess we’re even,” Michael said with a smile.

“Oh, we’re definitely even.” Bo said as he took a seat beside the bed. “We found the ones responsible. It seems as though the person who called me was a turncoat, an employee who wanted out. In exchange for a lighter sentence for his involvement in your abduction, he gave up the ring leaders of that drug syndicate you’ve been working to bring down. They’re still working on finding out exactly what their motives were, but so far nothing.”

“I don’t care about the reasons why. I’m just grateful to be home, and speaking of home. You have someplace you really need to be, Bo. You’ve repaid whatever debt you feel you had to repay and now you need to go home, to your wife and children, memory or no memory.”

“Home is exactly where I’m headed. My bags are packed and there’s a car waiting to take me to the airport as soon as Bridget arrives.” Bo stands and extends his hand to Michael, “You’ve been a true friend Michael. I will never forget you or your family.”

“As have you, Bo. Please live your life in happiness.” Bo nodded and walked out into the hallway. He stopped outside his door as she made her way towards him. Bridget stepped out of their embrace, placing a kiss on Bo’s cheek, “You can go home now, Bo. You can go home to your love.”

Bo stood in line just before dawn waiting to board the plane that would finally take him home…

*~*

Back in Llanview those same five and a half weeks passed just as quickly. Sheila and Hank stayed as long as they could; promising to return as soon as their affairs were in order. Nora continued to bury herself in work spending her days at the office and her nights with her children. Agent Cass had attempted to ask her out a few more times but after explaining to him her feelings regarding Bo and the fact that she was carrying his child he accepted her decision and left town shortly after.

Antonio had been named interim-Commissioner of Police for a trial period. Nora had a hard time walking into Bo’s office each day to discuss a case with Antonio. Bo was still every where she looked, every where she turned.

That next morning while Bo was landing at Philadelphia International Airport, Nora awoke with a strange feeling, as though today was a day her life was going to change. She went about her normal routine, getting Matthew ready for school and Destiny ready for her day with Maryanne. She walked into her office just before eight that morning and returned a few phone calls and answered a few emails. She had a few hearings to attend and a few briefs to work on that day and a doctor’s appointment later that afternoon. No matter what she worked on or how busy she tried to keep herself, she couldn’t shake that feeling.

*~*

Bo walked through the sliding doors and flagged down a waiting taxi. He sat back in the seat. The driver looked in the rearview mirror and smiled, “Where to, mister?”

“Llanview, Pennsylvania.”

The driver starts the meter and puts the car in drive, “You heading home?”

Bo smiled, “Yeah, I’m going home.”

*~*

Nora walked into the waiting room and found a seat in the corner of the room. She picked up a magazine and flipped through the pages, not really noticing what she was looking at. She looked up when she heard them call her name. She dropped the magazine on the table in front of her and followed the nurse down the long hallway. Each month she came and each month she walked out, with a new picture of their baby and the same emptiness in her heart.

*~*

Bo had no idea where he was going or where to tell the driver to drop him. He told him to just drive up and down the streets, hoping that something would look familiar, that something would click and he would remember. They drove passed the University, passed the hospital and the park, but nothing was registering.

He leaned back against the seat and sighed, “Take me to the police station, please.”

*~*

Nora walked through the long hallways leading from the Woman’s Center at Llanview Hospital. The halls were quiet, the sounds of her heels clicking on the tile floor was the only thing she could hear. She hated this place; it no longer held the joy she would feel when they had walked down this hallway hand in hand when she was pregnant with Destiny.

She paused halfway down the long corridor, her emotions taking their toll. She pulled the picture out of her pocket and stared at it. She walked over and sat down on the row of chairs. She was still staring at it when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up and smiled, “He’s a fighter, Larry. Look at him. Look at how much he’s grown.”

“He’s doing great, Nora. He wants to be born.” As she stared at the picture, she suddenly was overcome with a feeling of warmth and it brought tears to her eyes. Larry sat down beside her, “What’s wrong, honey?”

Nora just shook her head, “Nothing’s wrong, that’s what’s so weird. For the first time, since Bo’s death, I just have a feeling that things are going to be okay.”

She kissed Larry’s cheek and walked out onto the street, deciding to leave her car in the parking garage and walk back to the station. She felt the warm afternoon sun on her face, inhaling the sweet spring air. She smiled at the mothers and their children as they walked passed her on the street. She stood at the crosswalk, pulling the picture back out of her pocket…

*~*

He looked out the window, silently cursing each stoplight they hit. He watched as the people passed by them on the sidewalks. He would look to his right and look to his left, hoping to once again see something, or someone that would make him remember. He looked to his left once again and a flash of red caught his eye. He opened the taxi door, ignoring the driver’s protests. He threw all the money he had in his pocket out on the driver’s lap and turned to where he had seen her standing, waiting to cross the street.

She was staring at the picture as she stepped out onto the street…

He saw her step out onto the street, for the first time seeing her expanding stomach, he smiled, “She’s having a baby,” he thought to himself.

He watched her as she took each step towards him, her eyes still focused on what she was holding in her hand. He turned to his left without thinking, his instincts telling him something wasn’t right. He turned and looked back at her, she doesn’t see it…he ran towards her, calling her name.

She looked up, swearing she heard her name. Their eyes locked, as he ran towards her and before she could speak she was crushed by his embrace as he pulled her to the ground, the truck missing them by just centimeters. As the motion of their bodies stilled, she brought her head up raising a trembling hand to his face, she whispered, "Bo." His eyelids remained closed, the tears rolling down her face, “Bo…no…no, not again…please not again.”

TBC…