A/N: Here we go everyone! I hope you're enjoying the Easter holidays and Spring Break ;) Thanks so much for the reviews for the last chapter, you guys truly rock! In case you missed it, I also updated my story "Irreplacable" with a tag to "White Orchids". It's sweet fluff and a little on the M-side ;) So for those of you who might like to read some steamy Jisbon wedding night stuff, you're very welcome.

Thanks to Idan for betaing! She is sooooooo amazing!

Now enjoy :)

(14)

The hours just wouldn't pass by. It felt like an eternity when Cho finally agreed on driving back to Chicago with Jane. Their ride back stretched even more because they had to get through miles of traffic caused by numerous accidents. By the time they arrived at the precinct where Fischer and Pike were waiting for them, it was past nine.

Pike looked equally tired, an expression of horror on his face. Cho went straight to get some coffee, while Jane poured himself a cup of camomile tea to calm his nerves down. Lisbon needed him to think clearly, needed him to be at his best.

"I talked to California State Prison. They agreed to let Rigsby talk to Volker because of the extraordinary circumstances. However he won't be able to talk to him until 9 am California time. We have to wait for three hours," Fischer explained.

Jane nodded. "Did Wylie find a connection yet?" He knew the young man hadn't, otherwise they would already be on their way.

"No, Wylie hasn't found anything. He promised to call if anything pops up. Lisbon's brother Thomas called an hour ago though. I think you should call him back." She gave him a short smile, which he didn't return. Instead, he picked up his cell phone to call Tommy Lisbon.

Tommy picked up the phone, sounding more than tired. He asked for news about Lisbon's kidnapping, but Jane couldn't tell him anything.

"Annie's been asking about you. She didn't tell me if she remembered anything, but she would like to speak to you. Do you think it'd be possible for you to come to the hospital, as long as you're waiting for results?"

Jane considered Tommy's request for a moment. Perhaps Annie remembered something she didn't want to tell her father. Anyway, he should go there to make sure she was alright, especially since she was the one to break the news of Lisbon's change of mind to him.

"I'm on my way," he said and hung up. Once he got back into the conference room, he asked Fischer for the keys to her car. All of them were surprised when Marcus got up to announce he would drive Jane to the hospital.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Fischer explained, concerned, but Marcus shook his head.

"They're my family, too. I need to support them until we find Teresa."

She couldn't argue with that. "We'll call you once we get something. Are you okay, Jane?" Jane looked up, a sombre expression on his face. He really wasn't the one to forbid Marcus to check up on his supposed to be brother-in-law, especially since he couldn't prove what Annie told him was true. Only Lisbon could confirm her change of mind. Until then, none of them could be sure.

Xxxxx

Marcus drove them to the hospital. Jane bit back a comment about his dainty driving style. Of course Marcus was perfect in every way, damn it; even his driving was perfect. He never went too fast, always keeping the required distance to the car in front of them… no wonder Lisbon chose him.

"He's had her for almost a day now. What do you think will he do to her?" Pike asked, worried, without looking at Jane.

Jane swallowed. He honestly didn't want to think about what Carmen would do to her, especially not if Volker was involved. Volker was a sick, perverted bastard who liked to torture his victims and watch them die. Jane was more than certain Carmen would find some way to record Lisbon's torture, so Volker could watch. While Volker was more the physical one, Carmen liked to play games with Lisbon's mind. He could easily find a way to hypnotize Lisbon and make her suffer from irreparable brain damage. What if Carmen turned Lisbon into another Kristina Frye? She would still be alive, but dead to them.

"Jane?" Pike asked.

"You don't want to know what he will do to her. Carmen knows his way around manipulating people mentally."

"But… she will be alive when we find her right?"

Jane's lips formed a small line. "Depending on what he did to her, being alive might be worse than being dead."

Pike's shocked look said more than a thousand words. Neither of them talked for the rest of the ride.

Xxxxx

Annie felt tired. The pain killers were clouding her mind and making her feel dizzy. However, they soothed the pain in her leg. Getting shot wasn't as cool as she thought it would be. What was even worse was that the doctors couldn't tell her if she'd be able to fully recover from her injury, since the bullet caused a lot of damage to the muscles. They would have to wait and see.

She was annoyed her career in law enforcement might be over before it even fully began. But there were worse things to worry about. Her aunt got kidnapped by a psychopath and no one knew what he would do to her. It was killing Annie to not be able to remember a face or anything which might help them find Lisbon.

She'd asked her father to call Jane, so he could try and put her into a trance. Maybe this way she'd be able to remember something she couldn't. The young woman sighed heavily, which alarmed Tommy, who was watching the news on TV.

"Are you in pain? Do you want me to call the nurse, honey?"

Annie shook her head. "No, I was just thinking, Dad. I want to help them, but I don't really know how."

"You've been shot, Annie. What happened is not your fault."

"I know. But she tried to save me, Dad. She told me to put something in front of my mouth, while she was trying to get us out of there. I should have been the one to try and kick the door open. Maybe that way she would have been able to fight the men off." She swallowed hard to suppress the tears. "We shouldn't have gotten into that stupid limousine in the first place. We should have waited."

"It was not your fault, honey. Reese wouldn't want you to blame yourself." Tommy grabbed her hand to squeeze it.

They were interrupted by a knock on the door. To both their surprise, Jane wasn't alone. Pike was right behind him, a little stuffed teddy from the hospital shop in his hands.

They greeted each other without much fuss, Pike setting the bear down on Annie's night stand. "I thought he might keep you company when you're bored," he smiled. Annie was touched by the gesture, thanking him with a smile.

"How are you doing?" Jane asked, sitting down on the chair next to her bed.

"I don't really know… okay I guess?" Her eyes went to her dad and then to Pike.

Tommy got the hint immediately. "You know what Marcus, I've been sitting here all night, I think I need a coffee and something to eat from the cafeteria. Care to join me?"

"Sure." Pike agreed. Annie waved at him and waited for the door to close behind her father and supposed to be uncle; then she turned to Jane.

"You haven't found her?" Jane shook his head. "Damn it. I know Dad told me a hundred times it wasn't my fault, but I should have done something."

"They shot you, Annie. You're lucky you're alive," Jane reminded her, before he became very quiet once again. "Annie… What you said yesterday…"

"This was not the painkillers talking, Jane. I gave her your ring and she decided to call off the wedding. She loves you in spite of all the crap you pulled. Reese wanted to tell Marcus and then go looking for you."

His heartbeat increased. So it was true. She… She really wanted to call off the wedding to be with him. She had his ring… "Was that really what she said?"

Annie rolled her eyes. "She told me Marcus is a good man, but he's not the right man for her. She came to her senses just in time before she made a huge mistake by marrying him." Her face fell a little. "You didn't tell him, did you?"

"It's not my place to tell him. He's really worried about her."

"As are we all. But you're right. Aunt Reese should be the one to tell him once we find her." She took a deep breath. "I have tried to remember something. Anything about what could help you, but I can't. I thought… I thought maybe you could hypnotize me and try helping me remember."

So that's why she'd wanted to see him, Jane figured. "It's not that easy, Annie. It'll be a lot of stress for you to relive what happened yesterday."

"But I want to help you guys. Please, Jane," she pleaded.

Jane sighed. Maybe she was right. Maybe he should hypnotize her and try making her remember. It would be a very painful experience though since they had to wait a little more for the painkillers to wear off. The way she was looking at him now reminded him of the day Lisbon asked him to do the same to her to find out if she killed McTier. They looked so much alike; it'd always been hard for him to resist the Lisbon-puppy-eyes.

"Fine," he finally agreed, "I'll hypnotize you. But you have to wait a little longer for the painkillers to wear off, so you'll be able to remember everything clearly. It will hurt though."

"That's okay. I want to help find Reese. If a little more pain is the way to get there, I'll gladly take it." The determination in her voice and demeanor caught him off guard, and suddenly he felt very proud of Annie.

"You'll make a great cop one day. Lisbon would be very proud of you."

Annie grinned and leaned back, hoping the painkillers would wear off soon.

Xxxxx

One and a half hours later, Jane sent Pike and Tommy out of Annie's hospital room, telling them he needed to be alone to hypnotize her. Tommy wasn't happy about his daughter's plan, but he realized if Annie was their only chance at finding his sister, it was worth a try.

Of course Jane could have hypnotized her with the others present, but he feared Annie would reveal something about Lisbon's decision to Marcus. It really wasn't the time to get into a fight about whom Lisbon was in love with.

"Close your eyes," Jane told her. "Lean back and focus on the pain n your leg." He could see her expression became pained. Slowly, he took her hand. "Can you feel the pain flowing through your body?"

"Yes…"

"The pain wants out. Let it flow into my hand. I'm going to take the pain away from you, so you'll feel fine again. Take deep breaths. In… Feel the pain flowing into your hand. Out… feel the pain leaving your body through my touch."

"I feel it… It's leaving," she whispered, a soft smile on her face.

"That's good. Breathe in… and out. Let the pain flow. You're calm and relaxed. There's no pain in your body anymore."

"No, there's no pain."

He squeezed her hand, putting her into a deep trance. "Sleep." Carefully, Jane untangled their joined hands, taking a few deep breaths himself. He really hoped Annie would remember something. "Remember yesterday morning. You were getting ready for the wedding. Getting your hair done, putting on your dress…"

"I hate the dress. If it weren't for Aunt Reese I wouldn't wear it. Out of protest, I keep my boots on just to annoy Gina." Jane tried to hide a grin. That was the Lisbon thing to do. "I think the wedding is a mistake. I overheard the two of you talking the night before. You left your ring and I took it. Reese is determined to go through with the wedding although she loves you. I know she does. There… there is one more thing I can do.

"I give her your ring and leave her alone, hoping she realizes she's making a mistake. When she comes out of the bedroom… your ring is on her bracelet. She thinks I think she's crazy, but she's not. I'm relieved she made the right decision. Now she wants to tell Marcus. Hell, he'll be devastated when he finds out. He's not a bad guy…

"A honk comes from outside. There's a limousine. Reese thinks it's Marcus' surprise. We get inside. There's champagne, but Reese tells me I'm too young. If she knew dad lets me have a beer from time to time she'd kill him. There's this smell… it smells weird. Reese is alarmed. Someone is trying to make us unconscious." A pained expression came over her face.

"I can't breathe. It's so hard. We try to get out, but everything is locked. Reese is unconscious, I try to make her breathe through my coat but it's too late. I can't breathe, I can't…"

"Shhh, Annie, there's air here. Lots and lots of fresh air. Breathe. Breathe and calm down. Focus on the men. What do they do?"

She took a few sharp breaths and for a moment Jane feared she would hyperventilate. "They wear masks. I cannot see their faces. They pull me out. I try to stop them but they are too strong. I must help Reese, she… they throw me on the pavement."

"Is there anything you can remember? A smell, a noise? What about their hands? Did you see anything, a scar, a tattoo, a ring?"

"No, I… No… wait. Yes. I think… there's a tattoo. It's just a part of it, like a tribal… This is weird. The man who took me… It smells like dad's car. Oh God they are shooting me. They are shooting me, the bullet. My leg... I have to call you, you're the only one…"

Jane squeezed her hand, bringing her back to reality. She was sweating and breathing heavily.

"The pain… I, I need something." Quickly, he pressed the button for the nurse, trying to soothe her down by caressing her shoulder.

"You were very brave, Annie. Thank you."

"Was I any help?" She didn't sound sure.

Jane just smiled at her. "Yes you were. You tried to save Lisbon and you called me. You should get some rest now." Just at that moment, the door was pulled open. Pike.

He looked agitated. "Cho's got a lead on a location. It's four hours from here. We have to go now."

Jane didn't need to be asked twice. He squeezed Annie's shoulder, heading off to the parking garage with Pike. Tommy came in soon after, followed by a nurse who made her swallow three big pills.

"They have a lead?" Annie asked weakly. Tommy nodded.

"Apparently Cho got a call with the directions to a location. They're on their way to get her. They will find her, Annie." The young woman closed her eyes, a soft smile on her lips. She fell asleep within seconds.

Instead of waiting for Cho and Fischer, Jane had grabbed Pike's keys, telling him now was not the time to watch speed limits. Thankfully, the other man didn't argue. Pike told him Wylie had found a lead, an abandoned factory which had been bought in the name of Tom Volk three months ago with money from a bank account in the Philippines.

Due to Jane's rapid driving, they made it to the abandoned factory building within three hours. Jane stopped the car in the middle of the abandoned area. The two men looked at each other, both scared about what they might find.

"She's in there, Jane. We have to be careful," Pike murmured while getting out of the car. Jane rolled his eyes but did the same. "Do you think we should wait for Cho and Fischer?"

The consultant shook his head. "If she's in there, every second counts. Uh… You don't have a second gun in this vehicle by any chance, do you?"

Despite their situation, Pike gave him a short smirk and walked over to the trunk. He came back with not only a second gun, but a riffle. "Just in case. Now let's go."

Slowly, they approached the building, checking it for any signs of another person's presence. There was nothing so far. Thankfully, the ground floor was easy to check because of the wide halls. There was no sign of Lisbon up there, so Jane figured Carmen would probably hold her captive in the basement, which turned out to be made of long corridors with abandoned offices. Most of the doors were open, so they could easily check whether someone was in there or not. However, the first locked room they came across made them stop.

"Someone's been in here recently. Look down, there are footprints in the dust and the door knob is wiped clean." Jane swallowed. "Let's get in there."

Xxxxx

Lisbon's eyes were closed. She did it to escape the darkness surrounding her. Her head hurt like crazy and the images the neurotoxin created in her mind flooded her brain. She could swear there were other people in this room with her, but they weren't talking, just breathing. Suddenly something touched her shoulder. She flinched, whimpering, begging for the people to leave her alone. But hands kept touching her, kept pulling at her, ripping at her hair with such force she was afraid they might rip it out.

"No, no, no, please no, please leave me alone." All of a sudden, they were gone. Instead, water replaced their touches. Water was pouring down on her, rising quickly to her ankles, then up to the hip. Lisbon tried to get up, but she bumped her head on the ceiling. How was this possible? She was sitting down. How could the room be so small?

Her hands touched the walls which were coming closer and closer, while the water kept rising up to her shoulders and her chin. The cut on her chest hurt immensely.

"Help," she screamed, "help me, please! Jane! Help! Anyone? I'm drowning, I'm…" She pressed her cheek against the ceiling, to be able to breathe. Something pulled at her feet, dragging her under water.

Coughing, Lisbon woke up. The light in her prison was switched on and the brightness hurt her eyes. She threw up, still coughing, like she wanted to get the water out of her lungs. Her whole body was shivering since she wasn't able to control it.

Noises made her eyes focus on the door, which opened not soon after. Carmen.

He grinned at her. "Time for round two."

Xxxxx

"I can't believe the two of you! I mean I knew Jane would pull something like this, but you, Marcus?" Fischer yelled angrily.

"Neither of you had the right to break into this building and look for Lisbon all by yourself. You're not on duty, Pike," Cho added, his face emotionless. His demeanor said something completely different though.

"We were just trying to help her, to find her," Pike explained, ashamed, while Jane just stood there, hands in his pockets.

"What if Carmen and his men had been here? They could have killed you," Fischer said. "This is serious. We all want to find Lisbon! But you're causing much more trouble by your behavior, which will not help us find her any sooner. Either you're going to stick to the rules, or you're off this case."

"I'm sorry," Pike answered, devastated.

Cho and Fischer kept looking at Jane, who held up his hands. "I won't apologize for this. Lisbon wasn't here, so instead of lecturing us on how to behave, we should focus on finding her. If this situation should come up again, I would act the same way and you know that."

Cho just grunted, while Fischer looked at the blond consultant angrily. "This discussion is not over yet, Jane. You can't just act like a crazy lunatic because Lisbon is missing. Your behavior won't help her!"

"You're not getting anywhere with this investigation. Maybe I am the only one who can help her," he shouted before he walked over to Pike's car and drove off.