Finally! My story for the Winter Exchange! I've been working on this for a while, the prompt I was given was brilliant! I feel like I can't even take credit for this story because it wasn't my idea, so if you wish to reveal yourself, I'd love to know!

Thank you so much to everyone who helped this fic along - Thepuppiesinpink, lulubelle283, enjolradz, good-things-come-in-threes and morethanwords229 - You guys are awesome!

So here we go, hold on to your hats kids! Enjoy!

Quite a ruckus could be heard from the office of the McCord house in Georgetown. Elizabeth was shuffling through papers, which had become strewn around the room, over both desks, the bookshelf and the chair in the corner. She was checking and rechecking folders for the missing page she needed, which had managed to disappear into thin air, for the meeting the following morning with the Canadian Ambassador. Muttering profanity to herself as she went, becoming increasingly frustrated with her fruitless search. The office resembled a disaster zone as she discarded folders haphazardly.

Elizabeth shifted a stack of documents and a particular blank folder suddenly became visible in the mess. From the outside it looked completely insignificant but the feeling of unease settled in her chest as she remembered what the folder contained. Elizabeth hesitated to pick up the folder, wanting to shudder with what the contents insinuated. It didn't have official papers in it and it definitely did not contain what she was looking for. The contents were more disturbing than anything the State Department or White House had ever sent her and she hated to be reminded why. It had appeared out of nowhere and accidentally brought home a very intentional threat by an enemy still unknown to her or the FBI. She wasn't sure which she hated most: that Jason and Alison had been without protection or that protection for her children was necessary at all. She shook herself from the distraction it brought and hid the folder in her bottom drawer, not wanting to run into that horrible reminder of the threat currently imposed on her family.

"Shit…" was all she managed as she went back to her task, digging more furiously through the stacks of papers, files and folders still atop her desk. Of course she was missing the most important page of all, the one she needed to read that night and at least understand the details of the trade agreement before the following morning. She didn't want to have to call Blake and tell him that she'd taken something home and lost it again. She would if she had to, but only as a last resort.

Her phone buzzed unceremoniously somewhere on the desk. It took four rings before Elizabeth noticed the phone vibrating somewhere near the computer, hidden from view under stacks of folders printed with the stamp from the White House. Uncovering the phone from the disheveled desk revealed Alison's name as the caller ID. Half distracted, she answered the call, immediately shoving the phone between her shoulder and ear so she could continue searching for the missing document with her now free hands.

"Hi, Noodle." She spoke into the phone with a light tone as she moved about the office space, now at Henry's desk, shuffling through the stacks. A few seconds passed but she received no reply to her greeting, just dead air on the other end of the line.

"Noodle? Alison? Are you there?" She stopped moving around; she thought she had heard the rustling of clothing down the line but she was still unsure whether Alison had attempted to speak or not. She put down the papers and took the phone in her hand again, looking at the screen to see the call counter still running and Alison's name across the middle of the screen. Elizabeth put the phone back up to her ear to try one more time, beginning to think she had been pocket dialed when a sudden cry made her heart stop.

"Mom?!" Echoed down the phone and the sheer panic in Alison's voice set alarm bells ringing through her whole body. Papers flew everywhere as she whipped around as if to look for her daughter behind her, expecting to find her standing there in the room.

"Alison?!" Elizabeth startled in response, still unsure what she was hearing.

"Mom! Help!" Alison sobbed down the phone, gasping into Elizabeth's ear. "Please help me! Please!"

The words sucked the air out of Elizabeth's chest. She wanted to pull her daughter close and shield her from harm. Protect her from the monsters under the bed like when she was a child and the nightmares woke her from sleep. Defend her with her own life if necessary as she knew she would without question. But she wasn't there and these monsters were real. There was nothing she could do but hang onto the phone for grim death, listening to the terrified cries of her daughter.

"Alison! What's wrong? What's happened?" Elizabeth began frantically. Her mind went into overdrive. It must have been a joke, she tried to rationalise internally. It had to be. A stupid prank pulled by teenagers who obviously thought it was funny, hilarious even, to make a phone call like that. To scare their parents like that, to scare her like that. Jason, it had to be Jason messing with her. Now she knew he was rebellious but this was over the top, even for him. It wasn't until she heard a scuffle and then the screams of her daughter echo in the background did her blood run cold. This was not a joke, fear like that could not be faked.

Elizabeth didn't recognise the voice that spoke into her ear but the icy edge to his hoarse voice made her shudder.

"We will kill your daughter if you don't meet our demands. Resign on National television by 4pm or she dies."

"Wait! Alison! Alison!" Elizabeth screamed. She couldn't remember how to breathe. The sound of her own choking sobs were drowned out by the adrenaline coursing through her and the thundering of her own rapid heartbeat. The silence seemed to last an eternity as she pressed the phone hard to her ear, desperate to hear something, anything that could prove it wasn't true.

"You have an hour." The line went dead.

Elizabeth's screams brought Henry hurtling into view through the office doors, already alarmed by the cries he could hear. His expression soon turned grave as he took in his wife's distress. Tears rolled down her ghost-white face while her whole body shook, the phone still pressed to her ear.

"Babe? Elizabeth? What's wrong?" His voice was brimming with concern as he joined her in the space.

Elizabeth couldn't speak. She had no words. Bile rose in her throat and she felt sick to her stomach. It was her fault. It was entirely her fault and now her innocent daughter would pay the consequences. Elizabeth lowered the phone and opened her mouth to speak but all that surfaced was an enormous sob.

"Elizabeth? What's wrong?! What's happened?" Henry tried to read her; his eyes darted over her features as he searched her face for clues, but all he got was frightful distraught.

"They have her!" was all she could choke out, her whole body shaking.

"Who? They have who? Who's they?" His chest tightened and he felt suddenly nauseous, apprehension dawning in the pit of his stomach. His disquiet heightened by Elizabeth's response, Henry grabbed her by the shoulders. She felt cold to the touch and trembled under his fingers. Her eyes were glazed with tears and though she was physically in front of him, he could tell her mind was elsewhere. When she didn't answer him immediately, he wanted to shake her back to the present, now desperate for more information.

Elizabeth's head spun and she felt suddenly weak. Henry's voice was distant and she couldn't focus on his presence. His grip tightened on her shoulders and the pain from his fingers digging into her skin seemed to shake her from her trance.

"Alison!" Elizabeth finally stammered out. "The stalker took Alison!" She cried into the void and it echoed ominously off the walls.

The colour drained from Henry's face with those words. He seemed to be waiting for the punch line of a terrible joke while the pair stood there staring at each other so he could believe it wasn't real. But it didn't come. Henry found his voice again but it shook with fear.

"We have to tell the FBI." Henry announced.

"I have to resign or they're going to kill her!" Tears flowed freely down her cheeks; Elizabeth was inconsolable. Since the appearance of their stalker, this was her worst nightmare. Now it had come to life.

"How did they even get to her?" He exclaimed, trying to hide his own panic and the sickening feeling pooling in his abdomen.

"I don't know, Henry! I don't know! Oh God, what have I done? Our baby!" Elizabeth's knees buckled with her sobs. Henry saw her falter and pulled her body into his chest. He held her close, hoping and praying he would wake up from this nightmare.

"We'll find her babe, we'll find her." Henry's voice trembled with the effort to remain composed and attempt to reassure his wife. He was beyond terrified and was trying hard to believe his own words. To have a bit of faith in the system designed to help them, even though it had just proven it couldn't protect them. He squeezed her tightly to his chest, unsure if the trembling he could feel was from his own body or Elizabeth's.

"Henry, I have to go." Impulsive in her state of shock, Elizabeth tried to push away from his chest, her mind already made up. "I have to go, and resign, so we can get our daughter back." Henry only held her tighter. Discerning the panic that made her reckless, he knew he had to try to talk sense into her. She pushed harder when Henry didn't let her go, trying to remove herself from his embrace and run from the house.

"Hang on! Was it real? Was it really Alison?" Henry wouldn't let go, anchoring Elizabeth to himself as she struggled. He had to ask these questions, he had to be the voice of reason, as scared as he was at the endless possibilities surging through his mind.

"Yes! It was Alison! She was screaming for help, Henry!" Elizabeth choked on her own tears, her body going limp once again. Elizabeth didn't know what to do, she was sick with guilt and fear. She couldn't imagine how it had happened or if it truly was real at all.

At that moment, a commotion began on the street out the front. DS agents moved around frantically, each with a hand pressed to an ear, listening intently to whatever they were being told. A pounding on the front door made them both jump. Henry let go of Elizabeth and she swayed slightly on the spot. Henry pulled Elizabeth on numb legs, holding her steady the few steps to the door. The door swung hard to reveal Matt, one of Elizabeth's regular agents, standing on the porch looking scared and uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry to disturb you both, but it's Alison. She appears to be missing. She was parted from her security detail whilst at school and they've been unable to locate her."

Henry didn't know what to say. Though this information wasn't new to him, it wasn't getting any easier to understand. Their daughter had been taken, kidnapped, and was being held hostage until the stalker's demands were met. Elizabeth gapped at the announcement, clearly in shock. Matt looked past Henry to meet Elizabeth's gaze only to be met by the same fearful look.

"We've dispatched more agents to look for her ma'am, we're doing everything we can." Matt tried to reassure the couple, eyes darting from one to the other. Though the frenzied nature of the scene behind him did nothing to support his words.

Elizabeth couldn't stop her hands from shaking while she held the phone up to her ear once more. The call to Alison's security detail confirmed her worst fears and heightened them all at the same time. She was gone. She was definitely gone. Her DS agents were beside themselves, frantic that she had disappeared. They were in the process of going over the school a second and then a third time with more DS and FBI agents joining the search now that news had spread of her disappearance. Elizabeth collapsed into a chair as she listened, still in disbelief as the agents reported to her.

Alison had been in class when a member of the security team had arrived to talk to her. Although unusual to have a meeting whilst Alison was at school, a call to the FBI supervisors by the lead DS agent had confirmed the meeting and asked that the agents let them step aside to talk privately. The pair had been unwilling, but Alison insisted it was fine and she was pulled away from her agents. As the minutes ticked on, they became concerned and went to check on the pair, only for them nowhere to be found. They had searched the entire school with haste but they were too late. She was already gone.

The incredulity was quickly replaced with anger while Elizabeth listened to the recount, though she wasn't quite sure with whom. Fuelled by the terror that flooded her system, she was determined to get an answer from the already panicked agent who had failed in his duty and let her daughter get away.

"Who was the agent?!" Elizabeth was yelling down the phone, on her feet once again, striding up the hallway. She was now ready to wage a war with whoever was endangering her family.

"Ma'am, please calm down!" The agent stuttered down the line.

"I will not! Who was the agent?!" She barked down the phone. Fuelled by hysteria, Alison's terrified voice screamed in her head. She was insistent she receive a name, the life of her daughter depended on it.

There was a pause that seemed to last an eternity. Elizabeth opened her mouth to yell again but was beaten to it. "You're not going to like this ma'am. It was Captain Ronnie Baker."