The process of cleaning off Ash's hands moved slowly as the medic tried to define what was dirt and sap and what was torn skin and Ash kept pulling her hands away when the pain became too much.

After a few minutes, the medic decided it would be more worthwhile to wait for the painkillers to hit Ash's system before attempting to clean her hands. He hooked Ash to an IV and gave her a protein bar.

By the time she was done with the protein bar, she could feel the relaxed bliss of the painkillers kicking in and she willingly offered the medic her hands.

At some point, she nodded off and when she woke up she found her hands covered in neat, white bandages. She sat up and saw the scene around the cabin had calmed down. Most of the emergency vehicles were gone and there were only a few small groups of people milling about the cabin and the black cars. She looked around for the two medics who had taken care of her but found Agent Lawson instead.

"Ms.," Agent Lawson addressed her with a slight nod. "We need to ask you a few questions about what happened. Do you think you can walk to the cabin?"

Ash took a quick assessment of her body and thanks to the painkillers she didn't feel much. She nodded and swung her feet over the side of the stretcher.

"Go slow," one of the medics warned her, climbing down from the back of the ambulance.

He took her arm and supported her as she stood and didn't let go until he was certain she was steady on her feet.

"I think I got it," she told the medic after taking a few steps on her own. "Thanks," she said before she motioned for Agent Lawson to lead the way.

Agent Lawson led her towards the cabin and Ash followed until they were a few feet from the front door. She looked up and stopped when she saw the front deck. Her eyes jumped to where the lifeless body of the man had been earlier.

"Umm," she stuttered, taking a few steps backward, looking anywhere but at the deck. "Can we use the back door?"

Agent Lawson looked at her questioningly for a moment before he nodded and led her around to the back of the house. They went through the back door Zach and she had escaped through. Once inside Ash tried her best to not focus on anything other than Agent Lawson's back. She didn't need any more memories of this place.

Agent Lawson led her to a room she hadn't seen before. There was a table and two chairs sitting across from each other and sitting in one of the chairs was the woman who had hugged Zach.

Ash went from trying to not see anything to only seeing the woman. Ash had learned how to cope with hard situations by finding a target to point her laser focus on and this woman was her target. Not only did she provide a buffer between Ash and everything that had happened in this cabin, but this woman knew Zach.

"Thank you, Lawson," the woman said. "Ms. Wright, please have a seat."

Agent Lawson shut the door as he left the room.

Ash remained frozen in her spot as she tried to figure out which tactic would gain her the most information from this woman. She looked at the woman and could see the woman looking back at her with sympathy and kind understanding. This woman expected Ash to be scared and overwhelmed and Ash thought she could use that assumption to her advantage.

"...just a few questions we wanted to ask you, if you can sit." Ash caught the end of what the woman had been saying and realized she had zoned out for a moment.

"I'm sorry, I didn't hear what you said. I don't even know what's really going on," Ash rushed to say as she took the seat across from the agent. "It's just been..."

She let her mouth hang open as she searched for what to say, aware that even though she was choosing more dramatic words there was truth behind them. How could she describe what she had been through?

"It's just been crazy and scary and I don't even know what happened. I was just closing up at my job and then the next thing I know I'm waking up tied to a chair."

Ash let the words tumble out of her mouth and she watched as the agent nodded along sympathetically. This is how the agent had expected Ash to act.

"And the men that took us. I don't even know who they were or what they wanted. I mean, I don't even know who you are or who anymore outside is. You might work for the CIA or you might not." Ash saw an opportunity and paused like she had stumbled upon an upsetting fact. "Do you even work for the CIA? Just cause you're wearing a jacket doesn't mean anything. Can I see your badge?"

"Of course," the woman said, reaching inside her jacket. "I understand that it has been a very scary and confusing time. But you are safe," she reassured Ash as she handed over her badge.

Ash flipped open the black case and tried to keep the curiosity off her face as she scanned the badge for information. It gave the woman's name, Cameron Morgan, her ID number, and the issue date, which was three years before. Ash looked up at Agent Morgan. She had been working for the CIA for three years even though she didn't look much older than twenty.

"Thanks, Agent Morgan," Ash said, handing the badge back. "Sorry. It's just that you look so young it's a little hard to believe you work for the CIA. Zach said that he was part of a training program when he was younger. Were you a part of that program too? Zach said it was like a boarding school but it didn't sound like the typical boarding school."

Ash let her mouth run free as she watched Agent Morgan's reactions. As Ash had started to talk Agent Morgan had shown surprise at Ash's babbling but when Ash had mentioned Zach something on the agent's face had changed. She had drawn her eyes together as she seriously scrutinized Ash.

Agent Morgan felt defensive for Zach. And protective.

Her expression had turned to shock and suspicion when Ash had mentioned the early training program which basically confirmed for Ash that Agent Morgan had been a part of the same program or something similar. Had she and Zach grown up together?

Agent Morgan cleared her throat as she clasped her hands together and rested them on the table, signaling that she was taking back charge of the conversation.

"I can hear that it has been a very traumatic experience for you," she said, leaning forward. Ash clocked the movement and knew the agent was trying to form a sympathetic bond with her. "I want to get you back home as soon as possible. I just have a few questions I need to ask. If we work together, I think we can be done within the hour. Are you up for that?"

"Sure," Ash nodded.

The way Agent Morgan had so quickly shifted the conversation told Ash she wouldn't be getting any more by rambling. However, there were many ways to gather data. Just catching the way Agent Morgan had used 'we' to make Ash feel like they were a team told Ash that Agent Morgan was no rookie.

"Okay," Agent Morgan said. "For the record, let's start at the beginning." She picked up a pen that was resting on a notepad and for the first time, Ash noticed the recording device on the table and its red light.

Ash nodded as she started her story with her closing up the coffee shop and walking home. She talked about waking up in the dark room but stopped mid-sentence to ask, "What day is it?"

"Friday," Agent Morgan supplied.

"And the time?"

Agent Morgan glanced down at her watch. "Almost four PM."

Ash nodded as she fit that piece of information into the timeline. Not even twenty-four hours had passed since she had been kidnapped even though talking about the night before felt like talking about a different lifetime.

"You woke up in a dark room?" Agent Morgan prompted her.

"Yes," Ash continued.

She kept the details light as she tried to move through her interaction with the man quickly. She wasn't keen to relive them and she wasn't exactly sure how to explain why she had acted the way she had. Talking through the last twenty-four hours was hard enough, she didn't want to drag her crap childhood into it as well.

"Thank you," Agent Morgan said once Ash finished. "There are just a few more questions. and then you will be free to go."

"Okay," Ash said through a yawn.

"First, please define your relationship with Agent Goode."

Agent Morgan kept her gaze on her notepad as she asked and Ash wondered if Agent Morgan was asking this question for the CIA or herself.

"Classmates," Ash answered.

Agent Morgan looked up and gave a single nod. "You met Zach in class."

Ash was about to answer yes when she realized that wasn't true.

"Well, no," she said. Agent Morgan raised a questioning eyebrow. "I work at a coffee shop he studies at. We met there," Ash explained.

Agent Morgan nodded as she wrote something on her notepad. "So you have a relationship outside of class."

Ash sat back in her chair as she studied Agent Morgan and thought about how to answer. If she took the question at face value she would define her relationship with Zach as barista and coffee drinker, but she sensed deeper reasons behind the question. Did the CIA really want to know how she defined her relationship with Zach? Or was it Agent Morgan who wanted to know?

Beyond barista and coffee drinker was the fact that Ash had spent the last couple of weeks trying to get closer to Zach to figure him out. They had gone to the sports bar together and they had sat together in class. Once. But it now felt foreign to think of Zach in such simple terms after he had kept her alive the last twenty-four hours.

Ash grew aware of how long she was debating over how to answer the question, and simply said, "Not really. He is a frequent customer at the coffee shop I work at, but that's about it."

Agent Morgan was slow to respond as she studied Ash like she didn't believe that Zach was simply just a customer to Ash.

"Okay," Agent Morgan finally answered, not pushing the topic any further. "Next, a few routine questions. Your full name is Ashley Cartwright. Correct?"

"Correct," Ash nodded.

"You attend Fayetteville State University. Correct?"

"Correct?"

"You are registered under the name Ash Wright. Correct?"

Ash was about to parrot another 'correct' but something about the question made her pause. Why was Agent Morgan asking about her name a second time? Ash looked closer at Agent Morgan's face, searching for clues, but Agent Morgan had turned out to be almost as gifted as Zach when it came to controlling her expressions.

Ash had a feeling she had only earned a few curious expressions in the beginning because she had surprised Agent Morgan.

"There is no Ashley Cartwright registered at Fayetteville State University," Agent Morgan continued. "Just an Ash Wright. Please confirm that is you."

Ash only nodded, wary of saying anything.

"Interestingly, there is an Ashley Cartwright registered at North Carolina University," Agent Morgan said. "Also, an Allie Cartwright at Appalachian State University, an Ashley Wright at East Carolina University, and a Lee Wright at Western Carolina University."

Agent Morgan clasped her hands and leaned forward but this time she wasn't doing it to support Ash, but to scrutinize her.

"The interesting thing about all these similar names registered at all these different schools is that these students haven't taken any classes." Agent Morgan continued in a casual tone like she was simply telling Ash something interesting. "In fact, the universities don't have any data on these students other than their names and registration dates. Did I mention the dates?"

She hadn't mentioned the dates but Ash already knew what Agent Morgan was going to say about them. After all, it had been Ash who had registered the five aliases at the different schools on the same day. But she continued to remain silent.

It was apparent Agent Morgan already knew everything and now she was trying to get Ash to confirm it all. Ash wanted to wait and see if she could figure out where Agent Morgan was going with her questions.

After a minute, Ash's silence forced Agent Morgan's hand and she was forced to answer her own question.

"I don't think I did mention the dates," she said, pulling a sheet of paper out from under her notepad. "All these people registered on the exact same day and within hours of each other. Now, what do you think the odds are of this happening?"

As Agent Morgan talked Ash tried to look at the facts through Agent Morgan's eyes. Ash had been kidnapped with Zach for no apparent reason and now they were finding out that she had created a slew of aliases. Was the CIA, or at least Agent Morgan, suspicious that Ash had something to do with the kidnapping?

Ash wondered what Zach had told Agent Morgan about Ash. Zach had said he had worked on the Russian Terrorist Case. If Ash was a part of that organization, wouldn't Zach have been able to figure that out?

Ash studied Agent Morgan for a moment, curious if Agent Morgan's feelings for Zach were driving this line of investigation. Whatever the reason, this was a misunderstanding Ash could easily clear up.

"Those names were all registered on the same day because I was the one who registered them," Ash said. She caught the slightest movement between Agent Morgan's eyes at Ash's admittance. "Look up Allen Cartwright, Hillsborough North Carolina," Ash said as she motioned for Agent Morgan to write the name down. "Allen Cartwright."

Agent Morgan quickly recovered and wrote the name and place.

"That's my father," Ash explained. "He was an abusive drunk. I gained emancipation from him when I was sixteen so I could get away. I created those aliases to make it hard for him to find me in case he ever tried. Look him up in the system. He has arrests not only in Hillsborough but Efland, Miles, Buckhorn, and Cedar Grove."

Ash sat back in her chair and crossed her arms, ready to wait for Agent Morgan to corroborate her story. Agent Morgan looked at her for one confused moment then shook her head and stood. "I'll be back."

"Mmmhmm," Ash said.

She didn't worry about getting comfortable, knowing that it wouldn't take long for Agent Morgan to confirm her story. It didn't even take ten minutes. Ash looked up when the door opened, curious to see how Agent Morgan would handle a situation where she had been wrong.

"The records confirmed your story," Agent Morgan said, sitting down across from Ash again. "Thank you for supplying that information."

There was no hint of annoyance in Agent Morgan's tone but her shift in vocabulary suggested she was done with the interview and wanted Ash gone as soon as possible.

"We just need you to sign a few documents and you will be free to go. I'm sure you are ready to get home. There is a car that will take you back to school," Agent Morgan said.

Ash tried to picture school and her small dorm room but the images she conjured up didn't even feel real. Nothing beyond this cabin and surrounding woods felt real anymore. How was she supposed to just go back to normal life? Was there a normal life awaiting her? What was she even doing before she got kidnapped? Zach. Her brain grabbed onto an image of him sitting in the coffee shop. He had been a part of her life before all of this.

"Where's Zach?" she questioned.

He had said he would come find her after he was done but she hadn't seen him since. Was he still here? The idea of being there without Zach was unsettling. She didn't know anything about this world but he did.

"He'll go back to school with me?" she asked.

Agent Morgan shook her head. "He is debriefing the agent in charge."

"Still?" Ash asked.

It had been hours since she had last seen him. The panic she had felt at seeing him walk away from her at the ambulance started to creep back in. Had they moved him without telling her? Was she alone?

"Debriefs can take a long time," Agent Morgan explained.

"Okay. I'll wait," Ash said.

"Ms..." Agent Morgan started to say.

"I'm not getting into some random car by myself," Ash said, her voice raising as her panic grew stronger.

Agent Morgan tried her best to smile politely while looking like she was quickly losing her patience. "It is an agency car, driven by a CIA agent."

"That's what you to say but how would I know if you are telling the truth? How am I supposed to even trust that you work for the CIA?"

"You saw my badge," Agent Morgan countered.

"It could be fake. I don't know. I'm not going anywhere without Zach," Ash said, gripping the seat of her chair as if preparing for someone to try to rip her out of it.

"Ms. Wright, there is no need..."

"To panic?" Ash finished, already well into a panic. "Really? Cause if you had told me Thursday morning there was 'no need to worry about getting kidnapped' I would have believed you but not anymore. I got kidnapped!"

Ash could feel herself spiraling out of control. She needed something to focus on. She looked at Agent Morgan but her face was a blank wall with nothing to hold on to.

"I can understand how upsetting that was..."

Ash laughed loudly. "I don't care if you understand," she snapped. "I'm not going anywhere without Zach."

"There are protocols that need..."

"I'm going back with her," a deep voice said, cutting Agent Morgan off.

Both women's head snapped to the door where Zach was standing. He took a step further into the room, giving Ash a steady look.

"I'm going back with you."

Ash had never thought that five simple words could bring her so much immediate peace.

**********************************************************************

Bubble kisses and candy that was a beautiful entrance!

I mean the way he just swooped in right when she needed him!

I mean is there anything more romantic then being kidnapped with someone, getting away, falling asleep in his arms in some tree, facing the trauma of reliving what happened to you by telling it to someone you don't know, being told to leave and then not realizing you don't know where your rescuer is just for him to appear at the last minute!

Okay...so maybe the definition of romantic needs to be altered a little bit, that definition is a little messed up.

Let me know if you found it saw swoon swoop worth as I did! 💬💭🗯️

So I know Ash is damaged, we've already covered this, but the way her past trauma and damage as shaped her is so fascinating to me! Even in the midst of something insane, to help her deal with the trauma of it, she focuses on gathering information. Like what?!

The girl is so strange but I love it! I love it because so many times in stories characters will go through immense trauma but it never effects them, unless the author uses it as some plot device, that only appears when they want it. But Ash's trauma has literally made her the way she is. The way she sees the world, the way she deals with things is all because to it.

I love it, it's a such a sad but realistic truth.

I don't know if I'm alone in this, let me know. I tend to like books that have that depth of truth to their characters, even in the situations or world around them might not be realistic, at least it always feels like the characters are real.

Vote, comment, follow!