Gabby waited for the verdict. She swore he was taking forever on purpose. Teddy stroked his chin and tutted, flipping through the flash cards. He glanced up, frowned, and repeated the process. She definitely had seen the blue card earlier.

"I know you've gone through the whole deck Ted! How many did I miss?"

Teddy sighed with the patience of a concerned grandpa and patted her shoulder with a ruler. Gabby closed her eyes.

"92 right."

"You little shit." She reached across the table to flick him. He shrieked like she punched him in the face.

Their mother's voice came from the other room. "Both of you knock it off!"

Teddy grinned.

She huffed a laugh. He had been helpful the last two days. Of course, she'd promised him a ride to Max's (ugh) house and to buy him a blended coffee drink which her parents would be pissed if they caught him with. She didn't know why they cared though. If she tried to do half the things he did she would have spent most of her life grounded in her room. Little brat.

She stretched her arms above her head and stood. "Thank you. Let me go change out and I'll take you."

"Yesssss." He tried to run past for the phone to let Max know the afternoon playdate was on but she caught him and planted a kiss on his cheek. He screamed again in disgust and flailed. This time her Dad appeared in the hallway, reading glassed on top of his head and a pamphlet in his hands.

"Kids. You heard your mother. Stop. I can't hear myself think."

"Sorry..." they chorused as Gabby released Ted.

Her parents were in the little 'dinning room' which was more like a small indent in the wall off the kitchen trying to put together some kind of carrier for them to stick on the top of the car tomorrow when they went to visit Uncle Russel, her dad's newly- turned bachelor brother. Usually, he came to them with his family, but for obvious reasons they were coming to him this year for the pre-holiday celebrations and would return Christmas Eve. Gabby was left behind now that she had the last day at the library to deal with. Her dad had fretted a little at first but Mel had planned to stay with her a few of the days now that she wasn't going to Seattle and she had Marshmallow. As cute as she found her fluffy white shepherd-Pyrenees mix mutt, Marshy's bark was enough to make stop most people. Cookie would stay too of course, but the tabby cat was a better lap warmer than deterrent. Honestly, Gabby was in the mood to be alone for a while. Her English test Tuesday had gone so-so. Bre was giving her the cold shoulder for missing shopping on Saturday especially when she tried to explain that she had something important but had to be vague. She couldn't really tell her she going to be at the library waiting to catch a run-away kid. She understood Breanne's anger. She felt the same about Daniel whose attempts to apologize she'd shrugged off, even going as far as to carry her heavy books around all day to keep him from catching her at the locker. On top of that, Chris hadn't reappeared making her missing shopping on Saturday for naught. She'd hoped Monday he might be in to take a look at the final book they'd been waiting for but at 7pm she locked up alone. Maybe that's why her test was less than stellar. Her sleep had been filled with the reoccurring dream of catching a news story on the radio when she was driving to school about a missing kid found dead.

Teddy sat in the front seat sipping his chocolate-chip whatsit which probably mostly sugar with one pinky in the air. He offered her some as they turned into Max's driveway.

"I'm good. Thanks though."

"Are you ok?"

She raised her eyebrows. "I'm fine. Why?"

"You didn't sing to any music."

He was a good kid. "Just worried about tests." She lied, wondering what he might be like old enough to actually talk to.

"Ok." Teddy jumped out to grab his bag just as Max flung his front door open and ran down the stairs. Gabby put her head back. He must have been waiting for them. To her annoyance he knocked on the window. She forced a smile and rolled it down. "What's up?"

"I got you a Christmas present." He offered her a lumpy box in wrapped in paper with Santa in a hulu skirt on it.

"Uh, that's... thank you Maxwell."

He remained next to the window and she realized he meant for her to open it right there. Gabby tore it the paper and tried to keep her expression from shock. Perfume? From a 12-year-old.

"Oh – wow. This is... you got this for me?"

"Yeah!"

Teddy looked disgusted. "That's weird dude, she's my sister!"

And 17...

"Well, thank you Max. It's very nice of you. Have a good Christmas, ok?"

That seemed good enough for him and allowed himself to be dragged away by a very irritated Teddy. He waved the whole way. Gabby gave him an awkward one in return and peeled out. At a stop light she lifted the bottle and gave it a curious spritz into the air away from her. She regretted her choice immediately. It smelled almost exactly like what the librarian wore.

She wasn't able to catch up with Bre the next day. Gabby was feeling ok though until Mel left her after lunch and she realized Dan was waiting for her by the art room. Shit. She kept her expression neutral.

"Hey, Gabby."

At least he had the decency to look at his feet when she didn't return his smile.

"I need to get to class- we are working on an important project." That was a total lie. They were going to watch The Labyrinth like they did every year before holiday break. Per usual, he wasn't convinced.

"I've been trying to text you."

"Mmmm."

"And I know I should have let you know before you messaged me."

"Yeah."

"Did... did you read any of them?"

"No." that was true. She'd deleted every text and voicemail.

"It really was an emergency."

"It's always an emergency with you. Excuse me I need to get to class. I can't be late."

"I heard you flaked on Bre."

"I... can't talk about it though. I needed to help a friend. And it's the first time I've done that unlike some people."

"Does this have anything to do with the kid at the library?"

She readjusted her bags. "Maybe. But please, don't talk about it, ok?"

"Ok."

"Ok?"

Daniel shrugged. "I trust you."

She was reminded of the guy she meant freshman year that used to sit with her on the grass and talk disappearing into the forest with an armful of books and art supplies knowing full well they had the survival skills of two-year-olds. Whenever she ended their daydream with that reminder he'd just smile and say 'I trust you to learn how'. Gabby's lips twisted and once again she almost forgave him. Then remembered the pact she and Mel made.

"I really have to go." It wasn't quite the dramatic breakup she'd been plotting in her head all day but at least she didn't fall for the wounded puppy look. She walked into the art room even more nauseated then before.

Mel was waiting for her after school to go to the library with her. She planned to sit in one of the chairs and hide the study sheet behind a book should Hopkins appear. Gabby convinced her just to come over for dinner. Hopkins had already chased her off before and even though Mel planned to be 'incognito' it wasn't like she could hide her lime-colored hair. Truthfully, Gabby hoped maybe Christopher would come back and was worried the sight of Melody might scare him off again. Mel relented and told her to call when she got home. She'd come over to make dinner. Probably a better choice than Gabby doing it.

The library was just as dull as the last few nights. It occurred to her that even though Chris had been suspicious of her he really made the hours pass by faster. She'd gone back through her dad's recorded shows, which for some reason he insisted on keeping for months even though they repeated all the time, and saw a few more news headlines. She remembered seeing them now but had been too focused on school and summer projects to pay much mind other than thinking 'poor kid'. The ones with his family were heartbreaking. His mother was the only one who spoke. His dad just stood behind with red eyes or openly crying. He had a brother who looked around Teddy's age and a sister who was difficult to pin-point other than older than Chris. She looked thin, and had circles under her eyes. Sort of like him now. She wondered if they were both sick. Why would he run away if he was sick? Was it one of those parents making them sick situations? No, why would he run so far?

There was a ton of coverage for awhile, especially when his family offered an insane reward for any tips at all. They were disgustingly rich apparently. She looked them up to find his dad was in tech and his mom was a neurosurgeon so maybe someone tried to kidnap him or threatened his family for some reason? But even with all their money, the news featuring him slowly faded out as summer went on. Without updates it was just depressing and she assumed most people just thought he was dead. Well, he nearly was a this point. Why though? Why would he run? Now she was really considering telling someone. If he didn't come back, what else could she do? She scratched another book off the list as she walked down the aisle. Gabby had almost convinced herself when the little bell on the door rang.

Relief didn't even begin to cover how she felt.

"Oh my gosh I was so worried!" She jogged around the corner, glad to feel the cold air coming in from the door. But it wasn't Chris. Gabby sank back as two people in uniform walked in from the dark. There was a man with pink cheeks and a gray beard and a tall woman who walked stiffly and didn't remove her coat. Police?

"Oh- welcome."

"Expected a friend?" The man asked with a smile. "We disappoint at lot of people."

"Are you looking for a book?" It was a stupid question but the man continued to smile. The woman's expression remained cold. Gabby noticed she kept her head tilted back

"No. A person. Where is the owner?"

Gabby forced herself not to shiver, wondering if they were allowed in here without permission. It was private property after all but it was also open. "Um, I think in her office. Give me a second." She slipped past them and forced the small door open. "Ms. Hopkins? The police are here." There was no sound. She must be upstairs. Gabby had to shake the door harder this time. The police woman seemed to be growing more impatient with every squeak. She should have re-oiled it.

Gabby ran up the stairs and knocked a little more pointedly. "Ms Hopkins? The police are here! They are asking for you." Gabrielle never thought she'd be relieved to here the clomp-clomp of the librarian's thick heels.

She threw the door open and peered down the stairs. "What?"

"Police." Gabby repeated in confusion. They were right there. She didn't seem to have her glasses on.

"Oh- oh! Good evening officers. How can I help you?"

"Good evening Dorothy-"

The woman pulled a folded piece of paper, cutting her partner off. "We got a call that this child has been seen around here. Its likely he has been sheltering in the area, possibly in this library."

"Sheltering? Absolutely not." Ms. Hopkins glared at Gabby who was too scared to be pissed off she was being blamed for that question.

She looked at the paper. Christopher beamed back at her from the missing poster. She recognized it from the tv and yet somehow it was more real here. His arm must have been thrown around a teammate, a red jersey hanging from his shoulders. His skin was not tinted in gray or scratched and his cheeks weren't sunken. His hair was damp with sweat but clean. His curls didn't lay flat against his face. Chris wore a confident smile, bordering on cocky. And his eyes were so clear... She understood why all the news pieces described him as 'a promising young man'. She was impressed someone else recognized him enough to call in a tip when she barely could tell who she was looking at.

"Miss?"

Gabby jerked her head up and realized they were all looking at her, expectantly.

"Huh?"

"Miss Parker, they asked you if you know this child." The librarian snipped.

"I-" Gabby looked up at the face of the police woman, her shrewd blue eyes slitted. "-don't think so."

"Are you sure?" The man pressed. "Dorothy said there was a boy who looked similar who visited nearly every day."

Gabby felt a chill but didn't blink. She felt her face contract as thought thinking. "You mean Connor?" she turned to Ms. Hopkins. "I think he's like, 12. Pretty sure my brother goes to school with him."

"Are you sure, Ms. Parker?"

"I'm pretty sure that's the same boy." The librarian doubled down.

She leaned forward as though examining the poster more carefully. "Does this boy have brown eyes? Oh, yeah, definitely not the same kid." The lies poured from her mouth so easily, no tremblingly or averting her eyes like usual. "This boy has brown eyes." She turned back to Ms Hopkins. "Connor has blue eyes." Gabby looked towards Ms Hopkins. "They both have brown hair though so I get why you might have gotten them confused."

She had her there. Ms Hopkins barely paid anyone under the age of 40 any attention. She'd never notice something like that.

The man sighed. The woman was glaring daggers at her. Gabby offered her a smile and shook her head sadly. "Sorry I can't help. Poor boy. I hope you find him soon."

"Dorothy, would you mind if we hung up a few of these? Maybe inside and near the welcome sign-"

The two of them stepped away to discuss. Gabby could tell Dorothy was pleased by this.

Gabby read the officer's badge. "Officer... James. Your, uh, ring is cool."

The officer didn't look down at the thick silver band with crosses lining down it. "Its to remember a dead friend."

Gabby winced. "Oh. Sorry." She wasn't sure what else to say and once again, wished the librarian would return.

The second the door closed Gabby let the shudder pass through her. She'd lied. She'd lied to the police. And apparently, she'd lied well. Why did she do that when seconds before she'd been planning to call exactly those people? She couldn't put her finger on it. Just, those two, something felt wrong about telling them.

To her dismay Ms. Hopkins kept floating around the library instead of going upstairs. She couldn't call anyone with her doing that. Gabby needed to do something. If she wasn't going to get the police involved, she'd need to look for him herself. But she'd need help. She couldn't drive and look properly. Mel was the obvious choice but Gabby hesitated there too. She'd help, but she'd want answers afterward. Dan too. Kyle though...

"Miss Parker, do you need to go home early?"

"What?" Hell hath frozen over.

"You look green."

"I- think I ate something funny." Another lie?

"I don't want you throwing up on the floor."

She was being set free early. Maybe it was only because the woman was worried about her floors, not her potentially ill assistant, but Gabby was fine with that.

Gabby gathered her things before she could change her mind and ran to her car. Even before her heater kicked on she was calling Kyle.

"Pick up, pick up..." her breath was fog. She ran her fingers across the icy steeling wheel.

"What."

His greeting was as lame as ever but she was so glad to hear it. "Kyle! I need your help. I need a driver."

There was a pause on the other end. "What does that mean? Are we robbing a bank?"

"No. Looking for a missing person."

He sighed. "You sure that's a good idea?"

"Yes." Her voice was firm. "I'm sure of it."

"Fiiine. I'll come to your house in a few."

"I could come to yours."

"I'm not driving around looking for your little lost boy in your crap-mobile. And we are getting burgers."

"Can you come to the library then? Its closer."

"Sure."

True to his word Kyle's new SUV pulled up beside hers. She was annoyed he was a little right, compared to his car the ole' Beast was a dinosaur. Gabby climbed into the passenger seat. She must have looked as bad as Hopkins said because Kyle's eyebrows disappeared into his shaggy blond hair. "You're really freaked out."

"I haven't seen him in 5 days and he... the last time I saw him he was pretty upset."

"You know this city isn't tiny. We aren't going to find him."

"I have to try. Please, Kyle."

"Ok... chill. We'll try the spots where people usually hang out."

That was a surprise. "You know that?"

"My mom pretends to care about people. Only those she doesn't know of course. She's dragged me along to bring them crackers and stuff. I find a lot of people prefer when I give them the cigarettes she hides in the medicine cabinet though since that's what they ask for." He grinned and Gabby laughed weakly. For an asshole Kyle could be awesome.

They drove around the city bus depot, the underpasses with the most space, churches and the greyhound station. How had she not known there were so many people without housing? That always seemed like a major city issue. A lot of the areas looked pretty empty. Lots of tents and bedding but only a few people hanging out. She kept her nose pressed to the glass. A few times Kyle stuck his head out to ask someone if they'd seen a younger boy but based on Gabby's vague description it wasn't much help. One guy who looked particularly rough with yellow tinged eyes mentioned he may have accidently scared a kid a few weeks back trying to give him some advice but hadn't seen him since.

Kyle humored her longer than she would have expected, even going as far as to drive down a few streets where the businesses had bigger overhangs that would have provided some shelter. There was nothing, of course.

Kyle bought her a burger and milkshake from her favorite greasy local place, but she had no appetite.

"Hey, I'm sorry about your friend." Kyle was frowning, watching the snow fall past the streetlights as they waited for the red light. "For real."

"I know." Gabby's voice was small. "I appreciate you trying to help. For real."

Gabby was running her fingers down the condensation from her melting milkshake when they pulled back up to the library.

"Sucks ass, man. But hey, you said he was smart. He's probably fine."

Gabby wished she believed it but appreciated his attempt at comfort. She pulled off her seatbelt and gave him a hug. Kyle returned it and wished her a good night.

"You need to, uh, talk, or something, you can call. That's fine."

"Thanks. Don't drive into a ditch or anything."

Gabby stuck her car keys in the driver's door and grunted. Iced shut. She threw her hip against it and tried again. No luck. The wind flipped her hair into her face as she walked around to the other side.

"Hey, Gabrielle."

She squeaked, bracing herself on the car as she slid a little trying to stop. She dropped her hamburger

Connor- Christopher was leaning against her passenger side door.

"You're ok." She breathed even though that wasn't completely true. He looked like the car was the only thing holding him up.

His expression was pained and she saw his whole body was trembling. "Gabrielle, I might actually need some help."

"Here- get in the car."

"No hospitals."

"-but-"

"Please- don't." He seemed to be having trouble keeping his eyes open. "I'll be killed if you take me there."

"Trust me- I'll take you somewhere safe."

Even though it didn't seem like he had options she still watched as he glanced around as if planning to run. Then nodded.

She managed to help him climb into the passenger seat. His fingers were fumbling to buckle the seatbelt they were trembling so much. She had to help him.

"Shit. Shit shit shit..." Gabby cranked the heat as high as she could and her tires dug welts in the icy ground when they bounced out of the tiny parking lot. None of this made sense. But she supposed if she got him home and he really looked bad she could call 911.

When she glanced over his face was contorted as if in pain. She was about to say screw it and head to the nearest ED when he coughed.

"Gabby- why does your car smell like that horrid librarian?"

------------

"We're here." for a terrible moment she thought he wasn't breathing but his eyes opened halfway and he nodded. She helped him walk to the front door, wondering if this was the right thing. When the lock clicked there was a booming bark and Chris perked up some, eyes wide.

"What, you don't like dogs?" She teased.

"No. I don't."

Gabby raised her eyebrows, slightly annoyed by this but snuck in the door that Marshmallow was doing her best to open with her snout and put the fluffy dog out back. She probably needed to pee anyway.

"Let's have you sit on the couch, we have an electric blanket and-" Gabby gasped. A soon as he passed the entryway he dropped to the floor. This was bad. She didn't know how to deal with this. "Chris? Christopher? Look at me. If you don't open your eyes I will call and ambulance!"

He blinked slowly. "Please don't. I'm just a little hungry."

"Hungry?" Hungry she could fix. Gabby ran into the living room and grabbed an electric blanket from the chair, pulling off his outer jackets and wrapping it around him. At least his fingers had a little color back. She tried to tuck it around him when he gave her a strange look.

"I got it."

"Let me hel-"

"I don't want you to touch me." His jaw was clenched. She pulled her hands back. The shaking looked less cold related and more tension.

"Ok." She agreed confused and a little alarmed. His expression made her hair stand on end. She backed out of the room instead of facing away.

The fridge of course was full of random crap. She grabbed anything that looked half-way edible and piled it on a plate. Luckily, she thought to grab napkins because the moment it was set down he tore into a barbecue chicken thigh with his bare hands. It took him less than five minutes to clear the plate and then chug a glass of water. He wasn't shaking anymore. He was still having trouble keeping his eyes open but confirmed he was just tired now and was able to walk over to the couch on his own. She threw a blanket over him.

"Still cold?"

"No." His voice was thick with exhaustion.

She touched his hand to be sure and drew back in alarm and then put the back of her hand to his forehead. "Chris- I have to take you to a hospital. There is no way you don't have a crazy high fever."

"I'm fine your hands are probably cold or someth- What did you just call me?" He pushed himself up. At least he was well enough to look irritated again.

She crossed her arms. "Chris. Christopher Green- that's you right? You disappeared in Seattle last summer. And your not 51."

"I see." She watched his eyes flick to the door and she was trying to figure out what she would do if he tried to make a break for it when a fuzzy gray blur landed on the couch and made herself at home on his lap. Before she could grab the cat his index finger went under her chin. He relaxed back into the couch.

"So you are a cat guy."

Chris had a sleepy half smile as he scratched her ears. "Hello, what's your name?"

"Cookie."

"Hello Cookie."

Gabby felt she had a brief glimpse of the kid in the poster seeing how excited he was to have a cat purring on his chest. She would need to get Cookie some tuna later to thank her for her excellent timing.

"You name all your pets after sweets. Very charming. So. Gabrielle. How long have you known my name? You did a good job of playing along."

"Not true! I only learned about it the evening after you ran off I saw a news cast on a recorded show. I wasn't lying..." She didn't think mentioning the cops visiting would be helpful just yet.

His head was starting to bob trying to stay awake. "Its nice to hear my own name again. I always thought I hated my name. Maybe I just like hearing you say it. Just...nice..."

"I don't know what you are talking about but I'm happy if you're happy!" Gabby sighed with relief. The only good thing about him being this sick was he didn't seem to have the energy left to panic even if he wasn't really making sense now. Fevers could do that though, right?

"I'm getting a thermometer."

To her surprise when she returned, he felt fine. Chris was mumbling something quietly to Cookie while he pet her but his eyes were shut and his hand was slipping.

He was right when he called her out the other day. She should have gotten adults involved. She just didn't know which ones. Gabby watched, waiting for him to fall asleep. But who would she call? Her mom? Mel. She needed to come clean to Mel first. Together they could figure this out. She was halfway up when he caught her sleeve.

"Don't."

"I'm going to get some wat-"

He stared her down, surprisingly awake. "Not true."

"I- you're sick. You're really sick."

"You asked me to trust you. It's your turn. I'm ok. Please don't leave."

She settled back down, watching the rise and fall of his chest. Even as it became steady from sleep his fingers held her in place.

*********

Car door and ice based on a true story.

Christopher's kitty is also based on food. His name is Tomato and he is orange. He worked very hard to convince his mother to let him keep him when he was 9.  They both were amused about being able to shorten it to 'Tom' of course being the literal word for what Tomato is while describing the color. In his speech, where he used flash cards, Chris also reminded her that tomatoes can come in orange as well.