095:

On the boat, a smaller cruiser, with about seven armed guards and five crew members all doing technical things she couldn't see, Melia's two thugs shoved her into a room, and locked the door. A light was on next to a bed, but more importantly, a window let in what remained of the daylight. Helluva day, she thought wearily and laid Hannah and Abby down on the bed before her for the first time in almost twelve hours.

She glanced around. There was a sink, and a cup. She immediately filled it with water and drank greedily not once, but three times. Her stomach had stopped growling hours ago, and she knew she could fast for quite a while, but not without water. The drawers beneath the sink were meant to house personal effects, but there were towels as she'd hoped. She set to work wetting a few smaller ones and then removing the soiled diapers, and gently cleaning two very wet and reddened bums. Another towel was used to air dry the same two little fanny's, and her girls for the first time that day stopped wailing and started playing, as Hannah rolled over and began to man handle her sister like she always did. She laid with her head on Abby's little barely healed belly button and giggled. How was it possible for her to feel ambivalent in this condition? Melia stared in awe at Hannah's sweet face. Like her father, like her father..... like her father....

She fashioned makeshift diapers out of more hand towels, the last two, unfortunately and hung the rinsed ones out as replacements to dry. Then she sat on the edge of the bed and stared out at the deep blue gray sea and sky. Where were they? South. That was for certain. And that's all she knew.

After the initial yelling and abduction they'd left her alone as long as she kept the girls quiet and secure. Why? Why not kill them outright? What did they have that anyone could possibly want? If it wasn't money? What?

Had it ever been money? Had Jared kept her safe for a "money" reason? Why would someone want her alive, but not want her money? Why did they allow her to keep her babies? Was this really some freak porn dealer? A drug dealer? A.... she was too naive to even figure it out. She had no clue, and now she could see how utterly stupid she really was. How could she possibly think she could outsmart real live criminals? Why? Because Jared had? And it had seemed pretty easy for him? Easy? Was keeping her safe ever easy? And she had basically just handed herself and his two daughter's right over to the bad guys. How stupid was that?

She scrubbed her hands over her eyes and felt the headache blooming at an impossible level. She should have passed out by now. Her eyes opened. She couldn't give in to it, couldn't pass out, there on the bed were her two basic reasons why. She couldn't give in no matter what. She had to stay awake and alive for them.... She couldn't give in even for a second. This was all her fault and she had to see it through.

*****