Without a Trace

Author's note--Okay, you guys have been asking for more twins and more Parker! This scene gives you a little bit of both, even though it may not be under the ideal circumstances. Sorry. There will be more Parker in the next installment, as you will see. For now, though, I hope you enjoy!

There is use of Irish and Spanish in this chapter, but all foreign words and sentences have translations in the chapter notes. It's pretty easy, though, to pick up what they mean purely from the context (I think, anyway) but that's just me because I love languages.

And I would also like to say a public THANK YOU to WeasleyWench for recommending this fic in Chapter 6 of "The Personal Ad"! That was totally unexpected, and just THANK YOU so much! Of course, now I hope that the unfolding story will rise to everyone's expectations!

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Without a Trace

Episode 2

FOURTEEN HOURS MISSING

Vivian drove, since Danny was a wreck, worrying over Ashleigh. He had picked up the phone, hearing his beloved’s screams before he could even say ‘hello’. He had frozen, not knowing what was going on. Ashleigh had managed to force words out through the pain, but Danny couldn’t understand what she was saying. The phone must have slid out of her grasp because the sound changed. Fortunately, one of the twins picked it up and spoke to Danny; unfortunately, they got a short earful of Spanish cursing. He remembered hearing the small voice cut through his panic, and Molly told him that they were in Central Park.

“Where, chiquita? Look around you! What do you see, angelita?” Danny marched toward the conference room doors, grabbing Vivian as she was about to enter. She looked at him oddly but took note of the shaking of his hands and the strain of his voice.

“We were going to the carousel, Uncle Danny. Then Lily started acting bad and she was walking towards the women in the bushes, and—” As much as Danny hated to interrupt her, he needed to get there first.

“Molly, Molly, I’m on my way, okay? I have to hang up now, but I want you to dial 911, okay? Tell them where you are, and someone should come to help you. Stay right there by the carousel, and I’ll be right there…Molly, wait. What women?” Danny paled, looking at Vivian fearfully.

“There is a blonde woman and one with short dark hair, Uncle Danny. I can see them in the bushes. They’re staring at us and arguing!” Molly exclaimed, bursting into tears. Danny swore, slamming the phone shut. He bolted to Jack’s office and then ran for the elevator, followed by Vivian. Danny explained on the way down about the phone call, and Vivian pulled out the car keys. She guided the car skillfully through the streets of New York, using the detachable siren and her horn, like a true New Yorker. Danny called NYPD. They had a precinct farther north in Central Park from where the kids and Ashleigh were, and they promised to check out what was going on and apprehend any blonde or brunette women who appeared suspicious or to be fleeing the scene.

Vivian pulled the car onto Central Park West from 62nd Street. The carousel was just east of 65th Street, but there was some traffic that was slow in moving. Danny flung himself from the barely-moving car and took off into the park, screaming Ashleigh’s name like a man possessed. He cut through the ball fields, heading unerringly for the carousel, fueled by adrenaline and fear for the woman he loved. He saw people staring and pointing, so he knew right where to go. A quick cursory glance around told him that Narcissa and Pansy had already left. He pushed through the people who had gathered a short distance away from Ashleigh’s crumpled form; typical New Yorkers and damn tourists who didn’t speak English: they would stare and point and talk amongst themselves, but no one would step forward and help or involve themselves.

He saw Molly kneeling beside Ashleigh, holding the phone to her ear awkwardly. Ashleigh’s body was twisted; from her hips down, she looked like she was lying on her side, even as random spasms clenched her muscles and made them twitch. However, her upper body was flat against the grass, lying on her back, with her head lolled to one side. Her neck and jaw muscles jerked, and so she gave the impression of just having suffered a seizure. Her face went from staring straight up to falling to the side before she turned back, and back and forth. Molly was doing the best she could to keep the phone steady, but Danny could tell the little girl was terrified at Ashleigh’s involuntary convulsions. Molly’s other hand was holding onto her sister’s. Lily was laying on Ashleigh’s chest, sobbing.

As Danny dropped to his knees beside the trio, he heard Ashleigh rasp a good-bye to HJ, which explained why there were no NYPD officers in the immediate vicinity. Molly hadn’t called 911 because she had been on the phone with her father. Molly let the phone fall to the ground as she rushed into Danny’s arms as soon as he was on her level. He squeezed her back briefly, allowing her to cling to him as he reached behind her, taking Ashleigh’s hand, holding it with one hand as he pried her arms from around Lily. As soon as Lily was free, she struggled up and into Danny’s arms beside Molly. Tears began streaming down Danny’s cheeks as he met Ashleigh’s gaze while still holding her hand. She struggled to smile, trying to reassure him, and he knew what she was doing. He heard Vivian on her cell phone behind him, requesting the paramedics. He felt a steady hand on his shoulder, and he inclined his head in her direction.

“Danny, NYPD is still looking for Pansy and Narcissa. I’m going to go coordinate with the lead officer, but an ambulance is on the way. You’ll be okay here?” Vivian’s voice reflected calm and slight concern, even though Danny knew that she was worried for all of them. He nodded emphatically, feeling her squeeze his shoulder in a gesture of comfort before she left. He blew Ashleigh a kiss over the girls’ heads, letting go of her hand in order to extract himself from their grip. He planted kisses on each of their foreheads, and they sniffled, quelling their tears.

“Girls, this is really important. Did you see which way the women in the bushes ran?” Two black heads shook a negative answer. “Okay, that’s okay. You girls did so great. Now I need you to be big girls for me while I help Ash, okay?” They nodded, grabbing hands and moving out of the way so that Danny could kneel over his girlfriend.

“I’m ok-kay, really,” Ashleigh croaked, trying to smile. “It just looks r-really bad.” Danny cradled her face in his hands, and she haltingly brought one hand up to cover his.

“We’re going to get you to the hospital, and they’ll fix you up, Ashleigh,” he whispered back. “What happened?”

“Take the girls to the office,” she instructed, her voice getting stronger. “HJ must be so worried right now. We need to protect them, D-Danny.” His thumbs stroked over her cheeks and down to her lips.

“Shhhh, cálmate, mi corazόn; they’re right here. They’ll be okay. It’s you I’m worried about right now,” he used his pet name for her.

“I’ll be okay, sweetheart. See, I sound better already,” Ashleigh pointed out logically. Her muscles were still twitching a little bit with aftershocks, but the intensity and frequency had dropped considerably. She turned her head and kissed his palm; he kept hold of her left hand in his right, letting their twined fingers settle on her stomach. Danny reached out with his left hand and took Lily’s free hand, since she was the closer twin; Molly dropped to her knees beside Ashleigh’s head, holding Lily’s hand in her right and putting her left hand on Ashleigh’s head tentatively, creating a ‘comfort touch circle’. It was a technique Ashleigh had used when the girls were little, during Ginny’s brief stint of alcoholism when the twins, for all intents and purposes, lived with her and Danny, to give them a sense of security and comfort when their foundation of home was being rocked. The four of them would sit in a circle and hold hands, a solid reminder that family would always be present, on the left and right sides, as support. Harry had taken to the ‘comfort touch circle’ naturally, but Ginny resented it and thought it rather stupid once she was sober. The girls would initiate it at times, knowing that it was a way to ask for reassurance without actually having to ask, and Ashleigh and Danny always complied, as well as Harry, when he was around.

Vivian returned shortly thereafter, shook her head slightly at Danny to indicate that NYPD had found no traces of Pansy or Narcissa, and joined the circle. The twins separated to pull Aunt Vivian in between them, and she knelt on the grass, one arm around each of the girls as Lily kept hold of Danny’s hand and Molly left her palm on Ashleigh’s forehead. They stayed like that until the ambulance came. Danny asked Vivian to take the girls up to the office to be with HJ while he rode in the ambulance with Ashleigh.

* * * * *

After he hung up with HJ, Martin bolted from the cafeteria back to Draco’s room. He didn’t THINK that they were in much danger, but HJ was so damn jumpy and insistent. Draco had jumped a mile when Martin burst into the room, alarmed after HJ’s phone call. The blonde had glared at the agent at first, but Martin didn’t notice. He had pulled his phone and called HJ right away; Draco’s glare turned to curiosity as he heard only Martin’s end of the conversation, and then he was concerned when Martin exclaimed a very mysterious “Oh my god! Are they okay?” Draco, never one to be left out of the loop, pounced on Martin verbally as soon as he hung up. His grey eyes went flat and his jaw set when Martin informed him that his wife and mother had escaped from their holding cells, killing a guard. Draco’s eyes darkened from a pale grey to thunderclouds when he heard that they had gone after Ashleigh and the twins, knowing that no one in New York City was safe if his unbalanced mother were roaming free, especially not Parker, Harry, or him. Martin stammered out an enquiry as to whether Draco was okay and tried to offer friendly sympathy, but Draco shut him down completely, turning to stare at the other wall. Martin, good guy that he was, knew that Draco’s rebuff wasn’t aimed at him, and he didn’t take it personally. The atmosphere in the room was riddled with tension, though, until another small miracle occurred.

True to the hospital staff’s predictions, Parker woke up a little bit after lunch. As soon as the little boy had opened his eyes, Draco was beside his bed, stroking his son’s hair. Parker recognized his daddy and reached up to Draco automatically before he was even fully awake. Draco didn’t dare pick him up, what with all of the tubes and wiring that seemed to attach everywhere, so he bent down, kissing Parker’s forehead as the little arms wrapped around his neck as much as possible. Draco took his son’s hands, kissed the palms, and let Parker keep hold of one of his hands; the little boy played with his father’s hand like children do—curling the fingers in and then straightening them again, comparing hand size (Draco had to smile because Parker’s entire hand from wrist to fingertips was just barely the size of his palm), and just general exploration.

That one small thing dissipated the tension in the air completely; the relief felt by both men was palpable. It was comforting to Draco, namely because it meant that the nightmare was behind them. Martin smiled and slipped out of the room quietly to inform the nurse that Parker was awake. Katie grinned widely as she went to page Doctor Smith, who sent the child psychologist up to the room.

Martin was sitting on the couch while Draco was standing beside Parker’s bed when the door opened; a woman with long, straight strawberry blonde hair entered. She looked to be in her thirties, despite the noisy, plastic, red-tasseled flip-flops that clicked with every step. She wore jeans and a three quarter sleeve length fitted baseball shirt. The shoulders were navy blue, and Draco raised an eyebrow at the American flag printed on the chest. She had an orange backpack that clashed horribly with the red on the shirt (and with her hair). Parker’s head shot to the door, and a panicked expression stole over his face. Draco let out a small squeak as Parker’s hands, which had been in the process of curling his index finger into his palm, clenched tightly, squeezing a little too hard and popping the cartilage in Draco’s knuckle. It didn’t hurt much. The woman stopped and shut the door, casting a friendly smile that swept over Martin and Draco, landing on Parker, and she lifted her hand and wiggled her fingers in a ‘hello’ wave.

The agent bounced to his feet and crossed the room, extending his hand. Draco, on the other hand, stayed where he was, alarmed at Parker’s reaction. He used his other hand to smooth down the little boy’s fine blonde hair and caress his cheek, hoping to comfort him. Draco didn’t miss the slight flinch at his approaching hand, and he frowned, his brow furrowing.

“Heya,” she said cheerfully. “I’m Doctor Aoife Brady. Before you ask, yes, I’m Irish; yes, I’ve lived in Ireland; and yes, I’m an American citizen. Born here, lived there as a lit’le girl, and came back here to go to college. My father is American, but me mum was born in Ireland and immigrated. What can I say, though? My Irish-ness shines through and through.” Her grin was infectious, and she took Martin’s hand, shaking it firmly. She didn’t, however, approach Draco or Parker, even though she included them in her smile.

“I’m Agent Martin Fitzgerald, and this is—”

“The father of this little boy,” Draco interrupted from across the room, his features schooled in a mixture of boredom and disdain, looking eerily like the spoiled brat from Hogwarts, only older. Martin turned in surprise, giving Draco a confused look. Draco regarded him coolly. “Agent Fitzgerald, a word, please?” Aoife smiled politely and took her backpack off, walking over to the couch as Martin went to stand on the other side of Parker’s bed, across from Draco.

“Yes, Mr. Malfoy? Draco?” Martin wasn’t sure now of what to call the blonde. When introduced, he had SAID to call him by his first name, but he was being rather formal with Martin.

“I would appreciate it very much if you would not reveal our names or anything about us to this woman at the present time,” Draco requested, leaning forward to speak with the agent in a low tone.

“What’s wrong?” Martin frowned.

“I am very wary of strangers, especially in light of recent revelations,” Draco hinted. Martin’s eyes narrowed as he recalled Pansy’s words from their first encounter yesterday.

“This was the first time he let us out of the house since before our son was born!”

“What do you mean, ‘he wouldn’t let you out of the house’?”

“My husband has quite a few enemies who wouldn’t hesitate to torture anyone who they thought might even be remotely connected to his name. We finally stopped being threatened about three years ago, when our son was born, but you see, Draco is rather paranoid.”

Granted, at this point, Pansy was a suspect and therefore, her words didn’t have as much credibility as before. However, Martin couldn’t ignore the signs.

* * * * *

“Recent revelations?” Martin wasn’t following. Draco’s frown matched Martin’s.

“Perhaps you’ve forgotten that my wife and mother have escaped from your office,” Draco said with a slight edge to his voice. “They are both extremely adept at disguising their appearances. My son was taken yesterday because I foolishly let my guard down; I am not about to make that mistake again.”

“Mr. Malfoy, we are working to apprehend your mother, and until now, your wife wasn’t being treated like a full-blown suspect. However, I don’t think they would be so bold as to try to get into the hospital, and besides, I’m here for your protection. I won’t let anything happen to you,” Martin tried to reassure Draco, even as he began to wonder whether HJ knew about this aloof and paranoid side of the blonde. Draco smiled sardonically.

“Agent Fitzgerald, with all due respect, I know that you will do your level best to protect us, but please do not underestimate my wife and mother. Especially my mother. Pansy, at least, would not conceive of hurting Parker—I don’t believe—but my mother is absolutely ruthless, and I would put nothing past her,” Draco lowered his voice to a whisper, suddenly cognizant of the fact that Parker was watching the two of them and growing more edgy the longer they talked.

“I understand that you are worried, Mr. Malfoy,” Martin began; Draco’s eyes flashed, even though his face didn’t change otherwise.

“DO NOT patronize me!” he hissed. “Don’t pull any of that ‘calm the hysterical father’ bull—uh, stuff with me. I may not be from this country, but I am intimately familiar with condescension and when it is being used on me.” Parker, upon hearing Draco’s elevated hiss, began to whimper. Tears leaked down his cheeks, but he tried not to make a sound. Draco’s eyes dropped to his son, and his harsh look melted into one of love and concern. He leaned down and kissed the boy’s forehead, resting his lips against the blonde bangs as Parker reached up to him. Draco couldn’t resist him this time, and he picked Parker up gingerly, staying as bent over as possible so as not to disturb the wires and tubes. He hugged the little boy to his chest as much as he could, but he realized that he had garnered Aoife’s attention, and he stiffened. The fact that her eyes were the same shade of blue as his mother’s unnerved him.

“Here, let me reposition these tubes and—” she offered, reaching for Parker, but she froze as soon as Draco moved.

“Don’t touch him!” Draco snarled, turning his back to Aoife as he tried to shield Parker.

“I’m a doctor, sir,” she said. “I can help so that it will be easier for you to hold your little boy.” Martin reached across and laid his hand on Draco’s arm.

“Mr. Ma—just let her help,” Martin caught himself. Draco suddenly heard himself and realized just how crazy he sounded. His eyes strayed down to Parker, and he nodded, turning back towards her. She smiled reassuringly as she cautiously reached around him and rearranged everything, taking note of how Parker cringed away from her touch into his father. She disconnected the heart monitor, turning the machine off as well, since Parker was awake now, gently peeling the sticky circles off of his chest. She also disconnected the IV drip, instructed Draco to hold Parker still, and pulled the needle out from the back of his hand, replacing it with a band-aid that she took from her backpack.

“He’s going to be a heartbreaker,” she said softly to Draco, giving him a wink. “Just like his daddy, I’ll bet. He’s beautiful.” Draco grunted in response, cradling his son. Parker had stopped crying and was content, with a thumb in his mouth, to snuggle into Draco’s arms. Martin’s mouth twisted downward at Draco’s lack of congeniality.

“So, Doctor Brady, you have a specialty in child psychology?” Martin asked, changing the subject. As soon as Aoife finished, she stepped away from father and son. Draco relaxed a little bit visibly as she moved away.

“I do, yeah,” she replied, turning her attention to the agent. “I got my primary degree from a school in Oklahoma, and then I came here to attend Columbia for medical school. I am board-certified, but I also have extensive experience with children and adolescents. Doctor Smith was one of my supervisors when I did my residency here. He’s one of the best pediatric doctors in New York.” Martin nodded.

“He mentioned you were coming by. So you are here to evaluate Parker?”

“Aye. Poor wee thing. Actually, I need to speak with you first,” she indicated Draco. “Routine, but I need a complete history of Parker. I also have several questions for you regarding the…other stuff…because this is a rather unusual set of circumstances that we are working with. Would you mind stepping to the side with me, Draco?” Draco’s head snapped up, and his eyes narrowed.

“How do you know my name?” he questioned suspiciously, shaking his head when Martin held his arms out to take Parker so that Draco could go sit on the couch where Aoife indicated.

“It was in your case file, which I got from Doctor Smith,” Aoife explained, slightly taken aback at Draco’s strongly negative reaction. She was used to uncooperative parents, and she assumed that he was being ultra-protective of his son. Draco looked back and forth between her and Martin, paralyzed with indecision.

“I would prefer not to have that conversation in a hospital gown,” he said stiffly. “Once I am dressed in real clothing, I will be more than happy to speak with you.” Aoife regarded him seriously.

“Draco, I just want to let you know that your reaction towards me will largely dictate how your son reacts to me,” she informed him. “If I am to assess and help him, I will have to gain his trust first.”

“And that means you have to first earn MY trust,” Draco shot back. “Forgive me, but I just went through the worst day of my life. I am not about to blindly trust another stranger, no matter how well-intentioned, and especially not with my son.” He left out the fact that he was beyond terrified that his mother was probably on her way to the hospital, IF she wasn’t there already, and IF she wasn’t already standing in this very room.

* * * * *

Martin let out a frustrated sigh. Draco, in his opinion, was being cautious, yes, but it was beginning to border on unreasonable. He fixed the younger man with an unblinking stare.

“Draco, where are your clothes? Are they still in your hotel room?” Martin asked, wondering what the hospital had done with the clothing Draco wore last night.

“As far as I know, yes,” Draco replied frostily, his eyes daring the agent to leave to go get his clothing after he promised to protect them. Martin huffed again. He stalled for time by pushing the call button beside one of the beds. Katie stuck her head in the door two minutes later.

“Hi. Where are Mr. Malfoy’s clothes from last night?” Martin asked her.

“He wasn’t wearing any clothing,” she replied. Both men turned to gape at her, their staring contest forgotten. “You were wrapped in a blanket, which we still have because it is being laundered, if you want it,” she said to Draco apologetically. Martin nodded slowly.

“Oh, um, Katie, is it?” The nurse nodded in the affirmative. “One of my co-workers should be arriving with his girlfriend shortly. Could you send him up here as soon as they get to the Emergency Room, please?” She nodded again, disappearing. Martin turned back to Draco, who raised his eyebrow. He had to admit, so far the agent had kept his word, which impressed Draco, but Aoife still made him uneasy.

Parker stirred in his arms, and Draco put him back down on the bed. He laid the little boy down, but he promptly struggled to sit up. When Draco pulled away, he cried out around his thumb, reaching for his daddy with his free hand. Draco enclosed the small pale hand in his own. Aoife watched for a second, and then went back to her orange backpack and rifled through it, pulling out a video camera. It was very clear to her now that she wouldn’t get a chance any time soon to speak with the father alone about the boy’s situation, nor should she talk to the little boy until she had spoken with the father so that she knew what she was dealing with. On the bright side, though, she realized that she could use this time to build Parker’s (and Draco’s) confidence in her so that when she actually DID get to speak with him, he might feel a bit more comfortable with her.

“Look what I brought! It’s a video camera. Have you ever seen one of these before?” Aoife asked. She smiled as she brought it over to Parker and Draco, holding it up so that they could both see it. Draco frowned and nodded.

“Yes, he has,” he said sourly. “The kidnappers made a video that they sent to us.” Aoife cocked her head, opening the camera and turning it on.

“I see,” she said. “Well, once we begin the evaluation, I will be recording it—with your permission, of course—but it is much more common now to tape the forensic evaluation so that we don’t have to keep questioning Parker about everything. Also, it will spare him from having to testify in court, if such a thing were even possible. But I like to show everything and explain about it before we get started, so perhaps we could do a bit of that now?” Aoife looked hopefully at Draco, indicating that his son would follow his father’s lead. Draco sighed and nodded his assent.

“Can you also refrain from answering the questions that I quite obviously direct to Parker, please?” she requested, knowing full well that it might upset him, but it had to be addressed. Parents of traumatized youngsters often tried to protect their children from questions, but Aoife knew that the children had to be allowed to answer for themselves. “I absolutely have some questions for you, but please trust that I have very good reasons for asking Parker what I do. And in order to help him, I need him to answer them.”

“Doctor, what if I were to refuse all of this and send you away now?” Draco sighed, sorely tempted. Martin stepped forward, as if to protest, but Aoife shook her head at him.

“It is well within your parental rights to do so, Draco,” she said. “But that would not be in your son’s best interests. You have both had some major mental and physical shocks within the last twenty-four hours; I am here to assess Parker’s condition, and according to Doctor Smith, due to his hypothermia, he may or may not remember everything that has happened. I was under the impression that you were anxious to find out what he knows…” Aoife trailed off.

Draco let out a breath; if Aoife were his mother, Polyjuiced (though where she would even GET Polyjuice on such short notice, he had no idea), then he would know shortly. She was also being a very good actress, and Draco didn’t think his mother had this much self-control or knowledge of American Muggle medical practices to be able to pass herself off as a doctor. He knew without a doubt that his mother would be turning up at the hospital eventually, but his Slytherin caution was slowly giving way to tentative trust of this lady doctor.

“I am,” he replied. “I apologize for my earlier rudeness. I am not inclined to trust you completely, but I will allow you to work unhindered for the time being.” She smiled broadly, and he found himself almost wanting to smile back.

“Go raibh maith agat,” she said, turning to wink at Martin. “That means ‘thank you’ in Irish Gaelic. Do you see that, Agent Fitzgerald? I would expect you not to know what it means, but he, on the other hand, is from my part of the world! Less than an hour’s plane ride away, and he knows next to nothing, I’d wager, about Ireland or its native language.” Aoife’s eyes twinkled as she winked at Draco next, showing him that she was just teasing. Draco’s throat constricted, and he suddenly had a flash of inspiration that Dumbledore was perhaps part Irish. Then a lump lodged in his throat; he didn’t quite remember when he stopped thinking about the man he almost killed, but who had died anyway because of him, and even though it had been eight years, he was still flooded with guilt.

“When I said ‘unhindered’, I did NOT mean that you could twinkle your eyes at me,” he said thickly, unwinding himself from Parker’s grasp, planting a quick kiss on the surprised little boy’s head, and darted to the bathroom.
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Chapter notes:

1. “Where, chiquita? Look around you! What do you see, angelita?” The first word is the diminuitive of chica which means "girl" in Spanish. So chiquita means "little girl", and Danny uses it as a term of endearment. Remember how I said that Harry calls Lily "princess" and Molly "angel"? Danny does the same thing, only in Spanish. Only, angelita is again the diminuitive form, so Danny calls her "little angel" here.

2. The carousel was just east of 65th Street. This and all of the other Central Park references were written while perusing a map of Central Park, so all of these are geographically accurate.

3. “Shhhh, cálmate, mi corazόn." This means, literally, "Calm yourself, my heart." Or if you want to translate that into everyday speech, Danny said "Calm down, sweetheart"...basically. It's one of his pet names for Ashleigh in Spanish.

4. ‘comfort touch circle’ I made this up completely. It makes sense to me (childless woman that I am), and I might just end up using it with my kids someday. But of course, because I don't currently have children, anything and everything I say and any advice I give is right. Once I ACTUALLY give birth and have kids...I will never be right again. That's the way the world works.

5. The little boy played with his father’s hand like children do. Did you ever do this with your parent? I did with my mom, which was one reason I included it. Also because when you're in the hospital, there's not a whole lot TO do (especially for Parker, who currently doesn't have any toys) but that (playing with a parent's hand) does not require anything except time and a parent.

6. Doctor Aoife Brady Another completely original character. For anyone who is not familiar with Irish first names, "Aoife" is pronounced "ee-fah". Don't ask; Irish is really fucked up. But Aoife is seriously one of THE most common names in Ireland. Since I am leaving Ireland in less than a month, I decided to create a character in tribute to this country that has been my home for the past year. Yes, I'm coming back next year, but I will still miss it over the summer when I move back to the US.

Here's a little bit of background on the name "Aoife": Aoife was a daughter of King Dermot of Leinster who married the Norman invader Strongbow. I also picked "Brady" because it means "spirited"...which Aoife is.

7. I got my primary degree from a school in Oklahoma, and then I came here to attend Columbia for medical school. I am board-certified. If there is any other credentials required to be a child psychiatrist in New York, please, someone let me know. The only things I found were board certification and a medical degree, which Aoife has both of those.

8. It is much more common now to tape the forensic evaluation so that we don’t have to keep questioning Parker about everything. Also, it will spare him from having to testify in court, if such a thing were even possible. This is true and well-researched. Aoife knows her stuff, and I've done my research on how to interview/deal with sexually abused children.

9. Go raibh maith agat As Aoife says, this means "thank you" in Irish Gaelic. It is pronounced (for those who have never taken Irish haha) "guh ruh mah hah-gut". That is not a precise pronunciation because nothing in Irish is precise. You can have two people from the exact same region and dialect who will pronouce a word in two different ways, and trust me, they do! But that's the way I've learned to say it, so that's the way Aoife talks too! Oh, and a little hint: in Irish, you only pronounce about half of the consonants and vowels that you use to spell the damn words.

10. Dumbledore was perhaps part Irish. This is purely speculation on my part because Irish people's eyes seem to twinkle a lot. I think it's remnants from the leprechauns, personally, but Irish people in general are extremely friendly and cheerful.


Author's note--Okay, so perhaps my Danny Taylor uses more Spanish than he *actually* does on the show, but I like it. And because I love languages so much, I just keep throwing them into my stories! French, Spanish, now some Irish! If I can find a way to work some Portuguese in, don't be surprised! LMAO

WeasleyWench--Thanks! OMG I SO wasn't expecting a recommendation, but THANK YOU! I stared at the computer screen and couldn't speak for, like, 5 minutes! Yeah, Pansy and Narcissa are up to no good. Well, Narcissa is, anyway. Pansy, though, at this point, is only slightly in my "bad books" because she DID make Narcissa stop. You'll find out, though, exactly what happened and why and all later. As far as I know, they are the only two missing...the girls are okay for now...heading up to the office with Vivian...where Hermione and Harry are chatting. How many people think Hermione is going to faint or pop a blood vessel when she sees Harry's duo? hahahahahahaha

I know what you mean about the magic. Well, and as more people from the wizarding world come to New York, the amount of magic will raise, naturally. Pansy, remember, agreed to not use magic, but now that her vacation isn't exactly going as planned, she may not hold to that. Narcissa, as you know, has absolutely no such compunction. Draco uses it off and on, and Harry's remembering it now. Hermione is the only one who is actually *authorized* to do magic while in America, if you want to get technical about it, but since when do the rules ever stop anyone? haha Thank you!

thrnbrooke--Thanks for your review! Why not Molly as well? Narcissa just flung a spell, and it happened to hit Lily and not Molly. She didn't really care which one she got, as long as she got one of them. (As you have seen, that didn't work out so well for her.) Can you guess what happened and all? It'll be explained, don't worry. But Narcissa was going to go for them one at a time. If she got Lily first, then okay...and then she would have tried to get Molly. I hope that makes sense!

SyXX--Thank you for catching that! I will change it as soon as I post this! Good eye! Thanks for reviewing again, and I'm glad you like the twists and all! Got a few more in mind before it's all said and done!

Night--Draco's blood is no longer necessary, since they have Parker's. Before, when they DIDN'T have Parker's blood, they were going to use Draco's, but things change awfully fast. There are two different labs. The hospital has a lab, and the FBI office has a lab. The lab report that Danny was going to get (in ELEVEN HOURS MISSING) was the one from the FBI lab that was processing the bloody underwear, the music box, Graham's house, the hotel room, and the boat. (I don't think I missed any other location...oh, and they now have the guard Pete and the holding cells to process, but that won't take long.)

The hospital lab is currently processing the rape kit and the photos. The FBI office doesn't necessarily need to send their findings to the hospital unless it will help the doctor treat Parker, but the hospital needs to send their findings to the FBI lab ASAP to aid the investigation.

I think I'm going to *try* to get through this without Harry having to explain to Jack about magic...but you never know. He's doing good so far, even if he is in the dog house with his boss. And even though he can't feel magic, Hermione was just being careful. She's a government agent...she knows the value of covering her tracks and "better safe than sorry".

Jack, right now, is at a loss to explain what happened to Pete, other than he was killed and the two prisoners are missing. He also doesn't know that Harry knows, but he might tune in, just because Harry seems to know a lot about what goes on.

Sam and Elena are more exasperated at the men they work with right now, but you're right that they will be relieved when they find out that Harry saved them from certain death and worse! Pansy and Narcissa, for the moment, are on their own in America, but you can bet that Snape and Blaise will be making appearances at some point! There IS an international Floo network...and you'll find out more about it when Harry and Hermione sit down and have a good, long chat. Well, actually, they're chatting right now, but we don't see it because we're busy running around with the kids. But their talk will be included in the "bonus features"...at the end.

How will Harry explain what to Molly and Lily? What happened in the park? Good question...RAFO. :P And I agree that Danny needs to pop the question to Ash! HAHAHAHA

Thank you so much for your review! You always make me smile!


HPDMkawii--Good, I'm glad. You're welcome. :) haha When you said that, I had to go back and find it. You're talking about their phone conversation, aren't you? He was rather upset with Harry that the agent hadn't made it back to the office yet, but then when Harry yelled at him, Jack lost it. They're all on edge and stressed, and tempers flare, especially Jack's. And Harry's, as we know from the books (right?) But Jack doesn't want to fire Harry; he just threatens him with it if he thinks Harry is acting too extreme. Thanks for your review!

Jan--I guess that's good, right? Sometimes I'm like "can't they just have a normal half-hour?" but then what fun is reading THAT? It's all about the DRAMA, right? LMAO Hopefully it'll pick up speed, again...and I agree. I hope they don't either, but c'mon...it's Narcissa. Do you HONESTLY think she can resist? Well, we'll see...

Yeah, Hermione is a good friend to Harry. And right now, they have more important things to worry about than Malfoy, but I see your point. I think Harry can make her understand...but heaven help him when Hermione has to return to England and face Ron!

chantalmalfoy--You're welcome! Ask any questions that you want if something doesn't make sense. I'll help as much as I can. I love that, btw! "So glad they're all safe for the moment"...me too! But you know that if they stayed safe, the story would be boring, so BRING ON SOME MORE ANGST! hahahahaha Lucky you, you don't have to wait long for the next update. And I'm writing furiously!


Guys, I had friends in for the weekend. They came in last Wednesday and just left yesterday, so that's the main reason why I haven't updated since then. We ran around all day, went out at night, and I just barely got home in time to hit the pillow! But they are back in France now, and I'm back to my "daily grind"! Cheers and thanks for sticking with me!