Without a Trace

Author's note--AUGH! So much shit all happening at once! (in the story) Okay, this chapter gives you SO much information. But it comes at a price...the price you pay is a violent-bad cliff-hanger at the end. Be afraid. Be very afraid. And this chapter might be rather hard for some to read...it didn't turn out like I expected it to.

However, there is "something for everyone": Hermione, a little bit of the twins (VERY little, though, right now, just because there was SO much more going on!), a lot more Parker...angst, not really slash, but definite "OH SHIT" moments.

Sorry...I haven't had a bad cliffie in a while, though, which is why I chose to continue the chapter until that point...Enjoy!

Oh, and there is a lot more of French and Spanish in this chapter. I'm kinda showing off a little...but don't worry. Translations at the bottom!

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Without a Trace

Episode 2

FIFTEEN HOURS MISSING

Harry pulled Hermione into the conference room, leaving her at the table while he sent the faxes quickly. He sat down next to her, leaning close.

“They have microphones everywhere,” he whispered. “It’s not safe to talk here.” Hermione nodded, sitting back.

“Mr. Potter, what can you tell me about who is behind the Malfoy kidnapping?” Hermione kept her tone brisk and businesslike, giving him a Look.

“Oh, um, well, right now, we know for sure that Snape found Spaulding, this child molester from Jack’s past, and he and Zabini broke Narcissa out of jail and sent her here to work with Spaulding. Spaulding is dead; we don’t know if Pansy was in on it or not, but she escaped with Narcissa, so that doesn’t look good for her,” Harry replied.

“I see,” Hermione jotted down what Harry said. “So you are currently unaware of the whereabouts of the two Mrs. Malfoys?”

“That is correct. We know that they are still in New York; we just don’t know where.”

“And what about Snape and Zabini?”

“As far as I know, they are currently in England. Jack—I mean, Agent Malone—was going to send a couple of our agents to follow them, but you know why THAT is a bad idea,” Harry gave Hermione a Look of his own, and she nodded. “I’ll take care of them just as soon as I’m sure Draco and Parker are safe here.”

“You’ll be needing to get to England in a hurry, then, won’t you?” Hermione pleaded with him to read between the lines, and Harry, thick Gryffindor though he was, picked up on it.

“Of course.”

“The British embassy here in New York might be able to get you there cheaply and quickly,” she said carefully.

“When I’m ready to go, I’ll be sure to stop there first,” he replied just as carefully.

“So tell me why Malfoy is now ‘Draco’,” she said conversationally. Harry blinked at the rapid shift in subject.

“I—um, well—he needed help, and I helped him. That’s what I do, remember?” Harry tried lamely. Hermione wrinkled her brow at him.

“Not good enough,” she said. “I want the truth, Harry Potter!”

“No offense, ‘Mione, really, but I don’t think you can handle the truth,” Harry winced at the Muggle movie reference. He had watched A Few Good Men while over at Ashleigh and Danny’s one night, since Ashleigh held it in such high regard and could even recite the end courtroom scene line-by-line. Hermione leveled her glare at him.

“Try me,” she challenged. “I married Ron Weasley; I have six children, AND I’m the most powerful government worker in all of Britain. What could you possibly tell me that would—”

“I’m in love with Draco,” he blurted, cutting her off. She cocked her head and blinked at him, her mouth forming an “O”.

“I…see…” she said slowly, trying to process it all. “When did this happen? Does he feel the same way? Is that why you were so obsessed with him back then?” Her questions spilled out, and while Harry felt a flaming blush creep over his cheeks, he felt better for having told her.

“Last question first. Yes, partly. We…fell in love on New Year’s Eve after I killed You-Know-Who. It’s…complicated, but the important thing is that yes, he loves me too.”

“You know Ron is going to go mental,” she stated. Even through her surprise, her logic never stopped working. Hermione’s job had prepared her to be able to function even in the face of immense shock, but this wasn’t as mind-boggling as she would have expected as Harry explained.

“I know,” he groaned. “It’s worse than that, ‘Mione. He’s probably going to kill me. I married his little sister and then moved her halfway around the world. I think we’re splitting up for good this time, ‘Mione. Ginny went back to England last night, and she left the girls here. Wait till you meet them; you’re going to love them! Not only is Ron going to be pissed because of that, but all he’s going to see is that I left his little sister for the one person he hates most! What do I do?”

“You leave Ronald to me,” Hermione said, putting her hand on Harry’s shoulder. He smiled thinly.

“I can’t believe you’re not more surprised about this,” he admitted. Her words clicked. “Wait a minute, you have SIX children? AND you’re working full-time?” Hermione smiled broadly, wondering if he was going to pick up on that.

“Yep. You know the Weasley clan; no, seriously, though, Molly is really happy to have little ones around again. The youngest just turned one, and thank goodness for her! We practically live at the Burrow. Guess who our oldest is,” she beamed. Harry shrugged. “Harry James Weasley turns six this month.” Harry’s mouth dropped open. He reached out and grabbed Hermione, hugging her fiercely as his eyes watered, touched that they named their first child after him, even though he had basically run out on them just before Hermione gave birth.

“My girls turned six in January,” he said gruffly, just as the conference door opened, and Vivian herded the two inside. It was Hermione’s turn to look astounded as the two ran to Harry. He pulled them into his lap, smiling at Vivian over their heads.

“Vivian, this is Hermione Granger—uh, Weasley—” he began.

“No, it’s Granger,” she affirmed, holding her hand out to the older black woman with a smile.

“Special Agent Vivian Johnson,” Viv introduced herself.

“And this is Lily, and this is Molly. Girls, I would like you to meet my friend Hermione,” Harry said. Lily was understandably unresponsive, but Molly managed a small smile and a wave to the brown-haired girl. Old tear-stains were still visible on their cheeks, and Harry remembered what they just went through. He stood, placing them in his chair, speaking as they were about to protest. “Girls, I need to talk to Aunt Viv for a second, but I want you to tell Hermione everything that happened in the park, okay? She can help you.” Harry nodded to Hermione, drawing Vivian aside to ask about Ashleigh and tell her about Pete. Vivian frowned, leaving the room to go find Jack to help.

* * * * *

Aoife and Martin both looked after him with concern, but the woman looked back to Parker, who was staring at the closed door as well.

“Hey, Parker, I bet you like to draw pictures, don’t you?” She said, putting the camera down and pulling crayons and paper, as well as a lap-board, from her backpack. She took them over to Parker, careful to move slowly and smile reassuringly, but she could still see wariness in the little grey eyes. Children were mostly naturally trusting, she knew, and this was probably a combination of his father’s unwillingness to act as if he trusted her, combined with his most recent experience with strangers. She placed the flat surface on his lap and put a piece of paper on it, handing him the box of crayons before moving back a little bit. The little boy’s eyes lit up, and he looked back and forth between Aoife and Martin.

“It’s okay, little one,” she said softly. “Daddy will be back in a minute, but no one is going to hurt you again, okay? Do you understand me?” Parker stared at her, wide-eyed, before nodding slowly. “Good boy. Now, can you draw a picture for your daddy? What is something that he would like? I bet it will make him really happy when he gets back.” Aoife prompted him, picking up the camera, turning it on again right before she spoke, keeping it aimed at Parker. She kept watch on the screen, holding the camera with one hand as she motioned to Martin with the other.

“Agent Fitzgerald, would you be so kind as to get the tripod for the camera set up for me? This may not be an official session, but if it turns into one, I can’t turn the camera off,” she requested. Martin got the tripod out and assembled it swiftly; Aoife set the camera onto it, attached it, and made sure that the image of Parker was clear. The little boy was using a black crayon and scribbling on the paper. When a child chose black, that was generally not a good sign.

“This is Doctor Aoife Brady, in the hospital room of Draco Malfoy, the father of Parker Malfoy, who is the little boy you see on screen right now. The date is July 5th, 2005, and current time is ten till three in the afternoon. The father, Draco Malfoy, has given verbal consent for this evaluation on the recommendation of Doctor Smith. Draco is currently in the restroom, but also present here in the room is FBI Agent…” Aoife trailed off, blushing as she couldn’t remember his first name.

“Martin Fitzgerald, New York branch of the Missing Persons Unit, Federal Bureau of Investigations,” Martin was used to official documentation. She nodded, giving him a thumbs up from behind the camera. Checking one last time to see that it was secure, Aoife walked over to Parker, peering at the drawing that was rapidly taking shape. The little boy had put down the black crayon and colored in two eyes with the green one. It was a face, that much was clear, and Parker had given it black hair, smiling red lips, and green eyes. The little boy switched crayons again, drew in black circles around the eyes (albeit, a bit wobbly), and presented the paper to Aoife triumphantly.

“Are you finished?” She asked. Parker nodded proudly. She smiled, bending down so that the two of them could look at it together, and motioning for Martin to come over as well, if he wanted. “Parker, can you tell me about this picture?”

“Fow Daddy,” the little boy said, removing his thumb. He really was a remarkable child.

“And who is this?” Aoife asked.

“Hawwy,” was the reply. Martin inhaled sharply, recognizing HJ, but Aoife shot him a ‘don’t say anything’ look.

“And who is Harry?”

“Daddy’s fwiend,” Parker replied, looking around Aoife at the closed door again. “My fwiend too.”

“Harry is your friend?” Parker nodded.

“He helped me.”

“When did he help you?”

“On da boat. Before I went swimming.”

“Okay. And you drew this picture for your daddy because Harry is his friend?” Parker nodded again. The little boy could be quite a talker if given the right encouragement, and so far, Aoife was giving him a captive audience.

“Daddy missed him.”

“What do you mean, Parker?” Aoife was sure that this was significant in some way, but she hid her frustration at not knowing.

“Daddy has a picture of him at home. It makes Daddy sad, but he’s hewe.”

“Tell me again, pumpkin. I don’t quite understand,” and that was the truth! Parker sighed, sounding put out, and Martin covered his mouth. He could just imagine that sort of sigh from Draco!

“Me an’ Daddy would sit at his desk sometimes, an’ Daddy would look at his picture and sigh. He was sad. But we’re hewe, and so is Hawwy. Daddy was scawed on da boat, but Hawwy was twying to help me.”

“Okay. You sure are a smart boy, Parker. Can you draw me a picture of anything else you remember from the boat?” Aoife encouraged. Parker’s eyes suddenly went wide, and he shook his blonde head emphatically.

“Nononononononononononono!” He wailed, and Aoife instinctively reached out to touch his arm.

“Okay, okay, Parker, it’s okay! You don’t have to! I’m sorry; that was my fault. Let’s keep talking about Harry, okay? Have you met Harry before? Have you guys ever done anything before?” Parker shook his head.

“No. Me an’ Daddy do wots of stuff, though,” the little boy offered hopefully.

“What kinds of things do you and Daddy do?”

“We cowwor…we pway in da gardens…Daddy takes me fwying too!”

“You what?” Aoife’s expression was slightly doubtful, and Parker picked up on it. He bit his lip. “Daddy takes you flying? Like, in an airplane?” Parker nodded.

“Hm. Parker, I want to talk to Martin for a second, okay? Can you draw me another picture? Can you draw you and your daddy flying?” Parker frowned. “Okay, okay. It can be anything you want.” Parker nodded, reaching for the red crayon as Aoife and Martin moved out of the camera’s range. Parker didn’t seem to notice or care that he was being videotaped. Some kids minded, and others didn’t; Parker was obviously one that didn’t.

“Who is Harry?” She asked, holding the picture out to Martin.

“Harry is HJ Potter, one of my co-workers,” Martin explained. “He and Draco used to go to school together, and I think they’re…um…well…you know…”

“No, I don’t know. They’re what?” Aoife chewed her lip thoughtfully. Martin sighed, scraping his hand over his head.

“Okay, look, I know they’re both married with kids and all, but I’d bet my entire retirement fund that they’re gay,” Martin shuffled his feet uncomfortably. It wasn’t that he was homophobic, but he had never once suspected it of HJ until he saw his friend around the blonde. “I’d imagine they have a history together from school—well, actually, I know that they were rivals as little kids, and then I guess something changed. HJ’s very private about his past, and this is the most I’ve ever known about him, even after working with him for six years. He just doesn’t talk about where he came from, until Draco showed up when Parker went missing. Oh, and that stuff about the boat? The sick bastard who kidnapped him hurt him pretty badly on a boat. That’s where we found them. Parker was in the water with Draco when we got there, so I’m guessing that’s his reference to ‘swimming’.”

“Okay, that makes a little bit more sense,” Aoife said. “I’d like to talk to Draco a bit before I explore what, specifically, Parker remembers, just so that I know where I’m going with it and all.” Martin nodded in agreement.

“I’ll go check on him,” he offered. Suddenly the door to the room opened again, and Danny entered.

* * * * *

“Hey, Martin, the nurse said you asked for me?” Danny walked into the room towards Martin, glancing towards Parker and smiling. “Good to see the kid up and about. Who’re you?”

“Danny, this is Doctor Aoife Brady. She’s a child psychiatrist, and she’s evaluating Parker. Doctor Brady, this is one of mine and HJ’s fellow agents, Danny Taylor.” The two shook hands. “How’s Ashleigh?”

“She’s fine. Viv took Molly and Lily up to the office to be with HJ. They’re pretty shaken up. The ER doctor said that they want to keep her for observation tonight, and they’re going to run a bunch of tests for epilepsy and all. They think she might have had either a tonic-clonic seizure or a complex partial seizure, whatever those mean. They’re going to put her through that tube machine and look at her brain, though.” Danny wasn’t particularly concerned with the medical jargon, even though the idea that his girlfriend might have epilepsy did frighten him somewhat. “Where’s Draco?”

“Bathroom,” Martin replied. “Hey, man, that’s not cool. I’m so sorry. You should have them put her in here with Parker and Draco when they’re ready to admit her.”

“Good suggestion, Martin,” Danny said. “What’s going on?”

“Draco won’t talk to Doctor Brady unless he is dressed, so I was thinking that if you had a spare minute, one of us could stay here with Parker—especially since the wife and mother are still missing—while the other either goes to his hotel room or goes to buy him new clothes.” Martin figured out a way to keep Draco and Parker protected while still allowing the doctor to work. “I understand if you need to get back to Ashleigh right now, but if you want, I can be the one to go. It’s just that we can’t leave them alone here in the room, y’know?”

“Yeah, I know,” Danny said. “I can stay for a little bit right now, if you want. You’ve been here since, what, eleven? You want a break?”

“A break would be great, if you don’t mind,” Martin admitted. “Let me just get him from the bathroom quick. He’s pretty paranoid of strangers, so just be warned.” Martin walked over to the bathroom door and knocked on it softly, trying not to disturb Parker. It was no use because Parker’s head whipped around to stare at the door. With a final smile at Danny, Aoife walked over to Parker’s bedside again.

“What have you drawn now, kiddo?” she asked, trying to pull his attention back. He held out a picture of three brownish blobs, accompanied by a mess of yellow, straight-lined scribbles, and a clumsily-drawn drink with a straw.

“Dinner,” Parker explained, reaching for the paper. Aoife handed it back, and Parker pointed a pale finger at the blobs. “I wasn’t vewy hungee, but I eated it anyway.”

“And what are these?” Aoife indicated the yellow scribbles.

“Chips.” Aoife had to smile. “And a dwink.” Suddenly everything clicked into place.

“Parker, did you eat McDonald’s yesterday for dinner? Did you have chicken nuggets?” The little boy beamed up at her for knowing what he was trying to say. “Who bought it for you?” The smile quickly turned upside down.

“Gramma an’ da bad man,” he said quietly.

“Parker, remember that you’re safe here, and no one can hurt you. Tell me about the bad man,” Aoife held her breath, wondering if she was pushing too much, too soon; she was taking her cues from the little boy, though, and he brought it up.

“He was bald an’ mean. He acted nice, but then he hurted me.” Out of the corner of her eye, Aoife saw Draco emerge from the bathroom. She motioned frantically for them to be quiet. The three men froze, attention on Parker.

“Can you show me how he hurt you?” Aoife asked. “Where did he hurt you?” Parker bit his lip, and then pointed to his head. “On your head?”

“He swapped me,” Parker hit himself on the side of the head, imitating Spaulding. “Bad boys need to be swapped.” Parker hit himself again, and Aoife reached out to take his hand. Draco, on the other hand, cried out and leapt forward, but both Martin and Danny grabbed him and hauled him out of the room. Parker was so lost in his memories that he didn’t notice.

“Is that what he told you?” She asked, and Parker nodded. He tried to twist his hand free from her grip, but Aoife kept hold of it.

“Parker, you are not a bad boy. You are a very good boy. What the bad man did to you, that was not your fault. Do you understand me? Parker, look at me. Look me in the eye. You. Are. Not. A. Bad. Boy,” Aoife’s words were serious, even as her tone was gentle and soft. The little boy was crying silently, but he did as she commanded, looking into her blue eyes with his grey ones. “You are safe here, and no one will hurt you like that again, okay? I know it’s hard to talk about, but you are such a good boy. You are so brave. Did he hurt you anywhere else besides your head?” Aoife noticed as two pink spots appeared on the little boy’s cheeks. Behind her, she heard the door open and close again quietly. Parker nodded. “Can you show me where?” The little boy shook his head negative, lowering his face. “Parker, I have something that might help. Let me get it really quick, okay?”

She let go of his hand, going back over to her backpack, and pulling out a vinyl little boy doll who was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. She glanced at Danny and Draco sternly, who were standing by the door, and put her finger to her lips. She knew that using anatomically correct dolls with young children was not accepted at best and downright harmful at worst, especially if used improperly. Aoife was one of the only child psychiatrists who had extensive experience with them, though, and she was fairly confident that it would help Parker. She wished fervently that she knew whether Draco had talked with Parker at all about sex and the body parts, but since she didn’t want to interrupt this potential breakthrough, she would just have to wing it. She walked back over to Parker and set the lap-board aside, leaving the crayons scattered on his bed. She bent down, eye level with him, holding the doll in front of her.

“Okay, let’s try this. You’re safe here, remember,” she felt it was an important technique to continually remind her patient that there was no threats around. “Now, this is Parker.” She allowed him to take the doll from her, and he examined it curiously. “Can you use Parker here,” she tapped the doll’s head with one finger, “and show me where else Parker was hurt?” The little boy glanced up at her briefly, and then back at the doll. He suddenly slapped the doll on the side of the head.

“Bad boy!” He exclaimed. Aoife nodded, half-expecting that.

“Was Parker hurt somewhere else besides his head?” The little boy nodded and pointed to the doll’s crotch. “Can you show me?” Parker removed the pants first and the shirt second, staring at the naked doll. He then made the doll stand up on the bed, facing away from him, and reached around to the vinyl bump between the doll’s legs and pinched it between his thumb and finger. He looked up at Aoife, sniffling, and then back down at the doll. He grabbed the doll suddenly, turned it over on his knee, and began spanking the bare bottom.

“Bad boy! Bad boy!” He screamed as he beat the doll. Aoife was just about to reach over and stop him when he grabbed up a crayon and began violently shoving it into the doll’s anal hole, still chanting. She watched, horrified, as he removed it and brutally shoved it back into the doll over and over until he collapsed in tears, shoving the doll away in disgust. She picked up the sobbing child and hugged him, rubbing his back and smoothing his hair.

* * * * *

Aoife heard wailing behind her, and she turned to see Draco fighting against the hold Danny had on his arms, tears running down his own cheeks, calling to Parker over and over. She walked over to Draco, and Danny let him go. She allowed the crying blonde to scoop his son out of her arms, pulling him close as he cuddled the little one. She went over to the camera and turned it off, then walked back over to the agent by the door.

“Agent Taylor, I’m very sorry to hear about your…wife?” Aoife said quietly.

“Girlfriend,” Danny corrected, shaking his head. “Thank you, Doctor. She’ll be okay, though. What, uh, what was that? What just happened?” The agent crossed his arms, glancing over to Draco, who had curled up on the hospital bed with Parker.

“He was reacting to whatever memories he has of the past couple of days. Drawing and play therapy is generally the best way of revealing what children have experienced; the dolls are recommended more for older children unless someone—such as myself—is trained to use them with younger children,” she said in a low voice. “However, the problem with using them with children Parker’s age is that sometimes they cannot distinguish fantasy from reality, and using them as stand-ins for a child and asking them to simulate what happened, as I did earlier, is sometimes beyond their grasp of conception. It is entirely possible that what we just witnessed did not happen, BUT I am more than inclined to believe it did, until I speak with the father about the methods of discipline used in the home.” Danny’s phone rang. He reached for it, holding up a finger to Aoife. She nodded and went back to her backpack.

* * * * *

“Taylor. Yeah. What?” Danny’s head shot up, and he looked over to Parker. It caught Draco’s attention, and the blonde man halfway sat up, watching the agent. Aoife stared at Danny quietly. “No. No! ¡Dios mío! ¡Chingao!” Danny left the room abruptly, ignoring Draco’s protests. The strawberry blonde woman looked at him.

“Do you speak Spanish?”

“No, French. You?”

“Nope. Irish Gaelic, as you already know, and un petit peu de français. But not enough to matter. How’s he doing?” Aoife was walking towards the bed when Danny stuck his head back in the room, no longer on his phone.

“Doctor, I need to speak with you. Now, please?” His voice was strained; Draco took that to mean he was severely pissed off at something, and he hated not knowing what, especially since Danny had looked at his son. Aoife changed course and stepped out in the hall, closing the door after them. “That was my office. The hospital sent over the results from the rape kit, as well as the photos, and, and—” Danny’s voice broke as he looked up and away, bringing one hand up across his mouth. His eyes filled with tears as he rattled off some more curse words in Spanish. Aoife put her hand on his arm, and he jerked away from her touch.

“I’m sorry, Agent Taylor, I just—” she broke off when he held his hand up. Neither of them noticed that Draco had opened the door and was listening through the crack.

“We found a music box that was shaped like a wizard with a dragon curled around its shoulders at the house where they had taken Parker. We found an unknown set of prints on the base of the music box, but after getting the pictures, our lab swabbed the other ends of it…see, it’s a wizard, with his arms outstretched. He has a crystal ball in one hand and a magic wand in the other…pointy hat…the perfect picture. The dragon’s head is raised with its teeth bared. Oh god! The grandmother…she…they found traces of blood on both arms and the hat…they found blood and tissue in between the dragon’s teeth. Her prints were on the base…” Danny spun away from the doctor, banging his fist on the wall. Aoife covered her mouth with her hand.

Draco shut the door quietly and walked back towards the bed. He got about halfway when a flashback drove him to his knees. He choked, falling forward onto his hands, and threw up, hot tears of shame coursing down his cheeks. How had he forgotten that? He wasn’t trained in Occlumency at five years old, but his brain must have repressed it and made him forget it ever happened, much like the incident with Snape and his father all those years later. His mother had never attacked him again, though; that much, Draco knew with certainty. He wished he could say it was because his father would protect him, but he knew it was more because they were worried someone would find out. After that, though, he remembered that life got a lot better—presents, chocolates, and the best toys money could buy. He had apparently repressed the reason he began to be spoiled and just indulged in the materialism they lavished upon him.

And now that heartless bitch had apparently done the same thing to his little boy. He was no better than his father if he couldn’t protect his boy, and that thought made Draco sick to his stomach.

“Daddy?” Parker’s scared whisper brought Draco’s head up, glassy-eyed, to meet his son’s face. He got to his feet unsteadily, waving his hand in a wandless Cleaning Charm, and the mess on the floor disappeared, despite his assertion to live like a Muggle. Draco made his way back to the bed, sitting on the edge. Parker crawled into Draco’s lap, and Draco’s arms automatically encircled him. Draco felt hollow inside, and he stared vacantly into space.

* * * * *

Danny and Aoife were still outside the room when a nurse brought a prone Ashleigh up to the room. Danny looked surprised but pleased, and he realized that Martin must have stopped by on his way out and told them to bring Ash up to Draco’s room. She smiled weakly at the strawberry blonde doctor, shaking her hand as Danny introduced them. They followed Ashleigh’s bed inside, and Danny helped transfer her from the transport bed to the bed in the room. Draco barely batted an eyelash until Aoife snapped her fingers in his face. He jolted, his eyes not focusing. Parker, however, had the presence of mind to glare at her on his daddy’s behalf.

“Dray-Draco?” Ashleigh’s voice was questioning. She saw his unresponsiveness. “Danny, what’s wrong with him?”

“I don’t know, Ash. Doctor?” Danny held Ashleigh’s hand.

“He appears to be catatonic at the moment,” she said, frowning as she tried to catch Draco’s eye. “Parker, what happened to your daddy?”

“Daddy fell on the floor,” Parker said.

“Do you know why?” The little boy shrugged, craning his head to look around Draco’s chin. He tugged on the front of his hospital gown.

“Daddy?” Parker’s voice brought Draco out of his stupor, and he flushed with embarrassment when he looked at Aoife, Danny, and Ashleigh all staring at him with concerned looks on their faces.

“Sorry…I was just thinking about…things,” he said quietly by way of explanation. “Ashleigh…you’re okay?” He just now realized that she was in a hospital gown of her own. The brunette smiled.

“Yeah, Draco, I am,” she replied. “That must be Parker! He’s adorable; he looks just like you!” Draco smiled in return.

“Thanks. So…uh, what happened?” He wasn’t sure if he really wanted to know, but he had to ask.

“The preliminary tests that they’ve run so far don’t show any indication of abnormal brain activity, so the doctors aren’t exactly sure,” she said. “They think it might have been an isolated seizure.” Draco nodded thoughtfully.

“Have you told Harry about it?”

“Yeah, he was on the phone with Molly until Danny got there. He’s up at the office now, though, and Vivian took the girls up there to be with him,” Ashleigh said. “If it’s okay with you, it looks like we’re going to be roomies.”

“Fine with me,” Draco responded. “Wait, do you snore?” His smile turned into a grin as he winked at Ashleigh, grateful to be distracted from his problems.

“You better believe it,” Danny joined in the teasing, nudging his girlfriend. She took the ribbing in stride.

“Okay, you two, knock it off,” she mock-glared at Draco as she playfully swatted at her boyfriend. Draco got up, holding Parker, and walked over to Ashleigh and Danny.

“Parker, this is Ashleigh, and she’s a friend of Daddy’s. Can you say hi?” Draco prompted. Ashleigh smiled warmly at the little blonde.

“Hi,” his voice was very small.

“And this is…” Draco’s voice trailed off as he realized he and Danny hadn’t been formally introduced.

“Danny Taylor,” the agent held his hand out to Draco, who grasped it. Parker followed suit, and Danny shook the small hand just as seriously, hiding his smile.

“Ash, would you mind watching Parker for a few minutes? I have to go do something,” Draco requested. Danny frowned, but Ashleigh held her arms out to the little boy.

“Of course!” Draco leaned over and whispered in her ear as he handed Parker over.

“Don’t let him out of your sight. Please. Harry trusts you with his girls, and that’s good enough for me. My mother can be anywhere…anyone, so please, take care of him.” Ashleigh looked into his eyes and nodded.

“Where are you going, Mr. Malfoy?” Danny put out a hand as if to stop him. Draco blinked.

“Out. I will only be a few minutes,” he replied, heading towards the door. Danny grasped his arm, and Draco wrenched out of his grasp.

“Unhand me, you oaf! What is your problem?” He exclaimed, glaring at the agent who was now blocking the doorway. Danny glared back, arms crossed over his chest.

“I’m supposed to protect you, and I can’t do that if you go walking around, ¿comprende?”

“Je ne pas parle espagnol,” Draco replied in French. “Et je sais pas pourquoi vous moi regardez comme ça, mais je souhaîte que vous arrêtiez. Type de connard.”

“Si quiere hablar usted en una lengua que yo no entiendo, yo puedo hacer lo mismo, cabrόn,” Danny said back. Ashleigh looked extremely upset.

“Je parle seulement un petit peu de français mais j’ai compris qu’est-ce que t’as dit. C’etais pas gentil donc arrête-toi,” she said, looking at Draco before turning to Danny. “¡Y tú! ¡Para insultar un cliente que necesita la ayuda! ¿Qué dice tu mamá, eh? ¡Cόrtala ahorita y pedirle el perdόn! ¡Sabes mejor de esto!” Both men ignored her.

“Vous êtes americain; je croi qu’il me demande trop de penser que vous parleriez une langue que vaut la peine à entendre. Ma faute,” Draco responded, sneering.

“Si él va a hablar en francés, yo continuaré hablar en español,” Danny said to Ashleigh angrily. “Tú eres un—”

“Arrête! Ça suffit!” Ashleigh cut Danny off with her exclamation. “¡Basta ya! ¡Déjalo sόlo! The both of you! I’m serious!” She was practically yelling at the two of them. Aoife, after Draco responded, had moved to the couch, where she waited for a chance to either speak with Parker some more or talk with Draco; neither chance came. She didn’t speak Spanish, and she only understood a few words of French, but neither man sounded happy; that much was obvious.

“Please move out of my way,” Draco said as politely as he could, through gritted teeth.

“Danny, just let him go. He’ll be right back, okay?” Ashleigh pleaded softly. Against his better judgment, Danny stepped aside and opened the door for Draco.

“Merci, monsieur,” he said stiffly, walking out the door.

“De nada, pendejo,” Danny replied just as stiffly.

As the door was closing, Draco could hear Ashleigh exclaiming again, and he surmised that Danny had just insulted him again. He walked to the entrance to the Intensive Care Unit and stood near the door, concentrating. He leaned against the wall, eyes closed, trying to summon enough magic to place wards on the door to alert him if his wife or mother tried to enter. It was the safest way he could think of to keep his son safe, but he didn’t have Harry’s capacity for magic. Sure, Draco could do small Cleaning Charms, but the wards required more than that. Without his wand, Draco just didn’t have the ability to compel the magic required to create or sustain the wards necessary. He opened his eyes, sweat popping out on his brow from the effort, and he cursed silently.

“Sir, can I help you?” A nurse stalked over to him, seeming annoyed that he was out of place. Draco tried to push off the wall and failed, so he stayed where he was.

“No, no, I’m fine, thank you,” he replied wanly.

“You don’t look fine,” she said. “If you’ll come with me, I’ll take you back—”

“I said, I’m fine,” he interrupted her, irritated. He stared at the floor, trying to gather enough strength to walk away.

“Where is your son, Mr. Malfoy?” The nurse stared at him. Draco raised his head, and his breath caught in his throat.

“Putain de merde!” Draco swore, staring into familiar blue eyes. Narcissa glanced behind her quickly, making sure no one else was around. To Draco’s dismay, no one was. She reached up and slapped him across the face. If he hadn’t already been against the wall, he would have fallen, but as it was, he merely stumbled, clutching at the smooth finish for support.

“Such language,” she hissed. “You always WERE quite inappropriate and disappointing. Imperio! Go get Parker and bring him to me!” Draco moved as if in a daze back to the door of his room.
**********


Chapter notes:

1. He had watched A Few Good Men while over at Ashleigh and Danny’s one night, since Ashleigh held it in such high regard and could even recite the end courtroom scene line-by-line. This is true. :D I LOVE that movie, and especially those lines! "I want the truth!" "YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!"

2. Parker's speech: since he's only three, he can't really say his "r"s or his "l"s correctly...although part of it is his British accent. I think it's pretty easy to figure out what he's trying to say, though.

3. She knew that using anatomically correct dolls with young children was not accepted at best and downright harmful at worst, especially if used improperly. This is also true, as well as any other methods that Aoife uses. This was extensively researched, just so you know. EVEN THOUGH Parker fits into the "young children" category, the anatomically correct dolls are so commonly known that I just couldn't help but use them...properly, of course!

4. ¡Dios mío! ¡Chingao! This is Spanish for "Oh my god! Fuck!"

5. un petit peu de français This is French for "a little bit of French".

6. He got about halfway when a flashback drove him to his knees. No, you don't know what the flashback is yet; yes, you will find out. It'll be included in the "bonus features" for Episode 2, but it's not appropriate for the episode itself (which should be your first "oh fuck" clue). Care to speculate?

7. ¿comprende?” This is Spanish for "do you understand?"

8. “Je ne pas parle espagnol. Et je sais pas pourquoi vous moi regardez comme ça, mais je souhaîte que vous arrêtiez. Type de connard.” This is French for "I don't speak Spanish. And I don't know why you are glaring at me, but I wish you would stop. Bastard." (Literally: "type of duck" but it's colloquial French for an insult, basically.)

9. “Si quiere hablar usted en una lengua que yo no entiendo, yo puedo hacer lo mismo, cabrόn." This is Spanish for "If you want to speak in a language that I don't understand, I can do the same, jerk."

10. “Je parle seulement un petit peu de français mais j’ai compris qu’est-ce que t’as dit. C’etais pas gentil donc arrête-toi,” This is French for "I only speak a little bit of French, but I understood what you said. That's not very nice, so stop it!"

11. “¡Y tú! ¡Para insultar un cliente que necesita la ayuda! ¿Qué dice tu mamá, eh? ¡Cόrtala ahorita y pedirle el perdόn! ¡Sabes mejor de esto!” This is Spanish for "And you! Insulting a client who needs your help! What would your mother say, huh? Stop it right now and tell him you're sorry! You know better than this!" (Literally: ask him for forgiveness)

12. “Vous êtes americain; je croi qu’il me demande trop de penser que vous parleriez une langue que vaut la peine à entendre. Ma faute,” This is French for "You are an American; I guess it is too much for me to think that you would speak a language worth hearing. My fault." (Think of the "You are an American" as being said like an insult, since that's how Draco is meaning it, completely disregarding the fact that Ashleigh, who is also American, DOES speak French--"a language worth hearing")

13. “Si él va a hablar en francés, yo continuaré hablar en español. Tú eres un—” This is Spanish for "If he is going to speak French, then I'm going to continue to speak Spanish. You are a--"

14. “Arrête! Ça suffit!” This is French for "Stop it! Enough of this!"

15. “¡Basta ya! ¡Déjalo sόlo! This is Spanish for "Enough already! Leave him alone!"

16. “Merci, monsieur,” This is French for "Thank you, sir"

17. “De nada, pendejo" This is Spanish for "You're welcome, asshole"

18. "Putain de merde" This is VERY vulgar French for "FUCK!" (Literally: whore of shit) But you wouldn't say this in front of your mother; it's pretty offensive. It is more of an exclamation than an insult, but older people who hear a younger person say it would still take offense just because they are swearing.

Author's note--Yes, Danny's being a major prick at this point...he was just scared out of his mind that his girlfriend might have something wrong with her, and they don't know for sure. He's supposed to be protecting the Malfoys, and now Draco wants to walk away. That doesn't sit well with Danny. I'm not excusing what he did or said, but just to explain before you hate Danny for this. (Sorry!) They'll end up getting along again...but feel free to be mad at him.

Draco, too, is on edge, so he's not helping the situation either.

With regards to Parker...OH MY GOD! I totally intended to take the "amnesia" route (that's why I wrote it in in the first place!) and then the little guy just completely changed my plans! I don't know what to tell you. If this is too unrealistic or whatever, I could always change it *IF* you want me to...

However, I've been researching Aoife's role, so anything and everything you see here is scientifically accurate to the best of my abilities.

And about the cliff-hanger...you KNEW they had to show up eventually, right? YOU JUST KNEW IT! Besides, everyone was too "safe for the moment"...time to shake things up! God, I'm evil! Little bitch Narcissa...argh.

HPDMkawii--Evil, you say? Yes, yes indeed. Everything WILL turn out okay, though! I wrote a happy/fluffy chapter to go in the "bonus features" at the end, so you have that to look forward to (after I just blew your brains with this cliffie)

Jan--I know it! However, now it's Draco's desire to protect Parker at all costs combined with Ashleigh's willingness to trust him that got him into this mess (hey, Ash had to mess up sometime, right? She's not perfect! :P) So we'll see how he gets himself out of it!

thrnbrooke--No, no, the doctor was a false threat. The nurse, however...you might be wondering now how Narcissa got a nurse's outfit? Don't worry, she didn't kill anyone, but she knocked one of them out to take hers (no, not Katie!)

Night--You pose a good question. Right now, Harry's got 'em, but Vivian's been known to help out in a pinch. If she's unavailable, there are countless other (unknown) people who work at the office who could watch them, if it comes to that and there are no team members to spare.

Snape, Snape, Snape...I'm still arguing with that rat bastard about his role, so I'll let you know...

WeasleyWench--holy fuck! COOL! Oh good! I'm glad that the girls are acting believably! Draco and Martin...okay, well, Martin is your basic "good guy" who just wants to help. On one hand, he's sort of weirded out that Draco and HJ have the hots for each other, but he's not disgusted or anything. At most, he's worried that one of them might think HE is cute! (But they ONLY have eyes for each other!)

He knows that Draco will be upset by the news of his wife and mother escaping (and killing that guard) and so he tries to offer sympathy. Draco, though, as we know, doesn't deal well with heavy emotions and especially around strangers. So he shuts his face down, bringing the "mask" back up, which basically means being cool and detached to Martin.

But Martin is also an FBI agent, and he's used to traumatized clients reacting in all kinds of ways. He knows that Draco's rebuff wasn't a personal thing...it's just his way of dealing with things. Martin doesn't have any prior attachment to Draco (and technically, he's been more on Pansy's side, up until now) so he reacts differently than if it had been Harry, let's say, who tried to help Draco. But then again, if it had been Harry, Draco probably wouldn't have turned away (unless there were other people around, because Draco tries not to get emotional in front of others)

It was one thing when he cried over his son in front of everyone, but now he has Parker back, so he's back to being basically in control of himself.

Martin is also pretty laid back, so if Draco doesn't want to talk, Martin won't force him to. If Draco wanted to, Martin would listen. But Draco's acting tense and distant, and while Martin knows it's not aimed at him, when someone's acting THAT hostile, sometimes it's hard to ignore such tension. This was one such time, even though Draco's hostility wasn't directed AT Martin.

Does that make more sense now? (Good question, btw. If you want more info, let me know.)

I used to play with my mom's hands when I was little. It's one of my most fond memories, actually, and they're quite vivid, so I included it in the story. I've only had a couple of kids I baby sit for actually do it to me, but I would play with my ex-boyfriend's hands sometimes as well...Thank you for your compliments!

Martin has been on the job since Season 1 of WOaT. You're right in that he doesn't have AS MUCH experience with sex crimes involving young children (but he did find Spaulding's last victim, who was 17...which is very different than 3). Remember, though, the first thing he heard about Draco (before ever talking to the blonde himself) was Pansy saying that Draco kept her and Parker locked in the house for three years until they came to New York. That was an immediate red flag in Martin's head, especially since it could be construed as a domestic violence situation. And that's how Martin took it at first.

When the team is figuring out a case, they each usually work different angles from the same evidence. For example, it makes sense to Harry why Draco wouldn't let Parker out of the house if there were Death Eaters hunting them, or if he was receiving threats, because Harry knows the subtext. Upon hearing it for the first time, from Martin's background and previous experiences, a man who keeps his wife and child locked in the house like prisoners is abusive, and so Martin takes that angle when working to solve the case, while Harry is looking into Snape, and Samantha (who talked to DRACO first) is operating under the assumption that Pansy took Parker. (Well, I'm talking in the present tense, but this is all past history.) If they all worked the same angle (and it was the WRONG angle) then where would they be? They each develop their own theory, revise it as more clues come in, and then usually one of them turns out to be right. In this case, Martin's wrong in his assumptions about Draco and their situation, but you can't fault him for making those assumptions based on his past experiences with similar situations.

But in this particular case, this is the first time he's had any real contact with Draco, and Draco wasn't really doing much to change Martin's opinion of him being an "abusive jailer" if (in Martin's opinion) he won't even trust a doctor who has a degree and takes an oath and all...WE all know why Draco's being the way he is (he's scared shitless that Narcissa will pop up) but Martin just doesn't know what Narcissa is like.

Thanks! I think Draco is also a bit more sad, as well, that looking into Aoife's eyes at that moment reminded him of Dumbledore. And Dumbledore is dead, and Draco doesn't want anyone else to die...and it's all just very overwhelming for him, poor baby. But when her eyes twinkled, my thoughts shot straight to Dumbledore, and that's when I realized he could very well be Irish...haha.

I saw the new chapter! YES and we're back to the computer! WOO! But thank you again for your kind words. :) PS I love the banter we have going too!