Ruth walked into the foyer, gently sliding her jacket off her shoulders before turning to lock the door. It was after midnight and she was exhausted. She'd planned to be home earlier but a drink after dinner with a friend had turned into a unplanned stop at a party and... she'd had to sneak away. She hoped with a sigh that Bobby wouldn't realize she was just getting in- or she'd definitely scold her, after all- they had a big day coming up. Ruth would need to be on her A game tomorrow... or today... whatever. The point was that Bobby needed her. It was strange that no one at the wedding was coming from the Bride's side... except maybe Eddie. Of course, Nora and Brian Carlton loved Bobby, but there was more than a couple of socialites out there who made it known they didn't think she was quite good enough. She frowned as she thought of that stuck up Blanca. To think that for a moment, she'd actually like the cantankerous old b...
She had just made up her mind to grab a snack in the kitchen before heading upstairs when it dawned to her that all the lights were still on.
"Hello?" Ruth said aloud as she walked into the living room. She stopped at the large double doors, her eyes shooting around nervously as she noticed the people in the room. "Oh god, what's wrong?"
In the living room, Nora was sitting with an arm around Bobby, who was clenching her own hands nervously. They looked up, only just realizing she was in the room.
"Ruth." Bobby muttered, shaking her head and turning back towards her hands and wringing them nervously. Ruth moved towards her, looking to Nora questioningly.
"It's Beatrice." Nora said softly, giving Bobby's shoulder a squeeze. Bobby sighed and looked at her hands as if inspecting the pretty manicure she'd had done that morning but really she was noting the way her fingers trembled violently, regardless of how she tried to control it.
"I got some more coffee." Georgina said, appearing suddenly and then turning in surprise to Ruth. "Oh Ruth, thank goodness you're home."
"What happened to Bea?" Ruth said, looking up at Georgina, her voice caught in her throat. She was afraid, nervous about what she might hear.
"She's missing." Georgina said softly.
"What do you mean?" Ruth asked incredulously, standing and walking towards her. "How can she be... did you call the police? Where's Matt?"
"Matt and Damian are searching the house again. Brian..." Nora began to say in low calm tones, "Brian is on the phone with a friend of ours from the police department."
"I don't understand. Where is Bea? What in the world happened?" Ruth asked, eyes wide. She put her hands to her head and took a sigh, trying to remain calm. She had a short temper, everyone knew that, but it was obvious that she was trying to remain calm for Bobby's sake.
"We came home after the party. Everything was fine, the sitter handed us the monitor and I swear, I swear..." Bobby said, looking at Nora nervously, "I swear I could hear her snoring on the other end."
Bobby almost chuckled despite the tears. The sound of Bea's soft snoring was one of her favorite sounds. She slept soundly if she could hear it.
"Shhh, it's okay. It's okay. Matt will find her, you'll see. She has to be hiding around here somewhere." Nora replied soothingly but Bobby shook her head.
"What if she's not?" Bobby asked before putting a hand over her stomach. "Oh god, what if..."
"Hey... don't say that. I'll go find Matt and I'll be right back." Ruth said, turning and stalking out of the room as quickly as her feet could carry her. She was nervous. How long had Bea been missing if not only Nora and Brian were here, but Damian and Georgina too? Would the rest of the Carltons be on their way shortly?
It was a strange sort of comfort, to know that they had so many people on their side- so many people ready to help. Ruth sighed and moved through the foyer, stopping as she heard a knock on the door.
"Nick... Ryan..." She muttered in surprise as they walked through the door.
"Hey, how are you?" Ryan asked in serious tones.
"So... confused. Anyone else out there?" She wondered aloud. She wouldn't be surprised if Vada and Davide showed up next... or even the notorious Blanca.
"No. Where is everyone?" Nick replied as she shut the door.
"George and Nora are in the living room with Bobby." Ruth began, "Matt and Damian are around here somewhere and Brian..."
"Hey." Brian said, appearing from the other end of the room. "What are you guys doing here?"
"George texted me." Nick said, "I couldn't sleep. Anything yet?"
Brian sighed and ran a hand through his hair.
"Nothing. Police are sending someone over." Brian said, "did you mention anything to Vada?"
"No. We didn't think it best to disturb in her condition but we let Davide know and we're keeping him updated." Ryan replied. "What can we do?"
"I'm not sure. We've searched the house several times already." Brian replied.
"Then, we'll search again." Nick said with a nod. "We'll start outside... Bea loves to play in the yard out back."
"How long as she been missing now?" Ruth asked, making Brian turn towards her for the first time. He put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a firm squeeze. He glanced at the clock... half past 1 AM. "Almost four hours."
"Oh my god." Ruth said, the words caught in her throat. She wasn't even sure she'd heard them aloud but the look on her face was enough for Ryan to reach out towards her and place his arm around her shoulder.
"Hey, why don't we get you something to drink? Tea, water?" He said, trying to soothe her.
"That's a good idea." Brian said with a nod.
"Yeah. I'm fine. I'll go. You guys please, keep looking." Ruth said, looking up at Ryan with a weak smile.
"We will." Nick replied with a nod, signaling for Ryan to follow.
"I'm going to check in on Nora and I'll meet you two out back." Brian replied, moving just as quickly.
Ruth stared after them for a moment, telling herself that they'd find her. They had to and when they did, she was going to give that girl a piece of her mind. She walked back towards the kitchen, telling herself it would be okay, repeating it to herself over and over. Poor Bobby, she was a mess and she would continue to be a mess until they found Bea.
As Ruth sliced up a lime, she thought it was so strange that the house could be so full of people and yet so eerily quiet. Usually, even if it was just the four of them, there was plenty of sound. It was either Matt and Bobby arguing over something ridiculous, or the sound of Ruth's music being played too loud, or the sound of Beatrice laughing loudly...
But now, everyone was so quiet, so focused on what they were doing- their minds were on one little person...
"FUCK." Ruth said as she felt the knife graze her finger. She quickly tossed it aside, picking up the nearest dish towel and wrapping her hand up tightly. "Damn it."
She was still for a second, her eyes shut widely as she cringed in surprise and pain. What a moron, she thought, shaking her own head. "Owwww"
She moved towards the sink, clasping her hand tightly and looked at the towel. With a loud and exaggerated sigh, Ruth reached out to turn the faucet on, letting the water run for a second before turning back to her hand.
"FUCK, mother FUCK... SHIT SHIT SHIT." She muttered beneath her breath as she pulled the towel off and inspected the cut. It wasn't too bad, but FUCK did it hurt. With a shake of her head, she stuck her finger under the running water, biting her lip to keep from yelling fuck at the top of her lungs. It's wasn't just the cut... it was the god damned lime juice stinging like fuck.
"Well, god fucking damn." She said to herself- it stung more than she expected.
"Ruthie, you stop saying those ugly words right now."
Ruth's eyes widened as she heard the small voice from behind her. She turned quickly, without turning the faucet off, and knocking over a pot that had been set to dry near the sink.
Beatrice stood staring at her with a frown and a hand on either hip but the sound of the pot hitting the floor and the sight of Ruth's bloody finger, made her jump back and scream... and the sound of Bea's screams, prompted Ruth to do some screaming of her own, especially as her hand was now throbbing in pain. She stared at Bea, who was now perfectly still and pale, her eyes growing glassy and her bottom lip curling downwards as she prepared to cry.
"Oh my god, Bea... sweetie." Ruth said, scrambling over to her quickly and wrapping her arms around her. "Are you okay? MATT!!! BOBBY!!!"
She was yelling but it was unnecessary as everyone had run in that direction with the sound of screaming just seconds before.
"Ruth... what's... oh my god." Bobby said as she entered the kitchen and spotted Ruth kneeling on the floor next to a now tearful Bea.
"Bea..." Bobby said breathlessly as she rushed over and practically knocked Ruth over, wrapping her arms around her. "Oh Bea... where was she..."
"I don't know. She just... appeared." Ruth muttered, trying to make sense of it and looking around to see if she could find where she came from.
"Hey, what's going on?" Matt said, appearing in the kitchen with Damian and suddenly stopping. Never in his life had Matt felt like he might faint until that moment.
"Daddy!!!" Bea said between sobs, turning and stretching her arms out towards Matt.
"Oh thank god." Brian said, as he watched Matt scoop her up and walk towards the counter. "What in the world is going on... why is there blood on her?"
Matt and Bobby both glanced at Bea, who was now sitting on the counter, trying to calm her sobs.
"Matt..." Bobby muttered as she noticed the blood on the night gown, prompting Matt to immediately begin inspecting her. Everyone watched as he counted every toe, ran his fingers through her now tangled hair, had her lift her chin, open her mouth, poked into her ears and then finally, lifted the gown up briefly to check for cuts. He was still fidgeting with the soles of her tiny feet when he spoke.
"It's not hers." He said and Bobby let out a sigh of relief.
"Thank goodness." Bobby said, turning to Ruth, who was staring in shock. "You're bleeding."
Ruth seemed to snap out of whatever trance had taken over her and she nodded.
"Yeah, kid caught me right after I had a small incident with the knife." Ruth said, moving absentmindedly to the sink. "Is she okay?"
"She looks okay." Matt said, picking her back up and holding her closely. Bea wrapped her arms and legs around him tightly- the tears had stopped but she was still quiet.
"Where did she come from? Where was she hiding... we searched everywhere." Damian said softly.
"I have no idea... But thank goodness she's okay." Nora said with a sigh as Brian wrapped an arm around her shoulder.
"I should get her cleaned up." Bobby said softly.
"We should go." Brian said with a nod, "They need rest, Bea needs rest."
Still, it was nearly another half hour before everyone was out of the house, leaving Bobby, Matt and Ruth all staring in absolute shock at the little girl who was now nodding off in Matt's arms.
"Let's get her a quick bath before we put her down." Matt said softly and Bobby nodded.
"I've got her." Bobby said, reaching for Bea as the little girl extended her arms towards her. Ruth watched her quietly, wondering how much self control Bobby had to practice not to cry. It was something she admired greatly- Bobby knew how to keep her cool. "Are you okay?"
Bobby placed a hand on Matt's arm as he leaned against the kitchen counter. He nodded but it was obvious that he was still in shock.
"I'll be up in a bit, I'm going to help Ruth clean this mess up." Matt said, giving Bobby's hand a squeeze as she moved out of the room.
"I've got this. You've had... a crazy day. Go upstairs, get some rest." Ruth said after a few minutes, turning back to the sink to tend to her finger.
"It's fine." Matt said, moving around to pick up the few things that Ruth had knocked over. "I'm a little bit too worked up to sleep."
"You have a big day tomorrow." Ruth said, turning the faucet off and glancing at the cut.
"There's blood on the floor... are you sure you're okay?" Matt asked and Ruth nodded.
"Yes, I am. That's more water than anything." She said as she watched him clean up.
"Okay. Well, when you're done with that- off to bed. It's late." He said firmly, making her raise a brow. It had been a couple of years since Matt had taken that parent tone with her. Ruth might have teased him or argued over it but instead, she merely nodded as she grabbed a band aid from the first aid kit.
"Yes, Dad." She said jokingly, prompting him to chuckle. "Anything else?"
"Yes... Thank you for find her." He said, reaching out and surprising her with a hug. Ruth was still for a second before returning the hug.
"Actually, She found me." Ruth said as he released her. "I wonder where she was."
They both glanced around the empty kitchen for a second before Ruth turned, disappearing towards the stairs.