Forgotten

ROBBIE'S POV.

2 Days later.

Now so weak from hunger, my hand shook as I raised it to scratch my head.

"It's Dad's birthday," said Josh sadly as he looked out of the window.

"Really?" I croaked.

"Yeah. I remember him saying, new years eve," he said, pressing his palm flat against the cold window and looking hopelessly out into the street outside.

Something inside of me snapped. I couldn't stay here. I couldn't be here, while Dad and Cassie were somewhere, sick with worry, if Cassie had even found help safely.

I heaved my aching and bruised body into standing position.

"We're getting out," I said hoarsely, my voice fucked up from how dry and sore my throat was as well as breaking all the time.

"We are?" asked Josh in his own, much more stable voice.

"I can't take another minute in this place."

"We don't have a choice, as much as I would like to get away from here..."

"There's always a choice," I said firmly, walking over to the door and looking at it carefully. Whenever they opened it they used a key and there was no keyhole on the inside so picking the lock was out of the question.

"Window?" asked Josh. I glanced around the room. If we shifted all the furniture from around the room to under the window, we may just reach to climb through it, if we even fit.

I walked over and looked at the window. The frame was made of wood and very old, rotten in places with the once white paint peeling off.

I tapped lightly on the glass. It was single glazed and also old looking. I drew my fist back and before Josh could say anything to convince me otherwise, lashed out at the window.

The glass tore my skin and small droplets of blood started to appear. I looked at them as they grew, half interested in watching them, half wondering why I was feeling no pain. Josh started to pull out the rest of the shattered glass from the window frame. I glanced at the doorway of the room and listened carefully, making sure Darren or any of the others weren't coming.

"OK. Climb up, I'll give you a boost," he said and crouched down slightly. I clambered onto his shoulders and put my head through the gap, feeling the cold air hit my face. Or rather, not feeling it. Everything was so numb.

I pushed off Josh's shoulders, lifting my body through the gap easily. Looking at the gap it was hard to believe I had fit through it, but I had, and that was all that mattered. I looked back into the basement, Josh was frozen to the spot, staring at the door of the room.

"Quick! They're trying to get the door open, pull me up!" he said urgently, scrabbling at the wall below the window. I reached in and took his hands, pulling with all my strength.

His head came through the small gap, then his shoulders. He let go of my hands and grabbed for anything to use to hoist himself up the rest of the way.

"Fuck. Run! Quick!" he cried as he got his feet through and I heard the basement door slam open and Darren let out a livid scream of despair. We both sprinted down the strange street, having no clue where we were, or where we were going.

"This way, we need to lose them in case they come out to try and find us," he panted as we cut down an alleyway and then came out in another street.

We ran. And ran. For what felt like forever we ran, not pausing once, our legs working tirelessly, driven by pure fear and adrenaline. Eventually I had to stop. I dropped to my knees and pitched forward, laying on the cold sidewalk, shivering slightly and feeling like just laying there and crying.

"It's OK. We're out and away from there. We need to find a phone," he said, panting hard to get his breath back. I felt him place his hand on my back and try to roll me over, I let him, closing my eyes and breathing deeply.

A few minutes later my twin spoke again.

"Can you hear that?"

"What?" I asked, tilting my head upwards and straining my ears to hear whatever he was talking about.

"That. It's coming from this way," he said, getting up and looking around towards one direction.

"Robbie! Get up! I know where we are!" he cried, pulling me to my feet. I groaned and looked where he was looking.

What looked like a few miles away, I could see a familiar skyline. A skyline I had only seen in pictures but of a place I had dreamed of going to so many times it wasn't even imaginable.

"Can you hear what I can hear?"

I shook my head and tried listening again but all I could hear was noise from the road behind us.

"It's Dad. I can hear Gerard's voice, he's singing, they're playing in New York!"

"I..." I stopped and listened for any sign of music.

"I am not afraid to keep on living, I am not afraid to walk this world alone."

I felt hope explode inside of me. It was them, and they were near.

BOB'S POV.

Hardly even able to hit my drums, I carried on, knowing me being upset would make no difference to the show. The show must go on, missing boys or no missing boys.

I glanced over to the side of the rooftop, Cassie was stood with Tre, he was holding her hand and they were both watching. Neither of them smiling. He had been staying with us, having had no plans he had been helping me deal with the boys disappearance and look after Cassie.

We had left Oakland as the police had gotten word of a sighting of the boys in New York but I had heard no news, nothing, for all I know they could be anywhere right now.

I felt bitter, resentful to the fact I had let this happen. This would be my fault whatever state they turned up in and it was my fault that Cassie was becoming more quiet and withdrawn by the minute because of not having her big brothers there to take care of her.

"So New York, are you having a good New Years eve?" asked Gerard and the crowd below screamed their appreciation. I watched Cassie put her hands over her ears and shake her head slowly. Tre looked at me and then at her sadly. I wiped away a tear that was slowly trickling down my cheek.

I have to stay strong.

"I wanted to introduce y'all to somebody very special here tonight. How about that?" he looked back at me with a smile on his face as the crowd went wild.

I shook my head. Is he crazy? Introducing Cassie to all these thousands of people down below? I was careful not to mouth anything to him as anything I said or did could have been projected onto the jumbo screen and seen by everyone.

"Well now, Bob over here turns 28 today and-" he was cut off as the crowd screamed again. I shook my head and got up from my drum set, throwing my sticks to the ground and walking over to Tre.

"I'm done. I need them back," I said tearfully.

"You have to finish the set, I'll keep her here just go and-"

"You do it. I need to be with them, or at the very least with Cassie seeing as I can't be with Robbie and Josh."

"I don't know the songs!"

"Improvise. I'll say my wrist was hurting too much to carry on."

"Bob I-"

"Tre, look, my sons are missing. I don't even know them fully, they don't even know me that well, its my fucking birthday and I should be out partying right now but I'm sick with worry and I need them here! Nothing else matters to me anymore, I just need them back so badly."

"Nice to know," came a deep voice from behind me. I turned around, not recognizing the voice.

"Josh?" I whispered in disbelief.

"It's me," he said, again his voice was much deeper than the last time I had spoken to him. The door onto the rooftop opened and a shaky figure stepped out of the building and into the cold night air.

I grabbed both the boys in a tight hug, never wanting to let go. They hugged back and I could feel Cassie had joined in too, and hear her crying.

"Cassie don't cry, we're here," said Josh, wiping away a tear from his own face.

"I.. I missed you guys, what the hell happened? How did you get away?" I asked.

"We'll explain it all later," said Josh, hugging me again. I could feel Robbie was trembling and very weak, hardly even able to stay on his feet. They both looked terrible, bruised, exhausted, and like they hadn't been able to shower.

"Are you alright?" I asked Robbie as he swayed violently.

He shook his head and swayed again. I caught him and pulled him and Josh back into the building. The crowd below were making a hellish amount of noise, having just witnessed everything that had just occurred on the rooftop. Right now I couldn't care less. I walked all three of them into the dressing room as quickly as I could.

"I missed you so much," said Josh, hugging me again.

"Here guys, you're both frozen," I said, quickly pulling off my jacket and draping it around Robbie's shoulders. I looked around the room and noticed my other jacket laying on the side, I picked it up and handed it to Josh who quickly pulled it on.

I sat down on the couch, they were quick to follow and sit down very close to me so they could share my body heat. Cassie sat on my lap and I draped an arm over each of the boys shoulders, the back around to meet in the middle behind Cassie.

I held all three of them close as we sat in silence, no words were even needed. My children, my whole world, it was amazing how much they had changed me in just this short time.

"I love you," I said softly, without even thinking.

"I love you too Daddy," said Cassie.

"Me too, happy birthday," said Josh.

Robbie hadn't said a word but that was alright. He was here, he was seemingly unharmed, he was back and he was right here right now, and that was all I needed.

Josh was asleep within minutes, his head lolling onto his shoulder and most of his body draped across mine, trying to keep warm. Robbie fell asleep much slower, listening to the sounds of the band above and the crowd below. His whole body was trembling and I could feel every rib as he lay leaning against me, eventually he fell asleep.

"So Cass, you happy?" I asked quietly as not to wake the boys.

She nodded and smiled, stroking her brothers hair.

"It feels icky," she said, touching Robbie's hair again. I touched it with my fingers, it hadn't been washed in over a week by the state of it.

"They need a shower, a good meal and then a nice comfortable bed," I said quietly as the guys came into the room as quietly as they could.

"They alright?" asked Gerard, looking at the crumpled forms of Josh and Robbie sprawled on the couch and across me.

"As far as I can tell. They're not obviously hurt, except Robbie's hand," I said gently picking up his right hand and touching the broken skin lightly to see the damage. The skin was broken and his hand covered in dried blood that ran all the way down to his wrists.

"He should get that checked out. I'm so glad they're safe," said Mikey, pulling off his jacket.

"Yeah I'll go and find a first aider. I want to get them all outside in times square for midnight but I feel so mean waking them just for that," Josh stirred.

"Is it new year yet?" he mumbled sleepily.

"Not just yet, we have about ten minutes, do you want to go outside and watch?"

"Hell yeah, but we might be better to leave sleeping un-beauty here," he said, getting up carefully so he didn't disturb his twin.

Robbie raised his right arm and punched Josh in the chest. He winced, realizing that was the hand he had cut on something.

"You OK?" I asked, he blinked sleepily.

"Guys I got you some water," said Tre, coming over with two glasses of water for the twins.

"Thanks," said Josh, taking his and gulping down about half of it in one go.

Robbie sat up and took his wordlessly, drinking it slowly and then handing Tre the empty glass whilst looking around at us all with distant gray-blue eyes that looked so full of pain.

It hurt me to see them like this it really did. I needed to know what had happened with Darren so I could tell everything to the police and they could get a warrant to arrest him and hopefully put him away for a very long time.

"Let's go outside," said Frankie and there was a general murmur of agreement.

I had to practically carry Robbie down the corridor to the elevator, he was so weak I was starting to panic about what to do and decided that after the new years countdown was over, both boys would be paying a visit to the hospital to get completely checked out to make sure they aren't hurt. I noticed Josh was limping slightly and was avoiding people touching him, he had been very tense when I had hugged him earlier.

What if I hurt him? What if he was hurt and I made it worse because I didn't think and I just hugged him? Damn it I am the worst father in the world.

"Robbie this isn't a good idea, I think you need to go to the hospital," I said and the guys all looked at me and the twins concernedly as we walked outside, Robbie leaning heavily on Josh and I either side of him.

He shook his head.

"Robbie come on, next year we can watch or something, you really don't look well."

He shook his head again and a few fireworks went off as people flocked to watch the numbers count down on the huge screens.

I chose not to push the matter and just take him straight after this, so we crowded around with the rest of the band.

"Daddy! I can't see!" said Cassie, tugging on my sleeve so I noticed her.

"OK kiddo," I said, scooping her up ans sitting her on my shoulders so she could see everything going on around her.

"Wow," she said, looking out at the sea of people. I grinned and glanced at the boys. They were stood there quietly, Robbie now very pale and shaky looking.

"Ten! Nine! Eight!" well here comes the end of my birthday. The crowd counted down and I joined in, watching Robbie carefully as he looked very weak like he may pass out.

"Five! Four! Three! Two! ONE!" The whole square exploded with fireworks in the night sky and screams and cheers from the crowd gathered below. Thousands of people filled the square to watch, it was quite a sight to see.

"Happy birthday Dad," said Josh. I smiled.

"Thanks, it wasn't so great but now I have you all back here safe with me, it's the best present I could have ever asked for," I said, hugging the boys. Cassie hugged my head from where she was sat on my shoulders.

I felt Robbie shudder violently and then he started having a coughing fit.

"OK, come on, let's get you sorted out," I said gently, leading all three of them to my car, just ecstatic at having them all back alive.