We Couldn't Change It If We Tried

I gasped, my eyes wide. "Leave her alone," I said. Joe threw his arms around me.

Cory laughed. "See? You don't hate her as much as you like to pretend. And of course, there's the charming newlyweds. I owe your dear brother a black eye." We heard the contact as the guy punched someone, and an oof as it made contact. We all winced. "Now this is a family reunion. And lucky me. I actually get to be here for it. Say hi to mummy dearest Danielle."

"Dani, honey," her voice came again. I winced. Her voice sounded strained. "What's going on? Kevin's tied up. Blair's pregnant, and tied to a chair. And this man is pointing a gun at me. What is going on? Who is he?"

I gasped. "Mom, it's going to be okay. We're going to get you out of there. Everything's going to be okay. I promise."

Cory laughed. "Now, why would you make a promise you don't know you can keep. I mean, this woman has caused you great deals of pain. And in just a few seconds, I can make that all go away. She's be but a distant, sad memory, never to darken your steps again."

My mother screamed. I heard Blair's voice scream in protest too, begging him to stop. Never had I ever heard Blair sound so -- broken and fragile. Even when my mother was carted off to rehab, Blair was the level headed one. And now, she was -- begging. “Stop it,” I cried, the sounds of their voices too much for me. “Why are you doing this? Please don’t hurt them.”

Cory laughed. "I would never dream of doing anything to hurt your beautiful mother or your dear sister or her charming new husband."

"My baby," Denise gasped.

Paul put his arms around her before turning back to the phone. "Listen here, you give us back our family, or –"

"Or what," Cory asked. "You'll preach me to death? Seeing as I have Keviepooh and B. I don't really think you are in any position to make demands."

"What do you want," Joe asked.

Cory laughed. "Wow, you really are slow. I thought you would have figured it out by now. Any monkey could have. Now, the question really, is what does Danielle want?"

"She wants you out of her life," Joe spat.

"Thanks Fabio," Cory said. "Now why don't we let Danielle answer the next one? What is the thing you want right now Dani?"

"I want my sister back," I said.

"Wrong," Cory said, his voice smug. "That's what they have you believe you want."

"Oh really," I laughed. "Then what is it I want?" The thought of Blair at the mercy of this psycho had quelled all the fear in me. All that was left now was anger.

"You want to be free," he said simply. "You want to be away from the troubles of your life. You want peace, you want love, you want life. But over all, you want happiness. And the baby is taking it away from you. I can give you your life back."

I was quiet for a moment. Those were the things I wanted. Was that still what I wanted? Not with Cory, of course, but for me. I looked around at the faces of my family, my eyes finally landing on Joe's face. No, those weren't the only things I wanted anymore. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with the love of my life. "You're wrong," I said firmly. "None of those things matter without Joe, without my family." Denise put her hand on my shoulder. Joe squeezed my hand. Paul smiled at me. And Nick was glaring at the phone. This people were my family.

Cory laughed. "Your mind has been corrupted by the adolescents you surround yourself with. These people. They aren't your family. Try as they might. You'll always feel that whole because they separate you from what you want, unless you come with me."

"I don't want to go anywhere with you," I said. "I don't even want to be anywhere near you. Just give me back my family."

"Hmm, I don't think I will just yet," Cory said. "See you soon my love." He hung up.

"Did he just say see," Nick asked.

"I'll call the police," Paul suggested. "We need to find them fast." He left, going to get his phone.

Denise sighed. "I'll put on a pot of coffee. This is going to be a long night."

[&&&]

"Here you are babe," Joe sat me down at the table. I had become frozen, paralyzed by the thought of Blair and Kevin in the hands of that – psycho. I stared at the little phone we had put on the table, willing it to ring so that I could hear Blair again. So I could hear my mother.

"Here's a cup of coffee dear," Denise handed me a cup. She smiled at me. She turned to go get more cups.

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

She stopped in her tracks. Everyone was frozen, looking at me. "Why on earth are you sorry," she asked, confused.

"It's my stalker," I shrugged. "I'm the reason Kevin's been kidnapped. I brought this, all of this, on your family."

"Dani," Joe said. "Stop it."

"No Joe," I said. "This is my fault. You would have been better off without me."

"Dani, you are our family," Nick said. "So stop with the better without me crap because you're one of us."

"Because I'm carrying a Jonas," I mumbled.

"Danielle," Denise put her hand under my cheek. "This baby hasn't been born yet. Yes, it will be a Jonas, and yes, it will be loved. But honey, you've been a part of this family since the day we met you and you announced that Joe was your back-up, in case you couldn't find a guy by the time you were 30."

"Hey, I thought I was the back-up," Nick pretended to be hurt. I giggled.

"See," Joe laughed, putting his arm around me. "You are my family. You're my whole life."

I sighed. "It's still my fault Kevin's missing," I said quietly.

"True," Joe smirked. "If you weren't so hot, Cory wouldn't be so obsessed with you."

I laughed. Nick smirked too. "And you guys did see that tatoo of her. Of course he's obsessed with her.," he said. "Like I said before, kick ass body."

Denise and I glared at him. Joe just smirked at his little brother. "Unfortunately for you, little brother, she's all mine." He kissed me.

"The police should be here shortly," Paul said, coming into the room. He sat down as Denise handed him a cup. "Don't worry Dani. We'll find them."

I smiled, looking around at the faces of my family. But a painful shock went through my body as I realized -- part of my family was missing. And I didn't know if they were going to be back.

Joe seemed to notice my new tension, because he wrapped his arm around me tighter, smiling when I looked at him. He kissed my forehead. "It'll be okay Fanny."

The phone finally started ringing, paralyzing each of us in our spots.