Tay and Ike took turns driving, looking for Emma on all the beaches they could get to, but finding nothing. Finally, it was Tay who suggested they get some sleep and start again later. "She's not gonna do anything but find a place to park her car and crash. I got the impression that she does it alot, when she and Zac were talking last night." Tay told his brother. "Damn.." Ike sighed. "This is more messed up that I ever thought things could get. You should have said something when you realized she wouldn't." Ike admonished, gently. "I know.." Tay sighed. "But she'd promise me every time I asked her that she'd tell him. I did everything but get on my knees and beg. And I did call Jack to help her get out of there. She didn't tell Zac 'cause she's afraid to face him." he said. "EMMA? AFRAID? That girl is afraid of absolutely NOTHING." Ike said, incredulous. "She scared as hell to face Zac and she won't do it unless he finds HER. Or we do, and drag her ass back here to talk to him." Taylor said as they went into their bedroom and shut the door. "Well then we better do it or he will be impossible to live with for YEARS.." Ike sighed and flopped down on his bed. "Yeah..." Tay agreed and flopped down on his bed. He laid awake, wondering if Zac would be able to find her. Zac drove through every parking lot of every beach he'd ever been to with Emma, including Santa Monica. The pier looked like a ghost town at this time fo the morning, all the bright lights and milling people being non-existent at 4am. He even went as far as to walk under the pier and then out to the end of it, though the wind was cold and clouds were rolling in. He shook his head hard and tried to concentrate on finding Emma and making her talk to him, instead of letting his mind drift to the first night he'd kissed her almost in this very same spot, but it was futile. He was feeling hurt and angry to begin with, now he just felt a big empty void where his heart used to be. He closed his eyes and silently prayed that he'd be able to find her SOON, before the storm that was threatening rolled in. He KNEW she was asleep on a beach somewhere, he just had to figure out which one. He decided to get home and sleep a little, then look for her when it was light out. She'd still be on whatever beach she'd run to, maybe even surfing to clear her head. He drove home at breakneck speed, trying to get there before his parents woke up and get some sleep. His eyes were burning holes in his head, his body felt like lead and was sore in spots from trying to beat that creepy looking asshole into non-existence. He pulled in his driveway, went quietly into the house and into his bedroom. He laid down on his bed and stared at the ceiling, until he felt his brother's blue gaze on him. His eyes met Tay's, and he could see the unspoken question there. "No," he whispered, "I dunno where she is, you still should have told me." he said and rolled over, missing the tears that welled up in his brother's eyes.
		Taylr waited for Zac to fall asleep, then grabbed his keys and jacket and headed back out the door. He found himself back at Jen's, and sat there wondering if it was too early for him to knock. He looked up at her window and saw her move across the room behind the sheer drapes with Hannah on her hip, so he went to the door and knocked. She opened it right away, with an expectant look on her face. "Did she tell him?" she asked without saying hello. Taylor shook his head, no and she motioned for him to come inside. Hannah giggled and reached for him, and he took her from Jen's arms without a second thought. "Hi sweetie.." he said and grinned at her cute little chubby smile, letting her grasp his finger. She tugged on his hair with her other hand and he chuckled. "Gimme my hair back you silly girl.." he told her and gently removed the strands from her little fingers so they wouldn't cut her tender skin. Jen smiled warmly at that exchange then turned questioning eyes on Taylor. "Yeah...how much TIME DO you have?" he asked and she groaned. "Coffee, Tay?" she asked. "Please.." he sat down and played with Hannah while Jen got him a cup of coffee, one of those plastic cups with the spill proof lids you can buy at any gas station/convenience store. "I'd give you a real cup," Jen chuckled, "but Hannah seems to think that anything YOU are drinking belongs to her." "It's okay, Jen. I just need caffeine." he told her. "Okay. So what happened?" she asked and he told her the whole ugly story.  "Jen I SWEAR.." he began, knowing he could add a few things that were eating at him. "I thought about it..for a split second. But you KNOW I wouldn't do that to Zac. I just felt so bad for her..oh and she'll probably chew your ass big time.." he grinned. "Why me?" she asked folding her arms over her chest. "'Cause you told me about Danny. She would have taken that to her grave. I doubt any of us will ever hear the whole story." he said. "We looked all night, every beach we could think of.." he said and sighed, taking another sip of coffee and lifting Hannah to his knee. "Where else should we look, Jen?" his blue eyes begged her to give him SOMETHING, a starting place at least. "Don't." she told him. "Don't what?" he asked. "Don't chase her down, she'll just run farther and faster. I know what she's afraid of. She'll call me. You said Zac had her license and her purse?" she asked. He nodded in reply. "Okay, Taylor. She will contact me, cause she'd rather starve now than set foot in the bar, but to work," she paused for a moment, "and she will look for another job, she can't just bum on the beach, she knows she needs money to survive. She'll have to get her license replaced and she'll want to have it mailed here. I'll try and talk her into coming here and taking care of some of her laundry, or sleep in a bed or something that I know she'll be missing. As soon as I hear from her, you guys will be the first to know. This is ridiculous.." she muttered. "And if you wanna stay best friends with your brother then you better snap your ass out of it.." she told him, forcefully. He looked shocked and nodded, then disentangled Hannah's fingers from his hair again. Jen chuckled, "God she's just like her mother.." "What?" Tay couldn't help but grin. "Damn kid's already got a thing for sweet men with long blonde hair and blue eyes.." she looked directly at Taylor and smiled warmly as he chuckled and set Hannah down. "Gotta get some sleep sweetie.." he told her as she looked up at him with her big gray eyes. "I'll come over and see you later, okay?" he ruffled her blond curls and kissed her chubby little cheek, making her giggle. Jen had to pick her up, to keep her from following Tay out the door, which made them both laugh. "Thanks Jen." Tay said, and gave her a quick hug. "
	"Bye, Tay. She'll get in touch with me soon, you guys are welcome anytime though.." she told him and tiptoed up, with Hannah on her hip, to kiss his cheek. "I know you wouldn't hurt either one of them on purpose, Tay." she said softly. "It will be alright. There's something else I should tell you, but I don't know if I should.." she said and shifted Hannah to her other hip. "Jen," he grinned, "Be brutal if you want..you know more than anybody else in this whole crappy mess anyway." "Well since you put it like that.." she chuckled and shifted Hannah again. "I don't think that you are really in love with her." she stated. He waited for her to continue. "I think you want what they have, but not HER, or you wouldn't give a rat's ass if Zac was in love with her or not. Think about it.." she told him. "Ike and Kim are close, and if he lost his voice or his fingers and couldn't sing or play, she wouldn't care. I'm hearing wedding bells in the not-so-distant future for them." she smiled. "And if Zac couldn't play, if he lost his arms, Emma would just take care of him, she loves ZAC. Not the drummer, though she teases him with it all the time," she went on. "You want that. someone who loves YOU. Not Taylor the singer, Taylor the piano man, Taylor of Hanson. Just Tay. Plain and simple. Angel's voice or not." she squeezed his hand. "It'll come, if you quit looking so hard." she smiled again. "Anyway..." she changed the subject quickly. "You guys will be the first to know when I hear from the hard headed little wench." she giggled. "I'm sure she's fine. And you guys don't be strangers, Hannah would miss you. And so would I." she squeezed his hand again and the closed the door behind her, leaving him standing there with his brain pounding.
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