"I need to report a kidnapping in process." Chris said, an overwhelming sense of panic enveloping him as he drove across town towards Kristen's apartment. He gripped the cell phone to his ear as he looked over his shoulder and changed lanes, passing a blue minivan that was driving way too slow.  Didn't they understand what kind of a rush he was in?

"A kidnapping in process?" The operator questioned. 

"Yes." Chris replied as he continued to weave in and out of traffic.

"Who is the victim, sir?"

"My girlfriend!" He exclaimed, becoming frustrated.

"And how are you aware of the attempted kidnapping?" The operator asked, while the sound of someone typing came over the line.

"I was on the phone with her!" Chris replied hotly, not liking the fact that it sounded like this person didn't believe him. "I'm not drunk."  He added for emphasis.

"I didn't--" The operator began but Chris cut her off.

"My girlfriend and I were talking on the phone." He explained, his chest tightening as he relived the last few minutes of the conversation he had had with Kristen.  "She, uh...she let out a muffled scream," he related, his breathing becoming quick and shallow.  He swallowed and fought past the lump forming in his throat.  "It sounded like she was fighting with someone then a deep voice came on the phone and said, ‘She's mine' and then the call was disconnected."  Chris paused, trying to gain control of his emotions.  He shouldn't have let her leave.  If he had fought harder to have her stay with him she wouldn't now be in the hands of a madman.  Chris put the brakes on as he came to a red light.  Anger and fear bubbled up inside of him.  "Damn it, I should have made her stay!" He exclaimed as he hit the steering wheel with his free hand.

"Sir?" The operator asked in question to his outburst.

Chris growled in frustration as the light he was sitting had seemed to have no intention whatsoever of changing to green.  He looked left and right.  No traffic was coming.  Why the hell won't this light change? No one is coming! 

"Sir?"  The emergency operator asked again.  "Sir, are you still there."

"Look," Chris said angrily as he made a snap decision--gunning his Escalade through the empty intersection.  "Send the SWAT team to the Oak Ridge apartments." He demanded as the familiar sound of a police siren suddenly caught his attention.

"Sir, the SWAT team doesn't--"

"Just do it." He said then disconnected the call as he looked in his rearview mirror at the red and blue flashing lights behind him.  Where the cop had come from, he had no idea, but Chris wasn't going to question it.  He knew he was being followed because of driving through that red light, but he wasn't stopping until he got to Kristen's apartment.  He stepped on the gas a little more and the Escalade's speed increased.  If that stupid 9-1-1 operator wasn't going to send anyone over to help him then Chris knew this one cop was his only hope.  "Follow me." He muttered under his breath as he began to once more weave in and out of traffic.  "Let's see if you can keep up."

~~~~~~~

By the time he made it to Kristen's apartment complex, the one cop that had begun following him after he had run the red light had turned into three.  He knew he was going to be in a shitload of trouble when he finally did stop, but he also knew that once they realized what was really going on, the police would turn their attention from him and focus it on where it really needed to be: on Kristen's abductor. 

Chris pulled into the apartment complex's parking lot and screeched to halt behind Kristen's Jeep--the cops right behind him.  Leaving the Escalade running, Chris opened his door and jumped out, running over to the car.  He heard the ordered command from the police for him to stop but he ignored it.  He looked inside the Jeep, but she wasn't there.  His heart racing he ran toward the stairs though he knew it was futile.  He knew she wasn't here.

Chris suddenly found himself shoved up against the side of the building, however, before he ever had the chance to make it up the stairs.  "You don't understand!" He exclaimed, fighting against the police officers who held him.  "You don't understand!  My girlfriend..." he continued to struggle as they pulled his arms back behind him.  "My girlfriend has been kidnapped!  I have to find her.  You have to help me find her!"  He continued as they zip tied his hands behind his back and pulled him away from the wall.  "Please," he pled.  "You--"

"You're under arrest." The officer holding him said as he led Chris toward one of the patrol cars.  A crowd had gathered to see what was going on and Chris thought he heard a helicopter.  He looked up, but the office forced his head back down.  "Reckless driving, criminal speeding, resisting arrest, driving under the influence--"

"I'm not drunk." Chris insisted as he was forced into the back of a patrol car. 

"Yeah, and I'm the Queen of England." The officer said as he looked down at Chris. 

"You don't understand!" Chris replied, trying to reason with the man.  "I--"

The officer slammed the door in his face, cutting off him off.  Chris let out a growl and then a yell of frustration and began throwing a fit--as much of a fit as he could throw in the backseat of a police car with his hands tied behind his back.  He looked out the window at the other apartment complex residents who were standing around watching the drama in interest.  Once of them had to have seen what had happened to Kristen.  If he could only get out and go talk to them he knew he would be able to show the police that he wasn't the bad guy.  Chris twisted in the backseat, putting his back to the door and tried to feel around for the door handle.  He grabbed it and tried to open the door but it wasn't budging.  He had to get out of this car!  He had to find Kristen!  He leaned back against the door, hoping that by adding some weight to it he would be able to get it to open.  It still wouldn't open.  No matter how hard or how many times he pushed against it, the door remained still. 

Finally, he gave up.

Collapsing back against the seat Chris felt the fight drain out of him.  There was nothing he could do.  He was stuck.  Of course he couldn't get out of the police car.  They designed these things to hold aggressive prisons and keep them from getting out.  Closing his eyes, Chris hung his head.  "I should have made her stay." He lamented as tears start to burn in his eyes.  "I should have made her stay."

~~~~~~~~

The phone call had come at just after midnight.  The voice on the other end of the line was familiar but the situation was so foreign that at first he hadn't believed what was being said. 

"This is a joke, right?" He asked, chuckling.  "How much have you had to drink tonight, man?"

"Why does everyone think I'm drunk?" Came the angry and frustrated reply on the other end of the line followed by a heavy sigh.  "Can you come get me, or not?  I can pay you back.  You know I'm good for it."

Joey's brows had furrowed as the reality of Chris' situation finally sank it.  "Yeah." He answered as he rolled out of bed.  "I'm coming."

Giving a kiss and a quick explanation to Kelly as to where he was going in the middle of the night, and grabbing his keys, Joey Fatone left his house, got into his car and drove across town to go bail one of his best friends out of jail.  When he arrived at the police station he checked in with the front desk, paid the required amount for Chris' release, and was then led back into the holding area.  He still couldn't believe this was real.  Even in their heyday when they had been partying and living up the unbelievable fame and fortune that had come their way, none of the boys of N SYNC had even done anything to warrant being arrested. Ten years later, Joey never would have suspected he would one day be standing here--looking at one of the men that he considered almost a brother behind bars.  Chris sat on a small bench that jutted out from the wall.  His arms were resting on his thighs and his head was bent. 

"Kirkpatrick." The detention officer called his name as he opened the holding cell.  Chris looked up, his eyes meeting Joey's for a brief second before darting away in humiliation.  "You're free to go."  Joey watched as Chris stood and walked toward the opening of the cell.  Joey smiled, hoping to lend the other man some support and comfort but Chris refused to look at him.  "Your wallet and keys are up at the front desk." The officer told them as he closed and locked the cell door behind Chris. 

"What about my car?" Chris asked.

"You can pick it up from impound in the morning." The officer informed them.  Chris sighed and nodded in acceptance. 

Joey put a hand up on Chris' shoulder, squeezing slightly.  "Come on." He said.  "I'll take you home."

~~~~~~

Chris followed Joey out of the police station and out into the parking lot.  Both men remained silent as they got into Joey's car and began driving across town.  Chris sat, staring out his window as Joey drove.  The silence stretched between them until finally, Joey cleared his throat.

"What happened?" Joey asked.  Chris remained staring out the window, watching the cars they passed.  "This..." Joey paused.  "This isn't like you, man.  What's going on?"

Chris turned to look at his friend who's eyes bounced back and forth between him and the road.  "Kristen's gone." He finally said, saying the words he'd been fighting back all night. 

"Did you guys break up?" Joey asked, sounding surprised.

"No." Chris shook his head.  He sighed.  "She was taken."

"Taken?" Joey asked, his eyes lingering on Chris.  Chris pointed out the windshield, reminding his friend that he was still driving.  Joey went back to watching the road.  "What do you mean she was taken?"

Chris relayed what had happened a few hours earlier.  "...which led to me being arrested and calling you." He finished. 

"Dude, you..." Joey shook his head as he searched for the words to say. 

"I know." Chris nodded.

"We need to go back to the police station and report this!" Joey exclaimed, slowing down the car.

"Won't do any good." Chris insisted with a shake of his head.  "They all think I'm crazy.  I told them that was why I was speeding.  I told them what happened a hundred times but they all just thought I was a drunk, raving, lunatic!" Chris threw his hands up in frustration.  "I've never felt so helpless in my entire life, Joe!  I just..." He jammed his fingers through his hair and huffed in frustration.  He turned to look at out the window.  "She's out there, Joe.  Someone has her and I don't know where she is or what to do."

~~~~~~~~

Kristen struggled to open her eyes.  Her head was a foggy, hazy cloud and her entire body felt like it was weighted down.  As she slowly climbed out of unconsciousness, her memory began to return. 

The arms grabbing her from behind.

The harsh slap across her face.

The crazed and evil look in his blue eyes.

The final blow that rendered her vulnerable to him.

Kristen's heart sped up and her breath hitched in her throat as she finally opened her eyes.  The room was dark, but she instantly recognized where she was as she looked around.  She had decorated this room.  She had hung those curtains.  She had slept in this bed for three years.

Kevin had brought her home.  But why?  Why had he attacked her?  Why had he hit her?  He had never hit her before.  Though he had turned out to be a cheating, low-life, scum bag he had never once raised his hand to her.  She slowly brought her hand up to her cheek, wincing slightly.  She knew she must have one hell of a black eye thanks to Kevin's recent bought of insanity.  What had she done to provoke the assault?  And why the hell had he brought her home? 

Moving slowly, Kristen rolled up and sat on the edge of the bed.  Reaching for the phone sitting on the nightstand she turned on the wireless headset and placed it against her ear--a sense of anxiety filling the pit of her stomach when she realized there was no dial tone.  She replaced the headset and futily patted her pockets, searching for the cell phone she knew wasn't there. Scrubbing her hands over her face, Kristen fought against the panic welling up inside of her as she tried to think of what to do; how to get out of this situation.  Don't panic.  She told herself.  You need to think.  Think, Kristen.  Don't panic.   She stood and walked around the bed and toward the door.  She stopped, however, as the door opened and Kevin appeared. 

"Oh good." He smiled brightly, opening the door wider and stepping fully into the room.  "You're awake."

"Have you completely lost your mind?!" Kristen asked him.

Kevin stopped and stared at her.  "I don't--"

"What the hell is your problem?!" Kristen exclaimed, her earlier panic completely giving way to full blown anger.  "Where the hell do you get off attacking me in the parking lot outside my apartment and bringing me back here?" She asked, stepping towards him. 

"Kristen, sweetheart--"

"Don't ‘sweetheart' me!"  She yelled.  "I am not your ‘sweetheart' anymore.  I never was your ‘sweetheart.'"

"That's not true." Kevin replied.  "I--"

"It is true, Kevin." Kristen nodded, cutting him off as she took another step towards him.  "It is true.  You want to know why?  Because if I had ever been your ‘sweetheart' you never would have done what you did to me." She told him.  "You never would have slept with every damn woman on the planet--including one of my closest friends!  What made it okay in your head to do that?"  She asked, her words coming faster and faster as her anger grew.  "I don't understand how you are able to act like you've done nothing wrong.  What happened to all those promises you made me?  Promises made in front of God."  She reminded him.  "You're mother is rolling over in her grave knowing what you've done and what kind of hell you've confined yourself to.  I just don't understand how--"

Kristen's rant was cut off as Kevin stepped toward her, closing the space between them as he roughly grabbed her upper arms. 

"Don't." He hissed, his blue eyes hardening. 

"What?" Kristen asked with a laugh.  "Are you afraid of what mommy would say if she were here?  Does the thought of her knowing what you've done scare you?  You don't scare me.  I--"

Her head snapped to the side as Kevin backhanded her like he'd done earlier outside her apartment.  Her face throbbed--pain radiating from the abused flesh--and tears stung her eyes but she refused to cry in front of him.  She gritted her teeth as she pulled her shoulders back as much as she could and slowly turned back to face him.  "Cheating on me not doing it for you anymore?" She asked.  "You've moved on to hitting me now?"

"You asked for it." Kevin informed her.  "You never did know when to stop that mouth of yours.  I warned you a long time ago that it was one going to get you into trouble.  That day has come." 

"You're a bastard." Kristen spat.  "And I hope you rot in hell.  You are a weak, spineless, manipulative, power-hungry, ego-maniac who needs to be locked away in a padded cell!  You're delisional and completely psychotic--"

She was cut off as he hit her again.  Kristen blinked and shook her head, her stomach rolling--the pain making her want to throw up.  She fought against the black spots beginning to blur her vision.  She wasn't going to faint again.  She had no idea what he would do to her if she was unconscious again.  "You have no right to hold me here against my will." She told him, struggling to free herself from his grasp. 

"You're my wife." He replied, his grip on her tightening.  "Legally, I can do whatever the hell I want to you." He informed her.  Kristen's stomach turned at the look in his eyes.  The fear was starting to overshadow her anger again and her breathing picked up speed as she began to realize how precarious her situation really was.  Kevin wasn't a big guy, but he was strong.  He was a lot stronger than she was and Kristen knew he could kill her if he wanted to. 

"Why won't you let me go?" She asked, voicing the question that she had been asking since this whole thing started.  "Just sign the damn papers and we can both get on with our lives!  I'm giving you everything." She told him.  "Let me go."  She pled.  She hated that she was reduced to begging this man for anything, but if it would get her out of this situation she would do it.  She would beg. 

"Kristen, Kristen, Kristen." Kevin tisked, shaking his head as if he were talking to an unruly child.  "You just don't get it, do you?  It's not over until I say it's over." He told her.  "I don't want you to give me everything."

"Then what do you--"

"I want to take everything from you." He continued, talking over her. 

Kristen's brows furrowed as she looked at him.  He really was crazy.  He had completely lost his mind.  She was trapped inside this house with a man who had gone completely off his rocker and no way to call for help.  Her heart began to race and she swallowed--trying to come up with some way to get out of this mess.  If she could find her cell phone she could call Chris and he would come.  She knew he would. 

"This popstar that you're screwing has messed around with your head, my dear." Kevin continued in a condescending tone.  "Why do you want me to let you go, when I'm the only one who's willing to overlook all your faults?  Do you honestly think that other guy is going to marry you?" He laughed.  "He could have any woman on the planet!  Why would he settle for you?"

"You tell me?" Kristen countered.  "You've had every woman on the planet."  Kevin's eyes narrowed dangerously.  "Why did you marry me?  Because I was naïve?  Because I was the cover you needed to look like a decent guy when in reality you're a man-whore who can't keep his dick in his pants for more than ten seconds.  You need some serious help, Kevin."  She continued.  "This isn't normal behavior.  It isn't normal to constantly be sleeping with a different woman every night."

"You don't think your new boy-toy hasn't?" Kevin replied.  "When he was living the life of a rockstar, you don't think he had a different woman in his bed every night?" 

Kristen shook his head.  "No." She told him.  "I don't think that."

"Because you are naïve." Kevin stated.  "You're naïve if you think you are anything special to him.  I love you." He insisted, pulling her closer.  Kristen turned her head away from him and tried to pull back as much as she could. 

"You certainly have a funny way of showing it." She told him.  She finally succeeded in putting her hands on his chest between them.  She pushed away from him with all her strength and finally succeeded in breaking his grip on her arms.  Her skin burned from the friction of his hands being pulled away and she looked down-not surprised to see bruises beginning to form beneath the reddened skin.  "Look, the bottom line is:  I don't love you anymore, Kevin." She stated firmly.  "I don't love you and I don't want to be married to you anymore."  He stepped towards her and she backed away.  He continued to advance and she continued to retreat, moving back around the bed. 

"I'm not letting you go." Kevin informed her.  Kristen put her hands behind her, trying to feel for the wall.  She didn't want to be trapped with nowhere to go.  "You're mine." He told her, a look of determination in his eyes and Kristen knew, if she didn't get out of the house he was going to kill her. 

Kevin continued backing her toward the wall and she stumbled slightly as she ran into the nightstand.  Her hand bumped against the lamp and she grabbed it tightly, praying for strength.  Swinging her arm around as forcefully as she could, she hit Kevin in the head with the lamp.  He stopped, looking at her dazed--surprised registering in his blue eyes for a brief second before being replaced once more with the malicious glint that had been there for the last thirty minutes.  Kristen hit him again before he could stop her and he stumbled back, away from her. 

"How does it feel?" She asked, moving forward and raising the lamp in threat again.  "To be hit?" She brought the lamp down on him again.  She'd never been more thankful for the heavy, metal lamp that Kevin had insisted on buying when they'd first gotten married and moved in to the house. 

"You're going to pay for this, bitch." Kevin spat as he fell to his knees. 

Kristen bent down so she was looking in his eyes.  "I don't think so." She told him.  She hit him once more and watched with a sick sense of satisfaction as he fell completely to the floor--unconscious.  She stood there for a moment, the lamp slipping from her hands as the adrenaline began to die down.  Her hands began shaking and she jumped in surprise as a dog suddenly began barking outside.  That jolt was all she needed to get her body moving.  She hurried from the room--stepping over Kevin's still form--wrenched open the bedroom door and literally ran down the stairs.  She ended up in the kitchen, searching for her cell phone.  "Where is it?" She asked, her voice rising in panic.  Her breathing was reaching the point of hyperventilating as she continued to search, finding nothing.  She tried the kitchen phone-same as the bedroom: no dial tone.  Finally, she walked into the family room, keeping an ear trained the whole time for if Kevin woke up.  She spotted Kevin's Blackberry sitting on the coffee table and sent up a quick prayer of gratitude.  Picking it up, she dialed the first number that came to mind.

"Hello?" His hesitant voice came over the line--obviously confused about the strange number calling him. 

The tears she had been holding back since she'd awoken began falling.  "Chris." She sobbed, unable to get out anything else.

"Kristen?" He asked, instantly alert.  "Kristen, baby, is that you?  Where are you?  What's going on?"  She collapsed on the couch as she continued crying, clinging to the phone that was her only connection to him at the moment.  "I'm coming to get you." He said.  "Where are you?" 

Somehow she managed to tell him the address of the house and he assured her he was in the car and would be there in minutes.  "Call the cops." She told him.

"You might want to do that." He told her with a laugh that sounded more like a sob.  Kristen's tears increased at the evidence of his emotion.  "They kind of think I'm crazy.  I'll explain later." He assured her. 

"Okay." She replied, her tears calming slightly.  She gasped in panic as she heard a noise coming from upstairs.  "Hurry."  She plead.

"I am." He reassured.  "Call the police.  I'm almost there.  I promise."

Kristen begrudgingly ended the call and did as he requested.  She called 9-1-1, the operator assuring her that help was on the way then she waited what felt like an eternity for someone to arrive.  Her heart was pounding and her breathing rapid and shallow as she sat on the couch, her eyes closed, praying for Chris to show up before Kevin woke up.  She didn't know if she had the strength to fight him again.  She jumped and let out a scream when someone began pounding on her front door. 

"Kristen?" She heard Chris' muffled voice yell through the door and she scrambled off the couch and all but ran towards the front door.  She fumbled with the lock-her shaking hands preventing her from opening it as quickly as she wanted to-and threw herself into his arms when she finally succeeded.  She cried against him, her body shaking with the almost painful sobs that consumed her, and he held her tightly.

"Oh thank God, thank God, thank God." He kept repeating over and over again as they stood there in the doorway, neither one moving.  "I love you." He told her.  "You're safe.  I'm here.  I'm here." He soothed, his hands running over the back of her head before tightening his arms around her in a death-like squeeze.  Kristen could hardly breathe as Chris held her in his strong arms but she didn't care.  All that mattered was that he was there.  He had come to save her.  She didn't hear the police sirens as they approached and didn't realize law enforcement had arrived to take care of Kevin until they came up to her and Chris.

"Ma'am?" One of the officers cleared his throat, finally drawing Kristen's attention to the fact that she and Chris were no longer alone.  She looked up at him.  "We got a report of an intruder?" He asked. 

Kristen stepped out of Chris' arms and moved aside.  "Upstairs in the master bedroom." She pointed.  The officer nodded and waved at the others behind him.  Kristen watched as they hurried up the stairs, guns drawn, and made their way into the bedroom.  Chris put the fingers of one hand beneath her chin and turned her face back toward his.  His brown eyes ran over her face, taking in the bruise she was sure covered most of it and he frowned--his lips pulling downward and a crease appearing between his eyebrows.  He lifted his hand and gently placed it against her tender and sensitive skin.  Kristen winced slightly but put her hand over his, holding it in place against her.  "It will heal.  I'm okay." She assured him.  "I'm okay." 

Chris said nothing, just put his arms around her again and pulled her against him.  "I thought I lost you." He admitted, his voice quiet and shaky.  "I didn't know..." he had to stop and Kristen's tears began falling again.  She tightened her arms around him.  "I didn't know what I was going to do without you." He confessed.  She looked up at him and he kissed her--the desperation he had been feeling pouring into her with every move of his lips against hers.  The desperation and pain gave way to a deep passion as they both clung to each other. 

Once again they were interrupted by the police as they came clunking down the stairs, Kevin secured between them with his hands behind his back.  He turned as if to speak to her as he passed by but the officer closest to him put his hand on Kevin's head and forced it back down so he was looking at the floor.  Kristen felt Chris tighten his arms around her and turn them slightly in a protective stance so that he was between her and Kevin. 

"I want to go home." Kristen said as the police and their prisoner left the house. 

Chris shook his head. "I don't want you staying at your apartment by yourself tonight--"

"No." Kristen said, cutting him off.  "I want to go home."  She repeated.  "With you.  Take me home?" She asked. 

Chris looked at her for a moment, his brown eyes registering his shock and disbelief.  "You...are you... for good?"  He questioned and Kristen could see he was battling not to get his hopes up.  "Or just for tonight?"

"For good." She replied.  Chris let out a heavy sigh of relief and once more gathered her in his arms.  Kristen laid her head against his chest.  "For good."