Playing with fire (Amelia Shepherd) ABANDONED

thirty four

"Vic?" Mallie mumbled, picking up the phone call at three am.

"Can you come to Dean's?" Vic cried.

"What's wrong?" Mallie sat up sharply in bed, accidentally waking Amelia up.

"Ben and Dean disappeared during the dinner and so did Chief Gregory and nobody can find them anywhere so I came to stay with Pru because that's what Miller would want me to do and now I'm panicking because what if something bad happened? What if they're dead and Pru's an orphan and who's gonna raise her, 'cause Dean's parents can't because they're assholes and JJ disappeared-"

"You're spiraling," Mallie said, climbing out of the bed. "I'm coming over, okay? Where's Pru?" Mallie asked, grabbing a hoodie.

"She's sleeping in my arms. I can't let her go," Vic mumbled.

"Okay, stay right there and stay calm. I'll be half an hour," Mallie said.

She ended the call and threw the phone on the bed, wriggling into the hoodie.

"Ben and Dean disappeared during that meal tonight with Chief Gregory and nobody knows what happened, so Vic went to Dean's place to be with Pru and now she's spiraling. I'm gonna call Maya, tell her we need to get search and rescue out on the water at the first sign of light," Mallie mumbled.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Amelia asked.

"We can't both leave the kids and we cannot take five kids to a house boat where Vic is waiting to find out if the baby she's holding is an orphan or not," Mallie said.

She kicked her feet into her sliders and quickly kissed Amelia.

"I'll text you, I promise. I love you," she said.

"I love you," Amelia mumbled.

"I am so mad at the pair of you," Mallie glared at Ben and Dean as they were wheeled towards the ambulances on stretchers, having washed up on the beach.

Vic was clinging to her hand and Dean's as they walked beside them, crying floods of tears. Bailey was ordering the medics around, while Robert and Travis helped the medics getting the men to the ambulance.

"Where's Pru?" Dean croaked.

"With Amelia. She's fine and living her best life at baby sensory class this morning with my lot," Mallie said.

Dean smiled weakly.

"Your wife is a godsend," Dean said.

"Tell me about it. I've bagged a good one," Mallie sighed, helping tug Vic away from him as the medics got them into the ambulances. "I am still so mad at the two of you, though," Mallie said.

"We expected that," Ben said tiredly.

"Jumping overboard in the dark? No common sense or braincells between the pair of you, I swear to god," Mallie said.

"In our defence-" Dean started.

"No, let me be mad," Mallie held her hand up. "We'll follow you to the hospital," she added.

"Okay," Ben nodded.

"Okay," Mallie sighed, rubbing her face tiredly as she looked around Maya and Carina's apartment.

Maya was finishing up her shift, so Mallie had text Carina and offered to help her pack for Italy, which Carina had happily accepted.

"How do you pack for a trip that could last for any period of time?" Carina said.

"I think you probably pack everything you own?" Mallie said unsurely. "But if you're gonna be in the hospital a lot, I'm sure you won't need a lot of actual clothes. You can rewear the ones you take for a few weeks," Mallie said.