bitten_notshy | Hotel Room of Handwavy, Monday Afternoon (Reply)

When Jack last heard from Emma, he was reasonably satisfied things had been as worked out as they needed to be. Alex Cabot was in her office; all was right with the world.

His unease started to grow as the hours ticked by and she never picked up her phone, even to gloat at him for a moment before dashing off somewhere else.

He hadn't left the island yet, so it was trivial to start making phone calls to see if anyone had heard from Emma, or if it was time for a search and rescue expedition. If everything was fine, they'd have a nice dinner in New York or Boston before they all went home. If everything wasn't fine --

Well. At least a good lawyer was still on their side.

Alex Karev	Digging his phone out of his pocket, Alex glanced at the caller ID and decided he could take this call. "Yeah?" he asked, unsure what this could be about but sounding alert nonetheless. "What's going on, Jack?"
Jack Priest	"Probably nothing," Jack said. "Did Emma mention heading out of town to you? She's not picking up calls, and we were supposed to check in before I left."
Alex	"Uh." Alex paused and pulled the phone away from his ear just to scroll through his messages and missed calls. He saw nothing from Emma though. "Yeah, nothing here, man. You think something's wrong?"
Jack	Jack sighed. "Normally I wouldn't," he said. "It's Emma. She doesn't exactly come when called. But after all the mess with her father ... it doesn't feel right for her to drop out of sight. Can you check her room and the safe space up on the sixth floor? Maybe she just needs some time alone." If she was sleeping off her stress, he was going to feel like a right idiot. If she wasn't sleeping alone -- well, at least Alex would get to deal with that particular awkwardness instead of him.
Alex	Frowning, Alex started nodding before he realized Jack couldn't see that. "Yeah, I see what's the what. Her room, sixth floor and I'll even scream out the window for good measure." He was trying to keep it light even if he was frowning.
Jack	"Maybe rattle some jewelry to lure her out," Jack said, also trying to keep it light. "I'm going to check with some other people too, and then I'll get back to you." He was already thinking ahead to what they'd do if Emma didn't turn up, but he was trying hard to convince himself those thoughts were just him worrying too much again. Still. It never hurt to have a plan.
Alex	"Got it," Alex said, managing a tight laugh as he said it. He was already heading for the door, phone still pressed to his ear to say his goodbyes. "Talk to you soon, then."

Karla di Glacia, Angry Queen.	"Jack!" Karla's voice was filled with malicious amusement as she answered her phone. "Please tell me you're calling with another lovely tidbit about how Winston's been sent home crying, ears pinned back and his tail between his legs!" Karla had seen the bruises Winston had left on Emma. The room had gone a bit chilly when she'd learned where and how Emma had gotten them. "Ooh! Or better yet, tell me he needs a slightly more severe lesson delivered. Here, I'll save you the trouble of asking. I volunteer."
Jack Priest	"Not precisely," Jack said, trying to sound measured about it. Ordinarily he would have freely added to Karla's fantasizing, but he was feeling just stressed enough that it would have stuck in his throat. "I think Emma's turned her phone off, or -- something. You haven't spoken with her today, have you?"
Karla	And there went all of Karla's amusement, leaving her voice rather flat as she answered, "No. No, I haven't. Not since I Healed her after the meeting you all had." She reached out with her mind. Emma! she sent out on a psychic link with enough force to cause someone's mental 'ears' to ring. If Emma was about, it would be enough to make her respond back, probably with a mental smack to the back of Karla's head. Nothing. "I just tried paging her," she said back into the phone. "No response. Have you called Sookie yet?" If not, perhaps the two of them could coordinate their mental efforts...
Jack	"Not yet," Jack said equally flatly, as hope drained out of him like an exhalation. "I had Karev check around campus, but if he found her he hasn't called back yet." Which meant he hadn't. He hunched forward toward his phone before adding, "I don't like this, Karla. Emma's independent but wouldn't be cruel enough to vanish like this. Do you want to talk to Sookie, or should I?"
Karla	"Do you have other people to call?" Karla asked. "Why don't you call them and I'll coordinate with Sookie. We can cover the island and then some, especially if I'm boosting her range." If Emma was anywhere nearby, Karla and Sookie could find her, even if she was somehow being unable to respond to them...for whatever reason. And that line of thought made her reluctantly add, "I don't like this either. Maybe we've just gotten paranoid over the years, but what I know about her family, they're not the type of people to let things go without a fight."
Jack	"Not at all. And if she were going to Boston -- intentionally -- she might have taken Peter Bishop with her, since he's local," Jack realized. "I'll call him." Never mind that the whole Emma and Peter situation made him want to grind his teeth a bit; that was hardly Peter's fault. "Is there anyone else we should get in touch with? She missed a meeting with Alex Cabot, too."
Karla	"If she's going to Boston, she'd better be going to his Boston," Karla said grimly, refusing to believe that Emma would be so foolish as to flaunt herself in Winston's home territory. She was brazen, but she wasn't stupid. "I can't think of anyone else, but if I run into anyone, I'll check with them?" she offered, already sending out a mental prod to Sookie. "And as soon as we find out anything, you'll know." Possibly without the benefit of a phone call, depending on how urgent the situation was.
Jack	Jack could believe Emma would be exactly foolish enough to go to her Boston to prove a point, especially if she thought she had an upper hand. "All right," he said grimly. "I suppose one way or another, I'll talk to you before long."
Karla	"Damn right you will," Karla said. "All right. You finish making your calls, and Sookie and I will do what we can." She hung up then, not even bothering to say good-bye as she filled Sookie in on what was going on.

Karla	As soon as Jack explained that Emma was currently AWOL and hadn't checked in with anyone in hours, Karla was pinging Sookie. There was always the possibility that Emma'd decided to go off and do something graduation-related and had told Sookie about it, right? Extreme optimism aside, between the two of them, they could cover a pretty impressive amount of territory. If Emma was anywhere near Fandom Island, their combined mental powers could find her. Sookie? Make me a very happy Karla and tell me you've heard from Emma recently, will you?
Sookie Stackhouse	<< Should I have? >> It wasn't as though Sookie was in the middle of anything important, honestly -- she was writing thank you notes for graduation presents she'd already received (and frankly never wanted, but thank you for the book on homemaking, Maxine Fortenberry) -- but now that a cold dread was settling into the pit of her stomach, Sookie set her stationery aside. You just didn't get that kind of call in Fandom and have it be good news. << Please tell me you guys just had plans or something and this isn't a hold-the-phones, our-friend-was-kidnapped situation. Have you scanned around for her, yet? I can try and find her brain. >>
Karla	One day, this kind of call would go out and the person involved would be found sleeping off a bender somewhere, their phone off, perfectly all right. Karla had a sinking feeling today was not that day. *I'm not entirely sure,* she sent, knowing Sookie would pick up her concern over the psychic thread. Jack hasn't heard from Emma in hours and she missed a meeting with Professor Cabot. With everything that's been going on, that's just not like her, you know? So he's calling around asking if people had seen her, and I tried calling for her and got nothing. But maybe she's sleeping-- or unconscious, or drugged, or similarly incapacitated --and just didn't hear me? I thought your brain-finding abilities might come in handy.
Sookie	<< I'll still hear her if she's asleep, >> Sookie noted in agreement, her mental voice turning vague as she turned her mind out to the entirety of the dorms, searching quickly for the familiar spark of Emma's mind. Nada. Plenty of other telepaths, certainly, and there was the familiar hum that mutants and aliens and supes in general gave off, and plenty of human thoughts, but nothing that signaled Emma's particular brain signature. << She isn't in the dorms, >> she added after a moment, her own anxiety rising and pouring through the thread. << Where are you, honey? We'd cover more ground together. >> Worst came to worst, Sookie was willing to set aside her morals and peek in people's thoughts to see if anyone housed a clue and wasn't sharing. But she would keep that as a last resort.
Karla	*On my way to your room.* A kind of grim amusement followed that statement and, a moment later, a knock on the door before Karla poked her head in. "Not anywhere in the dorms or the school," she continued aloud, making the switch without really even thinking about it. "I haven't had a chance to check the town yet, or over the Causeway to Baltimore." She raised an eyebrow at Sookie. "What do you think? With me boosting your telepathy...we could probably check some of the surrounding cities, right?" Or possibly states.
Sookie	"Hello, dear," Sookie said, making room on her bed so Karla could take a seat if she wanted. "I can do it, yeah, if you're boosting the...signal, for lack of a better word." Like a satellite dish. Sookie was going to be in dire need of something for her head after, but this was Emma. It wasn't even a question. "She can't have gone far, can she?" she asked fretfully. "...though, I mean, with portals, she could be anywhere, but let's not think like that."
Karla	"I don't know," Karla said, biting her lip and glancing out the window. "I'm trying to think of places she would go or visit and there really aren't any local, once we exclude Baltimore and the island." Emma made her opinions about most places quite clear, after all. "But I'd rather have us check anyway. Just because I can't think of any, doesn't mean that it's true. She might have found a fabulous store somewhere and just lost track of time?" Cling to straws a little harder there.
Sookie, beacon of hope.	"That sounds like her," Sookie agreed, clinging to that just as much. "If you can reach me out, I can check as far out as...well, as far as you can reach." Mmm, redundancy. "She'll be easy to find. Telepaths sound different, and Emma in particular."
Karla	Karla nodded and reached for Sookie's hand, pulling down her shields and deftly linking to Sookie with the ease of long practice. On her chest, her Sapphire started to glow faintly as she fed the power to her friend, bolstering Sookie's range. Ready when you are.
Sookie	Sookie closed her eyes, feeling a surge in her abilities. She could look anywhere, and immediately, voices started to filter in without her control. She pushed out with her mind, ignoring the hum of the dorms, pressing forth into town. A few minutes passed as she searched the usual Emma haunts -- the Devil's Nest, Pixie Dust, the Perk -- and found no trace. A quick sweep over the town proper found none of Emma's usual glittering, silent presence, not even in the preserve or by the beach. << She isn't on the island, >> Sookie said, her mental voice vague and far away. << Mainland? >>
Karla	Karla's assent was more a feeling than actual communication. Boosting Sookie's telepathy with Craft was more complicated than it sounded. Not only did she have to control the flow of power from her to Sookie to keep it from possibly overwhelming her, she was also trying to help shield Sookie from the stray thoughts that were open to them both. There was also the tiny problem of keeping them from melding too one another too closely. Even linked, the boundaries between what was Sookie and what was Karla needed to remain perfectly clear. In all? By the time this ended, they'd both have a pretty awful headache. Possibly even the same one.
Sookie	Sookie sifted through brain after brain once they'd reached the coast. She felt far away from her body, like she was floating through space, and every step further tugged a little at her mental strings, stretching. It took long -- longer than Sookie liked to stay in her own head, or linked to another -- but she hadn't been willing to give up until she was sure. << No. >>
Karla	Karla's shoulders slumped as she disengaged. Her brain felt melty, like a piece of taffy that had been pulled too many times. I-- Wincing, she switched to speaking verbally. "Dammit. I'd hoped..." They both had. "All right, let me call Jack," she said quietly. "And then I think I'm going to go lay down for a little while and drink headache teas." Speaking of, she was going to leave a few on Sookie's nightstand. Owie. "Thanks for looking with me. I'll keep you in the loop?"
Sookie	"Of course," Sookie said aloud, trying to hide her wince as her headache pounded with every pulse. "Please keep me in the loop, honey. I'm sorry I couldn't -- " She broke off, figuring Karla would get it. "We'll find her. Whatever it takes. Even if it means doin' that again and again."

Peter Bishop	Peter didn't recognize the number on his caller ID, but answered anyway. "Peter Bishop speaking," he said, curious as to who was calling.
Jack Priest	"Jack Priest," Jack responded crisply. "I'm sorry to bother you, but you and Emma didn't go away for the day, did you? She's not on the island from what we can tell."
Peter	"She's not?" Peter said, pausing for a moment. "No, she's definitely not with me. And you're not so much bothering as now I'm wondering where she's run off to." He wasn't too concerned, but it seemed odd she'd go off without telling anyone.
Jack 'Has a Very Bad Feeling About This' Priest	"It might be time for a search party," Jack said, sounding resigned. "Normally I'd assume she went to see Hank, but ... well, I don't like that she's gone so soon after her family was here. Do you think she'd go to Boston if they asked?"
Peter	"I really wish I knew the answer to that question," Peter said. "But it does seem odd that she'd go off so soon without telling anyone. Not that she owes it to anyone, but... why isn't she answering her phone, then?"
Jack	"And she didn't check in with her lawyer. She was supposed to," Jack added, genuinely worried by now. "Psychics looked and got nothing on or near the island. Peter, I think it's time to go hunting. Fancy a day trip?"
Peter 'my girlfriend causes multiversal problems' Bishop	"Time to circle the wagons," Peter agreed. "Just tell me when and where, and I'll be there." Normally, he'd have just rushed off my himself. But given it was probably dealing with Emma's universe, the help of others was definitely needed.