Mystic Falls - Saturday Afternoon, FHT

[need_no_moon]

It was a pretty quiet, but busy day at the garage. One of the guys had fallen ill and the boss had gone off to help someone out whose car had broken down. It meant that he had the place to himself and he could tune the radio to whatever song he liked instead of that old timer music the boss always insisted on. It was actually relaxing and he'd

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[need_no_moon]

Jake woke up with a start, sitting bolt right up in his bed, the magazine that he'd been reading sliding off his chest onto the covers. The light was blinding and he squeezed his eyes shut. He was still completely dressed and he'd never closed the curtains to darken the room. He'd never intended to go to sleep as he'd been waiting for Caroline to get back. It must have been so late that she hadn't come to see him, or maybe she'd found him asleep and... No, he was talking about Caroline here, she'd wake him up no matter what.

A quick glance had the clock had him swearing. She'd definitely woken him up to go to school. No matter that he was now officially late for work... and for lunch as his stomach growled in complaint. That much he could ignore and he padded over to Caroline's room only to find her bed neatly made and the shirts she'd tried on the day before were still spread out on top of the blanket.

"Caroline?" he called, despite knowing the house was empty. Liz must have left for work already, or maybe even never made it home. He groped for his phone in his pocket while he made his way around the house, just to be sure. The only alert was the one of his battery which only had a sliver of red left. He tried Caroline's phone first, but it instantly went to voicemail. Then he tried Bonnie, but she hadn't seen Caroline since before cheer practice. He even tried frigging Tyler and hung up on him when the guy started asking him what was going on.

There was only one number left on the list and Jake slumped down on the armrest of the couch as he dialled Liz' number, hoping she'd tell him he was being silly.

[sheriff_forbes]

Liz was tired. What Jake didn't realize was that she hadn't been home yet to notice her missing daughter. Answering her cell, she prayed it wasn't another murder victim in need of a coverup.

"Sheriff Forbes," she said, attempting to mask a yawn.

[need_no_moon]

"Liz? Hey, I'm sorry to disturb you at work, but have you heard from Caroline today?" Jake rushed out the words, forgetting to try to not make Liz worry too.

[sheriff_forbes]

"Caroline?" Liz sat up a little straighter at Jake's tone. "No. What's going on?" Something was always going on in Mystic Falls, it seemed.

[need_no_moon]

"I'm not sure... I..." he hesitated, wondering if he was blowing things out of proportion. This was Caroline's dad he was talking about, but then anything might have happened to either of them. "Her dad showed up yesterday and they were going out for dinner. She said she'd call me, but she never did and I don't think she ever came back home."

[sheriff_forbes]

"Bill's in town?" Liz was suddenly standing and checking her hip for her gun. "Jake, he hasn't seen her since before...you know."

[need_no_moon]

"I know," he scrubbed a hand through his hair. "But he's her dad. Maybe they got ambushed or... he went to get her at the school. Maybe I can try tracking them from there."

[sheriff_forbes]

"You don't know Bill," Liz said. "His family is in the uh, hunting business. How do you think I ended up with their seat on the council." She needed a moment to think but the thought of Caroline not abusing her cell phone to text Jake before during and after the meal seemed out of the ordinary. "Do you think she would tell him?"

[need_no_moon]

"No," he shook his head even if Liz couldn't see him. "I couldn't even convince her to tell you, let alone her dad."

[sheriff_forbes]

Liz gulped, thinking through what the Forbes family used to be known for. "Oh God, I think I know where they could be. Can you meet me outside the station?" It was less that Liz didn't think she could handle the situation on her own and more that she knew Jake would be useful backup if necessary.

[need_no_moon]

"Yeah, sure. I'll be there in five," he said, resisting the urge to ask Liz more questions. The faster he got there, the faster he'd know and hopefully the faster he'd have Caroline back. He didn't waste any more words and hung up, heading straight to the backyard. He'd be much faster on foot and hopefully Liz wouldn't mind him showing up shirtless.