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Stephan was tired. He hadn't been able to sleep since he'd gotten home, and it showed. The circles under his eyes looked as if they were drawn on with a marker, and he looked like he hadn't showered in days, which in truth, he hadn't. In hopes of being comforted enough that he could get an hour or two of sleep, he had gone to Remi's apartment. But as he neared the door, he started to worry. It was open, she never would have left it open. Especially not with all that had gone on just before he had left.

He hadn't heard Gavin yet, he was too tired to be that alert. But with his mind fuzzing up, he bolted for the door, pushing it the rest of the way in. "Remi! Remi, where are you?" he shouted, stopping when he came upon Gavin. Feeling his heart tightening in his chest, he dropped to his knees by the boy, "What happened?"

Stephan froze for a moment, before realizing how upset the boy was. On instinct, he reached out and pulled the boy to him, hugging him to try and give him some semblance of comfort. "It'll be ok, shhh. Did mommy say where she was going? Or if anyone else was with her?" He asked, knowing the questions were a lost cause. The toddler didn't know anything, and even if he did, he wasn't in any mood to talk. "I'm here, don't worry, I'm not going to leave. We'll find mommy." He said frantically, not knowing half of what he was actually saying, or if it was even possible. Anything to calm himself and Gavin.

Stephan noticed the patches of blood on Gavin's back, but since the child didn't seem to be in physical pain, he decided that could come later. For now, he needed comfort, and probably food. And it seemed they both needed sleep. "Listen to me Gavin, this is really important," he said, holding Gavin's head up to look at him, "How long has mommy been gone?" If she'd been gone for more than a few days, it would be pointless to wait longer, she'd probably be further and harder to find. But then, maybe she didn't want to be found. Or maybe, he didn't really want to find her, for fear of the worst possible situation.

"Ok, thank you Gavin, you're being a big help," he assured the toddler, glancing up at the clock on the wall. It was nearly the boy's bedtime again, but figuring he must be hungry, he decided that food was more of a priority. Brushing the boy's hair into some sort of order with his hand, Stephan forced a little smile, "How about I make you something to eat, then we can go sleep in Mommy's room, and we can start looking for her in the morning." He didn't really want to put it off, but neither one of them would be very useful or agreeable with so little sleep.

Shaking his head, Stephan got up, taking Gavin with him. Holding the boy against one shoulder, he walked into the kitchen and got the leftover pizza out. As he opened the box, he showed a solemn look to Gavin, "You didn't do anything wrong Gavin. There was a bad man, trying to pick a fight with mommy. She didn't want you to get hurt, so she left. Don't worry, she'll be ok. I'm sure she didn't want to leave you, but she wanted you to be safe." He wasn't sure if that was really the reason, but he preferred not to think that Remi would just abandon him. Turning his attention back to the pizza, he picked a piece up, offering it to Gavin, "Eat up little guy, you can't sleep on an empty stomach."

Stephan nodded, taking the remainder of the slice and setting it down on the counter. He could clean it up in the morning, for now he just wanted to see the boy get some rest. Adjusting Gavin on his shoulder, he headed for Remi's room, feeling the tightening in his chest again. The room looked a little like a tornado had torn through it, the drawers at least, but it was still oddly comforting. He set Gavin down on the unmade bed, turning a pillow to the side in case he wanted something to hug. "Do you want me to stay in here with you for a little while before I go call Mr. Hadrian?" He asked, starting to make a little cave of blankets for him.

Stephan showed a little smile, a real one, for the first time today. Almost immediately though, it faded. It didn't look like Remi was planning on coming back any time soon, and if she didn't, what would happen to Gavin? Feeling a little sorry for the boy, he leaned over his sleepy body and kissed the top of his head, whispering, "G'night Gavin, you're being a real trooper." Walking quietly, he left the room and shut the door behind him. He leaned against the door for a few minutes, trying to figure out what exactly could have happened to make her leave this fast, but unable to think of anything but the unpleasant, he decided a phone call was in order. He barely remembered the number, he'd never had any reason to call before, but he managed to call the labs. When no one answered, he sighed, then remembered another number. Marc. He knew Hadrian fairly well, right? Hesitating a little bit since he didn't really know the man, Steps finally dialed the number, fidgeting as it rang. What exactly was he going to say?