"Sir, we interviewed just about everyone on the street. No one saw anything, no one at the table or running away." Meryn eyed the white haired giant.

"Thanks Sascha. I'll leave you and Gamma to finish up here. I'm taking my mate and my mother home. Alpha will remain assigned to House McKenzie until this guy is caught." Aiden stood.

"Yes, sir!" Sascha nodded and began ordering his men to finish up with interviews. When Aiden started towards the SUV Meryn squirmed to get down.

"I have to get my bag." Aiden set her down. She returned to the table only to realize, though her bag was still there. Her laptop was gone.

"Motherfucking son of a fucking bitch!" She bellowed. The men around her froze.

"Meryn?" Aiden asked cautiously.

"He stole my laptop! I've had that thing for years! I love my laptop, it's my baby. It understands me and entertains me." She began to hyperventilate.

"We can get you a new one, breathe baby, breathe." Aiden was frantically trying to calm her. Her head felt like it was wrapped in cotton. She heard Adelaide ask Sydney for a glass of water. They didn't understand. Her laptop was her whole world; behind the keyboard of her laptop she was invincible.

"It had my favorite Doctor Who skin on it." She wheezed. She didn't want to face anyone anymore. She didn't fight it when the small grey dots appeared. She let herself slip away.

*****

"I don't understand it's just a laptop. I'll buy her a hundred if it makes her feel better." Meryn woke to Aiden's whispering.

"It's not about the laptop Aiden. Your mate, though she has done well with us, doesn't like interacting with people. Though she downplays it, she had a pretty isolated childhood. She never learned how to be around others. To her the laptop was like a security blanket, when that was suddenly and violently taken from her it drove her anxiety level through the roof triggering a panic attack."

Meryn kept her breathing even and her eyes closed. Aiden was talking to his older brother Adam. The astringent smell led her to believe that she was at the clinic and not back at the house.

"I don't get it!" Aiden's voice was filled with frustration. She heard a heavy sigh.

"Okay. When someone hands you a gift that you don't necessarily like what do you do?" Adam asked.

"What in the hell does this have to do with anything?" Aiden barked.

She heard a soft thud.

"Ow!" Yup, Adam had cuffed Aiden.

"Just answer the question for your wiser, older brother."

"Fine! I say thank you, think of some way it could be used and promise to tell them how it performs." Aiden answered.

"How did you know that?"

"I don't know."

"I do. Marius taught you and all of us how to accept gifts graciously. I specifically remember him teaching you before your sixth birthday party."

"What is your point?"

"What if you were never taught? What if someone handed you something and you had no idea what to do or what to say. What if you just froze, but then the act of freezing adds more stress. Now you're stressed because you're stressed, add in any potential negative reactions and the problem compounds." Adam's explanation was met with silence.

"Now imagine that is the reaction you have every time you have to speak to someone you don't know. Or are the center of attention?"

"Good Gods!" Aiden exclaimed softly.

"Like I said, she's done very well will us, it could be because you're her mate and any natural acceptance she has for you extended to your friends and family. But outside your social circle she experiences true flashes of panic. I think she has learned to keep that at bay by using her laptop as a buffer. If she's in a situation where she may have to speak to others, I bet she has an open laptop in front of her so she can pretend to be busy or disinterested." Meryn sat up both men turned to her.

"I do. If you look like you're working people stay away and don't try to make small talk." She admitted. Aiden quickly moved to her side.

"Feeling better?" She shrugged. Her hands felt empty.

"Aiden I recommend taking her home and tucking her in for the day. A good night's rest will do a lot of good." Adam advised. Meryn nodded clutching Aiden's arm.

"Can we please go home?" She'd feel better if she were in a familiar location. She looked around.

"Why does this stuff look like overstock from the fifties?" She asked. The gurney, she was on and the lime green metal cabinets around the room had seen better decades.

"Because it is." Adam answered.

"But why? Can't you buy newer stuff?" Meryn asked. Adam and Aiden shook their heads.

"Personal wealth cannot be used to fund a public establishment." Aiden explained.

"That sucks."

"We'll be doing another fundraiser at the end of the year, but most people don't think that the unit members need a clinic since we're paranormals and heal fast." Adam took a blanket out of the tall cabinet and wrapped it around her shoulders. "Take her straight home and to bed." He ordered.

"Come on Menace, time to go." Aiden stood and picked her up gently.

"My legs will forget how to work if you keep this up."

"That's okay. I'll carry you if they do."

The trip to the house was quiet. Aiden held her hand the entire way for which she was grateful. Wrapped up in the clinic blanket Aiden carried her into the house. Marius and Adelaide hurried from the front drawing room.