Facing the Past and Forming a Future

by rookiegirl

Jillian and Pete are encountering some turbulance in their relationship and the only way to get passed it is for Jillian to resolve some personal issues. In the meantime, Pete's unsure about the idea of meeting Jillian's family.

Disclaimer: This story is fictional and was written for my own entertainment, and the entertainment of other Adam-12 fan fiction readers. The characters, except for the ones that were created in my mind as the story progressed, are not my characters. I apologize if I have offended anyone by taking the literary liberty of using the characters from Adam-12 for my own purposes.

Facing the Past and Forming a Future

Jim Reed couldn't help but notice that his partner, Pete Malloy, looked tired and grumpy this morning as their cruised their assigned area.

Jim, usually an avid talker, took the hint that Pete wasn't in the mood for idle chit-chat so he busied himself with watching the scenery as they drove through the quiet neighborhood.

They were only two hours into their daytime shift and it already promised to be a long one; not from lack of calls, but from his partners' surly mood.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained, Jim thought as he turned toward Pete and asked "So, how are things with Jillian?"

Jillian was Pete's neighbor, and newest love interest. They'd met a couple of months before when she moved into the apartment across from him. She'd had some problems with a psychotic ex-boyfriend wanting to kill her and Pete and Jim both had played a part in his capture.

Not long after that incident, Pete and Jillian began to date steadily. It hadn't been quite a month since their first 'real date', but Jim could already sense some changes in the 'confirmed bachelor', on most days, at least. Today, for whatever reason, was different.

"Fine", replied Pete as they slowly drove past the school playground. No kids out, it must not be time for recess yet, he thought, as he quickly glanced at his watch. Not even ten o'clock yet; it's going to be a long day.

"Did you two go out last night after work?"

"No."

"Did see each other?"

"Mmm-huh."

"And?" This is going nowhere, fast, thought Jim, as he continued looking at his partner and expecting an answer.

Pete just shrugged his shoulders in response and kept his eyes trained on the road.

"Are you two planning anything special for your day off, tomorrow?"

"Not that I'm aware of."

"Is something wrong?" Jim asked. He was concerned that maybe all was not going well for Pete and Jillian.

"No."

Hmmm, one word answers. Something's really bothering him today, thought Jim.

"You know, when Jean and I have a disagreement we try to…"

Pete let out a heavy sigh and cut him off at the pass. He knew that his young, married 'happily ever after' partner was just trying to help, "Reed, I really don't want to have this conversation right now, okay?"

"Yeah, okay" said Jim, looking as if he had just lost his best friend.

Thinking that he would try a different approach to smooth out his partners' discontent he said "You know, Jean and Jimmy are meeting Jillian at the park later on. They're going to have a picnic lunch and then Jillian's going to take some pictures of Jimmy playing in the leaves. He wasn't old enough to enjoy doing that last year. He just wanted to eat the leaves!" Remembering how the toddler had wanted to taste everything that he touched brought a huge smile to Jim's face. Jimmy sure has done a lot growing up in a year's time, he thought.

Usually, no matter what mood he was in, just thinking of his little godson's antics was enough to bring smile to Pete's face. Today was no exception.

Suddenly, Pete felt a need to see his godson...not to mention an aching need to see the woman taking his godsons' pictures, so he ventured "I think I remember Jillian saying that they were going to the park a couple of blocks from here. It's still in our district, so maybe we'll have a chance to swing by there later on."

Jim's face really lit up "Oh hey, that'd be great!"

"Yeah? Well then let's hope that the good citizens of Los Angeles will cooperate" Pete said. He could feel his mood beginning to lighten up as he flashed his partner a quick smile.

In the passenger seat, Jim let out a small sigh of relief. I hope that's the end of the moodiness for today, he thought.

Pete, having heard his partners' quiet sigh of relief had to chuckle to himself as he thought, sometimes I forget how sensitive Jim is. The poor guy's been riding on eggshells all morning.

The next two hours flew by as the partners handled a family dispute over some property and wrote out a speeding ticket to a gentleman who had a few choice words for them. Much to the man's credit, he was smart enough to not to voice those words until he was pulling away from the curb. Some days I wonder why we even bother, thought Pete, watching the man pull away.

Taking off their hats and placing their nightsticks back in the door holders, both officers climbed back into their cruiser. As Pete was pulling back onto the street he said "It's a little past noon, why don't you clear us for seven and we'll head over toward the park. Maybe that lovely wife of yours will have mercy on two starving civil servants and fix us one of her famous peanut butter and jelly sandwiches."

"Since when do YOU like peanut butter and jelly?" Jim asked in a shocked voice.

"Since MY girlfriend is having a picnic with YOUR family" Pete retorted.

Pete had introduced Jillian to Jean a few days after the incident with Jillian's' ex-boyfriend. The two women, only a few months apart in age, had hit it off immediately and were fast becoming very good friends; building their friendship on the things that they had in common and not stressing over the things that they didn't. Most of the time they were as different as night and day. Jean was more of the stable homemaker type and Jillian was a bit more of an independent free spirit, not afraid to try anything within reason, at least once. Pete could only figure that it was due to the fact that she came from such a large family; in her words 'in my family, you learn to hold your own or you get ate up by the big fish'. He wasn't sure if she was joking or not.

"Besides" Pete continued "if there's one thing that I've learned over the past month, it's that I fare much better when I know ahead of time what Jillian and Jean are cooking up. The last time they spent the day together, I caught Jillian looking through a jewelry catalog that Jean had given to her."

"Well, women do like jewelry, Pete. If you were married, you'd know that." Jim said in a smug voice.

"Yeah, well, the jewelry she was looking at just happened to be wedding band sets; his and hers."

Jim, laughing at the disgusted look on his partners' face, said "So are you telling me that it bothers you that she likes to look at wedding rings? Is that why you're in a bad mood today? You think that just because they are spending the day together that they're cooking up some earth shattering plan to get you to pop the question?" Jim knew he was goading Pete, but he just couldn't help himself.

"Reed, it's not that, and I'm not in a bad mood, so could we just drop it?" This time, Pete's tone left no doubt that he was finished with the conversation. Let it go, partner; please, just this once, let it go, he thought as he pulled the cruiser into the main entrance of the park.

It only took a few minutes for the officers to spot the girls and little Jimmy sitting on blanket next to the parks' pond. They could see that the fallen leaves from several nearby oak trees had been raked into a pile that stood a good six inches higher than Jimmy.

As the squad car pulled up about fifteen feet from the trio, Jimmy jumped up and let out a squeal that would have awoken rip van winkle, had he been asleep under one of those oak trees. Jean had to reach out and make a quick grab for the little guy so that he wouldn't run over to the car before it had stopped.

Both officers exited the vehicle and approached the small group.

Jeans' face broke out into a huge smile and Pete could see the love and pride in her eyes as she got up and met Jim, putting her arms around his neck, and giving him a quick kiss. I don't think I'll be getting any of those looks from Jillian today Pete thought sadly.

Not wanting to be left out, Jimmy ran to Jim and giggled with delight when Jim picked him and gave him a big bear hug and tickled his tummy.

Jillian smiled brightly at the family's interaction, but when she caught Pete's gaze, she quickly averted her eyes; suddenly looking very uncomfortable, though she had no reason to.

Thinking, this is ridiculous; one of us has to make a move; and, not wanting to be rude, Jillian stood up and walked over to the group as well, bidding pleasantries to both Jim and Pete. Both men returned her greeting, though Pete's was a bit strained.

She looks tired, he thought.

He looks like he had a rough night, she thought sympathetically.

Jim and Jean exchanged a look that said 'what is going on?' and then both shrugged their shoulders ever so slightly. Neither Pete, nor Jillian seemed to have observed the Reeds' non-verbal exchange.

Apparently Jillian isn't talking, either, thought Jim.

"Hey, are you guys hungry?" asked Jean. "We were just about to make some sandwiches, and we have plenty of chips and cut up vegetables."

"Sounds great, honey" replied Jim.

"Yeah, I'll second that," said Pete, slightly smiling, but still avoiding Jillian's gaze.

Jimmy chose that moment to fling his arms around Pete's legs and squealed toward Jillian, "Aunt Jeelwin take us picture!"

Feeling his mood beginning to lighten, and the awkwardness of the moment dissipating slightly, Pete let out a hearty laugh as he picked up Jimmy and said, "Yes, 'Aunt Jeelwin', take our picture." and then, to Jimmy he added "but first, what do we have to say to Aunt Jillian?"

Jimmy replied, "Pwease, Aunt Jeelwin, pwease!"

Jillian couldn't help but laugh at the two characters standing before her, and, giving an exaggerated curtsy, said, "I would be honored to take the picture of two such dashing men!"

Pete rolled his eyes heavenward and said "Oh brother!"

All four of the adults cracked up laughing as Jimmy mimicked his godfather and looked up to the sky saying "oh brudder."

Still laughing, and feeling a bit more jovial herself, Jillian went over and picked up her camera from the picnic blanket and proceeded to take several pictures of the group acting silly, and then she took a few serious shots, as well.

Usually, when she was behind the camera, all was right with the world. She was doing what she loved and her subjects of the day were held very dear in her heart. Still, she couldn't help but feel a pang of sorrow when Pete only posed for a couple of pictures with Jimmy. He seemed to want to stay close to the squad car for some reason.

He's either avoiding me, or he thinks they are going to get called off of seven, thought, Jillian. My money's on him avoiding me.

She had just finished taking a nice family shot of the Reeds, and was sitting down to put her camera back in the case, when Jean spoke up and said "Oh no you don't. You aren't getting away with not having your picture taken."

"Oh, but I am." Jillian countered "You see, that's the beauty of being the photographer; you don't have to be IN the pictures!"

"Ahh, yes, I know; and that is precisely why I brought our camera along…so I could be the photographer and you could be in the pictures" Jean replied.

Jillian knew that she had been beat by her own logic on that note, so she just groaned and asked in a defeated tone "Where do you want me?"

"Over under that far oak tree," said Jean as she pointed toward the oak closest to the pond. "Pete, you get over there, too."

"Jean, you know I don't like to get my picture taken" he protested in a whiney voice that would have been well suited to a five-year old instead of a thirty-five year old.

"Peter J. Malloy! I don't recall asking if you liked having your picture taken."

Dumbfounded, Pete just stood there for a moment looking at Jean. The look she shot back at him left little doubt in his mind that he wasn't getting out of the picture so he walked over to the tree and stood by Jillian.

"Did you put her up to this?" he muttered to Jillian as he stood next to her, but about a foot from her.

"Nope." she muttered back "Let's just smile and get this over with."

"Get in closer, you two; I can't get both of you in the picture." Came Jean's voice.

Both subjects reluctantly side stepped toward each other until they stood, arms touching at their sides. With his six-foot tall stature next to her five-foot stature, they looked awkward to say the least. They could both see by the look on Jeans' face that this wasn't exactly the pose she had hoped to capture.

Suddenly, feeling kind of silly, Jillian forced a smile and said, through clenched teeth, and in a voice only loud enough for Pete to hear, "You look like one of those cute little toy soldiers from the Nutcracker."

Pete replied, through a forced smile and clenched teeth, as well, "Yeah? Well you look like a statue standing there. Better hope there aren't any birds nearby."

Trying not to laugh, and still talking through a smile and clenched teeth, Jillian shot back "Yeah? Well the drycleaners didn't spare the starch in your uniform, that's for sure."

Pete, standing there as if in ranks and at full attention, was feeling kind of silly himself, and when Jillian delivered that line, it was all he could do not to laugh; choosing instead to bite the inside of lower lip, though he knew he was fighting a losing battle.

Jillian snickered first.

Then Pete snickered.

At that moment, neither could hold their composure any longer and they both began laughing.

Jean happily snapped a couple of pictures and hoped that the somber mood between the two was passed.

After they were finished with pictures, Jean and Jillian set about making up the sandwiches and the five of them sat on the blanket and ate while enjoying the sounds and scenery of the tranquil park.

It didn't take them long to eat and there was enough time for them to relax for a few minutes before Pete and Jim had to go back into service.

Jim, Jean, and Jimmy had gone back to the pile of leaves and Jimmy was frolicking in them. Jim and Jean stood close by, watching their son have fun.

Pete turned to Jillian and in a soft tone asked, "Wanna take a quick walk and look at the pond?"

"Is that the best pick up line you can think of?" Jillian quipped in a lighthearted tone.

"Oh, I could think of a few others…nothing suitable for any one else's ears but yours, though." replied Pete smoothly.

Jillian giggled and blushed a crimson red in two seconds flat. Pete couldn't help but chuckle while thinking I didn't know anyone could turn THAT red, THAT fast.

The two walked side by side, though not holding hands. Jim and Jean took notice of that, but wrote it off as Pete being ever mindful of the rule against any type of public display of affection while in uniform.

Once out of earshot, Pete quietly said to Jillian "I'm sorry about last night. I shouldn't have just shot the idea down without giving it some thought."

After having pulled nearly three hours of overtime on yesterdays' shift, Pete had been tired and cranky when he got home. Despite his fatigue, he and Jillian had managed to have a nice quiet, if though late, dinner and were enjoying some quality time together when Jillian had broached the subject of Pete going home to Maine with her for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday.

The words were barely out of her mouth before Pete started protesting; 'I probably won't be able to get the time off; I don't like to fly; it will be too rushed and hectic to try and go there and be back by Mondays' shift; yadda, yadda, yadda.' Within five seconds, a whole bevy of emotions flashed in Jillian's' eyes, ranging from disappointment to anger, and finally settling on quiet indifference. She had pretty much tuned him out after the third given excuse and then thought to herself, Just saying 'no' would have sufficed.

Disappointed, and not really feeling like being too sociable at that moment, she had used Pete's growing fatigue as an excuse to call it an early evening.

Their 'good nights' were strained, at best, and Pete had felt an immense pang of regret as Jillian walked out of his apartment and back to her own. Despite how tired he was, he knew that sleep was not going to come easily that night.

Jillian hadn't fared any better in the slumber department.

"I'm sorry, too. I shouldn't have…I don't know, I just shouldn't have let your reaction get to me. It's my fault that I just kind of sprung it on you without warning." Jillian replied softly. "If you don't want to go, I'll understand. My family will be there, ready and willing to meet you when, or if, you ever do feel like meeting them. Besides, they know that you're a police officer and that it's difficult to get time off around the holidays. I'm sure that they just figured Thanksgiving would be less hectic than Christmas for you; for us, actually, because they know that I'll be really busy with portraits after Thanksgiving and through most of December." Jillian knew that she was rambling now, but the situation still seemed a little uncomfortable.

And then in an effort to lighten the moment she said "I actually think that's why they want me home over Thanksgiving…someone's gotta take the family photo for the Christmas cards" laughed Jillian.

Pete chuckled, as well, and thought Thank goodness we're over this hump.

"Anyway, if the offer still stands, I'd like to go. I'm going to talk to Mac as soon as our shift is over and see if I can get the time off. Do you think you can hold off on refunding that extra ticket for a couple of more hours?"

Her family had all chipped in and sent two plane tickets to her. They were hoping that she would be bringing home the infamous 'Pete' that she spoken so fondly of during her weekly phone calls. Her family really wanted to meet the man who could put such a dreamy tone in her otherwise no-nonsense voice.

"Of course the offer's still there. I'd love for you to go with me, but I really will understand if you can't."

A smile split his face from ear to ear and Pete felt his mood lighten one hundred percent. Taking a scouring peek around to be sure nobody, save for his partner and his wife, would see, he bent down and gave Jillian a quick peck on the lips. "We'll finish this talk later" he promised, with two quick raises of his eyebrows and his green eyes dancing with merriment.

Jillian's heart fluttered as she laughed and replied "I assure you I'll look forward to it." Yeah, I think we're gonna be okay, she thought.

The exchange between the two hadn't been lost on Jim and Jean. They smiled at one another; both hoping that the choppy waters were past and that Pete and Jillian were back on course.

********

After clearing from seven, Pete and Jim continued to patrol their district. The calls, thankfully none serious, were few and far between, but with Petes' much-improved mood, the quietness of the day no longer seemed to loom like a dark cloud.

"So, I see that you're in a better mood."

"Yep, I sure am" Pete quipped, a big smile plastering his face.

"So, are you going to tell me what was bothering you earlier?"

"I suppose I may as well tell you; I'm sure the girls are discussing it and I wouldn't want you to the be the only one left out in the dark." He then continued on "I am going to ask Mac if I can take a few days off over the Thanksgiving holiday. Jillian wants to fly to Maine and she wants me to go along; you know, to meet the family."

Jim was glad that he was sitting down and that he wasn't driving. All he could do was stare at Pete with his mouth hanging open; any words that wanted to come out, were left suspended in mid air. Pete didn't 'fly' and he didn't 'meet families'; In fact, he usually cooled things off before any woman could bring up the subject of family meetings. Jim was pretty sure that his partner was putting him on.

"What?" inquired Pete, "no comment?"

Still not able to get his voice to come out, Jim just shook his head from side to side. Yeah, things are definitely different with this one, Jim thought as he smiled to himself.

Glancing at his watch, Pete noticed that it was nearly two-thirty so he steered the cruiser over toward the elementary school. Recently they had received several calls about juveniles being mischievous on their way home from school. They both figured that officer presence in the neighborhood couldn't hurt anything.

"Pete, you see that?" Jim was pointing over to his right and about a block ahead. There was a light blue Ford Fairlane sitting with the front half resting on the sidewalk and the back in the street. "What do you suppose it is?"

"I don't know, but you'd better call it in."

"1-Adam 12 to Station"

"1-Adam 12 go ahead" the dispatcher came back.

"Show us code 6 at Third and Tull on an unoccupied vehicle. Request registration and wants on California tag Ida-Ocean-Mary-Six-Four-Two-Eight."

"1-Adam 12 roger; stand by."

After pulling to a stop behind the vehicle, Pete climbed out of the cruiser, donning his hat and nightstick by habit. Jim, going through the same routine with his hat and nightstick as he exited the cruiser, stayed near the radio to await registration information.

Pete, having taken a look around and in the vehicle, noted that it was empty, but that the keys were still in the ignition. Reaching in a removing the keys, he pocketed them and then walked around to the front of the car. Feeling the hood of the car, he could feel that the engine was still very warm, meaning that whoever parked it here, had done so very recently.

A moment later, the dispatcher came back with "1-Adam 12, it's negative wants on a '65 Ford Fairlane registered to Braxton Davis of 126 Tull."

"Roger dispatch; show us out on follow up at 126 Tull."

"1-Adam 12, Roger."

Walking up to Pete, Jim recited the information that he had been given and both officers headed up the sidewalk to the door of 126 Tull.

Pete gave the door three solid knocks, but received no answer. Just as he was ready to rap on the door again, both officers heard a retching sound coming from the left side of the house. Exchanging looks, they both walked down the porch steps and cautiously approached the left side of the house.

The sight that met them was a young woman of about twenty-one; she was down on her hands and knees, losing what appeared to have been a hearty lunch.

Grimacing at the next retching sound that the woman made, Pete quipped "Reed, I think this one's yours; you spotted the car".

Taking a deep breath, Jim muttered "Thanks, I owe you one."

Careful not to startle the young lady, Jim spoke as he walked toward her "Mam, are you alright?"

Holding up her hand to indicate that she would be with him in a moment, she was overcome by another wave of nauseousness.

Jim felt a pang of sympathy for the young woman. I bet she's expecting, he thought. She has that same greenish tint to her face that Jean seemed to have for the first four months of her pregnancy with Jimmy.

After a few minutes, the young lady collapsed into a sitting position, and looked up at Jim. She had dark circles under her eyes and her cheeks were sunken in. She looked pale and tired. "I'm sorry Officer, what did you say before?"

"Mam, I'm Officer Reed. Are you okay?"

He could see that she was struggling to stand up so he went over and helped her to her feet. She was a bit shaky so he helped her walk to the front porch and sat her down on the steps.

"I'll be fine in another couple of months; at least that's what my doctor says. He said that morning sickness usually lets up around the second trimester. I just hope he knows what he's talking about.

Giving her one of his killer smiles, he said "Yes, Mam. I've heard that too."

She smiled slightly and he could see she was still a bit shaky.

"Mam, what's your name?"

"Barbara Tull; I live here."

"Yes, Mam. Is that Ford Fairlane your car?"

"Yes and I know that I didn't park it very carefully. I just came from the doctors' office, and, well, you can guess what I found out. Anyway, I was just pulling up to the house and I felt sick. I really tried to get parked, but I knew I wouldn't make it, so I just pulled up as fast as I could and threw it in park. I don't even think I took the keys out of the ignition. I just wanted to get out of the way so the neighbors wouldn't see me getting sick. I barely made it to the side of the house as it was."

By this time, Pete had casually drifted toward his partner and the woman. He gave Jim a look that said that he'd heard the whole story. He didn't think there was anything amiss here, but he wanted to make sure before they went back into service.

"Mam, I'm Officer Malloy" said Pete, giving the woman a sympathetic smile. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out her keys and said, "Why don't we get you into the house and make sure that you're okay before we leave. You look like you could use a cool drink of water and maybe sit down and rest for a bit."

Turning to Jim, he said, "I'll unlock the house and then go properly park her car. Can you get her in and settled?"

"Yeah, sure." he said.

With that, Pete bounded up to the porch and unlocked the front door. As Jim helped the young woman stand up and helped her into the house Pete parked her car, legally, and then joined his partner in the living room. They got her a glass of water and asked her if there was anyone that she wanted them to call to come and sit with her for awhile. She insisted that she was fine and that she was just going to rest until her husband came home in a few hours. The Officers bid her goodbye and good luck. She thanked them as they let themselves out.

"Well, that was fun." Jim said in a sarcastic voice as they headed back to the cruiser.

"If you say so, partner", replied Pete.

They removed their hats and nightsticks and got into the black and white. Picking up the mic, Jim cleared their unit. Their shift would be over by the time they made it back to the station so they decided to head that way.

"I remember Jean got really sick most mornings for the first four months. She would wake up miserable, but by mid-morning she would be fine."

"Mmm-huh" said Pete "I hear it's different for everyone; and sometimes it varies from one pregnancy to the next for some women." He couldn't help but wonder if morning sickness patterns were hereditary; and if so, what kinds of patterns were prominent in Jillian's family? Whoa there, Pete! You are getting way ahead of yourself, he thought.

"Maybe you'll be able to test that theory before long, partner." Jim ventured.

Pete gave him 'the look' and said "Jim, you already know how Jean handled it with Jimmy, so why don't you two have another one and then you can test that theory and let me know how it turns out?"

Jim, not missing a beat replied "Oh, we're going to; but we want to give you a chance to get married and catch up, first."

Jim couldn't look at Pete. He knew that his partner was giving him the evil eye after that one.

********

"Hey Mac, you got a minute?" Pete asked, handing in the daily reports.

"Sure Pete, what's on your mind? Girl troubles?" Sgt. MacDonald snickered. He had heard rumors about the new girl in Pete's life, but as of yet hadn't had a chance to meet her. From what he had heard from the detectives that were present the night that her ex-boyfriend tried to kill her, she was a spirited little thing.

Pete smiled and chose to ignore Macs' friendly jibe. He knows me too well, thought Pete. The two of them had a long history together and shared similar off duty interests such as fishing and bowling. Not only were they co-workers, they were good friends, as well.

"I know it is kind of short notice, but, uhm, what would my chances be of getting a few days off at Thanksgiving?" There, he'd asked the question. Part of him was hoping the time off wasn't available; the other part found himself holding his breath in positive anticipation.

"Well", said Mac as he was reaching into the desk drawer to retrieve the monthly schedule, "Let's see what's open. Most of the guys want time off at Christmas, so you might be in luck." Scanning quickly through the calendar, he looked up at Pete and smiled, then said "I can give you the Tuesday before through the Monday after if you have enough vacation to cover it. You'll only need to use five days since your regular days off are Saturday and Sunday that week."

Pete knew that he had plenty of vacation to cover the requested time off. He had only used a few days here and there and hadn't taken a real vacation since last year. "I've got the time, Mac. Could you put me down for those days?"

"Sure thing." Mac said as he penciled in the requested days off. "Now, are you going to share your big plans or do I have to ask your partner what you are planning?"

"I'm going to Maine with Jillian. She wants me to meet her family."

Mac, looking like he had just won the lottery, jumped up from his chair and let out a loud whooping noise that made even Pete jump slightly. "Congratulations, my friend! I knew you'd find 'Miss Right' someday! When do Mary and I get the honor of meeting her?" Mac could hardly contain his excitement as he vigorously shook Pete's hand.

"Now hold on a minute, Mac" said Pete, holding up his hand in a 'stopping' motion. "Just don't read into it for anything more than what it is; and what it is, is that Jillian wants me to meet her family and they want to meet me. I guess she's told them how we've become friends since she moved here and they just want to make sure that she's okay and all…and…I don't know, that she's okay and hanging out with decent, law abiding people."

By now, Pete was turning red and looked a tad flustered. He wasn't too sure that his explanation was totally convincing to Mac, but he wasn't ready to answer questions about why he wanted to meet Jillian's' family as much as they wanted to meet him.

Looking a bit skeptical at Petes' bumbling explanation, Mac just chuckled and said "Uhm-huh; well, whatever the reason, you have the time off. Now, how about you and Jillian come over for dinner tomorrow night. Mary will be thrilled when I tell her that you've finally…"

"Mac!" Pete cut him off sharply, but it didn't seem to phase Mac at all, he still had the cheesy grin on his face. And then in a resigned voice, "I'll call you later about dinner tomorrow night. I just need to check with Jillian when I get home and make sure that she doesn't already have plans."

"Great! I'll call Mary right now." he said as he was picking up the phone and dialing his house.

Letting out a deep sigh, Pete just shook his head and left the office. He headed to the locker room to change; Jim was already gone when he got in there, but he had left a note taped to Petes' locker. It simply read 'call me later and let me know what Mac said about the vacation. Jean will be curious.'

Right, partner, Jean isn't the only one that will be curious, Pete thought with a laugh. I should make him tough it out until tomorrow, he thought wickedly. Nah, I can't do that to Jean.

********

Pete let out a long, loud yawn as he parked his car in the rear lot of his apartment building. He was so tired that his thoughts were piling up on top of one another, not really leaving any time to sort through them. I really need a quick forty winks, he thought, and some decent sleep tonight. I wonder if Jillian wants to have dinner together? She'll be glad that I could get the time off. I have to remember to ask her about going to Mac's tomorrow night. He let out another lengthy yawn as he climbed the stairs to the second floor and unlocked his apartment.

Even before entering his apartment, Pete could smell something wonderful baking in his kitchen, though he couldn't quite pull out a name for it. It was Italian, that he did know. It wasn't uncommon for Jillian to use his kitchen if she was cooking dinner for them. They usually ate at his place, anyway so it was just made sense.

Jillian had heard the door open and Pete say "Mmm, something smells delicious", and she came from the kitchen, carrying a steaming hot cup of coffee.

Jillian walked up to Pete and said "hello", as she stretched up to give him a quick kiss. She then handed him the coffee and then took his duffel bag from him and sat it on the floor next to the sofa.

"How was the rest of your day?" She asked.

He took a sip of the rich, savory coffee and then he set the cup down on the coffee table and walked over to Jillian, and taking her into his arms, he kissed her long and steady. I could get used to this, thought Pete.

This feels so right, thought Jillian. Her knees were like jelly and she felt as if she were floating as she leaned into Pete, returning his kiss with a deep sense of urgency that she had never felt before.

After a moment, they both pulled away, but remained locked in each others' arms and gazing into each other's eyes.

"It was much better than the first half of the day. There's something to be said for good company at lunch time to really boost ones spirits." Pete replied softly. "How was your afternoon?" he asked.

"It was okay. I missed you."

"I missed you more" he countered.

Just as she was about to reply, the timer for the oven went off. "Saved by the bell" said Jillian.

"Oh? Saved from what?" Petes' interest was piqued.

"Saved from losing a bet on who missed who, more. Dinner's done, let's go" she quipped and turned to high tale it to the kitchen.

Smiling and thinking about how much he had come to care for Jillian, he followed her to the kitchen, stopping in his tracks when he saw that she had set the table with a dark red linen tablecloth, matching napkins and beautiful fine china and a pair of crystal wineglasses. The table décor was complete with lit candles that were surrounded by rings of deep green ivy vines, marbled with white. There was a bottle of red wine chilling in an ice bucket, just off to one side of the table.

As he stood there, taking in the picturesque dining table, Jillian set about taking dinner from the oven. She had made homemade lasagna, garlic bread, and a tossed salad.

Pete could feel a lump forming in his throat. He'd had many candlelit dinners before, but always at restaurants. He'd never had one that had been prepared for him in a home setting, by anyone that he'd ever dated. The thought that Jillian had done all of this for him…for them…made his heart swell even more with…with…with what? He wondered. He couldn't put a name to it, he only knew that whatever it was, it had him on an emotional rollercoaster.

"Is there anything that I can do to help?" he asked in a husky voice.

"You could pour the wine while I get the salads out of the refrigerator, please."

"Okay." Pete replied as he walked to the table and proceeded to pour two glasses of wine.

After retrieving the salads, Jillian dished up a hearty portion of lasagna and a slice of garlic toast and set it on the table in front of Pete. She then dished up a portion for herself and set it down in front of her spot. They held hands and gave thanks for the meal and enjoyed a quiet, content dinner together.

After dinner was finished and everything was cleaned up, they retired to the living room and snuggled up on the sofa together, enjoying another glass of wine. They passed the time making small talk; mostly about casual, everyday things and about their upcoming trip. They held each other, kissed, and talked some more. Jillian felt as if their relationship had taken another step and she prayed that Pete felt it, too.

While Pete sat there, holding her in a slightly tighter embrace than he ever had before, it was as if a light bulb lit up in his mind. I think I finally get what Jim is always talking about, thought Pete. Domestic tranquillity; someone to share your day with; your hopes, dreams and plans; the good times and the bad times; someone you can depend on; someone to laugh with and to cry with; someone to share your love with; someone to share your life with.

And then it hit him, like ice water in the face; I love this woman and I want to spend the rest of my life with her.

He smiled contentedly as he realized that he was about to embark on a whole new chapter in his life; he felt as if he was ready to give up bachelor hood and he was okay with that. He was ready to commit to one woman, and very soon he was going to ask Jillian to be that woman. He was going to ask her to be his wife.

It was on this thought that his eyes began to grow heavy with fatigue, and realizing that Jillian had already dozed off in his arms, he placed a tender kiss on top of her head, whispered 'I love you' and drifted off too.

********

Throwing his left arm up over his eyes to shield them from the sun coming in through his living room window, Pete couldn't help but feel a bit disoriented. He was lying on his right side, with his back up against the back of the couch. I can't believe that we slept on the couch all night long. My back is killing me.

Both had been exhausted after the last two days and after a filling dinner the night before, coupled with a few glasses of wine, they snuggled up on the couch and dozed off. Sometime during the night, they had shifted from a sitting position to lying down.

He tried to extract his right arm, but it was trapped under Jillian's' sleeping form. She was lying on her left side, facing Pete, and with her right arm resting across his waist. Her left arm was bent at the elbow and tucked snugly between the two of them.

Okay, how do I get up off of the couch without waking her up? He wondered.

He slowly began to inch his arm out from under her; being careful not to awaken her.

He wasn't too overly concerned with the situation at hand, but he wasn't so sure how comfortable Jillian would be with the fact that they had spent the night together at his apartment; even as innocent as it had been.

Just as he pulled his arm free, Jillian opened her eyes; slowly at first, just coming out of a deep slumber and then closing them against the incoming sun rays. Pete froze as she to turned onto her back and stretched lazily.

Her mind was still in that pre-awakened fog. Several seconds later, the fog lifted, and her eyes popped open. Suddenly, realizing where she was, and scurrying to get off of the couch as quickly as possible, she placed her right hand down beside her, trying to brace herself. She realized a moment too late that she was on the edge of the couch and that there was nothing but air on that side.

Pete, as if watching a show in slow motion, couldn't react quickly enough to catch her and could only watch as she did a falling roll off of the couch, arms and legs flailing, and landing on the floor with a resounding thud.

Sitting up quickly and looking down at the floor, he was startled to see her lying in a curled up ball, not making any sound and her body was trembling uncontrollably.

He was down by her side in a heartbeat, "Jillian, are you okay?" in a voice tinged of panic.

As she rolled onto her back, he felt an immense wave of relief as he realized that she wasn't hurt, just a tad embarrassed. She was laughing hysterically, but no sound was coming out, and she had tears streaming down her cheeks as her entire body shook.

Pete couldn't help but join in with his own laughter when he realized that physically she wasn't hurt, only her pride had sustained injury.

After several attempts to regain her composure, Jillian was finally able to sit up and wipe the tears from her eyes. "I haven't laughed that hard or that long in quite awhile! My sides actually hurt."

"I wish you could've seen the view from this angle. Priceless, I tell ya, just priceless" and another wave of laughter came over Pete.

"Oh, I can only imagine how graceful I must've looked!" she said, shaking her head as she got up off of the floor and sat down on the couch.

Once again, her thoughts went back to the fact that they had spent the night together. The wine had made her head a little fuzzy and she the last thing that she could recall was snuggling together on the couch. I don't like not knowing if we…

Suddenly, becoming very somber, Jillian rubbed her hands across her face and said "I think I need coffee."

Pete, immediately sensing her mood change said "I'll go put a pot on; why don't you run over to your place and get freshened up and when you get back, we'll go get breakfast."

"Okay, sounds good" and she headed for the door.

Turning suddenly back toward him "Uhm, Pete?"

"Yeah?"

"I, uhm, don't drink alot of wine…or any alcohol for that matter and…well… things are a little fuzzy in my mind. Did uhm…well… did anything, uhm…, did I, uhm…well, what I want to know is, I didn't do or say anything, you know, out of line, did I?" Jillian's face was scarlet red and she couldn't hold Pete's questioning gaze; couldn't even look him in the eyes.

"Jillian, nothing happened that you need to worry about." Still seeing a questioning look on her face, he added in a soft voice "and I do mean nothing. We just fell asleep is all."

Placing his hands on her shoulders and drawing her close to him he looked into her eyes. For just a split moment, he saw what…a flicker of fear…it was there and gone so fast that he couldn't be sure. Why would she be afraid of me? He wondered. Maybe it wasn't fear; maybe I am making more out of the awkwardness of the moment than I should be. "Nothing else is going to happen until both of us are ready for that, okay?"

This time she held his gaze, her deep brown eyes wide with both trust and vulnerability, and nodded her head slowly.

Sensing a need to lighten the moment, Pete waved his hand toward the door and said "Now, you go do whatever it is that you women do in order to face the world each day and I'm going to get the coffee brewing. Maybe we can find a fun way to spend the day before your photo shoot and our dinner with the Mac and Mary.

Smiling, she turned back toward the door and said "Okay; I'll be back in less than thirty."

"Yeah, like I'm gonna believe that a woman can get ready in under half-an-hour." she heard Pete mutter as she was heading for the door.

*******

Twenty minutes later, Pete would've been eating crow if one would've been available. Jillian, freshly showered and dressed in blue jeans and a light pink button front blouse, was knocking on his door.

Pete, having just finished his morning shower, was dressed in blue jeans and standing in front of the bathroom mirror in mid-shave. It's too soon for it to be Jillian, he thought, besides, she'd just come on in. Muttering to himself about people coming over at such an early hour, he hurried to the door and opened it.

Jillian brushed passed him, leaving him standing at the door with his mouth slightly opened and in awe. She went directly to the kitchen and poured a cup of coffee and then sat down in Petes' favorite chair without saying a word.

Pete slowly closed the door and continued staring at her until she held up the magazine that she had carried over with her, and smiling, said "Don't mind me; I brought a magazine to read. I figured I'd have to wait on you to get ready."

Pete, not able to say anything at that moment, just gave her a look that spoke volumes as he shook his head slightly from side to side. He opened and closed his mouth several times, not saying anything, and then turned to go back to the bathroom to finish shaving.

As he was leaving the room, Jillian let out a giggle and then nailed him with "Now don't hurry on my account; I wouldn't want to have to drive you in for stitches if you cut yourself."

Turning toward her "I'd rather bleed to death, first" retorted Pete in a deadpan voice as Jillian was taking drink of the fresh coffee. She tried not to laugh, but couldn't help herself. She could feel the scalding effect on her tongue and in her throat as the hot liquid seared its' way down. As her eyes were tearing up, Pete almost felt bad for her; almost, but not quite.

Fifteen minutes later, he emerged, freshly shaved and dressed in blue jeans and a light blue polo shirt.

Jillian went to the kitchen to refill her coffee and to pour Pete a cup, as well.

"Thanks." he smiled and said as she handed the coffee to him.

"You're welcome."

"So," he ventured "What d'ya wanna do today?"

Jillian shrugged her shoulders. She wasn't really sure what he needed to do so she took a blind stab at "Do you have grocery shopping or laundry to do? Errands to run? What? It's your day off. What do you usually do?"

"I usually do all of the above, but today I want to do something else."

"Such as?"

"Well…what time is your photo shoot?"

"Not 'til four-thirty, but I need to set up so I have to be back here by three-forty-five tops. What time do we have to be your friends' house?"

"Dinner's at six."

"Okay, it's eight-thirty now, that gives us roughly seven hours before I need to be back here. The shoot should only take about half-an-hour."

"Kids?"

"No kids this time. It's a newlywed couple, wanting their picture taken for their first Christmas cards together."

Pete let out the breath that he was holding. The last time Jillian's' shoot included kids, it was twin five-year-olds and the little buggers wouldn't smile, no matter what she tried. She was just about at her wits' end with them when she thought maybe the kids were being distracted by the parents and suggested that they wait in the hallway. He still wished he knew what it was that she said to the boys after their parents went out; the shoot was over about ten minutes later, but she was still wound up like a big ben clock for a good hour or so afterwards. She had shown him the proofs a week later and the boys looked like little angels.

"You haven't been to the zoo yet, have you?" he asked.

"No, actually I haven't and I love the zoo."

"Why don't I give Jim and Jean a call and see if they wanna go, too? I know Jimmy'd love it."

"Sounds fun. If they can't go, maybe we can still take Jimmy with us."

Pete was astounded at that and asked "Are you serious? You really wouldn't mind if WE took Jimmy to the zoo with us?"

Laughing, Jillian replied "Pete, he's two years old, how much trouble can it be to take him to the zoo with us?"

He was shocked in that most of the other women he had dated wouldn't have even wanted to go to the zoo at all, let alone take someone else's child along.

As it turned out, the Reeds had already made plans to go to Jeans' parents so Pete and Jillian were on their own. They casually strolled through the exhibits, laughing at the monkeys' antics and then cringing at the snake's den.

All in all, they both had a really good time, and by the time they were finished with all of the exhibits, and lunch, it was time to head back to the apartment for the photo shoot.

"So, did you have a good time?"

"Yep, I sure did. I'm glad you suggested it. We have some nice zoos back in Maine, but I think this one tops 'em all." Jillian said. "Or maybe it's just the company that makes all of the difference."

Pete looked over and smiled at her "I had a really nice time, too."

Before long, they were back at the apartment and parted ways at their doors; Pete to freshen up for the dinner at the Macs' house and Jillian to get ready for the photo shoot.

The newlyweds arrived about fifteen minutes early, but Jillian was all set for them and the shoot didn't take long at all. After talking with them for a few minutes afterward, they left and Jillian took a little time to freshen herself up.

Pete knocked on Jillian's' door at precisely five-thirty. "All set?" he asked.

"Yes, and I'm nervous. What if they don't like me? What if I embarrass myself by falling off of the chair? What if…"

Pete cut her off short, and chuckled while saying "Jillian, just relax will yak? They don't bite and I don't think you're going to embarrass yourself."

"I wish I was as confident about that as you seem to be" was all Jillian could say as she put on a light jacket on and grabbed her purse.

She locked the door after them and the two walked hands in hand out to Pets' car.

He could still tell that she was nervous by the way she kept biting the inside of her lower lip, so he tried to engage her in small talk during the twenty minute drive. The time passed all too quickly for Jillian, and soon they were walking up the front steps of the MacDonald house.

Sensing her nervousness, Pete slid his arm around Jillian's' waist and gave her a slight squeeze as he knocked on the door. He thought he could feel her relaxing just a bit.

Mary MacDonald, a petite, late-forty-ish woman with a kind face and gentle eyes opened the door almost immediately.

Greeting the two heartily with "Oh we're so glad you could come to dinner. Do come in." She then stuck her hand out to Jillian and continued "You must be Jillian; I'm Mary MacDonald; it's so nice to meet the woman who finally captured Pete's heart." Totally missing the look that Jillian shot towards Pete, Mary continued "We've heard quite a bit about you."

Rather shyly, Jillian shook her hand and replied "It's a pleasure to meet you Mrs. MacDonald and thank you for the dinner invitation."

"Oh, call me 'Mary'; my mother-in-law is 'Mrs. MacDonald'" she said with a laugh.

"Alright," said Jillian, as the nervousness began to dissipate a little more.

Quickly bending forward and giving her a light peck on the cheek and a slight hug, Pete said "Hi Mary. It's good to see you again. You look lovely, as always. I have to wonder if Mac knows just how lucky he is."

Blushing slightly and returning his quick hug, Mary replied "Oh Pete, you are such a flatterer."

From the next room came a deep, booming voice "Mary is that Pete and his girl?" By the time he was finished with the sentence, he had joined the three of them over near the door.

Again Jillian shot Pete a look that said 'just what have you been telling people?' Pete just smiled at her and pulled her a little closer to him. He could feel her tensing up again.

"Yes, Bill; now get out here and greet our guests; you can finish hanging that shelf later."

As Jillian got her first look at the infamous Sgt. Bill MacDonald, of whom Pete spoke so fondly of, she couldn't help but immediately begin to feel comfortable. Though he was a tall, imposing man, like his wife, he too had kind eyes and a smile that just made you feel welcome.

Pete spoke up and introduced Jillian to Mac. The two exchanged greetings and then Mac quickly whisked Pete off into the other room, claiming to need help with the shelf. Something about the way he 'suggested' that Pete help him for a moment sent up a red flag for Jillian. Wonder what that's all about?" she thought.

As Jillian followed Mary to the kitchen, she couldn't help but wonder what the guys were discussing. She didn't like being the 'absent' topic of conversation, but she had a feeling that that was exactly what was happening.

Uncomfortable with the deafening silence, Jillian ventured "Mary, is there anything that I can help with?"

"Oh goodness no, dear. Everything is under control. You just have a seat there on that kitchen stool and visit with me while I toss this salad."

"Okay." What do I say? Several seconds had passed and Jillian was feeling a little uncomfortable with the silence.

"Uhm, are you sure there isn't anything that I can help with? I feel kind of silly sitting here while you are doing all of the work." Jillian said nervously.

Laughing, Mary said, "There's no reason to be nervous, Jillian. If it will help you relax, you can finish tossing the salad while I get the roast out of the oven and put the biscuits in."

"Yes Mam, I'd be happy to."

Meanwhile, in the den Pete and Mac were hanging a small shelf above the fireplace.

"What gives, Mac? I know you could've hung this shelf without my help."

Speaking in a low tone of voice "Pete, I just got the word today from the D.A.'s office that they've extradited Calvin Hartford back to Maine to stand trial for several of the crimes that he committed before coming out here. They shipped him out a few days ago. From the sketchy details that the D.A. was able to give me, I was left with the impression that their charges out trump our attempted murder charge. Hartford's not a nice person. I don't have any other details yet, but I thought you'd want to be the one to tell Jillian. From what the D.A. said, he's talked with the prosecutors back there and she's probably going to have to testify at his trial."

Pete sighed heavily and ran his hand down his face, as he often did when contemplating a problem; "When?"

"The trial is slated to start the day before Thanksgiving. I'm not sure why they're not waiting until after the holiday. On the bright side, they look for it to be opened and closed very quickly. In any event, I've spoken with Lt. Moore, and he spoke with the D.A. on the L.A.P.D.'s behalf. We have a vested interest in the outcome since he did try to kill her while in our jurisdiction. Depending on the outcome of the trial there, we may or may not get him back to stand trial here."

"I'm not quite sure I'm following you, Mac. Besides the fact that I am going with her to Maine, where do I come into play at?"

"I've revoked your vacation request; you're still going to go, but you'll be going on a special escort assignment, rather than vacation. You'll be responsible for her well being while you're there. You'll have to be on your toes, though; the D.A. said that Hartford has quite a few followers; faithful followers, if you get my drift. There's no telling who might try something. They already know that he has contacts within the sheriff's office a couple of counties north of his hometown. We'll also be sending a detective with you; an extra pair of eyes, if you will. We aren't willing to take any chances with Jillian's' life…or yours for that matter."

"So what you're telling me is that Jillian's a walking target and I have to keep her safe from some nuts' family and friends! She thinks that she's going home for a nice family visit, but in reality, I'll be keeping her under 'house arrest' so to speak, for her own good. Doesn't that pretty much sum up what you're saying?" by now, Petes' voice was an octave higher and somewhat strained; though not loud enough to be heard from the kitchen.

"I don't like it any better than you do, Pete, but yeah, that pretty much sums it up."

Pete could see the concern in his friends' eyes. "Are you sure there's no other alternative? Don't you think that she's been through enough with this guy?" Even as he asked, Pete knew the answer.

"I'm afraid not. They were very adamant about her appearing in court. They believe that she may have details that will help nail him, and they want those details. Speaking of which, has she ever talked to you about anything that happened before she left Maine?"

Shaking his head 'no', "I've asked her a couple of different times, but she has a difficult time opening up about most of whatever went on. You know, just when I think that she's going to cut loose, she clams up."

"From what few details that she has shared, what do you think happened?" Mac inquired.

"I think he hurt her; and in a very bad way. She seems fine, most of the time, but then something will happen, or she'll see or hear something that gives her pause and she gets this, this frightened, deer-in-the-headlight look. I don't think that she even realizes that she's showing these moments of terror. She shakes it off and goes on, almost as quickly as it happens. I think that in her mind she knows that he is locked up and can't hurt her anymore, but I also think that she's afraid to fully relax; it's like she can't keep the memories suppressed, but she can't bear to put the past into words, either." Pete was getting his dander up again and had to stop a moment and compose himself before continuing.

Looking slightly hurt, Pete continued "Mac, there's even been a few times when she's looked like she was scared to death of me!"

Pete finished by saying "Most of all, I think that she's afraid for her family's wellbeing; like you said, Hartford has a lot of faithful followers, and they live pretty close by."

"That's an interesting summary. It sounds like he terrified the daylights out of her, and he could very well have threatened her family to try and keep her quiet or to keep her from leaving him, and when that didn't work, he started following her and showing up at her place of employment. She's probably lucky to be alive right now." Mac thoughtfully replied.

Sighing heavily, Pete said, "You're not voicing anything that I haven't already thought."

"When are you going to tell her?" Mac inquired. He didn't envy Pete the task at hand.

"I'll tell her tonight, when we get back home. There's no use in upsetting her right now."

"Let me know if there is anything that I can do to help out." Mac's concern was sincere and Pete really appreciated his good friends' offer.

"There is one thing that you can do, Mac."

"Name it; I'll do whatever I can."

"Put Jerry Miller on the assignment with me. He was the detective inside the apartment that night. She's familiar with him so it won't be so awkward for her if he's the one that comes along."

"Consider it done, my friend" Mac said as he clapped Pete on the shoulder. "Now, let's not talk about this anymore tonight; let's go find the ladies and see if dinner is ready."

"Right, Mac." Pete said, following him out of the den and into the dining room.

Pete was thinking Lord, give Jillian the strength to get through this, please.

As soon as the guys walked into the dining room, Jillian met Petes' eyes. He gave her small, tight smile and she immediately noted that he had a pinched look to his features and his eyes showed deep concern over something. In just the short time that she'd known him, she had learned to read his facial features quite well. Her nerves went on immediate full alert.

Mary had set a lovely table for the foursome and, after she and Jillian had brought out the meal, they all sat down to dinner and began to enjoy the feast before them.

"Mary, this roast is superb. I don't think I've ever had roast that was so tasty!" Pete offered before taking another huge bite.

Mom always said that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach; I need to get this recipe thought Jillian.

"Yes, it's wonderful, Mary" echoed Jillian.

"My lovely wife, you have once again outdone yourself" chimed in Mac.

Blushing, she said "Oh, you three are too much…but thank you; and save some room for desert!" she chuckled.

They sat there, eating dinner in comfortable silence, for a few minutes before Mary asked "So, Jillian, what part of Maine are you from?"

"A small town called 'Berwick'."

"And you've lived there all of your life; before coming here, I mean?" again from Mary.

Shrugging slightly she said "More or less; I was pretty young when Dads' job transferred him there from Ohio, so I don't really remember living anyplace else. Up until a couple of months ago, it had always been 'home'."

This time Mac piped in "You don't think of it as 'home' anymore, even though your family is still there?"

Giving some thought to her reply, Jillian simply said "Home means different things to different people. My family's there, yes, but I'm not, so it's no longer my 'home'. You can make a home wherever you land after the windstorm passes and for me, right now that's L.A."

"Interesting concept," said Mac. "I guess I never thought of it like that, before."

"Do you come from a large family?" this from Mary.

I feel like a tennis ball and they're volleying me back and forth; and Pete's just sitting there, a million miles away, and letting them. Something's not right.

Pete continued to sit in silence and listen to the exchange between Jillian and the MacDonalds'. His thoughts were elsewhere, but he perked up when he realized that they were getting more out of her in less than an hour than he'd been able to in the past couple of months. I'm glad to see that she's relaxed a little bit, he thought.

"Yes, Mam. I'm the youngest of seven."

"Oh my, your mother must've been very busy when you were all little."

"Yes, Mam."

And it was Macs' turn again "So, do you have brothers or sisters?"

Okay, twenty questions is just about over thought Jillian, and she went on to answer with "One sister, five brothers, one brother-in-law, four sisters-in-law, nine nieces, six nephews…"

Smiling, Pete piped in "and a partridge in a pear tree."

"Nope, no partridge. We had to give up the family pet…couldn't afford the birdseed after grocery shopping for all us people" Jillian cracked, never missing a beat.

Mary, Mac, and Pete all got a good laugh out of that one.

"Pete?" Jillian said in a deadpanned voice.

"Yeah?" he answered, wiping at the corners of his eyes.

"You may not find that so entertaining when you stop laughing long enough to contemplate the fact that you get to meet all of them in less than one week."

Now it was Jillian, Mary, and Macs' turn to laugh as Pete digested that bit of knowledge and suddenly looked like someone had punched him in the gut.

"She's gottcha there, Pete 'ole buddy" said Mac as he slapped Pete on the back.

Back to Mac again "Does your entire family still live there?"

"Yes; but thankfully, not all in the same house." Drop the sarcasm, they're just curious, Jillian mentally chided herself.

Then Jillian continued "After we moved there, Mom and Dad bought an old farmhouse on twenty acres of land, peppered with pine trees. Over the course of several years, Dad planted more pine saplings and when he was old enough for retirement, he had a nice little side business selling Christmas trees. Each year he re-plants the number that he's cut down and sometimes even adds a few more."

"Do your brothers help out with the business?" asked Mary.

"We've all helped out at one time or another, but it's mostly just the boys running it now. The women are all too busy with the kids, and all."

"So, what'd you get to do on the farm?" Pete finally found his voice and asked a question.

"My main job was to steer clear of the falling trees; A few times that was easier said than done. I sort of have a knack for getting into mischief." Jillian laughed.

"You don't say." said Pete in a sarcastic voice.

Mary, looking horrified at the thought of a tree falling on Jillian asked, "You had a tree fall on you?"

Chuckling at the memory, Jillian answered "not really on me, but close enough to scare me. It was mostly only the top half of a tree; and it fell on the tractor that I wasn't supposed to have been driving."

"Do go on, this sounds intriguing" Petes' eyes were dancing in anticipation.

"Uhm, no; It's not nearly as intriguing as it sounds, and I'm not about to sit here and incriminate myself." Jillian replied with a slight laugh. "Besides, I'm sure you'll hear all about it next week. It's one of our classic traditional 'family gathering' stories. You know, the kind that starts out with 'now kids, don't ever do what your Aunt Jillian did when she was younger'."

"You speak fondly of your family; you must miss them terribly, being out here by yourself and all?" Mary ventured.

"Sometimes." Jillian replied with a shrug. "I call them and stay in touch; at least now, anyway. I look forward to seeing them, but I'll be honest with you, I don't miss the daily hustle and bustle of people coming and going. I think the farmhouse has a revolving door!"

Jillian was getting tired of answering questions about herself and her family so she strategically managed to steer the small talk away from herself for the remainder of the meal, as well as through coffee and dessert.

As Mary and Jillian cleared the table and put away the leftovers, Mac and Pete retired to the front porch for a quick cigarette.

Mary and Jillian were in the kitchen washing and drying the dishes. Mary looked as if she wanted to say something, but wasn't quite sure how to start.

"Is something wrong, Mary?" Jillian asked.

Mary turned to her, saying "I hope I'm not over stepping here, but you know, I've never seen Pete look at anyone the way he's been looking at you all evening. Why, he hung onto every word that you said! We've known him for a long time, and we've met just about every woman that he's dated during that time; but he just seems 'different' with you. He seems happy, genuinely happy. You feel it, too, don't you, dear?"

Maybe it was because Mary reminded Jillian of her mother, but she was feeling relaxed enough to open up to this kindhearted woman standing in front of her. "Mary, I can't be in the same room with him without feeling like my heart is going to beat out of my chest; but at the same time, I'm scared to death to let him know that."

"Why, Jillian? Pete wouldn't ever do anything to hurt you, surely you must know that."

Nodding her head "I know; it's just that I don't have any…I haven't had many…I've never been…"

Blushing furiously she finally settled on "He's so much more experienced! There, I said it; now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go find a rock to crawl under."

Mary smiled a motherly smile at her and touched her arm saying "Now Jillian, there's no need to be embarrassed. He's a bit older than you are so of course he's going to be a bit more experienced. That's just how men are."

"I'm pretty sure he's long surpassed being 'a bit more experienced' than me. I'm not sure what he expects; heck, I'm not even sure what I'm supposed to expect. I'm way outta my league, here."

"Now you just quit fretting over things that you have no control over. If the two of you are meant to be together, things will work out and the two of you will work through the 'details', if you will, together."

Hmmm…I guess I never thought about it like that.

"Thanks, Mary."

"You're welcome; and don't worry, this conversation need never to go beyond these kitchen walls" she said with sincerity.

Meanwhile, out on the front porch…

Pete and Mac were sitting on the porch steps, talking about the upcoming events, and working out the details.

Suddenly, Mac changed the subject and said "I like her, Pete. She's a nice girl; one thing has me baffled, though."

"What's that?" asked Pete, putting out his cigarette.

"She's doesn't seem like your type; at least not your typical type."

"I know" and then getting a deep, far away look, he continued "Maybe that's why the feelings I have for her are different from the feelings that I've had for other women that I've dated. You know, kind of like…well I don't know what you'd call it. She's different. With her, everything is… comfortable. I don't feel like I have to impress her when we're together. She's happy doing common everyday things together like grocery shopping, going to the laundry mat, you know, just basic every day stuff. She's so down to earth."

He then continued, "Do you want to know what we did today? We went to the zoo! I've never taken a date to the zoo before. She's like a breath of fresh air and we have a ball together. We share a lot of similar interests and…well, I think about her all of the time when we're not together…"

"Say no more, pal" Mac interjected "You've been struck by cupids' arrow. Question is, what are you going to do about it?"

"Nothing right now. She's got enough problems on her plate to deal with without having this on her mind, too."

Chuckling slightly Mac said "Well, if the looks she was giving you tonight are any indication, I'd say she's been hit by one of cupid's arrows, too."

"You think so?" Pete asked, giving Mac a perplexed questioning look.

"If I were a bettin' man, I'd make book on it." said Mac with a smile.

After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Pete checked his watch and said "Well I guess I had better see about getting her home and talking to her about what's going to go on next week. I don't think that she's going to be too happy about it."

"Well, I'll see what else I can find out for you and in the meantime, I'll get Jerry Miller lined up to go along. Did you say that you already have tickets for you and Jillian?"

"Yeah, her family sent them. I don't know if you can get Jerry on the same flight or not at this late date but I'll let you know the flight details tomorrow so you can get in touch with the airline."

"Sounds good; and Pete?"

"Yeah?"

"Try not to worry, huh. It'll all work out."

Nodding slightly Pete replied "Yeah, let's hope so, Mac; let's hope so."

A short time later, Pete and Jillian had bid goodnight to their host and hostess, with promises to get together again soon.

Both were quiet during the ride home; each lost in their own thoughts about the conversations that they had shared with the MacDonalds. Time passed quickly and they were soon pulling into the parking lot of the apartment.

Exiting the car, they held hands and walked up the flight of stairs toward their second floor apartments.

"You were awfully quiet on the way home, Pete. What gives?"

"We need to talk for a little bit. You wanna come over to my place, or do you want me to come over to yours?" Pete said.

Giving him a look that said 'does it really matter?' she just shrugged and said "You're choice, but before we do anything, I'm getting out of these clothes and into something more comfortable."

"Okay, change your clothes and then come over to my apartment; I'll go put some coffee on."

"Okay." Must be something serious if he wants to discuss it over coffee at this time of the night!

Fifteen minutes later, dressed in comfortable sweatpants and an oversized tee shirt, Jillian was at Pete's door and knocking; going in when he hollered that is was open. She was greeted with the smell of fresh brewed coffee and went into the kitchen to pour two cups before sitting down on the sofa and waiting for Pete to come out of his bedroom.

When he came out, she could see that he too had changed into some sweats and a tee-shirt. To an outsider, the two would have looked like a comfortably married couple.

Jillian was the first to speak, saying "Okay, what gives? Why did Mac whisk you off to the den? I saw the look on your face when you came out. Something's up and I wanna know what."

"Not much gets by you, does it" Pete said somberly, as he sat down next to her on the sofa.

"Not as much as I'd like," said Jillian. "Now, spill it!"

"Mac talked to the D.A.'s office. Hartford's been extradited back to Maine to stand trial. They shipped him out a few days ago.

"And this concerns me, how?" asked Jillian.

"You're their star witness. They think that you have details that will help put him away for a long, long time and they want 'em. The trial starts on Wednesday, just before Thanksgiving." Pete paused to give her time to digest the information.

"Go on," Jillian said in a low, calm voice.

Taking her hands into his, and looking into her eyes he said "You're going to be asked about every aspect of your relationship with him. Any detail that you can think of is going to come to light. You are going to have to relive anything and everything that he said or did while you were in his presence. I know that you have a difficult time thinking and talking about it, but you are going to have to…and in front of a lot of people, including him…and me. There's no other way, it has to be done."

Jillian slowly nodded her head, and keeping her face void of any emotion, she simply said "I guess I don't have any choice, then, do I?"

Shaking his head from side to side, Pete said "That's not all."

"There's more? How could there be more? What more could there possibly be?" Jillian asked in disbelief.

It's bad enough that I am going to have to face that jerk and relive the nightmares; but why do I have to do this in front of my family; in front of Pete? Why? Why? Why? Jillian questioned to herself.

"They think that his family and friends may try to cause trouble. You'll basically be under protective custody while you're there. It will be at your parents' house, of course; and I'll be there to keep and eye on things…and so will Jerry Miller. Do you remember him? He was the detective inside the apartment that night. I requested that he be the one to accompany us since you're familiar with him."

Jillian felt like her whole world was spinning out of control and there wasn't a thing she could do about it.

"Why at my parents' house? Why not at my apartment, there? I never gave it up. I didn't know how long I'd be out here so I had John pay up the rent for six months. It's just sitting there, unoccupied, but with all of the furnishings and comforts of home. Besides, I hadn't planned on staying at my parents' place, anyway."

Nodding his head and biting at the inside of his cheek, Pete said softly "I don't think that anyone knew you still had an apartment there. If that's where you want to stay, that shouldn't be a problem; in fact, it should make things a little easier. They'll be fewer people coming and going."

On that note, Jillian zoned out a bit, as if in deep thought. Suddenly, she asked quietly "Pete?"

"Yeah?

Does it have to be an 'open' trial? Can I request that my family…and friends…not be allowed to attend?"

"No, it doesn't work that way. Most trials, unless they are high profile, are open to the public. Nobody can keep your family out if they want to be there; and if by 'friend' you are referring to me, I have to be in there as well; remember, I'll be there as your bodyguard."

"I thought that's why Jerry Miller's going along."

"No, we're tag teaming you. I'm no longer going to Maine on vacation; I'm going on special assignment…and you're my assignment."

He could see that she was struggling with all of the details and he had to smile when she finally said "I hope that you don't think this excuses you from meeting my family and spending Thanksgiving with them, because that's where I intend on spending the holiday. You and Jerry will just have to get me from my apartment to my parents and back, in one piece. I'll be safe enough while we're at their house, I've got five big brothers, remember?"

Chuckling softly, Pete said in an exaggerated voice "Don't remind me!"

Jillian had to laugh, too. She knew that he was going to be a little uncomfortable meeting her family. They were a crew, that was for sure, but on the bright side, they never seemed to meet stranger and were always willing to welcome anyone into the family.

********

The next few days passed in a flurry of activity. Packing and details took priority and before they knew it, Tuesday rolled around and Jim was taking them to the airport.

"I still wish that I were going with you," said Jim.

"I know, pal, but somebody has to patrol the streets while I'm away." Pete replied.

"Don't worry, I've got your partners' back, Jim, and I'll keep him out of trouble." Jerry Miller piped in from the back seat.

"I know you will Jerry. Thanks." replied Jim.

Jerry had managed to get on the same flight, and, after explaining to the airline representative why he was traveling with Jillian and Pete, arrangements were quickly made to have him sitting with them.

They boarded the plane and took their seats; Jerry on the isle side, Pete on the window side, and Jillian in the middle.

Jillian looked at her two flying companions and quickly assessed that they were not avid flyers. Better keep the 'barf' bags, ready, she thought. She, herself, wasn't too fond of flying but when she did, she wasn't prone to air- sickness.

"How long did they say this flight is?" asked Pete.

Jerry, getting into his carry-on to find his itinerary said, "I think it's about six hours."

"If we get a nice tail wind, it's six hours and thirty-two minutes." Jillian piped in. "We have a forty-five minute layover in Omaha, though."

Both looked nervous as they nodded their heads to indicate that they had heard what she had said.

Feeling ornery, she couldn't help but say to both of them "Don't worry, take-off and landing are the worst part. If it'll help, you both can squeeze my hand." as she held out a hand to each, earning her two death stares. Ouch, she thought…if looks could kill, I'd be six feet under right now; and then oh, bad analogy.

They were about two hours into their flight and all was going well, despite some turbulence. Jillian, with her feet tucked up under her had fallen into a light twilight sleep and had her head resting against Pete's left arm. He and Jerry were passing the time talking quietly to each other. They didn't realize that she was still alert enough to follow the conversation.

"How do suppose she can sleep with this air turbulence?" Jerry asked.

"You got me, pal. I can't figure out how she can possibly be comfortable sitting all curled up like she is. She's out of it though; listen real close and I think you'll hear her snoring ever so lightly."

Jerry leaned his head toward her and could hear the soft sound coming from her. "Did she take something before we took off? Nobody can sleep that deeply on a plane, can they?"

"Not with two people talking in their ear, they can't," Jillian said as she opened her eyes, uncurled her legs and sat up in her seat. "You two need to find a new topic of conversation…or at least make sure your chosen topic isn't listening."

Laughing, Jerry said "We didn't say anything bad."

Giving him a look that spoke volumes, Jillian said "Lucky for you two, huh?"

Pete just laughed and said "Welcome to my world, Jerry."

The threesome continued to make small talk, mostly about what to expect while they were in Maine. They stuck to safe topics, such as the weather and family planned activities. Neither Pete or Jerry wanted to bring up the trial with so many people within earshot; that and they didn't want to upset Jillian.

Soon the flight was approaching the airport in Omaha and all three were looking forward to getting up and walking around for awhile. Jillian, at a small five foot, was beginning to feel cramped in the seats, so she could only feel sympathy for her two much taller traveling companions.

"Maybe we should just rent a car for the return trip, instead of flying. Think of how much fun a 'road trip' would be!" She ventured.

"No way" said Pete. "Six hours of being cramped up in these seats is definitely better than thirty-six hours in a car."

"Come on, where's your sense of adventure? At least in a car, you can stop whenever you want to, see whatever you want to see, and go at your own pace," said Jillian.

"So, you like adventure, huh?" asked Jerry.

"I like being comfortable!" replied Jillian.

"Just the same, I'd have to take six hours in the air over thirty-six hours on the road, too" Jerry said.

"Here, here" said Pete.

As they were finishing up their conversation, the plane was preparing to land. Touch down went smoothly and soon the trio were disembarking the plane and heading to the gate where they would catch their connecting flight to Boston.

Jillian took a few minutes to find a pay phone and call her brother, John, to let him know that their flight had been on time, so far, and to let him know what time they were expected in Boston. She had told him that they wouldn't need a ride from the airport, as they already had a rental car lined up.

While she was on the phone, Pete and Jerry were walking around in the area, keeping a close eye on Jillian and stretching their legs. Both couldn't help but wish that they were already at their destination.

The forty-five minute layover went quickly and they were soon boarded and taking off on the uneventful final leg of their trip. Once again, they settled, as comfortably as possible, in their seats and went about passing the time with small talk.

Time passed quickly and soon they were in Boston, picking up their rental car and heading to Maine. The trip by car would have normally only taken a little over an hour, but it was snowing heavily and the roads were a bit hazardous.

Both Pete and Jerry had offered to drive, but Jillian wouldn't let them, insisting that she was used to the inclement snowy conditions, and that they were not. Though neither man was too comfortable with her behind the wheel, neither could they debate her logic on the matter. Halting any further discussion she just told them to 'suck it up and deal with it.'

Traffic was moving slowly, but at least they were continually progressing toward their destination and Jillian figured that they would be at her parents' house by dinner.

Pete and Jerry were very quiet as Jillian continued to drive them through the blizzard like conditions. Each were wishing that her parents lived just a little closer to the airport, as the snow was falling at a much heavier rate now.

Jillian was lost in her own thoughts about the upcoming trial.

Finally, after what seemed like several hours on the road, but was, in reality, only slightly over two hours, Jillian pulled off onto an exit ramp marked for her hometown.

Pete could feel his gut tightening up. He was only a matter of minutes away from meeting Jillian's' family and the thought suddenly had him unnerved.

Glancing at Jillian, she appeared to be more relaxed than he had ever seen her. She's home; she's in her element. That thought made him a bit anxious as well, as he thought What if she decides that she doesn't want to go back to L.A.? He didn't want to face that possibility so soon after realizing just how he really felt about her.

Quickly pushing those thoughts from his mind, he concentrated on listening to her dissertation of the passing scenery and landmarks.

Jerry sat in the back seat, quietly listening to Jillian, but at the same time watching Pete's reactions. He didn't miss the thoughtful looks that Pete kept casting in Jillian's direction. He's hooked, thought Jerry, and I wonder if he realizes it?

Jillian made the final turn into a long and narrow snow-covered stone driveway and continued to creep along towards the sprawling, white, ranch style house that sat about two hundred yards off of the roadway.

There were several cars parked up near the house, and several more lining the edge of the long driveway just before you came to the house.

Jerry laughed and asked "Did your whole family decide to turn out for your homecoming?"

Jillian had an animated look of excitement on her face and said "it doesn't take much of an excuse for my family to hold a get together."

Pete looked as if he were going to be ill.

As they parked and exited the car, Jillian could sense his sudden discomfort; touching his arm she said, in a low voice "It's okay, they don't bite."

Before he could reply, the front door burst open and a group of children, ranging in age from five to eleven came running out, yelling and carrying on that 'Aunt Jillian' was home.

Pete and Jerry froze in their tracks as the group surrounded them and began hugging Jillian while jumping up and down like wild children.

Sparing a quick glance at her two traveling companions she could see that they were shivering in their lightweight jackets, so as she was laughing and hugging the children, she was slowly edging the group back toward the house.

Raising her voice over the voices of the youngsters, she said "Sorry guys. I should have thought to have you bring heavier coats. Maine's a little colder than California."

"No kidding." said Pete, giving Jillian a humorless look as he hugged his arms around himself.

"You think?" said Jerry as sarcastically as his chattering teeth would allow.

Just as they were almost to the door, it burst open once again. This time a group of adults, most carrying children under the age of three, came forth with a simultaneous chorus of 'Jilly-Pop; Jill-Jill; J.R.; Jillian; Jilly-Bean; Jillian Rose; Chickadee; Sweetie-Pie'; and once again, Jillian was swallowed up into a circle of family members.

Still laughing, she had to yell in order to be heard, "Okay everybody, I missed you too, but we need to go into the house, my friends here are freezing."

All heads swung toward the two shivering subjects standing behind them and Pete and Jerry felt like they were on display as umpteen pairs of eyes landed directly on them.

Time stood still for just a split second before a petite, dark- haired lady in her mid-sixties, came forth and said "Oh my goodness; you poor boys are half frozen! Let's get you inside and warmed up." And with that, she reached out and linked her arms through theirs and began to plow her way through the family and into the house.

This little whirlwind must be Jillian's' mother, thought Pete. I can really see the strong resemblance, in EVERY way!

Once inside, she led the two gentlemen to the dining room table and had them sit down in front of the wood burning fireplace that was ablaze with one the finest fires either had ever seen.

She took their coats and promptly handed them off to one of the grandkids with instructions to 'hang them up; and not on the floor.' bringing a smile to both Pete and Jerry. And then going into the kitchen she returned a few minutes later with two steaming cups of piping hot chocolate, topped with marshmallows, which she set in front of the two houseguests.

Having taken care of her hostessly duties for the moment, she also took a seat, folded her hands and intently stared at the two gentlemen before her, not saying a word.

Behind her, a flurry of activity was still taking place around Jillian, who could see that her mother had wrangled the newcomers and was getting ready to start her own version of 'Martinez interrogation'.

Groaning slightly, Jillian took her coat off and hung it up, then pushed through her nieces and nephews with promises to 'play later', as she headed for the dining room.

"I'm Angelina Martinez; now, which one of you is…"

Jillian's' voice cut her mother off at the pass as she hugged her mom and said "Momma! I've missed you. How have you been?" all the while looking over her mothers' shoulders and silently mouthing to Pete and Jerry "Sorry about that!"

Both just sat there looking a tad bit dazed and slightly amused.

"Oh, Sweetie-Pie, I'm fine and I've missed you, too" her mother said as she hugged her daughter tightly and then pulled away saying "You haven't been eating; you're as skinny as a rail, but don't you worry, I'll fatten you up while you're home."

Rolling her eyes, Jillian replied sarcastically "Momma, I'm fine; I eat three square meals each day, and I have milk and cookies in between."

"Then you must be eating birdseed because I can feel your ribs" her mother quipped.

"Don't squeeze so hard and you won't be able to feel them," Jillian shot back.

Pete and Jerry sat there with amused smiles as they listened to the two, ever so similar in looks and voice, chide each other.

Yep, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, Pete thought.

A deep voice from the doorway pulled Pete out of his thoughts with a slight start.

"Chickadee! I'm so glad you came home to visit. Things just aren't the same without you here to keep us entertained" said Jillian's dad, Abe, as he swept her up into a big bear hug.

"Hi Daddy. I'm glad I could come home for Thanksgiving. I've missed everyone," she said, returning his hug.

On that note, the rest of the family began to gather into the dining room area, each anxious for a real hug, but even more anxious for introductions. Jillian waited until her brothers and sister, sister-in-laws, and brother-in-law, nieces and nephews were all in the room before beginning.

Pete and Jerry shook hands and exchanged pleasantries with the adults and the children that weren't too shy to speak.

Noticing that one of the nieces, the one that Jillian called Kiersten, was standing off to the side and glaring at him, Pete smiled slightly at her and gave a little wave. She promptly stuck her tongue out at him and gave him a very mean look. His eyebrows shot up as he thought what did I do?

Jillian had seen the interaction and made a mental note to talk to Kiersten later. That's odd for her; she's usually little miss social thought Jillian.

The novelty of having new houseguests wore off about twenty minutes later and all of the men retired to the family room to chat while the women set about preparing and re-heating the food. The children went off to the basement to play in the toy room until dinner was served.

Dinner was an informal affair with an assortment of covered side dishes and casseroles that had been prepared by the women earlier in the day.

As Jillian passed by the kitchen window, she could see that it was still snowing very heavily and figured that they would be stuck at her parents at least for that night…and so would the rest of the clan. It's gonna be a long night, she thought, and an even longer day tomorrow; there's no way we'll get out of here and into town for the trial if this snow doesn't stop soon.

Abe, having seen Jillian gazing out of the window, figured the house would be full tonight and he said to the two youngest of Jillian's older brothers, "We had better go to the attic and get the cots and sleeping bags down; nobody's going anywhere in this snow tonight."

Pete and Jerry exchanged looks of disbelief, as if asking one another 'where are they going to put all of these people?'

Jillian saw the look exchanged by the two and ventured into the family room to give them an answer to their unasked question. "The older kids will sleep on cots or in sleeping bags downstairs in the playroom. One of my brothers and his wife will sleep on the pullout sofa down there as well. All of the other couples will be on either cots or in sleeping bags, placed in dorm style rows of four, here in the family room; there's three playpens for the littlest ones to sleep in, and they will be in the den. Momma and Daddy, of course have their own room. I'll be in one of the extra bedrooms and you two will be in the master guest-room, which has twin beds and a connecting bathroom."

"This isn't an unusual occurrence, I gather?" Pete asked dryly.

"Nope; things can get pretty cozy around here at this time of the year" Jillian replied. Then continuing "After awhile, you just come to expect it and you learn to roll with the punches. If you can escape with your sanity in tact when the snow stops and roads are finally clear, then you can do anything."

"What do you think this will do to the trial tomorrow?" Jerry asked.

"If it's this bad in town, and they usually get about the same thing that we do out here in the country, then the trial will be postponed. If it isn't, then they have three choices; they can come and get me on the police snowmobile, start the trial without me, or leave me out of it altogether; which is what I prefer."

On that note, Jillian's sister, Maria called out and said "dinner's on; kids first!"

As everyone migrated to the dining room and kitchen area, a flurry of activity ensued as everyone went about fixing a plate. Jillian continued to explain to Pete and Jerry that when her family had these gatherings, dinner was considered informal; in other words, fill your plate, get your own drink and sit wherever you can find a spot.

Most of the kids had gone to the basement playroom with their plates, but a few, including Kiersten, had stayed upstairs with the adults. She promptly parked herself on the floor, next to Jillian, while giving Pete another mean look.

Jerry gave Pete a slightly amused look after seeing the glare that he was getting from the little girl. She must be really protective of her aunt, was all Jerry could figure as he sat down next to Kiersten. He smiled down at her and she smiled back, very angelically.

Pete, wondering what was the child's problem with him, took a seat on the floor on the opposite side of Jillian. He heard a sound coming from the other side of her and thought I swear that kid just growled at me!

Jerry had heard the low growling sound coming from beside him and nearly choked on his food when he cast a glance over at the perplexed Pete. Jerry chuckled to himself, thinking, wait 'til the guys at the station hear that there is one female that Pete can't charm!

Jillian, having seen and heard her nieces' actions, said "Kiersten, after dinner, I want you to help me unpack my suitcase, okay?"

Looking up adoringly at her aunt, Kiersten said "Okay, Aunt Jilly." She then looked past Jillian and gave Pete another dirty look.

That kid's going to give me a complex, he thought.

The rest of dinner passed without incident, or bloodshed, and as Pete took his, Jillians', and Kierstens' plates to the kitchen, Jillian took Kiersten by the hand and led her to the bedroom that she was going to stay in.

Once inside, she shut the door and gently said "Okay, kiddo what's up. You don't like my friend Pete too well, do you?"

In her small, five-year-old voice, she said "No! He's mean!"

"Honey, you just met him. Why d'ya think that he's mean?" Jillian knew from past conversations with her nieces and nephews that kids could really get some misconstrued ideas, but the explanation that she was about to hear had to be the grand-daddy of them all.

"Because, his name is 'Pete' and my friend Pete is mean and pinches me and I don't like him no more!" she said in a pouting voice complete with her arms crossed and her lower lip sticking out.

"Your friend 'Pete'?" asked Jillian.

"uhm-huh. He's in my class at kindergarten and he's mean to me so I don't like him no more and I don't like Pete, either 'cause that's his name, too!"

Jillian had to hide the smile that threatened to blossom, thinking okay, in her five- year-old mind that makes perfect sense.

Kneeling down in front of the child, Jillian said, "Honey, just because his name is Pete, too, doesn't make him a mean person. Lots of people have the same name, but that doesn't make all them act the same."

The child continued to stare at her and said "But my friend Pete is mean to me and pinches me and it hurts and I cry so I'm not his friend no more."

"Okay, but Aunt Jillians' friend Pete isn't mean, he's very nice and very helpful. Did you know that he's a policeman and that it's his job to help people, not to be mean to them?"

Jillian's words were sinking in and Kierstens' eyes lit up as she threw her arms around Jillians' neck and said "Can I call him 'Uncle Pete' so I don't get him mixed up with my mean friend Pete?"

Laughing slightly, Jillian replied "I don't think that he would mind that at all."

Out of the mouths of babes, she thought as they both left the bedroom and went back to the family room.

From the look on Petes' face, he was utterly astonished at the child's change of attitude toward him when she came bounding into the room, full speed ahead. She ran straight to where he was sitting and threw her arms around his neck and planted a big, sloppy kiss on his cheek and said

"I like you now Uncle Pete, 'cause Aunt Jilly said that you aren't mean like my friend Pete that I don't like no more 'cause he pinches me so I'm not gonna be his friend no more, but I'm gonna be your friend 'cause you aren't mean, you help people. I'm gonna go get my favorite book to read to you, okay?" With that, she turned and ran toward the basement stairs to retrieve her prized book from the playroom.

Pete could only nod as he sat there, his head still spinning as his brain tried to make sense of what had just transpired. Giving Jillian a perplexed look, he said, "What just happened?"

Jillian laughed, reached out and patted his arm and said "You, sir, just made a friend for life."

Jerry just laughed and thought, well, it would've been a good story to tell if it would have lasted.

The evening passed quickly and soon gave way to bedtime. As Jillian helped to get all of the littlest ones settled in, Pete had been recruited by Kiersten to read to her and the others from her favorite book. He sat on the sofa in the family room, surrounded by kids, and read How the Grinch Stole Christmas. The kids sat there enthralled and hung on his every word. He looks like a natural, thought Jillian as she caught a glimpse of the group.

********

Wednesday morning dawned bright and early, promising lots of sunshine and more snow in the late afternoon. Jillian, Pete, and Jerry were awake and in the kitchen having coffee with Jillian's folks.

Abe, Pete, and Jerry were in a deep conversation about Christmas trees, when the phone rang.

"I've got it." Jillian said, as she ran to answer it before it woke anyone up.

Several minutes later, she walked back into the kitchen. The look that she had on her face put Pete on instant alert. She was pale and she was beginning to shake uncontrollably. He was at her side in an instant and helping her to a chair before she collapsed. He'd been down this road with her once before and he knew by her reaction to the phone call that it wasn't good news.

"Jillian? Dear, what's wrong?" came her mothers' concerned voice.

"Chickadee, are you okay?" asked her dad.

Jerry, sensing that something was terribly wrong, reached out and touched her arm, startling her. She looked at him with fear haunted eyes.

Pete, seeing the fear in her eyes asked "Jillian, who was on the phone?"

Slowly turning her head to look at him she said to him in a voice that sounded disattached from reality, "That was the sheriff's office; He got away. He stabbed a guard, took his gun and heisted a snowmobile. He… GOT...AWAY! They called to let us know that he MAY be headed this way." and then turning toward Abe, she asked "Daddy, do you still have my old hunting rifle?"

"Whoa, there a minute" Pete interjected. You aren't using a rifle or anything else on anyone. Just back up and tell us again what happened."

Jillian reiterated the story one more time for them. After she was finished, Jerry asked if he could use the phone. He wanted to call the sheriffs' office, himself and get as many details as possible.

In the meantime, Pete went from window to window, looking out at the undisturbed snowy landscaping for any signs of trouble. When Jillian, not feeling safe being away from him, walked up beside him at the front window, he nearly snapped her head off with "Stay AWAY from the windows and doors!"

Startled by the abrupt harshness of his voice, Jillian turned and ran to her bedroom, shutting herself in with the slam of the door. Somewhere, deep in her mind, she knew that he hadn't meant to be abrupt; she knew that he was concerned and she hated that she was causing him so much worry. Sinking onto the bed, she buried her face into the pillow and began to cry quietly and wondering when this nightmare was ever going to end.

Running his hand through his hair, Pete knew he hadn't handled that very well and immediately regretted how it had come out. He was letting his personal feelings for her seep into the picture and he knew that if he was going to keep her, and her family, safe he couldn't afford to let that happen. Forgive me, Jillian, as much as I want to go to you and hold you right now and tell you that everything will be okay, I can't; I need to stay focused.

Thanks to the fact that everyone had stayed up a little later than usual the night before, the slamming door had done nothing more than cause a few people to groan; burying their heads further into their pillows for that last little bit of shut eye before facing the day. For this, Pete and Jerry were grateful. The fewer people up and about, the better.

Both men had gone from room to room, checking doors and window locks, as well as shutting blinds and curtains. They instructed Jillians' parents to stay away from any open windows, as well. Within minutes, they had established that the Martinez house was locked up like Fort Knox and they sat down to plan strategy.

"What's your take on this, Pete? Give me your gut feeling." Jerry said.

"Jerry, he's not going to give up. He's coming for her."

Nodding his head, Jerry said "That's pretty much what the sheriff's office thought, too. They've got all available deputies out looking for him. Their resources are limited, though, with this snow as heavy as it is, but they have deputies on their way out here, just in case he does show up."

"Any word on the guard that he took out?"

"He's in surgery, right now, but they think that he'll be okay. He was lucky, though, they said that the blade just barely missed a major artery."

"Where'd he get a knife?"

"That, they don't know, yet. Could be an inside job."

Nodding and biting the inside of his cheek, Pete just nodded and ran his hand through his hair again, and saying "I guess now we just sit and wait, then, huh?"

"Pete, I'll sit and wait. You go talk to her. She's upset; you're upset. You need to clear the air with her. I need your head totally in this if he comes here. Go and talk to her, now. Tell her that everything is going to be alright."

"Yeah, okay Jerry."

"And, Pete?"

"Yeah, Jerry?"

"Stop beating around the bush; just put yourself out there, man, and tell the girl how you feel about her, huh?"

Smiling slightly and nodding, Pete replied "Maybe it is time I tell her how I feel."

Pete knocked quietly on Jillian's bedroom door and said "Jillian, I need to talk to you."

"Go away, Pete, I don't have anything to say right now."

Slowly turning the doorknob and opening the door, he peaked into the darkened room and said lightly "I was more or less hoping for a 'come in.'"

"You are anyway, so why do you need an invitation?" As soon as she had said it, she regretted it.

"I probably deserved that," said Pete.

"No, you didn't. I'm sorry. I'm just upset at this whole situation. I'm frustrated because I can't do anything about it. All I can do is sit back and wait. I'm not the most patient person in the world and I don't like to wait for good things to happen, let alone sit and wait for some screwball to come gunning for me or my family. I don't like the reactions that his actions are causing me to have."

Sitting down on the bed next to her he reached out and took her hand, saying "Jillian, I'm sorry that I snapped at you like that. I just don't want anything to happen to you; it's my job to keep you safe, do you understand that?"

Feeling a surge of angriness at her own helplessness, she pulled her hand away quickly, and glaring at him said "Yeah Pete, I get it. No casualties on your watch, right? Well, don't worry, I'll stay out of the line of fire so your 'assignment' will be considered a success!" and then looking toward the floor and lowering her voice she continued with "now, please leave my room."

Pete just sat there looking at her for a few seconds longer before slowing getting up and walking over to the door. His hand on the knob and opening the door, he paused, looked back at her and said quietly "Jillian, I love you and I'm not going to let anything happen to you or your family. Got that?" as he started to walk through the door.

"What'd you just say?" ask Jillian, astonished. He couldn't possibly have said what I thought he said.

"I said I'm not going to let anything…"

"No… before that."

"I said 'I love you'"

"That's what I thought you said. I love you too, Pete." She said as she walked over to him and put her arms around his waist and buried her head in his chest, crying tears of a different kind, now.

He put his arms around her and held her tightly, letting her take her time to compose herself.

It was while they were in this embrace that a small voice sounded from beside them, saying "Uncle Pete, why is Aunt Jilly crying? Did you pinch her?"

The two pulled away from each other and looked down to find an extremely tired looking Kiersten gazing up at them with questioning eyes.

"No, little one, I didn't pinch your Aunt Jillian; she's just crying 'happy tears'…I think." Pete offered to the child in the way of an explanation.

"Oh, okay. I'm hungry, now." and she scampered off to the kitchen to find her Grandma.

Both adults chuckled slightly and Pete said, "she's a real cutie."

"Yeah, I hope that we have five just like her, some day." Jillian replied in a dreamy tone.

Petes' jaw dropped as he looked at her in disbelief, causing Jillian to chuckle.

"Pete, I love you so much; and yes, they were 'happy tears.'" Jillian said as she stretched up to give him a kiss, which he promptly returned.

"Good! We'll talk about this more, later on," he said "but right now, Jerry and I have a job to do; and that is to keep you and your family safe, so do me a favor, huh?"

"Anything you say."

"Rally the troops into one room, preferably downstairs in the playroom, and explain what's going on so that Jerry and I can concentrate on the task at hand and not worry about anyone trying to play hero, okay?"

"Okay…Pete, be careful, huh?" He could see the concern in her eyes.

"You know it. I'm not about to let anything happen if I can help it."

Nodding, they both walked back to the kitchen together, where most of the adults had gathered after they had awakened.

Jillian quickly explained that everyone needed to go downstairs so that Pete and Jerry could do their job. There was some grumbling from her brothers, but when Jillian provided a few more details, everyone filed downstairs without further argument.

Pete and Jerry stayed upstairs to wait.

They didn't have to wait very long.

Twenty minutes later, Pete looked out and saw a snowmobile headed their way, very fast. There were two more snowmobiles following close behind.

"Looks like this is it, Jerry." Pete said tightly, as he drew out his off duty weapon and stood poised and ready, while looking out from the side of the window.

"Just hang tight, buddy. Stay off to the side of the window and keep your eyes peeled on what he's doing." Jerry replied from the other side of the window; he too had drawn his weapon and was ready should the need arise.

As the first snowmobile approached the front of the house, the subject on it pulled out pistol and fired two shots toward the front of the house. One shot lodged into the wooden farmhouse exterior, and the other found its' way through the plate glass front window with a tremendous shattering sound.

The subject then continued on past the house and disappeared into the trees.

The second and third snowmobile stayed in pursuit and Jerry and Pete both ran to the back of the house where other windows face the wooded area. They couldn't see any of the subjects now, but they did hear gunfire in the distant. After a few minutes, all was silent.

Donning their coats, Pete and Jerry were just about to step out of the back door when the phone rang.

Pete picked up the phone, said a few words and then replaced the receiver, and looking to Jerry said in a quiet voice "They just radioed in; they got him. He's dead. He tried to do a double back and ambush the officers that were following him, but fortunately they were right on his heels so he couldn't catch them off guard."

"Okay. I'll head out there and see if they need any assistance."

"I'll go tell Jillian and then I'll meet you out there" Pete replied.

Jerry left through the back door and Pete headed to the basement playroom. As he approached the bottom step, umpteen eyes were once again trained on him. Seeking out Jillians' questioning stare, he said

"It's over. For good, this time. You can all come upstairs now, but please stay inside until Jerry and I come back in." He then went upstairs and a few seconds later they heard the back door close once more.

Two hours later, a nearly frozen Pete Malloy and Jerry Miller re-entered the Martinez house. They had chosen to stay outside while the county sheriff deputies and coroner went about finishing up their business at hand. Neither man wanted to bring any of the unpleasantness into the house.

After shedding their coats, they sat down to coffee in front of the fire in the dining room and set about answering a bevy of questions from the family members. They were very careful of how they answered as there were details that didn't need to be shared and the younger kids were coming and going throughout the house.

To this point, both had taken notice that Jillian hadn't asked any questions, but had just sat quietly listening to the surrounding dialogue. Pete knew that she would have questions later, and he also knew that she wouldn't be satisfied with the vague answers that seemed to pacify her family.

The day seemed longer than usual, though in reality it had passed quickly.

After the deputies had cleared out, Jillians' siblings and their families had packed up and headed for their own homes with promises to be back by noon the following day for Thanksgiving.

The weather had changed slightly and the forecast had gone from afternoon snow, to sunny and clear through the next two days, with temperatures in the low to mid-forties.

With all of the relatives gone for now, the old rambling farmhouse seemed deserted and lonely. Abe and Angelina were sitting in the family room, watching a movie on the television; Jerry was on the phone calling Mac with details of what had transpired.

Pete, after looking for Jillian for quite awhile, finally found her on the sofa in the downstairs playroom. She was sitting curled up in the corner, holding a box of tissues. He could see that she had been crying again.

Sitting down beside her and drawing her close to him, he just simply held her and waited until she was ready to talk.

Taking a deep breath "It's really over, isn't it?" she questioned, staring at floor.

"Yes, Jillian. It's really over. He can't ever hurt you again."

"He's dead." She said it as a statement rather than a question.

"Yes."

"His parents…they are the sweetest people. They're going to be devastated. He was their only child. They're in their early seventies and…have they been told, yet?" And then she broke down and cried for the two innocent people that were left to deal with the fallout from their sons' criminal doings. Two people that were just as much victims in this whole thing as she was.

Pete continued to hold her.

Sniffling and pulling away from Pete, she said "Do I still have to talk to the prosecutor?"

"Yes. Obviously there won't be any courtroom proceedings, but you will need to give your statement regarding anything of his criminal acts that you have knowledge of."

She just nodded her head and then got up from the sofa, saying, "I guess we had better get back upstairs, huh?"

"Yeah" was his reply. He really thought that she would open up to him, but she hadn't and he wouldn't push her.

Jillian remained quiet and slightly distracted as the day gave way to evening. Pete could tell that her nerves were strained to nearly the breaking point. He only hoped that she could make it through facing her family the next day; he knew that they would want to bombard her with questions so he decided that he would pull each of her siblings aside as they came in and ask them not to bring anything up.

Claiming fatigue at the early hour of seven-thirty, she went to bed, leaving her parents to entertain Pete and Jerry.

Sensing Petes' concern for her daughter, Angelina reached out and placed her hand on his arm as she spoke up and said "Don't you worry about Jillian. She's always been a bouncer. She just needs to work through things in her own time and own way. She'll be back to herself tomorrow by the time everyone gets here. You mark my words."

Pete gave the kindly woman a smile and placed his hand on top of hers and gave it a squeeze before putting on his coat and stepping outside for a few moments. He needed to regain his composure.

********

Exhausted from the day before, it was ten o'clock on Thanksgiving morning before Jillian awoke.

She rolled over and shielded her eyes against the bright morning sunshine as she shook the cobwebs from her brain. She could smell the turkey baking and the coffee brewing and she could here her parents talking with Pete and Jerry. I can't believe how rude I was to just go to bed like that last night. I sure am glad that Momma and Daddy like to entertain, she thought as she climbed out from under the covers and padded out to the kitchen where the four sat at the table, freshly showered and dressed, ready to face the day.

Her mother was busy making deviled eggs, her dad was making a cheeseball, and Pete and Jerry were peeling potatoes.

"Good morning, Sunshine" said Pete. This earned him a withering look and an unpleasant growl.

"Hi Sweetie" this from her mother. She gave her a groan and a slight wave.

"Sit down Chickadee, I'll get you a cup of coffee." said her dad. He got a smile and slight 'okay'.

"G'morning, Jillian." this from Jerry. He only got a slight wave, punctuated by a big yawn.

Jillian's dad spoke up and directed his words toward Pete, saying "It's usually a good idea to ply her with coffee before talking to her in the mornings."

This earned her dad a glare that could've re-frozen the half-cooked turkey in the oven.

Rolling his tongue into his cheek, Pete smiled and said, "Uhm, thanks. I'll file that information away for reference."

Jillian could feel four pairs of eyes on her as she drained the hot coffee in three drinks, rinsed her cup and left the kitchen while mumbling "I'm gonna go take a shower."

She could hear the group chuckling and then heard her dad say "She'll be more like herself in a little bit, Pete. Don't worry." She couldn't hear Petes' reply.

********

Once again, the day promised to fly by in a whirlwind of activity and morning quickly gave way to noontime as the relatives converged from every direction.

Pete had done what he had set out to do; he had headed off each group outside, under the pretense of helping to carry in covered dishes, and asked them not to make mention of what had happened. He was assured by all that they had no intentions of saying anything that would cause Jillian any emotional pain.

Still, even with the absence of painful reminders, Pete could tell that Jillian just wasn't quite her normal, bubbly self and he was looking forward to taking a winter wonderland walk with her later to try to get her to open up a little. He hoped that it would work, he didn't like seeing her emotionally drained like this.

*********

As the men sat around watching football, Jillian couldn't help but see the forlorn like look on Jerry's face. Probably missing his family, she thought. Then, searching Petes' face she sensed that Pete missed his partner and his partners' family as well. Pulling the two aside one at a time she sent them off to the den with instructions to call home and wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. Neither man had to be prodded twice.

At one o'clock, it was time for the Martinez clan to celebrate their Thanksgiving. The women had outdone themselves with all kinds of side dishes and desserts for the meal and before eating, everyone stood in a big circle, hand in hand, to give thanks. Afterwards, the adults helped the children fix their plates before fixing their own and as they had done two days before, each person sat wherever they wanted to.

When dinner was over, it was time to set up and trim the Christmas tree; a tradition that was started long before the family had moved to Maine.

Jillians' brothers had gotten the artificial tree and decorations from the attic and everyone but the seven siblings were 'shooed' out of the family room. It was their job to set the tree up and put the lights on and with all of them working on it, it took less than a half-hour from start to finish to ready the tree for decorating.

Once again, Jillian caught a questioning glance from Pete and Jerry. No doubt they were wondering why a family with a whole farm full of Christmas trees at their disposal were putting up an artificial tree. Walking up to them she answered their unasked question with "A real tree would be too dried out by Christmas and it's tradition to trim the tree after our Thanksgiving dinner…a tradition that EVERYONE participates in…even guests.

Both men just sat there and nodded their heads, wondering just what their part would be in this.

With the tree put up, the two oldest grandkids set about handing out ornaments and small slips of paper with a number on it, to everyone. There was one ornament for each person and the ornament had the persons' name engraved or painted on.

Pete and Jerry were surprised when they were both handed a piece of paper along with a lovely ornament with their names painted on in fancy calligraphy

Knowing that they would be sharing in this tradition, Jillian had purchased ornaments for them and had brought them with her in her carryon.

Both gentlemen were touched by the thoughtfulness and felt honored to be included in this sacred family tradition.

Starting with the person who's slip of paper was numbered one, and then going in numerical order from there, each person approached the tree and placed their ornament on, while telling one thing that he or she was thankful for. With thirty-one people in the house, twenty-seven of whom were old enough to put words into sentences, the whole tree trimming took a little over an hour. Now it was time for the family picture.

Jillian could see that her guests were enjoying themselves and she, herself, was feeling a little better than she had earlier in the day.

After decorating the tree, Jillian set about readying her photography equipment and announced that it was time for everyone to gather around the tree in order to take the infamous 'Martinez Christmas Card Photo', as she liked to call it.

The announcement was met with the usual round of groans and complaints from the guys that didn't want to have their football games interrupted. Jillians' reply was simply "can it and get in the picture or I'll see to it that your game will be over before I get the picture that I want." That brooked no further argument and the group quickly took shape around the tree.

Once again, even Pete and Jerry couldn't escape family traditions and they were strategically placed in the grouping, as well. Pete, of course, had the honor of holding his new best friend, Kiersten.

"Hey, aren't you going to be in the picture?" Jerry directed to Jillian.

"Yep, just as soon as I get this tripod set up and the camera focused." she replied.

Soon the equipment was ready and everyone was smiling for the camera. Jillian pressed the timer on the camera and made it to her spot in the group a full two seconds before the flash went off. She made them stand through two more pictures before turning everyone loose.

Over the course of the next couple of hours, the family's talked and laughed, recounting past stories and planning for the upcoming Christmas holiday.

Jillian knew that there was more than one story told that she really wouldn't have minded if Pete hadn't heard. Judging from the look of amusement on his face, he was going to be asking a lot of questions on the return flight home. Jerry looked mildly amused, himself. This is my penance for making them pose for pictures, she thought. Gotta love my family's way of getting even.

Soon it was time to call it a night and everyone gathered around Jillian, Pete and Jerry to say their 'good-byes' before heading for their own homes. The annual Martinez Thanksgiving gathering had come and gone for another year and this one wasn't one that they would be likely to forget anytime soon.

By the time everyone had cleared out, it was almost seven o'clock. Jerry had retired to the family room with Jillians' parents and they were watching a Christmas show on television.

Jillian walked up to where Pete was standing at the back door and looking out at the sparkling clear sky. He put his arm around her and asked her "Wanna take a walk outside in the snow and gaze up at the stars?" Feeling emotionally drained from the last couple of days she readily accepted the invitation.

Donning her coat, she went to the closet and got one of the extra winter coats and pair of gloves that her parents always had on hand 'for an emergency'. Putting her hand up to ward off any argument, she said, "You'll be glad to have this on. Just because the temperatures were decent today, doesn't mean anything, now. By this time of the evening, it has dropped off by a good twenty degrees, at least. Your coat won't be warm enough."

All bundled up, the couple went outside. The initial blast of cold air was a bit shocking, but after a few minutes of walking, they were both becoming comfortable in the brisk air.

Looking up at the stars, Jillian said "Isn't it beautiful? You can see forever, on a clear night like this."

Pete, looking up also, echoed her sentiments.

"I want to show you something…in the woods, just past that first stand of trees." Jillian said.

"In the dark?" Pete questioned.

"I know these woods like the back of my hand; besides, I bought a couple of lights with me." She replied, pulling out two high powered flashlights, and handing one to Pete.

Noticing that they were headed in the direction of yesterdays' incident, Pete put a hand on Jillians' arm and said, "Wait. I don't think that you should go back there."

"We have to; that's the way to get to what I want to show you."

"Jillian, this is right along the path where it happened at."

"Oh. Okay" she said quietly, though she slowly continued to walk in that direction keeping her light pointed at the ground in front of her.

Pete had no choice but to follow her, keeping his light trained on the path in front of him, as well.

He knew the moment that she spotted the police tape. He heard the sharp intake of breath and he nearly collided with her as she came to an abrupt stop.

Using her light to scan the well trampled taped off area Jillian immediately spotted the area of the fatal shooting. She could see dark stains in the snow, even from where she stood fifteen feet away.

She started to walk slowly toward the area, but veered off to the right just before reaching the police tape. She continued walking to the right until she could straighten out her path and once again head straight through the stand of trees.

Pete, continued to follow closely behind her, but didn't say anything. He knew that she was working through several emotions right now.

Going about another hundred feet or so, they came to a clearing in the heavily treed area. Right in the middle of the clearing stood a tiny, one- room log cabin.

"Who lives here?" Pete asked.

"Nobody. During the holiday season, Daddy and the boys use this as place to stop and warm up. Usually there's a fire going and sometimes Momma will come out here with a pot of stew for their lunch. Almost like pioneer living. Come on, I'll show you the inside."

Pushing the door open, and stepping inside, Jillian shined her light against the wall, next to the door, and finding what she was looking for, she flipped the light switch, lighting up the little twenty by twenty one room cabin.

Pete, laughing, said "Electricity, huh? All the comforts of real pioneer living."

Jillian chuckled and said, "I said 'almost' like pioneer living. Besides, that one single electric bulb is the only electricity this cabin is wired for. Heat comes from the fireplace and any cooking is done there, also. The sink has running cold water…if you pump the well handle"

Looking around the small, cozy, and primitive looking cabin Pete could see that it contained a small table with two chairs and a bench and a two-person sofa. There were a few dishes over near the sink with the well pump; and a nice supply of firewood off in the corner to the left of the fireplace. On the table, sat a thermos with a note propped against it.

Picking up the note, Jillian laughed out loud as she read it and then handed it off to Pete to read. It said 'You kids enjoy the hot chocolate and don't forget to bank the fire before you come back to the house. I'll leave the back door unlocked for you. Love, Mom.'

Jillian threw some wood into the fireplace, and then opening the flue, she grabbed a couple of rolled up newspaper donuts and placed them under the wood. Satisfied that it would take, she lit the papers and watched as the well-seasoned wood caught fire and began to burn steady. Within a short amount of time, it was comfortable enough for the two to shed their coats and sit on the sofa.

Opening the thermos, the aroma of hot chocolate filled the cabin.

Pete took two cups from the sink area and poured them each a cup of hot chocolate before setting down next Jillian on the sofa.

They sat quietly, his arm around her, her head resting against his chest, as they watched the flames and drank their hot chocolate.

"This is nice; and peaceful." Said Pete.

"This is one of my favorite places to come to when I want to get away and think." Said Jillian.

After a few minutes of silence, he felt her tremble and the she said in a voice so quiet that he had to strain to hear her "He tried to rape me. That's when I left town for L.A."

"He'd already knocked me around a couple of times before. That's when I told him that I thought we needed time apart. I told him that he needed professional help and that until he got it, I wasn't going to have anything else to do with him. He kept calling me and coming over; promising that he would get help, but he always had an excuse why he hadn't yet."

"Each time that he came around, he seemed a little more psychotic than the time before. Finally, I stopped answering my door; I refused to take his phone calls. Then he started showing up at the newspaper office, where I was freelancing. He'd follow me wherever I went. He'd follow me home. He'd follow me to the grocery store; the bank; the doctors' office. You name it. Everywhere I went he was in my rearview mirror."

"He'd come beating on the door at all hours of the morning. The night that I left town he broke into my apartment after standing in the hallway and screaming for ten minutes. I didn't want him to know that I was home so I hid in the bedroom closet. But he didn't go away. He kicked in the door and ransacked the apartment. It didn't take him long to find me and drag me out of the closet at knifepoint. I was never so scared as I was that night. I knew that he was going to kill me that night. I just knew it. I screamed as loud as I could, praying that someone would hear me. He hit me and I fell. I hit my head on the chair leg and I was out cold for a few minutes. When I came to, he was straddling me and he was holding a knife to my throat. He told me that he would kill me if I didn't do what he wanted. He told me horrible stories of things that he had done to other girls. He was very graphic in his details and I was scared to death."

Her body shuddered at the memory as she continued "If it hadn't been for a neighbor that heard the commotion and called the sheriff, he would have succeeded in what he set out to do…and I honestly believe that he would have killed me when he was finished. That's when I knew I had to leave."

"The sheriffs deputy, his cousin, came out. He was never placed under arrest, only 'escorted' from my apartment."

"As soon as they left, I called my brother, John, and told him that I was going away for awhile. He's the only one I have ever talked to about what went on that night…until now."

Pete just sat there quietly and let her continue. There would be time for words later on; right now it was imperative for her to purge the bad memories so that her healing could begin.

"I packed as little as I could get away with and left that night. I drove for over fourteen hours, only stopping for gas and coffee twice before I felt that I was far enough away to stop for a few hours of rest."

"That's when I called my friend from high school and got her Aunt's phone number in L.A. Then I called her to ask about a place to stay. She said that she had an apartment available so I called John and gave him her name and address and had him send a check for three months rent. I had him pay up the rent on my apartment for six months also, just in case I would be able to come back. I held out hope that Cal would do something that he'd finally get arrested for; but that didn't happen."

"And…well, you know the rest; two days after that I'm exhausted, and in L.A., assaulting a nice, off-duty police officer who just wanted to know if I was okay because I was napping in my car." She gave Pete a slight smile on that note.

Giving her a tight smile, Pete hugged her close to him and said "Thank you for trusting me enough to open up. I know this whole situation was very difficult for you. You've had so much to deal with, in just a short time. Jillian, you have to be one of the strongest women that I've ever had the pleasure of meeting, let alone the honor of loving."

Sitting there, quietly, watching the fire die down, Jillian looked up at Pete and with full trusting eyes, no fear to be found, she said "I love you, Pete Malloy. Thank you for coming into my life."

"I love you Jillian Martinez; and thank you for showing me what I have been missing out on all of these years. In just a few short months you have turned my world completely upside down and I don't ever want to have to live without you in my life." And then, moving from the sofa and getting down on one knee in front of her, he took her hand, kissed it tenderly and asked, "Will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

Her eyes were shining with unshed tears; Her smile was brighter than the stars in the sky; and her voice as soft as a feather when she said, "Yes, I'll marry you. It would be my honor to be your wife."

They shared a very tender kiss, and then banking the fire and donning their coats, they made their way back to the main house, neither one feeling the cold temperatures. All was right in their world.

The end

I hope you have enjoyed reading the story as much as I have enjoyed writing it. Please take time to review. Thank you.