This is my first story in awhile, but inspiration struck and well, here we are! Thank you for reading! Please leave a review. Good, bad or ugly, I want to hear it all! Also, HUGE thank you to Missblueeyes63 for taking time from her busy writing to be my sounding board for this one. Thank you! Enjoy!
Sam followed closely behind the Boss and Wordy, covering all angles as they made slow progress towards the distraught woman. He moved to the side while Wordy remained in front of Boss with the shield. He reluctantly pointed his MP5 at her head and whispered, "I have the solution."
"Regina, my name is Greg Parker from the Strategic Response Unit." Greg took one step to the right of the shield, exposing half of his body.
"Please! Just get out of my house! We're fine here!" Regina held tightly to the beautiful, peacefully sleeping baby in her arms. She kept her voice low, but couldn't keep the desperation from creeping in.
"We can't do that Regina." Greg maintained eye contact with her as Ed and Leah moved in from behind, close enough to make a move for the baby if necessary but far enough back not to spook her. When she took a shuddering breath, he tried again. "That's right. Take a few breaths for me. Everything is going to be okay."
Regina used her free hand to swipe at the tears streaming down her face. This isn't how this is supposed to be. Why can't they just leave me and Vera alone? "Please. You don't understand." Her tear-filled eyes met caring, chocolate ones. "We just want to be left alone."
"Boss. Got some more info on our subject-" Jules said over the headset as she hit end call on her cell phone.
Greg stepped back behind Wordy and answered quietly, "Go ahead." After listening for a moment, he stepped from behind the protective barrier.
"Why won't you go?" Regina unconsciously started swaying as her eyes locked with the blond's piercing blue gaze. "Are you going to shoot us both?"
"We don't want to shoot anyone Regina." Greg tipped his head, trying to gain her attention.
"Could you do it?" She demanded of the armed officer. "Risk the baby by killing me? Take an innocent life and injure a helpless child? Would you be able to sleep tonight?"
Stunned by her accusations, Sam fought to keep his gun trained on her and drown out the words. The grey area they routinely travelled was never easy. The choices often heart wrenching. Two days ago, he nearly had to shoot a mother in front of her two young children during a parental abduction. He quietly begged her not to make him pull the trigger and was relieved not to have to do it. Sam took a steadying breath, never moving, steeling himself against her verbal onslaught.
Wordy glanced at Sam. Damn. This is harsh. He stepped to his left, away from the shield. "All we want is for everyone to go home safe Genie."
"Kevin?!" Regina's eyes rounded at the familiar face. Oh god. Oh no, no no! Her terror-filled eyes flicked from Greg to the blond to Kevin.
"Wordy." Greg continued to watch the woman decline back to red.
"I'm okay Boss. She needs a familiar face,-" Wordy whispered. Returning to his normal voice. "Genie, we only want to make sure that you and the baby are alright."
"We're fine,-" Regina mumbled and loosened her arms, letting the baby's face slip into view. "She's perfect."
Boss took Wordy's shield and pulled his gun to cover him.
"She is. Do you mind if I hold her?" Wordy took a step forward away from cover.
"Wordy,-" Greg warned quietly.
"No she's fine." Regina shifted her gaze back to Kevin and took a step back. "She's safe with me. No. Get back!" She glanced behind her and caught a glimpse of the bald officer to her right. She hugged the little girl to her chest which made her start to fuss. "No! Stay away from us!" She switched Vera to her left arm, gripping the butcher knife she hid in the blankets in her right. Wild, desperate eyes moved between the officers.
"Genie, take a breath. Slow down a moment," Wordy stated calmly.
"No! I won't let you take my baby!" Genie yelled as fresh tears ran down her cheeks. She snuggled Vera close, the knife pointed safely away, her heart breaking. "My beautiful girl,-" She murmured peering straight into the blue eyes of the man who would end her suffering. "Do it." Her voice was steady.
"Genie." Wordy took a step forward.
"You have to." Genie sobbed, her hand holding the blade lifted.
"You don't want to hurt her." Sam knew he should let Wordy try to reach her, but she fixated on him for some reason. When she shook her head he continued, "This isn't the way Genie."
"It's the way it has to be." She placed the blade on top of the pink blanket, several inches from the baby's face. "DO IT!" she screamed.
6 Hours Earlier
"Nooooooooooo!" The little face crumpled and large hazel eyes filled with tears.
"Girls?" Wordy used his fatherly glare, eyeing the stairwell to the floor above. "What's going on?"
"See? I told you she was going to get us in trouble."
"Lilly?" Wordy started up the stairs, concern elevating as his youngest started to cry.
"Please? Just let me do it!" Lilly whined.
"Do I need to come up there?" Wordy glanced down the stairs to find Shelly with a bowl in one hand and a spoon in the other, one eyebrow raised.
"No!" three young voices answered.
"All right." Wordy wasn't convinced, but he descended again. Until he heard, "Phew! He only made it four steps that time!" He chuckled as he landed on the main floor and gave Shelly a quick peck. "Crisis averted."
With a smirk, Shelly nodded. "For now." She turned and returned to the kitchen to finish baking the brownies for the get together with the Finleys down the block.
Wordy followed, watching her swaying hips. When she stopped at the counter, he put his arms around her and laid his head on her shoulder. When she turned in his embrace and gazed up at him, he said, "Have I told you lately how much I love you?"
She lifted her eyes in thought, then shook her head. "Nope."
"Shelly Wordsworth, you are my sun, moon, and stars. My love for you grows with each sunrise." He brushed his lips over hers, then deepened the kiss, demonstrating exactly what she meant to him.
Breathless, she pulled back. "Love you more Kevin Wordsworth-" Her words were interrupted by a frustrated yell from above, followed by, "Daddy!"
"Coming!" Wordy called before he gave Shelly one last kiss. "They made it four whole minutes this time." Shelly's laugh followed him as he ascended the staircase.
"Maggie, Polly, and Henry! Come here please!" Renee Finley called from the kitchen. When her three eldest children appeared, she turned to their nanny who attempted to feed her two year old twins breakfast. She stifled a yawn and returned to cutting up vegetables and fruits for the party starting in an hour.
Nanny Regina Nyland directed, "Maggie, take the living room, Polly the kitchen and Henry the bathrooms. Everything needs to be picked up and put away from your assigned room. Don't just dump it somewhere else, it has to go where it belongs. If it's laundry it goes in the baskets and is brought down to the laundry room. Got it?" The nanny eyed each child and got a nod from them.
Polly, eight, sighed and scanned the kitchen. It was a complete disaster with dishes, toys and general stuff littering the room. She ambled over to stand near her mother at the island and pulled open the dishwasher.
Ten-year-old Maggie, turned and strode the few feet to the adjacent living room. She started picking up the clothes strewn around the room and putting them in piles by person.
"Mommaaa!" Five-year-old Henry whined hoping his mother would supercede the nanny's order.
"Henry Michael. You heard me. Now get busy." Nanny Genie said firmly as she dodged a piece of banana Dante chucked at his sister but bounced off her head. "Dante. Be nice to Sissy." She smirked at him before smiling at his two-year-old sister Delia lovingly. The little girl held two fistfuls of banana squished between her fingers, busy licking the bits off. Genie turned to check on Henry and noted he disappeared.
Ten minutes later, Dante and Delia had made a complete mess of themselves. Genie unbelted Dante and put him on the floor. "You hold on a second. We need to get you and Sissy washed up okay?" When he answered with a, "K." She turned and took Delia out of her booster seat. She went to retrieve Dante and he had disappeared. She put Delia on her hip and rushed down the hall. "Dante?"
"He's in here!" Henry called from the bathroom down the hall.
"Thank you Henry. Don't let him get into anything!" Genie hurried down the hall with the messy, babbling little girl on her hip. It was only 9am and she was already tired. Dang these kids kept me running. By the time she got the twins cleaned up and upstairs in the playroom, it was nearly time for the party. She rushed downstairs to inspect the rooms she asked the older kids to clean.
Checking the living room, she nodded in satisfaction at the cleanliness. "Thank you Maggie," she smiled at the dark-haired girl on the couch who was playing on her iPod. She went to the closet and pulled out the vacuum. "Just run this over the floor really quick, please. People should start arriving soon."
Maggie rolled her eyes at Genie. "I have to do everything!"
"No, only what I tell you. C'mon, kiddo. You did awesome! One last thing, then you can play. The Wordsworth girls are coming over,-" Genie offered her an incentive. Maggie and Allie Wordsworth had become best friends and inseparable. All of the kids loved the Wordsworth girls, but Maggie and Allie connected and formed a special bond. They first met right before the twins were born, on the neighborhood playground. Maggie was seven and Allie five. They discovered a mutual love for the swings and ended up taking turns pushing each other to see how high they could go until they had been forced to go home.
"Yes!" Maggie jumped up and grabbed the vacuum.
Genie put a hand on Maggie's back, smiled and nodded. She pivoted and entered into kitchen. She loved the huge, naturally lit space created by oversized windows and French doors. Impressive, Polly had done a fantastic job. All of the clean dishes had been put away, the dirty ones were currently being washed in the dishwasher. The book bags had been hung on their designated hooks and shoes stuffed in their cubbies. Polly had wiped the table and all stray toys and clothes picked up and put away. She found Polly standing next to her mother, on a stool, helping her with the food for the party. Moving to the girl, she put her arm around Polly and gave her a hug. "Wonderful job Polly!"
"Thanks Genie." Polly smiled and hugged her nanny back. She loved Genie, even when she made her clean. She took good care of her and her siblings.
After releasing Polly, Genie headed down the hallway to the bathroom, then moved upstairs to check the other three bathrooms. She found Henry in his parent's bathroom, crying. "What's the matter little man?" She crouched to his level.
"It's not fair! The girls only did one room! I had ta do four!" Henry sniffed and wiped his arm across his nose.
Genie pulled some toilet paper off the roll and handed it to him. "Don't use your arm honey." She put a hand on his back. "I'm sorry. Maybe this was too big a job for a little boy. You want some help?"
He nodded and sniffed again. "Yes please." He looked around at the towels hanging on the bar and stuff all over the counter.
"Alright. You grab the towels and put them in the hamper and I'll clean off this counter." Genie put a hand on his cheek and gave him a kiss when he smiled and nodded. After a few minutes they had this bathroom straightened out and had moved on to his sister's bathroom and finally the one he shared with the twins.
Luckily, they finished cleaning just as the guests arrived and the Finley's four month old baby, Cherie woke from her nap. Genie checked on the twins and made sure Henry was playing nice with his siblings in the playroom before taking the baby downstairs to hang out with everyone. As she descended the steps, she nuzzled the little girl and sang to her. She was such a lovely baby. So much easier to care for than the colicky twins. She didn't mind though, she loved all of the Finley children. She loved her job. Yes, taking care of six children wasn't easy, but that's why stay-at-home mom Renee hired her.
Mr. Finley, Jean-Luc, worked long hours on the trading floor trying to support their large family. He was always pleasant to her and appreciative of her help with the children. He came home every night in time to read the kids a story and kiss them goodnight.
Genie entered the kitchen with a fussy Cherie and grabbed a bottle of breast milk from the fridge. She bounced Cherie and patted her bottom, trying to soothe her while they waited for the bottle to warm on the stove. When the baby quieted, she frowned at the sound of soft sobbing coming from the pantry. Pulling the door open, she found Renee quickly wiping her eyes. "Renee? What's wrong?"
"Oh, Genie. Um, I-uh.." Renee averted her eyes and shook her head. How to tell her?
"Come sit down." Genie motioned for her to follow her to the kitchen table. "Now you know you can tell me anything. What's happened?" She grabbed the bottle from the stove and started feeding the baby as she sat down near Renee.
Renee ran a hand over her face and gazed at her beautiful baby. How could this happen? "Well, um, good news. I'm pregnant." She couldn't help it, she started crying again. Seven. Even with Genie's help, how could they take care of seven children? She was already dead tired and took a nap every day while Genie handled the twins and the baby. The three oldest were in school, but they would be getting out for the summer soon. "Oh God. How are we going to handle this?" She put her head in her hands and sobbed.
"Oh Renee." Genie shook her head. She loved the Finleys, but seven kids? She and Renee could barely handle them now. By the time this one is born Cheri will barely be a year old. "Have you told Jean-Luc?" She put a comforting hand on Renee's back.
"Yes. He was shocked, but he's happy. He said this was excellent timing because he got a huge raise. They made him head trader in his division. He'll still have to work some long hours, but not on the weekend." Renee grabbed a tissue from the table and blew her nose.
"Obviously you aren't very happy about this." Genie observed.
Renee shook her head as the tears started falling again. "I can't think about this now. I have to start bringing the food out to the patio." She leaned over and kissed her now content daughter who happily suckled her bottle before disappearing to her room. A few minutes later she returned with her make up perfectly applied to hide her still red-rimmed eyes.
"What are we going to do mon Cherie?" Genie whispered to the baby after Renee had left with the first tray. Things in the house were already stressful with six kids to manage. Renee required naps to make it through the day. However, Genie never got a nap. If the twins were awake, the baby was sleeping and vice versa.