Disclaimer:
I don't any of the characters, I'm not using this for money, yatsa, yatsa, yatsa.
Claimer:
I do own the following characters: Dani Hunter, Aurora Carre, Leia Carre, Alison Carre, Leon Hunter, Jennie Delicroix, T.C. Matthews, Ale & Alex Dion, Jon Dalton, K.T. Duane, and Teresa Halen.
ETC:
I haven't been able to watch the show in a few weeks, so I had no idea that Chris & T.C. got divorced(?), and that Chris was pregnant and all this – This story occurs just after the episode where Chris is called to a homicide at their house.
Finding Danielle
Part 1
October 31th, 1999
The phone began to ring at the Calloway's house. T.C., dressed in his Halloween costume, looked frantically around the room – He'd been expecting a call from his father and would rather not miss it. It rang again and T.C. threw Bobby off the couch to get it, "Calloway Residence. This is Lt. Calloway. Hold on a minute," He covered the receiver with his hand, "Shut the music off for a second." He uncovered the receiver, "Sorry…Yes, I know them…Oh, dear god. Did any of them survive?… They had three kids not two…Two girls and a boy…That's Hannah…They have no family, I'll have to arrange them. Thank you." T.C. hung up the phone, and looked at Chris, "Jennie, Steve, Leonardo, and Hannah were killed this morning by a hit and run driver."
"Dear lord. What about Dani?" Chris asked.
"She wasn't in the car. They don't know where she is." T.C. walked in to the kitchen. He'd grown up with Jennie and Steve – He was the one who put them together. He was all three of their children's godfather – He was to be the kids' guardian should anything ever happen to Jennie and Steve. And now he was going to have to find Danielle.
*****
January 3rd, 2000
T.C. walked into the station, tired from the day. He was still trying to find Dani, but he'd had no luck so far. In the two months following the deaths of the Hunter family, T.C. had searched high and low for Dani. He'd asked her friends for information of her whereabouts, he'd asked her boss, and all of her teachers. Nothing. All he was left with were more questions.
"T.C." Chris said, coming up behind him.
"Not now, Chris." He said, heading toward his office.
Russell watched T.C. from the desk where he, Bobby, Corey, and Jamie were gathered, "What is the matter with him?"
Corey looked up, "He's had no luck getting any information about Dani. I'd be fustrated if I couldn't find a fifteen-year old girl I had legally agreed to be the guardian of."
Russell looked at Chris, "I've been meaning to ask the Lt. something, but he's busy, so I'll ask you – Is Dani short for Danielle Amy?"
"Yes, why?"
"Her parents were Jennifer and Steven Hunter, right?"
"Yes."
He reached for the phone, and dialed a number. After a moment, someone picked up and Russell began to talk, "Hi, Alison…I'm fine. Look, Is Aurora there?… Can I talk to her?… Thank you." After a moment of silence, a muffled voice was heard, "Hi, Rora. I need to ask you something about Dani-Amy…I'm working right now, I can't…Alright, I'll see you in a few minutes."
"What was that?" Jamie asked.
"My sister's daughter's best friend is called Dani-Amy. If anyone knew where Dani was, Rora would be that person. They've been inseperable since they were two."
---
Red-haired, green-eyed Aurora Alison Carre (car) entered the police station and looked around for her uncle.
"Rora." He called from a desk near the back.
She walked toward her uncle, and sat down in the chair next the desk, "So, why ya' asking about Dani-Amy?"
T.C. spoke first, "The Hunter's were killed on Halloween, and no one's been able to find Dani."
"Lemme guess, I'm her best friend, and I know, so you want to know."
Bobby looked at her, "You do remember her parents were dealers? When their buyers find out that they're dead, they're going to look for Dani."
"Not really, They can just look for Georgie. He sells two streets down."
Russell looked at Aurora with a shock expression on his face, "Aurora Alison Carre."
Aurora looked at her uncle, "You have no clue, do you? I'm going to hint something to you right now – Think, Uncle Russell. How do you think Dani and I met? We didn't meet in school." With that, Aurora got up and left.
*****
Part Two
January 3rd, 2000
Danielle Amy Hunter looked nervously out the window at the two police officers outside her house. It had been three months, and she knew T.C. was looking for her – but she wasn't stupid enough to talk to a cop. If she talked to them, Georgie or 3-fingered Lou would kill her. Dani watched the two cops bike off. She'd never seen them before, and she'd met a lot of people around here. 'Must be new people.'
Aurora jumped up the stairs to the back door, and unlocked the door, "Dani? You home?"
"In the front room, Rora."
Aurora walked to the living room after shutting the door and sat down in the darkened room. Vanilla candles were burning on the small coffee table, which was in front of the overstuffed sofa. A box served as the shelf for the TV, but it hadn't been turned on in sometime. Rora sniffed the air and closed her eyes.
"Getting high off the vanilla scent?" Dani said, giggling at her best friend.
"Maybe." Rora said, giggling back.
A small band of teens entered the room – 3 boys and a girl.
"Hey, Keegan," Dani said to her boyfriend, "Hey, K.T. Hey, Jon. Hey, Jennie."
"Afternoon, guys." Rora said to her friends. She turned to Dani, "Guess who I talked to today."
"I dunno."
"Guess."
"Umm…Lissa?"
"T.C. and his gang of officers." Rora said, "I think Uncle Russell finally got the message."
"Oh, that's useful." Keegan laughed, standing in the candle-lit kitchen.
The group laughed, and got up for the evening activities.
---
T.C. sat down next to Russell on the sand, "You okay?"
Russell looked at his superior, "Yeah. I just thought if I had to find out that Ali was on drugs, I'd find it out differently."
T.C. nodded.
Russell continued, "I should've noticed. I visit her and the girls every chance I get. I've cleaned the house. I guess this explains why Jonathan left her. I just don't know what to do now. I'm going to have to talk to her, and she may have to go to rehab. I have no clue what I'll do with the girls if she does have to go."
"Russell, there's no maybe about it. Alison will have to go. The girls can go into a temporary foster home or there's the possibility that you could take them."
"Jamie will never go for that."
"How do you know?"
"I don't think she'd want to help take care of a fourteen-year old and an eight-month old."
Jamie sat down next to the two men, "Actually, I love kids. And I'll help as long as it keeps them out of the foster care system."
"Thanks." He said, smiling, "Now I'm going to have to talk to Alison."
---
January 5th, 2000
Dani walked out into the yard. It was the first time in almost a week and a half that she'd gotten out of the house. Aurora had brought more things that morning before school, and the two had laughed about the fight Russell and Alison had had the day before.
Dani looked at the sky, then her clothes. 'I guess I'll have to get some water.' She thought, staring at her dirty clothes. This was her last outfit and she'd been wearing it for two days.
She looked toward the ocean, which was a stone's throw from her house. She ached to go surfing – her board was still out in the yard. The wind blew and she ached again, only now she wanted to go bike riding. So many days had past, she'd almost forgotten the feel of the water under her board or the sound of the wind threw her hair when she flew off a jump.
Dani heard bikes coming down the road, and she ran back into the house. Even with her gun in her back pocket, she wasn't safe. She went back to sit amid the curtains.
January 5th, 2000
T.C. fumbled with the keys. Steve had made sure T.C. had a key – though he had only used it once. He finally found the right key, and slid it into the lock in the doorknob. The door began to open, and T.C. watched the light filter into the front room…
*****
Part three
January 5th, 2000
T.C. fumbled with the keys. Steve had made sure T.C. had a key – though he had only used it once. He finally found the right key, and slid it into the lock in the doorknob. The door began to open, and T.C. watched the light filter into the front room…
This house had defintly been lived in. T.C. grabbed his flashlight to look around the dimly lit house. A few candles were still cooling down, a grocery bag with a small carton of milk and bread was in a chair, and a lone pillar candle was still lit. In the kitchen, remnants of a breakfast were still out – A bowl of cereal and a glass of sugar water.
'At least she's still here.' He thought to himself. Dani drank sugar water like there was no tomorrow.
A crashing sound brought him back to reality and T.C. took off out the back door. Dani was running across her yard.
"Dani! Dani, wait!" T.C. yelled following the teenager, who'd just jumped the railing to the beach. He followed her as she ran, finally losing her in a crowd of people.
January 6th, 2000
T.C. threw the crumpled up piece of paper at the trashcan, missing it by a few centimeters. Chris was sitting in one of the chairs, and next to her was Cory. Bobby was leaning against the door.
"She'll go back. She's got no where else to go." Bobby said, hoping to calm his Lt.'s nerves.
T.C. just threw another piece of paper.
A knock on the door brought the four officers back to reality.
"Come in." T.C. said, and Russell entered the office.
"Sir. Jamie says she found Dani."
T.C. jumped up and ran down the stairs. Jamie and Monica were standing behind Dani, who was handcuffed and very unhappy. "Take those off her." T.C. instructed Jamie.
"Lt., are you sure? She tried to run the last time I took them off."
"And if you had let me go where I had wanted the first time…" Dani said, nastily.
"On second thought, leave them on. Come on, Dee." T.C. took her by her arm and pulled her toward the interrogation room. He sat her down in the chair and looked at her for a moment.
"What?" Dani asked, her voice full of venom.
T.C. sighed, "Why did you run from Officer Strickland?"
Dani snickered, "I was selling drugs to a ten year old..." She looked at T.C.'s face, "Get real, T.C. I've never even been in the same room as my parents when they were using. I ran because I knew you were lookin' for me."
"What? You didn't want to be found?"
"Nope. Not in a hundred years."
"Why?"
"Cause."
"Cause why, Danielle?"
Dani rolled her eyes – she knew she was in trouble. Her godfather had used her full first name. "Because I don't want to leave Santa Monica or my house or Rora. Ya happy?"
"You don't have to leave Santa Monica! Didn't your parents ever tell you who your guardian would be if something happened to them?" T.C. said, his patience wearing thin.
"No." Dani answered, leaning back in the chair.
T.C. sighed, "Me, Dani. I have custody of you."
January 7th, 2000
Dani looked out the window of T.C.'s office. Downstairs, T.C. and Chris were discussing something with a lawyer – Dani assumed the paper that certified and approved her adoption. She hated this…more then anyone knew. Sure, Rora had an idea about how much she didn't want to let T.C. and Chris in. Even if they were cops, they both could succumb to temptation – which meant that they could do the same thing as her parents. One day they could get high, throw the kids in the car, and get killed when they crash.
A knock on the door brought her back to reality. T.C. and Chris were standing in the doorframe, the document clutched in Chris' hand. Dani sighed, and waved them over. Chris handed her the paper, and Dani stood there for a moment looking at the words.
Hereby, with the following signatures, Danielle Amy Hunter is legally the child of Terrence Calloway and Chris Kelly.
Terrence Calloway Chris Kelly
Dani stared at the blank line for a moment. She sighed. With one signing of her name, she would have parents again. She looked at the two adults. They smiled at her and Dani picked up the pen. She would risk it.
Danielle Amy Hunter
---
Cassie Jamie
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