(19.7 years)

Good Deed, Bad Seed

Chapter 1

'Neal, that was amazing!' Sara said as she leaned back and took a sip of her cappuccino.

'I told you… it got a four star rating in the Times' Neal answered, looking more than a little smug.

Sara glanced over at the bar which was overflowing with guests, waiting to be seated. The Green Apron was one of those trendy new restaurants in the Chelsea Art District that didn't take reservations and yet, when they'd arrived an hour and a half earlier, they'd been greeted like royalty and immediately shown to the best table in the house.

'So, are you going to tell me how you managed to pull this off, Caffrey?' Sara asked, although his irresistible mystique was one of the things she loved most about her husband, even after almost twenty years of marriage.

Neal glanced at her from across the table with an innocent smirk and he reached out to take her hand, caressing her knuckles.

'Do you really want to know?' he asked, leaning in seductively, voice soft, eyes naughty. He knew that, deep down, Sara loved the fact that she would never know all his secrets. She didn't need to know that Mozzie had gotten his hands on an obscure Vasari and had fenced it to the new restaurant owner who was now eternally in Mozzie's debt – and by extension, happy to be of service to Mozzie's closest friends.

Sara gazed into Neal's eyes, noticing the look of mischief there, next to the graying temples.

'No...not really' she admitted as she watched Neal's face light up.

'Hope called today' he said, changing the subject. 'Her mid terms start next week.'

'How did she sound?' Sara asked as she not so discretely swiped another bite of Neal's chocolate amaretto cheesecake.

'A little stressed out but I gave her one of my old tricks for remaining calm under duress – fake it 'till you make it' Neal answered with a smile as he returned to his dessert - which Sara had been repeatedly picking at for the past ten minutes despite having 'resisted the urge' to order one for herself.

'I'm so proud of her' Sara said, licking her lips and humming in appreciation.

'She can do anything she wants...' Neal mused. '...as long as she just stays out of her own way.'

'Did she ask about Cameron?' Sara asked.

The young couple had broken up right before Hope's return to Carnegie Mellon for the fall semester; they'd spent the summer going back and forth, debating the merits and pitfalls of remaining exclusive. Hope had confided to her mom that, although she had deep feelings for Cam, she was still unsure about a long term commitment and she didn't want to keep him hanging while she got herself sorted out.

'No, she didn't…' Neal answered. '...but he asks about her every single time I walk into the gallery… wants to know how she's doing. I feel sorry for him; it looks to me like he's living a monk's life…'

Sara snorted in response. 'I don't think so! Well, unless you mean the kind of monk's life you lived when you ran off to Cape Verde and left me behind!' Sara teased as she thought back to Neal's long ago confession about his brief affair with a café owner.

'Oh, do you really want to go there, 'Miss Bejing'?' he countered, recalling how quickly Sara had 'flinged' into a rebound affair with Bryan McKenzie after she'd broken up with Neal the first time.

Sara laughed heartily. Twenty-two years later, it was all just a distant memory but they still loved teasing each other about their past transgressions – even though they'd had two decades of a wonderful life together and were the proud parents of two terrific kids.

'Well, I wouldn't worry about Cam. Liam says he saw him at the movies last week...with another girl' Sara confided as Neal's eyes grew wide.

'Really?' said Neal, the hopeless romantic. 'I thought better of him…'

'Better of him? Neal, he's allowed to live his life. I'm sure Hope is dating other guys while she's away. That's the whole idea behind breaking up – you get to date other people' Sara said in her usual, no-nonsense way.

Neal shrugged, obviously disappointed; despite his initial doubts, he'd begun to think of Cam as potential son-in-law material and he thought Hope had made a huge mistake by breaking up with him – although he'd managed to keep his big trap shut.

Sara jostled his hand, bringing him back to reality.

'So, tell me, how's Peter doing?' she asked.

Peter had been successfully fighting low grade prostate cancer for the past seven years but he'd been struggling the last few months.

'He's good' Neal answered. 'They're going to run some more tests but he's pretty optimistic they won't need to operate.'

'Oh, I meant to tell you' Neal continued. 'We hit $25,000 in profits last month.'

'Wow! That didn't take long. We didn't think we'd hit that milestone until the middle of next year' Sara enthused.

'Well, Peter is keeping us nice and tight on the expense side and we made a $5,000 commission on the Karen Maxwell exhibition alone. And guess what? We sold Caitlin's sculpture for $300.'

'Wow! Did you tell her yet?' Sara asked.

'No, it only happened yesterday and I wanted to wait and talk to her before I hand over a cheque for $180. That's an awful lot of money for a fifteen year old and I don't want her frittering it all away' Neal said.

For a man who had always been impulsive about spending money, it was ironic that his advice for his foster daughter was to save up for a rainy day.

'Peter told me you sold Hope's cottage series. How much did you get for that?' Sara asked, recalling the grouping of six paintings Hope had put up for sale in late summer, just before she'd returned to school.

'They sold for between $600 and $1200 apiece' Neal answered, pride apparent in his voice. 'Mrs. Fisher bought two and then, she came back for a third.'

'Let me guess, you got $1200 for the one of Liam jumping off the dock?' Sara guessed; it had been her favorite.

'Nope' Neal answered with a sly smile. 'The one of you sitting on the swing, reading a book.'

'Really?'

'Yeah. You look amazing in that painting' Neal said fondly.

'You mean Hope made me look amazing in that painting' she corrected with a soft laugh.

'There you go, selling yourself short again' Neal said with a grin.

Sara smiled, embarrassed; she could never quite wrap her mind around being the focus of any painting – let alone, have her likeness hanging in a gallery or in someone else's home.

'So… are you done not having any of my dessert?' Neal asked with a grin as he glanced around the busy restaurant. 'It's getting noisy in here. You ready to start heading back?'

The bill was paid and Neal winked at the owner on the way out as he left a more than generous tip in his hands. The couple made their way out onto the busy street. There were lots of cafés and restaurants on this strip of West 26th and Sara suggested they walk for a couple of blocks before heading back to the car. It was a beautiful late October evening, definitely chilly as fall descended on New York, but still a lovely night for a stroll.

They held hands as they walked, glancing into storefronts and galleries, Neal always on the lookout for ideas he could steal for the Raphael.

'Neal...' Sara said quietly. 'Promise me you won't blow a gasket.'

Neal slowed the pace a little and turned towards his wife, waiting for her to continue.

'Caitlin got another detention this afternoon' she said, cringing.

When they had decided to become foster parents to the troubled teen, they knew without a doubt that there would be rough times ahead; by all accounts, she was damaged goods. Surprisingly, Sara had been the more patient and forgiving of the two, contrary to what they'd both anticipated. Neal had lived a wayward life as a teenager and he was damned and determined not to have Caitlin follow down the same path. He kept close tabs on her and didn't give her any wiggle room, something Sara worried might eventually alienate him from the young girl.

'You're kidding!' Neal shouted, stopping dead in his tracks and glaring at Sara. 'What is it this time?'

'Calm down, Neal. She was late for class, that's all…'

'Late for class? Why the hell was she late for class? I drop them both off at the same place, at the same time every morning. Liam is never late for class.'

'Honey, calm down. At least she's going to school. This is nothing compared to doing drugs and stealing… which, may I remind you, Caitlin hasn't done in over two months.'

Neal rolled his eyes. He'd given the teen so many chances and yet she kept pushing his buttons, driving him crazy – payback, he thought, for every single time he'd pushed Peter over the line.

'I just… it's so frustrating. I just want her to get her act together. She's so talented and yet she's wasting every opportunity she's given' Neal groused as Sara laced her arm in his.

'Neal…' was all she said before he shook his head, needing no more reminding that he'd done much worse in his youth and that it had taken him a lot longer to straighten himself out.

'Fine' he said, bringing the discussion to an end. He didn't need reminding of his indiscriminate youth; all he had to do was look at Caitlin and he was instantly reminded of all his past shortcomings.

The sun was coming down and there was a sudden chill in the air as they turned onto a side street and started heading back towards the restaurant where they'd parked the car.

'I talked to my mom this afternoon' Neal said, his voice quiet.

Sara waited for him to continue. Ever since he'd made amends with his mother the previous summer, Neal had been in touch with her on a regular basis. She'd been in hospital twice over the summer months and although Neal had wanted to bring her to New York for a visit, she had simply been too sick to travel. He'd visited her every few weeks, sometimes on his own or sometimes with Sara, who had grown very fond of her mother-in-law.

'She sounded really tired' Neal continued, looking sad. '...I don't think she's telling me everything.'

'Of course she isn't. Would we tell the kids everything if we were dying?' she asked rhetorically.

Sara's usual dry delivery cut to the quick and Neal frowned at her lack of sensitivity.

'Sorry' she said, immediately regretting her words as she caught a glimpse of the sadness in Neal's eyes. She squeezed his arm by way of apology and he put his hand over hers in a show of forgiveness.

Neal shrugged; she was right and he hated to think that his mom would soon be leaving his life when she'd only been back in it for a short time. He hadn't given up on bringing her to New York. He wanted her to see the gallery and the June Ellington School of Art where he spent most of his waking hours. He knew she would also get a kick out of seeing Hope and Liam in their natural habitat.

'I know airport travel is hard… maybe I could drive out and get her – that way we could take our time getting back and we could stop whenever she needed a break…'

'Honey, that's a fourteen hour drive…' Sara began, stopping suddenly when she saw the look of disappointment on Neal's face. She squeezed his arm and continued, not wanting to burst his bubble. '…well, why don't you talk to her about it and see what she says.'

Neal nodded sadly. They were just about a block away from where they'd parked the car when Neal's attention was drawn to a small commotion on a nearby side street. In the semi darkness, he could see a woman being shoved up against a building by a large man, hovering menacingly above her.

'I don't have it' he heard the woman moan, her voice quivering while the man pushed her up against the brick building.

'Hey!' Neal called out in an effort to break up the confrontation. He wasn't very skilled at hand to hand combat but he sure as hell wasn't about to leave a poor, defenceless woman to fend for herself against a brute in the middle of an alley in Manhattan.

The man looked up towards the sound of Neal's voice and continued manhandling her, obviously undeterred by the unexpected interruption and Neal and Sara watched in horror as the woman cowered against the wall, trying to protect herself from the imminent attack. Neal pulled away from Sara and began to run towards the pair.

'Honey, call the police!' he shouted.

TBC