Note: Thank you for the reviews on chapter 2, which are very much appreciated, to the following people: max2013, Hero76, BMSH, ErinJordan, hlahabibty, hbndgirl, EvergreenDreamweaver, sm2003495, and ChrisCorso.
Relative Fortune
Chapter 3
Callie Hardy stretched, just having checked on dinner in the oven, and returned back to the computer at which she had been ceaselessly working since she had returned home. Although it had only been three days since she had been away in Manhattan, it felt like a lifetime. She missed her babies and her husband desperately.
Callie had worked in the city a lot in her breaks from graduate school and in her job in publishing and marketing for two years after, so she was familiar with traveling a lot. But, when she had gotten married and had her son, she knew that she would be a mom full time; she and Frank could well afford it, having saved and invested for years. And she was so blessed to have her children and didn't want to waste a moment without them. Still, when Johnny had died, and had left them a small fortune, they had taken the vast majority of the money to set up the Jonathan Gellers Foundation, which helped underprivileged children who wanted to get into the Arts by providing them with large and sometimes full scholarships to attend college and academies.
Now, the JGF was flourishing. Johnny had affected the lives of so many people, and his fellow actors as well as the producers, directors, and the multitude of other theater people with whom he had worked were making incredible donations and wanted to be a part of spreading the word. Individual schools and communities were getting involved as well via outreach programs. As a result, she was working harder than ever in many different roles as the head of the nonprofit, and she found herself basically working more than full time and having to travel a lot.
She didn't mind, not really, because she liked to feel useful and to challenge herself, putting her degrees and expertise to work. More than anything, she didn't mind because she was emotionally invested in the endeavor. This was for Johnny, and it must be successful… and it was already, far beyond her wildest dreams.
If only he was here to see it; to see how loved he was, she thought to herself for the thousandth time. She took a deep breath, blinked back the tears that had started threatening a lot in the last month or so. It was February, a month before his birthday; a month also before the two year anniversary of his death.
She missed him terribly.
As she stared at the computer screen trying to make sense of the financials coming in, she found herself getting a headache, and, finally, looked away from the screen. "Let Frank handle the numbers part," she said out loud as she smiled. It always amazed her that, although she and Frank both had Masters degrees from Ivy League colleges, he from Princeton and she from Cornell, their interests and talents could not be more different. Still, they made it work, encouraging each other and always in support of each other's talents.
Before she closed the screen, she noted the time. Frank and the babies would be home soon, and she couldn't wait to see them. She also took a last, fleeting glimpse at the homepage of the JGF, saw Johnny's picture, and sighed sadly. She felt him. He was everywhere lately.
For a moment, she closed her eyes and smiled as a memory surfaced. It was her senior year in college at UCLA, and he had graduated six months before.
"Johnny!" she sighed, exasperated. "I'm trying to work on this essay. STOP!" She was sitting in their shared apartment and he was supposedly reading scripts while he listened to music. But Johnny couldn't sit still for more than 15 minutes. He was worse than Joe! As she was trying to complete her coursework, he was banging on the kitchen table with two wooden spoons, somehow keeping perfect rhythm as he sang along, also in perfect pitch, to one of the songs on his iPhone.
"What?" he asked, seeing her gesticulating.
"You're driving me nuts. Be quiet!" she chastised him.
He looked right at her, took his headphones off, and hit the speaker button, blasting the actual music into the room more loudly as he stuck out his tongue at her.
"Are you even serious right now?" She stood, frustrated, hands on her hips.
"Nah- I'm fun!" he replied, leaping out of his seat and wrapping one arm around her waist while he took her other hand in his own. "You're the one who is entirely too serious!" With that thought, he pulled her into a dance that fit the beat of the song perfectly and she, never one to refuse a dance, soon found herself dissolving in laughter after three songs had completed and they had managed to twirl all over the apartment.
"Still mad?" he asked at last, as he dipped her down and kissed her cheek.
Giggling, she shook her head no.
Finally he pulled her up again. "Now relax! Life's too short, sweetheart. And…" he released her at last, "I know EXACTLY which audition I'm going for. Thanks. You helped to clear my mind."
Before she could even respond, he turned off the music, took one of the spoons and playfully hit her shoulder, and grabbed his stack of papers, pausing only to call "Love you!" as he headed into his room.
He landed the part the next day.
Callie chuckled softly at the memory. That was Johnny: carefree, fun, silly, and immensely talented. He was her dearest friend and her greatest support next to Frank. She would choose to focus on those quiet moments- or, not so quiet, but private- moments that had defined their relationship. They were why she was working so hard to make sure that John was remembered the right way; it was the least she could do.
Why were these memories swirling around her so much lately? Maybe she would talk to Joe about it. While Frank would listen and support her, Joe would understand - really understand- what it was like to feel the presence of a loved one. They had discussed privately Iola's presence many times.
Before she could contemplate it further, she heard the doorbell ring and the jingling of keys in the lock. Excited, she ran to the front door and opened it.
Frank broke into a huge smile when he saw her, and JJ started calling, "Mommy!" as soon as he saw her while Laurie started clapping her hands and murmuring "Mama!" Laughing, she bent down and picked up JJ, kissing him several times before putting him down, and then did the same with Laurie, whom Frank was holding up. As they came in, it was freezing cold, and she closed the door behind them. Getting the kids out of their jackets as Frank took off his own, Callie giggled as JJ started running to the TV and Laurie, who had just started walking, half- stumbled, half -crawled after him.
"Hi, Baby," Frank said to her as she smiled up at him. He pulled her into his arms and held onto her tightly. "Mmm," he murmured into her soft hair as he inhaled her perfume. "You have no idea how much I've missed you."
Callie closed her eyes against his chest. "If it's half as much as I missed you, then yes, I do."
He cupped her cheek and pulled her into a deep, lingering kiss that left her breathless. "Wow," she moaned softly before Frank kissed her again, even more passionately, and, soon enough, she found herself pushed back against the wall, dizzy with desire. As Frank's hands made their way up the back of her shirt, he began to unfasten her bra as he kissed her neck, sending shivers down her spine. Taking every ounce of self-control she had, she forced herself to pull back and met his eyes. "Welcome home to me," she managed weakly, finally letting out a small laugh as her heart hammered in her chest. "But maybe we want to wait to have sex until our children aren't in the next room watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse."
Frank reluctantly pulled back, flushed himself, but he laughed softly and kissed her nose. "Yup- that would be a mood killer." He had a reckless sparkle in his eyes. "Later, though…don't plan on sleeping much," he whispered huskily in her ear. She blushed.
He took her hand in his own and led her into the family room, where he slipped his arm around her shoulders and she wrapped her arm around his waist as they watched the babies play and caught their breath. Frank smiled, content, feeling the weight of his job lifted when he entered his home. He'd definitely gotten carried away, and he'd have to watch that as his children grew up. He'd just always had such intense chemistry with Callie; she was his home and safety net and he was still madly in love with her after all these years.
"How was your trip?" he asked her, purposefully distracting himself.
"Good. I'll tell you about it over dinner. I'm so glad to be home, though, babe. What about you?" She looked up and sidelong at him. "You texted me about a new case? How's that? I'm not going to lie. I'm sad you'll be out a lot, probably, but at least we'll be in the same town."
Frank sighed, and she could see the tension in his jaw, the slightest heaviness in his eyes. He shook his head. "I'll tell you in a little bit. I may have to run out- I probably will- but I had to see you and the kids." He kissed her head.
"What is it?" she asked him quietly, attuned to his body language, turning to him.
"Missing child," he responded, and she squeezed his waist.
"That's awful," she told him. "I'm sorry, honey."
"And Joe has a murder case," he continued, and she could tell he just wanted to talk. "I think we'll end up on both cases. Not the best start to a Saturday, especially one where I get to see my wife, finally," he sighed. "You know how I feel about these cases involving children, Cal," he added. "It… it gets me." His voice cut off.
"A boy?" she asked him, thinking of how JJ had been endangered over Christmas when he and Joe had been held hostage with other customers by extremist terrorists. Perhaps it was hitting closer to home than usual.
"A little girl," he told her quietly. "She's only two. I hate waiting. I feel helpless."
"Mommy!" JJ called again, running to her, and he hugged her around her leg. "I miss you, Mommy."
Callie felt her heart melt and lifted JJ up again.
"Go get Laurissa," she whispered to Frank. "We'll have dinner soon." To JJ, she said, "Come on, honey! Help Mommy set the table. Can you do that?"
JJ nodded enthusiastically as Callie set him down and let him lead her to the kitchen, holding onto her hand.
Frank watched them walk away, and he heard Laurie say, "Dada! Up, dada!" He smiled, walking to his little girl and picking her up. She kissed him and he kissed her back several times. He walked to the couch and sat down with his daughter, who had started playing with his wedding ring, and he studied her, heart filled with love.
She was so beautiful, still small for her age, having been a preemie, and more fragile than JJ. She looked a lot like Callie, with blonde hair that had just emerged and big, wide brown eyes with impossibly long lashes. But she was a daddy's girl, completely, loved to cuddle with him and give him kisses and insist that he follow her as she tried to toddle all over. They sang songs and laughed and played together, as much as a one year old- almost- could do, and she melted his heart every time he looked at her. He loved JJ just as much, his irascible wild young son, but JJ bonded with everyone, the little life of the party who looked just like him but who had Joe's big personality. And JJ was inseparable from Callie. But Laurie… she was his angel.
"Dada. Kiss, dada!" Laurie cooed. She pursed her lips and he laughed, kissing her again. She wrapped her arms around his neck and snuggled into his chest. As he heard Callie call him in for dinner, he sat up, cuddled Laurie, and walked with her to the kitchen.
He paused, so very glad he had come home. He watched his son being silly and dancing with Callie as he stood on the kitchen chair; felt his baby girl in his arms; glanced at his wife, who he loved more than life, his best friend whom he still desired and needed more than ever, and he blinked back tears.
He had been so blessed in his life with his family; his relatives; his friends.
He couldn't help but to think of the call he might receive any moment, the sharpest contrast to his own life: a shattered family, a wayward mother, a little girl lost. And he prayed that they, too, might be so fortunate.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Joe sipped his hot cocoa as he pulled into his driveway after having visited the scene of the accident with Pat. While they hadn't been able to ascertain much, the skid marks on the road they had found were in opposite directions. The woman had been run over at least twice, something he could have done without knowing.
At least now they had an ID. The woman, Tanya Griffin, had been only 23 years old. According to her parents, who had come to identify the body, the last time anyone had spoken with her, she had been going out with her girlfriends for a night on the town. Vogelthorpe was in the process of obtaining phone records so that Joe could see her last contacts and then he and Pat would take it from there. It was a sad story. With any luck, autopsy results would be available in the next day or two as well, and then they would have a clearer picture of the moments leading up to her death, by shooting, hit and run, sexual assault- who knew what?
Truth be told, he was far more worried about the missing little girl. He had spoken with Frank earlier and it didn't look good. Every hour, every minute in these child abduction cases mattered. The little girl had already been gone almost 20 hours. The situation was bleak. He was planning on meeting up with his brother first thing in the morning at the office to expedite the background of the parents and close associates, as, more often than not, children were taken from those closest to them. He took a deep breath.
He and Frank would always work together on as many cases as possible, but, as they'd gotten older, they had started to find areas that either appealed to them more or that they were better at than the other. He knew he and Frank would always take any case involving a child, but he preferred cases with action and high stakes and going undercover when possible. It was oddly fun to take on different personas and to delve into different worlds. Johnny had tried to explain that to him, but he had never liked to act… until the real world became his stage.
And now he was driven to help women who had been physically or sexually assaulted. Though he would never know or want to know the details of Callie's attack, helping other women healed him a little each time, knowing he was helping to put away a piece of trash that could never again cause harm. One day he would make sure to find out what facility Callie's attacker was in, would come face to face with the animal who had hurt her so badly. But it would take time to get there; he and Frank had never spoken of it, and he honestly didn't trust himself not to kill him...it… himself.
Frank, on the other hand, was brilliant with numbers, could decipher patterns and hidden accounts and anything to do with fraud. He liked international cases and was very good at them, including counter-terrorism tactics and investigations, which he wanted no part of. Frank was also great undercover, but preferred the behind the scenes planning and operations. They were a good team, solid, and they'd relied on each other to save each other's lives countless times. But, with cases involving children, they were both on board, and both, at times, got too emotionally invested. They had to keep each other in check. He could tell by the tone of Frank's voice that he was already invested in the case of Stella Santitori, and he needed perspective.
He grabbed the roses he had stopped by the florist's shop to pick up, got out of his car and finished his drink, and entered his home. Someone else he loved a lot needed perspective, too.
"Hey, baby," he said with a smile as he walked through the foyer into the living room. Vanessa looked up from the couch where she had been sitting, watching TV, as Evan slept in his crib nearby. "I brought you flowers."
Vanessa looked up and gasped. "Oh, Joe-they're beautiful! Thank you!" She went to stand, but Joe shook his head no and carefully laid the flowers on the table behind her. He sat next to her as she scooted over and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her neck lightly. Vanessa snuggled into his embrace and leaned against him, contented.
"How are you feeling?" he asked her, quietly.
She turned slightly and met his eyes. "Okay. Today was a little hard."
Joe nodded, knowing how important it was to listen. "Go on."
"I mean, there's nothing too much to say," she admitted, as Joe gently brushed back her long, ash blonde hair. He kissed her forehead.
"Let's start with the positive. I called Biff and he's not coming over," Joe joked lightly, and Vanessa managed a smile.
"That's my girl," he encouraged her. "And Evan looks perfectly happy." He gazed at his son momentarily, who was sleeping soundly, holding tight to his Cookie Monster doll. "Did he have a good day?"
"He's so great," Vanessa told him, resting her head against his shoulder. "This age is so precious. I love seeing the world through his eyes."
"His mommy's eyes," Joe agreed, continuing to stroke her hair. It was true; Evan's eyes were much lighter than his, and had Vanessa's shape. "Perfect and beautiful."
Vanessa laughed softly. "I think little boy #2 may have his daddy's eyes," she responded, placing both hands on her stomach. Evan was only nine months old, and she had just turned four months pregnant, yet she was certainly showing, just like she had the first time. "And they don't get more perfect than that."
Joe smiled, gently turned her face to him, and kissed her softly and tenderly. "I know that this pregnancy has been tough on you, babe. But it was sure as hell fun making it happen."
Vanessa blushed slightly but rolled her eyes. "Not disagreeing, but I think we need to discuss some birth control options after this little guy. It's the only way to make sure that we continue to have "fun" without getting interrupted every two minutes."
Joe chuckled. "No argument from me, babe." He hugged her closer, then changed his tone slightly. "How about the rest of the day? You okay? Your mom came over, right?"
Vanessa swung her long legs from the couch and planted them on the ground, sitting up suddenly. She reached for Joe's hand, and he rubbed it gently.
"Yes, she did," Vanessa began. "And it was… good. It always is. It's nice to remember him for the… for the good."
"Oh, Van," he told her, rubbing her back. "That's all you need to remember, babe. The good."
Vanessa nodded, but stood up wearily and walked to Evan's crib, looking down at him. Joe followed, and wrapped his arms around her from behind as she placed her hand on top of his. "I can see him in Evan, you know," she said quietly. "The dimple. He had it. I remember that I used to play with him and I'd always press his cheek and he'd pretend that I was so strong I could I could push in his face and make it stay that way. He said I was the strongest girl in the world. Funny the things you remember."
Joe kissed her neck. Gently, he turned her around. "Baby, I hate to see you like this. I know you get… sad… once a year around his birthday. But this year… it's been easily a month. How can I help you?"
Vanessa shrugged, blinking back tears. "You can't."
"Yes, I can," he answered her. "And I will. Honey, it's been… what?"
"Twenty five years next week," she answered. "I was two when he died."
"Listen to me," he told her, rubbing her cheek with his finger. "Vanessa, I CAN help. Please. You married a detective. How hard can this be? I can find out and put an end to this wondering one way or another, for you and your mom."
"No," she whispered.
"Yes," he responded, firmly but compassionately.
"No," she repeated. She pulled away from him. "I don't… I mean, what if… I…"
"Vanessa," he sighed. "You can't keep doing this, baby. If what? If it's true?" He stepped closer to her. "Then at least you'll know. Because honestly, you're remembering him as if it WERE true, and you've managed to cope with it and still love him despite it. You have nothing to lose. Let me give you closure."
She met his eyes, her own watery. He saw she was wavering slightly.
He rubbed her arms. "I need Biff for this," he said. "I've been thinking about it for years and this year… I knew about the anniversary. Callie's kept her mouth shut for a long time, and he can do the same. Biff has contacts. Please. I will never tell him unless you want me to, but Biff will do whatever I ask him and he won't ask questions. You know that. Release this uncertainty, guilt, and grief now, Van."
"I'm scared," she whispered.
"I know, babe, but your imagination is running wild. You and your mom think that you know what he did. Let me find out why. You both deserve closure. And you both remember him as a good man. Like you said," he went on, going for the closer, "Evan deserves to know about the man he got that dimple from."
Minutes dragged on. Vanessa had turned again to Evan and Joe breathed evenly, letting her make this decision on her own. So much was going on all of a sudden. Van's dad's birthday, the Santitori case, the Griffin case… and he would be damned if he didn't feel like more was coming. He felt unsettled, and he hated that feeling.
"Okay." The voice was so quiet he barely heard.
"What?" he asked, walking to her.
She turned to him, and he was struck again by her beauty despite the pain in her eyes. "I said okay. Do it," she managed. "I'll tell my mom."
Joe nodded and reached out for her, taking her in his arms and holding her close. "I won't tell anyone else; you know that. It's up to you to share or give me permission to. But don't be scared, honey. This is your DAD, and he gave you life and loved you like crazy-you and your mom- and that's what you should remember. I'll find out the rest, but hold onto what's important."
She hugged him tightly.
"He was right about at least one thing, you know," he whispered into her hair. "You'll be okay. You are the strongest girl in the world."
As he held his wife, Joe closed his eyes and prayed he was right; that what he found wouldn't make it worse. It was a calculated risk, but one he was willing to take. If there was ever anyone worth taking a risk for, it was Vanessa.
Before he could say another word, he felt his phone vibrate and looked down.
Frank.
He reluctantly released Vanessa and reached for the phone, knowing that this was going to be a long night ahead.
And it had just started.
