Chapter Four

The silence between Dani and her father was stifling, neither sure of where to begin. Jack decided he walked into this, so he should begin "So you and Crews?" he said.

He could tell from the look on her face it was precisely the wrong tack to take as she immediately bristled and crossed her arms across her chest, effectively closing herself off to him.

"Charlie Crews is my husband, the father of my children and if you can't accept that, you had better just leave" she said sternly. Same Dani, Jack thought as he could see the stubbornness set in behind her eyes and in her jaw.

"What children? I see one little girl." Jack counter awkwardly.

Dani said nothing, simply looking down, drawing Jack's attention to her waistline.

How he could have missed it, he didn't know, suddenly it was obvious his daughter was pregnant, not noticeably so, but a little rounder in her middle and her face less angular. He suddenly felt like a real heel for trying to go toe to toe with her husband with his pregnant daughter acting as a referee. No wonder Crews was so protective, he thought, subconsciously giving the younger man the benefit of the doubt.

"Jesus, Dani " he breathed out suddenly concerned "do you want to sit down?"

"I'm pregnant Dad, not dying. I chase a four year old around all day. I think I can handle standing here talking for a few minutes" she said wryly.

"You're not still with the Department?" Jack wondered if she'd given up being a cop to be a mom.

"Be real, Dad. I'm still a cop and I'm a mom and Crews is still a cop and a dad, but both are full time jobs, IF - you do them right" she said stiffly. The implication was patently there. His daughter believed Jack Reese had done neither right; he was neither a good father nor a good cop.

"I guess you're right, Dani" he said softly. "I made a mistake coming here."

"Wait" she said. "Are you really going to just leave again?"

He turned and stared hard at her. "I don't know if you noticed, but your husband and I don't exactly get along, Dani."

"And why is that Dad? What has Charlie Crews ever done to you?" she laid it all out there so perfectly. His kid still had that go for the throat instinct. Jack admired it when she applied it to other people, but it was a little uncomfortable when she used it on him.

Part of him wanted to bark at her like he had when she was a willful, stubborn, obstinate teenager; but the other part saw only his little girl sitting on the curb at the age of six trying hard not to cry with her knees and palms skinned up from learning to roller skate on the street in front of their house. She would get up and go again and again, despite her injuries because Dani simply did not know how to quit.

He also knew that the road back involved contrition. Someone had to give in, and whether it was wisdom or weakness, Jack knew this time it would have to be him.

"Okay…I get it. You're right. It's not his fault. It's just…." He was unsure how to finish. Unwilling to compliment the man and knowing he couldn't say anything uncomplimentary without pissing her off.

"Just what?" She demanded.

"He's an ex –" her vicious look stopped him cold. "I just wanted more for you honey." He tried softly.

"Crews is all I want and all I need. You need to accept that or you can leave right now and don't bother coming back here."

Charlie Crews stood at the stop of the stairs, listening and fighting an internal argument. Go downstairs to back up his partner and piss off his wife or stay upstairs respect his wife's request and leave his partner hanging. Dani was capable and more than holding her own, but he didn't like his partner having to defend him to her father of all people. Charlie found his Zen was failing him miserably. Nothing in any of the books said anything remotely helpful regarding leaving your pregnant wife downstairs defending you, so husband won out over Zen Master and he decided he was going in - even if it meant spending the rest of the month in the proverbial doghouse.

Stubborn to the end, Jack recalled. How Crews ever won any arguments with her Jack didn't know, he thought. For a half a second, Jack was even mildly sympathetic towards the younger man, until he caught himself.

"What are you doing here Dad?" Dani was direct. Another classic quality his daughter had. She didn't speak often, but when she did it was unerringly and disturbingly direct and in your face – still his kid.

"I've been out in the cold a long time, kid. I saw you today and thought maybe it was time to come in." He said honestly without any attitude.

Dani said nothing as she considered his comment. His daughter could be impossible to read when she dropped that wall in front of her. But she brightened looking up and Jack knew why instinctively without looking – just like in the supermarket - it was Crews.

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"Where's the dog, Charlie?" she asked simply. Crews looked down and realized his constant shadow, after Sam was in bed, was gone, which could only mean one thing, a wet dog in his daughter's bed. Dani sighed in exasperation and headed up stairs.

"Dani… " he started. "Forget it Charlie, I'll get it." She said squeezing his hand as she passed him on the stairs. "No fighting" she whispered to him, earning her a smirk, a wink and a "copy that" under his breath. Charlie found he immediately and suddenly relaxed as soon as Dani was behind him. Good he thought, what's in front of me I can fight, eyeing Jack Reese coldly.

Jack didn't miss the exchange. Even pissed off at him and upset with Crews, Dani didn't miss the opportunity to express affection to the long, lanky man who captured his daughter's heart. Charlie Crews was the father of his grandchildren and Jack still couldn't stand him.

Maybe it the younger man's self assurance and cockiness, maybe it was the fact that deep down Jack didn't think any flat foot was good enough for his daughter. Maybe it was the guilt he felt looking at Crews – the man they'd all let bear the load and go to jail for something he didn't do. Instead of fading away, quitting or dying in there, Crews had the temerity to survive and each time Jack looked at the red hair man he saw his own guilt, his own shame and his own failings.

"I remember you - when you were a snot nosed skinny little punk in the academy. I honestly didn't think you'd survive prison. Why couldn't you just die in there?" Jack said bitterly, once Dani was out of earshot.

Charlie Crews desperately wanted to descend those stairs and visit pain on the person of Jack Reese, but that really wasn't an option. Even before Dani and he were "together" he trod lightly when it came to her father. Now, he reached for his Zen to keep from wrapping his hands around the older man's throat and watching the light go out in Jack's eyes liked he really wanted to. He inhaled deeply and spoke as he exhaled evenly "In a way I did die in there, but I also didn't die Jack, I was reborn. I am a different man now – a husband, a father and a forgiving soul. In prison I suffered, but suffering cracks open the shell of ego, and then comes a point when it has served its purpose. Suffering is necessary until you realize it is unnecessary." Charlie said retrieving a nugget of Zen from his arsenal and applying it to block Jack Reese and abide by his promise to Dani.

"Well, I can see who wears the pants in this family… my daughter" Jack said snidely.

"Yes, Jack. She does. She is a strong, capable woman and this is her house and her family, but.... she is mine and I will fight to keep her away from anything that I think is dangerous to her – even if that turns out to be you." Crews countered coldly.

"Come in my house again, raise your voice to her, or my children again and… you'll leave on a gurney. My solemn promise to you Jack" Crews said without blinking. He smiled to emphasize that he might actually enjoy that last part.

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The door to Sam's room opened with a quiet snick and Ripley raised his head off Sam's chest to inquire. Yellow light leaked in from the hallway and a sliver of light shone across her daughter's bed where the guilty looking collie lay huddled against her daughter's small frame.

"Ripley" she reached down to touch the dog on the head "bad dog" she said mildly. The dog had been a concession to Charlie, but now she had to admit the collie was devoted to her daughter and rarely left the girls' side. When Sam started school, Dani worried the dog might not react well. "Get down" she whispered in a low hiss. But Ripley was determined to stay, so he nosed under Sam's ear tickling her and waking the child.

Dani sighed because any discussion with her daughter about the dog ended in crying from Sam and whining from Ripley. Dani just didn't feel up to that tonight. She walked to the hall closet and retrieved a large towel, considering what she would say to her father when she returned to the discussion.

Laying the towel on the bed she coaxed the dog onto it and stuffed a blanket between Sam and wet bedding. "Ripley is a good dog, Mommy" Sam said sleepily.

"Of course he is honey" Dani said absently stroking her daughter's hair.

"Daddy didn't read the whole story and I don't think he really knows what porridge is" Sam continued to grumbled.

"I'm sure he knows what porridge is Sam, we'll talk about it in the morning" Dani said encouraging her daughter to sleep. The conversation and contact with her daughter, soothed Dani. Her heartbeat and breathing normalized after exchange with her father, which despite the fact that she expected tension, was more than she'd bargained for.

"Okay" Sam yawned "as long as we don't have to eat it", making Dani smile.

"No porridge I promise" Dani said lightly "now go to sleep both of you". Sam turned sideways, slinging an arm over the dog and sighing contentedly. The dog also sighed and placed his nose in the crook of the child's neck and closed it's eyes. They were perfectly matched her daughter and the small slight dog and very devoted to one another. It seemed cruel to separate them, so she let them stay like that and continued downstairs to finish with her father.

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Downstairs, Dani found no sign of Jack Reese and Crews washing glasses in the sink and whistling cheerfully.

"Where is he?" Dani inquired.

"Oh, hey. He left. He'll be back, but he'll be different" Charlie said brightly.

"What'd you say to him?" She asked skeptical of his ebullience. "I'm not going to find his body in his car in the morning at the bottom of a ravine am I Crews?"

"I just shared a little Zen wisdom with him and he left. Promised he'd be back, said he needed to see your mother." Charlie continued, turning off the water and drying his hands with a dishtowel, while he leaned against the counter.

"And you didn't tell him she lives here?" she asked incredulous.

Crews smiled broadly "Well he does seem to know everything. So I decided to see if he would embrace not knowing what he doesn't know" Crews said with a touch of pride.

"You have a mean streak, you know?" she said walking closer.

"Isn't that why you love me?" he pulled her to his chest.

"No, that's not it" she smiled.

"Is it my charm and good looks?" he teased kissing her.

"No, it's not that either" she started to unwind in his arms. Wrapping her arms around his neck, Dani smiled as he kissed her.

"Must be the Zen, drives women crazy" Charlie murmured against her neck as he kissed along her jaw line to her earlobe.

"You're so full of shit Crews" Dani said laughing.

"Is that why you love me?" he smiled against the side of her face, before pulling back slightly and using both hands to frame her face and kiss her gently.

"Yes, Crews that's it. But what's important isn't the why… it's that I do" she said honestly between kisses.

"You're right, you're always right… that's why I love you" he said breathlessly before he kissed her deeply and passionately, each stroke of his tongue plunging deeper into her mouth.

Geez… get a room Jack thought as he watched through the binos from the car. He was forced to throwing the binos on the seat beside him, before the scene got X rated. He didn't think he could take seeing the things Crews probably did to and with his daughter. Just thinking about it made him kinda sick.

Slowly Jack Reese started the car and drove down the hill making plans to find his wife and try to patch things up, all the while concluding Crews really needed a fence.