Scarlett reread the third sentence of the report before her for the third time. Or was it her forth? An aggravated sigh escaped her lips and a frown developed on her features. Her fingers ran through the red locks, which were loosely hung around her shoulders. More than anything— including Cobra—, she hated haircuts. This morning, she, along with her daughter-in-law and her two daughters had gone to the spa for a few hours of relaxation. Each had hair makeovers, all but Rowan, whose behavior surprised even herself by throwing a temper tantrum. Her usual calm composer had been transformed into an angry red-faced brat. Why?
The question tugged in her mind. Rowan's behavior had changed dramatically over the course of two months, since the beginning of the fall term. And each time, Scarlett, Duke or anyone tried to reach the child with words, even punishments, it had failed. She recalled how only a mere few days ago, Rowan and Eryn quarreled toward each other, to which they both still remained angry with one another. The fact that both Brutus and Coco had received some 'threats' proved it!
A knock interrupted her thoughts and she turned to find her daughter-in-law by the door, her features ashen, gripping the knob tightly in her hands. Her mind concluded to one word, Baby!
"Reena! Is something wrong?" Scarlett inquired, standing up and rushing to the pilot's side. She touched Sky Dancer's arm gently, trying to lead her inside the room.
"I'm fine," Sky Dancer answered, already knowing where the other woman's thoughts had gone, judging by the white cream that dominated her usual rosy cheeks.
"Then what's wrong?" Scarlett urged, leading the younger Joe into her office and to the chair.
Sky Dancer turned toward the computer on the redhead's desk. "I won't tell you, I'll show you." Taking the keyboard in her hand, she clicked on several keys, and a website came on the screen. "That."
Scarlett inhaled sharply, her hand covered her mouth, already knowing it hung open from the surprise. Staring at her, on the screen was her husband! But, not just any picture, one of him in the shower!
Sky Dancer scrolled down the site itself, which read. "Joe Leaders Are Blonds!" More pictures of Duke came on, some of him barking at the soldiers, others of him chasing some Joes, and some of him, having a private moment with his wife! The owner of the site was a Scarlett O'Harlot!
"What in the world?" Scarlett asked the unknown. She shook her head. "Does he know?"
Sky Dancer looked up to her mother-in-law. "No," she answered, "want to tell him?"
Before Scarlett could answer the pilot, Jaye strode into the room with numerous reports, mumbling to herself. She stopped dead in her tracks, spotting the pictures of Duke on the computer. Her mouth dropped in shock.
"He doesn't know yet," both Scarlett and Sky Dancer informed the covert operative at the same instance.
"I'm not telling him," Jaye finally managed to say.
Scarlett's face turned whiter from even the thought of telling her husband.
Sky Dancer sighed. "Fine, I'll tell him." She stood up, touching her stomach and looked down at her shirt that had an image of a Sky Striker diving at a petrified looking Cobra Commander. "He can't yell at me. I'm carrying his grandson."
"Or as Dash says," Scarlett replied to the pilot. "It could be a granddaughter."
Cayden came running into Scarlett's office out of breath.
"What's wrong?" Scarlett asked, taking a few steps forward.
"Please don't tell me Shipwreck painted the Sky Strikers with polka dots!" Sky Dancer smacked her forehead. "I'll kill him!"
"Ummm...no. Uncle Con found out about the site, he saw it in my office and flipped!" Cayden said, catching his breath.
"Oh crap!" Jaye exclaimed, placing the files down on Scarlett's desk.
Scarlett smacked her forehead. "Oh, this is just great," she mumbled.
"I…I'm not leaving this office," Sky Dancer claimed, remaining in the chair. "It's safer."
"I'll go after him," Jaye said. "He won't do anything to me because he wouldn't want Dash after him."
As if listening to his name, Flint came rushing into the room, nearly colliding with his son. "Did you hear!" he announced, his face in a deep frown.
"Yes, we heard," Scarlett answered, heading for the door. "And if I'm not back in ten, call the M.P.'s." She walked out of the office, listening to Flint grumble about Joe punishments. Walking out of the building, she passed a few chuckling Joes. After handing out several KP punishments, she headed toward the Infirmary.
Entering the building, she found Doc by the nurses's station. "Doc, where is he?"
"Down in our meeting room," Doc answered.
"Thanks, Doc," Scarlett replied, heading off toward the meeting room. Walking down the stairs, she gulped, knowing the only reason he had gone down here was to let out his anger. Rarely anyone used the room, unless it was for the medical meetings. She glanced at the brown door, leaning forward, her ear pressed against it, but heard silence.
Gently knocking, she turned the knob and walked inside the room. Her blue eyes scanned the lit room, spotting him sitting at the end table with his fingers tapping it. "Conrad?" She took a step inside, closing the door behind her, shutting herself inside with him and his anger.
"Now is not a good time, Shana," Duke said, still drumming his fingers.
Scarlett walked closer to him, watching his features carefully, seeing the vein on his forehead pulse profoundly. Slowly, she stepped behind him and wrapped her arms around his neck, holding him close. "I think anytime is a good time," she stated, kissing him on the cheek.
"Why are you doing this?" he asked as he continued to drum his fingers.
"Doing what?" she asked. "Wanting to be with my husband?"
"Your husband is in a very foul mood at the moment," he grumbled.
"Then, I will join my husband in his very foul mood," she claimed, holding him tighter. "I saw the pictures, Reena found the site."
He started cursing under his breath.
"It's only pictures, Conrad," Scarlett pointed out, letting go of her hold, walking around and sitting on his lap. She touched his chin, holding it firmly with her finger. "Only pictures."
"Yeah, but what's next?" he asked, his anger slowly going away.
"Things like this never bothered you before, why now?" she countered, looking directly into his crystal eyes.
Duke shrugged. "Maybe I'm getting old."
Scarlett leaned her head against his chest. "Now, what in the world made you think that?" She reached out and placed her hand over his, stopping the fingers as they were about to once again thump on the table. Taking his hand, she pulled it towards her and rested it on her lap while hers continued to cover it.
"Because I'm fifty-five years old, Shana," Duke reminded her.
"So?" Scarlett waved off his age. "What does age have to do with this?" Her eyes searched his. "This is not about the pictures, is it?"
"Why wouldn't it be?" Duke asked, trying to take back his hand.
She let go of his hand. "Well, it could be like something you can't control, like your nightmares, for instance," Scarlett answered, watching him tense from the word. "Or it could be how your daughter is not talking to you for the time being."
"That's ridiculous," Duke said, turning his head away.
"Is it?" Scarlett pursued. "I know you and Rowan have been close since she came into our lives, Con. Could it be that her anger towards you is making you upset?"
"Why would it upset me?" He tried to wave off the notion.
"Because it hurts you to have Rowan be angry with you," Scarlett pointed out. "Like when either Jeffrey or Colleen got angry because of their punishments and they gave you those two famous twin looks of theirs, you hated that." She touched his cheek. "You still do and now its like living the past again, isn't it? Seeing a child grow through our eyes. Rowan is growing, Conrad. And you hate that. You want that little girl again, the one who kept close, and the one who kept asking you for stories and watch a movie with."
He sighed, closed his eyes and bowed his head. His hair was getting long and the gray was much more predominate than she had realized before. He needed a haircut really bad.
Scarlett wrapped her arm around his neck. "Conrad," she spoke gently, her tone tender. "You're scared." She looked to his face. "You are scared not because of Rowan growing old, but you growing old and not being to do things with her, like you used to do with the twins."
He sighed again. It was obvious that she was hitting the nail on the head.
"Rowan loves you for who you are, not what you do with her," Scarlett continued. "Do you think we made of a mistake of adopting her and making her part of our lives? Can you imagine a day without her?"
"I have never thought it was a mistake," he grumbled.
Scarlett nodded in agreement. "Good, that makes two of us." She rubbed his lower arm, trying to calm his nerves. "But something is bothering you, isn't it?"
He sighed yet again.
"Conrad, tell me," Scarlett urged, her eyes turning into concern.
"I'm losing her, Shana," he said in a soft, sad voice.
"What do you mean, you're losing her?" Scarlett asked, tilting her head, making sure she could see his eyes.
"She's scared of me. She hates me," Duke said.
Scarlett squeezed his hand. "No, Conrad, she doesn't hate you. She would never do that. You replaced someone who loved her very much and you love her like our own children. She would never hate you for that."
"I hope you're right," Duke told her and finally wrapped his arms around her.
"I'm a Joe wife, I'm always right," Scarlett said, beaming a bright smile.
Duke went to kiss her just as her cell started to ring.
"Hold that thought," Scarlett smiled while answering the phone. "Duke and Red's private meeting, how many I— Colleen?" Her eyes widened. "Hold on, I can't hear you from the twins crying." She looked to her husband, and mouthed. "Problems." Then talked back into the phone. "All right, stay there, we're on the way." She hung up the phone in frustration.
Duke sighed in frustration. "What now?"
"Rowan and Eryn are fighting again," Scarlett answered, standing up from his lap. "Colleen can barely handle the girls and the twins are crying." She started heading toward the door. "Con, I'm worried on them, they rarely had fought like this before."
"Maybe they are growing apart," Duke suggested as he walked with his wife.
"You think?" Scarlett turned to him in surprise while they walked up the stairs. Entering the hallway, several Greenshirts and Joes started snickering. She leaned closer to him. "Pay no attention."
"I'm trying."
They headed out of the Infirmary, walking briskly toward the barracks, trying to ignore the stares, the snickers and the pointing. Taking the stairs two by two, they marched quickly to the suite and opened the door, finding a tired looking Colleen rushing to them with one of the twins in her arms, trying to calm the child. "Thank goodness you're here!"
"Where are they?" Scarlett asked, already hearing the bickering voices from inside the kitchen.
"The kitchen," Colleen answered, starting to follow her mother, who already had started heading that particular way.
Scarlett halted by the doorway and she knew her mouth had dropped from the image that stood before her of both girls surrounded with bowls, chocolate and covered in white flour. "What on Earth?"
Her voice hit the ears, making both Eryn and Rowan turn toward Scarlett.
Eryn stood there in silence looking at Scarlett and saw Duke walk up behind her aunt.
"What in the Sam Hill..." Duke exclaimed.
Rowan gulped. "It's not my fault! I was trying to bake cupcakes and she kept pestering me."
Scarlett arched her brows. "Eryn was only trying to help." She walked into the kitchen, trying not to slip on the flour covered floor.
"I wanted to help make dem too," Eryn said in her infantile voice, a little tinier than usual.
"Rowan, why couldn't she help?" Duke asked gently.
At this, Rowan didn't look at him, nor did she answer to his question. She crossed her arms and looked to the floor.
"Rowan, your father asked you a question, aren't you going to answer him?" Scarlett looked at her daughter while Eryn walked over to her, trying not to slip herself.
Rowan shook her head, from the corner of her eye watching Eryn hug Scarlett's legs, holding them tight.
"Rowan, wouldn't we supposed to do this together?" Scarlett asked, placing a hand on Eryn's head.
Rowan slowly nodded.
Eryn looked up at her aunt, then down at the flour on the floor.
"Then why didn't you wait?" Scarlett persisted, crossing her arms together.
Colleen rubbed Devon's back, calming the toddler in her arms. "There, there," she soothed, rocking slowly side to side.
Rowan looked at Colleen. "Tattle tail," she snapped, her eyes narrowing.
"Rowan, what Colleen did was different then what you did to Eryn. You were hurting Eryn. It is not wrong to tell when someone is getting hurt," Duke explained.
Rowan huffed, not looking toward her father.
Scarlett shook her head in dismay. "Rowan, you have to stop this behavior. You need to apologize to your sister, Eryn and your father."
The nine-year-old shook her head slowly, her eyes only cast to the ground.
"Rowan..." Scarlett warned.
Rowan looked up to her mother. "No!"
Colleen's eyes widened and she turned to her father, who had the same expression on his face, surprised of his daughter's defiance toward her parents.
"Young lady," Scarlett scolded. "First you are going to apologize, then you are going to clean this mess, alone and last you are going to go to your room and think about your actions, is that clear?"
"No!" Rowan shouted, her face turning red, her eyes blazing with fire. "She…" She pointed to Eryn, who was still holding Scarlett's legs as tightly as she could. "made the mess too, it's all her fault!"
"Eryn wanted to help," Scarlett reminded her daughter. "But no one and I mean no one deserves to be yelled at like that. You owe some people apologizes."
"NO!" Rowan shouted louder, causing both Devon and Caitlin to start wailing at the top of their lungs.
"Ro—" Scarlett took a step forward.
Rowan took a step backwards, her face burning and her body trembling. "I won't do it! You're not my mother!" She turned, her red ponytail flying and raced towards the hallway and the sound of the door closing came to their ears.
Colleen blinked and looked toward the hallway and then to her mother, who had a surprised expression to her face. "Mom?" she gently asked, seeing her turn pale.
"I…I'll go talk to her," Scarlett slowly replied, still absorbing what her daughter unleashed. She started heading toward the bedroom when she felt a tug on her elbow and turned to her husband.
"No. I'll go talk to her," he told her.
Scarlett felt numb but slowly nodded. "All right, Con."
Duke kissed her softly then went to his little girl's room. He didn't knock, just opened the door. "Rowan..."
Rowan lay curled up on the bed, a blanket draped over her lower body, cuddling close a worn out stuffed animal puppy. She swiftly closed her eyes, pretending to have fallen asleep. She knew he was angry with her and she waited for the yells. Her body trembled from what he will say, or what punishment will come.
"I know you're not sleeping. Now sit up. You and I are going to talk young lady," Duke told her as he went over and sat down on the bed.
Rowan's eyelids opened and she stared right at him. She clutched tighter to her puppy Coco.
"You know you really hurt your mother," Duke said, there was disappointment in his voice.
"I didn't mean too," Rowan replied in whisper tone. Her hand touched the silver locket that they had given her on her first Christmas with them. Her eyes watered and she shut them tightly.
"What is wrong, Rowan? You've not been yourself for a little while," Duke asked, trying to sound gentle.
"Nothing," Rowan replied in a smaller voice. She slowly turned the other side, not wanting to meet his gaze. She knew she couldn't lie to him. It never worked. No Joe could pass his eyes. Their lies showed through them. She looked at her desk, towards her computer.
"Don't lie to me, Rowan," he told her in gentle sternness.
Rowan cringed and held tighter her stuffed animal.
"Please, Pumpkin." Duke tried.
Rowan slowly turned and looked to his face. "Are you going to make me scrub the hallways with Shipwreck?" she asked, her green-blue eyes searching his crystal blue ones.
"No, but you are going to clean the kitchen," Duke told her.
Rowan sat up, continuing to look at him. "Eryn should too. She's the one who pulled the flour bag from my hands!" Her cheeks turned into a pink coloring. "Tattled, huh?"
"Yes." He stroked her hair. "But you knew that you were supposed to wait for your mother and that Eryn was going to help."
"I wanted to show Mum I could do it myself," Rowan explained. "She's been busy." She inched slightly closer. "So have you."
"I'm never too busy for you," Duke told her.
Rowan tilted her head, not convinced. Her eyes went to her dresser toward the white folded paper and she mumbled one of Shipwreck's curses for leaving it out. "You have been busy," she claimed, slowly inching now her way off the bed.
"Not to busy to notice that you've not been very nice to your best friend," Duke pointed out.
"She hasn't been nice to me either," Rowan pointed out, standing up from the bed.
"How so?"
Rowan shrugged. "She keeps teasing about my books and she keeps acting like a baby." She walked to the desk and carefully picked up the paper, hoping he wouldn't notice. "She wants to do everything I do and I know she can't cause she doesn't go to my school, and she's not allowed to do martial arts."
"And you keep teasing her about her size and are not very nice when you tell her you don't want to do anything. She does not keep acting like a baby. She's just a little younger than you are so you don't always like the same things."
"Fine, then I won't do anything with her," Rowan stated. She crumbled the paper and headed for the door. She turned her hand to the knob. "I have to go to Snake Eyes, but I will apologize to Mum before I leave."
"You are not going to see Snake Eyes today, Rowan," Duke said picking her up and putting her back on the bed.
Rowan slowly nodded. "Grounded, I know," she replied in a small voice.
"Why are you being this way? I have done nothing to deserve this attitude. Do you want me to just not talk to you anymore? Cause that's what it feels like," Duke said to the little girl.
"No!" Rowan cried out, her tears starting to flow. She wrapped her arms around him in a tight grasp. "It's not you," she cried, "it's them." Her whole body started to tremble, afraid to lose him.
"Who is them?" Duke asked patting her back but not letting her off the hook for her behavior.
She looked up at him. "I'm sorry." She bit her lower lip, letting go of his embrace. Her hands trembled, touching the paper in them and slowly gave it to him. "This is why I'm angry."
Duke looked confused but took the paper in his hand, slowly opening it and discovered it was a permission slip for a trip from her school. He looked towards his adoptive daughter, questions reeling in his head.
Rowan let out a long breath. "I don't want you to sign it, I don't want to go."
"Why not?" he asked, sitting down next to her on the bed.
"Because they won't let me bring Eryn with me. I wanted her to go, but Miss Silverman said she's not allowed." Rowan looked down at her hands. "I think its because Eryn is special and that Miss Silverman doesn't want her there."
Duke's hand slowly rose and touched her teary cheek. "So, Miss Silverman said it was because of Eryn being special?"
"Not in those words," Rowan answered. "I think it is because Eryn is not in my school. Why isn't she allowed to come to my school?"
Duke sighed. He knew this day would be coming. "Eryn can't go to your school because your Aunt Allie is worried that because of how tiny she is, that the kids will be cruel to her and I don't know why else."
"I would protect her." Rowan reached her hand and covered his scared one. "They make fun of me because of my accent and they don't believe me when I say that I ride planes and tanks and I am taught by a real ninja. But I try not to make that bother me."
"Honey, you are very different from Eryn. You can protect yourself from the other children. She can't," he tried to gently explain to her.
"Yes, she can," Rowan persisted. "If she can fight her battles with me, then she can do it anywhere."
"With you it's not the same, Rosey," Duke said softly. "She knows you love her like she was your little sister. The others don't and that will be frightening. She also wouldn't be in your class cause she's younger and not as advanced academically as you are."
Rowan huddled closer to her father. "It's not fair though, that I can do things and she can't." She looked up at his eyes. "Can you talk to Miss Silverman and see if she's allowed to come along? We're going to a horse farm and I know she would love that."
"No, Honey. I cannot do that. She's not going to your school so your teacher cannot take on the responsibility of taking Eryn along," Duke told her.
"Then, is it all right if I don't go with my class, but maybe we and Aunt Allie and Uncle Dash, Colly, Cay and the twins, Reena and Jeff can all go together?" Rowan requested gently.
Duke smiled proudly at his little girl. "That, Honey, is a terrific idea."
Rowan returned the smile. "Thanks, Daddy," she said, her blue-green eyes sparkling.
A gentle knock came from the door and Scarlett's head peeked inside. "Is everything all right?" she asked, spotting them on the bed.
"Yeah, Baby." Duke gave her a loving smile.
Rowan burst from the bed and hurled herself at her mother, wrapping her arms around the redhead's waist, burying her face in her stomach and holding tight. "I'm sorry," she cried. "I didn't mean it."
Scarlett bent her head, kissing Rowan's head and wrapping her arms around her youngest daughter. "It's all right, darling. I know you didn't mean it." She tilted the little girl's chin upwards to face her blue eyes. "But I am worried about you, Rowan. We both are."
"If something is bothering me, I'll come to you, I promise. Pinkie swear and spit on Shipwreck's hair." Rowan smiled affectiously toward the woman who had become her mother for the past two years.
Scarlett and Duke chuckled at the redhead child while Rowan's white cat, jumped on the bed and hissed at Duke, making him jump away while Snowball stationed himself on the pillow, master of the room, to which both redheads laughed at the general's expense.