Wow, lots of reviews for the last chapter! Ya'll are awesome! Well, here's the update, and I'll warn ya'll beforehand: there is a cliffie! (hides under sink) Enjoy, and please remember to review!
Disclaimer: See previous chapters, cause I'm getting bored saying it.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO
After a brief argument over who was going to drive, the two men were heading toward the Deakins' home as fast as they could get through traffic.
The wheels of the car squealed as Bobby turned into the driveway and slammed it to a screeching halt. Mike was out of the car before it came to a full stop. Bobby was right behind him by the time he pounded on the door. "Calm down," Bobby said as he grabbed Mike's arm. "You're going to scare the girls."
Mike held himself back with difficulty as he knocked again.
Angie heard a knock on the front door, and she looked at the girls and said, "Stay right here, and don't make a sound until I come back."
The girls nodded, and Angie walked out of the room and down the hall, her heart pounding louder and louder until she reached the door. Warily, she peered through the peephole, sighing in relief when she recognized the men standing outside. Opening the door, she motioned for them to step inside the house.
Mike was through the door, eyes scanning the room before the door was fully open. "Is she here?"
Bobby grinned at Angie. "Got any sedatives?"
"One." She looked down the hall and called, "Emily, bring her out here." The oldest Deakins daughter appeared in the living room, with Kiska in her arms.
Mike struggled to be gentle as he took his daughter from Emily, remembering to give the young woman a smile.
Kiska laughed happily at the sight of her father. "Da!"
He hugged her and she let out another happy squeal when she saw Bobby. "UmBa!"
He moved closer and touched her hand. "Hey, Cubby."
Keeping his voice even and calm, Bobby asked Angie, "Has anyone else been here?"
Angie shook her head. "No. The girls and I have been in the bedroom since Alex called me."
"Take the baby and go on back there. Do not come out, no matter what you hear, until Mike or I come to get you. No matter what, Angie."
She nodded and gave her daughter a gentle push in the direction of the bedroom. Then she gently took the baby away from Mike, not missing the fear and heartbroken look in his eyes. She hugged the little girl close and laid her hand on Bobby's shoulder, then Mike's. "Be careful, you two."
"We'll do the best we can," Bobby promised.
"You do that." She touched their shoulders again, then turned and headed back to the bedroom.
The two men looked at each other. "Now what?" Mike asked.
"Now, we wait."
"You gotta be kidding me."
"I don't like waiting any more than you do."
With a deep sigh of frustration, Mike dropped down onto the couch. Silently, Bobby sat beside him and they waited.
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It didn't take long for Michelle to find the address she had discovered, and she smiled when she noticed only one solitary car sitting in front. Carefully she parked the car, then made sure everything was ready before climbing out of the car. As she walked up the driveway and approached the door, she tucked the gun away in her jacket. Silently, she looked around at her surroundings before peering into a window. She noticed a playpen in the corner of the room, and she smiled.
She turned the brass doorknob, and when it wouldn't budge, she knelt down and quickly picked the lock. Then she stood up again and slowly pushed the door open.
As the door creeped open, both men tensed, but neither moved. Hands on their weapons, they watched tensely.
Michelle walked into the dark house, her eyes easily adjusting to the dark.
Out of the darkness came a soft, familiar voice. "Hello, Michelle."
Michelle froze and turned her head in the direction of the voice. She knew that voice. "Hello, Bobby. Where is my daughter?"
"You don't have a daughter, Michelle."
She reached behind herself and flipped a switch, flooding the room with light. "Yes, I do. And I want you to tell me where she is."
He rose from the couch and faced her. Brow furrowed, he quietly said, "You shot me. What were you thinking?"
She touched her chin thoughtfully. "I suppose you could say that I was thinking you would die."
"Was it worth it? You lost your sons and you're going to jail."
"Oh, I don't plan on going to jail. And I know C.J. will take care of his brothers."
"Do you think for one moment that my partner and I are going to let you leave this house, with or without Kiska, a free woman? You assaulted and tried to kill a police officer. You assaulted a former cop and kidnapped a baby. Those are serious allegations."
She looked around Bobby, to where Mike was sitting. "Hmm, I see you brought a friend." Crossing her arms over her chest, she said, "I've tried reasoning with you, and bargaining with you. Nothing works. So I guess I'll just have to take the baby, today."
Attempting to distract her, he said, "You do realize the boys will be placed in foster care, probably in separate homes. The authorities will not give C.J. custody of his brothers."
She shook her head. "Not true. C.J. is twenty, and he'll get custody of the boys until I can take them back to North Carolina."
He shook his head. "I talked to the police down there. The boys have already been placed in foster homes, and C.J. is on his own."
Her eyes narrowed. "Now that wasn't very nice," she hissed. "And believe me, I'll be rectifying that soon enough."
Mike stepped up to Bobby's side. "What planet are you from, lady? The best bet you had for a fair deal is my partner here and you shot him. I told him I'd give him a shot at talking to you, but we're done now." He held out his cuffs. "You're under arrest, you crazy bitch."
She smiled coldly at him. "I'd like to see you try," she snarled, pulling her gun from her jacket.
"Oh, geez," Mike growled as he went for his own weapon. "Here we go again."
Bobby placed his hand on the butt of his own gun, but did not draw. He held out a hand. "This can't go well for you, Michelle. Don't try it."
She took a half step back from the men, one hand running through her hair as the other tightened around the gun. "By the way, how is she?" she asked coolly.
Bobby shook his head as Mike answered, "What makes you think we're going to give you any information? All you need to know is that we got here and sent her somewhere else."
Out of the side of his mouth, Bobby hissed, "Don't antagonize..."
She shook her head and smiled slyly. "Not my Nikki. I meant your precious Carolyn."
"Same deal, nutcase. No information."
Bobby groaned. He was half-tempted to smack Mike. He was going to trigger another rage if he continued the way he was going.
She shrugged indifferently. "Fine. Be that way." A smug smile appeared on her face, and she leaned a little closer. "Do you have any idea how good it felt when I threw her down and heard those fragile little ribs snap?" She shivered in delight.
Mike swallowed his rage and did not take the bait. He nudged Bobby with an exaggerated motion and said, "How screwed up is that? What kind of person delights in causing that much pain for a person she used to call friend?"
Bobby closed his eyes briefly, wishing Mike would just be quiet. "Stop it," he hissed under his breath. "Trust me...she's not stable.."
She focused her cold eyes on Mike. "And don't think I don't know who you are, Detective Logan."
Mike barked a bitter laugh. "Wow, Bobby. I'm famous."
"Hardly. Carolyn couldn't keep her mouth shut about you."
He grinned. "Yeah, well, I think she's pretty fine, too."
Bobby elbowed him. He shot an annoyed glance his way. "What?" he hissed.
"Shut up," Bobby growled back. This was going to go south quickly if Mike didn't shut up.
Her eyes narrowed again. "I don't know what she saw in you." She shrugged. "One woman's treasure is another's trash."
Mike bristled and Bobby's hand shot out to grab his wrist. "No," he growled, stepping forward to regain control of the situation. "This isn't about him or Carolyn," he said, eyes steady on her face. "This is about you, Michelle."
"Not only me, Bobby. My daughter too. My husband would have wanted me to take care of her."
"You mean your brother," he said softly.
"My husband," she snapped. She turned cold eyes on Mike again. "I don't know what she told you, but Nicole is my husband's, and mine."
"That's not what genetics showed," Mike snarled. "Actually, there was a chance she could have been Bobby's..."
Bobby groaned, making a mental note to smack Mike once they were clear of this situation.
She placed a hand on her hip. "Genetics don't prove anything. My husband was unfaithful to me with Carolyn, but I got that baby. I was there when she was born. I helped take care of her. She's mine."
"Watching another woman give birth doesn't make you that baby's mother," Bobby said quietly.
"But taking care of her, and technically being her 'stepmother', does."
He rubbed the back of his neck, feigning a puzzled expression. "Stepmother? Uh...how do you figure that?"
She rolled her eyes. "Don't you get it? She's my husband's."
"No, Michelle. She's not. She's Mike's."
Her hand tightened on the gun as she shook her head. "No, she's not."
He raised his hand, effectively taking his left hand away from his weapon. "I'm not going to try to change your mind or debate the issue. But you're going back to jail, Michelle. You tried to kill a cop."
"And I obviously screwed up, seeing as how you're still breathing."
He rubbed the back of his neck again and decided it was time to jump out of the frying pan into the fire. "Your boys...uh, they aren't yours either."
She laughed harshly. "Now that's just a lie."
"Most people collect refrigerator magnets or knick knacks," Mike snapped. "You collect other people's children."
Her hand itched to pull the trigger, but she steadied herself. "Bullshit."
"We've done our homework, Michelle. The authorities are right now working to send those boys back to their rightful homes."
Bobby was increasingly nervous about the gun in her hand, knowing firsthand how quickly things could escalate. "You need to put the gun down, Michelle. I really don't want anyone to get hurt."
"Right. Sorry, but I'm not putting it down."
"Michelle..." he began softly, trying to make contact with a mind that he sensed was beyond his reach. How familiar that scenario was...
She took a step backwards, away from the men.
Bobby let her go, holding out his arm to stop Mike from advancing on her, something she would definitely see as a threat.
A soft cry from the back of the house caught her attention, and she immediately recognized the cry as Nicole's. Suddenly the men were gone from her mind, and she stepped around them and toward the baby's cry.
Bobby saw his opportunity and took full advantage of her distraction. Stepping toward her, he deftly knocked the gun from her hand and kicked it clear.
His touched sent her over, and she dove for the gun that had flown out of her hand.
He caught her, grabbing her waist with his right arm as Mike shoved his gun into its holster and came forward to help.
When his arm went around her waist, she was cornered. With a growl born of hatred, she reached into her jacket and pulled a second gun out of a pocket. Then she shoved the barrel against his chest.
Mike snaked his arm around her neck and yanked as she pulled the trigger. Bobby was knocked backwards from the impact of the bullet as Mike wrestled Michelle to the ground. Bobby scrambled back to his aid, getting the gun free after she fired once more. After a few minutes, they had her subdued and cuffed. Mike sat on her back, pinning her to the floor. "You okay, man?"
Bobby nodded. "Just bruised. It would have been a lot worse if you hadn't grabbed her and changed the angle of trajectory. Thanks, Mike."
"That's how partners are supposed to work," Mike replied with a grin.
Bobby opened his vest and pulled out his phone, calling for a marked car to swing by to take Michelle in. He dropped to a knee near her head and quietly said, "It didn't have to be this way, Michelle."
"Get the hell away from me," she snarled, snapping her head away from him.
Mike nodded at him. "Let's see. Open your shirt."
Bobby unbuttoned his shirt and revealed a purpling bruise where the bullet had struck his vest. He sighed. "Alex is going to kill me."
Mike sighed. "I wouldn't put her in a room alone with this loon for any length of time. Look and see if that marked is here yet."
Bobby went to the front door, returning shortly with two uniformed officers. They took Michelle into custody. Mike glared at her. "Stay away from my daughter," he snarled.
"Fuck you," she growled back.
He smiled. "No thanks."
She turned her head and glared at him as they pulled her away. "She's mine, and I'm never going to give up!"
Bobby shook his head. "You've screwed yourself over, Michelle."
She just shook her head, and a seductive grin appeared again. "Don't worry, Bobby," she cooed. "We'll be seeing each other again."
He nodded, a sad smile touching his face. "At your trial."
She smiled at him again before letting the other officers lead her out of the house.
Mike shook his head as Bobby headed toward the back bedroom. "How does someone get that messed up?"
"It happens," he replied. Softly he knocked on the bedroom door. "Angie?"
The door slowly opened, and Angie peered through the crack before opening the door completely. A relieved look appeared on her face, and she looked him up and down, concerned. "Are you all right, Bobby?"
He nodded. "I'm okay. You and the girls can come out."
She sighed, relieved, before turning her head. "Come on, girls. Em, bring Kiska."
The youngest of the girls stopped in front of him and looked up into his face as he buttoned his shirt back up. He gave her a soft smile and touched her cheek. She stepped up to him and hugged him. Surprised, he returned the hug. Stepping away, she headed toward the living room. He pulled out his phone as he followed her and called Alex.
Alex was sitting in the waiting room, twisting her hands in her lap as she contemplated the news she had just received. Suddenly her phone began ringing, and she looked at the caller ID before walking outside. Bobby?
"Hey, baby," he said quietly.
Are you two okay?
"Yes. We're okay."
She let out a relieved breath. Good.
He was going to get enough grief when she saw his chest. "How is everything there?"
She closed her eyes and leaned back against a concrete pillar, quiet for a few moments before finally speaking. I talked with the doctors. How soon can you two get back here?
"What's wrong?"
She let out a trembling breath. Just... come back to the hospital. Carolyn will be out of surgery soon, and Mike should be there.
"We'll be there soon."
He slipped the phone back into his pocket and went into the living room with everyone else. Leaning over Mike's shoulder he gave Kiska a kiss. "We've got to go," he muttered to Mike.
Reluctantly, he gave his daughter a kiss and handed her back to Emily. He looked at Angie. "Are you sure you don't mind?"
She nodded. "It's no problem, dear. Carolyn needs you right now." Then she turned to Bobby and said, "And you make sure Alex gets plenty of rest."
"I do my best," he answered.
She smiled and drew him into a hug. Then she did the same with Mike before saying, "I'm glad you two are okay."
"You and me both," Mike replied. "I would have had to face Alex."
She laughed softly.
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Alex was sitting on one of the hard waiting room chairs, her elbows on her knees and her head resting on her hand. Finally she saw her partner walk through the doors, and she sighed quietly.
He approached her and leaned to the side to catch her eye. "What's going on?"
She looked beyond him at Mike. "You two need to sit down."
The two men looked at each other for a moment before sitting down on either side of her.
How the hell do I tell them this? she thought as they sat down by her. What the hell was that doctor thinking, telling me? She reached out and gently touched Mike's leg. "Carolyn's doctor came out here and talked to me, since you weren't here."
"Is she okay?"
"They seem to think... she'll be fine. But Mike..." She paused and fought the hot tears in her eyes. "Did you know she was pregnant?"
His mind drew a blank and he stared at her. "P-pregnant?"
She nodded slowly. "I'm sorry, Mike. They said they did everything they could."
"Sorry?"
Bobby got up and walked off as Mike struggled to wrap his mind around what Alex was trying to tell him.
"They said that because of the damage that was caused when Carolyn's ribs collapsed..." Her voice trailed off, and she pressed her fist against her mouth.
Slowly, the realization of what she said sank in and he saw red. "I'm going to kill that bitch," he growled.
Alex looked over her shoulder for support from her partner.
Mike pointed a finger at her. "You can come along if you want, sweetheart. She shot him again."
She froze, then pushed herself out of her chair and walked over to her partner. With furious, trembling hands, she pushed his shirt up, inhaling sharply when she saw the developing bruise that covered his chest. "Bobby..."
He shot a glare in Mike's direction before gently grasping her wrists and softly saying, "I'm okay."
She pulled her hands away and wrapped her arms tightly around his waist. "Damn it, Goren. I told you not to let her touch you!" More tears threatened to fall, and she buried her face in his shoulder.
He folded her in his arms and held her against him. "She didn't really touch me, baby. I was vested, and Mike grabbed her before she could pull the trigger point blank at my chest."
She held onto him tighter. "You scared me," she muttered, her voice muffled by his shirt. Finally she pulled away, then turned around and looked at Mike.
He released her and turned away, struggling to come to terms with what Michelle had done to Carolyn.
She could see the pain and loss reflecting clearly in his troubled green eyes, and she paused before slowly stepping into his embrace. "I'm so sorry, Mike."
"I...I need...She'll be out for a while. I...I need a drink or two." He looked around. "Uh, where'd he go?"
She looked around, then sighed. "I don't know where he went."
Mike rubbed his temple. "God, he's hard to keep track of."
She nodded and sat back down in the chair wearily.
"Fed up?"
She shook her head. "More like exhausted."
He sat beside her. "I wish he would have let me shoot her."
She leaned over and rested her elbows on her knees. "Would that have done any good, Mike?" she asked, running her fingers through her hair.
"It would have kept her from hurting anyone else. She wouldn't have shot him again, either."
"Would it have made any of this right?" She turned her head and looked at him sadly. "It would've taken you away from the child you have."
"Alex, she was armed and threatening the father of that kid you have there. And she threatened him again when they took her away. She's got it in for him, honey."
She leaned back in the chair, her hand settling on her stomach. "But now... now they know what to expect. She's never getting out, Mike. They'll see through anything the defense pulls out of their ass."
"I hope you're right. Uh, I'm gonna go down the street for a little while. I'll be back. If your boyfriend turns up, send him my way."
She took a deep breath, rubbing her stomach slowly. "As soon as I find him, I'm going home. This baby has been kicking me all day, not to mention making me nauseous."
He leaned over and kissed her cheek "Sleep well then. Tell him I'll talk to him tomorrow. He still owes me a couple of beers, you know."
"I know." She reached over and squeezed his hand. "Don't have too much. It shouldn't be more than a couple of hours before Carolyn comes out of surgery."
"I'll be fine." He headed out of the area toward the nearest exit.
Alex watched Mike go, then settled back in the chair to wait for her partner to reappear.
It wasn't Bobby who showed up a few minutes later, though. It was Mike, and he looked deeply troubled.
She raised her head and looked at him, worried. "Mike? What's wrong?"
"Um, how stupid is Bobby?"
"Why?" She stood up and grabbed his arm. "Where is he, Mike?"
"I don't know, but the SUV is gone."
Realization washed over her, and she brushed past him, digging her own keys out of her pocket.
He ran after her. "I'm going with you," he insisted.
"Fine."
"Please tell me he didn't go where I think he did."
"If I know him, he did."
"No..."
Her lip trembled, but she steeled herself and quickly walked out of the hospital, then climbed into the driver's seat of her car.
Mike slid into the passenger seat beside her. "She's gonna hurt him," he muttered. "He has a habit of underestimating this one."
"I figured," she muttered, shoving the key into the ignition and sending the engine roaring to life.
"Talk to me, Alex."
"He's a complete idiot, Mike! What else is there to say? She's already shot him twice, and damned if he isn't going back a third time!"
"She's at Riker's. It's not likely she'll have a gun on her this time."
That fact did soothe her a little, but she was still furious with him. Gripping the steering wheel, she focused on the road and traffic in front of her as she said, "How's the baby?"
"Fine. She was happy to see us. Angie and the girls are taking good care of her."
She nodded. "Good. I'm glad."
"How's that little tyke doing?"
A small smile touched her lips. "Fine, but she's definitely her daddy's child. Driving me crazy already."
He smiled. "We're doomed then, sweetheart. He drives us both nuts."
Her smile grew larger. "He does."
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Bobby paced the interview room at Rikers as he waited for them to bring Michelle out to see him. It had taken him most of the drive to settle himself down and get a handle on his fury, but he was still far from calm.
The door clanged open and they led her into the room. He studied her as she sat in the chair and they uncuffed her.
Michelle sat down calmly, studying him with cold eyes. "What do you want?"
He studied her, projecting a greater calm than he felt. He pressed a hand against his forehead. "I'm trying to figure you out...to understand how you can harbor so much hate."
He continued to pace, unable to settle himself. "How does it feel...to be able to take a life, or even to try to take a life, without feeling any remorse for it?"
She leaned back in the chair. "I don't know why you even try. I don't want you around me. But then again... maybe you like that." She rested her elbows on the table. "I didn't kill anyone."
She wanted to play things that way...all right...he was game. He'd made up his mind not to tell her about the unborn baby whose life she took...not just yet. He grabbed a chair, spun it around and straddled it. Leaning forward to face her, he replied, "Maybe I do like it."
She shrugged a little. "I don't think I care."
"I think you do."
She let out a cold laugh. "Right. Big, bad famous detective knows exactly what everyone thinks."
"Prove me wrong. Why did you challenge me?"
"Challenge you to what?"
He propped his head on a hand. "To figure you out. What drives that hatred, Michelle? And are you really so delusional that you believe DNA evidence proves nothing...that wanting...and desire...is justification enough to get you what you want?"
"Why are you so obsessed with 'figuring me out'? There is nothing there to figure out."
He shrugged. "It's what I do."
"Oh, I know about what you do. After our first 'encounter', I did a little research on you. And I can tell you right now, you're wasting your time."
He sat back and raised his hands. "It's my time to waste. I would like to know why you tried to kill me."
"I had my reasons, and they're mine to keep."
"You don't readily share...anything, do you?"
"No."
"Have you ever tried...to explain anything...even to yourself?"
"Why would I need to explain anything?"
"To understand...why you have so much hatred inside...why you have such an obsessive need to possess something that was never yours to start with."
"Obsessive need?" She shook her head. "No, I was content with my life before that... whore tore my family apart!"
"Were you? Have you ever really been content, Michelle? Why did you take four boys from their homes and pretend they were yours?"
"Because they weren't cared about. I wanted them, and their parents didn't."
"And Kiska? What's your excuse for taking her? She was always cared about, always loved and wanted."
She leaned forward. "Now that's where you're wrong. Did your precious Carolyn tell you she planned on giving her up?"
"Yes, she did. And ultimately, she couldn't do it."
"But the fact that she even considered it proved my point."
He frowned. "A lot of women go through uncertainty. Are you some avenging angel who plans to swoop down and steal all those children from loving parents who once had doubts? Do you have some bizarre claim to my child because I had questions about ever having one?"
"No. I just took children who needed love and took care of them. I saw the way she acted the first two months of Nicole's life. I love Nicole, and she's mine."
He shook his head. "That's where you're wrong. She's not yours and she never was. Not every woman takes readily to motherhood, particularly when it's unexpected. That judgment is not yours to make. You can't just take a child because you want her. It doesn't work that way."
"She is mine. One of your brothers in blue murdered my husband! That little girl was his!"
"You're defending a rapist! And no, she is not his."
"He didn't rape her!"
"What the hell do you call it? A man forcing himself on an unwilling woman is the definition of rape!"
She gripped the table and hissed, "He didn't rape her! It was consensual, and it was the only time he was ever unfaithful to me!"
"And how do you explain the woman he raped right before he was killed?"
She shook her head. "I wouldn't know about it, because he was taken away from me and my children!"
"He was a serial rapist, Michelle."
Her eyes narrowed in anger. "No, he wasn't. He was a good man who loved me and our children!"
"I guess he 'loved' a lot of women."
She lunged across the table at him, but strong arms grabbed her and held her back. "You bastard!" she screeched. "Son of a bitch!"
"I did my homework, too, Michelle. How do you explain the fact that he'd had a vasectomy?"
She fought against the other officers, screaming curses at him at the top of her lungs.
He waved the guards off. "Come on, Michelle," he challenged. "Make me understand."
They released her, and she breathed heavily for a moment. When the haze finally disappeared, she fell limply into the chair. "Take me back to the cell," she hissed. Then she looked at Bobby again. "Go to hell."
"I've been there," he answered. "It's overrated."
She sent him a scathing glare before snarling, "I said, take me back to my damn cell!"
"You really have no clue, do you? You have no idea why you're so filled with hate, or why you tried to kill me. It was your hatred that destroyed your family, and got your boys taken away to be returned to their parents."
"What do you want me to say? My mother abandoned me, or my father sexually abused me? What would pacify you?"
He leaned over, bringing his face close to hers. "I just want you to tell me why," he murmured softly.
She shook her head. "There's nothing to tell. I know that that baby's mine, but you refuse to accept that as a reason. Those boys are mine, and so is Nikki. My husband was a good family man who loved all of us, but again you try and refute that."
"It's not a matter of accepting or rejecting anything. It's a matter of evidence. I'm not talking off the cuff here. Everything I've told you is based on fact backed by evidence."
"And you think I'll just cave in the face of science? Well, screw science."
"Defense attorneys would agree with that sentiment. But the law backs it. You are looking at spending a long time behind these bars, Michelle."
"That's nothing compared to what I've been through."
"I'm sorry for that, but a rough life is not an excuse for becoming a criminal."
"I'm not using it as a damn excuse. In a way, prison will be a... reprieve."
He looked thoughtful for a moment. "I...understand that."
She scoffed. "Sure you do."
"I do. My, uh, my mother was schizophrenic and my father was abusive. It would have been an easy matter for me to turn to crime, to become abusive...but I didn't. I...rose above my past. Circumstances led me down a different path. I do understand...better than you know."
"I don't want you to try and pity me, or sympathize. I don't need that. I did what I did, and that's just all there is to it."
He shook his head. "No. No pity and no sympathy. I never wanted that, either. I just...understand."
"Fine. You understand." She waved a hand in the air.
He shook his head and straddled the chair again. "Sometimes... it's hard to make lemonade. Sometimes, all we have is the lemons. I got lucky."
"Yeah, whatever."
"You're very angry and bitter."
"Really? I had no idea."
His face relaxed into an amused smile. "I can tell," he smirked.
"And I can tell you're desperate to explain anything that doesn't make sense to you."
"It's a character flaw," he admitted.
"More like a desperation."
He nodded. "Sometimes. My partner calls it a driving passion."
She shifted tactics. "She's lovely," she purred, with malice lacing her voice.
He raised an eyebrow. "My partner?"
"I assume that's who she was. The blond, pregnant woman with you at the bail hearing?"
He nodded. "Yes. That's her."
She sat back in the chair, a smug look on her face.
He still looked amused. "What are you thinking?" he asked, curious.
"Ever wonder where my son is?"
"I presumed he'd come to visit you."
"Yes. He is here in New York."
"It's good you have support here."
She leaned forward in the chair. "He's not just here to support me, in so many words."
He frowned. "Wh-what is that supposed to mean?"
"I mean, C.J. is a very good boy. Very attuned to my attitudes, and always eager to please."
"Y-you raised him to be a criminal?"
She shrugged. "Never said that. But right now, let's just say he's none too pleased about you and your friends breaking up our family."
He raised an eyebrow. "I didn't break your family up. If you hadn't assaulted Carolyn and kidnapped Kiska I would never have become involved. Your family would still be intact."
"That's not the way my boy sees it. He didn't like you from the second he saw you in our home, and now... now that dislike has bloomed into something else."
"Are...are you threatening me?"
"You?" She feigned surprise. "No."
"Let's just drop the bullshit, Michelle. What are you saying?"
"I'm not saying anything. Besides... it's not as though I could do anything..."
"If you talk to your son...let him know...it's not worth it. He'll end up in prison, like you...or dead...like his father. I don't want to be responsible for that."
"My boys have always had minds of their own. Strong willed young men, with resources and their father's determination."
"And you don't give a damn what happens to him..."
"I can't control my boy, or his actions."
His eyes narrowed. "Then I won't be responsible for what happens to him. It would be...unfortunate if you had to bury your son."
She leaned forward. "And it would be unfortunate for you if you had to bury your pregnant whore."
Alex... "What does she have to do with any of this?"
"Very much. I wouldn't put it past my boy to... lash out."
"He can lash out at me then...try to finish what you failed to do."
A smile curved her lips. "But how better to hurt you than to take away the only person who ever truly loved and understood you?"
"How...how do you know that?"
"Like I said, research. Schizophrenic mother, gambling brother. Womanizing, indifferent father. Or did she even know which one it was? The drunk, or the serial rapist and killer?" She leaned forward. "What is your girlfriend's last name going to be? Goren, or Brady?"
He glared at her, refusing to take the bait. "Um, neither, actually."
"Really? So there was another... sperm donor in question?"
"Maybe it was Logan."
She shrugged. "Women like her... who knows?"
"Women...like her?"
"As in little blonds who have nothing to do but sleep around. Is that what made you so obsessed with that Nicole Wallace woman?"
He swallowed his anger. "Obsessed? I think you've put the obsession on the wrong end."
She shrugged. "I believe it was a mutual thing. By the way, where is your little whore?"
"She...she's not..." He trailed off for a moment. "I don't own her."
She shrugged. "C.J. is having fun in New York. Lots of places to see, things to do..."
"Um...I...I think we're done here." He got to his feet. "You know where to find me if you decide to talk."
She shrugged indifferently. "I'm not the one who wanted to talk. You did."
"I-I'm sorry, Michelle."
"Don't be." She waved a little at him. "It was fun."
"I'm also sorry for whatever will happen to your son." He walked to the door and hammered his hand against it.
Her eyes narrowed. "Well, whatever does happen, I hope it happens because he is achieving his goal."
The guards opened the door and he headed out of the prison.
TBC...
A/N: Well, there you go. Michelle's a certifiable headcase, but ya'll already knew that. I definitely had lots of fun writing her. Very challenging, and very... rewarding. Hahahahaha.
