Stranger
The week passed quietly. Lea enjoyed the calm even though she never fully forgot about the break-in. Evan helped a lot. He appeared after his run each morning, sharing those quiet hours with her. Jessie also helped by distracting her. After all, she didn't have time to worry as she chased her four-year-old around the house in an impromptu tickle fest. Lea tried to play with Jessie often, but she usually arrived home exhausted. It made the rare times even more special.
There were changes in that week. Lea noticed that Evan became more attentive to her needs. She never really changed her approach to him, but he seemed to read her better than he had in previous days. She wondered if it had anything to do with the visit from his coworkers or if it related to the break-in. She didn't care, either way. She just liked having him so close. Jessie also loved him. After Sheppard and Ronon left, Jessie changed his name from "Mr. Evan" to "Uncle Evan." At first, he blinked dubiously, but Lea accepted the change. Her daughter craved male attention, and she had adopted several uncles since neither she nor Mark had any siblings.
Even the house changed. Evan's touches appeared in the neatly trimmed grass and minor repairs taking place. Lea appreciated that more than she could say. In the last three years, so many things on the house fell into disrepair, and she had neither the time nor the expertise to fix them.
Nine days after Sheppard and Ronon visited, Lea sat in the office of Colorado Springs Case Management, glaring at the computer screen. Her job required an internet connection to get the majority of the work accomplished. While the office kept hard copies of different files, each client also had a virtual file which held the majority of the providers' reports and medical paperwork. Today, the internet connection had gone down, and the internet provider wouldn't be able to get to it until the next day. Lea had plenty of meeting minutes to type and other miscellaneous paperwork to fill out, but she'd wanted to finish the mail.
Her cell phone rang, and she frowned at the caller ID. It was Jessie's child care center. "Hello?"
"Mrs. Davies, this is Sandra over at the daycare center." The woman sounded a little uncertain. "There's a gentleman here asking to pick up Jessie. He says you gave him permission and even has a note with your signature."
Lea's heart pounded in her chest, and she struggled to breathe. "What?" After a moment, she pulled herself together. "I didn't authorize anyone besides myself to pick up my daughter." Oh, God, it's happening again! she thought.
Sandra let out a deep breath. "I thought that was the case, but I wanted to make sure."
"I'm on my way!" Lea began gathering her purse and keys. "Don't let Jessie go with him! I'll be there in a few minutes!" She ended the call before Sandra had a chance to say anything. Her nervous movements knocked a file from the desk and scattered papers all over the floor. She stopped just short of cursing at them as she began to hurriedly gather the papers in some semblance of order.
"Lea?" Marissa appeared, clearly disturbed by the commotion. "What happened?"
"A stranger's trying to pick up Jessie from the sitter's, and I have no idea who it is!" Lea closed her eyes, trying to calm the tears. Her hands shook, and she felt as if she would be sick.
Marissa's face cleared. "Call Evan."
"What?"
"You need a calm presence around you, and he won't mind." Marissa pinned her in place with a single look. "Call Evan. Then go get your daughter. If you need to, bring her back. Otherwise, I'll see you tomorrow." When Lea tried to finish gathering the paperwork that kept growing, Marissa stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. "Go. I've got this."
Lea nodded and let out another deep breath. She didn't need to collapse right now. She needed to pull herself together and go get her daughter. She could collapse later, after Jessie went to bed. But not now. Now, she needed. . . . The mantra repeated in her head as she climbed into her car. Once there, she pulled out her cell phone and dialed another number.
"Lorne here." The calm voice brought tears to her eyes. He must be painting. He didn't speak with that warm undertone unless he stood in front of an easel.
"Evan?" She tried to steady her voice. "I need you to meet me at Jessie's child care center."
"Okay, what happened?" His tone changed slightly, becoming more businesslike.
"Someone tried to pick her up, and I don't know who." She started the car. "Sandra just said it was a man with a note from me. But I didn't give a note to anyone."
"I'm on my way." He disconnected the call after getting directions, and Lea breathed a miniscule sigh of relief. With Evan on the way, she'd be able to get through this.
He met her at the child care center, arriving only moments before she did. By then, Lea had yelled at every driver on the road to get out of her way. She'd pounded the steering wheel and worked to control her emotions. They were obviously still out of control because Evan confronted her before she could reach the door. He took her shoulders in a firm grip and met her eyes. "You need to calm down."
"I'm trying."
"I know." He never looked away. "But Jessie doesn't need to see you like this. You can come apart later, and I'll be there when it happens. But, right now, I need you to pull it together."
Lea put her hands on his arms, allowing the firm embrace to steady her. "Thanks for meeting me."
He gave her a wry glance. "This is my niece you're talking about. Of course I'd meet you."
Lea nodded once and pasted a calm expression on her face. She knew her eyes still held a wild look, and she let out several deep breaths. Evan smiled at her obvious attempt and pulled her into his arms. Lea allowed him to hold her, drawing strength from the warmth of his arms and the steady sound of his heartbeat. Rather than dwelling on the reasons for that, she let it soothe her. She finally pulled away, and Evan seemed content with what he saw. He released her and followed her into the center.
Jessie still played with her classmates. Lea almost rushed directly to her but didn't want to frighten her daughter. Instead, she forced herself to calmly sign Jessie out of the center and allow the little girl to slowly gather her things. When she saw Evan, however, Jessie rushed to him and threw herself into his arms with a squeal.
Lea forced a laugh. "Now I know where I stand."
Evan grinned over Jessie's shoulder. "Apparently." He waited for Lea to walk outside before holding out his hand. "Keys." When Lea eyed his truck, he waved a hand. "Cam and Deanna will come get it later. I'm not letting you drive right now."
Lea meekly handed the keys to him and climbed into the passenger seat. She didn't feel like fighting traffic just to get home. In the back seat, Jessie chattered about her day. Evan listened closely as he drove, asking questions that made the little girl think. Lea shook her head. He would make a wonderful father one day.
When they arrived home, Evan herded them toward his apartment. Lea refused to complain. As much as she wanted to be home, she didn't want to be alone. She remembered days while married to Mark when she craved time to herself. Those days would come again, but she merely wanted company right now. Evan distracted Jessie with a simple art lesson at the dining table, allowing Lea to stare at his painting of the Golden Gate bridge.
Finally, he moved to her side, invading her space without touching her. "That's the second version of the Bridge that I've painted. I gave the first one to Deanna."
"It's unique." Lea struggled to keep her calm façade in place. "Were you on a boat to get this angle?"
"You could say that." He sounded amused, but she heard the edge to his voice. He put a hand on her shoulder, and Lea stiffened. "Hey, relax." He massaged her shoulder slightly. "She's sleeping."
Lea whirled and spotted Jessie on the couch. The little girl had obviously fallen asleep while drawing, and she immediately wanted to take a picture. Evan thought the same thing because he held up a digital camera. "I'll make sure you get a copy."
"Thanks." She glanced at him. "For everything."
He nodded once before tugging on her hand. "Come here."
Lea let him pull her into his arms again, and she laid her head on his chest. Who was she kidding? She loved this man as deeply as she'd loved Mark. They hadn't officially "dated" at all, but she knew him. He had allowed her to see his heart, and she trusted him in return.
Unwanted tears came to her eyes, and she refused to hold them back. Evan tightened his hold on her as she cried, not saying a word. Lea appreciated his silence as much as she appreciated his presence. This man was a rock, and she needed that in her life. The tears came harder as she let out the frustration of the break-in along with the fear of losing her daughter. She'd never experienced more ups and downs in one month's time except for the month following Mark's death.
Finally, the storm passed, and Lea lifted her head. She refused to apologize for her emotions. Evan never said a word but merely allowed her to slip into the bathroom to wash her face. Lea stood over the sink, drained. She'd just spent every last ounce of energy she had in that emotional storm, and she wanted nothing more than to curl up on the couch next to her daughter and sleep.
Evan spoke quietly on his cell phone when she reappeared. Lea let him talk, moving to the couch to pull her daughter into her arms. Jessie stirred briefly but drifted back to sleep on her mother's lap. Moments later, Lea's eyes drifted closed, and she didn't have the strength to open them. Mother and daughter slept on the couch, content that they were safe.
oOo
Lorne ended his phone conversation with Deanna and blinked at the scene that met his eyes. Lea had apparently given up all pretenses of staying awake. She'd pulled Jessie into her lap, and the little girl slept on her mother's shoulder while Lea had apparently laid her head back for only a moment. After that emotional storm, a moment was all it took. Rather than taking another picture, he located a spare blanket and covered them. Lea's trust humbled him, and he wondered if he'd be able to keep them safe forever.
Pulling his mind from those thoughts, he returned to the painting he'd set aside when Lea called. He had taken a picture of a sunset from an F302 and now worked to paint it. The angles were wrong, but his experience had taught him that everything could be fixed. He wished that were true in life. His eyes drifted back to Lea. If everything was fixed, he'd be back in Pegasus and would never have met her. He wasn't sure if he liked that idea any better than he liked Atlantis being stranded in the Pacific.
Jessie awoke before her mother. Evan smiled as the little girl climbed into his lap and laid her head on his shoulder. Even if he hadn't fallen for her mother, he would have been in love with this little girl. Jessie had taken all of five minutes to wrap him around her little finger. She recovered from her nap quickly but accepted his quiet words about letting her mother rest.
Lea woke thirty minutes later, jerking upright and then cringing as she rubbed her neck. She blinked at Evan and gave him a sheepish grin. "Sorry about that."
He returned the grin, more affected by her sleep-warmed tone than anything. "No worries."
"I should get home." Lea took a few moments to push herself to her feet. Once there, she shook her head as she watched Jessie. "I can't believe you kept her quiet."
"She's an artist," Evan said, indulging the little girl's attention by playing up her artistic abilities. "All I had to give her was paper and some crayons. Or, in this case, colored pencils."
Lea smiled at him and moved to speak to Jessie, convincing the little girl that she could return to "Uncle Evan's" house and color another time. The two ladies left, and he set about straightening the house. Jessie had colored several pictures and then insisted that they be hung on his refrigerator. He remembered seeing several such pictures on Lea's fridge. Now, he briefly considered taking them down but decided to leave them in place.
Cam and Deanna arrived about eight that evening. Deanna frowned at his haggard expression and invited herself into his house. Cam just tossed the truck keys to Evan.
"Thanks," Evan said as he caught the keys.
"No problem." Cam joined his wife on the couch. "Now. Tell us what happened."
Evan considered calling his cousin's husband "Sir" just to get a rise out of the lieutenant colonel but decided against it. Instead, he stood next to the small breakfast bar, hands on his hips as he relayed the afternoon's incident. Both Cam and Deanna glared at no one in particular, and Lorne realized the effect working at the SGC had on his cousin. While Danny knew about the Stargate Program, Deanna lived it. Her husband traveled to other planets, and she often studied plant life from those planets. That awareness bred a hard edge into someone who normally lived a life of gentleness.
For the first time that day, Lorne let the anger settle into his stomach. He'd put it in the back of his mind while Lea had been present, compartmentalizing so that he could help her cope. Now that Lea had returned to her own home, he allowed himself to feel the rage and frustration that had pushed Lea into a state of complete panic. His hands began to shake, and he clenched them to still the tremors. He turned his back to Cam and Deanna, clenching his jaw to keep the angry shout inside. He wanted nothing more than to put his fist through the wall, but he also knew that it would accomplish no good. Right now, Lea and Jessie needed him to stay calm and clearheaded. He intended to do just that.
~TBC