CHAPTER TEN

Sarah-Jane reached for a coffee cup, Aaron had arrived early to give Emily a break.

"So when are you going to tell him?"

She poured the coffee and sat across from Aaron. "If it were up to me, I'd tell him today."

Aaron eased back in his chair, "Sarah-Jane you can't keep this from Dave. He has the right to know he has a son. What I don't understand is why you didn't tell him when you found out you were pregnant."

Sarah-Jane took a deep breath, "I was angry and hurt. I hoped he would come back on his own and then…"

Sarah-Jane turned and opened one of the kitchen drawers pulling the hastily hidden photo from it. She smiled and handed it to Aaron.

"Wow, he looks a lot like his Dad." Aaron eyes held the same judgment she faced every morning in the mirror.

Should she have told him?

"Yes, he does."

"Just tell me he doesn't act like him." Aaron smiled, teasing her.

Sarah-Jane placed the photo back in the drawer.

"Okay, I won't tell you."

"Sarah-Jane,"

"Come on Aaron you and I both know the kind of man David Rossi is. What kind of life would we have had if every day he felt he was forced to be here? I didn't want him here out of obligation I wanted him here because he wanted to be with me."

Aaron reached for her hand and squeezed it gently, "And now?"

"Now, I have Davy to think about."

"What does he know about his father?"

Sarah-Jane smiled, "Everything." She returned the gentle squeeze. "When he was old enough I told him everything. I left the decision up to him, Aaron."

"The decision?"

"Yes." Sarah-Jane sighed. "I told him everything. How we met, my decision not to tell him about my pregnancy, who his father was and what he did, and then I told him if he wanted to contact him I would help him and support his decision."

"You told him what we do?"

"Yes, I wanted him to know his father is a good man. I told him he's a hero. Aaron, I couldn't…I wouldn't let him think his father was anything less. I never put David down or made him out to be anything other than the man he is."

"And what he is," Aaron drained his coffee and looked at her, "…is the man you love."

Sarah-Jane closed her eyes and nodded.

"And Davy chose not to contact his father?"

Sarah-Jane tried to control her trembling hand as she reached for her cup, "Not at first."

"At first?"

"Yes, I found out a couple of months after I told him about David he went to Virginia. I thought he was going to find him and perhaps make contact, but he came back and never mentioned him again."

"And you don't know what happened?"

Sarah-Jane shook her head. "All I know is he came back his father's son."

Aaron rose and poured another cup of coffee for both of them, "I don't follow."

"Davy went through a rebellious period. Drugs, alcohol, late nights and his grades began to slip."

"Finding out about your father that way has to be hard on a young boy. I'm sure it didn't help."

Sarah-Jane nodded, "I was sure it was something we could work out together, but…"

"But?"

"But things continued to spiral, then one day I woke up and Davy was gone." Sarah-Jane took a deep breath and released it slowly, the chill of that morning as fresh as if it had happened yesterday.

"Is that when you found out he went to Virginia?

Sarah-Jane nodded. "I called in a couple of favors; Davy didn't make it hard to find out where he was."

"And when he came back?"

"He was a totally different boy."

"How do you mean?"

"He buckled down, began making straight A's, joined several school activities, and started working with different community services." Sarah-Jane sighed. "Time went by and before I knew it he was at Harvard."

"Law?"

Sarah-Jane smiled, she had hoped he might follow in his parents footsteps too, "Medical school."

"And he's never mentioned contacting David again?"

Sarah-Jane shook her head, "No."

For a moment they sat in silence, each lost in their own thoughts.

"What are you going to do Sarah-Jane?"

"Do? There's nothing I can do. Aaron, I have to respect the wishes of my son."

"What about David?"

"His life is at Quantico."

"Sarah-Jane, I can't agree with your decision."

Sarah-Jane felt her heart constrict.

"It's not my place to tell him and I will respect your wishes and Davy's, but I think you're both making a big mistake. If David Rossi ever finds out you've kept this from him…"

Sarah-Jane swiped a tear.

"Kept what from him?"

Sarah-Jane jumped as David's voice filled the kitchen.