About a month passed since Frank had taken the boys to Abby's Hamptons Home. Nicky, though longing to go, couldn't manage the room in her own social calendar. When the August visit came around, she was not about to miss her chance.

Jack and Sean, feeling that their one previous visit made them experts at knowing where things were in the house, pressed to give her the tour themselves. Abby laughed and happily agreed, letting Nicky know that if there was anything her young cousins neglected to fill her in on, to let her know….

"I'll be sure to do that" Nicky beamed. Somehow Abby doubted she was referring to the house at all…

The day wore on. The kids went together down by the ocean with Jacobs and one of the other guards in tow. Billy, it was discovered, was a former police officer and Private eye himself which, though not making him an official member of the detail, made those who were more comfortable working with him as one of the team.

Just as they were settling in for their 'work Out hour', as Abby began to call it, her private secretary sped from the house, a free flapping magazine in her hands.

"Mam, I thought you should see this immediately…." She said, cautious concern in her voice.

"Thank you, Sandra."

Abby looked over the paper she was handed. The front page of one of the dirtiest tabloids in the region with her picture, unflatteringly airbrushed, and Frank's, maneuvered into a more than casual embrace.

"Well, it's started already…." She handed the paper over to Frank, who was just putting his glasses on to start his briefings. "I should be having your baby in a matter of weeks…."

"How do they? When did this?!"

"Relax Frank. The papers probably decided we were sleeping together the morning we met on the beach." She sighed. "It's amazing it's taken them this long to get this far…."

Reagan thought it over, then shook his head in consternation. "How do you live with this sort of attention? The press can be bad when it comes to me, but there's generally some basis in fact, even if extremely skewed….They'd never think to put this sort of thing…."

"Frank, they just did…." She pointed to his picture and name, clear as day on the front page. "You just never gave them anything to print till now." Part of her wanted to apologize. Part was glad to have their names and images so publically associated, even in so provocative a manner.

"As far as how I do it….in truth, I'm pretty much as out of the loop as you are, tabloid-wise….which I must credit to my ex…."

"I thought he was a tabloid writer…..how does that keep you out of the muck? I thought that would make you daily fodder….especially now that he's your Ex."

"Self-preservation" She responded bluntly. His eyes darted, intrigued. He wanted to know more, but was almost afraid to ask.

"A little over a year ago, just as Nate and I were starting separation proceedings, I came across some of his notes, that were allegedly from his meeting with a CI…I glanced the CI's name….I knew it sounded familiar…I grabbed my cellphone and took pictures of the documents while he was out playing golf. Something inside me just knew they'd be important somehow….Three days later, it finally dawned on me where I had come in contact with the name before. I thought I was going to pee myself with laughter! I went into his closet and took a picture of where else I knew the name was….and sent all of them to my attorney."

Frank was intrigued, the evidence of who the CI was was in her husband's closet? Where was this going to lead…..?

"9 months later, our divorce was finalized…you could say it was the baby me and Jamison produced together…"

"Jamison….?" Reagan inquired, feeling certain he'd missed a good portion of the picture.

"Nate's inflatable…'partner'…..Oh, I had known he was bi from nearly the first 6 months we were married…By that point, he was having his affairs on either side….In my book, he was never that great of a lover to begin with, so it was no great loss. I had come across Jamison a few months earlier…had a pretty good giggle there….but again, we weren't 'together' at that point anyway…separate bedrooms and everything. I even thought about leaving now and again….but he had a piece of information on me that I just couldn't let out…and if I divorced him, that's just what would have happened. But now, I had the upper hand….You see, even in the tabloid world….being gay or having bedroom toys…though it might be of interest to many…is fine….but the combination, especially in the crowd he was just barely able to hold onto given his profession…He would have been a laughing stock….and to have it proven that his "partner" was his "protected source"…that would have ruined even him totally!"

Frank's eyebrows flew skyward in disbelief….This was how she had kept her details out of the tabloids?

"So…he keeps his and his friends' mouths….or should I say pens and keyboards…shut about me….and I haven't let anyone know about his….proclivities….He has needed to stop using his 'gentleman friend' as a source….but beyond that…what's past is past…Funniest part is…Jamison bothered me even less than his other…liaisons…Ok, using his rubber ducky as a 'source' was almost more despicable than his numerous other more blatant lies in print, but on the personal side, at least I knew, on the slimmest of chances we ever became intimate again, that was one relationship he'd had where he wouldn't be able to catch anything. In the end though, it was as it had always been….Nate was totally useless to me save for that one thing…keeping the press out of my life."

"Till now…" Frank commented.

"Well, I'll look, but I don't think Nate's name will be a part of any of this…he wouldn't risk it….As far as the two of us in the papers….we may have him to thank for the fact we've even had peace to this point." Frank could taste the venom she spat at the word thank, even though they were a distance apart. I'm afraid it's up to us what we do from here…."

Frank looked at the paper, but his eyes were really on Abigail. Had she really stayed in a loveless marriage for 2 years….possibly more from the way she was speaking…A woman of her…everything …money…connections…beauty…desirability…Why had she stayed…and what was she aiming for here…was she really thinking he would let her go over a couple tabloid pages…Ok, they were far from flattering, but that was the seeming nature of the beast now and days…she was right….it was a miracle they hadn't been front page news for months now….They'd just have to work their way more carefully going forward…or maybe do the same as they'd been doing, but now, for a reason. Still, why was now she so ready to give him up. She seemed to truly enjoy his company, and his family, despite his own original hesitations…What was the secret that kept her married to that little tick. What was it that kept the woman, who seemed ready to do anything, risk anything to live her life and share the life she had with everyone, thinking that she was worth so little.