Anytime you need a friend:

Chapter 11

The summer was going by rather quickly. Another month and Callie would be starting School again. Spike was happy for her because he could tell that she was getting bored not having anything to do with her summer. He could also see all of the ways that Callie had flourished by being in the same house as him. They had their routines. They also respected each other's space.

Spike had taken Wordy's advice from a few weeks ago and Callie had picked two days a week that he had to work and left Callie at home. It was an adjustment for the both of them. But after two weeks, Spike had no problems leaving Callie on her own. It was a welcome break from seeing each other all the time.

Today though, was one of those days where Callie had to go with Spike to the station. When Spike woke up, he had a really weird feeling in the pit of his stomach. He just knew that it was going to be a bad day. He got out of bed and looked outside. It was dark, grey and pouring. Wonderful. Nasty weather to add to the feeling that it was going to be a bad day. They had hit an unexpected cold snap in the weather. He heard Callie shuffling to the staircase to her bathroom and got up to do the same.

An hour later he came down the stairs with his bag over his shoulder. Callie's bag was already on the floor next to the table. She was standing at the stove making some eggs and toast. Spike silently got plates and silverware out and set the table. They both learned very quickly about each other that neither of them were morning people so they simply didn't speak for at least 20 minutes after getting up. It worked for them.

"Thank you for breakfast Callie. Tomorrow I will cook breakfast. How did you sleep?" Callie shook her head. She didn't want to talk about it. Spike nodded and respected that she didn't. Changing the subject, he asked what she planned to do while he was working. Callie shrugged. Spike raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything about it. He ate his eggs in silence.

"You know. Last night I couldn't sleep. I kept tossing and turning. Keep having weird dreams. Guess I shouldn't have had that extra slice of pizza." Callie giggled. Spike smiled at her. At least he had gotten a reaction out of her. After they were finished eating, Callie did up the dishes and Spike took the bags out to the car.

"Callie. It's time to get going. I don't want to be late. Do you have everything that you wanted to bring with you? Do you have your light jacket? It's still chilly out today. Which is a welcome relief from the scorching sun. Let's get going." Callie nodded and walked out the door, waiting until Spike locked the door and armed the security system.

When they got to the station, Spikes sense of it going to be a bad day deepened. He couldn't put his finger on it but he tried to shake it off. There was something just really off about the whole day. Callie had already torn out of the car and ran into the station,eager to see everyone. Spike followed at a much slower pace.

"Hi Ed. Have you seen my daughter? I know she ran in here. I think that she was excited to be back here." Ed pointed to the briefing room. Spike raised an eyebrow. Ed rolled his eyes and clarified.

"Sophie had to take Izzy for a check up and Clark didn't want to go or hang out at home. I brought him along. By the way, you have visitors in the other briefing room. I will keep Callie occupied while you talk to them." Spike rolled his eyes and went to get dressed, intending to keep his visitors waiting awhile. When he was finally finished, He peeked in on Callie and Clark and found them chattering away quickly. He made his way to the briefing room, getting stopped by Greg along the way.

"Hey Spike. I tried to tell your visitors that this was not the place for their personal vendettas but they basically told me to butt out that they would be finished today. I don't like it. I know you can't help them showing up here." Spike nodded and put in a call to his attorney. He knew that it was Alessandra's parents because Sam had told him in the lockerroom.

"Seth McCracken here."

"Hey Seth. It's Spike. You got a second? I have a bit of a problem over here and could really use some advice on how to proceed." Seth replied that he had the whole afternoon free and Spike got right to the point.

"Alessandra's parent's are here at my work again. I have a REALLY bad feeling about this. Would you be able to take a trip out here?" Seth replied that he would be there in 15 minutes, to not talk to them without him and hung up. Spike went into the briefing room to get the change of shift report, trying to stall for time.

"Ok everyone, listen up. Today is a nasty day outside, chilly and rainy to boot. We are going to do some working out and a little bit of patrol later this afternoon. Ed, you are with Jules, Spike with me, Sam, you and Wordy can partner today. I'm going to do some paperwork for awhile, Hit the machines. I'll let you know when we are going to go on patrol. That's it." Spike snagged Greg before he could leave.

"Boss. I'm sorry that they keep showing up and I will understand if you want me to go home until this mess is solved. I told them to not show up here again but apparently they want Callie real bad and won't listen to reason when I tell them to not show up here. I have my lawyer on his way. Hopefully this will be the last of it." Greg nodded.

"I understand Spike. It's against the rules for them to be here, but I understand their type. They don't think the rules really apply to them. I am cutting you slack, it's fine. Just get it cleared up as soon as possible." Spike nodded. He told Winnie that his Lawyer would be here shortly and to please show him to briefing room 4. Winnie nodded. Taking a deep breath, Spike made his way to the briefing room.

When he walked in, the first thing he noticed was that there was another person sitting at the table with Marcus and Eileen. His expensive three piece suit and haircut screamed Lawyer. Spike sat down and looked at them. He wanted so badly to punch Marcus and Eileen but he held his temper in check. The first rule of Negotiating, never betray your feelings to your subject. He was pulled from his musings when the lawyer spoke.

"Mr. Scarletti. My name is Benjamin Worthhall. I represent the interests of Marcus and Eileen in many areas, including kidnappings, now it is my understanding that-" Spike cut him off with a simple wave of his hand.

"My lawyer should be here in a few moments, I would rather wait for him before we get started. I'm sure that you can understand that given my position." He saw Marcus' jaw clench and Benjamin nodded his head.

" Very well, I will be here, confering with my clients. Please leave the room." Spike didn't budge. Eileen clicked her tongue at him. Spike gave no other reaction, prefering instead to walk over to the window and peek out at the still awful weather. He was pulled from his thoughts when Seth put his hand on his arm.

"Hey Seth. Glad you could make it. How are you? How are the wife and kids?" They traded pleasantries for a moment before approaching the table.

"This is my attorney, Seth McCracken. Seth, this is Eileen and Marcus Michaels, and their attorney Benjamin Worthhall." Spike said, rolling his eyes, at Seth where they couldn't see what he was doing. After the introductions, Seth and Spike sat down across from Eileen and Marcus. Spike was calm and collected.

"Before we get started, before we say anything, I want it known on record that if my client gets a call, he will be leaving. That is non-negotiable. He is on duty and has certain obligations to the people of this city. I'm sure you understand that he can not stay behind while the rest of the team goes." Benjamin nodded.

"Noted. Now, It is my understanding Mr. Scarlatti, that my clients have tried several times to retrieve their granddaughter from you on several occassions, and have tried to speak with you on several occassions about her and that you rebuffed them at every turn." Spike looked at Seth, who nodded his head.

"I am her father. There is and never was any reason for them to retrieve her. She's not an object or an animal to be acquired." Benjamin nodded. Before he could pose a second question, someone else spoke up.

"Why are you here? Why do you want me in your lives so much now, after all the years that you must have known about me, yet you never came looking for me, never cared enough to be bothered to find me. I know you had the money and other resources to do so, if you had wanted to." Spike stood up.

"Callie honey, this is between me and your grandparents. Please go in the other room and let us talk privately. Now please. I mean it Callie." Callie shook her head. Spike stood up and pointed to the doorway.

"No dad please. I have as much right as anyone in this room to be here and listen and to know why. Maybe even more right to know. I demand answers to so much." Spike nodded his head. He didn't want Callie to be hurt in this way. Not like this. He had wanted to shield her from the ugliness as much as possible.

"Still Callie. This is between us. I will discuss it with you at home tonight." Callie shook her head in determination. She approached the table, sat down and looked at Marcus and Eileen folding her hands on the table.

"I'm sorry that Alessandra is dead. She was my mother and I never had the chance to love or know her. I am sorry that you are not able to get over her death, and I am equally sorry that nothing you do in any way will bring her back. I have built a relationship with my father. He cared enough to fight for me, when he found out about me. You didn't fight for me. I'm sorry." She got up and left the room without another word or waiting for an answer from them. Spike turned back towards Eileen and Marcus.

"Do you see what not putting her in her proper place has done? She runs wild, and has absolutely no respect for adults. If she were with us, she would know her proper place. She would have everything that she could ever want. Prestige, Power, Wealth. We can give her everything that she wants." Eileen said determined to not walk away without Callie. Spike just shook his head. Callie's words had given him a little extra boost of hope.

"She has absolute respect for people. You came in here in the beginning and started demanding that I turn Callie over to you immediately. You belittled people in her presence. You showed her, by your own doing what it means to have no respect for others. She's right. I'm sorry that Alessandra is gone. I loved her so much. We weren't right for each other and I see that now. But I'm not sorry that she bore me a daughter. Because that girl is the reason why I fight. I'm not handing her over. We're done." Spike stood up and started to walk out the door.

"I beg your pardon? You can't just brush us off and expect us to leave and be fine with the fact that you are raising our granddaughter. She needs to be home with us. She needs to learn proper respect, and learn her place. You can't keep her from us. How dare you insinuate that-" Benjamin quieted Eileen and stood up.

"I was hoping to not have to do this. This is an order, signed by a judge and perfectly legal and binding. It is a custody order. You have 24 hours to turn Callie over to my clients, or you will be arrested for kidnapping. My clients were awarded full custody. So I suggest that you say your goodbyes to Callie now and let her leave with my clients. Now, before I have to have you arrested for violating a custody order." Spike snatched the paper out of Benjamins' hand and read it over before handing it over to Seth.

"No. She's not going with you or your clients. Not until a judge looks me in the eyes and tells me that I am not capable of raising my daughter. Get out. We are done. If you continue to hang around, or if you show up at my home, or at the homes of my family and friends, I will have you arrested. Your name does not carry weight here. Seth, I will speak to you later, I have to get ready to go on patrol."

After a few minutes, Wordy came by to see how Spike was. Callie was still sitting with Clark talking, and seemed ok for the time being. Wordy was more worried about Spike. He found him in the workout room punching the punching bag. Wordy stepped behind it and held it for him, while he continued to punch away.

"Spike. You aren't going to lose her. I have absolute faith that you won't. She loves you so much. She's not going to abandon you for what they say they can give her. She was raised with such a good head on her shoulders and she's not giving up. So why should you. I came looking for you, because Seth wants to talk to you. Clean up." Spike nodded and smiled at Wordy, silently thanking him.

"Spike. We have a hearing in one week before a judge. At that time, he will decide once and for all who Callie will stay with. Meaning who will be given full custody. I don't want to lie to you. They are going to want you and the Michaels come up with some kind of joint agreement." Spike nodded and left to patrol. It was a good thing that Greg wanted to do the driving. Spike would have gotten them stuck in a ditch real quick. While they drove, Spike looked out the window.

"Spike. You won't lose her you know. We could hear everything that was said. We weren't intentionally eavesdropping they were just that loud. I think that it really tore Callie apart, hearing you all fighting over her. Where do you want to stop for lunch? Callie said something about ordering in a small pizza for herself and Winnie. So she's taken care of for now. I was thinking McDonald's. We could grab something and head back to the station." Spike nodded.

"I know I'm not going to lose her. It's not an option. When we get back to the station, I am going to continue my searching to see what if anything that I can dig up on Marcus and Eileen." Spike scratched his head while making a mental note of that. The Second rule of Negotiation was this. Know your subject as much as humanly possible. And Spike fully intended on capitalizing on that rule. Greg Nodded.

A couple hours, Everyone gathered at the Station. Callie was working out in the weight room. Her pizza had just been ordered and would be there in about 20 minutes. Spike watched her as she worked out, practicing her karate. Spike felt a rush of pride as he watched her. His life was definitely more exciting since Callie had come into his life. And he decided that he wouldn't have it any other way.

"Hey Callie. Your pizza is here. Why don't you come sit with us while you eat. We haven't sat down together like that in a while. What do you say?" Spike asked stopping her workout Callie nodded and followed him out, holding onto his hand.

"Dad?" Spike stopped.

"Yes Sweetie?" Callie wrinkled her nose at him.

"I love you." Spike laughed and hugged her, twirling her around in the air while she squealed to be put down, that she was too old to be spun around. At that, Spike stopped in shock while Callie laughed.

"I love you too. Come on, let's get some food." They walked into the briefing room, that had been designated as the kitchen that night, and sat down after filling their plates. Everyone was eating something different. Clark had gotten a sandwich. Greg was eating Chinese, having decided against McDonald's. Ed and Wordy were eating some leftover Pasta that Spike's mother had brought it. Jules was eating some pizza as well and Sam had gotten a sandwich. Spike was alternating between Chinese and Pizza. While they ate, Callie had a thoughtful expression on her face.

"Dad? Can I ask you something and not get yelled at?" Spike nodded, wiping off his mouth.

"Always sweetie. Ask away." Callie bit her lip.

"Why didn't they want Alessandra to keep me? If they want me so badly now, why didn't they come for me sooner, why didn't they love me when I was a baby? What's wrong with me that they have to come into my life and yell and scream and tear me apart like this." She looked on the verge of tears. Spike put his fork down and faced her.

"Callie honey listen to me. Are you listening? None of this. NONE of this, is your fault. I don't have all of the answers. I don't know why your grandparents didn't want your mother to keep you. I don't know why they didn't express an interest in you sooner. And I don't know why they want you so badly now. But we are going to find out. I promise you that. But I will tell you this much. I love you. I want you. I care enough about you to have found out about you and kept you. If I had known about you all those years ago, I would have fought for you then. And I am so sorry that I didn't know about you." Callie sat there and let the tears fall.

Spike's heart broke for her. He hated Marcus and Eileen for putting Callie through this. He knew that he was not about to give up without a fight, but he couldn't stand that Callie was getting hurt so badly in the process. He hugged her close to his chest. Callie continued to cry, starting to sound strangled. Spike just comforted her and let her cry.

"I heard them talking as they were leaving. She said that they would be taking me with them even if they had to kidnap me. I don't want to go with them, and I don't want to be kidnapped daddy. PLEASE DON'T MAKE ME GO WITH THEM!" She edged into a full blown panic attack. Spike was helpless, he'd never seen her have a panic attack before. Sam jumped up and intervened, pulling Callie around to face him.

"Callie. CALLIE! Breath into this paperbag. In through your nose, out through your mouth. Like this. Watch me." Sam demonstrated. Callie Struggled to comply while wheezing. Sam held her hand while breathing with her. After a few minutes, Callie lowered the bag a little. Sam smiled at her.

"How are you doing there Tweet? Better?" Callie nodded a little, still a little shaky.

"Yeah I feel a little better. Thank You Sam." He smiled and gave her a hug. Spike nodded.

"Yeah. Thanks Sam. She's never had a panic attack around me. I didn't know what to do. Have you had panic attacks before Callie?" Callie nodded. Spike nodded. He held her close and just thanked God that Callie was in his life. He made up his mind then and there that he was going to fight Eileen and Marcus for as long as it took him to keep Callie with him.