Chapter 13

"Luis," Quinlan, hot on Luis's heels as he zigzagged through the cluttered, mostly unmanned desks en route to Sam's office, called. "Lopez-Fitzgerald," he clamped a strong hand down on Luis's shoulder just outside Sam's closed door. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be on your honeymoon or something?"

Meeting the other man's eyes, Luis was able to read another, underlying, message there. He knew. "Relax, Quinlan. I'm just here to see the boss, talk to him. I promise I'm not here to cause any trouble."

Quinlan straightened, the wary set of his shoulders relaxing marginally. "The Chief's not here," he informed Luis, letting his hand drop back to his side. "He took the day off to spend some time with his family. Isn't that what you should be doing?" Under Luis's intense stare, his cheeks reddened, and his eyes strayed to a point beyond Luis's shoulder as he cleared his throat. "No offense, but if our places were switched…"

"Quinlan," Luis spoke warningly.

"All I'm saying is you're a lucky man," Quinlan continued uncomfortably, "and I don't understand why you're here when you could be…there." He cleared his throat again and let his eyes flicker across Luis's face before looking away once more. Only when Luis began to talk did he release a sigh of relief.

"I promised Sheridan I wouldn't be long." Deciding to switch tactics, Luis forcibly relaxed his stance and schooled his expression into an earnest one. "Look, Quinlan. Marty," he amended, hoping to use their familiarity with one another to his advantage, "you know me. Would I be here now, would I willfully violate a direct order—the day after my wedding, if it weren't important?" Luis watched, pleased, as the tension seemed to melt from Quinlan's shoulders, and the suspicion in his eyes transformed to mere curiosity.

"I guess not," Quinlan decided. Rubbing a hand over his chin thoughtfully, he considered his next action for only a moment before pushing the door to Sam's office open and preceding Luis inside. When they were alone, the door closed once more, he turned to Luis, arms crossed across his middle and voice sure. "Okay, Lopez-Fitzgerald. Something's up. Lay it on me."

"Sheridan and I had a surprise visit from her brother last night," Luis began.

"On your wedding night?" Quinlan interrupted incredulously.

Shaking his head, Luis refused to let the other man veer off track of the conversation. "He had Anna with him."

Now it was Quinlan's turn to shake his head, in confusion. "Wait a minute. Your sister's kid? How did he…I thought..." He broke off as he watched Luis cross the necessary distance to Sam's desk and pick up one of several frames that lined the perimeter of the boss's desk. A closer glance afforded him a glimpse of Theresa Lopez-Fitzgerald's smiling brown eyes and the child they all knew only through pictures, at least until now. "You don't think he went through the proper legal channels," Quinlan deduced, the fog of confusion lifting abruptly.

Returning the picture to its rightful place, Luis acknowledged Quinlan's line of thinking with a rhetorical question. "When have the Cranes ever thought they weren't above the law?"

Quinlan thought about reminding Luis he was married to a Crane now but thought better of it. The circumstances behind Luis's introduction to his wife of but a day notwithstanding, Sheridan Crane was different, and they both knew it; Quinlan had faith in the fact that Luis wouldn't have married her otherwise. "Unusual wedding present," he tried to joke.

The humor was lost on Luis.

"Ever occur to you that he meant it as nice gesture for his sister?" Quinlan put the suggestion out there. "Excuse me for saying this, but you're not the only one who lost someone. Maybe he finally figured it out: life's too short." Deciding to let Luis chew on that for a little while, he walked around the boss's desk, placing both palms flat on the cool surface as he looked Luis in the eyes, hoping he hadn't overstepped the bounds of the comradeship they'd shared in their years spent on the force together.

Finally, Luis spoke. "Anna belongs with her family. I don't want anything to jeopardize that."

Settling into the chair behind him, Quinlan accepted Luis's words with a nod of his head. "I'll look into it—make sure everything's above board."

"Thanks, Quinlan," Luis voiced his gratitude.

"No problem." Quinlan grinned at Luis when he hovered in the doorway. "Don't you have somewhere to be, Lopez-Fitzgerald? Sheesh, you aren't acting like any newlywed I've ever known." He chuckled when that finally seemed to spur Luis into action, and the other man turned to walk out of the office. "What?" he crossed his arms over his middle and arched a challenging brow at Luis when all but his head had disappeared around the corner.

"Nothing," Luis smirked. "Just wouldn't get too comfortable in the Chief's chair if I were you. You and I both know he's married to this place." Quinlan's retort was snappy and all too true, and Luis was hit again with the realization of all the changes that lay ahead for him and Sheridan on this path that they had chosen to keep Anna in both of their lives.

"That makes two of you."

Hope's sneakers made wet impressions in the shifting sand, and when Sam and Grace finally came to the end of the trail of their youngest daughter's footprints, they discovered her poised atop a jagged outcropping of rocks, arm stretched out before her and voice high with excitement.

"Daddy! Look, Mom!" Hope's blue eyes were wide, standing out in her pale face as her red hair whipped about in the bluster of the sea winds. "You can see the lighthouse from here. Isn't it amazing?"

Grace couldn't see the grin on her little girl's face, couldn't recognize the beauty in the view, for the sudden icy grip of terror she felt in looking upon Hope's precarious position. When her vocal cords refused to cooperate with her mind's demands, she clutched Sam's upper arm in a bruising hold.

Sam gave Grace's hand a gentle, reassuring squeeze and stepped around her, infusing his voice with a calm he knew Grace needed. "It is amazing," he agreed, holding out a beckoning hand to his reluctant daughter. "You know what's even more amazing?" he let a knowing smile twitch on his lips when Hope regarded him skeptically. "C'mere, and I'll show you."

Hope slipped and slid her way back to them, and Grace held her breath with every step that she took. When the child lost her balance, pitching forward with hands held out in front of her, Grace felt as if her heart had stopped beating altogether. Only when she saw Sam snatch Hope up in his strong arms, enveloping her in a fierce hug, did she feel the aching muscle resume its skipping beat. "Hope Bennett," the air escaped her lungs in a panicked stream of unheard words, "you know better."

Arms slung low over Sam's shoulders and cheek pressed to his, Hope stared back at her with eyes that were bright and blue and filled with a bravery Grace was ashamed to admit she'd never really possessed. "Did you see it, Mom?"

Sam's voice was a low, reassuring hum near Grace's ear, his large hand cupping the back of Hope's head as he commanded her attention. "She saw it, Ladybug." He couldn't resist a smile at his daughter's beaming expression, but one glance at Grace out of the corner of his eyes had him sobering up. "But next time, don't you think you should wait on your mom or me before scaling mountains?" The comment earned a tinkling giggle from Hope. Then, more seriously, he told her, "Mom was a little scared, seeing you up so high."

Though she'd been well within her rights to worry, Grace silently chastised herself when the smile on Hope's freckled face fell. She busied herself re-tying the trailing laces of her daughter's shoes when she couldn't bear to face her disappointment, wiping the gritty sand from her fingers against the rough denim of her jeans when she was finished. She had to swallow back the lump in her throat when Hope's skinny arms looped around her neck in an apologetic hug, her previous joy all but gone. Clearing her throat, she returned the hug, and tucking Hope's red hair behind her ears, pulled back to remind her, "Your dad promised you something even more amazing. I'd hold him to that."

At Grace's words, Sam lifted his daughter in his arms, smiling at the excited sparkle generated in her eyes by his actions. With some effort—Grace's and his own—and much surprised squealing from Hope, he settled her on his broad shoulders, wrapping his hands around her small knees.

"Daddy, you better not let me fall," Hope cried, squirming to gain purchase and unintentionally pulling at her father's hair in the process. "Mom, look how high I am now." Her face lit up with pleasure, she braved letting one hand go long enough to hold her wind tousled hair away from her eyes.

"Very high," Grace agreed, realizing with a start the position of her hands and noticing, for the first time, that Sam's eyes had never left her face. Lowering her eyes from Sam's intense blue gaze, she focused on brushing particles of damp sand from the navy cotton of his shirt, steadfastly ignoring the way his breath stuttered and stalled at her light touch. "She's getting sand everywhere," she explained in a soft voice, letting her hands drop from his chest in embarrassment when she dared lift her eyes again.

"Grace," amusement colored Sam's answer and his eyes twinkled kindly at her when he again found his own voice, "we are at the beach."

Hope chose that moment to wriggle again, grabbing healthy handfuls of hair with one hand and nearly blinding her father with the other.

Sam frowned accusingly at the twitching smile Grace was too slow to hide from him. "What's so funny?" he asked, gentling Hope's hands between his own and steadying her once more.

"Nothing," Grace replied, ducking her head and veering back to the path they'd been on before they'd put their heads together to trace their elusive young daughter. "How's the view?" she turned back to them, allowing another glimpse of the smile she wore.

Freezing mid-wince, Sam continued to rub at his 'injured' eye and smiled disbelievingly at the note of teasing he detected in her voice, following in her wake. "What do you think, Ladybug?" he tossed the question to Hope, happily admiring the lay of the land from her prominent perch.

"Amazing. Super amazing. Super-duper amazing fantastic!" Hope giggled, the sound rising up and floating above the constant push and pull of the waves.

She had no way of knowing, Sam reasoned, that her thoughts echoed his own.

Chin propped in hand, Kay eased a nail beneath the page of the catalog lain open before her and perused the varied selection of cookware advertised. She sighed heavily as a fresh wave of boredom crashed into her, closing the catalog and pushing it aside. Picking up the pen nestled between the pages of the Bed and Breakfast's guest log, she twirled it between her fingers, her eyes becoming unfocused as she stared off into space and remembered the events that had led to this—her volunteering to man the front desk while her mother and father attempted to escape the real world for a few hours and spend the day with Hope. She was vaguely aware of the faint noise of the swing creaking to and fro outside, and the rustle of leaves in the breeze. She jumped in surprise, though, when a distinctly recognizable bark sounded, and a familiar shadow darkened the Bed and Breakfast's door.

"Hi." Reese's greeting was soft, his smile somewhat shy as he lingered in the doorway. "Sadie and I were out for a walk and thought you and Hope might like to join us."

Sadie issued another lively bark and wagged her tail invitingly when Kay bent to comb her fingers through her golden fur.

Straightening, Kay gave the canine one last pat between the ears and informed Reese, "I'm afraid Hope's not here." She bit her lip and glanced back at the empty desk. "And seeing how Mom left me in charge of this place…" she trailed off, inwardly kicking herself for the disappointment she saw briefly flare to life in Reese's eyes.

"Oh. Oh," Reese repeated, hooking his fingers in Sadie's collar and turning to leave. "You're busy then. Maybe some other time." He nudged his glasses further back on his nose with a finger and turned to leave.

Kay imagined she saw a tiny slump in his shoulders, and Sadie whined in protest at being led away. "Wait!" Acting on impulse, she called out to them, letting the door to the Bed and Breakfast bang shut behind her. "Don't go." Recognizing the indecision on Reese's face, she softly entreated, "Stay. I'm bored out of my mind, and you're the first real-live humans I've spoken to since Mom and Dad left this morning. Please stay." She offered him what she thought of as her best smile.

Reese's blue eyes danced behind the lens of his glasses. "I didn't know you considered dogs to be human, Kay."

Mouth dropping open, Kay scoffed at him and rolled her eyes. "You know what I meant, Reese Durkee." The raised brow of warning she gave him looked a little less menacing when Sadie was upon her, happily bestowing her affection. Gently pushing the golden retriever aside, she led Reese to the swing and offered him a seat. Soon, the wooden bench swayed under their combined weight, Kay sitting sideways to face Reese and Reese studiously ignoring the suspicious look with which she was studying him, staring straight ahead.

"Didn't Mrs. B ever tell you it's not polite to stare?" Reese finally blurted.

Bursting into laughter, Kay touched a fingertip to the reddened ear in front of her, belatedly realizing the tinge of color was, in fact, traveling. "You're blushing," she accused. She giggled some more when Reese squirmed away from her touch and turned around to face her, his posture defensive. "All right," she finally sobered. "Relax. I promise. No more teasing. See? Pinky promise." She crooked a finger at him and smiled when he returned the gesture. They fell into a comfortable silence, and Kay was sure she must have dozed at some point, eyes closed and breeze fluttering against her face. She opened her eyes again when she felt the gentle touch of Reese's hand on her face.

Reese tucked the renegade strand of dark hair behind her ear then pulled away, the expression on his face unreadable.

Ignoring the baffling quickening of her heartbeat, Kay reacted on instinct and grabbed Reese's hand in her own, giving it a friendly, reassuring squeeze to let him know everything was okay. Almost a whisper, she pleaded, "Tell me how you met Sara."

"It was at one of those convention things." Reddening again when Kay stifled a giggle, Reese nevertheless began to weave his tale.

"Sheridan." Arms full, Luis nudged the door shut behind him with his foot. "Sheridan, you in here?" he called again, his heart skipping a beat as his eyes traveled over the bed she'd occupied just that morning, finding it empty and newly made. "Sheridan." Luis winced when he picked up the note of panic in his own voice and deposited the entirety of his collection of bags at the foot of the bed before heading toward the adjoining bathroom. The door easily gave way under his touch, and Luis was greeted with the sound of soft, melodic music just seconds before he was met with a most unexpected sight.

In the claw-foot tub in the corner of the small room, covered in frothy bubbles with her black curls piled atop her head, Anna shrieked with laughter.

Creeping further into the bathroom, Luis discovered the source of her laughter.

Sheridan's fingers danced over and under Anna's chin, skittering across her protruding little belly, then flitted underneath the small arms as Anna squirmed to elude her touch. Her other arm held tight to the tiny body, the gleam of the ring on her finger catching Luis's eye. She, too, was covered in foamy bubbles and laughing—until she noticed Luis.

Clearing his throat awkwardly, Luis looked away sharply, focusing all of his attention on the small radio placed somewhat precariously along the window sill. In a gruff voice, he scolded, "This shouldn't be in here." He turned it off and unplugged it, removing it from the sill and placing it on the top shelf of the linen cabinet. "It's dangerous. Not to mention the fact that it could have been anybody walking through that door." He knew he was blowing things out of proportion—even if Kay and Reese had barely noticed him as he'd walked past—but dammit, something about the woman made logical thought fly right out the window. For the first time since entering the room, he met Sheridan's eyes.

"It wasn't anybody, Luis," Sheridan placated. "It was you. Now calm down. You're scaring her."

His drummed-up anger fled him when Luis realized a worrisome effect of his tirade; her giggles quieted, Anna was completely silent, clinging to Sheridan's neck and staring up at him with huge blue eyes. Cursing underneath his breath, Luis grudgingly looked to Sheridan for help when he took a step forward and the action made the tiny girl hide her face from him.

"Anna," Sheridan gently pried Anna's arms from her neck. "Don't be shy, Anna Banana," she whispered in one ear. "It's just Luis. He won't hurt you."

Luis's eyes flew to Sheridan's face when he heard the nickname. Hearing it and seeing it on paper were two completely different things, and he was hit anew with the realization that his baby sister was gone, just like that, and the little girl clutching at Sheridan in desperate fright was his now to love and keep safe. He swallowed hard with the knowledge that the only other person who knew and felt the same awe-inspiring responsibility was staring deeply into his eyes with naked understanding. Speaking of naked…feeling a familiar heat start to course through his veins, blooming and settling in the pit of his belly, Luis once again looked away uncomfortably and moved to go, only stopping when he felt her touch against his leg. "I should go."

"Stay," Sheridan said firmly, giving his pants leg an insistent tug. She shifted in the tub, Anna cradled against her, and a line of bubbles slipped down her bared shoulder. "Come closer," she beckoned with a teasing smile, giving his pants leg another, directing pull, "I promise we don't bite."

Rolling his eyes at her, Luis obeyed her instructions, crouching down then seating himself beside the tub. With a hesitant hand, he touched the soft curls atop Anna's head. When the little girl didn't shrink away from his touch in terror, he wound a curl around his forefinger and leaned in closer to her face. "Hey, Anna," he whispered, a tiny, non-threatening smile on his lips. The move, he belatedly noticed, also brought him disconcertingly closer to Sheridan's own face, so close he could feel her breath warming his skin, and irresistibly, he found himself drawn to the blue of her eyes. Lost in her fathomless gaze, he only had a second's warning, her mischievous smile the only clue at what was coming next.

Pressing her lips against Anna's forehead, Sheridan freed one of her hands to scoop up some bubbles and cried, "Watch this, Anna."

When Luis blinked his eyes open, foamy white bubbles sliding down his face and off of his chin, Sheridan's mouth was wide open with infectious laughter and her eyes were alight; Anna, grinning and showing off her few perfect, pearly teeth, was held in front of her like a shield. Lifting up a hand to flick the bubbles back at Sheridan, Luis couldn't resist returning her smile, but the glint in his dark eyes was decidedly dangerous.

"You wouldn't," Sheridan smirked. Still, she scooted backward until one of Luis's hands wrapped around a slender ankle, refusing to let her retreat any further. "Luis," she warned, as he pulled her closer.

Dipping his other hand beneath the warm suds, Luis arched a dark brow at Sheridan in challenge as he echoed her earlier words, "Watch this, Anna." Then he smeared his own mountain of bubbles across her face, her neck and shoulders, trapping Anna between them. "Thought I wouldn't do it, didn't you?" he grinned at her when she glared at him in outrage. "See that, Anna Banana?" his wolfish grin softened as he looked down into the little face, her wet, soapy body soaking the front of his shirt and his sleeve. "She thought I wouldn't do it," he repeated, his triumphant gloating dying to a whisper as awareness slowly dawned, and his senses were overwhelmed with the slippery slide of the warm, smooth skin of Sheridan's back beneath his open palm. "She thought…" Unable to finish because of the intensity in the blue eyes that stared back at him, Luis swallowed hard when Sheridan whispered back to him.

"Thought what, Luis?"

You're not far off the mark, Victoria. Anna's one-ish (lol, sorry for the ish, but it fits). But she's been pretty traumatized, what with the sudden death of the only parents she's ever really known, so at times, she might seem younger, experience a little regression. Glad you're giving Gwen a chance so far, lol.

So Hank is Gwen's Theresa? Hmm, hadn't really thought of it that way, but you might be right, Shaun. ;) Luis is in a difficult place, but to help Anna he's going to have to learn to trust Sheridan again. Can he do it? And you're right...poor Hope and Anna.

Now, how about this chapter?

Luis is suspicious to the core, sometimes a good quality to have, sometimes not. Do you think he's in the wrong, being suspicious of Julian?

What did you think of the Bennett family beach stroll? Will Sam and Grace be able to scratch and claw their way to a reconciliation? Or will they give up the charade that they're a happy family? Who do you think really believes that they're A-okay, by the way? Jessica's in denial. Do you think she's the only one?

Reese to the rescue! Do you think Kay is sincere in wanting to be a good friend to Reese, make up for her past mistakes? Is it too little too late?

And Sheridan and Luis...whatever else Luis still feels for Sheridan (what he'll allow himself to feel anyway), he's still attracted to her. Is the torture of being close to her good for him? LOL! I happen to think it is (and the tension will only get thicker, hehe). Aww...Anna feels safe with Sheridan, but she's a little slower to warm up to Luis. Thoughts?

Thanks so much for your wonderful feedback, ladies. I look forward to reading your thoughts and comments about this chapter. Like I said, feedback is loved, adored, and super-inspirational for me.

Thanks so very much for reading!