Hiding From the Past
Disclaimer: I don't own Shake it Up, but I also don't own "Malevolence"
A/N:
Chapter 28 (A Father's Enthusiasm)
Gary hurried through his house, grabbing everything that was needed. The birth certificate, among other things. Jessica was with him, and encouraged him to go see his daughter. Now was as good a time as any, especially since there was no longer Georgia to hold him back. Along with the excitement he felt, there was also nervousness. What would she think? What would he say? It was scary enough when he managed to talk to his sister, Mave, after all this time. Now he was able to tell his daughter and hold her as a father would.
"There's a lot to be said, Jessica." He spoke swiftly and with eagerness, stopping before her with a subtle bounce in his step. "Am I too overeager? Am I too nervous? How should I act? What do I say?"
"Relax." She reached over to fix his collar, smiling as she looked into his eyes with reassurance. He was wearing a button down dress shirt and jeans, his hair was slightly messy and his eyes had a particular haze to them. "You're fine. You're acting like a father who hasn't been able to talk to his child in thirteen years, and that's exactly what it is. Do you want to call your sister up? You know I'll be here with you."
"Do you think calling Mave might be too much? I don't want to overwhelm her…"
"Then don't, she can always meet her family afterwards." Jessica folded his collar around, then reached up to groom his hair some. He raised an eyebrow at her and felt a particular bliss stir in his heart while watching her. He truly made the right decision in asking her out, he thought he was beginning to feel that emotion that he shied away for so long. Love. Maybe, in time it would rise to that. "What's important is she meets her dad first thing, and that would be you. Birth certificate is for Mrs. Blue, you said?"
"Yeah…and I also have a picture of her mom." He reached into the backpack on the couch next to him and pulled out a small photograph of Marylin holding onto Cece as a baby. "It's the original that I had blown up into the photo on the fireplace."
"That's great, I think she would love to see that." Jessica took the photo and smiled at it, slowly nodding her head. "Mary was truly a beautiful woman, and lucky too to have a man like you. Cece's going to be lucky also to have a dad like you."
"I'm nervous, scared, and I have no idea what to say."
"I know. That's why I'm going to be there for you. You'll be fine…" He set the picture back into the backpack and zipped it up. Inside the pack was a binder that had all of the important documentation that was likely needed to give to Marcie. There was also some old items that had been given to Cece as a baby, such as a snow white stuffed Gingham dog. Marylin also had a bracelet made for Cece when she was young, it was big enough that it would still fit her.
The bracelet was encrusted with diamonds and rubies, all attached by metal orbs. A heart pendant hung from the bracelet and opened like a locket. Inside the locket were two heart shaped pictures, one of Marylin and the other of baby Cece. On the back of the locket were engraved, the words: I will always be there for you, mama loves you.
Gary saved that bracelet in a small jewelry box that he kept in a safe in his bedroom, there was nothing he wanted to lose more than that gift. Marylin had it made and ordered on the day before her death. It came in the mail a week later and was sent to his caseworker, Georgia, who had been giving him all the mail that was being sent to his old home. It broke his heart that Marylin never saw that bracelet received, that she never was able to give it to Cece. While he'd given Cece a bracelet as a gift before, the one her mom had worn, he could never give her the locket for obvious reasons. Now, he could.
"Maybe that bracelet that's in there…kept her spirit around?" He breathed in slowly and Jessica looked to the pack, nodding slightly.
"It's always possible. My sister says there are a number of reasons spirits remain on this earth. If she is still around, maybe she'll be able to rest in peace once you and Cece are reunited and safe. Who knows. There's also one other thing that I am wondering about…"
"What's that?"
"Flynn. Isn't he going to have to go to a foster home because of all this?" Gary's heart sank as he thought of the young boy, it wasn't hard to remember that Flynn was affected as well. Both James and Georgia would be unable to take care of him since they were likely going to prison, and they didn't have any other family.
"You're right…he has no one…I can't see Cece wanting to part with him either. I mean, he wasn't involved in all this shit, he doesn't deserve to be punished."
"Maybe, if it's not brought up, you could offer to take him in?" It was a lot to consider, but he didn't want to leave that door closed to a possibility. He was already nervous enough about how to tell his daughter he wants to be a part of her life, he also had to consider the possibility of Flynn as well?
"I'll definitely consider it. I'm just extremely nervous."
"Understandable. Just take a deep breath, and whenever you're ready, we can go. Do you think she'd be at her apartment?"
"She might be with Rocky, actually. I imagine she'd be with her friends." It looked like Cece had been devastated, and he was worried about whether it would be too soon to go to her. He wanted to take this with caution, but at the same time, he was just overzealous. "I'm still worried it's too soon."
"Well both of you have waited all this time. Take it carefully, don't overwhelm her, and go one step at a time. If you wait any longer, it might be too late."
"Right…"
On the way to the building, Jessica did the driving. She was the calmer of the two of them, though he could see she was exited as well. She was happy for him, he knew that much. When they went in, the first place they checked was the apartment where Cece had been, but no one answered. So the next place to see would be the Blue family.
Standing at their door, he was overcome with anxiety and nervousness. Part of him wanted to run and hide, while the other was working to build his confidence up. The clashing emotions made him freeze up, to the point that Jessica had to knock on the door and wait for someone to answer.
"I-I can't do this, Jessica. I'm too…" He moved his hand to his clammy forehead and began to shudder. Jessica reached over and took his hand, comforting him with a smile.
"You're doing fine Gary. I'm here for you." He inhaled and clenched his eyes shut, struggling to calm down. The door opened and Curtis Blue stepped outside, looking ashen and upset. The man was clearly aggravated over something, but Gary wasn't going to worry about it too much. Jessica waved at the man and smiled politely. "Hi Mr. Blue, I'm Jessica. Is your wife around?"
"Yes…" Gary looked inside the apartment and was startled by everyone there. Marcie was on the couch with Flynn and Rocky, Ty was walking around the living room and Deuce was standing beside a cart full of clothes. Yet Cece was nowhere in sight. Curtis looked over his shoulder and cleared his throat, "Marcie it's for you. Gary's here with…" The man took a pause and looked back to Jessica, "I'm sorry. I'm afraid I didn't catch the connection."
"I'm Gary's girlfriend…"
"Okay, well it's good to meet you. Come inside. Sorry if I sound irritated, you must understand. As a doctor, I have a certain pride…" He led them inside and Gary raised an eyebrow. Marcie stood up and put her hands to her hips.
"Curtis just relax sweetheart, you know I'm going to sort everything out." The woman walked over and shook their hands, her expression was warm and inviting. It helped Gary to calm down. "Curtis is upset since Cece was his patient and Georgia was able to trick him and never once present a birth certificate to him."
"I swear I am going to start forcing my patients to show their birth certificate upon registration at my clinic…" Curtis started grumbling and Marcie rolled her eyes. At the mention of a birth certificate, Gary perked up and raised his eyebrows, grinning brightly.
"I have her birth certificate." In an instant, everyone snapped their eyes towards him and the room grew deathly quiet. It frightened him a bit, but he wasted no time in picking his backpack off the ground and pulling out the folder he needed. "Everything you need is in here…"
"What are you saying?" Marcie took the folder and slowly opened it. He felt a streak of confidence wash away the fear in him. It excited him! "I'm her father. I was in the witness protection program, Georgia was my handler. My name is Julian Sanders." Marcie cupped her hand over her mouth and Curtis smacked his forehead, groaning as the rest of the people in the room started to walk over and surround Marcie. The woman read aloud the signatures on the certificate, shaking her head as tears seemed to form at her eyelids.
"Cecelia Sanders, born August 26th, 1997 at First Angel's Clinic…" Curtis walked over, his hand sliding to his chin, and his eyes drifted onto the certificate. "Signed by the Doctor on staff, Dr. Ramona Brighton. Mother is listed as Marylin Sutherland, and the father listed as Julian Sanders. No wonder she never presented a birth certificate…"
"She couldn't get it changed. It was one of the few things I was able to not allow her to do…There was no way in hell I was going to let her put her name on a birth certificate."
"I need to call this doctor!" Curtis declared as he rushed for the phone, "I need to make sure everything is correct. I've been treating this doctor's patient all these years, surely they will tell me everything that Georgia wasn't able to tell me."
"I can tell you anything you need to know…"
"I believe you," Marcie flipped over the certificate and looked at another document in the folder. "These are your case papers…." Marcie's eyes widened and a gasp left her lips. "There she is, Officer Georgia Jones. I have a lot of investigation to take care of, but thank you Gary. You've made this a little easier for me…why didn't you step forward before?"
"Because every time I wanted to, Georgia would threaten me with something. She was a police officer, she could arrest me at any time…" Marcie frowned and Gary bowed his head. Flynn came over and looked up to him, studying him.
"So. You're Cece's real dad?"
"Yes." He quickly lifted his gaze to Marcie, pleading with her. "I'll do bloodwork, anything that you need I will do it. I…I just want to see my daughter."
"She's out walking." Flynn cleared his throat and crossed his arms over. "If you wait, she'll come back. I want to know, do you want her to be part of your life?" Gary knelt down and looked Flynn in the eyes with as much genuine honesty as he could. The boy was protective, but caring, something that Gary was thankful for. If anyone in the family Cece had been on should be there for her, it would be Flynn.
"I would love nothing more than to have my daughter a part of my life. I've gone all these years…unable to speak up…"
"Sounds pretty painful." Flynn thinned his lips and nodded his head, sighing heavily. "So…you know that I'm staying right with Cece, right? I don't want to go through foster care and I don't want to leave my sister."
"I understand." Gary felt his heart rise up and of course, he felt happy again for the first time in a long time. "So…if Cece would be happy, and would want to be with her father, would you want to be with us?" He was more than willing to offer Flynn a place, to take him in as part of his family. Flynn lowered his arms and spoke with a calm voice.
"I don't know…I might have to think about it for a minute, but-" He paused, then threw his arms up and raised his voice to an excited level. "Of course I would!"
His eyes moved to the television, which was on, but muted. He thought he saw Phil on the screen, but was sure his eyes were betraying him. "Is that…him?" The others looked to the screen and Jessica walked over, striking on the volume. Phil was somewhere outside with a camera on him, judging by the edges of the walls behind him, he was on top of a roof. "It is him…is he taking up the Shake it Up timeslot?"
"I thought they put that show on hiatus," Marcie commented, "It says live." Rocky shook her head and stated she knew nothing of a show being on at this time. Something else should be in the timeslot, unless Phil found a way to override it.
"I've been standing here a while," Phil remarked, "Hoping someone can get Gary Wilde for me…" Gary froze and began to panic as he watched Phil walk towards the camera. "I have something for you, Gary…" The camera started to move towards the right until it froze on a sight that made Gary's heart shatter. Cece was sitting in a chair, glaring angrily at the camera. Her wrists were bound behind the chair and her eyes were more annoyed than frightened. Rocky cried out and Gary began to collapse. "Your daughter. I've not done anything to harm her, nor do I intend to. I want you, but I've decided to present you with the gift of the child that was taken from you so long ago."
"N-No, he…god no…"
"Gary, I'm going to be here until you get my message. I've signaled the news media if they wish to bring helicopters, I really don't care to make a big deal out of this or anything…I just feel the rooftop of this apartment building is a nice…arena. If you will. Wouldn't you like to reunite with your daughter on the news, though? Make it a momentous occasion? I have alerted the police of a different hostage that will…die…if they come after me. So, they're not going to be too stupid. The only one I want coming through that door right now is you. Ball is in your court…"
"He has another hostage somewhere?" Rocky gripped her chest and groaned. Gary ignored the comment, focusing solely on his daughter and the panic that was stabbing at his heart. Phil began showing the surrounding environment on camera and it was Ty who instantly recognized the rooftop of the current building they were in. "Gary, why is Phil after you?"
"Because he is Martin Bristol. He's the one that almost had me killed all those years ago…the one that killed Marylin…He tried find me recently and wouldn't kill me because I…I was in a bad place…"
"How did he find-" Ty froze and his jaw fell agape. The man began to shudder and Gary slowly looked towards him, needing to say nothing at all for Ty to realize where he went wrong. "Oh god I told him where you lived!"
"It's fine…I just…I need to go to my daughter now. I have to end this…" He was terrified of what Phil might do to him, to Cece, but he knew there was no time to be afraid. He had to protect his daughter. Whoever this other hostage was, he didn't care. He only cared about one person there, the one person he didn't want to lose. "I don't think I can fight him, I mean he almost killed me last time I tried. I just…I have to do something. I can't stand by and let something happen to Cece!"
Though, it looked like Phil was only bored. The man was now sitting beside Cece, trying to converse with her. How on earth he was being polite, Gary wasn't sure. It was just as astonishing as it had been the day he found him.
Heh, this other hostage sounds more in danger than Cece and Gary at this point. Well, tell me what you think of everything? Looks like Marcie doesn't have to do too much work, since Gary had all the documentation.
