Chapter 37

Shawn rang the doorbell to his mother's house, simultaneously banging his fist on the frame.

"Are you sure she's even at home?" Belle asked. She and Claire were standing slightly behind Shawn with their suitcases. Shawn had decided the night before that they needed to go to Salem to check on Hope. Never mind, Belle thought crossly, that Hope hasn't even bothered to return any of our calls or messages. Then she amended her thoughts, fussing at herself for being unkind towards her mother-in-law. She and Hope would always share a special bond because of Claire and Zach; Belle would do what she could to help Shawn help his mother.

Shawn was about to suggest that they head to the Pub when Hope flung open the door. Belle would have sworn that an annoyed look flashed across Hope's face before it was quickly replaced with joyous surprise.

Squealing Hope flung her arms around her first-born son. "Shawn! Oh, thank God you've come! I've missed you terribly!"

"Why didn't you return any of my calls, Mom? I've been worried sick."

Sniffling a bit, Hope shrugged her shoulders. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. I've just, I've been in a very dark place. With this situation with your father and Carly…" Here, Hope gave into full-bodied sobs and all but collapsed in her son's arms.

Claire, unsure what to think of this familiar stranger that was her grandmother, leaned a little closer to her mother's side. Belle sensed Claire's unease and squeezing her shoulders, gave her what she hoped was a reassuring smile.

"I'm tired, Mom," Claire complained, gaining the attention of Hope.

Pulling away from Shawn, Hope stepped closer to Claire and held out her arms. "Hi, baby! Don't you have a hug for your Gran?"

At a nudge from Belle, Claire hugged Hope. "Hi, Gran," she said, shyly. "How are you?"

Beaming at Claire, Hope brushed the little girl's golden blond hair back from her face. "I'm much better now that you're here. I've missed you so much! Now come inside. I want to hear all about your adventures you've been having sailing all around the world."

Hope and Claire went back into the house and Shawn turned to Belle, a broad grin on his handsome face. "See, Belle? I told you coming home was the right thing to do."

Belle was so damn tired at the moment she couldn't be sure of her own name, much less the emotional state of a woman she'd not seen in over a year. But she gave over to Shawn's happiness and helped him cart their bags inside. She followed Shawn upstairs to the guest bedroom where they stashed their luggage. Looking longingly at the bed, Belle groaned when Shawn tugged on her hand to go back downstairs.

"I think I'm going to shower and change. Why don't you go visit with your mom for a while, just the two of you?"

Shawn only shrugged and dashed downstairs to see his mother. Claire was showing Hope some photos on her iPad of their recent stop in Greece.

"Hey, Pumpkin, why don't you go put away your things while I have a little talk with Gran?"

Claire nodded and went upstairs without protest. Once his daughter was gone, Shawn went to Hope and took her hand in his.

"Mom, how are you really? I've been worried as hell for you."

"I didn't mean to worry you, Shawn. But things are terrible; I can't pretend otherwise."

Shawn frowned in confusion. "What is it? Has something else happened?" He knew that Hope had been arrested; Chelsea had told him as much. But he thought his father had dropped the charges.

Dabbing her eyes with the handkerchief that was always in her hand, Hope gave a bitter laugh. "What's happened? You mean besides the fact that your father has left me for a whore? He cheated on me with her in my own home. They've stolen my daughter from me; they took Ciara and won't let me see her! And to add insult to injury, your father is flaunting that slut all over town as his wife. Can you believe it? I am Mrs. Bo Brady!"

Hope was agitated so badly that she was shaking. Rage boiled in her blood when she thought of her poor husband trapped by that lying, murdering bitch.

"Mom, maybe you need to calm down," Shawn suggested. "You're getting all worked up and it won't change anything. I'm furious at Dad and Carly for what they did to you. It was wrong. But they are married now." Shawn wanted to say more, but the devastated look on his mother's face stopped him in his tracks.

Chin quivering, Hope buried her face in the back of the sofa, which was barely able to muffle her sobs. "It's so unfair, Shawn! Your father and I are meant to be together. Why is he doing this to me? Why is he punishing me? I was only trying to make him appreciate me. I wanted him to understand how I felt, what I was going through. He was supposed to come back to me, like he'd always done. And he would have, too, Shawn, if that woman hadn't come back to town." In her anxiety, Hope grabbed a hold of Shawn's arms, shaking him so hard his teeth rattled.

"It's all Carly's fault! If she'd stayed away, none of this would have ever happened! I'd still have your father and I'd still have Ciara. But Carly Manning took everything from me. It isn't fair!"

Belle was coming down the stairs and saw Hope shaking Shawn. She watched as Shawn got his arms around Hope, crushing her to him as she wept. Part of Belle wanted to shove Hope away and lash out at her mother-in-law for taking her anger out on her own son. The other half of her wanted to do the same to Shawn, angry at her husband for falling victim to yet another of his mother's temper tantrums.

Over the years Belle had watched Hope quietly manipulate Shawn, and it had always infuriated her. But ever since Zach's death, Belle had done her best to love Hope, but she'd never been able to stand it that the woman could stomp her foot and make everyone around her cater to her every whim. Well, maybe not everyone, Belle thought. Bo sure as hell seems to have finally seen the light.

Clearing her throat rather loudly, Belle entered the living room and stood behind Hope, who was still sobbing. "Claire's asleep, Shawn," Belle informed them both. "I know things are very…stressful at the moment, but could you try and keep things quiet for our daughter's sake?"

Shawn glared at Belle, eerily reminiscent of Hope, briefly, but nodded when Belle refused to back down from her request. Hope collapsed onto the couch, blowing her nose and dabbing at her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Belle," Hope whispered. "I keep trying to make things better and I end up making the situation worse. Poor Claire, she must think her Gran is a crazy woman. I'll talk to her tomorrow and explain why I'm so unhappy."

Taking a deep breath, Belle said, "Actually that's what I came down here to tell you. Hope, I love you very much, and I want to help you in any way that I can. Shawn and I have explained to Claire that you and Bo are divorced and that Bo is remarried. Claire loves both of her grandparents equally. I would certainly hope that neither of you would badmouth the other to Claire. Claire asked see her Grandpa tomorrow, and I promised her that I'd take her. Obviously I want Claire to spend as much time as possible with both of her grandparents while we're in town. I hope you understand."

"We haven't discussed Claire visiting Dad and Carly," Shawn protested. "Hell, I'm not sure that I even want to see them."

"Well, no one said you had to go, Shawn," Belle pointed out. "You're a big boy. Do whatever you like, but I'm taking our daughter to see her grandfather tomorrow. When you feel you're ready to see your dad, I'm sure you'll let me know."

Belle yawned and stretched her arms over her head, perhaps exaggerating a bit. She leaned over and kissed Shawn; then warmly hugged Hope. "I'm exhausted. I'm going to follow Claire's lead and get some sleep."

When Belle was gone, Hope turned frantically to Shawn. "Honey, please don't let Claire near that woman. Promise me! Carly is a venomous witch. She'll only hurt Claire, you'll see."

"Mom, let's just slow down, okay. I'm not going to keep Claire from Dad. And if Carly's there, too, well, Claire will have to meet her sometime. It'll only be for a little visit, and you should know that Belle won't let Dad or Carly say anything about you to Claire."

"Just warn Belle about Carly, Shawn. I'm begging you. Belle will have to be on her guard the entire time. Carly is devious and calculating, and she'll stop at nothing to destroy me. She's already taken Ciara; what's to stop her from taking you and Claire from me, too?"

A warning sensor was triggered in the base of Shawn's brain, but he quickly dismissed the feeling. "Mom, no one will take us from you. And Belle and I will help you fight for Ciara if that's what you want to do. We won't rest until we help you get custody of her again."

Beaming gratefully, Hope placed a kiss on Shawn's forehead. "Oh, thank you, son! I knew as soon as I saw you on my doorstep that things would turn out all right. I'm so glad you've come home!"

Happy that his mother seemed to be happy for the moment, Shawn bid Hope goodnight and went to find his own bed. Hope turned off the lights downstairs and checked the lock on the front door. She slipped up the stairs quietly and into her bedroom.

Locking the door, she helped herself to a tumbler full of whisky and a handful of colorful pills. Putting on her pajamas, she got under the covers of her bed that suddenly didn't seem so lonely anymore. Now that Shawn was home to help her, Hope was ready to put her plan into action. Soon, Bo would be hers again, and then her world would return to normal.