Conflicted

"What made you come find me?" Cassie asked, sitting down on a bench outside in the park with a coffee they'd picked up from a local shop.

"I guess curiosity got the better of me." Daniel nodded, "When I heard you say that stuff about… my sons… well it's a part of my life I've kept shut off for a very long time. Very long." He said.

"I kinda figured." Cassie nodded.

"Why did you come find me?" Daniel turned to her, "Is there something you need from me? Something you want to tell me?" He asked.

"N-No… no, I just… I… well I came across your name on some files in the station." Cassie said, "I didn't know anything about you up until then."

"So the first thing you learned about me was that I'm an ex con?" Daniel nodded to himself, "And yet… you still wanted to find me?" He wondered.

"Believe it or not… ex con doesn't mean a whole to me." Cassie said, "I guess I just saw your name and it got me thinking. My dad never talks about you. No one talks about you." She said.

"That's because no one knows me." Daniel said, "You don't know me."

"Yeah but I figured it's not too late get to know each other." Cassie said as Daniel nodded slowly, taking a sip of coffee as Cassie sat awkwardly.

"How many grandchildren do I have?" He asked.

"Five." Cassie nodded, "Five girls." She laughed a little, "I'm the youngest one."

"I can tell." Daniel nodded, "Who knows you've been seeking me out?" He wondered.

"Uh… well no one really." Cassie said as Daniel nodded, "My dad would probably flip if he knew I was meeting with you. My mom too." She said, "But I just thought… life is too short and you're my grandfather. If you're out there why… why can't I see you or talk to you?"

"You don't know me." Daniel said, "You can't be that naïve." He said.

"Excuse me?" Cassie turned to him.

"Well you're a cop for crying out loud. You shouldn't be meeting with strange men you know nothing about. What if I kidnapped you? Huh? What if I kidnapped you when you showed up at my house?" He questioned seriously as Cassie raised a brow. His tone sounded all too familiar to another man in her life.

"Wouldn't be the first time I'd been in that situation." Cassie mumbled.

"You need to be more careful." Daniel shook his head, "Are you all like that?"

"Like what?" Cassie screwed her face up.

"Naïve?" Daniel asked.

"Excuse me?" Cassie shook her head.

"Well if I had daughters they would know not to be going around talking to men they don't know-"

"And when you have sons you just abandon them?" Cassie bit back angrily as Daniel looked at her in silence, "Yeah, that shut you up." Cassie said fiercely.

"Be careful talking about something you don't know anything about." Daniel said.

"I know everything I need to. You walked out on two kids. Two boys who needed you. You have no idea what they went through as children." Cassie said.

"What are you talking about?" Daniel shook his head.

"Abuse." Cassie said, "Sam being a waste of space. They practically had to raise themselves." She said.

"Look, I… I know nothing about them. Nothing at all. Phil was just one when I left and Dean… I didn't even know that was his name." He admitted shamefully, "Not until you said it." He sighed to himself, "I left before he was even born."

"Why did you leave?" Cassie asked him.

"Look, there's no point in getting into it." Daniel shook his head as Cassie looked at him.

"I think there is a point." Cassie said, "It's not too late if you want to meet your sons-"

"Says who? You?" Daniel chuckled as Cassie grabbed the coffee from his hand and threw it behind them angrily.

"Yes me." Cassie said as Daniel watched nervously, "I want my dad to have the chance to get closure. Whether it's getting to know you or just getting answers from you. I can tell it bothers him. He's too annoying to admit it but… I know it does." She said, "And I know what it's like to gain a father later in life. It can work out." She nodded as he looked at her with wonder. He really knew absolutely nothing about his family. Nothing at all.

"What are your sister's names again? And your cousins?" Daniel asked.

"My sisters are Jude and Thea. Thea is the oldest. Jude in the middle. Then me." Cassie said, "Then there's my two cousins, Chrissy and Sarah." She nodded, "My mom is April. My aunt is Renee. My nephew is James and my niece is Sofia. I've got another niece on the way. Knowing Jude she'll call her something obscure and artsy." She shook her head.

"You have a big family." Daniel raised his eyebrows, "I doubt I'd make an impact."

"You don't know that." Cassie said.

"You and your sisters have the same mom?" Daniel asked.

"Yes." Cassie said, "Everyone always asks me that because of the age gap." She shook her head, "My mom and dad have been together since they were sixteen."

"There's no way they still like one another." Daniel chuckled to himself.

"I wouldn't say that until you meet them." Cassie nodded, "They've been through hell and back."

"Who hasn't?" Daniel grumbled.

"Are you gonna tell me why you walked away?" Cassie asked, "Cause I'll keep asking."

"Yeah you're kinda annoying." Daniel nodded to her, "I mean I… I paid for that coffee." He scoffed.

"Poor you." Cassie frowned, "Tell me." She said quickly.

"What does it even matter to you?" Daniel scoffed, "And why does there have to be a reason? How about… I was just a kid who had two kids all of a sudden, with a girlfriend who couldn't stay off drugs. I split cause it got too much. I couldn't handle it-"

"They're your sons." Cassie shook her head.

"I know that." Daniel nodded, "But… I was never a father to them. I mean I don't think you've even thought this through. I doubt they wanna see me. Not after all this time." He said.

"Well you don't know anything until you try." Cassie said.

"Well you seem to have been brought up well… must have worked out alright for your dad and uncle." Daniel nodded to himself as Cassie looked at him.

"You don't even know the half of it." Cassie said, "Believe me." She nodded as he looked across at her.

"What do you want from me?" Daniel asked.

"What makes you think I want something from you?" Cassie shook her head.

"Well it's not like you're running low on family members." Daniel said.

"I just think it's been long enough for you to be lurking in the shadows. Maybe you never had someone to give you that shove. I mean… have you been alone your entire life?"

"I've been in prison." Daniel nodded.

"You've been out for a while." Cassie said.

"Yeah well… I'm just trying to get by now." Daniel shook his head.

"Was it really a hit and run?" Cassie asked him as he turned to her.

"I should go." Daniel stood up from the bench as Cassie watched him, "I shouldn't have bothered you with this… I… I have no interest in this." He shook his head, conflicted and frustrated as she watched him. She didn't know how to read him. He seemed confused and definitely conflicted about how to feel about his sons he knew nothing about.

"Maybe my dad and uncle won't give a damn about you, but maybe they want answers, and maybe you do too." Cassie said, "Don't you want to know your family?" She shook her head as Daniel shook his head.

"N-No… no you're… you're not my family." Daniel shook his head, "You're just strangers." He backed away, walking off down the street as Cassie watched him with a sigh. She knew a lonely person when she saw one. It was like he had no experience with human interaction. She figured it made sense since he spent most of his life in prison. She just wanted her dad and uncle to have the option of answers. She didn't want it to be something looming over them in the back of their mind. She hoped she wasn't opening up doors that should have been left closed.

"This is the weirdest feeling." Jude shook her head, sitting up in bed, hands on her bump as she felt the baby kicking, "I can't tell if I like it or not." She said, confused as Sean chuckled a little.

"I don't think she'll give you a choice." Sean chuckled, leaning over and placing his hand over her bump, "Man, she's really kicking." He raised his eyebrows.

"She's probably mad that her aunt is in such a mess." Jude sighed to herself.

"Or she's kicking because she senses her mom is stressed." Sean said, unhappily as Jude looked over at him.

"I'm… I'm not stressed. I'm ok." Jude nodded to him, "Just worried about Thea. What she's gotten herself into." She shook her head.

Her parents had dropped by earlier on and filled them both in on what was going on with Thea and why she had really moved to Milwaukee. Jude was shocked, she was still was, but then the crippling worry settled in for her sister's safety. For her entire family's safety.

"Thea needs to go to the police." Sean nodded, stripping down to his boxers, "No bullshit, no waiting around on someone getting hurt. Let the cops handle it. Running away certainly isn't going to help either."

"She's obviously scared." Jude sighed to herself, "I wanna see her." She said sadly as Sean nodded.

"It's probably best she stays in Milwaukee right now." Sean nodded, getting in bed beside her, "I had no idea she was so… troubled as a kid." He admitted, "Yeah I knew about the drug and drink problems but… I didn't think it was bad like this."

"Yeah well… it was." Jude nodded, "And it wasn't her fault. It was a combination of things."

"Daddy issues?" Sean turned to her as Jude turned to him with an unimpressed look on her face.

"Please don't talk about my sister like that." Jude shook her head unhappily.

"Well I kinda think it's a bit shit that she's just left town and expected all of this to disappear. She should know better than anyone that if dealers, gangs can't find their target, they start tracking down their family members. Your dad isn't a spring chicken anymore. Poor guy looks like he's been in a car crash. No one needs this shit." Sean shook his head, "Certainly not you."

"Just because I'm pregnant doesn't mean I'm a timebomb waiting to go off." Jude shook her head, "And I'm very sure that Thea doesn't want any of us in danger. She'll be hating herself right now for this." She said, "She hasn't even done anything wrong. She made a few mistakes a kid and that was it-"

"Big mistakes like that can follow you." Sean nodded.

"It's not her fault. Take your cop hat off for a second." Jude shook her head angrily as he turned to her, "This is my sister. And she's in trouble." She shook her head with worry as Sean watched her, "I don't care if it's the cops or my dad, we're getting rid of these idiots-"

"We? You and your pregnant belly will be staying out of all of this." Sean nodded to her as Jude rolled her eyes, "Seriously. I don't want you in any danger." He said as she turned to him.

"I wouldn't put her in danger." Jude promised as she caressed her bump. She wouldn't dream of it.

"You think Cassie is still looking into your grandfather?" Sean asked.

"Doubt it after this bombshell was dropped." Jude said, "More important things to worry about than a guy we don't know anything about."

"Yeah, I agree." Sean said, "Why was she so interested in finding him anyway?"

"I don't know." Jude shrugged, "She's always asked my dad about him. I think she wants my dad and uncle to know it's not too late, and that if they want answers they could go out and get them… I just don't think my dad is interested."

"I mean… he probably is deep down." Sean assumed, "Nothing that keeps him up at night, though."

"Yeah, we're the ones who keep him up at night." Jude nodded.

"I can't believe he's already found all the guys names and addresses, and where they work. In another life he could have been a good cop." Sean nodded.

"Yeah where do you think Cass gets it from?" Jude nodded.

"She is good." Sean admitted.

"Damn she's kicking me hard." Jude laughed a little, rubbing her bump as Sean smiled, "I'm scared in case she senses something is wrong. Tell her it's all gonna be ok." She nodded to him as he smiled.

"Ok." Sean nodded, leaning down to her bump, "Hey, little one." He knocked the bump lightly as Jude smiled. This was the light in her dark tunnel right now, "Don't you worry yourself in there. We got things under control. It's all good." He spoke to her bump as Jude chuckled.

"Miraculously… she's stopped kicking." Jude smiled, amused, "Oh… wait… no, she's back at it."

"Maybe it's leg day in there or something. Just leave the girl be." Sean nodded as Jude chuckled. She was glad she had this positive thing in her life right now to keep her going, to see her through this worry over her sister and her past coming back to get her.