He had been awake for a couple of hours and had already fed the children their breakfast before he heard her moving about upstairs. He was not sure how the day was going to go, but at least she was getting out of bed.
He looked up from the newspaper when she entered the den, dressed crisply in a midnight blue maternity suit dress, cell phone held to her ear. He watched her as she knelt down to kiss LJ, who was busy watching Sesame Street, on the top of the head. She picked up Ariel, who held her arms outstretched to her mother, with her free arm and balanced her easily on her hip.
"Are you sure you don't mind? Yes, twelve o'clock. We have a meeting with him at one o'clock. Right. Thanks again, Katie."
Shay ended the call and just as he was about to ask her what was going on, her cell phone rang again. "Hello. Mmm..yes. Did you get my message? Yes...please have them sent to Winchester Adams' offices by one o'clock. Thank you, Deirdre."
By this time, Frank had set the newspaper aside and sat forward in the easy chair. "What are you up to, Shay?"
"I'm up to..." she started as she set Ariel beside her brother. "Look Airy...it's Elmo...we love Elmo, don't we?" She smiled softly when Ariel giggled and began singing along with Elmo, not quite making any sense of her words. Shay righted herself and headed back to the easy chair. "I'm up to getting my husband and my marriage back," she declared, defiantly lifting her chin. Her sky blue eyes shone resolutely.
Frank blinked and then blinked again. What the hell did she and Frankie talk about last night? "You've solved the mystery of where those Annulment papers are?"
"Hell no," she answered brightly as she slid onto his lap. "But here's the thing..." She wrapped her arms around his neck and touched her forehead to his, "I don't ever want to spend another night without your arms around me. And if all this anguish I'm feeling is over a stupid piece of paper...well...damn it, I'll get another piece of paper."
He chuckled and hugged her fiercely. "Welcome back, Ash."
"Oh, Frank," she sighed and laid her head on his shoulder. "I was so unreasonable and so cruel last night. I barely slept and when I did, I woke almost immediately each time and wanted to go to you..."
"Same here," he whispered as he stroked her belly. Shay lifted her head and gasped and he jumped slightly when they both felt the baby kick. "So what's this big plan of yours?" he asked, dipping his head to tenderly kiss her belly.
"I...I..." she stammered when Frank rose up to nibble and kiss the delicate area of her neck where it met her shoulder. "God, I can't think when you do that; you're making me crazy." She squirmed slightly as the desire set in.
"Stop wiggling around," he commanded with amusement. "You're making me more than a little crazy."
Shay laughed softly when she felt the evidence of his desire against her posterior. "Er...sorry," she half-heartedly apologized while enjoying the feel of his lips caressing the skin of her neck.
"Uh..no, don't apologize. Just promise you'll take care of the problem later," he smirked.
Shay eyed the children who still sat intently watching their favorite Muppets. "Yup, later...you have no idea how horny pregnant women get," she joked.
"I seem to recall..." he whispered, his lips just a breath away from hers. His eyes slid shut when his lips crushed to hers; once again claiming what was his and she claiming what was hers. Both moaned as they rediscovered their need and quenched their desperate thirst for each other.
Frank pulled away suddenly. "You still haven't told me what you're up to."
Shay smiled slyly. "Well, it may be a pointless effort, but you are going to sue Daphne Charles for divorce." She almost laughed when he raised his eyebrow. Instead, she traced a finger along that brow. "Look...if the investigation proves fruitless and we don't discover what happened to those annulment papers, we can already have started the ball rolling in suing for divorce."
"It's worth looking into," Frank commented and brushed his knuckles softly along her cheek.
"Right. Frankie gave me the name of the best divorce lawyer here in town and he agreed to meet with us today." She nodded confidently before kissing him soundly.
"You've been busy this morning. And Katie and Deirdre are?"
"Katie is coming over to sit with the kids because Dad's busy trying to gain access to your old CIA case files. Deirdre is sending copies of those marriage documents and affidavits of your character to Mr. Adams' office. It won't be easy and I'm sure Miss Charles will make this ugly, but I want to...need to...do this, Frank," she insisted.
"Then we'll do it. In the meantime, with the team's help, we may find those missing documents and it will save us a tremendous amount of stress. If not, we'll do it the hard way," he assured.
"I didn't get a chance to tell you this yesterday, or last night, Frank," she confessed as she curled back up to him and rested her head on his shoulder.
"What's that, baby?" he asked softly while noting that LJ had turned toward them and smiled brightly at the sight of his parents as he was used to seeing them.
"I love you, Franklin Paul Donovan."
He closed his eyes and held her tightly. Only a day had passed since she had said those words to him and yet during that day he felt as if a lifetime had gone by, leaving him empty. Hearing those words again filled him to the brink and he was once again whole. "And I love you, Shay Ashling Donovan."
*****
"So what did Lawyer Adams have to say?" Jake asked when Frank and Shay entered the nest.
Frank shrugged. He helped Shay into a seat at the briefing table before taking one beside her. "He's drawing up the necessary documents to serve to Daphne as soon as I can provide an address for him to deliver them. Needless to say, he thought this was one bizarre case."
Shay nodded. "Well it is bizarre, to say the least. Of course, we expect that she'll refuse to sign them. But it's the first step. When and if the time comes, we will take her to court. The outcome will then depend on testimony regarding the particular case that required Frank to marry the woman to begin with. That's in Daddy's hands right now. If all goes as expected, he should have the file pertaining to the case by tomorrow."
"Hey guys!" Cody greeted upon entering the room.
"Hey, Code," Shay greeted him with a smile. "So when are we getting together to make plans for the Forrester/Fellows wedding?"
Cody laughed and patted her on the shoulder. "Good question. Might help if Katie could decide on a date."
"That would be a help," she agreed.
"Cody, do we have a local address on Daphne Charles?" Frank asked bringing the subject back to the matter at hand.
"Just the hotel she's been staying at."
"She checked out last night," Jake supplied. "Alex called in this morning and said Charles checked out of the hotel and boarded a flight to Washington, D.C."
"Her home of record is in D.C.," Cody added, handing Frank a sheet of paper with her home address.
Frank passed the sheet to Shay, who pushed out of her chair and went to the computer console. "I'll email this to Adams so he can have those papers served ASAP."
Frank chuckled and winked at Jake. "I think she could move mountains right now if it meant having Daphne served faster."
Jake smirked. "And I know a certain PI and female agent who would give all to help move those mountains. Frankie and Alex are in D.C. as we speak."
"Good...good," Frank commented, his eyes fixed on Shay's every movement. "Keep me informed, yes?"
"Count on it, Boss," Jake confirmed.
Cody's laughter interrupted their conversation. "Damn Shay...you have your lawyer on Instant Messaging?"
Shay made a face at Cody before answering. "Ha...he's very determined. Apparently Frankie's on his list of favorite Private Investigators and she helped him win some mighty big cases. And...he and Dad are members of some hoity-toity country club..."
"Pays to have friends in high places."
"Yeah, right, Code. My life is just a bowl of cherries..." she snapped sharply.
'Yeowch."
"Ooh, sorry," she apologized quickly. "Hormones."
Frank and Jake laughed at the familiar banter between the two of them. "So what does Adams have to say, Ashling?"
"He says...he's sending the paperwork overnight to D.C. and Miss Charles will be served by noon."
"I'd like to be a fly on the wall when she gets those," Cody commented.
"I'd like to be a fist in her face," Shay commented under her breath.
Cody leaned down and whispered, "I'll hold her for you."
Shay couldn't help but giggle like a schoolgirl. "Oh Cody...thank you."
"Anytime partner."
Shay stood and hugged the gangly agent fiercely.
"Shay...Shay...I can't breathe!" Cody laughed as they separated from each other.
Frank stood and went to her side, sliding his arm around her waist. "I think it's time to get you home. You're getting a little to familiar with your co-worker for your husband's peace of mind."
"Yeah, right," she retorted. "You're just looking to solve that little problem from earlier this morning."
He nodded as he ushered her toward the door. "Of course. What else would I be thinking about?"
"You two kids have fun," Cody called out as the Donovans waved their goodbyes to him and Jake. "Wow, I'm having a weird deja vu."
Jake nodded. "Only she wasn't pregnant back then." **
**See "Cruel Misunderstanding" by TheDreamyOne and Gypsy http://fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=839286
*****