"Thank you for calling," Frank said dejectedly before returning the phone to its cradle.
"Who was on the phone, Frank?" Shay asked as she entered the kitchen with Ariel balanced on her hip.
Frank sighed softly and kissed her cheek. "Our lawyer...Mr. Adams."
Shay lifted a brow in question, but knew the answer before he spoke. "She's contesting the divorce." At his nod, she continued, "Well, it isn't like we expected her to just go away. We'll think of something...Frank?
"Hmmm?" He lifted Ariel into his arms.
"What if we can't find those original papers? What if she manages to keep your marriage to her legal?"
"Where's LJ?" he asked suddenly.
"He's in the den with Katie and Jessie, where he was when you left to answer the phone. Frank..." she trailed off as she watched Ariel tug happily on her father's earlobe, oblivious to the conversation her parents were having.
"What would you want to do if she wins, Mon coeur?" His eyes searched her face for a sign of her feelings, but she remained calm giving no hint of what her thoughts were.
"Who am I, if not Mrs. Frank Donovan? I don't know who I am anymore..." she sighed and tweaked one of Ariel's curls. "You've changed my life in so many ways. How do I go from what I am now...to no one?"
"With or without me...you will never be 'no one'." He placed a finger under her chin and lifted her gaze to meet his. "You are an amazing woman. You're strong, loving, resilient and you have such a good heart." His hand slid down to cup the side of her neck while his thumb stroked her cheek tenderly. "My wife or not, you are Shay Donovan. No one can take away those things that live inside you."
Shay smiled softly and leaned to his touch. "You forgot pain in the ass," she whispered.
Frank chucked and bounced Ariel on his knee. "No, I didn't." At Shay's amused look, he leaned forward and kissed her briefly on the lips. "Let's take the kids to the park...it will do us all some good."
**Mon coeur – my heart
-- Shay and Katie walked along slowly, pushing Ariel and Jessie in their strollers, while Frank ran to keep up with LJ. He was right; going to the park seemed to make everything lighter. Listening to the laughter of the many children playing just seemed to make her troubles disappear.
"Getting tired, pregnant lady?" Katie asked teasingly.
"Ack...does it show? Damn, I can barely walk down the stairs anymore without needing a nap," Shay wisecracked and pointed to a nearby bench. "Let's take a load off, eh?"
Katie chuckled and steered Jessie in the direction Shay indicated. After Shay settled on the bench, she helped Ariel out of her stroller and onto her mommy's lap. Katie heard Shay's cell phone ringing while she lifted Jessie from her stroller and reached to pull the phone from Ariel's stroller pack.
Shay thanked Katie and flipped open the phone. "Hello....Airy..no," she scolded when Ariel tried to take the phone as a toy. "Hi, Dad. Um...at the park. Can't you tell me now? Okay...see you then."
Frank caught a squealing LJ when he reached the bottom of the small slide. He looked over at Shay just as she folded her cell phone and smiled when she waved cheerfully.
"Again, Daddy!" LJ called as he raced around the slide and began the small climb to the top.
Frank chuckled and followed his son to the ladder to catch him if he slipped, but LJ made his way to the top without mishap. "Catch me, Daddy!" LJ called as he slid gleefully to the bottom.
"Is this the same man who runs the SOG?" Katie asked skeptically.
"No," Shay answered simply. "He separates himself from his job when he's home. Especially around the babies."
"And which Frank Donovan do you love, Shay? The hardworking no-nonsense man? Or the loving, playful husband and father?"
"Damn, that's a loaded question, Katie. I can't differentiate anymore. I fell in love with Agent Frank Donovan...that tough, sometimes cruel, heartless hardass. But there was so much more that he kept hidden, and I've barely scratched the surface." Shay laughed, watching Frank trail after LJ as he ran from the slide to the swings. "I could ask you...why you fell in love with Cody."
Katie nodded and bounced Jessie on her knee to the delight of the little tyke. "Goofy geek or romantic, intelligent man? Yes, I can see what you mean. I've not thought of him that way in such a long time...geek, that is."
"No, I don't suppose you'd think of him that way," Shay chuckled. "When's the date, Katie? We need to start making plans."
"Let's just say, I'd like you to fit in a Matron of Honor gown," Katie deadpanned. Katie giggled when Shay's eyes widened in surprise. "Actually...I hope you don't mind, and it's unconventional, but if Frankie agrees...I'd like to have two Matrons of Honors."
Shay giggled. "I think she'll be just as thrilled as I am!"
"Thrilled about what?" Frank asked when he walked up to the women with LJ perched on his shoulders.
"Wedding plans, baby," Shay responded cheerfully. "Dad called...he's on his way over...says he has some news."
--
She spied Donovan with his family and steeled herself for the pending battle. Striding up to the group, she received equally cold stares from each adult. Not giving them time to react to her presence verbally, she turned to Frank and said, "I'll be damned if you'll toss me out of your life the way you did all those years ago. I'm tired of living with these lies...it's time you took responsibility for your actions."
Frank lifted LJ from his shoulders and sat him next to Shay on the bench. He sent her a look of apology before turning back to Daphne. "We already know you refused to sign the papers, Daphne. I don't appreciate you stalking my family. I don't know what you're trying to pull, but what we had was a simple assignment. Pose as married CIA operatives out to sell government secrets for a quick buck. That's it Daphne...all of it. Stop trying to make it something it wasn't." He nearly grabbed her by the arms to shake the life out of her, and if it weren't for the children, he probably would have. "Go home, Daphne. Sign those papers...end this." He leaned close to her and whispered, "End this...or so help me..."
"So help you," she spat hatefully. "So help you, you'll finally take responsibility for your son."
"What..." It was then that he noticed the small, gangly boy that drifted out from behind Daphne's skirt. He looked to be about ten years old. His complexion was very fair, his hair a white blonde and his eyes the same light green color as Daphne's.
"Your son, Frank jr," Daphne informed, spitefully. "The result of our so-called fake marriage."
"No." Frank answered simply and looked to Shay. She looked pale except for the bright patches of red on her cheeks. Her eyes were glazed and he wasn't exactly sure if she was going to cry or scream bloody murder.
"But...but..." LJ stuttered, breaking into the conversation.
Shay looked down at her son, his eyes were as large as saucers and looked at the older boy in total confusion and then back to Shay's belly where he knew his brother was hiding. "My brother is in here," he insisted, patting Mommy's tummy.
"My son is Frank Donovan's true son," Daphne snapped at the little boy, noting his Hispanic heritage and assumed he was not Frank's son by blood.
"You bitch," Shay spat, pulling her now teary-eyed son firmly into her embrace with her free arm. "Katie...please take LJ to the swings." She kissed the top of his head and whispered, "Everything will be okay, Jake...don't you fret, baby."
Katie nodded and stood, balancing Jessie on her hip and holding her hand out to LJ, who took it easily after climbing down from the bench.
Frank ruffled LJ's hair as he and Katie walked past him. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Frankie and Jake approaching the group. They stopped to kiss their daughter before kneeling down to speak to LJ. He saw the look of raw hatred gleaming in Frankie's eyes when she stood and marched over to the group with Jake right by her side.
"Frankie… calm down…" Jake whispered as he almost jogged to keep up with her. Right as she drew up to a halt, he made a grab for her arm to keep her from flying into Daphne's face. It was one thing to hurl insults at the adults… it was something entirely different to be so viperous in front of the children. There were some things that should never be seen by the children.
Frank looked down at the young boy who appeared to be his namesake. He felt extremely sorry for the youngster and what confusion he must be going through. Looking back at Daphne, there was no mistaking the child was hers and he pitied the boy. The Daphne Charles he knew cared for no one but herself. Cold, calculating, and selfish made up her less charming traits. To grow up in such an environment could have been nothing less than...detached. "I won't discuss this in front of the boy."
"The boy is your son," she insisted.
Frankie's eyes narrowed as she took everything in. Daphne kept saying 'your' son… not 'our' son… she was running another game.
Jake looked down as he heard knuckles popping and saw Frankie's hand clenching tight enough to whiten the knuckles. This was going to get ugly if Daphne didn't shut up and leave Frank and Shay alone.
Shay leaned to the side a bit to get a better look at the boy. He seemed frightened and very much ill at ease. "Frank? Why don't you run over to the swings and play with LJ and Katie?" When the boy hesitated to answer, she smiled sweetly. "It's okay...it'll be fun." He still seemed unsure, but nodded and ran over to where Katie pushed LJ softly on the swing while still balancing little Jessie on her hip.
"This is impossible. I never touched you..." Frank finally spoke when "Frank jr." was out of earshot.
"Oh...didn't you? Isn't there something you're forgetting, Frank?"
Frank bent down to put an arm around Shay's waist and helped her stand. "I'm forgetting nothing," he insisted. He nodded to Frankie and Jake when they finally reached the group.
"The end of the case," she continued pointedly. "Celebration dinner..."
"I..." Frank quieted. There was something he was forgetting. There was an entire night of his life missing and it was the night of that celebration. "...can't remember that night."
"I remember every detail of that night...the night you fathered YOUR son."
Shay tightened her grip on Frank's hand to the point he almost yelped from the pain. When he looked into her eyes, he saw nothing but love and support and gently squeezed her hand in a silent thank you.
"A simple DNA test will prove what a liar you are," Frankie spat as she hauled off and backhanded the woman.
"What the hell..." Daphne covered her now bleeding mouth with a hand. Frankie started to grip Daphne's shoulder in an effort to push her to the ground. With her training and Daphne's stunned shock, it had the potential to get ugly real quick.
Jake wrapped his arms around Frankie's waist and hauled her back, kicking and snarling. "Stop it Francesca Marie! Not here, not now!!"
"Let me go, Jacob Aaron Shaw, or, so help me God, Jessica will be an only child!" she shrieked, bucking and kicking to get loose.
"Get her out of here Jake!" Frank hollered. As Jake dragged a scratching and clawing Frankie off to a quiet spot to cool down, Frank turned a lethal glare on Daphne as she wiped the blood from her mouth.
"That little bitch is going to pay for that," she spat.
"No she's not. I didn't see anything, did you Shay?"
"Not one damned thing," Shay growled out.
"But, if you insist on this, I'll play your game. Francesca, although hot tempered, is right. A DNA test will disprove your claim. YOUR son is not mine. I have three children already. Now get out of my sight Miss Charles."
Daphne's mouth curled into a sneer, her good looks made into a mocking mask of beauty as she stomped past and yelled shrilly for Frank Jr. Shay sighed and struggled to sit down again as she heard Frankie's screams matched by Jake's equally terse shouts.
"I would have let her go." Shay said simply, lifting a hand to acknowledge the approach of her father.
"So would I have, if it were possible." Frank sighed and sat down on the bench, gathering her into his arms. "What if…"
"We'll deal with it when that 'if' becomes a definite 'yes'. Until then, we go rescue Jake from Banshee Battles."
--
to be continued...