DISCLAIMER: Love Takes Time belongs to Bryan Duncan, not me. Also the line where Gordon thinks This is my daughter…I'm her father is also in a fic you can find at Toastburglar's site. Didn't know that till after I wrote this chapter, but I had to write that anyway so I won't go to jail for plagiarism. The last part of the flashback kind of resembles that fic, too, but it's not a direct quote.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Sorry it's been so long since an update. Login's been disabled and the site's been fairly unreliable. I must add that I know nothing about the laws of Maryland and Minnesota, so I'm making them up.
A NEW LIFE – CHAPTER THREE – LOVE TAKES TIME
The next few days were a flurry of activity for Gordon. He called nearly every number in Ashley's Rolodex, informing everyone of what had happened. Some broke down in tears. Others just thanked him numbly. Others hadn't spoken to Ashley in years and barely remembered her. Still others hadn't been home and Gordon had left messages on their answering machines.
Having called everyone in Ashley's Rolodex (except for Baltimore House of Pizza and Soo-Yung's Chinese Takeout), Gordon launched a search all over the apartment for other numbers. He started with Ashley's bedroom drawer. After rooting around in there for a few moments, he found an old snapshot. His throat immediately tightened when he saw it. The picture was of Ashley in a hospital bed with Gordon standing next to her. In between them was a tiny bundle wrapped in pink blankets.
Gordon pulled his car into the hospital's parking lot. He had just been informed that Ashley had delivered her baby. Gordon walked into the hospital with an intense feeling of dread. Ashley's strict Catholic parents had harassed him endlessly about this for the past eight months. According to Ashley, they didn't even want Gordon to see the baby.
When he entered the maternity ward, Gordon immediately saw John and Marie Heller standing outside Ashley's hospital room like sentinels. "Can…can I see Ashley?" He asked.
John turned a glare on him. "Why?"
"Because she told me I could see her." Gordon said. "Please, I'd like to see my baby?"
John looked ready to say something else, but Ashley's voice interrupted them. "Daddy?" She asked. "Let Gordon come in."
John gave Gordon a loathing look, but stepped aside and allowed him into the room. Tentatively, Gordon stepped inside and looked at Ashley. "Hello, Gordon." She said.
"Hi, Ashley." Gordon said quietly. He wanted to stay back in the doorway, but his body seemed to gravitate towards that tiny pink bundle Ashley held cradled in her arms.
"Would you like to hold her?" Ashley asked.
"Well, I, uh-" Gordon started to protest, but before he could get any further, Ashley placed the baby in his arms. Gordon had never been a baby person. In fact, he'd always stayed away from them. Holding crying little infants had never appealed to him. But now, as he looked at the tiny little girl in his arms, he didn't feel awkward at all. This is my daughter. He thought. I'm her father! "She's beautiful." He said. "What's her name?"
"Kaley Lynne." Ashley announced. There was no mistaking the pride in her voice.
"Kaley Lynne." Gordon repeated the name to himself. "She's beautiful."
"Leave." Came a cold voice from the doorway. Gordon looked up and saw Marie standing in the doorway. "Out. Now."
"Mom?" Ashley reached onto her nightstand and grabbed a camera. "Please?"
"Why-" Gordon started.
"So Kaley can know that she at least had a father once." Ashley said.
Marie looked displeased, but snapped the picture anyway. "Now get out of here." She said. "And I don't ever want to see you around my daughter again!"
Gordon looked down at Kaley. He didn't want to give her up. This was the daughter he hadn't wanted, and now he didn't want to leave her with Ashley. He wanted to stay with her forever.
"I'm not going to ask you again!" Marie roared.
Gordon hesitantly gave Kaley back to Ashley. "Good-bye." He whispered, leaving the room as quickly as he could. He would never see Kaley again. Never. He'd never see her first step or hear her first word. He'd never hear her call him "Daddy." He'd never meet her when she came home after school or see her watercolor paintings on the refrigerator door. He'd never teach her to drive, or give her date the Spanish Inquisition before he took her to the prom, or walk her down the aisle on her wedding day.
When he reached the parking lot, Gordon felt something wet hit his cheek. He stopped for a moment and brought his hand to his face. Was he crying? He hadn't cried since his father's funeral. Wiping his eyes, Gordon made a blind dash for his car. Somehow, he managed to wait until he was inside before the tears began to flow freely and he sobbed.
Gordon closed his eyes and put the picture back in the drawer. He couldn't imagine what it would be like when he had to relive all this and tell the Ducks when he got back to Minnesota.
Which brought up a whole new issue: bringing Kaley to Minnesota. Gordon sure as heck wasn't going to stay here, in the slums of Baltimore. If the Waves accepted him, leaving wouldn't be an option. But even if the Waves rejected him, Gordon wanted out of Baltimore. Kaley deserved better than two-room apartment where she had to sleep on a fold-out couch.
But even with all the advantages, Gordon was sure Kaley wouldn't want to leave. Slums or no slums, Baltimore was her home. Gordon felt slightly guilty for even entertaining the thought of taking her to Minnesota. The girl had just lost her mother and had her life turned upside down. Gordon was sure the last thing Kaley wanted was to be dragged halfway across the country.
Would Gordon even be allowed to take her to Minnesota? He was Kaley's biological father, but as far as the law was concerned he was only her legal guardian. In Minnesota a legal guardian had the same rights as a parent, but Gordon didn't know about Maryland. If Kaley agreed, he could adopt her. But he was pretty sure she wouldn't agree to that. After all, she'd thrown him out of her hospital room the first time he'd gone to see her. He'd gone back twice since then, but both time's she'd been asleep.
Sighing, Gordon sat down on the couch and flicked on the tiny radio on the end table.
"Love takes time/Please be kind/See every part of me/Cause I wanna be loved/Love ain't blind/Ties that bind/Take all eternity."
Gordon slapped the radio off. "Darn right, buddy." He muttered. "Darn right."
"Kaley?"
Kaley looked up. Katelyn was standing in her doorway. "Hi." Kaley said.
"Bored?" Katelyn asked.
"You have no idea." Kaley said. "I just spent the past hour watching the fluid drain out of my IV bag. Before that, I was trying to figure out what this thingy is." She wiggled her right index finger, which had a small lighted gizmo clamped on it.
Katelyn laughed. "That's a little light that shines through your finger so we can monitor the oxygen in your blood."
"Great." Kaley said. "Oh, and before that I discovered that my heart beats seventy times a minute."
Katelyn chuckled. "I've got someone here who'd like to see you." She said, stepping aside as Gordon Bombay entered the room.
Kaley gave as big a sigh as she could-her chest and collarbone still wouldn't allow for very deep breathing-and turned her head away. "What do you want?"
"I want to talk to you." Gordon said simply.
"Well, I don't want to talk to you." Kaley said.
"Look, Kaley, our last visit didn't go too well." Gordon said. "I'm sorry. Will you please listen to what I have to say?"
Kaley slowly turned her head to look at him. "All right." She conceded.
Gordon looked at Katelyn. "Can you give us a few minutes?" He asked. Katelyn nodded and ducked out of the room.
"You probably have a million questions for me." Gordon said, turning back to Kaley.
"You bet I do." Kaley said. "Why'd you ditch my mom?"
"Kaley, your mom ditched me." Gordon answered calmly.
"So would you have ditched her?" Kaley asked.
Gordon took a deep breath. "Well…eventually, yes, I probably would have."
"Because you're scum?" Kaley said before she could think. If her injuries had allowed it, she would have clamped her hand over her mouth. "Oh, no. I'm-"
"No, don't apologize, Kaley." Gordon said. "You're right. I was scum. Your mother was right to leave me."
Kaley narrowed her eyes. Was he just trying to win her over or was he really being honest with her? "Really." She said.
"Really." Gordon continued. "I was mean and self-centered, and…well…"
"Scum?" Kaley asked, her eyebrows raised to let him know she was joking.
Gordon let out a small laugh. "Scum." He repeated. "Your mom made a good choice leaving me. I would have been a terrible father to you and an even worse husband for your mother."
Kaley wasn't used to people being this open with her, and it was making her a little uncomfortable. "So if you would've been so bad to us, why did Mom make you my legal guardian? And why did she take that picture of all of us when I was born?"
"Your mom didn't have a choice in the legal guardianship area, Kaley." Gordon said. "Since she had no family and never arranged another one for you, I'm it. I'm listed as your father on your birth certificate."
Kaley nodded. "And the picture?"
Gordon sighed. "So you could know that you had a family once." He said. "Your mom wanted you to know that you had a father. Even though he was-"
"Scum." They both finished.
"So if you're such scum, why should I trust you to take care of me?" Kaley asked. "You don't seem like scum. In fact, you seem pretty nice. But Mom always told me not to trust first impressions."
Gordon took a deep breath and sighed it out, as if thinking about what he was going to say next. "I'm sure this will be very hard for you, since you've heard what a jerk I am your whole life. Kaley, I've changed. I've realized that I'm not the most important person in this world. I know you won't take my word for it; I'm gonna have to show you. So what do you say?"
Just then the lunch cart showed up at the door. "Lunch is served." Katelyn said, sticking her head in the door.
Kaley turned to Gordon. "Do you wanna stay for lunch?"
Gordon looked surprised. "Well…uh…what're you having?"
An hour later, Gordon walked back into Ashley's apartment. As he closed the door, he felt his pager vibrate. Groaning, Gordon unclipped the pager. When I get back home I'm gonna buy a cell phone. He thought. The number on the pager was unfamiliar, but the area code and first three digits were Minneapolis. Gordon went to the phone and dialed the number. After three rings, a gruff voice answered, "Hello, Warner Davis."
"My name's Gordon Bombay." Gordon said. "Your number-"
"Bombay!" The voice said. "Finally! I thought you'd dropped off the face of the planet."
"Huh?" Gordon asked. "I'm sorry, who are you?"
"Bombay, it's me. Warner Davis. Owner of the Minnesota Waves." The voice said.
"Oh, right!" Bombay said. Man, I guess they weren't kidding about this guy's people skills. "Sorry. Why are you calling?"
"First off, where in the world have you been?" Davis asked. "I've been searching everywhere for you! Called your apartment about a thousand times. Nobody's seen you for a week. Where are you?"
"Baltimore." Gordon answered.
"Baltimore? Maryland?" Davis asked.
Do you know of another Baltimore? Gordon thought. But he answered with "Yes."
"And what are you doing in Baltimore?" Davis questioned.
"It's a long story." Gordon said. "Let's just say I had a family emergency. Now why are you calling me?"
"Why do you think?" Davis exclaimed. "Welcome to the Minnesota Waves, Bombay!"
Gordon's jaw dropped. "Huh?"
"You deaf, Bombay?" Davis roared. "I said welcome to the Minnesota Waves."
"You mean…I made the team?" Gordon asked.
"Dang right!" Davis cackled. "So when you gonna be back from Baltimore?"
"Not for a long time." Gordon said. Seeing there was no other way, he told Davis the story. "So I probably won't be back for the rest of the summer."
"The rest of the summer?!" Davis bellowed. "Look, Bombay, if you don't get your butt back here in six weeks, you're off the team!"
Gordon felt a stab in his stomach. "What?" He said. "There's no way I can do that! Kaley's gonna be in the hospital for six weeks!"
"Not my problem, Bombay." Davis said. "Six weeks or you're off the team." With that he hung up the phone.
Gordon placed the receiver in its cradle and leaned against the wall. Great, just great. He thought. I've got a daughter to raise, a bunch of medical bills to pay off, and my only source of income is about to go out the window.
As her time in ICU passed, Kaley slowly found herself warming up to Gordon. He came by nearly every day and stayed as long as Katelyn would let him. Kaley had heard all about Gordon's change from sleazy lawyer to peewee hockey coach. She also knew all about the team he'd coached, the Ducks. She now knew everyone from jokester Averman to tomboy Connie to captain Charlie.
Kaley had spent most of her time bored. She couldn't move, so drawing, writing, and reading were pretty much off-limits. There was no TV in her room, either. Her teammates and friends weren't allowed to come and see her because they weren't immediate family. So her only company had been Gordon, Dr. Dantzscher, Katelyn, and her night nurse Crystal.
But that was about to change. Kaley was about to be moved from ICU to the pediatric ward. She'd have to stay in the pediatric room for a month, until her wrist healed so she could use crutches. Dr. Dantzscher had told her to stay perfectly still until her sternum healed. The night she had come in the doctors had set her collarbone, and it was well on its way to being healed. But they couldn't do anything about her breastbone. Staying still wouldn't be hard, since every time Kaley moved, her chest and neck protested. She didn't want to stay in the hospital anymore, but the pediatric floor would sure beat Intensive Care. Her friends could come and visit her, there would be a TV in her room, and the food couldn't be any worse.
"You ready, Kaley?" Dr. Dantzscher stood in the doorway with four nurses.
"Sure am." Kaley said.
"All right, ladies, let's get her in the wheelchair." Dr. Dantzscher said. The nurses disconnected Kaley from all her tubes and monitors and gently lowered her into a wheelchair. Kaley grimaced as her injuries asserted themselves.
"Easy, easy…" One of the nurses said, easing Kaley into the chair. "There we go. You're ready."
"Thanks." Kaley said.
Dr. Dantzscher took the wheelchair. "Say goodbye to ICU, Kaley." He said.
If she could, Kaley would have waved. "Goodbye, ICU." She said. "Gosh, I feel like a queen with all you guys following me." Dr. Dantzscher was pushing her wheelchair, and the four nurses were following him so they could put Kaley in her new bed in the pediatric room.
Dr. Dantzscher laughed as he pushed Kaley into the elevator and punched the buttons for the pediatric floor. "Just remember, you need to stay as still as possible-"
"Until my clavicle and sternum heal, yeah." Kaley said. "How long should that take?"
"A minimum of four weeks." Dr. Dantzscher said. "If you stay still, that is."
"Great." Kaley sighed as the elevator stopped and Dr. Dantzscher wheeled her out.
"Cheer up." Dr. Dantzscher said, pushing her into Room 223. "There's a lot more excitement here than there was in the ICU."
"How could there be less?" Kaley pointed out.
"OK, Kaley, stay still." One of the nurses instructed. "We're gonna lift you onto the bed now." She looked at the rest of the nurses. "Ready, girls?"
"Ready." The other three nurses chorused.
They lifted Kaley onto the bed quickly and gently. "All right, let's get a nurse in here to have your IV hooked up." Dr. Dantzscher said.
"Thanks." Kaley said.
"You're welcome." Dr. Dantzscher said. "Remember, keep as still as you possibly can."
"I will." Kaley said as Dr. Dantzscher left. With her good hand, she reached for the remote control and turned on the TV. Maybe there'd be a hockey game on.
"No, no, Jameson, you don't understand." Gordon said into the telephone. "You can't just kick me off the team! This is completely beyond my control!"
"Bombay, these are the rules." Paul Jameson, the coach of the Minnesota Waves said. "I'm sorry."
"Look, Jameson, I've got a kid to take care of." Gordon said. "I need to stay with the team!"
"Gordon, I-" Jameson began.
"If nothing else, do it for Kaley." Gordon interrupted. "Please. She needs it way more than me."
"Didn't this Aislynn have insurance?" Jameson asked.
"Ashley." Gordon corrected. "Yes, she did. That will cover the hospital visit, but not the therapy she'll need afterwards. Jameson, I really need your help here."
"Look, Gordon, I feel for you here-" Jameson started.
"Feeling for me won't help, Jameson." Gordon said. "Please, talk to Davis and see if he'll make an exception."
"All right." Jameson conceded after a pause. "But no promises are expressed or implied, Bombay. Davis doesn't change his mind easily."
"Thanks for trying." Gordon said.
"Hope everything works out" Jameson said, hanging up the phone.
Gordon replaced the receiver, still feeling somewhat defeated. At least he had convinced Jameson to talk to the gruff, hard-nosed Davis. Now if Davis would only let Gordon stay on the team.