Chapter 7



"Allanah, will you settle down?" Renee asked her daughter. "I want to get a picture of you and your brother with your cake."

The young girl sat at the table, squirming until the camera flashed. Then, she was moving again. Renee just shook her head and looked at Gabriel. "Can you please calm your daughter down?" The rest of the guests laughed.

Once everyone had eaten the cake and ice cream, Renee brought the twins' gifts to the table. the kids tore through the wrapping paper. Aidan recieved several books from Renee and Gabriel, and a notebook from Danny and Caitlyn. "Your mom told us you keep running out of notebooks," Caitlyn explained. Sara and her new boyfriend, Nick Calloway, gave him a pack of pens and pencils. Ian, Darvi, Jason, and Dakota bought him a desk.

Allanah received an encyclopedia on mythology from her parents and an artifact book from Danny and Caitlyn. She also got a desk from Ian, Darvi, Jason, and Dakota. Sara and Nick gave her boxing gloves. All of the adults laughed when she opened the gift.

"Sara, are you trying to teach our daughter it's okay to fight?" Gabriel asked, barely suppressing a laugh.

"Gabe, I think you've done a good enough job of that through example."

They all laughed again. Danny hobbled over to where Nick sat with Sara. "You look as if you've used those before," Nick commented, nodding at the crutches.

"A time or two. Looks like it's a good thing you stuck around."

"Two good reasons," he replied, turning his head to smile at Sara. "Anyway, my old boss had me transferred here permanently. Guess they were sick of me," he said with a laugh.

"Now, Nick, why would anyone tire of you?" Sara asked, a grin spreading its way across her face.

Sara felt so happy...for once. She finally found someone who understood her. Nick had been a cop. He'd worked for the Erie City Police in Pennsylvania. He left the force to join the FBI Missing Persons department. The Pennsylvania division had sent him temporarily to New York three weeks before when Danny had been unable to return to work for a couple of weeks. Now, he was there permanently.

Sara had met him when she went to see Gabriel one day and Nick, Danny, and Caitlyn were there. They'd hit it right off. Now, only two weeks later, they were seeing each other. It hadn't gone much beyond that yet. She didn't want to move too fast. they always seemed to leave when she did that, and she didn't want him to leave.

Sara was dragged out of her thoughts when Nick elbowed her in the side. "What?"

"Where'd you go?"

"Just thinking. Sorry."

"No, you're not."

"Yes, I am."

"Nope."

"Yep."

Danny shook his head and left the couple, moving back to his wife. Caitlyn helped him lay on the couch, but he sat up again. "Doctor told you to stay off your feet."

"When we get home. This is a party." She settled for that and sat beside him.

Gabriel was talking to Ian and Jason when he noticed Meghan walking out of her room with her coat on. "Where are you going?" He asked, moving to intercept her.

"To the movies with Colleen."

"I don't think so. You never asked."

"You and Aunt Renee always say yes when I do. I didn't think it would matter."

"Obviously you didn't think. Go put your coat back in your room. You're not going."

"But Uncle Gabriel-"

"I don't want to hear it. If you had asked, you could go."

She glanced around for Renee, but she was already standing beside her husband. "He's right, Meghan. From now on, you have to ask if you want to go somewhere. You can't just leave without our permission."

"But her mom's out there waiting."

"Fine," Gabriel said. "I'll go tell her plans changed, and you can't go now. Now go put your coat back in your room."

"You can't do this. You're not my parents!"

Gabriel's face paled, and Renee couldn't tell if it was from anger or hurt. His voice was steady when he replied, but Renee could hear the strained tone in it. "Yes, we are. We have been your parents since we adopted you eight years ago. We are the ones who have raised you since you were five. Now, go put it in your room."

"I hate you!" She screamed as she ran to her room.

Renee turned to Gabriel and put her hands on his arms. "I don't understand why she'd act like that," he said. "She never has before."

"Gabe, she's a teenager now. It's gonna happen. We're gonna go through it with Amie, and Aidan, and Allanah, and even Parker. Don't tell me you weren't like that when you were a teenager."

"Maybe a little," he admitted. "But I don't think I ever told my parents I hated them."

Renee started to say something but stopped when she felt a hand on her arm. She looked down at Amie.

"She doesn't really hate you," their daughter assured them.

*******

"So the doctor thinks this Equine Therapy thing might help Parker?" Danny asked Gabriel as they watched the instructor lead a horse around the arena.

"He seems to. And Renee was willing to try, so I agreed to it. Although I'm not too sure of horses myself. But it seems to be helping, and he's only had a few sessions. His balance has improved, and he doesn't drop things as much. He still stutters, but it seems to be improving."

They watched as Parker walked the horse in a circle again then stopped. He grinned when the instructor said something to him. Then he let the man help him from the saddle. He led the horse over to where Gabriel and Danny were standing. "I j-just have t-to t-take care of Ho-hollywood. Then w-we can go."

"Okay. Me and Danny'll be waiting outside for you."

They walked outside and heard the voice before seeing the source of it. "I thought I told you not to come here anymore."

Gabriel glanced around and saw an older man dragging a young girl away from one of the stables. Danny spotted him at the same time, and they both headed in that direction.

Tears ran down the girl's cheeks. "But, Daddy-"

"I don't want to hear any of your excuses." His hand connected with her cheek, and they all heard the violent smack. The two men quickened their pace.

"But Mama said I could."

Another slap. "I don't care what your mama said." And another. "What she says doesn't matter unless it goes with what I tell you. My word is the law. Do you understand?" He held his hand ready in case she gave the wrong answer.

"Yes, Daddy."

He tightened his grip on her arm even though he could see he was hurting her. "Good. Now make sure you don't forget."

He started pulling her toward his car again when Gabriel grabbed his shoulder. The man spun around, loosening his grip on his daughter's arm. "What do you want?" He demanded.

Gabriel's nose wrinkled as the stench of stale beer assaulted him. "That is no way to treat your daughter."

"Like I care what you think. If she does wrong, I'm gonna punish her."

"You're going about it all wrong. Violence is no way to teach your children."

"It's worked for the last ten years. And it worked on her mama too."

Gabriel's anger rose. "You are supposed to love your family, not hurt them."

"I do love them. They just have to learn I'm the boss."

"No," Gabriel said, shaking his head.

Before he could finish his thought, the man pushed him to the ground. Gabriel jumped to his feet and swung at the man, but he grabbed his fist and started twisting the smaller man's arm. A grimace worked its way onto Gabriel's face. When the man finally let go, he held his arm against his body, tears of pain springing to his eyes.

"Will that teach you not to meddle in other's affairs?"

"Probably not."

The man let go of his daughter and swung both of his fists into Gabriel's stomach, doubling him over and sending him to one knee. He kicked him in the stomach, and Gabriel sprawled to the ground. Danny tried to step in, but the man pushed him back, and he stumbled. After two months, his leg still wasn't completely healed. "This is between me and him."

Gabriel struggled to his feet, but before he could get set, the man hit him again. He stayed up this time. He slipped inside a long right and hit the man in the stomach. But all he encountered was iron muscle. The man laughed and hit him again. He worked slowly over his face until Gabriel fell to the ground again. Then, he went to work with his feet. "Daddy, please stop. Don't hurt him, Daddy. Please," the little girl begged.

"Shut up, Amber. Just shut up."

"Leave my d-daddy alone," Parker yelled as he ran over to them. He had come out of the stable, unable to find his father. Then he saw the group of people and started for them.

Danny struck the man on the back with his crutch. He stumbled but stayed erect. Danny hit him again, and this time he fell. Taking his phone out of his jacket pocket, he called the police. Then, he looked down at the little girl. "Do you have somewhere you can go besides your house? Someplace you can stay?"

"Yeah. My aunt's."

"Good. You can use my phone. Call her and have her pick up you and your mom and take the two of you to her house for a while."

Gabriel got slowly to his feet, groaning. "Are you okay, mister?" The little girl asked.

He nodded. "Yeah. I'll be fine. What about you? Did he hurt you?"

She shook her head. "I'm fine. It's not that bad."

Gabriel was shocked by her words. He had seen her father slap her three times, and there had to be a bruise on her arm. "Does he do this often?"

She shrugged. "Sometimes he gets in a bad mood. I just hafta remember to be good. He's a good daddy, really. He just gets in a bad mood sometimes."

Gabriel didn't know what to say to this. He couldn't understand how a father could hurt his little girl like that. Then, the little girl turns around and defends his actions. It just didn't seem right to him.

A police cruiser pulled into the stable yard. A man stepped out of the car, handcuffed the man, and got him in the back of the car. He walked over to Gabriel. "We can only keep him if you press charges, you know."

Gabriel nodded. "I saw him hitting his daughter and came over to stop him. He thought I shouldn't interfere with his business so he started on me."

"I see that," the cop said dryly.

Gabriel tried a smile, but it sent pain through his face. "My friend here stopped him."

"We've got calls from neighbors about him before, but the wife never presses charges. Even if she does, she changes her mind. With your help, we might be able to make something stick this time."

"I hope you do."

"You know, Gabe, Renee's gonna kill you," Danny told him after the girl's aunt had picked her up.

Gabriel couldn't help laughing even though it hurt. "Yeah, you're probably right, Danny."

*******

"Gabe, you did the right thing."

"I just can't believe a father would act like that, think like that. We've rarely spanked our children, and only after they've done something purposefully wrong. And we never wanted to. This guy seemed to enjoy hitting his little girl. He actually thought he was in the right."

"It'll be okay, Gabe," Renee assured him. "He won't get out of jail for a long time, I'm sure. He won't hurt them again."

"I love you, Renee," he said, looking in her eyes and pushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "And I'm going to remind you of it every time you're mad at me."

She smiled at him. "Well, I'll remind you of it every time you're mad at me too."

He leaned in and kissed her. Her hands moved around his shoulders and pulled him up against her. "I love you, too, Gabriel."

*******

"I think we should be getting home," Danny said. Caitlyn nodded then yawned. "You need to get some rest." He wrapped his arms around her increasing middle.

"Yeah, I do. It was a wonderful party, Renee."

Her friend smiled at her. "Thanks for coming. Hope you had a good time."

"We did. At least we were able to see the ball drop."

Renee smiled at them again. "Go home and get some sleep. Trust me, you won't be getting a whole lot in a few months. And Happy New Year," she added as they walked outside.

They turned and waved once more when they reached the car. Vince Craig watched from his car across the street as they climbed into the vehicle. He smiled as an idea came to him. Then he chuckled and rubbed his hands together. "That's perfect," he said out loud even though he was alone in the car. "I can wait another few months. I've waited this long after all. And this'll hurt more than anything else I could do. Definitely more than killing him. And think about the consequences!" He was getting excited about his idea. "She'll probably leave him. Oh, think about how that will hurt. Get ready, Danny-boy, for your life in hell. But for now, you won't have to be dead to enjoy it."

*******

Large brown eyes stared up at him from a small round face. He opened his mouth and let out a scream when the hands reached in and picked him up. One hand clamped over his mouth. Babies' screams echoed in the room. Soon the sounds of crying joined them. It wasn't the sound of a baby crying, but that of an adult.

Amie woke up, sitting up straight in bed. A scream rose in her throat, but she swallowed it. 'Stupid dreams,' she thought. She climbed out of bed and tiptoed across the hall to her parents' room, but she could tell they were sleeping and didn't want to bother them with it. 'It was just a dream after all.' She quietly walked down the stairs and opened the door to Meghan's room. Climbing onto the bed, she woke her cousin.

"What are you doing, Amie?"

"Bad dream," she said and snuggled up against Meghan.

The older girl put her arm protectively around her cousin and said, "It'll be okay. Dreams aren't real. They can't hurt you."

Curled up with her knees to her chest, Amie fell asleep. Meghan kissed her forehead, smiled at the look of innocence that fell over her cousin's face, and fell asleep.