Chapter 12: Escape!
December was rapidly approaching, though now Kay could breathe a sigh of relief that her best friend's life was no longer in danger with the wedding. Yet, she still had to worry about the bond Charity and Grace had forced onto Miguel. At the same time, she was planning her own wedding to Vincent, who had remained to her a rock of strength. "I must be horrible," Kay said one day at dinner. Theresa was out with Ethan, Alyssa was with Miguel, and Ethan-Martin was with his grandmother. That just left Vincent and Kay at dinner, not that the two minded. Kay's statement, however, grasped and worried Vincent. "You are not horrible," Vincent said, worried Kay was about to slip back into the self-loathing she was getting over when he first met her. "I've been so focused on Miguel, and not you," she said. "What type of fiancée does that?"
"Don't do that again!" Vincent said, standing up. "Stop beating yourself up!" His voice snapped Kay out of her deep thought, and she just stared at her lover. "I hate it when you beat yourself up, and I can't stand to see you in anymore pain!" Vincent cried. Kay just shot herself into his arms and started to cry. "It's just so stressful, and I feel like I've pushed you out. I don't want to lose you," Kay sobbed. Vincent just hugged her before feeling her go limp in his arms. "Kay? KAY!" he screamed, reaching for the phone.
That same night, Tabitha closed her house windows to the cold winds blowing through at night. Her monster of a cat, Fluffy, slunk by and curled up on a near-by chair. Tabithat chuckled at how much Timmy hated that cat, and vice versa. She used to threaten Timmy with Fluffy all the time when she needed him to go along with her evil plots. Now, she was working with good, and still against the Standishes. She sighed and took a seat on the couch and noticed a Martimmy all made up on her coffee table. "Where did this come from?" she questioned, picking up the glass. She cautiously took a sip of the drink and deemed it safe. It tasted fresh, like Timmy had just made it a few minutes ago. She felt a tear fall down her cheek and she brushed it away. So many years ago, and she was still crying. What hurt even more was that her Timmy's heart was beating in the chest of that monster. "If only I could've stopped it, but it was what Timmy wanted. He couldn't see that she was indeed, pure evil," Tabitha said. "But Timmy knows now," came a familiar small voice. "Timmy?" Tabitha asked.
"The one and only!" Timmy said, jumping out from behind the couch. He looked like an angel, sans the wings. "Tim-Tim, what brings you here?"
"Charity, Princess," Timmy said, rather flatly. "Kay is going to need you help soon. All the Standishes are coming to Harmony to fight this last battle. This is going to be terrible, shaking Harmony down to its foundations, even deeper than when Alistair Crane ended up dead. Things will be different in this town and it should change for the better, if you, Kay and Jessica can stop the evil coming to Harmony. Good luck, Princess, I am always watching you." Timmy left Tabitha, put not before leaving a cask of Martimmys on the table. A phone call soon came to the reformed witch, and she picked up the phone. After hanging up, she took another Martimmy and headed to the house shared by Kay, Theresa and Vincent.
Sam was at the police station, along with Luis, finishing up some last minute paper work on the Grace-Charity-Kidnapping-Miguel-thing, as Kay had called it when on the phone one day with Pearl, who was expecting her first child with Jeff. That brought back the fact that soon his oldest little girl was going to get married and have her own kids. As much as he wanted to be a grandfather, he still wanted Kay to be little forever, as well as Jessica. He knew any day now, Reese would also propose to Jess, causing Sam to lose his two little girls. Why couldn't Noah be the first to get married and have kids? That would make sense, and make the parting with Kay so much more easy. Sam sighed as a police officer walked to the desk. Sergeant Thomas McDowell was the officer in charge of all probations and community services and Sam didn't like the fact he was walking towards him. "Hello, Tom," he said. "Hello, Sam," Tom responded. "Do you know where your ex-wife and her niece might be?"
"No, I really don't keep tabs on them," Sam said, hotly. "I'm sorry, Sam, I forgot they were a hot topic for you. I just asked because I thought you could answer why they didn't show up for their community hours today."
"I don't know," Sam said, now concerned, "but I will find out. Thanks, Tom." Sam called to Luis, told him what he was doing and left. He knew where he was heading: the house where Charity, Grace, Gwen, David and John all lived.
John answered the door. "No, I haven't seen them. They just disappeared last night because when I woke up, it was just me and Gwen. I'm sure they're safe, they wouldn't skip town, not when Mom and Charity were volunteering in town," John said. "Your mother and cousin were late for their community service," Sam said. "It's volunteer work, they can't be held accountable for missing it once," John replied. "It's court mandated as a punishment for those two kidnapping Miguel Lopez-Fitzgerald," Sam replied. "Court mandated? I thought they were acquitted, at least that's what they told me," John said, confused. "Yeah, well, they didn't tell you a lot," Sam said, before leaving.
He ordered out a search for the two in the nearby states. Sam wanted police to check every bus station, every train station and every airport in the near-by areas. See if anyone saw anything of his ex-wife and niece. While talking to Luis, he found about his daughter's condition and rushed over, stopping to pick up Eve. The two arrived at Kay's house just as Miguel was rushing over. "Hello, Chief Bennett, I guess you heard about Kay, huh?" Miguel said, worried. "Yes, yes I did," Sam said as he, Eve and Miguel walked up the stairs. Theresa let them in.
Sam had never seen any of his children so pale, yet so feverish. Kay was resting on the couch, her forehead damp with sweat, Vincent holding her head and dabbing it. Ethan sat in the kitchen, talking with Reese in hushed whispers, yet stopped when the two saw Sam. Miguel covered his eyes; him, too, never seeing Kay look so…helpless. Sam rushed to his daughter's side and took her hand. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Miguel go and comfort Alyssa, who was clearly upset. On the arm of the couch sat his son, watching his sister. Theresa had resumed her seat on the couch, next to Ivy, who was also called. Jessica knelt beside her father, giving him a hug of reassurance. A somber feeling hung in the air as Eve tried to diagnose Kay, with no avail. The doctor could not find a reason for or the name of an illness the girl could've caught. Tabitha walked in, however, took one look at Kay and motioned for the others to go into the kitchen. Only Vincent, Noah and Ivy stayed behind to watch Kay.
Once inside, Tabitha told the group the news. "Kay's pain is being caused by a meeting of the Standishes. They are getting ready to come to Harmony and cause the final havoc they plan to reek. Kay is being pained because of her Standish blood."
"What about Jess and Noah?"
"Oh, they are to follow. The Bennett blood negates their urge to go to the meeting somewhat, but not enough to end the pain, unfortunately." Reese and Sam paled at the idea that all the Bennett children would be in the pain that Kay was in now. "Does the pain have anything to do with the fact that Grace and Charity left town?" Sam asked. "They left? No wonder the pain is this intense," Tabitha said. "Does anyone have any idea where they could've gone?" Sam asked the people in the room. Eve spoke up. "When I came back to Harmony after living in LA, I gave Grace a spare key to my house there, for vacation purposes. This was right after you two divorced and I thought it would be nice if she got away for a bit and cooled down. She still has it because I never asked for it back. I wouldn't think she would skip town and her probation and go there," Eve said. "Well, back then, none of us did, Eve," Sam said. "We are going to have to try to find them though." Sam went back into the living room, kissed his daughter's feverish forehead and left for the station.
In California, Whitney Russell and Chad Harris were busy with the new tracks to their album. Though not known nationally yet, the local club scenes liked the half-brother/sister duet's style. They were getting closer to signing a contract with a record label and becoming famous. Whitney and Chad were heartbroken to learn they were half-siblings those years ago, and Chad was disgusted to find out his father was Julian Crane. He didn't mind Eve being his mother, since he always liked her from the moment he arrived in Harmony. Whitney and Chad had since moved on in California and were happy with their relationship as it was. Whitney, since moving away from her father, had become more relaxed and more fun. 'Theresa would be proud!' she thought, over and over. Neither, though, had any contact with Harmony, not wanting to know what was going on there.
Yet Harmony came back to them. One day, at about five o'clock in the morning, Chad was jolted out of a deep sleep by the phone ringing. He quickly turned over, reaching for the phone. He grabbed the phone, but the sheets decided to unwind and caused him to land with a "thud" on the floor. "Hello?" he asked, rubbing his sore bottom. "Hello, is this Chad Harris?" said a familiar voice on the other end. "Yes, this is he. May I ask who is speaking?"
"Chief Bennett."
"Chief Bennett?" Chad was fully awake. What would the chief of the Harmony police department want with him? "What did TC say I do now?" Chad asked annoyed. "TC? Haven't talked to him in a while. Probably should go make sure he isn't dead in his shed yet…anyway that's not why I called you," Sam said. "Really? Then why?"
"It's about Grace and Charity. I need yours and Whitney's help. Your mother gave my ex-wife a spare key to her house there. We think they may've went there. We need to know," Sam said. "Why do you need to know? I mean, if they want to take a vacation, they can take a vacation." Chad heard Sam sigh. "Listen, Chad, it's too complicated to explain, so I'll give you the shorter version. Miguel and Charity broke up. Charity was upset and kidnapped Miguel, along with Grace. We catch them, and they have to do probation. They skipped town, that's violating their probation, we need to find them, got it?" Chad was spinning and felt he had to sit down—though he was still on the floor. "They broke their probation?" Chad asked. "Yes. Will you help us?" Sam said. "Of course," Chad said, before hanging up.
After about fifteen minutes of trying to comprehend what just happened, Chad finally got off the floor, before running into Whitney's room. "Whit, wake up!" Chad screamed at his half-sister, who popped up, wide-eyed. "What is it Chad? It's a quarter to six in the morning!" she said, looking at her clock. "I know, I know, it's not time to go to the studio yet, but you will never believe who I just got off the phone with!"
"The Easter bunny?" Whitney said, yawning. Chad wrinkled his nose. "Your wit never ceases to amaze me," he responded, dryly. "Anyway, I was talking to Chief Bennett," Chad said. "Chief Bennett as in Sam Bennett as in Harmony in Maine?" Whitney asked. "Um, yeah," Chad replied. "Oh boy, what did my father say you did now?" Whitney asked. "Nothing! Chief Bennett said that Grace and Charity might be out here, in Mom's cottage," said Chad. "So?"
"So if they are, they are skipping their probation."
"Grace Bennett and Charity Standish on probation for what? Making bad tomato soup cake?" Whitney said. Chad groaned at the memory of the infamous cake. "No, if they weren't then, they aren't now. They kidnapped Miguel," Chad said. "Why?"
"He broke up with Charity," Chad said. "Okay, wish I could do that to all my ex-boyfriends," Whitney said. "Yeah, all two of them," Chad replied, before ducking the pillow thrown in his direction. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Anyway, get dressed, where going to check on Mom's cottage," Chad said, closing the door.
A half-hour and two coffees later, the two reached the cottage. No car was there, no sign that anyone was in there. Chad and Whitney walked up quietly to the cottage, careful not to alert anyone to their presence. Chad and Whitney knocked on the door, but received no answer. Whit took out her keys and unlocked the door. The two entered quietly, as if waiting for a surprise attack. None came, and the siblings searched through the house. It showed no signs of anyone having lived there in the past week, which was when their mother came back for a visit. She had left some food, which hadn't been eaten and nothing was touched.
Chad called Sam back and told him the news. "Thanks, Chad. The airports didn't remember seeing two women who matched Grace's and Charity's descriptions anyway," Sam said. "Yet the bus depot did remember seeing them, but there was no bus out to California. So we know they're not out there. Now, the question that remains is: where are they?" Chad wished Sam and the others luck and hung up.
In a secret location…
"Sir, are we ready?" the young man asked the older man behind the desk. "Yes, yes we are," the other man said. "Call all the Standishes together." The young man bowed and walked out of the room, walking slowly backwards. Within minutes, twenty or so people had gathered into the room, one looking very nervous. The older man turned around and frowned at the fidgeting woman. "Paige Standish, come forward," the man barked and smiled as the girl cowered. She was thrown by the previous young man into the ring and was kicked by another man.
The woman was young, around the age of Noah Bennett. She had shoulder-length light brown hair and wore a black dress, like the other women in the room. Her hazel eyes darted around the room quickly, almost begging someone to help her. Her body was black and bluish, from where she had been beat and kicked many times. She clutched her stomach, as if she was going to be sick, but she knew it for another reason. She controlled her ragged breathing and stood up, facing her accuser. "What is it, Alistair?" she asked, in a defiant tone.
"What is it Alistair?" the older man mocked. "Paige, are you or are you not a Standish?"
"Through marriage only, sir," Paige countered. "But you did marry a Standish?"
"Blindly, yes, sir," Paige responded. "Blindly, Paige?" Alistair countered. "Before I knew what being a Standish meant. You, sir, are no better than the mob!" Paige said, pointing an accusing finger at the man above her. "Don't you dare!" another man in the room said, coming forward to hit her. "Down, Edward, let her speak," Alistair said, holding a hand up and turning to Paige. "Well, Mrs. Standish, you have the floor," he said, pointing to the stairs before his seat. Paige remained where she was. "You are just a pure evil man, corrupting a good family name with your poison," Paige responded. "The Standish name was always a good one out there, Paige," Alistair said. "I am not talking about the Standish name, I am talking about the Crane name!" Paige shouted, drawing some gasps from the crowd. Alistair stood up.
"So, little Paige-y found out that I killed the real Alistair Crane," Alistair said. "It wasn't hard. We had the same name and looked relatively similar," he said. "Katharine hadn't a clue, nether did his blundering son or young daughter. In fact, Sheridan was too young to remember her real father, the kind Alistair Crane. I sent the Crane name to the ruin of themselves, just to throw that blasted witch off our trail. It was I who convinced her that the Cranes were the ones who burnt her at the stake, not the Standishes.
"I was about to leave when someone caught my eye. It was my missing niece, Grace, who entered into Harmony, as Sam Bennett's wife. It was I who reminded her who she was that lonely night. I reminded her of David and she nodded, but said she would stay to see the end of Harmony. How were we to know she would give birth to our downfall? I saw Noah, then Kay and Jessica. Grace brought both girls to me in the middle of the night after they were born and I knew from the start they would be trouble. Then, I sensed my time as Alistair Crane was over and to begin my time as Alistair Standish. So I took the original body, well preserved, and let them finally bury him, though not as fondly as they would've liked. Now, there isn't a single Crane who can redeem the family name," Alistair said. "Anything else?"
"No, sir, I think you gave me enough to go public with your crimes!" Paige said, pulling out a tape recorder. More gasps responded from the crowd and Paige was glad she got their attention. She was going to be their downfall, ever since she realized what her husband was all about. If only that heartless monster she married didn't get her pregnant…she wasn't going to stay around here to let her child be poisoned by them, no way. She glanced up at Alistair who had a smirk on his face. "I will call it hormonal disillusion, you are only seven months pregnant right, Paige?" he asked. More gasps. Only she, her husband and her best friend outside the Standishes and the doctor knew about her pregnancy. She wasn't very big and didn't show, so no one knew. She nodded, before bolting for the door.
She escaped into freedom, where her best friend was waiting. "Come on, Paige, I know where we can go that you will be safe," the woman said. "Thank you so much, Jaime," Paige said, looking at her childhood best friend. "I know. Mitch will join us in about a week," Jaime said, talking about her husband. "Where are we going?"
"To Harmony, Maine," Jaime said. "But that's where they are all headed!" Paige said. "But Kay and Jessica will protect you," Jaime said. "You are related to them, somehow." Paige nodded, before falling asleep as Jaime started the long drive to Maine.
Two weeks later, the Bennetts were finally feeling better. Kay was able to walk again, though Vincent still supported her sometimes. She was in her office again, sorting through some files and trying to help the police figure out where her mother and cousin was. She knew they weren't in California, but left 48 other states for them to be in. She tried to do it psychologically, where would Grace and Charity hide out? When she figured out that answer, she tried to think of another answer knowing full well that Grace and Charity would know that the police would look there. She was starting to get fed up when a frantic Simone rushed into Kay's office. "Kay, Kay, come quick!" the black girl cried. "Why?" asked Kay. "There's an emergency!" was all Simone said. Kay rushed to the front of her office, where a young woman just told her, "My friend's in labor."
An hour later in Harmony Hospital, the young woman introduced herself as Jaime Millers. Her friend was Paige Standish, whom was related to Kay and Jessica. "What is she doing in Harmony?" Hank Bennett asked, Beth by his side. "She's here to help Kay and Jessica. She only married a Standish, she didn't want to be one," Jaime said. "She wants to see their end just as much as you all do. She even divorced her husband and is giving her child her maiden name. No connections, except the powers possibly. But still, she has valuable information that can help you guys with the rest of the Standish family," Jaime explained. Kay nodded as Eve came rushing out of the maternity ward. "It's a girl!" she said, smiling. "And a boy!" Jaime and her husband gasped. "Paige was having twins? She never told me!" she cried. "I don't think Paige knew herself," Eve said. "Now, who wants to go in?"
Two days later, Kay went to go visit her ex-cousin Paige in the hospital. The twins were very cute and so happy and healthy, despite being born very small and early. Even Paige seemed happier according to Jaime. 'Probably because she isn't under the Standish control anymore,' Kay thought. She opened the door to the room to find her brother sitting there, talking with Paige. Kay noticed there seemed to be some sort of attraction, but she didn't know how far Noah and Paige could pursue it. She cleared her throat, and Noah turned. He smiled, said good-bye to Paige and kissed his sister's check before leaving. Kay took a seat next to the new mother and smiled. "They're cute," she said, referring to the twins. "Yeah, and they don't resemble their father in anyway. I just hope personality wise, too," Paige said. "He was that bad?" Kay asked. Paige looked at her and replied, "It was worse. They were all that bad. I can't believe what a fool I was to believe I was destined for greatness if I married a Standish. It's just a ploy to get those they need for their mating in and not let them out. I mean, I know many people in that family who married in and won't divorce out because they like the allure of the promise of power and wealth, which I know Alistair isn't going to share."
"Alistair?" Kay asked. "Alistair Standish, you're great-uncle," Paige said. "You've heard of him before." Kay shook her head. "Mom pretended to have amnesia my whole life. She never mentioned a great-uncle and I don't recall the name," she said. "How about the name of Alistair Crane?" Paige asked. "Of course! He practically ran Harmony under his cruel thumb, which his idiot of a son was doing until Alistair turned up dead and Julian ran for the hills. Thank God Sheridan was the only sane one. I think, though," Kay said. "The Alistair Crane you talk about wasn't really Alistair Crane," Paige said. She told Kay the entire story.
After that story, Kay sat in amazement. "So my great-uncle pretended to be the head of the Crane family to ruin the family name and to throw Tabitha off of the truth?" Kay asked. Paige nodded. Kay stood up. "You must be tired. Get some rest," she said, pulling the covers over Paige. Paige stopped Kay from leaving. "No, there's more for you to hear. I know everything you are going to need to know to help you with this fight," Paige said. "Do you know where Grace and Charity are?" Kay asked, smiling a little bit. "No, but I know other things." Paige then preceded to tell Kay all she knew.
*Undisclosed location, about eight months ago*
Paige was walking around the complex one morning. It was early, and she knew most of her hated in-laws were still asleep. She would've been too if her stomach hadn't revolted against her this morning. Yet, soon she heard voices traveling over the halls, so she headed in their general direction. She came upon the meeting room, where her in-laws met to discuss. Discuss what, she didn't know. They never let her in on the meetings. It wasn't because she was a woman, it was because she wasn't a Standish by blood. Something she was glad for, because these people were just pure evil. Yet, she knew where she could crouch, all her sisters-in-law did so at the "men only" meetings. Paige took her position and placed her ear over the small opening in the wall. She heard Alistair talking with his four sons and his brother.
"The time has come," he said, and an excited murmur swept through the other five. "I have contacted Grace and Charity in Harmony. That's where we will finally be able to conquer the world and show its' people the true terror that is the Standish family. This small Maine town has the perfect location to the state's capital. We get Harmony, we get Augusta. After Maine, we will spread down throughout New England. Once we have New York City, we can move quickly into Washington D.C., and upon achieving control of the nation's capital, we shall have the nation in our grasp!" The men were laughing.
"After we take the United States of America by force, the rest of the world will fall easily into our hands! We shall rule the world and all will know our evil plans and ways. The Standishes will rule again!" More laughter erupted as Paige fell backwards. She was definitely sure of what she heard and knew one thing: she had to get out of the Standishes grasp and alert someone who could help. As she began eavesdropping later, she learned the names of Kay and Jessica and knew they could help as well.
"And that's why I came here. To warn you," Paige said. Kay nodded. "Rest now. Jessica and I will take care of everything," Kay said, comfortingly. Kay stood up and left the hospital, heading straight for Tabitha's house. On the way, she called everyone involved. She had to tell them everything Paige had just told her and start planning the Standishes downfall in Harmony before they can get to any of the other states. Plus they had to definitely find Grace and Charity now.
Kay got to Tabitha's house and walked right in to find Alyssa staring at a piece of paper. Miguel and Sam were talking quietly, while Theresa was comforting Alyssa. "What's going on?" Kay asked. "It's Alyssa," Vincent said. "She has been getting these threatening letters." Kay took the letter her friend was holding now and read it. Alyssa beware. Leave both Miguel and Harmony and nothing will happen to you. If not, be prepared to face the fires of hell. There was no signature. "It's probably my mother and cousin," Kay said. "That's what we thought, but look at the handwriting on the envelope. It doesn't match Grace's or Charity's, nor David's, John's or Gwen's. Someone else is writing this for them. All we need to do now is figure out who," Sam said. Ivy and Ethan looked at each other for a moment and then Ivy said, "Why don't you ask Hank to do it?" Luis jumped at the mention of his best friend's name. "What?" he asked. "Hank could probably found out who wrote those letters," Ethan explained. Sam sighed. "I can't believe I'm doing this, but if Ivy believes Hank can help us then I'll ask Hank."
Three hours later, Hank returned with a look on his face. "I asked around to see if anyone recognized this handwriting. Not even Dr. Russell knows who it was. Beth said it looked familiar but she couldn't tell me why. She did say she was going to look up in her records of old receipts of why it might look familiar. And I ordered some of her famous coffee for us," Hank said. As he finished, Beth walked in behind him. "Sorry for barging in, but I found a match. It's Alistair Crane's handwriting. But he's dead, so how could he be writing to Alyssa?" Beth asked. She showed everyone the letter from Alistair with his signature. Sure enough, the writing matched the writing on the envelope. "That's not from Alistair Crane," Kay said. "Of course it is, Kay, it is his handwriting," Luis said. "And Beth wouldn't lie!" Hank said, all defensive. "No, no, no. Paige told me that the real Alistair Crane died years ago. He was murdered by Alistair Standish, who took his place here in Harmony. It was really the Standishes who did in Tabitha, not the Cranes," Kay explained. Tabitha snapped her fingers. "I knew there was something wrong with that picture!" she said.
"Alright, so now we know who is sending the letters. Question is where from?" Sam said. "I don't know, but we need to find Grace and Charity. Paige says that the Standishes are on their way here. For a battle for the United States and the world. If they win, they will rule the world harshly. And they might be able to send Alyssa to hell." A shiver went through the people in the room. "Then we have to start planning," Jessica said. They agreed and went straight to work. Kay prayed that it would be enough in time.
A/N: Sorry that took so long. Everything just got in the way and pushed everything for this story back…finals, regents, friends, vacation…you name it, it probably happened to me…anyway, stay tuned! ~*Mac*~