Much thanks again to Storm O for continuing to betaread this for me.
Winds of Change
Shana slammed the door shut after walking out of their house. She backed her car out the garage, driving it through their otherwise quiet neighborhood, before going down the streets of Atlanta. Since she had no idea where she was going or could go, she drove around aimlessly, trying her best to see. It became hard to tell if the waters streaming down in front of her were from the storm or from her eyes.
She didn't want to concern her father or brothers with this just yet, and definitely didn't want to give her local friends something to gossip about. Shana pulled out her cell phone and fumbled with the tiny buttons. She managed to press a speed dial button, hoping it was the one she meant to call.
"Hello?" A surprised female voice on the other end answered.
"Allie?" Shana asked, showing a hint of uncertainty in her voice.
"Yeah. Shana dear, is that you?" Alison tried to hide the irritation she felt as she motioned Dash to quit messing around. She quietly cursed her best friend, who had a knack for calling at just the wrong moment.
Shana waited for the background noise to subside, before responding. "It's me. Allie, if it's a bad time..."
Picking up on her best friend's emotional state, Alison cut her off saying, "No. I'm always here for you. You know that, or else, you wouldn't have called this late." Alison covered the phone with her hand and whispered to Dash, "Hon, it's Shana. Be a dear and give us a moment."
"Anything wrong?" Dash asked, raising an eyebrow at his wife. She shrugged her shoulders to tell him she didn't know. "I'll be downstairs when you're finished with your girl talk. Hi, Shana!" Dash yelled and shut the door just in time to avoid being hit by a pillow thrown by Alison.
"Shana dear, I'm back. Now what's wrong? You and Conrad didn't just have one of your fights, did you?" Alison's concern for her best friend showed in her tone of voice.
Shana hesitatingly replied, "No." After a short delay, she corrected herself, "Well, actually yes, we did."
"What happened?" Alison asked, concerned about her closest friend.
Nearly in tears, Shana said, "Allie... He... We... I can't deal with this tonight. I'll call you tomorrow."
"No, Shana. We'll talk now. You think you can call me this late in the night just to tell me you'll talk to me tomorrow. It ain't happening!" Alison informed.
Shana: "Allie, I can't believe what I did. I don't even know where to start."
Alison: "That's easy. Start from the beginning."
Shana: "Beginning, huh?"
Alison: "That's usually the best place to start."
Shana: "In that case, I came home from teaching at the dojo, and Conrad starts in on the 'you-know-I-love-you-but-we-need-to-talk' spiel."
Alison: "Oh God, Shana. If you ever need someone to kick his rear, Dash and I are at your service."
Shana: "Actually, it's me who needs a kick in the rear."
Alison: "What do you mean, Dearie?"
Shana: "Well, after I get done with my shower, Conrad gives me this letter to read and a photograph falls out. I didn't even have to read the letter to know."
Alison: "Know what?"
Shana: "It was his son."
Alison: "Ah, your son. Who in the world sent you a picture of Junior!"
Shana: "No, I said and meant his son. It wasn't a photograph of Junior, but of Christopher."
Alison: "Christopher! Who... what..."
Shana: "Apparently, Conrad fathered this boy right before he enlisted in the Army. The mother never told him about the pregnancy and put the baby up for adoption. A letter came in the mail, asking if he'd be interested in meeting his son."
Alison: "For Heaven's sake, Shana, is that all?" (silence) "Shana?"
Shana: "I'm here."
Alison: "Dear, that happened before the two of you even met. Heck, you were probably too busy fighting with Sean and maybe even Brian about which Saturday morning cartoons to watch at the time."
Shana: (laughter) "Actually, we spent Saturdays at the dojo, but I get your point." (sigh) "Allie, I... hold on a sec and let me pull into this parking lot up here."
Alison: "Okay. So, um, just where are you at?"
Shana: "Holiday Inn. How convenient, huh?"
Alison: "I don't know about convenient. You are going home after we finish, right?" (silence) "Right?"
Shana: "I don't know that he'd want me anymore, especially after..."
Alison: "Hey, calm down Shana. It can't be that bad, and you two have been through too much to have your marriage fall apart because of something like this."
Shana: "Yeah. He wanted to talk about it."
Alison: "Go on."
Shana: "He had been home most of the day, but I had just walked in from teaching and dealing with Sean before being hit blindsided with all this. I needed some time to absorb it and knew better than to say anything to him right then."
Alison: "And?"
Shana: "And I went out and sat in our swing to meditate, but I ended up brooding instead. Alison, you wouldn't believe the things that came to my mind out there - small stuff, a bunch of it was why I was attracted to him to begin with, but somehow I found them very repulsive tonight. I had enough and went upstairs to get some sleep so I could calm down before we talked."
Alison: "Nothing unreasonable so far."
Shana: "But as I lay in bed, I had a thought about someone I swore I'd never mention again. Allie, I forgave him. Forgiveness means just that, forgiveness. I had to get away before everything exploded into World War Three over here. I packed a bag and decided to spend the night somewhere else."
Alison: "What are you talking about, Shana? I know that the two of you had your share of fights, just like every other couple on this planet, but nothing was ever that serious, was it?"
Shana: "This was." (Silence.) "I tried to quit dwelling on it and almost did. But on my way out, he said something to me that set me off, which led me to ask him if Selena was going to show up with another one of his children. Allie..."
Alison: "Selena! What the hell does she have to do with this? Wasn't she that slave girl that you guys rescued before I joined the Joe team?"
Shana: "Yes. Shortly after the rescue, I found out Conrad was having an affair with her."
Alison: "Shana, I had no idea."
Shana: "It's ok. By the time you came on board, that was all over with, and he and I had worked things out. Dash probably doesn't even know. I don't see him keeping that big of a secret from you."
Alison: "Quit changing the subject. What happened next?"
Shana: "Allie, I felt so bad for bringing Selena back up, but he understood why I did. All I wanted to know was if he really had no idea his old girlfriend was pregnant. He couldn't tell me, so I left."
Alison: "Shana, damn it, girl! What were you thinking? What the hell difference does that make!"
Shana: "I don't know, Allie! I don't know... nothing, absolutely nothing."
Alison: "I'm sorry. I was out of line."
Shana: "It's ok. Now you see why I'm not sure if I can face him."
Alison: "You can. Just give both of you time to cool off. It does wonders, and I can tell you with absolute certainty that the 'making up' part is something to look forward to. Well, at least when Dash and I do."
Shana: "Allie!"
Alison: "So, does Conrad know where you were going? He's gotta be worried sick about you. And what about the kids?"
Shana: "No, he doesn't. I wasn't sure where I was going either. I just got in my car and left. The kids are at dad's for the weekend. Conrad sent them there before I got home."
Alison: "Shana, you know I'm here for you always, but I have a strong feeling you're talking to the wrong person. Do me a favor, don't do anymore driving tonight. Get yourself a room and give him a call, at least to let him know your safe. You could always get the room for the rest of the weekend and have him join you. Think of it as a weekend getaway."
Shana: "A weekend getaway while we're still in town?"
Alison: "Yes. Think about it... how long has it been since you and Conrad did anything without the kids? You need some time alone with each other. Dash and I do that every few months, um, rent hotel rooms in town. It keeps our lives from being mundane."
Shana: "Hmm."
Alison: "Promise me you'll call him."
Shana: "Yes, I'll call him. I'm dreading it, but I will."
Alison: "Good. One more thing... you should be thrilled to have another son to love and grateful someone cared enough to love him as their own."
Shana: "I know. Uh, Alison, thank you, and I'm sorry for calling so late. Give Dash my apologizes also, would ya?"
Alison: "Anytime, Shana. Call me back if you need to."
Shana: "Okay. Good night."
Alison: "Good night."
Alison hung up the phone and went downstairs to let Dash now she was finished. "Hi, Hon," she said as she sat on the arm of Dash's recliner. "I love you."
"I love you too," Dash replied, placing a small peck on his wife's lips. "What was that all about?"
Alison explained, "Christopher. Shana sounded horrible. I don't think I've heard or seen her that upset since we almost lost Conrad after he was hit by Serpentor's staff."
"Just who the hell is Christopher?" Dash asked, perturbed his romantic interlude was interrupted.
Alison explained the conversation she had with Shana. Dash did his best to control his anger. "Well, it's not like she's totally innocent, or did you forget about her previous marriage?"
"Dashiell Russell Fairborne!" Alison yelled, very upset at her husband. "How dare you bring her ex and Angel into this!"
"Well..." Dash started, ready to throw the entire story at his wife, but before he could get anything out, she interrupted him.
"Well nothing, Mr. Fairborne. Rob and Angel have absolutely nothing to do with what's happened. You know she would have done anything to save her daughter. That ex of hers... grrr... she never should have married that no good jerk in the first place." Allie flinched her fists and gritted her teeth, "Ooh, if I had known her back in college, she would have been a widow way before any of that other stuff happened. I'm surprised her dad or brothers didn't kill him or try to keep him away from her."
"What makes you think they knew or even know now? She's a devil at hiding things when she wants to. I'm sure she had those skills before ever enlisting," Dash muttered. He pulled Alison closer to him, stroking her cheek. "I'm sorry, Hon. It's just that we haven't had a chance to really spend any time with each other until this weekend, and I was looking forward to..." A huge, evil grin washed across Dash's face as he cradled his wife, giving her a passionate kiss, which he broke to ask seductively, "Mrs. Fairborne, shall we continue this upstairs?" Alison nodded her answer and giggled as her husband chased her up the staircase and back to their bedroom.
Meanwhile, Shana picked up her phone and walked towards the window of her lonely hotel room. She moved the curtains out of the way and looked out. The storm had quit, and the clouds were gone, leaving just the stars, which sparkled rather intensely for being in the city lights. She dialed their phone number at the house and heard a tired, male voice answer.
"Conrad? It's Shana," she said hesitantly, hoping he still wanted to speak with her. The silence seemed to drag on forever as she heldthe phone to her ear, trembling it almost uncontrollably.