Unexpected Surprises-ch. 7
Gage still sat on the couch holding Syd. He thought he was prepared for what she was about to tell him, but he had no idea just how complicated the story was going to get.
"Gage it's already 11 o'clock if you want me to just wait and tell you later," Sydney started.
"No I'm fine Syd. I want to know the truth tonight." Gage answered
"Okay. Well when I was going through my training at the Academy I met this guy who was also in training. We were partnered together for drill and things. Anyway we dated for about eight months and then we got married right after we graduated from the Academy. I thought he was so sweet and sincere, but I found out soon after that he wasn't."
"Syd how could you marry someone after only eight months" Gage asked
"I don't know Gage, but I know now how stupid I was. I figured he was going to be a cop and he would always be true to that, and we would have a bond because we were both cops. But I was wrong."
"When I was 22 I found out that I was pregnant but when I told Jason he got upset. He said he didn't have time to take care of a kid. He made me quit my job so I could take care of Seth when he was born. I was so mad at him Gage, I mean being a cop was my life, but he said we couldn't afford a babysitter so he wanted me to take care of Seth. He also told me that if I ever got pregnant again I would be sorry."
"How could he say something like that?" Gage asked
"Gage please let me finish the story before you start asking questions," replied Sydney
"But this means that Seth really is yours," Gage stated
"Yes Gage him and Sara are my kids okay. Are you happy now" Sydney cried
"Syd I'm not upset. I just had a hunch ever since I saw them with you. I mean they look just like you." Gage smiled
"Yeah I guess they do," said Sydney "Do you want me to finish my story or not"
"Yeah, sorry I won't ask anymore questions"
"Yeah right. Anyway right after Seth was born I noticed Jason would come home drunk almost every night. I tried to pretend I was asleep, but by the time Seth had turned one it had gotten a lot worse. He would come home and wake me up to yell at me, so I talked to the Captain at the station house he was working at. They made him join AA so that he wouldn't lose his job. But I think that is when he really lost it. He blamed me for everything. He stayed sober from what I could tell but he started coming home later and later. Sometime he wouldn't come home at all. At first I just tried to ignore it, but whenever I was around him he seemed depressed and he would never look or even hold Seth. So I decided to talk to his Captain again. He told me that he had been reprimanded for not turning in drugs from a drug bust and that since then his work as a cop had declined. He told me that he wasn't sure what Jason and his partner Michael were into. He said they would check out in the morning and disappear for the day, never check in and would rarely answer all the calls they would get, then at the end of their shift they would check out and go home. He said most of the other cops were afraid of them. Then he told me he was planning on scheduling a meeting with Jason and Michael to ask them some questions and if they failed the questions there would be an investigation started on both of them."
Sydney stopped to catch her breath and looked at Gage. He took her hand and said, "How about I make some coffee. I have a feeling its going to be a long night."
"That would probably be a good idea," Sydney responded
When Gage brought Sydney her coffee he noticed she was staring off in space.
"Syd you okay," he asked
"Yeah just thinking," she answered
"Well don't hurt yourself," he joked
Sydney just gave him the "Sydney glare" which immediately told him not to mess with her right now.
"Sorry, why don't you continue your story," he said
"So anyway that next week he had the meeting and of course he wouldn't answer the questions, so he got investigated. They had to come by our apartment and look around and ask me questions. Even though Jason was suspended from his job he still left every morning and didn't come until late at night and yell at me. Telling me it was my fault he was being investigated and blaming me for everything that had happened. Then the next week I found out I was pregnant with Sara. I was happy but I didn't know how Jason would feel about it. I mean he didn't even act like he cared about Seth. But I decided to tell him one night when he came home because he seemed to be in a good mood, but instead of being happy he completely lost it. He just yelled at me and said he told me when I was pregnant with Seth that if I ever got pregnant again that I would be sorry."
Sydney paused there and turned away from Gage. He turned her face to look at him and her eyes were full of tears. He wiped away a few stray tears and said
"What happened"
She didn't answer, she just tried to look away but Gage wouldn't let her.
"Did he hurt you," he asked
"Sydney answer me, please" he tried again with a very sad yet scared look on his face like he already knew the answer, he just wanted it not to be true.
"Syd," he begged
"Yes, he hit me. Are you happy now Gage. He beat me up and when he was done he just left me there. And you want to know the best part. He did it in front of his two year old son." Sydney cried pulling away from Gage.
But Gage just grabbed hold of her and held her close and as tight as he could swearing to himself that if he ever saw this guy he would kill him. He stroked Sydney's hair and told her it was all okay now and that he would never let anyone hurt her again.
"I know how stupid I was Gage. But I'm a big girl now and I can take care of myself. It was that next week I started taking self defense classes which progressed to karate." Sydney told him.
"Syd I never said you couldn't take care of yourself. I just want to protect you."
"I know Gage but I can handle myself. I have been doing fine by myself for the past six years," claimed Sydney.
"Oh really, then why didn't you tell me this story when we started working together. I told you all about my family and my past. Did you not trust me or what," asked Gage
"Gage I didn't want you to think less of me. It's not a past I'm proud of, okay. I'm ashamed of it. And we had become good friends and you knew I could take care of myself, you never thought I couldn't handle something. I guess I thought if you knew the truth you wouldn't think I was as strong as you anymore. That's one reason I don't talk about my past to any of ya'll. Besides I thought you might be ashamed of me." Sydney said sadly as she stared at the floor, not making eye contact with Gage.
Gage lifted her chin so their eyes could meet, then he said sternly, "I could never be ashamed of you Sydney Cooke. Not now, not ever. You are the best partner a person could ask for. And you are my best friend and that will never change, no matter what, okay."
Sydney just nodded her head.
"So what happened after you had Sara?"
"Well I stayed with Jason while I was pregnant with Sara because I didn't have any money. But one night he was yelling at Seth for dropping his glass of milk and he slapped Seth across the face. I knew that was the last straw. I told him if he ever came near Seth again I would kill him. He got really angry and threw me into the wall. I tried to fight back but I was seven months pregnant. So Seth tried to jump on him and fight him but he just got thrown to the ground. When he was done hitting me he left and Seth called 911. The doctors said if my baby survived she would probably have some kind of disability because of the beating. They also said that if Seth hadn't called 911 right away I might have lost the baby and then I might have some other complications that might have cost me my life. I had Sara the next month and she was perfect. Though the doctors had a hard time believing it. And Seth, he knew he saved his little sisters life and I told him that she would always be grateful to him for the rest of her life. He told me he was going to be the best big brother in the world. And let me tell you he has. He hasn't let Sara out of his sight since she was born. And its weird, its like they have a connection or a type of bond since she was born. It's like she knew he saved her life. She always wanted to do everything Seth did and he let her. He loved for her to follow him around. He was so proud of her and proud to be her big brother. Whenever she needed anything she always wanted Seth to help her with it. And that is one thing that hasn't changed. She still only wants Seth to help her with things." Sydney smiled as she thought back to the times when Sara was little and used to only want Seth to help her brush her teeth or help her put on her shoes and socks. Gage saw her smile and figured she was thinking about the kids when they were little and it caused him to get a small smile on his face as well. Thinking about the way things probably were when they were little and picturing a little Sara not wanting anyone to help her with anything except Seth. Gage figured the little girl probably got her stubbornness from Sydney.
"But anyways back to Jason. I had told the cops about him but since he was a fellow officer they let him off the hook. He came and apologized to me for everything. He even held Sara and apologized to Seth. He told me he had big plans for our family and that he had come across some money that could buy us a house in a nice neighborhood. Then he told me he wanted me to go back to work as a cop. And once again I was stupid enough to believe he was truly sorry and had changed."
"Sydney I can't..." Gage started to say but was interrupted by a look he was getting from Sydney saying to shut up.
"So anyway we got a two bedroom house and I went back to work and kept taking karate lessons. One day Jason came home in a brand new truck and when I asked him where he got it he told me not to worry about it because it was taken care of. Then about two months after that I found his checkbook and found that he had over $100,000 in his account. I mean who has that much in a checking account. That's when I knew that something was up. So one day I had off of work and so I followed him all day and I found that he was smuggling drugs across the border. So I did another stupid thing and confronted him about it. He told me that if I ever told anyone he would kill Seth and Sara. And I told him that if he ever tired anything like that I would kill him first. He got really angry when I told him that and he went to hit me and I fought back and won the fight. The only thing was he had friends waiting outside and when they heard the commotion they came running in and there were three of them and only one of me and I have only bee in my karate classes for a year. So I was defeated, or beat up if that helps you understand better. So that night while Jason was gone I took the kids and left. Then the next day I told my boss about the drugs and they arrested Jason about two months later and the trial lasted another six months. At his sentencing he swore he was going to get revenge on me."
"But Syd he is still in jail right?" Gage asked.
"He got out four years ago," replied Sydney "His revenge was taking my kids while I was at work. It was the day after Sara's fourth birthday."
"Did you try to find them," he asked
"Of course I did Gage, their my babies, but there was no trace of them anywhere, all that was left was a note from Jason. So I moved here to Dallas. Then the next year I was partnered with you for that undercover job. Then after that we became Texas Rangers for Company B, but I never stopped looking. Then two weeks ago they were on my doorstep, all dirty. But as soon as I saw Seth I knew and so did he. Him and Sara had been in Mexico for the last year, but they moved to Houston with Jason, and Seth found me on the Internet and him and Sara ran away and got here to me."
"But how did they get all the way here," asked Gage
"They flew. Told the stewardess they were going to see their mom." Sydney smiled.
"And so why won't Sara talk to you"
"I don't know. Seth told me she was just confused and didn't trust me yet," she answered "He said she doesn't really remember me."
"But Syd she was four, right" stated Gage
"Yeah but Gage she had just turned four and she has been gone for four years. There's no telling what kind of lies Jason put into her head. I mean she was so little and vulnerable, she would have believed anything, especially when she found out that Jason was her dad," replied Sydney.
"But then why does Seth talk to you and trust you?"
"He was seven when it happened. He already knew the truth. And I am sure whatever happened to them happened mostly to Seth. And I think he knows a lot more than he is telling me. I think he wants to protect me," she answered
"Isn't that a good thing that he wants to protect his mom?"
"I don't know Gage. I mean earlier when he had that nightmare he was so scared. He never wanted me to leave him. I don't know if he is afraid his dad is going to take him away again or if he is afraid something might happen to me when he isn't with me. I mean he is an eleven year old little boy, he should be out getting into trouble and having fun, not always worrying about his mother."
"Well I'll make sure he knows your in good hands while you are at work," Gage winked at her and smiled. Syd looked back at him and smiled
"Gage I can take care of myself"
"I know that, I just want to help"
"I know you do and I am glad that I can trust you and that I have you to confide in"
"Me too Syd, I just wish you would have confided in me earlier"
"I know Gage and I can't take that back and I'm sorry."
"It's okay Shorty, I guess I will still keep you as my partner," Gage joked elbowing Syd in the side.
"Ha Ha" Syd said mouthing off to Gage.
It was now nearly two o'clock in the morning and Gage and Sydney had to be at work at 8 o'clock so Syd told Gage he could stay the night at her place but he would have to sleep on the floor because she had been sleeping on the couch since the kids had taken over her room. But of course he agreed because now more than ever he wanted to be with Syd all the time just to make sure she was okay. Neither one of them were very tired yet so they decided to watch some TV until they got tired. They ended up falling asleep on the couch together 15 minutes later.
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A/N: Stay tuned for more. It will probably be about a week before I get the next chapter up. Hope you enjoy the rest of it.
