Chapter Four-Remembering

Seajae sat at the table in the back of the restraunt. She picked up her fork and looked at her salad. She wasn't hungry and she just wanted to go back up upstairs. But the dreams haunted her there. When Danny left she tried to get some more sleep. But with sleep came the dreams. The dreams were getting more vivid and more frightening.

"Hey," Delinda pulled up the chair across from her.

"Hey."

"You look a little down." Seajae looked at the younger woman.

"I'm ok. I heard you run this place. You did good Delinda."

"Daddy told me what you....where you were. That you became a Marine."

"Yeah. Daddy's dream for his son."

"But you wanted it to. It was all you used to talk about."

"I guess it was. You always wanted to be a beauty queen.:"

"That never happened. But daddy let me run this place and it seemed to suit me." Delinda looked at her friend. "Seajae can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Danny.....Danny and I dated for a while." She looked at Seajae. "I broke his heart. And then there's Mary. He dated her in high school and I think they want to start something." Seajae always knew Delinda didn't play fair. But something told her that this was personal.

"Are you saying Danny's not availible?"

"He's off limits."

"I get the picture but Delinda, maybe you should talk to Danny because I don't want to get in the middle of anything. But I'm and adult capable of making my own choices and if I choose to prosue Danny McCoy, thats my buisiness and Danny's."

"Well then watch your back because Mary's my friend."

"So was I at one time." Seajae didn't want to fight with Ed's daughter. Ed was too important to her. "I'm sorry me being here has made problems. I'll be gone tomorrow."

"Maybe if you left now......."

Danny was talking to Nessa the casino's head pit boss when his phone rang.

"Yeah."

"You better get to Mystic fast."

"Why? " Danny started to make his way though the casino.

"Seajae and Delinda are chatting and it doesn't look like its friendly." Danny stepped up his pace.

"I got it." He hung up and hopped he wasn't to late to stop them from killing each other.

"I can't just leave Delinda. You father and Danny are helping me with something."

"My father is always was leaving to rescue you."

"What?"

"Whenever you called he would just drop everything and go rescue you from whatever mess your whore of a mother got you into." Seajae put her fork down. "My fifth birthday party he got a call from you and he left my party. He didn't get back on till all my friends and family had gone home."

"I didn't know."

"Yeah well he was always saving someone else and leaving me and my mom alone most of the time." Seajae put her napkin on her plate and stood up.

"I'm sorry I caused you such a tramatic child hood." Danny came up behind Delinda. "And I'm sorry I'm making it so hard on you now." She wanted to lay into the younger woman. She had always had it all. The looks, the money . the parents who loved her. "I just need to figure some things out."

"Well your not welcome here so get out."

"Hey you two.......catching up?" He looked between the two woman and realized it wasn't friendly banter.

"You don't want to go there Delinda."

"Why. You scared Daddy won't rescue you?"

"I don't need your father to keep me from kicking your ass." Danny stepped between the two of them.

"Ok. That's enough." Seajae looked at him and remembered that three hours ago he was in her bed making her feel things that she never had before. She didn't want to deal with those feelings along with the hurt she was feeling that her one time good friend was mad at her. Seajae looked at Danny and then Delinda.

"I'm going upstairs." Seajae pushed her chair out and headed out of the restaurant. Danny turned to Delinda.

"You......you just stay put." He went after Seajae and caught her at the elevators. "Seajae....." She didn't turn around. "Seajae please." He put his hand on her shoulder.

"I suggest you not do that." She shrugged his hand off.

"Seajae.....whatever Delinda said......she.....she's Delinda."

"She said you and Mary were just about to realize you had something together."

"Mary and I have been on the verge of something for twenty years. Then we realize that friends is all we could ever be." The elevator opened and Seajae waited till the people exited before she got it. Danny followed her. "Seajae......"

" I really don't want to fight about this Danny. I just want to clear up things with my father then I'm out of here."

"Out of the hotel or out of LasVegas?"

"What does it matter?"

"It matters because less then four hours ago you and I were doing a lot more then talking. I though it ment something to you." Danny's phone rang. He answered it. "Damn it Ed I'm in the middle of something here."

"Get your ass back down here." He knew he should listen to Ed and stop the fight now before things got out of hand. But the woman standing next to him ment something to him. Ment everythign to him. He hung up the phone and turned it off.

"Delinda is mad at the world and you just caught her at a real bad time."

"She has a right to hate me. All those times I called him and not my father."

"Your father was a million miles away."

"And Ed wasn't?" The door opened and Seajae got out. Danny followed her.

"Delinda is a selfish bitch. Ed and Jillian spoiled her rotten. But she has a big heart and if she knew about your mom I'm sure she would see things in a different light."

"She knows about my mom. She called her a whore." Seajae opened the door. "Just go back to work Dannny. I'll be out of everyones hair soon enough."

"Ed won't let you leave."

"Ed doesn't own me. I'm leaving. Tell him I'll call him and check if he found anything out about my dad." She went to close the door, but Danny caught it with his hand.

"You can't leave."

"Watch me." Danny watched as she packed her bag.

"Didn't what we did mean anything to you?" She ran her hand though her hair and sat on the bed.

"We had sex Danny. That's all. It was really nice and all but there's nothing else to it."

"Your such a bad lier Seajae Riely." Danny stood in front of her. "I know there was more then that. You can't hide behind your tough Marine exterior. I felt something ten years ago and I feel the same way now." A knock on the door stopped him from kissing her. Seajea got up and pushed passed Danny and went to the door. She opened it to see Ed standing there. He looked pale and if Seajae wasn't mistaken a little scared.

"Where is he?" Seajae didn't have to ask who. She just stepped aside and let Ed in. Danny had moved the chair by the window, elbows on his knees, head in his hands. He didn't want to deal with Ed. Not now. Not when something he wanted so badly was hanging on by a thread. "You are so fired." Danny stood up took his phone from his belt, his keys from his pocket and his ID card from his wallet.

"It's been nice Ed." He looked at Seajae. His job had been his world for a long time. He's hurt people putting it above anyone and anything. Delinda and Mary. His dad for not coming to work for the company after coming home. Ed had been the cruch he needed to make it in the world after the Corps. Now he wasn't sure Ed could work into his life. A life without Seajae. He headed to the door. "If you change your mind Seajae, well I don't know where I'll on. Ed, he really didn't mean it."

"I didn't." Seajae looked at Ed.

"He ment it. I'm just lucky he didn't kill me."

"What?"

"He said if I hurt you he'd kill me."

"I still may do it." Ed looked at Seajae's bag on the bed. "You going somewhere?"

"I don't have anywhere to go." She sat on the bed. "And Delinda's mad at me and everytime I close my eyes I see things that I don't remember ever doing......" Danny knew she had pushed him and Ed away for some reason. Now he knew. The things from the past year were coming back.

"Seajae...Delinda....well Delinda's got issues and I hate to admitt it but me and her mother spoiled her shamelessly." Guilt burned deep in Ed's stomach While Jillian was taking Delinda to Sax and Barney's Seajae was being toated from casino to cheap hotel. "I'll talk to her." He sat next to her. "Danny.....Danny's not fired. I just......Damn it....." Ed stood up and looked out the window. "I just can't stand seeing you hurting Seajae."

"Danny didn't hurt me Ed. Or Delinda. Whatever hurt me was thousands of miles from here. Something I can't remember." Danny wanted to console her. Tell her it was going to be alright. To tell her he knew what it felt like to be alone ."I just want to know what happened to me and find out why someone wants me to think my father was a horrible man." Ed sat next to her and took her in his arms.

"We'll figure it all out sweety. I promise." He hugged her tight. "I'm sorry I got so angry. I heard you two yelling in the elevator and something snapped. I'm sorry for the pain that your mother caused you. There wasn't another way back then. The woman always got the kids."

"Ed it's all in the past. My mother.....was my mother and I can't change that. And well my father....." Ed swollowed hard. If he told her now she would hate him. He knew that for sure. How could he explaine leaving her in that situation knowing he was her father and not Alan Riely.

"Well since I'm not fired I'm going to get back to work." Danny grabbed his stuff off the table. He wouldn't ask again what them sleeping together ment to her because is seemed it ment more to him then it did to her.

"I'll be down in a few minutes." Ed watched Danny go. "You going to be okay sweety?" Ed pushed her arms length away.

"For now." She smiled. "I'm going to try and get some sleep."

"If you need anything call." He hugged her one more time and then stood to leave. "And Seajae....don't be too hard on Danny. Sometimes he trys too hard."

"I'll keep that in mind. Good night Ed."

"Good night Seajae." She shut the door leaned agaist it and slid down to the floor. Things were getting to complicated. She was suppose to clear her father's name and head back to her life alone. Danny and Ed were making her feel things she didn't ever want to feel again.

Danny sat at the table with a file in front of him. It was a lot of buiness deals and buy outs of other companies. There was so much that ment nothing to him. Maybe he was in over his head. Scanning more sheets from the file in front of him Danny looked up when the door opened. Ed stood with a cup of coffee.

"You forgive me?"

"Nothing to forgive." Ed handed Danny the cup of coffee. He pushed back the chair and took a sip of the warm liquid. "How's Seajae?"

"Ok I guess. As good as she can be."

"The memories......she shouldn't be alone if thier coming back."

"That's why I'm taking over here and your going upstairs."

"Ed......."

"You have connection. I hate to say it but your her best bet when it comes to feeling safe when the memories return."

"All I know is if and when she remember who made her forget I may have to take some personal time to make them forget." Danny shut the folder he was reading and stood up.

"Stand in line." Ed looked at the man he treated like a son. He was falling hard for Seajae and he hoped either one of them would get hurt.

"Give me a call if you make anything of this mess."

"Okay." Danny headed back upstairs. Mary cought him in the hallway.

"You ok Danny?"

"Yeah. Just a little tired. I'm sorry about breakfast this morning."

"No biggy. How's Seajae?"

"Scared. Her dad has some things at his place that didn't make sence."

"I'm sorry about Delinda. She was out of line."

"We did decide it was best for us to just be friends? Right?"

"Yeah. You and I make great friends. Anything more would be insane." She looked at Danny. He looked like he was stressed. "Are you sure your ok?"

"Just a little tirered. We'll talk later ok. I want to tell you something and well I just want to be in a better state of mind to do it."

"That sound omnious."

"Nothing like that." He hugged her and kissed the top of her head. "We'll talk later." He waited till Mary was in the elevator and then went to Seajea's door. He knocked once before he used his master key to get into the room. Seajae was laying in the middle of the bed, curled in a ball. Her knife lay next to her. Danny wasn't sure what he should do. If he woke her she might take the knife and do some major damage. If he took the knife away.....Danny sat on the chair by the bed and watched her sleep. She was dreaming big time. Her eyes shifting under her lids. The hour of so they had slept earlier she clung to him in her sleep but she hadn't been dreaming. Danny closed his eyes and prayed this will all end soon.

Seajae's heart raced. She was all alone and she knew they would be coming for her soon. She had been alone for days and now she knew why. He was gone. They hadn't brought him back this time. She knew he was gone. Dead. He hadn't done anything but protect her from them. Now she had no one to protect her. She had been trained to protect herself but some thing told her she couldn't protect herself from what was coming. It was so dark. Billy knew she hated the dark and always talked her to sleep. Sleep would never come without his soothing words. The door openend and she froze reaching blindly for the rocks Billy had put near her just in case.....

"Seajae...wake up......Seajae......."

The voice cut though the fog. It wasn't Billy's voice....who knew her first name other then Billy. He would never give them more then name rank and serial number. No matter what they did to him. She grabbed for the rocks. They wern't going to touch her. Not if she could help it. She felt the pressure of someones hand around her wrist. Stuggling hard agaist the pressure she fought hard agaist her attacker.

"Seajae wake up. Baby you need to wake up...." Danny felt her strength pushing the knife closer to his ribs. He knew she had the training but even with seventy pounds on her she still fought like a man twice her size. "Seajae....." Her eyes flew open and a scream tore from her mouth.

"Billy!!!" She looked at Danny with cold eyes. He knew she wasn't quiet awake yet.

"Seajae....." His harsh tone snapped her out of whatever zone she was in and she looked at Danny.

"Danny?"

"Yeah. If I let your wrist go you promise not to put that thing between my ribs?"

"I promise." She wispered. He loosened his grip and she dropped her arm and let the knife fall to the bed. "I'm so sorry Danny."

"Tell me about the dream."

"Billy Savage. Gunnery Sgt. William Savage. He was the one who pulled me down when the caravan was ambushed. He was from some small town in Kentucky. We talked a little in the mess tent now and then and while we walked that day. He told me all he wanted was to get home to his horse ranch. He was afraid his neighbor wasn't doing a good job." Danny shifted and put the knife on the bedside table and laid next to her.

"What happened to Billy?"

"He just disappeared one night. They came for him and they never brought him back." Seajae looked at the celing fan. "He pulled me in a buliding out of the gun fire and the store was full of enemy soldiers. He wispered he was sorry. He was always apoligizing for something. Anyway they took us to an uderground camp. Everyother day they would take one of us and try to make us talk. Niether of us would give in." Seajae sat up and crossed her legs. "One day after they brought me back Billy noticed they tore my uniform near my chest. They tore off my placet. He knew I was unnurved. He also knew I was a......a virgin."

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"I want to. It might help." She stood and looked out at the lights. "I asked him......I asked him to make love to me before.....before they raped me."

"So you wern't......?"

"I don't think so." She sat on the chair and curled up and looked at Danny. "But that means the baby......the baby was Billy's." She bit her lower lip. "It goes blank about three days after they didn't bring Billy back. They took me to a room gave me a shower and then its blank again."

"Give it time. You remembered this much." Danny got up and kneeled down in front of her. I'm going to get Ed working on this. If Billy's body was broght back there must be a record of it. Someone had to claim the body."

"Wells....."

"What?"

"The name of his nieghbors who where taking care of the horse ranch. Micheal and Patty Wells." Danny smiled.

"See I know it would all come back sooner or later." He reached for the phone just as it started to ring. Danny picked it up. "McCoy."

"She sleeping?"

"No. She just woke up with some intersting things to say."

"Well why don't you both come down and we can exchange stories." Danny looked at Seajae. She was strung tight yet but she needed to get out of the room for a few minutes.

"Sounds good Ed. See you in a few minutes." Danny hung up. "He found something in your dad's files."

"Okay." Seajae grabbed a hair tie from the table and put it in her hair and changed from her jogging pants into the jeans sitting on the chair. Danny wondered if she knew what she was doing to him. Tucking in her over sized shirt he noticed it was his shirt. She knew what she was doing him alright. Driving him insane. "Let's go." He followed her out the door and to the elevator.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Are you going to stay here after we figure all this out?"

"I can't say either way right now." The elevator door opened. "But you'll be the first to know." Seajae and Danny got into the elevator and Danny pressed the first floor botton. He looked at Seajae.

"Please promise me you won't leave without saying good bye." She turned and looked at him.

"I promise when I decide to leave I'll say good bye."

"Thank you." The door opened and they both got out and headed to the holding room.

Ed sat at the table and rubbed his eyes. He was getting to old for this Looking up he saw Danny and Seajae coming in the room. He needed to focus on what he found not what was eating him up. Seajae looked more tired now then when he left her. His heart was breaking seeing what this was doing to her.

"I'd ask if you got any sleep but I can see you didn't."

"Just flash backs and blackness."

"What did you remember?"

"The man who was taken prisioner with me." She sat across from Ed. "Gunnery Sgt. William Savage." Ed wrote it down. "I....I think he was the father of my baby." She looked down not wanting to see the disappointment in his eyes. He stood and came around the table and knelt in front of her.

"That means you wern't raped." He lifted her chin, "Sweety you have nothing to be ashamed of." She knew Ed was right. But there was something deep down that was making her feel so damned uneasy. Maybe it was because now she knew there was a baby out there that was part her and part Billy.

"I know." She looked at Ed. "I just feel so....I don't know. I just wish I could of saved Billy."

"I know. But he died for his country." Ed looked at Danny and then back at Seajae. "You need rest. I'll call the casino doctor and get you something ."

"I don't think drugging me up is going to do me any good."

"You need some rest. Have you had a full nights sleep since you left the hospital. "He stroked her hand and looked, noticing a nasty bruise forming around it. "What the hell happened to you?" Seajae looked at Danny and then at Ed.

"I went after Danny with my knife. He did it to save himself." She rubbed the raw skin on her wrist. "I thought he was....one of them."

"Is that all you remeber?"

"Yeah so far. What did you find?" Ed looked at Seajae. He wasn't sure he wanted to tell her what he found.

"Your father was set up. None of these companies are real. The money is counterfit. Whoever was setting him up just wanted you to find it and run."

"Apparently they don't know me." Seajae looked at the stack of papers. "None of you knew I was missing for all that time did you?"

"No. I'm looking into that little matter also."

"I.....I have a child somewhere and I don't even know if it was a girl or a boy. My father and you had no idea I was a POW for almost a year and I can't even remember what the hell happened to me in that time. Who doesn't want me to remember Ed. What did I see or do that made this mess escalate to this?" She was shaking. Ed sat down next to her and pulled her into his arms. Danny stood up and went to get the doctor. Niether of them could stand seeing her this way. She was walking a thin line....one that they both knew is she stepped over she'd loose whatever sanity she had left.

"It's all going to be ok sweety. I swear."- Ed didn't know what to do. It had been a long time since he felt helpless. He wanted to help her. Wanted it all to be alright for her.