Chapter 19

After the initial shock had worn off and proper introductions were made, Lily slipped her hand from Maggie's and pointed at Janet.

"I think she wants to sit with you," Jonathan said.

They made room for her on the sofa. Janet patted the space next to her and Lily nodded. She raced to the couch and climbed up on it. Janet made sure her pretty light blue dress didn't get wrinkled.

"Hello," Janet said and smiled at the little girl who still looked so lost and confused.

Janet waved; Lily waved back and then leaned her head against Janet's arm. The gesture touched Janet's heart and caused her unsettled emotions to rise up. She felt the threat of tears and quickly willed herself not to cry.

"I'll serve coffee and tea," Jonathan said, realizing the explanation as to how Magnum's daughter had ended up at Robin's Nest may take some time.

In French, he asked Lily if she would like a glass of milk and a couple of cookies. She nodded.

"I'll be right back."

"Lily has certainly taken a liking to you, Janet," Maggie said with a smile.

"She's precious," Janet gushed, amazed that the shy little girl had snuggled so close to her.

"Maybe it's because of Janet's height," Jack teased.

Janet playfully punched his arm. "Hey!"

Jack laughed. "I'm just kidding."

The little girl looked at Jack, who was still smiling, and then quietly giggled into Janet's arm.

Lily's unexpected but very welcome arrival had seemed to release some of the tension the adults had been feeling. Their focus was now on her and what she needed. Once Jonathan had returned and had settled Lily at his desk with her milk and cookies, he took a seat, ready to hear whatever details Maggie cared to share with them.

"How did you find Lily?" TC asked, impatient to hear the story.

Maggie looked around the room, uncertain how much to say to the people she had just met.

"It's all right," Jonathan assured her. "I believe Terri knows some of what happened to Lily and her mother Michelle, and Janet and Jack are friends who can be trusted."

Maggie nodded. "I don't mean to be suspicious," she said, looking from Janet to Jack to Terri, "it's just that this isn't an easy thing to talk about."

"Take your time," Rick said, "but do tell us everything you can."

"Yeah," TC echoed. "Everything."

Maggie swallowed and then told them as much as she could. "We had people watching every move Michelle and Lily made. Unfortunately, the people who planted the car bomb got away with it. After the explosion that took Michelle's life, our people realized, much like Thomas did, that Lily was not in the car when it exploded. They began a mad search for her and finally found her huddled inside the house. She had heard the noise while searching for her doll, but they don't believe she saw the actual explosion."

"Thank God," Jonathan said quietly, looking at Lily who was chewing her cookie and smiling at her.

She waved to Janet and then took a big gulp of milk.

"Yes," Maggie and the others agreed. "But she didn't understand what had happened to her mother."

"Naturally," Higgins said.

"Our men got her to a very safe place. They took her to the church where Michelle used to worship. The nuns took excellent care of her and tried to explain things as best they could."

"Why didn't anyone notify Thomas?" Rick asked.

Maggie shook her head, looking apologetic. "We didn't know if it was safe. Our men didn't know who else was out there, waiting for Thomas to make a move. Once Lily had come to sort of understand that her mother wouldn't be returning, she began to ask for her 'Papa'. She remembered her mother bringing her here to visit. She wanted to see her 'Papa'. Our men didn't know who she was talking about until they found a picture of Thomas and Michelle. Lily pointed to him and called him her 'Papa'. Then our men knew who she meant."

Jonathan shook his head in amazement. "Michelle finally told her. Astonishing."

"That's what we concluded, but Col. Green didn't want that to become common knowledge to anyone. He finally decided to bring her here. He thought we could do a better job of keeping her safe."

"How long have you had her?" TC asked.

"Several months."

"Were you ever going to tell TM?" TC demanded.

"Yes, we were," Maggie said, trying to assure Magnum's friends that they were going to do the right thing. "But Col. Green didn't think the time was right."

"He never does," Rick said with disgust.

"I agreed with him," Maggie admitted reluctantly. "Thomas was not in a good place when he received that videotape."

"How could he have been?" TC questioned. "He'd just seen his wife and child die because of a car bomb. How was he supposed to have reacted?"

"He saw it?" Jack asked.

Rick nodded. "His nemesis sent him a videotape from prison. Thomas believed Michelle and Lily were safe. The next thing he knew, he was watching the car explode."

"He went into a deep funk," TC added. "Only after he started to come out of it did he realize that Lily had gotten out of the car. He didn't see or hear any sign that she had returned to the car. When he got a friend of his to confirm it, there was no stopping him from trying to find his daughter."

"We just wanted to keep her safe," Maggie said, her voice low.

"When you arrived," Jonathan said, "you mentioned you had gone against orders. Are we to understand that Col. Green still doesn't believe the time is right?"

Maggie nodded. "He said what good would it do to tell Thomas his daughter is here when he's in a coma, but I believe he should know. And I believe it's time Lily got to know the surroundings here since this will be her home once Thomas is out of the hospital."

The lieutenant saw their concerned faces and felt she had to speak up. "Don't you see? My bringing Lily here, against strict orders, is a sign of my faith. I believe Thomas will fully recover and be a wonderful father to his daughter."

"You took a very big risk," Jonathan felt compelled to say.

"I know," Maggie said, nodding. "That's why this has to work out. If Thomas had not been injured, Col. Green would have eventually had to bring Lily to her father. She's been asking for him non-stop. I just took the liberty of speeding things up. That's all."

"I know TM will be grateful you were looking out for him and his daughter," TC said.

"I hope he sees it that way," she said. "And I hope he can forgive me."

"I don't think there's anything to forgive you for," Jonathan said. "You kept his daughter safe and you brought her to us in his time of need. Now, it's our turn. We must do everything in our power to make sure father and daughter have the reunion they both need and deserve."