Authors Note: Thank you for the reviews. As you know, it only take a good one to get me writing faster. Hope you enjoy.

Days of Fall

As the days passed, I felt a new sense of happiness engulf my life and make me think that everything was working out as well as we could have hoped for. There were so many changes going on in our lives that it was hard to keep up. Davis was now three months old and starting to roll over all by himself. He recognized all of us and was even starting to smile at each one of us in turn as he felt like it.

His dark curly hair was his best feature, along with his deeply blue eyes and his dimples at the corners of his plump cheeks. He was absolutely beautiful to behold.

Bosco and I took to our role of grandparents again with the zest and zeal of twenty year olds. We truly were enjoying our new addition to the family. We were both up at the crack of dawn with our precious one, making bottles and changing diapers. When we had a quiet moment alone, which hardly ever happened with a new-born in the house, we would sit together on the back porch veranda and talk about the future. What surprised us the most was Mikey's request to move back into the house so that he could help out with Davis and to establish his role as Davis's father. We agreed, of course, and when Davis was two weeks old, Mikey moved back into our home and took over his old room, which was turned into a nursery/bedroom, for Mikey wanted to be as close to his son as possible. He spent almost all of his free time with his son, taking him for walks in the stroller and just playing with him. Both Bosco and I were thrilled with his decision to be a part of Davis's life. At least he had one parent that would be there for him.

It had been three months since Brett and Carly had flown to Japan. We hadn't heard a thing from them and I found my anger and resentment building with each passing day that we didn't receive a phone call or even a postcard. It was as if they had fallen off the face of the earth. I wanted to talk to Brett badly but it wasn't because I missed him. I was too angry and hurt to even think about being civil to my third son, who consequently, had relinquished his relationship to all of us, but I did want to tell him that he would always regret his decision to push Carly into giving up her child. He would never know how much damage he had done to the Davis family or to ours. And I had the feeling that he probably didn't care. I wondered what his reaction would be, and hers too, when they found out that Mikey had taken responsibility for his son. It didn't matter anyway, because Mikey had done us proud. Both of us.

About a week after we had brought Davis home, and after we had reacquainted Mikey with his son, Bosco and I went to our lawyer to see if we could make sure that Davis remained with our family. I seriously doubted that Carly would try and take him back some day but I didn't want to take that chance. Both Bosco and myself wanted Mikey to be the father that he was entitled to be and got the papers drawn up that stated he was Davis's father and also that Carly had abandoned her son. It was no problem to do so, our lawyer had said and got the paperwork in order. We were no longer Davis's guardians, just his grandparents. Although I didn't admit it, I hoped that Mikey wouldn't get tired of looking after a baby and just walk away. But I knew that if he did, he would turn his rights over to us.

September was upon us and almost over, with it's not-so-warm nights and the reminder of summer passed. Soon the trees would start to shed their leaves and the grass would start to dry up. Personally, I loved the fall with it's oranges and brown and yellow colors to feast our eyes upon. The pumpkins on the doorstep, the leaves turning a crackly brown color. It would be Davis's first Halloween, I thought to myself excitedly. I planned on dressing him up as a tiny pumpkin. It amazed me that after three months we could not imagine our lives without our little boy in our house. Bosco gently tried to remind me time and time again that some day Mikey would probably move out and get a place of his own, but I continuously tried to push that thought from my mind. I liked things as they were.

In the three months that Davis had been living with us, we had not heard a word from Ty. Bravely enough, Mikey had taken Davis over to see him once, thinking that he was doing the right thing, but upon his return all we had to do was take one look at his dejected face to know that the visit hadn't gone well. Ty was still drinking hard, Mikey had revealed and he was much too polite to mention any of the other things that Ty must have said to him about us, but I could tell that it wasn't good. I didn't press the issue. Ty had made his own bed and he would have to lie in it. However, between working and looking after his son, Mikey still made an effort to take as many pictures of Davis and when they were developed he would make sure he sent Ty some in the mail. I was proud of my son for the way he was handling everything. He had sure come a long way.

In between working in his garage on a new rocking horse for Davis and a beautiful doll-house for Little Faith, Bosco squeezed in a few visits with Arthur. I think he mostly did it for the old man whom he knew didn't have much time left. We still hadn't told Mikey or Emma about the relationship and I was starting to wonder if we ever would, but I knew it was up to my husband to make that decision. Bosco would come home each time bearing new stories about his paternal family, about things his half brother and sister had done when they were children. MacKenzie had died as a young boy, but his sister, Cara, was now a famous soap-opera star. Bosco said that Arthur frequently asked about me and the children and wanted to know if he would be able to meet them some day. I didn't even have to ask the answer to that one, for Bosco was still getting to know his father and part of me wondered if he was just enjoying having him all to himself. And even though he never said it, I got the feeling that he was almost happy about it.

Then one Saturday morning around the first of October I noticed that our neighbors were having a yard sale across the street. Anxious to be one of the first ones over there, I pulled on a NYPD sweatshirt of Mikey's and my flip flops and dashed out the door. It was no secret. If I saw a yard sale I had to stop and go see what they were selling. It didn't matter if we were on our way somewhere, or if I had only two dollars in my pocket. I always found something great. Once, I found an antique plant stand that was made out of the darkest wood and it was only five dollars! Bosco always made fun of me, that was until he found an old replica of a Mustang car that was almost fifty years old, and he paid twenty-five dollars for it. After that, he had no problem stopping the car and following me around looking for treasure.

On this particular day, I came home with about ten pairs of sleepers for Davis, a Little Tykes swing that we could put up in the back yard and a little Nike splash suit and sneaker set. I couldn't wait to see how it looked on him. The best part was that I only paid eleven dollars for everything! God bless the person who invented yard sales!

I walked back across the street, awkwardly balancing all of my stuff and walked up the front steps. I had to set the swing down in order to open the screen door and then balance the door against my shoulder while I picked it back up. I was so excited about my success at the yard sale that I almost missed the ringing of the phone.

"Bos?" I called out as I hurried down the hallway, dropping the swing mid run, sleepers dangling off the sides of my arms. "Bos, can you get that?"

"I'm bathing Davis." He called out from the kitchen. "I can't leave him...or he'll roll right off the counter, won't you little man?" I could hear him say.

I rounded the corner and dropped everything on the floor. Davis was lying on a blue bath towel with his head hung over the sink so Bosco could wash his dark hair, his little arms and legs kicking in protest.. Bosco was wearing a pair of jeans with no shirt. It was probably better that way, considering that he had more water on him than Davis did. I grinned as I looked at my husband doing the best he could to bath our wiggly grandson.

"I know buddy, it sucks to do this to you, but frankly, you were starting to get a little stinky." Bosco said in his best baby voice as the phone continued its shrill ringing.

The phone had rung at least seven times by this point. What was I doing running like a chicken with my head cut off anyway? If it was important they'd call back. However, I grabbed it off the hook and said a breathy "Hello", in time.

"Faith?" The voice on the other line sounded crackly and distant. I had to cover my ear to hear.

"Yes?

"It's Carly. How are you?"

Was I dreaming, or was Carly Davis actually calling me and asking how I was? Oh, if she wanted to know, she'd get an earful. I took a deep breath and prepared to let her know exactly how I was and so help me God, this time she was going to listen.