"What happened?" Nick asked.
"Peter's solicitor brought the papers and gave them to me," Tess said. "That's all we know."
"Endangerment...he means the fire? That could have happened anywhere, even to him," Meg looked at the two groups, sisters together, Claire holding Charlotte, brothers together, neither by the women.
"He said something once...before Charlotte was born," Nick said, remembering his talk and Peter's promise that he'd do whatever it took to get Claire back.
"He's always been a bastard," Tess said quietly. "But I never thought he'd do something like this. If he wanted custody, he would have filed when he put his name on the birth certificate." There was little doubt in her mind that Peter was doing this to hurt Claire and Alex, not because he missed the daughter he'd only seen once or to give his girls a sister.
Harry drove into Fisher, going to the address he had, watching Peter play with his children. He didn't know what he was going to do, just knew that he would never allow his family to be torn apart like Peter was threatening. He knew how much Charlotte meant to Alex, the same as Alex meant to him, and losing Charlotte on top of everything else would destroy Claire.
Peter spotted Harry get out of his vehicle and sent his children inside. "You're not supposed to be here."
"I want you to drop the suit."
"Why should I?"
"You're doing this to get back at Claire and my son. You haven't seen her since you signed her certificate. My bet is you have never lost one of your children, never even came close. You don't know what it can do to a parent."
"The stables caught on fire. It could have been the house. My daughter could have been killed."
"She's not your daughter!" Harry's face got red, his arm and chest started to hurt, and he blacked out.
Nick escorted Claire back to the living room to lay down with her headache. She hadn't let go of Charlotte, so the little girl was having an early nap. Alex walked the grounds, alone until Tess caught up with him.
"How is she?" Alex asked.
"A little better. She got dressed today, after Peter pulled this stunt she seems more awake. She's obviously still having her migraines, probably because she won't eat."
"She looks a little better."
"Alex...you have to stop this. You need to move back home."
"I am. I don't want to be away from Charlotte."
"Claire needs you."
"If I'd been here..."
"She would have lost the baby then too. It wasn't you being gone, it wasn't the fire, it just happened. And she can't get over it alone and you can't get over it alone." She looked up at him. "You know you two have always done better when you're together than apart." He couldn't argue with that.
The phone rang and, Amy, in for lunch, answered it. "Drovers, Amy."
"Are Claire or Alex there?" Peter's voice came over the line.
"They're not available. Can I take a message?" She asked, unaware of who he was.
Nick walked over and she handed him the phone. "Nick here."
Peter's jaw clenched and said it straight out. "Your father's dead."
"What?" Nick asked, disbelieving.
"He had a heart attack. The doctor's bringing him back to Kilarney." Peter hung up.
"Nick?" Amy asked quietly. "What's wrong?"
"My dad's dead," he said with an almost unheard whisper.
Amy ran outside to tell Alex, who ran inside to be with his brother. Tess looked at Amy, putting her hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?"
Amy nodded, wiping her eyes. "You should go see Nick."
"You're sure?" Tess never liked walking away when anyone she cared about was crying.
"Yeah. I'm going to check on Ryan." She walked away and Tess went back to the house.