Declining Grace

by SassyAngel05

Shawn feels like nothing will ever be normal and he explodes under the pressure.Delainia Grace blows into his life and suddenly everything changes.Focuses mainly on Shawn and my character,but Maia, Richard and Lily and other 4400 will be in it.SOC, RL

6. Interrogations

Declining Grace

Chapter Six

Interrogations

Diana sat quietly at her desk, twisting a pencil thoughtfully between her fingers. Her face portrayed her contemplation and she seemed to be completely lost in whatever she was thinking. Tom stood in the doorway to her office, studying her; mildly curious as to how long it would take her to notice him. He waited patiently for a few moments before he cleared his throat to catch her attention. She glanced up and seemed surprised by his presence.

"Been standing there long?"

"You didn't seem to know I was here. Napping on the job is bad, Diana."

"I was hardly napping." She said defensively, ignoring the obvious twinkle in Tom's eyes. "What do you know about Shawn's friend, Delainia Grace?"

Tom rolled his eyes before sinking down into one of Diana's badly upholstered office chairs. He clasped his hands in his lap before replying to her question.

"My nephew and I aren't exactly close at the moment, Diana. His contributing to my son's coma has ended any kind of close relationship we might have had. Why are you asking me about Shawn's friends?"

It was Diana's turn to roll her eyes at Tom's answer. He did enjoy exaggerating Shawn's part in Kyle Baldwin's coma. They both knew Shawn wasn't responsible for Kyle's coma. Tom wanted someone to blame for Kyle's tragic accident and all the problems that stemmed from it. Unfortunately for Shawn, he was in the crossfire of the blame and anger. To Tom, Shawn's disappearance did nothing to absolve him. Shawn was taken the same night Kyle had fallen into the coma. The aliens or whatever it was that had taken the 4400 were like responsible for Kyle's illness, but Tom wanted someone corporeal to blame. Shawn was the lucky candidate, no matter how much he denied his involvement in the incident. Diana exhaled slowly and tossed the pencil to her desk, no longer wanting to waste her energy on fiddling the object.

"Maia is friends with Delainia's little sister, Kaleen. The Grace girls are incredibly sweet and strong…"

"So why are you asking about Delainia?"

Diana lifted her hands up to rub her temples in an attempt to stop the oncoming migraine. Just thinking about the girls and their father made her want to scream. The girls were so amazing, to both Maia and Shawn, and they were going to have to go through the pain of finding out their father was a suspect in a mass kidnapping case. Kaleen probably wouldn't even be able to grasp it. Delainia simply wouldn't believe it of her father. Plus, the investigation could possibly ruin Maia's friendship with the only girl that didn't treat her like she was an outsider. Diana couldn't stand the thought of ruining things for Maia who deserved so much more than she had.

"Their father is one of our suspects for the kidnapping case. One of the two. I'm trying to figure out how to approach him without letting the girls know I'm interrogating him. I'd like to try to protect them."

"You want me to ask Shawn for a way to keep them from finding out about the investigation?"

"Actually, I would like you to ask Shawn to keep Delainia away from her house tomorrow afternoon. Kaleen can come to my apartment to play with Maia; nothing out of the ordinary. Delainia will be a bit harder to protect, but I understand she has formed a friendship with Shawn."
"I can ask him, Diana. I don't know if he will be inclined to listen to me."
"You seem to be the one who isn't inclined to listen, Tom. But that's a whole other conversation. I would like for you to try talking to Shawn. I want to make this easier for the girls."

"Diana Skouris, bleeding heart."

"Not quite. Will you do it?"

Tom lifted his hands in surrender and nodded.
"It doesn't seem I have much of a choice. I'll try."

"Thank you."

Diana offered him a dazzling smile before looking back down at her papers. She retrieved her discarded pencil and prepared to make a list of questions. Tom stood abruptly and headed for the office door once he realized he had been dismissed. Diana seemed to just realize what she'd done.

"Tom? Did you come to my office for a reason?'

He hesitated and then shook his head reluctantly.

"Can't I just come in to harass my favorite partner?"

He offered her a boyish grin before he finally did exit the office. Diana watched him go, curiosity seeping inside of her. Tom didn't just come in to bother her. Tom wasn't the type to drop in randomly to say hi. He had a reason for coming. She wondered if she would ever find out why he'd come. Maybe he had wanted to talk about something personal. That would explain his leaving with only a flimsy excuse as to why he'd come to her in the first place. Diana tried to stop her thoughts as they flowed into her brain. She could speculate for hours on Tom Baldwin and the reason he did things, but she didn't have the time to. Tom rarely made sense to her. As a scientist, it bothered her that he wasn't something she could experiment on to find answers. As an agent, it drove her insane that he wasn't something she could solve after putting pieces of a puzzle together. She sighed loudly and buried herself into Patrick Grace's file to stop her thinking of Tom. She needed to prepare herself for the interrogation so she could get it over with as soon as possible.

Tom tried calling Shawn. He really did want to help Diana out; after all, it was his job as her partner. Still, he didn't know how to talk to Shawn anymore. Their conversations typically ended in accusations and screaming to the point that neither of them wanted to talk anymore. Tom had been plagued for three years with the wonder of why Shawn had deserted his unconscious cousin on the beach. His goal since Kyle had been sick was to find Shawn and make him explain what had happened. He had searched everywhere for his nephew and when he had suddenly reappeared, Shawn had been completely without answers. Shawn had even pretended to be shocked to find out that Kyle was in a coma, which ate at Tom's nerves. Tom tried to stop himself from becoming overly upset, but every time Shawn entered his mind, he had the urge to hit something. The only way that Tom could calm himself was to go visit Kyle and watch his son in a motionless sleep.

Tom nodded politely to the nurse on duty before entering Kyle's familiar hospital room. The privacy of the room comforted him, though the constant beeping of the machines grated on his nerves. He always felt off-kilter when he was in the room with Kyle. Tom surveyed the room and was shocked to find Shawn sitting next to Kyle's bed, his head bowed reverently while he clutched his cousin's hand.

"Shawn?"

Shawn looked startled at being caught in Kyle's room. He jumped to his feet, jerking away from Kyle's bed. He began to stumble backwards to the wall as he lowered his eyes.

"Uncle Tommy. Sorry, I didn't know you were going to be here. I wouldn't have come if-"

"It's okay, Shawn. Despite our differences, you and Kyle were close. Maybe you're voice will help wake him up. They say he can hear us."

The two stood opposite of each other: Shawn looking like he was ready to bolt, Tom looking like he wanted to pummel something, though they seemed to be trying to make a tentative peace. Shawn shifted his weight onto the balls of his feet and began doing a nervous dance. Tom watched Kyle steadily, wishing for some sort of movement from the boy. The awkwardness in the room would have been enough to make Kyle want to be in a coma. Tom thought suddenly of how disappointed Kyle would be to see the sad state of Shawn and Tom's relationship. Tom had always been the cool dad/uncle and Tom had fallen from grace as far as that category was concerned. He was positive that Shawn knew something, even if he didn't realize it. How could Shawn be with Kyle the whole night and not know what happened to him? Tom ran an unsteady hand through his short hair.

"Do you know someone named Delainia Grace, Shawn?"

Shawn seemed taken aback by that question. He took several more steps back, nearly running into the wall. "Spying on me now? Great. I knew you didn't trust me, but this is kind of low, even for you."

"I was not spying on you. Diana, my partner at Homeland Security, asked me to talk to you. Maia and Miss Grace's little sister are friends."
"What does that have to do with you asking me about Delainia?"

"I don't know how to explain this to you. Diana and I are working on another case concerning 4400 anomalies."

Shawn flinched visibly at Tom's choice of words. A twinge of guilt crept up inside of Tom, but it vanished as quickly as it had come.

"Diana and her sister aren't quite 4400 anomalies."

"No, but their father is."

Shawn thought back to the way Delainia had always acted, including her reaction to the fact that he was a 4400. Pieces started falling together and everything made sense. That's why Delainia took care of her little sister. Her father must be adjusting to life as a 4400. No wonder Delainia was under a great deal of pressure. She was trying to help her sister and her father adjust to a new place. He was curious as to why they didn't stay wherever it was they had been before her father had disappeared, but they must have decided it was for the best. How many times had he wished he could live somewhere else?

"You're investigating Delainia's father?"

"Yes. Patrick Grace. It's a kidnapping case. I would tell you more, but I can't, due to the whole sworn to secrecy thing. Diana needs to question Mr. Grace tomorrow afternoon and she wants the girls to be out of the house so they won't find out about it. The little girl is going to be at Diana's apartment with Maia, but Delainia still needs to be distracted. Can you take her out or ask her to study or something of the sort? Until Diana or I call you?"

"Of course."

Shawn didn't hesitate. He didn't even care of if it was a favor for his uncle. Suddenly Shawn's problems seemed less important to him when he thought of Delainia's problems. What would she do if she did find out that her father was suspected of kidnapping? Her dreams of being a normal girl would disappear out the window and Shawn didn't want that to happen. He wanted her to be normal as much as he wanted to be normal. Shawn sighed while he tried to process what he was being told. He didn't know the details of the case, but if Homeland Security was investigating, it had to be bad. Homeland Security wasn't just doing it because Mr. Grace was a 4400. There was a reason they suspected Mr. Grace for being responsible.

"Thank you, Shawn. Diana's going over there around three. If you can keep Delainia away until we call, we'll appreciate it greatly."

"I can do that. But Uncle Tommy, I'm not doing this to help you."

Shawn wasn't sure why he had added in that last did, as it was completely unnecessary, but he had felt like he needed Tom to know why he was doing this. He didn't want Tom to think it was okay for him to treat him this way.

"I know. I'm not asking you because I want you to help me. I'm asking you for Diana."

The two seemed to have reached an agreement and a truce of sorts. Shawn picked up his jacket from uncomfortable plastic chair and started for the door. Right as he exited, he spoke. "Just so you know, if I remembered anything that had happened, I would have told you. If I knew what happened to Kyle or knew how to help him, I would. I'm not a horrible person, like you seem to think. You have to stop blaming me sometime, Uncle Tommy, no matter how long it takes you. Kyle was my best friend and my cousin. I lost a lot when he fell into a coma, just like I lost a lot when I was abducted. I hope Kyle wakes up as much as you do."

Shawn left Tom without another word. All Tom could do was stand speechless in the hospital room with only the beeping to break the silence.

Shawn propped himself up on the stairs outside of the school building, waiting for Delainia to come to school. He had arrived early, just so he could talk to her. People milled around him, entering the school and forming the clumps of friends that teenagers did. Nikki and Danny had offered to leave early with him, but Shawn had insisted that he was fine. He wanted to talk to Delainia privately. Delainia finally did arrive, her face shrouded from any real emotion. She seemed fascinated with her feet as she walked, swerving to avoid any head on collision with other students. Shawn hopped up and grabbed a hold of her hand. Delainia jerked away immediately, as if the touch burned her. Shawn was positive that this was one of the most confusing girls he'd ever met.

"Sorry. I guess I should have called your name."

"It's okay. Listen, I need to go to class."

"Are you mad at me, Delainia? I didn't think I'd done anything wrong lately. Of course, what do I know?"

"No, I'm not mad at you. It's-never mind."

Shawn wondered if she did know about her father. Maybe she knew what he was doing and she didn't know what to do about the information. She probably wouldn't want to turn her own father in. The stress of that would be enough to make her snap at him.

"What is it?"

"Just my little sister. The devils that invited Maia and Kaleen to their party won't even be punished for what they did. It was all in good fun. It doesn't matter that my little sister cried all day on Sunday, locked up in her room and -why am I telling you this? You don't care."

"I do care. What makes you think that I don't care?"

"I don't want to assume anything. Kaleen thought Drusilla and her little friends cared and you know how well that turned out. Besides, you've never even met Kaleen, Shawn. Why would you care about her being upset?"

"I haven't met your little sister because you haven't introduced me. It's not because I don't want to. I want you to tell me what's wrong. I want to help you. You can tell me things, Delainia, and you won't have to worry about me telling anyone else. No one else will talk to me." He cracked the last sentence as a joke, but he didn't even receive a smile in return. He felt miserable for not being able to cheer her up, and he didn't even no why he wanted to lift her spirits. He hardly knew Delainia. Why had she left such an impression on his life?

"That's all. Listen, I really do need to go to class."

"We've still got ten minutes. There's no reason for you to run away from me. I'm not out to get you."

"At least at the moment."

Shawn chuckled lightly at her comment. He reached for her arm again and she didn't jerk away. This time he succeeded in pulling her away from the hoards of teenagers. He led her around the side of the building without much of a fight. Delainia leaned against the brick and looked up at Shawn.

"Why are you so adamant about talking to me this morning? This couldn't wait until fourth hour? I've got to go finish a worksheet for Science, thus my deep desire to enter the school."

"Your desire to enter the school makes sense. However, your desire to get away from me does not."

"What are you talking about now, Shawn?" She rolled her green eyes before glancing back down at her shoes. She adjusted the messenger bag on her shoulder, trying to relieve herself from some of the weight it added to her. She waited for Shawn's answer, but he just watched her intently, which in turn led to her being uncomfortable.

"I don't want to get away from you."

"You don't? I'm not getting that impression from you."

Delainia bit her lip nervously, again. One of these days, she was going to make her lip bleed from the chewing. She glanced up furtively and then looked away again, her dark hair shrouding her face.

"That's the problem, Shawn. I don't want to get away from you."

Shawn tried to let that comment process in his mind. She didn't want to get away from him? And that was a problem? How was that a problem? That they could be friends? Her answer confused him even more than he had been previously. Maybe it was better to not ask the girl questions. No, he wanted to know what she meant. He needed to know.

"I don't understand, Delainia."

She shrugged as nonchalantly as she could manage, but her nervousness was now vibrating off of her in waves. She pushed away from the wall and started to walk back towards the stairs.

"It doesn't mean anything, Shawn. I don't know what I'm talking about. It's too early in the morning for me to be forming complete sentences."

"You just did."

"I'll talk to you later." Delainia began rushing away from him, her head down, a pretty pink blush coloring cheeks.

"Delainia, you're running away from me again."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Shawn almost let her go, but then he remembered why he had wanted to talk to her in the first place. He had to help Uncle Tommy out on this. He had to protect Delainia from the truth. If she didn't know, the thought of her father being a kidnapper would crush her. He had to stop that from happening.

"Delainia, I had fun on Saturday."

She stopped in between the bushes and she turned back to look at him. She looked almost distressed by his comment, but she tried to hide it. Shawn thought she would stare at him forever with her haunting eyes, but she finally spoke.

"I did, too."

"Can we hang out after school today? I know you watch Kaleen, but I thought maybe we could study for French. I'm still behind on it. While I speak English well, and according to the TV reports, a wonderfully eclectic alien language, French just hasn't caught on."

Delainia almost smiled. He could see the corners of her lips starting to upturn. She considered what he said. "Okay. Kaleen is going to be at her friend's house today. So we can study after school, here, if that works for you."

"Sounds excellent."

She did smile, then, finally. A full, toothy grin that made Shawn want to grab her and shield her from the storm that was about to rain on her head. Then she disappeared into the crowd to attend class; Shawn following not too far behind.

Diana stood outside the doorway to the Grace house. She rang the doorbell twice and received no response. Hopefully, Patrick Grace was home. How horrible it would be if he weren't even home, after all the trouble they had been through to keep the girls away from the house. She knocked on the door again and called out, "Mr. Grace, it's Diana Skouris from Homeland Security. I wanted to ask you some questions, make sure you were settling in okay. Please open the door."

She waited and finally the door unlocked and opened. Diana was surprised to see how handsome the man standing before her was. She didn't know what she had been expecting. A broken man to go with a broken personality perhaps? He tilted his head acutely, but remained in front of the doorway to block her entrance.

"Can I help you?"

"Yes, Mr. Grace. As I said before, I'm Diana Skouris from Homeland Security. I needed to ask you a few questions about your return."

"I've told them all I know about my disappearance. They taped it. If Homeland Security wants to see what I have to say, they can replay that."

"Sir, this is about something else. There have been several abductions in the area that seem to be related to the 4400. Unfortunately, you are one of the suspects and I need to get some information from you." Diana decided it was best to be up front with her reason for being there. It wouldn't be easier if she tiptoed around the topic with the man.

"Can't this wait? My little girl should be back any minute."

"Kaleen? She's at my apartment. She's friends with my dau-foster daughter, Maia."
"I met Delainia's friend, Maia, but I don't know who this Kaleen is. You must have me mixed up with someone else."

Diana seemed taken aback by his answer. Mr. Grace had seemed perfectly lucid, but his comment then had just proved otherwise. He was crazy? He'd obviously lost his mind. She suddenly realized what Kaleen had meant by her father didn't know her. He didn't recognize the girl as his daughter. An affect of his abduction?

"I must have the wrong Kaleen Grace. May I come in, Sir?"

"I suppose." The man stepped aside to allow her inside the house. Diana glanced around the foyer before Grace took her into the living room.

"What did you wish to ask me, Ms. Skouris?"

"You are from London?"

"Is the accent not obvious enough for you?"

"Just double checking my background on you. You've also lived in New York?"
"Yes. Delainia and her mother wanted to live in New York, so we moved there to find me a new job. Then we returned to London, because my ladies missed their family. After awhile, my wife and I decided to move here to Seattle."

Diana's mouth almost dropped open. Coral Grace had been dead for more than a year, and he acted as if they had decided to move to Seattle together. As far as her records showed, Coral, Delainia and Kaleen moved to New York after Patrick Grace's disappearance. Coral died in 2002, leaving the girls behind in New York. When Patrick returned, Delainia had moved them back to London, but the pressure of his sudden return was too much, so they moved to Seattle for anonymity. The way Patrick told it, they had made the decision together. It was amazing. The man seemed perfectly normal, but he was obviously very sick. Even if he wasn't responsible for the abductions, he needed help. Delainia couldn't be forced to take all this responsibility on herself. Delainia was already supporting her sister. Supporting her father could be too much for the girl.

"Mr. Grace, where were you Friday, October 29, 2004 at 2:30 PM?"

Grace's face blanched visibly at the mention of the date of the last abduction.

"I was making up with my wife at the Space Needle for being a recently inattentive husband."

"What does your wife look like, Mr. Grace?"

Coral was dead. Diana was positive of that. But this man thought he was making up with his wife at the Space Needle conviently near the last abduction.

"She has the bluest eyes you've ever seen, the most soft spoken voice that comes from the pinkest lips, and long brown hair. She's quite beautiful."
"I imagine she was. Mr. Grace, I'm afraid I'm going to have to take you into the Security office for more questions. We might need to get you in to see a doctor and then we'll talk some more."

"I don't need to see a doctor! I'm fine!"

"It was only a suggestion." Diana had seen his eyes flash dangerously and she wanted to avoid agitating him. "Do you think you can come with me to the office?"

"Absolutely not. Laini will have to come home sometime soon, and I will not leave her here while her mother gallivants around the city."

"Sir, your daughter will be taken care of."

"I said no!" He stood up and jerked her to him. She was unexpectedly looking into his deep green eyes and something inside of her flickered.
"You will leave my family and I alone. You cannot come around here again. You won't want to. Do you understand? You have the wrong Patrick Grace!"

Diana nodded, unaware of the tight grip the tall man had on her. She watched him slightly dumbfounded before she smiled sweetly.

"Thank you so much for your time, Mr. Grace. I'm sorry that I had the wrong Patrick Grace. I will not bother you again."

With that, Diana lifted her purse up as well as her briefcase and left the house in a stupor. Patrick sank down into his chair after she left and brushed his hands over his face. He ignored the tears that dropped from his eyes as confusion reigned over him.

"Why are you not here, Coral? Why did you leave me again?"

Maia sat on the floor, playing with her doll and teddy bear. Delainia had come and picked Kaleen up an hour ago, and now Maia and Diana were having a quiet evening at home. Diana flipped through the channels on her television as she tried to shake the odd feeling that had stuck with her since she had talked to Patrick Grace. She couldn't really remember what had caused the feeling; she just remembered that she had questioned the wrong person. It must be the other man that was responsible for the kidnappings. She really should have him arrested. Diana smiled at Maia while she reached over to call Dennis and tell him what she'd found. It couldn't be Patrick Grace. It wasn't him. She knew it. Except she didn't know why she knew that it wasn't him. She couldn't quite remember that part. But she did know that it wasn't him, so she needed to pass the word along. Maia put her toys down and spoke softly, "Diana?"

Diana put the phone back into her lap after hearing Maia's tone of voice. The little girl obviously wanted to talk about something important, and so she would listen completely.

"Yes, Sweetheart?"

"He doesn't know what he's doing, you know. He really does think that it's his wife. He doesn't mean to hurt anybody. He doesn't mean for any of it to happen. He just wants his old life back, like the rest of us do. He just doesn't deal with it the same way we do. He really doesn't mean it, Diana. Don't get him in trouble. Please!"

Diana slid off the couch and onto the floor with Maia. She pulled Maia into a hug because the little girl seemed almost hysterical in what she was saying.
"Whom are you talking about, Sweetie? Who is he?"

"Patrick Grace. It will make Kaleen and Delainia sad when they find out. I don't want Kaleen to be sad, Diana. Please don't get him in trouble." Her brown eyes blinked innocently, as if they hadn't seen more than they should in one lifetime. They were pleading and Diana felt confusion set in as she tried to resist giving into the puppy dog eyes. Grace was the kidnapper? How had she decided that he wasn't? Maia was never wrong. So he must be the kidnapper. What had happened to her while she was visiting him? Had he done something to her? She couldn't really remember what had happened at the house, but she had been so sure a moment ago that Patrick had nothing to do with the kidnappings.

"Diana, promise me you won't get him in trouble!"

"I can't, Maia. I can't."

Maia pulled away from her, a betrayed look on her young face.

"I shouldn't have told you. You wouldn't have remembered. He made you forget. I shouldn't have said anything! I knew you wouldn't listen to me. I knew it!"

Maia jumped from Diana's lap and ran to her room, her discarded bear and doll laying facedown in the carpet. Diana scooped the bear up and hugged it tightly to her chest. What was happening? She had never felt more confused in her life. All she could hear was Maia's words over and over in her head, " He doesn't know what he's doing, you know. He really does think that it's his wife. He doesn't mean to hurt anybody."