I was reading past reviews and one thing that stood out is how everyone always mentioned how I made them laugh. I think this story has gotten a little too serious. So its time to add some fun to it. I hope you laugh as much as I did while writing it.

Happy reading.

Thursday Afternoon

Delaney walked down the street to Shawn's house at a fast pace, almost running in her haste. She was on a mission and she knew Shawn would most likely help her. Upon reaching the house she noticed her Aunt Mandy was not home so she headed directly for the kitchen, knowing that Shawn would most likely be there.

"Hey midget, what's up?" Shawn asked looking up from the paperwork he had spread out in front of him.

"Just visiting." She answered innocently. "Where did Aunt Mandy go?"

"She's just running some errands. She should be back soon." Shawn filled her in.

"I still can't believe that you got her to move in with you." Laney stated.

Shawn grinned. "I got extremely lucky. Next step is getting her to go on the road with us."

"Next step? What about marriage?" She asked pretending to be shocked. She knew the idea of any kind of commitment scare him to death.

Shawn fringed horror. "Whoa now, there is no reason to rush anything. I love your aunt but marriage is a life long decision."

"Next thing you know you will be buying a crib and baby clothes." Laney pushed.

Shawn paled, no longer pretending. "That is not funny. I think I 'm going to be sick."

Once she had stopped laughing she got down to business. "Shawn how do you think John is right now?"

Letting out his pent up breath he answered. "I imagine he is doing okay, He has his family there and Randy and Journey."

"Do you think he is going to get out of jail?" She persisted.

"When you consider that he is innocent of any crime then they are going to have to let him out." Shawn answered convincingly.

"Do you think if Daddy hadn't put his foot down that there would be anything we could do?" She asked, watching his face for a sign he was hiding something.

"I am not doing it Delaney." Shawn answered as he got up and pulled some bottled water out of the fridge.

"Do what?" She asked giving him her puppy dog look.

"Help you defy your father and help John." Shawn answered getting exasperated.

"But it's totally unfair. How can he expect us to just sit here and do nothing?" Laney burst out.

"When your dad does something like this he usually has a very good reason. He's not doing it to be mean." Shawn started gathering all his patience.

"So you are not going to help me?" She asked sullenly.

"No, and I don't think you should do anything on your own. We only know a small portion of what's happening up there. Without all the facts you might do more damage than good." Shawn informed her.

"Well then I guess the first order of business is to call someone who can tell me all the facts." She stated huffily before storming out of the house.

Dave walked slowly up to Journey's apartment, taking the time to notice the shabby condition. Ignoring the pots of flowers on the doorstep and the bright cheerful sign he zeroed in on the faded, chipped paint and the sagging shutters.

"There is no reason she has to live like this. I really need to talk her into moving back up with us." He muttered to himself. Realizing that he was using the apartment as an excuse to stall he sighed and approached the door.

Reaching for the door knob he suddenly cringed and jerked his arm back. Agitated he began to pace. He knew that if he went in there and told them the truth of what had happened he was going to be one very sorry man. Angry would not describe their reactions and most of it would be heaped on him, with lots of yelling and maybe some hitting. After dealing with one upset female already that morning he did not know if he had the strength to put up with two more. Wincing he instinctively clutched his throbbing balls. He couldn't imagine the pain another well aimed punch would bring.

Taking a deep breath he tried to work up his nerve for the confrontation ahead. "Come on man. You can do this. You have more muscles in your pinky than they have in their entire body. They're just a couple of wimpy girls. Nothing to be scared of. You can do this."

He was so worked up he never noticed the door opening. "What can you do?" Journey asked as she watched in amazement.

"Yea the wimpy girls are here." Nikki taunted. She bit her lip to keep from laughing when he actually blushed.

Angry that he had been caught he stormed through the doorway brushing the girls aside. Pointing to the sofa he instructed them to sit, explaining that he had something to tell them. But seeing them sitting there watching him expectantly he lost his nerve. Turning he began to pace, muttering about nosy females under his breath.

"Um Dave, are you feeling alright? Cause you are not acting normal and that is really starting to scare me." Journey voiced worriedly.

"I think it's hilarious. The big man looks scared and it also looks like he got hit in a very tender place." Nikki said observing the way he was walking.

Dave flushed in embarrassment for the second time in five minutes. "We ran into some trouble." He stated angrily.

"Trouble? As in the kind that got you hurt?" Journey asked warily.

"So haw many of Jack's friends showed up?" Nikki asked. "And where is everyone else?"

"Um actually there was no one else there." Dave admitted as he closed his eyes. Hearing nothing but silence he cautiously peaked out. Observing their stunned expressions he dropped into a chair in defeat.

"So how did you….." Journey trailed off as Nikki began laughing hysterically.

"Oh my God. You got beat up by a woman. That's why you were so scared to tell us. I wish I had a camera so I could capture the look on your face."

"It gets worse." He admitted miserably.

"How can it get worse? Three of the toughest guys I know just got their asses kicked by one woman." Journey demanded.

"Well actually Randy defected and took the little girl into another room."

"That still leaves you and Paul and a detective who was equipped with a gun." Journey shouted.

"She pretty much took out Detective Jackson with the first hit. She really took out all three of us before we could react." Dave said, shaking his head as he thought back.

"That's because you weren't expecting anything from a wimpy woman." Nikki smirked. "And the reason you got beat so bad was because you have been raised not to hit a girl. Now me and chicky over here, we have been waiting over two weeks for a chance at her. If you had taken us with you we would have laid her out no problem."

"You're right." Dave admitted. Before he could continue Journey jumped off the couch.

"I think I am having a heart attack. First he gets beat up by a girl and now he admits that he's wrong. Hurry call 911 I can't breathe."

"Journey" Dave growled.

Once again she cut him off. "Wait did I just hear my Dave, the one who growls like a bear. Maybe we can fix this. Maybe the shot to his um… painful area did not turn him into a wimpy girl. Okay my heart is slowing down. You can hold the ambulance."

Dave looked from the hysterical Nikki to where Journey was holding her chest and hyperventilating. "Are you implying that I …. That what happened….' He stopped unable to continue that train of thought.

"Well Dave we just thought that when she un-manned you she really un-manned you as in you don't have any anymore." Nikki supplied as she struggled to catch her breath.

"You have to admit you are acting like you don't have any." Journey added.

"I will have you know that I have balls of steel." Dave roared. Realizing what he had just said he turned away appalled. "Why in the world am I having this discussion with them?" He asked himself. Regaining his composure he turned back to the girls. "Let's get a couple of things straight." He began in a deadly quiet voice. "We may have had more trouble than we bargained for with Monica. And I may have been low-blowed as a result but that is what desperate women do and she was desperate. And I would like to inform you that I am the one you ultimately took her out. Now you may have been right when you said you could have handled her more easily but I was right in not allowing you to come. We had no idea what we were walking into and your safety is very important to me."

Rubbing his hand over his face he continued. "Now I admit that I was nervous about admitting that we may have messed up but you two took advantage of it. One more word or laugh out of either of you and I am leaving."

"We understand." The chorused together.

"Also not a word of this conversation goes out of this room." Dave threatened.

"Of course not." Journey assured him.

"Not a word out of this room." Nikki repeated.

Dave stared hard at the gleam in her eye before starting the tale of events. "Paul is on his way to the jail to talk to John. So I got the delightful task of coming to talk to you hooligans." He finished.

Nikki stared thoughtfully outside. "It will get dark in about four hours. If Randy's not back by then he is going to be a sitting duck."

"Well hopefully he has more common sense than that. If not I will be happy to supply him with some." Dave promised.

Paul's cell phone rang as he was trying to navigate the Boston roadways. Reaching over to grab the noisy contraction he turned the wheel too far and drove into the path of a city bus. Grabbing the steering wheel with both hands he was able to keep out of danger. Taking a deep breath he heard his phone beep, indicating that he had a voice mail. Carefully he reached over and picked his phone up from where it had fallen. Flipping it open Paul was surprised to see that he had twenty missed calls and seventeen voice messages. He became concerned when he noticed they were all from his wife.

Pulling over so he wouldn't cause another accident he hurriedly punched in his home number.

"What's wrong?" Is the baby ok?" He rushed to ask when she answered the phone.

"Where have you been? Do you know how many times I have tried calling you this morning? But I guess you can't be too concerned with how your wife is doing. You're too busy trying to play the hero." She snarled.

"Is the baby ok?" Paul yelled into the phone.

"The baby is fine. The baby is just great. In fact he kicks every single second I am lying down. Do you know how uncomfortable that is? You would think I had a whole dance team in here." She bit out.

"So what's wrong?" Why did you call so many times?" Paul asked still worried.

"Oh the baby is fine but I am not. I have to pee every five minutes and it takes me ten minutes just to get out of the chair. I am about to just start sleeping in the bathroom. That is if the baby would allow me to sleep. And you know what else? I want some ice cream and maybe some barbeque. But guess what? There is no one here to get them for me." She shouted.

Paul leaned his head back as he listened to his wife rant. So far this was nothing compared to what she had done when he told her he had to leave. "Your brother should be home today. Why don't you call him and see if he will pick you up something?" He suggested.

"That is not the point. I am miserable. I fell like a beached whale. I can't do anything by myself and I am only seven months pregnant. How am I going to survive two more months, especially when you consider my husband is never here." She was screaming my now.

"I have only been gone for two days. I should be able to get a flight home tonight." Paul tried to reassure her.

"I'm just scared Paul. What if something happens and you aren't here?" Steph asked tearfully.

"I promise you that I will be there. You just have to trust me." After giving her more promises he hung up and continued his path to the jail.

Going through several check points he was finally allowed to see John. Sitting in the chair Paul watched as John was led towards him, the chains around his ankles and wrists clanking. Once John had been seated Paul looked pointedly at the shackles.

"Hey what can I say? I am a murder suspect." John answered the unspoken question.

"This is not a joking matter." Paul said angrily.

"Hey man I know that but I have to joke or I will go crazy in here." John said a little desperately.

"I'm sorry; it's just been a really bad day."

"Is Ari safe?" John asked quietly, almost afraid to know the answer.

"She is no longer with Monica." Paul answered carefully.

"Good. Man you have to know that I will pay you back every cent." John said earnestly.

"We didn't make the payoff." Paul told him.

John looked at him blankly. "But I thought you said Ari was safe?"

"No, I said she was no longer with Monica." Paul explained.

"But she's not safe?" John asked trying to control is anger.

"We really don't know where she is at the moment." The older man admitted.

"Listen," Paul began when John sat there staring at him. "We decided, well I decided that it would be no good to pay her off. What's to stop her from coming back when she runs out of money and kidnapping your daughter for ransom? She won't stop. She will always need the money."

"So what did you do?" John asked calmly.

"Got the police involved. But," Paul held up his hand to stop John from speaking. "But we got a really great guy who is going through a similar situation with his ex wife. He helped us out and he was able to arrest Monica."

"If he was such a help where is my daughter?" John gritted out.

"Well because you have not been awarded custody yet Arianna was going to be placed with social services until the trial. She didn't like that idea so she slipped out the fire escape before we could get to her." Paul explained.

John nodded silently and motioned for the guard to escort him back to his cell. Paul was left staring at the closed door.