Story: Keep the Faith
Rating: T-M
Disclaimer: You know
the drill.
A/N: Responses are at end of the chapter. Sorry for the
typos! Much love to all! (Violence to one!)
Chapter 2 – You Love My Demon Seed
March 31st, 2015
"Do you think he was bluffing?" Grace spoke up. She and Luke had fed the girls. Brynn was now asleep at the end of the table in a portable bassinet. Lara was in her height chair playing with a handful of small toys and chewing on a cold teething ring. Luke and Grace were just getting into their dinner. Grace moved some pasta around on her plate.
"I don't know," Luke shrugged wearily. He had been called into work at 3 am and hadn't gotten home until almost 6pm. He looked across the table at Grace. "I don't think he's the bluffing type. I think he's waiting. Whoever he's got watching us, they're letting him know what our reaction to the letter is," He said.
Grace nodded slightly. She felt nothing but guilt for all of this. "Are you freaked?" She asked him.
Luke nodded, swallowing a mouthful of food. Whenever Ryan's existence was brought up, Luke's mind automatically filtered back to Ocean City. He could still clearly see Grace's body lying on the sand, motionless and blue. He had to shake his head to clear the thought away. Grace saw the shudder that traveled down his back.
"Yeah," He nodded, "I am."
Grace looked back down at her plate, moving the food around some more. She shook her head a little tiny bit and looked up to meet Luke's eyes. "He's not going to hurt us," She said sternly.
Luke's eyes met Grace's and lingered there. There was a look of determination on her face that he had only seen in certain times; like when there was case she was refusing to back down on, or when her father called and laid another guilt trip on her. Slowly, Luke nodded.
"I know," He replied. He knew that by 'us' Grace meant Lara and Brynn as well as Gabe and Mac. Grace looked back down at her plate, willing herself to eat. She felt herself becoming lost in memory; back to when Joan had told her that she was pregnant. It felt like so long ago now.
It was Grace's birthday, March 17th. She hated her birthday. Mostly, she hated her birthday because it was related with one of the biggest drinking Holidays she knew. Usually, just thinking about the sheer irony of it all made her head spin. Today though, March 17th, 2010 was different. It was the first birthday she was going to get to spend with Luke, Adam and Joan since they'd started college. She hated to admit it, but she was excited. Joan and Adam had been living together for awhile and the couples had traveled between NYC and Cambridge to visit each other whenever plausible. Of course that meant only every couple of months because of everyone's schedule.
Today however, Adam and Joan were coming up to visit for the night. Granted it was a Wednesday night but they had both arranged to take Thursday off and were staying the night. They had arrived sometimes in the early afternoon and met Luke and Grace at JB's. After they ate a later lunch, they had headed for Nitro. Nitro was a club that could hold 575 people. File Under X was performing and since it was Grace's birthday and a holiday, Luke had managed to convince Adam and Joan to visit.
At the club, Glynis and Sweet Lou had met up with them, and soon Fleur and Aurelia had come as well. The music and the crowd were loud, making it hard to talk over the music. The group had succumbed to dancing along with the lively crowd when they lost their table.
After an hour or two, Joan had tugged on Grace's arm and motioned for them to go outside. Grace nodded and followed, weaving her way through the crowd by following the back of Joan's head.
"What's up, Girardi?" Grace asked once they were outside. Joan was leaning down on her knees and taking deep, gulping breaths. Grace led her by the elbow over to a bench nearby and sat next to her. "I know you weren't drinking so, you're not sick from that. What did you eat today?" She prodded.
Joan shook her head and emitted a nervous chortle. "It's not that at all," She said.
"Oh?" Grace asked. Joan looked at Grace. "Then what is it?" Grace asked, concerned.
"Remember that winter break during our first year?" Joan spoke up.
Grace stared at her unsure for a moment and then a light bulb went off in her brain. "Oh…OH!" She said. "So you think you're…?"
Joan shook her head. "I don't think I'm anything," She looked at Grace. "I know I am."
Grace stared at Joan in disbelief for a moment. "Does Rove know?" She asked. Joan nodded. "Wow…" Grace stared of into space for a moment. "I mean…just…whoa…"
Joan nodded again. "Yeah, tell me about it."
"Who else knows?" Grace asked.
"I told Mom and Dad this morning. I didn't really like telling them over the phone," She frowned.
Grace nodded now. "When?"
Joan almost snickered. "Due Christmas day," She said.
Grace couldn't help but laugh. "I know for a fact that was not immaculate, Girardi, don't even try to cop out on it."
"It's strange," Joan said after they laughed. "I feel really…calm. I'm not even freaked out about it."
For nine months following, Grace had called Joan nearly every day. Grace had turned out to be more paranoid than even Luke, who managed to call every other day or every three days. Joan never had to ask Grace why she was paranoid; Joan knew. Grace had been waiting for Ryan's return ever since the day he'd accosted her in the bathroom at Pizza Palace. In fact, because Joan was due on the December 25th, she'd assured that both she and Luke had from December 25th until January 3rd off because she knew Joan and Adam would be in Arcadia.
Of course, Gabe had decided to come late. He made his presence known in the middle of the night on December 27th, when Joan's water broke in the middle of a 2am cup of hot chocolate while she and Grace were in the kitchen talking about random memories.
Grace had freaked out, rushing through the house yelling for someone to help. Once everyone was up, they piled into two cars and brought Joan to the hospital. Adam went back with her after changing into hospital issue blue scrubs. He looked dazed mostly. Helen had called Carl, who hadn't taken very long to show up.
Of course, Gabe wasn't one for quick arrivals. In fact they paced the waiting room until 8:24pm on December 28th. After he was born and the nurses set about cleaning him and Joan up, Adam entered the waiting room. He was too dumbstruck to speak for almost five minutes while Helen, Will, Carl, Luke and Grace bum rushed him with multiple questions; Is it a girl or a boy? Is everything okay? Is Joan all right? How much does he weigh? Which one of you does he look like? Can we see him? Can we see Joan? Did you pick a name out yet?
Finally, Adam spoke with a distant smile on his face, "It's a boy. He's perfectly fine. Jane's fine too. 6 pounds and 8 ounces. He looks like both of us. You can see them soon. We picked a name but Jane wants to introduce you to him so I can't tell you," He answered.
After entering Joan's room and being introduced to Gabe, everyone dispersed to go home except for Luke and Grace. Luke went to the cafeteria to get some food and coffee. Gabe was taken to the nursery to sleep and for them to check him over again. Joan had fallen asleep, clearly exhausted. Grace and Adam stood outside the nursery window, staring through at Gabe as he slept among all the other newborns.
"You know…" She had spoken up, "and make no mistake, if you tell anyone I said this you're a dead man…but, watching you guys and seeing him…I can see why people have good reason to get married…I suppose it wouldn't be so bad," She said. Adam had smiled. Though it didn't seem like it, Grace had just admitted that she would like to marry Luke one day.
Adam simply smiled. He still looked dazed and his eyes glazed over some. Grace watched as he absently reached a hand up to the glass, trying to reach out to Gabe, who was sleeping soundly in the nursery.
"If anyone ever tries to hurt him…" Adam spoke up after a few minutes of silence. Grace turned to look at him. She knew that by 'anyone,' Adam meant Ryan.
"Rove…I'll be dead before Hunter gets so much as the tip of a finger on him…" Grace said firmly. Adam turned his head and let his eyes meet with Grace's. They both offered a knowing nod, not needing to say anything further.
"Grace?" Luke's voice pulled Grace back to reality. She looked up to see Luke holding the phone out to her.
"Sorry," She muttered as she took the phone into her hand. "Hello?" She pressed it to her ear.
"Gracie," Her father's voice floated in through her ear.
"Hi dad," She said almost reluctantly.
"Do you know the fish factory place we used to go to?" He asked her.
Grace scrunched her forehead up. "Yeah?" She replied, confused.
"Do you know where it reopened?" He asked
For the past week, Grace's father had been calling and asking random questions; questions Forrest Gump would ask. "Dad, I haven't lived there in nearly 7 years…" She said calmly.
"Oh, right…right," He said slowly.
"Is there anything else, dad?" Grace asked after a couple minutes of silence.
"No…well…maybe," He replied. "How are the girls?" He asked.
"They're good dad," Grace replied. She didn't see why he cared, he hadn't even tried to arrange a day to come up and visit since Brynn had been born. Even Helen and Will had come up for a whole weekend just to see the girls.
"Okay. Good. Good," The Rabbi replied. "It's getting late, I'll let you go," He said. "Goodnight Gracie."
"Bye Dad," Grace said. She hung up and put the phone down on the table as Luke was washing the dinner dishes. "I think my dad is turning into Rainman…" She put her head down on the table. She lifted her head and rested her chin on the edge of Brynn's portable bassinet when she heard the baby gurgle in her sleep. Her eyes opened briefly and almost squinted up at Grace. "What, you think that's funny?" She asked with a small to the little girl as she ran a hand over the baby's peach fuzz covered head. Brynn blinked at her a few times and then closed her eyes again as Grace rubbed a few circles on her belly.
Luke was content just watching Grace as she turned her attention to Lara. Grace lifted Lara out of her highchair and took the bib from around her neck, placing it on the table. She leaned back in her chair as Lara put her head right down on Grace's shoulder. Lara pulled at the strands of her bright golden blonde locks. "Somebody's tired…" Grace said, pulling Lara's hand away and rubbing circles on the little girl's back, hoping to send her right off to sleep. She didn't notice Luke watching until there was a knock on the door of the apartment.
Grace raised an eyebrow at Luke. "Who could that be?" She asked. Normally, Cappy would call them and assure that they knew who was visiting them. Grace looked at the clock and realized Cappy had already gone home. Johnny, the night doorman was less strict than Cappy; Grace hated that. Luke shrugged. He walked over to the door and looked trough the peep hole. Grace stood and walked around to the other side of the table, almost shielding the bassinet on the table.
"It's a little girl," Luke stated.
"What?" Grace asked taking a step forward. She walked over to the door as Luke opened it. In the hallway stood a girl who looked like she could be no more than 10 or 11. Her brown hair was matted in knots and her face was dirty. It looked like she'd been wearing the same clothes for weeks and her shoes were falling off her feet.
"Can we help you?" Grace asked, handing Lara off to Luke. Luke promptly took a few steps back with his daughter, eyeing the girl cautiously. The girl shivered in the doorway. She was wet from the rain coming down outside. There were various cuts and scratches visible on her arms, hands and face. There was a dark red splotch on the side of her shirt by her stomach that looked like it could have been dried blood. Grace felt leery, unsure what to make of the girl.
The little girl looked at Grace closely, wobbling as she stood, like she was dizzy. "I'm looking for Grace Polk…" She said wearily. Her eyes were glazed over and rolled back into her head a few times.
"Who are you?" Grace asked calmly, inching forward.
"I'm…" The girl started to say. She swayed and against her better judgment, Grace reached out to steady the girl by her shoulders. "Anneliese…" The girl looked at Grace and attempted to speak again, but before she could, her eyes rolled up again and she collapsed forward. Grace moved to catch her, bringing her down to her knees with the girl's upper body in her lap.
"Call an Ambulance," She said to Luke who had already grabbed the phone. Grace felt around for the girl's pulse. Her pulse was steady, but she wouldn't open her eyes, though she was mumbling and shuddering. Luke brought a blanket and Grace wrapped it around the girl.
"Hey, so what's going on?" Joan asked as she let Luke into the apartment. She took Lara out of his arms. Lara shifted but stayed asleep, leaning her head on Joan's shoulder. Adam soon appeared behind Joan as Luke put a stuffed diaper bag next to the stroller that Brynn was slumbering it.
"I don't know," Luke said honestly. "Some kid showed up at our door asking for Grace. She looked like a street kid. She said told us her first name and then just collapsed."
"Whoa…" Adam said. "Is she okay?"
Luke shrugged. "Grace went with her in the ambulance. I'm going to head over and see if I can figure out what the deal is. I'll call you and let you know when I can pick them up. I'll try not to make it too late," Luke said, noticing it was almost 9.
Joan shook her head. "Take your time. They can stay over if you need them too," She assured with a smile.
"Thanks," Luke kissed both the girls and then his sister on the cheek and shook Adam's hand quickly. "I owe you a Friday night," He said as he left.
"You can go in and see her when you'd like," The doctor told Grace.
"Is she okay?" Grace asked.
The doctor nodded. "Well, she was extremely malnourished and suffering from some pretty severe fatigue, which is not entirely uncommon in homeless children. She's also suffering from some pretty advanced sepsis. When she collapsed she was fairly close to going into septic shock. But we've set her up with some antibiotics, and we've cleaned the infected wound on her side, which also needed stitches. She's also on an IV to put some electrolytes and nourishment back into her system until she's feeling up to eating something solid," He informed Grace. Grace nodded, taking in all this information. "I've also called Social Services. They'll be here in the morning to sort out everything and figure out who she belongs to and why she's been living in these conditions so long. You're welcome to stay with her if you would like, however."
"Thank you Dr. Brice," Grace said, shaking his hand. Grace had known Dr. Brice since she was four months pregnant with Lara. After being struck by a bike messenger who was trying to get away from the cops, Grace had been taken to the emergency room with a concussion, and also because she had been hemorrhaging. Dr. Brice had been the doctor who had taken care of her. He had checked on her repeatedly while she was in the hospital for the following three days and since then had treated Gabe for a gash on his elbow that needed three stitches, and had even treated Lara during her first emergency room visit recently when she stuffed a peanut m&m she'd gotten a hold of up her nose.
"Anytime Grace," He smiled. "If you'll excuse me."
"Of course," Grace nodded. She made her way to the room that Anneliese was in and cautiously went inside. She stopped at the end of the bed and picked up the girl's chart. They had found no form of identification on the girl, and so her last name wasn't even filled out on the chart. Grace set it back down and walked around to the front of her bed. She sat down after pulling the chair over and studied the girl's face. She looked vaguely familiar but Grace couldn't figure out why.
In her sleep, the girl's face contorted. She looked like she was in great discomfort. Grace felt her heart leap. She hated seeing the shape that most of the abused kids she worked with on a daily basis for cases. This girl was no different. She was either orphaned or abandoned and had been struggling to survive. Grace reached out and brushed the girl's matted hair out of her face, wondering how and why the girl had been trying to find her; by her other last name no less.
Just then, the little girl's eyes fluttered open. Grace retracted her hand swiftly. She blushed at being caught and offered a sheepish smile. Anneliese's eyes seemed to be trying to focus. Once they did, she stared at Grace for a long time, looking almost relieved.
"So…Anneliese is it?" Grace asked. The girl nodded. "You want to tell me why you were looking for me?" She spoke calmly, hoping she didn't scare the girl.
Anneliese swallowed hard. Her eyes filled up, immediately alarming Grace.
"Hey, it's okay. You're in a hospital. You're going to be all right," Grace assured.
Anneliese shook her head. She clenched her jaw and looked up to avoid crying.
Grace recognized the facial expression all too well. "Okay, let's start with basics instead, shall we? Who are you?" She pressed on.
"Everyone calls me Liese," The girl said.
Grace nodded. She reached out and put her hand on top of the girl's. "Okay, Liese. I'm Grace."
Liese nodded, but seemed afraid to speak anymore.
"Are you from New York?" Grace prodded. Liese shook her head. "Where are you from?"
"Maryland," The girl said. Grace felt herself squirm at this news/
"Okay…what about your parents?" Grace continued. The girl's eyes filled more now.
"My mom's dead…" She forced out. Liese squeezed Grace's hand harder and Grace reached her free hand out to put it over top of the hand she was already holding.
"I'm sorry," Grace said. "My mom died a few years ago," She was hoping to gain a little more trust from the girl. "What about your dad?"
The girl froze. Her eyes were wide now. She clearly was terrified to speak about him. Grace nodded.
"It's okay. We don't have to talk about him," Grace assured. "Why were you trying to find me?" She ventured to ask again.
Anneliese look at her for a long moment before she spoke. "You're the only one who can help me," She said.
Grace thought about this statement for a long moment. "I can't help you if you don't tell me who you are," She said.
"My name is Anneliese Saunders…" She took a deep breath and looked Grace square in the eye, terrified. "My father is Ryan Hunter," She said.
Grace stared at Anneliese in shock and disbelief for a long time. Her mouth gaped open as she tried to find some words; something to say to make all of this make sense.
"I'll understand if you hate me…" Anneliese's voice came back weak and vulnerable. She had actually sunk back into the bed. She averted her eyes, letting a stray tear fall now.
"No, no," Grace said, shaking her head before she could even think clearly. She reached out a hand and wiped the tear away from the girl's cheek. Anneliese looked up at Grace. Grace couldn't grasp this. Luke's father had never told her that Ryan had a daughter. She wondered if anyone even knew. She wondered if Ryan knew. Grace found herself sitting on the edge of the bed. She gingerly brushed the girl's hair back behind her ear. "I promise I'll do everything I can to help you," She swore to this girl; her niece. Grace's mind reeled. She wondered for a moment if she was really awake or not.
"You are the one, you are a tease," Ryan bobbed his head and sung as he reached for a wrench. He was on a rolling board under his truck. It was run down and run out after being driven across Canada for nearly two years. Now, he was almost done fixing it. He had fake New York plates all ready for it. He had his documents all in order. All that was left was getting this heap of junk up and running and then sure enough, he'd be heading for one helluva party. Smiling to himself, he sung along to the blaring radio that was near his toolbox, belting out some Billy Idol. "You love my demon seed, you know just what I mean, climb up my lemon tree, make me scream! All night, all night long! Gonna get obscene! All night, all night long! All night, all night long! Ow!" He bobbed his head again.
"So what name are you going by now, old friend?" A woman's seductive voice replaced the song as they turned off the radio.
Ryan stopped turning the wrench when he heard the voice. He turned his head and looked at the person's legs for a second, smiling to himself. He reached up and tugged, rolling himself right out from under the truck, right between her legs. He grinned up at her, knowing he was covered in grease. He'd lost his shirt long ago, sweating too heavily to keep it on. His ratty jeans were streaked with grease where he'd wiped his hands off.
"Depends on what your favorite name to scream is," He told her. She smiled seductively at him, biting at the corner of her mouth with her hands on her hips. "What've you got for me, Dom?" He reached out for her, licking his lips.
Easily he pulled her down, straddling his lap. She reached into her back pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. "Johnny sends his regards," She smiled briefly before diving into his neck and savagely tasting at his dirty skin. She always did find it sexy when he worked on the truck but Ryan was all business. He didn't stop her advances, just ignored them as he read the paper in his hands. He was aware of a nearby neighbor shaking her head and covering her daughter's eyes and ushering the child in the house.
"Good news?" Dominique asked between her attacks at his neck. She felt Ryan's laughter as it billowed through his vocal chords and out his lips. He grabbed her by her hip and her but, pulling her down against him fiercely before capturing her mouth in a rough, lust filled kiss. He laughed as he released her, pulling a hand up to her face. She was covered in grease now too.
"Good news," He confirmed, diving in for another kiss. "We'll leave tomorrow."
"Where…are we going?" She asked, panting.
"It's a surprise," He told her easily as his hands came down and pulled away her blouse, exposing her bare back to the sun. It was cold out, at least to Dom it was.
"Let's go inside…" She suggested nipping around his ear.
"It's too nice of a day…" He replied easily maneuvering the buckle of her belt, the button and zipper of her jeans with one swift movement. Dominique had given up protesting with Ryan months ago.
April 1st, 2005
"Knock, knock," Joan said as she entered Grace and Luke's apartment.
"Mommy!" Gabe rushed her. Joan swooped down and scooped him up just before he hit her legs. She placed a big kiss on his cheek.
"Did you have fun with Uncle Luke and Gigi?" Joan asked as she walked into the living room. She smirked at the death glare Grace shot her from the floor where she was sitting on a spread out blanket with Lara and Mac, who were both winging toys around and emitting high pitched gibberish.
Gabe nodded profusely and began to recount the day quickly. Joan nodded and listened before setting him down to play with the girls. Joan took a seat across from Grace on the floor. Mac looked up and noticed her and promptly crawled into her lap just long enough for a hug before crawling back to the toys on the floor.
"So, tell me what's going on already," Joan spoke up.
Grace looked at Joan for a moment. She didn't know where to start.
"Luke told us something about a girl," Joan said, hoping to kick-start Grace's commentary. Grace took a deep breath.
"You're not going to believe this one…" She said.
"Oh please, after all the crap we've been through?" Joan chuckled with a wave of her hand.
"Rove, no," Grace shook her head. She recounted the story from when Anneliese showed up at their door until when Dr. Brice gave her the run down of Anneliese's ailments.
"Wow…so did you find out who she was?" Joan asked after Grace finished.
Grace nodded. She looked at the girls for a minute as Lara crawled over into her lap. Grace ran a hand through Lara's soft hair. It hung just below her ears, pin straight and golden. Lara just looked up at Grace, reaching a hand up to play with her necklace. It was a gold chain with her engagement ring on it. When Grace and Luke had moved into the apartment, Grace had lost the ring for a full day; eventually Luke had found it in-between the couch cushions. Since then, Grace had worn the ring on a necklace, which she only took off every once in a great while to clean.
"She's Ryan's daughter," Grace finally said, watching Joan for her reaction.
Joan's mouth hung open for a moment as she stared at Grace. "That means she's your…"
"Yeah…" Grace nodded. "I know."
"That's so weird…" Joan replied.
Grace nodded.
"So…her mom…was that's Ryan's doing?" Joan asked.
"Your dad's looking into it," Grace said. "She said they were sleeping and someone broke into their house. She hid in a crawl space under the back of the house for 2 days. After that she spent two weeks trying to find me. She thinks I'm the only one who can save her from Hunter. She wouldn't tell me if she saw whom it was that broke in. She did say it was more than one person though."
"Whoa…I don't even know what to say," Joan commented after a moment of shocked silence.
"Yeah, tell me about it," Grace agreed. They continued to talk about the situation as they entertained the kids, waiting for Adam and Luke to arrive. Adam was on his way from the gallery. Luke had gone to pick up their pizza, fries and soda for dinner on the way home from work.
"Come on, where are we going?" Dominique asked from the passenger seat.
"You'll see," Ryan continued driving. "We're close now."
Dominique's eyes lit up, a sure sign that she'd been following the road signs, trying to guess where they were going. "New York? We're going to New York?" In the same instance, the gravity of that statement hit her. She frowned. "We're going there because of her, aren't we?"
Ryan didn't answer. He turned the radio up. Dominique frowned. Ryan was obsessed with that sister of his and it drove her crazy. He talked about her all the time. Dominique was a messenger. She picked up the letters, the photographs and the videos. They were all of Grace and her family. Her and that other couple. Ryan called them the enemy. They didn't look evil to Dominique, but she didn't know what evil looked like. No, as far as she could tell they were just two families, young and raising small children. She couldn't see what wrong they had done Ryan, but complaining about that only made Ryan angry. She was desperate for Ryan's attention. She never wanted to be on Ryan's bad side. She'd seen his bad side. Still, his obsession with Grace-his own sister-bothered her right down to her core.
"Yes, it's time for a visit," He grinned.
"Right…a visit…" She replied, looking out the window.
"You know that plan we've been working on?" Ryan spoke up.
Dominique's ears perked up. Whenever he spoke about the plan-the plan that she was involved in-it was a chance to square things up and earn herself points in Ryan's view. The more she went along with, the better he thought of her and the better he treated her.
"Yeah?" She asked, leading him. She knew he loved to talk about it too.
"We're going to go through with it," He told her. "We're heading to Johnny's. He's going to hook us up with a place to stay. Off the radar. We'll start slow, with little things. We'll make a couple of trips down to Maryland too, keep that nosy father-in-law of hers off the trail."
"Why prolong it?" Dominique asked innocently. "Why not just take care of the problem right away? We can go somewhere warm, with sand and water…and those fruity little drinks with the little tiny umbrellas in them…"
"Why do women always want to run away to a beach and become alcoholics with little drink umbrellas?" Ryan asked. The irritation in his voice made Dominique switch gears. She reached over and ran a hand lazily over his thigh.
"It's easy for us to have our way with you men on a nice hot sunny day, in the middle of a beach with waves crashing all around, and a nice cool cocktail…" She used her seductive voice, leaning in to his neck.
Ryan smirked. "I suppose it's ingrained in your brains," He said. "We'll leave when I say it's time though." He told her. Dominique nodded, deciding to drop the issue.
"Daddy, can I have a cookie?" Gabe begged. It was just about 8:30pm and Gabe needed a bath. Joan was in the back finishing up with Mac and putting her to sleep. Adam had stopped to answer the phone.
"Hang on one minute, Gabe," Adam said before returning his attention to the phone. "That week works for us. I'm pretty sure Joan already cleared it on her calendar. I'll remind her when we hang up though," He replied.
"That's perfect. Kevin and Lily are taking their vacation that week too. We just have to convince Grace and Luke now," Helen replied happily over the phone.
"They were talking about it at dinner. I think they're up for it. Grace isn't planning on going back to work until the middle of June anyway. Luke's been putting in extra overtime anyway and his boss has been badgering him to plan a vacation. I'm sure it wouldn't take much to convince them," Adam replied.
"Daddy…" Gabe tugged at Adam's pant leg. Joan appeared in the kitchen so Adam handed off the phone. He grabbed a cookie for Gabe and then led him up the hallway.
"Hey mom," Joan said into the receiver. "So where are we going this year?" She asked. They had started taking vacations together with the family two years ago. Last year they'd gone to Disney in Florida.
"Your father's old friend is letting us use their house at Lake St. Catherine," Helen told Joan.
"A lake? Sounds fun to me," Joan decided. "Ooh, so long as you know we have tons of bug spray and stuff. Mosquitoes are evil."
Helen chuckled at her daughter. "Okay, I'm going to go and call Luke and see if they've decided to join us this year or not," She said.
"Oh I totally prepared them to say yes for you," Joan replied. Helen laughed again.
"Oh, I knew you would," She said. "Goodnight honey."
"Night mom, tell Daddy we say hi," Joan replied.
"I will," Helen said before both of them hung up.
"Okay lay it on me, where are we going this year?" Grace asked as she approached Luke, who was sitting on the couch with his head lolling back tiredly against the cushion and his feet up on the coffee table.
"Lake house. Someone my dad knows owns it, so he's letting us use it," Luke said, reaching up to tiredly rub his face. He had been called into work again at 4 am this time and hadn't arrived home until 6pm. He had been too tired to even be hungry by the point when he brought dinner home with him for everyone. Grace sat on the couch next to him.
"Come on," She waved her hand. Luke looked at her for a moment before turning and laying his body across the couch, resting his head into her lap. Grace pulled his glasses off and put them on the end table. She knew he hated waking up to go in so early because he always forgot to put his contacts in. She reached out and turned off the news, leaving them mostly in the dark with the only light coming from the small light in the kitchen that they left on all the time. She ran her left hand through his hair and used it to gently stroke circles at his temple. Her right hand trailed along his back and shoulders. Luke shifted under her touch, his body relaxed easily. Grace listened to him sigh. He turned so he was on his back and squinted up at her in the dark. Grace just ran her hand through his messed hair again.
"Do you want to go to sleep?" She asked him.
Luke shook his head. "I don't think I can…" He replied.
"Bad day, huh?" She asked him.
Luke nodded. "It was…disturbing…"
"Okay, I get it, you don't wanna tell me," She offered a small, half offended smiling. "That usually means it's pretty bad," She said knowingly.
Luke just watched her for a few minutes. She busied herself with playing with the hair at tufts at the back of his neck; something she was well aware sent shivers down his spine.
"What?" She asked when she noticed him staring.
"I figured out a new formula," He spoke up.
Grace looked at him, trying to judge if he was serious or not. "For real?" She asked.
Luke nodded. "I tested it during lunch," He said. Grace knew that this meant he hadn't eaten all day. "I picked up a glass, a gun, a knife, shoes and a notebook, then I wiped all traceable fingerprints off of them before spraying them with the solution. Turned off the lights and used the red flashlights. All of the prints were there, in perfect detail," He smiled proudly.
Grace smiled. She leaned down and landed a long sweet kiss on his lips. "Congratulations," She told him.
Luke reached his hand up to her face, brushing her hair behind her ear. "Do you know what this means?" He said slowly around an exhausted yawn.
Grace thought for a moment, "You're going to catch more scumbags for me to take to court?" She smiled.
Luke nodded. "That's not all though…" He smiled.
"What else?" Grace asked, leaning down for another kiss. She pulled away but lingered close as he spoke.
"We're going to be filthy stinking rich…" He grinned. Grace laughed before Luke reached out and pulled her in for another kiss.
Grace pulled away after a few minutes. "This isn't an April Fool's joke is it?" She asked suspiciously.
Luke laughed. "No way," He smiled. They were in the middle of another kiss when the phone rang.
Grace sat back up and grabbed the phone before it rang a second time. "Hello?" She asked. There was silence on the other end for a minute before someone took in a deep breath and let it out shakily.
"Uhm…A-Aunt Grace?" A voice asked. Grace shuddered for a second.
"Liese?" Grace asked back. "Everything okay?"
"Oh…yeah…I just…" Anneliese hesitated. "I don't know why I called, I'm sorry…"
"No, it's all right, what's wrong?" Grace persisted.
"W-Would it be to much…to ask if you could come down here?" Anneliese sounded small. She sniffled, and Grace knew she'd been crying. "Oh, that's stupid, it's late and you have a little baby. Never mind-,"
"It's not a problem. I'll be there as soon as I can," Grace interrupted her.
"Everything okay?" Luke asked once Grace hung up.
She looked down at him with a frown. "She's spooked. She wants to know if I can come stay with her for a while."
Luke nodded and they both stood up. Grace went to grab her jacket. "Call me when you get there?" He asked.
Grace nodded. She walked over to him and pulled him to her by the back of his head, bringing her lips upon his for a long moment. She smiled when she pulled away.
"We'll continue the conversation about your formula in the morning," She said.
Luke smiled and nodded, kissing her once more before she turned away to leave. Luke watched her go. He waited up watching the news until Grace called to tell him she'd arrived and was okay. He tried to sleep, but found he just couldn't. His mind rolled through various thoughts. The chemical concoction he'd cooked up would secure them financially. That was a good thing. It would also put them in the news for a little while. That was a bad thing with Ryan lurking around somewhere in the background. After a while, Luke found himself floating between rooms and staring down at his daughters. He felt his heart pounding a number of times, thinking about what he would do if Ryan ever came near them and tried to hurt them. By the time the sun came up, Luke was watching the news in the living room again.
A/N: And so, chapter two. Do with it what you will, I'm at your mercy!
Chapter title from 'Scream' by Billy Idol.
Responses: Evil But Friendly Rival – Welcome aboard! (Have you read the first two stories?) I'm glad you liked the Ryan/Grace dynamic. Thanks for the kudos!
Coveredinrain16 – Thanks for the kudos, friend! I wish I could be the writer of the show as well. Any show really. But anyway. The kiss fight is among my favorite scenes ever written lol. Luke is a forensic pathologist for the FBI. As for the kids thing, I'm still tinkering around with that. ) Much love!
Kool-Wolf – I can't promise not to put any more kids in the story. I am limited though. Kev and Lily are going to have more kids in this story dude. FYI: Ryan's about to get pretty nasty so…for-warning! What kind of something do you think should happen to Grace's dad? Like did you mean Ryan should do something or fights between Grace and the rabbi? Hate back atcha, violence to you!
Magentabear – Woohoo! You love Gabe. Gabe's my favorite character to tinker with at the moment. Ryan's going to be extra twisted in this story, I've decided. Everyone's going to think I'm crazy cause he's going to be so psycho.
Sayxanything – Cliffhangers are awesome! You know they are! Besides, what else am I going to do to keep you coming back for more? Much love! Cows, cows every-where….ahem….moving on!
Sam – I was beginning to think I lost ya! Ha! Sorry for making you close to tears and the proposal, yo. Thanks for the beginning kudos. Honestly, I have a notepad list to keep straight who's who! Good luck with your classes! Much love!
Audrey – Pssst…update soon! I'm glad I can keep hooking you in! Ryan can't simply just fall off a bridge, he needs to be tortured or something first! Thanks for the kudos, much love!
Jane and Adam – What can I say, sometimes I'm quick, heh! Much love.
Carol – Ditto what I said above! ) Yay! I've swayed you opinion of the characters with kids! Dude that's a total ego boost lol. Just think, all this laughing I'm making you do is good for you! Did you know that one good laugh lowers your blood pressure for up to 45 minutes? Thanks for the kudos! Much love!
Mermaid Gurl 95 – Welcome aboard! Thanks for the kudos! Have you read the others to? Thanks for the review! Hope to hear from ya again! Much love!
Tiffany – Hey…update dude! I always ask if I stink cause I'm paranoid, yo! It might not be that they quit; they might have just gotten stuck with writer's block on the matter. Sorry bout the overload of homework dude! I'll e-mail you later. (I'm about to run my errands for the day and then head back to the beach.) Much love!