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 3 – Long Way Down, I Don't Think I'll Make It On My Own
June 4th, 2015
"I'm heading to drop off your sister's cell," Grace stuck her head into her and Luke's room.
Luke nodded wearily from the rocking chair he had moved from Lara's room so that he could rock Brynn to sleep. Grace almost frowned at him. He hadn't slept the night before again. She was starting to get worried. He had been having trouble sleeping increasingly with each passing week.
"I'll take Damage with me," Grace told him. "You should try and get some sleep tonight," She suggested.
Luke looked up at her. "I'm fine," He said.
Grace nodded. "Okay," She said before leaving the room and heading for the door of their apartment. She whistled and Damage, their Australian cattle dog leapt off of his bed in the corner of the living room and trotted over. They had had him for a little more than a year and a half. They found him in an alley a few months before Lara was born. True to Luke's repeated statements that she had a weakness for puppies, she'd made Luke pick abandoned 4 week old pup up in his jacket.
They took him to a vet. Other then being overrun with fleas, it looked like the puppy had only been abandoned for 4 or 5 days. They gave him all of his shots and kept him for a week before Grace had finally talked Luke into adopting him. For three weeks they'd had to bottle feed him and teach him how to eat regular food. Grace had claimed it was practice for getting in routine with waking up, feeding and cleaning up after for when the baby came.
Damage had quickly become part of the family. His fur was mostly a gray/blue color with patches of brown, tan and black spread throughout his body and face. He wasn't a very destructive dog and he was good with playing with the kids. Grace hooked his leash on and made sure to grab the phone Joan had left before leaving the apartment.
It took Grace slightly longer than usual to get to Joan and Adam's apartment only because she'd had to stop and clean up after Damage went to the bathroom on the sidewalk. Luckily there was a trashcan nearby.
"Hey," Joan opened the door to let Grace inside. "Hey Damage!" She said in a baby voice, reaching down to pet the dog, which licked at her hand.
"Hi," Grace followed Joan into the living room. She unhooked Damage as she sat on the couch with Joan. Gabe was lying on the ground on a blanket, looking exhausted. Damage walked over and sniffed him before licking his face. Gabe giggled quietly and reached up to hug and pet Damage. "Is he still sick?" Grace asked, looking at Gabe as Damage laid down next to him and put his head on Gabe's tummy.
"His fever's gone. I think he's just tired now," Joan curled her legs under herself. She looked over and caught Grace running a tired hand through her hair and over her face. "Is the baby still not sleeping through the night?" She asked with a small smile.
"No, she'd not too bad," Grace said slowly, gazing at her nephew and trying to avoid Joan's gaze.
"Luke having trouble sleeping again?" Joan continued to prod.
Grace considered whether or not she should answer. She found herself answering before she could even assemble sentences in her mind. "I can't tell whether he's got extreme anxiety over the Ryan thing, work's getting to him really bad or if I did something to upset him," She blushed at the last statement.
"I doubt it was anything you did," Joan said. "So that leaves work or Ryan."
Grace frowned at this, leaning forward to rest her elbows on her knees and her face in her hands for a second. She took a deep breath and moved her hands to the back of her neck. "I know it's not because of work," Grace frowned. "He's been in their lab working on his finger print, spray…stuff to tweak it. And that leaves Hunter. I feel like all of this is my fault."
"Don't be ridiculous," Joan gave Grace's shoulder a pat, not sure if Grace would accept a more comforting gesture at the moment.
"It's not ridiculous," Grace defended. She thought about the past couple of weeks alone. Anneliese was living in a foster home about 20 minutes away after being released from the hospital. Grace and Luke hadn't been sure what to do about her, and since Grace was her only living next of kin, Grace called in a few favors to keep her in the system in New York until she and Luke could figure out what to do about the situation. Not only this, but over the past three weeks, 5 apartments in their building had been broken into. Luke was running paranoid about the nighttime front door man. Grace pretty much agreed that she thought Johnny had something to do with it. She hadn't like Johnny since he'd started working, around the same time Lara was born.
Joan blinked at Grace after Grace told her all of this. "Grace, it's just stress and worry. After this vacation, everything will calm down, you'll see," She put her hand on Grace's shoulder and offered a tight lipped smile when Grace looked over at her.
"Maybe," Grace shrugged.
"Surely," Joan nodded.
Grace stood and Joan followed. "I should get back. I swear if he's not asleep, I'm hitting him over the head with a blunt object," She said as they walked to the door.
"Who are we attacking?" Adam emerged from the hallway. His hair was wet as he greeted them with a smile, having obviously finished a shower and changed.
"Luke," Joan smiled standing next to him.
"Ouch," Adam said. Grace offered a smirk before calling Damage over. She crouched down and hooked his leash on as Gabe trotted up behind Damage.
"Are you going home?" He asked Grace.
Grace nodded. "It's past my bedtime," She offered him a tiny smile.
"Me too," Gabe said. He leaned in to whisper to her, but Joan and Adam still heard him. "When you're sick mommy and daddy let you stay up later," He said. Grace bit back her laughter. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Joan cover her mouth to keep from laughing.
"I'll have to make sure I keep that in mind," Grace smiled at Gabe. Gabe nodded. He reached out and wrapped his arms around her neck.
"Bye-bye Gigi," He said tiredly. Grace hugged him back with her free hand and planted a wet kiss on his cheek, making him squirm away slightly.
"Sweet dreams, kid," She let him go and stood up.
"See you tomorrow," Adam stated.
"What time are you guys heading for the lake?" Joan asked.
"We're leaving first thing in the morning. Probably about 7am," Grace answered.
"I have one client at 10am, so we should be leaving here about noon. We should get there between 4 and 5," Joan said.
Grace nodded. "I let your parents know," She said. They exchanged greetings and Grace went on her way.
"You're coming in awfully late tonight," Johnny said with a fake smile plastered on his face.
Grace did her best not to just tell him to go shove his aerosol mace up his ass. It was only 8:30 after all. It was, however, dark out already. "Me and Damage went for a long walk," She chose to say instead, not stopping as she walked past the desk towards the elevators.
"Goodnight," Johnny called after her. Grace only waved in reply. After the elevator doors closed, Johnny reached for the phone and dialed a number.
"What?" Ryan's voice floated back through the receiver.
"Don't talk to me like that, you're using my house," Johnny reprimanded Ryan.
"Shut up, what do you want?" Ryan replied.
"She's heading up to her apartment now. He's already up there with the kids," Johnny replied.
There was silence on the line for a moment. "Good. I'll send someone over in a couple of hours. They'll hit an apartment on their floor tonight," Ryan said. "I'll call you when they're heading over so you're prepared."
"Got it," Johnny said diligently.
Grace made sure she was as quiet as possible when she entered the dark apartment. She unhooked Damage and gave him a biscuit. Damage took the treat and walked back to his bed to lie down to enjoy it. She didn't hear any movement so she made her way towards the bathroom. She got herself some aspirin for the headache that had formed while she was thinking on her walk back home. After she finished the cup of water, she put it back on the sink and turned to head towards the bedroom.
As she walked back into the hallway, she jumped nearly half a foot in the year and threw her hand to her chest as she yelped in surprise. Standing in the hallway was Luke, with his hair disheveled and his glasses thrown on sloppily, aiming a gun at her.
Luke sighed and relaxed his arms. "You scared the hell out of me," He said, running his hand through his hair.
Grace stared at him, wide-eyed. "I scared the hell out of you?" She asked incredulously. Luke nodded. "What the hell is wrong with you?" Grace said in a harsh whisper, smacking Luke angrily in the chest.
"Ow! What?" Luke asked, sounding confused.
Grace grabbed his arm and dragged him to the living room so she could talk louder without waking the girls up. "What the hell would possess you to bring a gun in our apartment?" She asked him angrily.
"It's registered. I know how to use it. They trained me at work," Luke shrugged. "I figured it would be better to be prepared."
Grace smacked his arm again. "We have little kids in the apartment!"
"Ow. I hid it way out of Lara's reach and Brynn's only a couple of months old," Luke defended himself.
Grace clenched her jaw in anger, holding her hands out as she took a deep breath to calm herself. "Luke," She said seriously, "I want it out of here. If Lara happens upon it one night when we're exhausted and we lapse inpaying attention…"
"That's not going to happen," Luke assured. "Why do you have such an issue with me trying to make sure we're safe?"
"We don't need a pistol to be safe," Grace argued. "I don't want that in our apartment. So many things can go wrong…"
Luke advanced forward, putting his free hand on her shoulder. "I won't let the girls get near it. You won't even know it's here. And if we need it, then it will be here," He reasoned.
Grace shook her head, closing her eyes and trying to keep her composure. She opened her eyes and looked at him. "We're going away in the morning. I want that unloaded and locked away until we get back. When we get back, I want it gone-,"
"Grace," Luke seemed confused still as to what the big deal was. Logically, he couldn't understand how Grace could think he would let Lara or Brynn get near it, no matter how old they were. He seemed to miss the idea that despite the best planning, the girls could still find the weapon, on purpose or by accident.
"Luke," Grace interrupted Luke right back. "This is not up for discussion. I understand you're freaked okay, I am too. I won't let you put us in more danger then we already are in. You could have shot me just now! I'm done talking about this," She said sternly.
Luke frowned. He put the weapon down on the counter of the window cut out and stepped forward. "I'm sorry," He said, reaching to pull her to him. Grace backed out of his embrace, shaking her head.
"Just…" She looked at him, clearly shaken still. "Let's get to sleep; we have an early day…" She walked around him and headed for their bedroom, leaving Luke to stare down at his feet guiltily rubbing at the back of his head.
June 5th, 2015
"Good morning you two," Cappy said the next morning when Grace and Luke came down to the lobby early the next morning. Luke was pushing the strolled with Brynn in it. Damage's leash was tied to the stroller as he stood next to it wagging his tail. He had a large duffle bag over one shoulder and an overstuffed diaper bag over the other. Grace was wheeling a suitcase, with another duffle bag over her shoulder and balancing Lara on her hip with her other arm.
"Hey Cappy, what's going on?" Grace asked as Luke dug for his keys to go get their car.
"Another robbery," Cappy frowned.
Luke and Grace exchanged a glance. They hadn't spoken much yet this morning. Grace averted her eyes and looked back at Cappy.
"Where?" She asked.
"8 doors down from you," Cappy told her.
Grace swallowed hard.
"How did they get in?" Luke asked.
"Johnny was outside breaking up a scuffle. They snuck in when he wasn't paying attention and left out the fire escape. Terrible, terrible thing, really," Cappy continued, shaking his head. "The young woman who lived there was attacked and…" Cappy trailed off. "Don't you worry; I'm going to make sure nothing else happens. By the time you get back this will all be in the past," He assured. Grace kept asking questions as Luke went to get their car and pull it around.
"Are we going to just ignore each other for the whole trip?" Luke asked two hours into the ride after the girls had fallen asleep and Damage has stopped pacing the floor of the backseat and was now chewing on a bone as he lie on the floor. Luke didn't take his eyes off the road as he drove. Grace tore her eyes from looking out the window to glance at him. She looked back out the window. She closed her eyes and gave her head a slight shake.
"Why would you make a decision like that without even talking to me?" Grace tried to make her statement sound like she was angry. The hurt she felt was the emotion that came through when she spoke though.
Luke frowned. "I didn't think you were going to react the way you did…" He sounded small and weak.
Grace turned to look at him. "How should I have reacted? Luke in a year or two Lara and Brynn are going to be going through everything and anything that strikes them as curious. Do you want them to find a gun and blow one of their heads off?" She asked. She was highly aware that even the thought that this could happen made her eyes fill. When had she gone this soft and emotional?
Luke's frown deepened. "You know I don't want that," He said. Grace caught him glancing in the backseat at the sleeping babies. They fell back to silence.
"I just…I want to be prepared, Grace…" Luke broke the silence nearly 20 minutes later. He glanced at her and then back at the road. "You know…when he comes after us…"
Grace nodded and sighed. "I understand how you feel," She replied. Daringly, she reached her hand up and rested it on his arm, which was extended to the steering wheel. "But when did we stop talking about what was bothering us? If you would have told me about this we could have figured out a way to make you feel better without going through all of this."
"I'm sorry…" Luke's voice shook. Grace knew that Luke really was sorry, but she still felt upset about the whole situation. She understood perfectly what Luke was feeling because she felt it too. She also understood that he was grasping at straws for what to do to protect them. She sighed softly. She glanced into the backseat for a moment before turning back to Luke. She leaned in and kissed his cheek.
"I know," She told him. Just like that, they returned to their silence. Grace reached out and turned the radio on, but kept the volume down. The silence wasn't tense now. It was more relaxed. Luke and Grace both sat with their own thoughts as they finished out the ride to the Lake.
June 10th, 2015
By the time Monday, the 8th, had rolled around, with everyone around to occupy the kids, Luke and Grace had gotten time to further discuss their current situation. They had straightened everything out and both felt that they were okay to move on and let it go.
An early summer heat wave rose temperatures to the mid-80's. The whole clan was at the Lake with many other families. They had a large blanket spread out with a picnic basket full of food and a cooler full of all kinds of drinks for everyone. Kevin and Will were having a catch with their gloves and a baseball. Helen and Lily were sitting under an umbrella that Will had dug into the dirt. Helen had just finished feeding Brynn and was burping her. Lily was sitting with Justin in her lap. He was sprawled about her, with his head on her shoulder, drooling as he slept. Justin rounded out Lily and Kevin's family as the youngest. He had turned two the week before they went on vacation. Nearby them in the grass lay Damage and Nugget, Lily and Kevin's beagle. The dogs were tethered to a stake that had been hammered in the dirt to keep them from running about. They were enjoying some brand new bones to chew on as they lay in the shade.
The lake was large and they had set up near the dock. Out in the water, Adam was occupying Gabe and Katie. Both were good swimmers, but Gabe still had bright orange floaties on his arms as he practiced swimming towards Adam. Katie was swimming circles around them and singing songs in a round inner tube. Luke was nearby with a small blow up raft. Inside the raft was a towel and a thin layer of water. Lara and Mac were sitting on the wet towel playing with carious toys and teething rings. They both had on cute little bathing suits and bucket hats that tied under their chins and block their faces from the sun. Luke cooed at them as he floated through the water with the raft, making sure they didn't fall over into the half inch of water in the bottom of it. The two girls were having a ball laughing and splashing at the little bit of water and the faces Luke was making at them.
Grace and Joan sat side by side on the dock. They left their feet in the water and leaned back on their hands in the sun. Both had saved their lifeguard bathing suits and were wearing them. They had initially made jokes at each other for still owning and fitting into the suits. They had also made inappropriate jokes about stretch marks and wearing bikinis, knowing that neither really cared.
About a hundred yards away there was a floating dock that held a diving board on it. Mostly teens were jumping off of it, but Kevin had allowed Caleb to go over and jump off as well. Caleb was an avid swimmer, and was already on a swim team. He knew how to correctly dive off of a diving board without getting hurt or hurting anyone else. Grace however, remained paranoid and watched him vigilantly. Grace noticed, as she talked to Joan, that some of the older boys were picking on Caleb every time he climbed up onto the square platform. Caleb, however, seemed undeterred by this, and simply waited his turn each time.
"So is everything okay now?" Joan asked Grace.
Grace turned her attention to the water nearby. She smiled slightly as she watched Luke playing peek-a-boo with the girls who were giggling madly at him and issuing gibberish.
"Yeah…we're good," Grace nodded.
"Good, you two scared me for a day or two there," Joan commented.
Grace's attention was pulled back to the diving dock Caleb was on. The kids who looked like their ages varied from 12 to 16, were picking on Caleb as he stood fifth in line. He simply kept his hands together in front of him and waited, inching forward when the line moved up. The four kids behind him formed a half circle. Grace couldn't hear exactly what they were saying as she moved her hand to her forehead to block the sun from her eyes. She saw the kids shoving at Caleb's shoulders and back, almost knocking him off balance and was alarmed. Caleb was soon second in line and the kids were still picking on him. Finally, Caleb spun around and faced them. He yelled at them, to shut up, Grace suspected.
The other kids did not seem to take well to this. All at once they were shouting at him and shoving him. Grace stood to her feet swiftly, causing Joan's attention to shift. Luke and Adam saw her out of the corner of their eyes and looked over. Helen looked over from the beach and soon Lily had looked up as well.
"HEY!" Grace yelled, alarmed at how far Caleb wobbled as they shoved at him. He yelled for them to stop but they persisted.
"What the…" Joan leaned forward from her sitting position. Luke and Adam made their way closer to the dock Joan and Grace were on with the kids.
"What's going on?" Adam asked. Joan was in the middle of filling them in when a loud splash came from Caleb's direction.
Lily screamed and before the others could even react to find out what going, Grace was already gone from the dock. When Joan dropped into the water, Luke and Adam knew something other then just Caleb falling in the water had happened. The boys on the diving dock were staring in shock at the water. Luke gathered Gabe and Katie and brought the kids out of the water as Adam followed Joan towards where Caleb was. Will was rushing into the water at the shore's edge, where Kevin sat, and Lily and Helen stood in shock.
Adam and Joan reached the diving dock at the same time as Will and all of them ducked under water to look for Caleb after seeing a splotch of blood on metal pole that held the diving board in place. They surfaced together, horrified when they couldn't find Caleb. They heard coughing and looked to the shore.
Grace had taken a running dive off the dock and made it over to Caleb seconds after he'd hit the water. Now she had him on the shore, flat on his back with a towel under his head. Even from the distance the others could see there was blood soaking into the towel. Caleb looked limp. Only his upper body moved as he coughed.
Will ushered the teens to the shore as park officials arrived. They quickly assessed Caleb's condition as they waited for an ambulance that another vacationer had called. Lily and Kevin followed as they brought Caleb to the ambulance. Lily went in the ambulance with him as the others gathered everything and everyone together.
"Dad, you and mom take Kevin and follow the ambulance. We'll meet you there," Luke said, taking charge of the situation. Will nodded and obliged, now that the parker officials had custody of the teens and were berated them, preparing to take them in. Luke, Adam, Grace and Joan packed everything and got the kids together. They walked half a mile to the house and dropped off all they didn't need.
By the time they'd gotten to the house, Will had called and told them just to wait at the house. They had made dinner for the kids and managed to get them to lie down on the living room floor and watch a movie. The youngest were asleep. Joan and Adam sat on the couch, shaken. Luke sat on the loveseat. Grace was sitting just outside on the front steps. From what they could see, she looked like she was shaking.
"I'll be right outside," Luke walked towards the door. Adam and Joan simply nodded. Luke stepped out and sat down next to Grace.
Grace shivered. She had a towel wrapped around her. Her hair hung in her face, still drying. Luke ran his hand up and down her back.
"Are you all right?" He asked her cautiously. Grace hadn't been in any kind of water other than shower water, since the summer that Ryan had tried to drown her. Luke caught her flinching sometimes when she would give Lara a bath in the kitchen sink. He had once had to shake her to stop her from freaking out when the tub pipe had clogged while she was taking a shower, causing the water to rise. Today, though, she had been scared to go in the water. Sure she had stuck her feet in the water but, she was seated safely on the dock. It amazed Luke that she had been in the water and over to Caleb before any of the others even so much as reacted. She hadn't even hesitated.
Grace sucked in a long gulp of air and let it come out with a shiver. She nodded, but then changed her mind and shook her head. Her shoulders wobbled a bit and Luke pulled her in to lean against him. Grace buried her head into the crook of his neck and let in another shuddering breath.
Luke kissed the top of her head and reached his right hand up to push her sticky, wet hair away from her face, keeping his left arm tightly around her.
"You're quite the hero today," He tried to make lighter of the situation.
"Why would they pick on someone so much younger then them?" Grace finally asked. "He wasn't even doing anything to them. They could have killed him…"
"I know…but you were there," Luke told her. "You saved his life, Grace."
Grace was silent for a moment. "I couldn't just let him drown," She said as if there had never been a thought in her mind other than getting in the water and getting Caleb out. Luke knew that now, though, it was hitting Grace that she'd been in that water and now the memories were flooding back into her mind. She was thinking about the look on Luke's distraught and contorted face as she fought to keep her eyes open in the ambulance. She was thinking about how her parents hadn't even called to see if she was okay when she was in the hospital afterwards. She was thinking of Ryan's eyes and the expression on his face as he held her under with his hands clamped firmly around her neck as she inhaled the salty water.
Luke felt her shudder against him. "It's okay, Grace, you're safe," He promised her. Grace couldn't respond. She simply let Luke hold onto her.
Will, Helen, Kevin and Lily didn't return with Caleb until almost 11pm. Luke and Grace was the only one still up when they returned. Luke had fallen asleep on the floor with Lara, Brynn, Justin and Mac piled against him. Adam an Joan were asleep on the couch with Gabe and Katie in their laps. Grace stood up and held the front door open as Will carried his oldest grandson in carefully and brought him right back into one of the bedrooms on the first floor. Grace noticed he had a large gauze pad taped to his temple. Kevin wheeled in with Helen and Lily behind him. Lily looked as though she were going to fall over at any moment.
"We should get to sleep," Helen suggested, leading Lily back towards the room she and Kevin were staying in, which was next to the room Will have brought Caleb, where he and Katie had been sleeping every night. Grace watched the two women as they disappeared. She didn't know what to say. Grace turned her head when she felt someone squeeze her hand. She looked over and saw that Kevin had wheeled right up next to her.
He tilted his head up to reveal his watery eyes as he reached his other hand up to pat the back of her hand that he was holding.
"Thank you…" He told her as she turned to face him.
Grace shook her head, "No…it was-,"
"It was not nothing…" Kevin cut her off. He nodded. "Just…thank you…." He pressed his lips tightly together.
"I-Is he all right?" She cleared her throat as Kevin slowly let go of her hand.
"He doesn't have a concussion, but they needed to put 7 stitches in the right side of his forehead," Kevin coughed to clear his throat as he talked. He nodded. "He's going to be okay. I don't think he'll be happy that he won't be able to swim for a few weeks."
"I'm glad he's okay," Grace nodded.
"Thanks to you," Helen said, reappearing in front of Grace and sweeping her into a firm hug. Grace tensed, but didn't pull away. "After all you've been through with water, Grace…" Helen quickly became choked up. Grace knew Helen was thanking her.
She nodded. "Don't mention it," She replied nervously. "Any aunt would have done the same," She cleared her throat. Helen squeezed her once more and then let go. She thanked Grace again and then went to wake the others to move the kids to more comfortable beds. Grace said goodnight and scooped up Brynn, following Luke, who had Lara, up the stairs to their rooms.
June 14th, 2015
"They're back! Make sure nothing's out of place and get out of there," Johnny barked into a walkie-talkie just before Luke and Grace entered the lobby with their children and belongings. "Good evening Mr. and Mrs. Girardi," Johnny smiled that fake smile of his.
Sometimes Grace wished she could slap it right off of his face and demand to know what he was up to. Instead she let Luke greet him as they passed.
"I'm telling you, something is going on with him," Grace said as they walked up the hallway to their apartment. "I don't trust him."
"I agree with you-can I help you?" Luke asked when they reached their door.
A woman with long dark hair and olive colored skin stood outside their door. Grace could have sworn she was jiggling the door's handle. She shook her head and pushed the thought away when she saw the woman knocking on the door. The woman jumped and grabbed her heart.
"Oh you scared me," She said innocently. "I was just knocking for Mandy, my friend."
Grace looked at the woman suspiciously.
Luke pointed down the hall. "Mandy lives two doors down," He said.
The woman looked at the number on Luke and Grace's door and then laughed. "Oh! Silly me, I'm sorry!" She headed down the hallway passed them. She seemed happy that Mandy wasn't there, and she slid a note under the door before leaving as Grace and Luke entered their apartment.
"Let's just unpack tomorrow…" Grace dropped onto the couch, holding Lara up. "What do you think about that?" She asked. Lara reached out and grabbed at Grace's chin and necklace, issuing a series of gibberish as drool slid down her chin. Grace laughed at her and pulled Lara in to sit on her lap.
"Sounds good to me," Luke sighed as he cradled Brynn to him and sat next to Grace with a sigh.
Ryan laughed wickedly and rubbed his hands together.
"How was that?" Dom asked, crawling up into his lap. Ryan glanced around her and the various TV monitors on the desk behind her. They all held images from what looked like security cameras. He looked at the one of Grace and Luke's living room where Grace and Luke were lounging on the couch talking to the two babies. They listened over the speakers to what Luke and Grace were saying. Ryan laughed again.
"You were the perfect little vixen today," He said with a deep growl in his throat as he leaned in and savagely started licking and sucking at her neck. Dominique easily smiled and drove her mouth towards his happy to please him.
"What do we do now?" She asked, breathing heavy gasps between their rough foreplay.
"We wait…and watch…" He growled hungrily as he made short work of her clothing and his own. "And then we pounce…" He said with a sick laughter.
Dominique liked the plan less and less with each passing day. She still couldn't grasp why Ryan wanted to harm this peaceful little family so much. But having his body rock against her, she found her morals melting away into lust filled bliss. She'd do whatever he wanted if he would just keep making her feel like this.
"Jojo…pssst…Jojo! Get up already!"
Joan sat up swiftly in bed. She looked to her left and saw that the bed was empty.
"He's in the other room with the littlest rugrat. Mac's her name right?"
Joan rubbed her eyes and looked to the chair in the corner of the room, where Judith sat sideways with her legs over the armrest. Judith smiled as she spoke.
"Adorable. Seriously, she's cute as button. Personally I think you should call her by her middle name," Judith swung her legs as she rambled. "Promise me you'll teach her how to juggle," She mocked sternness.
"Judith?" Joan felt too groggy to deal with this. Judith stopped and looked at Joan, waiting for her to continue speaking. "First of all, we're not going to call her by her middle name just because her middle name is Judith. Second of all, yes, whatever, I'll teach her to juggle, when she's older. And what are you doing here?" She asked as she heard Adam over the baby monitor, singing and talking to Mac.
"Cute, really," Judith said, picking up the monitor and turning it down. She sat down next to Joan, who had thrown her legs over the side of the bed and was rubbing her face. "Personally, I was shocked you didn't get back with him sooner," She spoke up. "But, down to business, chica, it's time to get serious," Judith said sternly.
Joan turned her head and looked at Judith. She sighed. "I wish you were really here…I'd love to see you strangle Ryan Hunter…"
"I am really here, for the last time," Judith argued.
"Shh! Gabe's sleeping," Joan said before she could catch herself.
"I know he is," Judith smiled. "He was actually awake until I showed up. He was going to go climb up the cabinets to get a cookie. He does that sometimes late at night when you two are sleeping," She almost laughed at the looked on Joan's face. "Relax Jojo, I never let him get hurt," She promised.
"There is so much wrong with all of this…" Joan crossed her arms.
"You keep knocking me off track. I'm here for a reason," Judith changed the subject.
"Ohhhh…" Joan groaned and sighed. "Lay it on me…"
"I want you to swear to me you will not give up fighting," Judith said, looking Joan dead in the eyes. Joan furrowed her brow and studied Judith's face.
"Judith…what?" She asked, confused.
"Promise me you will not give up, no matter what happens," Judith said again. "Even if you think you can't fight anymore…"
"Judith, what are you talking about?" Joan's eyes widened. "Do you mean fighting Ryan?"
Judith didn't answer. She bit the side of her lip.
"Don't do this stupid cryptic stuff with me, Judith. What's he going to do? Is he going to hurt Grace? Or Luke? Adam? What's going to happen?" Joan demanded.
"I…don't know all of that," Judith said. Joan knew she was lying, but she couldn't tell what she was lying about.
"Judith, no, I can't do this," Joan shook her head. "I need to…go back…can't we go back and fix this? Can't we stop this? I can't do this alone…"
"Jojo…" Judith said slowly. "We can't go back. It's up to all of you to stop this. And you're not alone Jo, you've go any army-,"
"Judith-,"
"Jojo, stop," Judith said sternly. "I know you're scared. I wish I was here more often. I wish I could do nothing but protect all of you all day and all night long. But we both know I can't. It's up to you now, Jo…you have to trust." Her eyes glistened over. "I'll do my best to keep you safe…just promise me, I don't' have much more time, you have to promise me before I leave," Judith demanded.
Joan nodded slowly, feeling her heart pound. "I promise…" Her voice came out in a whisper. "I promise," She nodded. She watched as Judith tearfully stood and left, walking straight through the wall.
A couple of minutes later, Adam came into the bedroom and climbed into his side. She felt his arm around her and his lips on his shoulder.
"Everything okay?" He asked. Joan curled into him, listening to his heartbeat.
"Adam?" She asked.
"Ya?" He replied, running his hands about her hair soothingly. He placed a kiss in her hair.
"Promise me something?" She asked.
"Anything," He replied.
Joan turned her head and looked at him. He was alarmed at how watery her eyes looked. She was distraught and he wondered what had brought that feeling on. Was it a dream? Was God here?
"Promise me…that if anything happens to me, you'll protect them and you won't give up, ever," She said sternly.
Adam looked highly alarmed at this. "What's going to happen to you?" He asked, feeling shaken.
Joan shook her head and shrugged. "Please…just promise me," She begged.
"Jane…did God-,"
"Adam…" Joan cut him off, looking directly in his eyes and running her hand to his cheek. "Please, just…promise me…"
Adam nodded slowly, his own eyes filling now. He kissed her tenderly. "I promise…" He offered quietly. Joan put her head down against his chest again and the two of them lay awake in the darkness. They didn't speak, they just laid together, both shaken and both lost in horrible thoughts.
A/N: And there you have chapter 3. It was kind of choppy I know but it wasn't so bad was it? Oh, before I forget, are the bolded dates bothering anyone, or are they working out okay and being useful? They're mostly in place so I can keep it straight in my head, I thought you guys might like to make use of them. Let me know!
P.S. – Special props to Tiff, because I said so (damnit update you!)
Chapter title from "Long Way Down" by The Goo Goo Dolls.
Responses: Kool-Wolf – Lol, sure, sure I think you do mean that in a creepy way! P.S. – one of the big showdowns of this story will be in either chapter 4 or 5. I know you're itching for on of those. Good suggestion about the stuff with the rabbi. (I love how no one goes by his name he's just the rabbi.). I also love how you only want me to die after the story. Thanks. Violence to you! P.S. – welcome for the long chapter.
Mermaid Gurl 95 – Thanks for the kudos. Okay on the reading the other stories, I just didn't want you to get the tail end with out the beginning! )
Carol – Thanks for the kudos! You'll have to wait and see about Ryan's daughter. I haven't worked out in my head exactly what I'm going to do with her, but I have a base of ideas in that area churning around. I know the kids thing is played out but, it just fit when I was writing it so I put it in. They all have purposes and it grounds the characters more, at least in my mind. Thanks again! P.S. – I make no promises about the killing anyone part….!
Sam – Helllooooo! By the end of this story, you're going to think I'm evil after what Ryan's going to do…There's going to be more on the finger print thing in the next chapter. I think I may have put that in too early, but I'm not sure. Something is happening with the rabbi, you guessed right. But what is it? Well, I can't tell you that! Thanks for the kudos! I'm glad it's a treat to read this when you get back from class! Much love!
Coveredinrain16 – You love this story, I love when you review this story! Little kids are always cute! HAPPY DECEMBER BIRTHDAY! Mine's Dec. 7th. Hahaha, my friend e-mailed me and asked me why I made God Ryan's daughter. He was confused. Whoa, I'm a genius? SWEET! Thanks again! Much love!
Sayxanything – Of course I'll keep going! Gabe's such a fun character. Seriously. I love him. Haha, I'm sorry I freaked you out with Liese. I can't tell you if she's innocent or part of the evil plot! That's like a major spoiler! Is she or isn't she? Hmmmm! Poor Luke indeed. He's lost, or feeling that way some of the time. Yay for a song about cows! Much love!
Audrey – Thanks for the kudos. Yuck to Ryan indeed! He'll suffer later…maybe. Dude, total triple yay for your updates! Much love to you! (P.S. – is Kevin going to wind up getting Joan sent back to crazy camp in your story?)
Tiffany – Thank, thank, thank, thank, thank you! Can't give you the Liese spoiler, yo, sorry! Muahahaha, the suspense must be so horrible! You really did miss me by that much! I would have IMed you earlier that time but I had just signed on! Homework blows…much love!
Hezziebob – Thank you for the kudos! I hope the wait was worth it! Much love!
Magentabear – Thanks for the kudo-ness. I was expecting more people to comment about Dominique. But I can see how Anneliese was more confusing and shocking I suppose. Her role is going to be…interesting. (Hard to speak about without giving things away, ha!) Thanks again! Much love!