Valerie

by davewriter

Some unattached male members of Bulletproof's team of C.O.P.S. compete for the affections of a divorced mother. But they're not the only ones who want her. Rated for violence, language and steamy love scenes, but NO explicit stuff!

31. Last Tangos Before Deciding

Author's Note: Hello, readers and C.O.P.S. fans! Well, here it is, the final chapter of this dramatic romance. This story took quite a bit out of me, but in the end, I'm hoping it was all worth it. I feel comfortable with the outcome – Valerie Boston's final choice – and I hope you're comfortable with it, too. I guess, here I should remind you that there are references to two real-life movies here, Moonstruck and Cheaper by the Dozen. I own nothing of these movies (that would be Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and 20th Century Fox, respectively.)

Oh, and one last bit of C.O.P.S. news. The episode entitled The Case of Mace's Romance (his romance with Nightshade which I put out of its misery in Chapter 27) is now available for viewing on Google Video Player. If you do not have this on your computer, you'll have to go to the Yahoo! Group for this show, or the forum in this show's section of the G.I. Joe General Joes website. Look for the subject line, "The Case of Mace's Romance on Google Video Player" or somewhere along those lines. I'll send this to SonicJay as soon as I look at it.

Anyway, happy reading, and don't forget to review.

---

Chapter 31

When he dropped her off, Mace was gently kissing Valerie at her doorstep. She wanted to feel the same love that he did, but she couldn't. She knew there couldn't be a future with him if she couldn't get along with his family. But here and now, she decided to go along with it. Like she'd told herself before, she'd break up with him when she felt it was right. In this case, it would be when the C.O.P.S. came to her asking for a final decision.

She managed to stay calm long enough to get Jeremy changed and into bed. After she kissed him goodnight, she went into her bedroom forlorn. She stared at her empty bed, thinking of the previous night she shared with Mace. Suddenly tearful again, she fell upon it and began to cry a second time.

"Why!" she sobbed. "Why do people have to judge me as a mother just because my son can't do everything that's asked of him? Why do people expect so much of him? And where the fuck are they getting this idea that Jeremy is capable of growing up to be a functional member of society? I'm tired of this shit!" She looked up at the ceiling, trying to talk to the Lord. "Are they crazy? Are they on crack? Don't they know the life expectancy of a severe shaking survivor? If he lives to be eighteen, he'll probably just live only a few more weeks afterward." She knew she never told her critics this, but it wouldn't really matter, she believed. Who would listen to her?

She thought of Sundown, and what he told her about his brother and sister-in-law, Chuck and Gloria. Chuck was exactly like Mr. Howards to her; and Gloria, like Joanne. But Valerie knew the rest of the Calhoun family loved her, so why were they acting so hostile towards her, especially when they hadn't met her?

"Didn't Sundown tell you his brother was conservative?" she asked herself. "He must've." The memories of Sundown sharing his Sunday dinner story were coming back to her, Chuck attempting to paddle Jeremy the way Mr. Howards belted him.

"Maybe it's time for you to meet this Chuck, and tell him that you mean well," she said to herself. She sat next to her bedroom phone and dialed Sundown's number. "Ask Sundown when his brother will be coming into Empire City." But she waited through six rings and got no answer. She hung up furiously.

"Maybe next time I see Sundown," she said, "I'll loan him some money so he can buy an answering machine!" She decided to change clothes and go to bed now. "You've had such an exhausting day, Valerie. Maybe things will look better tomorrow morning."

She fell asleep and dreamed of Highway, Sundown and Barricade the whole night. She felt good knowing she still had them.

---

Late the next morning, Valerie called her mother and relayed her visit with Mace's family. Polly was shocked when she told her how Jeremy's clothes were ripped when Rosie dragged him on the ground.

"Not that sweatshirt I gave him for Christmas when he was eight!" she cried. "Oh, but I don't think that girl has any respect for anyone else's clothing or other things."

"I was so glad that Mrs. Howards took care of it when Joanne didn't," Valerie said. "She told me she whacked Rosie with her spoon, but I don't think she showed any remorse for it. I didn't hear any crying."

"Obviously, she thinks spanking is a joke," Polly supplied. "I wish I could've been there. I would've used a big steel spoon that I've dipped in hot liquid beforehand! That would get her attention!"

"Oh, but you won't believe what happened at dinner. Are you sitting down?" She started by explaining the small plate she'd originally prepared, then stated, "Mrs. Howards basically suggested that I wasn't feeding him enough."

"That's ridiculous!" Polly blasted. "That's pretty much the same thing I give him when the family has a roast beef meal at my house! And that woman had the nerve to say that it's not enough for him?"

"But that's not all," Valerie added. She told her about the additions Jeremy received, including the potatoes with skins, and the corn on the cob.

"You're kidding me!" her mother nearly yelped. "All that food, plus a whole cob of corn, straight from the cob? He wouldn't be able to fit two rows of kernels in his mouth that way. And I've seen Laura do that when you two were still speaking. He couldn't finish three-fifths of his plate! I certainly hope you shucked some corn from the cob for him."

"Much to Vivian's protests, yes," Valerie answered. "And Joanne was criticizing the slow speed in which he was eating, which Mr. Howards added by yelling that it would get 'stone cold.' Not even Mace accepted the yelling. But apparently, his father's not the type of parent who likes to be told how to discipline, this after I told him to have patience with Jeremy. At least Rocky complimented him for taking his time."

She mentioned Jeremy choking on the potato skins, and Polly was more disgusted. Polly said, "I guessed that would happen. Why didn't you take the skins off beforehand?"

Her daughter rolled her eyes. "Take a wild guess, Mom. Joanne would've made me leave them on, because she insisted they were healthy. You should've seen how I glared at her as I was removing them."

Polly didn't look surprised when mentioned how much Jeremy ate by the time he started getting full. "But he had all this meat left, and I told him to try and finish that," Valerie continued. "It turned into this shit argument on how much Jeremy should eat. He finished his meat, and ate some more scalloped potatoes and peas okay, but I could tell that would be it for him. But Mr. Howards wouldn't accept it. That man even threatened to spank him if he didn't clean his plate!"

This made her tearful again, as she explained the belting Jeremy got as a result, and the fight she had with Mace's family; Vivian and Joanne trying to restrain her, the confrontation they had when Valerie rescued her son.

When Valerie could calm herself down, "I basically told them they didn't know a good goddamn thing about Shaken Baby Syndrome. They don't! So before I left, I told them to educate themselves on this, and understand the limits of these children. You think I want another Shaken Baby Syndrome parent to go through the same hell I did? I also mentioned Alexia's biology report, and suggested they look at that. I doubt it'd be enough, though. You should've seen how quickly I got into that car. God only knows what Mace said to them, but he told me they thought I was worse than that damn Nightshade!" She sighed miserably. "I think his parents will tell him to date a single mother who has normal, completely healthy children."

"I wouldn't be surprised," Polly agreed.

When Valerie revealed her decision with Mace, Polly said, "I agree, dear. Call him and tell him it's over now, and you'll break his heart. I know you're not the type of person to do that. Best to let him down easy when you've come to a final decision."

"Which I may need your help with later on," Valerie added.

She spent much of the afternoon calling Karen, Rhonda, Cindy and Elise, relaying her disastrous day. Both her sisters were sympathetic. Karen never commented on her family's possible reaction, but Rhonda did.

"I guess this means you and Mace can't get married now?" she said. "Caleb's going to be so disappointed when I tell the kids; he actually thinks Mace is the coolest one, you know."

Valerie nodded, then said, "You remember how nice Sundown and Barricade were when they came for my birthday? Tell your son that he can get along easily with those two as well. I know Jeremy really likes them, so Caleb should have no problems either. Same with Drew and Sheldon. I'm picturing Barricade taking Jeremy and all his boy cousins to the lake next summer, and Sundown can teach them all how to lasso."

"Yeah, but I really liked Mace," Rhonda said. "I thought he was such a gentleman when you two came for dinner with Aunt Margaret there, remember? At least I admired him sharing my concerns for the crime wave here in this city."

Valerie frowned. "And yet, I still remember that time when you were lusting after Barricade, that day he picked Jeremy and me up to take us to the park. Remember when we were living with you temporarily?"

Rhonda looked embarrassed on the phone screen. "That's because I thought he looked fashionably handsome in his threads." She sighed and lowered her head. "Thanks Valerie! Now I don't know which one I want for you."

"If you want to help me, you'll have to decide between Sundown, Barricade and Highway," Valerie said. "I think Mace is telling his colleagues about how he and I just may be finished, as we speak."

Her eldest sister looked agonized as she tried to decide for her. Finally, "I'll talk this over with the kids, okay? I'll call you back when I decide who the best is."

Cindy and Elise came over as soon as Valerie told them what happened. They brought both their sons along. While Tyler, Brian and Jeremy went to play in the basement, the women went to the dining room, so Valerie could tell her story.

They were shocked when Valerie explained the introductions, but Elise was more confused. "Wait," she said, "You said Vivian was the elder sister, not Joanne? I kind of expected Vivian to come down on you immediately about your parenting."

"Maybe she would've ten years ago," Valerie replied. "When Mace told me how her kids turned out – her youngest is seventeen – I'd guessed that she had cracked the whip with them a few times, about school and everything. But she was surprisingly polite about it, and we even had a warm talk about Jeremy's schooling. She even had Jeremy sitting in her lap." She got up and offered the women egg crèmes, and they accepted. She went to the kitchen.

"Now, Joanne," she continued, "damn, was she ever uptight. She saw my interview with Whitney Morgan, and Mace warned me she wouldn't be too receptive with it. Right away, she gave me this shit lecture about how I wasn't doing anything to help him correct his problems, and how I'm lazy to just sit back and accept this, and how Dr. Grenoble was wrong about it! See what I mean when I said they didn't know anything about Shaken Baby Syndrome? If she did, she'd understand that Jeremy's malfunctions can't be corrected, and harsh corporal punishment won't help anything. Of course, their father was no help either." She served three glasses of egg crèmes. "He didn't care about Jeremy's problems." She mentioned Mr. Howards' threat to spank Jeremy and added, "He had the gall to tell me that Jeremy would end up in prison if I don't physically punish him more. This after Joanne reminded Mace the same thing of them!"

"What an ignoramus!" Cindy scoffed. "I would've definitely told Mace we needed some time apart."

"Oh, Mace was so sweet, like they all have been to me," Valerie said. "He was very quick to defend me against his family. And at least his older niece knew some things about Jeremy's condition; she noticed his moving head and concluded the weak muscles. And his brother, Rocky – oh, but he was just as sweet as Mace was. He never said one unkind word the whole time. But I think Joanne hates me so much, she even got her daughter to bully him."

She mentioned the incident the kitchen while Joanne was lecturing, when they heard Jeremy being beaten up, and Alexia's claim that Rosie did it; as well as the incident where she dragged him all over the property.

"She did not!" Elise gasped. "Oh, that poor Jeremy!"

"Time to take the wooden spoon on her!" Cindy commented.

"Which Mrs. Howards did," Valerie stated. "She took matters into her own hands. I still can't believe Joanne wouldn't! She is Rosie's mother, after all!"

Then she started talking about the dinner. Both Cindy and Elise looked morbidly disgusted when Valerie mentioned the amount of food the family made Jeremy eat, the criticism Valerie got when she was telling him what to eat and how, and she was near crying when she got to Jeremy being spanked for refusing to, "clean his plate." Then, the fight she had afterwards, the extra criticism.

"You should've seen how fast I got out of there," she said when she stopped crying. "And how loud I was yelling at them! I basically told them to get a fucking clue about Shaken Baby Syndrome, and if Mace ever brought home another mother like me, they'd better treat her with the respect they wouldn't give me." She chugged a third of her drink. "But that wasn't the last of it. On the way home, Mace said his father thought I was worse than Nightshade! Oh, right, I'll bet Nightshade would get her kids into the criminal life, or spoil them at Mace's disapproval. I can definitely see her getting her daughter to become a cat burglar. He got the sense that I wouldn't pick him, because he said he'd sever ties with his father and younger sister. I think it would be a good idea if he did!"

"That has to be craziest dysfunctional family I've ever heard of," Elise said. "Yeah, it makes me glad I'm with Longarm, and not Mace." She drank some of her drink. "Get a clue about Shaken Baby Syndrome? Those people? I don't think so, Valerie! If they have it in their heads that it's okay to spank a child like Jeremy, you really can't convince them otherwise. You remember those co-workers we had fired?"

"I think I mentioned that at some point in the dinner, yes," Valerie answered.

"Think of what it'd be like after you and Mace get married," Elise said. "You'd have to move to San Francisco or Phoenix or somewhere else, just to get away from them. Your marriage would depend on it. And can you really afford to leave this city?"

"Face it, you're better off not having anything long-term with him," Cindy added.

Valerie nodded, and thought of Sundown again. She said, "I may have told you this before, but when Sundown took Jeremy to meet his family, he said that only his brother and sister-in-law had problems with his behavior. At least his parents were okay with it, so was his sister. What do you suppose my chances with him are?"

"Did Sundown say that his brother wouldn't speak with him again if you two married?" Elise asked.

"He did, but next time I go over to his place and if Chuck's there, I'm going to try and reason with him," Valerie said. "I decided this last night. I have to. The rest of the Calhoun family loved me enough to accept Jeremy; I think his brother should be the same."

"Now you and Sundown would have better chances," Cindy said. "One bad apple can't possibly spoil your chances with the whole bunch, can it?"

"He is pretty devoted to me," Valerie observed. "I'm praying it won't."

---

When Cindy and Elise left, Valerie went to the freezer, mulling over what to prepare for dinner. She had been too busy recovering to take anything out to thaw. Maybe order a pizza for herself and Jeremy. After all, it'd been awhile since she paid for dinner. She was going through the Yellow Pages when she heard the doorbell.

She was surprised to see Highway at her door with a full plastic bag. "Highway!" she said. "How nice of you to come over… unannounced, as usual. Let me guess, you heard about what happened with Mace, and you wanted to cheer me up?"

Jeremy had been watching TV aimlessly, a football game he wasn't paying attention to. When he saw Highway come into the house, he trotted over to hug him hello.

"Actually, Mace told me himself at lunch," Highway said. "He told me about how you couldn't get along with his family. I could assume you two have no hope now."

"What's in the bag?" Valerie asked. "You even took care of dinner?"

"That I did," Highway answered. He went to the kitchen and retrieved a rotisserie chicken, and two medium-sized containers of potato and macaroni salads.

"Oh my God!" she gasped. "Highway, I love this! Oh, I just love potato salad most of all! Jeremy will love this! Oh, thank you for doing this." She kissed his lips rather quickly, and he blushed a little.

"Hey, it's the least I could do for the woman I love," he said.

Valerie deboned a leg and wing for Jeremy, and gave him one scoop of each salad. When she and Highway sat down, she asked, "So, Highway, when do I get to meet your family?"

"That depends," he answered. "When are you going to pick me, or are you?"

She almost spit out her mouthful, but managed to swallow. "Wow, straight to Final Jeopardy!" she said. She coughed a little, and looked directly at her dinner date.

"To tell you the truth," she said, "I still can't decide who I want." She sighed, and he could tell she was confused and a little frustrated. "I know that with Bowzer and Mace officially out for me, it should be simpler. But Barricade and Sundown still treat me as wonderfully as you do, remember that."

"And you're scared of breaking their hearts?" he guessed. He smiled and took her hand.

"Look," he said, "I think it's obvious who you should pick now. I'll have you know I'd just gotten off my shift when I picked this up. This is one of my many ways to show how much I love you, and what I'm willing to do for you. When Mace told me and some others that he was scared that you'd leave him, I actually pictured you crying on your sofa, crying over what would have been for you and Mace, crying over the family you couldn't get along with."

"I see," she said. "And what did you tell your parents about me? When did you tell your parents about me?"

"That night after you showed me the Neapolitan Ice Cream Puffs ad with Jeremy in it," Highway told her. "When I came home from my shift, the first thing I did was call my mother; she lives in Sacramento. I told her I was finally in love, and talked about you for over an hour. She wanted to know more about your career, and Jeremy's syndrome. She was so disappointed that I didn't get my paid vacation; she said she was just dying to meet you. I talked to all my brothers and sisters about you; they want to know why I haven't even sent them your picture."

She giggled. "You never took any pictures of me to begin with, Highway. Or Jeremy. Hell, I've never even seen you with a camera."

"I'm serious, Valerie," he said. "Why are you carrying on like this, giving me, Sundown and Barricade the runaround like cattle?" He stared at the white bouquet he gave her. "You remember that note that accompanied this? I mentioned you meeting my family, and that's one thing I'm determined to do. Yet I can't unless I know we have some kind of future together. I love you that much, maybe even more than that."

She touched the nape of her neck, as if her breath had been lost. "I understand how much you love me," she said, "but I feel like you're pressuring me."

"Believe me, I'm not," he said. "I'm just trying to make you see."

After dinner, Valerie and Highway decided to send Jeremy to his spare room, while they listened to some music on the jukebox. They went through the list of all the CD's, selecting some of their favorite slow dancing songs. They decided not to say anything, just give each other intimate glances. Valerie was even more confused, but she tried not to show it. His looks were telling her how much in love he was, how serious he was.

After several dances, they'd go over and select some more songs. In about an hour, they'd dance to an entire album's worth of love music. It was then that Highway said, "All right, that's good enough, don't you think? I've been on my feet all day, I think they may be starting to throb."

"What say we go upstairs for a movie?" she suggested. "Want to watch Cruel Summer again?"

"Sure," he replied.

On their way up, Valerie went to Jeremy and said, "Honey, we're going upstairs now to watch a movie just for Highway and me. If you need us for anything, just call, okay?"

"Sure, Mom," Jeremy replied.

This time around, Highway and Valerie had watched until the female lead characters had arrived in Miami. Highway suspected it was the movie setting, but Valerie was acting as if she was feeling hot. At the very first love scene, they started getting intimate, lying of the sofa. Most often, they would keep making love when those scenes were over, so they never watched the rest of the movie much. They never heard Jeremy call for anything at all. As soon as they heard a song in the movie play, they looked up, saw the end credits. She looked at the clock; the time said it was ten minutes to nine.

"It must be time to get Jeremy in bed," she said. As she got up, "I'll go check on him. He must have just fallen asleep."

"I'll help you," Highway said, following her.

They saw Jeremy sleeping in his beanbag chair, his head perched on his left shoulder. Valerie cooed and went to take his book. She was disgusted when she looked at the cover.

"Caddie Woodlawn?" she said, "Yuck, boring! I had to read this when I was in fifth grade. No wonder Jeremy fell asleep so fast. I don't know what possessed Karen to give him this. Or maybe it was Rhonda."

Highway picked him up and carried him to his bedroom. As Valerie was helping him change the boy's clothes, she watched to see if he would wake up. He did as they were putting his pajama top on.

"What…" he began. "What's… going… on? What… time… is it?"

"It's almost time for bed, sweetums," Valerie told him. "You looked tired anyway." She slid on his pajama bottoms, and he started to fall asleep again. Highway pulled back the bed covers, while Valerie placed his head on the pillow and tucked him in. She kissed his forehead, then they quietly walked out, the lights turned out, the door closed.

They kissed all the way down the hallway. Valerie said, "I think we may have time for another movie. Let's see what's on the cable movie channels."

In the TV Guide for that evening, the only good movie on to her was the old, classical Moonstruck. But it would be over in an hour, she observed. She shrugged and said, "Let's watch the rest of this, then we can go to bed ourselves." Valerie turned the TV back on to that channel, and she and Highway were back in their old places on the sofa, watching a really intimate scene between Cher and Nicholas Cage.

By the time the movie was over, Valerie started to feel tired herself. Highway got up and said, "Well, I think I should get going if you're ready to hit the sack."

But she had sensed that they'd be asking for a final decision, and grabbed his arm. "Not so fast, speed demon," she said. "You suggested at dinner that I can't keep up with the 'multiple dating' thing much longer. If that's what you think, then I think maybe we should have just one more night together. Wouldn't you agree?"

She looked like she was innocently begging, not the "puppy dog eyes" look; it would make her desperate. He was immediately persuaded and said, "Well, I think you just may be right. All right, one more night." He offered to pick her up and carry her to the bedroom, but she refused.

"You can't just throw me down on the bed tonight," she said. "I want to look special and pretty just for you."

She slipped into the room and retrieved a pink silk negligee from her drawer, then disappeared into her small bathroom. She had the door open a crack, as she was tossing her regular clothes out. She could hear him saying, "Valerie, you deviless! You're turning me on here!"

Valerie closed her door and changed into her sleepwear. She re-did her makeup to have one layer of foundation on her face, purple eyeshadow, and one coating of hot pink lipstick. She spent several minutes brushing her hair. By the time she'd opened her door to surprise Highway, she'd caught him in nothing but his underpants, pulled down past his buttocks.

He turned and grinned at her, then she got surprised as he dropped his underpants to reveal his nudity. "Highway!" she gasped. "Are you sure you don't want to leave something on for me? I put this on just for you, you know!"

He was tugging on the negligee with his hands. "And you look so sexy in it, believe me," he said. "But you know they design these things just for the man to take off, right?" And with the instincts of all the jungle cats combined, he threw her down on the bed.

He climbed on top of her and began to kiss and fondle the cleavage she was showing. He ran his hands around to her back, looking for the lace strings. She managed to get her head up to his shoulders, and she began to nibble his left one.

"Mmm, did I mention how I love the taste of a man's muscle?" she said.

Highway looked at her, still fiddling with the negligee strings. "The taste of my muscle, huh?" he inquired. "You just wait until I get this off. How about the feeling of my body?"

Within a few minutes, Valerie could feel the cool air in the room falling upon her breasts and stomach, the negligee sliding off her. When it was completely off, Highway began to press his chest against hers, put his arms back around her. He stared into her face for a little while, then kissed her long and lustrous, all around her lips and neck.

"Oh, Valerie, I beg of you," he said softly. "Please say you'll end all this right now, and choose a relationship with me. Don't you understand how badly I need to be in love? With you, no less?"

"Ooh, we're charming desperate are we?" Valerie replied. "Tell me, are you like this with every woman on the Empire City police force?" She rolled over so she was now on top of him. "I'll bet they think you're too much of a heartbreaker."

She kissed him just as lustrous for a few moments, then looked down at his chest. She put his hands upon his pectorals and rubbed them in a circular motion. Then, she placed her hand palms upon his nipples. She loved the feeling so much, she pressed down on them.

"Oh, God!" she cried out. "Oh, Highway! I can't get over what a beautiful body you have! You're just like the others, just as sexy as Sundown and Barricade!" She was suddenly calm as she thought of them both again. "Oh, shit, what would they think if they saw us like this?"

Highway started to look annoyed, at the very mention of his colleagues. "Oh, Valerie, fuck what they think!" he blasted. He gently shoved her off him, and she landed on her side. "Why bother thinking of them when it's just you and me tonight? Why can't you stay focused on me? Oh, but if you choose me, I promise I'll be the husband that Tom never was to you. I promise I'll be the father of Jeremy's dreams."

"Father of Jeremy's dreams," she repeated. "You do understand this means spending at least eighty percent of your off-time with him, when he's not at school."

"I do," he promised. "I was able to tell you what a good time he had at the waterslides when you were finished crying, remember? And you don't have to remind me about no screaming or physical punishment to discipline. I understand the special measures. I've gotten to know him far too well to do that."

Then, Highway gave Valerie a look, a look that told her she had to forget Barricade and Sundown, forget about her worries about Jeremy, not think about anything else that could spoil this special time. She stared down at his chest again, and pushed him over so he laid on his back. This time, she was kissing all over that chest, looking disappointed that she couldn't see her pink lip prints on his skin. He could easily make her feel better with another lustrous kiss on her mouth, and they were rolling and moving all over the quilt in their passion for a long time.

Valerie woke up nearly eight hours later, realizing they'd never been under the covers. Highway was still sleeping, so she snuck into her bathroom to take a shower. He woke up several minutes later to the sound of running water.

She was busy lathering herself with soap and body wash, ridding herself of the sex smell. She saw the curtain open and Highway standing outside, still naked, grinning happily.

"Thank you so much for sharing last night with me," he said. "I hope it helped with your decision."

She was about to respond when he stepped in to join her. "Wow," he said, "a shower big enough to fit the both of us." He put his arms around her for what seemed to be the seventh time. "But in case the sleep wasn't enough, maybe I can persuade you further here."

She backed away two inches from him and said, "I'd rather not this time, Highway. I have to get ready for work, and we have to get Jeremy up and ready for school. This is a really bad morning for lovemaking in the shower. If you want to help wash me, that's fine. I can help with you also, and we can get out faster this way."

Highway looked disappointed, but he knew she was right. "That's a deal," he said. He took the bar soap and began to rub her back, trying to think non-sexual thoughts.

---

At the beginning of this particular work week, it seemed as if the hiring of replacements was starting to improve. Already, Valerie and Mr. Sussex had seen three candidates they wanted to hire – people who wanted to support Valerie's special parenting techniques, and took an interest in Jeremy.

Peter Loveless, a young man of twenty-eight with sandy hair like Barricade's, was horrified when he saw that Shaken Baby Syndrome awareness commercial. He said, "Too bad you fired the project supervisor on that; that's sure to get everyone's attention. Seriously, though, the look of Jeremy's face in that first ad was enough to convince me that he is very delicate… no, make that fragile. I highly agree with you that children like this one should not be spanked or punished in any way that's deemed harsh. Of course children this damaged are difficult to discipline – and that's why it's wrong to shake a baby, or drink and/or do drugs during pregnancy to begin with. My wife and I just had a baby several months ago, and I'd just kill myself if I ever thought of doing that to my daughter."

He looked sympathetic to Valerie. "Ms. Boston," he said, "if I could meet those people who kept giving you trouble on that commercial, I'd tell them all to get a clue! From what you and Sussex told me, I can't imagine that Jeremy would be the type who'd understand anything he's asked, never mind do it."

Sandra Shelley, a beautiful, white-blonde haired woman in her late thirties, said after the commercial, "I know that was just acting, but was that really Valerie and her husband when Jeremy was a baby? That is just sickening! I can't understand what would make freaks like Tom Boston behave this way. And my cousin is studying to be a nurse; she's told me all about this Shaken Baby Syndrome thing. Oh, I agree, laying a hand on him to discipline wouldn't work in this condition. After all, what would he learn? He'd just keep doing that same bad thing, right? Maybe if the courts had put Tom in jail, and Valerie moved out of there before Jeremy became retarded, he could've been saved. At least the treatment centers would come up with something to reverse the effects and make him normal, right?"

"Ms. Shelley," Valerie said, "let me remind you that the effects of Shaken Baby Syndrome can never be reversed. Even if Jeremy was given all those tests and medicines, it wouldn't work at all."

"I wish that weren't true," Sandra replied. "Valerie – may I call you that? – I promise I won't say any negative things about your parenting. Of course, you have no choice but to raise Jeremy differently from parents with able-bodied children. I'm tragically sorry this ever happened to you."

Richard Thomas, an African-American man in his early forties, looked disgusted and disturbed watching the commercial. Before Mr. Sussex could finish asking him about it, Richard immediately started speaking, "That brings back haunting memories of what my ex-wife did to our daughter, Jadae. And all for the same selfish reason your husband had – she never wanted to have a damn child! Bad enough that Adeline attempted a self-abortion with a wire hanger when she was seven weeks pregnant, but she also resorted to drinking to make herself miscarry. And there was nothing I could do to stop her. Poor Jadae came out so tiny, the doctors didn't think she would survive a week. I should've left Adeline then, but she persuaded me our little girl needed a mother.

"Much to my dismay, Adeline was no mother. She started shaking Jadae from the first time she came home from the hospital – six weeks old. And she would shake her every time the baby made even a small googling sound. She was also physically abusive with her, too. There were times I'd come home from work, and she'd be banging Jadae against the dining table like a rag doll, screaming, 'I hate you! I wish I never had you!' over and over again! Like you, Ms. Boston, I was the one taking the girl to the hospital, and she was declared retarded at only eight months old. That woman kept beating her regardless until the day that girl died."

He had his hands in his face, crying at thoughts of his daughter. "Jadae was only six years old, and it was syndrome-related causes. Of course, I divorced Adeline immediately after, it was granted to me in nine weeks, and the judge sentenced her to forty years in jail without the possibility of parole. Jadae would've been thirteen this past June. God, but I miss her so much!" He looked up at Valerie with his tear-stained face. "Ms. Boston, not only will I support your anti-spanking views on this matter, I think maybe we should work on awareness more, so there are fewer Shaken Baby Syndrome cases in the future."

Valerie nodded rapidly, moved and speechless. She whispered something in her boss's ear, then went over and held Richard. She said, "I'll call the Children's Hospital and ask if they'll want more commercials. And we'll also see about magazine and newspaper ads and billboards."

---

Valerie had seen all this by the time Sundown called her Tuesday night. She revealed all this to him when he asked what she had been up to.

"Well, that's good, darlin'," he said. "At least you'll have some nice folks workin' wit ya on assignments. I'm glad yer company's finally takin' some steps to create a functional business environment."

"If we hadn't fired those preachy pro-spanking yahoos, I would've had a complete meltdown," Valerie agreed. "God, but I hate conservative people who refuse to educate themselves on those who are different. I suppose Mace told you about what happened with his family." She then suddenly thought of such people in Sundown's own family. "And speaking of which…"

"Yeah, Chuck's here fer a few days on business," Sundown answered while rolling his eyes. "He's stayin' at my place."

"Actually, I've been thinking about him with every thought of you, Sundown," she said. "I'm hoping this doesn't sound rude, but I don't have anything to do tonight."

"I was reckonin' maybe you should come over here to meet him," Sundown said. "I really want him to adjust to you."

Valerie looked at Jeremy in the dining room, making a macaroni picture with glue. "What about Jeremy. You know his nine o'clock bedtime, and it's a school night."

"Oh yeah, yer right." Sundown thought quickly, then, "I reckon you'd better leave him with yer sister. Karen, is it? Better call her to explain what's goin' on."

"Right. So I'll see you in twenty minutes?"

"I reckon you can make it here in that time."

She agreed, said goodbye, then made a quick call to Karen. She looked thankful that her sister answered, and explained her call with Sundown, the invitation to his place. "Can you look after Jeremy for a few hours? I don't know how long I'm going to be, and you know he has school in the morning."

"You know I'd be happy to look after him," she said. "Why don't you bring him over?"

When she hung up, Valerie went to pack Jeremy's pajamas and bedtime needs. She put his art homework in with it, and got him ready to leave. At her sister's house, Karen instructed her, "If you're going to be out past eleven, I want you to call me."

"Just like Mom was when I was sixteen," Valerie sighed. She noted Karen's serious glower and said, "Yes, Karen, I promise I'll call. I have my cell with me." She kissed Jeremy goodbye, then left in a rush. She didn't know how Sundown was with women who were late, but she hoped she could get there in fifteen minutes.

Meanwhile, at the apartment, Sundown was lecturing his brother about Valerie.

"Now, I don't want ya sayin' nothin' to upset her, ya hear?" he demanded. "Ya treat her like the lady she is, an' don't you dare talk nasty 'bout her parentin' Jeremy. She's put up wit enough of that bull! I seriously reckon you oughta accept her special methods."

"Sundown, I fully intend to tell her how unfair she's bein' wit that kid!" Chuck responded. "I believe young Jeremy truly wants to be put on the same level as normal kids, same consequences fer various actions, the whole bit."

"And what rules should she lay down fer him, hmm?" Sundown asked. "You realize there's only a small handful of those he can understand!"

Minutes later, they heard the doorbell buzz. Sundown looked through his peephole and saw Valerie. He kissed her as he let her inside.

"My darlin'," he said. "So glad that yer here."

She looked at the man sitting on Sundown's sofa and said solemnly, "This must be your brother, Chuck." As Sundown introduced her to Chuck, Valerie debated whether or not to shake Chuck's hand, the "spineless idiot" comment Sundown had mentioned coming back to her. She decided not to, and sat in the sheriff's easychair instead.

"Why doncha start up some conversation, while I brew up some coffee?" Sundown suggested. Chuck watched him leave into the kitchen, then looked at Valerie. She looked nervous, yet eager.

"So, Valerie," Chuck said, "Sundown tells me yer in advertisin'. Mama's shown me that ice cream ad in one of her magazines. Lemme tell ya right now, I'd never do that to any of my kids."

"And I'll bet you have every right to make that decision," Valerie replied, trying not to sound nervous. But you had no right to mistreat my son the way you did at dinner that one time!

"You needn't tell me 'bout all yer career achievements," Chuck said. "But I am curious as to what's goin' on in yer work right now."

"Nothing much with me, really," she answered. "We're going through a big interviewing process right now, replacing five employees that got fired last month. I'm sitting in on it all, so I really don't have any projects I'm currently working on." This prompted her to tell her story about the Shaken Baby Syndrome assignment that caused it all. Sundown had returned with the coffee by the time she was finished.

Chuck didn't look impressed at all. "No offense, Valerie," he said, "but doncha reckon those good people were tryin' to tell ya somethin' when they were screamin' an' whackin' yer boy, an' criticizin' yer failure to do that on yer own?"

Valerie nearly dropped her mug. "Excuse me, but you were at your parents' house with Sundown and Jeremy for dinner that day," she reminded him. "Didn't you see how he was moving his head around in the time you were there before dinner?"

"Yeah, an' Sundown an' Lynette were endlessly remindin' me to let him do it, he'd stop gradually," Chuck said. He drank some of his coffee for a few seconds. "I really wanted to grab his head physically an' make him stop. I believe that's the only way to get across that such behavior won't be tolerated."

Valerie started to respond, but he thought she was going to protest, so he continued, "An' the way he babbled on to the rhythm of the TV while Sundown, Lynette, Gloria an' I tried to make conversation. I gather he does all this in public as well as private. All those people around you starin' an' pointin' an' laughin', reckonin' how weird he is. I'm sorry, but I don't like to be embarrassed like that. I'd smack my kids if I went through that wit them."

Sundown was starting to get annoyed. "Dammit, Chuck!" he exploded. "It's the weak neck muscles an' excessive brain damage that cause him to do all that! Don't ya pay attention to anythin' I tell ya?"

Chuck looked peeved at him. "Well, I'm sorry, Sundown, but I gotta git this out!" He turned back to Valerie. "Valerie, I have my own business in Dallas, developin' computer software an' various conveniences fer electronic gizmos. If you were workin' fer me, an' you brought yer son to work, an' he started actin' like that, no way would I support yer decision to not whack him! I can hardly believe that yer bosses are! I can understand why those parents you were workin' wit were gettin' all frustrated. To let Jeremy git away wit all that, then blame it on his syndrome, that's weak, lazy, an' as we like to say in Texas, backslidin' parentin'. I would've definitely called ya into my office fer some strong words if I received enough complaints from the parents among my staff!"

"Mama an' Dad were understandin' enough to tolerate it," Sundown reminded him.

"To which I was very surprised, Sundown!" Chuck shifted himself so he was facing Valerie more. "Back when Sundown, Lynette an' I were growin' up, we had a long list of daily chores we were expected to do before an' after school, and were told not to act so loud an' rowdy. Mama an' Daddy were quick wit the paddle on us if we did a half-assed job on any chore, large or small, or if we made too much noise – an' even a moderate amount was too much – or broke any of their other rules. Sundown and I got hit most often, an' look where we are today 'cuz of it. I'm company president, an' he's been Texas sheriff fer years!"

Valerie buried her face in her hands, and shook her head. "God, not this again!" she moaned. "I feel like I'm having déjà vu. This is my visit with Mace's family, round two!"

Sundown touched his brother's shoulder moderately rough. "Big brother, that's probably enough," he said lowly.

But Chuck ignored him. "When our parents were so acceptin' of this from Jeremy, I really wanted to believe they were slippin' in their ol' age. But apparently, they believe that Jeremy an' his ilk should be treated differently from those non-disabled, non-retarded kids. That's a terrible disservice fer young Jeremy. As much as they don't understand, kids actually want things like rules, limitations an' boundaries, an' lots of household chores an' responsibilities to keep 'em occupied an' outta trouble. They want their parents to discipline 'em harsh whenever they make mistakes, so they learn right from wrong in a hurry. The physically an' mentally disabled ain't any different. An' here you are, claimin' yer kid can't understand most rules or do most chores, an' harsh discipline an' consequences stress him out."

"That's all true of Jeremy!" Valerie nearly screamed. She quickly remembered where she was, so she lowered her voice, but was still emotional. "Look, I don't have to remind you how he'd cry and scream whenever Tom yelled and beat him, now do I? How he'd cry at school whenever he heard teachers yelling? He scares easily, you know. God, he can't even communicate his feelings when he's this way! And he's too clumsy to do any chores! It took a long time for him to learn to walk, and when he does, I nearly have to hold his hand, or he'll bump into walls. I worry about him falling when I see him running. And his arms are too short for his body. You think I'm going to give a kid like that lots of chores? If you ask me, I think his physical and mental state took care of the 'limitations and boundaries' thing for me!" She took a long drink of her coffee.

"Valerie's decision to not whip him is reasonably sound!" Sundown insisted. "Mama an' Dad even said so! An' don't ya go tellin' me that you reckon her ex-husband is the better parent!" He started explaining the incident where Tom came to Empire City and tried to kidnap Jeremy. But Chuck still wasn't fazed.

"Sundown, as far as I'm concerned, this Tom seemed to be better suited to care fer Jeremy." he told him. "I can't believe you an' that Highway man shot him dead!" Valerie looked horrified, but the elder Calhoun brother asked her, "Valerie, who was the main provider in the household? I gather it was him."

She nodded, her frustration increasing. "I also worked outside the home, yet he wouldn't let me contribute to the household finances," she lamented. "That's financial abuse, you know. I suppose next, you're going to tell me how the man should be the one in charge of the family finances, while the woman is expected to just sit back!"

"It's the man's job to be the main breadwinner in the family, and to buy all the necessities," Chuck explained coolly.

"And where does that leave single moms like me!" Valerie nearly exploded again. "Or how about women whose husbands aren't loaded?" She looked hotly at her boyfriend. "Sundown, you never told me what a sexist Neanderthal pig your brother is!"

"My point, Valerie," Chuck said, peeved, "is that Tom Boston was the main provider of yer ol' household, therefore, he should use punitive measures on yer son if he sees fit. He obviously reckons that disabilities should not be used as an excuse to respond in kind to bad behaviors. I agree wit this completely. As his wife, you should've been cognizant of this, an' acted as his teammate on this. It ain't no wonder he walked out on ya."

Valerie was now so infuriated, she gulped the rest of her coffee and slammed her mug on the table. "Okay, let's get some things straight!" she barked. "One, I was the one who filed for divorce first after I packed up all my shit and moved with Jeremy into a hotel room! That's how badly I wanted to be away from him! Two, if you saw how Tom behaved in that courtroom, you would've understood the judge's decision to grant sole custody of Jeremy to me! Three, not even my parents would spank or berate Jeremy, because most of my family understands that certain actions are beyond Jeremy's control! Which brings me to number four – what expert on Shaken Baby Syndrome would recommend even spanking on the buttocks to parents of these children? Do you get it, Chuck? Is any of this making sense?"

Sundown went up to her and held her hand, hoping it would calm her down. He was getting angrier with his brother, too.

"Well, I don't know 'bout yer neck of the woods," Chuck replied, "but down in the South an' out West, special needs parents prefer to draw their own conclusions, as opposed to relyin' solely on doctor's advice. More often than not, they decide that spankin' an' paddlin' will help make their kid learn. My wife, Gloria, seems to reckon so. Does yer brain even work like that?"

Valerie got up so fast and screamed, "Fuck, how does Gloria put up you! Is she your little submissive who goes along with everything you say!"

But Sundown quickly restrained her and suggested, "Honey, what say you an' me go somewhere where we can be alone?"

"Good idea!" she spat, and hurried for the door. "I'll be waiting outside!"

After she slammed, she could overhear the brothers' muffled yellings. Nearly two minutes later, Sundown joined her. "C'mon, my lady," he said. "I know a place we can go to."

They went to the King Empire Airport area of town, where there were plenty of cheap hotels. They found a quaint little place called Double Wide Lodge, and asked about renting a room.

"It's perhaps fer a few hours," Sundown said as he retrieved his credit card. "Maybe the whole night. My brother's in town fer a few days, an' we just came to escape an argument that was upsettin' the lady here."

Valerie had a thought, and jotted down her address, and description of her briefcase and laptop bag, on a small notepad. "In case it's the whole night," she added, "could you please have one of your staff go to the address and pick up the items described here? I have work in the morning." She retrieved and lended her house key.

In their room, Valerie lay down on the bed, trying to get comfortable. She looked at the TV in front of her, wondering if she should turn it on. She soon decided not to when Sundown climbed on next to her, and held her, kissing her softly.

"Y'all right, darlin'?" he asked. "Look, I'm awfully sorry 'bout my brother. He still won't take back how he treated Jeremy those coupla months back."

"I could see he wasn't going to," she replied. "Special needs parents in the South like to draw their own conclusions about their children, yeah right! I don't think they should, unless they're willing to understand how these children react to different consequences."

"I should maybe call my parents an' tell 'em what happened." He reached for the telephone, but she stopped him.

"Not tonight, okay?" she said. "It's a wonderful evening, we're all alone, let's just enjoy it." She kissed his mouth three times and drew herself closer to him.

He left the bed for the TV, picked up the remote. "Let's see what movies are on here. I reckon we can find a nice western romance fer the two of us." When Sundown clicked on, he saw the opening credits of a movie that looked familiar to him. He stood there for ten minutes, before he could figure out what it was – Deputy Wildheart.

"Ah, ya remember this one, Valerie?" he asked.

"I do," she said. "You tried to hit on me during this one, with your sexy bartender lines."

"I tried makin' magic during this one, an' I did," he reminded her. "I wanna see if I can do it again." He touched her cheek gently and kissed her for a minute.

"So, Sundown," Valerie began, "you want to go back to your place after this, or do you want to stay the whole night?"

"I reckon we should stay the whole night," Sundown answered. "Give Chuck a chance to cool off his hot head."

She took out her cell phone. "Then I'll have to call Karen." She dialed her sister's number, and when she heard her, she told her where she and Sundown were.

"There's been yet another heated argument with Sundown's damn brother about Jeremy's best interests, as if he knows them better than I do!" she complained. She rolled her eyes. "Listen, we plan to leave here tomorrow morning, and I think Sundown wants to take me straight to work. Could you maybe find a place for Jeremy to sleep, and get him ready for school in the morning. You may have to go to my house quickly for his knapsack."

She heard Karen sigh, then say, "Why don't you just bring Sundown back to your place? Or bring him over here for drinks, at least."

"It's called 'time to ourselves.' You and Bart should look into it."

Karen sighed again. "This is practically the craziest thing you've done for love."

"This is better than hiding my men in my house all the time, other than banging at their places," Valerie argued. "Listen, if you leave now, you'll probably meet someone from this hotel in a few minutes, so they'll open the door for you. I also sent out for my work luggage."

"Fine, but honestly, I've never seen you pull this stunt before. Talk to you later."

Valerie hung up and began concentrating on the movie. Her arms were around Sundown; her head was rested on his chest. Around twenty minutes later, they heard a knock. Valerie smiled and crawled off the bed, opened her purse for her wallet.

"Must be my stuff for tomorrow," she said.

She was happy to see her briefcase and laptop bag. She took them, and paid ten dollars for the service. She placed them next to the TV, flipped the door sign to Do Not Disturb and closed it, rejoined Sundown on the bed.

When the movie was over, Sundown turned off the TV, and he and Valerie snuggled. She thought of his family again and asked, "So, you think you may stop speaking to your brother for awhile after he leaves."

"I dunno," he answered. "Maybe I'll call Mama when he goes and relay it all. I hope she'll be able to whip him at the next Sunday dinner." He brought her face closer to his. "I really gotta have ya, Valerie. I mean it. I look at you, and see nothin' but a jewel. Oh, but could a face like that ever be more beautiful? Could a figure like that be more attractive?"

They started making out, then Sundown took off his ten-gallon hat and hung it on the bedpost. "Oh, Valerie," he said in between kisses, "yer so beautiful, so priceless. I'd give up my life to be yer husband. I just know I'd be a thousand times the man Tom ever was. Please never ferget how close Jeremy an' I got over the summer."

She just smiled and touched his face lightly. But to him, it just wasn't enough. "Oh, Valerie, tell me how else I can convince ya to pick me over the others. The last time I talked to my family before Chuck came, my parents were tellin' me how badly they wanna see the two of us married."

"That depends," she said. "Would Gloria and Chuck be willing to be a loving aunt and uncle to Jeremy?"

"Mama said she an' Dad would edit them outta their wills if they didn't."

"So you're willing to sacrifice family ties for me? Sundown, you just may be the sweetest one in the whole competition. I love you."

"Which you can end right now just by sayin' ya wanna be wit me fer the rest of yer life." He kissed her sensually until they found themselves lying down.

Then suddenly, Sundown excused himself and went to the washroom. Valerie heard the shower running, so she stripped to her bra and panties and turned on her side facing the wall behind the washroom. She was tossing her hair around, teasing it with her fingers.

Within ten minutes, Sundown came out to her, soaking wet and wearing nothing but a pair of black briefs. He looked really desperate, and climbed back onto the bed without a word. He wrapped himself around her so he was holding her tight like a child to a teddy bear. They were then frolicking around the quilt in various compromising positions, changing every five seconds or less, they were moving so fast. He was kissing her lips, chin and shoulders, but resorted to biting her neck and cleavage. Valerie was screaming out like a howling wolf every time he bit her.

"Oh, Sundown!" she yelled out. "Sundown, slow down!" He stopped and looked at her confused and worried, wondering what he did wrong. She gently pushed him down and took his control.

"At least give me the chance to put some moves on you," she wheedled. She proceeded to kiss him all over his chest and belly, and lick his chest hair as she purred. He turned over and sat up, and she decided to sexually massage his shoulders, then knead her fingers up and down his back. When he could no longer feel her touch, he turned to her and removed her underclothes, then his.

He laid her back down and whispered in her ear, "I promise I won't hurt ya." He then injected himself into her, and Valerie bared her teeth and breathed hard as she fought the pain. He decided to take it away through a tender kiss.

She broke away and whispered, "Do you want to get under the covers now?"

Sundown removed himself from her temporarily to pull the quilt and bedsheets back. Valerie crawled underneath, then he got back on top of her as he tucked them in. He put himself back into her, and again, she tried to fight the pain. Again, he took it away by kissing her and breathing heavily on her neck, as they rolled back and forth in their passion.

---

Two evenings later, she was doing regular Internet surfing on her home computer when the phone rang. She went to the kitchen and made a horrifying discovery – Mace was calling her.

She was too timid to answer, so she let her answering machine take it. After the message she heard Mace pleading, "Valerie! Valerie, it's Mace. Listen, these past five days, all I ever did was think of you, and now ya won't even answer yer phone. Why can't ya talk to me? I'm sorry about my family on Saturday, but I thought you'd still be there fer me–"

She forced herself to pick up the phone, and saw Mace nearly crying on the video screen. "Valerie!" he said. "Valerie, what's wrong? I haven't heard from ya since the fling at my parents' house, an' I just worked up this courage to call ya. Why wouldn't ya call me all this time? You still upset at what Dad an' Joanne did? I still love you, Valerie. You can't let this end like this."

"Mace, I… I…" But she couldn't even say it. Instead she just broke down, the horrid memories of the Howards family coming back – the fighting, the bullying, the criticism, the spanking. She was sobbing too loud to even speak, yet she was able to.

"Mace, I'm sorry!" she wailed. "I can't even discuss this! Not here!" She hung up and continued to cry, as the haunting family continued to overtake her conscience. She was so distraught, and she went to her bedroom to cry. As she passed the master bathroom, however, she looked inside and stared at the bathtub. She decided to try taking a hot bath.

Amidst the heat and bubbles, the soap lathering on her body, she immediately felt the memories disappearing. If only someone else would call and ask me out, she thought. God, but other than Jeremy, I'm so lonely tonight.

Suddenly, she heard the phone ring again. She got up and out and wrapped herself with a towel quickly. She walked quickly to the kitchen to see Barricade was calling. She was so impressed to see his face on the screen.

He looked surprised at what she was wearing. "Valerie!" he said. "Hope I wasn't interrupting anything too important."

"Nothing all that important," she said. "Just decided to have a relaxing bath so I don't stress out tomorrow." She knew that last part was a lie, but she didn't feel like talking about Mace's call.

"Well, I go back on duty in thirty minutes, but I happen to be free tomorrow night," Barricade informed her. "I just called to ask if you wanted to go out."

"You know I'd love to." Valerie answered. That invitation made her forget the rest of Howards family experience.

---

The next evening, after dropping Jeremy off at the O'Malley's for the night, Barricade and Valerie went to dinner at the Manifesta Hotel. There, she shared some more stories of positive and negative interviews with him.

She was cringing as she explained her worst interview of the day. "Our first one was with Caroline Mullray. I swear, she must've heard stories about me from Donna or Linda, either one of those two, I'm guessing. She came into the office just glowering, and I could tell she was staring right at me. Right away, she insisted on starting off by saying she did not approve of my parenting skills. Something told me to tell the boss to reject her right away, but Sussex went through with the interview. But I was just so timid throughout; her looks kept sending me red flags."

She sipped some of her tea. "So the first part of the interview went normally – she grew up an army bitch, has three athletic brothers and competitive drive and spirit, excelled in the university's business program, led three projects that got government recognition, she's outgoing, hard-working, quick with deadlines, and blah, blah, blah. Then comes part two of the interview, and she turns into a total bitch. When she saw the Ice Cream Puffs ad, get this, she accused me of trying to turn Jeremy into a child celebrity. I told her, 'I don't think Jeremy's has the first thing needed to make it in Hollywood.' She said I was whoring him out, and had the audacity to tell Mr. Sussex that nepotism of any kind should be discouraged in the company. Then, at the awareness commercial, not only did she say Jeremy deserved to be beaten by Tom, he should've also gotten custody.

"I just wanted to leap across the desk and beat the shit out of her. I said, 'How can you even say that someone like Jeremy deserved to be beaten like that? I'll bet you don't have and never wanted children!' She has three children whom she claims are just as wild as Donna's, and perhaps Michael's. She says that I've made it sound like Jeremy can't learn anything, and that he would if I 'pound his head' once in awhile. She brags about how she and her husband of seventeen years are a team, and that their thinking alike on discipline and child-raising is what keeps their marriage strong. Then, all this crap about how beating retarded children is beneficial for them, and that her husband researched it all, then she hands me and Sussex this twelve-page document. Three pages into it, we couldn't accept it. It looked like a bunch of fake 'evidence' that they and some other frustrated parents put together to try and get their word across. I told her this and she said, get this, that Tom and I should've killed Jeremy years ago, put him out of his misery, if I refused to discipline him. Thank God Sussex gave her the same shit lecture he gave Bulletproof's damn sister!"

Soon, their food arrived, and Valerie stared talking about a nicer interview. "After lunch, a younger woman named Jill Watterson came for an interview. She said she saw my Eye on Empire City interview, and felt so bad for me. She said I had no right to be mistreated in that fashion, and the doctors were spot on about special methods." She had two forkfuls of spaghetti.

"What did she say about those people who got fired?" Barricade asked.

"That 'those bitches had it coming,'" Valerie grinned. "Jill used to be a pediatric nurse in a Philadelphia hospital for a few years until she was laid off – she felt she needed a change of career. She's worked with a lot of children left physically and mentally disabled through Fetal Alcohol and Shaken Baby Syndromes. Some kids couldn't even walk or talk at all, never mind do it like Jeremy. She believes me when I said it's hard to discipline kids like that; she claims her charges can't even show people that they want it, can't communicate it to them." She speared a meatball in half and ate it. "Jill's a recent graduate of the advertising arts program at the Emperor Business Collegiate – I heard that's one of the best schools ever. It's said ninety percent of graduating students find jobs in their chosen field almost immediately. Lancer and Sussex certainly loves it. And Jill got her degree in only nine months."

"I'm sure she'll be a welcome asset to your business," Barricade told her.

"We have her on the hiring list," Valerie replied.

Through dinner, a movie, and dancing at another nightclub, the Supernova, Barricade and Valerie didn't get back to her house until half past midnight. He'd thought about going home himself after dropping her off. But when he attempted to kiss her goodnight, he looked at her face, and saw there was still some energy and life in it for the evening, the way she smiled at him. He realized she didn't want the night to end… and neither did he.

"Want to come in for something to drink?" she offered. "You can at least keep me company." He nodded in acceptance.

Over coffee, they talked about Bowzer and Mace's dropouts from the competition. The mere mention of Mace had Valerie reeling about his family.

"I just hope your family isn't half as conservative or critical of people's 'shortcomings' as Mace's is," she said. She realized she didn't know anything about Barricade's family yet. "Uh, Barricade, I know I should've asked you this a few months ago, but can you tell me about your family?" She was already kicking herself for not bringing this up with Bowzer or Highway.

He coughed a little. "As I told you before, I only have my mother, and she lives in Phoenix. My father died while I was still in college. I am the eldest of twelve children, and school-day mornings were pretty hectic in the house where we all grew up. So it was my responsibility to help my mother maintain order when her patience grew thin, to keep her and Dad's tempers from going through the roof. That's where I learned to keep my cool in the toughest situations. To this day, Mom still demands to know how I did it."

"You're not going to tell me the life stories of all your siblings, are you?" Valerie said.

"No, then we'd be here all night; they're all scattered all over the country, and many of them have families of my own," Barricade replied. "Some are married, some are divorced, the rest are single. But here's something that'll interest you – three of them are involved with advertising careers, my sisters Colleen and Julie, and my brother Keith."

"Maybe in the morning, I'll look for Lancer or Sussex's business cards," Valerie said. "If we need three more positions to fill, tell them to send their résumés and come to Empire City… um, any siblings living here, by any chance?"

"Only one my youngest sisters, Trish, and she's a hotel maid at the Manifesta. Too bad she was probably off duty tonight. I would've loved to introduce you to her."

"I can picture Thanksgiving and Christmas with your family." Valerie was laughing at the thought of about twenty nieces and nephews fighting over food and drinks and gifts, and their parents constantly yelling. "I'd love to help you maintain household order at those times. Unless, of course, you have a holiday system."

"We do. But maybe we can discuss it over breakfast tomorrow?"

"So you want this to go all night, too?" Enthralled, Valerie went over to Barricade then and kissed him. "I can arrange that easily."

"Let's finish our coffee," Barricade said.

They finished quickly, then she approached him and started kissing again. They were making out all the way from the dining room to her bedroom, Valerie turning out all the lights on the way. When they got past the master bathroom, they started taking each other's clothes off. Barricade took off her blouse and threw it across the hall. Valerie unbuttoned and removed his dress shirt so it fell to the floor. He unhooked her bra, but never removed it, and she ripped off his T-shirt.

In her bedroom light, Barricade noticed the blue bouquet he gave her on her dresser. He smiled and said, "Does this mean you want to be with me for life?"

She grinned and purred like a Siamese kitten. "We'll see about that, you sexy, sexy man."

She turned out the light, and they kept making out until they fell upon her bed. In their sexual passion, they struggled to take the rest of their clothes off. One skirt, a pair of pants, socks and underwear all met the floor. They were touching each other all over their bodies, but Valerie's contact felt rougher, as she was groping, kneading and licking his chest. Other than those times when she went lower, his mouth never left her lips. Otherwise, he was playfully running his fingers through her hair. They were bouncing and rolling all over the bed as they rose, turned and fell. Finally, he playfully pushed her down, opened her legs, put himself into her.

"Oh, Barricade!" she called out. "Oh, Barricade! Oh, you don't know how wonderful you make me feel. Oh, please don't take it out! Oh, please! You've got to do me more."

Barricade cupped his hands on Valerie's breasts, and rubbed them in a circular motion. After several minutes, his hands went lower to massage her stomach. As he was doing this, he was saying, "Oh, Valerie, you know you can't keep me hanging on like this much longer, can you? Can you! Both you and I know that I'm the one you must choose for your husband. I love you. I love your son. And you know my calm, cool, collected nature is exactly what you'll be desiring, after the hellish marriage you had."

He put his arms around her and brought up towards him. "You give me one good reason why I don't deserve you. And as you're lying here with me, you can't think of even one. Well, let me tell you, in the four months you've known me, I've done and said everything to let you and your family know that I do deserve you. You know I'm a thousand times the man Tom ever was, and if you love me enough to pick me, I promise I'll keep on proving that."

He kissed her even more lustrous than before, all over her lips and cheeks. "You'll never be unhappy and crying, and looking for love anymore with me, Valerie. I guarantee it!"

They fell upon the pillows, and she started kissing him back. She put his arms around him, and let her hands explore his back.

---

After Valerie picked up Jeremy, and Barricade left, she started to ponder on who to finally choose. She thought about all the good times she had with Highway, Sundown and Barricade all that week. She loved the sex from all of them, but Highway seemed a little despairing for her. Sundown and Barricade, however, were so sweet and trustworthy, and both seemed like men who would follow through on their promises. Barricade especially, with the calm, cool personality he displays on the job, sounded exactly like the ideal husband for her, the ideal stepfather for Jeremy.

After all that thinking, she still couldn't come to a decision. She called her mother and said, "It's about the C.O.P.S. I think it's time I decided which one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. But I'm absolutely torn. I think we should talk. Can you come over?"

Twenty minutes later, Polly showed up, and Valerie relayed what had happened between her and the three remaining C.O.P.S. "All three of them sound so ideal," she told her mother. "I just can't make up my mind."

"Valerie, it would've helped if you'd brought your boyfriends over to visit more often," Polly said, "rather than just hiding them in your house."

"That's the same thing Karen said when I told her I was staying with Sundown all Tuesday night," Valerie sighed.

"I know we don't invite you over often," Polly replied, "but it would have been easier for us to help you if we could've interacted with them more."

Then a thought came to her. "Oh, what am I saying? I think my memory may be starting to slip. I guess one need only look at how they acted at your birthday party and the family reunion."

She gave a warm smile, as if she knew who she wanted right away. "Well, if you want a mother's advice, I'd go with Barricade. Sundown runs a close – very close – second. Let's start with your birthday. If memory serves me well, both Barricade and Sundown could easily express how they felt about you and why they deserved you. I swear I fell in love with them both. With Highway, he mentioned a promise that he would love you and Jeremy faithfully, and how he could make you happy. But he could never express why he fell in love with you to begin with, or even what he saw in you. Not even when I prompted him at the Saturday dinner picnic at the reunion. However, between the other two, it was Barricade who mentioned that he had clicked with Jeremy the easiest, and perhaps the earliest of them all. Now that I think about it, I have to dock points off Sundown for telling us all about the abuse and dysfunction he saw in his homeland. Although I understood his feelings about Tom, would that be something you'd tell your boyfriend's family if you were a police officer?"

Valerie thought about it, then said, "I probably wouldn't in front of a group of relatives in the living room. Maybe if I took them somewhere private, like outside."

"Now, let's cut to the reunion," Polly said. "During Sunday's picnic lunch, I asked Barricade and Highway, as well as Mace, about their responsibilities and personalities attaining to the C.O.P.S. team. God, it would've helped if Sundown were there as well. But anyway, it was Barricade's answer that impressed me most of all. He has this calming approach to criminal situations, and absolutely believes in negotiations. He shared with the family his belief about how there's always a non-violent way to resolve a conflict, whether it's apprehending criminals or fighting within a family. Lord, but I still can't believe Laura whacked him like that, and snapped at him to shut up!"

"That's Laura for you," Valerie laughed, "obsessed with strict discipline and shows no patience when angry with youths. If she weren't married, I think she'd be almost perfect for Mace." When she stopped laughing, "I know about Barricade's calmness, coolness and collective behavior, Mom. He told me about when he was telling me about how he grew up. I have to tell you that he comes from a very large family. Twelve children. It's like that movie, Cheaper by the Dozen."

"And that's exactly what would make Barricade the perfect one for you," Polly stated. "He is everything that Tom never was, especially with Jeremy. Despite his two-week trip with Sundown, I'm confident that Jeremy would love Barricade a lot more. Together, the two of you could show that patience can be a virtue when it comes to parenting. It's a shame that this issue destroyed your chances with Mace, that disaster with his family. That said, I really don't think you'd be able to get along well with Sundown's brother, either. As much as the rest of the family fell for you as you claim, I think they'd be more interested in keeping their family ties with this Chuck." She laughed really hard at another thought. "Besides, I think Sundown would be pretty frustrated that he can't show Jeremy how to lasso, and that Jeremy can't ride a horse by himself."

Valerie started laughing along with her. After a few moments, "Thank you so much, Mom. You're right. Now I'll know what to tell them."

Suddenly, Jeremy approached his mother and asked, "Mom,… is it… okay… if… I have… some… ice… cream?"

She looked at her mother and asked, "Uh, Mom, would you mind looking after Jeremy for a few moments? I have to make an important visit to C.O.P.S. headquarters."

"Of course," Polly replied.

Valerie told her son where she was going and said, "Be good for Grandma, okay? I'll be back soon." She left quickly.

---

Meanwhile, at C.O.P.S headquarters, having busted yet another caper by Big Boss and his gang, Barricade, Sundown, Highway and Mace were all talking about Valerie and their competition.

"I guess it's down to you three now," Mace said. "She was so emotional when I called her Thursday. I'm takin' it as another sign that it's over."

"I don't know how much more of this I can take," Highway said. "if it were me juggling three women for this long, they be demanding that I choose one now, or I'd lose them all."

"Then I reckon we go up to her an' demand she make a choice," Sundown declared.

"Right, but we can't let this come between any of us," Barricade told them. "This would be a terrible reason for the C.O.P.S. team to break up. So whomever she chooses, the other ones cannot be mad at each other – or at her." Everyone agreed on it.

They were on their way out of the building to get her, when Valerie had just came in. She noticed concerned looks from all of them. She said, "I think I can tell what this is about."

The C.O.P.S. led her into the interviewing room for some privacy, and sat her down in the chair usually reserved for suspects. Barricade and Highway took the two remaining chairs, while Mace and Sundown deactivated the sounding system and stood there.

"We've decided that it's time to hear your decision," Highway began. "We know that after four months of dating around like this, we can't take anymore. You probably can't take anymore."

"We made a pact that whoever you decide on, we won't be mad at you, or each other," Barricade added. "But we need to know."

Valerie smiled weakly and replied, "First off, to the ones I don't choose, I'd like to say thank you for coming into mine and Jeremy's lives, and uplifting our spirits. We were never this happy when we lived with Tom in Parrish. And I wish you the best of luck in finding loves of your own. I decided on the way here that you'd all make wonderful husbands, and none of you deserve to be lonely." All the C.O.P.S smiled back at her.

She turned to Mace, "That said, Mace, I still can't get over what happened when we visited your parents. That's why I choked when you called me. It may take me a long time to recover. Because of that, I'm now absolutely repulsed by overly conservative people like your parents and sisters. And our relationship will be doomed if I can't get along with your family. So I'm sorry, but it can't be you."

Mace became so angry and stomped his foot repeatedly. "I knew it!" he bellowed. "I knew it, I knew it, I knew it! First thing when I get home, I'm tellin' Mom that I won't be at that house for Thanksgivin' or Christmas. An' I'm tellin' Joanne off!"

Barricade got up to calm and restrain him.

She looked at Barricade, Sundown and Highway. "Now to you three. Before I came here, I had a talk with my mother about you guys, and she's already decided against one." She looked at Highway. "Highway, Mom told me about the promise you made to her at my birthday party, to keep me and Jeremy happy. But unlike the other three, you couldn't really tell her what you loved about me, why you loved me."

"Aw, Valerie, do I really have to say it?" he protested. "You're a beautiful, vibrant woman with a creative mind and a loving, bubbly personality. And I think you're a terrific mother. You remember when I held you when I brought Jeremy back from the waterslides to hear you crying, and you said it was a group of co-workers bad-mouthing the way you reared Jeremy?"

"Then why couldn't you say it?" Valerie asked. "Mom said she couldn't get that out of you at the reunion."

"I was trying to let her get to know me, like all the others were," Highway said. "I thought that once she did, she'd be able to see that in my heart."

"Oh, that was so sweet of you to say that" she replied, "but unfortunately, nobody in my family is a mind reader or 'heart reader,' per se. And I know you love me now, but the way my mother sees it, you could go from Dr. Jekyll to Mr. Hyde almost as soon as we're engaged or married. And that happened once with Tom; my family won't let me go through that again." She put her hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Highway. But I'm sure you can have your pick of any other woman in the city – including Mainframe and Mirage."

"Aw, they're not the least bit interested in me. No woman on the force is." He got up and went to join Mace in disappointment. This had Sundown sitting in his place with Barricade.

Valerie smiled at them. "Now, down to you two. I have some very good news for both of you. Thinking again about my birthday party, Mom said some very nice things about you. From what she told me, she believes in your sincerity towards me, and that you love me very much. Unfortunately, Sundown, you lost points with her when you mentioned all the dysfunction you saw back in your native Texas. Apparently, there are certain things you don't tell senior ladies. Aunt Margaret didn't comment, but I'm sure she was quite put off by it, too."

Sundown looked absolutely peeved. "I reckoned what I told 'em 'bout that was appropriate, Valerie!" he insisted. "I was just explainin' how I was more of a man than Tom ever was."

"I know, but she didn't think so." She took a big breath. "Which brings me to what was brought up at the reunion. She told me she asked you guys about your personalities." She looked at Sundown, then Barricade. "Sundown, again, Mom was suddenly disappointed that you didn't come to the reunion, though deep down, I want to say that she was happy with you taking Jeremy on your trip. Barricade, she told me about your calming nature that impressed her, and I remember that speech you gave to her at dinner about there always being non-violent solutions to problems. She was so admired by you, I swear, it was as if she was trying to fix me up herself.

"She told me that your calming, cool, collective approach to things, in this job and in everyday life, would make you the ideal husband for me, and I agree that it's exactly what I'll need. So, Barricade, I choose you to be my life partner."

Sundown looked devastated, almost like he was ready to cry. Valerie noticed this and quickly went to give him a comforting hug. She was relieved when he held her back.

"I'm terribly sorry for breaking your heart like this," she said softly. "Looking at you and Barricade, I was wishing I could have you both." She took off his hat to run her fingers through his hair. "But don't cry. I'm sure there are plenty of Texas-bred women here in Empire City. From the ways you've charmed me, it seems you could compete with Highway in winning anyone's love."

Sundown looked at her with tears in his eyes. "I'll try to git one, Valerie," he said. "But I don't reckon she'd ever compare to you." She touched his shoulder in a way that convinced him he probably could. Then she let go and went back to Barricade. They kissed for what seemed to be two minutes.

"You're probably still on duty here, aren't you?" she assumed. "When's you next free day? I'll invite and my whole family over for dinner."

She looked back and noticed all the rejected C.O.P.S. had left the interviewing room. "On second thought, let's discuss it in the main area." She took his hand and they left together, Valerie thinking of the wonderful future she'd have with her only man.

---

A/N: Wow, a lot of people to acknowledge this time around.

First off, thanks to skyefire for her continued support and reviews. If only there were more C.O.P.S. fans like you on this site, there'd be more material for this fandom.

Thanks to The Turbo Man (aka: Anthony Bannon) for his renowned interest in this show. Please pay particular attention to that bit of news mentioned above. It'll be a BIG help for your own project, which I look forward to seeing.

Thanks to retro mania, whoever you are, despite your only (short) review, for Chapter 25.

And thanks to buckyball (again, whoever you are.) Despite you harshness towards Bowzer in Chapter 24, I'm glad you're showing support for this too. If you've read Chapter 29, I hope you agree with this situation's outcome. Kicking Rex "Bowzer" Pointer off the C.O.P.S. team was not an option for me.

Finally, news about an inevitable sequel. I have one in mind, but I want to get ideas for other fandoms out of the way. I have a particular idea for a Class of the Titans fic, so I'm eager to get started. So I'm taking a break from this one. I need it anyway. Hope you enjoyed reading this as I've enjoyed writing it. And feel free to read my non-C.O.P.S. stories as well. See you later.