Look at that, you get another update! You're welcome!
As I said both of Facebook and on the AN of the last chapter, this story is now caught up with the events of Miscreants. Because not everyone reads that story, (though I don't know why anyone doesn't. It's the next generation growing up and rescuing animals...it's awesome!) but anyway, there aren't any flashbacks in this chapter because I'm using this chapter to give a brief overview of what happened during Miscreants a few chapters ago.
No real warnings for this chapter, but a brief mention of rape is on here, though I doubt it's going to cause any trouble for those who have PTSD.
That's about it, so I'll see you guys at the bottom.
A few days later…about two days till the end of Kayla's punishment.
Midday
The Beach House
Tommy and Kim stood by the ramp of the Beach house as the big truck pulled up. They'd called Diesel up earlier that day and gave them directions to this place. It was a safe place where they could talk freely without worry of being overheard.
Diesel got out first, after turning off the engine and then walked around to pull his wife's manual wheelchair from the bed of the truck. When Annabeth was seated comfortably in it her husband pushed her up the ramp and into the beach house.
That was another thing awesome about this place; it was already accessible.
When they were all seated in the living room and Annabeth was cooing over baby Maverick, Diesel started the conversation.
"So, what is this place? I didn't know you owned a second property."
"It's not ours." Tommy answered. "A friend in the ranger family bought this place so we could hold Autumn's sweet 16 party. Wes and his wife Jen are very wealthy and when they found out how difficult for Adam and Tanya to find a venue for her party, he bought this place from the bank.
All that for a party?" Diesel asked.
Tommy nodded. "Yeah, who knew that our beloved city was full of greedy people. Adam and Tanya were hitting brick walls for every venue they looked at. They couldn't find a single place that didn't want a small fortune for just a weekend party."
"I'm not surprised." Annabeth added, though she didn't take her eyes off her grandson.
"It all worked out in the end." Kimberly replied. Autumn chose to have a beach theme and this place worked out perfectly. Driftwood fires, fresh seafood and a place out on the lake…it was a beautiful party. Not to mention that we also have an extra place for someone to sleep if needed.
"Tell me you got pictures." Annabeth asked.
"Plenty." Kim answered. "It couldn't have gone better for the birthday girl."
"So, what's with all the secrecy?" Diesel prompted as baby Maverick was placed into his arms.
"We've taken a young man under our wings. Trent is his benefactor, soon to be adoptive father. His name is Katsume Shen and he's in danger."
Diesel looked up. "David mentioned him when he came to me for advice on how to do the cleansing ceremony. Is he okay?"
Tommy nodded. "For now, he is. He's really taken to the cleansing and his new name. But I've begun to hear rumors from my co-workers. The women at my school are real gossips. In this instance, it's proved helpful."
Tommy continued by telling his parents what he'd heard and then about the vicious teacher at school. "He's a cruel man and a friend to that cop that was after Katsume. He's currently on administrative leave, and Trent got a restraining order against him to protect Mr. Shen, but I just have this nagging feeling that we haven't seen the last of either of them."
"What do you need us to do?" Annabeth asked.
"Nothing at the moment, but we're all making plans should we have to pull the kids out of school."
"Where are you planning to take them?"
"Kayla's been begging to go to Sea World for their Howl-O-Scream fest and taking the kids there for Halloween would be a good distraction for her and the teenagers should things go south."
"What can we do to help?" Annabeth asked again.
"Be ready to come over to the manor. If we need to get the teenagers out of Angel Grove. Kayla will need someone to babysit her; I know she misses you like crazy."
At the mention of Kayla, both grandparents were grinning from ear to ear.
"Where is that little princess? Is there a reason you didn't bring her with you?" Diesel asked.
Kimberly nodded. "Yep, we do."
"And?"
"She's grounded for the week." Kimberly said with a grimace. "It's her first time to really get in trouble, but what she did was beyond dangersou, and we need her to understand that what she did was serious."
The grandparents looked at each other and then at Kimberly. "What could she possibly have done to get a sentence bad enough to keep her from seeing us?"
"Talking to strangers and nearly getting herself kidnapped. She walked into that situation willingly even though we've warned her again and again about stranger danger."
"But she's a smart girl, why would she do that?" Annabeth asked looking up at them.
"Well, that's the part that we can understand. The pedophile was offering her a puppy that was sickly, and she decided it needed rescuing. A few days before, The Miscreants rescued a dog and she was only emulating them."
Diesel gave them a long look. "So, what exactly did she do wrong, other than falling for a ploy that many other kids have in the past?"
Tommy sighed. "I nearly killed that man; it took three of our friends to pull me off him…after my sweet little ninja destroyed his balls. She kicked him with all her might, and he was keeled over on his side." When he looked up at his father, he could tell that Diesel was trying hard not to grin.
Kim only shook her head.
"It's times like this that it sucks to be the mean parent. She's grounded from doing anything fun, there's no deserts, no movies and she is the caretaker of that puppy for the rest of its life. When she's not at school, she's doing chores for me and helping the other adults out. She's on doggy duty and will have to pick up everything that puppy destroys."
Annabeth looked at Kimberly sideways. "Are you sure that letting her keep the puppy is a harsh punishment for her?"
"Picking up puppy poop is a very unpleasant part of the punishment. Losing Psyche and Mischief was a harsh thing for the kids. If I'd taken this dog away from her…it might have made things worse. Tommy and I were talking about taking her to the shelter and adopting a puppy for her at some point this year; this beagle was perfect timing, though I would have rather she'd waited for one of the teenagers to come save the puppy."
"Getting to see her grandparents again would have been fun for her and would have gone against the punishment." Tommy added. "She scared the shit out of me, and this is the only way for her to understand the gravity of what she did."
Diesel nodded gravely for a moment and then looked up at Kim. "So, when can I come see my granddaughter?"
"Hopefully soon. We're working on making the manor accessible for you guys and we're planning to put in a pre-made house for you guys out by Conner and Kira's cottage."
A few days later
Shopper's Cove
Tommy pulled out his cellphone and hit speed dial.
"Hey, Son. What's going on?" Diesal asked.
"Things just went south. I hope you're up for babysitting."
There was a brief moment of silence on the phone. "How bad is it?"
"It's bad, but we're safe for the moment. We're letting the teenagers finish their shopping, but as soon as they're done, we're getting some drive through and then heading to the manor."
"Ok, we'll be there in an hour. See you at the Manor."
The Manor
An hour later
"Grandpa!" Kayla squealed as she ran into the living room. Diesel grinned wide as he knelt down to scoop up his granddaughter.
"Wow, Kayla, you're getting so big!"
"I'm 7 now, grandpa!" She answered as he laughed joyously.
"Yeah, I heard! I have another birthday to make up for! What are we going to do about that?"
"Anything grandpa! I missed you guys!"
"Anything? You're going to have to be more specific than that! I may just take you to a sock factory for the party."
"No, Grandpa! Not a sock factory! That's boring!"
"Then you need to come up with something else. Isn't there anything where else you want to do for fun?"
"Sea World!"
Diesel frowned and looked at Tommy who'd just walked into the room.
"But we're already going to SeaWorld, Little Ninja." Tommy replied as he walked into the room.
Kayla turned back to look at her dad. "We are?"
Tommy nodded and walked towards her. "In a week you're going to join us in San Diego. Mommy, Mav and I are going ahead of you guys to make this little vacation happen. At the end of the week, you guys are going to drive over to meet us. In the meantime, you kids get an entire week with your grandparents and they're going to take you to get your Halloween costumes."
"But I thought that we were going with the Miscreants?"
Tommy sighed. He was really hoping to distract his daughter away from the reason they were going. Thankfully, Kimberly saved the day.
"Oh Sweetie, you are so smart!" She said as she walked in with Mav in her arms. After Tommy took the baby in his arms, Kim walked over to her daughter. "Something happened today, Little Ninja. Something bad and now we need to get Katsume to safety. We're leaving soon with Kyle and Autumn and Elisa to get on a plane."
"Did you beat up the bad guys that hurt him?" she asked in a serious tone."
Kimberly cupped her daughters face. "I made them cry and then they got arrested. The problem is that there's still one more bully that needs to be tracked down. He's hiding from us like a big ugly chiken, but I don't think it will be long before the good cops find him. In the meantime, I have something important for you to do."
"What's that?"
"To have as much fun as you can with your cousins. I wish that I could be there to join you guys in your spooky fun. So, while I'm gone, it's up to you guys to have fun for me and take lots of pictures! Your cousin, Kailen has never gone trick or treating or worn a fun costume."
Kayla looked back at her cousin who was shyly peeking around the corner with Eric behind him. Right there next to him was Spirit the husky pup.
"You haven't?" She asked.
The little boy shook his head and hid behind his dad's legs.
"This is why you and Raine need to help him figure things out! That way, when you join us at SeaWorld, you'll all be ready to mingle with monsters!"
"Ok Mama, I'll show him everything!"
"That's my girl. I know you'll make me proud."
About 20 minutes later
The Nest
Tommy walked around the little alcove, that used to be the living room before they had kids, packing all the essentials for Baby maverick as the infant looked on from his crib. At 5 months, he'd figured out how to roll over onto his back, but for now, he was content to watch while laying on his stomach and kicking his legs.
"Tommy?" The father turned to see his dad in the doorway.
"What's up?"
"I just wanted to know everything that's going on that has you leaving so fast. I know you couldn't say anything while Kayla was in the room, but if things have gotten dangerous, then I'd like to know what to look out for."
"That donut munching cop is out to get Katsume; I told you about the rumors that I heard from the female teachers." He paused to see his dad nodding before he continued. "Well the lady that was seeing him, followed us while we were at the thrift store and while the kids were shopping in the flea market decided to make her move. She had Hatche with her and decided to confront Katsume and the rest of us, she publicly humiliated him by spouting some pretty outrageous accusations about what happened the night Katsume was raped by some older teenagers. He's a strong kid, but what happened today shredded him and Trent has decided that it's time to leave the city, he's not taking any chances that the asshole is hanging around and might attack. Because of that asshole, Katsume attempted suicide just to get away from him, it didn't work thanks to the lady overseeing things for the foster home, but if that cop gets another chance, he might actually kill him."
Diesel looked shocked. "What are the authorities doing to stop this guy?"
"Officer Tesla and his team are going to track this guy down while we're gone. We've already given him and his partner all the info we have about the case; both the original recordings from the hospital room and the case file that was put together before Katsume was brought here. It's a solid case and the fact that Hatche violated the restraining order against him is another nail in the coffin."
Tommy took a breath and then looked up at his dad again. "This guy is relentless. I agree with Trent's decision to get his foster son out of the city. We can't leave any of this to chance."
Diesel nodded. "So where are you taking him?"
"We're going ahead with the trip to Portland. Katsume expressed the desire to take a train ride, so we're giving them a full day and a half ride on Amtrak with his crew, including Elisa."
"That's his girlfriend, the one in the wheelchair, right?"
"Yeah, she came under our care when the bullies at school became too much for her. She's got two older brothers. The youngest has been doing what he can to help, but he's on the football team and a senior and can't always be there to protect her, the oldest brother is in the Navy. He's in the middle of his deployment and this is helping him more because with us looking after his sister, he can keep his attention on serving his country."
Diesel looked truly shocked. "My god, are the bullies that bad?"
Tommy nodded. "Yeah. They haven't changed much from when we were in school. These girls are petty and cruel, their queen bee's name is Jezebel and her minions took off with Elisa's crutches and left her stranded just outside the bathroom during the fall festival. Elisa had to crawl on her knees to the closest picnic table.
"It took even more time to get ahold of her brother who had her wheelchair in their loaner car. Thankfully, Trent was able to get her a new pair of crutches, but things are bad enough that we're going to pull four of them out of school for the rest of the school year. It's just too much trouble for now and the kids are barely learning anything. They're better off being homeschooled for now until we can make the school safe again."
Diesel nodded and began to help his son pack. Halfway through, Maverick made it known that he wanted attention so, his grandfather had to stop and pick him up.
"Hey, why don't you give your dad a break so he can get your stuff packed up." The baby babbled at him and grabbed his long hair as Tommy continued to pack.
With the grandfather able to help keep the baby occupied, Tommy finished packing up his son's things around the time that Kimberly lugged the big wheeled suitcase towards the entrance of the Nest.
Finally, Kimberly took her son from his grandfather and kissed his angelic little face.
"I think we're all packed up and ready to go."
Diesal nodded. "Any last instructions for the little Ninja?"
Kimberly nodded. "She's in charge of Belle and she needs to keep up with her homework after school. We've put you on the list of people that can pick her up from school and her booster seat is in the jeep."
"Anything else?"
Kim smirked. "That little daughter of mine is big spender with an addiction to plushies. Wherever you end up taking her, please keep the number of souvenirs to a minimum; she's going to be getting a few things from SeaWorld which is where she's been begging to go. I know she's a very persuasive little girl, and you're powerless to resist, but she's got too many already."
Diesel nodded with a grin. "I'll do my best, just remember that I have two birthdays and a Christmas to make up for."
Kim nodded. "Fair point. Let's go load the hummer up and say goodbye to the little ninja."
The Airport
It took a bit of time to unload everyone at the curb, but somehow, they made it through the ordeal. Trent was a life saver with his VIP status; he was able to use it to move things along for all of the them.
Tommy strapped on the baby carrier. It was part of the matching set that he'd gotten for a baby shower gift, (the only one he'd received at the party)it was a very manly tactical looking carrier with a camouflage pattern on it. The diaper bag was the other part of the set and he wore it tonight with pride. Kimberly kissed her son's forehead sweetly and then carefully slid Maverick into the carrier and checked the straps. She then turned her attention to the other bags and the tickets and got them checked in as well.
Security was easy for the most part…and then the lady at the TSA and a few other passengers saw Tommy with their son; it caused a meltdown. Yes, her husband was still a hottie after all this time, but the way that he was caressing their son's soft brown hair and talking softly to the infant made all the hot-blooded females and a few flamboyant men lose their damn minds.
It was only after he felt her annoyance that he realized what happened and he walked through the gate and over to his wife whom he kissed sweetly. "I'm sorry, Beautiful."
There were groans everywhere.
Kim couldn't even mad at him really. She rolled her eyes, shouldered the diaper bag and pulled their carry-on bags behind her.
About an hour and a half later, they were on the plane. Kyle and Autumn sat a few seats ahead of them and were already getting situated for the flight. Pretty soon, they were cuddled close to together and once again, listening to their music.
Tommy sat near the window as Kimberly held their son close and offered him a pacifier. This was their first time flying with a baby and though they'd read a few online articles looking for tips, they still felt like brand new parents.
When the plane was finally in the air, and cruising at full altitude, Tommy addressed what happened earlier.
"I'm sorry about earlier, Beautiful. I was completely oblivious to the stares I was getting. I only see my son and he was getting a little antsy. He's definitely got my short attention span."
Kim shook her head. "I know it's not your fault. You are a totally hottie, and he's you made over."
"Yeah, and you're a gorgeous woman with curves in all the right places. Motherhood only enhanced what was already sexy. I'm not the least bit surprised that we made such a handsome baby."
"Sweet talker."
"Just telling the truth." Tommy said. A minute later, he leaned over and kissed her. The kiss went on for another moment and then an amused cough was heard. They broke apart seeing a stewardess standing in the aisle with the cart.
"Sorry to interrupt you, but I'm here to offer you some refreshments. Would you like something to drink?"
Tommy chuckled as Kimberly nodded. "Yeah, I'd like some Pepsi, please."
So, what are your thoughts? Did you like the reunion with Grandpa Diesel? There'll be more of it during the next chapter of 9 months. What do you hope will happen during their trip? Next chapter will have the backstory of how Maverick came to be and how they chose his name.
See you all then!