CHAPTER NINETEEN

Beep.

Ralph rolled over, sleepily wondering where the weird noise was coming from. It sounded again and he realized it was coming from his laptop. Sliding out of bed, he stumbled to his desk and flipped open his computer.

Drew's face filled screen. "Good morning, Ralph," he said with the same false cheerfulness he employed every time they met. "Hey, you look tired. You okay?"

"It's five am." Ralph didn't even try to keep the annoyance out of his voice.

"Oh, sh. . . Sorry. I forgot about the time difference," his so-called father said, a big dumb grin on his face.

Ralph sighed wearily. Drew hadn't been in contact since his visit at the end of January, right before baseball training camp began. It was not a coincidence he was getting in touch now the minor league season was over.

"So, how are you? How's school?"

"Great. Good." Ralph could tell the older man didn't really care but felt obligated to ask.

"So, remember the last time I was there?"

"Yeah." Like he'd forget his mom and the man he wished was his real dad had been taken hostage and had nearly died.

"Yeah, so like when we were waiting for, er, news, I had a conversation with Cabe," the ballplayer explained. "And anyway, I want to know what I can do to make it up to you. . . You know, for what I did to you and your mom."

Ralph exhaled his exasperation. Drew couldn't even admit he'd abandoned them, leaving them in the lurch so he could play baseball and sleep with groupies and not have to worry about his son and the woman he claimed he loved.

But he didn't even have to think twice about his answer. "Let Walter adopt me," he stated.

"What?" Drew looked stunned and Ralph almost believed it was genuine. "No. Absolutely not."

"Why not?" It made perfect sense to Ralph. Drew could give up the parental rights he never wanted in the first place and let someone who really cared for him be his dad.

"Because I'm your father," the ballplayer said indignantly.

"Biologically, yes."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Drew sounded hurt and Ralph began to wonder if he'd misjudged the man he'd considered little more than a sperm donor. "I thought, well, I thought we've been bonding. I'm sorry for what I did, but you're still my son." He paused then added, "Is this what you want or is O'Brien pressuring. . ."

"I haven't discussed it with him," Ralph said. But he knew Walter wanted it as badly as he did.

"He may not want to, you know. Kids are a big responsibility."

Ralph had to refrain from rolling his eyes. Like Drew had a clue what that meant.

"He does." Taking a deep breath, he decided to break the news, "He asked mom to marry him and he wants us to be family. And I want that too. I want to have the same last name as my brother."

"Brother? How do. . .?" Drew bit off the rest of his sentence then cleared his throat. "What brother?"

Oops. "Mom and Walter are having a baby. In about five weeks. I thought she would have. . ."

"I haven't talked to her since January. You're telling me she's been pregnant. . ." Ralph could almost hear the wheels grinding as Drew tried to do the math. "Shit. She and O'Brien. . ." He said Walter's name like it was a swear word. "So she got knocked up when I was there. . .?"

"It's not yours." Ralph wanted to make that perfectly clear.

"I know it's not. I haven't touched Paige since. . ." Obviously deciding not to inform his son of the last time he'd had sex with his mother, Drew frowned. "My answer is still no. You're a Baker and you always will be."

"My last name is not Baker, and it never will be," declared Ralph, not bothering to hide his disappointment. "I'll be 18 in a few years. I can change it to O'Brien then and you won't be able to stop me."

"Ralph. . .son. . ."

"Don't call me that. I don't want to be your son." He hated this. This feeling he should owe something to this man who had abandoned him, had abandoned his mother. He shook his head wearily. "Listen, I gotta go. I'd like to get some more sleep before I have to get up for school."

"Ralph. . ." Drew closed his eyes for a second. "Okay. Sorry about that. We'll talk later. Okay?"

"Sure." Clicking on the icon, he ended the conversation, shutting his laptop before climbing back into bed. Ralph stared at the glow in the dark stickers his mom had randomly stuck up on the ceiling when they'd first moved in.

He was still awake went his alarm went off an hour later.

ooooo

"Do you remember where you left your book report?" Paige asked a yawning Ralph as they entered the garage.

"Uh, I think it was on your desk," said the youngster who then ran off in that direction.

Walter wandered over to his workstation, carrying the handful of mail he'd collected from the box. It still seemed wrong for Ralph to waste his time in middle school, with its lack of challenges and intellectual peers. But he had to concede Paige, and Ralph, had a valid point. The boy needed to be able to relate to humans.

A faint lemony scent teased his nose and he turned to see Toby carrying a cup of hot tea over to Happy's workbench. "It will help boost your immune system, Sugarplum."

If the mechanic's expression was anything to go by, the shrink was lucky she didn't dump the scalding liquid on his head. Walter suppressed a grin as he sorted through the envelopes (mostly bills), political flyers, catalogs, and a couple of postcards. One depicting several bikini clad women was from Ray, who was evidently 'enjoying the view' in Santa Monica, the other was blank except for his name and address.

"Found it!" shouted Ralph from the kitchen as the garage door creaked open

"You kids ready to go?" asked Cabe as he strolled inside followed by Sylvester who was clutching a clipboard full of papers.

Walter shoved the mail into his inbox. He was more than ready to get this ordeal finished. "Yes. . ."

"What's that?" Toby asked Sly, pointing to the clipboard.

"I'm going to gather signatures in front of the Pick 'N' Save this afternoon," replied the human calculator. "I need 200 to get put on the ballot for the alderman's race."

"Good luck with that," said Cabe before taking a sip from his travel mug.

"There's no such thing. . ." Walter started to mumble.

"Ralph!" Paige's wail from the kitchen cut him off. "You can't turn this in Someone used it as a coaster for their coffee cup."

"It's still legible," he heard the youngster reply.

"No it's not. You're going to have to rewrite it." Paige emerged from the kitchen, one hand rubbing her belly while the other held the offending paper. "Sly, can you make sure he does it before his carpool picks him up?"

"Sure." The human calculator was sitting at his desk, adjusting the clips he kept on the rim of a jar.

"Mom. . ." Ralph closed his mouth when he saw his mother's face. "Fine, I'll redo it," he mumbled mutinously.

"Darn right you will." She turned to smile tiredly at Cabe. "Ready to go if you are." A pained look came over her as she bent forward.

Walter rushed to her side. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," she replied taking a deep breath. "Your son just punched me in the bladder. I'll be right back." She waddled toward the bathroom.

"Why is he always 'my' son when he kicks her or gives her heartburn or when she can't sleep?" he asked, thinking of the previous evening when she'd been unable to sleep. Between the baby practicing karate (her words, not his) and her anxiety over the trial, she'd tossed and turned, trying to get comfortable. It wasn't until he'd rocked her in his arms she'd been able to finally fall asleep.

"Just wait until he colors on the wall or tries to flush his toys down the toilet," the agent said with a chuckle which belied the sadness in his eyes, leading Walter to believe the other man was remembering some of his daughter's childhood escapades. "Then you'll really be in trouble."

He opened his mouth to argue the older man's explanation lacked logic but snapped it shut when Paige emerged from the bathroom. "Let's go get this over with," she said, grabbing her bag and sweater before going over to give Ralph a hug and kiss on the head. "Love you. Don't miss your carpool."

"I won't."

Walter ruffled the boy's hair as he passed by. "We'll work on the nursery again tonight. Okay. buddy?"

"Okay." The boy stared up at him for a moment before giving him a quick hug then running off toward the kitchen.

"He has a protection detail in place, right?" Paige asked Cabe once Ralph was out of earshot.

"Yes. Don't worry," the Homeland agent said. "He'll be fine."

As they exited the garage, Walter only hoped the the older man was right. If anything happened to Ralph or Paige or the baby, he'd never forgive himself.

ooooo

Walter adjusted his tie as he and Paige reached the hallway outside the courtroom. Glancing around, he couldn't see Cabe in the people milling about the crowded corridor. The agent had gone to park his SUV after dropping them off at the rear of the courthouse, not wanting a repeat of the mistake they'd made at their earlier court appearance.

"I see you got the summons," Ms Lee said as she approached them. Her mouth twisted in a sneer, she looked them up and down. "Is that the only dress you own?" she asked Paige, who once again wore the navy blue sailor dress.

"No," the liaison snapped back. "But it's the only one that fits." Which technically wasn't true, Walter silently contradicted her. The red satin dress still fit her. He gulped, recalling just how well it fit her and just how inappropriate it was, as were his current thoughts.

The attorney sighed, wielding her hand dismissively. "Hopefully no one else will notice. I'm certain we'll get guilty verdicts for the murder, kidnapping, and assault charges. But. . ." She paused and frowned them. "The odds of Gray and Talbot being convicted on the attempted rape charges are almost nil, no thanks to your testimony. You should have been upfront me." She glared at Paige.

Walter could tell she was near tears, her voice cracking as she replied, "I was."

"No, you weren't," Ms Lee replied. "If I'd known you'd agreed to have sex with them in exchange for his life. . ." She jabbed her finger at Walter, making it seem like she wanted to add the word 'worthless' before "life'. "I would never have included those charges. You were both humiliated for nothing."

"And our humiliation made you look incompetent, didn't it?" He knew he'd struck a nerve when she turned to him with a snarl on her face.

"As I've mentioned before, I don't like losing. When I lose, the bad guys win." With that, she spun on her heel and stalked off, her shoes clicking loudly on the shiny tile floor.

He rubbed Paige's back as she reached into her purse, searching for a tissue. "You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," she replied, dabbing at her eyes. "I really don't like that woman."

He was about to agree when a bailiff approached them. "Court convenes in five minutes," the woman said. "You need to take your seats."

Paige's bottom lip quivered as Walter helped lower her to the bench in the spectators' gallery. Cabe slipped into the open spot next to Walter a few moments later. "I've just checked in with the agents keeping an eye on Ralph," he said. "Everything's clear."

"Good," Walter replied distractedly, the lawyer's harsh comments still echoing through his mind.

"You kids okay?" asked the agent.

"No, not really," Paige replied with a sigh. "I just wish this. . ." She waved her hand in the air vaguely. "This, everything, was all over with."

Walter wholeheartedly agreed, although he wasn't sure if she meant just the trial, or if she was including the pregnancy, his divorce from Happy, and the threat of deportation hanging over his head.

"It will be soon," he said truthfully. The trial would be over that day, the pregnancy in about a month. The divorce would take six months. He would learn in a week or two if his expedited petition for citizenship would be accepted or denied and whether or not he'd have to leave the country.

Paige inhaled sharply, capturing his attention, before whispering "Oh, God." Her face had paled and she placed her hands protectively on her stomach. A myriad of scenarios streamed through his mind, everything from she'd gone into labor to she'd forgotten to turn off the stove.

There was only one way to find out. "What's wrong?"

"She's here."

"Who?" he asked, completely baffled.

"The woman. . . That woman. . ." Paige tilted her head to the left. Walter slid his eyes in that direction and saw a middle-aged woman in a yellow jacket and skirt taking a seat directly across from them.

"The one who threatened you?"

"Yes."

Turning his head slightly, he saw the woman bare her teeth at them before pointedly glancing down at Paige's belly. He started to rise to this feet as indignation rose inside him. This woman's husband was a kidnapper and a rapist who deserved to go to jail. He was not going to sit idly by and let her intimate Paige or anyone else.

"Walter, no," Paige hissed, tugging on his arm as Cabe pulled on the other, causing him to lose his balance. He gracelessly fell back onto the bench.

"She can't. . ." he began before being interrupted by a side door opening. Two bailiffs led the five handcuffed defendants to the table on the left side of the courtroom. They were all grim faced except for the leader, who was smirking.

Reaching over, he grasped Paige's hand, giving it what he hoped was a reassuring squeeze as the jury entered from another door and took their seats.

"All rise," one of the bailiffs called out. "Court is now in session. The Honorable Judge Thomas Greer presiding."

Walter had barely begun to help Paige to her feet when the judge banged his gavel, ordering them all to be seated.

"Has the jury reached a verdict?" Judge Greer turn to address the twelve people sitting in the jury box.

"We have, Your Honor," the foreman said, handing a folded piece of paper to a bailiff, who carried it over to the judge..

"Will the defendants please stand?" They hardly had time to get up when Greer started reading the charges with the foreman responding with the verdicts.

"Derek Kilkenny. Three counts of murder." "Guilty". "Three counts of kidnapping." "Guilty." "Five counts of assault with a deadly weapon." "Guilty."

Walter noticed the militia leader was no longer looking smug as the list of charges continued, all with corresponding guilty verdicts. The next defendant, Donald Brady, was announced guilty of all charges as well.

"Larry Talbot." Paige stiffened beside him, cradling her stomach. It should have been impossible but her face was even paler than before. Walter stared at back of the man who'd held a knife to her throat, who'd tried to rape her. . . He gave his head a shake as images of that day flashed through it.

"Seven counts of assault." "Guilty." "Three counts of kidnapping." "Guilty." "One count of murder." "Guilty." "One count of attempted rape. . ."

Walter held his breath as Paige tightened her grip on his hand as they waited the foreman's reply.

"Guilty."