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Vic's eyes flew open and she slapped the top of the ridiculously high pitched alarm clock on her night stand. Her stomach fluttered at the thought of facing Walt after what she had told him the night before. She rubbed her eyes, sat up, and immediately felt nauseous. She rushed into her all too small bathroom and lost what was left of dinner from the night before. Her body was achy and her head felt like it was being held over an open flame. It was time to check in with the doctor again. Besides the morning sickness, her appetite had been changing lately and she found that her jeans fit a little tighter than she remembered. Weight gain, change in her choice of food, even what she liked to drink changed, she used to love coffee a certain way, now she couldn't drink it unless it was completely different. Her phone started buzzing on her night stand and she looked down at the caller ID, it was the office.
"Morning, Vic speaking?" She held her breath in anticipation for Walt's deep sultry voice to break through.
"Hey Vic," Ruby's familiar voice interrupted Vic's morning haze, "Just wanted to let you know before you come in to the office that it is Walt's birthday, so if you got him anything, good luck." Also, you got a call back from forensics on a gun you found, they wanted to check in with you before I gave them the go ahead to send the results." A pause harassed the conversation with an awkward silence.
"Oh, yeah, I actually forgot it was Walt's birthday, and you can let forensics know that I would appreciate the results as soon as possible." Ruby fumbled on the other end, probably trying to drink her morning coffee and talk at the same time.
"Alright Vic, well we will see you soon, honey, and I'll let the lab know right away!" Vic thanked her and hung up, her anxiety had instantly risen to an all-time high, she didn't want to know. Chance Gibert had hurt her and so many others, and she only wanted him to get what he deserved, but now Walt's character might again come under fire. The gun was a way to punish Chance and his people, not Walt. Her head was pounding at this point and she felt like she might puke again, but she fought it, took a quick shower, and got dressed. She went to go outside and nearly forgot her cellphone. She found it, locked her camper and turned to her truck, then she saw something that made her blood run cold.
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Walt was walking out of his front door when his phone rang, he reluctantly picked it up seeing that the call was from Cati. "Hello Punk," he knew what was coming and he took a deep breath.
"Happy birthday dad!" She had such a sweet voice he couldn't help but say thank you, then she told him she wanted to sit down for lunch and enjoy some alone time with her father. Of course, he made sure to tell her he would try, but that there was a lot going on.
"I love you Punk, thank you for calling." Cati said goodbye and hung up, Walt took a deep breath and turned to walk outside. The morning air was crisp and refreshing, he always loved the view that he had every day. Now that no good Tucker Bagget and Co, were setting their eyes on his home, and he knew he was in for one crazy fight. His drive into work was a good one, he admired the beauty of Wyoming a bit more than usual. As he got to the office he noticed something very odd, Vic was not there, she usually made it in by the time he did. He didn't worry too much and figured he would give her some extra time before he started to grow concerned, after all she had just told him something really intimate. He greeted his co-workers and friends, and walked back to his office. He turned and saw balloons on his desk, which made him cringed inside, 'Ferg.' One thing he did appreciate about the balloons was what kept them from floating away, Reiner. Six cans of delicious, refreshing brew. He sat down and had a sobering thought, life had passed by so quickly, he was nearing 60 years, where had the years gone?! As he reached over and grabbed the files for the trial approaching, he choked out a gruff statement, "happy birthday to me."
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Vic stood frozen in her tracks, Chance Gilbert's son was no more than 50 feet from her camper, with a baseball bat in his right hand. He was older than she last remembered and his facial expression suggested he was intent on using the bat. "Hey," Vic did her best to act casual, "what are you doing out here so early, don't you think your mom might worry about her son?" A smile lit up his face and he took a step forward.
"My mom is the one who sent me here Deputy Moretti, she said I had to make sure you understood how upset we are about you messing with my dad's prison sentence." He swung the bat up over his left shoulder and starred at Vic with intensity. Her face was hot, and she knew that it wouldn't be long until the boy tried to get closer to her. He was around 12 or 13 and his arms were still pretty small, but she knew what he could do with a bat, and she didn't want to find out what would happen without a helmet on. She stepped toward the boy and made her way slowly over to him, her side arm was at the ready, but she wanted it to be a last resort.
"Please, listen to me, you do not know what you're doing, your family is manipulating you into believing that I am a bad person." Vic moved cautiously toward the boy, her heart was beating a million miles a minute and she started to sweat profusely. "I need you to give me the bat and go home, I don't want anyone to get hurt." The boy locked eyes with her and began swinging the bat back and forth in front of him like some kind of deadly pendulum.
"I need you to understand something," his eyes were filled with tears as he yelled across the yard, no more than thirty five feet from Vic. "If my dad is put on death row, you will join him, make no mistake about that!" He stepped to the left and walked up behind Vic's truck. She could only watch as he smashed her right break light before sneering at her and slowly walking off. Flooded with relief she did her best to stop the trembling in her hands and knees. 'What had she gotten herself into, an enemy was now knocking at her door?' She took a deep breath and got into her truck, so much for a boring and uneventful start to her day.
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"Vic, you're here later than normal," Ruby's words were sincere but Vic really wasn't in the mood for any kind of reminder of the morning she just had. She simply smiled at the seasoned receptionist and went over to her desk. Ruby got up and walked up to her, handing her a manila envelope and a coffee just the way she had been preferring it. "Well, no matter what kind of day it has been so far, a bit of caffeine can help." Ruby smiled at Vic and she couldn't help but smile back, she was such a kind hearted person, always helping others.
"Thank you so much, I appreciate everything you have done for me this morning and the coffee is definitely a plus!" At Vic's words Ruby nodded and returned to her desk.
"You get anything for Walt," Ferg was grinning from ear to ear and starred at Vic with a goofy expression of pride on his face, "I got him some balloons and some Reiner." Vic laughed quietly and looked at him, she could never go a day without hearing Ferg say something stupid.
"I didn't get him anything, I am just planning on saying happy birthday, don't think he would prefer much more than that." Ferg's face was red and he started patting his left shoulder with his right hand.
"Looks like I am going to be on Walt's radar for special assignments and good cases, hope your good with drunks in the park and teenagers smoking weed on school grounds Vic," His smug expression was almost enough to make her sick … wait, she was getting sick, 'oh no!' She hurried as quickly as she could out of the office without making it too obvious what was happening, but what else would they assume? She opened the door and stood over the toilet, if they didn't know then, they would definitely figure it out at the sound of her gagging in the bathroom. Nothing came up and she just stood there nauseous and irritated. A few minutes later there was a knock on the door, and a concerned Ruby spoke up.
"Hey sweetie, is everything okay, did Ferg say something stupid to upset you?" Vic smiled, Ferg didn't do anything wrong, she was the one who had gotten herself into this mess, her … a mom?!
"I'll be right out, I am just taking care of some things, she hoped Ruby would bite the bait and leave it alone … and she did. As Vic finished up and walked out she nearly smashed into Walt who was coming out from his office, "whoops, sorry," she said. Her heart was beating fast as he looked at her with intensity and concern. Her throat was dry and she had a hard time returning the gaze, then she said the only thing she could muster, "happy birthday Walt." He nodded slowly and tipped his hat slightly before replying.
"Thanks Vic, but you really don't have to remind me that I am gray and old, my body and mirror remind me of that every day." His lips shifted into a half smile and he stepped passed her, which finally gave her the chance to exhale, she didn't realize she had been holding her breath. That man made her crazy.