A Fresh Start
Chapter Two Hundred Seventy Three
Opening Sam's door, he helps her inside and then walks around the car to the driver side. Getting in, he closes the door and puts the car in gear as Sam reaches for his free hand. Holding it as he drives them home.
Sam goes upstairs when they get home. Slipping out of her dress and into something more comfortable .She walks over to the bed as Jeffrey walks in from closing up the house and making sure everything is secure. He sees her sitting on her side of the bed, rubbing in lotion on her stomach. Smiling, he says. "I'll be out in a minute."
"Okay." She says, leaving her stomach and moving on to rub the lotion into her arms. When she's finished, she puts the lotion away and gets out the small gift bag she brought home from the jewelry store that afternoon. Sitting it on her nightstand, she goes into the closet to put her dress away and set out things for in the morning before she into the bathroom to finish her nightly routine of brushing her teeth and using the bathroom. She's found that if she doesn't do this before she goes to bed, she has to get up in the middle of the night and it's getting harder and harder to go back to sleep once she's awake.
Jeffrey is leaving the bathroom as she comes into the closet. "I was going to pick it up." He says before she can mention the clothes scattered on his side of the closet. She smiles as she follows him to the bed. He stretched out after he pulls the cover back on his side. As she settles beside him, he smiles. "I've got one more present." He says, holding up a gift bag.
"The flowers were enough, J." She says as she moves closer to him.
"Maybe so, but you'll like this. I think you will anyway." He says, holding out the gift bag.
She reaches for her present. "I got you something too." She says, holding it out to him.
"So do we open them together?" He asks, taking the bag.
"Sure." She says, taking her bag. "On the count of three." She says, looking at him with a smile.
"1, 2, 3." He says, and they both open their bags.
They both pull out nearly the exact same gift. Sam looks at Jeffrey and he looks at her and then they both crack up laughing. After several moments, Sam calms down and says. "We bought each other the same exact gift."
"Well, I don't think they're exactly alike." He says, holding up the leather bracelet that Sam had bought him this morning. "Mine is slightly bigger and more masculine."
"Where did you get this idea?"
"I was looking at gifts online and I couldn't find anything that I liked so I took my lunch one afternoon and went to the mall. I thought about getting you some jewelry but you don't wear that much jewelry, except for your rings and I wanted to get something that you could wear every day, but a charm bracelet didn't seem practical. I suppose a necklace could work, but as I walking through the mall I saw the leather store and I thought I could get you some new leather boots with the wedge heels you like for after the baby comes. And when I went into the store I came across the bracelet and with the way it latches, I allowed me to add two charms to it." He says, showing her the charms. There was an S charm with her birthday at the top, his at the bottom and in between was a blank space for their child's birthday. The other charm was a Niagara Falls charm. When she sees it, she looks up. "Flip it over." He says and she does. On the back is their wedding date engraved with their initials at each end.
She leans in and kisses him. Pulling back, she reaches up to wipe a tear away. "I love you."
"Hey there's no reason to cry, Beca." He says, reaching to wrap his arms around her.
"Damn hormones." She mutters, as he laughs softly.
"I love both of you."
"We love you." She replies, kissing him again.
When they part, he reaches for her bracelet. "Let me put it on you." He says, reaching for her wrist. He fastens the leather band around her wrist.
She takes his and reaches for his arm, putting it on him. She sits back as he examines the charms. "What's the other charm?" He asks.
"It's a Celtic symbol, a Claddagh. It stands for love, loyalty and friendship. It's everything our relationship is and because it's an Irish symbol I thought it fit us. We were partners before Belfast, but we didn't come together till then and I wanted something that symbolized what we've had since then."
"It symbolizes everything." He says, leaning in to kiss her. When they part, she tries to stifle a yawn. "Come on, sleep." He says, sliding down in the bed to get comfortable. She looks at him for a moment and then follows him. Wrapping his arm around her, he lightly kisses her head letting her brace her stomach against his hip.
They've been laying there for a couple minutes, before she says. "You know I have to admit that I actually forgot about this being Valentine's Day until Leah said something about you wanted to make the day special. That bracelet was my errand for today." She says, as he hugs her closer to him.
"I still love you." He whispers, kissing her. "Even if you did forget our original anniversary."
"Okay, I didn't forget…."
"You just admitted that you forgot that it was Valentine's Day. And when was I rescued in Belfast?"
"It was in February."
"It was February 12th to be exact."
"You were barely conscious when we found you, how do you know what date it was?"
"I looked it up. It's true I don't remember much from then but I wanted to at least remember when we got together."
"Well in that case, it wasn't…."
"Beca!"
"Okay." She says, conceding his point as she kisses his chest. "Happy Anniversary, J."
"I love you. Happy anniversary." He says, squeezing her closer. She snuggles in, closing her eyes as he softly begins to hum.
Josh has just wrapped a phone call with a client when Wanda buzzes him. "Yes, Wanda."
"Josh, there's a young man here to see you. He doesn't have an appointment, but he insists that you will see him."
"Who is it?" Josh asks, slightly puzzled.
"He says his name is Dorian Rydal." Looking up, Josh stares at his office door for several seconds. "Mr. Lewis?" Wanda says, getting his attention again.
"I'm here." Josh replies quietly.
"Should I tell him you're busy?"
"No, no Wanda, let him in." Josh says, feeling his heart rate jump a bit.
"Yes sir." Wanda says, hanging the phone up. "You may go in." She says, as Dj nods.
He turns for the door and then stands there for a few seconds. He's here. He's at his father's office and he's still conflicted about how it's supposes to feel. He's also aware of the woman sitting behind the desk and he's sure that she's probably guessed that he's not a client but someone much more unexpected for today's agenda. Snapping himself out of his wondering thoughts, he takes a step towards the door. Quickly wiping his hand on his pants, he reaches out and turns the knob.
The moment Wanda hung up, Josh sits back. To say that he's surprised would be the understatement of the century. As soon as the door opens, he's standing. Dj is standing there and Josh can see that's he's not certain he should even be here. Slowly Josh walks around his desk. He can feel his heart beat quickening and with his breathing. He can see the nerves rolling through his son's body. Realizing that, Josh sets aside his own nervousness. Holding out his hand, Josh walks up to him. "Dj." He says quietly.
Dj looks at him for a moment and then takes his hand. They shake hands quickly and then Dj pulls his hand back. He's so not sure of this. Talking with Marah helped calm him down and made him realize that while he had the right to be angry when he first found out the truth, that moment has passed. He knew it passed a long time before but his pride wouldn't let him, let it go. Self-righteous indignation wasn't something he was familiar with, even if his father was. "I guess I should say something, but I don't know what to say." Dj says, releasing Josh's hand after their shake.
"Would you like to sit down?" Josh asks, turning to indicate the two chairs sitting in front of his desk.
"Sure." Dj says, walking over to one of the chairs. He expected Josh to walk around to his chair so he's surprised when Josh sits down beside him in the other chair. There is a long moment of silence before he speaks again. "I don't know what to say to you."
"We can start with why you're here?" Josh asks.
"I'm not exactly sure. I didn't wake up this morning thinking that I would come to see you. But when I woke up, I had this feeling inside me."
"What kind of feeling?"
"I'm not sure, but I've had them before. I always take them to be a sort of warning system about something that I need to do. I had the same feeling just before my Dad died. This feeling that said things were about to change. Anyway, something compelled me to come here today."
"Well, can I say that I'm glad you did?" Josh says, as Dj looks at him. There is another moment of silence before Josh speaks again. "I know the last year has been hard, finding out the truth about your father and the circumstances surrounding that, moving here and meeting me."
"I didn't come here to meet you." Dj says, glancing at Josh.
"Are you sure about that? Because you left your home to come here, why here?"
"I left my home because there wasn't anything else for me there."
"Your mother was there." Josh says, as Dj looks over at him.
"My mom is…."
"You're not going to disparage your mom in front of me. Your mother is human. Just as you and I are human, we both made mistakes that night."
"Do you regret that I was a product of that night?" Dj asks quietly.
"No son, I will never regret any of my children. You, Marah, my son Shayne. I may not have known about you until a few months ago, but if I had I would've been proud. We would've worked something out so that we could've spent time together."
"How do you know…?"
"I just do. You're step mother is a very loving and caring woman. Your brother and sister will love you as well."
"I met Marah." Dj says, glancing at him.
"I sort of figured as much. I told her about you right after she came home from Paris. She needed to know about…."
"I'm not upset that you told her. Just how much did you tell her?"
"Everything, she already knew about her mother's accident and the search being called off in Florida. I just filled in what happened after that."
There's a moment of silence before Dj says. "She told me that she understood about being angry about the stuff that our parents do, but that the anger was only hurting me. She said that she's had a lot of issues with her mom."
"She has." Josh says quietly. "I'm happy to say that they seem to have gotten past them and are closer now than they've ever been."
Another silence fills the room before Dj says. "I want to know about my family."
"I can tell you a lot, so can Marah and your Uncle Billy, even Reva. We all grew up together." Josh says, as Dj looks at him.
Reva, Billy and I grew up together. We're all from Tulsa Oklahoma. My dad, your grandfather was Harland Billy Lewis and your grandmother was Martha Lewis. I never met Billy's mother or Jeffrey's mother."
"Who's Jeffrey?"
"Umm, that's your other Uncle. Jeffrey O'Neill."
"As in the mayor of Springfield?"
"The one and the same, I'm not proud to say this but our father, while a very loving man had his flaws. Flaws that has led me to make a few mistakes in my life." Josh looks at him. "Please don't misunderstand what I just said. You are not a..."
"I know what you meant." Dj replies, cutting him off.
"The decisions I made that night were the results of fear and desperation. I had two small children at home waiting for me to bring their momma back and I couldn't find her, we couldn't find her. At the time she simply vanished."
"Where did she go?"
"She was found a drift by two fishermen from San Cristobel. They took her back there and she spent the next three years married to the ruling prince of San Cristobel."
"She was married to the Prince of San Cristobel!" Dj says, staring at him.
"Yes, apparently her story got back to him and he went to visit her while she was in the hospital. She had no memory of me or her kids or her life in Springfield so he took her back to his palace and he nursed her back to health and during that time they fell in love and were married."
"How could she be married to two different men at the same time?"
"She wasn't, not according to the officials in San Cristobel and she had no memory of me, our kids, or our lives."
"How did she get her memory back?"
"I'm not sure actually. I'm not actually sure she did when she left San Cristobel."
"Then why did she leave, if she didn't get her memory back?"
"She was protecting the child she had with the prince."
"She had a child with the prince that she left."
"She actually hid the child from the prince and then she left." Josh says, as Dj stares at him.
"It really is a long and complicated story."
"Maybe I can hear it some time."
"Sure." There's another pause before Josh asks. "Does your mom know you're here?"
"No." He pauses. "I haven't spoken to her since Christmas."
Josh nods but doesn't say anything for a moment. "I know I'm probably the last person you want advice from. But can I say this." They look at each other. "I know how much it can hurt to realize that your parents are only human."
"Your mother…."
"No, my father. My dad loved my mom I know he did. I also know that he a couple of affairs as well. Your Uncle Billy and Uncle Jeffrey are products of those affairs. I've had years to accept your Uncle Billy, but we just recently found out about Jeffrey and I haven't been as open as some of the other members of our family about him. Mostly because finding out about him made me question just exactly how much my father loved my mother. My dad isn't here to explain to me what happened. Your mom is and I think you should give her the same chance you're trying to give me, now. Because no matter how you came to be, she loves you and she did what she felt was right."
"How is she going to forgive me? I said…."
Josh lays a hand on his shoulder before he replies. "Here's the thing about being a mother or a parent and you'll feel it when you become a parent. Parents love their kids no matter what they do. They may not approve of what they're doing but they love them just the same. Unless they are totally self-centered, a parent's love never dies."
"Are you sure about that?" Dj asks with a little smirk
"Yes I'm sure. I didn't agree with your brother's decision not to turn pro when he finished high school."
"Turn pro, at what?"
"Baseball, your brother had, well I guess he still has one hell of a pitching arm. He was good enough to go to the pros. He instead went overseas to help clear landmines in war torn countries like Bosnia and Africa. I'm proud of him now and I was then too, but when he made the decision not to go pro I was angry."
"You felt like he was giving up a golden opportunity."
"Yes, but even though I felt that way and we fought about it, I still love him. Your mom still loves you, even if you expressed your anger in very disrespectful ways." Josh says, as there's soft knock and then the door opens.
"Josh… sorry I didn't realize you were with someone." Billy says, sticking his head into the office.
"It's okay. Is there something you need me for?"
"No, just wanted to tell you about last night." Billy says, glancing to the other chair and seeing Dj sitting there. "Is everything okay?" Billy asks, still watching Dj.
"Everything is fine. Why don't you come on in?" Josh says, sitting back. Billy opens the door more and then walks inside, closing the door behind him before he turns around. "I'm not sure you have been introduced to each other."
"Umm, no. But I did see him at Company with you." Billy says, looking at Josh.
"That wasn't my best impression." Dj says quietly.
"No, it wasn't son." Billy says, looking at him.
"I'm sorry. I've been a brat the last several months."
"Yes, you have." Billy's quiet for a moment before he says. "But I can sort of understand how you felt. I've been in your shoes although I never would've said the things you've said to either of my parents. I may have been grown but your grandfather would've given me a hard lesson in respect if I spoke to him the way you've spoken to Josh."
"Yes sir." Dj says. Shame is written all over his face. "I'm sorry…."
"Son, it's not me you owe the apology to." Billy says.
"I know Sir. That's why I'm here, to apologize to him." Dj says, glancing at Josh.
"Apology accepted, but you do need to speak with your mother."
"I will." Dj says.
"Good." Josh turns to Billy. "You wanted to tell…."
"I would like to speak to your wife as well." Dj says, interrupting Josh. Josh looks at him again. "I was as disrespectful to her as I was to my mother. I believe I owe her and apology as well."
"I'm sure Reva would appreciate it." Josh says, as Dj nods. "She's probably at the Beacon right now."
"I think I'll go speak with my mom." Dj says, as Josh nods.
"Okay. Let me speak with her and we'll plan to have dinner together soon." Josh says, as Dj nods.
"I'll go then." He turns to Billy. "It was good to see you." Dj says, as Billy nods.
"Welcome to the family." Billy says, holding out his hand.
"Thanks." Dj says with a smile before he leaves.
Once he's gone, Josh turns to Billy. "So how did it go?" Billy's quiet for a moment before he breaks out into a huge grin. "She said yes." Billy only nods. "Did you set a date?"
"No, of course not. We just got engaged." Billy says, sitting down it the chair that Dj left.
"So, what happened?"
"I invited her over…."
"And then you took her out to a…."
"Would you let me finish my story? I invited her over and I cooked us…."
"You cooked, I'm surprised she said yes. Well maybe she said yes to take pity on you so that you don't have to eat your cooking."
"Hey, I can cook… a couple of things." Billy says, pushing Josh's shoulder.
"Like what, water?"
"I haven't seen you turn down one of my steaks." Billy says, looking at Josh. Josh closes his mouth. "See, that's what I thought. I grilled us some steaks and potatoes and then I made a simple salad. And then after we ate, I put everything away while she waited for me in the living room."
"You left her alone!"
"Only for a few minutes. I'll probably have to re-run the dishwasher because I didn't take the time to rinse before I put the dishes in there to wash. Anyway, when I finished I went back into the living room and I turned on some jazz music. She likes the saxophone. We danced for a bit and she could tell that there was something on my mind. So she asked me about it and I told her I didn't quite know how to tell her what I was thinking. So we sat down on the couch and we talked for a bit and then I asked her."
"And she said yes?"
"Yes, she said yes. And then after that, well I guess you don't want to know about after that."
"No, not really. I don't need those details." Josh says, laying his hand on his shoulder. "I'm happy for you. I know it's been a while since you've allowed anyone to come close to Vanessa's place in your heart.
"I told her that. It's part of why I was so nervous asking her. I don't remember it being that nerve racking when I asked Vanessa."
"It's nerve racking every time you ask." Josh says, thinking of each of the times that he's asked Reva to marry him. "So, we're going to have a wedding coming up. Any idea…."
"No, we haven't even discussed that."
"We should all have dinner." Josh says, looking at him.
"I'll talk to her about it." Billy says before he glances at his watch. "I should go. I've got to get over to the Market street site and see what's going on over there."
"Okay, congratulations."
"Thank you."
"Real quick, what did she think of the ring?"
"She loved it." Billy says, as Josh nods.
Stace is at her desk when Jeffrey walks in the next morning. "Good morning, Sir." She says, smiling brightly.
"Good morning." Jeffrey replies, walking into his office. Stace follows him with a hand full of messages that she got from his voice mail.
"Here are your messages and how was your Valentine's Day." Stace asks, handing him the messages with her left hand.
Jeffrey catches her wrist when she pulls her hand back. "Did you get yourself some new jewelry for Valentine's Day?"
"I did." Stace says, smiling.
"He proposed?"
"He did."
"Congratulations, Billy is a wonderful guy."
"He's the best man I know, beside you of course."
"Of course." Jeffrey replies with a smile. "Have you set a date?"
"No, he only proposed last night."
"Enjoy the ride and if you need anything I would be happy to help."
"Oh my mom's been saving for my wedding day for years."
"You didn't have a ceremony with…."
"No, eloped. His idea and should've been my first clue that something wasn't right there."
"Hey our mistakes are measured by how well we learn from them. I lost the love of my life and wasn't the nicest person before or after that, now look at me. I'm married, about to have a child with the love of my life. I'm mayor and I am an accepted member of one of Springfield's most respected families. I think my mistakes have turned out okay. You and Billy will be happy together, because this isn't your first rodeo."
"You're not saying you and Sam are having…."
"No, no, Sam and I are happier now than we ever were before the accident in Russia. We work because we've had it once and we lost it. And now that we've gotten back we're not taking anything for granted. I know you and Billy will be so happy together."
"Thank you." Stace says smiling. "Your first appointment should be here in about ten minutes."
"Thanks." Jeffrey says. She turns away as Jeffrey leafs through his message. They're mostly from different council members. There's one from the director of NIS. Jeffrey looks at that message for several seconds before he picks up the phone. "Stace." He calls. She comes back to his door.
"Yes Sir."
"I've got an important call if my first appointment comes, tell them I'll be with them as soon as possible and could you close my door."
"Yes Sir." Stace says, closing the door as she steps back.
Jeffrey dials the number from memory and after the first ring, a woman picks up. "Director Schmitt's office."
"Yes, this is Jeffrey O'Neill. I am returning the director's call."
"Of course, Agent O'Neill. Would you please hold?" The woman doesn't wait for his answer.
A few moments later, a male voice comes on the line. "Agent O'Neill, thank you for getting back to me so quickly."
"The message was marked urgent Sir." Jeffrey says, settling back in his chair. "I'm a little surprised to hear from you Sir."
"I thought I should brief you on a situation in San Cristobel."
"Sir, I am no longer the liaison for San Cristobel. In fact, I'm not even an active agent and the former prince of…."
"This has to do with the former prince's brother."
"Richard, if it's about him running for…."
"We're not interested in a low level election, Agent O'Neill. This is about his other brother, Prince Edmund."
"Edmund is locked in a prison in San Cristobel. He's still segregated from…."
"That's the issue, we have received Intel that there is a possibility of him being moved to the open population by the end of the week. We're working on trying to convince the new Prince not to let the order go through, but so far he's more determined to stand on his own two feet."
"There are very specific reasons that Edmund was placed in segregation, Sir. If he's allowed into the open population, he's allowed visitors and he has…."
"I know the reasons, Agent O'Neill. That's why I called. I want you to go to San Cristobel…."
"Sir, wait. I am not an active agent anymore. I haven't been for years. Besides that, my wife is about to give birth. I can't just leave her."
"It will only be for a couple days. I need someone that's not related to the former royal family but knows Edmund's history to speak with…."
"I am related to the former royal family, Sir. It's through marriage but I'm still related not to mention I look exactly like the former Prince. A man, Edmund tried to discredit and removed from power on numerous occasions not to mention the relationship I have with the former Princess Cassie."
"I know all of this Agent O'Neill, except the part about you being related to the former royal family."
"I'm Princess Cassie's brother-in-law and my daughter is married to Prince William. I'm not the man for the job."
"You know what is at stake here. If he's allowed to be released from segregation then he can and will likely try to escape. He has supporters…."
"I know the stakes Sir, but I can't leave Sam not now. Even if she wasn't about to give birth. I have too many connections to the former Winslow government to be able to convince the current prince to not allow the transfer."
"Alright, I understand. Then in your opinion, how secure is that prison."
"Sir, you can't breach a prison in another country. It will be an act of…."
"I'm not going to try and breach it. I want to know the likelihood of him being able to escape from there."
"If Edmund wants to escape, he'll try. The San Cristobel prison system isn't as lax as their US counterparts but with help he might be able to escape."
"I wanted you to tell me that there is no possible way this could happen. That Edmund wouldn't make it past the yard."
"If Edmund attempts to escape, he won't try to cut through the fences to escape. There will be a grand operation that he will be in control of. It will require extensive planning. If he is transferred, I would begin monitoring every move he makes and every person he comes into contact with the moment he's released into the general population."
"If I can't convince the new Prince to keep Edmund where he is, I'll make sure that we have him and everyone associated with him monitored."
"It would be prudent to monitor all those that he has a casual contact with as well. He can and will manipulate the unsuspecting bystander to do his bidding."
"I'll keep that information in mind. Speaking of, how is Agent Whitmere doing."
"Sam, is great. She's recovering from her ordeal with her brother. I think the final steps of that process will begin tomorrow. She is being called to testify on behalf of the mother of the victim she treated several months ago, which brought to a head the situation with her brother, so things are settling down."
"Are you ready to become a father?"
"Sir, I'm already a father."
"Yes, but this time you'll be there for everything. Are you ready for that?"
"I'm actually looking forward to it, Sir. I missed everything with Ava. I missed all those moments between a father and a daughter so I'm thankful I'll get to experience them again."
"Well, good luck."
"Thank you Sir. And I hope you're able to convince the new prince to keep Edmund isolated."
"I'm going to do my best, but it would likely be prudent to inform your family of this situation."
"I'll speak with Richard and William."
"Thank you."
Jeffrey hangs up and then sets back, pondering the situation and he's more than a little apprehensive of the ramification of Edmund being release from segregation."
He's still thinking about it when Stace buzzes him. "Sir, you appointment is here."
"Thank you Stace, send him in."
"You can go tin." Stace says to the waiting councilmen.
After a morning of meetings, Jeffrey leaves his office. "I'm going to speak with Richard about a private matter and then I'm going to lunch. I should be back before my two o'clock meeting." He says to Stace as he leaves his office.
"Yes sir."
Jeffrey leaves the office. A couple minutes later, he walks into Richard's office. "Hello Amelia." Jeffrey says, as he walks in.
"Mr. Mayor, hello." She says, sitting up a little straighter in her chair.
"Is he in?" Jeffrey asks, nodding towards the door.
"He is. He's finishing up a meeting. Do you want me to interrupt?"
"No, I'll wait till he's finished. Did you have a good Valentine's day?"
"I actually did. I went home, cleaned it up, fixed dinner and then spent the night curled up on the couch with a very good book."
"So, no date then?"
"No, my boyfriend and I just recently broke up so I spent the day on myself."
"I'm sorry to hear about the break up. Any chance of reconciliation?"
"No, I don't think so. It… it was time to move on." She says with a smile.
"Well, I'm sure you won't be single for long Amelia." Jeffrey says, as Richard's door opens and he walks out with another man.
"Thank you for coming in. I'll be in touch." Richard says, shaking the man's hand. The man leaves as Jeffrey stands up, catching Richard's attention. "Jeffrey, I wasn't expecting you. Did we have a meeting that I…?"
"No, this is a spare of the moment. I need to speak to you about something private."
"Of course, Amelia can you hold me calls unless it's Cassie."
"Yes sir." She says, smiling and Richard and Jeffrey walk into Richard's office.
"Is something wrong with Cassie and...?"
"No, she and the baby are fine. It's just that sometimes she calls me after she gets home from the Beacon and if I'm in a meeting I'll always break to take the call." Richard says with a smile. "So, you said you wanted to speak to me in private, is something wrong with you and Sam?"
"No, we're fine, closer than we've ever been."
"She's getting close to her time, isn't she?"
"She's got a couple more months to go, but yes."
"I remember being so worried about Cassie when she was pregnant with Will. We were… Well we were separated for most of her pregnancy so I missed most of it and then I had to send her to Springfield to keep her safe while I tried to deal with Edmund."
"That's actually why I'm here." Jeffrey says, as Richard looks at him, surprised.
"Ah, okay." Richard says, sitting down behind his desk as Jeffrey takes the chair in front.
"When I got to the office this morning, Stace gave me my messages like usual. And while I was going through them I was surprised to find an urgent message from NIS, that's the agency…."
"I remember who they are." Richard says as Jeffrey nods.
"Anyway, I called him back immediately. And basically he wanted me to intervene on behalf of the agency in San Cristobel.
"San Cristobel? You're not the liaison anymore. You haven't been for several years."
"I know and that's what I told him but he wanted to see if I would do it simply because of my background with the people involved."
"Okay."
"I'm not clear on all the details but the important one was that he told me that the current prince is considering moving Edmund from segregation to the general population."
"He can't be… If he's allowed access to the general population, he can…."
"The director is aware of that, that's why he wanted me to speak with the current prince. I know the players and Edmund."
"Are you going…?"
"No, I told him I couldn't. Sam's too close to delivery and besides I'm not sure how effective I would be, considering the new prince is trying to prove himself against your family's legacy." Richard looks away. "I didn't mean…."
"No, I get that part. I had to prove myself after my father retired. I'm sure William had to prove himself after I left. I get that. What I don't get is, why now?"
"I don't know. And he didn't say. Maybe it's a as simple as his lawyer taking advantage of the fact that your family isn't running the government anymore."
"Does he realize what could happen if he's allowed access to the internet, visitors, any communication at all. Edmund has ways and supporters…."
"I explained all that to him. He said he would try to press that point across to the new Prince."
"Oh god, Cassie. If she finds out that there's a possibility that Edmund could, the baby Jeffrey. She can't find out. She could lose…."
"If you don't want her to know. I'm not going to be the one to tell her. That's your call but I felt like I had to tell you and I'll have to tell William as well since it was William that sentenced him to prison after he tried to use Will to get Cassie back. Edmund has a long list of people in this town that he resents for some reason or another."
There's a moment of silence before Richard says. "Maybe it's better to let him free." Jeffrey looks at him. "Yes, I know he could possibly escape and come after all of us, but is keeping him in segregation keeping the possibility that his supports won't try to do something."
"Keeping him segregated keeps us all safe. Yes, his supporters are all out there. But with Edmund it's gone past the crown and control of San Cristobel we both know that." Jeffrey says, as Richard nods. There's another moment of silence before Jeffrey asks. "Who were you meeting with?"
"A potential campaign manager, I fired the one that you suggested." Richard says, as Jeffrey looks up, surprised. "I found out that he had a private investigator investigate Cassie's past. I won't allow her to be dragged through the mud because of decisions she made to feed and protect her kids."
"He did an opposition investigation to see if you were vulnerable to your opponents. He did the same thing with me. It's standard procedure for a campaign."
"And you didn't object?"
"No, most of my past deeds are classified way above any investigation he could've done."
"I can't let her be dragged down again by this. We dealt with it before the wedding and we explained everything then. To bring it up now is like beating a dead horse, is that how you say it."
"Pretty much, that's how it's said." Jeffrey says, with a smile as he stands up. "I'm headed home to see Sam for lunch."
"I think I'll go see Cassie as well. I just hope I can keep this from tumbling out of my mouth the moment I see her."
"Maybe you should tell her then. He hasn't been released from segregation yet. If she's prepared maybe things will work out."
"I don't know if I can risk the worry it will cause her because of the baby. Go enjoy lunch with Sam, I'll figure something out." Richard says, as Jeffrey nods and then leaves.