Here's chapter 5. Enjoy.

The next morning, Roger woke up first. He went next door and looked in on Bridget. He noticed she was still asleep, so he went out into the kitchen and noticed his mother was already up. He went over and kissed her on the cheek.

"Good morning, Mom," he said brightly.

"Good morning, Roger," she replied. "How are you?"

"I'm good," Roger said.

"Where's Bridget?"

"She's still sleeping."

"Was she OK last night?"

"Yeah, she was fine. She fell asleep right away. We didn't even get a chance to talk."

"Oh," Mrs. Davis said. "Well, she was probably exhausted. Poor girl, she doesn't deserve what happened to her, none of it."

"I know, Mom," Roger said. "Her dad will be lucky if I don't ever meet him. I don't need guns or knives— I could kill him with my bare hands, if I was mad enough."

"Roger…"

"What? You know it's true. That bastard doesn't deserve to live."

"I know, honey, but don't make threats like that, OK?"

"OK, OK, fine."

Roger frowned and drank his coffee in silence. They heard a door open a while later, and Bridget came out to the kitchen.

"Hey, Baby," Roger said, going over to take her into his arms. "Did you sleep OK?"

"Yes, thank you," Bridget said, leaning up to kiss him. "I thought no one could get you up before Noon?"

"Oh, well, I decided to get up," Roger said. "Damn robin outside our window wouldn't quit singing in my ear." Bridget laughed. "Besides, you're reason enough for me to not waste the day."

Bridget smiled. "Thanks, Roger," she said, looking up at him. "Well, I suppose we'd better get ready for school, huh?"

"Are you sure?" Roger asked. "I mean, after last night?"

"Roger, I'm fine," Bridget assured him. "Don't worry, OK? My dad's in custody, awaiting trial and charges. He can't get to my mom and me. Why wouldn't I be OK?"

"You know, you're right, Baby," Roger said, kissing her forehead. "So, well, what do you want to do, since we're up so early?"

"Well, why don't we go see how my mom is doing?" Bridget suggested, looking up at him. "I'm not sure I'll be able to concentrate in school today, without knowing that she's OK."

"That sounds great, Baby," Roger said, smiling at her. He took her hand in his and kissed it. Then they went and got dressed and left.

Bridget walked into the Kincaid house with Roger a few minutes later, without even thinking to knock. "Mom?" she called.

"I'm in the den, honey," Mrs. Kincaid called, and Bridget and Roger went in to her.

"How are you doing?" Bridget asked.

"I'm OK," Mrs. Kincaid said. "I'm a little sore. The good thing about second graders, though, is you can say you fell and got banged up, and some of them will ask if there's anything they could do." She smiled sadly. "But at least they won't ask questions." She looked at Bridget and put her hand on her daughter's cheek. Bridget flinched, but only slightly. "I'm just glad you're OK."

"I'm glad you're OK, too, Mom," Bridget said. "Did Mrs. Davis stop by yet?"

"Yes, she did, and we had a little breakfast together," Mrs. Kincaid said, smiling. "I'm very grateful to have someone like your parents for friends here, Roger," she added to him.

Roger beamed. "Thanks, Mrs. Kincaid," he said. "We try our best."

"We're a pretty good team when we're together, aren't we?" Bridget asked Mrs. Kincaid and Roger.

"Oh my God, Bree," Maureen said, the next day at school, "what happened to you?"

Bridget looked at Maureen and was silent for a moment. The bruises around her face were finally starting to show up, and Maureen hadn't noticed the day before, nor had Cat or any of the others. "Mo," she said quietly, "I don't want to tell you here."

Maureen frowned. "Why not?" she asked.

"Mo…" Bridget said hesitantly. "Seriously, not here, OK? Please, don't press me."

Maureen looked confused. "Did something bad happen while I was gone?" she asked.

"Mo, stop it," Roger said firmly. "When Bridget wants to tell you, she will."

"It's fine, Roger," Bridget said, and she sighed wearily. She looked at Maureen. "You really wanna know?"

"Yes," Maureen insisted.

"OK, fine, you asked for it," Bridget said, looking at Cat, Mark, and Benny, as they came over to the group. She took a deep breath and told them everything. She told them about her dad, them moving so much and why, and finally came to the previous night's events. Cat looked stunned and angry, but Maureen was looking murderous.

"That fucker," she growled. "Did your mom divorce him?"

"Yeah, when I was eight, it finalized," Bridget said.

"Was your mom OK?" Cat asked, concerned.

"Yeah, she was OK," Bridget said. "We went back to my house before school and made sure she was OK. She teaches second grade at Scarsdale Elementary now."

"Good," Maureen said, "I'm glad. You've had kind of a fucked up start to the school year, haven't you?"

"Not really, Mo, why do you say that?" Bridget asked, looking at Maureen, surprised.

"Well, because you had some really fucked up things happen," Maureen said, looking back at her. "I'm not sure what I would have done if that was me."

Bridget nodded. "Yeah, I guess I have," she said, "but if I hadn't, I wouldn't have come here and met you guys."

Maureen smiled. "Yeah, you know, you're right," she said, putting her arm around Bridget's shoulders. "We should get to class— we're late."

"See you at lunch, OK?" Bridget asked.

"Yep," Maureen said, and the group went their separate ways.

One week later…

"Hey, Baby, where have you been all day?" Roger asked, as Bridget arrived at his house after school the next Friday. "I didn't see you today."

"I had to go to testify at my dad's court case at ten, remember?" Bridget asked him, looking up at him, as they went and sat in the living room together.

"Oh yeah," Roger said, suddenly remembering. "Sorry, I forgot."

"It's OK," Bridget said. "I had wanted to, you know, keep somewhat quiet about it."

"OK," Roger said, "but we should probably tell the gang. Mo has been worried you were sick or something."

"Yeah, we probably should," Bridget said. "I don't want Mo to have an aneurysm. But she just might, knowing the outcome; my dad got convicted."

"Good," Roger said, beaming at her and kissing her. "I'm glad he did. It'll make yours and your mom's lives so much easier now."

"Yeah, it will," Bridget agreed. "But come on, we have to prevent that aneurysm."

"Yeah, we do; otherwise, she'll really be pissed," Roger said, putting his arm around her waist. "We can go to the Dairy Queen or something and tell them now?"

"OK," Bridget said, looking up at him. "Oh, and you should know, I'm gonna be gone next weekend."

"Where are you going?"

"My mom and I are driving down to Wyoming with a moving company to get our stuff back. I might miss some school, but I'm not sure. Do you think you guys could get all my homework for me while I'm gone?"

"Of course, Baby," Roger said, kissing the top of her head. He pulled her close to him and she leaned against his strong frame. "Bridget, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, what?" Bridget asked, lifting her head off his chest to look at him.

"Are you happy here with me?" he asked, looking down at her.

"Oh, Roger, of course I—" Bridget began, but Roger cut her off.

"No, Bridget," he said, looking down at her, "I'm serious."

Bridget looked into his mesmerizing green eyes and got lost for a moment in them. Then she pulled back slightly and said seriously, "So am I. Yes, I'm happy here with you. I've never been with a guy— a young man— so caring, so gentle, and yet, so… free-spirited, despite being stuck in a hicktown like this. I mean, you're open with your feelings for me and how you show them, and you never worry about what anybody thinks of you, or of us."

Roger nodded. "Wow," he said. "OK, that was serious enough for me."

Bridget smiled. "Well, you said you wanted serious," she said.

"Yeah, I guess I did say that, didn't I?" Roger asked, looking down at her.

"Yeah, you did," Bridget said, smiling. "Come on, we have to go call Mo and Collins and everybody." She pushed him playfully toward the phone, and Roger pulled her around and kissed her. "Roger!" she said, laughing.

"OK, OK," Roger surrendered, picking up the phone. "I'll stop loving you for ten minutes and I'll call."

"Good," Bridget said, laughing, and tossing her long brown hair.

Next chapter will be up soon. Don't forget to review.

Until next time, lots of love,

Renthead07