A/N: Because you guys rock, here's another chapter. Thanks for the reviews; they truly keep me going.

Chapter TWENTY

Bobby was talking heatedly in the phone when she came back down but he hung up as she entered the living room.

"Bobby-"

"Kimmy, don't start. This is something I have to do."

"You don't have to fight. We can call the cops. I can call my lawyer!"

He shook his head and shoved his phone back into his pocket. "I can handle this." He reached out to stroke her hair. "Go back upstairs Princess."

"This can't be solved with violence Bobby."

"It can't be solved with two million fucking dollars either Kimmy!"

"Don't make this about money."

"I didn't, you did. Offering to buy Shelly? What were you thinking? Lilah's a bottom feeder. She'll sell her own flesh and blood and when the money runs out, she'll come back blackmailing you for more."

"What would you have me do? How else can I help her? Lilah is Shelly's mother and regardless of whether she or we want her to be when it comes down to it the court will be on her fucked up side."

They paused as the front door opened and Angel came in with Sofi following closely behind. "Where is he?" Angel questioned. "Where's Dwayne?"

At the sound of tires squealing, Bobby snorted. "I think I know."

"Bobby, don't." Kimberly grabbed his arm. "Please don't do this."

"Bobby fucking Mercer! Get your ass out here mother fucker!"

Bobby looked away from the front door. "Princess, don't worry. I have to go. If I don't go out there now, he'll come in here and it's the last thing we want."

"Bobby-"

He pressed his lips against her forehead and pulled away. "You ready little brother?"

Angel nodded. "I was born ready." He was ignoring Sofi ranting at him from where she stood by the window and Kimberly felt her blood run cold at the sight of the gun tucked in Angel's belt.

She moved to place herself between them and the door. "Don't do this."

"Move Kimmy."

"Shit." Sofi shifted the curtain back. "You idiots. Dwayne brought his friends."

"Friends? He brought people?" Kimberly walked over to shift the curtain back. "Bobby! There are at least five people out there!" She turned to glare at him. "You're outnumbered."

"Wouldn't be the first time." He opened a locked drawer in the computer desk and pulled out a 9mm handgun. "You and Sofi go upstairs to Marley's room and lock the door. No matter what happens, don't come out and if something happens, call Jerry."

Kimberly flew forward to grab the arm that held the gun. "Please." She begged. "Bobby, please. Think about what you're doing." She grabbed his free hand and pressed it against her stomach. "Think about your family."

His eyes flashed with emotion, the muscle in his jaw jumping. "I am Princess. That's why I have to do this." He shoved the gun into his belt. "Lock the door as soon as we get outside and do like I told you."

"Bobby, please!"

He cupped her face and brushed his lips against hers, his fingers stroking her stomach. "I love you."

Someone pounded on the door and she flinched. "If you really loved me, you wouldn't do this."

"Bobby Mercer, get out here!"

He gritted his teeth and stepped away to nod at Angel. "Let's do this." Angel jerked open the door and Bobby stepped forward as a large man came into view.

Kimberly took a step back, her eyes wide at the man filling the doorway. He was Hispanic and bald with tattoos all over his neck and arms. "Bobby..."

"Long time no see Dwayne. I see Lilah still has that leash around your neck."

"I see you're still a fucking piece of shit Bobby." Dwayne smirked. "What happened? You get tired of selling pot and decide to start kidnapping children?"

Her eyes went back and forth between them as Bobby chuckled. "What do you say we talk about this outside?"

Dwayne nodded and together, Angel and Bobby stepped out into the yard. Kimberly lingered in the doorway as they were surrounded by Dwayne's group. She only looked away when she felt Sofi pulling on her arm and without a word, she allowed herself to be pulled up the stairs and into Marley's room. Still in the bed, the girls were awake but silent and she moved over to look outside the bedroom window. Bobby and Angel were both cool and composed despite the odds as they stood there.

"You probably should sit down." Sofi spoke up from her position on the edge of the bed. "It'll be over soon."

"Someone's going to get hurt."

"It won't be Bobby or Angel. They can handle themselves."

Kimberly stared down into the yard, her bottom lip caught between her teeth. "This is all my fault. They shouldn't be fighting." She whispered. "I don't want him fighting."

"Don't think of this as your fault, you were only doing what you thought was right. I know you're worried Kimmy but you can't be a Mercer without having thick skin and a few scars. Bobby's a fighter; for a while it's all he knew."

"Well now he has other things to worry about." Kimberly snapped firmly. She watched Bobby and Dwayne stand inches away from each other. Dwayne said something that had his friends laughing and Angel's hand venturing near his belt. "That's it. I'm going out there."

"Kimmy, no." Sofi sprung up from the bed. "You can't do that."

"Yes, I can. As soon as I get downstairs, I want you to call Darius."

"I do that and Bobby will kill me."

Kimberly stepped away from the window and turned to face the other woman. "If you don't and someone gets hurts, I'll kill you."

"Kimmy, I get where you are coming from, I do but it's too dangerous." She was ignored as Kimberly opened the bedroom door. "Kimmy!"

"Stay with the girls Sofi and call Darius." She shut the door to block out anything Sofi said and moved quickly down the stairs. She took a minute to dig through her purse, grab her jacket after finding her shoes, and exited the house. The second the door shut the attention of the crowd shifted to her.

"Kimberly, get back in the house."

She ignored Bobby's order as she adjusted her jacket tighter against her body and came down the steps. "This is ridiculous. Everyone needs to go home."

The group of Hispanics with Dwayne laughed. "Lady, you're fucking hilarious." Dwayne chuckled. "Why don't you go back inside and when I'm done with Bobby, you can go home with a real man."

"Say anything to her again and I'll break your fucking neck." Bobby growled. "Don't talk to her. Don't even fucking look at her."

Dwayne smirked at the threat. "Lighten up Bobby. You know she ain't my type." He reached out to wrap his arm around Lilah's shoulders as she appeared beside him. "But I'm sure one of my boys might be willing to show her a good time."

Kimberly grabbed Bobby's arm when he made the move to step forward. "Don't Bobby. It's what he wants."

Dawyne laughed at seeing Bobby pause. "Now who's wearing the leash Mercer?" He looked at Kimberly. "What I want is for you to hand over the kid before I beat your man's ass into the ground."

"Beating a real man's ass is a lot different than beating up on your girlfriend Dwayne." Bobby remarked sarcastically.

"Trust me, I'm not going to have a problem beating your ass."

"Somehow that doesn't surprise me. Say, does Lilah know girls don't do it for you anymore?"

"You're the faggot Bobby." Lilah snapped. "I bet that baby isn't even yours." She smirked. "Again."

Bobby's dark eyes were glued to Lilah and no one else. "Shut your fucking mouth."

"Truth hurts doesn't it?"

Kimberly felt the muscles in Bobby's arm tense up and knew the rest of his body was tight as a coil as well. "Shut up Lilah."

"Don't fucking tell me to shut up you rich skank. Why the fuck do you even care in the first place? You've got your own bastard on the way."

Bobby's right hand lowered to his side, the soft clicking of the safety on his gun being released echoing through the sudden silence. "She told you to shut the fuck up."

Kimberly froze at the sight of Dwayne's friends pulling out their guns. Angel put his back to Bobby, his gun out as well.

"Give us the kid or someone is going to get hurt."

"Someone gets hurt and you won't get anything from me Lilah." Kimberly kept one hand on Bobby's arm, her other tucked into her jacket pocket. "No Shelly, no money, nothing."

Lilah smirked. "You want to keep that bitch so badly, I want more than two million dollars."

"Name your price."

"Kimberly, stop."

Lilah and Dwayne exchanged long looks, Lilah stretching up to whisper in his ear and when he nodded she lowered herself back flat on her feet. "There's no reason anyone needs to get hurt or to get lawyers involved. I'll give you Shelly and never bother you again." She smiled. "But we want twenty million dollars."

Kimberly blinked slowly and stared at the other woman in amazement. "You want twenty million dollars in exchange for your daughter."

"Yeah, that's what I said bitch." Lilah sneered. "You fucking deaf now as well as stupid?"

"Neither actually." Kimberly managed a sneer of her own. "I just wanted to make sure I had heard you right." She kept her eyes on Lilah as she pulled a handheld tape recorder out of her pocket. "Thank you for clarifying."

"You bitch."

Dwayne lifted his gun. "Hand over the fucking tape."

Noticing movement out of the corner of her eye, Kimberly moved closer to Bobby and squeezed his arm. "Put the gun away Bobby."

"Kimmy-"

"Put it away." She repeated. "You too Angel. Please."

Angel looked confused but he tucked the gun back into his belt. Bobby kept his eyes on Dwayne and handed Angel his gun to tuck into his belt as well. Bobby grabbed Kimberly's arm gently and shifted her so she was protected between him and Angel.

"Guess you ain't so fucking stupid afterall." Dwayne cocked his gun, keeping it trained on them. "Now give me the fucking tape."

Kimberly shook her head. "Actually I think I'll give it to the proper authorities."

"Boss!"

"What Hector?" Dwayne's attention flickered to the man on his left and he swore at the sight of the gun being held to his friend's head.

"Drop your weapons." Darius ordered. "Now."

There was more movement and Kimberly pressed her body against Bobby's backside as three uniformed officers came up behind Dwayne's other friends, guns drawn. Immediately the men threw down their weapons. Dwayne was slower to do so and he was staring heatedly at Bobby as Darius came up to cuff him.

"This isn't over Mercer."

"You got that fucking right." Bobby agreed. "I'll be seeing you." He turned to take Kimberly in his arms but didn't look away from Dwayne or his friends until they were loaded along with Lilah into police cars. His attention shifted to Darius as the man approached. "I hope you're not expecting me to say thank you."

Darius slid his gun back into his shoulder holster and adjusted his jacket. "That's the last thing I expect from you Bobby." He looked at Kimberly, facial expression softening. "You okay Kim?"

"She's fine."

Kimberly sighed but nodded. She caught sight of Angel going back into the house. "I'm fine, thank you Darius."

"Why the hell are you here?" Bobby questioned. "We don't have a fucking neighborhood watch around here and I know you didn't just happen to be in the area."

"Whether you want to believe it or not, a group of Hispanics carrying guns in a neighborhood with children does tend to raise a few red flags."

"Well, I don't fucking believe you."

"Bobby, stop it. I told Sofi to call him." Kimberly spoke up. "I didn't want to see anyone get hurt." She looked over at Darius. "I guess you'll want to take a report now."

Darius nodded. He dug a small notepad and pen out from his inner pocket. "Things seems pretty clean cut from what Sofi told me. She was going ninety miles an hour though threatening my life if I didn't break every law known to man to get here though so your side of the story would be appreciated. We can do it right now instead of you coming down to the station."

"Well-"

"Let me give you the cliff notes version so you can go ahead and get the fuck out of here." Bobby interrupted. "Lilah doesn't give a shit about her daughter Shelly and you know it, she never has so she's been coming over here lately to play with Marely and actually eats decent food for a change while Lilah's down at Johnny's. Kimberly wanted to take her in for a while but Lilah came over here high and starting shit so she went to get that shit head boyfriend Dwayne of hers. He brought friends who brought guns and then tried to exchange Shelly for twenty million dollars."

Darius cocked an eyebrow but Kimberly could see the belief written clearly on his face. "I wish I could say I was shocked."

"I can say I truly am." Kimberly extracted the tiny tape from her recorder. "I managed to get the exchange on tape."

"That was smart of you Kim." He took the tape from her and stuck it into his pocket. "Where's Shelly now?"

"She's inside with Marley and Sofi."

"She's going to have to come with us."

Kimberly wiggled free from Bobby's hands. "What do you mean? Can't she stay here?"

"Despite your intentions, you don't have legal right to Shelly Kim. We're going to have to sort this out down at the station and see what charges I can get to stick and in the mean time, Shelly's going to have to go into social services. I'm sorry but that's just the way it is."

"She has grandparents." Bobby spoke up again. "Can't they take her?"

Darius flipped his notepad shut. "Are they in this state?"

"They live in Ohio."

"I'll see what I can do."

"Please do. With Lilah is the last place Shelly needs to be." Kimberly's gaze went towards the house. "I'm going to contact my lawyer and see what I can do as well." She looked back at Darius. "She offered me money in exchange for her own daughter Darius, money. I still can't wrap my mind around it."

"Money can make people do crazy things." Darius stuck his notepad and pen back into the inside pocket of his jacket. The other officers had departed by that point leaving just him at the scene. "I promise to look after Shelly until we get this resolved."

Kimberly nodded slowly in understanding. "Can you go get her Bobby? I need to talk to Darius alone for a second." She reached out to squeeze his hand. "Please?"

He shot Darius a look but nodded and made his way into the house. Darius kept his mouth shut until the door shut behind the Mercer, his hands stuck in his pockets. If there hadn't been such a strong past between them the moment would have been awkward but instead Kimberly took it as an opportunity to recollect her thoughts.

"I feel as if I owe you an apology."

Darius lifted his eyes from the small swell of her stomach. "There's no need to apologize Kim." He smiled softly. "Congratulations on the baby."

"Thank you Darius." She cleared her throat. "I meant to call or email you, something other than some random meeting or anything like this but..."

"I told you there's no need to apologize. I knew you needed space so I gave it to you. We're still friends and we'll always be friends, that's something you know."

"I just wish things had been handled differently, especially what happened at the office."

"It's in the past. If you're happy now, that's all that matters." He looked towards the house as Bobby came out with Shelly in his arms. "I'll contact you as soon as I find something out."

"I'm going to call Victor right away. I don't know what I can do but maybe I can get them to allow her to stay with us. I don't know, something." Kimberly bit on her bottom lip as she turned to face Bobby and Shelly. Shelly was clinging to Bobby's shirt, her eyes looking at Darius suspiciously. "Shelly, I want you to meet a friend of mine."

Bobby lowered Shelly down and stroked her hair. She clung to his leg the second her feet touched the ground. "It's okay Shelly. Say hey to the policeman."

Darius knelt down onto his haunches and he smiled softly. "Hey Shelly. I'm Darius." He extended his hand towards her. "Can I shake your hand?"

Shelly looked up at her as if for permission and Kimberly felt her heart break. "You don't have to shake his hand if you don't want to Sweetheart."

Hesitantly Shelly reached out to slip her small hand into Darius's. He smiled, giving it a gentle squeeze and Kimberly blinked away tears. She barely felt Bobby's arm slid around her shoulders in a comforting maneuver.

Darius shifted his jacket back to show Shelly his badge. "Shelly, just like Bobby said, I'm a policeman. See my badge? It's shiny isn't it?" He smiled again as she nodded. "Well, you and I are going to take a ride to the station where a bunch of people have badges just like this one, okay? And if you want, you can play with it on the way there."

Shelly continued to eye him but when he rose to his full height again, she turned to grab onto Kimberly. "Stay." She pressed her tiny cheek against Kimberly's leg. "Want to stay."

"I know you do Sweetheart." Kimberly's voice cracked as she reached down to stroke Shelly's blonde hair. "But for now, you have to go with this nice man. He's going to look after you I promise."

Bobby knelt down and placed his hand on Shelly's back. "I know this is a scary thing to do and things are very confusing but it'll be over soon Shelly and as soon as it is, you can come back and play with Marley as much as you'd like Shelly."

"Mommy not want me anymore? I was bad?"

"No, you weren't bad. You're a wonderful little girl Shelly." Kimberly lowered herself to her haunches as well. "But your mommy is a very sick right now and has to go away for a while. Darius is going to see if your grandparents can come down to see you. Wouldn't you like to see your grandparents?"

Shelly stuck her fingers into her mouth but nodded. "Meme brings me things."

"I bet. Good little girls deserve gifts." Kimberly pressed her lips against Shelly's forehead. "I bet they're already on their way with tons of gifts for you."

Darius cleared his throat. "We should get going."

She looked up at him but nodded, rising to her feet at the same time as Bobby. "Call me as soon as you know something."

"I will." Darius extended his hand towards Shelly again. "Come on Honey."

Kimberly pressed her fingers to her mouth and watched as Darius walked Shelly across the street to where he had parked his car. She said nothing and didn't move even as the unmarked police car pulled away from the curb and disappeared.

"Baby..."

"Don't." Her voice cracked. "Just don't." The second his arms wrapped around her the tears she had fought to suppress began to flow down her cheeks. She pressed her face against his chest and cried, shoulders shaking, her fingers digging into the fabric of his hoodie.

Bobby pressed his lips against her hair but said nothing until she had stopped her sobs now mere sniffles. "I love you Kimmy." He pressed his lips to her ear. "I know it doesn't seem like it but you did the right thing."

"You're not mad at me?"

"I can't say I'm entirely comfortable with the fact you came out here when I asked you not to but the fact you're stubborn as shit and never listen to a thing I say is one of the reasons I love you so much."

The comment and his small smile had her smiling back. She pulled back to wipe at her face. "What did you tell Marley?"

"The same thing I told Shelly."

"I should go call Victor."

Bobby rested his hands on her shoulders. "Let's see what Darius comes up with first Kimmy. We have to take this one step at a time."

Nodding, she let him take her by the elbow and escort her back into the house. He was closing the door as she shrugged off her jacket and hung it up before turning to face him. "Have you ever met Shelly's grandparents before?"

"A few times." Bobby kicked off his shoes next to hers. "They seem pretty nice and they're always bringing things for her when they visit. Unfortunately it isn't a lot. I don't think Lilah lets them have that much to do with her outside random visits and letters."

"They'll take her back to Ohio."

Bobby ran a hand through his hair. "Probably."

"I don't want them to do that."

"I know you don't baby." He pulled her close again. "I adore that little girl too but if her grandparents love her and will care for her, she deserves to go with them. That's her family and she deserves to be with family."

Kimberly rested her head against his chest again. "We can be a real family to her."

"You know what I meant."

"I do. Still doesn't change the fact I want to take care of her. My parents were so strict and pushy but at least deep down I knew they did it because they loved me. It might not have been the perfect love but it was love and to know Lilah can say those things about her own child..."

"Lilah's like a ton of girls I went to school with Kimmy. They didn't get a chance to go to college and instead got stuck here working dead end jobs and having babies. Most are drug addicts and hookers."

"It's horrible. All those poor children." She sighed. "I look at files for the center all the time of the children and I just want to break down and cry. These damn hormones aren't helping with that."

Chuckling, Bobby placed his hand against her stomach. "I love your fucking hormones."

"Dr. Santos is going to be upset that I allowed myself to get so wound up today. To add to everything already, our appointment for the sonogram is tomorrow."

"I haven't forgotten Princess."

"Did you tell Jerry you won't be at work?"

"Every day since you made the appointment four weeks ago."

She couldn't help but smile at that and she pulled back to kiss him. "I love you Bobby."

"I love you too baby." Bobby glanced over at the clock on the wall. "Let's go to bed."

"It's not even eight o'clock yet!"

"You need the rest. We both do." He kissed her several times before he released her only to take her hand. "Come on."

The urge to resist was strong and while she wanted desperately at that moment to go ahead and call Darius, the sudden urge to rest was overwhelming. Kimberly thread her fingers through his. "I'm not putting my cell phone on silent."

"I won't either. Now come on."