Keeping Katie Ch 3
"What? You're telling me that after nearly five years they think they can just waltz in here and take Katie because they say she's related to them? Why? How can that be? They never once contacted her, they never tried to see her, they don't know anything about her. It was their son who did this to her. Now they want custody? Over my dead body." Karen practically shreiked.
"If you don't keep your voice down, you'll have the whole house up and you'll have to explain it to them." Don cautioned. "I said that they have a case because they're the biological relatives. I never said they'd get custody. I don't want them to have her anymore than you do. But, Karen, we need to know who and what we're up against, then we can fight them. Casey assures me that Dettrich is the best one, you did well when you contacted her."
Karen paced up and down in the confines of the living room. "Why now, Don? Why do they want her now? Because she old enough that they don't have to potty train her? Surely it can't be because they just found out about her?"
"Or maybe they are getting old and think that by taking her they'll be able to get the money from the state for her." Don suggested. "If they're getting on in years, maybe that money looks easy to them. Karen, if that is the case, we can fight them on it and explain to the judge that the money goes to you only because you're not a relative and you're a licensed facility. We can also tell them that we're going to be married, that we'll have two incomes here and a younger couple to take care of her. We may have to deal with visitations because they are related to her, but it shouldn't be that bad."
"So it's not hopeless. It's not a done deal?" she turned to him seeking reassurance.
"Not by a long shot, love. Not even close. Plus, don't forget that Katie can be a handful, she takes after her mother that way, and once they meet her they may not want to deal with her problems if it keeps them from having a free lifestyle at this stage in their life. They'll have to be monitored and we can see what kind of background they have, anything to show why they want her after five years." Don pulled Karen over to sit on the couch with him, holding her close as her adrenaline waned. "We'll work on it together, I'll run criminal checks and we'll hire a private investigator if we need to. Don't forget, I know one or two detectives. We'll investigate them so thoroughly we'll know if they're ancestors came over on the Mayflower or one of the johnny-come-lately boats."
She giggled against his chest. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you."
"You didn't. Everything is fine. We're a team right, Cragen and Wesson?"
"Wesson and Cragen." she corrected with a chuckle.
"It's better alphabetically." he teased.
"Okay, Cragen, have it your way."
"I intend to, my dear, I intend to. We are going to get married and we are going to have Katie as our daughter if I have anything to say about it and I have plenty to say, believe me."
"I noticed that." Karen gave him a small laugh.
"Hey, I've been called a man of few words."
"Just the important ones. Yes, dear." she gave him a mock salute.
"Just the best ones. I love you, I want to marry you and give me another piece of that great pie."
"I'm a bit of a wild child. I'm sorry. I forgot to get you that pie I promised. How did you know it's good?"
"Because you made it."
"Well, BB helped. It might have a bit of an off taste."
"The chances of that aren't very good." he laughed. "I'll take my chances. Would you like a piece? I'll get it."
"I'll come with you. I want some milk to go with it."
He took her by the hand and they went out to the family kitchen. He put the coffee on to make and Karen got out the pie. There were several of them to chose from. They'd made several different kinds so everyone had some. "We have apple, peach, cherry and blueberry. We needed lots of sugar for this session."
"Do we have any ice cream?"
"How many kids do we have here?" she teased.
"I stand corrected. How about we put them in the microwave for a minute."
"Sounds good."
That proved to be an unwise decision. The smell of warm pie brought out the kids one after another until they were all there looking for a piece. The initial two pieces were distributed until everyone had one and then they were sent back to bed. Karen laughed when BB went back to bed, she was the last one. "I guess I should know better by now."
"Is there any left?"
"Yes. I know you like apple so I saved us the last two pieces."
"You're a sneaky woman."
"Thank you, kind sir." she gave him a small curtsey.
He poured himself another cup of coffee and dug for milk for her. "We're out of milk."
"I gave the last of it to Katie. It's okay."
"Do you want some tea?"
"No, I'll be fine."
The pie was gone shortly and the two adults went back into their quarters. "Are you ready for bed?" Karen asked him.
"Yes. It's been a long day. Is Charlene going to stay with the kids while we go to that appointment?"
"Yeah, I've already called her. I didn't tell her what it was all about, but I did call her. I wanted more information first before I told her what was going on."
"I'd like to be there when we tell her and the kids."
"I think you might need to be. I'm not sure I can keep it together if you're not."
"You would be if you had to be. You're a strong woman. I love that about you. Let's go to bed. I want to hold you."
Don took a shower and crawled into bed to snuggle up to Karen who was already there. Sleepily she nudged her way under his arm and he pulled her against him. His mind was tired, but his body wanted what it wanted. He moved against her just a bit and she snuggled closer. She kissed his chest and he moved his hands over her. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be doing this." he said trying to stop himself.
"Why not?" she asked in the darkness, trying to see his face.
"It's not right to take advantage of you when you're vulnerable."
"Don, if I didn't want you, you'd know it."
"Are you sure?" he asked huskily.
"Shut up and make love to me."
He rolled her over and leaned down to kiss her breathless. She was more than willing to allow him to take the lead. He kissed her face and worked his way down her neck to her breasts. He pulled a hard nipple into his mouth and rubbed it with his tongue. She moaned and wriggled under him. He released it and moved to the other one, making her squirm with delight and need.
He kissed her stomach and worked his way down to her soft curls. "Don, no." she said, embarrassed.
"Karen, yes. Let me make love to you, the way you were meant to be made love to." he said, gently parting her legs. She relaxed slightly and he kissed her intimately. She hissed with the sensations he evoked. Moving gently because it was so new to her he pushed his lips a little farther into her, nuzzling her, loving her soft cries of arousal. He reached out with his tongue and touched her clit and she jerked sharply. He smiled at her sensitivity. He did it again and applied just a touch more pressure.
"Don!" she said urgently.
He fastened his lips there and used his tongue to rub her sensitive nub over and over again until she was nearly ready to explode under him. He kept it up until she was just on the edge of exploding under him and he was ready to drill her when he crawled back up her body and fastened his lips to hers as he drove his hard shaft into her. With swift, strong thrusts he made her explode all over him while he felt the strong sensations over take him and he exploded into her with a feeling of satisfaction. Later he swore that he heard and felt her orgasm extend with him inside her. It was satisfying beyond belief to have her respond so strongly to him.
After he withdrew, she snuggled in next to him. "You are such a good lover." she said with satisfaction in every syllable she said.
"So are you. You make me feel good and I love making love with you."
"Oh, my. If you're half as good of a captain as you are a lover, you should be the police commissioner."
"I don't want the job. Too many headaches. I just want to be your husband now and Katies Dad. I like how those words sound."
"That's who you are. An incredibly versatile man. A very, very wonderful man." she patted his chest and yawned.
He laughed. "Go to sleep, Angel. We have a long day tomorrow."
"Anything you say." she agreed sleepily.
He followed her into sleep still smiling.
Don went back to his office the next morning to find no message from Casey. She did stop in later in the day and tell him that she was following up some information but she wouldn't be more specific. He had to be content with that. The day was long and relatively uninteresting. He even left early to go home. Karen was surprised and happy to see him. She was kneeling in the garden pulling weeds and he quickly changed to help her. He sat back for a minute to stretch his back and looked at the building. "Have you given any serious thought to this place? To maybe changing it?"
"Change it? Change it how?" she asked looking from him to the house and back.
How would you feel about adding some rooms on back here? Maybe enlarging and remodeling the bathroom and adding a small kitchen? So you and I wouldn't have to go out to eat with the family unless we wanted to? We could have simple meals together."
"I guess we could. I like having a connection to the rest of the house, though."
"I'm not saying we should block off the door or anything. What I'm saying is a small place where we can heat up some coffee and pie in our own kitchen. If I have to go to work early or I work late, I won't disturb everyone if I make a sandwich."
"We could do that. We could put a small bedroom in, couldn't we, for Katie? She'd be our daughter, not just another kid in our system."
"We could do that." he acknowledged. "I talked to Casey today. She's got a lead on something but she wouldn't tell me what. When do you think we should tell the kids?"
"Tomorrow after we find out what the lawyer has to say. I can't think about it until I know what's going to happen. I hate waiting."
"So do I. How about if we surprise the kids tonight and I'll go rent some of the movies they've been asking about and bring in pizza for everyone? That way you don't have to cook and we can eat dinner and snack in front of the tv. Elliott said that one about the vehicles is good and the one about the robots looks good. What do you say?"
"What if they have homework?"
"We'll make sure it's all done before we put the movies in. We'll have dinner, I'll get some ice cream and we can all sit at the kitchen table while they finish their work then we'll watch movies."
"Are you trying to butter me up?" Karen teased.
"No, I'm trying to help you relax. I want to do something special for you and the kids. Let me do this, please?"
"I do so love it when you do nice things for us. Of course, I love you anyway."
"So that's a yes?"
"That's a definite yes. What can I do for you?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that you're always doing nice things for me, for us, but what can I do for you? What does Don want? What would make you happy? What can I get that would make you smile?"
"Honestly, I have everything I need now. I have a beautiful fiance soon to be my wife, a lovely home to come to, a soon to be daughter and a good job. I can't ask for more than that."
"So there's nothing? Not one single thing that you want that I can do for you?"
"Well, there is one thing." he smiled at her.
"What? Tell me."
He leaned over and gave her a lingering kiss. "I had a delicious meal one time called Swedish Potato Sausage. I don't remember where I had it but I've never had it again and I would dearly love to have it again. Would you be able to find it for me?"
"Swedish Potato Sausage? You want a meal of Swedish Potato Sausage? I'll do it for you. That's all you want? A meal?"
He grinned at her. "For the moment."
"Oooo. I like your style." she laughed.
The kids came tearing up the driveway and found them in the garden. They were discussing their day at school and their ride home on the school bus. They were all talking at once, including both of the adults in their comments. "Whoa, guys, settle down. I only have one set of ears." Karen laughed at them. "Here, help an old woman up."
Eager hands helped her up and dusted off her knees. They gave Don the same treatment. He allowed it because they were doing it out of concern. He was perfectly able to get up on his own. Once on his feet he told them "Okay, I'm up."
"Let him walk." Karen laughed. "So who wants what for dinner?"
"Pork Chops. Chicken. Burritos." They chorused.
"How about pizza, ice cream and movies?"
"Cool. How come? Is there a problem?" Laslo demanded.
"Or a celebration?" BB asked.
"It's a you've been good and we appreciate it party. My treat." Don said.
"Yeah."
"But first you need to do your homework. I'm going to go order it and we'll all sit at the table and do the schoolwork. Then we'll have ice cream and movies." Karen said firmly.
"Aww!" they chorused.
"You big babies. You know the rules." Karen wasn't taken in by the sorrowful looks on their faces. "Hey, the sooner you get started on the homework, the faster we get to the good stuff."
The kids raced for the house ahead of the adults. "They're such rascals." Don said.
"Charming, adorable, little devils." she agreed.
He captured her hand and squeezed. "Tonight we're going to be just an average ordinary family."
"Dreamer." She laughed.
TBC
