Keeping Katie Ch 15
The following morning the fun began. Don got roused from a sound sleep by the loud sounds of arguing from the kids and Charlene trying to quiet them down. Karen was rustling around next to him and he wanted to get up so he could help. She'd taken far too much on her shoulders and he was determined that she enjoy this day as well as everyone else. He wasn't successful. Karen popped up in the bed and looked around. "They're up. I need to be up." she said.
"I think Charlene has it under control." Don said.
"I know but they're going to be rowdy for a while this morning and she won't ask for help."
"I can't imagine who she learned that from." Don teased.
Karen lifted up just a bit to look at him then pretended to attack him, growling into his neck and nipping at him with her lips. She tickled his neck and he grabbed her, rolling her over on the bed and attacking her in return. She giggled and wrapped her arms around him. Their lips met and there was alot of kissing going on when there was a loud thump out in the kitchen. Katie made a frustrated sound and the moment was broken. Don let her up, reluctantly.
The two adults went out to join the group, Charlene had coffee made for Don and her and tea water hot for Karen and she was busy getting the kids breakfast. "Sorry, I wanted to let you two sleep in this morning." she said contritely, glaring at the children.
"That's fine. Thank you for getting up with them." Don said.
"Yeah, somebody needs to learn the value of sleeping in." Karen seconded scolding the kids. "But we had to be up soon anyway. Any idea what time everyone is coming?" she asked Don.
"I didn't give them a time except when the meal would be ready so it could be any time. They'll probably show up early to help set up."
"They'll be welcome no matter when they show up. Guys, listen to me. Remember your manners. You're hosts today too, so no picking fights with the guests and NO hogging the fun parts. Stay in groups and do not, under any circumstances, go out of the yard. We have plenty to do without you wandering off by yourselves. Best behavior today."
"I hope the others are getting this lecture too." Laslo grumbled.
"The Stabler kids have their own parents. You are ours and I expect you to remember that." Don said sternly.
"Yes, sir."
"Are they nice?" BB wanted to know.
"They are normal kids, just like you. Sometimes they're good, sometimes they aren't so nice. You know how that goes. But I expect better from you. Now, did you save us some sweet rolls? They smell good." Karen said.
"There is a whole pan for you." Charlene assured them and pulled a pan of the warm rolls out of the oven. She set it on the stove and slathered icing on them.
"Let me help with that." Karen said.
"Sit, you'll be going all day. I'm up and I've had my breakfast. Don, do you want some fresh coffee?"
"I'll get it. You don't have to wait on me." Don said.
"Sit. You'll be in the way if you try to get it yourself." she scolded and then colored.
Don just grinned at her. "I know how to take orders, too."
The sound of a car in the yard made Laslo go look to see who it was. "It's a big maroon car. It's Detective Stabler and he has a whole bunch of kids with him."
"Go invite them in." Karen urged him.
Laslo suddenly went shy. "I don't know them."
"I'll go." Don said.
Elliott had brought all four of his kids. "I hope we're not too early." he said.
"Not at all. Welcome. We have some delicious sweet rolls in the house if anyone is hungry. Come on in."
Elliott led the way and they filed into the kitchen. Elizabeth said "Hi, BB. I didn't know you lived here."
"Hi, Elizabeth."
"You two know each other?" Karen asked.
"We are in the same grade at school." Elizabeth said.
"Good. At least you aren't total strangers."
"Dickie, aren't you in the same grade as Laslo, then?" Don asked.
"Yeah." Dickie said reluctantly.
"We don't hang out together, though." Laslo added.
"There's plenty to do here and you don't have to now either. Everybody, this is Katie. She's the little sister and that's Joseph, he's the big brother. And if you have any questions, you can ask Don, me or Charlene here too. Would you like some sweet rolls? There's plenty." Karen said.
The Stablers had good manners, they never said a word about the odd assortment of people here. "They smell good." Elliott said.
"They're Charlene's special recipe. She won't even share it with me." Karen said.
Elliott sat down and Charlene gave him a cup of coffee and a huge sweet roll. His kids clustered around him.
"I need to go feed the dogs." Laslo said.
Dickies head perked up at the mention of dogs. "Mind if I tag along? Dad, is it okay?"
"Ask Karen."
"Go ahead, but listen to Laslo. These are guard dogs as well as family pets. Some of them you can pet, some you can't. BB, can you take care of the horses this morning?"
"Sure. And the pigs. That way we won't have to go out later."
"Good idea. Katie, go feed the chickens and get the eggs, will you? Make sure you close the feed door before you come in. Go ahead, guys. We have alot to do yet. Elizabeth, do you want to go with BB to feed the horses?"
"Yes, please."
"Maureen, would you go help Katie with the gate to the chicken fence? It's a little heavy for her." Don asked.
"Sure." Maureen said.
After the kids left, Elliott took a bite of his roll. "I mentioned Katies unique situation to the kids. They don't know why she can't talk only that she can't."
"That's fine. I warned my kids to be on their best behavior." Karen said.
"Charlene, these were delicious. Where's Joseph this morning?" Don asked.
"He didn't want to wake up. I'll go in after awhile and wake him up." Charlene said. "I think he's feeling out of place."
"We'll have to watch him today." Don said. "I told you about him." he said to Elliott.
"And I warned my kids. So, Karen, you mentioned that there was alot to do. What needs to be done?"
"Don's in charge of outside. Ask him. I'm Charlenes assistant today."
"That'll be the day." Charlene scoffed with a grin.
"We have a ton of lawn chairs to move." Don sighed.
"Then let's get to it." Elliott said.
"Have fun, guys." Karen kissed Don and turned to Charlene. "So, boss, what do we need to do?"
Don and Elliott went outside. The kids were feeding animals and Elliott groaned when he saw the small mountain of chairs that had to be moved. "Doesn't she do things by halves?" he asked.
Don laughed and grabbed some chairs. John pulled up next. He didn't ask what needed to be done. He just greeted them and started helping to carry out lawn chairs.
They had the chairs scattered out on the lawn, and Karen came out. "Morning, John. We need to put the canopies up over here. The trees will give us morning shade, but the afternoon sun will be a killer if we don't. Guys, go out to the barn and get those games out. Let them air out and use the on them if you need to. Only on the stuff, not each other. Laslo, Dick, you carry that heavy chest up and put it by the garden. Open the lid. BB, you can take Elizabeth and Katie around and show them the puppies if you want, make sure they have food and water before you come back inside. Maureen, could you go over to the flower garden and pick some flowers for the vases? Whatever looks best to you?"
"And I thought you were a tough boss." Elliott joked to Cragen.
"Apparently I'm an amatuer." Don said back.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..." Karen said contrite.
"Don't worry about it. We were just teasing." Don told her. "Where are the canopies?"
"The metal shed behind the barn. John, can you help with the watermelon? I want to get them on ice so they'll be cold for later, but there's more than I can carry myself."
"I'll get them after we get the canopies up. Don't worry." Don told her. "Make a list of anything you need and I'll get when we're done here."
"Yes, sir." Karen grinned at him and winked.
"Karen, the timer is about to go off." Charlene called through the open doorway.
"Coming." Karen sprinted back inside.
"Wow, what an organizer. She has everyone running around doing things."
"She has told me since I first came out here that if you don't help you don't eat." Don said. "She's serious about it. So Kathy couldn't make it?"
"She's not feeling too good. She's far enough along that she wants to stay close to home. I told her it was okay if she wanted to come just for awhile, but she's mad at me now anyway. It's probably best for today that she stay home." Elliott said to his captain.
Don nodded. He was aware that things had not been going well between Elliott and Kathy lately anyway. It was nothing obvious, but the subtle signs were there. "Let me know if there's anything we can do to help."
"Thank you. So things are good between you and Karen?"
"Things are good. She's an amazing woman. I'm a lucky man."
"I'm happy for you, captain."
"Today it's Don. We need to watch what goes on today. Katies grandparents might come out. Karen had to invite them. I think the grandmother is okay, but I don't trust the grandfather. I wouldn't put it past him to do something sneaky."
"Like what?"
"I'm not sure. He seems a bit of a bully to me. I just wanted you to be aware. I'm going to tell John, Fin and Olivia too. I want to keep it from Karen and Charlene though. They might overreact."
"Do you think he's dangerous?"
"No, at least not yet. He's still checking out the lay of the land, I don't think he's ready to do anything physical yet, but I certainly want to keep an eye on him."
"I'll be on guard. Does Karen know he might be dangerous?"
"I'm not sure. She doesn't miss much, but we haven't talked about it. I'm hoping it won't come to that."
"We'll do everything we can to keep Katie safe. You know that." Elliott said.
"I know. There's Olivia. Will you tell her about him?"
"Right away. Try not to worry. We'll keep both of them safe whether they want us to or not."
"And we know how that ended." Don said with a grin.
"Strong women are our joy and our bain." Elliott returned the grin and went to greet his partner.
Charlene and John came out of the house headed for her car. Don saw from the attentive way they moved that there was something special there. When had he started noticing things like that? He also saw the body language that Elliott and Olivia exhibited. Okay, it must be him seeing what he wanted to see. He was in love and he wanted everyone to be happy too. He was sure George Huang would have a term for that. Well, he had some canopies to put up.
Olivia was the one who ended up helping Elliott put up the canopies. Joseph went into orbit over there being so many people here he didn't know. "Don, I need you in here. It's Joseph." Karen called him urgently.
"Go." Elliott said. "We got it."
Don hurried into the house. The kitchen was a flurry of activity, totally unlike anything he'd seen before and it seemed to have been what set Joseph off. "What's wrong?" he asked Karen.
"He saw all this and ran into the bedroom and locked the door. I can't get him to talk to me and when he does he doesn't make sense. Can you see what you can do with him? I think it's triggered some kind of memory in him. I don't know what's the matter with him." Karen said.
"I'll take care of it. Sweetheart, relax, he's probably stressed out because you are. You know he feeds off of your anxiety." Don said.
"I know, I just have so much to do still and I don't need this."
"Everything is under control. Relax. This is just a big family. Trust me. I know my people and everything will be fine."
"You're right. I'm just nervous. I want everything to be nice today."
"It will be and it is. Let me talk to Joseph and we'll get it back on track. Take a deep breath. I love you, everything will be good today."
"I love you, too. I'm so glad I have you in my life."
"I hope you always feel that way."
"I will. Damn, my macaroni is burning."
Don sighed and went over to the guys bedroom door. He knocked gently. "Joseph? It's Don. Open the door."
"No, I'm not going. I'm not going anywhere." Joseph called back. His voice was filled with fear and anger, but more fear than anything.
"Joseph, you don't have to go anywhere. Open the door and let me talk to you. Joseph, please, open the door. I'll get a key if I have to, but I don't want to have to. Open the door now."
Don heard the door knob turn and the door slowly opened. Joseph peered out at him. "I don't have to go?" he asked timidly.
Don pushed the door open gently. Joseph gave way with reluctance. Don stepped inside the room and closed the door. He was amazed to see a 31 year old man with tears running down his face like an 8 year old. He was clearly terrified. He'd worked himself into quite a state of panic. "No you don't have to go anywhere. Where did you think we were going to make you go?" he asked the man/child.
"To work. Sometimes, Mama would invite people over for a meal and then I had to go with them and work for them. Sometimes they weren't very nice. They had girls there, that was nice, but they didn't talk to me too much. I don't have to go with them? You aren't going to send me away?"
"Sit down here, Joseph. It's okay. Here, blow your nose. Listen to me. The people who are out there? They work with me and they don't want you to come work for them. They came over just to have a good day. No one wants you to work for them and no one wants you to play with their girls. Do you understand?"
"I'm not going to get to play with them?" he asked looking distressed.
"You can play with them, but..." how did he explain this to Joseph? A child in a mans body. "If you have any questions, you can come to me, or Karen or Charlene and ask, okay? If you don't know, ask first. You are going to have a good day today and so is everyone else. Just be careful, you're strong and you might hurt someone, but that's all."
"So I don't have to leave?" Joseph asked.
"No. No one is going to make you go somewhere you don't want to go today. Okay?"
Joseph threw his arms around Don and hugged him fiercely. "Thank you." he said.
Don was taken aback. He wasn't used to being hugged by another grown man. What he had to remember was that physically Joseph was grown, but he had a childs mentality. Don hugged him back. "You're welcome. Now why don't you go put some cold water on your face and straighten your shirt. Come outside and let's help Karen get everything ready, okay?"
"Is she going to be mad at me?" he asked anxiously.
"No, she isn't. I promise. Come on."
Joseph did as Don suggested and then followed him into the kitchen. Karen smiled at the man, standing so tentatively behind Don. "Feeling better?" she asked him.
"I'm sorry." Joseph said.
"It's okay, Joseph. You're right, there's alot going on here. It scares me some too, but Don is here so everything is fine. We can trust him, can't we?"
"Yes."
"Good. I need your help. Can you do something for me?"
"S-Sure." Joseph was apprehensive.
"Take that pile of tablecloths over there and take them outside. We need to put them on the tables outside. Can you do that for me?"
"There aren't any tables outside." Joseph said with a small smile at her.
"There are now. Will you do that for me?"
"Sure." Joseph said with the air of someone humoring a strange person. He picked up the pile of cloth and headed outside.
Voices were coming from outside and Don went over to see what was going on. The entire yard was a beehive of activity. He recognized Huang, Novak, Fin and Warner. The rest of the guests had arrived. Now the party could begin.
TBC
