CH18
"L!" Tom yells out. And not getting a response, "L!"
Emily comes into the bedroom. "What?"
Tom is holding up a pregnancy test strip. "Is there something you want to tell me?"
"Where did you get that?" L asks puzzled.
"I found it in our bag while unpacking. Are you trying to tell me something?" Tom asks again while shaking the stick.
L step over and takes it from him and looks at it. "This says positive." L tells him.
"Yea I know that." Tom leaves of the 'DUH' part.
"Well it's not mine." L tells him. And after getting an 'I don't believe you' look. "I'm telling you it's not mine. I'm not pregnant."
"It was in our bag." Tom counters.
"And I'm telling you I'm not pregnant. This isn't mine." L tells him with conviction.
"Well if it's not yours, who's is it and how did it get in our bag?" Tom counters again, not convinced yet.
"I don't know. … I'm telling you I don't know. …. You don't suppose?" L reaches a possible answer.
Meanwhile at Jenn and Don's house: Don is walking into the bathroom where his wife is. And holding up the test stick he just found. "Are you trying to tell me something?"
"Tell you what?" Jenn asks and turns around to look at him. "What's that?" Now seeing the stick in his hand.
"Oh I think you know what it is. Would you like to tell me now or wait 9 months from now?" Don asks.
Jenn takes it from him and looks at it. "Where did you get this?"
"I found it in our bag while unpacking."
"Well it's not mine." Jenn tells her unbelieving husband. "I'm telling you it's not mine."
"It was in our bag. And I know I didn't use it." Don leaves out the 'that just leaves you' part.
"I'm not pregnant. …. Honest it's not me." Jenn tries again with conviction.
"Well if it's not yours, who's is it?" Don questions starting to believe her.
Jenn has a puzzled expression on her face that suddenly goes away. "L!" she yells out calling her.
At the same time she hears "JENN!"
"Is there something you want to tell me?" They ask each other at the same time.
"We found a pregnancy test stick in our bag. It's not mine so is it yours? Jenn asks.
"We found one in our bag too. And it's not mine." L tells her sister.
"Well if it's not yours and it's not mine. Who's is it?" Jenn asks.
They are both silent for a time. Then Jenn's face lights up and her eyes bug out. "Oh no. … I gotta go." Jenn tells her husband.
L has reached the same conclusion. "I gotta go." L tells her husband.
Jenn arrives first. "ALEXIS!" She screams at the front door foyer. And is soon followed by L. "ALEXIS!" Practically screaming it in her sister's ear. "Sorry."
"ALEXIS!" Jenn screams out, forgetting her communication disk behind her ear.
"I'm down stairs." Jenn hears in her ear.
"She's downstairs." Jenn tells her sister. And they both race downstairs.
Jenn and L find her in the pool room shooting balls. Jenn rushes in and hugs her in a giant bear hug. And L takes her place when she is done.
"Hi to you too." Alexis responds with a puzzled face. "I just saw you like a couple of hours ago?"
Jenn and L hold up their pregnancy test strips for her to see.
"You're pregnant?" Alexis all but screams out and wraps Jenn and then L up in one of her own bear hugs.
"It's not us. We thought it was you." L tells her.
"ME? Why would you think I was pregnant? I haven't had, …" And Alexis doesn't finish. Knowing that Ray hadn't even touched her in months let alone have sex with her.
"Well if it's not yours and it's not ours, who does that leave?" Jenn asks.
"Oh no?" L states.
"You don't think?" Jenn states.
"Who else is left? … Lucile, where's mom?" Alexis asks.
Lucile shows herself. "You three aren't thinking what I think you're thinking? Are you?"
All three just nod their heads. "Kate is in the laundry room sorting out laundry to do from the trip." Lucile informs them.
All three are up the stairs in a flash with Alexis out in front.
Alexis crashes into the laundry room and wraps her arms around her mother. "Hi to you too sweetie." Delighted to be getting a hug. "Not that I'm not happy to get a hug, but what brought this on?"
Kate can see her other daughters just behind Alexis and see that they are holding up pregnancy test sticks. "OH!" Kate gets out with the face of a deer caught in headlights.
"It is you, isn't it?" Jenn and L ask at the same time.
"MOM, what are these?" The boys show up right behind their two sisters holding up their two sticks.
"Seems my secret is out. Yes, the blue ones are mine." Kate tells them.
The girls all look at each other and at the sticks their brothers are holding. "If yours are the blue ones, who's are the white ones?" L asks.
"MOM?" Levi asks not understanding.
"Mom is going to have a baby." Jenn tells her brothers.
"REALLY?" They both say in unison. "You mean we won't be the youngest anymore?" James comments.
"Does dad know?" Alexis asks still with Kate in her arms.
"Not yet. Should we do it now?" Kate asks.
Everyone makes it upstairs and finds Rick playing on his X-box. Everyone gets in front of him and the screen. "Rick?" Kate starts. "Rick?" And Kate takes his controller away from him.
"Hey! I was winning." Rick pouts.
"Rick we have something to tell you. I have something to tell you." Kate starts again.
Rick looks at everyone and sees Jenn and L holding test sticks. Jumping up "You two are pregnant?"
"No dad, we're not pregnant." Jenn tells him.
Seeing that his sons are holding sticks too. "Well I know you two are not pregnant. … Alexis?" As Rick turns to her.
"It's not me dad." Alexis holds up her hands.
"Well if it's not you and it's not you two, then who, … " And suddenly Rick crushes his wife in a bear hug.
"Rick, …. Can't, …. Breath." Kate manages to get out.
Rick let's go and promptly kisses her. "Eewww" comes from the boys who turn their heads. The girls just grin wide. "You, boy, girl, pregnant, me, when, …?" Rick stutters out.
"Yes." Kate simply states still wrapped up in his arms. That Kate is beginning to melt into him. 'God I married the right man!' Kate is thinking.
"You took four tests to be sure?" Rick questions.
"No I only took three. The blue ones the boys have are mine." Kate tells them.
"Ok, … yours are blue, then who's are the white ones? Girls?" Rick suspects them again.
"MOM? What are you not telling us?" L questions.
"Wait, if moms are blue and none of us are pregnant then who has the white ones?" Alexis asks.
Kate just turns in Rick's arms to look at them and grin.
"OH NO? You have got to be kidding?" L states.
Jenn has caught on. "OH Don is going to blow a blood vessel. Or faint dead away."
"He's not the only one." L is starting to laugh. "Just think what Jim is going to do when he finds out?"
"I need my camera! This is going to be EPIC!" Jenn states.
"Come on sis. This is going to be good!" As L grabs her sister. "OH!" And she goes over to Kate. "I'm happy for you mom!" And hugs both her mom and dad as best she can.
Jenn and Alexis follow. "ME TOO!" They say in unison.
Not wanting to be left out the boys join in. And it's all too much for Kate who starts crying.
Breaking from the group hug. "Come on sis, this is going to be good." And those two head for the front door.
L stops at the top of the stairs and turns back. "Oh if you hear of a nuclear bomb going off in Seattle. That'll be the Douglas household going off." L states grinning and then down to the front door and gone.
"I think it's time to celebrate. Dinner out, it's on me. What do you say?" Rick asks who's left.
"You have a deal dad." Alexis agrees.
Kate just kisses him again. Getting another "Eewww." From the boys.
"Lucile, how about,
The Spotted Pig
314 W. 11th St.
at Greenwich St.
New York, NY, 10014
"You have dinner reservations for 5 at 7:00 pm tonight." Lucile tells them.
"Seven?" Rick asks.
"The boys have bedtime." Lucile reminds him.
"Of course, how could I forget? Oh and Lucile, …. " Rick does not finish.
"Flowers for Kate will be waiting at your table. " Lucile tells only Rick using the disk behind his ear.
Suddenly L comes back up the stairs at a run and comes up to her brothers. "I need these, thanks." Taking the sticks they have and starts to turn to leave, changes her mind and goes over to hug her mother again. "I am happy for you mom." And kisses and takes off again only to stop at the stairs. "Oh and better you than me." L tells her and laughs down to the front door and gone again.
"My daughter the comedian." Kate tells those still around her.
"I think this calls for a celebration, what do you think pumpkin?" Rick asks her.
"Ice cream?" Alexis guesses.
"Is there anything better to celebrate with?" Rick questions.
Alexis is the first at the freezer and starts pulling out pints of ice cream to choose from.
"Lucile?" Kate wants to talk with her.
Lucile shows herself. "Yes Kate."
"You didn't talk during our vacation and while that was nice, but I want to know what you've found while we were gone." Kate wants information.
"Ray's father is Michael Thornton of Thornton Construction. He is also a major land developer particularly in the Caribbean. He has a great many condo projects on several islands. He has made a great deal of money buying up either empty land or land that has squatters on it or low to no income housing on it.
He then razes what is there of any buildings and builds his Condominiums. In several locations he has added either golf courses or other resort features. Based on previous locations he will build it cheap and then when at or near 100% tenant residence and then sells it to a company that will run it.
Most of these companies soon learn that they have purchased a lemon based on the cheap construction. He has been sued a number of times because of this. However he has prevailed in all of them since he was not the actual general contractor and they have been unable to prove he had prior knowledge of the poor construction.
And all the contractors all disappeared as soon as construction was completed." Lucile starts with.
"So he is a money grubbing cheapskate, not exactly a reason to send fake deputies after us." Kate is still missing a reason.
"This may help a little with that. He has two brothers Alan Thornton and Jeremy Thornton. Both have worked for the NSA since they left college. And one guess who answered directly to Alan?" Lucile asks.
"Barney Fife." Is Ricks first guess.
"Correct the first time." Lucile tells him.
"That solves why Deputy Fife was here, but what do we have or think we know?" Kate is still lost without a motive. "Lucile?" Kate hopes she has some insight.
"Michael Thornton has made several attempts at contacting Barney Fife as Rick calls him. The last one was three days ago. Two days ago he contacted his brother Alan to get a replacement. Yesterday his replacement flew in to see Michael from Dallas, Texas.
His name is Babra Perk, he is in the US illegally. In his home country he is suspected of three murders and a number of burglaries. He has also been arrested but never been sent to court for the rape of two women." Lucile finishes.
"Oh he sounds like a dream come true for women. NOT! I say we pick him up and place him in his new home before he even gets here." Kate tells Rick and Alexis.
"Oh I second the motion. What do you think pumpkin?" Rick agrees but wants his daughter to be involved.
"Where is this "dream" now Lucile?" Alexis asks.
"He is in a stolen car on his way to a hotel to stay at before boarding his flight here that has been purchased for him by Michael using still another stolen credit card." Lucile tells them.
"So he's not just cheap but a thief also. Oh nice guy." Rick comments with a sour face.
"Anything on how Ray is involved with this?" Kate asks.
"He hasn't been in contact with his father in the last three weeks. Prior to that his phone records indicate a weekly conversation each lasting at least 30 minutes." Lucile provides.
"So they talk a lot or Ray gets talked to a lot and suddenly nothing. All starting about the same time he tells Alexis he wants a divorce." Kate goes silent but Rick can see she is thinking. "Care to share with the class Professor?" Rick asks.
"I don't understand yet the relationship between Ray and his father. Ray seemed quiet whenever we were around, but I just thought that's just who he was. Was he quiet because he grew up that way because of his father?" Kate tries to think this thru.
"Doesn't explain how Alexis fits into this or us. Why bug us?" Rick asks.
"It's a piece of the puzzle we still are missing." Kate ponders what it could be.
"Kate, Rick, Alexis?" Lucile calls for them and shows herself again. "I'm getting communication from Alan Thornton with the NSA that is taking place. He is requesting satellite coverage of this house with high resolution pictures to be transferred to him."
"So now we are under observation, just not by someone local. This means if we leave here we are going to have to do it by driving. Especially if we end up somewhere that could monitor us."
"Lucile can the EMP telescope on the roof reach this satellite if we wanted it to?" Kate wants to know her options.
"Yes it will. However it will not bring it down." Lucile confirms.
"That's ok, I just want to know if we can fry it if the need arises." Kate tells her.