Sorry this is a shorter chapter than usual. I don't know how it worked out that way. Hopefully next week's chapters make up for it.
Thirty minutes after talking to his lawyer, Steve was pulling into the parking lot of the man's office. He parked his car, got out and walked into the building. He knocked on Robert Jamison's door. Robert got up from his chair, walked to the door and opened it. "Steve, I didn't think you'd be in so soon."
Steve ran a hand through his hair. "I needed to do something about Catherine being missing. I have my team out searching for her, and the other lawyer I told you about.…"
"Oh yes. I know all about Lizanne Sawyer. She's great at what she does," Robert said. He moved to the side for Steve to walk in. "In fact, she called me right after I got done speaking with you. She's supposed to come by later today."
Steve entered the office and sat in the chair in front of the desk and Robert walked around and sat in his chair.
"She's drafting up some other papers in case Catherine or Nick try to run off before the DNA test is done," Steve said.
"That's good," Robert agreed. "That's probably why she asked to speak with me. I don't know what kind of lawyer Catherine has, but he wasn't very smart in allowing Catherine to sign over rights."
"Catherine was telling everyone I was the father. She was the only one who knew she was in a relationship with me and Nick." Steve said. "So according to the papers that Catherine signed, that's my baby."
"Technically, that's true, but if Nick's smart, he's gotten a lawyer and the papers that Catherine and you signed aren't any good."
Steve was shocked. "Aren't any good? What am I supposed to do for the next two months? Pretend that none of this ever happened?"
"I'll pretend that wasn't a rhetorical question," Robert said, "and say that you better hope that she has some moment of clarity and decides to put the baby first and not her selfish needs."
"So you're saying that she was selfish in coming back and signing the baby over to me?"
"In a way, yes," Robert said leaning back in his chair. "She didn't bother to think about what Nick would say in all this, or what she would tell him should he ask what happened to the baby."
Steve slumped in his chair, "I completely forgot about that."
"You should start thinking about that." Robert said, "I also spoke with Kono and she said you don't want to involve HPD and I think you're making a terrible mistake. Involve the right people and this can be taken care of sooner rather than later."
"My team is handling it," Steve said. "They are the right people and I trust them to be discreet, and I don't see a need to involve HPD."
"You should know that with or without your approval, Lizanne and I will probably file this with the courts today. It's better to have something on record now, than to have to scramble at a later date."
Steve nodded his head and stood up. "I understand." He left the office and walked to his car to head back to his house.
Nick arrived back at the motel 30 minutes later. When he walked into the room, he saw Catherine sitting on the bed eating a bowl of fruit. "Where did you get that?" he asked
"I went to the front office and there was food there so I helped myself to some."
"I told you I was getting you something!" Nick yelled
"Well, hell! That was two hours ago!" Catherine said, "When I want food, I want it now, not when you damn well feel like it!"
"Two hours? I wasn't gone for two hours! I was gone 30 minutes at the most! You couldn't wait a lousy 30 minutes?"
"You try telling that to the baby in my body!" Catherine yelled, "For someone who is so hell bent on having a family you move like a damn sloth!"
"Speaking of…." Nick said, "We need to talk about that."
"I gathered as much when you called me last night." Catherine said, "So talk."
"I'm not going to beat around the bush; you need to call Steve and tell him you've changed your mind and you don't want him to have custody of the baby."
Catherine shook her head, "Ain't gonna happen."
"Why the hell not? There's a chance that baby is mine and I don't want her with him."
"It's my choice and I choose for her to go to him."
"You can't do that." Nick said. "No judge would ever go along with whatever papers you signed, especially not when they find out that you lied."
Nick looked Catherine square in the eyes and pitched his voice low, "Call Steve and tell him you changed your mind. Tell him you used protection and the baby isn't his." Catherine shook her head. Nick grabbed the phone off the bed and thrust it against Catherine's chest. "Do it, or you'll be sorry."
A chill went down Catherine's back but she refused to make the call. "No. I won't do it!"
"I told you, you aren't going to stop me from having a family."
"You'd keep a baby even if it didn't belong to you?"
"You said it yourself; you don't know who her father is."
"Well, I lied." Catherine said, "I know damn well who this baby's father is and it isn't you."
If Nick was shocked by what Catherine said, he didn't show it. "When did this moment of clarity happen to come about? While I was out getting food for you?"
"You could say that." Catherine said with a nod of her head, "But I guess, talking with Robert Jameson and Lizanne Sawyer helped me to see things differently."
In an instant, rage flashed through Nick and he slapped Catherine across the face, she fell back onto the bed and the headboard bumped up against the wall, "Why the hell did you do that?"
Catherine looked up at Nick with shock on her face, "That's why I called him." She stared at him, shaking her head. "You swore you'd never lay a hand on me again. You said that while I was carrying your child, you wouldn't beat me."
With the raising of the voices and the headboard bumping against the wall, the people in the next room became concerned and went to the front office. The day manager went to the room and knocked on the door, "Ms. Rollins is everything okay?"
"You told them your name?" Nick yelled, "You want Steve to find out that we're here?"
"I could care less if Steve finds out!" Catherine yelled back. "If Steve finding out keeps you from having this baby, then let me be the first to call him!"
Catherine reached for the room phone sitting on the middle nightstand. Nick lunged for it as she was grabbing it and he pushed her away. Catherine bounced back on the bed and teetered on the edge of the bed before falling to the floor with a thud.
By this time, the manager had gone back to the front office and was on the phone with the police.