A Series of Unfortunate Events

Chapter 5

Sharon's voice was gravelly and filled with emotion as she said, "you're right about that. We never dreamed it would happen at all, let alone the same day and we're a bit older than most couples raising babies, but that being said, yes, we'll take her. She was ours the moment we saw her, to be honest. Andy here is very good with babies and it was one of our regrets, that have found each other, rather later in life, we hadn't had a chance to raise children together. Now we will," Sharon said with a shrug and a small smile for Andy.

"Well, I'm glad. I can certainly see that you know what you're doing, but what will you do with her while you are working?" Lily asked.

"There is a daycare center within the PAB, I'll let them know I need a spot for her. It may take a couple of weeks… which will give her some time to recover from her illness. Of course, if the waiting list is too long, I could enroll her in the one at St. Joseph's. Actually, that would ordinarily be my first choice. Their daycare is excellent, my kids went there and they loved it." Sharon's face took on a pensive look as she tried to think things through. "We will work out a schedule between the three of us to care for her until then. I'm on medical leave until next week, and then I have some vacation time that I was going to tap into to plan our wedding. She indicated Andy and herself and shrugged yet again. "I'll just add baby care to those plans. We'll be fine on that score."

Lily asked concerned, "You're on medical leave? May I ask why? I'm not trying to be nosy, just making sure you're up to caring for the baby."

"Oh well, I was in the periphery of a bomb explosion and got slammed against a wall, and then I breathed in a great deal of smoke and C-4 from the damage to the PAB. I'm better now, but it was rough right afterward. I got a touch of pneumonia and had to spend some time in the hospital," Sharon said indifferently.

Andy's shook his head as he spoke, "She's downplaying it a lot. She was actually the one that realized where the bomb was. Sharon saved a lot of people's lives, but she barely got away from being blown to smithereens herself. Then she refused to go to the hospital in an ambulance. She wanted the more serious cases taken care of first. It's a rule that you have to be checked out if you're injured, so I took her, but they were swamped. An intern looked at her, said she had some bruises and she had the wind knocked out of her, but she seemed okay otherwise and sent her home. She was back three days later with pneumonia, in both lungs. It was touch and go for about a week." Andy's face showed his frustration and anger.

Sharon's eyebrows went up in a silent reprimand for revealing so much, but recognized that he was both proud of her, and concerned for her welfare. He had never left her side the entire time she was in the hospital and had let the hospital know just what he thought of wet behind the ears doctors making such potentially life-threatening mistakes. She patted his arm to calm him and turned to Lily. "The whole situation was rather scary, but as you can see I'm better now. I won't say I'm 100% better yet, but I have Andy and Rusty to help me. Not to mention my team and our families."

Lily's face was full of admiration. "Well, I am glad you survived that. It sounds like it was very scary. I'm sure the families of the people you saved are very grateful. I'm glad you're feeling better and that you have a support system. Not everyone does. Now, getting down to business, I'm guessing you don't have a pediatrician picked out yet?"

"Well, since we had no idea this would happen or that we'd need one, no, but there is a pediatrician attached to my own doctors' practice, so we'll see if we like her. I've heard good things about her, so that's a start," Sharon said, looking down at the baby. She was sleeping peacefully in her arms. Her little cheek was laying on the top of Sharon's left breast with her thumb was in her mouth. Her tiny fingers spread over her left cheek. Sharon was entranced by her.

"The other thing we need to talk about is the release of Bella's baby paraphernalia, crib, clothes, diapers and such. I took the liberty of gathering a few things donated to DCFS, it's nothing special mind you, but it will get you through the next couple of days until her stuff is released from the… um…" Lily stole a look at Rusty with her peripheral vision and amended what she was going to say, "the…uh premises. By the way, do you have adequate space for a baby?"

Sharon opened her mouth to answer, but Andy beat her to it with information she didn't have. "Well, we live in a two-bedroom condo right now and it'll be a squeeze for about two weeks more or less but by the tenth of June we'll have a house," Andy said, with an air of playful smugness. Rusty's eyes got wide at the news about the house. He was relieved they wouldn't be crowded into the small condo for long, but he hadn't been told they had offered on a house. Apparently, they had and hadn't had a chance to tell him yet.

He looked to Sharon for clues about how to feel about the news. Sharon's face was a study of joyful surprise and a little bit of hurt that she wasn't let in on that information beforehand. Andy saw her look and explained, "Sorry Honey, I got a text just as I was leaving my meeting, and with everything that's happened I hadn't had a chance to tell either of you yet." He indicated Rusty as well as Sharon. He directed his next statement to Rusty, "it's around the corner from the mold house, same style, same amenities with a few extras and no mold. In fact, It's been specially treated so it won't grow any mold. We really loved the mold house except it had the mold, so we discounted it, but every other house we saw didn't appeal to us because we kept comparing it to the mold house. Then this one came on the market and our realtor gave us a heads up about it because he knew we'd love it. The owners are being shipped overseas and the asking price was super reasonable. Rusty, it has the possibility of a two bedrooms or bedroom and den apartment over the garage. We thought you'd like that 'cause you'd be close but not too close and would have your privacy. It's not finished yet, but once we move in we could work together on that, if... if you're interested. I mean we're not trying to get rid of you or anything, I just thought you'd be happy to have your own space, so you wouldn't have to see things that could traumatize you for life… as you put it." Andy said with a smirk and a lilt of the excitement he was feeling. However, his excitement started to fade when he didn't see the same excitement mirrored on the boy's face.

Rusty could see that his lack of enthusiasm over the separate living quarters was hurting Andy's feelings. He was feeling overwhelmed with gratitude that they would buy a house that had an apartment over the garage for him, and yet he felt a little guilty because Andy and Sharon had recently told him that Stroh was back in the states if indeed he'd ever left. He wasn't sure he was ready to be too far away from them, especially Sharon until Stroh or Gary was caught. He felt like a coward, but those were his feelings.

Sharon could read her son like a book. She understood his lack of enthusiasm about him being too far away from her, she was feeling that too, especially in light of the current circumstances. The very recent loss of his biological mother, not to mention Stroh and Gary being loose. However, she still expected him to be polite and kind to Andy. She eyed her son and indicated with a slight tilt of her head what she expected of him.

Rusty caught the motion and said, "Wow, thank you, Andy, Mom. I'm… I'm sorry I didn't seem all that happy. I am, I really am happy that you bought a house that has a potential space for me in... the future. I'm just a bit freaked out by… by everything that's happened. I'm kinda not ready to be very far from Sh… my mom right now. If... if you don't mind, I'd like to stay in the house with you guys until...well until everybody is where they're supposed to be and um, I can help with Bella," he said brightly.

"Hey Kid, no hurry. It's there when you want it and is ready." Andy squeezed Rusty shoulder.

Sharon smiled at the men in her life, glad to see them getting along and being kind to each other. "Well, there won't be any moving going on for at least two weeks yet, and we'll see what's going on with… with everything then. Lily, do you know of any place around here that would happen to have a suite available? It's getting late and we're way too tired to go back to LA plus we have to wait for the cri…. the Lewises house to be released by the police."

Lily had been studying the dynamics of the family and was slow to answer Sharon. There was something going on that she couldn't put her finger on. Like there was something they weren't saying. Before she could get a word out to answer Sharon's question, Rusty said, "Mom, you can say it."

"Hmmm, say what honey?" Sharon asked, distracted by all the different things she had to coordinate and want to hear, Lily's answer to her question.

Rusty rolled his eyes. "You can say the word crime scene. You don't have to protect me." He swallowed hard and sat up straighter. "I know that the… um... their… their house is a crime scene."

"Yes, I know that you don't need to keep hearing us refer to it that way though, it seems so impersonal. Now please, Rusty, let Lily answer my question," she said turning to Mrs. Thompson again with a questioning look on her face.

"Well, there are more places like that closer to Palm Springs, however, there is a huge golf tournament and some other activities happening that have caused just about all decent hotels to be booked solid, right now." Lily frowned, "Oh wait, I do know of a place you could stay. I have a friend, her name is Grace. Her aunt left her a bed and breakfast place and the money to have it renovated. She'll be opening up in ten days, but I might be able to talk her into letting you do a trial run. Let me call her. She has a suite that would be perfect for you all."

Sharon looked grateful as she said, "that would be great, thank you."

Lily dialed her friend as she left the room. "Hello Grace, it's Lily. I'm sorry I'm calling so late, but I have a situation, you might be able to help me with."

There was a muffled yawn before a tired voice answered, "Lily, good to hear from you, it's not a problem. I was in bed but not asleep. What can I do for you?"

"Well, I have two police officers that came from out of town, they were responding to their adopted son's biological mother's death from being murdered and…"

Grace gasped, "oh no, that's horrible. Wait a minute, was that the triple murder I just heard about on the news?"

Lilly replied sullenly, "sadly yes, it's a long story, but basically, a police Commander and her Lieutenant came here from LA to assist the Commander's adopted son who was babysitting for his infant sister when they lost their biological mother and the biological grandparents of the baby to murder. So, since the house Rusty and his sister were staying at is now a crime scene, they need a place to stay for at least the next five days. The four of them would like to rent a suite. Since there are golf tournaments and the air show at the base, I thought of the suite at your place."

"Well, you know Lily, my place isn't quite finished yet. The inside is, and the pool in front of the Bella Rose suite is, but the east side of the landscaping of the house is still a work in progress."

"Grace, honey they don't care about the landscaping. All they are interested in is what's on the inside. A place to sleep and eat and Grace, not only are they the police but the baby's name is Bella." Lily knew emphasizing the fact that the people needing the suite were police and the baby's name was Bella, would mean something to her friend.

Grace's first husband had been a captain in the police force before he died in the line of duty. His squad had helped her innumerable times, over the years since his death. She'd had a babe in arms and one on the way when he died; the one in arms was her daughter, Isabella. She had since grown up and became a police officer like her dad. Isabella had worked for gang intelligence and was doing undercover work as a teacher in gang territory when she was shot in the back by a stray bullet. She was now a paraplegic and living at home. She helped her mother with the plans for the bed and breakfast. Her squad had rallied around her like her father's squad had for her mother. They helped her whenever possible and were always visiting and pitching in to do what was needed. Grace's opinion of the police was a positive one in spite of the fact that she had lost a husband, and her daughter had lost her ability to walk doing her duty as a police officer. They were doing important work, was her attitude and her doors were always open to any member of the force.

Finn, Grace's son still lived with her as well. He was born with Down's Syndrome. Finn was forty-six and as a child, he had loved being outdoors. So, Grace had steered him into learning all about landscaping at his day program. He had been one of the first success stories for early intervention. She had dedicated her life to teaching him and improving his chances for a normal life, in an age where people still treated people with Down's badly. She had worked tirelessly to change the perception people had of Downs Syndrome.

As a result of her dedication and hard work, her son was a fine man, who worked hard for his mother and the company that had been progressive minded and had hired him. The place that hired him was a landscaping company run by a man named Richard Berg who had twins, a boy named Joseph and a girl named Jesse. Joseph, the boy twin had had a serious heart condition and they lost him on the operating table. The loss had been devastating, and his marriage to the twin's mother had not survived. The girl twin, Jesse had Downs, and the mother had wanted nothing to do with her. So Richard had gotten full custody of her. From then on Richard made it his mission to train and hire people with Down's. Through this, he and Grace had met and had become romantically involved. Their children were also romantically involved. Jesse and Finn had married and were living on the property that was attached to the bed and breakfast, The Three Palms, that Grace had been renovating and was about to open.

Grace kindly agreed to help, "Well, in that case, they can have the suite for as long as they like. All the other rooms are booked from the time I officially open, through till next year, but the suite won't be booked until a week after the grand opening. That should be enough time for them to get things in order?"

Lily smiled excitedly, "ohh, more than enough. Thanks so much, Grace. They'll love it; it's so beautifully decorated and comfortable. I'm sure it'll be just what they need. Now, what about the fee?" Five minutes later Lily came back in. "Well, you're in. Grace is getting the place ready for you with her son Finn and his wife's assistance. Don't worry about a crib or the other baby stuff like a bathtub or a high chair; Grace's daughter-in-law suggested to her that she keep a set on hand so her customers don't have to drag everything with them. Grace thought that was a great idea and she bought a whole layette. Your Bella will be the first one to use it."

Sharon looked from changing Bella and smiled tiredly at her. "Thanks, Lily. Is there a Walmart or a Target on the way?"

"There's both. Which one would you prefer?"

"Well, I prefer Target, but Walmart is opened all night so, we'll have no choice but to go there, I suppose. I need some stuff for the baby your friend probably won't have."

Lily asked, "Such as?"

"Oh, stuff to give her a bath, one or two of those hooded towels and some soft baby washcloths, some AD ointment some baby shampoo and baby wash. Some powder, diapers and a sleep sack or two, oh and some baby Motrin and some Pedialyte. Also, a few alternate kinds of formula in case it's the dairy in the formula that Bella's system doesn't like instead of the antibiotics. We need wipes too. Something is playing havoc with her little tummy," Sharon said holding the baby close and swaying with her.

As Sharon was handling what needed to be done in her usual take charge kind of way, Andy had been standing memorized watching her with the infant. He knew from the beginning when he heard the tragic news of Bella's family that Mama Raydor would come out in Sharon and she wouldn't be letting the little one out of her sight anytime soon. Seeing her open her heart to another innocent soul in need caused him to love her even more if that was possible, he thought. Stepping up close to the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life, he kissed her cheek and placed a hand on her lower back to let her know he'd always be there for them. After a few quiet moments, he mentioned, "Well then if we're adding a shopping trip to this rodeo let's get this show on the road. It's getting late."

TBC...

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