A Series of Unfortunate Events
Chapter 12
Sharon took a few seconds to consider her thoughts. One thing being with Andy had taught her was to roll with the punches and not take everything too serious. Feeling his eyes on her, she was sure to see if she would 'freak out' as Rusty had once accused her of, which of course she would never do, she rolled her eyes dramatically. "Emily and Ricky were skeptical and were convinced that I'd be left holding the proverbial bag and they were concerned for me, but then," she held up her index finger to indicate, 'wait for this,' "they turned around and said that knowing me as their mom, they knew I would want to raise Bella so that she and Rusty would know each other. Soooo, they magnanimously gave me their permission to adopt Bella! If the situation arose and make her part of the family!" Sharon said with exasperation. She flailed her hands as she spoke giving Andy an idea of how infuriated she must have been. "As if… as if I hadn't already told Ricky not that long ago, by the way, that not only did I not need their permission to adopt whomever I pleased, I wasn't asking for it either!"
"When did this conversation take place?" Andy asked curiously.
Sharon sighed, still quite a bit exasperated by her offspring's audacity. Hmmm, she thought maybe she did freak out just a little bit. "I told you, in a Skype call the Sunday after Rusty told them Sharon Beck had had Bella."
Andy remembered that day. Sharon had been uncharacteristically irritable, after talking with her children. She had slammed around the condo doing chores and muttering to herself, about the audacity of youth. He had never found out what her bad mood was all about because they'd been called out on a case. Then they'd had several other cases that followed. Andy took Sharon's flailing hand and pulled her to him and enfolded her in his arms. His hand rubbed up and down her back and kissed the side of her forehead. "Sharon, I'm sure Emily and Ricky didn't mean to step on your very independent toes. They just know you well, they know your heart and they know that if for some reason Bella needed you, you would instantly step up to the plate and be there for her. Especially since she's Rusty's sister. They knew that you'd not want them to be separated or lose touch. So they wanted to ease your mind, and let you know they understand and will accept her as part of the family. Don't think of it as them giving you permission, think of it as them supporting you in your decision. You know, psychic or not, their predictions came true, because she's outside that door, and she's going to be ours, although not because of the reason they predicted."
As Andy had held her, Sharon had suddenly felt as if the wind was knocked out of her, as she realized how badly she had behaved on that day. This had been one time that her sense of independence had gotten in the way of her realization of what truly wonderfully supportive children she had raised. She made a mental note to herself to initiate a Skype chat later in the day and apologize to Ricky and Emily for her rant.
Sharon smiled to herself still deep in thought, she was startled out of her reverie by her son. "Mom? Mom?"
"Hmmm, what Rusty?" She asked as looked up from the sleeping baby in her arms.
Rusty looked at her worried. "You zoned out again. You were explaining things to Amy."
Sharon's face suffused with color. "Oh, I'm so sorry Amy, please forgive my distraction. It's just with everything that has happened in the last twenty-four hours, I feel like I'm in a very weird alternate universe version of that book, A Series of Unfortunate Events. Now, where was I?"
"You were explaining about how it was that you got custody of Bella so fast," Amy reminded her.
"Oh yes, well yesterday morning, Rusty went to Cathedral City to babysit for Bella, while the Lewises went to a high school reunion in San Diego. His and Bella's biological mother had to work, then she had a date with her study group to study for her GED and then she had community service obligations to meet. Because they were going to be two hours away, Jim Lewis faxed us a set of custody papers he had prepared for Rusty, Andy and I to sign. He wanted to make sure that we would be there for Bella if anything happened to the three of them. I'm sure he was thinking car accident or natural disaster. He couldn't have predicted that Gary Lewis would escape from jail. Rusty would take Bella for a ride in the car that night to try to lull her to sleep, and while he was gone they and Sharon Beck would come home and be…" She slid her eyes over to Rusty who nodded almost imperceptibly for her to go on, "m... murdered by their son, Gary."
Amy's face was a study of horror as she imagined the situation as Sharon described it. "Gary Lewis escaped and killed his parents and Sharon Beck? I knew she had died, it was on the news, I guess I stopped listening once I heard her name, so I didn't realize it was Gary who did it. Hmmm, that's not like me, but I guess I was just so shocked when I heard Rusty's mother was well... anyway I called Rusty right away. I can't believe it! Commander, I'm not doubting your word, I mean, I know you're telling the truth. What I can't believe is, that Gary managed to escape at all. That guy was dumb as a rock! Not to mention the fact that as much of a scumbag as he was, I wouldn't have pegged him for a killer."
"Would you have pegged me as a killer?" Sharon asked softly.
"Commander, that was different. You killed a killer. You had to kill Dwayne to stop him from killing other innocent people. You were a heroine! What you had to do doesn't compare… to what Dwayne or Gary did. You know that, right?"
Sharon smiled faintly, "yes I do and thank you Amy, but my point is that anybody could be a killer if the right circumstances presented themselves."
Sykes frowned, concerned that her Commander still felt so badly about killing Dwayne. She herself felt along the same lines as Lieutenant Flynn, Dwayne was a dirtbag that needed killing. However she did agree that anybody could be a killer if the right circumstances presented themselves, as the Commander put it. In their line of work they had seen people snap all the time. "That's certainly true but what I can't wrap my mind around is the idea that Gary's father sent you those papers to sign, the same day his son escaped from jail. It almost seems like he must have... I don't know sensed something was going to happen?"
Sharon shook her head uncertainly, she didn't believe in premonitions as a rule. She believed in facts and logic most of the time. Although there were times, like these that she was forced to think out of the box. "It does seem so, but be that as it may Amy, Jim Lewis was a Family Law Lawyer. His wife worked with Social Services. Jim and Linda believed in being proactive and they both have seen what happens to children when their families fail to assign legal guardians for them, in cases of emergency. They didn't want Bella in the system for any longer then she had to be, none at all if possible. Of course, due to circumstances beyond anybody's control DCFS had her for a couple of hours yesterday, but we have her now and she's already part of our family."
"Wow, you're amazing Cap... Commander, I'm not sure how I would have handled that situation. I'm barely prepared to take care of children of my own if I had them. Let alone adopting kids way after you've finished raising your own. You look good with a baby though, very natural," she said sounding surprised.
Sharon rolled her eyes. "Since, I am already a mother, three times over I would hope I looked natural, Amy," she said sarcastically. "Or are you referring to my age?" she questioned with a seemingly brittle tone.
Realizing that she was stepping into very dangerous waters, Amy tried to correct what she was trying to say rather poorly. "Commander, you are ageless, but I wasn't referring to your age when I said you looked natural with a baby in your arms, with such surprise. I was just referring to your work persona compared to your home persona. They are very different and... well... I didn't mean to offend. I'm sorry." The young detective was clearly flustered, at her tendency to put her foot in her mouth.
Sharon wasn't really offended, she knew that she would get this reaction from the whole team, the whole police force really. She wasn't above teasing Amy however. "It's okay, Amy. I'm just teasing you. You're right, though I am very different at home then I am at work. Seeing me at work with a baby is going to jar a lot of people. Not just you."
"Ohhh, so you'll be bringing her to work?" she asked hopefully.
"Eventually. I have to enroll her at the daycare there, but it will be a while yet. As Rusty said, 'she's been ill with a double ear infection', so I have to get her completely well first. She's delicate, having been born early, so I want to make sure her immune system is strong enough to handle the germs that she'll be up against at the daycare. Both of our immune systems need a boost really. I myself am not cleared for even desk duty until next week. Although, since Bella's with us now, I probably won't be coming back right away. We'll be juggling childcare duties until they have a place for her at the daycare. I just hope Chief Mason isn't going to become too impatient that I can't take on his new agenda yet."
Amy nodded. "Don't worry on that score, Commander, renovations on the ninth floor are slow, and he told us to tell you to take your time to get better so you'll be ready for all the changes. He doesn't know about Bella, does he?"
"Not yet, at least not for sure. I may have mentioned Rusty's sister and my worry about them both, last night when I called him and told him that I had to leave town for a few days. Honestly, things were happening so fast, I feel like I've been in a constant whirlwind so I don't quite remember."
Amy nodded and gazed at the baby in Sharon's arms, "she's really so very cute. I can tell you're already attached to her. Um, how old is she? She looks really tiny. Like a small newborn. You said she was early? How early?"
Sharon had not been overly involved with the situation when Sharon Beck had delivered early. She and the team had back to back cases that were brutal. She looked to Rusty to answer the question. "My biological mother's blood pressure got really high and she was heading toward preeclampsia. They decided to deliver her early at twenty-eight weeks. Bella was born in February, the 3rd actually, so she's almost four months old. She only weighed like, 2lbs when she was born. She was supposed to be born April 28th," Rusty piped in.
When Rusty said April 28th Sharon's eyes got wide. Besides the fact that April 28th was her birthday, Sharon hadn't realized that Bella was due at the end of April, because she had been actually been born in February. Also, she hadn't realized just how premature Bella really was. Twenty-eight weeks was very premature. That definitely explained her size and the fact that she wasn't really rolling over yet or holding her head up. She was starting to, but wasn't there yet. She did smile and seem to be aware of people that surrounded her. She put her fingers in their mouths or her own mouth. She could hold her favorite toy elephant, and she made some sounds, but she didn't seem to be bothered by loud noises. Sharon filed that information away and decided to make some calls this afternoon to the pediatrician in her medical group. She'd make an appointment for her for when she got back home."
"Captain, I mean Commander, I've got to go but I just wanted to say, if you or the Lieutenant, Rusty or Bella need anything, let us know."
"Thank you, Amy. We've got to go too. We're due over at the main part of the house for brunch in less than five minutes and um, I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't mention the baby to the rest of the team, unless it's absolutely necessary." Giving her a smile as she said, "Bye Amy."
Sharon stood up and looked around for Bella's carrier, Andy wheeled it over attached to the stroller. Sharon started to bend over to put her in it, but Andy took Bella from her and put her in it himself. He didn't see Sharon roll her eyes, but he sensed it. "Humor me," he told her as he stored the diaper bag in the little basket attached to the stroller. Knowing that holding onto the stroller would relieve Sharon's back, he let her push it. They walked through the door of their suite into the foyer of the main part of the house, and over to the dining room where things were bustling.
Several people were busy putting a buffet breakfast out for consumption. Sharon recognized Grace, who was over seeing things at the buffet table, she waved at her and Grace waved them over. A youngish man with a ginger colored crew cut, a goatee, and sporting a ruddy complexion stood beside her, making sure serving spoons were available. He was wearing a crisp white shirt, a black vest and pants, he turned when he realized Sharon and Andy were behind him waiting for an introduction. Next to him listening intently to Grace's explanation of who they were was a youngish blonde and blue eyed, woman. Both the young woman and young man stared shyly at them with wide tip tilted eyes, and slightly slack jawed expressions. "Morning Commander and Lieutenant, I hope you all are hungry. We have a lot of food for you."
"We are starved, but Grace, I believe I told you to call us Sharon and Andy!" Sharon admonished not unkindly.
"And of course you can call me Grace. I'd like you to meet my son Finn and his wife Jesse." She indicate the couple next to her.
Sharon and Andy smiled at the young man with the ginger crew cut and the blonde with a cherubic yet slightly hesitant smile. Finn and Jesse both wore black and white outfits with black shiny tie oxfords. Both Sharon and Andy noticed the slanted eyes and small ears of the two Down Syndrome adults. Sharon and Andy offered warm smiles to them and earned genuine if slightly relieved smiles back. Andy reached out and shook Finn's hand and Sharon gave Jesse hers. "Nice to meet you," they both said. Their voices and demeanors held only kindness and interest.
Happy with their reactions, Grace explained with a relieved breath, "they work here at the Three Palms with me, as do their friends Bonnie and David. My daughter Isabella or Izzy B as we call her is sitting with my friend Lily, I'm sure you remember her. Izzy helps me with the paperwork, ordering supplies matching guests with their rooms. She's kind of ... um... still getting used to the fact that she's going to be in that chair for the foreseeable future, so if she's a little gruff don't mind it. There by the window, wiping the end of the table is Bonnie. David her husband is in the kitchen loading more chaffing dishes and looking for Bunsen burners. He's kind of shy and prefers to work in the kitchen away from people he doesn't know. Bonnie however, is a very social.
Sharon looked over at Bonnie. She was quite short and slightly Romanesque in body type. Her hair was silver and worn in a ponytail. She had regular features meaning that although developmentally challenged, she was not Down Syndrome and she was quite a bit older than Finn and Jesse. She wore a navy blue and white jersey Capri pants set with a white apron over the front and docksiders, on her feet. Sharon could see that the older lady seemed interested in something outside. "It looks like Bonnie wishes she were outdoors," Sharon mentioned offhandedly.
Grace's gaze followed Sharon's. She clicked her tongue. "Bonnie' s a good worker but very inquisitive and easily distracted. I'll go check on her." As she moved toward Bonnie she said over her shoulder, "you all grab a chair and fix yourselves a plate. Finn and Jesse finish what you were doing and then you can eat too."
"Thanks Gigi," both of them said.
TBC...
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