TRIGGER WARNING: This chapter talks a little about sexual assault. It is not graphic, but it does suggest more then what is said. I want everyone to be aware. There is also talk of implied child abuse. I don't want to upset anyone, so the warning.

Chapter 282 – Emily Pushes Nathan

The rest of the night was quiet, sort of. Conrad, Heidi, Chris, Molly and all the family were there for supper. Lee's parents had also joined the group at the ranch for supper. They said they would come watch Maddie and Missy jump the next, but couldn't be there all day. Everyone understood and invited Lee's mother, Carol, to join Gran, Trish and Abigail up at the house the next morning.

The other couples that were staying with Conrad and Chris went into town so that they could have a family supper. Emily wasn't happy, but she mostly sat and pouted. She refused to talk to anyone. Everyone else enjoyed visiting. She wasn't allowed to leave and at least she couldn't cause trouble from where she was, especially since her parents had made her leave her phone at their house. She had been warned again by Devin that posting on social media would result in more problems for her.

They had a nice supper of brick-oven pizzas because that was what the girls wanted and it was easy for the crowd. The girls also enjoyed having their dad there. He had gotten there a bit later then he had planned because he had to deal with several media requests before he left. Even his bodyguards were worried about him driving up alone, so they insisted on following him and then they were going to stay in Albany. So arranging that took a bit of time. But everyone was glad that the Chief was able to come up so he could see his daughters jump the following day and his son on Sunday.

Once he got there, he got caught up on what had been going on at the ranch and he let everyone know what was going on in the city. He let them know that there had been several media requests to his office and he had informed his staff that all requests for a comment about his son or son's friends were to be told that his office had no comment and further inquiries would not be entertained. He made it very clear that his office didn't comment on his personal life or the lives of his family and he wouldn't tolerate any harassment of them. He then had to inform John and Jack that he had had no less than a dozen calls from Charlotte since Wednesday night, but had refused to speak to her. Chief had also said he had maybe three calls from Thomas, but again didn't speak to him. Chief had instructed his staff that he had nothing to say to Thomas and Charlotte, so not to even put their calls through.

John was not surprised about the calls to James B from Thomas and Charlotte, as he had admitted they had been trying to call him as well, but declined their calls and threatened to block them if they continued to harass him. He wasn't sure what they wanted, but he knew that they were not happy about being cut off. He also knew that they were struggling because John refused to pay for anything that was not explicitly laid out in his father's will. He also knew that Thomas had tried to take a loan out, using the business/house as collateral, but couldn't because they were both technically in John's name and he refused to sign. Jack was a little surprised, but he honestly didn't feel bad. He firmly believed that his parents were getting what they deserved after the way that they had treated him over the years.

John, James, Chief and Jack also sat down and had a conversation about Tommy. He had arrived back at the ranch after lunch and was put to work mucking stalls at the retirement center. John let them know that Blaine wasn't coming back, but had hired someone else to help Nicholas. It was made very clear that lying to them was not going to be tolerated. The rules for all of them, including Tommy, had been laid out very clearly and what would happen if any of those rules were broken. The rules also laid out very clearly where they could and couldn't go. It was made very clear that none of them were allowed up to the house unless they were explicitly invited. Jack made sure that Ed's job wouldn't be affected. James assured him that nothing would happen to Ed because apparently, Blaine had been lying to him as well.

John had told them that he felt bad about what happened with Blaine, but he had lied to everyone. He had changed his name back to his father's name after his time in the Marines to try and hide his background. He went as far as applying for a different social security number claiming fraud. John said the more that he had Peter and Andrew dug, the more that they uncovered and that is how they realized that Blaine was trying to say that the man he was, was not the man that had been in the Marines and someone stole his identity to do that. Jack wasn't happy, but at least they had gotten to the bottom of the problem and had found someone else to help with Tommy. John also realized he needed to be more careful about people who make certain claims and not take things at face value. Chief agreed and told John that they needed to have a better system of tracking people's backgrounds when they change their names and try to hide.

After supper, Elizabeth and Trish helped Gran to make breakfast casseroles for breakfast. The family stayed and visited for a bit while the ladies made the casseroles. Nathan and Jack were both playing with the kids on the living room floor. Emily came over and openly flirted with Nathan to the point that most everyone else was uncomfortable. Nathan had tried to leave several times, but the kids wanted him to continue to play. Every time he moved, Emily moved as well. She was touching him and trying to get him excited, despite Nathan's vocal protests. Finally unable to take seeing how uncomfortable Nathan was, Chief walked over and jerked Emily up and physically pulled her away from the group.

"I don't know where your manners went." Chief said. "But no means no and I have enough to arrest you for harassment right now. Nathan made his boundary clear and you have continued to cross it. Leave him alone."

Emily huffed until her father came over and also took hold of her.

"Apologize." Chris said. "I warned you what would happen if you misbehave. You are in enough trouble, so unless you want to spend time in jail, I would apologize. Then we are leaving."

"Sorry." Emily said in a very snarky tone.

"David, Dawn." Chris said. "Please take the children and head home. We will be along shortly."

"We will go as well." Conrad said.

Chris still had a hold of Emily as everyone else quickly said their goodbyes and left after promising to catch up the next day.

"John, I am sorry that Emily continues to cause trouble." Chris said. "I know we raised her better or at least we tried."

"Nathan." John said.

Nathan looked at John.

"Are you okay?" John asked. "I know you weren't exactly physically hurt, but are you okay?"

Nathan shook his head. He didn't trust his voice and he honestly looked like he was going to cry. Doug walked over and offered him his hand. Nathan took it and Doug helped him stand.

"You can walk away if you want." Doug said. "But we are just worried about you. We all saw how uncomfortable Emily was making you. Let us know what you need."

"I need some time." Nathan said, softly.

"Then take it." Doug said.

They watched as Nathan walked away. He refused to look at anyone and kept his head down. He headed to the library and shut the doors. Emily tried to follow him, but Chris wouldn't let go. Jack stood. He looked at his grandfather and then his uncle. He then looked at Emily. Father Mark and Frank saw the fire in Jack's eyes and immediately intervened. Frank wrapped his arms around Jack and swung him around.

"Walk away." Frank said, in a stern tone. "Take Elizabeth and go downstairs right now."

Jack looked at Frank when he had let him go, but the look in Frank's eye was not one that Jack wanted to cross. Frank might have worked for Jack, but at that moment, Frank was not speaking to his employer, but to a young man as an older, wiser man. Jack realized that Frank had taken control as Captain Hogan and wasn't speaking to Jack as a friend or employee, but as someone trying to keep things from getting worse. Jack also realized that he needed to take a step back.

"Fine." Jack said, holding his hands up.

Jack took Elizabeth and walked downstairs. He didn't say anything, but just took Elizabeth's hand and led her downstairs.

"Doug, Lee, girls." Chief said. "You can go as well."

The four of them quickly left, they didn't want to upset Chief anymore then he already was, especially when he used that tone of voice. When they got downstairs, they decided to just hang out in the sitting room down there. Jack and Elizabeth were already sitting alone in the far corner talking. Elizabeth was trying to talk reason with Jack and let him know that it was the right thing to walk away. Jack and Elizabeth were able to do a lesson in their marriage prep book. They also had a nice talk about things that had happened.

Everyone else enjoyed the down time. As much as they wanted to know what was going on upstairs, they realized that Nathan didn't need an audience and since he asked for time, they were going to give it to him. Without discussing it, Doug and Lee had agreed that they would do everything they could to help Nathan, even if that included giving him his space for the next few days.

… … … …

After the rest had left, Chief looked at John, James and Chris.

"Whatever you decide." Chief said. "This ends tonight. The boys need to focus on the show and they have other things that they need to deal with. There is no reason for Emily to be in this house if she can't behave. Also I am not going to allow this type of behavior around my daughters."

Chief then turned and looked at James.

"James, I am sorry if I have overstepped." Chief said. "I am not going to allow this harassment to continue. We all could see how uncomfortable that Nathan was and she refused to respect his boundaries. Even my ten year old daughters understand boundaries."

"No, you are right." James said. "We should have stepped in and put a stop to this sooner. And for that, we all need to apologize to Nathan for letting things get this far."

"Chris." John said. "Please take Emily home. We will figure out what is going to happen. Let me know if I need to send security to sit with her tomorrow, because I don't think that she will be welcome."

"I agree." James said. "Emily needs to learn that she can't do what she wants. We said we wouldn't allow discord in this house and she has been nothing but a problem since she arrived."

"Yes, Dad." Chris said.

"NOT FAIR!." Emily yelled.

She pulled away from her father and stormed over to the library, but the doors were locked. She started pounding on the doors, trying to get in and calling out Nathan's name. Chief went over to her and pulled her away, pinning her arms behind her like he would with a suspect. He then walked her back over to the table and forced her to sit down.

"Don't move." Chief said, in a menacing tone.

Frank decided to head downstairs while Father Mark went over to the library. He knocked on the door, but Nathan wouldn't answer. Father Mark was worried about his friend, because of his reaction. He wanted to check on him and make sure he was alright. He knocked gently again, but again Nathan refused to answer. Father Mark then looked back at his grandfather. James walked over, opened a panel on the wall by the bar that was built into the wall. He punched in a code and heard the library door unlock.

"Go check on him." James said. "We will deal with your sister."

"She needs to go." Father Mark said. "I have a feeling that I know what is going on and she needs to leave, now."

James nodded when he saw the look his grandson gave him. Father Mark entered the library and re-locked the doors. He saw Nathan sitting in the far corner with his head in his lap.

… … … …

James walked back over to the group at the table. He wasn't sure what was going on with Nathan and he hated choosing between his grandchildren, he had no choice. The look on his grandson's face was enough to know that Emily had crossed a line that was going to leave lasting damage and she might just have cost them all a wonderful friendship with a young man. James did take a moment to calm himself down before speaking to his granddaughter.

"Emily Louise." James said. "Unless you want to spend significant time behind bars, you will apologize to everyone and mean it. Even then I don't know if it will be enough. You have crossed some serious lines and it might be out of our hands. I will no longer allow you to disrespect and harass the other people in this house."

Emily just glared at her grandfather. James shook his head and looked at the other adults.

"John." James said. "Do what you have to."

James then went to the kitchen, kissed his wife and went to his office to think for a moment. Margaret understood that her husband was washing his hands of what happened. He had tried, but he wasn't going to continue to try and defend his granddaughter or her behavior. Margaret walked over to where John, Chris and Chief were talking.

"Chris." Gran said. "Take your daughter home and you better get through to her how much trouble that she is in."

Chris nodded and had to bodily remove Emily from the house as she protested leaving. Gran then turned to Chief and John.

"As much as I love my granddaughter." Gran said. "I warned her to behave. I don't want to see her in jail, but she needs to fully understand that she can't do things like that. As you can see James washed his hands of things."

"Let's see what Nathan has to say after he speaks with Father Mark." John said. "She still owes us hours to work off her debt from the card she stole. Personally, I would like to not have to put her behind bars, but she isn't giving me much choice."

"I understand." Gran said. "Please have Devin deal with her tomorrow. I don't want her here for the show. She will just be a distraction and the girls don't need that."

"I agree." John said. "I will talk to Devin and we will deal with things tomorrow. Let's try to have a bit of peace tonight."

"Fine by me." Chief said.

"Me too." Gran said.

Gran went back to the kitchen and John went to check on James. Chief went to let the kids know they were more than welcome to come back up and help.

… … … …

Father Mark carefully walked over to Nathan. He knew that he had to tread lightly and the last thing he wanted was to make it worse.

"Nathan." Father Mark said, softly. "It is okay. I re-locked the door. It is just us in here and no one is going to come in. I had Grandpa override the lock because we are all worried about you being in here alone. He won't do it again knowing that I am in here. Please talk to me. I see you are upset and you have every right to be. John and James are dealing with Emily, but I doubt that she will be allowed back here anytime soon. If you want she can still be arrested, but we don't need to talk about that right now if you are not ready."

Nathan raised his head and Father Mark saw the tears.

"Can I sit down?" Father Mark asked.

Nathan nodded and Father Mark took a seat next to him.

"I am not going to ask you to talk." Father Mark said. "But I am also not going to leave you alone. You are upset and I am just going to be here if you want to talk."

Nathan just looked at him.

"I can't." Nathan said, softly.

"That is fine." Father Mark said. "But I will be here for you if you change your mind."

Nathan dropped his head again. Father Mark put his hand on Nathan's back and the man jumped, so Father Mark removed his hand.

"Sorry." Father Mark said. "I was just trying to offer you support, but if you don't want to be touched, I fully understand. Again, I am sorry."

Nathan nodded. Father Mark pulled out his Rosary and started praying for the young man sitting next to him. He wasn't exactly sure what happened, but he had an idea and he was going to give him as much time as he needed. Nathan just sat there crying, trying to process all the images, memories and emotions that were assaulting him. He also knew that Father Mark meant well, but he wasn't sure how to even talk about what happened. He had forgotten for a reason.

Father Mark sat there, praying for his friend. He wanted him to open up because he knew it would make him feel better, but if he wasn't ready, then he wasn't ready. He couldn't even fathom the pain that he was going through. While his own childhood wasn't perfect, he hadn't been abused. He wanted to help him, but until he opened up, the only thing that Father Mark knew he could do was to be there for Nathan and pray for him, which was what he was doing. He also knew that no matter what happened, he was going to speak to his grandfather and make sure that Nathan got the help that he needed.

… … … …

After everything calmed down, Doug talked to John about the plan for the day of the wedding and John promised to take care of everything. Doug looked at the closed library door and then back at his father and John.

"Father Mark is in there with him." John said. "We need to trust that everything will be fine. If you want, say a prayer. I have a feeling that they will need it."

"Do you know what happened to make Nathan react like that?" Doug asked.

"No." John said. "But I have done some checking into his father and brother-in-law, so I can about imagine. But no, I don't know what happened to Nathan. I know he has said that he hadn't had an easy time with his father, but other than that, I don't know."

"Okay." Doug said. "He has shared that he fought with his father a lot, but that he was also gone a lot. I just want to do more for him. He has been so good for Jack."

"I know." John said. "But until he is ready to talk to someone, all we can do is pray. The best person is in there right now. How is everyone else?"

"They are fine." Doug said. "The girls were playing on their Ipads for a bit. We have sports center on and Jack and Elizabeth were working on their marriage prep homework."

"Okay." John said.

"Son." Chief said.

Doug looked at his father.

"Give Nathan as much space as he asked for." Chief said. "There will be no teasing him or asking him what happened. He will speak to you if and when he is ready. If I learn otherwise, we will be having words."

Doug nodded.

"I am going to head back down." Doug said.

"Don't stay up too late." Chief said.

"I promise." Doug said.

Doug headed back downstairs. The girls ended up turning in early because they knew that they were going to be jumping. The guys got involved watching a couple of west coast baseball games. When they finally turned in, Father Mark and Nathan still hadn't come down. They didn't bother to go up and check. They just said their prayers and specifically prayed for Nathan and Father Mark.

… … … …