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Six Weeks

By: ellabee



Each story below is fifty words, no more, no less. The titles do not count towards the word total. Each tells of a memory, connected to another memory.

This is the story of one man and one woman who are together despite the odds, who are not together because of circumstance.

Much thanks to Vic and all the folks at the SDC for their feedback and suggestions.

Welcome Home.

He left the year before, something about Cabo and cocaine and failing grades. I was abroad. He was gone.

We embrace. Thick arms envelop my frame. He rests his chin on my mess of brown waves.

"I missed you," he murmurs.  

I inhale him. He smells like comfort and musk.

First Kiss

It had been a year since her. The her that broke him into tiny pieces. 

I ended my relationship the night before. 

Cocktails clink around us. The house shudders to the beat of music and drunken revelry.

I press close to him. 

We are the only people in our world.

Saturday

Raindrops splash from the heavens. My bare shoulders prickle, tingle. 

The partygoers dart through the gravel parking lot with their bongs and beers, seeking the safety and warmth of the house.

We stand still and lock gazes, lips, hands.

"I like you." And that was everything there was to say. 

Culmination

He is nervous. He trembles as he strips. Shirt, pants, gray furry hat, socks. His beautiful debris litters my carpet.

We fumble in the dark. 

I find a condom. He finds my cunt.

I can feel his heart beating through his cock.

He grunts. Seven minutes.

It's been a while.

Discussion

He promised we would talk. 

We concentrate on the street instead of each other. 

Thin, translucent smoke curls into the crisp air. His menthol is smooth and cool, like autumn. My clove is spicy-sweet; my lips taste like cinnamon. 

The clove crackles with each drag. 

I never did like silence. 

Submit

Bam. 

I'm pinned against the door by his body. He claws at my face. Our lips meet in a snarl.

I submit to my passion. 

Arms up.

Blistering eyes. I am his plaything for the evening. 

The heat between us tickles my skin. October's cruel winds can't slip between us.

Hanging Out

I met him by the vents. He was smoking. It was unseasonably cool and I wanted him to warm me.

We sit on my decrepit futon amidst forgotten cans of beer, words unspoken. I shift uncomfortably. Neither of us can concentrate on our papers.

Sober. Six hours.

No goodnight kiss.

Succumb

Tonight I failed, called my ex, screamed, cried.

I wanted the last word.

He saves me from the phone and myself. I curl into his arms: I can breathe. Here is safe.

He kisses my chapped lips, washing away my insecurities. He absolves me of my sins with his eyes.

Tease

The head of his shaft tickles my sweet spot. I wrap my legs around him, rolling my hips to match his rhythm. We have nearly reached a climax. Our breaths are uneven, ragged. 

"Bring me there," I whisper. He slows.

One more thrust. So close.

"Want to smoke a cigarette?" 

Happy Ending

Four hours of sex. Four hours of fucking. Four hours of kissing, groping, licking, humping, fondling, sucking. Four hours of forgotten condoms, deep conversation on baseball and life, foreplay and role-play. 

I ride slowly, squeezing my muscles. We are close. We're barely moving.

We needed four hours to achieve release.

Sleep

Our post-coital interactions are flirty, touchy, sensual. 

I want to sleep in his burly arms and know he'll be there when I wake up. I want him to kiss me good morning as he leaves for class.

He won't. He can't. It's too soon; I'm too much.

I'm restless alone. 

The Talk

We can't have rules because he'll want to break them, he says.

But he is lying to me for the first time.

The rules are hushed, like whispers by lovers between the sheets.

No anal. No burning skin. 

And one more.

I am not to fall in love with him. 

Red Hot

He stares.

My leather boots reveal my thigh; the plaid miniskirt flirts with my curves. 

I am scarlet. I am sex. My boots tickle his calf as I beg for attention.

I won't get any tonight. 

I throw my beer and stumble my way home. 

Alone. What else is new? 

Madness

I am watching him become an alcoholic before my eyes.

He promises to hang out tonight. Just us. A study date. He brings friends and a King Cobra.

His bipolar meds have kicked in. He strangles me. 

I want to say goodbye. We kiss instead.

I am a forgiving person.

Epilogue

We aren't dating, probably won't, probably shouldn't. We are scarred, bruised, beaten human beings – he, physically, me, sexually. Both emotionally. 

We are different. 

But when I melt into his warmth, I forget the wrongs and only feel right. 

I should be angry, hurt.

I can't stop smelling his forgotten shirt.

Six Weeks of Grace Pt. 01



Forward: First, there is no sex. I know this is an erotic story website but it just wouldn't fit the story I wanted to tell. So, if that is what you are looking for, please pass on this. Second, it is slow. I wanted to develop the characters and the situation they find themselves in. Third, there is violence, but again, I wanted to tell a story and it was necessary to that end. I will hint that the violence is in context and not gratuitous. Fourth, it is long and so I have decided to put it up in parts. 

And last, please allow yourself to fall in love with my characters. I hope that when this tale is finished, you have smiled to yourself, laughed out loud, frowned a bit and maybe even shed a tear. If so, then I have fashioned a nice romance, and that is what I endeavored to achieve.

Please leave feedback, hopefully the story draws you in and makes you want more. QUICKLY! 

*****

As the car rolled to a stop in front of the run down trailer house, Sheriff Robert 'Bobby' Duncan shifted it into 'PARK' and slumped back in his seat. He looked at the decrepit wreck of a home before him and sighed loudly.

Through his thoughts, came the squeaky voice of his new hire. "Do you want me to get him out Sheriff?" 

Bobby's head swiveled slowly to his right as he took in the sight of the new deputy sitting beside him. Bryce Kincaid, young and full of piss and vinegar as they say, he wondered just how long this one would last. "A month on the job and you're ready for anything huh?" He asked with a small smirk.

"I can handle it Sheriff, just say the word." The enthusiastic reply coming from the young man in the new uniform.

"Handle it, exactly how would you handle it?" Bobby asked him, his voice dripping in sarcasm.

"Well I would be ready for anything, that's for sure." Bryce responded quickly. "You never know with a guy like him!"

Bobby's face clouded instantly. "A guy like him, just what the fuck do you know about a guy like him?"

"I heard all about him Sheriff, the guys told me plenty of stories this morning." Bryce replied confidently, puffing his chest out like a strutting rooster. "But personally, I think they're full of shit, trying to scare the new guy. I know damn well it didn't take six of 'em to bring him out of that fucking bar last month. Nobody's that tough, I can tell bullshit when I hear it!"

Bobby just shook his head, wondering once again about his policy of the new hire riding along with him for the first few months. "You know what Bryce, for a college boy you are one stupid son-of-a bitch." He finally asserted to the eager but clueless young man. "Here you are running your mouth off about something you don't know shit about and talking about a man you've never even laid eyes on!" 

Bryce quickly looked away from the stare that was coming from his boss. He could see the anger mounting quickly and he realized that he might be talking his way out of a new job. "I'm sorry Sheriff, you're right, I don't know him." Bryce replied meekly.

Bobby turned back to the trailer house, his anger fading a bit.

"Sheriff?" Bryce asked hesitantly.

"Yeah."

"Is it true that he's actually . . . ah . . . actually your cousin?" He asked haltingly. "I don't mean any disrespect; I guess I should know about him before we go get him."

Bobby stared out at the run down mobile home for what seemed like forever. Bryce started to wonder if the he was ever going to answer. Finally, without taking his eyes off the house, Bobby responded thoughtfully. "If the reason you're asking is because you want to understand a man you might have to arrest, then that's a good question." 

But then Bobby turned to look at his young deputy and looked straight into his eyes and Bryce knew he was serious. "But I don't do rumors, you understand that?"

The young Deputy turned away, unable to meet the piercing glare of his boss. "I do want to know about him Sheriff, I guess some is curiosity, I mean there's so many stories that it . . . well what I mean is, on one hand he's supposed to be some kind of a war hero on the other . . . well . . . I'm sure you know." Bryce said, his voice tapering off.

Bobby turned back to face forward in the car and Bryce felt the tension ease a bit. "All right, I'll give you the short story, and then you'll know who he really is." Bobby began. "First off, yes he is my cousin and he works for my dad in his construction business." 

Bryce nodded his head as he knew that the Sheriff's dad ran one of the largest businesses in the region. It was his dad's money and influence that was rumored to be the cause of Bobby Duncan being elected as the youngest Sheriff in the state. 

"His parents were the worst drunks you can ever imagine and he grew up in a rough spot. Finally one day, they just left and no one has seen 'em since."

"Wow," Bryce muttered under his breath.

"So my mom and dad took him in when he was twelve and I was nine. He did really well with us, ended up graduating High School with Honors and was All-State as a Linebacker. He went on to college with full scholarships and was working towards his degree and maybe even the NFL when in his junior year it all blew up." Bobby paused and Bryce noticed him shake his head as he reflected on what was obviously a bad memory.

"So, what happened?" Bryce asked.

"He had this girlfriend and they were pretty serious, even talking marriage. Then one night he found her fighting off a rapist and he beat the guy half to death."

"Holy shit!" Bryce exclaimed.

"Yeah, they had to piece the bastard back together. But the worst of it was that it all came up against him, he was thrown out of college and the girl disappeared."

"Wait a minute, if he was defending her, how was he thrown out?" The young Deputy blurted out with righteous indignation.

Bobby glanced over at his new hire with the look that said there's always more to a story. "Well when your father is a senator, you can't be the guilty party, can you?" Bobby asked rhetorically.

"Christ, you've got to be kidding." Bryce asked quickly. "A fucking senator's son!"

"Yep, next thing we knew, my cousin was in the Army and gone." Bobby turned back to the front and sighed deeply. "We didn't even hear from him for three years. We never even knew where he went until we read in the papers that he was awarded a Silver Star for bravery."

"Silver Star," Bryce repeated and whistled softly.

"Yep, in Iraq, under fire he pulled four men out of a burning armored personnel carrier. He was hit three times and just kept going back, again and again." Bobby paused and Bryce could see the emotion well up in his boss.

"Jesus Christ Sheriff, I didn't know." Bryce said softly. "Silver Star, I'm surprised he didn't get the Medal of Honor."

"He probably should have, but senators have long memories." The Sheriff replied. "But it really doesn't matter; he didn't want any part of it."

"But if he's a hero, then why? " Bryce left his question hang in the air.

Bobby slowly turned his head and looked deep into the young man's eyes. "It wasn't the four he pulled out that made him the way he is." Sheriff Duncan stopped and looked back towards the dilapidated trailer in front of him. "It was the five that were burned alive when it exploded, that's what makes him the way he is, that memory. The sounds of those five screaming men, it's that sound that makes him drink. Those screams, he hears them day and night, and after it builds up for a few weeks or months, he goes to the bar. Most times he just drinks until it stops but sometimes there's someone who thinks he's the resident tough guy. What they never realize until it's too late is that Donald Duncan is just aching to take out his anger on somebody; and once he starts, he doesn't stop. At least until we get there to pull him off. Unfortunately then all hell breaks loose like it did last month."

Bobby just looked back over at Bryce with a sad expression. "He's in his own world, I just wish people would leave him be. Leave him alone, that's all he wants, just to be left in his misery. I wish it wasn't that way, but it is what it is."

Bryce shook his head slowly. "I'm sorry Sheriff; I guess I do have a lot to learn about things."

"Yeah, you do," The Sheriff replied quietly and then with a last heavy sigh looked to the task that had brought him here. "Well, I guess I'll go talk to him."

"Do you want me to go or stay, Sheriff? " Bryce asked hesitantly.

Bobby stepped out of the car. "You stay here."

"Yes, Sir." Bryce replied with a new found understanding of the man inside that wreck of a house.

Bobby walked around the side of the mobile home and climbed up the rickety set of steps before knocking on the door. 

"WHAT THE FUCK YOU WANT?" A voice bellowed from inside.

"Don it's me."

"ME WHO?"

"Don it's me, Bobby, your cousin, let me in." Sheriff Duncan replied calmly, praying to himself that things stayed calm. He knew that if his cousin came at him, he would have no chance and with only a rookie as his backup, things could go terrible wrong in a hurry.

Suddenly the door was swung open causing Bobby to step back a bit. The huge man who answered the door looked down on him for a few seconds before he finally spoke. "Fine, come in!" 

Entering the home, Bobby was immediately assaulted by the sights and smells before him. The place looked like a tornado had gone through it, food, clothes, beer bottles and trash littered every spot inside the living room. The smell was almost overwhelming. The man who opened the door fit right into the environment.

Donald Duncan glowered down at his younger cousin. Dressed in greasy jeans and a raggedy shirt, it was obvious that it had been a few days since he'd even showered. "What the fuck you want coming here?"

"Don, the judge sent me out here." Bobby replied, wondering, as he always did, what happened to the guy who was his hero growing up. 

"What the fuck for, what did I do now?" he spat out and Bobby could see the fire building in his face and he knew he was only moments away from a fight.

"Don, hold on, settle down." Bobby said softly trying to control the situation. "Have you been getting those notices from the Judge about a blood test?"

"Yea, I seen 'em, so fucking what, somebody wants to sue me or something?" Don said with a scowl.

"Look Don, I have no idea what its all about, but the Judge sent me out here to run you into the hospital for a blood draw. That's all I know." Bobby again spoke quietly, staying calm.

"Fuck 'em, fuck all of them, I ain't doing it." Don stepped towards Bobby, his fists starting to ball up.

"Donny, hold up." Bobby said firmly, using the nickname that he used with Don when they were kids, desperate for some way to diffuse the coming explosion. "Donny, I don't know what it's about, but why don't we just get it done and then we can be finished with it, okay?"

Don relaxed just a bit as he heard the Sheriff use his old nickname and he seemed calmer in his reply. "I have to go to work; your old man will give me hell if I'm late again."

Bobby relaxed as he realized that he may be able to talk his way through this. "I talked to dad all ready, he said he wants you to get this done and then I'll drop you off at the job site, he'll get you home at the end of the day."

"He wants you to get this out of the way, he depends on you at the site." Bobby added in, hoping that the respect that Don had for his dad would help convince him.

Bobby watched the fire slowly fade from Don's eyes and he breathed a huge sigh of relief. "All right, let's go." Don finally said flatly.

Young Bryce's eyes opened wide at the sight of the man he had only heard about coming towards the car. "Oh my fucking God," he muttered under his breath as he finally laid eyes on Donald Duncan for the first time. Deep inside his mind came one overwhelming thought, he owed a huge thank you to whatever force had stopped him from having to go to that door. 

As they got closer, Bryce realized that Don must be at least six foot six inches tall in his steel toed work boots. Even with the Sheriff walking in front of him, he could see most of the man's massive body. Shoulders that seemed four foot wide and though he wore a grimy sleeveless shirt, it was obvious that beneath that covering, was a chest of solid muscle. Tattoos covered most of his arms and those arms caused Bryce to instantly realize that the stories he heard were true. He had no doubt, it would take several men to subdue him if he was riled up. The fact that his boss was leading this mountain of a man out peaceably made him realize that he sure as hell did have a lot to learn.

After Don got into the back of the cruiser, Bobby got in the front and they started for their destination. Bryce remained quiet but he could definitely smell the foul odor of the huge man in the seat behind him. Looking up at a mirror, he could see Don's long stringy unwashed hair and a face that hadn't been shaved in quite a while.

"What are you looking at boy?" Don barked from the back seat at the young deputy.

"Nothing sir, I . . . I just have never met you . . . but I've heard a lot about you."

"Nothing good, I'll bet!" Don said with disdain and then stared out the side window.

Bryce caught a sidewise glance from the Sheriff and decided to stay quiet. Realizing that anything he said at this point could set the huge man off.

A couple of hours later, Bryce was relieved when they dropped off their charge at a construction site. The Sheriff was strangely quiet as they rode back to the station. "Everything go okay in the hospital?" Bryce asked, making conversation.

"Yeah, all taken care of, hopefully whatever this is about is finished and we can leave him be for a while." Bobby said. "I'd rather not have to do that again."

"I . . . ah . . . I guess I want to apologize for my behavior earlier Sheriff." Bryce stammered out.

Bobby looked over at him and gave a small grin. "Don't worry about it Bryce, just remember that writing tickets and arresting people isn't what this job is really all about. What we do is keep the peace, as long as we can do that, the rest takes care of itself."

But unfortunately for Sheriff Duncan, three months later found him with young Bryce, parked outside of that same run-down mobile home.

"How do you want to handle this Sheriff?" Bryce asked quietly. 

Bobby Duncan glanced over at his young deputy, "I guess you're not as eager this time, huh?" He asked with a small grin.

"No I'm not." Bryce admitted. "But I've learned a lot boss, and whatever you need me to do, I'm ready to do it."

Bobby stared at the broken down mobile and tried to come up with a plan, unfortunately he knew far too well what the probable outcome of this day was to be. 

Finally he seemed to come to a decision. "Bryce, here are the ugly facts, I can't take him and neither can you." The Sheriff admitted to his young deputy. "The only real chance we have is for me to go in alone, if you hear us going at it, call for backup."

"All right Sheriff, but we could just call for backup now?"

"Hell no! If he sees us all roll up on him; he'll be ready and it'll be a melee!"

Bryce nodded his head, he had learned a lot in the last few months. The most important being that even though his boss was the youngest Sheriff in the state, he knew what he was doing. "After I call, do you want me to come in?"

"No, you stay here and wait for help." The Sheriff replied staring out at the mobile home.

"Sheriff, I can handle myself." Bryce replied confidently, but without a hint of his former arrogance.

Bobby turned to the young Deputy, choosing his words carefully. "Bryce, I know you can. But here's the thing, I don't think if it comes down to it, he'll seriously hurt me." Turning back to the front he continued. "If you go in, he could beat the hell out of you before I can stop him."

Bryce took a deep breath. "I understand Sheriff, but - . "

"No buts Bryce, when this day is over, I don't want anyone maimed or dead. That includes you, me or him."

"I got it Sheriff, first sound of trouble I call for help, then I wait for 'em."

Bobby Duncan nodded his head, took a deep breath, and then got out of the car and headed towards the rickety steps. As he walked, he couldn't shake the feeling of impending doom. His cousin had been quiet lately, staying to himself, out of trouble and that meant he was bursting for a fight. Why the Judge wanted him there this morning was beyond him, he had asked, but the Judge told him to get him and have him there at nine, no reason given.

Bobby knocked on the door and stepped back.

"GO AWAY." He heard from inside.

"Don it's me Bobby, let me in."

"WHAT THE FUCK YOU WANT NOW!"

"I need to talk to you."

"FUCK YOU, GO AWAY!"

Bobby took a deep breath and knocked again. "GO AWAY!" he heard repeated.

"Don, open up." Bobby said calmly again, hoping to keep the peace.

Suddenly the door flew open and Bobby found himself face to face with his red faced cousin. "I TOLD YOU TO LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE!"

"Don, calm down, I need to talk to you."

Don pulled himself up to his full height and glared down at his young cousin. His hands were flexing and starting to ball up into fists but the Sheriff didn't back away or even flinch. There they stood for several long seconds before the big man finally turned and walked back into the house.

Sheriff Duncan stepped into the mess and stood watching Don for any sign of aggression. He was scared but knew that if he backed off now, there would be trouble. Even though it was only eight in the morning, he saw Don grab a can of beer and take a healthy swig, then slam it down onto the filthy countertop, his anger clearly building.

Turning back towards the Sheriff, Don finally spoke up. "All right, you're in; now what the fuck do you want this time?" 

"Don, Judge Baker wants you in his courtroom at nine." The Sheriff said calmly.

"So what, he can kiss my fucking ass!" Don spat back at him.

"I have to get you there, I don't have a choice."

"How many guys you bring with you?" Don replied with a scowl.

"I have a young deputy in the car, but I came in here alone."

"You shouldn't have cause I ain't going. So what are you gonna do now?" Don snarled out at the Sheriff.

Bobby stood in the middle of the pig sty that Don called home and contemplated his options. Finally he spoke slow and calm to the angry man. "I'm going to help you get cleaned up, get in some decent clothes and take you in to see what the judge wants."

Don just stared at him, bewildered by his reply. "Why in the hell do you think that's going to happen?" he finally asked.

"Because I owe you and you owe the judge." Bobby answered calmly.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Don asked with a smirk.

"Donny, Judge Baker is a good man and if it wasn't for him you'd be in prison. He has been incredibly lenient with you and has always looked out for you; I think you owe him the benefit of the doubt."

Don looked down at his feet for a moment before raising his eyes back to his cousin. "You're right about that, he has been pretty good to me, damn if I know why."

"You don't know?" Bobby asked suspiciously.

Don shook his head slowly so Bobby continued. "Judge Baker was an Infantry Company Commander in Vietnam, came back, went to law school and ended up a judge. He has a soft spot for you Donny, I believe you owe him one."

Don seemed to soften and Bobby could see some of the hostility leaving him. "Company Commander huh? Maybe that does explain why he puts up with me. Could be you're right."

Bobby could see him absorbing that bit of information until he finally replied, his voice quieter now. "But . . . but what's he want with me Bobby?" 

"I honestly don't know, I asked but he wouldn't tell me. All he said was to bring you to his court 9:00 AM, Monday morning. He did say it's just a formality, so maybe it's nothing, let's get you presentable and get this over with." Bobby answered wondering to himself if he was going to actually get this done without a battle.




Six Weeks of Grace Pt. 01



Don seemed to just stand and consider the Sheriff's answer, it was obvious that he was struggling with an internal question, did he want to go in peacefully or was this going to be just a good excuse for a brawl. Suddenly, something seemed to click and his head shot up to peer at Bobby. "Wait a minute, what do you mean you owe me?"

Now it was Bobby's turn to look down at his feet and become sheepish. "I owe you for everything I have."

"What the hell you talking about, you don't owe me NOTHING." Don spat out and Bobby could see the disbelief in his face.

Suddenly the Sheriff stepped closer to the big man and stuck his finger straight into his huge chest. "Don't owe you NOTHING huh? That's BULLSHIT and I'm tired of hearing it from you, I've heard it most my fucking life. Who was it who looked out for me when I'd get picked on in school, who came home from college to help me with my school work so I could graduate? Damn man, you even convinced some college girl to fuck me so I wasn't a virgin when I finished High School!"

Don stared down at his younger cousin before his face started splitting into a wide grin. "Yeah and you wanted to marry the girl the next day!

Bobby couldn't help himself as he started laughing hysterically. He tried to catch his breath as he was able to just squeak out. "She was fucking hot!"

Donny joined in his laughter for a few minutes until they both had tears in their eyes. Finally as they got themselves under control; Don slapped him on the shoulder and said he would be out in a few minutes.

Bobby left him there and walked back out to the car, still snickering about their conversation. Bryce was standing by the cruiser with a surprised look on his face. "Damn Sheriff, I heard noises, so I snuck up there expecting you two to be fighting and you guys were having a hell of a laugh. What was so funny?"

The Sheriff just shook his head. "Bryce, someday I'll tell you . . . but it sure as hell ain't gonna be today!"

"Is he coming out?"

Climbing into the car the Sheriff replied with a grin. "He'll be out in a few minutes."

They waited in silence until the big man appeared. He had obviously showered but didn't shave. His hair was in a ponytail, his beard still ratty looking and needing a trim. He had on a pair of jeans that seemed fairly clean but he had chosen a button down shirt with no sleeves. His massive arms were on full display with each one heavily adorned with colorful tattoos. The work boots he wore completed a look that was intimidating to anyone who took in the sight.

Getting into the back seat of the patrol car, Don couldn't help one last comment to his cousin. "She was pretty hot!"

Young Bryce was astounded as the two men started laughing again, he couldn't help wondering about what had gone on in that old trailer house.

At the courthouse, Bobby pulled into the parking lot. After he and Don got out he looked to his young deputy. "Bryce, take the car back to the station, I'll call you when we're done."

"Okay Sheriff, will do." Bryce replied, happy to be away from the menacing Donald Duncan. 

After the car pulled away, the two men stared at each other for a few seconds before Bobby finally spoke. "Well, let's get this over with."

As they entered the building and walked down the hall, their fellow patrons looked on the pair as if there had been some kind of a mistake. The sight of the Sheriff walking side by side with what was so obviously a criminal caused the other visitors to gasp and scurry away. Both could hear the comments from some of them that 'that man should be in handcuffs!' Bobby kept a close watch on Don as they walked through the courthouse and into the elevator. This was, in fact, the first time in years that Don had been in the building when he wasn't handcuffed. Even though he seemed calm, the Sheriff could see that the looks and comments were beginning to anger his cousin. As they stepped into the elevator and turned back towards the door, two sharply dressed young lawyers started to step in. Suddenly they stopped and started to back away.

"We'll take the next one, better company!" one of them blurted out.

Before the Sheriff could even react, Don reached out an enormous hand and grabbed the man. In only a split second, a furious Donald Duncan had a fist full of expensive suit.

Instantly, the young lawyer felt himself snatched off his feet and pulled into the elevator. Bobby was momentarily stunned by the sight of him sailing through the air and his mind was working feverishly to try to figure out how to stop his worst nightmare as it unfolded right before his eyes.

Pushing him against the wall, Don glared down at the terrified young man. "You got something to say to me?"

"Noooo . . . noo . . . sir!" The smartly dressed lawyer squeaked out.

"Damn it Don, let him go!" Bobby hissed out, awakening from his shock. He knew there was no way he could physically stop Donald Duncan if he truly wanted to hurt his frightened prey.

Just as the doors started to close, Don casually tossed the man back out of the elevator. He laughed as the man lost his feet and ended up sprawled out on the lobby floor.

"Fuck Don, you know you're in the courthouse don't you?" Bobby asked him when the doors finally closed.

"So what, he pissed me off, who the hell does he think he is anyway?" Don answered, shrugging his shoulders, obviously annoyed with the situation.

Bobby was still shaking his head as the doors opened and they walked to the courtroom.

Ben Roberts was standing outside the door as they approached. Ben had been a fixture at the courthouse for many years and he'd been a bailiff for as long as anyone could remember. He was up there in years but still had the professional appearance and demeanor that demanded respect. Even though he had dealt with Don before, he stood tall as the Sheriff led his imposing cousin up to the courtroom.

"Hold up there boys." He said as the two men approached the door. He nodded his greeting at the Sheriff and then turned and looked up into the face of an obviously annoyed Donald Duncan. "Don, you have to go in alone, the judge has closed the courtroom for this action."

"What?" the Sheriff threw out, disappointed that he would not be able to sit in and see what this was all about. He was also thinking of the scene that had just taken place in the elevator; the thought of an angry Donald Duncan losing control in the courtroom was damn frightening to say the least.

"Not my call, the Judge ordered it." Ben replied.

Glancing up at the hulking figure beside him, the Sheriff turned back to the Bailiff. "I'm not sure this is a good idea, he understands I'm the Sheriff right?"

"He told me specifically that this was a closed hearing, family only." Ben said.

"I'm also his cousin." Bobby quickly retorted.

"It's not his family that's the issue." Ben said very succinctly.

Don and Bobby looked at each other and then back at the old Bailiff. Ben saw the question coming from both of them and held up his hand. "Boys, you know I am not at liberty to explain, those are the orders and that is that." He said flatly.

Don looked over at Bobby. "Look Bobby, I can handle this, I'll be all right."

"Donny -" The Sheriff started.

"I'll be all right." Don quickly interrupted him.

The Sheriff knew the decision was out of his hands and he simply shrugged his shoulders and sat down on a bench across from the courtroom. "I'll be right here when you come out, okay?" 

Don understood the implication and simply nodded to him, knowing that his cousin was ready to come charging in at the first sign of trouble. Turning to the door, he looked back to the Bailiff and Ben led him into the courtroom and motioned for him to have a seat at a table facing the Judge's bench.

He sat there quietly for a couple of minutes, still trying to figure out what this was all about. He remembered getting several letters from the court and some more from a law firm, but he simply tossed them in a pile without opening them. Finally looking around, he saw a couple people sitting behind him and a couple more sitting in the gallery on the other side of the room. He noticed that there were four people standing behind the other table, these must be his opponents, he reasoned. There was an older man and two younger ones, but what caught his eye was a young woman that was among them. Her back was to him and he noticed that she was tall, thin and shapely with long brown hair that went down her back. As a man, he couldn't help himself as he looked on appreciatively at her figure.

But watching them, he couldn't shake the feeling that someone else was staring at him. As he looked carefully behind the small group, his eye caught a face looking back at him. She seemed about six or seven years old and was peering at him intently. She was dressed up in nice clothes and her long blonde hair was in a ponytail. She had a sad expression on her face as she looked him over and he couldn't help feeling a bit embarrassed under her gaze. Her disapproval seemed evident to him and though he lived with that daily, he couldn't understand why her opinion bothered him. He was used to people not approving of him, his appearance or his lifestyle, but there were damn few who would risk saying anything about it. He couldn't suppress a small chuckle as he thought of the snide little worm he snatched up earlier; he bet it would be a while before that little bastard insulted someone again.

Yet staring back at her, he also couldn't shake another feeling, the thought that he knew her. The curve of her face, those eyes staring back at him, the long blonde hair tied up in a pigtail, all seemed so familiar but yet different. He knew he had never met her and yet, it was as if he recognized her from somewhere in his past. 

As these thoughts were floating around in his mind, he was surprised to see the little girl get up from her seat and walk over to him. She stopped in front of him, their eyes almost level, her standing and him sitting down. He was shocked that she would approach him after the way everyone normally scurried away from him.

She wrung her hands for a moment and finally seemed to gather her courage. "Are you my daddy?" She asked quietly.

Don's jaw dropped and his eyes opened wide. "Ah . . . what?" he managed to stutter out.

"They don't tell me anything but I heard them say my daddy was going to be here today and are you him?" She asked her voice rising as she finished her question.

"Ahmm . . . I . . . I . . . I don't -" Don started again but quickly stopped as the words just didn't seem to come out.

"My mommy and grandpa and grandma went up to heaven and I'm all alone now." She said, her voice getting lower again as her face registered a sadness that pierced Don's heart.

"GRACE, Grace, get away from that man!" The young woman exclaimed as she came rushing over and grabbed the little girl by the arm. "You have to stay away from him, he's a BAD man," She told her as they returned to their side of the room. 

Don's eyes caught the young woman's face and he could see the contempt for him in her eyes. Normally he couldn't care less but for some reason, he felt a twinge of regret over the way he was dressed for his appearance in the courtroom.

Suddenly before he could even think any more about the incident, Ben Roberts spoke up to gain everyone's attention. "All rise, this court is now in session, the Honorable Judge Joseph P. Baker presiding."

Don stood with everyone else as the Judge entered and took his seat.

"Be seated everyone." Judge Baker said firmly. Everyone took their seat, Don dropping into his, still stunned by the events of the last couple minutes.

"Your honor, I ask that an immediate -", the oldest of the group of lawyers stood and started speaking.

The judge looked over at Don and then interrupted the distinguished looking gentleman firmly. "Mister Duncan . . . it's good to see you here this morning. I hope that your appearance here came without incident." He said with a smile.

Don rose to his feet quickly as he remembered the conversation with his cousin. Now with the knowledge of the Judge's past, Don found a new measure of respect for the man sitting at the big desk in front of him. "Yes your honor, the Sheriff was kind enough to offer me a ride in this morning. I was preparing to go to work, so I apologize if I'm not dressed appropriately, I truly mean no disrespect to you personally sir."

The Judge smiled gently and nodded at Don. He understood the meaning clearly, Donald Duncan couldn't care less for the court itself but did for the man heading it. "None taken." He replied before turning back to a very ruffled attorney.

"Now, Mister Evans, I understand that we are here today to conclude the business at hand. Do you have all of the documents completed?"

"Your honor, we do not." the attorney started and he immediately saw the judge's face register a frown to that statement. "If I may your Honor? The fact is that we have been unable to contact Mister Duncan, he has refused to answer our many letters or return our calls. We had no reason to believe he would show up today. For that reason, I ask that the court issue an immediate ruling on this matter under the specifications that we have outlined in the documents before you."

The judge peered down at the attorney for several seconds and it was clear to everyone in the courtroom that he was not happy. "Mister Evans, it was my understanding when you asked for this hearing that all of this was worked out and I just needed to issue an order that had already been agreed to by all parties. Are you telling me that this is not the case?"

"Your honor, we tried to contact Mister Duncan but he refused to cooperate, so we asked for this hearing so you could sign the order as written. As I said, frankly we are surprised that he is even here today."

During the exchange Don's head was spinning. He kept looking back and forth as they talked without any idea of what the conversation was all about. Finally, the judge seemed to accept the situation and decide to move forward. 

"Mister Duncan." The judge said to get his attention. "Are you prepared to give up all rights to the minor child Grace Warren?"



Six Weeks of Grace Pt. 02



"I . . . what?" Don blurted out, stunned as the question hit him like a freight train. Grace Warren is what the Judge said, Warren was her last name. Another wave hit him as Warren was the last name of the only girl he had ever loved. Could she be Libby's child! But why would he have to give up rights to her daughter? Mommy went to heaven, that was what the little girl said. "Libby," he whispered quietly as the implication came to him "Libby, oh God Libby, no Libby, no."

Sinking into his seat, he barely noticed the voice from the attorney starting again. "Your honor if I may. We do not believe that Mister Duncan is the type of man to have contact with, let alone raise a young girl."

The lawyer continued on, but it became a blur to Don as he buried his face in his hands. Elizabeth Warren, the girl he had loved so much, was gone, this time for good. The memories he had tried so hard to suppress came rushing back. The wonderful times with Libby, their long walks together, talking late into the night, making love under the stars, the plans of marriage, of family, those were great memories. But then the other memory came through, the rage he felt as he watched the woman he loved fighting off another man, the madness that swept through him as he pummeled her attacker until he was a bloody pulp, the hands tackling him, pulling him away. Then the worst, the aftermath, dismissed from school and Libby gone. He had tried to find her, but she had disappeared. With nowhere left to turn, he joined the Army. 

He felt the tears run down his face and he wiped them away. The lawyer was still going on about what a terrible person he was, how unfit he was to raise a child when another dot connected. The blood test! The blood test showed Grace was his daughter; turning to her, he saw why she looked so familiar. It was Libby, that was what he saw in her face, younger but the same features, the same face, it was Libby's little girl. Libby's and his!

Suddenly as he stared at her, she looked back at him and he saw that sadness again in her face. The lawyer kept rambling on as Don looked over at him, then he turned to the Judge and then back to the forlorn little girl looking back at him. Catching her eyes, he saw another young girl in them, Libby, and it was as if a switch was thrown inside of his heart!

"NO DAMN IT NO!" He blurted out forcefully. His exclamation suddenly halting the voice across the room. Shaking his head, Don got to his feet, knowing what he had to do. He would not allow his daughter to be abandoned the way he had been, left to fend for herself, alone in the world. She had a father and he was damn sure going to be her father. He had failed Libby once, for whatever reason this chance had come to him, he would not fail her again.

"YOUR HONOR, I WANT MY DAUGHTER!" He bellowed out, momentarily stunning everyone in the room.

Looking over, Don saw the one person that was not stunned, Grace. She looked back at him with a huge smile that melted his heart and took away any doubt from him. Turning back to face the Judge he repeated himself calmly. "I want my daughter." 

Judge Baker looked down at the hulk of a man standing before him and wondered what the hell he was going to do now. On one hand this was the little girl's father, on the other, he was one of the most angry and violent men to ever step into his courtroom. It was only through good luck, and the Judge's respect for what Don had gone through, that saved him from serious prison time. Several times in the past years he had come before him and the Judge had been easy on him, hoping against hope that something would calm him before someone died at his hands. The Judge wondered each and every time that he let him off lightly, whether that decision would be the one to result in a terrible tragedy.

But this was something entirely different, a young child placed in the hands of a man of Donald Duncan's temperament. No, this was a step the Judge could not allow. "I will see you all in chambers," nodding towards Grace, "without an audience." Before anyone could even react, the Judge disappeared.

Ten minutes later they were all crowded into the Judge's office. "Your honor, I believe we have made our case that Mister Duncan is unfit to care for a child, I believe his outburst is a testament to that fact." The older lawyer said, looking with obvious contempt at Don.

Don bristled at the words but then quickly realized that this was not the time for anger. He knew that any hope he had of getting his daughter was going to have to be by his wits and intelligence, not by his brute force. That thought caused him to pause as he saw that he needed a strategy. Quickly he started to think like his former self, a college linebacker and infantry squad leader. 

The plan came to him, he needed to do the unexpected, but first he wanted to whittle down the opposition. "Your honor." He began calmly, but with sincerity in his voice. "It seems to me that it is four to one here, and with the small office and much to discuss, may I suggest that instead of dealing with a pack of lawyers, we may be better served if there is just three of us."

Judge Baker looked at Don in surprise, amazed that he had allowed the lawyers remark to roll off of him and was instead presenting a very logical point.

"Your honor, surely you are not going to take advice from." The lawyer began.

"Mister Evans!" The judge said forcefully, cutting him off in mid-sentence. "While we may be in chambers, DO NOT in any way forget who is running this meeting. I will decide when I need advice and who I take it from, do we understand each other?" 

Don held his composure; but he really wanted to laugh out loud as he saw who was being chastised now.

The Judge hesitated for a few seconds and then continued. "Mister Evans, take your team out in the hall and send back one representative to work this out. It can be you or anyone you choose to appoint."

"Your honor I object, we have prepared as a team and I request that we be allowed to continue that way."

"Mister Evans, you choose, we either try to sort this out now with just three of us and the court reporter or I will schedule a full hearing where we will start from scratch and take this from the top." The judge said, knowing full well that the lawyers would not want to risk a full hearing where Donald Duncan might show up with his own attorney!

"No your honor, we will go with your suggestion." Evans hustled them out the door quickly, leaving the two men alone.

"Your Honor -"

Don started but the Judge cut him off. "Don, it would be inappropriate to discuss anything without the other council present."

"I understand Sir." Don replied quietly.

As they waited, Judge Baker looked at Don in a way he never had before. He wondered about the last few minutes' exchange, did Don just lead an experience lawyer right down the path he wanted or was it just dumb luck? Could there be more to this huge man than just the brawn he showed?

But outside in the hallway, there was chaos. "Fuck, I really pissed the judge off!" Evans spat out as they stood in the hallway. "One of you is going to have to handle this."

"Anne!" one of the young lawyers blurted out quickly.

"What?" The woman who was singled out exclaimed.

"Wait a minute, listen, it makes sense."

"How does it make sense? I am the one least familiar with the case." Anne replied.

"You're a woman, mother figure and all that, you've been keeping track of Grace, you can talk better on why you would be a better choice than that psychopath in there."

"Yeah but it's not me, it's about custody to the firm so the firm can determine what's best for Grace." She retorted.

"Hold on, you may have something Paul." Evans jumped back in nodding his head at the young lawyer. "It makes sense Anne, you are a woman and can represent that way, a mother's perspective."

"Look, this is a bad idea, I don't know why I say this, but this guy is smarter than we're giving him credit for." Anne said to the other three. Then turning to the senior partner she added. "He sure got you in trouble in a hurry."

Roger Evans bristled at the young associate calling him out, as a senior partner he was unaccustomed to having an upstart point out a mistake. "You'll do it, damn it!"

"Fine, give me all the files." Anne said and the two junior lawyers breathed a sigh of relief. They cared little whether this was actually going to work, they were just glad if it didn't they wouldn't be blamed.

As for Roger Evans, he realized too late that his anger may have caused another bad decision, a decision that could have consequences that the other three could have no concept of. He could not believe that this had gone so badly, it all seemed too perfect but now it had to be saved before it unraveled completely.

Grabbing Anne before she walked in the door, Roger spoke quietly to her. "Whatever happens, come to some agreement that keeps us out of court, we have to get this settled."

Anne looked at him quizzically. "Don't you think we can win in a full hearing?"

Roger seemed suddenly very nervous as he replied softly. "That's not the point, there is too much at stake for all of us. Just get an agreement!"

Anne Summers walked back into the room wondering about the conversation with the senior partner. She glanced up huge man standing in front of the desk, and then turned to address the judge. "Your Honor, whether there is four of us here or just one, the course is clear, Mister Duncan is obviously unfit to care for a child. We ask that you appoint our firm as guardians of Grace Warren.

The judge eyed the young lady carefully. "That may be miss, however I think we need to start fresh here." He glanced back and forth between the two people standing before him. "Both of you pull up a chair and sit down," motioning to a couple chairs in the room.

Once they positioned the seats before his desk, he spoke to his court recorder. "Miss Haynes, please note that I am joined here today by Donald Duncan and -?"

"Anne Summers, you honor." 

"Anne Summers." The judge repeated. "This is an informal meeting to try to come to an agreement between the parties on the custody of the minor child, Grace Warren."

The formality entered he looked to the two people seated before him before nodding to the young lady.

"Your honor, Mister Duncan is obviously an unfit parent for a young girl. He lives in the worst part of town in a run-down mobile home. He is barely employed, that being only through the benevolence of his uncle. His criminal record shows a continual lack of regard for the law. His appearance here today is shocking to say the least; his arms are adorned with tattoos that are offensive with graphic images and words that are certainly not fit for a child to even see. " She began, looking at Don with disdain.

Taking a deep breath she continued on. "Your honor, if I may point out, you yourself have presided over at least a half a dozen cases with Mister Duncan. He has come before you on multiple cases of Drunk and Disorderly, Public Intoxication, and has been arrested numerous times for acts of violence."

As she was speaking, Don took time to notice her. She appeared to be late twenties, maybe thirty years old. He had noticed that she was tall and thin when he saw her across the courtroom. He remembered her impeccable dress in a black pantsuit that hugged her slight frame. Now up close he saw that she was pretty, not drop dead gorgeous by any means, but just pretty. That was the word, pretty. She had long brunette hair that curled slightly at her shoulders before cascading down her back, her face was thin with a small upturned nose and high cheekbones. Unfortunately her eyes were cold and hard every time she looked over at him. Her lips were full but again seemed to be formed into a sneer as she spoke of him. He couldn't help but wonder what her face would look like if she actually smiled. 

The judge though was taking notice of something else entirely. As Anne rambled on and on about how Donald Duncan was an unfit father and violent criminal, Don sat there passively with a slight smile on his face. The judge knew that bringing him in here was risky and assumed that he would blow up at any moment, and then the decision became an easy one. Yet that was not the case, as the lawyer made stab after stab at his character, Don's demeanor never changed. He sat there stoically awaiting his turn.

"And your honor, in view of all of these facts," Anne concluded. "We ask that you sign the order promptly."

Don sat there calmly as the attorney concluded her presentation. He knew that the only way he could win was to keep himself under control. She was baiting him, but could be baited herself? "Your honor, I'm not an educated attorney but I feel that I should be allowed to answer the charges that this lady is making before you render a decision that will affect MY daughter." He was careful to speak clearly and deliberately, adding special emphasis to the fact that Grace was his daughter. 

The judge looked at Don and was momentarily taken back by the eloquence of his request. "Mister Duncan, you are quite correct, you may make any statements or ask any questions in rebuttal to Miss Summers claims."

"Your honor, Miss Summers claims that I am violent. However I ask if she has any evidence that I have ever perpetrated any violence towards a child." He asked succinctly.

The judge turned towards Anne, who was busy searching through her files. "Ah . . . ah . . . no your honor, however violence is violence." She finally answered smugly.

"Miss Summers are you saying that any violent action is unacceptable for a person who is to raise a child?" Don asked.

"Yes, I would say that, a person who has used violence in the past should not be allowed to be around a child." Anne answered quickly.

Don seemed to consider her answer for a moment. "So Miss Summers, as I used violence in the defense of my country and others in a war zone, you feel that those actions should disqualify me for parenthood?" 

Before she could think, Anne blurted out. "God knows what you Army types did over there against children."

Don turned quickly to the Judge and saw his face turn red. The bit of information that his cousin had given him this morning had proved valuable as he saw the Judge trying to reign in his anger. The fact that the young attorney had just called both Don and the Judge war criminals was plain for both of them to see.

Don couldn't resist a small smile as he watched the Judge's reaction but he pressed on. "Your honor, I admit that I have been in violent confrontations in the past, however never involving children. I would also like to point out that I am a single man who works construction. I do go out with the guys to the bars and have gotten in some trouble; however I do want to add that I did not have a daughter to take care of. That would, of course, change things."

"How would that change things?" Anne blurted out. "How do we know that you wouldn't leave her alone and go drinking? It is obvious that you are unable to control yourself." Her voice rising as she tried to make her point.

"Miss Summers please; it seems YOU are having trouble controlling yourself here." Don said quietly.

Anne couldn't believe she had just stepped right into a trap. She struggled to contain herself as the Judge showed a small smile of amusement. "Your honor, Mister Duncan doesn't know the first thing about the needs of a child." 

The Judge turned to Don as he pondered that statement. "Your Honor, she's right, I don't." He admitted. "But I believe Grace knows what she needs and that's a father."

Anne saw the Judge nod slightly and knew she was losing. "Your honor, this man has no idea how to take care of a little girl!" She threw out quickly.

Don had been waiting for this, he knew it was a gamble and it could actually backfire on him. He had to get the focus off of his violent past and numerous run-ins with the law and get it directed elsewhere. He was taking a chance, but he needed some luck and he'd appraised the young lady for several minutes and felt he could make an educated guess on an important point.

Don saw the opening and jumped on it. "Miss Summers," he asked, "how many children do you have?"

For some reason, Don immediately felt bad asking the question. Anne's demeanor changed instantly and he caught a flash of pain register across her face. Sorrow was in her eyes and he thought he saw them moisten slightly. Quickly though, she threw back her head and regained her composure. "THAT is irrelevant!"

The judge was watching Don intently and missed the pain on Anne's face. However he turned to her and with a nod acknowledged her objection. "Mister Duncan, why do you feel that would be relevant?"

Don took a deep breath to get himself under control, he felt that the tide was with him, so he had to be very convincing as he explained his position. "Your honor, we can go back and forth all day but it seems to me that the real issue is whether I can care for my daughter." He started slowly and after receiving a nod from both the Judge and Anne, he continued. "Miss Summers claims I'm unfit to be a parent because I lack the skills necessary to care for a child."

"That's right your honor," Anne quickly threw out and then silently cursed herself as she realized that Don had once again led her down a trail. In agreeing that his inability to carry for Grace was the issue, he had gotten her to dismiss his violent past.

She knew she made a mistake as the Judge looked over at her and raised an eyebrow. She could see in his expression that he was aware that she had been out maneuvered again.

"You honor, she claims I lack the abilities, I'm simply asking if she's truly aware of what those abilities are." Don answered.

The Judge sat back in his chair and was deep in thought for several minutes. He could not believe the fact that Donald Duncan was sitting in his office calmly and methodically out lawyering an actual lawyer. Add that to the fact that no matter how many insults, slurs and accusations were hurled at him, he had remained in complete control of himself, never raising his voice, or cursing. Looking at him sitting in the chair in his work boots, jeans and sleeveless shirt, he saw only a vicious anti-social criminal. But listening to him clearly state his case with intelligence and eloquence, he saw a well-mannered young man with an obvious high intellect. As to the objection, while it certainly may not hold up in court, at an informal discussion, it certainly may be relative.

The Judge leaned forward in his chair. "Answer the question Miss Summers."

Don again saw that sadness in her eyes before she looked down and softly said. "I have no children."

However she recovered quickly and blurted out with a force that startled both of the men. "But if I did, I would learn how to care for them!"

Don immediately jumped on her answer. "Your honor, I feel as Grace's father, I should be given the opportunity to learn, just as Miss Summers pointed out. "

Don heard the sharp intake of air from Anne as she once again realized she had stepped into another hole. In admitting that she would have to learn to be a parent, she gave Don the chance to claim the same right.

'Your Honor -," Anne said forcefully.

"Enough," the Judge said quickly, cutting Anne off. "I've heard enough."

The Judge paused as he thought of what he could do here. Donald Duncan had built a solid case, he had answered each point and had thoroughly and effectively out argued an attorney from one of the state's top firms. Yes she was a young attorney, but still he had made an impressive argument. 

However, no matter what was said here today, Donald Duncan was an angry and dangerous man who lived in filth and alcohol, putting a young girl in that situation seemed a recipe for a tragedy. At times he lost a bit of sleep showing leniency towards Don but the judge felt his service earned him a bit of a pass. But now, placing a little girl in his hands, could he really do this?




Six Weeks of Grace Pt. 02



The Judge leaned forward in his chair and looked back and forth at the expectant faces in front of him. Turning to his court recorder he said. "Miss Haynes, stop recording."

Looking back at Don he started. "Don, you've made a good case, but I cannot in good conscious award you custody of a little girl."

Don started to speak but the judge put his hand up to stop him before continuing. "Don, listen to me, I know you, I know your history and unfortunately in life, you are haunted by your actions. This isn't a bar fight or a night out drunk damn it, this is a six year old girl. I looked the other way when you busted up some idiot who ran his mouth in a bar, but you hurt her and none of us will ever sleep well again." 

Don hung his head as he had no argument, the Judge was right. The old cliché, you reap what you sow, came to his mind.

Turning to Anne, the Judge noticed a smug look on her face. "You can wipe that look off your face young lady."

Anne's face fell as he continued. "What right do you have to come in here and take a daughter from her father based on supposition and vague predictions? You don't know this man or anything about him. You come in here and basically accuse him of war crimes, do you know that this man was awarded the Silver Star for bravery while your skinny ass was warming a seat in some Ivy League College." At that Anne's head popped up and she looked over at Don in wonder. "That's right; four YOUNG men are alive because of him. Yet you sit here all self-righteous and claim that he is unable to care for a child, I know of at least four families that would tell you how wrong you are!" 

Finished with his tirade the Judge paused as each of the two chastised people awaited his next words.

Nodding to his recorder, "Miss Hayes, pick it up here."

Looking at them both he began again. "This is not an official ruling; this is a Judge offering a settlement." He gave them a stern look as he met each of their eyes in turn. His intent was not lost on them, the look made it clear; this was the way it was to be.

"I propose awarding temporary custody to Mister Duncan with the following VERY specific criteria. Don, you have a week to move out of that pig sty you live in and get something suitable for a little girl. You will call me and give me your new address and Miss Summers will make a complete inspection agreeing to it BEFORE she brings Grace. Next, you will not smoke, consume alcohol, use drugs or curse, DONE, TODAY. You have a job and you will be a model employee, citizen and father. Your Uncle is a personal friend, I will verify with him your work ethic."

Don was leaning forward in his seat as the Judge gave him his orders, however suddenly the Judge turned deadly serious. "Donald Duncan you listen to me RIGHT NOW, I am placing with you the most precious thing I have EVER laid in a man's hands, any and I mean ANY incident and I will take her away and you will NEVER see her again."

Don nodded his head but the Judge was not satisfied. "DONALD DUNCAN . . DO . . . YOU . . . UNDERSTAND?"

Don sat up straight and stared back at the Judge for a moment. "I understand your honor." He answered firmly.

Turning to Anne, he began again. "Miss Summers, next Tuesday, after you are satisfied with the home, you will bring Grace and deliver her to Mister Duncan." He saw her face start to contort in shock as he continued. "When you drop her off, you will get a set of keys to the house. You will have twenty four hour, seven days a week access to inspect the house, Mister Duncan and Grace. If at any time you feel that she is not being cared for properly, you will call me immediately. If she is in immediate danger, you may take her. But let me warn you, if you do, you better be prepared to justify it."

Anne's mouth dropped open as she heard the Judges words, and she tried to regain her composure but Don jumped in first. "Your honor, you mean she can just walk in anytime she wants?"

"Damn right, hell she can move in if she wants to."

"But," Don started.

"But nothing, this or no custody at all." The Judge barked at him.

"Your honor, I object. How can I keep a constant watch on what he does?" Anne asked quickly.

"Your choice Miss Summers, I can schedule a full hearing." The Judge answered back.

Anne thought back to the conversation with the senior partner. "No your honor, this will be fine with us."

Looking over at his recorder, "Miss Haynes, note that we will schedule a hearing in six weeks from next Tuesday, in order to determine permanent placement of the minor child Grace Warren."

"Miss Summers, call me next Monday for Mister Duncan's new address, thank you for helping us make this work." The Judge told her, and with his dismissal, she left the room. 

"Miss Haynes, that's all for now, thank you." After the recorder had also gone, the Judge got up and walked around the desk, and Don got up to meet him. 

"Your honor, I don't know what to say." Don said to him, his face still showing shock over the turn of events.

The judge reached up and put his hand on the big man's shoulder as he looked up at him cautiously. "Son, don't fail me, but for God's sake don't fail her."

Don knew that he meant Grace and then it suddenly hit him; he was a father with a child. "Judge, what do I do now?" He asked sheepishly.

"I don't know Don, but let me tell you this as a parent, get help; you're gonna need it." He replied with a smile.

Don reached out and the Judge shook his hand. He turned and left the room wondering how his life had turned in only a couple of hours.

Walking through the hall he spotted Bobby still sitting on the bench outside the courtroom.

"Jesus Christ what happened?" he asked as Don walked up. "Ben told me you went into the Judge's office. You aren't in trouble are you?"

"Well, I guess I might be." Don said to him with a smile but then he remembered the Judges final words. "Can I buy you lunch?"

"Serious?" Bobby asked in surprise.

"Very . . . let's go." Don replied as he started walking away.

Bobby followed him, shaking his head. Having lunch with Donald Duncan, what could come next he wondered. 

During the next hour, sitting in a small diner down the street, Bobby was astounded as Don laid out the morning's activities.

When he was finished with the story, Bobby was quiet for a while before he finally asked. "So Libby is really dead?"

He could see the tears well up in Don's eyes and he just nodded slightly. "Don, I'm really sorry, I am, that must have been a hell of a way to find out." Bobby said softly. "She was a nice girl."

Again Don nodded and then stared out the window for a few minutes. Without turning back to the Sheriff, he started talking. "What have I done Bobby, how am I going to take care of a little girl, I mean look at me, a little girl, I got so caught up that maybe I should have . . . oh hell I don't know what I should have done."

Bobby looked at his older cousin for a moment before answering. "Maybe, just maybe, you did the right thing for once."

Don quickly turned to face him and so Bobby continued. "Look Don, you have a chance to turn your life back around, to be a dad, to raise a child, to be the man that every one of us always expected you to be."

"Expected!" Don shot back. "Who?"

"Don, all of us, mom, dad, me, we thought you were destined to be something and damn it, this gives you the chance to be something. To be a father."

"How?" Don threw out at him.

"Just like the Judge told you, get help." Bobby said with a chuckle. "Who's the best dad you know?"

"Yours!" Don answered quickly with a grin.

"Damn right! Let's go find him!"

About that time another situation was brewing across town.

"Mister Evans is waiting on you in the main conference room." The receptionist said as soon as she saw Anne walk through the doors of the law firm.

"Let him know I'm back and I'll be in as soon as I get organized." Anne replied as she walked by the desk.

"I'm sorry Miss Summers; he said that he wanted you in there as soon as you walked through the doors."

Anne just stopped and stared at the receptionist as she tried to get her bearings. Although she was still a junior associate, she had never been treated this way in the five years she was with the firm. "Fine," she finally answered and stalked towards the conference room.

Walking in to the room, she was surprised to see Roger Evans peering out the window, nervously playing with the blinds.

"What happened?" He turned and blurted out before she could even set her briefcase down.

"Well hello to you too." Anne replied, with a hint of sarcasm.

Roger ran his hand through his hair nervously. "Sorry, please have a seat."

After they were both sitting down, he once again posed his question.

"The judge wants to give him a chance." Anne answered, her own nervousness now showing. She knew that failure in this firm was not tolerated.

"What!" He exclaimed before getting up and stalking back to the window. "How the fuck did that happen?"

Anne spent the next few minutes explaining the meeting in the Judge's office. She was careful to minimize her mistakes, hoping that she could dodge the condemnation that she thought was surely coming.

"So all we have to do is not approve where he is living and this is all over?" He asked with a huge grin.

"Ah . . . I suppose, but he could move."

"No, I don't think so. Who would rent something nice to that gorilla? He's probably already drunk somewhere. We may never even hear from him again. This'll still work out." Evan's said quickly, obviously thrilled. He knew that it was his loss of control in the Judge's office that caused the predicament they were in now.

"If you think so." Anne replied, glad her boss was taking it so well.

"All right, I will brief the other partners, you just write up your report and be ready to turn down wherever he lives." Roger told her, before dismissing her.

Later as she finished her case notes from the meeting, her mind worked through the conversation in the Judge's office. Shaking her head, she wondered how it had gone so badly. How did that dirty, nasty, greasy, construction worker get the best of her?

Anne thought about her stint with the firm, for five years her work had been impeccable. She had won cases that were considered unwinnable and even when she lost, she had been able to get a better deal for her clients. Her administrative work had been stellar and she felt she was on her way to a partnership. Now she was questioning her own abilities and she was embroiled in a child custody case of all things!

But something else was tickling at her, the lecture she got from Judge Baker and the words that he had spoken. Silver Star for bravery, four young men whose lives were saved by that hulking giant who took her to school today. Could it really be true, was it possible that there was more to this tattooed up monster than it appeared? 

Startled by a thought, she suddenly recalled the words she used right before she went into the Judge's chambers. "I don't know why I say this, but this guy is smarter than we're giving him credit for." She couldn't help but worry about how prophetic those words might become!



Six Weeks of Grace Pt. 03



Mike Duncan couldn't have been more surprised when his son and nephew pulled up outside the temporary office trailer on one of the many construction sites that Duncan Development was working on.

"Dad, we need to talk to you." Bobby told him with a 'cat that ate the canary' look.

"Okay, what about?" Mike answered warily, knowing that his son, the Sheriff, was showing up with Donald Duncan.

"The new dad!" Bobby said with a laugh, while pointing over at Don.

Mike looked back and forth at them before addressing Don. "What the hell did you do now?" 

Later, after repeating the same story to Mike that he related to Bobby and receiving the same condolences, Don waited patiently for Mike's advice.

"All right, first question." Mike began. "So does this mean I have a niece?" A huge smile was on his face as he asked.

"Ah . . . I guess so," Don answered with a small smile of his own.

But then turning serious, Mike went on. "Son, how bad do you want this? No don't just answer, think first. I mean there's wanting a beer because it's hot and then there's wanting a breath of air because you're drowning. I'm asking you, how bad do you want THIS?"

For Don, Mike's question hit him hard and made him think. Did he really want this and could he actually do it, could he give up his lifestyle and devote himself to the care of this little girl. He had to suppress a small laugh as he realized that in reality his lifestyle was a complete and utter mess. Here he was twenty nine, about to be thirty years old and living in a run-down mobile home surrounded by filth. Many nights his only solstice was booze and fighting. But did he have it in him to do this he wondered, could he summon the strength it would take to not only change himself, he would have to learn how to care for a child. He would have to find a discipline that while he knew was in him, it had actually been many years since he had seen it.

Slowly his head started to shake back and forth as he realized what this would take and what it would do to his life. But then, just as he was at the point of seeing the futility of even trying, a face came to him. He saw Grace sitting in that courtroom, a lonely little girl who had lost everyone she loved and the smile that came across her face when he told the judge that he wanted HIS daughter. HIS daughter damn it, not somebody else's, HIS daughter. A daughter he had conceived with a woman he loved more than he could ever describe. 

Suddenly his head stopped its side to side motion and he locked his eye's on Mike's. "I want this like that breath of air!" He exclaimed.

Mike returned the look and spoke with resolution. "Then what do you need son?"

Don looked from Mike to see Bobby grin and nod his head slightly. Suddenly he felt it was possible, he had found the help the Judge advised him to. He also couldn't help but feel a little bit of remorse when he thought of what he put them through and how they were still there for him when he needed them. "First, I need to say how sorry I am for what I -. " 

Don started but was quickly cut off by the man who had taken him in and made him feel like his own son. "Don't even start that, you want to make amends for the past, you do it by making this work." Mike started, "besides, until my ugly ass son over there finds someone who would actually marry him, maybe I want to spoil a little girl." He said with a chuckle. "Now, what do you need?"

Don just shook his head again at the way Mike was looking out for him. "Okay, I need a place to live that is right for her, remember I told you that fucking bitch lawyer has to approve it."

"Uh, remember what the judge said about cursing!" Bobby threw out at Don.

"Ah, yeah right, so that nice young lady has to approve it." Don corrected himself.

Mike had been thinking while the other two were focused on Don's language skills. "Don, there's that new housing development that we're doing a few miles from where you live now, it has a model home on site."

Don nodded, wondering where Mike was going with that statement. 

"It already has some furniture, you could move in there. Use it as an office and you could run those crews over there, it will be a couple of years before we finish that up." Mike said as he rubbed his chin thinking it through.

"What!" Don exclaimed, "Move it there, that's a half a million dollar home. Besides, what would we use as the model then?"

Bobby interrupted. "That's a great idea, look, think about it, you have to keep the place spotless anyway because of that . . . nice young lady, so it can still be a model." He couldn't keep the smile off his face as he mentioned Don's nemesis.

"But," Don jumped in. "I can't afford that!"

Mike just shook his head. "You let me worry about that, you run the crews, do tours and take care of that little one."

Don again was stunned but had to agree as it did make sense, he was just awed by his Uncle's generosity. He made a pact with himself right then and there, that this man would get more than he paid for when it came to work effort from him.

"How much money do you have?" Mike asked.

Don pondered for a minute and then surprised both of them. "I have thirty thousand sitting at the house."

"Really?" Bobby asked, surprised by that admission.

Don nodded and then their surprise turned to shock as he answered. "There is a brand new Harley Davidson Ultra that I just bought."

"Don, I can loan you some cash." Mike offered quickly, knowing how long Don had saved for that new bike. "I know how important that new Harley is to you."

'NO!" Don blurted out. "No, you've done enough, this is my choice. Maybe it's time I take a look at what's really important to me."

Mike nodded then added. "All right, you get yourself squared away at home and I'll get the place ready for you."

Don looked up in surprise, "What about work?" he asked.

"I'm giving you two weeks paid vacation, a week to get ready and a week to get her settled in, then I'll have you on supervision on that new development."

"Mike, I appreciate it, but -" Don started.

"No, this will help us both. That development is lagging and I've been thinking I need someone to oversee it. I have several separate crews there and they're just not working together." Mike said, interrupting him.

With that, Don stood up and when they all got to their feet he reached out for Mike's hand. When Mike grasped it in a firm handshake, Don added quietly. "Thanks . . . Dad."

Both Mike and Bobby looked at him in surprise as this was the first time that Don had ever referred to Mike as Dad. Gathering himself and with a small tear in his eye, Mike replied. "You're welcome, son."

Two hours later, Don stood in the middle of his living room wondering how he had ever lived in such chaos. Why had it never bothered him before he wondered, as he looked at the debris littering one end to the other of the old mobile home? Clothes were strewn everywhere and there was no way to tell clean from dirty. The kitchen was the worst with stinking dishes and food covering every available space. Wandering to the refrigerator, he opened it up and saw a new six pack of beer amongst the cartons of rotting food.

Reaching in, he suddenly stopped. "No" he said out loud. "I've got better things to do." 

Three days later, Don lay exhausted on a clean bed. He had lost count of the number of trips he made to the dumpster and the washer and dryer had run almost continuously during that time. As he fell asleep, a last look around showed everything packed in boxes, ready for the move to his new home.

The next morning a knock on his door woke him up and he answered it without yelling at the visitor, a small smile crept on his face as he realized it.

Mike Duncan stood on his stoop and was holding up a small key ring for Don to see. Behind him grinning was Bobby.

"Come on in!" Don said taking the keys from Mike. Once they got inside, Bobby let out a whistle as he looked at the way everything was cleaned and boxed up.

"I can't tell you what this means to me." Don said quietly as he looked down at the keys to his new home.

"None of that now," Mike replied. "What I see here makes me glad I can help."

Bobby laid a hand on Don's shoulder and gave him a serious look. "You know, Mom would really be proud of you." He said sincerely.

Don looked into his cousin's face and he could feel his eyes moisten. "I . . . ah . . . I'm sorry, I should've been there." Bobby's mom had died from breast cancer while he was in Iraq, he didn't find out until he was back in country. It had always bothered him that he wasn't there to see her before she passed away; she had been the mother he always wished for. 

Bobby just shook his head. "You were where you needed to be, she knew that." He said softly. 

"Well!" Mike threw out, trying to change the subject before his own emotions overtook him. "Are we getting this show on the road, do you need some help moving?"

"I got it, thanks though." Don replied. "I have another errand or two before I start with that."

After they left, Don took a deep breath and let it out, he was not looking forward to today, but he knew this was the next step.

"Are you fucking serious?" Asked the manager of the local Harley Davidson shop as Don stood with the keys and title to his pride and joy.

"Yeah I am." Don replied. "I have almost forty thousand in it, I'll take thirty cash today."

"Man, you've been too good a customer, if you need some money, we can finance this back for you."

Don seemed deep in thought for a moment. "No, I appreciate it, but this is the way it needs to be."

"Don, look, we've been friends for a while, if you need help, I'm here." He said sincerely. "What can I do?"

Don just shook his head. "I appreciate it, I do, but I just found out I have a young daughter and I'm going to be taking care of her."

His old friend rubbed his chin and then stood up. "All right, I'll be right back."

Looking at the new Harley, Don wondered for the hundredth time if he was doing the right thing, but as before, that little face with the big smile came to him. He was still thinking of her when his buddy returned.

"A little girl huh?" He asked as he sat back down across from Don.

Don nodded. "Six years old!" 

"Wow, six, you have your work cut out for you!"

Turning serious, he started to hand Don a check and then stopped. "Before I give you this, I want to let you know something. That bike goes in the back for six months." He began to Don's surprise. "Look we rode together, partied hard and I ain't forget that you saved my stupid ass when my mouth overrode my good sense in that bar that night. Plus, we served man, different times, different wars, but we served. That bike goes in the back for six months; you want it, we figure something out, got it!"

Don reached out and took the check wondering how in the hell he suddenly had all this help. "I . . . . ah . don't know what to say, but well, just thanks!"

All Don got was a gentle nod of a head and he got up and left quickly as his emotions were tying him up in a knot.

His next stop was a bit easier as he traded in his old beat up pickup for a late model SUV. It had some nice options but the biggest was that it would get Grace around safety.

A few hours later he arrived at his new home, his SUV was loaded with boxes and bags as he prepared to move in. Unlocking the door and stepping inside; he just stood in wonder as he took in the view. Model homes sometimes take a beating but this one was sparkling. He realized that Mike had stepped up again for him, the walls were freshly painted and the carpets still smelled from a recent shampooing. Gone was the cheap furniture that was there before, all had been replaced with top of the line furnishings. Nice artwork adorned the walls and it was obvious that a decorator had been involved. Once again Don couldn't believe how everyone was helping him, especially the way he had been over the last few years.

As he brought in a bag of clothes, he dropped it off in the fully furnished master bedroom. Moving down the hall he looked in at a small guest bedroom and then to another larger one at the end of the hall. Again he couldn't help but be shocked as he took in the sight. What had been a plain vanilla bedroom had been transformed. The walls were painted a shade of pink, and were decorated with cutouts of cartoon characters. But the center of attention was a huge kid's bed with an attached desk and chair. A matching dresser and nightstand were also there. Don couldn't help but notice that the bedding and curtains all matched with the cartoon theme.

Shaking his head for what seemed to be the hundredth time this past week, he marveled at how that old contractor had made sure his little girl's room was perfect. "Yeah right, tough guy huh?" He said out loud as he looked around the room.

Two days later, Don was all moved in, everything put away and the refrigerator filled with what he hoped would be kid approved meals. 

He was just putting the last of the groceries away when he saw someone moving around the back yard. "Hey", he yelled out as he approached two guys bent over a huge box.

"Hey yourself, come help!"

Don was surprised when his cousin and young Bryce stood up as he approached. "What the hell are you two doing here?"

"Trying to figure out these damn Chinese instructions." Bobby said to him as he handed him a booklet.

Don looked down into the box and saw what looked like a thousand pieces of something, but it took him looking back at the booklet before he realized it was a huge play center. He saw the grin on Bobby's face. "You didn't have to do this." He told him as it came to him what it was.

"Yeah, well as they say, no good deed goes unpunished, look at the mess of parts!" Bobby said as he motioned to the box. "This ain't everything, I have all the big pieces still in the truck!"

Several hours later, the three men stood in the yard looking over the massive play set. It had taken them what seemed to be all night to get it finished. Don had gotten beers and pizza to get them through, but remembering the Judge's words, he stuck with just a couple bottles of water.

Bobby had gone into the house for a bathroom break and Don was enjoying the view of a job well done. Looking over at Bryce, he knew that he was the one in the car with Bobby when they went to see the Judge that fateful day. But it also occurred to him that they hadn't really spoken all night other than what was needed to work on the project. "How'd you get roped into this?" He finally asked.

Bryce looked back at the big man before answering hesitantly. "I volunteered."

"Really? Why?"

"Part of my training I guess." 

Don was quiet for a moment, mulling over his answer. "I guess I don't understand."

Bryce seemed to pause, contemplating how he wanted to explain it without getting himself into a situation he didn't want to be in, that being riling up Donald Duncan. "The first day we came to get you, the Sheriff told me a lot about you."

"He did!" Don answered, a bit of anger in his voice. "Why would he do that?"

Bryce hesitated again before he decided to just charge ahead. "He told me that I should know all I can about someone I might have to arrest."

"Ah, I see." Don replied with a smirk. "You were itching to arrest me, drag me out of my house?"

Bryce looked over at Don warily. "At first yes, but after we talked, I guess I just wanted to understand you."

"Do you understand me now?"

"Some, the Sheriff told me a bit but I also did my own research."

"What did you research about me?" Don asked quietly, his anger obviously subsiding.

"I read your citation." 

"Citation?"

"Your Silver Star Citation." 

Don stood quietly as Bryce worried about his confession. "That's not me, that was just something I did . . and . . . well . . . not very successfully at that." He finally answered, almost too quiet for Bryce to hear.

"I think you're wrong." Bryce blurted out. Don jerked his head around and Bryce caught the harsh look in his eye. "You're wrong, because what you did that day is the same thing you're doing now."

"How's that?" Don asked skeptically.

"You're putting your life on the line for another. Then you put your guy's lives before your own, now you're putting a little girls life first, to me it's the same."

Don pondered what Bryce said for a couple minutes as he mulled over Bryce's words. "I . . . ah . . . I appreciate that. Thanks." 

Bryce just nodded to him and tipped his beer to Don as a small salute, the show of respect not lost on the big man. After a minute though, Don just couldn't resist another jab. With a chuckle in his voice he brought it up again. "So you never answered my question, were you really going to drag me out of my house that day?"

Bryce saw the smile on his face so he started laughing a bit as he answered. "Yeah, about that, I was right up to the moment I saw you come out with the Sheriff, then . . . not so much!" 

Don laughed along with him for a bit, impressed that the young man had been honest and not tried to impress him with false bravado. Turning to face him directly, Don stuck out a huge hand towards the young Deputy. Bryce recognized the gesture and took it and they exchanged a firm handshake. 

"I'm glad I came over." Bryce said as they released hands.

"As a friend, you're always welcome." Don replied solemnly.

"Thanks" Bryce answered with a smile, Don's meaning clear to him.

"Hey are we done? I need to get some sleep!" Bobby exclaimed as he walked back to the pair.

"What do I owe you for this?" Don asked him.

"Owe me? What the hell you talking about? Can't a guy buy a gift for his niece?"

"Sure?" 

"See ya!" Bobby said as he motioned to Bryce and they left quickly.

Driving back, the Sheriff watched his young Deputy deep in thought. "I was coming back out and saw you two talking, so I waited. Have a good conversation?"

Bryce looked over at his boss. "He's nothing like I thought he would be."

"Is that good or bad?"

"Good, I just . . . well I expected him to . . . oh I don't know what I expected!"

"You expected him to be some uneducated, foul mouthed monster, just waiting to beat somebody's ass for looking crossways at him."

"Honestly, yeah, that's exactly what I thought." Bryce admitted.

"But instead you found a mild mannered, well-spoken, very large man who would lay down his life for a friend."

Bryce nodded as the word 'friend' reminded him of what Don said tonight. "So which is he really Sheriff?" He asked hesitantly.

Bobby pondered the question for a moment before finally replying. "I honestly don't know Bryce, but God help us if it's still the first one."

"Yeah," Bryce answered as they both thought of the consequences of that possibility. 

Don slept in a bit after the late night chore he had. In the morning, he finished up puttering around his new home. Putting the last few things away, he came upon a box of photos he hadn't seen in years. Sitting at his desk in the office, he slowly went through them. The first were just a few from his childhood, but then he came upon several envelopes of pictures that caused his heart to ache. There she was, Libby. Picture after picture of the times they spent together. But as he looked closer, he also saw in those pictures another face, Grace. The more he looked, the more she was in every picture, every time he looked at Libby, he saw their daughter.

On one hand it brought back wonderful memories, on the other, it just hurt too much to look at her, so he set them aside and picked up another set. There was Mike and Angela, Bobby's parents all dressed up at his High School Graduation. He realized now that they had always been there for him and he couldn't help but wonder if he shouldn't have chosen a different course when he left college. He knew now, without a doubt, they would have been there for him then, as Mike was now.




Six Weeks of Grace Pt. 03



Later, he called the Judge's office and let them know his address and was surprised to hear that the lawyer would be there at ten the next morning to visit. With most of the day left he hit the shower and was about to get dressed when he looked up in the mirror. For some reason, he simply stared at his reflection, unsure why, but as he looked, another picture formed in his mind. That was the picture of Mike standing proudly beside him at his graduation. Throwing on some clothes he was down the stairs and out the door.

The next morning, Don waited nervously; he had been up and dressed for hours. Pacing back and forth in the living room, he finally heard a car pull into the drive-way. Peeking through the curtains, he saw Anne Summers get out of her car and peer at the house, then look down at a piece of paper in her hand. She looked back and forth several times before she finally seemed to shrug her shoulders and approach the door.

At the sound of the doorbell, he opened the door and stood silent.

Looking up at him, Anne seemed lost in thought, she again glanced down at her paper before addressing him. "I'm sorry but I think I have the wrong place, I'm looking for 1037 Oak Grove Place."

"Right place." Don said carefully.

Again Anne looked up at him with a confused expression, then back at her paper. "But I'm supposed to meet Donald Duncan here."

"Yes Miss Summers, you are, please come in." Don said stepping back from the door.

Anne looked back up, startled at the man before her. Gone was the menace to society that she had faced in the courtroom, instead here was something so shocking that she seemed unable to accept what her eyes were seeing. 

To her, Donald Duncan looked like he had just walked out of a corporate board room. His raggedy beard was gone and he was completely clean shaven. The long scraggly hair, instead of in a ponytail, had been cut and styled in a fashion that she instantly found attractive. He was dressed to perfection in an expensive grey suit with a clean crisp white shirt and dark burgundy tie. Looking down she saw that the heavy steel toed work boots had been replaced with a pair of black wing tip dress shoes.

Her mind recoiled as it hit her that Donald Duncan was an incredibly attractive man! "Mister Duncan?" Anne asked cautiously, unsure if she wanted this to be or not to be the infamous Donald Duncan.

Don spent most of yesterday changing his appearance. It struck him as he looked at himself in the mirror, the difference between him and Mike in that picture couldn't have been clearer. Mike was clean shaven, impeccably groomed and dressed. Standing next to his wife and Don in that picture, Don saw a good man, a dad, a husband and someone who he looked up to. When he looked at himself in the mirror, he saw a criminal, a man to be feared and loathed, but certainly not the father of a small child. He realized then, that was to change too!

"Yes Miss Summers, please come in." Don repeated gently, very aware that any animosity between them would only hurt his chances of seeing his daughter. 

Finally Anne stepped inside and received another shock, the house was beautiful. Quickly, she got her bearings and remembered her mission here, find a reason why this home was not acceptable. Looking around, her mind was wondering how she was going to do that. "Mister Duncan, we both know why I am here so if we can, let's take a look at what Grace will be living in."

"Please, follow me." Don said as he started through the house.

For the next few minutes, he guided her around the downstairs, pointing out all the little nuances of the home. While she was initially a bit frightened to be here alone with him, she was astounded at how professional and articulate he was in describing the house; of course she didn't know that he had practiced in preparation for his new job. As they toured, Anne became increasingly desperate to find fault but there was no chance for her to even make a negative comment. She simply followed him around, as they went room to room.

As they climbed the stairs to the second floor, Anne was beginning to realize that the house was impeccable and she hadn't found the slightest reason for Grace to not live there. She felt a bit uneasy to be alone with him in the master bedroom and Don seemed to sense that, so he quickly moved down the hallway.

"This will be your room if you decide to move in as the Judge suggested." Don said with a small smile. 

Anne was taken back at his suggestion before she realized that he was simply teasing her. "I think I'll stay at my apartment, thank you." She replied and couldn't help but smile herself, making her wonder how she was forgetting who this man was and why she was here.

Don caught the small smile and realized the answer to a question he had in the Judge's office, she did have a pretty smile.

Finally, he motioned her into Graces bedroom. "This is what I have set up for Grace, I hope its okay." He asked her with surprising sincerity in his voice.

Anne stepped into the room and gasped out loud. Not only were the furnishings incredible, Don had added a huge doll house, lots of toys and the bed and shelving were decorated in stuffed animals. The sight of a little girl's dream bedroom caused memories to well up in her and her hands flew to her chest. Tears started trickling from her eyes and down her cheeks as she gazed at the room. She felt her heart start pounding as emotions that she thought she had put away, came gushing to the surface in an instant. Her legs started to give out as she struggled to get ahold of herself, but it was too late as she saw the room spin and go black.

Don had been looking around the room, gazing at his handiwork. When his eyes finally returned to Anne, he was shocked to see her face covered in tears and her body suddenly go limp. Without thinking about what he was doing, he caught her just before she hit the floor.

With her in his arms, he moved over and sat down on the bed. Gently he cradled her as she seemed to be slowly coming around. Holding her in his huge arms like he would a baby, he looked down at her in amazement, wondering what he was going to do now. Her face was streaked with tears and she seemed to be quietly sobbing. As he held her, he couldn't help but pull her into his massive chest. He looked around the room, wondering what had triggered this reaction. 

Anne on the other hand was slowly awakening and her mind was groggy, she couldn't figure out where she was or what had happened. Her mind was starting to focus and she became aware that she was being held against a man's rock hard chest. In her confused state she felt safe and warm, cuddled in a way she hadn't felt in years. Opening her eyes slowly, it finally dawned on her what had happened and where she was. Suddenly her eyes flew open wide and she sat upright as she realized that the man gently holding her was none other than the notorious, Donald Duncan.

Scrambling to her feet, she quickly gathered herself. "The house is fine; I will be back with Grace at one!" She yelled out as she ran from the room, down the stairs and out the door. 

Don sat there stunned for several minutes but realized that whatever had happened, he was about to formerly meet his daughter. But another thought crept into his head, that fucking bitch lawyer felt nice in his arms!

Anne quickly got into her car and drove away from the house and back to her apartment. She stormed into her bedroom and threw herself down on the bed, her mind racing after her breakdown at the house. As she thought of the perfect little girl's room, the tears again began to flow. This time she made no attempt to stop them. Grabbing a great handful of soft blanket, she buried her face and cried in a deep pitiful wailing until there were no more tears to shed.

After an hour of sobbing, she slowly climbed out of her bed and went into the bathroom to try to repair the damage. Later, her eyes still puffy, she faced down the partners, but this time she was done taking it.

"What the fuck did you want me to do?" She yelled at them after listening to them belittle her for twenty minutes. "He's living in a brand new fucking house with a God damn dream bedroom for Grace! Do you really think the Judge is going to buy that it's not ACCEPTABLE!"

"Settle down Anne," Roger Evans said quietly, trying to placate his young associate, too much was on the line for her to lose control.

"You fucking settle down, I told you this was a bad idea, why don't you handle it from now on?" She replied; finally she was able to take some of this morning's pain out on someone else.

"No, that's enough", Mark Winters interjected. He was the most senior member there and the actual owner of the small but powerful firm. "Everybody just take a break and relax."

All four of them sat quietly for a minute until he began again. "Look, this guy was some one night stand with Elizabeth and got lucky; he's simply a gold-digger who thinks he's found some easy money."

Anne had been slowly coming down from her rant. "Look, I don't understand any of this. Our job is to oversee the estate and get her in a good home, IF and I repeat IF this guy is not able to care for her. If he can, then our job is done."

Anne noticed the nervous exchange of looks between the three partners before Roger spoke up. "Donald Duncan is not a fit parent that is a fact, so we would be remiss in our duties to allow that to happen." He said smugly, dismissing her contention entirely. 

"But what if he is?" Anne asked.

"He's not!" Mark quickly jumped back in. "Anne, this is your case, your future, the Judge gave you free reign to keep an eye on them twenty four seven and that is what you are going to do."

"I am NOT moving in with them!" Anne stated emphatically.

"I don't care what you do." Mark replied. "For the next six weeks, this will be your main responsibility, one case, this is it, everything else you do will just be administrative work, any court actions you were doing will be reassigned, you are to spend whatever time you have keeping a record of everything that they do. You will build an iron clad case against him."

"What?" Anne exclaimed.

"No Anne," Mark stood up suddenly from his seat to emphasis his words. "No argument, that is it, you want a future, maybe become a partner, this is your case to do that."

"But what if there is nothing to report?" Anne asked forcefully.

The partners looked at each other nervously until Roger answered back. "There will be, don't worry about that, you just be there to record it. Then update us every week."

Anne looked at the partners staring back at her, she knew she was trapped. All she ever wanted was to be a lawyer and the implication here was clear, screw up and she was done. Win and move up. Mark Winters was not only wealthy but a powerhouse, quitting was not an option, she would be lucky to end up a clerk in some backwater law office by the time he was finished with her. She was already on shaky ground as she had fended off all three of these bastards as they seemed to feel that she was their personal sexual plaything.

Shuddering she finally looked at her watch. "Fine, I'll go get Grace from the nanny and deliver her to Duncan."

"Anne, I want you in his hip pocket, and make damn sure every slip up is documented fully!"

Nodding her head she turned and left, leaving the three partners in the room alone.

"Fuck," Roger exclaimed. "How in the hell did this get out of control." He asked rhetorically. "What if this asshole is a good father, then what?"

After a moment or two in thought, the third man in the room spoke. "Well, we'll just have to make sure that situation doesn't occur." Brett Langman said low and with a hint of mayhem in his voice. Brett was known as a shark amongst sharks, a man without scruples, morals or a shred of decency. His win at all costs attitude was always frowned upon in public, but behind closed doors, he was the firm's hatchet man and he relished the job.

"What do you mean?" Roger asked.

"Simple, we just need the right situations to happen and if they don't then we MAKE them happen. Understand now?"

Roger shook his head, but then another thought came to him as he turned to Mark. "You really going to make that frigid bitch a partner?"

Mark just laughed. "Are you out of your mind, after this I don't want her around in case it comes back on us, she's gone good or bad. I'll make it so she never sees a courtroom again. She will be disgraced and then any fallout goes on her. Serves her right, the little miss fucking perfect!"

"So what do we do now?" Roger asked.

Mark looked long at Brett before he finally spoke. "Brett, make some plans, I don't care what you set up, just be ready if this goes wrong, in six weeks or less I want that girl out of his hands."

Brett gave a nod and was out the door.

"This could get ugly." Roger threw out.

"Yeah, well you shouldn't have gotten us in this mess; you should have taken care of it the first day."

Roger glared at him and then stormed out of the room, leaving Mark alone. Putting Brett in charge of this was dangerous but there was too much to lose at this point. Well, he thought, maybe Brett's usefulness is worn thin too.

With Grace in the car, they pulled up in front of Don's new home. Anne was still reeling over the conversation in the office. No matter how many times she went through it in her head, she still couldn't figure out why she was stuck with this case. Finally she decided that they were just being assholes again and this was another way to make her pay for not succumbing to their lecherous advances.

"Is this where my daddy is?" Grace yelled out as they got out of the car, breaking through Anne's thoughts.

"Yes, honey, he's waiting for you inside." Anne answered as she tried to control the excited child.

Like a shot, Grace ran to the front door and started knocking feverishly. Ann barely got to the door to see it open and again be face to face with Donald Duncan. 

Grace backed up into Anne's legs as she looked up at the huge man in front of her. At their last meeting he had been sitting down; now towering over her, he looked like a giant. With her excitement gone, her bravado was quickly dissolving and she turned to face away from him. Anne started to lean over to comfort her when she was surprised to see Don drop down to be at her level.

Kneeling before her, he spoke at her quietly. "Hey Grace, don't you remember me?" he asked gently.

Hearing his voice, Grace slowly turned to face him. She looked at him quizzically and cocked her head slightly. Don smiled and then opened his hands and ran them over his face. "You probably remember all my whiskers." He added, still smiling.

Grace seemed to peer at him for a second and then her smile started to come out again as she recognized the man from the courtroom. "Daddy!" She screamed and leapt into his arms.

Anne felt the tug at her heart as she saw his eyes moisten. Don was hugging the little girl tightly to him and Anne could see that Grace had her arms around his neck, holding onto him for dear life. She had to take a deep breath to keep herself under control, she had a job to do here and watching this moment between a man and his daughter was taking a toll on her emotions.

Finally Don stood up, effortlessly taking Grace with him. Pulling back from him and seeing the tears on his face, Grace seemed surprised. "Why are you crying Daddy?" She asked puzzled.

Quickly wiping at his eyes, "I'm just happy to see you sweetie," he answered, his voice cracking.

"Really," Grace answered. "Cause I only cry when I'm sad!"

Don gave a little laugh, "well don't you worry, because I am very happy!"

Still holding Grace, Don noticed Anne still standing at the door looking very out of place. He motioned her in, his happiness making him momentarily forget that she wanted to take Grace from him. "I'm sorry, please . . . please come in."

Anne looked around nervously and then stepped inside and closed the door.

"Miss Anne says I get to live here for a little while!" Grace said, her excitement returning.

"That's right honey." Don answered her.

"How come I don't get to live her forever?" She asked with her child's innocence.

Don glanced over at Anne and he could see her face fall and it caught him by surprise. Then it came to him that she expected him to blame her or make some ugly remark. "Well Grace, we have to make sure you like it here." 

He could see the wheels turning again and decided to quickly change the subject. "Would you like to see your new home?" He asked setting her back on her feet.

"Yes!" she yelled out and started running through the house looking at everything.

Anne started to say something to Grace, but Don quickly cut her off. "Let her go, she can't hurt anything, it's probably fun for her to explore."

Anne looked at him and marveled at how easy going he seemed. She also couldn't help but notice that he had changed out of his suit and quickly realized that she had probably gotten it messy this morning. Now he was dressed in a nice pair of casual khakis and a long sleeve button down shirt. It covered the tattoos but left no doubt to the size of the body underneath. 

As they watched Grace go from room to room downstairs, Anne was still trying to get a grasp on how things were so much different than she anticipated. "Thank you." she suddenly said to Don.

Don turned to her puzzled. "You're welcome, but for what?" 

Anne ran her fingers through her hair, as she became embarrassed by the question. She really didn't even know why she said it out loud. "When Grace asked you about living here forever, I just thought you might . . . I don't know . . . blame me in front of her."

Don took a deep breath and seemed lost in thought for a moment before he answered her. "Miss Summers, I do regret a lot of the things I've done the past few years but ... ah ... I'm not a bad man."

Anne recognized the phrase she had used in the courtroom and was about to reply when Grace's voice came calling from the kitchen. "MISS ANNE, MISS ANNE, A SWINGSET!" She yelled out.

Both the adults moved to her and looked out into the backyard. "Very nice!" Anne said as she saw the new play set. 

"Yeah, my cousin bought it and brought it over. It only cost me some beer and pizza and it was up." He said and smiled.

"Do you want to play on it?" Don asked the excited little girl.

"No!" Grace said quickly.

Both Don and Anne looked down at her, surprised by the answer. "I want to find my room first!" Grace added emphatically.

"All right, then upstairs we go." Don said and started towards the living room and the stairway.

When they reached the steps, he saw Anne hesitate and then stop. "You're welcome to come up or stay here." He said to her.

"I'll be right here." She quickly replied as Don and Grace went upstairs.

Within seconds Anne heard Grace squeal with delight and she knew she had found her room. Her eyes glistened just for a second and then she quickly changed her focus to the job. She thought hard about everything that occurred since they arrived, every word spoken, everything she saw. Had Donald Duncan shown any negative side at all, she questioned herself. Thinking, she was almost forced to admit that not only had he not said or done anything even remotely concerning, he had been the consummate gentleman to her. Then it hit her, he had said that they had consumed beer putting together the swing set!

As she listened to Grace's excited voice upstairs, she dug into her briefcase and pulled out her notepad. She had just finished jotting down the incident when they returned downstairs.

"Miss Anne, you should see my room, there's like hundreds of toys and animals!" Grace said to her, jumping up and down.




Six Weeks of Grace Pt. 03



Don saw Anne's face cloud just for a moment before she brightened. "Hundreds, huh?" She said with a small smile.

"Maybe not hundreds." Don answered with a laugh.

"Can I play on the swings now?" 

"You bet, let's go." Don replied and they all headed out the back door.

Don and Anne took turns pushing the swing for a while before Grace decided she wanted to play on her own. He offered Anne a seat beside him on the deck so they could watch her. Seeing her run and play made Anne forget her purpose for a few minutes but then she realized that she needed to collect any information that might be helpful to their case. "Mister Duncan, I have to admit that I was surprised that you live here."

Don turned to her with a frown. "Miss Summers, I have few secrets. The Judge has made it clear that you have full access to Grace and I, and any information that pertains to the two of us. If you have a question, just ask."

Anne was taken back, he had seen right through her subtle prodding. "Mister Duncan, you are right. I do consider it a fair question as to where she will live."

Never letting his eyes stray far from Grace, he answered. "My Uncle, who raised me most of my life, is renting me this home in exchange for work that I do for him. I'm to have this available as a Model home as he is building this development; and next week I will be overseeing the crews that work here."

"That seems very generous of him." Anne said cryptically.

"Miss Summers, my Uncle is a very fine man and has offered me his help." He answered, but then added with a smile. "I think that he will also want to spend some time with Grace, he doesn't have any grandchildren."

"So you are just renting?

Don shrugged his shoulders. "Millions of children grow up in rented homes."

"I didn't mean it that way." Anne quickly added.

They sat in silence for a while before another thought came to Anne. "So as a model home, people can just walk in and out?"

Anne was surprised as Don started laughing and then reached into his pocket and pulled something out. He held out a fist and gave her a small nod, indicating that he had something for her.

Anne was momentarily stunned by the size of the closed hand that appeared before her, but then she realized what he was doing and she placed her much smaller hand under it.

Don opened up his hand and Anne felt a small metal object fall into her palm. Pulling her hand back, she saw it was a key.

Looking back at his face, she could see the laughter was gone. He was staring deep into her eyes. "No one gets past me to get into this house." He said with menace in his voice. "No one . . . except you."

Anne was taken back by the determination on his face. She looked away, unable to meet his piercing gaze. She knew exactly the implication of what he was saying and it was very clear, he would be ruthless if anyone tried to come into their home uninvited. She knew perfectly well what that meant with a man such as this. But then it dawned on her, would she really want it any other way. If Grace was actually hers, to have a man such as Donald Duncan as protector would be exactly what she would wish for.

Turning back to him, she only saw a blur! Don was already on his feet and sprinting away from her.



Six Weeks of Grace Pt. 04



"HELP!" she heard the scream at almost the instant that Don scooped up Grace. Somehow she had gotten tangled in the climbing rope.

Anne jumped up and ran towards them. It seemed like it took her forever to get across the yard and she couldn't figure out how Don could already be there. By the time she got to the play set, Don was comforting an obviously unhurt but frightened little girl. Grace was crying but it was somewhat muffled as she was engulfed in Dons arms and pulled tight against his chest. She could hear him whispering soothing words to her as she slowly started to relax in his arms.

Anne stood in wonder as she watched him holding Grace. She reasoned that he must have been keeping an eye on Grace the whole time they were talking and saw her start to get caught in the rope. But how had he gotten up and to her in what seemed like to Anne the proverbial blink of an eye. How could a man that big, move that quickly? She looked back and forth at the deck that they had been sitting on and the playset and shook her head as she realized that once again, he had her confused.

"Maybe I'll put her down for a short nap." Don said to her so quietly she could barely hear it. Grace was falling asleep in his massive arms and she could see the wet stains on his shirt from her tears.

"Ah, yes, that's probably a good idea; it's been an exciting day for her." Anne replied as she gazed at the sleeping child cradled against him.

Looking at them, father and daughter, Anne felt her emotions again start to surface and she turned away. "I'll leave you now but I'll be checking in." She said over her shoulder as she left the yard. Going around the house, she was back in her car and driving before the tears started. 

"Damn it Anne!" She screamed out in frustration. "Get ahold of yourself."

Back at the house Don was stunned by her sudden departure but carried the sleeping child and put her to bed. He sat in a chair in her room, just watching her. As she slept, all he could see was a little angel laying there, an angel he was determined would never be taken away from him.

The rest of the week was a new experience for the pair; they both seemed to be infatuated with the other. At times the little girl made Don laugh like he was a kid himself, other times he wondered how he was ever going to manage. Through it all, Grace was always beaming, smiling as he burned the chicken nuggets and bleached the color from her clothes; laughing as he became embarrassed at helping her take a bath. She was the one holding his hand when he was nervous getting her enrolled in school, he had to be reminded by Bobby that it was set to start the next week. She had to make sure that he read her a story every night and she got the required hug and kiss goodnight.

Anne for her part, dropped in unannounced to check on the pair. But aside from poor cooking skills and an innate inability to pick clothes that matched, she was unable to find fault of any kind. This fact did not sit well with the partners. 

She delivered her weekly report the first Friday but it was uneventful. "That's it, I have one incident where he may have drank but I have no proof of it." Anne recited her first report.

"That's it!" Roger blurted out. "Tell me how one of the most notorious bar brawlers in the county is a model parent!"

"I don't see the problem," Anne asked. "If I understand everything, if the guy is a good parent, then we are done here."

"Maybe you don't understand everything!" Roger exclaimed.

"Fine, then clue me in." Anne replied quickly.

"That's enough Anne, you just stay close, I want you there constantly, keep recording anything that happens." Mark said and then dismissed her.

Anne left thinking about the meeting with the partners. Fucking assholes she thought for the hundredth time as she left the office. She was glad to be away from them so she decided to do a 'drop in' on Grace and Don.

Up until now, she had always knocked but decided she was going to use the access the Judge had afforded her. It was Friday afternoon so she really didn't think anything would be wrong, but she needed something to report, so she came through the door unannounced.

"Miss Anne, Miss Anne!" Grace said excitedly as she saw her coming in.

Anne took one look at her and burst out laughing. She couldn't help herself as she took in Grace's outfit. The little girl was wearing a green striped shirt with blue and purple checked pants.

Grace picked up on Anne's laughter and started clowning around until they were both overcome. Stifling herself for a second, Anne kneeled down in front of the giggling little girl. "Honey, did you pick out those clothes to wear?"

"No, Daddy did!" Grace answered proudly, still laughing at the game they seemed to be playing.

Anne was shaking her head and smiling at Grace when Don came into the room.

"What are we all laughing at?" He asked quizzically.

Still kneeling down in front of Grace, Anne looked up at the sound of Don's voice and realized once again, how he towered over her. Quickly she stood up and composed herself as Grace started running upstairs. 

"I'm going up to play in my room." She yelled over her shoulder as she took off.

Don cocked his head slightly still awaiting the answer to his question. Anne looked up the stairs and watched Grace disappear down the hall before answering. "I'm sorry Mister Duncan, I just . . . well it's just that . . . ah. "

"Miss Summers, if you have something to say, please say it!" Don said, exasperated at her apparent fear of him.

"Fine . . . a green striped shirt does not go with purple and blue checked pants." Anne said solemnly, wondering how he was going to react to her criticism.

Don looked at her for several seconds before a shy smile came to his face. "Actually," he paused. "I'm having some trouble with that."

Anne couldn't help herself as she broke out into a grin. On one hand she was relieved that he hadn't taken her criticism badly and on the other, she thought his shy confession was kind of cute. Before she could think it through, she exclaimed. "YA THINK?" And then started laughing again.

Don's face turned angry for only an instant before he realized she was only teasing him and joined in on the joke at his expense.

After they both started to regain their composure, Don looked at her for a moment before he decided to throw it back at her. "Well if you can do a better job, be here at ten tomorrow morning for school shopping." 

Anne looked back at him and her eyes went wide. "Ah ... I ... I" She stuttered out.

"Well fine then, I guess Grace will just go to school in whatever I buy her." Don added with a smile.

Suddenly Anne though that this would be a great opportunity to keep an eye on them. "You win, I can't let that happen to her."

Now it was Don's turn to be shocked, he had simply wanted to put her back on her heels a bit, he never expected her to actually go along. But then he thought, why not. "All right, now that that's settled, I have lasagna to make for supper." He turned to go back into the kitchen but then turned back around. "You're welcome to stay." He added with a smile.

"Lasagna?" She asked with an obvious look of disbelief.

"Homemade." He added.

"Homemade?" The disbelief even more evident in her question.

Again he gave her the shy smile. "Okay you got me. I'm making it AT home," he started and then took an obvious pause. "But I bought it at the store; I just have to put it in the oven."

Again, Anne took in the shy grin and couldn't help herself, she slowly nodded her head. "How can I pass up homemade lasagna?"

Anne was surprised as they worked together to get dinner on. True to his word, she had to smile as she saw him take out the prepackaged frozen meal, read the directions over and over, follow them word for word and finally get it cooking. As it baked, they set the table and got out all of the needed items to complete the meal. There was little conversation as each seemed a bit off their game, being together and fixing dinner. Anne did note that Don never let more than a few minutes go by without running upstairs to check on Grace. 

After getting the Lasagna out at exactly the appropriate time, Don went and got Grace for dinner. 

"Are you eating with us Miss Anne?" Grace asked when she saw her in the dining room.

"Is that okay?" Anne asked playfully.

"Yeah, we need to have company sometimes. " Grace answered quickly.

"Hey, what does that mean?" Don asked.

Looking at the dining table set and everything just right, Grace gave Anne a serious look. "We always eat in the kitchen cause daddy doesn't cook so good."

Anne looked over at Don and she could see his face turn red. She tried to stop it, but a slight giggle came out as she took in Grace's statement.

"Well, let's eat." Don said quickly, before it got any worse for him.

After they sat down, Anne was once again shocked as Don nodded to Grace who bowed her head. "Thank you Lord for this dinner and that Miss Anne can be with me and daddy for dinner."

After dinner was done and cleaned up, Anne spent some time with Grace but any questioning was futile. The little girl was infatuated with her daddy and no amount of probing gave any sense that Grace wasn't thrilled to be with him.

After Don helped with a bath, he tucked her in with a story as Anne waited downstairs. She wanted to leave but didn't want to just walk out after dinner.

"You could have come up." Don said as he came down the stairs.

He saw a sadness flash across her face for an instant and then it was gone. "Thank you but no, I was okay right here." She answered rising from the couch and stepping to the middle of the room. "I should go but I wanted to thank you for dinner, it was actually very good."

Don seemed uncomfortable accepting the praise; he remained quiet as he really didn't know how to respond.

Anne sensed his discomfort and continued on. "I was just surprised that Grace said grace. " 

They both smiled as they realized how funny it sounded, and then Don seemed to get a bit defensive as he pondered her question. "Didn't expect that from me, did you?" He asked tersely.

"Mister Duncan, I didn't mean it that way." Anne said trying to defuse the situation.

"How did you mean it?" Don growled out.

Anne was instantly afraid and moved back a step. This is what she feared all along, her eyes darted around the room, wondering if there was any escape. She felt very alone and vulnerable with this huge man so close to her.

Don saw her expression change and the trapped look on her face and silently cursed himself. "Miss Summers," Don began, keeping his voice as soothing as he could. "Please forgive me, I didn't mean to frighten you."

Anne looked up into his face, trying desperately to get a read on what was behind his words. Was this just a ploy to get her to relax, then he would spring. She looked carefully into his eyes but there wasn't any hint of deceit, he seemed genuinely embarrassed by his outburst.

"Please, Miss Summers, please sit down." Don asked as he motioned to the couch behind her. "Please." He repeated gently.

Anne started to back up to return to the couch and Don was careful to take the chair farthest away from her.

After they were both seated, Don took in a deep breath and let it out. "Miss Summers," he began. "I want to apologize, I didn't mean to scare you, believe me, I have never harmed a woman in my life and I never will." Anne started to speak but Don continued. "You don't have to say anything. You have every right to be wary of me, I know that you have a thick file that says you should be scared to death of me. I am a drunk and out of control angry and violent psychopath, I'm sure that's what it says."

Anne stayed quiet this time as Don seemed to be unsure of what to say next. "Miss Summers, no one changes overnight and neither will I, but . . . I will NEVER hurt you."

Looking at him, she realized that he was staring directly in her eyes and for some reason she actually believed him. "Mister Duncan, I guess you are right, your past has made me feel a bit unnerved at times." Looking down for a minute she paused and then continued. "But I owe you an apology, when I asked about saying grace, I guess I did mean it the way it sounded. I'm sorry but in reading your file -," she stopped suddenly.

Don quickly picked up on it. "I understand Miss Summers, a man with my past saying grace, must have seemed odd?"

"I'm sorry" She said softly. "I shouldn't have assumed."

Don hesitated and then started carefully. "You actually assumed correctly, when Grace got here, she told me that they always said grace at meals. I wanted her to feel at home here, so we have continued it."

Anne simply nodded before she got to her feet. "I do thank you for dinner."

Don got up also and escorted her to the door. What had been a nice evening now seemed to be difficult. Before she left, Don felt he needed to find out about tomorrow. "Uh, Miss Summers, I hate to send Grace to school looking like a circus clown."

Anne turned back to him and saw the shy smile again. "I'll be here at ten; I don't want her to face that either." She replied with a small grin of her own.

After she left Don just sat alone in the living room, thinking about the evening. He still felt badly about frightening her but wondered why. Thinking about it, the answer was slow in coming but it finally seeped through to him. Because he liked her, that was why. She was fun to be around and he had enjoyed the back and forth teasing they did. She jumped right in helping with dinner and she was great around Grace. But that thought brought up the incident in the bedroom and the pain he saw when he mentioned certain things. Obviously there was something there but what he wondered.

Finally turning off the lights and locking up, he realized that he was looking forward to tomorrow.

"Okay, see the small animals on the skirt, they match the small animals on the top." Anne was pointing it out to Don.

"So all I have to do is get the animals to be the same and the clothes match?" Don asked.

"That's it!" Anne replied with a smile.

They had been shopping for most of the day and Don was finally figuring it out. He was learning the ways of kids clothing and they had filled his SUV with clothes and school supplies. Grace was having the time of her life trying on outfits and picking out backpacks and lunch boxes.

Anne was also having more fun then she could remember. She loved shopping for Grace and Don gave her free reign to buy whatever she wanted for the little girl. Anne was having Grace try on yet another cute set when she turned around and ended up right in the arms of Bill Meyers. She stepped back as she recognized him.

"Well Anne, nice to see you," He said with a leer. "No kiss for old times' sake?"

"Not hardly," Anne spat out as she turned away from him. She remembered all too well the one date with him, all hands and an inability to understand the word 'No'. It had taken a slap and her running for the door for him to get the message. She still hadn't forgiven her girlfriend for setting her up with this asshole!

"Don't you turn away from me you fucking bitch." He yelled out, as he grabbed her shoulder and spun her around. "I ain't forgot you slapping me."

Startled by the suddenness of his attack, Anne let out a small gasp. As she closed her eyes and braced for the blow she thought was surely coming, the hand on her shoulder was suddenly gone.

Her eyes sprang open as she heard the sound of a large thump. Don had her assailant by the front of his jacket and had slammed him against a nearby wall. Bill had crumpled on impact and his face was distorted in surprise and pain, it was obvious he never expected to be face to face with any angry Donald Duncan. 

Anne was stunned as she took in the scene, but then she let out a gasp as she realized that Don was pulling back his arm and clenching his fist. She leapt forward and grabbed his arm. "DON, NO!" was all she could get out as she tried to stop him. 

Anne's voice cut through his furry and he stopped instantly. He looked back at her and she could see the look on his face go from rage to wonder as he saw her holding onto him. Once she saw him regain control, she slowly released the massive arm she had a death grip on. 

Turning back to the frightened man pinned against the wall, she could hear Don speak slow and distinct to him. "If I ever see you again or hear of you approaching her, we will finish this, do you understand?"

Bill's eyes were open wide in terror as his head bobbed dramatically. Don released him and he fell to the floor, his legs unable to hold him up. Scrambling to his feet, a very frightened Bill Meyers took off at a brisk walk through the store.

Anne quickly grabbed Don by the arm and led him back over to where Grace was just coming out of the changing room.

"I'm sorry." Don said sheepishly as they left the store a few minutes later. They had finished up quickly, made their purchases and were headed across the parking lot.

Anne looked at him in wonderment for a couple seconds before she answered. "For what, saving me from getting slapped by some guy?"

"I . . . ah . . . well thank you also."

"For what?"

"Ah, well nothing, I guess it doesn't matter." He answered with a nod towards Grace, as he realized this is not a conversation they should be having in front of her.

Later when they returned home and Don had placed an exhausted Grace into her bed for a nap, they sat in the living room having a cup of coffee. "I do want to thank you." Don started quietly. "I'm trying hard to change but sometimes I still have trouble controlling my emotions."

Anne was conflicted as she looked over at him, he was embarrassed by his actions yet those same actions had saved her from harm. How she could blame him for protecting her she wondered. "Mister Duncan," she started.

"Miss Summers," he interrupted her, "I had hoped that your calling me Don at the store had changed things a bit."

"I guess it was just a reflex but you're right." She paused and then smiled. "Please call me Anne."

"Thank you and by the way, Don works for me."

"Don" she said with emphasis as she began again. "You did what you had to do to protect me, and I appreciate it, I just wanted to make sure that you didn't go farther than you had to."

Don was quiet for a while before he started speaking. "But you probably didn't help your cause though?"

"What do you mean?"

"Miss, I mean Anne, you probably stopped me from doing something that would have allowed you to take away Grace."

Anne sat back in her seat and then looked down, not wanting to meet his gaze. "My job is to do what's best for Grace." She answered his accusation, looking back at his face. He nodded but she could tell he wasn't convinced. 

Anne realized that she was also tired and stood to leave. "I guess I could use a nap too, I'm not used to spending a day shopping either."

Don got up and walked her to the door. "I know you have free reign to come and go as you please but do you have plans to come back this weekend?"

"I don't know, why do you ask?"

Don hesitated but then decided to just go ahead and tell her. "Grace starts school Monday and she wanted a special dinner tomorrow night. I thought since you helped with her school shopping, you could come for dinner."

"Are you cooking?" Anne asked with a chuckle.

Again the shy smile broke on his face. "Hey I did good with the lasagna!"

"What time?"

"We'll probably eat at five, so come whenever you want to."

"It's a date," Anne blurted out and then her face turned red. "I mean -," she hesitated.

Don smiled. "I know what you mean, see you tomorrow."

After she left, Anne drove back to her apartment thinking of the day. He was right about one thing, she probably did stop him from doing something that would have caused the loss of his daughter. But she couldn't help being impressed with the day. Spending time with Grace was great, shopping with a little girl, picking out clothes, seeing her smile and her happiness over each purchase made it one of the most special days she ever had. However being with Don added to the day; he was friendly and outgoing with a great sense of humor. He was never impatient with them and always smiling.




Six Weeks of Grace Pt. 04



But a chill ran through her when she thought of the encounter with Bill Meyers. How he had gotten there so quickly and his reaction to the threat she faced stunned her. One second he was away from her, the next he had her attacker against the wall, she was reminded of his rescue of Grace on the swing set. He moved like an accomplished athlete, not a barroom drunkard. She had been around pretty boys at the gym hundreds of times but she knew none of them could have shown the speed and agility that Don possessed. But still, there was the look on his face and the sight of that huge fist clenched that still frightened her. It was obvious that if she wouldn't have stopped him, Bill Meyers may well have been beaten severely. No, she told herself, no matter how many smiles he shows, there is still an angry and violent man inside of him and she needed to be on her guard.

Don was also having his thoughts of the day. He was ashamed of losing control with her attacker but confused on why he even reacted that way. Why should he care about her, she was trying to take Grace away, but as before he couldn't shake it, he liked her. It was fun being with her and he was looking forward to dinner tomorrow.

Sunday was a day of preparation for Don and Grace, packing her school bag, putting away all her new clothes and picking out the outfit for her first day. They were both worn out by mid-day and took a nap. Don kept Anne's acceptance of the diner invitation from Grace to keep her calm.

After their nap, he let her know; she was so happy she started running around and yelling in delight, he had to get her settled down when she found out Anne would be arriving soon.

Don though was facing another difficulty as his spaghetti preparation was not going as planned. When Anne came through the door, she was shocked as the smell of burning sauce was permeating the house.

"What happened?" She asked Don as she came into the kitchen.

"Daddy's cooking, but he's not very good!" Grace threw in as she was busy coloring at the counter.

"Hey now, I got it under control." Don replied but with very little confidence.

Anne could only shake her head as she took in the sight; the kitchen looked like a storm hit it. There was a pan full of burnt sauce on the stove and another with mushy spaghetti. "Do you need some help?" She asked with a grin.

"No, I . . . oh damn!" He exclaimed as he grabbed a pot holder and pulled out a sheet of something black and smoldering from the oven.

"What's that, it smells funny?" Grace asked.

"Uh . . . french bread." Don answered looking at the mess.

Don seemed overwhelmed as he put down the blackened bread and surveyed the kitchen. Finally he realized the futility of it all. "Who wants to go get pizza?" he yelled out.

"ME! ME! ME!" Grace yelled back. "Miss Anne, Miss Anne, will you go too?"

Anne took a look around before she started laughing. "I guess if I want to eat dinner, I have to!"

Don gave her that grin again that was starting to become familiar. "Let's go, I'll clean up later."

Grace was having the time of her life, she was playing in the balls as Don and Anne finished off the pizza. "This is pretty bad, I thought Grace only ate a couple pieces because she wanted to play." Don said as he took another bite.

"Says the man who burned bread!" Anne replied with a laugh.

"You do have a point." Don admitted with a shrug of his shoulders, and then he glanced quickly around the room.

Anne saw the look and knew what he was doing, she had been watching him closely and noticed how he never really took his eyes completely away from Grace. Even when they were talking, he always seemed to keep an eye on her. Had he been keeping an eye out for her yesterday, she wondered, is that why he seemed to be there the instant that the guy grabbed her. For some reason, that made her feel very safe and protected.

"You played every game in here with her. Now that you have spent fifty dollars, you might have enough tickets for her to pick out a two dollar prize." Anne said with a smile.

"I think you're right, between the bad pizza and the cheap prizes, I think they have a nice setup here!"

"Excuse me," Don and Anne both looked up at the older woman standing by their table. "I don't mean to bother you but I just wanted to tell you how nice it is to see a young family out together. You have a beautiful little girl."

"Thank you," Don replied after he considered his options, unsure how to explain. Then the lady patted his hand and walked away.

Don turned back to Anne just in time to see her look down. He just caught a glimpse of her face and he saw the hurt cloud her features.

"I'm sorry, I just didn't know what to say." Don said gently as he realized that as a pretty young woman and an attorney, she was probably ashamed to be caught out with someone like him. 

Looking up, Don could see her try to smile but it was plain to him she was stung by the woman's comment. "It's okay, I think I'm ready to go." She said quietly.

Don nodded and then gathered up Grace before picking out some prizes and then they went to meet Anne at the car.

Grace talked constantly on the drive as the adults kept quiet except to answer her questions. When they got home, Anne gave Grace a quick hug and then left without saying anything to Don. He understood and so he got Grace bathed and in bed before he spent a couple hours putting his kitchen back together.

For Anne, the drive back to her empty apartment seemed long, when she finally got inside, she simply collapsed on the couch. The woman's comment had cut her so deep. Somehow in her mind she had had a little family for a weekend, but the reality slapped her in the face when the woman spoke to them. The tears flowed freely as she thought about the wonderful weekend she had and the knowledge that it was all just play acting. She vowed she would put some distance between them, do her job, that was what she needed to stick to, she told herself.

The first week of school was a busy one for Don and Grace. Lots of pictures as he took her to school, then to work as he struggled to get control of the separate crews working in the huge development, then back to pick her up in the afternoon. Then dinner, homework, bath and to bed, by Wednesday, Don was feeling that he had it down already. 

"MOMMY! MOMMY! MOMMY!" Don heard through his sleep. "MOMMY!" Leaping to his feet, Don flew down the hall to Grace's bedroom. "MOMMY!" She was sitting up screaming as he quickly went to comfort her.

Grace quickly folded herself into Don as she kept repeating over and over. "I want my mommy!"

Don felt his heart lurch each time she said it. He realized that she had been putting on a happy face and the memory of the loss of her mom was still there. All he could do was cuddle her as she lay sniffling in his arms, knowing he couldn't bring her mother back, though he would give anything if he could.

Finally, she seemed to settle down a little. "Daddy, why did mommy have to go to heaven?" Grace asked so quietly, he could barely hear her.

Don held her as tight as he could against him, how do you answer that, he wondered. "Do you know how your mommy kept watch over you when you were together?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said.

"Well now that she is in heaven, she can watch over you all the time." Don said, trying hard to make the loss of her mother make some kind of sense to the crying little girl.

"Did mommy send you to take care of me now?"

Don thought about her question as he struggled to keep his emotions under control. "I hope so honey, I hope that your mommy made sure that if she wasn't here, you would have daddy nearby."

"You won't go, will you?" She asked plaintively.

"No Grace, daddy will never go." Don said forcefully. "I love you too much to ever let you go."

Grace seemed to snuggle in even closer and after a little while he could tell she had dropped off to sleep. Laying her back down in her bed, he realized that he was going to have to keep a little closer watch on her. She wasn't as over her mom's death as he thought she was.

Anne for her part stopped in a few times during the week but seemed distant to both Don and Grace. He understood but Grace seemed unhappy about not seeing her as much.

Friday afternoon found her in with the partners again. "Nothing, that's what I have, no drinking, no cursing, no fighting, no nothing. He treats Grace better than any father I have ever seen."

"All right, thank you." Mark Winters told her without fanfare.

She looked at the three men in the room and without another word she left them there. As she did though, it occurred to her that they were very passive about her report. 

In the conference room though, there were three nervous men. Mark Winters turned to the hatchet man and nodded. "Do it!"

Anne decided she had to stop in unannounced again, for no other reason than she knew she should. She refused to admit it to herself, but she was missing them. 

Coming through the door she was shocked at what she saw. Grace was sitting in Don's lap and peering closely at his tattooed arms.

At the sound of the door opening, they both looked up and saw Anne. "Mister Duncan, what in the world are you thinking!" Anne spat out at him. "I don't think your tattoos are appropriate for her, do you?" 

Don took in her outburst with apparent mild amusement. "Please Miss Summers, you need to control your outbursts."

"Miss Anne, Miss Anne, Daddy has pretty pictures on him, come look!" Grace yelled out excitedly.

Anne was stunned as she approached them as they sat on the couch together. She couldn't believe what she was seeing but as she drew closer, she realized something looked different.

"What . . . your arms . . . what did you do?" She asked, cocking her head to try to get a good view. "They look different."

"If you look closely Anne, I had them re-inked." Don said quietly.

Anne peered at his arms for several minutes before she sat down in the chair across from them. It took her a few more seconds before the dots connected. "That's why I've only seen you in long sleeves the past couple of weeks?" She asked.

Grace was still taking in the colors and pictures as he gently nodded. "I had them done before Grace came. I asked a favor of a great artist and he was able to make some subtle changes so they became a bit more, should we say . . . appropriate for the father of a small child.

'Hey, I'm not small, I'm getting bigger every day." Grace piped up, interrupting them and causing Don and Anne to smile at her antics.

"I'll put on another shirt if they bother you Anne." Don asked, surprising her that he would offer to do it for her.

"No, that's not necessary, I'm not exactly a fan, but they certainly don't bother me." She replied. In fact, she had to admit to herself that the artwork was incredible and combined with the size and shape of his muscular shoulders and huge arms, it was certainly impressive. 

Don had returned his attention back to Grace and she was still fascinated by the artwork. But as Anne looked closer at his arms, something caught her eye. It was hard to see and it seemed to be contained within the scrolling patterns of colors and shapes, but it was there if you looked close. One word, Libby!

Libby, Anne thought, Libby, could that be Elizabeth Warren, Anne did know she went by Libby, even though they were never close enough to be friends. Strange she thought, that he would have her name on his arm, it was just a one night stand, which was what she was told. Thinking it through, she decided it must have been an addition because of Grace.

"Well how about some dinner?" Don asked, as it was obvious Grace was getting bored. "Are you staying Anne?"

Anne couldn't resist. "Spaghetti?"

Don glared at her for a second before he saw her face crack into a smile. "Nope, I will be preparing a fine dish of baked dough, along with a special sauce and smothered with various intricately cut pieces of meats and vegetables." He said with that shy smile Anne had come to recognize.

'Really!" Anne blurted out, surprised.

"Yes, around here, we call it frozen pizza!" Don added and broke out a huge smile.

Anne started laughing as Grace started jumping up and down at the mention of her favorite dish.

"What brought on the tattoo show this evening, if I may ask?" Anne said as they were cleaning up after dinner.

Don frowned and seemed to hesitate.

"Don, I'm sorry for my reaction, I didn't mean the question to come out that way." Anne quickly added.

He looked at her strangely for a moment. "No, that's not it." He paused, wondering if he should talk about it. "It is just that Grace had a nightmare last night and was crying for her mom. When I went in there, I was wearing a t-shirt. She didn't notice it then, but it was the first thing on her mind when we got home from school."

"Oh, I see." Anne added, deep in thought. 

"It does bring up something, could we talk after we get Grace to bed?"

"Ah . . . sure." Anne answered carefully.

Later, after Grace had finished some homework and played a bit, Don announced it was time for bed. "Anne, I'm going to get her ready, you are welcome to come up or I can just meet you in the office."

Anne hesitated as always, she so wanted to be a part of tucking Grace in, but she was also so afraid of what that would bring to her. "I'll just wait in the office." She finally replied. 

Anne went into the office and sat down in a chair behind the desk to wait on Don. She sat thinking of Don and the tattoos, she still couldn't believe that he would have gone through all of that, just for Grace. She shuddered as she thought of the pain he must have felt to have all that work done at one time, not to mention the expense. She still felt bad about her reaction, it seemed like she was still fearing the worst from him.

She sat there for quite some time before boredom caused her to look around, her own curiosity made her go through the drawers. She found lots of brochures and information on houses in the development, which reminded her that this was a model home. In the bottom drawer she found some envelopes of pictures, assuming they were of houses, she took them out and opened up an envelope.

Anne was stunned at the first picture on the stack. It was of a smiling Elizabeth Warren and Donald Duncan. Flipping through the pile, she saw they were all pictures of them, either separate or together. She opened up a couple other envelopes and found some more. How could this be, if this was a one-night stand as her boss had said, how were there pictures of the two of them together. The pictures also appeared to span months, maybe even a year or two.

"What did you find?" Came Don's voice startling Anne from her thoughts.

"Ah . . . ah, I'm sorry, I was bored and . . . I," Anne sputtered out, flustered at being caught snooping.

"Anne, it's okay, the Judge gave you freedom to search the house if you wanted, and I'm not upset." 

"But . . . I found these pictures . . . and well, how long did you know Elizabeth Warren?" She finally got out.

Don gave her an odd look before he answered. "A bit over two years."

"Were you dating?" Anne asked tentatively.

"Most of that time," Don answered puzzled by her question. "Why do you ask, I would have thought you knew that?"

Anne was taken back, two years, this wasn't a one night stand, why did they tell her that. 'I guess I . . . I'm sorry"

"Anne, what are you sorry for, what did you think?" 

Anne took a deep breath, trying to understand this. "Don, I'm sorry, please forgive me, but I understood that you and Elizabeth had a brief encounter and then . . . well . . . then, I don't know what I thought, I'm sorry."

Don pulled up a chair and dropped into it, thinking about her question. On one hand he was mad that someone would believe that they just had a fling, on the other, if she didn't know, how was it her fault? "Anne, there is nothing to be sorry for, if you got the wrong impression or information, all you have to do is ask."

Anne looked relieved that she had not offended him, but she still couldn't figure out why she was so wrong. "The tattoo." She suddenly blurted out. "Libby, on your arm."

Don nodded. "I've had it for years, the artist simply added some work around it so it blended in with something I wanted changed."

Anne seemed deep in thought, so Don continued. "Anne, I wanted to talk to you about Libby, that's why I asked you to stay, but maybe instead of innuendo and speculation, I should just tell you our story."

"If you don't mind, maybe it would help with my case if I knew more about you." Anne said, wondering to herself if that was truly the real reason she wanted to know about him."

For the next little while, Don told his story from being abandoned by his parents to meeting and falling in love with Libby. He glossed over his childhood quickly, but Anne was intrigued by the way this huge brawler spoke so eloquently of the love that he shared with Elizabeth Warren. She could also see the intense pain as he described the night of the fight.

"There were witnesses that came forward and they had to let me out of jail but it was too late, she was gone." He said as he concluded his story, his head drooping.

Anne had been silent throughout but she could see the regret in his eyes. "Did you look for her?" she finally asked quietly.

"Everywhere I could, none of our friends knew where she went and the college refused to give me any information." Don answered shaking his head, not looking up.

"Her parents?" 

"No idea," he said. "She was really funny about that, I never met them, in fact, she never even talked about them. I never even knew where she was from, so I didn't even know where to look when she left."

"That seems odd." Anne speculated.

Don finally looked up at her. "I always assumed it was because they were poor or she was ashamed of them in some way. It was just a taboo subject with her, I know at times she went to see them but I was never invited. At the time, I was happy I never had to do the 'meet the parents' thing, but of course looking back, I wish I had. I guess with my own background, I never made an issue of it as it seemed to bother her so much. "

Again Anne was questioning what she had been told, it was obvious that Don knew nothing about the family, how could he want money? Could he be lying, an elaborate ruse, she wondered. Anne looked at his face and especially his eyes, unfortunately she knew all too well that look, he was in pain, deep emotional pain. For all his size and strength, he looked like he was about to crumble before her, if he was acting, he should be doing Shakespeare.

Suddenly a thought came to her. "So you never knew about Grace?"

She watched him closely and saw his head drop down again as he looked at the floor. "No," she heard so softly that she barely caught it. "If I had," he started and then stopped and she saw his head shake back and forth.

"So you joined the Army?" She asked.

Don looked up and she could see his eyes were glistening. "I was kicked out of school, I was lost, and it seemed a good idea at the time to get away from it all."

Anne thought about something that had been bothering her. "I'm sorry for the comment I made in the Judges office about the Army. It was in the heat of the moment and I've regretted it since." She paused and then added. "Thank you for your service."

Don nodded to her and then stayed silent as he realized that he too was sorry for some things that he had said. He was about to come clean when she started taking again. "Do you want to tell me about it, the Judge said you were awarded a Silver Star?"

Don shook his head. "No, I don't think so, some things are still hard."

The sat there for several minutes each in their own thoughts before Don started again. "Something that I've been wondering about, but I guess I didn't really want to face." He paused and then took a deep breath before he continued. "How did she?" He asked, not able to finish his question.




Six Weeks of Grace Pt. 04



Anne saw the hurt and wanted to ease his pain as best she could. "It was a car accident, she was with her parents."

"All of them gone?"

"Yes, her parents instantly. Elizabeth was in a coma for a while but then . . . well, she never woke up, it was painless for all of them, there was no suffering."

"Thank you" He whispered out. "I loved her so much."

"I know" Anne replied gently and she could feel the tears running down her cheeks as she saw this huge man deal with his loss. 

Later as she drove home, she replayed the evening in her mind. She could not get over the sight of him still sitting in the chair, head down. She had simply slipped out the door, leaving him to his misery, now she wished she had done what she truly wanted to do. Comfort him, take him in her arms and hug him to her. That though astounded her, comfort and hug Donald Duncan, was she going mad, losing her mind, no she wasn't she decided, as she thought of him holding her as she broke down in Graces bedroom. He had caught her as she fainted and held her in his arms as she lay sobbing against him. Here she was trying to take his child from him and he was comforting her.

But there were other things that were still running around in her mind. Why had the partners told her it was a one night stand? He obviously dated Elizabeth as he said, the pictures proved that. His story about the parents seemed odd but put in the context of his explanation, it made sense. It certainly made more sense than the story she was being told. She also wondered why she had omitted a fact, a small one, but the key fact that made all of this happen.

It was the fact that Elizabeth Warren had actually died forty two days after the accident and more importantly after her parents had died. As their only child, even comatose, at their death, she had inherited the estate, now with her gone, her last will and testament became an issue. It is that will that caused the uproar. Thinking it through, it all became suddenly clear; Elizabeth Warren had never forgotten Don. She had loved him as he had loved her, and while she was not strong enough to defy her parents in life, she had in death. 

The ringing of the phone awakened Anne the next morning and she was shocked to hear it was Don.

"I have a little girl who has to learn about animals and wants to go to the zoo." Don said.

"Okay?" Anne answered still half asleep.

"She refuses to get up and dressed to go unless you come along." Don said with a laugh.

Anne snickered. "All right, I'll be there in an hour."

As she hung up, she realized that Don was back to himself but some of the questions that the night brought were still there.

As they walked through the zoo, Anne couldn't help but be thrilled with the day. It was wonderful, Grace was in fine form, chattering a mile a minute and amazed by every animal there. Don was the consummate doting dad, carrying her when she was tired, buying her souvenirs and treats, and answering her long list of questions. He was also the perfect companion for her, never letting her feel left out and always with a smile and a laugh as they spared and teased each other.

"Hey asshole!" they both heard directly behind them. They kept walking assuming it was just one of those things you hear out in public.

"I'm talking to you Duncan!"



Six Weeks of Grace Pt. 05



At that, Don and Anne both turned to see two men following them. They were scraggly and unkempt, looking like they had just left a bar after an all-night drunk rather than at the zoo with families.

"Do I know you?" Don glared at them. 

Anne grabbed Grace's hand and instinctively moved behind Don with the little girl.

"No, but we know you, you fucking asshole." One of them spit out as the other laughed.

Don's anger was building and he had no doubt he could take these two. "What did you say to me?"

"I called you a fucking asshole; and I might want a shot of that skinny little bitch you're with when I'm done with you." The other one snarled at Don, both of them stepping closer.

Don was at the edge, closing his hands into fists as he got ready to strike.

"Daddy, let's go!" He suddenly heard behind him and it cut through his rage. Grace was calling him; Grace and Anne were with him! 

"Don maybe we should head over to the security station." Anne threw out as she saw the effect Grace's words had on him.

Don slowly turned away from the two and gathered up Anne and Grace before they quickly walked away.

"This ain't over ass hole." He heard yelled out behind him and Anne gently laid her hand on his arm. She could feel how tense he was and wondered why this, of all places, someone would do that.

Walking towards the security office, Don heard the last words but also felt Anne's small hand on his arm. It calmed him and he noticed she kept it there as they walked through the crowd.

When they got there, they reported the incident and left the building. They finished up their tour and were gone soon after. The thought of the encounter was still fresh as they drove home without talking.

As Don drove, Anne could see that he was furious but she decided she had to say something. "That was very brave of you."

Don's head snapped around to glare down at her as she was seated beside him. He glanced in the back seat to see Grace fast asleep after the long walk. "I sure don't feel brave, letting someone talk like that to us." He spat out.

Anne thought carefully about she wanted to say. "Don, brave means many things. It means putting your life at risk to save a comrade in war." She said causing Don's expression to change suddenly. "It also means being strong enough to put your ego aside to do what's best for others."

Don kept his eyes on the road but Anne could tell she was getting through to him. "I have no doubt in my mind, that in any situation, you could have taken care of those two clowns, but what if in the melee Grace had been hurt, would have it been worth it?"

"No," Don said distinctly, "No it wouldn't have been, but still -. " 

"But nothing, they could have had a gun or knives. Your daughter is safe, that's what should be important, not your ego."

Don drove for several minutes quietly contemplating her words. He could find no fault, she was absolutely right, there was no question Grace's safety was everything. Finally after a few miles he spoke up. "You're right, thank you."

Anne just nodded acceptance of his answer but she wanted to add one more point. "Don I want you to know, there is still a lot of things about you I worry and question, but your courage has never been one of them."

Don turned to look at her. "Thank you again."

The following Friday brought another meeting with the partners. "I have nothing to report." Anne started. "He takes Grace to school, does his job, picks her up, takes care of her, when they are out he is protective of her, always watchful, no drinking, no negative issues. In fact he has even had his offensive tattoos covered."

"Hmmm . . . so you say no incidents at all?" Brett Langman asked, surprising Anne as he rarely ever spoke during these meetings.

'No, none," Anne answered.

"Nothing at all?" He asked again.

Anne immediately felt uncomfortable, why was he asking again, he seemed to know something. "No, why do you have different information?" 

Brett looked at her for several moments seeming to want her to whither under his gaze, finally he looked away. "No, I guess not." He said very dismissively.

"That will be all Miss Summers." Mark Winters said, finishing her part in the meeting.

After she left, a different discussion was brewing. "What the fuck Brett?" Mark asked him, his question coming with heat!

"Look, my guys told me that they had an altercation and that Duncan had been cursing and combative, that they had roughed him up a bit. They said there was a fight."

"So she's lying?"

Brett shook his head, "No, I don't trust her any more than I trust them, but she seemed too certain."

Roger Evans jumped in. "Wait a minute, those two morons that were hanging around last week. Is that who you sent after him?"

"Yeah, why?" Brett asked.

"I'll tell you why, those two couldn't rough up Donald Duncan on their best day, have you ever actually laid eyes on him?" Roger asked.

"No, but they are usually able to handle somebody just fine." Brett answered.

"Well guess what, this ain't fucking usually! Donald Duncan is a damn monster and there is no way on this earth that those two piss ants you sent roughed him up. Just read the fucking file, All-American linebacker, infantry squad leader, Silver Star for bravery, six foot four, two hundred and fifty pounds of fucking muscle and those two told you they roughed him up." Roger finished up his rant shaking his head.

Mark took it all in before turning to Brett. "Look, Roger has a point, if your plan is to get him to lose control and get into a public brawl, you better come up with better opponents than those idiots, I saw them too, they may be tough when it comes to purse snatching but this is going to require a real threat."

Brett was pissed but he knew they were right. "Fine, I'll fix this. I have some other irons in the fire." He said and stalked out.

After he left, Roger turned to Mark. "He does have another point, how much can we trust miss perfect?"

"I don't know, but its something to pay attention to." Mark replied, thinking about the situation. "She may have to be told the facts of life at some point."

Driving away, Anne could not shake the feeling that Brett knew something, that he was expecting more, but what. There'd been nothing to report, the only incident that was unusual was the idiots at the zoo but nothing happened, Don walked away. Could that be it, how could they know? Something was going on but what, and if Brett knew about the zoo, maybe they were being followed, but why? It just didn't make sense. She was just going to have to stick to her charges and keep her eyes wide open.

Anne spent most of the weekend with Don and Grace, she told herself it was to keep a closer watch on them but the truth was she was enjoying being with them. They spent some time at a park, Don displayed a small amount of cooking talent by barbequing and by the end of the weekend Anne was sad to go back to what was becoming a very lonely apartment.

Don and Grace were settling into a routine and the small blips they had were fading. Tuesday evening brought a dinner of chicken nuggets that Don successfully cooked. This event brought cheers from Grace and even Anne who stopped by.

After dinner was cleaned up, Anne was getting ready to go when they were surprised by a knock on the door. Don opened it up to see Mike and Bobby standing there.

"Hey, we gave you a couple weeks, now we want to meet the little girl." Mike said with a big smile, coming into the living room. "Oh we're sorry; we didn't know you had a guest."

"I was just leaving." Anne said, but she was interrupted by Don.

"Anne please stay, I would like you to meet a couple of very important people." He motioned to Mike, "Anne Summers, this is my step father Mike Duncan." Mike showed surprise that Don would introduce him that way but stuck out his hand and Anne took it for a cordial shake.

"Mister Duncan, I recognize your name, it's nice to finally meet you." Anne said, very much in awe of the man she had only heard of. She knew he was a powerhouse; it was hard to believe this mild mannered man was the mover and shaker she had heard so much about.

"Please call me Mike." He replied with a warm smile.

Don then turned to Bobby. "And this is my brother Robert, Bobby Duncan." Again both Mike and Bobby were surprised by the introduction.

Anne again held out her hand. "Sheriff Duncan, if memory serves, we actually met in court once." 

Bobby looked surprised and then the recognition came to him. "Oh, so you're the one who-," He stopped suddenly as he realized what he was about to say.

"Who what?" Anne asked politely.

Don quickly saw what was happening so he decided to jump in. "Yes guys, Anne, Miss Summers is from the attorney's office that is overseeing Grace's future."

Anne looked at him warmly, as she realized that he had expressed it to put her in the best possible light.

Mike jumped back in. "Anne please stay, maybe it would be important for you to meet Don's family."

"Are you sure?" Anne asked skeptically.

"We are!" Bobby answered quickly.

Anne stayed and was amazed by the attention that Mike and Bobby gave Grace, and she just ate it up. Within an hour, it was plain she had two more men wrapped around her little finger. But through it all, Mike seemed to be sizing her up, watching her, evaluating her as she played with Grace and chatted with Bobby and Don. Finally, Bobby insisted on taking Grace out to swing, never mentioning that he had bought it.

Mike had given Anne a look that made her stay inside while the rest went out to play. "Anne, I wanted to talk to you for a minute." Mike began.

"Sure," Anne replied with hesitation, unsure if Mike would take this opportunity to berate her for her role in all of this.

"We stayed away so they could get used to each other, but I wanted to ask you, how is he doing?"

Anne was taken back a bit by his question and the honest sincerity in his tone. "He's doing good Mike, he can't cook a bit, but he's trying." She said with a smile.

Mike smiled at that and then continued. "I have crews working here and they have been reporting back that he is doing a great job, he's calm, professional, helpful, and everything I have prayed for." 

Anne looked at him and could see the pride in him at those words. "Mike, Don told me his story and your part in it. I think you should be very proud of him."

"Well, I didn't do much but what I could." Mike replied.

"Maybe, but I think Grace is a big influence too." Anne threw in.

Mike hesitated and then seemed to look deep into her, and then he turned and looked out the window at Don pushing Grace on the swing, then back at her. Anne grew a bit uncomfortable at his gaze as she felt that he could see right into her soul. Finally he spoke very carefully, "under it all, that is one of the finest men that ever lived, he's a tough nut to crack but stick with him Anne and you'll never regret it."

Anne was stunned as Mike turned and walked out the door, joining the others at the swing set. She had been standing as Mike spoke, but now she sank back down into a chair. What was that all about she wondered, what did he see in me that made him think that she would ever 'stick' with Donald Duncan and what did that mean anyway? Turning her head she saw them all outside and she so wanted to join in, but something told her that she should go. Gathering her things she left to return to her apartment.

Thursday was an interesting day for Don, he was working to get the crews working in better rhythm, in order to reduce expensive down time. That had been the big failure of this development, the poor planning of work had left the crews constantly waiting on each other. Since he took over, it was starting to smooth out and results had picked up dramatically.

He was surprised when the foreman for the concrete crew approached him. "Don, you know we should get together for a few beers tonight."

Don looked at him with a strange expression. "I appreciate the offer but I'm busy, thanks anyway." Not only was he supposed to not be drinking, he really barely knew this guy.

"Hey come on, just a beer, what do you say?" He pressed on.

"No thanks, besides I have a commitment." Don replied, he didn't feel the need to explain that his commitment was a very short blonde that talked constantly!

"My wife can watch your kid, it will just be us, we can hit a bar."

Don was taken back a bit as the foreman seemed to know about Grace. "Again thanks for the offer, but I have to pick her up from school this afternoon." 

"My wife will get her, don't worry, it's just a beer, nothing more." He seemed to be pleading now.

"No, I better not; she might not be comfortable with that." Don answered, where this was going?

"What's wrong with my wife, you gotta problem with her?" The guy yelled out at Don.

Don just shook his head; he could tell that several guys in the crew were circling the two, trying to figure out what was going on between their foreman and the new manager. Several knew Don or knew of him and they were clearly uncertain why the foreman would be antagonizing him. "Look, I have nothing against you or your wife, I have a daughter that I have to take care of and that is more important than having a beer. I appreciate the offer and maybe some other time."

"Yeah, well it sounds like you just think you're too good to drink with me."

Don looked around, obviously exasperated as several of the foreman's crew started to try to calm him down. "Hey Joe, its all right man we'll have a beer with you." One of them said, trying to get him under control.

"Fuck you and him!"

Don saw him move and braced himself as the guy got closer, but before he could strike, a couple of his crew tackled him and pulled him away from the group. The forman could be heard cursing Don as he was hauled away by several of his crew.

"What the fuck happened Don? " One of the old timers asked. He had worked with Don on and off for the last few years and was happy that Don was around, getting things going.

"I have no idea, one minute the guy is all over me to have a beer with him and the next he's ready to fight." Don answered, bewildered over the whole situation. "I barely know the guy, what's his story?"

His friend looked a bit embarrassed for a minute before he answered. "I'm on his crew now and you know what loyalty is all about."

Don nodded, he did know, loyalty on a good crew is important and problems were kept between the crew. "I understand but my loyalty is to one guy and that's Mike, I can't have a foreman that attacks me for no reason."

"Don your right, we've been friends for a while, and I've been with Mike forever. The truth is that the guy is ass deep in debt and has been having problems. To be honest half the troubles here are with our crew. He's on and off again, and we spend too much time fixing instead of doing it right the first time. But do me a favor, look into it yourself, draw your own conclusions."

"I understand," Don said as he slapped his buddy on the back and left the site. Once away, he called Mike and had him come down, two hours later it was over and the foreman was gone. 

Mike called Don to the side afterward. "It seems funny to me about what happened."

"What do you mean?" Don asked.

"Well it only took a few minutes of investigation to see he was a problem so that explains part of the issues on the site, but it's the other I don't get."

"Mike, I'm sorry, I should have seen the issues and dealt with it."

"No Don, you're new at this and you're doing great. You have a lot to learn as you're still in the forest phase; you know the old, can't see the forest for the trees. As a site manager, you have to learn when to spot trouble between the crews and how they all fit together. You're still looking at each team, that's why you didn't see it." Mike answered his apology. "But you'll get it, you've done wonders already, we're really picking it up here in just a couple weeks."

"Thanks!" 

Mike was rubbing his cheek, deep in thought. "But I still don't get why he went from buying you a beer to wanting to fight, just seems odd." He finally said.

"I don't know, I seem to draw that, I guess." 

"Maybe, just maybe . . . but still odd." Mike looked over at Don and couldn't help wondering why a guy older, smaller and weaker would get mad enough to want to try Donald Duncan on for size, especially in front of his whole crew. He just couldn't see how getting his ass whipped in front of his guys would work out to the foreman's advantage. Mike thought he better check in here more often, Don seemed to be doing great but still, it was damn puzzling.

Friday afternoon found another meeting of Anne and the partners. The partners sat stoically as Anne delivered her report as usual. "Nothing again!" She said simply.

After they all looked at each other for a few moments, Brett jumped in, "What about anyone he is associating with?"

"What do you mean?" Anne answered.

"Any contacts with anyone, problems at work, anything like that?" He asked cryptically.

Anne, once again, wondered where this was coming from. "None that I saw or am aware of."

"Well who does he associate with?" Roger threw out at Anne.

Anne just sat thinking for a minute before she answered. "Well, he did have a couple guys over to the house one night."

Roger jumped right in, "There we go, maybe we should find out their background!"

Anne looked around at the three men, noticing the expectation on all their faces that they had finally hit on something. Anne smirked. "You mean Mike Duncan and his son Bobby. I don't think the county Sheriff is really a nefarious character and I, for one, have no intention of digging up dirt on Mike Duncan."

"No," Mark Winters jumped in, quickly realizing the gravity of her words. "That is not an enemy I want to deal with in any way. That guy could bury us in a heartbeat!"

"Are you sure there were no other issues Miss Summers?" Brett asked and once again Anne got that feeling that he already knew something. 

Thinking like a lawyer she took the easy way out. "Gentleman, I have stated, not to my knowledge."

"That's not an-" Roger started but was quickly cut off by Mark Winters.

"Thank you Miss Summers, that will be all."

After Anne left, Mark once again was at Brett. "How are those irons now?"

"Hey, my guy tried but some of the others there held him back so there was no fight."

Roger just shook his head, "Yeah I'll bet, held him back, he was going after Duncan and he got held back."

"That's what he said!"

"Stop it, this is getting us nowhere!" Mark cut them off. "Brett, step it up, do what you have to." 

As what was becoming a habit, Anne returned to Don and Grace after her meeting with the partners. As she came through the door, Grace saw her and launched herself into her arms. "Miss Anne, Miss Anne, Daddy's cooking dinner."

"Is that a cry for help?" She asked, loud enough that Don could hear her in the kitchen.

"Very funny," he yelled back at them.

Anne put Grace down and took her hand. "Let's go see what Daddy is making, we may be going out!"

Don looked at her as she came in the kitchen. He had to smile as he saw her walk in holding Grace's hand; she was a natural mother he thought, which made him suddenly stop what he was doing. 

"Hey don't stop, this could be fun to watch!" Anne told him with a laugh, interrupting his thoughts. "So what's on the menu?"

Don gave her that shy smile that was fast becoming a favorite with her. He reached down into the oven and pulled out a pan of something that actually smelled delicious. "Meat loaf!" he yelled out excitedly.

"Did you buy that somewhere and just bring it home cooked?" Anne asked, still giggling.

"No, Daddy made it, I helped." Grace jumped back into the conversation.




Six Weeks of Grace Pt. 05



Later after they cleaned up, Anne was forced to admit that it was good. "You know Don, if every night was meat loaf night; you may be able to survive on your cooking!"

"Yeah, did you know they actually sell books with cooking instructions in them?" Don asked sheepishly.

Anne couldn't help but bust out laughing. "You mean you never bought a cookbook until now?" She asked between giggles.

Don just shook his head. "Well, I guess it might have been a better purchase a couple weeks ago."

'Ya think!" Anne couldn't resist teasing him again.

Later, Don looked over at her sitting on the couch and the thought he had came back to him. Grace was curled up in her lap and was totally comfortable there. He couldn't help but wonder why pretty and intelligent woman like Anne didn't have a husband and children. What would it take to win her hand he thought, but then he remembered the scene at the restaurant and her face as the old woman thought they were a family. Whatever it would take, he would never have it, that's for sure.

He suddenly felt sad and Anne caught his expression. "Something wrong?" she asked.

Don recovered quickly. "No I was just thinking I don't have anything planned for this weekend for Grace."

"You don't have to plan every weekend Don, sometimes kids just want to be with you." She replied.

"You're right; I guess I just want it to be perfect for her." 

Anne didn't know what to say, he was right, he tries every day to make Grace's life perfect. "You are doing fine." She finally told him.

"Thanks" Don replied. "Well she looks like she is about out, do you want to help tuck her in." Don asked as he lifted Grace from her arms.

"No," Anne replied almost too quickly, "I should go."

Saturday came and Don was doing what Anne suggested, they had spent the day at home. They played a game, watched a movie, it was a great time for both of them. He was looking forward to a repeat Sunday when Anne showed up and the three of them spent the day doing the same thing. They walked down to a park and Don grilled some burgers for dinner. 

As Monday was a school day, it was early to bed for Grace. Once again Anne stayed downstairs as Don got her bathed, and ready for bed. This time though, Grace refused to go to bed without hugging Anne. 

"Miss Anne, Miss Anne, I need a hug" She said as she came down the stairs.

Anne quickly went down to one knee as Grace wrapped herself around her. "Tuck me in, tuck me in, please Miss Anne."

Don was watching from the top of the stairs, and he saw Anne's face as Grace made her request. She looked stricken, so he decided to go down and retrieve Grace himself. He had only taken a couple steps though when he heard Anne give in. "Okay, honey, I'll come up." She said, but Don could hear a slight tremor in her voice.

Don retreated to Grace's bedroom as she came in holding Anne's hand. "You sit there." Grace told her as she pointed to a chair off to the side of the room. Then she pointed at the chair beside the bed. "Daddy has to sit here while he reads me a story."

Don took his seat but watched Anne carefully, she looked shell shocked but why, he wondered. "Daddy, read," Grace blurted out interrupting his thoughts.

Don read her a few pages of the story book as she drifted off to sleep. He kept an eye on Anne but she seemed so fixated on Grace, she seemed to just stare at her the entire time. Finally, he closed the book and kissed Grace on the forehead.

Anne suddenly bolted from the room, she had tried to hold it together but the sight of Don placing a gentle kiss on the forehead of his daughter was too much for her. The memories overwhelmed her and she had to get out of there. As she raced down the stairs, the tears were running down her cheeks. Why, she wanted to scream out, why not me. Reaching the bottom of the stairs she grabbed her purse and headed to the front door only to run straight into the massive form of Donald Duncan.

Instinctively he reached out as she ran into him. She was crying and he saw the fat tears roll down her face. "Anne, what's wrong?" He asked softly but she just ignored him. 

Suddenly, she looked up at him and before he could react, she violently pushed away from him, spinning quickly, she ran to the back door and out into the evening air. He followed her to find her standing on the deck looking into the yard at the swing set. "WHY! WHY! WHY!" she sobbed out.

"Anne" he said softly as she turned into him and fell limp against him. Don grabbed her just as her legs gave out. Picking her up as if she were weightless, he held her as if she were a child.

Cradling her, he sat down onto the deck, his back against the wall. He held her tight against him as she sobbed quietly. He held her for several minutes until she wiped at her eyes and started to get up. "No Anne, stay, whatever this is about, talk to me."

Anne wanted to struggle out of his arms but she couldn't bring herself to do it. She felt so warm and protected; she just let herself be cuddled as she tried to regain her composure. She wiped at her tears several times and then just gave up and let them flow. "I can't have a baby." She whispered quietly.

Don was overwhelmed by her admission but just stayed quiet and hugged her even tighter. Like a giant jigsaw puzzle, suddenly all the pieces fit. Her collapse in Grace's room, her refusal to come upstairs and tuck Grace in but worst of all, her face when he asked if she had children in the Judge's chambers. Don felt a stab in his heart when he remembered the question and her reaction. "I'm so sorry Anne, I didn't know; I'm so sorry, forgive me." He said quietly.

Anne heard him through her sobs, but couldn't understand what he was saying, was this pity, what was he talking about. "What?" She asked quietly.

"With the Judge, I saw your face, I didn't know or I would have never brought it up, I'm so sorry Anne." Don said gently, squeezing her softly to him.

Anne heard and realized it wasn't pity, he was genuinely sorry for hurting her. She had to let it out she realized, she had to; it hurt too much to keep it in. "I was married." She started low and soft, "to my High School sweetheart. After college I got pregnant, a little girl, I was so happy, we were so happy."

Don just waited as she paused, he knew enough to keep quiet and let her tell her story in her own time. He actually wondered if she had fallen asleep when she continued. "I was four months pregnant, we had decorated the room, bought everything to make it perfect, and then I fell. Oh God, I tried to stay upright, I tried but I couldn't and I fell down the stairs. Oh God, I tried, I tried!"

Don felt her tense up as she worked to get it out. "I woke up in the hospital, they had to take my baby, she was dead, my baby was dead, I tried, oh God I tried not to fall."

Don held her as she sobbed. "They had to do surgery . . . and . . . oh God . . . my baby was gone. All I ever wanted and she was gone because of me, it was all my fault, I killed her . . . I killed my little girl!"

"Anne," was all that Don could get out as he held the sobbing woman in her arms.

"He left me, he wanted children and he left me because I couldn't have them. But I tried, I tried, I tried to save her . . . but she was gone, my baby, gone." Anne sputtered out, her words not making any sense as the pain engulfed her.

Anne shuddered as her crying escalated and her body became racked with convulsions. Her wailing became so mournful; Don could feel it straight into his heart. He just held her, there was nothing else he could do or say to make this better. Soon the crying became lower and then just a gentle sobbing. After what seemed like an eternity of holding her, Don felt her finally fall asleep in his arms.

Rising to his feet, he effortlessly carried her upstairs to the guest bedroom and put her down on the bed. He covered her with a blanket and dropped into a chair. Looking at her, even in her sleep, he saw the pain and anguish on her face. What kind of man would do this to her he wondered. Without thinking he leaned over and kissed her forehead, the same way he kissed Grace every night. "I never would," he whispered to her as he closed the door and went to his room.

Don tossed and turned the entire night, Anne's words kept running through his head, which coupled with what would come of morning, made for a long night. He was up and dressed before his alarm went off. Shutting it off before it rang; he sat down on the bed to consider his options. Should he go to wake Anne, leave her be, pretend it didn't happen, he had no idea what was best. He knew she would be embarrassed because of her breakdown in his arms and he realized that he didn't want her to be. For some reason, he wanted to support her and be there for her.

With a feeling of determination, he quietly left his bedroom and walked down the hall. He entered the room and silently sat down in the same chair he had occupied the night before. She was curled up facing him, her hair looked like a tangled mess and her face was streaked with makeup. Unlike last night, she looked at peace, gone was pain that he had seen only a few hours ago, instead he saw in her the same angel that he saw in his daughter. As Don watched her sleep, suddenly the craziest thought crossed his mind. What would it be like to see her like this every morning? The idea made him smile for a second before reality came to him and his face fell a bit. Once again, the scene at the restaurant came back to him and he knew that she was here because of her job and that was all it was.

Anne must have felt his presence and started to stir. Without thinking Don reached over and brushed a few strands of hair out of her face as he saw her eyes flutter open. "Morning," he said softly.

Anne's eyes opened wide as she realized where she was. She started to throw back the blanket but the sight of Don looking into her eyes stopped her. His eyes were so soft and caring, it made her snuggle down into the bed. "Morning," she whispered back.

"How do you feel?" again his voice so gentle it seemed to put her even more at ease.

But unfortunately the question brought last night's events back to her and he could see her eyes start to moisten and she quickly looked away.

"Hey now, its okay, I guess we both have some things we need to work on." Again, he gingerly brushed her hair from her face.

Looking back to him, Anne just slowly nodded.

"I have to get Grace up, why don't you clean up and come downstairs. I can offer you some toast and jelly or maybe you'd like me to attempt a huge breakfast?" He said with a small grin.

Anne felt the tension leave her and she knew he was trying to lighten the moment. "Toast will be just fine; I think I have enough trouble." 

He saw her smile as she said it and he couldn't help himself, he reached over and very softly caressed her cheek.

Anne closed her eyes as she felt his huge hand touch her cheek, and when she opened them he was gone. Lying there, she was warmed by how he had made her feel. He had taken away any embarrassment from the night before and she was so thankful for that. But it was the gentle way he had spoken to her and touched her that made her feel so incredibly special. She had seen him act that way with Grace as he showed how much he cared for her, it struck her that maybe he cared for her too. 

Getting out of bed, she dismissed that idea as soon as it came to her. He was probably just being nice so he could keep Grace. After all, that was really what she was doing here, trying to get evidence that he was an unfit father, but she had to admit, that was getting harder every day.

"Miss Anne, did you have a sleep over?" Grace asked with wide eyes as Anne came downstairs.

"Ah," Anne looked stricken as Don smiled at her embarrassment.

"Miss Anne wanted to take you to school and see where you went, so she came early, isn't that right Miss Anne?" Don said with a wink.

"Yeah, that's right, I want to see your school." Anne replied and gave a relieved look to Don.

"Please Anne, sit down, we have yummy toast and jelly." Don added with a grin.

Grace was excited by having them both there and had to be constantly reminded to eat breakfast. She kept a running commentary about her school to Anne who kept asking her questions to keep her going, all to Don's chagrin. The more he tried to get her to eat, the more Anne kept her talking. Finally, Don decided she had enough breakfast and physically picked her up and took her upstairs to get dressed. Anne could hear her giggling the whole way up the stairs.

Don came back down while Grace got dressed and glared at her. "You know you're not going to be invited to any more sleep overs if you don't behave!"

Anne couldn't help it and started laughing at Don's apparent frustration, but he couldn't hold in his laughter either. "Well at least you can help clean up!"

As Don picked up some dishes, Anne helped put away the remaining items. She watched him stack the dishwasher before she gently laid her small hand on his huge arm. "Don, I . . . ah, well . . thank you."

Her hand was still resting on his arm as he patted it gently with his other hand. He looked at her for a long moment and then seemed to want to say something, but instead just nodded.

"Miss Anne, I'm ready to go!" Grace yelled out as she came down the stairs.

Anne gave Don's arm a small squeeze and then turned to the excited little girl. "Well let's go then!"

"Daddy, Daddy, you have to give me my hug and kiss now, cause Miss Anne is taking me to school." Grace said, explaining how it had to be to Don.

Don came over and picked her up and pulled her in to a big hug as he growled like a bear, which set off Grace giggling again. He gave her an exaggerated kiss and then set her back down. Once she hit the ground, she ran to the door. "Miss Anne, we have to go now!"

Anne gave Don a big smile, "I think I have my orders."

After they left Don tried to once again get a handle on the weekend, but then he realized that he had to get to work himself.

The week was going great for Don, without the disgruntled foreman, the crews were really starting to work together. He had done a couple of tours of his home and they were very interested so he turned them over to the sales staff. 

Anne was the only worry, she was absent for most of the week and Don was starting to worry that the incident on Sunday night was more than he thought it was. He was surprised that he was missing her as her absence made it better for him; he didn't have to worry about her looking over his shoulder. But he was missing her and he could tell that was Grace was too. She asked about Anne almost constantly and by Thursday she was really sad.

"Miss Anne, Miss Anne," Don heard Grace yell out as he finished putting the last of the dinner dishes away Thursday night.

When he got to the living room, he saw that Anne was down on one knee giving Grace a big hug. Grace was holding on to her for dear life and was in no hurry to let go.

"I'm sorry Anne, you missed dinner." Don said with a smile.

"That's okay." Anne replied coolly.

Don noticed that she didn't comment about dinner and so he went back to the kitchen. He could hear Grace filling Anne in on the events of the week, so he finished up his chores before returning to the living room.

"Grace, time to get ready for bed." Don told her as she sat with Anne chatting.

"Ahwww Daddy, Miss Anne just got here."

"I know honey, let's go up and get you ready and then you can come down stairs for a few minutes, okay?"

'Okay, I will be right back, Miss Anne, don't leave." Grace told her as she ran upstairs.

Don looked at Anne for a second but she didn't return his glance, she simply sat stoically as he went up to get Grace ready for bed.

As he headed upstairs he wondered what was going on but quickly got involved with getting Grace ready. After getting her in her nightie, she ran down the stairs and sat next to Anne and resumed her chatter.

Anne seemed to be distracted as she listened to Grace, she was paying attention but not really interacting very well. Don listened to Grace for a few minutes before announcing it was time for bed.

"Tuck me in!" Grace jumped up and grabbed Anne's hand as if to pull her up.

Don watched Anne carefully as she seemed to mull it over, he could see the conflicting emotions cross her face. Finally she made up her mind. "Sure." She answered and got up.

"Do you want to take care of her Anne?" Don asked carefully.

Anne turned to him, still holding Grace's hand. She hesitated for a second before a small smile came to her. "I would, thank you."

Don simply nodded. "Give me goodnight kiss, Miss Anne will tuck you in." He told Grace who gave a squeal, and then ran to him and gave him a very quick hug and kiss.

He could see she was excited as she ran back to Anne and grabbed her hand so they could go upstairs.

Don had to chuckle as he knew Grace would make sure that Anne did everything just right. He was a bit worried about Anne but maybe this is what she needed.

He sat quietly reading a magazine as he waited on Anne and was relieved to see her come down the stairs with a smile on her face. "Everything okay?" he asked.

"Oh yeah, she made sure I did it all right, she's all tucked in." She replied hesitantly.

"Uhmm . . are you okay?" he asked deliberately.

Anne sat down across from him and appeared to be in thought for a minute or two. "I'm okay. Thank you for your concern."

Don could tell there was something else, so he waited. Anne seemed to be trying to gather her thoughts, he could tell something was coming and it was obvious to him it wasn't good.

"Don this week," she finally started. "I have been doing some investigation."

"Of?" he asked.

"Of you."

"Oh." 

"Please understand that it's my job. I was charged with making sure that you would be a good father and to document any issue that calls that into question."

"Okay."

"I checked on your job, who you associate with and really, what you do every day." She said.

Don was getting a bad feeling; she sounded exactly the way she sounded in the Judge's office. "I told you Anne, I have very few secrets."

She reached down into her purse and pulled something out. Holding it up for him to see she asked. "Is this one of them?"



Six Weeks of Grace Pt. 06



Don immediately recognized the pill bottle in her hand and felt himself tense up. "Where did you get those?"

"Are they yours?" She asked ignoring his question.

Don sat back into the couch. "Yes, but again, how do you happen to have them?"

Anne shook her head, it was obvious she was upset at finding them. "I have the Judge's approval to search the house."

Don realized that she was right, the Judge had allowed it. "So?"

"Don, I'd like to think that . . well . . it's just that . . . I have to know what this is."

Don could see the conflict in her and for some reason it made him feel good. When this started, he knew she would have jumped on the opportunity to show him as a drug user, now it seemed, she was trying to give him the benefit of the doubt. He hoped that was so, because he knew that what he was about to tell her could be a problem. "Disulfiram," He answered deliberately.

"Disulfiram?" She repeated thoughtfully.

Don took a deep breath and let it out. "You probably know it as Antabuse."

"Antabuse!" Anne spat out. "Why?"

Don leaned forward and put his head in his hands. "I don't know if I'm an alcoholic, all I know is I wanted to make sure I didn't lose my daughter because of drinking." He answered.

"Do you have a prescription?" She asked with hesitation.

Don just shook his head and looked back up at her. "I would have had to be diagnosed or gone to AA, how would that look?"

Anne just stared at him, now what was she going to do she wondered. She needed time to think. "I have to go," She said suddenly and stood up, gathering her purse and jacket.

"Anne?" 

"I have to go, I don't know Don, I don't know." She said and then let herself out.

Later as she tossed and turned trying to sleep, she tried to decide what she would tell the partners tomorrow. Her weekly report was due and she had no idea how she could withhold this information. He was taking prescription medication that he wasn't prescribed. That was a fact, but the medication was to keep him from drinking, he was trying so hard, could she be a part of taking his daughter over this. She finally decided she had to be honest, she would have to tell them tomorrow. What she couldn't understand was why that thought made her feel so sad that she could feel tears tickling at her eyes as she drifted off to sleep.

As Don lay in bed that night, he realized that all of his efforts may have been for nothing. It seemed like a great idea at the time, but now reflecting back, he should have trusted his self-control. As he finally drifted off, he felt the incredible stress welling up in him.

The explosion ripped through the armored personnel carrier directly in front of the Humvee. The sound of gunfire and bullets whizzing by came only a few seconds later. Don quickly grabbed his lieutenant and pulled him into his face, "WE'RE IN AN AMBUSH, CALL FOR CHOPPER SUPPORT, NOW!"

Don heard the young platoon leader calling for help as he grabbed another radio and gave instructions for the platoon to return fire. They had to keep the enemy's head down until their support arrived, he knew it would only take a few minutes but a few minutes was a long time under fire.

The sound of a scream cut through the air and Don jumped from the Humvee and ran towards the burning vehicle over thirty yards ahead of him. He grabbed the rear door handle and opened it to see several stunned and bleeding men. A small fire was building in the front and he knew it would only be a matter of time before it all went up. He grabbed the first one and threw him into a fireman's carry and ran back to drop him at the Humvee. "Medic," he yelled out as he returned for another. Suddenly he felt a searing pain go through his side and he was knocked off his feet. Jumping back up, he grabbed a second man and pulled him from the burning vehicle. 

Around him he could hear his men returning fire and he hoped in the confusion and chaos he could get the rest out. Running back to the vehicle, he grabbed another and started back but he was spun around as another bullet struck him in the shoulder. The pain was incredible but he staggered back to the Humvee with blood covering him. Somehow he returned and grabbed another but as he pulled him toward the door, Don could see that it was too late; a gaping hole was through his chest. Another man was slowly crawling to the door, so Don grabbed him and threw him over his bloody shoulder and moved back to the protection of the Humvee. He dropped the fourth man at the Humvee and quickly took in the sight of two medics working on the rescued men. He could hear the sound of choppers in the distance and knew help was on the way.

Totally exhausted, Don gathered what strength he had left to return to the burning vehicle. As he moved across the opening another bullet hit him in the leg, taking him off his feet. "NO," Don yelled out as he looked to the armored personnel carrier. There were still men inside that were alive as an incredible blast shook the ground and fire poured from the open rear door. Don tried desperately to get to his feet as the concussion from the explosion threw him back to the ground. Suddenly the sound of screams pierced through the noise as the remaining men were being burned alive.

Don struggled but no matter what he did, he couldn't get up, his left arm was useless and his right leg collapsed every time he put weight on it. The screaming was becoming intense as the flames consumed the vehicle. He heard them yelling for help over and over but he couldn't get up.

"NO! NO! I'M COMING, HOLD ON!" Don yelled, as he tried once more to regain his feet. 

"DADDY! DADDY" he heard through the fog. 

"DADDY WAKE UP, DADDY!" Grace yelled, terrified by the screams coming from her father as he rolled around in bed.

Don jerked upright as Grace's voice penetrated his nightmare. 

"Daddy, are you all right?" she asked, calming quickly once she saw he was awake. "Did you have a bad dream?"

Don was wide awake now as he saw Grace standing beside his bed in her little nightgown with some kind of tiny unicorns on it. "I'm okay sweetie." He said trying to sound calm. He opened his arms and Grace jumped into him for a hug. He held her for a second and then gently lowered both of them to the bed.

"Did you have a bad dream?" She asked again, pulling back a bit from him.

"I did honey, but I'm fine now." Don said to her as it struck him that this was the first one since he found out about Grace. "I'm sorry I woke you."

Grace snuggled in a little closer to him. "Daaaaddddy?" she said, drawing it out so Don knew a question was coming.

"Is mommy watching over you too?" She asked quietly.

Her question made Don pause, he realized the stress of the evening had probably triggered his nightmare, but maybe there was something to her question. "I hope she's watching over both of us." He answered her.

"I think she is, cause I don't have any more nightmares."

Don could only hope that was true as he felt her drift off back to sleep. He carried her back to her bed and laid her down, covering her up. Sitting down in the chair beside her bed, he wondered if he would ever get tired of watching her sleep. She was so sweet and innocent, so precious; maybe someday she would understand how she had saved him from the path of self-destruction he was on. 

Her question was still on his mind as he sat there. Suddenly, thinking of tonight's revelation he whispered a quiet prayer. "Libby if you are watching over us, help us now." 

As Anne readied her weekly report, she dreaded what she knew she had to say. "Everything normal, nothing significant to report." She said halfhearted.

Roger picked right up on it. "What do you mean significant, sounds like something happened?" he asked.

Anne looked at the partners and realized they seemed to be like wolves at a sheep dinner. "I spent some time this week, running more checks on his finances, arrests, work record, and so on, but there was absolutely no changes, no negative issues since he got Grace."

"But?" Mark asked.

"I searched his house as is allowed under the Judge's agreement and I found a bottle of prescription medication that was not prescribed to him." Anne said, her heart wrenching as she let it out.

"That's it, he's on drugs, that violates the agreement and we can take Grace from him." Brett exclaimed.

Anne was startled by the reaction, it was if he was overjoyed by the revelation. "I'm not sure." She added.

"What do you mean, it's obvious that he is has violated the deal, let's pick her up." Roger threw in.

Anne was aghast, she couldn't believe how heartless and cruel that would be to wrench Grace away from her father and they were ecstatic over the idea. Could they really be this unfeeling? "Hold on, that may not be the best course." She said forcefully.

"Explain yourself Miss Summers." Mark Winters said calmly.

"First of all the medicine he had was Antabuse, which he is taking to keep him from drinking, it is certainly not a narcotic. Second the Judge may see this as a positive, not a negative; he made it very plain that I was to contact him before I acted, unless the girl was in immediate danger. This hardly qualifies."

"But still, he violated the rules, we can take her!" Brett reiterated.

"No, we can't! Not unless you want to rile up the Judge, I think he has a soft spot for him and if we go in and take Grace, I can almost guarantee the Judge will not be happy or supportive!" Anne argued back at him.

Then looking straight at Brett, Anne's voice changed and everyone could hear the challenge in her tone. "Maybe YOU want to go to that house and TAKE Grace from him!"

Brett slunk down in his seat and looked away, the concept of taking the little girl sounded much better to him than the actual action required to do so.

"She's right, I hate to admit it but we have to be careful with this Judge, if we take her it could backfire." Roger finally added in, thinking back to his run in with Judge Baker.

Mark Winters had been listening intently. "I agree, this is evidence but it is not the nail in the coffin. We will file it away and use it later, but we don't want to open a can of worms."

"But . . but, " Brett stammered out.

"No, this is done. Miss Summers good job, keep a close watch on him."

Anne nodded and left, silently breathing a sigh of relief, the thought of taking Grace away almost made her sick.

After she left, Brett Langman's bravado returned. "What the fuck, we had him!"

"No we didn't, let's not jump the gun; we have to build a case not just act like a bull in a china shop." Mark answered him. "Besides, I thought you had a plan?"

"I do, but what if it doesn't work?"

"Doesn't work, I thought you had an iron clad deal brewing." Roger jumped in.

"Nothing's fucking iron clad." Brett spat back at him.

"Look, we have to stay the course, if we go charging in there and the Judge gets suspicious this could all still fall apart, there's no hurry, let's stay calm and keep to the plan. Brett, you hold up your end and we will be fine." Mark said, making the decision.

"I'll hold up my end, don't worry." Brett said as he went out the door.

It was a very worried Don that awaited Anne on Friday afternoon. It had been a rough time for him as his mind was on Grace all day. When he picked her up from school and brought her home, he just sat and cuddled her for the longest time, worried that he might lose her. Finally she grew restless and wanted to play upstairs, so he had to let her go. Deep in thought, he waited on Anne to make her appearance.

Anne saw the worry when she came in and gave him a small smile. "Don, I reported the drug to the firm but that's as far as it went." She said to him.

"Whew," Don let out as he felt an immediate relief.

"But remember, it's not really our decision when we go back to the court, the judge will take everything including that into consideration."

"I know, I was just worried I would lose her today."

Anne didn't know what to say so she just waited as he seemed to be thinking of something else. " I . . . I don't know what I would do if I lost her." He said, his voice trailing away at the end. Watching closely, she caught a small tear trail down his cheek just before he turned away. 

"Miss Anne" Grace yelled as she came running down the stairs. "I thought I heard you, are you here for dinner?" 

"I don't know, who's cooking?" She said with a laugh as Grace grabbed her for a big hug.

"Daddy is, he's getting better you know!" Grace answered back in her matter of fact way.

"Hmmm, sounds risky!" Anne said teasing Don.

Don had been listening as he was trying to dig himself out of the worry that had consumed him. "Not funny you two, how about some burgers on the grill?"

"Can I play on the swing while you cook?" Grace asked quickly.

"Sure, come on, let's get some dinner." Don said as they all headed to the kitchen.

Anne readied everything inside while Grace played on the swing and Don got the grill going. As she finished up her preparations, she wandered over to the window and watched Don carefully. As always, he kept a close eye on Grace and she could hear them bantering back and forth. 

"Monster," she thought, that was what everything said. The other words she saw in her reports came back to her as she took in the scene, drunk, brawler, criminal, angry, violent; but that isn't what she saw outside. She saw a handsome and intelligent man; a father who she had witnessed shed a tear at the thought of losing his daughter. Was he violent, absolutely, she had witnessed it; but she remembered her words in the Judges office and now she knew she had been so wrong. This man would never hurt her or Grace, she knew it. But she also knew that there would be no limit to the violence that he would perpetrate on others defending Grace.

But there was another side, as she remembered the way he held her as she cried over her lost child. The way he had caressed her cheek and brushed the hair from her face, he had a gentleness that confused her. How could a man that big and powerful be that gentle?

Her thoughts were interrupted as she saw him call to Grace and the two of them come to the table for dinner. After they said grace and began eating, the light banter between the three of them continued as both Grace and Anne teased Don on his cooking. Don always laughed along with them and joked right back at them.

"Daaadddddy?" Grace asked as they finished up.

Don had to chuckle as he had grown to know when she was going to try to get something from him. "Yeeeesssss" he answered back.

"Can we go to the park tomorrow?" She asked quickly.

"I suppose so." 

"Daaadddy?" She asked again with a giggle.

"Yeeesss!" 

"Can Miss Anne go too?" 

"I don't know honey, we would have to ask her but I don't think she will." Don answered and looked over at Anne with a smile.

"Why not?" Grace asked.

"Well, I'll have to make a lunch to take and you know she hates my cooking!" He answered continuing the game.

"No she doesn't, she just says that to tease you!" Grace said and started laughing.

"Hey, don't tell my secrets!" Anne finally jumped in to the conversation. "Just for that, I'll bring lunch and you two have to eat it!"

"That worked pretty good, didn't it." Don said leaning over towards Grace.

"To use your words, not funny!" Anne threw out quickly with a laugh.

After clean up and dishes, Grace took Anne back outside to play with her on the swings. This time it was Don that watched them through the window. He could see them laughing as Anne pushed her on the swing and it suddenly hit him. As much as he would be devastated if he were to lose Grace, what about Anne. What would she do if he got permanent custody, would she drop out of their lives, and what about Grace, she had already lost a mother. What if she lost Anne?

But as he pondered that situation he was trying not to see the other problem, did he want to lose Anne? The answer was no but he knew that there was nothing to be done about it. He didn't want to admit it but it was becoming more evident every day, he cared for her very deeply. But he would lose her because she was so far out of his league that if it weren't for the situation they were in, she wouldn't even talk to him. Oh she was nice enough to him, but when it was over, it would be over and the memory of her face at the restaurant made it so. They would never be a couple.

Shaking his head, he knew that it would be hardest on Grace. She adored Anne and losing her was going to be tough on the little girl, maybe someday he could find someone to be her mother but until then, he knew that he was going to have to deal with her disappointment.

Grace finally tired and he saw Anne take her hand and they walked across the yard. Grace was beaming and Anne had a look of contentment that was easy to see. Yes, as much as he wanted to deny it, there was a train wreck coming in two weeks either way!

"Daddy, Miss Anne is going to get me ready for bed." Grace announced as they came in.

Don was surprised and looked at Anne. "If it's okay?" She asked shyly.

"Fine with me, I'll take my hug and kiss now and then you deal with the little tornado."

"Daddy, I'm no tornado!" Grace answered him with a frown.

"Okay, come here then." Don said and got his hug and kiss before the two of them went upstairs.

As he watched them climb the stairs hand in hand, he couldn't help himself from muttering. "Yep, a real fucking train wreck!" 

Don surprised them with morning pancakes that came from a mix but were still a hit, and then it was off to the park where they spent most of the day on the playground. Anne had made a great lunch that they shared on a picnic table before they did a small hike down a trail. Grace was enthralled at being the center of attention for the day and she reveled in that role. She talked constantly and kept up a steady stream of questions for Don and Anne, which they answered while trying to keep up with her.

Anne noticed that Don seemed distant but couldn't figure out why. Whenever they weren't entertaining Grace, he seemed to be off in another world. He rarely addressed her directly and it seemed like the subtle joking that had become commonplace was gone. She tried to figure out why and the only reason she could come up with was her getting Grace ready for bed, but that didn't seem to upset him then, why would it now.

Don was a bit remote, but for another reason. Since they got to the park, something seemed strange. Instincts honed in the desert were coming back to him and he was noticing things that weren't quite right. They had been in the park most of the day, and though it was a large area with multiple playgrounds, hiking trails, baseball and soccer fields, he kept seeing the same two guys over and over. In a park so large, it wouldn't seem possible to notice that. In the war, as you went through villages, if you saw the same faces it meant they were tracking you. They were setting you up, trying to learn your destination to set up an ambush.

Don started to watch closer and not surprising, he saw them again. They were some distance but they were definitely watching them. Don suggested they go back to the main part of the park that they had come in to. As they walked, Don kept them in his vision, never staring, just watching them. Sure enough they followed for a ways and then were gone. Don was on edge as they got to the playground. Why would anyone else be following them, his personal keeper was with him?

Don pushed Grace on a merry-go-round and suddenly felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up for just an instant.

"Hey don't I know you?" He heard behind him.

Reacting instantly, Don grabbed up Grace and handed her to Anne. "Go to the car, now!" He told her firmly.




Six Weeks of Grace Pt. 06



Anne had been watching Grace but looked around and saw the two men. She nodded and took Grace and started walking quickly to the car.

"Yeah, I know you, Duncan, that's your name. You owe me money." Don heard as he turned to face them.

"I don't know either of you, and I damn sure don't owe you anything." Don replied trying to stay calm. He kept an eye on Anne's progress, wanting to make sure they were well away before anything happened.

"Oh, I think you do." One of the men said as he stepped closer, he was a few years older than Don and looked like he could handle himself.

The other hesitated and Don realized he was a follower; he was younger and obviously not really itching for a fight.

The older man was right in Don's face. "You think you're so tough, take your best shot punk!" He spat out at Don.

Don saw it coming but decided not to stop it, Anne was almost to the car, he just needed another few seconds. The slap caught him right on the cheek but it barely moved his head.

Anne had reached the car and was safe inside, as Don turned to his assailant.

"HEY!" Don heard from across the playground.

"Hey, hold on there!" Came the voice again and Don could see two cops running towards them. The younger man looked over his shoulder and immediately took off running. The older one hesitated for just a second before following him.

Don stood his ground as the cops came running up. The two troublemakers had disappeared into a large bunch of people across the way and neither Don nor the officers could see them.

"What was that all about?" One of them asked him.

"I have no idea, I think I saw them following us earlier, but I don't know who they are." Don replied, still wondering about the unprovoked attack.

"Do you have some ID?" the same one asked.

Don hesitated for a moment. "So two guys come up to me and slap me and instead of going after them, you want to hassle me?"

The police officer looked up at Don, obviously sizing him up. "Look, we saw the whole thing. The guy swung at you and you did nothing wrong, but if it is as you say and they were following you all day, it just seems more than a simple argument." 

"Makes sense." Don replied, he hated to admit it but what the he said seemed true. With that he pulled out his license and the officer took some notes.

"Mister Duncan, you might want to be careful, it seems odd that two guys would follow you around and then go after you in a city park." He said as he handed Don back his identification. "I'm going to file a quick report, it's in your best interest, that way if they end up going after you again, we will have a record."

"Thanks, I appreciate it." Don replied.

The cop seemed to appraise Don for several seconds before he spoke again. "I have to admit, I'm kind of surprised that they decided on you as a target. No disrespect, but going after a guy as big as you doesn't strike me as being a real smart idea!"

"None taken, but I had my daughter here, I wanted to make sure she was safe." Don answered.

The cop nodded his head. "Good thinking, nothings worth getting your child hurt. Well, be careful Mister Duncan."

As Don walked back to the car, his mind was racing. Too many incidents added up to one thing, something was going on and he had to figure it out. He saw Anne in the car and wondered if she could have something to do with all of this but then immediately dismissed it. While she might not care one way or another about him, he knew she would never put Grace in danger.

Finally, reaching the car, he slid in behind the wheel. He saw Grace almost asleep in the back seat, the day in the park having worn her out. When he looked over at Anne, she looked scared, he knew he was right, she couldn't have been involved.

"Are you okay?" her voice shaking as she asked. 

"Yeah, fine," Don answered quietly, not wanting to concern Grace. 

The ride home was quiet as they both seemed to sense that this was not something to discuss when Grace could hear. Later, after both of them got her a quick dinner and into bed, they sat out on the deck as it got dark. Seated beside each other in chairs they gazed at the swing set in the backyard.

They sat quietly until Don decided someone had to start. "I don't understand it, I never saw either of those guys in my life."

Anne hesitated but then decided to press on. "Don, please don't take this wrong but is it possible that you may have been in a run in with them and not remember?" She asked very cautiously.

Don turned to her and he could see the anxiety in her face. "It's okay Anne, that's a question I even asked myself, but no I would remember and not only don't I remember them, I don't remember the two guys from the zoo." 

Anne felt a sense of relief at how calm he was so she continued. "All right, what about college, the Amy, jobs you had, anything you can think of?"

Don just shook his head. "No, I went through that too, I never met them in any way, good or bad."

Don wanted to see her so he turned his chair towards her. "Anne, I swear to God, if I thought for a minute that I had some dealings with people that would put you or Grace in harm's way, I would tell you."

Anne looked at him thoughtfully before she gently laid her hand on his huge arm. "I know that Don, I know that."

She withdrew her hand and Don felt the loss of her touch. "But then that still brings up the why?" She asked him.

"I just don't know." Don answered, shaking his head.

They sat in their own thoughts until Anne finally realized it was late. "I better go." She said as she got up.

"Anne," Don started but then stopped. He didn't want her to go, he just wanted to protect her. "Anne, your welcome to stay, I mean, what if . . . oh I don't know, but I worry about you."

Anne stopped and looked at him carefully, she should be shocked that he would even suggest it but it was just the opposite, it gave her a warm feeling. "No, I appreciate it, I'll be all right."

He nodded his acceptance and followed her out to see her off. 

Later lying in bed, he ran through the day again and kept coming to the same conclusion, something was wrong but what he wondered.

Sunday dawned with Don having spent half the night tossing and turning without a resolution to the situation. He got up and got some breakfast for him and Grace before placing a call to Mike.

He was surprised when Bobby showed up with him and even more so when Bobby took charge of Grace. After they went out to the backyard, he and Mike sat at the table over coffee.

"What's wrong son?" Mike finally asked him.

Don stirred his coffee for a second, wondering where to start. "Something's going on and I don't know what."

"Oh?" 

"If it was just me, I could handle it, but a couple things have happened and I'm afraid for Grace and -." Don stopped himself suddenly, leaving the statement hang in the air.

"And?" Mike asked distinctly.

Don just ignored the question as Mike let a small smile cross his lips.

"Do you remember the foreman that you fired, the one who almost attacked me for not drinking with him?"

"Yeah, have you had trouble with him again?" 

"No, not him but twice now, once at the zoo a couple weeks ago and yesterday at the park, I had two guys try to pick a fight with me." Don explained.

"Did you know them; I mean it could be someone you had trouble with before."

"No, that's what Anne asked but I'm sure, I never saw them before." 

Mike took a sip of coffee as he mulled over what Don was telling him. "In broad daylight at the zoo and in a city park, two guys come at you for no reason?" he finally asked.

"Yeah, and the guys yesterday, I am sure I saw them follow me around most of the day."

"Followed you or followed Grace or Anne?" Mike asked.

Don hesitated before answering, the fact is that he had simply assumed it was him that they were after. "I don't know, that's a good question." 

Mike rubbed his jaw for a second before he continued. "Don, how much do you actually know about Anne? For that matter, how much do you really know about Grace?"

"Grace!" Don blurted out. "What's to know about her, she's a little girl?"

Mike shook his head quickly. "No that's not what I mean."

"Well than what are you talking about?" Don asked quickly with a scowl on his face.

"What I mean is, Grace's family. Obviously you knew her mother but I don't remember ever hearing her or you talk about her family at all."

Don sat back in his chair, his thoughts going back to Libby. Mike was right, he knew nothing about the family but if they were all dead, then what was to know? "I understand, but if they died, then that should have been the end of it. I do know that Libby was an only child and she did mention once that her parents were quite a bit older. If that's the case, it assumes that her Grandparents are gone and that would only leave maybe some aunts or uncles."

Mike thought about Don's response for several minutes before replying. "Don, let me check around."

Don nodded just as the door opened and in came a giggling Grace with Bobby right behind her. "Okay, I'm worn out, I need a break, how about you take a turn Dad." Bobby said as they came in.

"Come on Mister Mike, let's go!" Grace yelled out as she grabbed at Mike's hand and tried to pull him up.

"Okay, okay, let's go" Mike answered as he got to his feet and left with Grace leading the way.

Bobby grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator and plopped down across from Don. "Wow, is she a little whirlwind or what?"

Don snickered a bit. "Yeah, she gets wound up and she really gets going."

Bobby stared at him for a few seconds before Don started to feel a bit uncomfortable. 

"What?" Donny finally asked.

Looking down at the table for a minute, Bobby seemed to be gathering his thoughts. Finally, he looked back up at Don and smiled. "You know, you're really doing this, I mean, you're really a great dad."

Don's eyes caught his younger cousins. "That means a lot to me, thanks." He said quietly.

Bobby hesitated for a few seconds before starting again. "I had a talk with one of the city fellows, he said you had some trouble."

Don's eyes flared open. "How did you happen to do that?"

Bobby gave him a smirk. "Come on, you know how it is, everybody knows everybody."

"I didn't think they even recognized me."

"One of them did, but he didn't say anything, he just called me." Bobby replied and then paused before continuing. "But that's not the issue."

For the next few minutes, Don repeated the conversation he had with Mike. Bobby took it all in and then softly whistled. "I may not be the best detective in the world but something odd is going on. I think dad is right, I'm going to do some checking myself, not much to go on, but it may be good to run some background on everyone involved."

"What do you mean everyone?" Don asked sharply.

"Don, dad's right, you really don't know anything about anyone." Bobby quickly replied.

"You seem to suspect something?" Don asked, his face turning hard. "Or someone?"

Bobby took a gulp of water and set it down. He knew he would have to tread lightly with his next statement. "Don, I'm a cop, I suspect everyone, but let's face it, there's someone who has an interest in you getting in trouble."

Don shook his head. "No, I know where you're going damn it, and if it was just me, maybe. But I refuse to believe she would EVER endanger Grace." 

"Don," Bobby began but was quickly cut off by the door opening.

"Daddy, Daddy, I'm hungry!" Grace exclaimed as she threw herself into Don for a hug.

Mike was laughing as he followed her in. "Hey we better get going Bobby, don't you have an early shift today."

Bobby quickly stood up and headed for the door. "Yeah, I do."

Mike quickly noticed the look on the two younger men's faces and after getting another hug from Grace, followed Bobby out the door.

"Hey, how about some lunch?" Don said as he lifted Grace up and twirled her around.

"YEAAA," she yelled as he set her back down.

While Don fixed sandwiches, Mike and Bobby were driving home.

"What happened with Don?" Mike asked cautiously.

Bobby gave him a quick glance before answering. "You don't miss a thing do you?" 

Mike's face showed that he was to continue. "One of the city guys told me about Don's trouble, I asked and he told me the whole story."

"And?" Mike asked.

"I made the mistake of raising the obvious."

"Oh." Mike replied. "I suppose he didn't take it too well."

"Not a bit." Bobby hesitated but then went on looking over at Mike. "But that doesn't change the fact that it could be true."

Deep in thought, Mike stared out the window as they drove back to his house. Instead of just dropping him off, Bobby followed him inside. "What are you thinking Dad?" He asked as they both settled into seats in the living room. 

Mike shook his head slowly before answering. "For the first time in a long time, I'm scared."

Bobby sat up quickly. "Scared, scared of what?"

"I've been having the same suspicions, and if we're right, I'm genuinely afraid for what he might do."

"You don't think he would hurt her, do you?" Bobby asked with deep apprehension in his voice.

"No, never, and that's the problem. He won't hurt Anne or Grace, but anyone else I'm not so sure of."

"Including himself." Bobby threw out, vocalizing a thought that he wished hadn't come to him.

"Including himself," Mike repeated.

'"What do we do Dad?" 

"I don't know for sure, but the one thing I am sure about is that we don't know enough about everyone involved. That's step one."

"I'll run checks and backgrounds on everyone I can think of." Bobby said.

"And I'll find out what I can, my way." Mike said forcefully. "He's come too far to lose him now!"

"Do I want to know about your ways?" Bobby asked sheepishly.

Mike looked him dead in the eye. "No Sheriff, you don't"

Bobby stood up quickly, he got the message. "If I find anything, I'll let you know."

Mike got up and saw him to the door. Slapping his son on the back, he reiterated Bobby's statement. "Anything!"

As Grace shoveled down her peanut butter sandwich, Don's heart felt heavy over the mornings conversation. Could Anne be behind the mysterious problems he was having? That question kept going through his mind, but he was unable to come up with a logical reason why she would be. What would she have to gain? Would she really put Grace in danger? He knew that while he mattered little to someone like her, he believed that Grace did, and as he looked over at her finishing her breakfast, it brought back the train wreck that he knew was coming when Anne was out of her life.

Suddenly a thought came to him that caused him to push his own lunch aside. If he didn't keep Grace, could Anne end up with her?



Six Weeks of Grace Pt. 07



Grace was quiet when Don picked her up from school Tuesday, she sat placidly while he drove home, almost falling asleep on the way. As soon as they came in the house, Don made his daily check of her schoolbag looking for homework. 

"There's a note from my teacher in there." Grace said quietly, dropping into a chair.

Don looked around in the bag and finally found it.

"Oh no," he said under his breath as he read about the flu that was going around school. The teacher's note stated that at least it was the twenty-four hour variety so most of the students were only missing a day or two of school. She did ask to make sure that the child was clear of symptoms before they returned. They were trying their best to contain it.

Looking over at a very lethargic Grace, it wasn't hard to figure out what was wrong with her. "Maybe just some soup for dinner tonight." He said to her and got a small nod in response.

Just as Grace was finishing her soup, Anne stopped in and Don knew something was wrong as soon as she came into the kitchen. Even though it was a warm day, she was dressed in heavy pants and a sweater.

"You look like you had a tough day?" Don asked her cautiously.

"I should be insulted but you're right, I seem to be really tired today." Anne answered. Then hugging herself she continued, "And I just can't get warm!"

"How about some soup, I made plenty?" Don asked.

"Sounds good, but . . . you made soup?"

"Well, I opened a couple cans and heated it up," he answered with a grin.

"Okay, you got me, I'm too tired to even tease you tonight." 

Grace sat quietly as Anne and Don finished their soup. "Daddy, I don't feel so good." She finally spoke, so low the two adults barely heard her.

"Why don't you go up and get ready for bed, I'll be up in a minute." Don told her and she got up slowly and with her head hung low, started upstairs.

"You know I'm starting to feel really bad too." Anne said and then rubbed her stomach. "Maybe your cooking has finally done us in."

Don shook his head and retrieved the note from school and handed it to her. "Not my fault this time."

Anne read the note and then dropped it on the table. "Oh no, not me, maybe I better get home."

She started to get up but seemed unsteady so Don jumped to his feet and offered her his hand. "Thanks," she said as she got to her feet. "I'm going home, I have a bad feeling about this."

She only made it half way to the door before she grabbed at her stomach. "Damn," she blurted out and holding her hand to her mouth, she bolted towards the downstairs bathroom.

Don watched her go and was about to go see if he could help before he heard Grace call for him. Reaching her bedroom, he found that Grace had the same problem but unfortunately hadn't made it to the bathroom. Her bed was a mess and so was she. Don quickly got her cleaned up and into her warmest pajamas before putting her into the guest room bed. 

She quickly fell asleep but he knew she might be sick again. As quick as he could, he got her bedding into the laundry and put a bucket by her bed. Walking back through the living room, he was surprised to see Anne slumped down in a chair.

"Anne?" He asked gently as he leaned down towards her.

Her eyes opened slowly. "I'm just getting my strength back, then I'm going." She said, her voice low and weak.

"Okay, but you don't look good." Don told her. "I'm going up to check on Grace."

For the next half hour, Don found himself running up and down the stairs between his two sick charges. Finally he gave up. "Anne . . . Anne?" He said, trying to get her to wake up.

"Just a minute . . . I'm going." Her voice almost disappearing as she finished.

"Hell with this," Don said exasperated at the situation. He leaned over and effortlessly picked her up out of the chair. 

"What are you doing?" Anne whispered as she felt herself pulled against him.

"I'm putting you to bed."

"What?" 

"I can't take care of both of you when you are on opposite ends of the house, so you are going to bed with Grace."

"Oh," Was all that Anne could say as she snuggled into Don. Once again she felt how warm and safe she felt when he held her.

Anne drifted away for a few minutes as Don carried her to the guest bedroom and got her tucked in next to Grace. Waking a bit later she realized she was under the covers and cozy warm. 

"Are you sick too, Miss Anne?" Grace asked in a scratchy voice as she woke to find Anne next to her.

"I am, do you mind the company?" Anne replied softly.

Grace looked at her carefully. "I don't mind, Daddy can take care of both of us." She said confidently.

Don came back into the room and pulled a chair close to the bed. "How are we feeling ladies?" 

"I feel a little better Daddy," Grace said with a small smile.

Anne felt embarrassed laying there so weak, she could barely raise her head from the pillow. But she had to admit, she felt better in bed under the covers than she did sitting downstairs. "Don, thank you, I do feel a bit better here."

For the next couple hours Don played nurse to his patients. Both got sick again and again, and he dutifully held the bucket for them. Then he gently cleaned them up and emptied the bucket to get ready for the next bout. If they were hot, he wiped their face with a cool washrag. When they were shivering he piled on more blankets. Both seemed to drift in and out, sleeping for a few minutes then waking and talking to Don. 

Anne had drifted away but woke with a start as she felt feverish. Her eyelids felt heavy as she tried to open her eyes, but she finally pried them open. Her head was pounding as she worked to focus on something hovering over her. Concentrating, she was able to make out Don's face above her. Then her head felt instantly better as she felt a cool washcloth on her forehead, then gently wiping around her face.

"Feels good," she whispered out as she felt the cloth caress her face. 

"Go back to sleep," Don told her quietly, so as not to wake a sleeping Grace.

Later, she woke again as she heard Grace talking quietly to Don.

"Daddy, I feel better." Grace said, her voice still weak.

"That's good sweetie."

"I never got a story tonight."

"You're sick and so is Miss Anne, I don't want to leave you to go find a book."

Anne was feeling just a bit better too, so she couldn't resist teasing Don. "Tell us a story Daddy, pleeeeassse!" she said with the covers pulled up to her chin.

She saw Don grimace and Grace giggled before she started in on him again."Pleeeasse Daddy!"

"Fine!" Don finally gave in to the snickering Grace. Looking over at Anne all snug under the covers, he pointed at her. "Not funny little girl." To which Anne just replied with a small smile.

"All right, let me think for a minute." Don said trying to get his thoughts together. He sat back in his chair and looked at Anne and Grace lying in bed. Both looked weak and he could see them fighting to stay awake. Anne was there with an arm tucked around Grace, just as a mother would to her child. That though hit Don as he tried to come up with a story.

"Once upon a time," he began and he could see Grace snuggle even more into Anne. "There was a small kingdom with a beautiful princess. She lived in a big castle but she was very sad. She wanted to find a prince to marry but there were none that she liked. She was so lovely that there was no end to the suiters for her hand.

"But down in the valley there was a mean and evil man. He was a huge ogre that scared all of the other inhabitants of the little kingdom."

Don paused and looked at his patients and he could see their eyes growing heavy as they were falling asleep. "But the evil man had a huge secret, he was in love with the beautiful princess. Every time he saw her, he fell more and more in love with her. So one day he looked in the mirror and realized that he would have to change his appearance and the way he treated others in the kingdom. So he decided to fix the horrible way he looked until he was neat and clean. He also started being nice to all of the other people of the small kingdom.

Grace's eyes were closed and Anne was almost asleep so he continued. "Over time and with a lot of hard work, the once evil man changed his ways. He was transformed by his love for the beautiful princess and he turned into a handsome prince. One day the princess was riding through her kingdom and met the man. She was very surprised as she thought that she knew all of the eligible princes in the kingdom. They started spending time together and they fell in love. The once evil man finally asked the beautiful princess to marry him and because he was now a prince, she said yes."

"So the day came that the whole kingdom turned out to attend the grand event. There in the castle, in the center of the land, and in front of all of their family and friends, the once evil man and the beautiful princess were married. They settled down in wedded bliss and together they raised a wonderful little princess of their own. Everyone in the Kingdom came to love the little princess as she was the most special in all the land. And because she was so special to all, she had a special name, and her name was . . . Grace."

When he finished, Don saw that they were both asleep, so he quietly got up and kissed Grace's cheek. Circling the bed cautiously, he approached Anne. Once again he saw the sleeping angel that he saw the morning after she collapsed in his arms. He couldn't help himself as he leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. Straightening up, he looked down at her. "If only they did live happily ever after." He whispered to her as she slept. 

Throughout the night Anne and Grace slept fitfully, waking to find a cool drink of water, another spoon of medicine or just a cool cloth on their forehead. Don would be there to help them to the bathroom and get them back to bed, then they would fall back asleep, cuddled against each other.

Finally early in the morning Grace's fever broke with Anne's soon after. Don was able to get them each a few sips of water before they both fell deep asleep, catching up after all the tossing and turning they did all night.

Anne was the first to awaken and her eyes took in the alarm clock on the nightstand. She was confused by the time as she saw that it was almost midnight and yet daylight was streaming through the window. "Oh my God" She blurted out as she sat straight up in bed. "It's almost noon!" She started to get out of bed before the weakness caught her.

"Hold on there," Don said as he caught her just before she fell. Gently he guided her back under the covers before he spoke to her quietly. "I don't think you're ready for the dance yet; how are you feeling?"

Anne had gotten her bearings back and looked up at him as he leaned over her. "I feel a lot better but still weak I guess."

"Daddy," Grace said, awoken by the two adults talking. "I'm hungry."

"How about you Anne, do you feel up to a little food?" Don asked.

Anne couldn't help herself. "How do I know it wasn't a little of your food that put us here."

Don looked at her for a second and then she saw the shy smile come out again. "Not funny, now do you want something or not?"

"I do Daddy." Grace said jumping into the conversation.

"Me too Daddy," Anne added, with a little grin.

"Okay, you two relax a bit and I'll be right back." Don said as he left.

While he was gone, Anne hugged Grace to her as she tried to remember what happened. She had been so sick, she just remembered small snatches of the long night, but every memory had one common thread, Don was always there. As she laid there, it dawned on her that he couldn't have slept unless it was for a few minutes here and there while he kept vigil on them. She had gotten sick several times and each time Don had been there to take care of the mess and clean her up before she went back to sleep. She felt a bit of embarrassment at what she must look like and what had happened during the night, but she also knew that Don would never tease her about it or say anything that would make her uncomfortable. He had been there all night, taking care of them just the way that she knew he would always be there for Grace. 

Always there, and as that thought came to her, so did a decision, she knew that Don should keep Grace. Yes he had his issues, he was huge and intimidating, quick tempered, and she had to smile as she realized he may never be a good cook, but she also knew that he would always be there for Grace. Over these weeks, he had proven that no matter what happened, he loved Grace and always put her first in everything he did. Always there, and that was all that anyone could ask for from a father.

She couldn't stop the small sigh that came to her as she realized that she hadn't had that when it came to her husband. He was never there for her and when she needed him the most, he left her alone to deal with the anguish over the loss of their child. 

Her thoughts were interrupted as Don came in with a tray. "Sit up girls, its breakfast in bed. A little scrambled eggs, toast and some orange juice."

Anne and Grace got themselves situated on the bed and Don helped them with their plates and glasses.

"Thank you daddy," Grace said as she started eating.

"Thank you daddy," Anne repeated, making Don smile and Grace start giggling again. 

"Just eat you two!" Don said as he watched them trying to eat while they shared a laugh, once again at his expense.

As Don sat patiently by their bedside, Anne took a good look at him and confirmed her suspicions. If he had slept a wink, he didn't look it. His eyes were worn and had dark rings around them, and his face was drawn and tired. His clothes were wrinkled and she could see spots where they were soiled, probably by one of them as they got sick. He sat back in the chair and she could see him wince as he did, his body obviously was retaliating after a long night in what had to be a very uncomfortable hard back chair.

After finishing their meal, Don took the plates and dishes downstairs before returning.

"I think the worst is over, so I'm going to get Grace in the bath and then some fresh clothes before she goes back to her bed. There is some towels and a new toothbrush in this bathroom if you want a quick shower Anne. I put some sweats and a t-shirt in there for you if you want some fresh clothes."

"Don . . thanks," Anne said as she got out of bed. Once up, she glanced in a wall mirror and saw how bad she really looked. "Oh," she exclaimed as she saw herself in yesterday's clothes, with her hair a tangled mess and her face puffy and dirty. Her makeup was smeared and she saw that her eyes were red.

Tuning, she saw Don watching her and she suddenly felt embarrassment creeping up on her. "Not my best look I'm afraid." She told him, trying to ease the tension she felt that someone was actually seeing her this way.

Don seemed to stare at her for several seconds and Anne was becoming even more uncomfortable. In his mind, all he could see was her cuddled up against his daughter all night. "Beautiful as always," he blurted out before he could stop himself.

Anne's eyes shot open and Don immediately started to sputter out. "I'm sorry, that was inappropriate. I'm sorry." Grabbing up Grace, he headed out of the room, closing the door as he left.

Anne stared at the door after he left, her mind unable to comprehend what she just heard. Beautiful he said, was he teasing her? He couldn't be serious she thought as she again turned to look in the mirror. All she saw was very disheveled and worn looking woman. Beautiful, did he really think she was beautiful? Shaking off her thoughts she went into the bathroom and found the items that Don had left for her. She had to wonder as she held up the sweats he left for her. Too big was an understatement but at least they were clean. 

Don kept busy getting Grace bathed and in some fresh pajamas. She was feeling better but was still groggy from the long night. Now that her fever had broken, he felt safe leaving her in her own bed to get some sleep. Once he tucked her in, he grabbed a quick shower and threw on some clean clothes himself before he knew he had to face the inevitable downstairs. 

Coming down, he couldn't help feeling apprehensive as he approached the kitchen. He could hear movement and he knew he was going to have to face Anne when he got there. His mind was working feverishly on the best way to handle his gaffe as he turned the corner and saw her standing there.

His mind went blank and he busted out laughing as he took in the sight. Anne had obviously heard him coming and was standing in the middle of the kitchen, hand on hip striking a models pose. 

"How do I look now, still beautiful?" she asked with a smile, which turned into giggling when she saw him laughing.

Don felt the tension leave him as he took in the sight. The sweat pants he had given her were tied around her thin waist and the extra string almost went to the floor. They billowed out around her legs with all the extra material pooling at her ankles, making them look like bell bottoms. The t-shirt was even worse as it hung on her like a poncho. Even though it was short sleeve, the ends were half way to her wrists. The neckline was actually so low, Don could see a bit of cleavage. The outfit made her look like a girl playing dress up in her mother's clothes.

As they regained their composure, Anne gave him a serious look. "I want to thank you for last night."

Don cut her off, not wanting to talk about his comment to her. "Its okay, I just hope you're feeling better."

"I am, and I'm headed home to my own bed now." Anne replied before leaving.

Thursday was a day of contemplation for Anne as she worked on her final report. She shuffled through all the pages of notes she made and the records she collected over the last six weeks. But no matter how many times she reviewed the information spread out on her desk, one fact was clear to her. Donald Duncan should be designated as the legal guardian of Grace Warren. To that end, she completed her written report and went through the activities necessary to put her presentation together. 

After all of the pages and pages of information were finally assembled into booklets and laid on her desk, she couldn't help reflecting on the last few weeks and how surprised she was over the outcome of this case. Case, that's what this was, just another case, and with that thought she leaned back in her chair and turned it so that she could stare out her window. 

The view really held no interest for her as she let out a huge sigh. Deep inside of her, her heart ached as she realized that this wasn't a 'case'. How can you call a precious little girl like Grace just a 'case', she wondered. Thinking about it made the memories flood in, getting hugs and kisses, reading her a story when she tucked her in at night, pushing her on the swings, and cuddling with her in bed as they teased her daddy. Her daddy, and with the thought of Don came another jab to her heart, as she realized that the two of them were going to be a family and she wasn't to be a part of that. Would she ever have a little family of her own?

She felt the tears form in her eyes but she quickly swiped them away and turned back to the job at hand. Unfortunately as she gathered all the copies of her report and locked them in her desk, she couldn't help feeling apprehensive as she thought of tomorrow's final meeting with the partners. For some reason that she just couldn't put her finger on, she knew that there was a showdown coming in the morning.

Though she wanted to, she couldn't bring herself to stop in and see Don and Grace that night. Instead she returned to her apartment and sat staring at the television and thought of her life, her marriage and what might have been. Finally, she put her dreams back away where she kept them, turned off the television and went to bed.




Six Weeks of Grace Pt. 07



Anne came into the conference room and handed each partner a copy of her report. She spent the next few minutes summarizing all the information that she had gathered and then finally read them her final report.

After she finished, she stood waiting for the questions she knew were surely coming. 

"So our firm, is going to recommend to the court that Donald Duncan, that drunken criminal be given custody of a six year old girl?" Mark Winters asked her with obvious skepticism in his voice. 

Anne bristled at his characterization of Don, but stayed calm. "I don't see as we have a choice."

"Of course we have a choice Anne, we can do the right thing and stop this ridiculous situation!" Roger Evans blurted out.

"How is it ridiculous? You have the report in front of you, point out a single incident where Donald Duncan endangered his daughter, one time where he neglected her, one time where he didn't put her first. One time, show me and I'll redo the report." Anne said with such force that all three partners were taken back by the strength of her conviction.

"What about the drugs?" Brett Langeman asked her, obviously still not letting go of that issue.

"What about them," Anne answered, "as you can see, I put it in the report but as it really had no negative influence on his behavior, I don't see how its an issue."

"Maybe we need to come up with some issues." Mark Winters said cryptically.

Anne turned to him and just stared as what he said hit her. "What are you saying?" She finally asked, sure that she must have misunderstood.

"Well maybe we just need to reinterpret some things that happened and look at them in a different light." He replied with a sly grin.

"I guess I still don't understand." 

"Simple Anne, "Brett jumped back in, "Sometimes it's not about what the evidence is, its about how its presented."

Anne just stood there stunned by what she was hearing, it was obvious that they were asking her to falsify her report to make Don look like an unfit father.

"Do you understand now Anne?" Roger Evans added.

Anne felt her blood boil but she needed to stay under control. "Gentleman, I am not going to redo the report in order to meet a predetermined agenda."

"Anne -, "Winters started but she quickly cut him off.

"Besides, the Judge gave me orders to contact him if there were any issues. Don't you think it would be odd if I suddenly brought up things in the report that I should have reported?"

The partners all looked back and forth at each other before Winters finally seemed to realize that the discussion needed to end. "Anne, I'm sorry you misunderstood us, we certainly would never ask you to lie." He said with a bit of a sneer. "We just want what is best for the girl."

Anne just nodded, still shocked over the discussion.

"That will be all Anne, let's get together Monday at ten to review everything a final time before court Tuesday."

"I'll be here." Anne answered before quickly leaving.

After she was gone an uncomfortable silence permeated the room. All three partners were deep in thought about the meeting.

"Fuck!" Roger Evans finally exclaimed, breaking the silence. "Now what?"

"Maybe she just needs to disappear." Brett said, his voice low and full of anger.

"Now hold on," Roger spat out.

"No," Mark said emphatically. "Too many people know about her report, half the staff were probably involved in some way. There are probably other copies around and that would lead to too many questions."

Roger just stared at him. "You were really considering that?" He asked.

Mark didn't even answer, he just turned to address Brett. "We need an incident this weekend and it can NOT fail. I don't care what it costs or what you have to arrange, just make SOMETHING HAPPEN!"

Brett just nodded and quickly left the room.

"What do you think he'll do?" Roger asked Mark, worry evident in his tone.

Mark just looked him in the eye. "I don't care as long as it works, and neither should you!"

"This has gotten out of hand, he was talking about murder!" 

"A little late in your law career to grow a conscience!" Winters spat back at him. "Now why don't you take your weak stomach and get back to work and let us handle this."

Roger was about to reply but he could tell that things were out of his control at this point and he stormed out of the room.

Anne returned to her office, still shaken by the meeting. She replayed the conversation in her mind over and over but she could not get around the implication that they wanted her to lie. Regardless of what Mark Winters said right before she left, that was exactly what they were asking her to do. But why? That was the question that occupied her mind the rest of the day as she finished some other administrative tasks.

Leaving late in the afternoon, she still didn't have an answer. She so wanted to go see Don and Grace but she realized with her report done, her requirement to keep an eye on them was finished. Returning to her apartment, she spent the evening the way she had the night before. She couldn't help wondering if this is the way it would be for the rest of her life. 

The ringing phone woke Anne late in the morning and she answered sleepily. "Hello"

"Wake up, wake up, wake up, someone wants to say good morning!" Anne heard and a huge smile came to her face as she realized it was Don.

"Okay," she answered happily, anticipating who he was talking about.

"Good morning Miss Anne!" She heard a cheerful little voice say to her.

A thrill ran through her as she heard Grace. "Good morning to you!" She answered.

"Miss Anne, will you go to the park with us today?" 

Anne hesitated for a moment, even though she knew she needed to put some space between them and her, she wanted to go so badly. Finally she agreed as she realized she would never be able to say no to the little girl. "I'll go with you sweetie!"

"Daddy has to go too!" 

Anne couldn't help but laugh. "Okay, your daddy can go too. Can I talk to him now?"

"Daddy, she said yes!" Anne heard yelled out at the other end of the phone.

"Hi," Don answered, still chuckling.

"So is Grace handling your social calendar now?" Anne asked with a laugh.

"Hey it worked!" Don answered. "Come over for lunch and then we can go."

"Hmmm . . . lunch, I didn't know this was going to be dangerous!"

"Real funny, we'll see you then, good-bye" 

"Bye," Anne said and then hung up.

Anne got up and started getting ready, her thoughts from earlier returning. She knew she should have bowed out but she just couldn't, the lure of spending the day with Don and Grace was too strong. She realized she was rationalizing it away but she figured one more day couldn't hurt. She decided that she was going to put all her worries of the future away for the day and just enjoy herself.

Later, Anne marveled at their day in the park, the relief from turning in her report and the idea that Don would keep Grace, seemed to lift an enormous weight from her shoulders. She had never felt this free to enjoy her time with them, gone was the constant analyzing every word and action, replaced with a euphoria of being with two people that she truly cared about.

Grace wanted one last time to hit the swings before they left, so Don told her to go ahead and he dropped down onto a nearby bench. Without thinking Anne sat close to him and she felt his arm stretched out along the back of the seat. Watching Grace she instinctively snuggled into his shoulder, his arm curling around her as he gently pulled her close. They sat there for several minutes as Anne felt the warmth radiate through her, the feeling of being safe and protected as the sun shined down on them caused her to drift asleep for a few minutes.

"Daddy, I'm tired!" 

Anne jerked her head up as she realized Grace was standing in front of them talking. She quickly straightened up and then jumped to her feet.

"Let me hit the bathroom quick and we'll head home." Don said to both of them as he also got to his feet. Before he turned away though, Anne caught a look from him that she just couldn't place.

Watching him walk away to the nearby building, she wondered what she saw, was he upset at her for sleeping against him, embarrassed maybe? No that didn't seem right at all, it was almost as if he was unhappy that she had gotten up, could he have wanted her to be napping against him, but why would he?

Looking back towards Grace, her heart stopped as she spied the three men almost upon them. In her daydreaming about Don, she didn't see them until they were only a few yards away. One she immediately recognized from the incident at the zoo and instinctively she knew it couldn't be a coincidence.



Six Weeks of Grace Pt. 08



Frantically she looked back towards the bathrooms but Don was nowhere in sight. She lunged for Grace, gathering her quickly in her arms, the startled girl letting out a small scream as Anne pulled her off her feet and started running towards the complex. Her only chance was to get to Don but they quickly cut her off and tackled the pair to the ground.

"NO!" Anne screamed as she felt Grace ripped from her arms. She tried to get up but she was pushed back down by one of the men.

"DADDY! DADDY! DADDY!" Grace was screaming at the top of her lungs as the three men had her and started moving quickly back in the direction they came from.

"HELP! HELP! THEY'RE TAKING OUR DAUGHTER!" Anne yelled as she finally got to her feet and ran after the men, she could see several people turn towards them at the sounds of their screams. She had to get to Grace and she could hear the little girl's crying as she got closer. 

One of the men held back from the trio and Anne ran straight into him, trying to bowl him over on her way to Grace. Unfortunately he was too quick and strong for her and she felt the sting on her face as he simply slapped her, knocking her back to the ground. Rolling over she tried to get back to her feet but as she turned back to him, she was shocked to see him literally flying through the air.

In just a split second, she took in the scene. It was Donald Duncan and the look on his face sent a chill through her. She thought that she had seen every possible facial expression he had from joy to sorrow, but the look on his face at this moment was terrifying. She saw him pounce on the man just as he regained his feet. Don punched him in the stomach with such force that he doubled over and spit flew from his mouth. She heard a dull thud as Don's knee connected with his face and his head snapped back as blood poured from a nose that was flattened against his face. With his attacker slumping down to his knees, Don struck again and the man was instantly flat on the ground with Don over him. One, two, three times Don slammed his fist into the stricken man's face and Anne could hear the sickening crack of bones and see blood explode to cover Don's fist and arm.

"DADDY!" Grace called again and Don leapt to his feet with Anne only a second behind him. They ran towards the other two who were struggling with Grace. Instead of running themselves, they had foolishly stopped to watch Don's exchange with his first attacker.

The man who wasn't holding Grace came at Don, Anne could see him land several blows on Don but she ran past them and grabbed at the one retreating with Grace in his arms. She could hear the sounds of cursing, grunting and punches being landed; she prayed Don was winning as she tried to wrench the screaming girl from the last attacker. 

Again she found herself landing roughly on the ground. She got to her hands and knees and then to her feet only to be confronted by the sight of the man tossing Grace to the ground. Stunned she tried to figure out why he would do that when it became suddenly clear.

"GET GRACE!" She heard Don yell as he went by her and slammed into the man with a fury that caused her to look away for a second.

Anne summoned what strength she had left and went to the screaming little girl and gathered Grace into her arms. Turning back towards the two men she saw them grappling on the ground. Neither seemed to have an advantage as they rolled in the dirt. The man was almost as large as Don and he seemed to be trying to get something out from his waistband. Then it hit her what he was doing, Anne suddenly realized that regardless of the outcome, she had to get Grace away from here and right now! If the man had a knife or gun and Don couldn't take him, he might still come after Grace.

Turning, she started away from them towards a crowd of onlookers that were coming towards them. Grace was yelling "DADDY! DADDY!" in her ear and Anne realized that the way she was holding the little girl, she could see the fight over her shoulder. She quickly spun around to get Grace facing away but the sight made her heart stop and her blood run cold.

Don was on top of the man but even from the few yards she was away, she could see the knife sticking out of his left arm and blood pouring from the wound. But it was obvious that it had not been enough to stop the raging Donald Duncan. Anne seemed frozen to the ground at the sight of Don slamming his fists into the face of his attacker. The man was trying to fend off the blows but it was futile and after a couple more punches, Anne saw his arms drop away, leaving him totally unprotected against Don's fury. His arms were moving like pistons and his fists were a blur as she could see him strike over and over until it seemed he realized that the man was no longer a threat. Don slumped down on top of him momentarily until she saw him get his breath and start to gather himself.

Anne watched Don get up from the ground, it seemed like it took every ounce of energy he had left and once he got to his feet, she could see him swaying as he tried to stay upright. He took a step towards them but Anne gasped as he stumbled and fell to his knees. He looked up at them and mustered more strength from somewhere and with what seemed like superhuman effort, finally got back up. 

Once again he started towards them and then stopped, dazed he looked over and realized that the attacker's knife was still sticking out of his arm. Seemingly without even feeling it, he reached over and pulled the knife from his arm, throwing it down next to the motionless man. As he walked slowly towards them, she couldn't believe the sight. His massive chest was heaving as he tried to get his breath, his face was starting to swell from the blows he had absorbed, dirt was covering him and his shirt was torn and wet with blood. Reaching out towards her, she saw his hands were covered with gaping wounds. Gently he took the still crying Grace from her, Anne too stunned to even protest.

As he walked away, cradling Grace against his chest, Anne watched them in disbelief before she suddenly realized that the sound of sirens was filling the air. Turning towards the noise, she saw two uniformed officers running towards her.

"OFFICERS!" she yelled out, getting their attention. "CALL FOR AN AMBULANCE, NOW!" 

One of them grabbed his radio and was talking into it as they finally got to her.

"What happened?" The other asked quickly.

"Those three men attacked us and tried to kidnap our little girl!" Anne told them hurriedly.

The officer looked quickly at the three men lying broken on the ground, onlookers were gathering around but keeping their distance.

"So where is the girl now?"

Anne looked over and saw that Don had gotten to a bench on the far side of the playground and was sitting down holding Grace in his arms. Thinking quickly she grabbed him by the arm. "Her father has her, she's safe, but you HAVE to call Sheriff Duncan right now and get him here. Tell him that Don has been in a fight! Call him, but leave Donald Duncan alone until he gets here, understand . . . understand?"

The cop hesitated and so Anne yanked on his arm. "CALL HIM NOW!" She screamed at him.

"Yeah, right now!" he answered, before grabbing his radio and walking towards the men on the ground.

Anne could see him talking on the radio and she just looked around before the events of those last few minutes hit her full force and she burst into tears. She slowly collapsed down onto her knees as another arriving officer helped her up and guided her back to the bench where this had all started such a short time ago.

Leaving her there, Anne simply rolled into a ball on the bench as the sounds of more sirens filled the air. It seemed like she was there for hours until she heard a soft voice beside her.

"Anne . . . Anne, it's me."

Looking up, she saw Mike standing there beside the bench. He helped her uncoil and get to her feet but as soon as she was up, she launched herself into his arms. "OH GOD! OH GOD! THEY ALMOST GOT HER!" Anne screamed into him as he held her tightly against him.

"Shhhh, it's okay, we're here, Bobby's here, relax, we're here." Mike replied trying to calm the frantic woman. 

Mike held her for several minutes as her body was wracked with convulsions, finally it seemed she was able to get herself under control and Mike gently guided her back to the bench. Holding her tightly, she sobbed quietly as the memory of the day played over and over in her mind.

Mike kept her face hidden against him, not wanting her to see the scene in front of them. The attackers were loaded up and taken away in ambulances, the area was cordoned off with tape and a dozen or more police and Sheriff's personnel were interviewing people who had witnessed the attack.

Finally a very sober Bobby came over to the pair. "Anne?" he said quietly as he got down onto his knees so he was eye to eye with the distraught woman.

"Anne?" he said again a bit louder, finally gaining her attention.

"I'm okay," she replied in a whisper as she wiped the tears from her face. She was still clinging to Mike but straightened up to face the Sheriff.

Bobby seemed hesitant to speak but then started with a slow and gentle tone. "Anne, we need your help."

Anne just looked at him quizzically. "What?"

Bobby took a deep breath and looked around, trying to get his words just right. "Anne, we have to get Don and take him down to give a statement."

"Why?"

"Anne, you're a lawyer, you know why."

"But . . . but . . . they tried to take Grace." She said and both Mike and Bobby knew she was struggling to keep control of herself.

"Anne, he isn't in any trouble, we have two dozen witnesses who say you two were attacked, they tried to kidnap Grace and Don defended you. There is no reason to worry, but he still has to make a statement, plus . . . I think he may need some medical attention."

"Okay?" Anne answered, still not understanding. "What about the guys who attacked us, what about them, get their statements, leave him alone Bobby!" Her voice rising as she felt her anger welling up. They had been attacked and now in her muddled mind it seemed to her that Bobby wanted to go after Don.

"Anne . . . Anne, listen to me." Bobby said, moving closer to her, so they were eye to eye. "The first man's jaw is broken to the point it will be a long time before he gives a statement and the second . . . well the second is in even worse shape."

"Well, what about the one who grabbed Grace, the one who stabbed Don, get him to talk, ask him why he did this, they tried to get Grace, why, why?" Anne spat out.

"Anne!"

"Get him to talk, why Bobby, why did they do this, WHY?" Anne continued, her voice getting louder and her arms starting to become animated as her frustration with Bobby seemed to be turning to anger.

"Anne!"

"WHY, BOBBY, ASK HIM WHY!" Anne screamed out.

"ANNE! ANNE! . . . Listen to me . . . listen, please," Bobby started, before he took a deep breath and looked at her with a dark expression. "Anne . . . that man is dead."

Anne slumped into Mike as the words hit her. "Oh God, no!" Anne whispered.

"Listen, Anne, I need your help and I need it now." 

"What . . . what can I do?" Anne answered quietly, the gravity of Bobby's statement hitting her.

"We have to get Grace away from Don, no one has approached him, he's still sitting there with her."

"Why do you need me?"

"I have no idea what his mental state is right now, I've kept everyone away from him. I didn't want to take the chance that he would see someone as a threat. I need you to come with me and get Grace. I think . . . well, I know, you are the only one who can do this, if anyone else goes over there, I just don't know what he'll do!"

Anne got to her feet quickly, surprising the two men. "I understand . . . let's go," she said firmly. She knew what Bobby needed and why, and it suddenly startled her to realize, that after all that she knew about Donald Duncan and all she had seen today, she was absolutely sure, he would never hurt her.

"We'll all go." Mike said distinctly as the trio started across the playground. 

It seemed like a hundred eyes followed them as they approached Donald Duncan sitting on the bench. The three tried to hide their shock at his appearance but it was difficult as he seemed to be swathed in blood. He was covered in scratches and scrapes and there was a long line of blood still seeping from the hole in his arm. Don had shoved a piece of his shirt into the hole to stop the bleeding but it had only just stemmed the flow. Unbelievably Grace was sleeping in his arms with dried blood on her from where Don had wiped at the tears on her face.

Anne couldn't stop her own tears as she sank to the ground in front of him. She took the same posture as Bobby had done a few minutes ago and got to her knees so that they were almost eye to eye.

"Don," She said at almost a whisper. "Don, I have to take Grace home, while you go with Bobby."

Don looked at her and then at the two men who stood back a few steps. "No." He said flatly, his eyes flashing a warning as he looked at the trio.

"Don, you aren't in trouble, but they need a statement and you need some stitches . . . I'll take her home."

"They might try again, she's safer with me." Don said with a growl, his face stating to show a rage that was fast approaching.

"Mike and I will take her home. You go with Bobby." Anne said as she reached up and gently ran her hand over his dirty and blood smeared cheek. His eyes went from wild to soft at the instant of her touch.

Bobby and Mike stepped forward as they saw the soothing effect that Anne had on the big man. It seemed like the burning malice was draining from him. 

"Don," Bobby started and then paused, waiting to get his attention. "Dad and Anne will take her home and I have two Deputies that will not allow Anne and Grace out of their sight until they're in your house, then the Deputies will guard them there."

Don seemed to take in his words but then looked down at Grace and seemed to pull her a bit more against him.

"Don, please?" Anne said so softly that only he could hear, she was still caressing his bruised face. Then, keeping her hand on his face, she slowly rose to her feet, willing him to stand up also.

He lifted his eyes and looked deep into hers for a moment before kissing Grace gently on the forehead. Then he stood up slowly and handed the sleeping girl to Mike who took her into his arms. 

Don stared at the blood smudged little girl in Mike's arms for a few seconds, before he looked up at him. "That's my life." He finally said quietly as Mike was turning away to go.

"I know, Don, I know." Mike answered softly and then motioning to Anne, they walked towards the car. 

Don watched them all the way to the parking lot before he finally looked over at Bobby, who had been waiting patiently by his side, not daring to say a word to stop the events that were unfolding. "Let's go." he finally said as he saw Grace being put into Mike's car.

Anne and Mike arrived back at the house with an overnight bag for her. Mike had explained that he didn't want her out of sight until this was settled. Anne tried to argue but it was all for show, she really had no desire to be out of the protective cocoon that Mike and the Sheriff's department had her and Grace wrapped in.

It took a couple hours to get Grace settled down. A bath and some clean clothes helped her appearance but unfortunately Anne recognized that the emotional toll was going to take far more. It seemed to her that the little girl who was always laughing and joking was gone, to be replaced with one who wouldn't let Anne and Mike out of her sight. Anne was able to slip away for a shower and clean clothes while Mike kept Grace's attention. Afterward, they all huddled on the couch as they awaited Don and Bobby's return, talking about anything but the day. Anne made some dinner and after more cuddling, she was finally able to get Grace to go to sleep in her own bed.

Returning down to the living room, Anne simply collapsed onto the couch next to Mike who held her as she just wanted to feel safe, wondering if she ever would again.

Later when the door opened, Don and Bobby came in and found them awaking from their stupor. Don only took a momentary glance at the pair and then headed up the stairs.

Bobby sat down across from the couch as the two woke up fully.

"Well, how did it go?" Mike asked.

"No problem with the fight, I had the DA with me when we took his statement."

"What, without his lawyer present?" Anne blurted out.

Bobby's face turned hard. "Damn it, Anne, he doesn't need a fucking lawyer, I was there!"

"Whoa, whoa you two" Mike jumped in. "I think we are all a bit stressed right now, let's settle down."

Bobby looked stricken as he realized what he had said. "Damn Anne, I'm sorry, I didn't mean anything."

"I know, I know" Anne replied carefully. "But how is he?" She asked tilting her head towards the upstairs.

Bobby just shook his head. "Physically, they put over a hundred stiches in him in various places, plus a few staples. His hands are a mess and he has more scrapes, bumps and bruises than I have ever seen on one person."

"But is he going to be okay?" Anne asked hesitantly.

"Physically, he'll be okay." 

"Mentally?" Mike asked.

Bobby seemed to slump a bit in the chair. "Mentally . . . I just don't know."

"What?"

"I don't know if I should say anything, he might not be happy."

"Don't give me that shit, answer me." Mike said firmly.

Bobby looked at them for a long time before he finally started speaking quietly. "He kept breaking down."

"Breaking down?" Mike asked.

"He kept saying 'I've lost them', over and over, then he would . . . well then he . . . he tried to hide it, but then he would cry."

As his words sunk in, Mike nodded and got up, motioning to Bobby. "Look, it's been a hell of a day, tempers are short, I say we get some sleep, then we'll come back here tomorrow and see if we can put our heads together and make some sense of this."

Just as the two men hit the door, a thought seemed to grab Anne. "Lost them?" she said to Mike and Bobby.

Mike turned and stared at her for a second. "Them." He repeated directly at Anne, and then the two men left.

"Them," Anne repeated as she tried to make sense of it. But her mind was too muddled by the day, so she went upstairs to check on Don and Grace.

As she expected, she found Don sitting by a sleeping Grace. She came and stood beside him before reaching down and gently taking his hand. Motioning him to his feet, she pulled him down the hall towards the master bedroom.

"Don, we've got to get you cleaned up and into bed." She said as he just nodded. She could tell that he was almost out on his feet from exhaustion. She left him standing there as she looked through his dresser drawers until she found a pair of gym shorts. She started guiding him into the bathroom but he stopped her. "I can't get the stiches wet."

Anne went down to the kitchen and got some plastic wrap and scissors. Returning to the filthy and blood stained man, she gently cut away what was left of his shirt and wrapped his wounds. She had to keep focused on her task as the sight of Don's battered body was shocking. She was surprised when she saw an old wound on his stomach and a huge spider webbed mass of scars on his shoulder.

"Don, what are these?" She asked as she worked on him.

He seemed to hesitate but he was too tired to even be evasive. "They shot me."

"Who shot you?" 

"I tried to get them all out but I couldn't, they shot me."

Suddenly it hit her, the Judge's words. Four young men are alive, the Silver Star for bravery. He had saved four young men but he couldn't get the rest because they shot him. In her mind the puzzle came together, he saved four but he couldn't get the rest. Her thoughts from long ago came to her, the thoughts that something haunted him and caused what she now saw as a gentle giant to become a violent troublemaker. 




Six Weeks of Grace Pt. 08



"Don, you saved four, four are alive because of you."

"No . . . no . . . five are dead because I couldn't get to them." He replied, his voice weak and low.

Anne knew she was fighting a losing battle but at least things were clearer to her. Finishing up, she gently guided him to the bathroom and closed the door. She heard the shower turn on and later, off as he finished.

Don came back out in the gym shorts and Anne carefully removed all the wrapping. Now cleaned up and in full view, two things caught her attention. The first was the sight of the other bullet wound in his leg but more important was the second, which hit her just as she guided him down and started to cover him up. 

Through the chaos of the day and the craziness that had suddenly become her life, she looked down upon Donald Duncan and in her mind it clicked. "Oh my fucking God" she whispered under her breath.

Her husband had been tall and skinny and while she had had a couple relationships with guys she worked out with at the gym, nothing she had seen from them compared to what she saw before her now. As she slowly took in the sight of Donald Duncan laid out before her, her eyes gazed down in awe. From the massive chest and arms adorned with colorful tattoos, down past his muscular midsection, to the small waist and huge and powerful legs, it struck her like a bolt of lightning.

What was laid out in that bed before her was one hell of a man! 

She had been totally detached as she helped him get cleaned up and into bed but now with a sudden shift of perspective, Anne felt embarrassed to be staring at him. She had to tear her eyes away from him as she tried desperately to put him back into her mind as simply; Grace's daddy.

Anne finally took a deep breath and quickly put away her thoughts. She covered him up, and he was instantly fast asleep, the exertion of the fight and the emotional hours afterward had wiped him out. She returned to the guest room and was almost immediately overcome with sleep herself.

Anne woke suddenly and glanced at the clock. It was 2:17 but she lay quietly as she tried to hear what had awakened her. Fearing the worst, she suddenly threw back the covers and padded into the hallway. Looking around, she saw nothing out of sorts, so she moved slowly down to Grace's room. Peeking in the door, her breath caught in her throat.

Laying on the floor, next to Grace's bed, she saw the huge form of Donald Duncan. Sometime after she fell asleep, he had brought in a couple blankets and a pillow and went to sleep on the floor. She walked quietly into the room and settled lightly into the chair where Don sat to read Grace her bedtime stories. She wanted to wake him but he would just come back to guard her again, so what would be the point?

Looking over at the bed, Grace was wrapped in warm blankets and she could hear the almost undiscernible sound of her breathing. She could see her face peeking out and her long blonde hair in disarray on the pillow. A little angel, tucked into bed, sleeping peacefully and securely under the protection of the most powerful man she had ever known. Looking around the room at the cartoon cutouts on the wall and the dozens of stuffed animals, she thought of the story, the lamb sleeping with the lion.

Without a conscious effort, her head shook slowly back and forth as the memory of the day came back to her. The incident with Grace in the backyard, her run in with Bill Meyers, the way he handled other threats paled in comparison to the ferocity and savage brutality of his actions today. But then the aftermath, the sight of this massive man, bloodied and beaten gently cradling Grace and comforting her as he carried her so carefully across the playground to safety. The love of a man for his daughter, would she ever see it more plainly demonstrated, even though in such a horrific fashion?

Shaking off the thought of the fight, she looked down at him curled up on the floor. Gazing at him, another question came to her mind, what it would be like to be loved like that? To have a man who would risk his life to take on three men in a life or death struggle and then sleep uncomfortably on the floor next to your bed, just to protect you? She thought of her husband who left her the instant he found out she couldn't have children. He didn't love her like this, did he ever love her at all, she questioned?

Her eyes glistened as she thought of her solitary existence, before she finally rose from the chair and got to her feet. Slowly and carefully, she knelt down by the sleeping man. Leaning over him, she planted a gentle kiss on his cheek. Straightening back up, she looked over at the little girl sleeping peacefully under the protection of her father and then she peered up towards the ceiling. She couldn't help herself as she whispered quietly. "God, all I ask . . . please let me be loved like this someday."

Returning to her bed she felt an enormous sense of loss as she realized that in a couple days she would lose Don and Grace. Turning into her pillow, she couldn't help the tears as she cried herself back to sleep.

The next day found the five of them seated in the living room, the morning having been a quiet affair. The first problem to resolve was Grace, she refused to leave Don's side and any suggestion that she play in her room was met with a flat refusal and tears. Finally, Don decided to let the others talk and he took Grace outside to play on the swing set.

Looking down at her feet, "I feel like her innocence is gone." Anne said sadly after they left.

Mike shook his head. "She'll be okay, she has you and Don to take care of her."

Anne's head shot up at that and she started to reply when Bobby cut in. "I don't want to appear insensitive to Grace, but we have a hell of a problem to get sorted out."

"That being, who sent those guys to get Grace?" Mike added in.

"How do you know they didn't do it on their own?" Anne asked.

"I checked on them, they are thugs for hire, they don't do anything without pay. We have both the police department and my office working on this but we're not getting anywhere." Bobby responded.

"Anne, I know that this is going to hurt and I'm sorry, but we have to start at the beginning." Mike said cryptically. He glanced over at Bobby who gave him a subtle nod.

"I don't understand." Anne answered.

Mike got up and walked around for a minute. "Damn it, there is no way to do this gently, so here it goes." He started as he sat back down and looked at Anne. "It is obvious that someone doesn't want Don to have Grace."

Anne nodded, agreeing to the obvious.

"Anne, I have spent a lot of time, money and energy checking on everyone involved with this and the only way to go about it is to eliminate everyone we can and then take what we have left."

"Okay." Anne agreed, with a quizzical expression.

"Anne," Mike started and then reached across and took her hands in his. "Anne, my investigation found that you were married and lost a baby. Your husband then left you."

Anne jerked her hands back from Mike and abruptly stood up. "And you think I had something to do with this so I can get Grace for myself."

"NO!" Mike said loudly, startling Anne to the point that she dropped back into her seat.

"No Anne, I DO NOT, but I'm not going to allow my emotions to get into this. We have to focus on facts and the idea that you would be involved with this makes sense in a logical fashion. Don loses her and you get her. Now what I need from you is tell me if that's possible, so we can discard the theory."

Anne was stunned but she understood the logic. "Mike and Bobby, I swear, I had nothing to do with anything that has happened. If Don would lose Grace, she becomes a ward of the firm, who will then determine her future, but she would not be placed with me." She finished with her eyes glistening.

"Anne, I just needed to hear it." Mike said with a small smile. "Next, if you wouldn't, then who would?"

Anne took a moment while she gathered herself together after that emotional exchange. "I don't know really, I have never been privy to any information on that point."

Mike leaned back in the chair for a minute, clearly thinking this through.

"Anne, tell me what you know about Libby and her family?" Bobby asked.

"What do you want to know?" 

Mike leaned forward in his seat. "Everything!"

"I can't tell you much, there is privilege involved."

"Bullshit, Anne, my son killed a man to save you and his daughter, two more are in the hospital, and my niece was almost kidnapped, I don't want to hear anything about your legal mumbo-jumbo!" Mike spat out, clearly incensed at her answer.

"Hold on, dad!" Bobby jumped in. "Hold on, Jesus Christ, just relax . . . Anne, correct me if I'm mistaken, but how does Libby have attorney client privilege now that she's dead?"

Anne looked back and forth at the two men and finally decided they were right. If they didn't get to the bottom of this soon, it could happen again. "What do you want to know?" 

"How did you meet?" Bobby asked. "Start there."

Anne thought back. "She made an appointment to see me for a will, I actually called her to see if it was a mistake as I didn't do any work for her family. She assured me she wanted to work with me. We met, I collected all the information, completed the will and then I had her come back, sign and witness it, that's it."

"That's it?" Mike asked.

"Well yes, but I actually understand more now after I talked with Don. She put him in the will to care for Grace, but I had no idea who he was or why. As she didn't have contact with him, we put in a standard provision that if he was unwilling or unable to care for her, it would fall to her parents, if not them, then the firm would seek out and find a suitable guardian. I guess now it makes sense that she wanted to work with me instead of who took care of her parents. I suppose her parents would not have been pleased if they knew Don was in her will. "

"Okay, I don't see anything there that is out of order." Bobby added in.

"But wait a minute, Anne, you say she put Don in the will for Grace, but who inherits the estate?" Mike asked after some thought.

"Well, Grace would, I suppose." Anne answered.

"But Grace is six." Bobby interjected.

"Yes, but whoever gets Grace would be appointed Guardian of her and the estate, but I don't even think there is that much of an estate."

"Think or know, Anne?" Mike asked quickly.

Anne seemed to ponder the question for a minute before answering. "Think."

Mike rubbed his chin for a second then looked over at Bobby who nodded back at him. Turning back to Anne, he addressed her directly. "So you have no idea how much the estate is worth?"

"I have no idea, I guess if I think about it, there must be something as the firm does business with them and we aren't cheap, but I didn't handle the family other than this one will for Elizabeth."

"Anne as her attorney, what would happen if the family had an estate of, let's pick a number, say, half a million dollars?" Mike asked very succinctly.

"Wow, well then that money would have passed through the parents to Elizabeth and then at her death to Grace. In this case, Elizabeth's will stated that her assets went with Grace for her care. So whoever has custody of Grace, has custody of what was originally the parent's estate." Anne finished her legal interpretation but then added in. "Half a million dollars seems like a lot, but after all the legal fees, estate costs, and everything else, there would probably only be about half of that. I'm not saying that's not a lot of money but surely you don't think all of this is for that money, do you?"

Mike just shook his head and stood up. He wandered around the room for a few minutes before he sat back down. "How much would be left if it started at forty million?"

"Well, I don't know, maybe . . . wait a minute! Are you serious?" Anne blurted out. Mike just nodded as Anne sat back in her chair and shook her head.

"I'm very serious, Anne. I had the family investigated, the parents were not only rich but very rich and if that will is as you described, I have a feeling that it's not Grace that someone's after, it's the money!" Mike replied.

Anne sat stunned at the revelation when something else came to her. "So you thought I wanted the money?"

Mike quickly answered. "No, but I have a feeling I know who does, I just had to make sure that you weren't an unaware accomplice."

"What do you mean?" Anne asked suspiciously.

Bobby jumped in. "We never believed you would hurt Grace but we wanted to make sure you weren't being used. Think about it, Anne, somebody wants the money, so they convince you to go along with the promise of getting Grace as your own. Even though you don't know about the whole picture, you think it's all about Grace."

Anne stood up and walked around the room, deep in thought over these revelations. Finally she stopped and looked back at the other two men. "Those fucking bastards! Those fucking sorry fucking pieces of fucking shit! How did I not see it! Damn it, Anne, Damn it!" 

Mike and Bobby both stood up as Anne went into her tirade. "Your firm." Mike said distinctly.

"FUCK YES!" Anne yelled out. "It has to be, they lied to me about Don and Elizabeth's relationship and they had to know it was a lie because they represented the parents. Several times they asked me about things that it seemed they already knew. They are always there when I brief them, all three of them, that's the only time I can ever remember all three of them together on one case. FUCK!"

Suddenly Anne's head shot up as she looked at Mike. "You knew, you said you had a feeling you knew who wanted the money."

"The guy who worked for me, the one who tried to goad Don into a fight. I had someone catch up to him last night. After a short . . . discussion . . . he admitted that Brent Langeman paid him to go after Don."

Bobby's eyes went wide as he heard this. "Dad, for God's sake don't tell me-"

"Don't tell you what Sheriff, this is my family." Mike spat back at him.

Anne jumped back in. "But now what?"

Mike shook his head. "That's the problem, I don't know."

"As the Sheriff, so I've been called." Bobby started looking over at his dad. "I'm going to say, we have no evidence. However we got the information last night, it won't hold up in court. We'll never find the guys who hassled him before and the ones from yesterday, well let's just say that's going nowhere."

Anne had been thinking about the same thing. "Bobby's right, speaking as a lawyer we have nothing. These guys are very powerful, there is no way they would be brought down on what we have. I can guarantee they have covered their tracks to perfection!"

"One thing is certain," Mike started. "They have to fix this by Tuesday. If the Judge awards custody, then the money and Grace goes to Don and it's over."

"They could ask for a continuance." Anne interjected.

"No they can't, it won't be approved." Mike said with a smile. "The Judge won't listen to any of this out of court, he is too honorable to do that, but I think I can make sure there is no continuance."

"Unless you recommend that Don doesn't get Grace." Bobby said to Anne.

Anne's face suddenly turned ashen and she stumbled back to the couch. "Oh my God, I caused this. This is all my fault."

"Anne, what the hell are you talking about?" Mike asked as he saw her collapse.

"I turned in my report on Friday, I recommended that Don keep Grace."

"Anne, that's not your fault, you didn't know." Mike said as he comforted her.

"No it's not, but it does explain the desperate play yesterday." Bobby added.

"I have to meet with them tomorrow." Anne said suddenly, the fear evident in her voice.

Turning to Bobby, Mike asked. "Can we wire her?"

Bobby and Anne both shook their heads almost simultaneously but it was Bobby that answered. "We'd never get a warrant to do that, again we have NOTHING! Damn it!"

"Mike, he's right, no judge would allow it and without a warrant, the evidence would be no good."

"But it would assure Don kept Grace." Mike threw out.

"No it wouldn't and even if he did, they would still be out there and they could still come after Don. Think about it, if something happened to Don, they could then claim the right to start over with custody."

The three seemed to each keep their thoughts to themselves as they mulled over the information that each had provided. Finally Mike broke into the silence. "We are going to have to hold what we have until Tuesday, all we can do is keep everyone safe until then. Anne can stay here and Bobby and I will keep working on this. I don't think Don should go to work or Grace to school, keep everyone here, together and safe."

"I have to go in to work tomorrow to see them." Anne brought up the issue again.

"Anne, I hope I'm not wrong, but I can't see a way you would be in danger. If they harm you, it would be too obvious." Bobby threw out hesitantly.

"Okay, so we keep everyone together except for Anne to go to her office and then return." Mike said with finality.

"We do have one more gigantic problem." Bobby added in. 

"What's that?" Anne asked quizzically.

"It's six foot four inches tall and two hundred and fifty pounds of chaos if he suspects that what we've talked about is true." Bobby replied.

Mike just shook his head as he answered back. "Funny way to put it, but damn true. If he knew that Anne's firm was behind this, there would be no stopping him, he would tear that place apart."

The memory of yesterday and Don's face as he defended Grace made Anne shudder. "You're right, I hate to say it, but he would kill them and there would be no way to stop him."

"No there wouldn't and right now part of me would like to see that happen." Bobby said almost as if he was talking to himself.

"So would I, but the reality is that we tell him that we don't know anything and are still working at it." Mike said, making the decision.

"Agreed" Anne and Bobby said at almost the same instant.

There was another long pause before Anne finally spoke again. "I found him sleeping on the floor in her room last night." The two men could hear her voice cracking as she looked straight at Bobby and continued. "If this goes badly and by some crazy circumstance, he loses her, you better be prepared to control him somehow."

Bobby nodded slowly as he saw the tears trickle down Anne's face. "I understand," He said carefully, knowing full well the gravity of her words. In the last few weeks, Grace and Anne had transformed Donald Duncan from a violent trouble maker into a gentle and loving father. However, yesterday proved that the savage mayhem he could unleash was still just under the surface. 

The sound of the back door opening and Don and Grace returning startled the three. Grace ran into the room and grabbed Anne for a hug. "Miss Anne, I had so much fun."

"That's good, sweetie." She replied, happy to see the smile back on Grace's face.

But unfortunately, the three couldn't miss the obvious pain that Don was in as he came back into the room. He was limping badly and they could see the hurt and exhaustion in his face.

"Are you okay, son?" Mike asked as he took in Don's appearance.

Don seemed to straighten up, "I'm fine." 

After everyone was comfortably seated with Grace curled up in Anne's lap, Don was curious as to the conversation he missed. "So, did we get anywhere?" He asked mindful of Grace listening in.

Mike looked over at Grace before answering. "No, but we think it is best if you all stay here until Tuesday morning, just in case. So no work or school for you and Grace. Anne has to go to work tomorrow but that way everyone is together and safe."

"Makes sense." Was Don's only reply as it was obvious he was still feeling the effects of yesterday's fight and a long night laying on the floor.




Six Weeks of Grace Pt. 08



"Well, Bobby and I need to go, if we hear anything we'll get back to you." Mike said as the two men got up and let themselves out.

Bobby checked in with the deputies standing watch on the house as they left. Once on the road, Mike brought up this morning's conversation. "She's right, you know."

"About what?" Bobby asked.

Mike took a deep breath, he couldn't believe what he was about to say. "If something goes to hell in that courtroom, you better be prepared to stop him at all costs."

"All costs?" Bobby asked quietly. "What are you saying, dad, that I should be prepared to kill my cousin?"

Mike just stared out the window as he contemplated Bobby's question. Finally he realized the answer, "Yes, as much as I hate the thought, you are the Sheriff, you need to be prepared for the worst possible consequences on Tuesday morning."

"I know, and I knew it the moment she said it."

"Let's hope to God it all works, but I can't believe after all they've done that they would give up now."

"Neither do I and baiting Don into a confrontation in court could be their final play."

Mike just shook his head before replying. "I wonder if they know the old saying about being careful what you wish for."

"Yeah, no shit." Bobby replied with a nervous chuckle.



Six Weeks of Grace Pt. 09



Back at the house Anne made a quick lunch of soup and sandwiches. After they cleaned up, she came up with a quick plan.

"Don, remember how you had the two of us in the guest bed so you could take care of us when we were sick?"

"Yeah?" Don replied, his voice low and weary.

"Well, why don't we get you and Grace in there and you can both take a nap."

"Yippee . . . you can nap with me daddy!" Grace exclaimed as she headed up the stairs.

Don started to argue but Anne held up her hand. "You're exhausted, sore and about out on your feet. You can catch a few hours' sleep and guard Grace."

Don's eyes popped open as she stared back at him. "I saw you last night, now get up there with your daughter, she's waiting."

He realized she was right, he was so tired and this way he could keep an eye on Grace at the same time. He was a bit embarrassed that she had caught him staying in Grace's room, but he had woken up and couldn't stop worrying about her, so he decided the best way to protect her was to be in her room.

She watched him trudge up the stairs and when she checked on them a few minutes later, they were fast asleep. Don had Grace cuddled to him and she was almost hard to see wrapped in his huge arms.

Anne returned downstairs and read a little until she finally laid down on the couch for a nap. She was awakened by sounds from the kitchen, checking her watch, she was surprised that she had been asleep for over three hours.

She wandered into the kitchen to find Don putting away some dishes. "Did you get enough sleep?"

"I'm okay," Don said quietly, his back to her.

Anne noticed that he stopped what he was doing and was just staring out the window. "Are you really okay?"

"I guess I don't know." He said, still turned away from her. "I'm so sorry about yesterday, I can't believe I got you and Grace into that."

"Don, what are you talking about?"

"They wanted to get me so they went after Grace." He replied, the guilt obvious in every word he spoke.

"Wait a minute, you think that was to get you!"

"Of course!"

Anne went across the kitchen and grabbed his arm, turning him towards her. She could see the remorse etched in his face. "Don, we didn't come to any conclusions this morning but it's obvious that someone wants to stop you from keeping Grace."

"But!"

"No, whoever caused yesterday, it had nothing to do with your past, we're convinced of that!" Anne told him, trying to not reveal what they suspected but at the same time wanting to reassure him it was not his fault.

He looked down at her for several seconds before he finally spoke. "That was the bravest thing I ever saw in my life." His voice filled with wonder.

"What?"

"You . . . I've never seen anything like that."

"Don, I don't know what you're talking about, but you were . . . were . . . I don't even know what to say. You took on three men, I don't know how with all that happened you can say I was brave!"

Don seemed to find her reply funny and he smirked at her.

"Don, this isn't funny, you could have been killed!"

Don's expression turned serious again as he peered down at her. "And what about you Anne?"

"What about me?"

The smirk was back as Don started speaking. "Anne, I'm a big guy, linebacker, Army veteran, I've been fighting my whole life."

"So?"

"You just don't get it, you're five foot nine, maybe a hundred and twenty soaking wet . . . and I doubt they taught you a lot of hand to hand combatyer school."

Anne just looked up at him trying to figure out what he was saying.

"Jesus Christ Anne, I saw you. You launched yourself at those guys to save Grace." Don explained. "For me to go after them is one thing, but for you to do that, I can't imagine what you were thinking."

Anne turned and walked away from him trying to control her emotions. He was right, what the hell was she thinking. "I was scared to death," she finally added.

"So was I."

"What! You were scared!" She said spinning back to look at him.

"Hell yeah, it was three to one, if they would have come at me all at once, they could have taken me, it was you going at them that made them split up." Don told her flatly.

Anne just shook her head before something came to her. "A man is dead." 

"So, I wish it was all three."

Anne jerked her head up. "You can't be serious Don."

Don gazed at her for what seemed like several minutes as Anne tried to read what was in his mind. She couldn't believe he was this cavalier about killing a man.

"Anne," He started out cautiously. "When I was in the war, I realized something early on. We are all responsible for our own decisions, they decided to try to kidnap my daughter. They knew the risks of that action. Just like in the desert, if you shoot at someone, they may shoot back. They accepted the risk when they went after her, I have no regrets or remorse of the result."

Anne simply stared at him as his words sunk in, but then another thought came to her. Slowly she walked over until she was only inches from him. She stopped before him and looked up into his face. "But what about you Don, what if you had been the one who was killed?" She asked him and he could see the emotions in her face as she struggled to keep control of them.

Looking down at her he realized what he would have lost if that would have happened. Slowly and distinctly he answered her question. "I would be okay with that outcome . . . I would have died defending my-"

Her eyes were locked on his as she waited on him to complete the sentence, the word 'daughter' seemed to be hanging in the air for both of them. But as he gazed down on the woman that had become so important to him in the last few weeks, he couldn't finish the sentence that way. Too much had changed, regardless of the scene in the restaurant all those weeks ago, there was only one word he wanted to use now. "my . . . family." He finished quietly.

Anne's eyes flew open wide as she stared into his. Then another word hit her like the proverbial ton of bricks, 'them'. Bobby said, Don kept saying he lost 'them', them as in more than just Grace, them as in her and Grace she realized. "Family?" She whispered back at him, her eyes never leaving his.

The small shy smile that Anne had grown to love played on his lips as he looked down at her. Slowly, almost imperceptibly, she caught sight of his arm moving and then a huge hand approached the side of her face. She couldn't help herself as she tilted her head into the palm of his hand and she felt the roughness of the bandages around his battered knuckles. So gently she could barely tell, his fingers wrapped around the back of her head and tangled in her hair. Slowly, she felt herself being pulled towards him and right before their lips touched, she heard an almost imperceptible whisper. "Family," he said and his lips were on hers. 

Starting softly, his lips just brushed hers. Her eyes closed as she felt his other arm go around her and pull her full against him. Almost imperceptibly his lips were on hers again, but this time she felt them stay and nibble at hers. Without thinking it through, her arms went to his shoulders and she felt his hand leave her hair to join his other at her back. As she felt his tongue tickle her lips, she opened them and he gently ran it around the inside of her mouth. She melted into him as her hands slid across his massive shoulders and her arms wrapped around his neck, reveling in the feel of his rock hard chest against her soft breasts.

Pulling her even tighter, his tongue dueling with hers, she couldn't help the low moan that escaped her as the kiss deepened even further. His huge hands caressed her back and she felt that gentleness that always surprised her. She couldn't help herself, the feel of him pulling her close made her weak and she was soon lost in the wonderful warmth that was radiating through her.

For Don, his emotions were overwhelming him. He could feel his passion build as their kisses became deeper and deeper. The feel of her in his arms was incredible, and his mind was filled with an almost uncontrollable urge to never, ever let her go. To him, she was filling a space within him that had been empty for so long.

Feeling his hands move down to the gentle curve of her ass, Anne gripped him even tighter as she felt him lift her off of her feet. She responded by grabbing the back of his head and jamming her lips against his even harder. Rewarded for her efforts with a subtle growl, Anne felt a desire rising in her that no man had ever brought to the surface. She wondered how she had lived this long without ever being kissed like this. 

Years of loneliness seemed to be draining from her as she remembered her plea from late last night. What she would give to be held and kissed like this, every day, for the rest of her life! 

"Daddy, Daddy," came echoing from the upstairs. Quickly they broke apart at the sound of Grace waking from her nap and coming out of her room.

Anne stepped back and stared at him for a second as she tried to get a handle on what had just happened. All of her thoughts of just a moment ago were gone as she looked up at the huge man in front of her. Donald Duncan, Donald Duncan, Donald Duncan, her mind kept repeating over and as if her subconscious was fighting to understand how the hell she ended up in his arms. 

"Anne?" Don said as he saw the wonder in her eyes. It was obvious to him that he had taken advantage of her. The scene in the restaurant played out in her face once again and he knew that he had made a terrible mistake. "Anne, I'm sorry, please -"

"Don, I have to go." Anne interrupted him. She quickly gathered up her things and was gone before Grace reached the bottom of the stairs.

Don was stunned as Grace finally found him in the kitchen. "Daddy, did Miss Anne go home?" She asked, sorrowfully.

"Yes honey, but we'll see her again soon." Don told her, not wanting to tell her the truth, that that may not be the case.

The rest of the day, Don was on auto-pilot as he fixed supper and then later decided to share a bed with Grace again. He didn't want to let her out of his sight and the little girl was thrilled to be cuddled by her dad.

After they settled in and Grace drifted off to sleep, Don laid wide awake, his mind struggling with what happened today. He couldn't believe with all that had happened this weekend, the only thing he could focus on was kissing Anne. How could he have made such a monumental mistake, he wondered? He cursed himself for being that forward and forcing himself on her and finally he worried whether that would be the nail in the coffin to cause him to lose Grace. Surely his unwanted attentions would make her question whether he could be trusted and if he couldn't be trusted, maybe she would feel he couldn't be trusted with Grace.

But then another thought crept through his fear, the sight of her in front of him as he spoke the one word that his heart said he should, family. Pulling Grace a little bit more in to him, he realized that that was what he wanted more than anything. A family, a mother for Grace, a mother that he saw was willing to risk her life in order to protect her. He hadn't brought it up, but he had heard her when she yelled for help. She had screamed, "They're taking our daughter", and it was those words that enflamed him. Not the idea that they were taking his daughter, that they were taking 'their' daughter. The sight of her slapped to the ground had caused a rage in him that he had not felt since the last woman he loved had faced the same fate. 

The last woman he loved, yes he loved her, and he knew it as sure as he had loved Libby. Grace loved her and she loved Grace, now the only question remained, how did she feel about him? As he thought of her against him and her lips on his, he wondered if that dream was even possible.

The scene at the restaurant came to him again, but this time, he dismissed it. He decided it was not going to stop him this time, somehow, someway, he was not going to allow Anne to walk out of his and Grace's life without one hell of a fight!

On the other side of town, Anne also laid awake staring at the ceiling. What in the hell was she thinking? She must have been tired, the emotions of the weekend weakening her, that must have been it. Allowing that man to kiss her like that, and her melting into him. It didn't mean anything, just two people who had gotten close and had experienced a significant life event. That was it, a couple more days and she would be done with them, that's what she wanted, to go back to her solitary, lonely life. A life devoid of a precious little girl and her father. Just a couple more days she thought, as she finally drifted off to sleep.

She sees them standing there and they turn as she walks forward. All eyes are on her as the music plays and she continues towards the front of the church. Ah, her wedding she recalls, as her mind drifts back to that wonderful time. She can see the wedding party turn towards her as her father escorts her towards her soon to be husband. It's so hazy, these faint whispers of her memory, people in the pews, her family, but there is Grace, why is she there? Oh that's right, she's her daughter, but no, she doesn't have children, does she? No, she must be mistaken, it's difficult to see well through the veil over her face. It must be another little child, that's right, the flower girl but no, she is younger, oh well, she keeps walking. She reaches the front and can hear her father as he says something to the man she is to be wed to. But he seems so different now, has he gained weight, gotten bigger? As she turns, she can see the Best Man, he's in uniform, who wears a uniform to a wedding? What the hell is going on, he's dressed up like a cop. In uniform for a wedding, but they all were going to wear tuxes, but she dismisses it and turns to the minister before her. Something seems odd, as through her hand she can feel the roughness of some type of tape around his hand. The hand is huge and hers feels so tiny, why?

It's all so familiar but not, the voices are the same, the words, he says 'I do' and she does also. But why is she agreeing, no she doesn't want this, he's going to leave her. He won't stand by her, he won't protect her, she knows that now, she wants to run, somebody stop this, he doesn't love me, she knows that now, and she just wants someone to get her away from here. 

The preacher says that he can kiss the bride, but she doesn't want a kiss, she just wants out. She looks up as two huge hands wrapped in white are lifting her veil, it's all becoming clear somehow. From the corner of her eye, she sees her again, Grace, her daughter, her little angel, and she has an enormous smile and then suddenly the veil is gone, she clenches her eyes closed, she doesn't want to see this, she knows what will happen, somebody make this STOP!

She feels his hand on the back of her head, her face is moving forward and up. She uses all the strength she can muster to concentrate and it comes to her, daughter - she has a daughter. She opens her eyes and she can see him just as his lips are a hair away from hers. Then his lips are on hers and the feeling is incredible and her eyes close again so she can revel in the warmth that is radiating through her. But in that warmth is a love that is coming through, so strong and so powerful that it overwhelms her senses and when she opens her eyes again she sees a face that shocks her to the very core. 

Suddenly bolting upright in bed, Anne comes wide awake in an instant. "Oh my God . . . I'm in love with Donald Duncan!" She whispers out to herself as her dream becomes clear. It was him standing before her; him, Donald Duncan, angry, violent, brawler, killer, Donald Duncan. 

"No, it was just a dream!" She exclaims to her empty bedroom. But it wasn't just a dream because it wasn't that Donald Duncan. It was the Donald Duncan with the shy smile and the gentle laugh, the one who held her as she cried and comforted her when she was sick. Him, who slept on his daughter's floor to protect her, the one who can't cook a bit and makes terrible clothes choices. That's the man she's in love with, and the feeling of being in his arms made it true.

"What the fuck am I going to do now?" She asked herself as she flopped back into her mattress.

"Anne, come in, heard you had some excitement this weekend?" Roger Evans asked as she came into the conference room.

Anne just stared at him, she couldn't believe he asked her that.

"Ah, let's get this meeting going shall we?" Mark Winters said and they all took their seats around the conference table.

"About this recommendation, Anne, I'm sure you want to relook it after the events of this past weekend." Mark said to her.

Anne looked at him and stared straight into his eyes. "No, it was a horrific thing that happened and I'm still reeling from it, but it only makes me that much more sure of my decision." 

"Come on Anne, you can't be serious. Donald Duncan killed a man and put two others in the hospital and you say he should have custody of a child?" Roger spat out at her.

Anne took a deep breath, she figured this was coming, so she was ready. "Yes, I am aware of all of that, we were attacked and they tried to kidnap his daughter. He was defending us and as far as I know everyone at all levels of law enforcement agrees."

"But Anne-"

"There is no buts, he was defending his daughter, my recommendation stands and I am ready to defend it in court tomorrow!" She said firmly, daring the partners to challenge her.

There was nothing but silence in the room as the partners stared her down but she obviously was not going to fold. "If there is nothing else gentleman, I have work to do." 

"Where's the money Anne?" Brett Langeman asked her directly.

Turning to him, Anne felt immediately uncomfortable. "What money?"

"The money from the Warren estate. We audited the accounts last week and there is several million missing." 

"I had nothing to do with any money nor did I ever have access to any of their accounts." Anne replied, feeling a chill run up her spine.

"That's not what these documents say. It shows that you had authority to pay for the kid's expenses and now money is missing."

"Bull shit!" Anne spat out as a folder was slid down the table at her.

"I would take a look at those documents before I got too uppity, miss."

Anne felt her hands shake as she opened up the folder and started examining documents. Most she recognized but some she didn't, but they all showed a common thread, they had her signatures on them. "I have no idea what some of these documents are about and I don't remember signing them."

"Miss Summers, you're a lawyer, surely you're not going to claim you signed documents that you didn't read?" Brett asked her, leering like a jackal at her.

"I may have signed some of these, but I think things may have been added later." 

"Huh, sounds likely." Brett replied to her explanation.

Anne sat quietly for a while before she decided that she had nothing to lose. "So your attacks on Mister Duncan and his daughter failed, so now we go to plan B, blackmail."

She caught a wry smile from Brett but decided to focus on the owner directly. "Mister Winters, it won't work, the police and Sheriff's department are on to you and are currently gathering evidence that you orchestrated the attack this weekend."

She thought he would flinch but her hopes fell when he didn't even seem to notice her statement. "Miss Summers, I have to applaud your guts; that was an excellent try to divert attention from your misdeeds."

Anne tried to hold her composure but she felt it slipping as he continued. "Here is what is going to happen. You are going to go redo your recommendation, go into court tomorrow, testify that Duncan is not an acceptable father and the firm will be awarded guardianship."




Six Weeks of Grace Pt. 09



"And if I don't?" Anne asked with a sinking feeling she already knew the answer. 

"By tomorrow night, you will be sitting in a jail cell, arrested for fraud, misappropriation and felony larceny. Your smallest problem will be your disbarment."

Anne sat stoic, desperately trying to figure out what to say. They had her and she was sunk. They had all the documents and she had no doubt they had everything in order for her fall.

"And what happens to Grace if I testify she shouldn't be with her father?" She asked and they all could hear her voice cracking. Brett Langeman couldn't suppress a smile as he knew it was over, he had won again.

"What's it to you Anne?" Roger asked her.

"I want to know, I care for her."

"Fine, she will be adopted by one of our more wealthy clients, who is willing to pay for that privilege in cash!" Roger replied triumphantly.

"I could expose you all!" Anne spat out, making one last effort to extract herself from this mess.

"Stop it," Mark Winters stated flatly. "You have no evidence, the police have no evidence and we have absolute proof of your crimes. Even if you go to court, and support your current report, we will simply have it overturned once we show the Judge that you conspired to steal the girl's money. You will be in jail, discredited and then we will deal with taking care of Duncan."

Anne slumped in her chair, of all the possibilities, she hadn't seen this one coming.

"Now, I suggest you get to work on redoing that report and we'll see you later today to go over the questions you WILL be answering in court tomorrow!" Mark said, dismissing her.

She got to her feet, praying that her legs would hold her up, and walked out of the conference room, leaving the three partners sitting there.

After she left, Mark looked over at Roger. "That was fucking stupid!"

"What the hell are you talking about?" He replied.

"Oh, I'll tell you asshole, why did you tell her we were going to sell the girl. She didn't need to know that!" Brett told him, anger seething through him.

"What difference does it make?" Roger retorted, trying to defend himself.

"Enough, fuck it, it's done." Mark said looking over at the other two. "I think we got her but we need a backup plan."

"I can come up with something." Brett answered.

"Fuck no, I will. You've fucked it up every time." Mark said directing his venom at Brett.

"What are you talking about?"

"How did your perfect plan go Saturday?" 

"Yeah, well, who would of thought he could take those three."

Roger jumped back into the discussion, happy to get the heat back off of himself. "I did! I fucking told you that guy was a beast, you probably should have sent ten guys after him."

"Fine, you come up with something, because if this goes sideways tomorrow, we're fucked!" Brett threw out and then left the room, slamming the door behind him.

"He is right about that." Roger said to Mark after Brett was gone. "We better come up with something just in case."

"I have an idea." 

"What?" 

"Never mind, the more people involved the more risk. I'll handle it, you just get to work on a script of questions and answers for tomorrow."

After Roger left, Mark mulled the plan around in his head. He had to smile, thank you Anne he thought, I would have never come up with it myself.

Anne went back to her office shaken, how did she ever get in this mess? They had her, every one of those documents was picture perfect, there was no doubt that it showed a consistent pattern of fraud on her part. She could declare her innocence, hire lawyers, and on and on but it would do little good, they were way ahead of her. With the amount of money missing and the firm against her, she would be in prison for twenty years, maybe more. 

And while she was fighting that, what would happen with Don and Grace. The partners were right again, regardless of what she did, they would get Grace. They were willing to kill Don if necessary and they obviously had the resources to get it done.

Dropping her head into her hands, she started crying but soon realized the futility of it. Opening up her laptop, she started rewriting her report, whether she could go through with it or not, she didn't know, but at least she had to look like she was.

As the day came and went, two very worried men were assembled at Don's house.

"I thought she was coming back." Don said to Mike as they stood in the living room.

"I did too, she was supposed to just go in for a meeting and then back here." Mike replied, nervously running his hand through his hair.

Don just shook his head, he knew why she wasn't coming back. Unfortunately, he also knew that the future of family that he wished for last night, was gone. "I tried calling her several times today, but she never answered."

Mike was distraught as he thought of his words only yesterday. He said he couldn't see how she could be in danger, now he prayed that he was right. 

A knock sounded at the door and before either of them could move, Bobby opened it and came in. "I have news but I don't know whether it's good or bad." 

"Well?" Mike said with some heat, he was obviously not in the mood for jokes.

"She's okay, one of my deputies who was watching her apartment, said she just went in alone."

"Damn!" Mike exclaimed. "Something has to be wrong or she would have come back here."

"I could pick her up, but if she's not willing, I could have a hell of a mess on my hands." Bobby volunteered.

"NO!" Don exclaimed, startling both men. "No, leave her alone, whatever is wrong, let it go."

'Are you sure?" Mike asked, shocked at Don's outburst.

"Yeah, leave her be, I guess we will see everyone tomorrow at nine."

"Don, I still have someone guarding her and you, they will follow you to the courthouse tomorrow." 

"That's not necessary." Don replied.

"Fine, then they will be following Grace to the courthouse." Bobby told him with a look that showed that he wasn't giving in.

"All right, I got it, you win." Don said, his mind really somewhere else.

Mike and Bobby said their good-byes and headed out, meeting up again at Mike's house.

"I don't like this, something's going on with Anne." Mike told him, as they both grabbed a beer when they got home.

"Yeah, but what?" Bobby asked before another thought came to him. "And why doesn't Don care?"

"That's what I really don't get!" Mike said before he blew out a breath. "What the hell is with those two?"

"What do you mean?" 

"Come on, he's so in love with her it's crazy!" Mike said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, but what about her, I'm not so sure she sees things the same way."

Mike just looked at him for a second before he started laughing. "Jesus Christ, no wonder you can't get a girl!"

"What?"

"Nothing, just let it go." Mike said as he turned more serious. "Look, we have to be ready for anything tomorrow, whatever happens, we have to have a plan."

"I'm way ahead of you." Bobby said with a small grin. "I already talked to the Judge and we can have plenty of support there."

"How'd you do that?"

"I went through this weekend's events with him and then used the one trump card that I've never played before."

"Trump card?" Mike asked.

"Yeah, I called in a marker for Michael Duncan."

Mike gave him a grin, "So I owe him one now?"

Bobby just shook his head, "Nope, he just said to tell you you're even now." 

Bobby looked at his dad quizzically and then took a drink of his beer. "Do you want to tell me that story?"

Mike just shook his head. "No Sheriff, I don't"

Bobby finished his beer and set it down. Very deliberately he walked over to the window and looked out across the back yard for a few moments. Then he seemed to wander around the room before his eyes seemed to light on the mantle over the unused fireplace. Picking up a picture of his mom, he stared at it for a while before looking back at his dad. "You know, you keep giving me that Sheriff routine but you're the one that got me into this job."

Mike just nodded, not knowing where he was going with this.

Bobby sat the picture back on the mantle, turning away from his dad. Mike could hear his son's voice break a touch as he started speaking, his words only a bit louder than a whisper. "Do you think she would ever forgive me if we have to stop him tomorrow?"

Mike just stared at his back as the implications worked their way through his mind. "If it comes to it, you can't let him hurt other people, innocent or guilty, it's your job . . . Sheriff."

Mike saw his head droop a bit at his words and he watched his son as he seemed to stand frozen with his back turned to him. "Yeah, it's a great fucking job." Bobby finally said softly as he walked out the door, leaving his dad deep in thought.

Don woke up and stared at the little girl in his arms. She was still fast asleep and the sound of her gentle breathing sounded like music to his ears. Cuddling her even tighter, his thoughts returned to the last six weeks of his life. From the day Anne brought Grace to the house, to the fateful kiss yesterday, it all ran through his mind over and over. 

Looking down at her, he made himself a promise, whatever happened today, he was not going to give her up. Whatever it took, whatever money he had to spend, whoever he had to battle with, it didn't matter, he would not let her go.

Finally Grace started to stir and when she woke up a huge grin came to her face as she realized that her daddy was holding her safe and warm in his arms. "Morning Daddy." She said softly.

"Morning sweetie," he replied as he hugged her even tighter. "I love you."

"I love you, too" she answered sleepily as she snuggled in even tighter.

Finally he pulled back from her. "We have to get up and dressed nice today."

"Why?"

"We have to go see some people." He answered.

"Will we see Miss Anne?" 

Her question made Don swallow hard before answering. "Yes honey, we'll see Miss Anne today." He just wished he knew what her attitude towards him was going to be.

"Goodie!"

"All right, let's get up and going." Don said as he got himself untangled and out of bed, still feeling the pain of the weekend's fight.

On the other side of town, Anne didn't have to wake up. She had been up most of the night as she tried desperately to figure a way out of her predicament. Unfortunately as morning dawned, she was no closer to a solution than she was last night. Every option she considered ended up badly. With a heavy heart she got up and dressed for the day.

By eight o'clock Sheriff Duncan and his police counterparts had finished laying out the courtroom. 

"All right . . . listen up." Bobby said to the assembled group. "You all know your places and your responsibilities."

After looking around the group and seeing the head nodding, he continued on. "Everyone here is aware of the events of this past weekend. We believe that the attempted kidnapping of the child involved in this court action was not a random act. Because of that belief, you are all here. We have no reason to suspect something will happen today, but prudence dictates that we be ready for anything."

Bobby seemed to hesitate and those that knew him best could see his emotions start to surface. "One last thing, I know that everyone here knows that Donald Duncan is my cousin and the girl is his daughter. I also know that there is probably not an officer here who has not had to deal with him in the past."

Again there was a pause as he seemed to be choosing his words carefully. "I'm asking every one of you to put any prejudices you may have aside. Our job is to protect everyone here, including him. If something happens, we have enough manpower here to control the situation. Do NOT let your emotions get the best of you, stay calm."

Bryce was standing close enough to his boss to see his hands shake just a bit as he finished. "If anything happens today that rises to the level that you feel deadly force is necessary, make damn sure that there are no other options."

After receiving a chorus of "yes sirs" and head nods, Bobby dismissed the group and turned away.

"You okay?" Bryce asked as he approached the Sheriff. In the last few months Bryce had gone from being a young rookie to an experienced deputy under the Sheriff's tutelage. But more than that, he considered his boss, not only a great mentor, but a good friend.

"Yeah, just worried, I guess." Bobby replied carefully.

Looking around at the others starting to leave the courtroom, Bryce tried to reassure his boss. "I think you've got a good plan. Everyone in civilian attire, coming in one's and two's, spacing them out around the room; I think everyone is ready."

"I just hope no one is too ready, we sure as hell don't want this to turn into the O.K. Corral!" Bobby replied, shaking his head.

"I think everyone got the message, I don't know all of them, but it seems like they're all older officers."

"Yeah, we choose only the most experienced for this."

"But . . . ah . . . kind of makes me wonder why I'm here, you really haven't given me a role." Bryce asked hesitantly.

The Sheriff looked at him with a small grin. "I have you here for a very specific reason."

"Oh no, not sure I like the sound of this." 

Bobby just chuckled at his response before he turned serious. "Bryce, there are four people that I believe have any chance of controlling Don without it becoming a nightmare. Obviously Anne, my dad and me, but I also believe you can."

"ME?" Bryce blurted out.

"Yeah you." Bobbie said with a smile. "Look, don't sell yourself short, I think my cousin respects you and considers you a friend. To him, that's enough."

"Okay, so what do I need to do?"

Bobby looked around to make sure there was no one lurking nearby. "Only a couple people know this but we actually suspect that Anne's firm is behind all of this and may cause trouble here or try to incite Don to lose control."

"What . . . holy shit, the lawyers!" Bryce said softly, keeping his voice down.

"Yeah, can't trust lawyers, there's a revelation huh?"

Bryce just chuckled at his boss's joke. "So?" he asked.

"The fact is you're new, none of them would probably recognize you in civilian clothes. So, I want you right behind the lawyers and ready to get between them and Don in an instant."

"Okay, I got it, but if I have to get between them, I hope I get some help in a hurry!"

"You will, I just need you to slow him down, I really think he would hesitate before he'd take a shot at you, hopefully that'd be all the time we need for the cavalry to get there."

Bryce just looked at his boss for a few seconds as what he was hearing sunk in. "So I'm the sacrificial lamb?" 

"Yeah, you could say that." Bobby replied with a grin.

"Great!" 

"Bryce in all seriousness, I know you like the guy and the best way to keep him out of trouble today is to not let him get out of control to start with."

Bryce just nodded. "You're right, he's a good guy, I do want to help."

"One last thing, keep an eye on me, I'll be behind him with my dad."

"Got it boss." Bryce replied before heading off to wander around the courthouse for a while. 

As the courtroom started to fill, all three senior partners sat stoically at their table. Mark Winters looked around carefully, waiting for Anne Summers to arrive. He had spent considerable time in the last twenty four hours making sure everything was set to ensure her cooperation, he just needed one last word with her before the court convened.

Bryce came in and took a seat behind them, trying to look inconspicuous. Most of the other law enforcement personnel drifted in and took seats in prearranged places.

"Mister Duncan?" An older lady questioned, as she spied the huge man and Grace walking towards the courtroom.

"Yes." Don answered hesitantly.

"Hi, Mrs Bell!" Grace said excitedly.

"Hi sweetie, how have you been" She replied to the smiling little girl.

"I've been fine." Grace replied with a giggle.

Mrs Bell looked up at Don and then stuck out her hand. "I'm sorry, I'm Mrs. Bell, I was Grace's nanny after . . . well . . . before she came to live with you."

"Oh, okay." Don replied with a smile and then gently shook the woman's hand.

"Mister Duncan, it's my understanding that the Judge asked that I take care of Grace while court is in session." She said with a smile.

Don started to tense up but then he remembered how the Judge had talked with them in chambers so they were away from Grace. "I understand." Don answered, assuming the Judge probably wanted to spare his little girl any sadness that may come if certain things were talked about.

Don slowly dropped to a knee, so he was face to face with Grace. "You go with Mrs. Bell and daddy will see you in a little while okay?"

"Okay Daddy." Grace replied before she moved into him for a hug.

Don took the little girl in his arms and hugged her tight to him. For an instant it flashed through his mind that this may be the last time he would be able to do this but he swept it aside. "I love you so much." He whispered to her.

"I love you too daddy." She whispered back as they broke part.

Mrs. Bell stuck out her hand and Grace took it and they started down the hallway away from the courtroom.

Don watched them until the rounded a corner before he whipped at his eyes and went to meet his fate.

Ben Roberts saw Don and motioned him forward to the same table he sat at weeks ago. Sitting down gently, still sore from the fight, he looked over and saw the three men at the other table. One he recognized, but the other two were new to him.

He was still looking around when he felt a hand on his back. "How we doing son?" Mike asked him as he gently squeezed his shoulder.

"You didn't have to be here." Don said to him, looking back at him.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world." Mike replied with a grin. "Besides, I haven't hardly spoiled her yet."

Don just laughed as Mike took his seat a couple rows back. Bobby soon joined him and he gave Don a nod as he sat down.

Mike looked around and then stood up, making his way back out into the hallway. He paced back and forth, still worried about yesterday and why Anne never showed back up at the house.

"Anne, is everything okay?" he asked as he finally saw her coming down the hallway.

"I'm fine," she replied but Mike could tell that something was very wrong.

"Are you sure?" 

"Fine, just fine."

"Anne," he said as he took her hand and pulled her off to the side. "You don't look fine, what's wrong?"

Anne just shook her head and pulled away from him.

"Anne, stick with him." Mike said loudly as she walked away from him.

Suddenly Anne stopped and turned around and looked back at him. She couldn't believe what he said, 'stick with him', the same thing he told her the night they first met. 

Turning back towards the door, she walked into the courtroom and up to the table. Mike's words were ringing in her ear as she addressed Mark Winters. "I won't do it."

Mark stood up and pulled Anne close to him. "Then you'll be going to jail." He hissed out at her under his breath.

Anne stood tall and glared at him. "Then so be it, I will not be a part of this, I'm going to get on that stand and expose you all, let the chips fall where they may. I will NOT allow you to take Grace away from him and I am willing to face the consequences . . . are you?"

Mark didn't even flinch. "Then Grace will die!" He said, his voice still low and full of menace.



Six Weeks of Grace Pt. 10



This is the final installment of "Six Weeks of Grace". I was taken to task for my misspellings and improper word usage. So I thank "nthusiastically" who volunteered to help with the last few parts. I was surprised that some thought that just because an author makes a mistake, he must be stupid and not know better, I found that accusation quite presumptuous! The reality is, in typing 60 -- 70K words, a few do end up sideways, and I'm sorry for that.

There were also some great comments that really made me think, especially one about wanting more conversations between Don and Grace, I had thought of that but I mused that some would find that too "sweet". Maybe . . . 

I learned a lot from this story, mainly that you can't please everyone, some hated the short parts and cliffhangers, some loved it. Some thought it was slow, some loved the characters going through the many circumstances that they went through. Some thought it was too much of a cliché but really, aren't almost all romances? Some claimed that the characters should have figured it all out sooner, but remember written in third person, it gives the reader more information than the characters have. Plus it's always easy to second guess what people should have done . . . I damn sure wouldn't have gotten on the Titanic, everyone knows icebergs are dangerous! So in the end, if I had to do it over, I probably would have made it 3 or 4 parts, without the cliffhangers, but it was a great experiment for me as a new writer. Please forgive me that decision!

But one universal theme was that everyone loved Grace, and that was truly my wish when all this started, because if you, the reader don't fall in love with Grace than the rest of the story won't draw you in. I know this from the volume of emails and comments I received that threatened me with death and dismemberment if something happened to Grace! Just kidding . . . kind-of! 

So thank you for your patience with us here in Grace's world! Now, the conclusion of "Six Weeks of Grace".

*****

"What?" Anne blurted out, stunned by his words.

"Look around, do you see her?" He said quietly.

Anne spun her head around, frantically searching for the little girl that she had grown to love so much.

"That's right, Mrs. Bell has her tucked away."

Anne stared back at him. "There's no way she's involved in this." She sputtered out, her voice filled with disbelief.

"Oh Anne, of course she isn't, but she knows of Duncan, so it was easy to persuade her that Grace needs protection."

"What?"

"That's right, I have a pager in my pocket, one misstep from you and she is on orders to hand her over to someone who she believes will protect the girl."

"Oh my God," Anne whispered out, stunned by what he was implying. "You wouldn't?"

Looking straight into her eyes he answered defiantly. "If you screw this up, no matter what happens to us, that brat will be dead before you leave this room, understand?"

Anne could only nod and stumble to her seat, her heart breaking as she realized that she was now totally out of options.

Bobby watched the exchange and looked at Bryce quizzically but he shook his head to indicate he noticed also, but couldn't hear the conversation.

"All rise!" Ben Roberts began. "This court is now in session, the Honorable Judge Joseph P. Baker presiding."

Don stood with everyone else as the Judge entered and took his seat.

"Be seated everyone." Judge Baker said firmly as looked around the courtroom.

"Mister Winters?" The Judge started and the smartly dressed attorney immediately rose to his feet. "I am surprised by the attendance of all three of the senior partners of your firm." 

"It's an important case, Your Honor." He answered back smoothly.

"Hmmm, a child custody case demands all of this attention?" The Judge asked cryptically.

"Ah . . . our firm takes its responsibilities seriously, Your Honor." Mark Winters answered with a bit less confidence.

"So I see." The Judge concluded with a smirk that made all three of the partners worry.

"And Mister Duncan, how are you?" He asked with a huge smile and a friendliness that was not lost on his opponents.

Rising to his feet slowly, still feeling the effects of the weekend, Don answered carefully. "I'm fine Your Honor."

"Better dressed today I see." The Judge asked with a grin. This was the first time he was laying eyes on Donald Duncan since that day in his office. He couldn't help but notice the well-groomed and impeccably dressed young man sitting where a violent criminal had sat only a few weeks ago. 

"Yes, Your Honor, it's a very important day for me." Don answered with a nervous smile.

The Judge returned the smile and motioned for him to sit back down.

"All right everyone, this is not a trial but simply an informal hearing to determine the permanent placement of the minor Grace Warren. I am ready to hear your argument Mister Winters."

Winters was a bit caught off guard by the Judge's comment and jumped to his feet. "Yes Your Honor. Ah . . . we do not believe that placing the girl with Mister Duncan is in her best interest."

"Is that so, Mister Winters?"

"Yes, Your Honor." Winters replied, his nervousness increasing with the Judge's obvious attitude towards him.

"Mister Winters, I'm confused. I gave your associate very specific instructions to contact me in the event of any and I meant any problems with the girl being in Mister Duncan's care; is that right?"

"That's right, Your Honor." 

"Well, Mister Winters, if she has not contacted me in six weeks, why would your firm suddenly argue that Mister Duncan is not capable of taking care of the child?"

Mike Duncan smiled to himself as he listened to the exchange. While he and Bobby had been very careful not to say anything to the Judge that would be considered out of line, it was obvious that the old boy had read between the lines.

For Don, his heart was beating wildly, he had tried to catch Anne's eye but she seemed to be avoiding him. The fight, kissing Anne, had he screwed up? How could he have been so stupid?

"Well, Your Honor, there have been some recent developments that have called into question whether Mister Duncan can be trusted with a child. It seems that his violent nature has resurfaced and put the child in danger. We feel that if he has custody, it will only be a matter of time before she is hurt." Mark Winters explained.

"YOUR HONOR!" Don was back on his feet now and furious. He was not going to allow this asshole to claim he would ever harm his daughter.

"Mister Duncan, SIT DOWN!" The Judge said to him loudly and Don sank back in his seat.

"As you can see Your Honor, Mister Duncan is obviously unable to control himself." Winters said calmly, delighting in how easy it was to bait the big man.

Don sat in his seat stewing, he could not believe that he had walked right into that. Gripping the sides of his chair, he vowed to stay calm no matter what happened today.

"Mister Winters, what developments are you speaking of." The Judge asked with obvious curiosity.

"Well, Your Honor, Mister Duncan was involved in a fight this weekend that resulted in a man's death, I would think the court would consider that significant grounds to end his contact with any child."

Once again, Don felt the adrenalin pumping through him and he started to jump up before he caught a glance from the Judge. For some reason it instantly calmed him and he wondered if he had more of an ally than he realized.

"Mister Winters, I appreciate the suggestion of what the court should do but I believe I am capable of making my own decisions."

"Of course Your Honor." Winter replied sheepishly.

Don couldn't help but smile a bit as he realized that his decision to stay in his seat was a good one, obviously the Judge had things well in hand.

"Now as to the matter of this weekend's events," the Judge stated firmly, "I will admit to learning of it from the news. Because of this hearing I felt I needed to be briefed on the circumstances. I have a report before me signed by the Chief of Police, the County Sheriff, and the District Attorney."

"Your Honor, the Sheriff is Mister Duncan's cousin, hardly an unbiased source." Winter's spat out.

"Mister Winters, if you have evidence that you wish to present that shows that the Sheriff has colluded with the Chief of Police and the District Attorney to present a falsified report to this court, I will hear it now." The Judge said sharply.

"Ah . . . no Your Honor, I have no evidence to that." 

"Then I suggest before you make any further allegations, you have your evidence handy!"

Winters looked around at his two partners before facing back to the Judge. "Yes, Your Honor." He answered solemnly.

"Now as to this report, I have entered it into evidence and it states that three men, known felons, attacked Mister Duncan, your Associate Anne Summers and the child Grace Warren with the intention of kidnapping the girl. Both Miss Summers and Mister Duncan responded to the attack. In the course of that defense, one attacker was killed and two others were severely injured."

The Judge paused and seemed to sort through the report for a moment. "I have here a statement from the District Attorney, that although a formal coroner's inquest has not been held, he feels that the actions taken by Mister Duncan were clearly in defense of himself, Miss Summers and Grace Warren. His findings are backed up by the Sheriff, the Chief of Police and over twenty witnesses."

"So Mister Winters, what I have before me is a report that says that Mister Duncan and Miss Summers risked their own lives to save the little girl from kidnapping."

"Your Honor, a man is dead because of Mister Duncan." Winters pointed out smugly.

The Judge just shook his head. "Mister Winters, is it your contention that Mister Duncan would be a better candidate for fatherhood if he had allowed his daughter to be kidnapped, than if he fought to save her from that fate?"

"Well no, Your Honor." 

"Then what exactly is your claim?" The Judge asked quickly.

Mike and Bobby were enjoying watching the attorney squirm as the Judge kept hammering him. But just when they thought things were going well, Winters changed tactics.

"Your Honor, we have more information that has been provided to us by our Associate Miss Summers. At this time we would like to have her provide testimony."

The Judge seemed to consider his request for several seconds before finally agreeing. "Miss Summers, please be sworn and take the stand."

Don was shocked as he took in Anne's appearance as she walked up to the stand. She looked tired and rung out, her face filled with despair.

Ben Roberts administered the oath and Anne seemed to hesitate before answering. After a long pause she finally did so and took a seat on the witness stand.

Mark Winters strode up to the stand confidently. "Miss Summers, do you believe Mister Duncan should have custody of Grace Warren?" He asked.

Anne's head hung down and she seemed not to hear the question. "Miss Summers?" He asked again.

"No," She said weakly.

Bobby and Mike looked at each other at the same instant, stunned by her answer. 

"Hold on here, Miss Summers." The Judge said, his voice full of surprise. "I don't understand, I gave you instructions to contact me if the girl was not being cared for. Are you saying she was not?"

Again Anne hesitated before answering. "Yes, Your Honor." 

"Your Honor, if I may?" Mark Winters interjected.

"Proceed, Councilor, because I want to know what is going on here." The Judge said, obviously unhappy with the situation.

"Miss Summers, can you explain why you did not come forward until now."

"I . . . I was afraid of him." She answered quietly.

"Miss Summers, speak up." Winters told her forcefully.

Anne just looked back at him, seemingly fixated on him. "I was afraid of him." She answered louder this time.

"Can you explain that?" 

"He . . . he threatened me."

Bobby quickly turned to his dad. "She's lying!" He hissed out under his breath.

"Yeah, but why?" Mike quickly shot back.

Bobby just shook his head until he remembered the exchange he watched when she came in. "They must have something on her, blackmailing her!" He whispered.

"What?"

"I saw Winters talking to her when they came in, she didn't look happy."

Mike shook his head. "No, I don't believe it, she would never protect herself over Don and . . . damn!"

What's wrong?" Bobby asked as he saw his dad's head spin around.

"Grace isn't here!" He whispered out at Bobby as they both looked around trying to find the little girl.

Suddenly he grabbed his son and pulled him close to him. "She would die to protect Grace, I know it. They must have her, but she can't be far . . . you have to find her now!"

Bobby nodded and sprung to his feet. Bryce noticed the movement and swung his head around. Bobby caught his eye and motioned for him to follow him out.

After the doors closed behind them Bryce blurted out. "She's lying!" 

"Dad and I realized it too. He thinks they have Grace and are threatening her!"

"Fuck!" Bryce exclaimed.

"Look, we don't have much time. Grace has to be here, they wouldn't have taken her far in case the Judge wanted to see her."

Bryce nodded his understanding. "Makes sense."

"You take from the top floor down, I'll start at the bottom and go up. There's probably only twenty or so conference rooms, she probably wouldn't be in an office but quick check them. Radio me if you find her!" Bobby told him and then headed for the elevators as Bryce turned and ran towards the stairs.

Inside the courtroom, Don sat stunned. He wanted to jump up again but he couldn't even summon the energy. He just slumped back in his seat as he listened to the woman he thought he loved talk about how bad of a father he was. The worst part was she was lying and the thoughts he had long ago came rushing back to him.

She wanted Grace! That had to be it, if she could convince the Judge that he was a bad parent, then she could get custody. He just hung his head as he realized that he had been taken in by her.

"So Miss Summers, you have testified about the many times that Mister Duncan failed to act properly as a father, what can you tell us about how Grace feels about him?"

For the first time Anne took her eyes away from her tormentor and glanced over at Don. She could see his head was down and she knew what her betrayal must be doing to him. She could feel her eyes were wet and she was struggling to hold in the tears.

Finally she steeled herself, she couldn't let them kill Grace no matter what she had to say. "She is afraid of him."

"Your Honor, in view of Miss Summers' testimony I ask that the minor child Grace Warren be placed back into the care of our firm." Mark Winters said smugly as he concluded his questioning.

Turning to Don, the Judge addressed him. "Mister Duncan, do you have any questions for the witness?"

"Your Honor, I object, it is obvious that Miss Summers is frightened of Mister Duncan, we feel it would be too intimidating to have him question her." Winters threw out quickly.

"Mister Winters, she is going to have to just hold up because he has every right to question some of the things that are being sworn to here today." The Judge answered with obvious cynicism in his voice.

For Don, his initial thought was 'what's the use' but then he decided that he wanted to know why she was lying!

"Mister Duncan?" The Judge asked again as Winters returned to his seat, getting sly grins from the other two partners.

"Yes, Your Honor, I do have some questions." Don stated flatly as he stood up and approached Anne.

"Miss Summers, why are you lying?" He spat out at her.

"Objection Your Honor!" Mark Winters yelled out as he came to his feet. "The question is argumentative and he is obviously trying to intimidate her into silence again." 

"Your Honor, I'm not an attorney and I made no objections to Mister Winters' questions. I ask for a little leeway here." Don pleaded.

"Mister Duncan, you can have a bit of leeway, but your questions must be about events or circumstances that the witness would have knowledge about."

"Yes Your Honor." Don said quietly as Winters sank back into his chair.

"Miss Summers, did you ever accompany my daughter and me out in public?" Don asked.

"Yes," Anne replied carefully, her head still down.

"Well Miss Summers, if you were afraid of me, why would you go out with me?"

"I . . . I . . . you said I had to." She finally stammered out.

"Or what Miss Summers?" 

"You would hurt me." 

"But Miss Summers, once we were out in public, didn't you have a chance to just walk away?"

Anne hesitated as she tried to come up with an answer. "I was afraid to tell anyone." She finally said softly.

Don just stood silently as he wondered what to do. It seemed like he was already out of questions and it was obvious that he really had nowhere to go, as long as she was willing to lie, he knew he would never get to the truth.

Finally he shrugged his shoulders and started walking back to his table. 

"Are those all your questions Mister Duncan?" The Judge asked Don, obviously surprised.

Don stopped and turned back around as another memory came to him. "Miss Summers," he began forcefully. "Did you ever stay the night with Grace and me?"

Anne finally looked up. "Yes"

"Why?"

"Ah . . . I was sick." She answered quietly, trying to figure out where Don was going with this so she wouldn't get trapped.

"Where did you sleep?" 

"Objection, relevance, Your Honor?" Mark Winters quickly threw out.

The Judge just shook his head. "Overruled, proceed Mister Duncan."

"I . . . slept in the guest room." Anne finally replied.

"With who, Miss Summers?"

Anne hesitated again, analyzing the question, trying desperately not to get tripped up. "With Grace."

Don moved closer to her. "While you were in bed with Grace, did you ask me to tell you a bed time story?"

"Your Honor!" Winters bellowed out.

"Sit down, Mister Winters." The Judge said quickly, cutting him off before he could raise his objection.

"Yes, I did." She answered carefully.

Don stepped closer and was only a couple of feet in front of her now. "What was the story?" He asked carefully.

"Your Honor, I don't think the court has time to waste on a bedtime story." Mark Winters blurted out.

The Judge looked oved at the three partners seated at the table and smiled. "This court has plenty of time Mister Winters. Was it not you who said that this was an important case?"

"Ah . . . yes Your Honor." He answered sheepishly.

"Well, then we have time to get this important case right." The Judge said firmly as he glared at them.

"Yes, Your Honor." Winters said as he slumped back in his seat and gave his crew a nervous look.

"Proceed Miss Summers, I enjoy a good bedtime story." The Judge said with a grin.

"Well," Anne began as she looked up and saw Don staring at her. "The story was about a beautiful princess in a small kingdom."

Don kept his eyes locked on hers as she started to tell the story. But when he caught her eyes in his, he was surprised that he didn't see deceit.

"She was sad even though she lived in a big castle. She was looking for a prince to marry but there were none around." Anne said as she looked back at Don.

"But in the valley there lived a huge and evil man." She continued, but as she spoke something started tickling at her.

Don watched her carefully as he tried to understand what was in her eyes, then it hit him. It wasn't deceit, it was fear. She was scared, but of what he wondered. He refused to believe it was him. Then if not him, what?

"The huge man was in love with the beautiful princess." She said as she looked at the man before her. "He . . . he decided to change himself into a prince in order to get her attention."




Six Weeks of Grace Pt. 10



Anne paused as she told the story, realization was starting to seep in. "The man changed how he looked and his evil ways. Then one day they met up and the princess and the huge man got to know one another."

Don watched her carefully and he could see her trying to remember the story.

"That's all I remember." She said nervously.

"Try Miss Summers, try to remember it all." Don asked, urging her on.

Anne looked back down and she focused on that night so many weeks ago. She was so sick, it was so hard to remember, but like the proverbial light bulb it clicked and her head shot up.

"They spent time together, fell in love and got married." She said and then stopped as she gazed back into Don's eyes. The shy smile was on his lips as the last line of the story came to her. "And they raised a little princess of their own and her name was --"

Anne gasped out as the recognition came to her. Grace! And her name was Grace; that was the last line of the story. Looking at the man she loved so much, it came to her, they were the story. He was the evil man who changed, he loved her!

Fat tears rolled down her face as she realized she was trapped. She tried to hold it in but she couldn't. "Grace," she whispered out.

Suddenly the back doors of the courtroom burst open. "Daddy!" Grace yelled out as she saw her father standing at the front of the room. 

Bobby had found her in a conference room on the floor below and after talking with her nanny for only a minute, he knew she had nothing to do with the plan. She told him another man was going to take Grace if Winters contacted her. Bobby wondered who that could be but then decided the best course of action was to get Grace to where she had the most protection.

Worried about what was happening in the courtroom, he radioed Bryce and then decided to just barge in and see what happened when the lawyers learned their plan had failed.

"Daddy!" Grace yelled out again trying to get his attention.

"THEY WERE GOING TO KILL HER!" Anne shouted out as she realized that Grace was safe.

"ORDER!" The Judge yelled, but Anne was not to be quieted.

"Your Honor, they threatened me with killing Grace if I didn't lie. They stole her money, they tried to kidnap her." She said, her voice rising.

"FUCK!" Brett exclaimed as all three of the partners leapt to their feet. They realized that their plan had caved in and the only option they had now was to save themselves. Quickly they ran to a side door, Brett Langeman got to it first, but upon throwing it open they were confronted by Bryce and two uniformed deputies waiting on them.

"HOLD THOSE MEN!" The Judge shouted out as the deputies grabbed them and pushed them up against the wall.

Don was stunned by Anne's outburst and it took a moment for what she was shouting to filter through. But then, it all came to him, the men at the zoo, the others at the park, but his emotions exploded as he remembered the sight of his little girl screaming while she was being carried away from him. These three had tried to kidnap Grace! 

An anger swept through him that he had never felt before as he looked over at the three men being controlled by the deputies. Suddenly, as if his rage reached the point that his mind could no longer contain it, Donald Duncan lost the control that he had worked so hard to maintain all these weeks. With an animal like growl, an unstoppable force started towards the men who had conspired to kill his little angel! 

Mike was momentarily distracted, as was everyone else in the courtroom when the partners tried to make a break. Quickly though, he looked back towards the front of the courtroom and saw Don's expression changing. His face was registering wonderment but it was obvious that the wheels were turning and Mike was horror-stricken as Donald Duncan's expression transformed into a scowl, then to hatred and then finally to one of absolute fury!

Jumping to his feet, Mike looked over at Bobby, who was still in the back of the room. "Oh my God, no!" he blurted out as he realized that there was no one between Don and the officers attending to the three lawyers.

"BOBBY!" he yelled at him to get his attention. "GET DON!"

But as Bobby looked up, he knew it was too late. Don was already moving and the expression on his face said it all, he was going to kill these three bastards and no one was going to stop him!

Two officers quickly moved to intercept him but they were thrown aside as if they were rag dolls. Another attempted to grab him but he was no match for the seething Donald Duncan and the overwhelmed officer quickly found himself flat on his back. Don was like a runaway freight train and he was determined to get to the men who had threatened his little girl! 

"BRYCE!" Bobby yelled out as he saw that his deputies had their backs to him and would have no chance to stop him.

Bryce turned around at the sound of the commotion behind him and his name being called but it was too late as a storming Donald Duncan was right before him. "DON, NO!" He yelled as he felt himself being lifted in the air as Don grabbed him and prepared to throw him aside.

Bobby felt helpless as he saw two more officers start to draw their sidearms and he knew they were all just seconds away from carnage. Desperate, he did the only thing he could think of. Sweeping Grace off the floor, he pulled her against him. "Grace, yell as loud as you can for Daddy!" He told her with a smile that belied the terror that he felt inside.

"DADDY . . . DADDY . . . DADDY!" Grace yelled out at the top of her lungs, laughing at the game they were playing. 

Through the chaos of shouts and noise came Grace's voice and Don instantly froze. Dropping Bryce back onto his feet, he seemed to be trying to figure out what he heard when Grace called out again, "DADDY!"

Slowly the sound seemed to filter through to Don and the calls of his daughter caused him to pause as the rage faded from his face.

"Don . . . Don!" Bryce said to him, gaining his attention. "Don we got 'em, go take care of Grace. Let us take care of these guys."

Don looked back and forth between Bryce, the three lawyers up against the wall and Grace.

"Go get her Don." Bryce said firmly, finally breaking though to him.

Don nodded and started towards Bobbie and Grace. A collective sign seemed to go through everyone in the room as Don walked over and took her from Bobby. Don hugged her to him and Grace wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her head on his massive shoulder. The two just stood there silently as Don reveled in the feeling of holding her in his arms, all he could think of was how he had almost lost her again.

"Daddy, you're squeezing me too tight," Grace said as she wiggled in Don's massive arms.

Don loosened his grip a bit as he struggled to hold back the tears. "Sorry sweetie, I just love you so much," he whispered to her.

Laying her head back against him, she snuggled back into his embrace. "I love you too, daddy!"

"Sheriff get with the Police Chief and get them locked up on my order. Once I get things settled here, we'll attend to them!" The Judge yelled out across the courtroom. 

"And get someone over to their office and secure it, no one goes in until I issue a search warrant," he added quickly.

Bobby nodded to the Judge and went to help Bryce, glancing around the room and catching the eye of his charges who were starting to relax after the few seconds of terror that had just unfolded. He motioned them to assist as the partners were handcuffed, read their rights and escorted from the courtroom.

Anne still sat in the witness stand, quiet during all the craziness. The tears were still running down her face as she worried about all the consequences of the last few minutes.

After most of the law enforcement officers left the courtroom, Don moved to set Grace down on the table where he had been sitting and then took up a position in front of the Judge.

"Miss Summers," the judge finally addressed her and she turned her tear stained face towards him. "Is there any reason I should not award full guardianship of Grace to Mister Duncan?"

Shaking her head, Anne answered quickly. "No, Your Honor, absolutely none."

The Judge looked back at Don and raised his gavel. "I order that full custody of the child Grace . . ."

Don was staring at Anne as the Judge questioned her. He knew she was shattered as her head was down and he could hear her softly crying. Slowly she looked up at him and their eyes met. With huge tears rolling down her cheeks, Don saw her mouth the words 'I'm sorry' and it all clicked in his mind. 

Her head dropped again as he turned back to the Judge. "Hold up, Your Honor!" Don yelled out, startling the Judge and everyone else left in the courtroom.

"I'm not finished Your Honor!" Don said after interrupting him.

The Judge looked at him quizzically with his gavel still in the air. "Don, it's over," he said to him softly.

"No Your Honor, I haven't finished my questioning." Don replied with a nervous smile.

The judge looked at him for a moment before he addressed him again. "Mister Duncan, I am about to award custody of Grace to you." 

"Judge, I have another question." Don said quickly.

The judge looked around the court and caught Mike's eye. He gave him an inquisitive look but Mike just shrugged his shoulders.

"All right, Mister Duncan, you may ask your question." The Judge said, clearly bewildered with the situation.

Moving directly in front of the witness stand, Don stared at Anne. She was a mess, the lack of sleep and the emotions of the day made her look like hell, but that wasn't what he saw. The woman he saw was the one cuddled in bed holding his daughter, the one who risked her life to save her and the one that looked up at him as he pulled her in for that fateful kiss. 

"Anne?" he said as she softly cried in front of him.

Looking up slowly, she saw Don standing before her, his face showing a look that she had never seen. It took her a second to realize it but then it came to her, fear. Through her tears she stared at him as she tried to understand what in the world would ever scare Donald Duncan!

Standing in the courtroom, six foot four, two hundred and fifty pounds of strength and power, Donald Duncan had faced down everything from massive linemen to snipers. Yet, deep inside he felt something that he had never felt before, sheer terror!

"Anne?" he asked again, his voice shaky, a mere shadow of what it was only minutes ago. 

"Huh?" she said at barely a whisper.

"Anne . . . the evil man has changed . . . but now my daughter and I need a princess." He said haltingly, his voice registering the trepidation he felt inside. Was he making a huge and embarrassing mistake, he wondered.

"What?" Anne asked, wondering what he was talking about.

"Anne . . . you're my princess . . . and . . . I love you . . . so does Grace . . . will . . . will you marry me?" Don asked, struggling to control the deep apprehension he felt.

The Judge raised his eyebrows and looked down at Don in amusement.

Anne just stared at him, unable to believe what she just heard. 

Don waited for a few seconds and then turned to the surprised Judge. "Your Honor, would you please direct the witness to answer the question." He asked nervously, desperately praying the Judge was the ally that Don thought he was, because he sure needed one now!

The Judge startled chuckling as he looked over to the befuddled witness. "Miss Summers, answer the question."

Anne looked at the Judge and then turned back to the man in front of her. As their eyes met, she remembered the word, the one he spoke just before he kissed her. That word, the one word that meant everything, everything she had ever dreamed of, everything she ever wanted in her life, and now that everything was right there in front of her, that word, that wonderful word, family!

"Anne?" he asked again nervously.

Jumping to her feet, Anne suddenly bolted from the witness stand and threw herself into the huge man's arms. Don caught her in the air and hugged her in tight against him.

"Yes" She whispered into his ear as she squeezed him tight. "Yes, I love you both so much!"

"Daddy, what about me?" Grace said with a giggle as she watched the two most important people in her life embrace in the middle of the courtroom.

Don pulled back from Anne and walked over and picked up Grace. Stepping back to Anne, the three shared a group hug which caused peals of laughter from the little girl. The three of them laughed even more as they randomly exchanged kisses between them. 

Boom! Boom! Boom! The sound of the Judge's gavel rang through the room. "Mister Duncan!" The Judge said to the startled trio.

"Yes, Your Honor!" Don answered, looking up to the judge but not letting go of his girls.

"Are you finished with your questioning . . . NOW?" The Judge asked with a snicker.

"Ah . . . yes, Your Honor," Don answered, his arms full of his own dream, his family!

"Then I order that Mister Donald Duncan be granted full custody of the minor child Grace Warren." Judge Baker bellowed out with a huge smile. He slammed down his gavel and looked over at Mike who gave him a thumbs up. The old friends exchanged a smile and a knowing wink as the court session came to an end.

Epilogue:

When Anne's family arrived from across the country, they were immediately brought into the Duncan clan. Upon meeting him, Anne's parents were initially hesitant about Donald Duncan, but they soon realized what he brought to them, a precious Granddaughter, and once that bond was formed, any doubt was gone forever. 

As the weeks passed and the trials for the partners were held and completed, the Duncan's were always there for Anne's family and made sure that during their visits to be with her, they had a place to stay and all the support they needed. Once the lawyers were put away and Grace's money returned, the two families turned to the task at hand. 

Grace couldn't contain the huge smile that spread across her face as she watched her mommy and daddy kiss. It was such an exciting day and she had been really, really good just like she promised. She knew that they would all be going to a big party later and then she would be staying with Grampa Mike for a little while. 

This was going to be a day she would remember for the rest of her life. Uncle Bobby teased her this morning that she would fall asleep and miss the whole thing but she was going to try really hard to stay awake. Besides, she was ALMOST seven years old now!

Standing there dressed in a pretty white dress that was a miniature version of mommy's gorgeous gown, her young mind drifted to a time not long ago when her daddy told her a story. As she watched the two people she loved so much turn around and everyone start clapping, it suddenly came back to her and she couldn't stop her giggling.

So the day came that the whole Kingdom turned out to attend the grand event. There in the castle, in the center of the land, and in front of all of their family and friends, the once evil man and the beautiful princess were married. They settled down in wedded bliss and together raised a wonderful little princess of their own. 

Everyone in the Kingdom came to love the little princess as she was the most special in all the land, and because she was so special to all, she had a special name, and her name was . . . . . . Grace."