124 comments/ 80252 views/ 44 favorites Looking for Daniel Mason By: Mandy01 "How many secrets can one person live with, before the secret impact on their life?" This was a question that Dan had asked himself more times than he cared to remember, although it wasn't what he was thinking this particular morning as he settled down for his usual cup of coffee while he read his morning paper. Dan heard a noise and looked up from his paper to see a young man walking down alongside his cabin. "Can I help you young man?" He enquired just before he took another sip from his coffee cup. The gentleman came to a halt and looked around apprehensively as though he wasn't quite sure if he was where he should be, or how to begin. "I'm looking for a Mr Daniel Patrick Mason, would that be you sir?" Dan's brow furrowed and he left tension begin to seep into his neck muscles. "Might be, might not! Depends on who's asking and what you want him for?" The young man straightened and looked down his nose at the man in front of him. "My name is Jason Stevenson and I need to know if you are he? Otherwise it really is none of your business what I want to see him for!" Jason had seen photos of Mr Mason, but this man had a full beard, and long shoulder length hair, making identification a little sketchy. Dan sighed and brought his gaze back to his paper. "Well then Jason Stevenson; you better go find out a little more about this Daniel Patrick Mason, hadn't you, and stop wasting my time!" Dan felt his face heat up and tried to subdue his anger at this young twerp's stolid arrogance. If Dan had been looking, he would have seen the indecision on Jason's face as he turned on his heel and started to walk back around the cottage. Stopping but a dozen steps, not turning around, he stated. "My girlfriend, Gracie dearly misses her father, and I'm looking for him! Do you have a daughter, Sir?" He took a gamble. Dan's cup stopped halfway to his mouth as his breath caught in his throat at the mention of the name and he shot a look at the back of this young man. In a strangled voice he countered, "I'm sorry to hear that, but I don't have any children, so I can't help you Mr Stevenson!" Jason heard the tremor of emotion in the man's voice and knew he'd hit the mark, turning he continued, "Somehow I find your statement a little hard to believe. My intel is rarely wrong! It's my belief that you are Mr Mason and that you do have a daughter by the name of Gracie Lynn Mason. Your wife's name is Katelyn Rose Mason! You have two sons as well; Joshua Benedick and Robert Luther, they're twins!" Dan watched as Jason stood there and stared at him with a defiance that said, "Prove me wrong!" Jason watched as Dan's face harden at this information. "Well! Am I wrong on what I have said or are you going to concede?" Dan's eyes clouded up as all his memories came crowding back, and threatening to overwhelm him. Jason certainly did know a lot about the family, more than would be necessary for a casual acquaintance. The last time he'd seen any of this so called family was a little under four years ago and this was the last thing he want be confronted with. Dan remembered the last time he had been around the family. He had been in a good mood for the last week, the sale on the cottage was finalized and he was looking forward to handing the title over to Kat as a gift to her on their fifteenth wedding anniversary. It had been a dream of theirs to have a little get-a-way cottage to retire to when the time came and the children were off their hands. Coming home early was something he'd rarely done, but now standing in the archway to the kitchen with roses and chocolates in hand, he heard the voices of Gracie and her mother; he wanted to wait until they had gone before he could wrap and hide the presents for later that evening. Keeping out of sight, he listened to his wife as she spoke to Gracie. "So is everything set for this afternoon? Kat asked her daughter. "Don't worry mum, everything is going to plan. I've got you both a reservation at the Harriet, the Honeymoon Suite, and Jacuzzi, King Size bed, champagne and strawberries! All compliments of the management. Does he suspect anything?" "You have got to be joking! We'd need an air raid siren to make anything filter down through to my dopey husband. You know what he's like, the sun could cease to rise and he wouldn't notice until the solar hot water system started to get cold! God it's been so long I can't even remember what it's like! How are we going to keep him occupied?" Dan felt the arrow penetrate his heart, "Is this what my ever loving wife thinks of me?" "Don't worry about that either. Josh and Rob will take him golfing, I've told them everything and they're all for it. They've been laughing to themselves ever since I told them! I know I'm so happy I can do this for you!" Dan's stomach started to felt queasy, thinking back over his life with his family, "My children seem to share my wife's opinion of their loving father." "He's been after them to go with him for years, so I've finally got them to acquiesce and go. He won't be anywhere around to get in the road. They promised to keep him out of our hair until it's all finished." Dan felt the humiliation all over again as though it was yesterday and as much as he fought it, it showed on his face. Looking up at Jason with tension in his eyes, he conceded. "You're right with two things Mr Stevenson. I am Dan Mason, and I was married to Katelyn, although I feel she has most likely divorced me by now to be with her lover and the father of her children!" Jason shook his head in astonishment. "I have to admit that I'm only new to the family. I met Gracie eighteen months ago, but from what she has told me, I find it difficult to believe your statement. They can't understand why you have disappeared like this. As far as I know, Mrs Mason hasn't divorced you or been seeing anyone else. I'm of the understanding that all Mrs Mason's children are yours and they love you and miss you dearly." Dan managed to get his emotions under control and stared blankly back at the young man standing before him. "Well that just goes to show you that not all your so called intel is accurate. Just out of curiosity, how did you find me?" Jason beckoned to a chair on the other side of the small table that held Dan's coffee cup and was rewarded with a curt nod, sitting himself he continued, "The family has been looking for you ever since your disappearance Mr Mason. Mrs Mason has spent tens of thousands of dollars on private investigators with little to no success." Dan studied Jason's face to see if he could judge his sincerity. "I know there were some people out looking for me, but I managed to elude them before they got to me. I seem to have misjudged you on that score?" Jason smiled sheepishly. "I have to admit I have a certain advantage that other investigators lack but I won't go into detail. Suffice to say that I work for a government department that crunches information, and I not so ethically put my recourses to use in finding you." Dan raised an eyebrow, "Some sort of secret government Black Ops Agency?" Jason chuckled, but not at the mention of his work place. Tracking terrorists was now high priority and his desk was filled with one sort of information or another. His mirth was stimulated by the thought that he'd managed to forge a little rapport, with the person he hoped was his future father. "It's not that drastic, and although I am governed by the secrets act; most of what I do is rather boring and this little adventure has been quite stimulating." Dan scowled. "I'm pleased that you think its fun to interfere in other people's lives!" Jason backed up. "Please Sir; don't get me wrong, I'm doing this for the one I love and her family. They miss you terribly and want you back where they believe you belong. The fact that I have enjoyed this journey of discovery... well now that I have found you; it's just the icing on the cake if you will." Dan screwed his face up in confusion. "You keep saying that they miss me, when in fact I damn well know they don't. I suggest you go back and do a little more homework young man and leave me in peace." Jason sat back in his chair and pondered. He loved jigsaw puzzles and this was proving to be an enormous one that had many missing pieces. "May I ask a favour?" Dan didn't feel any easier and it showed in his face. "Now why on earth would I do you a favour when I don't know you young man and have nothing to gain by it?" Jason saw the truth in what was said. "I understand your reluctance, but I have my reasons and I'll explain them even though I maybe saying more about my job than I'm legally allowed." Jason wondered if putting himself in a vulnerable position work wise, would make Mr Mason feel more receptive about opening up about his past." Dan gazed dispassionately at Jason. "Ok! Favour for favour! You tell me why you're so damn interested in my problems and those of the family I left behind. What's so damned important that you're willing to spend hours to track down someone who obviously doesn't wish to be found? Maybe then I'll consider your favour." Jason smiled to himself and nodded, "Fair deal Mr Mason! I can boil my work down into two words... Bean Counter! Not the usual bean counter as in accountant, instead of numbers I crunch facts, but that's what I am...do! I take snippets of information and put them together and with my talent, I draw conclusions. I have a knack for seeing patterns in information and facts. I'm very good at what I do, and the government pays me extremely well for my services. I've applied what I know of this situation and at the moment there are too many variables to come to any real conclusion. Think of this as a mystery novel and we're only dealing with half the pages, and those pages are not sequenced, or maybe a jigsaw puzzle with half the pieces missing." Dan nodded, intrigue catching his interest. "Let me guess! You were fascinated with Agatha Christie and Sherlock Holmes as a child?" "That is it in a nut shell Mr Mason, a very big nut shell! Piecing together events with limited information gives me a buzz like no other." Dan looked upon the man sitting opposite, and mulled it over. Something was missing here, and it was more than just simple curiosity, "That only answer half my question. There's more to it than you're telling me?" Jason chuckled. "Curiosity is contagious; isn't it Mr Mason? But you're right, I have an ulterior motive. You see, I happen to love Gracie, and we would like to get married, but there's this one small but significant problem." Jason shifted uneasily in his chair. "Gracie wants desperately to have her father walk her down the aisle. I honestly fear that she'll stay single until her father comes back to her. I also have a need to ask him for her hand in marriage! Now I can solve mine without you leaving here, but that doesn't solve your daughter's problem." Dan raised his cup and found to his dismay that it was empty. "Damn you Mr Stevenson! Don't try to emotionally blackmailing me into returning, if you think that way, then you're barking up the wrong tree!" Getting up annoyed, suddenly he halted; he needed to give himself time to calm down. He asked if Jason wanted a cup as he walked into his cabin to refill his. Jason was shaken by the outburst of emotion, realising that he needed to be patient, and called after him. "I'm sorry for upsetting you and I didn't mean to pressure you into anything Mr Mason." Jason mentally castigated himself for his stupid remark. "Yes Mr Mason I'd like a coffee thank you; that'd be nice, two sugars and milk if you have it?" Dan threw a folder down on the table as he place Jason's cup in front of him, I can help you out on both your problems and without ever needing to go anywhere near that lot again Mr Stevenson." Dan sat back in his deck chair. "For a start, asking me for Gracie's hand in marriage would be a total waste of time, and if she wants her father to walk her down the aisle then you had better look up someone by the name of Edward Carlyle. I'm not one hundred percent certain that he's her father, but it's more than likely." Dan pointed to the folder, "Those DNA test results prove that I'm not the father to any of Katelyn's children! They do say that all the siblings are full bloods, but I don't have any DNA samples of Edward to compare to these, so that's all conjecture and supposition on my part." Dan took a sip of his coffee before continuing. "I just know that Katelyn had an affair with Mr Carlyle a month before she told me she was pregnant with the twins. You do your fact crunching thing and tell me I'm wrong!" Jason sat back after reading the report, "Ohhh wow! This certainly changes matters somewhat." Dan and Jason spent the next few hours talking about events leading up to the present day, even going so far as to wetting a couple of lines off the jetty that ran from Dan's back deck to the lake. "So Jason, what's that favour you wanted to ask?" Jason was only half listening as he reeled his line in and readied himself to leave. "Ummm...Ohhh...sorry I was miles away. I was going to ask if you could see your way clear to atleast escort Gracie at our wedding, but now things seem to have become a little more complicated than I first thought. I will ask if you will let me keep in contact with you. Although I liked the chase, I really don't want to have to go through all that again just to find you, if I can help it. And believe me I will be able to find you again." Dan sighed. "I dare say you can Mr Stevenson, ok on one condition! I have a fairly good sense of people I do business with, my social life is yet another matter entirely and I see that you're a man of your word. I don't think the government would have you working for them if you couldn't be trusted. What I want is your word that you won't tell them where I am, you don't give them my phone number without my say so, and you keep them away from me at all costs. You can tell them that I'm fine, healthy and doing well and have no wish to reunite with them." Jason put his hand out. "Mr Mason, you have my word that I'll do everything in my power to respect your privacy. But I would like to keep on this and find out where it all leads, if it ok with you?" Dan smiled; he was starting to warm to this young man. "Knock yourself out! I have driven myself half-mad trying to understand why they did this, and have come up empty handed. If you get to the bottom of it then by all means come back and enlighten an old fool." ...~... Gracie watched as Jason closed the door to his car. She wondered where he'd been all day, leaving way before daybreak and now only getting back way after dark. "Where the hell have you been Jason? You've had me worried out of my skin!" Jason stood at the bottom of the steps leading up on to the front porch, looking at the woman who had taken his heart. "I'm tired Grace and I really need something to eat and drink, can we wait till I atleast get inside before you tear me a new arsehole?" Gracie back up and waved him past. "Dinner is non-existent, I had no idea when you'd be back, and I've already eaten, so the most I'll fix you is a sandwich." Jason's mind wasn't on Gracie's angst but he knew he'd have to say something before too long. The problem he had was that she wasn't going to like it, no matter how he phrased it. "A sandwich will do fine sweetheart, just let me get out of these cloths and grab a beer. I have some good news and some not so good news!" Gracie noted the concern on Jason's face and her earlier irritation faded. "What's the matter Jason, what's happened?" Jason waited for what seemed hours, trying to sort all the facts into some sort of order. The tick of the wall clock resounded as though it were a hammer on steel; finally, he came out with it. "I found Mr Mason!" Jason wondered if Gracie would realise that he hadn't used father as the title for the man he'd sort for the last month. Gracie spun and lost the grip on the knife she was using to cut up some tomato. The knife slipped from her hand and clattered to the floor. "You found Dad? When? Is he all right? Where is he? Why isn't he with you? You have to take me to him!" Jason could see the almost blind panic in her face. "Please Jason, now!" Jason watched as Gracie started to run out of the kitchen then stopping as though she'd remembered something, then running back up the stairs. Jason caught her at the bottom of the stairs as Gracie was donning her coat. "Please settle down Gracie, it's too late to go anywhere tonight and it's too far to travel anyway." Gracie was frantic as she tried to get her arm into the sleeve of her coat. "God Damn It! No Jason! No, no no no we're going now! I need to see him." Jason held her tightly and spoke firmly, "Grace please!" Tears were flowing down her face as she broke down and blubbered, "I want my father, I need him! You have to take me to him! Please Jason!" She sagged his arms and cried. Jason had his own tears falling down his cheeks as he watched the love of his life fall apart. In a soothing tone he cooed, "Gracie sweetheart please trust me, I will do everything in my power to see that you are reunited with him. Tonight we have to talk and then we can work out some way to make it happen. Think of it this way, atleast we know he's safe and healthy, I know where he is and can contact him when it's the right time." Gracie wiped at her teary face and sniffed. "You've actually seen him, talked to him?" Jason smiled and nodded. "Yes sweetheart, I've spoken with him for most of today." Jason had been wrestling the whole trip home with how to go about telling Gracie. The next few moments would see if his idea held water. Taking Gracie in his arms, he held her. "I know how you have been wandering around in purgatory since I have known you and all because of your father's disappearance. I know you want nothing more than to go to him, but believe me that, that would be a step back at the moment." Jason looked Gracie straight in the eye. "Think about it! We are one-step closer to our goal, and that is to have your father back with you. We have direction, but I have to tell you that with that direction there are so many pitfalls to get by and we need to take our time and find the safest route." Gracie sat and listened to Jason, she could hear the concern in his voice, and she could also hear strength, a backbone in his tone, it gave her hope that her beloved had the answers. She knew Jason had always taken time to assess any problem and could be relied upon to act accordingly. "I love you Jason and you know I trust you. This has been so unexpected that I lost it. Please sweetheart, tell me about my father. Give me some hope that everything will be as it was." Jason brow furrowed at this last request. "Gracie my love, nothing will ever be like it was by sheer definition. All we can hope for is that we have the strength to accept what is!" Gracie realised then that Jason was struggling with a knowledge that he didn't want to divulge, but knew he had too. "There's something bad you have to say and you don't want to hurt me anymore than I'm hurt already?" Jason dropped his head as he nodded. "I fear that this is going to get much worse before it gets better!" "Jason you're scaring me, please just tell me what has happened." Jason's jaw set in determination. "Let me play devil's advocate in this! I'm probably the only one who can sit back and critically analyse all the facts and get to the truth. What do you remember of the day your father went missing?" Gracie couldn't understand why Jason wouldn't just come out and tell her what the problem was, but remembered that she had agreed that she trusted him. "I don't know? There was so much happening that day. Mum and I were organising their fifteenth wedding anniversary celebration!" Looking for Daniel Mason Jason asked tenuously. "What were you and your mother talking about in the kitchen that day?" Gracie thought back and shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not sure, it was four years ago, but I think it was about the set up for the evening. I had organised with nanna and papa, that's dad's mum and dad about an evening at the Harriet Hotel. I'd made reservations for mum and dad to have their honeymoon that they had missed out on when they were first married." Gracie's face showed the concentration of remembering so long ago. "I'd organised it with nanna, it was suppose to be a surprise for the both of them, but mum found out, but promised to keep it a secret from dad. We were talking about how to get dad out of the way so that we could set up the ballroom at the Harriet. All their friends and our relatives were coming for their night of nights." Jason listened intently. "After that mum and dad were going up to the honeymoon suite for a special night together. The night was a disaster I can tell you. The boys were to keep dad occupied until we rang for them to get dad dressed and to the hotel, but they couldn't find him. They waited two hours before they rang mum to say that dad hadn't come home. They were going to go to golf with him, but he never showed. What has all this to do with his disappearance?" Jason sat and took in everything Gracie was saying. "I think there has been an unfortunate misinterpretation of what was being discussed that afternoon. I can see why it happened, and if your father had confronted the two of you when he heard you talking to your mother, then all this would have been settled a long time ago." "I don't understand? If he heard what we were talking about, how can it get misinterpreted? We weren't saying anything that could be misunderstood." This was the moment he dreaded most. Going back out to the kitchen, he brought back his briefcase and took out the papers that Dan had given him. Handing four of them to Gracie, he stood there. "The conversation by itself, maybe not Gracie, but when you add these to the equation, then it all changes!" Gracie took the forms and read them, "I don't know what they mean? Why have you given me DNA results?" Gracie took another look at them, "They don't say who they're for, just subjects A, B, C and D!" "They're results for you, your brothers, and your father!" Gracie was getting a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, but fought to ignore the implications. "Ohhh god Jason, don't do this to me. It's just dots on a graph, I'm not a geneticist. I can't read it!" Jason handed Gracie the last page of the report and waited until she read it. He could see the colour drain from her face as her hands trembled and the page slipped from her grasp. Staring off into space, she mumbled. "It's not true! There has to be a mistake." Looking up at Jason with pain-filled eyes, she looked for some comfort but only found a sadness that she herself felt. "He's my father Jason, he always has been. I don't care what this report says, I want you to take me to him...Please Jason...Please help me. This can't be happening, it's not fair." Tears were running down both their faces as Jason sat next to his fiancé and held her while she wept for her father. Speaking as much to herself as to Jason she said. "You know what this means! He thinks I knew about this! He thinks I don't love him. He thinks I was setting mum up with her lover." Jason just held her and sighed, "Yes Grace! That is what he thinks, but we should look on the bright side! I'm almost sure that is one we can rectify, I was pretty certain that you had no idea. We just need to find out about what really happened back then." Gracie was starting to come out of her depression, and a white-hot angry rage was replacing it. "There's only one person that knows everything, and when I get through chewing her a new arsehole she won't be shitting properly ever!" Gracie wanted to go over to her mother's place straight away but Jason persuaded her to wait until morning in the vain hope that Gracie would calmed down a little before she confronted her mother. For the next couple of hours Jason and Gracie went over his conversation with her father. ~...~ Gracie had stewed over night instead of calming down as he had hoped. Storming into her mother's kitchen, she threw the DNA results down on the table and cursed. "Alright mother, who the fuck is Edward Carlyle?" Katelyn just looked at her daughter in stunned silence. The fact that Gracie never swore, and had certainly had never sworn at her, was what brought her up short. "I beg your pardon young lady; you will stop this swearing this minute and tell me what this is all about." Gracie stood staring daggers at her mother with her arms crossed, "Edward Carlyle? And what the fuck has he got to do with me and my brothers?" Katelyn's face showed no recognition for quite some minutes, and then it paled. "I don't know what you mean. He's nobody, just...just someone I knew from long ago." "Don't give me that shit mum, if it's not him then who is it? Who is our biological father?" Katelyn's vision narrowed to a pinpoint until she slumped to the floor. The shock of her past coming back to haunt her, completely overwhelmed her senses. The next thing she knew she was laying on the couch with Jason applying a cold washer to her forehead, and Gracie marching back and forth mumbling to herself. "Are you alright Mrs Mason?" Jason's calm voice was enough to bring her state of mind back to the forefront, but then the thought that her sins were now out in the open brought on a cascade of tears. "Ohhh god, I'm sorry Gracie, please forgive me, I never wanted anyone to know what I had done." She cried openly. Gracie stopped her pacing, swung around, and lit back into her mother. "Well it's too fucking late for tears now mum, you've fucked up our whole family and what for? So you could have some dirty little affair, some filthy fling with an old boyfriend to while away some lonely nights?" Jason looked back up at Gracie. "Stop it Grace! This isn't getting us anywhere, you're angry and your mother knows that. Accusing her without listening to what she has to say is only going to make things harder. If you don't hold your tongue, then I WILL take you home and deal with this all by myself!" Gracie glared at her fiancé, saw the determination on his face, and backed down. "Ok Jason I'll listen, but at the first sign that she's sugar coating it, I won't be responsible for my actions. Go ahead MOTHER; let's see how you can justify your whoring around behind your husband's back." Jason shot a glare back at Gracie that brought her to a standstill, "Enough I said!" Kat patted Jason on the arm, through her sobbing she managed to say. "It's ok Jason, she's right. This is my entire fault. Because of my actions I have lost my husband and in turn sent her father away." Jason got up, retrieved a glass of water from the kitchen, and offered it to Katelyn, "Drink this, you'll feel better." Kat sipped the water and thought about how to tell her sordid tale. "To start with, Edward or as I think of him, Eddie was a boyfriend I had before I started to go out with your father, and as far as I'm concerned Daniel Mason IS your father and no one else." Grace saw a determination on her mother's face. "Eddie had been after me for months to go to bed with him, and when I finally decided that he was the one I wanted to marry, well, you know, I let him have me. That night after we had made love, he told me that he was going overseas to work. I told him I couldn't go with him and that he said that he knew I couldn't, and all the while with a smug smile on his face." Katelyn dabbed at the corners of her eyes with a tissue. "He had got what he wanted and now throwing me out of his bed. I was hurt, and angry that he'd led me down the proverbial garden path. The next night I met up with Dan and he consoled me, I never told him that I had given Eddie my virginity, and your father never asked." Kat looked up at her daughter. "You have to realise that I was on the rebound and I basically threw myself at your father. I don't know of one man that could resist a woman with the determination that I had to get back at Eddie." Kat dropped her eyes in shame. "A month later I found out I was pregnant with you and as far as I was concerned, Dan was your father. Dan was and still is a good decent man, and husband any woman could ever hope to want. He showed me all the love that he had. It didn't even enter my mind that Eddie could be your father." Kat stopped to take another sip of water, and looking woefully up at her daughter, "Please believe me sweetheart, I didn't know then. I honestly thought that Dan was your father, and he was so enwrapped with you. He loved you even before you were born, I can't tell you how he used to lay next to me watching to see you kick, and putting his hand on my tummy and waiting to feel his child's next move." Kat choked up. "You are his daughter, no matter what those tests say; you have always been his little girl. I can't count the times he would bend someone's ear about how sweet his little Gracie was. He'd tell anyone who would stop and listen long enough, just how smart, pretty and funny you were." Grace was crying with her mother's confession. She missed her father terribly and this last four years had been a nightmare for her. "Now... now because of you, he's telling everyone that he has no children!" She sneered spitefully. While not looking at Gracie, Jason held his hand up to stop her from continuing. "It's ok Mrs Mason, Gracie's just hurt by all this, please continue." Katelyn looked to Gracie and wrung her hands in pain and sorrow for the suffering she had caused her daughter. "You're father still loves you Grace, I know that in my heart! He may very well hate me, and I can fully understand why he does. The boys are closer to me and I think the reason for that is that I had to hand you off to your father to nurse your brothers, but we both love you all equally. I have made some stupid, stupid mistakes and they have and will cost me dearly. If I can, I will do all in my power to make sure that my children don't pay for them as well." "Yeah well you may want that, but that's not up to you is it?" Gracie snipped. Katelyn broke down crying again. "I'm so sorry darling; I don't know what to say. Part of me wishes it never happened, and yet if I hadn't, then your father and I wouldn't have had the three of you and I can't help but believe that both Dan and I are better off having our children." Jason called for a break so that Katelyn could pull herself together and he could get Gracie to back off with the accusation atleast until they had the full story. Jason watched Mrs Mason for any sign that she was making any of this up but decided that she wasn't. They had caught her by surprise and everything had just flowed out of her as though a dam had broken and all the secrets she had been holding in for years were now released. Jason rubbed Kat's shoulder as he asked her to continue. "I know this must be hard, but for us to get through it, you have to tell me everything. Mr Mason doesn't want to have anything to do with any of you but I have garnered a simple pledge from him, and that is that he'll listen to me once I have all the facts. That means I need the truth, as ugly as it may seem, the truth is the only way that Gracie or her brothers will ever have of seeing their father again." Katelyn sat up erect and choked back a sniffle. "You're right Jason! It matters not what Dan thinks of me, I have made this bed and I am damned to sleep in it for the rest of my life. I have destroyed my marriage. If I have to I will be the one to disappear if it means that the children get their father back where he belongs." Gracie started laughing hysterically. "What? You're going to be the martyr, do the honourable thing and fall on the sword?" Katelyn snapped and leaped up, slapping Gracie across the face, catching Jason unprepared and stunning Gracie in the process. "I know you're hurting and I can't tell you how sorry I am for everything I have done to our family. I don't want to go anywhere! I love you all with every ounce of my being, just as much as your father does. If it is the only way and means that your father comes back to you, then yes, I will do it gladly." The sheer strength of her words and actions sent Grace reeling back in fright. Katelyn felt sorry for slapping her daughter, but it offended her that Grace couldn't see her sincere contrition. "So get over your hatred of me and let's find some ground that we can go forward on and get you father back where he belongs. I'll tell you everything Jason needs to know, no matter how it makes me look. If you want to see me as some sort of round heeled slut and whore then so be it. I'll live with that, because I can tell you; that is much more preferable to what I/we have been enduring these last four years." Gracie broke down and wept. Katelyn softened her demeanour, taking her daughter in her arms and hugged her tightly. "You will have your father back sweetheart that I guarantee it, and whether or not I'm around is still to be decided, but know this Grace. I have always loved my whole family, that includes your father, and would not willingly hurt any one of you, especially your father." Gracie settled down enough to ask. "I understand and can even forgive my conception, but what were you thinking with the boys? They have the same sperm donor as me. You understand that that is where all this came unravelled." Katelyn nodded grimly. "Yes sweetheart, as much as I love your brothers, I have to admit that their conception was my biggest mistake. The only justification I can offer is that your father and I were desperate to have more children. After five years of trying, I realised then that Eddie must have been your donor in the first place." Kat put her hand to her mouth and felt sick. "I hadn't seen hide nor hair of him in years, even the thought of him made my skin crawl. He was a selfish, self-centred son of a bitch, and the thought of having to play up to him almost made me back out. The only reason I went back to him was because he has the same physical appearance as Dan. Same colour eyes and hair, same build and height, but that was where the similarities ended. Eddie can't hold a candle to your father as far as personality, integrity or presence. Maybe I should have back out, but I didn't." Katelyn didn't want to go on but she knew that Gracie needed to know. "I only saw him twice to get pregnant, and the last time I verbally abused him for his attitude. I couldn't go through with it again. If I wasn't pregnant, then it was too bad, as it was I was lucky, if you could call it that. He actually thought he was god's gift to women. I let him know that he had no idea what love making or even good sex was all about." Kat took hold of Grace's shoulders to get her undivided attention. "I don't know if this will make you feel better on not sweetheart, but I never told him about you or why I was seeing him again, he didn't even ask! I didn't tell him that I was married or that Dan was now my husband. To him I was just some round heeled slut he picked up off the street, willing to spread her legs for him and he had his fun, and that was the way I wanted it. It was all I could do not to be sick while I was with him!" Katelyn held her daughter at arm's length and looked into her eyes. "I have never seen nor heard from him since then. I swear with my dying breath, I never emotionally cheated on your father. Yes I did physically cheat, but at the time I convinced myself that it was for a good reason. If it wasn't for the fact that we have two wonderful boys in our family, then I'd regret my actions. I can't do that, and no one else should have to suffer for my stupidity, so I'll pay what I have to, in order to bring your father home to you." Still holding Gracie she turned to Jason. "I can't tell you how much I appreciate what you have done for us Jason. If there is no other outcome in this mess I have created, it has shown me just how much you love Gracie. You are so much like Dan that I'm pleased to have you in the family, as I'm sure so will Gracie's father. I'm not sure if I should ask you, but could you talk to Dan for me and explain that his children have done nothing to warrant his wrath. I don't care what you have to say about me, but for heaven's sake, make sure he knows that the children are not to blame for this debacle." Jason smiled. "Don't you worry about a thing Mrs Mason, and I'll do what I can. I have a vested interest in this as much as the next man. After all, if I can't get him back then Gracie won't marry me!" Gracie wiped her eyes. "What on earth are you talking about? I never said that!" Jason shrugged. "Well it maybe a little stretch of the truth, but I knew that you wouldn't be happy walking down the aisle with anyone else other than her father, and I had to find him to ask him for your hand in marriage." Katelyn smiled at Jason then turned to Grace. "You have one fabulous young man here my dear, so don't you let him get away." Forgetting the reasons for this conversation for a moment, Gracie giggled nervously. "I don't intend to mum, so we had better get all this sorted out so Jason can go and put our case in front of the judge." Jason and Gracie spent the night at her mother's house and he rang in to work next morning requesting two weeks leave of absence on family grounds. "I don't know if I'll need all that time off Mr Rogers. If I can sort out my problems sooner then I'm be back ASAP." Jason's superior grumbled but conceded to his needs and wished him well, "Ok son, you're a good lad and we have a lot to thank you for, so you do what you have to. This isn't about those extra surveillances you authorised last month?" Jason stammered, "Ummm yes Sir, I'm well aware that I have over stepped my boundaries and will be disciplined, but I had to do something to help out my family." Mr Rogers huffed. "I'll see what I can do to back up your story with some relevant paperwork, for some stupid reason I have a liking for you, but let me warn you now. You have used up your get out of jail free card; I won't be so lenient the next time." Jason sighed with relief and thanked him for his generosity. For the next two days Katelyn, Jason and Gracie went over what transpired to bring about their situation. Jason saw the pieces of this jigsaw puzzle slotting together and now he was formulating a workable plan. The first moves had been played in this chess games and now it was Jason's move to set his pieces where they needed to be to go for a check and mate. ~...~ Gracie sat nervously on the bed of a pleasant but still no name hotel on the outskirts of town, while Rob and Josh sat in the only two chairs. "He's not going to show Jason?" Jason patted Gracie on the shoulder and winked at the boys to reassure them. "Its only eleven o'clock, he said that he probably wouldn't be here until after noon, so stop worrying, he gave me his word that he would show up. Your father is a man of his word, and I for one trust him to keep it!" Gracie was so nervous that she couldn't stop shaking. "Why couldn't you just take us to him?" Jason sighed. "For the tenth time sweetheart, I promised him not to tell anyone where he is, and I am a man of my word. My promises mean everything to me, and short of risk to life and limb, I will do all in my power to see that I never break it." Rob smiled. "Jason is man after our own father Gracie. Mum's right! Dad will like him. Now shut up and wait, you're driving us all bonkers with your worrying." It was only fifteen minutes later that they heard a knock on the door. Jason got up and opened it see Dan Mason standing there with an apprehensive look on his face. "Hello! We meet again Mr Stevenson. It's good to see you." Looking for Daniel Mason Jason held out his hand and shook, "Same here Mr Mason, I'm pleased you could make it. Won't you come in; I think there are some people here who are longing to see you?" Jason stepped aside to allow Dan to pass. The glare from outside made it difficult to see until his eyes became adjusted to the dim light inside the room, and they moistened as he saw his children standing together waiting nervously for some recognition from him. "Ohhh my god, you have all grown up!" Dan swept a tear from his eye as he held out his arms. Gracie was the first to latch onto her father, her brothers not far behind, "Ohhh god dad we have missed you so much." Gracie rabbled as they all tried to get some purchase on their father. Dan was almost taken down if it weren't for the helping hand of Jason at his back. After some minutes of jostling, they all settled onto one of the beds; Gracie never letting go, in case this was some dream she never wanted to wake up from. "Don't you dare go away ever again dad, we don't care what those DNA results say. You are and always will be our father. Whoever that arsehole is or was that...that...Well he means absolutely nothing to us or mum." Gracie was talking a mile a minute trying to get out everything she had bottled up over the years her father had been gone. Jason stood back and watch with a lump forming in his throat, the scene before him was something out of a romance/drama novel. "I think I might make my apologies, I have things that I need to do and I see that all is well in this camp, so if you'll excuse me, I will bid you all a farewell. I have made reservation for four with the restaurant across the road and I have booked this room and the adjoining one for the weekend. I'll be back tomorrow afternoon to pick everyone up." Gracie looked to Jason and back to her father, "No Jason you have to stay, you're the reason we have our father back, you can't just leave now." Jason was shaking his head as Dan rose off the bed to shake Jason's hand once more, "Jason's right sweet pea, we need time together by ourselves and I think Jason knows that. Young man I have a lot to thank you for and I hope that we will have many a discussion in the future." Jason smiled, "Your father's right Gracie, you need this time to yourselves. He's only one man and there are three of you that need his time and attention. I'll have my chance to get acquainted when you all have worn yourselves out." Kissing Gracie and shaking the boys hands along with Mr Mason, Jason turned and walked through the open door, closing it gently to the noise of enquiring chatter. The drive home was made in good spirits. His mother had said many a time that there is nothing so rewarding than to do something for someone else. She was a firm believer in karma and if her beliefs were correct, his bank was stuffed full of good karma right at this minute. Pulling up in front of Mrs Mason's house he hadn't even been able to get out of the car before Katelyn was standing there with enquiring eyes, "How'd it go? Did Dan show up? Did they..." Jason smiled as he got himself out of his car and put his finger on her lips to silence her, "Everything went to plan Mrs Mason. As you can see, they aren't with me. They will have the whole weekend to get to know each other again. When I left there were four very happy smiles on wet faces." Katelyn hugged Jason fiercely, "Thank you, thank you, and thank you again...Thank you so much. I can't tell you how relieved I am that they have their father back." Katelyn staggered; suddenly feeling all her energy evaporate, leaving her drained and tired. Jason helped her into the house and got her a cup of tea. For the rest of the weekend, Jason kept Katelyn company while she chatted endlessly about her family, about the things that happened so long ago. "You know that Grace has a special bond with her father! When he went missing, we checked hospitals and police until we drove them mad. Neither of us ever gave up hope that one day he would return, even when everyone else said that we should move on, we both knew that he was still alive and that we had to find him. I can't tell you how much we both appreciate your help in locating Dan for us. I don't know how I can ever make it up to you for all you have done for my children." Jason felt a glow of satisfaction flow through him, "To see the look on Gracie and her brother's faces was thanks enough Mrs Mason. The fact that you have brighten up a thousand fold is all I need to make me feel good about myself. However, let's not count our chickens before they hatch. There's many a mile to go before we can rest soundly in the belief that all is back as well as we can expect." Kat patted Jason's arm to reassure him, "If all that comes out of this is that Gracie and the boys are back with their father then I will ask for nothing more. I have no illusions as to where I'll end up from all of this. I spent last night thinking what I wanted, and what was needed, and I concluded that it really didn't matter what happened, as long as Dan stays with his children. I have more now than I ever expected to have and if by some miracle that Dan chooses to allow me more then I'll just thank my guardian angel for looking after a stupid moron such as me." Jason dropped his head in thought and raised it again as Kat finished, "It's all up to Dan to allow me anything more than I have now, and if he wishes that I leave, then I'll sadly go, but secure in the knowledge that our children will be well looked after." Jason said nothing and let Katelyn talk, knowing that she needed to let it all out and have a sympathetic ear to listen; he just nodded in response, "You know when Dan left that day, I never even though once that my infidelity was the reason he left. I had so effectively erased the whole sordid affair from my mind that I had no idea why Dan had just up and left." Katelyn started to tear up, "When Gracie came in the other day asking who Edward was I had to think if I even knew an Edward. It was only when she asked me what he had to do with her and her brothers that I actually remember the man. My whole world crashed in on me at that moment, I felt like my chest was going to cave in, and I must have fainted, because the next thing I remember was you with the wash cloth on my forehead." "You certainly gave us a scare when you fell off that kitchen chair. I thought you'd had a heart attack!" "I felt like I was having one. I still can't work out how Dan found out? It was only two meetings and they were never more than thirty minutes from start to finish." "I can help you out there! Mr Mason saw you leave the Harriet with Mr Carlyle. I'm not sure if it was the first or second meeting, but he had an investigator on your tail as soon as he could, but by then you had gone back to being the perfect wife. He thought it may have been a coincidence or a one off fling. He thought long and hard about whether or not to call you on it but he had no proof, and he certainly didn't want to lose Gracie over something he couldn't prove. It wasn't until you told him that you were pregnant with the twins that he decided it was too much of a coincidence and that this was a way of getting his proof, so he waited until the twins were born so he could get a DNA test done." Kate was shaking her head, "What have I done to that poor man? All these years and he's been keeping this a secret. It must have been killing him inside. I still don't understand when he found out that the twins weren't his, why didn't he confront me then?" Jason shrugged, "I'm not sure but the best reason I can think of, was that when he found out that Gracie wasn't his either he panicked. His attachment to Gracie was so strong that he couldn't see how he could survive being apart from her, and we both know even in the best of divorces the conflict over child care and custody can create tension at the very least. I believe he figured that he brought up one child by someone else; two more wouldn't be a great deal different. Since he hadn't found you in anymore affairs he just accepted the fact that he was a cuckold and he would lose more than he would gain out of a divorce." Katelyn winced at the mention of the word, "Dan was never a cuckold Jason, and I resent the insinuation that he was!" Jason's brow furrowed and he thought, "I beg your forgiveness Mrs Mason. I meant no disrespect with my assessment of the facts. My mother always told me that to truly understand a person; you first have to put yourself in their shoes. See the world the way they see it. Not everyone looks at the ways of man with your eyes. You have hurt your husband in so many ways Ma'am, but I think the worst one was when he perceived that you had turned the children he raised for you against him. We can take small comfort for the fact that that hurt has been unwarranted and not fact. Do you know where the term cuckold comes from?" Katelyn felt a surge of anger again over Jason's refusal to drop the subject, then realised that it was her pride that was being hurt, and if her pride was roiling over this fact, then what had Dan felt when he found out? No Jason! I don't know where the term comes from. It just sounds like an ugly word and I don't like it!" Jason nodded, "The term is derived from the cuckoo bird. It lays its egg in another birds nest, and when it hatches; the cuckoo chick kicks out the other eggs of the parent birds and takes over. Most of the time the cuckoo chick is far bigger than the parent birds, even so, the parent birds don't know that they are raising some other bird's offspring and work feverishly to keep the hungry chick fed. With all due respect, that is exactly what you did to your husband. You made him provide for someone else's children! I believe the fact that he can't have children of his own is the only reason he allowed you to continue." Katelyn had tears running down her cheeks at the thought of what she had done. It had never occurred to her to look at it from some other perspective, "You must think I'm a monster?" Jason smiled sadly, "No Ma'am I don't. I know you loved your husband and still do. Remember I have been here for meals on many occasions. I never asked but always wondered why you set an extra plate at the head of the table when no one would be using it. I think now it was a subconscious act that stated just who was the head of this family, whether he was here or not." Jason scratched the back of his head in thought, "I remember an altercation with a couple of family members when someone wanted to sit in that chair and you made it clear that, that place was for your husband and no one could take his place. I remember you throwing them out when they accused you of holding on to a pipe dream, and that you had better get it through your head that he had left you for someone else and it was time for you to forget him and move on." Kat remembered the fight and remembered that she had cried for days afterwards. Family functions at their household had come to an abrupt halt thereafter, "For one so young you certainly have the gift of insight!" Jason chuckled, "Yes you can say that. My mother always said I could see through the mud and find the diamonds! It's why I'm good at my job, I see things that normal people ignore or fail to see at all. I suffer from a very mild case of autism. The doctors believe this is what gives me the gift of seeing patterns. It's amazing how often nature compensates for any flaws we might have." Jason sat down opposite Kate, "I have a hard time relating to a lot of people, that is the nature of autism in most cases, but mine is so mild that I'm able to overcome it. Sometimes I say the wrong things and I unfortunately hurt people when I don't mean too. Just as I did just before when I told you that, you cuckolded your husband. I was just stating facts with no derogatory implications meant. My mother helped me to understand that others don't see the world the way I do, and I can't expect then too." "Your mother is a wise woman Jason! I think I'd like to meet her and talk to her. Maybe she can help me understand how much I have hurt to ones I love?" Jason laughed and then he apologised for his outburst, "I'm sorry Ma'am, it's just that you already have someone here that is so much like my mother it's almost scary. You told me that I remind you of your husband and that must be why Gracie loves me. Well I have another little piece of information for you. Gracie is just like my mother! Her temperament and understanding is just as strong as my mother's. I know she tore into you over her father's disappearance, but that was an unusual circumstance! The reason I get along with Gracie is because she sees the person behind the mask. Even her outburst with you the other day was only a knee jerk reaction, and she came to her senses fairly quickly. She has taken the time to get to know the real me as well. I know there are times I offend her but she also knows that I don't do it on purpose." ~...~ Gracie sat across table from her father watching him talk. Her brothers had gone to bed an hour ago but Gracie refused let her father out of her sight and Dan felt it, "We need to sleep sometime Sweet Pea!" Gracie dropped her head; she could feel tears brimming in the corner of her eyes, "I'm afraid Dad! I'm afraid if I go to sleep, afraid I'll wake and all this will be some horrible dream. I'm sorry Dad, so very, very sorry! When Jason explained why you left, and it confirmed my own suspicion that it was my fault that you didn't want to be around anymore. Can you ever forgive me?" Gracie wept silently into her hands. The tears that ran down Dan's face burnt like rivers of lava as they cut a swathe to the corners of his mouth and dripped from his nose. Reaching out with one finger to lift his daughter's chin, he then cupped the side of her face affectionately, "Don't you dare think that Gracie! This was none of your fault. I'm the one who should be down on my knees begging for your forgiveness. You have nothing to apologise for Sweet Pea." Grace tried to smile but failed miserably and started to cry openly, "I've missed you so much Daddy. I never realised just how much you meant to me until you weren't there to run too when I got in over my head. You always made me feel so safe and secure. The world could be crumbling down around me, but as long as I was on your lap with your arms around me I've always felt as though no harm would come to me." "I missed you too Sweet Pea! I made a mistake that I'll never forgive myself for. I should have confronted your mother long ago. Failing that, I should have stepped into the kitchen and found out what was really being discussed. All I can say is that I have been battling my emotions for so long that they just over ran me and I felt like I was drowning. With hindsight and thinking rationally now, I can see that you couldn't have known and still been so affectionate towards me. Not unless you were an extremely good actress vying for an Oscar!" Gracie wiped the tears from her eyes and sniffed, a sudden realisation coming to her, "You're not coming home! Are you Dad?' Dan looked away from his daughter; he couldn't stand to see the expectant expression on her face, "No Gracie! I can't take it anymore. All the lies and deceit have taken their toll." Gracie saw the pain in her father's face, "I don't know if you want to hear this but Mum loves you more now than ever. She has never stopped loving you! In the last four years there was rarely a day that went by that she didn't talk to us about you. "Your father wouldn't like you to do this or that! Your father would be proud of how well you have done at school! I wish Dan was here to see this!" "When everyone else had given up and told her to get on with her life; she would get angry and tell them to all go to hell. That you were still her husband, and until they brought her your body or until you stood in front of her and said that she was no longer your wife, then she was still married to the most wonderful man in the world!" Dan took a gulp of coffee and sighed, "I don't know if that helps, but thank you for saying it anyway. If it makes you feel any better, I'm thinking of getting a flat in town here so I can be closer to all of you. I'll still keep my cabin for when I need my solitude." Gracie's face lit up then frowned, "Can you afford to do that? I mean you left everything behind when you went!" Dan smiled and winked, "Money has never been a problem for me Sweet Pea, it seems to fall into my pocket. I have all I need to do as I wish." Gracie tearfully smiled, "Thank you Daddy, this means a lot to me. Mum took over the reins with the business. She let Mr Babcock do the organising, mostly just rubber-stamped his ideas. A couple of times I heard her quietly asking your advice on critical decisions, but in the end I think she's done an admirable job in keeping the business running. I have so much to tell you about that, I wasn't sure how I could spend enough time with you and still be there with... well you know; with ...Mum. I think she's going to need me to talk to for a little while atleast." Dan patted Gracie's hand, "I understand Sweet Pea. Kyle is a good man sweetheart! Your mother was smart to let him do what he's good at, and I don't want you abandoning your mother for my sake. It's not something I have ever wanted." To change the subject, Dan asked Gracie about her fiancé, "So how about this young man of yours? He strikes me as someone very special. You know I deal with people all the time for work, and he seems to me to be a very intelligent, caring and honourable young man. Do you love him?" Gracie smiled and nodded enthusiastically, "Ohhh god yes! He makes my world turn. I don't know if you've taken too much notice? However, he's so much like you that I had no choice but to love him. Do you really like him Dad? Say you do! I want so much for you to like him!" It was Dan's turn to smile this time. "There was something about him that impressed me from the start. I have no idea how he found me, but he certainly got under my skin by the time he left. I have to admit that when he left, I had thoughts of disappearing again because I didn't know if he'd keep his word. I'm glad I didn't!" Gracie shuddered at the thought at what her father was saying, "You have no idea the berating that Mum and I gave him to get him to tell us where you were. It was only until he rang you back that he relented enough to allow us to come here to see you. He said that he'd given you his word, and wasn't about to break it for anyone." ~...~ Jason knock on the door, when it opened, he was met with a huge hug and kiss from Gracie, "My man is here! I can't tell how grateful we are for all your help sweetheart!" Jason grinned, "It was my pleasure Gracie, I couldn't call myself a man if I didn't try to get you back with your father." Dan came to the door and held out his hand, "I want to thank you as well young man. If it weren't for your tenacity then things might never have come to light and my children and I would still be miserable. I believe you had one more question that you wanted to ask me. Now what was it you just had to know I wonder?" Jason grin widened into a full beaming smile, "I believe I wanted to ask you for your daughter hand in marriage, that is if you have a daughter?" Dan chuckled, "Only thanks to you I have no doubts about having a daughter and two wonderful sons as well. So I can only say yes! You have my blessing and welcome to the family son!" Shaking hands, Dan then commented, "I suppose that now you would want to be calling me dad?" Jason chuckled as well, "It would be my privilege to be allowed to call you dad! I lost my father some ten years ago, so I know what Gracie was feeling. My mother doesn't dwell on it but I think she misses him the most."