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Author's Chapter Notes:
Here's the next chapter.
It is based on past events that really happened.
Enjoy
Chapter One-Hundred-Seventy-Nine



“Does that smell like your dad?” Howie asked gently and Ryan nodded and took the bottle from him so that he could smell it some more.


“Where’d you find this?” Ryan asked softly.


“From your favorite person in the whole world,” Howie answered while motioning toward AJ and Ryan looked over at him.


“That’s one of AJ’s favorite colognes.”


“Oh…” Ryan replied, and he looked down at the bottle of cologne for a couple of moments before looking up at AJ suddenly. “Here…you can have it back if you want…” AJ shook his head.


“That’s okay buddy, I want you to keep it.”


“But…it’s yours…”


“Yeah, but you need it more then I do. I can always go out and buy another bottle,” AJ reassured. Ryan looked up at Howie and Howie smiled at him a little as he rubbed his hand over his back.


“What do you say Ry?”


“Thank-you,” Ryan replied softly as he avoided eye contact with AJ.


“No problem,” AJ replied while ruffling his hand through the little boy’s hair.


“Why don’t you go put that in a safe place upstairs? That way nothing bad can happen to it.” Howie suggested. Ryan nodded and stood up and he slid his arms around Howie for a hug. Howie grinned a little and wrapped his arms around him in return as he hugged him back. When he pulled away he walked past AJ and left the kitchen and Howie smiled some and wiped the unwanted tears from his eyes before getting up and going over to help Jackie. He finally found a way into Ryan’s heart. Finally. Now hopefully he can stay there… meanwhile Josh who had sat there quietly watching Ryan rubbed at his own eyes as he thought things over. Ryan’s dad must’ve really loved him for him to miss him this much…for him to become such a softy over a bottle of cologne. Josh couldn’t help but feel somewhat jealous at the thought. He wishes he could miss his dad like that. But he doesn’t. He could careless what kind of life the man he once called dad is living…he probably isn’t even thinking twice about what Josh is doing…or where Josh is at. So why should Josh have to care? The only thing Josh cares about is the pain that his ‘father’ had put him through. How much he made him long for the love that Ryan must’ve got from his father. Why couldn’t Josh get that? Josh looked over at Brian and he saw him sitting at the table looking through a phone book. He sat there watching him for a couple of moments, and then he got up and went over and crawled into Brian’s lap. Brian looked down at him with eyes full of concern as he could sense there was something bothering his son. Josh wrapped his arms around his waist and rested his head against his chest as he snuggled into him and closed his eyes. He may not be able to fully accept him as his father yet, but he’s done nothing but love him like one and he’ll take what he can get. Brian wrapped his arms around him in return and bent down and kissed the top of his head before looking through the phone book again, though he was now very worried about what’s going through Josh’s head at the moment.


“I’m bored…when is Ellie going to come back?” Spencer suddenly complained as he lay on the floor playing with Laila’s abandoned toys.


“I have no idea buddy,” Brian answered while grinning some, though he didn’t look up from the phone book.


“It’s no fun when Ellie isn’t around.” Howie chuckled.


“Yeah things sure do get interesting when she is here, that’s for sure.”


“Yeah, like little Ninjas sneaking into my room in the middle of the night,” Brian added. AJ laughed.


“Marcus was telling us that story earlier this morning.” Riley shook her head smiling.


‘Yeah I bet he was. He, Laney, and Q I swear…the things they do in the middle of the night to entertain themselves.” AJ chuckled.


“Well if people would remember to lock their doors, then maybe they wouldn’t get midnight visits from little ninjas…”


“I didn’t think about it…or I would have. Though I don’t like the idea of locking my door at night, I’m always afraid that if I do Josh won’t be able to get in if he needs me.”


“Oh I’m sure if Josh wanted you bad enough, he would bang on your door until you opened it.” Josh smiled sheepishly as he knows full well that he most certainly would have and he snuggled into Brian some more. Brian shook his head smiling and he rubbed his hand over Josh’s back as he flipped open his cell phone and began dialing a number. When he did he placed it to his ear and waited for the person he is calling to pick up.


“Has anyone seen any of the puppies at all today?” Harold asked curiously, as he set Tyke’s box of dog treats that Jackie had bought onto the counter and he looked utterly confused that the little pup hadn’t come running once he heard it.


“Oh man…good question,” Wiley spoke up from his spot next to Spencer on the floor.


“I know Ellie took Lil Rok with her…Josh? Where is Chance, Abbie, Tyke, and Lily?”


“I saw Lily hidden under Kota’s shirt…so she took her with her.”


“And the others?”


“I don’t know, I haven’t seen them…Chance is usually trailing me but I haven’t seen him all day cause I’ve been gone…but he didn’t come running like he usually does when I walked in…but I thought it was just because he was sleeping upstairs or something.” Brian, who had finished talking to the person he was talking to, turned his phone off and looked over at his dad when he saw the panic on his face.


“What’s going on?”


“Tyke didn’t come running when I moved his new treat box around.” Brian raised his eyebrow.


“Has anyone seen the puppies at all today?”


“Ellie has Lil Rok and Kota has Lily. No one’s seen the others since this morning at breakfast.”


“TYKE! COME HERE BOY!” Brian shouted and though he tried very hard to, he couldn’t keep the panic out of his voice. But maybe it’s a good thing because he knows that if his dog knows something is up with him he comes running instantly. When Lil’ Tyke didn’t come running Brian got up and he went over to the treat box. He picked it up and shook it hard before stopping and listening. A second later they heard a yap coming from the back door.


“What is he doing outside?” Brian asked confused and when he went and opened the back door a small Chihuahua shot past him yapping. Brian expected him to go straight for the treats but instead Tyke did a U-turn and went for Brian instead, jumping at his legs. Brian squatted down and started to pet him but Tyke darted away toward the back door before turning and looking at him still barking at him.


“Tyke…what’s gotten into you?”


“I think something is up Brian…he wants you to follow him,” Jackie replied.


“Keep the kids inside,” Brian demanded and he got up and followed Tyke outside. Josh started to get up and follow but Denise grabbed him before he could.


“LET me go! I want to go see what’s going on!”


“You need to stay inside honey…”


“BUT WHAT IF IT’S CHANCE?” Josh shouted as he felt his eyes began to water up. “What if he’s hurt?!”


“Stay here and let Brian check it out first,” Denise insisted and she pulled Josh into a hug.

“DAD!” Brian suddenly shouted and Harold stepped outside.


“What’s going on?”


“There’s a hole here where Marcus and Q boarded the last hole up! Check the front yard!”


“Oh jeez…” Harold replied and he turned and hurried toward the living room. AJ handed Laila to Jackie and he and Howie followed. When they got in there they crossed the living room to the front door, Harold opened it up and led them outside and they all looked around.


“ABBIE! CHANCE! WHERE ARE YOU?” AJ called and they suddenly heard two collars jingling and a second later two puppies came bounding around the corner.


“Oh thank god…” Howie breathed and he bent down and began petting the two puppies and checking them over.


“They seem okay…both of them are as energetic as they usually are…” Howie reported. “No, wait…oh hell no…”

“What? What is it?” AJ asked and he knelt down to look too and Howie showed him.


“Oh god…Ashley is going to be really upset.”


“What is it?!” Harold demanded impatiently and he went to look also to see that Abbie is bleeding slightly near the ear and there is a shiny thing in it.


“Let’s get her inside and get this out of her. They shot her with a pellet gun…” Howie replied and he got up with Abbie in his arms.


“AJ come with me to see where they were at,” Harold insisted and together the two of them took off in the direction that the two puppies had come from and Howie carried Abbie inside to take care of her.


“Chance come on boy…” he called after the golden retriever and he dutifully followed Howie’s feet. Just as he got inside Josh came running out of the kitchen. They heard Brian calling for him to wait and then a second later come hurrying out after him with Tyke in his arms.


“CHANCE? CHANCE? CHANCE!!!!” he exclaimed and he dropped to his knees and held his arms open as a playful puppy went flying into them while barking excitedly. Josh enveloped him in his arms and began giving him kisses while petting him. “OH Chance thank god you’re okay! Thank god!” Brian couldn’t help but smile some, as he is thankful that Chance is all right. He knows he would be dealing with a very heartbroken Josh if he weren’t. But he looked over at Howie and saw him holding Abbie and his smile faded.


“What’s wrong with Abbie?” he asked and Josh looked up from Chance as he sat there petting him and over at Howie suddenly a little worried also.


“The bastards shot her with a pellet gun. Brian I’m going to need tweezers to get the pellet out,” Howie answered and he carried Abbie into the kitchen. Brian nodded and rushed into the downstairs bathroom to retrieve them. When he got them he brought them into the kitchen to see that Jackie’s island had turned into an examining table for Abbie.


“I’m sorry Jackie, I’ll wipe down your counter after I’m done I promise.”


“It’s not a problem, really. Just take care of that puppy.” Brian handed the tweezers to Howie and Howie looked her over.


“The pellet didn’t hit her very hard…it’s not that far in her. They just did it enough to warn us…” He informed as he got the pellet out with no troubles while Riley and Denise held her down because all she wanted to do was get up and play.


“She’s acting very normal too,” Riley added as she watched Brian grab the dog treats and give all three puppies a treat.


“Yeah well Ashley is not going to be acting normal,” AJ reminded and everybody looked at him to see the protective brother role is starting to really kick in. They also found him standing there holding a rock and Harold was standing there next to him looking very worried.


“What’s that?” Brian asked, indicating toward the rock as he noticed a paper attached to it by a rubber band.


“It’s a note. And it says keep your puppies away from us. This time was just a warning.”


“Well here is a thought…why don’t they stay out of our bushes and maybe our puppies won’t BOTHER them!” Brian replied furiously.


“Is that note handwritten? Can’t we find out who they’re by their handwriting? And what if their finger prints are all over that?” AJ dropped the rock onto the ground suddenly and Chance barked as it made a loud thud.


“They wouldn’t be stupid enough to leave their finger prints on that…they probably wore gloves.”


“It would still be a smart thing to check.”


“Okay, but what about Ashley?” AJ spoke up again; the only thing on his mind is his little sister freaking out over the fact that her puppy has been shot.


“I’m taking care of that Alex, calm down.” Howie reassured. “That’s why we need to clean it up now before she gets back. It is better that she only hears about it, not see it.” He explained as he cleaned up the little blood that there was on Abbie. Harold went and got some gloves and he put them on and went over and picked up the rock that AJ had dropped and he got out a big bag and placed it in it and he sat it on the counter.


“Here Harold…I think you better add the bullet into the evidence bag too. They can track down what gun they used and where they bought it from by the pellet that they used couldn’t they?” Howie suggested.


“Good point,” Harold replied and he went over and picked up the pellet with his gloved hand and he dropped it into the evidence bag before putting it safely on top of the refrigerator.


“Should we call the cops here, or Detective Stabler?” AJ asked, as he grabbed up his cell phone from the counter…the only thing still on his mind being his little sister. If he can do anything to ease her pain when she finds out later, it would be to bring justice to Abbie and busting the bastard who shot her.


“Detective Stabler knows more about Sean then anyone else – it’s his case. You should probably call him.”


“But he is in Florida and we need to find these bastards now.”


“I’m sure once he hears you have evidence for him he’ll come running. It’s his job.”


“What I want to know, is how the puppies got out there in the first place,” Brian spoke up, still upset that his Tyke was out in the backyard unsupervised and no one knew it.


“I don’t know. That’s a good question seeing as how that dog door has been closed ever since Abbie got out that one night.” Jackie replied.


“Ellie and Dakota,” Wiley answered suddenly. “They were outside playing this morning and they took all of the puppies out there with them remember?”


“How do you know that when you were upstairs with Kori and Spencer sleeping?”


“Our bedroom window faces the backyard.”


“Oh that’s right,” Brian nodded. “But Marcus was out there with them. Why didn’t he bring the puppies in with him? He knows how important it is to keep an eye on them.”


“Maybe since he saw Lily and Lil Rok sitting in the kitchen he assumed all of them were in here…security guards can make mistakes sometimes too…”


“Okay Abbie, okay. I’m done. You’ve been a very good patient,” Howie spoke to Abbie in the kind of voice you get when talking to a baby.


“Give her a treat, D. All patients get treats you know that…didn’t your doctor ever give you a lollipop after a check up before?” Brian insisted while holding the box of treats out to him as he had been holding the box all a long. Abbie jumped up energetically at the mention of treats and Howie chuckled and got one out of the box before letting Abbie lick it from his hand. While she was eating it he lifted her up and kissed the top of her head before hugging her close and petting her.

“So they’ve been outside all this time, and Abbie our little digger decided to find them an escape route.” Brian nodded and AJ closed his cell phone and looked at everybody.


“Detective Stabler is on his way here. He is very excited to have some new evidence to check out and he says he would like to have a word with Nick anyway. He says the news just got around to his ears…he’s not too pleased about it.”


“Oh jeez…he’s not going to arrest him is he?”


“No he can’t because Denise adopted Ashley.” Howie reassured.


“That’s what I told him. And I tried to tell him that the two of them just started their relationship on our trip up here but he didn’t believe a word of it. He says he’s noticed the two of them were too close these past few months for nothing to be going on between them other then caregiver and child. He didn’t think much of it though but now that all of the rumors are going around he knows it’s true. He says Nick is lucky he likes him and doesn’t have the heart to arrest him – or take his job away. He and Olivia went through a lot with their captain trying to insist that they were just rumors and nothing more.”


“Did he believe them?” Wiley questioned.


“After a lot of insisting, yes. He’s glad that we acted on the situation fast and had Denise adopt her because he can tell his captain this and now it won’t matter if they date just so long as Denise is okay with it.”


“Good…”


“But he’s still royally pissed off at him and wants to come down here and be mad at him.”


“You better call him and warn him – he also needs to know what happened to Abbie. She is just as much as his puppy as she is of Ashley’s,” Wiley pointed out.


“I’m on it,” AJ nodded and he opened his cell phone again before walking out of the room.


“I still need to work on Nick’s surprise for Ashley…I’ve got the owner of Olive Garden to let us rent his restaurant for the evening. I still need to order the roses. Nick can pick them up on his way back” Brian rambled and he too got on the phone and left the kitchen with Lil’ Tyke still tucked safely under his arm – the little pup seemingly content where he is at and not wanting to be put down anytime soon. Howie remained where he was at while still holding Abbie in his arms and giving her lots of lot while Josh and Spencer played with Chance.