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Chapter Three-Hundred-Two



Later on that day after dinner everyone was sitting around in the living room talking with a warm fire going, hot chocolate in their hands, and a snow storm going on outside.


“Nicky” Ashley spoke after a long while as she was sitting on the floor next to Denise with Bella lying on a blanket in front of her with a bunch of baby toys surrounding her.


“Hmm?”


“I want to go shopping tomorrow – alone – with an exception of Marcus of course. Do you think you can let me do that without freaking out on me?” she asked, and she glanced over at her brother also. Nick raised his eyebrow.


“Why would you want to go alone?”


“Well how else am I going to do Christmas Shopping? I have just enough money from my internship saved up to do Christmas shopping for everybody but I certainly can’t do it with you people around and besides…you know holidays have been very trying for me…could you let me have some independence please?”


“I think you should let her Nick” Brian spoke up gently. He knows exactly how trying her holidays have been as he’s been watching her. He’s seen her aching for her parents when she thinks no one is looking and it about breaks his heart. He can’t even imagine what it would be like to have to spend every holiday without his mom and dad for the rest of his life. He can’t even wrap his brain around the idea. But despite her obvious pain she is handling it very well. She made stockings for the children at the Orphanage, she hung the Christmas Tree and decorations up at her parents’ house, and she allowed him to have his caroling after party there. He even saw her saving Christmas movies on the DVR with Sarah and Dakota that they plan on watching together. They’re traditional family movies that are shown on Lifetime, Hallmark, and The Family channel every year. He listened to her explain to the girls that she used to watch them with her mom every Christmas too and suddenly Dakota and Sarah – the little sweethearts that they are insisted upon watching every movie to keep her tradition alive. He can see that she is keeping all of the traditions her and her mom had alive through Dakota and Sarah and if that helps her to heal, why shouldn’t she be allowed to do that? He thinks she’s handling it very well. At least she isn’t doing the scrooge thing and hiding up in a room the whole holiday like she very well could have done instead. She is being very strong about the situation – even if she sometimes requires time alone. Everybody needs that sometimes – especially when they’re grieving. If that’s what helps her to be strong then why not? Nick sat there silently fighting a battle in his head. He knows she needs her independence and he wants very much to show her that he loves her enough to give it to her but then there is Sean. Where is Sean and what kind of torture is he planning for his baby next? And then there is one more issue that he has to consider before answering – how mad at him will she be if he tells her no? She’s never made him sleep on the couch before, but he sure as hell doesn’t want her to start now.


“You’ll take Marcus with you?” he asked after awhile and he glanced at AJ who hasn’t said a word but only sat there waiting on Nick’s answer – as if his judgement will be good enough for him.


“Yes I’ll take him with me…”


“Then I guess it will be okay…” Ashley smiled at him then and he smiled back.


“Thank you Nicky. That means a lot.”


“Doesn’t mean I’m not going to worry about you the whole time you are gone you know that right?”


“I figured as much.”


“Not that I don’t trust Marcus or anything…cause I do with every fiber of my being but take your pepper spray with you okay? Just to add some protection.”


“Kay.” Suddenly they heard Elenore shriek and giggle and their heads all turned in that direction. They found Kevin and Jerald sitting in front of the fire with Elenore stretched out so she was sitting in both of their laps and they were reading her a story and making her follow along with the words so that she could learn them. They plan on making her flash cards and everything. But Jerald had begun tickling her for some reason and Kevin was leaning forward and blowing raspberries on her neck as she cupped his face in her hands trying with all her might to pull him away from her but nothing was working. Howie chuckled a little and looked at everybody else just as Tim spoke up.


“Are they really getting along now, or are they just tolerating each other for Ellie’s sake still?”


“I think they are getting along. They were wrestling with each other in the snow earlier…I think that some how resolved things for them in a weird…unspoken…brotherly kind of way.”


“Well whatever happened between the two of them to make things better I don’t care. I’m just happy to see my boys getting along again” Ann replied. “The last thing I want is for a family feud to be going on during Christmas.”


“I couldn’t agree more,” Brian replied. “And the last thing we need is those two never talking to each other ever again. I don’t think Kevin would handle that very well.” Tim shook his head.


“I don’t think Jer would either – and I honestly don’t believe that was ever going to happen. They’re way too close for that and always have been. Ellie wouldn’t let it happen either. No, I think they’re going to raise that child along side each other like Uncle Jessie and Danny in Full House. I wouldn’t be surprised if Jer permanently moved to Florida after the holidays.”


“Are you going to move in with them too and make it be Uncle Jessie, Uncle Joey, and Danny?” AJ teased.


“Nah,” Tim chuckled. “I love Ellie with all my heart but I couldn’t leave my church for too long – and someone has to be here for mom.”


“True.”



~*~*~*~*~*~



“Comfortable are you?” Sean asked while walking down the stairs at his and Trevor’s Lake House back in Florida only to find Max sitting on the couch watching TV. Babysitting him – again. While Trevor goes out – again. Without so much as a single clue as to where he is going - again. He is beginning to feel very annoyed that his lover disappears for an hour every night or day. Annoyed and suspicious – what could he possibly be doing that he can’t tell him about? Is he having an affair? He’ll kill the bastard the moment he finds out who he is if that’s the case. And why is it that Trevor gets to go out but he has to stay put? And be baby-sat on top of everything else. Since when did he let anybody control him like this? Since when did he let anybody humiliate him like this? Max said nothing he only looked back at Sean and watched him as he went into the kitchen in hunt for some food. “Why aren’t you in Kentucky watching Ashley like you were hired to do?”


“Trevor said I’m needed here for now.”


“To baby sit me right?”


“I’m not baby-sitting you. I’m simply keeping you company”


“Fuck you.”


“And risk getting killed by Trevor? I don’t think so.”


“Like Trevor would care anyway” Sean accused, completely oblivious to how emotional he sounds. If Max didn’t know any better he would think he sounds very much like a pregnant woman going through severe mood swings.


“Why would you say that?” Max asked while doing his best to hide his amusement.


“Where is he going every night Max?” Sean demanded and he slammed a cupboard door shut when he discovered what he wanted wasn’t in there.


“I’m not allowed to tell you” Max told him softly, suddenly feeling very much like he has been placed between two vicious bears. One…not so dangerous unless you disobey him and then he tends to get pissy with you…maybe tear an arm or a leg off but that’s as harmful as he will get unless you mess with his mate…then he kills you. The other bear on the other hand will just plain kill you if he feels the need and he will make it as painful as he possibly can with as little mercy as possible. What does one do in such a situation? He values his arms and legs very much as they’ve done wonders for him in the past but if he were to die then what good would his arms and legs be to him anyway?



~*~*~*~*~*~



Meanwhile at Sean’s old Trailer home, Trevor sighed in deep frustration as he threw the last unhelpful journal across the room. He’s been through Sean’s entire bedroom and found not one single clue as to what he is hiding. He’s even ventured out of the room too and checked out his father’s old stuff, the junk in the living room, kitchen cupboards…but not one thing in the shit hole Sean once begrudgingly called home holds a single clue. All he found was lots of pictures of Sean and his mother from when he was little and in every single one the woman had been so loving to him. It is perfectly clear in every picture that he sees that the woman loved him. So why did she leave then? Why hadn’t she taken him with her? Why did the bitch leave him with his father to suffer if she loved him so damn much? He just doesn’t get it. Suddenly a light shone on the window and Trevor went over and stood to the side and glanced out at it and he saw Detectives Stabler and Benson getting out of the car.


“Shit Liv…this place looks like it’s been standing for a very long time.”


“I think this may have been Sean’s old home. Didn’t he live in a trailer?”


“FUCK,” Trevor muttered to himself, suddenly becoming very stiff. “What the fuck are they doing here?” That’s one question he doesn’t know, but if he sticks around to ask them he has a feeling he’ll be sitting in a jail cell with all the time in the world to figure it out. That is one thing that cannot happen. He has to protect himself. He has to be there for Sean. He won’t make it without him. Shaking his head he turned around and he darted out of the room as fast as he could as he heard the detectives coming up the front steps.


“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” he cursed as his heart began to thump faster as the danger got closer. He turned and headed for Sean’s father’s room where he knows there is a window. When he got in there he pushed it open and he dove out landing with a thud in the grass behind the house just as he heard the front door to the trailer open. Rolling over he got to his feet and he ran into the woods as fast as his feet would carry him only breathing when he was too deep in to be seen.


“FUCKING A!” he cursed loudly now that he was out of earshot and he kicked a nearby log with his foot. “All that fucking time wasted and no fucking answers! And now I can’t even go back to keep looking! GODDAMNIT SEAN! What the fuck are you not telling me?” Seething with anger he sat down on the log trying his hardest to calm down. He knows if he goes back to the house in this state of mind Sean will be controlling HIS temper instead. He covered his face with his hands and took a few deep breaths and after a long while when he was calm somewhat, he looked up only to see something shiny sticking out of the log in the corner of his eye. Raising his eyebrow he got up and got down on his knees and he peered into the log to see a shiny picture frame poking out. He reached in and pulled it out and saw yet another picture of Sean’s mother. Trevor sighed in exasperation and he tossed the picture frame to the side.


“What the fuck is with all of these fucking pictures Sean? Is this some kind of hint or something? And if so, what does it mean?” Could whatever happened in Sean’s past have something to do with his mother? he thought quietly to himself as he glanced back over at the picture he had thrown. Besides the obvious…that she ran away. Or did she? She had to have as that’s what Sean told him. That’s what Sean has been so angry about all of these years and that’s what destroyed him. All he ever ranted about is how the bitch had left him and how he so badly wants to find her and kill her for leaving him behind in such a hell. That’s all he ever went on about and eventually it made Trevor hate her too because of what she’d done to his Seanie. But if he hated her so much…then why had he kept all of these pictures around? One picture could be understandable, as Sean likes to remember the people who fucked him over so that he knows exactly what they look like. That way if he ever came across them again, he’d have his revenge. But fifty pictures or more? What the fuck? And everytime he sees a new picture of her she only looks all the more loving in them. She doesn’t look half as bad as Sean made her out to be. She doesn’t look like a trailer trash whore on drugs and alcohol that didn’t give a rat’s ass what happened to Sean. Infact she looked the exact opposite. She looked like someone Trevor’s dad would have liked – maybe even fallen in love with if he got the chance. She doesn’t seem like someone who would run off on Sean at all. Trevor reached over and grabbed up the picture frame again and he turned it over and gazed down at the woman in the picture contemplatively. Trying real hard to understand.


“Okay…so what if you didn’t run away?” he asked the picture as if it were going to answer him back or something. “What the hell happened to you then? Where were you all of these years and how does Sean crying at the lake fit into all of this?” He stared at the picture long and hard. “Did you love him or not? I need answers woman. If you expect me to save your son I need answers damnit!” When he realized the picture wasn’t going to talk back to him he growled in frustration and threw the picture away from him once more. He crossed his arms over his chest like a stubborn child and leaned back against the log. He looked up at the clear blue sky as he could feel a headache forming in his head and suddenly he noticed a leaf falling. He watched as if floated on down and landed just inside the log. Coincidence? Trevor thought quietly to himself. No I don’t believe in them. Everything happens for a reason. He got up on his knees again and he crawled back over to the entrance of the log and he peered inside before reaching his hand in. The last thing he wants is some animal to bite him for sticking his arm in his home. When he saw that nothing alive was residing in there he reached in and pulled out a box. A little blue treasure box and much to his dismay, there’s a lock on it.


“It’s locked! What kind of joke are you pulling here?” he asked the tree. Suddenly another leaf fell and it landed on one of its branches. Trevor raised his eyebrow and stood up and he went over and climbed up into the tree to the branch the leaf had fallen on. When he got up there he sat down and realized there is a tiny hole there just big enough for a bird to live in.


“Right like I am sticking my hand in there!” he snapped. He looked up half expecting another leaf to fall to give him a clue but much to his dismay it didn’t. Course it didn’t. What in the world is the matter with him? Talking to picture frames, trees, and seeing leaves fall and thinking it’s trying to tell him something…if someone were to walk by him they would throw him straight into the loony bin. No unseen force is giving him clues right now. He is just imagining things. He’s wanted answers for so long that he is imagining that inanimate objects are giving them to him. He really needs to go home and crawl into bed with his lover and go to sleep. That’s what he needs to do. And not wake up until tomorrow afternoon. Shaking his head he started to do just that when he noticed a small twig sticking out of the hole that he hadn’t noticed there before. He had been too preoccupied with the hole and what might be living in it. Interest sparking back up inside him like a match suddenly being ignited he grabbed hold of the twig with his two fingers and pulled it out. As he did there was a key hanging onto it by a key ring – with you guessed it, a small picture of Sean and his mother inside a key chain. Shaking his head in exasperation he ignored the key chain and unlocked the blue treasure box with the key. When he got it open he looked up at the tree he is currently sitting in.


“If I see one more picture of Sean and his mother I am giving up and going home. You hear me?” When he was sure his threat was clear to whatever unseen force was helping him out he peered into the box and much to his relief there weren’t any pictures but instead there were newspaper articles that had been cut out. He pulled them out curiously and when he started looking and reading through them he learned that they were all about women of twenty-five being drowned. And none of the drownings were done by mistake they were all murdered. Trevor raised his eyebrow.


“So what?” He asked out loud. “Sean has always had an obsession with this stuff. He gets off on drowning people.” But then it suddenly occurred to him that there has to be a reason why he’s like that. And he’s never known the answer to that. He’s never bothered to ask…he just kind of went with it thinking all baddies had their obsessions. And Sean’s just happened to be water. It has been for as long as he’s known him. But why?


~*~Flashback~*~


“Sean! Yo Sean! Earth to Seanie!” a ten year old Trevor spoke while waving his hand in front of his best friend’s face.


“Hmm?” Sean asked while suddenly pulling out of his trance. He had been squatting down by the lake and twirling a stick around in the water making circles with it. He had been staring into it as he did in deep thought. He tore his gaze from the water reluctantly and looked at his best friend.


“What are you thinking? I’ve been trying to get your attention for five minutes.”


“Water” Sean answered simply while looking back at the lake and resuming his circles with the stick.


“Huh?” Trevor asked utterly confused.


“You asked me what I was thinking about. I was thinking about water.”


“Why?”


“It’s so beautiful…” Sean answered softly. “The way it moves…the way it sounds when it moves…” he stuck his hand in the water then and moved it around slowly as if he were caressing the smooth skin of a beautiful woman that he is making love to. He scooped the water up in his hand and let it cascade through his fingers. “The way it feels…” Sean looked back at Trevor then aware of the perplexed looks he was receiving. “I’m serious man.” Trevor laughed nervously.


“So grow fins and become a merman.”


“I would if I could.” Trevor shook his head.


“Okay Sean, I think the heat is getting to you. Come on into the house and we’ll have some of dad’s lemonade and play video games” he insisted and he got up, grabbed hold of his best friend’s arm and he began dragging him into the house.



~*~End of Flashback~*~


That strange conversation he had, had with Sean was completely off the wall and really freaked him out. So he did what any ten-year-old would have done. He changed the subject. But every day after that he recalls always seeing the way Sean looked at water. The way he moved around in it, the way he touched it. The way he stared into it as he watched his victims die. He would act like he wasn’t sending them to their deaths. He acted as if he were sending them to heaven. As if he was giving them a real treat. And the moment they died…he would look them in their eyes…and suddenly feel completely at ease. Like he just lifted a huge weight off his shoulders and he can go on living again. Or at least that’s the impression Trevor always got when he watched him. And his victims were always women too – with an exception of Cole that is. Women with children usually - little boys at about four years old. Ashley had been an exception to that. Why though? Why this obsession? And why women with little boys that are four? How about ten year olds? Or five or six year olds? If this really has any kind of connection with his mother at all…it would have to be that he was four years old when she ‘left’. Could he be taking away those children’s mothers because he lost his? If that’s the case…then why does he drown them? Where does that obsession with water come in and how is the lake connected? And why Ashley? Where does she fit in with all of this? Kori has a son who is five. But he knows he isn’t bent on revenge for Kori because of Spencer. He was after Kori long before Spencer was conceived. So that leaves him with the same question that still has yet to be answered. Why? Getting sick and tired of all of the questions racking his brain and feeling that awful headache right about now, he closed up the treasure box, locked it again, and stuck the key in the hole in the tree. He climbed down then and placed the box safely back in the hiding place. He would be back to ponder at a later time. Right now he had to get back to Sean because he is ten minutes late. But he will return to this place because he’s learned that this is the place with the answers. He’s not sure whether or not he really believes that unseen forces are helping him out…but he doesn’t care, so long as whatever is helping him out continues to help him out.