Chapter Ninety-One
When Riley brought Detective Stabler into the office, he sat down in one of the chairs on the outside of Brooke's desk, and Riley sat in Brooke's chair. She opened up one of Brooke's drawers and began rummaging through it for the right papers.
"Where is Brooke today, is she sick?"
"AJ and I are making her take the day off today. She is lying in bed next door watching movies," Riley answered, indicating toward the bedroom next door. "She was up all night working herself to death. I came in here this morning to find that she hadn't gone home at all and her eyes were all bloodshot, and she was very stressed out. So I am taking over her job for the day."
"Why?" Detective Stabler asked, becoming concerned.
"Long story," Riley answered, and she continued to go through the drawers. "If I could just find the right papers…you can't find anything in these drawers. I swear by the end of the day I'm going to have all of Brooke's drawers organized and her desk cleaned off. How can she live with being so un-organized I'll never know…"
"Cause it drives you crazy," Brooke spoke from behind her, causing Riley to flinch and look back at her.
"Jeez Brooke…do you have to scare me like that?? What are you doing out of bed?"
"Sorry Ri, she insisted on getting up there was nothing I could do." AJ replied, coming out of the bedroom also, with an exasperated look on his face. "She's a tough patient to take care of." He added. Brooke smirked at him, and then went over to the drawers that Riley had abandoned, and she opened up one and pulled out the papers that she was looking for. She handed them to her and smiled sweetly.
"There ya go boss." Riley raised her eyebrow at her, and Brooke wrapped her arms around her for a hug.
"My desk may be a mess, but it's an organized mess. Mess with it and you're in big trouble." She playfully warned, and she looked back at AJ and held her hands out to him like he was going to handcuff her.
"You can take me back to that bedroom you've been holding me captive in all day, Aje, I'm done now." AJ chuckled and took her hand into his and gently squeezed it and he began to lead her back into the room.
"Oh don't be such a drama queen Brooke. You've been enjoying your day off, just admit it." He told her, as he brought her into the bedroom and shut the door just a crack. Riley rolled her eyes and looked at Detective Stabler who was shaking his head smiling.
"Stubborn woman…" she muttered under her breath and she pulled out a pen.
"I HEARD that!" Brooke called from the bedroom and AJ just laughed.
"ANYWAY," Riley replied, and she began to ask Detective Stabler questions about the children, as she filled out the paperwork.
~*~*~*~
Meanwhile, upstairs, when Nick and Ashley had finished their shower, Nick turned off the water and the two of them got out. Ashley grabbed one towel and wrapped it around herself, and Nick grabbed the other and the two of them walked out of the bathroom and over to the walk in closet. When they got over there, Nick pushed the door open and turned on the light and they began to look for clothes to wear. Ashley pulled down her pink and white striped tanktop with the thick straps, and some blue shorts and she opened her drawer and pulled out a bra and underwear, before going into the room to get dressed. Nick remained in the closet with his clothes and got dressed in there. By the time he finished, he walked out to find that Ashley only put on her tanktop and underwear so far and was sitting on the bed.
"Why aren't you dressed yet?" He asked, grinning at her, and he went over and sat next to her.
"Because I'm lazy and don't want to. Why aren't you wearing a shirt mister? And you lecture me for not being fully dressed." Nick smirked and placed his hand to her cheek and he brought his lips down on hers in a delicate kiss. She turned to face him, and hugged her legs to her chest, and he placed his other hand to one and gently rubbed it, as she kissed him back. After a few seconds, she lay back on the bed, causing him to have to lean forward to continue his soft kisses. He crawled on top of her so each leg is on either side of her, and he is barely sitting on her and she placed her hands to his chest and gently rubbed it as she made the kiss much deeper.
~*~*~*~
Meanwhile, downstairs, when Detective Stabler and Riley finished doing paperwork, the two of them went into the playroom. When they got in there and found that Detective Benson and the others weren't in there, they turned and walked out.
"They must be on the playground then," She told him, and the two of them headed out there. When they got out there they discovered that they're indeed there. Spencer, Josh, Chris, Elenore, and even Sarah are playing soccer with Scott, and the rest of the adults are sitting under a shaded tree keeping an eye on all of the children around the playground, and also talking amongst themselves. Dakota is still lying in Howie's lap asleep. Detective Benson is sitting with them, and she has Laila in her lap, as she still clung tightly to her. She's been trying to talk her into going to play, but it hasn't happened yet. Ryan is sitting on the ground a couple of inches away from her; he's hugging his legs to chest and looking around the playground with an angry look. He still does not like the fact that he has to stay in Ramsey. Not in the least bit.
"Hey Detective Stabler, Hey Riley," Brian greeted the two as they joined them.
"Hey," the two of them greeted in unison, and Riley went over and sat next to Brian, sliding her hand into his. He gently squeezed it. Detective Stabler sat down on the other side of Ryan.
"Hey Ryan...why don't you go play? Get to know some of the kids? It might be a good idea to get to know everybody so you'll be comfortable here."
"I don't want to get comfortable here. I don't want to get to know any of the kids." Ryan insisted grumpily.
"Why not? You'll be pretty lonely here if you don't..."
"Because I'm not going to be here for very long. That's why."
"Maybe not...but you'll be here for awhile...and you might as well have some friends to play with while you are."
"I won't have time to make friends. Cause my mom is going to get better and come get me tomorrow. You'll see. Then I will have to leave my friends behind and never see them again. There is no point in making any." Detective Stabler sighed, and looked to his partner for help.
"Sweetheart I don't want to upset you anymore then you already are...but it's going to take awhile for your mom to get better...so you might as well make yourself comfortable here."
"NO! You're LYING! She's going to get better tomorrow and come and get me!" Ryan shouted, and he got up and stormed off toward another tree so that he could be alone.
"Something tells me we're going to have another Josh on our hands..." Riley commented, looking at Brian.
"In that case, we better send Brian over to talk to him. Cause Brian is the only one who was able to get through to Josh." Kevin replied.
"Just give him sometime to calm down...then i'll go over and see what I can do." Brian replied, shrugging his shoulders. Suddenly Dakota stirred in Howie's lap, and he looked down at her curiously. A few moments later, she opened her eyes and looked around curiously.
"Where is my daddy?" she immediately asked, causing everybody to look at her.
"Upstairs with Ashley. Ashley wanted to go up there and relax for awhile." Kevin answered, making up a story.
"Who was shouting earliers?" She asked, looking around at everybody.
"A little boy named Ryan. We have two new kids that have come to stay with us. Ryan isn't very happy right now and his little sister Laila is being a little shy. She's in a whole new place and doesn't know anybody." Howie explained, pointing to the two year old who still clung tightly to Detective Benson, though she eyed both Howie and Dakota curiously as she heard him say her name. Dakota sat up and looked at Laila with interest.
"How old is she?" she asked, looking up at her uncle Howie.
"Two years old. She's a little younger then you so you will need to be careful with her."
"Can I play withs her?" she asked, looking at Detective Benson now.
"If she'll let you. Like Howie says, she's a little shy right now."
"That's okay, I know what that's like. Some of these kids can be a little scary sometimes — but I wont's let them be mean to her." Dakota insisted. Detective Benson smiled at her.
"That's very sweet of you honey. I'm sure Laila appreciates that." Dakota beamed and then stood up. She went over to Laila and crouched down to her height.
"Hi Laila, I'm Dakota," She introduced herself. Detective Benson smiled down at Laila, who looked at her curiously.
"Can you say hi to Dakota, Laila?" Laila studied the friendly four year old in front of her for a moment.
"Hi Kota," She spoke softly and Dakota grinned even bigger.
"Do you want to come play withs me?" She offered, and she stood up and offered Laila her hand.
"Play?" Laila asked, and she let Dakota take her hand, as she stood up.
"Yeah, play. We have lots of fun toys here," Dakota answered, and she began to steer the two year old off toward the big fisher price house and dolls.
"Remember Dakota, be careful. She's a lot smaller then you," Brian called after them, as he watched his niece proudly.
"Laila couldn't have found a better friend," Brian insisted.
"One down, one more to go," Riley replied, looking over at Ryan who she noticed had watched his baby sister with a protective look on his face as Dakota went off with her. She now knows he cares very deeply about his sister and has a protective side. She could see him almost getting up and going after her but he decided against it when he saw Riley watching him. Going after his sister would mean him having to communicate with the girl that is playing with her and he is not about to do that.
"Should I go talk to him now?" Brian asked, looking at Riley for approval.
"Yeah I think he's calmed down enough. Go give it a try." Brian nodded and then got up, after scooping Chance up into his arms and he went over to the other tree that Ryan is sitting under. When he got there, he sat down next to him, though he made sure to keep his distance. He set Chance down in front of him and continued petting him. If he's anything like Josh he knows Chance will help him in the situation.
"Hi Ryan," he greeted and Ryan stiffened up, crossed his arms over his chest and he scooted away from Brian, though he eyed Chance curiously.
"Hi…" he replied softly.
"I never did tell you my name…I'm Brian and I'm a caregiver here at the Orphanage. I'm a pretty friendly guy so if you ever need anyone to talk to, I'm always here for you, okay?"
"Like it matters…" Ryan replied stubbornly. "I'm not going to be here after to morrow anyway. My mom is going to get better and come get my sister and me." Brian was quiet for a couple of minutes as he studied the little boy in front of him, and just as Brian had hoped, Chance took notice in Ryan and suddenly playfully tackled him. He noticed Ryan smile slightly and began to pet him.
"You and your mom must've been really close…" he spoke up again, after awhile.
"We used to be…until my dad died…" Ryan answered softly. "Then she got very distant with Laila and me…sometimes even mean. We had a baby-sitter all the time…and when our baby-sitter was busy, I took care of Laila. My dad said I was to be the man of the house now. He made me promise to look after my mom and sister, and I'm going to do just that."
"What do you mean, sometimes even mean?" Brian asked concerned.
"She yelled at Laila and me a lot…for almost every little thing…and she called me names all the time. It was my fault…I was being too loud. I just have to remember to be quiet."
"Did she yell at you all the time?"
"Only when she had a headache. She wasn't always mean, she played with us sometimes, and there were times when she'd give us hugs and kisses and tell us she loves us, but most of the time she yelled…" Ryan explained, tears rolling down his cheek "Then she got sick…and had to go to the doctor. She's going to get better though, I just know it. I love her…even if she was mean to me a lot…she couldn't help it."
"Well it sounds like your mom is going to need sometime to get better buddy…I believe you, I know she'll get better and come back for you. But I'm not going to lie to you…its not going to happen tomorrow. If you love your mom you'll give her time to get better…and enjoy yourself here while you wait. She would want you to do that…the side of her that wasn't mean."
"But I'll miss her too much…" Ryan insisted, as unwanted tears fell from his eyes. "I want her to get better so that it can be how it used to be…"
"And she will Ryan, I promise. But in order for her to be like she used to be, she needs sometime by herself right now okay? She needs to learn how to take care of herself, before she can take care of you and your sister. Can you give her that time that she needs? And give all of us caregivers a chance? We are all really nice people, I promise all we want is for you to feel comfortable here."
"Will I get to visit her in the hospital?" Ryan asked softly.
"I'm not sure buddy…but I can talk to Detective Stabler for you, How's that?"
"You will? Really?"
"Only if you do me a favor in return."
"Like what?"
"Give all of us caregivers and the kids here a chance. Make yourself comfortable. If you can do that for me then I will make sure that you get to visit your mom as soon as you are allowed."
"You promise?"
"I cross my heart," Brian answered, and he did an X over his heart.
"Okay…" Ryan replied softly, and Brian smiled at him.
"Whose puppy is this?" He asked softly.
"He belongs to my son Josh. He's right over there playing soccer. The kid in the superman t-shirt. He loves this puppy more then anything in this whole wide world."
"What's the puppy's name?"
"Chance."
"Who is the little girl playing with my sister?"
"My niece Dakota. Although, technically she's not really my niece, we just act like she is. Her dad is my best friend and he is like a little brother to me, so I'm considered as Uncle Brian."
"Aren't you and those other guys from some kind of band?" Ryan asked, and Brian nodded, and began pointing out his bandmates that are on the playground at the moment, and telling him their names.
~*~*~*~
Meanwhile, over at the other tree, Detective Stabler looked at Kevin.
"Where did you say Nick was at?"
"Upstairs with Ashley," Kevin answered. "She wanted to lay down and relax for awhile so he took her upstairs." He explained, hoping to god that Detective Stabler buys the lie and drops the subject. No such luck.
"I really need to talk to him while i'm here...we interrogated those guys who attacked him and Ashley at his house last night, and I wanted to tell him what we found out."
"Well I can call him on his cell phone if you would like and tell him to come down..." Kevin offered, as he reached into his pocket for his cell phone.
"No that's okay...if Ashley is in bed I don't want him to have to get her out of it and make her come down here. I can just go upstairs and talk to him there, it's no problem."
"No, it's alright. She's had a couple of hours or so to relax, i'm sure she'll be okay about coming down here."
"No really, it's fine. A little excersize can't hurt me any." Kevin was about to open his mouth to protest, when suddenly Kori beat him to it.
"If the man wants to go upstairs to talk to Nick, by all means, let him." She told him, and Kevin looked at her with a look in his eyes that only she and everybody else would understand - minus the two detectives, that is. Kori winked at him after making sure neither Detective Benson or Detective Stabler were looking.
"Okay," Kevin replied, reluctantly giving up. Detective Stabler stood up, and so did Detective Benson and they headed toward the door to the Orphanage. Kevin jumped up and went with them. If Nick goes down, Backstreet Boys goes with him and he can't allow that.
"I'll go with you. I want to hear what you've found out too..." he told him. Kori and everybody sat there watching them, and as soon as they were in the building with the door shut, Kori immediately pulled out her cell phone, and she pressed the number 2 speed dial - Nick's number.
~*~*~*~
"Nick...have you by any chance talked to Detective Stabler about my parent's house?" Ashley asked suddenly, as the two of them lay in bed together talking. Ashley still lying there in her tanktop and underwear, and Nick has his shirt off. He is lying there slowly tickling her arms and she has her eyes closed.
"No, i've completely forgot. I will the next time I see him though, how's that?"
"Kay," Ashley replied softly, and he leaned down and placed delicate kisses on her closed eyelids.
"I love you," he told her, and he rested his head against hers, as the two of them share the same pillow.
"Love you too..."
"Cheer up baby...I know what's on your mind." Ashley was about to open her mouth to reply back when suddenly his cell phone rang and interrupted him. Nick reached over and picked it up and he looked at the caller ID to see that it's Kori. Raising his eyebrow curiously, he turned the phone on and put it to his ear.
"What's up?"
"Whatever the two of you are doing up there, stop it RIGHT now! Elliot, Olivia, and Kevin are on their way up!" Kori demanded urgently into the phone, then she hung up knowing that if they caught him on the phone with her they would get suspicious if they aren't already from the way Kevin acted.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Here's the next chapter.
Enjoy =)
Enjoy =)
