Chapter 55 Crash

Mick watched Logan as he scrolled down the computer screen and finally asked, “What are you reading, Logan?”

If he could have blushed Logan was sure he would have. “Its, uh, Football for Dummies dot com.”

Mick resisted the urge to laugh out loud and looked at the screen that told what each position did along with what different plays could be made, penalties and such. At least Logan was trying.

“Can’t be much fun learning about it like this, Logan. C’mon, I’ll talk you through it. The pre-game show starts soon so let’s turn the television on.”

“Pre game? What is that?” He scanned the page quickly looking for information on pre game. There wasn’t any.

“Its, um, the announcers talk about the teams that are playing and give player stats and stuff. It’s very helpful.”

Logan raised a dubious eyebrow, clearly skeptical about just how helpful it was going to be. Reading the information on the website made it all, well, clear as mud, as the saying goes. He didn’t think any pre game show could help.

“Okay, let’s do it,” Logan said, resignation shading his voice. He followed Mick into the family room hoping that the afternoon wouldn’t be too bad. He took a seat on the couch and picked up the remote and asked, “What channel?”

Mick gave him the channel number and settled onto the couch, too, anxious for the game to start. This was a new experience for him, sharing his love of football with Logan, and he hoped that he’d enjoy it.

“At my place I have the season pass on satellite, that’s over 300 football games to watch.”

“Do you do anything but watch football, for god’s sake?” Logan couldn’t believe that anyone would want to watch that many games, even Mick.

Mick laughed and admitted, “Well, no I don’t watch them all, but at least I always have a choice as to which game I want to watch. Very important once you pick out your favorite teams, Logan!"

"Um, yeah,” Logan said, rolling his eyes.

Mick spotted the expression on Logan's face and grimaced. It was likely going to be a long afternoon. But then, Clark had warned him that it would be.



OOOOOOOOOOOOO



Dorothy was enjoying the shower immensely; some of her friends were here from when she was still teaching. It was fun catching up with everyone and even their teasing about her pregnancy was okay.

“Yeah, well if I were married to that hunk of a man I’d be happy to be pregnant too!” Teresa said to her.

“Hey, Teresa, Rudy ain’t too bad in the looks department either,” Marilyn laughed. “Still, twins? Wow, Dorothy, you’re gonna be busy! How are you feeling?”

“Good actually. It’s been an easy pregnancy for the most part. I’m anxious for it to be over with though.” She rested her hand on her belly for a moment and felt one of the babies kick against it. “Yes, I’m ready! But they're apparently not!”

“You know if you need any help, you just give me a call. I’m more than happy to help you, Dorothy,” Marilyn said, and Teresa chimed in with her own promise of help.

“You two should be careful what you offer because I might take you up on it!”

Beth walked up to the group and smiled, happy to see that some of her mom’s friends were here.

“Look at you, Beth!” Teresa declared. “All grown up and a married lady! I remember you when you were in my second grade class. Smart as a whip and the best reader I’ve ever had!”

“Yes, well I had her in third grade and had to correct all those bad habits you taught her!” Marilyn laughed, since they always teased one another.

It was always fun when these ladies were around. Dorothy taught fifth grade before she retired and married Clark and since she taught at the same school where Beth, Lani and Robbi attended, she always had a watchful eye on them.

Lani walked up to the group and Marilyn crossed herself, and said, “My goodness, Lanelle Parker, are you still chasing boys and causing trouble?” She said it with a grin and it was only a mild accusation because they all had adored Lani. She was always a little minx but she was so cute and endearing that it had been hard to reprimand her.

“Of course, but actually, I’ve found my prince and he’s perfect!” she laughed and held her hand out so they could see the ring.

“And rich too,” Teresa laughed. “Aw, honey, I’m happy for you!”

“Thank you! I’m very happy.” She didn’t mention that she was pregnant too because they were likely to add their thoughts about her refusal to marry Josef yet and she didn’t think she could handle even one more person today expressing their thoughts about it.

Teresa and Marilyn wandered over to the gifts table to admire all the gifts that were being contributed to the women’s shelter. Lani and Beth stood with Dorothy, chatting when Rose walked up, smiling at the group of women.

“I’d say the party is quite a success,” Rose said as she looked around at all the people gathered.

“Yes, I’d have to agree. You girls did such a good job,” she said to Beth and Lani. “I couldn’t have asked for a better day.”

“Well, it’s not every day that a girl gets to throw her mother a baby shower,” Beth laughed. She and Lani looked up when Robbi called to them from the kitchen.

“Oops! Looks like she needs some help,” Lani said. The girls headed off to the kitchen to see what Robbi needed.

Dorothy smiled at Rose, suddenly nervous. She took a sip of her punch and searched for something safe to say. “I am glad that the shelter will be able to benefit from this.”

“You have no idea how much, Dorothy. We constantly need infant clothes and diapers, that type of thing there. New people come in almost every day needing help. It’s so amazing that you chose to help us.”

“Well, it’s good for everyone then. When the girls first asked me about a shower I didn’t need one because Clark and I had already gotten everything we needed. So this seemed like a great choice.”

“I can’t thank you enough for your generosity, Dorothy. How are you feeling?”

“Good. Not sleeping worth a darn, but in a few weeks that issue will be resolved because I won’t be able to sleep at all!”

“True enough. Two babies is a lot to handle but you’re obviously a great mom, judging by how well Beth turned out.”

“Thank you, Rose. My parents helped a lot. Clark and I have decided that we’re going to hire someone part time to help with the babies. Neither one of us is 20 anymore and if we’re up all night with them we’re going to need help during the day.”

“Have you found anyone yet?”

“No, we haven’t even started looking, not sure where to start, really. An agency I guess.”

“I know someone you might like to meet. She works at the shelter and clinic, so she’s been checked out thoroughly. She’s human, but knows about, well, like me.” Rose said, the last words little more than a whisper.

“I’d love to talk to her, Rose. Can you give me her number so that I could call her?”

“Yes, I can. I’ll have to call you with it because I don’t know it. Hey, why don’t I introduce you when you come in for those blood tests you promised me? Say, this week?”

Dorothy’s eyes shifted downward, unable to meet Rose’s. Her heart beat sped up too and a tell-tale flush swept up her face.

“I - I’m not sure I can make it this week, Rose. I’ve got a lot going on.”

“Ah, well, I’m sure that’s true. Still, it won’t take but a few minutes to draw your blood and then you can meet Jackie. Since Lani is pregnant and also a descendant, I’m anxious to know where or how she’s connected to your family. Pretty interesting, wouldn’t you say?”

“Yes, it is. Unexpected…” Dorothy managed to choke out.

Human’s make very bad liars! What was she hiding?

“Do you think it could be through your family or Beth’s father’s?”

“I really don’t know. I doubt it’s from my family. My father grew up in Beaufort, North Carolina, where my ancestors settled centuries ago. My mom grew up in Oregon. They met in San Francisco when my dad was in the navy and eventually settled here after he left the service.”

“Hm, what about Beth’s dad?”

“I don’t know anything about him!” Dorothy declared, her voice rising as she became agitated.

“Okay, I’m sorry to have upset you, Dorothy.”

“I’m not upset, I’m fine. I think I need to use the restroom, excuse me please?” She didn’t wait for an answer and headed directly to the bathroom and shut the door behind her firmly.

She looked in the mirror and realized she looked terrible. Her cheeks sported a bright red flush but her lips were very pale. She sat down on the edge of the tub for a moment and tried to collect herself.

What on earth was she going to do now?”



OOOOOOOOOOOO



So, the ladies were away, leaving the mouse to play, except this mouse wasn’t doing anything. How boring! But that was okay, the mouse was going to be dead, very dead, very soon.

He pulled the knife out of the sheaf and looked at it as is glinted brightly, even in the cloudy afternoon. It was sharp, very sharp but mores the pity because it wouldn’t hurt as much.

Nobody takes what is mine!



OOOOOOOOOOOO



Mick ran his hand over his face, trying to think of another way to explain what downs were in football.

“Okay, think of it this way, Logan. The downs keep the game moving. If they just let the offense have the ball and just kept running plays it would all be really boring. This way, they have 4 downs to move the ball 10 yards.”

“Well, they might actually be able to do that if everybody didn’t keep jumping on each other! What kind of weird game is this? That has to hurt!”

They were only into the second quarter and already Mick wanted to pull his hair out. Suddenly he had a thought and stood up. “Hey, let’s get on the computer for a little bit.”

Logan gave him an ‘are you nuts’ look and then suddenly looked grateful. Anything to get away from this boring game. “Okay, what do you have in mind?”

“Just wait,” Mick said with a grin. A quick Google search turned up what he was looking for and a couple of clicks later he laughed and said, “Here you go, Logan. This, you’ll understand!”

Logan looked at the screen and smiled. An online football game. “Now you’re talking, Mick! How do I do this?”

Both of them got immersed in the game, the second half of the game on television forgotten. By the end of the afternoon Logan understood the basic plays as well as strategy.

Mick leaned back in the chair, his arms behind his head and a Cheshire cat grin on his face. He’d done it and Clark owed him 20 bucks; they’d bet on whether or not Mick could teach him. Ha! Piece of cake!



OOOOOOOOOOOO



The party was winding down and Beth, Lani and Robbi loaded all the gifts into Robbi’s minivan and Lani stood looking at it with a small frown when they were done.

“What’s the matter, Lani?” Robbi asked, puzzled by the strange look on her friends face.

“I was just thinking about the Maserati, no place for a car seat in it. Oh god, everything is going to change!”

Beth covered her mouth with a hand to try and hold back a laugh but Robbi couldn’t stop the giggles that escaped her and didn’t even try.

“Yep, that’s going to be a problem.” Robbi grinned at the exasperated look that Lani gave her.

“Yeah, it’s funny, I know. Ha ha…”

“Come on,” Beth said, wrapping her arm around Lani’s shoulder. “Plenty of time to figure that one out.”

“I’m not a minivan kind of person though. You don’t understand!” she said, almost crying.

“Plenty of other kinds of vehicles that work for families! How about a nice, sleek Lexus SUV? Sexy…” Robbi said, another laugh escaping.

Lani started laughing at that point too. “Maybe…”

They were still laughing when they went inside the house where Dorothy was saying goodbye to her friends. The day had been a success and as they gathered up their coats and purses, the group was happy, but tired.

Lani was staying behind to help Robbi with the clean up and hugged them all goodbye. “Thank you, Lani,” Dorothy said as she held her tightly.

“Dorothy! Don’t forget Clark’s cake,” Robbi said, bringing her a container with a piece of the cake in it.

“Thank you! Goodness, he would have sent me back for it.”

Beth, Audrey and Dorothy got into the Prius and got settled. It was dusk out and the temperature had dropped a bit more. Beth cranked the heater up for the two shivering humans in the car and frowned as it started raining again. The usual 45 minute ride was going to be a lot longer, she’d bet.

Beth turned the radio on and they listened to some music on the way home, chatting occasionally. Beth could see that her mom was tired but there was something else wrong as well. She could scent it on her but she didn’t know what the problem was. She’d talk about it when she was ready, Beth guessed, and hoped it wasn’t anything serious.



OOOOOOOOOOOOO



He was alone and had foolishly left the door unlocked. Simple for someone to walk in and that’s exactly what happened. Clark never heard the silent footsteps behind him but he felt the stab of the knife, right in the middle of his back. Air whooshed out of a lung as the knife was roughly yanked out.

He rose from the chair and tried to push away from his attacker, stepping out of the way just as the knife was swung again, clipping him across his shoulder. The pain was excruciating but Clark ignored it in his haste to get away. He didn’t know who his attacker was because he was covered head to toe in black, which included a stocking mask. Nothing but blue eyes were visible, cold steely eyes, that seemed to be smiling at Clark.

“She’s mine!” the attacker said in a voice that Clark didn’t recognize.

He tried to run and made it into the foyer before the knife found him again. Once, twice, Clark lost track of the swipes of the deadly blade and he fell to his knees, then to the floor.

Again and again the knife plunged into his body and finally the attacker stopped, breathing heavily as if he was spent. He surveyed the damage he had wrought on the man on the floor, bleeding his life away. The pool of blood pooled around Clark’s body which was straining to breathe since one of his lungs had been punctured.

Satisfied, the attacker could only stare at the red blood that covered the cream colored tiles in the foyer. He wanted to stay for the last breath, which would happen quickly, but he heard a car coming down the street and ran for the door.

He’d made his escape, he realized when he crawled into his car and pulled the mask off. Clark Griffin would die, the damage was too extensive. Yes, he’d die.

Clark lie unblinking on the floor of the foyer, in the house that they’d designed together and he’d built for her. She and the babies would have a place to live that he’d built with love.

A tear slipped out of his eye and he tried to draw in another breath. Just hang on Clark, he told himself. Just hang on.

Five minutes later the Prius pulled into the driveway and Beth turned the engine off and hopped out. Suddenly she caught the scent of blood and almost panicked. She saw Dorothy getting out of the car and said, “Mom! Stay here!” as she ran for the door, which she could see was open partway.

Dorothy saw the panic on Beth’s face and had no intention of staying put. Audrey got out as well and together they walked to the door, which Beth had entered.

Beth was on her knees, kneeling by Clark trying to find a pulse but she couldn’t. She yelled at him, “Come on Dad! Don’t you die! Hang in there!”

His heart beat once or twice and then was quiet again. Dorothy saw him and fell to the floor and pulled him to her. Audrey pulled her phone out and called Logan. They were two blocks away, get here, she told them urgently.

“Beth, turn him! He wants to be turned!” Dorothy screamed, tears streaking down her face.

“I - I don’t exactly know how,” Beth said, “I don’t. I have to think!” Everything Mick had told her flew out of her brain in the panic of the moment. Meanwhile, Dorothy held him, rocking his body and telling him to hold on.

Mick and Logan arrived then and both of them knelt down next to Clark.

“Turn him,” Dorothy said again. “Please, you know how, just do it!”

Mick looked at her and then at Logan. “I don’t know if it’s too late, Dorothy. Logan, do you hear a heartbeat?”

They all listened for a moment but all either could hear was Dorothy and Audrey’s.

“I don’t care, I’m trying!” Logan said, ripping open his wrist. “He’s lost plenty of blood, I just need to give him mine, right? Right, Mick?”

Mick nodded, but his heart told him that it was too late. He watched as Logan started squeezing his blood into his brother’s mouth, hoping he could swallow some of it. It wouldn’t take much, just a swallow or two.

“Come on, Clark. Drink the blood,” Dorothy said, stroking his face with chilled hands. “Drink it, honey. Drink it for me and the babies!” she cried.

Mick thought he saw Clark swallow, he prayed he did. It was a waiting game to be sure. Were they in time?

Only time would tell.



To be continued in Where Evil Lurks…



The next story will begin on October 22. Hope to see you all there as we find out what happens next! I’ll have information up about the story and cast pictures in a few days. As soon as you see the fantastic banner that MLL60 made I think many of your questions will be answered!

I’d like to thank a few people for all their help as I write these stories. VampFan5 for listening tirelessly and always sharing her opinions about the story. Moonlightlover60 for her beautiful banners and cast pictures that help to bring these stories to life and also to LadyLaLa, who is my faithful friend and beta. Love those red marks, La, because you keep me straight!

Lastly, I want to thank each and every one of you for taking the time to read and share your thoughts and comments about the story. You make it all worthwhile with your encouraging comments and readership. You are a fantastic group, a family that shares the Moonlight with me and for that I am very grateful!



Cyndy