Chapter 4 Daddy Logan

Beth heard her mom’s phone ring and glanced at the digital readout clock in the freezer. It was a little after 3 am, but she knew it had to be Clark calling and she let out a huge breath of relief. Her mom would rest much easier now even though Beth heard a few tears after the call ended. She debated whether or not to check on her and decided to let her be. If she really needed anything she’d let Beth know.

A half an hour later Mick came home and she inhaled his familiar scent happily. She pushed the button that lifted the lid as he walked into the room and said, “Don’t get up, I’m coming in, baby.”

She shifted as he climbed in, straddling her for a moment before settling in next to her. He was so tired, both physically and mentally. He kissed her, pulling her tightly into his embrace and breathed in her scent. This is just what he needed, his Beth, nestled into his arms.

“So, he’s okay?”

“Yes, he is. No problems, he didn’t go wild when he woke up. It was hard for him after he talked to your mom, though. That’s going to be rough, for both of them. This just couldn’t have happened at a worse time.”

“I agree. She’s holding up okay, at least on the surface, but I know she’s gotta be going crazy on the inside.”

Mick nodded, agreeing. “Tomorrow while you’re at work I need to take her to get a new phone for Clark. There was a small incident when the phone hit the wall after they talked…”

“Oh, man. This IS going to be hard. I think it will be good for her to be doing something, though.”

“Yes, my thoughts exactly. I’m also taking her back to the house,” he said and when she started to protest he continued. “I need to check it out and Clark needs a few other things. There was too much going on earlier for me to get an accurate reading at the house.”

“Mick, there’s been a lot of people in the house since then, what with the cleaning crew and all.”

“Yes, but only 3 human scents and I’m familiar with your mom and Audrey’s. I want to see if anything helps me, like the attackers scent. And we need to check and make sure nothing has been taken, like important papers or things of that nature.”

He had a point, but she was still worried whether her mom was up for it. “Okay, but you have to watch her carefully, Mick. It might be more than she can handle. And make sure she eats, too!”

“What, is she like someone else I know, someone who was constantly forgetting to eat?”

“Maybe! How’s Logan?”

Mick ran his hand down over his face, whether in frustration or amusement she couldn’t quite tell. Possibly a bit of both.

“He’s doing okay, just like a new daddy. Being a sire isn’t really easy and he’s taking the responsibility seriously, maybe too much, in fact. He’s nervous every time he hears the slightest sound come from Clark’s room.”

“Well, it will be good practice for him for when he turns Audrey.”

“I can’t even believe she’d still want it, after watching you and Clark.”

“It’s made her more determined, she said, to do it right. When they choose. I like that girl!”

“I like this girl,” Mick said, nuzzling Beth’s neck, placing soft kisses along the vein.

“I kinda like you too.” She rolled over in his arms and ran her fingers through the soft curling hair that was tousled in the sexiest way. Too bad she could see how tired he was. A quick kiss later she said, “We both need some sleep, Mick.”

He nodded and said, “What time are you getting up in the morning?”

“In about, um, 4 and a half hours. I have to be in at 9 am, sharp.”

“Okay. Wake me before you leave, okay?”

“I will. Sleep well.” Another quick kiss and she pulled the blanket up as he lowered the temp a bit and within minutes they were both sound asleep.

Morning came all too soon, for both of them.



OOOOOOOOOOOO



When Mick got up he saw he had a voice mail from Logan and he listened to it with interest. Clark had done okay but Logan sounded like hell. He wasn’t taking Mick’s advice seriously, about resting it seemed. Still, he’d had an excellent idea and Mick couldn’t wait to help with it.

After drinking his breakfast with Beth, he kissed her goodbye and settled into his office while he waited for Dorothy to wake up. He cleared his calendar as best he could for the next few days because he knew that Logan would need more help and he was loathe to leave Dorothy alone, even here in the loft, which had the best security system he could give it. After Donovan Shepherd broke in, as well as Lance, he knew that what he’d considered to be an exceptional system really wasn’t. He was even considering putting in a safe room, as Josef had suggested many times, but there really wasn’t much room here.

And, when he and Beth had babies this might not be the best place for them. Babies in a loft apartment? The constant worry about the stairs and where would they play, really?

Well, there was time to consider that one, he thought, and went back to work until he heard Dorothy moving around upstairs. He went into the kitchen to fix her a bit of breakfast, anxious to know how she was doing. He was just sliding a bagel into the toaster when he heard the elevator and caught a vamp scent.

He answered the door when the knock came, eager to see his guest. “Brody! Are you all ready to move in?”

“Hey, Mick. Yep, just wanted to let you know that there will be a lot of activity today. Sorry in advance about the noise.”

“Hey, it’s okay. We’re going to be gone for quite a while today anyway. But are the movers all people you know?” He told him about what had happened the night before and watched as first shock and then compassion roll across Brody’s face.

“I hate to hear that, Mick. If there is anything I can do to help, just let me know. Does Rose know? Dorothy might need a little attention now for her pregnancy, you know?”

“That’s a good question, one I’ll find out soon because you could be right. Dorothy seems very calm, Beth told me. Maybe too calm.”

“Give Rose a call, Mick. She’s good at this kind of thing.”

Just then the elevator doors opened and Rose stepped out, saying, “Give me a call, why?”

Mick explained again what had happened and Rose grew more concerned as she listened. “Oh my. She’s here, you said?”

“Yes. Come on in, Rose.”

In the loft Dorothy was pulling the bagel out of the toaster. “I presume that this was for me?” she said. “Hello, Rose. What brings you here?”

“I stopped by to check on Brody’s move in and Mick told me what happened. How are you, Dorothy?”

“Shaken, but basically okay.” She smiled at Rose and gave a small shrug. “He sounded good when we talked early this morning, so I have to be content with that.”

“Yes. How about coming and seeing me later? Let me check you out?”

The suggestion posed a dilemma for Dorothy. How could she tell her OB why she was feeling anxious now? Rose would be able to help her and answer a few questions while she was at it. On the other hand, she was going to push for more answers and Dorothy wasn’t sure she could evade them all. Still, the pluses seemed to outweigh the minuses so she said, “Yes, I’d like to do that. When shall I come?”

“When is a good time for you?”

Mick spoke up and told Dorothy what he needed her help with and offered to bring her by after that.

“I think that would be fine. I’ll see you then,” she said with a wave. “I must get over there and chat with Brody for a moment. See you later!”

“By the way, what happened to his phone? When he called it was Logan’s phone and he said he’d need a new one. He also wants his laptop so that he can stay in communication with work. He’s telling them he hurt his back and will be away for awhile.”

Mick sighed. “I think he was just missing you and feeling bad because he wasn’t with you. It sort of ended up in pieces.” He watched as panic crossed her face and said, “Dorothy, exaggerated emotions are pretty typical for a fledgling. They feel everything intensely, just like their physical senses. It will be better in a few days.”

“Okay. Let me finish breakfast, Mick and then we’ll go.”

He nodded and said he’d be in his office when she was ready. It hadn’t gone quite as bad as he thought it would, that was something anyway.



OOOOOOOOOOOO



By the time Beth walked into Buzzwire she was ready to go and excited to be back. Mick was right, she needed to get back to normal, whatever that was anyway. Mick would make sure her mom was okay and keep her busy and that left Beth to concentrate on the job before her.

The announcement about Rodney went great, everyone seemed excited with the news, especially Rodney. He hated to admit it, but he’d had one hell of a good time working at Buzzwire. After the meeting in the war room with everyone, Max, Rodney and Beth sat down to sort things out and get lined out for the next few days. She took that opportunity to tell them about her dad and both of them said that whatever she needed to just let them know.

“You have the craziest life, Beth,” Max said, almost sadly.

“I’m so ready for it to calm down, let me tell you.”

Buzzwire was in excellent shape news wise, and Beth and Max were both so thankful to her dad for that. Max brought up a subject Beth hadn’t thought about for a few weeks.

“Beth, have you had a chance to speak to your attorney friend, about the online lawyer spot?”

Ben! She needed to speak with him. “No, but I will this week. As I said before, I don’t know that he’d be interested, but it won’t hurt to ask him.”

Max nodded and said, “Sometimes pushy isn’t such a bad thing, is it?” She grinned when Beth did the same thing.

Beth raised her coffee cup, as did Rodney and Max and said, “Here’s to pushy! The reporter’s best friend!”



OOOOOOOOOOOO



At the phone store Dorothy bought she and Clark both the latest Droid phones. When Mick asked why she didn’t go for the iPhone like he and Beth had, she sort of laughed and said, “No offense, Mick, but it seems like half the time you two can’t get a signal with those things. Nope, I’m going with this one. I think Clark will enjoy it.”

Mick shrugged, unwilling to admit that she had a point about the iPhones they currently had. The new ones were supposed to be better though…

He heard Dorothy’s heartbeat speed up as they pulled in the driveway at the house. “You're going to be just fine, Dorothy. I’ll be right there with you,” he promised.

She nodded and lightly bit her lower lip. Audrey pulled up a minute later to hand off the things that Logan requested.

“You made good time,” Mick said. He’d only called her 20 minutes ago from the phone store.

“I had already left Kostan by then. I stopped by the store and got Logan his popsicles, too. They are in the freezer bag, but if you guys are going to be long you might want to stick them up in the freezer.”

“Okay, will do.”

“They did a really good job last night. I couldn’t even see, well, you’d never know. I told Tango I wanted some of those cleansers, whatever they are!”

Mick saw Dorothy heading to the house and he said, “I need to go with her. Are you coming in?”

“No, I’m heading back to work. I talked to Logan about an hour ago and he said that things were going well, but that he couldn’t wait for you to get the computers there. I packed up everything he needed. I’ll see you later, Mick.”

He nodded as she got back into her car and pulled out of the driveway. He saw that Dorothy was still standing at the door, although it was open. She was having a hard time stepping in and he understood that so he went to her and held her hand.

“One step at a time. You ready?”

She nodded gratefully and took the first step and a deep breath. Mick looked around and saw that Audrey was correct; there wasn’t a trace of blood anywhere.



“My goodness, they were thorough,” she said. The beautiful cream terracotta tiles were pristine again. “I’m amazed.”

They walked around the house, exploring while Mick scented the rooms and looked for clues, but none were to be had, scents or clues. He hadn’t been anywhere in the house except for the office and the foyer it seemed.

Dorothy looked in the office but there wasn’t any papers missing. “Everything looks fine, Mick. I don’t think anything is missing.”

“I think you’re probably right. Let’s pack up Clark’s computer, okay? He might need it for work and stuff.”

“You're right. I should have thought of that. I wonder if there is anything else he might need?”

“I’ll find out when I go by later and if there is, we’ll come and get it.”

She nodded and watched as Mick packed up the computer into the leather carry bag, along with the power supply and a wireless mouse. “That should do it,” he said.

When they got ready to leave Dorothy hesitated for a moment. “Mick, don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m going to drive my car when we leave. I can get to the clinic and then back to your place. I just feel sort of disconnected, without having a bit of independence. Please understand.”

He should have thought of that himself. “No problem at all, Dorothy. I agree, it’s a great idea. You’re not a prisoner there, but without a means of leaving unless one of us takes you, it might as well be. Do you still remember the door code?” They had a new code system instead of regular locks.

She smiled and nodded. “Yes, I remember. I’ll see you later, okay?”

“Sure. Be sure and call Beth, otherwise you know she’ll freak out about it all.”

“Yes, she can over-react at times, can’t she?”

He laughed at that. He couldn’t deny it. He pulled out of the driveway slowly and saw Dorothy pull out of the garage and close the door. He left her with a wave and headed to see Logan. Computers and popsicles, what a combination!

At the clinic Dorothy was shown into Rose’s office. She sat down in a chair and shifted nervously as she waited for Rose. When she came into the room Dorothy tried hard to smile.

“Hi, Dorothy. Are you ready? I want to draw a bit of blood and take a DNA sample. Is that okay?”

This was it, what she had been fearing. How much of the truth should she divulge? How little could she get away with?

“Okay, yes, um, let’s do it.”

As Rose worked she was mostly quiet, taking the samples and labeling them. “Let me get these into the lab and I’ll be back and we can chat.”

Dorothy nodded and tried to relax a bit. She was picking at a fingernail when Rose came back and Rose noticed immediately what Dorothy was doing.

“You don’t have to answer any questions you don’t like, Dorothy, but I might be able to better help all of you if I have some answers.”

“Like…like what?”

“Like who Beth’s father is? Is that the connection with Lani?”

“I - what I’m going to tell you no one but Clark knows. I was raped, when I was 16. It’s as simple as that. I don’t talk about it and I would never want Beth to know that she was the product of rape, a violent one at that.”

“Oh, Dorothy I’m so sorry. So I guess you don’t have any answers about her father.” She watched as Dorothy looked down and knew that she knew more than she was saying but rape is horrible and she wouldn’t push for more answers now.

“It was a long time ago, I - I don’t like to think about it.”

“And Clark stood by you through it all? What an amazing man he is.”

“Yes, he is, although it wasn’t always like it is now. Rose, if I’m a descendant, can I be turned now?”

“Now? Like, now while you're pregnant?”

“Yes. I need to be with Clark.”

“Even if you are a descendant, I wouldn’t recommend it. And you’d still have to be separated from the babies for a short while if they delivered successfully.”

“There’s a chance they wouldn’t be?”

“Sorry, yes there is. A descendant can get pregnant and have a healthy pregnancy and delivery. But that is different from being turned while you're pregnant. You saw for yourself that it’s not an easy process. I think if the babies weren’t delivered first you would likely lose them when your body shut down. Please, Dorothy, just wait this all out.”

Her heart sank but she knew that she’d never for a moment put the babies at risk. “Alright, I understand.”

“When is your next OB appointment?”

“On Thursday; I’m going weekly now. Not quite three weeks to go, if I go full term.”

“Okay. If you need anything don’t hesitate to call me, Dorothy. I’ll let you know when we get the preliminary results back, which should be about 24 hours.”

“Thank you, Rose. I appreciate your help, and your discretion.”

“Certainly. See you soon.”

Dorothy drove away from the clinic feeling a bit better. She was okay with waiting to be turned because these babies were worth the wait. Still, she wanted her husband next to her when they were born and realistically she knew that wouldn’t happen.

She patted her tummy as she pulled into the garage at the loft and said, “It’s just you guys and me. Let’s not mess it up.”



To be continued…