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Orion walked in and poured himself a mug of coffee before he sat in front of Grace.
"You did the right thing. I know she is a baby and doesn't remember day to day things yet but she will soon. I don't ever want her to see me that out of control or drunk." He pushed the warm drink away and took Grace's hand. He gave it a kiss.
"Sorry I ruined our night together. I let other things get to me." He held her hand. He was still wearing his sunglasses.
"There is a lot of things coming at me from everywhere right now. I just let it send me running scared like a little girl."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Lincoln pushed away from the counter. " We should hit a casino!" He announced happily.
"Dude! You have a gambling problem!" Kennedy replied as he slowly rose to his feet and stretched.
"No way! It is only a problem if you lose!" Lincoln retorted calmly. Kennedy laughed. He looked at Lyn.
"You game Red?"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Cadence couldn't believe her Mother was still sittting there. Hours had passed and she showed no signs of giving up. This made Cadence even more determine to ignore the woman.

She knew that was just the anger and resentment that lingered that was making her be a stubborn brat. So finally after another hour she gave in.

She walked over to the table and stood there. An awkward silence stretched between them for a moment.
"May I?"
"Yes, of course." Cadence had a seat and her Mother finally closed her book.
"So what is it you wanted to say to me."
"I wanted to tell you I know how hard being a single parent is. I was one for 8 years. I just wanted to offer my help in anyway I can. I don't want you to struggle the way I did. I don't want you to become bitter, resentful and blame your child like I did. I know I was not a great Mother. I know I was often short tempered and strict with you. I know I let your Step-Father treat you roughly, and often he was too hard on you too. I apologize for that but I can not change any of that. I let other aspects of my life spill over and taint my life with you, our relationship. You were not always the easiest child, but you were just that. A child."
"Mom..."
"No. Let me finish. this should have all been said ages ago." Cadence sat back and allowed her mother to speak.
"I know I was not the only one who suffered. I know you suffered a great deal, and I hated it. I turned away from it because I hated watching you suffer. Unfortunately, that made things so much harder and miserable for you. Your Step-Father loved you, and he never meant to be so hard on you. He just wanted you to not follow in my footsteps. He did not want you to suffer or struggle as I did. He was hard, and tried to control you. The harder he tried the harder you rebelled and it was that rebellion that made him hold on tighter and tighter. It was not his decision to send you away. It was mine. It was also my decision to leave you there."
"Nice to know..."
"I did it because there was no controlling you! You were me and your father combined. As reckless and free spirited as me with your father's intellect and boldness. You were angry at the world and on self destruct, don't deny it. I know you were drinking and doing drugs."
"I won't deny it. I was. I did whatever I could get my hands on and as much as I could."
"I know, and I knew then. I also knew why you were doing it and I was not going to let you. I sent you away, and prayed they would straighten you out. Prayed you would make it to see your 18th birthday."
"Still here..."
"You wouldn't be if I had not sent you away and kept you locked away there."
"If you knew, why didn't you just confront me?"
"I couldn't. I didn't want the truth. I couldn't face the truth. Your Father confronted me and your step father about it. I was in denial and I couldn't accept it. I finally had to when you were hospitalized with alcohol poisoning. Then you ended up pregnant. A huge custody battle was gearing up."
"There was no custody battle."
"There was, we eventually got him to back off again. Your step father and his connections."
"Why are you telling me this now?"
"I am telling you this because you need to know. Need to understand that you have always had a family that has cared about you, even if it has never been obvious to you. I want a part in my grandchild's life, and your life. Am I thrilled that your walking my path? Not at all. I will not abandon you though. That is what my Mother did and it took her a long time to come around. She regretted it when she finally met you when you were four. She realized that was four years wasted."
"Just for the record, Jasper and I will be co-parenting. I won't be completely alone."
"Good. I hope he stands by his word and takes a part in his child's life."
"He's not married." Cadence added though she felt bad saying it.
"I told you, already smarter then me." Her Mother said with a small sad smile.
"What I never understood is why....you knew he was married."
"Cadie, your older now. You understand that love isn't easy. He made all sorts of promises and assured me they were getting a divorce. When they separated and she took the boys and left...he realized that he was bound to her. She returned only after he assured her he did not want a divorce. That he and I were over. Well shortly after that time I found out I was pregnant. We wanted me to have the baby, you. I didn't want too. I knew I could not do it alone, and would ended up having to go at it alone. He made all sorts of promises again, and I believed him again. By that time I wanted to keep my baby anyway. Had really thought it over and....it was what I wanted. He was around as often as he could be. Very involved until you were about three. At that point his wife was making things extremely hard, especially since she realized we were together again."
"He was still married."
"Begrudgingly so. It was only for his boys. She and a group of her friends attacked me when she found out I was pregnant again. Broke into my home and attacked me, you were hurt in the attack. Even as a small child you rushed into try to defend me. That was it. the last straw. i broke things off and filed a restraining order against him and her. He had no legal rights to you, he never signed your birth certificate, he never filed for custody. I had went and filed for custody of you."
"Wow..."
"Yup. He wanted to be there. He really did but I would not let him around you. I was afraid you would be hurt again, and at this point...you were the only person I had. A sweet little chubby faced Princess who had no idea why her brothers and Daddy couldn't stay for dinner. Or why her Daddy never came home at night. It was too much, and too hard. Was not fair to you and I had to make the right decision, whether it broke my heart or not."
"I have to get back to work. I am glad you stopped by though."
"I am glad I did too. Not...don't be a stranger. Be good for Celeste, and please don't bully Jasper. You were not always the nicest to him."
"WHAT?! I so was! i just wanted him to do what I wanted!"
"BE NICE CADENCE JAYCEY." Her Mom warned and brandished her fist then laughed.
"Too him, I really try."
"Good, he was always a good boy." With that her Mother paid her check and left. Cadence returned to work. All this new information gave her a whole new out look on her family, hell even on her life.

Dereck was finally able to get off of work, and upon doing so, he immediately took a shower. He had to wash off all of the grease and oil from his hands and body. He had a date tonight, and he was sure the last thing Lyn wanted was for him to tack around grease stains all through her house. He changed into a pair of jeans, and a plain white tee, before layering his death cut over top. He wore his white adidas. He still had some time before he had to show up at her house, so he took this time to made a run to the store, grabbing a couple of movies. Dereck was excited for the night to come, and almost couldn't wait to get his hands on his fiery red-headed pixie again.

Grace stared at the baby for a few moments, and only when Orion walked away did she close the door and follow him, frowning at what he was telling her. If anyone saw how much he loved Isabelle, it was her. He took such great care of her, and he had never allowed her to be anywhere in harms way. Now that he was faced with the possibility of losing her, it seemed he needed someone in his corner now more than ever. "Orion..." She tucked some of her hair behind her ear, moving to him. Her eyes followed his hands as he lifted the coffee cup and took sips of it. There was a hell of a lot weighing on his mind, and if it were her then she most definitely would have turned to the bottle for some relief.

Grace wrapped her arms around his midsection from behind him, and pressed her cheek against his back. "I've never dealt with anything as far as child custody goes...but I want you to know I am here for you. No matter what happens you will have me in your corner.." She closed her eyes for a moment, taking in a breath as she allowed silence to fill the space between them, only for a few seconds. "I love you, Orion. You know that right?" She released her arms from around him and moved to stand in front of him, offering him a small smile.

Orion closed his eyes. He sighed, he felt like a jerk unloading on Grace. She had just been through a traumatic event. He should be comforting her. Instead she was comforting him. Comforting him while he whined about problems he created by bedding a witch. That is exactly what she was, a bitter old crazy hag.

He liked the feel of Grace's arms about him. It provided just the boast he needed. Of course she was in his corner. She had always been amazingly supportive when it came to Isabelle. He had lucked up when he met Grace. She loved children, was great with them, and accepted his daughter though she was not biologically hers. She treated her well though, and he could see that she genuinely cared about Isabelle.
"I know your in my corner. You are very dependable like that. I love you to Grace." He grew silent as his mind found it's way back to Isabelle.
"Hey,why don't us three go out. Have a nice little family day. Take her to the zoo. I didn't think she was old enough but..." He didn't want to say it out loud. He wanted to be there for her first trip to the zoo. He wanted to be there for all her firsts, and he wasn't sure if that was in his future right now.

I have the answer
I can take the pressure
I will turn it all around
~Five Finger Death Punch

Grace looked at the clock, and then back to Orion. If they wanted to go to the zoo, then they needed to do so asap. Because it was already almost 6 pm and the zoo probably closed soon. "I think that sounds like a lot of fun. She may not remember it, but it gives her a ton of visual stimulation, and that is good for her." She grabbed a bottle from the fridge, and placed it into the diaper bag to make sure that she would have it if she got hungry. Then, she moved back into the guest room and grabbed the carseat with Isabelle in it, who was just now starting to stir awake from her sleep. "Good morning sunshine.." Grace smiled down at the baby and walked back into the kitchen, the diaper bag slung over her shoulder and the carseat in her arms.

After leaving the diner, Jasper had stopped at the club. No one had heard from Orion and Killian was not there. The twins were in the kitchen, but their cousin was with them. The red head that had been with Cadence when those guys took her because of Alex. Luckily that mother F** was dead. A slight wonder of how he had died crossed his mind, but as Jasp got back in his truck, he figured it was some OD or driving wreck.

Back at the shop, Jasper began working on a few projects for customers. He still had time to get the nursery stuff done, and as much as he would like, it wouldn't pay the bills.

After working most of the day away, Jasper retreated up stairs to shower. By the time he heard footsteps coming up the stairs, he was sitting at the kitchen table looking over the shop's finances and his own to ensure things were getting covered and balancing out. Plus he wanted to start setting aside something for the kid.

His blue eyes looked up confused as he heard Cadie's form come crashing through the door. With a frown he got up and crossed quickly to her form huddled against the door. Something was wrong, he could feel it. Jasper gently brushed hair from her face to see her lip split and a cut on her cheek. His frown deepened, as he lifted her chin so the light from the kitchen and dining would show on her face. In a cold voice he asked,"Cadence. What the ******** happened? Who did this to you?"

'Cause sometimes you just feel tired,
Feel weak, and when you feel weak,
you feel like you wanna just give up

~Cadence Jaycey Sinclaire-Caine~

Cadence was trembling and at first she flinched when Jasper moved to lift her face in the light. She pushed his hand away and moved past him. She hurried toward the bathroom.
[color#893BFF=]"I'm okay. I'm okay." She said though it was more to reassure herself then him.
"He came back to question me...He thinks I had something to do with Alex's death." She was adjusting the water in the shower. She just wanted to be in the warm water. To help soothe the aches and pains she had.

She started to undress then stopped. Cursing up a storm. She turned off the water. She had never went to her place to get her clothes like she was suppose too.
"I don't want to go to my place alone...." She was pacing and talking in a rush. Clearly still shaken up and on edge.

~Candie~

Jasper followed her quickly as she moved through his apartment to the bathroom. He was about to ask her who again, but then she mentioned Alex and he knew exactly who. Jasper moved to Cadence slowly, wrapping arms around her."Shhh. You don't have to go anywhere alone."

Reaching around her, he turned back on the water."Stay here Cadence. You can wear one of my shirts and shorts. It's fine. No one is going to get you here. I promise." He kissed her gently on the forehead, before stepping back towards the door to the bathroom.
"Cadie stay here. I'll be back. Call someone over if you want, but you stay put, do you understand?"This time most of the softness had gone from his voice. He wasn't asking this of her, he was telling her. The anger that someone like that would touch her and harm her had turned into a cold fury.

As Jasper left the bathroom, he closed the door behind him. He grabbed his keys off the kitchen counter, he made sure to leave his cut at home, and was out of the apartment, making sure to lock the door before hurrying to his truck. He drove quickly to the sheriff's house, pounding on the door. When the sheriff's wife answered he said as calmly as he could."Evening Ma'am. I'm sorry to hear about your lose, but is your husband home? I've got some things to talk to him about."She nodded and Jasper waited until the older man stepped up to the door front. Jasp stepped back down to the drive, and waited for the other man to follow.

"Got to talk to me son?" "Yea. You stay the ******** away from Cadence. She had nothing to do with your son's death. You might be hurting, but that doesn't mean you can take it out on innocent girls. Jasper told him straight in a low voice. The sheriff shrugged, "I have reason to believe she's not so innocent. She admitted she saw him a few days ago." "We all ******** saw him a few days ago when he was finally doing right and getting her out of the mess he got her into. I know for a fact she wasn't with him the night he died. She's been with me every night since she returned or with her friend...L..Maralyn." The sheriff raised a brow. Sure he still smelt like a drunk, but perhaps the hitting around Cadence and coming home to an angry wife had let some of it out. However Jasper didn't care. He had had his share of drunks. "Your son was a s**t bag and into who knows how much s**t. But Cadence was not apart of it. He told him one last time before turning to leave. In his car window he saw the sheriff cooing at him, swinging for his head saying, "Don't you talk of my son like that." However before a blow could be hit, Jasp spun around and punched the older man square on the jaw. The sheriff reeled back and Jasper once again moved towards his truck. He stopped half inside, "Don't you ever think of touching my woman again. That club has changed you.This has nothing to do with the club. But You're not above the law.

Then Jasper was back in his car, his hands shaking slightly as he drove away from the house and back to his own apartment. He climbed the stairs and opened the apartment door. He had probably been gone a total of 10-15 minutes by now. After locking the door behind him, he looked around the place, "Cadie? Do you want some tea? Or food?" He wasn't sure if she was done with her shower yet. But he did know, he wasn't letting her out of his sight for a while.