Chapter One

Love hurts, love scars, love wounds
And mars, any heart
Not tough or stong enough
To take a lot of pain, take a lot of pain
Love is like a cloud
Holds a lot of rain
Love hurts......ooh,ooh love hurts
Love Hurts
Nazareth

Chapter One

“Where’s Daniel?” Calla was demanding to know as she stood there in front of him, those big fake tits of hers thrust out in anger and her little fists planted on her strung out hips.

“Don’t make a scene, Callie,” David said in a low voice that was more Daniel’s than his own. “Danny’s fine, you don’t have to worry.” He looked at the painting in front of them. It was the portrait of Daniel with the kids. “That’s….well, that’s…stunnin’ Callie.”

Calla was shifting from one foot to the other and her eyes were searching the room for any signs of those who might be looking at them with any interest. “Someone is going to recognize you.” She said in an almost hissing voice.

“Someone?” David looked around and found his target. Andrew Hartley had yet to see them standing in the corner he was too busy chatting up whoever the young girl was. “You don’t have to worry about that just yet.”

“What do you want? Why are you here?” She whispered in a strong voice and David noticed she was trying to focus on him. “Where is Daniel?”

Calla was standing there unsteadily as she looked up at him trying to decide which one he was. She began to rock on those high heels. Afraid she was going to topple over he put his arm around her waist to keep her steady. “I told yew, he’s fine,” David insisted, “Danny knows I’m here...that we’re here.” David moved to her left to block her from Andrew Hartley’s view and his own face from the crowd.

“Can he hear me?”

“Sorta, I s’pose.” David told her. “Dew yew know Danny’s been trying to get in touch with yew?”

“When?” She asked in an unbelieving tone and rolled those stoned emerald eyes at him. The waiter came past and she snatched a fresh glass of champagne from the tray.

“Dun yew think yew’ve had enuff, Callie?” David reached out to take the glass but she wouldn’t let him. “Fine, dew wot yew want.” He huffed. “Anyway it’s true he’s been tryin’ ta git in touch wit yew fer a while.”

“You’re lying. I haven’t heard anything from Daniel other than the divorce papers he sent.” Calla said in an accusatory voice and drank down most of the champagne in the glass. “I need a cigarette.” She finished the rest of the glass, looked past him around his upper arm and saw Andy was still chatting away. Without saying anything else to David Jackson she made her way past him and toward the back exit where there was a smoking balcony.

“I ain’t lyin’, Callie, if’n yew dun believe me, gurl, yew jus’ go on nah, an ask An’y Hartley about it. The kids have been trying to reach you too for the last week or more.” David said as he followed her outside and watched her light up the Newport.

“I haven’t heard from them.” Calla drew deep off the freshly lit cigarette.

“I dun doubt that one li’l bit. Yew dun be’live me dats fine, I un’erstand. But, dew us both a fava an’ check your cell phone and your e-mail ta see who might be blocked.” David sneered.

“I would never block my kids…or Daniel.” She admitted and drew in another drag.

“I know. When did you start that bad habit?”

They were alone out here on the balcony, far away from Andy’s eyes and whatever press might still be lurking around. “It’s not my only vice. Things change.” She said haughtily and exhaled the smoke in his face. “Want one? As I recall you smoke.”

“I see dat an’ ah, I dun mind if I dew.” David reached out for the cigarette she handed him. Calla lit it for him and he drew off it. “Damn dats good.” He commented with a smile. “I don’t get too many of these anymore.” Now he sounded more like Daniel but he soon dropped back into his own voice. “How yew doin’, Callie? How’s dis here high-life treatin’ ya?”

“They love me, can’t you see that? What else could I possibly want?” She smiled while she drew in a deep drag of smoke and then turned her back to him. “I returned Daniel’s papers. If they weren’t what he thought they would be then too bad.”

“Nah they weren’t.” David moved to stand in front of her. “Neither one ‘a us liked seein’ your blood on ‘em.”

Calla stood there thinking about what he said and tried to remember just a few days ago when she signed those papers Andy put in front of her. “I had a nose bleed…”

“Gittin’ a lot of dem dese days, are ya?”

Calla gritted her teeth and ignored his comments.“ I’m sorry if I messed them up, Andy said they’d be all right.”

“Ah-huh,” David intoned. “Danny’s gonna wit’draw his petition. He’s gonna file for reconciliation.”

“He can’t do that.” She gasped. “Andy said he can’t do that. He can’t force me to come back to him. The rules here are different than in my world.” She turned around again and drew off her cigarette. “Why would Daniel do that anyway? Andy said if he tried that it just meant that he wants more money.”

“Mab-be Danny jus’ wants you to come home.”

Now she turned around. “I saw him with that…that little tart!” She yelled and then dropped her voice. “God knows who else he’s been fucking in my…our...HIS bed. MY house!” The cigarette was getting down to the nub but she took another drag before pitching it to the stone patio floor and squashing it under those hooker heels. “He hit my Daughter!” She hissed at him. “He drove my children out of their home…he..” she stopped and shook her head at him. Something warm was trickling from her nostrils Calla swiped at it with the back of her hand. Blood. She reached into the small clutch and pulled a blood-stained cotton handkerchief which she held her under nose to catch the blood.

“That don’t look sew gud.” David intoned. “Cocaine’ll do that to ya, Callie. Dat how yew got blood on dem papers?”

Calla blew her nose into the dainty rag. “I have to go back inside before I’m missed.” She huffed at him as the bleeding stopped and she stuffed the handkerchief back into the clutch, pulled out a compact and checked her appearance. Right there in front of David’s eyes she dipped a long pinky nail into what he had thought was facial powder she huffed the white substance up one sore nostril and then repeated the action. “But if you’re here as his little messenger boy you can tell him I’m not coming back. If he finds he has anything else to say to me, at least he could have the balls to deliver his own messages.” She clicked the compact shut, dropped it back in the clutch and turned on her heels to leave.

“Nah-ah.” David reached out and grabbed her upper arm. “I ain’t here as Danny’s li’l messenger boy, Callie.”

“Let go of me. What the hell do you want, why do you even care?”

David dropped his cigarette and ran his free hand through her strawberry blond hair. “Does that surprise you so much, Callie? That I’d be here? That I might have a say in this? That I might care about you n’ Danny?”

“Yes.” He looked like Daniel, he smelled like Daniel and sometimes as he talked he even sounded like Daniel. But he wasn’t and she shouldn’t lose sight of that. “That last time I saw you, you were selling me to the highest bidder and taping it for your amusement. That would be on top of the things you did before that. You’ll have to forgive me if I question your sincerity.”

“Ah-huh, but, well now, I did he’p yew get Danny back from dat planet,” David reminded her, “But yeah, I a’mit it, Callie I’m a snake and dats why I’m here. Gurl, Hartley he’s a snake too, Callie.” She tried to get away from him but David tightened his grip. “Takes one ta know one. Lis’en ta me. He’s killin’ yew. Even if yew dun come back ta us yew gotta git away from him. All he wants is the money.”

“Killing me? Look, Daniel…David…whatever the fuck your name is, Andy takes care of me now. Andy looks out for me.” Calla protested and tried again to get her arm out of his hold.

“And the dyin’ part?” David asked. “We all know’d you flat lined on the table so wot’s it gonna take b’fore…..”

“We’re Immortal!” She hissed in a low voice and pushed at him again. “None of us is likely to die in the near future! Obviously not you!” She pushed at him with her free hand and wriggled and shoved. “Let go of me!”

“An’ys only taking care of hissself.” David warned in Daniel’s voice. “That’s all An’y cares about is An’y. Danny and I know wot you’ve been tru. We know wot happened to you after you left us.”

“Us? Are you listening to yourself? I was Daniels’ wife, not yours.”

“Yes still Danny’s wife.” David reminded her and then, well, he just couldn’t help it. She was standing there so close to him and those emerald eyes were spitting fire in his direction as those New & Improved bigger tits of hers heaved up down somewhere near eye level and he reached out and touched them. “Dats a damn shame, Callie.” He licked his lips and shook his head. “All of it.” David slid his hands over those fake tits and while her heart quickened and her breathing almost came to a stop the look in her eyes told him she couldn’t feel his touch. When you pushed little ones to big ones in just one push sometimes there was nerve damage done and those pretty little titties weren’t so little anymore and they weren’t sensitive anymore. “Damn shame,” he whispered again. “Danny, he dun like these neither.”

“Did he tell you that?” Calla returned with a roll of her eyes and then looked down to notice his hand was on her breast, she pushed it away. “What gives you the right to touch me? In case you’re interested, Andy’s quite fond of them, I assure you. “

“Hum, I ‘magine he is….”

Calla pushed forward and ignored him. “And I also assure that I’ll pay the bill, my paintings are going up for sale in just over a month, I’ll pay for all of it. You..Daniel..whoever! Won’t be stuck with it...all right? Is that what you came here for? Money?”

“No,” David whispered. “Danny, he hurt you, didn’t he Callie? More than you ever thought he would.” This time when she tried to back away David let her go. “Maybe more ‘n yew can fo’give him for? At least not right now.” Those pretty stoned emerald eyes were already filling up with tears and she was biting down on her bottom lip. “He’s sorry, Callie. So am I. I tried to stop him, the whole time he was on dat damn planet with d’ose women I kept trying to stop him but he wouldn’t lis’en ta me.”

“Because he loves Sha’re so much,” she shook her head and swiped at her nose which had started to trickle blood again and then the tears falling from her eyes. “I saw that woman he was with…on our anniversary…. I was never good enough for him.”

“That ain’t true, Callie. Danny….”

“I hurt him far too much,” she said without looking up or hearing David. “I did bad things,” her voice wasn’t quivering and she wasn’t crying anymore. She’d taken on that light conversational tone that he hated so much the one that said they weren’t talking about anything more important than days’ weather. “Very bad,” now she looked up at him and gave him a sad smile. “It’s over. I signed the papers and that’s best for all of us, Andy says so. I’ll give Daniel whatever he wants so long as he does not come after Andy, it’s not his fault.”

That was one of the things he’d come to hear on his brother’s behalf. It wasn’t much easier for David than it was for Daniel to take. Calla depended on Hartley and she wasn’t anywhere near ready to start depending on Danny again. “I told yew, Danny’s filin’ for reconciliation, he’s droppin’ every’tan Calllie. ‘Cludin’ the charges ‘ginst Andrew Hartley.”

“I don’t know what his game is…or yours for that matter…but he doesn’t want me back.” Calla wanted another drink and she wanted another boot more than anything. But her voice kept on in that even conversational tone. “Andy says Daniel can’t do that...not even if he wanted to its too late. Andy says….”

“An’y says! An’y says! Wot do yew say, Callie?” David asked and didn’t wait for an answer. “Cole and Nick and Annie, they all moved back into the house. Dats wot they been e-mailing and callin’ an’ tryin’ ta tell yew. They dun forgiven their Daddie. There’s gone be a li’l baby there soon. The only thing missing now is you.” David licked his bottom lip and let out a little sigh. “Danny loves yew, Callie and so do I.”

“You? You….what?” Calla charged. “What in Gods’ name do YOU know about love?”

Callie looked as though she’d been hit with a cattle prod but still what he said was true. David didn’t have the particulars, he didn’t know how or why or when or even how but he did know that somewhere along the line and over the course of her marriage to his brother, whatever was left of David Jackson and still living in the head of his brother—memories the history they had as kids, he didn’t know and it didn’t matter—David Jackson fell head over heels for her. In his entire violent life David Jackson never loved anyone and certainly no one ever loved him and he didn’t expect her to open her arms and return the sentiment. Still, he wasn’t about to watch some jackass like Andrew Fucking Hartley or Daniel Jackson screw it up for him. That was what David Jackson really came here to say. “I dun some awful thangs ta yew m’self, I know. Still it’s true, I love ya too, Callie. I am so sorry fer all those nasty thangs I dun to yew,” his voice softened as he reached out to touch her cheek. “If’n I could take it all back I wud. Danny wud too, he’s awful sorry he nevha wanted ta hurt yew. Won’t yew jus’ come home, Callie? Ev’y tang else will work itself out.”

“There you are, darlin’. I’ve been looking all over for you.” Andrew Hartley said as he walked out on the smoking patio. “Daniel so good to see you.” He held out his hand. “I hope you’re enjoying the show.”

Enjoying the show. That was one way to put it. David reached out and shook Hartley’s hand. “Andrew,” he said as he acknowledged the man’s presence.

“What are you doing here? Didn’t you get the papers we sent?” Andrew Hartley put his arm around Callestah and moved her out of arms’ reach of the man he thought was Daniel Jackson.

We sent…cute. David cleared his throat. “Yes I did. I came to talk to my wife, you don’t mind do you?”

“Actually, mate,” Andrew smiled falsely, “I do. As I’ve told her…repeatedly… you’re in the middle of litigation you shouldn’t talk to each other without your lawyers present.” Andy looked away from Daniel and back to the woman at his side. “Come along, darlin’ we’ve a gala to attend.”

“Excuse me, Andy,” David chimed, “I have come a long way to see my wife...”

“You should have made an appointment, mate. Next time you’ll know better.” Andrew Hartley shot with cool sophisticated British Charm.

Calla didn’t look back when Andrew Hartley led her away from him for the second time.

“Calla,” David said in a loud voice, “You know where home is.”

End of Chapter One
Tarnished Heroes: Love Hurts
Continue to
Chapter Two