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Barters N Garters Library
Lovers & Other Strangers
by
Moon Mistress
a/k/a
Lisa Beth Darling

Chapter Six

I never thought it would come to this
And I want you to know
Everyone’s got to face down the demons
Maybe today
You could put the past away
I wish you would step back from that ledge my friend
Jumper
Third Eye Blind

Daniel used his Immortal powers to travel astral home which was where he was certain Calla had gone. The house was empty. Colleen and Annie were off to class taking Brigid and Lilly to day care. The fuck is she? “Calla?” He called out to the emptiness and received only the same in return. One more try. “Calla!” Still nothing.

Who? Who would help her? Who would she know that would… “Angie.”

The woman who ran the Woman’s Shelter—Shelter? No, it wasn’t a Shelter anymore and hadn’t been for a while. Thanks to Calla’s determination and generosity, it was the Woman’s Center and they offered a wide assortment of assistance to women including shelter and medical care including abortions, so yes, Angie would know. Whether or not she’d help Calla obtain an abortion he didn’t know and he wasn’t going to wait around here to find out. He just couldn’t let go off doing anything this rash and half-cocked knowing full well she was bound to regret it later. So what if was David’s baby? Yeah, he’d rather know it was his but still so the fuck what? They’d been here, in this EXACT spot before (hadn’t they?) and she didn’t think twice about---hell she wouldn’t hear about termination from Janet! What was different now?

Calla accepted Brigid a baby that was her Husband’s daughter but who was of no relation to her whatsoever. So really, it seemed the least he could was accept a baby who had a fifty-fifty chance of being his. Besides that mondo-beyondo factoid, Calla loved children she just couldn’t go through with this, she couldn’t be serious about it, she was just upset that’s all. If he didn’t stop her there’d be no way to reverse it later and Calla would never forgive herself once she came back to her senses. Another piece of her soul would be lost and she’d wrestle with what Kanan did to their children when those small babes drew their first breath and how she didn’t let this babe get even that far. The comparison was one—like keeping him chained up—she’d never get past.

Daniel knew where the shelter was but he was afraid to just pop in and say ‘hi’. Men were not all that welcome there even if they did donate thousands of dollars to keep the place going. Instead of popping into the building he appeared in the alley behind it, no one but local wino saw him and who’d believe old Drunk Charlie? Daniel tossed the toothless old man five bucks. “Food not booze.” He said and quickly made his way to the front of the two story red brick building Calla had been so instrumental in acquiring last fall when she was pregnant with a different child.

“The red head gave me ten.” Charlie called after him.

Daniel gave a backward wave to show he’d heard the drunk and understood. Now Drunk Charlie had fifteen dollars to get drunker on, it was gonna be a good night for Charlie. At least he knew he was in the right place. His heart pumping like a thoroughbred he burst through the heavy double doors which had yet to be locked for the evening and was promptly stopped cold by the receptionist.

“Where do ya think you’re goin’, there, buddy?” The stout woman who was quick as a linebacker on her feet demanded as she blocked Daniel’s path with her considerable bulk.

“My Wife is here,” he muttered.

“Calla, Calla Jackson, she came in not that long ago go see Angie Waters.” He explained quickly but in a much calmer tone. “I’m sorry, I was running trying to catch up with her.” The woman seemed unmoved. “You had to have seen her you must know who she is, she bought this place for crying out loud. What do you want? Do you want to see my ID?”

“As a matter of fact that’s not a bad idea.” Shirley the Linebacker Receptionist said. However she had seen Mrs. Jackson and of course she knew who the woman was, her picture had been plastered all over Angie’s office in newspaper clippings about the Woman’s Center. If not for those she’d have recognized Callestah from when she was hanging off the arm of that incredibly handsome Andrew Hartley and showing her goods and her art all over the place on the internet in those photographs.

Shit! Better play ball, Danny-boy or she is gonna tackle ya and then call for security. “No problem, I’m just gonna get my wallet.” Daniel said easily and reached into his back pocket to produce his driver’s license which he handed over to Shirley the large receptionist still in its holder. “See.”

Shirley the Linebacker Receptionist with the closely cropped curly salt n pepper hair took what was being offered to her, look from the black leather wallet in her hand to the face of the man in front of her and then back again before handing it back. “Your wife is down in Angie’s office, I’ll buzz you in. Sorry for the hassle Mr. Jackson.”

“No,” Daniel smiled putting the wallet back into his pocket. “You’re just doing your job, I understand.”

Going back to her desk and reaching beneath it, Shirley hit the buzzer which unlocked the double-doors beyond them. “Have a nice evening Dr. Jackson.”

“You too.” Daniel dashed down the hall before the woman could change her mind.

**

“Why don’t you just sit down for a minute and catch your breath?” Angie Wilkes the director of the Woman’s Center said to Calla as she handed the much smaller woman a plastic cup full of cold water. “Tell me what this is all about. Why would you want to have an abortion? I know it’s soon after losing your son but if the doctor says that it’s all right….”

“Won’t you please just help me?” Calla asked in frustration. “All the money and time and effort I’ve given to this place over the years you’d think this would not be too much to ask for in return.”

Angie Wilkes had been running this center for over twenty years and had several psychology degrees she knew better than to let anyone in this condition make and stick to a decision this important. There was definitely more going on here than met the eyes and Angie was not going to allow Calla –who was the center’s biggest benefactor--to jump head first into something like this in her state of mind. “I didn’t say that it was. You know that this is a very big decision it shouldn’t be made on the spur of the moment or lightly.”

“Just make the appointment? Dr. Johnson is still here, isn’t it? It is Wednesday.” Dr. Johnson was the man the Center employed to perform abortions one day per week and yes today was that day and Calla knew it as she glanced down at her watch. “I know it’s late.”

“Yes, it is.” Out of the glass partition which separated Angie’s office from the hallway she saw the distinctive shape of Dr. Johnson—who was very tall and lanky-- coming down the hall and raised her voice hoping he would hear. “Dr. Johnson went home early today I’m afraid you’ll have to wait until next week. If that’s the case then what’s the harm in sleeping on this decision?”

Daniel, coming down the other end of the hall heard Angie and so did Dr. Johnson who was whistling a happy little tune as he placed a fedora on the top of his gray head. At Angie’s words and without any prompting Dr. Johnson quickly turned around before he got to her office and went down the way he’d come in order to leave through the back door whistling his happy little tune as he went. Daniel whose heart had begun to sink upon seeing the good doctor quickened his pace as the man went the other way. Stopping a few seconds to catch his breath and regain some of his lost composure he knocked on Angie’s door and then let himself in. “Hi, Cal, I thought I’d find you here.”

“Daniel.” Angie Wilkes said in mild surprise. Under other circumstances she’d be forced to toss the prospective father out but these were not other circumstances. “So nice to see you again.”

“You too Angie.” He stammered.

“You can forget it, Daniel, you’re not going to talk me out of this.” Calla said defiantly turning her back on him. It wasn’t a show or strength or disapproval, she couldn’t take looking at him any longer and risk breaking down.

“All right, maybe I can’t talk you out of it but we can talk about it, can’t we?” Although he felt he probably shouldn’t Daniel bridged the small gap between them and reached out to caress her shoulder. Calla shook but didn’t pull away. “We can work it out, you know we can, we always do.”

Now Angie was beginning to get the picture though she hardly believed it. She’d been around enough of these situations to recognize a pregnant woman and the man who may or may not be the baby’s father. Calla cheat on Daniel? Up until five minutes ago the idea seemed ludicrous. “You know what? I have some work to catch up on. Why don’t I give you the office for, oh, five minutes or so?” She didn’t wait any longer, Angie just walked out of the office tucking a file folder that she had no idea of its contents under one arm and shutting the door behind her.

“Sit down, Cal.” Daniel said as easily as he could.

“You can’t tell me what to do.”

Ah, yeah, if I want to, I certainly can. “I’m not trying…”

“I heard you! You think my powers are completely shot?”

“No,” he said in a soft voice, “of course I don’t. I’m sorry, Kitty. Would you please just sit down and talk to me?”

“You’re not going to change my mind.” She huffed looking at the chair Daniel was offering her.

“Ok, but still I want to know why you’re so insistent on this. Is it because of David?” Daniel continued to stand behind the empty chair until she finally sat in it and he leaned up against Angie’s desk.

She sat because she was tired and starting to feel dizzy, she didn’t look up at him for another reason. “I told you the child is defective.”

“Would you please stop using that word?” It was really getting on his nerves; ‘defective’ as though the Ford were recalling a car or some toy company warning about the dangers of a plastic toy boat or something. Why couldn’t she hear how cold she sounded? Maybe she did and maybe that was frightening her as well. “Adams said that’s for not certain. I know you, Kitty, you love children. My God, if you could you’d fill both our houses with babies. And, and, and even if there is something wrong with this baby, so what? You know Brigid’s probably going to be challenged and you don’t turn her away. You even tell her to call you ‘Mommy’, I’ve heard you. So why this one? Why don’t you want to have this baby, Kitty? I mean, if it’s not David.”

“You don’t understand,” she mumbled, “we can’t…we shouldn’t…..we….”

“Why not?” Daniel insisted not liking the faded distant look in her eyes as she gazed at something that must surely be amazingly interesting in her empty lap. “If there’s something wrong with the baby we can handle it, you know we can. I’ll love this baby no matter what because its part of y….”

Daniel had been slowly bending in toward her in order to take her hand before he could do that or finish his sentence Calla rose so quickly that the top of her head connected harshly with his lower jaw. “NO!” She yelled and began stomping her feet on the linoleum. “NO! NO!”

“Ow!” He grumbled as stars flashed behind his eyes and his teeth sank into his bottom lip drawing forth the salty taste of blood. If she keeps this up they’re gonna have security in here in no time. Wiping the trickle of crimson away Daniel grabbed her by the shoulders shook her harshly but only once and asked his question again. “Why….not?”

“I DON’T KNOW!” She yelled and closed her tired confused eyes. The strength went out of her knees. “Oh please I don’t know.” Calla whimpered as she sank to the floor. “I just know we can’t, we shouldn’t, it’s wrong, Daniel, please, it’s wrong.”

The bruises. Seeing her in the Underworld. She’s in heat! Give the bitch to me she’s mine! Ares railed. Maybe this new baby had less than a 50/50 chance of being his…or David’s for that matter because not long after Ares made his demand they had done just that and left her with him. She had those awful bruises deep dark and purple just the size and shape of Ares’ hand….like before. “Kitty,” Daniel said softly as he caught her but she continued sinking, he followed her down. “What happened on the Island while Davy and I were away?”

“I can’t remember,” she confessed as they both settled on the floor. “Don’t you understand? I can’t remember.” Calla started to cry. “Daniel, I try and I try and I try but it just makes my head spin and my stomach hurt.”

Rohypnol tended to do that. They might never know exactly what happened on Ares’ Island while David and he were off in the Underworld. Damn it! Nicholas was supposed to stay with her; he was supposed to protect her. Nick was supposed to…..

“Whose hands? Who’s angry?” She sniveled. “What are you thinking, Daniel?”

“Nothing, honey.” He stroked her hair while his stomach turned and he did his best to hide the thought from her prying mind.

“You’re lying,” she squealed helplessly, “now you’re shielding your thoughts from me.” Calla tried to break through his shield but Daniel had learned a lot and he was strong, he always had been even back on Tiberia he’d been able to communicate with her using just his mind. That was Callestah’s doing, when they met that day in the Athens mall she’d give him the ability to communicate with her no matter the distance between them. “Father? You think Father did something, don’t you?”

God help me but, if only it was that simple. Daniel just grabbed her and held her as tightly as he could. If that was true and if she never remembered it then it would be the biggest miracle he could ask for. Calla couldn’t take it, he just knew it, she’d shatter into a million pieces that could never be put back together. “I don’t think anything, Cal, I don’t know what happened. I know that whatever it was, no matter how bad it was, it wasn’t this baby’s fault and it doesn’t make the baby bad.” She thought in such simple terms some times and he had to remind himself to think that way too especially when she was so unraveled. “I love you, I’ll love this baby no matter what, its part of you, how could I not love it and want to be part of its life?” In his arms, Calla was shaking and crying. She wasn’t bawling like a baby or wailing at the top of her lungs she was just weeping in that dreadfully silent way she did when something hurt so much and so deeply she couldn’t give it voice. “Look, let’s go home, huh?” If nothing else he could try a simple approach. After all, what mattered most at this exact moment was getting out of here. “Angie said the doctor wouldn’t be back here until next week so there’s no sense sitting here taking up space in her office. You don’t have to do anything right now, you’re only a few days along, and you’ve got plenty of time to make a decision. Let’s just go home, we’ll stop on the way and get something to eat …whatever you want, ok? We’ll curl up at home—I know how much you liked that, huh?” Daniel kisses her forehead.

“Don’t be silly, it’s early.”

“Yeah and it’s dark and cold, who cares what time it is as long we’re together?”

“Do we have to tell the chil--do we have to tell Colleen?” Calla wiped a heavy hand across her face to swipe the tears away. “About the baby.”

His heart did a flip-flop when she stopped mid-sentence, just two days ago she was saying how much she wanted Nicholas to come home and now it was clear she wasn’t sure if that would happen or even if she wanted it to. To tell the truth, Daniel wasn’t sure he wanted it either. The last two days Annie had been moping about and talking in whispered with Colleen but that distant look never left her eyes, Daniel knew, he just knew, Nicholas had done something to her that he should not have. Whatever it was, if and when Nick came home, it would be up to them to sort out. “Not if you don’t want to. You and me we’ll talk it out, ok? We’ll stop and get Chinese, how’s that sound? Chop Suey? I know you haven’t eaten much lately, just those shakes, you must be hungry, huh, Kitty?” Daniel jut wanted to keep talking and keep soothing her but that was just because he wanted to avoid saying what he knew he had to say and he damn near choked before getting the remainder of his words past his lips. “When you’re ready, I’ll stand beside you no matter what you decide to do.”

“I love you, Daniel, you’re always so good to me.”

“We can do anything, you and me, right? Isn’t that what we said? For better or worse? Forever. You’re my world, Kitty. My Everything.” Daniel kissed the top of her head one more time. Pulling away he saw something that made his heavy heart sink deeper. In sickness and in health. She must have felt it in his touch or read it in his thoughts.

“What’s wrong now?”

No more lies. No more secrets.

“Your hair’s turning gray again.” Yep, there they were a nice little patch of seven or eight gray-white hairs on the top of her head. Daniel and David would have to work their magick again but she didn’t look as though she were in condition for such a thing. He wanted to laugh. The last night she’d been passed out…in a motherfucking coma….and they held her until she woke and he danced and talked until she agreed. Somehow this was worse than that. Davy. Daniel couldn’t help but feel for him and would have to explain the real truth when he saw him. Calla didn’t want to abort this baby because it might be David Jackson’s, no that wasn’t it at all. Deep in his heart Daniel knew she wanted to terminate this pregnancy because the child she was carrying wasn’t just her Son or Daughter but because it could also be her sibling or her even her own grandchild.

Under those circumstances who could blame her for not wanting to continue?

If Nick touched her or even if he failed to stand up and protect her, Father and Son would have a lot more than words when next they met. Still feeling the rush of killing Eros and Hartley within him Daniel knew he could harm Nick if it turned out to be true. He didn’t want to but he could. It would be ugly and it would be painful most of all it would take a huge toll on her. If asking Calla to choose between her Husband and her Father had been too difficult what would happen when she had to choose between her Husband and her Son? Either way there was no winner no matter who lived or who died no one would win. No would walk away with her as the Prize. Things had gone from bad to worse and they were about to get downright ugly.

Gods help them all. “Come on, Kitty,” he helped her to her feet. “Let’s go home.”

“Do you think if I went to see Dr. Willie that he could help me remember?”

The thought struck fear in Daniel’s heart but he didn’t let it show. “I don’t know honey, we can talk about that too if you want.”

End Of Chapter Six
Lovers & Other Strangers
Continue to
Chapter Seven

This story and all stories in the Barters N Garters Library are copyrighted to Lisa Beth Darling these stories may not be transferred outside of this URL in any fashion.