"Yes. Come to find out, Becky is very fertile, which was good because I don't think she or Brent would have been able to go through that again. It took a few months, and it was extremely awkward in the beginning, but they were so grateful it worked they welcomed me to be a part of the pregnancy and Ally's life."

Jase turns quiet again before saying softly, "She's beautiful, Andrew."

I smile at him, glad he feels that way. Ally and Jase are the two most important people in my life. I would love for them to get to know each other.

"Thank you," I say, and straighten in my seat. "Now, I have a question for you. The Skittles. How did you know about them?"

He laughs and says, "Your tattoo kind of gives it away. You also call her Skittles. Not to mention all the Skittles packages you have in your glove box. I've never seen you eat them yourself, so I knew they were for someone else. Ally was the only logical person."

I'm pleased he recognized the Skittles for what they are. I got the tattoo a year ago in honor of Ally. She was tickled pink when I showed her. Becky, of course, teared up. It was two years ago that I started calling Ally by that nickname. Again, she loved it.

My phone starts vibrating, and I pick it up off the table. It's a text from Chris, letting us know they are five minutes away from the hospital.

"Come on. That was Chris. They'll be at the hospital soon." I take a last swallow of my now cold coffee and get up. I pay the bill while Jase brings the car around to the front.

Twenty minutes later, we're all walking up to Ally's room. Grabbing the handle, I pull the door open to find Ally in bed watching Sponge Bob. Becky is in the chair beside the bed, reading, and Brent's sitting on a chair on his laptop. I texted Becky an hour ago to let her know we'd be there soon.

Something seems off with the group though. I don't know if it's because they're getting ready to meet the daughter I've kept hidden, or something else is going on. Chris is jumpy and keeps frowning at her brother, Jaxon's features and body movements are stiff, and he's keeping a tighter hold on Bailey than usual, and Bailey, the poor girl, looks worried about something. Mac's quiet and seemingly distracted, while Mia has a scowl on her face. She's hasn't said a word as we make our way to Ally's room.

Jase notices too. We look at each other, wondering what has the others so disoriented.

When I stop at Ally's door, I turn to them and ask, "Alright, what's going on?"

n.o.body says anything for a moment, just looks around at each other. Finally, Mac says, "Nothing you need to worry about right now. We'll talk later."

"Has something happened?" Jase asks, mirroring my own thoughts and concerns.

He takes a step toward Chris, who quickly looks up at Mac. After a second, she turns back to Jase, smiles, and says, "Everything's fine. Let's go meet Ally and we'll let you know later."

He takes a moment to contemplate pressing the issue, but eventually Jase nods.

I let the issue go myself for now, but later they'll tell me what the f.u.c.k is going on.

When we walk in the door, Becky and Brent get up from their seats to meet us.

"Becky and Brent, I'd like you to meet my friends, Mia, Mac, Jaxon, Bailey, and Chris." I point to each as I say their names.

They all say h.e.l.lo, but I notice Mia standing off to the side, keeping away from the gathering. I know she's still hurting from my deception and I hope she holds no ill feelings toward Becky and Brent. Her eyes keep wandering to the bed. I notice them going soft. Out of all my friends, I knew Mia would hurt the most. She and I have always been close.

After making sure it's okay with Becky and Brent, I grab Mia's hand. "Come meet Ally."

Her hand squeezes mine tight, and I feel a slight tremble as I lead her over to the bed. Ally's lying there looking at Mia, unsure. She can tell something's off.

"Hey, Skittles, I've got someone here who wants to meet you. Actually, I've got a bunch of people here."

She nods, but keeps her eyes on Mia, who is watching her in return. Emotions clog my throat when I see Mia swallow. Her eyes don't stray from Ally's, but I know she's taking in her haggard appearance.

After a few short seconds, Mia speaks hoa.r.s.ely. "Hi, Ally, I'm Mia."

"h.e.l.lo, Mia," Ally says in a small voice. "Uncle Andy told me about you. He said you were his best friend."

I hear a gasp from Mia when Ally calls me Uncle Andy. When I look at her, shock is clearly written on her face, before it's quickly replaced with understanding, and then sadness. Tears glisten in her eyes.

"Are you okay?" Ally asks, pulling our attention back to her. "Are you gonna cry?"

Mia lets out a strangled laugh before composing herself. Taking Ally's hand in hers, she tells her, "No, baby, I'm not going to cry. I'm just so happy to finally meet you."

"Okay, good. I know Mama, Daddy, and Gramma cry a lot because I'm sick. I don't want people to cry anymore. It makes me sad, too."

f.u.c.k! This is hard.

My heart breaks at her words, and I know Mia's does as well. I can see her force the tears away. Becky steps up on the other side of the bed. I know she's holding back tears, too. I feel a hand at my back and know it's Jase.

"Honey, we're just all worried about you," Becky says, laying her hand on Ally's cheek. "We love you and want you to get better."

"I know Momma, but G.o.d's watching me. The angel told me I'll be okay."

We all stand there in stunned silence, not sure what to say. The others gather closer around the bed.

Finally, Brent steps up, takes his wife's hand, and asks Ally croakily, "What angel?"

Ally smiles so big her cheeks puff up and you see her teeth. "The one in my dream. I was playing in the sandbox at the playground and she came and played with me. She told me G.o.d was keeping me safe and to not worry. He was going to make me better again."

Several gasps are heard throughout the room, all of us secretly wondering if we should dare hope this was some sort of premonition. I pray silently for all I'm worth that this isn't just a child's cry for help. That someway, somehow, G.o.d's looking down on Ally and has mercy for her. I haven't been to church since I was a kid, but I've always held faith that there is a G.o.d.

Becky bends and places a soft kiss on Ally's cheek. Pulling back, she says quietly, but loud enough for us to hear, "You are going to get better. I know you will."

I introduce Bailey and Jaxon next. Ally, being a child and not afraid to voice her thoughts, immediately notices Bailey's scar and says, "It looks like G.o.d was looking after you, too. Did an angel visit you?"

Bailey gives her a watery smile and replies, "No, I wasn't lucky enough to have an angel visit me, but I do believe G.o.d was watching down on me."

Ally looks from Bailey to Jaxon, who has his arm around her waist, and then back to Bailey, before saying softly, "I think maybe G.o.d did send you an angel."

Bailey looks up at Jaxon, smiles, and then brings her eyes back to Ally. "I think you're right.

Ally beams her brilliant smile and turns to Jaxon. "You and Bailey have a baby, right?" Jaxon nods. "Can I meet her? I love babies."

"The next time we visit we'll make sure to bring her," Jaxon answers.

Ally's grin gets bigger. She turns toward Chris. "You're Chris, aren't you?"

Chris steps up to the bed beside me. "Yes, ma'am. I'm so happy to meet you, Ally."

"You're Jase's sister. Why do you have a boy's name?" Ally asks.

Chuckles are heard around the room. The stuff that comes out of kids' mouths is funny as s.h.i.t.

Still smiling, Chris replies, "It's just a nickname. My name is Christabelle. That's a lot to say, so my family decided to cut my name short to Chris."

Ally scrunches up her nose and says, "I like Christabelle better than Chris. Can I call you that?"

"Sweetie, you can call me anything you'd like."

The last in the room to be introduced is Mac. He steps forward and extents his hand. Ally puts her little one in it.

"Hey, Miss Ally. I'm Mac."

"h.e.l.lo, Sheriff Mac," Ally says with a serious tone. "Can you come closer?"

Mac bends down and puts his ear close to Ally's lips. She whispers something to him that has him standing back up laughing.

Chuckling, Mac says, "I don't know, you let me know if he's still doing it when you go back to school and I'll see what I can do."

We glance from one to the other, curious at what she told him.

Mac enlightens us all.

"Seems Miss Ally here has a boy at school that likes to pull her hair. She wants me to arrest him and throw him in jail."

We all laugh, glad the mood in the room is turning lighter. Kids do that. They make dire situations seem not-so-serious.

That is, until Ally asks, "Where's Nick? I want to meet him too."

We're all quiet for a moment, sadness etching our faces again. Becky and Brent know what happened with Anna and the effect it had, and still has, on him. It's been a couple of weeks since any of us has seen or heard from him. We're all starting to worry.

"Nick is out of town for work right now. Maybe you can meet him next time we visit." I tell her.

"Oh." Her face drops.

We stay in Ally's room for a bit and talk about anything and everything. Ally has always been very animated and talkative. Being sick and in the hospital has drained a little life from her, but her personality hasn't changed. In any setting, she can come up with the funniest things to say, keeping us all on our toes and laughing.

She already has everyone wrapped around her little finger, just as I knew she would. A sense of pride settles in me. I may not be her dad, but she's still half me, and I am so d.a.m.n proud that I had a part in creating such a wonderful girl.

A couple hours later, everyone says goodbye to Ally, Becky, and Brent. I tell them Jase and I are heading to the hotel and we'll be back after dinner.

When we walk out into the parking garage, I stop everyone. It's time they tell Jase and me what happened. I understand them not wanting to tell us before we went into Ally's room, but we're done here and it needs to get out into the open.

"Alright, what the h.e.l.l happened that had everyone acting strange earlier?" I ask.

Before answering, Mac and Jaxon share a look. I grind my teeth to keep from growling at them. Whatever it is, it's obviously important or they wouldn't be so hesitant to say anything. A thought crosses my mind, and I wonder if this has anything to do with Damien or Emilio.

Just as I'm about to open my mouth to demand answers, Jaxon turns to Jase and starts talking.

"When we got to mine and Bailey's place last night, Chris had a surprise waiting for her. Her bedroom was trashed and there was a message on her mirror. It said, Tick tock. Are you ready?'"

"What the f.u.c.k?" Jase explodes. "Why in the h.e.l.l didn't anyone call me?"

"Because," Chris says, walking up to Jase and laying her hand on his arm to calm him, "I made him promise not to. We called in Mac, but I begged them to wait to tell you. You and Andrew had other things to worry about."

Jase scowls down at Chris before yanking her in to his chest. She smashes her body to his and wraps her arm around him. I hear him murmur against her hair, "Next time, you call me. No matter what. You don't keep s.h.i.t like this from me. I deserve to know. Promise me."

She nods against his chest. "Promise. I'm sorry."

I ball my hands into fists, ready and needing to hit something. This Damien a.s.shole is f.u.c.king with the wrong people. You don't come into my town and threaten my family or friends. He wants to play that game, then he needs to grow some b.a.l.l.s and show himself. He's going to learn real f.u.c.king quick how much he's underestimated the situation.

I walk over to Chris and run my shaky hand up and down her back, not hiding from Jase the venom I know is spewing from my eyes.

With a tight voice, I tell Chris, "I appreciate you not wanting to say anything because of the current situation, but don't ever keep anything like that from Jase or me again. This f.u.c.ker is dangerous and we need to know everything that's going on if we want to catch the a.s.shole."

She pulls back from Jase's chest and looks at me. "I'm sorry," she says, wiping a stray tear from her cheek. "I just didn't want to add any more stress. You were already dealing with so much."

I nod stiffly. "I get that, but your safety is important, too." I turn to look at Jaxon. "Next time, don't f.u.c.king keep this s.h.i.t from us. Jase has a right to know."

Jaxon's eyes turn hard at my tone, but he nods. I know he was in a tough position. On one hand, he feels like he owes a debt to Chris for helping Bailey when she had nowhere else to turn. But his loyalties also lie with me due to a childhood friendship.

In his deep rumbling voice, he says, "You know I'd never let anything harm her. She was safe at the house with me there. You think I would have let my family stay if I felt otherwise? The f.u.c.ker was in my house, where my family sleeps. I told her I would give her one night, but after that, she had to tell you or I would."

I accept his words for what they are. I know Jaxon would protect Chris with his life, just like he would his family. Chris is more than just a friend to him, she's a sister. I have no doubt he felt it safe enough for them to stay. If Jaxon is one thing, it's protective of the people he cares about. And he's d.a.m.n capable of protecting them.

"Did you find anything?" I ask Mac.

He shakes his head. "No. No prints. He busted out the window in the utility room and came in that way. As far as I could tell, he only went to Chris's room. No other rooms were disturbed."

"And no one's seen anyone in town that shouldn't be there?" Jase asks.

"I had a couple of people say they saw an unknown man around town, but thought it was just someone pa.s.sing through. The description fits Damien. Unfortunately, he was on foot so they didn't get a look at what he was driving."

"f.u.c.k!" I snarl, and grip my hair, frustrated that we aren't getting anywhere.

"When we get back to the hotel, I'm calling Emilio. We need to know if he's involved with this. If he is, at least we'll know what kind of man power he'll have backing him up."

It's on the tip of my tongue to tell Jase he's not calling Emilio. I don't want him to talk to, see, or a.s.sociate in any way with that b.a.s.t.a.r.d, but I know we need to find out what we're dealing with.

"I think that's a good idea. I'll come along. Jaxon, you mind taking Mia to your house until I get back? The threat isn't to her, but I'd feel better knowing she's with you."

"Don't even need to ask," is Jaxon's instant reply.

Mac bends and gives Mia a brief kiss on the lips. "Stay safe. Love you," he murmurs.

"Love you, too."

She walks to me and wraps her arms around my waist. She's so tiny that her head comes to mid chest on me.

"She's one of the most precious things I've ever seen, Andrew. I'm so proud of you," she says after pulling back.

I smile down at her and joke, "Did you expect anything less? After all, she's got my blood running through her, so she's bound to be perfect."

Rolling her eyes and laughing, she takes a step back and hugs Jase as well.