"Take Me Out to the Ball Game"

Chapter 9

The sun rose, bringing with it the colors of the sunrise, which on any other day would take her breath away. However, the sun's rising only meant the depression that ate at Charity's heart went deeper. Each second that ticked by meant they neared the twenty-four hour mark which everyone in the search party feared. They knew the statistics, and yet somehow that drove them further toward their goal. To bring both children home, happy and safe. She glanced over at Alex who sat in the driver's seat of his dodge durango drinking a coffee from McDonald's, which was the only place they'd seen along the backroads they were searching. He was half-asleep sitting there, yet the determination in his eyes beat the sleep that he needed so badly.

"I think I've narrowed it down to one of three places." he said finally, staring straight ahead at the quickly brightening sky.

"What three places?" she asked, turning in her seat to get a better look at him.

"Her new husband's, an apartment she supposedly has or my parents old house." his dark eyes had gone nearly black with anger as he studied his watch.

"Well lead the way." she grinned, buckling her seat belt, feeling the surge of adrenaline that his words brought. Maybe these would be the leads they needed.

He nodded, starting the car and driving them toward the city limits. Her mind wandered onto the last twenty-four hours of working with Alex Harper, and the image he presented in her mind. A strong, capable man with a love for his niece and nephew, beyond anything else. Her heart thudded in her chest, what was going on with her? She hardly even knew this guy, and here he was already invading her thoughts.

"What are you thinking about, Charity?" he asked, as he signaled to turn right.

She could feel a blush creep into her cheeks, "I was actually thinking about you." she muttered without thinking.

"Oh really?" a ghost of a smile crept across his face before it was gone without a trace. "What about me?"

"N-n-nothing." she hedged quickly turning her head to stare at the greenery they passed.

A rough hand touched her's making her turn toward him, "Tell me." he cajoled, his eyes focused on her. His hand grasped hers until she was moving toward him in the seat, he pressed a kiss to the palm of her hand. She had no idea when she'd ever blinked so much in her life. Was this really happening? Was he staring back at her like she was all that was right in the entire world or was she dreaming? Dreaming.

Clearing her throat, she tugged her hand back, "Are we almost to your sister's husband's house?"

--

Gloria cowered in the corner of the old broken down house, watching as her two babies sat together directly across from her. Her mind ran in thirty different ways, what was she going to do now? Travis had taken one look at her bags and baggage and tossed her out once more. The cold crept into her bones now as she sat crying to herself with no where to go. She couldn't even bring the babies back to her brother and just disappear, no the place would be crawling with cops. She knew Alex that well.

Alex. Anytime now he'd remember this place and what it meant to her. He'd be back, and when he did nothing would stop him. He'd kill her, with his bare hands. The kids stared at her with big doe eyes filled with tears. Ava sniffled uncontrollably, little body shaking in fear and the cold. Cole's brown eyes were hard, yet fearful as he tried his best to comfort and warm his sister. Both children were pale, dirty, and hated her guts. What had she done? Getting up from her fetal position, she grabbed a notebook from her traveling case. A pen stood in its binding waiting for her to write. Nodding decisively she scribbled a few words on the paper and handed it to Cole. He engulfed it with a tiny hand, before going back to having both chubby arms around his little sister.

"Good-bye babies. Mommy always loves you, remember that." she whispered, kissing both tiny foreheads as she walked out the back door.

--

"This is it." he said bringing the car to a stop in front of what had been his worst nightmare. This house had been home for the first eighteen years of his life, he hated it. However, Gloria, when in trouble always seemed to come back. He had no idea why he didn't come here in the first place. The big, foreboding house was now a shadow of what it had been, with broken boards for a porch, and windows that hadn't been cleaned in years. It did not look safe to be inside, yet his heart guided him toward the house not away from it. His eyes moved toward Charity, her skin had blanched at the sight of the house. He knew the feeling, to him this house was what nightmares were made of. Slowly, he walked to her side, "You don't have to do in if you don't want to."

"You're sure?" she asked, blue eyes staring down into his very soul.

He nodded, "I'll go in and check things out. I'll be right back, you stay here and keep an eye on the perimeter."

Her face broke out in a hint of a smile, "Okay."

Without thinking, he stooped down and pressed a kiss to her forehead, before turning toward the house and facing his fears head on. Walking one foot in front of the other on the lone whole board of the porch, he ascended to the door. The screen door had long since blown off and away, so he grabbed the door knob. Pushing open the door, he haulted at the scent of decay and time. Swallowing hard, he pushed forward careful to mind the spots where the floor was gone all together. Nothing in the living room, he decided walking into what had been the grand dining room. There was nothing to be found there. One step into what had been his parents bedroom and he caught a glimpse of fabric in the corner. His heart began to race, it was as if he were on a treasure hunt and he'd found the treasure. He took three steps toward the doorway and yelled for Charity.

Just as he finished her name, the deafening sound of cracking reached his ears. Taking large steps, he ran toward the kids, gathering them up in his arms. He searched for the closest exit. The back door! Nodding, he scurried out, just as the door slapped closed behind them the roof caved in.

Breathing heavy, he slumped over trying to catch his breath. A shrill "No!" rose up from in the distance, and his heart began to pound again. Charity. If she thought the roof had collapsed on them, would she go running into the building? Getting up, he ran toward the front of the house to see Charity on the lone board that went into the house digging to find a door way.

"Charity!" he yelled over the sound of her frustrated tears.

She spun, jumping down off of what had been the porch and running toward them. "The roof, it collapsed..and you were in there. I saw you go in. They were in there. I, I couldn't do a thing. Oh, my. What would I do without you now that I've found you?" tears spilled down her face as she let out all of her anxiety in a few sentences.

He smiled, moving closer to her, "You were trying to do what you could, baby, anyone could see that. You don't have to worry about losing us now, we're all here safe and sound." With two more steps he'd be close enough to kiss her. A fact he appreciated immensely.

"I'm so happy." she whispered, seemingly drained of energy.

Smiling again he nodded, "Me too." He let his lips touch hers, softly easing away her pain to replace it with the feeling he felt when he saw her. This was unlike anything he'd ever known.

Finally, he pulled away to stare down at the kids, "We really should get them to a doctor."

She nodded, "Let's go." With both arms, she reached up and grabbed Ava, hugging her close to herself. He watched as she went, sighing. He was in love.

"Take Me Out to the Ball Game"

Chapter 8

"So it's just like that? You just left?" questioned her sister, her hazel eyes round in wonder at the stupidity of her sister.

"Well..what else was I supposed to do?" she asked, rubbing her eyes against the assault of the morning sun. Her friends had decided a slumber party was in order the next evening, and she was definitely paying the price for an entire night without sleep.

"You were supposed to stay and listen to him ramble, make sure everything is all right. Flirt if necessary, come on girl!" Lidia injected bumping her with her elbow to the ribs.

"Well..I..I don't know.." her voice trailed off as she stared at the four expectant faces surrounding her.

"You do know, follow your heart." Keely smiled, patting Charity's shoulder.

"He sure is cute." giggled Bethany, her blue eyes mischievous.

"Shut up!" she said to her friend tossing one of the throw pillows at Bethany's head.

"Ohhhh jealousy! You saw that?" asked Jazelle with a laugh.

Just as she was about to come up with a witty retort, the phone started ringing. Groaning, she jumped to her feet and retrieved it, "Hello?"

"Charity?" the female voice was high and rushed, seemingly panicked. "The kids, their their gone! I need your help."

Her heart started beating fast, "Who is this?" she demanded, hoping against hope it was a prank call.

"Oh my..it's Julie. Miss Julie. Oh Charity, how could I let this happen?" the elderly woman was frantic.

"I'll be right over, Julie, stay where you are." she insisted, slamming the phone down. "I've got to go, and now." she stated grabbing her jacket and her keys.

"Where are you going?" asked Jazzi over the supreme quiet that hung in the room. Her friends were so close that they knew without a doubt when something was wrong with her.

"The kids are missing. That was Julie, I've got to get over there." she said, walking past them to the door.

"We're right behind you!" exclaimed Lidia, grabbing her coat.

"Okay then, see you over there." she said, running down the stairs to her car, adrenaline bounding through her veins. Turning her gaze skyward she whispered, "Okay God, here we go."

--

Things never went right in the life of Gloria Harper, and the two crying children she now had sitting in the back seat of her car was just one more thing. "Hush, hush we'll be to Mommy's house in a few minutes! I've got candy!" she hinted, hoping they'd shut up. She'd only succeeded in making the crying louder from Cole's end.

"What did he do to my babies?" she questioned allowed, cursing her brother under her breath. She'd simply needed some time off, a break. Just like Alex though, to take over and make her look no good. He'd been doing that for her entire life. She was thoroughly sick of it. These were her children, her own life now in her hands, she drove toward Trevor's house. Wait until he saw them, he would take her back right away. There was no way her husband could be so cold-hearted to turn her and two tiny children away. Especially Ava with her being deaf.

Cole signed to his sister, she could see him in the rear view mirror. His chubby hands conveying a message that Gloria didn't understand. She should have learned sign language when Alex mentioned it the first time. Sighing deep, she pulled up in front of Trevor's new home address. He'd told her to come when she got her life together and stopped blaming her wrong-doing on everyone else. Now she was here, kids and suitcases in hand, standing on the front porch of a very vacant looking building with no where to go.

--

For what must have been the millionth time, Alex paced the front porch of his apartment building pleading with God to send them back. Where could they have gone? Who would have come to the house and snatched two tiny children from their naps? One answer replayed itself in his mind over and over. Gloria. Anger seemed to boil his blood, and he couldn't stand still. He wanted to go jump in his car and search for her. When he found her...well, he had no idea what he'd do to her, because he doubted he could hit a woman. However, this would be an exception to his policy. She'd taken his very livelihood from him. Those two kids were all he had, and more.

The day had taken its toll on him emotionally and physically, and soon instead of pacing he was taking a seat on the steps. The door opened behind him, and soft footsteps echoed on the porch before Charity sat beside him.

"The police just called, they've found nothing yet." she whispered, staring straight ahead at the dark sky.

He nodded, feeling his heart fall further into its pit of depression. "I figured. If Gloria doesn't want to be found, she won't be." he concluded.

"Don't say that." she said, taking his hand in hers. "We'll find Cole and Ava if we have to walk to the ends of the earth to do it. We both know that."

Again he nodded, "You'd come along?" he asked, intrigued by the tiny woman beside him.

She smiled, blue eyes twinkling like the stars she'd been looking at. "Of course I would, Alex."

With all of the trying matters of the day, he found himself staring into the eyes he'd dreamed about for nights. What was getting into him? His nephew and niece were out there somewhere, scared and possibly hurting and he was thinking about a woman? Yet her hand wrapped around his felt so right, and he was involuntarily moving closer to her. His heart thudded against his ribcage, attempting to jump right out of his chest it seemed. Her lips were inviting, and he could see himself kissing her. Feel the rightness of what was about to happen, yet he let it slip away. Lowering himself, he kissed her cheek. "Thank you for being here, Charity. We'll find them." With that, he stood to his feet and stalked back into the apartment ready to get his keys.

"Take Me Out to the Ball Game"

Chapter 7

Charity checked the address again, and knocked on the door. Julie had called her cell phone in the middle of her walk home from work to ask her to come to Alex's. The woman had been quite vague on the details, and she'd insisted it was an emergency. The door was flung open by a frantic looking Alex, who's brown eyes registered surprise when he saw her.

"Hi Charity, what are you doing here?" he asked, momentarily pulled away from his panic, apparently.

"Julie called, gave me the address, said it was an emergency." she explained, sure it sounded like a weak excuse, but it was the truth.

"Great, I really could use you, if you don't mind. Julie's daughter is ill, she had to rush to get her to the hospital. I need to get to a meeting between my lawyer and my sister's, she's trying to get the kids back. But, I really don't want to take them, and you can see my dilemma, right?" he crammed both hands into the pockets of his dress pants.

She nodded, "I see it, and I can help. Is there anything I should know about? Allergies? Special foods?" Her head swum, his sister was trying to get the kids back? Immediate pity welled up inside of her, what a terrible situation for he and the little ones.

"No, there are no allergies to anything. Bed time is at nine o'clock, just in case. Basically everything you need they can show you where it is, or how Miss Julie does it. Or how I do it, though I most likely do it wrong." nervous energy made him blabber on and on, she noted.

Nodding her head yet again, she smiled encouragingly, handing him his briefcase. "Great, then I'll see you when you get back. I'll be praying for you, and everything will be just fine. Don't worry about a thing, Alex."

"If only I could do that," he shook his head and leaned down to kiss a stunned looking Cole and Ava on their tiny foreheads. "I'll be back as soon as possible, thank you so much, Charity."

Charity watched the door close behind Alex, and then let her eyes travel down to the wide-eyed children. "Well, what sort of games do you guys like to play?" she said and signed to them.

"Miss Julie plays puppets with us." said Cole, his eyes downcast as if waiting for Charity to dismiss the idea.

"Ooh! Puppets! I love puppets. What kind of puppets do you have, Cole?" she smiled, kneeling down in front of him.

A slow smile spread across Cole's face, and he took hold of her hand, allowing his sister to grab the other. Together the two introduced her to their favorite games and toys, transforming from frightened children to happy children in a matter of minutes.

After two hours of play and a pretend picnic, both kids were fighting sleep. With a smile, she guided them to their designated bedrooms and got them changed into pajamas. Overseeing the brushing of their teeth, and made sure they both had a drink of water before bed. Sighing, she watched as they slept peacefully and wondered what it would be like to have children of her own. Just as she was mulling it over, the door creaked open behind her.

--

Alex smiled at Charity as he lay his briefcase on the counter beside a basket of apples she must have set there. "Hello." he whispered, taking a seat on the couch.

On stocking feet, and looking quite at home, Charity tiptoed toward him and sat beside him. "Hello yourself, how did it go?" Her blue eyes held concern and that seemed to go straight for his heart chipping away more of the ice that held there.

"Well, the lawyer seems to think I've got a pretty fair shot of keeping them, better than fair. With my holding down a job, having Miss Julie for them, and steadily keeping custody for four years now. He doubts Gloria has a chance for anything, aside from supervised visitation." he could feel the heaviness of worry and doubt slip away with her quick smile.

"That's great Alex." he was so focused on her smile he didn't notice her tiny arms had come to pull him into a hug. "Oh, sorry, I come from a huggy type family." she grinned and blushed pulling away.

"No, it's okay, it was..nice." he admitted, unsure of what he was doing. Inevitably, he was going insane. Just earlier he'd been thinking about making a real family for Cole and Ava, even for himself. Now he was admitting her hugs were welcome. Next he'd be proposing and buying a little farm house, getting a dog....don't go overboard, Alex. He cautioned himself still staring into those endless blue eyes.

She looked uncomfortable in her own skin as she watched him as well, neither seemed willing to move nor did they seem to want to stay. Finally, she got to her feet and crossed the room, "Well I suppose I should be going, it is rather late, and my sister will be wondering what happened to me."

"Oh, I hope I didn't cause you any trouble, thank you so much for bailing me out Charity. Can I write you a check?" he fumbled with his wallet hoping she'd take something, though something in her eyes told him no.

"Not a chance, I loved watching them, they were such fun. Anytime you need help, call Alex. Don't worry so much." with a wink and a wave of her hand she was gone and he was left staring after her.

"Uncle Alex?" the tiny words had him spinning toward the door to Cole's room.

Cole stood bleary eyed, and covered a yawn with a chubby hand. In a blue pair of pajamas covered in tiny trucks he looked up at his uncle.

Smiling, Alex crossed the distance between them and hefted the boy to his hip. "What is it, Cole?"

"I really like Charity." he said with a small smile, "She's nice, and pretty."

Alex found himself smiling wider as he conceded to the boy, "Yes, that she sure is, Cole."

"Do you think she could be our new mommy?" the boy asked, a frown marring his normally smooth forehead.

Feeling like he'd been kicked in the chest, Alex walked into Cole's room lying him on the bed and pulling the covers up over him. "I don't know, Cole, we'll have to wait that out." he whispered as the boy fell back to sleep. But the words clung with him echoing over and over in his mind all night long.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

Chapter 6

Charity leaned against the side of the stadium chewing off the rest of her fingernails. "Where are they?" she fumed silently clutching the six tickets to the game in her left hand. As if to answer her question, her cell phone rang to life in the pocket of her jeans. "Charity Douglas."she answered not bothering to look at the caller id, or the time as she knew she was missing the first pitch.

"Hey Chari, it's Lidi, I'm not going to be able to make it. Sorry, hun."

With that said, the click of the other line echoed in her ear. No sooner had she turned off the phone than Bethany was calling, offering an apology but giggling when asked what she was going to be doing. Apparently the rodeo had come to town, and Beth had found herself a cute cowboy. Rolling her eyes, she hung up on her friend and tucked two of the six tickets into her pocket.

Checking her watch again, she noted three more calls in five minutes. None of her friends were coming to watch the game with her. They were all busy, and apparently too busy to think of calling prior to game time. Groaning, she walked into the stadium, and sat in the empty row of chairs that was theirs.

Unable to keep herself from checking, she noted that Alex Harper was in his seat. Alone. She watched the game, but still couldn't help herself being bored all alone. Finally, she got up and marched down the stairs, "Hey Alex, none of my friends showed up today...you think you'd want to sit with me?" she asked.

He looked up at her, mocha skin blanching, "Um...sure."

Together they ascended the stairs, and she took her usual seat again. "Where are the kids today?"

He sat beside her in the seat her sister usually occupied, "Julie is watching them, and then I'm going back to get them. Take them to the park, possibly." he smiled as he talked about them, and settled into the seat.

"That's great, Julie loves having them. She's always talking about them when she comes in to have her hair done." she returned his smile as she lifted her cup of soft drink from the cup holder.

"Really? They love Julie, but lately they've been asking more about you." he said, fixating his eyes on her.

The heat of a blush crept up into her cheeks, and she choked on the drink she'd taken. "Excuse me?" she asked, eyes so wide she thought they might pop out of her head.

"They seem to have taken an immediate liking to you, Charity. Would you, uh..like to come visit sometime?" his words were awkward, as if he never had invited someone over before. Somehow she felt touched by the thought of it.

"I'd love to, their both pretty special kids."

"I know..." his voice trailed off just as A-rod hit a homerun.

"OH YEAH! GO A-ROD!" she screamed, jumping to her feet.

Alex sat still, clutching his ear, "Could you warn me next time when you're about to do that?"

She bit her lip, "Sorry, a bit of an infatuation with the third baseman."

He chuckled, "I used to play third base, you know."

"Really?" intrigued she sat again, staring at him.

He nodded, "I was in the minors, was drafted into the majors, would've been playin' for the Yankees too. Only, I decided the army was a better profession. I needed to do something respectable. So I dropped baseball, and enlisted. When I got back, I'd been injured and couldn't play anymore. Lost my chance."

She heard the pain in his voice, and gripped his hand, "Wow, that's awful."

His eyes widened as he took in the sight of their hands clasped.

Charity tugged her hand back as if she'd been burned, "Sorry."

"No, no..it's not a problem.." his voice trailed off, and she felt really stupid. Where were her friends anyway?

--

Alex walked down the street toward his house, glad for the exercise. He'd had so much fun with Charity Douglas at the game, and he couldn't get the tiny brunette out of his mind. Taking a deep breath of the air around him, he hauled himself up the few steps into the apartment building. Arriving at his front door after the short elevator ride, he opened the door. "I'm home!" he called.

Ava was first through the door as always, and hugging his knees with both of her tiny arms. Smiling, he reached down and grabbed her waist, twisting her tiny body so she was upside down and giggling at his antics. Cole came next through the doorway, a small smile on his little face.

"Welcome home!" came Julie's greeting, as she hobbled in behind the two.

Alex set Ava down on her feet beside her brother, and he ran a hand through Cole's tight curls, "Hey Champ."

Cole nodded, and signed something to Ava. Julie caught his attention above the children's heads.

"This came in the mail for you." she placed a large manilla envelope in his hands, it was official looking, and she seemed worried by it. Twisting both hands together she stood before him, biting her lip.

"It's just a letter, Julie, nothing to worry over." he said smiling at the older woman.

"I don't know, Alex, I don't have a good feeling about this." with a shrug, Julie beckoned the children and left to get them ready for the park.

He chuckled, in many ways Julie reminded him of his deceased mother. Always worrying over the children and every little detail in between. He sat on the leather sofa, and tugged at the flap of the envelope. Into his lap fell a handful of papers, all quite official looking. The top letter read "Petition for Custody." His heart fell to his toes, and he stood immediately enraged.

Gloria was following through with her threats. Listing here that she missed her children, and thought her children needed a mother and a father. Not their uncle. He clenched his fists and tossed the papers across the room at the wall watching them cascade through the air and fly to the ground. Anger, rich and painful flooded his body, and he resisted the urge to put his fist through the wall.

"Julie!" he called, crossing his arms over his chest.

She poked her grey head out of Cole's bedroom, "Yes, Alex?"

"I'm going to need the name of a good lawyer."