Semper Fi Pt. 02

She stared at him in astonishment. "You're kidding."

He took her hand and guided it downward, his eyes sparkling in the dim light. She laughed and hugged him with sudden recklessness, throwing caution to the wind as she abandoned herself to the joy of loving him.

The morning would be time enough to deal with the reality of the situation. She would talk seriously with Frank and see what happened. But, right now, at this moment, she was in his bed and his arms were warm and strong and his mouth delicious and more than anything else in the world, she wanted to make love to him again.

Frank lay there, wondering what he had done and what was he going to do with Barbara.

**********

Chapter 11 For Once in My Life

The morning sunlight came through the window with a shifting pattern of light and shadow from the trees outside and there were pigeons giving their strange cooing noises. It was the birds that woke her for if it had been silent, she would have slept for hours more.

Caitlyn looked around Frank's bedroom at the furniture there, for the first time fully visible. She liked everything about his taste and more and more realized how much she adored the man, himself.

Taking care not to wake him, she rolled over and studied his face.

Remembering their lovemaking, she felt a sudden raging lust that was wholly at odds with her own feelings.

Last night, she had trusted him enough to cry in his arms, allowing him to comfort her in a moment of sorrow. She wanted, even more than a continued sexual release, to be close to this man. Caitlyn wanted to never cry like that, again.

At last, she slipped from the bed and went to his bathroom to shower. Then she started making breakfast for him, eggs and bacon and toast and jam and coffee.

She heard a noise and turned. It was him. "It's a beautiful morning," he said, reaching for the coffee mug and filling it from the pot on the stove.

She was silent, buttering toast at the counter with her back turned.

"I love you," he said, quietly. Yes, I do, he thought. What to tell Barbie, I don't know.

"Do you?" she asked, defensively.

"Do you think I'm a liar?"

"No, I'm sorry."

"I'm not leaving, you know," he said. "And I won't let you push me away, this time. I know how you felt last night and how I've felt these last five years... and I want to know everything that you keep hidden from everyone else."

She turned at that and he could see the alarm in her eyes. "What things?"

"Whatever it was that made you cry, last night," he said, intently. "This big secret that has you so scared. And, whatever happened to you when you sent me away and what's happened since then and everything..."

"Why?"

"Because I've always loved you and I've been miserable ever since..." He couldn't continue... it sounded too trite.

"Are you here to rescue me like some knight in shining armor?"

"No, I'm here to love you." He put some eggs on his plate and sat down.

Her face was pale and tense.

"C'mon, Caitlyn, trust me... trust me for a change." Like you couldn't do five years ago.

"Frank, you're going to be a father." There, she said it, maybe not quite the way she wanted to but jus the same...

"How? We used..."

"Five years ago, Frank. Her name is Kelly and..." Caitlyn began to cry. "Oh, Frank, you don't know how long I've prayed for you to return."

Frank had dropped his fork and stared at her. "A father? And, you're telling me now?" Jesus Christ! Jesus Christ! Jesus Christ!

"I'm sorry, Frank. I didn't know how to tell you... and if you were to leave me, again, I didn't want you to know."

"Caitlyn, last night you cried in my arms. I told you how I felt about you and I meant it. Our lovemaking was..." He paused. " I've been alone all this time. A father..."

He could see the pain behind her eyes, even as she tried to look... what? Calm, defiant, what?

"When can I see her?" he finally asked as the shock wore away.

"What are we, Frank? Are we a couple?"

"Caitlyn, I've always wanted to marry you. I told you that before you sent me away." In his mind, he struggled with the memory of Barbara and what they had done.

"Even now? With all this?" She trembled.

"Especially, now. Marry me, Caitlyn."

**********

Chapter 12 My Girl

Frank was nervous, terribly nervous, even if he was protected by the teddy bear he had in his arms. What if Kelly was afraid of him? What if she didn't like him? What if that was enough to change Caitlyn's mind about him? Even in the air conditioned hallway of his lover's apartment house, he was starting to sweat and wiped his forehead with the back of his jacket sleeve.

He rapped on the door and heard a thunder of small feet as they approached the door and then it swung open.

"Daddy!" the little girl squealed and grabbed him by the legs, nearly knocking him back into the hallway. With her little arms wrapped around him, she hugged him with all the strength her young arms had.

Frank reached down and picked her up, holding her close and looking into her face. He imagined she looked like her mother might have when she was young and then saw his eyes looking back at him.

"Daddy?" Kelly put her arms around his neck and held him tightly as he looked closely at the little girl's face.

"Yes, Kelly?" How DO you talk to a little girl? He had so much to learn.

"You gonna live with us? Mommy's been crying."

"I hope so, sweetheart, I hope so." Frank walked into the apartment, pushing the door closed behind him. He set his daughter down and handed her the bear. She took it and ran to her mother. He had been so sure she was going to hide behind her mother with her thumb in her mouth, not saying a word.

"Look, Daddy's gots me a bear!" She ran to the three women sitting on the sofa.

"Frank, this is Clara... and this is Mellissa and this is Maria. They're my best friends."

Frank gave a nervous wave. "Uh, hi..."

"So... you're the famous Frank Carlson," Clara said, extending her hand.

"Hello..." he said, trying to smile. How bad could it be?

"Dinner's ready," said Caitlyn, saving Frank at the last second.

It was funny, he thought, never wondering if she could cook or not. He knew he could, even if it was just an upscale version of meat and potatoes.

"Maria's fixed us enchiladas and tamales... and we have lemonade, unless, of course, you'd like something else? Something stronger..."

Well, he thought, that answered that question.

"Beer, maybe?"

"No, lemonade is fine, thank you." No sense in looking stupid the first time, he thought. What WAS the right answer? That WAS the right answer, right? Damn it!

"So, Frank, Caitlyn tells us you spent some time in Honolulu. How was that?"

**********

"We've got to talk," he said, feeling miserable. No women for five years, living a lonely life, and now one he's got to marry and the other who would have made a fresh start in life with him.

"It's someone else, isn't it?"

"I'm sorry," he said. "I never wanted to hurt you. It just... it's a long story."

"No chance on sharing?" she asked, hoping.

"I'm sorry. I can't do that. There's a child involved."

"Did you know?"

"No, I didn't. Like I said, it's a long story."

"I've got time. You know, having a child doesn't mean you have to get married, anymore. We could still..."

"Barbie, I couldn't do that. I couldn't do that to her, to the child, to you. If it was you, I couldn't do that to you."

"I'm sorry, too, Frank. I really thought we had a chance."

"Me, too, Barbara, me, too. Otherwise..."

**********

"Who's ready for Sea World?!!" Frank asked, putting as much enthusiasm into his question as he could. He had soon realized that having a child meant doing things he would never have thought possible. Chasing killers and spies seemed so much simpler than trying to become a father practically overnight.

"Me! Me! Me!" his daughter yelled, jumping up and down like a pogo stick out of control, her arms flapping like an albatross trying to fly. She had her bear clutched tightly and even though her mother had tried to get her to put it back in her bedroom, she insisted on bringing it along. After all, Barry wanted to see Shamu, too.

The drive from Oceanside back south to San Diego took an hour but they still were able to enter the park before ten o'clock. While the orcas and dolphins were a big surprise for Kelly, the time out in the sun soon had her tired and she took a nap while Caitlyn and Frank sat, sharing an ice cream bar.

"Frank, is this what you want?" She searched his face, looking for some sign of disappointment... some sign of regret.

"More than you can imagine. I have loved you all of my life and only waited until we found one another." As soon as he said it, though, he recalled his night with Barbara.

"I'm sorry, Frank... I should have told you." She looked down at the ground, wondering how she could have done such a cruel thing to him.

"It's all right, Baby, it's all in the past. Today is the future." He put his arm around her, hoping he had made the right choice but then he saw his little girl...

Kelly woke up to see her parents kissing and yawned, stretching her arms out. "Mommy! I'm hungry."

"OK, Honey, we'll get something to eat." Caitlyn looked at Frank and then stood up from the bench.

Frank bent over and picked up Kelly. "Calypso Bay is over there. We can get some real food," he said, leading the way, carrying his daughter. Caitlyn hurried to follow, carrying Kelly's bear in one hand and the two bags of souvenirs they had already gotten their daughter.

"Hot dog with fries or chicken with raisins?"

"Hot dog! Please!"

"Frank?" She gave him a worried look; being a mother had changed her attitude toward food.

"Ah, c'mon, it's special and who doesn't want a hot dog? I want the baby backs. What do you want, Sweetheart?"

"I'll have the barbeque chicken, thank you... and a Pepsi."

"You know," said Frank, "I never thought I'd be this happy, ever. I wish today would last forever." He was pushing the pain he had felt for five years farther and farther back into his memory, hoping one day it would disappear altogether.

Caitlyn adjusted Kelly's sun hat. Lunch was quickly over, too fast in Frank's opinion and they went to ride the Skyride across the park. By four in the afternoon, they had ridden everything, seen everything, ate everything and now Caitlyn was carrying too many bags of hats, T-shirts, toys and coloring books.

"Frank... it's time to go home."

"I was thinking; instead of driving all the way back to Oceanside why don't you spend the night here in town? We can get a pizza for later and I bought a Disney cartoon collection."

"There's only one answer, isn't there?"

"C'mon, let's get our little baby home."

***********

Chapter 13 Crazy

For a moment, the briefest of moments, she clung to him, taking comfort in the soothing stroke of his fingers up and down her spine. She became aware of Frank's heart throbbing frantically beneath her own fingers... of the rock-solid muscles beneath his shirt... of the heat and heaviness of his arousal nudging against her belly.

The temperature in the kitchen seemed to jump twenty degrees as her pulse raced like a car in the Indy 500. Her blood began to spin with a sweet, wild ache and she looked up at hi, into his incredible hazel eyes. It was the most natural thing in the world for her to tip her head back, to kiss him, to touch his cheek, to whisper his name.

He bent down onto her lips, tasting the sweetness there but there was nothing sweet about the way his hands tangled in her dark hair or in the way he pulled her body against his.

Desire slammed through her, nearly knocking her back on her heels. He released her mouth and she tried to breathe, only to gasp when his tongue washed over her ear, her neck. His hands were as busy as his mouth. They caressed her face, streaked down her ribs to cup her ass as he lifted her, pressing her against him.

Then his mouth was on hers, again, sending waves of pleasure and need through her. She could feel his arousal, hard and heavy as he rocked against her. His tongue searched inside her mouth and tasted her, mated with hers again while his fingers brushed away her collar and worked the buttons on her blouse. The dark, burning need in those deep hazel eyes thrilled her, excited her.

"After that kiss, how am I supposed to keep my hands off you?" He smiled. "When do you want to go to the Zoo?"

"I want to go to bed, first." She looked at her daughter... no, she thought, their daughter, asleep on the fold-out sofa, snuggling with her bear.

"She'll be all right," he said. "We can leave the door open, just in case."

"Are you crazy? That door's going to stay closed. She'll be asleep at least another hour."

"It was just a thought." He took her hand and led her into the bedroom, quietly closing the door behind them.

**********

They wandered around the Zoo as Kelly tried to name the different animals. Frank finally sat down on a bench, needing a break. A four-year-old child somehow had more energy than any adult he had ever seen until she fell asleep.

"Disneyland?" he asked.

"Are you crazy?" she answered. "Disneyland? My God, she'll go..."

"Crazy? Sorry, I couldn't help it. When are we getting married, Caitlyn?"

"I had to make sure that you wouldn't freak out... you know... with her."

"Are you kidding? I've never had so much fun in my life." It was true. He had forgotten the simple pleasures of life, all these years... the joys of childhood... the joys he had once upon a time.

"Yeah, but Frank, life isn't all amusement parks and zoos. There's other things, too. Staying up all night with a sick child and kissing her hurts and worrying about her every second she's not in your sight and even then... and, she's just four. What happens when she's older and there's boys involved?"

"We've got guns."

"Frank, I'm being serious."

"So am I, Caitlyn. I love you and I love her and it's been long enough."

"Where will we live, Frank? I'm still in Oceanside and you're here in San Diego."

"As much as I like this apartment building, I'll move or we can buy something in-between or something, like Del Mar. We can work this out." We've got to make this work. I've got to make this work... for Kelly... for Caitlyn... for me.

"Are you sure?"

"As much as I have been about anything."

"Church or civil?"

"What do you want? Church would be nice. We've got a flower girl."

"Oh, Frank..."

**********

The strange thing about it, was, the murders never stopped. Frank no longer considered them murders, though... they were killings, plain and simple. The women, and in some cases, the men... continued to cheat on their spouses in the service and someone was exacting vengeance. Vengeance is Mine, sayeth the Lord... somebody was helping Him out and the files became thicker and thicker and thicker.

To be continued...