A Love from the Past Ch. 09-11

"Ms. Carson, the girl's name is Netalia and Shella is in her room where she has been told she needs to stay," Dex answered.

"I would like to speak with her," Ms. Carson told Dex.

"I'm right here," Shella said from behind them.

"You're supposed to be in bed," Dex reminded Shella.

"I had to use the bathroom," she grumbled. "And get a snack." Shella held up the plate of fruit.

"Apples and honey?" Dex asked, remembering an old favorite. Shella nodded. "Shel, this is Ms. Carson, the social worker I told you about," Dex told her. Shella shook the woman's hand politely and headed back into the bedroom.

"I need to ask you a few questions," Ms. Carson told Shella, following her into the room.

"Ask your questions," Shella told her. She set the plate on the night stand and pushed herself onto the bed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"That was insulting," Shella grumbled when Dex brought in dinner that night.

"I agree. How's your soup?" Dex asked.

"It's good," Shella murmured. "It reminds me of my grandmother's," she added.

"How's school going?" Dex asked Netalia.

"Boring. I'm way ahead of most of the kids in my grade," Netalia answered.

"We'll have to talk to your teachers about moving you up a grade," Dex mused. He glanced over at Shella who was rubbing her abdomen. "You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, he's just antsy," Shella answered. Dex laughed.

"Can I feel?" Netalia asked. Shella nodded and Netalia pressed her hand against Shella's abdomen. "Wow," she murmured. "Do you have any internal organs left?" she asked.

"I don't know," Shella answered with a grin.

~~~~~~~~~

-2 months later-

"If I don't get that little bitch back into my home, I'm going to miss out on the life insurance money. Her care taker gets a thousand dollars a month allowance to take care of her and I need that money. I don't care what you have to do, find a way to get my niece away from those delinquent biological parents of hers," Victoria growled into the phone.

"Your honor, I would like to say something," Netalia said, standing up next to Dex.

"I don't think that would be a good idea," Victoria protested.

"I am ten years old, almost eleven. I should have some say as to what happens to me," Netalia shot back. Dex grinned; his daughter shared his spunk.

"What would you like to say?" the judge asked Netalia.

"I over heard Victoria on the phone a few weeks ago. She was telling whoever she was talking to that she only wanted custody of me to get the thousand dollar allowance that my parents set up in their will," Netalia said. Dex stood up and glared at Victoria.

"Is that true?" the judge asked Victoria.

"I don't know what the little bitch is talking about!" Victoria exclaimed, forgetting where she was.

"Your honor, I don't believe anyone who cares about a child would call that child a bitch," Dex argued.

"I agree Mr. Thorne," the Judge said.

Darius stood up. "Your honor, I hate to appear rude, but I feel I must point out for the record that Mr. Thorne is the crown prince of Tria and as the crown prince of Tria, he deserves to be addressed as Prince Dexter," Darius announced.

"It's all right Darius, please, just sit down," Dex commanded. He glanced behind him and his eyes widened when he saw Shella sitting next to Darius, grabbing his arm and pulling him back into his seat.

"I was going to deliberate for a few moments, but after Ms. Delane's comment, I'm going to award full custody to Netalia's biological parents. I see from my copy of her adoptive parent's will, that there is a provision that she keeps all of her inheritance even if she does find her biological parents so I am going to overturn the adoption so that Ms. Delane can't sue for custody later on," the judge announced.

"What are you doing here?" Dex wanted to know after the judge declared them adjourned.

"I wanted to be here for this," Shella answered.

"You need to be in bed," Dex scolded.

"I'm not going to break Dex," Shella told him.

"You're going back to bed," Dex insisted.

"We should celebrate," Shella protested.

"We will. At home," Dex told her.

"But we should go out and have a great dinner and dessert," Shella said.

"Shella, until you have the baby or your doctor takes you off bed rest, you're staying in bed like a good girl," Dex said firmly. Shella allowed herself to be led out of the court house and to the car.

~~~~~~~~~

"What do you want Victoria?" Netalia asked.

"To talk to your mother," Victoria answered.

"Not a chance," Netalia said.

"You are such a brat," Victoria huffed, pushing past Netalia.

"Hey!" Netalia exclaimed, rushing after her. "Stop!" Victoria walked into the room that Shella was using, slammed the door shut and locked it behind her.

"What do you want?" Shella asked, looking up from her book.

"You little slut! You fucking little whore!" Victoria sneered.

"What did I ever do to you?" Shella asked. Victoria grabbed Shella by the hair and pulled her out of the bed.

"You and your little boy toy took my niece away from me!" Victoria shouted.

"You mean we took your Ms. Moneybags away from you! You never cared about Netalia, even when she was a child, before she knew about Dex and I!" Shella retorted.

"Whatever I meant is beside the point!" Victoria reached out to push Shella but she ducked awkwardly and performed a near flawless roundhouse kick. "How did you do that?" Victoria asked in surprise. In stead of answering her, Shella raced for the door and unlocked it right before Dex nearly kicked it open.

"Are you alright?" Dex asked gently.

"No," Shella answered. Dex steadied Shella and watched as Darius place handcuffs on Victoria's wrists. They watched as Darius led Victoria out. "Dex, I think I need a doctor," Shella said quietly. Dex glanced at her in concern.

"What's wrong?" Dex asked.

"Cramps," Shella gasped. Dex scooped her into his arms and walked quickly to the town car, Netalia following close behind.

"Dex, will you stay with Netalia?" Dex asked. Darius nodded and rested his hands on Netalia's shoulders.

"Is the baby okay?" Shella asked nervously. Dex squeezed her hand, causing her to look at him. His eyes were wide, concern filled and something that surprised her; fear.

"I don't know yet. I want to keep you over night and monitor things closely. Please try to calm down and relax, I'll do everything I can," Doctor Anderson told Shella. He patted her hand and walked out the door.

"Dex!" Shella's eyes were wide and filled with tears. Dex moved from his spot behind her and sat down on the bed in front of her and took both of her hands in his.

"Look at me Shel. It's going to be okay. I promise," Dex said, his eyes staring deep into hers.

"I'm scared," Shella whispered. Dex smiled and pulled her in for a hug.

"I would be worried if you weren't." He pulled away from her and pressed a gentle kiss to her lips. "Do you trust me?" Dex asked. Shella nodded. "You and the baby are going to be just fine," Dex promised. "Now get some rest," he added. Shella nodded and closed her eyes as exhaustion overtook her. Dex stood up and walked out into the hall.

"Dare, it's Dex. Call Jason and Billy and get them down to the hospital. Shel's gonna need all the support she can get," Dex said, hanging up and walking back into the room. He sat down in the chair beside the bed and slid his hand over hers. "I love you Shella Lynn and I'm going to do all I can to take care of you both," he murmured. He returned her hand to the bed, leaned back in the chair, closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Dex's eyes shot open when he heard Shella shifting in the bed. "You stayed here all night?" Shella asked in surprise.

"Where else would I go?" Dex asked.

"Home," Shella said.

"I'm with you Shel, come hell or high water," Dex promised. "Netalia will be fine. Tina and Kara went over to help Darius out. Jason, Billy and Tommy are out in the hall," Dex told her. Shella's smile faded when Doctor Anderson stepped into the room.

"Doctor Anderson?" Shella asked, the nervousness back in her voice.

"I can't stop the labor Shella, I'm sorry," Doctor Anderson said gently after examining her quickly.

"What do you mean you can't stop it?" Dex asked.

"Shella, you're already dilated to seven centimeters. Like it or not, this baby is going to come today," Doctor Anderson answered. "A nurse will be in shortly to move you to labor and delivery," he added.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Is she going to be okay?" Netalia asked.

"She's going to be just fine. Your mom's had it rough, but she's a fighter," Tina said patting Netalia's hand reassuringly. Netalia's attention was grabbed by the sounds of a fussy baby.

"He's so cute," Netalia squealed. Tina laughed and handed Parker over to her. "It's going to be so weird having a baby in the house. I've always wanted a little brother or sister," Netalia commented. Tina said nothing, just exchanged glances with Kara. "What's wrong?" Netalia asked.

"They can't stop the labor," Kara said gently as Darius led Ashley into the living room.

"Hey Ash," Tina greeted.

"Billy called me. Said you guys could use some company," Ashley said, taking Parker from a shocked Netalia. "Hi pumpkin, you just keep getting bigger and bigger every time I see you," she squealed. Parker blew bubbles and grinned. "He's adorable! Looks just like the pictures of Jason on Bev's mantel," Ashley told Tina who laughed and nodded her agreement.

~~~~~~~~~~

"How are you doing?" Dex asked.

"I'm okay. Thanks to the happy drugs," Shella answered. Dex grinned and looked up as Billy walked into the room, obviously in full doctor mode. "I know that look. Is this where you're going to scold me for getting out of bed?" Shella asked.

"Not this time kid," Billy said with a grin.

"When are you and Jason going to stop calling me kid?" Shella asked grumpily. Before Billy could answer, Shella let out a low moan.

"I thought the morphine was supposed to help with that," Dex said.

"Help yes, take away all the pain, no," Billy told him. He sat on the bed and rubbed her back slowly. "Better?" he asked. Shella nodded and Billy stood up. "It'll be soon, I promise," Billy said softly before leaving the room.

"How are you doing?" Shella asked Dex.

"I should be asking you that," he told her.

"I'm okay, I've been here before," Shella reminded him.

"I'm sorry Shel, I should have been here," Dex murmured. Shella gave him a small smile.

"It's okay Dex, it's forgotten," Shella told him.

Shella's eyes met Dex's as the baby slid into the doctor's hands, screaming at the top of his lungs. "Is he okay?" Shella asked, dropping her head back against the pillow.

"He looks and sounds good and he's only a little premature. We'll take him down to the NICU and give him an evaluation," Doctor Anderson told Shella.

Dex squeezed Shella's hand. "You did great," he murmured, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

~~~~~~~~~

"How is she?" Tina asked softly. Dex glanced over at the couch and smiled when he saw Netalia asleep, curled up on her side, Parker asleep next to her.

"Shella's fine. So is the baby. A boy, six pounds even, twenty inches long. She sent me home because I was bothering her," Dex said with a grin. Tina laughed. "She'd better get used to it because I'm not going anywhere," Dex added.

"You're here for the long haul?" Tina asked. Dex nodded as he sank down into his easy chair.

"Come hell or high water, I'm staying here with Shella and the kids," Dex said, glancing back at the sleeping daughter he so recently discovered.

"Good," Tina, Kara and Ashley said in unison.