Finding a New Life Ch. 13-14

Sorry it's taken so long to post a new chapter, but I injured my foot 4 weeks ago and it was determined that I broke two bones in my right foot and after chasing the kids around all day, I've been in too much pain to even think about writing. Hope you enjoy the chapters!

Ashira

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Lily stared at her lap as Tyler told his family about Mia coming out of remission. Lily glanced at her mother in law and shivered, feeling Caroline's gaze of disappointment going her way. Lily stood up and walked into the kitchen, unable to take the tension.

"Lil?" Lily looked up at her brother through red rimmed eyes. "How are you holding up?" Eli asked gently.

"Not great," Lily said with a slight roll of her eyes. "She's been through so much already," Lily whispered.

"Mia's a tough little girl. She'll be fine," Eli promised his sister.

"I know she's tough, but how do you know she'll be fine?" Lily asked.

"I just do," Eli said. Lily gave a small smile and laughed a little.

"Ty said the same thing yesterday," Lily said and Eli grinned.

"You know what they say about great minds," Eli told his sister. She laughed and nodded. Eli and Lily returned to the family room in time to hear David fussing in the play pen. Lily scooped him up out of the play pen and held him close.

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

"I can not believe this!" Lily exclaimed.

"What's up?" Tyler looked up from feeding David some rice cereal.

"Your mother is petitioning for custody of the kids," Lily said, tossing a pile of papers on the counter next to Tyler.

"On what grounds?" Tyler wanted to know.

"Incompetence," Lily spat. They both looked up to see Grace and Grant leading Greg and Eli into the kitchen.

"Did you know about this?" Tyler asked, referring to the papers.

"Not until after. Your mother has no case; Cancer isn't from being incompetent," Greg said, rolling his eyes.

"Why is she doing this?" Lily asked.

"I have no idea. How's Mia feeling?" Greg wanted to know.

"The Chemo isn't too bad this time, and her bone marrow still looks good," Lily said with a smile.

"Doctor Harper said that she should rebound very well," Tyler added.

"That's wonderful," Greg said with a wide grin.

-2 weeks later-

"Mrs. Billings, are you sure you want to go through with this?" her lawyer asked Caroline while they waited for the judge. Caroline hesitated as she saw the hurt on her son's face from across the aisle, but nodded when she remembered how close they had come to losing Mia when she faced Cancer the last time.

"I'm sure," Caroline answered.

Lily sat nervously as the bailiff announced the case.

"Mrs. Billings, am I reading this correctly? You're suing your son and daughter in law for custody of their children Mia and David Billings?" the judge asked.

"Yes your honor," Caroline said.

"You believe your son and daughter in law are incompetent parents?" the judge asked.

"Yes your honor," Caroline said.

"In what way?" the judge wanted to know.

"Mia had Cancer when she was two and now she's out of remission," Caroline answered.

"Excuse me?" the judge asked incredulously. "You feel your son and daughter in law are incompetent because their daughter is out of remission?" the judge echoed.

"Yes sir," Caroline said, glancing at Tyler and Lily. She didn't miss the fact that her husband and daughter were sitting behind Tyler and Lily. The judge turned to look at Tyler and Lily and she shifted nervously.

"Did you at any time fail to treat your daughter's illness?" the judge asked Lily.

"No your honor. In fact, when she needed a bone marrow transplant, Ty was the only match and he donated his marrow to save Mia," Lily answered, her voice shaking. The judge turned back to Caroline.

"Mrs. Billings, your son and daughter in law have not failed to get their daughter the treatment needed to try and save her life. I feel that you have wasted this courts time. This case is dismissed," the judge said, banging the gavel on the stand before getting up and walking away.

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

"I'm so glad that's over," Lily groaned as she, Tyler, Greg, Eli, Grace and Grant walked down the hall of the hospital. Lily was eager to get back to her daughter and talk to Doctor Harper about how treatment was going on.

"It isn't over yet," Tyler said grimly. Lily looked up at him. "I still have to deal with my mother," he told her. Lily sighed and all conversation stopped as they walked into Mia's room.

"Mommy, Daddy!" Mia exclaimed, her eyes widening with excitement. "I go home!" Lily looked up at Doctor Harper in confusion.

"Mia is stable and she's done with her first round of Chemo. Bring her back next week and we'll go over her blood work again," doctor Harper said. Lily's face brightened as doctor Harper handed Tyler the discharge papers. "I'll see you next week," he said, walking out of the room.

"What the hell were you thinking?!" Tyler shouted, storming into his parents house the next morning. Caroline looked up with red rimmed eyes.

"I thought I was doing what was best for Mia," Caroline told her son.

"By taking a scared, sick little girl away from her parents?" Tyler growled.

"Lily couldn't prevent Mia from getting sick again," Caroline pointed out.

"Are you stupid or just delusional?" Tyler asked.

"I am not stupid and you will NOT speak to me like that again. I am your mother!" Caroline exclaimed.

"Cancer is not something we could have prevented; it's genetic! The fact that you tried to take Mia and David away because Mia has Cancer is fucking ridiculous!" Tyler shouted, his anger at a new high.

"Tyler, do not raise your voice to me again," Caroline warned.

"Then unless Lily or I physically do something to hurt Mia or David, don't take us to court to get custody! We love those kids and we are not hurting them," Tyler said before storming out of the house.

"Wow oh wow, things are tense between mom and dad," Grace said, walking into the kitchen of Tyler and Lily's house.

"That isn't my problem," Tyler said tersely, pulling a can of soda out of the refrigerator. Grace nodded and slid onto a chair at the breakfast nook.

"How's Mia doing?" Grace asked, stealing a sip of her brother's soft drink.

"She's doing great. She had another follow up appointment the other day and doctor Harper seems to think that she's heading for remission again," Tyler said with a smile. Grace smiled back and slid the can of soda towards her brother.

"That's great Ty!" Grace said. Tyler nodded and looked up as Grant walked into the kitchen, Lily and Mia not too far behind.

"Daddy, can we get a puppy?" Mia asked, giving her father a pleading look. Tyler and Lily exchanged glances.

"I don't know sweetie, a puppy is an awful lot of work," Tyler said carefully.

"I can do it, I'm a big girl and David can help too!" Mia generously volunteered her brother for duty. Lily chuckled.

"David is a little too young to help out with a puppy Mia. He can't even walk or talk yet," Lily told her daughter.

"I want a puppy!" Mia whined, sounding more like a two year old then a four year old.

"Mia, mommy and I will talk about it, but for now, why don't you go finish picking up your toys," Tyler said, suppressing a smile.

~~~~~~~

"Grace, what's up?" Lily asked her friend as she slipped inside the front door of her friend's house.

"I need some advice," Grace said, taking a sip of water.

"On what?" Lily wanted to know.

"On how to tell Grant something." Lily resisted the urge to roll her eyes at Grace's desire to turn everything into a game of twenty questions.

"What do you need to tell him?" Lily asked patiently. Grace set a fuzzy photograph down on top of the table, in front of her sister in law. Lily looked at the photograph carefully and grinned. "I'll help you make a nice dinner and you can put this on his plate so he'll see it when he sits down," Lily suggested. Grace gave a shaky smile. "What are you so nervous about?" Lily wanted to know. Grace shrugged.

"So what about this menu?" Grace asked, changing the subject.

"Let's go shopping," Lily suggested, grabbing her purse.

When Grant got home that night, he sniffed the air with appreciation. "What's all this?" he asked. Grace just smiled.

"Dinner will be done in about another minute, why don't you go get yourself something to drink and sit down at the table," Grace suggested. Grant nodded, grabbed a glass of soda and sat down at his usual spot at the table. He studied the envelope sitting between his plate and his salad bowl curiously before opening it carefully and letting the enclosed photograph drop to his plate before picking it up and studying it carefully. When Grace walked into the dining room with a platter of Rib eye steaks, Grant's eyes were almost as wide as they could get. "I take it you opened the envelope," Grace said with a nervous smile. Grant nodded and just stared at Grace. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"I should be asking you that," Grant said with a wry smile.

"I feel fine," Grace murmured, sliding a steak onto her plate and putting some salad into her bowl. "What?" Grace asked as Grant continued to stare at her.

"I love you," Grant said with a smile. Grace smiled back.

"I love you too," Grace murmured, drizzling a small amount of Italian dressing over her salad. Grant studied her for a minute more before digging into to his food.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

"Hey Eli," Lily said as her brother walked into the house. Lily closed the door behind him and Eli released a deep breath. "What's up?" Lily wanted to know.

"Greg just threatened to divorce Caroline," Eli told his sister. Lily's eyes widened.

"Seriously?" Lily asked in awe. Eli nodded. "Ty's at work, do you think I should call him?" Lily asked.

"Not yet. You guys have a lot on your plate to begin with, let's not add more," Eli suggested. Lily nodded.

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

"Emma?" Lily asked, after bumping into the girl in a bookstore.

"Hey Lily, how's Mia? I heard from Eli that she was out of remission," Emma wanted to know.

"She's doing better," Lily said with a small smile. "How are you doing? We haven't seen you around much lately," Lily added.

"I've been around, but Eli and I are sort of taking a break. He met my cousin and sort of freaked out," Emma answered.

"Hello Lily." Lily looked up and gasped, her eyes widened as she recognized the man that had walked up to them.

"Lily, this is my cousin Carter," Emma introduced.

"We've met," Lily said dryly.

"How have you been?" Carter asked politely.

"Busy," Lily said, suddenly tense.

"Sorry I'm late," Tyler said, walking into the bookstore.

"Hey Ty," Emma said with a wave.

"Hey kid," Tyler answered, glancing at Carter.

"Well well, if it isn't an old friend," Carter said with a nasty grin.

"Emma, we'll see you later," Lily said, grabbing Tyler's hand and pulling him further into the store.

"Lily!" Lily stopped walking and turned around to see Carter walking up to her.

"What do you want Carter?" Lily asked with a sigh of frustration.

"To talk," Carter said.

"There's nothing left to say," Lily said, trying to walk around him.

"Oh yes, there is," Carter growled, grabbing Lily by the arm.

"Let me go!" Lily shouted, trying to draw attention.

"Oh give it up," Carter said, pulling her to his truck and pushing her in the passenger side.

"You need to let me go," Lily pleaded as Carter pulled into the driveway of a cabin deep in the woods.

"No, I really don't. I never should have let you kick me out," Carter said, grabbing Lily by the hand and dragging her into the cabin. "I know you and Tyler Billings got married and had another baby," Carter added, examining the rings.

"So?" Lily asked.

"I thought you couldn't get pregnant after the miscarriage," Carter sneered, ripping the rings off of Lily's finger.

"It was a miracle," Lily snapped. Carter grinned and pushed her into a small bedroom.

"You won't be able to get out of here so don't bother trying," Carter told her.

~~~~~~~~~~~

"Are you sure you haven't seen Lily?" Tyler asked nervously as he changed David's diaper.

"Ty, if I'd seen Lily, don't you think I would have told you by now," Grace told her brother.

"We ran into Carter a few days ago," Tyler said. Grace's eyes widened.

"Call the police," Grace told Tyler

"What? Why?" Tyler asked.

"Just do it!" Grace exclaimed, grabbing her nephew from Tyler and leaving the room.

"What did he do to Lily?" Tyler asked after the police had left.

"You don't want to know," Grace said.

"But I need to," Tyler murmured.

flashback

"What are you smiling about?" Chase asked as he walked into the house.

"I got the test results back from my doctor's office," Lily said.

"And?" Chase wanted to know.

"I'm pregnant," Lily told him.

"What?" Chase asked.

"We're having a baby," Lily repeated.

"A baby," Chase echoed. Lily nodded. Her smile faded as the look on Chase's face turned grim.

"What's wrong?" Lily asked nervously. Chase walked up to her and grabbed her roughly around the arms and shook her roughly.

"I told you I didn't want another brat in this house," he growled. "Get rid of it," Chase demanded.

"Chase!" Lily protested, her eyes wide.

"Get rid of it or I will," Chase threatened.

Lily stepped out of the bathroom, pulling her towel around her tightly. Lily was nervous, Carter had been out of town on business and she hadn't seen him in a few months. The pregnancy hadn't been mentioned by either of them and Lily wasn't sure how Carter would take seeing her with a pregnant belly. Before Lily had a chance to finish drying off and put her clothing on, Carter walked into the house. "Lily?" he called. "I hope you're alone because it's been too long," he added. Lily froze in the doorway to her bedroom. "Where's Mia?" Carter asked.

"With Grace," Lily said softly.

"I didn't come home to look at your back side, although, your ass still looks great," Carter said, reaching for her. Lily turned around slowly and Carter's eyes narrowed. "I thought I told you to get rid of it," Carter growled.

"I don't believe in abortion Carter, besides, I want this baby," Lily said, resting her hands on her abdomen.

"And I told you I didn't," Carter growled, taking a step towards her. Lily took a step back.

"Carter, what are you doing?" Lily asked nervously. She gasped as the back of Carter's hand smacked across her face.

"Get an abortion Lily," he said, his voice low.

"No," Lily told him. Carter pushed her down and pressed a foot onto her chest, holding her against the floor.

"Either you go get an abortion performed by a licensed doctor or I'll do it myself," he threatened.

"You're hurting me!" Lily gasped. Carter lifted up his foot and watched as Lily stood up.

"What is it going to be?" Carter asked.

"I'm not having an abortion," Lily said, folding her arms over her chest. Carter back handed Lily across the face.

"Wrong answer," he said, his voice cold and his face hard. Lily's eyes widened as Carter began his assault. He balled his hands into fists and punched Lily in the head, chest, abdomen and kicked her. Lily finally managed to fight him off and she ran towards the kitchen. Carter reached her just as Lily's hand curled around the door knob. Lily screamed as Carter's hand touched her shoulder and spun her around. She tried to scream again as one of her kitchen knives was plunged in and out of her abdomen.

end flashback

"I found her the next morning when I brought Mia back. It was nearly too late," Grace told Tyler, her voice soft but shaking. Tyler was quiet but Grace could see the rage in her brother's eyes.

"If he hurts her again," Tyler shook his head and met Grace's eyes with his own.

"We'll get her back Ty," Grace promised.

"If he hurts her, I'll kill him," Tyler's voice was calm, serious, deadly.