Rescued

She giggled and squirmed away from me. "Good morning, sleepy head. I thought you were going to snooze right through breakfast."

I chuckled. "Some woman kept me up half the night with her moaning, panting, and demands for attention."

She laughed. "Her demands?" Nikki busied herself cracking eggs into a bowl. She spoke over a shoulder as I released her. "So, I called Mom right away this morning. I told her I'd be over to get Donnie after I unpacked my car. Of course, she said I could take my time. I think she sounded more giddy than me."

I poured myself a cup. "Sounds good. I'll get your car after breakfast. Then we can bring the little monster home. Tell you the truth, I miss him."

"I know, right?" She poured her scrambled egg concoction into another pan, then fished the ham onto plates.

"Any idea where your ex wandered off to or what he's got up his sleeve?"

"No." She came to the table with our food. "You can bet the farm he's not done being a shit. I'd like to know what he's up to though."

"Me too. If he gets too out of line, we'll send that lawyer after him again." I glanced at the clock. "Oh, shit. I've got to call Mike and tell him I won't be in today."

"You don't need to take off work. I can go get Donnie."

"I realize you can, but not a chance. Donnie needs to know I want him here. He'll get the message because I'll be there to pick him up and bring him home."

Nikki smiled. "You really are special."

Heat set my cheeks afire. I avoided her scrutiny and changed the subject. "Speaking of which, where are your keys? I'll get dressed and go get your car."

Nikki rose, gathering the utensils. "I left them on the coffee table. I'll clean up in here, then help you unload."

"Fair enough."

I strolled down the sidewalk and once past the neighbor's hedge, saw Nikki's beater about half way down the next block. I pulled a parking ticket off the windshield and stuck it in my pocket. I'd go to city hall tomorrow on my lunch hour and pay it.

Now that we were semi-officially together, maybe she'd let me get her a better car. I climbed in and went through the ritual begging required to start it. Success.

I carried in a couple suitcases and put them on the bed in our room. Our room. It had a great ring to it.

Nikki joined me and in no time we had the car unloaded. I drank coffee and watched as she put Donnie's things away, then moved to our room.

After the initial deluge of shoes and unmentionables was stored away, she got dressed. I sat on the edge of the bed and watched her. She casually hung my robe, then dressed. The comfort and confidence she displayed in that simple act in front of my watchful eyes brought a powerful warmth to my chest. Her naked body, now unmistakably familiar to me, but still exciting, roused my cock from its slumber. Perhaps a quick lustful liaison was in order.

Nikki caught my stare and my thought, apparently evident on my face. She laughed. "That's for later, big guy. We need to go get Donnie."

I tried to pout as much as possible. "Okay, I guess."

She buttoned her jeans, sniffed, and wrinkled her lips. "Ugh, these sheets reek. Come on. Let's strip the bed and get these linens into the laundry. It'll be fresh. For later." She shared a coy smile.

Later was sounding better and better. I dragged my carcass off the bed and helped her. I dug clean sheets out of the linen closet while she put the others in the washer.

Niki smoothed the comforter over one of the pillows, then placed her hands on her hips. "What do we tell Donnie when he notices I'm sleeping with you and not in my room?"

I shrugged. "We'll tell him the truth." I couldn't stop my lecherous grin. "Uncle John and his mom are getting it on."

She raised an eyebrow at me, but giggled. "Sometimes you are so dumb."

I laughed. "No, really. We tell him the truth. We're in love and that's what grown-ups do. It won't be a big deal to him and he'll go back to playing with his toys. The more serious question is, after we have more kids, will he still call me Unc Jay while his siblings call me Dad?"

Nikki lowered her chin and looked at me from under her brows. "Did you just propose marriage to me?"

Oops. "Not formally, no. I plan to get a ring, ask your father, and find the right spot to get on bended knee. But informally, yeah, that's what I'm thinking."

Her smile consumed her face and she batted her eyes a couple times. "Donnie will call you Dad too."

"Is that a yes?"

Nikki's phone rang. That fearsome green fire flashed in her eyes. She yanked the phone from her pocket, glanced at it, then wrung her lips, and swiped it. "Really bad timing, Mom. John's in the middle of a bumbling, ham-handed marriage proposal."

Bumbling? I rolled my eyes. She was a fantastic secret keeper.

Nikki's face fell. She held a finger up to me. Into her phone she said, "Bill did what?"

My phone squawked an emergency alert. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. I pulled my phone from my back pocket. A photo of Donnie came into focus with the heading, 'Amber Alert, Possible Parental Abduction.' Oh shit!

***

My truck screeched to a halt outside my in-laws' house. A maze of police cars, a firetruck, and an ambulance blocked the street. Our dash to the house was interrupted by a uniformed officer. After some anxious words with him and a detective, we were allowed into the house.

Marge and Nikki embraced in the living room. Warren sat on the couch being tended by two EMT's. One held a compress on a bloody wound in his scalp while the other took his vital signs. Warren complained about their fussing, claiming he was all right. Obviously not.

I hugged my mother-in-law and held her hand as I listened to Nikki rattle off several places Bill might take Donnie. A detective wrote on a pad as another passed the information over his hand-held radio. One of them asked if she knew Bill's license plate number. Nikki told them the car was new and had a temporary tag.

A detective handed over his card and promised they'd be in touch as soon as they'd heard anything. The police left and once Warren signed a waiver for refusing medical care, the EMT's left too.

Marge went into the kitchen, announcing she was going to make sandwiches and coffee. Her standard activity when she was nervous or upset. Nikki and I turned to Warren. She sat next to him while I loomed.

We gave him a moment to get his thoughts together, then demanded he tell us what happened.

"Marge and I figured you'd be along soon, so we'd started to gather up and pack Donnie's things. We told him he was getting a surprise. Sure didn't know how much of a surprise it would be." Warren accepted a cup from Marge. I declined, but she dumped pouty lips on me, so I took one off her tray.

"Anyway, I went to the door and it was Bill. He said you sent him to get Donnie. I knew he was lying and told him so. He went nuts. We were there at the door." He pointed at the busted doorframe. "Both of us pushing. Me trying to close it and him trying to get in. I got it latched, but he kicked it open before I could lock the dead bolt. I guess he isn't ailing as much as he claims."

Odd, I hadn't noticed the damage earlier. I made a mental note to have some of my guys from the store come over and fix the door.

"So, I got between him and Donnie. That's when Bill cracked me over the head with his cane. I got a little groggy then. Not sure exactly what happened after." Warren rubbed the bandage on his head.

Marge returned, her tray loaded with sandwiches this time. She planted her hands on her hips and said, "Bill threatened me with his cane too, then he took Donnie, Donnie's backpack, and left. I checked on Warren, then called 9-1-1. That's where we're at. Can you get this stubborn old coot to go to the hospital?"

I grabbed a sandwich and munched on it as Nikki and Marge pleaded with, then berated Warren. I watched him, he seemed fine to me. And the medics hadn't been insistent he go, so I figured he was all right. Probably be sore for a couple days though.

The day wore on. Nikki went through a box of tissues worrying. I tried to console her with hugs and gentle words, but nothing worked. I knew it wouldn't. Hell, I was worried too. At last a detective called and informed us they'd made a little progress. Bill and Donnie hadn't been seen, but his car had been found abandoned on the west side of town. The detective promised he'd be in touch as soon as something more broke.

When it got dark, Nikki and I went home. It was a forlorn ride. Silent but for Nikki's occasional sniffles. We walked to the front door arm in arm. We found the door unlocked. "Did I forget to lock the door when we ran out of here this morning?"

Nikki shook her head. "I thought you locked it. But I wasn't exactly paying attention."

"Stay here." I went in. Nikki hung back and pulled out her phone. Butterflies scurried about in my gut as the 'freeze, flight, or fight' chemicals kicked in. A light shone in the hallway, probably from the bathroom. Was that muffled snickering? I flipped on the living room's overhead lamp. "Hello, is someone here?"

I flinched as Donnie leapt from the hallway, giggling, and shouting, surprise. I caught my breath, scooped him into my arms, and crushed him against me. "Everyone's worried about you. How'd you get here?"

"I brought him, of course." Bill entered from the hallway, holding my bat in a casual grip along his leg. He wasn't limping and his cane was nowhere in sight. "Get your fat ass in here, Nikki."

She rushed to my side, taking Donnie from me. We stood with our backs to the fireplace watching Bill.

"What do you think you're doing?" she said.

He flashed a mirthless grin. "You didn't expect me and Donnie to leave town without giving you and your boyfriend a well-deserved beat down. Did you?"

I clenched my fists, watching for my chance.

He used the bat to push the front door closed. He rested the bat on his shoulder, then turned to us with his empty hand held out. "Phones, now!"

Nikki put hers in his hand. I tossed mine on the coffee table. Bill glanced at Nikki's, his face flushed deep crimson. "You, bitch! You called the cops?"

Nikki stiffened next to me, then growled, "They're still on the line and on the way. Looks like you're in deep shit this time, Bill. Let's see, there's assault, breaking and entering, menacing, oh, and how can we forget, kidnapping?"

He lunged at her. She turned, keeping Donnie out of reach. I leapt on him, pinning the bat to his chest. We crashed to the floor in a tangle of legs and arms. The bat rolled away. Nikki screamed and Donnie wailed. Now that I was totally in fight mode, my belly quit quivering. Bill and I rolled back and forth several times, knocking over the coffee table. Apparently I was out of practice, he countered nearly every move I tried.

He seemed intent on escaping. I did everything I could to keep him on the floor under me. He tried to knee me in the balls. I partially blocked it. Rage stormed into my mind. I actually saw him in red hues. I crushed him to the floor face-first and managed to chicken-wing one of his arms behind his back. Bill howled in pain and anger. He elbowed me in the side of my head with his other arm. I blinked the pain away, then established a firm base on my toes with my feet spread wide, my weight on his back. For the first time in my life I tried to break another man's arm.

A crunching sound came from his shoulder. He bellowed. I kept the pressure on. I was going to rip off his arm and beat him with it. Nikki alternated shouting our names and demanding we stop.

Gruff voices and heavy footfalls flooded the room. Strong hands pulled me off Bill. In a fury, I didn't know I was capable of, I broke from the cop's grip and kicked Bill in the gut. More cops threw me to the couch, pinned my face against the upholstery, and clamped handcuffs on my wrists. They held Nikki at bay and demanded to know what was going on. I slumped into the cushions, stopped resisting, and breathed deep. What a fucking day.

The cops let me sit up, but left me handcuffed. I politely provided my personal information to a uniformed officer. EMT's arrived and tended to Bill. Once the police figured out who he was, they arrested, and escorted him to hospital for what the EMT's called a 'serious shoulder injury.' Nikki was left free to tend to Donnie, but not allowed to talk to me.

Detectives arrived and instructed a uniform to take me downtown. Nikki would be coming downtown too, as soon as my in-laws got there to look after Donnie. My heart dropped at her worried face as I was led away by a cop and stuffed into the back of a squad car. One hell of a start to celebrating our engagement. I was pretty sure we were engaged, anyway.

I noticed Mrs. Parker's living room light was on. I allowed a rue chuckle. She was probably in the throes of a conniption.

I sat in a small, smelly, unadorned room for what felt like an hour. At least they'd taken off the handcuffs. At last, one of the detectives I'd met at my in-laws earlier interviewed me for about twenty minutes. Then I was left alone again for I didn't know how long.

Finally, the door opened. Two detectives and Nikki were standing in the hallway. The detective who'd interviewed me said, "We have all we need for now. You and your fiancée are free to go. I'll have an officer give you a ride back home."

He'd called her my fiancée, meaning Nikki had confirmed it, to them at least. I groaned as I rose. Every muscle in my body had tightened up and now threatened to snap with the slightest movement. I shook hands with the detectives, then hugged Nikki close. I kissed her for lustful and medicinal purposes.

She tried to push me back saying, "Stop now. You're embarrassing us all."

I didn't care. Her kiss soothed my aches and pains.

At home, Nikki went to check on Donnie in his sleep. I was left in the living room to relate all the gory details of our evening to my in-laws. When Nikki joined us, she was required to tell her version of events. In the end, we all allowed a grateful sigh. Things had worked out for the most part.

We offered Nikki's old room to her parents, but they chose to go home. She stood at the window watching them leave the driveway. I stepped behind her, wrapped her in my arms, and kissed the top of her head. She relaxed against me. I glanced at the clock on the mantel, nearly two in the morning. Work was going to suck.

I led her toward our room, but she stopped and went into Donnie's. I left her to the mom-time she needed and jumped in the shower. I stood for a while, letting the hot water run over me. More aches made themselves known.

The door slid open and Nikki stepped in. I moved aside, letting her get under the stream. I was sure she was as exhausted as me. My cock stirred as I watched the water run across her body, finding its way over and into her most private parts. Places I wanted to explore again myself. She grimaced and pointed at my arm.

"That's a nasty bruise. There's another here." She gave me a thorough examination, motioning for me to turn a full circle for her. She grasped my cock and stroked it slowly. "You look terrible, but this feels pretty good."

I laughed. "I guess your dad was right when he said Bill wasn't ailing as much as he put on. But I think the cops gave me most of these bruises." I leaned and kissed her, letting the sparks fly. My cock grew to its full potential in a moment.

She flashed a coy smile, her eyes dusky. "If we close the door, I don't think the bed squeaking will wake Donnie. If you're in the mood, I mean." She squeezed my cock. "This sure feels like you're interested."

I crushed her against me. "With you, I'll always be interested."

***

Two years, almost to the day, after the melee in the living room, my wife, Nikki, gave birth to our first child. A girl. We named her Rachel.

End