Searching for Love Ch. 09

"Craig, come downstairs please," Caitlin said, knocking on his door.

"Go away Caitlin, I don't want to talk," Craig grumbled.

"It isn't a request," Caitlin said.

"I'm not in the mood," Craig spat.

"Craig Joseph, get your ass down those stairs and into the kitchen now!" Caitlin exclaimed before walking back down the stairs.

"What do you want?" Craig groused, walking into the kitchen five minutes later, his arms folded over his chest.

"To talk about what happened at school," Caitlin said, her voice calmer.

"I got in a fight, what's the big deal?" Craig asked, shrugging his shoulders.

"For starters, it looks like you lost the fight," Caitlin said, suppressing a smile.

Reluctantly, Craig nodded. "I need you to talk to us about what's bothering you," Caitlin said softly.

"Other than the fact that the woman I thought was my mother until recently was murdered in front of me, and I find out that my father raped my real mother, everything is just peachy keen!" Craig said sarcastically. Caitlin and Jake looked at each other, trying very hard not to laugh.

"I didn't know people still said the phrase peachy keen," Jake joked, trying to lighten things up. Caitlin finally giggled and Craig cracked a small smile.

"Craig, look, even if I am your birth mother, mom was still just as much of your mother then she was before you found out someone else gave birth to you. Does that make sense?" Caitlin asked gently. Craig nodded.

"So what was the fight about?" Caitlin asked again.

"Some of the kids at school found out about Marisol kidnapping me and mom. They've been calling me a girl for not being able to protect myself," Craig said. Caitlin managed to keep her anger under control; she couldn't stand bullies. Michael had been a bully and look where that got her.

"I tried to keep him from hitting me, but he's bigger then I am," Craig added.

"Size doesn't matter in a fight; sure, it can help, but it doesn't matter," Caitlin said. Craig looked at her as if he didn't believe her. "C'mon, we'll show you," Caitlin offered, heading for the back door. Jake and Craig followed. "Catie, I don't know about this," Jake said nervously.

Caitlin smiled.

"I trust you, you won't hurt us," Caitlin said softly. Danny and Jessica were in the yard playing with the kids and came over to watch. Craig's mouth dropped when Caitlin managed to block most of Jake's advances, including him flipping him onto his back more than once. Jake's humiliation as it were didn't stop until Caitlin not only flipped him, but pressed a training knife to his throat.

"Size doesn't matter. Jake is almost six inches taller than I am, and that's if I'm wearing heels and I still managed to take him and it had nothing to do with him going easy on me," Caitlin said, helping Jake up.

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"Caitlin, can I ask you a question?" Craig asked, walking into the living room where Caitlin was folding laundry.

"Sure Craig, what's up?" Caitlin said, not looking up.

"I know I shouldn't ask this, but how old were you when dad raped you? And how old were you when I was born?" Craig asked haltingly. Caitlin looked up and sighed, the unwanted memories flooding over her.

"I was sixteen, and you were born two months shy of my seventeenth birthday," Caitlin answered. "After I was released from the hospital, I tried to live at home, but Michael kept hinting that he wanted more children and that his friends wanted a taste, so I split," Caitlin added.

Craig sighed, his look of anger mimicked Jake's.

"I'm sorry he did that to you," Craig murmured. Caitlin sighed and smiled.

"I am too, but, for what it's worth, you are an amazing young man. So much has happened to you in such a short amount of time and even though you've had your moments, you're handling everything really well," Caitlin said, patting Craig's leg. "Here, fold the socks for me," she added, seeing Jessica storm into the back yard, Danny following her. Craig followed her gaze.

"Danny looks pissed, should we be worried?" Craig asked, his voice low. He had always hated to see people fighting; Michael's temper had been explosive; if Michael got angry, someone was going to get hurt and it was usually him.

"Danny would never hurt Jessica, but I'm going to go check it out," Caitlin said softly. Craig nodded and began folding socks while Caitlin slipped out of the house.

"Jess, what's wrong?" Caitlin asked. Jessica looked up, tears in her eyes as Danny began punishing the over-sized punching back hanging from a near by tree. Caitlin led Jessica out of Danny's hearing range and sat her down on the picnic table between the two houses.

"I, I, I," Jessica burst into tears, startling Caitlin. She was never good at comforting someone who was sobbing. Jake came out of the house and sat down next to them and took Jessica's hand in his.

"Jess, talk to us," he prodded gently.

"When I saw Claire for my checkup, she couldn't hear the baby's heart beating," Jessica managed through her sobs. Jake and Caitlin exchanged worried glances, their faces mirroring each other's sorrow.

"The baby could have just been moving away from the probe though, right? Craig did that a time or two," Caitlin said, trying to find a rational way to explain it.

"I wish that's all it was. The ultrasound showed that his heart wasn't even beating," Jessica was crying so hard now that she was beginning to hyperventilate. Jake swore under his breath and forced Jessica's head between her knees.

"Breathe," he commanded gently. When Jessica started to calm down, Jake stood up and walked to where Danny was abusing the punching bag.

"Danny," Jake said, keeping his voice low and as gentle as possible. Danny looked up briefly before slamming one more major punch to the bag, knocking it off it's support. The look on Danny's face told Jake just how much Danny was hurting; Danny's face was covered with sweat and his eyes were red and puffy, tears streaming down his cheeks. "Why don't you just talk to Jess?" Jake suggested.

"It's her fault," Danny growled. Jake looked surprised at that, but didn't say anything. "She was working too hard," he added.

"Um, Danny, actually, she's been spending most of her time taking care of Will and Kylie," Jake said. Danny shook his head. "She would spend from 5:30 every morning until 9:30 cooking breakfasts, from noon to two making lunch and from 4:30-7:30 cooking dinner; and if it was a time consuming meal, she'd spend even longer," Danny said. The sound of a branch cracking had both Danny and Jake looking up and Danny's stomach plummeted when he saw Jessica and Caitlin standing there.

"Danny, I ..." Jessica trailed off as Danny walked away.

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"How are you feeling?" Claire asked gently as Jessica settled back on the exam table.

"Depressed," Jessica admitted.

"How's Danny taking it?" Claire asked.

"He's moved back to his old room here," Jessica answered. "Didn't Cal tell you?" Jessica wanted to know. Claire just sighed as she started the IV.

"Is he going to be here to be with you?" Claire asked, getting the equipment for labor out onto the tray.

"No, he isn't. He left early this morning for a mission," Jake answered for Jessica. A new batch of tears filled Jessica's eyes and trailed silently down her cheeks. Swearing under his breath, Jake crossed the room in ten seconds and took Jessica's hand in his. "Catie's with the kids and Cal's given me permission to stay with you for as long as you're needed," Jake said gently. Jessica smiled slightly and Jake squeezed Jessica's hand.

"Take a deep breath Jess and hold it for me," Claire said gently. Jessica gasped as she felt the petocin take effect. "Easy Jess. I know this is hard for you, but it'll be over soon," Claire murmured. The tears were falling faster now, causing her to start hyperventilating again and Jake mentally cursed Danny. Why had he volunteered when he knew that Jessica was going to need him.

Despite Claire's protests, Jessica demanded to be taken home, but instead, Jake took her to his and Caitlin's house where she waited with Will and Kylie.

"Jake, I'm tired," Jessica said groggily as he carried her inside. Jake gave her a small smile; Jessica felt as light as a rag doll and he wished that Jessica had felt as heavy as she did the last time he had to carry her to safety. Jake took the stairs carefully and laid her down in the guest room on the full bed. "Where are the kids?" Jessica asked, her eye lids fluttering. Jake smiled gently and gave her a kiss on the forehead.

"They're downstairs with Caitlin and Craig having dinner. They're fine. I'll send Catie up with some food later," Jake promised. He sat with her until she fell asleep and made his way downstairs and sat at the table, putting his head in his hands.

"Are you okay?" Caitlin asked gently. Jake shook his head.

"I could have gone a million years and never have needed to witness what I just witnessed. And Danny, the fucking coward volunteered for a mission and left first thing this morning," Jake groaned. Caitlin began working on the knots in Jake's shoulders causing him to groan again.

"Are you hungry?" Caitlin asked.

"No." Jake pulled Caitlin's hands off of his shoulders and turned around, pulling Caitlin into his lap. "Are you okay?" he asked, pressing a hand gently into Caitlin's abdomen. Caitlin smiled.

"We're fine. I had Claire check me out last night after we got Jessica calmed down. I knew this would have you terrified," Caitlin answered. Jake gave Caitlin a tight hug and smiled as he felt the baby kick against him.

"How much longer?" Jake asked, trailing kisses down Caitlin's neck.

"Three months," Caitlin answered as Kylie started crying in the living room. They pulled away and headed in to see what was wrong.

"Will took her toy," Craig said with a laughing grin. Will pouted for a minute then offered the toy back to his sister who instantly stopped crying and starting cooing sweetly.

"Oh man, Danny's gonna have to lock her in a tower," Jake prophesied. Caitlin laughed. "Speaking of babies, has Claire told you if we're having a boy or a girl?" he wanted to know. Caitlin smiled.

"I thought you wanted to be surprised?" Caitlin teased. Jake growled playfully. "Honestly, we don't know. The baby has been playing hard to get," Caitlin said. Jake growled again, but nuzzled Caitlin's neck lovingly.

"I'm going to finish my homework," Craig said, backing out of the room, laughing as Caitlin pelted Jake in the side of the head with a pillow.

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"Hey look, it's the faggot who's taking a cooking class!" Caitlin grit her teeth as she heard the boys taunting Craig as he waited for her to pick him up from school.

She was so beyond eager to get out of the house; Jessica had been moping about since the still birth and the fact that she hadn't heard anything from Danny was driving her crazy. She had thrown herself into cooking, and at the moment, both houses and the mess was over loaded with pastries and cakes.

"Hey Craig," Caitlin said easily, coming to a stop before him. Craig looked up, a relieved look on his face. Even at six months pregnant, he knew Caitlin was still a force to berecokened with.

"Who's the babe?" one of the boys wanted to know. Caitlin opened her mouth to answer, but Craig stopped her with a look.

"My mom," Craig answered.

"Yeah right, she's too young, not to mention way too hot," one of the bullies scoffed. "Why don't you come home with me sweet cheeks!" he taunted The principal walked over to them. "That is enough Thomas Adlen," the principal said, raising his eye brows.

Caitlin laughed. "You're too young for me kid and I doubt my fiancee would approve," Caitlin said, winking at Craig.

"Miss, I apologize, but we don't allow call girls on campus, it just sets a bad example," the principal said, unable to keep his eyes off of Caitlin's breasts. Caitlin sighed and resisted the urge to blacken the principal's eyes.

"And you are?" Caitlin asked, her eye brows raised, her eyes flashing. Craig stifled a grin. He knew what was coming.

"My name is Mr. Blackwell, I'm the principal here," he answered, puffing his chest out.

"Yeah, you remind me of my step father; Michael Powell," Caitlin said.

Craig couldn't help it, he started laugh.

"That is not a person you want to be a reminder of," Craig said.

"And why is that?" Mr. Blackwell wanted to know.

"Because he's a child rapist," Caitlin said. "He raped me when I was sixteen; Craig is the result of that. My name is Caitlin Martin and Craig's biological mother. My mother raised Craig as her own until she was murdered a few months ago," Caitlin said, her voice just low enough for Mr. Blackwell to hear.

"Can anyone confirm that?" Mr. Blackwell asked, becoming increasingly uncomfortable.

"I can," Jake said, walking over to them. He had been watching Caitlin's body language from the car and when she started tensing, he hauled ass to get to them before she started something. "My name is Jake Barnes," he added. The name obviously meant something to Mr. Blackwell because he straightened up and began to look nervous. "You okay Catie?" Jake asked.

Caitlin nodded. "I could have handled this," she said, still seething. Jake nodded.

"I'm aware, but this way, your blood pressure stays normal," Jake said, watching the vein under Caitlin's eye twitch. "Well, closer to normal anyway," he amended.

Thomas sauntered over to Craig. "He's still a faggot. He willingly signed up for a cooking class; it wasn't even a last resort," Thomas said loudly.

Caitlin grinned broadly. "And when he's waiting to find the perfect woman to marry, he'll be able to feed himself, unlike you who will either have to go out to a restaurant every night, beg food off of mommy and daddy or eat ramen noodles for every meal," Caitlin said, her eyes dancing with amusement.

Before Thomas could retort, Jake's cellphone rang. The color drained from Jake's face, his eyes wide. "Jake?" Caitlin asked, not liking the look on his face.

"Danny's been listed MIA," Jake croaked. Craig and Caitlin looked at each other and high tailed it back to the car, beating Jake by half a step.