The Path to Love Ch. 03

I know everyone was disappointed with the way I ended chapter 2; stick with me, I promise you won't be disappointed.

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CHAPTER THREE

Jake sat up with a gasp, his whole body drenched with cold sweat.

"Jake, what's wrong?" Jake turned to his wife, his eyes wide.

"You need to schedule an appointment with your doctor for first thing in the morning," Jake said.

"What? Why?" Ashira asked, sitting up, and turning on her bedside lamp.

"I just had the worst dream of my life. I don't want to get into it, but you need to have your blood pressure checked," Jake answered. Ashira looked at him in concern but nodded. She reached over and turned off the light and lay back down. Jake couldn't fall back to sleep, no matter how hard he tried.

-The next day-

"I don't know what possessed you to make this appointment, but I'm glad you did," Doctor Bard said, looking over Ashira's chart.

"I had a nightmare, and I don't want to go into specifics, but it wasn't a pretty one," Jake admitted. Doctor Bard nodded. "Ashira, your blood pressure is dangerously high. It happens sometimes, and it can be very serious. I'm putting you on bed rest and a specialized diet. You are not to leave your bed except to go to the bathroom and I don't want you alone." Ashira's eyes widened as the doctor went into details on what she could or couldn't do and what she could and couldn't eat.

"So you're my babysitter for today?" Ashira asked as Melinda walked into the house with Sunshine. Melinda nodded. "We promised Jake that between the two of us, we wouldn't let you out of our sight," Melinda agreed. Ashira rolled her eyes.

"This really isn't necessary," Ashira told them.

"Yes it is," Sunshine said. Ashira sighed, but resigned herself to being stuck in bed for the next three months.

"How ya doing?" Jake asked Mark as he watched Mark changing his son's diaper. Mark finished changing the diaper and looked up.

"Not too bad, Mel's been pretty tired lately.

Jake grinned. "That happens," he agreed.

"How's Ashira?" Mark wanted to know.

"Getting tired of being in bed," Jake said with a grin. Mark laughed and nodded.

"She never did like to be in bed longer than she had to be," he agreed. Jake laughed too and glanced at the clock on the desk.

"We'd better get back; Ashira has a doctor's appointment in an hour. I think the doctor is going to try to talk us into taking the baby early," Jake said. Mark looked at Jake in surprise.

"Doesn't she still have another six weeks?" Mark asked.

Jake nodded. "But her blood pressure isn't getting any lower," Jake answered. Mark shook his head and followed Jake from the beach to the house Jake lived in with Ashira and the kids.

"How was your nap?" Mark asked Melinda. She smiled and took David from Mark.

"Refreshing," she answered. Jake headed up the stairs and helped Ashira get ready to go.

-Three hours later-

"Hey Jake, what's going on?" Mark asked. He listened to what Jake told him and grinned. "No problem, we'll stay here with the kids until you can get back. I'll call Sunshine and Trevor and let them know what's going on. Give Ashira a hug for us. Take your time," Mark said, hanging up the phone.

"Well?" Melinda asked expectantly.

"They did a c-section. Another girl. Poor Jake, there's more estrogen in this house then testosterone," Mark joked. Melinda laughed. "Ashira's blood pressure isn't back to normal, but it has lowered," Mark added, dialing a number and waiting for an answer.

-6 weeks later-

Jake led Ashira and their new daughter into the house and they both gasped when they saw all of their friends in the living room. "Welcome back! Your house has been cleaned from top to bottom, and there is a ton of food in the refridgerator and freezer. We're gonna help you guys out for as long as you need us to," Melinda said when Ashira asked what they were all doing. Ashira and Jake smiled and gave their friends tight hugs.

-11 years later-

Melinda smiled at Mark as they watched their seven year old daughter Chrissy perfomring a near flawless floor excerices during the area gymnastic competition. Their son David sat next to them, bored out of his mind. He wanted to get back to his friends; he thought spending time with his parents was lame. He glanced over at Serentiy who was sitting there, acting just as bored as he was. David had such a crush on Serenity, but she refused to give him the time of day. Next to Serenity, was her youngest sister Sara. He knew that Sara liked him, and despite his crush on Serenity, David thought Sara was beautiful. Despite how young they all were, David knew that he wanted Sara as his soul mate. He just had to find a way to make it so.

Serenity yawned loudly causing her mother to give her a scowl. "What are we even doing here? It's not like we're related," Serenity whispered to her mother.

"We're here to support a good friend, now be respectful," Ashira hissed. She continued to watch Serenity throughout the competition and when they returned to Mark and Melinda's home that evening, Ashira had had enough. "Serenity Faith Barnes, that is enough with the attitude," Ashira growled. Mark shook his head and exchanged sympathetic looks with Jake.

They had told Serenity that Mark was her biological father two weeks before, and ever since then, Serenity had become very disrespectful when it came to her mother.

"I think with your history, I'm entitled to a little attitude. I mean, just because you used to be a whore ..." Mark crossed the gap between the grill and his ex in six strides, grabbed Serenity by the arm and pulled her into the house.

"What the hell are you doing?" Serenity yelled as the door slammed shut behind them.

"Your mother was not a whore. We were engaged once, and after she was raped I left her. I don't ever want to hear you talking about your mother like that, ever," Mark said, his voice even and calm, dispite his rage. When Serenity appeared to be more calm, Mark allowed her to go back out to the back yard.

"Apologize to your mother," Jake instructed. Serenity sighed but did as she was told. Ashira accepted the apology, but she still appeared very down. "Shira, don't worry about what Serenity said. She's a teenager, and this is going to be hard for her to accept," Jake said softly. Ashira nodded but said nothing.

"What do you mean you're kicking me out!" Serenity exclaimed. Ashira sighed and exchanged glances with Jake.

"We aren't kicking you out Serenity. We just think it would be a good idea for you to live with Mark and Melinda for awhile. You need to get to know your other family," Jake answered.

"But I'll have to switch schools! I won't be able to see Pyro," Serenity said. Jake smiled.

"You'll survive. You're sixteen. There will be other boys, and you can do so much better than Pyro," Ashira interjected.

"I wasn't talking to you, mother," Serenity sneered.

"That is enough! We will be moving you in with Mark and Melinda this weekend, so start packing!" Jake shouted, fed up with Serenity's behavior.

"You aren't my father, you can't order me to do anything!" Serenity shouted.

"There's more to being a father than sharing DNA," Ashira reminded Serenity.

"That's enough, all of you! Serenity, do as you're told," Mark said, stepping forward, tired of the arguing. Serenity sighed but trudged up the stairs. "Not that I mind having Serenity move in, but what brought this on?" Mark wanted to know.

Jake took a deep breath to calm himself before answering. "I caught her with Pyro about to have sex," Jake answered.

"She's only sixteen!" Mark protested.

"We know. She tried to tell us that Pryo wouldn't let her say no, but she had the condom in her hand. We tried telling her she was too young, and that it was something she needed to save for a later time, but she refused to listen. We've tried grounding her, we've taken her car away from her, and this is the last thing we can think of," Ashira added. Mark nodded.

"The fact that we're over an hour away from here should help make things more difficult for Serenity and Pyro?" Mark asked. Ashira nodded.

"He's into fire. Nothing wrong with it, but there is something about him that gives me the creeps," Ashira answered. Mark grinned.

"If she continues to step out of line, I'll send her to military school," Mark promised. Jake laughed.

"I don't think you'll need to go that far, just check with us if you decide that's what she needs," Jake told Mark.

"Of course," Mark agreed.

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Have you ever been in a relationship with someone, romantic or otherwise where you've been able to tell something was wrong, and even if consciously you didn't know what, but unconsciously you knew what was wrong? That's where I was going with the ending of chapter two and beginning of chapter three. Thanks for the feedback!

Ashira