Links to Parts 1. 2. 3. 4.

5. 6. 7.

She tried to run but found herself going nowhere.  Each door she walked through led to another room with another door but no way out.  She could feel his presence and knew he was close by yet could not see him.  No matter which way she turned her way to freedom was blocked.  As she wrenched the next door open, she found herself in a hallway with no doors or windows.  Frustration oozed from every fiber of her being.  Running down the long corridor, it seemed to her that no matter what she tried, she was stuck.  She finally stopped, tired and angry…angry that she allowed herself to get into the predicament in the first place, angry that she had no clue who this person was, the one stalking her.  As she picked up the pace and began walking towards what looked like a window, she sensed he was somewhere near her.  She had no weapon, no means of protecting herself.  Suddenly something flew by her head causing her to jump.  Quickly she turned to see what it was…when she noticed something on the ground near her feet, a flower…a purple orchid.  Her heart began to beat faster as she knew he was back and hunting her down again…only this time she had more to lose.  She was not going to let him take anything more from her.

“You are not going to win this time!  You cannot have me!  You cannot have my family!” she shouted.

As she shouted this into the darkened room around her, she never saw the hand come out of the shadows and land on her shoulder…

Whistling softly to himself as he walked into the kitchen, Johnny couldn’t help but think how wonderful the day was going to be.  The crew of Station 51 and his friends from Rampart were coming out to his new home today to celebrate a housewarming and to meet the two special ladies in his life.  Reaching into the cupboard, he grabbed the coffee grinder and the bag of coffee beans to grind.  He chuckled to himself as he poured some beans into the grinder.  Since he and Bree started dating…again, she got him hooked on fresh ground coffee versus the pre-ground stuff.  He even bought some to have at work…which got Chet teasing him over whoever this mystery woman was in his life…if he only knew it was two, not one.

Just as he was going to turn on the grinder, he could hear Bree shouting from the bedroom. He ran into the room to find she was in the throes of a nightmare.  As he approached the bed, he leaned down to gently touch her shoulder when her fists suddenly flew up.  He barely had time to jump back much less grab her wrists to keep her from hurting herself or anyone.  As she struggled against his grip, Johnny pulled her towards him and wrapped her in a tight embrace, hoping it would help calm her.  Once in his arms, he leaned his cheek against her head and softly whispered in her ear.

Bree fought against waking up and in her sleep-fogged brain wondered who was holding her.  She could hear someone telling she was safe and no one was going to hurt her.  Slowly she opened her eyes and was surprised to see it was Johnny holding her tightly.  She tried to bring her arms up to encircle him but found them tightly held in his embrace.

Sensing she was awaking up, Johnny loosened his hold on her.  He let her lean back to look up at him and when she did, he stole a kiss, putting a confused look on her face.

“That must of been one heck of a dream, sweetheart, if you felt the need to take a swing at me,” said Johnny as he teased her about it.  “I just hope it wasn’t me in the dream that you were actually trying to hit.”

“No, it wasn’t...wait, did you say I took a swing at you?” questioned Bree with a look of dismay on her face.  “Oh dear god, I am so sorry.  I didn’t connect, did I?”

“Nope,” replied Johnny as he got up off the bed and helped her up.  “I have good reflexes and was able to catch your wrists in my hands before you got close.  If you had connected, I would be explaining a black eye to my coworkers today.”

“I can’t believe that it’s happening again…it’s been a long time since I had that dream,” stated Bree.

“Happening again…in a long time?” he questioned as he checked on his sleeping daughter in the port-a-crib still in his room.

“Yes.  It’s the same one I have had since the attack and my parents’ death.  It seems ever since the stalker had entered my life, the nightmare comes in cycles and usually it means…oh never mind, it’s just a dream.”

Johnny knew from experience that sometimes talking about the nightmares doesn’t make them go away.  He knew eventually Bree would tell him about it, but not today of all days.  He just hoped the nightmare was more related to being nervous about meeting the rest of the gang and not something else.

She followed Johnny out to the kitchen, keeping up a steady stream of conversation.  “Well, I am definitely glad that I didn’t connect then.  I don’t think your coworkers need to know me as the woman who gave their friend a black eye.”

“No, I don’t think you’d like that but Chet would sure get a kick out of it.  I would never hear the end of it from him, that’s for sure.”

Bree snuck up behind Johnny while he finished making coffee.  He chuckled as he felt her arms come around his waist.  Turning the coffee pot on, he turned around, placing his hands on her face and leaned down to give her a long, thorough kiss.  For a moment, the world melted away as they became lost in each other’s embrace but it jumped back in with the shrill ring of the telephone.  Bree released Johnny muttering something under her breath about needing a cold shower which had Johnny laughing as he answered the phone.

Roy pulled the phone away from his ear, looking at it strangely.  He could hear Johnny laughing on the other end and then heard Bree’s giggle in the background.  Smiling, as he realized what had his friend in a good mood, he put the phone back up and waited for Johnny to gain control to talk.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Junior, sounds like you to have started the party without us,” replied Roy.

“Nope.  Just trying to get coffee made and Bree is interfering.  What’s up?”

Roy chuckled again before he answered.  “Just getting ready to head out your direction.  Joanne wanted to know if there’s anything you need before we leave.”

He heard Johnny ask Bree if there were any last minute items she might need for the party.  Johnny told him there was nothing they needed and that they would see them in forty-five minutes.  As he hung up the phone, he looked at Bree, wiggled his eyebrows and said, “What do you mean…you need a cold shower?  Try answering the phone, woman, when all I want to do is to chase you down the hallway.”

Bree giggled as she took off running down the hallway with Johnny in hot pursuit.  As they ran past Sierra’s bedroom, they could hear her fussing, getting ready to let her presence be known.  Pushing Johnny towards the bathroom, Bree told him to take a shower while she got Sierra fed, bathed and changed.  Chuckling as he entered the bathroom, he thought of how it could have ended had their daughter not be waking up and Roy wasn’t on his way out to the ranch.

When he was done in the shower, he found Bree had left him a cup of coffee on the bathroom counter and a note that told him to hurry up so she could use the bathroom.  Finishing up in record time, he walked out to the living room to find Bree and Sierra waiting for him.

“You told me to hurry up so you could use the bathroom and here you are…all done up and ready to go.  Did I miss something?” he asked.

Chuckling, she replied, “No, you didn’t miss a thing but it was fun to see just how fast you could actually vacate the bathroom.”

Sitting down next to Bree, he took Sierra from her arms and played peek-a-boo with her using her hands against her own face.  The little girl giggled each time her father put her hands to her face and then quickly pulled them apart.  She watched Johnny as he played with their daughter and although she tried not to have regrets over decisions she made her life, she knew she would always have this one…the one where she hid the truth from him about his child.

Johnny glanced up to see Bree watching them play with a thoughtful look upon her face.  He knew she wanted everything to go well for the party today.  Ever since he gave her a set of keys shortly after they started dating, both she and Sierra had been spending a lot of time with him on his days off.

Johnny looked up and smiled at her.  “Nervous, sweetheart?” he asked.

“A little bit but that’s only because I have heard the stories you and Roy have told me about Chet.  Your captain and Mike don’t worry me, it’s just Chet.”

“Don’t worry about him, Bree.  Like I told Roy the other day when I said I wanted to introduce you to the gang, I told him I knew you will be able to hold your own against Chet and his fun natured pranks.”

“If you say so, sweetheart, then it must be true,” replied Bree with a giggle.  “I think I hear a car coming down your driveway.  Let’s go check it out.”

Sure enough, Roy’s car was coming to a stop just as they reached the edge of the front porch.  Jennifer had already wiggled out of her car seat and had the car door open as they heard Joanne tell her to wait.  Little good that did as the soon-to-be four-year-old was already running towards Johnny and Bree.  She flung herself at her Uncle Johnny and was scooped up in a big bear hug.

Putting Jennifer down, Johnny went to help Roy get their things out of the trunk.  Jo and Bree took the kids into the house, chattering like they hadn’t seen each other in weeks instead of days.

“How’s it going, Junior?” asked Roy as he grabbed the cooler out of the trunk.

“Really good, Roy.  Bree’s been out here since yesterday cooking and baking up a storm,” he said grabbing the two totes left in the trunk.  “When I got home this morning though, she was having one heck of a nightmare.  As I tried to wake her up she took a swing at me.  Thank god I have quick reflexes or she would have connected.”

“Took a swing at you?” Roy couldn’t help but snicker as a picture of the petite blonde taking a swing at Johnny seemed ludicrous to him.  “Wow. Did she tell you what it was about?”

“Not in so many words.  She was a little evasive, said it wasn’t important,” replied Johnny.  “I’m sure she’ll tell me later if she feels she needs to.  So as far as I’m concerned it’s unimportant to me too.  We both want this to be a good day for everyone.”

“She nervous about meeting the rest of the gang?” he asked as he walked through the door that Johnny was holding open for him.

“A little bit, but she’s trying not to let it show.  I’m thinking she’s wondering if they will accept her and Sierra as easily as you, Jo and Marco did.”

As they walked through the main part of the house towards the patio, they noticed that Jo, Bree or the kids were nowhere to be found.  They could hear the kids shouting outside and figured that they had found the play set that was left at the ranch by the previous owners.  But that still left Jo and Bree’s absence.  Roy set the cooler down next to the one Johnny had placed out on the patio and went back inside.  Johnny had taken the totes to the guest bedroom on the other side of the house as Roy, Jo and the kids were spending the next couple of days out at the ranch.  Johnny had promised to take Chris hiking on the trails behind the barn and Bree promised Jennifer a day of making cookies and playing in the pool she was going to set up.

Meeting back in the kitchen, the guys wondered where their women had disappeared to…when they heard giggling coming from the master bedroom.  They snuck down the hallway and when they peered into the room, the girls were not in the bedroom itself.  So they walked into the bathroom and found them in standing in the middle of the walk-in closet laughing at all the clothes that Bree had brought with her.

“So what has you two laughing like two little school girls?” asked Johnny.

Bree glanced over at Johnny and replied, “I had to show her what I brought out here and then had to tell her how many times I changed clothes today.”  She had barely gotten that sentence out before she started giggling all over again.

“Then I had to ask her why she just didn’t put on her bikini,” stated Jo.  “Could you imagine the look on Chet’s face if she answered the door in that?  It would be priceless.”  Jo couldn’t help snicker again at the thought of Chet standing there with his mouth hanging open if Bree actually would do that.  Both girls started laughing all over again, harder than before which set Bree to do something she hadn’t done in a long time…snort.  Halfway through one big laugh, she snorted, not once but twice.

Roy looked over at Johnny who returned his glance with a raised eyebrow.  When she snorted, Bree and Jo both quit laughing, looked at each other and started all over again.  Johnny sighed and reached for Bree’s hand to take her back to the kitchen while Roy did the same thing with Jo.

The girls finally got themselves under control and began to get things set out for the party.  Sierra was rolling around in the playpen Johnny had set up in the living room so Bree could work on getting everything ready but not have to go back and forth to the bedroom to check on their daughter.

“So if Bree would have taken Jo up on her suggestion, would you have let her?” asked Roy with a smile on his face.

“Yeah, I think I would have…just to see Chet’s reaction when she opened the door.  But on the other hand, with my luck, it would have been Cap at the door.  I’m not quite sure how that would have gone over with him and Emily.”

Bree popped her head up from behind the refrigerator door to reply to Johnny’s answer.  “If I knew it was just Chet coming out here, I would do it in a heartbeat just for the shock factor alone, but with your captain, his family and your other coworkers and friends coming out here…couldn’t do it.  It would just not be appropriate.”

“True, sweetheart, I wouldn’t mind you giving Chet a heart attack, but I think I’d find it hard to let you try that one with Cap around.”

“When is everyone else supposed to start arriving, Johnny?” asked Jo as she put the finishing touches on one of the salads she had brought out.

“I think Cap and his wife were going to try to be out here by 11:30, but everyone else said they’d arrive around 12 or 12:30.  That should be plenty of time to get the grill going, let the kids play and introduce Bree and Sierra.”

“Honey, I think you might want to go and keep an eye out for your captain and his family as the clock says it is now 11:40.”

No sooner had Bree brought up the time than the doorbell rang.  Johnny went to answer the door while Bree reached into the playpen to pick up Sierra who had begun to fuss.  Opening the door, Johnny was greeted with a hug by Captain Stanley’s wife, Emily, who immediately asked, “Where is she, Johnny?  I have been dying to meet the girl who not only managed to steal your heart but keep it.”

Johnny laughed and pointed her in the direction of Bree.  Following close behind were Hank and Emily’s two daughters, Alyssa and Cassie.  Their son was not with them as he had gone camping with friends and would not be back until late Monday night.

“Is that the young lady who managed to steal your heart, Johnny?” asked Hank as he watched his wife take the baby from Bree’s arms.

“Yes, it is, Cap,” replied Johnny.  “Why don’t we head over there so I can introduce you to Bree.”  As they walked towards the women, Johnny turned to Hank and said, “Thanks for letting me sound off on you the other day before I talked to the rest of the guys, Cap.  I knew Bree was nervous about this celebration today and I thought it might help if you all knew a little bit about our history before you arrived.”

Hank smiled as he listened to Johnny.  He said, “I’m glad I was able to help ease your fears, Johnny.  It couldn’t have been easy to talk about but know this, it doesn’t matter what happened.  It’s in the past, the future is what counts.”  He paused as he watched his wife coo over the child she was holding.  “I take it the child my wife is so enamored with is yours?”

“Mine, Cap, mine and Bree’s,” replied Johnny.  “And I couldn’t be more proud of the little lady that Emily is holding right now.”

Hank looked at his youngest crew member and smiled as he could see the happiness in Johnny’s face.  “I believe you are. By all means, please introduce me to your lovely young lady.”

“Bree,” said Johnny as he took her hand and pulled her towards him.  “I would like you to meet Captain Hank Stanley from Station 51.  I believe you have already met his wife and two daughters.”

Hank smiled as he took the hand that the young woman offered him. “So you are the young woman who has had my youngest crew member in a twist lately?”

“Guilty as charged, Captain Stanley,” replied Bree.  “It’s a pleasure to meet you finally.”

“Call me Hank, and I believe the pleasure is all mine, Bree,” said Hank as he leaned over to check out the baby in his wife’s arms. “And may I ask who is this little angel my wife is holding?”

“Her name is Sierra Rose Gage,” said Bree with pride in her voice.

When Sierra heard the new voice, she turned to it and as he put his finger out for her to grab, she immediately tried to put it in her mouth.  Hank laughed at the child’s antics and took her from his wife’s arms.  He could see the beauty this child was going to grow up to be and couldn’t resist teasing his youngest crew member.

Turning to Johnny, he said laughingly, “I think you are in trouble, Gage, especially if this one has her mother’s beauty and your charm.  You are going to beating the boys away with a stick.”

“Hank Stanley!” cried Emily.  “Don’t you dare tease him about the boys and his little girl.  He has plenty of time ahead of him before he needs to worry about that.  Let him enjoy her childhood first.”

Hank looked over the top of his wife’s head at Johnny and winked.  Johnny already knew that Cap was teasing him but Emily always had a soft spot where he was concerned and just like Joanne, would jump to his defense if she felt he was being picked on.  As he looked around at the small extended family he had, he felt at peace with everything.

Alyssa and Cassie finally managed to entice Sierra away from their father’s embrace and took her outside with Bree’s permission to play on a blanket they placed on the ground.  Chris and Jennifer soon joined them to play with the infant and were laughing as Sierra kept trying to grab Jennifer’s braids when she swung them too close to her.

As she watched the children play in the yard, she was reminded of the many happier times she spent here as a child.  Chris ran towards the play set followed by Jennifer and Cassie.  Alyssa remained on the blanket carefully holding Sierra while she watched the others play.  She hadn’t noticed Jo walk up beside her until she felt an arm slide around her shoulders.

“What has you so deep in thought?” asked Jo as she hugged her new friend.

Bree smiled back and replied, “Just remembering my childhood here.  It’s fun to see children playing in the yard.”

The two friends walked back into the kitchen to help Emily prepare the vegetables she had brought out for the party.  She had prepared most of the raw vegetables at home but discovered in the morning that her son had made off with the carrots and celery which in turn necessitated a stop at the grocery store to purchase more.  She kept saying she was sorry that she had to finish the preparation at the ranch.  Bree laughed and told her not to worry about as what were kids for…if not to give their parents gray hairs and funny stories to tell to others.

While the ladies were busy in the kitchen and waiting for the rest of the guests to arrive, Johnny took Roy and Hank out to the barn and corrals to show them what he had completed out there.  The three stood leaning on the rails of the corral fence as Johnny talked about the horses he wanted to have some day to breed and raise.  Roy knew for a long time that this had always been a dream of his and was happy that for his friend…part of his dream had finally come true.  Hank was amazed as he listened to Johnny talk about horses and realized knowledgeable the young man was about this endeavor.

“Bree?” asked Alyssa as she walked in to the kitchen.  “I think Sierra is getting just a bit fussy.  Do you mind taking her back?”

Taking her daughter from the young teenager, she smiled and said, “Not at all.  Thank you for watching her for a while, Alyssa.  You go ahead and join the others if you would like.”

Alyssa turned and ran to join the others at the play set.  Johnny jumped aside to allow her to pass by, chuckling as he watched her run.  He walked up to Bree as she finished placing a bottle on the stove to warm.

“You want me to take care of Sierra?” he asked.

Bree smiled up at him and replied, “No.  You have more guests that will be arriving shortly.  I will take her to the bedroom and get her settled down for her nap.”

“Why don’t you head in there now and get her changed?  I’ll bring you her bottle when it is ready.”

Reaching up, she gave Johnny a quick kiss and headed towards the master bedroom.  Johnny turned to check on the bottle when he noticed Roy grinning at him.  He spotted Jo and Emily behind Roy trying to hide their smiles.

“What did I do now?” he asked as he tested the warmth of the formula.  “I feel like I am on trial for something the way you’re all looking at me.”

“No, Junior.  It’s just unusual to see you so domesticated,” replied Roy as he tried but failed miserably to hide the chuckle that escaped.

“Like you never were that domesticated with your first born,” countered Johnny as he grinned back at Roy. “I’ll be right back.”

As he headed toward the bedroom, the doorbell rang once again.  He detoured towards the door and when he opened it, the rest of his guests were standing there.

Mike and Linda, Marco and Mandy along with Chet, Drs. Brackett and Early and Dixie greeted him as one by shouting ‘Happy Housewarming’.  Johnny stepped back and told everyone to come on in.  He pointed everyone in the direction of the kitchen/living room and headed towards his bedroom.

Bree looked up from the rocking chair and asked, “Everyone else arrived then?”

“Yep.  Everyone is here so when you have Sierra sound asleep, come join us on the patio,” he said as he handed her the bottle and snuck a kiss before he left.

Smiling to herself, she began to feed her daughter as she softly sang to her.

He could hear Bree singing to Sierra as he walked out of the bedroom.  Entering the main area of the house, he found his guests congregating around the island in the kitchen.  Chet stepped back from the group and immediately began to pester Johnny.

“So where is this woman that I have been hearing about but have never seen?”

asked Chet.  “I have heard you mention her numerous times throughout the night for the past three months…yet you have never introduced her to any of us.”

Johnny chuckled before he addressed Chet’s question.  “Did it ever occur to you, Chet…that the only reason you have never met her is because I didn’t want her to feel obligated to like you?”

“Bull, Gage.  You’re just afraid she might prefer me to you,” replied Chet as he snickered at the expression on Johnny’s face.

“Like I told you before, Kelly…she prefers tall, dark and handsome over short, curly haired Irishman with big bushy mustaches.”

The group behind the sparring coworkers looked at each other and collectively rolled their eyes in one gesture as this was the norm for Johnny and Chet.  While he kept up his verbal sparring with Chet, Johnny motioned to the others to join him out on the patio.

Ignoring Chet’s taunts, Johnny turned and asked, “Can I get anyone something to drink?”

Various choices were tossed at him and he couldn’t help but laugh.  Roy walked with him to the coolers to grab sodas or beers for those who requested them.  Joanne had also brought out a pitcher of ice tea and placed it on the table for those who would prefer that to drink.

Chet was not deterred by Johnny’s ignoring him.  He waited until Johnny was sitting down before he started in on him again.  “Come on, Gage.  Where is she? 

Personally, I am beginning to think you just made her up and there is no ‘Bree’ in existence at all.”

Dixie, who was sitting closest to Johnny, elbowed him and answered in his stead. 

“Oh believe me, Chet, she does exist and she works at Rampart.”

“She works at Rampart?” questioned Chet.  He turned back to Johnny and said, “You managed to keep this a secret?  Unbelievable, Gage!  Wow, I didn’t think you had it in you to keep a secret of this magnitude…usually you are crowing when you get a date with a nurse.”

“Funny, ha, ha, Kelly,” countered Johnny.  “Shows what you know, or should I say don’t know.  And she is not a nurse.”

He watched the group from the shadows of the trees.  During the previous weeks, he had done surveillance of ‘fire boy’s’ home and work.  He now knew all of his habits and those of his coworkers too.  It was just a matter of time before he would strike again.  Listening to ‘fire boy’ banter with the short curly haired man called Chet he could tell they were discussing her.  It angered him that she was being discussed so freely even though they never mentioned her name.

As he sat quietly in the thicket just beyond the first line of trees, he could see the children playing on the play set, watched by a young teenage girl.  He heard the boys mention something about playing hide and go seek.  The two older girls vetoed the idea as they knew from what they could hear the adults talking about…lunch would be started shortly.  So they suggested saving the game until after lunch.

He wondered where she was and the thought entered his mind that she was inside with the child.  He couldn’t see past the stigma of being born to unwed parents and see the innocence of the child.  All he knew was that ‘fire boy’ had ruined his Bree and took her away from him.  He clapped his hands over his mouth so they could not hear the chuckle that almost escaped as he thought about how he was going to torture ‘fire boy’ and take what was rightfully his back.  Sitting back against the thick hedge of the thicket, he slowly brought himself back to a calmer demeanor, watching and listening to the group on the patio.

Quietly settling Sierra into her crib, Bree straightened up and stretched trying to get the kink out of her back.  She could hear Johnny and his friends on the patio discussing Johnny’s ability to keep a secret and knew that the other voice was that of Chet aka ‘The Phantom’.  She chuckled as she shut the door to the master bedroom and headed down the hallway to join the others and meet the rest of Johnny’s coworkers.

Out on the patio, Chet finally gave up on pestering Johnny as it seemed nothing was going to ruin his good mood or cause him to give up the identity of the young woman he is dating.  Noticing that someone had set a beer down by his foot, he reached down to open it and was astonished when it blew up in his face as he cracked the tab.  Roy glanced over to Johnny who looked back and winked, started laughing at the look on Chet’s face when he realized the table had been turned on him for once.

“Alright, who shook my beer before they gave it to me?” asked Chet.  He received a chorus of ‘Not me’ from everyone around him.  “Funny people, aren’t you?”

“Chet, go in the kitchen and find a towel to dry off with,” said Johnny between chuckles.

Chet got up laughing as he realized his friend finally got him back for all the water bombs he had been the recipient of.  Entering the kitchen, he failed to notice the young woman who had come from the hallway.  Intent of locating a towel to dry off with, he didn’t see her smiling as she watched his progress.

As he was opening drawers looking for the towels that Johnny said were in there, he heard a voice from behind him.  “Can I help you find something?”

Jumping back, Chet hit his head on the edge of a cupboard door that had been left open.  “Ouch!”

“Are you okay?” the young woman asked.

Rubbing his head, he replied rather sarcastically, “What do you think?  First I get showered by a beer and now I hit my head.  Must be blind or stupid if you didn’t see that.  And just who are you?”

With a smirk on her face as she realized just who she was talking to, she replied back equally sarcastic, “Your worst nightmare.”

Chet looked up at the young woman and his mouth dropped open as she looked just like one of his favorite singers.  When he realized she had to be the one that Johnny was dating, he decided to change his tactics.  Walking around one side of the island, he replied, “Really?  I wouldn’t say you are my worst nightmare, instead more like a very good dream.  So why are you seeing Gage?  I think you could do so much better than him.”

She stopped by the fridge and asked, “What makes you say that?” as she tossed a towel from the drawer at him.

“He has commitment issues.  Just ask any of the nurses at Rampart,” replied Chet as he grabbed the towel she has tossed at him and proceeded to dry himself off.

As he dried himself off, he failed to notice the girl reaching into the fridge and pulling something out she had purposely left in there before Johnny’s friends had arrived.

 “You know, Chet, you should never take your eyes off an adversary.” 

“How did you…” he started to say when he looked up and noticed he walked right into another trap.  Seeing this petite blonde with a water pistol in her hand made him laugh, but he soon realized she was serious as she unleashed the ice cold water in that gun directly at him.

Everyone on the patio heard Chet’s shout.  Johnny jumped up and as he reached for the handle of the patio door, it was whisked open by Chet who all but ran over Johnny to get out of the way of the girl.  Johnny started laughing as a very determined Bree calmly walked through doors and headed straight for Chet.

“So you are the infamous Chet Kelly?” she asked.  “I am going to give you a little heads up, my dear.  Do not ever again insult my intelligence or my choice of family members.  As I believe you have noticed, I have the upper hand here and fair warning, the phantom has nothing on this little witch!”  With emphasis on the last two words, Bree unleashed the rest of the cold water on Chet.

“Stop! Uncle!! Uncle!!” cried Chet as he tried to get out of the way.  “Woman, that water is cold!”

Realizing he was giving up, Bree lowered the hand holding the water pistol and from behind her back she produced another towel, handing it to Chet.  As he took it warily from her hand, she smiled and said, “By the way, Kelly, my name is Brenna Leigh…and yes, I am the one dating Johnny.”

That broke the ice.  Johnny didn’t have to introduce Bree to any of the others.  They were all laughing heartily as they walked up to her and congratulated her on getting Chet.  Even Chet had to concede that she got him good.

While the guys gathered around the grill and got it started, the women headed back inside, not only for a quick tour of the house but to get to know more about the girl who finally stole Johnny’s affection and managed to outfox ‘the phantom’.  The last stop was the master bedroom where they quietly walked in but instead of checking out the room, the ladies peeked at Sierra sleeping soundly in her crib.  They all glanced at Bree with the same question in their eyes, ‘Can we wake her up?’  Bree silently chuckled, shook her head no and shooed them out of the room.

Hank was standing at the grill keeping an eye on the burgers, hot dogs and chicken.  The rest took it upon themselves to get the tables set up and ready for lunch.  In the kitchen, Bree was pulling the side dishes out of the fridge, handing them to Dixie and Joanne.  Emily and Linda had already grabbed the plates and silverware, taking them out to the table.  Mandy went to check on the kids who had snuck into the barn to see if they could find the newborn kittens Johnny had told them about.

Soon the shout was heard from Hank, “Dinner is ready!”

Mandy and the kids came running from the barn trying to see who could beat who to the table.  Mandy scooped up Jennifer as her little legs just couldn’t keep up with the older kids.

Laughter abounded at the table as the stories of the Phantom and his poor pigeon were retold once again for Bree’s benefit.  She couldn’t help but laugh as she listened to the stories of the phantom leaving water bombs in the kitchen cupboards or in Johnny’s locker.  At one point she had to ask the guys to quit with the stories as her sides were starting to hurt from laughing so much.

An hour later, the kids were back playing on the play set, tables were clean, food put away and the adults were lounging around the patio suffering from food overdose.  Johnny had grabbed the long lounge chair and was waiting for Bree to come back from checking on Sierra.  Glancing towards the door that led from the patio to the master bedroom, he smiled as the object of his thoughts came walking out sans their daughter who was still peacefully sleeping in her crib.  He patted the open space in front of him and waited for her to sit down.  Once she was sitting on the edge, he grabbed her from behind and pulled her back towards him.

Snuggled in his arms, Bree relaxed and enjoyed spending time with the people Johnny called family.  She noticed that Chet was studying them as if trying to figure something out.  Leaning her head back, she motioned for Johnny to come close so she could whisper in his ear.  Johnny glanced over at Chet and chuckled as he confirmed what she had said.

“What’s got you so thoughtful, Chet?” asked Johnny.  “Usually you are about as animated as the kids.”

He contemplated on what he was going to say before he spoke.  “Well, it’s like this, Gage.  I’ve been trying to figure out what is so familiar about your girlfriend…”

“And it’s driving you nuts because you can’t figure it out, can you?” interrupted Johnny.

“Pretty much,” replied Chet as he looked at Bree.  “So are you going to fill me in or just make me keep guessing?”

“I think I am going to let you figure it out on your own, Kelly.  It’s fun to watch the wheels go round and round in your brain,” stated Bree as she laughed at the expression on his face change.  “Besides it’s not that hard to figure it out.  You have seen me before but you just too occupied with two blonde nurses at the bar…”  She left the sentence hanging to see if the light bulb would go off above his head.

Chet stared at Bree as if finally dawned on him where he had seen her before.  “You are the new lead singer for the band at the Red Wolf.”

“Bingo!” exclaimed Bree as she touched her nose to indicate he hit it right.

But Chet knew there was more to this than met the eye and from the look she gave to Dixie and Emily, they also knew what was going on.  He then remembered an article that had appeared in the newspaper a couple of days after he had seen Bree performing at the Red Wolf.

“Okay.  My next question is…are you or aren’t you?”

Knowing exactly what the question pertained to, Bree couldn’t resist and tease him a bit.  “Are I or aren’t I…what?”

Chet swallowed hard as he didn’t want to put himself in a precarious position but forged ahead anyway with what he started.  “Are you or aren’t you…Bree Montgomery?”

She leaned forward towards the curly haired fireman and softly whispered, “Yes, I am.”

“Wow!  Gage, how did you get so lucky?” asked Chet.

Bree answered instead.  “It’s not how he got so lucky, but how did I get so lucky, Chet.  Now that you know the truth of who I am, I only have one thing to ask of you…please do not repeat what you know to anyone due to that newspaper article.  I am enjoying my anonymity and don’t want to upset the ‘apple cart’ so to speak and cause problems at the hospital.  Do you understand?”

“I do,” replied Chet.  “But I think I’d better give you a heads up on that article, a couple of girls I know have figured it out and have been thinking of calling that reporter.  I don’t know if they yet but…”

Dixie interrupted the conversation when she heard Chet mentioned a couple of girls.  “Those two girls wouldn’t happen to work at Rampart, would they?”  She pretty much knew the answer as she had intercepted the rumors the other day but neither girl had been on duty.  She already had notified the supervisor of the nursing department that she needed to speak with them next time they were on duty.

“Yes, Miss McCall,” replied Chet not sure if he was in trouble with the head nurse or not.  “But like I said, I’m not sure if they have done it yet.”

Just as Bree was going to add something to the conversation, she heard her daughter’s cries through the door leading from the patio to the master bedroom and started to get up to take care of her.  Johnny put his hand on her shoulder, telling her he would go take care of Sierra.

Neither of them noticed the puzzled look on Chet’s face as he watched Johnny head into the house.  He was trying to figure out just why Johnny seemed to be taken with this child.  Watching Johnny as he carried the child out to the patio and placing her in Bree’s arms, he began to chuckle as he finally had the last piece of the puzzle that had been eluding him.

As he watched the interaction between Johnny, Bree and the child, he just had to needle his pigeon.  “So, Gage, are you going to introduce me to the little lady your girlfriend is holding in her arms or do I have to do that myself?” he asked with a twinkle in his eye. 

Johnny glanced up at Chet and smiled knowing that Chet was just waiting to grill him about Sierra.  He took Sierra back from Bree, kissed the top of his daughter’s head and turned her around so Chet could see her and said, “Well, Chet, since you’ve already introduced yourself to the first special lady in my life, I guess I should be a good host and introduce you the second special lady in my life.”  He looked down at Sierra who was intently staring at Chet…or his bushy mustache.  “This is my daughter, Sierra Rose.”

Although the news surprised him, Chet could see the resemblance in the child’s eyes…they were identical to Johnny’s.  He wondered why it seemed that everyone else knew about this but him.  Sitting across from Chet, Johnny wondered what had his coworker looking so conflicted when it finally dawned on him that the day he told his coworkers about Bree and Sierra, Chet had not been working.  He had switched shifts with someone from another station for reasons unknown.

“Gage, why didn’t….” Chet started to say before Johnny interrupted him.

“Chet, the reason you didn’t know about these two is because on the day that I told everyone, you had switched shifts with someone and weren’t working with us at the time.  I never even thought about it until now.  It’s not that I was trying to keep you out of the loop but you just weren’t there to be informed.  No hard feelings?”

“None, but be forewarned, the phantom doesn’t forget,” said Chet as he knelt down in front of Johnny and chuckled at Sierra’s antics of trying to grab his mustache.

Johnny looked over the tops of both Sierra and Chet’s heads and could see the laughter in Bree’s eyes as she watched her daughter’s antics with Chet.  He could see the mischief dancing in her eyes and knew that she was already plotting other ways to keep the phantom on his toes.  He shook his head as she raised her eyebrow in response to the unasked question on his face.

  The two were brought out of their non-verbal sparring by a squeal from their daughter as she finally succeeded in grabbing a portion of Chet’s mustache.  The stocky firefighter was doing his best to not shout but was losing the battle as Sierra had a good grip on it.  Johnny quickly disengaged his daughter’s grasp on Chet’s mustache and couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped as the look on Chet’s face was priceless.

“Holy cow!” cried Chet as he kept rubbing his poor abused upper lip.  “That little girl’s got one heck of a grip, Gage.”

Johnny couldn’t answer as he was laughing too hard at Chet.  Bree took pity on the poor fireman.  She grabbed a cloth from the table and put a couple of ice cubes from the cooler in it.  She walked over to Chet and knelt in front of him.

“This should help,” she said as she put the ice up in Chet’s hand and moving up to his lip.  “Obviously you haven’t been around too many little ones with that mustache.  At her age she is pretty much grabbing anything that gets her attention.”

Chet’s reply was pretty muffled due to the ice pack on his lip but to Bree it sounded like he was trying to say “Thanks”.

“You’re welcome, Chet,” replied Bree with a devious little smile.  “But don’t think this lets you off the hook.  I will be watching you.”

When Chet’s head popped up, everyone couldn’t help but laugh at the expression on his face…it said it all.  He really looked worried.  Bree just smiled sweetly and winked at him.

The afternoon flew by quickly and soon Johnny’s guests began to depart.  Hank had to get his girls home as his oldest was babysitting that evening.  The rest of the guests left shortly after Captain Stanley.  Mandy hugged her cousin as they stood in the doorway and said that she would talk to her later as she turned to catch up with Marco and Chet.

As the last of the guests had departed, Johnny breathed a sigh of relief that everything went as well as it did.  He knew that Bree had been nervous about meeting the rest of the gang but she seemed to fit right in, especially when it came to getting ahead of Chet in the practical joke department.  He chuckled as he recalled the expression on Chet’s face as he flew through the patio doors trying to avoid Bree and her ice cold water gun.

Roy and Johnny sat in comfortable silence on the patio while Joanne and Bree rounded up the kids for their baths and get them ready for bedtime.  Both were enjoying the peace and quiet of the surrounding countryside and listening the crickets chirping as the sun started to set.

Sitting in his car in front of Bree’s home, he noticed how quiet the neighborhood was.  He smiled to himself as it would make what he was about to do easier.  He shut the car door and proceeding up the sidewalk that rounded the corner of the two-story home and joined up with the pathway that led into the park.  Once out of sight of the street, he quickly slipped through the foliage and walked straight to the side door of the garage.  He picked the lock and once inside, jimmied open the box that housed the security system for Bree’s home.  Quickly he disarmed the alarm system making it look like all was well with the home.

Entering the house, he walked through the kitchen into the great room, finally entering Bree’s bedroom.  Inside the room, he spotted the child’s crib and gave it a quick kick as he went by.  Walking into the closet, he closed his eyes and could almost imagine Bree standing there choosing what to wear for the day.  In his mind, he could smell her perfume and felt his blood quicken in response to the scent.  He softly brushed his fingertips along the clothes hanging in her closet as he wandered through it.  He opened the drawers in the bureau that sat in the middle of the closet, sliding his fingers across her soft delicate undergarments.  His fingers stopped on a soft lavender colored nightgown.  Picking it up, he pressed it to his face inhaling the soft fragrance.

He walked into the bathroom, casually rifling through her fragrances on the bathroom counter.  He picked up one, sniffing it and smiling at the memories it invoked.  He gave just a cursory glance to the rest of the master bathroom before exiting.

Checking the time on his watch, he looked around the bedroom to make sure nothing was out of place.  He pushed the crib back against the wall from where he had kicked it.  Back in the kitchen, he left the package on the counter right where he knew she would see it.  He retraced his steps into the garage, opening the side door before resetting the alarm and closing both the alarm box and door.  Casually he strolled towards his car, finding this neighborhood just a little on the dull side as it was just too quiet for his taste.  As he headed away from Bree’s home, he giggled almost manically as he thought of her reaction when she came home to her surprise.

Half an hour later the kids were bathed and in bed.  The girls walked out onto the patio and flopped down alongside the guys, breathing very audible signs of relief at finally getting the kids down for bed.  Roy and Johnny made eye contact over the tops of the girls’ heads, silently chuckling at what seemed to be a very recognizable sign that they were looking for sympathy from their men.

“Problems getting Sierra down for the night?” asked Johnny as Bree snuggled next to him.

“A little more than usual but I think she was just overstimulated by all the activity around here,” replied Bree.  “I know I’m bushed.”

Joanne laughed, joining in the conversation.  “I know what you mean.  Jennifer was so wound up from playing all day that I couldn’t get her to sit still in the tub.  At one point she almost went head first into the side of the tub when she slipped as she trying to tell me about the hide and seek game they were playing.  She said she had found a really neat place to hide…a little opening in the woods near the swing set.”

“I know that spot.  I used to hide there all the time when I was visiting my grandparents,” stated Bree with a wistful smile as she remembered all the fun times.  “I discovered it the first day we came to visit after my grandparents moved in.  Everyone was in panic mode when they couldn’t find and I was enjoying watching the commotion.”

While the four friends relaxed and laughed at some of the stories Bree told of her summertime visits to the ranch her grandparents had once owned, Mandy was standing in the middle of the kitchen in the house she shared with her cousin.  She could feel her body shaking but whether it was from fear or anger, she didn’t know.

  She knew exactly whom the package was from that was sitting on the kitchen counter.  The only thing she didn’t know was how he had gotten around the security system and entered their home, their sanctuary.

Mandy knew she was going to have to call her cousin and tell her of the break-in but at the same time she didn’t want to shatter her peace of mind.  Reaching for the phone, she decided to call Marco first.  She needed to talk with him before she called Bree.  She paced back and forth in the kitchen, wrapping herself in the long phone cord to the point of almost becoming completely tangled in it.

When she heard Marco’s voice on the other end of the line, she almost dropped the phone.  She couldn’t believe how much this had her rattled.  She tried to speak in a calm manner …but Marco could hear the shakiness in her voice and realized something really had her rattled.  She heard him tell her to hold on, that he was on his way over.  After he said goodbye, she put the phone back on the receiver and took a deep breath to hopefully calm herself.  All she knew is her cousin didn’t need this to start all over again.

He flew like the wind, just about breaking all speed limits for the roads around Carson and Torrance.  He and Mandy had been dating for just about a year and he had never once seen her ever rattled by anything…until now.  Marco couldn’t imagine what had her sounding so upset.  Turning onto the road where Bree and Mandy’s house was located, he didn’t see any police cars so nothing bad had happened…yet.  He brought the car to a screeching halt in the driveway, sprinting up the sidewalk to the front door hoping that it was unlocked.

Upon entering the house, he cautiously looked around him and didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.  He called out to Mandy and breathed a sigh of relief when she walked around the corner of the kitchen and smiled at him.

He grabbed her in a hug and asked, “What’s up, chica?  You had me scared half to death that someone had gotten in the house and was after you.”

“Someone did get in the house,” replied Mandy as she relaxed in his embrace.  She immediately felt him tense up.  “In answer to your next question, no… whoever it was is not here anymore.”

"How do you know then that someone was in the house?” Marco asked as he released his hold on her.

“Because of the package I found on the kitchen counter,” she stated as she moved towards the kitchen.  “Follow me and I’ll show you what I mean.”

Following Mandy into the kitchen, Marco spotted the purple wrapped package on the kitchen counter but couldn’t understand why that would have Mandy in such a state of panic until he saw the purple orchid sitting neatly in the perfect bow on top of the package.  He remembered clearly what Mandy had told him a few months back regarding what happened to Bree before she met Johnny.

“Buenos Dios!  He got into the house?  How?” he questioned with horror in his eyes.

She looked up at her boyfriend, who could see the tears she was trying to hold back.  “I don’t know how he got in without setting off the alarm.  What scares me the most is what Bree’s reaction is going to be when she finds out he got into the house.”

“Novio, you know you have to tell her,” he said softly as he put his hands on her shoulder to stop her pacing.  “She has the right to know that her home was broken into and why.”

“I know but I don’t want to ruin this weekend for her.  She is staying at Johnny’s this weekend along with Roy and his family…I just can’t do that to her.”

Marco thought for a moment and then said, “Why not wait until Monday morning then?  Let them have their nice relaxing weekend at Johnny’s ranch.  When they come in for the picnic, you can take your cousin aside and talk with her about this incident and maybe then all of us can come up with a plan to help her.”

“You are a genius, love!” cried Mandy as she hugged him.  “She will more than likely be very angry that I didn’t call her right away but I will survive that…she always gets irritated with me.”

“I will tell you this, chica, I am staying here tonight.  You are not going to be alone in this house,” stated Marco firmly as he hugged her back.

They spent the next half an hour making sure that all the windows were locked, that the automatic garage doors were disconnected and the side door of the garage was not broken.  Mandy had called the security system operators and had a repair man come out and look at it.  He told her that everything was in working order and that she had nothing to worry about.  ‘If he only knew’ she thought to herself as she shut the side door and reset the alarm.

************************

Johnny peered down the hallway to the bedroom that Sierra slept in when she and her mother would come to visit him.  He looked with confusion written on his face as to what could be keeping Bree.  They had just finished loading all of Sierra’s things when Bree ran back to the house saying she forgot something.  Five minutes later she still hadn’t come back out.

He had lifted Sierra out of her car seat and headed back in.  As he glanced down that hall, he thought he could hear a faint yell coming from the spare bedroom next to the master bedroom.

“Should we go check on what’s keeping mommy?” he asked Sierra who giggled in return.

The pair snuck down the hallway as Johnny was thinking it would be fun to scare Bree and see he could get her to move a little bit faster.  As he popped his head through the doorway, the sight before his eyes at first startled him and then caused him to break out laughing as he could hear Bree muttering something.  All he could see were Bree’s legs poking out from under the twin bed that he had put in there so Jennifer would have a place to sleep when Roy and his family came out to visit.

He quickly put Sierra in the crib and walked over to the bed.  Kneeling down, he went to peek under the bed and couldn’t help but laugh all over again as he could hear more clearly just what Bree had to say.

“Quit laughing funny boy and help me!” cried Bree in frustration.  “For the life of me, I cannot figure out just how I managed to get my hair caught in the springs.”

“Just what were you doing under the bed in the first place?” asked Johnny as he wiggled on his back to reach where she had her hair tangled in the bedsprings.

“I forgot that Sierra had dropped her pacifier and I accidentally kicked it under the bed. I don’t have another one at home so I really need this one.”

Within a few seconds, Johnny had Bree’s hair untangled and helped her out from under the bed.  After seeing the look on her face, he decided keeping silent was the best thing he could do.  As she headed out the door to clean off the pacifier, he could hear her muttering to herself about the absurdness of the whole situation.  He smiled and softly talked to his daughter as he picked her up out the crib and headed to the front door to catch up with Bree.

As she watched Johnny and Sierra walk towards her, Bree knew deep in her heart she did the right thing in coming back to California.  She wanted Johnny to know Sierra and was hoping that maybe they could begin again and have a relationship together.  She smiled inwardly as she was secretly hoping that Johnny would ask them to move in with him someday in the near future but was finding it hard not to put the idea into his head herself.

“Get your head out of the clouds, sweetheart.  We need to catch up with Roy and Joanne.  They should be to your house by now.”

“I highly doubt that, Johnny,” she replied as she walked ahead of him to the vehicle.  “They only left twenty minutes ago and…”

He interrupted her by saying, “No, it’s been a half an hour.  Remember you spent about twenty minutes just running around picking up all of Sierra’s stuff and then another five minutes stuck under the bed.”

“Oh, don’t remind me of that!” she exclaimed.  “Darn it anyway, you’re right.  Let’s cruise.”

He watched the couple leave the ranch.  His anger simmered just below the surface as he watched the car pull away.  He wanted so bad to run ‘fire boy’ off the road again but he knew she was in the car also.  He had spent all of Sunday outside her home in Torrance waiting to see her reaction to the package he had left her, but she never came home.  She had spent the weekend at his place.  He was so disappointed in her…in her lack of judgment with this character.  He failed to see what she could possibly find attractive in this guy.  He was too skinny.

Keeping a good distance, he followed the young couple as they headed towards the big city.  He already had his next move ready to take place and couldn’t help laughing as he could only imagine what they would think when they see what he had planned for them.  He reached to turn up the radio as the song playing was one of hers from the beginning of her career before she turned ‘celebrity’.  He sang along with it as he kept their car in sight.

The trip into Torrance seemed like a fast one to Bree.  She and Johnny had kept up a running discussion on how well the weekend seemed to go at his new place.  The barbecue was a success and having Roy and Joanne along with kids stay out there until Monday morning worked out wonderfully.

Johnny had taken Roy and Chris hiking up into the hills behind the barn.  He had shown them one of the meadows he discovered when he first hiked up there.  Chris had been surprised when a doe had walked out into the middle of the meadow. 

Johnny held Chris back with his hand as the boy had been ready to run out there towards her.  He whispered in Chris’ ear to just watch and soon a buck came to join the doe.  The guys watched the deer eating in the meadow until Chris sneezed, startling the animals away.

The guys had returned to the ranch to find the girls had put together a picnic lunch on the lawn and Bree had set up the pool for the kids to swim in.  It had been a perfect relaxing day for the group.  Even Sierra got to join in the fun in the pool.

Turning down the street that led to Bree’s house, Johnny still couldn’t get over the home she lived in.  The first time he had been here he had felt intimidated.  His ranch seemed dowdy in comparison to her two-story five bedroom house.  She told him he was being silly because what makes a house a home, is not the four walls or the many bedrooms it might have but the people who live in it.  She said she loved the ranch not only because she spent her summers growing up there but because he had made it a home again.

Pulling into the driveway, Johnny noticed Marco’s car was in the driveway.  He had found that rather odd as Mandy had driven Bree’s car back home Saturday after the barbecue and Marco said he would meet them at the picnic on Monday.  Roy and Joanne hadn’t made there yet so Bree was giving him grief about being worried that they would get here before them.

He laughed as Bree sprinted up to the house with Sierra in her arms, leaving him to gather as much stuff out of the back of his vehicle as possible.  It still amazed him…all the stuff one had to cart around for a baby, but he wouldn’t change that for the world.  Leaving the port-a-crib and one other tote in the back of his vehicle, he walked up the stairs and into the house.  From the front entry, he could see Bree standing by the island just staring and Mandy standing next to her looking worried.

He quickly put down the items he was carrying and hurried towards the kitchen.

“What’s wrong?” he asked as stopped beside Bree.

Bree didn’t say a word but just handed Sierra to her father.  She walked towards the other end of the island intently staring at the package sitting there.  Johnny shifted Sierra to his hip, puzzled as to what had Bree mesmerized.

“When did you find it, Mandy?” she asked her cousin as she kept her gaze on the package.

“Saturday night when I got home,” replied Mandy.

“And you couldn’t be bothered to call me?” Bree asked angrily as she turned her gaze to her cousin.  “Didn’t you think I had a right to know about this?”

Mandy swallowed hard and looked over at Johnny, who by now had seen the package on the counter and was torn as to helping keep Bree calm or keeping his daughter from fussing.  Marco until now had been silently leaning again the fridge across from Mandy and Bree, stood up and replied to her questions.

“Bree, the reason she didn’t call you is because she felt you deserved to have a nice weekend at the ranch with Johnny and the DeSoto’s.  She called me first ….”

“I called Marco first because I was frightened that he had actually gotten into the house,” said Mandy as she interrupted Marco.  “Then I became angry because he found a way to violate our security…our sanctuary.  Most of all, I was really upset that somehow, someway he had found you again and is set to try and destroy your happiness…once again.”

Having gotten that off her chest, Mandy did something she normally never did in front of anybody…she burst into tears.  Marco reached her first and enveloped her in a big hug, allowing her to cry on his shoulder.  Johnny and Bree glanced at each other and then at Mandy.

“What do you thinks in the box, sweetheart?” Johnny asked as he playfully swung Sierra in the air to make her giggle.

“I’m not sure that I even want to open it,” she replied as she kept her eye on her emotional cousin.  “It still makes me mad that he somehow managed to get past my security system and into my house.”

“Maybe you should call the cops and report the break-in…” Johnny started to say before Bree interrupted him.

“And tell them what…that someone from my past has resurfaced and is after me again.  It was never reported in the first place.  Besides they would ask why the break-in hadn’t been reported immediately after it had been discovered.”

Bree returned her gaze to the package.  Resisting the urge to pick up the package and toss it in the trash, she took a deep breath and reached for the bow.  Her fingers shook as she tried to untie it.  Seeing the nervousness in her eyes, Johnny handed Sierra to Mandy.  He reached for the package in front of Bree and first removed the orchid on top of the bow.  He tossed it to Marco who immediately threw it in the garbage can.  Meeting Bree’s questioning gaze, he smiled as he began to untie the bow for her.  Once that was done, he pushed the package back in front of her so that she could finish opening it.

With shaking hands, she reached for the top of the box.  Carefully she lifted it and peering inside she couldn’t help but gasp out loud at what she saw.  Johnny looked over her shoulder and his eyes narrowed at what he saw within the box.  Both Mandy and Marco watched the expressions on the couple’s faces and knew whatever was inside wasn’t good.

“Bree…” Mandy started to say.

She looked up at her cousin and replied, “He’s upped the game, cousin.  It’s no longer a reason to have…it’s become a reason to possess.  See for yourself.”  She turned the box around so that Mandy and Marco could see what was left.

Inside the box laid a white negligee with a thin purple ribbon laced through the bodice.  But that wasn’t what terrified and angered Bree, it was the engagement ring of white gold with a diamond in the center and sapphires embedded in either side of the band resting on the neckline of the negligee.  The note enclosed stated:

“With this ring, I thee wed.”

The four adults stood in silent horror at the implication of this simple statement.  For a few moments, the only sound heard in the room was their breathing.  Sierra finally broke the silence with a wail of someone who was not used to being ignored.  Bree shook her head as her daughter began to cry.  She took Sierra from Mandy and headed into the living area.

Johnny watched Bree as she slowly walked towards the windows facing the pool.  He could tell by the slump of her shoulders she was feeling the weight of the world.  It angered him that some unknown individual was intruding not only upon Bree’s life but was taking away her sense of security.  He was also worried whoever this person is that they could cause harm to both his girls.

He walked up to Bree and put his arm around her, placing a kiss on his daughter’s forehead.  He felt Bree relax against him with a deep sigh.

“Why don’t we just skip the picnic and stay home?” asked Johnny.

“Yeah, Bree, that sounds so much better,” added Mandy as she and Marco joined them at the window.  “We need to figure this out and what to do to keep you and Sierra safe.”

Bree turned and looked at the three adults standing next to her.  The look on her face told Johnny that she was not happy with that idea.  She handed Sierra to her father before she said anything to any of them.

“No!  I am not going to let this idiot take over my life again,” retorted Bree with vehemence in her voice.  “He took too much already from me and I refuse to let it start all over.”

“So what are you going to do…offer yourself and Sierra up as bait?” asked Johnny quite angrily.

“No, I am not going to offer myself or our daughter as bait.  I am just not hiding anymore.  I want my life back and I am not allowing anyone to take it away from me.  And if that means I have to report this to the police then so be it."

Johnny looked at the diminutive young woman in front of him and saw the inner strength that he had seen when she first came back.  He knew that no matter what he said or did, she would not be swayed from this course.  He glanced over at Mandy and Marco, knowing that they were on their side.

Before anything more could be said, the doorbell rang.  Knowing that Roy and Jo along with the kids had arrived, Mandy ran to answer the door.  She smiled at the family as she asked them to enter and said that everyone was in the living room.

Roy noticed Bree taking her daughter from Johnny’s arms and entering the bedroom.  He glanced over at his wife who looked as confused as he felt.  The tension he could feel in the room was intense and he wondered if they had just narrowly missed a major argument.

Johnny put Jennifer down after her bear hug and told her and Chris to go upstairs and play with the toys and stuff that Bree kept up there as the adults needed to talk.  Chris looked down at his little sister saying “race ya!”  And off they ran.

“Okay, Junior, what’s up?  The tension in here is so thick you could cut it with a knife,” stated Roy.

Before she had gone into the bedroom with Sierra, Bree whispered to Johnny to go ahead and fill Roy and Joanne in on what occurred after the barbecue.  She needed to get Sierra settled down and knowing that it wasn’t too hard for children to pick up on the tension in a room, took her into the bedroom to try to get her settled down before they left.

“Nothing good, Roy, nothing good,” replied Johnny as he motioned for the group to follow him back into the kitchen.  “It seems there was a silent break-in this weekend while we were holding the barbecue at my ranch.”

“Anything stolen?” asked Roy as he felt his wife put her hand in his.  He gave her hand a squeeze to reassure her.

“Not that Mandy or Marco could tell but we haven’t gone through Bree’s bedroom yet,” said Johnny.  “Right now we are trying to get our heads around the fact that the intruder got around the security system in this house without any alarms being triggered.  So we assume that whoever it is knows what they are doing.”

Joanne glanced at the bedroom door and back at Johnny, asking, “How’s Bree handling this?”

“For the circumstances, alright, I guess.  But I haven’t filled you in on the ‘best’ part…the intruder turns out to be the individual who’d been stalking Bree for the past year before her parents’ death.  Look in the box on the counter and you’ll see how we figured out that the stalker is back.”  He shot the package a nasty look that was not lost on Roy.

Joanne hesitantly reached for the box, lifting the lid and gasping out loud at what she saw and read.  She glanced at Johnny who returned her gaze with an unwavering one of his own.  She shuddered at the look she read in his eyes, knowing that should this person ever run into Johnny it would not be good.  Roy stood and looked over his wife’s shoulder as she opened the box and could now see why Johnny looked as mad as he did.  This person, whoever he was, is sick.

“What do we do next?” asked Roy and Joanne at the same time.

Johnny laughed and replied, “According to Bree, we go on to the picnic and act like nothing has changed.  She refuses to allow this person to dictate how she lives her life.

While Johnny was explaining to Roy and Joanne what had happened, Bree wandered around her bedroom wondering if he had been in here.  She noticed the crib was slightly away from the wall but she could have left it that way.  She walked into her closet and glanced at the clothes hanging there, noticing nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary.  As she came around to the drawer side of the cabinet in the middle of her closet, she noticed one drawer was not completely shut.  Using the toe of her shoe, she hooked the drawer handle and pulled it back towards her.

Immediately she noticed things had been disturbed.  She realized right away that something was missing from the drawer.  She left the drawer opened, quickly leaving the room to avoid a panic attack.  She set Sierra down in the crib and walked into the bathroom.  She turned the water on and splashed some cool water on her face, patting it dry.  Placing her cool hand on the back of her neck, she looked around the bathroom and where her perfumes rested noticed that her favorite one was missing.

Bree had had enough.  Not only had he invaded her life and privacy, he now was attacking her security and stealing her belongings.  She decided to keep the missing items to herself for now as she didn’t want Johnny to be more upset than he already was.  She wished she could find out who this person was and confront him.  Picking her daughter up out of her crib, she took a deep breath to calm her racing heart and walked out to the living area.

“Well, I think we are ready to go.  How about the rest of you?” asked Bree as she turned to Joanne to hug her.

Joanne hugged Bree back and asked, “Are you sure you want to go to the picnic? 

Like Mandy told us, we can stay here and come up with ways to keep you and Sierra safe.”

“I’m sure, Joanne,” replied Bree as she turned to smile at everyone.  “And thanks for your concern, all of you.  I am not going to let him dictate how I live my life and who I associate with.  Now let’s get to the picnic before Chet gets there and eats everything in sight.”

Laughing at that comment, the adults headed to the front.  Joanne, Bree and Mandy walked ahead of the guys chattering away.  Roy shouted up the stairs for the kids to come on down as it was time to leave.  He laughed as he could hear the two trying to outdo each other to get to the stairs first.  He shouted up at them to be careful as they didn’t want anyone falling down the stairs.  Chris and Jennifer peered over the railing and told their father they’d be careful and to prove it, they took the stairs one step at a time.

Bree got Sierra settled in her car seat and waved at Mandy and Marco telling them she would see them at the park.  Joanne hustled her kids into the backseat of their station wagon and waved back at Bree.

He laughed to himself as he knew the package had her rattled.  He could tell by the way she constantly looked around her even as she walked to the car.  The ‘fire boy’ looked no better.  He smiled as he noticed the thin line of his mouth as he too looked around the yard.  He knew no one could see him hidden in the brush alongside the walking path that wound around behind her house leading to the nature park not far away.

Watching them all drive away, he chuckled as he knew exactly where they were going, which park the picnic was being held at.  He waited until the cars were out of sight before he got on the walking path and headed to the parking lot of the nature park.  He chuckled as he walked back to his car, reveling in his good luck at finding a good place to be able to park without drawing attention to himself or his vehicle.

The next phase of his plan was about to begin and he couldn’t wait to watch the reaction of this close knit group as they realize they are becoming targets just by associating with her.  Once they figure out by being a part of her group, they were going to be in as much danger as ‘fire boy’ was.  He couldn’t help but chuckle as everything was falling into place.  After all this time, she still hadn’t figured out who he was…but soon she would and he couldn’t wait to launch that surprise.

Bree leaned up against the tree as Johnny laid his head in her lap.  Joanne was sitting on the blanket playing with Sierra while Roy pushed Jennifer on the swing near where they had set up their picnic.  Chris had run off with some of his friends and was playing an impromptu game of softball with them at the baseball diamond across from the play area.

Just as Bree had predicted, when they arrived Chet wasn’t going to let them anywhere near the food when they arrived.  He said if they couldn’t get there on time, they didn’t need to eat.  That prompted a small water fight between Bree and Chet as once again she was packing…an ice cold water pistol…that she immediately unleashed on Chet.  Chet took off running with Bree not the far behind him.  Ten minutes later when the pair returned, Bree was as wet as Chet was and both were laughing hard.

Everyone was looking at them as if they had gone off the deep end.  Johnny finally asked what happened which sent Bree right back into a fit of giggling leaving the explanation to Chet.  Chet told Johnny as Bree was chasing him around the playground she failed to notice the small wading pool set up for the kids.  She slipped in a small puddle and ended up sliding right into the pool…luckily he said no kids were in there.

Finally getting her giggles under control, Bree took Johnny’s car keys to retrieve the tote that held an extra set of clothing for herself.  She had learned the hard way that when you have a little one and go someplace, you should always have an extra set of clothes for yourself.  She entered the bathroom and cringed when she noticed there was no lock on the door.  At least the stalls have locks, she thought to herself.

  As she was changing, she thought she heard a noise like someone entering the bathroom but got no reply when she called out.  Blaming it on nerves, she hurriedly got dressed and bolted out of the bathroom like it was on fire.

As she was remembering that earlier incident, she failed to hear Johnny asking her a question until she felt the weight of his head leave her lap.

“Are you with us today, sweetheart?” he asked as he smiled at her knowing her mind was elsewhere.

“I’m sorry, Johnny.  What did you ask me?”

“I wanted to know if you would like a soda before we head over to the pavilion to listen to whoever is playing,” he replied as he stood up.

“I would love a diet Pepsi,” she requested.

“Anything your heart desires,” he stated as he leaned back down to give her a kiss.

She blushed and replied in a whisper, “What my heart desires cannot be displayed in public.”

She laughed as she watched him blush all the way to the roots of his hair.  Joanne smiled as she ducked her head so Johnny wouldn’t see that she noticed him blushing.

Johnny met up with Roy who had just returned from the baseball diamonds where Chris and his friends were playing.  Captain Stanley’s daughter, Alyssa, was going to watch the younger kids while the adults walked over to the nearby pavilion to listen to the band playing there.  It was within eyesight of the playground so most of the parents weren’t worried that their children wouldn’t be able to find them.

They chuckled over the early incident when arriving late for the picnic put Chet and Bree on the path for another battle between the phantom and the little witch as Bree called herself.  They all decided it was a draw as Bree wound up as wet as Chet.

Grabbing sodas from the cooler, Johnny motioned to Marco and Chet that they were getting ready to head to the pavilion if they wanted to join them.  Marco commented that somehow he lost his girlfriend along the way and was still trying to locate her.  Shaking his head, Johnny told him that they would be just on the fringe of the crowd within eyesight of the playground so they would be easy to find.

Returning to the girls, the guys noticed that everything had been picked up, folded and ready to go.  Johnny took Sierra from Bree, placing his arm around her waist.  They caught up with Captain Stanley and his wife, Emily, who had been trying to save spots for them.  Roy had grabbed the folding lawn chairs for the girls to sit on and set them up.

The band hadn’t started playing yet but was in the process of fine tuning their instruments.  Sitting down, Bree couldn’t exactly see the pavilion stage but enjoyed listening to the sound checks.  Johnny was sitting cross-legged in front of her, leaning against her shins while he bounced their daughter on his bent knees.  He could feel that Bree was finally relaxing as her pose in the chair didn’t seem as still as the one she had while they were sitting under the tree.

Bree jumped as she felt a hand touch her shoulder.  Looking up, she spotted Marco and Chet standing behind her chair.

“No luck in finding my errant cousin?” she asked him.

“No.  She said she was going to run to the rest room and be right back.  That was half an hour ago,” he replied.

Chuckling to himself, Johnny piped in his two cents worth.  “Maybe she found something better, Marco.”  He ducked as Marco took a swipe at his head but caught Bree’s shoulder instead.

“Sorry, Bree, I was aiming for the heir apparent of Chet’s pranks,” said Marco as he tried to apologize for his mistake.

As she rubbed her shoulder in an exaggerated manner, she laughingly replied to his apology, “Don’t worry about it, Marco.  He should know better.”

The playful banter went on for a couple more minutes before Mandy finally caught back up with the group.  She smiled as she apologized for disappearing but had run into some old friends who were going to pleasantly surprise them all by playing on the stage.  Bree raised an eyebrow at her cousin before she asked.  “Just who is playing on stage?”

“Who do you think, cousin?” retorted Mandy cryptically.  “From the look on your face you know the answer.”

The cousins flung playful insults back and forth making Johnny and Chet’s insults at work look like child-play.  Chet even had to comment on how the girls put him to shame and now he could see he was going to have to stay on his toes to keep ahead of Bree.  Before they had a chance to retort to Chet’s comment, the band struck up the first cords of their first song.

As the group listened to the music that Dakota Dreaming was playing, on the other side of the crowd was the reporter from the LA Times who had sent out a challenge to the citizens of Los Angeles and surrounding communities to help her find out about the new lead singer for the band.  She scanned the crowd looking for a sign of the young woman as she was not on stage with the band.  Dana was frustrated as so far her challenge had turned up nothing.  The new lead singer for Dakota Dreaming didn’t sing with them every night during the week at the Red Wolf so it was making it hard for anyone to figure her out.  The band played during the week and then only one weekend a month which allowed the club to have other local bands come in and play.

As she glanced again through the crowd, she noticed two girls off to her left pointing in her direction.  Smiling to herself, she headed their direction hoping that they might have the information she has been looking for.

“Hey, do you both have time to answer a few questions?” asked Dana of the young women standing there.

Glancing at each other and then back at Dana, the tall girl replied, “Sure.  We were trying to figure out a way to approach you anyway.”

“That’s great.  How about we go somewhere behind this crowd where it’s a little bit more quiet so we can hear each other talk.”

Dana followed the two girls towards an unoccupied shelter north of the pavilion.  She pulled her notepad out as the girls started talking to her about her quest to learn just who the new singer was for Dakota Dreaming.  She couldn’t help the smug smile that crossed her lips as these two were giving her an earful on this singer and where she worked during the day.

Johnny had to admit that listening to this band at the park was a lot nicer than at the club as the background noise was at a minimum.  He wondered why they hadn’t asked Bree if she wanted to join them at the park.  Maybe they had, he thought, but she turned them down instead as she wanted to spend time with him and his friends.

He smiled as he felt Bree lean down and softly blew in his ear.  She was always up to some type of mischief with him.  He reached up over his head trying to be careful as so not to wake the sleeping child in his lap.  He was startled though when the hair he tangled his hand in was not that of Bree but of her cousin, Mandy.  The shock on his face set them all laughing.

“You know, Mandy, paybacks are a…well you know,” said Johnny as he laughed right along with the rest of the group.

“Yeah, I know, Gage, but it is so much fun to try and make you blush,” retorted Mandy as she stepped back out of his reach.

The band paused for a moment after the last slow song and the lead guitarist made a motion to the crowd asking them for silence as he wanted to talk to them.  Bree looked at Mandy and rolled her eyes as once the lead guitarist got talking, he never shut up.  He introduced himself to the crowd and talked about how the band enjoyed their transition to California and found the community inviting and friendly.

“But that isn’t the reason why I wanted to talk to you.  A couple of months ago we had the opportunity to hold tryouts for a new lead singer.  Originally she wasn’t supposed to perform with us today but I spotted her out in the audience…..”

As he kept on talking, Bree sat behind Johnny fuming.  She was basically thinking about strangling Jeremy on the spot.  Johnny turned and looked up at Bree who had a very furious look on her face.  He reached up to place his hand on her leg and was rewarded with a wan smile from her.  He knew she had been looking forward to a nice relaxing day at the park with everyone and now was finding she would soon be the center of attention when her band mate tells everyone who she is.

‘I’m gonna kill him,’ Johnny heard her saying under her breath.  Mandy had reached down and pulled their waking daughter from his lap so he could stand up.

He put his hand out for Bree to grab and as she came to her feet, he pulled her into a quick embrace.  He put his mouth close to her ear and said, “Just go with it, sweetheart.  I know you wanted to kick back and relax but this is what you love to do.  Enjoy it.”

Glancing over at Mandy holding Sierra, she nodded in understanding that she would keep an eye on their daughter.  She allowed Johnny to walk her towards the stage as the crowd began to chant her name.  Bree could feel the color rise on her cheeks and silently thought to herself that she was going to personally string her cousin up by his toes the first chance she got.

Jeremy grinned when he saw the look on Bree’s face as she approached the stage.  He knew she was going to make him pay for what he just did…but he didn’t mind.  Her boyfriend, Johnny, had helped him get this all set up.  Reaching down for Bree’s hands, he laughed out loud as Bree’s eyes widen when she felt Johnny’s hands on her backside as he lifted her up to grab Jeremy’s outstretched hands.

Feeling the stage beneath her feet, Bree leaned towards Jeremy and said softly, “You will die one thousand slow deaths when I am finished with you.”

Jeremy threw his head back as he laughed hard at her comment.  What she said was almost verbatim to what Johnny said she would tell him.  His wife, Jen who was also one of their backup singers, stood waiting for Bree and handed her a microphone.  She then surprised her cousin-in-law by reaching down and bringing back up a black Stetson hat that Bree thought she had lost.

She positioned the hat on her head, took back the mike and turned to the crowd.  Smiling as she realized Johnny was right, she loved to do this.

“Hello, Carson,” she shouted.  “Let’s get this party started!”

Turning to the band, she gave them the backbeat and smiled as she heard the familiar melody of her very first hit begin.

There’s a place I like to go

Cherry bombs and cherry wine

Just past the Texaco

Down on the county line

She couldn’t help but smile as she watched the crowd go wild.  Jeremy had introduced her as Brenna Leigh and that’s who the crowd thought she was.  As she sang, she glanced out over the crowd and smiled as she watched those closest to the stage move back and form a semi-circle so that some could dance.  This was what she loved the best about concerts in the park…the impromptu dancing, the freedom of enjoying what you like.

Johnny smiled as he watched Bree’s transformation the minute the music started.  She went from a quiet but vibrant woman to a consummate performer who gave everything she had to the people enjoying her music.  As he continued to enjoy her performance, he wondered why she decided to give it up.  He had figured part of it had to be because she got pregnant with Sierra but thought that maybe she would have taken it up again once the child had been born.  He was so deep in his thoughts that he never heard Roy walk up alongside him. 

“She’s really good, Junior,” stated Roy as he stood alongside Johnny watching the performance on stage.

Johnny jumped a bit as he didn’t realize his friend and partner had joined him.  “Is this the first time you have heard the band?” he asked as he glanced at Roy from the corner of his eye.

“Yes but not for the lack of trying,” said Roy.  “Each time you called to see if Jo and I could join you at the club, we had something going on with either the kids at a school function or with Jo’s family.”

“I can’t believe we haven’t been able to get out and see her perform.  We have missed a lot,” chimed in Jo as she joined them taking Sierra from Mandy.  “I could just kick myself now for not trying to get out of going to mom’s that one night instead of joining you.”

“Don’t worry about it, Jo,” replied Johnny as he laughed at the indignation on her face.  “Besides, I believe she is going to be performing more from now on.”

Both Roy and Joanne looked at Johnny as they wondered about his cryptic remark.  He couldn’t help but chuckle again as the looks upon their faces showed just how confused his last comment had made them feel.

“From those looks, I gather you think something different,” he said.  “What I meant is that she may be singing with the band a little more this summer as they have been asked to perform at a few different venues around the LA and Orange County area.”

As the group of friends relaxed and listened to the band, on the other side of the crowd Dana stood listening to Bree sing and silently congratulating herself for getting the low-down on just who this girl was.  The two she had been talking with for the better part of half an hour gave her all the information she needed on this new lead singer and who she is.  In the back of her mind, she thought that the two had a grudge against the girl but her journalistic nature won out over her ethics.

Watching the crowds, she got the distinct feeling that they believed she really was who the band said she is and not the missing country singer she resembled. 

Already she had her follow-up story to the first piece she did on the band’s new lead singer.  Giggling out loud, she decided it was time to head back to the paper and start on the story as she wanted to see if she could get it done in time for tomorrow morning’s edition.

He watched the newspaper reporter leave the crowd.  He didn’t like her very much but in a way she was helping him in his plan to bring Bree back to music and to get her away from her new friends and where she worked.  He chuckled as he imagined what tomorrow morning would bring for Bree if the reporter’s article makes it into the morning edition of the LA Times.  The chaos that would ensue where she worked would more than likely get her terminated or at least suspended for a while until things blew over.  And when that occurs, he would step up his plan to get her away from ‘fire boy’.

Standing on the opposite side of the crowd, he couldn’t see where ‘fire boy’ and his friends were, but knew that it would only be a matter of time before someone discovered what happened in the parking lot.  More than likely the surprise would be looked at a just an accident (if they only knew).  Deciding it was wiser to not stick around anymore than he needed to, he blew a kiss towards the stage and left.

She sighed as she leaned her head against the headrest of the passenger seat.  She hadn’t performed like that in a long time and she was tired.  She smiled inwardly as she knew deep down she really enjoyed it.  After the first set, it took a little coaxing on the band’s part as well as the crowd to keep her up on stage.  She only wanted to sing one set with them but got talked into performing a second one.  When she made eye contact with Johnny, he just smiled back at her and nodded his head in agreement with her singing the second set.

Mandy was in the backseat playing with Sierra who was wake after a long nap through her mother’s whole performance.  Mandy was doing Johnny’s little peek-a-boo play that her ‘niece’ enjoyed thoroughly.  Johnny and Bree were giving her a ride back to the home she shared with her cousin as Marco had discovered a flat tire on his vehicle as they were loading up to go home.

He reached over and took Bree’s hand in his, caressing the back of her hand with his thumb.  He felt her squeeze his fingers in response to his touch.  He was proud of her today.  Most of his friends and coworkers hadn’t heard her perform before and had pleasantly surprised when she got up on stage.  Some of the guys (and their families) from other stations who hadn’t known that Johnny was seeing this young woman until today had walked over to him and complimented him on his good taste in girlfriends.  He chuckled to himself as if they only knew the whole story of who Bree really is.

“Honey, we’re home,” said Johnny as he gently shook Bree’s shoulder.

She shook her head and glanced to her left.  “Where’s Sierra?” she asked him.

“Mandy already has her inside and is getting her ready for her bath,” he replied.  “I think you need a soak also.  How about I fill up your tub and you soak while Mandy and I take care of Sierra.”

“You know I think I will take you up on that offer.  It’s not often I can get away with two caregivers for our daughter and have a little free time for myself.”

Once inside, Johnny headed to Bree’s bedroom to start her bath.  Bree headed upstairs to Mandy’s room where she could hear her talking to Sierra and the child giggling at her silly ‘aunt’.  She let Mandy know that she was going to go soak in her tub and that Johnny would have a bottle ready for Sierra when the two make it back down stairs.

“Come on, sleepyhead,” said Johnny as he walked out of the master bathroom and found Bree reclining in the rocker by her bed.  “The water is the right temperature and you can sink up to your shoulders.”

“Johnny, you are a woman’s dream come true,” replied Bree with a sleepy smile.  “I’m gonna have to keep you around for a very long time.”  She stood up and put her arms around his neck for kiss.

“I sure hope so, woman cause you will find it very hard to get rid of me now,” he stated to her as he kissed her back then turning her in the direction of the bathroom, giving her a little push that way.  “You get ta soaking and I’ll go take care of our daughter.”

She giggled as she shut the door in his face.  Slipping out of her clothes, she turned the radio on and tuned in her favorite station.  Testing the water with one toe, she sighed as Johnny had gotten the temperature just right for her to soak.  She slid into the water and reclined until she was literally up to her neck in water and bubbles.  As she listened to the music she couldn’t help but think about today at the park.  She hadn’t been expecting the band to call her up to sing and admitted to herself that she was a little angry when Jeremy started talking.  But once she got up there, she had to agree with Johnny and Jeremy that she loved it.  Soon the music from the radio started to soothe her tired body and she slowly drifted into a dreamlike state with her last thought being that of how much she loved Johnny.

She looked around her and found herself in a place with no windows or doors. 

She could hear his breathing and wondered where he was hiding this time. 

Turning around in a full circle, she angrily yelled at him, “Are you so afraid of a mere woman that you have to hide in the shadows?  What is it that makes you feel you can possess me?”

She stomped her foot in frustration and shouted again into the darkness, “I can hear your breathing.  I can smell the evil that surrounds you.  Answer me!  I am tired of your games, your cat-n-mouse play.  If you can’t reveal yourself then leave me and my family alone.”

Suddenly she heard a click and once where only a blank wall had been was now a door.  Tentatively she reached for the door handle and when she opened it, she could see a field of tall grass and beyond that a forest.  She didn’t hesitate but ran quickly.  As she reached the middle of the field, she could see the grass move ahead of her.  She could hear a soft growling sound and she became nervous not knowing what it was…but it seemed to be moving away from her.  Throwing caution to the wind, she followed the moving grass.

The forest seemed so close but with each step it also seemed to get farther away.  Stopping to catch her breath, she leaned over with her hands on her knees. 

Getting herself under control, she stood up and gasped out loud as the forest was now directly in front of her.  With each step into the trees, it got darker.  The hair on the nape of her neck stood straight up as she could sense whatever she had followed was in the forest with her.  She decided this was a bad idea but when she turned to go back to the field, it was gone.

She could feel her fear rise up in her as she now knew what a mistake she had made.  As her panic rose into her throat, she knew she had to face whatever was after her.  “Show yourself.  If you truly don’t plan to hurt me, you should not be afraid to show yourself to me.”  She could hear the pleading in her voice and mentally berated herself for sounding like a timid little field mouse.

The breathing sounded much closer.  Turning towards the direction of the coarse breathing, she could see eyes glowing in the shadows near her.  She took one step towards those eyes when she felt the ground open up in front of her.  She screamed as she felt the water rise over her head……

Bree gasped for breath as she sat up quickly.  She couldn’t believe that she fell asleep in the bath.  Brushing her wet hair away from her face, she went over in her mind the images from her dream.  It was beginning to frustrate her…these dreams.  Standing up, she stepped out of the tub, mindless of the water she left in puddles behind her.  She couldn’t make sense of these dreams that were plaguing her.  Deep down she felt she was missing some part of the puzzle, that there was something hiding that she just could not see.

Wrapping the towel around her wet hair, she reached for her robe on the hook behind the door.  ‘Good grief’ she thought as she spotted her reflection in the mirror, ‘I could scare myself.’  Quickly she dried her hair with the towel, flipped into a messy ponytail and ran to her closet for some comfy pants and loose top.  She noticed her daughter sound asleep in her crib and leaned down to give her a soft kiss on the head.

Johnny turned when he heard the door to the bedroom open and smiled when he saw Bree walk out looking refreshed.  “Feeling better?” he asked.

“Much, but why are you still here?” replied Bree.  “You should be home by now.  Morning is going to come early for you.”

“I know but I just wanted to make sure our daughter got settled down and you were relaxed after your soak in the bath.  Decided to wash your hair?”

“Not really.  I fell asleep and slipped under,” Bree stated rather sheepishly.

Both Johnny and Mandy chuckled at the look on her face.  Bree walked Johnny to the door and told him to drive careful on his way home.  He pulled her into his arms and softly kissed her, telling her he would call her sometime tomorrow.  Shutting the door after watching him back out of the driveway, she set the alarm wondering just how well the thing really worked.

****************************

Johnny raced into the locker room.  Opening his locker, he quickly began to change into his uniform.  He couldn’t believe how slow traffic was this morning.  Throwing his bag into the locker, he turned to head to the engine bay, kicking his locker shut with his foot.  He hurried into the engine bay only to slide to a stop when he realized no one was standing there waiting for roll call.  Scratching his head in confusion, he walked into the day room and found Roy and the Captain sitting there.

“What’s going on?  I thought for sure I was gonna be late today cuz of the slow traffic and I find no one’s here except for you guys,” he said as he grabbed a cup of coffee and joined them at the table.

Captain Stanley looked up at Johnny and replied, “The engine and squad got called out just before I arrived.  Mike is in my office making a phone call and as for Marco and Chet…I have no clue where those two are or why they are late today.”

“Hope it’s nothing serious,” stated Johnny as he grabbed the sport section out from under Roy’s hand.

“Hey, I was going to read that,” growled Roy looking at his partner with a sour expression.

“Not right now you ain’t, I am.  You have your eyes on the variety section it looks like to me,” Johnny retorted laughing at him.  “What’s got you in an owly mood?”

“Besides the lack of sleep,” stated Roy.  “Jennifer came down with the flu and was up half the night.”

“Well, here’s….,” Johnny started to say when Roy interrupted him.

“Don’t even say it!” he cried.

Before Johnny could even reply, Mike walked in and told them that he just got off the phone with Marco.  Chet was supposed to pick him up as his vehicle was in the shop due to a flat tire he discovered last night.  He said that Chet had just called him and said the brakes were leaking on his VW bus and that both of them were taking the bus and might be a little later than they expected.

While the guys speculated on the run of bad luck they had been having lately, the engine and squad were backing into the bay.  Captain Stanley talked to two of the guys from C shift who said they would stay until Chet and Marco arrived.

As they waited for Marco and Chet to arrive, Roy and Johnny performed diagnostics on their equipment, checking the bio-phone and EKG connection with Rampart.  Having completed the diagnostics, Johnny grabbed the drug box to inventory what they needed during a supply run to the hospital.  He no sooner had completed the list when both they and the engine were called out for unknown type of rescue…a child stuck.

Quickly shutting the compartment doors, Johnny jumped in the squad.  Mike hit the button to open the engine bay doors and was surprised when Marco and Chet came running in.  The guys from C shift chuckled as they spotted the two very late crewmembers running in…but they weren’t laughing too hard as those very late crewmembers tossed their gear at them while they jumped on the truck before it took off.

Johnny told Roy to take a right as they left the station.  Mike wasn’t that far behind them.  From the address he was reading on the paper the Cap gave him, they were heading to a playground at a park not too far from the station.  After four and a half blocks, he told Roy to take another right and head another four blocks north.

“I wonder what the child got stuck in,” said Johnny as he kept his eye on the intersections ahead, looking for anybody who might not stop.

“Me too,” replied Roy.  “I know they put in some new equipment a couple of months ago as Jo said Chris really was having fun on the monkey bars, swinging all over them.”

“Parking lot is up ahead,” said Johnny.  “I think the playground is right next to it.”

Pulling into the parking lot, the paramedics spotted the crowd in the playground and figured that was where the incident was.  Johnny jumped out before Roy had the vehicle completely stopped, grabbed the bio-phone and headed towards the playground.  Roy was right behind him with the drug box.

“Wow!  Charlie, they sent everybody for you!” shouted a boy in a black and white striped shirt and shorts who looked to be 10 years of age.

As the crowd parted for the rescue workers, Johnny and Roy were greeted by a sight they had never come across before.  A young boy about 9 years of age had his head stuck in the monkey bars.  He was a slight child with a small build but obviously not as small as he thought.  Johnny had to choke back the laughter as the look of indignation on the child’s face just about sent him over the edge.

Barely fitting underneath the arch of the bars, Johnny looked up at the face above him.  “Hi, young man.  My name is Johnny Gage.  What’s your name?”

“Charlie…Charlie Bennett.  Am I gonna be in trouble, mister?” asked the young boy.

“Not with me, Charlie, but I can’t say the same if your mother finds out,” replied Johnny.  “Can you tell me what prompted you to do this to yourself?”

Even though he couldn’t move his head around, he reached the best he could with his arm towards the young boy who had shouted earlier.  “Davey did.  He promised me his GI Joe truck if I could get myself through the monkey bars without getting stuck.”

“Did not!” shouted Davey.  “I said I might give it to you if you could do it without getting stuck.  You weren’t supposed to try it from the top.”

Before the boys got into a verbal argument, Roy pulled Davey aside and asked him if both he and Charlie lived around there.  Davey nodded his head yes.  When he asked Charlie if his mother was home, Charlie clammed up.  He wasn’t gonna tell as he knew his mom would be mad that he was even listening to Davey’s harebrained idea in the first place.  Davey whispered to Roy that he knew Charlie’s mom was at home and he would go get her.  Charlie watched as his best friend took off to go find his mother.

“Rampart…Squad 51…Can you read?” asked Roy.

Dixie answered him.  “I can hear you loud and clear, 51.”

“Rampart, we have a young boy about 9 years old with his head stuck between the rungs of a monkey bar.  He is not experiencing any pressure upon the throat and is breathing normally.  Stand by for vitals.”

Dixie looked at Joe Early as he approached the base station.  “Did I hear 51 correctly…they have a kid with his head stuck in the monkey bars?”

Chuckling, Dixie replied, “You heard them correctly…stuck between the rungs of the monkey bars.  I can’t wait to hear the story of this one.”

When they realized they weren’t going to be needed, the guys of Engine 51 headed back.  Half an hour later with a tube of Vaseline rubbed all over the bars and Charlie’s neck and head, he was free.  His mother promised to take him to the family doctor to have him checked over.  Charlie thanked Johnny and Roy for helping him out of an embarrassing situation and promised never to do that again.

“Well, Junior, what do we need from Rampart?” asked Roy as he started up the squad.

“Aside from a new tube of Vaseline,” retorted Johnny with a chuckle.  “Just a few items that the guys used on that run before our shift was completely under way.”

With that said, he waved his arm towards the road and they headed for Rampart.  Johnny smiled as he knew he would have a few minutes to run into Bree.

*****************************

Bree literally threw her empty coffee cup at the fireplace…she was that mad.  It was bad enough she had overslept and got up late.  As she raced out of the bedroom and into the kitchen, she grabbed her cup from last night and was just ready to fill it when Mandy handed her the Variety section of the LA Times.  The headline on the first page put her in a very foul mood.

“By the time I am done with those two twits, they are going to be wishing they had been anywhere but in the vicinity of that park yesterday!” she shouted.

Knowing her cousin’s temper when it broke free of its boundaries could be formidable, she let her rant and rave until the pace slowed before she answered her.

“I know,” replied Mandy.  “But what are you going to do about damage control at Rampart?  You have to realize by the time you get to work the press is going to be all over the place.”

“You think I haven’t realized that?” retorted Bree sarcastically.  “Sorry, Mandy, I shouldn’t take it out on you. “

“That’s alright, I’m used to it,” she chuckled.  “Seriously though, what are you going to do?”

“The only thing I can do…sneak into Rampart and walk out as who I am and give the press what they want…a story for their paper.”

Winking at her cousin, Bree walked back into her bedroom.  Curiosity getting the best of her, Mandy followed Bree and chuckled when she realized what the girl was up to.  She picked Sierra up out of her crib and whispered that they were going to leave her mother to herself and go get breakfast.

*********************************

Pulling into the parking lot of Rampart’s Emergency Room, Roy and Johnny exchanged puzzled glances as to what the commotion was around the ER.

“Wonder who is garnering the commotion at Rampart?” questioned Johnny.  When Roy didn’t answer him right away, Johnny looked over at him and asked, “What’s up?”

“Can’t say, Junior, but I hope we can get into the ER for supplies,” replied Roy.

It took a bit of maneuvering but eventually they got into the ER.  Both of them were thinking that hopefully it won’t be a busy day for the emergency room staff or the ambulance drivers bringing patients in as that crowd was not budging from their stance at all.

Approaching the nurses’/base station, they could tell Dixie was not happy with the situation outside.  There was no sign of Dr. Brackett or Dr. Early.

“Hey, Dix, what’s with all the paparazzi outside the ER?” asked Johnny.  He backed up a step when he saw the fire in Dixie’s eyes.

“Damn reporters, each and every one of them,” retorted Dixie.  “All it took was one newspaper article and it set off that circus outside!”

“What newspaper article?” Johnny asked her.

Absentmindedly, Dixie threw the paper that was in her hands at Johnny.  Roy proceeded to look down at the floor and then at Dixie, then down the hall…anywhere but over at Johnny who was watching him wondering what he knew.

“Roy?”

“Just read it, Johnny.  It will tell you the rest,” he said to his partner with a sigh.

On the front page of the Variety section, Johnny saw a picture of Bree singing up on stage at the pavilion in the park.  The reporter for the story was the same one who had asked the general public to help her locate the newly hired singer for Dakota Dreaming.  She had asked them in the first article, “Is she or isn’t she?”  Now she had written that the mystery had been solved, that she knew exactly who the new lead singer was and where she worked, etc.  He could feel the color draining from his face.

A few months ago, I asked the loyal readers of the LA Times to help me solve

a mystery that had captured my attention.  It started when the backup

band for a popular country singer surfaced in Long Beach and began

performing at the club known as Red Wolf.  They held auditions for a new lead

singer.  The young woman they hired bore a remarkable resemblance to Bree

Montgomery.  Who this girl was I had no clue.

Memorial Day weekend proved to be very fruitful in this quest.  At a local

park in Torrance, I found Dakota Dreaming putting on a free concert. During

the course of their performance, I met two loyal readers who were very

 helpful in giving me the lowdown on this young woman.  Her name is

Brenna Leigh and she is a lab technician at Rampart General Hospital.

 In the course of our conversation, I also discovered that this same young woman only

had recently moved to California and begun working at Rampart.  So now I

 wonder…just where did she come from?

Thanking these two new friends for their help, I raced back to my office and called in

every favor I was owed to figure out the end to this mystery.  Just who is Brenna Leigh?

  Up until four months ago, she never existed. Brenna Leigh just does not exist, at least 

not in the real world.  That leaves only one obvious answer…she really is

the one and only Bree Montgomery.

But why the secrecy?  Why hide from the fans?  My next quest

is to find out why.  If anyone out there knows the answer to this

mystery, don’t hesitate to contact Dana Reese, Variety reporter

for the LA Times.

“Son of a…!” exclaimed Johnny as he threw the paper down on the counter.  Turning to Roy, he asked, “Did you know about this?”

“Just before we were called, I had started reading it.  I was going to talk to you about in the squad but by the time we got to the playground and here…well it was too late,” replied Roy.  “Sorry.”

“Not your fault,” he stated.  “How the heck did she find that information?”

Dixie waited until he paused for a breath before she answered.  “I think I have an idea of just who ‘leaked’ this information out but I have to wait until they arrive for work before I get my answers.”

“This has just about got to have Brackett really steamed,” chuckled Johnny even though he was still steaming mad about the article.

“He is. In fact, he is talking to the head of security right now and supposedly they are talking with the Chief of Police to see what they can have done to keep them away from the ER and the hospital.  If he had been given his way, he would have had one of the area ambulances just run them all over.”

“Hey, Roy, give me the keys to the squad.  I think I could run them over for Dr. Brackett right now,” stated Johnny.  Glancing back at Dixie, he asked, “Does Bree know about this circus outside?”

“No,” said Dixie.  “She is on the late morning shift and doesn’t have to come in until 9 a.m.  I’ve tried calling her but have gotten no answer at home.”

While Johnny, Roy and Dixie tried to figure out a way to help Dr. Brackett with the media circus outside, the object of the article pulled into the employee parking lot at Rampart.  She chuckled to herself when she saw the crowd outside the ER and thought that Dr. Brackett was probably having a cow right now.  Walking up to the blocked entrance to the ER, she tapped a young man on the shoulder and asked him what the excitement was about.

“Did you see the article a couple of months back in the LA Times about Bree Montgomery?” he said.

“Yeah but I didn’t pay that much attention to it,” she replied to his question.  “I’m not that interested in country music.  Why…what’s that got to do with everyone here?”

“The reporter, Dana Reese, has another installment for the mystery.  Only it seems the mystery has been solved.  She works here.”

“Who?  Bree Montgomery?” she asked trying to keep the giggle out of her voice.

“Well, we don’t know if it’s her but the mystery of the new lead singer for her former backup band was solved and she works here in the lab at Rampart.  Do you know her?  Her name is Brenna Leigh,” stated the young man.  “By the way, my name is Dustin Kramer.  I work for People Magazine.”  He handed her a card with his name on it and the People logo.

“I don’t recognize the name, sorry,” she said.  “I would love to stay and chat with you but unfortunately I have to get to work.  Good luck with catching this person.”

Pushing her way through the crowds, Bree was stopped more than once and questioned by some of the nosier reporters who wouldn’t take no for an answer. 

Twice she almost broke up laughing at some of the questioning methods of these idiots.  Finally reaching the entrance to Rampart’s ER, she turned and waved at the young man she met on her arrival.

Coming around the corner of the hall, she spotted Roy and Johnny talking with Dixie at the base station.  Dr. Brackett and the head of Rampart’s Security Department were just coming off the elevator.  Stopping at the base station, Bree could tell by Dr. Brackett’s body language that he was not happy with the events unfolding outside of his emergency room.

Nobody gave her a second look (except for maybe Dixie as she didn’t recognize her) as she walked towards the nurses’ station.  Johnny was trying to get a point across to Roy and Dr. Brackett when he almost hit Bree in the head. 

Absentmindedly, he apologized and kept on talking to the doctor.  She stopped at the edge of the counter of the nurses’ station and just listened.

“We are waiting for the Legal Department to contact us on the best course we can take with the idiots prowling around outside,” stated Dr. Brackett.  “They originally were haunting the front of the hospital and when security chased them out of there, they came to hang out back…all because some idiot said most of the lab staff comes through the ER anyway.”

“The problem is going to be when Bree shows up…in order to get the scoop they will all but run over her!” exclaimed Johnny.

“I highly doubt that,” said a voice from behind them.  “They wouldn’t know who she is even if she was standing right beside them.”

All heads swung around to see who had voiced that comment from behind them.  Dr. Brackett couldn’t remember ever seeing this nurse in the ER before and Dixie was pretty sure she had never trained this young woman.  The girl giggled for a moment before she winked at Johnny.

Johnny was taken aback by this young woman who was obviously new to Rampart.  All he could think is that he really didn’t need another nurse chasing after him especially now that he and Bree were together and moving forward in their relationship.  He glanced over at Roy whose lips were curled in a smirk as if he knew just who the dark-haired girl was.

She walked up to Johnny and reaching up she grabbed his face in her hands, pulling him down for a kiss.  Gently but firmly, he put his hands on her arms and pushed himself out of her embrace.

“I’m sorry, miss, but I don’t feel that what you are trying to do is appropriate,” stated Johnny.  “I have a very wonderful girlfriend and I know she would not appreciate what you just tried to do.”

Behind him, Roy and Dixie were smothering their giggles behind their hands.  By now, Dixie had figured out who was standing with them, even though Johnny had not.  Dr. Brackett was not finding the humor with either situation plaguing his ER at the moment and just as he was about the break up this little get together, he got the surprise of the day.

Bree smiled as Johnny released his hold on her.  Dropping the southern accent she adopted when she arrived at the hospital, she looked up at her boyfriend and said, “Good Morning, sweetheart.  How’s your day?”

“Bree?” he asked her with a look of total confusion written all over his face.  He could hear, Roy, Dixie and now Dr. Brackett behind him chuckling as they had realized that Bree managed to get by the media outside the ER doors and was standing right in front of them.

“Yeah, it’s me, Johnny,” replied Bree with a giggle.  “I haven’t had that much fun in a long time, or at least since I told Traci to buzz off.’  She reached up and pulled the dark brown wig off, shaking her head to loosen the blonde hair she had wedged underneath it.

Turning to Dr. Brackett, she apologized to him for the whole fiasco out by the ER doors.  She explained to him what she had planned and stopped Johnny’s protest with one look.

“Johnny, it’s got to be done.  Pandora has opened the box and we have to fix it,” Bree stated matter-of-factly.  “We have to do damage control or this circus will continue to disrupt the quality of care here at Rampart.”

While Brackett and the head of security worked out the details, Roy called the station to ask the Captain if they could be available from Rampart so to help out with the media circus.  Captain Stanley agreed to the plan but told Roy to keep the radio close at hand.  He then notified Sam at the dispatch office where Squad 51 would be for the time being.

Bree had run down to the lab to talk with her supervisor.  She was planning on taking a leave of absence for a few weeks until (hopefully) this blew over.  When she came back up to the ER, Johnny was shocked at the change in her appearance.  She had removed the dark contacts that had concealed her dark sapphire eyes.  Her hair was loosely styled and her makeup was now minimal.  Her look was understated but the confidence she exuded showed she was in her element.

“Did you find the reporter from People?” she asked Johnny.

“Yeah, Dr. Brackett had us put him in the staff lounge with the blinds drawn.  He is a little confused as to why he was the only one asked to come in,” replied Johnny.  “Are you sure you want to do this?”

“Yes, I am sure,” stated Bree as she smiled at him.  “He seemed very sincere and I have read People magazine and they are much more than one of those ratty tabloids I have seen in grocery stores.  I would rather give the exclusive to them and piss off everyone else.  What about the rest of the media?”

“LAPD showed up with a mandate that they can only be within a certain distance of the hospital so they are now across the street from Rampart with orders to stay put and not cross the street or there will be arrests made.”

Just as she and Johnny were going to go join the People reporter, the radio in Roy’s hand went off sending them running for the squad.  As he headed after his partner, Johnny shouted to Bree over his shoulder that he would talk to her later.  Chuckling as she watched him run, she turned to Dixie to ask her if she could be present during the interview with the People magazine reporter.  Checking with Carol to see if she would be fine, she told Bree no problem.  The pair headed for the staff lounge, looking forward to giving this young man the scoop of his career.

***************************************

Backing into the station, Roy and Johnny sighed with relief to finally be back at the station.  The whole day went from one strange call to another.  This last one had been for a fire in an abandoned building.  As they approached the building, someone had run up to them, shouting that they thought they saw someone running into the building.  Captain Stanley shouted for Roy and Johnny to don their gear and go check it out.

Chet and Marco had kept a steady stream of water on them until they were clear of the smoke.  Luckily it was only a single story building so they didn’t have to worry about checking a second story.  Motioning to each other, they did a quick sweep. 

Johnny thought he had seen something in one room but when he entered it, a corner of the ceiling started to buckle so he backed out quickly.

Meeting somewhere in the middle of the mess, Roy shook his head indicating he had found nothing with Johnny echoing that.  They began the task of heading back towards the main doors.  About two feet from the door, they both heard an ominous creaking noise above their heads.  Their radio came to life telling them to get the heck out NOW.  Diving for the door, they felt hands grab them as the roof collapsed behind them.

“That was strange,” said Johnny as he got out of the squad.  “The building had been locked yet they said they thought someone was in the building.”

“I know.  The owner said no one had occupied that building for more than two years.  He said he tries to keep the building up to code in case someone wanted to rent it and also checked on at least twice a month as there had been a few break-ins,” replied Roy.

“It just doesn’t make any sense why someone would tell us that they saw someone running into a building that is supposedly locked.”

Roy shrugged his shoulders as reply to Johnny’s statement and indicated he was going to grab the shower, heading towards the locker room.  Johnny was going to detour into the captain’s office to use the phone but Captain Stanley was already on it.  He headed into the day room instead and found Chet, Marco and Mike lounging at the kitchen table.

“Hey, Gage!  What’s with this article on your girlfriend?” asked Chet as he glanced up at his favorite pigeon.  “This reporter sure has everyone in an uproar over her.”

Grabbing a glass of milk, he sat down next to Mike before he answered Chet.  “I know but I’m not sure why she has taken it upon herself to solve a ‘so-called mystery’ as to the disappearance or reappearance of Bree Montgomery.”  He took a drink of milk and continued, “I feel sorry for the two that ratted out Bree as Dixie and Brackett are quite irate over the media circus that descended on Rampart.”

Chet ducked his head for a moment.  When he redirected his gaze back to Johnny, he was a little red in the face.  “I think I am pretty sure I know who did it.  That’s all they had been talking about last week before the Memorial Day picnic.”

“Dixie knows too, Chet.  In fact, if I think she said something to the effect that she had to wait until they showed up for work this afternoon to have a chat,” he replied with a devious chuckle.

“Yeah, I’d hate to be either one of them right now,” stated Chet as he picked up the sports section of the paper and tried to concentrate on that.

The rest of the day went quietly for the guys.  A couple more runs for the squad, none which were life threatening.  The engine went out one more time for a trash bin lit by some kids goofing around with firecrackers.  After a stern lecture from both Captain Stanley and a police officer, the kids were returned to their parents who looked none too pleased with them.

Before calling it a day, Johnny slipped into the captain’s office to make a phone call to Bree.  She sounded quite relaxed when she came to the phone and told him she was looking forward to a month’s leave of absence from work to begin a new project.

He slipped back into his bed and was just about ready to zonk out when Chet whispered from across the room.

“Did she blow you a kiss goodnight over the phone, Gage?”

“Put a sock in it, Kelly!” was his response.  He could hear the snickering from Chet’s bunk.

“Aw, come on, Gage.  You know the rest of us live vicariously through your romances.  We just can’t help it if we need to know the details,” he shot back at his pigeon.

“Kelly, if I wasn’t so tired, I would throw my pillow or something worse at you,” retorted Johnny as he tried to stifle a yawn.

“Is that the…” started Chet before Captain Stanley interrupted the verbal sparring.

“Kelly, enough!” barked Hank from his bunk.  “If you don’t shut up and go to sleep, for the next six months you’ll be on latrine duty!”  And before Johnny could smart back to Chet, they heard the captain say to him, “Not another word from you either, Gage, or you’ll be doing the next six months after him.”

For the next seven and a half hours, peace reigned over Station 51 and its occupants.

*********************************

“So how’s Bree enjoying her time off?” Roy asked Johnny as he came bounding in the dayroom at Station 51.

“It’s been two weeks so far and she won’t tell me what she has been up to,” replied Johnny as he grabbed a cup of coffee.

Roy hid his face behind the paper as he knew it had to be driving Johnny nuts that Bree was being secretive about what she is doing.  He found it amusing that Johnny had finally found someone who drive him about as nuts as he could drive others.

“It’s got to be driving you nuts, Junior, to have someone who can make you as crazy as you do us here on occasion,” he chuckled at the look on Johnny’s face when it finally registered what he said.

“Drive you guys crazy?!” exclaimed Johnny.  “I don’t do that…do I?”

“Are you kidding, Gage?  You drive us crazy all the time,” retorted Chet as he entered the dayroom followed by Mike and Marco.  “I know I’m about ready for the psychiatrist couch from listening to you month after month going on about this girl or that girl.”

“Kelly, you’ve been ready for the couch since the day you were born,” commented Johnny over his shoulder as he refilled his coffee cup.

“He’s got you on that one, Chet,” stated Marco as he chuckled at the verbal sparring that never seems to end between the two.

“Hey, who’s side are you on anyway, Marco?” cried Chet.

Laughing as he ducked the section of the newspaper that Chet threw at him, replied “My own.  It’s kinda fun to get one back at you, Chet.”

“Where’s the cap?” asked Johnny as he sat down at the table.

“In his office.  Chief McConnike called, not sure what it’s about but Cap seemed pretty nervous,” stated Mike as he walked in.

For the next fifteen minutes, the guys sat in quiet contemplation, each in their own thoughts.  Chet kept sneaking glances at Johnny as the phantom was trying to figure out the next prank for his pigeon.  He looked over at Marco who was going through the cupboards and writing down items…he figured he must be working on the menu for dinner tonight.

Captain Hank Stanley hung up the phone, sitting for a few moments trying to figure out what to tell his men in the next room.  What Chief McConnike told him made the hair on his arms and the back of his neck stand on end.  It seems Station 51’s string of bad luck just got worse.  Knowing he couldn’t put off the inevitable, he got up and walked into the dayroom.

“What’d the Chief want, Cap?” asked Chet.

Hank looked at each man individually before he answered Chet’s question.  “Boys, as you know I was on the phone talking with Chief McConnike.  He called to let me know he had received the fire investigator’s report from that warehouse fire a few weeks back.  It was definitely found to be a case of arson.”

“The owner torched his own building?” asked Mike.

“No,” Hank replied.  “He was found completely innocent of this crime.”  He got up and walked over to the chalkboard and then turned back to look at his men as he leaned against the board.  The guys had never seen the Cap so lost for words.

“Then what it is, Cap?” asked Roy.  “You look pretty shook up over what the Chief said.”

“It’s not the arson that has me shook up.  It’s what he said was found left outside of the building on the last day of their investigation that has me rattled,” he stated.  “The investigator said when he walked outside after his final run through the building he found a small black box with a purple orchid on it…sitting on the hood of his car.”

When Hank mentioned the purple orchid, both Johnny’s and Marco’s head shot up in attention.  Glancing over at each other, they instantly knew what the other was thinking.  Roy didn’t miss the exchanged look between his partner and Marco.  He knew what they were thinking…Bree’s stalker is watching them too.  They hadn’t realized that their captain quit talking when he realized they weren’t listening.

“Is something the matter, boys?” he asked.

Johnny spoke up first.  “I guess we are just curious as to what that has to do with us.”

“According to the investigator, inside the box were six photos…one for each of us.  But what got his attention was your picture, Johnny.  It had one red line drawn diagonally across it and on the back one word, SOON.”

Hank let this information sink in before he continued.  “Now I am not sure what the significance of the purple orchid means…”

Before Hank could finish his sentence, a voice interrupted him from the entrance to the engine bay.  “You might not know the significance of the flower, Captain, but I do.”

The guys had been so intent on catching what their captain had to tell them about this case of arson and finding their photos at the scene that none of them noticed Bree standing in the doorway until she spoke.  Hank’s head shot up and he was surprised to see who had walked in.

“Miss Leigh, I didn’t even hear you come in,” he stated.  “You said you know what the significance of the orchid that the investigator found on his car.”

“Yes, I do,” Bree replied as she walked up to the table and stood directly behind Johnny.  “It’s meant as a warning to anyone who knows me.”

Johnny reached up and took her hand that was resting on his shoulder.  He didn’t want to turn around as he could tell by the tone of her voice that Bree was not only rattled by what she heard the captain say but that she was also trying to keep her emotions under control.  He knew she had just about reached her breaking point with this and squeezed her hand in reassurance that he was there for her.

Hank looked at the clasped hands of the young couple and smiled.  “Would you be able to describe all of this to us as to the significance of the flower and what it has to do with you…and now Station 51?”  Before she could answer his question, he continued, “The reason I ask is Chief McConnike is on his way to the station with two detectives to talk with us about this incident and who would have reason to target us.”

With a deep sigh, Bree answered, “I can describe it all in detail, believe me.  The problem is that the start of this whole fiasco was never reported in the first place and I only have myself to blame.”

“Bree,” said Marco as he got up from his chair.  “Why don’t you sit down and I’ll get you something to drink.”

“Thanks, Marco.  Personally, something stronger would be nice but since that’s not on the menu, I would love a glass of water.”  She turned back to the guys and continued speaking.  “I won’t start the tale right now as it would be easier to wait until your chief and the two detectives arrive and tell it all at one time.”

Marco set the glass in front of Bree and grabbed the other vacant chair and sat down to wait for the chief and the detectives to arrive.  Silence descended in the dayroom as each of them withdrew into their own thoughts.  Even Chet was quiet as he sensed this was not the time to be a smart aleck.  Johnny held Bree’s hand as she laid her head on his shoulder.  He could sense weariness that was evident in her body language and in the way she pulled her chair close to him.  Softly he asked her where their daughter was and she said Joanne was watching her right now.

Hank always worried when the chief came to visit but this visit made him more nervous for reasons he couldn’t identify.  Why would somebody target them for harm and what did Johnny’s girlfriend have to do with it.  Voices echoed through the engine bay and the men jumped to attention as they all recognized the fire chief’s voice.

The chief immediately noticed Bree and looked towards Hank for an explanation.  Johnny helped Bree out of her chair and took her to introduce her to the chief.

“Young lady, it’s nice to meet you but I am afraid you cannot be here for this meeting,” stated Chief McConnike in a matter-of-fact tone of voice.

Bree raised an eyebrow at the man who reminded her of her grandfather and in the same tone of voice replied, “I’m afraid you are going to want me at this meeting, sir.”

Chief McConnike stared at the girl surprised at her cheekiness.  “What makes you think you would have anything to contribute to our meeting?  What we need to talk about concerns this station and last I heard we didn’t have female firefighters yet.”

“Because I know what the orchid your fire inspector found on his car means to the men of this station,” she stated calmly.

He looked over at Hank who just nodded his head and then glanced to the men standing at the table.  He couldn’t understand what or how this girl knew the significance of the flower or the pictures found in the box.  Turning to the two men who came with him, he introduced Detective Crockett (who the guys knew from before) and Detective Davison with the LAPD.  He indicated for everyone to sit down.

Detective Davison looked at Bree and asked her, “Just how do you fit into this picture?  From what Fire Inspector Johnston told us, the only pictures in the box were of these six men from Station 51.”

“Because of me, those pictures and flower represent a danger to these men…particularly Johnny,” replied Bree.

The detectives looked at each other before Davison continued.  “What you do mean because of you?  Is it an ex-boyfriend or lover who doesn’t approve of who you are seeing or the men you hang around with?”

“Absolutely not!” retorted Bree.  “For the last six years I haven’t had time for a boyfriend much less a lover.  Beside my parents would have been mortified.”

“Okay.  Now you have my curiosity peaked and I’m gonna bite…what has kept you so busy?” asked Crockett as he kept an eye on Johnny who looked like he was going to pounce on Davison if he kept up his line of questioning.  He wasn’t prepared for her answer.

“Touring and recording until 1975,” replied Bree sarcastically to his question.  “After that I was living in Alaska until March of this year.”

Johnny decided it was time to step in as he could tell from Bree’s expression she’s had enough.  He knew she was still shocked over what she had heard the captain telling them and to have a detective ask her if it was an ex-lover that could be doing this put her right at the edge.

“Detective, my name is Johnny Gage.  Would you mind if I filled you in on the backstory?  My girlfriend has had a shock in learning the cause of this meeting and I don’t think some of your questions have helped her in this matter at all.”  He glanced at Bree and said, “With your permission of course.”

Bree smiled and acquiesced to his request with a nod of her head.  She whispered to him that he needed to tell the whole story including who she really was.  Roy and Marco chuckled at how the ‘Gage’ charm had gotten the detectives off of Bree’s back and put the attention squarely on him.

“Just what does this have to do with her anyway?” asked Davison.

“This individual who left the flower and our pictures is someone who’d been stalking her in the past and until now she thought had fallen off the face of the earth,” replied Johnny.  “Now, will you listen to what we need to tell you so you understand the significance of the flower that was left behind?”

The detectives and Chief McConnike agreed to listen (along with his coworkers who only knew a small part of Bree’s musical background) until Johnny completed the backstory leading up to the orchid placed at the scene of the fire.  As Johnny began to tell them about Bree’s background, Marco and Chet got up and poured coffee for everyone except Bree.  Chet started another pot while Marco took the cups around to everyone.

Johnny filled them in on Bree’s musical past including the fact that her real name is Bree Montgomery and that during her last tour in 1974 she had an ‘admirer’ who had been leaving her flowers and little gifts that slowly turned into more personal types of gifts.  When it came to talking about her possible abduction, Bree interrupted Johnny and took over that part of the story.  The detectives grilled her about why she didn’t have the attempted abduction reported.  Like two dogs with a bone, they would not relent on this line of questioning until once more Johnny stepped in and redirected them.

At one point, Bree got up to stretch.  She walked to the window and just stared up at the sky.  She could hear Johnny telling them of her parents and grandparents deaths towards the end of her tour and her collapse upon hearing the awful news.  He spoke of her recuperating at the family’s lake home in Minnesota, her trip to California to spend time with her cousin there and how they met.  She smiled as she listened to him talk of how and where they met and the four days they spent together before she left.

As she let the memories roll over her once again, she never heard Johnny coming to the end of the story or being asked to return to the table.  Johnny excused himself for a moment and walked over to his girlfriend.   She just about jumped out of her skin when she felt his mouth near her ear.

“Sweetheart,” he whispered in her ear.  “The detectives would like to ask you some more questions if you are up to it.”

“I think I can manage it,” she said.  “You did a nice job explaining our relationship.”

“I wasn’t gonna tell them every detail,” he said with a chuckle.  “Some things just can’t be told.”

She leaned her head back as she laughed out loud.  The two detectives could see the strong connection between the fireman and the country star and could see why he was very protective of her.  She sat down on the chair by the corner of the table and looked the detectives directly in the eye.

“What else did you want to know?” she asked.

“Mr. Gage here said that you received a package on Memorial Day that was of a personal nature and also featured an orchid on the cover of the box.  Is that correct?”

questioned Detective Crockett.

“That is correct.  My cousin discovered it Saturday night when she returned home from a barbeque that Johnny was holding at his home to celebrate finally moving into his ranch house.  She waited until Monday morning when I got home to clue me in on it.”

“Could you tell us exactly what that package included?”

Bree shuddered for a moment, a movement that wasn’t lost on the detectives, before she answered.  “It contained a white negligee and nestled on top of the negligee was a diamond engagement ring with a note attached that read ‘With this ring, I thee wed.’  I still feel physically ill when I think about it.”

Detective Davison looked at Johnny and then to Bree and asked, “How did this individual get inside your house especially if you have a security system and why didn’t you call the police immediately to report this?”

“I saw no need to report it as I have no proof that he is my stalker except for the flower.  I have never reported the attempted abduction or the personal gifts he’d been leaving for me at each of my venues in 1974.  If you want, I have everything that he ever left for me at my concert venues and this last one at my house.”

“Why would you keep these items?” asked both Johnny and the detectives at the same time.

She took a deep breath and said, “I know it sounds a bit crazy but I did it because I had a feeling someday they might come in handy…if he ever returned and we figured out who he really is.  The notes that came with the gifts were also a little too personal for a fan to give.  My parents never saw the more personal of gifts as I would stuff them in the bottom of my personal tote and when I got home they were locked in the trunk in my closet.”

“But why, Bree, why didn’t you tell your parents or show them the items?” asked Johnny as he knelt by her chair.

“Because they would have made me quit performing and I didn’t want that to happen.  I enjoyed what I was doing and I wasn’t going to let some two-bit crazed fan stop me from it,” exclaimed Bree as she put her face in her hands for a moment before softly continuing.  “And right now I would do anything to change my decision back then if it would have kept my parents alive.”

Detective Crockett knew there was something else this young woman had never disclosed to anyone about her abductor or the death of her family.  He wondered if this stalker had maybe done something that caused the accident that took the lives of her parents and grandparents.  He walked around the table to the other side of Bree’s chair and relaxed against the table’s edge before he approached her with this sensitive subject.

“Bree?” he asked.  “I think there is something you haven’t told us or the rest of the people in this room, something else that happened or you suspect happened, isn’t there?”

“Oh, dear lord,” cried Bree softly.  “For so long I have denied what they told me about the accident.  I couldn’t believe what they told…no, that’s not true I didn’t want to believe what they told me.”

Johnny turned and glanced at Roy seated behind him and then at his other coworkers.  “Honey, I’m here for you and so are the rest of the guys.  If it helps shed light on why we are being targeted, we’re here to help you through it.”

Looking up, Bree tried to smile but the warmth of that smile just didn’t reach her eyes.  “I just hope you all feel that way after I finish the rest of this sordid tale.”  She bowed her head for a moment and took a deep breath before continuing on.  “The roads were a little icy from a brief freezing rain that had come through the area. 

When the police had arrived on the scene, they noticed the front tire on the drivers’ side had blown and immediately figured that was the cause of the accident.  But when they looked inside the car, they realized something more drastic had taken place.”

She paused as she could hear Marco’s prayers in Spanish and Chet’s barely concealed swearing.  She couldn’t bring herself to glance at Johnny as she was afraid she would start crying.  At Detective Crockett’s gentle urging, she continued with her narrative.  “In the coroner’s report we had been given, it stated that only one person died on impact.  The rest were still alive, seriously injured but alive.  What they were able to deduce from the scene is that before the rescue crews arrived, someone was already there…but instead of performing any first aid, this person shot each one at point blank range…”

Detective Crockett could see the young woman was close to tears and nodded to Johnny to take her out of the room so she could regain her composure.  Johnny stood up and helped Bree who barely realized that she was being removed from the dayroom.  He turned to his partner and softly they exchanged theories and ideas.  He mentioned to Davison that they needed to wait until the girl returned before continuing with questions.

“Bree, honey, look at me,” said Johnny.  He had taken her into the dorm room for privacy.  Sitting on the edge of his bed, he had pulled her onto his lap and just held her for a bit.  “Come on, sweetheart, look at me.”

Finally Bree raised her head.  As she made eye contact with Johnny, the dam burst.  She couldn’t hold back a year’s worth of tears.  He wrapped his arms tighter around her and just let her cry her heart out on his shoulder as he knew she needed this.

“I am so sorry, Johnny,” she said as she sniffled trying to get herself under control.  “It seems I am forever crying on your shoulder.”

“I don’t mind, sweetheart, but can I ask you this…just how long have you been holding this secret to yourself?” he asked.

“Too damn long,” she replied with a nervous giggle.  “I’ve told no one this secret as it was too painful to even think about.  The car had been rammed in the driver’s side causing my father’s death instantaneously and sending the car rolling down the embankment.”

Back in the dayroom, Crockett and Davison talked with the guys about the bad luck they thought had visited them one too many times, like Marco’s flat tire, Chet’s brake line.  Mike spoke up and told them about finding his windshield broken one morning.  He said he hadn’t said anything, as earlier that day he had seen some of the neighborhood kids playing baseball in their yard and figured they had done it but were too scared to tell him about it.  So far, Roy and Captain Stanley had been spared the bad luck.  Crockett asked about Johnny and Roy explained to him about Johnny ‘accidentally’ being ran off the road a couple of months back.

Figuring this had started a little farther back than they all realized, Crockett questioned them to see if anything had seemed out of the ordinary in recent months.  None of them could come up with anything that seemed odd to them except for the events that occurred from Memorial Day until now.

Johnny walked back into the dayroom alone as Bree had stepped into the locker room to ‘repair herself’ even though he kept telling her she looked fine.  He thought to himself most women would love to look that good after they had been crying. He could see Crockett and Davison were still here and talking with Captain Stanley and Chief McConnike on the best way to keep an eye on the targeted men without getting in their way and hampering them at their jobs.  The four men decided to go into the captain’s office to hammer out the details.

“Is Bree okay?” asked Roy as Johnny sat down next to him at the table.

“Yeah, she just needed to cry away a year’s worth of stress from keeping this inside of her,” replied Johnny.  “She has kept that secret from everyone.  She told me that the coroner’s report came to her about three weeks’ after the funerals.  She had been home alone and after she read it, she said she hid the letter from her family and took a shower, crying her heart out in the shower.”

“She’s got some strength in her,” said Roy.  “Most people I know would have buckled under that amount of stress by now.”

“What surprises me,” stated Chet as he joined in the conversation “is how she managed to not go totally and thoroughly crazy from everything that has been thrown at her.  No wonder she has a wicked sense of humor.”

Chuckling at the sight of Chet running from Bree and her water gun, Johnny said, “True.  But you have to remember, Chet, she did breakdown for a while.  That is why she was at her family’s lake home in Minnesota because she was having a problem coping with what had happened.  She hadn’t told anyone about what she had learned and it was taking its toll on her.”

The conversation soon turned to the fact that they had not been called out at all for a run.  Before Chief McConnike had arrived with the detectives, he had called on a couple other fire stations near Station 51’s area and asked if they could cover for a couple of hours.  He had explained to the captains of each of those stations the exact reason why he was requesting this.

Marco started to whip up some soup and sandwiches as they all were feeling the effect of hunger.  When Bree joined them, she went and helped Marco with the soup.  Soon the two were giggling about something Marco had said to Bree and when Johnny tried to cajole it out of her, she cryptically replied that he would have to wait to find out what they were laughing about.

Just as they were about to eat, the captain, the chief and the two detectives returned to the dayroom.  They had come up with part of a plan to hopefully deter whoever this individual was from being able to get too close to cause any real harm. 

Crockett explained that they didn’t have the manpower to put an officer at their station during their shift but that they were adding the station to their patrol assignments on the nights that their shift was on.  Also a patrol would be going by each of their homes every night to make sure they and their families were safe.

Both detectives stressed to the firemen and Bree that they needed to be vigilant on checking their vehicles for any tampering before they drive them and that if anything looks out of the ordinary to immediately vacate the vicinity and call the police.

As Detective Crockett was explaining the rest of the plans to them, Bree couldn’t help but think if she hadn’t returned to California none of this would have happened.  Almost as if he knew what Bree was thinking, Johnny squeezed her hand that had crept into his.  She looked up and smiled but returned her attention to what the detective was saying.

“Once again I cannot stress this enough, if any of you notice anything out of the ordinary…Do not hesitate to call either me or Detective Davison.  Until this individual is caught, you are all in danger,” finished Detective Crockett with one final look at Bree as he said that.

“I do have one final question for Miss Montgomery, if she doesn’t mind,” said Davison.  Bree nodded her head indicating he could ask.  “Was anything out of the ordinary ever found at the scene of the car accident?  Any fingerprints or something like that?”

“No,” replied Bree.  “Even when they realized that the deaths were by gunshot, the only fingerprints they found inside and on the outside of the vehicle were those of my parents and grandparents.  Sorry.”

Thanking the captain and his crewmembers and Bree for their cooperation, the detectives left.  Chief McConnike stayed a little while longer to talk with the men of Station 51.  Bree thanked him for being understanding of why she knew what the situation with the station detailed and how she was entwined with it.

Johnny walked her out to her car and checked it over before he would let her start it.  He then asked her what had made her stop by the station and she told him that she was in the area and decided to stop in before picking up Sierra and heading home.  Laughing, he leaned down and kissed her goodbye, telling her he would stop by in the morning after his shift ended.

********************************

He watched her leave the station.  He couldn’t believe how oblivious she was to her surroundings, so trusting of those around her.  He had seen the chief arrive with the two detectives and knew they were trying to figure out what was going on and what it had to do with their station.  Chuckling, he knew it would keep them on their toes for a while. 

Patience had always been a strong suit of his and he knew that by holding back for a little while would allow them to relax and think that maybe he wasn’t as serious as they thought.

He hopped on his bike slowly pedaling away from the station house and towards the vicinity of Torrance where she lived with the child.  He wasn’t in a hurry to catch up with her as he had other things to do right now but knew that by riding a bike he was pretty nondescript looking.  Nobody pays that much attention to someone riding a bike unless they hit you.  He had made an appointment to see his doc as he needed some more of his medications and had been told that if he didn’t come in he wouldn’t get his new prescription or the refills.

*********************************

She could feel a sneeze coming on and reached up with her hand to rub her nose in hopes of staving off the sneeze.  Before her hand even made contact with her nose, she could feel the feather and wondered with her sleep-fogged brain if her pillow had erupted.  As she cracked one eye open she was greeted a pair of liquid brown eyes and tousled black hair.  She smiled sleepily as he placed a soft kiss upon her lips and then placed their daughter next to her.

“She’s been changed, bathed and fed.  Now she wants her mommy’s attention,” stated Johnny.  “I’m gonna start some breakfast, so when you are fully awake, come and join me in the kitchen.”

Whistling as he walked into the kitchen, Johnny couldn’t help but feel good about the situation he was in.  He had been contemplating asking Bree to move in with him shortly after he had moved into his ranch house but also knew it was too early in their renewed relationship to consider it.  Now here he was living in her house and enjoying every minute of it.

Grabbing a pan from the hanging rack above the island, he set it on the stove, turned on the burner.  He took the eggs out of the fridge and began cracking them in a bowl to surprise Bree with an omelet.  As he scrambled them, he looked back that the events that prompted him to move in with Bree only a few short weeks after he moved onto his ranch.

Two weeks ago, the guys of Station 51 found out they were being targeted by Bree’s stalker.  Certain precautions were put into the place to ensure their safety both at work and at home.  When the detectives found out just how far into the country Johnny’s ranch was, they recommended that he consider moving into town with someone until this individual has been identified and/or caught.  Johnny had caught the gleam in Bree’s eyes at the mention of that idea and knew exactly what she was going to say to him.

So far he was finding this arrangement to his liking.  He found spending more time with his daughter turning into the highlight of his days off and it worked perfectly for Bree as she was still working on a project that she would not tell him about as of yet.  Every time he would ask what it was, she would giggle at him, swiftly kiss him on the lips and tell him that he needed to have patience as she danced away from him laughing.  Johnny chuckled as everyone who knows him knows how little patience he really has, but for some reason Bree just didn’t see it that way.

Checking the temperature of the pan, he slowly poured the eggs into the pan.  He reaching around and started the coffee pot, grabbed the juice out of the fridge and set it on the island.  Looking at what he had already set out, the only thing left was to finish the omelet and breakfast would be ready.

Bree had spent a few extra minutes lying in bed with Sierra, tickling her tummy and playing with her toes.  The child enjoyed the attention and giggled the whole time.  Smelling something wonderful wafting through the open bedroom door, she sat up on the edge of the bed and reached for her robe.

“Come on, munchkin, let’s go see what your father is up to,” she said as she picked her daughter up off the bed.

He heard the door from the bedroom open and turned to smile at his two favorite ladies in the world.  Sierra was all fresh and smiling while her mother was tousled and sleepy looking. 

“Breakfast is just about ready, sweetheart, so sit down while I finish it,” Johnny told Bree as he flipped the omelet to complete its cooking.

“Smells wonderful,” stated Bree as she set Sierra in her high chair.  “Has Mandy left already?”

“Yeah, she took off about half an hour ago.  She said something about Marco taking her to Catalina today for some “us” time as she called it,” replied Johnny as he slid the omelet on to her plate.  “You wouldn’t know anything about they are up to.”

“No.  Why would you think I would know what Marco and Mandy are up to in Catalina?” asked Bree in an innocent tone of voice that did not quite reach the not-so-innocent look in her eyes.

He just about laughed at the look she tried to hide.  “Because I know you, honey, and the look in your eyes does not match the tone of your voice.”

“Well, you are just going to have to wait until tomorrow when we are all at Hank and Emily’s to find out just what I know,” retorted Bree with a hint of teasing this time.

********************

Having finally made a decision on how they wanted to spend their day, Johnny was loading the picnic basket and blankets into the back of his vehicle.  He had already transferred Sierra’s car seat to the back of his vehicle and was heading back into the house to see if there was anything else he needed to grab.

As he entered the house, he couldn’t help but smile at the picture that greeted him in the living room.  Bree had stopped packing Sierra’s diaper bag and was on the floor playing with her.  He could hear her “blowing raspberries” on their daughter’s tummy, accompanied by Sierra’s giggles of delight at her mother’s play.

Watching their antics, Johnny wondered how he got so lucky in not only having Bree back in his life but to have this darling child a part of it also.  Deep in thought as he kept an eye on the two special girls in his life, he never heard them approach him…until he felt his daughter’s hand grasp his hair.  Detangling her fingers from his hair, he never broke eye contact with Bree and leaned down to softly kiss her parted lips.  He heard the gasp escape from her mouth and smiled as she looked up at him.

“Let’s go enjoy a day at the beach,” said Johnny as he took Sierra from her arms.

Bree reached for the diaper bag and finished putting the items she knew would be needed into it.

By the time Bree reached the car, Johnny had Sierra safely settled into her car seat and was waiting for her to arrive.  Tossing the diaper bag on the floor in the back seat, she sat down in the passenger seat and fastened her seat belt.

They pulled out of the driveway and headed towards Santa Monica.  Johnny felt it was a wonderful day to spend at the beach, especially the first place they had met.  Bree had laughed when he suggested it but upon seeing the childlike pleasure on his face, she had to agree it sounded like fun.  In the back of both of their minds was the thought of the person who wanted to cause havoc in their lives.  They both hoped the day would be blissfully void of any trouble.

**********************************

“Nice to see you could join us, Gage,” said Captain Stanley as he watched his youngest crew member come to a sliding stop next to his partner.  “You know the drill for being late…you have latrine duty.”

Johnny heaved a sigh as latrine duty was not one of his favorite things to do but he knew that was going to be the consequence he would pay for being late…if the cap only knew the reason why.

Trying to keep his concentration centered on what Cap was talking about, he couldn’t help but go back over what happened yesterday and kept he and Bree from attending the 4th of July celebration at Captain Stanley’s home.

The incessant buzzing (or was it ringing) in his ears was beginning to really irritate him.  He felt rather than saw Bree get up.  In his sleep-fogged brain it finally registered that her phone had been ringing.  Cracking open one eyelid, he checked the clock next to the bed and wondered who the heck was calling at 5 a.m.  He could hear Bree in the kitchen talking to someone but not sure who.

“Johnny?”  He could hear her questioning from the doorway and slowly opened his eyes.

“What’s up?” he asked.

“Someone named Rose is on the phone for you and she sounds pretty upset,” replied Bree.  “I think you’d better come out here and talk with her.”

Johnny sat up quickly when he realized the person who called was his aunt whom he knew to be in Europe at the time.  Grabbing his jeans, he pulled them on as he hopped out to the kitchen.  Bree couldn’t hold back the giggles that were escaping her mouth as she watched him enter the living area.

Taking the phone from Bree’s outstretched hand, he spoke into the receiver.  “Hi, Aunt Rose.  How’s your trip?”

Judging from the look on Johnny’s face, Bree could tell that his aunt was not happy with him.  In fact when she had answered the phone, she could tell the woman was not happy at all and immediately demanded to speak to her errant nephew as she put it.  Bree quietly began to walk towards the bedroom to give Johnny some privacy to speak with his aunt when she felt him grab her arm and pull her back towards him.  He put his arm around her so she could not try and get away.

“I’m sorry you found out this way, Aunt Rose, but I wasn’t sure exactly where in Europe you were.  Besides, I didn’t want to bother you.  You had been waiting to take this trip for ages.”

She wished she could hear the conversation from Rose’s side so she could know exactly what the woman found out that has her so upset with her nephew.  While Johnny was listening to what his aunt had to say, he looked down at her and gave her a smile that said ‘don’t worry’.  Easy for him to think that, she thought, he’s not the one who feels like she will be on trial when his aunt returns to the states.

“I understand, Auntie.  When you return to California, we will all get together and I will explain everything to you. It’s just something I can’t get into over the phone,” replied Johnny to something she had said to him.  “You’re already in California…at LAX?”

Both he and Bree glanced at each other and Bree knew she was in for it.  Johnny told his aunt he would come and pick her up but she said she already had a taxi waiting to pick her up and all she needed was the address for where he was staying at the moment.  He quickly gave her Bree’s address and said goodbye, hanging up the phone and turning to his girlfriend with a look of total bewilderment upon his face.

Captain Stanley had asked Johnny a question and could tell by the look on his face that the young man was not listening to him at all.  Mike and Roy directed their gaze to the ceiling while Marco tried to keep Chet from interfering.  Twice Hank asked Johnny the same question before he came to a stop in front of the paramedic.  He raised his hands in front of Johnny’s face and brought them together in a loud and violent clap that all but sent the young man up the side of the engine he was standing in front of.

“Do you plan on ignoring all of my instructions for the day, Gage?”

“Sorry, Cap.  I guess my mind isn’t quite with the program.  It won’t happen again, sir,” stated Johnny as he tried to bring his thoughts under control.

Hank repeated his instructions to Johnny as he tried not to laugh at the sheepish look on the young man’s face.  He dismissed the men to go and complete the chores they had been given.  He walked into his office and began some paperwork that he had let himself get behind on.

When the phone rang, Hank jumped and glanced at the clock realizing he had been going through his paperwork for roughly an hour and there had been no runs, which was highly unusual for a 4th of July.  He picked up the receiver stating who he was and was surprised to hear Detective Crockett on the line asking if he could stop by to speak with him and the men of Station 51.

As Captain Stanley talked with the detective, Chet was in the dayroom getting ready to rib Johnny about being late this morning and for not showing up at the barbeque on Saturday.

“Couldn’t drag yourself away from the girlfriend this morning, Gage?” asked Chet as he watched his pigeon walk into the dayroom.

“Get bent, Kelly,” retorted Johnny as he reached for the cupboard door.  “You have no clue what I had to deal with this weekend!”  He heard the familiar ping as he opened the door and was met with a face full of water.

Turning around, he walked over to where Chet was sitting and promptly shook his wet hair next to him.

“Gross!” exclaimed Chet as he tried to brush the droplets off his hair and face.

“Not as gross as the water you keep hitting me with,” stated Johnny as he took a towel from Roy’s hand.

Chet couldn’t help chuckling right along with the rest.  He had to admit to himself that at least Johnny had a sense of humor when it came to the phantom’s pranks.

“So what happened to you on Saturday, Gage?” questioned Chet.  “You and Marco were the only one who didn’t show up.  Emily was kind of disappointed.  She said something about wanting to ask Bree about the supposed article that she was being interviewed for People.”

“Yeah, I’m gonna have to call Emily and apologize for that.  My Aunt Rose unexpectedly returned from Europe yesterday and called me at Bree’s house demanding to know exactly what I had gotten myself into,” stated Johnny.  He then turned to Roy and addressed him.  “I’m wondering how she found out what has been going on back here in the states and how she got Bree’s number.”

Roy smiled and replied, “Well I’m guilty on giving her Bree’s phone number but I did not tell her anything about what has been happening back here.  How she found out is totally beyond me.”

“Believe me, when she got to Bree’s house, I found out everything,” said Johnny as he laughed at the expression on Roy’s face.

Johnny went on to tell Roy and the guys that his aunt had been in Ireland when a friend of hers who also happens to work at the LAPD spotted the report regarding Station 51, Bree Montgomery and the possible stalker who was targeting them, calling his aunt to clue her in on the happenings back in LA.  His aunt had been trying to reach him and was frantic when she found out his number had been disconnected.  He said he was all set to explain things on the phone when his aunt dropped the bombshell that she was at LAX and would be on her way over as soon as he gave her the address to his girlfriend’s house.

After the laughter died down, he told them about introducing Bree to his aunt and dropping a bombshell on her by introducing his daughter.  He couldn’t help but laugh a little more when he told the guys that that was the first time he had ever seen his aunt speechless.  He said once the shock of the news sunk in then the questioning really began in earnest.

“…so right now Bree and Sierra are spending the day with my aunt at her home in Malibu.  I wish I could be a fly on the wall to hear that conversation,” he said.  “How come you didn’t make to Cap’s barbeque, Marco?”

The guys weren’t surprised to see a big smile across Marco’s face but the news he imparted next threw them all for a loop.

“Well, as you all knew, I took Mandy to Catalina Island to get away from all of you for a while…some ‘us’ time as Mandy likes to call it,” said Marco.

“Yeah, we all knew that, Marco,” retorted Chet.  “But why the big smile today…did she do something to make your weekend out there or what?”  He then gave his friend a knowing wink as to implicate something more personal occurred.

“Like Johnny said earlier, get bent, Kelly,” replied Marco laughingly.  “Yes but it’s not what your dirty little mind is thinking, Chet…I asked Mandy to marry me and she said yes.”

Before the guys could congratulate Marco on his upcoming nuptials, Hank walked into the dayroom and asked for their attention.

“Boys, I just got off the phone with Detective Crockett and he is on his way over to discuss the ongoing investigation into this stalker case.  It doesn’t sound like they have found any leads but he wanted to speak with us just the same.”

While waiting for the detective to show up, the guys congratulated Marco on his good fortune of finding a wonderful girl to spend the rest of his life with.  The discussion went on to include what type of bachelor party they should hold for him.  Looking horrified at some of their suggestions for the party, Marco held his hands up pleading for their sympathy for his intended.

Detective Crockett stood outside in the engine bay listening to the easy banter of the men of Station 51.  He wished he had some news for these guys but even with the information and items from Johnny Gage’s girlfriend they were no closer to finding this guy than before.  It was like the stalker was a ‘phantom’ for real.  He could enter and exit just about any place without being noticed.  So that told them he could blend in practically anywhere without looking out of place.  This individual also seemed to know enough about criminology that nothing was ever left behind, no fingerprint, hair, nothing.

He took a deep breath and entered the dayroom.  Captain Stanley offered his hand to the detective who shook it and sat down in the chair offered to him.  He took the cup of coffee placed in front of him.  He looked at the faces of these men and wished once again he had something to report to them.

“Well, I wish I was here to give you news that we have some idea of who this person is, but no such luck.  Whoever this individual is, he knows how to cover his tracks,” he stated to the men.

“What about the stuff that Bree gave you?  The stuff left at her concerts?” asked Johnny.

“They turned up nothing.  We went over each and every one of the items, no fingerprints other than Bree’s which we ruled out.  The cards she kept that came with the flowers, we called the shops and were told that cash was paid and they never saw the person who ordered them.  It seems that a child would come in shortly after the phone call was made and give them the money,” replied Detective Crockett.  “We are just as baffled as you all are.”

“Then what did you come to talk to us about?” asked Roy.

“Well, it’s been almost three weeks and so far we haven’t seen any unusual activity around the station or your homes,” he said.  Noting the looks on their faces, he quickly continued.  “We aren’t completely pulling the patrols from the station or your homes but we are scaling back a bit.  The department can’t see keeping this up if there is nothing going on.”

Roy spoke up a little more forcefully than he planned but he was worried.  “Okay, but what happens if this is what he is waiting for, for the patrols to die down?  I have two young children and a wife…so does the captain.  Marco here just got engaged and Johnny has a baby.  No offense, detective, but I would really like a guarantee that my family is going to be safe.”

Crockett knew that they would feel this way and he didn’t blame them in the least.  To know that someone had it out for you even if it was only by association didn’t make it any better.  He didn’t really have any satisfactory answer to Roy’s question nor did he have any idea of what could be done to give them the peace of mind that they all needed.

“I really wish I had the answers you crave but the reality is…this individual has all of us stumped.  We have no clue how to find him, nobody who has actually seen him.”  He turned to Johnny and said, “I can see why your girlfriend was upset with this.  He really is a phantom.”

As he got ready to leave, he looked at each and every one of them and said, “All I can say is keep an eye on your surroundings.  Check things over before you leave in your car.  Make sure your doors are locked.  If need be, add deadbolts to your doors.  Whoever this person is, he is an expert in breaking and entering.”

The guys sat in silence after Crockett left, not knowing exactly what to say or do.  When the tones sounded to send them out on a run, they all jumped out of their skin before they ran for the squad and engine.

For the next four and a half hours, Johnny felt like he had been run through a wringer.  No sooner would they get back to the station and back out they would all go.  The last one did give them all a giggle though.  When it had been called in, their thoughts had been for a very serious injury as the caller kept claiming that the victim was really burned.  Arriving at the location of the injury, Johnny had a hard time keeping his mirth under control as the victim was “burned” in the sense he was a little ticked off at his kids for throwing the firecracker duds in the fire pit, and then having them blow up as he was standing next to the pit causing minor burns to his legs.

The man signed the AMA waiver stating he would see his family physician should the burns begin to cause any problems.  His parting remark to the paramedics was that they might want to stick around and dress the wounds of his kids if they do it again.

Roy and Johnny were still laughing when they stopped by Rampart to stock up on some supplies.  While Carol went to gather their supplies, Roy turned to his partner and asked him what he thought about the information Detective Crockett gave them earlier today.

“Personally, Roy, I think they have a right to scale back on the patrols.” Johnny stated.  “I mean nothing has happened in the last three weeks and why keep exerting the manpower on us if he doesn’t reappear.”

“True, but what if this is just what the stalker is waiting for…for us to let down our guard so he can strike again but only this time worse than before.”

Johnny could tell his partner was really worried about this.  He couldn’t blame him and the more he thought about it, the more he wondered if any of them would be safe until this ‘phantom’ was caught.  The partners stopped their discussion as Carol had returned with their supplies.

Thanking her for their supplies, the two headed back out to the squad.  Roy placed the box of supplies on the top of the storage compartments of the squad glancing across the back of the squad at Johnny.

“It’s kind of funny how I’m the one obsessing about this and you…well for once you are the calm one.  I know I sound like a broken record and I know so far I have managed to stay out of his range, but I’m worried about my family.  What if he targets them instead of me?”

Johnny chuckled when Roy pointed out how their roles were reversed for once.  “Roy, we just need to do what the detective told us…stay alert and keep an eye on where we are at, change our locks or add deadbolts,” replied Johnny.  “We have to take control of our lives and not live in a constant state of fear or we will be right where he wants us…frozen.”

“Get in the squad, Junior.  It freaks me out when you are too logical.”

Roy put the squad in gear and headed back to the station.  Both he and Johnny kept their thoughts to themselves but knew that the other was just as worried.

“You know, Roy, I’ve been thinking of moving back out to the ranch,” said Johnny.

“Why?” he asked his partner, surprised that he was considering it.  “Aren’t you afraid Bree’s stalker might take advantage of the solitude out there to come after you or are you just tired of living with Bree and Sierra?”

“Perish that thought.  I’ll never tire of those two girls of mine,” replied Johnny.  “No, I’ve been thinking it’s time to get back to the ranch.  Besides I’m not going to let him take over my life or Bree’s.”

“So have you told Bree what you are planning to do, Junior?  You know she’s not gonna like you leaving.  From what Joanne has told me that Bree really enjoys having you at her place.”

“I don’t think I’m gonna have to worry about her reaction as I plan on asking her to move out to the ranch with me,” replied Johnny as he glanced sideways at his friend to catch his reaction.

Roy didn’t spoil it for him.  The look on his face said it all.  Johnny caught Roy off guard once again.  First, Marco announces he is getting married and now Johnny is talking about having his girlfriend and their child move in with him.  What’s next Roy thought as he backed the squad into the station.

****************************

“Seriously?” she squealed.  He barely had time to put his arms around her as she lunged at him sending them both backwards onto the couch.

“You know that’s the second time you’ve managed to put me on my back,” chuckled Johnny as he kissed her on the end of her nose.  “Of course, I’m serious.  These few weeks that I’ve been here have made me realize I’d rather you were living with me at the ranch instead of here alone.”

“I’m not alone when I am here,” replied Bree as she sat up.  “Mandy is here…for most part.”

“Yeah, but now that she and Marco are engaged…for which I am sure you had a part in,” stated Johnny as he watched the expression on Bree’s face try to change from pleased to completely innocent which she was failing miserably at.  “Don’t try and give me that innocent look, girl.  I’m the one who perfected that look a long time ago.”

The two started laughing as they exchanged playful insults.  Bree couldn’t believe it when Johnny walked in the door and announced that he was moving back to the ranch.  Her heart sunk at the thought of him leaving but then he dropped the bomb…when he told her to start packing because she was going with him.

“Now why would I want to try to pull the wool over your eyes, dear?” questioned Bree.  “You always see right through me.  The only thing I knew about was Marco’s intention to propose.  I had no clue where or when, didn’t want to as I wanted to be as surprised as the rest.”

He hugged Bree tighter as he was very pleased that she wanted to move in with him.  “One thing about moving out to the ranch…please be aware of your surroundings.  They still don’t know who this person is and I don’t want anything happening to you or Sierra.”

“I’m aware of my surroundings,” stated Bree, feeling a little bit put off when he reminded her to pay attention.  “Or at least most of the time of the time I am.”

“I know but I just want to you and Sierra to be safe.  I don’t want to get a phone call stating that you’ve been taking the hospital or worse,” he said as he shuddered at the thought of that ever happening.  He reached over and pulled her close to him.

Johnny discussed with Bree what his plans were for the next couple of weeks before she and Sierra moved out to the ranch.  As much as he wanted her to move out with him immediately, he felt he needed to make a few changes to some of the rooms before they joined him.  He explained to Bree some of the changes that he wanted to make to Sierra’s room and some safety precautions he wanted to put into place now before she really started walking.

She listened to Johnny and chuckled to herself as it was like listening to an excited teenager going on about his upcoming plans.  She could feel the contractions of her heart while she listened to his plans and it almost hurt as all her feelings for him seemed to surge as one to the surface.  Johnny stopped in mid-sentence as he could see the emotions being expressed in her eyes.  He pulled her back into his embrace and asked her if she felt he was moving too fast with his plans.

Glancing up at him, she shook her head no and told him that she was just feeling extremely emotional over the whole situation and that she couldn’t express it in words at the moment.  He knew exactly how she was feeling.  Knowing her independent and stubborn streak, he wasn’t sure if she would be up to moving to the ranch.  When she said yes, his heart leapt into his throat and he almost found it hard to speak.

“Do you like some of my ideas?” he asked after a few minutes of silence.

“Yes, I do,” she replied.  “Especially the ones for when Sierra starts walking and can reach doorknobs and drawer pulls.  I would hate for her to get out of the house and be roaming around the ranch unobserved.”

“I guess my next question is…what do you want to take from your house to the ranch?”

Bree glanced around the living room and stated, “I really haven’t thought about that.  I know I want my bedroom set as it is a bigger bed than yours, also Sierra’s dresser and toys, of course.  Other than that, I think we need to inventory our items to see what will fit and what can be left behind.”

“What about your piano?” Johnny asked her.  “I’m pretty sure you are going to want that as it is part of your livelihood.”

“Definitely.  I have so many melodies running through my mind that I really need to start putting them down before I lose them.”

“Come on then.  I’d better gather all my stuff and get heading home so I can start whipping the place into shape for my girls,” said Johnny.

It only took them half an hour to gather all of Johnny’s belongings.  Both kept putting off the inevitable…Johnny leaving for the ranch.  Bree finally told him that she wasn’t going to walk outside with him because even though she knew she would be joining him in a few weeks, it just seemed like he was leaving for good.  Johnny started to chuckle when she voiced that until he saw the tears in her eyes…she wasn’t kidding.

He took Sierra from her arms and hugged his little girl tight.  With his other arm, he pulled Bree into the embrace and kissed her first on the head and then on the lips.  One tear slipped down her cheek.  He wiped it away with his thumb, telling her it wouldn’t be that long before she and their daughter would be joining him at the ranch.  As he handed Sierra back to her mother, he kissed both once again with a promise of seeing them soon.

Bree watched Johnny as he walked through the front door, shutting it softly behind.  She couldn’t understand why she was feeling so emotional today as she knew in a few weeks what would occur.

He smiled as he watched ‘fire boy’ load his belongings into his vehicle.  It had upset him when he watched him move in with her but knew there was nothing he could do to stop it.  But as he watched him leave, it pleased him to see that she wasn’t going with him.  That had been his biggest fear…that she would move to the ranch.

Originally he had thought about stalking ‘fire boy’ at his ranch but thought better of it as she is usually out there.  He didn’t want to harm her, only him.  He knew the time had come to renew his crusade against him.  During the time that he scaled back his pursuit of ‘fire boy’ and his friends to avoid being caught, he had been planning just how he was going to bring an end to his rival for her affections.

Following the trail back to his car, he thought about the time table he had set up for his objective.  When he first discovered she had returned to California this past spring, his first thought was to run up and grab her but he knew that would only freak her out.  He decided he needed to see just what she was doing back before he made his presence known.  For four months he watched.  As the planned formed in his mind, his actions began.  He knew it was getting close to the time when he made the move to take her away from his rival and show her how good her life will be with him.

Putting the car in drive, he pulled out of the parking lot and headed home.  The next stage in his plan will need to be carefully set up in order for it to work.  One last look in the direction of her home, he silently said a prayer and blew a kiss towards her home.

*************************************

Bree smiled as she pulled into the driveway of the ranch.  Pulling up beside the barn, she got out of the car and headed towards the corral where she saw the ranch owner standing.  She put her foot on the lower bar of the corral fence and hoisted herself up to sit on the top.

“How’s things going, Mr. McNamara?” she asked the man standing by the fence.

“Really well, Miss Montgomery,” was his reply.  “But how many times do I have to tell you to call me Harry.”

“About as many times as I have to ask you to call me Bree,” she retorted with a giggle as she slid closer to him reaching an arm around to hug him.

“Everything is on track for August, Bree.  There should be no problem with delivery in the afternoon.”

“That’s perfect.  The party is set to start at 1 p.m. and there will be plenty of help,” stated Bree.  “I can’t wait to see his face when you arrive with his present.”

Bree jumped down off the fence and followed Harry into the barn.  He took her over to a stall and showed her a mare with her newborn foal.  She smiled as she checked out mother and baby.  Harry then led her to another stall at the opposite end of the long barn.  Inside the stall was a beautiful paint.  He tossed his head as if to say to Bree ‘Check me out.’  She laughed at the look the horse gave her.

Harry walked Bree back to her car and after giving her a hug told her that he would see her in six weeks. With a quick wave to Harry, she headed back down the driveway and towards what would soon be her new home…a ranch only ten miles away from the McNamara ranch.

*************************************

Johnny paced the floor with his squalling daughter in his arms.  Nothing he did was making the child happy.  He hoped that Bree would get home from her ‘slight errand’ soon as their daughter woke up about fifteen minutes after her mother left.  He changed her and got her a bottle but she just didn’t want to settle down.  He also wanted to show her what came by delivery shortly after she left.

While rocking his daughter back and forth as he balanced her on his hip, he had slit open the top of the package and shook out the People magazine.  He knew Bree would be a little upset with him for opening her package but once he saw the People logo, he just had to see the article.  Quickly flipping the pages, it didn’t take him long to find the article she was being featured in.

“Come on, little one,” he softly whispered to his child.  “I’ve changed you, fed you, burped you and short of being puked all over, I think you should be happy.”  Keeping his finger on the page he wanted to read, he crossed the short distance to the rocking chair and sat down.  Cradling Sierra in the crook of his arm, he flipped the magazine so he could read the article.

“Ooooo…” was the sound he heard from his daughter.  He looked down to see the child staring intently at the bright picture on the magazine.

“That’s your mommy,” Johnny said as he pointed to the picture of Bree.  “She was interviewed by someone for a magazine who wanted to know why she left the music business.  It was actually your mommy’s idea to do the article because someone decided to make it their business to find out if she was still around or not.”

Johnny felt his daughter relax in his arms and decided to read the article to her out loud as if he was reading her a bedtime story.  So deeply engrossed in the article he had become that he failed to realize his daughter had fallen asleep in his arms and the woman the article featured was standing in the doorway listening to him read out loud.

Bree had pulled into the driveway feeling pleased that her birthday present for Johnny was coming along and would be ready in time for the party.  She reached into the backseat and grabbed the few groceries she had picked up while she was in town at work.  Things had calmed down a bit at Rampart since the press was told they could not loiter on the hospital grounds and that they could be sued if they did.

Chuckling to herself, she walked into the house and found the two most important people in her life rocking in the living room, one fast asleep in her father’s arms and the other reading out loud from what she gather was the magazine article that had been printed in People and was now finally on newsstands.  She realized she couldn’t be mad at Johnny for opening the package as if the roles were reversed and it was he the article had been written about, she would have done the same thing.

Bree quietly walked into the kitchen and tried to put the groceries away with the least amount of noise which she obviously failed at when Johnny’s head popped up from the magazine and smiled at her when his gaze caught her at the counter in the kitchen.

“You didn’t need to be so quiet,” he said as he stood up.  “I’ll be right back.”

She quickly finished putting the groceries away, grabbing a glass of water before she sat down.  Snagging the magazine, she plopped down on the couch, folding her legs beneath her and began to read.  Like Johnny, she became so engrossed in the article that she didn’t see him return from putting Sierra down for her nap until he dropped down on the couch next to her.  She jumped when she felt the movement of the couch.  She playfully slapped him with the magazine as he laughed at the expression on her face.

“Nice article,” stated Johnny.  “I didn’t know you were coming out here to take pictures.”

Bree chuckled.  “They wanted to do it around my pool and backyard but that just isn’t me.  I like being outdoors but not necessarily just sitting around the pool drinking Mai Tai’s.  That’s when Dustin suggested the countryside and I immediately thought of this place.  I hope you don’t mind that we did that…I never thought to call you to ask permission.”

“The way I see it, shortly this place will be your home as much as it’s mine...so no I don’t mind.  By the way, when will you be moving out here permanently?”

“I just have a few details with my house to take care of and then I will be good to go…or in this case move the rest of my belongings out here,” she replied.  “It’s been a little hard taking care of the deed to the house without letting the soon-to-be new owners in on what I am doing.”

Johnny laughed as he knew exactly what she was up to.  Once he asked Bree to move out to the ranch, she became a whirlwind of activity.  At first he had assumed she would just put her house up for sale, but when he questioned her about it she laughed and said she had another idea in mind.  She said she needed to speak with her realtor and bank before she would clue him in on her plan for her house.

Two weeks after he had asked her about her plans, Bree let Johnny in on what she wanted to do with her house.  She told him that she decided to give the deed to her house to Mandy and Marco as a wedding present.  She had thought about waiting until the wedding to present them with the deed but knew it wasn’t going to work.

“So when do you plan on clueing the lovebirds in on what you are going to do with your house?”

Bree turned and smiled at Johnny.  “The day I move out.  I figured since they said they would help with the move, I would have them give me a ride out here and tell them we need to stop by the bank as I have some papers they want me to sign.”

“Clever girl,” chuckled Johnny as he reached to pull her towards him.  He could hear her sigh as she relaxed against him.  “My next question is when do you have to leave?”

“In about an hour,” was her reply.  “I want Sierra to sleep a bit so she is not so wired for Mandy tonight.”

The couple talked for a bit more, lapsing into comfortable silence as they just enjoyed spending the quiet time together.  Eventually time caught up with them and Bree had to leave as she was singing that night with the band in Long Beach. 

Johnny quietly picked his daughter up and took her to the car, getting her settled in her car seat.  She didn’t even wake up.  Bree rolled down the window of the driver’s side, letting Johnny lean in to give a long, thorough kiss goodbye as he whispered for her to behave tonight.  She giggled as she backed out of the driveway.  Walking back into the house, he quietly thought to himself that he couldn’t wait for them to be in the house as it was way too quiet for him once they left.

***************************

The article in People magazine caused quite a stir around Rampart General Hospital.  Dixie was impressed with it.  She had been present when Bree talked with the young man representing the magazine in the staff lounge and began to see Bree in a new light as the young woman went over what he could and could not ask questions about for the article.  Bree had outlined a plan for a two-part article with part one skimming over her history that led to her singing career and part two shedding light on her disappearance and reappearance.  Once the outline had been given to the reporter, he had told Bree he would contact her and let her know if his editors approved the story or not.

She heard the door to the lounge open up but didn’t look up to see who joined her in the lounge.  Out of the corner of her eye she caught movement of the chair near her and was surprised when she saw Bree had joined her at the table.

“So I see you got a hold of the People magazine with the article of me in it?” she questioned.

Dixie smiled at the younger woman and replied, “Actually I picked it up at the store near my apartment after Johnny told me yesterday that you were in this edition.  It’s actually a very nicely written article.  When does the next installment come out?”

“In two weeks.  That was one of the stipulations I asked for when Dustin’s editor agreed to the article that Dustin and I had in mind.  That way it gives the public time to rake it over in discussion and makes them want to know the rest of the story,” stated Bree.  “So who else in the hospital has seen it?”

“Girl, it’s more like who hasn’t seen it,” laughed Dixie at the grimace that flittered across Bree’s face.  “Did you expect anything else?  You are pretty much a celebrity in this facility…to most of us anyway.”  She took a sip of her coffee and then asked, “So when did you return to work?  I haven’t seen much of you around here.”

“I came back the week after the 4th but Jack’s been keeping me busy with some pediatric cases so I have literally turned into a ‘lab rat’ so to speak.  After this week, I’m supposed to be back on rotation with the ER so you will be seeing more of me.”

“That’s good.  As much as I get along with Mandy, I miss seeing your smiling face and I know Johnny would prefer it was you that came up to the ER instead also.”  She chuckled when she saw the blush creep up Bree’s face.

The two discussed more about the article in the magazine and laughed as Bree gave Dixie more in depth details about some of the stories she had told Dustin from People.  Dixie asked Bree when she was going to move out to Johnny’s for good and Bree smiled when she let her friend know it would be the first weekend in August.  Telling Bree that she and Joe would be coming to help with the move, she couldn’t help smiling when the young woman told her that she didn’t have to as she had a moving company coming to take what would be needed at the ranch.

Looking at her watch, Bree quickly downed what was left of her coffee and told Dixie she would talk with her later, practically running out the door.  Dixie got up, rinsed out her cup and turned to leave.  She completely forgot about the magazine she had brought in with her.  Traci all but ran over the head nurse as she came barreling through the door.  With a barely heard apology, Dixie shook her head and left.

Sheila had waited until Dixie vacated the doorway before she entered.  She looked at her friend and wondered what had her in such a state.

“What’s put you in such a twist?” asked Sheila as she sat down opposite of Traci.

“That blonde bimbo in the lab, that’s who!” exclaimed Traci.  “I just wish he would get tired of her so I could have a chance with him.”

“Give it up, Traci.  He loves her…practically everyone but you can see that,” stated Sheila.  “Besides they have a child together.  He will not leave either one of them just because you have an itch that can’t be scratched.”

Traci looked at her ‘friend’ and retorted, “Shut up, Sheila.  What do you know?  That fireman from the same firehouse hasn’t asked you out again.”

Sheila looked down at her coffee, knowing exactly why he hadn’t asked her out again.  The last time she saw him, he pretty much let her know how disappointed he was that she had been on the information leak on his friend’s girlfriend.  She had apologized for her actions and was still hoping he would call her again sometime.

While Sheila was deep in her own thoughts, Traci had spotted the magazine that Dixie had left behind.  She picked it up and thumbed through it and was stunned when she came upon the article about Bree.  As she quickly skimmed through the article, she could feel her ire rising at the upstart ‘lab rat’ as she thought of her.  She threw the magazine at Sheila and quickly exited the room.  Sheila picked up the magazine as she watched Traci leave the lounge.  Upon seeing the article, she knew why the woman had left in a snit and thought that maybe it was time to sever ties with her high school friend.  She placed the magazine back on the table and left, wondering if it was too late to apologize to Bree for her part in the fiasco a few weeks back.

******************************

He was stunned as the moving van backed into her driveway.  He watched in disbelief as the moving men got out and grabbed the equipment they would need to move furniture, etc.  As they brought the frame for her four poster bed out of the house, he could feel his anger simmering slowly below the surface.  He knew exactly where she was relocating to…his house in the country.  ‘How could she be so stupid?’ he thought to himself.  Deep down he knew ‘fire boy’ couldn’t give her what she needed, only he could do that.

He threw the magazine he had been reading onto the seat beside him.  The reporter for that new magazine, People, did a good job on showing her life before she became famous, but he didn’t even touch on the ones that mattered the most to her…the fans.  He figured that maybe the reporter was saving that for the next part of the article.  At least he did a better job of showing who she really was, not like that LA Times reporter who was just in it for the story and notoriety it would bring her.

Returning his gaze to the movers, he could see box after box being loaded onto the truck.  In less than an hour, they had the van loaded and were ready to go.  He watched as she talked with them, her hands fluttering in the air around her as she was making a point.  He noticed a brunette and some guy, one that worked with ‘fire boy’ standing with her.  The three seemed to be discussing something that had the brunette rolling her eyes.  As he watched them get in the guy’s truck and drive off, he decided the time was right for the next step in his plan to remove her from the influence of ‘fire boy’ and his friends.

*******************************

“Come on, Roy.  You need to get up for work,” said Joanne as she tried to wake her husband.

Rubbing his eyes, he slowly sat up and looked over at Jo.  “Wha…What’s up?” he stammered.

“Not you for one thing,” she replied as she threw back the covers, grabbed her robe and flipped on the bedroom light.  “Get up, sleepyhead.  It’s time to get ready for work.  That is the last time I allow you and Johnny to go to a nighttime ballgame if you are going to be this hard to wake up in the morning.”

Joanne left the room to get breakfast ready for her husband.  As she started the coffee, she heard the shower start in the bathroom and knew she didn’t have to try and wake him up again.  While the coffee brewed, she headed down the hall and opened the doors to the kids’ bedrooms.  She wanted them to wake up naturally so they wouldn’t be so crabby when they head to San Pedro for the weekend.  They were going to visit her sister and spend the weekend at the beach.

Shutting off the shower, Roy grabbed the towel and began to dry his hair.  He had to agree with his wife that these nighttime games before work weren’t the best.  It was after midnight when they finally got home and he knew it would be a long day with Johnny as when he doesn’t get at least eight hours, he could be cranky.  As he wrapped the towel around his waist and stepped out of the shower, he noticed Joanne had left him a cup of coffee on the counter.  Just taking a deep whiff of the scent wafting from the cup seemed to energize him a bit.

She could hear the kids rustling around in their rooms and knew it was only a matter of time before they would be racing down the hallway for breakfast.  They liked to be up to say goodbye to their dad before he left for work.  Today it was also a bonus for her as they were going to be taking off shortly (or as soon as possible) to her sister’s place.

“Roy, kids, breakfast is ready,” shouted Joanne towards the hallway as she placed their breakfast upon the table.

She squealed in surprise as she felt her husband reached around her waist and nuzzled her ear.  “Smells good.  What’s the occasion, sweetheart?” he asked as he noticed the pancakes and sausage on the table.

“I just felt a good old breakfast was in order for the day.  Besides, it will probably be the only good breakfast you will have while the kids and I are gone,” replied Joanne.

Both parents turned their heads as they heard the kids slam their bedroom doors and were racing each other down the hallway.  Chris came to a sliding stop in the kitchen and grinned when he saw what mom had made for breakfast.

“Cool…pancakes!” he exclaimed as he sat down and grabbed a couple of the cakes with his fork.  “Thanks, Mom.”

“Don’t be so greedy, Chris,” stated Roy as he sat down and lifted his daughter onto his lap.  “Want some pancakes, kiddo?”

“Yes, daddy,” replied Jennifer as she snuggled closely in his embrace.  “With lots of syrup on ‘em.”

He looked up at his wife who was slowly shaking her head at him, letting him know not to put a lot of syrup on their daughter’s pancakes.  Roy set Jennifer in her seat and followed her instructions for two pancakes with butter and lots of syrup (which he made look like lots as he drizzled it all over).

After everyone had filled their plates, Joanne sat down and joined them.  The family talked about their plans for the weekend.  Roy was heading out to Johnny’s on Saturday to help him with fencing around the corral.  Chris and Jennifer talked over the top of each other trying to tell their father what all was planned for their weekend including a day at the beach and maybe even a trip to San Diego to go to the zoo.

“Do you kids have everything packed for our trip?” Joanne asked them.

“Yes, mom,” was the dual reply from the kids.

Joanne laughed as she had already packed their clothes the night before.  She had told them after she had their clothes packed to pick out a few items to take with them to play with at their aunt’s home.  Jennifer was torn between taking her favorite doll and her first Barbie doll that her ‘uncle’ Johnny had bought for her for her birthday and Chris had tried to stuff all of his GI Joe action figures and their equipment in his book bag from school.  When he saw the problem his sister was having, he gave her his old book bag to use so she could take them both.

Roy put his plate in the sink and gave his wife a kiss on the cheek.  Grabbing his gear from the couch, he waited at the front door for the kids.  He could hear Joanne telling them to put their plates in the sink and to hurry up as their dad needed to get to work.

“Bye, daddy,” said Jennifer as her father swung her up in a big hug.  “Say hi to Uncle Johnny.  Tell him I like my Barbie really well.”

Chris hugged his dad too.  “Hope you have a good day today, dad.”

“You be safe for me,” softly whispered Joanne as she kissed her husband soundly on the lips before she sent him on his way.

As he backed out of the driveway, he waved at his family standing in the doorway.  He smiled to himself as he felt it was going to be a really good day.  Joanne turned and shooed the kids back inside to make their beds and bring their suitcases to the living room.  She headed back into the kitchen to finish up the dishes and clean the table.

He watched as the blond haired man pulled away from the house.  The nice thing about a straight street is that you could park far enough away from the house you were keeping an eye on and no one was the wiser.  He wasn’t sure how much longer he would have to wait for the woman and kids to leave their house, but he knew that no woman could stay home all day long…eventually they would leave either to shop for groceries or clothes.  Patiently he sat back in his seat and waited for her to make an appearance.

Half an hour later, his patience paid off.  She backed her station wagon out of the garage, shut the door and backed out onto the street.  He sat up and waited until she was heading down the street before he began to follow her.  He was glad for his photographic memory as he remembered her make and model of vehicle along with the license plate number.  He had studied her habits and knew she didn’t care for the highway when she had the kids with her.  He chuckled as she reminded him of his Bree as she was just as oblivious to her surroundings as Bree could be.

Keeping a good distance behind the woman and her kids but close enough to know when to turn, he smiled as she turned down a road that wound through the Rolling Hills area…not her usual route but it would easy enough for him to do what he had planned.  Shortly they were entering an area with not a lot of traffic on it.  He slowly began to catch up to the station wagon and knew that when they approached the next curve, he would make his move.

“Chris, please quit torturing your sister.  I really don’t have time to pull over and separate you two,” exclaimed Joanne with an exasperating tone of voice.  “You are supposed to be helpful on this trip, not make it miserable.”

He heard the frustrating in his mom’s voice and replied, “I’m sorry, mom.  I’ll try and be nicer to Jenny.”  And to prove that he was going to try to do better, he challenged Jennifer to a game of street sign bingo, helping her find all the signs he could locate.

Smiling at her son as she glanced at him in the rearview mirror, she noticed a car rapidly gaining on her.  She couldn’t help but wonder what their hurry was.  She thought it was a beautiful day and decided to take a different route on the way to her sister’s that would take them through the George F. Canyon Preserve and Nature Center.  It might be a little longer route to get to her sister’s home but the kids would enjoy it as well as herself.  Knowing that the road narrowed up ahead and had many curves, Joanne hoped that this car would get around them and leave her in peace.

 Once more she checked on the car behind her and realized the vehicle had gotten closer but not close enough to get around her before they reached the curves.

With a silent prayer, she slowed down to make the curve not realizing that the car behind her was making his move.  As she entered into the first part of the elongated  S curve, she heard Chris shout something about the car trying to go around them. 

Joanne caught a glimpse of the car in her side mirror and was shocked to see that whoever was driving it really thought they could make it around them.

Suddenly she felt the other vehicle rub against the side of her station wagon.  Before she had a chance to try and correct the direction of her own vehicle, she felt the car slam into her again sending her off the second part of the curve and right into the trees.  The last thought Joanne had was of her kids in the backseat and of her husband at work before everything went black.

Continued in Part 4

Posted to Site 01/23/13

Links to Parts 1. 2. 3. 4.

5. 6. 7.