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Author's Chapter Notes:
Hey guys! Here's another chapter :O)

Thanks for reading and reviewing as always!

Mare
19





Calm before the Storm








Kevin sat in his father’s living room, which temporarily served as his own and watched as Brian changed the channels not landing on anything longer than five seconds at a time.



“Are you just doing that to keep yourself busy because it’s getting a little annoying now.”



His younger brother looked over and shrugged, dejectedly handing over the remote and placing his feet on the coffee table in front of him. “Where’s AJ?”



“I think he went to help Stacey settle into her mom’s house.”



“Oh.” Kevin sensed there was something wrong with Brian by his body language and unanimated tone of voice.



“Something bothering you?”



“You mean besides having everything I own destroyed in a fire?” Kevin nodded, he supposed maybe that was a dumb question but it still didn’t hurt to ask.



“Actually,” he continued after a few seconds of watching the news, “Nick said something very interesting before everything happened.”



“He did? What did he say?”



“He asked me if he thought that Ariana would ever cheat on Howie.”



“Really?”



“Yeah, he said he thought he saw her kissing someone.”



“Now that IS interesting…he didn’t say anything to me.”



“He dropped it shortly afterwards, said that he might have been mistaken.”



“Maybe he was…mistaken.”



“Yeah but…”



“But what?”



“Nothing, never mind… I’m just being paranoid I guess.”



“No, spill it Bri…what is it?”



“What if she is having an affair? I mean I don’t see it being totally out of the realm of possibility.”



“I’m not sure what you want me to do.”



“I don’t want you to do anything, like I said, I’m just being paranoid. I guess since I lost everything I’m just thinking about what would be left to lose. I think that’s the one thing I couldn’t handle…having my wife cheat on me.”



Kevin nodded as he thought about what Nick had said earlier, wondering if Howie was being blamed for something. “Nicky is acting strange; I wonder what’s up with him.”



“He’s a teenager.” Brian answered as if that was the only clear cut explanation to offer.



Nick came bounding down the stairs, stopping halfway and allowing the banister to serve as a slide for the rest of the way down. “You are going to break your ever-loving neck kid!” Brian said as Nick jumped onto the couch right beside him. Kevin couldn’t help but long for that energy that came with being young. It seemed like in the last few years he really began to feel his age. Where had all the time gone and more importantly, where had he been when it passed?



It seemed like yesterday he was in his twenties with his whole life before him. Now here he was a man well into his late thirties with nothing to show for it. No home of his own, no children, no wife. His life revolved around his work, how could he let that happen?



“I’m careful.” The youngest in the family said as he searched for the remote, the true Richardson family treasure it seemed.



“Kevin has it.” Brian said when Nick’s search of his nearest brother seemed unsuccessful.



“And I’m not giving it up anytime soon.”



“What’s for dinner? I’m starving.”



Nick seemed invigorated which was odd considering all of the information that he had just discovered, but maybe that had something to do with it, the excitement of it all. At first when Kevin had mentioned camping and he allowed himself to let it sink in, he felt almost nauseous with worry, but now it was different.



The more Nick thought about it, the more he realized that this was exactly what was needed, time alone to really watch and observe what Ariana was doing and most importantly, maybe catch her in the act.



“I think dad is picking up a pizza on his way home from work or something.” Kevin answered as he watched his little brother carefully.



“I hope he gets here soon, I’m liable to eat the couch.”



“You could always go make something you know.”



“Or you, being a good older brother, could go make me something.” Nick placed his head on Brian’s shoulder which made both agents smile. They enjoyed it when Nick acted like the kid they missed so much. It didn’t happen often these days but when it did, they almost wished they could bottle that part of him up and let it out when they saw him retreating back into his shell.



It was obvious, that even though the circumstances weren’t exactly great, Nick was elated that his family was once again under the same roof. In a way, Kevin and Brian both felt that way as well. It was nice being all together again, even if only for a little while.



“So, are you packed for our camping trip tomorrow?” Kevin asked his little brother.



“Camping trip?” Brian moved his feet off the table to face Nicky and Kevin.



“Yes, we are going on a camping trip with Ariana and Howie this weekend. I figured now was a good time to get away for a little bit.”



“Oh nice, and no one invited me?”



“Brian, you hate camping.”



“Yeah, but still…”



Kevin senior walking in with two pizzas in his hands brought the conversation to a sudden halt. “Is anyone hungry?” He asked as he walked past the kids and into the kitchen.



“Starved!” Nick said jumping up and following his dad to the table.



“Going camping with Ariana and Howie?” Brian asked Kevin once again now that Nick was out of the room.



“Yup.”



“Well, that seems like the perfect opportunity to see if things the young one is saying prove to be true.”



Kevin nodded his head, trying his best to put two and two together and hoping that Nick would spill the beans and tell him exactly what was up.





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




They sat quietly at the diner, leaving a large meal uneaten before them. Charlie was chain smoking and shaking his leg nervously as he kept staring out the window. He was scaring her but yet, she found herself compelled to stay by his side. When he showed her all of the money he was carrying, she couldn’t breathe. She actually had to take a swig of her inhaler to calm herself down. Sometimes that thing came in handy.



She was terrified to ask about the money because she realized once she did that, there would be no turning back. He wasn’t really that gung ho about sharing that information anyway by the way he kept dodging any attempt at eye contact with her.



“So, what’s next?” Patty whispered as the waitress came by with doggy bags and the check.



Charlie, blew out a puff of smoke and then shifted in his chair, “What do you mean?”



“You know what I mean…” She looked over to the bag of cash as if it was the thing carrying a gun.



“Oh…I have no idea. My head is all messed up right now.”



“I should go home.” She said as she began to slide herself out of the booth.



“No…don’t go yet…I mean…please?”



“My mother is going to start to worry about me and what if the school called about me not showing up in class?”



He got agitated again, “You fucking worry to damn much…fine, go!”



“Charlie, I’m worried about you.” She tried to soften her tone and hide the fear she was feeling but it was too late, the damage had already been done. He grabbed a twenty out of the bag and threw it on the table as he stood up.



“I’m fine, it’s not me you should be worried about, it’s that fucking agent.”



“Please don’t do anything you’ll regret.” She begged.



“Oh believe me baby, I won’t regret anything!” And on that note, he stormed out of the diner leaving his girlfriend behind to try to figure out what to do. Only one thought came to her mind and that was finding Nick.



She had to tell someone and she knew he could be trusted and that maybe he would know what to do.





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






AJ and Stacey walked down the street and towards their favorite diner, holding hands as they went. He vowed never to let her go after the scare he had of possibly losing her forever. “I can’t believe you are staying with your mom.”



“Your dad has too many people at your place. There’s barely room to move.”



“We could always just rent a studio somewhere while we wait for the insurance money.”



“My mother would never let that happen!”



“Oh come on Stace…she has to know that you practically lived at my place.”



“She’s old fashioned honey; to her marriage is a sacred union. If she knew how much we really go at it she’d shoot you!”



“Right, like you are the innocent one?” He asked with an eyebrow raised.



“According to my mother yes I am, besides me living somewhere else will only make you realize what a great catch I am.”



“I already do sweetheart.” Just as he was going to kiss her, a kid bumped into them both with such ferocity that the bag he was carrying flew out of his hands.



“Watch where the fuck you’re going!” Charlie yelled as he bent down to get the bag.



Even though the kid was clearly a punk, AJ felt the need to help him gather the bag so he bent down to grab it for him. “No need to use that tone of voice…it was an innocent mistake, besides you weren’t watching where you were going.”



The kid just mumbled something under his breath as he stood up. That’s when AJ got a really good look at him. He looked familiar somehow but yet, he wasn’t able to place where it was he had actually seen this kid before.



“Do I know you?”



Charlie looked at the man and shrugged, “I don’t think so.”



“Oh, okay…you just look familiar, that’s all.”



“I have to go.” The kid said as he rudely grabbed the bag out of AJ’s hands and continued walking down the street, stopping to look back a little anxious that the guy said he recognized him.



“I say we never have one of those things…” Stacey said, turning and giving Charlie a look of her own.



“Ours wouldn’t be that rude.” He assured her, “I swear I know that kid from somewhere.”



“He probably lives around here…now come on, I’m starved and if I’m not back home by my curfew my mom will get mad.”



AJ laughed at that, “You know she is going to eventually put you on a real curfew and you’ll be sorry that you didn’t stay with me instead.”



“I guess that’s a risk I’m willing to take.”



He shook his head and laughed still trying to figure out where he had seen that kid before.





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








“So are you happy about the camping trip Nick?” Kevin senior asked after they had all finished eating their supper. The mood of the family seemed light and happy, something that had been missing from the Richardson family for quite awhile.



“I think it’ll be fun.” He answered with a full mouth.



“I haven’t been camping in ages.” Kevin admitted, realizing that he didn’t even have any gear at all to bring with him. Maybe Howie would have what they needed, if not they’d have to put it off.



“If I had known you liked to camp you and I could have gone for a weekend, we still can you know.”



Nick looked at his father with uncertainty in his eyes which made Kevin senior regret saying that in the first place. He was surprised by his son’s reply though, pleasantly surprised, “I’d like that.” He said and even smiled.



Everyone at the table seemed a little surprised by the answer, including Nick himself but he wasn’t stupid. He realized that come next week when his father dove into his work once again headfirst, any talk of camping would long be forgotten.



“How’s the investigation going dad?” Brian asked which brought all the causal conversation to a halt.



“Slowly but already we think we may have a few leads.”



“Anything I can help you with?” Kevin asked his father, hoping to get to the bottom of things as soon as possible.



“No, you just worry about your camping trip…let me worry about this.”



“I think I’m coming back to work next week so maybe I’ll be able to help with something.”



“You’ll be on desk duty Brian.”



“I know but I can still help though.”



“Brian, how about we not talk about work.” The way their father looked over at his youngest son when he said that made both of the agents nod. Their father was right; they shouldn’t be talking about this stuff in front of Nick.



“I like having us all together again.” The youngest admitted out of the blue. “It feels nice, doesn’t it?”



Kevin reached over and grabbed Nick’s shoulder, “Yes it does, I just wish it was under better circumstances.”



“Mom would have liked seeing this.”



Kevin senior nodded and whispered an “I agree.” He knew that his wife would have loved to see all of her children under one roof again. He also knew that wherever she was, she was most likely looking down and not pleased with the way he was handling Nick’s upbringing. Most importantly though, he wished he could just tell her how much he loved her and why he really had to stay away for so long. He never had the chance to come clean.



Nick stood up, “Well, I’m going to go upstairs and pack for tomorrow. What time are we leaving?” He asked his oldest brother.



“I’m not sure, I’ll have to give Howie a call and find out.”



“Okay…well, see ya all tomorrow!” He stood up and headed for the stairs.



“He seems happy.” Brian said smiling.



“Today at least” Kevin senior added.



As Nick made his way up the stairs a thousand different thoughts filled his mind. He had to figure out how he was going to reveal what he knew to Howie and Kevin; he just had to be careful.





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




As Ariana folded their clothes, placing them into the backpacks they were bringing with them tomorrow, she couldn’t help but be apprehensive. This seemed like such a bad time to go away, especially knowing that some stupid kid was now ready to kill her husband.



She was still pissed off about that. She had worked so hard to get to where she was, built such a strong relationship with Howie to get close to the Richardson’s only for it to soon be taken away from her.



That wasn’t her only concern either. It came as a shock to her but Ariana chalked it up to fate. She would have never known if she didn’t leave her credit card at the store by mistake…she closed her eyes as she relived the memory of the conversation once more.



“My goodness, were your ears ringing?”



Ariana turned around confused, unsure if the Jamaican lady was talking to her or not but seeing as she was the only one in the Curiosity Shop it had to be her the lady was speaking to.



“Pardon?”



“We were just talking about you.”



She was still confused, feeling like she had walked into the middle of a conversation that didn’t concern her. “I accidentally left my credit card here.”



“Oh goodness gracious! If I had known that I would have given it to your nephew.”



“My nephew?” Now Ariana was extremely confused and getting slightly agitated.



“Yes, an adorable blonde, came in here saying he wanted to buy you some herbs to surprise you. He thought you could get this stuff at a grocery store!” She let out a belly laugh but at the moment Ariana was finding nothing funny about any of it.



“You must be mistaken…I don’t have a nephew.”



“Oh honey, he even waited for you to leave before he came in.”



“You said blonde?” She tried not to show the fear in her voice.



“Yes, an adorable thing with bright blue eyes.”



That’s when it all clicked into place for her. Nick…he was following her, which meant he knew something was up. She took her card from the store clerk and hurried home, wondering the whole way.



How long had he been following her that day? Why had he been following her? She immediately called her boyfriend at that point to get a description of the kid he had hired. Thinking maybe it was him that was tailing her, but Charlie didn’t match that description.



Only one person she knew matched that profile and she didn’t like that at all. She decided to keep the information to herself though, deciding not to tell Jack about it just yet. This was a secret she would keep to herself for now and perhaps even take some enjoyment in doing so.



She still wasn’t sure why Nick would be following her around. Maybe it was an innocent crush but she had to force herself to think worst case scenario, maybe he saw her and Jack together. Didn’t Jack feel like he was being watched? What if Nick was doing the watching? And if he was, has he told anybody?



She had to be prepared for anything to happen on this trip. Maybe they were secretly going to ambush her. Maybe the brat had already gabbed to Kevin and her husband and they were going to use this camping trip to try to get something out of her.



She had to be careful, and prepared.



“Honey don’t forget to pack extra supplies for Kevin and Nicky!” Howie yelled to his wife from the bathroom.



That broke Ariana out of her thoughts, “I’ll take care of it.” She said as she carefully pulled some herbs out of their bottles and placed them into a small satchel which she placed into a secret pocket of her bag.



She shook her head, “you shouldn’t have started snooping around Nickolas.” She said as she zippered up the bag and placed it next to her bed.