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Chapter Three-Hundred-Twenty-Eight



“I told you this wouldn’t work Sean, they’re onto us now” Trevor spoke to Sean in a low voice so no one outside of their table will over hear.”


“We’ll be fine” Sean insisted. “They can’t arrest us, we didn’t do anything wrong.”


“Yet” Trevor reminded. “I suppose you think we’re still going with our plan?”


‘Yes we are.”


“But they’re watching us like a hawk now,” Max pointed out.


“So our plan will just have to be altered a little” Sean shrugged. “It will work.”


“I still want to know how the bitch knew not to trust you,” Max complained. “She let that other guy dance with her.”


“Same reason she didn’t trust me when I was playing Under Cover Doctor,” Trevor replied. “She’s become smart on us – and she’s developed a huge trust issue. Can you really blame her after all?”


“I want to go check on Ellie,” Sean changed the subject, as he is in no mood to discuss Ashley’s improvement in self-defense.


“Not happening,” Trevor insisted while taking Sean’s hand before he attempted to get up.


“Why the hell not? I have a right to check on my daughter.”


“You gave her up to the Backstreet Boy Sean, that’s not your concern anymore.”


“Like hell it isn’t,” Sean snapped, giving Trevor a warning look. “I need to know she is okay and that he is taking good care of her. I gave her up but if you haven’t noticed I can’t get rid of that stupid feeling that comes with the whole father package.”


“He’s taking very good care of her Sean,” Max insisted. “I’ve been watching him with her for months now…she’s in good hands. He’s even started taking her to a therapist for her behavior problems.”


“I need to see for myself to satisfy my ex-fatherly needs.”


“Well I’m sorry baby but it’s gonna have to happen another time,” Trevor insisted, gently squeezing Sean’s hand in hopes that it will keep his temper at bay. “They’re too suspicious of us right now.”


“Its Ashley they’re watching like a hawk right now, not Ellie.”


“That’s not true,” Max spoke up. “One security guard is missing and I’m pretty sure he’s upstairs with the kids.”


“So what? I could be any kid’s father.”


“What if they warned him about your costume?” Trevor asked and Sean sighed heavily.


“I’m sorry Seanie, I’m just trying to be careful. Seeing Ellie right now would be a huge unnecessary risk.”


“That could very easily blow our plan – the real reason we’re here tonight” Max added.


“Ellie is fine,” Trevor replied while gently cupping Sean’s cheek and turning his face away from Max whom he was currently glaring at. “We would know if she wasn’t. Kevin wouldn’t be dancing so calmly with that woman right now if she wasn’t, he would be with her instead.” Sean looked back at Max again who was looking back at him innocently.


“Why don’t you make yourself useful? Pretend you are going to the restroom – they can’t follow you there. After you’ve lost them, go check on her for me. They warned the security guard about me, not you.”


“No Sean,” Trevor spoke up. “Ellie is not our top priority right now. Didn’t Kevin promise Ellie he would go get her before midnight?” he added, looking at Max and Max nodded.


“Yes he did.”


“Great, you’ll see her from a distance then.”


~*~*~*~*~


“Ellie, no! Are you out of your mind? There is no way Q is going to let you out – he is blocking the door and everything” Josh argued with his cousin.


“So we’ll just distracts him,” Elenore shrugged. “What else is new?”


“I am not going to be apart of your diversion this time Ellie, not after what he dids to me at the park” Dakota informed firmly. “You’ll be lucky if I don’ts go tell Q he’s here – especially since he’s probably after my Ashee - again.”


“You wouldn’t dare Kota, you wouldn’ts. You know what they’ll do to him if they catches him!” Elenore pleaded.


“I understand perfectly of your pain Ellie, but you also know what he’ll do to the only mommy Kota and I have ever known if he catches her” Sarah spoke up. Elenore crossed her arms over her chest and she looked away as angry tears rolled down her cheek. Sarah wrapped her arms around her and pulled her near.


“Believe me I understand what you’re going thro—“


“-No you don’ts, or you wouldn’t go an’ tell Q he’s here.”


“I do so understand Ellie, I do. But think about how torn Kota an’ I feel” Sarah tried to explain as tears fell from her own eyes. “We love you an’ we don’t want you to lose your daddy to such a horrible thing but he’s going to kill our mommy, Ellie. We can’t protect him forever.”


“I just want to make it so they won’t kill him before I let them catches him…”


“But what if they get a hold of Ashee before then and he kills her? I don’t want to betray you or sound mean, but my daddy was innocent when they killed him. Yours isn’t, Ellie.”


“What’s that supposed to mean? Are you saying they should just goes an’ kills him then?” Elenore asked, edging close to hysteria.


“No, but he needs to be arrested Ellie. He can’t keep running free like this when he is capable of murdering more people.”


“Well guess what’s! They plans to kill him, Sarah! An’ I won’ts let that happen.”


“No they aren’t because we wrote to the president.”


“Buts he didn’t write back, did he??”


“It doesn’t matter, Ellie” Dakota insisted, not even looking at her best friend. “As long as that monster is free my Ashee is in danger!”


“I’m NOTS letting them kills my daddy! What if it were your daddy?” Elenore demanded, taking a step toward Dakota so that she was towering over her. Josh swiftly moved between the two of them.


“You’re out of line Ellie, back off now.”


“I don’ts want him dead, Ellie, I just wants him locked up so he can’t hurts my Ashee!” Dakota insisted, breaking down into sobs. “Do you realize how selfish you are being making me protects him for you?”


“You can’ts tell him Kota, please…” Elenore begged, sobbing now as well. “He’s my daddy…if it were your daddy you would do everything possible to save him.”


“An’ Ashee is my mommy an’ I want to do everything possible to save her!”


“We won’t tell Q he is here on one condition,” Sarah spoke up again suddenly moving between her and Josh – who is standing in front of Dakota acting as a shield. Elenore raised her eyebrow showing Sarah that she is listening.


“That you don’t try and escape this playroom to see him,” Sarah continued and Elenore opened her mouth to protest but Sarah reached out and placed her finger to her lips to silence her. “I’m not finished. If you don’t try and escape this room to see him we won’t tell Q he is here, BUT when we get back to Florida we’re going to put all of our focus into keeping him alive. Got it?”


“Fine…” Elenore replied softly after seeing the pleading look in her best friend’s eyes. She hates hurting her like this, and she can see why she is upset, but she doesn’t want her daddy to die. She doesn’t want Ashley to die either, but this is her daddy she is defending here. If it weren’t for him, she wouldn’t even exist right now. She can’t help but defend him.


“I’m still not done,” Sarah added. “You aren’t allowed to communicate with him anymore – no more secret letters. Kota and I feel like we’re betraying our mommy when you do that. We can’t do that anymore.”


“That’s not fair!” Elenore cried. “I have to haves to have contact with him, I haves to know what’s going on withs him! That’s too much Sarah, you can’ts take that away from me!”


“She’s right Sarah…” Josh spoke up. “You can’t cut her from him entirely.”


“But as long as we know about these letters of theirs, we’re betraying Ashee! We know where he is and we aren’t telling them!”


“Just make it so she’s not allowed to sneak off and see him,” Josh replied trying to create a compromise for his cousin. He knows that not being able to see him is going to be hard enough.


“But we’re still in contact with him an’ Kota an’ I feel bad.”


“But so are the grownups if you think about it” Josh replied. “Through that Conner kid – Detective Stabler is in contact through him. He doesn’t know where he’s at, but he has easy contact.”


“An’ I wont’s know where he’s at since you won’ts let him see me…my only contact would be through Max.”


“Fine…” Sarah replied softly. “Letters…but no other contact.”


“I want to send him a note rights now,” Elenore replied softly and she rubbed at her eyes.


“How do you plan to do that without sneaking out of this room?”


“I won’ts have to sneak. I’ll get Q to take me out.”


“How?”


“Easy. I’ll tells him I miss Kevy an’ wants him.”


“And then how do you plan to get the note to Sean without them seeing?” Josh wanted to know.


“Sarah can writes it on a napkin an’ I can gives it to a waiter and tells him to deliver it.”


“That’s another thing, you really need to learn how to write Ellie because I don’ts like this.”


“I’m trying.”


“What do you want me to write?” Sarah asked softly as she grabbed a napkin from the snack table. She glanced at Q then and saw him talking to another person so she gently grabbed Elenore’s hand and pulled her under the snack table and the rest of them followed.


“Tell him I’m nots allowed to sneaks off an’ see him anymores or else you an’ Kota will tells on me.”


“No don’t then he’ll be mad ats us an’ wants to hurts us like he did to Ashee when she tolds his secrets!” Dakota demanded fearfully as she squatted down near a table leg hugging her legs to her chest.


“He will nots he promised me he wouldn’ts hurt any of you.”


“Then what do you call what he did at the playground?” Dakota asked in a sort of snappy mood making Elenore flinch a little.


“Well he didnts hurt you did he?” When Dakota couldn’t think of an argument for that she just glared at her best friend.


“An’ anyway it wasn’t my daddy who grabbed you, it was Max. He kept his promise because there’s good in him somewheres I know it!”


“But there is still a whole lot of bad isn’t there Ellie?”


“I’ve done a lot of bad things too Kota…” Elenore whispered softly and she looked down shamefully. “Does that mean I hafta die too?”


“The things you’ve done Ellie are nots as bad as the things he did.”


“And your dream is to become a cop. His is to hurt people. There is a big difference,” Josh added.


“But there’s still some good in there somewhere,” Elenore insisted, sticking to her argument no matter what anybody says. “He’s my daddy I hafta believes that.”


“Maybe, but likes I said, there’s too much bad Ellie an’ he has to be stopped.”


“But not killed,” Elenore pleaded, needing to hear her best friends agree with her on some level. Dakota looked away from Elenore while hugging her knees closer to her chest as she continued to distance herself from everybody. Tears slipped down her cheeks, as she feels so torn. She’s four years old since when did she have to worry about all of this stuff? Before Ellie came into her life her only problem was what outfit Barbie should wear and keeping all of her toys safe from Josh. Most importantly, keeping herself safe from Josh. But don’t get her wrong…she loves Ellie with all of her heart and she’ll admit proudly to anybody who asks that life isn’t the same without her. That she is her best friend in the whole wide world and she’s brought a lot of good in her life too. Before Ellie came a long…she didn’t have any friends and she was miserable. She gets why she is so bothered about this, because it’s her daddy. If this were Dakota’s daddy she would probably do the very same thing.

Hell, she is doing the same thing – for her Ashee. She deemed Ashley her future mommy and damnit it’s going to happen if she has anything to do with it. Well as much as a four year old can have anything to do with it that is. She’s not going to let anybody stand in the way of that – especially not her best friend’s father. Dakota finally turned and looked at Elenore then who was now sitting next to her and waiting for her best friend’s approval. Dakota looked into her tear filled eyes for a couple of moments, and then felt like crying all over again herself. She hates it when her best friend cries, especially because of that mean old monster that has such a strong hold on her. The mean monster that means so much to her even though he’s only caused her so much pain. And she’s seen her at her worst. All she wants is for that mean old monster to get what he deserves. But she doesn’t want anymore pain to invade Ellie’s life anymore then it already has. Dakota turned to face her friend and she gently wrapped her arms around her neck and pulled her into her for a hug. Elenore wrapped her arms tight around Dakota and Dakota rubbed her hand over her back the way Ashley does when she is comforting her. The way her mommy does when she is comforting her. Ellie needs a mommy figure…then maybe; just maybe she would see why her and Sarah are so unforgiving of Sean at the moment after that park incident. Sure they’ve heard about all of the horrible things he’s done to her in the past, but it took seeing it to really understand.

“No not killed Ellie…” Dakota spoke so softly in Elenore’s ear that you would think no one else could hear her, but Josh, Chris, and Sarah all did. “Just locked away for a very long time.”


“I love you Kota,” Elenore spoke weakly into Dakota’s shoulder and Dakota kissed the top of her head softly.


“I love you too Ellie…”


“Anything else you want to say to him Ellie?” Sarah spoke up after a few moments. Elenore looked back at Sarah again and she thought about her question for a couple of moments before letting go of Dakota and scooting over to Sarah. She wrapped her arms around her and whispered her answer in her ear. When she pulled back to look at her Sarah looked back at her with shock on her face, and then she wrote that down as well.


~*~*~*~*~*~


“Didn’t Scott say that Sean was gay?” Kevin asked suddenly looking at Kori as he stood at the table with the group and a new girl at his side that he’s been dancing with all night – the best friend of the girl Jerald has been talking to and dancing with all night too.


“He said that Trevor might be,” Kori shrugged as she leaned back into Wiley who is standing behind her with his arms wrapped protectively around her. “And he is right about that. Even when I was working with him we all sensed that his feelings for Sean were much stronger then he was letting on. Sean on the other hand…who knows. I mean they were extremely close and everything but he was married to a woman – hence the existence of Ellie.”


Was might be the keyword here,” Kevin replied as he was eyeing Sean’s table out of the corner of his eye. “Maybe this said woman was just a cover up to hide his real feelings…or maybe he didn’t know about his feelings himself up until recently, who knows. Whatever the case…if that’s Sean, from the looks of things he is very much gay now. I don’t care how close they are, you don’t just kiss a man like that unless you are lovers.”


“That does look like Trevor,” Ashley replied softly as she peered at them discretely from behind Bella’s head.


“Well, again, we can’t arrest them based on that. Anybody in this building could be gay and being gay isn’t a crime. They have to be doing something wrong” AJ replied.


“And they aren’t going to do something wrong so long as they know we’re all standing here staring at them,” Howie pointed out as he stood there swaying to the music with Laila whom he went and got earlier when Q informed him that she was upset.


“I just feel stupid knowing they’re sitting over there and we aren’t doing anything about it,” Nick replied.


“We don’t know that it’s them Nick,” Jerald reminded.


“Oh please, yes we do. Why was he so insistent on getting Ashley to dance with him?”


“Well, look at her. Id be anxious to dance with her too. Every man in this room has looked her way at least twice since she’s been here.”


“I’ve gotten lots of requests to dance tonight but none of them were as pushy as ’Wesley’ was.”


“But what if it isn’t them and we have an innocent man arrested? In front of all of these famous people I must emphasize,” Marcus spoke up.


“I think that’s a risk we’re willing to take,” Nick demanded lightly as he tightened his arms around Ashley protectively.


“Just wait until they do something wrong,” Marcus replied after thinking about it for a moment. “We are all aware they’re there, we have Ashley surrounded, they aren’t going to get her. So just enjoy the party okay? This is New Years Eve.” Kevin opened his mouth to reply when suddenly he saw Q walking toward them with Dakota on one hip and Elenore on the other.


“Q? What is it, what’s the problem?” He asked, immediately rushing to his security guard and gathering his little girl into his arms.


“These two gave me the water works…and well, you know how much of a sucker I am for crocodile tears…Ellie wanted you and Dakota wanted Ashley.”


“You left the other children behind?” Nick asked as he watched Ashley hand Bella over to her sister so she could hold Dakota.


“I told the older kids who I knew were not going to try and escape the kiddie party the moment I left to go join the Karaoke crew. I made sure they were all standing next to the adult controlling the party before I left” Q explained as Dakota whose eyes were still full of tears reached for Ashley. Ashley gently took her from Q and hugged her close to her body causing the little girl to wrap her arms around her neck and latch on as if they were in the middle of an earthquake.


“What happened Ellie? Whats the matter?” Kevin asked his little girl as he sat down in a chair and shifted her so she was sitting on her knees in his lap facing him.


“I don’ts like being so far away from you,” Elenore whimpered and she hugged him tightly. “I missed you.” Kevin hugged her back and he rubbed his hand over her back in a slow circular motion as he kissed the top of her head.


“Kota?” Ashley asked softly as she noticed just how tight of a grip the four-year-old has on her. She doesn’t normally hold on this tight unless she is really frightened about something. The only time she’s ever held on this tight is right after they found out Thomas molested her.


“I just wanted you,” Dakota insisted. That was all she could say without giving Elenore’s plan away, though she wants nothing more then to do just that so her ‘mommy’ could make it all better.


“Why? Something is wrong Kota and I want to know about it,” Ashley insisted while casting Nick a worried glance.


“I don’ts want to talk about it, I just wants you…”


“Okay…but you know you can talk to me about anything right? You know I’m always going to try and make it better.”


“I know…”


“No matter how big the problem is,” Ashley added while looking over at Elenore sensing she didn’t just come up here because she misses Kevin. Dakota snuck a peek at Elenore as her face was partially hidden in Ashley’s shoulder and she gave her a hopeful look. What if they did tell Ashley what’s been bothering Ellie all this time? Then the grownups could help and it wouldn’t be such a big scary problem anymore. Why does it have to be a secret anyway? If Kevin sees how much this is hurting Ellie he is only going to want to help her even more and maybe then it would be so much easier then them trying to do it themselves. Maybe the president would listen if they had grownups on their side. Seeing Dakota looking at her Elenore quickly hid her face in Kevin’s shoulder. Dakota buried her face deeper in Ashley’s and Ashley felt her shoulder dampening.


“How about you come dance with me huh? Would that cheer you up some?” Ashley asked gently as Christina Aguilera who is onstage right now was just beginning the song I Turn To You.


“Kay…” Dakota’s muffled response was heard as she didn’t remove her face from Ashley’s shoulder. Ashley carried her out onto the dance floor and Marcus followed them but stopped a good enough distance away where he was giving them some privacy but not leaving them too alone. Brooke shook her head smiling some at the sight of Marcus standing out there alone. She kissed AJ’s cheek and then walked on out there and soon enough she and Marcus were dancing.


“Why don’t you sit here with Jerry Ellie, and my good friend Summer and I will go put our names down for some drinks to be delivered here. Will sparkling grape juice be okay for my little princess?” Kevin suggested. Elenore nodded quietly while casting Summer a curious look. Kevin handed Elenore over to Jerald and soon he and the strange woman that Elenore does not know were off to the bar. When they came back it was only a five-minute wait before the waiter arrived with their drinks. As he was handing Elenore her drink, she cast a look at Jerald and Kevin who were talking to Laney about something and then looked at the waiter and handed him her folded up napkin that reads daddy on the outside. He gave her a curious look and she motioned for him to move closer so she could whisper in his ear.


“Table six – Black Bandit. Makes sure he gets that.”


“Yes ma’am,” the waiter told her though he eyed her curiously for a moment before walking off toward table six.


“Kevy” Elenore spoke up after a few moments when she saw that he was finished talking to Laney.


“Yeah Princess?” he asked curiously as he knelt down in front of her.


“Who is Summer?” she wanted to know. The strange woman had walked off with the lady that she saw Jerald talking to way earlier so she used this as the opportunity to find out who is spending time with her Kevy.


“Just a fan of mine that I like talking to and dancing with,” Kevin answered carefully.


“Are you gonna starts datin’ her?”


“I don’t know,” Kevin smiled. “I just met her and I don’t know if I’m even going to see her again after tonight. Would you be okay if I started dating?”


“Only if she’s nice to me too…”


“But of course,” Kevin reassured while gently taking her hands into his and resting his forehead against hers.


“You and me are a package deal. I’m not going to date anybody who treats my princess bad, I promise.”


“Kay…” Elenore replied softly. Kevin gave her a goofy look causing her to giggle slightly and he placed a kiss on her nose before playfully gathering her up in his arms and carrying her off to dance. “This is my number one girl right here…always.” He told her as she nestled into him and let him sway with her. Elenore smiled contentedly at those words. So long as that’s established…then maybe she can be okay if there’s another girl in his life as well. Just so long, as she is always number one. Besides…she could use a mommy-figure in her life.