Chapter 15

Taylor and Tru sat in those grandstands for an hour. Tru just holding Taylor letting her cry. The cars were pulling off the track signaling an end to practice. Tru looked at a now calmer Taylor. "Taylor, have you told Brian?"

"No, I can’t. He’s just starting his career. This is going to ruin him."

"No it won’t, he needs to know and before anyone else finds out. He also needs to hear it from you. Have you seen a doctor?"

"No, I just found out today. When Brian went to practice I took a home test. We were so careful, Tru, I swear. There was only one time that we didn’t use anything."

"I believe you, it happens." Tru said looking over to the garage area. They were sitting across from the 8 garage and she watched as they lowered the hood on the car. Tru knew Dale would be headed back to the coach soon. "Ok, look, you need to calm down. Let’s get thru this weekend and Monday morning you and I both will go see a doctor. OK? But Taylor you have to chill if Junior gets wind that something is wrong," she sighed. "Neither of us are going to want to deal with him sooner than we have too."

They walked back to Taylor’s coach. Teresa wanted to make sure that Dale and Tru kept their privacy but didn’t want them too far away, so she sent her own coach to the tracks for Taylor and they kept it parked next to Dale and Tru’s. "Call me if you need anything?" She hugged the younger girl.

"I will, thanks Tru?"

"It’ll be ok, why don’t you go lay down and call me later if you want to get a bite to eat." Taylor nodded and let herself into the coach. Tru watched her go before slowly turning to her coach. Not knowing Dale Sr. personally she didn‘t know exactly how he would have reacted to this news, she did however, know how her husband would react. She looked to the sky. "You know if you are paying attention, I could use a little help down here."

A few days later Tru found herself escorting the youngest Earnhardt to her first OBGYN appointment. "You want me to come in with you?"

"No, I’ll be ok. Thanks."

As typical doctors appointments Taylor met Tru in the waiting room nearly two hours later. She had actually seen the doctor for only 30 minutes, the rest of the time was spent waiting. She fell into the chair next to Tru, noticing Tru’s uneasyness. "You ok."

"Yeah, just sick of sitting here. What’s up?"

Taylor took a deep breath. "It’s positive, I have a prescription for prenatal vitamins but I can’t go get this filled, I can just see that getting out to the press."

"Hold on." Tru walked up to the nurse and spoke to her for a little while. She came back with a bottle. "Here this will get you through the first trimester. You will get another prescription later in the pregnancy, if the doctor thinks you need them and by then, everyone will know. Come on, let’s get out of here."

The following weekend Taylor, after having a few days to clear her head and think, decided she had to tell Brian. She had asked Tru to go with her. Tru stood quietly in the background just staying nearby for moral support, she figured he would need it as much as she would.

"Oh, man. Are you sure?"

Taylor shook her head. "I saw a doctor. I am almost 8 weeks along."

"Eight weeks?" She could see him visibly counting the weeks in his head. "Oh."

"Yeah, the one time we thought what the hell." She half laughed, she could tell he wanted to run from the room. She suddenly stood. "Maybe I should go and let you be alone for a while."

She started to walk away when he stopped her. "No, I don’t want you to be alone. Stay, we can be alone and think together." He smiled and Tru had a feeling that these two would be ok. She was getting ready to leave them alone when the door flew open and a very irate Junior stormed in.

He grabbed Brian by the neck and slammed him against the wall. "It’s you isn’t it." He screamed. "You are the one who did this to her."

"Junior!" Taylor screamed. "Let him go."

"How could you fucking do this? She’s 17."

"Dale let him go." Tru stepped up surprising Dale.

"What the hell are you doing here? You knew? How the hell could you not tell me?"

Tru looked to Taylor who had retreated to the corner and was crouching down crying uncontrollably, then to Brian who was choking, Dale had such a strong grasp on his neck. She looked up to Dale as she tried to pull his arm of Brian and sarcastically said. "Gee, I fucking wonder. Let him go!"

He heard Taylor scream. "See, I told you he would hate me, that he would never forgive me. I knew he wouldn‘t be on my side." He turned to see her run from the coach, her words stinging his heart as they sunk in. He slowly let go of Brian and stepped back.

Tru grabbed his arm. "Brian go after her make sure she is ok, I will be there in a minute." After Brian left she paced the room for a few minutes calming herself before she spoke. "I have spent the past week trying to convince her that you, her mother, everyone would support her. She is so scared that everyone is going to be disappointed in her." She turned staring him down. "Mostly, she thinks that your father wouldn’t love her anymore because of this, then you coming charging in here acting like a spoiled child feeding her paranoia. How the hell did you find out anyway?"

Dale had since sat and was very quiet as he whispered. "Daddy would love her no matter what."

"I know but she’s scared and can’t see past that right now and your little scene here didn’t help. How did you find out?" She asked again raising her voice.

"I was looking for some papers on Chance 2, I found an envelope I thought it was them. Instead I found pregnancy test results. I saw Earnhardt and I thought it was you, I thought we were having a baby." Tru took a deep breath as Dale continued. "Then I saw Taylor’s name. I’ve noticed them spending a lot of time together recently and just assumed."

"You behaved horribly."

"I know. I’m sorry."

Tru shook her head. "Dale sorry isn’t always going to fix it." He looked up at her. "You always just charge right in screaming and then ask questions after you’ve pissed everyone off or made everything worse. You have to stop behaving like this. What would you have done if this had been our daughter? What if down the road this happens to her?" She looked at him not letting him answer. "Doesn’t matter, not like we’re going to have a daughter." She turned to the door.

Dale shook his head confused wondering how the conversation just turned to them, before jumping to his feet and grabbing her arm. "What do you mean, isn’t going to be? Tru, what the hell is going on?"

She was suddenly very angry. "If you had been just slightly more nosey and dug through the paperwork you would have found my test results." She watched as the frown turned into pure glee and it broke her heart to have to destroy that. "But it doesn’t matter. We can’t have it."

Chapter 16

"What? Tru?" Dale was in shock. How could she say such a thing?

"God Dale, I didn’t want you to find out. I didn‘t want to put this extra pressure on you."

"Tru, baby, why would you say such a thing? How could you not want me to know? This isn’t pressure it’s what we have always wanted, a baby, our baby. What the fuck do you mean you aren‘t having it?" He went from confused to hurt to angry in a matter of seconds.

She looked him in the eye. "It isn’t even a baby. Something went horribly wrong, I have a molar pregnancy." Dale looked at her completely lost. "Look, can we talk about this later? We need to find your sister and make sure she is ok."

He grabbed her arm. "No," He yelled at her as she went for the door. "we have to…you need to…Tru, I don’t understand." He cried.

Tru’s heart went out to him as his eyes filled with tears. She hadn’t meant to be so short and uncaring with him. She didn’t know how to deal with this herself let alone help him through it. "June, I’m so sorry, I didn‘t mean to act so horribly to you." She wrapped her arms around him and held him as her own eyes filled with tears. She could feel the wetness from his cheeks on her neck. "Ok, slow down. Let’s go find Tay and Brian, he’ll take care of her tonight and then we can go back to the coach and I’ll explain everything. Ok."

He nodded his head trying to get his composure back still trying to rationalize everything that was happening. "How are you so calm?" He asked as she opened the door.

"I have to be."

Brian had calmed Taylor considerably but she was still upset when Dale and Tru came out of the coach. She sensed something was wrong right away, she could see Dale fighting back tears and Tru was unusually quiet. Brian never took his arms away from her and they both just watched as Tru and Dale approached.

Dale let go of Tru‘s hand only to wrap his arms around Taylor. "Tay, I am so sorry for earlier. You do know how much I love you right? Nothing will ever change that. Can we talk tomorrow, after the race just you and me?"

"Yeah, of course." She hugged her brother suddenly concerned and not just for herself. She turned back to Brian as they headed to his coach.

"Brian?" Brian and Taylor stopped as Dale walked up to him. "I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have been like that back there. We’ll figure this out later just take care of her tonight."

Brian shook his hand and they all went their separate ways. Back in their own coach Tru grabbed the paperwork the doctor gave her and handed it to Dale. She sat next to him as he read through it, she could tell he was struggling with all of it, he would stop and ask questions when he got stuck on something.

"Complete or partial? What is yours and what does that mean?"

"Mine is complete, there is no normal placental tissue and all the chromosomes came from you, so the egg from me was empty, so to speak. Cause of that no embryo ever even formed. If it had been partial there would have been an embryo but it would have formed by 2 sperms but there would have been an abnormal embryo and abnormal placenta instead of twins. It‘s still rare but becoming more common it‘s a 1 in a 1500 chance of it happening and it usually happens to women over 40 but…" She said through sniffles as he pulled her into his body but continued to read the information she gave him.

"So there’s no baby?"

"No. There isn’t anything we could have done. I know that doesn’t help or make it easier but it’s what they told me."

She felt him tense. "You could get cancer? Tru this could kill you?" He looked at her scared.

She nodded her head. "There is a 20% chance that it could turn into a cancer, yes; but there are several tests and precautions that will be taken. I am going in Monday morning and they will evacuate the pregnancy, clean out everything. Then I will go in every 1 to 2 weeks to get my Beta hCG levels taken to test for any precancerous cells, they will do regular physical and pelvic exams until everything gets back to normal."

Dale thought that losing a baby was hard he suddenly was faced with losing his wife and he wasn’t ready to lose her again. "Is there anything we can do to prevent it?"

"No, pray, hope, we just have to leave it in the hands of a greater power."

Dale put the papers down and pulled her into his arms. They laid there for a while crying and holding each other until he finally spoke. "So can we?" He was almost scared to hear the answer.

"Chances are very good that as long as there isn’t any cancer and my ovaries and uterus heal completely that yes I can get pregnant and have a normal pregnancy and a healthy baby."

He stood pulling her up with him and lifted her, carrying her back to the bedroom. He laid her on the bed and crawled in next to her, holding on for dear life. She felt his hands go to her stomach and she couldn’t stop the tears that started all over again.

The next day Taylor joined Tru atop the Bud box and she couldn’t help but notice how tired Tru looked. "So what’s going on?"

"Huh, oh, nothing."

"Come on Tru, I’m not stupid. Something is wrong. I have only seen my brother cry twice, once when daddy died and when you and he broke up." Tru looked at her. "He didn’t know I was there, it was the first time I realized something was weird about you too breaking up. But that’s another whole topic of conversation. He was doing all he could to stop the tears when you too came out of Brian’s coach last night and I am pretty sure it wasn’t about you ripping him a new one."

Tru looked at her. "Ok, look yeah there is something wrong." She looked at Pops who couldn’t hear them but was right there. "Not now, let’s just get the hell out of here and we will talk later."

As the engines roared to life and the cars pulled out onto the track Taylor agreed it wasn’t the right place. They watched what was to be a bad day for both Earnhardt and Vickers. Neither of their heads were in the race and both were taken out by separate wrecks.

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

"I will call you when I get in and we can decided when to tell your mom."

"Ok, thanks. I will talk to you then." Brian gently kissed Taylor on the cheek and sent her up the steps to the DEI jet.

Once on the plane she grabbed a seat in the back by herself lost in her thoughts. She didn’t hear Dale sit next to her. "Taylor. Earth to Taylor." She looked at him. "Hey, I’d ask where you were but don’t think I need to."

"Yeah, lot going on up there." She pointed to her head.

"Look, I know I really blew it the other day…"

"Dale…"

"No, just wait a minute. I did and Tru was right, I need to start thinking before I act. When you said that I hated you yesterday." He paused. "Nothing could ever be farther from the truth. No, I’m not happy that you’re pregnant but I am in no way disappointed in you and I will never think less of you or not love you anymore. None of us will, we love you and will support you no matter what."

She stared out the window as they took off. She watched the ground get smaller and then stared out into the clouds, almost as if she was looking for something. "What would he say? Would he forgive me?" Her voice cracking and the tears reappearing.

"Oh God Tay, you know what he would say. He’d smack you on the back of the head, tell you he taught you better than that, then he’d smack Brian upside the head, tell him he’d be watching him; then he would do that same little ‘I’m getting a grandbaby dance’ he did over Karsyn and Kerry’s kids."

He half smiled as Taylor took his hand and laughed. "You’re right, it’s just, I miss him so much and would do anything to have him smack me on the head right now."

She fell into his arms. "I know, I do to. But we have to remember he is here, he always is. Think of it this way, maybe just maybe, he had a hand in picking out this little one just for you."

Tru joined them quietly and Taylor smiled, wiping her eyes. "What about you two? I know you want kids, when are you going to have one." Tru and Dale looked at each other before looking back to Taylor. "What? What’s wrong?"

Tru took a deep breath. "You know when I said we would talk later, well, how about now?"

Taylor was once again in tears by the time they finished their story. "Listen to me. I am going to be fine, you can’t worry about this. You need to stay strong and stress free for that baby. We will get through this, don’t drive yourself crazy over this."

"I’m so sorry." She fell into Tru’s arms. Tru looked to Dale with a feeling a déjà vu. She was getting really tired of all the bad luck this family seemed to have, things had to start looking up soon.

Chapter 17

Two days later Dale, Tru, Kerry, Kelly,Taylor, Brian, and Teresa sat in the living room of the Earnhardt ranch. Everyone sat stunned at Teresa’s reaction. "I can’t believe you did this. How could you be so stupid?"

Taylor started crying again, after all they had done to convince her everything would be ok, her own mother destroys all that. "Teresa, come on, calm down let’s talk about this." Kelly said.

"No, this is ridiculous. You can’t have a baby, you are only 17, like hell if you are getting married at this age, what are you going to do be a single mother?"

"Teresa, I…"

"That’s Mrs. Earnhardt." She turned glaring at Brian. Tru couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

"Ok, Mrs. Earnhardt, I promise you that I have every intention of being there for Taylor and the baby. We have no plans of getting married but I won’t turn my back on this child. I want to help her raise it and be a part of it’s life."

"You bet your ass you will. I have raised my kids, although apparently not well enough, and I have buried my husband, my responsibilities are over."

"Teresa." Dale said pulling Brian back and towards Taylor who was now in hysterics on the couch.

Kerry stepped in trying to be the calming voice in the middle of madness. "Look, Taylor is a smart, responsible young lady who is going to make an amazing mother. And let me be the first to remind everyone, she isn’t exactly the first Earnhardt to get pregnant or married young. Hell, we’ve practically all done it, including daddy."

"And where did it get any of you. Kelly should have gotten married years ago. You could barely support yourself or your kids…"

"Ok, that’s it…" Dale interrupted her tirade.

"Dale." Tru interrupted.

"I’m not going to yell but…"

"No Dale do. Now is the perfect time to fucking yell." Tru said standing and getting into Teresa‘s face, her own stress pushing the limits of healthy. No one but Dale and Taylor knew about the pregnancy or the procedure that had been done earlier that week. "How can you do this to your own daughter. She’s your blood. Look at her, that’s your baby carrying one of her own…"

Dale gently pulled her back knowing all this stress was extremely dangerous for her condition right now. "Taylor, Kelly, Brian, Tru go upstairs and pack some stuff up."

"Why?" Brian asked.

"Cause I am not leaving her here." He turned back to Teresa. "You know, there has always been some tension between us but I really thought we had worked past all that since daddy died and became friends but you know, you have become a first class bitch in the past year and a half. Now, I don’t know what your mid life crises, paranoia, problem is all of a sudden but you will not treat her or any of us this way." Taylor and them came back downstairs. "Go get in the car." Taylor didn’t say anything she just looked at her mother with pleading eyes only to be turned away from. Brian put his arm around Taylor and led her outside. Kerry and Kelly followed. Dale turned back to Teresa. "She will be at the house with me and Tru if you decide to act like her mother and not some psychopath." He took Tru’s hand and headed to the door. He stopped just as he grabbed the knob and turned back looking at Teresa, who seemed unmoved by any of the previous occurrences. "You know, for the first time I’m glad daddy isn’t here. Cause if he saw you treating his daughter this way you sure as hell would have become ex-wife number 3." He walked out the door, Tru at his side. He looked to everyone. "We’re going home, you ok?" Kelly looked up at him doubt in her eyes. "Don’t. You are an amazing mother and your daughter is perfect. I don’t know what her problem is but don’t let her get to you, go home to your family and don‘t think of this again. Love you."

"Love you too."

"Dale can I come over?" Brian asked, Taylor already in his car.

"Yeah, meet us there."

In the truck Dale and Tru were silent still unbelieving what had just happened. He took her hand and squeezed it. She scooted over and put her head on his shoulder. "I’m sorry I didn’t talk to you first, I just couldn’t leave her there."

"Don’t be, I am so proud of you."

"You feeling ok?"

"Little tired. The meds they gave me are still reaking havoc on my body."

"I want you to go lay down when we get in. Brian and I will get Tay settled in the guest room."

"Usually I would fight you on that one but I am really just want to go to sleep."

Dale pulled up in front of the house and pulled Tru into his arms as they got out of the truck. Brian pulled up behind him and grabbed Taylors bags as she got out of the car. They all walked into the house in silence just wanting the day to be over and none of them too sure about tomorrow.

CHAPTER 18

They all tried to settle into some normal routine but it was hard especially on Taylor, she had slipped into a depressed state since the ordeal with her mother. Taylor had taken some time to herself and stopped going to the tracks, she did continue to help Kelly, which made Dale happy cause at least someone was watching her while they were at the tracks.

Word had gotten out about the pregnancy and the entire Nascar community, although shocked, were letting their support be known. "Hey rookie." Brian turned at the familiar voice. "Wait up."

"Hey Jeff, what’s up?"

"You ok, I haven’t had a chance to talk to you about everything."

"Yeah, it’s just weird ya know. One day everything is normal and the next I’m being told I’m going to be a dad. I guess it’s still sinking in."

"Where is Taylor? I haven’t seen her here this weekend. What are you two doing?"

Brian shifted nervously. "Well, I don’t know. We have kind of put off talking about us." Jeff raised an eyebrow. "Look, not too many people know about this, Teresa basically kicked Taylor out. She is living at Dale’s right now. It was horrible Jeff, I have never seen her like that. I mean I know I don’t know her and never really knew Dale Sr. but from the stories you all told of them…I was shocked at some of the things she said to Taylor."

"Kicked her out? How is Taylor?"

"Devastated. We all had told her that there wouldn’t be a problem now her own mom turns her back on her. She’s really upset, I’m worried about her."

As was everyone, long time family friends such as Michael, Steve, and Richard Childress, plus family like Tony Sr., and Teresa’s own mother in law Martha, had tried to talk to Teresa about what was going on but she would have nothing to do with any of them. She secluded herself away from everyone, no one could figure out what she was thinking and as the weeks went by they began to realize she wasn’t going to change anytime soon.

It took several weeks but Taylor finally started to slowly snap out of her depression, due mainly to the rounded belly she was already starting to get. She began to realize that this was really happening and that she couldn’t change it.

Tru’s tests continued to come back clean and her and Dale couldn’t be happier but as Taylor started showing Tru started having a feeling she was ashamed of. She was jealous, she was suppose to be having Dale’s baby right now and not only was she not but she was helping take care of Taylor. She hid it the best she could but she knew Dale and Taylor both sensed something was wrong, it’s just no one said anything.

Taylor was looking at apartments and houses, she wasn’t stupid she knew how hard this had to be on Dale and Tru. She was a little concerned about being alone but she also knew she would have Brian’s support and she thought maybe she was ready to venture out on her own. Her biggest concern was money. All her inheritence was in Teresa’s name and would be for another several months until her 18th birthday. Kelly, Kerry, and Dale were completely irate that Teresa had decided to hold out on her money. Taylor had already been put on the payroll at DEI for the work she did at the tracks but Kelly, Kerry, and Dale decided to up her pay until they could convince Teresa to turn over her money.

She had put college on hold until after the baby was born; one for convenience and two for financial reasons. Dale had offered to pay for her first year but he was doing so much already that she wouldn’t let him. Dale was taking care of everything right now and Taylor was grateful but didn’t want to depend on him for too much longer. Brian was helping her with buying baby stuff and maternity clothes for her and she felt completely helpless, like a child herself.

She was sitting at the computer at Dale’s looking at houses online when the doorbell rang. She greeted the postman who had a certified letter for her, she signed for it, thanked him and went back in the house. She tore open the letter and immediately recognized her mother’s handwriting.

"Oh God." She grabbed her purse and keys and ran out the door. She pulled into her mom’s driveway the tears already threatening to fall. She ran through the door. "Mom?" She noticed everything was untouched except for a few photos on the wall, family photos that were missing.

She ran upstairs to her mom’s bedroom. "Mom?" She found her room empty of any personal effects. The furniture was there but all her clothes, photos, jewelry were gone. "No, don’t leave me, I need you." She curled up on the bed and let the tears fall closing her eyes hoping that when she woke up it would all be a bad dream.

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

Tru walked into the house. "Hey Taylor you here." She noticed the computer was still on the realty page with a glass of juice half drank sitting next to it. "Taylor?" She then noticed the papers laying on the floor. She picked them up reading through them. "Oh my God." She ran out of the house and directly across the street to the DEI offices.

"Dale." She ran into the shop and Tony Sr., Junior, and Tony Jr. all turned at the panic in her voice. "Dale."

"Tru, what is it? What’s wrong?" She handed him the papers. "Oh shit. Where is Taylor?"

"I don’t know, she wasn’t home when I got there."

He handed the papers to Pops. "I bet she went to the house looking for Teresa." He grabbed Tru’s hand dragging her out of there before anyone could say anything.

They were at the house a few minutes later. "Taylor." Dale called out noticing a few photos missing here and there out of the living room. Tru headed up stairs sticking her head in Taylors old room, then in Teresa’s . She let out the breath she had been holding. "Dale."

She walked over to the bed and sat next to a sleeping Taylor. "Taylor."

"Thank God." Dale said running in the room.

"Taylor, honey wake up. Come on."

Taylor came to her eyes red and swollen. She looked at Tru then Dale. "She left me, why? I need her." She fell into Tru’s arms.

"Shh, it’s going to be ok. We’ll find her."

Dale watched as Taylor cried for her mother and wondered what to do now. He read through the papers again. Obviously, Teresa had bigger problems then any of them ever realized. She had seemed so strong, like she was in control after he died, everyone just assumed she was dealing with it. Now she had arranged for him to be in control of Taylor’s money. He felt that familiar feeling of anger, mistrust, and hurt surfacing towards his stepmother. He didn’t honestly know if everything really would be ok or not. On one side atleast they had Taylor’s money and she could move on with her life but he didn’t know how this 17 year old would deal with becoming a mother herself when her own mother had deserted her. He wasn’t so sure anything would ever be ok again.

"Come on, let’s go home." He pulled Taylor into his arms as the three of them walked from the house, once again not so sure of their future.

CHAPTER 19

The family was angry and hurt that Teresa could just turn her back on everything like she did but they did their best to keep the Earnhardt legacy a respectable and looked up to name in the Nascar community. Even in the off season the media circus that was their life only got worse as the days went by. Everyone already knew of the Vickers/Earnhardt baby but now rumors that the widow Earnhart had disappeared without a trace and word of Tru’s lost pregnancy had gotten out. There wasn’t a moments peace for anyone in the family.

Any progress Taylor made in her depression was thrown away by Teresa’s absence. Tru and Dale were becoming concered for Taylors health, and they weren‘t the only ones. "Dale, can I talk to you for a sec?"

"Yeah, what’s up?" Dale looked up from his desk at DEI as Brian shut the door behind him.

"I’m worried about Taylor. She has really been out of it since Teresa left. She barely eats, I know her hormones are out of whack but it seems she cries at nothing and I hate to say it but I’m not so sure she even cares about the baby anymore. I really don’t think she should get her own place."

"Yeah, I’ve noticed that when she is at the house she stays in her room and I can hear her crying but she won’t talk to any of us. I went out and looked at the place in Sherills Ford that she found and even though she would be close to Mikey, I’m not to sure I want her on her own."

"We just going to tell her we’re forbidding her to go?" Brian said sitting in one of the chairs across from him.

"Honestly, I don’t think she cares enough to even notice where she is anymore. I’m thinking of putting money down on the house for her, so she doesn’t loose it, but not letting her in it until she snaps out of this."

Brian looked out the window over Dale‘s shoulder. "She’s going to be ok, isn’t she?"

Dale looked at the younger man and saw the concern in his eyes. "You really do care for her don’t you?"

"Yeah, I do. I mean I’m not in love with her but I don’t want anything to happen to either her or the baby. You know it’s amazing I was terrified when she first told me, I thought my life was over."

"And now?"

"I’m still scared to death but everyday I see her and see her body changing, I realize that’s my baby causing those changes."

"Can I ask you something personal?"

Brian eyed Dale. "Sure."

"Is anything going on with the two of you, physically, I mean?"

"Not anymore, it was up until the day she told me about the baby. Everything changed that day."

Dale tried to choose his words carefully, Tru’s voice in the back of his head telling him to not get upset. "Why were you two together?"

Brian knew what he was getting at. "I never used her, you have to believe that. The first time it happened wasn’t too long after she started coming to the track." Brian didn’t know how much information he should willingly offer. "I never intended it to be a one night stand, I wanted more, she thought that you guys, mainly her mom I think, wouldn’t be too happy with the difference in our ages so she wanted to hide it for a while. We spent time together when we could and it became physical very quickly. Maybe had we dated and done the whole traditional thing, we would have waited, I don’t know. It’s not like I am purposely trying to not be with her now but I’m scared it might confuse the situation even more. Especially with her being so depressed."

"I should probably ask her this but I know she won’t tell me the truth. Were you her first?"

Brian looked to the ground before meeting his stare. "Yes." Dale took a deep breath. "Look, maybe when I said I cared about her, it wasn’t a strong enough statement. I’m not in love with her to the point of being ready to get married and say I do forever; but it’s not like she is a casual aquaintance either. I would never slept with her in the first place if all she was going to be was a one night stand. I care about her a lot and I would love for us to be together with this baby but she is pushing me away more and more by the day. I don’t want to piss her off and have her cut me out all together."

Dale wasn’t happy with the situation but he could see the care and concern in Brian’s eyes for his baby sister and he knew she would be well taken care of as long as he was around. "Look, I have never been one to lie or hide my feelings. I’m not happy with the situation. My baby sister is pregnant from the first guy she ever sleeps with at the age of 17." Brian was getting nervous. He knew this talk was about 5 months in the making. "But it did happen and I have a feeling you will do right by both of them and I’m glad she has you to lean on, even if she isn’t right now, she’ll need you down the road. Taylor doesn’t know this, I don’t want to get her hopes cause it doesn’t look good, but I’m trying to find Teresa. I have a private investigator working on it but she has covered her tracks pretty good. This wasn’t a spur of the moment decision. All her credit cards were cancelled and she took out a hefty amount of money over the past several months from her main account. Her lawyer says he doesn’t know where she is but had a feeling she was leaving for a while, he had no idea she wasn’t telling anyone however. It seems she had been planning this for awhile. Which now explains the urgency to sell DEI."

"Wow, I didn’t have a clue anything was wrong."

"Yeah, no one did. I don’t know that we will find her until she is ready to be found. Which means Taylor is going to need us all even more."

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

By the time she was 24 weeks along everyone was extremely worried about Taylor and Dale was considering the drastic measures of admitting her to a hospital to ensure the well being of the baby. He had also noticed the difference in Tru’s behavior. She was moody, actually she was downright crabby. She swore she was fine, all her tests results came back clean week after week but something wasn’t right.

He came home from the shop one evening to a scene he never thought he would see. "How the hell can you do this? Do you even have a reasonable thought in your head right now?" Tru screamed.

Dale ran to Taylor’s room were the yelling was coming from. "What the…?"

He watched as Tru grabbed Taylor’s hand and pressed it on her own stomach. "Do you feel that? God, do you feel anything anymore? That’s your baby, the baby you are willing to just throw away."

"Tru." Dale slowly approached her laying his hands on her shoulders.

She turned and pushed him with a force he didn’t expect and he fell back towards the door hitting his head on the door frame as he went down. "Back the fuck off." He sat there shocked holding his head watching her, as did Taylor who was suddenly knocked out of her stupor and scared. "You are killing this baby, apparently a baby you shouldn’t even be having, the baby I should be having. We wanted this baby so bad and we lost ours. Imagine that child being ripped away from you, would you even care? I’m sorry your dad died but he left 3 other children, I’m sorry your mother left, but again you aren’t the only one she hurt the day she decided to run instead of asking for help. I’m so fucking sorry that you are 17 and pregnant but that is your own damn fault, you are not the pivotal point in the universe. Grow up, deal with it and move on with your life." She turned and ran out of the room stepping over Dale in the process.

He didn’t know what to do. He looked to Taylor who was crying. "Stay here I will be right back." He ran to the door but she was already backing out of the driveway as he stepped out on the porch. "Shit."

"I’m sorry."

He heard her shaking scared voice behind him. "Come here Tay," He wrapped her in his arms and led her back into the house. "This isn’t your fault, I don’t know what got into her."

"Yes it is. It’s completely my fault. She’s right and you know it, you just didn’t want to say it. I knew how hard this had to be on her watching me advance in the pregnancy when it should be her, I guess I didn’t realize what I had done. God Brian must hate me." Her own hands going to her rounded belly. "I’m so sorry."

Dale wasn‘t so sure which of the two of them she was talking to anymore. "Tay, Brian doesn’t hate you. He’s worried about you, like we all are but he cares about you, a lot, and I think you two need to talk about your future."

"Is Tru ok?"

He looked out towards the front yard and sighed. "I don’t know. I need to find her first then I will worry about if she’s ok."

CHAPTER 20

She had been missing for over 6 hours, it was now dark and Dale was at a loss. He had called everyone he knew after calling her cell phone and hearing it ring in their bedroom. No one had seen or heard from her and Dale was getting scared for her safety.

"I’ve never seen her like that. The anger, God there was so much anger in her."

"You know she has every right to be angry. I would be angry too, hell, I am angry." Dale turned looking at his older sister. "June, she has always been so strong, kept everyone going. Well, even the strong can be broken. Think of what she has gone through in the past couple of years. She lost you, got you back only to find out that she didn’t have to lose you in the first place. She had a one-night stand that damn near broke you two back up. She lost a baby, deals with the fact that everyday they may tell her she has cancer and is dying. She is dealing with the pressure of running your company while keeping this family and you running at normal strength through crisis after crisis. And on top of everything she is watching Taylor have the baby that you two wanted. Not to mention the everyday pressure of praying that the race is a successful one and that her husband comes home to her safe and in one piece. I don’t know how she stayed as sane as she did for so long and you know what, maybe she didn’t behave like she should have but with the exception of a bump on your head; she didn’t hurt anyone and she knocked Taylor out of her state of helplessness."

Dale was silent, he knew she was stressed, hell he was. Losing a baby, even one that never really existed tore him in two and watching Taylor advance in the pregnancy had been harder than even he thought it would be. "I’m just scared, you didn’t see her Kelly. I don’t know what she is capable of at this point." He stared out the window at every car that went by hoping to see her pull in the driveway.

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

The rain had started falling an hour ago and she was soaked to the bone already. She laid on the ground staring at the sky her tears mixing with the raindrops falling on her skin. "Please forgive me. I didn’t mean to lose it like that with her. I love her so much, she is the little sister I never had but I can’t watch this anymore. She is destroying herself and the baby." She rolled onto her side and curled into a ball as the rain started to fall harder. "Teresa leaving was so hard on her I know but she is taking it out on an innocent life." Her tears fell harder as she thought of Junior. "I love him so much that it sometimes still scares the hell out of me. I think of what would happen to me if I lost him and I can understand why Teresa left. I know damn well I would want to run away from the world and his memory. Maybe that’s part of the reason I yelled at Taylor." She wrapped her arms around herself and pressed her hands against where her baby should be. "Why did this happen? Why can’t I have his baby? Please don’t hate me. I need help, I can‘t do this alone."

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

Dale stood suddenly as he heard the loud explosion. "What the hell was that?" Kelly yelled.

"I don’t know." he opened the door and stepped out into the rain. He walked to the back of the house to see a huge tree branch lying on the back patio. Kelly unlocked the back door so he didn’t have to walk back around. "Tree fell. Took out some lawn furniture but not too much damage. I’ll check it out in the morning but it looks like it got hit by lighting." He said shaking the water from his hair. "It’s really coming down out there. What’s that?" He looked at the paper in Kelly’s hand.

"Oh they were on the floor, must have fallen from the shaking of the crash." Kelly said handing him the photos and cleaning up the glass.

"Yeah it looks like the limb may have bounced off the roof. Lucky it wasn’t a bigger branch, might have come right through." He looked at the photos. Photos he hadn’t thought of in years. "Wow, I forgot I just kept putting new pictures over the old ones. I haven’t seen these in years."

"What are they?"

"Just different family pics. I was always too lazy to find a new spot so I would just cover up the old photo." He held up one. "Karsyn at 6 months." Then another. "The three of us at that Christmas party that year. And…" He stared at the last photo his mind suddenly spinning from the thoughts running through it.

"What?"

"I gotta go, I know where she is? Go home, we’ll be ok. I’ll call you tomorrow and let you know what happened." He ran out the door suddenly it all making sense.

Wondering what had gotten into Junior, Kelly looked at the final photo. It was an arial shot of Dale Sr.’s tomb out on the Earnhardt farm.

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

It was an unusually warm winter for North Carolina but it was still January and the rain was making it seem even colder. She ran out of the house so quickly that she had forgotten to grab a coat and now her body was shaking from the cold but she didn’t have the strength to stand. She closed her eyes not caring what happened, she felt like a failure for losing the baby, for losing control with Taylor, and just not being strong enough to handle what was thrown at her. She couldn’t control her own body as the numbness started taking over, what wasn’t numb felt like needles piercing her skin from the down pour. Suddenly, she saw a flash of light and then felt warm arms circle her body and lift her off the ground. She was pretty sure she was delirious as she opened her eyes. "Dale?" She whispered barely loud enough for him to hear.

"Shh baby. It’s all going to be ok." He carried her to the truck and laid her across the seat. He grabbed a blanket out of the toolbox in the back and wrapped her body in it. He got behind the wheel and pulled her as close to him as he could. He ran his hands along her arms trying to warm her skin. "Tru? Tru baby, come on wake up for me." She moaned softly and he realized just how exhausted physically and emotionally she must have been. He wrapped the blanket around her tightly, placing her head in his lap and flipped the heat to high. He looked at the marble tomb before pulling out towards the main road. "Thanks daddy." He looked down at his wife. "It’s going to be ok baby, I’ll take care of you."

Dale carried Tru into the house and straight to the bedroom. He laid her on the bed then ran to the bathroom starting a warm bath. He undressed both of them and carried her into the sunken tub. He held her in his arms and tried to warm her body. "Tru? Come on baby." She moaned as he poured the warm water over her shoulders. The shaking was starting to slow but he knew she wouldn’t wake anytime soon.

He got her out of the tub and put her to bed wrapping her in several blankets then laying beside her and trying to warm her with his body heat. She snuggled into his arms and drifted into a peaceful rest.

He stayed by her side the rest of the night and into the morning. He heard his front door close and then heard Kelly’s voice. "Dale?"

"Shh. She’s still asleep."

"You didn’t call." She glared at him.

"I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking about anything but getting her warm."

Brian entered the bedroom with Taylor timidly following behind. "How is she?"

"She’s asleep still. Has been for over 12 hours." He looked back at her.

"Did you call the doctor?" Kelly asked.

"This morning. She wants her to come in either later today or tomorrow for an extra test. She said there shouldn’t be anything to worry about but wants to just be careful with all the stress she has been under."

"Where was she?"

"Daddy’s." They all looked from Dale to each other. "I don’t know why?"

"Dale, We talked and I’m going to stay at Brian’s for a while, I think it would be best." Taylor said never letting go of Brian’s hand.

"You don’t have to do that. She is going to want to see you."

"And I’ll come over later after we get back from the doctors but I think it would be better, for her, for both of you, if I weren’t here."

Dale hated that she was right but he knew she was. Tru needed her life back; they needed their life back. "What about that house?" He asked as they walked into the hall.

"I don’t know. Brian and I have been talking and we thought we would try this for a little while."

Dale looked at Brian knowing the answer before he asked. "You both ok with this?"

Brian shook his head. "I want her there, especially for the last couple of months of the pregnancy." He squeezed her hand.

"Ok, you want me to cancel the money on the house?" Taylor nodded her head. "Ok, I’ll do it tomorrow. If you need help moving." He walked back in the doorway and looked at Tru. "Find someone else." He didn’t mean to be short it’s just his main concern was Tru right now. He couldn’t help but to think this was his fault, he convinced her to take on Chance 2, he brought Taylor into the house and had Tru taking care of her. Not to mention the whole Margo situation. He sighed and walked to the bed and sat pulling her back into his arms.

A few hours later Dale felt Tru move in his arms. "Tru?"

"Mmm, Dale?"

"Yeah baby, it’s ok, you’re safe."

She stretched in his arms and rolled over to face him but suddenly sat straight up. "Taylor."

"Shh, lay back down. It’s ok, she’s at Brian’s, and she is going to stay there from now on."

She started crying. "I’m so sorry Dale. I don’t know what happened, I just snapped."

"It’s ok, for what it’s worth, you snapped her out of it. Her and Brian have talked and they are going to try living together, he is taking her to the doctor this afternoon. She is more worried about you and that you are mad at her. Said she would come by later." He kissed her forehead as she fell into his arms.

He let her cry for a few moments then asked. "Baby, why did you go out there?"

She got silent and looked away before saying. "I don’t want him to hate me."

"What? Who? Daddy? Why would you think he would?"

"I failed to take care of his little girl, I can’t give you a son, the only thing I haven’t done is run your company into the ground, yet."

Dale had never seen her like this; her confidence and self-respect were disappearing quickly. He held her even tighter. "I wish you could have met him. Tru, listen to me, he would have loved you. I know that for a fact. Know why?" She shook her head into his chest. "Cause you’re strong, loving, you do take care of everyone, you have kept this family going more than once. He would love the fact that you don’t take my shit. We will have a baby; it’s just going to take time, we can’t rush it, we have to make sure you’re healthy." He lifted her chin to meet his stare. "Tru if it isn’t meant to be, then we will deal with that later. Right now I just want you to realize how much you are loved by not only me but this entire family and that includes daddy."

She didn’t say anything just held on to him. "Promise me something?"

"What?" She said in between sobs.

"That you won’t let this happen again. When you feel this building up you’ll talk to me and if you can’t talk to me call Kelly, Taylor, Mikey, someone."

She was quiet for a minute. "You think you could get the name of the doctor Steve has been seeing? I don’t feel like I’m in control anymore. I haven’t been since the doctor told me the baby was gone. I feel so lost and helpless."

Dale took a deep breath, upset that it had come to this but happy that she was willing to get help. "I’ll call Steve this afternoon. We’ll go see the doctor together." She leaned up and kissed him running her hands through his hair. He winced as her hand ran over the bump on his head. She pulled away and looked at him. "What?" She looked at his head and saw the bump. "I did that, didn’t I? I’m so sorry."

"I know you are baby, you didn’t mean it." He pulled her onto his lap and kissed her passionately. There was a knock on the bedroom door. Dale looked at it as he grabbed his jeans pulling them on. "We have to get all our spare keys back." He laughed. "Come in."

Taylor stuck her head in the door. "Hi,, we just came to pick up my stuff." She said avoiding Tru’s stare.

"I’m glad you’re here. Please come in." Tru waved her in pulling a tee over her head.

"I’m going to help Brian load the car." Dale said wanting to give them some privacy. He kissed Tru and then kissed Taylor on the forehead.

"Hey, have a seat." Taylor sat on the end of the bed still unable to make eye contact with Tru. "I am so sorry. I had no right to yell at you that way."

"It’s ok, Tru, you did. I know I just shut down, I didn‘t do it on purpose. I couldn’t imagine my life without mom or dad." She started crying again. "I know I have to do this, I have to go on, for her."

"Her?" Tru wasn’t sure who she meant.

"We just found out today. It’s a little girl." She said as she wiped the tears away and smiled. "I’m having a little girl."

"I’m so happy for you, for both of you. Please forgive me." Tru pulled Taylor into her arms.

"God Tru, I was never mad at you. I don’t know why you guys put up with as much as you did from me."

"Because we love you and you were lost."

"So were you."

Tru nodded. "Yeah I still am, but we’re going to take care of that and we’ll all get through this, I promise. We have this little one to welcome and in about 5 to 6 months Dale and I can hopefully start trying again." She hugged the younger girl again. "Come on, I’m starving, let’s go get the guys some dinner."

CHAPTER 21

The next several weeks seemed to fly by just as they always do as Daytona approaches. Tru continued talking with her therapist about not only the baby but about Junior. She found that it helped with the underlying fear of losing him, the same fear that Teresa had to face first hand and alone; and she decided to pass that information along and try and save the rest of the family. Then maybe they could save Teresa.

The empty feeling her mother had left her with was still there but Taylor would no longer allow it to control her. She talked at length with Tru about Junior, her mom and her dad, and all the feelings, that as her and Brian became closer she started to understand more and more. She wasn’t ready to forgive her mom and she knew that it would be awhile down the road before she could; but she felt stronger day by day and was beginning to actually believe she could do this.

Her and Brian were adjusting to being together all the time, they both felt more than just a friendship for the other but were scared. Scared of the baby that was on her way, of their feelings for one another, scared to mess up the ‘family’ that they were quickly becoming. They had originally jumped into this relationship and although they wouldn’t say it was wrong it was fast. They decided that their best option was to start their relationship over, it would be awhile after the baby came that they could get physical with each other again and they were actually happy for it. This time would allow for them to get to know each other better and become the family they were both wanting to become.

Taylor was due just a few days before the 500 and everyone was hoping she would arrive on time if not early. The last thing anyone needed was to be pulling drivers out of their cars in the middle of the race.

Dale and Tru were sitting in their coach watching the highlights from the Bud Shootout the night before. "I can’t believe Smoke passed me to win that on the final lap." Tru was lost in thought staring at a calander. "Hon, hey, you ok?"

She looked at him. "Oh yeah, just thinking."

"About."

She smiled at him. "You realize that in 2 months we can start trying for another baby." He got quiet. "Dale? What is it? I’d thought you’d be happy?"

"I am. It’s just."

"You’re scared."

He looked at her. "Yeah. Terrified that it’ll happen again and that I’ll lose you both this time."

"I’m scared too but our odds of this happening again are slim, most woman go on to have healthy normal pregnancy‘s and babies. I love you so much and I have every intention doing what I have to do to give you not only a baby but the son you have always wanted."

"I don’t care what it is, as long as you are both healthy. That‘s all that matters to me." Just then the phone rang. "yello, yeah, ok, we’re on our way." He hung up the phone. "Taylor is in labor, her and Brian are on their way to Halifax."

Knowing that the baby would be born before Brian could get home from Daytona and not wanting him to miss his daughters birth, Taylor and both families had gone to Daytona. "Here we go." She grabbed her jacket and purse as she dialed her cell phone. "Hey Kelly, yeah it’s time."

Dale was on his phone at the same time as they headed to the truck. "Kerry, she’s on her way. See ya there."

"Mikey!" Tru yelled as they drove past the garage. "Taylor is in labor, find Pops and Tony Jr., see if ya can find Gordon, and get everyone to the hospital."

"On our way." He yelled before jogging off to find Buffy and everyone else.

Dale and Tru were the first ones to the hospital and Dale decided to wait in the waiting room, not wanting to crowd Taylor and a little apprehensive about what might be going on in that room. Tru stuck her head in the room. "Hey can I come in?"

"Tru, yes please." Brian said frantically, as he jumped up and met her at the door. "Help me please." He whispered.

"I heard that." Taylor yelled glaring at him from the other side of the room.

Tru laughed. "Dale is in the waiting room, go join him for a while. I will stay here and keep Tay company."

Brian threw his arms around Tru’s neck. "Thank you." He walked back to Taylor’s bed and kissed her on the forehead. "I’ll be right outside if you need me." She nodded as he turned and left the room.

"So, how’s it going?" Tru asked as she sat down in Brian’s chair.

Taylor started crying. "That should tell you something." She pointed to Brian as he ran out of the room. "I know I’ve been horrible to him but I can’t help it."

Tru smiled. "It’s ok. He’s going to forgive you."

"I can’t control myself, I’m yelling at him one minute then kissing him and apologizing like crazy the next."

"It’s the hormones, you’re going to be fine I promise."

"I want mom." She cried as Dale walked through the door.

Tru sighed as she met Dale’s stare. He knew this day would be hard for her and unfortunately he didn’t know how to make it any easier. He sat on the edge of the bed and put his arm over her shoulders. "I know, I wish I knew what to say to make you feel better. Just know that we are all here and we love you."

There was a knock on the door. "Can I come in?"

"Mom?" Dale said standing and hugging her. "I didn’t know you were coming down?"

"Hi Brenda." Taylor said as she wiped the tears away.

The older woman looked at Taylor sympathetically. "Hi Taylor, your grandma wanted to come down but she is feeling under the weather, I told her I wanted to be here anyway. Can I talk to Taylor for a minute alone?" She said turning to Tru and Dale.

"Sure, we’ll go check on Brian." Dale said leading Tru out to the hall.

"Yes do. Mikey is telling him horror stories about Macy and Caitlyn being born. The poor boy looks like he is about to pass out." Brenda said as they left the room. She sat in the chair next to the bed. "I can only imagine what you are feeling right now. I know the raging hormones that are reaking havoc on your body and mind, and the pain. I’ve dealt with all that and at the same age. I remember how scared I was when Kelly came along. Doing it without your mom, I haven’t done that. And you shouldn’t either." She took Taylors hand in hers. "I know I’m not your mom and I would never try to take her place but I want you to know that if you need anything, help, advice, a shoulder to cry on, I would love it if you would come to me."

"Really?"

"Yes, Dale Jr. adores you and honestly, so do I." She smiled as she brushed Taylor’s hair out of her eyes. "You remind me so much of your father and I am happy for that cause it reminds me of all those happy years I had with him before it went downhill. He would have wanted to be here today and he would be so proud of you. I picture him running around handing out cigars and we might have even gotten him in one of those I’m a grandpa tee’s he hated so much." She laughed.

Taylor leaned forward hugging Brenda. That sat for a few minutes before Taylor spoke taking her up on her offer. "How bad is the pain going to be?" She said through tears and another contraction.

Brenda held her hand through it then smoothed her sweat-drenched hair. "I’m not going to lie to you, it’s just as bad as you are thinking it will be but it only lasts a short time and when they put that tiny life into your arms you forget all about it. It becomes completely worthwhile, if it wasn’t Kelly, would be an only child." She girnned.

Taylor laughed and thought of all Junior had done for her over the past year. "Thank God she‘s not. So, can I call you sometime, you know, if I don‘t know what to do?"

"Anytime, day or night. I am just a phone call away."

The nurse walked in and checked Taylor. "You don’t have much longer, I’m going to get the doctor."

"I’m going to send Brian back in. You can do this, you’re strong and you have a whole waiting room of people who are behind you and whom love you more than anything." She walked to the door. "I’ll see you in a little while."

"Brenda?" The elder woman turned. "Thanks."

Brenda smiled and nodded. She walked out and sent Brian back to the room.

"You know how amazing you are?" Dale asked as he hugged her.

"You eavesdropping now, Junebug?"

"I was right outside the door, thank you. I didn’t know what to do."

"I know." She looked to Tru who was talking to Kelly and playing with Karsyn who was growing up quickly. "But you will, one day."

He followed her gaze to Tru. "I hope so but even if it doesn’t happen, she’s all I need. I love her more than I ever thought possible."

Brenda smiled. "I know that too." She pulled him into her arms knowing he was missing his daddy just as much as Taylor was. "I am so proud of you Junebug and your father would be too. You are the man he always knew you could be."

He just hugged his mom as he caught Tru’s eye from across the room. She tilted her head silently asking him if everything was ok. He just smiled over his mom’s shoulder and winked. She smiled at him telling him she loved him and that she was there if he needed her.

Three hours later Dale and Tru were standing in front of the nursery window staring at their brand new niece. Brianna Marie Vickers was 8 pounds 6 ounces and 19 inches long. She had a small patch a reddish blond hair that could have come from either side of the family. The labor had been relatively easy, both mom and daughter were fine, emotional but healthy. The father on the other hand was a bit hyper. Brian was running back and forth between the waiting room, the nursery, and Taylor’s room, handing out cigars and dragging people down the hall to see his new daughter. Everyone laughed that the Earnhardt connection and Daytona continued. "Can you imagine what she will do on the track? Hell, she was born here." Someone joked but it seemed the eerie connection with this family and this city only got stronger as the years went by.

"She is so beautiful."

"She really is." Tru wiped a tear away.

"You ok?" Dale was standing behind her his arms wrapped around her waist. He tightened his grip as he heard the tears in her voice.

"Yeah, it’s just…"

He fought back his own tears. "I know. I know." They stood there holding each other for several minutes oblivious to anything except themselves and that baby. No words were needed they knew what the other was thinking. All the pain, anger, hurt, happiness, love, every feeling either of them had felt in the past 2 and half years came rushing back as they stared at the new tiny life.

Dale turned Tru around to face him and kissed her passionately, then pulled her into his embrace. "No matter what happens down the road, with a baby, the company, Teresa, racing, whatever, don’t ever forget that you are the most important thing in my life. We can get through whatever we have to, we’ve proven it time and time again." He pulled her away to look in her eyes, the Earnhardt grin creeping up on his mouth. "Think of it this way, look at all the fun we can have in the next few months trying for one of those of our own."

She wiped at her eyes, laughing and smacked him playfully on the cheast. "You know Taylor has more than enough people to take care of her today. We can’t try for a baby just yet but if we get the hell out of here we certainly could start practicing." She whispered as her hands teased his skin under the tee he was wearing.

He caught her earlobe in his teeth gently and moved his mouth down to nibble on her neck before grabbing her hand and dragging her away from the nursery window. He looked back taking one more peak at the little girl oblivious to the family turmoil or the world she had just been born into.

Dale let go of Tru’s hand and walked back to the window smiling down at the little pink bundle. "Hey Brianna, I won’t promise you it’s gonna be easy but I do promise to always be the uncle you can come to for anything; and you’d better hang on baby girl, cause it’s going to be one hell of a ride."

He kissed his fingers and pressed them against the glass before turning back to Tru. She smiled at him as he wrapped his arm over her shoulders and pulled her into his body. They walked away from the nursery knowing that there were a lot of unanswered questions that would come into their lives; but for now, for today, they were content knowing that this was how it was and that they were all right where they should be.

END

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