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By Megan Marie Irvin

9/1/98

Part One

Rollie made his around the busy Midtown South Police Precient (sp?), over
to where Leo was sitting at his desk.

"Okay, Leo. I'm here." Rollie said sitting on the extra chair at the
detective's desk. "What was so important I had to for me to come down here
ASAP and drop everything?"

"About two hours ago, there was a call of a attempted robbery at a local
market eight blocks away from here. Francis and I were a block away comnig
back from lunch so we were the first on the scene. The attempted robber is a
sixteen year old girl." Leo told the FX expert. "She has no money and was
just trying to get some supper. She refused to tell me where her family is.
She did tell me her mother died when she was ten, and she's searching for
her father."

"Hold it Leo." Rollie interrupted his hands up in front of him. "What does
this have to do with me?"

"I was just getting to that." Leo replied, standing up. "But before I tell
you, come with me."

They started down the hall and stopped in front one of the integration
rooms. They stepped into a small dim lit room. Leo pointed to the two way
mirror that showed a teenage girl, sitting in a slouched position, at a
table, with her arms wrapped around her abdomen, in the other room. She had
shoulder length brown hair, much like Rollie's.

"This is the girl your talking about?" Rollie asked, looking through the
mirror at the girl.

"Yep. Her name is Marie Falks." Leo replied, standing besides Rollie. "She
says her father's name is Dingo Tyler."

It took a minute for what Leo just told him to sink in. When it did, the
Australian nearly choked on his own salvia. "WHAT?! Leo, you've gotta be
kidding me!"

"That's what she told me, Rollie. She says the day her mother died, her
mother told her that her father's name is Dingo Tyler. Though we can't be
sure till we have more proof if she's telling the truth." Leo told the
Australian.

Rollie sunk down into the only chair that was in the room, putting his head
in his hands. He couldn't believe it. With Dingo, Rollie should've known
something like this would happen. Well there had been a couple times he
wondered if he did. Now it was a great possibility this girl was his sister.
When he looked back through the mirror into the other room, Marie was now
standing up, one hand on her hip and the other on her extended abdomen.

"Bloody hell!" Rollie exclaimed jumping out of the chair, it falling down
behind him. "Leo! She's pregnant?!"

"Did I forget to mention that little fact?" Leo asked, smiling slightly.

"Leo, this is not funny!" Rollie exclaimed, pounding his fist down on the
table.

"Rollie. Hey, I'm sorry. Just calm down a bit, okay?" Leo told him,
deciding that teasing the Aussie wasn't such a good idea at the moment, he
left the room to get some water for Rollie.

"I want to talk to the girl Leo." Rollie said standing up, looking in the
two way miror at the pregnant girl who was possibly his sister, when Leo
came back into the room.

"Okay." The detective agreed. They left the room and moved into the room
next door that Marie was in.

As they entered the room, Marie, stood still. Giving a quick glance at the
detective, she looked at Rollie.

Rollie could see fear in her eyes as she continued to stare at him. The
fear wasn't directed at him, or Leo. It was more of a haunted, more far away
looking fear.

"Ms. Falks, I'd like to meet a friend of mine." Leo started, pointing at
Rollie. "This is Rollie Tyler."

"Tyler?!" The girl exclaimed hesitantly, looking at the two men as if they
were trying to deceive her.

"Yes. Dingo Tyler is my father." Rollie told her. "I've been told you
think, Dingo is your father?"

"Yeah. Thats what my mom told me." Marie replied, pulling a fairly old and
wrinkled picture out of her bip part of her overalls, and handing it to him.
"She gave me this picture too. It's of my mother and my father. It was
taken, in Australia, eight months before I was born."

Rollie took the photo from the girl. It was of a woman and a man standing
in front of the Sydney opera house in Australia. Rollie instantly recognized
the man in the photo. He handed the photo over to Leo to look at. "That's
Dingo all right."

Part two

"Leo, the Captain is looking for you." Tony Rizzo said, sticking his head
into the room.

"Yeah okay. I'll be right there." Leo replied, as Rizzo then left. He then
turned to Rollie and Marie. "I'll be back soon."

"Yeah, okay, Leo." Rollie replied absently. He then sat down at the table
and motioned for the girl to do the same. They sat in silence, neither one
wanting to say anything, both looking down at their hands.

"So, this is your mum?" Rollie asked, the only thing that finaly came to
his mind, pointing at the woman in the photo with his father.

"Yeah. Eileen. That was her name, Eileen Falks." Marie replied, smiling
down at the photo.

"Did she tell you anything about your father besides his name and showing
you the photo?" Rollie asked her.

"Yes. She told me a lot about him. Or at least what she knew about him. She
was visiting a aunt in Australia when she met my father. They dated for
about a three months, I think. Then one day he didn't show up for their
date. She came back to the states, to New Jersey, a month later and never
saw my father again."

"Did your mother tell him about you?" Rollie asked.

"She told me she was planning to on the night he never showed up. After
that she didn't know how to contact to tell him." Marie answered, a hand
placed over her stomach.

Even as little proof Rollie already had that this girl was Dingo's
daughter, his half sister, Rollie knew deep inside this girl was telling the
truth. Or at least told the truth by her mum. Looking at Marie he didn't get
the impression she was trying to scam him for money or anything.

"Look, Mr. Tyler...." She started but was cut off by Rollie.

"It's Rollie. I don't like being called 'Mr. Tyler'. Makes me sound old."
Rollie told her, smiling slightly, as they both started to relax a bit with
this.

"Rollie.... I understand if you don't believe me. I'm not even sure if I
believe me. If you want to have a blood test or DNA test or whatever is used
to find out we're related then it's fine by me." Marie told Rollie,
seriously,  and much more maturely then most adults would be in this kind of
situation that, for a minute, Rollie forgot this was a sixteen saying that.

"I do believe you Marie. But you're right, we should have a test done to be
sure." Rollie told her.

Part Three

About five minutes later, Leo came back into the room. "So how are things
going in here?"

"Good, Leo." Rollie replied. "Marie and I have pretty much decided we have
the same father, but we both think we should have a test done to be certain."

"Okay. I think I can probably arrange one." Leo told Rollie, then turned to
Marie and said, "You're free to go anytime now. At first the owner of the
market was adamant about dropping charges, even though you really didn't
steal anything, but I managed to drop them."

"Thank you detective." She replied.

-------------

"You sure you won't mind me staying at your place?" Marie asked, sitting in
the passenger seat of Rollie's car, after they left the hospital they had a
DNA test. The DNA test would only reveal that Rollie and Marie were related
by common genetic marking. It wouldn't be really confirmed if Marie was
Dingo's daughter, till Dingo could give a blood sample, but since he was no
where around this was all Rollie and Marie had ot go on for now. Leo had
pulled some strings so they could have the DNA test done that day, but they
would have to wait till the following day for the results.

"I wouldn't of offered if I hadn't meant it. Sister or not I'm not letting
you spend the night out on the streets." Rollie told her.

"Thanks, anyway, Rollie." She repled, smiling at his kindness for her, her
arms wrapped around her abdomen.

"So... Um.... how far along are you anyway?" Rollie asked, a few minutes
later, as they came to a red light.

"Six months." She answered, looking at the side window.

"If you don't mind me asking, where's the baby's father?" Rollie asked,
putting his foot on the gas pedal, as the light turned green.

Before she could answer the car phone rung. While pushing the button for
the speaker phone, there was too much traffic to deal with the cell phone,he
was sure he saw Marie let out a sigh of relief.

"Rollie Tyler speaking."

"Rollie, it's Angie. Where are you? Do you remember we had a lunch date?
You said when Leo called you'd be right back! It's now four hours later!" A
female voice exclaimed on the other end.

"oh, Angie, I'm sorry. I forgot all about that. I should've called. I'm
sorry." Rollie apologized, knowing he was in for it now.

"Yeah. Whatever. What did Leo want anyway?" She asked.

"Look I'm headed back. I'll tell you then okay?"

"Okay sure."

"Good. Be there soon. Bye, Luv." Rollie said hanging up, and looking at
Marie. "She's my girlfriend, and coworker."

"Oh." Marie replied nodding her head slightly.

Rollie spent the rest of the ride home, telling Marie about Angie, how he
and her met, and all the adventures with the cops, and there work together.

Part Four

About fifteen minutes after she called Rollie, Angie looked up from her
work when the loft door opened. Instead of seeing Rollie come in she saw a
teenage girl, a  pregnant teenage girl, come in. Behind her was Rollie.

"Hey, Ange." Rollie called out, seeing Angie approach them, as he hung up
his and Marie's coats.

"Hey." She replied, looking the girl over and throwing Rollie a questioning
glance, as they moved into the lounge.

"Um...... Angie, this Marie Falks. Marie this is Angie Ramirez." Rollie
introduced the two, sitting down on a chair across from the couch where
Marie was sitting, and next ot where Angie was sitting.
 

"I'm gonna make some tea. Anyone else want any?" Rollie asked, getting up,
after a few minutes of silence. Seeing them both nod, he went into the small
kitchen.

"I'll give you a hand with that Rol." Angie said, starting off after him,
wanting to know who the girl was.

----------

"So?"

"So what?"

"Who's the girl Rollie?" Angie asked watching him fill the tea pot.

"Well...... um......... my half sister." Rollie told her.

"What?!"

"We're not really sure yet about this. We just came back from having a DNA
test done. We won't get results for a few more days." Rollie explained,
watching what her reaction would be. She just stayed quite. Not saying a
thing. Staring off into space. "Angie? You okay?"

"What? Yeah. Just fine. Shocked but fine." She replied. "So, if she is your
sister what are you going to do?"

"Well, if she is my sister, I'd like to find Dingo and knock some bloody
sense into him. But since we don't have any clue where his is, I'll let her
stay here, at least till we can get stuff figured out here." Rollie told her.

"What if she isn't you sister?" Angie asked.

"Well if she isn't, which I think she is, I'll still let her stay here till
she can find a place to stay. Or till Leo can arrange something." Rollie
answered.

Part Five

That evening passed slowly. Marie talked openly about her mother and
growing up with her, but she did her best to avoid where she lived after her
mother's death and the father of her unborn child. The best Rollie could get
out of marie was that she had been placed in a foster family.

Angie had disappeared up to her work station for most of the evening. At
first she had been worried about if this girl was just a freeloader, but
after talking to her a bit Angie could tell she wasn't. Or at least trying
not to be.

When it started getting dark Rollie drive Angie home, promising he'd make
up for the date he broke once everything was settled with Marie. Once he got
back to the loft, he found Marie asleep on the couch. Finding a blanket
Rollie covered her up. He then went to his work station and started doing
some work he needed to get done before the following week.

About three hours later Rollie found himself nodding off. Waking up from
falling asleep at the keyboard for a few minutes, Rollie saw Marie get up
and go to the kitchen getting herself some milk.

"Hi." Marie said, seeing Rollie staring at her when she walked back towards
the couch.

"Hey." Rollie replied, getting up and stretching walking over to the
lounge. "I think I'm gonna go to bed now."

"Okay. Good night." She replied.

"You sure you don't want the bed?" Rollie asked.

"No. It's okay. The couch is fine." Marie told him, trying not to be so
much trouble to him.

"All right. Good night. Need anything call me." Rollie told her, walking
towards the stairs.

"Hey, Rollie?" She called out once he got to the stairs.

"Yeah?" Rollie said turning around.

"You never said. Where is HE anyway?"

"Who? Dingo?" Rollie asked, seeing her nod her head he answered. "He
travels around a lot. He's a hard man to find." He wasn't sure yet if the
girl was ready to hear the truth about her father, that was if Dingo was her
father. Probably better to wait till they were a bit more sure before he
started telling her how much Dingo was never around as a   father for him.
And that he was a con man. And how irresponsible he was.

Part Six

Rollie walked up to his room and flopped down on the bed, kicking off his
shoes and turning the light off. He was too tried to do anything else. He
just wanted to sleep. He laid there an hour waiting for sleep to come and it
never did. His brain was still very active thinking over the days events. He
had a sister. Okay, so maybe not for sure yet, but Rollie had a feeling she
was and his feelings were never wrong, usually.

Angie's question of what he would do if she was his sister echoed in his
head. What would he do? He had already told Angie he'd let Marie stay with
him, at first at least. But there was so much more he had to decide.

How much was he going to let this girl into his life? She was a stranger.
But she also was his, possible, sister. Rollie didn't want to kick her out
if she was his sister. Or abandon her like Dingo did her mother. He wasn't
about to stoop down to Dingo's level.

Was he ready for a family? Or the responsibility? Raising a pregnant
sixteen year old wouldn't be easy. He had no idea what do with teenagers.
Mainly female teenagers.  Especially pregnant teenagers. He knew some people
who would ask themselves, 'what did i do as a teenager?', but that wouldn't
work for him. For one he was never a female teenager. Or a pregnant one for
that matter.

What about his relationship with Angie? Would that change if he took on
this responsibility?

He had no answers for any of these questions. He just didn't know what to
do. Well one thing for certain he knew what he wanted to do was give his
father a good yelling. He could hunt Dingo down and force him to take
responsibility for Marie, but knowing Dingo he'd drop her off  at the
closest pub owner or relative, like he had done to Rollie.

Finally after agonizing over these questions for another hour, and still no
answers, he finally fell alseep.

Chapter Seven

By the end of the week, the test results of the DNA test came back, saying
Rollie and Marie were indeed related. Rollie still had no idea what to do.
For the time being Marie stayed with Rollie. He insisted on her taking the
bed but she still took the couch. Marie did all she could do to help around
the loft. Cleaning, cooking, ect. She didn't want to intrude or anything on
her new brother's life.

One night, close to a month after Rollie found out he had a sister, he was
at Angie's apartment, with Marie back at the loft, sleeping.

"What are you watching?" Angie asked, coming out of the kitchen with two
sodas, handing one to Rollie, sitting down next to him, and trying to find
out what he had on the TV. Seeing what he had on before he answered Angie
added, "Miss America pageant?!"

"Well, there's nothing else on." He explained, shugging his shoulders.
"Yeah, right." Angie said, taking the control out of his hand and turning
the TV off. "You can watch the Miss America pageant, when there's a Mr.
America pageant for me to watch."

"Whatever you say, sweetie." Rollie replied smiling and chuckling lightly.

"So, have you decided yet what your gonig ot do about Marie?" Angie asked a
few minutes later.

"No. I just keep getting more questions to answer and no answers for my
questions." Rollie replied, taknig a sip of his soda, as Chiops jumped
heavily on his lap.

"Have you talked to Marie about what she wants to do?" Angie asked.

"No."

"Maybe you should Rollie. It may help. Remember, this isn't all your
decision to make. She's part of all this too." Angie told her boyfriend.

"Yeah, your right. I should talk to her. I'll do that tomorrow." Rollie
responded.

------------

About half a week later Rollie still hadn't talked to Marie, like Angie had
suggested. Angie and him were too busy with a new movie at the time for
Rollie to remember to talk to her. The director of the movie was a director
they had worked with before and hated. Why ROllie had said yes to this
movie, the Aussie wasn't sure. Maybe it was because the other movie Tyler FX
was offered was starring Dani VanDerGlass, Rollie's Ex-girlfriend. He didn't
even bother telling Angie about that. He knew what she would do. Act like
nothing as wrong and then start pulling pranks or something like that on
Dani at the set. And with everything else going on in his life, Rollie
didn't want to deal with all that. Of course he couldn't blame Angie for
acting that way towards Dani. He'd probably be just as bad if he had to deal
with a past boyfriend of Angie's.

He was busily working at the computer on  figuring out how to change some
of the FX stuff, that the director wnated but was to big for them to do.
Rollie was able to talk the director into letting him change a few of them
around to work with the budget.

Marie walked over to the workstation, and sat down a sandwich and a soda
for Rollie. And in the process she managed to tip over a jar of goo, it
spilling onto the keyboard, which immediately started to short circuit.

"Oh Bloody hell!" Rollie yelled, pushing his chair back, away from the desk.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean for that to happen." Marie started apologizing
quickly, moving out of the way as Rollie tired to clean the mess up.

"Yeah. Why don't you just go somewhere where you won't get in the way."
Rollie told her, with his back turned to her. He didn't see her start to cry
and walk out the door.

Chapter Eight

About three hours later, Rollie was asleep on the couch. It didn't take him
long to get the mess cleaned up. Luckily, they always had a few spare
keyboards and other computer parts laying around.

Rollie was awaken by the shrill buzz of the phone ringing. He slowly opened
his eyes, and shook his head trying to get the sleep out of it. Getting up
he walked over to the phone. "Hello? Tyler speaking."

"It's Angie." Came the grim sounding response back.

"Angie? What are you calling at this hour? Everything okay?" Rollie asked,
looking at his watch, seeing it was sometime after eleven at night.

"No everything's not okay." Angie snapped back. "What were you thinking
yelling at your sister! Do you know she arrived at my doorstep a few hours
ago, crying up the storm!"

"What? Angie, your wrong. Marie's here." Rollie told her.

"Rollie, are you drunk or something?! Look around the loft! Then tell me if
I;m wrong or not!" Angie yelled back.

Rollie put the phone down on the table, and started looking around the
loft, yelling out for Marie. Searching every part of the building, and
finding her coat gone, Rollie came back to the phone. "Your right, Angie.
She is gone."

"Yeah I know! It's my shoulder your sister came to cry on after you yelled
at  her!"

"Oh, bloody hell! Angie, I didn't mean it! Not like what she must've
thought!" Rollie told his upset girlfriend, remembering what he had last
told his sister.

"I'm sure."

"Where's Marie now? Is she okay?" Rollie asked.

"She's fine. After I got her to stop crying, and we fixed some supper, she
went to lay down in the bedroom. She's been sleeping ever since." Angiereplied.

"All right. I'll be right over there." Rollie told her, and without waiting
for a response hung up, and ran out to his car.

--------

It didn't take long for Rollie to get to Angie's apartment.

"You have a good explanation for making Marie think you don't want her
around anymore? Or is that the truth?" Was the first thing out of Angie's
mouth when she opened the door for Rollie.

"Yes. And No." Rollie answered her question's , stepping into the
apartment, and following her over to the couch.

"Okay. Tell me what happened." Angie told him, when they sat down on thecouch.

"I was working on the script changes for the stunt stuff. And Marie came
over and sat a sandwich down for me. She tipped a jar of goo stuff over onto
the keyboard and it kinda blew up." Rollie started.

"Okay, I got that part of from Marie. Now what did you say to her to get
her all upset?" Angie asked. She knew full well Rollie probably didn't mean
what he said, or that Marie just misunderstood him or something. Rollie was
good at that. She was just enjoying giving him a hard time about this. He
deserved it. He had told her a couple weeks ago he would talk to the girl
about what she wanted to do, and try to get everything figured out. And
Angie knew he hadn't talked to Marie about it. He was just burying it all.
Tryng to ignore it.

"Well, she started to apologize. And I sort fo told her to go somewhere
where she wouldn't get in the way." Rollie told the blonde, closing his
eyes, head in hands.

"Rollie! You idiot."

"Angie, I honestly didn't mean it like it sounded! I meant just somewhere
in the loft. Not for her to leave! That's the last thing I want." Rollie
replied. Looking at Angie, he saw her glaring at him annoyed, then she shook
her head.

"I know. But I'm not the one you have to tell that to. And while your at
it, I think this would be a good time to stop ignoring the fact you have a
sister and have to figure out what to do about it." Angie told her boyfriend.

Chapter Nine

Deciding it was probably best to let Marie sleep and clear up the mess in
the morning, Rollie and Angie spent the night snuggled up together on the couch.

When Marie woke the next morning and found Rollie there, she stood still
for a moment then started towards the front door, planning to leave.

"Marie." Angie said quietly, waking up, and seeing Marie about to leave.
"Don't go anywhere till your brother talks to you." Angie then started to
poke Rollie with her elbow to wake him up.

"Marie, come here. I want to explain what I said to you last night and
other things." Rollie told his sister seeing her up, after he woke up,
rubbing his sore ribs.

"Um..... I'm gonna go down to the corner bakery and get us some breakfast."
Angie said, getting up from the couch, putting her shoes on, grabbing her
coat and leaving the two half-siblings to talk.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you last night, Marie. I didn't mean too." Rollie
told the girl, as she sat down slowly next to him. "And I certainly didn't
mean or want you to leave. I just meant for you to go to another part of the
loft."

"Oh." Was all Marie said in reply, head looking down at her lap. "I'm sorry."

"For what? For spilling the goo over the keyboard? That's okay. It was an
accident." Rollie started. "Or for misunderstanding me and running away? I'm
the one who should be sorry. I made the mistake of geting mad and yelling at
you when I sohuldn't of and I didn't explain what i meant clear enough."

Marie just sat still looking at him nodding her head.

"While were at this, I think it might be a good time to discuss what were
going to do now that we both know were related." Rollie told her.

"Yeah, probably." She replied, quietly.

"If you want I'd still like you to stay with me. I can do some
enlargement's to the loft so you can have a bedroom up there too. Maybe
there'll still be some room left to build a small nursery." He told her.

"Are you sure you don't mind me living with you?" She asked uncertain.

"No. Remember, I wouldn't of offered if I didn't mean it." He reminded her.
"Now, the question is do you want to live with your big brother?"

"Yes. I  think I would." She replied, smiling, as he smiled back.

"Good. We still got other things to work out, but that's a start I'd say."
He told her. Standing up, he added, "Let's get the table set up shall we?
Angie should be back soon with breakfast."
 

Part Ten

Anything really eventful happened that day. After they ate breakfast,
Rollie drove Marie back to the loft, and making sure she'd be okay alone for
awhile, he changed and went back to Angie's. Since the new film started and
Marie showed up, Rollie and Angie hadn't had much time to be alone. And
since they had a day off on the film, Rollie decided to take advantage of
the time he had with Angie.

They spent the day doing some shopping, and Rollie helped Angie clean up
her apartment. He really didn't mind doing this, because he was doing it
with her.

"Angie, are you sure you don't mind my decision of letting Marie stay with
me permanently?" Rollie asked that night, as they sat snuggled on the couch
together, watching a old movie, after supper.

"Rollie, if it's what you want to do, then I'm fine with it." Angie
replied, head leaning against his chest.

"I'm sure it's what I want to do. But I just want you to know I don't want
this to change our relationship any." Rollie replied.

"Marie has already been staying with you for close to a month and nothing's
changed since then." Angie replied, reassuring him.

"I know. I just wanted to make sure you were okay with it all. Your
thoughts on this our important to me too." He told her.

"Thanks, Rollie." Angie told him, reaching up to kiss him, as he reached
over and turned the light out.

Part Eleven

The next morning, after having some breakfast  at Angie's, they made their
way back to the loft, having a busy day a head of them at the movie set.

"Marie, I'm back." Rollie called out, when he and Angie entered the loft.
Angie went start for her workstation. Rollie moved over to where his mail
from the previous day was liad out, on a table next to the couch. Finding it
all to be junk and bills, he threw the letters back down where he found
them, and started scanning the loft for his sister. "Marie?......Marie?!"

Within five minutes, Angie and Rollie had searched every part of the
building for Marie, not finding her. "Where could she be?" Rollie asked,
standing by the loft, hands running through his hair.

"Maybe she just went to the store for something?" Angie suggested, standing
besides him. "Or for a walk or something."

  "I don't know......." Rollie mumbled, walking over to the couch, and
bending down to look under the coffee table. "Her backpack is gone."

"She could've took it with her still if she went to the store or something."

"No." Rollie replied.

"Maybe she left a note?" Angie suggested. They started looking around the
loft again to she if she left a note. Neither really paid attention to
Bluey's consistent barking.

Finally Bluey walked over to where Angie was looking at Rollie workstation,
and stopped at her feet, still barking. "Bluey will you be quiet." Angie
told the dog, as he continued to whine, she looked down and saw he an
envelope with Rollie's name on it, on his back. "Rollie! I think I found the
note from Marie."

"What? Where?" Rollie asked, walking over to her, as she held the letter
out to him.

"Bluey had it." She replied staring down at the dog.

"Good boy, Son. Good boy." Rollie thanked his 'pet' dog, while sitting down
in his chiar at his workstation and opening the letter.

"What's it say?" Angie asked, when Rollie finished reading the letter. He
silently handed it over to her. Angie then begun to read it out loud.

Rollie--

I want to thank you for saying yesterday you'd let me stay with you, and
you'd even remodel the upstairs for me and my baby. But I can't take your
offer. I'd just become a burden to you. Don't say it won't happen because it
will. I've always been a burden. I don't want to be one to you. I'm better
off by myself anyway.

Marie

"Oh boy." Angie mumbled, putting the letter down and looking at Rollie.
"What are you going to do know?"

"I'm gonna call Leo, and find Marie." Rollie replied, picking up the phone
sitting next to him and dialing Leo's number.

Chapter Twelve

Thirty minutes later Leo arrived, finding Rollie pacing adn Angie watching
him from the couch.

"So, what's going on?" Leo asked, as Rollie held the letter out for him.

"Marie ran away." Rollie told him.

"She what?" Leo asked, looknig at Rollie then started to read the letter.

"Anything happen to make her want to run away, Rollie?" Leo asked, as
Rollie walked over and sat next to Angie.

"What? Well, sort of." Rollie started. "The night before last, she made  a
mess at my workstation and I yelled at her. She ran off to Angie's.
Yesterday morning I apologized to her and told her i wanted her to
permanently stay here. The rest of the day she was here alone."

"I want to find her Leo." Rollie told him.

"I know." Leo replied.

"In the letter, Marie mentioned something about being a burden in the past.
She told us once she had been living with foster parents in New Jersey.
Maybe that could give us something?" Angie suggested.

"Maybe. I'll run a search for her in the computer when I get back to the
station. We'll find her Rollie." Leo told his friend, looking to the door,
as Rollie got up and started to follow him.

"Thanks Leo." Rollie replied, as Leo left.

Chapter Thirteen

Reluctantly Rollie and Angie left, thirty minutes, after Leo, to the movie
set. At lunch break he called Leo to see if he came up with anything yet.
The detective told him that he found out some stuff about where Marie had
been staying before finding Rollie, and that'd he come over to the loft
later that night.

Rollie kept thinking of where his sister could've gone. Through the month
time Rollie had known Marie he had begun to learn what she liked and didn't
like, and her favorite spots in NewYork, but right now his mind came up
blank on this stuff. He jsut couldn't remember. All he did remember was all
her favorite foods and the weird combinations she had come up with, which he
still didn't know if it was a teenage thing or a pregnant thing.

"Hey, Rollie. How you doing?" Angie asked sitting down next to him on the
couch in the longe, once they got back from the movie set and were waiting
for Leo to get there.

"Okay, I guess." Rollie replied, as he put his arm around Angie's shoulders
and she leaned her head against him.

"We'll find her, Rollie." Angie told him.

Right then, Leo arrived, letting himself in. He walked over to the lounge
where Rollie and Angie were sitting. Sitting down in a chair across from
them the detective handed Rollie a folder.

"What's this?" Rollie asked.

"Marie's foster home record." Leo replied. "She's been in two foster homes
in the last six years. The first one was for four and a half years, with a
retired woman, in her fifty's. She died of a heat attack then. I dug a
report up on her, and she seems clean. She had been foster mother for about
twenty years. Never had a complaint against her."

"What about Marie's second foster home?" Angie asked, glancing at the folder
Rollie was looking at.

"Marie spent about a year and a half with them. Mr and Mrs. Furlong. He's a
construction worker. And she stays home. They have a son of their own. From
the school record on Marie when she lived with the Furlongs, she missed a
lot of days. In fact she wasn't even in school for half the school year.
There has never been a missing childs report listed for Marie." Leo told
them. "I'm gonna take a trip up to New Jersey tomorrow and pay the Furlong's
a visit. Want to join me?"

"Love to." Rollie replied. "Angie....."

"I know, I know. Yes I can cover for you at the set tomorrow. Just don't
take all day." Angie replied.

"Thank you, Love." Rollie told her.

"Yeah. Yeah." Angie said, getting up from her seat and walking over to the
kitchen.

Chapter Fourteen

The next morning, by nine, Leo and Rollie were heading for New Jersey to go
talk with the Furlong's. It took them about two hours to get there.

"Look's like no one's home." Leo said after they spent about five mniutes
waiting for somone to come to the door at the Furlong's house.

"Bloody hell." Rollie muttered.

"Can I help you gentleman?" A lady watering some plants at the house next
door called over.

"Um.... Possibly." Leo started, walking towards the lady with Rollie
behind. "I'm Detective Leo Mcathry of Midtown South in New York City."

"Ha. I've been wanting the police to go next door for years and no one
shows up but when they do their from out of state." The woman exclaimed
turnnig her hose off.

"The Furlong's cause you trouble?"

"Constantly." She replied. "Always hearing yell and shouting. I'm afraid to
have my grandchildren over. Especially when that boy of their's is home."

"Do you know when there'll be back?"

"He's at work I think. And I have no clue where she is. But if you ask me I
think she's been cheating on her husband." The older woman told them. "I'n
not sure when there'll be back."

"What do you know about the foster girl they've been taking care of?"
Rollie asked.

"Marie? Oh she was a nice girl. When she could she'd help me around here. I
finally stopped asking her help when I got suspicions she was being punished
at night for helping me." The woman told them shaking her head sadly. "I
haven't seen her around for months though. I remember one night about
four-five months ago, it was about nine or so at night. I heard her
screaming up a storm. I started over to the house, and saw Mrs and Mr
Furlong sitting in the living room watching TV. About thirty minutes later
their son, I think his name is Bobby, came out of the house and left. After
that Marie's screams stopped. She disappeared shortly after that night."

"Thanks for your help." Leo thanked the woman as he and Rollie started over
to the car.

"Do you know where this Bobby lives or works?" Rollie called back at thewoman.

"Um.....I think he works..." She started but stopped as a car pulled up at
the Furlong's house. "Never mind. That's the bum now."

"Thanks." Rollie told her, as she went back into the house.

"Boggy Furlong?" Leo called out showing his badge to the young man,
probably in his middle twenty's.

"Yeah. What do you want officer?" He asked, getting out of the car, looknig
the detective and man beside him over. There was something oddly familar
about the tall lanky man.

"I was jsut wondering if you know when your parents will be back?" Leo asked.

"I don't know. I don't keep tabs of them." He replied snickering slightly.

"When you see your parents tell them I'll be back." Leo said, moving to his
car with Rollie following.

"What's this all about officer?" Bobby called out.

"About the foster girl, Marie, that your parents were taking care of." Leo
replied, moving to the driver side of the car.

"Oh, that slut." He replied, smiling evilly.

That did it for Rollie. He was over punching Bobby out in a flash.

"Don't you ever talk aobut her like that you bloodly bastard!" Rollie
started at the young man, as Leo pulled him back.

"Come on, Rollie. Let's go home. It's not worth it. If you come home all
bruised up Angie will give you one good yelling." Leo told the Aussie.

"Why'd you do that for!" Bobby kept yelling as Rollie and Leo left.

Chapter Fifteen

A week had passed and nothing much else turned up with Marie. She hadn't
returned. Leo hadn't gone back to talk to her foster parents yet. Rollie
wanted them arrested. From what they heard from the neighbor the Furlong's
deserved some kind of punishment. And their son, Bobby. Rollie got angry
every time he thought about the punk. He didn't like him and he was worried
about what kind of trouble he caused Marie. And that one night that nieghbor
lady told Leo and Rollie about. Rollie didn't like it. Rollie and Angie both
were startting to think he was Marie's babies father. It was a good reason
for Marie not wnating ot say anything about it. Leo told them nothing could
be done against the Furlong's and their son unless Marie was here.

Angie made her way exhaustedly up to her apartment. It was late at night.
The movie hadn't some glitches that day holding her and Rollie back at the
set a couple hours. Rollie wanted to take her home but she said she felt
like walking and he insisted on walking her home then. Angie agreed, then
went up to her workstation for a moment and when she got back down Rollie
was alseep on the couch. Smiling she locked up and started towards her
apartment.

She was fumbling with her keys, trying to find the right one for her door,
when she looked up and was startled to find someone huddled up by her door
on the floor. Taking a closer look at the person she rushed towards her
realizing who it was. "Marie?!"

"Angie." Marie said waking up from her slight sleep.

"Marie, oh, are you okay?" Angie asked helping the girl up, and into her
apartment.

"Yeah. Just tired, cold, and hungry." She replied.

"Well, we're gonig to take care of all that now." Angie replied, leading
the girl of to the couch and putting a blanket over her. Angie then moved
into the kitchen and started heating up some soup.

"Here, ya go. It's kitchen noddle." Angie told the girl, handing her a bowl
of steaming hot soup.

"Thanks." She replied quietly.

"Where've you been, Marie. Rollie had been worried sick." Angie told the
girl, sitting next to her.

"Around." She replied, eating the soup. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry
anyone. I didn't think he'd worry if I was gone."

"Well he did. And he got more worried after he and Leo went up to talk to
your foster parents. The Furlongs." Angie told the girl, then stopped seeing
her panicked expression.

"What?"

"Don't worry. They weren't home. Rollie and Leo did talk to a neighbor
though. Said she knew you." Angie said. "And as they were about to leave the
Furlong's son showed up."

"Bobby?" Marie asked panick evident in her voice.

"Yeah. From what Rollie said he doesn't sound like a nice guy. He isn't is
he, Marie?" Angie asked slowly, trying her best not ot upset her too much.

"Um..... No..... he isn't." Marie told her, then started to cry. Angie took
the half empty bowl of soup and put out on the coffee table so Marie
wouldn't spill it on herself. Angie then tried to comfort the girl while she
cried.

"Marie, bobby's the father of your baby isn't he?" Angie asked carefuly
when the girl's crying stopped. Marie nodded her head slowly. "You need to
tell me everything your foster parents and their son did to you while you
were there."

Chapter Sixteen

"Rollie wake up." Rollie heard being said at him through his sleep filled
mind. Someone was shaking him.

"Bloody go away." He mumbled in his sleep.

"Rollie! Wake up now!" The voice said louder, and a hand started swatting
at him.

"Stop that. I'm awake." He said, opening his eyes, to find Angie staring
down at him. "What?"

"Someone turned up at my place last night." Angie said, sitting down on the
egde of his bed. He must've moved up to his room sometime during the night,
she thought, remembering when she left the night before he was sleeping on
the couch.

"Who?"

"Marie."

"What? Where is she now? Is she okay?" Rollie asked, jumping out of bed and
pulling on a pair of jeans.

"She's down stairs." Angie told him, grabbing his arm as he was about to go
downstairs. "Wait a minute, Rol."

"What?"

"I got her to tell me everything about the Furlong's. And she even told me
Bobby is the baby's father." Angie told him, seeing him start to get angry.
"She's terrified Rollie. You have to promise, when she tells you what she
told me, you won't get all hysterical, at least not in front of her. Okay?"

"I'll try." Rollie replied.

"I think you better call Leo too. He'll want to hear this and I don't think
she could have to repeat the story more times than possible." Angie told
Rollie, handing him a shirt.

"Yeah. Okay." Rollie said, moving to the phone and dialing Leo's number,
and trying to remember everything Angie had told him. It was too much of a
earful for someone who had just woken up.

Chapter seventeen

After calling Leo, and telling him what was happening, Rollie and Angie
went downstairs. Leo was only a block away at the moment geting some coffee
so he would be there soon. Marie was sitting on the couch when they got down
there. Rollie wlaked over to her, while Angie went into the kitchen to make
some tea.

"Marie, you okay?" Rollie asked, sitting down next to her.

"I'm fine." She replied, staring down at her hands, that were on her
extended abdomen.

"You know you had me worried when you ran away like that." Rollie told her.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. Really."

"I know you didn't. Just don't do it again, huh?" Rollie asked smiling
slightly.

"Angie, told me you told her about the Furlong's and Bobby. You want to
tell me?" Rollie asked slowly. "I need to know."

"They didn't care about me. Made me do all the chores.They always
criticized the housework. As soon as I finsihed with something they'd mess
it up again. They had me drop out of school when I put my school work in
front of housework. They wouldn't let me have any friends. Said i was no
good because I had no family." Marie started, eyes watering.

Neither Rollie or Marie noticed that Leo had shown up and was listening.

"What about Bobby?" Rollie asked. He didn't like this at all. How did
people like this get picked as foster parents?

"He hurt me." She replied, like a small child.

"How?" Rollie asked. Marie quickly shook her head in protest, not wanting
to answer. "Okay, okay. You don't hav to tell me. It's okay."

"Rollie, I think thats enough for now." Angie said. The girl was crying up
a storm, worse than she had the night before.

"Yeah. Marie why don't you go lay down for awhile okay?" Rollie aksed his
half-sister. Angie then helped marie up the stiars to the bedroom upstairs.

"Leo, I said it before and I'll say it again I don't like this." Rollie
told the detective, just noticing his presence.

"I know Rollie. We need to Marie to tell us everything before we cna do
anything." Leo replied.

"She isn't gonna tell you anymore for awhile. This has really upset her."
Angie told thme coming down the stairs.

"Yeah and the closer we got talking about Bobby and how he hurt her she got
more upset." Rollie said. "Angie, did she tell you anymore last night?"

"Yeah. I managed to get her ot tell me about Bobby, though it kept her
upset for most of the night." Angie replied sitting next to him.

"Can you tell us what she said?" Leo asked.

"Well, in the shortest possible way of saying it Bobby Furlong raped
Marie." Angie told them.

Chapter eighteen

Angie continued to tell Leo and Rollie wait little else Marie had told her
the night before; When her foster parents found she was pregnant they blames
her for it. They had to know it was Bobby's but didn't say anything about
it. And in their wacked up minds the Furlong's decided her bext punishment
would be for her to keep the baby. Thoug Marie didn't see it as punishment.
She may be just sixteen but she knew what she wanted and what felt right and
what felt right and what she wanted was to come the baby. Afraid she didn't
tell the Furlong's that. By the time she was four months along she ran away.
Staying with friends for a couple weeks at a time.

Rollie couldn't believe this whole mess.He was beginning to believe that
Marie would've been much better off raised by Dingo than the Furlong's.
Compared to them, Dingo Tyler was a perfect father.

Leo got a warrant for Bobby Fulong's and his parents arrest. They were
extremely shocked to learn that Rollie was Marie's half-brother. Bobby was
found guilty of rape and sentenced for twenty years. His parents were also
found guilty of neglect and sentenced to a lesser charge of ten years each.
After that trial, with Marie's permission, became Marie's legal guardian.
Dingo still ahdn't shown up anytime and Rollie couldn't find him. Marie had
continued to ask about Dingo and Rollie told her what he thought she should
know. He still didn't feel right about telling her the real truth about her
father but didn't lie or make him out to be something he wasn't.
Rollie had immediately hired some contractor friends to add to the
upstairs, to make rooms for Marie and her baby. During, because of all the
dust gonig around and Rollie not thinking it was too good for his pregnant
half-sister to be breathing it, she stayed with Angie.

-----

"You two mind if we make a little detour?" A close to nine month pregnant
Marie asked from the back of Leo's car. Since Rollie had the day off of the
current movie Tyler FX was working on and Angie had a cold, Leo was taking
the two siblings out to eat for lunch.

"Where to?" Rollie asked from the front passenger seat, looking in the rear
view mirror.

"To the hospital." She said. "My water just broke."

"What?!?!" Leo and Rollie exclaimed in unison, looking back at her. Coming
back to his senses Leo put the flashing siren and red light on the top of
the car and made a u-turn heading for the hospital.

Within minutes they were coming to a screeching halt at the hospital.

"It's going to be okay, Marie. Just breath." Rollie told his younger
sister, as she was wheeled down the hall and Leo stayed behind to fill in
the form things for Rollie. "Hey Leo, call Angie will ya?"

"Sure thing Rollie." Leo called back, hearing Marie screaming at her brother.

"Yeah sure, why don't you breath and leave me alone!" Marie shouted, having
another contraction.

---------

  A few hours later found Rollie maternity where the babies were kept.

"Rollie." He heard his name being called and looked up to see a
sniffling-red nosed Angie approaching him. "How's Marie?"

"Fine, sleeping. She had a healthy baby boy." He said smiling, pointing at
one of the babies in the room, through the glass. "Patrick Dell Tyler."

"Here," Leo said, standing next to Angie and Rollie, holding a cigar out.
"A cigar for the new Uncle, Uncle Rollie."

"Thanks, Leo." Rollie said. Uncle Rollie. He liked it.

THE END