by: MacSas

Daisy woke the next morning in Martin’s bed, instantly aware that he was no longer beside her. Was it a dream? She flipped her hair back out of her face. ‘Martin?’

From across the room came his soft reply, “Right here” She rolled over to find him standing in front of the bedrooms floor to ceiling window, the early morning sun shining around him. He walked slowly to the bed, and sat on the edge of it. He looked at her for a moment, a soft smile on his face. He reached out and ran his knuckles down the side of her face, almost as if he needed to assure himself that she was truly there with him.

“You are so beautiful,” he said, in a soft almost reverent voice.

Daisy smiled a little self-consciously. She sat up, taking care to tuck the sheet under her arms. “Why bother?” Martin laughed.

Daisy blushed slightly, recalling a moment of panic the night before when Martin had undressed her. “I have scars,” she had told him. “I don’t care” Martin had replied, easing her embarrassment.

Now, as she looked at him in the early morning light, she realised how much she wanted this man in her life. She didn’t have to wonder if she could live with him for the rest of her life. It was more a case of could she live her life without him in it. And the answer was no. There was one last thing that could ruin her happiness though. “We need to talk,” she said.

Martin laughed softly, as he pressed light kisses along her shoulder. “I thought we already did that”

Daisy shrugged her shoulder away from his mouth in an attempt to gain his attention. “Seriously, Red, there’s something you should know about my recovery”

Martin sat up straight. “Okay” he said slowly.

Daisy looked away from him. Noticing the way she nervously twisted her fingers, he ran his hand down her arm. “Hey” he said, waiting for her to look at him before continuing. “Remember, we decided to deal with things together from now on. What happens to one of us happens to the other”

When Daisy continued to hesitate, Martin put his arms around her and told her, “Doll, there is nothing you can tell me that will make me love you less”

Daisy sighed, resting her head on his muscled shoulder. “That’s noble of you, Red, but this could truly change everything” She paused, looking up at him. “I really should have told you last night, before we … er”

Martin laughed out loud at her blushing. “We had other things on our minds, you mean?”

“I’m trying to be serious”

“Oh, I’m serious” Martin replied, kissing her forehead. “I don’t care what you’re about to lay on me. I promise you, it wont shake us”

“I can’t have children,” Daisy blurted out. As soon as the words were out, she ducked her head, afraid to see the reaction in Martin’s eyes. He would school his response on the outside by saying all the right things. She knew that his integrity, his character, would demand he remain a gentleman. But his eyes would give away his real thoughts. When he didn’t say anything, she haltingly rushed into the explanation she thought he deserved. “There was too much damage from the … knife. I was told that one of my tubes had been severed, or something. I can get pregnant, but the chances of me carrying a child to full term are slim. And that’s assuming I actually get pregnant at all. The odds of that are even smaller …”

Embarrassed at her babbling, she kept her head down, placing her hands over her flushed cheeks. Her eyes filled with tears as she wished the ground would swallow her. She should have waited until they were dressed before she laid this on him. She should have told him last night. Better yet, she should have told him weeks ago. She was about to slip from the bed and rush for the safety of the bathroom when she felt Martin’s hands cover hers. She slipped her hands from under his as he tipped her face up to meet his gaze. “I want you to hear me,” he said softly. “Really hear me” He paused to wipe the tears from her cheeks. “You complete me. If all we ever have is each other, I’m more than happy with that. Most people never have half of what we have together. I’m not going to be the one to throw happiness away”

Daisy dropped her forehead to Martin’s shoulder.

“Please don’t leave me,” she whispered.

Martin took her in his arms. “I’m here, right here. And I always will be. I promise you that”

As her tears continued to fall, he kissed her and held her gently as she let the emotion drain away. Finally, when she was exhausted from her tears, he slipped back into bed beside her and stroked her back in soothing motions. When she eventually closed her eyes with her head cushioned on his shoulder, he kissed her softly and continued to comfort her restless slumber with quiet whispers. And when she drifted into deeper sleep, he continued to hold her close, loving the feel of her soft breath against his skin. Why, indeed, would he ask for anything more?

*   *   *   *

After Daisy called the farm to tell Luke that she was spending time with Martin, the two spent the day together, going out to eat, shopping and just having fun. They ended up at a local market, where Martin decided to look for a gift for Jesse. “Something to introduce me to him” he smiled. Daisy waved him off; deciding to look at some of the more craft based stalls. After about half an hour, she felt tired. She found a café setting that had umbrellas over the tables for shade. The view from the café allowed her to see Martin wandering through the stalls. As if he sensed her gaze on him, he looked up, smiled and waved. A warm glow flowed through her as she waved back. How did she get so lucky? After all, it was almost a joke that if a Duke didn’t have bad luck, they wouldn’t have any luck at all. Yet, she had managed to survive her worst nightmare and come through the dark tunnel to find her prince waiting at the other end. She smiled at how sickly that sounded.

The approach of a familiar woman caught her attention. “Daisy?” the blonde beauty asked. “It’s Trish. We were in school together for a couple of years”

Daisy smiled, but her memories of Trish had her keeping her guard up. Trish had chased Bo for three years to no avail. She seemed to have had a hard time taking no for an answer. She had finally decided to try to ruin Bo’s reputation by spreading a rumour that she was carrying his child. Bo had told both her and Luke that he could indeed have been the father. Although Jesse was shocked that Bo could have been careless enough to get a girl pregnant, the family supported him in his decision to be a father to the child. However, when the real father returned just in time for the birth, Trish was forced to reveal the truth, and Bo’s heart was shattered. Daisy had never forgotten the grief Bo had endured in the days that followed. And she had never forgiven Trish either. She looked up at the woman. “I remember you Trish. Nice to see you again”

Trish smiled thinly. “Well, we both know that’s not true. But what’s in the past is in the past, right?”

Daisy’s smile remained steadfast, despite her wish that the woman would move on. Trish, however, seemed intent on chatting. “I heard about that nasty business between you and your ex. I never would have picked you to be the one to fall for a line like the one he must have spun you …”

Daisy clenched her teeth as Trish continued to rattle on about how everyone thought Daisy would have been “smarter than that.” Her gaze wandered back to Martin. It was a few minutes before she realised that Trish had stopped talking. “I’m sorry, what was that?” she asked as Trish frowned.

“I asked if you and the Mountie are getting married?”

Daisy smiled. It was amazing how word travelled in small towns. “Well, he has asked me, and I’m thinking about it”

Trish looked astonished. “You’re thinking about it?” she asked. “What’s to think about? The man is a hunk! How much better can a girl do?”

“Trish” Daisy sighed, sitting forward. “There are so many more things to a marriage than good looks”

Trish smiled. “Yes,” she agreed, “but if you have to look at him for the rest of you’re life, he may as well look good.”

“That’s so superficial” Daisy snapped.

“That’s what you’d expect of me though” Trish smiled coolly. “Right?”

Daisy knew Trish was alluding to the history with Bo; however, this was a fight she really wasn’t interested in.

“You know” Trish drawled, enjoying her moment, “men like that Mountie of yours are the kind that want the whole deal when they finally settle down”

“What are you talking about?” Daisy asked, afraid she already knew the answer.

“Well, after all that time being a bachelor, he’s going to want something that will make settling down worth it. Something like, oh I don’t know …” she paused dramatically, snapping her fingers as if an idea just came to her. “What about a child? Yeah, that would make it worth his while. Don’t you think?” she asked Daisy in mock sweetness. When Daisy didn’t answer, Trish went for the jugular. “I guess you must have something else in mind for the Lieutenant though”

Daisy’s eyes widened in horror. Trish knew about her inability to have children? How could that be!

“I have no idea what you’re talking about Trish” she attempted ignorance.

“I think you do” Trish smiled, getting to her feet. “You know, I really hope things work out for you Daisy. It would be a shame if, a few years down the track, the man of you’re dreams decides he may have missed the boat by settling on a woman who couldn’t give him what another woman could”

*   *   *   *

Daisy had been quiet all night, and it worried not only Martin, but Bo and Luke as well. She and Martin had arrived back at the farm in time for dinner. Jesse had made a proud display of his culinary skills by whipping up a traditional roast dinner. Beef, with potatoes, peas, pumpkin and beans. Followed by apple pie and ice cream topped with fresh whipped cream. Jesse had taken a liking to Martin immediately. And he had loved the Mounties tongue in cheek gift of a miniature moonshine jug, joking, “I have no idea what it is or what it’s used for”

The weeks Jesse had spent helping out at his friend’s farm had taken a toll, though. It was obvious that he was still tired out. So, it came as no surprise when he excused himself, favouring an early night over fireside chatting.

Now as coffee and cake was shared, the three men noticed that Daisy remained quiet. Luke was the one brave enough to broach the subject.

“What’s the matter, Daisy?”

She looked up, seemingly surprised to see the men sitting there. “Nothing” she said with a shake of her head.

“You’re awful quiet” Luke noted.

“Martin tire you out?” Bo quipped.

Daisy rolled her eyes at the double-edged question. “No. Guess I just overdid it today”

Martin noticed how she avoided his gaze. “Are you sure there’s not something on your mind?” he asked.

Daisy sighed loudly. “Look, this is not a conversation I’m going to have with my cousins in the room”

“In that case, come back to the hotel with me and we’ll talk”

Bo’s snigger earned him a swat from Luke.

“I think that’s our cue to leave” Martin told Daisy with a smile. Getting to his feet he addressed Bo and Luke. “See you guys tomorrow”

Daisy joined him. “I probably won’t be back tonight,” she told Luke, causing another snigger from Bo.

“No kidding” Luke deadpanned. He smiled as Daisy rolled her eyes again and followed Martin out the door.

“Wow” Bo murmured, after they had left. “It sure is good to see her so happy”

“Yeah” Luke agreed, collecting the used coffee cups. “It seems like they have a few things to work through though”

“They’ll be okay though, won’t they?” Bo asked.

Luke pondered that as he placed the cups in the sink. “I really don’t know Bo,” he finally said. “But I do know that if anyone can make a go of it, it’s those two”

*   *   *   *

After Daisy and Martin arrived at his hotel room, he decided to give her a little space to sort out her thoughts.

“I’m just going to take a quick shower,” he told her, tossing the room keys onto the coffee table.

“I’ll put some coffee on then” she replied.

A short time later Martin returned to find Daisy deep in thought. She had forgotten about the coffee. Sitting on the sofa staring out at the night sky, tears burned her eyes as she replayed Trish’s words.

Martin was concerned to see her upset. He crouched in front of her. ‘What’s wrong?”

Daisy covered her face. “ I ran into an old school friend. We got talking. Something she told me…about marriage and babies…you’d make a great dad Marty, everyone thinks so…”

“And you’d make a great mother…”

“But I can’t be one Marty.”

“I don’t recall asking you to…”

“But…”

“…All I’m asking is that, when you are ready, you be my wife. I don’t care about anything else.”

“You don’t care that you could be throwing away your last chance to have a child?”

“There’s always adoption, so I’m really not throwing anything away. It may take awhile but the wait would make it all the more anticipated. And, if we never have a child, that will be okay too. Because all I want is for you to be my partner in life for the rest of our days.”

Martin took her in his arms and kissed her. Slowly, he wiped her tears away. “What bought this on? I thought we were clear on the baby subject”

“Like I said, I ran into an old school friend. Although, she never really was a friend, more an annoyance. She knew about my infertility”

Martin frowned. “How?”

“I didn’t know at first. I remembered Jesse telling me that she had married a guy named Bob Hoskins. It didn’t occur to me until this afternoon that Hoskins was one of my doctors at Tri County”

“So he told his wife about your injuries causing infertility, and she rubbed it in your face”

“Boy, are you quick” Daisy smiled against his shirtfront. She looked up at him. “How’d you guess?”

“I had a chat with Bo a little earlier. He told me about this woman who tricked him about her child being his. He was telling me the story to warn me about breaking your heart”

Daisy laughed. “He has a smooth way about him”

“I’m going to call this Hoskins fellow and complain” Martin started to the phone.

Daisy quickly grabbed his arm to stop him. “Oh no you don’t. You’ll only make it worse”

“But that witch upset you” Martin fumed.

Daisy practically glowed as she wrapped her arms around her lover. “The only reason she upset me was because my emotions are all over the place right now. Any other time, it wouldn’t have bothered me at all”

Martin looked down at her. Sighing softly, he put his arms around her waist. “Are you sure?”

“Yes” she replied, tiptoeing to kiss him. “Besides” she added with an impish smile, “I can think of much better things to do with your time”

“Why Miss Duke” Martin smiled, lifting her into his arms and walking to the bedroom. “I do believe you’re trying to seduce me”

Daisy laughed as he joined her on the bed. “Is it working?”

“Oh yeah …”

Quite a while later, Daisy lay in Martin’s arms, assured of his love for her. His arms held her safe from the rest of the world, here was where she found her peace.

She moved her head on his chest to better hear the beating of his powerful heart.

“Honey” he murmured, on the verge of sleep.

“Yes” she replied.

“Thank you”

“For what?”

“Trusting me with your heart”

She smiled in the darkness. “No, thank you” She stretched up to kiss his lips. At his quizzical look, she added, “For chasing away the dark, bringing back the light … and for just loving me”

*   *   *   *

In the darkness of the Boars Nest, Boss Hogg slipped into is back room office.

He had waited for days to be able to do this. No one knew. And no one would. He had been able to talk his way into the Tri County police cells. He had been smart enough to ‘visit’ at a time when the station was run by one officer and at it’s busiest. It really wasn’t that poor officer’s fault that he didn’t recall a man in a black suit walking down to the cells. After all, someone had pulled the fire alarm and created chaos in the booking office. The officer couldn’t keep an eye on the cells even if he wanted to.

As he opened his secret safe buried beneath the floorboards of his office, he contemplated his deed. He had done what had needed to be done. Apparently he wasn’t the only one either. It was whispered that Luke had deliberately taken a bad shot at Lex, just to prove a point. Of course most folks didn’t pay too much attention to the gossip. Just as they wouldn’t believe what Boss had done, assuming it ever became gossip. He had worked hard and been extra devious to ensure that never happened though.

He removed two ledger books from the safe. One was the official Hazzard ledger, telling just how much Boss was worth. The second was the one Boss showed the taxman once a year. Of course, its numbers were quite different to the official version. Placing the two books on the floor beside him, Boss reached into his pocket and removed an item wrapped in a white cloth. He peeled back the cloth.

The barrel of the pistol gleamed in the moonlight streaming through his window. Boss closed his eyes for a moment, and then covered the gun in the cloth again. He placed the gun in the bottom of the safe, returned the ledgers, and closed the door. Replacing the floorboards and carpet, he spared a thought for the man responsible for this.

There was no way that Alessandro Conelli would be bothering anyone else now.

The missing bullet in Boss’s pistol had ensured that.

 

THE END