Feels Like Home

"Well Mrs. Armstrong, your suspicions were correct." An older man situated his glasses on his crooked nose and tapped his fingers on a file in front of him. "You are pregnant." Dr. Hartness leaned forward on the makeshift desk the rehab center had in a small room that may have been a broom closet at one point in time. A nurse stood in the corner silently.

Adrienne gasped in joy and grasped Billie Joe's hand. "I knew it. How far along?"

"About two months. The due date will be in September. I can probably tell you more exact at your next appointment." Dr. Hartness said. "The baby is perfectly healthy and you are perfectly healthy. My opinion is to go home, get some rest, some vitamins, and see me in another month."

He stood to make his leave. "This woman does not belong here." He told the nurse. "She has no psychological signs of alcoholism nor any withdrawal symptoms." He looked back at Adrienne. "Take care Mrs. Armstrong."

"Thank you Dr. Hartness." Billie Joe answered to the retreating man as Adrienne was to happy to speak. She gave a small laugh and put her hand over her mouth. Billie Joe leaned in to kiss her.

"Billie Joe, Adrienne?" Another man knocked on the door to the conference room. It was their lawyer Steve Addison. He gave the couple a moment to complete their kiss before he sat down in the vacant chair. "I have great news."

"What?" Both Adrienne and Billie Joe looked at Steve eagerly.

"They know who's fingerprint was on the bottle. It was a partial print so it was a bit more difficult but they know who."

"Who?" Billie Joe was tired of the suspense and wanted to know answers.

"His name is Andrew Rimms. He is a convicted felon who was on probation."

"Andrew Rimms? I don't know an Andrew Rimms. Do you?" He looked at Adrienne who shook her head.

"You don't and he doesn't really know you. He was hired," Steve paused. Perhaps for dramatic effect or to gather up his strength to say the following words. "By your ex-husband Adrienne."

"What?" Adrienne breathed. She had never believed that David would stoop to such a low that he would ruin the lives of his ex-wife and her husband and force their children to live with him when he never wanted them around before.

Billie Joe didn't say anything, but chewed on his tongue, his anger apparent in his features.
"But that's not all." Steve said nervously.

"What the fuck is it now?" Billie Joe growled, not too concerned with politeness at the moment.

"They received access to your house by means of Caylyn Arnold."

"Bitch." Billie Joe swore he desperately wanted to hit something. He hadn't thought about Caylyn since the day he kicked her out of his hotel room. He never even considered her a threat. Her vows of revenge always seemed empty and hollow to Billie Joe, much like her head.

"Wait, how does Caylyn know David?" Adrienne asked.

"Apparently, through the sources of the private investigator you hired Billie Joe, she and David have been in a physical relationship for the past year." Steve placed his fingertips together and bit his lips. "Even before you were with her Billie Joe, she was with David and during."

"That whore. She cheated on me. Who'd a thunk it?" Billie Joe remarked sarcastically. "It does make a little sense though. Caylyn was from Minneapolis and she loves men who love cheap women. Not you baby." He looked at Adrienne in case she thought the 'cheap' remark was meant for her as well since she was married to David and now married to someone who was once with Caylyn.

Adrienne waved off the remark without concern.

"What does all this mean? Do we take them to court now or do we wait more? What?" Adrienne wanted to know when she could see her children again. She didn't care how many people stood in her way, she was going to get to them.

"The proper authorities have been alerted." Steve said in a more secure voice as he was delivering much more pleasant news. "Adrienne, you are released from Central Hills Rehabilitation Center, and I urge you to press charges because the Head Nurse who takes the applications and orientation as she was also under David's payroll. She used to be one of his nurses in Minneapolis. She hasn't made a statement yet but all the evidence is there. David is being put under arrest, as is Caylyn. Your children are going to go back to your mother's care
Until you get there. I took the liberty of checking the plane schedules on my way over here, there is a plane leaving tonight at seven and I suggest you be on it to go get your children."

"That's it?" Billie Joe was expecting something much more complicated.

"At the moment, that's it. But, there's one more thing." Steve leaned back in the chair a bit. "We were able to get all of this information, not just because of the private investigator, but by Joey."

"Joey?" Adrienne said, confused. "How?"

"Well, Caylyn had been staying at David's and while he was at work, she stayed with the children. Well, the nanny was with the children and she doesn't speak English while Caylyn pretty much laid around and did nothing. Joey was able to sneak away from the nanny and went down the street where there was construction."

"What? He's five years old Why wasn't someone watching him. Oh God, please don't tell me he was hurt." Adrienne began to run down a list of possible, but equally horrible, scenarios in her mind.

"No, no." Steve said quickly, wanting to keep Adrienne calm. "He went there because he recognized someone. A Wayne Horne."

"Wayne's an old friend of ours. He owns a construction business." Billie Joe recalled. "Wayne saw Joey, Joey told him what was going on, then Wayne called the cops."

"Pretty much." Steve nodded. "The private eye was able to dig up the rest of the dirt. You have quite a son there."

"Yes we do." Billie Joe stated proudly.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Mom?" Adrienne hurried into her childhood home, Billie Joe is close tow. It was late that evening, the children were sure to be asleep but Adrienne just wanted to make sure it wasn't a dream or a trick, that it was real. "Mom where are you? Joey, Sydney?"

"Adrienne, hush. They're asleep upstairs." Gloria came into the living room where the couple was. She was dressed in her nightgown and her hair was in rollers. She didn't expect to see them this soon. She was expecting them to fly out in the morning, but apparently they couldn't wait.

Adrienne and Billie Joe quickly pounded up the stairs, each stair causing relief and a larger lump in their throats at the same time with anxiety. Adrienne pulled the door to the room she used to share with Sydney open to find the bed empty and neat, it had not been slept in.

Adrienne swore as Billie Joe pulled her by the wrist down the hall to Joey's room. Billie Joe opened the door to find Joey asleep in his little bed, his arm around his sister. Sydney had a thumb in her mouth as she slept peacefully in a familiar place.

Both Adrienne and Billie Joe stood rooted in the doorway. Adrienne sighed a deep sigh of relief and quietly went to her children. She kneeled down and stroked their hair softly. Billie Joe bent
Down behind her, his hand supporting her on her back, and twirled a piece of Sydney's hair around his finger before brushed a piece out of Joey's face.

Adrienne sniffed.

Billie Joe could see in the soft glow of the nightlight her face was peaceful and happy as she sat there with her children. On hand with them, the other touching her stomach. She sighed happily as she sat down cross-legged on the floor and leaned into Billie Joe.

"Mommy?" Sydney whimpered groggily.

"I'm right here baby." Adrienne whispered as she cupped Sydney's cheek.

"Daddy?"

"Right here Sassafras." Billie Joe took her hand.

"I knew you'd come back for us." Sydney said, louder than necessary, her eyes wide away. Her exclamation woke Joey, who was just as excited to see his parents.

Joey grinned and tackled Billie Joe and then hugged his mother tightly. "We missed you so much." He said into her shoulder.

"We missed you too and we are so proud of you." She ruffled Joey's hair before she kissed the top of his head.

"Can we go home now?" Sydney asked from her perch on Billie Joe's lap.

Billie Joe looked at Adrienne. "Yeah. Let's go home."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Seven months later in September, Tre' escorted a six year old Joey and a four year old Sydney down a clean white hall. Frankito was with them as they looked around the sterilized building nervously. Sydney was clinging to Tre's hand, very nervous around the strange nurses and people milling around them.

Joey and Sydney officially went by the names Joey and Sydney Armstrong. Once David was convicted, he surrendered all parental rights to the two children, thus giving Billie Joe the ability to adopt them. David received twenty years in prison for his crimes as did Caylyn. David issued an apology to Adrienne before he went to prison, his last words to the family.

Joey and Sydney could see up the hall it looked like a long line of windows along the wall and their dad, Billie Joe, was standing there with some of their uncles and Mike. They were pointing and smiling at something in the window.

Mike saw them first and nudged Billie Joe. Billie Joe looked over and smiled as he saw his children, Joey and Sydney, coming towards them.

"Come here guys." He picked up Sydney and Mike did the same with Joey. Billie Joe pointed to a bundle of blue with what looked like a ball of pink shaded with black sticking out the top of the blankets. "That's your baby brother."

Both little children watched in awe as their little brother opened his tiny mouth wide in a yawn, his eyes barely peeking out from underneath his little lids.

"He's so tiny. Like a little doll." Sydney said as she put her hand on the glass.

"What'd you name him?" Tre' asked as he held Frankito up to see.

"This is a trip." Billie Joe's older brother, Allen, said.

Billie Joe glared at him. "Well, since Adrienne was completely knocked out from all the drugs they gave her, I got to name him. His name is Jakob. Jakob with a 'k, ' not a 'c. ' Adrienne wanted to name him that."

"What's so bad about that?" Tre' asked confused. He looked at Allen. "You're making fun of the fact that Billie Joe and Adrienne can't spell?"

"No." Allen said, sounding very much like Billie Joe when he held the word out. "Tell them his middle name."

"Oh, what is it?" Tre' looked back at Billie Joe.

"I like it." Mike piped up. "Girls are going to fall all over him because of his name."

"What is it?" Frankito was tired of the wait and asked impatiently.

"His name," Billie Joe began slowly and calmly. "Is Jakob Danger Armstrong."

"Sweet. You gave your son the ultimate gift, an eternal pick-up line that he will never have to lie about." Tre' nodded his head in approval. "Adrienne doesn't know does she?"

"Uh, no." Billie Joe said nervously.

"Adie's gonna kill you." Tre' added on.

"Yeah." Billie Joe agreed. "But we all have to die somehow."

"You know, this time last year, Billie Joe, you were... Screwed up." Mike commented as he put Joey down.

"Yeah." Billie Joe agreed. "But now, it feels like home."