Mercy

Present Day:

"I cant believe he did that to you, and you're still with him." Leland says, interrupting her story.

"Last week was the first time I've seen him in over a month. He moved out, said he couldn't forgive himself for what he had done to me."

An uncomfortable silence fills the small room. Nikki could hear several people talking out in the living room, some asking where Leland was, others talking to Duane Lee about the baby.

"So, what do you think pushed him over the edge like that? He was never one to get drunk."

Nikki sighs, knowing the answer all to well. "You." she says, looking into his eyes. "He couldn't take the pressure of what might happen between you and I, if you regained your memory. He took every opportunity to tell me that he was afraid I would leave him for you. After a while it really got to me, because I felt like he didn't trust me. Also the stress at work is getting to him, although he would never admit to that."

"I'm sorry...for everything." Leland tells her. "I still love you, for what its worth." he says, leaning in to kiss her softly on the lips.

She opens her mouth to respond to his comment, but someone knocks lightly on the door. Nikki says goodbye to Leland, knowing it had to be Duane Lee on the other side.

"We'll talk soon, okay?" she says with a smile.

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

"Whats wrong? You seem a little tense." Duane Lee asked as they got into bed that night.

"Oh, I'm fine." Nikki says, pulling back the cover on her side of the bed. She debated whether or not to tell him about the kiss with Leland, but thought better about it; Duane was a little unpredictable lately. With a child on the way the last thing they needed was more drama. 'It wasn't like it meant anything, just a friendly little peck.' she tells herself as she rolls onto her side, laying her head on Duane Lee's chest; it was the only position that felt comfortable these days.

A content sigh came from his lips as Nikki ran her hand across his stomach, she smiled, knowing he was happy to be back home with her after being away for so long. She closed her eyes, thinking about the day he left her standing in the doorway crying.

"Where are you going?" She asked as he came down the stairs with a duffle bag in his hand and pissed off look on his face.

"I don't know...maybe to my dads. I just need to get away for a little while. I'm sorry Nikki." he says, stopping at the bottom of the stairs. They had been fighting non-stop for two days since his drunken incident.

"I told you that I forgave you. I told you that we can move on from this. Please, don't go." she begs as he walks toward the door.

He bits his lip, almost considering giving in to her pleas, but changed his mind at the last minute, "I cant forgive myself. I disrespected you and I wasn't raised that way. I'm sorry, but I have to." he says, leaning in to kiss her on the cheek. He whispers "I love you baby." in her ear and walks away.

"Its good to be home." he says quietly, interrupting her memory as he trails a line of kisses along her forehead.

"Yes. The last few days have been good. You're home, Leland is doing better...life is good." Nikki says, moving around to get into a more comfortable position. "I noticed that you didn't talk to Leland tonight."

She feels him nod, as he kisses her jawline. "Any reason for that?" she asks, trying to get some kind of answer from him. His hand roams across her chest, stopping to squeeze her ever growing breasts.

"God, I need a picture of these." a raspy voice says, as he squeezes them again.

Nikki rolls her eyes, stilling his movements with her own hand. "Are you listening to me?"

He laughs, "No, not really. Just enjoying these while they last. Not that they weren't great before, but ...wow." he says, pushing her hand out of the way as he lowers his lip to them, eliciting a moan from Nikki.

"You are so evil." she whispers, throwing her head back against the pillow.

"And you love every minute of it."

The next morning Nikki reached blindly for her fiance, only to find cold sheets. Prying her eyes open, she realized he was gone. She wandered into the hallway and eventually down the stairs looking for him, but came up short, that was until she got into the kitchen. Smiling, she pulled a note off the fridge and read it.

Good Morning Sleeping Beauty,
You looked so peaceful I didn't want to wake you! Left for work at 3:30, it will probably be a long day. Call me if you need anything.
<3 DLC

She laughed, shaking her head at the little heart he had drawn and stuck the magnet back over the note. After eating some yogurt for breakfast she wandered around the house, looking for something to do, and ended up in Duane Lee's office. Often times he brought files home with him that were of the highest priority, most of the time to study a mugshot, but lately it had been because Leland wasn't at work to pick up the overflow of files.

She picked one up, reading it as she spun around in the plush leather chair. "Kalani Leau" she said out loud staring at his picture, he had a large tattoo on the side of his neck that looked like some sort of Chinese writing. "Assault, Burglary, Rape, Rape... Wow." she says, closing the file quickly as she felt a chill come over her.

Often times she questioned Duane Lee on why they would even post bail for some one who would commit such crimes as rape or child abuse, the only answer he could offer her was 'They have a right to be bailed out.' She knew deep down that he didn't always agree with it either, but it was his job and it paid the bills.

She stopped the chair as she picked up another file, "Michael Arulio" Nikki says, slowly. "White male, 195, 5'10." she says out loud to the empty room. "Parking violation, Parking violation, Parking violation...Boring, Boring, Boring." she says throwing the file back onto the pile and standing up.

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

As Nikki shopped for items for the baby later that day she glanced down at her cell phone, it was 4:45 and she hadn't heard from Duane all day. She wondered who they might be chasing today as she started to dial his number. It rang six times before going to voice mail. Shrugging her shoulders she hung up without leaving a message.

Deciding to stop at just one more shop before going to the grocery store, Nikki stepped out of her car and onto the sidewalk of the baby boutique. She noticed a well dressed man and a younger woman walking into the store. The man happened to look her way and give her a smile when she saw the tattoo on his neck, causing her to trip as she walked through the door. The man reached out, catching her by the arm so that she wouldn't fall.

"Are you alright?" he asked, as she straightened herself out.

She could only nod yes and give him a weak "Thank you." as she tried to calm herself down. 'Its him, I know its him. What do I do? What would Duane Lee do?' she asks herself over and over as she kept an eye on them. Pulling her phone out, she called Duane again, getting his voice mail. She hung up quickly and sent him a text message saying : Call me now! In the same store as one of your guys!!!!

Frustrated with him for not answering she called the office, and no one there answered either. 'Where are they?' she kept asking herself as she tried to keep an eye on the guy. Her adrenaline was flowing, she couldn't let them leave the store because she knew if that file was at their house, this man was important.

She dialed one more number; Leland. He still hadn't been released to come back to work, but this might be the only opportunity to catch this guy.

"Leland. I need you to come down to Tiny Treasures right now." she whispers quietly into the phone.

"Why are you whispering? Is everything okay?" he asks, sounding a little worried.

"I'm fine. There’s a guy here, Kalani something or another, I saw the file on Duane Lee's desk this morning. Its him!" she says, glancing to the back of the store. "He has a tattoo on his neck, He had two charges of Rape. He shouldn't be out on the streets." she tells him.

"Don't panic, and don't let him know who you are." he says, hanging up the phone.

It didn't take long for Leland to reach the baby boutique, he caught Nikki's eye as she glanced out the window. He motioned for her to come to him. He hadn't worked in seven months, but Nikki had all the faith in the world in him.

"Give me your car keys." he says, handing his over to her. "Take mine, and take Bailee home with you." he says very seriously as he pulls a pair of handcuffs out of his pants and walks into the store.

Nikki could only nod her head in agreement as she jumped into Leland's truck and drove away. She looked into the rear view mirror and saw that Bailee was sound asleep as she drove through town. Her heart was racing as she pulled into the driveway and carried the little girl into the house as best she could, being pregnant and carrying a four year old at the same time wasn't easy.