Sweet Child O' Mine

Duane Lee's POV:

The sweet smell of apples filled my senses as I snuggled deeper into the covers, rolling onto my side. I pulled her closer to me; her hair falling over my bare chest.

"Mmm" I moaned, trying not to wake up from this dream. It wasn't uncommon for me to dream about Nikki, it happened every couple of days, but this was the first time I felt like she was actually here as smooth, bare legs, brushed against thigh. My eyes shot open. It wasn't a dream.

"Maggie!" I yelled louder than I probably should have. She mumbled something and rolled into my chest, I pulled back looking at her, my arms still wrapped tightly around her slender body.

"Tried to wake you up." she mumbles, as she pushes a few errant strands of hair out of her face; her eyes still closed as she yawned.

"Whats... going on?" I asked hesitantly as I pull away from her, quickly looking under the covers to make sure I had boxers on.

"Knocking....someone was knocking on the front door last night. You wouldn't wake up, and I was scared." she says, rolling onto her back. "So I just crawled in bed with you. I'm sorry." she tells me, looking away as I eyed her skeptically. "I panicked."

"I didn't even know you tried to wake me up...I am so sorry. I don't even remember what time I got into bed." I say, scratching my head, trying to recall when that was.

"Its okay, you're still new at this bodyguard thing. I'll forgive you this time." she says, trying to hide her smile as she rolled away from me. "Guess I'm just used to Bert being a light sleeper."

I sighed, sitting up on the side of the bed, "You said, someone was knocking? How did they get over that fence?"

She shrugged her shoulders as she sat beside me on the edge of the bed.

"By the way, you're a cover hog." she says as she leaves me sitting there alone.

After she left my room, I got dressed and headed downstairs to the front door. I needed to see if whoever was doing the knocking left something behind. My investigative skills kicked in as I stepped onto the small porch of the townhouse. There was an envelope propped against the railing of the gate. I stepped onto the walkway, looking around for anything or anybody that might be lurking in the shadows.

I pulled the envelope apart and several pictures spilled out. There was one of Maggie on the set yesterday, another of the two of us getting out of the car at the townhouse. And another that worried me even more; a picture of her getting undressed in her room.

I slid the pictures into my back pocket and tossed the envelope in the trash can. I pulled her cell phone out of my pocket, "Ralph, its Duane Lee, look, we have to move Maggie from this house; now."

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Maggie's POV

"Whats going on?" I asked Duane Lee as he came back inside, stuffing something in his pocket. He shrugged and said "Nothing you have to worry about."

As long as Ive been in the business, there was one thing I learned and that was to ask questions, and a lot of them. And I knew when he said it was nothing I should worry about; I should worry! I had gotten to the point in my life where I felt the need to take control. Too many people had been running my life for the past ten years, and I was at the breaking point.

"Don't bullshit me! " I yell back, as he turns around to walk away. "I'm not a f**king child. I demand that you tell me whats going on, right now!"

He sighs, and pulls something out of his pants pocket. "Before I let you see these, you have to promise me that you wont freak out. I called Ralph and asked that he move you to another location." he tells me as he hands me some pictures.

I flipped through the pictures, carefully studying each one before moving onto the next. I came to a picture of me, standing in my room, changing clothes; my heart stopped momentarily as I looked up at Duane. "I have a stalker?"

He shook his head, this was as new to him as it was to me.

"I don't know Maggie. Thats why I want you to be moved to another house or hotel. We cant risk your life by having you stay here another day. Until we find out who took these pictures and how they got past the gate..." he says, his thoughts trailing off until he's left, staring down, not really knowing what to say to me.

No sooner had I opened my mouth to respond, Ralph pushed the door opening, causing me to scream. "Don't do that!" I say clutching my heart. "My God Ralph...you are so dramatic with the entrances ...dont you know I have a stalker!"

"You weren't supposed to tell her!" he says looking over at Duane Lee.

"She had a right to know. I believe I'm the security here, therefore I have to do what I see fit."

Duane Lee's POV:

Reluctantly Maggie agreed to move to another, smaller townhouse a few miles outside of the city. It looked similar in structure to the last, but lacked the bells and whistles of the city house.

With a loud, disgusted sigh she drops her luggage at the front door. "They could have at least cleaned the place up for us." she says, turning to me as I struggle with the rest of her things, plus mine.

I was becoming more irritated by the minute, it didn't help that she bitched the entire car ride, and now she was bringing the attitude into the house with her. "Ralph said you were only going to be in town for a few more days, do you think you can manage Princess?"

She spins around, giving me that look. "What? Did you just call me Princess?"

I dropped the luggage where I stood and crossed my arms. "I'm sorry... your majesty? Is that better?" I ask, giving her a sweeping bow.

"Ugh!" she says stomping her foot. "I don't know who you think you are! Bert never spoke to me that way!" She says punctuating every word with another stomp of her foot.

I didn't know what had come over me, this was my job. I couldn't have her firing me, leaving me stranded half-way around the world.

"Look- " I say, grabbing her arm, "I'm sorry. I'm just having a bad day, and you stomping around is not helping."

"I am the boss. I can stomp if I feel like it!" She says stomping again to prove her point.

I bit my tongue, the last thing I wanted today was to start a fight. "I hated that we had to move from house to house, I really liked the last one, but if I'm going to do my job and do it right, this is what had to be done. This is serious, Maggie. Do you understand that?"

"Yes." she says quietly, almost defeated. "Sorry..."

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Later that night over dinner, I see Maggie eying me over a glass of red wine. "Something on your mind?" I ask, as I sip my own drink.

"Nothing." She tells me, pretending to eat her food. Pushing it around the plate was more of what I would call it, but her eating habits were her business. "Actually..." she says looking up, "I was wondering why you never talk about Ellie... you're daughter, I mean."

I coughed, trying to swallow my food. I wasn't expecting that to be what was on her mind.

"I know its none of my business, but I was just curious. I mean, you love her enough to tattoo her name above your heart...why don't you ever see her? You've been with me for a few months now and you haven't even mentioned her."

I wiped my mouth off with my napkin before sitting it down over my plate. "I love my daughter more than life itself." I start to say, as I look over at Maggie. "But its not something I want to discuss with you right now. Excuse me." I say quietly getting up from the table.

As I layed in bed that night, I wondered how big Ellie had gotten? Did she miss me? Did she even know me?

The last thought brought tears to my eyes, as I rolled on to my side. I didn't bother to wipe them away, I needed to cry...real men can cry for their daughter. Today was Ellie's second birthday and I wasn't there to celebrate it. I looked at the clock, it was 11:30 in Rome, I didn't know what time it was in Hawaii, but I decided I would call the one person who wouldn't withhold any information from me.

I picked up my discarded jeans and pulled Maggie's cell from the pocket and dialed the number. She answered after four rings.