Little Eavesdroppers ~ Tad / Dixie

[Kathy Martin]

Kathy had told her mom she’d be looking after her baby brother, but the moment she’d brought him up to his room, she’d slipped back down to the stairs and peeked over listening to what was being said between David and her mommy. She recognized the man from before, when he’d taken Krystal away from them and then told a funny joke, she also remembered how her daddy had reacted to hearing he’d been in the house.

Listening to what was said scared her and when all was said and done, she pretended she didn’t hear anything, though it ate away at her all day. The moment her dad came home from work, Kathy decided she couldn’t hold it in anymore, and she wasn’t going to be a tattletale against her mom, so grabbing her coat she snuck out the front door and into the cool late afternoon breeze. Sniffling a bit she took a seat on the park bench and closed her eyes, wishing there was someone she could talk to...

[teamluv08]

After picking up some dinner from the Chicken Shack, Tad arrived home and greeted his family. When he first walked in he saw Kathy looking a bit off but right before he had a chance to ask her what was going on Dixie called for him to help her with the twins. So setting his things down he gave his oldest girl a parting wink and went to help. Minutes after getting the twins straight and telling Dixie about his hard day he went back towards the front to show her that he picked up dinner when he noticed that Kathy wasn’t where he left her. And to make matters worse the front door was open.

“Dixie!” Tad called running to the back where he told her. Just in case she hadn’t went out the door and he was the one that left it open they checked all over the place for her. “She’s not here,” he sighed, gripping the counter and looking up at Dixie. “Maybe she went to her friends,” he said and moments later went to check only to found out the girl hadn’t seen Kathy since the day before and neither had her mother. Fear racking his body Tad went back to the house and grabbed his keys and cell. “I’m going to go find our little girl.”

Tad walked out, hopped in his car and started rolling up and down the streets looking for Kathy. Even stopping to ask questions. He’d been strolling for the past hour or maybe two and there’d still been no sign of her which led him to call Dixie and tell her to call the police. “Come on Kathy, where are you… Come on,” he mumbled, squeezing the steering wheel and turning down the street that led to the park.

[Kathy Martin]

Kathy had been gone an hour or two, she’d lost track of time as she sat on the bench, thinking about what she’d overheard. She hadn’t liked the way her mom had reacted around David or the way he’d treated her and she worried that telling anybody that she’d overheard things would be bad.

At the sound of a car she looked up and bit her lip, afraid of who it might be and she shrunk a little on the spot of where she sat. When she heard the footsteps she moved to get up and looked around for a place to hide, pulling her backpack up just in case she had to run away. She knew not to talk to strangers, but she also knew there could be bad people out there lurking.

[Dix C. Martin]

After getting the twins settled in the nursery, feeling just as drained as Tad after her ordeal with David, all Dixie wanted to do was talk things out and calm down with her husband and oldest girl. Coming to the front though she felt this overwhelming sense of dread. She sensed it. Something was wrong, something was off. And when Tad yelled for her and came running to the back just the look in his eyes confirmed it.
"Oh God...Kate?! KATE!!!"
Yelling for her daughter by the name she'd given her and hadn't used since she first held her, tears formed in Dixie's eyes. This couldn't be happening, not again.
Frantic she searched every corner of the house, the patio, and later got in touch with as many of Kathy's friends as possible, with no luck.
When Tad grabbed his keys and phone, Dixie nodded and let him go. Knowing her best bet was to stay here, for the twins and in case Kathy came home on her own.
Putting the chicken fingers in the oven, not even close to having an appetite, Dixie brought the twins to the front and tried to keep calm for their sakes. But soon enough they picked up on her mood and both snuggled close to her on the couch.
"It's okay..it's okay you two, I'm here and Daddy's gonna bring Kathy home soon, and we'll have chicken fingers and everything will be fine. I promise everything will be fine."
She cooed. But then minutes turned into an hour, and then one turned to two. Finally though her phone buzzed and she answered so fast she nearly broke it.
"Tad did you..no? Oh God."
Covering her mouth with her hand she fought back a sob. It had been hours, why hadn't he found her? After hanging up she tried to get her composure back before calling the cops.
"PVPD, Officer Henr--"
"Di!!"
"Dixie? What is it? What's wrong?"
Di asked, instantly tensing up when she heard her sister's voice. Something was wrong, she felt it in her gut.
"I..It's Ka..Kathy. Sh..she.."
"She what? Dixie what about Kathy?"
"She..she went mi--"

Dixie cried, her voice choking on the word. But deciphering it Di's stomach knotted.
"How long has it-"

"T..Tad's been looking about t..two hours..God, Di if he couldn't find her then where.."
"Shhh, Dixie just try and stay calm okay? We'll get some guys out there right now.
Is there anything else can you tell me?"
"I...I..Tad and I were both, home, she was too, watching TV. He came in the back to..to help me with the twins and, and when he went back to the front, the..the door was open..and she was gone, I.."
"Alright look, it's gonna be okay. I'll get as many people as I can on this, we're gonna find Kate, Dixie."
"I..It can't happen again, Di..I..I can't..I can't lose her again..I..I can't..I won't survive it if anything happ--"
"Shh, Dixie don't think like that! You understand? You're not gonna lose Kate, not now, not ever again."
Di insisted, but was just met by crying on the other line that tore her heart in two. Not sure if she should go patrolling for her niece or keep an eye on her sister. But before she could decide Bryce made the decision for her and grabbed Kerry to accompany him in the car instead.
"Bryce I should be out there I..she's my niece I should.."
"You should go be with Dixie. Di you're exhausted, you patrolled all morning and have been stuck behind the desk the rest of the day. Go calm your sister down. You'll be the first to know if we hear anything."
"Promise?"
"Promise..now go!"
Bryce ordered, as Di nodded, went to her car, and using her emergency siren drove as fast as she could to her sister's house.
Letting herself in without knocking, walking up she pulled her pacing frantic sister into a fierce hug.
"Shh, it's okay. We're gonna find her, everything's gonna be okay."

[teamluv08]

A little voice in Tad’s head told him to stay where he was and search that area. Which was the park. Not one to ignored that little voice very often and needing every ounce of help he could get, Tad put his car in park, killed the engine and got out. Before he started walking around he let a trained eye scan the place for her. There were still quite a few people still walking around enjoying the cool evening so trying to pinpoint one movement was a job and a half.

Thaddeus started up the walkway stopping every so often to ask questions, but not getting the answer he wanted. “Kathy!” He called, passing near a secluded area. He was getting ready to keep ahead when he heard a whimper and the sound of a twig breaking. He turned around. “Kathy?” He called once again, taking a few slow steps back. It could have been an animal hiding behind the bushes that made the sound for all he knew, but he called her just to be sure. Kathy was small making it easy for her to slip into little places.

“Kate?” He called, this time using her by her birth name hoping in some way that would coax her out from hiding. Of course if that was her hiding out.

[Kathy Martin]

Kathy had hid the moment the footsteps had gotten closer, and peeked out from her hiding place as two young boys ran by chasing a soccer ball. Well, at least it hadn’t been a stranger, just two kids like her. A voice shouting caught her attention and she dipped back down into the bushes, holding her breath as she sunk a little lower to the ground. When the twig snapped she gasped and then looked up, just as her dad said her name, her birth name.

“Daddy,” she called to him quietly, coming forward from her hiding place and looking up at him, her hands holding her backpack. “I’m here. I’m sorry I ran away.” She came forward a little, avoiding his eyes until she finally looked up at him, afraid she was going to spill everything she’d heard between her mommy and David if she spoke anymore.

[teamluv08]

Tad was about to keep forward when he heard this very small voice quietly call to him. He turned around and Kathy was coming from behind the bushes. Tad’s visibly sighed with relief as he rushed over to her and pulled her into his arms. “Shhh… Shhhh.” He said into her hair as he held her close to his heart and let out a shaky breath.

After a few moments of just holding her and telling her he loved her so much Tad pulled back a bit and gave her the once over. “Are you hurt? Did anybody hurt you or say anything to you? Kathy it’s okay you can tell me… God! Kathy you nearly gave me and your mother a heart attack,” he rambled, pulling her back into his arms and picking her up off the ground.

“I have to call your mother. Let her know you… Kathy?” He questioned, looking in her eyes. Tad knew his daughter better than he knew himself and could tell by the way she avoided looking into his eyes that something wasn’t right. “What’s wrong? Did somebody do something to you? Who?” He asked, turning around and letting his eyes scan the area.

[Kathy Martin]

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry daddy,” Kathy sobbed, feeling terrible for making him worry. She hugged him tight the moment he picked her up and wrapped her arms around his neck. She told him she loved him back each time he said it and when he pulled away from her she shook her head.

“I’m not hurt, nobody hurt me,” she shook her head as he rambled and felt tears sting her eyes as he said she nearly gave her parents a heart attack. “I didn’t mean to run away I just...” She bit her lip as she was picked up off the ground and tried very hard not to blurt out what it was that was making her so upset that she had to run away. The moment he mentioned calling her mom she put her hand out to stop him but stopped short and let it drop, trying very hard not to say it.

“No one did anything,” she explained to him, putting her hands up then dropping them. “I just... I don’t want to be a tattletale. I don’t want to say what I heard, I just... I...” She bit her lip harder and put her head down against his shoulder and shook her head. “I’m sorry daddy! I don’t want you or mommy to be mad at me. I really didn’t mean to run away!”

[teamluv08]

“Are you sure?” He asked again, letting his eyes scan her. When she mentioned she didn’t want to be a tattletale he looked back up and gave her a questioning look. “Honey, what are you…” His words were cut short when she laid her head against his shoulder and continued to cry. Putting his phone down, Tad wrapped his arms back around her and kissed her cheek. “It’s okay… Nobody’s mad at you, I promise,” Tad whispered, wishing he knew what she was trying too hard to keep from him. Who was she tattling on? What had they done to make her runaway? What had they said?

After making sure he had Kathy secured in his arms he moved to sit on the bench. “Daddy’s right here and he isn’t going anywhere,” he whispered, taking his phone and instead of calling Dixie sent her a text letting her know that he found Kathy and that she was alright. Once he sent it off he placed the phone back down beside him and held his little girl in his chest. “Are you ready to go home?” He asked looking down at her and watching her shake her head no. “Okay, then we can stay here until you’re ready. And we can talk or… Kathy, please talk to me,” he begged. “Earlier you seemed fine, what happened between the time I got home and the time you left out the door? Kathy I need to know.” He didn’t want to pressure his daughter, but he just couldn’t shake what she said earlier about being a tattletale.

[Kathy Martin]

Kathy bit her lip as Tad soothed her and took a seat down on the bench still holding her close. Her tears subsided as he spoke and tried to gently coax her into telling him what she’d heard. The suggestion of going home frightened her, especially if she told her dad what she’d done, so instead of saying yes, she simply shook her head. It took a lot of inner battling to decide that she had to get it out, despite it all.

“Before you got home, there was a knock on the door and mommy answered it and told me to go upstairs with Nolan,” she explained quietly, pulling back so she could look at him better. “Mommy didn’t seem happy and I took him upstairs but then I...” She paused and dropped her head down, avoiding his eyes now. “... I came downstairs to see who it was. I didn’t mean to listen, I just wanted to know if mommy was going to be okay. Please don’t be mad at me? I don’t want you or mommy to be mad.” She gave a little sob and looked up at him before looking away quickly.

“It didn’t sound very nice and I didn’t like it,” she continued shaking her head. “But mommy told me to be upstairs with Nolan and I wasn’t, I was listening to her and Doctor David talk. Am I going to be grounded forever because I listened when I shouldn’t have and ran away? I don’t like him, he took Krystal away and does bad things. Please don’t be mad daddy, I didn’t want to be a tattletale!” Her head found his shoulder again, arms wrapping loosely around his neck as she hugged him.

[teamluv08]

Gently taking Kathy’s chine and making her look back at him, he tried to assure her that nothing of the sort would happen. “Nobody’s mad honey. And nobody is going to be mad.”

When she finally continued to tell him what happened and she mentioned that whatever it was didn’t sound nice, Tad tried to figure out himself who the person was. Who was the person that came to their home and upset his wife? And what conversation was it that upset his child? Off the top he could only think of two people who had the power to do that. And for sure Kathy named the very first name on that list of two. “He wha…” Tad cut himself off and took a deep breath. What the hell was that evil bastard doing at his home? And why did Dixie even let him in?

“Kathy, no,” he started, shaking images of that bastard head being under his shoe from his head. As mad as he was and as much as he wanted that happen, his child was more important and assuring her that neither he nor her mother for that matter would be mad at her was his top priority. Letting her know that what she did wasn’t wrong was his top priority. “I promise you Kathy, I promise you with everything in me that nobody is going to be mad and you are not grounded. Okay?” He asked, gently squeezing her and planting another kiss in her hair. Pulling her back he stared into her eyes. “Right eavesdropping is bad, but honey you were worried about your mother and there nothing wrong with that. Trust me. And believe it or not you did the right thing by telling me,” he said, reaching up and thumbing away her tears. “Just honey promise me next time something like this is bothering you, you come to me or your mother or even Uncle Jesse and Aunt Angie. Don’t run off like that again.”

He took her hand and placed it over his heart. “For the sake of an old man’s heart. Okay?”

[Kathy Martin]

“If you promise,” Kathy mumbled through her tears, nodding her head slowly. She returned the squeeze as he pulled her close and kissed his cheek before she was pulled back again and looked up at him. She sniffled again as she listened to him talk and then tilted her head a little as she heard what he said.

“I did the right thing?” she asked him curiously. “I was worried about mommy, I didn’t want him to hurt her or say something bad.” She paused for only a second, looking down at the bench before back up at him as he wiped away her tears. “But I thought tattling was a bad thing? Everyone says it is, and that’s why I went away.”

“Okay, I promise daddy, I’ll tell you next time, or mommy or Uncle Jesse or Aunt Angie,” she told him with a nod. “I wont run away, I’m sorry I did.” She reached up and placed her own little hand overtop his and then gave him a weak smile. “For the sake of your heart.” Her smile fell and she glanced down as her stomach gave a loud rumble and she laughed.

“Can we go home daddy? I wanna see mommy and I’m hungry,” she asked him, reaching over for her backpack. “Did we miss dinner?” She was about to jump down off his lap and then thought better of it, reaching up and wrapping her arm around his neck and hugging him close before kissing his cheek. “I love you so much daddy.” She pulled back and leapt down, grabbing her backpack and slipping it over her shoulders and holding up her hand for him to take.

[teamluv08]

“Sometimes tattling is a bad thing, but other times there is nothing wrong with it. Especially when you worried about the other person being in some kind of trouble or worried they might do something that might hurt them,” he explained.

Tad chuckled when she placed her small hand over his larger one. “Thank you,” he said with a smile before watching her smile fall and then hear her stomach. When she started laughing he raised his head and then a brow. “Did you happen to eat a monster or something?” He teased, poking her in her stomach and laughing with her.

“Not even,” he answered when she asked about missing dinner. He was about to make a move to stand up when she wrapped her arms back around him. “I love you too Kathy and don’t you ever for it,” he told her, giving her wink and then later finally standing and taking her hand. “Let’s go home and feed that monster you ate earlier,” he teased again, leading the way to the car and once he helped her in, hopped in himself and headed home.