The Definitions of Family (Sequel to “Stats”)
by Jayed

Warnings: Minor Violence. Simon-centric (sort of…Is this a warning?)
Disclaimer: Just borrowed, briefly.

EMAIL: Jayed

“Any group of persons closely related by blood, as parents, children, uncles, aunts, and cousins”

            Simon Banks, besotted grandfather, sat staring down at his cranky granddaughter in the half-light of the midnight living room. The tiny girl looked so like and yet unlike his still sorely missed son.  She had his lips, the shape of his ears, and the exact color of his eyes, but her nose and the shape of her eyes clearly came from her mother, the young woman currently looking in the freezer for one of the frozen “specially for teething” toys they’d found worked best at moments like this one.

            He couldn’t believe how smoothly the two had fit into his life. He had thought, when he made the offer, that the disruption would be something he’d just have to accept. Instead, he’d found himself anxious to get home now rather than staying late in his office. He found he enjoyed sharing his day with someone across the dinner table, especially when the meals were homemade by someone who could really cook. He found that the youth of his all-but-daughter-in-law was returning a sense of enthusiasm to his life.

            Alice Dee was the reason he’d finally given up cigars.  He hadn’t even been able to do it for Daryl, but, sexist it might be, the tiny girl gave him more reason.  She, and her mother, depended upon him.  He wouldn’t, couldn’t, let them down.

“Parents and their children, considered as a group, whether dwelling together or not”

            He had long realized that the Ashtons were bound to show up eventually.  Dahlia was their only child and, whatever disappointment they’d found in her out-of-wedlock pregnancy, he had never believed that they would cut her off permanently.  He also didn’t think that they’d be able to withstand the lure of a grandchild forever.  Looking back, he realized he should have considered how easily Joan had been able to ignore Alice Dee.

            Then, he arrived home unexpectedly early one Tuesday.  A pair of big cases had been settled that morning—an arsonist collared by H and Rafe and a drug lab shut down by Jim (and Blair) —, and he had decided that even he could take off a bit early in light of it all.  He saw the unknown vehicle parked in front of the house, but didn’t think much of it. Dahlia often had friends from school over to study.

            As he came through door from the garage into the kitchen, he heard what sounded like flesh hitting flesh followed by a split second of silence and then the wail of a frightened baby. Acting on pure instinct, he burst into the living room, gun in hand.  A strange man had grasped Dahlia by the shoulders. Her face already bore a reddening mark, clear evidence that he had, indeed, heard someone being struck. An unknown woman was standing near the playpen in the corner.

            “Freeze, Cascade police!”

            The woman followed the order and froze in place. The man gave Dahlia one last shake and turned to face Simon. “Banks? I’m…”

            “I told you to freeze. That means stop moving,” Simon was trying hard to hold onto his temper. “Dahlia, you okay?” The man looked furious, but he was also now staring at the gun. He apparently had enough of a sense of self-preservation to recognize the advisability of listening to the large angry man wielding it.

            “Yes, Simon,” she paused. “Simon, these are my parents. It’s okay, really.” She moved cautiously past the older woman and took Alice Dee into her arms. The crying baby gave one last loud gasp and subsided, one tiny chubby thumb finding its way into her little mouth.

            “It’s just a misunderstanding,” Ashton added.

            “How does a misunderstanding equate to striking a young woman hard enough to leave a mark?”

            “Look, Banks, we just came to talk to Dahlia, but she wasn’t listening. I was just trying to get her attention.”

            “By slapping her around? What kind of attention did you want?”

            “It’s a family matter. Nothing to do with you.”

“All the members of a household under one roof.”

            “This is my house. That’s my granddaughter and the woman my son loved. I think I have some family standing here. And, frankly, the idea that a man could beat his womenfolk because ‘It’s just a family matter’ stunk in the past and doesn’t work in courts these days. Try again.” He paused, lowering the gun. “Give me one good reason not to arrest you for assault and battery. A good reason.”

            Moving to stand by him, Dahlia gave him one. “Please, Simon. Don’t. I’m asking.”

            “Fine.” He turned to the visitors. “You can go now. You are done here.”

            Seeing her husband about to argue, Mrs. Ashton shook her head covertly at him. He subsided as she joined him. “Dahlia,” she said, “you know we only want the best for you.”

“Two or more people who share goals and values, have long-term commitments to one another, and reside usually in the same dwelling place.”

            The younger woman took a small step to place herself more firmly at Simon’s side, both in agreement with his idea of his family and seeking his protection.  “No, Mother. You want what’s best for Daddy. Alice Dee is my daughter. She’s mine, like I used to be yours. You never thought about that, did you?”

            The stunned look at the faces of both Ashtons would have been comical in other circumstances.