Dani awakened to a churning stomach. She jumped out of bed and ran to bathroom where, unable to make it to the toilet, she released the contents of her stomach into the vanity bowl. For the first time her child was making his presence known.
She remained in a bent position until the nausea eased a bit. After taking a couple of deep breaths she quickly brushed her teeth before her gag reflex could engage. Apparently the baby didn't like her usual minty toothpaste, but fortunately, she didn't heave again. After she finished, she headed to the kitchen in search of some crackers.
Dani heard from her mother that the dry Saltine crackers would set her stomach right. She'd thought there might be some left over from the chili Ryan made a couple of days after Christmas. These particular Saltines didn't have any salt on top, which were much more to her liking. The last thing she needed was sodium induced high blood pressure, especially while she was pregnant.
As she approached the kitchen she briefly wondered where Ryan was, but settling her stomach was the more pressing matter. The crackers were located in a slide out drawer next to the oatmeal. There was one section that hadn't been opened yet. She took a few crackers out and resealed the package with the twist tie. Taking a bite, she was pleased to hear the familiar crunch of freshness as she went back to the bathroom to take a shower. Then she thought she'd go in search of her man.
*
Ryan was sitting on the sofa engrossed in a phone call when Dani entered the living room. He was bare foot and wearing a pair of old faded Jeans which were unbuttoned. Sitting down next to him, she leaned against his warm body taking comfort in his strength.
He placed a hand on her thigh as he continued his conversation. Dani soon realized that he was talking to Zane.
"I'm happy about that too," Ryan said in response to something Zane said.
"Well, I thought that would be the best news you could hear out of this mess," Zane offered.
"He'll have his sentencing before the judge and that will be it. His court appointed attorney wanted to put in a temporary insanity plea, but Hall refused. Of course they'd done the psyche exams which made it evident that he was entirely competent to make that decision."
"I guess he is taking responsibility for what he did," Ryan said, "but won't the courts consider his mental state at the time of the attack?"
"I don't think that will affect the amount of time he gets," Zane said. "He does have some serious issues and not only with his mother abandoning him. He also has anger issues directly related to his father."
"Why was that?" Ryan asked, confused. "I thought he had a good relationship with his father."
"Not exactly, although that's the impression he gave people," Zane said.
"His father was only a kid himself when he got Hall's mother pregnant. He spent most of his time running the streets and that didn't stop after Hall's birth. As a matter of fact, it got worse, according to Hall's grandmother. Hall loved her, but she wasn't a parent and he became more aware of the implication of that as he got older. Over the years the anger at the lack of attention from his father grew. That, along with the abandonment of his mother, manifested itself in acts of violence and illegal activities."
Zane paused to take a deep breath before continuing.
"When his reunion with his mother didn't work as planned he got fixated on Dani, but didn't know how to handle it. As you know, his possessiveness drove her away. But the relationship was doomed anyway you look at it because Dani didn't return his feelings."
After considering Ryan's initial question, Zane said, "Instead of getting a reduction in time, he's more likely to get court appointed psychiatric sessions in the join."
"Damn," Ryan said, "you never know how people are going to deal with things. Someone else with the same upbringing might have been able to cope. In any event, as long as he stays away from Dani, I'll be happy and he'll stay alive."
"I hear you," Zane said understanding Ryan's feelings completely.
"That's all I know for now. I'll call you if anything else comes up, but right now I gotta get ready for a... uh, date."
"A date? That sounds interesting," Ryan stated with humor.
"Wanna tell me about her?"
"Uh, that would be no. I'm not sure about her myself, but she is something," Zane offered feeling like the room was getting hot just thinking about Alex. Alexandra.
"Ok, I won't press. Hope it works out man," Ryan said.
"Thanks," Zane said anxious to get off the phone now.
"later."
Then he was gone.
Looking at Dani, Ryan said, "Sounds like some woman might have Zane twisted in a knot."
"It's about time," she said with a chuckle.
* Valentine's Day was coming up soon. Dani knew that a lot of people thought it was romantic to have a wedding on that day, but she wanted her wedding to have its own special day. All things considered, she decided on February the twenty fifth which was on a Saturday.
Haley and Helen were spearheading the whirlwind of wedding activities with the help of Crystal, Charlotte and Jessica. Monica wanted to help, but was at a crucial point with the renovating of her home, which had gone on longer than she and Grant had hoped.
With the date firmly set, they got to the business of arranging the wedding ceremony and reception. Each of them, except for Crystal, had been through the preparations before and pretty much knew the drill. In very short order the decisions were made and the vendors were contacted.
Dani and Ryan applied for and received their marriage license. It was all coming together with only a few details remaining.
The invitations were printed up and sent out right away to give everyone a few weeks notice.
Dani decided to do without a bachelorette party. To her way of thinking there was enough to do without having the extra stress of arranging and attending that event. Although Charlotte and Crystal were willing to arrange it, they understood.
Ryan didn't want a bachelor party either. He told her he already felt married and didn't need to say goodbye to his bachelorhood with of night of drink and debauchery. The last was said with a leer and a grin.
