Pt. 1
The four of them had been at the park ever since Lesso and Clarissa had picked the kids up from school, they had been there for hours, it was now around eight o'clock and the adults were trying to get their kids in the car. Lesso had been walking around the park to find Sophie, they found her under a tree talking with Agatha about something that was happening in school.
Before they could get to them a man walked up to her, "Hello darling"
Lesso started walking as fast as they could to their kid, Clarissa saw that they were hurrying over and ran to her kids. She stepped in front of the kids, the man growled at Clarissa "Who are you?"
Clarissa flinched a little but stood her ground in front of the kids, but before she could answer Lee and had finally made their way over to the children, "Rafal, what are you doing here?"
Rafal look at them in disgust, "I want to see my daughter"
Lesso looked towards the kids, "Girls, go to the car"
Agatha looked towards her mom who just nodded her head, then the girls ran off towards Clarissa's car. She then turned towards Lee and stood by their side.
Rafal stepped closer to Lee, "Why can't I see my daughter?"
Lesso stepped slightly in front of Clarissa, "Because, she doesn't know you"
Rafal scowled once again, "And why doesn't she know me?"
Clarissa scoffed, "Have you had a stroke, or are you just crazy?"
Lesso grabbed her arm and tried to stop her, Clarissa turned towards her, "No, he doesn't get to come here after four years of not being in Sophie's life and then suddenly wanting to meet her"
Rafal grunted, "And what gives you the right to tell me that I can't see my daughter?"
Clarissa stood up straight, except even at her full height she was still quite a bit shorter than him, "The fact that she hasn't been your daughter ever since I've known them"
Lesso could tell that Rafal was going to hit Clarissa, they quickly stepped in front of her and caught his fist, he gave them a black eye. They dropped their cane and fell against the tree, Clarissa ran up to her and started apologizing, meanwhile Rafal just stood there.
When Lesso had stood back up they didn't stand quite as tall as they did before, Rafal stepped into their personal space, "That's what you deserve"
Clarissa moved Lesso and took their place, "It is not"
Rafal stepped back and laughed, it was deep and laced with evil, "And what makes you think that, she wouldn't even have what she has now if it wasn't for me"
Clarissa scoffed, she couldn't believe that that's what this man thought, or that he used the wrong pronouns for them. But she had to pick her battles, "Your right, they wouldn't be here, they would be so much farther" She grabbed Lesso's hand, "Every idea that they had you shot down, your voice in their head telling them that they weren't worth it, that it wouldn't work"
Lesso squeezed her hand, over the years they had developed a way of communicating, that particular move in that context was to ask if it was okay to hit the other person they were arguing with, the squeezing was them saying yes.
"Well guess what, they are worth it, they are worth it and so much more, you might have lost them, but someone has gained the best person they could ask for", Rafal went to respond when Clarissa punched him square in the jaw.
Before he could react Clarissa grabbed Lesso's cane and walked them to the car.
..
In the car, Agatha and Sophie were watching the whole interaction, when Clarissa and Lesso started walking back they could tell that emotionally it was going to be a long night.
Lesso was at least a foot shorter than their full height, leaning heavily on their cane, and Clarissa looked madder than either of the children had seen her.
When they got to the car, Clarissa walked Lesso to the passenger seat and opened the door, when they were in the seat and had their cane Clarissa went to the driver side. When she was buckled up she asked Lesso what she wanted for lunch, "Nothing, 'M not hungry"
Clarissa knew damn well that she didn't eat breakfast that morning because she had given it to Sophie, "Lee"
Lesso raised their head to look at Clarissa, "I'm serious Ris, I'm not hungry"
Clarissa started the car and started pulling out of the park, "Sophie, what does your mom want?"
From the back seat Sophie almost whispered, "Their go to meal is Arby's, French Dip and Swiss, Jamocha for the drink"
Clarissa nodded, "Thank you"
..
They pulled up to the drive through and ordered Lesso their food, when she pulled up to the window she recognized the woman cashing her out, "Hey Elizabeth"
Elizabeth took the card was offered to her, "Hey Ms. Dovey", for a split second her face changed, the card was declined. She thought about telling her, but she knew the Clarissa didn't eat French Dip and Swiss, so instead she just handed the card back with a smile on her face, "Here you go"
Clarissa took the card and looked at her, "Are you going to tell me that my card got declined?"
Elizabeth feigned ignorance, "What do you mean?"
"I mean the fact that my card was declined and you didn't tell me"
Elizabeth shrugged, "Doesn't matter"
"Yes, it does" She handed her cash, "Because that mean I have to give you a new way to pay"
..
After they got out of the Arby's parking lot they went to McDonald's, when they pulled into the parking lot Clarissa noticed how long the line was, she also noticed the car that was following her was still their.
She turned towards Lesso, "You're coming in with me" Then she turned towards the kids, "When we get out I want you to lock the doors, and don't unlock them until we get back", before she got out she handed Agatha a pocket knife, "Use it if you have to"
Agatha nodded, then she watched her mom and Lee walk into McDonalds, then she turned to Sophie and went to ask her about what was happening.
Sophie held her finger up, "I assume you want to know about the man"
Agatha nodded, Sophie put her hand down and continued talking, "That man is my biological father" Aggie's mouth dropped, but she remained quiet, "And he was very bad for mom, he continued to berate my mom for everything that they did" Sophie brought her knees to her chest, "And when they would try to get out of it, he would yell at them, tell them that they couldn't do anything better than him"
Aggie was shocked, she couldn't believe that the soft woman that she had come to know around her and Sophie had gone through stuff like that, "And of course they would never tell me anything that he did, but I could tell that it was affecting them, I could tell that he was a bad person"
Agatha slid the knife to Sophie and prayed that she didn't look behind her, luckily Sophie got the hint and started to talk about clothes that Clarissa had in her floor, "These are cute"
Aggie looked at what Sophie was looking at, "Yeah, mom thought that you would like the dress, and then she thought that the dress would go great with some other things, so mom bought Lee and pair of black slacks, a black silk looking shirt, and a white waistcoat"
Someone knocked on the door, the girls just continued to talk about clothes and ignoring the man standing outside the car.
..
When Clarissa and Lee got done getting food they went straight out to the car, Clarissa saw Rafal standing by her car. She walked up to the front of it and set the food down on her hood, "Get away from my car"
Rafal turned towards Clarissa, "No"
Clarissa took a deep breath, "Get away from my children"
He pointed at Sophie, "She's not yours"
"She's more mine than she is yours"
Lee had made their way over to the passenger side of the car, Rafal saw them and pointed at them, "Get in my truck"
Clarissa shook her head, "No, what's going to happen is you're going to get away from my children and my car and get into your truck, then you're going to drive home to whatever shit hole you live in, and you are going to stop harassing my friend"
Rafal stepped into Clarissa's personal space, "Your friend, happens to be my-"
"Nothing, Lesso is your nothing, not your friend, partner, property, or baby mother" She stepped backwards, "And if you asked Sophie to choose, choose living with you or Lesso, she would choose her mother every time"
Rafal looked towards Lesso with disgust, "How dare you say that? She is my daughter"
Clarissa couldn't take it anymore, she punched him once again, harder than the first time. He fell down on the ground, Clarissa grabbed the food and got into the car. She handed the girls the food and started the car, when she went to drive away she ran over something, in her rear view mirror she saw Rafal holding his foot, she just looked back to the road and smiled.
..
The entire trip home was spent in silence, Clarissa was still furious at Rafal, Lesso was drawn into themselves, and the children were whispering in the back seat amongst themselves.
When they got inside Clarissa saw Emma sitting at her kitchen island, Anemone looked at Lesso's face and immediately her face clouded with confusion. Clarissa didn't acknowledge her presence until she had gotten ice for Lesso's black eye, told them to go to bed, and had told the children that they had a test tomorrow, and that they should probably get to bed soon.
Then she finally sat down and looked at Emma, "What the hell happened to Red?"
Clarissa sighed and rubbed her eyes, it was barely nine and she felt emotionally and physically exhausted, "Rafal showed up at the park, went to punch me, obviously Lee took the punch, then we went and got food" She got up and grabbed a water bottle from the pantry, when she got back she resumed talking, "While we were at McD's Rafal started knocking on my car door, I walked up to him a told him to stop and walk away, I told him to get away from my car and kids, he told me that Sophie was his and not mine"
She laughed a little before continuing, "He did not like it when I told him that she was more mine than his"
Emma shrugged, "It's true"
Clarissa nodded her head before starting once again, "So after he refuse again I punched him, for the second time today, he fell on the ground, and I ran over his foot"
Emma stood up, she looked like a giddy school girl, "You ran over his foot?"
Clarissa shrugged while she took a sip of water, "It's not like I meant to, he just hadn't moved his foot, and I didn't have the energy to care"
Emma placed her hands on the counter, "That sounds awesome, but I have to get home"
Clarissa got up, walking her friend to the door, "Alright, tell Alex I say high when she gets off"
Emma opened the door, looked at the man standing there, and shut it, "Ris"
Clarissa turned around, "What?"
Emma opened the door to reveal Clarissa's ex standing behind it, "Oh you've got to be kidding me"
The man spoke, "You hit my friend, and then broke his foot"
Clarissa couldn't even be surprised, they were both so alike, "So you're friends with Rafal, well Ralph, I don't care about him, he hurt my friend long before I hurt him"
Ralph scoffed, "Please, he barely laid a hand on the little brat"
Clarissa wouldn't consider herself and violent person, but tonight she just couldn't handle it, she slapped the man standing in front of her, "DO NOT CALL THEM A BRAT"
Then she slammed the door shut, "I'm going to bed"
Emma watched her go to her bedroom, then she opened the door and saw both Ralph and Rafal and the bottom of the porch, "What are you two doing here?"
Rafal walked forward, "I want to see my daughter, what are you going to do?"
Emma moved her jacket so that you could see her badge that she still had on, "I don't know, but I do know a place that I could take, real clean"
Ralph scoffed, "It's going to take a lot more than a badge to scare us"
She then moved the other side of her jacket, revealing her gun, "Scared?"
They didn't look anymore scared, they just went back to the truck and sat there, Emma went back into the house and started locking everything she could. The last two rooms she had left were the kids and Clarissa's, she knocked on Aggie's door.
She heard the child ask who it was, "It's me kiddo"
Agatha opened the door and let her in, "Aunty Em, what are you doing?"
Emma walked up to her and squatted down, "I believe that this man that your mom has been fight all day is a danger, so I'm locking your house up"
She got up and walked over to the window in the Aggie's room and locked it, she turned around, told the girls goodnight, and walked out. She walked into Clarissa's room and went straight for the window, when she locked it she turned around, grabbed her gun, and set it on the nightstand.
"If anyone comes in, shoot them"
Lee shrunk deeper into the mattress, Clarissa wrapped her arms around them, "He's still here isn't he?"
Lesso looked towards Clarissa, worry written clearly on their face, it broke her heart to see it, "My ex, not yours"
Emma stepped forward and sat on the edge of the bed, "Actually, they're both here, I've locked all the doors and windows, so if either of them get in here, it would be against the law"
Clarissa nodded, "Where are you sleeping?"
"In the guest bedroom", She got up and left.
A couple minutes later the kids came walking into the bedroom, Clarissa sighed, "She told you to come here, didn't she?"
The kids nodded their heads, Clarissa looked towards Lesso, they didn't move, "Is that okay?"
Lee looked up to her, then they slowly nodded their head, Clarissa looked back towards the kids, "Come on"
They climbed into the bed and snuggled in between Clarissa and Lesso, Clarissa looked up to Lesso, they had their arm wrapped around Sophie's waist, "It'll be okay"
Lesso's eyes flickered up to meet Clarissa's, "What if he makes his way inside?"
Clarissa reached out for Lee's hand, "Don't worry, Emma's wife is also a cop, she probably called her earlier, and Alex doesn't care about speed limits"
Lee took Clarissa's hand, "I hope your right"
Clarissa nodded her head, and after she was confident that they were asleep she said "I do too"
..
A woman rode up by a stop sign, she was watching a house of her friend, her wife called her and told her that their mutual friends p.o.s. boyfriend was stalking their house. She sat there for about ten minutes before her headset went off, she quickly clicked the answer button, she whispered into her headset, "What?"
A man at the other end of the phone call sounded irritated, "Where are you, Officer Youngblood?"
Still whispering, "I'm on an errand for Officer Anemone"
"Why are you whispering?"
"Because I'm watching a truck, and it's windows are down"
"Why are you watching a truck?"
"Because, Professor Dovey's ex boyfriend is sitting with another friends abusive ex and their sitting in front of her house"
"I'll let you go, give'em hell officer"
"Wouldn't think about doing anything different"
Then she hung up, not twenty minutes later, both men got out of the truck and walked up to the door. Alex got off of her motor bike and ran up to the back of the truck, she watched as the shorter man got down on his knees in front of the door. A couple of seconds later the door was open and the taller man was ushering them inside, Alex ran up to the door and was relieved to find that they left it unlocked.
She went inside, the entire house was black, all the curtains drawn shut, and blessing and a curse. She followed the men, they clearly didn't know where they were going as they were going in and out of every room. Alex opened a door the men had quietly shut, she saw a lone sleeping figure, she lightly tapped the wall three times. The figure on the bed stirred, got up, and creeped over to Alex, "Where?"
Alex continued walking after the men, "Small of my back"
Emma pulled the gun out of Alex's waistband and held it up to Rafal's head, he was just beginning to open the door to Clarissa's bedroom, "Back away"
The shorter man pulled out a gun and aimed it at Emma's head, "No, you put your gun down"
Suddenly the man felt a barrel being pressed against his head, "Ralph, if you shoot her, I will kill you, no matter if she lives or dies"
Rafal opened the door anyway, he turned on the light and went to Lee, luckily Emma was prepared for that and shoved him into a door and quickly ran over to Lesso's side of the bed.
All the females in the bed were now painfully awake, the children were clinging to their mothers, Lee was breathing heavily, squeezing hard on Clarissa's hand that they grabbed when they woke up. Alex walked in, just still aimed at Ralph's head, Rafael was knocked out, "Good job honey"
Emma only scowled, "That is the least that he deserves"
Emma put her gun on the cedar chest that Clarissa had at the foot of her bed, then she pulled handcuffs out of her back pocket and put them around Ralph's wrist. When his wrist are securely secured, Emma backs up and punches him in the jaw, then she grabs Alex's hand cuffs and puts them around Rafals wrist.
Just then Alex's radio starts talking, "Officer YoungBlood, status report"
She grabbed her radio and pressed the talk button, "Suspects apprehended, one knocked unconscious"
"Where are you?"
Emma looked to Alex, who just waved her off, "We're in the main bedroom"
A couple seconds later, a bigger man came walking through the door, "These assholes?"
Alex and Emma nodded, the man laughed, "We have these two down for drug distribution" He only shakes his head, then he turns towards the bed, "I am so sorry Professor, I promise these two men will not come back here for a very long time"
Clarissa only nods, "Thank You, Captain"
Captain nods towards the men, indicating for Alex and Emma to grab them, before they can leave the room, Clarissa yells at them to stop. They all turned to her as they watch her get out of bed and walk in front of Ralph, without saying a word she punches him, then she turned around and climbed back in bed.
Emma grabbed Rafal and shook him, he groaned at the lights in the room, Emma looked towards Lesso, "Do you want to?"
Lee looked towards Clarissa, seeking approval, "I'm not going to tell you no, honey"
Lesso looked back towards Emma, they slowly climbed out of bed, they walked up to Rafal, and with great strength bitch slapped him. When they got back to the bed Agatha and Sophie made room for Clarissa to sit beside them, she hugged them and told them how well they did.
Alex and Emma walked outside with both men in tow, Captain stayed behind, "Professor, I'm going to need you to come down to the station tomorrow to give a statement"
Clarissa nodded, "I'll be there tomorrow 0730"
Captain nodded, before he could leave Sophie squeaked out a question, "Are they going to jail?"
Lee went White, "Sophie . . "
She turned around to look at her mom, "No mom, he did horrible things to you, and I've heard the way that Aunt Cece and Em talk about Ralph, and I want to know that they'll be punished" She turned back to Captain.
"I can assure you, they will be put up, I will personally make sure of it" Then he turned and walked out to Alex and Emma.
Sophie and Agatha looked at their mom's, Lee was close to tears and Clarissa was trying to console them. They both silently agreed that they would go back to Agatha's room, they told their mom's goodnight.
"Goodnight girls, we love you"
When the girls were gone Clarissa laid Lesso down and pulled them close to her, "How are you doing?"
Lee pressed their head into Rissa's collarbone, "He got into the house"
Clarissa started running her hand up and down their back, "I know, and I'm so sorry"
Lesso started crying, not very hard, but enough that Clarissa could feel the tears coming through her nightgown, "Do you think you can sleep?"
Lesso nodded, then they rolled over, they expected Clarissa to do the same, but she just wrapped her arms around their waist and cuddled close to her, "Is this okay?"
Lee wanted to cry at how caring she was, they didn't trust that their voice wouldn't reveal something, so they just nodded their head and placed their arms on top of Clarissa's.
They fell asleep like that, Clarissa bringing grounding and warmth to Lesso, and Lesso bringing safety back to Clarissa. Letting her know that they were still there, that Rafal didn't do something to them.
..
Outside the house Alex, Emma, and the Captain were discussing what had gone on, "What are we going to tell the precinct?"
Captain looked at Emma like she had five heads, "We'll tell them what happened, that Officer Youngblood came across these two p.o.s.'s doing a drug deal, it went wrong, ended up in a fight, and someone ran over his foot"
Alex laughed, "Yeah, Em, we'll tell them what happened"
Emma only shook her, they put the asshole's into the car that captain had driven, then they Alex dropped Emma at her house before she went back to work.