Bailey was swimming between sleep and consciousness.  Her body was resisting the slow slide to the waking world, and somewhere in the back of her mind she knew it was a bad idea to be awake.  Some niggling thought told her she should stay blissfully unaware, but it was too far away for her to truly take notice.  Instead, her senses started to focus on the lips that were gently making their way across her bare shoulder.  There were warm, strong hands cupping her hips and rolling her toward the assailant.  Slowly, she let her eyes slide open.  Finding a grinning pair of blue eyes looking up at her, Bailey let out a small giggle.  Images from last night came pouring into her mind, and heat flooded her cheeks as she remembered what had happened between her and Justin.

“Don’t get shy on me now,” Justin stopped his ministrations on her shoulder and scooted up in the bed, pulling Bailey into his arms.  “It’s too late for shy, darling’.” 

Her grin stretched.  “Well, I did hit my head pretty hard. I don’t think it was in my right mind.”  She got the desired response, as Justin looked mildly offended before rolling over her and tickling her sides mercilessly.  She put up a weak fight, loving the attention and the physical contact.  She had no idea how she had waited to be with this man.

When they were both breathless, Justin flopped back down next to Bailey, grinning over at her.

She happened to peek at the clock, and her eyes widened.  “I’m going to be late for work.”  If possible her eyes widened again as the next thoughts came flitting in.  “Carter!”

Justin shushed her, placing a calming hand on her arm.  “It’s okay.  Mom has Carter.  And you’re not going to work until we figure this Travis thing out, okay?”

Bailey sat back against the pillows, her previous mirth slowly fizzling out as Travis clouded her brain.  “Shit, I’d almost forgotten about him.”  Yesterday played in her mind, and she knew why she should have stayed asleep.  She turned to Justin, watching him watch her.  “I don’t want to run and hide again, Justin.”

He let out a sigh, running his hands over his shaved head.  After a moment, he answered her.  “Why don’t we shower, get dressed, and eat some breakfast.  Then we can figure something out.”

“Okay.”  Bailey decided that rushing out the door wasn’t going to solve any problems.  Plus, taking a shower with Justin sounded just shy of heaven. 

When they emerged from the bedroom and made their way into the kitchen, Carter was seated at the table, shoveling into a large plate of waffles.  “Hi Mom.”  His voice was muffled by the food and Bailey shot him a look.

“Not with your mouth full.”  He grinned at her and she couldn’t help but smile back.  “Thank you for feeding my son.”  Bailey turned to greet Lynn, taking a seat next to Justin at the counter.

Lynn waved her thanks away.  “It’s my pleasure, Darlin’.”  She set a plate of waffles and bacon in front of Bailey and Justin.  “I have to make enough for an army just to feed this one; Carter was no problem at all.”

“I do not eat as much as an army.”  Justin protested, piling waffles on his plate and smothering them with syrup.  The looks he was getting from both his mother and Bailey caused him to pause with the fork almost at his mouth.  “Okay, maybe a small platoon.”

Both women laughed, and Bailey made her own plate.  The food was fantastic, and she could almost pretend that things were normal as they chatted, ate, and laughed together.  She could almost pretend that she didn’t have a past chasing her, haunting her.  Almost.

“Do you know what you’re going to do today?”  When the plates were cleared and Carter had been lured off by Paul’s promise of a 4 wheeler, Lynn brought up the elephant in the room.  “Amelia said she’ll be okay in the office for a few days, but she’ll need you back at the end of the week.”

Bailey let out a long sigh.  “I don’t want to run.  I’m really tired of always looking over my shoulder and feeling like I can’t be myself.”  She glanced at Justin.  He gave her a small smile.

“But we don’t know why he’s here, or who else knows.”

“Running from him won’t erase the fact that he knows I’m here.  He’s seen me, and Carter.  I’m sure he’s figured it out.  If he’s going to tell someone else, I won’t be able top stop him if I run away.”

Justin didn’t like it, but he kept his mouth shut.  He would support and protect Bailey in any decision she made.  He would be right there next to her to make sure nothing happened to her or Carter.  That much he knew.  “So, what do we do?”

Taking a deep breath, Bailey looked at Justin.  “We find Travis.  We find him, and we figure out why he’s here, and hopefully we get him to leave us alone.”

~*~

Their plan had them sitting at the General Store, where Travis had been last looking for her.  Sam and Ben weren’t sure they liked the idea of Bailey meeting up with this guy, but they knew Justin wouldn’t let anything happen.  Slowly, Bailey picked at a plate of sweet potato fries, watching the door.  It didn’t take long.

Travis stepped through the door, bells ringing above his head as he looked around.  A few steps into the store, he stopped, his eyes crashing into Bailey’s.  He stood there, unmoving, unable to believe that she was sitting there in front of him.  He had spent twelve years sitting in a jail cell imagining this moment.  The man sitting next to his Sarah wasn’t part of that dream.

“Sarah.”  He called her name, and her face contorted painfully.  He took a few steps closer to her, watching the man warily. 

“My name is Bailey.”  She sat up straighter, setting her shoulders back and looking him square in the face.  “I’m not Sarah anymore.”

Travis licked his lips, suddenly feeling nervous.  “So I’ve noticed.”  He took another tentative step forward, checking to make sure everyone was okay with that.  He wasn’t here to cause trouble.  He just wanted to see Sarah – Bailey and his son.  “Can I sit?”

It unnerved him that Bailey looked to the other man before nodding her head yes.  Travis decided he should introduce himself.  “Hey,” he held his hand, “I’m Travis.”

Justin looked at his hand for a second before his manners took over and he shook hands.  “Justin.  Bailey’s boyfriend.”  So, the territory was marked and the battle lines were drawn.  Travis could see how this was going to go. 

He held up his hands, stepping to the side and taking a stool next to Bailey.  “I’m not here to cause trouble.”  He turned toward Bailey.  “I just want to meet my son.”

Silence settled over the group, and Ben broke it by asking if he could make food.  Travis ordered a drink, staring down at the counter top and tracing the veins in the laminate.  He had said what he wanted; the ball was in Bailey’s court now.

“How did you find us?”  She finally asked, afraid of his intentions and who else might know where she was.

“Red.”

The word sent a shock through Bailey’s body, and chills erupted over her skin.  “My dad?  Is he alive?”

Travis turned away, not wanting to see the look on her face when he shook his head.  “No.  No, he wrote me while I was in jail.  I met up with him the day I was released, but he passed away a little while later.”  He had to say something to ease her pain.  “He loved you so much, Sarah.  He truly did.”

“How…”  She choked on her words.  The tears were brimming, but she refused to let them fall.  “How did he know where I was.”

Travis shrugged.  “He didn’t say.  I think he was keeping some pretty big secrets for people, including you.”  He sipped at the soda in front of him.  This was going how he’d imagined it.

“I had to get out, Travis.  I had to save myself and my son.  You…you weren’t there.  I…there are some bad people that would love to know where we are.”  Her eyes pleaded with him, wide and scared.  “Have you told anyone where we are?”

Travis shook his head.  “I’m the only one who knows, and Red made sure of that.”

The relief that flowed from Bailey was palpable.  “What do you want from me, Travis?  Why are you here?”

He took a deep breath to calm himself down.  “I just want to know my son, Sarah.”  He turned to her, thinking over his words before he spoke them.  He wanted to make sure he got this right, because he knew he only had one chance.  “I…I thought about you every day I was in that cell.  I hated myself for not listening to you, for not being there for you.  I didn’t know the baby was a boy until he was probably three.  My sister came to visit me once, and she told me that you’d had a boy.  I…I can’t take it back, Sarah…Bailey.  I can’t make up for the things I should have done, but I want a chance to show my son the man his father has become.”

“How do I know you’ve changed?”

“Twelve years in prison is enough to change even the worst people, Bailey.”  He twisted his fingers together, feeling relieved to be getting all of his off of his chest.  “I’m not the kid I was when we were together.”

“I’ve tried so hard to raise him right, Travis.  He’s a good kid.  He doesn’t need to have his world turned upside down again.”  She looked sad, “moving here was hard enough on him.”

“I just…I need to tell him who I am.  I need him to see that I love him.  I always have.”  He was begging now, but he had nothing left. 

“I don’t know…”  She was so conflicted.  Seeing Travis brought it all back; who she was, where she came from…and the boy she fell in love with.  She liked the woman she had turned into.  She liked being Bailey.  She loved Justin.  She didn’t want to run the risk of shaking up this new world she’d built by letting Travis in, but she didn’t see a way around it.  He was here, and he had a right to meet his son, at least once.

“Please, Sarah.” 

She took a deep breath.  “My name is Bailey.”