"You watch your mouth in this house!"

Shelby's eyes were flashing as she looked at her mother angrily. "He couldn't change in all the years he was married to you. All of a sudden you think he's seen the light? I can't believe you. That is so naïve."

"God is the only one who judges, not us. Our responsibility is to forgive and help those who need our help. If I can forgive him, why can't you?"

"He is a control freak, Mom. And he's sick. He'll never change."

Lisa's hazel eyes stared pointedly into Shelby's green ones. "I thought you told me your job was safe."

Puzzled at the abrupt change of subject, Shelby said, "It pretty much is."

"Pretty much? What does that mean? It is or it isn't."

Shelby felt her stomach tighten. "Why are you asking about my job?"

Lisa looked at her daughter accusingly. "Because you lied to me. You said it was safe and it's not. Why didn't you tell me you were shot at on Thursday?"

Because I knew this would happen. Shelby said defensively, "Who told you that?"

Tears began tracking down Lisa's face. "Jonathan went to visit you Thursday. He wanted to apologize and ask your forgiveness. He pulled into the parking lot just as someone shot at you. He said a tall woman knocked you down. Once he saw you were safe, he left because he just got off probation and didn't want to be there when the police arrived."

Shelby struggled with both anger and fear. Jonathan had been at her apartment complex. He knew where she lived. That in itself was frightening, but that he had been there the evening she was shot at, was even more so.

She took a deep breath, and hugged her mother. "Mom, don't cry."

"I'm so worried about you. I want you to quit that job. I've been worried sick ever since he told me this morning."

Shelby released the older woman, watching her intently. "He told you this morning? Why didn't he tell you before now? If he was there, why didn't he call you right away, Mom?"

"He naturally assumed you'd tell me. When he asked me about it, I had no idea what he was talking about." The accusation was clearly evident.

"I suppose you told him I was coming over today?"

Lisa nodded. "That's when he told me what happened."

"What kind of car does he drive?"

"What's that got to do with anything?"

"A lot."

"A silver Cavalier. But I don't see..."

"The driver of a silver Cavalier is the top suspect in the shooting right now, Mom," Shelby informed her flatly.

Deeply ingrained defense mechanisms kicked in. "He would never hurt you."

Shelby raised her voice angrily. "What in the hell did he do for years, Mom? Did you forget about that already? Did you forget he threatened me at the trial? How do you know he's just not covering his ass by telling you I was shot at? There weren't any other cars around."

"Are you sure you didn't misunderstand him at the trial?"

Pursing her lips, Shelby shook her head, struggling to control her anger. "Why don't you ask Jonathan?"

"I did. He said he was angry with you, but didn't threaten you. Wait!" Lisa beseeched as her daughter opened her mouth to protest. "He said he's glad you testified against him. That he was sick and now realizes that. Couldn't you please just give him a chance?"

Shelby momentarily closed her eyes. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. It wasn't that she didn't think someone could change. But she'd never forget the hatred in her stepfather's eyes coupled with the malevolent look on his face that day.

"Shelby? Are you okay?"

Shaking her head, Shelby said, "No, Mom. I'm not. He's still lying."



*  *  *

Kris sat in the living room listening to the murmur of angry voices through the door, but the words were indistinguishable. She glanced at the two boys, and found Jimmy looking at her.

"Don't worry." Jimmy smiled weakly. "They're probably just arguing about Dad. Shelby doesn't like our Dad."

Jason said, "Yeah. He used to do some really mean things to Mom. He came over this morning and said he saw a doctor that helped him. Brought Mom some flowers, too. Said he had a lotta things to make up for. He's gonna take us to the game next Saturday. Mom's probably telling Shelby that he's better now. That's probably what's goin' on in the kitchen."

Kris tensed. Shelby didn't need this added stress, but her hands were tied. She couldn't very well go barging into the kitchen and rescue Shelby from her own mother; and even if she made the attempt, the analyst would resent it. Her partner had proved on more than one occasion that she could handle herself in stressful situations. And Kris very much respected that.



*  *  *

"Can't you let God into your heart and forgive him for the past? He's changed. You wouldn't believe how good he looks."

Calming down, Shelby studied her mother's face. "I don't give a damn how good he looks. How good is he inside? He's not. He's rotten to the core. I can't believe you're falling for his looks again. Do you want to end up back in the hospital? What about the boys?"

"You know he never touched the boys."

"No he didn't. But do you really think they'll believe the next time he hurts you that you just happened to fall? Do you want them exposed to that?"

"They won't be. He's changed. I thought you would be more understanding and forgiving. Have you forgotten everything you were taught?"

Shelby met her mother's eyes. "No, Mom. I haven't forgotten anything at all. I especially remember the lesson he taught me. I'm not looking at the world through rose colored glasses like you are right now."

Lisa's disappointment was evident. "Well, I can see this conversation is going nowhere."

"You're right, it's not." Shelby thought of Kris and resisted the urge to forget about dinner and just leave. Determined to salvage what she could of the afternoon for the agent's sake, Shelby resolved to ignore her aggravation and resolutely set it aside. "Want me to set the table?"

Lisa nodded. She watched her daughter gather up the plates and silverware and wondered how she could convince her to quit her job. I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to her.

She wasn't really surprised Shelby was so adamant about Jonathan, but she would keep working on her. Jonathan had stressed how important it was for him to make a clean start with each one of them. She would do her part to help him.

Kris looked up when Shelby returned to the living room and joined her on the couch. Noting the strain on the younger woman's face, she gazed at her with concern. "You okay?"

Shelby smiled, but the smile didn't reach her eyes. "Yeah."

Jason looked at his sister. "Mom tell you Dad was here?" When Shelby nodded, he nodded. "He's been seeing a doctor. He's not sick anymore, Shelby. He apologized to me and Jimmy for not visiting."

Shelby was spared having to formulate a suitable answer when Lisa summoned them to the table. The two boys jumped up enthusiastically and hurried out to the dining room.

Kris looked at Shelby. "You sure you're okay?"

"Yeah. Just worried, that's all. I'll tell you about it later."

Distressed at how upset Shelby was, Kris could only nod.

They walked into the dining room and joined the others at the table. Kris looked at the feast set out on the table - fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn, salad, and dinner rolls. She followed Shelby's lead and sat in the chair next to her across from the two boys. Kris covertly watched Shelby as her mother sat down at the head of the table and glanced up to find Lisa regarding her gravely.

"Thank you."

Kris raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

"Thank you for protecting my daughter."

She took in the worried look and red eyes. The operative could see the woman loved her daughter, yet she hadn't taken the steps to protect her children when they were unable to protect themselves. She couldn't respect that no matter how much Lisa loved Shelby.

Kris nodded. "Any time."

Jason and Jimmy looked up, their attention piqued. "What're you talking about, Mom?"

Lisa hedged. She didn't want to tell the boys, yet. She'd only found out herself shortly before Shelby arrived and wanted to wait for the right moment. "I'll tell you about it later. How about passing the chicken?"

She forced a smile as she took the platter from Jason and began passing the food around the table.

Kris could feel the tension emanating from Shelby, and moved her leg sideways, bumping the shorter one next to hers. When Shelby looked at her, Kris quirked a half-smile. The answering smile caused her heart to skip a beat.

It was just the briefest of contact, but Shelby felt her world begin to right itself. Some of her tension faded and she could sense Kris' diminish in concert.

Jason and Jimmy chattered excitedly about their upcoming baseball trip and when that didn't elicit anything except monosyllabic responses from the others, they began telling spy stories.

Shelby tried to introduce a neutral subject a number of times, but her heart wasn't in it and she was unsuccessful. Lisa and Kris' contributions were perfunctory and the analyst found it increasingly difficult to carry on the conversation with the boys herself.

Tiring of the lack of response, the teenagers eventually fell silent until the only sounds in the large room were those of silverware scraping against plates. After demolishing their food, both boys asked to be excused wanting to leave the tension behind. Lisa sent them on their way promising to bring in dessert.