Time Goes By

"Momma! Momma! I want ice cweam!" Colton screamed at the top of his lungs as Casey bought them two ice cream cones at the fair.

He was four years old now and as cantankerous as ever. She had him in a stroller since his little legs couldn't carry him the long distance around the fair. She squatted down in front of him with a smile, handing over his tiny little cone to him, "Here you go baby." His grin widened as he took it from her and licked some of the sticky sugar into his mouth happily. She stood up and continued walking around to try and find where Amber told her to meet her at.

Casey hadn't been able to get out much since she had had Colton. She was either working long hours as her job or at home taking care of him. She was lucky that she had Chase and Amber helping out whenever they could, otherwise she would have had to pay almost a hundred dollars for a day-care. She'd searched for ones that had the best ratings and reviews, but it was just so expensive that she couldn't afford it with all of her other bills. She was managing it, luckily, but it did drain her account more often than not. So this was a much needed treat for her too. The music was loud and there were hundreds of people packed playing games or riding the rides. She made her way through them slowly, trying not to get jostled as she pushed the stroller.

The little picnic area was probably the quietest place as she finally saw where Amber had grabbed them a table. She grinned widely as they approached her and met them halfway, pulling Casey into a bear hug before saying hello to Colton who had vanilla ice cream all over his face and a big smile.

Once they had sat down and ordered their food, Casey wondered where Chase was. He was usually stuck like glue to Amber now that they had made their relationship known about a year ago. "Where's Chase today? He didn't come?" While Chase was quieter and more reserved than Derek was, he seemed to be more open with them than anyone else. He was either with Amber, or keeping watch over Casey's house at night for Derek's peace of mind, or off on one of his many dangerous jobs in helping Derek exceed to the top.

Every year for Colton's birthday, on the dot, a letter was sent and a toy or a picture or a trinket for them to show that he was still thinking of them and working his way back and he never missed it. Colton hadn't started asking questions yet, but Casey knew that when he was just a little bit older that she would have to somehow explain the situation to her son. She wasn't sure if she dreaded the conversation or if she was excited for it. His next letter would be coming in a couple of days and she was elated at another chance of reading his words. She only hoped that he would be done with his mission soon.

"Oh, Derek called him for a job awhile ago. He said he would try to make it here before we go home though." Amber sighed softly before going back to making the little boy in her arms laugh by tickling his sides. Both of them knew that their men worked in a dangerous business and the chance of them coming back was always iffy, but they had always came back before, and so they had faith.

They spent the rest of the evening playing some games and riding some of the kiddy rides with Colton and having a blast.

By the time they were going to head home, as Colton had drifted off to sleep with a purple dragon that Amber had won for him, Chase had showed up and slipped his arms around Amber's waist. Casey was envious of their easy relationship and wished that Derek was here with her now, but she was so glad that her friends had found each other and were happy. She only wished that she didn't feel so alone sometimes.

Putting her son to bed for the night, Casey watched reverently as his little chest rose and fell evenly. He was starting to look like his father, with his dark chocolate eyes and dark brown hair. The saying 'I held you for nine months in my belly just for you to come out looking like your father' ran through her head constantly but it helped her keep his image in her head as if a piece of him was still with her, even though they were so far apart.

As she lay in her bed that night, she played with the heart necklace that still hung around her neck after he had given it to her, and wondered how he was doing with his plans. She was clueless as to whether he had made any headway all these years. She had had many nights where she dreamt of him returning to her and then other nights where she was thrust into a nightmare of something bad happening to him and woke up in a cold sweat in fear.

Chase assured her whenever he saw her that Derek was doing well and in his letters he always said that things were progressing, slowly but surely, and he would try to come and see them soon. She always hoped that he would be at her doorstep one day for their son's birthday so that they could finally meet.

Tonight was a good night, and as she drifted off to sleep, she dreamt of their reunion being happy again.

Derek washed the blood off of his hands methodically, his outer calmness warring with his internal grief as he scrubbed underneath his fingernails. How many times did he wish his life was different? How many more of his father's men would he have to kill before this was finished? He was getting tired of always fighting and keeping this secret from his father while he found a way to overtake him. It was gnawing away at him slowly, cutting out the small happiness that he held on to while thinking of his friends and family.

He knew he was getting closer, as he had built loyalty from the majority of his father's men already, but he knew it would never be over until the head of the snake was cut off and the rest of them died away. His plan was working, his father was getting anxious and was clueless as to who was killing off his men, but he never suspected his own son to be the culprit. The thought brought a smile to his face, his old man didn't know what was coming to him and he was slowly losing ground and control as Derek crawled his way to the top.

His son's birthday was in a few days and his letter and gifts were already prepped for delivery. He was so glad that this secret was kept quiet all these years as he didn't want to worry about his father finding out and use them as leverage against him to make him fall back in line. He was done with that. He did miss them and he had yet to see his son's face in person. The pictures of Casey and Colton that Chase showed him never did them justice and the void in his chest was never fully filled.

He wanted to go see them. And as he turned off the tap and dried his hands, staring off into space, he thought that now would be a decent time to take a trip out to see them. The danger towards them had lessened since he'd started his vigilante mission, and while he was still worried that he might make a mistake and accidentally lead someone to them, he needed their presence to lessen the darkness of his mind.

Three more days, he thought, and then he'd make an appearance.