Seasons (Ari AU)

Chapter 21

Holland POV

  At nearly twenty weeks pregnant, I'm finally starting to feel more like myself. I'd been sleeping better, keeping most of my food down other than those cravings of chili, and just over all feeling better in my own skin. 

  I'd only seen Ari in passing the last four weeks, ever since I told him to drop the term 'my girls.' I had no idea that I was essentially giving him a massive shove out of my life and right into the family he started five years ago. 

  That's not to say I haven't tried to hold a longer conversation with him over more than something meaningless like the weather.  But, he wouldn't take the bait. He'd drop in long enough to surprise his sister and I with a meal and duck back out just as quickly. 

  "He and Felicity are official," Shauna sneaks over to tell me as Ari walks away from his most recent delivery, this time donuts for the entire nursing staff on L & D.

  I mask the strange feeling of disappointment in my chest or the churn of my stomach by studying the vast array of donuts. "Oh, really. That's wonderful!"

  Shauna leans further back in her chair as we both enjoy the quiet that has managed to find its way onto our floor today. "No, it's not," she whines, her toes tapping against the floor like a toddler pitching his first tantrum. "You're suppose to be on my side with this mess, Holland. Why are you taking hers?"

  I roll my eyes and continue to study the sweet treats, noticing my favorite is no where to be seen. "I'm not taking her side. I'm on the side of a kid getting to have a relationship with his father. If it lands Ari a wife in the process, then so be it."  I laugh at Shauna as she blanches when I use the word wife. "Come on! You could have a sister in law in just a couple months, you never know." 

  Her face becomes emotionless, her lips in a tight light. "You take that back right now, ma'am."

  "Nope! Come on Aunt Shauna! You know you want a little nephew of your very own," I tell her. "It's time for you to get on the Ari has a son train just as much as he has." I hop up from my chair as I see the time change on the clock. "I've got an appointment to get to."

  "I thought you were working a double with me?" she pouts, sticking her tongue out at me as I shake my head no. 

  "Not today. Maybe soon though," I tell her, heading off to grab my stuff from my locker. 

  With all of  my junk in hand I head out to my car in the parking garage. I always park in the same spot each day thanks to the hospital giving its pregnant employees assigned spaces on the second level.  Definitely one of the better parts about working for the top hospital in Boston.  

The closer I get to my space however, I notice something doesn't seem quite right with my vehicle, spotting something sitting on the hood, close to the driver's side.  I slow my steps, becoming more cautious until I recognize that it is indeed a bag from the same donut shop Ari made the delivery from.  There's no note, but when I open it I see two of my favorite raspberry filled powdered donuts. 

  Maybe I haven't pushed him completely away just yet.

 I should really be heading home at this point in the day, at least that's what my swollen ankles are begging me to do. Instead, I'm pulling into the fire station.  The last time I'd been here was the day the Chief had given me the news of Jeremy's pension sitting at zero dollars, leading to an onslaught of calls to the company to find out what actually happened to it. 

  Today, I've decided to bite the bullet and have Schneider do the digging for me, seeing as how they said they'd speak to the employer and whoever else was named on the paperwork.  

  I won't fault him for not adding me. We'd only been married a couple of weeks before he was going to South Dakota to help his uncle's family.  There really hadn't been enough time for him to see to it, so I've mentally forgiven him even though he'll never actually know it. I'm just choosing not to hold it against him anymore. 

  I stroll through the garage, knowing that the other entrance is probably not manned right now as it's getting to be past normal 'office' hours. A couple of the guys I recognize wave hello, while one of the women that was regularly on shift with Ari and Jeremy comes over to give me a hug and ask how the baby is doing. I gladly accept the attention as it makes me feel a little closer to him.

  "Mrs. Gable!" I turn around, looking across the garage to see Chief Schneider waiting for me. I stroll over to him, my feet barking at me to please find a spot and sit for an indefinite amount of time. "Please tell me this is after your shift and not before?" he asks, holding the door open for me to walk through first. 

  As soon as I step into his office, the alarm sounds, alerting the station of an emergency. The sudden change in the atmosphere is something Jeremy and Ari only ever described as well organized chaos. We both step back out of his office, watching the well crafted directions, followed to a T to keep everyone safe here and also to whatever type of call they're heading to. 

  Out of the corner of my eye, I recognize the longer brown locks that bounce as Ari runs to his gear, slipping into it quickly and with ease before climbing up onto the front seat of the truck. 

  "Sorry about that," Schneider apologizes, ushering me back into his office. "So, you mentioned this meeting was concerning Jeremy's pension again?"

  "Yes," I confirm. "They still refuse to speak to me, even though I've offered all kinds of confirmation to our marriage, and his death. They still say they'll only release information to those listed and the employer."

  "Which is where we come in," he finishes for me.  I nod, solemnly with a heavy sigh. "Alright, let's see what we can find out, yeah?"  I sit on the edge of the chair, anxiously awaiting even the smallest bit of information he can find out. I listen on as he goes through all the confirmation questions. His phone in his office is older style so there's no option for me to hear the other side of this conversation, only his bits and pieces. "Really? You're sure?"

  Those three words make the panic build in my chest. What could he be practically second guessing with them? 

  "Alright. Thank you for your time."  He sits the receiver back in its home, fiddling with the pen in his hand that he never had to use although he'd been ready to take notes. "Well, Mrs. Gable-"

  "Holland, please," I remind him. 

  He offers a small smile back to me, but there's honestly nothing warming about it. "Holland, there wasn't anyone else listed on his pension."

  "It was just Jeremy?"

  Schneider nods, giving me confirmation. "But, then that means he was depleting it himself. Why would he be doing that? I feel even more confused."

  He releases a heavy sigh through his nose, the pen that was once between his fingers now drops to the desk. "That's not exactly all." I watch him expectantly, seeing that he's actually nervous to tell me anything else. "He'd pulled the last ten thousand just a week before his accident."

  I sit there trying to figure out how I have more questions than answers after all this time. "That money never went into our bank account, I have statements to prove it."

  "There's really nothing else I can tell you, Holland."

  "Right. Sorry, I don't mean to take any of this out on you." I gather up my purse and stand, reaching my hand across his desk. "I really do appreciate-"

  The phone ringing interrupts my thank you as he asks me to give him a moment. "Schneider."  I try not to listen in, again, one sided conversation, so I look around the small shoebox of an office, noticing the plagues and a photo of who I believe to be his wife and three kids. "I'll be there in five."  

 He hangs up urgently, his face paling as he looks over at me, making my 'thank you' smile falter.  

  "It's Levinson."

*Unedited