In the Blink of an Eye

Chapter Twenty: In the Blink of an Eye

"Shh," he whispers. "Tell me what happened."

"Lewis," I whisper. "His kidnapping Olivia, and his trying to get to me... It was all so awful..."

Hunter pulls me closer. "We discussed it briefly after I got back, but we never really fully discussed what happened to you..."

"He tried to rape me," I say softly. "Suffice it to say, it wasn't successful." I cross my arms. "I don't want to talk about it."

"Okay," Hunter says, backing off. "Is that all that's bothering you?"

"Yes," I snap back, turning to face the clock. "Oh! Dammit. The alarm was shut off again! I'm so late..."

"Late for what?" Hunter asks, and it is then that I notice that he's already dressed and ready to go.

"The verdict on Baby Boy Doe—the one that Olivia found in the house of those porn producers," I reply. "I promised her I'd go to court with her today."

"That can't be easy for you," Hunter says softly as I proceed to chuck my nightclothes into the hamper.

"Excuse me?" I ask.

"You, witnessing Olivia give so much concern to a baby, one that isn't even her own," he observes.

I feel myself gritting my teeth. "Of course it isn't," I reply.

"Then why go?" he asks. "Why put yourself through that?"

I sigh. "Because Olivia is my friend," I reply. "And besides, if it gets out that I'm feeling jealous, people will question it. I can't have that."

"Maggie..."

"No." I raise my hand. "Olivia gave me up while she was in college, so me suddenly telling her after all these years... No. Not going to happen."

"Odd, really," Hunter observes.

"What?"

"She has that younger brother—Simon, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, Simon. What about him?"

"Well, she ran her DNA through that kinship analysis..."

"How did you...?"

"Elliot knew, who told Don, who told Ed, who told me. If you're a cop, your blood is probably on record somewhere. How could she not know, if...?"

"Don called in a few favors," I reply. "It was almost five years after she initially found Simon... But I guess one of Don's favors was keeping it under wraps. He called the DNA lab and told them that I wanted to keep it confidential... I don't know much about it. If you remember correctly, it was not an easy conversation to have—I was pretty mad at him..."

"You also filed for divorce at that point," Hunter puts in, running a comb through his hair as I turn on the shower water. "Forgive me if I can't quite remember a time when you weren't exactly my favorite person."

I take great delight in that moment as I throw off my robe and step into the shower in that next moment. "You're welcome to join me," I tell him.

He sighs. "I'd love to, but I'm running late, too," he says, leaning over and kissing me briefly. "Temptress," he mutters, a chuckle in the back of his throat, as he leaves me to continue my morning routine.

. . .

I arrive at the courthouse, late of course, and make my way to the front desk. I find myself tapping my fingers impatiently on the fine oak, annoyed that nobody is there to direct me. Growing frustrated at my own lateness and people's inability to assist me, I decide to take off on my own and attempt to find the courtroom on my own. Heading off down the hallway, I hear a female judge speaking, and a faint reply of, "Yes, Your Honor" and I immediately recognize Olivia's voice.