One Wild Night

"Lucy?" Dawn called as they both organized her stuff into her luggage.

"Yes?" Lucy asked, pausing to look at Dawn.

"Are you going to miss me?" Dawn said, and Lucy smiled.

"Of course. Why do you ask?" Lucy asked, and Dawn shrugged.

"You have Jamal," Dawn pointed out, and Lucy raised a brow.

"Why can't I miss you if I have Jamal?" She asked, and Dawn sighed.

"I wish he was leaving too," she said, and Lucy giggled.

"Don't tell me you are jealous of Jamal?" Lucy asked, and she shrugged.

"He gets to be here with you, and I don't," she said sadly.

"Yeah. And you get to be home with your mom and grandparents," Lucy said easily.

"Why does everyone like Jamal, but nobody likes me?" Dawn asked, and Lucy raised a brow.

"I like you," she said, and Dawn sighed.

"I know you do, but it's just you. Everyone else likes Jamal, but they don't like me," Dawn said, and Lucy smiled.

"Everyone likes you," Lucy said since she knew that was true. Everyone liked her but were acting distant because of her mother and the circumstances surrounding her birth.

"Listen, when Jamal came the first time, everyone wasn't as friendly to him. Even Tom had a really mean look on his face when he first spoke with Jamal. It took some time before he won their hearts," Lucy assured Dawn while the kid eyed her doubtfully.

"Really?" She asked, and Lucy nodded.

"How long did it take? Maybe I'm leaving too soon? If I stay longer, will they like me more and miss me when I leave?" Dawn asked, and Lucy smiled sadly.

Thankfully, before she could respond, a knock sounded on the door, and they both looked up as Desmond walked into the room.

Lucy's brows pulled together as she looked at Desmond, wondering what he was doing there.

"I want to speak with Dawn," Desmond said as if reading her mind, and Lucy gave him a nod as she rose to excuse them.

"I will be in my bedroom. You can come get me when you're done," Lucy told Dawn before walking away.

Seeing Desmond in her bedroom left Dawn disconcerted, and she didn't know exactly what to do as she looked at everywhere else but at him.

Watching the kid, Desmond didn't know what to do either. He wished she was older. Maybe if she was, he could have a genuine conversation with her.

They had received the result from the lab a moment ago, confirming that Dawn was his half-sister, even though they already believed it.

"Can I sit with you?" Desmond asked, and Dawn looked at him briefly and gave him a nod before looking down at her hands.

Desmond walked over to the bed and sat beside her. He remained quiet for some time, saying nothing as he thought of the best possible way to convey his message to the kid.

He doubted that she would remember this conversation in years to come, but he had to at least try.

He wasn't sure how much he was supposed to say to her or how much Kimberly and her parents would appreciate him telling her, but he knew that he didn't owe them anything. If anything, he expected them to tell the child the truth.

As much as he didn't like the situation of things, Dawn was a Hank. She was his father's daughter. His half-sister. He was not going to be a shitty older brother to her because of the circumstance surrounding her birth and because of the kind of person her mother was.

"I haven't been very welcoming, have I?" Desmond asked, deciding to start from there.

Dawn shook her head.

"I'm sorry about that. I lost my father, and things have been sort of rough lately," Desmond said, and Dawn looked at him.

"Sorry," Dawn said, not sure what she was expected to say.

Desmond looked at her for a moment, wondering what age she would be, when she realized she had also lost her father, and that was the person he was referring to.

"I wish things didn't happen this way. And I wish we met under different circumstances. Maybe then I would have been a lot nicer," Desmond said, even though he knew she wouldn't understand what he meant.

"Are you going to miss me?" Dawn asked, and this time, Desmond smiled.

"Yes, I will," he said after a moment, and she smiled.

"Do you want me to stay longer?" She asked hopefully, and Desmond sighed.

"Your mom needs you back now. But hopefully, when you are older and can make decisions for yourself, you can come over and stay for as long as you want to. My home will always be open to you then. You are family, after all," Desmond said, and Dawn nodded.

That was good enough for her.

They both turned to the door when it opened, and Evelyn looked in, "I didn't realize you were here," Evelyn said as Desmond rose.

"I'm done. Why are you here?" He asked, and she shrugged.

"I wanted to check on Dawn," she said as her gaze moved from Desmond to Dawn.

"I will leave you to it then," Desmond said as he left the room, and Evelyn walked in.

Dawn watched Evelyn as she sat on the spot which Desmond had just vacated.

Seeing Evelyn here, she figured that maybe Lucy was right. Maybe they all needed time to get to know her and like her like they liked Jamal.

Looking at Dawn, Evelyn sighed. This wasn't the sort of relationship she expected to have with Lawrence's daughter.

Lawrence had been like a father to her, and she knew she was supposed to be more accommodating of the kid. She was very much worried about Dawn but couldn't show it because she also had to consider her husband's feelings as well as Tom's because of what Kimberly had done, and even though she had chastised Lucy for interfering the way she did, she had been very much thankful that Lucy cared about the kid.

"What did Desmond say to you?" Evelyn asked curiously when she had been silent for some time, and it was obvious that her silence was making the kid uncomfortable.

"He said he was sorry and that he was going to miss me, and when I grow up, I can come and stay here for as long as I want," Dawn said since that was what was most important to her in all that Desmond had said.

"He said that?" Evelyn asked in surprise, and she nodded.

"That's nice," Evelyn said, and Dawn nodded.

"Do you know how to make phone calls?" Evelyn asked, and Dawn bobbed her head.

"I do."

"If I give you my phone number, will you call me from time to time to let me know how you are doing?" Evelyn asked, and Dawn looked at her in surprise.

"You want me to call you?" She asked, and Evelyn nodded.

"Of course. I care about you and would want to know that you are fine," Evelyn said, thinking that she owed Lawrence that much, and she also knew that once Desmond recovered fully from the loss of his father and the surprise of this, he would want to have a better relationship with Dawn too.

"Will you miss me?" Dawn asked, and Evelyn laughed softly.

"Of course I will."

Dawn beamed a happy smile since she could see that now that they realized she was leaving soon, they were all showing her that they actually liked her and cared about her.

Away from there, in Tom's bedroom, Lucy raised a brow when she walked in and saw Tom dressing up.

"Are you going somewhere?" She asked since she didn't remember him mentioning anything of the sort to her.

"Yeah."

"But you didn't mention having any plans of us going out. Or am I not coming with you?" Lucy asked with a slight frown.

"Nah. I'm going alone. I'm going out to the hotel to handle something that just came up," he said distractedly as he put on his tie, and she pressed her lips together and folded both hands in front of her.

Tom caught her expression in the mirror and turned to look at her, "What is the problem?" He asked with concern as he approached her.

"Why can't I come with you?" She asked, and his lips twitched in amusement.

"Don't you want to be here to see your little best friend off when she leaves?" Tom asked, and Lucy scowled.

That was true. She had to be at home when Dawn leaves, but that didn't mean she liked the idea of being at home without Tom. It wasn't like she wanted to do anything with him. He could stay in the Den with the guys all day while she chatted with the ladies or did anything else, but she just didn't like the thought of him being out of the house.

"How long will you be gone?" She asked, and Tom shrugged.

"A couple of hours. Hopefully, I will be back in time for dinner," he said, and her scowl deepened.

"That's a long time," she said, and this time, Tom grinned.

"Why? Missing me already? I thought you'd be happy to have some time to yourself. You like to have your space, remember? And you...."

"Shut up!" Lucy snarled at him, and he chuckled as his arm went around her waist and he pulled her close.

"Make me," he said as he kissed her, and Lucy bit his lower lip mildly.

"Can't it wait?" She asked with a pout.

"Tomorrow is the funeral, remember? And we will be leaving the day after tomorrow. Will you rather I travel down here alone after we return to Ludus?" He asked, even though he knew that wasn't going to happen.

"How about you go later in the day?" She asked, and he raised a brow.

"Would it make a difference whether I go now or in two hours time?" He asked with a knowing smile.

"I suppose not. Whatever. Leave if you want to leave," she said as she walked past him and went to sit on the bed so she could watch him dress up.

Tom returned to the dressing table, and he stifled a chuckle when he caught a glimpse of her face in the mirror.

"I will try to be back as soon as I can," Tom promised.

"You can spend the night there for all I care," she hissed, and he grinned.

"Really? I can? It's been a long time since I last spent the night there," Tom said, and Lucy glared at him.

"Thomas Hank," she called in a warning tone.

"Yes, Lucinda Perry?" He responded, and this time, he chuckled when she got off the bed and approached him with a pillow.

"You know you can just say you are going to miss me, right? You don't have to be so dramatic about it," Tom said as she hit him with the pillow.

"I'm not traveling, Lu. It's just the hotel. And I will be back before you know it," he said, and she raised a brow.

"I know it. So, I guess you are back now," she said, and Tom looked lost for a moment before he caught the joke, and then he laughed out loud.

Before Tom could respond to that, Lucy's phone started ringing, and she went to pick it up.

She smiled when she saw that the call was from Amy, so she received it, "Hey, Amy!" Lucy greeted cheerfully.

"Is this a good time? I'm sorry to bother you...."

"Sure. And it's not a bother. Are you alright?" Lucy asked when she heard the distress in her tone.

"I'm fine. I wanted to find out if you have gotten a replacement at the office yet or..."

"No, I haven't. Why?" Lucy cut in.

"I was hoping I could resume work tomorrow," Amy said, and Lucy gasped when it occurred to her that Miley was dead; hence, Amy wanted to return to work.

"Oh, Amy! I'm so sorry for the loss. You don't have to get back to work so soon. Take your time to process your loss and..."

Amy shook her head quickly when she realized what Lucy was thinking, "Oh, no! God, no. She is not dead. Miley is still alive. Her family is taking care of her now, and I just need to get back to work," Amy said, not wanting to give Lucy the details.

Perhaps it was because she didn't want Lucy to tell Lucas about it. She could bet that Lucas was most likely going to gloat if he heard how everything had gone south.

"That's a relief. You can resume then. The HR hasn't been able to find anyone good enough to fill your shoes. I'm so glad you're coming back. And I wish your bestie a smooth recovery," Lucy said, and Amy thanked her before hanging up.

"That was Amy. She wants to come back to work tomorrow," Lucy said, and Tom nodded.

"I heard that much. But why? Didn't you say she wanted to stay with her best friend, who is terminally ill?" Tom asked, and Lucy nodded.

"Yeah. She said her bestie is with her family now, so she has to get back to work," Lucy said easily.

"Why would the bestie being with her family stop her from staying with her?" Tom asked, and Lucy's brows pulled together thoughtfully.

"You have a point," Lucy said and then glanced at her phone when it began to ring again. This time, it was Lucas.

"It's Lucas," Lucy said, and Tom glanced at his watch.

"I have to leave now. I love you," Tom said and headed for the door, but Lucy said nothing, so he turned to look at her.

"Not even a kiss? Are you going to the hotel to meet another lady?" She asked, and Tom chuckled as he went over to where she sat and rained kisses on her face.

"I will say hello to the other woman when I get to the hotel," Tom said as he straightened up and headed for the door once again.

"Ask her to make sure I never find her," Lucy called after him, and he chuckled as he shut the door behind him.