WAKING SLEEPING BEAUTY

The wrong end of the stick

Noah had hit it of with his new friend, it seemed he was a Duke. He was Duke Ainsworth, and he could name his ancestry all the way to the 10th century when they first came into power. Noah thought the guy was genuinely impressive as they spoke, he had to constantly remind himself that this guy holds the key to Casey's memory, so he can't be too close to him, in case he is guilty.

After saying his goodbyes with the Duke, his brothers joined him outside hoping to get some news about Casey, or at least something to go on. They found Noah thinking about his conversation with the poor guy. In fact, he felt sorry for him. "So? What happened?" Jason was excited like a little kid, he asked as soon as Noah got in the car.                                                                                                                                                              "Guys I can't get everything in one day without looking suspicious, he is British, he is a widower with two daughters. He invited me to watch soccer at his place on friday next week, did you know they call soccer football where he is from? How crazy is that?" he said genuinely excited about meeting the Duke.                    "Yeah crazier that actual football that you play with your hands huh?" Alexander said teasing his obviously elated younger brother.                                                                                                                                                        "Wow Xander, that's deep," he teased back getting out of the car, "...I am late, I'm meeting my girlfriend for breakfast and then we study later."                                                                                                                                    "If you want us to believe you, don't start a sentence with you meeting a girl," Jason teased and the three brothers laughed at Noah as he went to his Prius. 

Alexander trusted Noah to find the truth, he was his only hope in finding out about Casey's past and yet he also can't tell her, in case nothing comes out of it. He hated lying to her, but he can't raise her hopes up for nothing, even though deep down he felt like the Duke was guilty somehow and judging by how rich Casey looked that morning when he found her, there could be no doubt that the Duke would know Casey, but why did he lie and say that he did not know her when his face when he saw her and how he stopped to say something, but stopped complete when Casey asked if he knew her. He was sure that that was his way out of a bad situation, he wished she had waited to hear what he was going to say, but he also understood her frustration with the memory issue, in fact, she planned Andrew's birthday party to stop thinking about her memory for a bit, because it was starting to depress her.

Through out the day's activities, Alexander couldn't help thinking about Duke Ainsworth. Something was totally off about him and he was going to get to the bottom of it for Casey's sake. She was his world and the fact that her memory is an issue for her, he wanted to help her through it. Surprised by the look on her face as the photographer said they must take five. He followed her seeing that she was angry, "Casey what's wrong?" he finally caught up and saw her tears.                                                                                                             "Why are you here Xander? You're obviously not into this, why did you let me include you in my plans, was it just to make a fool of me? I know you are not Andrew's father, I understand you will always have your limits, but..." she was angry, hell he had never seen her this angry, except she had the wrong end of the stick, so he had to cut her short.                                                                                                                                                             "I'm having Duke Ainsworth investigated, you know the guy from the grocery store months ago, I feel like he is hiding something, I was not sure I should tell you in case nothing comes out of it," he said and realized the nonsense this woman had just said about Andrew not being his, his demeanor changed, she realized he was angry, but why was he angry all of a sudden, "...if Andrew is not mine, whose is he? I took care of him from day one when you couldn't? Me. Who stays up all night when the kid is sick, even if I have to go to work the next day? Me. Who spent the morning running trying to find things I can't even pronounce right for daycare? Me. I have been a father to Andrew more than his real father ever can, so next time you want to address your grievances with me, leave my son out of it."                                                                                            "I'm sorry, Andrew is a very touchy subject for me because he is mine, like it or not, but you choosing to love Andrew like your own is something that can change if or when we break up. So I will always worry when he is involved," she said calmly and yet firm.                                                                                                                        "Well then, don't break up with me because I don't want to lose Andrew or you," he pulled her into his arms and kissed her senseless.