I set the timer on the stove, Brady and I left the kitchen to go sit with the others in the living room. Lexine was passed out in Preston's lap. The poor girl had a lot of activities today, no wonder she was so tired! Chase pulled me into his lap as I walked by and I tensed for a second worried that he could feel that I was wearing a pad but then relaxed. After all, he was a doctor, I reasoned with myself.

As I sat comfortably in Chase's lap, he rubbed my back in a slow massage. I melted into him, it felt so good. His phone vibrated in his pocket and he pulled it out and read a message. Putting the phone back in, he moved his hands from my upper back to my lower. Any slight cramping that I had disappeared. I wondered how he knew to massage there. My attention was diverted for a minute by Jake standing up to leave the room. "I'll be back in just a minute." he said and took off.

"Does that feel any better sweetie?" Chase asked me.

"Yes, that does."

He leaned closer to whisper in my ear. "Let me know if the cramps get too bad and I'll give you something for them."

"How did you know that I started?" I whispered back.

Chase just smirked at me and said, "I'm a doctor, I just know these things."

I narrowed my eyes at him and thought for a moment. The text message that he got! That must have been Brady announcing it to the others. I glanced over at Brady to see him watching me with a sheepish grin. I rolled my eyes at him and decided to let it go. It saved me from having to tell each guy individually about it. Chase continued to rub and massage my lower back and I just enjoyed it.

Eventually, the timer on the oven went off and I slid off of Chase's lap to go to the kitchen. He followed me in there to take the oven mitts out of my hands and pulled the casserole out for me. I hit the button to stop the timer beeping and gave him a look.

"Chase I have my period, not a broken arm."

Setting the gloves aside on the counter, he stepped closer to me and gathered me in his arms. "I know that sweetie. Can you just accept that I like doing things like this for you?"

How could I resist something like that? My heart melted and I gave him an adoring look. "Of course Chase. I'm just not used to it."

"Get used to it." he commanded me with a grin and let go of me to swat my butt.

I laughed and pulled the half baked rolls out of the pantry and put them on a cookie sheet to finish baking them. It only took a few minutes and while I took care of that, Chase carried the casserole dish into the dining room, Jake was back and setting the table. After placing the butter on the table, I called the rest of the family in to eat. They had woken Lexine up so she was alert and hungry. We sat down and enjoyed the chicken noodle casserole. Wyatt especially liked it since it reminded him of the soup that I had made for him when he was sick.

After dinner was over with, we cleaned up and gathered in the living room. Giving the others a glance, Jake took a hold of my hand and tugged me out of the room. I looked at Jake amused as I followed him.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"To my office. I want to show you something." he said with a smirk.

Now what? I thought to myself as he pulled me into this office. He proudly handed me a box that had a picture of a heating pad on it. Then he showed me a fuzzy teal throw blanket that was so soft and silky that I couldn't stop stroking it. Next he dumped a bag on his desk and a small mountain of king sized candy bars fell out. There was a huge variety from Hershey's to Twix.

"What?" I sputtered out.

Jake gestured grandly with his arm, "Everything you would need to get you through your period."

I started laughing. They really were too sweet! He looked at me, anxiously awaiting my approval.

Setting the blanket and heating pad down, I pulled his head down for a kiss. "Thank you, Jake. This is so sweet and just what I needed."

 Looking at the mountain of candy bars, I suggested that we share with everyone since there was no way that I could eat all those myself. Jake agreed and scooped them back in to the bag and picked up another bag that had something in it. We headed back out to the living room, also carrying the heating pad and blanket. I was greeted with smiles and I set the heating pad box down on a nearby table and carried my blanket with me. Jake grabbed a big decorative bowl from another table and set it down on the coffee table, then dumped the bag of candy in it.

Chase laughed and Preston exclaimed, "I thought I said a few candy bars! There is more than a few."

Jake shrugged and said, "Well, I didn't know which one she like so I got some of everything. She was nice enough to share them with us."

Brady chimed in, "Buttercup, pull out all of your favorites on the table so that we know in the future which ones you like."

Reaching into the bowl,  I pulled out Twix, Peanut Butter Twix, all the different Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, Hershey's Special Dark, Almond Joy and lastly my ultimate favorite, the Lindor Chocolate Truffle bar. They all nodded and took note the I put all the bars back except for the last one which I carefully opened and took a bite of. I sat there and savored it as some of the guys grabbed a candy bar and started to eat it. Preston let Lexine pick one to share with him. I gathered the wrappers from everyone when we were done eating and I went into the kitchen to throw them away and to get a drink of water.

I walked back into the living room picking up my blanket to find a seat when Wyatt grabbed me and pulled me into his lap this time and I snuggled down clutching my blanket in front of me. Lexine came over to inspect it and seemed to like how it felt. Jake pulled a light blue blanket just like mine out of the bag that he had carried in here and presented it to her. She eyes widened and she got a big smile on her face.

"There you go, you get one just like your mom but in your favorite color." Jake said to her.

Lexine gave him a hug and took her blanket and spread it out on the ground to lay on. All of us watched her with smiles and she wriggled around on it. She was too cute sometimes. I drifted off in thought as Wyatt gently stroked my hip. Suddenly I remembered my car. I wondered if it had ever been fixed.

"Hey Brady? Was my car ever fixed?" I asked him. I felt Wyatt freeze for a second and a fleeting look of concern passed over the others faces.

"Yes, buttercup it was fixed and we can talk about that more later tonight at the family meeting." he replied with his tone casual but I already knew something was up and we couldn't talk about it in front of Lexine. I pursed my lips but nodded in agreement. The rest of the evening was spent in comfortable ease until it was time to get Lexine into bed. I took her upstairs, bathed her, brushed her teeth and put her to bed.

Closing the door behind me I went back downstairs, more than a little curious about my car. I rejoined them in the living room and sat down next to Preston.

Family Meeting

Preston: Brady can you update us all on the status of Delphine's car?

Brady: Well, North was working on her car when he found something. It was a tracking device hidden underneath her car. It's not clear how long it's been there.

Preston: Was it disabled? Is there a way to find out where it came from?

Brady: Victor Morgan managed to disable it without tearing it apart. He gave it to me.

Preston: Is there a way to see where this came from Wyatt?

Wyatt: I'm not sure but I'll try.

Chase: Delphine, do you have any idea of why anybody would want to track you?

Delphine: No, I have no idea. Nobody seemed to care when I left California and Texas. There were no problems with anybody other than Rick's mom. She seemed really happy to see us leave and I'm not in contact with my family.

Preston: Ok, then Delphine. We will have North do a more careful sweep of your car and then we will store it here in the garage. It's probably a good idea to always leave the house with one of us for now until we figure out what's going on. I'm sorry if you feel stifled by the restrictions but it's for your safety.

Delphine: I normally would feel unhappy about that but I feel weirded out by a tracking device on my car more.

Jake: So you're ok with always being with one of us? You understand that we are just trying to keep you safe?

Delphine: Yes, I understand. It's not really a hardship to spend time with any of you.

Wyatt: Good, we can also use that time to bond even closer.

Chase: Sounds good to me.

Preston: Alright then, does anyone have anything else to bring up? No? Meeting adjourned.

Brady's POV

I watched Delphine as I broke the news of the tracking device. She took it pretty well without panicking or crying. I love how strong she is. Her expression was one of confusion and a little worried. She agreed with keeping one of us with her at all times and was sweet enough to say that she liked spending time with us. I couldn't wait until she finally saw the big surprise that we all had been working on for her.

After the meeting was over with, I held my hand out to her and she slipped her small hand into my big one. I led her upstairs towards my room, remembering to pluck the box with the heating pad up.  

"Brady, I need to visit my room first. I'll meet you in yours ok?"

"OK," I replied. "I'll see you in a few."

I used the bathroom and brushed my teeth before just stripping down to my boxers and slipping into bed. I turned on the television to watch a comedy show while I waited for her. It didn't take long before my bedroom door opened and she stepped inside. Delphine was wearing a yellow sleeveless nightie that skimmed her lovely figure and ended just above her knees. It was my favorite color and it made me happy to see her put thought into what she wore with me.

She shyly slipped into bed with me when I held the bed covers back for her. I pulled her into my arms and spooned her from behind. I still couldn't believe that she was worried earlier about having her period and not sleeping in my bed. What was that idiot husband of her thinking, treating her that way until she thought that all men were jerks? Gritting my teeth, I forced all my anger towards the dead man away and concentrated on the beautiful woman with me. Moving my hand to rub her lower stomach gently, I hoped to give her comfort or even relief if she was having cramps. She slowly relaxed and her breathing evened out as she fell asleep. I fell asleep too, feeling contented to have her with me.