046. Dawn

Title: Dark Shadows
Genre: Mystery, Romance
Characters: Fran Callahan
Prompt: 046. Dawn
Word Count: 689
Rating: PG
Type: Series: 17 of 33.
Summary: Fran finally buries the past.
Warnings: None.



A crow squawked in the distance as Fran slowly walked through the cemetery where her father was buried. After Nathan pressing her to go undercover, she hadn’t slept the entire night, her mind racing through the possibilities of failure and success. She knew she had a chance to help catch this killer and protect those girls but it was extremely dangerous to put herself out there with no training or experience with criminals and some would even say it was foolish.
She passed the lonely headstones one by one, endless rows of names and dates, each one with its own story to tell. She went by a smaller one, the early morning fog lingering over it almost as if to hide the sadness it encompassed. The small tombstone read, “Our Loving Angel - Sarah Jeanette Parker; April 1997-May 1997”.
Fran sighed as she moved onward, the thought of losing a child after only one month weighing down on her, she had known her father her entire life and it hurt deeper than she could have imagined, how could anyone go on after only having one short month together?
She finally saw her destination, a large tombstone that stood tall beside another that was being saved for her mother. She breathed in deeply as that crow squawked again, closer this time, she looked to her left and saw it land on the perimeter fence, watching her intently. “Oh, go away, a little privacy would be nice,” she said, waving the pesky bird off as she knelt down in front of her father’s grave.
“Hey Daddy, it’s me,” she said, a tear rolling down her cheek, she quickly wiped it away, “There’s so much I want to tell you…I miss you. I wish you were here to tell me what to do.”
She sat quietly in the still, refreshing morning air, listening to her surroundings, the smell of freshly cut grass invading her nostrils. She sighed as she stared at the headstone, no answer coming to her questions, only a reminder of the great man that rested beneath. John Callahan, Loving Husband and Father, Dedicated Officer of the Law.

Dedicated Officer of the Law. Innate Truth and Justice. The words reverberated in her head, the same ideals in her own heart and soul. She knew deep down what she had to do, her father taught her to believe in what is right and to give her best in anything life throws at you.
She took her cell phone out of her pocket and dialed the number.

“Davis.”
“I’ll do it,” her heart pounded in her chest at the brief moment of silence, she could almost see him smiling smugly to himself, he had worn her down and she couldn’t believe she was agreeing to this.

“I knew you would see things my way. I’ll get you an alias and we’ll have to put together a portfolio to show Miss Raven, she’s holding an open call next week, so we have to work fast.”
“Your way? Ha! Well I hate to break it to you Mister, but I’m doing this for those girls, not you.”

More silence, she could picture the grin getting wider, “Oh, of course. Naturally you wouldn’t want to do this for me.” The sarcasm in his voice caused her own lips to curve into a smile.

“Well, just so we’re clear on that. And a ‘thank you’ would be nice too.”

“Thank you, Frannie.”

“I told you to stop calling me that.”

He laughed, “You didn’t think I would actually listen though, did you?”
She shook her head and laughed herself as they hung up, she looked back at the tombstone in front of her, feeling relieved. Her father would know and understand that she felt the need to do her part, he lived practically his entire life devoting it to the safety of other people.

She smiled leaving the cemetery, feeling lighter than air; she was talking to her mother again, Nathan was still her best friend and now she had a chance to really do something important. Things were starting to look up for a change.

Part 18