Detective Shauna Franklin

"I'm afraid you're stuck with us, so suck it up woman."

At least she smiled, I'm just glad she didn't have the option of a gun in her hand.

"The good doctor has been busy on both our behalf. He has a doctor whom he already shared your case history with. It's going to hurt like shit and keep you off work for a while but you come out the other end a whole woman and with a resentful daughter, because she gets told that we spent her inheritance on getting you a new body."

Doctor Phillip Martinez had to place his hand on the nurse's shoulder to keep her in her seat when they both watched Shauna's vitals spike.

*******

Married and loving it ...

"Frank, I feel the need to remind you that I still work part-time at the Sheriff's office, so I still have a badge and a gun and can shoot you accidently, not to mention fudge the paperwork to make it look like an accident."

Frank for his part, laughed his ass off. Today was Sophie's Thirteenth birthday. Her birthday wish was for Frank to show her the thrill of NASCAR racing. Frank still had friends in the sport, he was even known to take time off from his day job and his old team used him to test drive the new car. His input was sometimes better than the computer data they collected from it.

We often turned up at race meetings, they invited us all down to the race track. Sophie casually mentioned that she wouldn't mind having a go but didn't have a license yet. That's when Frank mentioned the twin-seater that they used for sponsors to have a taste of speed.

Sophie turned her attention to us and began the campaign to be the passenger. Shauna flat out refused, citing the fact that she didn't save her life all those years ago just to have it smeared along the wall of a race track. It was interesting to watch daughter and wife butt heads on this issue, the other two children naturally sided with their older sister.

Later that night I asked Shauna why she was so against it?

She paused in brushing her hair long enough to say. "Oh honey I'm not against it. In fact, I already have Frank making the arrangements."

I frowned, totally at a loss. She placed her hand on mine and smiled that patient smile at the village idiot sitting next to her.

"Call it mother daughter bonding dear, that and the fact that she's pumped full of hormones and puberty is sure to be banging on her door. Plus, we're both having so much fun over this."

"Both?"

Shauna's smile got even bigger. "Oh yes honey. She doesn't actually want to do it, she loves NASCAR, I will give her that. But the sitting in the car thing, not so much."

Feeling at a loss, I just had to ask. "And you know this how?"

Shauna fixed me with one of those looks, that just say. 'Leave it to me dear, I've got this.'

So the day after her birthday, we all made our way to the track. We found the whole team in the tent in the middle of the circuit, handshakes were made all round, then they brought out the promotional car.

The car was barred out just like a normal race car only this one had two seats. Shauna was smiling as we watched them both get in and were strapped to the seats by the pit crew.

Her hand met mine and she sure held on tight. "I swear this will kill me long before her."

I laughed, a dangerous thing to do when your wife has a license to carry.

Sophie's voice came over the radio. "Momma, why is an EMT ambulance parking up over there?"

"No reason Sophie, it's because momma is feeling a little faint and she may need an ambulance."

"Momma, they don't send an EMT ambulance to people who faint."

That was Frank's cue, he dropped the car into gear and only just kept to the speed limit through the pit lane. We all heard Sophie scream through the speakers on the table as the car rocketed out of the exit and flew up onto the top end of the banking, missing the wall by inches as it glided alongside it. The added advantage to race cars of course is that all the dials in the car are slanted towards the driver.

The driver got out of the ambulance carrying a wrapped box in her hand and walked over to Shauna, she smiled and said. "We got strict instruction to pop over here to hand you this from our supervisor."

Shauna smiled, thanked the lady and said that the coffee and anything they liked on the food tables were open to her and her partner, they could stay as long as they wanted.

Her partner shot out of the ambulance with radio in hand and followed his partner into the refreshment tent.

I smiled, then looked at Shauna. "You're playing physiological warfare with our daughter."

The shocked look didn't fool me. "No dear, it's called mother and daughter bonding."

There are of course legalities, not to mention insurance reasons why they don't allow minors to sit in the second seat but it's also why Frank was driving. To Sophie it may have looked and felt like they were tearing up the track at a thousand miles an hour, Frank made sure they never even made racing speed.

As the car came around for the next to last time, the radio had a laughing Sophie springing from the speaker. Her fear had all but gone and she was enjoying the hell out of it.

It was only Shauna who heard a woman's laughter in her thoughts, over the top of the roar of a race car at nowhere near full speed going around the circuit for the very last time.

When the car finally came to a stop, Sophie was a little shaky on her legs but she made it back to the tent and stood in front of Shauna. She lunged at her and wrapped her arms around my wife, Shauna hugged her right back.

When she calmed down enough, the box that the ambulance lady came with was opened and a silver cup engraved with this day's date and the message.

"To Sophie.

Born to be loved by so many people.

Birthday wishes do come true.

Congratulations on being brave enough to live out your wishes."

We all got a tearful hug, Shauna got a kiss on the cheek as a bonus as well, the other two children got involved and it turned into a kiss fest, I felt a little left out.

To us the day was a success, the crew were putting things away and the cars were being placed back onto transporters to take back to the workshop, Both Shauna and Sophie wandered out to the edge of the track and joined me.

I held out my hands and both girls grabbed a hand each. I squeezed the one Sophie had and said. "The day your mother died, I was broken. You and your grandparents kept me alive long enough to bring Shauna into my life and she took over then."

My attention was then on Shauna. "You healed me and brought Duncan and Angela into the family, you wanted to get tied off but I beat you to the table and got snipped. I don't have favorites, since all four of you touch my heart in your own way. I've loved my life and hope you've loved yours."

This time I squeezed both my hands and they both smiled back at me.

"I want to thank you both for making today so special, even though it was supposed to be about Sophie's birthday present. I look forward to more days like today. This is my family and I'm so proud of all four of you."

"Dad, Mom, Duncan's been sick, I told him to stop eating the Jello, but oh no he doesn't listen to his next big sister, like ever."

All three of us smiled, now this was family.