Instead of saying anything, all three boys looked at their mother like she was a mad woman.

"But we have proved that Adam is not the father of that baby. I thought that is what we were supposed to be doing," Chuck finally spoke up in a very timid voice. Since Chuck was often with the boys, Laura and Carl often treated him like a third son. "I don't get it."

"You don't get it? Chuck, oh my Lord," Laura shrieked again, pushing her long hair from her face in frustration.

"Laura, calm down sweetie," Carl said from the speakerphone. Laura stopped and looked at the speakerphone.

"Calm down, you want ME to calm down! Carl sometimes, I swear..." Laura started in. "Okay, let me go over this situation. First, I am told I am a grandmother because of my teenage son with a whacked out girl that I have always not trusted. Then the same son almost stabs himself and has to be taken for stitches without my prior knowledge. Then to top it off they copy medical records from a good friend of ours and of our community. So you are right, I should just be perfectly calm. You are not here, I am the one who is here and I have a right to be upset."

Carl did not say anything after that. He knew that it was hard on Laura at times to not have him as an equal partner in the raising of their sons, especially since the boys have started to follow in their father's footsteps.

"Didn't you know that you can't do that? You can't copy things that are strictly confidential. That could get Doc into trouble was well as yourselves," Carl said in a stern voice.

"I did after I thought about it. I just got so wrapped up into proving Adam's innocence that I totally forgot that we had to play by the rules," Jason finally spoke up.

"But you have not proven anything really. You can't use those papers for anything. I really thought that of all people, you Jason would know that and stay professional," Carl added with a tone of disappointment.

"It was my fault Mr. Kramer. I am the one who went and copied those papers. The boys did not have anything to do with that part. I just saw an opportunity and I took advantage of it. But I still am glad I did it because it is not fair that she can do this to Adam. She is making it harder for other girls who really do know the father of their baby. She is trying to milk you out of your money and I don't see how it is right that she can do that based solely on her word," Chuck said in an even tone.

"But Chuck, I should have told you up front that it was wrong, but I was caught up in the same notion of proving my brother's innocence too," Jason said with disappointment. He really did know that, but his love for his brother was stronger than any law or confidentiality clause.

"Look, I feel bad that I got you two in to trouble and I feel bad that I took advantage of Doc Ackerman and his nurse's trust. But I do not feel bad for trying to prove that my best friend is innocent. I am not going to stand here and lie about it," Chuck stated without hesitation.

Both Laura and Carl both sighed at the same time and seemed to be in deep thought.

Laura was the first one to break the silence. "First of all, I do appreciate that both of you care enough about Adam to do that for his benefit. But we have to abide by the law. If we don't, it could make matters worse for other innocent people like Doc Ackerman. We will prove his innocence the right way."

"Jason, I am glad that you at least knew in the back of your head that the copying of medical records was wrong. I guess I understand that you let your emotions get in the way. You are still young. You are all still young. But you have to learn that in this business you have to stick by the rules," Carl continued. "Chuck, I also understand what you are saying, but we have to think about Doc and his trust. You would not want to lose his trust would you?"

Chuck frowned and said, "No, sir. It just isn't fair that the criminals have all the rights."

"So what are we going to do now? I, for one, am glad that we discovered this because I just have this gut feeling that Christine is in some kind of trouble. I think she is in way over her head," Adam said, looking over at his brother, who was sitting in their father's chair.

"You want to help her after what she has done!" Chuck's voice boomed out.

Jason and Laura were also looking at him with a puzzled look.

"No matter what, she is still a human being. I think that she is in more trouble than she even realizes. I don't know why I think that, but I do. I mean, think about it, she is protecting the real father. It said that she stated that the father was a lot older with high blood pressure. That says to me that he is a good bit older. So therefore he would possibly have money. The man also wants it kept secret because he is paying out of his own pocket for her medical care. It all just gives me a bad feeling," Adam replied. "I think that Christine is way in over her head."

Everyone was quiet for a minute. They had been so concerned about Adam's part that they had not really thought about the other facts that had surfaced with their discovery.

"Well, then it seems that we need to make a trip to Palm Springs and check out this Windell Stewart," Jason spoke up. "We also need to make a trip to Doc."

"No Jason, I will take care of Doc. I just want those papers in a safe place until I speak to him privately," Carl answered. "Take the phone with you so I can call you. I am going to run a check on Mr. Stewart and see what comes up. Also I do not want any contact and no more copying anything!"

"Yes sir," all three boys said at the same time.

At that time, their father was beeped for another phone call. After promising to be careful, Carl hung up the phone.

"Well, we had better get going," Adam said getting up and stretching.

"We?" Jason asked.

"You are not going alone," Adam replied.

"No, Chuck is going with me. You are staying here and resting. Those stitches were just put in and I don't want them busting open," Jason commented.

"I will be just fine," Adam fired back. He did not like it when Jason became protective over him. It absolutely smothered him at times.

"No Adam, I want you here too," Laura spoke up. Adam argued, but it did not do any good as his brother and his best friend left in the van after Laura packed them a small snack.

Not wanting to just sit around, Adam decided that he would go over to Christine's house to see if she would level with him. He was about to discuss his plans with his mother when there was a knock at the door. It was Christine. Not wanting to create suspicion, Laura acted just like her old self by welcoming Christine into the Kramer home.

'I tried to call, but the phone was busy. So I just thought I would come on over so Nathan dropped me off. I hope that you can drive me back home later," Christine said with a smile at Adam.

"No problem, Christine," Adam replied. He then asked her to walk with him down the beach, but Christine asked if they could not go out somewhere for a small drive. Even though Laura was not happy about it, she reluctantly agreed as long as Adam took her cell phone and took it easy.

The young couple made their way to Adam's car. As they drove up the coastline, Adam told Christine about his doctor's visit and she told him about her visit to the "hospital". Adam took a back road to his favorite place by the ocean. It was owned by the state, but many people went up there to be alone or to just get away from the pressures of the real world. The young couple walked up the path, after parking the car, to the bluffs that over looked the great Pacific Ocean. Adam could not help but feel certain sadness because it was the place that he brought Alyssa to often on their dates. He could just picture her sitting here with her hair blowing in the cool wind.

"Oh, Adam, this is so romantic of you," Christine squealed as they stopped by the edge of the cliff. The ground shook as the waves crashed against the rocks, turning the salty water into white foam.

The young couple talked of the day's events and of what had happened over the past years. Adam actually enjoyed the talk, even though it was with Christine. She always was a good friend in the past. They talked and laughed as they caught up on life's events; acting like time was sitting still. Soon, only the lights from Emerald Beach and the moon would be the only reminders of time passing.

"You really did love Alyssa, didn't you?" Christine asked after a lap of silence.

"I still do love Alyssa," Adam answered. This is the time for the truth he thought.

"But I am having your baby, you should..." Christine started in, but Adam cut her off.

"I know the truth Christine. Chuck was at Doc Ackerman's today. Now are you going to finally tell me the truth? You can't keep this charade up any way. When that baby is born, we will ask for a DNA test that will tell the truth. I think that you are in trouble and I can help you, but only if you tell me the truth," Adam said, looking her in the eyes. Her eyes at first showed signs of anger, but then tears started to fill her eyes and stream down her face.

"I just want someone to love me," Christine finally said softly.

"Christine, I do care about you, but not in the way that you want me to feel. Jason and I can help you if you just tell us the truth."

Christine thought for a moment and then looked out over the ocean. The moonlight from the full moon lit up the sky.

She sighed and then wiped her eyes with her shirtsleeve. "You are right. I am in trouble. You are not the father. I am three months pregnant by an older man. I can't believe that I let myself get caught up in Nathan's scheme, but I did. I never meant to hurt you. I just wanted to be with you... forever... with a real family. I really do love you."

"But I don't love you in that way. I love Alyssa," Adam said, taking her hand. "I would just like to be your friend and help you out of this big mess."

Christine laughed at first, then became serious. "Adam, this is a really big mess. I don't think that there is an end to it."

"Give me a try," Adam replied.

Christine smiled and then took a deep breath. "The father of my baby is Nathan's college professor. Nathan wanted to blackmail him to get him back into nursing at the college. Mr. Stewart asked for Nathan's dismissal because of Nathan's low scores. So Nathan talked me into sticking Mr. Stewart and after I told him I was in my twenties, it worked like a charm. But then Nathan started asking for money and all of this other stuff by informing him I was a minor. But I told Nathan to stop. He was just supposed to finish this quarter and graduate. That is all, but Nathan has taken it farther than that I think."

"You don't know what he has said to Mr. Stewart?"

"No, Nathan will not let me know everything. Dad does not have a clue. He is not even with us right now. He only comes back on weekends from Los Angeles and that is only if his new girlfriend will let him come back. He has basically left Nathan and me to fend for ourselves."

"What do you know about this Mr. Stewart?" Adam asked. It made him uncomfortable that Nathan would use his stepsister that way and it was hard to tell what was going on.

"He seemed like a nice man at first, but then it turns out that he is a real slime ball who loves younger women. Not minors though, just his college students. But he is a big wig at the college. Everyone respects him, especially since he is the Dean of the Nursing program. He has a darker side and money beyond imagination."

"How could he have that much money from being at a college? Mom makes a good living, but she is not rich and she is a well known professor at UCSD," Adam asked.

"I ever told Nathan about this, but Windell has connections. I overheard him one night when I was over at his office late. He has money though his connections," Christine answered.

"What connections?"