Beta

Savannah was actually happy about Tyler and the boys heading out of town to play the Predators in Nashville. She needed a little space since Tyler had been a little too overbearing since she had started receiving calls from Odella. She knew he meant well, but she didn't do well with someone trying to tell her how to live her life or constantly telling her to be safe.

She sat down on her couch. She hadn't realized how much she stayed with Tyler until she realized she hadn't been to her apartment in weeks. There was even a light layer of dust covering the tv stand. She propped her feet up on the coffee table while turning on Netflix to watch Friends while she did some work.

She had been researching a lot lately. She needed to know everything she could about Bartholomew and Odella before she presented it to Dominic. She wanted him to allow her to be the lead when going after Bartholomew. And she had a feeling Odella would be put behind bars by the time it was all done this time.

She had told Liam about the calls, and he was working on trying to track her phone and see who else Odella was calling. They assumed Bartholomew was staying at Odella's, though they didn't have proof yet.

She jumped when her phone began ringing suddenly. She glanced at the caller ID to see her mom's name pop up. "Hey Mom," Savannah answered the phone. Her parents had gone back home soon after Shea's wedding with them saying something about needing to get to their cabin. Savannah hadn't argued with them, figuring they would cause less trouble back home, though she did have to admit it was nice to have them around for a short time.

"Tyler called me," Mae announced, and Savannah suddenly abandoned her work, pushing her computer onto the couch next to her and standing up quickly.

"What!?" she exclaimed. "Why?" she demanded. She grabbed the remote, turning the channel to the local news, though she wasn't paying much attention to that with her mother's statement.

"Just to say hi," Mae said simply.

"Yeah right," Savannah scoffed. "What did he really call you about?" she questioned. She was racking her brain to come up with ideas about why on Earth Tyler would call her mother. He hadn't even called her, so it wasn't like he was injured or something.

"To say hi," Mae repeated. "We're friends, Savannah. Is that so wrong? For your mother to like your boyfriend and to talk to him?"

Savannah put her hand on her forehead and dropped her head. Did her mother just say she was friends with Savannah's boyfriend? "No, Mom, there's nothing wrong with that," Savannah sighed, though she could come up with a whole list of reasons why it was wrong. "I'm glad you like him."

"He's so funny," Mae continued talking about Tyler. "And friendly," she gushed. What all exactly had Tyler said to her mom to make her beam about him? Savannah knew he was a people person, but she wasn't expecting all this. "Much better than Jason," her mother spoke the name no one said anymore, causing an involuntary shudder from Savannah. "He was never good enough for you, Savannah. Tyler is much better."

Savannah had never told her parents how bad Jason really was. They never knew of his abusive ways. And they still disliked him. Savannah should have known better off the bat when Mae and Dan didn't immediately take a liking to him as they did everyone else. "Yes, Mom," Savannah agreed with her. "I'm pretty happy with Tyler," she admitted.

"Well I'm happy both my daughters are happy," Mae commented. "I haven't heard from Shea, have you?" she changed subjects.

Savannah rolled her eyes. "Mom, she's on her honeymoon, do you really expect to hear from her?" Savannah talked to her mom not nearly as much as she should. She knew Shea didn't call her a ton either. So she was surprised her mom thought she would hear from Shea the third day of her honeymoon.

"Well I don't know!" Mae told her. Savannah suddenly heard a clang in the background, and she pulled her phone away from her ear. "Oh shoot!" Mae exclaimed. "Honey, I need to go help your dad," she said before she hung up the phone on her daughter.

"Love you, too, Mom," Savannah mumbled before going into her contacts to call Tyler.

"Heeeeyyyyy," he answered the phone.

Savannah didn't bother with a greeting. "You talked to my mom?" she questioned.

Tyler chuckled. "Yeah, I talked to her earlier. Why? She tell you all about it?" he asked. Savannah imagined him stretched out in the hotel bed, an arm propped up behind his head.

"She thinks you're friends," Savannah said, any enjoyment in that statement void in her voice.

"She liiiiiikes me," Tyler sang. She knew he had a cocky grin on his face, knowing he'd won over her parents so easily.

"She likes everyone," Savannah pointed out. "How did you even get her number?" she asked.

"Don't worry about it," Tyler brushed it off. "What did she say about me?"

Savannah considered lying, but decided it wasn't worth it. "She likes you better than Jason."

There was a brief pause, and Savannah knew she had struck a chord with Tyler just by mentioning Jason's name. Tyler had never met Jason, and Savannah hoped he never would because she was fairly sure Tyler would attempt murder. Savannah's brassy demeanor had come from having to protect herself from Jason. He was the one person that Alex and Shea hated more than anybody else. "Well, I hope she likes me better than that bastard," Tyler stated, all amusement out of his voice.

Savannah knew it was time to lighten the mood. "Pretty sure there's a good chance she'd choose you over me if we ever broke up," she joked.

Tyler's normal demeanor came back with that. "Good thing we're not planning to break up anytime soon. Hey, when's your doctor appointment today?" he suddenly changed subjects. Savannah was impressed he remembered she had an appointment with the doctor about her concussion today.

"In a few hours," she replied.

"How are your symptoms?"

Savannah gave her standard answer. "Fine."

"You're a liar, but I'll let it slide this time. Call me after the appointment and let me know what he says," Tyler said.

"He better clear me fully for work," Savannah muttered. She could hear Tyler's displeasure in his silence. "I'm doing better, Tyler, you know that," she insisted. It was true. She was doing better. Her symptoms had improved, though if she were being honest, they still were there. But, she really just wanted to get back to work fully. She hated being limited. And Dominic took the doctor's orders very seriously.

"I know, and I'm happy about that. I just don't want you to take a few steps backwards by going back to work too quickly," he explained.

She forced herself not to snap at him. She knew he just wanted her to feel better, but she didn't like feeling like he was babysitting her. "I know," she said simply. "What are you up to?" she asked him, wanting to get the topic of conversation off of herself.

"Just hanging out. Jamie and I are gonna get some food here soon," he told her. She could hear Jamie talking in the background, and she wondered if he was talking to Alex on the phone. "If he ever gets off the phone with his brother. Seriously, they talk more than two girls," Tyler said, raising his voice to make sure Jamie heard him. "Hey!" Savannah heard him exclaim. "He just threw a pillow at me," Tyler explained to her.

"Don't blame him," she shrugged her shoulders.

"You're supposed to be on my side!" Tyler yelped.

"Let's be honest, you probably deserve it," she said, and Tyler didn't respond, so she knew he agreed with her.

"Oh! He's hanging up! Good, I'm starving."

"I'll update you after the appointment. Enjoy your lunch," Savannah told him.

"Love you, good luck at your appointment," Tyler said.

"I love you, too," Savannah replied before hanging up. She grabbed her iPad, getting back to some work before needing to head to her appointment.

***

Savannah walked into Dr. Payne's office, ready to hear the same old thing. Let's follow up in two weeks and talk again. But, she really was feeling better, just like she had told Tyler. Her headaches were fewer and far between, and usually they occurred when she was extremely stressed or exhausted. It had more to do with sleep than anything she had found. With Tyler out of town the night before, she'd gotten to bed earlier and had slept a full nine hours, which she didn't do most nights.

Dr. Payne did his normal evaluation, including asking how Tyler was doing. Savannah sometimes hated that the doctor knew Tyler because she felt like he was being more conservative to appease Tyler, though she knew deep down that he was doing it for her own good, regardless of what Tyler would want.

"I think we can increase your workload," Dr. Payne announced.

Savannah's eyes bolted to Payne's. "Really!?" she asked excitedly. He nodded his head, and a grin spread across her face. "Thank you, Dr. Payne!"

"Now, don't take this to the extreme," he warned her. "Savannah, you aren't completely symptom free yet, and we don't want you to backtrack, but I do think you can start working more. Possibly even a full forty hours. We'll see how it goes," he told her.

"I'll be smart about it," she assured him before thanking him again. She walked out, making a follow up appointment in three weeks as he had requested, and then she headed to her car, heading straight to work. She couldn’t wait to tell Dominic that she could work more so she could finally bust this Bartholomew case for a second time.

She got to work in record time, and she walked in, seeing Dominic and Liam sitting in Liam's office. She walked in, sitting down in the seat next to Liam. "How'd the appointment go?" Dominic asked her. He knew she was going to ask about increasing her workload at the appointment.

"Really good," she replied, trying her best to not act over-excited about the news. "He's letting me work more," she added.

Dominic nodded his head in approval. "Good, we could use you more right now. We got another lead," he informed her.

Savannah was intrigued and scooted closer to the edge of her seat, leaning in towards the other two men. "What do we got?" she asked.

"How much are you allowed to work?" Dominic asked her.

"He said I could try full time," she answered. She saw the questioning look on Dominic's face and knew he was trying to decide if he trusted what she was telling him. "He did," she insisted. "You can call him for a note if you want. He said I could work full time again, just not to go crazy."

"You ready for full time, or do you need to work your way up to it?" Dominic asked her.

Savannah didn't even need to think about it. "I'm good," she assured him with a smile on her face. "What do you got for me?"

"You cleared to travel?" Dominic asked.

Savannah's eyebrow shot up. "What do you got in mind?"

Dominic glanced at Liam before he looked back at Savannah. "You're going to Miami."

Notes

Nice little set up chapter.