A/n: I firmly believe there are not enough Laura Hardy stories out there. I realize that when the books first came out wiiminfolk were to be barefoot, pregnant and have no sense of self outside that of mother and homemaker, but hey, it's the 21st century. You've come a long way since 1927, baby. This is a One Shot but it does/will tie in with my POV series and the other stories i have planned.

Grey Hair # 749

Laura Hardy had been married over 25 years to her husband Fenton. Thus she was no stranger to worry and fear. It started out quietly enough, with the inherent dangers and risks that came along with being in love with a Police Officer of a large metropolitan city. It came with the territory. She coped as well as any other wife copes when their husband is in a dangerous line of work. As Fenton's career progressed, the reasons to worry changed but never really diminished. Then came Motherhood and all the extra challenges and fears and concerns that entailed. Soon after, Fenton left NYPD and started his own private investigative business. New and more innovative reasons to worry started creeping in to her daily life.

She noticed her first gray hair about 5 years after she and Fenton were married. A routine Domestic Disturbance call went sour when the girlfriend pulled a knife on the responding police officers and Fenton was stabbed in the arm.

Her 12th happened when her eldest son Frank was just a toddler, no more than 3. They had recently moved out of the city into Bayport and were having a picnic lunch at the town park. Frank wandered off out from under the normally watchful eyes of his parents and it was many minutes before they noticed he was gone. 20 frantic minutes were spent calling his name and looking high and low before finding him happily at play with his new friend Chet in the sand by the swings.

The 23rd showed up when Fenton missed his first scheduled call home while on a case. The culprit turned out to be nothing more than a drained cell phone battery but once grey, there is no turning back.

The next 436 grey hairs were directly attributed to Joe, her youngest son. From the day he was born he was nothing but a trial. From colic as a baby to Chemistry grades as a teenager, Joe's penchant for drama speedily increased her reliance on Miss Clairol. And all before he and his brother followed in their father's footsteps.

Number 512 was due to a car bomb exploding at the mall. Her son was safe, but emotionally shattered over the loss of Iola. She, too felt the loss keenly as she adored the Morton girl and heartily approved of Joe's interest in her.

698 was the day her youngest left home to join the Navy after having a knock down drag out argument with his father.

721 was the day of Fenton's heart attack.

And today. Number 749. Joe has been shot.

Laura promised herself that when Joe was out of danger and recovering, she was going to stop counting the grey hairs. Instead, she will just have a standing appointment with her hairdresser. Every 6 weeks, color and style. Easier that way...

A/n: to clarify this is NOT Laura's POV series entry. Doc Taylor comes next there and he refuses to give me any good source material right now. Laura will have her proper say after the Doctor decides to cooperate. Caranath