Disclaimer: If this was mine I would already know what Tom's big secret with Renee is, and I'd be a lot less anxious.

Story Summary: "Your mother and I are just really different people, Tom." Missing scenes from season seven's "Let Me Entertain You."

Balance

A story by Ryeloza

When the phone rang around nine that night, Lynette was already in bed. She was exhausted—since the baby was born she hadn't had one moment where she wasn't tired—but the real reason she'd ensconced herself in her room was to avoid her mother-in-law. Steering clear of Allison was a lot easier when she put a whole floor between them. Before the first ring even finished, Lynette lurched across the bed for the phone, determined not to wake the baby, and quietly said, "Hello?"

"Hey, babe."

Oh crap.

"Hey," said Lynette shakily. Somehow, it had completely slipped her mind that Tom was going to call even though they'd never spent a night apart without talking before they went to sleep. She wanted time to figure out how to tell him about what had happened at dinner. She wanted a plan. She wanted a solution for how to get his mother out of the house without pissing him off to fall into her lap. The most she could do now was buy time. "How was your flight?"

"Not bad. We got in early. And, now, I know you're going to roll your eyes, but I bought the baby a onesie from the airport gift shop."

"Tom—"

"Yeah, I know. She has more than enough. But it says, 'When I grow up I wanna be a plane.' Come on. How cute is that?"

In spite of everything else going on, Lynette couldn't help but smile. Tom had been chronically buying gifts for the kids whenever he went out of town since the twins were babies. Occasionally, it was nice to know that some things never changed. "That's pretty cute," she admitted warmly.

"Yeah," Tom laughed. "But so is anything you put on a onesie, right?" And then, without waiting for her to respond, he added, "So everything still okay at home? You didn't kill my mother, did you?"

Her laughter came out, forced and involuntary—her usual, telling reaction to a lie. Before she even managed spit out a falsehood, Tom's voice cut through, low and wary. "Lynette? Did something happen?"

It was really unfair sometimes that he knew her as well as he did.

"Look," she admitted carefully, "she pushed some buttons with me. That's all."

"And you went completely against instinct and didn't push back?"

"Well…"

Tom sighed. "Yeah. That's what I thought."

A thick silence fell between them, not entirely antagonistic or annoyed, but cautious. Lately, they'd been bickering more than usual, and she knew that Tom was considering his words as carefully as she was. It really wasn't entirely unexpected; with a new baby in the house, they weren't sleeping well, and neither of them was particularly known for thinking before speaking. So their relationship was a little more volatile. It had been the same way when the other four were newborns too. Eventually it would even out again.

"Your mother and I are just really different people, Tom," she finally said, purposely keeping her tone in check. It was as innocuously as she could possibly state that fact. She and Allison had always gotten along on some level because they both loved Tom, and they both appreciated that they were each important to him. And Lynette did love her. She loved that Allison had immediately welcomed her to the family, and that she was a really wonderful grandmother, and that she never tried to compete with Lynette like they were staging some kind of a contest in which Tom was the judge. But their common ground wasn't very large, and she didn't know how else to communicate that to her husband.

"I know that," said Tom, not quite able to keep the testiness out of his voice. Immediately, she felt defensive and tried to quell the urge to snap back. "She's old and set in her ways. You don't have to take everything she says to heart."

"She wanted our daughter to wait on our sons, Tom. That bothers me. Penny is not here to serve her brothers just because she's a girl."

"I'll talk to her."

"I don't think talking is going to cut it." Lynette pinched the bridge of her nose, physically aching from the tension between them. She was so tired of fighting. "Look, I'll take care of it," she said wearily. "Don't worry about it. Just try to enjoy getting a good night's sleep for once."

"Lynette—"

"Honey, really. It's okay."

"No it's not."

Lynette shut her eyes, leaning back into her pillow and trying to take comfort in his acquiescence. Just knowing that he at least understood where she was coming from made a world of difference. "I love you," she said quietly.

"I love you too. And I miss you. And I can't wait to get home and kiss you until you can't see straight."

"Promise?"

"You and me, babe. We can get through anything."

Lynette smiled. It was a thought they'd both taken solace in time and again; one that made her think that everything was going to be okay. And without Tom's touch to reassure her, the words were all she had. "Goodnight, honey."

"Night."

Sighing, Lynette clicked off the phone and threw it onto the bed. Despite how tired she was, there was no way she was going to sleep any time soon. Somehow, she had to figure out what to do.