No Amount of Fire: Part 1
She opened the door to their home and was greeted by Kristina running towards her. This was one of her favorite things about coming home after a long day at work; it somehow made everything better. It used to be that coming home to Ric did the same thing, but ever since he had moved out, she'd come to rely on Kristina to fill that void.
After Viola left, Kristina and Alexis decided that dinner at Kelly's would be their adventure for the night. They entered the diner and were greeted by Mike and the counter. "Well, isn't this a nice surprise? My favorite granddaughter and her mother are here. You guys picking something up or staying here?"
"I think we'll stay here. We'll be over at our usual table." They walked over and got settled and a waitress came to take their order. Kristina was captivated by the new menus that she was allowed to color on and Alexis was enjoying simply watching her. Alexis suddenly noticed her phone hadn't rung all day and reached into her purse to check it. Sure enough it was on silent and it notified her that two messages needed her attention, so she dialed her voice mail.
The first was a message from Dr. Winters' secretary, calling to reschedule her next appointment. Alexis had been staying with the therapy; in fact, it had helped her cope when Ric had left their family. The second, much to her surprise, was from Ric. Her surprise only lasted a moment, for when she heard his message, her heart dropped.
"Alexis, it's done."
Three words that caused her so much pain. How could it hurt this badly? She had told him to cheat on her; what did she expect? She thought that her request was so ridiculous that he'd automatically say no. Never in a million years did she think he'd actually go through with it.
Somehow, Alexis made it through dinner and the drive home on autopilot. If Kristina noticed her mother wasn't all there during this time, she gave no indication of it. In the back of her mind, she could hear Kristina babbling about telling Ric all about coloring on the menus, but all Alexis could hear was his message.
During Kristina's nighttime routine, Alexis was again on autopilot. She gave Kristina a bath and read one and a half books before her daughter fell asleep. Not noticing the slumber that had taken a hold on her daughter, Alexis kept reading. Once she uttered the last of the book's lulling words, Alexis no longer had anything to claim her attention, except the words that would not leave her mind.
Ric stared at the glass in his hand. He'd been in the Metro Court bar for about an hour thinking about how he would explain all this to Alexis. Of course, he'd left the message on her phone earlier in the day, knowing she kept her phone off or on silent whenever she was in court. Since she hadn't yet called him to ask about his message, he figured one of three things had happened: 1-she was too busy with Kristina to check her phone, 2- she'd just forgotten to look at who had called her, or 3- she'd been scared to find out more about what he'd said. Secretly, he hoped it was one of the first two, but he knew the facts of his infidelity would come out sooner or later.
Ric had decided to come clean with Alexis after the events in the hospital during the previous day's visit. He hadn't been there for Kristina when she'd gotten hurt, and if he hadn't overheard Liz and Lucky talking, he wouldn't have been there for Alexis when she needed someone to lean on. And then, their baby had kicked! What a precious moment that had been. Alexis had been absolutely radiant when she'd guided his hand to feel the gentle flutter of their son or daughter's movement. The look she had given him as he felt the baby was so full of love that he was lost for a moment.
It was in that moment, that he wondered what kind of idiot would walk away from something as precious that they had together. Sacrificing a family with the family he had always wanted in the off chance that his brother would welcome him into his circle of family was proving to be the worst mistake he ever could have made.
The shrill sound of her phone woke Alexis from her fitful sleep. She answered the phone, her voice heavy with sleep, and greeted the caller. "Hello, Sonny. What do you want?"
His surly voice responded "My daughter. I want her to, uh, spend the night tonight. Michael, uh, wants to visit with her. And, you know, it's been a while so it's only fair."
For once in this battle with Sonny, she didn't fight it. She'd been so tired ever since she found out she was pregnant and Ric leaving did nothing to help alleviate the amount of work and stress it took to take care of a three year old. "Fine, but just for tonight. She'll be ready at five o'clock; you can pick her up then."
"You're not going to fight me on this?" His voice was thick with surprise.
"Just be here at five to pick her up. And don't get used to me being this lenient to more of these last minute surprise visits. It's not going to happen again." And before he could argue about her last statement, she hung up the phone.
Grabbing her robe, she put it on as she walked to her daughter's room. Kristina was awake and smiled as her mother came into view. "How about we get ready and go get some breakfast from Grandpa Mike?" Her daughter grinned and she took that as a good sign.
Alexis took care of Kristina's hand, got them both dressed and they were on their way. Alexis was much more present during this drive and visit to Kelly's. She colored with Kristina and listened to her babbling. It was working to get her mind off Ric and their divorce, which seemed like it would be progressing very soon, until Kristina started talking about Ric.
Usually she called him "Unca Wic" but today it seemed she had chosen another name for him: "Dada Wic." First, she was talking about something he had taught at the hospital the day before, and then questioning Alexis about when she would get to see him next. "Where Dada Wic, Mama? Visit him?"
Alexis' heart broke when she heard this. She had known it would be hard for Kristina and Ric to maintain the closeness they'd shared when they'd been living together, but since he'd moved out, Kristina had been pretty quiet about Ric's sudden disappearance from their lives. Judging by her daughter's silence, she thought Kristina had just accepted Ric's absence, but it seemed she had thought wrong. Maybe seeing him at the hospital the day before had changed something in her daughter. Alexis kept quiet until she could trust her voice not to betray her true feelings. When she finally found her voice, she said "Ric is staying at Uncle Jax's hotel, remember?"
Her daughter stubbornly shook her head, not willing to take that for an answer, but she remained silent throughout the remainder of their breakfast. They rode home where Viola was waiting for Kristina's return so they could go to the park. Alexis left the home for the courthouse and finally came to the moment she had been dreading. She dialed Ric's cell phone and waited for him to pick up, but he never did. When the beep came, she did as she was asked and left him a message. "Hey, it's me. Kristina is going to Sonny's tonight and I think we need to talk. I'll be in court all day, but I should be home, I mean, at my apartment around six so maybe you could come then. Bye." She quickly shut off the phone and continued driving to the courthouse. Upon reaching the parking lot, she parked and walked right into her first case for the day, leaving the knot in her stomach behind where it would be picked up after court was over for the day and she was on her way home to see her soon to be ex-husband.
Ric had gone to bed with his phone clutched in his hand, ready to answer when she finally called him. Then, as the morning progressed, he kept it near him wherever he went. He was just about to get on his work out clothes to get a morning jog in when the call he was expecting finally arrived. All of a sudden, he was nervous. He couldn't bring himself to answer the phone and talk to her. It made it all seem more real that it was finally going to happen. He was going to tell her what had gone on between him and Reese. As the phone played the last notes of "Lawyers in Love," he sighed at how pathetic he seemed. He was really scared at what her reaction was going to be.
The phone notified him that he had a message awaiting his attention and he pushed a button so he could hear it. Kristina would be at Sonny's? He wondered what buttons he had pushed to get her to agree to that. Putting thoughts of Sonny aside, he set the phone down and fell onto his bed. It was now that his panic reached an all time high.
How ironic was it that the woman he had cheated on Alexis with was one she had on her list? His anger and resentment stemmed from his taking second place in Alexis' life, but he knew those reasons weren't enough for him to do what he did. He couldn't see how she could forgive him for his indiscretions when he couldn't do the same.