Disclaimer: Characters are not mine
A/N: Still getting into the swing of the new schedule, which is ever changing as we navigate through life. I am also determined to finish my original work, Lost Within Herself by the end of November, while also tackling the first semester of college (again). So my ongoing fics likely won't be updated until after that. However, sometimes these one shots won't leave me alone and really only take a few seconds to put down in a word doc. I hope you enjoy, and please review. Also changed my username on here, used to be Bookworm102916
P.S. I know that most of the folks on here are not cupcakes, and this is a babe from Morelli's POV. It's a songfic :)
If you've never heard Eric Church's "Give Me Back My Hometown" please look up at least the lyrics
Back before she'd left me for good that last time, before she decided she would rather spend her life with him I always thought we'd be sitting on this front porch stoop until the day one of us died. I figured we'd grow old here, where we both grew up. We'd raise our kids here, teach them all about our history - with some parts omitted depending on their age - and live happily ever after. Man, was I a fool.
Three years with Stephanie, off and on, and I should have realized she'd never change. The 'Burg life wasn't for her; she didn't want marriage and kids. That's what she said, over and over and over again. I just didn't listen, because I thought she would change her mind. Love me enough to make concessions; but then again, I never made any concessions for her either. I wanted to change everything about her, everything that made Stephanie who she was. Who I fell in love with.
Before I left for the Navy, I figured she and I would reconnect. Of course, when we did, she ran me over with her Daddy's Buick. Girl always was fiesty, always had a temper. Should have never left her that way, words on a stadium wall and no letter telling her it was always her I wanted. Telling her I was sorry for how callously I took her. When we actually reconnected I never thought it would be because I was a fugitive from the law, the very thing I was sworn to serve and protect. To uphold, no matter what. And I had, she helped me prove that. She thought I was scum, but she cleared my name when she could have just knocked me out and taken me in.
I heard that she married him last weekend. My buddies down at the station took me for drinks at our cop hangout, Pino's. I think almost every date I ever took Stephanie on, nearly every meal we ate from a restaurant was from there. To be honest, I couldn't even choke down a meatball sub anymore without thinking of her. We used to be happy, at least I thought so. Now she's happy with him, and for some reason they were still here.
The 'Burg should be mine; it's where I belong, I can't imagine living anywhere else. Last I heard she and her new husband were supposed to move to Miami, be closer to his daughter. Instead, they were still in Trenton, and now I was seeing her with her little rounded tummy I hear wasn't because of donuts. She never wanted that with me. I guess that's why she's still here though, because her family is here and knowing her, she's scared to death. I imagine they'll move after the baby comes.
She gave me back all my stuff when she broke up with me that last time. Everything but that worn out Tom Petty concert tee shirt. She loved that shirt, and I didn't begrudge her it. I just didn't want to hear about her anymore. How happy she is with him. It's like a dagger to the heart, and I can't heal when every other second I hear how Stephanie and Ranger are this or that. I love that woman, but she doesn't love me. I need space to get over that.
They're finally gone, have been for awhile. The 'Burg is my space again, and I don't hear the whispers anymore. I'm glad she is happy and safe with him. No matter how much I wanted her for myself, well… now she belongs to him, and I… well, I found a single mom to date and we're helping each other heal. I met her kids for the first time and they're so sweet. I'm glad I responded to the call that fateful day. Coincidentally, the same day Steph had her baby girl.