Season X: Family Feud

by NMI123

After Laura discovers Eddie is dating her best friend, she tries to ignore the problem, but living with Eddie makes that impossible. With Mother's Day just around the corner, and Laura feuding with Carl AND Eddie, will Steve be able to keep his new family in one piece long enough to celebrate his first holiday as a real Winslow and bring a little comfort to his wife?

Laura looked down at Steve, who had several chips in his mouth when she approached.

He was chewing as quickly as he could so he would be able to speak to her again. He mumbled a greeting through his full mouth, "Hughfermmn!" Then he noticed her expression. "Wrarz rugh?"

She took a deep breath, trying to stop the tears that were quickly approaching. "We have to go, Steve."

He swallowed, cringing when the barely chewed chips dug into his throat. "What? Why?"

Laura tried to explain, but nothing came out. Tears started streaming down her face, and she rushed to wipe them.

Steve stood and wrapped her in his arms. He kissed her forehead and held her close as she began to sob against him. "What happened, my love?"

She sobbed harder, unable to explain her feelings.

He rubbed her back for a minute, waiting for a response, but none came. "Was it something I did?" he asked nervously.

She shook her head, sniffling with her face buried in his neck as she tried to regain her composure.

"Ok." He breathed a sigh of relief. "Ok, then why don't you head out to the car while I pay the bill? I'll have them wrap everything up, and we can take it back to the apartment, ok?"

She nodded against him. She didn't really want to go back to the apartment at the moment, but she didn't know how to explain that to Steve, and she wasn't sure where else they could go. As upset as she was, this didn't seem like something that was worth being temporarily homeless again over, at least not yet. She pulled away from him and grabbed her purse. She pulled out her keys and started to walk toward the door.

Steve flagged down their waiter and explained the situation. He handed him a large tip, hoping he would hurry.

When Laura crossed paths with Max and Eddie again, she refused to look at them. She tried to appear like she hadn't just been crying, but she knew she hadn't pulled it off.

"Laura, wait!" Max called as Laura sped past them.

Laura moved quickly into the bathroom, still having to go. She slipped into a stall and tried to compose herself before she had to go back out there. She wiped her eyes again and sat on the toilet. She focused on her breathing as she relieved her full bladder.

"Laura?" Max asked as she entered the bathroom.

Laura ignored her, but there were only two stalls and the other was empty, so Max found her anyway.

"Laura?" she said again, now in front of her stall.

Laura finished and flushed, hoping to drown Max out. She exited the stall and moved quickly to the sinks, brushing past Max.

Max tried to say something in the short window of silence, "La–"

But Laura turned the water on as high as she could, quieting her quickly. Laura washed up and left the water running to keep Max quiet as she moved to the paper towels.

Max rolled her eyes and turned off the water. By the time she turned to speak to Laura again, Laura had slipped out the door and left it swinging behind her. Max leaned against the sink, trying to relax.

Eventually, Max headed back out to where she had been sitting with Eddie. She sat. "This is bad."

"Hey, it's not my fault. I wanted to tell her."

Max glared at him. "Great, Eddie. Congratulations. I messed it all up. Thanks for the support."

"That's not what I meant," he replied.

"I know what you meant."

"Max, I just mean… Yeah, this is bad because we should have already told her. I don't know what our next move is, but we have to come completely clean. I know that much."

"Coming clean after getting caught isn't that impressive."

"C'mon, Max. Laura's a reasonable person. She'll understand."

Max stared at him. She didn't appreciate him downplaying the situation. Laura was mad, and Max understood why. Don't date the brother was pretty basic Girl Code. It fell somewhere after don't date the ex and don't date the father, but before don't let her go home with an ugly guy when she's drunk, and Max had already broken that one with Steve, as far as she was concerned. She looked down at her menu.

"Are we gonna let this ruin our whole night?"

She didn't look up from her menu. "I'm not sure," she answered honestly. "We have to go after her, don't we?"

"Don't you think we should let her cool off?"

Max shrugged, looking up again, "Maybe."

When Steve had their dinners in hand, he walked out toward the entrance to the restaurant. He didn't know what had upset Laura so much, but he desperately wanted to get her home safely so he could make it all go away. It broke his heart to see her so upset. On his way out of the restaurant, a familiar face caught his eye. "Eddo!" he called. He sauntered over to him with a huge grin on his face. "What a coinkydink!"

Eddie looked up at Steve, surprised that he was surprised to see them. Had Laura walked out without finding him?

"Where are your cop buddies?" he asked. He glanced across from him. "MAX!" he cheered. "Another coinkydink! Well, what are you doin' here with Eddo?"

Max glared at him, "Shut up, Steve."

Steve reared back. He turned back to Eddo, pointing to Max, "Well, somebody's in a mood. Something must be in the water today. Laura just had a meltdown, too. She won't even tell me why!" He gestured to the bags in his hands. "I had to get our for-here order to-go!"

Eddie gaped at him, "How oblivious are you, Man?"

"Oblivious? Oblivious to what?"

"OH, MY GOD, STEVE!" Max yelled. "Eddie and I are on a date. I am the girl he's been seeing. He is the guy whose apartment I've been sleeping at. Laura caught us. Laura's upset because she doesn't want her brother to keep dating her friends and ruining her friendships like he did with Greta. She's also upset that I, of all people, would be willing to jeopardize our friendship for some guy! Normally, I wouldn't, but unfortunately, I really, really like him. Are we clear now?"

Steve was starting to feel a little woozy. He had a faint heart, and that was a lot of information. He rested his hand on the back of Eddie's chair. "Um," he squeaked. "I may have some follow-up questions."

Max sighed.

"When did you two… um… fall in love?"

"Whoa, Steve!" Eddie said.

"No, Steve, c'mon…" Max whined. They both turned away uncomfortably.

Steve was perplexed, "Well, if you're not in love, what are you doin'?"

"We're dating!" Max cried. "Most people date before they fall in love!"

Steve leaned close to the table, trying to be discreet. "And you're already… doin' the forbidden polka?" he whispered.

"Ew, Man. You gotta call it that?" Eddie asked.

Steve shrugged. He wasn't comfortable calling it much else with them. He and Laura were… making love. He didn't know what they were doing.

"Yes, Steve," Max whispered back. "We're having sex."

Now, Steve cringed. He didn't really like that phrase. It was so… cold. He didn't like it much when Laura used it, but it seemed to be the most fitting thing for this new relationship. "How long have you two been…?"

"Is that really any of your business, Steve?" Max barked.

Steve recoiled. "No, I guess not."

"Hey," Eddie interrupted. "Max, Steve is our best shot at getting through to Laura. If you want to fix this, we better have him on our side." Eddie turned to Steve. "Look, Buddy, Max and I had sex the night of the wedding. I was upset about Greta. She was upset that her best friend got married and she didn't have anyone in line. We kind of just fell into it. We agreed it should just be the one time, because I was just getting out of a relationship, and she was my sister's best friend, but then it happened again. Then again. Then again. Eventually, we had to acknowledge that something was really going on between us, so now, we're just dating to see where this goes."

Steve sympathized. He knew what it was like to be drawn to someone who didn't seem good for you. Sometimes, it was unstoppable. However, a part of him felt like it was his duty to take his wife's side, no matter how reasonable they were being. He sighed and pulled up a chair, "But why didn't you just tell her?"

"I wanted to," Eddie explained, "but Max was worried she would be upset, and she wanted to be sure that this was really going to last before we had to have… this fight."

"Well, if you had told her, it might not have been a fight," Steve argued.

"Yes, it would've," Max said firmly. "She told me how uncomfortable she was when Eddie and Greta started dating. She told me why. I should have known better," Max insisted, wiping a few tears from her eyes.

"Max," Steve said gently, "you and Laura have been friends for a long time. I'm sure this will all work out."

"You and Mr. Winslow have been friends for a long time," she retorted. "How's that workin' out?"

Steve understood her reasoning, but it was a false equivalency. "Well, that's not the same thing. Laura actually enjoys your company," he reminded them.

Max and Eddie smirked. He had a point.

Steve stood and picked his bags back up. As he pushed in his chair, he said, "I have to get back to Laura. No matter what happens, of course, I'll be taking her side." He began to walk away and paused. "But I'll see if I can grease the wheels for you a bit," he said quickly, continuing his exit.

Max was grateful that he was willing to help, but she couldn't help but feel like they were throwing the nerd to the wolves. Laura wasn't going to accept any of this easily. Max knew that sooner, rather than later, she'd have to own up to it all and talk her down. Neither of them would rest easily until she did. However, Eddie was right. It was best to let her cool down first.

Steve walked out to the car and slipped into the driver's seat. It appeared that Laura felt she was in no condition to drive. He set the food in the back and turned to her as she sniffled.

"God, you took long enough," she grumped.

He looked at her for a brief moment before spontaneously moving forward to kiss her.

She gasped when he quickly overtook her. As she felt his soft lips against hers, she first resisted, but as her lips began to tingle with the electricity between them, she relaxed into it. She opened her mouth, and he sucked gently on her full bottom lip. His tongue caressed hers. She moaned softly, relieved to have something else to focus on for a long moment, "Mmmmm…"

When he pulled away, still only inches from her face, they were both breathing heavily. He watched as her newly serene face slowly descended back to reality. Her fiery eyes grew deeply sad again, and her barely parted lips found their way back to a tight-lipped frown. It broke his heart to watch her beautiful face return to that state, but he was glad to have temporarily relieved it, if only for a moment. He kissed her forehead and placed a hand on her cheek. His thumb lightly wiped away her tears. "Are you ready to go home, my love?" he asked gently.

She nodded and sniffled. She no longer knew what to say to him. She felt bad for snapping at him when he had finally gotten to the car. Now, she was so touched by his consideration and sensitivity that she didn't know what she could say to thank him. She decided that, for now, she was only meant to enjoy it. She could make it up to him later.

He sat forward again and buckled his seatbelt. He turned when he felt Laura move closer to him. She had shifted to the middle seat. He smiled at her and wrapped an arm around her. "You still have to buckle up, ok?"

She nodded and moved to buckle her seatbelt. Then she relaxed into his warm chest.

He squeezed her shoulders and then returned both hands to the wheel. He started the car and began to drive. They weren't far from Eddie's. They probably could have walked, but Laura hadn't wanted to in the heels she was wearing. Now, Steve was glad that they hadn't. He wanted to get her home as quickly as he could. This was a big moment for him. He considered this a test to see if he could keep his love safe and happy despite what life threw at them. So far, he hadn't been doing that too well, but he thought he could handle this one.

When they pulled into the parking structure, they unbuckled. Steve pulled out the key and rushed quickly to her side of the car, knocking her over in the process as she was left suddenly without the support of his chest. He opened her car door and offered his hand to her.

She slid over to him and took it. She didn't really need a hand; her car wasn't very difficult to get out of, but she appreciated the gesture. When she stood, he took her into his arms and hugged her close. She leaned into his neck, inhaling deeply, as his hands began to rub her back. He smelled amazing. His musk was certainly… unique, but once she had begun to associate his manly aroma with all the best feelings in the world, his scent alone began to make her weak in the knees. Plus, he only rarely smelled like cheese.

"I love you," he whispered.

"I love you, too," she whispered back, fighting her tears.

He took a deep breath and released her. He closed her door and took her hand, leading her to the elevator. They slipped inside, and he got behind her. He wrapped his arms around her and nuzzled her neck. When the elevator dinged on their floor, they barely heard it. Eventually, he snapped back to reality and let go of her. He took her hand again and led her to Eddie's apartment.

She took Eddie's spare key out of her purse and unlocked the door. Before she knew it, Steve had picked her up again. She looked up at him in surprise.

He gently rocked as he again marveled at the feel of her in his arms. He smiled at her. "I never got to do this when we first moved in."

She nodded and smiled back weakly.

He moved inside and took her to the couch. He gently set her down and got on his knees in front of her. Her confused face looked down at him. He smiled up at her and slipped off her heels. He took one of her feet in his hands and began to massage it.

She instantly relaxed. She threw her head back and sighed. "Ohh, Steeeeve…" she purred as her eyes drifted shut.

He smiled to himself. He was glad his touch was such a thrill for her, even in innocent ways like this.

She practically melted into the couch. She hadn't realized how much her feet needed the attention until he started this. It was like he knew her body better than she did. She opened her eyes and looked down at him. His eyes were focused on a place she hadn't expected. Holding her foot near his chest as he rubbed it gave him a perfect view up her skirt. He never took his eyes off of her revealing thong. Suddenly, she pulled her foot back.

He looked back to her face. "What's wrong?"

She shook her head, "I'm not in the mood, Steve."

His brow furrowed, "But you seemed to be enjoying it."

"I was," she agreed, frustrated that he wouldn't take no for an answer when she was already so upset, "but I'm not in the mood for sex, Steve. I'm upset." She pulled further away from him. She wasn't in the mood, but his touch could still light a fire within her, so she dodged it.

He was hurt that she had pulled away from him, but he tried to understand what she was worried about. "Laura, my love… I wasn't trying to make a move on you. I was honestly just rubbing your feet."

"No man would just rub a woman's feet," Laura snapped.

"I would," he said softly. "Didn't you say just today that I'm not like other men?"

She looked down at him. She had said that. Maybe he was being sincere. He looked so pitiful kneeling before her like that. His sad face melted her resolve as quickly as it had formed. "I'm sorry, Steve. I just… I saw you looking up my skirt, and I thought… I thought you only wanted sex. I should have known better. You're not like that."

Steve blushed, having been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "I'm sorry, Pet. You were right in front of me, and my weak, male brain couldn't resist a peek. I shouldn't have looked without your explicit permission."

"No, I don't mind if you look. I just thought that if you were looking, it meant that you had bigger plans, and then I felt like you were just being nice to… trick me, and I… I just got carried away." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "You were really just rubbing my feet?"

"Well, no," he admitted.

She glared at him. "Seriously? But you said–"

"I wasn't trying to make love to you, Sweetums. I was trying to get you to relax so that you'd talk to me. I thought you might be more willing to unload on me if I could take away some of your physical stress, too. I did have an ulterior motive, but it wasn't getting you in bed."

"You are unbelievable," she said softly, staring down at him.

He looked away in shame. He felt bad for manipulating to her. He couldn't believe he had thought she would fall for it. He– Her lips pressed hard against his. His self-flagellation was interrupted by her kiss. He looked up at her in surprise when she pulled away.

"You are the only man in the world who would rub his wife's feet to get her to talk more," she teased.

He relaxed as he saw her relax. "I want to make it all better, Laura Lee, but I can't do that if you won't talk to me," he shrugged.

She smiled at him and leaned back into the couch again. She lifted her foot to him again. "Well, in that case…" she purred.

He happily took her foot again and began to rub it. He targeted the spots that would be sorest from walking in those heels all day.

"Mmmm," she moaned.

He looked up at her face, mesmerized by the pleasure slowly overtaking the stress. He rubbed her foot for a few minutes. When he finally switched to the other one, he needed more from her. "Are you ready to talk to me, Sweetums?"

Her shoulders tensed. She wasn't ready to force her brain back to reality, but she figured he deserved at least that much. "Eddie and Max are dating," she said eventually.

He nodded, "I know. I caught them on my way out of the restaurant, too."

She opened her eyes and looked down at him. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"You didn't seem ready to talk about it."

She nodded and leaned her head back again. Her eyes closed. "I'm still not," she said.

"Talking to me might make you feel better, my sweet," he said, pressing her for more. Laura was a strong woman. She could handle any problem all by herself. He knew that, but he didn't want her to have to. He wanted her first instinct to be to share her burdens with him. He knew, however, it was going to take some coaxing to get her in that habit, so he insisted she talk to him now. It would be better for both of them in the long run. "I'm a really good listener," he said softly.

She smiled weakly. He was trying so hard, and his foot massage game was on point. He deserved a little something, didn't he? She considered her options. Maybe I should just have sex with him. That would get my mind off of this for a while. She looked down at him. His big eyes stared back at her, waiting. He didn't want to be… intimate with her, though. He wanted to be emotionally intimate with her. She sighed, "I don't know what to say, Steve. I'm mad, and I'm sad, and I don't even know what I can do about any of it."

He released her foot and stood up. He saw a look of disappointment on her face. He sat beside her on the couch and took off her cardigan. Her disappointment turned to confusion. "Turn around," he said, motioning with his hand.

She did, and she gasped as his strong hands began to work out the knots in her shoulders. "Ohhh…"

He smiled to himself when he felt her tension beginning to melt away. "Why does this make you so upset, Laura Lee? What do you think's gonna happen?"

That was a stupid question. "I'm afraid they're going to break up, and Eddie's going to ruin my friendship with Max the way he ruined my friendship with Greta."

"You think a little break-up could really destroy your friendship with Max?"

"Yes," she said flatly.

"Even though you two have stood by each other through rumors and fights and tons of boyfriends, some of whom overlapped I might add, and even marrying me?" Laura giggled. He leaned forward and kissed the back of her neck as he continued to massage her.

"Yes, Steve," she said finally. "Max and I have been friends for a long time, but this is dangerous territory because, ultimately, I have to be on my brother's side. He's family."

"Isn't Max family?" Steve asked.

Laura hesitated. "Yes, of course, but it's different. She's not the one I'm going to have to spend every holiday with for the rest of my life."

"Well, maybe you will," Steve suggested. "Maybe they'll get married, and your best friend will become your sister-in-law."

"You're my best friend," she said quietly, turning to stare back at him sincerely.

He blushed and looked away bashfully.

She turned forward again, and his skilled hands moved up to her neck. She leaned her head down slightly to give him a better angle.

"You know what I mean," he said eventually. "Would it be so bad if Max really became part of the family?"

"That would be wonderful, Steve, but that's not gonna happen. Those two will never make it work. They're both too… flaky."

"A lot of people said we could never make it work," he pointed out.

Man, this guy was a master of the guilt trip. "It's not the same, Steve. We didn't just fall into this the way they did. You were in love with me for well over a decade before we started dating, and I had feelings for you for months first."

"Did you ask them how long they've been interested in each other?" he asked pointedly.

"Well, no," she admitted.

"Did you even ask how they're feeling now? Are they in love?"

"I didn't ask," she admitted again.

"Then don't you think you should give them a chance to explain before you condemn them?"

She pouted, annoyed that he had out maneuvered her. Which one of them was going into law? "I thought the wife was supposed to win every argument in a marriage."

He snickered, "Our marriage will never be like other marriages, my pet." He moved to rub her lower back, and she leaned back into his kneading hands. "Besides, this wasn't really an argument. We were just talking you through something." He rubbed through her silence. "Do you feel any better?"

"No," she grumbled, "but I think I might be ready to talk to them if they ever bother to check in." She turned back around. "Thank you, Steve," she said, taking a seat on his lap.

He smiled up at her. He placed one arm around her waist and his opposite hand on her thigh. He rubbed her thigh slowly. "No sweat, my pet."

She leaned down and kissed him softly. When she pulled away, she smiled at him. "You are my best friend. You know that, right?"

He smiled, "You're mine, too."

"I know."

He rubbed her back for a minute, allowing her time to relax. Soon, he looked up at her as she stood.

"Ok, so you brought our dinners home?"

Steve's eyes widened. "I left them in the car," he said, bolting to a standing position. "I'll be right back, my sweet," he called as he headed for the door.

She shook her head and giggled as she watched him leave. She headed to the kitchen to set the table.

Max and Eddie slowly approached the door to Eddie's apartment. As they walked, they pretended that everything was normal. "That was a terrible movie," Max said adamantly.

"Oh, it wasn't that bad," Eddie said, lacing his fingers in hers and gently squeezing her hand for reassurance.

"You're a cop! I can't believe you liked it. It was so unrealistic."

"That's why it was fun!" he argued. "If it were exactly like what I do at work, I wouldn't have wanted to sit through it for two hours."

"Ok. Tell me one thing," she insisted as they paused in front of his door. "Do women hit on you as much as they hit on that guy in the movie?"

Eddie smiled haughtily, "Well, they do like the uniform."

She pushed playfully on his chest. "Shut up." As she pulled her hand back, she glanced nervously at the door.

"Are you sure you wanna do this tonight?" he asked.

Max nodded. "The longer we put it off, the worse it will be," she reminded him.

He nodded and placed his key in the lock. He turned it slowly and opened the door. He turned on the light and Max followed him in.

When the lights came on, Laura sat up abruptly. She glanced at the door. When she saw who it was, she sat up straighter and leaned against the back of the couch. Steve followed suit.

Eddie was just grateful they were both dressed.

Laura climbed out from under the covers and turned the TV off. She and Steve had decided to cuddle and watch TV in place of their… usual nightly routine. Laura was grateful that she had a husband who was so understanding. The honeymoon phase was supposed to be easy, but bouncing from house to house, sleeping in separate beds, and dealing with unexpected drama had made their love life inconsistent at best. Though they likely could have found the time before Eddie came home, they hadn't been sure when that would be. More importantly, Laura was too upset to have any desire to fool around anyway. She looked back at Eddie and Max, hoping to give them a chance to explain like Steve had suggested. Nobody said anything.

Steve sat through the uncomfortable silence for as long as he could, but eventually, he was forced to intervene. "Hey, Eddo! Hey, Max! Welcome home!"

Laura glanced back at Steve. She was unsure if he was completely oblivious to or ignoring the tension. She decided he was ignoring it.

"Hey, Steve," Eddie nodded uncomfortably.

"Hey," Max said quietly.

"What have you two been up to since dinner?" Steve asked.

Laura glared at him. Now, he was just being stupid. She didn't want to hear the answer to that!

Max caught the look on Laura's face and rushed to nullify it. "We went to a movie," she said as casually as she could.

Oh. Laura visibly relaxed.

Max relaxed too when she saw Laura exhale. Max walked over to where they were sitting and took a seat beside Laura on the pull-out.

Eddie followed suit and sat at the foot of the bed.

In that moment, Steve was glad they were both dressed. He glanced at the sheets to make sure there were no stains from their… time together. He was very uncomfortable having so many people in his bed, but Laura seemed unfazed.

Max looked at Laura, trying to figure out where to start.

"Are you in love?" Laura finally asked.

Max and Eddie were surprised by the question. Max stammered, "Uh… Well, I– We haven't been seeing each other for very long, Laura, so not yet?"

Laura nodded. She turned to face Max head on. "How could you do this, Max? I told you how uncomfortable I was with Eddie dating Greta. You had to know you dating him would be a million times worse!"

"I did," Max said, "and I never meant for any of this to happen, but it did happen, Laura. I really like him." Her eyes filled with tears from the stress of it all.

Laura's did, too. "Well, then why didn't you tell me?" Laura whined.

"I was afraid to, Laura," Max said, fighting back her tears.

"Oh, great. So, you see me as some unreasonable person you can't even talk to?"

"No," Max insisted, shaking her head. "I felt guilty about it, and I didn't want to face it."

"Well, if you felt bad, then why did you do it?" Laura demanded.

"You felt guilty for cheating on Stefan when you fell for Steve. You still did that."

Oh, boy… Steve thought when that little gem popped out of Max's big mouth. Steve shook his head hard, silently begging her to take that one back. He ran his hand back and forth over his neck, trying to illustrate that she needed to pull her foot out of her mouth or she was dead meat. He knew it was true, but he also knew what a sensitive subject that was for Laura.

Laura scoffed, "Wow, Max. So you feel guilty about something you're doing to me, so you justify it by bringing up something that had absolutely nothing to do with you?"

"No," Max tried to explain, "I just meant–"

"No, Max, just stop. I don't want to hear it anymore. If you valued our friendship, you wouldn't risk it by dating my brother. End of story."

"Now, Laura," Eddie began, attempting to intervene.

"And you!" she snapped, turning to face him. "You need to keep your playboy hands off of my address book. How would you feel if I started seeing all of your friends?"

"Well, you did date Waldo once," Steve reminded her.

She turned to him, nearly snarling.

"Just trying to be objective, Pet," he cringed, his hands in the air in surrender, waiting for her to elbow him in the gut.

"Well, don't," she growled at him.

"Look, Laura, neither of us meant for this to happen, but it did, so we just have to find a way to deal with it," Eddie insisted.

Laura was now officially over the edge. She had completely lost her cool, and they should have known to quit while they were only a few steps behind, rather than pushing her further. "I didn't mean to. I didn't mean to," she sneered. "So you two were just hanging out one day, and your pants fell off?"

"No, Laura," Eddie pressed. "We were at the wedding, and–"

"AT MY WEDDING?!" she erupted.

"Well, we didn't do it at your wedding, but after–"

"Oh, my GOD! Stop talking, Eddie! Just stop!" she yelled. "You have no defense. You got dumped by one of my bridesmaids, ruining the relationship I had with her, so you jumped my maid of honor! Damn it! Why couldn't you have rebounded with Myrtle?"

Eddie shuddered. "Because even rebounding-me is uninterested in that."

Max smacked his arm, though she wasn't quite sure why. It just seemed unnecessarily mean to an Urkel. Since when did she care about that?

Laura caught that, too. Why would Max care if he had said something mean about Myrtle? Laura glanced at Steve and then back at Max. Was Max really starting to care about Steve? Her speech at the wedding had sure implied that she was. Laura was touched for a moment before she remembered that she was furious with them. "You know what? I don't wanna talk about this anymore," she grumbled.

"Laura, c'mon…" Max tried.

"No, I… Just go," Laura said firmly.

Eddie stood. "You know what? This is my apartment, and Max isn't goin' anywhere. I don't need my little sister's permission to have sex with my girlfriend."

"'Girlfriend?'" Laura barked.

"C'mon, Max," Eddie said, offering his hand.

Max looked pleadingly at Laura, but she could see there was no more hope for tonight. She stood and took Eddie's hand. She followed him back to bed while her stomach berated her for her disloyalty. Laura watched them go and then adjusted her pillow. When the door was closed, she got back under the covers and lay down. Steve got back under the covers too and lay down beside her. He started to spoon her, a little disappointed that he hadn't gotten a kiss good night and an "I love you", but when he felt her shoulders shaking with her quiet sobs, his own needs flew right out of his head. He held her tighter and began to whisper in her ear. "Shhh… Shhhhhhh… My love, everything's gonna be ok. I love you so much, Sweetums. We're gonna get through this. Don't worry, my sweet." He continued to whisper comfortingly in her ear until he was certain she had drifted off to sleep. When her breath was regular, he slipped off his glasses and nuzzled against her closer. Eventually, though he was up half the night worrying about her, he fell asleep, too.

When Eddie closed the bedroom door, he had a very similar experience. He turned to Max and smiled at her, hoping to distract her with a little romance, but the second he did, she burst into tears and collapsed on the bed. "Hey, hey, hey…" His eyes widened, and he rushed to her side. He lay down next to her and wrapped his arms around her. "Hey, shhhhhh… Don't worry about her Max. Don't worry about what she thinks about us. This is none of her business."

Max turned to him quickly. "Yes, it is, Eddie!" she sobbed. "We wouldn't even know each other if it weren't for her. We wouldn't have been together that night if it weren't for her. This has everything to do with her. She gets to be upset about it if she wants." Max lay down again and turned away. "I just don't know what to do about it at this point. Does she want us to break up?"

"Do you want us to break up?" Eddie asked nervously.

"No, but I don't want to lose her Eddie. If she says we have to, and she means it, I will break up with you," Max said softly.

Eddie turned away and looked at the ceiling. That certainly wasn't what he was feeling. They both remained silent and slowly drifted off to sleep with a foot of space between them.

The next morning, when Laura woke up, she desperately wanted to avoid seeing Max and Eddie again, which meant she had to get out of there for a little while. She turned to Steve, who was still fast asleep, and shook his shoulder gently. "Steve," she whispered.

He snored loudly but didn't wake.

She tried again. She shook his shoulder harder, leaned closer to him, and whispered louder. "Steve!"

He snored again and turned away from her.

She decided to change her tactic. She forced him onto his back and straddled him. She leaned close to his face and kissed him. Then she purred, "Steve?"

He snored again.

She rolled her eyes and began to pepper his face in kisses. After every kiss, she said his name again. "Steve?" Kiss. "Steve, Honey?" Kiss. "Steve?" Kiss. "Baby?" Kiss. This guy was never this hard to wake up. She thought about waking him the way she had on the last day of their honeymoon, but she was afraid that would wake Eddie, which was exactly what she was trying to avoid. She rolled off of him, as quietly as she could, though the bed squeaked loudly. Then, she moved close to his ear and purred, "Steve, Baby… I need you to wake up for me."

He stirred, but didn't wake.

"Baby," she whispered even closer to his ear, "you gotta wake up now because I'm completely naked and dying to feel your big, hard–"

"Wah!" Steve screamed as he sat up abruptly.

Laura quickly placed her hand over his mouth to muzzle him. Then she giggled, glad to have finally woken him.

When she removed her hand, he said drowsily, "Huh? Wha-? Hey, what's goin' on?"

"Good morning, Handsome," she smiled.

He looked down at her and smiled back, happily coming out of his drowsy state, grounded by her voice. "Good mornin', Sunshine. How are you today?"

"Tired," she answered honestly. "I didn't sleep well."

He frowned at her, "I'm sorry, Dear."

She shrugged. "It's not your fault."

"I'm still sorry."

"Don't be," she said firmly. "Just make it all better for me, ok?"

"What do you mean?" he asked, cocking his head.

"I want to get out of here before they get out of bed. That's why I woke you up. I want you to take me out on a date."

He smiled, "I can definitely do that! Where would you like to go, my sweet?"

"I don't know. I don't even wanna think about it. Don't you have some dream date tucked away in your brain for a special occasion?"

He raised his eyebrows at her. "I do indeed, but do you want to use it now?"

"Yes. Definitely."

"Ok," he grinned as he climbed out of bed, "just give me ten minutes to shower, and we–"

"Nope," she insisted, standing up. "Gotta go now."

"But, Sweetums…"

"Now," she said again.

He nodded hesitantly. "Ok, but can I change into real clothes first?"

"If you hurry," she joked, moving to quickly throw something on herself. She put on a cute sundress and strappy sandals. She tossed her makeup bag in her purse to do it in the car, deciding that they'd stop for new tooth brushes, toothpaste, and deodorant at the drugstore and brush their teeth in a public bathroom. She turned to Steve. He was struggling with the buttons on his shirt. She walked over to him and buttoned him up, her fine fingers much more able to perform the delicate task with speed.

He tucked in his shirt and gestured toward the door. He followed her as they headed down toward the car. He wasn't sure why they had to rush out of there. Well, he knew why, but he didn't see why it was important to Laura to avoid Eddie and Max at this point. It seemed they still had a lot of issues to work out. Still, Laura Lee Winslow… Oops! Laura Lee Urkel was the love of his life, and he had dreamed his whole life about taking her out on magical dates. When she asked him to go out with him, he had neither the strength nor the desire to refuse.

Eddie woke to the sound of the phone ringing by his bed.

Ring. Ringggg… Ring. Ringggg…

He shifted to his side and picked up the phone drowsily. "Hello?" he yawned.

"Hi, Eddie, it's Mom," Harriette chirped.

"Oh, hey, Mom," Eddie said, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. "What's up?"

"I have terrific news!"

"Lay it on me. I could use some terrific news."

Normally, Harriette would have been concerned by a comment like that, but she was too excited to notice. "Rachel got that job! Ahhhh! My baby sister's movin' back home!" she yelled.

"That's great, Mom!" Eddie cheered. He was thrilled Aunt Rachel was coming home, but he was surprised by how happy his mother was about it. He couldn't imagine being that excited to see Laura, though that may have had something to do with their current circumstances.

"They're movin' back this weekend, and she starts on Monday!"

"That's cool, Mom. Tell her I said, 'Congratulations!'"

"Tell her yourself!" Harriette smiled. "We're havin' the whole family over on Sunday for a combination Mother's Day/Welcome Home brunch."

Mother's Day? Oops. "That sounds great, Mom," Eddie half smiled.

Harriette heard the change in his tone, and her brow furrowed. "Edward Winslow, did you forget about Mother's Day?"

"Kinda," he answered.

"Mhmm… You know I'm expectin' one heck of a present now, right?"

"Yes, Ma'am," he agreed.

"So are you available? You don't have to work that night, do you?"

"No, I'll be there."

"Good, Baby. I can't wait. It'll be so good to have everyone under the same roof again."

"We were all together last Sunday, Mom," he reminded her.

"I know, but my baby girl moved out this week, and I'm feelin' a bit like an empty nester. I'm down to one baby bird! Is Laura there? I'd like to tell her, too."

Oh, right. Laura. Eddie cringed at the thought of them having to fake their way through an awkward brunch. "Uh, yeah. I'll get her," he said, climbing out of bed. He peeked behind him to make sure he hadn't woken Max. She was still fast asleep, though her face appeared tense. Eddie slowly opened his bedroom door and tiptoed out to the living room. He moved to the couch, expecting to have to wake Laura, but he found it empty. They had even taken the time to fold the couch back up. Except for their two suitcases, he didn't see any signs that he shared his apartment with anyone. He looked around the room for a note, but they hadn't left one. He was glad their suitcases were still there. At least, they hadn't moved out. He was miffed that Laura was being such a pain about Max when he was so excited about her, but he was relieved he hadn't made his baby sister homeless again.

"Mom?" he asked, lifting the phone back to his ear.

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry. I was wrong. She and Steve left before I got up."

"Oh," Harriette said, a little disappointed. "That's all right. I'll call her later. Don't tell her, ok?"

"I won't," he promised, knowing it wasn't likely she'd be speaking to him at all the next time he saw her.

"Thank you, Eddie. I'll talk to you later, ok?"

"Ok, Mom."

"Love you."

"Yeah, love you, too," he answered before hanging up the phone. He tiptoed back to bed and placed it in its cradle. He climbed back under to covers and wrapped his arms around Max, glad to have a few extra hours of peace.

Steve did not disappoint Laura. He took her out to breakfast at a restaurant that appeared to be far too expensive, the kind that didn't list the prices on the menu. He didn't let her see the bill either, which she would have normally fought him on, but she had said she didn't want to think about any of it, so she let him spoil her for the time being. After breakfast, he took her for a long walk along the river. They spent the time talking, laughing, and kissing. They did anything they could think of to keep her mind off of Eddie. Eventually, they paused and sat on a bench, looking out at the river. Steve wrapped his arm around Laura and kissed her cheek.

She leaned her head against him. "I love you," she said softly.

"I love you, too, Laura Lee," he smiled, staring out at the water. He squeezed her shoulder, counting his blessings. He may have been unemployed with no prospects and no hope of supporting his wife or himself, but he still felt like the luckiest man in the world. As he looked out at the water, he contemplated how fortunate he was that God had decided to make things as big as the river and things as tiny as their love. Their love may not have made a huge difference in the world, but it made all the difference to him. He didn't know where he would be without her, and he didn't ever want to find out. He knew he had a lot to figure out, but he was never going to let her go, and that was enough for him in that moment. They had a future. They had a dream. He could make it happen. "What are we gonna name our kids?" he asked eventually.

Laura turned to him in surprise. Huh? Where did that come from? She had been staring at the water, grateful to see something so peaceful when her brain was such a mess. He just threw another concern onto the pile. She squirmed uncomfortably. "I don't know, Steve. C'mon. We were having a nice day."

He turned to her, too. "'We were having a nice day?' We're not anymore?" he asked.

"Well, I just thought we were putting the kid conversation off for now. It's gonna be a while."

"Oh, I know that, Love. I didn't bring it up to pressure you or anything. I was just looking out at the river and thinking about everything I want for us in the future. Kids are in our future, right?"

"In our distant future," she agreed.

"Right," he nodded. "So what are we gonna name our kids?"

"You really think about this stuff? Already?" she asked, looking back at the calming river.

"All the time. I've been planning our future for years. When do you think I planned this date?"

She smiled, "Second grade?"

He laughed, "No, but close. Eighth. Right when that restaurant first opened. I read about it in the paper and thought, 'Laura would like that place. We could go there and then go for a walk by the river.'"

Laura laughed and placed a hand on his thigh. She started to rub it.

He tensed under her touch. It was an innocent touch, but it reminded him that they hadn't been able to make love the night before as they had planned. It was only ten a.m.. He had to keep his mind out of the gutter for a while, yet. Even worse, Eddie was off again today. He tried to focus on his innocent fantasies. "You said you want two, right?"

She relaxed into the game. It was a good thing to plan in advance, she supposed. Way, way in advance. "Mhmm…" she nodded.

"Then I'd like one boy and one girl," he said.

"I'll see what I can do about that," she joked.

He snickered, "I think that's on my end, actually, Pet."

"Oh, you're right," she smiled. "I'd like one of each, too."

"I'll see what I can do about that. Which do you want first?"

She thought for a moment. "I'd like the boy to come first."

"Really? Why's that?"

"I'd like him to be able to take care of his little sister… the way Eddie's always taken care of me," Laura answered, sad to have to let her mind wander back to Eddie, even for a short moment. "What about you?" she asked, chasing the thought away. "Which do you want first?"

"Well," Steve answered, "you know I hate to disagree with you, Sweetums, but I hope we have a girl first. I'm a little nervous about raising a boy."

"Why?" she asked, surprised by his response. She had assumed he'd be thrilled to have a son.

"Honest answer?"

"Always," she said, patting his thigh.

"I'm not the manliest man, you know, and I'm a little afraid that if I raise a son, he'll turn out like me and be tortured like I was growing up."

Laura looked back at him. "Oh, Sweetie…" she cooed. She had no idea what to say to that, so she decided to ask a few follow-up questions to help her understand his thoughts. "Wait. So you aren't afraid our daughter will be bullied?"

"I'm not as afraid," he shrugged. "I'm pretty sure you're going to be able to teach her everything she needs to know about being a girl. She'll be fine if she turns out just like you."

"Our son will be fine if he turns out just like you," she insisted.

"In the long run," Steve agreed, "but I want our kids' entire lives to be easy."

"They won't be, though," Laura reminded him. "My life was never like yours, Steve, but it had its own challenges. Our daughter will probably go through a lot of what I had to, and that's going to be hard for both of us, too, as we try to help her through it."

"But she'll be beautiful like you," he replied. "I'm sure she'll be brilliant and kind and funny and all of your other wonderful qualities, but being beautiful will make everything so much easier for her."

Laura shrugged. He wasn't wrong, necessarily. Being pretty had challenges, too, but not like she would have had if she were less attractive. It was a sad truth, she realized. The girl she was in high school may have been pretty, but she wasn't anywhere near as good of a person as she was now that she was married to Steve. Maybe her teenage-self hadn't deserved the attention she got. Actually, she was pretty sure of that. She certainly hadn't deserved Steve's attention and devotion. She thought for a moment and realized he still may have been missing a few things. "I hope she's beautiful, too, Steve, because you're absolutely right. It makes life easier, but I don't think you're at all prepared for the kind of stuff she's going to be dealing with if she's pretty."

He glared at her. "Because I've never been pretty?"

She laughed. "No, that's not what I meant. I meant, because you're a boy. Are you really prepared for the day our daughter comes home from school and says that some guy catcalled her or her boyfriend's pressuring her for sex or some guy convinced her to do something with him and dumped her right after?"

"Our daughter's going to wait until marriage," he said firmly, ignoring most of what she'd said.

Laura rolled her eyes. "Ok, and if she doesn't?" she challenged.

"She will," he said again.

"Steve," Laura said, turning to face him more directly, "times are changing. She probably won't wait until she's married."

His face contorted in distaste.

"Honey, I didn't even want to wait. I only waited because you wanted to."

"Really?" he asked in disbelief.

"Yes, I wanted to wait for the right guy, but when I realized that was you, I was ready. It's amazing I didn't jump you the night you came back from space," she said, chuckling at the end.

He swallowed hard, still made nervous at the thought of losing his virginity before his wedding night.

Laura noticed the change in his expression and pulled back. "I'm sorry. We don't have to talk about our unborn daughter's virginity…"

"No," he said, pulling himself together, "I'm glad we're talking about this stuff. I hadn't thought about the concerns I may have if she's as pretty as you."

"Well, this is silly, anyway," Laura continued. "You know that's not how genetics works. Our daughter won't be exactly like me, and our son won't be exactly like you. They're both going to be like both of us."

He nodded. "I know, but when I picture our baby girl, she looks just like you," he smiled dreamily.

"Well, it'd be a little weird if our baby girl looked just like you," she joked.

He cocked his head. "Be careful what you say, Sweetums. I have some female relatives that look an awful lot like their fathers."

Laura grimaced. She hadn't considered that before. She thought Steve was a good looking man, so she didn't worry about her son too much, though she prayed he'd have a Winslow voice. She'd never considered, however, how the Urkel genes may work on her daughter. What if she gave birth to a… Myrtle? "Oh, God…" she breathed. He looked down at her. "What if she's ugly?" Laura asked in horror, not because she was worried about having an ugly daughter, but because she was worried about how her daughter would be treated if she looked like Myrtle Urkel. What would she do if men treated her own child the way Eddie treated Myrtle? She decided to smack Eddie the next time she saw him.

Steve hugged her tighter and chuckled at her expression. Laura had grown a lot over the years, but sometimes he could still see that shallow teenager peek out at him. "She won't be ugly, Laura Lee. Your perfect genes can override mine. I'm sure of it."

"No, really, Steve. You are very handsome, so our son's gonna be fine, but if I put a wig and a dress on you, you would make an ugly girl. What if she's ugly?" she asked again. "I don't know what it's like to be an ugly girl. How am I supposed to help her with that?"

Steve raised a brow at her. At least, she wasn't thinking about Eddie anymore. "Sugar Lips, I have a lot of experience with getting bullied. I'll get her through it."

"But girls don't bully the way boys do! No one's going to beat her up. They're going to psychologically torture her!" Laura argued. She was starting to freak out.

Steve laughed aloud and snorted. "Ok, Snookums. Relax," he said, rubbing her shoulder. "We've taken this too far. This baby isn't even on your radar yet, and you're already worried about her not having friends in high school?"

Laura sat back and looked at the river again. When he put it that way, it did seem a little silly. She shook her head. "You're right. There's no sense in worrying about this. Our kids are going to be fine," she said firmly. She grabbed his hand and squeezed it. "They're going to be fine because they'll have an amazing father," she smiled sweetly.

His heart melted when she said that. "You really think I'll be an amazing father?" he asked.

"It's a huge reason that I picked you, Steve. If you're half as devoted to our kids as you are to me, they're going to be fine," she promised.

He blushed and kissed her softly on the lips. "They're going to have an amazing mother, too."

Laura shrugged. "I don't know that I'll be amazing."

"You will," he promised. "That's a big reason that I picked you, too."

She giggled. "Oh, really? In kindergarten, we met, I made you eat some Play-Doh, and you thought, 'Wow, she can make children do anything. She'll be a great mother. I should propose!'"

He laughed. "Snort. Snort. Snort. Something like that."

"Do you really think I'll be a good mom? Aren't I a little… self-centered?" she asked, staring strictly ahead.

He grabbed her chin and tilted her face toward him. "No, my love. You're going to be a great mom. I don't have any doubts about that. You're not the same girl you were when were kids, Laura. You're not self-centered, anymore. Well, you're not very self-centered, anymore," he teased. She pouted at him. "Laura, when I fell in love with you," he said seriously, "I fell in love with this woman." He pointed to her chest.

"My breasts?" she joked.

"No," he laughed. "I could see the woman you are now hiding beneath the teasing and the selfishness and the shallowness. I could see the woman you really are. Even now, I know exactly who you're going to be when we mature even more. That's why I love you so unconditionally. That's the woman I see when I look at you. That's the woman who's going to raise our kids."

"But I'm not that woman, yet?"

"No, not exactly. I think maybe you can't be until you hold our first baby for the first time. You have to feel that unconditional love before you can become that woman," he explained.

She nodded and thought for a moment. "But you still love who I am right now, right?"

"Absolutely," he promised, kissing her again.

When Max woke up, she turned to find Eddie wide awake, watching her intently. "Morning," she said, kissing him softly.

"Morning," he smiled. He moved his hand down to grab her butt and pull her closer. Now that she was awake, he was determined to get some of what he had missed out on last night.

She pressed her hands firmly against his chest, preventing their next kiss. "Hey. Laura and Steve are right outside."

"No, they're not," he corrected. "Laura apparently couldn't stand the thought of seeing us this morning, so they left before I woke up."

"Really?" Max asked, hurt that her best friend was avoiding her.

Eddie heard the change in her tone and watched her face drop. "Hey, c'mon," he said, pulling her face into his chest. He began to rub her back. "This is good news. This means we have some time to fool around before we head back out there for World War III."

"God, Eddie!" she shouted, pushing away from him. "What on Earth makes you think I'd be in the mood after last night?"

"I don't know," he yelled back. "Maybe the fact that we haven't been able to do it since Tuesday?"

"Oh, like I can't live without it for two days," she grumbled, rolling out of bed. "Look, do you know where they went? I need to talk to Laura."

"No, I don't. They didn't leave a note. The one place I can guarantee you'll see them is here, if you wait long enough. They left all their stuff here, so they're not moving out."

"Fine," Max sighed. "I'll wait."

"And you really won't have sex with me while we wait?" he asked, getting a little frustrated.

"No," she said firmly. "I don't want her walking in and hearing us and storming out." She stood and headed for the bathroom. She walked in and shut the door.

Eddie flopped back onto the bed and grumbled to himself. "Steve Urkel's gettin' more action than me lately. That's a crime against nature," he complained. He pulled a magazine out of his nightstand and decided to take care of the problem himself.

When Laura and Steve arrived at the once again open Tanaka Gardens, Steve was thrilled to find Mr. Tanaka at the hostess stand.

"Steven!" he chirped, coming out from behind the stand to give him a hug. "How are the newlyweds?"

"Oh, we're wonderful, Mr. Tanaka," Steve smiled, hugging him back.

Mr. Tanaka moved to hug Laura.

She hugged him back and smiled as he pulled away. "Thank you so much for that knife set. It's beautiful."

"You're welcome, Laura. Thank you for inviting me to your wedding. My wife and I had a wonderful time. So, are you two here for lunch?"

"Abso-tutle-utely!" Steve said cheerily, offering Laura his arm, which she gladly took.

"Ok, follow me!" Mr. Tanaka said, leading them to a table near the front. He pulled out Laura's chair for her, and they both sat. He smiled at Steve. "I put you up here so that you would be far away from all water access points," he said with his raspy laugh.

Steve blushed, embarrassed about his last time in this restaurant.

"Steven?" Mr. Tanaka asked.

"Yes, Sir?"

"Have you been cooking at all since the last time you were here?"

"Not much Japanese," he admitted.

Mr. Tanaka nodded, "Hm. Do you think you still remember how?"

Steve shrugged, "I have a pretty good memory, so probably. Why do you ask?"

"I think you should be the one to cook lunch for your charming wife, don't you?"

Laura smiled at Steve, "Ooo… I like that idea." She bit her lip at the mere thought of him cooking like that again. He'd done all the cooking since they'd gotten married, mostly because it was always impossible to talk him out of it, but it all paled in comparison to his Japanese cooking. Now, that turned Laura on. Plus, the last time she saw him cook hibachi-style, she couldn't act on her feelings when she got home. Now that there was no other guy in the picture, maybe she'd finally be able to.

"Oh, Gosh…" Steve breathed, looking at Laura's lustful gaze. "Well," he swallowed hard, "I guess I could try."

"Good," Mr. Tanaka smiled. "I have one rule this time, however."

"What's that?" Steve asked as he stood.

"If there is an emergency of any kind, do not be a hero. Lead your wife outside and wait there."

Steve nodded, "Yes, Sir."

Mr. Tanaka led Steve into the backroom to change. When they returned, Mr. Tanaka went back to greet the guests, and Steve walked up to Laura's table. He began to prepare the specialty of the house again, the Tsunami Supreme, and he watched Laura intently as he did. Laura's eyes were locked on his hands. He did as many tricks as he could remember, watching her nibble on her lip and ogle him. She was so obvious. He smiled to himself as he imagined what she was going to do to him later. Finally, he plated their meals to a table full of applause. He sat down beside her and took a bite of shrimp off of his plate. He fed it to her slowly, never breaking eye contact.

It tasted amazing. That was one thing that had really disappointed her the last time they were here. Steve destroyed the restaurant before she got to taste his work. Had she tasted this that night, she might have chosen him way faster. The moment she swallowed, she took his face in her hands and pulled him in for a long, deep kiss. It wasn't quite what she wanted to do to him, but it would have to do for the moment.

When she finally pulled away, the table erupted in applause again, and Steve barely noticed it in his daze. Now, that was a kiss. He wondered to himself if that's what he had missed out on the night he destroyed the restaurant.

Laura cleared her throat and began to eat. She quickly moved the conversation along into more innocent territory, and Steve began to eat, too. He still seemed a little out of it, but he began to appear more and more normal as she continued to talk.

Soon, Mr. Tanaka approached them. "Steven," he beamed proudly, "well done. You seem to have forgotten very little of your training."

"Thank you, Mr. Tanaka," Steve said humbly, standing to bow to him.

Laura looked up at her goofy husband and was touched by his modesty. He was amazing, and he didn't even know it.

"How would you like to cook for me this summer? Before you go back to school?"

Steve's jaw dropped. He hadn't even thought of that! That was exactly what he needed. It wasn't a perfect job. It didn't pay well, but it would be enough, in combination with Laura's salary, to get them through the summer. "Oh, Mr. Tanaka," he said softly, "I would be honored."

"Good. Can you start Monday?" he asked.

"Darn tootin'!"

"How many hours would you like to work? I have to keep you part-time for now, but I can try to get you as many hours as I can. Does that work for you?"

"Of course, Mr. Tanaka. I'll take anything you can get me. I was getting kind of desperate."

"Laura," Mr. Tanaka asked, "are you working this summer?"

"Yes," she said, surprised to be involved in this conversation. "I'm working full-time at Ferguson's."

"When do you work?"

"Monday through Friday, eight to five," she answered, cocking her head at him.

"Steven, how would you like to limit your hours to only those times?" he asked. "I can't give you all forty hours that she's working, but I can make sure your time-off lines up, if you'd like."

Steve's eyes widened. That would be perfect, but it was an awful lot to ask. "Oh, Mr. Tanaka, you don't have to do that."

"I want to," he insisted.

Steve looked down at Laura. "I would love that," he whispered.

"Then it is settled," Mr. Tanaka said firmly. "You start Monday at 11. I'll leave you two to enjoy your lunch," he said as he began to turn away. He was stopped quite forcefully when Steve leapt forward to hug him as tightly as he could.

"Thank you, Mr. Tanaka! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" he cheered.

"Uh… You're welcome… Steven…" he gasped through Steve's bear hug.

When Steve finally let him go, he walked back to the hostess stand where his daughter was standing. She was the same hostess that had worked there when Steve was first training. She had overheard the whole conversation. "Why did you do that, Dad? What if he destroys the restaurant again?"

"He is a good kid. They remind me of your mother and me when we first got married. I, too, was nervous all the time that I would not be able to keep her happy because she was so much prettier than me. Having a little money makes it easier to adjust to being loved when you do not think you deserve it," he answered simply.

His daughter nodded, "Mom is too pretty for you."

Mr. Tanaka looked at her, "And you are too pretty for my son-in-law, but here we are." He looked back at Laura and Steve and watched them celebrate the good news.

That afternoon, Carl was sitting in his office, reading over police reports, when his phone rang. "Captain Winslow," he answered as he picked it up.

"Hi, Honey," Harriette said, bracing herself for a fight. "I have great news!"

"Good, I could use some great news," he said, surprised that his wife was speaking to him again.

Harriette skipped past his comment and cheered, "Rachel got that job!"

"That's wonderful, Sweetheart!" Carl replied.

"You're ok with her and Richie staying with us for a while again, right?"

"Of course," he said.

"They're already looking for a place, so it won't be so long this time," she promised.

"That's completely fine, Harriette," Carl said firmly.

"I thought we'd have a celebratory brunch on Mother's Day at our house. How's that sound?"

"Do I have to cook?"

"No," she confirmed.

"Then that sounds great to me," he said relieved to not have more on his plate.

"I already called Eddie. I haven't talked to Laura and Steve, yet, but–" she continued.

"Laura and Steve? Harriette, I think I was pretty clear. He is not welcome in my house," Carl growled. "Neither is Laura until she starts acting like an adult."

"Your house? It's Mother's Day, Carl," Harriette growled back. "What on Earth makes you think you have any say in the matter?"

He wanted to fight back, but he didn't know what to say to that. "I'm not talking to him," he said pettily, knowing he was licked.

"Fine. I don't particularly care who you talk to," she retorted.

"Good," he snapped.

"Good," she barked back. "I'll see you tonight."

"Fine," he said, slamming the phone down.

After lunch, Laura insisted they stay out of the apartment, but Steve was running out of ideas. He was already clumping date plans together to form a strange hodgepodge. As he hesitated to decide where to go next, she interjected an idea of her own. Soon, they were driving all over Chicago, looking for apartments. It wasn't much of a date, but since they were now both employed, it was an exciting experience. There was one apartment not too far from the college that stole Laura's breath.

As they walked in with the agent, she breathed in sharply. "Oh, wow," she exhaled as her eyes wandered the high ceilings, brick walls, and huge window. She walked toward the kitchen and ran her hands over the brand new appliances and granite countertops. It wasn't huge, she could tell, but it would be more than enough for them, and it was beautiful.

The building representative smiled. "You have great taste, Mrs. Urkel. Those counters were just put in when this building was redone. They're a rich maple wood topped with granite. The stainless steel appliances are brand new, too. The hardwood floor throughout is also maple."

Steve walked to where Laura was in the kitchen. Rather than looking around the way she was, his eyes focused on her reactions. This was the one. He could feel it.

"This model is a two-bedroom, but the second bedroom is small, so it functions best as an office or a nursery."

Laura blushed when she heard the word nursery. "We could definitely use an office," she said quickly.

The representative raised her eyebrows, but quickly slapped her sales-face back on. "You can see that you have a couple of options for a dining area, she said gesturing to an area behind her and one in front of the small kitchen. Most people set up a living area by the windowed wall, of course."

Laura walked over to peek out the window. It was quite a view. It was just the city. They certainly couldn't afford a view of the river, but she loved the city. She couldn't imagine how beautiful this view would be at night.

"Now, this is just our model, so you may not actually be quite this high up, she reminded them, depending on what you're willing to pay, but we do have one available on this floor and some even higher."

The representative led them out onto the balcony and back inside to see the master bedroom. It also had one wall that was all window, and Laura was thrilled to see the walk-in closet.

They peeked into the second bedroom and the bathroom. Steve was excited by the tub. It looked big enough for two.

Finally, they met back in the kitchen to talk about price. When the representative gave them an estimate, their faces fell. That was way out of their price range.

"I don't understand," Laura said. "This place was advertised for half that."

"Oh, unfortunately, that ad is for our economy model. We don't have any of those available at this time, and we've begun to upgrade them as they clear out."

Laura sighed as she looked around again. She should have known it was too good to be true.

Steve hated to see Laura so disappointed. "And there's no wiggle room?" he asked desperately.

"I'm sorry, no," the agent said firmly.

Laura looked back at Steve and noticed how concerned he looked. He didn't need another blow to his ego. She forced a fake smile. "Well, we'll just have to keep looking. Thank you, anyway."

"Wait," Steve said as Laura began to walk to the door. "Your waitlist? Is it completely non-committal?"

"Yes," she said.

"Then we wanna be on it," he said firmly.

"Steve, we can't afford this place," Laura said, shaking her head.

"But we may be able to by the time the next one's remodeled. I'm due for a little luck," he argued.

She couldn't disagree with that. He certainly was. "Ok," she said hesitantly. "I guess it can't hurt to be on the list."

He smiled back at her, silently promising himself to get her a home that she loved twice as much someday.

By late afternoon, Harriette figured she ought to try Laura again. She dialed Eddie's number and waited through the rings.

"Hello?" Eddie said as he picked up the phone by his couch.

"Hi, Eddie," Harriette smiled. "Did Laura make it home yet?"

"Nope," Eddie said flatly.

"No Steve either?"

"Nuh-uh."

"Darn. They've been gone for a while. Do you know where they went?"

"No, Mom, I'm sorry. I really don't," he answered with a shrug.

"Ok, well… Tell Laura to call me when you see her, ok?"

"Sure thing," he said. "Talk to you later."

"Bye, Eddie," Harriette said.

Eddie hung up the phone and turned to Max who sat nervously on the couch, frequently peeking at the door. "You should come to my parents' house with me."

"What?"

"We're doing a thing for Mother's Day. Aunt Rachel and Richie are moving home. Everyone will be there. You should come."

Max looked at him he like had just revealed that he was the dumbest person in the world. "Um… No."

"Why not?" he asked, though he knew why.

"Because Laura's furious with us, and that would make it way worse," she said frustrated.

"Nope, because as soon as she gets back, we're gonna fix this. Then you can come," he said confidently.

She rolled her eyes, "Ok, sure. If we fix all of this before Mother's Day, I'll be there." She could not foresee that happening, but it seemed to satisfy him.

"Good," he said, wrapping his arm around her.

She looked back at the door again.

Having looked at several apartments, Laura and Steve were getting hungry again. Though Steve tried to convince her to go home for dinner, she flatly refused. She was being stubborn, but he still wanted to romance her socks off… and maybe more than her socks, so he picked the most romantic restaurant he could think of. When they pulled up to the same French restaurant that they had visited on their non-date so many years ago, Laura squealed.

"Oh, my God, this is so cheesy," she laughed excitedly.

"Would you rather go somewhere else?" Steve asked, fully realizing how happy she was with his choice.

"Nooooo…" she said pointedly, turning to face him. "You're such a hopeless romantic," she smiled flirtatiously.

He smiled back at her, "You betcha, Baby!"

She leaned forward and kissed his cheek as slowly as she could.

He sighed into it, "Ahhh…"

She wiped her lip-gloss off of his cheek with her thumb and grabbed her purse. He slipped out of the car and opened the door for her. She took his hand as she stepped out. Then she took his arm and followed him inside.

He paused at the hostess stand and winked at her. "Reservations for two. Dr. and Mrs. Urkel."

She covered her mouth to hide a laugh.

"Just practicing," he whispered in her ear again.

"Hey, it's half-true this time," she whispered back.

"Yes, Sir. Right this way," the hostess said leading them to the very same table. Steve pulled out Laura's chair and then sat next to her. The hostess handed them their menus. "Your server will be right with you."

"Thank you," Laura said.

"Merci," Steve said.

She glanced up at him. "Oh, no. Is this going to be just like yesterday?"

"No," Steve answered, "because you're not going to be annoyed this time."

She laughed and looked down at her menu.

"Oh, Pet, put that down," he said gesturing to her menu.

She looked back up at him. "What? Why?"

"You know what we have to get," he answered simply.

She quirked a brow at him. "I am not eating frog legs, Steve Urkel," she said firmly.

"But we're recreating our first date," he whined.

"Steve, I didn't like them then, and–"

"You didn't try them then," he pointed out.

She leaned forward to whisper to him. "Because they're frog legs," she reminded him urgently.

He leaned forward, too. "And they're delicious," he insisted. "Just try them."

"You think spam is delicious on cake. I don't trust your palate."

"You've never tried that either," he said, sitting up.

She laughed at the ridiculousness of their situation. She sat back up and sighed. "You know what? You have made what could have been a terrible day a magical day, so I'm just gonna embrace it. Frog legs it is," she said, closing her menu, "but you better order me a glass of wine to go with it."

He smiled at her, "Your wish is my command, ma biche."

"Excuse me?" she said, mishearing his French pet name.

"Oh, no," he said with wide eyes. "It means 'my doe', as in a doe, a deer, a female deer," he explained.

"Oh," she said, nodding suspiciously. "It better," she warned.

"So," he said, quickly moving the conversation along, "what do we wanna do this weekend to celebrate our last days of unemployment?"

Laura smirked, "I'm not sure. What do you wanna do?"

"I don't know. Isn't Mother's Day this weekend?" he asked.

Laura's eyes widened in surprise. It was, and she had completely forgotten. "You're right. Ooo… I have got to buy a present tomorrow," she cringed.

"Oo! Oo!" Steve said excitedly, raising a hand in the air, earning a few looks from other diners. "Can I come? Can I come?"

Laura reached over and yanked his hand down as casually as possible. When it was firmly in her grasp, she held it close to appear like she had only wanted to hold him, rather than reign in his crazy. She shook her head at him. He was still doing better than he had the first time they ate at this restaurant. He hadn't even broken anything yet. "Yes, you can come," she said.

"Yes!" he cheered, pumping his fist in the air.

She grabbed his hand and pulled it down again. "What is with you? Why are you so excited?"

He half-smiled at her, slightly embarrassed by his explanation. "Well, I've never been able to buy a Mother's Day present with my own money before."

She cocked her head at him. "You have a mother, Steve."

"Yeah, but she didn't like being reminded that she was my mother, so the best present I could give her, she said, was staying away on Mother's Day," he said, tilting his head down to look at their joined hands to avoid her pitying eyes.

"Oh, Steve…" she whispered, squeezing his hand tighter. "Why didn't you buy something for my mother the last few years you lived with us?"

"It always seemed like that would be the best present for her, too."

Laura squeezed his hand again. "Well, you have a mother-in-law, now, and I'm sure she will love whatever we get her, ok?"

He nodded and looked back up at her bashfully. He hated to see that look in her eye. He loved that she now cared about him enough to be concerned when he dropped a sad story like that, but he wasn't one to dwell on the negative, and that look always reminded him just how pathetic his life was.

"I love you," she reminded him.

He didn't like that, either. Normally, those words were music to his ears, but hearing them in that context just made him wonder if she only loved him because she felt bad for him. Still, he could only speak the truth. "I love you, too, Laura Lee, with all my heart."

She leaned forward and kissed him gently. She sat back in her chair and looked at him for another long moment. Eventually, she noticed how uncomfortable he looked, and she decided to move their night along. "Ok, so we'll go out tomorrow and pick out a present. Then Sunday, maybe we can take her out to brunch or something. That way, we won't have to see… well, anyone," she said. That was a disturbing realization for her. Her family had always been very close. Now, the thought of seeing her father or her brother on Mother's Day was almost unbearable to her. She stood. "I saw a payphone back there. I'll go give her a call, ok?"

"No sweat, my pet," he said as his cheer returned.

She kissed him on the cheek as she stepped away. "I'll be right back," she called over her shoulder. She walked out to the entrance where she saw the payphone. She dug through her purse until she found the change she needed. She dialed the home phone and waited through the rings.

Eventually, Carl answered, "Hello?"

When Laura heard her father's voice, she hesitated.

"Hello?" he said again, thinking he had already lost the person on the other end.

"Hi, Dad," she said flatly.

A part of Carl ached when he heard her voice. She didn't sound happy to be speaking to him, and he only then realized how much he hated not being in contact with her. "Hey, Sweetheart," he said as kindly as he could.

His tone threw Laura off. Weren't they still fighting? She certainly was. "Is Mom there?"

Ouch. "Um… Yeah, she is," he answered. It hurt that she had only called for Harriette. He had never wanted things to get so out of hand, but he just wanted what was best for her. "How is everything with you?"

"Fine," she said. "I really need to talk to Mom."

"Yeah, ok," he said sadly. "I'll get her."

As she waited through the silence, Laura began to feel a little guilty. He was just trying to talk to her. They would never fix anything if she couldn't have a civil conversation with him.

"Hi, Honey," Harriette said when she picked up the phone.

Laura shook the guilt out and refocused on the matter at hand. "Hey, Mom. Happy almost Mother's Day!"

"Thank you, Baby. Did Eddie tell you I called?"

Laura's brow furrowed. "Uh, no. You called?"

"Are you still out?" Harriette asked, confused as to why Laura and Steve would stay out all day.

"Uh, yeah. We were out looking at apartments," she explained. That wasn't why they were out, but her statement was true. "We just stopped for dinner."

"Oh, did you find anything?" she asked excitedly.

Laura pursed her lips as her mind began to wander back to her dream apartment. "Nothing decent that we can afford."

"I'm sorry, Honey. Give it some time. Your price range will change as soon as Steve lands one of those fabulous jobs he's been offered."

Laura hesitated. It didn't seem like the time to get into all of the decisions they'd made recently. "Yeah. Hey, listen. Steve and I were just talking about Mother's Day, and we were wondering if you would want to go out to brunch with us."

"Actually, I was hoping you would come over here for brunch," Harriette answered, as cheerily as she could. She knew that would be unpleasant for Laura, but she thought she could guilt her into it. "Rachel got that job, and she and Richie are moving back this weekend. I thought we could have a Mother's Day/Welcome Home brunch to celebrate."

"Oh!" Laura said in a mixed tone. She was thrilled Aunt Rachel was moving back, but she was much less thrilled at the prospect of brunch with her father and her brother. Still, she had no idea how to get out of it. It was Mother's Day. They had no choice. "Sure, that sounds great," she lied unconvincingly.

"Great!" Harriette chirped, ignoring her tone. "Then we'll see you and Steve at eleven on Sunday. Ok?"

"Yup. See you then. Love you."

"Love you, too," Harriette answered as she hung up the phone quickly. She could tell Laura was unhappy with the arrangement, but she was glad she hadn't put up a fight. She immediately dialed Rachel.

"Hello?" Rachel answered.

"I've got great news, Sis. Everybody's all set for Sunday. We'll have a full house for Mother's Day."

Rachel stopped packing one of her boxes and sat on her bed beside it. "Uh-huh and Laura has no problem with having to see Carl?"

"That's the beauty of it," Harriette replied. "They have no choice!"

"Harriette, are you sure this is a good idea?" Rachel pressed. "Aren't they just gonna fight?"

"It's Mother's Day! They'll have to be on their best behavior. They know better than to ruin my day," she explained ominously.

"I don't know. It seems like a big risk."

"It'll be fine, Rachel," Harriette said confidently.

"Ok… If you're sure…"

"I am. Just don't be late, ok?"

"All right. We'll be there," Rachel assured her. "See you then, Harriette."

"Bye, Rachel."

After dinner, Steve again tried to convince Laura to go home, but she still refused. He did have one other place he wanted to take her on Memory Lane, so he didn't put up much of a fight. They had to drive a ways out of the city, and Laura had no clue where he was taking her.

"Where are we going?" she asked for the millionth time.

"It's a surprise," he replied again. "Don't worry, my love. We're almost there."

"Steve, we've been driving for almost an hour."

"I know, Pet. Just a few more minutes." He slipped his tie off and handed it to her.

She looked at him confused.

"Blindfold," he explained.

"You're going to murder me, aren't you?" she joked as she hesitantly tied the tie around her eyes.

"Oh, I wouldn't drive all the way out here to do that. I'd just go down to the river."

She laughed uncomfortably. "That is not a good answer, Steve."

A few minutes later, he slowed to a stop and put the car in park. "Ok, my love. We're here," he said, turning to see the reaction on her face. He was not disappointed.

As she slipped the blindfold off and looked out at the view before her, she began to laugh. "I can't believe you," she giggled.

"What?" Steve asked, chuckling.

"Paradise Bluff, Steve?"

"Hey, I never got to take you up here in high school. I want the same chance Ted Curran, Daniel Wallace, and Curtis Williams got," he said jealously.

She shook her head. "I never came here with Daniel," she corrected, "though that's not the full list."

He gasped, "Who else?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" she teased.

"I definitely would," he said seriously.

She slid closer to him and placed a hand on his thigh. "Does it really matter now, Steve?" she asked, batting her eyelashes and rubbing his upper thigh. "I saved myself for you. That's all that matters, right? Who cares who I necked with in high school?" she asked, leaning up to kiss his neck.

He swallowed hard. "I care," he said.

She began to suck on his neck. "Do you still care?" she purred.

"Yes," he croaked.

She moved up and nibbled on his ear. She sucked hard on his earlobe. "How 'bout now?" He nodded, but had no words. She slipped her tongue in his ear, and he gasped. "Ohhhh…"

"Now?" she whispered.

He shook his head and pulled her onto his lap, but they couldn't both fit with the steering wheel in the way.

She slipped off of him and giggled. "Maybe you should come over here," she suggested, patting her end of the car.

He nodded and slid over to her. He pulled her onto his lap again, and she straddled him. He placed his big hands on her butt cheeks over her thin dress and squeezed. "Did they get to touch you here?" he asked.

She bit her lip and shook her head. "No, Steve. I told you. All I've ever done is kissed other guys."

"But you're so good at all that other stuff," he whined.

"I guess I'm just naturally gifted," she teased, leaning down to kiss him. "What about you?" she asked as she pulled away. "You used to come up here with Myra, didn't you?"

He nodded, moving his hands back up to her waist, growing uncomfortable at the thought of his playboy years, not that anyone else would consider them wild. "This is actually where we first started going steady."

Laura hadn't realized that. She sat up a little straighter. It was a pretty big turn-off. "Oh," she said, her emotions reading clearly on her face.

Steve didn't know what to say. He didn't like the idea that she'd gone up here with other men either, but there was a part of him that wanted to live out a high school fantasy. He didn't even care if they made love. He just wanted her to play a little tonsil tennis with him, but this seemed to be going off track.

"Steve," she began uncomfortably, "maybe we both just have too much history here. Isn't this kind of uncomfortable for you? Being up here, knowing that I've been here with other guys?"

He shook his head. He still didn't know how to explain it. "I want us to have memories here, too," he said eventually.

"Steve, we have better memories in other places. We don't need to force this."

"Please, Laura?" he said, his brow furrowing. He ran his hands up and down her hips. "I've been dreaming about this for so long. I've always wanted to kiss you here."

She sighed and reached down. She found the lever on the side of the seat and yanked it. They flew back, though they were both expecting it this time. She leaned down. He wasn't completely horizontal, but she had to lean to kiss him. She pressed her lips against his and was surprised by how quickly his warmed up. It wasn't long before he was sucking on her bottom lip, nibbling on her lips, and working his tongue in and out of her hot mouth. He must have been dreaming about this for a long time. "Mmmmm…" she moaned as his lips worked their magic on her. There was no resisting him when he finally got to kiss her. She began to grind in his lap. She had only planned on a little light kissing to make him happy, but he was starting something she hoped he was willing to finish.

He moved his hands back down to her butt and squeezed while he kissed her. He thought back to all of the fantasies he had had about taking her up here. This was already better than he'd imagined. When he was young, he had never pictured her grinding against him so provocatively, even at Paradise Bluff. He could feel his member getting wet at the tip. He had to slow this down before it got out of control. He broke the kiss and pushed her off of his lap, panting heavily.

She looked back at him disappointed. "Why'd you stop, Steve? That kiss was incredible."

He nodded, still panting, "Oh, it was, Pet. Your big, soft lips are heaven to me, but I want to take this slow. Like I said, I've been thinking about this for a long time."

She sighed, "Ok, we can go slow. You take the lead. This is your fantasy." She smiled at him expectantly.

"Isn't this your fantasy, too?" he asked.

Laura squirmed uncomfortably. "Um. Steve, you know, I wasn't… I mean… When we were in high school, I didn't…"

"No, I know you didn't daydream about being up here with me, Pet, but don't you wish you were able to change how you treated me in high school?"

"I thought we said we didn't want to rewrite the past?" she reminded him.

"We don't, but there's no harm in a little make-believe, is there?" he asked bashfully.

"No," she smiled. "No, there's not."

He stared at her for a moment. Then he got out of the car. He walked to her side and opened her door. She took his hand when he offered it, and he led her to the front of the car. He sat on the hood and slid over so there was room for her.

"What are we doing out here?" she asked as she joined him.

"We can really see the city from here," he responded, "and the stars."

She nodded and looked up at the sky. "It's amazing how well you can see everything when you get away from the lights of the city," she said softly.

He lay back against the windshield and opened his arms for her. She looked down at him and saw his welcoming embrace. She snuggled against him and focused on the stars again.

"I always thought that if I ever got you up here, we'd take the time to look at the stars. Nobody else did. All those guys bragged about taking their dates up here, but they spent so much time in the car with the windows fogged up, they never got to really appreciate it." He glanced down at her. "Sometimes, taking your time helps you really appreciate something important, you know?" he said pointedly.

She did know. "I'm glad we took our time," she responded eventually, her eyes locked on the stars.

"Me too," he smiled. "I would have waited an eternity for you if I had had to."

"Well, the wait is over," she smiled, kissing him softly.

Around midnight, Laura and Steve finally walked through the door to the apartment. Steve hit the light switch as he walked in. He held Laura's hand and started to walk her back to the couch. They hadn't done anything at Paradise Bluff. They had just kissed for hours, which he loved, but he was dying to get her in bed. He had enjoyed indulging his adolescent fantasy, but he was a grown man now, and his fantasies had evolved. He was about to draw her down onto the couch when she pulled away.

"Oh, God," she groaned in disgust.

"What is it?" he asked, his eyes locked on her face.

She pointed to the couch behind him, and he turned to see Max and Eddie spooning… on their bed. He didn't particularly object to their relationship, except for the way it was hurting Laura, but he definitely did object to someone preventing him from proving his love to his wife. He had had some big plans, and he didn't appreciate them being ruined. "Dagnabbit!" he said, snapping his fingers. He turned back to look at Laura. She had crossed her arms and curled into herself. He certainly wasn't going to get anywhere with her when she was feeling like that. It was time they fixed this. He walked closer to Max and Eddie and shook Max's shoulder. "Max!" he said. She didn't move. He shook her again. "Maxine!" She still didn't move. "MAXINE!" he shouted.

She and Eddie shot awake, and Eddie knocked her off the couch. "Oof…" she groaned as she landed. "Eddie!" she scolded as she tried to get up.

Steve offered her his hand and helped her back to her feet. "You're in our bed," he said when she was standing upright.

She sat back down next to Eddie and glanced at Laura, who was looking everywhere else. "Yeah, well… You guys have been avoiding us all day. We didn't want you to go to bed before we had a chance to talk."

"I completely agree. I think we all should sit down and discuss this. Why don't I put on a pot of coffee, and we can hash everything out in the kitchen?" Steve suggested.

"No," Laura answered, still avoiding eye contact with all of them. "I don't want to talk about this anymore. I've made my opinion clear. They don't care. There's no point in arguing in circles."

"No, Laura," Max interjected. "You didn't make your opinion clear."

"I didn't?" Laura asked, reeling on her. "You still don't know how I feel about you dating my brother?"

"No, I know how you feel. I don't know what you expect me to do about it now that we're an item. How can I make this better for you? Do I have to break up with him?"

"Oh, you wouldn't even if I asked you to," Laura grumbled.

"Yes, I would," Max said firmly. "I really, really like him. I think he's the best guy I've dated in a long time. He might be the best guy I've ever dated, but if the only way I can fix our friendship is by dumping him right now, I will. Just say the word."

Laura stared at her, gauging her sincerity. She was almost certain she was bluffing. "Fine. Dump him. Now," she challenged.

Max's face dropped. She couldn't believe Laura would ask her to do that. She stared at her for a long moment. Then she turned to Eddie. "Eddie," Max began as she teared up.

"No, Max," Eddie nearly begged. "Don't do this."

"Eddie, I have to. I'm sorry, but Laura is the most important person in my life. I can't lose her."

"But, Max…"

"I'm so sorry," she said as tears began to stream down her face. She turned back to Laura. "So are we ok, now?"

Laura couldn't believe she had followed through. Max had a huge tendency to put guys before their friendship. They both did, really. Maybe they really were maturing. Laura nodded silently and rushed to hug Max. She held her and stroked her hair as she cried.

"I'm so sorry," she sniffled.

"It's ok, Max. I'm sorry I've been such a jerk. I was just so afraid of losing you," Laura explained.

"It's ok," Max said, looking back at Laura and wiping her tears. "I get it. I don't want to risk our friendship."

"Thank you," Laura said, squeezing her hands.

Max wiped her eyes again and glanced back at Eddie. "Um. I guess I should get going."

Laura looked at Eddie who appeared to be in shock. That probably wasn't a bad idea. "Hey, my parents are having a Mother's Day brunch to celebrate Aunt Rachel and Richie moving home. You should come."

Max looked at Eddie again as she paused in front of the door. "Uh. Yeah. Maybe. Thanks," she said quickly as she rushed out of the apartment.

Laura looked back at Eddie again. She felt bad that they had both gotten hurt in this mess, but she had been hurt, too. It was their fault anyway.

He glared back at her. Suddenly, he stood. "What the hell, Laura?"

"Excuse me?" she glared.

"I let you move in with me two days ago, and you repay me by getting me dumped? What kind of person does that?"

"Hey," she said defensively. "This isn't my fault. If you two hadn't been so stupid, I wouldn't have had anything to do with your love life. If you would keep me out of it, I would stay out of it, but you just keep dragging me back in. Leave my friends alone!"

He shook his head at her. "You can be so selfish sometimes. This wasn't about you, Laura! Not everything is about you!" he shouted, storming off to his bedroom. A part of him wanted to kick her out, but he knew he wouldn't be able to live with himself if he threw her out into the cold in the middle of the night and something happened. He slammed the door and went straight to bed.

Laura turned to look at Steve, who had backed away from the conversation when it clearly began to get out of hand. "What's his problem?" she asked.

Steve looked at her. Was she serious? Did she really not see how unfair she was being? His expression looked like a deer in headlights. How could he take her side in this? Did he have to take her side if he really disagreed with her? Dang, he was not ready to fight with her so early in their marriage. This one he could see coming. When they fought over Carl's rules or his career, he was always surprised he had said something to upset her. Now, he knew he was jumping off a cliff, but he always wanted to be honest with her…

Laura easily read his face. "What?" she snapped as she sat on the couch to look at him.

He sat next to her and grabbed her hand, unfolding her arms from her chest. He hoped that by physically changing her body language, he could change her feelings. "Um… Laura Lee, my queen, apple of my eye, love of my life, spam to my cake, cheese to m–"

"What is it, Steve?!" she interrupted.

"Do you really think making them break up was the right thing to do?" he asked quickly.

"Yes," she said firmly. "Max wanted to know how she could fix this, and that was the only way. She can't date my brother and be a good friend at the same time."

"But, Laura," Steve began, feeling guilty as he was forced into this difficult position, "the damage was already done, right? Couldn't you have let them stay together?"

"Steve," she said, glaring at him, "are you sure you want to take Eddie's side in this? As opposed to your wife's side?"

He swallowed hard and held her hand tighter, afraid she was going to bolt at any minute. "Um… You wouldn't want me to lie to you, would you?"

"No," she answered.

"Then I think this is the side I have to take, Sweetums. I'm sorry," he said as his face contorted in pain.

She chewed on her cheek in frustration. Then she shook her head adamantly. "I didn't do anything wrong. I don't wanna have this fight with you. It doesn't have anything to do with you anyway. Let's just forget about it."

"Laura, I'm your husband. Everything in your life has to do with me."

"Excuse me?"

"That came out wrong. I know you're a strong, independent woman, and I adore that about you, but everything in your life has an effect on me now, so this is my problem, too," Steve explained. "I don't want you to realize you've made a mistake when it's already too late to fix it."

"I didn't make a mistake, Steve!"

"You did, Sweetums. I'm sorry, but breaking up a couple is a mistake, no matter who it is. You have to let people figure that kind of thing out on their own, or they'll resent you for it. Look at our relationship with your father right now. That's how Eddie and probably Max are feeling about you. That's what puts your friendship in danger, not their relationship."

"God, Steve, just…" Laura said as her frustration peaked. Really, she had no comeback, so she didn't offer one. She stood from the couch, grabbed what she needed from her bags, and walked to the bathroom.

"Laura," Steve called after her. "Laura, wait!"

But she didn't stop. When Laura had finished her nightly routine, she came back to the couch. Steve had set up their bed and changed into his pajamas. He was waiting for her under the covers. She crawled in and turned away from him.

He stared at her for a long moment. At least, he wasn't excited anymore. The look in her eye was enough to make him lose any desire to be intimate with her for the time being. The only thing he wanted was to fix everything for her. He slipped off his glasses and curled up next to her. He wrapped his arms around her. "Laura, my sweet?" he whispered in her ear.

"I'm not in the mood, Steve," she said flatly. "We can't do it with Eddie home anyway. Just go to sleep."

"Sweetums, I just wanna talk."

"Well, I don't," she snapped.

He cringed at her tone. He thought he shouldn't push it any further. "Ok," he whispered. "Ok, let's just get some sleep," he suggested. He pulled her closer and closed his eyes. There was still one thing they had to say before he'd ever be able to sleep. "I love you," he said as gently as he could. He shut his eyes tight, praying for a response. When one didn't come, he began to plot hundreds of ways to apologize to her.

Laura was mad at him, but when she heard that, she knew she had to say something. She didn't, however, mind making him wait for it. "I love you, too," she said eventually. She heard him breathe a sigh of relief.

Things were frosty between all parties for the next few days. Laura and Steve got back on speaking terms, and more than speaking terms, but only by ignoring the problem. Whenever it came up, they were forced to change the subject or risk another fight. Laura was giving Eddie the silent treatment. Eddie was yelling at her every chance he got. Eddie was ignoring Steve's attempts to make him feel better, because they always made him feel worse. Laura called Max every day, but Max always came up with an excuse that cut the conversation short.

When Sunday finally rolled around, Laura was stressed; her stomach felt like she had eaten bad sushi. She slipped out of bed and went to the restroom. She splashed some cold water on her face and brushed her teeth. She was surprised to see Eddie's bed still empty. He had worked the previous night, but he was normally home before dawn. She assumed he had crashed at the station for some reason, probably to avoid her, and she didn't mind at all. She slipped back into the living room, wearing only Steve's dress shirt. She slinked back into bed and snuggled against him.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

She slid one hand into his boxers, wasting no time, and gripped his member. She smiled when she felt how hard he was. She loved mornings. She began to stroke him up and down, very slowly.

He reacted immediately. "Mmmm…" he moaned, still almost completely asleep. "Mmmmmm… Laura…" he purred.

She smiled at his sleepy face. She always seemed to be the only thing on his mind. She kissed him passionately and slowly pulled him out of Nappy Land.

When he grew more aware of what was happening, he broke the kiss and moaned. "Oh, Laura… Good morning, Kitten…" he purred. "You sure know the best way to wake a fella up."

She kissed him again. "I just needed a little comfort this morning, Honey. You don't mind, do you?"

"Not at all," he grinned.

She began to stroke faster.

"Oh, God. Oh, Sweetums… I'm getting close," he warned.

"Good, Steve," she said. "I want you to come for me." She kissed him again and slipped under the covers.

He looked down at the blanket covered lump near his groin. Soon, he felt his boxers ripped from his body and her lips wrap around his member. He watched intently as that lump moved up and down as her head bobbed in his lap. He started to tremble with excitement. "OH, LAURA!" he yelled. "Oh, yessss… Thank youuuuu…" he purred. He was too tired to control himself or distract himself, so she didn't have to lick and suck him long before he was teetering over the edge. "Oh, Baby… I love you so much…" he groaned under the strain.

She moaned for him, "Mmmmmm…"

Her sweet voice and the accompanying vibrations hitting his member sent him quickly over the edge. He pulled back the covers to meet her eyes. "LAURA. LAURA. LAURALAURALAURA," he grunted as his member began to fire his hot, white cum into her mouth. He groaned as he felt the muscles in her mouth move to swallow it. "Ohhhhhh, yessssssss…" he purred. "Please, swallow it. Please, Sweetums…"

When his cum stopped flowing into her mouth, she pulled her lips off of him and licked him clean. Then, she kissed her way back up his body, landing right on his lips. When she broke the kiss, she purred, "Did you like that?"

"You have the lips of an angel, my sweet," he cooed, stroking her hair.

"I don't think many angels do that, Steve," she teased.

"Then how can it be Heaven?" he asked with a snicker. He placed his hand on the back of her head and pulled her in for another kiss. "What's making you so affectionate this morning?"

She shrugged. She didn't really want to talk about it, but he stared at her with insistence. "Eddie didn't come home after work, and we have to get ready for my mom's brunch soon. I'm just feeling really uneasy."

He frowned at her. "Because you have to see your dad and deal with this Eddie thing?"

She rolled her eyes. He always had to state everything so clearly. "Yes," she confirmed.

"I'm sorry, Sweetums." He moved his hand down to her back and rubbed it in slow circles. "Let me know if there is anything I can do to make you feel better."

She raised an eyebrow at him. She rolled over so she was flat on her back. "I think you know how to make me feel better."

He smiled and bit his lip. He propped himself up on an elbow and looked down at her. "Do we have time?"

"Yes," she said, "it's still early, and we can be a little late if we have to."

He climbed on top of her and began to unbutton his shirt, exposing her naked body to him again. "You are so beautiful," he cooed as he slowly revealed her breasts, her stomach, and then finally, her womanhood.

"Thank you, Steve," she purred confidently as she watched his eyes devour her body.

When the last button was undone, she leaned up so he could slip the shirt from her shoulders. They stared at each other, reveling in the fact that they were naked together again. Neither one of them could believe where their lives had taken them, but they were both immeasurably thankful.

He leaned close to her and kissed her lips, then her neck, then her cleavage. Though she desperately wanted him to continue, he paused there. His hands trailed up her sides and gripped her breasts. He slowly massaged them, still kissing between them. "How does this feel, Sweetheart?" he asked softly.

"So good," she purred.

"And this?" He began to kiss her right breast, spiraling toward her sensitive nipple.

She felt it harden in anticipation. "Mmmm… Even better." He stuck his tongue out and licked her tip. She shivered with pleasure and the chill of his saliva mixing with the cool air on her delicate skin. "Ooooo…" she whined.

He began to suckle on it, enjoying the sight of her breast pressed close to his face and the feel of her nipple in his mouth. He sucked and sucked, trying to get it more and more erect.

All the while, she wiggled beneath him, trying to make contact with their most intimate parts. "Yes, Steve," she cooed. "Just like that, please."

He followed her directions as long as he could, but eventually he shifted to the other breast, treating it the same way. When he finally pulled away from her breasts, her dark, erect nipples pointed straight up to him. He paused happily to admire his work. Her breasts were shiny with his spit. Her nipples were sensitive and aroused. "You are so sexy," he purred.

She smiled at him and spread her legs further, hoping to hurry him along. "Thank you, Steve."

He glanced down as her legs offered him entry. He licked his lips as he stared at her wet womanhood, glistening in the sunlight shining in through Eddie's sheer curtains. Steve hated that Laura and Eddie were fighting, but he was very selfishly glad that Eddie hadn't come home the previous night. He leaned down and kissed her lips. He trailed his kisses slowly down her body until his head slipped all the way under the covers. He lay between her legs and examined her entrance in the near darkness. She looked incredible in any light.

Laura lay back on her pillow, waiting for her devoted husband to take care of her. Normally, she liked to watch him go down on her, but today, she didn't quite feel the romance of their time together. She just desperately wanted to get off to clear her head. He was the only one who could help her do that and the only one she'd ever allow. "Please, Steve," she whimpered, wiggling her hips. "I need you so bad." She heard a low rumble from beneath the covers, and then she gasped as she felt two of his fingers slip inside of her.

He pumped them in and out of her quickly. She was already close to ready for him, he could tell, but he wanted to send her over the edge before he satisfied his own desires. He prepared her as best he could, penetrating her again and again. He watched her writhe beneath him and listened carefully to the speed of her breath. Soon, he turned his fingers to stroke her favorite spot.

"Ohhhhh," she called as his fingers began to rub against her G-spot. "Steeeve…"

He smiled to himself as he heard her reaction to his touch. He was learning to play her like a musical instrument. He knew that to send her to ecstasy, he'd have to eat her, and he was more than willing to do that, but he wanted to tease her a little first. He wanted to learn to pleasure her in as many ways as possible.

She thrust her hips into his fingers again and again. She bit her lip and shut her eyes tightly. She tried to imagine she was anywhere but there. With her eyes closed, she and Steve were no longer making love on Eddie's half-broken pullout, but back on their honeymoon, making love in the condo. Her mind continued to wander, getting more and more adventurous. Soon, they were making love on the beach at sunset. His touch lit her fire, and she was nearly ready to beg him to take her, right on that beach, all alone, but she wanted to orgasm, and she knew that couldn't happen with him inside her, not yet anyway. "Oh, God, Steve! Please, eat me!"

He moved his fingers against her spot faster, but still refused to touch her clit, and still refused her request. "Don't you love this, Babycakes?" he teased.

"Mm… Yessss… But I need you to suck on my clit. God, Steve, make me come!" she called, growing frustrated with his nonchalance.

"Soon, my pet," he purred from beneath the covers.

"Ughhh…" she groaned, pulling a pillow over her face to muffle her frustration.

He moved his free hand up to her breast and pinched her nipple.

"Oh!" she gasped. "Steve, please."

He twisted and teased her nipple, enjoying her unsolicited begging. She just couldn't wait for it, could she?

"Please, Steve. I need you. I'll do anything," she moaned, removing the pillow from her face.

As much as he wanted to test that limit, he couldn't decide what he would ask her to do, so he gave in. Suddenly, his face descended to her entrance, and he lapped at her juices. "Mmmm… Yummers," he cooed in his silly Urkel voice.

She laughed and moaned at the same time. His enthusiastic tongue felt amazing, as it always did, but she could never help but laugh at his antics.

He moved up to her clit, sucking on it immediately. He felt her legs tighten around him as she finally had him just where she wanted him. He loved being in her vice-like grip.

She moaned even louder, "Oh, STEEEEEVE…" she cried as he sucked rhythmically on her sensitive button. She rocked up against him in ecstasy. "Oh, yessss… Don't stop. Don't stop. Don't stop," she begged again and again.

His fingers rubbed her hard in the same rhythm as his sucks. Knowing that the best way to satisfy her was always to hit her in her three magic spots, his left hand continued to tweak her nipple. All three areas were stimulated in the same rhythm. He felt her hips follow his lead as they rocked with him. Her breathing was the only thing out of sync. Her breathing was out of control.

Laura's head had finally cleared. Even her fantasy had disappeared. All she could think about was Steve and the sensations he was giving to her. She loved him uncontrollably for it. She was melting for him. "OHHHHHH, BABY…" she purred as she edged closer and closer to her destination. "OH, GOD, STEVE! I'm gonna come. Please, make me come," she begged.

He worked faster, desperate to push her over the edge. He tugged the blanket off of them, so he could watch her as she finally came. She looked down to make eye contact with him and suddenly, she threw her head back. She began to moan inarticulately and shake for him. He felt her clit pulsing against his lips and her womanhood squeezing his fingers in rhythm with her heartbeat.

"Unnnnhhhh…" she groaned. "OH, GOD, Steeeeeeeve…" she whined. Her eyes were tightly shut. "I love you," she whimpered several seconds later as she began to come down from ecstasy. Her heavy breathing hitched as she came to terms with the end of her orgasm. Why did they always end so soon? Her head had been clear for a moment, but then it had all come rushing back to her. So much for the afterglow this time around.

He pulled away from her as her body released him and climbed back on top of her. He tugged the comforter up to cover them again, knowing her sweat covered body would grow cold momentarily. He kissed her gently and looked at her face as he pulled away. Something wasn't right. "What's wrong? Did I not do it right?" he asked nervously. "I thought you… finished."

"I did," she sighed. She placed a hand on his cheek. "You were great. Really, Steve. It's not you."

"Then what is it?"

"I just thought that the feeling would last longer so I wouldn't have to think about everything for a while. It was almost worse forgetting about it for a minute and then having to come back to it all," she explained.

He frowned at her. His heart broke, knowing that she was too stressed to enjoy their lovemaking. "Well, um…" he began, deeply disappointed. "We should probably stop here then, huh?"

She shook her head adamantly. "Don't you dare," she ordered. "I need you, Steve. You're the only one who can make me feel better," she pouted.

"But, Sweetums, if it ends up making you feel worse–"

"Please, Steve. Please," she whined. "I need this so bad. Please."

He kissed her gently and whispered in her ear. "Ok, Love. Ok. I'm here. Let's make love, ok? It's gonna be ok, Pet. Steve's gonna make it all better, ok?"

She nodded, "Please."

He lined himself up with her entrance. He lifted himself a bit and pressed his nose to hers. He made intense eye contact as he began to slide his hardness inside of her. "Oh, Laura…" he whispered.

"Steve," she whispered back. He pushed in further, and she inhaled deeply. She held her breath, subconsciously bracing herself for the way he would stretch her.

He saw her chest inflate with her breath and nibbled her ear until she let it out again. "You have to breathe, Sweetums," he whispered. "Holding your breath will make it worse."

She nodded, trusting his knowledge of her body both as a scientist and as her lover. She focused on her breathing, keeping it as steady as possible as he began to pump in and out of her, sliding more in with each thrust. "Oh, Laura…" he moaned as he began to get into the rhythm. He began to worry less about her and just enjoyed the sensations. He was still attentive to her needs and addicted to pleasing her, but he didn't worry as much. He just let his love guide him. Finally, he was buried in her to his base. He leaned his forehead to hers and took a moment to breathe, allowing her to adjust to his size and giving them both the chance to savor the sensation of being completely connected. "I love you," he groaned.

"I love you, too," she whispered. "I'm ready, Steve. I need it. Please," she begged softly, staring deeply into his concerned eyes.

He nodded his assent and began to slowly move in and out of her again. The feeling of her tight warmth enveloping him sent shivers up his spine, as it always did.

The feeling of his member in her deepest depths made her stomach hot and tight, as it always did. It was like the butterflies he normally inspired exploded inside of her as he made love to her. She focused on that feeling, keeping her eyes open to watch him. She couldn't keep her mind off of her troubles, as much as she wanted to, but as he made love to her, she was reminded that there was no reason to worry. Whatever went wrong in her life, she had one person who would always put her first. She had one person who would always love her. She had one person who would always be there for her. Plus, she had someone who could make her feel better than she ever had whenever she asked him to. "Oh, Steve," she purred. "Mmmm… That's it. Right there," she ordered as he began to get into just the right rhythm in all the right spots.

He tried to keep his brain focused on the task at hand, making all her problems go away. It was his job to make her happy, but he didn't know how to do it in this situation. What he did know was that he wanted her to come again. He was committed to it. He really believed he could do it this time. That is, he thought he could do it until he heard her voice again.

"Ohhhhh, yes… Harder, Steve. Please, I need you. It feels so good," she begged.

Her sweet voice demanding more of him was too much to take. As much as he wanted to and as hard as he tried, he simply didn't have the stamina to give her what she needed this way. He followed her directions and thrust harder and faster, but that only made it worse. He knew he was past the point of no return. His grunts told her the same thing. " . ."

"Mmmm," she moaned as she felt him increase his power and speed, only to hear his voice change, letting her know her time was almost up. "Oh! Steve, don't stop! Don't stop! Hold on for me!" she shouted to him, but he could barely hear her over the sound of his pulse. She watched as his eyes locked on hers, and she knew her fun was definitely over.

"Oh, GOD, LAURA!" he yelled as he began to come inside of her. His member continued to pound in and out of her as he released his seed.

"OH, STEVE!"

" .Laura. Laura. Laura. Laura Lee. Oh, Laura," he moaned.

"Steve, I love you. Don't stop. Ohh…" she encouraged.

"Laura… Laura… Laura…" he whispered as his thrusts slowed. He collapsed on top of her, "Lauraaaa…" He was suddenly hit by a wave of guilt that he hadn't been able to get her where she needed to go. He held his forehead to hers, breathing heavily. He still hadn't looked away, nor had she. "I'm so sorry, Pet. I couldn't keep going. I tried."

She smiled softly. "That's ok, Baby. That's totally ok. We'll figure it out," she promised.

He nodded, "I'm really trying."

"I know. Thank you. That felt so good."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Did it make you feel better?"

"Better? Yes, but it didn't make my problems go away."

He slowly pulled out of her and lay at her side. "I know. Sweetums, if there were anything I could do to fix any of this for you…" he said, as he trailed off, allowing his promise to remain implied.

"I know," she said, kissing his cheek.

He took her left hand and held it as it rested on her stomach. He stroked her ring finger and looked to her shyly. "Do you want to do it again?"

She smirked at the timid look on his face. Sometimes, it was like having sex with a bunny rabbit, in more ways than one. He always looked innocent and sweet. Plus, he never ran out of energy. As much as she wanted to spend the rest of her day with him in bed, ignoring her difficulties, it just wasn't an option on Mother's Day. "I do," she answered, "but we can't."

He nodded understandingly. "Ok, well… Then I guess we better get going," he suggested, rolling to the edge of the bed. He stood, still naked, and turned back to her. He bit his lip and looked back at her mischievously. He twiddled his thumbs and cocked his head in her direction. "I was gonna get in the shower. Wanna join me?"

She giggled and rolled her eyes. "Steve," she scolded lightly. He continued to stare her down. After a moment of thought, she looked back at him. "Well, we don't wanna run up Eddie's water bill by showering separately, do we?" she teased.

He bounced up and down excitedly as he watched her get out of bed. "Race ya!" he called as he bolted to the bathroom to turn on the shower.

When Laura was finally ready to go, she walked out and found Steve waiting for her by the door. "Ready, Steve?" she asked.

"Darn tootin'," he grinned, hoping his cheer could keep her spirits up.

She smiled at him as he opened the door for her. She stepped halfway through it before she remembered she had to ask him something. "Oh, wait," she said, pausing. "Did you call your mom?" His brow furrowed, but Laura couldn't discern the emotion. Was it guilt because he hadn't called her? Was he feeling neglected because he knew his mother didn't care if he did call? Had he already called, but received a less than kind response? She reached for his hand and squeezed it, hoping to ease whatever emotion it was.

"Uh… No, not yet."

"Well, it's a pretty big time difference, right?" she asked cautiously. She didn't want to pressure him into it, but she was pretty sure he hadn't called his parents since the wedding, and she didn't want him to completely lose that relationship if it was something he still yearned for, and he sure seemed to. He didn't even seem mad that they hadn't come for the wedding. She certainly was, but she didn't feel it was her place to discourage his respect for his parents if they were still important to him. Instead, she tried her best to appear supportive, so he would feel comfortable confiding in her when they inevitably neglected him.

"Eight hours," he nodded.

"So it's already almost seven there," she reminded him.

"I know, Love," he said softly, kissing her forehead. "Let's just get going."

"We can be a little late," she offered. He shook his head and walked out the door. Laura followed close behind him, locking the door after him. She couldn't imagine what it felt like to have parents like he did. Whenever it came up, she wished there was something she could do to make it all better for him, but it never seemed like she could do enough.

Laura and Steve stepped onto the porch of the Winslow house just after 11:00 and paused. Steve looked at Laura. She didn't look anywhere near ready to go in. He grabbed her hand and pulled her to the swing on the front porch. He sat down and pulled her down beside him. He put his arm around her and was relieved when he felt her set the gifts they brought to her side and relax against him. "Are you ok?" he asked.

"No," she answered. "Are you?"

He thought for a moment. For once in his life, he was not looking forward to spending time with Carl Winslow, but he was looking forward to celebrating his first real Mother's Day. Plus, he only had one uncomfortable situation awaiting him inside. "Yeah, I'm ok."

She sat up straighter and turned to look him in the eye. "I know we haven't exactly been on the same page the past few days," she admitted, "but I can't do this without you, Steve."

"You don't have to, my pet. I'll be by your side the whole time."

She stared at him. "Will you be on my side the whole time?"

He didn't know what to say. "Laura Lee, I am always on your side. I only want what's best for you. Even when it doesn't feel like I'm on your side, because we're disagreeing about something, I am on your side. I'm just trying to help you," he promised.

She nodded. That wasn't the answer she was hoping for, but she knew it was as good as it was going to get. She looked ahead of her again.

"I love you," he reminded her in a singsong voice.

"I know," she said. He waited, staring at her. "I love you, too," she said eventually.

He leaned forward and kissed her cheek. Then he stood and offered her a hand. He helped her stand, and she grabbed the presents and took his arm. He led her toward the door. Just before he opened it, he paused again. "Ready?" he asked, looking at her at his side.

She nodded firmly, but said nothing. She held her breath as he opened the door.

He led her into the living room where Estelle, Fletcher, Richie, and 3J were sitting. "Hey!" Estelle said standing. "There's my favorite grandson-in-law!" Estelle chirped. She walked up to Steve and hugged him. She kissed his cheek and smiled up at him.

"Happy Mother's Day, Estelle," Steve beamed, proud to have been greeted so enthusiastically.

"Thank you, Sugar," she smiled, pinching his cheek. She turned to Laura and hugged her, too.

"Happy Mother's Day, Grandma," Laura smiled, relaxing into her grandmother's arms. At least in that moment, she didn't care about any of the stupid drama she was dealing with. That was what motherhood was about, making all of the problems melt away for a child in distress, at least for a moment. Laura hated the idea of letting go, but she eventually did.

"How is everything goin' for the Urkels?" she asked, holding Laura's hands.

Laura looked down. "Fine," she replied.

Estelle raised an eyebrow at her and turned to Steve. "There's no way I'm buyin' that. What's goin' on?"

"Nothing, Estelle," Steve said dismissively. "It's silly."

Laura glared at him. "It's not silly."

"I thought we didn't want to talk about this today," he reminded her.

"Well, if you're gonna call it silly, maybe we should get some other opinions," she threatened.

"Laura, I don't think Eddie would appreciate–"

Laura set the gifts they brought down on the coffee table and sat on the arm of a chair. "Eddie and Max have been sleeping together since the wedding when Eddie and Greta broke up. They hid it from me until I caught them out to dinner together. I was furious, so when Max asked what she could do to fix it, I said they had to break up, so they did," Laura explained. "Steve thinks what I did was wrong. I think it was totally justified. Thoughts?" she asked the room.

Estelle stared at her in shock. Steve sat down in the chair beside Laura and waited for everyone to take his side. Fletcher, Richie, and 3J glanced at each other and walked out of the room, having no desire to deal with that drama.

"Well, I don't see how that's any of your business, Laura," Estelle said curtly as she sat back down in the chair opposite them.

Laura's jaw dropped. She really wasn't going to take her side? "Of course, it's my business!" she said. "It's my brother and my best friend."

"Well, you married Eddie's best friend, and he never threw a fit," Estelle countered.

Laura looked at Steve uncomfortably. "Pshh…" she scoffed after a moment, turning back to Estelle. "Steve is not Eddie's best friend."

"Hey!" Steve barked.

Laura looked back to Steve, her face softening in pity. "Oh, I'm sorry, Baby," she said, placing a comforting hand on his back. She began to rub it gently. "I just meant, Eddie's your best friend, besides me, but he has his friends from school and now his friends on the force. Eddie loves you, but his best friend?"

"How do you define 'best friend', Laura?" Estelle interjected. "I think a best friend is the friend you spend the most time with, the friend who would do anything for you, the friend you'd do anything for, the friend you love like family. Face it. At least since Waldo left, that's Steve for Eddie, whether he'd be willing to admit it or not."

Laura grew even more defensive. "Even if that's true, it's still different. I met Steve way before Eddie did. I had dibs."

"Oh, Laura," Estelle pressed, "why don't you want Eddie and Max to date?" Estelle felt like she was leading a horse to water, not even at the point where she had to try to make this stubborn mare drink.

"Because if they really developed a relationship, and it didn't work out, I'd lose my best friend."

"And if you had chosen Stefan, where would Steve be right now?"

Laura looked at Steve sadly. She didn't even like to think about that possibility. "Russia," she answered more quietly.

"And Eddie would have lost his best friend," Estelle concluded. She paused. "Have you even called Greta?"

"Well, no, but–"

"Then how do you know that you've lost her? She was your bridesmaid two weeks ago."

Laura shrugged. "I don't know that I want to be her friend now. That's the point. It doesn't matter which one of them messes it up. It's going to become a huge problem at some point."

"Unless they make it," Steve added.

Laura looked at him. "Steve, not everything is a fairytale. Most relationships fail. They've only been on a couple of dates."

"I think they're perfect for each other," Estelle smiled.

"I do, too," Steve agreed.

"What is with you two? I'm trying to have a practical conversation, and you two are talking like this is a cheesy rom-com!" Laura whined.

"Think about it, Laura," Estelle pushed. "They both decided college wasn't right for them. They both found something else they really love and do very well. Neither of them is book-smart, but they're street-smart. They both had fun playing the field for a while but are looking for something more serious now."

"They're both a little rebellious," Steve added.

"Especially when they were younger," Estelle agreed.

"But they're both fantastic people who love you and would do anything for you, Laura," Steve finished.

Laura was getting desperate as she tried to justify herself. This was getting to be too much for her. "Well, don't opposites attract?" Laura argued with a large flail of her arms. "I mean, look at me and Steve!"

Estelle smiled, "Oh, Laura, Sugar, you still think you and Steve are opposites?"

Laura stared at her. Wasn't it obvious?

"Don't get me wrong. You have your differences, but you and Steve are more similar than you are different. Why do you think I've been pushing for you two to get together for so long?"

Laura waited for her to prove her stance.

Estelle shook her head and sat up straighter. "You're both smart. You both do well in school. You both love school. You both have big dreams, and you're both well on your way to accomplishing them. You're both huge flirts."

"Wait," Laura interrupted. "No, Steve's not a flirt."

"Honey, just because you're the only one he flirts with doesn't mean he's not a flirt."

Laura looked down at him again. She had a point.

"Neither of you is very wild. In fact, both of you are goody two-shoes. You're both hopeless romantics."

"No, I'm not!"

"Do you like it when Steve showers you in affection?"

"Well, of course, but that doesn't mean I'm not a practical thinker."

"You're both very logical," Estelle agreed, "almost to a fault, but you're very passionate. When either of you feels something, you never let it go. That persistence is what is going to get you two through. Eddie and Max are going to have to work a little harder, because they're not as stubborn as you two, but they're certainly compatible."

Laura folded her arms across her chest. "They seem pretty stubborn to me," she pouted.

"Mhmm… But they can't compete with you two," Estelle said, pointing at them.

Laura stood up. She knew she was losing this battle, so her only chance was escape. "Look, I… Um… I have to go to the ladies' room," she said as she walked off to the bathroom in Estelle's former room.

Estelle and Steve watched her go, and then they turned to each other. "So," Estelle began, "other than that drama and my son, is it everything you hoped it would be?"

"Even better," Steve smiled bashfully.

When Laura was done calming herself down in the bathroom, she headed back to the living room, only to bump directly into her father just outside the door. "Oh," she said as they collided. She looked up at him. "Hi, Dad," she said softly.

"Hi, Sweetheart," he smiled as his heart ached. He took her into his arms and hugged her tightly. He held his breath as he waited for her to hug him back, which she eventually did. When he finally let go of her, his smile appeared more relaxed. He really was glad to see her. "How are you?"

She shook her head and looked at him in disbelief. "Not great," she said. "I'm sleeping on a pullout couch in my brother's living room."

"You can come home," he argued, his brow furrowing.

"Can Steve?" she asked as she grew more agitated with him again.

"Laura, I think I've been pretty clear about that," Carl said flatly.

Laura looked away from him to hide how wet her eyes were becoming. She scoffed. "You certainly have." She lifted her hand quickly to wipe her unwelcome tears.

He softened again when she began to cry. He moved to hug her, but she smacked his incoming arms away.

"Don't touch me," she spat. She turned to him, tears still flowing, though now her eyes were filled with anger. "I don't know what your problem is, but I'm done with it. I'm done with you if you're going to keep acting like this. Steve Urkel is my husband, and if you can't get over yourself and be happy for me, I don't want to see you anymore. We wouldn't be here today if Mom hadn't guilted me into coming. We won't come back if this is the kind of welcome we get."

He glared at her. His daughter had a sharp tongue when she felt she needed one, though he knew she got that from him. He moved past her and went into the bathroom.

Laura walked out and headed into the kitchen. She put on a big fake smile to greet her mother, because she didn't have much of a choice. When Steve saw her head to the kitchen, he and Estelle followed her.

"Hi, Mom!" Laura smiled when she saw her mother. "Happy Mother's Day!" she cheered as she hugged her and kissed her on the cheek.

"Thank you, Baby!" Harriette smiled, hugging and kissing her back. Harriette held on for as long as she could, knowing Laura may not be willing to come back for a while if they couldn't fix things with Carl. Based on his attitude today, it seemed unlikely that would happen.

When she finally let go of Laura, Steve hugged Harriette, too. "Happy Mother's Day, Mom," he grinned proudly as he held her tightly. He held her as long as she let him, simply because he had never gotten enough Mom hugs. Mom-hugs were different than Laura-hugs. He felt he had been denied both of them for far too long, and he was going to take them every chance he got.

When Harriette pulled away, she looked at Laura and Steve, then at 3J standing by the counter, and then back at Eddie who was already sitting at the table. "It's so good to have all my babies under one roof," she beamed.

Laura smiled at her mother. Then she glanced at Eddie and wondered if her mother knew about the drama that had the potential to dampen their little reunion. "Ow!" Laura jumped as Harriette pinched her arm.

"That's for trying to ruin my Mother's Day with your pettiness. Laura, you owe your brother an apology, and you need to call Max right now and tell her you made a mistake."

Laura glared at her brother. "Tattletale," she mouthed to him.

Steve rolled his eyes. Laura was an amazing woman, but in the right situation with her brother, she tended to act like she was twelve years old again. Not that Eddie was any better; he stuck his tongue out at her.

Laura looked back at her mother. "C'mon, Mom. Do we have to do this on Mother's Day?"

"Yes," she said seriously, "because I can only deal with one family feud at a time, and you and your father aren't budging."

Laura rolled her eyes and sat down at the table. "Do I at least get to tell my side of the story?" she asked.

"Oh, we know your side," Rachel said.

"You're on my side?" Laura asked, turning to her hopefully.

"No," Rachel said pointedly, "because your side is stupid. I just mean we get it. You're afraid of losing Max if their relationship goes south."

Harriette sat beside her daughter and took her hand. "Laura, you're never gonna lose Max. You two have been friends for years. You can get through a break-up if that's where their relationship goes, but you can't get through this. Have you talked to Max since you made her break up with Eddie?"

"Yes," Laura answered emphatically, "every day."

"Well, yeah," Steve interrupted, "but she always comes up with some excuse to avoid talking to you."

Laura glared at him. "Shut up, Steve."

Harriette nodded. "Mhmm. She's mad at you, Honey, and she's not gonna stop being mad until you fix this."

Laura turned to Eddie. "Do you really not understand why I don't want you to date Max? Are you that clueless?"

"I understand, Laura, but I really like her. I like her more than I care about your feelings, and I really do care about your feelings, Sis," he answered, pleading with her sincerely for the first time since they had begun to fight.

Laura shook her head. "Do you wanna marry her?"

"Laura, we just started dating."

"Then how can you expect me to put my faith in this relationship if you can't?" she pressed.

"How can you ask me to commit to a relationship that I just started? You couldn't commit to Steve for 15 years!"

"Exactly. I know you can't commit to her yet, and that's why I don't want to take any risks."

"But it's too late, Laura, just like it was too late when you started dating Steve. You kept him in the friend zone for years, but once you went on a date with him, there was no going back. You were either going to be with him, or we were never gonna see him again, and I don't think you realized that then, but that's the truth. I can't un-date Maxine. Now that I've opened the box, you've gotta let me see what's inside!"

"Max, is a grown woman," Laura argued. "She can make her own decisions."

"You didn't give her any choice, Laura!" Eddie yelled.

"Hey, everybody," Carl said as he walked into the kitchen. "Look who I found!"

Max followed in after him. "Hey," she said softly with a small wave of her hand.

The kitchen grew very tense. Carl alone was unable to properly read the vibe. Carl glanced at Steve and scowled. He went to the counter and took a cookie from a platter. He began to eat and finally looked around at the uncomfortable expressions surrounding him. "Oh, great! Is everybody mad at me, now?"

"Yes," Estelle answered quickly, "but that's not why everyone's so quiet." She turned to Max. "Max, Honey, come sit down."

Max played with her hands uncomfortably. She glanced at Laura and Eddie, both of whom avoided her eyes. "Maybe I should just go," she said in embarrassment.

"No!" Laura and Eddie responded quickly in unison. They looked at each other, both waiting for the other to make their case.

Laura sighed when Eddie refused to speak first. "Max, sit down," she said.

Max looked at her hesitantly, but eventually sat down across from Laura.

"I'm glad you're here," Laura smiled with great strain.

Max nodded. "I didn't really wanna come, but my only other option was to stay with my parents all day, so…"

Laura nodded. She didn't like to think about Max's situation at home. It wasn't anything like Steve's was. Her parents had introduced her to all of her relatives, and they had never left her alone for whole vacations when she was only fifteen, but she didn't have the kind of support system that Laura had always had, and Laura knew she wasn't considerate enough of that. "Is your mom having a good Mother's Day?"

"She and my dad are about to rip each other's heads off, so it's a pretty normal Sunday over there," Max answered with a shrug.

Estelle gave her hand a squeeze. This poor child needed a little bit of Winslow in her life just like Steve did.

Steve had gotten that feeling, too. He was grateful to finally be a part of this family, even if it meant Carl would stare daggers at the back of his head for the rest of his life the way he was at that moment. "I remember one Mother's Day when I was eight years old," he said, as he sat in the chair beside Laura. He looked at Max, but really, he was telling this story for Laura's benefit. "I had been saving all my loose change for Mother's Day so I could buy my mom a present with my own money. When the day finally came, I went out to the yard to pick her a flower before I went shopping, but I didn't realize that it was one of my mother's prized orchids. I just picked it out of the pot like it was nothing, and in the process, I knocked all the other pots down to the ground in true Steve Urkel fashion. When my mom came out to investigate the noise, she saw years of her hard work broken and dying on the ground, and I was standing there in the middle, holding a bent flower. She screamed at me and told me to go away. That was back before Carl had tried to set me up with Laura for that dance, so I didn't feel like a member of the family here yet, so I just kind of went to the porch and sat. I peeked in the window and saw the Winslows celebrating Mother's Day like a family is supposed to, and I imagined what it would be like to be a part of it as Laura's husband someday. It's even better than I dreamed," he smiled at Laura as he squeezed her hand. She looked back at him with that look he didn't like, but he put up with it for Max and Eddie's sake. He continued to look at Laura. "Laura Lee, I can't tell you how much it meant to me to have this hope when my parents made my life miserable. Thank you."

Laura continued to stare at him. No wonder he hadn't called his mother yet. She imagined that wasn't even the worst Mother's Day he could think of, but it sure did the trick. Laura looked back at Max. "Max, you know you're a part of this family, right?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"No matter what," Laura added.

Max nodded.

"I have been the blindest person in the world the past few days because I forgot the 'no matter what' part."

"What are you saying, Laura?"

"I'm sorry, Max. You're like a sister to me, and I was afraid that something would happen between you two, and I'd lose you, but I won't lose you. You're as much a part of this family as Steve was when he was a kid, and we couldn't get rid of him to save our lives," she chuckled, squeezing his hand.

Max laughed nervously. "Laura, I'm always going to be your friend," she promised.

"I know that. Even if Steve had gone to Russia if I had chosen Stefan, he would have stayed in contact with Eddie. Right?" she asked, turning to Steve.

Steve shrugged. "Actually, I don't really–"

"Steve, shut up!" Eddie barked, punching him in the arm.

Laura ignored his uncertainty and continued her apology. "Maybe… Maybe it's ok if you and Eddie date for a while. It wouldn't be the worst thing in the world if you got to really become a part of the family."

Max glared at her suspiciously. "Are you sure, Laura? Because I don't want to do anything that's gonna make you resent me."

"You mean, the way you've been secretly resenting me for the past couple days?"

"Yeah, I don't want to be on the receiving end of that," Max said seriously.

Laura laughed. "It's fine, Max. Really."

Max and Steve jumped from their chairs excitedly. Max ran over to Steve and hugged him tightly. "Ah! It worked!"

Laura's jaw dropped, and she glared up at him. "What worked?"

Steve looked down at Laura, slightly ashamed. "Oh, it was nothing, Sweetums. I just… kind of… I suggested to Max that if I told a sad enough story, you might become a little more compassionate."

"I'm sorry," she said, standing to challenge him. She crossed her arms across her chest. "Was that story not true?" she said through a tensely clenched jaw.

"Oh, no, it was completely true! Heck, I have way worse Mother's Day stories than that, but that one was chosen specifically to make you realize how lucky you are to have a family like this."

She couldn't believe her ears. "Steve, can I see you in the other room, please?" she snarled through bared teeth.

He gulped, "Sure, my love. You know I'd do anything for you." She stormed off into the living room and pulled him down on the couch. "Oof," he grunted as he landed.

"C'mon, Steve. You know it's not ok to manipulate me like that," she said beseechingly.

"I know, Pet, but desperate times…" he tried to explain. He felt guilty about his little scheme, but she and Max were friends again, and she was only minutes away from reuniting with Eddie. He had fixed everything, hadn't he?

She pouted. "That's not how grown-ups handle their relationship problems, Steve. You shouldn't have to trick me into agreeing with you."

"Maybe we could both stand to improve a little in the area of conflict resolution," he suggested softly.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, Sweetums, you have to admit, you've been a little unreasonable the past few days," he said, averting his eyes to his lap.

She sighed. "Maybe I have been."

He looked back up at her in surprise. She was really going to admit to a little wrongdoing? She really was maturing.

"But that doesn't justify you plotting behind my back!" she reiterated. "What? Have you been calling Max and gossiping about me for days?"

"No," he reassured her, grabbing her hand. "I called her once this morning, while you were doing your hair, to suggest she come by today and let me try to convince you. I didn't even tell her what I was going to say. That was all natural on her end."

"Really?" Laura asked.

"Yes," he nodded sincerely. "I'm sorry it came to this, my sweet, but I don't regret doing it," he admitted honestly.

"I don't like it," she pouted again.

"But do you like the results?" he asked, tipping her chin up to look at him.

"Yes," she admitted begrudgingly.

"Then, can I get a 'Thank you' kiss?" he smiled.

"No," she said pointedly. He frowned and looked back at his lap. "But you can get an 'I forgive you' kiss," she said softly, leaning up to kiss him. She placed her hand under his chin and pulled his lips to hers. They kissed for a long minute, but eventually, she pulled away and stood. "We should get back in there."

"I love you," he blurted out quickly.

She smiled at him and held out her hand. He took it, and she began to lead him back into the kitchen. "I love you, too," she promised, as she pulled him back through the swinging door. Laura looked around the kitchen. "Where are Eddie and Max?" she asked.

Harriette pointed to the backyard. Laura peeked out of the window, and she could clearly see them arguing. She rolled her eyes. And people wondered what she was so afraid of. She stormed out to the backyard, and Steve followed closely behind her.

"Why are you being so difficult?" Max yelled.

"Because you–"

"Hey!" Laura interrupted. "Hey! That's enough," she growled, getting between them. "Honestly, what is with you two? You put me through hell for days just to break up when I'm finally on board?"

Eddie scoffed at her. "No, Laura, we broke up days ago, remember? You convinced Max to dump me. Now, she comes waltzing back in like that didn't even bother me. Well, it did!"

"Eddie," Laura snapped, "if you didn't even want her back, why did you go and tattle on me to Mom? Why have you been giving me such a hard time?"

"Because I'm mad at you, Laura! You wrecked a really good thing, and you weren't even sorry about it! That ticked me off."

"I am sorry now, Eddie!" Laura yelled back. "I really am, but I can't undo it. You two just need to try to start over!"

"I don't know if I can do that," Eddie said, throwing his hands in the air in defeat.

"Yes, you can," Steve interjected. He stepped forward and placed a comforting arm around Laura's waist. "If you two are really meant to be together, you can start over as many times as it takes. If not, then it was never gonna work out anyway."

Eddie shook his head. "She dumped me, Steve."

"Laura rejected me thousands of times," Steve said with a wave of his hand, "but when they finally come around, it's more than worth it." He smiled at her and kissed her cheek.

Eddie turned to Max and looked at her. As weird as he thought his sister's relationship with the infamous Steve Urkel was, he desperately wanted to find the same kind of love. Maybe forgiving this little hiccup was the first step toward figuring out if he and Max could ever feel that way about each other. He ran a hand over his face and stepped toward her. "I'm sorry, Maxine. I get why you broke it off, and I should have been more understanding of that."

"I should never have done it, Eddie," she admitted, glancing at Laura sideways. "I should've chosen you."

He shook his head. "No, we had just started dating. You made the right choice. I'm just glad you didn't give up."

"Have you given up?" she asked shyly.

"No," he said. "I've really felt something for you lately, Max, and I really want to give us a try."

"Me too," she agreed, stepping closer. He smiled at her and put his hands on her hips.

Laura looked away and pressed her face into Steve's neck. Ick.

Steve smiled as he watched them kiss. He was just happy to see two of his best friends happy.

"Ok, Laura," Eddie smiled. "We're done kissing. You can come out now."

She looked at him and rolled her eyes. She grabbed Steve's hand and led him back into the kitchen where they were finally able to start their brunch.

While Laura and Steve were still at odds with Carl, they were able to ignore him well enough, and because Laura wouldn't take her hands off of Steve, he ignored them right back. Brunch was peaceful. Steve, Laura, Eddie, and Max cleared the table, leaving the moms and the others to rest. Then, finally, it was time for presents.

Steve bolted from the room to grab their gifts off of the coffee table. "I got 'em! I got 'em!" he called back to Laura, as if she were going to try to race him. She laughed and sat next to her mom. Steve scurried back into the room and handed a small bag to Harriette, a medium box to Rachel, and a large box to Estelle. "Happy Mother's Day!" he chirped. He sat next to Laura and whispered in her ear. "I was finally able to buy a Mother's Day present with my own money!" She smiled at him and placed a hand on his knee. Carl averted his eyes to dampen his anger.

"Now, Mom, Grandma, Aunt Rachel, Steve is very excited about these gifts. They're the first Mother's Day gifts he has ever picked out, so be nice," she joked.

"You're gonna love them," Steve said confidently.

Harriette opened her card, read it quietly, and hugged Laura. Then she went for the present. She pulled a tiny box out of the tiny bag. She opened it and found a small, heart-shaped frame. Inside was a picture of Laura and Steve just after Steve had returned from space. Engraved on the side was their wedding date.

"We don't have the real pictures, yet," Laura explained, "so we had to put something there as a placeholder."

"Oh, it's beautiful, Honey," Harriette smiled, hugging Laura again.

Laura hugged her back, but explained, "It was all Steve. He found it. He wanted to get it engraved. He found a picture to put in it for now."

Harriette let go of Laura and stood to hug Steve. "Thank you, Steve. I love it."

Steve hugged her back as long as she let him. When she let go and sat back down, he bounced up and down excitedly. "Ok, ok. It's Rachel's turn. It's Rachel's turn."

Rachel read the card and lifted the lid on her box. She pulled out a beautiful 8x10 frame with a photo of all of them from last Christmas.

"You have to put in one of the family pictures from the wedding as soon as we get them," Laura explained again.

"We thought that could be the first thing you hang in your new, dream house, once you find it," Steve announced excitedly.

"Of course! Thank you, guys," she said, hugging them both.

Finally, they turned to Estelle.

Estelle found a much larger frame in her box. In it was one of their tickets to Florida, a picture of them on the balcony of the condo, and a postcard with a hand written thank-you note on it. "Oh, look at that," she said as she showed everybody in the room. Estelle stood so she could hug and kiss them both.

"Happy Mother's Day!" Steve smiled as he hugged her back.

As dinnertime approached, Max and Eddie headed out for a little reunion date. Laura and Steve got ready to go back to the apartment. Harriette walked them to the door. She hugged Laura again and held her hands as she pulled away. "Don't go back to Eddie's, Laura," she urged. "Just stay here."

Laura let go of her hands and wrapped an arm around Steve's waist. "I wish we could Mom, but it's not an option. Steve and I are so much happier at Eddie's than we were here."

"I hate that you don't feel comfortable here."

"I do, too, Mom, but can you blame me? Daddy didn't even come out to say goodbye to us. He hasn't said a word to Steve all day."

"Believe me. I know. I've been trying to get him to apologize to you since you left, but he's not budging."

"Would you live in a house with your family if they treated Dad like that?"

"No," Harriette answered with a frown.

Laura shrugged. "Steve's been through a lot in his life. I never wanted the first few weeks of our marriage to be this hard."

Steve rubbed her shoulder, but remained silent through the conversation. He couldn't fathom spending time with Carl after what he had said, but he didn't want to come between Laura and her family, so he stayed quiet to allow her the freedom to make any and all decisions she so desired.

"Laura," Harriette asked again, "what did he say to you?"

Laura glanced at Steve and went back to the couch. He followed her, and she cuddled against him again. Neither one of them liked telling the story, but it was time. "He said that he didn't think our marriage would last and that I had made a huge mistake."

"Just like that?" Harriette asked in disbelief, sitting on a chair facing them.

"Pretty much," Laura shrugged.

Steve nodded in agreement.

Harriette fumed. "Carl Winslow! Get in here right now!" she yelled.

"Oh, Mom, please, don't–" Laura began as Carl barged into the living room.

He glanced at Laura and Steve and cringed. "What is it, Harriette?"

"You told your daughter you didn't think her marriage would last?" she growled.

Carl stood his ground while Laura and Steve sank into the couch. "It won't," he said.

"Carl!" Harriette scolded. "You don't get to treat our children like that! What is wrong with you?"

"Maybe we should go," Steve suggested, trying to stand up.

Harriette stood, landed a hand firmly on his chest, and pushed him back down. "Sit down, Steve." Harriette approached Carl menacingly. "I think I've put up with this fight long enough, Carl. It's Mother's Day, and we're going to fix this whether you like it or not."

"There's nothing to fix, Harriette. Laura will come around when she realizes her mistake. Until then, it's a waiting game."

Laura had heard enough. "Excuse me?" she stood abruptly. "I'm not going to sit here again while you badmouth my marriage." She turned to Steve. "C'mon, Steve, let's–"

"Sit. Down. Laura," Harriette ordered in her angriest voice.

Laura sat immediately. Her father got mad so often that it no longer fazed her, but her mother saved it for special occasions. She paid attention when Harriette was angry. When she heard that voice, she felt like she was six years old again and sat her butt down.

"Carl," Harriette pressed in an eerily calm voice, "why don't you think Laura and Steve are going to make it?"

Carl was feeling intimidated too. He finally felt pushed enough to reveal the secret behind his sudden change of heart. "She's supposed to go to Harvard," he said softly.