Title- Fearless, Reckless Pursuit

Author- pepsicolagurl

Rating- PG13 for language. My swear jar is sitting in front of me, as well as a pile of quarters. Let's see how well I do.

Disclaimer- See Chapter One.

Author's Notes- I'm executing my creative license, and creating a bit of backstory for the characters in the story. So, not everything is right, but in my world, it sounds better. Enjoy and let me know what you think.


Fearless, Reckless Pursuit
Chapter Two

The finest tapestry takes patience and the ability to wait
For each thread to support the bigger picture and the larger purpose
And in the fearless, reckless pursuit of intimate love
It is not the destination, it's the journey


He looked up, examining the woman in front of him. Her short brown hair, barely brushing her shoulders, framed her face, as she dipped her head, playing with the spoon in her coffee cup. One lock of hair had broken away from the rest and was hanging down her face, hiding one deep brown eye. "Andrea, are you all right?" Chris asked softly, causing her head to come up.

Her hand brushed away the stray strands of hair, and removed the spoon from her coffee, laying it down along the saucer. "I'm fine. Just thinking."

"I know you well enough to know that you're lying. You frown when you think. You purse your lips when you're pissed off, and you were pursing your lips. What gives? Jay's not around, so there's no reason for you to be mad."

She blinked her eyes innocently. "Please. Don't you know that I spend most of my days plotting how I'm going to kill him?" she asked, before shaking her head. "That wasn't even worth the chuckle that you gave it, Chris. I'm just...did you see how excited Christie was earlier?"

His head bobbed up and down in a nod, short blonde hair brushing his cheek. "Yeah. How could I miss it? She was practically bouncing off the walls, and she usually only does that when I sneak her a chocolate bar. Christie loves seeing Jay, you know that. She looks forward to these visits all the time."

"Yes, but how often does Jason want to see Christie? It's going to be the same story all over again. When I get home, she's going to tell me all about how he promised that he would stop by on the next weekend, or maybe the weekend after that, and he'll never show. She remembers these things. She gets upset when he doesn't come, and then I have to spend the next two weeks trying to cheer her up. I think that Christie takes after him in that department. They're both emotional and take things too seriously."

Chris grinned across from her, blue eyes sparkling with laughter. "And you're the carefree one, right? Please, I remember what it was like when you two were dating. He practically had to beg you for that first date. He walked around for two weeks, determined that he was going to get you to say yes, and when you did, he almost had a heart attack. After that, if he wanted to go out to a movie, he had to ask you at least three times. Face it, Andrea, you'd rather stay in than go out."

She shook her head with a smile. "I know. I remember the look on his face when I did say yes. He haunted that restaurant for almost three weeks, asking me out every time. I don't even want to think of how much money he spent, ordering breakfast, lunch, and dinner there, on the off chance that I might be working. It was better before we married, you know."

"I never really understood that," he confessed, shrugging his shoulders, before sipping his coffee. "You two always seemed so happy together, and it was the same after the wedding. At least, it seemed to be. But then you were pregnant, and he was working more to pay for all the extra bills, and all of a sudden, after Christie turned one, you guys split. Why?"

Her brow furrowed for a moment, looking back down at her cup of coffee. "I'm not entirely sure, to this day," she said quietly. "After she was born, he wasn't around a lot. I mean, he lived through those first sleepless nights with me, but it was soon after that when he got his call to come up to the big leagues. It was his dream, I couldn't tell him not to because he had a wife and infant at home. He kept pushing himself because he was new, and he wanted to make an impression. It just meant that he was rarely at home, and when he was, we were both stressed out. We kept fighting all the time."

"You broke up because of that? Why didn't you just try to work it out?"

"We did, Chris. Nothing seemed to work. Most of the time, Christie was sick with some cold or flu or infection, he was screaming at me every day he was home...I just couldn't take it anymore. So I packed our things and went to stay with my mother. I told myself that I would give him a month, but he never asked me to come back. That's why I filed for divorce. He didn't fight it, you know that. He let me take what I wanted, and he moved in with Adam. That was it. To this day, we pick up right where we left off, fighting and screaming at each other. We can't even have a civil conversation anymore."

A new voice broke into their conversation. "Do you want me to beat some sense into him?" She craned her neck and looked up, seeing a grinning Adam Copeland staring back at her. He kissed her cheek and then took the seat next to her. "I heard you were in town. Jay's off with Christie, I take it?" he asked.

She nodded. "They took off about thirty minutes ago. Something about a zoo, ice cream, and a trip to a toy store. It's good to see you again, Adam?"

"Again? I just saw you two weeks ago, or don't you remember? I even cooked you and Christie breakfast." He caught the look Chris gave him, and shot him a look in return. "Well, someone has to check up on her, because Lord knows, I don't want my favorite niece to be corrupted by a Brit."

Andrea smiled, clearing her throat. "First of all, she only calls you 'Uncle' because I told her to. And second, Chris just informed me that I've been in Canada long enough that I'm not really that British anymore. To top it off, I'm not in the best of moods, so I wouldn't try to tick me off."

He just smiled and wrapped an arm around, giving her a half-hug. "Honey, you know that I would never try to piss you off on purpose. If I wanted to do that, I would just mention something about how Jay's still in love with you, but I'm not like that. That sort of stuff is beyond me." He turned towards her and propped his elbow on the table, resting his chin in his hand. A smile started to grow on his face when he saw the color race out of her face and her eyes widen. "Uh huh, so it's true. You're still in love with him, too."

"Must you do this every time I see you?" she asked. Andrea was almost surprised that the words got out, with how tight her throat felt. He did it to her every time they met, trying to make her say the words. She knew that he meant well. After all, Jay was one of his best friends, and he had known Andrea just as long as everyone else. That didn't mean that she liked it. "Really, Adam, I don't know why you keep doing this."

"Leave her alone, man," Chris warned from across the table, shaking his head. "She doesn't want to hear it, and I can't blame her. Besides, we were talking about Christie, not Jay and Andrea."

He shrugged. "Well, Christie loves Jay, too," he added cheerfully. His playful grin turned into a wince as he reached under the table and rubbed the leg that Chris had kicked. "What was that for," he mumbled.

Chris cocked an eyebrow in his direction, nodding his head towards Andrea. "You know damned well and good what that was for, Copeland, so don't be giving me that wounded look. I swear, sometimes you act younger than Christie, and that's saying something." He turned back to Andrea, taking in her wide-eyed look. "Just ignore him. He'll stop after awhile, and I'll wait until you're gone before I beat him up for you."

A weak smile made it onto her face. "With bodyguards like you two, it's a wonder that I can even get a date."

"You've been seeing someone recently?" Adam asked, more serious this time.

She met his eyes and shook his head. "No, I just mean that I can get a date. Someone from work asked me out. He didn't even seem scared off by the fact that I have a child, but I said no. Christie's only six. She needs me there as often as possible." She shook her head with a faint smile. "It's not easy being a single mother."

Adam shrugged beside her, signaling for the waitress at the same time. "Yeah, but all you would have to do is get a babysitter. I'm sure one night away from Christie won't kill her. She'll probably like it. You know, baby-sitters always let you stay up late, and eat junk food. They're more fun than mothers and fathers."

"She's too shy for something like that. How long did it take for her to warm up to you, Adam? And you've been around her since the day she was born." She saw his confused expression and grinned. "You used to scare her. You were loud, you used to tease her mercilessly. She didn't know what to think of you. Now, she's used to her, but how do you think she would feel if some stranger came into the apartment and stayed with her for a few hours because I wanted to go out for a good time."

"Yeah, but you've got to let go of her eventually, Andrea," Chris interjected. "You can't protect her your entire life. She has to get used to having the occasional baby-sitter. What's going to happen when she gets older, becomes a teenager. She's going to be a quiet, scared little thing that's eventually going to resent her mother for not letting her have fun every now and then."

She looked down at her lap with a frown, not wanting to answer. But she also knew that Chris wouldn't let her get away with that. "Like I said, it's not easy being a single mother. Jason helps me financially, because the judge forced him to. Financial help is fine, but...we need more than that. Christie needs more than that."

"You need more," Chris added softly, as the waitress came to take Adam's coffee order. He reached across the table and rested his hand against hers. "Do you want me to talk to him, see if I can get through to him. He might listen to me."

She straightened up, shaking her head with a determined look on her face. "No, that's my job, as much as I don't want it. She's my daughter, he's my ex-husband...this is something I have to do. Even if we just end up in another shouting match."

"Make sure Christie isn't in the room," Adam suggested, tapping his fingers on the table. "You know he wouldn't do that in front of her."

"I'm not going to use my daughter like that. Not like how he used her to get us out here," she added. "No, it's about damned time that I stood up for myself against him. Just don't be surprised if he's missing body parts at the end of it."

Both men shuddered and protectively crossed their legs when they saw the smirk on her face.