A/N: I don't really know what to put in this note, so all I will say is R&R. Enjoy!
In Loving Memory
IV
"Hello, John. Mike," Randy growled at the other man and John could feel his friend puffing himself up, ready to throw one of his classical bitch fits if necessary.
"What are you doing here? It's not the weekend yet and Phoebe isn't with you…" John cleared his throat and shifted slightly before he answered. He was more than a little bit nervous standing in front of Randy. Especially considering that his ex was holding a gun in his right hand and a cleaning rag in his left. It was nice to know that Randy hadn't lost his love and passion for guns.
"I need to tell you something. May we come inside? We'll just before here for a few minutes and then we'll get out of your hair."
John heard Mike snicker behind him and he wanted to smack him. Now was not the time for Mike to laugh at Randy for his lack of hair. Randy's pale eyes narrowed, but he backed up and opened the door wider, allowing them enough room to come in. Once they were inside, Randy closed the door and went into the living room, sitting down on his recliner. John sat down on the couch and Mike sat down close beside him.
"So…what is it that you need to tell me? It isn't about your asshole fiancé, is it? I'm still pissed off about the last time he gave me a call…" John laughed nervously and felt Mike grab his hand to give him support. If Randy was still pissed off about Dwayne calling him months ago, then how would he respond to what John was about to tell him?
"Well, it's not about Dwayne per se…" John looked over at Mike and the shorter man gave him an encouraging smile. Nodding, John turned back to Randy, who had quirked a brow at them and was strumming the fingers of his left hand on the arm of his chair. He was impatient. That was never a good sign.
"Since I don't know how to really tell you this, I'll just come out and say it." Taking a deep breath, John tried to steady his shaking hands and forced them to grasp his knees.
"Randy, I'm pregnant with Dwayne's child." For a minute or two, there was no sound aside from the ticking clocking in the kitchen a few feet away and John's loud heart beat. Randy brought his hand up to his chin and was allowing John's words to sink in. But he appeared to be calm and collected and that gave John a sense of hope. Perhaps Randy was, finally, getting over the fact that they were over and were never going to be together again. Feeling relieved, John started speaking again.
"Dwayne and I decided that it'd be a good idea to let you know, seeing as how we have Phoebe…" And to make sure that you don't try to do anything life threatening or anything. That thought went unsaid, though it rang out loud and clear. Randy nodded to himself and his hand returned to the arm of the chair.
"How far along are you?"
"I think Doctor Redding said a little over two months." Randy nodded again and got up, making his way towards the door.
"Thanks for telling me, John. I'll see you this weekend with Phoebe, right?" John smiled, although it was a fake smile, one he only wore when dealing with Randy, and he and Mike made their way out of the apartment.
"Right. See you then." As soon as John and Mike had stepped out of the apartment and into the hallway, Randy slammed the door shut. Mike rolled his eyes and tugged on John's hand, pulling him to the stairs.
"That guy is such an ass. I have no clue why you ever went for him." John sighed, feeling both relieved and disturbed. There was no way in hell Randy was okay with this. Something was up and it was only a matter of time before he erupted like a devastating volcano.
"I don't really know myself…" Mike stopped and looked at him, concern apparent in his blue eyes.
"What's wrong?" John shrugged and proceeded down the steps, past Mike. All he wanted to do was drop Mike off at his house, go pick up Phoebe, and get home.
"You know the feeling you get when you sense that something's not right with Dave?" They exited the apartment building and started towards John's car.
"Yeah…" John unlocked his car and they both got inside.
"Well…I'm getting that kind of feeling right now." Once they had buckled up, John started the car up and drove away from the apartment building, and Randy.
"What do you think Randy is going to do?" John shook his head. When Randy was involved, it was hard to predict any sort of outcome.
"I have no idea. All I know is that it won't be good."
After that, the conversation went to other things and John was thankful for that. He still felt on edge, as though something wasn't quite right, but he had to focus on other things. Dropping Mike off at his and Dave's house, John went and picked up Phoebe before returning home and starting on dinner.
The rest of the week went by the same as usual, but the on-edge feeling still remained with John. It hadn't diminished one bit, not in the slightest, and by the time Friday had arrived, he was more than sick and tired of it. He'd rather have Randy do…whatever or say whatever he was going to do or say then to be tortured like this, but he knew Randy. Even with him mental instability, he knew what he was doing. There were times when he'd explode in John's face on the spot, while other times he'd plan it out and wait, like a rattlesnake poised to strike.
Friday afternoon arrived sooner than expected and John was placing Phoebe in her car seat while Dwayne waited patiently in the driver's seat. They were going to dinner and a movie after dropping Phoebe off at Randy's and John was looking forward to it. Having Dwayne with him, even if he wasn't going to come into the building, made John feel better about his weird feeling and he tried to calm himself as they neared Randy's apartment building. In what seemed like no time at all, they had arrived and John was getting Phoebe out of her car seat.
"I'll be back in a minute or two," John told his fiancé, who nodded and glared at the building.
"Good. Have a nice time with Daddy Randy, princess. Be good for him."
"'Kay, Daddy Dwayne. Bye-bye!" Dwayne smiled at her and waved back.
"Bye-Bye, Phoebs." John squeeze Phoebe's hand and they made their way into the building.
"Excited, sweet pea?" Phoebe nodded and smiled up at him. Randy may have been a bastard, but he did love Phoebe and he never said or did anything bad around her.
"Yep! Daddy Randy said that Ted was going to take me out for ice cream when we got here."
John frowned a bit at that. Ted was a good guy, even if he was friends with Randy, and he got along well with Phoebe, but he never took her out somewhere without Randy there with him. Climbing the stairs to Randy's apartment, John felt his stomach begin to sink and his mind kept screaming at him that something bad was about to happen. But, for Phoebe's sake, he ignored it and proceeded up the last few stairs and walked to Randy's apartment. Knocking on the door, John released a shaky breath and wiped some sweat from his forehead. So far, the summer had been a hot one, but July had had the hottest days out of the entire year and it wasn't improving his mood one bit. The door opened and Ted smiled at them and let them in.
"Hey there, munchky. You ready to go get some ice cream?" Phoebe smiled brightly and nodded.
"Yeah!"
"Then go put your bag in your room and we'll head on out." John and Ted watched as she ran back to her bed room.
"Where's Randy?"
"He's in his room. He'll be out in a minute. He said he wanted to talk to you about something important. That's why I'm taking Phoebe out, in case you were wondering." John nodded and felt his stomach twist into a knot. Before he could say anything, Randy stepped into the living room and nodded at him. Phoebe came running back in and bumped into Randy.
"Sorry, Daddy Randy! Ted's taking me for ice cream." Randy smiled down at her and pulled her into a brief hug.
"You have fun and don't cause any trouble, okay?"
"'Kay!" And with that, they left. John turned back to Randy and sighed. All he wanted to do was leave and go out with Dwayne. What the hell could Randy want to talk about now, of all times?
"What do you want to talk to me about, Randy?"
Randy walked over to him, not saying anything. Instead, his pale eyed gaze remained on the floor and John was about to ask him again when Randy grabbed him by the neck. Before John could even blink, he had been forced down onto his knees and he felt something press against the side of his head. He knew without a shadow of a doubt that it was one of Randy's guns pressing against the side of his head. Panic started building up inside of him and John hesitated to look up at his ex. Something inside of him forced him to look up though, and he was met with a furious and crazed looking Randal Keith Orton. From behind them, the door to the apartment flew open and Randy tore his eyes away from John's face. John couldn't see who it was, but he didn't have to. The intrude spoke soon enough.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing, Orton?" Dwayne had arrived. Relief flooded John's entire being and he felt tears prick his eyes. But his relief was short lived. Randy tugged John up and wrapped an arm around his neck, keeping his gun pressed to John's temple. Even if John tried to wrestle away from him, Randy still had the gun and the trigger could be pulled quicker than John could escape.
"If you come any fucking closer, Johnson, I will kill him." Dwayne's dark eyes narrowed at him, but he remained where he was and glared daggers at Randy.
"What did you just say?" Randy snarled and pressed the gun harder to John's temple.
"I'll blow his fuckin' brains out if you come any closer!"
John didn't know what to do. Was there anything he could do that would put his baby and himself in danger? What about Dwayne? Would Randy do anything to the older man if John pulled something? What if he did? John wouldn't be able to live with himself if Randy shot and killed Dwayne. The situation seemed hopeless to him and he knew that the best thing to do was to call the police. If Dwayne exited the apartment, he'd be able to do just that, but John knew that Dwayne wouldn't leave John alone in such a situation. With so many questions and 'what if's hanging in the air, it seemed as though there wasn't much John knew for sure.
All he did know was that there was a gun pressed to his temple and that if he or Dwayne made one false move, the trigger would be pulled.
