Well, you're in luck! I finished up reviewing this chapter and because my wonderful Clemson Tigers won the national championship last night, and I couldn't sleep, I got more done than I had planned. Here's the next chapter, and it's okay if you want to hate Ricky...

Sharon and Andy spoke on the phone for a couple of hours, late into the night. Sharon updated Andy regarding her conversation with Bambi, or Erin, and Andy did the same about his conversation with Ricky. Neither one felt they were getting the full story; both Ricky and Erin seemed to be holding back, but the question was what exactly. Andy hoped he would get more information out of Ricky on the drive back to LA, a drive that was coming much sooner than he wanted. He was in desperate need of sleep.

Ricky offered to do most of the driving. He'd taken the rest of the week off work; he figured it might take that long to deal with things. He did feel badly that Andy had driven all the way up here, so the least he could do would be to offer to drive the way back to LA. Whether that was a good decision or not, remained the question. Having Andy in the passenger seat only gave him time to think, come up with questions, and demand answers.

"I know there's more you aren't telling me," Andy said quietly after they had been on the road about 20 minutes. Until this point, they hadn't said much to each other. It was early, just after 6AM, and while tired, Andy wanted to get back home to where things could be figured out quickly.

"I'm mad at her," Ricky said, staring at the road.

Andy raised his eyebrows as he turned to face Ricky, "It takes two to tango," he offered.

Ricky glared at him, "Yeah, I know that. There's no way, though, that kid is mine. I'm mad because she trapped me. She was pregnant beforehand, got me to marry her, and now, she wants money and all from me. It's a trap."

Andy had turned to listen to Ricky, "Why are you so sure it's a trap?"

"Because it is. Too much of a coincidence we get married, then she shows up pregnant," he shook his head. "That night is so fuzzy, but it doesn't sound like me. I know it's Reno, and like Vegas, anything goes, but that's not like me. I mean, I remember parts of the night. I remember the wedding chapel, and I know they'll marry you there no matter what, but still."

Andy gave him a glare, "Yeah, because everyone acts rationally with alcohol," he said sarcastically. "Listen Ricky, I'm probably the guy who would understand the most. I drank my way through bottle after bottle before I figured out what a screw up I'd become. I did my own damage, and I know that I did some really dumb things when I was drunk. Don't assume you would have good behavior even with alcohol. If you are mad, be mad at yourself for letting alcohol take over your night, possibly change your life."

Ricky smacked his hand on the steering wheel, "Ugh! This isn't fair! That kid isn't mine. She's a dancer in Reno. No telling what she's been doing there, and she traps me. Then, she has the nerve to show up on my doorstep, telling me, no trapping me with a kid! This isn't how my life is going to go. I don't want kids-don't tell mom that," he commented, glancing at Andy. Andy held up his hand, "I don't even want to really get married. I like being single, being just a guy. Even older, I just want to do whatever. I saw 30 years of marriage torture, and I don't want that. I just want to go to work, hang with the guys, workout, travel, and date occasionally. I don't want a wife, a kid-certainly not a kid that isn't mine."

Andy let Ricky vent and listened, "Well, have you asked her for a paternity test? That would certainly end all of this."

Ricky nodded, "Yeah, I have," he said running his hand through his hair and taking a deep breath. "I asked her several times. She said she won't do it while she's pregnant. She sounded all scholarly and stuff, saying she read it was dangerous for the baby," he grunted, "Convenient," he mumbled. "She told me she would once the kid is born, but even then, I asked her to put the kid up for adoption. She won't do that. Said she can't do that to her kid. So, I'm trapped."

Andy pursed his lips, "I'm hearing a lot of 'poor Ricky' mentality. This all didn't just happen to you; you put yourself in this situation. Granted, I can't guarantee that's your kid, but you made decisions that brought you to this point. I can't disagree with her about the test. It is dangerous. You should know that; computer whiz you are, you can look it up. As the mother, if she doesn't want to give it up, then she doesn't have to do."

"What about what I want?" Ricky asked.

"What you want? You wanted to get drunk with your buddies. You did that, and now, you have to deal with anything you did while doing exactly what you wanted. I wanted to drink my way through life and keep my family. Unfortunately, actions have consequences. Mine were losing my family, my kids. It took me years to figure that out and even longer to start to mend it. This mess," he gestured, "well, there's no telling what you've gotten yourself into right now."

"So, then I'm just stuck with a kid I don't want?" Ricky asked, "Say it's mine, which it's not going to be. I'm stuck with a kid because she's too selfish to give it up? Give it a better life? What, she saw me as the payout guy-the guy who would give her and her kid a better life, so she traps me?"

Andy glared at him again, "Selfish? Who is the one sounding selfish? Ricky, this is still all about what you want-what will be good for Ricky's life. Grow up! You're an adult, and sometimes, life isn't about what you want. Take your mother-do you think the last 30 years of her life have been about what Sharon wants? NO! None of it, until the last few years. She gave up a lot of her career for what was best for you and your sister. Ricky, your mother is one of the smartest people I have ever met. I cringe when I think of the work she could have done as a detective the last 30 years. She didn't, though, because she wanted the safer job, IA for you! She didn't do that job for herself, for what she wanted. NO, she did it for you, to make sure she was home at night, not working, and not dead. My goodness, her being a cop at all, was all for you and Emily. She didn't want to do that; Jack forced her hand. She wanted to be a lawyer, and man, she would have been a good one. Your dad sucked all the money out of her, out of your lives, getting through law school, and when it was time for him to take care of you, Emily, and your mom-to allow your mom to get the education she wanted, that they'd agreed on, he left! He up and left! Ricky, until you grow up and realize life isn't always fair and about what you want, well, you're going to be disappointed."

Ricky glanced at Andy, "Mom never told me that. I thought she liked IA and liked being a cop."

Andy nodded, "She did, but it wasn't what she wanted. I'm forever grateful that's what she is and was because it put me in her life, but she had a very different plan. You have a different plan, but it may need to change. Ricky, if you're going to continue with your 'life not fair' junk and 'what about me stuff,' you're talking to the wrong person. I drove up here because I felt I could relate best to this, and I still do. I know you had a lousy father, still do, but I'm here. I was a lousy father, but I got my act together. Whether you are this kid's father or not, you've got to get over your pity party."

The car grew silent for awhile, both me digesting the conversation. This was the first time Ricky had ever had a man, a father of any sort, really chew him out. Jack hadn't done it. In fact, when he'd called Jack for help with his current mess, Jack had chuckled saying the apple didn't fall far from the tree. Jack had also gone on to tell Ricky that it was good he wanted to end things; marriages were useless and ended up destroying everything. He told Ricky he was smart to remain single, and he'd get things taken care of. Jack then had the nerve to ask Ricky if the girl he'd upped and married was at least good looking. Ricky had ended the conversation when it got to that part. Jack still had trouble being an adult himself.

Problem was Jack was a man of few promises. The paperwork wasn't done quickly, and that had let to Erin showing up on Ricky's doorstep. Now, it was going to be much harder to get rid of her. He would, but it wouldn't be as easy as it would have been before. This kid was tying him down at least until it was born. Once it was born and the paternity was established, showing he wasn't the father, he was going to get this marriage taken care of.

"She having a boy or a girl?" Andy asked, breaking Ricky's train of thought.

Ricky glanced over and shrugged, "Not sure. Really don't care. It's not mine."

Andy, clearly irritated turned again to Ricky, "What do you mean, not sure? Does she know, or is she one of these waiting to be surprised?"

Ricky shrugged again as he drove, "Don't know. I have no idea what her appointments have been like."

Andy's irritation grew, "Ricky, you are legally married to her. Haven't you made sure she has gotten medical care?" he asked, knowing that Sharon had said the night before that Erin hadn't, or at least Erin made it sound like she didn't have any care.

"Look, I have no clue what she's done or whether she's had care. I was the nice guy, gave her a place to stay. I didn't have to do anything more," he offered.

"Ricky! You do need to do more. Look, if you have to stay married to her right now, the least you could do is make sure she has medical care. Come on! Even if this isn't your kid, that's the decent thing to do. You have a good medical plan. She should be on that. That would allow her access to doctors, hospital. What is she going to do when she has the kid?" Andy asked.

Ricky shrugged again, "Not my problem. I don't know. Look, I don't want to add her onto my plan. It's my life, not hers. My job. My work doesn't need to hear about my personal drama, and if I go in there to add on a spouse, even for a few months, well, that's a mess. No way. She got herself into this; she can get out."

Andy shook his head; Ricky was going to be a harder case to crack than he thought. The guy sounded heartless. He knew things with Erin, or Bambi, whatever, weren't good, but still, the girl was young, pregnant, and alone. Andy continued to glare at Ricky; this was not the kid Sharon raised. He decided to continue his questioning.

"So, if the kid isn't yours, whose is it?" he asked. "She have a boyfriend?"

Ricky shrugged again, "Don't know. Look, like I said, I barely know her. She showed at my place last summer, beginning of September. At first, I didn't even let her in, not until I had proof she was even pregnant. She showed me her stomach then, visibly growing, but I wanted proof, so she took one of those pregnancy tests. Then, I told her she could stay awhile, till we figured things out. I was trying to get that annulment then, but she put the brakes on that. Told her to go to one of those free clinics, but she didn't want to. That's when I thought something was fishy, so I made her go," he explained.

"Did you go with her?" Andy asked, irritated.

"Yeah, I did because I thought she was still lying. Plus, I wanted to know for sure when she'd gotten pregnant. Best estimate then was she's due beginning of March, but who knows," he sighed. "Technically, that time frame lines up, I guess," he nodded, "but again, I'm convinced she's trapped me as soon as she found out she was pregnant with some other guy's kid. I doubt there's a boyfriend. She probably doesn't even know the guy, and she just latched onto me."

"So, how long did she stay with you, and what happened with that?" Andy asked.

Ricky thought a moment, "Ahh, she showed up first week of September, and I guess then, she was past the first trimester. She stayed until Halloween, so I guess two months. I haven't heard from her much since, just a text message here or there, mainly about the kid. She keeps sending me pictures of her growing stomach, like I care. Asked me if I had any name ideas, but that was months ago now and like I'd want to help name her kid. When she was here, we argued all the time. I'd worked extra-long hours just so I didn't have to come home to argue with her. You know my townhouse has two bedrooms. She stayed in the guest room, where you stayed last night. She kept telling me how much she loved the place, couldn't believe I owned it. I'm telling you, she's after me because I make good money. Heard I was a computer guy in San Francisco, and all of a sudden, it's time to fork over the money."

"What did she do when you were at work? I'm guessing she hasn't worked since she left Reno?" Andy asked.

Ricky shook his head, "She told me they asked her if she was pregnant and when she told them she was, they said she wouldn't be able to make good money for them. Called her fat. So, that's when she came here. No, I have no idea what she did when she was at my place. Cooked some, I guess. She tried cooking some, but we never really ate together. I'd just find leftovers in the fridge when I'd come in at night, and they were decent. I told you-I'd try to work until 9 or 10 at night, just to avoid her and leave by 6 in the morning. It was so tense at my place. I guess she just hung out all day. She likes to read, I know that, but that's about it."

Andy was getting angrier by the minute, "So, other than the clinic, what other care did she have?"

Ricky shrugged, "None, I guess. She didn't have a car, and I didn't take her. I don't know if she made any friends, but maybe that's why she came to LA. Her sister is in LA, and maybe she got some help from her."

Andy stopped talking at this point. He was afraid his blood pressure was through the roof. Sharon was not going to believe this. If telling her about Jack's involvement wasn't bad enough, she'd be disgusted to hear about Ricky's flippant attitude.