Chapter 7- Heart Made Up On You
"Delly's gonna be alright, Riker." Ross told him as they were on the way to set. "Ell's taking her to the hospital right now."
"I know. I just worry." Riker said, "Are you feeling any better, baby? I heard you throw up again this morning."
"Oh, still the same." Ross sighed. "My stomach feels weird but I'm okay."
"Alright. Let me know if we need to go home." Riker said, "You are way more important than this."
"No Rikey." Ross told him. "It's your last day of set, I want you to enjoy it." He smiled.
"I won't enjoy it if your miserable." Riker said, he turned to Ross, "Promise me that you'll tell me if we need to go."
"I'll be alright." He gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Don't worry, I'll tell you. But I doubt I need to. I want you to have fun with your friends and forget about all the troubles for these few hours. Okay?"
"Okay." Riker said, they reached the dressing room. "Come in for a minute, baby?"
"Okay." Ross smiled and walked in with him.
"Hey, guys!" Riker said, smiling.
"Hey Riker!" Curt said, walking over. He saw Ross. "Sup Ross?"
"Hey." Ross smiled.
Riker gave Curt a hug, and high-fived Titus and Dom.
"So," Curt put his arm around Riker in a friendly manner, "last day of set. How are you feeling?"
Ross stood there awkwardly, and chose to sit on the couch.
"I'm okay. I've been better." Riker said, honestly.
"Aww what's wrong?" Curt asked, putting his hand on his friend's back. "Tell me."
Ross saw it and bit his lip. 'They're just being friendly.' He tried to assure told Curt the whole story, and by the end he was in tears again.
"Hey, hey." Curt pulled him into a hug and rubbed circles on his back. "It's going to be okay. They should all be okay." Ross shook his head and stood up, leaving the room although he made sure his soulmate, nor anyone else, would notice.
Once Riker calmed down, the director called for them on set. Riker turned to ask Ross if he was coming to watch, but found he wasn't there. He ran out the door, and down the hall "Ross?"
Ross ignored him and walked into one of the rooms. He had been there a few times before, so he knew where to go.
"Ross!" Riker said, chasing after him. He caught up to him, and grabbed his hand. "Baby, what's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong." He said, yanking his arm away. "Why don't you go cuddle up with your boyfriend and leave me alone? You have to shoot a scene soon anyway."
"Ross, what are you talking about?" Riker asked.
"You know what I'm talking about." Ross folded his arms. "Clearly, you love being with him. You think I don't notice those gestures? Him being all touchy with you and you trying to get his attention. Obviously you two like each other." He turned to walk away.
"Ross Shor Lynch!" Riker said, angrily. He grabbed Ross' arm and spun him around. "Don't you ever. Ever! Think that I like someone in that way other than you. Ever! You are my soulmate, my other half. But more than that your my first crush, my first love, my first everything. You have all of me Ross. Curt's my friend. Nothing more. He has a soulmate, just like I do. He just hasn't met her yet. But you know what?" he moved his hands down to Ross' waist and pulled him closer. "Somehow, I've known my soulmate my whole life."
Ross looked up at him in tears. "I'm sorry." He said. "I don't know why I got so jealous. It just.. I guess it bothers me to see you with someone else. I'm sorry." He buried his face in Riker's chest.
Riker wrapped his arms around Ross, "Oh, baby. There'll never be anybody for me, but you."
Ross sniffed and wiped his tears. "You should go back. You're supposed to enjoy today but I ruined it. I'm just going to stay here." He only noticed then that he was in a lounge of some sort.
"Oh, no your not." Riker said, "I'm not going to leave you here sitting around moping and beating yourself up. Your going to come out there, and watch me dance my two songs that I have to do, and then we're gonna leave and go see Delly at the hospital. Now come on." Riker said, grabbing Ross' hand and dragging him back toward set. Ross pouted, not being sure if he was doing it playfully or not. "Fine but if I want to, I'll leave when you're not looking."
"Only if you want to be sleeping alone tonight." Riker said still smiling, but he shot Ross a glare letting him know he was dead serious.
Ross frowned and sighed, sitting himself back on the couch in the dressing room. "Fine."
"Thank-you." Riker said. He gave Ross a kiss on the cheek. "You can be mad and pout at me all you want. I love you, and I'll see as soon as I get done."
Ross turned his head away. He wasn't sure if he wanted to be mad or not, but his mood wasn't good, so he just stayed silent. Riker sighed, and went to get his filming done. Ross looked at him leave and sighed. He felt awful, but he couldn't bring himself to be happy. Of course, nothing could. He was feeling sick and not to mention his sister also had a deathly sickness. He stared at his soulmate who had all his attention to the dance moves, so he got off the couch and went out, only for a little alone time. Riker looked up after their first dance and frowned when he saw that Ross had left. He shook his head. If Ross wanted to be this way fine, but tonight Riker wasn't going to be the one sleeping on the couch. Ross went back about twenty minutes later, hoping his soulmate didn't see him leave. Little did he know he was in trouble. Riker was just finishing up when Ross came back in. Riker stood next to the couch, arms-crossed, and scowling.
Ross looked up at him, feeling like his soulmate knew he left. "Riker?" He finally asked.
"You left." Riker said, evenly. "You said you wouldn't leave and you left. I'm not trying to control you or anything Ross, but I asked you to stay here. I wanted you to watch." The hurt was evident in his eyes, and voice.
"But I did." Ross said. "I watched you and believe me, you did great. But I wasn't feeling as good and I just left to clear my mind." He felt awful for hurting his soulmate. "I'm sorry. Please don't be mad. I didn't mean to."
"I just wish you would've told me." Riker said, all the anger seeping away, but the hurt remained. "Remember the other day? We talked about you shutting me out. Talk to me Ross, please, I'm right here to listen."
"No." Ross shook his head. "I don't want to talk because you've got so many things to worry about already. I'm just being moody because I'm sick, and that's all I'm saying. I don't want to burden you with anything else."
"But that's what I'm here for!" Riker said, getting frustrated. How could he make Ross understand?Ross frowned and tears brimmed his eyes. Why was he being so sensitive? "I'm sorry, Riker. But please just forget this and go to the hospital." He was in no mood for a talk right now. He knew his soulmate was mad, but he didn't want to talk.
Riker sighed, but gave in anyway. "We aren't done talking though."
"Yes we are." Ross stated, getting up and walking out.
Riker rolled his eyes, and followed him out. He climbed in Six and closed the door. "We will be talking about this later." Then he turned the key in the ignition, pulled out of the parking lot, and headed toward the hospital. Ross sighed and looked out the window, blocking everything out of his mind, trying not to care about anything. Riker parked the car, and got out. He went around and opened Ross' door. He maybe mad, but he wasn't that mad, and he loved him. Ross gave him a small smile as he stepped out, although the guilt from earlier was still eating him alive. "Did they tell you which room she is?" He asked, avoiding eye contact.
"No." Riker answered. He wanted to pull Ross into his arms, and hold him. Tell him everything would be alright, but he was mad at Ross' so he couldn't. He awkwardly took Ross' hand in his as they walked toward the hospital. Ross held back his tears. He hated this. He wanted to bury his face in Riker's chest and he wanted to cry into him but something was stopping him. At least his soulmate still wanted to hold his hand. They walked to reception when Riker's phone rang. "I'm going to take this real quick." he said, after looking at his phone. "Can you ask where Delly is? Thanks, love you." he said. He kissed Ross' cheek without thinking about it, and moved a little bit away to answer the phone. Ross touched his cheek where he was kissed and smiled, walking over to the receptionist. "Excuse me, which room is Rydel Lynch in?"
The receptionist looked at the files before saying, "She's in room 203."
"Thank you." Ross said before walking back, waiting for Riker.
Riker came back a minute later. "We ready to go?" he asked, his arm wrapping around Ross' waist. Ross nodded. "Room 203." He smiled at the arm around his waist. Then he turned to his soulmate. "Who called?"
"I'll tell you later." Riker said, shaking his head.
"No, tell me now." Ross stopped walking. Then he sighed. He didn't want another fight, although he wasn't sure if they were really back to okay or not. "Never mind, I'm sorry, just tell me later."
"No, I'll tell you." Riker said with a sigh, "I've been offered a spot on Dancing with the Stars. I think I'm probably going to turn it down though."
"No, baby, don't turn it down." Ross said. He didn't realize he said 'baby'. "It's a good thing. Accept it. I bet Delly's gonna be happy if she can see you dance on that show. I know I will be."
Riker bit his bottom lip in thought, "You really think I should do it? I just... It's been Delly's dream to dance on the show. I don't want to take it from her."
"Riker," Ross sighed, "she'll be happy to see you there. I'm not saying that her dream won't come true, but as of for now, she's not gonna be able to dance there yet, so I'm more than sure that she'll be happy to see you there."
Riker bit his lip again, thinking it over, before saying, "Okay. I'll call them back and tell them I'll do it...as long as your okay with it? I mean it'll probably take up a lot of time, and I don't want to be selfish. I mean your soulmate so you come first, and..."
Ross kissed his lips to stop his rambling. "I'm okay with it." He assured. "As long as you have a great time and enjoy it because I know how much you love dancing."
Riker blushed, but by then they had reached Rydel's door. Riker turned to Ross. "Before we go in...Ross can we please talk when we get home? I don't like having tension between us..I don't like being angry with you...I don't want to yell at your or anything, I just...I just want to work things out."
Ross bit his lip. "Okay. I guess we can work things out "
Riker smiled, widely. "Thank-you, baby." he said. He kissed Ross' forehead.
Ross smiled back. "So, should we go in?"
"Yeah." Riker said. They walked into the room together.
Ellington saw them walk in. "Hey guys."
"Hey." Ross said.
"Hey, Ell." Riker said. "How'd everything go?"
"It went good." Ellington said, rubbing his thumb over his sleeping soulmate. "She should wake up any time now."
"That's good." Ross said, taking a seat on one of the chairs.
"Did they get all the cancer?" Riker asked, "No radiation?"
"They're not sure yet." Ellington said. "But so far, they said they didn't detect any need for radiation yet, so she should be okay."
"That's good." Riker said, without thinking about it, he sat down on Ross' lap. "Where are the others?"
Ross wrapped his arms around his soulmate and kissed his cheek.
"Not sure." Ellington said. "I think Rocky and Becca went to the cafeteria earlier."
"And mom, dad, and Ry?" Riker asked cuddling back against Ross, "I thought mom would be practically glued to Delly."
Ross gave a small kiss on Riker's neck, but that was it.
"She was." Ellington said, trying to ignore the cute soulmates. "But dad suggested that they go out a little bit together to calm themselves down, so they all went out."
"Okay." Riker said. He closed his eyes happily, leaning against Ross. He felt himself starting to drift off. Just before he fell asleep he mumbled, "Love you, Rossy."
"Love you too." Ross smiled and kissed his cheek. He looked at Ellington. "Ell, why don't you go take a break or get something from the cafeteria? I can stay here."
"No." Ellington shook his head. "I want to be here when she wakes up."
"Okay." Ross said. "You're a really good guy for my sister."
Ellington smiled. "Thanks Ross."
Riker woke up a couple hours later. "What'd I miss?" he asked Ross sleepily, his eyes still closed.
"Hey." Ross smiled at him. "Nothing much. But look, Rocky and Becca are here now."
Riker opened his eyes, "Hi guys." he said with a small wave. On the bed Rydel started stirring.
"Dels?" Ellington asked, moving closer to her.
Ross looked at his sister and expected her to open her eyes.
"Ell?" Rydel said, opening her eyes, looking at the ceiling, "Ell where are you?"
"Baby, I'm right here." Ellington said, putting a hand on her cheek. "Look at me, I'm right here."
"Where? Everything's black." Rydel said. Riker frowned, and got up to move by Rydel's side.
"Delly your looking right at the lights." Riker said.
"Riker?" Rydel asked.
"Yeah, Delly I'm right here." Riker said.
"How can I be looking at the lights? I can't see anything." Rydel said.
"No.." Ellington gasped. "Dels, are you sure you can't see anything? Please tell me you can at least see a little something." He stroked her hair.
Ross got up and ran to her too, standing beside Riker. "Delly, please tell us you can see a little something. Please, you can't be... blind." He whispered the last word.
"I...I can't see anything." Rydel said, tears in her eyes. "Why can't I see?"
"Somebody go get the doctor." Riker said, tears in his eyes.
"I'll do it." Rocky said, getting up, and walking out of the room.
"No, Delly, no." Ross started crying. "How did this happen?"
"They said it went well." Ellington said, his tears starting to fall as well. "This can't be happening." Although he was upset, he kept rubbing his thumb over Rydel's hand to assure her he was there. Rocky came back with the doctor. He looked Rydel over, and took her for a CT scan. He came back a few minutes later with the results. "It appears that Miss Lynch has what is known as fleeting blindness, caused by inflammation of her optic nerve. We'll prescribe some medicines to be taken which should cause the swelling to go down and vision to return."
"So if she takes the medicines, she'll have her vision back, right?" Ellington asked. "She needs to have them back completely."
Ross took Riker's hand and squeezed it, while burying his face in one of his own hands. Riker frowned, and moved Ross' hand from his face, and pulled his soulmate into his chest. Ross let his tears flow out freely as he let out a few sobs. He couldn't believe his sister turned blind, even though it might only be temporary.
Ellington looked at the two and ran his hand through his hair, sighing. What did they have to do to make things better?
"Can I have something to drink?" Rydel asked, breaking the silence. The doctor left, leaving the family to talk.
Ellington took a bottle of water - which he bought earlier - from the table and held it close to her mouth. "Here baby." He said, caressing her cheek.
Ross looked at them and wiped away his tears. He slowly got Riker off him and walked over to his sister. "You have to be okay, Delly." He said. "You have to be alright. You'll get your vision back. You have to."
"Ell, can you get me to Ross' face." she asked, holding out her hand for Ellington to put on Ross' face for her. Ellington took her hand to do what she asked, but Ross shook his head and took his sister's hand in his and placed it on his cheek. "It's me Delly." He said.
Rydel smiled, and rubbed Ross' cheek with her thumb. "Everything's going to be fine Ross. Stop crying and worrying. Just enjoy being with Riker."
"I know." Ross said. "I just don't wanna lose you, Delly. You're my only sister and I don't want anything bad to happen. But apparently it did already and I want you to be okay." He wiped away a tear that was falling and looked at his soulmate, making a gesture for him to come there.
Riker moved to stand next to Ross. He put his arms around his soulmate. "Ross, I'm fine. The surgery was successful, and from what it sounds like this is minor. I'll be home in no time."
"But I want you to be perfectly okay again." Ross said. "I want everything to be perfectly okay again. It can't be like this, we don't deserve this." That was when he broke down, sobbing into his soulmate's chest again.
"I think we're gonna head home." Riker said. He grabbed Delly's hand and squeezed it. "Love you Delly."
"Love you too, big brother." Rydel said. Riker kissed, Rydel's hand. Then he picked up the still sobbing Ross, bridal style, and carried him back to Six. Once they were in the car, Ross buried his face in his hands, trying to control the sobs. He kept wiping his tears away, only to have more of them flow out. Eventually giving up, he just let his crying take pulled Ross against his chest and just held him rubbing his back. He knew Ross needed this. He'd been holding it in for too long. Ross kept sobbing, gripping onto Riker's shirt. "I want things to go back to normal." He cried. "No sickness, no nothing. I want us to just enjoy our life, why is that so hard?" He said, trying to control his sobs again.
"Sometimes things happen, baby." Riker said, playing with Ross' hair. "But we have to put our best foot forward. You can't keep bottling up your emotions. It's not healthy. Talk to me. I've said twice I'll say it a thousand times I want you to talk to me. That's what I'm here for. I'm your soulmate. It's my job to help you through everything. And I know you'd do the same for me. And I'm sorry about everything today. I just get frustrated, because you won't talk to me. It makes me feel like you don't trust me, like you don't want to share your life with me. And I know that's not true, but that's how it makes me feel." he stopped to take a breath, "Everything is going to be okay, baby I promise."
"I'm just tired." Ross said after he finally got his sobbing down. "I'm tired of being sick, I'm tired of seeing everyone upset, I'm tired of seeing Rydel sick and now she's blind, and I'm tired of feeling this way." He took a deep breath. "Ever since I got my mark, things seem to be falling apart and I feel like it's all my fault. I mean I don't regret getting the mark but it's just... It's so frustrating!" He stomped down onto his own foot. "Ow." He mumbled.
"Oh, baby." Riker said, "You've got to stop blaming yourself. None of this is your fault.", He gently cupped Ross' face in his hands. "None of this is your fault." he repeated. "And I know it's frustrating. I know it sucks, but we've got to stay positive. Rydel's going to be okay, and I think if your still feeling bad like this on Monday you should go to the doctor."
"No!" Ross exclaimed at the mention of 'doctor'. "I don't want to go to the doctor. I hate it. I'm just a little sick, it's not something serious. It should be over soon." He sighed and leaned back. "Can we just lay down and cuddle on bed? I'm kind of tired and I wanna sleep."
"I said on Monday. Let's get home, and then we can cuddle in bed. Do you want any supper? You haven't really eaten anything all day, and you need to keep your strength up." Riker said. He ran around to the driver's side and climbed in before heading toward home.
"Later." Ross mumbled. "Not hungry."
Riker frowned, but didn't argue. "You have to eat before bed. That's my only request. Even if it's just like a slice of toast. You need something."
"Okay." Ross gave in. "I feel like eating oreos with chocolate milk. Is that acceptable?"
"That's fine." Riker said, smiling. He pulled in the drive way. "Do you want me to get it, or do you want to get it yourself? Or are you going to hold me hostage in bed again and wait till someone comes home to bring you your oreos and chocolate milk." he said the last one sarcastically.
"Gee that's what you felt like?" Ross asked. "But no. I want you to get it, but after that I wanna cuddle and not let go until I fall asleep." He folded his arms. "Whether you like it or not." He added the last part as a joke.
"I was joking." Riker said, "And I guess that's acceptable." He went to the kitchen and grabbed the package of oreos, and a half gallon of chocolate milk. Between the two of them they could drink it. "Alright, let's go." he said, turning to Ross.
Ross smiled and clung onto him while they made their way into their room. "I love you."
"I love you too." Riker said, "You know what...here." he handed Ross the cookies and chocolate milk, "Hold these."
"Why? Where are you going?" He asked, although he held them as told.
"No where." Riker said, scooping Ross up into his arms. "I just thought this would be a more comfortable way for you to cuddle me while we go upstairs."
Ross grinned. "It is." He adjusted himself so that he could put an arm around his soulmate's neck without making the food fall.
Riker laid Ross down on the bed and climbed in beside him. "Alright now let's eat our cookies and chocolate milk and then we can talk for a little bit."
Ross pouted playfully. "I thought we agreed on eating and then going to bed?" He took a cookie and dipped it in the milk, before popping it into his mouth. "But okay we can talk a bit." He grinned, showing his now black and white teeth.
Riker laughed, "Well, I thought we could talk while we were trying to go to sleep. I got the details for Dancing with the Stars."
"Mmm." Ross mumbled, stuffing cookies into his mouth. "When's your first rehearsal?" He asked but sounded like, "Whemsmosfewwiuelsel"
"Say that again when your mouth's empty, baby." Riker said, smiling.
Ross swallowed the whole bunch of cookies in his mouth. "When's your first rehearsal?" He asked again before putting more milk-covered cookies into his mouth.
"Um, tomorrow." Riker said, nervously.
"Oh." Ross' face dropped but he quickly covered it with a smile. "That's great. You get to work on it early. And um, who's your partner? And where's the rehearsals gonna be?"
"The rehearsals are at the rehearsal building. I'm partnered with Allison Holker. Are you sure your okay with me going? I can push it off a couple days, and they said you could come with me." Riker said.
"Yeah it's okay." Ross told him. "No, I think I'll just stay here or do whatever. I want you to have fun." He pushed the remaining cookies and milk away and leaned on his soulmate. "I wanna sleep now."
"Alright, let's sleep." Riker said. He climbed under the sheets, and pulled Ross to his chest. "Love you, gorgeous."
"Love you too, handsome." Ross mumbled closing his eyes. After a while, he finally fell asleep.
Riker woke up to the alarm going off. He groaned and covered his head with a pillow. Ross began to wake up as well. "Turn it off." He mumbled but then he felt nauseous and before he even realized it, he was in the bathroom throwing up into the toilet. Riker ran after Ross, and rubbed his back. "I'm staying home." he said.
Ross shook his head. "No. Go to the rehearsal." He took a deep breath and flushed the toilet. "I'm okay now. It's just a morning sickness. I mean, you don't see me throwing up other than morning so I'm fine. Really. Just go-" he began throwing up again.
"Not unless you promise to have Becca take you to the doctor." Riker said, crossing his arms.
Ross groaned. "Ugh fine. I promise." He flushed the toilet again and stood up, washing his mouth. "But I want you to have fun today and not worry about me at all. Is that a deal?"
"Alright, but I'm calling at lunch time and I expect to hear that the doctor said you have the stomach flu or something." Riker said. "And I'll be calling Becca."
Ross folded his arms and pouted. "Fine. I bet you'll hear her saying I'm perfectly okay."
"Alright, love you." Riker said. He kissed Ross' forehead, and got up to get ready to go.
Later...
"Ross! It's time to go!" Becca called upstairs.
Ross groaned and went downstairs. "I hate doctors." He whined. "Can you just fake the call to Riker later?"
"No!" Becca said, hands on her hips. "You of all people have seen how lies affect relationships."
"I know." Ross sighed. "Okay fine let's go. But I don't wanna get any injections or anything. I see a needle, I run."
"I'll run with you. I may have tattoos and piercings, but I hate needles." Becca said. She looped her arm through Ross' and they headed out toward her car.
When they got in, Ross turned to her. "So um, where's Rocky?"
"At the hospital. He wanted Ell to get some sleep. Really, he just wanted to cry and not let anyone see it, because then we would all know that he has...gasp, feelings. But Riker asked me to do this, and I figured it gave Rocky a chance to vent." Becca said as they headed toward the doctor's office.
"Oh." Ross said. "Do you think Delly's gonna make full recovery? No blindness, no cancer, nothing bad?"
"I think so. She's strong.", Becca said. They pulled into the parking lot. "Alright, let's go."
"I know she is." Ross said. "To be honest, I didn't want Riker to leave, but I know he'll have a good time." He said as they walked into the hospital. "Becca, what if something's really wrong with me? What if I have a deathly sickness or something? I'm scared." He admitted.
"Oh, Rossy." Becca hugged him tightly. "Everything's going to be alright... You know I would say that you were pregnant," she giggled, "But I doubt you and Riker have done that yet."
"About that.." Ross blushed. "We did. But there is no way I'm pregnant. I'm a guy, it's not even logical."
"You do know that some guys can get pregnant right?" Becca asked.
"Of course I know but.." His face paled. "There is no way I'm pregnant. Okay NOW I want to see the doctor."
Becca laughed, "Maybe you'll be joining me in the trenches of pregnancy Rossy! Won't that be exciting!" She opened the door to the doctor's office.
"That is.." Ross said. He sat himself down and muttered, "But what's Riker gonna think if I am?"
"Are you kidding?! He's gonna be the happiest guy on earth! He's wanted to be a dad since...well forever! If you are we have to find some super special way for you to tell him." Becca said, excitedly.
A nurse came out, "Ross Lynch?"
"Maybe." He said and looked at the nurse. "Yeah, it's me."
The nurse led them back to the room, and took Ross' vitals. "The doctor will be with you shortly."
Ross nodded. "Thank you."
"Oh, I'm so excited!" Becca said bouncing up and down slightly.
Ross rolled his eyes playfully. "You're excited and I'm nervous as heck."
"Aww, nothing to be nervous about Rossy. The doctor will just have you roll up your shirt, and squirt some warm goopy crap on your stomach, move his little stick around and then volia we'll know baby yay or nay." Becca said, happily.
"That's exactly what I'm nervous about." Ross answered flatly.
"What?" Becca asked dumbly.
"Nevermind." Ross said. "Is it too late to go back home?"
"Yes." Becca said, glaring at him. "If you try and walk out that door I will call Riker and tell him everything. Now what are you worried about? I'm hear to help. Just talk to me."
'You're just the same as Riker." Ross pouted. "I'm nervous about how to tell him. And how everyone will respond. I'm not ready for that."
"That's because you need to rely on someone other than yourself Ross. That's what family, especially soulmates are here for." Becca said, giving him a pointed look. "The time to tell him will present itself if you are actually pregnant. And nobody's going to look at you differently. I think Rydel would be over the mom so would your mom. Your dad would probably be okay with it now, and Rocky would probably make some joke about Riker trying to keep up with him, but he'd be happy. Riker would be over the moon happy. And I'm super excited about this. Who cares what anyone else thinks. If anybody wants to think that it's wrong, or weird they can go fuck themselves." Becca said.
Ross smiled. "Thanks Becca. That helped." He thought for a moment. "I think I know when I can tell him...we're talking as if it's confirmed that I'm pregnant." He laughed. "But I probably am." He paused. "Now that we know, can we go home now?"
"No. We need real confirmation, and..." the door opened, "And the doctor's here." Becca finished.
"Hello Mr. Lynch." the doctor said, smiling at Ross.
"Hi." Ross said. "Not to be rude or anything, but can we just get this over with quickly?"
"Well, what are you here for Mr. Lynch?" the doctor said. "Your soulmate simply said you were feeling sick to your stomach and throwing up."
"I think I might be pregnant." Ross said. "Cause I just noticed all I had was morning sickness and then desperately eating weird stuff at night."
"Yes, that does sound like pregnancy." the doctor agreed. "Please lay down and roll up your shirt."
Ross laid down on the bed there and rolled up his shirt. "It's not gonna hurt right?"
"No." the doctor said. He squirted the gel on Ross' stomach, and moved the wand around for a minute. "You are indeed pregnant, Mr. Lynch." he turned to Becca, "And you Mrs. Lynch, I expect to see on Friday."
"I'll be here Doctor McKessy." Becca said smiling.
"I am?" Ross asked. "Wow okay, is it a girl or a boy? Or if the gender can't be determined yet, when can it be? And is the fetus healthy? Is it okay? And..." He rambled with the questions.
"Mr. Lynch calm down." Doctor McKessy said. Becca giggled. "Your baby is fine, perfectly healthy. It is still too soon to determine gender. Your about two weeks along."
"Okay." Ross smiled. "Now where can I get rid of this gooey stuff?"
"Here." Doctor McKessy handed Ross a paper towel. "I want to see you again in two weeks Mr. Lynch."
"Okay." Ross said, wiping off the gooey stuff. "Thank you."
"Your Welcome." the doctor said, and left.
"Another baby Lynch!" Becca squealed. "So what's your idea to tell Riker?"
"Well I looked up about Dancing With The Stars, and there's this best year thing, not sure." Ross said. "I'll try to talk to the producers to surprise him on stage. Do you think that's a good idea?"
It's perfect! If the producers won't let you I will make them let you." Becca said.
"Yay." Ross grinned. "Okay now I want to go home."
"Alright you let's go." Becca said, smiling.
"Bye, Mrs. Lynch! Have a good day." the recepitonist called.
"Thanks Deb! See you Friday." Becca waved.
"You sure know a lot of people." Ross stated as they got into the car.
"Well, this is my doctor's office, because it's the family doctor's office." Becca said with a shrug. "Usually you go to your husband's doctor's office..." she clapped her hands over mouth.
Ross blushed at the mention of 'husband'. "Okay first of all, I'm not married to Riker. Second of all, I'm 16."
"I wasn't referring to you..." Becca said, blushing.
Ross gasped. "Are you and Rocky married already now? Or did he already ask you to? OMG, spill the deets!"
"We got married a few days after we told each other we were soulmates..." Becca said, blushing. "My mom and dad were in town, and they don't have the money to get out here much anymore, so we just went down to the court house and had the wedding with them. We were going to wait a bit, and get engaged for you guys and have a big fancy wedding. No one was supposed to know."
"Woah so I'm the first to know?" Ross asked. "Cool... Oh! So that's why that doctor called you Mrs. Lynch! Wow didn't realize it. Congrats you two!"
"Thanks." Becca said, blushing shyly. "Rocky's going to kill me now he didn't want anyone to know."
"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone." Ross grinned. "I'll act like I don't know."
"Thank-you so much Ross." she hugged him tightly a few tears slipping down her face, "Your the best brother ever...damn these hormones!"
"You're my second best sister then." Ross smiled, hugging back. "And oh hormones now I know why I was so sensitive."
"Yeah, it kind of sucks. Try not to get too sensitive before you tell Riker." Becca said.
"It's a little too late for that." Ross sighed. "I broke down yesterday."
"I'm saying don't like...cry because of cereal or something, because then he'll know somethings up." Becca said.
"I'll try." Ross sighed.
"That was great, Riker." Allison smiled after they finished the first series of moves. "You mastered them."
"Thanks." Riker said, breathing heavily.
Allison checked the time. "It's lunch time. Do you want a break or keep rehearsing? I suggest a break though, you look exhausted."
"Yeah, I need to call my soulmate. And my best friend." Riker said, "I should probably call my brother too."
"Okay." Allison said and grabbed her bag. "I'll be back in ten." Then she walked out of the studio. Riker went over to his bag and grabbed his water. He drank some of it, and dialed Ross' number.
Ross picked up at the third ring. "Hi Riker! How's rehearsal?"
"Hey, baby. There good. Long, but good. I'm sweating like crazy." Riker said, smiling. Somehow just hearing Ross' voice gave him more energy.
"Oh was it fun?" Ross asked. "And if you're sweating, don't hug me when you get home." He laughed. "What time will you get home by the way?"
"I get home at eight." Riker said, "Will you take a shower with me if you won't hug me when I get home. And it's fun. Allison's really nice...Did you go to the doctor?"
"Of course I'll take a shower with you." Ross told him. "And yeah I did. Nothing's wrong with me, I'm just pr- I'm just having a stomach flu, but that's all."
"Aww, baby. I'm sorry." Riker said, "Did he give you anything for it or anything?"
"Um, no." Ross said. How was he going to lie? "He just said to take a rest..yeah..but I don't need any medicine or anything."
"Oh." Riker said frowning.
"I'm gotta go. Love you." Ross said.
"Alright. Love you too." Riker said. He hung up and frowned. He called Becca just to make sure Ross actually went, and then he dialed Ellington's number.
Ellington picked up. "Hey Riker?"
"Hey, Ell. How's Delly doing?" Riker asked.
Ellington sighed. "She's a bit better than yesterday, but stressed about her blindness. I'm sure she'll get her vision back though." He paused. "How's your rehearsal?"
"Good. Sweaty, but good." Riker said.
"That's good." Ellington said. "How are you and Ross?"
"We're okay at the moment. He went to the doctor today. They apparently said he has the stomach flu." Riker said frowning.
"Oh." Ellington said. "Tell him I say get well soon. You should probably go back to your rehearsal now."
"Yeah. Thanks for talking Ell." Riker said, he hung up the phone.
Allison came back at that point. "So, ready to learn some new moves?"
"Yeah." Riker said, smiling.
"Great." Allison smiled, putting her things away.
RLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRL
Becca walked into the hospital room. "I'm back guys."
"Oh hey Bec." Ellington said, seeing her come in.
"Hey. How's she doing?" Becca asked, seeing that Rydel was sleeping.
"She's a bit better than yesterday." Ellington said. "She can't wait to have her vision back though. It's stressing her out." He stroked his soulmate's hair.
"I can bet. Can you imagine trying to adjust after being able to see your whole life?" She sat down next to Rocky, who was also sleeping, and stroked his hair. "How long has he been out?"
"About half an hour after you left." Ellington told her. "He's probably really tired from everything. So um, how's your baby?"
"Emelia is doing really well. Ross and Riker's baby is good as well." she said, not thinking about it.
"What baby?" Ellington asked. "Who's pregnant, Ross or Riker? And wait... Is it Ross? Oh my gosh is that why he had to go to the hospital? Wow that's awesome-" he cut himself off. "Riker doesn't know yet, does he?"
"My stupid mouth!" Becca said, crying, "First I tell Ross that Rocky and I are actually married, and now I told you about Ross and I promised I wouldn't because he's so nervous and he wanted Riker to be the first to know when he tells him at the end of the second week on Dancing with the Stars!"
"Hey," Ellington hugged her, "calm down. It's okay. No one needs to know you said that. I won't tell anyone else. Don't worry, this won't get to anyone else. It's okay."
"But now two people know about Rocky and me. He's going to be so disappointed." Becca said, crying.
"He doesn't have to know that we know." Ellington told her. "It's okay, he doesn't have to know."
"But I don't want to lie to him again! I don't want what happened last time to happen again!" Becca said, crying harder.
"You didn't mean to." Ellington said. "He should understand. It won't happen again, it shouldn't. Ssh, now careful before he wakes up."
Becca nodded, sniffling. "I'm so scared Ell."
"Don't be." Ellington told her. "Everything will fall into place. I understand you're nervous, it's okay." He smiled assuringly.
"Ell can I have a hug?" Becca sniffled. "I just really need a hug right now."
Ellington smiled and hugged her again. He rubbed circles on her back.
Becca cried for a few minutes against Ell's shoulder. Then she pulled back. "Thank-you Ell. I needed that...Do you think you could do me a favor though?"
"You're welcome." Ellington said. "And of course, what do you want me to do?"
"Can you run and get me a naepolitan shake from in and out, and a kiwi smoothie from the smoothie place by our house, and then get me a hot fudge sundae and three large fries from McDonald's?" she sniffled.
Ellington gaped, a bit amused. "Cravings? Alright I'll go get them." He stood up. "I'll be back in like an hour. Is that okay?"
"Try and hurry." Becca said. "I'm starving. I haven't eaten since I dropped Ross back off at home, like half an hour ago."
"Okay then I'll try and be back in 40 minutes." Ellington said. "See you then."
"K." Becca said. Ellington smiled and walked out the door.
RLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRL
Riker walked in the front door, and tossed his bag on the floor. "Baby, I'm back!" he called.
"Riker!" Ross ran into the living room and immediately hugged him, not caring about the sweat. "I missed you!"
"Hey, baby I missed you too." Riker said, hugging back.
"Now how about that showed?" Ross asked. "Oh and when's the next rehearsal? Oh, and can we go somewhere after the shower?"
"Shower sounds great." Riker said. "My next rehearsal is tomorrow. And sure we can go anywhere you want."
"Yay. And okay I hope you have fun again tomorrow." Ross said. "Beat you to the bathroom." He ran.
"Oh, no you don't." Riker said, chasing after him. Ross laughed and ran into their room, grabbing his towel. Riker ran straight to the bathroom since his towel was already there. "I win!" he called.
Ross stuck his tongue out. "Cheat. You only win cause I ran slower cause I'm...sick." He shrugged.
"No it's because I didn't have to grab my towel." Riker said, smugly.
Ross looked at his towel and pouted. "Still cheating. Now I wanna shower so turn on the water while I take off my clothes?"
"Yes, sir." Riker said, saluting. He turned the water on and took off his own clothes.
Ross grinned and took off his clothes, before stepping into the shower with his soulmate. "So what kind of dance did you do today?"
"We're doing the jive for our first dance so I've been learning that all day." Riker said. "I think my arms and legs are going to fall off."
Ross laughed. "Then I think you shouldn't work too hard cause if they fall off, you can't do this." He took Riker's hands and wrapped them around himself, before reaching up and kissing him on the lips.
"Mmm. I would miss this very much." Riker said, tightening his ams around Ross' waist.
Ross smiled. "I really love you." He pulled himself closer until their bodies were touching.
"I love you too." Riker said. He kissed his soulmate sweetly.
Ross kissed back and brought his hand up to his soulmate's hair, running his fingers through them.
Riker moaned softly at the feeling. His hands slipped around to Ross back, and down to his butt.
Ross smiled at the contact and kissed his soulmate one more time before slowly pulling away. Riker smiled and kiss Ross' nose before moving to wash his hair. Ross grinned and shoved himself in the middle of the shower, pushing his soulmate away from the water lightly. "My turn." He stuck his tongue out at him.
Riker rolled his eyes. "If I still have shampoo in my hair when the water turns cold I'm going to kill you."
"No you won't." Ross grinned and then fake-frowned. "Unless you don't love me." He looked down, trying to make it look real. "I mean, you did get mad when I put soap in your hair."
"Of course I love you!" Riker said, pulling Ross into a hug. "Don't ever say I don't love you!"
Ross let out a giggle. "I know." The water rinsed him clean and he moved away. "Now you can use it." He smiled.
"Thank-you." Riker said, blushing slightly. He rinsed out his hair, and turned off the shower. "Cuddles now?" he asked turning to Ross. Ross shook his head, wrapping himself in his towel. "Clothes first. I wanna cuddle in bed."
"That's what I meant baby." Riker said, smiling softly.
"Oh." Ross laughed, shaking his head on his silliness. "Okay then." He went and took some clothes, putting them on.
Riker toweled his hair dry and put on his boxers, before climbing into bed. "Come here, baby." he held his arms open for Ross.
Ross smiled and snuggled close to his soulmate. "You're so comfy."
"You are too." Riker said, "So how was your day? What exactly did the doctor say when you went?"
"Um.." Ross thought for a moment. "He said I had stomach flu, maybe because of stress or tiredness...something like that. I didn't really pay much attention." He added, so his soulmate wouldn't realize he was lying.
Riker shook his head. "You always have zoned out when we're talking about something important. I'm just glad your gonna be okay."
Ross grinned and just gave him a peck on the cheek.
"Ross have you seen my shoes?" Riker asked running around. He had to be at DWTS by eight, and it was now five past seven.
"Wasn't it near the couch?" Ross asked, walking into the living room from the door.
"Why were they by the couch?" Riker asked, exasperatedly as he ran downstairs.
"I don't know." Ross said, walking over to the couch. He frowned. "Oh wait, they're not here." He turned to face his soulmate. "Where did you last see them?"
"I don't know." Riker said, running his hand through his hair. "I had them the other night when we...you know." Riker said, "But that was in our room, and the shoes aren't there...at least I didn't see them."
"Do you think they're still-" Ross cut himself off when he saw the pair of shoes by the door. "Um Riker, they're already by the door."
"You've got to be fucking kidding me." Riker muttered, walking over to the shoes, and grabbing them. He sat on the couch and angrily put on the shoes.
"Riker," Ross sighed and sat on the couch next to him. "Please calm down. Don't get too stressed out."
"Ross I'm supposed to be there in like..." he looked at the clock, "Forty minutes. And I still have to have breakfast and get there and you know what traffic is like."
"I know, but doing things angrily won't solve things." Ross told him. "Are you calm now?"
Riker took a deep breath and let out. "Yes."
"Okay then come on." Ross said, standing up. "You can still make it there on time."
Riker left ten minutes later. By the time he got to the set it was 8:10.
Allison breathed a sigh of relief when she saw him come in. But he was late, and she was not happy. "Riker!" She called. "Where have you been? You're late."
"I'm so sorry Allison. Things just got away from me this morning.
"Well that shouldn't have stopped you from coming on time." Allison folded her arms. "This is a competition, Riker. One wrong move can make everything go down." She sighed. "Go change your clothes, I'll be outside." She left.
"Riker, it's gonna be alright." Ross tried to assure him. Riker didn't say anything. He just ran his hands through his hair. He knew if he said something he'd regret it, and he really didn't want to deal with Ross crying right now.
"Riker?" Ross asked, taking his soulmate's hand. "Talk to me, please?"
"I..." Riker growled in frustration. "I just wish something would go right!" he exclaimed, and stormed out of the dressing room.
Ross frowned, watching him leave. "So nothing seems right anymore?" He asked himself before going outside.
Becca arrived and saw Ross walking around. "Ross!" she called running to him.
Ross looked up and saw her. "Oh, hi Becca."
"Rossy, what's wrong?" Becca asked, frowning.
"Riker." Ross stated. "He's mad. I don't know, but the way he sounded was just...mad. He said he wishes something would go right, and that means he thinks nothing's going right, and that also means-" he stopped himself because he knew the next set of words would make him cry.
"Oh, Ross." Becca hugged him, "I'm sure he doesn't mean like that. I'm going to go find him and yell at him. And don't you dare try and tell me not to."
"No, Becca, he's stressed out." Ross didn't listen to her last sentence. "Try looking at his point of view, don't yell at him, please."
Becca shook her head. "It's for the best." She told him and went inside. She walked around to find Riker for about a good few minutes until she spotted him in one of the rooms. "Riker!" She called/yelled, coming over to him.
Riker whirled around, "What do you need Becca?" he asked, stressed.
Becca folded her arms. "Oh I don't need anything. But your soulmate needs you. How could you leave him? Can't you see how upset he is? I mean, even though things weren't going great at that moment doesn't mean you can just make him feel bad and upset and thinking things he shouldn't be!"
"What are you talking about?" Riker asked, confused.
"I'm talking about how you told him you wished something would go right!" She said. "You practically just told him that nothing's going right at the moment, including you two! Did you even think for a second how he feels to see you running around saying things you're not supposed to say? You hurt him, Riker!"
"I didn't mean it like that!" Riker said, looking horrified. "I just meant today. Everything's been going wrong today. I woke up late, I couldn't find my shoes, I got here late, and now there's a problem with my outfit for tonight. I can't believe he would think that I meant anything about him."
"Yeah?" Becca asked. "Then make it clear. Not only saying that, you left him. You LEFT him in a building he's never been to. And did you even notice him? Did you even take a time to notice how much he was holding in to make sure you weren't stressed out even more? He could've just left when you were going crazy but he stayed because he loves you! But you left him when he didn't even do anything wrong! What do you have to say for yourself now?"
"I..." Riker said, crying. "I've gotta go find him." he ran off.
Ross stayed where he was when Becca left because, well, he didn't know where to go, and even though his soulmate hurt him, he still wanted to watch him.
Riker ran around until he found Ross. When he saw him he ran to him and tackled him in a hug. "Don't you dare think that I think our relationship isn't right. I love you. And everything with you will always be perfect."
Ross was taken by surprise, but he accepted the hug anyway. He pulled away a second later and looked up at his soulmate. "Then why did you say what you did? And, why did you leave me?"
"I meant that I just wanted something to go right today. I should've clarified, and I shouldn't have yelled at you. I left, because I had to get to costumes, and I forgot that you hadn't been here before. I just get so used to you always being everywhere with me." Riker said, ending with a shrug.
"You didn't think when you said that, I understand." Ross said. "But if you really left because of that, why did you just leave? You've never left without kissing me or telling me you love me. But this time you just left, without even saying bye." He didn't know if it was his heart saying those things, or if it was his fucking hormones making him so sensitive. "And also, if Becca hadn't talked to you, would you have went to see me?"
Riker hung his head in shame, "No. Probably not, but I didn't know that anything was wrong. I didn't know you'd take it that way."
It hurt. Even after he said that, there was no, 'I love you' or 'I'm sorry'. Ross couldn't keep forgiving people when they didn't even apologize. He hated to say it, but he knew he had to. "If you didn't know I'd take it that way, it means you never notice me to understand me. We're soulmates, but I'm sorry, I think we need a break." He turned and walked away, not caring where he was going. Riker stood there in shock for a moment, before chasing after Ross.
Somehow Ross found a way to the street he recognized, and tried his best to ignore his soulmate chasing after him.
Riker wasn't going to give up. He reached out and grabbed Ross' hand.
Ross turned around and yanked his hand away. "What Riker? Just go back to the studio or whatever."
"No!" Riker said. He grabbed Ross' hand back. "Why do you want a break. I love you Ross. You are the most important person in my life. If I had to choose one person in the world to be alone with on this planet forever it would be you...every time. I don't want a break. I love you more than I even begin to know how to tell you. I'm not going anywhere. And I refuse to let you say we are anything but soulmates." He was in tears by this point, looking Ross' right in the eyes, so he could see the honesty and love shining in them.
Ross himself started to tear up, and he went and hugged his soulmate without a doubt. "I'm sorry, I don't want a break either. It's just.. I thought you don't love me anymore. I love you, Riker. I really do and I'm sorry for saying I need a break. I didn't mean to make things worse. I really love you." He buried his face in Riker's chest. "I love you." He said again.
"I will always love you." Riker whispered against Ross' hair. After a minute he pulled away and said, "But we've got to get back now. I'm going to get yelled at so bad for running out. But it was worth it." he said, smiling at Ross. He grabbed his soulmate's hand and they headed back toward the building. Allison paced in the studio, waiting for Riker to come back. Did he not understand what a competition was? The door opened and she saw him with his soulmate. "Riker Lynch!" She yelled.
"Excuse me, baby." Riker said, smiling. He kissed Ross forehead, "Love you." He sighed, and jogged over to Allison.
Ross smiled. "Love you too." He whispered although he knew he wasn't heard.
"What do you have to say for yourself?" Allison asked, folding her arms.
"I'm sorry Allison, but I had some personal business happen and it was much more important." Riker said. He looked at Ross and smiled, knowing his soulmate could hear him.
Ross smiled back at him and mouthed, 'Love you'.
Allison saw the two and her expression softened. "I can see that, but you really shouldn't have just ran off like you did. Next time, tell someone first." She looked down at her phone. "And your costume's ready. Get it, get changed, and get back in half an hour."
"Yes, ma'am." Riker said. He winked at Ross, and blew him a kiss as he headed toward the changing room. Ross grinned at Riker and decided to follow him to the changing room. Riker gasped when he saw the costume. "Seriously?"
"It's a pretty great costume." Ross smiled. "It'll look great on you, definitely."
Riker jumped and whirled around, but smiled when he saw Ross. "You followed me? I know it's great isn't it. I'm gonna look pretty sexy if I do say so myself."
"Uh, duh of course I'd follow you." Ross rolled his eyes playfully. "You're getting way ahead of yourself. But yes, you will definitely look really sexy." He grinned.
"How am I getting a head of myself?" Riker asked, as he undressed to get ready for the show.
Ross shook his head and chuckled. "I don't know, cause technically, you're right. You're gonna look really sexy, you already look sexy now and.." He couldn't help but stare at his soulmate's abs. Sure he's seen them many times before, but they stood out most at the moment. "Ugh!" He slammed his lips into his soulmate's. Riker returned the kiss, pressing his lips against Ross'. Ross wrapped his arms around Riker's neck, pulling himself closer. Riker's hands went to Ross' waist, pulling him even closer until they were pressed together. Ross smiled into the kiss and brought one of his hands down to make sure the door was locked.
Twenty minutes later...
"Wow." Riker breathed.
"Yes, wow." Ross said and took a breath. He really shouldn't have done that but no harm done to his baby. "I think you better get dressed for real now." He couldn't stop smiling.
"Shit!" Riker said wide eyed. He quickly got up, pulled his clothes on. "I am in so much trouble." He looked at Ross and smiled, "So worth it though." He kissed his forehead. "See you out there, baby."
Ross put his own clothes back on as his soulmate did. Then he smiled widely. "I'll be in the crowd and I'll cheer the loudest for you."
"I know you will baby." Riker said. He kissed Ross sweetly. "Love you, baby. See you after." Then he ran out the door.
Ross walked out the door a minute after, heading towards the main auditorium.
Allison saw Riker come back. "I do not want to know what you were doing in there." She shook his head amusedly at him. "But really, you're in trouble."
"Go ahead yell at me." Riker said. "I'm in far too good a mood to care."
"I'm not gonna yell at you." Allison said. "Just want you to know this competition is not a child's play."
"I get that." Riker said. "Now let's win this thing shall we?"
Allison smiled. "We shall." She paused, "though we can't win in just one performance, and you know the voting counts too, just making sure you know about it."
"I know. The R5 family is amazing though. We got this." Riker said.
"Alright, then you must be ready." Allison said as they reached the backstage.
"Ready." Riker said smiling.
"Good." Allison said. "We're on in 5."
"Okay." Riker said, letting out a breath, "Let's do this."
Ross was practically bouncing in his seat. "They're next! Riker's next!" He saw the fog and then he saw his soulmate dancing out with his partner. "It's them!"
"Hey Dels, it's Riker and Allison." Ellington told Rydel. "They're dancing really great, it's amazing."
"What dance style are they doing?" Rydel asked.
"They're doing...some kind of a ballroom dance, not sure.." Ellington said.
"They're doing Jive." Ross told her. "It's called Jive. You know that style Delly?"
"Yeah! I love the Jive!" Rydel said, smiling, "How do the judges look? Do they look impressed? Bored? What's going on?"
"They look really impressed." Ellington said. "They seem to really enjoy it."
"Yeah." Ross agreed. "They look like they're ready to jump onto their table."
"Oh Dels the camera's going to us, on your left." Ellington said. "Wave."
Rydel turned slightly to her left and waved, "Am I anywhere close?" she asked.
"Yep." Ellington said. He put his arm around her and waved too, and Ross did the same, although without putting his arm around anyone.
"Are Rocky and Becca waving too?" Rydel asked. "Ross how are you feeling?"
"Yes they are." Ellington kissed her forehead.
"Me?" Ross asked. "I'm alright, I'm excited actually I mean this is exciting!"
"I know. I'm sure your very proud of him." Rydel said, "What are the scores I can't hear over the cheering," Rydel said.
"The scores are 8,8,7,8." Ellington told her.
"It's 31 out of 40!" Ross said. "Yay team Rallison!"
"They did so good!" Rydel said, "Who gave what? I can't see which judge is sitting where."
"Carrie Ann, Bruno, and Julliane are the ones who gave them 8s." Ellington said.
Rydel rolled her eyes, "Len always gives low numbers."
Ellington nodded. "Yeah he does."
"At least the others are nicer." Ross said, to be optimistic. He saw Riker on the balcony and blew him a kiss. Riker saw and blew a kiss back. The crowd roared with cheers.
"Why's everyone cheering?" Rydel asked.
Ellington smiled. "Ross just blew a kiss at Riker and he did the same."
Ross giggled and made a heart with his hand, mouthing, 'you have my heart'.
"Now he just mouthed at Riker that he has his heart." Ellington whispered.
"Oh my gosh you two stop being so adorable." Rydel said.
From across the studio Riker mouthed back. 'mine's all yours.'
"What'd he say back?" Rydel asked, bouncing up and down.
Ross giggled and mouthed 'love you'.
"Riker said that his is all Ross's." Ellington told her.
'love you most' Riker mouthed back. He winked at Ross.
"What's going on now?" Rydel asked. She really wished she could just see what was happening.
"Ross told Riker he loves him and Riker told him he loves him most." Ellington told Rydel.
Ross stuck his tongue out at Riker and leaned back in his seat, still staring at him.
Riker smiled and winked.
"Ell! What's happening!" Rydel said, "Their two cute for you not to tell me what's going on!"
Ellington laughed. "They're not as cute as you babe. But if you really want to know, Ross stuck his tongue out at Riker and then he winked back at him."
Ross smiled and blushed. Then he motioned to Riker to go take a rolled his eyes, but did as his soulmate told him.
"Aww, Ell." Rydel said, blushing. Some people started jostling in the crowd, and Rydel couldn't hear Ellington or Ross anymore. She could hear people around her, but she couldn't see anything. "Ell?" she called.
"Rydel?" Ellington looked around. "Ross?" How did he get separated from them?
"Rydel! Ellington!" Ross called, trying to get through the crowd to find them.
Ellington saw a blonde girl's head and went over to her, relieved when it was his soulmate. He hugged her to avoid getting separated again. "I'm here, Dels. I'm right here."
"Ell!" Rydel exclaimed, bursting into tears. "I...I lost you."
"I'm sorry." He told her. "But I'm here now, okay? I won't get us apart again." He held her hand and kissed her forehead. "I'm right here."
"It was so scary. I couldn't see anything and you weren't there, and..." she started to hyperventilate. "I can't breathe." she she gasped out.
Ellington stroked her hair. "Breathe, Dels, in and out, in and out, you're gonna be okay, I'm here now, you're not alone, it's over." He comforted her. "It's okay Dels, breathe."
Rydel focused on breathing in and out. "I love you Ell." she said, cuddling into her soulmate's chest. "Is the show almost over?"
"Yeah, it is." Ellington said. "This is the last contestant."
"Okay good. I'm ready to go home." Rydel said, sighing.
"Me too." Becca chimed in, finding them. "Have you guys seen Ross?"
"Oh crap." Ellington said. "I forgot about him, don't hate me. He should be somewhere around here."
Meanwhile with Ross, he was totally lost. He wasn't in a crowd anymore cause he decided to bolt out of it but now he didn't know where he was. He was outside the stage, obviously. He just didn't realize he was backstage. Riker turned and saw Ross looking very confused, "Baby, what are you doing back here?"
Ross saw him and immediately hugged him. "There was a crowd, I got lost in it, I got separated from the others, so I ran and somehow ended up here. I'm so glad you're here...where are we?"
Riker chuckled, "Here is backstage."
"Oh." Ross felt himself flush with embarrassment. "Um, can I just stay here?"
"Sure." Riker said. He wrapped his arms around Ross, as they watched the last couple dance.
Back with the others, Ellington put his phone back in his pocket. "Can't reach him." He sighed. Then a conclusion came to his head. "Do you think he's with Riker?"
"Let's hope so." Becca said shooting Ell a panicked look.
Ellington understood why she was so panicked and bit his lip, nodding.
"Well, the show's basically over." Rydel said, as Tom closed the show. "We can go and find out if Riker's with Ross.
"Yeah." Ellington said. 'Backstage?"
"Yeah backstage." Rydel said.
Becca turned and started toward the exit, "Move it people lady with a baby!"
Ellington shot Rocky a weird look. "She always like that?"
"Sometimes. It depends on the hormones." Rocky said, with a shrug. "This morning. She cried because we had Lucky Charms."
Ellington furrowed his eyebrows. "Why would she cry because of...never mind."
"She was literally so happy we had Lucky Charms that she cried." Rocky said. "I've never seen her like that before." He yawned "I am so freakin' tired."
"I guess you can just go home if you want. Becca and I can look for them." Ellington said. "Maybe you can take Rydel home too? Do you want to, Dels?"
"Yeah, I'll go." Rydel said, "Ell can you give my hand to Rocky please."
Ellington gave her hand to Rocky and kissed her cheek first. "Careful though."
"I will be. Love you see you at home." Rydel said.
"Take care of Becca Ell." Rocky said, giving him a pointed look.
"Love you Dels." Ellington said and nodded to Rocky. "And you take care of Rydel." He said before following Becca to the backstage.
"Ross has to be with Riker." Becca said, chewing on her bottom lip, "If he isn't...I just don't know what I'll do..." she started to tear up.
Ellington sighed. "I know, but he should be." He said as they entered the backstage.
"If he isn't when I get a hold of him. I'm going to yell at him even more than I yelled at Riker this morning." Becca said.
"Why?" Ellington asked. "Technically, it's not his fault if he got lost. But if he ran off, then it is his fau-" he stopped and saw Ross with Riker. "There they are. Let's scare them."
"No!" Becca said, "Not with Ross' in his condition!"
"Pregnant people shouldn't be scared?" Ellington asked. "I didn't know that."
"It's more because it's so soon, and male pregnancies are a lot easier to lose than normal ones. Especially in the beginning." Becca said.
"Oh." Ellington said. "That's...that's hard. Anyway let's just tell them we're here."
"Riker! Ross!" Becca said, walking up to them. They turned around. "Hey guys! We're here! Well, me and Ell. Rydel was ready to go, and Rocky was tired, because I made him drive to McDonald's at two in the morning because Emelia wanted to McCafe's and a McFlurry. Both m&m and reese, speaking of which..." She turned to Ellington, "We're stopping at McDonald's on the way home, and don't even think about saying no to me.", she turned back to Ross and Riker, "So you two ready to go?"
Ross smiled. "I want mcflurry too with cookie dough ice cream. Just feeling like it." He shrugged.
Ellington shook his head and sighed. "Wow."
"Oh, that sounds really good." Becca said. "I'm going to add some cookies and cream and chocolate to mine to though...and coffee. Maybe some Rocky road."
"Okay then." Riker said, "Let's get going."
Ross turned to Becca and whispered, "My cravings getting out of hand. What if he notices something?"
"You'll be fine. It's just a week." Becca whispered back, "And we already got the okay from the producers."
Ross grinned. "Great. Thanks for helping." He turned back to Riker and clung onto his arm.
"Hey, baby. You okay?" Riker asked.
"Perfectly great." Ross grinned at him. He couldn't wait until he got to tell him.
"So um, we're using Six, right?" Ellington asked. "Cause we went here using Rocky's car and now he's home so..."
Riker laughed, "Yeah we can take Six." he turned to Ross and Becca, "Just don't get ice cream all over."
Ross giggled. "What if we do?"
"I will be very upset and you and Rocky will be cleaning it tomorrow." Riker said.
"You can't make me clean it cause I shouldn't get tired cause I'm p- sick." Ross stuck his tongue out.
Ellington shook his head at him, amused.
"Fine, then Ell will just have to clean it with Rocky." Riker said, patting Ell on the back with his free hand, since Ross still had the other one.
Ellington gaped. "What? Me?"
"Oh yeah. So you might want to make sure it don't happen." Riker said, climbing the driver's seat. "Ross and Becca in the back."
"No way." Ross pouted. "I wanna be in the front with you."
Ellington frowned. 'You two better keep it clean."
"Ross, I don't want any of the stuff up front to accidentally get sticky." Riker said.
"But we're not buying the things yet." He protested. "I'm not gonna make it dirty."
"Ross..." Riker sighed, "You know what fine. Ell would you move to the back please."
"Sure." Ellington said, moving to the back.
Ross went and sat on the front. "Why are you so not happy that I wanna be with you?" He has found himself asking.
Riker sighed, "Of course I'm happy you want to be with me, baby. I love you. I just don't like sticky. You know how particular I am about Six. Of course I'm happy your up here baby."
"So your stupid car is more important than me." Ross said looking out the window, his eyes starting to tear up.
Riker pulled over on the side of the road, he turned back to Ell and Becca. "Guys, could you step out for a sec?"
Becca nodded, and climbed out of the car. Ellington sighed and stepped out. "This probably won't end well." He said to Becca once they were out.
"I'm sure you meant me too since you want private time with Six." Ross said, opening the door.
"Ross Shor Lynch you close that door right now." Riker said.
Ross rolled his eyes and closed the door, but still didn't look at his soulmate.
"Are we seriously going over this again?" Riker asked, "How many times do I have to tell you baby. I love you more than anything else in the world. How many times is it going to take for you to believe me?"
"You're just saying that." Ross said, letting a few tears fall. "I won't believe you unless you give me a strong enough proof."
"What do you want me to do?" Riker asked, "I'll do it, whatever you want."
Ross shook his head, but didn't say anything. "Just get the ice cream for Becca now. I wanna go home."
"Alright. If that's what you want." Riker said, sadly. He got out for a minute. "You guys can get back in." Becca got in behind Ross. Ellington went back in, smiling sadly.
"Just make it quick, I'm gonna stay in the car while you buy the ice cream." Ross said to Becca.
"Actually I think I just want to go home." Becca said. "I can have Rocky get the ice cream later."
"No, Becca, just get your ice cream." Ross told her. "It's your craving, I know you need it."
"Nope." Becca said, "I actually don't want it anymore. It happens sometimes. I'll get a craving and then it will go away. I actually really want some popcorn now. And we have that at home. So we're going home."
Ross sighed. "I'm sorry." He turned away. "I can't even make people have what they want." He muttered.
When they got home everyone headed inside. "Ross, can I talk to you for a minute?" Becca asked.
Riker kissed Ross' forehead, "I'll see you in the house, baby." Becca shook her head in amazement. Riker was a saint. Even with everything Ross had said, Riker was still being sweet and loving.
When Riker kissed him, all Ross felt was guilt. He really didn't deserve such a perfect, loving soulmate. He turned to Becca. "It depends."
"Oh, you know exactly what this is about." Becca said, "Ross, you can't let your hormones control you. Sometimes your going to be clingy, and sometimes your going to be a bitch. But that doesn't give you the right to take it out on us. Especially Riker. You can't keep throwing him through emotional ringers like this. It's not good for either of you. Or the baby. But you can't bottle the feelings up either. If you need to talk before you tell Riker call me, come find me and vent. Do the same thing if it's Riker your mad at at any point in the pregnancy. If your just mad about a situation though vent to Riker. He's there to listen to you." Becca said, she grabbed Ross' face and made sure he was looking straight at her when she said, "He wants to listen to you." she paused to let it sink in. "Understand?"
Ross knew if he said no, she would make it difficult. So he just nodded. "But I'm not bottling things up. And right now, I don't need anyone to talk to." He felt so bad for saying that, but he didn't need anyone seeing him weep or complain or do whatever. So he went pass her and ran outside, going to his one special place.
Becca ran to the house, "Riker, Ross ran off."
Riker bolted toward the door.
"Do you even know where he's going?" Becca asked.
"The park!" Riker called running.
"Go get 'em daddy." Becca said, to the air as she closed the door.
