Chapter 10

Holly's House

Sunday, August 2, 1992

Ross woke to find the late morning sun streaming in through the cracks in the Venetian blinds. Blake's head lay across his chest and he reached up to softly stroke her brownish red hair. She snored faintly, her breath tickling his chest hairs.

Ross caught himself thinking about what their child would look like. Would he or she have his blue eyes or her green? Would their hair be red like Blake's was as a child? He was pretty sure Blake's hair was naturally curly, though she had worn it straight in the past year. His own hair tended to curl if he didn't keep it closely cropped. A vision of a curly haired green-eyed little girl with Blake's infectious smile invaded his thoughts.

Glancing around the room, he noticed the picture of Blake and Alan-Michael that he'd seen on her nightstand during the blackout was no longer there. In the same location was a small "Vote for Marler" campaign button, looking casually placed, but he knew better.

His thoughts were interrupted by a low growl coming from the vicinity of Blake's stomach. A low moan and feather-like kisses on his chest revealed that Blake had awakened.

"Hungry?" Ross questioned.

"Starving." Blake sat up and moved her left leg over his lower body, so that she was sitting astride him. "Ravenous." She leaned down to kiss him. "Insatiable." Her oral attack was interrupted as her stomach growled again, this time quite loudly.

"For food?" Ross asked between kisses.

"I could go for some food," Blake moved off of him and Ross groaned from the loss of contact.

"What time is it?" Ross looked around the room for an alarm clock. He wasn't quite sure where his watch had ended up.

"Almost noon."

"I've got a fundraiser at the Ladies Auxiliary in Clayton at two."

"Go grab a shower," Blake insisted, pulling on a tiny tank top and and a very short pair of cotton shorts. "I think there's the makings for pancakes in the kitchen. It'll be ready when you get out." Blake traipsed through the doorway with a smile, feeling Ross's eyes following her.

Ross groaned once more, pulling a pillow over his head for a second before getting up and heading towards the bathroom. They were playing with fire, if Holly happened to come back and catch them. He knew she needed to be told eventually, but catching him with her daughter in bed together was just adding insult to injury.

When Ross emerged from the shower, dressed in his only slightly rumpled dress slacks and light blue shirt, Blake had a stack of pancakes and a cup of coffee waiting for him on the breakfast bar.

"Smells delicious," Ross complimented and smiled.

"Told you, I'm a good cook. You should trust me more." Blake smiled back.

A knock at the door and Ed's swift entrance interrupted Ross's retort.

"Ed!" Blake exclaimed, walking around the breakfast bar to give him a hug. "I just made pancakes, do you want any? They're blueberry, banana, peanut butter." At Ed's curious look in response to the odd combination of ingredients, Blake shrugged her shoulders, "Pregnancy cravings."

Ed glanced at his watch, "It's almost noon." Ed then looked up to notice Ross, sitting at the breakfast bar, casually eating Blake's blueberry, banana, peanut butter pancake creation.

"Ed," Ross offered up as a hello.

"Is Holly here? She was supposed to meet me at the Country Club last night for dinner and never showed. I called the station this morning and Gilly said she hadn't shown up yet. I tried to call here, but just got a busy signal."

"She left yesterday. We had an argument and I let it slip…," Blake paused, then shook her head. "...well, I intentionally told her in probably the most insensitive way possible that you were my father and not Roger." Blake sat down, picking at the plate of mostly eaten pancakes with her hands.

"Blake…" Ed began.

"She freaked, Ed. Packed up a bag and left. Broke the phone when I tried to call you."

"Maybe she just needed some time. It's a pretty life changing piece of news to take in," Ed tried to reason.

"You didn't see her. I'm worried."

"Give her some time," Ed reassured.

Ross, having finished his pancakes and coffee as Ed and Blake were talking, interrupted with a slight cough, trying to sound casual. "Blake, thanks for the pancakes. I need to get going if I'm going to make it to the fundraiser on time. Ed." Ross grabbed his suit jacket that was laying on the loveseat.

"Bye," Blake offered a slight wave. "I'll be sure to have Gilly make a copy of that news tape you asked for."

"Yeah, I'll...uh...stop by the station later."

"Call me later," Blake called out as Ross was opening the door. "You know...about the job...for Samantha."

Ross smiled back at her as the screen door closed.

As soon as her heard Ross's car pull out, Ed turned to Blake, "So, how long has this been going on?"

"What?" Blake feigned ignorance, knowing the Ed had picked up on something between her and Ross.

"Holly's not here," Ed began to tick off the evidence. "Ross was sitting there, eating your blueberry, banana, peanut butter pancake creation without complaint, while you're wearing almost nothing. You have no problem mentioning your pregnancy in front of him. He obviously knows about us finding out that I'm your father and not Roger, and last but not least, Ross's hair is wet from a recent shower."

"Who are you, Perry Mason?"

Ed just stared back, daring Blake to deny it.

"So, that means you think we're sleeping together?"

"Yes. Is he the baby's father?" Ed asked directly.

Blake bit her bottom lip, trying to come up with something to say.

Ed took Blake's nonresponse as an affirmative and sighed, "At least it's not Alan-Michael's or Leo Flynn's. Did Holly find out? Is that why she really left?"

Blake looked up, surprised at Ed's easy acceptance. "No, she doesn't know. She really did leave after finding out about Roger."

"Perhaps it's better that she stays away for a while. So, how long has this been going on between you and Ross?"

"A few weeks, a couple months, depends on what you mean by going on?" Blake waffled.

Ed stared at her until she relented. "All right, I started flirting with Ross a couple of months ago. I was trying get back at Mom for telling Alan-Michael about me calling immigration on Elanie. I thought, a little harmless flirting, maybe have Mom catch us in a kiss or two...but then we started to talk. Ross is the first person in a long time who actually listened to me and didn't try to judge me or tell me what I had done wrong. I guess I just started to fall for him, just a little at a time, that I didn't realize what was happening."

"And the baby?"

"It wasn't planned. I know, I know. I doubt anyone would really believe me given my past. It happened after Nick and Mindy's wedding reception."

"During the Blackout," Ed choked out, knowing what lustful situation he had succumbed to with Lillian in the parking garage.

"Yeah. I had an argument with Alan-Michael in the stairwell and took off. I guess Ross saw the end of it and followed me home, to make sure I was okay. We argued and then...things just happened." Blake shrugged and turned to begin picking up the breakfast dishes.

"Is that it? Your mother was under the impression that you had been seeing someone in the last month."

"Seeing is a relative term. I just...there's something about Ross. He's the only one, in a long time, that seems to get me. He makes me want to be a better person. Not that I think I'll ever get there. I even tried to have Holly catch us together a few times, just to hurt her," Blake confessed.

"And how does he feel about the baby?"

"I'm not sure. He seems accepting of it. We talked. He wasn't mad. Honestly, it was nice to talk with someone who had such a mature reaction. I just don't want this hurting his campaign. I know Leo's going down with a DUI, but an affair? And a baby? With me? I'm not sure his campaign would survive. And I know how much he wants this."

"So you're going to keep this thing a secret?"

Blake nodded. "That's my plan."

"Ross isn't on board with it, is he?"

Blake shook her head, "He doesn't want to deny his child. He's too good for me. The voters will never accept this. Maybe an affair, I mean it's not like either of us are married. But a baby, with Roger Thorpe's daughter?"

"You've forgotten one thing, you're not Roger Thorpe's daughter anymore." Ed smiled, though his heart broke thinking about how lowly Blake thought about herself.

"Yeah, we need to talk about that. Roger will freak if he finds out."

"Blake, Ross has one thing right, a father shouldn't ever have to deny their child. I spent 25 years not knowing you were my daughter and 5 of those years just pretending that you were mine. I don't want to go another minute pretending you're not."

Blake leaned over to hug Ed tightly. "I'm sorry, Ed...Dad. Can we just give it some time? At least until I figure out how to tell Roger without him killing you?"

"I'd like to tell Maureen and Michelle, though. And Rick."

Blake nodded, "Of course you should tell them."

"And I think you should consider not working at WSPR anymore. That way, when you decide to tell Roger, you're not under his thumb at the station."

"And where would I work? Spaulding's not hiring, me, at least. Billy wouldn't touch me a ten foot poll. There's surprisingly very little options in Springfield for a young woman with an MBA from Northwestern who's managed to piss off or screw over the majority of the corporate elite."

"Cedar's has a PR opening. It probably won't pay as well as Roger, but it comes with a seat on the Fundraising Board. You have a lot of business contacts, we could use you."

"Tempting. Can I think about it?"

"Of course. Now let's talk about how I'm about to be a Grandpa!"

Blake giggled and smiled. Ed thought it was one of the most genuine smiles he had seen from her in a long time. His little girl looked happy.

To Be Continued...