The crazy action packed chapters are dying down, but there's still plenty of interesting things to come...thanks for the reviews, adds and just reading in general...Read, review and enjoy!
Liz made her way to Colt's house, where her and Punk were staying, while their home was being looked over by Chicago police detectives. There was a lot of remodeling that needed to be done as well, but Punk had promised her they would be back home before the end of the month. Liz was just hoping that the horrible events that had unraveled in her dream home hadn't tainted it forever.
She parked the car and grabbed her purse before heading into the house. Walking in the house, she quietly closed the door behind her when she saw Punk was asleep on the couch. Liz smiled to herself glad to see that he had finally been able to get some sleep. Between the chaos of the last few weeks and the nightmare that had taken place the night before, she knew Punk hadn't slept for a few days and she always worried about him when he went more then a day without sleeping. Despite her attempt to quietly enter the house, Punk heard her shoes clicking against the hard wood floor and opened his eyes to see her walk back the hallway towards the guest room. He thought about closing his eyes again, but forced himself to get up.
Liz had just taken off the bandage on her left arm and was examining the wound when she caught site of Punk in the mirror. She jumped slightly still feeling jittery after the happenings of the last few days.
"I didn't mean to scare you. How's the arm?"
"It's okay, doesn't hurt at all. I'm just hoping it doesn't scar."
"A scar should be the least of your worries! You should just be happy that you're alive, I know I am." He walked closer to her wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close, resting his chin on top of her head, "You know if you wouldn't be so stubborn there wouldn't be a possible scar on your arm." Liz pulled back from him and met his eyes.
"Well I'm sorry, but I wasn't going to stand outside and wait for you two. If I would've listened I don't want to think what could've happened. I feel horrible enough that Ginger is in the state that she's in. Speaking of her, Colt stopped by, but I don't think things ended the way he hoped they would. She's pretty damaged right now and Dwayne is doing everything he can to get her therapy and help her sort everything out."
"I warned Colt before he left, but he was determined. I'm pretty sure he finally found a woman that makes him want to be a better person. I don't know why we never fixed them up, I mean they have a lot in common, the biggest thing being they're big kids in adult bodies until one of us screws up and then they get all parental."
"We couldn't fix her up because she was married and then the whole death hoax happened shortly after that. Deep down I hope they find a way to work out, I know he'd be good with Leon and Cindy would love him." Punk got a smirk on his face at the last part she said and Liz wondered just what he was up to.
"Speaking of parents, I may have done something that you might be upset about, but I think it's the perfect time. It's been a rough year for both of us and I managed to get some time off, so I figured we'd go visit your parents in South Carolina." Liz sighed to herself knowing he was right, but not wanting to go there, ever!
"I agree that you should probably meet my parents, but it doesn't mean I'm thrilled with the idea."
"Well I'm glad you see things my way. You should probably hurry up and pack because our flight leaves at six." Liz glanced at her watch and saw it was already 3:30.
"Really! It's bad enough that I'm about to vacation with Kevin and Meredith, but you couldn't have at least given me the day to let it sink in? You have no idea what you're getting yourself into Phillip!" Punk laughed at her and shrugged his shoulders.
"I don't know Meredith seemed excited on the phone when I talked to her. She's been waiting a long time for this. Oh and Kevin already has tickets to a baseball game and he'll be picking us up at the airport." Liz let out another groan as she grabbed her luggage and started rooting through it. She wasn't thrilled about this trip, she was never thrilled about a trip home, but quickly realized she had to make the best of it. Liz had just been through one of the roughest times in her life and she some how had gotten through it unscathed.
Their flight landed just after 8PM and as promised, Kevin was awaiting their arrival. Liz went to greet her dad, who she hadn't seen in almost two years, while Punk went to get their luggage. Liz smiled when she saw her dad and met him with a big hug. She had always been close to her dad, her mother was the reason she stayed away. Even though she loved and admired her mom and was grateful for everything that she'd done, they didn't always see eye to eye and it drove Liz crazy. Meredith always had a way of bringing up certain topics at inopportune times and Liz prayed she wouldn't do that while Punk was around.
Liz turned then to see Punk approaching them wearing his Rancid sweatshirt. She was slightly puzzled as to why he was wearing a sweatshirt when it was 70 degrees outside, but she decided to ask later.
"Dad, this is Punk, and obviously Punk this is my dad." Punk extended his hand to Liz's dad who took it into a firm hand shake.
"Mr. Reed it's a pleasure to meet you, please call me Phil or Phillip, either will do. Liz has told me so much about you and your lovely wife. I'm looking forward to getting to know both of you." Liz was further confused that he had just introduced himself as Phil. She called him that one a rare occasion, usually when she was frustrated, angry or just trying to get his attention. Her dad seemed to be thrilled with Punk right off the bat and she knew she didn't have to worry about him, it was Meredith he'd have to impress.
Twenty minutes later, they pulled up to her parent's beach condo. Punk and her dad had talked the whole way home and she barely got a word in edge wise, but it didn't bother her. She knew her dad loved her dearly, but the void of not having a son to watch sports with and go fishing was always clear to her. Liz tried to do those things with her dad, but in most cases it didn't work out. Pushing the thought aside, Liz got out of the car and Meredith came rushing out of the house to meet them. Letting out a deep sigh, Liz plastered a smile on her face not wanting to hear a comment about how she looked frumpy when she didn't smile. Then there was the jab that her father had invested over $2000 dollars to get her braces to have the perfect Miss America smile, so she should show it off proudly. Meredith embraced Liz into a hug before turning her attention to Punk.
"Mom, this is…"
"Phillip, it's so great to meet you! Please come in, don't worry about the luggage, Kevin and Elizabeth can get that." Liz's jaw dropped at the reception he was getting and she knew immediately they'd chatted on the phone more then he had hinted at. Shrugging her shoulders, she grabbed her luggage wheeling it into the house. Skipping past the soiree going on in the kitchen, Liz went straight up the stairs to her bedroom dropping off her luggage and deciding to change into something more comfortable. Grabbing a pair of sleep shorts and a T-shirt, she knew her mother would be appalled that she wasn't dressed nicer in front of her beau, but she also knew Punk didn't care what she wore. After changing her clothes, she flipped her hair up in a clip and put on her flip flops before heading downstairs.
The kitchen and living room were empty, so she figured Meredith had retreated to entertaining on the back patio. Sure enough she was right as she slid open the sliding glass door and was met with a look from her mother that she returned with a smile. Grabbing a glass of lemonade from the table, Liz sat on the wicker couch beside Punk folding her legs beneath her and leaning into him. Punk and her dad were lost in a conversation about baseball, picking up from where they left off in the car, so she knew there wasn't any trouble there. Liz turned her focus to her mom and knew by the look she shot her there was an inappropriate conversation topic brewing in her head. Bracing herself for disaster, Liz took a sip of lemonade.
"Elizabeth, you're going to be 30 soon, when are you going to have children? Your eggs are drying up as we speak and even though your career is important to you, I think you need to take a break and settle down." Liz regretted drinking that lemonade as she subsequently choked on it. After coughing for a minute before regaining her ability to breathe, she glared at her mother. They had discussed this very topic several times, but Meredith didn't seem to let the words sink into her thick skull.
"Mom, now is not the time to discuss this…" To her surprise, Punk intervened.
"Actually Mrs. Reed we're hoping to start a family within the next year. We'll probably start with a dog and see if we can handle that, but children are in the near future. You seem like you'd be a great grandma and I'm sure the kids would love to visit in the summer." Liz wasn't sure she had just heard him correctly. Punk had said that entire statement without a hint of sarcasm, meaning he meant every word. Despite the fact they'd been together for almost two years, they hadn't had a normal two year relationship. Between their careers, the constant travel, the distance and the mess with Ginger, they had never really talked about marriage or kids, so it was a little nerve racking to hear Punk talking about starting a family with her mother of all people. Liz suddenly felt exhaustion hit her, her thoughts telling her to get as far away from this conversation as possible.
"Umm…I'm not feeling so hot and today has been really long, so I'm going to excuse myself and head to bed. Good night." Her dad was the only one who seemed to notice something was up, but rather then saying anything, he got up and kissed her cheek before she disappeared to her bedroom.
Ginger had landed in Miami with Dwayne by her side and was anxious to see her son. Her mom, Cindy, met them at the airport with Leon by her side. Ignoring everything around her, Ginger picked up her son and held him close to her. Pulling back, she looked at his dark wavy hair and his green eyes. He looked more like Wade everyday and Ginger wasn't sure how she was going to deal with the similarities. The whole flight home all she could think about was the day that her son would come to her and ask about his dad. How was she going to answer him? Leon had a right to know about Wade, he wasn't always a monster and Ginger had no explanation to give him as to how he had become that way. Still lost in her thoughts, Dwayne nudged Ginger into getting in the waiting car. When they got home, he took Leon from her convincing her to lie down. He knew it was going to a long road to get Ginger back to where she was, but as a dear friend he was willing to do anything he could to help along the way.
