Chapter Eleven

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(Third Person fluffy angst. Flangst, I believe they call it. enjoy :)

Allie was lying on the bed, watching MTV in her silky, light-pink slip when Greg rolled in, slightly tired. Nick had dropped her off, telling her that he was staying with Warrick for the night. Tine was away, obviously. Allie was half asleep and trying to keep her eyes open. Greg smiled at her, but he noticed that she'd been crying. He hated it when she cried, because he knew exactly why: she always took too much stuff on. Wether it was work, personal or anything else, she definitely needed to relax. She wasn't depressed - she didn't get depressed, she pretty much just got angry - but she wasn't happy, either. She was worried. Not half as worried as Greg, though. "Hey." He greeted her, cheerily. She smiled back at him. "You okay?"

Allie nodded. "Mm. Tired, is all. How's your family?"

"Good. They were worried about you." So was he. "Allie, could we talk?"

"Yeah." No. She knew there was a mini-lecture on it's way. Greg took his jacket off and sat on the end of the bed, next to her.

"You know, I don't like it when you don't tell me about these things."

"What things?"

Greg started unbuttoning his shirt. "When you're stressed."

Allie laughed. "Believe me, Greg...I'd never be done." She was deflecting.

"Allie." Greg said, softly. He pulled his trousers off and climbed into the bed, placing his arm around Allie. "Just, talk to me...I'm a good listener." He grinned, hoping to cheer her up, slightly. Little did he know that anytime he even looked at her, it cheered her up. She was a happy person, although worrying was definitely her biggest fault. Generally when she was this stressed, she and Greg wouldn't speak very much to each other at all. Greg hated it. He hated the silence more than anything. But he didn't like the fact that Allie worked through it all by herself, never letting him in. He just wished she would. He knew - and he supposed she did, too - that it would do her good to let her feelings out.

"Okay...uh, Ashley pretty much left me with all of her work to be done. I sent her home because she was annoying me and then...everyone came in and started asking me about the results." Her voice cracked and she started crying, quietly. "Uh, then it was as if...I couldn't really breathe properly. Um..." She shifted herself in closer to Greg. He turned his light off beside her. The room was dimly lit, just perfect. It was cool enough, giving Allie a chance to actually inhale and exhale without interruption. "I started looking for samples and stuff, but I couldn't concentrate. I-I just...I couldn't do it, Greg." She brought her eyes up to Greg, who was staring down at her concernedly. "Just had a bad day, was all." She wiped her eyes and lay down flat on the bed, Greg doing the same. "Ugh, and me and Mom went dress shopping. Greg, we can't spend two-thousand dollars on a dress!"

"Course we can."

"No, Greg. We really can't. I mean, once we're married, we'll have to move out, then we'll have kids, a-and then what? A dog, and a mortgage, maybe more kids..." Greg let her ramble on for another twelve minutes about random things she'd been worrying about and then he stopped her before she had heart-failure.

"Look, Allie...we'll manage. We've done pretty well so far, haven't we?" Greg placed his hand on her waist. Allie nodded, hesitantly. "Besides, I've been saving since I was in college. Probably have more than you'd think. Don't worry about the prices. Mortgages are fun. Uh...we don't need a dog quite yet." Allie laughed. "If you want...I could tell Ashley to leave you alone-"

"No, Greg, no..." She was about to ramble again, he knew.

Greg put a finger to Allie's lips, shushing her. "Shoosh. If you keep worrying about things, you'll get a hernia."

"What?"

"My mom always used to tell me...if I worried, I'd get a hernia. Or an ulcer." Greg shrugged, knowing it was one or the other. Allie smiled.

"Thank you, Greg. I feel like an ass." Allie sighed, nuzzling her head into Greg's neck. He smiled to himself.

"You shouldn't."

"If you cried, you'd feel like an ass, too."

"Not true. I cry. Sometimes." Greg couldn't actually remember the last time he'd cried. Maybe...a year ago?

"You never cry." Allie looked up, leaving Greg slightly disappointed. Instinctively, Greg placed his hands on Allie's face and kissed her, softly. She smiled and rolled over on top of him, kissing along his jaw-line. Such a pleasant feeling, he decided. He placed his hands on the small of her back and travelled upwards, letting her slip slide further up, revealing more flesh than was necessary. She pulled her hands up from his sides up to his hair, tousling it gently. Allie winced when Greg started tracing circles at the top of her back. They continued on with this messing about for another half an hour or so, before the door went. Allie rolled her eyes, completely out of breath, and shot up out of the bed. She pulled on a pair of jeans and tutted. This was far too late for anybody to visit them. Then she checked her watch. It was far earlier than she had originally thought. "I'll be right back...don't move!" She grinned at Greg, who was sprawled out in the middle of the bed, wide-awake now. The person at the door was now knocking frantically. Allie had a quick look through the peep-hole in the door. Was that...Carl? She flattened her hair and opened the door. "Hi!" She greeted him brightly. Allie had long since discovered that Carl wasn't actually wearing a wig, but it was his real hair. It was just long at the time. It was cropped now, more like Nick's hair. She placed a hand on her very warm - very flushed - cheek. "How are you, Carl?"

Carl grinned. He was attractive enough. Not Greg-attractive, obviously, but fair enough. Shorter than Allie, and possible even Bonnie, he had toned up in recent months. His pot-belly had left him and his teeth had been straightened. He definitely knew a plastic surgeon or five. "Hello, Allie. I'm good, thanks. Uh, could I come on in for a minute or ten?"

Allie glanced at the bedroom door, then down at herself. Her slip had, well, slipped so she pulled it up quickly and nodded. "Yeah, of course. I was just...uh, watching TV." She shifted over, letting Carl enter the room. This had better be quick...and important. "Something wrong, Carl?"

He shook his head. "No, no. Just checking in on you. Your mother said you were looking a bit white. Not very tanned or something." He shook his head. Allie nodded.

"Oh, yeah. I wasn't feeling too well. Had a bit of a bad day. All good now, though. Anything else?" Allie sat herself down on the arm of the chair, calming herself down slightly. Carl frowned.

"Actually, yes. Your mother told me to give you this." He handed Allie a small sheet of paper. Allie furrowed her brows and opened it up. Instantly, her mouth shot open. "She says she hopes it'll cover the dresses."

"Gah, I...wow. Oh, my gosh. Carl!" She shrieked. "I absolutely can't take this! It is way too much!" The sheet of paper in question was actually a cheque for $2, 500. All the dresses and maybe even the shoes, Allie thought. She couldn't take it, mostly because she knew it was Carl's money.

"No, no. It really isn't. Especially if you're buying the dresses from the shop your Mom was chatting about." Carl picked up a magazine and started reading, or skimming.

Allie was still flabbergasted. "Oh, thank you Carl!" She ran over to him and threw her arms right around his neck. He laughed.

"Not a problem. It's actually your Mom's money, anyway."

Allie bit her lip. She didn't really believe him, but what could she do. "Still, thank you so much. Hey, do you guys have a place to stay tonight?"

Carl nodded. "We're staying with Frank and Dylan. Nice place they've got going over there. Clean. I was surprised."

"Yeah, so was I. How's the dog?"

"Good...very well trained. He responds better to Frank than anyone else." Carl stood up and walked to the door. "Anyway, I'd better be off before your Mom's phoning me. Enjoy the cheque." He winked and opened the door. Allie grinned.

"Thank you. Tell Mom I'll be over tomorrow sometime, okay?"

Carl bobbed his head. "We're having steak."

"Excellent. Goodnight, Carl."

"Night."

Allie shut the door behind him and locked it. She was thrilled about the money. It was definitely a big help for her. She ran into the bedroom and flung herself around Greg, who was standing at the end of the bed. "Greg, you'll never guess what?!"

"What?" He widened his eyes, taken a back by Allie. She pulled away, letting him get a good look at her in the little pink slip. God, what a sight. It started lower than most of her clothes - although, she never wore round-neck items - and it finished at the top of her knees, clinging to her attractively. She was plenty skinny, and her stomach was nice and flat. She was always pleased with her shoulders, trying to show them off and whatnot. Her hair had gotten longer, now ending at her collar bone. Her fringe ended just at the end of her eyebrows, and her eyes were amazing. Greg often wondered how they disappeared whenever she smiled. He was brought crashing back to reality when she jumped on him again, obviously ecstatic about something. He hadn't really paid much attention to what she'd been saying. Something about Carl...money, maybe?

"How cool is that?! That is mine, Michelle's, Catherine and Sara's dresses! Of course, I'll probably get the shoes and all, but still!"

Greg smiled, pulling her back onto the bed and not really caring what she was talking about. He knew this was the first of many, many, nights like this ahead.

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A/N: Hola!

Okay, I think I'm back on track with this fic...I have it all in my head, but it's the wording that's getting me. Uh, sorry again for the really long wait. Hope you lot all enjoyed it! I personally think it's too short, but meh.

Michelle, you will definitely be in the next couple of chapters, so, woo! LOL. Oh, I love writing fluff. Fluff is amazing. Cliched fluff, even. Wow.

Please, please, please leave me a wee review! They really make my day!

Have a great rest of the day,

JauntyChick

XOX