Chapter 14

"Hello?"

Stan's deep voice seem to rattle her, and Liz was even more nervous than before. "Hi," she squeaked.

She could hear his sigh of relief on the other end of the line. "You okay?" he asked quietly.

She nodded a moment before she managed to speak. "Yeah, you know… okay. Uhm… are you?"

"I guess so… be a lot better if you'd come home to me."

"I just… I needed some space, Stanley."

"Okay, I know, it's okay. This isn't something either one of us was prepared for."

"I'm sorry," Liz said, and tears sprung from her eyes.

"Oh, Liz, you don't have anything to be sorry for. I'm the one who's sorry. I'm not—I guess I'm not the man I thought I was. I'm sorry, honey. I'm sorry I was bitter about Nathan not being mine, and I'm sorry I drove you away from me. You're such a good woman, Liz. You're a far better person than I can ever be. I hope you can forgive me, Liz. I hope that just one more time, you can forgive me. I don't want to live without you, honey. I don't know what I'll do without you. I don't like it here alone. I… I feel lost."

She cried even harder. "Oh, Stan, I am sorry. I didn't think enough about how you were feeling. I should have talked to you first, before I made any decisions. And now it's done and I'm broken, and we're broken, and I don't think there's any way I can fix it." She broke into sobs.

"Come home to me," he pleaded, his voice heavy with his own tears. "We'll fix it together." She was crying so hard she couldn't reply. "Come home. Please," he pleaded sadly.

Liz nodded, but she couldn't say anything. Her father returned, and the distraction was enough to lift her momentarily from her sorrow. She sniffed. "Uh, Dad just got back," she told her husband.

"Good. I don't want you to be alone," Stan said. "Liz, whatever you need, I'll do it. If you need to be alone, I'll wait for you. If you want to talk, or to get Nathan back, or to run away to Tahiti, I'll do it. You just say the word, honey. I'll do it."

"I love you, Stan," she managed to whisper.

"I love you, too, Liz. Forever and for always."

"Look, uh, I should go talk to Dad. I… I'm really tired," she admitted.

"Okay. Whatever you need," Stan reassured her.

"Maybe tomorrow?" she suggested.

"Sure, honey. Take as long as you need. I'll be here. And I am sorry. I love you."

"Good night, Stan."

"Night, Liz."

She hung up quickly, not wanting to allow the conversation to drift back to the painful feelings again. Liz took a deep breath and held the phone against her chin. She could get through this. She and Stan could get through it.

"Elizabeth?" her father called from the other room.

"I'm here, Dad," she said, and some of the strength had returned to her voice.

Bobby wanted to make it up to her. He was ashamed that he had been so needy and pathetic the night before. She was going through a lot, and she needed a strong arm to lean on, not a whiny man to clutch at her desperately and sap her strength.

All day, he worked hard to take care of Nathan, to do household chores, and to relieve her of some of her stress. They settled on a nanny and hired her on the spot. She would be available in two calendar days.

She didn't ask if he wanted one, but she poured them both a glass of scotch. Alex sank into the soft cushions of the couch and took a sip from hers. "Thank God we found someone. You think we should both go back to work together, or maybe one of us go for a day or two, and then the other?"

Bobby shrugged and joined her on the couch. He took a swig from his own glass. "It might be a comfort to Nathan to have you near a little longer."

"Or you," Alex said, raising an eyebrow at him.

He allowed a grin to show. "Whatever you think is best," he said, and took another drink.

"I don't want to decide everything, you know," she told him. She wasn't angry; she was only stating her mind.

"I know," he agreed. Bobby leaned closer, and soon she was curled against his chest. He threw one arm over her shoulders and they rested in each other's arms. They heard Nathan fussing through the baby monitor, a new addition to their home. Both of them sat very still, listening, until he quieted again. They were both exhausted.

"I want to talk to Deakins, then I'll make up my mind," she announced.

Bobby said nothing, but after a few minutes of contented silence, he stretched his lips to kiss her hair. Turning back, he finished off his glass of whiskey.

Alex took another sip of hers, bent to place it on the table, and then settled under his arm again. She reached up and kissed the underside of his stubbly chin. She inhaled his scent when he turned his lips to hers, and she could feel his fingertips against the back of her head while their tongues mingled.

She felt a drip and caught his glass in her right hand, pulling away from his kiss. "We'd better set that down," she warned him, taking it from his fingers and placing it on the table beside hers. She was surprised when he took her glass up in his hand and gulped the rest of her whiskey down. Bobby set the glass back on the table with a thud, grinning at her.

"Couldn't let that go forgotten," he explained, and his mouth was on hers once more, the icy fingertips of his left hand still cold from the chill of his glass as they trailed down the skin of her neck.

He unfastened her buttons, his lips following the trail of his hands. He kissed the center of her chest as he helped her push her blouse off her shoulders.

Alex leaned forward and hung her arms around his neck, giving him better access to the clasp of her bra. Once the back was released, she touched her tongue to his jaw, closing her mouth in a kiss over the damp spot. She repeated the gesture again and again, working her way back to his whiskey-spiced lips.

Bobby softly tickled her spine with his fingernails before pressing his now-warm hands firmly against her skin and gliding them back up to her shoulders. He groaned with desire, and she pulled away, tugging wordlessly at the fabric of his shirt. Her eyes were burning with desire.

Alex shrugged out of her bra quickly while Bobby yanked the old t-shirt off. He unfastened the button on his pants before she managed to crawl into his lap. He moved his hands to the waistband of her jeans and tucked his fingers inside.

She felt a tingle as his fingers slid over her skin. Alex kissed him eagerly, grunting a little in her desire. Her button fell free, and the zipper parted under his hand.

The jeans were tight, and left little room for his hand. Alex raised up onto her knees, and he pushed her pants away from her waistline. She was surprised to realize her hand had found his zipper, too. Bobby squeezed her ass with his right and wriggled out of his own pants with his left. After another short struggle, they were both naked. He crushed her nipple with his palm and eased her back, crawling over her with passionate kisses.

They gasped for breath, breaking apart simply out of the need for air before latching to each other once more. Hands massaged and scraped, soothed and discovered, exhaustion forgotten in the heat of desire.

With a few whispers, they managed to fit themselves together. Alex's breath shook as he filled her, and he moaned in pleasure at the sensation. He placed sensual kisses on her neck as she moved with him.

Nathan fussed in the monitor, and they paused, listening once again. Panting against each other, they began again. Bobby steadily moved faster until her fingernails dug into his shoulder muscles. She tremored beneath him. The sensation drove him to move even faster, until at last he dove in hard and froze in place, motionless except for the involuntary spasms that erupted inside her.

After a moment, he remembered to breathe. Bobby slumped against her, resting his forehead gently against hers. He moistened his lips and kissed her.

Alex trailed her fingertips against his whiskers.

Afraid he was crushing her under his weight, Bobby shifted and pulled away from her. His gentle hand tucked behind her neck and he lifted her until she was sitting up. "You're not staying on the couch tonight," he announced, and she had to smile.

They grabbed their clothes from the floor and tumbled after each other to the bedroom.