Chapter 21

Stephanie's POV

The next morning, I got up and headed downstairs. It was only 7am and I knew that Matt wouldn't be getting up anytime soon. I fixed myself something to eat and pulled out my laptop. Thankfully I had a wireless internet connection and could check my email.

It was almost 10 am when Matt finally made his way downstairs, showered and dressed. While he ate, I headed upstairs and took a shower. We only had about 2 hours before Susan would be bringing Bryan to the house.

I headed into the room that would be Bryan's and cleaned up a little more. Matt joined me in the room and helped me as much as he could. I was worried about his ribs as he kept holding them.

"Don't you think that you should get your ribs looked at?" I asked.

"I'll be fine. It's not as bad as last night." Matt answered.

"Ok." I responded.

"Just don't say anything to the social worker about all this." Matt stated.

"I won't." I responded.

Matt and I headed back downstairs and into the living room. We flipped on the TV to pass the time until Susan and Bryan arrived. As we were waiting, my phone rang. It was the principal of the school.

"Hello." I answered.

"Miss Anderson, It's Mrs. Wilson. I was just calling to let you know that we have a meeting tomorrow morning before school starts. I will need you in my office at 7am." Mrs. Wilson stated.

"Ok. I'll be there. Is something wrong or did I do something wrong?" I asked nervously.

"You didn't do anything wrong. As the principal, I need to know what's going on with Bryan and the whole situation. This meeting is just between you and me and no one else." Mrs. Wilson answered.

"Ok. I'll see you tomorrow morning." I responded as I hung up.

"Everything ok?" Matt asked.

"Yeah. I have a 7am meeting with the principal about Bryan." I answered.

"Oh ok. I think I just heard a car pull up." Matt responded.

I stood up and walked over to the front door. Matt was right, a car did pull up but it wasn't Susan and Bryan. Instead it was Jeff and Gilbert. I opened the door and let them in.

"Dad, Jeff? What are you guys doing here?" Matt asked.

"We wanted to be here when Bryan arrived." Jeff answered.

"Oh ok. He should be here soon." Matt responded.

It was getting to be noon and so I decided to order lunch for the 4 of us. The pizza arrived about 30 minutes later. After we ate, we sat in the living room and watched some older videos from The Hardy Show.

As we were in the middle of the first season, the doorbell rang. Matt and I got up and opened the front door. There stood Susan and Bryan. Susan was carrying a suitcase that belonged to Bryan. Bryan was carrying a stuffed animal and a blanket.

"Sorry we're late. It took a little longer to get released from the hospital than expected." Susan stated.

"It's ok. Hi Bryan. How are you today?" I asked.

"Better." Bryan answered.

"That's good to hear." I responded. "There is a room at the top of the stairs that has your name on it and plenty of toys to play with."

"Really? May I go see my room?" Bryan asked.

"You sure can." Matt answered as Bryan headed upstairs and into his room.

Matt and I finished signing papers for the social worker. She told us to let her know if anything serious happens before the court date. We agreed and soon after that Susan left. Matt and I headed upstairs to check on Bryan.

Bryan was sitting in the middle of the room playing with the trucks and cars we got for him. I couldn't help but smile as Matt put an arm around me. We let Bryan play and headed back to the living room.

Jeff and Gilbert soon headed out and we asked them to come back over for dinner later. They agreed and headed to the car. After closing the door, I looked in the fridge, there wasn't really anything there to fix for 6 people.

"Hey Bryan, would you like to go to the grocery store with us and help pick out something for dinner?" I asked.

"Really? I get to help?" Bryan answered.

"Of course you get to help. Plus we get to pick up a special dessert too." I responded.

"Ok." Bryan stated as he put his shoes on.

I headed downstairs and got ready to go myself. Matt was already getting his shoes on and had keys in hand. I looked at him and he handed over his keys without a fight. After getting back from the store, Matt and I started making dinner for everyone.

Jeff, Melissa and Gilbert all arrived at the house just as dinner was coming out of the oven. Matt set the table as I placed the food on the table. Bryan was excited and happy for the first time since I met him.

After dinner, while Matt and I cleaned up from dinner, Bryan took a bath and then headed to bed. As the night went on, Matt and I headed upstairs, but sleep was the last thing on Matt's mind.

Even with bruised ribs, Matt still found a way to make me melt. Once we were sure that Bryan was asleep, Matt and I made love until we were both exhausted. Matt wrapped his arms around me and we fell asleep.