The mid day sun was just reaching the pillow resting over Fulton's head when Tammy reached out to gently tickle his side. He awoke with a startle and looked to the other occupant of the bed as she tried to stiffen a laugh behind the blankets.
"Tammy..." He warned before pouncing on her and beginning to tickle her without abandonment. Tammy giggled outloud, nearly falling off the bed to escape his hands before he pulled her back to him.
"Where you think you're going..." He laughed into her ear as she pleaded with him to stop.
"Fulton, I.. I didn't mean it... you win..." She breathed out in between laughs. He laughed then too and kissed her soundly. She giggled into the kiss but soon fell into it and kissed him back. They were just about to start making love again when the alarm went off. Tammy looked at the thing with distain while Fulton groaned, reaching over to turn it off. It was 11 am apparently. They had spent the whole morning in bed.
"What's that for?" Tammy asked, as Fulton got out of bed to find some clothes. She sat up, holding the blankets to her chest.
"That means I have to go to work..." He said, collecting their clothes from the night before that lay all over the floor.
"Do you have to?" She asked as seductively as she could muster considering she was still laughing a bit. Fulton nodded.
"Yeah, I do. I was out for a couple of days when you had your accident and ever since then my boss has been ready to fire me for even being late. It was lucky I was on vacation last week." He mumbled. Tammy pouted slightly.
"When will you be home?" She asked, liking the sound of him coming home to her.
"The concert tonight lets out at 11, if they do an encore probably 11:30... I should be home no later than 12:30" He said collecting clothes for a shower. She sighed dramatically,
"If you must..." She said with little effort. He leaned over her and kissed her on the lips.
"I love you..." He said trying to get her to look at him. She couldn't keep the smile off her lips and she turned back to him and kissed him back.
"I love you more." She playfully remarked before getting up and finding one of his shirts. "I'm going to make your lunch." She said finding the pants she had worn the night before and slipping them on under his shirt. He smiled, playfully tapping her butt as she exited room. He could get used to this.
Belle Montgomery silently finished packing her bag as it sat on the hospital bed open. Dean was sitting in the corner chair, his hands folder together against his lips. He looked to be deep in thought, she wondered what he was thinking about when she zipped up her shoulder bag and startled him into alertness. He seemed to forget about what he was thinking and stood to take the bag for her. The nurse was supposed to be back any minute with a wheel chair, even though Belle insisted she didn't need one, the terrible day nurse had insisted she use one to exit the hospital, it was hospital policy after all. The reporters were going to think she was worse off than she really was, Belle had argued. She sat on the edge of the bed waiting when her Father came in through the door.
"You two ready for the circus waiting out front?" He asked, seemly just having gone through it himself. He dusted off his jacket and straightened his already perfect hair. Belle nodded slightly, looking to Portman with questioning eyes.
"Yeah, no problem." Portman said nonchalantly, throwing the pink duffle bag over his shoulder. Belle had to stiffen a laugh at how ridiculous he looked carrying the thing but he had said he wanted to.
"Good, we need to really make them believe you two were together this whole time." He emphasized with his hands before the door opened to the nurse began bringing in a wheel chair. Belle groaned at the stupidness of it but got in either way. The nurse was going to wheel her down to the car but Portman took over.
"I got it, ma'am." He said taking the handles in his hands. Belle reached over her shoulder for a moment to touch his hand without turning back to look at him. It was reassuring, he thought, as his insides began to knot. He hated public things, not acting like an idiot on the ice but when they actually had to hear him talk. He always came off sounding like a moron. Even with the Ducks, Fulton could tell you, Portman had spent the hour before in a bathroom throwing up. He hoped he could just keep it down today, she was counting on him.
"Ready?" Her Father asked, opening the door for them.
"Ready..." Belle said with a nod of her head. Dean only nodded before pushing the chair through the door. The sixth floor seemed pretty empty as they left. Guess people weren't having babies today, Portman thought as they made it to the elevator. Her Father's eyes were watching him as they boarded and began to descend. He cleared his throat and straightened himself trying to appear calm.
"Just so we're all on the same page here, don't talk about Todd or that girl from a few days ago. The media wants to show a divide between you two. If asked, Todd is happy for you. I've already taken care of him to say the same." Mr. Montgomery said, watching the elevator numbers move.
"What's the name of that girl anyways?" He asked looking to Dean. Dean cleared his throat,
"Ashlee... Ashlee Banks." He said thinking of what he could possibly ever say to that girl to make things okay between them. He had loved her, he really had but this was bigger than that and he needed Belle, she made him want to be a better person.
"I'll have to send someone over to talk to her too." Mr. Montgomery nodded before the elevator doors opened again and they were walking through the main lobby. The camera flashes started even before they reached the main door. Belle instinctively covered her eyes to avoid the flash against an already alien sun she hadn't seen in days from her hospital room. The main doors swung open and it was like a frenzy as reporters scooped in on both sides. Dean held tight to Belle's chair as they made their way through.
"Ms. Montgomery, what does your fiancé have to say about all this?" One reporter yelled.
"Senator Montgomery, how does this scandal affect your bid for re-election?" Another reporter asked. Mr. Montgomery stopped in the center of the walk way to answer some questions. Belle seemed to be hiding in her seat, evidently she too, did not like public speaking.
"I don't think it will affect my re-election at all. Have a heart people, these two kids are in love and they made a mistake. Things happen and unfortunately if people want someone to blame, they should blame me for not allowing them to be together from the start. Belle was only trying to do what her family wanted but that's all changed now. My wife and I are behind her 100% in her choices." He finished, taking her hand in his. She tried to smile up at him but the sun was still blinding her.
"Belle, how did you and Mr. Portman meet?" Another reporter asked. Belle froze for a minute, trying to think of something to say when Portman cut it. He was good at lying so why not make good use of his talent, he thought.
"We met at a party. The college I used to attend had a sorority party and Belle just happened to be there. We immediately knew we wanted to be together." He said, telling the truth but spinning it. He would even go a step further, he thought, kneeling down next to her, to look at her. "The minute I saw her, I just fell in love." He said quietly, more to her than to anyone else. Belle's breathe caught in her throat as their eyes met. He didn't look like he was lying but he had to be lying, she thought, continuing to stare at him until he got up. The whole crowd seemed to quiet at their obvious connection.
"Just one more question..." Mr. Montgomery said, looking to the crowd while Portman righted himself behind her chair. Belle was still in daze.
"Ms. Montgomery, how far along are you in your pregnancy?" Another reporter asked. Belle looked to him, still wondering the way Portman had looked at her but smiled lightly, touching her stomach.
"I just hit my 16th week." She smiled, touching her small bump that had been appearing these last few days. Portman reached over to cover her hand as well and many photographers got that photo. It would be front page tomorrow morning, Dean thought let the ridicule begin. Belle laced her fingers with his, silently wishing he would actually feel the way she felt about him.
"That's all, we need to get Belle home." Mr. Montgomery said leading them to the car that waited just a few feet away. Belle let go of Portman's hand as they made it to the car and he helped her in the back seat before getting in himself. An orderly came to collect the chair and they were off in Mr. Montgomery's black SUV. Belle still seemed nervous next to him, so Portman took her hand in his. Little did he know, he was the reason she was so nervous. She wanted this to work. She wanted it to be more than the money for him. Looking at their hands she wondered if she could convince him of that. Then she thought about Todd. Sweet loving Todd that said he'd be there when all this was over, whether she chose him or not. She didn't know what to do.
Adam found Julie on the steps of their apartment building, crying her eyes out. She didn't protest when he wrapped his arms around her and let her cry on his shoulder.
"He's a jerk, Julie. There's nothing you could have said to change his mind." Adam tried to calm her down. She only nodded, still crying as hard as she could into his arm but she let out a surprised yelp a moment later.
"What, What's wrong?" Adam said pushing her back to look at her face. She had a look of astonishment on it. "Jules, you're scaring me... Is it the baby?" He asked, looking to her stomach. Julie's face seemed to lighten at the mention of the baby and she looked into his eyes.
"Adam, the baby moved..." She said with a smile beginning to cross her face. He looked down again, for all his knowledge he had none when it came to babies but if she said it moved than it moved.
"Here... Feel..." She said so excited she needed to share it with someone else. She grabbed his hand quickly before he could protest and placed it on her swollen abdomen. He was going to pull back when he felt a nudge against his hand.
"Oh my gosh... What was that?" He asked, moving his hand slightly to feel it again. She laughed, her hand still covering his.
"I think it's a foot..." She exclaimed, feeling the baby move inside her. They sat there together feeling the baby nudge at her stomach for a few minutes before it stopped. Julie looked up at Adam and the smile on his face and couldn't help but be overcome with joy.
"Adam..." She breathed out before he cupped her face with his other hand and kissed her softly. It was a gently kiss, one Julie needed right now. Adam didn't force it any further but when he pulled back, he rested their heads together.
"Julie, I've never felt anything so amazing in my life." He said looking down at their interlaced hands on her stomach. She nodded in agreement.
"It felt like butterflies..." She responded, looking down as well. They sat there for a minute just contemplating what had just happened before she slowly pulled away.
"I need to go clean up my face. I must look like a mess." She said beginning to stand. He helped her up.
"Yeah, I.. I need to get back to the shop. I left the boss hanging with kind of a mess where I dumped coffee on Scooter..." He said looking down.
"You what?" She said, trying not to smile. He laughed, a slight upturn of his lips.
"Yeah, I couldn't help myself." He mumbled. Julie actually laughed before realizing they were standing with both their hands laced together. She quickly dropped them.
"I should go, I'll see you later." She said, turning to walk into the building. He nodded,
"Yeah, I'll call when I'm leaving work, see if you're around." He said quickly backing down the stairs. He almost fell in his attempt to not take his eyes off of her. She nodded before disappearing into the building. Adam had to fight the urge to not jump for joy as he ran back to the coffee shop. It was a definite start, he thought.
"So you'll call when you get there?" Tammy asked, kissing Fulton again as he tried to get out the door. He laughed,
"If you want, yeah. I'll call. I'll call every hour if you want..." He mumbled as she kissed him again.
"I want." She said with a laugh as he finally made it out the door.
"I love you..." She called as he headed down the stairs.
"I love you too..." He called back, now rushing to get to work on time. Tammy smiled to herself, shutting the door to the apartment and looking around. There was definitely need for a woman around here... She thought to herself looking at the counter top loaded with pizza boxes and beer cans on the coffee table... Men were such pigs... She moved to walk towards the kitchen when the creak of Charlie's door opening caught her attention. The girl from last night stood in the hall like a deer caught in the headlights.
"Sorry, I didn't know anyone was home..." She mumbled, turning to go back in Charlie's room before Tammy spoke.
"No, it's just me... I don't think we've met yet, I'm Tammy Duncan." She said extending her hand out as she approached the girl. Linda turned back around and nervously extended her hand,
"Linda... Linda Larkin...umm... Actually Linda Malloy still..." Tammy was a bit confused but shook her hand with ease.
"Just Linda then..." Tammy smiled as the girl tried to smile back. "I'm Fulton's girlfriend, I played hockey with all of them when we were 14." Linda nodded, taking her hand back and wrapping her arms around herself.
"Well, I was just gonna clean the living room and make some lunch. You're welcome to join me..." Tammy said, turning on her heels and making her way to the kitchen. Linda hesitated a moment before following the unusually upbeat girl to the kitchen.
"Tammy Duncan... As in the Tammy Duncan?" Linda asked coming to sit at the counter as Tammy made faces at the dishes in the sink and the mold growing on them.
"Yeah, the Tammy Duncan..." She said, pulling a fork free from its prison against a plate of old food. Did they ever clean? She thought, pulling the garbage can out from under the cabinet and beginning to throw things out. She'd buy them new plates if she had to.
"So you have a gold medal and everything..." Linda asked, now really interested in talking with her.
"Yep... It's in one of my bags... I can go look for it if you want to see it..." Tammy offered. Linda declined,
"No, I'll see it someday... I wouldn't want you to go through all that trouble for me." Linda assured before remembering she'd need to go home at some point. Why did home bother her so much lately? She shook the feeling and continued her conversation with Tammy.
"So Fulton? Wow, I don't think I've ever seen him with a girl... Like a serious girl at least." Linda wondered. Tammy smiled to herself,
"That's because he's always been in love with me." She said, still smiling to herself. Linda nodded,
"Yeah, I guess so... Do you need help?" Linda asked, seeing Tammy make another face as she opened the microwave.
"Yeah, I'm not too good at this cleaning thing, I really haven't done a whole lot of it lately and I'm pretty sure if I continue on I'll have to buy a new apartment for them. Don't they ever clean?" Tammy asked with distain. Linda couldn't help but laugh.
"They do if their Mom's are coming, other than that, I haven't seen one of them pick up a sponge in years." They shared a laugh before Linda showed her where the cleaning stuff should be.
Guy walked into the diner to the lunch rush as usual. Casey was waiting on a table when she saw him come in.
"Thank god, It's just been me and Les all morning. Can one of you please help on the floor?" Guy looked at her with confusion, he was a cook, not a server.
"Guess, Averman's coming out to help you..." Guy said with a smile. Casey nodded before going back to filling coffee at the counter. The kitchen was hot that day, when he walked in and put his apron on.
"Yo Dude, Casey needs you on the floor." Guy said to Averman who was flipping a burger in the air. He nodded, handing the spatula over the Guy before taking off his hair net and grabbing a server's apron. He was just opening the kitchen door when she walked in. Surrounded by her friends, Ashlee Banks made her way over to the corner booth and sat down. Her friends laughing at a joke one of them had said. Casey came up next to him.
"Good, help that table that just came in." She said, grabbing an order from the window. Averman nodded, grabbing an order pad and pen from the register and making his way over to them. The walk over seemed to take forever as the girls continued to talk. He'd avoided situations like this his whole life. In high school he couldn't talk to girls because they were always in groups like this one. He cleared his throat as he stepped in front of the table.
"Hello, my name is Les, I'll be taking care of you today. Our soup is Chicken Noodle and our special is a BLT with fries. Can I start you off with drinks?" He asked, looking quickly down at his order pad. The one girl in the back of the booth seemed to snicker before they started ordering drinks. Ashlee was last,
"Lemonade, please..." She didn't even acknowledge that she knew him, besides the slight hold on eye contact before she returned to the conversation with her friends. He walked away quickly, going to get their drinks behind the counter. So what if she didn't want to tell her friends they knew each other, he thought, filling the last glass. He's had that happen before. He quickly placed all the drinks on a server's tray and lifted it on his shoulder. He could do this, he thought with confidence as he made his way over to the table. The girls were still snickering and talking low as he approached so he didn't see the small child dart out of the booth in front of him and he tripped over the kid, spilling the drinks all over himself and the floor as he went face first into the tray. The whole table of girls burst out laughing besides Ashlee who looked on like she wanted to help him but stayed where she was. Averman quickly fixed his glasses and got helped up by the Mother of the child that had tripped him.
"I'm so sorry, I didn't see him jump out of the booth." She tried to apologize but Averman just nodded, picking up the tray and glasses and putting them on the counter. His glasses were on his face wrong and he had fruit punch down the front of his white shirt. She continued to apologize until Averman turned and walked back into the kitchen.
"I've had enough, it's your turn..." He said to Guy before he looked up at him and laughed. Averman held his hand up for him to stop and took the spatula and another hair net. Could this day get any worse, he thought, returning to flipping another burger.
Charlie arrived at work by 11 and quickly rushed to his desk, shutting the door behind him. He hoped everyone would just leave him alone like they'd been doing the past few days since he screamed at Dave from accounting in the middle of the cubicles. He took his jacket off and sat down to turn on his computer when his door opened.
"I told you not to bother me..." He warned of his secretary. It wasn't his secretary that entered the door but Mrs. Taylor, the boss's wife.
"Is that any way to greet me?" Charlie sat straighter in his chair when she entered the room.
"I'm sorry Ma'am. Just got a lot on my mind today." He stated, looking down at his desk to avoid eye contact with her. He knew what she was here for and in the past it would have been beneficial to both of them but not today. Not after watching the woman he should have married suffer the way she had the past few weeks. She came around the desk, seductively running her hand over his shoulders.
"Really, do tell... I do love gossip." She inquired, sitting on his desk in front of him. She was hard to ignore with her pencil skirt pulled up passed her knees. Charlie tried to look away.
"Personal stuff I don't really feel like discussing if you don't mind." He said, standing quickly when her foot wandered up his thigh.
"What's gotten into you today?" She asked, watching him pace the room. He looked down at the floor as he paced. How did he get out of this?
"Listen Rita, is it possible to do this another day... I'm just not myself today and I don't think it would be good for either of us." He said looking to her finally, trying to play on her feelings for him. She had to have some, right? To be sleeping with him. She seemed to buy the whole story and jumped down from the desk, putting her shoe back on.
"Fine, I'll just go find someone else to play with today..." She purred into his ear as she passed him.
"Oh but Charlie, don't think you can simply blow me off again... I'll be back and if I'm not pleased my husband will be accidently finding out about us..." She said with a hint of a smirk before she left his office. Great, he thought, he was going to get fired.
The apartment was almost spotless when Tammy Duncan re-entered the kitchen to Linda finishing up the dishes from the sink. She silently tied the fourth bag of garbage and sat it by the door as she watched Linda put away some sharp knives in the butcher block on top of the island.
"There, all clean. Now we can watch daytime TV." Tammy joked, Linda laughing a little with her before the door bell rang, they both stopped and looked to the door.
"Wonder who that could be?" Tammy asked, walking out of the kitchen and into the hall. Linda felt a chill go up her spine as Tammy approached the door.
"Tammy, don't open the door..." Linda said too low for Tammy to hear as she reached the door. Leaving the chain latched, Tammy opened the door just slightly to see who it was at their door. A man stood outside the door, well dressed and looking to be in a hurry, he paced back and forth when Tammy looked at him.
"Hello, can I help you?" Tammy asked as sweet as possible. The man grinned at her but the smile made her feel uneasy before he spoke.
"Yes, I'm here to collect my fiancé, Linda." He said with a sophisticated tone. Tammy braced her foot against the back of the door, knowing something wasn't quite right about this man.
"I'm sorry, she's not here..." Tammy lied convincingly enough. Linda behind her, ducked behind a wall.
"No, her cars parked downstairs." He seemed to rebuff. Tammy shrugged her shoulders,
"I don't know... Maybe Charlie took her out?" Tammy suggested, studying his body build, could she hold him off? She wasn't sure. He turned away like he was going to leave but instead lunged at the door. Tammy pushed her whole body into the door but he was so much stronger than she had anticipated and she was knocked back easily. The chain broke on the door as Tammy landed on her behind on the hall way floor. Tyler Larkin looked down at her with cold angry eyes.
"I'm gonna ask again and you better not lie to me... Where is Linda?" He asked, grabbing a fist full of her hair. Tammy cried out at the tug from her scalp.
"I'm right here..." Linda called out, steeping out of the kitchen into the hall. She was shaking visibly as she approached him, her hands up in surrender. He let go of Tammy and she relaxed against the floor, grabbing at her hair as Linda stepped closer.
"Come on, Tyler, let's just go home..." She said, looking up into his eyes. It was in that moment that she knew. The cold hatred filled eyes that she watched as he violated her weeks before, rested in the face of that of her fiancé's. She gasped, looking at him really for the first time. Tyler knew the instant she reacted that she had figured it out. He had tried to hide it. Covered up the scratches she had given him with shirts and coats but she still had figured it out.
"You just couldn't leave it alone, could you?" He asked, grabbing her by the hair now as she reacted in panic."You just couldn't chuck it up to a bad neighborhood?" Oh god, don't let him do it again! She kept repeating in her head as her eyes remained locked with his. Tammy had regained some composer at that point and grabbed his arm as he swung back to hit Linda in the face. She bit him hard as he let go of Linda, she slumped to the floor against the nearest wall, curling up on herself and realizing everything she'd known the past few months was now a lie. Tyler manager to throw Tammy off, hitting her head against the door before she fell to the ground against it.
"You stupid bitch." Tyler swore, retrieving a gun from the inside of his jacket. He was a private investigator for a living so no one questioned his concealed carry. He pointed the gun at Tammy as she seemed to be disoriented from the blow to the head.
"Someone's got to teach you your place..." He growled going for Tammy and pulling her up by her hair. Linda watched helplessly as Tyler threw Tammy on the floor and pointed the gun at her. He ripped Fulton's shirt nearly off of her as she finally was coming to enough to fight back.
"No, no!" She yelled, kicking at him with her skater legs, while holding her shirt together. She managed to kick the gun across the room to under the sofa.
"Come on, be a good girl..." He said maliciously. Tammy poked him in the eye to which he recoiled and back handed her across the face. She cried out, gripping her cheek, allowing him to continue his assault on her clothes. Adam's hockey stick lay just out of her reach as she reached above her to get a grip on it. Linda closed her eyes as tight as she could and listened to Tammy struggle against him, wishing it wasn't happening. The door to the apartment had been slammed shut but Linda knew no one was coming to help them. Quickly looking in the direction of Tammy, she saw her get in another scratch to Tyler's face, earning her a choke hold as Tyler struggled to subdue her enough to get her clothes off. Tammy gagged, her face turning blue and that's when Linda knew she couldn't let what happened to her happen to this girl. Tammy had been nothing but kind to her. Reaching for the first thing she could find, Linda pulled a knife from the set she'd just washed on the counter and moved towards Tyler. Tammy was starting to lose consciousness. At least she wouldn't be awake when he did whatever he was going to do to her, she thought, looking into the cold eyes of the man hovering above her. I'm sorry Fulton, I wasn't stronger, she thought, a single tear slipping from her eye. She used her last bit of energy to spit in his face before she felt the darkness coming. Just when she thought she was done, she felt his hands loosen and slack, giving her the much needed breathe her body craved. She gasped, feeling the weight of her assailant fall on top of her. He wasn't moving, so she pushed as hard as she could and he fell to the ground next to her, his eyes straining with pain. Looking down at his convulsing form as she scrambled to get away before finally realized her abdomen and down her jeans was covered in blood. It wasn't hers so it must have been his. Grabbing Adam's hockey stick quickly she surveyed the situation and looked up to an almost motionless Linda and the bloody knife she had gripped in her hand. What just happened? Tammy thought silently before her head got very light and she passed out against the floor hitting her head much like she had a few weeks ago on the ice. Adam's hockey stick lay abandoned next to her.