Chapter 25
"DAD, MOM, THERE'S A BUNCH OF BOTTLES IN THE LIVING ROOM AND KITCHEN!"
Now THAT was not the wake-up call anybody who had gone on a bender the night before needed. Taker rolled out of bed and was heading for the door, before Keira could actually run in on them. He had slept in pajama bottoms, cradling Juliana against him all night. She had slept like she was dead, not a big surprise. He loved her, wasn't about to lose her and, sometime very soon, they were going to have to talk all these issues between them out.
Juliana couldn't even open her eyes because her head was already pounding something fierce, feeling like it would burst. "Keira..." She whispered, slowly prying her eyes open and that just made the pain increase tenfold. "Fuck..." She cursed, slowly managing to sit up in bed and felt huge warm hands grab her arms, pain-filled blue locking with concerned green. "Taker..." She whispered, not able to talk normally because it would kill her head, taking the three aspirin he handed her with the glass of water. "Thank you." She swallowed them down along with the water, wincing since it even hurt to swallow, burying her head in her hands.
Oh yeah, she was going to be in bed all day. Shaking his head, he lowered her back down onto the pillows. "You just lie there and...sleep it off. I'll bring you up some more water and maybe some saltines." He knew the biggest cause of a hangover was the fact that drinking alcohol dehydrated the body, so water was the best way to deal with it. On top of copious amounts of pain killers. "I'll also keep Keira downstairs and the noise to a minimum." He smiled slightly, reminding a few nights where he had been in her position, glad he wasn't at the moment.
"No, no I'm fine." Juliana insisted softly, refusing to stay in bed all day just because of a hangover and slowly stood up, using the wall to brace herself. "I just need...a few minutes..." She tried ignoring the pounding in her head, knowing any real mother would just fight through it and that's exactly what Juliana was going to do. "I'll take a shower and I'll be good to go." She headed into the bathroom and ran the cold water, splashing some on her face, coughing a little. When she looked in the mirror, Juliana immediately pulled her gaze from the hideous reflection, going over to start the shower.
Shaking his head, Taker headed downstairs, scooping Keira up on his hip when she rushed him. "Aren't you a bit too big for this sort of thing?" He teased, carrying her into the kitchen.
"No, not for you. You're the strongest man in the world, right?" Keira grinned when he nodded. "So is Mom alright? She and Aunt Evie were pretty loud last night."
"She's not feelin' the best, but she's comin' down, so how bout we have a quiet day?" He suggested, setting her on top of the counter before rifling around in the cupboards. Him and Keira would have bacon and eggs, Juliana was getting toast.
After a rather cool shower, Juliana felt a little more alive as she stepped out, changing into a pair of black pajama pants with a long sleeved shirt, gently and carefully brushing her hair out. The aspirin was slowly dulling her headache, which was a good thing, but Juliana felt sick from all the alcohol she consumed. She brushed her teeth and slowly walked out, heading downstairs and could smell the food, making her stomach grumble loudly. Juliana headed into the kitchen and stopped at the sight of Taker and Keira cooking, smiling when Keira turned around and walked over to her.
"Morning Mom, we made you toast." Keira said quietly, remembering what her father said about having a soft voice.
"Morning angel, thank you." She whispered and sat on the stool, glancing at all the bottles that were currently in the recycling bin. "Dear god..."
"Yeah, that's what I said." Taker snorted, his back to her as he made sure he didn't wind up with grease on his bare chest. "Keira, plates?"
Nodding, she tried to quietly push a chair over to the cupboards, making it scrape against the tiles until she was there. Then she climbed it to get the plates, setting them one by one on the counter. That followed with her carrying them to the table, each one making a gentle 'clink' as she set the table.
Taker was trying not to laugh, his massive shoulder shaking as she murmured 'oops' with each noise.
Juliana raised a slow eyebrow at her daughter, wondering why she was saying 'oops' with every dish that was set on the table. "Keira, are you okay?" She asked hesitantly, glancing back at Taker, his shoulders shaking violently.
"I'm TRYING to be quiet because you don't feel good." Keira whispered exasperatedly, rolling her eyes when her mother gaped at her. "Daddy told me it's a quiet day."
"Did Daddy also tell you that he's laughing at you right now?"
Keira whipped around and glared at her father. "Daddy!"
Juliana ignored her pounding head and laughed softly.
"Sorry darlin', I couldn't help it, you are just too cute." He turned off the burners and turned to stare down at her, mildly amused when she planted her hands on her hips, giving him a look that reminded him very thoroughly of her mother.
"When I'm cute, you say 'aww', not laugh at me." She informed him sternly, sniffing and turned away from him, swinging her hair as she did so.
And now she was getting attitude, he had to fix their plates to keep himself from laughing outright.
Juliana accepted the plate of toast from Taker and stopped him before he could walk away, grabbing his hand. It didn't matter if they ever got married, Juliana was done with the doubts because he'd stuck with her this long. Whatever happened was meant to happen and she'd wait for him on the other side, just like she knew he'd wait for her, if something happened to one or both of them. She pulled him down as much as she could and kissed him passionately, cupping his face in her soft small hands, pouring everything she had into it, every feeling, every emotion, not holding back and didn't care that their daughter was standing right there.
Mildly surprised, he returned the kiss, knowing not to let himself get too carried away with it because of the obvious: her hangover. But he got her message clearly and his emerald green eyes were sparkling when they pulled away from each other. "I love you too, darlin'." He murmured, cupping her face gently.
Rolling her eyes, Keira focused on her food. Why did they have to be so mushy? Especially when she was trying to eat?
"I'm sorry." She whispered, feeling his forehead press against hers, refusing to pull him away because Juliana wanted to feel him against her. "I love you, I'm sorry for what I said and I swear I won't doubt you anymore."
Juliana could feel tears building in her eyes and blinked, letting them slip down her cheeks, hating the fact she'd hurt the man she loved more than life itself. His thumbs gently swiped them away and Juliana could only staring at him sorrowfully, so much guilt and pain in her eyes, hoping he forgave her. She didn't deserve it, Taker was a good man who didn't deserve to have poison spewed at him the way she did.
"I'm sorry too." Taker murmured, wishing there was something he could do to take the obvious pain she felt away.
He had nothing to forgive her for, she had only said what had been on her mind, in her heart. After he had calmed down, Taker realized he probably hadn't done much in the way of reassuring her that he wasn't about to walk out on her. He had taken her patience and acceptance of his job for granted. He had taken her for granted and it would never happen again.
"You have nothing to be sorry for, I was a cold-hearted bitch to you." She pointed out and felt his hand caress her face, seeing pain and sorrow in his own eyes, breaking her heart. "Mark, look at me." She requested when he lowered his eyes from her, forcing those green eyes to lock with hers again. "Do you see this?" She slowly slipped the ring off of her ringer, tilting her head slightly. "This is just a piece of jewelry. It has nothing to do with how you feel about me and how much you love me. Just like marriage is just a piece of damn paper and a piece of jewelry that most people can't afford. I don't need this to prove to me how you feel. I don't need anything except you." Evetta had really opened Juliana's eyes and made her realize just what a moron she was being about this whole thing.
Well that was something he had never expected to hear, he figured most women would want nothing more than to settle down and get married. Though he also did not consider Juliana to be 'most women'. But still, it was a bit of a surprise to hear it.
"All that is true, Juliana. We don't need rings or a piece of paper, we love each other and that is enough. Be that as it may though..." He rumbled after a moment, bending down to kiss her forehead. "You're not getting out of marrying me, darlin'." Even though they didn't need to be, he still wanted to marry her, to make it 'official', to let the world know she was his in every aspect, in every way, and he was hers.
"Whatever you say, Taker." She smiled when he took the ring from her and slipped right back on her finger, where it belonged.
Juliana felt much better and chuckled when Keira looked completely clueless, the pounding in her head not even bothering her that much anymore. Taker pulled up a chair beside her at the island while Juliana ate her toast, even taking a strip of bacon he offered her. Things were going to get better, Juliana could only hope, and leaned her head against Taker's shoulder with a gentle sigh.
"So...does this mean I can be loud today?"
"Be yourself, angel." Juliana chuckled, kissing Taker's cheek before finishing her breakfast, even trying some orange juice and, of course, water.
"Does that also mean you're getting married? Cause I want to be the flower girl."
"We're getting married, eventually. Calm down and eat, Keira." Taker said, shaking his head and flashed a grin down at Juliana. He became aware instantly of the much lighter mood in the house, realizing now how tense and depressing everything had seemed until they had settled the issue between them. Kissing the top of Jule's head, he finished his breakfast, trying not to smile...too much.
Keira had finished her breakfast and started heading up the stairs, frowning when she stopped, looking at the wall. "Hey Mom, where's our picture from Disney World?"
Juliana had been laughing at something Taker said, glancing over toward where Keira was standing. "What angel?" She walked over, watching Keira point to the wall.
"My picture from Disney World is missing. Remember? It was with Belle from Beauty and the Beast. It's gone..." Keira looked up at her mother, looking like she might cry. "Where is it?"
Frowning, Taker got up and walked over to see what they were going on about. He immediately realized what picture Keira was talking about, wondering why he hadn't noticed it before. Of course, he had been distracted by the issues between him and Juliana, but still...Stroking his goatee thoughtfully, his mind went back to yesterday when they had gotten home, remembering how the bedding had seemed off. While that would seem really odd to some people, he knew Juliana had...neatness issues.
"Did John take it?" He asked calmly.
"No, John would never take a picture from the house." Juliana frowned deeply, not liking the look that came over her fiancé's face, swallowing hard. "Taker?"
"Why would Uncle Johnny wanna steal a picture of me?" That didn't make any sense and Keira was only seven, knowing her uncle would never do something like that.
"Come to think of it, my lavender body wash is missing too." When Taker whipped around to face Juliana, she swallowed hard, feeling her breathing quicken a little. "I mean I probably misplaced it, but I could've sworn I left it on the tub the last time I took a bath. I went to grab it for my shower and it was gone..."
"Why would anyone want to steal a picture and body wash?" Keira shook her head, staring up at the adults as if they might have the answer. Being adults, they didn't and she sighed, shaking her head again. "Strange world."
Any other time, he would have found his daughter's comments amusing, but at the moment however, Taker wasn't amused, mentally cussing himself out. He had noticed the bed yesterday, so chances were, the body wash and picture were taken yesterday as well. "John, Evie and you stayed over at John's the entire time, right?" He asked, looking down at Keira.
"Yep, I whooped them good." She grinned proudly.
Juliana managed to give Keira a grin as well, but the worry couldn't be missed in her eyes as she watched Taker survey the wall more carefully. She could tell Taker wasn't happy by the missing picture and body wash, shivering at the thought that someone unwelcome might've been in their house. "I'm sure I just misplaced the body wash, Taker." She reasoned, not wanting to get everyone in an uproar and lifted Keira in her arms, kissing her forehead softly. "We'll find your picture sweetie, I'm sure it's around here somewhere." Juliana didn't want to worry Keira and tapped her nose, trying to reassure her everything was alright.
"I'm going to give John a call." Taker said, smiling down at Keira and headed back upstairs, not wanting to worry his daughter.
He glanced back at Juliana, seeing the look on her face. He knew it mirrored his own. Someone had probably been in their house, and they were supposed to be in hiding. Not to mention how would some get past security? He made a mental note to check the log, knowing it wouldn't really tell him WHO had been there so much as times, but he was going to assume whoever it was had managed to get a hold of the password.
"Come on angel, why don't we go upstairs in your play area and you can show me how to blow someone up on the XBOX?" Juliana suggested, already guiding Keira upstairs and tried not to let her mind wander to what had happened.
John was supposed to be their lookout, though it wasn't easy considering his house was two miles away from theirs. Juliana shook that thought out of her mind and hoped they didn't have to move again. She settled on the couch while Keira got everything situated, snuggling against her side.
"So what's this game called?"
"Bioshock." Keira grinned evilly.
This was definitely John's doing.