Coming home

A/N: I own nothing...

Close to midnight, on a cold Tuesday night at the end of February, Angela is lying on the sofa trying not to fall asleep. Jordan was due home any minute and she wanted to be awake when he got there. He'd been gone for just over two weeks and she had missed him.

Yawning again, she sits up and and starts flipping through the channels on the TV. Not really watching, she settles on the local news. Just as she's about to doze off, she hears the front door open. Flipping on the lamp, she turns the TV off as Jordan walks into the room, dropping his bags along the way.

Noticing Angela, Jordan smiles at her and makes his way over to the sofa. Sitting down beside her, he wraps his arms around her. "Hey, Red," he says to her before giving her a kiss.

Having took note of the smile, Angela pulls back to look at him. "Hey, baby. You don't look quite as stressed out as you did when you left. Does that mean you have good news?"

Sitting back, he pulls her against him. "We've got half the problem taken care of. We're working out a deal with Virgin to take on the new album. I don't know all the details yet, but at least we don't have to worry about that part anymore." He strokes her hair, saying, "Damn, I'm tired. I think I could probably fall asleep right here."

Getting up, she pulls him up with her. "Come on, lets go to bed. We'll put your stuff away in the morning."

She heads up the stairs with him following behind. Angela stops to check in on the kids and he goes to the bathroom to shower and brush his teeth. When he returns to the bedroom naked, Angela is standing beside the bed, taking her clothes off. As she's about to pull one of his shirts over her head, he takes it from her, tossing it in the chair. Holding the covers back, Jordan crawls into the bed and pulls her down beside him.

Wrapping her in his arms, he buries his face in her hair. "I love you, babe." He whispers, just as he's falling asleep.

The next morning, Angela is downstairs, preparing a bottle for Justin. She's at the sink, washing her hands when Jordan comes up behind her wrapping his arms around her waist. Pushing her hair aside, he kisses her neck.

"Good morning, babe." he whispers in her ear.

"Good morning. Did you sleep well?" She turns in his arms to give him a kiss.

"I did. I think I slept better than I have in a while." He hugs her tight before letting go. Taking the bottle from her hands, he smiles. "Mind if I feed him?"

"Jordan, of course not. I heard him moving around, but I haven't been in there. He'll need his diaper changed." She smiles back at him.

"No problem. I think I can handle that." Stealing another kiss, he tells her. "I'll wake Maddie up on the way. What's for breakfast?"

"I don't know, what would you like? I could make some pancakes and sausage." She starts rummaging in the cabinet. "Would that work?"

"Sounds good to me. I'll take care of the kids, you get to cooking, woman." He walks out of the room humming.

Smiling to herself, she starts breakfast.

Later that morning, Jordan tucks a now sleeping Justin into his crib. He stands there watching him sleep for a minute, before brushing his hand over the baby's dark curls. Turning out the light, Jordan goes downstairs in search of Angela. He finds her in the kitchen, leaning on the counter talking on the phone.

"Well, Sharon, you knew this wasn't going to be easy. How should I know, I've never been through a divorce?" Seeing Jordan, she turns to the coffee pot and pours Jordan a cup, handing it to him while she continues to talk. "I know he's the one that cheated on you. You've what? Who?"

Jordan, now sitting at the table, watches Angela's eyes go round with shock. He gives her a questioning look. She just starts shaking her head.

"How long has that been going on? Does anyone else know? Well, you better be careful. Don't drag him into your messy divorce. He doesn't need any negative press right now. No, this isn't about Jordan. Damn it, Cherski. You better not hurt him." Walking over to Jordan, Angela drops down in his lap.

"I've gotta go, Sharon. Just remember what I said." Angela hangs up the phone, laying it on the table before wrapping her arms around Jordan's neck.

"What's not about me?" Jordan says, as he nuzzles her neck.

"Guess who's been getting it on since New Years? And if you tell me you already knew about it, I'll kill you." She holds her neck to the side to give him better access.

"Well, obviously it's Sharon. And I'm guessing since my name and the press were mentioned, that it'd have to be Shane." Chuckling, he kisses up the side of her neck. "And I didn't know about it until last week." Jordan flinches as she pinches his stomach. "Damn, that hurt!"

"So, you knew about it last week and didn't tell me? That's not even funny, Catalano." She pulls her head away from him, pouting. "If she hurts him in any way, I will kick her ass. I won't have another one of my friends put him through hell."

"Well, Angela, Shane Jones is a big boy. He can handle himself. And really, Sharon is not Rayanne." Pulling her back to him, he kisses her cheek. "Who knows, they may be happy together."

Sighing loudly, she says, "I still can't believe you didn't tell me! How can you keep that kind of information to yourself?"

Grinning at her, he says, "Ah, babe. I love it when you pout. You're so cute!" He pushes her up from his lap. Draining his coffee cup, he takes it to the sink before coming back and taking her hand. "Come with me, I have something for you."

They walk into the den together. Jordan picks his bag up from the floor, before taking her over to sit on the sofa. Laying his bag on the table, he pulls out his laptop. Opening it, he boots it up, typing in a web address. He reaches into his bag again, pulling out a large manila envelope and a small gift wrapped box.

Turning to her, he hands her the gift box. "I'm sorry I missed Valentine's day last week. I saw this when I was walking back to the office from lunch. I just had to get it for you." Smiling at her sheepishly, he says, "I hope you don't think it's too cheesy."

She opens the box to reveal a very simple silver charm in the shape of a heart. She picks it up, turning it over in her hand. On the back, in tiny letters, it says 'i'm here with you. ~J'. She lays it back in the box and puts the box down on the table. Leaning over, she kisses him. "It's not cheesy. I love it."

"Well, I have a hard time choosing gifts for you. I wanted it to mean something, you know?" Still holding the envelope in his hand, he gives it to her. Nodding to the envelope, he says, "Before you open that, I just want to tell you that I know you'll have a lot of questions. I want you to know no matter what we decide, we'll decide together. I meant to give this to you as an anniversary present, but I didn't want to wait until next week. I thought about this a lot over the last few weeks, and I thought it was a good decision. Now, I'm not so sure."

Angela, a look of confusion on her face, turns the envelope over in her hand and opens it. She pulls out the papers inside and a set of keys falls into her lap. She looks at the papers, then back up at Jordan. "You bought us another house? In California? Without asking me?"

"Look, don't get mad, ok? I don't mean we have to move to California. I just thought since I'm gonna have to spend a lot of time out there in the next few months, we needed a place to live. I'm not going without you." He takes her hands in his. "Red, I said I wanted to be home with you and the kids. I don't want to be on the other side of the country dealing with this stuff and you be here."

"Jordan, what about Maddie's school? What about Mom and everyone else? We can't just pack up and go to California for a few months." Closing her eyes, she shakes her head. "I wish you would have talked to me about this."

"We can take Maddie with us. Hell, your mom, too. All we have to do is work out the details." Touching her face, he moves her eyes up to his. "Angela, this is our home. I'm not saying we sell our house and move out there for good. I just want to make it easier for us to be together. I don't want us having to steal time together, one or the other flying back and forth. I don't want us living from a hotel room, either. I want my family with me."

"I don't know, Jordan. This is a lot to think about." She leans back and tucks her hair behind her ear. "Maddie still has school and Mom is still running the print shop. We'll have to talk to both of them."

"It's all just details, babe. We can hire a tutor for Maddie or put her in one of the private schools. They have a few really good ones. She'll probably enjoy it. And when was the last time your mom took a vacation? It may be good for her." Sitting up, he grabs the laptop from the table, holding it in his lap. "Look, I have pictures of the house. I was looking for an apartment and I came across this."

Jordan has a real estate site pulled up, after a minute, he passes the laptop to her. In front of her is one of the most beautiful houses Angela has ever seen. Jordan, nervous about what she will think, starts chewing on his thumb, alternately looking at her face and then back to the laptop.

The house was located north of Pacific Palisades on the edge of Topanga State park. Jordan, who had always wanted to live in the mountains, chose the house because of it's location on the foothills of the Santa Monica mountains. Set back in the woods, it had a long, winding driveway. The house, 2 stories, with a studio in the basement had seemed perfect to him, but as with everything he did, he wanted her approval.

As she looks at the pictures, he recalls what it was like actually standing in each room. There were 6 bedrooms, all on the second story, and 4 baths. The living area took up most of the whole first floor, flanked on one side by the open kitchen and dining area. One wall was completely glass, looking out toward the forest. It was a little bigger than what he had planned on, but with their family and friends, it would work.

In addition to the studio in the basement, there was also an indoor pool and a theater room. There was a 3 car garage off to the side of the house with it's own 2 bedroom apartment. It seemed a little extravagant, but considering he hadn't spent hardly any of the money he'd earned over the years, he had decided to splurge. Lawsuit or not, he wanted his family to live in comfort.

Looking back at Angela, he tries to read her expression. She looks up at him and slowly smiles. "Jordan, is this really our house? We own this?"

"Yeah, as of yesterday." He nervously licks his lips. "What do ya' think? Do you like it? Do you think you could live there for a while?"

"Well, I don't know, Jordan. Seeing as it would be pure torture to live in such luxury, I think I may be able to deal with it as long as you're there with me." Sitting the laptop on the table, she pushes him back and straddles his lap. She cradles his face in her hands and kisses him.

When she sits back and starts to laugh, it's his turn to be confused. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing." She continues to giggle.

"What?" He pokes her in the side. "Tell me."

"Well, I was just thinking, if you wanted to make snow up in the mountains, these weren't the mountains to do it." Burying her face in his neck, she continues to giggle.

"Oh, shut up. I don't even know why I said that! All I could think about was kissing you, so I said the first thing that came to mind. I was a fucking idiot back then." Pushing her up so that he can look at her face, he asks, "So, you aren't mad? I mean, I did do this without asking you first."

"No, I'm not mad. How can I be mad when my husband, who obviously loves me very much, gives me a gift like that?" Smiling, she brushes the hair from his eyes. "Just don't expect me to give you something this extravagant. I don't think I could top it."

"Red, I don't expect you to give me anything. Another year with you is more than enough." Pulling her tightly to him, he kisses her deeply.

After a few minutes of kissing and touching, Jordan nudges her off his lap. Taking her hand, he pulls her up the stairs behind him, leading her to their bedroom.

This wasn't one of my favorite chapters, but I decided to post it anyway. I've had a very rambunctious 3 yr old running around the house, screaming for me to put away the laptop and take him to the park all morning. Guess I'm off to the park! Hope you enjoy... ~gagirl29