I Understand, But I Need Him More.

April 13th, 2006

"Good morning Pat, why are you calling me at the office?" I asked.

"I wanted to talk to you about my son." Pat replied. I sighed and rubbed my face. Paul was downstairs in a talent meeting.

"What did you want to talk about?" I asked.

"I know what I said hurt both you and him but that is how I feel. I do love Makennah but I won't be able to accept her as my grandchild because she isn't." Patricia said.

"I don't understand how you can come to that conclusion. Yes, she isn't your grandchild biologically but she already loves you and Paul. She calls you Nanny and Senior is her Pop-Pop, she loves talking to you on the phone and everything. You've been in her life for years now and she loves your family so much. I don't see why any of you can't accept her." I said.

"It's because of you and Makennah that I don't see my son anymore." Patricia said.

"I understand, but I need him more. He is constantly on the road and when he gets home, he helps out around the house, spends time with his daughter and he's even fixing up our nursery." I said.

"Makennah is not Paul's daughter." Patricia said.

"Actually, according to her birth certificate, he is now. When Paul adopted her, he became Makennah's father." I said.

"I'm not going to argue about this anymore." Patricia said.

"Patricia, I love Paul and I know you do too. All he wants you to do is accept Makennah. I know Senior does." I said. Patricia sighed and there was silence.

"I'll try." She said.

"Thank you," I replied. I heard knocking on my door and Paul poked his head in. I smiled and motioned him in.

"Stephanie, one day, your children are going to go through this same thing and you will see my position." Patricia said.

"Pat, please, just stop, you're making out I'm the bad one." I said. Paul's face went red and he glared over at me.

"Give me the phone," He murmured. I shook my head and turned away from him.

"I'm getting off now, please tell my son to call me." She said. The line went dead and I turned to face him.

"What's up Hunter?" I asked.

"Vince wants you down there. I offered my services." Paul said. I nodded and stood up. I walked out of the room and he followed. We got to the elevator and he pressed the button.

"Are you all right?" He asked. I nodded and smiled half-heartedly at him.

During the talent meeting, I made Paul sit next to me so I could hold his hand. I wasn't listening to what Dad was saying and then Paul softly squeezed my hand.

"Are you paying attention?" Paul asked. I shook my head and looked down at our hands. I felt someone watching us and looked up to see Shawn and Mark staring at me worriedly. Shawn stood up and went to the back of the room. I watched him and Dad stopped talking. He came right up to me and gave me a bottle of water and a chicken salad.

"Eat up Steph, you're looking really pale." Shawn said. I smiled appreciatively and Dad came over to me.

"Do you want to go up to your office?" He asked. I shook my head and started eating.

"We might as well take our lunch break now." Dad announced. Everyone started moving and I stared at the food.

"Eat it Steph, I'm going to get my own lunch." Paul said. I nodded and took a small bite.

"This meeting goes on through till late this afternoon, how is Makennah getting here?" Dad asked.

"Rach is picking her up and bringing her on the bus." I said. Dad nodded and I rubbed my belly.

"Is your pregnancy going all right?" He asked. I nodded and smiled softly. Dad nodded and went to get himself his own lunch.

"Hey Paul, quickly come up to my office with me." I murmured. Paul looked at his watch and shook his head.

"If we leave now, we won't get back in time and your Dad will kill us." Paul said.

"I wanna kiss you though." I said. Paul leant over and pressed his lips against mine. I placed my hand on his neck and made the kiss deeper. I heard someone cough and Paul pulled away. I kept my eyes closed and felt his thumb run across my cheek.

"Come on, we've got to listen." He said.

"Daddy," I said. Dad came over to us and bent down.

"Can Paul and I go to my office?" I asked.

"You can but Paul cannot, he needs to be here for the meeting. He can take you up to your Mom and then you'll have to come back Paul." Dad said. Paul nodded and we stood up. He took me upstairs and we went into Mom's office.

"I've got to go back now." Paul said. I nodded and he kissed my forehead.

"Try to get some rest. You know Makennah will be hyper when she gets here." Paul said. I nodded and felt the baby kick. I placed his hand over it and let him feel it. He smiled and pressed his lips against my forehead again. He slipped out of the room and I sat on Mom's sofa.

"Why aren't you at the talent meeting?" Mom asked when she walked in.

"I felt sick and I wasn't paying much attention anyway. I was trying to distract Paul." I said. Mom nodded and sat down at her desk.

"What's the time?" I asked.

"It's three-thirty, why?" She asked. I smiled and got up.

"My baby should be arriving any minute. Do you want to come and pick her up from the front of the building?" I asked. Mom nodded and we stood up. We went downstairs and as we were going through the lobby, I saw all the stars leaving. Mark slowed down to walk with us and I smiled.

"How are Chasey and Gracie going?" I asked him.

"They're going good, thanks for asking. How is Makennah going?" He said.

"She's great; we're actually coming down to get her. Are you still with Sara?" I said.

"Actually, we've split up. It sucks because I barely get to see Chasey and Gracie now and no matter how much I try to, Sara's always too busy to drop them off and she changed the pin number for the gates so now I can't get into the estate. I know Gunner is missing them as well. He was with me all of last week." Mark said. I sighed and smiled up at him.

"I'm sure it will all work out in the end." I said. Mark shrugged and as soon as we stepped outside, I saw the bus pull up.

"Mommy, I made it!" Makennah squealed, jumping off the bus. Rachel got off with her one year old son Michael and they all came up to us.

"Uncle Mark!" Makennah screamed, jumping into Mark's arms. She dropped her schoolbag and I picked it up.

"I'd love to stay and talk but I need to get Michael to his check-up." Rachel said. I nodded and kissed her cheek. She walked off and Mark put Makennah on the ground.

"Uncle Mark has to go now Princess. Daddy is inside though." Mark said, bending down in front of her. Makennah hugged him and kissed his cheek.

"Bye-bye Uncle Mark!" Makennah said. Mark stood up again and he walked off. Makennah smiled at me and I smiled back.

"Come on, let's go find Daddy and then you can bug him while Mommy finishes working." I said. Makennah nodded and grinned. She hugged Mom while we went inside and told her all about what happened at school.

"Mommy, I got in trouble at school again." Makennah said to me as we walked to my office.

"What did you do little Miss?" I asked. Makennah bit her lip and looked down at her feet.

"I talked back to the teacher." She said.

"What did you do that for?" I said as I opened my office door.

"Miss Smith said I wasn't allowed to have my wrestling hat or backpack." Makennah said.

"Why aren't you allowed to have them?" I asked.

"She said it makes people think it is okay to hit people. I told her that it isn't true, you guys are just playing but she yelled at me." Makennah said.

"Did she give you a letter?" I asked. Makennah nodded and passed me the letter.

"Hey, don't worry about it all right?" I said. Makennah nodded and I sat her on my lap.

"Where's Daddy?" Makennah asked.

"Hmm, that is a good question. Do you want to go find him or do you want Mommy to?" I asked.

"You can!" Makennah said. I nodded and walked out of the room. I went down to the front desk and smiled at the receptionist, my friend Sarah.

"What can I do for you Steph?" Sarah said.

"Do you know where my husband is?" I asked. Sarah smiled and nodded her head.

"He is with your Dad in the TV production area. I think they are doing a photo shoot with him or something." Sarah said.

"Thanks, you almost finished for the day?" I asked. Sarah nodded and yawned.

"I am so tired as well and I'm pretty sure your Dad heard Matthew before," She said. I looked over and saw her three month old son Matthew in a bouncer fast asleep.

"You can leave for the night, just let Jimmy know." I said. Sarah nodded and smiled.

"Thank you, Matthew is sick and I need to take him to the doctor." He said. I nodded and walked over to the TV production area. I opened the doors and saw Paul in there with Dad.

"Why do you constantly steal my husband away from me Dad?" I asked him. Paul came over to me and stood in front of me.

"He loves me just as much as you do." Paul grinned. I placed my hands on my hips and he leant forward to kiss me. I turned my head and grabbed his hands.

"Our baby girl is asking for you." I said.

"All right, I'll go see her." Paul said. He left the room and I looked over at Dad. I smiled at him and he smiled back.

"Are you feeling better now, you looked really sick in the meeting." Dad said. I nodded and smiled.

"I think I was just overwhelmed. I got into it with Patricia over the phone again. She is still making Paul mad and upset. I don't want this to keep going on Daddy, I am due to give birth soon and I want my babies to know their other grandparents." I said. Dad nodded and gripped my hand as we walked out of the room.

"It's got to be hard for them." Dad said.

"Yes I understand that Daddy but it was harder for Paul than it should be for them." I said.

"Everyone reacts different." Dad said. I sighed and nodded my head.

"I guess you're right." I murmured.

"Just wait until this one makes an entrance into the world all right? Then they will realise what is important and that is family." Dad said. I nodded and hugged him tightly.

"I love you Daddy," I said.

"I love you too." He replied, kissing my cheek.

When we got home in the afternoon, Paul told me he was going to call his Mom and Dad. I nodded and left him at peace. Makennah however, followed him into the room and after ten minutes I was curious to hear what was going on. I walked over to our bedroom and stood at the door.

"Yes Mom, I promise as long as you keep your promise as well. Okay, I love you." He said. There was silence for a few moments and I pushed the door open. Paul was watching Makennah play on the ground and he looked up at me.

"Things are going to be better from now on." He promised. I nodded and walked over to him.

"Good," I murmured. He nodded and pressed his lips against mine.

"I love you Stephanie." He said.

"I love you too." I replied. Makennah got up and Paul lifted her onto his lap. She smiled and we all sat there, caught up in the moment.