I'm always late, aren't I? I'm still sick and it's hard to concentrate and do things. But I'm not forgetting you guys. It might take me a minute to update but unless I die, i will.
The snippet of song is I Love You So by the Chantels. Thought that was the last time you'd hear that, huh? Not even.
Enjoy and review!
NJPNJPNJP
Mike opened the door. "Are you asleep?"
"No." Mal answered.
"Did you ever go?"
"Yeah."
"Are you getting up?"
"No."
"Aren't you hungry?"
"No."
"So you're going to sulk in here until whenever?"
"Yup."
"Mal,-"
"Just go."
"What about Riley and the twins? I thought you weren't going to abandon them again?"
Mal laid there for a moment before sitting up. "Fine."
"Maybe you could fix your attitude before you scare them?"
Mal glared at him. "If you and Marc would have kept your big mouths shut, this wouldn't have happened!"
"You said it! You're lucky we didn't tell her."
"You told our mom! What's the difference?!"
Mike's nostrils flared. "If you can't see the problem, you need to be here."
Mal looked away.
"Okay. Be that way. You were right about Marc. But you're way more like him than you think." Mike left.
Mal threw himself backwards.
MMC
Mercedes knocked on the door before peeking inside. "Marcy? Are you awake?"
"Yeah."
Mercedes came inside and shut the door behind her. She crossed the room and began opening the curtains to let in the early April light. "How are you feeling?"
"How long are you going to ask me that?"
"Momma told us. About what Mal was planning." Mercedes faced a window.
Marcy sat up and shifted back.
Mercedes turned around. "I'm so sorry."
Marcy opened her mouth but nothing came out for a while. "I guess he's not the person I thought he was."
"But it's Mal! He doesn't mean half the things he says!"
"Like I can trust him? He loves me? He understands me? He'll always protect me?"
Mercedes bit her bottom lip. "I don't know what to say to make this better."
"It's not up to you. You didn't do anything."
"That seems to be a reoccurring theme with me. I never spoke up about my own illnesses. I never asked you questions, real questions about what was going on with you. I never came to see you right after you had a baby. I'm supposed to be your big sister and I feel like I'm doing the worst job imaginable."
"You're a great big sister, Mercy." Marcy slid out of the bed and hugged her.
"Then why are you always protecting me? It's my job to protect you but you've devoted your life to making mine easier. Why?"
"You're kind of an inspiration for me. You're what's good about this world and I never want your light to dim. I never wanted you to feel less of an older sibling. I just wanted you safe and happy."
Mercedes hugged her hard as she wept quietly. "I have always loved you and respected you and admired you and wanted you happy and safe. I just wish I would have done a better job of it."
"It's not your job to protect me."
"But it's yours to protect me?" Mercedes gave her major side-eye. "It goes both ways. We're supposed to protect each other. All eight of us. But we let you slip through our fingers."
"I don't want you feeling guilty. You were a kid. You can't catch everything,"
"Laura did. She said she saw it all."
Marcy was stricken. "All?"
"The nightmares and cutting. She said she knew about it but never knew how to help."
"I'm telling you and you can tell everyone else; I'm fine. I promise."
"I don't want you fine. I want you safe and happy."
Marcy set her chin on her sister's shoulder. "We can't always get what we want."
MMC
"Are you done?"
"Why?" Marcy narrowed her eyes at Karou.
The half Asian frowned. "I'm taking you to your appointment."
"No, you're not."
"Yes, I am."
"No, you're not."
"CC!"
"Get away from me! I heard what you said!"
Karou was confused. "What'd I say?!"
"I'm an attention whore now?"
"I never said that! I never said attention whore! I said that maybe it was for attention! Maybe!"
"And that I didn't have it so bad?"
Karou grimaced. "I'm not saying your life is a bed of roses-"
"You know nothing about my life!"
"Because you won't tell me anything!"
"It's none of your business!"
"You're my cousin and my best friend! Why won't you let me help you?!"
"What exactly can you do, Rou?! Tell me! Really, I wanna know!"
"I don't know how to help if you don't tell me what to fix!"
"Who said I want you to fix anything?!"
Karou growled in frustration. "Then what am I supposed to do?!"
"Just be there for me. I'm not asking for Captain Save-a-Hoe. I just want you to understand that I go through stuff and I need patience and understanding."
Karou blew out a breath. "Okay. I get it. I can do that."
Marcy just looked at her.
"Hug?" Karou opened her arms.
"And you ruined it." Marcy stood up and took her breakfast dishes to the sink.
"Come on, Twin. You know you want to hug me."
"With my fist?"
"Marcy!" Mercedes chided.
Quinn laughed. "Get her, Marcy!"
Karou glared at her. "I know where you sleep and you're not pregnant."
"Don't threaten me, heathen!"
Marcy barked out a ha!. "She is a heathen."
"Cuz?!" Karou pouted.
"Stop fighting." Rose waved a hand. "Marcy, go with Karou to the doctor. Try not to kill each other or anyone else on the way there."
"What about on the way back?" Both asked.
"Get out."
Santana laughed. "She gets it from you!"
Marcy wrinkled her nose at her. "Come on, babies. We don't have to take this!"
Rose halted the twins from scampering from the booth. "No, they'll stay here."
The twins began crying.
"No." She told them. "Mommy needs to go outside without you."
"I don't want Mommy without us!" Mally threw himself on Quinn, who tried not to laugh.
"Marcy, go. They'll stop soon enough."
Marcy kissed both. "I'll be right back."
Mickey, who was standing on the seat next to Yuria, began stomping her feet and screaming.
Karou pulled a pouting Marcy out.
"Do you want a timeout?" Rose shook her finger at them.
Mally glared at her.
"You stop that."
"What's going on in here?" Marc's voice sounded from the doorway. The guys were with him.
"Mommy left us!" Mally rubbed his eyes. "She made her!"
Mike laughed. "They don't like you right now!"
"I've been disliked before." Rose sniffed, even though it did hurt her feelings.
"Come on, guys." Mal knelt down.
Mally climbed over Quinn (without saying excuse me) as Mickey stepped all on Yuria as she tried to get passed her (also without saying excuse me). Both hit the floor running, aimed directly at their father.
He opened his arms and absorbed the impact, hugging them tightly. "It's okay. Mommy'll be back. I promise."
"Are you going?" Mickey squeezed his neck.
"No, I'm staying right here with you guys." He picked them up and stood, leaving for the playroom.
"At least he's doing something right." Rose stared after him.
"Ma, this is none of our business." Marc ambled over to kiss her cheek.
"Then why'd you tell me?"
"Because she needed to know. It's out of our hands now."
Rose cupped his chin. "It's like you don't even know me."
MMC
"Thanks for coming with me."
Mercedes looked up in surprise. Mike had been quiet since they left the house. She looked at him but he had his head back and his eyes closed. "You're welcome."
It was quiet again.
She continued staring but he said nothing further. "So…?"
"So what?"
"Are we going to talk about things?"
"What things?" He knew what things.
She knew he knew what things. "What's going on at home. It's insane."
He stayed silent.
"Mikey, you can't ignore this. Our family is in trouble. And I'm afraid."
He dropped his head and opened his eyes to stare at her as he took her hands. "Afraid of what?"
"What are we going to do? It's always been all of us. What are we going to do if they don't make it? Marc and Laura prove that you can't be friends after a grand love. They have three kids together and Mal hated Pierre with a passion. I can't sit through that mess again."
Mike's lips parted before he gathered his thoughts. "We can't make decisions for them. We have to respect them and what they decide for their lives, even if we think they're making big mistakes. It's their lives."
"It's not just them. It's us, too. It's been the eight of us for years. Marc and Laura had us choose sides. You can't tell me that to this day that you don't think Laura is a succubus because Marc called her one every day leading up to her wedding to Robert."
He winced. "Marce would never make us choose."
"Mal would and when she got mad at him for it, she'd tell us that that would be reason enough to choose, which would basically be asking us to choose."
"Mercy,-?!"
"And even if we weren't on the line, their children are! Mally, Mickey and Riley are way too young to understand what's going on! I'm an adult and I'm lost! My parents' separation confuses me. How can a pair of two year olds and a seven week old baby understand this?!"
"Mercy,-"
"And they have real problems! Real problems! He wants to commit her! Like really?! Who does that in 2014-?!"
He kissed her. When she responded, he backed away. "You have to calm down. Being whipped up is not good for the boys."
She took deep breaths until she was calm. "You're right. I just hate this. Why can't they be together and happy? All four of them! I don't trust this truce with Marc and Laura. Anything can and will set them off and they'll be fighting again."
"Yeah." He admitted. "They never cool it for long."
"I'm afraid that it'll spill over onto us." She finally said. "Our siblings love each other but it's doomed. What about us?"
Mike opened his mouth but before he could say anything (not that he knew what to say), a voice cut him off. "How're my grandbabies?!"
MMC
"Did you have a good session?" Karou stood up as Marcy walked across the carpeted waiting room to reach her.
Marcy shrugged.
"Was it that bad?"
"It wasn't bad at all."
Karou made her make eye contact. "Talk to me, CC."
"I'm sick of talking. I talked for 60 minutes straight and didn't even get it all out. My jaw hurts."
"You actually talked?"
"I do talk to my therapist." Marcy looked at her like she was crazy. "I'm not paying taxes for shits and giggles."
Karou laughed. "Did you tell her about what's been going on at home?"
"Kind of."
"Kind of? What'd you say exactly?"
"You're not my doctor."
"Twin!"
Marcy smacked her lips. "I told her about how I've been feeling since Rye was born."
"That's it?"
"It's not enough?!"
Karou couldn't fight that. "You didn't tell her about the last 24 hours?"
"Yes." Marcy sighed.
"What'd she say?"
"She wants to see me twice next week."
"That's it?!"
"It was in the last five minutes." Marcy admitted.
"Twin!"
"I told you I was venting about other stuff! I realized I had to cut it short if I wanted to get that out so I sped through yesterday."
Karou facepalmed. "Oh, Cuz…"
"Where's your therapist?"
"I see her!"
Marcy raised a brow.
"Every three weeks like clockwork." Karou lifted her chin.
"Whatever." Marcy shook her head and rolled her eyes. "I want to get back to my children."
"The twins were mad, huh?" Karou began walking towards the elevator.
Marcy fell in step. "I've never seen them like this. They've been tripping since Rye was born."
"I don't think I could do it. Kids are work."
"Lazy…"
"Twin!"
MMC
"Are you going away again?"
Mal looked up from adding a large block to a pile and tried to make eye contact with his son. "What?"
Mally played with the brick in his hands. "Are you going away for forever again?"
"I-" Mal stopped. "No, I'm not going away."
"You were gone for a long time. For years." Mally had no concept of time.
"I know. And I'm sorry about that. I won't go away again."
"Promise?" Mickey looked up at him with troubled eyes so much like her mother's.
"I promise. If I have to go away again, it will never be that long or without you guys."
"Is Mommy leaving?"
"Why would you think Mommy's leaving?"
"She was sad when she put us to bed yesterday." Mally informed him.
"She gave us sad kisses this morning." Mickey added.
"Sad kisses?" Mal didn't understand.
"A long time ago, she would give us sad kisses when she talked about you."
Mal stared at them in shock. Were they talking about when Marcy would tell them about him when they were babies? She said she did and it wasn't that he didn't believe her, it just seemed… outlandish. "How many times did you get sad kisses?"
"A lot." Both twins told.
Even when she was mad at him, she wanted their children to know him. And here he'd messed up again. "When Mommy comes home, I'm going to kiss her until she never gives you another sad kiss. Okay?"
"Okay."
"Come here. Give me hugs."
They got up and dropped their toys to hug him. "Love you, Daddy."
"I love you, too."
"I love you, too even though you're making it extremely hard."
Mal frowned and turned as much as he could towards the door. "Mom?!"
Jeanette put her hands on her hips. "It's not the Muffin Man."
"Gram!" The twins left Mal and ran to their grandmother.
She hugged and kissed them. "How are my babies?!"
"Yay! Gram!" They kissed her back.
"Hey, Mom." Mal watched them.
Jeanette stood and opened her arms to him.
He walked forward, in need of a hug but she slapped him upside the head. Hadn't he fallen for that before? "Ow! Mom?!"
She glared at him. "What is the matter with you?! We've spent all this time coaxing her to us and you might have blown it!"
"Mom?! Who-?! She's-! It's my love life, okay?!"
"It is not just your love life! I've always felt like that little girl was my daughter and prayed and dreamt that you'd get married one day so she could call me Mom and here you are trying to ruin it! Why are you trying to ruin my happiness?!"
"Mom!" He threw himself away from her and faced a window. "I'm not trying to ruin your happiness. I'm not trying to ruin ours. I just don't know what I'm doing."
"Wake up, Mally Mal. No one knows what they're doing in life. Everyone's trying to keep up with everyone else."
"I don't know what to do. Every day there's more and more space between us."
She went to him and turned him to face her. "Do you love her?"
"Yes."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
"You don't sound sure."
"I am."
"Do you want to go through another Pierre situation?!"
"No!" He came alive.
"Do you love her?!"
"Yes!"
She cupped his cheek. "Then show her."
MMC
Marcy opened the door. "You stupid, Rou."
"How am I wrong in this?!" Karou shut and locked the door behind them.
"You cannot poison a chick just because she's playing your mother. Who cares if you hate her and you had someone else in mind? This is for class. Stop being petty."
"I am not being petty!" Karou stomped a foot.
"You're so spoiled, chick."
"You're spoiled, too!"
"Not like you!" Marcy smiled to ease her rebuff.
Karou lifted her nose.
Marcy threaded her arm through hers and pulled her from the foyer. "Don't be mad. Just don't kill this chick. It'll look bad."
"Like Tia?"
"Don't get hurt…"
"Sweetpea?"
Marcy looked over and saw her father standing in front of her. She let Karou go to throw herself into his arms. "Daddy!"
"My Sweetpea." He hugged her to him, unused to hugs from her but not wasting the opportunity.
"Hi, Uncle Marcus." Karou waved.
"Hello, Karou. How are you?"
"I'm okay. You?"
"I'm great. Now that I have my baby." He smiled into his daughter's hair.
Marcy broke away and grabbed his hands. "How long have you been here? How was your flight? Are you hungry? Could you even leave right now? Did you have to close down the practice? Please tell me you didn't close down the practice!"
"Sweetpea!" He shook their hands, effectively shaking her. "Calm down. One at a time."
She took a deep breath. "I hope you haven't left a mess back in America just to visit me."
"It's a week earlier but you know I was coming anyway. I made arrangements yesterday when I got the call from Princess and your mother."
"Good. You don't need to be here though. I'm fine."
"I know you are, Sweetpea. I just want to see you."
Marcy knew he was lying but appreciated it. She hugged him again. "Thank you, Daddy. I want to see you, too."
He rubbed her back.
"Are you hungry?"
"Your mother made me food."
"Have you talked with her?"
"About you? Yes-"
"No, Daddy. About you."
"About me?" He was confused.
"About the two of you."
He was taken aback and his face showed it.
"Daddy, I'm sick of being angry. Aren't you?"
His mouth fell open. She was going through all this turmoil and she was worried about him and Rose? "I-"
"She was wrong and you have the right to feel betrayed. But she's your wife, you love her. You love her."
He was shocked. His baby didn't believe in love! Maybe this thing between her and Mal would resolve itself without interference? "If you give Jr. a chance to explain himself, I'll give your mother another chance."
Marcy thought it over carefully. She was truly hurt by Mal but maybe it was a misunderstanding? She owed it to him to explain himself. "Deal."
Marcus didn't expect that but always kept his word. So he shook her hand. "Come now. We're watching sports and Michael's team is up by two points. I need my good luck charm."
MMC
Marcy entered the playroom with a tray. "Is anyone hungry?"
The twins popped up and ran to her. "Mommy!"
"Hi, babies." She set the tray down and hugged them. "I missed you. Did you miss me?"
"Uh huh!" They nodded as they hugged her back.
"Have you been having fun with Daddy?"
"Yes! He showed us your favorite movies!"
"He did? That was sweet of him!"
They beamed before taking her hands and leading her to him. "Talk to Daddy."
Mal watched her warily. She seemed in a good mood but knew not to trust "seemingly".
She let a twin go to point to a huddle of toys. "We should talk."
His brows lifted. She was going to talk to him? "Okay."
She looked down. "This is your food, okay? This is Mickey's and this is Mally's. This is Daddy's so don't eat his."
"Okay." The twins held up thumbs.
Marcy led Mal to the pile of toys. She turned to face him and crossed her arms over her chest before dropping them to clasp her hands tightly.
He didn't say anything, just watched her. He drank her in as if it'd been days since he'd seen her instead of hours. It was what he should have done when he got home a week ago but he hadn't even sought her out. What was wrong with him?
"I guess I'll go first." She took a breath. "I'm giving you a chance to explain yourself. Maybe there was a misunderstanding? Maybe you didn't say that-?"
"I did." He couldn't let her think he wasn't guilty.
"You were drunk." She threw out.
"I was tipsy. I knew what I was saying." He shook his head.
"You were angry." Her eyes welled.
"Yes but…"
"But what?!" She pressed her lips together, silently willing him to say anything other than what she knew he was saying.
"But I meant it." He broke her heart.
She let out a sob as a tear dropped. She looked away.
He reached out to touch her but she jerked away from him. "I'm sorry! I'm so, so sorry!"
"Do you take it back?" She tried to get a hold over herself. "Do you still mean it?"
He didn't want to answer. He turned and saw the twins watching him before facing Marcy again. "I- I want to say I take it back."
"But you don't. You want me locked away somewhere, rotting to death. No kids, no freedom, nothing!" She covered her face, ashamed of letting him see that he hurt her.
"No! No, that's not true!" He grabbed her and held on even as she tried to push him away. "Marcy, listen to me!"
"Why?!" She pushed him as he fell onto the floor. "Why should I believe anything you have to say?! You're a liar! You said you understood me! You said you'd protect me! You said you loved me! But you don't! You don't!"
He rose quickly and held onto her forearms. "I do! I swear I do! I just don't know how! You shut me out! There's so much I don't know about you! You're my best friend and you won't tell me the things that hurt you. You've been through so much and I don't know any of it. You didn't even tell me about our babies. How can I protect you if I don't know what I'm fighting against?"
She dropped to her knees and folded in half. "I can't! I can't tell you!"
"Why?" He dropped, too and tried to hold her.
"You'll hate me."
"I will never hate you. I'm willing to risk you hating me just so I can keep you alive."
"You don't get it. I don't always want to be alive. I remember-"
"Remember what? Tell me! Tell me something! Tell me anything!"
"I remember things. Things I thought I'd forgotten. Things I wish I'd forgotten. And I get so upset, I can't sleep. I can't eat. I can't do anything but survive. That's no way to live. Why do you want me to suffer?"
"I don't. I swear I don't. I just want you. I've always just wanted you."
She wrapped her arms around her knees. "You were my sanctuary."
"What?" He couldn't exactly hear her talking to her legs.
"You were my sanctuary." She lifted.
"What?" He heard her but he didn't understand.
"You were my-"
"I heard you. How? I'm always messing up."
"Until recently, you were doing a good job."
"How?" His brows met. "I was just a stupid kid. I waited for you like an idiot and followed behind you like a chump. I had no way of knowing how you felt about me. I didn't know if you cared."
"I did. Of course I did. All I ever wanted was you."
His jaw dropped. "All you- me?"
She sat up. "All I wanted was you."
His mouth made sounds as it moved but they were nonsensical.
She cupped his cheeks with both hands. "All I ever wanted was you."
"But how? You never needed me. You had friends, you had confidence, you were always better at everything than everyone else. You were so strong."
"You know I'm shy. I always was. And then we moved to America and I felt so out of place. I didn't understand anything. Then I saw you. Sitting alone. By yourself and I just saw us."
"Saw us?"
"I saw us at ninety years old. Together. Sitting on a porch. Smiling."
"How? Why did you even see me? You were pretty busy in that mud-pile."
"Something told me to look up. I don't know what it was but I heard it clear as day. It told me to look up and I did. I didn't see anything at first but I looked around for whatever I was supposed to see and when I saw you, I just- I saw you. Then I saw you and me."
"You and me…" He blinked. "Is that why you tackled me?"
"I didn't tackle you!" She hit him. "I slipped!"
He smiled. "I don't get it. If you had a vision of us at an old age, why did you push me away for so many years?"
"I never said it was romantic. You can grow old with friends."
His face cracked.
"I trusted you. You were my best friend and I always wanted to be with you. I didn't trust people too easily and you always understood me. You were right there with me.
And then I was sent away…" He took her hands but she continued. "I clung to you. I needed you like you wouldn't believe. Through all these years, I haven't wanted to let you go. Through my biggest moments in life, I had you with me and it's always been a comfort. Why are you bent on destroying it?"
"I'm not." He squeezed her hands. "I've just been throwing anything at the wall, hoping something would stick. I didn't know how to make you love me. I always hoped you did. I wanted to believe you did but I always had this fear deep down that you didn't. And I held on out of fear. That if I gave you any room to think, you'd run."
"Mal, I'm still not sure if I believe in love. It doesn't make sense in my brain but that doesn't mean that I don't. I look at the twins and I know that I feel something for them that I can't explain. That I can't hold or measure or even understand. Even if Riley screams twenty four seven, I still feel for her like I do them. Then I look at you…"
"And?" He was afraid to hope.
"And I don't want to be anywhere else. I'm satisfied."
His heart beat so hard against his chest, he thought it would break out. "I'm enough for you?"
"Yes."
Tears ran down his face.
"Why are you crying?" She brushed a thumb over his cheeks.
"I didn't have to be your everything. I just wanted to be something."
"You are something, Mal. To me and to everyone you come in contact with. You matter and you exist."
He hugged her. "I'm sorry I ever said I'd put you away! I just want you with me and if I ever lost you, I don't know what I'd do!"
She patted his back. "What are we going to do? Everything's not fixed, is it?"
"No but we're going to do this together. It's going to be us. I promise."
"I know it's short notice-" She broke away to stare him in the eyes. "But will you go to my premiere with me?"
He blinked, having forgotten all about her movie. "I'd love to!"
"We'll have to move Rye into our room. Maddie's friends get here later today."
"The premiere is tomorrow?" It made sense. The next day was Friday.
"You forgot." She wasn't angry.
"Yes, I'm sorry. But I'll be there. I will never let you down again."
"I love you so." She sang as she caressed his cheek.
He grabbed her hand and pressed it to his heart.
The twins ran over, happy the tears and yelling were over.
MMC
"Marce?" Mercedes peeked into Riley's room. Marcy looked up from breastfeeding her newborn. "How are you feeling?"
Marcy was going to say she was fine but decided to be honest. "I don't know."
Mercedes came inside and shut the door. "Did you talk to Mal?"
"I did." She rocked in the rocking chair.
"Will there still be a wedding?"
"I don't know. We didn't talk about that."
"What'd you talk about?" Mercedes sat in a chair.
"A lot of things."
"Did he- did he mean that he wanted to put you away?"
Marcy nodded slowly. "He just wants to protect me."
"And you're okay with that type of protection?"
"No. But he realizes why. He apologized."
"I saw Momma and Daddy talking."
"Really?"
"Yeah. When I came to find you. They were in their room. She had been crying but she didn't seem sad."
"We promised to hear them out."
Mercedes got up to hug her sister, careful not to squish her niece. "What if they stay together?"
"What if they divorce but stay friends?"
Mercedes didn't want that but preferred it to Judy's and Russell's divorce. "I'd adjust."
"That's really mature of you, Mercy. But I think they'll stay together."
"Really?" Marc's voice came from the doorway.
Mercedes eeped. "You scared me!"
"I'm sorry, little sister." He ambled inside. "You really think they'll stay together?"
"If it's worth saving, you should hold on." Marcy stated.
"Are you and Mal worth saving?"
"Yes."
"You're holding on?" Mercedes burst into tears.
"Why are you crying, Mercy?"
"It's what we've wanted for so long. You two together. I want you happy together."
"Yeah, you two smile more together than apart." Marc added.
"So do you and Laura." Marcy pointed out. "Even when you're fighting, you look like you don't want to be anywhere else."
Marc looked down. "Then what should I do?"
"Are you worth saving?"
MMC
Mike yawned as he climbed the stairs. He hadn't done anything all day and he was still tired. But he had to admit, taking time off felt good. He didn't realize how burned out he was getting.
He pushed open the door and crossed the room to another door he pushed open. Mercedes turned around and smiled. "Hey."
"Hi." She twisted a bit.
He came in and closed the door behind him. "How was your day?"
"It was a rollarcoaster but what do you expect with our family?"
"I talked to Mal. He seems better."
"So does Marcy. Speaking of, you should talk to her. She misses you."
"I don't know. She's still… I don't know what to say."
"Don't say anything about it. Just talk to her."
He went to her and kissed her. "You're a great big sister."
"That's what she said but I thought she was being nice."
"When is Marcy ever nice?"
She hit him. "Stop talking about my baby!"
"She's mine, too but I'm not crazy."
"Yes, you are."
"Yeah, throw that in my face."
She laughed. "I love you."
"I love you, too. So what's the plan for tomorrow?"
"She's going to the premiere of her movie."
"Really? I still don't know anything about it."
"I doubt you'll want to go. It's a chick flick."
"Oh, Mercy, I'd go anywhere with you."
"But?"
"No buts. Yet I'm glad you know me so well. I'd still go if you wanted me to."
"Thank you." She broke away from him and pulled the covers back on her bed. He helped her into it and she pulled the covers back up.
He went around and got in the other side. "Do you want to go?"
"No, I'm good. I just want an evening with you."
He pulled her to him and wrapped himself around her. "That I can do."
Next time on This Life I Lead… Maddie's friends arrive for Marcy's movie premiere and Mike and Mercedes get romantic as Maddie has her own romantic awakening.