A Time of Crisis
Note- Blackie Parrish was played by John Stamos.
Chapter Thirty Eight
Brenda hadn't ever met Blackie Parrish before today. But everyone who watched VH1 knew the semi-retired singer. His face had once been up on Julia's wall when she was a teenager. He still looked just as good, too, if not better.
Still Brenda couldn't keep her focus on him, as they talked at the Metro Court Bar, because her ex-fiancee had just stepped off the elevator and was staring her down.
Jax looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here, and wanted her to be across the ocean again. Without a word, he turned and headed into the kitchen of the restaurant.
Blackie asked, "You break his heart or he break yours?"
Brenda finally pulled her eyes off Jax's retreating figure and answered, "I guess you would say...it was mutual."
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Maxie felt a sudden urge rise up in her, and she was never any good at ignoring those when that happened.
"You got me, Coop." She squeezed his hand. "What do you think about...keeping me? Wanna get hitched?"
His blue eyes flashed with shock, then amazement, then joy. His head shook back and forth, he murmured "Always rushing, Jones."
"I hate to wait for anything I want. And I want you...I want you, forever. Marry me." She flashed him a sexy smile, and did her best to not show how bad she was shaking. He was all she wanted for her future, and if she couldn't have him she was afraid she would fall fully into the darkness that she drifted in out of before. "What do you say, Coop? Wanna be my hubby?"
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Cooper lost his breath as soon as the question slipped from her lips. The only smart thing to do would be turn her down. He was leaving town in a matter of days, she was young and wild and still lived at home with her folks. Maxie wasn't ready for marriage, he knew that.
He opened his mouth to say the words that would let her down easy, but what came out was, "Yeah...I do...I want to be your husband but..."
Her squeal drowned out his last word. She jumped out of her seat at the outdoor café and hurried around the table to fling herself into his lap. "Coop, I love you, baby and you won't be sorry we did this. I promise you won't cause it's gonna work out perfect...we're perfect...you are the only man who sees all of me and loves me anyway...no one else could do that. There's no one else for me but you."
She kissed him, slowly and sweetly. When she pulled back tears were in his eyes. "Maxie, I want to spend my life with you but I can't offer you that right now..."
She tensed as her eyes searched his.
Her voice cracked when she asked "Cause we've only known each other a month?"
"Less than a month," he smiled "But no. No. It's not that. I'm sure about you. It's just...I can't make you leave home, your sister, your dad, the States, and everything you know and love for me. I won't. Let me go to Europe for a while and let things calm down with Sonny and Jason then I will come back. I swear to you, I will come back."
"NO!" The word exploded from her mouth. She sucked in a few shaky breaths. "I...I'm used to losing who I love. I know how to do that like an expert. But I can't lose you, not this time, not right now..."
She gripped his shirt. "Everything inside of me is telling me to hold on to you and never let go. I live on instincts. It's what made me fall for you so fast and what makes me know I want you with me for life...its what's got us this far...and it is why I know we need to get married...like now. As soon as possible. Before the world rips us apart. Marry me, Cooper Barret," Maxie kissed him again. "Marry me. Will you, please?"
She was amazing. He thought that from the start. To everyone else she kept it hidden from their eyes how extraordinary she was beneath her bad girl front, but for him it was right there to see and treasure. She had his whole heart, now and forever.
"Yes...yeah...I'll marry you, Maxie. I love you and if you are really sure..."
She kissed him again and showed him how very sure she was.
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Sonny and Alexis were in the back of his limousine, heading home from dinner, when he said to her "Listen, I'm going to give Stan a few more days to open the case. I'm gonna spend time with the kids and not think about it. But if it comes down to it...you let Alcazar out and I will handle it. Alone."
She turned and looked at him. "If it comes down to the wire, I can't promise you what I might do. I never want to break the law. I believe in it wholeheartedly. But, just like when Kristina was born, my logical side takes a backseat to my need to save the people I love."
"I don't want you doing anything like that for me. You can't risk getting caught. Think about your girls."
"I think about my girls every second! And you. And I think about what will happen to them and to me if you die and leave us here unprotected. I think about what I will have to do to Ric on the day that he goes so far there is no coming back again...on the day when Jason and Nikolas and Lucky are just not enough to hold him off anymore...I'll have to take care of him myself and then how will I look at Molly? That will be my life if you leave me...you know its true. One way or another this is all coming down to someone dying. If its Ric one day or Alcazar or anyone else, fine! But not you, Sonny. Cause I can't survive that..."
He took both her hands in his. "You won't have to, I swear to God- and you know a faithful Catholic like me don't do that lightly."
She leaned over to kiss him. "You need to know...I never stopped loving you, but I stopped thinking I could have you. Now it feels like I do..."
"You do."
"So stay, stay, stay,...you have to stay. There's poison in your blood right now and that terrifies me...because all I need in this world are my girls and you and your children- all healthy, safe, and here for me to love. Can you give me that or not?"
"Yes."
Their dark eyes were only an inch apart. She stared in his and saw he meant every word. He needed her faith, and this time, he had it.
Seeing her eyes calm down, he started to relax. He leaned closer and kissed her slowly. Then his mouth moved next to her ear, his hand slid under her skirt, and he whispered "I want you."
Meaning every word with all she was, Alexis told Sonny "You have me."
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"So, I got a call from Alexis earlier today," Jason told Carly as soon as he walked in the door of their home.
She knew by his tone what he was about to bring up.
"She wanted to know," Jason said "if I was going to be a witness for Lucky in the custody case, like you are."
Carly smiled at him.
His hands flew up in a way that said What are you doing? "You could have told me, at least."
"I'm testifying for Lucky,." She smiled at him. "There I told you."
He stood there for a long moment, then shook his head at her. "We should stay out of it. You know how bad custody battles are for kids."
"Yeah, I do. And I know how bad it is to grow up without your father, too. Don't let Liz convince you that what she wants is what is best, always. You never fail to tell me what you think and fight with me and get me to see reason. Well do that with her now. She's not perfect, Jase, and when it comes to her idea to rip Cam away from Lucky just so she has less complications when she remarries one day...she is just plain wrong. What if I would have said that to you about Micheal? How would you have felt? I wanted you to stay in his life cause your love for him made you his father. I never tried to push you away."
Jason knew that was true, he had been the one who decided to give up his family. Because he thought it was the best way-maybe the only way- to keep them all sane, and make them all stop hurting. But there wasn't a day that went by when he didn't wonder if he had been wrong. Should he have fought harder, longer, more?
Carly went on,"Lucky loves his little boy the same way. He's my family, Jase. I'm testifying and you can not stop me..." her voice got soft "so don't try, okay? Cause I don't want you talking me into changing my mind. I know what I have to do."
He nodded and the let out a breath. "Liz must have her reasons..."
"She's a selfish little ..." Carly stopped and took a breath. "Right. I'm not going to talk about her that way anymore. She's Sofie's mom. Lets just say -I don't give a damn what her reasons are. I'm a Spencer and that's where my loyalty stays, first with you and then with them."
She went on, "Do not tell me that your side is whatever one Liz is on because I don't want to let my family down, this is a chance for me to really be there for them, but I also can't ever not be on your side so..."
"I'm staying out of it," Jason said, as he slowly pulled her into his arms. He brushed a strand of her hair out of her eyes. "Unless you need me then...I got your back."
"Thanks."
"I don't want this to get ugly though, Carly. No matter what you think about Liz, Sofie needs her."
"And Lucky needs Cameron. This isn't like when AJ tried to take our son. Liz chose Lucky! She asked him to love her child, and even more important, she let that little boy love him. How can she separate them now? It's cruel and wrong and nobody does something like that to the Spencers while I just watch and say "Isn't that too bad?" I don't think so!"
"Okay, okay. I got it. I'll have a talk with Liz. I don't want this going to court. It's not good for any of us. But I can't tell her what to do either. All I can do is ask her to put Cam first and, whatever that means, she will hopefully do."
"I don't have that kind of faith in her," Carly said "But I trust you so go ahead and try it your way. If that doesn't work then maybe its time," she gave him a smile "for one of my famous plans?"
"Never."
"Oh, how did I know you would say that?" She started laughing and he started kissing her.
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Lulu was hanging out at Spinelli's place. Now that both Jason and Sam moved out, she noticed Spinelli didn't really like living there alone so she was trying to spend more time with him to make him feel better.
"Don't be mad at me..." she started as they hung out on the couch.
He was on the internet, blogging about his life and cyber adventures.
"I would never be angry with my Blonde One, even though you aren't really my Blonde One anymore," his eyes stayed on the computer "since you fell for Muscles but, all the same, I could never feel anything but good tidings for you because..."
"I set you up on a blind date," Lulu blurted out.
His eyes jerked up. "Wha? Tell me you are pulling The Jackal's rather handsome leg."
"I'm not."
He jumped up and started pacing.
Lulu stood up and said, quickly, "I love you.."
Spinelli stopped and stared at her.
"Like a friend," she went on. "I care about you so much and I just want you as happy as I am so...there's this girl in one of my classes at school and I know you will like her. She's pretty and smart and nice and...just give it a try, okay? Will you, for me?"
"Lulu," he said her name softly. It that one word she heard how much he didn't really want to put his heart out there to be trampled on again.
"Please."
Spinelli sighed. One please from her and he was a goner. "I can not turn you down no matter how preposterous your proposal. I am the Jack to your Rose and we shall go down on this ship together."
"Titanic?"
"Too girly?"
Lulu shrugged, "It worked, I guess. Though I'm not trying to let your drown. Because I can't be happy if you aren't too. You're my best friend and you always will be, even if I love..."
"Don't say his name right now. We're having a moment."
She smiled. "We should fix your hair, before she gets here."
"What? She's coming now? When?" His eyes jerked over to the door as if it was a bomb about to explode. "The Jackal must groom himself!"
He went flying up the stairs and Lulu followed him.
Note- Can you tell I feel bad leaving any character unattached? LOL.
I had to flat out force myself to not write a Jax and Brenda reunion ( and I never even liked them together!)
Sigh. I just always want all the characters in my stories to end up happy and in love. But if I don't stop myself at some point this will be the never ending story. Spinelli doesn't get a full romance but he gets to meet someone who could help him get over Lulu choosing Milo.
Coming up: Cooper meets Brooklyn, some Sexis