Fred had been looking forward to this date night for days, ever since his mother had begged to keep Penny for an evening.
"Oh, just give me that gorgeous grandbaby of mine," she squealed when Fred handed her a sleeping, swaddled Penny. Before he could give his daughter a kiss goodbye, his mother had closed the door so quickly it almost smashed his nose.
Spending quality time with Daphne had taken a backseat to being a full-time parent of a newborn, but he missed her deeply. Their mornings used to be spent together, chatting over coffee, and getting ready for work. Now their mornings began when Penny decided it was time to get up, her early hungry cries were usually the loudest. Most of the time their coffee went cold, while they took turns getting showers, and juggling breakfast with a squaling baby.
He came out of their bathroom, looking as handsome as ever in a black suit and tie. His hair was combed back, an attempt at keeping it slick. Glancing in the mirror's reflection, he noticed Daphne lounging on their bed, still in a surprising state of undress.
He turned, facing her, checking his watch, "Daph, we need to leave in five minutes if we're going to catch the opera on time."
"I dunno," Daphne smiled coyly, "Some would say I'm a bit over-dressed for the occasion."
Fred grinned at her little game, quirking a jealous eyebrow, "Some? Who else sees you like this?
He looked down, taking in her semi-nude self only covered by a thin slip, her hair still wet from the shower. It might be due to good genetics, but her body had bounced back to it's pre-pregnancy shape pretty quick.
She winked at him, reclining back further against the pillows, summoning him with an index finger. "I'm not exactly in the mood to go to the opera anymore."
Fred leaned down over her body, settling his weight between her legs, and taking her lips in a hungry kiss. They hadn't been intimate in the weeks since Penny's birth, allowing Daphne's body to heal, but he sensed Daphne was just as eager to return to their regular bouts of love making.
She pushed Fred's suit jacket off his shoulders to land carelessly on the floor. Neither cared one iota if his fancy clothes got wrinkled.
XXXXXX
Afterwards, they laid entangled in a sweaty heap, enjoying the closeness that they each had missed over the weeks. Fred slowly trailed his fingers down Daphne's back while they each caught their breath. "I've got a surprise for you," he said.
"As long as it's not another baby, I'm sure I'll love it." Daphne smirked, her head still tucked neatly under his chin, her ear to Fred's chest listening to his heart rate return to normal.
He pulled away long enough to grab something small from their nightstand, before proudly presenting her with the ugliest wedding band she had ever seen.
It was a dingy brass color, unevenly beaten into shape, most likely hand hammered. The jewelry was weathered and worn metal, with nicks and dings representing a long lifetime of wear. Set in the middle was a single violet amythest stone, faded with time, but would probably shine brilliantly once it was polished.
"Try it on," he said, taking her hand in his, and gently sliding it over her finger. "I know it's not your style, but it's been in my family for four generations. We can just use it until you can pick out something else."
Daphne eyed the odd ring and giggled, "It really is ugly, Fred. But I love it. It definitely has character."
Fred nuzzled her messy red hair, "I guarantee no other person on earth will have one just like it. I'm not even sure if it's made of gold, but I do know it's one hundred percent metal."
She kissed his toned chest, "I love this, I really do. We'll have to make it permenant accessory sometime.''
XXXXXX
Fred was finishing his work for the evening, whistling a little tune to himself, gathering his keys and a stack of papers that needed to be authorized by Gretchen. He couldn't help the little pep in his step as he walked down the hallway to his boss's office. His life had been so smooth lately, as reflected by his current mood. And when you're happy, it just shows.
All he could think about was getting home to his favorite red-headed ladies.
He rapped politely on Gretchen's door, peeking in, and seeing her sleek raven head at her desk. She looked up and flashed a smile that would make any aspiring model jealous.
"Well, well Mr. Jones. Always a pleasure. You've got the revised script I presume?"
Fred handed her the papers, giving a polite nod.
Gretchen flipped through the pages, eyeing them approvingly. "These look great, Fred. You have a real flair at producing. Sometimes I feel that your talents are wasted working under Joran. I can picture you working in Hollywood in a few years."
He shrugged modestly, "I'm just doing my job."
"You know, if you're interested I could hook you up with the right people," she delicately nibbled at her bottom lip, "My ex works with big names and the A-list crowd. I could drop a line or two."
Fred shook his head, "The last thing I want, is to be debted to you."
The bronze beauty stirred a fruit tonic with a straw. "There are worse things, Fred," without looking up she asked, "Stay late with me tonight?"
Fred exhaled a deep breath he didn't know he'd been holding. "My answer isn't going to change. I'm going to pass."
Gretchen met his eyes then, and they were pleading hard, practically begging. "Before you found out about Daphne's pregnancy, you seemed very eager to be with me. I still can't understand why you went back to her. You two were always arguing here at work, I bet in private you still fight constantly."
Fred's jaw clenched. "Penelope changed a lot of things in my life, but never how I felt about Daphne."
He shrugged his white jacket on. "I need to go now anyways. Penny's been colicky lately and-"
"The baby is at home with her mother," Gretchen interrupted, "I'm sure Daphne is handling everything, totally preoccupied with…well...whatever it is a mom does. She won't notice if you're twenty minutes late."
When Fred didn't respond, Gretchen piqued an eyebrow, "Or maybe thirty minutes."
His body was getting hot from anger, his hand gripping his keys until they were painfully digging into his palm. Trying to salvage what he could of his career, Fred turned on his heel, heading towards the door.
"If you leave here Fred Jones, you're fired." She called out, her voice eerily calm.
His hand froze on the door knob. Despite her evil threat, Fred knew she was smiling, her painted lips curled upwards in a tantalizing smirk. She'd planned this somehow, utilizing all of his weak spots to get what she wanted.
Gretchen's voice was an octave below sneering, "Just how many diapers do you think unemployment can buy, Fred? Is that a chance you'd like to take?"
Fred's body sagged, he could just picture the worry on Daphne's face when he told her he was out of a job. After all, Daphne herself has been applying for ages with no takers, he doubted he could snag a new position before next month's bills were due.
But if he did this, appeased his vile boss, gave her what she wanted…would she leave him alone? Would it be enough? Could he even look at Daphne again?
Fred sighed with defeat and glanced up at the ceiling hoping to see some sort of cosmic answer written there, slowly letting his hand slide from the door knob.