Going Home

Chapter 11

Mike watched the kids playing on a slip and slide and flipped the burgers on the grill. Tommy's party had turned into a full-on event for their subdivision and a lot of their friends. There were bounce houses, water games, food, and live music. Mike didn't even want to think about the price tag, but it was all worth it. Tommy was getting better every day.

Mallory had arranged everything, and everyone was having fun. Mike had stayed at the grill cooking, but he was wanting to walk around and visit. Danny and Wolf took over cooking and Mike walked to the drink table where Mallory was visiting with her business partner, Al and his wife Mary. Mike grabbed a beer and joined them.

"Alright, since I have both of you here, I wanted to tell you; my buying out your partnership was just a short term…not loan. Gift…" Al said, obviously struggling.

"What he is trying to say is, we knew that you needed the money, but would never take it as a gift. Al temporarily bought your side of the partnership, to give you the money that was needed. Now that Tommy is well again, we are giving you the partnership back, with no expectation of payment. In fact, we absolutely do not want payment. We don't have any kids of our own, so you are the closest we have to family. This is something we'd do for family." Mary explained. She was a retired judge and was unbelievably wise.

"We…I don't know what to say." Mallory said.

"There is nothing to say. You built the practice, as much as I did. As Mary said, you are like a daughter to us, and have given us beautiful grandchildren. When I finally retire, the practice will be yours. Period." Al said. Mike could tell that Mallory was fighting tears. Losing her part of the practice had hurt both of them. It was what she had fought for, and what they had both sacrificed for.

"I'll speak for Mallory. Thank you both, so much. My parents died many years ago and you know Mallory's story. Our kids didn't ever really have grandparents, so having you both have given them that, and that is such a blessing. So, thank you both for that." Mike said. He had an arm around Mallory and kissed the top of her head.

"Yes, thank you. We love you both, so much." Mallory finally said. She pulled away from Mike to give both Al and Mary a hug. After they walked away, Tom appeared at Mike's elbow. He obviously had something to say too.

"So, we know the two of you have been exhausted. I talked with the older girls and made some arrangements. Once you two get done here, you are to head to the Riverview. You have a night there, with couple's massages, a nice dinner and a full night of rest. Something neither of you have gotten since all this started. And don't worry about the kids. Between the older girls and us, they will be fine. I don't want to see you two until late tomorrow. We have it covered until Monday, if you would want to stay that late." Tom said.

"We will go, but I can't promise we'll get a full night's rest. We don't get many nights away from the kids." Mike said mischievously. Mallory slapped his shoulder but had a huge smile on her face.

"I kind of figured that much. You guys are like two teenagers in the backseat." Tom teased.

"But, not nearly as inexperienced. We have the kids to prove that." Mike argued. Tom just rolled his eyes.

"Or proves you lack understanding of birth control." Tom said before walking off. Mike pulled Mallory into a hug and kissed her.

"Wonder if we can sneak off?" Mike asked.

"Probably not advisable. This is Tommy's big day. I wonder if I should go scare those girls off. They are all over him." Mallory said.

"Let him be. I do think we need to think about giving him the talk. You want to? You're the doctor." Mike said.

"You're the dad. That trumps doctor any day of the week. Remember to talk about birth control." Mallory said.

"Yuck." Mike answered.

"You won't let me break that train wreck up." Mallory said as she pointed over to their oldest son.

"You can if you want to, but it'll embarrass him for years to come. I would prefer that he has a prom date and all." Mike said.

"True." Mallory said.

"The blonde is really into him and she is kind of cute. Course, the redhead is too, and if he is like his dad, he prefers redheads." Mike joked.

"You're a mess. Go check the meat." Mallory ordered. She gave him a kiss before he walked away and began pouring cups of punch.

Mike and Mallory talked to people, made sure everyone got enough to eat, cleaned things up, and gave their kids hugs and kisses. Emma and Hannah had packed bags for him and Mallory, and they were on the road by six pm.

The hotel room was much nicer than Mike and Mallory would have ever had for themselves, and the massages were in their room. There was also a hot tub that Mike and Mallory utilized after the massage. They were relaxing and just enjoying each other, exactly what they needed to do.

"I know we joked about the full night's sleep, but that sounds pretty good right now." Mallory remarked. Mike smoothed her long red hair back and kissed her temple.

"Whatever you want to do, honey. You were the one who worked your tail off the last week to get things ready." Mike said.

"You did too. Its kind of a letdown. In the last two weeks, we've moved Emma into her apartment, planned for and prepared the party and now, we just have to go back to our everyday life." Mallory remarked.

"Yes and no. We have a lot of takeaways. I think we are a lot closer to the kids then before. We have developed our own little family of friends. And we've learned to take a breath." Mike said as he kissed Mallory's bare shoulder. He was gently massaging her lower back and she leaned against him.

"Very true. I love you." Mallory said before leaning back and kissing Mike.

"I love you too. Let's go to bed." Mike said before they both stood up and dried off. They could have had a romantic dinner and night, but instead, they changed into their comfortable pajamas, found a movie on TV and fell asleep in each other's arms, finally recovering from the trauma of the past few months.

I don't know if I will pick this back up, because of how low readership has been. For those that have read but not reviewed, thanks for the reading! Reviews are much appreciated, though. I've changed the whole course of a storyline to work within reviews.