Ch 28 – Boom

"I'm gonna give a call to this boy's parents! Better yet, I'll drive by there and let him have-"

"Dad, no!" Sam shrieked. "It was my fault. I shouldn't have gone with him. I gave him the wrong idea. Please don't make this worse."

Sam and Angela were sitting next to each other on the sofa in Angela's office while Tony paced back and forth on the carpet as he listened to Sam's story, poorly concealed anger emanating from every fiber of his being.

"Make this worse!? I can't believe you," Tony said, his voice suddenly strangely calm, contradicting his demeanor.

Angela's heart sank. If only she could find a way to stop what she knew was a massive blow-up coming their way. She tightened her hold around Sam's shoulders.

"Don't get upset, Dad. I'm fine. And I'm sorry," Sam pleaded.

"Tony-" Angela tried, but he interrupted her.

"Don't get upset?! I'm not upset, Samantha! I'm furious! God-knows-what could have happened to you out there! We trusted you to be where you said you were going to be. Where do you get off just jumping into a cab with some guy!"

"I wasn't thinking." Next to Angela, Sam hung her head.

"No kidding! You could be dead in a ditch somewhere, do you realize that!?" Tony stepped closer to them, his voice rising to a menacing level.

"Dad-"

"No 'Dad' – I'm very, very serious. Look at me! You're grounded until further notice."

"What!?" Sam's head whipped back up.

"I mean it. You're not going anywhere with anyone until I feel I can trust you again."

"Angela!" Sam said, her eyes wide.

"No!" Tony shouted, and whatever words Angela would have found got stuck in her throat.

"Leave Angela out of this!" he barked. "You're in enough trouble already, don't make it worse. I let you go out with a guy I never even met, and I said yes because I figured: 'She's 16 years old, she's responsible.' But I guess I was wrong, because you did something incredibly stupid the first chance you got. This is all-around bad, Samantha."

Angela swallowed. Of course, Sam was Tony's daughter and not hers. But it still stung that any notion of making parenting decisions together had gone right out the window after they had talked about letting go of 'yours' and 'mine' only last night.

Not to mention the guilt she felt about her role in all of this. She had forced Tony's hand into allowing Sam to go out with Eric, and she had also been the one to take what she thought was a good look at Eric less than six hours ago. To her, he had seemed like a very nice young man. But obviously she had missed something.

Maybe she should have thought back to her own private school days sooner. So many teenage boys (and girls) who grew up in that kind of environment knew what the grown-ups in their lives wanted to see and hear, and they just gave it to them before turning around and doing the opposite.

"I didn't mean to scare you guys," Sam said, beginning to sniffle. "And I didn't mean for what happened to happen."

"Well, that's tough. You should have thought about that before." Tony's face was still a mask of anger.

"I'm sorry," Sam said again.

"Yeah, me too. Don't believe for one second that I'm enjoying this. We've all had a hell of a week, and this is not how I wanted to end it."

At this, Angela had to exercise supreme self-control not to let her hand drop into her lap to touch her stomach. A hell of a week.

"At least I didn't lie to you," Sam whispered, her voice now laced with a hint of defiance.

"What?" Tony looked at her, squinting.

"I said: At least I didn't lie," Sam repeated, louder this time. "I could have made up some story, but I didn't."

Tony scoffed. "And you want me to be grateful for that? That's the least I would expect."

"Oh, yeah?" Sam asked, scooting away from Angela, who was overcome with a sense of foreboding at this act of physical distancing. This could only be the overture for one thing.

"That's funny, Dad."

Tony stood still and stared at his daughter. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing." Sam said with a flat grin on her face, knowing full well that Tony would not let it go at this point.

"Tony, Samantha-" Angela made another attempt, to no avail. She didn't like the turn this had taken, but father and daughter were at it now.

"I don't think it's nothing, Samantha. Are you saying I'm lying to you?"

Sam grinned. "Well, aren't you?"

"Sam, honey." Angela reached for Sam's hand, but she pulled away before she could make contact.

Sam gave Angela a brief, mournful look. "I'm sorry, Angela. I'm just-"

Then she raised her hands in a helpless gesture.

"I'm not an idiot!" Sam looked at Tony, and then back at Angela. "I know something is going on between the two of you, okay? Something major. And you've been lying to all of us for weeks."

There it was.

Angela wanted to check in with Tony and threw him a look, but his gaze was still fixed on Samantha.

"Don't try and distract from your case here, missy! What Angela and I do or don't do is none of your business!" he exploded.

"Believe me, I didn't try to make it my business. But it's kinda hard to miss when you're sneaking across the hallway into Angela's bedroom in the middle of the night!" Sam snapped.

Immediately, Angela's cheeks were on fire. "Sam, you weren't supposed to-"

"What, are you spying on us now?!"

"I am still allowed to come out of my room at night to get a glass of water, aren't I?"

Tony ran a hand over his forehead and up into his hair, trying to calm down, or so Angela hoped. This screaming match was starting to get to her.

"Tony," she said carefully, her voice wavering. "Let's go home and continue this in the morning. Please. I think this has been enough."

Tony's gaze finally shifted from Sam to her, and the tension in his face eased a little.

"Please?" Angela repeated.

Tony looked at the ground and then back up at Samantha. "We're not done," he said, pointing a warning finger at her.

"I didn't think we were," Sam said haughtily and got up from the sofa. "I have to go to the bathroom before we leave." With that, she disappeared into the hallway.

"Shit!" Tony walked to the big window and shoved it open.

After a little while, Angela spoke up. "Tony? Can you come sit for a minute?" She patted the sofa cushions next to her.

Tony stood very straight for a moment, then he exhaled heavily, closed the window, and came over.

Bowing her head so she could look into his eyes, Angela continued, "Sam is alright. That's the most important thing. I agree, what she did wasn't smart. And she's lucky nothing worse happened. We all are. When she came back here, she was pretty upset. I think all of this has been punishment enough for one night."

Tony averted his eyes, kneading his forehead. "Just imagine, if-"

"I know."

Angela put her hand on his back, between his shoulder blades, and stroked a couple of small circles before taking it away again. Sam would come back any second now, and she didn't want to make this even more complicated.

"I'm sorry I yelled," Tony said quietly.

"You were worried."

"Like never before in my life."

"I get it. I was worried, too."

They sat in silence for a moment before Tony turned to face her. "About the other thing …"

Angela tried to smile but wasn't sure if she succeeded. "We were going to talk to them anyway. I don't like that Sam caught us, it makes me wish we had told them sooner. But it is what it is."

"Yeah. You're right."

They looked at each other in silence. Then Tony was just about to say something else when Sam cleared her throat. She stood in the doorway, her parka back up around her shoulders.

"I'm ready."

Angela started to get up, but Tony reached for her hand and pulled her back onto the sofa.

"One second, okay?" he asked her, quietly, and Angela nodded, wondering what was next.

"Hey, Samantha," he said after a deep breath, his voice calm now. "Let's forget about before for a minute and talk real quick about the other thing that you … mentioned. Angela and me."

"What about you?" Sam asked tonelessly, not moving from the doorway. But Angela saw her brow soften a tad.

"It's true. You're right. We're … a couple," Tony said. "And what you saw, well. I'm not proud of sneaking around, we shouldn't have kept you kids – and Mona – in the dark for so long. I'm sorry about that. Really. But I'm also not ashamed. Angela and I, we're adults, and we're in love. We have been for a while."

Tony took their joined hands and raised them to his lips for a kiss to Angela's knuckles. An expression played across Samantha's features that read like 'What else is new, Dad?'.

Again, Angela felt heat rise to her face, but this time she wasn't embarrassed, she was touched. Hearing Tony tell his daughter about their love was special – no matter the circumstances.

Angela looked from Sam to Tony and back at Sam. "And we're sorry you had to find out the way you did. We were- things are still a little bit complicated. Not between your dad and me! We love each other, just like he said. But there are some questions we haven't answered for ourselves yet."

"Like what?" Sam asked quietly.

Tony sighed. This was the hardest part for him. "I don't want to keep working for Angela now that we're in a relationship. But we haven't fully figured out what everything is going to look like going forward."

Sam nodded thoughtfully. "I understand."

"We didn't want to make things any more confusing for you and Jonathan."

Sam smirked. "I don't think that would've been possible. Things at our house have always been confusing. Now that you're together, they finally make sense."

Angela chuckled. At the same time, hearing Sam call it 'our house' almost brought tears to her eyes.

"I'm glad you feel that way, Sam," Tony said. "About things making sense. That's what it feels like for us, too. To be honest."

Words escaped Angela, she could only nod.

Father and daughter considered each other for a couple of seconds, Sam's transgression and Tony's reaction from before not forgotten yet. But the ice was clearly starting to thaw.

"You're going to get married, aren't you?" Sam asked, a small smile now tugging on her lips.

"Eventually, yes," Tony said.

Next to him, Angela felt herself mirroring Sam's smile.

"That's good." Sam nodded.

"We haven't made plans yet. Another thing we have to figure out."

"As long as it doesn't take another four years."

Angela found her voice again. "It's going to be sooner than that. Don't worry." She had started to dream of a spring wedding. Sometime after Easter maybe, in April, when the pregnancy would be in its least exhausting stage.

"You kids will be the first to know," Tony said, sticking to the plan that he and Angela had made. "In fact, we were going to tell you on Sunday. About us being together. Of course you found out early, so I guess we'll just do it tomorrow after breakfast. You and Jonathan."

"Until then, we would appreciate it if you could keep this to yourself. We would like it if Jonathan heard the news from us," Angela added.

"Sure," Sam said.

"Do you have any other questions right now?" Angela asked. Sam probably had a ton of them.

But she shook her head. "Nothing that can't wait until tomorrow."

"Okay then," Tony said and got up from the sofa. "I'm really glad you're okay, Sam. You have no idea. And I didn't mean to shout like that. I was worried."

"I know, Dad."

"Good. We're going to continue this tomorrow, too."

Sam nodded and pulled the zipper on her parka up.

A few minutes later, Sam and Angela stood outside the building on the sidewalk, waiting for Tony to bring the car around.

"Hey, Angela?" Sam said in a small voice.

"Hm?"

"I'm sorry I brought up you and Dad. It just came out. And I really didn't mean to spy on you guys."

Angela sighed. "It's okay. This … happened, and maybe it's for the best."

"I just want you to know that I'm really happy for you and Dad."

She reached for Sam and drew her into a sideways hug. "Thank you, Samantha. It means a lot to hear that from you. I suppose we were a little nervous about telling you and Jonathan."

"Because he was so bent out of shape about his dad's new baby?"

"I suppose that played a role." Angela said, silently marveling at how perceptive Sam was. "This is going to be a new situation for all of us."

"I think it's great," Sam said and put her arm around Angela's waist. "I hope you'll be really happy together."

"We already are, sweetheart, we already are," Angela whispered, once again overcome by emotions.

ooooooooo ... ooooooooo

"Tony and I, we are in love. We have been for quite some time. And we're a couple now." Angela finished.

It was the next morning, and the four of them were still sitting around the kitchen table, the dishes already cleared away, except for of a small plate with Angela's half-eaten piece of toast on it.

Tony thought that she looked especially pale today. Maybe these were the beginnings of morning sickness? Or it could just be nerves. He was certainly feeling his.

Out of respect for Samantha, and because they didn't want to risk being caught by Jonathan, too, they had spent last night apart. Without Angela by his side, Tony had gotten hardly any sleep, tossing and turning until four in the morning, still reeling from the night's events, and overwhelmed by the knowledge that there was no stopping this anymore.

Very soon, the fact that he and Angela were together would no longer be a secret, at least inside their own home. He was looking forward to being free to express his love and affection for her whenever he felt like it.

But it was still a huge change, and this was only the beginning. A couple of weeks from now, they would have another one of these talks, sharing the next big news.

"So … how do you feel about this?" Tony asked to stop himself from thinking too much.

"I suspected it all along," Jonathan said very matter-of-factly, his hands folded neatly on the table in front of him and his eyes sparkling as he looked back and forth between Tony and his mother.

"You did?" Angela asked, sounding a little surprised.

Jonathan rolled his eyes. "You were kind of obvious, Mom. Making eyes at each other at breakfast every morning. And then again at dinner."

She laughed awkwardly. "Well, you are very smart."

Jonathan shrugged fake-bashfully before firing off a question neither Tony nor Angela had anticipated. "Can we turn Tony's room into a game room?"

"My room!?"

Jonathan looked at him blankly. "You're going to move in with Mom, right? When Dad used to live here, he shared a room with Mom."

Next to Jonathan, Samantha swallowed a grin, Tony could see it out of the corner of his eye. He was holding Angela's hand on the table, slowly running his thumb back and forth over her knuckles.

"That's a question for another day, buddy."

Of course, it would make absolutely no sense to convert his room into anything except a nursery. Even though the baby would probably sleep in Angela's – in their – bedroom for the first couple of months.

"You know, you don't have to be married to share a bed," Sam informed them. "Or have you never heard of cohabitation?"

"Of course we have," Tony said through gritted teeth.

Sam had made a remarkable recovery from last night's disastrous date and the terrible fight that had ensued. Tony also couldn't bring himself to be mad at her right now. Establishing his and Angela's new relationship status within the family took precedence over everything else.

"What I mean is: Jonathan and I are not going to be shocked if you guys want to sleep in the same room," Sam clarified.

"Yeah!" Jonathan chimed in. "And you're going to get married, anyway. So what's the big deal?"

"There is no big deal, darling. We're just … moving at our own pace."

"Like a glacier," Mona chimed in from the back door.

"Thank you, Mother," Angela said without turning her head.

"Hey, Mone," Tony greeted her. As always, Mona's timing was impeccable.

"I take it you two have finally shared the happy news?"

"We're going to turn Tony's old room into a game room!" Jonathan squealed.

"Oh?" Mona raised one of her eyebrows.

"We haven't decided yet," Angela tried to diffuse the situation.

"I'm sure you'll find some kind of use for an empty room," Mona said lightly, and Tony saw her eyeing the piece of dry toast on Angela's plate. "Sooner or later."

"Hey, wait a minute! Grandma! How come you knew already?" Jonathan piped up and saved Tony and Angela from further discussions of possible uses for an empty bedroom.

Mona clicked her tongue and cocked her head. "A mother's intuition, Jonathan. No, just kidding. I caught these two kissing in the kitchen the other day."

"Mother!"

"What? It's true," Mona said and went to pour herself a cup of coffee.

"As long as you don't slobber all over each other while you're cooking my food," Jonathan said, sticking out his tongue in mock disgust.

"Oh, you're so immature," Sam dismissed Jonathan's theatrics before continuing, "So, Dad, Angela – what's the deal here? Can I tell Bonnie about this?"

Tony looked over at Angela. "I don't think it would be fair to ask you kids to keep our secret. Angela and I, we're happy, and I don't care who knows it."

He sounded braver than he felt when he said this, but there was really no way around it, was there? It would be completely wrong to ask the kids to lie on their behalf, even if it were to be by omission.

"You can tell whoever you like," Angela agreed. "Or whoever asks. And if anybody has anything to say about it, you come to us. You have absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. And neither do we. We are a family. Like millions of others in America."

"When Todd became my friend, he thought you were my dad anyway," Jonathan said with a shrug. "Nobody cares."

Tony squeezed Angela's hand. He hoped that Jonathan was right.

ooooooooo

"It went well this morning, don't you think?" Angela asked him later that afternoon when they were curled up on the sofa in her study.

It still felt a little odd to be openly affectionate around Mona and the kids, so they had sought out more private surroundings in order to take stock of the situation.

"Yeah," Tony agreed, his hand slowly stroking Angela's stomach. It was still completely flat, of course, but he felt drawn to it somehow. What was going on inside of her was nothing short of a miracle, and he wanted to share in it. "One down, one to go, huh?"

"Not before the new year," Angela sighed, her hand meeting his. "I want to get the all-clear from Dr. Solomon first."

"Oh, yeah," Tony agreed, the memory of Mrs. Rossini's mindreading-slash-interrogation tactics an uncomfortable blip on his inner radar. He prayed to God that she would stick to her promise and keep her mouth shut.

"And give the kids some time to get used to 'us' first." He pressed a kiss to the side of her face. "I gotta say, I was impressed. Jonathan was cool as a cucumber."

"I'll admit, I was a little surprised, too."

"Seems to me like he always wanted this. Remember when he set us up for Valentine's Day at Chez Réne because he hoped we'd get married? And he was only eight back then."

Angela snorted softly. "Of course. Those Cherries Jubilee still give me heartburn all these years later."

Tony had to laugh as well, remembering them sharing antacids late at night in the kitchen.

"Speaking of which. Are you feeling okay? I thought you looked a little green this morning."

Angela snuggled deeper into his embrace. "You're sweet to ask. I'm fine. I was just a little queasy before breakfast. Nothing some dry toast couldn't fix."

"Mhm," he hummed. "Whatever you need to help you feel better, you tell me, okay?"

"I will," she sighed happily. "For now, all I need is you."

"Looks like you're lucky. Because you've got me. And you're not getting rid of me ever again."