9 hrs. later, I felt much better. I really needed that nap. I had also taken a shower after my nap. Afterward, I grabbed a quick bite, then called Rimfire. I wanted to see if his uncle had called him to let him know I wanted to stop by.

"Hello?"

I noticed he sounded very sad. I understand his pain.

"Hey Rimfire. Did your uncle call you by chance?"

"Yeah, he did. He told me you wanted to swing by and talk."

"I just wanna make sure you're going to be ok and give you someone to talk to. I'm told I'm a good listener."

He chuckled a little bit. It was nice to hear a little laugh out of him.

"Come on by. I'll text you my address."

"I'll be over soon." Then I ended the call. I got a text not long after I ended the call. I typed his address into my GPS that was in my car. I had already gotten into my car while talking with Rimfire.

About 10 mins. later, I had arrived at Rimfire's house. It was really nice. I turned off my car, got out and locked it. I walked up to the door and was about to knock when he opened the door.

"Come on in, Michelle."

I walked in and he shut the door behind me. He had also locked it. I turned around.

"My son likes to sneak out when he should be taking a nap."

"How old is he?"

"He's 6, but thinks he's 12."

"Does he go to school yet?"

"He got home 2hrs. ago. He started 1st grade 2 months ago, before…"

"I am so sorry about Christina."

"Thanks. Uncle Modo told me that you and him are engaged. Congrats."

"That's another thing I wanted to talk to you about. I'm feeling conflicted about marrying your uncle."

"You still love Throttle, don't you?"

We had sat down in the kitchen while we were talking. He had made some coffee, too.

"I won't lie. I do still love Throttle. I know that divorcing him was wrong, but he had been warned that if he hit me, accidental or not, I would divorce him. I stuck by my word. Then 2yrs. later, I get engaged to your uncle. I should have told him he should wait 'til he's completely over Charley's death. I don't know why I didn't. Thing is…"

"You don't wanna hurt him by telling him you've decided to wait to get married again."

"Or that I even wanna marry him. Don't get me wrong, I do love your uncle, but my heart is still with Throttle. I've been having nightmares since I divorced him."

"I heard you had the same problem when Throttle was sent to Mars to go through that rigorous training I went through."

"3 months of nightmares while he was gone and about a month and a half of them when he came back. Now it's 2yrs. of nightmares. Your uncle has heard me scream every night and has to comfort me so I can sleep."

"I'm not the religious type, but it sounds like it's a sign from God that you need to get back together with Throttle. The nightmares are telling you something."

"When did you get so wise?"

Rimfire smiled and blushed. I smiled back.

"You've helped me a lot. I hope I was able to help you a bit, as well."

"Actually, you did help me, Michelle. Anyone who can make me laugh when I'm sad, is awesome." Then he gave me a hug. I returned the hug.

I had decided to call Throttle and see if we can talk tonight. Surprisingly, he wanted to do a Skype call instead.
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That night, we talked on Skype. We had done a video call. I won't admit this to Throttle, but I did miss his handsome, smiling face. I really missed his husky, sexy voice, too. I also won't admit it to him, either.

"So, what are you going to tell Modo?"

"Honestly, I don't know how I can without hurting him. I know he's still hurting from losing Charley, which is why he should wait."

"Has he talked to you about an open relationship?"

"No."

"He is willing to let me date you while you're engaged to him. He's noticed how I've been since the divorce."

"Since the divorce, I've been having nightmares every night. Modo has had to crawl into bed with me to ease my mind."

"Modo told me that. Regardless of the divorce, we are still connected to each other and I've had some of the same kind of nightmares."

"I told Rimfire about my nightmares and he told me it could have to do with the divorce. I know I shouldn't say this cause we are divorced, but I've been missing you a lot, Throttle. There's no way I can tell Modo without breaking his heart."

"Tell him what?"

"That I can't marry him and that I wanna get back together with you. I know divorcing you was wrong, but I didn't wanna be a victim of spousal abuse like you and your mom were. I thought I was doing the right thing, but it turns out I was wrong. I'm also sorry for not taking my meds for the past week and for hitting Ty. I didn't mean to hurt him."

"I'm glad you said it first. I've been missing you so bad, Michelle. I understand why you did it. I don't hold it against you, either. I wouldn't want you to be a victim of spousal abuse like my mom was. I think the 3 of us should sit down and talk. When are you coming back to California?"

"Probably not for a week or so. I'm gonna help out Rimfire. He has to bury Christina."

"What happened?"

"Brie's goons killed her. He is so torn up about it. He has no idea how to tell his son that his mother is dead."

"How old is he?"

"6. Any ideas?"

"Is Rimfire planning to move his son elsewhere?"

"Modo wants them both there."

"Is Rimfire ok with it?"

"It was his choice. I'm worried about what's gonna happen to the garage."

"Cause it's under her name. That will be hard to transfer the garage over to anyone."

I yawned and stretched a bit. Throttle noticed.

"I'll call you in the morning. You need to get some sleep."

"I'm good."

"Michelle, please don't argue with me. Just go to bed. We'll talk in the morning."

I gave in. He was right. I was tired.

"Fine. You know me so well. Sleep well, Throttle."

"You too, Michelle." Then I ended the Skype video, turned off the computer and went to bed.

During the night, I was having nightmare after nightmare. I kept waking up in a cold sweat. I gave up trying to sleep. I heard the Skype ringtone on my phone. I picked up my phone and saw that it was both Modo and Throttle calling me.

"Everything ok?"

"We need you to come back now."

I heard yelling from Troy in the background about Ty and how he's getting worse.

I was getting scared, but didn't show it.

"What's wrong with Ty? And don't lie to me."

"Ty is dying. He has a rare disease that's incurable. I had gone to the Dr. with him and had the Dr. do a test on me. We're both dying. I have the same disease."

They saw the tears running down my face. I couldn't speak. I was so distraught. I didn't know how to respond, so I shut the video down. I tried to get some sleep. I needed to get my mind off of what Throttle just told me.
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

California. After the screen went black, Throttle got the biggest kick out of my reaction.

"That look was priceless."

Modo didn't look happy at all. He wanted to wipe that smile off of Throttle's face. He didn't want any part of this sick joke. He's heard about my temper.

"How can you play a sick joke like that on her, Throttle? Is this your way of wanting to get back together with her? If it is, it's the wrong way."

Throttle finally sobered up enough and looked at how serious Modo was.

"Oh, come on, Modo. Deep down, you thought it was funny too."

Modo crossed his arms over his chest. He stood firm on what he said.

Throttle sighed. "Fine. I'll go tell Ty that Michelle isn't coming. It was his idea, not mine."

"You're the adult, Throttle. Ty is the child, regardless of his age. He needs to have boundaries and that was definitely crossing a big boundary. Michelle may not forgive us for putting more grief on her."

Throttle realized that Modo was right. He sighed one more time then called Ty downstairs.

Ty didn't like how his father sounded when he was told to come downstairs. He complied with his father.

After Ty came downstairs, he noticed the look on his father's face. "Uh oh. Something tells me I'm in deep trouble."

"I think we're all gonna be in deep trouble, Ty. Well, maybe not Troy. I don't think he wanted to be a part of this joke. Modo isn't happy we did this, either. I hate to say it, but I think he's right. I was hoping that your mother would have rushed back here so we can give you some good news, but I have a feeling that what we both want may not happen now."

"What are you talking about, dad?"

"Your mother and I had talked earlier tonight and even after 2 yrs. of being divorced, we both decided to get back together. Your uncle already knows this and he's ok with it."

Ty looked at his uncle. "Are you sure you're ok, with my mom going back to my dad, uncle Modo?"

Modo smiled and nodded. "I want your mother to be happy. Despite all the things your mother has put your father through, they still love each other very much. I love your mother, too, but if she wants to get back together with your father, then I won't stand in her way."

"I know this might sound weird and all, but what about one of you marrying her here and then go to Mars and the other one marry her there?"

Both Throttle and Modo looked at each other then back at Ty. "We didn't think of that, son. You really do take after your mother."