Chris heard Stephanie scream, and his ears pricked with fright. What could
Stephanie be screaming about? Sudden thoughts of a burglar, or something
happening with Carter ran through his head. He rushed out of the room,
trying to locate the origination of his wife's screams.
"Steph!" he yelled, "Where are you?"
Stephanie stood still in the foyer, looking at Jessica and this child. She was in such a state of disbelief that she couldn't even think to breathe, let alone answer Chris. She wanted to faint, but was too stiff.
Chris rushed downstairs, seeing Stephanie standing in the foyer. He ran in there, his eyes locked on Stephanie, and Stephanie alone. Because of this, he failed to see the two people standing in the doorway. He ran up to Stephanie and took her in his arms.
"Baby, what's wrong? What's the matter?" he asked worriedly.
Stephanie opened her mouth, but no words came out.
"Steph, talk to me," he pleaded.
"Jessica," she managed to sputter.
"What are you talking about?"
"She's talking about me Christopher."
Chris turned and his jaw dropped, "Jessica, what the hell are you doing here?"
"I'll ask you not to swear in front of my daughter."
"Daughter?" Chris asked, looking at the toddler in her arms.
"Oops, silly me, OUR daughter," Jessica said smugly.
Chris blinked a couple times, trying to process what she had said. Did she just say that the little girl that she was holding was THEIR daughter? Surely she was kidding? She had to be kidding right?
"What?" was the only thing Chris could think of to say.
"You heard me Christopher, this is our daughter," Jessica smirked, almost evilly.
Stephanie wanted to cry, "I've got to get out of here."
She ran upstairs, refusing to let Jessica see her cry. She would never give that bitch the satisfaction. She went into Carter's room and closed the door. She leaned against the door, then slid down to the ground. It was only then that the torrent of tears fell down her face.
Meanwhile, Chris had turned to see the obviously hurt Stephanie run upstairs. He stood motionless for a few moments before turning slowly to Jessica. She smiled at him, and Chris wanted to throw up, this couldn't be happening.
"What do you mean....my daughter."
"That's right Christopher, she is your daughter."
"But-but...."
"This is Adriana," Jessica told him, "Adri, say hi to Daddy."
"You've got to be kidding me?"
"I'm not kidding you Christopher, this is your daughter."
"How come this is the first time I'm hearing about this, huh?" he asked, getting upset.
"Oh, and when could I have told you, when you were throwing me out of your house, telling me you loved that whore."
"Hey, don't you dare talk about her like that," Chris said, his voice rancorous.
"I'll talk about her any way I please."
"Not in my house you won't. And even if I did throw you out, don't you think this is something that I should've been informed about?"
"You told me I was a bitch, that isn't exactly the circumstances that come with telling you I'm having your child."
"You still should've told me, instead of coming here and springing this on me and my wife."
"I couldn't help it if she answered the door, what was I supposed to do, leave Adri in the car, that would've been poor parenthood, now wouldn't it?"
"Shut up."
"Aren't you going to invite us inside?"
"If it were just you, no, I wouldn't, but I can't leave a poor, defenseless kid," Chris said, stepping aside.
"You're much too kind," she said bitingly, "You'll make a great father."
"I'm already a father," he said blandly.
"That's right, you have Adri, don't you want to hold her."
"No, I don't, and that's not what I meant."
"Like I care what you meant, we'll be sitting down, maybe you want to get the little women down here, so we can discuss just what to do about this little situation."
"What to do? We're not doing anything, you're leaving soon."
"You'd turn away your own child, I'm ashamed of you Christopher."
"I don't even know if that is my child."
"I wouldn't lie."
"Yeah, I'm so sure."
Chris went upstairs to look for Stephanie. He looked in the dark room, knowing she sometimes went in there to get away from things, but found the room empty. He went into their room, but again found no Stephanie. He knew the only other place she could be.
He walked over to the nursery door and knocked gently, "Steph?"
There was no answer, but Chris could hear her sobbing very close to the door. He sat down on the other side of the door and just sat there for a moment. This had to be a dream, this was just too surreal to be real life. It was like something out of the movies.
"Steph," he said turning to the door, "Please open the door."
He saw the door open a crack. He got up and opened the door some more. He saw Stephanie leaning against the wall, sobbing her eyes out. Her eyes were already red and bloodshot and she looked a mess. He closed the door and sat next to her, taking her into his arms.
"I'm so sorry," he whispered into his hair.
"Is it true? Is it yours?" she sobbed.
"I don't know Stephy, I really just don't know, but it's entirely possible I guess," he told her truthfully.
"And I suddenly feel like second fiddle again," she said quietly.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, she was the first love of your life, and I only came around when she was gone. And now she gave you a child before I could."
"Hey, hey, don't you ever think like that," Chris told her.
"How am I supposed to stop, it's true."
Chris sighed and kissed her head. Then he pulled her closer. She would never know how much he loved and cherished her. More than he ever even felt about Jessica. It was true, but Stephanie was hard to believe that.
"It's not true Steph. You are the only love of my life ever. Because I'm with you, I love you and only you. I never knew I could love someone this much. And as far as I'm concerned, my only child is sleeping in his crib as we speak."
"But what if she's yours?"
"Then we deal with that when it comes, but that will not change the way I feel about you or about Carter. I love you both more than anything."
"But then Jessica would be in our lives, and then you could..." her voice trailed off.
"I could what?"
"Nothing," she said, avoiding the subject.
"No Steph, be honest with me.'
"You could fall in love with her all over again, I mean, you loved her before. And then where would Carter and I be, out like the day old news."
"Never, how could I ever turn my back on the both of you."
"But you might fall--"
"No way, I know how she is, there's no way I'm getting sucked into that again."
"So what are we going to do?" she asked, looking up at him with sad eyes.
"We're going to show Jessica that we're a united front. She's trying to break us up, it's quite obvious. But she won't succeed, I'll be sure of that."
"So we actually go and talk to her."
"Yeah, that's exactly what we'll do."
Carter picked that exact moment to wake up from his nap. Stephanie got up and went over to the crib. She smiled down as she saw Carter stop crying as he saw her. She picked him up and cradled him to her.
"Hey there baby boy," she whispered, "Have a good nap?"
He babbled in response.
"That's nice," she said.
"Hey Cart," Chris said, getting up to see the child.
"You wanna go to Daddy?" Stephanie said.
Chris took Carter in his arms, "Hey there Cart, you want to go downstairs so Daddy and Mommy can show you off to a mean lady."
Carter giggled and cuddled up to Chris. Chris smiled down at him, and kissed his head softly. Yeah, no matter what, Carter would always be his number one child, because he had had him with the woman that he loved. He looked up to see Stephanie trying to compose herself.
"So I guess that we should get down there huh? You never know, she might be stealing the fine china."
Chris laughed, "I wouldn't doubt it."
"We'll be ok, won't we Chris."
"When aren't we ok?"
"I just wanted to make sure, that whatever goes down, that we'll somehow pull through this."
Chris walked over to her and kissed her deeply, "It'll all be ok, I promise."
"Ok, good."
They left the room, and walked back downstairs, Stephanie holding onto Chris's arm. Carter smiled and laid his head on Chris's shoulder, drooling all over it, which Chris failed to notice. They went into the living room and Jessica looked up, surprise clear on her face.
"You have a baby," she said, dumbfounded.
"Yes, this is Carter, my only child," Chris said, with an edge.
"You can keep denying her Christopher, but fact of the matter, when it comes down to it, you have two kids, and you're just going to have to deal with that."
"We'll see Jessica, we'll see."
"Steph!" he yelled, "Where are you?"
Stephanie stood still in the foyer, looking at Jessica and this child. She was in such a state of disbelief that she couldn't even think to breathe, let alone answer Chris. She wanted to faint, but was too stiff.
Chris rushed downstairs, seeing Stephanie standing in the foyer. He ran in there, his eyes locked on Stephanie, and Stephanie alone. Because of this, he failed to see the two people standing in the doorway. He ran up to Stephanie and took her in his arms.
"Baby, what's wrong? What's the matter?" he asked worriedly.
Stephanie opened her mouth, but no words came out.
"Steph, talk to me," he pleaded.
"Jessica," she managed to sputter.
"What are you talking about?"
"She's talking about me Christopher."
Chris turned and his jaw dropped, "Jessica, what the hell are you doing here?"
"I'll ask you not to swear in front of my daughter."
"Daughter?" Chris asked, looking at the toddler in her arms.
"Oops, silly me, OUR daughter," Jessica said smugly.
Chris blinked a couple times, trying to process what she had said. Did she just say that the little girl that she was holding was THEIR daughter? Surely she was kidding? She had to be kidding right?
"What?" was the only thing Chris could think of to say.
"You heard me Christopher, this is our daughter," Jessica smirked, almost evilly.
Stephanie wanted to cry, "I've got to get out of here."
She ran upstairs, refusing to let Jessica see her cry. She would never give that bitch the satisfaction. She went into Carter's room and closed the door. She leaned against the door, then slid down to the ground. It was only then that the torrent of tears fell down her face.
Meanwhile, Chris had turned to see the obviously hurt Stephanie run upstairs. He stood motionless for a few moments before turning slowly to Jessica. She smiled at him, and Chris wanted to throw up, this couldn't be happening.
"What do you mean....my daughter."
"That's right Christopher, she is your daughter."
"But-but...."
"This is Adriana," Jessica told him, "Adri, say hi to Daddy."
"You've got to be kidding me?"
"I'm not kidding you Christopher, this is your daughter."
"How come this is the first time I'm hearing about this, huh?" he asked, getting upset.
"Oh, and when could I have told you, when you were throwing me out of your house, telling me you loved that whore."
"Hey, don't you dare talk about her like that," Chris said, his voice rancorous.
"I'll talk about her any way I please."
"Not in my house you won't. And even if I did throw you out, don't you think this is something that I should've been informed about?"
"You told me I was a bitch, that isn't exactly the circumstances that come with telling you I'm having your child."
"You still should've told me, instead of coming here and springing this on me and my wife."
"I couldn't help it if she answered the door, what was I supposed to do, leave Adri in the car, that would've been poor parenthood, now wouldn't it?"
"Shut up."
"Aren't you going to invite us inside?"
"If it were just you, no, I wouldn't, but I can't leave a poor, defenseless kid," Chris said, stepping aside.
"You're much too kind," she said bitingly, "You'll make a great father."
"I'm already a father," he said blandly.
"That's right, you have Adri, don't you want to hold her."
"No, I don't, and that's not what I meant."
"Like I care what you meant, we'll be sitting down, maybe you want to get the little women down here, so we can discuss just what to do about this little situation."
"What to do? We're not doing anything, you're leaving soon."
"You'd turn away your own child, I'm ashamed of you Christopher."
"I don't even know if that is my child."
"I wouldn't lie."
"Yeah, I'm so sure."
Chris went upstairs to look for Stephanie. He looked in the dark room, knowing she sometimes went in there to get away from things, but found the room empty. He went into their room, but again found no Stephanie. He knew the only other place she could be.
He walked over to the nursery door and knocked gently, "Steph?"
There was no answer, but Chris could hear her sobbing very close to the door. He sat down on the other side of the door and just sat there for a moment. This had to be a dream, this was just too surreal to be real life. It was like something out of the movies.
"Steph," he said turning to the door, "Please open the door."
He saw the door open a crack. He got up and opened the door some more. He saw Stephanie leaning against the wall, sobbing her eyes out. Her eyes were already red and bloodshot and she looked a mess. He closed the door and sat next to her, taking her into his arms.
"I'm so sorry," he whispered into his hair.
"Is it true? Is it yours?" she sobbed.
"I don't know Stephy, I really just don't know, but it's entirely possible I guess," he told her truthfully.
"And I suddenly feel like second fiddle again," she said quietly.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, she was the first love of your life, and I only came around when she was gone. And now she gave you a child before I could."
"Hey, hey, don't you ever think like that," Chris told her.
"How am I supposed to stop, it's true."
Chris sighed and kissed her head. Then he pulled her closer. She would never know how much he loved and cherished her. More than he ever even felt about Jessica. It was true, but Stephanie was hard to believe that.
"It's not true Steph. You are the only love of my life ever. Because I'm with you, I love you and only you. I never knew I could love someone this much. And as far as I'm concerned, my only child is sleeping in his crib as we speak."
"But what if she's yours?"
"Then we deal with that when it comes, but that will not change the way I feel about you or about Carter. I love you both more than anything."
"But then Jessica would be in our lives, and then you could..." her voice trailed off.
"I could what?"
"Nothing," she said, avoiding the subject.
"No Steph, be honest with me.'
"You could fall in love with her all over again, I mean, you loved her before. And then where would Carter and I be, out like the day old news."
"Never, how could I ever turn my back on the both of you."
"But you might fall--"
"No way, I know how she is, there's no way I'm getting sucked into that again."
"So what are we going to do?" she asked, looking up at him with sad eyes.
"We're going to show Jessica that we're a united front. She's trying to break us up, it's quite obvious. But she won't succeed, I'll be sure of that."
"So we actually go and talk to her."
"Yeah, that's exactly what we'll do."
Carter picked that exact moment to wake up from his nap. Stephanie got up and went over to the crib. She smiled down as she saw Carter stop crying as he saw her. She picked him up and cradled him to her.
"Hey there baby boy," she whispered, "Have a good nap?"
He babbled in response.
"That's nice," she said.
"Hey Cart," Chris said, getting up to see the child.
"You wanna go to Daddy?" Stephanie said.
Chris took Carter in his arms, "Hey there Cart, you want to go downstairs so Daddy and Mommy can show you off to a mean lady."
Carter giggled and cuddled up to Chris. Chris smiled down at him, and kissed his head softly. Yeah, no matter what, Carter would always be his number one child, because he had had him with the woman that he loved. He looked up to see Stephanie trying to compose herself.
"So I guess that we should get down there huh? You never know, she might be stealing the fine china."
Chris laughed, "I wouldn't doubt it."
"We'll be ok, won't we Chris."
"When aren't we ok?"
"I just wanted to make sure, that whatever goes down, that we'll somehow pull through this."
Chris walked over to her and kissed her deeply, "It'll all be ok, I promise."
"Ok, good."
They left the room, and walked back downstairs, Stephanie holding onto Chris's arm. Carter smiled and laid his head on Chris's shoulder, drooling all over it, which Chris failed to notice. They went into the living room and Jessica looked up, surprise clear on her face.
"You have a baby," she said, dumbfounded.
"Yes, this is Carter, my only child," Chris said, with an edge.
"You can keep denying her Christopher, but fact of the matter, when it comes down to it, you have two kids, and you're just going to have to deal with that."
"We'll see Jessica, we'll see."
