A/N: I know what you're all thinking, "oh my god, that bum updated!" I know it's been forever, but I have been really busy with school and work. Also this was a really hard chapter to write, there are some pretty intense moments and I wanted them to sound as real as possible. So I guess now you get to be the judge. I also wanted to add some humor so I added a little Larry/Miranda fluff. Oh and I do realize that what Miranda does with the tickets is not possible I needed it for the story so in my world it's okay. Anyways I hope you all enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Lizzie McGuire, I promise.
Chapter 13 Moms and Dads
Somewhere in Eastern California
Miranda stretched her legs out in front of her and sighed for what seemed like the millionth time in the last three hours. Larry looked sideways at her for a moment and resisted the urge to roll his eyes at his new bride. It had been a frantic morning that had started at five a.m. when Larry had awoken to find an empty bed and Miranda's silhouette pacing back and forth across the dark hotel room.
"Miranda? Are you okay?" Larry had struggled to sit up and think clearly, but his mind was still a tad foggy from the complimentary champagne they had received the night before.
"Yeah," her voice squeaked, "fine."
Foggy or not, the idea of his wife pacing this early didn't seem normal, "Isn't it a little early for your morning jog?"
"We need to get back to Hilldridge, I cannot believe I left Lizzie there right now, she needs me." Larry fell back onto the bed and stared at the ceiling; maybe I'm dreaming he thought to himself, it's too early and I think I might still have a champagne buzz.
"Larry!" Miranda barked.
"Sweetie, we talked about this she'll be fine, these two days were going to be about us." Miranda came over, and climbed on the bed next to him.
"I know, and I'm sorry. Yesterday was great, I am so happy, but I just…I dunno I just feel like we need to get back there. I feel like she needs me." Larry reached over and put his arm around her waist pulling her down next to him.
"Miranda, it is five in the morning I have a feeling that nothing of great importance is going on there right now. Go back to sleep, we'll be back later this evening."
Miranda struggled to sit back up, "I don't want to wait that long, can't we leave earlier?"
"What do you mean by earlier?" Larry gazed up at her warily.
Miranda hesitated a moment before answering "Now?" It came out as more of a question than an answer.
"NOW?!" This got Larry to sit up in bed next to her, "Our tickets aren't until four this afternoon, I don't even know when the first plane leaves for LA and we'd have to get new tickets."
"No, we still have the rental car from yesterday, I can just call the car company and extend it another day; we can drive."
The idea of driving through the desert with a borderline hysterical wife wasn't at the top of Larry's to do list. "Drive? It is probably at least a six-hour drive, through the desert. That won't be saving us any time."
"If we leave by six a.m. we'll miss traffic and we can be back by early afternoon. It would be much earlier than if we waited and left at four p.m. by plane."
Larry groaned, realizing this wasn't some bad dream, he knew she was serious.
Miranda felt bad doing this, they had after all been married less than twelve hours, but she was desperate, so she pulled out the puppy dog eyes and a pathetic "please."
"Oh no, not the puppy dog eyes, we're married now, I got the girl, I am now resistant to your womanly Jedi mind tricks."
"Please?" Miranda asked again, this time puffing her lower lip out just a tad; too much lip was over the top and took away your credibility. Just a hint of lip, big eyes and reaching out to touch his hand was the perfect recipe for success.
Larry stared at her for a moment, before giving in, he knew he had lost, why prolong the torment? He also knew that once he was awake, he wouldn't be able to fall asleep and the last thing he wanted to do was watch the rising sun reflecting on the tears of his new wife. He wondered, quickly, what the fine for disobeying your new wife was. Would she make him watch a weeks worth of tivo'd Oprah? He knew she didn't like the show, but would do it out of spite. "Fine," he conceded. "We'll leave…"
Miranda's face lit up and she threw her arms around him, "I love you so much, you're a good man Larry Tudgeman!"
Larry couldn't help but laugh, "and you are a conniving little wench Miranda Sanchez Tudgeman, a beautiful one, but still…" he pretended to shake his head sadly. Miranda laughed as well as she hopped up and began to get dressed, "oh you know you love it!"
"Yeah," Larry replied to himself, "but what are we going to do with our airline tickets?" Miranda stopped to think for a moment and then smiled mischievously as she stepped into a pair of flip flops.
"You just get dressed and I'll take care of the tickets." She ran to her purse and pulled out the tickets and her wallet. "Be dressed in 20 minutes, I'll bring up some breakfast and then we can leave." With that she blew him a kiss and left Larry still sitting in bed. He watched the door close and looked longingly at the pillows but went on and forced himself to take a shower. I must really love her, he thought to himself.
Twenty minutes later Miranda bounced back through the door minus the airline tickets, but she was holding a plate loaded with Danishes as well as two large cups of coffee. Larry was packing, tossing the last few things in their bags, and watching early morning cartoons. He happily accepted the cup of coffee and a doughnut before finally asking the obvious question, "What did you do with the airline tickets Houdini?"
"Sold them!" Miranda answered proudly as she sipped her coffee and searched for any last minute items.
"To whom?" Larry asked curiously, almost afraid of the answer.
"Larry, did you get the soaps and towels out of the bathroom?"
"Yeah, I got the soaps. Towels? I think those belong to the hotel?" Larry paused, "who did you sell the tickets to?"
"Make sure you get the light bulbs from the lamps," Miranda continued to pack.
"Light bulbs? Hey, while I'm at it, why not take that lovely wall mounted air conditioner or the television?" Larry shook his head.
"Don't be silly, the rental car is too small for those. Grab a pillow for me though, so I can try to sleep in the car." Miranda continued to pack nonchalantly.
"Pillow? No, not pillow, tickets! What did you do with the tickets?"
"Some kids." Miranda shrugged and lined the bags up by the door.
"What kids, and how did you find these people? Am I going to be seeing this on the 5 o'clock news?"
Ignoring the last part of his question, she began, "I just stood right outside the casino and asked if anyone needed to get to LA, it didn't take long to find some buyers. They were so cute Larry, this guy and girl, probably about 21, it was their first trip to Las Vegas and they decided to get married too! Anyways, they needed to get to LA to tell her parents the big news."
"Right…well I'm sure her parents will be thrilled… or horrified, whatever."
"You have no sense of romance!"
"Yes, well I'm beginning to think I have no sense at all letting you talk me into this, so lets just get going, before I drag you back to bed."
So here they were now, three hours later, still about four hours away thanks to some bad map reading, Miranda, frequent bathroom and food stops, Larry, and a traffic warning for speeding, Miranda.
Miranda sighed, again. Finally Larry decided enough was enough. "Look, I'm sorry this is taking so long, but I'm trying to get us there as fast as I can, and no I am not going to go any faster, one warning ticket is enough and I don't want to add an actual ticket to the list."
Miranda opened her mouth like she was going to argue but instead looked away and spoke. "No I'm sorry, I know I've been a pain, I'm just worried. I just had this sick feeling in my stomach this morning. I know it must mean that something's wrong"
"Yeah, I had that feeling too. Maybe it was the champagne and flan."
"I'm being serious Larry."
"Yeah, I know, but really what is the worst that could be going on?"
Miranda shrugged as she laid her head back against the head rest, "Larry, where's that pillow I asked you to borrow?"
=-=-=
Meanwhile, back at the ranch…
=-=-=
"What's wrong Lizzie?" Her dad asked with a hint of concern in his voice.
Lizzie, realizing that as soon as Gordo slammed the door, her dad would hear it, turn around, and a series of unfortunate events would begin. The door slammed, Lizzie's eyes widened, her dad stood there smiling. He hadn't heard the door slam; he was just standing there with his goofy dad smile. Something had gone in Lizzie's favor, maybe that was a good sign.
Good sign or not, another problem was now arising; Gordo was making his way up the lawn. Almost as a reaction, Lizzie lurched forward and gave her dad a big hug. With this gesture, Lizzie effectively distracted her father and conveyed to Gordo to stop with a stop hand gesture behind her dad's back.
"What's up," her dad had a slightly amused tone to his voice.
"Nothing," Lizzie paused to think of a half-truth, "I just wanted to thank you and mom for helping me take care of Emily this weekend."
"You don't have to thank us Lizzie, we are her grandparents, and this is what we do." Her dad smiled, " Now if you'll excuse me I gotta go help your mom with getting the fertilizer open. She's probably outback thinking I've gone to sleep in the car again."
"She isn't at the store?" Lizzie asked.
"No, she had enough money on her for the fertilizer, but the corn silk is a little pricey, so I'll have to go back and get it in a few minutes. We cannot get princess gnome finished without it, and I don't want the rest of the neighborhood thinking I've gone crazy putting a princess gnome on the lawn without corn silk hair." Sam motioned a twirling finger around his ear. Lizzie nodded. There were many things about her father that Lizzie didn't understand, but when it came to lawn gnomes, she at least knew that he was an expert; yes this bizarre hobby did have its experts.
"Thanks for the hug, and remember that your mother and I are here for you." Without even turning around to shut the front door, Sam went out to the backyard. Lizzie finally let out her breath and stepped outside closing the door behind her.
Gordo began making his way up the lawn again.
"What are you doing here?" Lizzie asked as Gordo approached her, confusion written on his face. "I thought you were going to call first."
Gordo shrugged carelessly, "I didn't realize this was by appointment only." Gordo looked around the entryway of the house. A long time had passed since he had last seen the house in daylight; the images brought back a flood of memories. He put them aside for the moment, "What's the deal with your dad?"
Lizzie opened and closed her mouth a few times trying to find a decent sounding explanation. "Well, I just…we just have a lot to talk about and I didn't want to bring anyone else into all this yet."
Gordo shook his head; the memories of this house wearing off allowed him to think more rational. "To late, you know, there's already a five year old involved." He began to make his way to the familiar setting of the kitchen and dining room.
"Gordo!" Lizzie hissed, as Gordo approached the dining room. Chasing him inside she succeeded in pulling him into the living room, which was the only room not visible from the large windows leading to the backyard. Gordo was a bit taken a back as he briefly glanced around and found himself staring at several pictures of a little blonde curly top that he assumed was Emily, his daughter. The night before the little face he had seen had been shadowy and he had made out very few details. Now he saw her everywhere, at several different ages, and in vivid detail.
"Lizzie," Gordo started to speak, but noticing that she wasn't paying attention to him he stopped. Frustrated, he tried moving to go stand in front of her to get her to notice him but all she did was push him back out of sight.
"That's it. Lizzie, what is the deal? Do you want me to leave; do you not want to talk?" Catching a glimpse, from the living room doorway, of the two people in the back yard, he asked, "Why…why don't you want your parents to see me?"
Lizzie turned around. The look on her face said that he was on to something.
"You don't want your parents to see me. For your protection or for mine?"
Lizzie finally found her voice. "No Gordo they don't hate you because of the break up, they don't understand everything yet. They..."
"Hate me? Why would they…"
"Hey guys," Sam said as he passed obviously oblivious to the scene presently unfolding in the living room.
Lizzie felt her self stiffen and her breakfast threatened to make an encore appearance. They both watched her father make it half way up the stairs quietly muttering to himself before he stopped dead in his tracks and said again much louder "GORDO?"
"3…2…1" Lizzie muttered to herself under her breath as her fathers footsteps began to reverse back down the stairs. "David Gordon?!"
"And Houston we have a problem." Lizzie muttered a little louder than she had planned. Gordo turned and looked at her. The expression on Lizzies face said it all; another untold part in this ever evolving story was about to present itself.
"What now?" Gordo asked with a hint of exhaustion.
"I…" Lizzie began weakly, but was cut off with the loud voice of her father.
"Well, if it isn't Mr.-Big-Time-movie-director David Gordon" his voice laced with sarcasm and anger.
"Thanks?" Gordo almost asked, unsure if Lizzie had actually used the word hate a few seconds before. "I do put a lot of effort into them."
Sam scoffed "Yeah, a lot of effort, a lot more effort than you ever put into your family. I have to ask though, is all the success worth the family you left behind"
Lizzie, sensing that an argument was in the works decided to take a preventative measure. "Dad, I think mom is calling you…" Lizzie flashed her dad an "I know what I'm doing look."
Sam, aware that his fingers were clinching tighter by the moment, shot Lizzie a look of acknowledgement and apprehension. "Why don't you go outside with mom and let me take care of this." Sam shot Gordo a homicidal maniac look, but allowed Lizzie to lead him to the door.
"If he tries anything," Sam yelled, not even trying to whisper, "I'll be right there and we'll take care of this for good."
Lizzie nodded, "Please just trust me dad." She hurried back to the living room.
Gordo had been thinking about the encounter he had just had with Sam McGuire, trying to figure out what he had meant by his remarks.
"I'm sorry about that Gordo, my dad just…"
"…Just thinks that I walked out on you and Emily. Implying that I had prior knowledge of Emily which you and I both know is not true. That's what he thinks, right?" His voice was becoming increasingly louder.
Lizzie thought quickly trying to find a suitable way to cover herself and finally gave it up; lying is what had gotten her into this mess. She just nodded her head miserably. Gordo's eyes narrowed in anger.
"I can't believe… Can you explain to me what exactly it is that he thinks Lizzie?"
Lizzie stared at him a long time not wanting to say it, not wanting to actually hear the words.
"Lizzie?"
"He thinks…"
Gordo nodded his head encouraging the rest to come spilling out.
"They…think that I told you that I was pregnant, but you decided to leave anyway and that you chose not to have any contact with me or our child. They believe that you chose your career over us." Lizzie had to admit there was a certain feeling of relief in letting that all come out and getting it off of her chest, even if the truth did sound horrible. "In my defense," Lizzie followed, "they didn't give me much of a chance to tell them the truth, they just assumed that's how it had happened."
"Oh, well that's just great, you've painted yourself as an angel and I'm some kind of demon." Gordo's anger was becoming more evident. "Lizzie, you've had six years to set them straight, you really want me to believe that you never had a chance."
Lizzie closed her eyes; this was not getting any easier. "See the thing is, they didn't know that you were the father until…yesterday, when I accidentally told them."
Gordo's eyes got wide, not so much in anger but surprise. "What, how could they not…did they even… Lizzie what have you been doing for the last six years?"
Lizzie rolled her eyes, "They've known about Emily the whole time, they just didn't know you were the father."
"Who did they…" Lizzie shrugged uncomfortably
"Just some guy, I said it was a rebound date and… you know. I was trying to protect you, and me and I was embarrassed and I didn't want any one to know because I didn't want you…to find out about her."
"Oh really, so you were trying to protect me, but you didn't want me to find out that I had a child. How is making me a miscreant father, in the eyes of your parents, protecting me?"
"Look, you made it clear that I was holding you back, how would you have felt if I had tracked you down on your 'dream job' half way around the world and announced that you and I had a child together? I just decided-"
"Did you hear that, you decided? You decided for me. Lizzie you never gave me a chance to see what I would do. You know, you've done some pretty ridiculous things in your life, but I always thought that underneath you were a good honest person, but this…? Lizzie this is OUR child, you've denied me the knowledge of knowing my own child because you were mad and you were hurt. How stupid and immature can you be?"
"Immature? Excuse me, I'm immature? You ran out on me in the middle of the night and never once attempted to get in touch with me just completely cut me out of you life after 22 years and I'm immature? I'm the one that had a baby on my own. I managed to find a good job. I moved to a new city in a new state and have been supporting her on my own for the last five years and I'm immature? I was immature all those nights I got up every two hours to feed her and every time she cried in the middle of the night? I was the one who got rid of the monsters and I've kissed every bump and scrape and celebrated every big day of her life with her." Lizzie eyes became hot with tears. "So maybe I acted immaturely but she's been better of with an 'immature' parent than one who was never there."
"Lizzie that is unfair and you know it. How can I get through to you, you never gave me the opportunity to be there in her life! You took away any say I may have had in the matter, you completely cut me out. Why can't you get that?"
"Because when you walked out that door you made it clear that you no longer wanted me in your life. You cut me out, David, what would you have done? You didn't want me, why would I think that you would want our child? It was instinct; I was protecting my child. You had hurt me so badly, I was not going to let you hurt her the same way and walk out on both of us."
"But she's my child," Gordo yelled. "Why can't you even try to understand this. And there you go again, it shouldn't have been about you, what you want and how you felt. It should have been what was right. Instead it was all about you getting your revenge. And that's low Lizzie that is really low. You used our child to get back at me."
"Get back at you? Wow that's really conceited. Don't you get it Gordo, she hasn't needed you, she doesn't need you and she won't ever need you. You are nothing to her." Even as the words were leaving her mouth Lizzie knew that what she had said was excessively cruel, and she knew that it wasn't true. Emily did need a father, had asked about him on several occasions recently, but he had made her so angry she had simply retaliated. "Gordo, I… I'm so sorry, I didn't mean it…I was just so…"
Gordo stepped backwards, giving the appearance that he had just been slapped; in a way he had been. Lizzie watched as he felt around, blindly for the couch. He looked like he needed to sit down, but instead he paused.
"Just shut up Lizzie."
They stared at each other for a moment letting the angry words that had been said hang in the air above them. Finally without a word Gordo turned to leave. Lizzie began to feel panic all over again.
"Gordo, where are you going?"
He turned back to her when he got to the door and shook his head unhappily.
"Lizzie I came back hoping to make amends with you, even hoping that maybe there was still a future for us, together. But now…maybe we weren't meant to be, maybe we were meant to be a one time thing and then go our separate ways."
"Wait, what about Emily, what about your daughter?"
"You already said it Lizzie, she'll be fine without me."
Lizzie wanted to say 'no, Gordo she does need you, I think I even need you'. However, no sounds came out of her mouth. Gordo turned and left the room. A few seconds later she heard the soft sound of the door close, and finally, the car drive off. Lizzie sat alone in the living room trying to figure out how it had all gone so horribly wrong so fast.
=-=-=
In the McGuire backyard, Jo and Sam McGuire were speculating on the events transpiring in the living room.
"I can't believe he came here!" Jo exclaimed, "After all this time. What do you think she told him?"
"Hopefully she told him to get the hell out and to never come near her again or Emily again."
"Sam I know you're angry, but have you ever stopped to think that maybe Emily needs him? Sure Lizzie is probably upset and angry right now, she has every right to be, but she needs to think about the future. Maybe Gordo is ready now to accept some responsibility and be a part of her life." Jo paused, "That little girl needs a father.
Sam began to speak, but stopped; he knew she was right.
"I know," Jo began again, "it's hard watching our little girl have to deal with this, but she's an adult and the last thing she needs from us is us trying to tell her how to live her life. If she wants Gordo back in her life, then that's up to her and it's what's best for Emily."
"I know," Sam replied, "it's just that the thought of that idiot schmuck worming his way back into their life… But, you're right, it's not about me, or you, it's about what's best for Emily."
The conversation was interrupted by the slamming of a car door, followed by the car engine revving as it drove away. "I think he left," Jo said. "Should we go talk to her?"
"I don't know," Sam responded, rubbing his hand through his hair "if she's upset, then we should go talk to her."
"Well we don't want her to think that we're being nosy." Jo began to wipe the dirt from her gloves, "we have to be casual Sam."
"Right, act casual," Sam nodded.
"Sam," Jo cautioned, I mean it casual, we have just happened to walk in." Sam nodded again.
"No, no, I got you, act casual," Sam now had both hands running though his hair.
"I'll do the talking," Jo replied, as she gave Sam a weary-eyed look.
A/N: Yea! A finished chapter, I have started the next one already, but I know better than to give approximate dates, they never happen! Hopefully it won't be long.
Disclaimer: I do not own Lizzie McGuire, I promise.
Chapter 13 Moms and Dads
Somewhere in Eastern California
Miranda stretched her legs out in front of her and sighed for what seemed like the millionth time in the last three hours. Larry looked sideways at her for a moment and resisted the urge to roll his eyes at his new bride. It had been a frantic morning that had started at five a.m. when Larry had awoken to find an empty bed and Miranda's silhouette pacing back and forth across the dark hotel room.
"Miranda? Are you okay?" Larry had struggled to sit up and think clearly, but his mind was still a tad foggy from the complimentary champagne they had received the night before.
"Yeah," her voice squeaked, "fine."
Foggy or not, the idea of his wife pacing this early didn't seem normal, "Isn't it a little early for your morning jog?"
"We need to get back to Hilldridge, I cannot believe I left Lizzie there right now, she needs me." Larry fell back onto the bed and stared at the ceiling; maybe I'm dreaming he thought to himself, it's too early and I think I might still have a champagne buzz.
"Larry!" Miranda barked.
"Sweetie, we talked about this she'll be fine, these two days were going to be about us." Miranda came over, and climbed on the bed next to him.
"I know, and I'm sorry. Yesterday was great, I am so happy, but I just…I dunno I just feel like we need to get back there. I feel like she needs me." Larry reached over and put his arm around her waist pulling her down next to him.
"Miranda, it is five in the morning I have a feeling that nothing of great importance is going on there right now. Go back to sleep, we'll be back later this evening."
Miranda struggled to sit back up, "I don't want to wait that long, can't we leave earlier?"
"What do you mean by earlier?" Larry gazed up at her warily.
Miranda hesitated a moment before answering "Now?" It came out as more of a question than an answer.
"NOW?!" This got Larry to sit up in bed next to her, "Our tickets aren't until four this afternoon, I don't even know when the first plane leaves for LA and we'd have to get new tickets."
"No, we still have the rental car from yesterday, I can just call the car company and extend it another day; we can drive."
The idea of driving through the desert with a borderline hysterical wife wasn't at the top of Larry's to do list. "Drive? It is probably at least a six-hour drive, through the desert. That won't be saving us any time."
"If we leave by six a.m. we'll miss traffic and we can be back by early afternoon. It would be much earlier than if we waited and left at four p.m. by plane."
Larry groaned, realizing this wasn't some bad dream, he knew she was serious.
Miranda felt bad doing this, they had after all been married less than twelve hours, but she was desperate, so she pulled out the puppy dog eyes and a pathetic "please."
"Oh no, not the puppy dog eyes, we're married now, I got the girl, I am now resistant to your womanly Jedi mind tricks."
"Please?" Miranda asked again, this time puffing her lower lip out just a tad; too much lip was over the top and took away your credibility. Just a hint of lip, big eyes and reaching out to touch his hand was the perfect recipe for success.
Larry stared at her for a moment, before giving in, he knew he had lost, why prolong the torment? He also knew that once he was awake, he wouldn't be able to fall asleep and the last thing he wanted to do was watch the rising sun reflecting on the tears of his new wife. He wondered, quickly, what the fine for disobeying your new wife was. Would she make him watch a weeks worth of tivo'd Oprah? He knew she didn't like the show, but would do it out of spite. "Fine," he conceded. "We'll leave…"
Miranda's face lit up and she threw her arms around him, "I love you so much, you're a good man Larry Tudgeman!"
Larry couldn't help but laugh, "and you are a conniving little wench Miranda Sanchez Tudgeman, a beautiful one, but still…" he pretended to shake his head sadly. Miranda laughed as well as she hopped up and began to get dressed, "oh you know you love it!"
"Yeah," Larry replied to himself, "but what are we going to do with our airline tickets?" Miranda stopped to think for a moment and then smiled mischievously as she stepped into a pair of flip flops.
"You just get dressed and I'll take care of the tickets." She ran to her purse and pulled out the tickets and her wallet. "Be dressed in 20 minutes, I'll bring up some breakfast and then we can leave." With that she blew him a kiss and left Larry still sitting in bed. He watched the door close and looked longingly at the pillows but went on and forced himself to take a shower. I must really love her, he thought to himself.
Twenty minutes later Miranda bounced back through the door minus the airline tickets, but she was holding a plate loaded with Danishes as well as two large cups of coffee. Larry was packing, tossing the last few things in their bags, and watching early morning cartoons. He happily accepted the cup of coffee and a doughnut before finally asking the obvious question, "What did you do with the airline tickets Houdini?"
"Sold them!" Miranda answered proudly as she sipped her coffee and searched for any last minute items.
"To whom?" Larry asked curiously, almost afraid of the answer.
"Larry, did you get the soaps and towels out of the bathroom?"
"Yeah, I got the soaps. Towels? I think those belong to the hotel?" Larry paused, "who did you sell the tickets to?"
"Make sure you get the light bulbs from the lamps," Miranda continued to pack.
"Light bulbs? Hey, while I'm at it, why not take that lovely wall mounted air conditioner or the television?" Larry shook his head.
"Don't be silly, the rental car is too small for those. Grab a pillow for me though, so I can try to sleep in the car." Miranda continued to pack nonchalantly.
"Pillow? No, not pillow, tickets! What did you do with the tickets?"
"Some kids." Miranda shrugged and lined the bags up by the door.
"What kids, and how did you find these people? Am I going to be seeing this on the 5 o'clock news?"
Ignoring the last part of his question, she began, "I just stood right outside the casino and asked if anyone needed to get to LA, it didn't take long to find some buyers. They were so cute Larry, this guy and girl, probably about 21, it was their first trip to Las Vegas and they decided to get married too! Anyways, they needed to get to LA to tell her parents the big news."
"Right…well I'm sure her parents will be thrilled… or horrified, whatever."
"You have no sense of romance!"
"Yes, well I'm beginning to think I have no sense at all letting you talk me into this, so lets just get going, before I drag you back to bed."
So here they were now, three hours later, still about four hours away thanks to some bad map reading, Miranda, frequent bathroom and food stops, Larry, and a traffic warning for speeding, Miranda.
Miranda sighed, again. Finally Larry decided enough was enough. "Look, I'm sorry this is taking so long, but I'm trying to get us there as fast as I can, and no I am not going to go any faster, one warning ticket is enough and I don't want to add an actual ticket to the list."
Miranda opened her mouth like she was going to argue but instead looked away and spoke. "No I'm sorry, I know I've been a pain, I'm just worried. I just had this sick feeling in my stomach this morning. I know it must mean that something's wrong"
"Yeah, I had that feeling too. Maybe it was the champagne and flan."
"I'm being serious Larry."
"Yeah, I know, but really what is the worst that could be going on?"
Miranda shrugged as she laid her head back against the head rest, "Larry, where's that pillow I asked you to borrow?"
=-=-=
Meanwhile, back at the ranch…
=-=-=
"What's wrong Lizzie?" Her dad asked with a hint of concern in his voice.
Lizzie, realizing that as soon as Gordo slammed the door, her dad would hear it, turn around, and a series of unfortunate events would begin. The door slammed, Lizzie's eyes widened, her dad stood there smiling. He hadn't heard the door slam; he was just standing there with his goofy dad smile. Something had gone in Lizzie's favor, maybe that was a good sign.
Good sign or not, another problem was now arising; Gordo was making his way up the lawn. Almost as a reaction, Lizzie lurched forward and gave her dad a big hug. With this gesture, Lizzie effectively distracted her father and conveyed to Gordo to stop with a stop hand gesture behind her dad's back.
"What's up," her dad had a slightly amused tone to his voice.
"Nothing," Lizzie paused to think of a half-truth, "I just wanted to thank you and mom for helping me take care of Emily this weekend."
"You don't have to thank us Lizzie, we are her grandparents, and this is what we do." Her dad smiled, " Now if you'll excuse me I gotta go help your mom with getting the fertilizer open. She's probably outback thinking I've gone to sleep in the car again."
"She isn't at the store?" Lizzie asked.
"No, she had enough money on her for the fertilizer, but the corn silk is a little pricey, so I'll have to go back and get it in a few minutes. We cannot get princess gnome finished without it, and I don't want the rest of the neighborhood thinking I've gone crazy putting a princess gnome on the lawn without corn silk hair." Sam motioned a twirling finger around his ear. Lizzie nodded. There were many things about her father that Lizzie didn't understand, but when it came to lawn gnomes, she at least knew that he was an expert; yes this bizarre hobby did have its experts.
"Thanks for the hug, and remember that your mother and I are here for you." Without even turning around to shut the front door, Sam went out to the backyard. Lizzie finally let out her breath and stepped outside closing the door behind her.
Gordo began making his way up the lawn again.
"What are you doing here?" Lizzie asked as Gordo approached her, confusion written on his face. "I thought you were going to call first."
Gordo shrugged carelessly, "I didn't realize this was by appointment only." Gordo looked around the entryway of the house. A long time had passed since he had last seen the house in daylight; the images brought back a flood of memories. He put them aside for the moment, "What's the deal with your dad?"
Lizzie opened and closed her mouth a few times trying to find a decent sounding explanation. "Well, I just…we just have a lot to talk about and I didn't want to bring anyone else into all this yet."
Gordo shook his head; the memories of this house wearing off allowed him to think more rational. "To late, you know, there's already a five year old involved." He began to make his way to the familiar setting of the kitchen and dining room.
"Gordo!" Lizzie hissed, as Gordo approached the dining room. Chasing him inside she succeeded in pulling him into the living room, which was the only room not visible from the large windows leading to the backyard. Gordo was a bit taken a back as he briefly glanced around and found himself staring at several pictures of a little blonde curly top that he assumed was Emily, his daughter. The night before the little face he had seen had been shadowy and he had made out very few details. Now he saw her everywhere, at several different ages, and in vivid detail.
"Lizzie," Gordo started to speak, but noticing that she wasn't paying attention to him he stopped. Frustrated, he tried moving to go stand in front of her to get her to notice him but all she did was push him back out of sight.
"That's it. Lizzie, what is the deal? Do you want me to leave; do you not want to talk?" Catching a glimpse, from the living room doorway, of the two people in the back yard, he asked, "Why…why don't you want your parents to see me?"
Lizzie turned around. The look on her face said that he was on to something.
"You don't want your parents to see me. For your protection or for mine?"
Lizzie finally found her voice. "No Gordo they don't hate you because of the break up, they don't understand everything yet. They..."
"Hate me? Why would they…"
"Hey guys," Sam said as he passed obviously oblivious to the scene presently unfolding in the living room.
Lizzie felt her self stiffen and her breakfast threatened to make an encore appearance. They both watched her father make it half way up the stairs quietly muttering to himself before he stopped dead in his tracks and said again much louder "GORDO?"
"3…2…1" Lizzie muttered to herself under her breath as her fathers footsteps began to reverse back down the stairs. "David Gordon?!"
"And Houston we have a problem." Lizzie muttered a little louder than she had planned. Gordo turned and looked at her. The expression on Lizzies face said it all; another untold part in this ever evolving story was about to present itself.
"What now?" Gordo asked with a hint of exhaustion.
"I…" Lizzie began weakly, but was cut off with the loud voice of her father.
"Well, if it isn't Mr.-Big-Time-movie-director David Gordon" his voice laced with sarcasm and anger.
"Thanks?" Gordo almost asked, unsure if Lizzie had actually used the word hate a few seconds before. "I do put a lot of effort into them."
Sam scoffed "Yeah, a lot of effort, a lot more effort than you ever put into your family. I have to ask though, is all the success worth the family you left behind"
Lizzie, sensing that an argument was in the works decided to take a preventative measure. "Dad, I think mom is calling you…" Lizzie flashed her dad an "I know what I'm doing look."
Sam, aware that his fingers were clinching tighter by the moment, shot Lizzie a look of acknowledgement and apprehension. "Why don't you go outside with mom and let me take care of this." Sam shot Gordo a homicidal maniac look, but allowed Lizzie to lead him to the door.
"If he tries anything," Sam yelled, not even trying to whisper, "I'll be right there and we'll take care of this for good."
Lizzie nodded, "Please just trust me dad." She hurried back to the living room.
Gordo had been thinking about the encounter he had just had with Sam McGuire, trying to figure out what he had meant by his remarks.
"I'm sorry about that Gordo, my dad just…"
"…Just thinks that I walked out on you and Emily. Implying that I had prior knowledge of Emily which you and I both know is not true. That's what he thinks, right?" His voice was becoming increasingly louder.
Lizzie thought quickly trying to find a suitable way to cover herself and finally gave it up; lying is what had gotten her into this mess. She just nodded her head miserably. Gordo's eyes narrowed in anger.
"I can't believe… Can you explain to me what exactly it is that he thinks Lizzie?"
Lizzie stared at him a long time not wanting to say it, not wanting to actually hear the words.
"Lizzie?"
"He thinks…"
Gordo nodded his head encouraging the rest to come spilling out.
"They…think that I told you that I was pregnant, but you decided to leave anyway and that you chose not to have any contact with me or our child. They believe that you chose your career over us." Lizzie had to admit there was a certain feeling of relief in letting that all come out and getting it off of her chest, even if the truth did sound horrible. "In my defense," Lizzie followed, "they didn't give me much of a chance to tell them the truth, they just assumed that's how it had happened."
"Oh, well that's just great, you've painted yourself as an angel and I'm some kind of demon." Gordo's anger was becoming more evident. "Lizzie, you've had six years to set them straight, you really want me to believe that you never had a chance."
Lizzie closed her eyes; this was not getting any easier. "See the thing is, they didn't know that you were the father until…yesterday, when I accidentally told them."
Gordo's eyes got wide, not so much in anger but surprise. "What, how could they not…did they even… Lizzie what have you been doing for the last six years?"
Lizzie rolled her eyes, "They've known about Emily the whole time, they just didn't know you were the father."
"Who did they…" Lizzie shrugged uncomfortably
"Just some guy, I said it was a rebound date and… you know. I was trying to protect you, and me and I was embarrassed and I didn't want any one to know because I didn't want you…to find out about her."
"Oh really, so you were trying to protect me, but you didn't want me to find out that I had a child. How is making me a miscreant father, in the eyes of your parents, protecting me?"
"Look, you made it clear that I was holding you back, how would you have felt if I had tracked you down on your 'dream job' half way around the world and announced that you and I had a child together? I just decided-"
"Did you hear that, you decided? You decided for me. Lizzie you never gave me a chance to see what I would do. You know, you've done some pretty ridiculous things in your life, but I always thought that underneath you were a good honest person, but this…? Lizzie this is OUR child, you've denied me the knowledge of knowing my own child because you were mad and you were hurt. How stupid and immature can you be?"
"Immature? Excuse me, I'm immature? You ran out on me in the middle of the night and never once attempted to get in touch with me just completely cut me out of you life after 22 years and I'm immature? I'm the one that had a baby on my own. I managed to find a good job. I moved to a new city in a new state and have been supporting her on my own for the last five years and I'm immature? I was immature all those nights I got up every two hours to feed her and every time she cried in the middle of the night? I was the one who got rid of the monsters and I've kissed every bump and scrape and celebrated every big day of her life with her." Lizzie eyes became hot with tears. "So maybe I acted immaturely but she's been better of with an 'immature' parent than one who was never there."
"Lizzie that is unfair and you know it. How can I get through to you, you never gave me the opportunity to be there in her life! You took away any say I may have had in the matter, you completely cut me out. Why can't you get that?"
"Because when you walked out that door you made it clear that you no longer wanted me in your life. You cut me out, David, what would you have done? You didn't want me, why would I think that you would want our child? It was instinct; I was protecting my child. You had hurt me so badly, I was not going to let you hurt her the same way and walk out on both of us."
"But she's my child," Gordo yelled. "Why can't you even try to understand this. And there you go again, it shouldn't have been about you, what you want and how you felt. It should have been what was right. Instead it was all about you getting your revenge. And that's low Lizzie that is really low. You used our child to get back at me."
"Get back at you? Wow that's really conceited. Don't you get it Gordo, she hasn't needed you, she doesn't need you and she won't ever need you. You are nothing to her." Even as the words were leaving her mouth Lizzie knew that what she had said was excessively cruel, and she knew that it wasn't true. Emily did need a father, had asked about him on several occasions recently, but he had made her so angry she had simply retaliated. "Gordo, I… I'm so sorry, I didn't mean it…I was just so…"
Gordo stepped backwards, giving the appearance that he had just been slapped; in a way he had been. Lizzie watched as he felt around, blindly for the couch. He looked like he needed to sit down, but instead he paused.
"Just shut up Lizzie."
They stared at each other for a moment letting the angry words that had been said hang in the air above them. Finally without a word Gordo turned to leave. Lizzie began to feel panic all over again.
"Gordo, where are you going?"
He turned back to her when he got to the door and shook his head unhappily.
"Lizzie I came back hoping to make amends with you, even hoping that maybe there was still a future for us, together. But now…maybe we weren't meant to be, maybe we were meant to be a one time thing and then go our separate ways."
"Wait, what about Emily, what about your daughter?"
"You already said it Lizzie, she'll be fine without me."
Lizzie wanted to say 'no, Gordo she does need you, I think I even need you'. However, no sounds came out of her mouth. Gordo turned and left the room. A few seconds later she heard the soft sound of the door close, and finally, the car drive off. Lizzie sat alone in the living room trying to figure out how it had all gone so horribly wrong so fast.
=-=-=
In the McGuire backyard, Jo and Sam McGuire were speculating on the events transpiring in the living room.
"I can't believe he came here!" Jo exclaimed, "After all this time. What do you think she told him?"
"Hopefully she told him to get the hell out and to never come near her again or Emily again."
"Sam I know you're angry, but have you ever stopped to think that maybe Emily needs him? Sure Lizzie is probably upset and angry right now, she has every right to be, but she needs to think about the future. Maybe Gordo is ready now to accept some responsibility and be a part of her life." Jo paused, "That little girl needs a father.
Sam began to speak, but stopped; he knew she was right.
"I know," Jo began again, "it's hard watching our little girl have to deal with this, but she's an adult and the last thing she needs from us is us trying to tell her how to live her life. If she wants Gordo back in her life, then that's up to her and it's what's best for Emily."
"I know," Sam replied, "it's just that the thought of that idiot schmuck worming his way back into their life… But, you're right, it's not about me, or you, it's about what's best for Emily."
The conversation was interrupted by the slamming of a car door, followed by the car engine revving as it drove away. "I think he left," Jo said. "Should we go talk to her?"
"I don't know," Sam responded, rubbing his hand through his hair "if she's upset, then we should go talk to her."
"Well we don't want her to think that we're being nosy." Jo began to wipe the dirt from her gloves, "we have to be casual Sam."
"Right, act casual," Sam nodded.
"Sam," Jo cautioned, I mean it casual, we have just happened to walk in." Sam nodded again.
"No, no, I got you, act casual," Sam now had both hands running though his hair.
"I'll do the talking," Jo replied, as she gave Sam a weary-eyed look.
A/N: Yea! A finished chapter, I have started the next one already, but I know better than to give approximate dates, they never happen! Hopefully it won't be long.