CHAPTER 11

This is for Kelby! Because I know she's wanted to see an update for awhile now, so this one's for you. Damn, it's good to be out of writer's block.

Thanks to all my reviewers who still are interested in seeing this updated (I hope at least). I've been having a little bit of trouble, hence the lack of updates, but that's all resolved now and I know for sure where I want this thing to go. Major thanks to Michelle and Jan for being awesome and always willing to help. I love you guys.

Of course, a lot of love to my reviewers as well! Thank you for everything. 333

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"Mommy?"

Jen looked up from the counter, where she was jotting something down on a piece of paper. She had her jacket on and was just about to run up to the office to drop off her article. "Yeah?"

Abby rubbed her stomach with one hand and her eyes with the other. "My tummy hurts again."

Jen gave her a look and crouched down in front of her. "I'm sorry sweetie, but I really have to go into the office today. And this time I can't just stay home because your stomach hurts. I know you want me to stay home, but you can hang out with Roger. Maybe he'll take you to Rockefeller Center to see the Christmas tree," she suggested, giving the toddler a hug.

"Fine." Abby walked away and climbed onto the couch. "I'm bored."

Jen sighed and pulled on her gloves. "Give me a few hours, baby. I'll be back soon, I promise."

"I love you Mommy."

"I love you too." Jen walked past the couch and knocked on Roger's bedroom door before opening it. She peeked her head in and smiled when she noticed he was lying in bed, wide awake. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Thinking," he grinned at her. "Come here."

She walked over to him and sat down on the bed. "I'm bleaching your hair for you when I get home."

"Why?"

"I thought you didn't like it dark," she laughed, kissing him.

"I don't, but it's sort of growing on me. Maybe I'll just bleach the tips or something," he shrugged, pulling her onto his lap. "You're way too overdressed."

"I'm going to work," she reminded him. "So this means—"

"That I'm in charge and Abby isn't. Got it, you only reminded me four times last night." He kissed her neck.

"She said her stomach's bothering her but I think it might just be a plan to get me to stay home. Give her some ginger ale and toast, okay? No ice cream or anything like that. If she's really hungry then let her have some soup and grilled cheese."

"Uh huh." He kissed her again and attempted to pull her down on the bed with him.

"Roger," she groaned. "I have to go, I can't be late."

"Later?"

"I promise," she smiled. "I thought you were having some sort of party here tonight?"

"Yeah. Wes and the guys are coming over around 8, plus I'm picking up Joey at the train station around 4. With my brother staying here for the weekend, naturally Kyle's coming with him."

Jen laughed and rolled her eyes. "Oh yeah, you guys are gonna be hyper. Where are we putting everybody?"

"The office? Mark moved the one pullout couch to there when Abby took over the spare room. So Kyle could sleep there, and Joey can take the couch in the living room. You could put them on the goddamn floor and they'd sleep a full eighteen hours," he grinned.

"Your brother and your cousin are—"

"Crazy fuckers?"

"Close enough. But it runs in the family, so," she laughed sarcastically as he tried to kiss her again. "I've got to go! You're making me late!"

"Okay wait." He pulled her in for a final kiss. "Now go."

She smiled and headed towards the door. "I'll see you later."

Roger crawled off the bed and followed her out into the living room. Abby was sitting on the floor, coloring with crayons.

Jen kissed the top of her forehead. "Bye sweetie."

"Bye Mommy."

Roger crouched on the floor next to her as soon as Jen left. "Hey. What are you making?"

Abby shrugged and set her crayon down on the paper. "I dunno. I'm bored."

"So what do you say about we go do something fun? Just you and me?" He picked up the paper and crayons and set them on the coffee table. "Like go and see the Christmas tree in Rockefeller center, maybe? Is that fun enough?"

Abby's eyes lit up at this. "You mean it?"

He laughed and picked her up. "Yeah, I mean it. Let me just go take my pills, brush my teeth, and get my jacket. Then when we get back you're gonna meet two really cool people. Who are just as fun as I am."

"Santa Claus and Rudolph?"

Roger grabbed his pills off the counter and downed them with water. "No, but my little brother and my cousin."

Abby stared at him. "Are they my age?"

"No, but they might as well be because they act like it," he laughed. "My brother Joey is 21, and my cousin Kyle is 23."

"How old are you?"

"26."

"That's old," she giggled. "How old is Mommy?"

"25."

"Oh. Okay." She walked over to the coat rack and tried to reach for her jacket. Roger grabbed it off the hook and helped her put it on. "Can we go now?"

"Yup. In a minute. I thought your stomach hurt?"

She laughed and shook her head. "Not anymore, silly. I just wanted Mommy to stay home."

"Uh huh. I figured that."

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"So you're going?"

Joanne nodded and zipped up another garment bag. "I'm going."

Maureen stared at the pattern on the bedspread as she sat there, watching her pack one thing after another. "I can't believe you waited this long to tell me!"

"Don't get dramatic," Joanne warned her. She pulled her cell phone charger out of the wall and zipped it into her suitcase. "I don't have any other choice."

"But you could have said no!" Maureen tried. "It's not like you couldn't have been offered another job with a firm right here in the city!"

"Maureen, just let it be," Joanne sighed. She rubbed her temples and slipped on her Doc Martens. "I just need to get out there to pay the deposit on my townhouse and move into my office. I'll be back before Christmas."

"But you'll be gone again before the New Year. How are we supposed to be in a relationship when you're halfway across the country?"

"It's Seattle, not a death sentence."

Maureen shrugged and started playing with her nails. "Okay. So if you go, then what are we? On a break?"

"If by your definition of a break is seeing other people, then yes," Joanne answered her. She lifted her suitcase and placed it by the door. "What else am I supposed to tell you? Fine, I apologized for springing this on you, but I can't stay here when I have a promising job opportunity elsewhere. This is district attorney, Maureen, not some flimsy job working at McDonald's."

"I forgot how precious your career is to you, Miss Ivy League!" Maureen shouted at her. "And it's Seattle! It rains all the time!"

"Look, I'm not arguing with you. My cab will be here any minute." Joanne checked her watch and peeked out the window. "I'll call you when my flight gets in and when I get to my place. We'll talk about this all you want to then."

"Thanks," Maureen muttered, crossing her arms across her chest.

"I'll probably be staying at my sister's house for the first couple of days, and I already wrote down that number for you and left it on the counter. I'll be back sometime next week to pack up and FedEx the rest of my shit to Seattle."

"That's it then?"

Joanne nodded. "Yeah, that's it."

"I thought you liked it here."

"I do like it here. But I can't pass up this job offer. I need a change of pace, some new faces. I feel like I'm outgrowing the city."

Maureen walked over to the couch and sat down on it. A honk sounded from outside and Joanne peeked out through the blinds. "Your ride's here."

"I know." Joanne slipped on her jacket, scarf, and gloves and faced Maureen. "I'm sorry this couldn't have worked out better. But honestly Maureen, you'll find someone. And that person will make you happier then I ever did. I don't think we could fathom a long distance relationship anyway. It would never work."

"Okay."

The horn blared again. "I really better get going. I don't want to miss my flight. Take care of yourself for me." She was about to walk over to Maureen and give her a hug, but instead changed her mind and picked up her suitcase. "I'll see you before Christmas."

"I'll see you."

"Bye." Joanne slipped out of the door with her luggage and closed it softly.

Maureen rolled her eyes and stood up. She shoved her hands in her pockets and looked around the empty apartment. She eyed an empty cardboard box near the door and picked it up, collecting things of Joanne's as she walked by. Photographs in their frames, her scattered papers, perfume, jewelry, shampoo—until the box was almost full. Then she placed it in the closet and closed the door. She didn't want to have to deal with it until Joanne came back.

She spent the next hour cleaning the whole place. She vacuumed, dusted and windexed everything in sight. She even scrubbed down the bathroom and kitchen, which usually Joanne always did. She had gathered a collection of missing things that she had lost over the past year. Even one of Abby's stuffed animals had been left behind. So without a second thought, she picked it up and decided to take it upstairs, considering she didn't have much of anything else to do.

She climbed the three flights of stairs to the loft and pressed the buzzer. Mark opened the door almost automatically. He was loosening his tie with one hand and was attempting to drink a glass of soda with the other.

"Hey," he greeted.

"Hi. Um, Abby left this at my place. I just wanted to bring it up in case she needed it or missed it," Maureen said. She walked in and placed the teddy bear on the coffee table. "Sorry if I barged in on you."

"Oh, no it's fine." He looked at her. "Mo, are you okay?"

She nodded a little to quick for Mark's liking. "Yeah, I'm okay. I'll be fine."

"Do you want to talk about it? Whatever it is?"

She shrugged, but then nodded again. This time it was more of a genuine nod. "I'd like that. I was looking for Jen to talk to, but she's not here."

"At work," Mark added. "Listen, Roger's having some kind of party tonight so why don't you just come up then and we'll talk?"

"Are you sure? I don't want him to get pissed at you for inviting me."

Mark laughed at this. "Roger's not going to get pissed at me for inviting you. Hello, I pay half of the rent. Or a third of it now," he added, referring to Jen.

"Yeah, good point. Are you bring Joanne with you?"

"She moved to Seattle," Maureen said calmly, as if it didn't even bother her.

"What?" Mark practically spit out the soda at her. "When the hell did that happen?"

"She told me yesterday morning, and left about two hours ago for the airport. She got a job as district attorney, so she's moving to a townhouse in downtown Seattle. She's supposed to be back before Christmas to pack up the rest of whatever she left behind."

"I'm really sorry Maureen."

Maureen smiled at this. "I'm not. Now that I think about it, we barely got along. We wasted a whole year of us just bickering back and forth and making up again. It was ridiculous. I'm surprised it took this long for one of us to realize that we weren't going to make it."

"So are you both taking a break?"

She shook her head. "No. We're through. For good this time." Maureen brushed a curl out of her face. "I'll see you later tonight."

"Yeah, okay. If you ever need anything, just let me know. I mean it," he added.

"Thank you."

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"Rog, you should see this girl I'm dating! She has the nicest—" Joey Davis waved at Jen when she walked into the loft. "Hey Jen."

Jen took off her scarf and gloves. Roger walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Hey baby." He placed his hands on her reddened cheeks. "You're freezing."

Kyle took a sip of his beer and placed it back on the coffee table. "No shit, it's sort of cold out there."

Roger gave him the finger and pulled Jen in for a kiss. He took of her coat and hung it on the rack. "They're just jealous," he laughed.

"Yeah, of what? Dude, news flash. You're ugly," Joey cracked on him.

"Keep it up and you're spending the next two nights out on the streets," Roger warned him. Jen rested her head against his chest and tucked her hand into the back of his pocket. He walked into the kitchen with her and pulled her in for another kiss.

"How was Abby?"

"She was good. I took her to see the tree and then I made her an early dinner. She said her stomach felt better, but I gave her some more ginger ale just in case. Then she fell asleep on the couch so I moved her to her room and she's been asleep for about an hour."

"Okay that's good. When did you get Dumb and Dumber from the train station?"

Roger grinned. "Around 4."

"So you mean to tell me that they've been sitting on the couch drinking beer for over two hours?" she laughed. "Wait a minute, where you guys surfing through the porn channels too?"

"Of course baby!" he joked.

"Alright smart ass, let's try not to be so loud that Abby can't fall back asleep later."

"I know. I promise."

She nodded and grabbed a can of soda from the fridge. She hopped onto the counter and popped the top off. "You have to work tomorrow night?"

"Yeah, from 9 to 1. That just has fun written all over it." He rested himself in between her legs and she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Sorry, but I don't sympathize with you. I'll just have the Tylenol ready in the morning."

"What the hell are you two doing in there?" Joey shouted over.

"None of your fucking business!" Roger yelled back. "So what were you saying about that girl?"

Jen laughed and buried her face in Roger's shoulder. "He's got a girlfriend?"

"She's got a nice rack! Like Jen's but a little bigger. Plus she's got a nice ass too."

"Excuse me," Jen laughed. "Since when do you look at my rack?"

"Yeah really." Roger helped her off the counter and walked back into the living room with her. "When do you stare at her? Wait, I don't even want to know."

"Just keep drinking our beer Joey," Jen said. "But don't blame me when you have a killer hangover in the morning."

"I'm a responsible drinker. I've learned from the best," he added, pointing to Roger.

"Oh yeah, great role model right there," Jen said sarcastically and Roger rested his chin against her collarbone.

"Mommy…"

Jen sighed and pulled away from Roger. "I'll be back. I'm coming, Abby."

Roger walked over and smacked Joey on the side of his blonde, spiked head. "You're an ass."

"Shut up. Hey, did Mom tell you?"

"Tell me what?" Roger sat down next to Kyle and popped the top off his own beer.

"That Kim is having twins," Kyle chimed in.

"Jesus Christ, Jimmy did a good one right there," Roger laughed.

"Yeah. Kim says she's done after these two."

Kyle shook his head. "I don't blame her. I don't think I could handle one, let alone too."

Joey took a swig of his beer. "Yeah, neither could I. What about you Roger? You want kids?"

Roger stared at them both. He was so close to letting it slip—that yeah, he had a daughter and she was in the next room. Except they still thought that was Jen's daughter, and not his. He was going to have to find a way to break it to his family that he didn't just want a kid, but that he already had one. "Yeah. Kids are great."

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By 10, and by this time, most of Roger's band, Joey, and Kyle were well on their way to beyond wasted. Roger wasn't far behind, but Jen had only had about two beers. Mark and Maureen had spent the night at the far end of the couch, steadily drinking anything they could get their hands on. Mark was buzzed, but Maureen was far gone.

"I feel like such an ass, you know?" she said. She downed a shot of tequila that Roger had just poured her and set the empty glass next to her collection near her feet. "Like I wasted so much time. I could have been a fucking, I don't know, nun, or something. But I have no career, no relationship, and no family."

Mark picked up his own vodka shot. "Hey, that's not true. Shit happens."

Maureen slumped against the couch and looked over. Roger had Jen on his lap and was laughing at something that Wes had just done to his wife, Lori. "You ever feel like you don't fit in?"

"Like what do you mean?"

"I just feel like I don't fit in. I'm Maureen the drama queen, on an endless search for her godforsaken stage that she can prance upon and waste away on." She started in on another shot.

"I'm just the guy with the fucking camera who lives with a roommate that oh yeah, gets all the girls. Plus I basically have to take care of this dump and make sure he doesn't drink himself to death."

"We're fucked over, you know that?" she said seriously before starting to laugh. "We are really, truly fucked."

"Yes, we are," he slurred. "I never get drunk."

"I do."

"I know."

"I'm gonna go lay down," she said, trying to bring herself to a standing position but failing miserably. Mark grabbed her by the arm and helped her back up in his own drunken state.

"Roger, we're gonna go lay down," Mark announced.

"What? Yeah sure," she said. He was farther gone than Maureen was at this point, and at the back of Mark's mind he tried to feel sorry for Jen, but he was sort of numb.

Maureen crawled onto Mark's bed and stretched out on her back. "Do you ever regret anything Mark?

"Um. I guess so?" he replied, laying next to her. "What about you?"

She turned over to face him. "Letting you go, maybe. And getting my life off track." She rested her head on his chest and briefly closed her eyes.

"I don't think you let me go."

"I know."

Mark leaned over and kissed her—first softly, then deeper.

Maureen pulled away from him. "What the hell was that?" she laughed.

"I don't know. What was that?"

"It felt good."

"We're drunk, of course it feels good."

Maureen returned the kiss. "This is really wrong. But it feels right on so many levels."

"Yeah well. Nothing we can do about it now," he added as he pulled her shirt over her head.

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Jen crawled into bed and rested her head on Roger's chest. He was passed out—had been for the past hour after everyone had left. She was feeling a little buzzed herself, and had definitely dozed off in Abby's room after she had gone in to check on her. Joey was snoring on the couch, and Kyle was sprawled out in the office pullout.

She hadn't heard a word from Mark since the party had started, and was too exhausted to even make it next door to check on him.

"Jen?" Roger asked groggily.

"Yeah?"

"Abby okay?"

"Yeah." She smiled at him, surprised he could even remember his own first name, let alone his daughter.

He wrapped his arm around her waist. "Love you."

"I love you too."

They were all going to have one hell of a hangover in the morning.

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Reviews would be awesome! And I'm sorry I've been away for so long!  Hope you're all still with me. :o)