Within a half hour's time, Amy pulled into the driveway.  Steven and Karen left – only after Alex insisted that everything would be fine – and Julia had been put to bed.  When Alex heard the car door, her entire body tensed. 

"The ex" is someone that a current wife or girlfriend will always dread meeting.  There's a fear of comparison, fear of losing a lover to the one who had him first…fear of one woman causing several lives to fall apart.  Of course, Alex knew that she had no reason to worry – not really.  She had ample proof of Mort's love and devotion, but, let's face facts – every woman worries in a situation like this whether they need to or not.

            The knocker sounded and Mort gave Alex a lingering kiss before getting up to answer the door.  "You know I'd send her away if…"

            "Let's just try and get through this as quickly as we can, O.K.?" Alex interrupted, her voice overrun by her nerves.

            "O.K., baby."  Mort sighed deeply, then made his way to the door.  When he opened it, an almost sickly looking Amy greeted him.

            "Thank you," she said, before Mort could utter a single syllable.  "I know that you didn't have to do this."

            "You're right," Mort said coolly.  "And…you're welcome.  Come in."  Mort stepped aside, allowing Amy to pass.  It was very easy to tell that she was impressed with Mort's new residence.

            "It's…it's a lovely home, Mort."

            "Thank you."  Mort lowered his voice a bit, then said, "Amy, I really hope that you're here about something crucial – you just showing up on my doorstep during my daughter's…"

            "I'm sorry that I came when I did, Mort, but…"  She paused and looked unsure of what to say.  "It's important, I swear it." 

            "All right," Mort said, not fully believing her.  He nodded his head toward the living room and Amy understood – she followed him.  As soon as they entered the room, Alex was in Amy's line of sight.

            Oh, my God…she's…she's going to have his…

            Mort's voice cut through her thoughts.  "Amy, this is my wife, Alex."

            Alex's voice was soft.  "Hello."

            "Hi," Amy replied, still stunned.

Amy was a roughly the same height as Alex and owned a rather small frame.  Alex felt terribly self conscious looking at her, considering her present state – however – she did find a few things that made her feel a bit better as she looked over the woman who had once been married to Mort. 

Hmmm…brown eyes and eyebrows.  Wonder if the blonde came from a bottle. 

Mort sat down next to Alex, a protective hand resting on her knee.  Amy sat in a plush chair across from them.  "So what's going on?" he asked bluntly.

Alex's thoughts started up again.  Pretty daring shirt…The low-cut shirt that she was wearing could have been rather suggestive… …if you could fill it out a bit better.  Alex laughed inwardly.  She felt guilty that she had lowered herself to a high school mentality, but really, it was the only way she could keep her mind away from more dangerous "what if" territory.

Amy cleared her throat before speaking.  "It's about the house, Mort, it's…well, it's still in your name."

Mort groaned.  "Well, I did pay for it – in full I might add.  What's the problem?"

"Well, Ted…"

"I should have known."  Mort's voice grew louder.  "What problem could he have with anything, Amy?  He has you, he has my house…What, does he want everything I have now too?"  Alex shifted a bit uncomfortably.  "Sorry, baby," he whispered.

"It's just that, we've been thinking about moving and…"

"So move."

Amy rubbed her face.  Alex couldn't help but take notice at how worn she looked.  The former Mrs. Morton Rainey couldn't have been very much older than Alex was, but at the moment, she looked as though she was nearing her mid forties.  "Like I said, the house is in your name, Mort.  If anything were to happen to it, or if we wanted to move…"

Mort rose from his seat and began to pace.  "Money," he said gruffly.  "You won't get a thing for the house and good ol' Ted wants the few hundred thousand that it's worth."

"It's not like that," Amy said, unconvincingly.

"Ted didn't pay for that house, Amy.  You didn't pay for that house.  I did.  Our prenup clearly stated that you would get the house, if you chose to stay there.  If you decided to move, or if anything unforeseen happened, the money goes back into my own pocket."

Alex had never seen a rise in Mort's temper before this moment.  His body language changed, his voice lowered, even his eyes were different.  Despite the fact that Alex didn't like what she was seeing, she felt oddly at ease.  Amy obviously rubbed him the wrong way – there was no reason for another worry to cross her mind.

The flare in Mort's temper was interrupted by a shrill cry over the monitor.  Amy jumped.

"Daddy!"  Julia sounded terrified, but both Alex and Mort smiled.

"Rainey Monster Patrol is now on duty," Mort chuckled, forgetting about Amy for the moment.  It was amazing to see how quickly his demeanor changed.  His voice, his body language – everything softened.  "I'll be right back."  Not wanting to leave Alex alone with Amy, he jogged from the living room and went up the stairs.  Almost immediately, his voice came from the monitor.  "Julia, honey, what's the matter?"

Alex reached over and picked up the small, white box, turning it off.  As far as she was concerned, none of this was any of Amy's concern.  There was a moment of very awkward silence before Amy decided to speak.

"So, um…how did you and Mort meet, Alex?"

Realizing that Amy was desperate for the silence to leave, Alex decided to answer her as cordially as she could.  "A car accident, actually.  Someone hit me from behind, which caused me to hit Mort…"  She couldn't help but smile at the memory.  "He came to see me in the hospital and we've been together pretty much ever since."

"Just like that?" Amy asked, not registering how Mort could start dating someone so quickly.  After all, it had taken the two of them quite some time to get serious.

Alex didn't care for Amy's tone.  "Yeah, just like that."  She was about to say something else when Amy decided to ask a rather bold question.

"So, Julia's father didn't mind you dating while she was an infant?"

Alex's eyes widened and she felt physically ill from Amy's inappropriateness.  Her voice was beyond frigid when she answered, "Julia's father died eight months before she was born."

"Oh…I'm sorry."

"I really don't think you are.  Why are you here, Amy?"  Amy was silent.  "Mort told me that you said you missed him – Is that why you're here?"

"I didn't know he was married…"

"Well, now you do," Alex glanced at Amy's engagement ring, "and it looks like you're well on your way to marriage yourself.  So, what's the real problem?"

Amy stammered a moment before making a clear sentence.  "You heard me talking about the house…"

"That may be part of it, but both you and I know that that isn't all there is to this."

"What came first, Alex?  The marriage or the pregnancy?"

Alex could not believe what she was hearing.  "Excuse me?" she asked, visibly appalled.

"Did Mort marry you because of an accident?"

"I married her because I love her, Amy."  Mort's voice joined the conversation, causing Alex to let out a large sigh of relief.  "The baby is an added bonus."

"Mort, I…"

Mort's temper began to rise again.  "I let you come into my home and this is what you do?  This isn't you, Amy – unless Ted reprogrammed you or something and…" 

"I'm sorry!" Amy yelled, starting to cry.  She then remembered Julia and lowered her voice.  "My life's…I lost another baby, O.K.?  I lost Ted's baby, just like I lost yours.  He said…he said it's all right.  He…he wants to move and try again, but the house…"

Mort's voice was soft.  "Amy, I'm sorry that you lost…Ted has money – he doesn't need mine.  None of this is an excuse to say what you have.  What did you expect me to do for you?  Were you looking for…what's going through your head?"

"Mort?"  Alex's voice was pained.

Mort looked over at Alex – her face had drained of its color.  "Alex?  Baby, what's wrong?"

Her breathing hitched as she said, "It's…Mort, it's too soon."

Mort didn't have to ask.  He kicked himself mentally for letting Amy in and for leaving her alone with Alex.  "I'll call Karen and we'll go."  He glared at Amy.  "You've gotta go."  He picked up the phone and began to dial.  Amy let herself out.

As Amy walked to her car, tears sprang to her eyes.  That should be my life…

***

Author's Note:  As you can guess I do NOT like Amy in the least…I've totally changed my idea about where this story is going, but won't be able to write all weekend!  Weep!  Let me know what you think in those very much appreciated reviews!