Disclaimer: If I owned Secret Window or Mort Rainey, I'd be very rich and very happy!
AN: This is the final official chapter of Disturbed Paradise. The next one will be an epilogue of sorts, and a wrap up of the world of Amber and Mort Rainey. It's sad to see it end, but I have nothing left to offer this story. There should be another brand new story up a week or so after this one ends (depending on how much and how fast I can squeeze stuff out of my muses), so don't worry. Just enjoy these last bits of this story (this one happens to be rated R, wink, wink), and I'll see you at the epilogue!
Chapter 13: A Taste of Victory and Bitter Defeat:
Amber's POV:
As cheesy as it sounds, the day after Kari's testimony was the perfect winter's day. A light dusting of snow was falling outside, small rays of sunlight were falling through the clouds, and our apartment was full of friends and family. Mike, Kaitlyn, Becca, Shannon, Melanie, and Kari had all come to celebrate the ass-kicking of my parents, so there were drinks flowing and food of every variety being handed around. We were all feeling confident in our beating my parents at their own game, and it was as though a huge ominous cloud had been blown away, leaving only warmth and sunlight. It was a wonderful feeling. But…
Somehow I felt that it wasn't really over until it was over, until we had fully played all of our cards and truly won out the game. We had beaten them in the courtroom, but there was still the dealing process that was scheduled a few days from now. For now, though…for now, we'll just enjoy the joy of family and freedom.
Three Days Later, Amber's POV:
As Mort and I headed up the steps of the justice building, we clasped our hands together tightly, giving love and hope as we stepped into the elevator and headed up to the 10th floor. Our eyes were focused on the numbers above the door, watching the lights travel from one section to another, our grip on the other's hand getting tighter with every floor we passed. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest, my breathing growing heavy, and just when I felt ready to pass out…
The doors opened to a bustling hallway where cops and detectives chaotically ran around, trying to solve crimes around the city. I saw none of it in detail, however, since Mort began hauling me down the hall towards the conference room where my parents and all of our lawyers awaited us. We paused outside the door to gather our courage and give the other a quick hug and kiss of support. Finally, taking a deep breath, Mort opened the door and we stepped inside.
It was a nice room, with cherry wood furniture and windows to the left of us, facing the street. My parents sat with their backs to the windows, the D.A. sat at the head of the table, and Shannon and Mel sat on the right side. Our friends gave us a small, supportive smile as they nodded to the seats that were closest to the foot of the table, which, coincidently enough, was right across from my parents. I assumed that the D.A. wanted us to be eye-to-eye with those who tried to destroy our lives, but I didn't fight it. I simply took a seat to Shannon's left, right across from my mother, as Mort sat to my left, across from my father.
My concerned husband then took my hand and held it tightly, caressing the back with his thumb before starting to stroke my own thumb with his own. I felt all of the stress in my body melt away under his touch, my confidence in our victory and our lawyers growing stronger. I sat straighter in my chair, crossing my legs and squaring my shoulders. I let my confidence show, and I swore that I saw my mother begin to wilt in front of my eyes. Could it be possible that, without anyone to intimidate and scare, that my mother felt…powerless? Could she feel her power wasting away, vanishing like mist in a strong wind? It's possible…
Mr. Rockwell cleared his throat. "As you all know, we're all here to discuss a deal between the two parties," he stated, looking between our lawyers and my parents' lawyers. "Would you care to begin, Miss Kapusta, Miss Perez?"
It was Miss Kapusta who spoke first. "Mr. and Mrs. Olson would simply like visitations with their daughter and granddaughter," she said, looking at me. "The reason that they've gone through this whole ordeal was to get their daughter back and to show her how much she means to them."
Shannon shook her head. "That's hardly a reason to press charges against the man she loves and then threaten to snatch away their only child!" she snapped. Shannon then turned to look at me. "Amber, Mort, what do you want from this?"
I looked across the table, trying to see where my parents were coming from. It was entirely possible that they simply wanted their daughter back, but they had to understand that I wasn't a little girl anymore. I couldn't act like a puppet to do whatever they told me; I was a wife and mother with my own child, for goodness sakes! I didn't want to jump to their orders like I had before, I was my own person, damn it! And they had threatened to take away the two most precious people in my life, all because they couldn't let go of the past and accept that I was no longer in their grasp.
They had to realize that it was over.
I looked my mother straight in the eye.
"We want nothing more to do with you," I coldly replied. "I want a restraining order against them until I feel it unnecessary." I felt Mort give my hand an agreeing squeeze, and Shannon and Mel give me a smile.
My parents simply gaped at me, as did their lawyers. As my mom and dad did incredible impressions of fish, Miss Kapusta and Miss Perez started haggling like mad to achieve some sort of deal in favor of their clients.
"That is totally unreasonable!" Miss Kapusta said, glaring at us.
Melanie raised an eyebrow in calm disinterest. "I don't see how," she said, folding her hands on top of the table. She knew the law was totally on our side, and would press towards every advantage we could get. "You should count yourselves lucky that the D.A. isn't going to press charges of perjury against your client. If I were you, I'd take whatever we hand you and be thankful for that."
Mr. Rockwell turned and looked at my parents and their legal representation. "I'm willing to ignore the perjury charges provided you agree to the Rainey's terms and conditions," he softly replied, leaning back in his chair. My parents and their lawyers exchanged glances before looking towards him and nodding in submission.
Mort and I smiled.
Two Hours Later: Amber's POV:
As Mort and I left the justice building, there was a spring in our step as we practically raced down the stairs towards the curb. Once we reached the sidewalk, Mort lifted me up and twirled me around, causing me to squeal in delight. He laughed at my reaction, and as he put me down, he pressed his lips to mine. A moment later, when we separated, Mort pressed his forehead against mine, his intense, warm brown eyes staring into mine.
"I love you," he whispered, rubbing his nose against mine.
"Love you, too, Mort," I whispered back, smiling at him.
We heard a cough behind us and turned around. There stood Mike and Kaitlyn, huge grins on their faces. Mort sighed as I giggled.
"So how did it go," Lyn asked, smirking at me. "Did you kick ass?"
"Was there any doubt?" Mort asked sarcastically.
"Well, no, but I still want to know what happened," Kaitlyn said, rolling her eyes at him. "So spill it!"
I laughed. "We managed to get a restraining order against my parents, forbidding them from coming within at least a dozen miles of us," I said. "They're not to call or visit until it's lifted, and the only letters we can receive from them have to go through our lawyers first, so they can see if there are any harmful words in it towards Mort or anyone close to us." I grinned. "And they have given up any sort of claim over me and Elizabeth, and to never again bring charges against anyone I love or care for."
Kaitlyn blinked for a moment before bursting out laughing. Even my brother nodded in approval as he and Lyn approached us, catching us up in a group hug. It was a great moment, and it would have continued if my parents hadn't walked out of the building at that very moment. I felt my body stiffen as I saw my mother scowl at me from behind my father's turned back. Noticing that I'd suddenly gone ridged, Kaitlyn looked over her shoulder to see what had bothered me.
I saw her eyes narrow and I knew she was up to something. I put my hand on her arm to try and stop her, but all it did was make her look at me with a particularly mischievous gleam in her eye. Before I could say anything, she was sprinting up the steps of the building, heading towards my parents. I grabbed Mort's arm, turning his attention towards me, which I directed to Kaitlyn.
"Oh, God, what is she doing?" Mort whispered.
"I don't know," I said, suddenly frightened for her; after all, there were cops and lawyers everywhere.
We watched as Kaitlyn met my parents and spoke with them for a few moments. Then, before I knew it, my mother was launching herself at Kaitlyn. I gasped and clung to Mort's arm as I saw Kaitlyn suddenly throw the nastiest punch I'd ever seen. My mother went down with a nose that appeared to be gushing blood, and my father hurriedly pressed a wad of tissues to her nose to stop the bleeding. Once sure that my mother was alright, my father reached out to grab Kaitlyn. He got a very painful surprise, because he, too, ended up on the ground…due to a kick to the groin.
"Oh, dear…" I said, trailing off as Kaitlyn quickly talked to some police officers who had appeared when the fight started. A few moments later, they seemed to let her off the hook for her little 'fight'.
As she headed back towards us, Lyn had the biggest grin we'd ever seen on her face. "Well, it's nice to know that they won't be able to press charges against me, huh?" she said, winking at me. We all laughed as we hailed a cab and headed home.
A Week Later, Amber's POV:
Putting the last dish into the cupboard, I turned and smiled when I saw Mort lying asleep on the couch. I still couldn't believe that he was here with me, happily dozing in the living room as Elizabeth played with her blocks next to him on the floor. In the days after the trial, we had spent endless moments together as a couple and a family. Elizabeth had finally returned to the happy, bubbly little girl that she had been before, and created dozens of pictures of us as a family. Mort finally realized that our little treasure wasn't going to be a writer when she told him that she wanted to draw pictures for his next story. Mort had simply told her that as soon as she was old enough, he would put her in charge of all the artwork for his books. Elizabeth had promptly hugged him and skipped off to her room to practice her drawing.
Today, however, I had planned a special surprise for us…meaning a surprise for just us two adults. As I finished drying my hands, the doorbell rang and Elizabeth eagerly raced to greet whoever had come to see us. Since she wasn't tall enough to reach the locks, though, she had to wait for me to open the door and let them in. I smiled at the sight of my little girl jumping up and down, clapping her hands and trying to guess who it could be. I looked out the peephole and spotted her three favorite playmates and opened the door.
"Uncle Mike! Auntie Lyn! Becca!" Elizabeth cried, throwing herself at them.
"Hush, precious, Daddy's sleeping!" I frantically whispered, flapping my hands at her.
"Not anymore," called out an irritated voice from the living room.
I chuckled. "I told you to go sleep in the bedroom!" I called back. "It's your own fault!" I heard Mort mutter something, but he didn't answer me, so I turned back towards our guests. "So why are you three young people here?" I joked. "Shouldn't you be out partying or something?"
"Party without our favorite little artist?" Kaitlyn jokingly gasped. "Oh, we couldn't!"
"Which is why we're here," Becca said, nudging her friend in the side. "We decided to take Lizzie out for a movie, some ice cream, and a little sleepover at my place. What do you say?"
I pretended to think about it. "Well…" I saw Elizabeth give me a pleading look. "Okay, why not?"
Thirty minutes later, the four of them were long gone, and I was kneeling next to Mort (who hadn't moved from the couch during the entire time we were prepping Lizzie for her 'sleepover'). I gave him a very slow, sweet kiss on the lips, which (obviously) prompted my handsome husband to wake up enough to respond to it. I smiled and pulled back just as the kiss started to get good. His eyes still closed, Mort gave a grunt of protest and blindly reached for me, but I was too far away by then. When he realized that I wasn't there, Mort quirked an eyebrow and spoke.
"It's a cruel thing to kiss and run, darling," he said, pouting.
"Then open your eyes and come and catch me," I softly taunted him.
Mort grinned and opened his eyes, quickly sitting up to come after me, but froze when he saw what I had on. A see-through, knee-high black nightgown was the only thing I was wearing…besides a big smile. I simply smirked at him before racing for the bedroom, Mort frantically running to catch up to me. Racing to the other side of the bed, I grinned at the frustrated look on my husband's face when he realized the challenge of catching me. Deciding to give my sexually frustrated Mort a break, I held up my hands in surrender; he took the hint and climbed over the bed, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me onto the bed, his body twisting so that he landed on top of me.
"Ah, so you've surrendered to me, huh, beautiful?" Mort whispered as he gazed down at me.
I smirked. "Hardly," I whispered back.
"We'll see about that," he murmured as he leaned forward and kissed me.
Amber's POV: rated R:
I sighed as his warm lips met mine. It had been so long since we'd had a peaceful, loving night together. The other times had been desperate moments stolen when we feared for our life as a couple and family…this one was much more free…
As Mort's hand drifted down my side, I groaned, begging him to do more than just touch me, even though it felt wonderful. I felt his chest rumble as he softly chuckled into our kiss at my eagerness, and the rumbling from his deliciously warm and firm body only heightened my need for him. Knowing that I had to (literally) take matters into my own hands, I slid my hands under his shirt, pushing up the material with one hand and unbuttoning them with the other. Mort broke our kiss long enough to position himself on his heels and remove his shirt, his hands frantically pulling at his pants.
"Oh, so now you're eager to get this started, hmm?" I asked, smirking up at him.
"Damn right I am," Mort growled, his hands loosening his belt, button and zipper.
As his pants and boxers joined his shirt on the floor, I realized that I hadn't seen him this eager to make love since our first few months of marriage. Smiling up at him, I beckoned him to me with a crooked finger. Not waiting for a second invitation, Mort pounced on me, pinning me to the bed, his dark-brown eyes turning black with desire, his lips crashing against mine. I groaned into his mouth.
His hands quickly pushed up my lingerie above my waist, giving my thighs a brief caress before sliding up to my hips. Mort's eyes flew open and widened as he realized that there was nothing underneath the gown except me, and he groaned as he frantically thrust his tongue into my mouth, showing what he wanted to do to me with a different part of his body. I barely had time to prepare before I felt him slam into me.
I cried out, Mort swallowing my cries as his hips frantically rubbed against mine in his hurry to climax. I wrapped my arms around him, my nails digging into his back, hard enough to leave marks as they sank into the firm and soft muscles. Suddenly, Mort removed his lips from mine, his eyes drilling into mine. I gasped at the intense love and desire in his eyes, desire that I hadn't seen since our marriage began. The intenseness of his gaze turned me on even more, and I could feel myself getting closer to the edge.
"Come on, love," Mort whispered to me, his breath hot and heavy with need. "I need you to be with me…end with me…please…"
"Yes," I gasped, throwing my head back, my eyes rolling back.
Stars exploded beneath my eyelids in a multitude of colors. I heard Mort cry out my name, telling me how much he loved me as he collapsed on top of me. Keeping my eyes closed, I felt the rest of my nightgown slowly slipping over my head and heard it softly hitting the ground. I slowly opened my eyes and looked directly into velvet-soft pools of deep brown staring down at me. I let a small smile show and was rewarded with a quick, gentle kiss on the mouth.
"Thank you for that, Amber," Mort whispered as he stroked my face. Suddenly he smiled. "Do you think we might have made a brother or sister for Elizabeth?"
I chuckled. "Well, you never know," I whispered, sitting up enough to give him a kiss on the chin. "It could happen."
"We could use a little boy in the house," Mort mused, his lips slightly pouting as he became thoughtful.
"You mean a little boy you can turn into a writer," I laughed, reaching up to playfully tug on his hair.
"Precisely!" Mort exclaimed as he settled himself on top of me. "Which is why we aren't leaving this bed until I'm sure of it happening."
Sighing, I let Mort's lips press to mine as he proceeded to reach for my eager body.
Six months later: Mort's POV:
Sealing the envelope which held his contract with the publisher, Mort leaned back in his chair. He had finally published what he considered the greatest work of courtroom fiction he'd ever written…it was also the only piece of courtroom fiction he'd ever written, but that was beside the point. The story was finished and on its way to being printed, due out in about three months…the tour would begin in four.
Sighing, Mort rubbed his eyes and looked out the window. It was almost summer now, and the forest outside the cabin was full of flowers, with deer passing by every few days or so. Elizabeth had taken to putting out carrots and apples for the growing fawns, and got a kick out of seeing the passing creatures go by their window. It was an adorable sight.
"Mort, could you help me in here?" Amber called. "You know how hard it is for me to bend down like this!"
Chuckling, Mort went into the living room to help his wife pick up the latest paintings done by Elizabeth. As he put the pieces of artwork on the coffee table, Mort took a seat beside his wife and rubbed her belly. His son was in there, he was sure. Even though both he and Amber didn't want to know what sex the baby was, Mort was sure it was a boy…Amber only hoped that it wasn't twins or triplets (or multiple births of any sort). She said she couldn't handle it.
"Well, Mr. Rainey, ready for another book tour?" she asked, her hand joining his on her belly.
"As long as you, the baby, and Elizabeth are there, I'm ready for anything," he whispered, kissing her. "I had a feeling that this story would have a happy ending."
Amber smiled and leaned into his waiting arms.
AN: That's the last chapter! The next is an epilogue, and the end. Stay tuned for the finale!
