Disclaimer- Nothing is mine...nothing, so let's get over that fact.
A/N- Wow! Thanks so much for all the reviews, they're so great, and thanks for all the suggestions. And I know everyone wants Maddy to like Marissa, but I mean, Marissa is the cause of her parent's divorce, so...and also Eddie, he will come into the picture as well. I was re-reading the last chapter, and I realized that the ending was a little too much, but that was kind of the point, for Maddy to be annoying, but still adorable. Thanks for all the reviews, and please keep them up.
On with the story...
2 days later...
Marissa looked up from her eggs and up at Ryan, who was rubbing his legs together. "Are you okay?" she asked.
"Yeah, fine, just been real itchy lately," he explained.
"I've noticed, you and Maddy," she said, looking over at Maddy who was scratching her elbow.
"Maybe you should go to the doctor's?" Marissa suggested.
"No!" Maddy yelled.
"I don't think so," Ryan followed.
"Well," Marissa trailed off as she got up and went over to Ryan, and stood behind him and played with the back of his head, and looked at the red spots forming on his neck. She pushed him forward a little, and lifted his shirt up.
"Marissa..." he said, embarrassed, since Maddy was right there.
"Oh, Ryan relax," she said with a small laugh.
She looked at his muscular back, "You've got the chicken pox."
"What? No I don't," he retorted.
"Yes you do," she said with a grin. Ryan looked so scared. "And Maddy, I think you do too."
"Am I gonna die?" she asked worriedly.
Marissa let out a laugh, "No, you're not going to die. But can you lift up your sleeves for me?"
Maddy obeyed, and lifted up her arm sleeves and leg sleeves, displaying all the red spots.
"What about you?" she asked Marissa.
"Oh, you don't have to worry about me, I'm immune to it, I had it when I was younger, so I can't get it again," she explained.
"What do I do?"
"Um, well, for now, why don't you just go lie down," she suggested.
"Okay," and scurried away to her room.
"And you..." Marissa said playfully to Ryan.
"Yes..." He grabbed her by the waist and sat her down on his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a quick peck on the lips, but Ryan moved his head forward and leaned in for more.
Maddy had stopped her bathroom breaks in the middle of the night; leaving Ryan and Marissa to have their secret midnight rendezvous. They still had to be quiet, but Maddy was a sound sleeper, so thank goodness so it wasn't that big of a problem.
"Marissa! My spots itch!" Maddy screamed from her room. Marissa quickly got up from Ryan's lap and tousled his hair. "Get some rest," she whispered. "I'll check on you later," she added and went off in Maddy's room as Ryan watched after her admiringly.
--
"Stop scratching!" Maddy told Ryan as she pinched his arm.
"Ow!" he exclaimed in an exaggerating tone; Marissa gave him a playful stern look.
They were all sitting in the living room, Ryan and Maddy still had the chicken pox. Ryan's cell phone started ringing and he walked over to it and put it up to his ear. "Hello?"
Marissa heard bits and pieces on Ryan's side of the conversation. "Yeah, fine, she's right here. Maddy, it's your Mom," he told he as he handed her the phone. Maddy squealed excitedly and took the phone from him and went into her room.
"Are you okay?" Marissa asked.
Ryan sighed, "I don't know."
She walked over to him and put an arm around his shoulder and massaged the nape of his neck. "What happened?"
He took a deep breath before letting out his short conversation with Theresa. "She asked how Maddy was, I said fine, and than I asked her if she knew if Eddie was saying, and she said she still wasn't sure she wanted to tell him...and well, you get the idea." She nodded and continued to stroke his hair and neck, when Maddy came back in and handed the phone to Ryan.
"Mommy wants to talk to you." Ryan nodded and took the phone from her and went into the kitchen.
"Hello?"
"Ryan!" Theresa shrilled. "Maddy has the chicken pox!"
"Yeah, I know."
"And you have it too, who's taking care of you?" she asked.
"Marissa."
"Well, Marissa's not a doctor," she scowled.
"I know; we got some ointment and other stuff from the doctors."
"Why didn't you call me?"
"I didn't feel there was a need to, we have it all under control."
"You still should've called."
"Okay, I'm sorry, I should've called. Now I want to talk to you about..." he lowered his voice, "Eddie."
"What about him?"
"Are we going to tell him anything, so than I can contact him somehow"?
"We..." Theresa started, "aren't going to tell him anything."
"Why not? Do you want the same thing to happen to him that happened to me?"
"Ryan! What do you expect me to say? Oh, here's this kid you impregnated, take care of it-"
"Theresa!" he hissed. "As far as I'm concerned, Maddy is as much mine as she is Eddie's. I just want him to know, that's all."
"Why?" she whined.
"I don't care if I have your support or not, but we need to stop lying, and you need to stop lying."
"Fine!" she growled. "How is Maddy taking things with you and Marissa?"
"Um..." he hesitated, "she actually still...doesn't know".
Theresa snorted, "Humph! And you're telling me not to lie..."
"Look, we'll tell her when we feel its right, don't you think she has enough to handle with everything."
"Fine."
"I'll try to find Eddie's number, than call him, just tell me when you're coming back...and we'll meet him up with him than."
Her tone, still undeciding, "I don't know."
"Well..." he scoffed, "can you at least give me an estimate?"
"Fine! Let me check my palm pilot." Ryan rolled his eyes. "February 26," she snapped.
"Thank you," he said coldly.
"This..." she sighed deeply, "this is wrong."
"Well, than it's wrong to you, but it feels right...to me."
"Whatever."
"Same..." he said and than hung up, pissed.
He started walking back into the living room, seeing Marissa and Maddy watching TV; he sat in between them.
"Are you okay?" Maddy asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Ryan said absentmindedly. Marissa noticed this, "Maddy, why don't you go sleep for a while, okay".
"Marissa!" she protested.
"Mads, just listen to Marissa, okay?" She looked between the two of them, and obeyed, "Okay."
"Do you need any help?" Marissa asked..
He looked up at her; into her eyes, "I love you.".
She smiled at him, "I love you too," and than wrapped her arms around him and brought him into a hug as Ryan nuzzled his face into her neck.
--
Ryan sighed as he set down the phone and looked up at Marissa. "She's coming in tomorrow," he explained. She nodded hugged him. He pulled back and cupped her face into his hands.
"What?" she asked softly.
"Thank you," he whispered.
"For what?"
"For everything..."
"Don't thank me, you've been there for me all those years, and now, I want to be there for you."
"Okay," he said with a smile, "but I still want to thank you."
"You're welcome..." she told him flirtingly and than leaned in for a quick kiss.
They heard the toilet flushing and immediately pulled back. Maddy came out of the bathroom and cheerfully sat down in between them. Her chicken pox spots were slowly going away and she was feeling better. Lucky thing that her school had vacation this week so she didn't have to go.
"Who was that?" she asked Ryan.
"Your Mom, she's coming home tomorrow," he explained. Maddy squealed excitedly and clapped her hands. "But we're going somewhere when she comes," he added.
"Where?"
Ryan looked at Marissa, "Um, an old friend of Mommy and Daddy's."
Maddy replied, "Okay."
"Go get your pajamas on, and than I'll be there to tuck you in," Ryan told her.
She hesitated for a second, biting her nails, and looked at Marissa. "Can Marissa tuck me in?" she asked. They were both surprised, but of course happy. Ryan smiled at Marissa and the expression on her face. "Sure," Marissa answered and they watched her run into her room.
Marissa raised her eyebrows at Ryan and hopped on him. "I told you you'd grow on her," he said with a small laugh.
"Right, big accomplishment," she told him excitedly as she sat on his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned herself in until her head was resting in the crook between his neck and shoulder. She rubbed her fingers against his shirt, right where his tattoo was. "I like her," Marissa said.
"I know you do, and she likes you too." He hesitated before adding, "So, when does your flight leave?"
"Tuesday."
"What's today?"
"Saturday."
"Three more days with you," he said dryly.
"I have to finish everything in New York, and I'll be back before you know it, I promise."
"Promise?"
"Promise," she confirmed as she put her lips against his ear lobe and let out a short breath into it. "Well, if you promise," he said jokingly.
"I promise," she said again and bit the tip of his ear, causing arousal to come all over him.
"Marissa! I'm ready!" Madison called out from her room.
"Okay!" Marissa shouted back as she got off of Ryan.
"I'm gonna go take a shower." he told her.
"A cold one?" she asked sarcastically.
Ryan returned her sarcasm with a sarcastic smile, "Yes a cold one."
"Have fun," she said playfully with a flirty wave as she went into Maddy's room.
"Right, have fun," he mumbled as he went into the bathroom.
"Hey," Marissa said as she entered Maddy's room, and found her sprawled on top of the bed, covers resting at the foot of the bed. She sat down on the edge and pulled the covers up to Maddy's legs. "Are you cold?" she asked. She shook her head.
"Who is...Eddie?" she asked Marissa. Marissa froze, "Where did you hear Eddie?"
"I listened when Mommy and Daddy were talking," she explained.
"That's eavesdropping," she told the vibrant little girl and watched her giggle. "That's where we're going tomorrow," she explained after her fit of laughter.
"Oh, why?"
"Because...we haven't seen him in a long time."
She nodded her head and Marissa pulled the covers up even more.
"Do you like my Daddy?"
"Of course I like him, he's one of my best friends"; Marissa told her, waiting for her questions to turn into a point.
"Do you think my pa...?" Madison asked, tears in her eyes, as her body shook from sudden sobs. Marissa did the best thing she could think of, she picked up the little girl and hugged her, trying to comfort her with her voice. After a few moments, she finally composed herself and wiped the tears from her eyes and looked into Marissa's eyes.
"Do you..." she sniffed, "Do you think my Mommy and Daddy will get...togefer again?" she asked.
Marissa shook her head sadly, "I'm sorry sweetie...I don't think so." Maddy started crying again. Marissa tried to think of something to say. "Hey, you know what? We have something in common," she started.
"What?"
"Well, my parents are divorced too."
"Really?"
Marissa nodded her head, "Yep, but I was a little older than you were, but I was sad too when they got divorced."
"Me too," she agreedd, "are they back together?"
"No, they're not, but I'm happy that they're not."
"You are?" she asked surprised. Marissa nodded, "Do you remember what I told you; about marrying someone you love, well, if your Mommy and Daddy don't love each other, than they should find someone that they do love."
"Like a step-mom?"
"Yeah; like a step-mom, or a step-dad. I have a step-mom and a step-dad," Marissa explained.
"You do? What are their names?"
"Richard and Hailey and I like them because I know they make my Mom and Dad happy."
"Well," Maddy crossed her arms, "I don't want them to get married with someone else."
Marissa laughed at her stubbornness, "Not even if they make them happy."
"No, you're only supposed to get married once."
"Well, who said that?"
"Mommy."
"Well, that's not true, you can get married as many times as you want."
"Even a million cajillion trillion times?" she asked excitedly, motioning the numbers with her hands.
Marissa laughed and put her hands down and set her back down in the bed, "Well, not that many times, but you should marry someone if you know them for a long time."
"Mommy said that she knew Daddy since they were tiny," she continued to argue to get her point across.
"Hmm, well..." she tried to find the right words. Maddy looked at her expectantly. "If it's meant to be, it's meant to be."
"What does that mean?"
"It means that somehow if you're Mommy and Daddy really love each other, they will end up together." Maddy played with her curls, "I guess."
"You love your Daddy, right? Well, if your Dad loves someone else, than I'm pretty sure that you'll like them too," Marissa tried to reason with a smile.
"I don't think so," she said shaking her head.
"Well, if you don't, than you can come tell me and I'll take care of them, okay?"
She giggled, "Okay."
"Good; so did you go the bathroom?" She nodded her head. "And you had your water?" She nodded once again. "What else?"
"Um," Maddy put a finger on the tip of her chin, trying to express that she was thinking hard. "Well, than Daddy tells me a story."
"Okay, well...no books?'
"Make one up."
"Me? I'm not that good at telling stories, but I'll try. Do you like princesses?"
Maddy nodded her head excitedly. "Okay, well, um..." Marissa tried to think.
"Maybe I can help?" Ryan suggested from the doorway, towel drying his hair.
"Daddy!"
"Hey, how long have you been standing there?" Marissa asked.
"Just enough to hear that you don't know how to tell a good story," he joked.
"Hey!" she exclaimed as she playfully slapped his arm.
Maddy giggled before adding, "Daddy's a professional."
Marissa looked over at a blushing Ryan, "At storytelling?" she joked.
"I've gotten pretty good over the years," he said sarcastically.
"The best!" Maddy exclaimed, her hands waving wildly in the air and got up, and jumped up in Ryan's arms. Ryan accepted her embrace and returned it, as Marissa watched admiringly.
"Okay, you try to go to sleep; we have an early day tomorrow."
"Okay," she obeyed as she laid down and Marissa once again pulled the covers over her and leaned her weight on her palm, which she put at the foot of the bed; waiting for Ryan's storytelling to begin. Ryan started with "once upon a time", and Marissa lost herself in his eyes when he looked over at her.
He let his hands creep over to hers, resting his palm right next to hers, and letting his fingers intertwine slowly with hers. Marissa felt this and grinned at him,and he grinned back as he continued to tell the story, with Maddy still sleeping.
--
"What are you doing?" Maddy asked, watching Marissa apply some type of shiny, pink lip gloss. Marissa looked down at her, and kneeled down, giving her the tube. "You want some?" she offered.
"Germs?" Maddy said disgustingly.
"I have another one," Marissa told her and went into Ryan's room. Ryan was putting on a wifebeater and examining himself in the mirror. She went digging inside her make up bag, and pulled out a fresh new tube of lip gloss; and went over to Ryan. "Nervous?" she asked.
He shrugged, "Yeah, I just hope I don't lose it," he confessed.
"It's okay if you do," Ryan gave her one of his glares. "Or maybe not."
"I'm even more nervous about, you know, Maddy's reaction."
"Mmm-hmm," Marissa said knowingly and wrapped an arm around his neck and kissed the side of his head. "It'll all work out...somehow," she said.
"Thanks," he offered as he moved his head and kissed her back.
"What time is Theresa coming?"
"3:00." Marissa looked over at the clock, it was12 right now. She unwrapped her arm from him and went back to Maddy in the bathroom.
--
Ryan put down his cell phone and looked unhappy. "Maddy, your Mom's here!" he called out. Maddy came out, also looking unhappy, and dragging her duffle bag wearily behind her. Tears started coming out of her eyes as Ryan went over to her, wiping her eyes. "You're not coming with me, are you?" she asked sadly. He shook his head, "No, I'm not, but I'll see you later today".
"But you're still not coming home with me! Now!" she bawled. Ryan wrapped his arms around her tiny body and hugged her tightly. "I'll see you again, don't worry, okay." She continued sniffling, but nodded anyways and dragged her duffle bag past Marissa.
"Bye Maddy," Marissa said.
"Bye," Maddy said distantly and opened the door and walked out. Marissa gave him a look that said 'go' and he did. Theresa was waiting for them by her Mercedes, a stony expression on her face. Maddy started to stomp over there, but Ryan stopped her. "Hey, hey, come here and give me a hug," he told her. She walked over to him and gave him a cold hug. "Give this to your Mom okay?" he told her and gave her a piece of paper; the directions to Eddie's house. She snatched it from him and walked to Theresa's car, gave it to her and than got in the car.
Ryan shoved his hands in his pockets and started walking back to the apartment. He tried not to slam the door, so closed it slightly, and saw Marissa sitting on the couch. "She left," Ryan announced as he sat down next to her. "Are you okay?" she asked and put a hand on his knee. "I'm fine," he said with a small smile, "and I have you to thank for that".
She smiled, and kissed him. "And I have just the way for you thank me," she told him, planting a big one on his soft lips. He let out a soft groan and brought her up a little. They both kneeled on the couch, Ryan kissing her neck passionately. "Mmm, so long," she gasped.
"Too long," he grunted.
He slipped his hands under her t-shirt and crept his hands up her skin until the shirt was lying on the floor, so she was only in her tank top. They continued kissing, never parting their lips once, until Ryan kissed down and kissed across her chest, and licked up her neck, breathing hard. Marissa struggled with the one button on his button down until she finally just snapped it off. He laughed lightly, "If you keep ripping my shirts, I won't have any left."
"Sorry," she said, putting their lips together once again. "Don't be," he whispered and slowly lay her down on the couch, following on top of her.
Downstairs; "Do you have everything honey?" Theresa asked. Maddy nodded from the back seat, but than stopped. "Oh, wait! I forgot my back pack!" she exclaimed and climbed out of the Mercedes and ran up to Ryan's apartment.
"Honey, wait!" Theresa commanded as she got out of the car too. But Madison was looking carefully for any cars, and than running towards the doors. "Maddy! I can't run in my..." she mumbled, "my new Prada heels," and than groaned as she followed the little footsteps.
"Let's go to the room," Marissa panted. "Okay," said Ryan as he got off of her but brought her up with him so they were kneeling again and engaged in another full lip lock.
Maddy stopped when she got to Ryan's floor, and could hear Theresa moaning and groaning not too far behind her. She looked for apartment 12 and finally saw it and some light shining through, so she started to head towards the door.
A/N- -gasps- uh-oh! Will she find out? Please review, thanks! OH!!! And I'm just going to say that Caleb and Julie didn't work out, so she married 'Richard'. But hope you still like.