To Be Needed
Part 3
"Leon, don't bounce her like that. I just fed her. She's gonna get sick all over you," Ashby warned him. She was in the kitchen getting dinner ready. Leon "volunteered" to watch the baby.
Leon grinned at Maria. "You won't get sick on me, will you princess? Of course not, cuz I'm too cute, huh." Leon said as he continued to bounce Maria up and down.
Maria was laughing at Leon.
Ashby sighed. She went back to making dinner. A minute later she heard Leon yell out.
"Ewwww! Ash she threw up on me! Ughhh it's warm!" Leon shouted, disgusted.
Ashby laughed. "I told you, Leon. Give her to me. Go clean up." She said as she took Maria from him.
Leon ran out of the kitchen up to his room.
Ashby cleaned Maria up. "Princess, you can do that anytime you want." She said to the baby, giggling. Maria smiled up at Ashby as if in agreement.
"What's up with Leon?" Dom asked as he walked into the kitchen.
Ashby grinned. "Maria threw up on him."
Dom laughed.
"Here, hold her while I finish this." Ashby instructed as she handed Maria over to her uncle.
"Vince told me about earlier. I'm sorry you had to leave class, but thank you." He said sitting down in one of the chairs, watching her finish preparing dinner.
"It's okay. Vince just doesn't know her favorite song." Ashby said, as if were no big deal. For her it wasn't. She would help Mia and the 'team' in any way she could. She walked over and set plates and utensils on the table.
Dom grabbed a hold of her wrist. "Ash' it's not okay. You do so much for us. It isn't fair that you have to miss the one class you take." Dom said looking at her seriously.
Ashby smiled. "It is okay. I knew what I was getting into when I told Mia I would come here. I was willing to put school on hold for however long. Don't worry about me, Dom. I know what I'm doing," she told him confidently.
Just then Vince walked into the kitchen. "Hey Ash', dinner ready ye…" He stopped short when he saw Dom's hand holding Ashby's wrist.
Ashby quickly pulled her hand from Dom's grip. "Yeah, dinner's ready. Go let the others know." She said.
She saw the look in Vince's eyes. She knew what he thought. Ashby sighed inwardly. She also knew it was better to let Vince think what he wanted. She didn't want to get involved with him anyway.
Dom looked from Vince to Ashby, then back to Vince. When Vince left the kitchen Dom stared at Ashby with questions in his eyes, but hesitant to voice them out loud.
Ashby shook her head at Dom. "Just leave it alone. I don't want to talk about it."
Dom nodded. "You know the way to my door if you do. Anytime you want to talk Ash' I'm here," he told her gently.
Ashby smiled at him, softly. "Thanks, D."
Dinner was a strained event. No one said much except for Jesse and Leon.
After dinner Ashby got Leon and Jesse started on the dishes. Dom sat in the living room, watching TV. Mia had already taken Maria up to bed. Ashby frowned. "Where's V?" She asked Dominic.
"His room," Dom responded absently. He was too engrossed with whatever he was watching.
Ashby went upstairs and knocked on Vince's door. "V, it's me. You okay?" She asked thru the door.
When he didn't open it right away she knocked again. She waited a moment, when there was no answer again she pushed it open. "V?" she called out as she walked in.
She saw him curled up in a ball on the bed, dressed only in his boxers and a tank top. Ashby walked over and touched his shoulder, but he flinched away from her.
"Go away," he mumbled. He wouldn't even look at her.
"V, what's the matter? Do you have another headache?" She asked as she tried to lift his head so he would look at her.
"I'll be fine. Go away." He mumbled again as he shoved her hand away.
Ashby frowned at him. "Vincent quit acting like a baby and tell me if you have a headache or not." Ashby demanded.
"I'm not a baby! I told you I'll be fine! Go away!" He snapped back as he looked at her angrily.
Ashby glared at him. "Fine!" She shouted back and left his room. She went to her own room to change.
She pulled on blue pajama bottoms and a matching blue tank top. She stood in the middle of her room fighting her emotions. She couldn't leave Vince alone in pain. Not if she could help him.
Ashby slipped back into Vince's room quietly. She climbed in next to him.
Vince rolled over and immediately wrapped himself around her body, burying his face into the familiarity of her body. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it," he said into her stomach.
Ashby smiled down at his head. " I know V. It's okay." She said as she began to massage his scalp.
Vince closed his eyes.
"Are you mad because of what you thought you saw in the kitchen earlier?" She asked, knowing exactly that's what he was pissed about.
Vince froze, and then shook his head no.
"V, be honest." She reprimanded.
Vince let a breath and shook his head yes.
Ashby rolled her eyes. "V, I told you. I have no feelings for Dom except for what I feel for all of you. Besides I don't know what you're so upset for. It's not like we're dating."
"I'm trying to get us there, damn it." He muttered against her flat stomach.
"I heard that," she said in a singsong voice.
"You were meant too," he mimicked her.
"V, I told you. I can't. It's too complicated," she said exasperated.
Vince lifted his head to look at her. "Why? What's so complicated about it?" he demanded.
"Well for one, what if we don't work out? What then?" She asked as if she had a solid reason.
Vince gave a small laugh. "Baby we aren't even together and already you're worried about us breaking up. Well what if we do work? What then?" He threw her words back in her face.
Ashby sighed. "I don't want to talk about this anymore. I'm leaving. How's your head? Was it real this time or were you faking it again because of what you thought was going on between me and Dom?"
Vince's heart stopped. She knew. How could she possibly know? He never told anyone, not even Dom that sometimes he fakes them. He didn't want her to leave.
He lowered his head against her stomach and held her tight. "Don't leave. I'll stop talking about it."
For now, he thought.
"All right. But you better behave." She said in a warning tone.
Vince just nodded his head.
When Ashby woke up the next morning, she should have known she would see Jesse waiting, patiently for her to get up.
"Jesse have I ever told you how much I love waking up and seeing your beautiful face, first thing in the morning?"
Jesse's mouth formed an 'O'. "You really think I'm beautiful?" he asked in disbelief.
Ashby felt Vince's body rumbled. She knew he was about to laugh. She reached over and pinched the skin just below his armpit, where it was tender. Vince kept quiet.
"Yes, I do," she said firmly.
Jesse smiled sheepishly. "I think you're beautiful too, Ash." He said shyly.
"Jesse, stop trying to put moves on my woman. Go get your own," Vince, growled.
Jesse jumped slightly. He looked at Vince, then back at Ashby, confused.
"It's okay, Jesse. Vince is just being a punk. What time is it and why are you up so early?" Ashby asked.
Jesse relaxed; being up early was a topic he was comfortable with. "I haven't been to sleep yet. I want you to see the new design I came up with for your car," he said excitedly.
Ashby sighed. She has told the 'team' repeatedly that she didn't want a 'racecar'. She's told Jesse a million times to stop making designs for her, but she didn't have the heart to tell him she didn't want to look at his work. He would be so disappointed. "Time?" she repeated.
"Five-seventeen," Jesse mumbled, trying to disguise the time.
Vince groaned. "Jess' go away. Come back later." He growled at the younger man.
"Sorry," Jesse mumbled and turned to leave.
Ashby smacked Vince on the head. "It's okay Jesse. I'll be down in a little bit, okay." She said, trying to ease the tone Vince used.
Jesse nodded, and left.
"I can't believe you." Ashby snapped at Vince once Jesse was gone. She pulled away from his body, trying to leave the bed.
Vince wasn't letting her go so easily. "What? It's too early. I'm sorry that Jesse can't sleep sometimes, but that don't mean we all have to miss out." Vince said reasonably.
Ashby rolled her eyes. "That's not what I mean. He worked all night on something that he thinks is important. He just wanted to show it to someone who would appreciate it. You made him feel like he wasn't important, or that what he did wasn't important. He's probably been sitting in here for hours waiting for me to get up just so he could show me." She said, fiercely. She was angrier than she had wanted to show.
"That's not what I meant. I only meant cuz it was so early. He coulda waited until later." Vince said defensively. He wasn't trying to make Jesse feel bad. What was Ashby talking about?
"How was he supposed to know that? You told him to go away and come back later. How would you take it if someone told you that?" She said, reasonably.
Vince stared at her with his mouth open ready to say something else in defense, but he froze. He hated it when she was right. "Damn," he muttered to himself.
"Let go. I need to go take a shower and then look at what Jesse did." Ashby said and slipped out of Vince's grip.
Vince let her go. He was thinking about Jesse. Did he really sound like that? Did Jesse really think that he didn't care? Vince knew he would need to make an effort to be nicer to Jesse. Maybe he did tend to take him for granted. Vince frowned. Maybe the 'team' was too. That might be why he's grown so attached to Ashby. Jesse knew she cared about what he did.
Vince sat up and growled in frustration. It wasn't until Ashby came to live with them that he's realized the 'team' wasn't as perfect as he thought.
