Title: A Little Respect
Author: Misty Flores
Teaser: Pursuing a relationship with Aiden after discovering Bianca in bed with Babe, Maggie begins to question even her own self worth when she finds herself delving deeper into a baby kidnapping mystery, and an intense love triangle.
PART TWENTY-TWO
After all that we've been through,
I will make it up to you. I promise to.
And after all that's been said and done,
You're just the part of me I can't let go.
-- Hard to Say I'm Sorry, Chicago
The sound of the closed fist against Babe's nose, producing a sharp crack and a hiss of pain, along with the sight of red blood suddenly spurting in-between Babe's closed fingers, finally jerked her out of her lovesick reverie.
"Maggie-"
Reaching forward, she snapped palms around Maggie's shoulders, holding her back, watching as Babe stumbled, the tears flowing freely, Babe's nose swollen and distorted, covered by fingers now drenched with blood.
"I can't believe you're still defending her-"
"I'm not!" Bianca snapped, ignoring Babe's grateful, hopeful glance, turning her back on her former best friend to stare into her only true one's eyes, offering a hesitant, barely there smile. "I just... I don't think you should have to lower yourself to... to doing that. You shouldn't... touch her..."
She said it with an odd tone, matching her smile, and she saw Maggie's surprise, her uneasiness at Bianca's strange expression. But Bianca was in love, unapologetic and up until a minute ago, completely sure Maggie was out of her life forever.
Maggie didn't hate her. Maggie was here, and like always, Maggie was ready to fight for her, protect her and defend her, stand in her way, and love her.
She found herself slipping fingers into Maggie's palms, trembling with sudden emotion, hope flooding into her, as she lifted Maggie's hands to her lips, kissing the soft skin that had been marred by Babe's face.
Maggie's mouth was open, a soft gasp elicited from her throat and lips that made Bianca sigh raggedly in response, before her friend's dark eyes broke from hers, and her hands soon followed, slipping out of her grip, Maggie's attention back on the other person in the room.
Bianca swallowed, turned, suddenly irrationally anger, for so many reasons, but at the moment, for having the audacity at being in the room NOW. For having witnessed only the start of Bianca's profession of love.
Babe was staring at her, her swollen nose looking odd, like a clown's make up, wearing a hurt expression that only hardened Bianca's heart further.
It was almost as if every ounce of love she had harbored for Babe had changed, solidified, twisted into sudden, irrational hate.
Sucking in her breath, she moved in front of her Maggie, determined to end this now, to get her out of the room and leave her alone with her daughter, Maggie, and hopefully, her future.
Licking her lips, she came forward, arms crossed, considering her words. "You -- you said that you would make things right. Over and over, every day." She sucked in her breath, eyes closing in disgusted remembrance. "'I will make things right,'" she mimicked. Shaking her head, she let out a bitter chuckle. "Is this what you had in mind, Babe? Are things right now?"
"No," Babe whispered, arms crossed, like she was hugging herself for support. "No. No. I know that I cannot take away your pain or undo what I have done, but -- but I can stand here and take what I have coming."
Behind her, Bianca heard a sudden, disbelieving chortle. "Oh, see?" Maggie snarked, rubbing at her wrist. "That just takes all the fun out of it. It's like she wants us to smack her around. Now I regret punching the shit out of her. Wait -" Maggie looked up, obviously thinking over her actions. "No. No I don't."
Bianca's mouth was tight, her breath constricted. "You think that you can martyr yourself? That I'm going to feel sorry for you now?"
"No," Babe breathed. It's not like that. I owe you my life, Bianca, and it's up to you what you do with it."
She smiled at the ridiculousness of the request. "Well, what can you give me, Babe? What makes us even?"
Babe stared at her, at her obvious disbelief, lower lip trembling at Bianca's skeptism. "You can call the police. You can call the police and you can tell them that I kidnapped Kevin Buchanan's baby."
Bianca blinked, the news making her mind swim suddenly, trying to understand exactly why, when it fell to place with two words from Maggie.
"Your son?" Bianca sucked in her breath, jerking her face back to Babe, seeing Babe's surprise at Maggie's flat question. "Yeah, we know about him, Babe." Bianca bit her lower lip, remembering suddenly her own bemusement at Babe's obvious affection for the boy, the almost maternal love she had, the way she held him like he was her own. God... how blind had she been? "You didn't exactly leave the least obvious trail."
Biting down on her lower lip, Babe looked truly frightened, and Bianca felt a suddenly, horrible thrill from, chased by a moment of regret. This was a child's life. A child's life was precious.
"You can tell them, Bianca. And they'll take away my son, just like I kept Miranda from you."
"I see. Because babies are like purses, and when we get bored, we can just trade them."
"No. They'll take away my son. And the son that J.R. thinks is dead -- he'll realize that he's not gone at all, and you know how J.R.'s sick mind works. He's going to come up with things that your good mind can't even begin to comprehend. Bianca, I will lose my son. I'll never see him again."
"Shut up." Maggie, coming forward, face a vision of pure anger. "Just shut up. I - just... the GALL. You know what? Don't worry about martyring yourself, or forcing Bianca to play some sort of guilt card - everyone here knows what you and Jamie did. And so do the police. Right now this place is crawling with Miami's best, and they're looking for you, and looking for that baby. And when they find you - they'll arrest you - not just for kidnapping the Buchanan baby, but for what you did to Miranda."
It was on Babe's face, the realism of it, the true nightmare of what she had put Bianca's through, coming down on her, as she shifted eyes from Maggie's cold, unsympathetic orbs, to hers.
When she saw the lower lip tremble again, when she saw Babe's eyes flood with the unshed emotion, she suddenly surged forward, on a wave of anger. "Do it, Babe. Cry. Cry. Come on, cry. I dare you. I dare you to cry in front of my face after everything that you have put me through."
Babe looked shrunken, a shell of her former self. "I always wanted to tell you, Bianca. And I'll always be sorry for that."
She couldn't help the bitter, dry laughter. "Oh, come on. The only reason that you finally came clean about Miranda is because you didn't need her anymore. You had your own baby back, so mine was just a spare that you could afford to lose."
--
She nearly tripped on her heels, hearing baby James giggle at her sudden turn. It had taken nearly three floors of running, zipping around corners with a mercifully happy James, before she was able to lose Erica Kane, and even now, Krystal could have sworn she could hear Erica's hot breath on her neck, like a crazed witch.
Krystal's mind was swimming, and her eyes stung with unshed tears, as she hid in their hotel room, out of breath and frightened beyond measure.
It was all coming together, the judgment was coming down, she knew their secrets were no longer secrets, and that those loyal to Bianca, to the Kanes, were flooding Florida.
Krystal was prepared to pay for her actions - but not her baby girl.
Sucking in her breath, she ignored her tears and reached for her phone, dialing fast and furiously, praying that it wasn't too late.
She could hear the ringing, felt each one go through her rapidly beating heart, and when Babe's stressed voice finally answered, she deflated with relief, clutching the phone tighter to the side of her face.
"Babe, honey - you have to go!"
"Mama? What's wrong!"
"Honey, the police are all over the place." She lowered her voice to a furious whisper. "They have Jamie in custody. They're lookin' for you. They're looking for all of us. You have to come down and you have to take your baby and you have to go. You have to go!"
--
Maggie cocked her heart, letting out an uneasy breath as she held her palms closed into hard fists, ignoring Bianca's heated stare and watching Babe, the myriad of expressions on her face as she listened to the call.
Babe's life was crashing down on her, all her lies, all her deception, and somehow, it made her more angry, to watch her stand there and take it from them, as if somehow, in Babe's head, taking their abuse would make it all okay, make them feel sorry for what it was she had done.
Maggie didn't have room in her heart left for sympathy. It was full already, with conflicting emotion and the heaviness of what was to come. She couldn't think of Jamie, or David, or everything she was doing that would invariably put them both behind bars.
They had made their choices, hadn't consulted her when they had done them. She didn't afford either of them the same courtesy.
Beside her, Bianca kept sneaking glances, each lock of her eyes on her face making her that much more agitated, that much more flushed. In Bianca's face was a very decided look, and it unnerved her, frightened her.
She kept her stare on Babe, as the little deceiver lowered the phone from her ear, looking scared and broken.
"I have to go--" she said, sucking in a sob. "I have to go and face all this-"
Already, Babe was gathering her things, heading for the door, and Maggie suddenly shook her head erratically, the rush of anger curling up her spine like a chill. "You're not going anywhere-"
Babe ignored her, eyes only for Bianca, drinking her in, like Bianca was some sort of drug. "I do love you, Bianca, more than you're ever going to know."
Once again she surged forward, until a hand grabbed her elbow, holding her into place. Suddenly, a lean, feminine form pressed in behind her, and beyond the blood suddenly surging in her ears, Maggie heard, "Babe, if all you're going to do is sit here, and tell me you love me, and wait for me to tell you how much I hate you, like it's some sort penance for what you did? Just leave. I won't let you make yourself feel better by wanting our forgiveness or our hate."
Maggie sucked in her breath, swallowed hard and kept her mouth shut, as Babe's eyes flickered with sudden broken grief. Maggie's mouth twitched, as she felt Bianca's possessive hands on her shoulders, holding her still, as Babe finally left, tears flowing freely from her cheeks.
"You can't let her go-" she began thickly, trying to move again.
"No- Maggie, just let her go." A lean arm slid around her shoulders, drawing her in close, until Maggie's eyes closed raggedly, hot breath on her ear, Bianca's comforting voice. "Let her go far, far away, where I never have to look at her again. Let me just pretend that she doesn't exist."
The door closed. Babe was gone.
"Why did you let her go?" Maggie asked slowly, into the silence that followed, eyes straight ahead, on the closed door.
"Because I don't care about her," she heard breathed against her ear, and the sensation of it made her eyes suddenly close. "She's nothing to me now."
Now.
The phrasing caught her with a hitch of hurt in her heart, and her eyes shot open. Breaking out of the embrace, Maggie swiveled, turned to a beautiful women with impossibly dark eyes, who had broken her heart, all for the sake of that stupid tramp that she had just let go.
"You certainly had a different opinion about her yesterday." She tried to sound uncaring, but she didn't quite succeed. She knew Bianca could hear the hesitation, the ache, because her friend just closed her mouth and stared at her, her previously soothing words replaced by a broken silence.
In this room, with no Babe to distract them, it was only too obvious what would have to be the next conversation.
Maggie's aching heart didn't want to hear it.
"Maggie..."
"I don't want to talk about it."
Bianca's eyes widened, beautiful face unsure. "I can't even... everything's just so-"
And Miranda giggled, interjecting into their conversation with a crystal clear baby laugh that broke the awkwardness, filled her with sudden emotion, looking down on Bianca's baby girl.
On Miranda.
The grief, the loss, it all became real again, surging into her heart, leaving no room for anything but the bittersweet relief, at finding that beautiful baby girl.
"My God..."
Bianca glanced at her, face overtaken with wonder, and Maggie couldn't help her smile through her tears, swallowing and nodding.
"Miranda," Bianca breathed.
Maggie's smile widened. "Yeah. Your Miranda." Bianca sucked in a trembling breath, and Maggie watched with a closed throat as her best friend made her way toward the little baby girl. Her baby girl.
Kneeling down in front of the beautiful bubby, baby girl, Bianca couldn't bring herself to touch her, not yet, and Maggie closed her arms around herself, kept still, until Bianca stared at her again, and she laughed with her.
Everything had come down to this moment, and in that second, Maggie forgot about the hurt, focused instead on watching her friend reunited with her little girl.
"Maggie..."
She came forward, until she was beside Bianca, hands on Bianca's shoulder, her waist, watching with Bianca as she took in her child, marveled at the little fingers, and the little toes.
"It's really her, Maggie."
"I know," she whispered, rubbing into Bianca's white shirt, feeling the heat of Bianca's flesh underneath. "She's beautiful."
Bianca's fingers closed around a tiny wrist, as Miranda bobbed in her playpen, holding onto the edge of it so tightly.
"Maggie..." Maggie's eyes lowered, discovered Bianca staring at her, emotion making her eyes brighter than they had ever been before. "What I did, how I acted..." her stomach suddenly began to sink, "I'm going to make it up to you."
"Binks..."
"I mean it," she heard breathed against her. "I don't know how, but-"
"Bianca... this isn't the time." She smiled awkwardly, but deliberately kept her fingers in place-
The chill that ran down her spine, and Maggie's words faded away, as she glanced behind Bianca, towards the door, to discover J.R. standing in the doorway, on his face a murderous glare.
--
"Where's Maggie?"
"Where's Bianca!"
The sentences were spoken at exactly the same time, as Kendall jerked around the room wildly, ignoring Aiden's agitated stare, Tad kneeling beside his son, ignoring the policemen and their hand cuffs.
The young boy had already fainted, and now Tad and the others were arguing about custody and evidence, and the paramedics, already pushing their way to him, soon fought for their own say.
"Where did J.R. go?" Aiden asked suddenly, hands on his hips, moving away from all the commotion and bringing Kendall with him, steering her with a strong hold on her elbow. Aiden's concern was not just for Bianca, but his girlfriend, and for once, Kendall couldn't blame him.
"He ran out in the commotion," she said, pointing away from the warehouse. "I didn't have a chance to tell him the truth-" Aiden's jaw squared, hardened, and already, he moved past her, ignoring Tad and the police. Kendall sucked in her breath and followed him. "Aiden, my mother was guarding the door - with her and Maggie there, I'm sure he won't do much-"
"A grown man against two women not over five feet tall?" Aiden snapped, his accent distorted and thick in his emotion. "A man who still thinks that someone's out to steal his daughter? A man whose already been seen as capable of drugging his wife?"
"Okay, my mother's a little taller than five feet," she snapped, jabbing at his chest with a finger. "And she can be pretty damned intimidating, even when she's not trying - she'll protect my sister and that baby with everything in her. Trust me. She will not leave that door!"
"Kendall!" Jerked from her exclamation of her mother's virtues, Kendall found herself taken completely by surprise when the person in question teetered over to her on her heels, out of breath, and, Kendall would never admit it, almost sweaty. "Have you seen Krystal!"
Aiden shot her a murderous glare, and Kendall blinked, stuttering with surprise. "Mother! What are you doing here! I told you not to leave the hallway!"
Erica straightened her small form. "I saw Krystal in the hallway!" she said, voice edgy. "With a blonde baby boy - the same boy you told me she had stolen! I had to catch up to her-"
"So where is she?"
"She had longer legs," Erica said stiffly. "And she blends in with the help."
"So you lost her."
"Yes, I lost her," Erica answered snippily, ignoring Aiden's dark glare.
"Oh, God..." Kendall breathed, glancing up at the room. "If Babe's still up there-"
"Aiden-" Tad Martin came jogging forward, hands on his hips. "What is going on - are you seriously considering arresting my son?"
--
Bianca's heart was so full it almost hurt.
In this room, she saw her future. Her child, Maggie beside her - it was all there, and so close to becoming a reality.
"Maggie..." Beautiful eyes shifted to meet hers, and Bianca's own delicate heart shuddered at just the emotion that came with looking at her beautiful best friend. She could feel Maggie's touch on her back, Maggie's fingers working into her muscles. Bianca swallowed, trying hard to bring moisture back into her mouth. "What I did," she began hauntingly, "how I acted..." her throat swallowed down the thickness, trying so hard to get the words out. "I'm going to make it up to you."
Maggie's gaze locked onto hers, and Bianca felt a jolt of something, she wasn't sure what it was, as Maggie lowered her eyes, broke their stare, fingers stilling on her back.
"Binks..."
"I mean it," she whispered, Miranda's fingers playing with hers, Maggie's skin soft against her, warm and delicate. "I don't know how, but-"
"Bianca... this isn't the time."
Bianca opened her mouth, ready to fight it, when Maggie turned, jerked behind them, and suddenly Bianca found herself looking straight at J.R., standing in the doorway, staring at them both.
Licking her lips, Bianca's heart shuddered, as she rose to her full height, keeping the playpen behind her.
"Babe was here," he said roughly, stepping into the room, closing the door deliberately behind him.
"She was," Bianca answered, voice suddenly delicate, easy. She jerked a glance at Maggie, the smaller woman swallowing visibly, keeping her place beside her.
J.R. regarded them both, from the way their hands touched to how they were standing in front of Miranda. He saw it all, calculating eyes taking it all in.
"You know," he began suddenly, moving around the furniture. "Whatever she said, it's all lies." Bianca let out a soft breath. "She hates my guts. That's all that matters to her. You do know that, don't you?"
"What she said doesn't matter," Maggie broke in softly. "We wouldn't believe her lies."
J.R. shifted his gaze back at her. "Good," he said tensely, "But it's not like you've been my biggest fan either, Maggie."
"Whatever our differences," she said haltingly, "Trust me, when I said, I've hated Babe more. J.R., there are things that you don't know-"
Bianca's hand descended on Maggie's shoulder, squeezing gently. This wasn't how to fix this. J.R. was about to lose his daughter, and Bianca's heart suddenly bled for him.
She knew what it felt like. She knew what it was like to have your own soul ripped out and shredded.
"J.R., we haven't been close in -- I don't know -- feels like forever." His eyes flickered, obviously distrusting. "Since the hospital, when I took the baby from the nursery." She closed her eyes for a moment, feeling a genuine moment of hurt for that moment. "God, you must have been so scared."
"Yeah..." he said gruffly, "But I understood. You gave the baby back because that was the right thing to do."
Bianca sighed raggedly. "And you had to protect her, which meant keeping her away from me. You love her. I've seen how much you love Miranda."
When Maggie hitched in her breath, gave an audible gasp, when J.R.'s eyes narrowed and grew cold, Bianca knew her mistake, her slip.
"Her name," he breathed furiously, "is BESS." Bianca licked her lips, swallowing hard. "You listened to her? You listened to Babe? Even though she's a liar, you bought it anyway?"
"They weren't lies-"
Bianca again squeezed Maggie's shoulder, shaking her head minutely. "J.R., she began, "this is a horrible shock. I'm so sorry for what you must be going --"
"No, no - NO, Bianca!" J.R. shoved past her, already reaching for Miranda, pulling her baby girl into his arms. "I do not want to hear it. Not from you, not from your girlfriend."
Maggie met her glance with an arched eyebrow, and Bianca still struggled to keep her voice calm. "Look, I've been where you are. I know what you're feeling. I have felt all that pain. But if Maggie and I can just talk to you for a minute, I think that we can help you understand. J.R., there's still --"
"Help me with what? Help me how, how, how? By telling me more of Babe's lies? No. Bess and I know better than that now."
"Her name is Miranda." Maggie's voice was cold. "Get used to it."
"Shut the fuck up, Maggie."
"Okay!" Bianca said, hands up, keep Maggie from responding, even as her feisty friend's eyes flashed, and her mouth hardened. "Okay, okay- J.R.? I'm sorry. Look - I've felt what you're feeling, but you need to hear the truth. If you could just listen for one minute --"
"Why?" he snapped. "So you can convince me that my baby died in the river? Never!"
"NO," she breathed. "That's the last thing I want to do-"
"My baby is alive," he rasped. "Do you hear me? I have choked, I have gagged long enough on Babe's lies. I'm not doing it anymore."
"Babe is a liar," Maggie said thickly. "She's a skank, and a bitch. We're not asking you to believe her lies, we're asking you to believe the truth. The truth I know - the truth I have proof of."
J.R.'s mouth straightened into a thin line.
"I'm sorry, J.R.," Bianca whispered, eyes suddenly moist with emotion. "This little girl, this baby -" she reached for a small, booted foot. J.R. stepped back, not letting her touch. Bianca sighed raggedly. "She's Miranda. But your baby -- it's not what you think, J.R. We can help you with your child."
"You -- you can help me, Bianca? A plate of crazy to go?" Bianca blinked, suddenly lost in J.R.'s venom. "You called Bess Miranda. You're freaking nuts. You think you can waltz out of here with my kid just because some piece of trash and your little dyke girlfriend fed you some lies that you swallowed whole?" Bianca couldn't move, the assault taking her completely by surprise. "Why? Why? Because you're a head case? Because you can't cope with the real world? Yeah, a lost cause ever since that sleaze Cambias raped you. But now -- now you want me to believe that this baby, this beautiful, perfect angel is a bastard spawn from some sicko rapist?" She felt the words tear into her, and still, she couldn't move. "As if anybody could love something like that. So if you want to wallow in that fantasy, you're going to have to do that all by yourself, because you're not coming anywhere near my child. So why don't you and Maggie just turn around and get the hell out of here."
--
Bianca hated her. Bianca hated her.
She knew it would happen. She knew it was coming, and she knew she deserved it, but it didn't stop the hurt. The desperation.
If she had gotten to explain, if somehow she could have come up with the courage to tell her before Maggie had discovered the truth, maybe Bianca could have had a prayer of understanding, maybe Babe's dream, growing old with Bianca, with their babies, it would have come truth.
But none of Babe's ever came true, not through manipulation, not through hope, and another dream lay at her feet, crumpled and shattered.
Bianca had her baby, and now she had Maggie, the self professed love of her life.
She didn't want or need Babe.
Babe hurried into the hotel room, eyes burning with tears.
"Babe!"
She turned, found her mother, rushing forward to take her baby James in her arms.
"Oh, my Lord, Babe!" She ignored her mother's surprise at the abuse her face had taken, jerking her chin out of her mother's fingers, instead focusing on holding her baby boy, holding him so tightly. "What did they do to you?"
"Nothing I didn't deserve," she managed gruffly. "Where's Jamie!"
"Honey, the cops got him." Krystal grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to look into her mother's eyes. "I know you love him, but now you have to go. You have to go and give this little boy the life he deserves. If you stay -"
"I'm not going to leave Jamie-"
"He's in custody, don't you get it Babe? He's goin' to jail. You find him, you're goin' with him. And J.R. will find this little boy and he will take him from you. You can't let him do that."
"Bianca knows the truth," she breathed. "She knows, Mama. Maggie told her before I could-"
Krystal sucked in her breath, "And Erica Kane knows. And Kendall Hart, and honey, they're all gonna come after us. We have to go- You gotta go-"
The door jerked opened, startling her, as David stepped into the room. "It's bad," he told them. "Tad's there with the police - he's spilling everything- he's going to try to get Jamie out of this by blaming you."
"Tad wouldn't do that," Krystal breathed.
"He would do anything to save his son," David snapped, "Just like what we did to save our daughter, Krystal."
Babe stood, terrified, silent. "I can't leave Jamie," she whispered.
"Honey, Jamie would want you to go-" Krystal breathed. "We gotta go, honey. We gotta go!"
--
"Come on," Kendall breathed, pulling on her mother, walking fast as Aiden continued to argue with Tad, "We can't waste time."
They moved fast to the elevator, as Kendall poked the button, waiting impatiently.
In the silence, she heard, "You know what's funny about both you and me?" Kendall blinked, turning back to her mother, to discover an odd smile on her face. "We try very hard to be good, we try so hard to be nice. But every once in a while --"
Kendall couldn't help a small smirk from emerging. "We fall off the bitch wagon."
"It's in our genes. What can I say? It's one of the reasons I love you so much."
Her mother's affection was something she couldn't quite stop wanting more of, and somehow, was always afraid would be taken away. But her mother loved her, and Kendall's heart suddenly felt like the Grinch's, erupting another size in her heart.
"Well, let's try and put some of that to good use," she said thickly, staring at the elevator door. "Maybe, together, we can make J.R. hear the truth."
"He'll have no choice," Erica whispered. "Miranda is Bianca's baby. J.R. will have to accept that."
"J.R.'s never been one to accept anything," Kendall answered back, just as quietly. "He'll fight this."
"And we'll fight him."
Kendall sucked in her breath, eyes closing for a brief moment.
They kept waiting for the elevator.
end chapter