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-THREE

Sick and tired of this world
There's no more air
Trippin' over myself
Goin' nowhere
Waiting
Suffocating
No direction
And I took a dive

And on the way down
I saw you
And you saved me
From myself
And I won't forget
The way you loved me
On the way down
Almost fell right through
But I held onto you

-- Ryan Cabrera, On the Way Down

J.R.'s verbal assault affected Maggie - but not how he wanted.

His tainted words, dripping with poison, ripped into her, like a blinding force that left her stunned, and suddenly, in the silence that followed his hurtful, spiteful speech, the anger came.

It shuddered into her, making her tremble, but his words didn't affect her for her. Her mother's words came at her in the form of J.R.'s tone, and it was enough cause something to snap, her loyalty to her best friend only increasing the sudden rage.

"You God-damn son of a bitch," she breathed, sucking in every word with intense feeling. "Who the HELL do you think you are?" Her eyes flashed venomously, her hands balled into fists, and already, she was moving, eyes trained on J.R. and that baby in his hands that wasn't his - "You arrogant, soulless, hypocritical ASSHOLE-"

"Maggie-"

Hands landed firmly on her shoulder, and suddenly Bianca was in front of her, blocking her vision, shifting her focus.

"Get out of my way, Bianca-"

"No."

Her soul shuddered with irritation. "Are you seriously going to defend him, too?" she snapped, shaking off Bianca's hold with a shove of her palms against her own.

"NO!" Bianca's tone was harsh, frustrated. "Of course not! But that baby girl in his hands is mine, and I'm not going to put her in the middle of this-"

Maggie was breathing hard, she was hot and sweaty, and her blood was boiling, but Bianca's determined face, and her hard voice actually managed to strike some sort of reason inside of her.

Ripping her gaze from Bianca's dark eyes, she shut her mouth, breathing hard through her nose, inhaling deeply, trying to bring her emotions down to a simmer.

J.R. was staring at her defiantly, Miranda protectively in his arms.

"I mean it," he ground out. "Leave."

Maggie swallowed, stepping suddenly around Bianca, grabbing her purse, forgotten on the couch until now.

"Fine," she managed thickly. "You want to play the crazy game of denial, your river rat? Fine. But I have proof." Producing the paper, the precious results, Maggie unfolded it with a crisp snap, and thrust it into his face. Hesitation creased over his eyes, she saw it, and she raised her chin, squaring her jaw, and again, thrusting. "Take it."

After a moment, he did.

--

Maggie and Bianca were around here somewhere, and wherever they were, J.R. was sure to follow, Babe was already there.

Aiden was distracted, battling instinct and concern, jerking his head over to the elevator and the waiting Kane women, hands on his hips.

It was only for his old friend that he kept still, taking in the rage on Tad's face, as his mentor and hero stared at him with deep brown eyes.

"Jamie is not a criminal," he whispered furiously. "You've got nothing to hold him!"

Aiden pressed his lips together, shaking his head, riddled with very real conflict. "I know you love your son, Tad. The last thing I want is to put him in jail. But he kidnapped a child, he kept another from Bianca, I can't just tell the police to look the other way-"

"My son was trying to do the best thing he could under the circumstances," Tad came forward, even closer now, "Don't you get that?"

There was a wildness in Tad's eyes, a desperation, and Aiden blinked, suddenly focused on that precise emotion. He breathed in, studying the face, and as it sunk in, what it was he was looking at, he suddenly found the truth.

Tad was riddled with guilt.

"You knew," he managed suddenly, frozen suddenly. "You've known the truth all this time."

Tad's mouth pressed together, and when he stepped forward, Aiden stepped back, blinking back his disbelief, shaking through his sudden bitter disappointment, sucking in a choked sob of bitter laughter. "You hid the truth to protect your son?"

"No." Tad's Adam's apple bobbed, and when he stepped forward, tried to hold onto Aiden and his fading loyalty, Aiden stepped back just as quickly, overwhelmed. The movement didn't go unnoticed. Tad's hands fell slowly to his side, palmed into desperate fists. "I was trying to handle this," he whispered furiously. "I was trying to do this right, Aiden, as painless as possible-"

"Do you remember what Bianca went through?" Aiden interrupted. Emotion flared inside of him, making him burn with sudden anger. "There is no way to make this painless, Tad! A child was taken from a woman who had her innocence stolen from her! A sweet and noble girl who gave all her loyalty to the woman who kept her child from her! And your son HELPED her hide that!"

"I never said it was right," Tad said, "But you should have come to me. You should have trusted me -"

He snorted, licking his lips in a sudden jolt of furious resigned stiltedness. "Would you have asked me to keep quiet about it?" Tad said nothing, and Aiden's head jerked in a sudden shake, disbelieving once again. "You know who my girlfriend is! You know what Bianca means to Maggie, to Kendall, to Anita, to me, to every important person in my LIFE."

"I wouldn't have asked you to lie."

"Good." His voice was crisp, stark, and Aiden stepped back, away from his former mentor, his former hero. "Because I wouldn't have."

Without another word, Aiden walked away from him.

--

J.R. surprised her.

He let Maggie speak, holding onto Miranda with one hand, looking at the paper with the other. There was no emotion in his face, just a hard, closed expression that worried Bianca more than any rage.

What Maggie was telling him - she didn't believe it, she hadn't believed it, and had nearly lost everything as a result.

Now, she was on the cusp, on the verge of having everything, and still, she wouldn't allow herself to be selfish, head strong. Not anymore.

She had done enough of that, for the sake of Babe, and now, for the first time since her Babe colored glasses had been ripped off, she saw the boy who had been her friend, hidden deep inside a hurt and angry man, bitter from the countless women who had taken his love and abused him - his mother, who had died, leaving him behind -

Bianca swallowed, remembering suddenly her own father, his death like an unhealed blister on her heart.

And Babe.

And now, they were asking him to let go of the only woman he believed in, his own little girl.

J.R. kept staring at the chart, and when Maggie paused, Bianca caught her glance, shaking her head slightly, indicating it was her own turn to step in.

Maggie licked her lips, but somehow seemed to trust her, as Bianca sucked in a hesitant breath.

"J.R... Babe lied to us both - but we can a happy ending. We can make this happen for us both."

J.R. was still deathly silent, still, looking up from the results to Bianca, to Maggie. His eyes were cool slate, and they were impossible to read.

Silence lay thick with tension, and Bianca kept her hands tangled together, eyes on J.R., eyes on her beautiful little girl, desperate to will herself not to panic, not to snap.

"I'm sorry," he said suddenly. "I'm sorry about what I said." Beside her, Maggie's look was confused, suspicious, but Bianca only shook her head minutely, eyes on J.R. "I just... I swore I wouldn't believe another word that Babe told me."

"We're not asking you to listen to Babe," Bianca breathed. "But to listen to Maggie. To Aiden. They're honest and good."

J.R. let out a sigh, wrapped both arms around Miranda and breathed her eyes, eyes closing in conflict.

Suddenly, he opened them again. "Can we talk?" Bianca blinked, confused. "Just the two of us," he whispered.

"I'm not leaving." Maggie's tone was flat.

"I'm not asking you to." J.R.'s throat was thick with constricted emotion. "Look, I'll even leave... I'll leave the baby here." Carefully, he pressed a distracted kiss on Miranda's head, settling her into the play pen. "And you and I - Bianca, we'll go out there." The balcony, sliding glass door half open, awaited them. "Maybe we can talk, just us."

Maggie sucked in her breath, obviously suspicious, but Bianca smiled stiffly, and nodded.

If this was how to handle this, she would at least try it.

"I'll be fine," she told her, reaching to squeeze Maggie's palm gently, letting go just as quickly. "Take care of my baby girl."

There was one look, intense and worried, but Maggie nodded, and Bianca trusted her implicitly.

J.R. was already moving onto the balcony, and taking in a deep breath, Bianca followed.

--

"Oh, COME on!"

The furious exclamation wasn't the most lady-like thing Kendall had ever mustered, but Kendall couldn't have really given a single rat's ass.

She hated kids.

Blowing an unruly curl out of her hair, Kendall stiffened, sending an icy glare at the little brat that was hopping up and down in the elevator.

"AGAIN!" he chirped to his father.

Kendall had never been so close to murder in her life. "Listen - brat-"

The father shot her a glare. "Is that how you talk to children!"

"It is when they're being hysterical BRATS!" her mother answered, a snippy tone biting off her words.

The man huffed up, and before Kendall could reach in and drag him and the kid out, the door closed on them.

"AUGH." Slapping her hands on her side, Kendall tossed her hair, eyeing the exit. "You know what? Let's just take the stairs. It's just one floor."

Erica Kane gave her an antagonistic look.

"What?" Kendall sputtered.

"Have you actually SEEN my heels?" Erica asked, pointing one pristinely manicured finger down to her three inch heels. "I have spent nearly an hour running after Krystal and her cheap Payless pumps. We are taking the elevator."

"Okay," Kendal breathed, trying to be purposely calm. "How about you go barefoot?"

"I'm going to pretend you didn't actually suggest such a thing."

Kendall was going to kill something. Fast. "Mother-"

And suddenly Erica squealed, when she was tipped over sideways and cradled in the arms of a virile and handsome young man, wearing a frown and a concentrated face.

"The stairs," Aiden ordered, already carrying Erica towards the destination. "Now."

Kendall thanked GOD for virile young men.

--

Miranda looked at her with big, beautiful eyes, a golden glint inside the brown flecks that made her smile awkwardly.

Maggie glanced over to the balcony, and sucked in her breath, forcing herself to look away.

J.R. wouldn't try anything - he wouldn't. Deep down he was a coward, and there wasn't much that could happen on a balcony. Not when Miranda was with her.

"Hi," she told the baby. Miranda was poker faced, little mouth pressed against the cushioned rail of the playpen, regarding her with an odd stare, unsure quite what to make of her. "I'm Maggie," she informed the baby, and then gently reached over and tapped the little sticky fingers, an odd mimic of a handshake. "You and I used to know each other."

Miranda's eyes were wide, and Maggie found herself smiling in spite of herself, heart swelling unexpectedly.

"I wish you knew me," she whispered, throat suddenly gruff. "I really do. I loved you so much, I still love you..." Maggie's smile trembled, and she sucked in her breath, tried to control her emotion, and managed to hold the grin, exaggerated for beautiful Miranda, who twisted on her chubby legs, and reattached her mouth to the plastic of her playpen, babbling something in all seriousness.

The gesture made Maggie suddenly choke down a sob soaked laugh.

"It's nice to meet you."

--

Outside, the humid Florida air had cooled, leaving behind a breeze that seemed almost sticky, as it drifted against her, like tendrils, picking up cold blasts through her brown strands, making her want to shiver.

She resisted the urge, instead put her hands on the wooden railings for support, taking a moment for a breath, a small, uneven respite from the craziness of this day, this weekend, the last nine months.

J.R. was quiet beside her, the fabric of his sweater brushing against hers, as he let out an exhalation of his own.

"See the moon?" he asked suddenly, penetrating the stillness with a gruff voice, crystal eyes suddenly risen, staring into the brilliant sky, made clear by the absence of clouds. "All the stars? All I can see is the future, and it scares me." Bianca bit her lip, but kept quiet, as he glanced down at the piece of paper in his hands. "That little girl has been my daughter since the very first moment she was born. That is my reality, Bianca." His voice shook a little, as he turned his head and looked at her. "That's my reality -- Bess' daddy."

Miranda, she fought the urge to correct.

She kept her voice gentle, even as her eyes closed. "I know this is hard to accept."

J.R. was quiet beside her, obviously thinking. "Bianca, the first time I held her in my arms, it was like... it was like finally, FINALLY, something good has happened in my life. Something that was worthwhile where everything made sense."

"I know," she whispered, eyes suddenly stinging with emotion. "But it was all based on a lie, J.R."

"From a woman who does nothing but lie?"

"No," Bianca whispered. "J.R., I didn't want to believe it - I didn't want to believe it either, but you have the truth, right there. In your hands."

Slate eyes drifted down to the piece of paper. Broad hands drifted over it, wrinkling the edges, smoothing it out to look at the little bars, looking like black bugs against the white paper.

"My mother went away and she never came back. The baby that she was carrying -- my sister -- gone. I just -- I can't lose anymore, Bianca. I'm such an idiot."

She narrowed her eyes, suddenly hesitant when she noted the odd tone. "J.R.-"

"I'm not letting you take my baby, Bianca."

She blinked, the cold words edged in ice, causing a sudden shake of her heart that was painful, frightening. "J.R., she's not your baby. Your baby is a boy, and he's alive."

"You think I'm going to fall for any more of Babe's lies?"

"They're not lies!" she snapped, voice erupting in a shout. "You have proof!"

"Proof?" he sneered, and suddenly Bianca's eyes widened in horror, as the paper in his hands was suddenly shredded, torn to bits and flung off the balcony. "That's what I think of your 'proof', Bianca. You think I trust Maggie? Aiden? You?"

She swallowed hard, suddenly lost in her own defense mechanism, her judgment of J.R. "I should have known you wouldn't change. I've seen you in action too many times."

"Yeah? Who invited me, or tricked down here, you self-righteous bitch?" He pushed off the railing, jerking around her. "Stay here, Bianca! I'm taking my daughter -"

She tried to move, follow him, but a strong push held her into place. "Get out of my way!" she snapped.

"I'm getting my daughter, and I'm getting out of here." J.R. once again held her, struggling to keep her on the balcony. Hands grabbed her own brutally, desperate to hold her in place. "Just try and stop me, Bianca."

--

Babe had nothing left but the beautiful treasure in her arms.

She stared down at Baby James, at the beautiful blue eyes, and the soft downy blonde hair, as her little boy curled into her embrace, looked up at her with such purity and innocence.

She didn't deserve to hold him.

Shuddering with disgust at herself, Babe closed her eyes, felt the tears slip down her cheeks, as she jerked her chin away from her father.

"I need to face up to what I've done," she whispered, "I want this to be over now."

"No, Babe-" Her mother grabbed her, sharp nails digging into her shoulders, and utterly lost, Babe looked deep into her beautiful mother's eyes, the flash of brilliance, the survivalist nature that she gleaned so much from. "You can't - you're life, it's not yours, anymore - it's James-"

"And Jamie was going to be his father," Babe whispered. "We were a family." Sucking in her breath, she closed her eyes, and felt her heart swell, deflate, literally ache with hurt. "If I go to Jamie, maybe I can save him-"

"By turning yourself in!" David snapped, behind her, hands on her shoulders, her parents trapping her between them. "By giving them all the proof they need? If they catch you, if they catch James, Jamie will go to jail, Babe- right now, all they have is heresay."

Babe blinked, confused, head ringing with her mother and father's words, battling with her bruised heart. "No," she managed. "No - I can tell them it was all my fault. They can let him go because he didn't do -"

"He helped kidnap your boy, Babe!" Krystal snapped. "And if they catch you they'll take Baby James and then you'll both be in jail and that baby will end up with J.R.- is that what you want? Is that the happy ending you want to give your precious baby?"

Lip trembling with emotion, Babe stared down at her baby, her life, the only thing she had left.

"Momma, I love Jamie, I can't just-"

"We're wasting time," David breathed. "GO - both of you. Krystal! Take her!"

Her mind was swimming, Babe found herself herded along, lost and scared and carrying a broken heart.

"Momma," she breathed, as the events happened around her, the baby taken out of her arms, placed in the stroller, her mother's hands on her waist, pushing- "Momma, NO!"

"YES," Krystal snapped in her ear. "I'm not gonna lose you or that baby to the Chandlers or to jail-"

"GO-" David told her, and Babe's tears kept falling.

She had no choice but to follow her mother. It was habit, and Babe had nothing left.

--

She had her palms pressed against her eyes, engaged in a game of peek-a-boo with the now-giggling Miranda, when she heard the shouts.

Jerking her head toward the door, Maggie's senses erupted into sudden fear, complete instinct, as she rose to her feet, and without a second thought, burst for the glass window, a low cry ripped from her throat.

"J.R.!"

"Let me GO!"

"Get over it, Bianca!"

She struggled hard, her tiny body doing what she could against J.R.'s compact, muscled form. Pushed back, Maggie stumbled, nearly falling, but ran forward again, wrapping arms around J.R.'s waist, pulling with all her tiny might, trying to keep J.R. from getting the best of Bianca, trying to get them both inside.

--

Shouts. Distinct. Loud. Panicked.

Kendall heard them, and they went straight to her spine, creating a chill that rolled up, tensing her body.

"Oh, God-" she whispered. "AIDEN!"

Dark eyes met her own, and suddenly, Erica Kane was nearly dropped, and they were racing for the door, the hotel room that was filled with the cacophony of voices and struggle.

Aiden got there first, pounding on the door with heavy fists. "Maggie! Bianca!"

Pushing in beside him, Kendall's heart fluttered with panic. "BIANCA! J.R.!"

The door was locked.

Casting a panicked look at her mother, Kendall turned back to the door, back to Aiden.

--

It happened in less than a second. J.R., fighting to be let in, pushed too hard, and he didn't see it, but Maggie, beside him, eyes glued to her struggling best friend, did.

One strong push, and Bianca stumbled back, so fast - heading for the wooden railing-

"Bianca!"

She stumbled around him, arching her back and just managing to catch hold of a wrist, jerked forward when the wood broke with Bianca's weight-

"J.R.!"

Her arm felt torn out of it's socket, and Maggie slid, off her feet, pain shooting into her brain as her chin cracked against the ground, and still, she kept sliding fast, left hand holding tightly to Bianca, the other fumbling for purchase, trying to keep them both from going over.

Foreign fingers fumbled as she dangled on the edge, and Maggie's breathless gasps jerked from Bianca to see J.R., straining as he held onto the tips of her fingers, arm flexing as he tried to hold onto her and the screen door, keep them all from going over.

But his fingers were sweaty, and Maggie's heart thudded with panic as she glanced down at the ground below, discovering her best friend hanging below her, clutching onto her hand, ready to tear her in two with her weight.

Lose Bianca or lose herself.

"Hold on!"

Maggie held on as long as she could to J.R., and when her fingers finally slid out of their slippery hold, she glanced down and looked directly at Bianca.

In that precious second, she gazed into brown eyes, sucked in her breath, and told herself she couldn't let go.

Led by Bianca's weight, Maggie followed Bianca, over the edge, all the way down.

--

Aiden had lost patience with the banging, and as every muscle tensed, he finally just shouted at Kendall to move away, and with a surge of power and a yell, slammed his foot in a powerful kick just above the doorknob, breaking into the lock and sending the wooden door crashing open.

In the room, there was a baby in a play pen, and a panicked young man standing in the doorway, eyes wide and semi-hysterical.

"I tried to help them," J.R. breathed.

Aiden stood for a second, horrified, until he saw the open window, the broken rail, heard the screams below.

"Oh, my God-" he breathed.

--

Kendall couldn't move, even as Aiden turned and ran from the room, even as her mother cried hysterically at J.R., screaming at what he let happen.

"Oh, my God..."

J.R. looked at her, beseechingly, as Kendall felt her fear return, the overtaken paranoia that any minute, her family would be stolen from her, her precious sister would be robbed from her, just as her innocence had killed her that day, again and again, and again.

"Kendall," J.R. breathed, "I swear, I didn't- I tried to help them-"

She was shaking now, trembling, as she reached for Miranda and held her baby niece close, tears streaming down her face as Erica already came back into the room-

"Kendall! She fell! They fell, Kendall-!"

Miranda was crying, her baby wails making Kendall's blood rush, cradling the baby to her. "Don't touch her," she hissed, when J.R. stepped forward.

When she rushed out the door with her mother, he followed. Kendall didn't care.

--

Hours or seconds of nothing, and suddenly Maggie's eyes shot open, and she sucked in her breath, as if she hadn't taken in any oxygen in hours.

Around her, there were screams, a myriad of chaos.

Her mind was splintering, hammers jerking into her skull, and she tasted blood on her tongue. Her left ankle seemed bent oddly, and as she continued to breathe, Maggie nearly sobbed when a spike of excruciating pain slammed into her side, made worse when she pressed her palm to it.

Tangled legs and entwined arms pushed it all away.

"Bianca..."

They were nearly spooned, falling so closely together, Maggie was almost on top of her best friend.

Breathing past the pain, Maggie curled onto her side, cradling the woman who had taken the fall with her, palm moving fast across her face. "Bianca, honey-" Fear stained her voice, as Maggie choked on her tears and her fear. "Bianca."

Eyelids fluttered, dull brown eyes saw her out, focused, just barely.

She sucked in another stabbing breath, smiled through her tears. "Hey..."

"Maggie..."

The voice was weak, but Bianca's fingers found hers, clutched her hand so tightly, and her grip was strong. So strong.

"Breathe," Maggie whispered, closing her eyes and breathing into Bianca's temple, willfully ignoring the red blood seeping against her fingertips, as her free arm curled around Bianca's head, sticky and hot. "You just got the wind knocked out of you, Binks, you're gonna be okay- but you have to breathe-"

Bianca's breaths were noisy, but she managed a weird smile, even as her eyes were closing, and Maggie held on tightly to her friend, suddenly dissolving into hysterical sobs.

People crowded around her - familiar faces, screaming her name, screaming Bianca's name, crying with her, shouting for ambulances and police, touching her, and touching Bianca.

She couldn't concentrate on them.

Her focus stayed on Bianca's grip, her palm in hers, holding on so tightly.

Even in her unconscious state, Bianca never let go.

end chapter