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-Eight
I
try to discover
A little something to make me sweeter
Oh baby
refrain from breaking my heart
I'm so in love with you
I'll
be forever blue
That you give me no reason
Why you're making
me work so hard
That you give me no
That you give me
no
That you give me no
That you give me no
Soul, I hear
you calling
Oh baby please give a little respect to me
And
if I should falter
Would you open your arms out to me
We can
make love not war
And live at peace in our hearts
I'm so in
love with you
I'll be forever blue
What religion or
reason
Could drive a man to forsake his lover
Don't you
tell me no
Don't you tell me no
Don't you tell me no
Don't
you tell me no
Soul, I hear you calling
Oh baby please give
a little respect to me
-- A Little Respect, Erasure
Kendall on a calm day was hard to take.
Kendall on a bad day?
Maggie wasn't in the mood.
Closing her eyes, she prayed for patience, blowing out her breath, fingers against her temple, feeling already the pound of the monster migraine.
"Kendall," she began slowly, "Really. Now is NOT the time."
"Do you really think I care what you think or want right now?"
Eyes opening, Maggie rubbed lightly at her aching ribs, turning to stare at Bianca's sister, eyes burning with righteous anger, already throwing down her coat and purse like challenge in a duel.
Absorbing Kendall's first entering rant, Maggie blinked, suddenly confused.
"Did you just call me a confused litigious bitch?"
Kendall didn't hear her, too caught up in her own distorted interpretation of what the hell she thought had happened. "You know, Maggie - I knew things were fishy. I knew something was weird between you two-"
Unfortunately, Maggie was a little too absorbed in trying to make sense of what Kendall had accused her off. "Okay, I'll give you confused," she began, grimacing as she rose off the couch, "And I'll even give you bitch, if we ignore the glaring 'pot calling the kettle black' thing. But litigious!"
"Yes, litigious!"
She stared, bewildered. "Kendall, litigious means 'prone to sue'."
"Now you want to sue!"
This conversation was quickly bordering on the surreal. "No, I'm not going to sue-"
"After the money my mother gave you for all your little 'efforts'-"
"Kendall-"
"Which I think was a tad generous considering what the hell you did-"
"Kendall, SHUT UP!" she finally burst, waving as well as she could with just her one arm. "Just SHUSH! STOP.TALKING."
The sharp tone in her voice, at the very least, managed to put a break on Kendall's runaway tirade.
Uncertain, Kendall wrung her hands together, and squared her jaw. "You shut up."
Maggie stared at her blankly. "... It's like trying to argue with a twelve year old."
"Excuse me?"
Shutting her eyes tightly, Maggie tried hard to still the incredible emotion that was starting to rise into her chest, tightening it, shortening her breath.
"Okay," she began again, managing to begin again calmly, "First things first. Kendall? I'm not going to sue you. Or Bianca. Or anyone. Okay? Relax."
"Relax?" Kendall repeated. "You want me to relax? You break my baby sister's heart - you make her look like a stalker at her own party, and you want me to relax?"
Maggie let out an uneasy breath.
"And for the record? Litigious also means prone to dispute, okay!"
"IN COURT!" Maggie snapped, head jerking up. "DISPUTE IN COURT!"
"What is the point!"
"I HAVE NO IDEA."
They fell into a confused silence, both women staring at each other warily, unsure exactly where this conversation was supposed to go.
"I thought better of you," Kendall said finally, her voice softer now. Maggie squinted, tilting her head. "I thought that if you and my sister... if you would ever... it would have stuck." Her breath suddenly came in short pants, as Maggie suddenly couldn't look at Kendall. "I thought you loved her. I didn't think you'd do to her what every confused straight bitch did to her before."
Kendall's disappointment was worse than her anger. It did something to her - bit into her wounds like salt and lemon, and as angry tears suddenly flooded to her face, she could only shake her head, completely lost.
"What?" she asked quietly.
"You heard me," Kendall returned. "You made her look like an idiot - you got over your little crush and now have your hot boyfriend and your perfect life, leaving my sister in the dust like some cast off."
"Shut up." The phrase was intense, dangerous. Quiet. "Does my life LOOK perfect to you?" A perfect tear slid down her cheek, and Maggie didn't bother to wipe it away. "LOOK AT ME, Kendall! Look at this FUCKING cast, and this FUCKING ARM! THAT is what your sister's love did to me."
Stepping forward, hobbling on her plastered foot, Maggie's naked eyes were brimming with white hot emotion, in pain and uncaring now.
"Did your precious sister tell you what happened the night before Florida?"
Kendall looked out of her element, stunned into answering quietly. "She told me you kissed."
"Yeah!" Maggie shook her head bitterly. "She kissed me. I kissed her back, and she told me she loved me - even though Lena broke up with her first. Even though I told her MONTHS ago that I loved her and she turned me down - SHE LOVED ME. She told me and she asked me to believe her and I DID." Kendall's face didn't change. "So I asked her to stay with me. I asked her to stay with me that night. To be with me. Fuck everything else. And do you know that she did? She called me a liar. She told me I had no right to ask her that, and then she LEFT. To her precious Babe." Kendall's mouth opened, then closed. Maggie only shuddered, wiping at her tears. "Think whatever you want. But do not come into my house. Into my perfect fucking life, and tell me this was all my fault. Your sister got her baby back. Your sister got her happy ending. Just do me a fucking favor Kendall - let her have hers, and leave me the fuck alone."
There was dead silence, Maggie's heavy breathing the only audible sound, until the seconds ticked by and behind Kendall, appeared her boyfriend, head down.
"Maggie, I forgot my keys-" Glancing up, Aiden nearly stumbled into the skinny Kane woman, blinking in surprise. "Kendall?" Intelligent eyes moved from Kendall to Maggie, as she shut her mouth and bit her lip, unable to hide her anger or her emotion. "Kendall, what are you doing here?"
"She was just leaving," Maggie said frankly, eyes on Kendall, as Aiden came to stand beside her, hand on her shoulder, intent on protecting his girlfriend.
"Kendall, Maggie needs to rest."
Kendall blinked at the both, and suddenly, did something very surprising. She smiled.
"No! I was just leaving!" Grinning from ear to ear, she gathered her coat and her purse, folding them into her arms. "Thank you, Maggie! That was... exactly what I needed to hear."
Unsure, Maggie blinked, caught up in surprise when Kendall smacked a loud kiss on her cheek, and then did the same to Aiden.
"Guys! An absolute pleasure. Really! Both of you! Have a great day! I'm... I'm gonna go!" Flashing them a thumbs up, Kendall backed out of the room, arching a friendly eyebrow as she swung the door shut behind her.
Left behind and utterly bewildered, Maggie found herself suddenly frazzled, confused, and battling a monster headache.
"What was that about?"
Maggie blinked, craning her head up to meet Aiden's gaze. "You know what?" she answered honestly. "I still have no idea."
--
Her mind was an utter whirlwind, and Kendall was caught up in the utter heartbreak on Maggie's face.
She had never been so happy to see someone so miserable in her life.
"Thank, GOD," she whispered to herself, swerving her car into Bianca's parking space, shutting off the ignition with a jerk and pushing open the car door, pulling herself out of it and clattering fast to the elevator, waiting for it impatiently.
Her phone rang, and struggling to hold herself together, she answered it with a click. "What?"
"You know you're not getting away this easily. I need you."
Her eyes rolled upwards. "Greenlee, now is not the time."
"I can't do this alone, Kendall!"
"You can't do anything alone! You're like a child with special needs."
"You know if Ryan's brother chops me up in pieces and eats me, it's going to be all your fault, right?"
"And I'll feel horrible about it," she snapped insincerely. "Really." Cutting the conversation short with a finger on the 'end' button, Kendall waited expectantly until the doors opened, stepping confidently onto Bianca's floor, when she suddenly faltered.
There was a really loud, really old, really eighties song pulsing just beyond her door.
"What the hell?"
Moving forward, Kendall wrapped her palm around the doorknob, shaking it and discovering it open.
Frowning, she pushed, opening the door only to make it louder, eyes widening at the assault on her eyes and ears.
Dancing a little wobbly in the middle of her living room, was her baby sister, holding her child in her arms, while the usually very proper Anita Santos, stood on Bianca's formerly pristine couch, shaking and shimmying her hips.
"I'M SOOOOOOOOOOO IN LOVE WITH YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-" Bianca crooned, eyes shut tight as she clutched Miranda to her. "I'll be forever BLUUUUUUUUUUUUUE."
"Oh my God," she breathed.
"That you give me no-" Pointing straight up at Anita, Bianca looked lost in her emotion, as Anita pointed back, the two of them really getting into the chorus, like two slightly drunk, very white, Pointer sisters. "that you give me no - THAT YOU GIVE ME NO-"
"Okay..." Struck senseless, Kendall finally seemed to gather her head, shaking herself out of her stunned horror to come forward.
"Why you making me WORK SO HARD!"
"Bianca!" Snapping her fingers, Kendall tried to grab hold of Miranda, Bianca's daughter wide-eyed and wearing a goofy smile, at the very list amused by her mother's antics.
"Kendall!" Bianca looked breathless, smile creasing over her flushed cheeks. "Sing with us!"
"You know? I'm good - can I just- can I have her?" Jerking the baby out of Bianca's grasp, she pressed a kiss to the baby's head, moving fast into the nursery. "Okay, as a person who once hid in a box to overhear my lover and his fake wife, I don't have a lot of right saying this," she whispered to the baby, "But your mommy is going to deserve that hell of a hangover she's going to get tomorrow morning when you cry."
Giggling, Miranda seemed to agree, as Kendall placed her in her crib. Swiveling onto her back, Miranda grabbed her socked feet, grinning cheekily up at her.
"Welcome to the Kanes, kid," she told her affectionately, before taking a breath, and glancing back. "Now let's deal with your crazy Momma."
Anita and Bianca's drunk harmony was now at the top of their lungs, and the saints of Pine Valley clutched at each other drunkenly, swaying together.
"Souuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuul! I hear you caaaaaaaaaaaaaalinggggggggg!"
"Okay!" Kendall said, snapping her fingers. "Party's over!"
"Oh baby PLEAAAAAAAAAAAAASE! GIVE A LITTLE RESPEEEECT TOOOOO MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
"Aiden, Maggie," she whispered under her breath, giving up on trying to separate the two, and now searching for the stereo. "For this? You deserve each other." Finding the button, she let out a sigh of relief, snapping the power button. Thankfully, the new wave retro thing died down immediately. Anita and Bianca took a little longer.
"Mee-Meee- Hey..." Bianca stopped swaying, searching the room. "What happened to the music."
"Hello." Kendall wore a severe frown, hands clasped together as both women finally looked at her. "Welcome back to the land of the sane."
"Kendall?"
"Yeah." Twiddling her fingers in greeting, she came forward, disentangling them both from each other. "Can I ask who had the great idea to raid the liquor cabinet?"
"I just had three glasses!" Anita said, pointing to her empty cup, peering into it, as if disappointed t here wasn't any more.
"I had four," Bianca said, sinking into the couch, pressing her glass into Kendall's hand. "Can you get me some more?"
"Uh... you know what? NO." Kendall grabbed the cups from both women, returning them back to the wooden cabinet. "I think you both have had enough. God," she continued under her breath. "The two women with the least amount of tolerance in Pine Valley... and I had to find them." Turning back to them, she discovered Bianca was now at the stereo. "NO! Leave that alone!"
"But I want to hear the song again-"
"If you play it again, Binks, I love you, but God help me, you'll be dead."
"Kendall, you're mean."
"You are mean." Anita looked up at her, puzzled. "You're nice and you're mean. I don't get it."
"That's because you're slow," Kendall reminded her, pushing Bianca down, and then ignoring the Santos sister completely, focusing on her sister. "Okay, Binks? You can't be this drunk - I need you to listen to me."
"No- I just want to-"
"BIANCA!" Grabbing her sister's hands, Kendall jerked her back toward her. "You really have to hear this."
"I don't want to think about anything, Kendall - I want to see Miranda - OH MY GOD!" Bianca's eyes snapped open. "Where's my baby!"
"She's fine! She's in the nursery."
"Are you sure!"
"Yes!"
"I'm going to go check-"
"NO! Binks, I put her there myself-" Bianca stared at her uncertainly. "I promise." Bianca, at least, still had enough sense to trust her, settling dubiously back onto the couch. "Bianca - I went to go see Maggie."
Bianca gasped, a loud rush of breath. "NOOOO."
"Uh... yeah."
"Nooooooooooo."
"Yes, I did - that's- Bianca-"
"Nooooooo. What did you say! Did you tell her I love her? Anita loves Aiden!"
Kendall blinked, arching back to Anita, who only grinned sheepishly, shrugging. "That's great!" she said, dismissing the other girl completely. "Bianca, I went over there, because I wanted to confront her-"
Bianca's eyes widened. "What did she do to you! Did she yell!"
"She cursed a lot - but that's not the point-"
"Maggie says 'fuck' when she's mad."
"Yes... yes she does." Kendall tried to keep her patience. "Bianca- listen to me."
"She says 'fuck' and 'shit'."
"Bianca."
"And once she said 'Holy hell' and I thought it was funny-"
"She STILL LOVES YOU." She blurted out the words, trying to get her point across before Bianca could do another rambling monologue about Maggie's potty mouth.
Bianca only stared at her, as if the words weren't processing.
"Binks?"
"Nooo." Bianca shook her head emphatically, pulling away. "No, she loves Aiden-"
"Binks, no, she loves you." Bianca looked confused, like she was muddled and unable to think. "I saw it in her face. She loves you, okay?"
"She chose Aiden-"
"Because she's mad, and loyal," Kendall clucked her tongue, unable to comprehend the thought. "And crazy. And because you hurt her, but Bianca, she loves you, okay? That's the important thing here-"
"Mom gave them money for their wedding."
"I don't think there's going to be any wedding."
Bianca was still, eyes shut tight, palms into fists, pressed against her temple. "Kendall, you can't tell me this-"
"Yes, I can. I have to-"
"No, you can't - because Maggie said it was over, and I want her to be happy-"
"That's the best part! SHE'S MISERABLE!"
"God..." Anita sucked in her breath behind her. "You are really not a nice person."
"Well, we can't all be saints, Anita," Kendall said tartly. "The world would tilt and there'd be chaos and apocalypses."
"Maggie's miserable?" Bianca licked her lips, confused. "But Aiden loves her. He- he's there for her, and she picked him."
"Bianca - listen to me. I'm not saying it's going to be easy, okay?" Kendall rubbed gently at her baby sister's shoulders. "But if there was ever a time to embrace your inner Kane - this would be it."
"What do you mean?" Bianca whispered, eyes bloodshot and red.
Licking her lips, Kendall looked into her heartbroken little sister's face, discovered hope and confusion, and most of all - love. "I mean you have to fight for her. Bianca, if you love her, you have to fight for Maggie."
"But I don't deserve-"
"You deserve to be happy." Bianca's eyes went to the ground. "You deserve to have it all, and you can have that with her. You can, Bianca. I know you two have gone through some... problems. You hurt each other, but most people do. That's life. You're so close to having everything you've ever wanted. You have Miranda, and you can have Maggie."
"No." Bianca was so stubborn, swallowing hard as tears filled her eyes. "No, Kendall, because Maggie doesn't want me. And she deserves to be happy."
"So do you."
"Kendall, she's happy with Aiden." Bianca's voice was firm. "Let her have her happy ending."
Kendall never thought she could be disappointed in her sister.
Letting go of her hand, she rose, staring down at the drunken friends, shaking her head. "Then you're an idiot." Bianca narrowed her eyes, but Kendall just waved her hand, cutting her off. "No, both of you! Good riddance. Sit here and drink your wine, and wail to some stupid eighties love songs while the loves of your lives marry each other and then grow to hate each other because Aiden isn't you and he never will be, and they both know it."
"Kendall-"
"Take care of your baby, Bianca."
Moving fast, Kendall exited the apartment, slamming Bianca's heavy door shut behind her.
--
"All right, here we are!" Maggie glanced up, a genuine smile flitting across her face as Robin dropped her bags in the entrance, walking over them and leaving both her mother and cousin behind. "Is Pine Valley ready for us?"
Biting her lip to contain her pain as her ribs creaked in protest, Maggie pushed off the couch, smile growing. "I don't know if they can handle three Devanes. Or even just you, Robin."
Robin was careful with her, as her friend wrapped arms around her injured body and gave it a light squeeze. "Maggie, you look like hell."
"You wouldn't be the first to tell me," she said, scruffing at Robin's dark head, laughing when the older woman ducked back.
Maggie's smile softened for Anna, as Aiden gathered up Robin's bags and put them in a less hazardous spot.
Her hair cropped short, it looked thinned out, but almost stylish. Anna was too chic to wear a wig.
She still looked beautiful.
"I know it's only been a week, but I can't help but hating seeing you like this," the caring woman told her, cupping her cheek as she ran a hand over the slung shoulder.
"It's just bones," Maggie said simply. "They heal."
Anna looked down at her, wearing that studious expression she always wore. "Yes, they do."
The piercing stare seemed to unsettle her, and she let go unexpectedly, tone a tad higher than she expected, "Not to be cliché, but how's it feel to be back in Pine Valley after all these years?"
"Frightening. Exhilarating. Heaven knows I wish it were under better circumstances." Anna's smile trembled slightly, and Maggie took in a breath, taking her hands in her own, holding them tight.
"We'll get through it together. All of us."
Anna's crooked smile was breathtaking, as she palmed the side of Maggie's face gently.
"All right, that's it - I can't take it - GROUP HUG!"
Maggie found herself erupting in genuine laughter as Aiden spread his arms wide, and she and Anna were both bombarded by her boyfriend and his cousin, wrapping them into a loving sandwich of affection.
--
As the elevators opened to Fusion, Kendall found exactly who she was looking for.
"There you are!"
Greenlee Lavery lifted her head from her desk, setting dark eyes on her that glittered with annoyance.
"If it isn't my best friend - the backstabbing bitch."
Pausing, Kendall arched an eyebrow, regarding her friend. "I don't have time to get into a war of words with you, Greenlee."
"Good. Because I'd win."
Rolling her eyes, Kendall reached forward, snatching the pen out of Greenlee's hand. "Would you listen to me? I need your help."
"You need my help?" Greenlee asked dryly. "Funny. I remember someone asking someone for help not two hours ago, and that someone told me to stick my quite beautiful, ample ass where the sun doesn't-"
"I know, I know-" Settling into the desk, Kendall motioned wildly, cutting her off. "But I had a change of heart. You help me with my thing I'll help you with yours."
Greenlee regarded her for a minute, before she sighed dramatically and leaned back. "What, exactly, do you have in mind?"
Kendall arched a direct eyebrow. "I'll help you nail Jonathan if you help me help Bianca nail Maggie."
end
chapter