Chapter Nineteen

"Isn't he the cutest thing you ever saw?" Becky sighed as she gazed over at Kyle.

Cindy didn't even look up from what she was doing. If Becky was gushing about someone, there was only one person that could ever be. "Yes. He's freaking adorable." She muttered in reply.

Becky sighed again. "I know. But God, Cind - he's just such a goody two shoes. I don't know how to get him to really pay attention to me. I've practically thrown myself at him and he keeps pushing me away."

Cindy laughed. "Becky. He couldn't pay more attention to you. Stop being so silly. You know Kyle adores you. If he's cautious it's because your father scares the crap out of him. And let me tell you something – if I didn't know what a pushover he really was I'd be shaking myself."

"Daddy would never really hurt him," Becky rolled her eyes.

"Are you kidding?" Cindy countered. "If Kyle ever actually hurt you? Becky – if that ever happened and I was Kyle? I'd be hiding out indefinitely. Your father would tear him apart in a heartbeat."

Cindy didn't know what it was like to truly be in love. Her past was a series of one failed relationship after another. Still she could tell that Becky was having a really tough time. She thought of the only part of her past that could even come close. "Did I ever tell you the story about Spike?"

Becky squinted as she tried to recall, "Was he before Tino or after Bruiser?"

"In between actually." She replied with a dreamy grin. "God, I miss Tino."

Becky knew that look well. She needed to get Cindy back on track. "So. Spike."

Cindy was still a bit lost in her own world. "Hold on. Just want to think of Tino for a few more seconds" She said with a smirk.

Becky climbed up on a stool near the counter. She knew she wouldn't get the scoop on Spike unless she was patient. Cindy had a habit of going off on a tangent now and again.

She settled in and gazed over at Kyle again. He had cut his hair, so it was now sticking up every which way. She couldn't take her eyes off him. As she watched him work she was reminded that whenever he was here he was so focused, like it was the most important thing in the world to him to do well. Becky shouldn't be surprised. She knew exactly why. The things that had happened in his family made him doubt himself all the time. Maybe that was the problem. Maybe he didn't know how much she loved him.

She sighed as she tried to figure it out. Why couldn't this be simple? She was more confused than ever.

As Becky thought of Kyle and all he was going through at the moment, Cindy finally came around. She reached up and pinned a stray section of her purple streaked tresses back in place before she continued.

"Now let me tell you about Spike…" She began.

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"You sure you're OK?" Grant asked as he stole a glance at Chloe while they were stopped at a light. She was sitting in the back seat next to Melissa who was sleeping peacefully.

She sighed as she answered him. "My father's been sneaking around with my doctor – who I also considered a friend – for months – and I had absolutely no idea."

"I know the facts Clo – that's not what I was asking. I want to know how you feel about this." He said as he cautiously continued driving. Jack had told them to follow him but there was really no need. Grant knew exactly where they were going. This was the way to the house Chloe grew up in.

"I'm stunned." Chloe admitted. "I feel like a fool."

"You're not a fool Clo. No one knew what was going on."

"Your parents knew. They found out yesterday. Ella even knew before me. I just don't understand how he could move on so quickly." She said, still unable to process it all. "I'd never be able to get over you…"

"Shh. Stop. Don't go there Chloe." Grant hushed her. This was a happy day. He didn't want her to be upset at all, but he certainly didn't want her worrying about things like that.

As they pulled up in front of the house they were shocked to see Rafe and Alison's car there already.

The possibilities began to swirl through Chloe's mind. She was about to lose it. "Grant. I swear." Her voice shook as the moved to get Melissa out of the car. "If they're all set up for a wedding in there I won't be able to handle it." She shook her head. "If I tries to do that here I won't stay." She promised. "I WON'T."

"OK. OK." Grant whispered softly. "Shh. Honey. Stop doing this. I'm sure it's not a wedding, Things like that take time too much time plan…"

"Yeah. Right. I planned our wedding in exactly an hour and a half." She shot back at him.

He chuckled in spite of her obvious distress. "Clo, please. Stop. Let's get her inside. It's cold." He leaned down and gently pressed his lips to hers. "I promise it's going to be OK." Grant pulled back and stared into her eyes. "Do you trust me?"

She gazed up at him and let out a breath. "Of course I do. I trust you with my life." She nodded as she rose on her toes and kissed him again. She ran a hand across his cheek as she eased back on her heels. She took a peek at their daughter and her heart nearly burst with love.

Feeling the exact same way at the moment, Grant grabbed hold of her hand. "Then let's go."

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It seemed that worries filled everyone's mind today. In the apartment she shared with Quinn, Billie stood with Lynnie and Kate and stared at the phone. Colin stood on the other side of the room with Ethan and Quinn and watched her. She looked nervous and jittery, like she'd been before she and Quinn got together. A change in anyone's demeanor immediately put him on guard. The possibilities of what would make someone look so nervous were too numerous to mention.

"Is she alright?" He said softly as he nudged Quinn with his elbow.

"No." Quinn admitted as he caught sight of her himself. He sighed loudly as he explained. "We're waiting to hear back from the case worker who came to check me out the other day. To make sure I'm suitable to adopt Ty. She was supposed to call back by now."

"She should have asked me. I'd give her the truth." Ethan laughed.

Quinn knew he was teasing but he had to admit he was a little nervous himself. "She and Billie got into it a bit. The woman threw a few jabs in at her and it took everything she had not to let her have it."

"I'm betting Billie let you have it after she left though huh?" Colin replied.

Quinn chuckled. "How'd you guess?"

"She's friends with my wife. If the tables were turned that'd be exactly what Katrina would do."

Quinn watched as Ty came over to Billie, tears in his eyes and a scrape on his arm. He knew in that instant how in his heart he'd already become Ty's father. His pulse raced whenever he even thought about him being hurt.

He saw Billie take Ty's arm in her hands and examine it closely. He could see her murmur something to the little boy. Whatever it was made the tears vanish and a grin break out over his whole face. She bent her head and kissed the wound quickly before hugging Ty tight. Her eyes were full of love as she watched him go off again.

Quinn's voice became serious as he turned back towards his friends. "She's so amazing with him. If my wanting to have him as my own screwed this up I don't know what I'll do. I shouldn't have been so anxious. Maybe I should have waited until we were married first."

"I'm sure it's fine." Colin assured him.

"Anyone who meets you two for even a minute would know in a second that you're that kid's parents." Ethan added, the words reminding him that maybe sometime soon he'd be a parent himself.

"I hope you're right." Quinn replied, his voice still unsure. He gazed over at Billie again and promised. "Because if you're not I won't be able to live with myself."

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"Once we started dating, Spike and I never had another conversation." Cindy said with a sigh. "I should have known we were doomed. My psychic told me that his aura was pitch black but I didn't care." She added as she twisted off the cap on her silver glitter lipstick and reapplied. Cindy was very good at multitasking. The whole time she fixed her makeup and talked to Becky she barely missed a beat typing on the keyboard.

"We were together for days, hours, weeks. I lost all track of time when he was around." She gazed over at Becky and added. "It was hot and intense and it ended as soon as it started."

Becky listened intently. Cindy had dated so many guys that she certainly would be able to give her some pointers. In many ways Becky thought Cindy was the world's authority on most subjects. She was so cool. Becky knew she could talk to Katrina or Chloe or Aunt Abby or even her mom, but Cindy would always tell her things like it is. She didn't try and shield her from the truth ever.

Cindy kept on, trying to make a point. "The reason why it didn't work was because Spike didn't love me. He liked me alright – but he didn't love me. When we were together, he couldn't keep his hands off me. But here's the thing, the fact that we slept together was meaningless. We were missing everything else."

Becky didn't know what this had to do with anything. "But Cindy – with Kyle and me – it's the opposite problem. He won't even touch me anymore."

"Honey. You're killing the poor kid." She stole a glance in Kyle's direction and noticed how he was staring at Becky. If anyone ever looked at her like that Cindy didn't know what she'd do. The one thing she hoped was that finally she'd be smart enough not to screw it up.

She turned her attention back to Becky and said softly. "He loves you. He loves everything about you. It's so obvious." Cindy shook her head at her. "Your family – God – you've all been so lucky. Most of us spend our whole lives looking for the kind of love you find without even trying."

Becky knew she took a lot of things for granted, but right now the only thing she wanted was Kyle. She knew it was selfish but right now couldn't think of anything else.

"I love him too." Becky sighed. "Honestly, I just want him to know how much I love him – that's all. And he won't let me show him. It makes me think that maybe he doesn't want me after all." She said with a frown as she stared down at her lap.

Cindy couldn't believe how off the mark she was. Poor kid. Just another reason why she was better off waiting until the timing was better. It would be hard to convince her, but she thought she'd give it a shot.

"Trust me. He wants you." Cindy replied, hoping that the kid finally got the message. It was torture watching the two of them dance around each other. It reminded her of the days before Grant and Chloe got back together. The tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife.

It was all very Romeo and Juliet, except without the feuding families. Two young kids head over heels and not knowing exactly how to handle it. She hoped she helped out – at least a little bit.

"He knows you love him, Becky. What you don't get is that he's showing you he loves you by not letting you get in over your head." Cindy finished. "He knows that if he gets himself into trouble with your father he might risk it all. And I'm sure that's the last thing he wants to do."

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Chloe's eyes filled with tears as they made their way to the front door. She swore she could feel her mother right there with her, practically pushing her inside.

As they walked inside the smell of fresh paint filled the air. Chloe noticed right away that something was different.

Jack and Michelle stood by the staircase in the front hall, Rafe and Alison stood to the side, with smiles across their faces.

There was a huge banner stretched across the entrance to the living room announcing. "Welcome Home!"

Grant shifted Melissa's baby carrier to his other hand so he could grab hold of Chloe's. She pulled him with her as she wandered over to the living room. "That's our couch…"

"Yes. I hope you don't mind but we added a few things." Alison replied. "Once your father told us what he had been up to I figured that I could help get you started."

"So. Here's my other surprise." Jack said as he moved to stand in front of his daughter. "You're my only child Chloe. I want you to have a place to raise your own children. I know you and Grant would have moved out of your apartment eventually but I didn't want you to have to spend all that time and energy looking when the perfect place was right here waiting for you. The house belongs to you now. I want you and Grant to have it, Clo."

Chloe was speechless. She gazed around the room, her heart beating frantically and tears spilling from her eyes. As her eyes scanned the room she realized all the things she loved were there. Pictures of her and Grant filled the mantle, the piano she'd taken lessons on as a little girl still sat in the corner. It was like both her lives were merged in one space. Her life here with her parents and the one she now shared with Grant. She fought for her breath and tried to take it all in.

"We had so many wonderful years here, so many great memories. But it's a big place and it needs a family. I want you to make your own memories here." He blinked back tears of his own as he finished. "It's always been Melissa's house – now it's her house again." He bent down to kiss his granddaughters cheek.

Chloe wiped the tears from her eyes. "Daddy. Thank you but it's too much. I can't believe you did this. When did you have time?" She whispered as she looked around some more. "There are so many changes and you were gone for weeks..."

"Michelle helped me." Jack replied as he gestured for her to come over and stand next to him. "She supervised everything – especially the nursery." He curled an arm around her waist and pressed a kiss to her head. "I couldn't have done it without her."

Michelle didn't blame Chloe for being upset. She hoped that in time they could become friends again. She wouldn't be able to stand it if she came between Jack and his daughter.

"I hope you like it." Michelle said softly, her voice shaking with nerves. "If you don't feel free to change anything you want. I'll understand…"

As she caught the look on Michelle's face once again Chloe could almost hear her mother speaking to her. Somehow she knew that though it might be hard, that accepting that her father had moved on wouldn't be easy, there was a part of her that was already certain that her mother was OK with all of this.

And all at once she knew that this was to be her home again. Chloe smiled as she looked into Michelle's eyes and replied, "Don't be silly. I'm sure I'll love it."