AN: We're getting closer to the end of this one. It will be completely posted by Monday morning. I've thoroughly enjoyed all of the wonderful and supportive comments. The MSec fandom is truly the best. Thank you.
Chapter 13
The Adams siblings spent a fair amount of down time together while they were at the McCords' home and for the most part, they got along. Will adored Benny and was very good with him, which made Elizabeth happy. Elizabeth drove him to the bus station on New Year's Day and it was as he got on the bus that Will mentioned that Aunt Joan had asked about her.
"You purposely withheld that until now, didn't you?" Elizabeth accused.
"You damn right I did and I'm still way behind you in the withholding information competition, so you don't get to give me grief about it." Will stated. There was an edge to his voice, like he wanted her to argue. The fact was that, historically, they could only get along for so long and then they needed to fight to restore their balance. Elizabeth's retort almost left her mouth, but she stopped it in time and changed the direction of the conversation.
"Should I go see her? Is it worth it?" Elizabeth felt bad even asking the question, but Joan had always been incredibly hard on Elizabeth, even back when things were good between them. Now, that Elizabeth had done something completely unacceptable and obviously unforgivable, in Joan's opinion, she didn't relish the thought of taking a verbal pounding, and for what she wondered.
Will cocked his head to the side and studied her. "I don't know if I would, but I think it was a good thing that she asked about you. And Benny is cute. Maybe that would help. I don't know sis. I'm sure you could use the money." Of course they could use the money, Will received a set amount every month and, up until Joan found out about the baby, she had too. It wasn't enough that she could go crazy, but did meet her needs without having to work. Without it, both she and Henry picked up on-campus jobs so they could buy what they needed to take care of Benny and feed themselves. Still, Elizabeth didn't think she was willing to endure the old woman's abuse just for the money.
She quickly hugged Will and sent him on his way, but the thought kept coming back as the days passed.
The three McCords returned to UVA mid January ready to tackle spring semester. They were well rested and feeling good. Having spent a month at the McCord home, Benny was constantly entertained by one of his aunts, uncles or grandparents and Will staying two weeks was the best gift Elizabeth could have received.
The semester started and they quickly fell into a routine. Henry and Elizabeth traded some babysitting with the upstairs neighbors, Sarah and David, so that once a month they got to go on a date. When Sarah proposed the trade, Elizabeth kind of thought it was silly. How could one evening a month make that much difference? She was so wrong. Henry and Elizabeth loved date night and looked forward to it all month.
Their February date night was supposed to be dinner and a movie, but when Henry stepped out to "run an errand," she thought he was up to something. They hadn't talked about doing anything special for their birthdays, but hers was coming up first and she thought he might be making special plans.
Her suspicions were confirmed when Henry called to tell her to go ahead and take Benny upstairs, that Sarah was waiting for him and when she returned, she would find a dress bag hanging in her closet. Elizabeth checked the closet and it was just her regular everyday clothes. She packed Benny's things up for the evening and took him upstairs. Sarah was all smiles, but would say nothing.
Elizabeth skipped back down and made a beeline for her closet finding a garment bag with a gift tag in the closet. She pulled the bag from the closet and read the note written on the tag. "I hope this is the beginning of the best night of your life. Love, Henry." She clutched the tag to her chest and willed her tears away. Carefully, she laid the bag flat on the bed and pulled the zipper down, before pulling back the opaque plastic to reveal the most gorgeous royal blue cocktail dress she'd ever seen. She removed the dress and held it up. It was sleeveless and fitted and would hit her a couple inches above the knee, she suspected. Looking back in the bag, she found a beautiful black velvet cape and smiled when she saw the shoe box in the bottom. Henry had thought of everything.
She readied herself quickly, pulling her hair back into a low bun with a few wisps of hair framing her face. She applied minimal makeup. She moved back to the dress and was more than shocked to find that it was backless and once on, it was cut low enough in the back that only the skimpiest pair of bikini underwear she had would work as an undergarment. Elizabeth decided that was ridiculous and chose to forego them altogether, skipping the lines that a dress this form fitting would show anyway. Elizabeth clasped her pearls around her neck and put her gold hoop earrings in. Almost like he'd been watching her, the second she was finished, there was a knock at the door. She stepped into the heels and crossed the room to open the door.
Elizabeth supposed Henry would be on the other side. It would be like him to knock on his own apartment door. Pulling the door open, they stared at each other, both stunned. Henry wore a black tailored suit with crisp white shirt and matching royal blue tie. Desire swirled inside her and she second guessed her decision to avoid pantylines.
Henry finally had the presence of mind to speak. "I thought I had the advantage of knowing what you were going to wear, but you're so much more beautiful than any image I could conjure on my own. You are mesmerizing." He handed Elizabeth a small bouquet of red roses. "Happy birthday, my love." She accepted them and smiled.
"This is already the best night of my life," she whispered, leaning in to kiss him gently.
"Well, then, you're in for a treat. Henry took the flowers and dropped them in a glass of water that sat on the counter before draping the cape over her shoulders. "You good?" he asked.
"Very much so," she replied as she looped her arm through his and he escorted her out of the apartment and down to his car. Henry drove to a nice Italian restaurant and stuffed Elizabeth with her favorite pasta. They sat close, holding hands and drinking wine. Elizabeth thought this was definitely the best birthday of her life, then Henry asked if she was ready for the next part.
"There's more? Henry, we can't afford all of this." Elizabeth tried not to be negative, but she'd seen how much their meals cost before the bottle of wine. He glanced at the receipt and slipped money into the bill cover before turning in to her.
"I've got it covered. I've been saving up for this night for a while now." He leaned in and cupped her cheek. "Even if I spent every last bit of money in the entire world, it would never come remotely close to what you're worth to me." He placed his lips on that one spot behind her ear. She hummed and squirmed against him causing him to smile.
"Henry, not here," she breathed out. She squeezed her legs together, hoping to slow the torrent of pressure that was beginning to build there.
"Come," he said, scooting his chair back to stand. "Your chariot awaits." Henry pulled Elizabeth to her feet and walked her to the door. A horse drawn carriage was parked outside. He helped her step up into the carriage and scooted in close before covering them both with a quilt. He nodded and the driver took off. They rode through the downtown area and around the park before stopping at a jazz bar close to campus.
A wide smile covered her face. She'd heard about this place from some of her friends, and she'd offhandedly mentioned it to Henry. Doing the wife/mom thing, Elizabeth often felt left out when others her age talked about parties, clubs, just going to hang out with other people. She knew Henry did too. Elizabeth had no desire to trade her life, but she did feel like she was missing out on the experience of college. They walked into the dimly lit bar. There was live music in the front and Henry led her straight to the dance floor. Pulling her close, they swayed to the music for over an hour and she melted into his arms. Elizabeth had her head on Henry's shoulder, but his neck was becoming a temptation and she planted a row of kisses along his shirt collar before nibbling his ear. "You better stop that," Henry mumbled, although he wasn't very convincing. She giggled against him.
"Come," he said, pulling her off the dance floor. When they got outside the carriage was still waiting. Henry helped her back in and asked, "Anywhere else you'd like to go baby? This is your night."
"I'd like to go home to our bed now," she whispered, need laced in her voice. He nodded.
"Hey Jamie. Can you take us back to the car, but take the long way?" The driver nodded. Elizabeth was a little confused, until Henry spoke. "I have to give you your birthday present before we go home." Elizabeth nodded.
The carrier took off and Henry turned in the seat to face Elizabeth. "Back when we decided to get married, you were worried that it would be for convenience and that I shouldn't give up my chance at love. What I didn't say then was that I was already madly in love with you and I couldn't wait to be your husband. You weren't ready for that back then, and what I said was completely true. You are my best friend and I do want to raise Benny together and I will always be there for you." Elizabeth opened her mouth to speak, but Henry shushed her. "Since then, I was lucky enough that you fell for me. I am the luckiest guy in the world and I want to give you something that means more than just our legal bond of marriage, but our own bond of love and fidelity." Henry reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a box and opened it in front of Elizabeth.
Elizabeth wasn't quite sure where Henry had been going with his little speech, but when he pulled the ring box from his pocket, she couldn't keep the tears from streaming down her face. When he opened the box, her mouth fell open. She had never seen a more beautiful ring. It was a princess cut diamond in the center flanked by two smaller sapphires. "May I?" he asked. She nodded and watched unbelieving as he slipped it on her finger, nesting it against her simple gold band. "We'll have them taken and joined together, okay?"
"I don't know what to say. Thank you doesn't seem to be even close to how I feel. I am so grateful for you Henry. Getting pregnant in high school has to be one of the dumbest things a person can do, but somehow I feel that our poor decision worked out in the best possible way. I love you so much Henry McCord and I love Benny and our little family. Thank you for giving us yourself. You are the most wonderful man I've ever met and I'm so happy that our son will have you to show him what a man should be." She slipped her hand around his neck and pulled him to her. Her lips met his, and she took control of the kiss, sliding her tongue into his mouth, teasing him.
When she released him, Elizabeth took Henry's wrist to look at his watch. "Babe, we need to get back. We have to get Benny."
"Sarah's keeping him overnight. She already agreed. It's her birthday present to you." Elizabeth grinned.
"Then we better get home soon and take advantage of our unexpected night alone." She looked at Henry, suddenly a little sad and he asked what the problem was. "It will be Benny's first night away from us. He's still so young."
Henry kissed her gently. "When we get home, how about we call Sarah and tell her to phone us when he wakes up for his middle of the night feeding and I'll run up and get him. That way we can still have our time and Benny won't be away from us all night." Elizabeth enthusiastically nodded her agreement with that plan.
"Now, do you think you can take me home? I've been waiting all night to get you out of that suit you look so hot in."
"I feel the same way," he said.
Elizabeth shot Henry a wicked grin and whispered in his ear, "Did you purposely choose this dress so I couldn't wear a bra or underwear?"
He spun to face her. "What?" he asked, a blush rising in his cheeks. She raised her eyebrows and smiled innocently. "Prove it," he growled. Elizabeth took hold of Henry's hand under the blanket and slid it up her dress until the tips of his fingertips brushed the hair at the apex of her thighs and she whimpered and bit her lower lip. "Fuck, that's hot," he said, removing his hand quickly before he started something inappropriate in a horse drawn carriage.
"Yeah, it is, so if we could get home ASAP, that would be super." She caught him by the hand. "I don't know if I can ever thank you enough for just being you. I love you so much Henry McCord."
Once home, Henry made the 20 second phone call to Sarah while Elizabeth undressed him, which might have turned awkward, but Henry didn't think Sarah noticed. Henry wasn't even completely sure the receiver made it back on the phone when he marched Elizabeth into the bedroom. One tug of the zipper down her left side and the material slid off her shoulders and rippled down her body, bunching at her feet. Henry stood slack-jawed at the beauty of his wife.
"God, you are so beautiful," he whispered. "I love you more than you'll ever know."
"Show me," she said softly taking a step out of the dress and toward Henry.
Elizabeth had never seen Henry with a more determined look than he had when he took her in his arms and laid her down on their bed.