Disclaimer: All the events and character description taken place in this story is COMPLETELY FICTION. No copyright infringement intended. All characters are copy written to their respective owners. No profit is being made from this story. It should be viewed only as entertainment.

Chapter Forty-Eight

"Mommy, we go back to see the fishies soon?" Aurora asked her mother, her eyes scanned each car that they passed on the interstate on the way home.

"Sure we can." Steph promised her child with a smile before she flipped on the Porsche's signal to merge into the right exit lane.

"I want my Daddy to come too." The three year old added giving her stuffed otter a tight hug because it was a present from her father.

Stephanie couldn't have been more pleased with her ex-husband. He was really on top of his game as a father. Aurora just had a fun educational and interactive day with both of her parents and it was all Paul's doing. Hell, it wasn't just her three year old that had enjoyed the day, she did too. Getting to go out with her children without the drama and stress that she had been under lately was like Levesque had created for her a perfect oasis in her week. She was grateful to him for stepping up and behaving like the father she knew he could be.

"We're home." Stephanie commented aloud as her Porsche Cayenne turned from the back road to the long paved driveway that led to the large luxury mansion.

With the press of an overhead button, the garage door opened allowing her to bring the small SUV into its parking spot in the garage. Before Steph even brought the vehicle to a stop, she noticed that Kurt's white Escalade was parked in its spot on the other side next to hers. He was at the house. What was he doing there the day after she had asked him to leave?

Stephanie came to a complete stop, put the car in park, and then killed the engine. She then reached for her seatbelt buckle to unbuckle herself from the driver seat when the sound of knocking on the passenger side window startled her enough that it caused her to physically jump. She darted her eyes in the direction of the abrupt sound and saw her husband, Kurt, standing at the passenger door with a look of contempt on his face.

"Where the hell have you been? Unlock the doors!" He commanded in an abrasive voice as his finger pointed to the lock on the interior of the car.

"You want to try saying that a little nicer?" Steph hollered back completely annoyed by his demeanor.

Aurora started crying because of the screaming that literally came out of nowhere without any warning what so ever. And when the three year old started crying, baby Andrew immediately followed his older sister's lead and began to wail.

"Please open the door so I can get my son out." Angle retorted in a much calmer voice while he stared intensely at his wife.

Stephanie rolled her eyes and clicked the unlock button on the side panel of her driver side door. When the doors were unlocked, Angle quickly went around to the other side of the cross over and opened the driver side back door where his son was.

"You just terrified the kids!" Stephanie scolded as she got out of the vehicle and slammed her door shut while he was getting Andrew out of his car seat.

"I was terrified! I tried calling the house all afternoon, no answer! I tried texting you and then calling your cell, no answer! I come home to find no one home! You wouldn't believe what went through my mind about what could have happened to you and the kids!" Kurt yelled back after taking his crying baby into his arms.

"Lower your voice. I took the kids to the aquarium in Norwalk. I'm sorry that I didn't answer but my phone must have been on vibrate." Steph explained as she spoke with a voice that was significantly calmer and quieter.

"Shh, it's okay buddy, Daddy is sorry that he scared you guys." Kurt told his son in his best soothing voice as he rocked him in his arms.

Steph exhaled and shook her head, she then moved passed him so that she could get to the passenger side of the car where Aurora was still buckled in.

"Mommy, why he yelling?" Aurora asked trying to hold back her tears.

"It's okay, baby, Kurt was just worried, that's all." Steph assured her daughter as she lifted her from her seat and put her on her feet. Stephanie really wanted to reply that it was because he was a jackass, but she thought better of it.

"Kurt back from his trip?" The three year old then asked with surprise. Her mother didn't reply.

Angle hugged his son close to him as he took slow deep breathes. He knew that he really needed to get his anger in check. Carrying on and scaring the children was not in any way going to endear him to Stephanie. After all, he was only trying to get a hold of her today so that they could get together and work things out. The fact that she had been mysteriously MIA all afternoon had caused his jealousy to spike as he immediately jumped to the conclusion that Paul Levesque had something to do with it.

"Dada dada dada dada dada." Babbled the baby as he brought his hand to Angle's face while his father carried him toward the door that led to the house that his mom and sister were entering.

Steph had the urge to criticize Kurt's inappropriate behavior right then and there, but she stifled herself after hearing her baby son's happy voice spoken toward his daddy. The children didn't need to hear them bickering, she was willing to wait until they could be alone to verbally thrash him.

"What the hell?" Steph whispered to herself under her breath the moment she entered her kitchen and found a wrapped bouquet of two dozen red roses lying on the counter top.

Stephanie couldn't help but scoff. It was obvious that Angle had every intention of trying to grovel and try and suck up to her with two dozen long stemmed red roses. As if him bringing her flowers was enough to make up for his behavior a few moments ago, and everything she had gone through in the last few days. She wasn't going to even acknowledge the roses. He couldn't buy his way out of trouble this time.

"Look, I'm sorry I flew off the handle in the garage, but I got really agitated when I couldn't get a hold of you and you and the kids weren't at home. We need to talk, Steph." Angle told his wife the moment that he joined her in the kitchen, still holding their one year old.

Steph braced with her hands on either side of the kitchen sink. Her eyes focused on the gorgeous view of her property from the kitchen window. Stephanie didn't want to talk now; that was the whole reason she asked for him to leave, to give her space.

"I really don't want to talk now. I think I made myself clear yesterday that I needed time away from you." Steph replied bluntly.

"And you've had some time. We've both had the night to think things through. I'm sorry about the arrest. I screwed up and I thank God that neither one of the kids were with me when it happened, okay? We need to put all this behind us and move on as a family." Kurt told her as he went over to the wrapped bouquet of roses like he was getting ready to present them to her.

"It's not just the arrest, Kurt. A lot of things came to the surface with the argument we had; things that can't simply be fixed with two dozen long stemmed roses." She admitted the moment she heard the crinkling of the plastic wrap. She was still staring off into the distance.

Kurt let out a sigh and let go of the flowers. Steph had just confirmed that their problems were bigger than the DUI. Problems that were troubling enough for her to want an extended amount of time apart. How would that help though? If they had problems, they should be trying to work on them. Why would he simply walk away from her and their one year old and miss being a part of her pregnancy? How would that help their marriage?

"Fine, let's address the issues that came up in the fight. We were mad when things were said. I know I did and said things I regret because I was so angry. We're married and we have a beautiful family, let's work it out, babe. I'm wearing my wedding band and I've got your ring in my pocket, I want my wife and my family back." Kurt pled, like a lawyer who was desperate to defend his case with the hopes of swaying a deadlocked jury.

"Kurt, look! This is Flipsy! Daddy got him for me at the awarium!" Aurora announced as she approached her step-father, completely interjecting herself in the midst of the intense discussion. She had just run back into the kitchen after putting her brand new book in the living room.

Angle's eyes drifted down to the three year old who was smiling up at him while holding the stuffed animal up for him to see. As the child's words began to sink into his consciousness, the color began to drain from his face.

Hearing her daughter innocently reveal the fact that Paul was present at their aquarium outing compelled Stephanie to turn around to face her husband. He looked like the rug had just been pulled out from under him. She worried that he was a ticking time bomb that could go off at any moment.

"Aurora, why don't you go upstairs and show Flipsy your bedroom? I'm sure he'll like to play up there." Steph suggested, doing her best to quickly get her three year old out of the room before the backlash that she knew was coming from Kurt.

"Okay, come on, Flipsy!" Aurora giggled as she ran out of the kitchen while twisting and turning the stuffed animal through the air.

"You were with him today?" Kurt inquired in a hoarse voice that almost sounded like it was coming from his throat. The focus of his eyes were now solely on his wife.

"Yeah, he met me and the kids at the aquarium. He invited us, actually. The kids had a great time. I did it for them." She explained folding her arms while looking right back at him.

"Well isn't that nice. I can barely sleep or eat because I'm so upset and worried about our marriage, while you're off spending the day with your ex-husband. How do you think this looks, Steph? How am I suppose to wrap my mind around this? Did you think about me at all today? How I would feel about my wife and son going on a family outing with not just some random other guy, but the man I specifically said I didn't want my son around?" Said Angle in a forceful voice that while intense, was still low in volume since he was still holding his child.

"No, I didn't think about you. I was actually happy that I was feeling good and not home puking my guts up and consumed with all the drama. It had nothing to do with Paul being there. I'm just happy that he is making an effort to forge a relationship with his daughter. I'm not going to put a damper on that because of your pathetic insecurities." Stephanie immediately retorted with a level of intensity that matched his.

Angle scoffed at her words. He brought his baby son over to the nearest counter top and sat him on it. He then began examining the one year olds arms, legs, and face without any explanation as to what he was doing.

"What are you doing?" Steph asked in a voice of annoyance while approaching them.

"I'm checking our baby for any bruises or scratches. I don't think you realize what that guy is capable of. He put his hands on him once, I wouldn't put it past him doing it again when you weren't looking." Kurt explained as he scrutinized the baby's soft skin for impurities that weren't there.

"That's bullshit. Paul would never hurt a child. He has had his faults in the past, but you have no proof that he had anything to do with Andrew falling off the couch that day. He was never alone with Andrew at the aquarium. He didn't even hold him once. The fact that you think I would ever put one of my children in harm's way really infuriates me." She told him through grit teeth. She was shaking with anger as she spoke, trying desperately not to scream in his face.

"You know what infuriates me, Steph? The fact that you are making more of an effort in you and your daughter's relationship with your ex-husband than you are in our marriage. If we're going to work this out, we both have to be on board. I can't try for the both of us." Angle replied closing the space between himself and his wife.

"I need space! I'm not ready to "work this out" yet! And I'll be honest, with the way you're acting right now, I am starting to wonder if I will ever want to!" Stephanie blurted out, her anger and frustration finally brimming over. Her outburst of emotion caused the baby to wail.

"Well then that's something that we have in common then! I came here with the hopes of fixing things between us so I could put this ring back on your finger! Now, I don't know if I should give it back to you! Not when my wife doesn't want to stand by me, for better or for worse!" Angle shot back after he grabbed Steph's wedding ring from his pocket and held it up to her.

"Then don't give it back to me! Do whatever you want with it! Just give me back my baby and then get the fuck out! There's the door, Kurt, use it!" Steph screamed before pointing right at the garage door that he had entered from.

Andrew screamed out through his tears, his back arched like he was in pain, his face beet red. He was acting out because of his parents' hollering that he wasn't used to being in the middle of.

"You want me gone? Fine, I'm gone! But he's not 'your baby', he's ours! Andrew is my son too, yours and mine, he's not Paul's. And neither is that tiny baby growing inside of you! It's all mine, and nothing will ever change or make me forget that!" Angle fired back pointing his finger specifically at his wife's flat womb where their tiny little embryo was implanted inside of her.

"No one is debating that." Steph answered back with an eye roll as she moved forward to take her son from the countertop.

Kurt watched as Andrew Vincent immediately began to settle down once he was being held by his mother and she had broke the cycle of yelling. The fighting was suddenly replaced by a silence in the kitchen that was only pierced by the sound of their one year old sharply breathing in and whimpering with each breath. There was nothing left for him to say.

Without saying another word, Angle slipped her wedding ring back into his pocket then reached over and grabbed the large bouquet of flowers from the counter. He then turned his back on his wife and son, and walked right out the door to the garage. He felt like a zombie, completely lifeless as he hit the garage door button on the wall. On the way to his car, he stopped briefly at one of the large green garbage cans. Kurt held up the roses in front of him. He shook his head; thinking about what a waste buying them for her had turned out to be. In one fluid motion, he lifted the lid of the can and tossed them inside.

"What a waste..." He muttered as the durable plastic lid slammed back down into place.