Author's Note: this chapter is best read on my website as the song lyrics had to be removed to post here and the chapter doesn't flow as well or have the significance of the lyrics as the backdrop for the couples scenes.
Laws of Motion – Book 3
Written by: Ms. Maggs/Edited by: KJT
Chapter 23
Monday – October 3, 2005
The Blake Treehouse
11:05 pm
"Truth or dare, Ryan," Celine giggled, anticipating her next request.
"Dare," the teen answered, hoping a kiss was involved.
"I dare you to join me in this bean bag chair and make out with me for five minutes."
Watching his brother slide next to Celine and glide his hand over her back and bring his lips to hers, Sean filled with terror. I can't do that! I don't want to do that! Not here! Not now! But definitely with Lindsay, just not yet. Not for a year! Well, maybe ten months.
"Truth or dare, Sean?" Lindsay asked while trying not to look at the kissing couple in the corner of the room.
"Tr…da…tru…dar….um…dare." Not a kiss, please, please, please! Because now that I'm watching my brother kiss Celine, I know I don't know how!
"I dare you to hold my hand and walk me back home for the night, because I need some rest for school tomorrow and my parents will be almost done doing it by now."
Relieved that she hadn't asked him to do anything too risqué, Sean stood and held out his hand. "That I can do."
"You better wait until we climb down because it will be hard to…"
"Good point!"
Once they were both standing on the lawn, Sean sweetly held out his left hand. "Thanks for asking me to walk you home."
"Thanks for inviting me over for cupcakes," she replied while slipping her hand into her neighbor's.
"Lindsay…"
"Yeah?"
"About that kiss." He finally had the courage to discuss the sensitive topic. "I don't want it to count."
"Huh?"
"I don't want that kiss to count as our first kiss." He immediately flustered. "Not that I'm counting on there being a second, because saying first, implies a second. What I'm trying to say is…that wasn't a kiss that just happened, it was an order given by Celine, so I don't think it should count, because I hoped that our first kiss would be much more special than one demanded as part of game and occurring in front of my brother, and…I don't think that I kissed you all that well either, now that I've seen Ryan kiss Celine, so if we could just forget that four seconds ever happened, I'd be really, really happy."
"Consider it forgotten," Lindsay stated as she reached the back door. "Good night, Sean." With her key in hand, she unlocked the door and then stepped inside her house. "Sean…"
"Yeah?"
"One day, when we have our first one for real," Lindsay gushed, "I know it's gonna be special." With that she shut the door.
The self-professed geek couldn't believe his ears. "Whoa."
Indigo…
"Wow," Sara murmured once the tender kiss ended. "I didn't think you'd go through with it."
Grinning wildly, Gil replied using Becca's words and tone, "Look who's bringin' the romance."
"I never thought I'd say this, but…maybe you should hang out with Becca more often."
"She does have a knack for bringing a guy out of his shell."
Sara chuckled into her glass of cranberry juice, "Too bad we didn't meet her years ago."
"Becca's like a puppy," Gil stated as he watched the woman dancing to an upbeat tune with Vartann. "She's fun and cute when you're playing with her, but she's lot of work, prone to bad behavior, and has serious bouts of hyperactivity."
"Greg says she's bi-polar."
"It takes one to recognize one," Gil quipped, then immediately felt guilty. "Sorry, I shouldn't joke about…"
"You're still such a guilt-prone Catholic at heart."
"Amen." Gil slipped closer to his wife in the booth. "It definitely seems that Vartann enjoys snuggling with the puppy enough to keep her around."
"Maybe he likes puppies, because unlike duplicitous ex-wives, they are loving and loyal when cared for properly. They also eventually grow out of their hyperactivity and he probably knows that bad puppy behavior can be eradicated with the right trainer."
"Aren't we metaphorical tonight, Mrs.Grissom."
"Not to mention gossipy," she chuckled. "Honestly, I can't think of a better guy for a manic to be married to than him. We've seen him stay extraordinarily calm even under extreme pressure. Remember when we were in the field with him and that whackjob at the Motel 6 put a gun right in his face? I was shaking from head to toe, but Vartann just stood there rambling about the crappy food in the vending machine and how he'd be pissed too if there weren't any Cool Ranch Doritos left."
"I recall that terrifying moment," Gil confessed, "but I wasn't focused on Vartann, because I was worried sick about you being five feet behind him and cursing myself for leaving the lab without my firearm that day."
"All that worry and yet when he tackled the guy to the ground and disarmed him, all you said to me was 'you okay?' and then you went back to work. That really would have been a perfect time to declare your undying love."
Gil turned his eyes to the ceiling. "I believe that was missed opportunity one hundred and twelve."
"Aww." Sara placed her hand on her husband's cheek. "Feel like bringin' the romance again?"
"Pucker up, Mrs. Grissom."
"I'm usually so against public displays of affection," she whispered against Gil's lips.
"It's dark in here, no one will see."
"Look who's smooching in the corner of a bar!" Irving broke into a sexy whistle. "So, I guess you're not a reclusive freak who only plays with roaches after all."
"Hey, Sara," Sofia laughed, "and hello to you, Master."
"You don't have to be that formal with him when you're out," Sara informed her co-worker. "His ego's big enough. Do you need a table, because…"
"We're on our way out actually," Irving pointed to his watch. "We're catching a movie in twenty and stopped in here to grab a drink first. We just wanted to say hi and catch you smoochin'. Have a good night."
"See you Wednesday," Sara waved as her co-worker left holding hands with her significant other. "It's so weird seeing all these people we've worked with for years, like Sofia and Vartann, having personal lives."
"I had the same feeling this morning when I was in Vartann's house."
"Ooh, what was their house like?"
"Strangely normal. Beautiful actually, except they have one of those large oil paintings of dogs playing poker in their study."
Meanwhile…
As she walked off the dance floor holding her husband's hand, Becca watched the Ex watching her. Are you realizing how colossally stupid you were for hurting Tony? Good! He's so easy to love and you threw it all away because he wasn't aggressive enough in bed. That's the most ridiculous reason! Hot sex isn't forever, it's not even on the radar screen when you're fifty, but being loved and appreciated is something you need until the day you die. You had that with Tony, but you weren't satisfied. After he was gone you realized the grass isn't greener. You figured out that there's no such thing as a perfect man, and Tony is probably as close as it gets, but it was too late. Good! All I want to say to you is thank you, because if you hadn't been so stupid, he wouldn't be mine now.
"A Coke for my wife, who at two glasses of wine, has exceeded her booze quota for the week." Tony handed the glass to Becca who was leaning against the bar. "Are you feeling okay? The doctor said only a glass now and then if it doesn't throw your mood."
"Good thing I had that nap at Hoj's." After completing a yawn, Becca replied, "Wine makes me sleeeeepy when I take Zoloft. That's why I always ended up not taking my meds…they interfered with my ability to party properly."
"And partying properly is so much more important than good mental health." Tony took her hand. "Come on, let's say good night to Sara and Grissom and then we'll..."
"No, no way." She stopped like a stubborn mule. "I'm not leaving until we dance to our song."
"Our song that we don't have."
"Patience! I'm thinking of one."
Tony sipped his Coke then smiled, "Wait here while I chat with the DJ."
"You have a song in mind!"
"Yep," he answered while strolling toward the DJ booth in the far corner of the room. "Stay out of trouble, Becks!"
"I love it when you take charge!" Becca snickered into her soda glass. "Too bad Lady Heather wasn't here to see my man take action."
"Sorry about before," Amy announced as she snuck next to Becca at the crowded bar. "That was a real bitchy thing to say about your breasts…or lack of them to be more accurate."
Into her fist Becca coughed, "Passive-aggressive."
"Busted!" Laughing, Amy held up her hands. "Claws are retracted, okay?" She held out her hand. "Amy Vartann."
"Rebecca Turnbull Vartann." As they shook hands, she asked, "Why haven't you switched back to your maiden name?" Because you're still hoping to get him back, right!
"My maiden name is Dykowski. Do you have any idea what it's like to be five-eleven in high school and have a last name made up of the words 'dyke' and 'cow'? There's no way I'm switching back, so there will just have to be two Vartann women in Sin City." Moving closer she said, "Look, I've been drinking all night, so I'm not feeling shy. I confess, I'm curious about you. What's you story, Mrs. Vartann? Where did you come from? How did you meet Tony?" Taking the woman's left hand she shook her head, "How did he afford that rock? Do you really have a Ferrari or were you just making that up to needle me? Answers! Please!"
Tossing her hair and her defensiveness, Becca answered, "Born and raised in San Marino, California…country club and prep school brat…Stanford Law graduate…independently wealthy thanks to a hefty trust fund…beautiful, obviously…thankfully divorced from Mr. Wrong…introduced to Tony, aka Mr. Right, by a friend… I bought him the Ferrari as a wedding gift…we honeymooned in La Jolla so I could meet his family, who all adore me as much as I adore them…we're insanely happy…within a year we'll be trying for a baby."
Her jealousy skyrocketing, Amy attempted to burst the happy wife's bubble, "Did he tell you about his fertility issue?"
"Yep."
"What do you think of the sex?"
"I don't kiss and tell," Becca smirked. "Phenomenal."
"Does he really hate me?"
"Loathe is the more accurate term."
"He's not perfect," Amy warned.
"Of course not, he's a man, it's a genetic impossibility. And before you go there, I know all about you thinking he wasn't aggressive enough in bed, which boggles my mind."
Shocked by the amount her Ex had shared, Amy whispered, "Did he tell you about the swinging?"
"I'm a party-girl from LA," Becca laughed. "I've been there, done everything, so I was hardly shocked when he told me he took a walk on the wild side. Don't expect to see us at any parties though, having both been burned before, we're no longer into games."
Finding it hard to hate the woman, but wanting to desperately, Amy asked, "Why did you get divorced?"
"Caught my husband cheating on me with the maid." Becca reached for a cocktail napkin. "I'll give you his number, because his second wife is pregnant, and I'm sure he'll get the cheating urge again real soon."
"No, thanks." Amy unleashed a wild grin. "I'm seeing someone. It's getting serious actually." I expect it will be much better once he's out of prison. "Unlike Tony, Mike really gets me."
"Good for you." Now maybe you will stop ambushing my man and begging him to take you back!
Starting at the woman's flat chest, Amy couldn't resist asking, "If you're really loaded, why haven't you pumped up your rack?"
"I happen to believe beauty comes from within, and women shouldn't spend thousands of dollars to look like a Barbie doll when the money could be used for more important things." In her most serene voice, Becca explained, "For instance, I'm a supporter of the Make a Wish Foundation and for the same amount as a boob job, I recently sent five families with loved ones stricken with cancer to Disney World. What have you done to make the world a better place lately?"
"Uh…" Is this woman for real! She's making me look like a total loser! "I support Ronald McDonald house."
"You mean by dropping your change in the little plastic box at the drive-thru?"
"It still counts!"
"In case you get the urge to do more, let me give you a business card." Becca reached into her nine-hundred dollar Prada bag. "BPAC, it stands for Bringing Peace and Comfort. I'm the Assistant to the President and we're always looking for volunteers."
Accepting the card, Amy droned, "Thanks."
"Is everything okay?" Tony asked when he saw his Ex looking nauseous.
"We're quickly becoming friends, Honey," Becca reported in a sunny Stepford tone. "After all, we're mature adults, not children, there's no reason we can't converse. Amy was just telling me about her new boyfriend. Maybe we can all get together for drinks one night to celebrate moving on and everything working out best for all parties involved."
Tony took his wife's hand smiling. Love the act, Honey! "Sure, sounds great." The next best thing to a double root canal without Novocain.
"I'm just going to run and powder my nose." Becca kissed Tony's cheek. "Have fun chatting."
In the corner of the room, Sara and Gil intently watched the tense interaction between ex-spouses.
"I feel like such a voyeur," Sara whispered.
Gil rationalized, "We're scientists, we can't help being curious."
Staring at the business card, Amy groaned, "She's nauseatingly sweet, disgustingly rich, and…ugh, does your mom really like her?"
"Loves her." Tony signaled to the bartender. "Tequila shot."
"Two!" Amy yelled, "Just like old times, huh?" She hoped the nostalgic moment would bring back good memories. "Tequila shots before dancing."
"Yeah, except after the shot, I'll be dancing with my new wife, instead of you." Handing his Ex one of the glasses, Tony took the high road and toasted, "Here's to you, and what's the new guy's name?"
Seeing the diamond wedding band on her ex-husband's hand deepened Amy's jealousy and motivated her to strike a hurtful blow. "He's not exactly new, we've known each other for a while now. Remember that night at Dubrowski's when it started to storm and I asked you to run home because I was worried I left the cat out? That was just an excuse to get you out of the house because I wanted to spend a little quality time with a real man. While you were gone, we screwed each other's brains out in the closet, and when you came back soaked to the bone, apologizing that you couldn't find Whiskers anywhere, we secretly laughed our asses off at you because I had put the cat in the neighbor's yard on purpose just to create the opportunity."
Without flinching, Tony drank the shot and placed the empty glass on the bar. "Thank you, Amy."
"For what?" she said in surprise.
Fighting the urge to choke her, he sweetly replied, "For reminding me how lucky I am to be rid of a bitch like you."
As her Ex walked away Amy drunkenly yelled, "I hope you and Saint Rebecca have a wonderfully bland life together having boring sex and helping the blind, crippled, cancerous children of Vegas see Mickey Fucking Mouse! I'm so much better off without you! The only reason I married you in the first place was because I liked your god damned Eggs Benedict! I should have known a guy who wears an apron would be incapable of satisfying me in the sack!"
Sara and Gil watched dumbfounded as Amy slurred a series of insulting remarks before marching out the front door.
"Whoa, she's a nasty piece of work," Sara declared. "I thought she was going to throw a beer bottle at his head."
"Too bad Mike is married, because they would make a nice couple."
Sara shivered at the name. "No, even that bitch doesn't deserve to be Mike's woman." Then she saw Amy giving Tony the finger through the front window and retracted, "Well, maybe."
When Becca saw her husband pacing outside the Ladies Room, she burst into a smile. "Did you miss me?"
"You have no idea how much." Pulling her close, Tony said, "The well-tipped DJ is playing our song right after this one finishes, but first…I need a hug."
"What the hell did that tramp say to you?" Becca snapped. "Your whole body's tense and your hands are shaking."
"It's not worth repeating." Taking her by the hand, Tony led his wife to the center of the floor. "Now, promise me you won't talk through the entire song, because I want you to hear the words."
"I promise," she excitedly replied as the gentle chords of Keith Urban's Making Memories of Us filled the room. "Awww! I love this song! It's so…" Remembering her promise, she promptly shut up.
"Thank you." Tony tenderly stroked his wife's cheek. "Listen up, Mrs. Vartann, because this is exactly how I feel." Staring into Becca's glistening eyes, his heart rate began to slow and the sting of his ex-wife's words finally started to fade. In his mind, the only thing that would have made the moment more soothing would be one of his wife's beautiful smiles.
In lieu of words, Becca pushed her smile to the far corners of her mouth. If I could talk, I'd be telling you 'I love you, and I will never EVER hurt you like that bitch did. I'd tell you how much I love the feel of your strong arms around me and how I love that you picked our song and…ooh, the lyrics are starting. Listening!
From outside the bar, Amy stood in the window and watched her husband sway to the music with his new wife. "He used to look at me that way," she whispered as her eyes welled. He really does love her. God, I'm so stupid. You can't love her, because I still want you!
Her smile brightening the room, Sara said to her husband, "You're probably thinking that dying in a field full of wild bees would be really cool."
"That's exactly what I was thinking." Kissing Sara's cheek, Gil said, "Thank you for knowing me so well and not thinking I'm a freak." When he saw her laugh, he clarified, "Thank you for not thinking there's anything wrong with being married to a freak." Gil took his wife's hand. "Suddenly, I'm pondering a very, very bold move here."
Rising to her feet she rejoiced, "Look who's bringin' the dancing!"
Drew's House...
Nick froze in the doorway when he saw Carrie sitting in the nursery of his brother's house. There, cuddling eighteen month old Claire, she was softly singing Somewhere over the Rainbow, a song he knew was her mother's favorite. The tears streaming down her cheeks tugged at his heart strings and in seconds his were spilling in time with hers. "Carr…" In that moment, he would have given his last breath to take away her pain.
"Oh." She rushed to wipe her eyes. "I didn't hear you come in."
When he approached the rocking chair, Nick saw the little girl was sound asleep. "Are you…"
"I'm okay." She pressed a kiss to Claire's forehead. "I didn't realize she had fallen asleep."
Kneeling in front of the rocking chair, he touched his palm to Carrie's damp cheek. "Are you sure you want to help out with the kids?"
"Absolutely." Placing her hand over his she smiled through her tears, "It's good practice for when we get our turn."
Looking down at his niece, Nick whispered, "It's not fair. All these people hurtin' each other have babies or are havin' them. God, every time I looked at Tawny today all I could think was 'why didn't you miscarry instead, you don't deserve to be pregnant, Carrie does'. It's terrible, I know but…"
In front of her eyes Carrie watched the man who had been the epitome of strength for Greg and Drew all day, and for her since the miscarriage, crumble. Finally he was doing what he had managed to successfully avoid until now…grieve the loss of his first child. "It's okay, let it out."
"I love you, Carr," Nick breathed into her hair as she clutched him with the arm and Claire with the other. "It's killing me to see you so sad. I hate that I can't make it better." Meeting her eyes, he tearfully whispered, "I'm trying so hard to cheer you up. So hard..."
The Willows/Brown Household...
As Catherine darted out the bathroom shucking her robe she yelled, "Round Two!"
Posturing naked in the doorway Warrick sighed, "You know, I'm getting a little tired of being seen as nothing more than a sex object around here."
"Then you should keep that spectacular body of yours covered at all times because as long as it looks like that, I won't be able to stop leering at it." Smoothing her hand over the sheets, she purred, "You know you want it." Moving her gaze to his hips she laughed, "The evidence never lies, and that is one large clue you've got there."
Shaking his head, he strolled over to the bed. "Sorry, I have a Forensics Journal I want to read."
"Hello! If I wanted a husband who read scientific magazines in bed, I would have married Grissom years ago! But if you want to be like Gil…"
"That's the magic phrase," Warrick replied while tossing the Forensics Journal he had really planned on reading that tonight. "You're so lucky I love you."
Rolling with him, she chuckled, "I know!"
Drew's House...
Sitting on the edge of Cassie's bed, Drew clutched the happy family photo his daughter kept on the bedside table of her fairy-tale themed room. Watching her sleep, he thought of her waking the next day to learn her mother had signed divorce papers signifying once and for all that there would be no happy ending for her Mommy and Daddy. He wondered if she'd be able to read the words 'happily ever after' in her favorite books without crying and if she'd throw away her wedding Barbie and Ken.
Breaking his daughter's heart wasn't one of the many goals he had set for himself years ago when life was full of promise and nothing seemed impossible. But now, sitting there in the dark room painted with the princes and castles of his little girl's dreams, he understood he had failed her in every way. His father's words echoed in his head 'failure is not an option' and then his father's voice morphed to his own as he screamed the same words at Nicky on the football field. "I failed," the heartbroken father whispered as he stroked her soft hair. "I'm so sorry."
The unfamiliar feel of tears dropping from his eyes sent Drew into a panic and within seconds he was certain he was losing his mind. 'Boys don't cry, Andrew, toughen up!' his father yelled, but unlike when he was six and broke his arm, today he couldn't stop. "I'm sorry." Slipping from the bed, he sat on the floor letting the shameful tears fall on the smiling faces of his children in the family photograph. The picture just amplified his failure. This year there wouldn't be a perfect photo Christmas card, bragging about another wonderful year for the Andrew Stokes Family. The illusion could no longer be faked and soon all of Dallas society would be abuzz over His Honor, Judge Stokes having a failure for a son. "I'm so sorry."
Then, just as he sank deeper into the emotional abyss consuming him, he heard 'It's okay, she'll never stop loving you'. "Wh…" He blinked to clear his tear-blurred view and saw Marta kneeling in front of him crying too.
"Cassie will never stop loving you," she assured in a comforting voice. "You did your best, but Lissa was impossible to please. Cassie will understand that one day, if she doesn't already…and I think she might. She knows you'd never hurt her on purpose."
"I…" The only thing worse than crying was being seen crying. "Please…" Humiliated, he covered his wet face with his shaky hands. "I swear I haven't shed a tear since I was six, I…"
"It's okay." Marta reached out, removing his hands and through her tears, she chuckled, "I know you're embarrassed that I'm seeing you like this because you're a tough guy, but since I puked all over you earlier today, I honestly think we're even."
Right there, on the worst moment of the worst day of his life, Drew found himself laughing. "Close anyway…but only because there were witnesses to you pukin' on me."
"Uh huh."
Wiping his eyes, Drew clarified, "Even though we're even, and we're laughin', we still won't tell anyone about this right?"
"No one…ever," she shook her head emphatically, "…especially not Nicky."
"Holy hell, you have been paying attention all these years. Yeah, Nicky has to go to his grave believin' I'm invincible." Drew laughed with the nanny, and once he was on his feet, he looked at the flu-stricken woman wearing a frumpy terry-cloth robe and said, "I never realized you had such an infectious laugh."
Covering her mouth Marta joked, "Of course it's infectious, I have the flu."
After a third round of laughter, he placed his hand on the sweet woman's shoulder. "Thank you, for your kind words and your discretion."
Locking her eyes on Drew's she quietly said, "Any time you need an ear or a shoulder, you know where to find me."
"I just may take you up on that," he replied before breaking into a smile. "Good night."
Watching her dream man walk out of the room, Marta whispered, "Please take me up on it."
Greg's Apartment...
"Thanks for the ride over here," Greg told Tawny as she stood in the door of his new apartment ready to leave.
"My pleasure," she answered in the voice of a nervous teen waiting for a kiss. "The movers are coming to the townhouse to move the furniture at seven tomorrow, so what time do you want me to pick you up?"
"Six thirty?"
"I'll be here." Then she pointed to her watch. "It's getting late. I better go."
"Drive carefully and call me when you get home, so I know you made it okay."
"Okay," she breathed out. "Good night."
"Night." He waved before shutting the door. Watching Tawny long for a good night smooch was exactly the boost he needed to finally stop the image of her kissing Drew like he was going off to war. Just as he was about to celebrate he realized he had just let his pregnant wife walk to her car alone at night. "Tawny, wait!" He whipped open the door and saw that she was standing there smiling. "Sorry, let me walk you."
"I knew it would come to you eventually."
Taking her hand, he strolled with her down the sidewalk. "Is it crazy that I love this?"
"Love what?"
"Pretending that we've just started dating."
"Nope, 'cause I'm loving it too."
When he heard her open the locks with her key remote, Greg opened the driver-side door. "Buckle up."
"For the ride home, or life with you?" she sweetly asked as she slipped behind the wheel.
"Both." Once her seat belt was locked, he waved, "Good night."
"It's gonna be a really long time before we kiss, isn't it?"
Nodding he confirmed, "Yeah, but when it eventually happens, it's going to be the hottest kiss in the history of hot kisses. Blazing! An inferno of lip action! Legendary."
With a wink she replied, "Good night, Hoj." Upon seeing the video using her old nickname for him disparagingly, she decided to retire 'Chuckles'.
"Hey!" he laughed at the sound of his nickname coming from his wife's mouth.
"Sorry, I thought it would be okay to call you by the cool name all your friends use, but I guess we haven't been dating long enough, huh?"
"If you think you want to get serious with me one day, then yeah…you can use it."
"Thanks, Hoj."
"Wait…what do your friends call you for a nickname?" Now that the fairy tale feeling was gone, Princess no longer felt right.
"Miss Kansas, because as Miss Cavanaugh County, I qualified for the Miss Kansas teen pageant before I left home."
"Well then….good night, Missy."
"Good night, Hoj." Driving away, on what had been one of the worst day's of her life, Tawny smiled uncontrollably. "I love that man!"
Watching his wife's car disappear into the night, Greg beamed with confidence. "For the first time ever, I really believe we're gonna make it."
Indigo...
"So…do you like my choice?" Tony asked while swaying his wife to the love song.
Becca responded by pointing to her lips and shaking her head.
"You can talk now," he said, after stealing a kiss.
"It's perfect! Life with you is perfect." She snuggled closer as the song came to its end. "You're perfect just the way you are, Anthony Michael Vartann, don't let anybody else make you think otherwise."
"Thank you, Honey." He nuzzled her close, appreciating the compassion. "I feel the same about you."
"Hey, look who's bringin' the romance!" Becca teasingly shouted across the floor. "That's right! Work it, Gris! Make that wife of yours swoon like my husband is making me swoon! Isn't life great!"
"The lovebirds finally looked over here," Gil remarked. "They were so into each other, I thought we were going to go undiscovered."
"Sorry, Honey."
"I'm not," Gil kissed the top of Sara's head. "It's about time the world knew how much I love my wife."
The Blakes
11:31 pm
"Hey, Honey," Paul slipped into bed with Wendy, who was only half-awake. "I love you, Wen."
"Did your father win?" she mumbled as he turned off the light.
Propping the lie he had told to cover his secret plan to protect his family, Paul brushed a kiss over her lips while whispering, "Yes."
"Did you drop off Ryan?"
"I thought Carrie picked him up because he wasn't in the living room or in Sean's room."
Wendy bolted. "She couldn't pick him up, because she was watching Drew's kids. Oh God."
The concerned parents rushed out of the room and down the hall to check Celine's bed.
"It's still made."
"Celine! Ryan!" Wendy yelled, forgetting her other children were sound asleep.
"What's wrong!" Sean exclaimed as he dashed from his room.
"Your brother and Celine are missing."
"No, they're in the tree house. I was up there too, but I got sleepy."
"Oh, thank God," Wendy relaxed…until she realized they could be having sex. "Paul!"
"I'm on it!" The concerned father darted for the back door.
Wendy turned to her innocent son, "What were you all doing in the treehouse at this hour, Sean?"
"Eating cupcakes and drinking Coke."
"Coke? We don't have any Coke in the house."
"I invited Lindsay to join us."
Wendy hurried to the open dining room window. "Are they there!" she called out to her husband who was climbing down the tree.
"Yep, sound asleep in a bean bag."
"Clothed?" She prayed the answer was yes.
"Yes, Honey!"
"Thank God." Wendy dropped into a dining room chair. "I was so tired I guess I fell asleep without checking on them. I don't know what's with me today."
"Sorry we worried you, Mom." Sean walked over and gave her a hug. "Good night."
When Paul returned to the house and found his wife sitting at the dining room table, he casually asked, "If you could go back in history and kill Hitler, would you?"
The exhausted mother glanced up. "Huh? Where are the kids?"
"Would you kill Hitler if you could go back in time? Would you think murder is justified because you'd be saving millions of lives?"
"Of course."
"What about serial killers? Like Ted Bundy or Jeffrey Dahmer? They killed what…a dozen, two dozen people? Would it still be justified?"
"Seriously, Paul, I'm way too tired for a philosophical discussion on…"
"What about Mike? Would you kill him before he killed your sister if you could go back in time?"
"What is going on with you!"
"I just need to know. Would you kill Mike? Would you kill anyone who you knew was a murderer to prevent them from killing again? Or would you leave it up to the law or to God to punish him?"
"You're scaring me." He looked crazed. "Stop it."
"I had this crazy dream," Paul confessed as he knelt before his wife. "I dreamt that I had Mike killed when I found out he was going to be released from Ely. I did it because I was terrified that he would hurt you or the kids. I had visions of him raping you, of kidnapping McKenna and doing what that bastard did to my sister, I…"
"Honey…" She caressed his cheek. "We've all been under a lot of stress and…"
"What if I really did it? What if I called in a hit on Mike and he died in prison? How would you feel about me? Would you be grateful, or…"
"Paul!" Wendy yelled, then promptly brought her hands to her mouth. "You're scaring the hell out of me. I'm starting to think you're serious." When she saw the fear in his eyes, she panicked, "You and your father…you weren't gambling tonight, were you?" When her husband shook his head and started to cry, she jumped from the chair. "Are you crazy! What if you get caught!"
"I won't. I mean…it was my idea, but I didn't handle things."
"Your father?"
"He knew just what to do." In a conflicted voice, Paul wept, "I want it to happen, because I want you and the kids to be safe, but at the same time, I feel like a…killer and that scares me to death. If I could just hear you say it was the right thing to do, I think I'd feel much better."
Her body trembling, Wendy reached out for her frantic husband's hand.
"I kept asking myself 'how will you feel the morning after he rapes Wendy or Carrie?' and the answer kept coming up 'regretful and guilty for not killing him when I had the chance'. So ask yourself this, Wendy. How will you feel if you wake up one morning and one of your children has been kidnapped by Mike when you could have prevented it?"
Tears streaming down her flushed cheeks, Wendy answered, "Regretful and guilty for not killing him when I had the chance."
"Thank you." Paul wrapped his arms around Wendy's quivering body. "We'll know by nine am if it worked."
When the clock struck midnight, Wendy jumped. "This is going to be the longest wait of my life."
Author's Notes:
If you're not familiar with Keith Urban's Making Memories of Us, I put it on my MySpace so you could hear it: hope one or two scenes in this chappie touched you since I shed a tear or two writing this one! But I'm PMSing so…I sniffle easy LOL
I wanted to give a 'state of the couples' update by showing most of them and letting you 'peek' at what's going on. Who was your favorite in this one?
Thanks KJT for lightning quick editing on this one!
Next Chapter: It's Judgment Day for Mike! Posting: (PLEASE DON'T YELL! LOL) It's actually school break here starting Friday (we go year round) and I'll be taking some trips and therefore a little break from writing. Think of these first 23 chapters as the 1st half of Book 3. You and Wendy Blake will be waiting until Thursday, October 12th for the next half to begin. (PLEASE DON'T YELL! LOL) Guess what one of things I'll be doing on vacation is! Meeting KJT! She's crossing the Atlantic! Woo hoo! Yep, after 2 years of cyber friendship, we'll be meeting up at the Happiest Place on Earth and riding Splash Mountain together to celebrate 200+ chapters! Let's hope we get along or she won't want to edit anymore doh! Thank you for your continued support and I hope to see you around for the 2nd half of Book 3!
Thanks for reading!
Maggs