Author's Note: Please note the date! Over a month in story time has passed since the last chapter took place.
Laws of Motion – Book 3
Written by: Ms. Maggs/Edited by: KJT
Chapter 32
Friday, November 11, 2005
Crime Lab – Grissom's Office
11:10 am
"Ready for a break?" Sara asked from the doorway. "It's my day off and I'm just working backlog, so I can skip out whenever…"
"What's the rush?" the Master Criminalist queried as he lowered his glasses. "I'm still catching up from being on away at my conference last week."
"I'm craving cheesecake."
"It's only ten after eleven."
"The Cheesecake Factory opens at eleven thirty."
Like an absent-minded professor Gil changed the subject, "Turn a little to your left."
"Why?" she asked while complying.
"Suddenly you look pregnant."
"Shocking!" Jim Brass commented as he arrived next to Sara. "What is it? Sixteen weeks now?"
"Fifteen and a half," Sara confirmed. "At least you're paying attention, Jim. My husband apparently just noticed this bump." She patted her stomach. "The bump wants cheesecake. Wanna join us?"
"Thanks, but no." Lowering his voice, the Brass Man shared, "Over lunch, Heather is modeling her four dress options for the LVPD formal for me."
"That's really surprising, meaning she's a very independent woman and I wouldn't think she cared about anyone else's opinion."
"Yeah." Winking he said, "I think it's a ruse to get me to her house for a nooner."
The Vartanns
12:00 pm
"Honey, I'm home!" Tony tossed his keys on the kitchen counter. "Ready to hit the road?" He only worked half a day so they could beat the traffic into Anaheim. "Becks?!"
When he reached the bedroom, Tony was disappointed to see his wife sound asleep on a bed full of unpacked suitcases. "Hey!"
"What?!" She bolted up.
"You said you'd be packed and ready when I got home at noon."
"What time is it?" she yawned.
"Noon."
"Oops." She reluctantly got out of bed. "I think I'm coming down with something."
"I think you don't want to hang with my family," Tony groaned on his way to the dresser. "You've been dragging your ass around the house for days dreading it."
"That's not true," she protested. "I'm sick."
The doubting husband pressed the back of his hand to his wife's forehead. "You don't have a fever."
"Seriously, it's not that I don't want to see your family, I've been psyched about this for weeks…and nervous, but mostly psyched." Walking to the bathroom, she whined, "It's just raging PMS, ignore me."
"Great, you'll be on the rag around my bitchy sister-in-law, that'll be fun," he cracked up. "Hopefully Gina's post partum depression is still in full swing. My brothers and I will be doing shots at Goofy's Kitchen."
"I'm rolling my eyes!" Becca shouted from the toilet.
Tossing socks and underwear in a suitcase, Tony yelled toward the bathroom, "Seriously, Honey…maybe it's because of your dad…you know, the bad memory of Disneyland. It's subconsciously working on your head."
"I haven't given that bastard a second thought…until you brought him up just now!"
"Doh!" Heading for the closet, Tony said, "Can you grab my toothbrush and…"
"Peeing!"
"Make sure you yell that in front of my mother," he laughed. "She told me she thinks you have excellent manners."
"Oh my God!"
"What's wrong?!" Tony rushed into the bathroom to find his wife sitting on the toilet clutching her head.
"What if I have cancer?"
"What makes you think you have cancer, Sweetheart?"
"I'm tired…I have no appetite…and my hair's flat."
"Hair cancer?"
"Tony!" She threw his Time Magazine at his chest. "Stop being a smart ass! And stop leaving your reading material in the bathroom!"
"But that's where I read my reading material," he chuckled. "Honey, come on…you've been giving yourself an ulcer worrying about hangin' with my family. That's why you've been tense and not hungry. The fatigue is because you're working yourself into a tizzy over this weekend."
"I didn't say tense. You think I've been tense?! When have I been tense!?"
"Right now is a really good example, but yesterday when we were at Nordstrom's buying my nieces and nephews outfits you bit the sales clerk's head off, remember?"
"She was stupid," Becca replied, feeling justified. "A person shouldn't be categorized as being tense for snapping at a stupid person, because stupid people should be snapped at."
"My mistake."
"Did you remember to pick up my Xanax?"
"Dammit!" Realizing the anti-anxiety medication was a necessary component for success this weekend, Tony rushed for the door. "It's filled and waiting for me at the pharmacy across the street from the station. I'll be back!"
Greg's Apartment
12:17 pm
"I'm here!" Greg yelled as he rushed into the apartment he was now sharing with Daniel who had successfully completed his four week stay in a group transition home. The plan was to get him set up for independent living and he'd take over the place when Greg moved into the house with Tawny. "I'm just gonna grab a shirt that isn't quite so flaming and then we'll bolt to gay Bible study, okay?!" He raced to the closet. "Tawny's doctor was running late and then we had to schedule our twenty week ultrasound for next week. I can't believe we're half way there! I'm taking her out to dinner to celebrate. Tonight's the night, Bro! I'm gonna romance her and kiss her under the stars! I almost kissed her outside the doctor's office, but I want our first kiss to be special."
"I think I changed my mind about today," Daniel announced when he popped into the bedroom.
"Uh…no you didn't." Greg grabbed his study Bible from the bedside table. "I stayed up reading and researching until two a.m.! I love what Jesus was doing, I really do, but I would have rather been mindlessly playing X-box after processing seventeen trash cans yesterday. Look! I even took notes on post-its so I'd fit in. We're going to this gay Christian Bible group outing thingy and you're introducing me to this guy who wants to go to Starbucks with you and if I think he's nice then you're gonna have coffee with him. You've dropped his name to me a hundred times and you've only lived here a week and I'm barely home! That's a sign. Your therapist told you this group is good for you. She said it will help you feel like less of an outcast, right?"
"Okay," the jittery nineteen year old replied. "Sorry, I'm just really nervous."
CVS Pharmacy
12:31 pm
Tense about the weekend ahead, Tony contemplated popping one of Becca's Xanax on the way home from the store. It'll be fine, just fine. Clutching the prescription bag, he headed for the antacid aisle, but instead of finding relief, his stress only got worse when he rounded the corner.
"Tony!"
Whirling around, the detective saw his ex-wife coming straight for him. She's the last person I need to see right now. "How are you, Amy?" he asked when they met in front of the pharmacist's pick up window. "Did you ever get your ass into therapy?"
Sticking out her chest she jokingly asked, "Do you think my head's shrinking?"
"I'm leaving town for the weekend and don't have time for your bullshit."
Cutting the act, she honestly said, "Yeah, I started therapy. I hate it though. I have a checklist of things I'm supposed to work through. I started taking some medication too. I don't know if it's helping. That's why I'm here, getting it refilled."
"Good for you, I'm really glad you took my advice." He breathed a sigh of relief. "I spoke to your mom the other day, she's happy too."
"Why are you here?" Noting her ex was standing next to the reproductive health items, Amy joked, "Buying warming lube for your Ice Princess wife?"
"Beat it, Amy."
"There's the good mood I remember."
"How can you insult my wife and expect me to be nice to you? Especially when I'm trying to help you when I really shouldn't give a rat's ass whether you live or die."
"Sorry." Stuffing her hands on her hips, she released a heavy sigh. "Hey, since you're here there's something I need to tell you. One of the things my therapist has encouraged me to do is come clean with you as soon as possible."
"Great…okay, exactly how many guys did you screw behind my back?"
"The cheating wasn't the worst thing I did to you, believe it or not."
"Spill it!" Already stressed about Becca, he dreaded what the ex was about to say.
"Since I couldn't take pills because they make me vomit, and since I didn't want to be truthful about the affairs and not wanting a baby, I had to stoop a little low to make sure you didn't get me pregnant when we were trying." Sighing, she confessed, "I secretly loaded you up with Rogaine and steroids…they wreak havoc on a guy's sperm. My shrink says that's why you got so irritable and couldn't get it up sometimes too. You thought it was work stress, it wasn't. Hey, at least you got more muscular! That's something, right? Sorry, Baby…that's why we never made a baby." She rolled her eyes. "Then I had to get wasted and let that jerk screw me without a condom and I got pregnant anyway. Dumb, huh? Anyway, the shrink says you're probably not permanently damaged, and over time, the problem will most likely correct itself. I really, really hope you'll forgive me instead of killing me."
"Holy shit! My brother was right?!" Recalling how Becca had recently lost her appetite and was run down, he grabbed a pregnancy test and raced for the counter. "Here's a twenty!" He threw it at the cashier. "Keep the change!"
Drew's House
12:34 pm
Glancing at the clock for the third time in four minutes, Marta swore it hadn't changed. To pass the time, she decided to busy herself adjusting the fresh cut flowers the housekeeper, Teresa, had placed in the niche at the top of the stairs.
"Do you like them?" Teresa asked. "Mrs. Stokes refused to have daisies because they were common, but I think they're pretty."
"Me too, they remind me of the fields back home." When she heard the front door open, Marta struggled not to react. "Would you mind working downstairs? Claire just went down for a nap and…"
"I had a feeling you were going to ask me that," the housekeeper smirked. "I'll do the kitchen." While you do the boss.
"Thanks."
"Nanny Marta…" Drew formally greeted her after running up the stairs and seeing the housekeeper. "Could I have a word with you about Matt? When I dropped him off at preschool just now, his teacher had a concern about…his show and tell selection."
"Sure thing."
As her boss and the nanny hurried into the master bedroom, the housekeeper shook her head. "Honestly, when the kids aren't around, you can drop the act."
"Excuse me?" Drew reflexively replied.
"Sorry, I don't mean to intrude." Teresa chuckled, "But you do remember I do the laundry and make the beds around here, right? Don't worry about me saying anything."
"I think we've been busted, Darlin'." Drew took Marta's hand. "Thanks for your discretion, Teresa. Since my divorce only finalized last week, you can imagine why there's a need for discretion. We don't want the kids to be confused either."
"I understand." Pulling a set of head phones from her pocket, the forty-two year old housekeeper put them on and said, "You should also know that I can't hear anything when I'm listening to J Lo."
Laughing, Marta hurried into the bedroom. "I wonder what gave us away."
Shutting the door behind them, Drew answered, "Maybe it was the fact that we can't stop looking at each other when we're in a room together?" He started walking her backwards toward the bed. "Or that I can't keep my hands off you."
"Maybe she saw us steal a kiss?"
"I'm thinkin' her reference to the sheets was a clue," he laughed. "Every Wednesday and Friday when I come home to take Matt to preschool the bed's made." He eased her onto the mattress. "Then I come back to chat with you about my son, who must be a real problem child to have an issue every time he goes to school."
Marta released a blissful sigh while watching her secret lover shed his clothes.
"When I leave to pick up Matt two hours later…Teresa finds the bed a mess and we were the only people in the room."
"Wow, she must be really smart to figure that out!" Marta giggled as Drew wiggled her jeans off. Although there was much more to their relationship than sex, there was no denying it was a delicious component of the total package. Wednesday and Friday afternoons were the best of all. With Cassie and Matt both at school, and Claire sleeping soundly in her crib, they didn't have to worry about an untimely knock on the door. It was when they could both relax and relish each other to the fullest.
"I know we woke up in each other's arms this morning, Darlin', but I missed your body next to mine all morning." After capturing Marta's lips in a passionate kiss, Drew whispered, "I've been counting the minutes."
The Vartanns
12:42 pm
"What took you so long?!" Becca quizzed when her husband came flying into the bedroom. "You're the one who wanted to leave at noon."
"Honey…you know how you've been run down lately and not eating?"
"Yeah."
From behind his back he revealed the pregnancy test. "Those are pregnancy symptoms. Would you humor me and take a test?"
"Aww." She smiled at how hopeful he was when there wasn't a snowball's chance in hell. "Sure, Honey."
"I opened the box when I was at a red light and got it ready." Pulling off the cap of the stick, Tony anxiously said, "All you have to do is pee on the tip of the stick for five seconds. Just do it and leave it on the counter and then we'll go in to look at it together in a few minutes."
"You're shaking," Becca said in surprise.
"Honey…" He was going to tell her about Amy's confession before the test, but instead he cupped her cheeks and kissed her until they both gasped for air. "Think of it as good practice for when we do it for real next year. Hurry!"
"Peeing!"
Community Center
12:45 pm
"Get out of the bathroom already!" Greg commanded Daniel in a hushed whisper. "You can't chicken out now, we're here. Which one is he?" There were roughly forty men and women in the room. "The geeky guy in the sweater?"
"Nothing personal, but geeks aren't my type."
"Funny, very funny. You're really living up to your role as my pesky little brother." Greg eyed the next candidate. "The Mormonish looking one in the white button down?"
"No, that would be like dating my uncle."
"The tall black dude with…"
"No. The guy by the water cooler. That's Wade from Wyoming…he's a minister's son. He quotes scripture like poetry. He's studying Biology and is on the track team at UNLV. He wants to be a doctor."
Greg's mouth curved into a smile. "The boy likes All-American jocks. I should have known, because you liked that picture of my buddy, Nick. Hmm…clean cut, devout, educated, with nice prospects for the future…big brother approves so far. How long has he been out of the closet?"
"Two years ago when he moved here for college. He's had a serious boyfriend," Daniel said with a mixture of excitement and trepidation, "which means he's…experienced, which terrifies me. They broke up this summer after dating a year because the guy moved to Australia to work with his sister or something like that. He said they parted friends."
"Experienced is good," Greg cautioned, "When I was a co-ed who had never been kissed, I got into a 'blind leading the blind' situation. It's like putting a jigsaw puzzle together in the dark…lots of fumbling for pieces and wasted time. When the moment of truth comes, a skilled partner makes the difference between…"
"Greg!" Daniel whispered, "Don't talk about that stuff in public. I want companionship, but I won't be physically active for a long, long time."
"Ten bucks says you kiss him by Christmas."
"Would you stop!"
"Ooh! Wade from Wyoming saw you and he's coming over." Greg snickered, "Looks like he's really into you too."
"Oh my gosh." The young man panicked when his dream boy smiled at him from across the room, "My stomach's in a knot."
The Vartanns
12:47 pm
His gut twisting, Tony watched the last seconds of the countdown run out.
"Time's up!" The beep of her husband's sports watch made Becca crack a huge grin. "Ready to find out if you're gonna be a daddy?" she giggled, knowing he couldn't possibly be one.
"Becks! Wait!" He took her hands in his. "Before we look, there's something I have to tell you. Something unbelievably crazy that I literally just found out."
"I really could bepregnant?!" Becca shrieked upon hearing the twisted story of sperm tampering. "We're waiting until our six month anniversary! I don't want to be pregnant now! We have a plan, Tony. A baby now is not our plan! Oh! Oh my God! I haven't had a period since I went off the pill. I thought it was because my body was adjusting, not pregnant!"
"You have to calm down," Tony ordered. "In case you are pregnant, getting agitated isn't good for the baby."
Grabbing her husband's trembling hand, she dragged him into the bathroom with her. "Oh my god, I can't look. I can't look! You look."
"I can't look either." Covering his face he rambled, "It's not good timing and you're not ready. Even though I didn't think I could get you pregnant, I never should have told you to toss your pills. I was just trying to help and get your body off the hormones and…I'm so sorry, Honey. This is all my fault, I never thought in a million years…but you know, you're probably not pregnant. It's because you went off the pills and your body's out of whack that you haven't got your period. I know you need more time, and I don't want you to be pregnant…"
"Tony…"
"Yeah?" When he peered through his parted fingers, he saw she was holding the stick in front of his face. "You…you're not…" He sucked in a deep breath. "I thought for sure you were pregnant."
BPAC
1:12 pm
The sting of her miscarriage still smarting, Carrie sat across from Belinda Connelly and supportively listened to her reasons for not wanting the baby she had made with Kyle Demcak in the days prior to his murder. The woman had ended up at BPAC, because Nick had given her the organization's phone number when she broke down after he informed her the DNA evidence showed she was pregnant.
"The doctor said the baby is healthy and I'm ten weeks. I could still legally have an abortion next week, but I've already tried twice. I can't have an abortion," the near suicidal woman cried. "Killing Kyle's baby after my husband killed Kyle…that would be so wrong…and too easy. I don't deserve easy. I should be rotting in jail like my husband."
"You would be if the laws were different in this state," Carrie coolly reminded her while handing over tissues.
"I have no job, no money…no home. I thought of slicing my wrists ten times this week alone. But I can't because the baby would die, and the baby has to live because Kyle died. I just want to keep the baby healthy and have it…then I want to die."
"I can't let you walk out of here after hearing you've contemplated suicide."
"I need help," Belinda squeaked. "Your fiancé said you could help me figure out what to do. I've walked by this place for a month, today I finally worked up the nerve to come inside. Could you call Kyle's parents and ask them if they want the baby. I think…I think that would make me feel less guilty. Like I'm giving them a baby to replace Kyle, not really but…could you call them for me?"
"You didn't hear?"
Belinda looked up from her tissue wad.
"When Kyle's father found out his son was sleeping with you for good grades because of his 'no Bs, no bases' edict, he felt responsible for his death. His wife blamed him too because she had been telling him for years that he was pushing Kyle too hard. They were on the brink of a divorce over it as a matter of fact. That's why they were in Vancouver on vacation…it was a last chance attempt to save the marriage. Sadly, the guilt got to Mr. Demcak and he took his own life a week after his son's death." Carrie could still hear Mrs. Demcak's wail when Nick called her in to assist the woman while they processed the scene. "All his suicide note said was 'It was all my fault.'"
"More death," Belinda sobbed. "I caused more death."
Carrie handed over the trash can just in time for the woman to vomit.
While Belinda purged the contents of her stomach, Carrie blocked her out and returned to her desk, flipping through her rolodex for the phone number for University Hospital. "Paula, this is Carrie Blake over at BPAC, we just worked together last week on…yes. I have another woman in my office that needs a seventy-two hour eval."
When her retching finally stopped, Belinda looked up and shakily asked, "I'm going to burn in hell, aren't I?"
"If it were up to me?" Carrie gulped. "Yes."
Community Center
1:23 pm
"To play Devil's Advocate here," Greg said to the Gay and Lesbian Bible Study Group comprised of ex-Mormons and outcasts from other churches, "as a Scientist, I can't believe many things written in the Bible, but that doesn't mean a lot of it doesn't have merit. The problem is, it's outdated and people are picking and choosing what's enforced and what's not based on their comfort level. If people are saying you can't be Christian because you're gay, well I say Leviticus makes it clear that they can't be Christian if they eat shellfish. The whole reason for the shellfish rule…people were probably eating poorly handled shrimp and then doubling over from food poisoning back then. Without anti-diarrhea medicine back then, a simple vibrio cholerae microbe would kill you. Do you see the common theme? Don't die, we need you around having hetero sex and populating the Earth so there's more of us than the non-believers. It makes total sense. No one was being malicious, they were just being protective of the population, but times have changed." Hoping he was making a good impression on Daniel's crush, he waxed on, "Today people pay top dollar for shrimp because they're not afraid of it anymore. The reason? The Seafood Council has done an excellent job of de-stigmatizing shrimp. Unfortunately a bunch of Neo Cons have done an even better job of terrifying the general pop about homosexuals. As a scientist who has spent a good chunk of his life dealing with DNA, I can assure you…there's nothing random about the way we are or why we tick. It's all predisposed. My motto is…don't hate me because I have brown eyes, don't hate my brother because he's gay."
"Can we quote you?" the minister asked as the group gave the newcomer a standing ovation.
"Sure." Greg reached over and grabbed another handful of M&Ms. "Anyone wanna talk about lepers?"
Trinity Christian
1:30 pm
"Stay away from me, Blake!" Lindsay snarled at her enemy as they walked down the hall. "You repulse me! I heard you and your friends laughing at me in PE."
"We weren't laughing," Ryan snickered. "We were admiring a certain asset of yours and your friend Cami. Seriously, if the teacher expects guys to concentrate in PE, they really need to rethink those fitted t-shirts they make the girls wear."
"Ugh!" She stopped dead in her tracks. "You're such a pig!"
"Ms. Willows…" Mr. Hankinson shook his head. "Language, young lady."
"Sorry, Sir." Glaring at Ryan she snipped, "I'm going to tell Celine that you were staring at my boobs."
"Like it matters now that she's gonna move to Pennsylvania with her mother."
"Ooh sounds like someone's bitter because he's gonna miss his girlfriend."
"Shut up!"
"Mr. Blake!" Mr. Hankinson snapped from his doorway. "That is not something one says to a lady."
"I'm not saying it to a lady, I'm saying it to a bwitch."
"To the Dean's office, Mr. Blake!"
"Gladly!" the teen hurried out the door into the courtyard. "I could use the air."
Dr. Libson's Office
2:25 pm
His breathing and mind taxed, Tony paced the floor of the office waiting for the doctor to enter. "Well?!"
"Your boys are back in action!" the silver haired fertility doctor cheered. When his office clerk had informed him his former patient was frantic over 'sperm tampering' he couldn't say no to the emergency appointment. "The results are completely different from the last time you were here. See for yourself." He handed over the comparison report.
"That bitch!" Tony huffed. "Pardon my…"
"No need, I had to pay my ex-bitch a million in the settlement." The doctor shuddered. "It was worth it to get her out of my life."
"Unfortunately my ex-bitch has my money and is still harassing me. I don't believe this! She could have permanently damaged me!"
"Can you press charges, Detective?"
"I don't know what I'm going to do. I'm going away for the weekend, I'll talk it over with my family and get their opinion." Clutching the report to his chest like it was a baby, Tony nodded, "I really appreciate you fitting me in and doing this stat."
"Sadly it's the only good news I've delivered today, so it was my pleasure." Reaching into his pocket, the doctor gave his customary farewell to patients who overcame infertility issues, "You're armed and dangerous now." He handed over a condom. "Proceed with caution until you're ready for a baby."
The Baby Super Store
2:34 pm
Wandering the aisles with his pregnant wife, Gil felt lost in the baby store. "There's so much to choose from. I seriously think there's less equipment in the lab." Sara had suggested they check out the place after lunch at the Cheesecake Factory.
"Instead of the Baby Super Store, we should have started out at the Baby Mini Store and worked up to this." Sara stopped and stared at the cluttered wall before her. "Look how many brands of pacifiers there are…NUK, Binky, Gerber, MAM, Evenflo, Combi, Avent. There are hundreds of color and configuration combinations. Why? What's the difference? Ooh, look! A bumble bee one, perfect for an Entomologist's child."
"And here's one for my germphobic wife." Gil grabbed a 'Keep it Kleen' blue pacifier. "It has a built-in shield that automatically closes if the pacifier falls, so you never have to worry about germs."
"Get out." Sara snatched it to read the package for herself.
"Look who it is!" Greg shouted across the store, "The Grissoms!"
"As if this experience wasn't awkward enough," Gil droned. "Hello, Greg, what brings you where we are?"
"I was around the corner attending Gay and Lesbian Bible Study with my adopted brother, Daniel and have to stay close but kill some time while he's next door at Starbucks with his first crush. The guy he's crushing on is a total hottie too. Like me, my brother has excellent taste in significant others."
"Did your father really legally adopt him?" Gil queried, having heard Greg mention the situation in the break room, but always being too preoccupied with work and the forensics class he was prepping to teach at the University to stop and chat.
"Yep, it was just final on Monday. I not an only child anymore and I'm loving the brother thing, even if I didn't get to be one for thirty years. The sweetest piece of irony is…my mom always wanted a gay son, and now my dad has one. We love that."
Sara beamed at her friend, "You're estranged from your mother who is holed up in a posh mental institution in Maui, your pregnant wife is living with your dad while you're living with your newly adopted nineteen year old ex-Mormon gay brother. Just when I thought your family situation couldn't get odder."
"Ooh! I forgot to mention we just adopted a three-legged blind cat."
"Really?" asked Sara.
"No, that part's fake."
Gil raised his brow, "Which is funny, because that part was the most believable."
Rubbing his hands together, Greg excitedly said, "Tawny and I are celebrating our babies twentieth week tonight, so I thought I'd run in here to buy something cute to mark the occasion. What about you guys? What are you doing here?"
"Scaring ourselves to death," Sara replied before cracking a smile. "The thought of having a baby still terrifies me, now that I see the equipment and supplies, I'm twice as freaked."
"Whoa." Greg stared at the pacifiers, "They have a whole wall devoted to plugs?"
Gil jumped on the chance to make his co-worker more tense than him. "And whatever we need to get one of…you need two. Cha-ching! You better max that overtime, CSI Sanders."
"That's okay," Greg beamed. "I'm flush, Daddy-O. I'm worth one hundred G's. I have half in the bank and the other half…."
"One hundred thousand dollars?" Sara exclaimed. "That part has to be fake. You were borrowing lunch money last week to get you to pay day."
With pride Greg informed his friends, "When I saved Drew Stokes's ass that night he was going to pound Rodgers, he repaid me in worthless stock. It happened to become worth something a few days later. I held onto it until it split and then sold it for a Greg-sized fortune. Yesterday, I gave a little donation to BPAC to up my karma, gave a fifty grand back to Drew to invest and build a nest egg for the girls, the rest is in the bank and will be spent very frugally and wisely."
"We only went to Tahoe for a week," Sara said to her husband.
"A lot can happen in a week."
Nick and Carrie's
2:45 pm
"In school detention for a week?" Nick commented when he read the letter Ryan handed him. "You called Lindsay Willows a bitch?"
"No!" The teen protested, "I called her bwitch."
"Ryan…" Nick wasn't amused. "Next week is your last week here. We had a bunch of stuff planned. Now you'll be sittin' in detention. Why'd you call her a bwitch anyway?"
"She was making fun of me. Saying I was upset because Celine's leaving. Which I'm not!" He stormed off.
"Get back here!"
The Rodgers Home
2:51 pm
"I'll be back, Honey!" Mike called out as he tucked the key ring he had just lifted from the maid's purse into his pocket. His plan was to make a copy of the ones she had from the Vartanns and return the ring before she realized it was missing. "I left you three hundred on the kitchen table to buy something to wear tonight. Buy something nice, because Top of the World is a dressy place."
"Thanks, Baby!"
"I'm running to Starbucks!"
Nick and Carrie's
3:01 pm
"I thought you ran away," Nick commented when he found Ryan sitting in the back yard.
Covering his face, Ryan snapped, "Can't you please punish me later?! I want to be alone."
"Hey…" Nick crouched down in front of the boy. "You really have it bad, huh?"
"I left my house for her!" the heartbroken teen cried as he brought his knees to his chest. "Now she's running around telling everyone how excited she is to go to Pennsylvania!"
"Of course she's excited, Ryan…she thought her mother was dead. Now she's going to live with her and a brother and a sister she didn't even know she had. That's exciting. It doesn't mean she's not grateful for what you did or doesn't care about you. She said she'd keep in touch on IM and e-mail, right?"
"Whatever." He burrowed his face deeper into his folded arms.
"I cried the first time my heart broke too, it's okay. Hell, I cried last night when your aunt went to bed without even sayin' goodnight." He froze, not realizing how desperate he was to tell someone Carrie was shutting him out physically and emotionally and it was tearing him apart. "Apparently I've caught your family's blurting disease. Pretend you didn't hear that."
"I'll try."
"Women are either makin' your heart thump out of control or rippin' it to shreds. There's no in between." Taking a seat next to him, Nick quietly said, "The truth is you're thirteen and you're crushin' on her, but there are a lot of girls in your future. She was the first of many who are gonna chase you, mark my word."
"I'm done with chicks."
"Ooh…I wish you had money to gamble." Nick nudged him. "Wanna drown your sorrows in root beer with me?"
"Stop it, Uncle Nick! I just want to be miserable."
"Trust me, I empathize. Today was my first day off in weeks, and I've spent it home drinkin' and workin' in the yard tellin' Binda my problems. I need company. Your aunt called and said she won't be home until nine at the earliest, so let's make it a real guy night."
"All Aunt Carrie does lately is work."
"Tell me about it," Nick sighed. "C'mon, we'll watch somethin' rated R."
The boy lifted his tear-stained face. "R?"
"Of course, R! That's what good uncles do, show their nephews R rated movies." Nick stood and extended a hand. "My Uncle Henry totally corrupted me and my brother as kids, it was great."
Wiping away the dampness Ryan sniffled, "R for violence or nudity?"
"Duh…nudity." Nick headed for the house. "I need to shower first. Then I'll order in some dinner and then we'll watch a movie. I know just the one too, a movie that changed my life when my Uncle Henry took me to see it at exactly your age…Risky Business."
Amy Vartann's Townhouse
3:22 pm
"C'mon, Mike! Meet me at the motel tonight," Amy whined as she cradled the cordless phone in the crook of her neck. Painting her toe nails fire engine red, she didn't want to be hot and ready with no one to bed.
"For the hundredth time, I'm a happily married man."
Rolling her eyes, she droned, "Nice act for whoever is standing nearby. You know what," she shouted into the receiver, "I hate men! Go to hell!" She slammed the phone down. "And screw Tony!"
The Vartanns
3:29 pm
"Forget something?" Tony held up the unused condom the doctor had given him. "You said you were going to stop and take care of business."
"Oops." Becca didn't budge from her position perched on her husband's hips. "You could have tossed me off you before deploying the soldiers."
"Yeah," he laughed like a naughty school boy. "I considered that, but it was too damn hot knowing I really could get you pregnant, which is ironic considering I've spent the greater part of my life living in fear of getting girls pregnant."
Demcak Residence
4:42 pm
"Since I'm no longer pregnant, everywhere I look I see babies," Carrie cried with Kyle's mother, a woman she had bonded with over grief ever since Nick had called her to the scene to help the devastated mother and wife. They had been meeting daily for a good cry and today was no exception. "I never even met my baby. I was only pregnant a few weeks. I can't imagine how it feels to lose a seventeen year old, but this news about the Belinda's pregnancy…does it help you in any way?"
Marjorie Demcak vacantly replied, "One day life was perfect and the next I had lost my only son. A week later I became a widow. My husband and son were the only family I had. I have a beautiful house, a bank account bursting at the seams, but I have nothing. Now I have a grandchild on the way." She nodded. "That is something, yes."
"So you'll raise the baby?"
"Carrie, my husband and I waited to start a family. I had Kyle when I was thirty nine. I'm fifty-six years old and have debilitating arthritis…I can't raise the baby." Watching the compassionate soul sitting next to her wipe her eyes for the tenth time, the broken woman asked, "If you adopted Kyle's baby, would you let me be its grandmother?"
"What?"
"I know we've only known each other for a short time and it's incredibly forward, but I think the world of you, Carrie, and from listening to you, I know how scared you are that you may not be able to have a baby of your own. If it's true that the man who abused you may have hurt your chances for carrying a child, it seems spiritually fitting that you could love a baby conceived during an abusive situation."
"Nick and I have talked about adoption," Carrie sniffled while her mind raced.
"I've heard you say such wonderful things about your fiancé and I met him, remember?" Marjorie reached out and took the young woman's trembling hand. "Nick held me when I arrived and was told my husband had taken his life. I know he's a good man."
Nick and Carrie's
6:11 pm
After polishing off his umpteenth beer, Nick said, "Is that sex on the stairs scene fucktastic or what?" After belching he added, "That's a direct quote from my late Uncle Henry, by the way. It's so great to be carryin' on Stokes family traditions. I loved that guy, he knew I needed a break from ranch reality every once in a while. He died on a mountain climbing trip about fifteen years ago, I really miss him. One day when I'm gone, I hope you and your brother, and remember me like I remember him and smile." Clearing his throat, Nick snapped back to the moment, "Soooo…what did you think about that 'sex on the stairs scene', nephew?"
"Can't…speak," the teen replied with his eyes fixed on the television.
Remembering his similar reaction at thirteen, Nick set his latest empty on the coffee table. "After I saw this movie, I dreamed about sex on the stairs with Rebecca De Mornay for years. Years! Junior year of college I finally got to have sex on the stairs."
"With Rebecca De Mornay?" Ryan asked while wiping the drool from his mouth.
"No, doofus, with Liza Birmingham."
"Was it awesome?"
"It sucked! It was painful, drafty and thoroughly not fun. The stairs were dirty too, which was gross. I like dirty sex, but I like to have it in clean places. I shouldn't be telling you that…or probably anything I've said in the last hour…whatever it was I said." Grabbing a fresh beer from the cooler filled with ice next to him, Nick lamented, "Sex on the stairs looks great on film, but in reality it sucks. Life is full of disappointments, that's just one of many."
"What about two girls at once? Is that worth it?"
"I'll only answer that question if you promise you won't tell your mom."
Drew's House
6:16 pm
"Wouldn't Nanny Marta make the perfect new mom?" Cassie Stokes whispered to McKenna, who was sleeping over that night.
"Yee haw!" Drew cheered his son who had just roped a hay bale adorned with steer horns. "That was a good one! Did you see that, Nanny Marta?! That boy is destined to be a rodeo star."
"I think so," the lovestruck nanny answered while setting the picnic table for dessert. "We're ready whenever you are."
"I am makin' you the best s'mores you ever had, Sweetheart…uh, Nanny Marta."
Cassie grabbed her friend's arm, "He just slipped and called her Sweetheart! I told you he likes her!"
"Yep, he looks real happy."
"Nanny Marta doesn't yell at him like my mommy did all the time," Cassie stated, no longer feeling guilty for not wanting her parents to get back together. "Daddy! After dessert, can we watch The Sound of Music?"
"It's your sleepover party, sure."
"I hated that movie," Matt protested, "all they did was sing and kiss. Can I play in my room instead, Daddy?"
"You bet." Drew winked at his soul mate and innocently asked, "What about you, Nanny Marta? Do you wanna watch a yucky kissin' movie with the girls and me?"
"I'd love to."
"One thing though," Cassie informed the unsuspecting couple, "we wanna dress up like they do for the big party and just watch that part."
"I'll help you after dessert," Marta confirmed.
"You and Daddy have to dress up too. Daddy, you need to wear your best suit and tie and, Nanny Marta you need to wear that pretty dress you have in the back of your closet."
"You mean the green taffeta gown I wore when I was a bridesmaid at my cousin's wedding?" Marta cringed, "It's hideous. I look like a sea monster in that thing."
"I hafta see this!" Drew exclaimed while placing the last of the s'mores on the platter. "Ladies, while you're dollin' up, I'm gonna run out to the flower shop and buy y'all corsages for our big date."
The Sanders Home
6:28 pm
With a dozen pink roses in each hand, Greg strolled up the front walk to his house.
"You look so handsome!" Tawny shouted from the second floor window. "And you bought me flowers!"
"A dozen per baby, Baby!"
"I'll meet you in the living room in five minutes!" she yelled before rushing away from the window.
Before he got to the front door, it opened. "Hey, Dad."
"Beautiful flowers…new tie…semi-normal hair…did you remember to make reservations somewhere?"
"Top of the World, seven thirty. You said Lily really liked it when you took her there when she was out here last weekend."
"Loved it." Scott shut the door and followed his son into the house. "It'll cost you though."
"Babies only turn twenty weeks once, Dad. But don't worry, I have one splurge a month in my new budget, not fifty. I'm watching every penny."
"I'm not worried." Scott headed for the kitchen where he had been pouring a glass of Merlot. "Ever since you tackled Goliath in the hospital hallway, you've turned into a confident, responsible young man."
"I gave Goliath half my investment earnings yesterday. There's no denying he knows how to make money, so I'm going to let him manage it for me."
Scott raised his Merlot glass. "You're letting your wife's ex-lover be your stock broker. That's great, very fitting for our very odd family."
"Ready!" Tawny breezed into the living room wearing her new bright blue maternity dress.
"Wow!"
"I bought it on my lunch hour." She twirled around showing it off. "I had to buy new shoes too since my feet have puffed up and four inch heels aren't comfy anymore."
"You look amazing," Greg held out the flowers.
"Thank you," she filled her nose with their scent. "They're beautiful."
Scott took both bouquets as soon as Tawny sniffed them. "I'll put these in water and leave them in your bedroom for you, Sweetheart. Have a good time, Kids."
"Thanks, Dad!" Tawny slipped her hand in Greg's. "Where are we going?"
"It's a surprise." He kissed her hand as they strolled to the front door. "Don't wait up, Dad! If the night goes as planned, she's breaking curfew."
Swooning, Tawny dreamily remarked, "I have a feeling, this will be a very memorable night."
Crime Lab
6:40 pm
Just as Gil was packed to go home for the night, Jas flew into the office. "Sara needs you!" She tried not to panic. "We were in the restroom together washing our hands and she had a sharp abdominal pain. We got as far as the break room and it happened again. She's in there on the couch."
Dropping his things, Gil hurried out of his office and down the hall. "Sara..." When he saw her on the couch pale as a ghost, blood drained from his face. "Honey..."
"I've been having little pangs all day, that's why I didn't want you touch me in the truck. I didn't think it was serious, but now..." Gil knelt in front of her, she grabbed his hand. "I'm really scared."
Author's Notes:
Thanks for reading!
Maggs