Gerald

Chapter theme song: 'Uh Oh' by: The Cheetah Girls (TCG)

I tossed and turned, trying to get even remotely comfortable. I had been up for three hours trying to get even the slightest bit of sleep but to no avail. Arnold's couch was just too damn lumpy, stiff, and uncomfortable for me to get a good night's rest. After my fight with Chandra the other day, she thought it be best I stay in a hotel for the weekend since I was so keen on allowing my ex-girlfriend to stay in our home without consulting her. I tried to reason with her but one thing I learned at a young age from watching my father was to never antagonize an angry Black woman; it'll only go downhill from then on out.

I shuffled, trying to find solace on Arnold's couch. I glanced at the grandfather clock mounted on the fireplace, it reading a fifteen after three. I groaned, knowing that it was practically pointless for me to even try and doze off when I had to be in the office by seven. It was a little under forty-five minutes to drive downtown from here and I knew the early morning commute would be hectic so I had to allot myself an extra twenty minutes against my drive to work. I sat up, half angry, half completely exhausted; grabbing the television remote from the coffee table to flip on some television.

I settled on a rerun of The Maury Show but found no pleasure in watching women insult themselves by testing several men on national television to find out who their 'baby daddy' was. I found myself replaying the day's events, Phoebe and her mediation with her bastard husband Kato coming to mind specifically.

"E-excuse me?" she stammered, fisting down her coffee against the table. I tried to calm her, as did Larry with his client but our efforts went unnoticed by the two 'respectable parties'. "You did NOT just say that, Kato-san."

"Phoebe, I just personally feel that Haruhi is better suited in a more stable environment. You are a waitress and Kami help me, you are not emotionally or mentally prepared to raise a child alone."

"How dare you question my motherly capabilities? I am a wonderful mother to our daughter and my past discrepancies do not take away any merit I have in being her mother."

"So the addiction, the lying, the…" he paused, readjusting his tie before he glared at both me and Phoebe. There was a small smirk plastered against his face before he spoke. "…alleged affair that transpired within our marriage. I feel it is best Haruhi be in a more…family environment."

I mentally pictured myself strangling the shit out that pompous bastard. As a professional, I was required to keep a straight face not only for Phoebe but as well to uphold the standards of both my reputation as well as my firm's; but if I was not wearing the suit and in front of important people, I would have settled the score outside in the parking lot. He knew bringing up my affair with Phoebe was a low blow and made her look dishonorable. It was bad enough the judicial system was verbally biased towards females in the court room by allowing loopholes to bring out a woman's past discretions and character based on her personal life. What made matters worse was the preceding judge over the case was a known hard ass that tended to look down upon unmarried women with children out of wedlock or scandalous past transgressions. I tried to request another judge on the grounds of compromising the case but with so much going on, I had little to no leverage on having things go my way.

Phoebe bit her bottom lip, starting to violently shake. She looked at me, silently asking me for council on what her next move should be in this deadly game of chess she was forced to play. I looked at her, thinking quickly for the best possible way to smooth things over. Kato had to be the one to be the asshole in the room and bring up the obvious.

"I don't feel comfortable with my ex-wife being represented by her ex-boyfriend; the reason we are divorced in the first place."

My eyes bulged slightly, I regaining my composure quickly before anyone could notice. I grew tense, feeling my anger begin to simmer over. I never liked this guy and now he was pushing every button to the fullest. My colleague, Larry, had served me an icy glance before returning to speak with his client. Kato had whispered something in his ear before excusing himself for the remainder of the mediation. Larry informed me that Kato had requested me postpone the mediation for another time when tempers were more evenly distributed and Phoebe had sought out a more…neutral…representative. I let out a heavy sigh, closing my manila folder with the notes to the case, shooting Larry an annoyed look that he truly sympathized for. We decided we would catch each other up to speed later in the week over a beer to hear all the inglorious details of my affair with a married woman.

I ran a single hand through my hair, massaging my scalp to calm my nerves. Kato was one man I gladly would execute if I had the divine opportunity. He was one of those people that knew how to manipulate someone's weakness in order to use it to his advantage in foul play. He was tactful, very skillful in his strategy but an overall asshole. He knew Phoebe was as harmless as they come and that Haruhi being with her majority of the time was the best thing for his daughter; he just wanting to hurt Phoebe just as much as she hurt him when he found out about our affair. He had never truly gotten over the fact that I almost took back a wife he never truly had to begin with, he being accustomed to having a home field advantage and being the alpha male within his home. Kato's personality can be defined as sadistic and he definitely enjoyed every bit of it.

I looked back at the clock and saw it was close to four in the morning. I had yet to get an ounce of sleep and figured it still be foolish of me to try again now. I decided that the only way I was going to be able to run a full, functional day without any sleep in the past thirty hours was to get a good workout in before I downed a gallon of dark roasted coffee-black. I remembered Arnold had an in-home gym down in his basement he had set up two summers ago. He bought it as an alternative to spending money at his local gym but since he received a complimentary one year membership to the fancy, upscale health and fitness center downtown from a raffle they had in his hospital's annual raffle, he forgot all about his home gym and allowed it to collect dust.

I flipped off Maury, folded up the spare comforter and restocked it in the hall closet before I made my way downstairs for an early morning workout. I had been so busy with work, planning my wedding, and Alicia that I had little time to maintain my physical shape. I still maintained a healthy, balanced diet but I became so caught up with work that my tri-weekly trips to the gym slowly dwindled into twice a week and then, ultimately, once a week. I was beginning to lose muscle mass as that eight-pack I had worked long and hard to achieve started to downgrade to a six in the matter of three months. I had wanted this body since I was in fourth grade and was not going to let becoming partner at my firm stop that for me.

Before I even decided to go into law and politics, I had dreams of becoming a bodybuilder and having muscles the size of a watermelon to get all the ladies to look at me as I walked by. I smiled in memory of my childhood years, wishing slightly that, even just for a second, I could go back. It all seemed easy back then. There were no responsibilities, no kids to raise, no bills to pay, no full-time job, but most importantly, sex and women were the farthest thing from my mind. I was more focused on looking good in a speedo- no matter how cheesy that may sound.

I raced downstairs to begin my first set of pull-ups to strengthen my upper body before I decided to go all in on my core workout when I saw Phoebe. She was bouncing on one of Helga's Pilates balls and listening to music. I smiled, watching her bounce around, having fun. It completely slipped my mind that she was also staying with Arnold and Helga- she Helga's guests and I was Arnold's. She had the spare guest room and I chose to be a gentleman and sleep on the couch until my wife granted me the keys back to my own house. At first it had been a little awkward, especially after this afternoon's fiasco with the mediation, but as two mature adults we managed to undo some of the tension and keep things moving to maintain the peace. After all, Helga and Arnold were kind enough to let me impose on them for a few days while Chandra took some time to herself to clear her mind. The last thing I wanted to do was make this the least bit uneasy.

I allowed a small smile to curl against my lips, watching her soft, raven hair gracefully move with each movement she made. She started singing a few of the lyrics to the song she was singing and let out a light giggle. It was in Japanese so I had no idea as to what she was saying but she looked too adorable to pass up the opportunity to watch. She seemed so at peace with herself, laughing and having a good time as if it were her last few moments of freedom. She managed to slip off the ball and laugh at herself when she fell against the soft carpet of the basement. I felt a small wave of heat flood my cheeks when I saw that she only was wearing an oversized t-shirt and thin panties.

I forced myself to look away, careful to not make myself known as I tried to climb back up the stairs. I didn't see the baby rattle that was forgotten at the bottom of the stairs, finding myself stepping on it only to slip and tumble backwards into a few boxes of the leftover decorations from Helga's baby shower. I hit my head against the wall on my way down, it stinging like hell as I tried to hold some pressure to my self-inflicted wound. Phoebe heard the crash and was startled to find me tangled in blue and silver streamers, confetti, and 'It's a Boy' party hats; lightly giggling.

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah." I groaned out, removing one of the hats. "Just thought I help Helga spruce up a bit."

She smiled, removing her ear buds to come to my rescue. I blushed a deep burgundy and thanked God she could not notice. I watched her sashay over, the too-large t-shirt draping over her left shoulder as it hung off loosely on her right. It barely covered her front but exposed just enough thigh to keep my imagination running wild like an untamed stallion. It never ceases to amaze me at how I am able to see every crevice of that woman's body and still get flushed as if it were my first time.

"You did some kind of work there, Gerald." She kneeled before me, brushing off some of the confetti before noticing the small growing knot on my forehead. She gasped. "Oh my, what happened?"

"That damn rattle at the foot of the stairs. I slipped and fell and found myself knocking my head against the wall on the way down." I flinched in pain when she touched it. "Damn toys."

She stood to scurry to the icebox Arnold had in the laundry room where he kept the liquor and large, bulky food items stashed away for parties. Phoebe returned back with a bottle of champagne wrapped in a moist towel, kneeling, this time, between my legs to compress it against my swollen head. "This better?"

I nodded. "Thanks." I sat up, pushing away those damn boxes. Phoebe simply smiled, brushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear. I felt myself stiffen and decided the knot against my head was the least of my worries so thought he be best to reposition the bottle of champagne to avoid the obvious.

"I…never got to say thank you for helping me with my case." She blushed. "I know yesterday was terrible and I understand if you decide to quit but I do appreciate everything you have done."

"Who said I was going to quit?"

Her eyes lit up. "But, Kato requested that I seek new representation."

"Doesn't mean you have to." I whispered. I decided it was time to put the cold bottle against my forehead. It was beginning to burn. "God, my head hurts."

"Will you be ok?" She asked, genuinely concerned. She moved a little closer, now straddling me completely to examine my forehead. I haven't been this close to her in over a year. I inhaled her scent, the same as ever and had to resist the urge to give into my carnal instincts. "Let me see."

"No, it's fine." I pulled away. I took a small glance at my left hand and gazed at my band. I sighed. "I better get back upstairs now. I suddenly lost the urge to work out now."

"Why are you up so early? Don't you have work in a couple hours?"

"Yeah, but Arnold's couch is so damn uncomfortable I could barely sleep." I paused, finally looking at her. Even with no makeup on, hair messy, and in a simple shirt and panty she was one of the most gorgeous women I have ever laid eyes on. "But I think I can finally muster up the strength to get some sleep."

"You sure?"

"Positive." I forced a smile. "Why were you up?"

She shrugged. "Same reason I guess. I have a lot on my mind and thought the best way to relax was through music. I just happened to run into Helga's ball and decided to bounce on it since I like big balls so much."

She grew quiet, biting her bottom lip in thought. I let out a low rumble of laughter, she doing the same. Apparently I wasn't the only one that found that kind of perverted. "You like big balls, huh?"

"I did not mean it like that." She laughed, playfully slapping me on the arm. That familiar awkward silenced blanketed us again, this time not letting up. I sought words to say, practically anything, but Phoebe was the one to make a move. She gave me a gentle hug, wrapping her arms around my neck before placing a small kiss on my right cheek. She remained silent, breathing softly against my neck. I returned the favor, setting the bottle of champagne down against the floor to wrap my arms around her waist.

I buried my head between her shoulder and closed my eyes, for the first time all night finally being able to find myself able to sleep. We didn't say anything for a long while, just laying against one another until the sun rose two hours later where Helga had found us semi-cuddled up together in a pile of boxes filled with the decorations from her baby shower. I don't know when we both fell asleep, let alone in each other's arms, but I know that all I heard was Helga screaming 'No sex in the basement' to the fresh smell of frying bacon.

A/N: As promised (See, me no forget. *smiles*) I hope you all like. I am going to be focusing more on finishing up this story now before I wrap up my Rhonda and Curly story. I also wanted to write a Harold and Big Patty fic but I don't know. I have pennies for my kittens thoughts. Anyhoo, I'm tired and writing all this lustful fiction has got me feeling….'excited' so I think I am about to turn off my laptop, curl up to my husband, and…watch the encore season finale of Scandal. You kittens need to get your minds out the gutters. *wink* Until next time loves! -SP