And here I am with the next chapter. Yep, another update for "ITTY" already. I usually like to try and take my time with this particular fic cuz it means the most to me of all my fics. But I'm receiving so much positive feedback... just can't help myself. :) Plus, I've started to feel a little inspired again.
Readers: Y'all are sweethearts. Seriously. I can't even tell you how much I appreciate all the support I'm receiving. Okay, I'm over the mushiness now, LOL.
Still don't know exactly when I'm wrapping this fic up.
And on we go...
"I'm telling ya, Gina. This is never gonna work," Chad said a few hours later.
The two were in their hotel room and they'd been arguing about the whole "taking Jade" business for the last hour. Chad was growing increasingly frustrated and uneasy. Gina just seemed so... frighteningly determined.
"What's really going on here, Chad? Are you against it because you think Jade's gonna affect my relationship with you? I've already told you-" Gina was saying.
"I'm against it because it's insane! And cruel as hell," Chad said.
"Cruel? How the hell is it cruel?" she said incredulously, throwing her hands up. Was he crazy?
Chad gaped at his girlfriend for several moments. No way had she really just said that. "How is it- Gina, you're talking about kidnapping a little girl and telling her you did it because her father can't love her anymore."
"That's not the way I'm gonna explain it to her! God, Chad! Why can't you get behind me on this? And you really wanna talk about cruelty? What about Jason? Huh? And Kim? What about what they did?" Gina said, fury seeping into her voice once again.
"What? What is it that they did exactly, Gina?" he asked calmly.
She rolled her eyes. "Jason told me to stay away from Jade and Kim tried to over my role."
"If that's really true, how can you blame her for it? Gina, you just up and left. The girl needed a mother figure," Chad said as reasonably as he could.
"It's more than that. She was actually trying to be Jade's mother. Jade's way too attached to her. Chad, how can you not see how wrong that is? And, once again, you can't kidnap your own kid. No such thing," she said, her eyes flashing.
"Gina, there is such a thing and you know it. Even if there wasn't... it's still wrong. It's a twisted, bad, bad idea. You can't do this to that little girl. You say you love her. Well... prove it," he said.
"She's coming back with us, Chad," Gina snapped.
"You only want her 'cause it'll make Jason miserable," he said.
"Jason's already miserable. He's a miserable jackass," she said venomously.
"The guy doesn't need this, Gina. Especially not now," he said.
"Oh, please. Those babies will be fine. And why won't you support me? Look, you don't have to help. I told you that already. I can handle it on my own. Just, just don't fight me on this," Gina said.
Chad sat back on his elbows. "Gina... maybe you should consider talking to someone."
She frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Counseling. Therapy," he said.
"So, now you think I'm crazy?" she said.
"I think you need a little emotional stability, that you need to work through a few issues," he said.
"Chad, I'm not perfect and I never claimed to be. Hey... I'm just trying to do what's best for Jade," she said.
"First, leaving her was best. But, now it's a different story, huh? Bullshit. This isn't concern for Jade's welfare or a desire to be a mother. You're doing this outta pure spite. Hurting Jason means hurting Jade, ya know," he said.
"No, it doesn't. Chad, say what you want. But you're not gonna talk me out of it," she said.
He sat up, then, stood to his feet. "Then... we're finished." It did not feel good at all to say that. But he didn't like this Gina at all. There was just no way they could go on.
She blinked. "Excuse me."
"Gina, I can't go along with this. I won't. And I don't need that kind of soap opera drama in my life. Never been a big fan," he said, heading over to his overnight bag.
"Stupid me. I was under the impression that you gave a damn about me," she said bitterly.
"I do. What the hell do you think I was trying to stop you for?" he said, shaking his head.
"Maybe for your own selfish reasons. Maybe you just don't want Jade around. Who knows? Look, Chad, you have to know something here. As much as I've come to love you and care about you... if you walk away from me, don't even think for a half-second of crawling back. There'll be no second chances. I mean that. You have two choices here. Change your mind and support me like you really should... or go. Go on back to Sacramento or wherever and never speak to me again," she said seriously.
He walked up to her. "I love you, too,Gina."
She smiled and leaned in to hug him, but, he grabbed her arms and looked into her eyes. She frowned in confusion. Why would he stop her?
"But nothing can make me help hurt some innocent, helpless kid. So, I'm leaving Angel Grove and then, I'll start preparing to never speak to you again," he said seriously.
Jason smiled at Jade's sleeping face. He'd just finished reading one of her favorite bedtime stories to her. Before, they'd had dinner, then, cookies and she'd told him about her day at daycare, finally, they'd watched a movie together. Spending quality time like that with her... well, he just loved it. He treasured their one on one time.
"Good night, cupcake," he whispered before kissing her forehead gently. Then, he turned off her lamp, stood and made his way out of the room after checking to see if he'd turned on the night light.
Jason sighed and was about to head to the den until the doorbell rang. He couldn't help feeling annoyed. If it was Gina... he honestly wasn't sure how he'd be able to hold himself back. And, hopefully, it wasn't Gary, either. Yeah, Jason was starting to tolerate him more, but, he wasn't in the mood right now.
When Jason opened the front door, his dark eyebrows shot up. "Chad? What are you doing here?"
Chad sighed. "I don't blame you for sounding suspicious. But Gina didn't send me over or anything. Actually, she doesn't even know I'm here. She thinks I'm currently heading back to Sacramento."
"Without her?" Jason asked.
"Yeah. To tell the truth, I am heading back to Sacramento. I broke up with her a little while ago and that's why I'm here. I really need to talk to you about something really important," Chad said.
Jason stared at him for a few seconds. "All right," he said, stepping aside. Chad nodded and stepped in. Jason closed the door and they headed for the den. "Listen, man, if you need to talk to somebody about the breakup, I'm really not your guy. Not because I'm her ex-husband. It's because I've got more than enough going on right now."
"I know. I'm really sorry about your twins. But this isn't about me needing an ear. The thing is... Gina's plotting to take Jade," Chad said.
Jason's eyes widened a little. "Run that by me again."
"She plans to just take Jade back to Sacramento with her. In other words, kidnap her. And, get this, she said she is gonna tell her that she had to take her because you won't give her any love and attention anymore because of the new babies," Chad said.
Jason had no idea what to say to all this. Dozens of emotions began tumbling around in him. He knew Gina was a lot of things, but, this was just... whoa.
"I told her how twisted and wrong it was. I tried to talk her out of it. She wasn't having it, though. So, I ended things. I'm not gonna be part of something like that. I'm really sorry, man," Chad said sincerely.
"Thanks, but... you're not the one who should be sorry. And thanks for giving me a heads up," Jason said.
"You deserved it. This isn't about her wanting to be a mother to Jade now. It's all about making you and Kim miserable. So you might wanna tell everyone you know to keep a close eye on Jade," Chad said seriously.
"Count on it, man. But it's all gonna be cool, though. Because Gina's not gonna get what she wants," Jason said solemnly.
"But... I really don't understand, Mr. Scott," Diane Young- the woman who ran the daycare Jade attended- said on Tuesday morning with a confused frown.
Jason had just dropped Jade off and he'd pulled Diane aside and asked to talk privately with her. They were in her office.
"Ms. Young, you're aware of my situation with Gina. Well, she's really not fit to be a mother at all. She's planning to kidnap my daughter," Jason said.
"Oh, my God," Diane said with wide, disbelieving eyes.
"She has no interest in being a mother. She's become a really bitter, jealous, spiteful person and she wants nothing more than to see me unhappy. That's her sole purpose for trying to take Jade. I cannot let that happen," Jason said.
"Of course not! I had no idea she was so- well, this is just unbelievable," Diane said, shaking her head. "I'm really sorry."
"Me, too. If she stops by today, call the police without the slightest bit of hestitation," Jason said.
"God, Jase! I knew that dream I had a few nights ago meant something big was about to happen," Kim said that evening.
She'd been home since noon. Her mother had brought her. Anyway, Jason- who'd just gotten home from work and picking Jade up from daycare- had just informed Kim of Gina's latest. Jade was in the den, watching TV, and Kim and Jason were in their bedroom.
"Kim, Jade's not going anywhere with that heartless loon," Jason said.
"I wanna believe that, Jase, but...you can't be so sure, you know. I mean-" Kim was saying.
"Gina really must be off her rocker if she thinks she can pull this off," he said. Then, he placed his hand over Kim's. "Angel, why don't we just talk about something else? Anything else. Even Bulk and Skull."
Kim laughed. "My two fave subjects."
"Gotta love 'em," Jason quipped- causing them both to laugh. Then, Kim sighed and shook her head. "What's up?" he asked.
"I'm sorry, Jase, but... I can't stop thinking about Gina and all. I-" she was saying.
"Hey," he said quietly. She looked at him. "We're a family. All of us. I'm not gonna let anybody break that up. I don't want you worrying so much about her. She doesn't have the power you may think she has. That woman's meaningless."
"True," Kim said, nodding. Then, she smiled and ran her fingers through his hair. "I love you so much."
"I love you, too," he said before kissing her softly.
"Okay. Let's talk about Bulk and Skull now," Kim said, mock serious- causing Jason to throw his head back and laugh.
It was perfect. She could do it without actually having to "kidnap". Gina grinned widely. She couldn't believe she hadn't thought of this in the first place! With this beautiful plan, she'd get what she want with no trouble at all. She really could do a few cartwheels right about now!
'I can't remember the last time I felt so damn proud of myself! This is gonna be so sweet. Not only will his heart be broken, but, his life'll be totally ruined. And his oh-so-impeccable reputation. I love it! I love me!' she thought happily.
And maybe she'd take back the no second chance thing and talk to Chad and get him back. He'd have to come back now that there would be no "abduction." But she'd deal with that when she and Jade returned to Sacramento.
'I'm so giddy right now! I wish I had a bottle of champagne,' she thought as she sat on the hotel bed and picked up the telephone.
A few minutes later... "Miss, are you absolutely certain about this? Because these are very serious allegations," Officer Luke Black said.
"I'm not lying, officer!" Gina said, making sure she sounded all emotional and distressed. "I just can't believe I had no idea it was all going on. I just really hate myself."
"Okay. Settle down. I'm just saying that-" Officer Black began.
"Officer, I've never been more sure. Jason Scott's a sick human being and I want him locked up immediately for sexually molesting my daughter," Gina said, a cold smile on her face.
Betcha wasn't expecting her to pull THAT one outta her little pointy hat. Now, don't hate me. After all, we've established that we're dealing with a heartless witch here, LOL. Once again, DRAMA is part of the genre. Stay tuned to see how all this will play out... . Cya.