Boys Don't Cry
Chapter:8
Pairing: Mary/Lou
Rating: R
They had a rather leisurely lunch at the café across from Lou's apartment. But it was actually Mary that suggested it, they served the best Reuben sandwiches and she had been craving one since the plane landed. Lou had decided to let her make the first step to whatever it was that she wanted to happen. She seemed happy and at ease and he didn't want anything to spoil that. But it was Lou that suggested that they go back to his apartment so she could rest.
Mary laid down on the sofa. She was tired from flying and in desperate need of a nap. Lou came out of the bedroom and sat down on the coffee table in front of her. "Are you sure I can't get you anything?"
"I'm sure."
"You're sure you don't want to lay down in the bedroom?" he asked. "I think you would be more comfortable in bed."
"That means I would have to get up."
"I'll carry you."
Mary smiled. "I'm a little heavier these days." she said. "But the sofa is fine, really it is."
Lou leaned over and gently rubbed his hand across her stomach. "I just want the two of you to be comfortable."
"We are." she assured him. "Don't let me keep you though, I know you have to get back to the station."
"I'm not really in any rush." he said. "I'd much rather be here with you."
"I am going to be here for the next five days." she reminded him. "I'm sure that you'll be sick of me by the time I leave."
Lou shook his head. "Never."
"Where do you want to go tonight for dinner?"
"Where ever you want to go." he said. "You pick the place."
"With my cravings we may end up at the pizza parlor."
"Well that's fine with me but I don't know how much your parents would like it." he said. "You might want to try and curb your cravings until afterwards."
"Only if you take me to get ice cream."
"I think I can handle that." he said. "Does that mean you're going to stay here with me instead of your parents?"
"I don't know, Lou." she exhaled. "I'm not sure if that's such a good idea. Everything's going so well."
"You can take the bedroom and I'll sleep here on the couch."
Mary smiled, he was being so sweet and caring. "We'll see how the evening goes."
"I'm not trying to pressure you into anything." he said. "It's just that I haven't seen you in months and I don't want to let you out of my sight."
"I promise I won't run away this time."
"I'm going to hold you to that."
After Lou left Mary drifted off into a much needed sleep. She never particularly cared for flying, but doing it while pregnant was even worse. She couldn't ever remember been sleepier in her entire life.
Mary was a little lightheaded. Skipping breakfast seemed to have that effect. It wasn't the best Monday morning she had ever experienced. And little did she knew that it was about to get a hell of a lot worse. Lou came out of his office and asked her to come inside. He closed the door behind him.
"Where were you last night?" he asked, sitting down on the edge of his desk.
"I had a date." she replied. "Actually it was more of an old friend."
"An old friend?" he repeated. "An old friend that you just happened to sleep with?"
Confusion washed over her. "I dated Matt a few years back."
"And now you're seeing him again?"
She didn't like his tone. "What's this about, Lou?"
"I saw the two of you together." he said. "You were all over each other and in the middle of the sidewalk."
"No, we weren't." she defended herself. "We kissed, but we weren't all over each other."
"I know what I saw, Mary."
She got up out of the chair. "I don't think I like your attitude."
"Well I really don't care." he replied. "I didn't like seeing the two of you together."
"We're allowed to see other people." she said. "That was our agreement in this stupid little arrangement."
"Stupid?"
"Yes, stupid." she replied. "The arrangement that lets you go and do and see whomever you please but still crawl back into my bed at night."
"That's unfair, Mary."
"Is it?" she asked. "Because I think it's completely true."
"And what about you?" he asked. "Aren't you doing the exact same thing? How many men have you been out with these past few months? How many of them have you gone home with? I'm sure Matt Bryan wasn't the first."
"How dare you." she breathed out. "My actions are absolutely none of your concern. And for the record I was in my apartment last night."
"With Matt, I'm sure."
"I'm not going to stand here and do this with you." she said. "It's nothing more than a waste of time."
"I don't want you seeing him."
"Well that's not going to happen." she replied. "Besides how is he different from any other man I've gone out with?"
"He just is." he couldn't tell her that Matt was the kind of man she could marry. The kind of man that could take her away from him. "I don't care who else you date, you just can't see him."
Mary just shook her head in disbelief. "You know what? I don't want to do this anymore." she told him. "I just want to forget about our entire relationship."
"It's forgotten."
"I mean it, Lou." she said. "I don't want you showing up at my apartment at one o'clock in the morning anymore, I don't want you pulling me into the editing room and locking the door, I don't want to do this with you anymore. I just want you to leave me alone."
"If that's the way you want it." he replied. "Then that's exactly what you'll get. You and Matt can go off and live happily ever after."
"You're being a complete ass."
"Well that may be." he agreed. "But at least I've always been open and honest about who else I've been screwing around with."
"I can't even be around you when you're like this."
Lou exhaled, heavily. "Then leave."
"Fine!" she agreed. "I quit!"
Mary turned over on her side and fell back into a more comfortable sleep. It was odd how a few simple little words could change your entire life.
"Congratulations, Ms. Richards." Doctor Keats smiled. "You're pregnant."
It was a damn good thing she was sitting. "Pregnant?"
"Yes." the smile seemed to be plastered onto her face. "You're about six weeks along."
"Pregnant!"
"I take it this was a surprise."
"Hmm." she sighed. "Pregnant."
And then there was the fear of disappointing your parents even though you were a grown woman.
"Mom, dad, I'm pregnant."
There was complete silence for several long moments. "Pregnant?" Dottie finally asked. "Who's the father?"
"I don't want to talk about it."
Walter looked at his daughter. "Mary." it was almost as if he were scolding her. "Who's the baby's father? Is he going to take responsibility?"
"I'm not...I'm not going to tell him." she said to them. "I don't want him to know."
Dottie shook her head. "You need to tell him so he can make things right."
"No, mom." she said, firmly. "I don't need him to make things right. I don't want him in my life at all. I just want to forget about him."
"Who is he, Mary?" Walter asked again. "This is so unlike you."
It was unlike her. This entire thing was unlike her. "Lou." she finally gave in. "Lou Grant."
Dottie was stunned. "Your boss?"
"Yes." Mary answered. "We were sort of seeing each other for a while. It's over now though."
It didn't start off so bad. In fact she was the one who initiated the whole thing. After a few drinks it seemed like a good thing to do.
They didn't make it to the sofa bed, the barely made it into the livingroom. She still wasn't entirely sure when the blanket on the floor came into play. But she was thankful because anything was better than the rug beneath it. The remainder of their clothes were quickly being shed and their mouths were entangling like their kisses were air.
He undid her bra and pulled it off of her, followed by her panties. He couldn't ever remember wanting anyone more in his entire life. He looked down at her. "Um, condom?" they were almost to the point where it wasn't going to matter.
"I'm on the pill."
Excellent response on her part. "Thank God!" he breathed out.
The next several minutes were like a whirlwind. They were in a battle for control, neither one of them willing to give in to the other. They moved together deliberately, almost forcefully, their mouths hungrily colliding whenever possible. There was this underlying raw passion that overcame them so fully that it was almost frightening.
She collapsed against him from absolute exhaustion. He immediately wrapped his arms around her. And for the longest time that's how they stayed, catching their breath, regaining what was left of the composure. He pressed a gentle kiss to her swollen lips. "Well?" he asked. "Was that what you had in mind?"
"Exactly." she pulled back to look at him. "Thank you."
"Anytime."
Then something changed, something they didn't expect. Jealousy began to rear its ugly head. Even though neither one of them said anything it was undeniable.
The sex had been extremely intense for some reason. It was very push-pull almost like they were fighting through it. They changed positions several times until finally they found one that almost seemed to work. Their struggle continued a little while longer until they were both able to reach what they had been searching for.
Mary's hands pushed at his shoulders. "Get off me." she was almost breathless.
He collapsed onto the bed beside her. The only thing he wanted to do was sleep. He had never been so exhausted in his entire life, she had given him one hell of a work out. But he could be convinced to stay up for a good reason. "You wanna go again?"
She pushed herself up into a sitting position. "No." she panted. "I'm tired."
His hands were immediately on her. "Don't go."
She looked back at him, barely able to see him in the darkened room. "It's late, I should get home."
"What's wrong, you didn't enjoy it?" he asked. Pleasing her was usually relatively easy, but tonight he struggled and he was unsure why. Perhaps she was seeing someone else. "Because you sounded like you enjoyed it."
"No, it's not that." she replied. "We just seemed to be a little out of sync." she wondered if he had been with someone else but she would never ask.
"Well we can fix that." his assured her. "Practice makes perfect."
"Maybe tomorrow."
"I don't want you to leave." he was being sincere. "We'll just go to sleep."
She hesitated. They didn't do this, they didn't stay the night at each others place. This was going to change everything. If she woke up beside him in the morning things were going to be different rather she wanted them to be or not. "Okay."
"Okay?"
"I think I could be convinced to go another round."
But there were better times. Lighter times. Times when they enjoyed each others company. Times were it was almost like they were an actual couple. And she would like to think it's when she got pregnant. One of those softer, happier times.
Mary had never been one for baseball, hell she had never been one for sports. But Lou was determined to make a fan out of her. And the first step to becoming a fan was to understand the game. There was no better way to do that then by learning to play. He picked her up at her apartment on Saturday morning and took her over to the batting cage. He planned to teach her how to hit a few balls and then later they could go to a minor league game.
"Here." he handed her the bat. "I want to check your form."
Mary arched an eyebrow and smiled. "I thought we were going to play ball."
"We are." he smiled back. "I'm going to start the machine and you just try and hit a few, okay?"
"Okay." she agreed. "It looks easy."
Lou started the machine and watched as Mary's bat connected with the first ball. "That's a little weak." he said. "You have to swing harder than that."
"I can't." she replied, hitting another ball. "Besides its not like its going anywhere."
"That's not the point." he said from behind the cage. "You still need to hit the ball with everything you've got. Just like you were going to hit a home run."
Mary swung the bat a little harder. "How's that?"
"Better." he replied. "Just imagine that the ball is Ted's head." he watched as she hit another ball. "That's perfect!"
The ball machine stopped and Mary lowered her bat. "So are we done?"
"Done?" Lou asked as he entered the batting cage."That was just the first round."
"How many rounds are there in baseball?"
He came up behind her. "Here, let me show you." he helped her get into position, leaning into her as he showed her how to swing the bat. "See, just like that."
She moved back a little, into him. "I don't know." she said. "I don't think I quite have the hang of it."
Lou wrapped his arms around hers, leaning in even closer. "Just like this." he whispered against her ear. "You want to make sure you follow through all the way."
She could definitely get use to the kind of attention he was showering her with. Perhaps they had something that went a little deeper after all. Maybe she really was in love with him. It was becoming more than just sex these days. "Mmm." she sighed. "I think I'm going to like baseball after all."
After the batting cage the minor league game seemed to be forgotten. They went back to his apartment and hit the showers. Because that's what all ballplayers did after a game. Maybe the others didn't shower together, but hell that was just a technicality. She was sitting atop the counter in his baseball jersey, watching him make slice through fruit. "I thought we were going to the game?"
"Well we were." he said. "But you and I ran into a little overtime."
"I tried to be as quick as I could." she replied. "You're the one that kept slowing me down."
"I'm not a fan of fast." he sliced the top off a strawberry."I like things to be thorough."
"Yes, I know." she smiled. "Very thorough."
He offered her a bite of the strawberry. "We could always catch the evening game." he said, eating the remainder. "Unless you had something else planned."
"No." she replied. "I had intended to spend the day with you."
"We might make it to the game." his hand lazily moved up and down her bare thigh. "Or maybe we'll we can go out for dinner tonight. You know we can get all dressed up and go somewhere nice."
Mary smiled. "I'd like that."
"Why don't you stay here tonight?"
All the other times she had said no. In the past four months staying over was something they had never done. Even we he showed up at her apartment late at night. Even when they were up until the early morning hours. Up until now it had been forbidden territory.
"Come on." he coaxed, his hand sliding even further up her thigh. "I'll make it worth your while."
"I have no doubt." she said. "It's just that staying here seems a little...intimate."
"I don't think we could get anymore intimate."
Mary slid down off the counter so that they were face to face. "I'm afraid it's going to change things."
"Change isn't always a bad thing."
"I suppose not." she said. "I just thought that we both agreed that we didn't want a serious relationship."
"We did." he said. "I was thinking that we could just explore things a little. We can still see other people if you like."
"Okay." she agreed. "I think I can handle that."
~A Few Hours Later~
Dottie and Mary were sitting at the kitchen table. It had been months since she actually saw her daughter and she wanted to spend some one on one time with her. Dottie poured herself a cup of tea. "Are you sure you don't want a cup, sweetheart?"
"I'm sure, mom." she replied. "Where's dad?"
"Golfing." she smiled. "He'll be back in a little while."
"Does he suspect anything?"
Dottie smiled. "Not a thing." she replied. "If we can make it through the next two days without him finding out then it will be the first time he's ever been surprised. Except when you told us you were pregnant."
It was like a cloud was hanging over them. Walter and Dottie had both been supportive throughout the entire thing, but her mother seemed to still be a bit old fashioned. Surprisingly it was something she expected from her father. "I'm sure he'll be surprised then."
"You are going to be staying here aren't you, darling?"
Mary hesitated. She wasn't quite sure. "I haven't really thought about it, mom."
"Are you and Lou working things out?" she asked. "I mean you did go straight to see him when you got here."
"Yes, I think we are." she was being as honest as possible. "We're taking it one step at a time."
"Why didn't you ever tell me you were seeing him?"
Mary shifted uncomfortably in the chair. "I didn't feel like I could." she replied. "And besides its not really the thing of thing you tell people."
"Were you dating him or just sleeping with him?"
This really wasn't the conversation she wanted to have with her mother. "We were actually dating when I got pregnant." she hoped that that would be enough for her.
"I see." she took a sip of tea. "You still could have told me."
"I really want things to work out with him, mom." she told her. "I was selfish before when I left. I should have told him as soon as I found out. If I could go back and change it all, I would."
Dottie smiled warmly at her daughter. "Sounds like love."
Mary nodded. "It is."
~Later That Evening~
The four of them had a nice dinner at a nice restaurant downtown. Everything went well, better than Mary had expected. She thought maybe her earlier talk with her mother had a little something to do with it. Her parents wanted her to be happy, that's all they had ever told her ever since she could remember. And she was happy. Lou made her happy.
After dinner she and Lou left together. He took her to get ice cream just like he had promised. The entire evening had gone so well and he didn't want it to end. He didn't want to have to drive her back to her parents house. But he didn't want to pressure her in any way. So he was a bit surprised when she told him she wanted to go home with him.
Mary was already in bed when Lou came out of the bathroom. He walked over to the bed and grabbed one of the pillows. "What are you doing?" she asked. "You're not going to sleep in here with me?"
"I didn't know you wanted me to." he put the pillow back down on the bed. "Are you sure?"
"Yes." she smiled. "What's the matter are you afraid of getting me pregnant?"
Lou laughed. "I think I've already covered that." he slid into bed beside her. "I was just so happy that you came back with me that it didn't really matter where I slept."
Mary rolled over onto her side to face him. "I'd much rather have you in here with me." she said. "I really don't like sleeping alone now that I'm pregnant."
"What do you do at home?"
"I make Rhoda sleep with me."
Lou smiled. "Now there's a true friend."
"Yeah, Rhoda's been great." she replied. "I don't know what I would do without her. I'll have to call her tomorrow. I promised her I would let her know how things were going."
"Are you anxious to get back home?"
"Not really I like being here with you." she said. "It's a nice break from everything."
"I don't want you to go, Mary."
"You don't?"
"No." he said. "I wish you would come home and stay. And I know what you're going to say, you've built a hell of a career in the past few months and you want to stay in New York. They have a lot more job opportunities there than we have here. You're strong and independent and you want to do this on your own."
It seemed as though he finally understood everything she had been saying for the past few months. And for the first time she didn't care about any of it. "Actually no I don't." she said, softly. "I don't care about New York or their job opportunities. I want to be here in Minneapolis."
"You mean that?"
"Of course." she replied. "I've only been here with you for a day and I already know that I don't want to leave you. I don't really want to leave Rhoda either, but I think my place is here with you."
"I think she'll understand."
"I think so too." she replied. "She's been seeing this guy Marc from my station and it's gotten pretty serious. I think he's going to ask her to marry him."
"Then she'll definitely understand."
Mary moved closer to him, laying her head on his chest. "I love you, Lou."
He dropped a kiss into her hair. "I love you, too, Mary."
tbc...