Being a Son
Disclaimer: Me no own, you no sue.
Note: Read the note at the bottom after you're finished with this chapter.
Chapter 3: Again with the Talking
Tig woke again before Edie. But unlike the morning before, she wasn't across the bed. She was buried under his arm, sleeping deeply, even snoring a little. They had a lot to talk about. With everything that had been going on, he hadn't broached the subject of her father. He wondered where she thought he was and if she knew he was dead. He also wanted her to talk about what happened, maybe see a therapist. Once all of that was hashed out, they could move on to a much more fun discussion of when she was gonna get his ink, and all the other things that went along with that.
Tig slowly got out of bed, slipping his arm from under Edie, trying not to wake her. He went downstairs, avoiding the creaky stair, and scrounged around in the fridge for something to feed her. There wasn't much; he didn't usually eat at home. That was going to change. To do that, Edie was going to need a car for grocery shopping. Tig smiled at the thought of his girl shopping for him and buying shit for the both of them. He took a minute to day dream about her driving to the shopping mall for their clothes. She would get him a few pairs of his favorite jeans and a gift that was for him, but that she actually wore. Edie would swing by the grocery store and pick up everything she would need to fix him a special dinner and then after he would take her up to bed and show her just how much he appreciated her.
Since there was nothing in the fridge, he figured they would go out to a quiet diner, someplace not populated by half of Charming, and talk over breakfast.
When he got back upstairs, Edie had curled in on herself again. He climbed into bed again and laid next to her. "Edie, baby, time to get up," Tig said, kissing her cheek and forehead. "We got a long day, babydoll." Edie cracked an eye open and decided it was too early, so she pulled the blanket over her head and tightened it around her. Tig smiled at her behavior, thinking it was cute. Any other bitch defied him, they got a smack and a kick out the door. But he had always let Edie get away with sin.
Taking her defiance as a dare Tig walked to the foot of the bed and with one swift, hard tug, pulled the blanket clean off. Edie was revealed, wearing an old t-shirt of his and a pair of his boxers. That reminded him, she needed clothes, too. They'd buy a car today, and then go shopping.
Tig chuckled as Edie reached down, eyes still closed, and felt around the bed for the edge of the blanket. "Get up, girl. We got a big day ahead. We need an early start." Edie sat up and scooted to the edge of the bed and rubbed her eyes. Tig made his way to the bathroom for a shower. He poked his head out after starting the water, "And don't even think about pulling that 'going back to sleep after I leave' shit. I'll be five minutes. Try to find something to wear out and we'll see about some new clothes after breakfast."
Five minutes later and Tig walked out of the bathroom in a towel, water dripping down his chest. He smiled at Edie who had dressed in her only pair of jeans and one of his t-shirts that she had knotted in the back to make it fit. He turned around to the dresser and Edie allowed herself to drool. While he too had lost weight over the last two years, his muscles had become more defined and he was looking better than ever. She didn't think it was fair. Men got better with age, women just looked more tired. Tig dropped his towel, his back still turned, and Edie swallowed a groan.
When he was dressed, Tig turned around and found Edie staring at him. He lifted his eyebrow, "Like what you see, little girl?" She nodded in response and smiled up at him. He gave her a quick kiss and pulled her up, "Come on. I'm starving."
The diner he had chosen was a little place in the middle of Charming, but not on the main street, allowing them some privacy. Tig ordered a full fry up while Edie just ordered eggs and hashbrowns, with some juice. He frowned for a minute, wanting to bulk her back up, but let it go. He reached across the table and took ahold of her hand. She looked up at him and smiled.
"Baby, we gotta talk about a few things. I know it's gonna be hard, but we need to get this out of the way if we're gonna move on."
Edie lost all color and looked down at the table. "Please, don't make me tell you what they did. I- I can't- I don't want to relive that, please. I just want to forget it ever happened."
"You don't have to tell me baby, and I'm not gonna make you rehash it here. But I do think you need to talk to someone. A shrink, somebody. At least once."
Edie nodded and looked back up at him, her eyes full of trust. He was all she had now and he had never led her astray, never hurt her, emotionally or physically. "If you think it'll help."
"I do, baby."
"Make an appointment and I'll go."
Tig leaned down and kissed the back of her hand.
"Was that all?" she asked. He shook his head.
"There's something else, baby. Umm, why haven't you asked about your dad?"
Edie looked down again. "They told me they killed him. I didn't believe them at first, but then one of them showed me his ring. His wedding ring. You know, the one with the engraving around it. I knew then that the only way they could have gotten it was if they had killed him."
Tig let out a breath he had been holding. Then his gut clenched with the realization that she had to mourn her father all alone, with those sick bastards, and his whole body seized up again.
"Alex," Edie got his attention, "Why didn't you come after me?" Tears were in her eyes, and his heart wrenched. "I waited and waited, but you never showed."
Tig reached across the table and cupped her cheek. Edie looked down at the table again. "Edie, look at me." She wouldn't meet his eyes. "Edie, look at me. I want you to see me when I say this." She slowly turned her eyes up to him. "I did look for you baby. We all did. The Mayans, they got us on that run. I was out for two days and in the hospital for a fucking week. By the time I got out, the bastards had taken you out of the fucking state. I searched for you for weeks, months, through Cali, Nevada, and Utah. But no one had seen you or would tell me. We tried talking to Alvarez, but he was locked up. Didn't get out until a few months ago. His fucking kid wouldn't meet with us, wouldn't talk, no matter how much we offered. We tried force, everything baby, but we couldn't find you. I'm so sorry, baby."
Edie started to cry. Her face screwed up and she bent her head, holding his hand to her forehead. "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have doubted you. I knew that you were looking for me, but I just couldn't help but think that maybe you had given up or didn't want used goods, or something."
"Now you listen good. I'm only gonna say this shit once. You ain't used. You're perfect. As far as I'm concerned, I'm the only man who's ever touched you or will touch you. End of story. We clear?"
Edie nodded her head again and sniffed, getting her emotions under control. "Clear."
They separated when the waitress brought their food and they dug in. Edie giggled at Tig who was shoveling food into his mouth like a machine. Once they slowed down and began to actually taste their food, Tig cleared his throat. "Now that that's taken care of, we need to talk about us."
Edie raised her eyebrow, "Us?"
"Yes, us."
"What about us?"
"When do you want the crow, baby?"
Edie looked down at her food in contemplation. After all this shit, her kidnapping, rape, her doubt about him, he still wanted her? She looked back up at him, "As soon as you want to put it on me."
He smiled, "I'll call Happy. Tell him to bring his shit when he comes down again." Edie nodded and went back to eating, but Tig was far from being done. "When do you want to get married?" Edie choked on her eggs and looked at him stunned.
"Married?"
"Yeah, you know, that thing people do before they have kids."
"Kids?"
"You do want kids, right?"
Edie nodded slowly, "But I thought that you didn't."
Tig chuckled, "That was before you baby. I'd love a little girl just like you. A mini-Edie."
Edie sat back stunned. She set her fork down and took a long drink of the water the waitress brought earlier. "Wow, Tig, this is a lot for one breakfast."
"I just wanna get things clear, baby. I'm good with whatever you want. I thought you wanted a family?" Tig said, starting to eat again.
"I do, I just assumed that because I was gonna be with you that the crow was it. That was as far as we were taking it."
"You know what they say when you assume. So, do you wanna?"
"Wanna what?"
"Get married and have my babies?"
Edie smiled brightly, "You gonna get down on one knee with a ring?"
Tig scowled, "Don't push it, Edie."
"Yes, I want to marry you and have your babies."
A/N: Okay, I really enjoyed writing this chapter and I hope you enjoyed reading it. Let me know what you think! Just a reminder, you can check my author's profile for updates on all my stories and what is going on. I'm also going to be doing a poll to see if you guys want more visuals than just character pictures. I won't do everything, seeing as it can get a little annoying, but I'll do the important things.