As always, let me start by saying thank you for the reviews! This chapter is lonnggg and it's taken a while to write it so I hope you like it and it doesn't bore you! I will try and update sooner this time I promise! Please keep your reviews coming in as they give me so much confidence to write and I struggle with my confidence, especially where writing is concerned. Thanks everyone :)
Chapter Twenty Two
'She's gonna be so excited when we tell her Josh, I can't wait to see the smile on her face,' Shannon sighed as they pulled up outside the hospital.
Today was a big day, a very big day, their little girl was well enough to come home. She hadn't been given the all clear yet, that would hopefully come in a few months-time but for now, she was happy, healthy and coming home to the people that loved her the most.
'You know she's gonna be pushing us to get married like all the time, don't you?' Josh smirked, his daughter had no idea that she was coming to live in his house along with her mother, as far as she was concerned she was going home to her grandma's house, when she found out that she was coming back to his place, she was going to go nuts! They also had another surprise in store for her, when she got back to their place someone else was going to be waiting to meet her for the first time, her Uncle Jake.
Phil had gone to pick him up at the airport, he'd just finished up the season in Dutch and again, they hadn't told Caitlin that he was coming here to stay with them for a while. Both he and his dad had talked a lot about Jake, he was great with kids, he had the same mental age as them so they seemed to love him, Caitlin would be no different. She was the nicest kid Josh had ever met in his entire life and he wasn't just saying that because she was his daughter, Shannon had done such a good job bringing her up, he was so proud of both of them. She was funny, intelligent, kind, polite and absolutely beautiful, she was exactly like her mother and Josh couldn't wait to have her home so he could start learning even more about his beautiful little girl.
'I've been waiting for this day for so long, I can't believe it's actually happening Josh, our little girl is coming home!' Shannon beamed before Josh pressed a quick kiss against her lips, no tongues of course, they hadn't gone that far yet.
'Well believe it! Tonight she'll be sleeping next door to us and tomorrow we can take her to the park and have a picnic, she can be a little girl again now, no more tubes or wires, she can be normal again,' Josh sighed happily.
Of course there was still a risk that the cancer could come back again, they'd been warned not to get too excited yet by her doctor but it was hard not to be. He just had a feeling that she would be alright, especially once she knew that her parents were getting back together again, it would give her something to look forward too, something to live for. She would have a whole new life now and he was sure that this would be enough to see her through, it had to be enough.
'Let's go and get our little girl,' Shannon smiled as she opened the car door and waited for Josh to walk around to her.
He took her hand and they walked into the hospital looking stupidly happy. They'd both cried so many tears in this place, just over a month ago they thought that this would be where their beautiful daughter would take her last breathe but she had pulled through, she'd pulled through for both of them. Even though they loved each other so much, losing Caitlin would leave a hole in their hearts that could never be filled. They needed her just as much as she needed them.
When they got to the corridor outside Caitlin's room, they shared one last hug with each other before letting go of each other's hands and walking into her room to find her dressed in a long yellow dress and wearing a yellow hat to cover her head.
'Mommy! Daddy!' Caitlin ran across the room and leapt into Shannon's waiting arms.
Shannon tried to not cry again but she couldn't help herself, a few weeks ago she was so sure that she was going to lose her, that she would never get a chance to take her home ever again and now here she was, so happy and full of life.
'Mommy don't cry! This is a happy day, don't be sad!' Caitlin pouted at her mother who put her down on the floor and wiped away her tears.
'They're happy tears honey, very happy tears!' Shannon smiled as Josh picked Caitlin up and twirled her around in his arms.
'You're coming to Grandma's too daddy?' Caitlin asked and Josh shook his head, causing her to look sad.
'No honey I'm not BUT we have a surprise for you, don't we Shannon?' Caitlin turned to look at Shannon who smiled mischievously at her daughter, she could be sneaky too.
'Oh what is it?'
'Well, it wouldn't be a surprise if we told you now would it? Come on, I think we've spent enough time in this room to last us a lifetime, let's get you home!' Shannon smiled as she picked up the last remaining bag full of Caitlin's things, she'd brought the rest home last night to help decorate her room in Josh's house.
Now that she was coming home, Phil was sleeping on a fold up bed downstairs and Jake would be sleeping on the sofa for the time being. Josh had talked about finding a bigger place but Shannon didn't want him to spend any more money than he had to. She still felt guilty about not being able to contribute financially to the house but she tried to make up for that by cooking and cleaning whenever she had the time.
'Looks like we're ready to go, let's go and say goodbye to the people that have looked after you, I bet they'll miss you,' Shannon smiled as she took Caitlin's hand and led her out of the room and up the corridor to the nurse's station.
They spent a few minutes saying their thank yous and saying goodbye to the people who had cared for and nursed Caitlin back to health. Each of them had written their own thank you cards and Josh had bought a hamper full of sweets and chocolate for the staff as well as making a donation to the hospital. They knew that they would be coming back here regularly for Caitlin to keep having tests but they were hopeful that she would never have to spend another night here ever again.
When they had finished thanking the staff, both Josh and Shannon took Caitlin's hands and began to walk her out of the hospital. None of them could stop smiling and when they finally got outside, Caitlin excitedly started to jump up and down.
'We should go and have a meal! I don't wanna go home yet mommy, daddy should take us for food!'
'Caitlin honey we told you, we have a surprise for you!' Shannon smiled and shared a look with Josh as Caitlin sighed heavily.
'Baby, you won't be disappointed, I promise,' Josh gripped Caitlin's hand and winked at her which put a smile on her face again.
When they got back to Josh's car, Shannon sat in the back seat along with Caitlin, during the journey Caitlin chatted happily about all the things she wanted to do now she was out of hospital. She asked about Josh's promise to visit Disneyland and that was still going to happen, just not until she had been officially given the all clear by the doctor's. She wasn't too disappointed though, Shannon and Josh had both talked about keeping her busy and doing as much as they could to entertain her. She'd missed out on so much for so long, as much as Shannon didn't want to spoil her too much it seemed cruel to not let her have a few treats after all she'd been through.
'Daddy, you should have taken a right back there for grandma's house,' Caitlin pointed out, Shannon had told Josh that she would quickly pick up on the fact that they weren't going back to her mother's place but Josh had argued that she'd be too excited to notice where they were going, she was proved right.
'Well sweetie, we're not going back to grandma's house that's why,' Shannon smiled as Caitlin looked at her confused.
'Where are we going then? Have we moved out?' Caitlin asked and Shannon nodded.
'Yes we have, we're going to be living with your daddy from now on, is that okay with you?'
'What about grandma? She's not coming too is she?' Caitlin asked quickly and Shannon shook her head. She never wanted Caitlin to know the truth about what her grandmother had said, she didn't like lying to her daughter but in this case a lie was preferable to having to tell her the truth.
'Good because Grandma makes you sad and daddy makes you happy! He makes me happy too mommy, even if he teases me…'
'Hey I am still here you know!' Josh laughed as Caitlin began to laugh too.
'I'm so happy! Have I got a room?' Caitlin asked.
'You have baby, mommy and I spent all last night decorating it for you, I think you're gonna love it,' Josh smiled as he kept his eyes focused on the road ahead.
'Is grandpa staying with us too? And Rosa?'
'Uh, I don't think we'll be seeing Rosa again honey but yes, grandpa is staying with us so you have three people to take care of you,' replied Josh.
'Why won't we see Rosa again?' Caitlin asked, Shannon had been hoping that she wouldn't because she couldn't help but smirk a little when her name was mentioned.
'Uh, she was a little too…much for grandpa and anyway, he wants to spend his time with you!' Shannon lied as she tried not to burst out laughing.
A little too much was an understatement. Rosa liked things a little, rough, a little too rough for Phil's liking. Being whipped across the ass and called a 'bad boy' was tame in comparison to what Rosa liked in the bedroom. On their second date she'd invited him back to her house which came with a fully equipped dungeon, Shannon had never seen him look so scared in his entire life as he explained about some of the things he'd seen in there. Of course both she and Josh had taken the piss out of him but they could hardly tell Caitlin the real reason why Rosa was never going to be seen again, well, maybe they could tell her when she was older but not now.
'Are we nearly there?' Caitlin asked, quickly moving on from the topic of Rosa which was a very good thing.
'We're five minutes away baby, not long till we get you home!' Josh said happily.
'We should go looking for wedding dresses tomorrow mom, you'll look really beautiful, well you're always beautiful but I can help you pick out a dress that will make you even more beautiful!' Caitlin smiled and Shannon couldn't help but smile with her.
'Honey, daddy and I aren't getting married yet, we're taking our time so don't start getting your hopes up too soon hmm? We're not even engaged yet!' Shannon replied and Caitlin immediately looked at Josh.
'Yeah but I'm sure daddy will ask you soon, I'll talk to him,' Caitlin whispered into her mother's ear and Shannon just rolled her eyes and laughed.
Once she got something in her head she was determined to see it through, her daughter was fierce and stubborn and she wouldn't give up until she'd got what she wanted. Josh was going to be in for a rough ride with Caitlin on his tail.
'Here it is!' Josh drove the car up onto the drive and Caitlin clapped happily.
'Our new home mommy! We're gonna be so happy here, I know it!' Shannon was so happy to see Caitlin so delighted, she had wondered whether she would ask more questions about what was going to happen to grandma now they'd gone but in all honesty Caitlin had never liked her grandmother all that much anyway. She hadn't spent that much time with her and her mother had not really bothered to get to know her granddaughter all that well. Still, she was the past now, Josh and their new life was their future.
'Come on then baby, I think it's time me and mommy showed you your new place,' Josh undid his belt and got out of the car as Shannon undid Caitlin's belt for her and smiled happily as she leapt outside.
Leaving the remainder of Caitlin's stuff in the trunk for now, the three of them walked to the front door, Josh unlocked it but pushed Caitlin to go in first, knowing that his dad and Jake would be waiting for her.
'Surprise!'
Josh and Shannon stood side by side at the doorway and watched happily as Caitlin ran to her grandfather and Jake.
'You're Uncle Jake aren't you?' Caitlin smiled as Jake knelt down and pulled his niece into a hug.
'I am, I've been told a lot about you! I thought I should come and say hello and stay for a while, that's alright with you ain't it?' Jake smiled as Caitlin nodded frantically.
'We can help plan mommy and daddy's wedding!'
Jake and Phil both looked over at Josh and Shannon who started shaking their heads.
'Don't panic, there's no wedding happening, yet,' Josh glanced at Shannon before walking into the room to greet his younger brother.
'Hey bro it's good to see you! Bet you missed me out there,' Josh smirked.
'Oh yeah, I really missed fighting with you every day bro!' Jake smirked before he stole a quick look at Shannon. 'Man, she is still fucking hot bro, have you tapped that yet?' He whispered in his ear and Josh looked at him with disgust.
'She's not like that, don't talk about her like she's a piece of meat, you got me, bro?' Josh snapped in his ear before he stepped away.
Shannon had noticed the little exchange but hadn't been able to make out what was said, Josh looked pretty pissed though and Jake, well, he just kept looking at her like she was an alien or something.
'Long time no see!' Jake smirked as he made his way over to Shannon who greeted him with a hug.
The last time she'd seen Jake he'd been a pimply, hormonal fourteen year old kid. The spots had gone but he was still as skinny as he always had been.
'So er, you and Josh are back together again huh?' Jake asked and Shannon nodded.
'We're taking things slow but yeah, we're together and we're gonna make it work this time,' Shannon smiled as Josh kept an eye on them both.
A few years after she'd gone, Jake had admitted after a night of hard drinking that he'd had a crush on Shannon, by the sounds of it, he still had a fucking crush on her and Josh wasn't happy.
'Daddy, can I see my bedroom please?' Caitlin asked him, causing him to snap his eyes away from his brother and his girlfriend.
'Of course you can baby, I think mommy will wanna show you too,' Josh smiled as Caitlin went over and grabbed Shannon's hand, pulling her away from Jake and towards him.
Josh took Shannon's hand and shot a look towards Jake, he wanted to make it very clear to his younger brother that Shannon was not to be drooled over by him. Shannon was his woman and he felt very protective of her, he didn't want his younger brother sniffing around and making suggestive remarks about her.
Josh led his girls upstairs and came to a stop outside Caitlin's room.
'Okay this is it, wanna take a look?' Caitlin nodded excitedly before Josh opened the door and let her walk into the room.
They'd painted it light blue, one of her favourite colours. Above her bed they'd placed a Manchester United team photo and next to it a photograph of the Cornelia Marie.
'I've got a double bed!' Caitlin laughed as she began jumping all over it.
'I think you should look in your wardrobe honey,' Shannon hinted and Caitlin immediately jumped off the bed and ran to it, opening it up to find a full Man UTD kit waiting for her, complete with brand new Nike sneakers.
'Oh my God thank you SO much!' Caitlin ran back across the room and threw her arms around both her parents.
'I take it you like it then?' Josh laughed as Caitlin nodded.
'It's perfect, thank you! I'm gonna put my kit on, is that okay?'
'Sure it's okay! I'll help you get changed,' Shannon smiled but Caitlin shook her head.
'I can do it mommy it's okay, you don't have to worry about me anymore you know, I'm fine,' Caitlin smiled.
'I'll always worry about you honey, that's what parents do!' Shannon smiled back at her.
'Well, how about we leave our daughter get dressed and we go downstairs to make a start on the sandwiches, I think my dad has made a few too many,' Josh smiled as he started to make his way out of the room.
Shannon held back a little, she didn't really want to leave Caitlin on her own just in case something happened but Caitlin marched over to her, all but pushing her out of the room.
'I'll be fine mom, just chill out and go kiss dad or something!' Caitlin giggled as Shannon started to leave voluntarily.
'Okay, okay but don't be long! That chocolate cake looks SO good, I might eat it all if you don't hurry!' She chuckled before grabbing Josh's hand and walking back downstairs with him where Phil and Jake were sat on the couch talking to one another.
'Ah here come the happy couple! That didn't take long bro, then again where you're concerned nothing ever does,' Jake smirked.
'Hmm that's not how I remember it…' Shannon winked at Josh before making her way over to the dining table where she started to pile up a plate full of sandwiches and chips.
Josh smirked back at Jake before he went over to Shannon and wrapped his arms around her waist as she continued to pick at the feast that Phil had somehow managed to put together.
'Play nice with your brother, I don't want you two fighting around Caitlin,' Shannon leaned back against Josh and whispered to him.
'Um that might be a little difficult considering we fight every fucking day,' Josh replied and Shannon turned around to face him.
'Please Josh, no fighting. I want this to be a happy time for Caitlin and I know you do too,' Shannon replied as she stared into his eyes.
'I'll do my best but he knows how to get under my fucking skin…'
'Sshh well if he gets under it, let me know and I'll help ease your pain,' Shannon grinned a little before pressing her lips to his.
'Ewww get a room!'
Shannon and Josh pulled apart as their daughter came marching down the stairs in her full Manchester United Kit complete with sneakers.
'Hey! You were the one that told me to kiss your dad!' Shannon laughed happily as Phil and Jake made a fuss of her.
Shannon and Josh sat down on one chair with Shannon deciding to sit on his lap and watch as their daughter danced around the lounge. Josh had never felt so complete, he had the love of his life in his arms and they were watching their beautiful daughter smile and laugh for the first time in a very long time.
After an hour or so, Jake got a call on his cell phone and he ran out of the room to answer it. Shannon noted the concerned expression on Josh's face as he watched his brother leave the room. She had a feeling that something was going on but she could hardly ask Josh to tell her what was wrong in front of Caitlin and Phil.
When Jake came back into the room he immediately reached for his hoodie and his car keys.
'I just got a call from an old friend back in High School, I told him I was visiting Cali and he wants to hang out, I said I'd meet him and go for a few beers, I won't be back till late,' Jake announced and both Phil and Josh shot him glares.
'Hey Caitlin you haven't seen the back garden yet honey! It's huge! You have plenty of room to kick a ball around, come on, let's go take a look!' Shannon got up from Josh's lap, she could tell that things were going to get a little confrontational and she didn't want Caitlin to witness an argument on her first day back home from hospital.
'Okay mommy!' Shannon smiled as Caitlin agreed right away to go along with her. She wasn't stupid by any means, she could probably sense the tension in the room and wanted to get out of the way before anything was said.
Josh watched his two girls leave the room hand in hand and as soon as Shannon had closed the lounge door behind them he got up from his seat to move a little closer to Jake.
'You're meant to be here to see your niece, to spend some fucking time with her and on the very first day you wanna go out and get fucking wasted with some dumb old friend of yours? I can't believe you Jake!' Josh snapped as he watched his father get up from his seat.
'He's right, I got you this plane ticket so we could all spend time together as a fucking family, not for you to come here and party!' Phil growled, he seriously couldn't believe that Jacob was doing this, not on Caitlin's first day home.
'This is just fucking great! I get here and the two of you are fucking ganging up on me already? It's just a couple of fucking drinks!'
'No Jake it's not! It's never just a couple of drinks, you know that as well as I do! You'll be fucking staggering in here at four in the morning drunk out of your mind, you think I want my daughter to see that shit?' Josh snapped.
'This is fucking hilarious coming from a guy who slept with five different chicks in one night! Who are you to be telling ME what to do? Just because you're a dad now that doesn't make you some sort of fucking saint you know! In fact, I could tell Shannon a few home truths about her precious fucking lover boy...'
Before he got a chance to finish his sentence Josh was on him, he managed to land one peach of a right hook against his cheek before Phil was pulling him off his little brother.
'THAT'S ENOUGH!' He yelled as he tried to control his boys, he'd had plenty of practice doing this sort of shit in the past but he hadn't expected this to happen today, this was meant to be a fucking wonderful day and now he was regretting getting the plane ticket for Jake.
'HE started it!' Jake yelled as Josh started to laugh.
'No YOU started it by making comments about MY girlfriend! And she's not just my girlfriend Jake, you know how much I love her!'
'Oh bullshit! If you loved her that much why did you want her to kill Caitlin then huh big guy?'
'SHUT YOUR FUCKING MOUTH!' Josh pulled himself out of Phil's grip easily as he threw himself at Jake and began to land more punches on him.
In the midst of all the chaos, none of them noticed Caitlin running back into the house. She'd heard the screaming outside and before Shannon could stop her she'd ran past her and gone back inside.
'STOP IT!' Caitlin's voice screamed above the yelling and cursing and each man froze on the spot.
Josh immediately got to his feet and turned to see his little girl standing at the doorway looking at him sadly, the expression on her young face broke his heart, he could see the sadness and disappointment in her eyes.
'Honey, I'm so sorry….'
'Mommy, I wanna go to bed, will you stay with me?' Caitlin turned to look at her mother who was shaking her head at the three men who had ruined her daughter's homecoming.
'Sure I will baby, you go upstairs and I'll be up in a minute okay, I've just got something to say,' Shannon smiled, she didn't want her daughter to be around when she told them all exactly what she thought of them.
Caitlin nodded sadly before she started to head upstairs, Shannon waited until she had disappeared before she entered the lounge and closed the door behind her.
'Shannon I…..' Josh started to try and explain but Shannon immediately cut him off.
'I've never been so fucking disgusted in my entire life! This was meant to be Caitlin's big day and your fucking selfishness and childishness has ruined it! Did you see that look on her face Josh? If this is what's going to happen, I don't want any part of it. You're meant to be grown men!'
'Baby please…'
'No Josh! Just…just leave me alone until I've calmed down because right now I feel like slapping you so fucking hard!' Shannon backed away as Josh stepped closer to her.
She didn't know what had gone on but she couldn't believe that it had come to this, not today. Their little girl had just seen her daddy punching his brother repeatedly, now Shannon was wondering if she'd done the right thing by moving in here in the first place, she couldn't let Caitlin witness things like this on a regular basis, what if Josh lost his temper with her and started to punch her like that?
'I'm going upstairs, I'll come to you when I'm ready,' Shannon left the room, closing the door behind her and leaving the three men to stare at each other in silence until Phil broke it.
'I hope both of you are real fucking happy about what you've done…'
'Josh did all the punching, I didn't do anything!'
'Bullshit Jake, you're not fucking innocent and you know it, Shannon's right, the two of you need to grow the fuck up , especially you.' Phil looked at Josh who wasn't going to argue because he knew that his father was right. 'You've got a daughter to take care of, you keep dealing with arguments and stupid remarks by using your fists, one day you're gonna come up against someone who's gonna hurt you bad son and then what do we tell Caitlin huh? As for YOU,' Phil then turned his attention to Jake, 'I brought you here to meet your niece, I told her so much about you and she was so fucking excited to meet you and the very first fucking day that she comes home you wanna go out and party with some loser fucking friend…'
'You know what I don't need to stand here and listen to this shit, I'm fucking outta here,' Jake snapped back, Phil stepped forward to try and grab him but Josh held him back.
'Just leave him dad, enough damage has been done today, let him do what he wants, he's a big boy,' Josh glared at his brother before he disappeared out of the room, slamming the door behind him.
Once he'd gone Josh slumped down on the couch and held his head in his hands. Jake could wind him up so easily but he'd taken things too far, his daughter had seen him getting violent and she was probably terrified of him now, so was Shannon. He'd fucked up big time and he had no idea how to try and make things right. He'd made Shannon so many promises about how this was the start of a whole new life for them and now he might have ruined things for good.
Shannon lay next to her daughter in bed and stroked her face, she didn't know what to say to her to make things better. Just a couple of hours ago she'd been telling her how things would be so much better for them and how their lives were going to be so much happier now that they were out of grandma's house and now, this shit had happened. She didn't know what to think, Josh and Jake had fought so much when they were younger but stupidly she thought that they might have grown out of it by now, then again they were men, did they ever grow up?
'Did daddy ever hit you like that?' Caitlin asked out of nowhere and Shannon immediately wrapped her arms around her.
'No honey, your daddy never, ever hurt me and he would never hurt you either, he loves you…'
'Why was he so mad mommy?' Shannon sighed heavily and shook her head.
'I don't know baby, I really don't know,' she planted a kiss on Caitlin's forehead and cuddled into her as she stroked her head. 'Let's try and get some sleep baby, things will look better in the morning, they always do.'
Shannon whispered softly even though she doubted that she would be able to get any sleep after what had happened. She kept Caitlin close to her and just watched her as she drifted off to sleep. No matter what her feelings were for Josh they didn't come close to her love for Caitlin, they never would.
Josh sat alone outside as he smoked cigarette after cigarette, he couldn't get Caitlin's sad, disappointed and scared face out of his mind. She was probably terrified of him after she'd seen him do that to Jake, he was worried that she would not want to stay here after she'd witnessed him do that.
He remained outside until he'd finished his packet of cigarettes, he was about to get up to go inside and get more when he heard the back door open. He turned around to see Shannon making her way towards him.
'Hey,' he said quietly as she sat down next to him.
'Hey,' she replied as she stared into the night.
'How's Caitlin doing?'
'She's fast asleep, nothing could wake her,' Shannon replied as Josh began to stroke her hand with his long fingers.
'I'm so fucking sorry Shannon, things went too far, you won't ever see me lose it like that again…'
'Why did you lose it Josh?' Shannon asked as she finally looked at him.
'He said some things,' Josh replied, he didn't know whether to tell her about Jake's crush on her and his threats to tell her some things that Josh would rather she not know.
'What things Josh? Tell me what he said, be honest with me,' Shannon said as she tried to get Josh to explain himself.
'He said that he'd tell you some stuff about me that I don't really want you to know, I've done a lot of shit that I'm not proud of in the past Shannon,' Josh sighed. 'He's also got a crush on you…'
'What?' Shannon interrupted him after hearing his last sentence.
'He's got a fucking crush on you!' Josh snapped, saying it out loud made him mad, of all the women in the world why couldn't his little brother have a crush on someone else, not her.
'Is that why you got so wound up? Did you think I'd fall in love with Jake and ditch you or something?'
'No! Why, is this where you tell me that you have a thing for him too?' Josh snapped and Shannon just shook her head in despair.
'You're being ridiculous Joshua! Of course I don't have a fucking thing for your brother, the only person that I want is you! I don't even care about what shit you've got up to in the past, Jake could tell me every single little detail but that won't change how I feel about you!'
'Yeah, you say that now….'
'I MEAN it Josh! You were the one that said that our past is just that, the past, why would I leave you just because of something you did a few years or a few months ago? I know you've slept around, you've partied a lot and you've probably tried every drug known to man but I don't give a shit Josh, I love you. But if you do something like that ever again, if Caitlin sees you act like that…'
'It won't happen again Shannon, I don't want to lose my girls both of you are everything to me, everything,' Josh took her hand in his and Shannon gave in easily to his words.
She let her head rest against his shoulder as he continued to hold her hand, she'd been so happy to hear that Jake was coming to visit but now she wished that he wasn't here at all, it was horrible that she was thinking like that but she wanted things to be happy and stable here for Caitlin. If Jake being here was going to wind Josh up all the time then that wouldn't do anyone any good at all. She did wonder what Josh so desperately wanted to keep from her but she wasn't going to push him to tell her. She just wanted things to be happy and normal for a change, was that too much to ask for?