CHAPTER 6

As the dishes were cleared, Jo spoke up, "So Beth, what ever happened to Fred?"

Carlton felt Beth stiffen as she tried to keep her face neutral. She glanced at Amy before shrugging, "I don't know. I haven't seen Fred in months."

"Really? That's weird." Bobby looked questionably at Beth as he leaned forward, "Because the last time I saw Fred was when I told him that you were in California. He basically disappeared after that. Then a couple weeks later, I ran into Kevin who said that Fred had been arrested and sent to prison. Wouldn't tell me why or even where he was sent."

She found Carlton's hand under the table and gripped it tightly as she said, "I really don't know what to tell you. I'm not Fred's keeper."

"Yeah, but you guys were getting along so well before you left in June. He was considering asking you to marry him when you left." Bobby shrugged as he played with his beer bottle.

"Hey, why don't we play a game. Cards anyone?" Amy asked as she stood up.

Beth had gone pale and Carlton was about to ask if she was okay when she suddenly got up from the table and rushed from the room. As everyone else stared at the door, Carlton shared a look with Amy as he stood to go after her.

Amy laughed as he slipped past, "It's probably just the flu. Meg's kids are sick and they most likely passed it to her. Now, are we playing poker? Or something else?"

There was only one door partially open as Carlton walked down the hallway. Making sure that no one else was following, he quickly slipped in the room and shut the door. Beth was kneeling on the floor, clutching the toilet as she vomited. He gently pulled her hair back as he kneeled behind her.

Once she was done, she leaned back into him with her eyes closed. They sat like that for a few good minutes until there was a knock at the door. Since it didn't look like Beth was going to move anytime soon, Carlton gruffly called out, "Yeah?"

Amy quietly came in with a glass of water. "Here, I thought she could use this."

Nodding, Carlton took the glass as he nudged her shoulder. "Beth, can you rinse out your mouth?"

Groaning, she took the glass as she bent over the toilet. Once she was done and swallowed the rest of the water, she leaned against Carlton again as she looked at Amy. "What's the damage?"

"They think Meg's kids passed the flu to you since they're currently sick." Amy shrugged as she leaned against the door.

Nodding, Beth asked, "Did you know that about Fred? That he was going to propose?"

"No." Amy said angrily. "I can't believe that Bobby was able to keep it a secret so long! Especially since he was always so fond of Fred!"

Beth laughed as she shivered, "Yeah, I'm surprised that Bobby never asked Fred to marry him."

"Yeah, he talked about him enough." Amy sighed, "It really hit him hard when he found out about Fred being arrested. He kept bugging me to ask you, but I told him that you didn't know anything."

"Thanks." Beth looked at Carlton and patted his hand. "Come on Carlytown, let's get off this cold floor."

"You call me that again and I might leave you here." Carlton growled as she got off him.

"Fine. Come on Lassie! Let's go!" She even whistled as she tried to walk over him, only to stumble and fall onto him.

Shaking her head, Amy said, "I think she's officially drunk and that you should take her home. I'll take care of the parents."

Nodding, Carlton got up first and then pulled Beth up as she giggled, "Amy, I think you need softer bathroom floors."

"I'll think about it when we're looking for a new home."

"Hey! Do you want to buy mine? I mean, it's got 3 bedrooms, plenty of space in the living and dining rooms and a huge kitchen. Then you can get a dog like you always wanted!"

Amy shook her head as she opened the door, "I'll think about it, sis, but it's a far drive for Dan everyday."

Carlton pulled Beth's arm around his shoulders as he place one of his own around her waist. "How the hell did you get drunk so quickly? You didn't have that much to drink!"

"My dad passed me some vodka while you and Dan were discussing something. I don't remember what."

Amy laughed as they stopped at the dining room door. "Beth isn't feeling well, so they're going to leave now."

"It was nice meeting you all." Carlton smiled as Beth nodded and tried to pull him towards the front door.

They were just opening the door when a voice called out, "Elizabeth! A word!"

Beth groaned, "So close," as she let go of Carlton to follow her mother into the kitchen.

Carlton shared a look with Amy as they waited for Beth to return. It was barely a minute later when Beth came storming out of the kitchen and marched right up to Carlton. He barely caught sight of her mother when Beth reached up and kissed him hard. He stood there stunned as desperate lips attacked his own. When she finally pulled back, she grinned at him as she turned toward her mother, who was quietly fuming.

"There, now I'm the one taking advantage of him. If anything happens tonight, it'll be my fault, not his, so back off!"

With that, she grabbed his hand and marched out of the apartment, not slowing down until they were at the car.

"Beth, what …?"

"I don't want to talk about it!" She snapped as she crossed her arms.

"Now wait just a damn minute! I know you're upset but you don't have to take it out on me. I could have you arrested for assaulting an officer!" Carlton replied as he got right in her face.

"Just open the door Carlton and let's go!" She snapped as she furiously brushed tears away.

Observing her tears, he quickly deflated and unlocked her door before running around and getting in.

They had been driving for 3 minutes and Carlton was about to ask if she was okay when Beth whispered, "Pull over."

He glanced at her as he turned into an empty parking lot. She was holding her stomach with one hand and covering her mouth with the other. As he put the car into park, she quickly unbuckled and ran to the nearest trash can.

Since it was starting to rain again, he grabbed the umbrella and followed her. Seeing her arms shaking, he wrapped one of his own arms around her waist and waited it out.

Once she was done, she sagged against the trash can. Tightening his hold on her, Carlton waited a minute before asking, "Do you think that you can make it to the car."

Beth nodded before wordlessly standing up and walking back to the car, Carlton keeping his arm around her. Once in, she took off her shoes before curling up. Sighing, Carlton grabbed the seatbelt and gently buckled it around her.

After going around and getting in himself, he tried turning on the heater but nothing happened.

"The a/c broke somewhere around Denver." Beth mumbled as she pulled her arms inside of her shirt.

"And when were you planning on telling me this?" He asked as he looked in the backseat for a blanket or jacket or something.

"I don't know. Probably after asking Bobby to fix it. I was going to ask him tonight, but whatever."

Carlton shook his head as he grabbed the umbrella. "I'll be right back, I'm going to check the trunk for a blanket."

"You won't find one."

"And why not?"

"Because I took them out yesterday to wash them and haven't gotten around to putting them back."

He sighed as he looked out the window. "Fine. I'm going to go to that dollar store across the street and get something, okay?"

"Okay, I'll just wait here." Beth mumbled as she closed her eyes.

Nodding, Carlton drove the car across the street and parked. Taking one more look at Beth, he got out and tried to make his trip as quick as possible.

When he got back to the car 8 minutes later, Beth was fast asleep. Placing the bags in the back seat, he gently shook Beth's shoulder. She moaned as she shifted away from him. Sighing, he tried again. "Come on Beth, I need you to wake up."

"Why?" Beth whined as she opened her eyes.

"Well, for one thing, I bought you some anti-nausea medicine, but I need you to drink something first."

She groaned as she uncurled herself a little, "I hate taking medicine, you know that."

"Yeah, I do, but this should at least make you feel better until we get you home."

"Fine," she sighed as she sat up straighter. Looking in the back seat, she asked, "How much stuff did you buy?"

"Well, the blankets didn't look too warm, so I bought two of them and got you a sweater. There's also a couple bottles of Gatorade, water, the anti-nausea medicine and a bucket with a lid incase you do throw up again."

Beth laughed as she took a bottle of water. "Okay boy scout, hand me that sweater."

By the time they reached her house, it was pouring out and the temperature had dropped. Pulling into the garage, he waited until the door closed before turning off the engine and looking at Beth. She was curled towards the door, huddled under both blankets. Unbuckling, he got out and walked around the car. She barely flinched when he opened her door and brushed her cheek. Her skin was slightly cold and he was concerned about alcohol poisoning.

Squatting down, he thought about his options. He could either wake her up and have her walk or carry her but get wet in the process. Remembering the gate, Carlton ran out with an umbrella to close it as he thought. It was maybe a 30 foot run to the door, so they wouldn't get too wet. Making up his mind, he unlocked the back door first, greeting a very happy dog jumping on the other side. Letting Frisco out, Carlton made his way back to the car as Frisco followed. Beth mumbled a bit when Frisco licked her hand but still didn't wake up.

"Shoo, doggy." Carlton said as he unbuckled Beth and started to lift her. Frisco decided to be more of a hindrance than a help and Carlton kept almost tripping on him on his way to the garage door. He pushed Frisco out of the way before he quickly jogged to the house. Frisco seemed to get the message and went to investigate the yard.

Even in that short run, they had both gotten soaked. Sighing, Carlton toed his shoes off before walking through the house and placing Beth on the couch. He took both blankets and the sweater off her and wrapped her up in a blanket that was on the back of the couch.

As he went to throw the wet blankets in the dryer, Frisco was standing outside the door looking drenched. Trying to stop his own shivering, Carlton opened the door and let him in. Of course, the dog decided that he was too wet and shook, getting Carlton in the process. Grumbling, Carlton grabbed a towel and dried Frisco off as best as he could.

While the dog ran off, Carlton took his shirt off and started the dryer. When he went back into the living room, he found it empty. Shivering slightly, Carlton decided to throw on some dry clothes before finding out what happened.

He was almost to his room when he heard retching coming from across the hall. Sighing, he went to the bathroom, detouring to the linen closet to grab some towels. Not surprisingly, Beth was hovering over the toilet, trying to hold her hair back as she shivered. Carlton quickly took up the position he held less than an hour ago and waited for the attack to subside.

Finally, Beth collapsed against him as she shivered. "C-carly. I don't, I don't feel s-so good."

"I know." Carlton ignored the name as he wrapped the towels around her.

When she still hadn't stopped shivering after a couple minutes, Carlton reached over and turned the shower facet on. Once it was warm enough, he nudged Beth. "Hey, let's get you in the tub so you can warm up."

"You, you know. I wa-was just joking with m-m-my mom. I really did-didn't think that we would, would get n-naked together." She stuttered as Carlton carefully sat up.

"Yeah, well it's not exactly what your mom had in mind. Now come on, we need to warm you up or it's a trip to the hospital."

"N-no hospital," She shivered as they stood up.

"Okay, but you need to get in the tub, with or without your clothes is your choice."

Beth laughed as she started stripping. "Like y-you haven't seen what, what I've got b-before."

Carlton just shook his head as he watched her shakily complete the task. When she had trouble unclasping her bra, Carlton reached a hand out. "Here, let me help." He quickly got her bra off and helped her keep her balanced as she took her underwear off. Trying not to look, he guided her into the tub.

"It's h-hot!" She whined as she hopped from foot to foot.

"I know, but it'll help, trust me. Now sit down." He kept an hand at her elbow as she slowly sat and pulled her knees up. He adjusted the spray so that it was hitting her back.

It took about 10 minutes until she was warm enough and she started falling asleep. Nudging her awake, Carlton held up a towel as she got out. She silently let him lead her into her bedroom.

Sitting her on the bed, Carlton went to her dresser, "So, anything in particular that you want to wear?"

Beth shook her head as she got up shakily. "No, but I got it." Carlton held her elbow as she started rummaging through her drawers. She almost fell over twice before she grabbed what she needed. He looked away as she dropped her towel and quickly dressed.

She tripped on the way back to her bed and groaned as her knees hit the ground. "Ow, so not helping my headache."

"Maybe you shouldn't have drunk so much." Carlton commented as he helped her up.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," she mumbled as she crawled under the sheets. "I think this is only the second time I've ever gotten so drunk."

"Really, when was the first?" he pulled the blanket up as she closed her eyes.

"Last June after the charges were dropped against Fred. Susie and I went to a bar and she let me get wasted. The next day, I packed up and left this stupid town behind."

"Maybe you should get some sleep."

"Okay. Are you staying?"

Sighing, he moved to the other side of the bed. "For a few minutes, until you fall asleep."

As he laid down, Beth rolled over and put her head on her chest. "Okay. Thanks Carly."

She was quiet for a few minutes and Carlton thought that she had fallen asleep when she whispered, "Have I ever talked about my mother?"

"Besides what you told me today? Not really. Go to sleep, we'll talk in the morning." He petted her hair as she mumbled something.

Eventually, the events of the past 2 days caught up with him and he fell asleep.