I somehow didn't really feel like writing during the last couple of days but managed to get this chapter done. I hope you like it though :)
Enjoy & review, my lovely readers!
…
Chapter 6: Family reunion
"Don't be so nervous, babe. They're gonna love you," Seth said with a smile on his face, squeezing Maxine's hand softly while she looked out of the plane window absently.
He had somehow convinced her of accompanying him to Pensacola to visit Roman, Karolina, Dean, Shannon and their babies, wanting her to meet the girls in particular. He knew that if he wanted this to work with Maxine, he had to make sure that his favourite women would get along with each other.
"I'm sorry. I just can't help it. I'm not worried about Roman and Dean though. I mean...I'm positive they like me. But what about Shannon and Karolina?" she asked, looking at him with insecurity reflecting in her eyes.
"What about them? They are two of the most amazing and friendliest girls I've ever met. Karo is my best friend after all. She wants me to be happy and if it's you that's making me happy, then she's gonna take you into her heart without a question," he encouraged her, raising her hand which was still in his and kissing it softly.
Maxine took a deep breath, licking her suddenly very dry lips. She had never confronted him over the dream he had over a week ago, but knowing that she would soon meet the woman that was starring his wet dream made her even more nervous now.
"Well, I guess I should believe you then...," she mumbled, once again looking out of the window to see that they were about to land soon.
"You should. You actually should believe in all of us. 'Cause we're the Shield," he teased, his heart making a jump when she started giggling.
God, he so badly wanted to tell her that he loved her. He wanted her to know just how deep his feelings were running for her. He wanted the whole world to know that he was in love with this woman. But he knew it was still too soon. Way too soon.
"Is someone going to pick us up?" she asked after they collected their suitcases at the baggage claim, the sun that was shining through the glass window making it unbelievable hot in the airport.
"Nope, I got us a rental car. The guys are preparing a barbecue and with the babies around they don't really have the time to pick us up," he replied, taking both suitcases so that she only had to carry a small bag.
"How long have Karo and Roman been together?" she asked curiously while putting on her sunglasses, the confused look Seth gave her remaining unnoticed.
"Uhm...a couple of years already. About 4 or 5, I think. Why?" he wondered, turning a corner to where all the rental cars were always parked.
"Just out of curiosity," she said, shrugging her shoulders innocently and watching him putting their baggage into the trunk. "I don't know much about them is all."
He made his way over to her, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close, a smile on his face. "You'll get to know them this weekend. They're a crazy bunch of people but I love them."
She just didn't know just how much he used to love one of them in the past.
...
Knock knock knock
Knock knock knock
"Maybe you should try with the doorbell again. They obviously don't hear your knocking," Maxine advised after Seth had been knocking on the front door several times, his impatience getting the best of him.
"I dunno what takes them so long. They are four grown ass people, can one of them for once open the fucking door?" he huffed, knocking once again but it was to no avail. "You know what? Let's see if they're in the garden."
He took her hand in his, leaving the suitcases in front of the main door before softly dragging her to the small path that was adjoining to the beach, knowing that there was a small garden door that would lead to Roman and Karolina's back porch.
"Well, look at them. Bet they wouldn't notice us if we just kept standing here?" he asked, pointing towards his friends who were busy preparing everything in the garden, a smirk on his face.
"SETHIIIIIIIE," someone suddenly yelled, startling them both.
"Well, you lost," Maxine said with a chuckle, watching intently as the woman she knew must be Karolina was making her way over to them.
"It's soooo good to have you back," she said after jumping over the fence, wrapping her arms around his neck tightly and hugging him close. "I really missed you."
"I missed you too, babe," he whispered into her ear, kissing her cheek softly before gently letting go of her. "But hey, there is someone I would like you to meet."
Karolina looked at Maxine with a happy smile on her face, shaking her head almost imperceptible when the other woman extended her hand.
"Welcome to the family, Maxine," she said, opening her arms and embracing the auburn-haired girl softly, giggling when she heard Seth's girlfriend gasp. "It's nice to finally meet you."
It was needless to say that Maxi was surprised by the warm welcome she had been given by the woman that was still a stranger to her, but at the same time it relieved her to realize that she was liked already.
"Thanks. The pleasure is all mine," she said with a shy smile on her face, taking Seth's hand into hers and squeezing it lightly.
"Come on now. Don't be afraid. We don't bite. Although Dean sometimes does. He's a sick guy," Karo said with a chuckle, opening the garden gate for them before leading the way to where all the others were hanging out.
"Hey guys...look who's back home," Karo shouted, getting everybody's attention almost immediately.
"Dude, how come you got here through the garden?" Roman asked dumbfounded before putting the barbecue tongs onto the table next to the BBQ grill.
"Because you fucking idiots didn't hear us knocking," he scoffed, fist bumping his Samoan friend and hugging Dean before turning his attention to Shannon who was giving him a death glare.
"Language, Mr Rollins. There are children around," she admonished, trying her best to look at him angrily but didn't succeed, bursting out laughing when Seth raised an eyebrow at her. "Come here, sexy boy."
With Dylan on her right arm, she wrapped her left one around his neck, kissing his cheek before turning around to face Maxine who had been watching the scene in front of her intently.
"You must be Maxine then. It's so nice to meet you. I'm Shannon and this little cheeky monkey right here is Dylan, my son," she said, hugging her as well before letting her take a closer look at Dylan.
"Gosh, he is such a cutie. Hey little man...hey...open your eyes," Maxi pleaded, gasping when little Dylan really opened them, showing her his beautiful ocean blue eyes that immediately captivated her.
"He has his daddy's eyes. Very dangerous," Shannon chuckled, kissing her son's forehead lovingly before fixing his cap that was shielding his head from the sun.
"Ambrose, lemme guess, you chose these clothes," Seth said, once again checking Dylan's black 'Batman' outfit that even had a cape on the back of the shirt.
"You bet I did. He looks fucking cool, doesn't he?" he more stated than asked, pinching his son's cheeks before looking at Maxine who was still fascinated by the little boy. "Miss Maxine, it's nice to finally meet you again."
And Dean wouldn't be Dean if he wasn't just going to set free the big gentleman in himself once again by taking her hand into his and kissing the back of it lightly, immediately getting swatted by his girlfriend.
"I'm sorry," Maxine said timidly, blushing slightly when all the others started laughing.
"No, I'm sorry, sweetheart. I was dumb enough to get pregnant by this idiot. He just can't help flirt with the ladies. It's in his nature," Shannon said, pinching Dean's cheek just like he did a minute ago with his son.
"Maxine, glad you could make it," Roman said with his deep baritone voice, extending his hand which she gratefully took, but surprised that he even kissed her cheek. "Now we're finally complete."
"Yes, we finally are. I'm so happy for you two," Karo said, clapping her hands like an excited toddler. "Are you guys hungry? We have tons of steaks and salads. I even made a German potato salad according to my grandmother's recipe. You have to try it. It's sooo yummy."
"Well, that sounds good...but uhm...where's Leni?" Seth asked puzzled, looking around the garden but the little girl was nowhere to be found.
"See, I told you he was imprinted on her," Karo said towards Roman, giggling when he growled at her. "Well, she's upstairs taking a nap but I was about to get her or she won't sleep tonight."
"Which she doesn't anyways but thank God I can't breastfeed her," Roman said, mockingly holding his chest and winking at his wife.
"Asshole," she scoffed, making her way into the house so that she could get her daughter.
"I'll be right back," Seth whispered into Maxine's ear before kissing her temple softly, following Karo into the house and leaving her alone with the rest of his friends, not knowing how uneasy he made her feel by this simple action.
"Uhm...," she said, swallowing hard before looking around unsure, not knowing what to do next but thankfully Shannon noticed her uneasiness.
"Come here, sit with me and Dylan while the guys take care of the steaks," she said before sitting down on one of the chairs that were placed around a huge table which was already filled with lots of salads, bread and different dips.
"So, tell me a little about yourself," Shannon said, turning slightly so that she could face Maxine properly. "Where are you from?"
"Well...uhm...actually I'm from California. Santa Monica, to be exact. I have a small apartment there but most of the time I'm not even there," she replied, tucking some strands of hair behind the ear. "Seth told me that you and Karo lived in San Fran before. Beautiful city."
"Oh yeah...we had one hell of a time before we met these goofballs," she answered, smiling when for the first time she made Maxine giggle. "I'm really happy that you and Seth found each other. He deserves to be happy."
Maxi didn't really know what to say. She had no idea they all were that close to each other. To her this felt more like a family reunion than just meeting a few friends. It was enviable. But she hoped that one day she would belong there as well.
At the same time Seth was right behind Karo, following her into Leni's room so that he could see the little princess again. He had only seen her once yet, but immediately fell in love with her the minute he first saw her.
"She's still asleep?" Seth asked when they entered her room, soft and steady snores filling the room and making him smile.
"Yes, but I'm gonna wake her. She's been sleeping for more than two hours now," Karo replied in a whisper, caressing her daughter's head softly before cautiously picking her up. "Plus, I'm sure she's hungry."
Seth smiled when Leni made some squealing noises, stretching and yawning when she became more and more awake with each movement her mommy made.
"It's dinner time, sweetie," Karo said to her daughter, sitting down on the rocking chair with the little girl in her arms, awkwardly trying to push up her shirt to reveal her rather unsexy nursing bra.
"Uhm...should I leave? I mean..yeah...I think I'd better get going now," Seth said nervously when he watched the scene in front of him.
"Don't be ridiculous, Seth. You've seen me with fewer clothes," she retorted, finally being able to free her right breast from the bra and guiding little Leni closer to her so that she could start eating.
"That might sound absolutely stupid right now but that's a beautiful sight right there," Seth admitted, admiring the closeness between a mother and a child that nobody else could ever have with another person.
It was so intimate, not in a sexual but in an emotional way. He was humbled to be a part of this.
"That's what Roman said the first time he saw it," she said, smiling at Seth before turning her attention back to her daughter. "She's quite hungry at the moment though. She wakes me almost every two hours at night."
"Exhausting, I guess," he replied, watching Leni in awe.
"You bet it is. But she's worth it," she stated, sighing heavily when she saw the content expression on her baby's face. She was such a beautiful little thing.
"Would you like to change her diaper?" Karo asked after she was done a couple of minutes later, sniffling on her baby's nappy before continuing. "You're lucky. She only peed."
Seth simply nodded his head, following his best friend to the changing table where she laid the baby down.
"There you go, Sethie. She's all yours," she said, giggling when he looked a little lost at first, but was immediately amazed to see how natural he was at this whole father thing when he started undressing Leni.
"So, tell me...how's it going with you and Maxine?" she asked curiously, looking at him from the side and chuckling when his tongue was stuck in between his lips as he was concentrating.
"That woman is driving me insane. I swear to God, I've never been so happy in my whole life. She's the best thing that could have happened to me," he said truthfully, throwing the used diaper into the trash can before getting a fresh one.
"Did you...uhm...you know...," Karo more or less asked, hoping that he would understand where she was going with this.
"Have sex? Nope, not yet. But if we don't soon, I'm gonna bust. My blue balls are killing me," he admitted, making her crack up laughing. "Hey, that's not funny."
"Ah...now come on, you can always help yourself," she defended herself, still giggling.
"We both know that's not the same. Or would you prefer your vibrator over Roman's dick?" he countered, looking at her expectantly after taking the pink Hello Kitty summer dress Karo was handing him.
"Uhm...no...you win," she said, fascinated to see just how easy it seemed to Seth to be dressing her little daughter.
"I always win," he teased, kissing her cheek before picking up Leni who immediately snuggled closer to her uncle. "Did you miss me, princess? Because I sure as hell missed you."
"Let me get her bonnet real quick. I have the feeling that her black hair attracts the sun even more now," Karo said jokingly, rummaging through Leni's closet to find the corresponding Hello Kitty bonnet.
"Her hair has grown so much already," Seth noticed, staring into the little girl's beautiful blue eyes, falling in love with her over and over again.
"It's definitely Roman's hair," she said with a chuckle, kissing Leni's forehead before pulling the bonnet over her head.
They quickly made their way downstairs, the smell of freshly grilled steaks filling the air, making everybody hungry.
It was such a beautiful and peaceful day in Pensacola. No clouds could be seen, the sounds of the waves hitting the shore the only thing to be heard together with the singing birds.
"Hey, there's my little girl," Roman said happily when he saw his daughter, wishing he could spend time with her 24/7 but in the end he was thankful when she slept a few hours a day so that both he and Karo could get some rest.
"You're sure you wanna try taking her away from me?" Seth asked, a mischievous smirk on his face. "We know how this ended the last time."
"Keep her," Roman grumbled, not wanting to experience this again as it had honestly broken his heart a little, although he knew that his behaviour had been very childish back then.
"The steaks are almost done," Dean announced, clapping his hands to get his friends' attention. "Now sit on your asses and lemme get some beer. We need to get shitfaced."
But was that really such a good idea? It was no secret that Dean couldn't keep his mouth shut when he was drunk…
...
It was late in the evening when Maxine had finally warmed up to everybody, the alcohol she had been drinking probably helping matters but why would she even care? She was happy that both Shannon and Karolina had accepted her the way she was, being happy that she was the woman at Seth's side and that made her more than just happy.
"So, Roman actually wanted to be as cool as me and do the ninja jump into the ring, only to fall flat on his ass. God, I still piss my pants just thinking about this," Seth chuckled, making everybody laugh with his little anecdote.
"Pfft...at least my hair looks majestic," Roman said, trying to somehow defend himself but he made the others laugh even harder. "Ugh... come on...does somebody have a funny story about Seth?"
Roman looked at each and every person, one by one, but they all seemed to have Seth's back. Everyone but Maxine.
"Uhm...well...I don't know if it's funny...but...I think it's quite entertaining," she said, giggling when Seth looked at her with a frown on his face.
"Ha, I'm gonna love this. Spill the beans, doll-face," Dean encouraged her, leaning back in his chair and taking a huge gulp of his beer.
"So...well...over a week ago I spent the night at Seth's hotel room," she began, only to be interrupted by Dean again.
"Oh yes...that's a promising start. He came the minute he plunged himself into you, didn't he? Haha You're such a loser, Rollins," he cracked up laughing, shrieking when Seth threw a piece of bread at his head.
"Uhm...nah...that's not it. Actually, he was having a dream. A dream that made him talk in his sleep," she explained, looking at Seth with an evil smile on her face.
She didn't know if it was such a good idea to tell them about the whole thing, but now that she saw how they were acting around each other, she was sure that they were really open and honest amongst themselves. So why not go for it?
"I was actually quite pissed when he moaned Karo's name. I was about to leave his hotel room when he did, but then, as I was about to go, he moaned mine as well. Which was really confusing. Especially because he had a huge bulge in his boxer briefs," she said, finishing her little story with a chuckle, happy that she could make Shannon and Dean laugh, but when she looked at Roman, Karo and Seth, she was surprised that they remained rather silent.
"Uhm...I shouldn't have said this, right? I'm sorry, Seth. I didn't even mean it. I thought it was funny," she immediately apologized, not realizing that Karo took Roman's hand into hers, squeezing it lightly to let him know that everything was fine.
"It's okay...really. I just...well...maybe you should have told me before you told them all," he said with a weak smile on his face, kissing her lips quickly to convince her that she didn't do anything wrong.
"Hey, I thought it was quite funny. Don't you think?" Karo asked, looking at them all intently, giving them a silent sign to agree with her or else Maxine would become suspicious.
"Yeah...right. I mean, don't we all dream stuff like that once in a while? Just recently I dreamed of having a shower with Roman," Shannon said nonchalantly, trying to ease the tension that was clearly filling the air.
"YOU WHAT?" Karo and Dean screamed simultaneously.
"Jeez, relax...I was just teasing," she mumbled, raising her hands in a defensive manner.
"Anyone want more beer?" Roman quickly asked, not wanting to discuss this any further or his mood would change considerably and not in a positive way.
"Yeah, I guess we all could use a little more to drink," Seth said, once again kissing Maxine's lips softly as she still seemed to be confused about the different reactions by her new-found friends. "I'll be back in a few."
He quickly followed Roman into the kitchen, wanting to explain himself although he didn't even know what the hell he had been dreaming about. He couldn't even remember. Not at all.
"Dude, look...," he started but was cut off mid-sentence by his Samoan friend who took a couple of beer bottles out of the fridge.
"I don't even wanna know," he said quietly, not being able to look into his friend's eyes as he was opening the bottles.
"I don't care if you wanna know or not. Don't be ridiculous, Roman. I had a fucking dream, so what? No biggie, right? I can't even remember. You're overreacting. Just like you always do when it comes to me and Karo. You promised me that this would from now on stay in the past. But something as trivial as that upsets you again? Really?" he vented, annoyed that he had apparently dreamed about something like that in the first place.
Roman remained silent for several moments, not knowing what he wanted to say next. He knew that Seth was right. He had made a promise and at the first occasion broke it again. That just wasn't fair. Not to him and not to Karo. And especially not to Maxine who wasn't even involved in this drama that had taken place years ago.
"I'm sorry, man. I'm drunk as fuck and you know how I can act when I am," Roman apologized, patting his two-toned friend's shoulder gently. "I was wrong. You're clearly in love with that girl and I want you to be happy. Sorry for being such a dick sometimes."
Both Seth and Roman knew that they should end that conversation right then and there, knowing that in their drunken state they wouldn't come out of this with a smart and intelligent discussion. Especially not when it involved Karo.
Karo, who was seemingly also topic of conversation between Dean and Maxine who were still outside while Karo and Shannon went to look after their children who both had woken up each other, probably hungry.
"You really are a cool chick, Maxine. I mean...we've been waiting for someone like you for aaaages," Dean slurred, raising his beer bottle and clinking it with hers.
"Ah, come on...I bet Seth introduced you to dozens of chicks over the years. I'm not that special," she insisted, taking a sip of her beverage before placing the bottle on the table.
"Ha, that's where you're wrong. You're the first girl he brought to us ever since I've known him," Dean explained, chuckling when she looked at him wide-eyed. "I mean, after what happened between him and Karo, it took him a really long time to get over her. It's pretty awesome that you're so relaxed about them being that close again. It took Roman an eternity to accept their closeness again. I doubt he will ever fully trust them again."
Maxine just looked at Dean confused, a frown on her face. What the hell was he even talking about? Seth and Karolina? They had...a past together?
"You're alright, doll-face?" Dean asked when she remained silent, the way she was staring into space perplexing him.
"What? I mean...yeah, sure, yes I'm fine. All of this alcohol is just messing with my head," she said, trying to laugh this off. "So, Seth has told me soooo many things about him and you all, especially with Karo. But...uhm...what exactly do you mean?"
Every other human being in the world would probably become suspicious now. But not Dean. He wouldn't even think about her question too much, not sensing that she had no idea what he was talking about. So what did he do? He answered. In all honesty.
"You know...with him being in love with her and stuff. That was a pretty difficult situation for all of us. Especially with them almost fucking on that damn kitchen counter when she was pregnant with Joshua. I'm sure Roman still blames Seth for his death," he babbled, not realizing that everything he was telling her was news to her.
"Oh that...yeah...sure. But well, as you said...I'm a cool chick, huh? The past is in the past," she giggled, playfully of course.
But deep down she was hurt. Her heart felt heavy in her chest. And she honestly had no idea what to make out of this new information. Did all of this still have a meaning today? Did Seth still love Karo?
She kept thinking about the way Karo and Seth had greeted each other when they had arrived earlier that day. The way they were wrapped in each other's arms, kissing and cuddling, telling one another how much they missed the other one.
And to think that they were almost having sex while she was pregnant with another man's child was the icing on the cake. It showed her that both of them clearly didn't care if there were in a relationship with someone else or not.
She doubted him. She doubted her relationship. She doubted everything.