Hey guys!! So, hmmm, how should we word it? S o R R Y that we haven't updated this story for ages? Lol. Hmm let's find a good excuse..ummm... it was Jen's turn to write the new chapter and she was 6 months in France which explains why we havent had the chance to update this year... but we still hope that you still enjoy this story and that you are as excited as we are for the continuation!!! We'll try our best to update on a regular basis from now on ... : )
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Now or never 19
Kelly was a little bit taken aback by the direct answer of her other half but she decided to let him take his all important call and ask the million questions that were in her head later.
Peter waited impatiently as he listened to one –beep- after the other.
He was a little annoyed when the person on the other side of the line wouldn't answer. Of course he didn't want to talk to her but to someone else anyway, but he thought she could need a proper lecture for her childish behaviour as well.
When he heard the last "beep" and then a voice he hadn't heard for a long time saying a few chosen words he didn't pay attention to, he left a short message.
"Paula, it's me. I need to talk to you and the kids. Please tell them to get back to me"
He didn't try to sound any other way than he was feeling. Angry. Disappointed. Betrayed.
When Kelly realised who he was talking to, the questioning look in her eyes softened and she seemed all of a sudden nervous.
"Peter" she tried to interrupt him punching in another number, he obviously knew very well.
He simply lifted a finger to her to tell her that he needed to do this for himself and she couldn't do anything to change his mind.
When she saw Peter's disappointed expression, she new that this person hadn't answered the phone either. This time, he decided not to leave a message.
He obviously thought whoever was on the other side of the line needed to hear his words from himself and not the voice of a cheap cell messenger.
He sighed deeply before he grabbed the phone for a third time, still not meeting Kelly's anxious eyes.
This time all Kelly could observe was Peter's furious eyes softening from anger to love and she knew, no matter who had answered the phone, he or she meant the world to her boyfriend.
She guessed that he was talking to a family member then.
"Hey, it's me". Kelly listened intently to his part of the conversation knowing that if it was something private, he would have left the room.
Before long, Peter's soft voice changed and he sounded suddenly desperate.
"Sweetheart, no no, please let me...wait no...let me...please let me explaa..."
Kelly watched Peter's eyes becoming so sad that it was upsetting her even though she didn't even know the reason for his sudden sadness.
He stood there like a disappointed child, left alone. The phone was tightly grasped by one of his hands, his shoulders hanging down, his head bowed.
She was about to get up from the couch to make him forget whoever had made him sad, when a loud noise made her gasp in pure shock.
Peter had thrown the telephone receiver against a nearby wall. Maybe she couldn't read him as well as she had thought after all.
"Peter, talk to me" Kelly said desperately as she followed her flustered boyfriend around the house. After the mysterious phone call he had walked up to their bedroom without a word, pulled a suitcase out from under the bed and began from then on to throw all kind of things inside.
"Please tell me what's going on" Kelly tried a second time, touching his arm while he kept hurrying about, ignoring her.
When Peter felt her touch, he felt even worse as he looked at her concerned features.
The short glance he shot her was enough for Kelly to know that whatever the person on the phone had said to him had deeply hurt him.
She stopped following him, trying to make sense of the situation whilst sitting down on the bed and waiting for him to finally talk to her.
Peter had a million thoughts running through his head as he paced around the house, trying to find all the things he needed to fly to New York on the next plane. He knew he couldn't tell Kelly what his own daughter had called him, them, on the phone a little while earlier. It had hurt him so much that he knew that if Kelly knew she was the main reason for all of them hurting, in the eyes of his daughter that is, she would go back to all the guilt, the crying, the horrible scenarios in her head- and he couldn't do that to her.
After he read all the things his kids apparently said about them, he thought it was either made up or their kids had said something that was a lot less hurtful and the press had simply changed the story (It wouldn't have been the first time).
A few hours ago he was even still positive that his kids would think reasonably and listen to him. He was sure they'd forgive him the minute they saw and heard how happy Kelly made him. It seemed certain to him that they would love Kelly like their own mother after the first time they'd meet her.
All these thoughts seemed now ridiculous to him.
His kids were furious, hurt, disappointed. They felt lonely, abandoned, lied to.
They said what the newspapers published, meant every word, felt every emotion expressed in those terrible articles.
They wouldn't love Kelly immediately, if at all, they loved their mother and would need a lot of time to trust the person who had, in their eyes, destroyed their little family and broke Paula's heart.
He knew that he needed to face reality eventually and sort things out as family. And as much as it hurt him to admit it- Kelly wasn't family. Not yet at least.
Kelly was lost in her own thoughts, still saddened by the fact that her love was hurting and he wouldn't find enough confidence or trust in her to open up.
She was only pulled out of her own world when Peter entered the room again to throw a small card on top of his clothes and zip up the rather small suitcase.
Kelly was about to try again to get through to him and ask him what the hell he was thinking he was doing with that bag, when she realised what that card had been. His passport.
Where was he going?
"Peter? Is that... your passport? Honey? What the hell is going on? Where do you need to go all of a sudden?" she said and Peter could hear immediately in her tone how nervous and scared she was for him. He needed to give her something, he couldn't just leave the house and come back a few days later. He loved her and even though he wanted nothing more than to protect her from getting hurt, he knew she'd never forgive him if he left without a word.
He took his suitcase in one hand and grabbed her hand with the other, surprising the both of them.
Peter knew it sounded cheesy, but the simple feeling of her hand in his made his world a better place already.
He led her, without saying anything yet, down the hall and the stairs until they reached the front door.
Kelly hadn't said anything, simply glad that he had finally allowed some kind of contact, before she found herself next to their door. That fact alone worried her all over again.
He was actually leaving?
"Peter what..." she said trying to suppress her emotions. The blonde woman couldn't finish her sentence this time as Peter put a gentle finger on her lips to tell her that it was his turn to talk.
"I'm sorry, baby" he said and his voice was beginning to quiver more and more with every Syllable that left his mouth.
She tried to say something against his fingertip but he shook his head, again stopping her from saying anything.
"I need to go away for some days" he said quietly and she could tell that he regretted what he was telling her.
That thought, however, didn't change the message that slowly reached her brain. Peter was leaving. She wasn't invited to come along with him. He was sad, upset, desperate even.
She couldn't comfort him, love him, safe him, this time.
A few tears slipped from her eyelids when she realised that she wouldn't get to see him for only god knows how long and that she couldn't change his mind about it.
Peter had slowly recomposed himself, knowing that he needed to do this for himself and his family and even for Kelly's future more than anything.
Peter smiled lightly through his tears, using his thumbs to wipe away the tearstains that had found their home on his girlfriend's soft cheeks.
"I..." he started but had to stop when he felt a new lump in his throat that made it difficult for him to speak.
"I need you to do something for me before I leave" he said and Kelly had nodded before her mind had even registered what he was asking of her.
He wanted her to book the next flight from Los Angeles to New York City, one way.
She didn't know what hurt her more. That he didn't even ask her if it would be okay. Or the fact that he made it clear that he didn't want her to go with him. Or that it was New York which was way further away than she had hoped it would be. Or that he didn't only leave her, but also made her buy his freakin' ticket for him. Or that he had muttered the word "One way" at the end of his sentence. One way- that meant he wasn't planning to be back at a certain time.
It meant that he could stay away for longer than she was able to wait for him.
Kelly stood in the hallway of their house, shocked, motionless and deeply sad. He had left only a moment before, pressed his lips hard against hers, whispered another few "I'm sorry"s in her blonde locks and then he had dropped her hand, taken the suitcase, smiled one last time at her though his teary eyes and then... he had left.
Actually left. With no further explanation. Only the information for his blackberry so she knew where to send the flight information to.
She wasn't stupid. She knew that he must've spoken to his kids after their conversation and that's why he wanted to go to New York where they currently lived with their mother. She also knew that if he didn't want her to come along that he either didn't trust her enough to think she could tackle that serious problem with him or that he was upset because his kids had said something about her that she shouldn't know about which only confirmed her worst fears: that she was the reason for their hurting.
Kelly moved like a robot from then on.
Mission: Book 1 one-way flight from L.A. to NY. One adult, non-smoker. First class.
She stepped into his office with empty eyes, started his laptop, opened his email-account, wrote down his code for the account he needed for the online-booking, logging in in his name, booking his flight, and screaming his fuckin' name into the cold air of the room until her voice broke and she started crying.
Peter had felt guilty when he packed his suitcase without answering any of her well deserved questions, yes. He had felt guilty when he asked her to book a flight for him and when he was even cold enough to tell her he wanted it one-way, yes. But he had never felt so much guilt in his entire life, not even when he told Paula he was seeing someone else, when he made her cry because of something she was innocent of.
His glassy eyes looked out of the cab's window after he had helped the driver loading his suitcase into the trunk. He wondered what was going to happen now.
His decision to go and see his kids had been so spontaneous, he hadn't thought the least bit about the consequences. He didn't even know what he would say once he arrived there.
All he really needed right now was Kelly telling him that it would be okay and that his kids would understand sooner or later. But he couldn't have her. Couldn't tell her that his OWN daughter had called him a lying bastard and his love a whore that tore their family apart.
A new set of tears went right to his ears when the short conversation replayed over and over in his head.
"Hello?"
"Hey, It's me"
"Dad? HOW ... HOW DARE YOU TO CALL ME!"
"Sweetheart please let me..."
"STOP CALLING ME! JUST BE HAPPY WITH YOUR SLUT!"
"please let me explai..."
"WHY WOULD I? YOU...YOU ARE A LYING BASTARD! You left us."
Peter tried to wipe away the fresh tears, but he could still hear his daughter crying on the other side of the phone. He had made his baby cry because he had only thought about himself.
It wasn't Kelly's fault that his kids hated him now, that they feel abandoned, like they don't have a family anymore.
It was his.
After Kelly had left the study with red rimmed eyes, she made her way to the sofa where she attempted to distract herself from what had happened by watching an old black-and-white movie. Before long, she fell into a restless sleep.
It was when he saw the green letters next to the words " NEW YORK CITY AA4943 " that said "BOARDING" that he was about to leave the airport and go back home to Kelly for the third time since he left the house.
As he watched all the people getting up from their seats to go through the last check, he wondered if what he was doing was actually really protecting Kelly from hurting. If it was the other way around, wouldn't he rather know the cruel details and be there to take on the problem with her instead of sitting home alone and worrying?
His brain hadn't even registered the answer before he had already dialled the number he knew so well.
Knowing that he wanted only one thing right now, Peter wanted her to pick up and forgive him for his incredible stupidity.
He got more and more nervous when he watched one person after the other getting on the plane in front of him and she was still not picking up.
Cold sweat made it's way down his back when the idea entered his mind that she might have seen the Caller ID and didn't want to talk to him.
Would a moment of pure thoughtlessness be enough to make her leave him?
Before he could surrender, a voice so soft that he could barely hear it answered the phone.
"Hello" a sleepy whisper came and the corners of his mouth slowly twitched. She was probably the most adorable person in this world.
(Of course there were several people he said that about…like his daughter. His daughter.)
"Kel, it's me, honey" he whispered equally softly. Maybe it was for the need of privacy or because he was still embarrassed because of his earlier behaviour.
"Peter. You okay" she answered and he was glad that her voice stayed as warm as ever. She seemed still sincerely concerned about him.
"Yeah I am fine. Darling, listen, I'm sorry for what I said to you earlier" he started and realised he had to hurry up when he heard one of the airline assistants calling "Gate closes in 5 Minutes".
Kelly said nothing to this, still being well too shocked about what had happened between them lying together on the sofa and them sharing a tearful goodbye.
So instead Peter tried to move the conversation forward.
"Baby, I don't have much time to explain things but I want you to book a flight to New York tomorrow and come after me" he said it so quickly that he wondered if she understood what he was saying. He was just so nervous she would refuse.
Kelly's mouth opened slightly, about to say something but he had done it again: Left her speechless.
When Peter listened to her breathing on the other side of the phone, he thought it was better than her screaming at him if he was bloody insane.
"Please trust me on this one, Baby. I'll pick you up at the airport tomorrow. I love you"
Kelly wasn't sure if she should be mad at him for making her jump about or be relieved because he had obviously thought she was worth enough to come to New York with him after all.
For the sake of the both of them, she decided on the latter.
Deciding that she had to wake until tomorrow to ask him everything else she wanted to know, she moved off the couch and back into his study to book the second flight for the day, feeling a lot happier than before indeed.
Meanwhile Peter was getting on the plane when his phone rang.
Surprised, he pulled out the vibrating device and smiled apologetically at the assistant who was about to check his passport.
"Gallagher"
"Hey Peter, it's Paula"
If Paula was mad at him for leaving that kind of message after weeks of not being in contact at all, she didn't show it.
"Hey, thanks for getting back to me"
"No worries, what's going on?"
"Well, I, um… actually wanted to talk to the kids but I can do that later"
"Later, as in, you'll call them back yourself?"
Peter took a deep breath wondering what Paula would say to his plans. When it came to her kids she was the most overprotective person in the world.
"No I'm about to get on the plane to fly to New York, I'd like to talk to the kids in person after…everything that's happened"
Again, if Paula was mad at him for not calling first, she didn't show it.
Peter was about to explain what had happened earlier so she'd understand why he was doing it now when the assistant next to him pointed angrily to his watch, telling him that he needed to get on that plane now or he would have to wait 3 hours for the next one.
"Um Paula, I'm sorry but I gotta go, I'll call you after I landed alright?"
He didn't give her enough time to respond before he hung up and finally took his seat on the plane.
Peter rubbed his eyes tiredly as he sat in the cab on his way to one of his New Yorker apartments. Jet lag was a bitch.
He was still nervous, not knowing how his kids and especially his 16-year-old would react at him standing in front of the door.
Deciding that he still had at least 10 minutes he decided to call Kelly. He already missed her.
She picked up after the third ring, sounding a lot less tired and sad than the last time he talked to her which told him that he had made the right decision by including her in everything.
"Hey baby, it's me"
"Hey, I assume you've landed"
"Yeah, I'm already on the way to Paula's apartment. How are you doing? Have you booked your flight?"
"I'm good and yes, I have. I'll probably arrive at 4pm tomorrow afternoon"
Peter smiled and she could feel it on the other side of the phone which made her smile slightly as well.
"Honey, I just want you to know that…"
"Don't worry. We'll talk about everything tomorrow alright?" Kelly interrupted another of his apologies. She didn't want to put another burden on his shoulders when he was already nervous about talking to his family for the first time after weeks.
"I love you" he whispered, admiring how she always knew immediately what he needed to feel better.
"I love you" she said back quickly and wondered since when it was a routine for her to repeat those words after he said them- not that she was complaining. She probably would never get tired of those three words when they came from him.
After the phone call with Kelly, Peter felt more motivated to try to solve the problem with his family. He knew now that even if it didn't go the way he wanted, he'd have Kelly there to comfort him. And if it didn't go that bad, he could maybe even introduce his love to two of the other people he loved most in the world. But that would be to see later.
Peter stood in front of the apartment twiddling his thumbs nervously, when he heard noises from inside. It sounded like someone crying.
He looked up surprised hoping that it wasn't anything serious. When he realised it was Kathryn, he swallowed deeply knowing that it was likely that she was upset because of his earlier phone call.
Why didn't he talk to Paula first so she could prepare Kathryn for a direct confrontation with him?
If a phone call shocked and upset her, what would him standing right in front of her do to her?
Even if he was disappointed by his kids reaction and what they had said about him and Kelly in public, it was his fault that they didn't know better.
He should've tried to have a conversation with them a long time ago.
As he was lost in thoughts he didn't hear his child screaming "FINE! I WILL" before the door he was looking at, deep in thought, swung open in one swift movement and the figure of his "little girl" was exposed.
He didn't know if the look on his face matched the shocked one on his daughter's face but he sure as hell felt the way she looked.
Before he could try to read her widened eyes or the gasp that left her mouth, Kathryn turned quickly back around and ran back into the apartment. When his eyes followed her path, he stood face to face with his other child. So it must've been a fight between Jamie and Kathryn he had witnessed only seconds earlier.
"Hey kid" he whispered when he slowly stepped into the apartment. Jamie didn't look half as shocked or upset as Kathryn which gave him enough confidence to start a conversation with him.
Jamie looked to the floor for a few seconds and let his father wrap his arms around him when he was close enough.
They had always had a good relationship and even if it had hurt Jamie to see his mother so sad and that his father hadn't told him immediately about his feeling, that he knew, in the end, he only did it to protect his sister and him.
His own arms slowly enveloped his dad in a tight hug, trying desperately to swallow the lump that made it difficult for him to breathe.
After the two men who were so alike pulled away from each other, both tried to suppress their emotions.
"Missed ya" Jamie said when he looked slowly back into his father's eyes and Peter had never been so happy to hear his son's voice before.
Peter's hand went to his arms, grabbing them tightly and showing him that he felt the same way.
"I'm sorry, Kiddo, I should've come here so much earlier" he said hoping his voice wasn't as unsteady as it felt to him.
"I understand, you were busy" Jamie replied thought Peter could tell that he was simply trying to be strong for him. He realised how much energy Jamie must've wasted to defend him to his sister when he left them and he felt a sting in his heart.
He had tried to call the both of them several times but except for some short phone calls with Jamie, they hadn't had a lot of contact at all.
"A father should never be too busy to see his children regularly" Peter said and swallowed deeply while Jamie simply nodded shortly.
"You here to talk to mum?" Jamie asked and Peter shook his head.
"I will talk to your mum, but I'm hear to make things right with you and Katie"
Jamie nodded again and Peter wondered when his little boy had become a man. Probably only another thing he had missed in his child's life since his marriage had started to fall apart.
Peter was about to lead his son to his daughter's room where she'd probably found refuge in when he stopped her.
"Dad, you should know that Kathryn doesn't see this whole thing the way I do"
"I know son, I know"
"You hurt her" Jamie added and Peter looked down, some what embarrassed.
Peter decided not to knock, knowing that he wouldn't get an answer or one he preferred to avoid.
He stepped into the room and immediately spotted her sitting on the sofa, her face turned away from him.
"Sweetie, we need to talk" he simply stated before he got closer to the couch.
When he had almost reached the sofa, he watched Kathryn quickly getting up and facing his with a look that made it difficult for him not to wince in pain. It felt like she had slapped him. And he knew he deserved it.
"We need to talk, DAD ? Well then why don't you tell me why Jamie and I haven't seen you for MONTHS! Tell me why you left us, and MOM, for a cheap whore! TELL ME WHY YOU NEED TO TALK ALL OF A SUDDEN! YOU SCARED THAT WE COULD RUIN YOUR FUCKIN' -IMAGE IN THE NEWS!!!!!!" she screamed at him and Peter was more than shocked to hear those words out of his little girl's mouth.
She might be 16 and she might have always been a little closer to her mum than him, especially since she was in her teens, but that didn't mean that she had the right to talk to her father like that.
"KATHRYN ANNE GALLAGHER, don't talk to me that way, understood?" Peter said in the calmest tone he could muster.
He watched more tears trickle down his daughter's cheek before she whispered "fuck off".
Peter wondered what had been done to make her this angry. It broke his heart to see her like this.
Before she could fight him, he closed the gap between them and wrapped his arms tightly around her.
He surprised her and she tried with all her might to slam her fists into his chest so he'd back off.
"I HATE YOU. I HATE YOU . I HATE YOU. I HATE YOU. I HATE YOU. I HATE YOU" she screamed, still in tears as her small fists kept colliding with his strong body.
When she realised he was only holding her tighter and tighter, her voice got quieter and quieter and her cries louder.
"I HATE YOU, you stupid asshole" she cried and Peter's eyes had long started to water as he held his crying daughter in his arms and started rocking her back and forth.
By the time the first insulting words had left his sister's lips, Jamie had found himself in the door frame of her room, watching the scene of his father and sister in front of him.
When he realised that Kathryn was slowly calming down, he joined the tight hug and whispered a few chosen words to his sister.
"You left us" the small girl between the two tall Gallagher-men whispered but her voice had lost all the anger, and left was the confusion and hurt.
"I am sorry baby, I'm sorry" Peter whispered into her brown locks, pressing a few kisses to her forehead.
"I didn't mean to and I will never, ever leave you and your brother again. You mean everything to me" he said as Kathryn's sobs slowly faded away until Peter released her from her grasp and she looked back up into his eyes.
"You hurt us, daddy" she told him and Peter felt all the guilt he had been trying to suppress since he realised that he was in love with Kelly, come crashing back into his body.
He closed his eyes, a few tears escaping from his eyelids when he realised that everything his kids had said to him in the newspaper was well deserved. That everything they had said about his relationship with Kelly was in their eyes right because they didn't know better.
Kathryn, how did you feel when your mother told you that your dad would leave the family.
Gallagher: I was so mad. I could only think "Who is this whore who took away my father".
I just wanted to scream at my dad for his stupidity, but I guess he is only like all the other jerks after all.
Different sources claim that his new flame is the Canadian actress Kelly Rowan, one of his ex-colleagues. Have you met her?
Gallagher: Yeah and I can't believe that my brother and I were stupid enough to think she was a nice person. She took away our happiness without a second thought. To me she is nothing more than a thoughtless slut.
You seem very disappointed in everyone. May I ask you what your mother says to this? She must be very upset
Gallagher: Mum hasn't said a lot about all of this. She is just too much of a nice person. I don't know how she could even let him leave just like that. She even forgave that bitch. I would've killed her
Late that night, after Peter had a quick chat with Paula and told her that he wanted to see the kids now at least every second weekend and that he hoped that she'd support the long-distance relationship, he lay on the guest couch and wondered what would happen tomorrow. Kelly would arrive in a few hours and his kids had only just started trusting him again; he didn't want to ruin that again.
Would they refuse to talk to her, hate him for even asking her to come? On the other side… Jamie was more understanding than he could've hoped for… and Kathryn had told him after she'd heard the whole story that she was sorry for what she'd said. To him and to the press.
Maybe they needed to make peace with the situation and meet Kelly to realise that his new girlfriend wasn't a horrible person who tried to destroy their family but a nice, loving woman who could also become a good friend to them.
The next day Peter left early to meet Kelly at the airport. He had had a very enjoying breakfast with his two kids and it almost felt like the last few months never existed. Of course he still didn't know what to do about Kelly…should he give her the other apartment and avoid any confrontation or bring her back to the apartment and have her meet his kids?
He knew that he'd either disappoint Kelly by telling her that he thought that his kids weren't ready to meet her or shock his kids by introducing the person to them that was the main reason why he left the family. Of course they seemed now more at ease with the situation and understood that Paula and he were well over before he and Kelly officially got together.
Banning another upcoming debate from his thoughts, he decided to concentrate on driving the rental car Paula was nice enough to order for him.
When he saw the airport approaching from the distance, he wondered if Kelly was still a little, well, mad at him for the way he acted the other day. He hoped not.
Once he reached the airport he reread the text his other half had sent him this morning with her flight details and then made his way to the gate she was supposed to arrive at.
Peter found himself checking his watch every minute, desperate to have the blonde angel back in his arms. He couldn't believe that he had been daft enough to think he could just leave and spend several days, weeks apart from her to sort things out on his own.
It concerned her as much as him and she had the right to know what was going on.
When he was almost hypnotized by the small green spot that kept bouncing from the left to the right side and then up and down which told him that Kelly's plane had already landed, he turned his head away before he went completely crazy.
Sighing he went back to the crowd of people who were also waiting for a beloved friend, relative or partner to arrive. Before he had properly fought his way through the many people, his eyes locked with hers. She must've been one of the first ones to get off the plane and he liked to think it was because she couldn't wait to see him either.
She carried a small red suitcase with her and she looked….well she looked beautiful as ever though there were small purple circles underlining her eyes and he had to think about his own great jet lag experience.
Shaking the thoughts of Kelly and her beauty out of her head, he gently pushed away the people to his left and right to get to her as soon as possible.
Meanwhile Kelly also walked towards him being glad to finally be off the plane.
When they finally stood facing the other, both had so much to say although nothing left their mouth.
Peter was the first to take action as his hand closed around hers and took the suitcase from her to carry it to the car. His other arm wrapped around her tiny waist and pulled her against him, kissing her gently on the lips. He neither wanted to push his luck nor have everyone around them looking at them. Since they had been regularly in the magazines and on TV for the last couple of weeks, he was sure that some of the people around them would recognize them eventually.
After pulling apart, they smiled at each other and Peter's heart leapt into his throat being not only overly happy that she was there in New York with him, but also that her love was enough to forgive him his crazy outburst.
"I'm so glad you're here" he whispered into her ear as he began leading her to his car by wrapping his arm even tighter around her small body and nuzzling her neck with his nose.
"Me too" she smiled her Kelly-smile and leaned into him.
The short journey to the car didn't take long since Peter, and supposedly also Kelly, were desperate to have some privacy.
He loaded her bags into the trunk and then followed her when she made her way to the passenger side of the vehicle.
Peter surprised her when he put his hands on her hips and made her spin around to face her instead of opening the car.
Kelly smiled slightly at him when he pressed her gently against the door and leaned into her to give her a prolonged kiss. She enjoyed his embrace and kissed him back equally passionately, having missed him and his closeness as well.
When they became more and more breathless and Peter's hands had lost their position on her hips, rubbing them gently, and went instead slowly upwards to feel more of her, Kelly pulled apart, stopping anything from happening they couldn't finish anyway.
Pressing her lips a few more times to his, she then stroked with one of her fingers over his soft full lips and took away the lipstick her lips had passed onto his on the way.
He looked adoringly at her, not wanting to move but knowing there were more serious things on the agenda for them today.
Turning a little bit more serious again, Peter gave her a past peck on the lips before he moved to his side of the car and opened it.
Once inside, he started the engine and explained to her on the way what had happened, including the ugly truth about what his daughter had said about them. He felt like she needed to know if they wanted to move on together. Kelly had seemed a little quieter but she squeezed his hand every time he asked her if she was okay. Of course she wasn't thrilled about his kids having such an impression of them, or her, but she wasn't stupid. She knew the way she was as a teenager and how she reacted when her mother told her her dad would leave them. She was heartbroken and ready to kill anyone who could've made him leave. So how on earth would this situation be any different for Peter's kids?
Peter's smile pulled her out of her thoughts and when he asked her if she thought she and his kids were ready to meet or if they should wait a little while longer, she knew the answer to the question.
Yes.
They need to meet sooner or later and the sooner his kids knew she wasn't the horrible monster their minds had made up, the sooner they could start on getting all those problems out the way.
She would try to stay calm, give them time to trust her and answer all the questions they had because she hoped that, this way, they could have a normal relationship with each other some day.
Even if she hadn't met his kids, if they were Peter's, she knew she would love them anyway and she also knew that she would try everything for them to like and accept her- because it would be important for Peter.
Peter decided on trusting Kelly on the decision and made his way to Paula's apartment so his kids would get to meet the love of his life.
He kissed Kelly's hand gently, thanking her again for being there and being here.
When they arrived in the parking garage next to the apartment, he handed the key to an employee and helped Kelly out of the car where he used the opportunity to kiss her again.
They looked at each other and Peter could practically feel her nervousness, though she nodded when he asked for the last time if she was sure she wanted this.
Walking hand in hand up the stairs, the couple leaned in close and Peter dropped several kisses on her forehead, trying to sooth her and himself.
The walk didn't take long enough for Kelly as her brain was desperately trying to make up a speech for his kids. When Peter's steps came to a stop and she stood next to him, four eyes locking, she realised that she had to simply be spontaneous.
"Just be yourself and they'll love you" Peter whispered reassuring to her and Kelly smiled awkwardly, not being able to believe him right now.
He mouthed an "I love you" to her before he knocked three times at the door.
"Oh god" Kelly thought wondering how she had gotten in this situation. She had definitely hoped it would under different circumstances but what had she thought? That they'd bake cookies together after his kids had insulted them in the newspaper?
Before the negative thoughts could get a hold of her mind again, Kelly felt Peter squeezing her hand tightly as the door in front of them swung open.
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"Honey, I want you and Jamie to meet somebody"
Okidoki, so that's it! What do you think? Dic you enjoy it/ do you want us to continue? We still have a lot of surprises in store for you....if you wanna know what happens next??
(Ps: Dont you just looove cliffhangers? ;-)))
Love xx
Ally & Jen (AlJen hehe)