Since I was so late updating last Friday, here you go.
"I'm fine. You heard Dr. Lansing. The little princess is just fine. Now go on to work and make sure you still have a magazine. You have a wife to support now remember?" Bobbie teased into her cell phone. It has been two hours since they had returned from Las Vegas and fifteen minutes since he had left her after her appointment. In that brief time, this was his fifth phone call.
"God I love hearing the sound of that."
"I love saying it, and the sooner you get to work the sooner you can get home to your wife." Although he was still in the middle of packing up his townhouse, Cruz had all but officially moved into the Brownstone weeks ago.
"Yes ma'am. You'll call me if you fell ill or anything? No, wait. Call Dr. Lansing first and then call me. No chances. And no working Bobbie."
"I promise I'll call Dr. Lansing if I feel strange and then you. But you're worrying over nothing."
"I did notice you didn't say anything about the no working part."
Damn it. Sometimes Bobbie felt Cruz was way too observant for his own good. All she was going to do was manage one phone call to Robin to see if Jax and Brenda really were sticking with their last theme. That didn't qualify as work. "Fine. No working."
"Good. I'll be home soon."
"You better." Bobbie flipped closed her phone and rubbed her stomach as she started the car up. "Your daddy little one is a bit overprotective. You may find it cute now but wait until you're sixteen and want to date."
Almost as soon as she neared the exit of the hospital garage, her phone began ringing again. Bobbie laughed as she wondered what new news report Cruz could have possibly found to worry about now. If he kept this up she was going to ban him from listening to talk radio or watching the news. "What are you worried about now?" She teased as she answered the phone.
"Bobbie? Oh my God, you're alive!" Laura responded kindly.
"Laura!" Bobbie wished she could be surprised at her sister-in-law's call but the truth was she was surprised she hadn't heard from Laura earlier. As it was, ever since she assumed Lucas and Dillon shared the news with the family, Laura had filled her voice mail with message after message.
"How was your trip? And the wedding? And Vegas? How was it? What's this about not calling me back at least to let me know you got there and back safely?" Laura reprimanded lightly.
"The trip was fine and Vegas, as always is Vegas. The wedding was lovely and yes I have pictures. We only got back two hours ago, so I haven't had time to call you. But I figured sooner or later you would call me."
"I suppose I can forgive you this one time. Is Cruz with you? I haven't seen either of you in what feels like ages!" Laura emphasized.
"He had to go to the magazine and make sure it was still standing. Axe was apparently the one in charge while we were away."
"Oh good heaven." Laura breathed.
"Have you had a chance to unpack yet?"
"I was on my way home to do just that. So tell me. How was your Christmas?"
"If you aren't too busy, you really ought to stop by." Laura countered.
"You know for someone who's been married to my brother for forever, you really are bad about evading questions Laura. Maybe we can discuss that when I drop by tomorrow."
"Cruz really isn't with you?" Laura prodded, returning to her original question.
"No. He's at the magazine."
"I'll just have to call him then." And then Laura hung up.
"Do you think we could fit anymore balloons in this living room?" Patrick asked skeptically as he reached over Robin's head to hang the party banner. Cruz and Aunt Bobbie would have to be psychic to figure this one out and they were probably still...yeah he wasn't going to let him mind go that far.
"Lucas apparently thought so. Didn't he go out for more balloons?" Robin answered picking a piece of lint out of Patrick's hair. This party was about their friends but, more than that, it was about re-establishing relationships between Lucky and the rest of the Spencers. He was still pretty ticked at them. There were two things that told her this. One, she wasn't stupid and could pick up the tension between them when they talked about the other. Two, the phone chain had never gotten to her this fast. She was used to being the last person to know anything but, with Cruz and Bobbie out of the state and Lucky and Elizabeth not talking to Laura, Robin had been the first one she called. While she was flattered, Robin wanted her friends to be before her.
"Nah, he went out for a drink. I don't know what he told you, but I know my cousin." Patrick corrected.
"I would assume they're together or else one of them would have stayed behind with Lance." Patrick nodded toward his little second-cousin as he played Lego's with Morgan. Alexis had spread out a blanket for them to play on so there would be no missing Lego's—a relief for anyone who had ever stepped on a Lego—and they were completely engrossed in their building.
"I'm not wearing this." Mac declared from the bottom step of the stairs. His curly peppered brown hair was poking out from under a Congrats party hat. Alexis glanced up from where she was setting the table and busted out laughing.
"Oh but you look so cute Uncle Mac!" Robin exclaimed trying to get him to come around to the idea.
"Cute? I look, cute? That's it. I'm leaving them a card. I'm too old for this." Mac whined as he fumbled with the white string that held the hat on his head.
"But Uncle Mac..." Morgan looked up from his and Lance's contraption. "You have to stay for the party. If you don't, Patrick will eat all the cake."
"Hey!" Patrick argued missing the "your point is?" look he was receiving from Robin. "I would not eat the entire thing."
"Besides, Grandma Bobbie will be so happy to see you!" Lance replied ignoring Patrick's indignant yelp.
Mac looked from Lance to Morgan to Alexis and then to Robin knowing he was stuck. This whole thing was strange. He had known Bobbie for the better part of a decade, but he still felt out of place at her wedding/baby shower. If Alexis hadn't looked so damn pale, he would have agreed with her that they should stay in and miss the party. But she did and he wanted her moving around, wanting the color back in her face. She still refused to see a doctor and he was still upset about that. She could pretend all she wanted; he knew something was wrong.
"Whoops!" Kristina exclaimed kicking the Lego's until they tumbled apart. The smile on her face said that she wasn't sorry. Morgan stood up but didn't say anything. Lance burst into tears.
"Kristina!" Alexis snapped almost dropping the plate she was holding.
"It was an accident!" Kristina insisted.
"The heck it was!" Mac shot back thankful he had learned to censor his language in front of small children even though this little girl had gotten him to slip last week and he was still hearing about it from Alexis.
Robin abandoned the balloons and went to coddle Lance who had started to scream. She hadn't ever seen her uncle so unwound. It wasn't as if Kristina didn't deserve to be scolded for knocking over the boys' toy, but she recognized the tone in both Mac and Alexis and knew this was only the beginning. She shared a worried look with Patrick and pressed her cheek to Lance's forehead, patting his back and trying to soothe him.
"It wasn't my fault." Kristina chimed in.
"Was too!" Morgan argued.
"Was not!" Kristina wailed stomping her foot.
"Was too." Lance added through muffled sobs.
"It's not so bad." Patrick moved cautiously toward the mess of Lego's and bent down to try and put it back together despite the fact that he hadn't seen how it looked before Kristina smashed it.
"Will you be able to fix it?" Lance asked through sniffles lifting his head from Robin's shoulder.
"All by myself? No, I don't think so. I might need some help. Why don't you three help me, huh?" Patrick suggested trying his best to diffuse an already out of control situation.
"That's a good idea, Patrick." Alexis spoke up. "Uncle Mac, maybe you want to help too?" She prompted.
Lance crawled out of Robin's lap, Morgan sat down beside his cousins and with a huff Kristina sunk down onto the blanket to help them. If she left it to a bunch of boys, they would never get it right. Why was everyone always yelling at her? It really had been an accident, but she had found it funny all the same. Mac just wanted to get her in trouble and Mommy was right there behind him. Maybe she should run away. They wouldn't miss her. No one would miss her.
"Do I have to be here? Can't I send a card?" Lucky grumbled as they stood on the front step on his family's home.
Elizabeth rolled her eyes. Honestly today it was hard to tell who was turning four, Cameron or Lucky. "No you can't. Cruz is your best friend and Bobbie is your aunt."
"This is the perfect reason to not be here. Come on, even your soap doesn't go to that extremes."
Elizabeth continued as if he hadn't spoken, which had been her plan of attack ever since she heard the message Laura left on the machine. "This is the exact reason you don't have a choice here. You love them both and you would be guilty for the rest of your life if you didn't do this."
Since when was she the one to make the good points, he silently fumed. She was right and it was a similar thought that made him get in the car and drive over here. But it didn't mean he had to like it. He sighed and was about to make a comment about not speaking to anyone he was immediately related to, when he felt a small hand tug his arm. He looked down into the eyes of his son. "Yeah buddy?"
Cameron pointed to the door. "Lance and Morgan be there?"
Even though he hadn't seen Lucas's minivan parked down the street, the Hornsby-Quartermaine-Jones family attendance was practically a given. And where there was the chance for cake, there was Patrick. "Yeah they're here."
Cameron smiled. "Good. I missed them."
Lucky shot Elizabeth a glare. "I don't know how but you planned that one." The unfortunate outcome of the current cold war with his mother was Cameron spent less time with his cousins. It wasn't a situation Lucky exactly liked but it was what it was.
"I would not." Ok maybe she would, but Cameron had come up with that one all on his own. She still wasn't too happy with Laura herself, but Cameron needed her. And unlike her and the majority of her family, Lucky actually liked his. It wasn't normal for him to go this long without talking to them.
"Anything I say will be held against me. So I won't say anything at all."
"We aren't staying long. And I'm not talking to her." Lucky warned.
"Just open the door. If we stand out here much longer, you'll ruin the surprise and then you will have to talk to your mother."
"And what exactly did Laura say?" Cruz asked worriedly as they crossed the parking lot to the Spencer house.
"Just that we should stop by since she hasn't seen us since Christmas."
"And that's why I had to rush home from work? Because she hasn't seen us since Christmas?"
Bobbie shook her head. "I do believe you were the one to cave to her request first my dear."
"I didn't cave. I conceded." Cruz rolled his eyes.
"Same thing."
"It's not the same thing." He took her hand in his. "We can still make a run for it if we turn back now."
Bobbie noticed the quick movement of the drapes in the front window. Pointing to them, she smiled. "Too late for that. We've been spotted."
"Maybe we can fake it."
Seeing the door start to open, Bobbie hit him on his arm. "I'd like to remind you this whole being in public quest was your idea. So just smile and enjoy this."
Cruz was about to reply when the living room suddenly filled with familiar faces. "SURPRISE!" They shouted in unison.
Bobbie recovered first. She should have known Laura was planning something like this. Moving into the room filled with family and friends, she easily spotted her sister-in-law. Giving the other woman a hug she exclaimed, "How on earth did you manage to do this?"
"Talent." Laura answered automatically.
"And I'm arrogant?" Patrick teased moving through the crowd. "Well, if it isn't Mr. and Mrs. Bobbie Spencer."
"How did you know we decided on that?" Bobbie teased, leaning up to kiss Patrick's cheek.
He hugged her carefully half worried he would squash her otherwise. "It was Morgan's idea."
"Super Cruz!" Lance rushed to Cruz's side and looked up at him. "Did you bring me something from your vacation?"
"Sure did." Cruz reached into his back pants pocket and pulled out a pair of black shades. He handed them over and Lance struggled to make them fit his much smaller face. Cruz bent down and slid them into the little blonde's hair so that they wouldn't fall off. "There."
"Awesome!" Lance smiled up as Lucas shook his head.
"Lance. What have we told you about manners?" Lucas questioned his son. He would have corrected him again about using that ridiculous name, but he was convinced Dillon was spending his every spare moment encouraging Lance to use it frequently.
"Thanks Super Cruz." Lance managed to look up without tipping the glasses right off his face.
"Beats Grandpa any day." Cruz laughed messing up Lance's hair and winning a scowl from Lucas. It was all Dillon could do to keep a straight face.
"You haven't even given it a chance. Patrick could give you tips on how to hide that gray hair." Robin mocked with a smile. Patrick was too quick for her and soon she was trapped in his arms. She was in trouble now.
"True, the old man keeps saying he's all knowing." Lucky made his way out of what Elizabeth had been dubbing his "pout corner" to talk with his friends.
"Well, look who came out of hiding!" Cruz smirked.
"You know me. Never miss an opportunity to make fun of Patrick."
"That's true. Don't you start calling me Uncle Cruz now." He warned with a shaking finger.
"Not enough alcohol in the world." Lucky shuddered at the mere thought of it.
"Don't mention alcohol." Both Bobbie and Elizabeth begged.
Laura looked absolutely uncomfortable as did Lulu, Luke, and anyone else in the room who knew the story. Mac and Alexis had missed it and the children were too young to pick up on it. "Did I miss something?" Cruz wondered nodding in Elizabeth's direction.
Elizabeth drew closer to Lucky and leaned her chin on his shoulder. "You know what? It can wait."
"Nonsense." Laura surprised them by saying. "I think they should know."
"Know what?" Bobbie questioned, starting to pick up on the tension in the air. She had never seen her nephew tense so much when Laura started speaking.
"It really isn't your place to tell anything Laura. If they don't want to discuss it, they shouldn't have to." Robin defended her friends still a little put off with their behavior at the Christmas party. She could feel Patrick stiffening behind her but she couldn't stop herself. They should be congratulated not scolded.
"This isn't the time or place." Elizabeth began. "This is a celebration for Cruz and Bobbie."
"If you don't want to tell us whatever it is, you don't have to." Cruz assured them. "We have Christmas gifts in the car. I'll get them."
"Presents!" The assembled children began to cheer. "Presents!"
"See what you did!" Luke laughed uncomfortably as the kids trailed behind Cruz.
"Did you bring all of us presents or just for the ones under five feet tall?" Patrick wanted to know.
"Like you would let me forget you?" Bobbie laughed.
"Have to keep my priorities straight you know." Patrick replied with a wolfish grin.
"Yes presents and cake. Now that he has those covered, he's set for the rest of the month." Lucky tried to keep his tone light. He was not going to blow this party for Aunt Bobbie. Reluctantly he could admit she was happier than he remembered her being in a long time. But he was never going to admit that to anyone.
Since it was a party for them and not the guests, the adults kept their presents wrapped and promised to open them as soon as the party concluded. The kids hadn't taken the same amount of consideration and there were boxes, string, and paper covering the floor to prove it.
They made three piles: the gifts that were for Bobbie, the ones for Cruz, and the ones that they shared. It was a seamless transition and soon they were down to Cruz's last present. Lucky and Patrick made sure to watch his reaction to this particular gift. Neither of their girlfriends knew about it. They had agreed to go in together for one great present and they figured they had done a pretty good job.
Cruz peeled away the plain red wrapping paper from the rectangular box and pulled a pocket knife from his back pocket when he encountered tape. The card had been from both Patrick and Lucky so he knew he was in for something crazy. Curiosity got the best of him and he had to know what it was. Pulling each flap of cardboard away he peeked inside, glanced over at his best friends, and then readjusted his eyes to better understand what exactly it was they had given him.
He could hear Bobbie goading him to hurry, to tell her what it was, but he had no response for her. Pulling the somewhat innocuous toy from the box by its right arm he showed it to the guests. Their immediate reaction was to giggle. His eyes widening when he realized what it was, he almost threw it across the room when it started to cry. A crying baby doll? That had been their joint decision gift? Its wailing only grew louder as he fumbled with it, instinct telling him to give it to Bobbie. She handed it back and told him he had to figure out how to calm it down. This was a nightmare! They were so dead once he figured out how to shut this thing up.
Lucky and Patrick turned away to keep from falling to the ground laughing. The expression on his face was priceless. Lucky hoped that Elizabeth had gotten a picture of pure panic that had crossed Cruz's face when the doll began to cry. "Come on Cruz. Make your child be quiet." He managed.
"Yeah." Patrick agreed. "You're going to have to figure it out sooner or later right?"
"I'm going to get you for this." Cruz said through gritted teeth.
"First you have to stop your baby from crying when you put it down." Lucky pointed out.
Cruz took a good look at the baby and then searched the box for anything to make it be quiet. All he found was a misshapen plastic piece. Noticing that it must fit into the baby's back, he inserted it into the little hole and turned it clockwise, counterclockwise, and then back again until it finally stopped. He hoped his kid made as much sense.
"There." He grinned at the crowd. "Easy."
Lucky snorted loudly. "You wish."
A look of panic spread across Cruz's features. "What do you mean?"
"Don't scare him." Elizabeth warned.
"I wouldn't do that. Besides watching him panic is going to be half the fun for me."
"And what's the other half?" Robin asked.
Lucky shrugged. "Just the usual enjoyment of watching him make mistakes."
"Did we forget to mention that?" Patrick couldn't help but feel a slight bit of pity for his friend. "You're in charge of it for the next week."
Lucky snapped his fingers. "I knew there was something we forgot to put in the card."
"What do you mean?" Cruz sputtered. "What are you talking about?"
"This is a loan." Lucky explained. "Inside is a little computer that will tell us how many times you fed the baby, changed the baby, and even just held the baby. At the end of the week, we're going to see if you passed your test."