Trina and Spencer stood on Portia's doorstep, hand in hand. Spencer had a bouquet of flowers in his free hand while Trina held Ace. They were a family unit, according to Trina. She wanted it to come across loud and clear that Spencer and Ace were her family. To accept her back into the fold, her mother was going to have to accept her husband and his brother. She was given no other options.
"Don't be nervous, alright? Just be yourself. Let her see how you are with Ace," Trina advised as she rang the bell.
"I doubt that will get her to like me," Spencer sighed, shifting from one foot to the other.
"She doesn't have to like you. I just want her to accept that you and I are a single unit. If she wants me back, she'll have to accept that you're my husband, for good. That you make me happy and we have our own family that we love."
It was Curtis who opened the door and gave a welcoming smile. "Trina, Spencer, and Ace! Welcome! Come in, we were all expecting you!"
Surprised by the cheery greeting, Trina and Spencer gave each other a look before stepping into the house that Trina had once called home. Trina was surprised to find a full house. Marshall was there, and so were Aunt Stella, TJ, and Molly. Molly happily ran up and hugged Spencer.
"Hey, Cousin! It's so good to see you! I heard about Esme. You two must be so excited to have Ace to yourselves now," Molly rambled.
"It's a relief, that's for sure. Now we can give him the normal childhood that I didn't get," Spencer smiled, thankful for Molly's presence right now. He didn't feel like a fish out of water now.
Trina scanned the room for Portia, but she was nowhere to be seen. "Where's mom?"
"Oh, she's in the kitchen putting the finishing touches on dinner. She and Aunt Stella went all out. Even Marshall had made some of his gumbo."
"Gumbo?" Spencer asked, surprised. He had heard of the dish, but he thought it could only be found in New Orleans.
"Yes, gumbo, Mr. Cassadine. Got the recipe from a gal down in New Orleans. It's the one thing that's my specialty around here. Have you ever had gumbo before?"
"No, but I always wanted to try it," Spencer nervously smiled.
"Well, son you're in for a treat," Marshall grinned patting the young man's back.
"Everything is going well," Trina smiled as she handed Ace to Spencer once Molly took the flowers from him.
"I think it's Ace. He's my good luck charm," Spencer winked.
"What a cute good luck charm he is," Trina laughed, allowing the baby to grab her finger.
"Trina, you're here!" Portia came out of the kitchen, her eyes wide with hope.
"Yes, I'm here. And so are Spencer and Ace. The other two members of my family," Trina smiled. "So, how was Tuscany? How are things between you and Curtis?"
"Well, you were right. The trip was exactly what we needed. It was just the two of us with no distractions. We talked and talked and talked some more and came to a new understanding. I think everything is going to be ok between us now," Portia smiled over at her husband, feeling at peace where her marriage was concerned. "That was some good advice you gave."
"Well...I just know that the alone time in Paris had drawn me and Spencer closer together and as a result we ended up understanding each other more. I thought it might do the same for you and Curtis. I'm glad that it had," Trina smiled, genuinely happy for her mother. "So, may I ask why there's such a big gathering?"
"Oh, Curtis and I wanted to share our trip with everyone. We thought it'd be nice to have a small party and show off our pictures this way," Portia chuckled.
"Oh. I thought...well, I thought that maybe you wanted to talk some more...about our relationship issues…"
"Oh. I do, but not now. But soon. I promise," Portia took Trina's hands. "I am really glad that you came and that you brought Spencer and Ace."
Trina looked at her mother as if she had grown another head. "You're happy that I've brought Spencer? Really?"
"Really. He's your husband. A permanent part of your life. It took time, but I came to peace with the knowledge that he's not going anywhere."
"That's right. He's not and I love him for his devotion to me, Mom. I hope that someday, you'll see in him what I do."
"I hope I do too."
Meanwhile, Spencer was standing with TJ, watching Molly play with Ace while Trina talked with her mother. It was good to see Ace with other family members and he hoped that maybe he and Trina could hang out more with TJ and Molly. They were slightly older than them, but they had a lot in common and were family and it would be good to have friends that were on the more mature side. He smiled as he watched Molly smile and kiss the baby's cheek and looked at TJ to see his own sad smile.
"Molly's really good with him," Spencer noted, wanting to keep the conversation going.
"Yes, she is. She'd make a great mom...but sadly that's not in the cards for us," TJ sighed, looking away from the scene, the hurt clear in his eyes.
"Really? Why? Don't you guys want kids? I think they'd be really cute."
"Oh, we want kids. We badly want them...but...Molly has a severe case of endometriosis. The doctors said that conceiving and carrying a baby to term is not going to happen for us," TJ sighed and shook his head. "It's funny. We never thought about having babies until a few months ago and now that we have, we can't have them…"
"Oh man, that's too bad," Spencer frowned, rubbing the back of his neck, not knowing what to say. What could one say about this? "There are other options, right? Like surrogacy? Adoption?"
"Yeah, of course. I'd love to talk about them, but right now Molly is still processing it all. I'm sure we'll come up with something once she comes to grips with her diagnosis. It's just that...I'm at a loss for what to do. I'm so afraid of saying the wrong thing and alienating her."
"Man, that's tough. I guess all you can do is give her space and be there when she needs you. That's what I learned about Trina sometimes. Normally, she'll come to me with what bothers her, but sometimes she just needs space."
"I get you. Trina's a good one and she loves you. That was obvious to me when we talked that one time and she opened up about how things were going for you. You two already sounded like a married couple, even back then."
Spencer just laughed and nodded, his smile going even bigger when his wife looked his way and gave a loving smile of her own. "Yeah, I'm not surprised. It feels like we've been together forever and I never want to remember what life was like without her."
…..
The rest of the get-together was spent looking at pictures from the trip to Tuscany and the announcement that Curtis had decided to move back in and give his marriage to Portia a second chance. There were to be no more lies between the couple. The guests happily applauded, glad that the Ashford marriage was back on track after months of limbo after the big paternity reveal that had sent all of their worlds into a tailspin. Finally, it seemed that things were settling back down to normal.
Trina had a bundled-up Ace in her arms as she and Spencer headed for the front door, ready to head home. It was Marshall who made an inquiry.
"So, when will Mr. and Mrs. Cassadine share those pictures of their trip to Paris I wonder?" The musician grinned.
Trina looked at Spencer with wide eyes and then turned her attention back to her family members who were watching them with expectant eyes. "Soon. We'll get them to you soon. It's just that a lot has been going on, but we'll have them ready for everyone in a few weeks. Who knows, maybe it can be us who'll have a get-together to show them off."
"That'll be great, sweetie. Well, it's getting late and I know that baby is wanting his bed," Portia gave a small wave.
"Good night everyone," Spencer waved, following Trina out to the car. Once they had gotten Ace buckled in, they were on their way back to their house.
"Well, that wasn't a total disaster," Spencer grinned, ready to declare the night a success.
"Yes, my mom was actually pleasant to you. I think she's finally accepting that you're a part of my life and you're going nowhere," Trina smiled, slipping her hand into Spencer's free one. "Finally, we're getting the family we always wanted."
"Yes. Ace is going to have a normal childhood. No nannies. No servants. No spiraling estates and castles. He's going to be a normal kid, living in a normal house, in a normal life. Everything that I didn't have."
"And he's going to know exactly who he is and where he came from. He's not going to wonder who his relatives are."
"Right. It's going to be the same for our kids, Trina. I promise you that. We're going to give them a wonderful, peaceful, childhood. And they're going to be loved like crazy."
Trina smiled, looking at Spencer wonderingly. "I think I'm ready, Spencer. For a baby of our own."
Spencer blinked a few times and looked at her, feeling surprised. "Really? Now? I mean...Ace is still a baby…"
"He's not our baby though. He's your brother. I'm talking about a baby made from me and you. Our DNA mixed together. It doesn't have to be right away. We can wait until Ace is a few years old. There's no rush. I'm just saying that I'm ready whenever you are."
Spencer nodded. "I get you and I agree. But yeah, when Ace has a few years on him. Right now, he's still small and needs a lot of our attention. We're just getting used to taking care of him. I think adding another baby would be too much."
"So no going off birth control for me...not yet."
"Yeah. For now, it's just the three of us. A family of three."
Trina and Spencer smiled at each other, feeling at peace with the state of their little family. Little did they know that their dreams of a family of three were about to change once again.
