Thank you to everyone who read the last conversation. The wedding day is over, but the after-effects will linger.

Chapter 35: Somebody Call the Lawyers

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Because of the situation with Jade's mom, which required quality lawyer time, the trio did not make it back to Cliff's house until 1 AM. After giving Jade a late-night snack and changing her diaper, Marc passed out on Cliff's guest bed at 3 AM.

If he said he was perfectly okay with sleeping in the guest room, Marc would be lying to himself, but he really wanted this friendship. He needed it right now so much with Jade. Over the last week and a half, Marc has realized how much he has missed being around the man. He's been is rock during the baby stuff. He even missed watching those crazy black and white films and having a quiet night in. He didn't want to mess this up by falling back into old patterns. Besides, after the Troy fiasco, Marc is starting to think that he's a little too fucked up for a real relationship. He has too many issues.

Maybe Marc needs to work on himself first, mainly because he's a dad now. He can't screw this up because it will hurt Jade. He is so going to have to talk to Amanda about this as soon as she's not throwing up or crying over the disaster that is Matt.

That wouldn't be right now. Marc was only going to be at his apartment long enough to change and pick up a few things for his prolonged stay at Cliff's apartment. Okay, and maybe all the cute baby stuff that he picked up for Jade in DC or that Wilhelmina sent over. Marc had no idea that many fashion houses made baby close. He was worried about Amanda staying at the apartment alone, but Monique assured him that wouldn't be a problem. Mrs. Meade offered her house if Amanda didn't want to stay in the hotel room (that Monique promised she would arrange for Amand) since she was carrying the Meade grandbabies. (Thank God for the miracle that the babies are Daniel's.)

The apartment seemed unbelievably quiet, aside from a single piece of paper in the wastebasket by the couch. Actually, it looked utterly undisturbed as if nobody has been there for days. There were not any cookies or ice cream containers on the table. Which would make sense if Amanda really did stay at the Wyndham-West property of her choice. Instead, there was just the letter with his name on it. Due to the pink envelope and use of purple sparkly pen, Marc knew it was from Amanda. Maybe Mandy wanted to let Marc know which hotel she was staying at.

Marc quickly opened the envelope only to fall down in the nearest chair. Marc couldn't believe what he just read. He doesn't believe it; instead, he runs into Amanda's room.

At first, nothing appeared to be gone except for the baby teddy bear that Daniel got her last spring after the first ultrasound. Then Marc noticed that all the comfortable pregnancy shoes were gone. Marc quickly opened her closet only to see that her suitcase and maternity clothing were missing. Not just enough things for her to be at a hotel for a few days but everything. This is remarkable considering how much maternity clothing Amanda has managed to accumulate.

"You won't believe I found a parking space within two blocks. I thought I should come on upstairs since you will be here a while. Baby J doesn't like to hang out in cars." Cliff called out with Jade in a sling against his chest, but Marc didn't reply. He couldn't. How could she do this to him? They were supposed to do this together. How can he be a dad without her?

"Troy didn't leave you any nasty surprises, did he?" He could not respond. Instead, he just passes the note wordlessly to Cliff. Of course, instead of reading the thing to himself, Cliff read it out loud:

Dear Marc:

I know you're going to hate me forever, but I just can't take living next door to the first guy I ever really loved, especially now that I'm sure he never loved me. I just need to get away for a while. I know it's the wrong time because of Jade. I'm sorry I'm bailing on you regarding that. However, you are a dad now. I think you already know that you will do anything to protect your daughter. She's now your first priority. I know she is. If I want to make it to October, I can't be around anything that will stress me out, including Matt. I just can't be there.

I love you and baby J. I'll be back with your well-dressed god babies in tow as soon as possible. We will have the best playdates together. I will write to you again when I know where I will be. Right now, I just can't say, but at least I have the money from my biological mother now. It will be okay. I wish I could take you with me, but you have your own life. You have Jade now, and she needs you to be her dad full time. You will be the best dad. I know you will. You have been taking excellent care of me all these years, so I know that you'll take care of Jade.

Actually, seeing you with her made me realize how bad things with Matt really are. So thank you for making me realize the truth. I just wish it was sooner.

Always your BFF, Love Mandy.

After that, Cliff goes silent and then starts to giggle. This finely awakens Marc out of his mental stupor.

"My best friend just left because that bastard broke her heart because Daniel Meade has super sperm, and you're laughing?" He asked incredulously with a look he got from Wilhelmina. He surprised it didn't make Jade cry. It's been known to scare small children.

"I'm not laughing about that, but Amanda's postscript. It says 'PS: Don't f.u.c.k it up with Cliff this time. We need a new chunky one. Jade needs a good stepdaddy.' I absolutely adore her for writing that, except I am not that chunky." He frowned at the last part. Although he did find it adorable that Cliff spelled out the curse word for baby Jade.

"She would say something like that. You're not chunky; you just dress wrong for your body type. She's been spending too much time around my boss." Marc said, shaking his head. "How could she leave me? How could she leave us?" Walking over to the couch. He was so distracted that he accidentally knocked over the trashcan. He was too distraught to even fix it.

"Because no matter how much she loves you, she's always going to love her children more." Cliff took the seat beside him. "You should realize that now," Cliff pointed to Jade.

"But that doesn't mean that she had to leave," Marc said, leaning against Cliff.

"We both know this is a high-risk pregnancy, and the events of the last few days have not helped. This may be for the best." Cliff said, pulling an arm around him. He wanted to cry. How could she leave him? How could she not know that he would choose her? Or at least he would have before Jade. Now he would pick Jade. Yet, it hurt to realize that Amanda was making the same choice. As much as they loved each other, their kids came first. This transition into full adulthood happened way too fast.

"You're right, Matt's too toxic for her to be around right now. I'm actually thankful I'll be at your house for a few days because I don't think I can deal with seeing him." 'This is all Matt's fucking fault,' he thinks to himself. If it wasn't for him, Amanda wouldn't even have to make this choice.

"Why don't you take Jade into my bedroom and grabbed my suitcase. I'll clean up in here, and then I'll come back."

"Is it still under the bed?" Cliff was already halfway to Marc's bedroom as he asked the question.

"Well, one of them is," Marc said, getting up from the couch and putting the trashcan up again. "I think my overnight bag is still at the hotel. We didn't get to go back and get stuff after…" Marc abruptly stopped talking when he realized what the piece of paper in the trashcan was.

At first, he thought the threatening letter could've been from the crazy ex-boyfriend. He did try to attack Marc at a wedding the day before. If it was Troy, then the message would be telling Amanda to stay away from him, not Matt. That's when it clicked in Marc's mind the real reason why Amanda was gone.

XXXX

Matt's head was pounding, and he was pretty sure he's going to throw up at any moment. Matt sincerely wonders precisely how much he had to drink last night.

After his spectacular fuck up with Amanda at the reception, he spent the rest of the night making good use of the free liquor at the open bar. At some point, he's pretty sure he got in a shouting match with his mother. Apparently, she was furious at the fact that he knew that Tiffany was back in New York. He wasn't even sure how she found out about Tiffany being back unless she saw Austin at the wedding. He did look a little like his dad at that age. Honestly, Matt really didn't care.

Matt was too angry at her for messing around with the DNA test and completely fucking up his relationship with Amanda. If it wasn't for Victoria, he would be spending this Sunday morning picking out baby furniture for the nursery. Things were good before she began meddling in his life. Things were now in pieces because of her.

Matt wasn't sure what he was going to do to fix that. He was sure groveling would be involved. Matt should probably order Amanda a chocolate gift basket or maybe more shoes. He knows Amanda has been upset with the fact that she's gone up a shoe size because of the pregnancy, and most of her cute designer shoes don't even fit her anymore.

He's not even sure how he ended up in bed last night. Matt is pretty sure Tyler brought him home after his disastrous conversation with his mother, where he told her that she was essentially dead to him. He also may have thrown up on somebody at some point. Again, Matt really doesn't remember. Of course, now he was paying for everything with the mother of all hangovers. The loud, angry knocking at the door did not make things any better.

"Open the fucking door. If you have another guy or girl there that is not a relative, I will kill you and make sure nobody finds the body. Wilhelmina Slater is like the mother I always wish I had, and she knows how to take care of that sort of thing. She had practice." Matt knew that the angry voice on the other side of the door could only be Marc, and he was beyond furious. The voice of Cliff admonishing his ex-boyfriend for curseing in front of the baby confirmed that.

Matt seriously doubts that Marc could do any damage. If Matt wanted to get back on Amanda's good side, he would have to be nice to her best friend. This is why he started making his way to the door. "I'm not going to be quiet because Amanda left due to the fact his mommy sent her a death threat." He heard Mark tail cliff from the other side of the door. Matt chose to open said door because he needed to know precisely what stupid thing his mother did. He was so tired of her messing with his life.

Of course, as soon as he opened the door, he felt a fist connect with his jaw. In seconds, he was falling back on the coffee table that was now nothing more than broken wood. Daniel may have hit him a lot harder, but Marc was a hell of a lot angrier.

"Baby Jade, remember violence doesn't solve anything." He heard Cliff say as he rubbed his jaw.

"What the hell are you doing here? Why did you just hit me?" He asked, wiping the blood away from his mouth.

"She's gone, and it's all your fault," Marc said just about ready to punch him again. Fortunately, he was able to dodge the hit this time, or maybe his photographer friend was able to pull him off before he attacked again.

"Think of what example you're setting for Jade. Take a minute and breathe, Marc. I know you're mad about Amanda leaving, but don't take that anger out physically." Cliff said as he placed an arm around Marc.

"What are you talking about?" Matt asked angrily as Marc threw two crumpled pieces of paper at him. As he read, for the third time that week, it seemed as if the world around him was crumbling.

XXX

Monique was supposed to be spending her honeymoon relaxing and enjoying copious amounts of good sex with her new husband. Instead, Mo was sharing her honeymoon bed in one of the best hotels in New York with a very emotionally distraught 15-year-old. As her husband of fewer than 24 hours was sleeping on the couch. It's probably not a good sign when a marriage starts out this way.

Gio was sleeping on the couch for various reasons. He was furious that she didn't tell him immediately about his sister being pregnant. Contrary to what he said, she wasn't selfish by waiting until after the wedding to let him know about something they weren't sure of yet. Also, his sister was the one who didn't want to tell him, and it really wasn't Monique's secret to tell. He only found out because said teenage sister threw up on his shoes during the reception. Gio made some snide comment about her acting like Amanda, and neither one could keep a straight face.

Now because he is in overprotective big brother mode, Gio doesn't trust his potentially pregnant sister to stay home alone. Even if her cousin was going to be there. Instead, he insisted that they bring his 15-year-old sister on their honeymoon. If Monique didn't think of the girl as the child she would never have, she would probably be more upset about the whole thing. However, because he insisted, Gio would be the one on the couch of the suite.

Gio was also upset with her because she prevented him from killing the boy that talked his sister into doing something she wasn't ready for. Regardless if he got her in a family way or not. She was glad that she didn't tell him what she found out from Candy regarding the dubious consent nature of the sexual encounter. Gio would want to kill him for that alone. Really, she didn't want the first few days of her marriage ruined by him being in jail on murder charges. Unlike Wilhelmina, Monique doesn't find conjugal visits sexy.

The number one reason why her husband is sleeping on the couch, and she was not getting laid any time soon is Wilhelmina Slater. First, he was upset about all the games that she and Wilhelmina have been playing recently. He knew they were both team Cliff. Gio was upset about the scheme to take over Mode and Isabella. Also, considering what happened, Gio probably wished the entire family was very far away from the moron that got his sister pregnant.

Of course, he was most upset about the current alliance with the woman. Monique tried to explain it as 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend,' and right now, her enemies were Wilhelmina's enemies. Thanks to the Isabella deal falling apart, and her targeting of Amanda, their common enemy, was Victoria Hartley.

Now, her husband would say that Wilhelmina only hated Victoria Hartley because she stole Isabella from her. Monique knew that inside the darkness that is Wilhelmina Slater, she still had a heart even if it was two sizes too small. Wilhelmina loved Marc. He was like a son to her to the point she was already considering Jade her grandbaby. (Monique saw the mountain of baby gifts already from Nana Willie.)

When Monique was called in to handle everything as being the most senior member of the Mead publication staff that Claire could trust during the aftermath of the shooting, she got to look at Wilhelmina's emergency contact list. Marc is that contact. He also had Power of Attorney. Of course, the most telling was the fact that her life insurance also went to Marc. That was a new change only made after her earlier hospitalization this year.

It was apparent to anybody that Marc was important to Wilhelmina. So much that she encouraged him to stay on at Mode even if it would be in her best interest to take him onto her new project. The fact that Marc's baby's Mama was arrested yesterday also points to that fact. Monique heard enough to know that Wilhelmina was responsible for leading the authorities in Jody's direction. For what purposes, only Wilhelmina knew. Although Monique is 100% sure most of Jody's legal problems will disappear once Marc gets full custody of Jade. Monique may be inclined to help with that.

Amanda was important to Marc. If Wilhelmina was like the mother he always wished he had, Amanda was his sister. Because Amanda is important to her surrogate child, Wilhelmina would extend her protection to Amanda. The information about Victoria's latest scheme was given without any provocation.

To deal with an enemy that already got away with attempted murder, they needed someone who could be equally vicious. Victoria Hartley was too smart for mere mortals. Even Brianna and a team of private investigators couldn't connect her to the attempted murder of Austin's mother when she was pregnant with him. (The fact that Justin was now dating the other long-lost Hartley son was a whole other area of concern that she would get to after the honeymoon. Brianna had that DNA test expedited as well.) They needed someone on Victoria Hartley's level, and Wilhelmina was the best option.

They have already been working together for the last few weeks on "operation: get rid of the slimy boyfriend." It became even more critical once the truth about Jade came out. (And Monique has a feeling that Wilhelmina may have found out about that earlier than everyone else.) Since they were able to successfully manipulate Cliff into inviting Marc to stay at his place, it seems like the two may be more powerful together. Seeing that Monique saw Wilhelmina threatened to cut off Troy's dick if he came near Marc again, Monique is sure that Wilhelmina will do anything to protect those that she considered hers.

Of course, as Gio sarcastically pointed out in their argument last night, Wilhelmina wouldn't do anything for free. Love and revenge can only take you so far. There was going to be a price for this.

To Monique, what Wilhelmina was asking for wasn't too much this time. A chance to start over in Australia with her new husband. As well as someone that will allow Wilhelmina to tell the story of her teenage sexual assault without vilifying her. They just had to let Wilhelmina be at the restaurant for a few months to help her save face. As a bonus, Dominique would be gone. Monique could live with these terms, but Gio was different.

When she explained to her husband why she agreed to the plan, he was upset. Gio doesn't like the idea of Wilhelmina Slater having a say in his restaurant. He didn't see the necessity of Wilhelmina's intervention. Despite him knowing full well that Sourdough Girl wasn't going to sell her shares to anybody unless they had the potential to hurt Monique. Wilhelmina had the potential, but she no longer has the will, at least for right now. They needed each other too much. Also, unlike Dominique, Wilhelmina has never actually tried to kill her. No, the worst she has ever done was stifle her potential. There were worse things.

Of course, Gio doesn't see it that way. That's how he ended up on the couch. He said some things to her that are going to require a good apology present.

Obviously, he's trying with croissants if the aroma in the air is any indication.

"Is this your way of apologizing?" She asked as she saw her husband in the doorway.

"I still don't trust Wilhelmina, but I do trust you when it comes to my sister. I'm not sure we should trust her judgment seeing as that is what got her in this situation in the first place, but I don't want to force her to do something that she will regret later on."

"You know I don't want to force her to do anything. If my father Got his way, I wouldn't be here. Thankfully my birth mother had the support of my mom. Vivian provided her with other options, and that's what I want to do here."

"It would be a shame if you weren't here." He said, kissing her on the forehead.

"I get why you're upset about the whole Wilhelmina thing. She's the lesser of two evils. I don't trust her that much either, but I trust her more than your ex-girlfriend. Dominique actively tried to kill me. Her slander campaign alone was not good for the restaurant."

"I see your point, I just wish there was another way than having the devil herself owning 30% of my business."

"I'd rather work with somebody who doesn't actively want me 6 feet under. Wilhelmina knows how to sell stuff. If you can sell a $2,000 dress, you can sell a $20.00 sandwich to the New York elite. She has a good business mind. You can learn a lot from her as long as you keep in mind that she will screw you over if necessary."

"The magazine industry is a lot different than the restaurant business." Her husband said, starting to get defensive again. She didn't feel like doing this before she had her morning croissant.

"But the fashion industry is not. Both are about getting people to buy things they don't necessarily need, at least the high-end version of it. Besides, it's only going to be a year at most. Connor has been keeping up his end of the bargain. I'm sure by our first anniversary Wilhelmina will safely be in Toorak," Monique said, with a smile,

"I hope you're right. Besides, we have more important things to worry about. What are we going to do regarding Antonella?" He asked with a sigh.

"Support her." She told Gio. "And no, you can't kill the guy who got her pregnant. If rumors are true and there is more than a four year age difference, we might be able to get the bastard for statutory. I'm hiring an investigator." Who may or may not have been recommended by Wilhelmina.

"This is why I love you." He said, kissing her once more.

Of course, the touching family moment was ruined by her phone ringing. She ignored it at first because she wasn't going to have sex on her honeymoon; she should at least have an excellent make-out session. However, the second time the person called, Monique had no choice but to answer.

"Marc, I'm on my honeymoon. Somebody better be dead. Is somebody dead?" she asked after a moment because she didn't put anything past Victoria Hartley.

"Sorry to disturb your honeymoon, but I called your house first and I was given your cell phone number. Hi, this is Doctor Pine's office. Is Antonella available?" The fact that they were calling on a Sunday had Monique concerned. That had to mean the test was positive.

"She's asleep, and honestly, I really don't want to wake her up right now. She's had a really rough couple of days. This is her guardian, Monique Osborne-Rossi speaking. Do you have the test results? I think it would make it easier if we knew 100% for sure she actually was pregnant. And if she is, I think I better be the one to tell her."

She wanted to give Antonella a little more time. On the one hand, if they knew she was pregnant, they could start making plans for what would happen next. On the other hand, this was the end of her teenagehood. Monique hated that for her.

"One moment, please." Monique could hear the sounds of keyboard strokes at that moment. "It seems that Ms. Rossi has authorized us to speak with you. So, I can tell you yes, we do have the results, and Antonella is not pregnant." She could hear Gio cheer in the background.

"That's good, so we can cancel the follow-up appointment for Tuesday." Which would be great because work was so chaotic right now. Today would be there only actual honeymoon day for a while. She still has 99 problems, but the pregnant teenager is no longer one.

"No, Dr. Pine will still like for Antonella to come in. She is concerned with some of the other things that showed up during the blood work an would also like to look into what caused the false positive pregnancy test."

"What other things?" Monique asked, concerned.

"Now that I can't tell you. Ms. Antonella Rossi only authorized you to hear the results of the pregnancy test."

"Of course she did it that way. So will the doctor be able to tell us why she keeps throwing up if she's not pregnant?"

"The doctor is very concerned about that as well. It's something we're going to look into. There are lots of things that can cause a false positive pregnancy test. Most are nothing to worry about." Considering her best friend was diagnosed with terminal cancer after not feeling well for a few days, Monique is concerned.

"Does Tuesday at 9:00 AM still work for you?" The representative from the doctor's office asked.

"We will be there." Marc can handle the Tuesday morning meeting.

"So, I'm not going to be an uncle just yet? "

"No, but we still have to figure out why Antonella keeps throwing up on everybody."

"Maybe it's a sympathy pregnancy for Amanda. That stuff happens, right?"

"I don't know. I'll do some Googling later after we tell Antonella the good news. We should order waffles." She could use waffles right now.

"Should we reward a negative pregnancy test?" Gio asked.

"Today, yes," Monique said just as her phone started to ring again. She picked up the phone because she was worried it was the doctor's office again.

"Hey Marc, Since I'm now in a good mood, I am okay answering your phone call." She's not going to tell mark why she's so happy because Antonella should be the first one to hear.

"Amanda is gone." Monique started shaking at that moment.

"Gone as in dead or gone as in kidnapped?" She asked, with worry in her voice.

"She left a note saying that she was leaving because Matt is a bastard, and his mom is terrifying," Marc said bitterly.

"Are you sure the note is genuine? Have you called the police yet?" Again, she didn't trust Victoria Hartley at all. She could see her staging the entire thing.

"Actually, my neighbor did after I punched out Matt."

"Good for you."

"Actually, not really. You're my one phone call. Can you get me out of jail? I don't wanna take Cliff away from Jade." Okay, she was not expecting that at all.

"I would ask you why you didn't call Wilhelmina, but we don't have time. Tell me where you are." At this point, the only thing saving this honeymoon from being the worst one ever is Antonella not being pregnant.

To be continued

This chapter is a big departure from the original version. Basically I traded Antonella having a child for Marc having a child. But we still had our teenage pregnancy scare. Why is Antonella's body acting like she's pregnant when she's not? Could it be something serious? That will be explored as we go forward.