AN: You're going to find Bianca insufferable for a while. But I feel like she would be completely against this and would really struggle with Erica's choices. So this feels in character to me.
Marissa is next, and Alex Olivia are not far off.
And ooooo...DE living together.
Chapter 22
"You don't have to do this," Bianca pleaded, watching her mother pack the rest of her things from the penthouse. "You and Uncle Jack..."
"Jack and I have nothing left to say to one another," Erica reminded her, hardly stopping to look at her daughter.
What was the point of this? Of any of it? Jackson wanted nothing to do with her child. Jackson had gone behind her back, trying to control the situation. There wasn't anything left to fight for.
"You love each other. You've loved each other a long time and you were planning your last wedding."
"Bianca," She started, finally looking up at her daughter. "Jack walked out on me. I gave him the chance to do this with me. I asked him to be a part of this. He refused, and then he tried to tell me how to handle David."
Bianca shook her head. "I admit that was wrong, and he should have consulted you first. But his heart was in the right place and maybe..."
"Maybe keeping David from his child is a good idea? Do any of you hear yourself when you say these things?"
She wondered if they thought before they spoke? Did they hear the words leave their mouths?
"The absolute worst thing I could do is try to keep David from his child. All he wants is access, hands-on parenting, no lies or deception. If I give him that, there is nothing to worry about."
Bianca sighed. There was a truth in her words. The last thing any woman should do is try to keep David from his child. That didn't mean she should give him one either.
"And moving into Wildwind is a better idea?" Bianca challenged.
Erica nodded without hesitation. "I have always felt at home at Wildwind. The baby will spend a lot of time there. I like being there. Why wouldn't I live there?"
"David lives there. You're moving in with David."
"I'm moving into Wildwind, David just happens to live there.
"Is there something..." The words caught in her throat, and she struggled with the thought "are you and David..."
"Nothing is happening between David and I." Nothing physical anyway. They wouldn't cross that line. They couldn't. Emotionally, however, they were in far too deep.
Bianca nodded, studying her mother's face. Nothing might be happening physically, but something was happening. "Do you have feelings for him? After everything..."
"It's complicated, Bianca. It's not as simple as yes or no."
"Why not? After all the pain he's caused, how can you feel anything for him that isn't disdain?"
"Because he's the father of three, soon to be four of my children," She pushed out, shaking her head as she moved away from the box she was packing. "You have no idea what this is like." Her back was to Bianca as she paced the length of her living room. "Greg Madden stole my DNA. He deceived David into using his own. He used our DNA to make children. Living, breathing actual children who are the best and worst of both of us, and then he gave away our children. Josh is gone. Olivia, Alex, are these incredible young people, and David and I made them. But they aren't ours and never will be. Do you know what that feels like?"
She faced Bianca now, tears on her cheeks. This would never get easier.
Bianca shook her head, and her eyes slipped shut.
"This one," She breathed, a watery smile on her lips as she laid a palm on her stomach. "This one is ours. We made him. I'm going to give birth to him. Take back whatever fate Greg had in store for him. And I want to share him with David. I need to. I don't completely understand it myself. But being close to David. Sharing this journey with him, it brings me an incredible sense of peace."
Bianca nodded, eyes fluttering open to reveal her own tears. How had Greg Madden been allowed to do what he had done? How was it possible that David was the med student who made the embryo's? That he and Erica knew one another? Had been involved? Maybe she was right. Maybe it was more complicated than anyone understood.
"I'm so sorry, Mom. For everything Greg did to you," Bianca said softly, tears on he cheeks. "I really am. I just..." She shook her head and looked her mother in eyes. "David is still David, and you need to be careful."
"I trust him," Erica nodded. "I know it's crazy, but I do. I've not forgiven for what he did to you, what he did to Miranda, but he's the father, and I have to respect that."
Bianca sighed, brushing away a few errant tears. "What about Uncle Jack? It's just over? That's it? That's how the greatest love of your life ends?"
Erica shrugged. "What else would you like me to do? He has made his position very clear. I can't be with someone who doesn't want my child, who won't treat my child like his own."
"I could talk to him..." Bianca offered, but Erica interrupted.
"He's made himself very clear. If he changes his mind in the future, I will hear him out. For now, it's over, and I'm ready to move forward."
Bianca watched as Erica continued around the room, packing up what was left. "If you love someone, you should fight for them."
Erica nodded, stopped where she was, and turned to Bianca. She laid a hand across her stomach and looked down at the nearly 20-week swell of space. "I've been fighting for him since the moment I knew he existed. This is my choice, Bianca. He is my happily ever after. I wish Jack could be a part of it with me. But I won't dwell on what ifs. I'm sorry, I know that's not what you want to hear. I will always love Jackson, but right now, my only focus is on your brother."
She flashed Bianca a soft smile and started for the hallway, still needing to pack a few things from her bedroom.
She didn't care if her family thought she was making the wrong decision. She didn't care if they didn't support her. She had no regrets. She never would.
This child was meant to hers, and if she was honest, she believed he always had been meant to be hers.
If that meant that this was how she and Jack ended, so be it. If she was alone for the rest of her life, so be it.
As long as she had her son, it would always be worth it.
TBC
