Midge felt like she might have gone over the top. Okay, she definitely took it a step too far, but after their conversation the day before, how could she do anything else other than wear her outfit that has a bell on the hat and bells as buttons on her shirt? Oh well, she had a feeling Lenny would appreciate it, he got her humor better than anyone else. Plus, she looked hot, she knew that for a fact, though the double takes walking through the airport didn't hurt. She double-checked the paper she had jotted his information down to make sure that she was at the right gate, once she was sure, she looked around, trying to find the perfect spot to wait and the perfect position to wait in.

So sue her, she wanted her husband drooling when he saw her. It'd been much too long since they were together, and she wanted him to know what he was missing. Plus, she'd rather have his hands on her as soon as possible, and she had a feeling that this outfit would do the job nicely.

She checked her wristwatch again, okay, so it was ten now, his plane should have arrived at this point, so that meant. Hopefully, he'd be here any moment. Finally, she let out an 'ah-ha' when she found the perfect spot to wait, she leaned against a sign, lazily checking out her nails as if she didn't have a care in the world and she had nowhere to be. If she knew her husband, and she did, he wouldn't be able to resist her.

Her theory was proven right when she felt arms wrap around her waist. Wow, she must have been focusing a little too hard on her nails if she didn't even notice him walking up to her. She looked up with a delighted smile on her face, which only grew bigger when she and Lenny made eye contact.

She squealed and wrapped her arms around his neck with a "Lenny, you're here!"

She heard him chuckle into her neck before he pulled back, "Of course, you think I'd miss this? Miss a chance to see my wife in person, to get my hands on her?"

"Yeah, that's true. You'd be insane not to fight to get to me." She said as if she wasn't being completely self-involved.

"Plus, I think I promised you a grand welcome."

"Well, I think technically, I'm the one that's welcoming you…" She trailed off when his lips took hers. It wasn't a sweet 'welcome' kiss or even an 'I missed you' one. No, it was hot and heavy, leaning much closer to saying 'I need you right now' than 'I love you,' and she loved every second of it.

She pulled him closer, needing more. She didn't object when his hands grasped hard on her waist or when the left one started roaming up her back under her clothes. Eventually, though, they both needed breath, so Lenny had no choice but to break the kiss. He pulled her even closer, if that was possible, and started showing special attention to her neck, the attention she only ever got from Lenny, the attention she had missed greatly over the last few weeks. That's why she wasn't able to stop the moan from escaping her, though the couple looking at her like she was a hooker when they walked by broke her out of her stupor.

She regretfully pushed him away, "Lenny, stop! We're in public."

"Didn't I hear something about wanting to be envied at the airport?"

"Yes! And I already was by that kiss, but it's the 'other' things that you're doing to me that I have to put a stop to."

"That's too bad. I was only just getting started."

"Yeah, somehow I'm not surprised by that at all."

He smirked at her and then gave her a good once over, slowly dragging his eyes over every inch of her body, it made her shiver. Somehow, just him looking at her could feel sinful. "Huh, I didn't think you were serious about the whole 'with bells on thing.' I can dig it, though. Plus, I'm pretty sure I can work around them on the cab ride back to the city."

Her smile fell at his words, and Lenny noticed, pulling her closer. She explained before he had a chance to ask, "Lenny, I'm afraid we can't go right to the city."

"Why not?"

"Well, tomorrow I have about seven apartments for us to look at, all big enough to hold all three kids, but tonight I'm staying at my ex-in-laws."

"Oh," he said, disappointment clear, he tried to cheer up, "That's alright, I can get a motel for the night."

"No!" She almost screamed it was loud enough to make Lenny jump, "That's not what I meant. I need you to come back with me. You can stay with us," When he looked unsure, she continued, "They know we're married, or at least, I told them we're married, and they won't believe it until I bring you home with me. They're big fans, which, don't even get me started, that little piece of information blew my mind. Anyway, when I said we weren't going back to the city, it's because we're staying in Queens."

"Midge…" He said, not happy with this arrangement.

"Lenny, believe me, I know. I'm putting you in a really awkward situation. Normally, I'd do everything in my power to avoid it, but they don't believe me! For the first time ever yesterday, they laughed at me, at what they thought was a joke, me telling them we're married. And when I tried to set the record straight, they rolled their eyes. I cannot let this stand. Normally, I'm okay with being the bigger person, but I can't do it this time. I need to rub in their face that yes, I'm married to Lenny Bruce, the Lenny Bruce. It's not even that I don't like them, it's that…"

Lenny cut off her tirade by kissing her again, hard. He had a feeling she would have kept going for at least an hour if he didn't stop her. Don't get him wrong, those long bouts of babble were one of the things he loved most about her, but he didn't need to be convinced to go back with her, he'd do anything to spend time with her. Even deal with this super weird fucked up situation with her in-laws, that weren't actually in-laws anymore. He'd never been in this situation before, so he wasn't sure if they were anything to him or not. In-in-laws? No, that didn't sound right. Whatever, it didn't matter. Midge wanted him there, so that was where he'd be. When he finally broke the kiss, he made sure she knew that.

"It's alright, sweetheart. Let's go. I could use a real bed and a homecooked meal anyway."

"Yeah?"

"Course, whatever you need. Although I hold the right to leave and get a motel if it gets too awkward." He said as he finally started leading her toward the airport's exit. He didn't say it out loud, but he was planning on making reservations someplace anyway; he had a feeling he was going to need it, and hopefully, Midge would come with him. It'd been way too long since he'd last had his way with her, and he didn't fancy doing it in her ex-husband's parent's house. After a few moments of silence, he continued, "So they're fans, huh? I gotta say, meeting fans is already a wild enough experience for me, but I'm sure this takes the cake. The only thing I can think that would top it is signing an autograph for your ex-husband when we finally meet."

"Oh yeah, that's a distinct possibility."

Lenny laughed, "I was fooling around. And I really hope you are, too."

"Uh, yeah, sure, joking. I was joking." She said awkwardly, Lenny found her so enchanting he couldn't help but pull her in for another kiss. Sometimes, he was still stunned that he was able to do this with her without getting yelled at or slapped. It was hard for him to believe it was real.

When she finally pulled away from the kiss, she couldn't help but have a big smile, "Okay, you big lug, let's get going. They're making dinner for you."

Lenny nodded, and they continued their walk outside thankfully, they didn't have to wait for cabs, they were lined up outside of the airport, they quickly got in one and started the drive. As they were driving, Lenny noticed Midge kept looking over at him, he turned his head and quirked an eyebrow in question.

"I don't know; there's just something different about you today. You're not fidgeting nearly as much as normal, and your skin is a completely different shade, I'm trying to figure out what it is."

"Oh, that," He said and waved it off. "Maybe the light is just perfectly hitting me to bring out my complexion." He said in a joking voice as he tilted his head dramatically.

She laughed too but was still focused, she reached her hand up and cupped his cheek, rubbing it slowly with her thumb, "No, that's not it."

Lenny shrugged as if he didn't know exactly what was different and decided to distract her by leaning down and kissing her while running his hand up her leg, dangerously close to going under her skirt. He pulled his lips away from her for just a moment, "I think I remember promising you a good time in the cab ride back to the city."

"Nice try, but you'd have to get at least three martinis in me to even consider something so public. Plus, we're going to Queens, I swear Shirly has a radar detector that has the uncanny ability to know and call out within minutes of people sleeping together. I swear it's like she can sniff it out."

"Well, that's sure going to make tonight fun." He said with something playful in his voice.

She laughed and kissed him one more time before pulling back and resting her head on his shoulder, just happy to be with him again. The rest of the ride was in a comfortable silence, but the closer they got to Queens, the more anxious Midge became. Not only was she going to introduce Lenny to her children, his new stepchildren, but she also had to do it with Moishe and Shirly there, too. Not to mention the fact that Joel could show up at literally any moment, they were in his parent's house, after all. At least her dad seemed to like Lenny, and her mom warmed up to him at least a little. She just hoped she got the rest of the night to have a nice introduction before Joel came over because she knew that wasn't going to be a fun conversation.

She was so lost in thought she didn't realize they were pulling up to the house; it took Lenny gently shaking her and the clearing of the cab driver's throat to realize. She started to move for the door, but Lenny stopped her, "You alright? Shouldn't I be the nervous one here?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, sorry, I just know that this is going to be a lot. And sorry in advance for any and everything Moishe and Shirly say or do tonight."

Lenny laughed, "I'm more worried about your kids. I actually care if they like me; it's not often I'm able to win over the generations before us, so I don't have much hope there."

"Didn't I tell you? They're fans of you, apparently."

"Oh right, right, I think you said something about a guilty pleasure." He said in a suggestive tone.

She slapped his arm but ignored the innuendo and continued on with the conversation, "And the kids are excited to meet you. At least, I think they are; I can't really get a read on them most of the time."

The driver, clearing his throat again reminded them that the tab was still running, So Lenny dug out his wallet, internally cringing at the price, "Oh right. Here you go."

Though Lenny had been saving money over the last few weeks, not getting high and not eating anything much at all was a great way to save. He also hadn't been working, and no gigs meant no income. So he knew he needed to get more gigs, and soon. Lenny got out of the car and held the door open for Midge before going to the trunk and getting his suitcase. He looked at the house and was impressed, it was huge, even accounting for the fact that Queens was much cheaper than Manhattan. As they got closer to the house, he heard someone talking so loud Lenny could hear it clearly through the closed door.

"I'm wearing pants; he should be happy enough I'm wearing pants! He should take it as a compliment that a man is wearing pants in his own home to greet him, Shirly!"

"But you didn't let me iron them!"

Midge looked at him apologetically, but Lenny thought it was funny, he covered his laugh with a drag from the cigarette he lit in the walk up the walkway. Midge took a breath before opening the front door.

"I'm wearing pants, can't we all just be happy with that."

"I know I am." He heard from someone he was sure was Abe.

"Thank you! Abe knows what I'm talking about. I still think it's one of those jokes of hers I don't understand anyway. Are you sure she can't sing? I'm positive she's pretty enough to make it as a singer, or at least a background one."

"How many times do I have to tell you, Moishe, she's not joking. He was with us on our trip to Miami and was sending her flowers long before then."

"Are you in on the joke?" Shirly yelled clearly in another room than the men.

"Hey everyone, we're here!" Midge yelled as she shut the front door, not wanting to hear them talk about her and Lenny anymore. She was nervous but calmed down a little when she felt Lenny's hand slip into hers.

"Oh! Oh! They're here! Everyone, they're here!"

"We know that, Shirly, we heard too," Rose said, exasperated.

Rose was the first to turn the corner to see them and smiled, but Midge saw the desperation in her eyes when she pulled her daughter into a welcoming hug, she whispered, "We need to move out of here immediately. I can't take much more of this. I thought the vacation would make it easier when we came back, but now all I can remember is that sweet freedom."

Midge hugged her back while laughing, "I know, mama. We'll figure it out."

"We must, and soon." She said as she pulled away from the hug before turning her attention to Lenny. He was surprised when she went in to hug him. A little awkwardly, he returned the hug, patting her back, "Good to see you, Leonard."

"Uh, you too, Rose." He looked over at Midge with his eyes wide, but she just gave him a bright smile and a thumbs up.

The next one to make it into the hallway was Abe, and Lenny was surprised to feel a little more relaxed seeing him. "Lenny, good to see you! How was your trip? No problems, I hope."

"Hey, Abe. Can't complain." That wasn't true, he was sat between a couple on their honeymoon who couldn't keep their hands off each other, which consequently made them bump into and onto him often, and on the other side of him was a mom who had a baby that didn't stop crying once. Truth be told, he could really use some peace and quiet right about now, but he had a feeling that wouldn't be possible for a while. He held his hand out to shake Abe's and was surprised yet again when he got pulled into a hug.

"We're family now, so we hug."

"Oh. Alright," He said, this time patting the back much more awkwardly.

"Is that so, Abe? Why don't you ever greet me like that?" A man who must be Moishe asked. Abe opened and closed his mouth a few times, trying to decide if he should give the honest or the polite answer. He was thankful when he didn't have to voice either because Moishe moved on to Lenny. "Wow, I didn't think she was serious, did you, Shirley?"

"No, I for sure thought she was trying to pull our legs." They were speaking to each other while staring at Lenny and standing a little too close for his liking. Gawking might be the word he would have used to describe them at that moment.

He held his hand up, two fingers extended, and moved in some semblance of a wave, "Hello."

"I can't believe it's really him," Moishe said, still talking to his wife.

"I mean, I always knew he was handsome, but it's a whole nother level being this close,"

"You got that right," Moishe agreed.

Lenny covered his smirk by running his hand over his face, "Good to meet you, too."

"Right, right, where are my manners? Come in, come in, let me get your coat." Shirley said, not giving him a chance to reply, instead walking behind him and taking the coat off his shoulders.

"Sure," he finally replied when she already had his jacket hanging over her arm.

Everyone, including Lenny, was confused when Moishe, with a huge smile on his face, pointed his finger at Lenny and yelled, "Blah, blah, blah!"

Shirly started laughing, "Oh, that was a good one!"

Midge looked over at Lenny with a question in her eyes, but he just shrugged, confused.

"Wait a minute, are you sure you're Lenny Bruce? If you were Lenny Bruce, you'd know what I'm talking about."

Lenny thought hard, trying to figure out what the hell this man could be talking about. There were many times in his life he tried to convince people he wasn't himself, but this was the only time he had to convince someone he was Lenny Bruce. He eventually snapped his fingers three times fast, "Oh, oh, shit. How do you remember that when I almost didn't? That was right after I was arrested in San Francisco, right?" He leaned over to Midge, "Only my second time ever getting arrested."

Midge's eyes were wide as she looked back and forth between the people talking, excited to learn something new about Lenny but also a little put out that her ex-in-laws knew before she did. She realized by now that they were talking about a bit, but she had no idea which one, Moishe laughed, "Tell me, did it really happen like that in the courtroom?"

"Hand to god, not exaggerating at all," He said, making the motions that go along with that saying. Midge knew him well enough to know he was holding back a laugh.

Shirly leaned in conspiratorially, "Tell me, what was the word?"

Lenny's eyes opened wide, "Uh, probably not a word to be said in front of a lady such as yourself."

Midge swore she saw Shirly's cheeks heat up in a blush; she looked touched when she said, "Oh," before turning her attention to Rose, "I like him, don't you like him? And we all know our Midge needs someone to keep up with her; I think they make a fine fit."

Rose shrugged and didn't sound so sincere when she said, "Sure they do,"

"Oh! Just don't tell my Joely I said that, okay? I'm sure he's already going to take this hard enough. To know his own mother gave her approval, no, it'd break his tiny, adorable little heart."

Lenny finally lost the battle and laughed, but when all eyes turned on him, he made a motion as if locking his lips and throwing away the key, promising not to say a word. Shirly nodded in approval.

"Mommy, mommy!" Both the kids came running from the TV room, letting Midge know there must have finally been a commercial, that was the only way she'd see Ethan leaving the TV to greet her. She leaned down and opened her arms, happy when the kids ran into them.

"Hi, you two, were you good for your grandparents today?"

"Yes," they said in unison.

When she looked up, she saw Joel's parents nodding in agreement while hers were shaking their heads negatively. She rolled her eyes as she stood up. She nonchalantly reached over and grabbed Lenny's hand, the kid's eyes locking on the connection right away. "Ethan, Esther, this is Lenny. Remember I told you about him?"

"Our new daddy?" Ethan asked carelessly.

Midge heard Shirley's gasp, and she sighed, "No, kid. Remember, your dad will always be your dad. Lenny is my husband, so that makes him your stepdad."

"So I should step on his foot or something?"

"What? No. Why weren't you this talkative when I asked you if you had any questions earlier? Think of him as like a second dad."

"Okay, but when do we get to meet Kitty?" Esther butted in, bringing up the most important question to her.

Midge looked over to Lenny, not sure of the answer herself. Lenny was lost watching the back-and-forth between Midge and the kids, trying not to freak out too much. For some reason, this situation felt much more intense and real to him than any of the other introductions did. It felt heavy, and when things normally felt too heavy for Lenny, he ran. Lenny knew from the beginning that she had kids, knew he'd been in their lives, have to help take care of them, raise them to an extent, but it seemed much more real now that they were standing in front of him looking up at him with big questioning doe eyes. He took a deep breath because he knew he didn't want to run from this, from her. He felt a little more calm when he exhaled.

He bent down to be eye level with them, "So you must be Ethan," he said, holding his hand out to shake, which Ethan returned immediately, making Lenny surprised by his firm grip. When he let go of the boy's hand, he turned his attention to the little girl and patted the top of her head, "And you must be Esther, your mother has told me a lot about both of you. I'm Lenny; it's nice to finally meet you."

"Hi, Lenny!" The kids again replied in unison, which might have freaked him out a little. How'd they get so in sync like that?

"Kit is in California with my mom right now, but she'll come here to stay as soon as we find a new place to live." He said, answering the earlier question.

Esther smiled widely, "Yay, I've always wanted a sister!"

Lenny couldn't help but smile at the girl, surprised her words made him feel a little better. Kitty wanted a big family, too, and even though this would take some time and adjustments, he could finally give that to her. He stood back up when Shirly started speaking to him again, "Wait, you have a daughter too? How old?"

"She just turned five last month."

"Wow, I never knew you had a kid, that's good, you need experience when dealing with these two little rays of sunshine," She said as she affectionately squeezed both their cheeks.

"Yeah, I don't talk about her on stage. I made that rule a long time ago. Christ, I'm already dreading the conversations we're going to have to have when she gets older and finds one of my records."

Moishe and Shirly both laughed loudly as if he were telling a joke, "Oh yeah, I wouldn't wanna be you when that happens."

"Yeah, thanks," Lenny said dryly.

"Alright," Midge cut in, "Lenny's just had a long trip, so why don't we let him bring his bag upstairs and settle in?"

"Oh, right, of course. Are you hungry, Lenny? What am I saying? Of course, you're hungry after that long flight. Come, come sit down, let's get you some food, I made a delicious Kugel last night that tastes just as good warmed up the next day. Moishe, tell him how delicious my Kugel is warmed up the next day." Shirley grabbed onto Lenny's arm and started leading him to the kitchen. He turned his head back to look at Midge, clearly asking for help, but she just shrugged her shoulders and smiled, happy that Lenny seemed to be fitting in well with the family.

"It is delicious." He Moishe wholeheartedly, grabbing onto his stomach.

When he realized he wasn't going to get any help from his wife, Lenny tried to speak up, "You know, they serve full meals on planes now, so I just ate," It was a lie; they served meals on first class, but Lenny never flew first class. He did have a bunch of bags of complimentary peanuts and a few drinks, though.

"Nonsense, you're a growing boy, you can always eat more. Sit, sit. Dinner won't be ready for a few hours, so it's best we get you something to hold you over."

With a resigned sigh, Lenny sat down and waited to be served. He was actually pretty hungry, but he was a little uncomfortable with this whole situation, and now he was left alone with Midge's ex-mother-in-law, it was weird. He did everything he could not to have to interact with Honey, let alone her parents, and Midge was living with them.

He realized the little boy had walked up to him, Eithan, he remembered his name was Lenny, turned his attention to him, and gave him a little smirk in greeting. After just staring at Lenny for an inordinately long time, Ethan finally spoke, "We're going to live together?"

"That's the plan."

"Are you going to be nice to my mommy?"

Lenny's eyebrows quirked up in surprise, "Yeah, kid, I am."

"Esther doesn't remember because she was a baby, but daddy used to make mommy cry a lot, and I didn't like it. I like mommy better when she's happy."

Lenny leaned closer to Ethan as if he was sharing a secret, "How about this? Me and you can have a secret mission together."

Ethan's eyes lit up in excitement, "Yeah? Like secret agents? What is it?"

Lenny chuckled, "Well, not quite as exciting as secret agents. Look, it's clear you love your mom a lot, I do too. So, our mission is to do what we can to make sure she stays happy. If you see her getting sad, you let me know, deal?" Lenny held out his hand.

Ethan seemed excited about being trusted with something so important. He quickly grabbed Lenny's big hand with his small one and shook it quickly, "Deal!"

"You got quite the grip there, kid."

"And what deal are you two whispering about over here? Knowing each of you, I think I should be worried." Midge asked as she entered the room and then put her hands on her hips, but she had a smile on her face.

"Nothing!" Eithan said with a giggle as he ran out of the room.

"He's a good kid," Lenny said, and it made Midge's smile grow.

"Yeah, I think so," She said as she walked behind him, then wrapped her arms around his neck, leaning in and resting her head on his shoulder. Lenny idly intertwined his fingers with hers. After a few moments, she kissed his cheek and then moved to sit next to him, still holding onto his hand.

"Here it is, doesn't it smell delicious?" Shirley said as she placed the dish in front of Lenny, then leaned in as if to whisper to him, although he was sure she was speaking loud enough for everyone in the house to hear, maybe even the neighbors, "Much better than Rose's, but don't tell her that; it will hurt her feelings. Then again, it's no one's fault but her own, who hires someone to cook for you in your own home? Anyway, go on, eat. I love watching people take the first bite of my kugel; I love seeing the look on their faces when it hits their tastebuds. And now I get to feed you, Lenny Bruce, it feels like an honor. Go on, eat!"

Lenny looked at Midge with a little bit of panic and saw she was enjoying this; he was sure he was going to figure out some way to get back at her later. He turned his attention to his food, it did look good, after all. He took a bite before he even really got a chance to chew, Shirley was speaking again.

"There it is, there's the face!" She clapped her hands in happiness before walking away, leaving Lenny to breathe a sigh of relief. He was all for having people watching him while he was on stage, but while he wasn't working, he enjoyed not having all eyes on him. He hoped these people would get past the fact that they were fans of his, although he had a feeling they might be like this to everyone. Thank fuck they were going to find somewhere to live tomorrow. Don't get him wrong; they weren't bad people, just a little too high-energy for his tastes.

He continued eating, acting angry when Midge would sometimes steal a bite off his plate, just enjoying being back home in New York, being back with Midge. He had a fuck ton of shit to do over the next few days, including finding a place to live and getting enough gigs to pay for it. Still, for tonight, he was going to enjoy his time with his wife and hope the walls in this place were thick because there was no way he was going longer than absolutely necessary before having his way with her again.