Complications (AU,CC,ADULT) 12/18/11 [WIP]

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chinkyeyes45
Enthusiastic Roswellian
Posts: 16
Joined: Tue Jun 15, 2010 1:09 pm

Complications (AU,CC,ADULT) 12/18/11 [WIP]

Post by chinkyeyes45 »

Title: Complications
Author: Chinkyeyes45
Couple: M&M, K&T, some M&L and A/I relationships
Rating: Adult, AU
Disclaimer: The words are mine and I’ll fight ya for em. Oh you mean the characters, nope, borrowed those.
Summary: What happens when what you planned for, isn’t what you get?
Warnings: Depictions of drug use, bondage, and non-con sex.
A/N: I’d like to blame my recent inspiration on April, and the fact that I finished most of my wedding stuff.


Chapter One:

She couldn’t believe that she was really doing this. Relationships were supposed to be based on trust. Right? That’s what all those books and television therapists said. Relationships are built on trust and sustained through good communication. So what the hell was she doing here? She was not a stalker. She wasn’t even given to insecurities where her relationship was concerned. Well, not anymore. She had been in the very beginning. After all, she had been a twenty year old waitress slash college student, and he was a thirty eight year old millionaire and businessman. Granted, he was a little odd, but still out of her league. So what was she, Maria Deluca, doing dressed like a ninja and hiding in the bushes of a yard?

It had all started about two months ago. He had started acting odd. Odder than normal anyway. He was canceling dates with her, and leaving the room to take phone calls. She had tried to talk to him about the two of them living together and he had become a totally different person. He started going on about how enough was never enough with her. He had actually called her selfish and self centered. After a screaming match that ended with her slapping him and throwing him out of her apartment, she curled up with Ben, Jerry, and her remote control. She told her two best friends about the incident and they had very different reactions.

Tess, who had been her friend since she was in diapers, had been the one that suggested following him. According to her, a drastic change in behavior was indicative of cheating. If that was the case, she felt that it would be best for Maria to find out sooner rather than later. She even offered to go with her. For a woman of only 5’2”, Tess could be terrifying. When she began talking about men and infidelity, she got this enraged look on her face, and her angelic features became anything but. Her blue eyes had become so cold that they could have frozen a man on the spot. Tess was currently going through some things with her long time boyfriend. She had caught him cheating on her with his secretary not three months ago. It really didn’t help matters any that the cheating slime ball was Maria’s older brother, Kyle.

Liz, who had been Maria’s friend since high school, had had an entirely different take on the situation. She kept stressing the necessary trust aspect of the relationship. Liz had also never been in a significant relationship. She felt that men would distract her from her studies. It felt weird taking relationship advice from a girl whose longest relationship had been in the ninth grade. Not that guys weren’t interested in her. Hell, max Evans, who was total eye candy, had been trying to get Liz’s attention with longing looks and sweet gestures since she had started college at Michigan State. Liz felt that whatever was going on between Maria and her boyfriend could be resolved with a calm and well meant conversation.

Leaning on the side of sensibility, Maria had taken Liz’s advice, much to Tess’s displeasure. For two months she had attempted to have a calm and rational discussion with her boyfriend about their relationship. In six weeks, Maria would be graduating from college and beginning a job with a successful advertising firm. If they were over, she wanted to know that before she began her new life. He had been less than forthcoming with his intentions toward her, and so, after intense badgering from the other blonde, she had taken Tess’s advice, and pretended to be a member of a special ops team. God she was so pathetic.

Maria forced herself to move forward toward the first story window of the expansive home in front of her. Taking deep breaths to steady herself, she peered over the edge of the window into the dimly lit room. What she saw was her boyfriend, kissing a woman that looked to be in her thirties. The woman was tall, with light brown shoulder length hair. The couch that they were groping each other on was sickeningly close to the window. Close enough for Maria to see the ring with a diamond the size of Texas on the other woman’s left ring finger. What the fuck?! Before she could stop herself, she felt her palm slam against the glass. There goes her career as a government spy. At the noise from the window, the two lovers broke apart. The woman looked frightened. The cheating bastard that she was with looked annoyed, until he saw her face. Maria had stood up, oblivious to how ridiculous she looked dressed in all black with a black beanie covering her hair. She was so hurt and angry that she didn’t know whether to vomit in the bushed or throw a rock though the window. Before she could decide on a course of action, a little girl, around eight years old, walked sleepily into the room and wrapped her arms around his waist. He broke eye contact with Maria long enough to pick the girl up, and when he looked back to the window, she was gone.

He was married? He was married! He was married and had a kid?! That son of a bitch! Brody Davis, her boyfriend of nearly two years, was the lowest form of life on the planet. Maria couldn’t remember getting to her car. She couldn’t think about anything other than the sight of the man that she had been with for so long with a woman and child that she hadn’t known about. He always seemed so unassuming and kind. He was the epitome of a nice guy. They went out all the time. He had taken her to Greece last year. She had met his friends and associates. Oh my God! Did they think that she knew? Did they think that she had knowingly become some man’s mistress? And where the hell had this woman been for two years? Hundreds of questions swirled through her mind as she made the drive back to Lansing. A drive that she barely remembered making the next day.

Chapter Two

“When you say, a family, do you mean like…a family?” Liz was not helping. Maria had called her over to the apartment that she shared with Tess after she had gotten back. Tess was beyond pissed. She was pacing around the room furiously, occasionally mumbling a nice expletive.

“Yes, Liz. Wife, kid, house in the suburbs…you know the whole cream cheese cut out.” Liz flinched at Maria’s tone, and she immediately felt sorry. She shouldn’t be taking her anger out on her friends. Liz wasn’t trying to be annoying or anything, but she really needed to yell at someone.

“I’m sorry, Liz. It’s not your fault. I’m the idiot that was screwing an apparently married man for the past two years.” How could she have been so stupid? Shouldn’t there have been signs or something?

“Men are scum!” Tess was livid. First Kyle and now this? She really thought that Brody wasn’t doing anything wrong. When she had suggested the spying thing she had no idea that it would turn out like this. She had honestly just been pissed at Kyle, and venting her frustrations onto Maria’s relationship. She had known Kyle her entire life. She had known that he wasn’t exactly the most faithful guy on the planet when they had started dating her senior year of high school. The fact that he was three years older than her, and already in college when their relationship began had given her pause, but she had been in love with him since she was eleven years old. She was a goner. She had really thought that he’d changed in the past few years; obviously he had just become more careful.

“Not all men. There are still some good guys out there.” Liz refused to believe that there weren’t any guys worth dating and marrying. Sure she was focused on her career, but she did want to be a wife and mother some day. Not any time soon, maybe in eight years or so, but still.

“Open your eyes Liz! They’re all after one thing and one thing only.” Tess’s voice was cold. She was so tired of guys and their bullshit. She had watched her dad step out on her mom through their entire marriage. Another reason that she was such an idiot to get involved with Kyle.

“God, I can’t believe this. What am I gonna do?” Maria looked helpless at her friends. She was so pissed, and hurt, but she loved him. It was completely stupid, and she knew that she shouldn’t but she did.

“You’re not thinking of staying with him are you?” Tess was incredulous. Maria was a smart girl. She couldn’t be thinking of forgiving that worm.

“Tess, this is Maria’s decision. We should just try to be supportive.” Liz looked away when Tess shot her a glare that could have frozen a volcano.

“If Maria is deciding to become a doormat, then I think she should reconsider her decision.”

“And I think that you should stop confusing Maria with yourself.” Whoa, Liz had definitely hit below the belt with that one.

“Excuse me?” Tess looked at Liz with narrowed eyes and was seriously considering slapping her.

“Guys! Let’s all just calm down. Tess, I’m sure that Liz didn’t mean that the way it sounded. And, I’m not thinking of continuing my relationship with Brody. Well, not anymore. It just hurts. I love him. A part of me is still very much in love with him, and another part of me is wondering if I ever even knew him. How did you stop loving Kyle?” Maria couldn’t understand how emotions could just be shut off, but if Tess knew how to do it, then she was all ears.

“Who says that I stopped loving him? I’ll probably love him for the rest of my life. But, I deserve someone that loves me back.” It had taken Tess a long time to realize that, but once she did, she walked away from him.

“Kyle loves you, Tess.” Maria didn’t want to play devil’s advocate, but she knew her brother. She knew that he’d done nothing but work and drink since Tess had broken up with him. It was that thing about never missing your water until your well ran dry.

“Would you appreciate it if I was defending Brody?” Tess waited for a response from Maria before continuing. “I didn’t think so.”

“Tess, I’m not defending him. I know it sounds like I am, but I’m not. He was a total dick to you during your entire relationship. He took you for granted, and didn’t treat you the way you deserved to be treated. But, he misses you. A lot. I’m not saying that you should definitely take him back, I just think that you shouldn’t completely close that door.” Maria loved Tess like a sister. As much of a fuck up as Kyle was, she knew that Tess still wanted to be with him. They’d been broken up for three months and she still heard Tess crying some nights.

“Don’t be a hypocrite. It’s not a good look for you.” Ouch. Maria decided to back off on the whole Tess and Kyle relationship for now. It was just a whole lot easier to focus on someone else’s problems right now.

“Fine. I’m sorry. I’ll back off.” Tess gave her a curt nod before sitting down. Before she could apologize for being a little too bitchy, Liz reminded them of her presence.

“So, Maria, what are you gonna do now?”

“She’s gonna graduate in six weeks, move to San Francisco, and start a new job.” It seemed that Tess had her life all planned out for her.

“Yeah, that’s exactly what I’m gonna do.” It didn’t hurt that Tess would be attending school at Berkeley, less than an hour away from where Maria would be living. She had hoped that she and Brody would be moving together. He’d been so happy for her when she’d gotten the job offer. He kept saying that they’d find a place together because he could always work from anywhere. Then everything had started to change. They had spent her spring break looking at apartments for her in San Francisco, because suddenly him living with her wasn’t feasible. He kept trying to reassure her with talks about how he would visit every week.

“God, I wish I was going with you guys.” Maria appreciated Liz’s attempts at trying to change the subject, so she played along.

“Yeah, well, you just had to apply to grad schools on the other side of the country.” She pushed Liz’s arm in teasing.

“Yeah, Parker. For a smart chick, that was a really dumb decision.” Liz stuck her tongue out at Tess in response. She’d been dreaming about Yale since she could say the word college. No way was she not gonna go. She could just imagine the amount of success she would have as the head of molecular biology of that university some day.

####################################

Maria almost tripped on her way to the door. Someone was pounding on it as if they were trying to break it down. They had stayed up until three in the morning. After Liz had left, and Tess went to bed, she found herself sitting up in bed for hours crying. She finally fell asleep when the sun came up. She should have been in classes today. There were reviews that she really shouldn’t be missing, but she just couldn’t make herself get up. Looking at the clock on the living room wall, she saw that it was two in the afternoon. Maria opened the door without looking at the peephole. She should have guessed that he would show up. He grabbed the door before she could slam it shut.

“Maria, please! Just let me explain. I just want to talk to you.” They were struggling with the door between them. Maria wasn’t exactly a big woman, but Brody wasn’t really a big guy either. Add to the fact that she was extremely angry, and she probably could have knocked his head off his shoulders. She finally gave up on pushing the door closed when neither of them seemed to be making much headway.

“Fine, talk. Start with the wife and kid.” He looked shocked. Was she supposed to be that much of an idiot?

“Shelby and I had been separated for the past three years.” He seemed like he was giving a presentation to shareholders.

“Had been?” Maria was speaking through clenched teeth. What was with the past tense?

“Our daughter, Sydney, she’s been battling leukemia for the past year. We began seeing more of each other because of her illness, each of us wanting to spend time with her, and it was making her happy to have us a family again. I never meant to hurt you.” A year? This had been going on for a year?

“Why didn’t you ever tell me that you had a daughter?” He loves this kid so much, but keeps her a secret?

“I didn’t think you were ready to be a part of that part of my life.” Bullshit!

“So for two years, I was never ready? Exactly how much of a moron do you think I am?”

“I was going to tell you, but then she got sick. She and her mother were living in London until this past august.” Un-fucking-believable.

“Do they know about me? Did they know about me before last night?” Maria was trying really hard not to cry.

“Yes. Shelby’s known about you since the beginning.” How nice for her, Maria thought.

“So exactly what planet do the two of you live on? I mean, isn’t it usually the mistress that knows about the wife and not the other way around?” She felt anger creeping back in.

“You weren’t my mistress. This past year was unexpected. Maria. I love you, but I have to put my daughter’s wants above my own. She’s very ill, and right now she wants her parents together.” Maria took a deep breath. Looks like she didn’t have any decisions to make regarding their train wreck of a relationship.

“Good luck with your daughter and your marriage. Get out of my apartment.” She walked over to the door and held it open for him.

“Maria, I was hoping that we could still be friends.” He had this pleading look on his face, and it struck her how big his head was in comparison to the rest of his body.

“Friends? Are you completely mental? Leave!” he gave her another look before finally walking out of her apartment. She hoped that she never saw him again.
Last edited by chinkyeyes45 on Sun Dec 18, 2011 1:13 pm, edited 15 times in total.
Chinkyeyes
chinkyeyes45
Enthusiastic Roswellian
Posts: 16
Joined: Tue Jun 15, 2010 1:09 pm

Re: Complications( Adult, A/U, M&M, K&T, some M&L & A&I) 6/25/10

Post by chinkyeyes45 »

Hey all! Thanks for feedback.

D2Tymes: Thanks! Hopefully the sequel will be worth the wait.

Ellie: Told you I would. :wink:


Chanks_girl: Thanks for the support!

Drogyn: Glad you're enjoying it!

April: Thanks for the push goddess!

So, onto the next part............



Chapter three:

Maria was sitting at an Italian restaurant, surrounded by her family, and celebrating her graduation. She was finally feeling better about the way her relationship had ended, and having her parents there expressing how proud they were of her helped to keep her mind on what was important in life. Even with the feelings of comfort that surrounded her, she was feeling uneasy. She had been feeling dizzy for the past few days, and everything that she ate tasted like ashes. She put it down to nerves. She would be leaving in a week for San Francisco, a new job, and a new apartment. Tess had decided to move in with her for the summer. She had an apartment near campus, but it wouldn’t be ready until the week before school started, and she didn’t want to stay in Michigan alone. Liz was starting an externship in Connecticut in two weeks.

“Maria, I am so proud of you. I wish that you had time to come home before you move.” Amy Valenti had been alternating between smiling like a lunatic and crying like a baby all day. Maria watched as her step-father squeezed his wife’s hand before turning to her.

“Princess, it’s just hard seeing you all grown up.” He’d been calling her princess since she was four years old. Jim Valenti had married her mom when she was five. Maria thought that when he looked at her, he still saw her wearing the flower girl dress at their wedding. He was an amazing father, if a little protective. Jim was the sheriff of Roswell,NM, and after hearing from her mother about the ending of her relationship with Brody, he’d had to be physically restrained from paying the man a visit with his service revolver. He had never really approved of her relationship with the older man, but he had kept most of his feelings to himself because Maria had been happy. He couldn’t wait for the little pipsqueak to show his face in Roswell again. Brody owned a business there, he’d have to come back sometime.

“I know, but I’m a big girl. You guys did a good job raising me, and I can still call you if I need you right?” she smiled at them both knowing that they’d worry even if she were staying close to them.

“Of course you can, sweetie.” She watched as her mother dabbed at her eyes with her napkin.

“Mom, don’t cry. Maria will be fine. Tess will be with her, and I’m thinking of taking a job with an office there. No worries.” Kyle had been looking for a job in the San Francisco area since he and Tess had broken up. He had to prove himself to her again if she was ever gonna take him back, and he didn’t see how he could do that from Michigan. There were a few architectural firms that seemed interested. One was fairly new, but they were offering him the best options.

Before their parents could go on another over protective rant, the waiter appeared with their food. When he placed Maria’s shrimp oregenata in front of her, the smell o the garlic in the dish sent her running for the rest room. Maria had barely made it into the stall before vomiting up everything but her shoes. Flushing the toilet, she shakily made her way to the sinks to rinse her mouth. While she was splashing water on her face, her mother entered the room.

“Sweetie, are you alright?” she looked up into her mother’s concerned eyes and took in a deep breath.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I haven’t really been feeling well lately. Maybe I’m just anxious about the changes coming up.” Reaching for a few towels, she began to pat her face dry. She looked up to meet her mother’s eyes in the mirror when she felt the hand on her shoulder.

“Maria, how long have you been feeling this way?” Maria felt nervous under Amy’s scrutiny. She was giving her the look that meant she already knew what the problem was.

“Just a few days. I’m fine really.” Maria tried to move past her mother, but Amy grabbed her arm, stopping her.

“Maria, I’m going to ask you a question, and I want you to be calm.”

“Okay. What do you want to know?” Her nervousness began to increase when her mother looked away from her, before staring straight into her eyes.

“When was the last time you had your period?” Amy was holding on to Maria’s arms preventing her from turning away.

“Why would you ask me that?” Maria was trying to pull away when Amy’s grip tightened.

“Maria, calm down. Just take a deep breath, that’s it. Good. Now, answer the question.”

“I can’t remember.” She was starting to freak out. The universe could not be this cruel.

“Did you have it last month?” Amy was speaking to her in soothing tones and thanking God that they were the only two people in the bathroom. Jim would start to worry if they didn’t come out soon.

“I don’t….wait…no. I didn’t. But, I was under a lot of stress. I had reviews for finals, and Brody had turned out to be a frog in a prince outfit!” She was starting to hyperventilate. There wasn’t enough oxygen in the room. She was actually hoping that she would pass out.

“Okay, okay, everything’s okay. Just calm down. Relax, deep breaths. Good girl, just take deep breaths. Now, we’re gonna go out there, have dinner, and leave. I’m going to drop your father off at the hotel, and then I’ll go to a pharmacy for some tests. You will go back to your apartment and wait for me. You will not have a panic attack. You will remind yourself that you are young, intelligent, and capable of handling anything that life throws at you. You have a family that loves you and that will always be here for you. And, you will be starting the career that you’ve always wanted in a week, no matter what a test says. Got it?” Maria looked at her mother and continued to take deep breaths, nodding her head at the end of Amy’s pep talk, she allowed herself to be led back to their table.

She managed to force a smile at her brother and father before taking her seat. She watched as her mother patted Jim’s hand on the table and tried to ignore the look that she was receiving from Kyle. The rest of the meal passed in a blur of conversation. She tried to pay attention to what they were all discussing but she couldn’t focus. She sat in that chair silently praying that she wasn’t pregnant. Maria could not be a mother. She could barely remember to feed herself. She had lost four sets of keys in the past year. Not to mention that the baby’s father was a married idiot with a kid that was already sick. Fuck!
#################################################################

Maria stood outside of Brody’s office barely controlling the urge to flee. She had found out that she was pregnant the night of her graduation. A trip to the doctor’s with her mother showed her to be eight weeks along. She was leaving for San Francisco in two days and this was the last thing that she needed to do before she left. She didn’t know if she could stomach seeing him again, but she needed to tell him about the baby. Tess felt that she shouldn’t tell him anything, and Liz, ever the voice of reason, felt that he had a right to know. It came down to Maria deciding that she didn’t want to deny her child a father. Even one like Brody. Looking back at his secretary one more time, unable to return the smile that the woman sent to her, Maria opened the door and walked into the office.

Brody looked up when the door to his office opened. The sight that met his eyes froze him in place. Maria, she looked amazing. He missed talking to her. He’d had to remind himself several times since their last meeting that they were no longer together. He knew that he was doing what was best for his daughter, but it still hurt to be apart from this woman. He stood when she came closer, but before he could reach her, she placed her hand in front of her, palm up, stopping him.

“Look, I came here because I need to tell you something. I would appreciate it if you would just let me speak, and when I’m done, you can say whatever is on your mind, but only regarding what I have to tell you.” She waited for him to nod before continuing.

“I’m pregnant. I don’t want anything from you, I just thought that you should know. I’m leaving for San Francisco in two days, I’ll call once I get a doctor there and give you any information you’d like to have on the due date and sex of the baby. Once the baby is born, if you’d like, we can set up visitation through the courts.” Maria had rehearsed that speech in front of Tess for an hour. She thought that she delivered it well, all things considered.

Brody didn’t speak for a moment, he looked shocked. And then, he looked elated. “This is wonderful, are you quite sure?”

Maria simply nodded. She hadn’t really thought about what would happen after she told him about the baby.

“Don’t you understand what this means? This baby could be a bone marrow donor for Sydney. Of course we’d need to have it tested first to be sure that they’re a match. This is simply wonderful news!” He didn’t see anything wrong with his reaction.

“Are you kidding me?” Brody’s smile faltered at the look on Maria’s face. “You want me to let you cut open my baby’s bone to save a child that I just found out about?”

“Maria, this could save my daughter’s life. Don’t you get it? If Sydney gets well, then we can be together again.”

Maria could not believe him. “Brody, we can never be together again, because I don’t even know you. And, I’m sorry that your daughter is sick, but you aren’t going to use this baby that way.” She was getting angry again. How could she have been with this selfish man for all that time?

“Maria, I know that you’re angry with me, but please. Sydney is only a child. Once the baby is born, will you at least agree to have a test done to see if its DNA is a match for Sydney’s? Please?”

She hated him, but she couldn’t honestly say that she wanted anything to happen to his daughter. “I’ll think about it.” She turned and left the office before he could say anymore. Maria really didn’t want to risk any more conversation.

Chapter Four: Two years later…

Maria was running late. She had been up with Bailey all night. Teething was quite possibly the worst biological function known to man. Her fourteen month old daughter had four teeth coming in at the same time. The thing that baffled Maria was that the teeth never seemed to be causing the little girl any pain until exactly ten p.m. every night. She knew that Kyle was happy to finally be moving in to his own apartment, even if he was only going one floor down. Her brother had become her roommate at the Mountain Shadows apartments when she was in her sixth month of pregnancy. He was finally making progress with Tess after two years of trying to get her back, and they agreed that he needed his own place. Plus, Bailey needed her own room. The small child managed to take up every ounce of space in Maria’s bedroom with her crib and toys. Kyle insisted on buying the child a new toy every other week, and Maria worried that she would become a spoiled brat.

After testing had concluded that she was not a compatible donor for Sydney, Brody had pretty much kept his distance. He sent her gifts on Christmas and her birthday, and a check for five thousand dollars every month. Maria used a portion of the money on baby food and diapers, the rest she put into an account for her daughter. She’d give it to Bailey when she turned eighteen. Unless Kyle really did turn her into a brat, in which case, she’d wait until the child graduated college. She made sure to send him up to date photos of Bailey whenever she could. He had called only three times since the test had been taken, after the last call, Maria had considered changing her number.

Maria rushed through the doors of the building and into her office. Her assistant, Leo, a man that was as gay as the day was long, was immediately at her side with a cup of coffee and her itinerary for the day. Taking a deep breath, Maria psyched herself up for another day of beating out the other guy.
###########################################

Looking down at her phone, Maria swore under her breath at the incoming call. It was Friday. She should have known that her day wasn’t as over as she thought it was. She glared at her assistant through the glass wall that separated his desk from her office. Answering the phone, she was informed by her boss that they would be having an impromptu meeting in the fourth floor conference room. They wanted to know what she wanted for dinner. After hanging up the phone, she quickly dialed her brother’s number.

“Hello?” Kyle sounded like he was on his way home for the evening. Good.

“Hey, big brother. I need a favor.”

“I’m fine, how are you? Manners Maria.” This coming from the guy that sat on her couch in his underwear on Sunday mornings.

“Whatever. Look, I need you to pick Bailey up for me. I’m working late tonight, meeting. Make sure that you give her half a dropper of infant’s Motrin when you get her home. It helps with the pain from the teething, and there’s some baby oragel in the medicine cabinet. And when you feed her, remember that she doesn’t like the vegetable stew.”

Kyle rolled his eyes at his sister’s directions. He already knew all of this. He carried an extra car seat in the trunk of his car for Christ’s sake. “No problem. I’ll see you at home.” He heard her hang up without saying goodbye. “Typical.” Maria was a great mom, but she sometimes forgot to relax. Everything she did was either for work or for Bailey. She needed to get out more. Maybe start to date again.

“Hey Valenti, wife call?” Kyle looked up to see his co-worker Michael Guerin heading his way. He had started working at the firm with Kyle nearly two months ago, and the guy was making a name for himself quickly. Granted, he’d been an architect longer than Kyle had, but only by a year. The guy was okay. A little serious, but he seemed like a good guy.

“No, worse. That was my sister. She was asking me to pick up my niece from daycare for her. She’s gotta work late.” He watched Michael nod his head at the information.

“Why doesn’t she just get her husband to do it?” Michael didn’t get it, who called their brother to get their kid?

“She’s not married. I live with her over at the Mountain Shadows apartments.” They continued to talk as they walked out together.

“Dude, seriously? I just moved over there. What apartment are you guys in?”

“317. I’m movin out tomorrow though. I’m only going down one floor, but I’m trying to convince my girlfriend to move in with me, and I figured that I’d have a better shot at it if I actually had my own place.”

“Yeah, you probably would. Do you need any help movin your stuff? I’m not doin anything tomorrow.”

Kyle looked at the other man as they made their way through the parking garage. “Is this a free offer? You’re not, like, tryin to hit on me or anything are you?”

Michael tripped over his feet at Kyle’s question. “I realize that this is San Francisco, but I don’t swing that way. But no, this isn’t a free offer.” At Kyle’s widened eyes Michael rushed to elaborate. “Listen, my sister’s getting married, and I have to go to a bachelor party for her computer geek fiancé, where I will be surrounded by other computer geeks. I just need someone there that will drink beer and talk about hockey with me.” Michael watched the man visibly relax.

“Are you asking me on a man date?” Kyle just wanted some clarification.

“I’m asking you if in exchange for helping you lug your crap into your new apartment, you will attend a bachelor party where I’m sure there will be female strippers.”

“Oh, well then in that case, change the hockey to football and I’m there.”

“Righteous. See you tomorrow.” Michael turned to head toward his own car when Kyle called his name.

“Be at my sister’s apartment at twelve to help me move. 317.” Michael just waved in response and continued on his way. He tried to picture in his mind what Kyle’s sister would look like, and the image of Kyle wearing a long black wig and a halter top made him recoil. He had to physically shake his head to dislodge the disturbing image from his mind.
Chinkyeyes
chinkyeyes45
Enthusiastic Roswellian
Posts: 16
Joined: Tue Jun 15, 2010 1:09 pm

Re: Complications( Adult, A/U, M&M, K&T, some M&L & A&I) 7/9/10

Post by chinkyeyes45 »

Thanks everyone for the awesome feedback!
Drogyn: Brody really lacked tact with that comment. Coming up!
Ellie: Brody defines creep in this fic. Bailey didn't deserve to be used in that way.
Alien_Friend: Thanks. He is an ass. Maria is lucky to have the family that she has.
Mary Mary: Thanks for reading!
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/b]





Chapter five:

Maria rushed to answer the door before the person on the other side of it woke Bailey. Kyle had deconstructed his bed, and was in the process of unpacking his drawers to make moving the dresser easier. She told him to do it earlier in the week, but he insisted on procrastinating. Last night, he told her that a co worker that lived in their building would be helping him move. She hoped that they didn’t make too much noise. She had gotten in at a quarter to ten last night. Just in time for Bailey’s nightly scream fest. God definitely knew what he was doing when he made babies cute. Every time she looked at her daughter, she was amazed by how much she loved her. Especially since the child looked very much like her father. One of the mysteries of the universe. Maria opened the front door right before the man standing there was about to knock again. He dropped his hand when he saw her, and Maria took in his appearance. Oh My! He was perfect. He was around 6’2”, with chocolate brown hair that was in a messy mop of gravity defying spikes. His shoulders were broad and muscular; she let her eyes trail downward to the well defined chest that could be made out through his black t-shirt. A pair of faded blue jeans and old doc martens completed the relaxed look. Slowly she brought her gaze back up, and was met with the enchanting amber of his eyes.

Michael was just about to knock on the door again when it was opened to reveal a woman that was too gorgeous to be real. She was about 5’5”, with long blond hair that fell in large curls around her face. He took in her bee stung lips, and slender figure with a sweep of his gaze. On the way back up, his eyes paused on her breasts, taking note of their pertness and the fact that she wasn’t wearing a bra. For a moment he forgot to breathe. Looking up, he met her eyes, and felt his heart stutter in his chest. They were the color of emeralds. So vibrant that he would have sworn that someone painted the color on her irises. He thought that he could look into those eyes every day for the rest of his life. A sound from behind her broke their very private moment. When she turned in the direction of the noise, Michael was able to tear his gaze away.

“Hey, Michael, I see you met my sister.”

This was Kyle’s sister? Well, shit. “Uh…yeah…sort of.” Smooth Guerin. She turned around smiling at him and motioned for him to enter the apartment.

When he stepped inside, she offered him her hand. “Maria Deluca, nice to meet you.”

He took a moment to ponder the differences in last names before taking her hand. When his hand touched hers, he felt it all the way down to his toes. Kyle’s not so subtle cough brought them back to the present and he released her hand.

“Maria, this is my coworker, Michael Guerin. We’re going to a bachelor party for his sister’s fiancé later tonight.”

At that news, Maria shot a look at her brother. “Does Tess know about this?” it had taken a long time for Kyle to get Tess to trust him again. Maria was hoping that he wasn’t gonna go out tonight and mess everything up. Michael Guerin looked like the kind of man that women flocked to. That could be a problem.

“I told her about it last night. She has a few concerns, but has decided to trust me. I figure it’s a test.” He was smarter than he looked. He figured that he’d have a few beers and stay well away from any and all strippers. He’d be home by 2 am at the latest, and call her to let her know that he was safely tucked in bed alone. He was not about to lose her over a bachelor party.

“Should I have given you a permission slip?” Michael really hadn’t meant for that to come out. Kyle just flipped him off, but Maria…she gave him a death glare that could have killed him on the spot. Before he could say anything, he heard the sound of a baby crying from one of the bedrooms.

“Shit!” Maria was hoping that Bailey would sleep for at least an hour. No such luck. Excusing herself from the room, she went to check on her daughter.

Michael was shocked when he heard the word that flew out of Maria’s mouth. She didn’t look like she knew any words that would be heard inside the confines of a locker room. He watched her retreating form until he heard Kyle clearing his throat.

“Dude, do you need a halls or something?” he was getting a little annoyed with the hints. Granted, he was staring a little too hard at the guy’s sister, but she was an adult. And if the kid was any indication, she wasn’t exactly a virgin.

“I need you to stay away from my sister.” Kyle had seen Michael in action around the office. If rumors could be believed, he’d slept with half of the women that they worked with already, and the guy had only been there for two months. He wanted Maria to go on dates with guys that were gonna respect her, and treat her right. Michael was good enough to be his friend, but he wasn’t good enough to date his sister.

“Kyle…”

“I’m serious. We can be cool, but keep your hands off the kid sister.” Kyle put just enough warning in his voice to let the other man know that he was in no way joking.

“I hear you.” Yeah, he heard him. He just wasn’t really listening to him. He followed Kyle down the hall to his bedroom. There was a door across the hall that was closed, and Michael assumed that Maria and the baby were on the other side of it. Looking around the room that he had just entered, Michael sighed.

“How can you have so little stuff to move, and not have anything ready?” the room was a disaster area. There were clothes hanging out of boxes, and the bed was only partially taken apart. He had a desk and computer set up, but the computer was still hooked up, and the desk was still standing. He hadn’t even taped the drawers on his dresser shut. This was gonna take all day.

“It’s not as bad as it looks. Just do me a favor and unhook the computer, okay. Once that’s done, we can take the desk outta here. I really only need help with the big stuff.”

Michael walked over to the computer, and after making sure that it was shut off, he began disconnecting the wires.

“So, you don’t have any other furniture?” How was this guy gonna have an apartment that only had bedroom furniture?

“Well, I had a lot of shit when I was living in Michigan, but I had a moving sale before I came out here and got rid of most of it. I figure that I’ll let Tess decorate the new place, give her a reason to want to stay you know.”

“So, you moved here for her, or for the job?” From the way Kyle talked about this girl, Michael wasn’t sure if they were officially together.

“Well, we were broken up when I moved here. We had a misunderstanding when she was in undergrad, and then she came out here for grad school. Maria found out she was pregnant right after graduation, and she was already taking a job out here, and I had a couple of job offers already.”

“You know that didn’t answer my question, right?” Michael was talking with his back to Kyle since he was still unhooking cables. What the hell did this guy use this computer for anyway, was he contacting life on distant planets or something?

“Honestly…I came out here for Maria. I mean, me and Tess had been broken up for nearly a year before I got out here. I was learning to deal. But Maria was pregnant and livin here alone, and our dad is real protective of her, so he kinda pushed me to make the move. I got here, and she and Tess are really close, so seein her again, I realized how much I missed her. So that’s why I came out here.” Kyle had never told Maria about Jim pushing him to make the move. She would have been pissed.

“So does your sister know that?” Michael finally had everything disconnected and was looking for a box to put the monitor and tower in. Kyle handed him a large moving box before answering.

“No, so don’t say anything to her.”

“I thought I was supposed to stay away from her.”

“You are.” Before the conversation could continue, the door across the hall opened, and Maria stepped out with a baby in her arms.

She stood in the open doorway, and Michael allowed himself to take in the sight. Maria stood with a chubby baby girl on her hip. The child was wearing a light green polo dress and a pair of white sandals. She had short, curly, strawberry blond hair and a heart shaped face. Her eyes were large and hazel in color. All together, she was a beautiful little girl. He noticed the large bag on her shoulder and assumed that she was going out.

“Kyle, I’m gonna meet Tess at the park. Then we’re gonna grab something to eat, so I probably won’t see you for the rest of the day.”

Kyle reached for the baby in her arms, and blew raspberries against the baby’s stomach. “You goin out with the big girls glow worm?” Kyle handed the giggling baby back to her mother. “You want me to come over tomorrow to help move her stuff in here?”

“No, I need to shampoo the carpet before we put her stuff in here. Besides, I wanna paint her walls before she moves into her new room.”

Michael watched as Maria tried to talk around the fingers that were trying to make their way into her mouth. He smiled before he could help it.

“I really don’t think that the floor needs to be shampooed.” Seeing the look that she was giving him, Kyle wisely changed the subject. “So, what colors did you decide on?”

“Oh, heffalump and Cinderella.”

Michael was confused, but Kyle looked like he knew exactly what she was talking about. Were they speaking in like some weird Disney code or something? “What are those?”

Maria looked at him and smiled. It was like she was in slow motion and he had to shake his head to focus. It wasn’t working. Think of something, think of something, and then a picture of a mud puddle popped into his head. That worked.

“They’re colors. Lavender and baby blue.” She was looking at him as if that were obvious and he became annoyed.

“Then why not say that? Why do women complicate things that don’t need to be complicated?” he saw a spark enter her eyes at his tone, and the look went straight to his dick. This was so inappropriate, she was standing there with a baby on her hip, and he was ready to push her up against a wall and touch her in places that couldn’t be seen in polite company. He heard Kyle clear his throat again. He was gonna buy that dude some cough drops.

“Well, let me apologize for the entire feminine population’s inability to dumb things down for the male IQ. I should be going. It was nice meeting you Michael.” She gave him a smile before leaving the doorway.

He stood there, staring at the place she had just vacated until he heard the front door close. Kyle’s voice brought him reeling back to reality.

“Stop perving on my sister!”

“That’s not what I was doing! I was admiring her motherly…you know…attributes.” That sounded so lame. When did he become a sixteen year old boy again?

“Whatever, Guerin. Just keep it in your pants. My dad’s a cop; don’t think I don’t know how to use a gun.” Kyle looked deadly serious, and Michael just raised his hands in acquiescence.

“Okay, I got it! But for the record, she’s gorgeous. It’s hard not to notice that.” where the hell had that come from? Michael decided not to explore the reason for his foray into the verbally expressive and grabbed the end of the computer desk, gesturing for Kyle to do the same.


Maria got to the park five minutes ahead of Tess. She was just strapping Bailey into the baby swing when Tess walked up to her in a huff.

“Did you know that your ass of a brother is going to a bachelor party tonight?” Tess had obviously been working herself into a fine rage throughout the day.

“He told me. Why did you tell him that he was allowed to go? You obviously wanted him to stay at home.” She didn’t know if she could deal with Tess being in one of her moods today. She was working on no sleep, and was trying to contemplate her reaction to Kyle’s new friend.

“I didn’t wanna be one of those girlfriends that forbids her boyfriend from doing things. I wanted him to know that I wanted him to stay home, and then do it. How hard is that?” He knew that she wanted him to stay home. He was not that slow.

“Tess, this is Kyle that we’re talking about, right? You expect my brother, the guy that owns a hat that has beer holders on it, to possess some kind of relationship ESP? Have you been smoking something?” Maybe the idiot at the house was right, maybe women did make things more complicated than they needed to be. Though in the case of the paint, that was the work of Behr.

“I know that this is Kyle, but he has to learn at some point. Right? I mean, this is a guy that has never been able to resist temptation. Do I really wanna put myself through this again?”

Maria looked away from her daughter to her friend. “Look, Tess, I’m not gonna say that I wasn’t happy when you gave Kyle a second chance, but you can’t give someone a new start and keep blaming them for past mistakes. Maybe this party is a good thing. If he fucks up again, you can let him go without wondering whether or not you did everything you could to make it work. And if he doesn’t fuck up, you’ll know that he really is changing.”

Tess looked at her for a few minutes before saying anything. “This is really hard. Did you know that he asked me to move in with him? I wanted to say yes so badly. But I keep thinking, what if I move in with him and he cheats on me again?” Tess looked at her expectantly. Waiting for some insightful response.

“You want me to tell you what to do? I can’t tell you what to do. Tess, I haven’t been out with a guy since Brody because I don’t know who I can trust. Maybe we’re both afraid of the same thing.”

“There’s no maybe about it. Anyway, enough of that talk. Have you met the pig that invited Kyle to this bachelor party?”

An image of Michael popped into Maria’s head and her breath quickened. Tess, of course, noticed her reaction.

“Oh, do tell. What’s he like?” It was amazing how Tess could go from one emotion to the next so quickly. Seconds ago she was melancholy and frustrated, now she was eager and had a mischievous look about her.

What should she say? “I don’t really know what he’s like. He spoke two sentences to me.” There, an honest answer.

Tess was not buying it. “Come on Maria, I know you. You like him! Oh my God, you like the pig that invited my future husband out to see naked women.” Tess was wearing the biggest smile. You’d think that she’d just invented the vibrator.

“No, I don’t. I don’t even know him. I mean…he was hot…but that’s it. Really.” Maria could feel the flush that was creeping up her neck, and she kept her eyes focused on Bailey to avoid Tess’s gaze. Maria attempted to change the subject. “Hey, could you watch Bailey for me tomorrow? I wanna get started on painting her room. I’m gonna get the stuff before I go home later.”

“Sure, no problem. Kyle and I are supposed to look at furniture for the apartment tomorrow, so we’ll just bring her along.”

“Are you sure? It can be really distracting taking her out with you if you really need to get things done.” Maria didn’t want to inconvenience them. She knew that they were both way too understanding when it came to Bailey.

“It’s fine, I promise. I’ll pick her up at nine in the morning; she can go with us to the diner for breakfast.” Tess was making puffin faces at the little girl. She really was good with children. It was a good thing too; she was pursuing a career in child psychology.

“Isn’t nine a little early? I mean, what time is Kyle gonna get home tonight?”

“Not my problem. If he’s tired tomorrow, he only has himself to blame. Ooh, I wanted to ask you a question.”

“Go ahead and ask.”

“I know that you started taking the pill after you had the rugrat, which is a pure waste of medication since you aren’t even getting laid,” Maria shot Tess a look. They were in a children’s playground. Granted, there weren’t any impressionable ears that were close by, but still. “Okay, whatever. Anyway, did you gain any extra weight or anything when you started taking them? Cause I’m thinking of talking to my doctor about getting a prescription, but not if it’s gonna turn me into a blowfish.” Maria still looked thin and everything, but you never knew how many crunches a woman did in the privacy of her own bedroom.

“No, I didn’t gain any weight from them. Well, I haven’t so far. But, I don’t really think that you can go by that.” Every woman was different.

“I think I’ll try them. I mean, I can always stop if I start getting all bloated.” Tess looked like she had made up her mind on the matter.

“Why is this suddenly a concern?” Maria was curious. She’d been taking the pills for a year, just in case, and Tess had never seemed interested in the possible side effects.

“Well, I’m giving the moving in thing some serious consideration, and if I do go ahead and do it, then we’ll be burning through condoms faster that NASCAR drivers burn through tires. The pill will be more feasible.” Leave it to Tess to put it so eloquently.

“I really don’t want to hear about my brother’s sex life.” The way Tess gave information, Maria was gonna need therapy soon.

“Fine, so when I talk about him, just picture Brad Pitt in his place. I wanna tell you about our date last week.” Maria placed her head in her hands and groaned. With Tess and Kyle, the word date really just meant sex.


Michael and Kyle arrived at the bachelor party just minutes before the party bus arrived. Spotting Alex among the loud group, Michael lead them in his direction. They came up behind him, so Michael had to tap his shoulder to get his attention. Alex was about an inch shorter than Michael, with short black hair that was neatly combed with a part in the right side. He was lanky in build, and his face screamed boyscout.

“Michael, dude, my fuckin saviour. Thanks for coming, these guys were talking about buying me a date with a porn star.” Leaning in, he added in a low tone, “Besides, if they try to talk to me about one more computer program I’m gonna kill someone. This is supposed to be a party.”

Michael laughed at him. He liked Alex. The guy could be a little too uptight sometimes, but he was always entertaining. “Hey, I told you not to invite the Revenge of the Nerds cast. Anyway, this is my friend Kyle. I figured that I could talk to him about sports and have a few beers while you and the geek squad try to figure out how to get more gigs in your hard drive.”

Kyle reached forward and shook Alex’s extended hand.

“If you leave me alone with these people, I’ll tell Isabel that you bought me a lap dance from a porn star.”

Michael actually cringed. Isabel would go ballistic if Alex told her that. It wouldn’t even matter that it wasn’t true, because it sounded like something that Michael would do. Fuck! He had not intended on spending his evening babysitting Alex.

“Fine, we’re talking football, what team do you like?” Kyle watched the two men amused. They seemed to have a twisted friendship.

“Football? Can’t we talk about music? I know music. I don’t really know too much about football.”

Kyle was stunned into silence while Michael just stood there shaking his head. What kind of guy didn’t know anything about football? Hell, even Tess and Maria knew the basics.

“Alex, I just thought of the perfect wedding gift for you. Some balls. I think you could use a pair.”

Alex just shot him a rude gesture that was very un-boyscout-like. The party bus arrived then, and the group of guys climbed on, and headed off for a night of debauchery.

When they entered the Crazy Horse Gentlemen’s Club, Kyle couldn’t decide whether he was in heaven or hell. They were led back into a private room, and had their drink orders taken before they were left alone. There was a stage in the middle of the room that had mirrors behind it, and when the girl left to get their drinks, a man entered the room with two very bouncerish guys flanking his sides.

“Gentlemen, welcome to the Crazy Horse Gentlemen’s Club. We’re happy that you chose us for you entertainment this evening, but before you get started, we have a few rules that we need to inform you of. First, if you need anything, there’s a bell on this wall, push it, and someone will come to assist you. Second, when receiving a lap dance, the girls can touch you, but you can’t touch the girls. Anyone breaking that rule will be escorted from the premises and banned. Finally, do not proposition the girls. No offering to meet them back at your hotel, they’re exotic dancers, not prostitutes. Again, anyone breaking that rule will be escorted from the premises and banned. Tonight, we will be auctioning off a meet and greet with adult film star, Jessica James. The auction will take place at midnight. Enjoy your evening.” With that, he turned and left the room, taking his toy soldiers with him.

“So we can’t touch the girls, but they’re auctioning off a meet and greet with a porn star?” Kyle was lost.

“You wanna get horizontal with a porn star, Valenti?” Michael looked at him like he was nuts. They were good to watch during a dry spell and everything, but he wouldn’t actually dip his wick in one.

The waitress returned with two other girls and their drinks. The ladies then placed Alex in the seat of honor, directly in front of the stage. Just then, the lights went down, and “You Shook Me” came pouring out of the walls. On the stage, seemingly out of nowhere, was a gorgeous redhead, with very human enhanced breasts. Kyle almost fell off of his chair.

“I love my girlfriend, I love my girlfriend, I love my girlfriend.”

Michael raised his eyebrow at Kyle before speaking. “What’s with the fidelity mantra?”

“So, that misunderstanding that Tess and I had Two years ago?” he waited for Michael’s nod to indicate that he remembered the conversation. “Yeah, she caught me fucking my secretary.”

Michael choked on his beer. “In your office?” Was this guy insane?

“No, in the bathroom at a night club.”

Oh, Michael thought, this just keeps getting better. “Were you trying to get caught?” no wonder she dumped his ass. And this guy was telling him to stay away from his sister?

“Of course I wasn’t trying to get caught. She was supposed to be studying for mid-terms. And it wasn’t like I meant to cheat or anything. I was out with some people from work, and I had a few too many.” Kyle still couldn’t understand what he had been thinking that night.

“So, is that the only time you cheated on her?”

“Not exactly. It had been a long time since I had though. I mean, we were doing really well with the whole one on one relationship.”

It didn’t sound like it. “So, if you have an issue with keeping it in your pants, why’d you come to a bachelor party?”

That was the million dollar question. “I’m not that guy anymore. I don’t need to sleep with a different chick all the time.”

“You tryin to convince me, or you tryin to convince yourself?”

“You know what Doctor Phil? Back off!”

Michael threw his hands up and decided to change the subject. He looked over at the stage and marveled at the strength that women had in their legs. How was she holding herself upside down on the pole like that?

“Hey, so does your sister have a boyfriend?”

Kyle shot him a warning look. “Didn’t we decide that you were staying away from my sister?”

Michael hadn’t decided any such thing. “I’m pretty sure we were discussing it. She is an adult you know.”

Kyle really didn’t like the idea of Michael being involved with his sister. The guy was a little too much like him, and Maria had been through enough. “You ever cheated on a girl you were dating?” If Michael wanted info on Maria, there were some things that needed to be established first.

“I don’t really do the dating thing. Not usually.” Michael figured that he might as well be honest.

“So you want me to tell you about my sister, so that you can use the information to sleep with her and move on? Are you fucking kidding me?” Kyle was seriously considering slugging him.

“Did I say that? If that’s what I wanted, I wouldn’t have asked you anything about her.” Michael was not stupid.

“Look, she hasn’t been in a relationship in a really long time, and she can’t afford to be taking risks on guys that don’t know what they want. She has a kid. That’s a whole other level of responsibility.” Kyle knew his sister. She wasn’t gonna risk Bailey getting attached to some guy that probably wouldn’t stick around.

“Point taken.” Michael sat back and finished his beer. His mind was occupied for the rest of the night. Did he really wanna be in a relationship with someone that already had a kid? He paid attention long enough to keep Alex’s friends from bidding on the porn star on Alex’s behalf. He knew that Alex was gonna tell Isabel everything about tonight, and that he would be blamed for anything that she deemed unacceptable.
Chinkyeyes
chinkyeyes45
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Re: Complications( Adult, A/U, M&M, K&T, some M&L & A&I) 7/9/10

Post by chinkyeyes45 »

Hello everyone. Sorry it's taken me so long to post this update, but I was pretty sick and it couldn't be helped. thank you all so much for leaving feedback. I appreciate it all!!!




Chapter six:

Maria had started painting Bailey’s room at ten thirty this morning. It was after one, and she only had one wall finished. This seemed so much simpler in her head. But then she’d had to lay down the tarp, and put the edging tape on the walls, and then use the primer. She was hot, sweaty, and had paint on her arms and legs in streaks and patches. She was almost relieved when she heard the doorbell. Dropping the roller onto the tray, she made her way to the door. She pulled the door opened, and was surprised to see Michael standing there.

“Hey, um…Kyle doesn’t live here anymore.” He was just staring at her, so she waved her hand in front of his face to get his attention.

Michael had come up to Maria’s apartment with completely pure intentions. He couldn’t find his phone. He was pretty sure that he had put it on her kitchen counter yesterday when he’d gotten a soda out of her fridge after checking the time on the screen. But, then she opened the door, and she was wearing the smallest shorts he’d ever seen. Her legs, that seemed to go on for days, were speckled with paint, and he found himself imagining those legs around his waist. Her hand waving in his face snapped him out of the trance that he’d been in. What flew out of his mouth made him want to put his head through a wall.

“Mud.” What?

“I’m sorry?” Did he just call her mud?

“Huh?” Why was he unable to form sentences around this woman?

“Did you need something?” Maria wasn’t sure what to do.

“Yeah,” Michael shook himself a little, “I think I may have left my cell phone here.”

“Oh, okay. Come in. Do you know where you could have left it?”

Michael came in, and Maria closed the door behind him. “Yeah, I think it’s in the kitchen.”

He made his way over to the counter that separated the kitchen from the living room, and sure enough, there was his phone. “So, how’s the painting coming?” he really wasn’t good at small talk. He usually ignored people that tried to engage him in meaningless conversation. Isabel swore that he had turned grunting into an art form.

“It’s taking a little longer than I’d like, but it’s getting there.” He looked really good. Maria was having to constantly drag her mind out of the gutter.

“Where’s the baby?” he’d imagine that it was difficult painting a room while trying to keep an eye on a child.

“Oh, um…she’s out with Tess and Kyle for the day. You know, giving me some time to get the painting done.” Her eyes were traveling over his body while she was talking, and she could feel her internal temperature spiking. It had been a really long time since she’d had sex.

“Yeah…that’s probably really helpful.” The way she was staring at him was making him hard. He needed to get out of this apartment. “So, thanks, for letting me get my phone. I guess I’ll see you around?” he was making his way to the door with her following behind him. He turned to her before opening it, and was surprised at how close she was to him.

“Yeah, I’ll see you…” Maria wasn’t sure how it happened. One minute she was staring at his lips and telling him goodbye, and the next minute, she was kissing him. She was pretty sure that she had kissed him first. When his tongue teased her bottom lip seeking entrance, she was vaguely aware of a moan that sounded like it came from her.

Michael turned them so that her back was against the door. Her hands were in his hair, and her nails that were scraping against his scalp were making his already painful erection seem unbearable. When her hands tugged at the hem of his shirt he moved back far enough for it to be pulled over his head. After helping her remove her own shirt, Michael moved forward to again capture her mouth with his. He groaned when her tongue stroked his, and the feeling of her bare breasts pressed against his chest broke the small hold he had over his waning control. Michael pulled the button on her jean shorts open so forcefully that it flew across the room. He felt Maria’s hands between them fumbling with his belt, and he knocked her hand away to open it himself. He was trying to step out of his shoes and open his pants at the same time, and his lack of motor skills at this moment was killing him. After finally getting his pants opened, he grasped the waist of Maria’s shorts, pushing them past her hips and letting gravity do the rest of the work. When he grabbed the back of her thighs, Maria raised her legs and wrapped them around his waist. The entire time that they were getting undressed, the kiss had been going on and on. Michael never wanted to stop kissing her.

God he felt so good. Trapped between his body and the door, Maria felt like she was about to combust. When she felt him reach between their bodies to slide one of his fingers into her, she broke the kiss and had to bite down to keep from crying out. Maria had had just about enough teasing, reaching down, she grasped his straining cock in her hand and led him to her entrance. Looking into his eyes, she leaned forward and nipped his bottom lip. Michael gave her a smirk that would have had her weak at the knees if she had been standing on her own feet. And then everything was lost to the sensation of him entering her completely in one forceful thrust. This was not gentle, or sweet. It was rough, and carnal, and perfect. She couldn’t ever remember anything feeling this right. She was distantly aware of the fact that anyone passing her door in the hall would be able to hear them, but that seemed so unimportant when weighed against the feeling of Michael pounding into her. She felt her muscles starting to clamp down on him as that familiar flutter started in her stomach.

“Oh God, Ohgodohgodohgod, Oh my fucking God!” her voice was steadily rising as her orgasm hovered closer and closer.

“Come on baby. Let it go. Cum for me.” Michael’s mouth crashed down onto hers at the exact moment that her world exploded, and his orgasm was ripped from his body by the force of hers.

“Jesus Christ.” That was the only thing running through his mind as he struggled to stay standing. He needed to get them onto something soft. Maria was struggling just to stay awake. He doubted that she’d be up for walking right now. Tightening his grip on her, he forced his muscles to comply as he carried her into her bedroom and collapsed with her onto her bed. Michael knew that he should let her rest, but he couldn’t leave her alone.

“You okay.” He mumbled it against her lips, kissing a trail from her mouth to her neck, and down to her breasts.

“Mmmmhmmm.” Maria was incapable of speech at this moment. She felt like she should be tired, but her body was still jumpy and tingling. What he was doing with his mouth was making it hard for her to focus on anything other than his tongue on her flesh.

When he swirled his tongue around her nipple, Maria felt herself start to tremble. He placed a kiss between her breasts before focusing his attention on her other nipple. When his mouth closed around the nub, suckling her, Maria’s nails pressed into his shoulders. Her breath was coming in pants as he kissed his way down her stomach, nipping the area beneath her belly button. Michael slid his arms beneath her before lowering his head to nibble on her clit. Maria’s hands shot into his hair in an attempt to bring him closer. Her breathy moans were arousing him again, and he trailed his tongue down to plunge it inside of her. Maria screamed and arched upward off of the bed.

Chapter seven:

Tess was looking at a cherry wood coffee table when Kyle came back from changing Bailey’s diaper. He had called her at exactly two in the morning to let her know that he was home. She had really wanted to question him about his night, but she didn’t. They stayed on the phone until around three in the morning. Tess called Maria when she woke up to let her know that she’d be there for the baby at ten instead of nine. She’d had to drink three cups of coffee just to wake herself up that morning. When Kyle called, she’d already been awake. She’d been laying in her bed, finishing up an essay that wasn’t due for another three weeks after having cleaned her entire apartment. Every time she tried to fall asleep, she pictured Kyle with that woman at that club. She’d nearly jumped out of her skin when her phone rang. She looked away from the table when Kyle stepped up along side of her.

“You like this?” it didn’t really seem like Tess’s style. She usually liked things in light colors. Anything made of wood was generally honey maple.

“Well, I figured that I should look for things that were more suited to your taste. It is going in your apartment after all.”

He adjusted Bailey in his arms before responding. They had been to three different furniture stores, and the only thing that had been picked out was a rug for the bathroom. “Tess, have you even thought about moving in with me?” Kyle knew that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, but this constant eggshell walk was getting old.

“Yes. I’ve been thinking about it since you asked and I haven’t decided yet. I would love to move in with you, but I feel like if I do, it’ll just be so that I can keep an eye on you.”

Kyle tensed, and Bailey, reacting to his mood, started to cry. They were starting to get looks from other people in the showroom. “How long am I supposed to do penance for something that happened two years ago? Damn it, Tess! You either forgive me or you don’t. You either wanna be with me, or you don’t!”

Tess was about to reply when a very serious looking sales woman walked up to them.

“I’m sorry, sir. Would you and your wife mind trying to quiet your child? She’s disturbing the other patrons.” She was giving them this really haughty look, and Tess snapped.

“I’m a little disturbed that a woman that looks as if she were made of wax is working in a place that sells furniture. Don’t you people sell cribs? Are you aware that babies sleep in them, and that they cry occasionally? It’s bad enough that the lighting in this place had me temporarily confusing it with a bat cave, but I’d think that the employees would at least look human. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna take my husband and loud baby, and go to Ethan Allen.”

Kyle was shocked. Tess had to practically drag him out of the store. He found his voice once they were on the sidewalk.

“Tess, what the hell was that?” Tess had a temper, but she was always polite to salespeople and servers whenever they went out. She usually reserved her anger for the people closest to her. And had she just called him her husband?

“I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.” She decided to blame it on her late night. “I didn’t get much sleep last night. Maybe we should do this next week. Let’s just go to Target and pick you out a shower curtain and some towels, and then we’ll go home.”

Kyle looked at her for a moment. He was patting Bailey on the back. The baby had calmed down once they’d gotten outside, but Kyle didn’t want to chance stopping and having her cry again. “Okay. You know that thing that you wanted us to do when we first got back together?”

“The couples therapy retreat? Yeah, why?” when she had suggested it, he had been adamant about not going. He said that they should be able to work out their problems themselves.

“Well, maybe we should look into it.”

Tess practically jumped into his arms, squishing Bailey between them in the process. “We should definitely go to Ethan Allen now. I’m sure that they have a cream colored sectional that’ll go great in the living room. How do you feel about a honey maple coffee table? It isn’t too girly, I want to make sure that it looks like we both live there. We could paint the living room a nice mocha to balance the color. Then the furniture would be like accents.”

Kyle allowed himself a mental sigh of relief. He was afraid that after he’d gotten frustrated in the store that she’d decide that living with him wasn’t the way to go.

“You know, Michael said that his sister’s an interior decorator. You want me to get her number? I wouldn’t want all this stuff with the apartment to take away from your studies.” And he really couldn’t go to one more store to look at couches. Why he thought that this would be different than going to the mall with her was beyond him. She didn’t answer him, and he took that to mean that they would be going to yet another store. He was praying that Bailey would run out of diapers so that he’d have an excuse to go home.

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Michael was lying in bed with Maria, kissing her fingers, when the sound of his phone ringing broke the silence. They’d been in her bed for the past two and a half hours trying to exhaust each other. Lifting his head and looking around, he couldn’t see his pants.

“I think they’re in the hall.” Maria said, trying not to laugh at his disgruntled expression.

Michael nipped her palm before going in search of his phone. He found his pants, with his boxers still inside of them, lying next to the front door. Whoever had been calling him had hung up before he could get to his phone. When he picked his pants up, the phone began ringing again. Looking at the screen he almost didn’t answer.

“Hello?” Michael was holding the phone between his ear and his shoulder while trying to pull his pants and boxers back on. It wasn’t going smoothly.

“You missed your appointment, Michael. This was the final fitting. You need to get to the place before five thirty. That gives you a half an hour to make it there.” Leave it to Isabel to get straight to the point. After finally getting his pants on, he made his way back to the bedroom.

“Sorry, Iz. I forgot about the whole tux thing. I was busy; I’ll make it in time to get the fitting done.” He could hear her huffing through the phone. He had agreed too soon. Something was bothering her, and she needed someone to vent her frustrations on. He would never understand how it was that Alex never found himself a target for Isabel’s tirades. Maria was lying there completely naked, and Isabel had to call his name three times before he remembered that he was still on the phone.

“What?” He watched as Maria got out of the bed and headed toward the bathroom. A few seconds later he heard the shower come on and he had to sit down on the bed to keep from joining her.

“…a date for my wedding yet?”

What the hell was she talking about? “Huh?”

“Michael, what the hell are you doing? I asked if you had a date for my wedding yet. Do you?”

He could ask Maria to go with him. “I think so.” He could hear her arguing with someone in the background before she started talking to him again.

“What do you mean, you think so? It’s not some air headed bimbo is it? You are not allowed to bring a tramp to my wedding.”

Like that was something that he would do. “No, it’s not. This is someone new. I just started seeing her recently.” He wondered if that was even true. They’d had sex, that didn’t mean that they were in a relationship. Granted, it had been a lot of sex, but that didn’t guarantee anything.

“Oh, what does she do?” That was a really good question. “She isn’t a stripper right?”

At least he knew the answer to that question. “No, she’s not a stripper.” He had dated one stripper, in college. That was seven years ago, but leave it to Isabel to bring up old shit.

“So, what does she do?”

He couldn’t tell her that he didn’t know what Maria did for a living, because then she’d want to know why he didn’t know. “Look, Iz, I gotta go if I’m gonna make it to that final fitting.”

“Michael, you’re on a cell phone.”

“Yeah, but my blue tooth is dead, and you know that they had that study about the dangers of driving while holding a phone. It slows your response time. You wouldn’t want me to get hit by a trolley on the way to getting fitted for a tux for your wedding, would you?” He held his breath.

“Michael…”

“Iz, I really gotta go.” Michael hung up his phone and flopped back onto the bed. He stayed there until he heard the door to the bathroom open. He waited until after he heard her put on clothes to look up. He didn’t want to risk seeing her in a towel, with water droplets clinging to her skin. The sight that greeted him was only slightly better. She was wearing an oversized t-shirt that stopped mid thigh, and left him wondering whether or not she was wearing underwear.

“You wanna go to a wedding with me on Saturday?”

Maria looked shocked at the invitation. “I don’t know. I mean, I’d need to get a babysitter.” She wasn’t expecting him to ask her out. Now that he did, she didn’t know if she should say yes.

“Okay, so, if you’re able to get a babysitter, do you wanna be my date to a wedding on Saturday?” He was sure that Kyle would watch her daughter if she asked him to.

“Michael…I don’t know…” She looked like she wanted to say yes, but felt like she should say no.

Michael pressed a little harder by pulling her between his legs where he sat on the bed and rubbing his face into her stomach before speaking. “Come on, please? I’m in this wedding. This is my twin sister’s wedding. Don’t make me go alone, where I’ll be surrounded by family and lifelong friends asking why I don’t have a date. They won’t believe that there’s a beautiful woman that stole my heart unless you’re there for them to see you.” He had never had to beg a woman to do anything in his entire life. Even Isabel usually caved to him.

“I have not stolen your heart.” The words were really pretty, but Maria was in advertising. She was a hard sell.

“Maybe not yet, but there’s potential. Just come with me to the wedding. I promise to be the perfect gentleman the entire night.” He had been sure that the line about stealing his heart was gonna work.

“Fine, but you have to dance with me.”

He was shaking his head the moment that the word dance left her mouth. “I don’t dance. I am the most uncoordinated person on the planet. I’d destroy your feet.” What scared him was that if she really wanted it, he knew that he would try.

“One dance and I’ll go with you to this wedding. I’ll even consider going out with you again afterward.” Maria had already decided that she would go. She just wanted to see where these negotiations would lead them.

Michael stood up from the bed, still holding her waist. He leaned down, almost kissing her, but stopping just short of it. “We go to the wedding, dance to half of a song of my choosing; I’ll even bring you flowers. And, when we have a real date, I promise that you’ll have the time of your life.”

Maria kissed him hard and fast. Pulling back, she was a little out of breath when she responded. “I’m allergic to everything except certain types of roses and orchids.”

Michael brushed his finger against her bottom lip, fighting the urge to kiss her again. “Walk me to the front door?”

Maria grabbed his hand and led him to the front of the apartment. He had just finished putting on his shoes when Kyle and Tess walked through the door.

Kyle, taking in the sight of Michael’s rumpled clothing, and Maria in a shirt and very little else, felt himself becoming angry. “What’s goin on?”

Tess took the sleeping baby from her boyfriend’s arms and decided to put her into her crib. When she got into Maria’s bedroom, she noticed the unmade bed and the smell of very recent sex. Wow.

“Michael left his phone here yesterday when he was helping you move your stuff. He came up here to get it.” Maria gave Michael a look that told him to just go along with what she was saying.

“Yeah… I should be going.” Michael made his way to the door. Kyle didn’t look like he was going to move out of the way for a second. Before he could open the door, Maria stopped him.

“Here,” She grabbed a piece of paper and wrote something on it. Taking the paper, Michael could see that it was a phone number. “Call me, about Saturday.” She reached up and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

Kyle looked like he was about to blow a blood vessel. Michael decided that it was a good time to leave. Once on the other side of the door alone, he relaxed, and began to whistle on the way to his car.

“So, Maria, did you finish painting the room?” Tess had come back into the living room and noticing the tension decided to attempt a conversation.

“No. I only finished one wall. I put the primer on all of them, but then the actual painting took longer than I expected it to.”

Before Tess could find another topic, Kyle interrupted. “What’s happening on Saturday?”

Maria really wished that Kyle would just let it go. “Michael asked me to go with him to his sister’s wedding.”

Before Kyle could ask any more questions, Tess jumped in. “Do you need me to baby-sit for you? I could even keep Bailey for the weekend if you wanted to finish painting her room next Sunday.”

“Are you sure, Tess? I don’t want you to give up your whole weekend.”

“Don’t worry, its good practice. Besides, when do you ever go anywhere without the kid anyway? This’ll be good for you.” Tess was a really good friend. Not many people would sacrifice their entire weekend to watch someone else’s baby.

“How long was Guerin here?” Kyle wasn’t ready to let this go.

“I don’t know, a little while. Why?” God, it was like she was fifteen years old again.

“Was he hitting on you?”

Maria was pretty sure that what Michael had been doing didn’t really qualify as hitting on her. “It was the other way around actually.” Let’s see how Kyle dealt with that information.

“What!” catching Tess’s look, he remembered the sleeping baby and lowered his voice. “What? You don’t know anything about that guy. He could be a rapist for all you know.” Kyle realized that he was being a little dramatic when both of the women looked at him like he was crazy.

“You can’t rape the willing Kyle. Besides, you should be more concerned about my intentions than his.” Maria knew that she wasn’t exactly looking to commit herself to a relationship right now. She was too focused on her daughter and her career.

“I can’t listen to this. Tess, meet me in my apartment. Maria, don’t make me shoot him, okay?”

Maria just smiled at her brother and blew him a kiss when he walked out the door. The minute that Tess was sure that Kyle was gone she yanked Maria down onto the couch.

“You had sex with the Adonis?!”

“Maybe.” Maria really didn’t want to discuss this until she’d had time to analyze it.

“Maybe nothing, I saw your bed. I thought that you said he only spoke two sentences to you.” This was so not like Maria. Those must have been some really meaningful sentences.

“I don’t know what came over me. He came to get his phone, and I walked him back to the door, and I was saying goodbye, and then I jumped him.”

“Wait a minute. You jumped him? Against the door? Today?” Tess was in a state of shock. What the hell was going on with the world?

“Well, yeah. The first time was against the door.”

Tess’s eyes nearly fell out of her head. “The first time? How many times were there?” Jesus, she left the girl alone for an afternoon, and look what happened.

“That depends on whether or not we’re counting oral.”

Tess was fanning herself. “I need some water. Okay, who are you, and what have you done with my Maria?”

Maria looked at Tess and controlled the urge to laugh. “I told you, I don’t know how it happened. It was like, we were standing there and I could just feel him. Like we were the only two people on the planet. The air felt like it was charged. You know, like the way it feels right before a thunderstorm. It’s a good thing that his phone rang, or we’d have still been in bed when you guys got here.” Maria didn’t even want to imagine that scenario.

“Kyle really would’ve wanted to shoot him then.” Tess knew how protective Kyle was of his sister.

“Oh please. Kyle used to get squeamish whenever he and our dad would go hunting. My father finally gave hunting up for target shooting and started taking us all fishing together.” Kyle was a great shot, but he couldn’t stand the sight of blood.

“So, does the greek god fuck as good as he looks?”

Maria laughed when Tess waggled her eyebrows at her. “Better.”

Tess reached over to the coffee table and started fanning herself with one of Maria’s cosmos. “I love my boyfriend, I love my boyfriend, I love my boyfriend.”

Maria gave Tess a strange look. “What’s with the fidelity mantra?”

“Just trying to keep things in perspective. So, he asked you to go to his sister’s wedding?” This was an interesting new development in Maria’s life.

“Yeah. If that goes well, then we’ve made tentative plans to go on a real date.”

“So, are you thinking that the two of you are gonna be getting serious?” It was obvious that Maria was already gone for the guy and she’d only known him two days.

“I don’t know. I mean, I don’t wanna be one of those moms that always has a different guy around while Bailey’s growing up. I also don’t want Michael to think that I’m trying to push him into a step-father role. I like him. I mean, it’s obvious that I like him, I just don’t know how to approach this.” What if they started dating and Bailey became attached to him, and then they didn’t work out?

“I know that you wanna do what’s best for Bailey, but maybe you should give Michael a chance. It’s obvious that there’s something there. I mean, when have you ever given some strange guy the key to your lady garden?” Tess had a point, but Maria was still hesitant. When did her life become so complicated? And when would everything be simple again. Maria decided that a change of subject was in order.

“Did you guys find anything good for the apartment?”

“Subtle, Maria. And, yes. They’re gonna deliver the stuff for the living room tomorrow. The dining room furniture is gonna take a little longer though. Since you obviously wanna talk about other things, have you heard from Liz?” Tess had been trying to get in touch with the brunette for over a week without success.
Chinkyeyes
chinkyeyes45
Enthusiastic Roswellian
Posts: 16
Joined: Tue Jun 15, 2010 1:09 pm

Re: Complications( Adult, A/U, M&M, K&T, some M&L & A&I) 7/29/10

Post by chinkyeyes45 »

Onto the next update...


Kyle walked into Michael’s office the next morning before lunch. The other man was over at the drafting table, seeming to be in deep concentration. When he heard his office door close, he turned to see who had come in. Great. Just fucking great.

“Hey Michael, I was about to head out to lunch. You wanna grab something with me?”

Michael took a moment to ponder the possibility that Kyle was trying to give him food poisoning. Even though it wasn’t likely, he decided to pass on the offer. He really needed to finish what he was doing. “No thanks man, I think I’m gonna work through lunch.”

Kyle nodded, but didn’t leave. “Can I ask you a question?” Kyle was standing with his hands folded across his chest.

“You just did.” Michael really wasn’t in the mood for this.

“What’s goin on with you and my sister?”

Michael really didn’t see how that was any of Kyle’s business. He got that it was part of the brother handbook, giving a guy interested in your sister a hard time, but they’d already gone through this.

“Did you ask her?” Kyle nodded. “And, what did she say was going on?”

Kyle was staring hard at the other man and his eyes flared when he took in the barely visible bite mark on Michael’s neck. He hadn’t seen that yesterday, but then again that side of Michael’s neck wasn’t facing him yesterday.

“She said that she initiated things.”

Wow. Michael wasn’t expecting that. It took him a second to formulate a reply. “So then are you here to make sure that I still have my virtue?”

Kyle didn’t look amused. “I’m here to make sure that you understand that regardless of whatever happened between you two yesterday, that if you treat her with anything less than the utmost respect, I will break your neck.”

“You sure you can reach my neck, Tattoo?” Michael had been willing to deal with Kyle’s crap when he thought that he was gonna be the one initiating things between himself and the other guy’s sister. But after yesterday, having Maria kiss him first, and then admit to being the one that started things, Michael wasn’t gonna take kindly to being threatened.

“You wanna find out?” Kyle was having a hard time remembering that his sister had been the pursuer.

“Kyle, I get that you’re just trying to protect your sister. I know what that’s like. But how about waiting until I fuck up before breaking out the step ladder? Sound good to you?”

“Fine. But just so you know, if you do fuck up, my dad’ll probably bury you in the desert. He thinks that the world revolves around Maria. He doesn’t really take kindly to her being hurt.” Jim Valenti was still waiting for Brody Davis to step foot in Roswell again.

“Noted.” He reached out his hand, and Kyle shook it. Now that that was over, Michael decided that he could use lunch. “So what did you have in mind for lunch?” He walked away from the drafting table, and the two men left the office together in search of food.


Chapter eight:


By the time Saturday rolled around, Maria was a mass of nerves. When Michael had asked her out, she had convinced herself that this wasn’t a real date. After careful consideration, she realized that this was worse. His family would be there. There would be people that had known him his entire life. What if they ended up dating, and these people hated her based on one meeting at his sister’s wedding? She had agonized over what to wear, how to conduct herself (should she act like they were dating, or like they were just friends?), should she wear her hair up, or down (she tended to look a lot younger than she was depending on the way her hair was styled.). She had almost cancelled when Michael called to tell her what time he’d be picking her up and what color the tuxes were. She had changed her hair four times. Tess had picked Bailey up an hour ago, and Michael would be at her apartment any minute. The wedding was starting at five, but they had to be there by three thirty so that he could get ready and take pictures. Just when she was about to change her hair again, the doorbell rang.

When Maria opened the door, Michael gave serious consideration to missing his own sister’s wedding. She looked amazing. She was wearing a pale green, off the shoulder dress. It was silky, and clung to her in all the right places. The dress stopped at her knees, and the shoes that she was wearing should have been illegal. They were silver, and strappy, and added about four inches to her height. Her hair was pulled into a knot at the base of her neck, and there were loose tendrils framing her face. God help him.

“Hey.” He was staring at her with an unreadable expression on his face and it was making her nervousness increase. Maybe he was regretting inviting her. Michael cleared his throat before speaking.

“Hey, you look…wow. These are for you.” Michael handed her a bouquet of Tokyo Gold orchids. He was really gonna have to do something about this. Whenever he was around her, he turned into a thirteen year old boy that was experiencing his first crush. He had only been confident around her right after they’d had sex. It seemed like the less she was wearing, the more comfortable he was talking to her. He was praying that no one in his family tried to hit on her at the wedding. He wasn’t sure about his reaction. “Are you ready to go?”

“Yeah, let me just grab my purse. Are you changing at the site?” He was wearing jeans and a t-shirt. Unless she was extremely overdressed for the occasion, he would need to change.

“Yeah, my tux is in the car. Isabel said that there was gonna be a refreshment area set-up for early arrivals. Are you gonna be okay to wait there? I probably won’t get to be with you until after the ceremony.”

In the back of her mind she had known that. It was still a little upsetting to hear him say it though. Maria forced herself to smile and replied in a joking tone. “Of course. I am capable of entertaining myself for a few minutes. But you’d better be picking a really long song for us to dance to.” She locked the door behind them and fell into step at his side.

“I thought we’d agreed to half a song.” He really wasn’t looking forward to mangling her feet.

“Think you can convince them to play ‘Hotel California’?” Maria asked.

Michael looked down at her and smirked. “I wouldn’t have taken you for an Eagles fan.”

“I’m not, but isn’t that song like fifteen minutes long?”

Michael laughed. “I think you’re thinking of that song ‘Pigs’ by Pink Floyd.”

Maria gave him a nudge in the shoulder. “What are the chances of your sister playing it at the reception?”

Michael pretended to give the question serious thought. “I’m pretty certain that hell would have to freeze over, and the devil would need to open up a shop giving away free sleigh rides.” He said it so seriously that Maria couldn’t help but laugh. Before she knew it, they had arrived at the hotel where the wedding was being held and she was completely relaxed.
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Tess had had no idea how much trouble a fourteen month old baby could get into when she’d offered to take Bailey for the weekend. She understood now why Kyle and Maria were always so reluctant to put the child on the floor. She had thought they were taking germaphobia a little too far, and had lectured them on the set backs of not allowing Bailey to fully develop her motor skills. Maria had given Tess Bailey’s pack-n-play yard, and stressed that she was only to let Bailey play independently in the confines of the playpen. Tess, thinking that Maria was just being over protective, had allowed the child free reign of the living room. She left the room for no more than five minutes to go to the bathroom, when she returned her living room looked like a tornado had hit it.

She didn’t see Bailey anywhere among the destruction, and she began to panic. The door to the patio was closed, and so was the door to her bedroom. The linen closet, where she kept the cleaning products, was closed. She heard a crash from the kitchen and all but flew into the other room. The little girl had managed to get the top off of the flour tin where Tess kept it on the lower rack of a cabinet in her kitchen. The baby was covered in flour, and the crash that she’d heard had been the lid flying across the room and hitting the floor. Tess had been alone with Bailey for three hours. She needed reinforcements. Picking the child up from where she sat in a mound of white powder, Tess reached for the phone on the wall and called Kyle.

“Werow?” As a grown man, you would think that he would know better than to answer the phone around a mouth full of food.

“Kyle, I need you at my apartment. Right now!” Bailey was squirming in her arms, and the flour was actually making it hard for Tess to hold onto her. Wasn’t flour supposed to improve your grip?

“What’s wrong? Are you okay? Did something happen to Bailey?” He sounded worried. Tess didn’t want to panic him, but she was desperate.

“No one’s hurt. But you really need to get here. Fast.” Tess prayed that he would just stop asking questions and get there.

“Okay, calm down. I’ll be there really soon. Okay?”

“Okay. Thank-you.” Tess hung up the phone and took the baby into the bathroom to give her a bath. It took her nearly twenty minutes to get the child de-floured. When she was taking her out of the bathtub, she heard her front door open. Thank God, Kyle was there.

Kyle entered the apartment and felt his stomach hollow. This place looked like a crime scene. There were torn magazines and empty DVD cases all over the room. The pillows and cushions from the couch were on the floor, and the entire contents of Bailey’s diaper bag and Tess’s purse had been dumped out. Kyle took a step forward, and heard a crack. Looking down, he saw Tess’s copy of ‘Kate and Leopold’ broken under his foot. The apartment was quiet, and the more time that elapsed without noise, the more concerned he became. He started making his way through the apartment slowly, trying not to make a sound. If the person that did this was still here, Kyle wanted to have the element of surprise on his side. He was praying that Tess and Bailey were alright when the bathroom door opened. Kyle prepared to take the intruder out, when out of the bathroom emerged Tess holding Bailey in a fluffy pink towel. He took a moment to take in his girlfriend’s appearance. The front of her shirt was soaked, and she had flower in her hair and on her face. Bailey started clapping happily when she noticed Kyle standing in front of them. Tess looked up at him, and her eyes flooded with tears as she thrust the baby into his arms. Pushing past him, she made her way into the living room and began to try to restore order.

“Uh…Tess? What the hell happened here?” Kyle followed her into the living room and grabbed a diaper off the floor for Bailey. The little girl was resting calmly in his arms, chewing on one of her chubby fingers. Kyle placed the cushions on the couch while balancing the baby in one arm, and laid her down to put the diaper on her before there was an accident.

Tess started speaking without looking in his direction. She had gotten a plastic bag from somewhere, and was throwing her decimated magazines into it.

“I always thought that I’d be a good mom, you know?” she stopped what she was doing and looked at her boyfriend. “I mean, I’ve watched Bailey while Maria has taken showers, and I’ve fed her, and changed her plenty of times. I’ve spent time with you when you’ve watched her when Maria’s had to work late. I’ve taken classes in child development. I thought that I had this parenting thing down.” Tears were freely falling now, and Kyle was having a hard time understanding her.

“Tess, honey, calm down. Just tell me what happened.” Kyle was getting worried again. He thought that he knew where this was going. He had warned her that Bailey could be a handful.

“I left her alone in the living room. Maria told me that if I was gonna leave her alone, that she needed to be in that play thing. But, I thought she was just being paranoid. When I came back, the living room was trashed, and she was pouring flower over herself in the kitchen.” Tess was trying to control her emotions, but she was finding it difficult.

“Tess, this could have happened to anyone. Why are you beating yourself up? We’ll clean up the apartment, and everything will be fine. No one was hurt.” Kyle really wasn’t understanding her reaction.

“But she could have been hurt. What if she’d stuck her finger in a socket and got electrocuted or if something fell on her in the kitchen? I should have known better. When I put her in the tub, I forgot to use that chair thing, and I could barely hold her when she started getting all slippery. What if I’d lost my grip, and she hit her head on the side of the tub?”

Kyle noticed that Tess’s hands were trembling and he wasn’t sure what to do. This wasn’t like her. Usually, Maria freaked out about things, while Tess took everything in stride. The baby in his arms had started falling asleep once he’d put a diaper on her, and he knew that he needed to lie her down, but he didn’t want to leave Tess alone. “Tess, sweetheart, let me go put Bailey in the bed in your room, and then I’ll help you clean up and we can talk. Okay?” She looked at him and nodded. He hurried out of the room to put the baby down, and then came back to talk to his seemingly distraught girlfriend. When he came back into the living room, Tess was sitting on the couch with her head in her hands.

On Monday, Tess had gone to her doctor’s office for her annual check-up. Before the examination, she spoke to him about getting a prescription for birth control pills. He’d said that it wouldn’t be a problem, but that he wanted to do blood work in addition to the PAP test to ensure the correct prescription for her. She’d left the appointment with her entire life making sense. Well, parts of it anyway. On Wednesday, she’d received a phone call from her doctor’s office asking her to come in that afternoon. When she’d gotten there, they’d turned her world upside down. She felt Kyle sit down next to her, but when he tried pulling her into a hug, she shied away from him.

“Tess, what’s going on with you?” she had been really moody lately. That thought led to another, and another, and before he could stop himself, he’d already asked the question.

“Are you pregnant?” Kyle didn’t know if he was ready for that. They were still working on their relationship.

“I can’t get pregnant, Kyle.” Tess was staring at him and Kyle saw that she hadn’t stopped crying.

“Tess, I know that this is really bad timing with you still being in school, but denial…” she interrupted him before he could finish.

“No, Kyle. I mean that I can’t get pregnant. I went to the doctor earlier this week, and they said that I’m showing signs of premature menopause.” She was wiping at her eyes furiously, and Kyle struggled to find words.

“I don’t understand. I thought menopause was for, like, old people.” He knew that he probably wasn’t helping this situation, but this wasn’t making sense to him.

“Usually it is, but they’re saying that I have premature ovarian failure.” At his confused look, Tess tried to explain. “My ovaries aren’t producing eggs. Well, they haven’t completely stopped yet, but they will soon.”

“Wait…I…why?” she was twenty four years old. She couldn’t be going through menopause.

“They don’t know why. They said that it sometimes happens to women that have had abdominal surgeries or chemotherapy. But, sometimes it just happens.” Tess found it almost amusing that she was explaining something to Kyle that she was having a hard time understanding herself. He was handling this better than she had. Then again, it wasn’t his plumbing that was broken. He could always find another woman that would be able to have his children.

“Is this a permanent thing?” How did someone’s body just stop doing something? It didn’t occur to him that Tess thought that this was going to affect their relationship. The woman that raised him hadn’t been his biological mother, and he didn’t love her any less, and he knew that she didn’t love him any less either.

“They said that it isn’t always permanent. But they can’t guarantee that it’ll reverse.” Tess was having a hard time looking at him, and he didn’t like what that implied.

“You know that I love you, right.” She nodded, but didn’t say anything. Her doctor told her that she’d need to start taking medication to help with the loss of estrogen and progesterone. He’d given her prescriptions for a patch that she’d have to wear on her hip and change every seven days, and for an oral medication that she’d have to take daily. What if she started growing facial hair? She’d heard that happened with some women. Kyle decided to change the subject. They definitely needed to talk more about this, but she was getting too depressed to consider things clearly.

“Did you wanna look up the information for the couples retreat?”

She looked surprised. “You still wanna go to that?”

Kyle leaned forward and kissed her softly on the lips. He was gonna marry her. There was absolutely no doubt in his mind.

“Why don’t you go and take a shower and wash Bailey’s attempt at baking out of your hair, and I’ll finish cleaning up out here. When you get out of the shower, we can go online and look up the information for the retreat. And, since you called me over here in the midst of a great play-off game, I expect dinner and sexual gratification later on tonight.” She smiled at him, and got up from the couch to take a shower before she started crying again. Kyle could be so wonderful sometimes. Tess hadn’t told Maria her news yet. It wasn’t exactly good, and she hadn’t wanted to ruin her friend’s mood. For the first time in two years, Maria had been excited about a guy.
Chinkyeyes
chinkyeyes45
Enthusiastic Roswellian
Posts: 16
Joined: Tue Jun 15, 2010 1:09 pm

Re: Complications( Adult, A/U, M&M, K&T, some M&L & A&I) 9/19/10

Post by chinkyeyes45 »

Thanks for reading. Sorry that it's taken so long to update this fic, but I've been really busy and got a little scatterbrained.

nibbles2: Hey, thanks for reading this a second time around. Kyle's just trying to look out for Maria, but he is a little obnoxious.

Alien_Friend: Tess has a really hard road ahead of her, but thankfully she has good friends and a great guy to stand beside her. I'm glad that you're enjoying this.

The song at Alex and Isabel's wedding is We've Got Love by Sam Cooke.


Chapter nine:

Maria stood in the lounge area of the Palace Hotel resisting the urge to call Tess and check on Bailey. She was bored. She had been sitting alone, nursing a gin and tonic for the past hour. She was hoping that this would be the first wedding in history that would start early. She was reaching in her purse to take out her phone when she felt a tap on her shoulder. Turning around, she was pleasantly surprised.

“Max Evans? Long time no see.” Maria stood giving him a hug.

“Hey, I thought that it was you, but I wasn’t really sure. Figured I’d take a chance. How have you been?” Maria Deluca was the last person that he was expecting to see. Bumping into her had been a blessing. He’d brought a girl from one of his classes to his friend’s wedding as his date, and her voice had nearly made him rip his ears off in the car. It was like a squeaky hinge. How the hell was she going to be a trial lawyer with that voice? A jury would find her client guilty just to be spiteful.

“I’ve been good. Wow! So, what brings you here looking all spiffy?” it occurred to her once she’d asked the question that he was probably there for the same wedding that she was attending.

“My friend is getting married. What are you doing here? You look amazing by the way.” Max was waiting for her response when he felt a sharp poke to his ribs. That’s right, the squeaky hinge. “I’m sorry, where are my manners? Maria Deluca this is my friend Pamela Troy. Pam, this is Maria, we went to Michigan State together.” The woman at Max’s side pasted the fakest smile Maria had ever seen on her face, and offered Maria her hand. Maria took the woman’s offered hand and returned a smile just a fake.

“It’s lovely to meet you, Maria. Were you also pre-law at Michigan?” the woman’s voice actually made Maria’s inner ear itch. She gave Max an amused look.

“No, Advertising. And to answer your question, Max, I’m here to attend a wedding as well.” Max’s eyebrows shot up at that.

“You know Alex and Isabel?” it really was a small world.

“No. I’m here with Isabel’s brother, Michael.” Now that the topic had come up, she was pretty sure that she didn’t want to discuss her relationship with Michael. She really didn’t know what she could say anyway. “So, what have you been up to since graduation?”

“Oh, you know, just going to school. Studying law, thinking that maybe I should have gone to med school instead.” The woman with him laughed a little too loudly at his joke.

“Tell me about it, if I have to spend one more night researching statutes and precedents…” and the laughter continued. Max had this really pained look on his face, and Maria was deciding that Michael definitely owed her at least two dances. If she had to, she’d drag Pam over to him and make him listen to her explain the ins and outs of property law until he capitulated.

“So, Max, are you attending school in San Francisco, or did you just come for the wedding?” Maria had to raise her voice a little to be heard over the screech that was Pam’s laugh. When she asked the question, the other woman finally quieted down, and Max gave her a grateful look.

“I’m attending Golden Gate University. You went straight to work after graduation right?” at Maria’s nod, he continued, “So, do your friends from college live near you?”

Wow, guess Max wasn’t quite over that crush yet. Maria wasn’t even about to pretend that he wasn’t specifically talking about Liz. During their undergrad years, he had been a little obsessed with her from the time that he bumped into her and knocked her books down in front of the student union.

“Liz is still at Yale. She’s supposed to be visiting in a few weeks. If you want, I could give her your number.” Max looked from Maria to Pam, and at the outraged expression on his date’s face, decided to decline the offer for now. He could always ask Michael to give Maria his number later.

“Nah, that’s okay. I mean, she probably doesn’t even remember me.” Before they could talk anymore about it, a gentleman from the hotel came in to tell them that they could proceed to the Sunset Court for the ceremony that would be beginning shortly. Maria was relieved. She had liked catching up with Max, but the train whistle that he was with was giving her a headache.

The ceremony had been beautiful. Michael’s sister was one of those women that could walk into a room, and make the most confident of women seem inadequate. She had been breathtaking in a white taffeta strapless mermaid gown with a pleated neckline and corset back. She had glided down the aisle toward her soon-to-be husband. Maria had caught the guy, Alex, pinching himself on the hand. It wasn’t often that the beauty queen fell for the geek.

Now she was standing in the Gold Ballroom, surrounded by people that she didn’t know, waiting to greet the newly married Alex and Isabel Whitman. At least she was seated at a table with Max. They weren’t best friends or anything, but she knew enough about him to make more than just small talk. Now if she could only find a way to get rid of his date’s voice, she’d be fine. The lights dimmed with the beginning announcements of the wedding party. She watched Michael walk in with a woman that was holding him a little too tightly.

“That’s Courtney.” Maria turned to the sound of Max’s voice.

“Yeah, I heard the MC say her name.” she nodded as she said it and had every intention of turning her focus back to the entering wedding party. Max had more information to impart however.

“They used to date. It was back in high school though. She’s really good friends with Isabel still. I think that they work together.” Maria had no idea why Max was telling her all of this. For all he knew, she and Michael were just friends. She found herself looking the other woman over against her will. She was wearing too much make-up, and she needed her roots done. God, what was wrong with her?

Before long, Alex and Isabel were walking in to a round of raucous applause. They looked so happy together that it made Maria’s breath catch in her throat. When they reached the middle of the dance floor, a soft spot light was put on them, and they began their first dance as man and wife.

you've got a smile
a crazy little smile
but everybody's got a smile
but if we get together and you smile when I hold you
then we've got love

I tell you that
we've got love
so much love baby
we've got love baby
now if we get together and you smile when I hold you
then we've got love

there's one more thing
you've got lips
such pretty little lips
but everybody's got lips
but if you kiss me back when I kiss your pretty lips baby
then we've got love

I keep on telling you
we've got love
so much love
we've got love baby now
if you kiss me back when I kiss your pretty lips baby
then we've got a love

you've got a heart
I know you've got a heart because
everybody's got a heart
if your hearts beats faster when you see me coming
then we've got love

we've got love
so much love baby
I know we've got love now
if your hearts beats faster when you see me coming
then we've got love
I wanna tell you
we've got love
so much love
great big bundle of love
if your hearts beats faster when you see me coming
then we've got love

There was another round of applause as the song ended. Michael walked over to the table that they were sitting at and gave Max a nod before giving Maria his full attention.

“You clean up nice.”

He gave her a smile as he sat down on her left side. He was wearing a white tux, with a pale green vest and tie. She’d bet money that they’d tried to get him to tame the spikes. Before he could comment on the compliment she’d given him, she decided to let him know that their agreement had changed. “And you now owe me two songs.” Before he could ask what had happened, the reason for the change in plans made its self known.

“Max, aren’t you going to ask me to dance? It looks like the traditional dances are over. Maria, don’t you think that Max should ask me to dance?” it took every ounce of control that Michael possessed not to pick up one of the forks at the table and puncture his own ear drum.

“Would you like to dance Pam?” it was said through clenched teeth and Maria had to turn toward the table behind them to hide her laughter. Pam happily accepted, and they left the table for the dance floor.

“How long have you been listening to her talk?” Michael looked apologetic.

“Well, Max saw me in the lounge, and since we went to college together, he decided to come over and say hello. Unfortunately, he forgot the tin woman’s oil can at home, and I’ve been listening to her squeak ever since. By the way, I see that your sister got all the good looks between the two of you.”

Michael assumed a mock angry tone.“You only think that because you haven’t seen me in my wedding dress with my make-up done.”

Maria started laughing, and would have made a completely inappropriate response when they were interrupted.

“Mickey, whose your lady friend?” looking to her right, Maria saw an older couple standing at their table. The man was huge, and looked exactly like an older, grayer, Michael. The woman on the other hand was barely five feet tall, with pale blond hair and blue eyes. She was a little on the plump side, with features that seemed to radiate warmth.

“Mom, Dad, this is my friend Maria.” He was still sitting, and Maria felt like she was rude for not standing up. Coming to her feet, she extended her hand in greeting.

“Mr. and Mrs. Guerin, it’s very nice to meet you. It was a beautiful ceremony.” She shot a look at Michael, and seeing it, he stood up. When she looked back at his parents she could see where Michael got his smirk from. His father was looking at her with amusement shining in his eyes.

“I see she already has you on a short leash Mickey. Good. Please, don’t call me Mr. Guerin, I’m Patty. This is my wife Eileen.” Maria smiled and was about to say something when his mother interrupted.

“How long have you been dating my son?” At that, Michael grabbed Maria’s hand and began pulling her to the dance floor. Turning to his parents he made an excuse.

“I promised Maria that I’d dance with her as soon as the traditional dances were over. I’ll see you later.” Michael all but dragged her to the middle of the floor.

“I thought you said that you couldn’t dance.”

“I can’t. I hope you have insurance.”

“What? Why?”

“Because before I take you home, we’ll probably need to stop at a hospital to have one of your feet put in a cast.” Maria pushed a little away from him, and bent to open the straps on her shoes. Sliding out of them, she immediately sank to be eyelevel with his chest. Holding her shoes in one hand by their straps, she stepped onto Michael’s feet.

“There, now my feet will be safe. Unless you plan on stepping on top of your own feet too?”

Michael bent down and kissed her before he could talk himself out of it. He pulled back when he felt the urge to deepen the kiss. He began to shuffle his feet back and forth and cleared his throat before speaking.

“So, you went to college with Max?” He needed to get them talking about something safe before he ended up checking them into the hotel.

“Yeah. Aren’t you older than him? How is it that the two of you are friends?”

“We grew up a few doors down from each other. His dad and my dad are friends. We played little league hockey together. Max sucked at it though.”

“Oh really? And were you Wayne Gretzky or something?”

“Better.” When she gave him a look of disbelief he laughed. “I was an excellent forward. My mom’ll vouch for me.”

Maria couldn’t help being charmed by him. “What mother wouldn’t say that to their kid?”

“You think I was being snowed by my own mother? I’ll have you know that my mother is a saint. She always tells the truth sometimes.” The expression on his face was so serious that it was funny. Maria couldn’t remember the last time that she’d had such a good time.

“Are you always like this with women?” if he was, then this man was dangerous.

“No.” Michael wasn’t usually this way with women at all. He’d never wanted to make a woman smile as much as he wanted to with Maria. When she smiled her entire face lit up and he had this fluttery feeling in his stomach.

“I must be special then.” She looked into his eyes when she said it. Michael stood there, in the middle of the floor with her, and felt himself falling into her eyes.

“You must be.”


Kyle was standing in Tess’s bedroom watching his niece sleep. She looked so innocent laying there. Recently, he’d found himself thinking about fatherhood. Whenever he’d pictured his children in his mind, there was always a little girl that looked exactly like Tess. He couldn’t pretend that the thought that he’d never have that little girl didn’t hurt. He knew that they could adopt kids if this thing turned out to be permanent. He knew that he could love an adopted child just as much as he would love a biological one. Tess would still be the mother of his children. He’d still coach little league, and check for monsters under beds. He just wasn’t sure how to make Tess understand that she was the only thing that couldn’t be altered in his view of what his future would be.

They had looked up dates for the retreat that she had wanted them to go to. It was a week long getaway at a mountain lodge in Colorado. They decided that they’d go at the end of May, because her last class was on the tenth. Her lease was up right after that, and she’d agreed to stay with him over the summer break. If everything worked out, she would make the move permanent. Kyle quietly left the room and rejoined his girlfriend on the couch.

“She still sleeping?” Tess was surprised. According to Maria, Bailey’s teething pain was monstrous at night. But it was after ten and the baby was still sleeping.

“Yeah. Either she gets some sick pleasure out of denying her mother rest, or she’s over the worst of the teething.” He reached out and pulled Tess closer against his side. “What are we watching?”

“Risky Business.” The lights were off in the living room. Tess was facing the screen. She knew that Kyle was trying to be supportive, and she wasn’t sure how she felt about that. There was a huge part of her that loved him for it. Loved him for saying that he loved her, and for registering for the retreat. But there was another part of her, a small part, which hated him. It felt like he was saying all the right things and doing all the right things out of pity. There was that little voice in the back of her mind that was telling her that he wasn’t going to stick around. It was telling her that he’d find someone else. That he was mentally kicking himself for spending all this time trying to build a relationship with a woman that couldn’t even give him a family. She saw how he was with Bailey. She knew that he wanted that for himself. She tried to relax against his side. She didn’t want to argue with him. The evening had been hard enough. God, why couldn’t things ever be simple?
Chinkyeyes
chinkyeyes45
Enthusiastic Roswellian
Posts: 16
Joined: Tue Jun 15, 2010 1:09 pm

Re: Complications( Adult, A/U, M&M, K&T, some M&L & A&I) 9/19/10

Post by chinkyeyes45 »

Hey out there in fanfic land. Sorry it took so long to update this. Thanks for all the great feedback!!!!!








Chapter ten:

Maria had had an amazing time at the wedding. Michael had the most colorful family that she’d ever met. He’d let her stand on his feet for four songs without complaining. She’d also danced with his father, Patty, when his mother had cut in. He was a nice guy, if a little flirty. He’d complained of the lack of a Mass at the wedding. When Maria had pointed out that she didn’t think that they would have been able to have the Mass in the garden of a hotel, he’d laughed and challenged her to try and convince his wife of that. He hadn’t pressed her about her relationship with his son, but he’d warned her to steer clear of his wife unless she was prepared to undergo an interrogation. Maria had been able to avoid the older woman until the end of the night. Michael’s mother had snuck up on her during the bouquet toss. Max’s date had caught the bouquet, and Max audibly sighed in relief when another man had caught the garter. She’d had a few chances to speak to him throughout the night and he’d given her his number to pass on to Liz. Maria had turned to head back to their table when she’d almost collided with the older woman. That conversation had been interesting.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“Hello again, Maria. I was beginning to think that I wouldn’t get a chance to speak to you at all.” She had a deceptively pleasant expression on her face. Maria felt her palms begin to sweat.

“Mrs. Guerin. Are you enjoying the festivities?” Maria tried to discreetly look for Michael.

“As much as one can enjoy watching their daughter begin a new life. She’s marrying a good man. Have you ever been married?” straight to the point. Michael really needed to pop up.

“No ma’am, I haven’t. Why do you ask?” Maria knew that she looked less than her age. Most people assumed that she was just out of high school. It was a pain in the ass at work.

“Well, Max Evans mentioned to me that you have a child. He said that he knew someone that worked with you. What is it that you do?” So, Max could tell this woman that she was a mother, but he couldn’t tell her what Maria did for a living? Funny that he hadn’t mentioned her daughter in any of the conversations that she’d had with him tonight.

“I work for an advertising agency.” Maria was trying hard not to become annoyed. She was upset with Max, not with Michael’s mother. He seemed to have a habit of giving people information that was unsolicited.

“Are you a secretary?” The woman said it in a voice that made it seem like she was asking Maria if she were a prostitute.

“No, but I have a secretary.” If Michael’s mother thought that she was trying to trap him into taking care of her and a child that wasn’t his, then she should definitely think again.

“Ah, a professional woman. Good. Are you catholic?” It was like the Spanish inquisition.

“Yes, Ma’am.” Maria finally spotted Michael speaking to Max. When he noticed that she was talking to his mother, he made his way toward them.

“Your last name, is it Italian?”

“Spanish.” Maria mentally sighed in relief when she saw Michael walk up to them.

“Mom, are you behaving?” he said it with a smile, but his tone was more than curious.

“I’m too old to be concerned about behaving. I expect you to be at dinner on Easter. Be sure to bring Maria, unless she has a prior engagement?” Maria could only shake her head. “Good, we’ll see you in a few weeks. Mikey, she’s a good girl.” She gave her son a wink and walked away.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“So, were you making a date with Max during the reception?” He said it lightly but she still felt the need to explain. She had grabbed him by the arm before they left the reception to ask him who he knew in her office, and why he was playing town crier. Maria wasn’t ashamed of her daughter, but she took exception to the way people just assumed things about her because she had a child.

“No. When we were in college he had a thing for one of my friends. She’s coming to visit in a few weeks, so he asked me to pass on his number and ask her to give him a call.” She unlocked the door and walked in with Michael following closely behind her.

“Then is it safe to assume that you don’t have any plans for next Saturday?” Maria had been giving it careful thought all evening. She liked Michael, but weekends were the only time for her to have any uninterrupted time with her daughter.

“Michael, I don’t think I’ll be able to go out with you on Saturday.” She couldn’t keep foisting her child off on her family members.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been shot down before I asked. That’s new. Can I ask why you can’t go out with me again?” He was confused; he knew that she’d enjoyed herself at the reception. He had been in never-before-seen form.

“It isn’t that I don’t want to go out with you. I really like you. It’s just that I work all week, and weekends are the only real time that I get to spend with my daughter. During the week, sometimes I have to work late, and when I don’t I still only get to feed her and give her a bath before she falls asleep.”

“I can respect that.” He gave her a small smile to let her know that he meant it. She was trying to be a good mother and a career woman, and even with supportive friends and family, that still had to be hard.

“Thank you.” Maria was surprised. She had expected him to try to persuade her to go out with him.

“What about the Saturday after next? We should at least go out a few more times before Easter.”

She gave a happy laugh and he felt his chest tighten. “Persistent.”

“It’s a virtue.”

“I thought that patience was a virtue.”

Michael gave her the smirk that she was coming to love. “Not one of mine.” He moved in a little closer to her where she was standing with her back against the low wall that separated the kitchen from the living room.

“Do you have many virtues?” she asked the question in a teasing voice.

“I’m pretty sure that you know at least one of my virtues.” He was staring at her mouth. He wasn’t sure when the conversation had turned, but it had, and now all he could think about was getting her naked and underneath him again.

“That would probably be better described as an attribute don’t you think?” Maria could feel her stomach begin to flutter when Michael started staring at her mouth.

“Semantics.” He was standing so close to her that he could feel the heat of her body through his shirt. He was still wearing the tux and he wondered how much he’d have to pay if he ripped the buttons trying to get out of the shirt. And then she kissed him again.

He loved the way she kissed. Her whole body moved into it and she was doing that thing with her nails on his scalp again. He managed to get out of the jacket somewhere on the way to her bedroom, but as he’d predicted, several of the buttons on his shirt were stubborn and finally had to be ripped off. He was pretty sure that he’d torn the zipper on her dress when he was trying to get it down, but Maria didn’t seem to mind. When he was naked, she pushed him onto her bed and he watched her slide her sheer panties down her legs and off. The strapless bra that she’d been wearing under her dress was lying on the floor where he’d tossed it after taking it off of her. She climbed onto the foot of the bed and began to make her way up his body. He grabbed her as soon as she was within his reach and pulled her into another kiss. Reaching behind her head, he freed her hair from the confines of the bun that it was pulled into.

She loved his hands. They were rough and strong. He had tangled one of them in her hair, while he used the other to press her back closer to him. Maria broke the kiss to make her way back down his body. Stopping at his erection, she placed a kiss on the tip of his penis before swirling her tongue around the head. Michael groaned in appreciation when he felt her take him into her mouth, and he had to clench his fists in the blankets of her bed when the feeling of her tongue massaging the underside of his dick almost became too much for him to take. The sensation of her mouth enveloping him felt so good that it was almost painful. He was both relieved and disappointed when he felt the pressure of her mouth on him begin to subside as she slid upward to free him from her mouth. Maria allowed her teeth to lightly graze the head of his over stimulated cock before releasing him, and she was pleased at his reaction.

“Holy Fuck!” Michael pulled her back up for another kiss and almost lost it when he faintly tasted himself in her mouth.

Maria reached down to grab him in her hand, sliding the tip of his straining flesh back and forth along her slit before sinking fully down onto him. Michael gripped her hips tightly as she began rocking on him. Sitting up, he pulled her nipple into his mouth, loving the feel of her against his tongue. The sounds of her moans were filling the room and Michael kissed his way to her other breast giving it equal attention. He felt himself getting closer to the edge, and not wanting to cum without her, he lowered his thumb to her clit and started massaging it. When he heard her breath begin to hitch, he pinched her clit between his thumb and forefinger, and bit down lightly on her nipple. Maria exploded around him, falling off of the edge of the world with lights flashing behind her eye lids. Distantly, she heard Michael shout before following her into the orgasmic abyss.

It was several hours later that they lied awake in her bed; her curled into Michael’s side, him stroking her back lightly.

“So tell me about you.” Michael was surprised by her voice breaking the silence in the room. He had thought that she was asleep. He was lying next to her pondering his reluctance to leave her bed.

“There isn’t much to tell. I’m twenty seven years old, I have a twin sister, I was raised in San Francisco by two first generation Irish American parents. I studied engineering and architecture at MIT, worked at a firm in Detroit until about three months ago, and then I got a job offer here and decided that I missed my family, so I moved back. On the relationship front, there haven’t really been any significant ones since I was in high school. Oh, and hockey is the best thing ever invented. The end. Your turn.” He kissed her on the forehead and waited for her to tell him about herself.

“Okay. I was born in Roswell, New Mexico. My parents got divorced when I was two and my mom got remarried to Kyle’s dad when I was five. I went to Michigan State where I studied advertising. I got a job offer with an agency right before I graduated, and after graduation, I took it and moved to San Francisco.” That explained why she and Kyle had different last names. He couldn’t help but notice that she’d left out a huge part of her life.

“Can I ask you a question without you getting pissed?” She had left it out, so that obviously meant that she didn’t want to talk about it, but some things just couldn’t be ignored.

“It depends on the question.” Maria had been hoping that he’d leave it alone. She really hadn’t wanted to discuss Brody being an adultering bastard or the details of their break-up with Michael.

“Where’s Bailey’s father?” Michael couldn’t imagine having a child with someone and not being near them.

“He lives in Michigan.” She was praying that he didn’t ask her to elaborate.

“So, the two of you are completely over?” He just wanted to be sure. It never paid to just assume things.

“We are utterly over.” That had been easier than she’d thought it would be.

“But he’s a part of Bailey’s life, right? He comes to see her and everything.”

“The only time he was ever here was when she was about a month old. Since then, he’s only seen her in pictures.” Maria didn’t like talking about Brody’s neglect of Bailey. It made her think too much of her own biological father. Jim Valenti had always been an amazing parent to her, but there was still a part of her that felt abandoned and unwanted.

“Oh. Sorry I asked. I shouldn’t have.” Michael felt like a jerk. He knew that it wasn’t his fault that Bailey’s father was a complete tool, but he felt like he should’ve just left the subject alone.

“Don’t apologize, Michael. You didn’t do anything wrong.” Brody was responsible for his own actions and inactions. Glancing at the clock on the side of the bed, she saw that it was nearly three in the morning. Michael followed her eyes to the clock.

“Damn. I didn’t realize it was that late. We should get some sleep. We still need to paint that room tomorrow.” He began covering them with the blanket that had somehow ended up on his side of the bed.

“We? You’re gonna help me paint?” Maria couldn’t keep the surprise out of her voice.

“Yeah, I figure we can make a date of it. Since you’re gonna be busy on Saturday.” He kissed her softly on the lips. “Now get some sleep.” Maria snuggled closer to his side with a smile on her face, and was soon asleep.

******************************************************************************************************

When Tess got to Maria’s house on Sunday to drop off Bailey, she was exhausted. She’d barely slept at all the night before. Her mind kept going over her relationship with Kyle. He had been a completely different person since they’d been back together. Before they’d broken up, he’d had this need to constantly be the big man on campus. He was always partying, and drinking. He would flirt with other girls in front of her, and always forgot important dates. She knew that Maria would usually send him a text or call him to remind him about their anniversary, or Valentine’s Day; even Tess’s birthday sometimes. He was honestly the world’s worst boyfriend.

It had taken her about nine months after Bailey was born to give him another chance. He’d been asking her out for a year, buying her gifts, hanging around the house whenever she came to see Maria, and just being the perfect guy before she caved. He still went out sometimes, but only if Tess went with him. He was more focused on his career, and the people closest to him. When he’d first moved in with Maria, Tess had thought that he would just be the same old Kyle. Inconsiderate jock boy that was reluctant to grow up. She was surprised when she started noticing the changes in him. When he’d broken one of their dates after they had gotten back together by saying that he was working late, Tess allowed her suspicious nature to get the best of her, and dropped by his office. It turned out that he really was working late. She’d had to cover by saying that she wanted to bring him something to eat, and was stopping in to see what he wanted. She was pretty sure that he didn’t buy her excuse, but he didn’t press the issue.

Taking out her key to Maria’s apartment, she opened the door and walked in. she heard laughter coming from the hall, and made her way toward the noise with the baby in her arms. Hearing a very masculine chuckle, Tess decided that it would be best to make her presence known.

“Maria?” she made sure to call her friend’s name loudly. “I’m here to drop off Bailey.” A moment later the door to Maria’s bedroom opened to reveal a damp and shirtless Michael, and Maria in a robe. Okay…

“Hey, Tess. Just give me a second to throw something on? We finished painting Bailey’s room and I had paint all over my clothes.” Maria gave Michael an accusing glare when he laughed. Tess noticed that he was wearing paint spattered jeans, and was pulling an undershirt over his head.

“Okay, I’ll just take Bailey into the living room.” Maria nodded at her friend, but saw that Tess was making no move to leave.

“I should get going. I need to change my clothes again and drop that tux back off.” Michael leaned down to Maria and gave her a quick kiss. “I’ll call you later?” At her nod, Michael headed out of the room, and waved at Tess on his way to the front door. After hearing the front door close, Tess immediately started in on Maria.

“So, he helped you paint Bailey’s room?” Maria groaned at her friend before answering.

“Yes. It cut the time in half and the room looks really good. Do you wanna see? The furniture still isn’t in there yet, as you can see by the fact that her crib is still blocking my closet, but I still need to shampoo the carpet first.” Maria was hoping that Tess would allow the change in subject as she pulled a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt out of her drawer.

“So, he came over this morning to help you paint, or he spent the night?” the bed was made, so Tess couldn’t use that to tell which scenario had taken place.

“Technically, yes.” Michael had gone home to change before they painted the room. So Maria wasn’t lying.

“Technically, huh? So I take it that things went well at the wedding?” Maria had finished getting dressed, and took Bailey from Tess and headed into the living room. Giving Bailey a kiss on the head, Maria placed her in the rainforest jumperoo that was in the living room.

“I ran into Max Evans at the wedding. He has a huge mouth. Apparently his family is friends with Michael’s and he gave me his number to pass on to Liz. By the way, have you spoken to her? She’s supposed to be coming out here in like two weeks, but the last time I talked to her she was acting really spacey.” Maria had spoken to the other woman about a week before, and she’d seemed distracted on the phone.

“I called her, but we only talked for a few minutes because I had a class to get to. She mentioned that she might be transferring to Berkeley.” Tess had been shocked when Liz mentioned transferring. She’d been talking about Yale since they’d met.

“That’s weird. Maybe we’ll get a chance to find out what’s going on with her when she comes to visit. She’s gonna stay with you, right?” Maria looked at Tess waiting for her to agree. She became aware of her friend looking everywhere but at her. “Tess? Liz is staying at your apartment isn’t she?”

“I was hoping that she could stay here.” Before Maria could refuse, Tess rushed ahead. “You have a sleeper sofa that she could use. And, she could probably baby sit Bailey for you so that you could have some extra time with the male centerfold. Look, Maria. It isn’t that I don’t want Liz around, but I’m dealing with some things right now, and I think that Kyle and I need to have as much alone time as possible.” She figured that she may as well let Maria know what was going on. She’d wanted to tell her the minute that she’d found out, but a part of her was embarrassed. She knew that it was stupid of her to feel that way, but she wasn’t exactly able to control it.

“Wanna talk about it?” Maria saw the saddened expression on her friend’s face and became concerned.

“Not really.” Taking a deep breath, Tess continued. “When I went to the doctor last week they said that I was showing signs of menopause. They called it premature ovarian failure. It doesn’t look like I’ll be able to have kids.” Tess stared at the floor for a few seconds before looking at Maria.

“Are they sure?” Maria was stunned. For the first time in her life she didn’t know what to say. She knew Tess. If she tried to be comforting, Tess would see it as pity.

“Yeah. They said that it may not be permanent, but they couldn’t tell for certain.” For the first time in the history of their relationship, Tess felt inadequate in her friend’s presence. Maria was already a mother. And though the circumstances weren’t ideal, she had a beautiful daughter that was all hers.

“Tess, I’m not going to pretend to know what you’re going through. I don’t. But, I know you. You are strong, and determined, and you’ll get through this. Maybe this will reverse itself one day, but even if it doesn’t, this doesn’t change who you are, or how I see you. You are my best friend. I won’t let you not be okay.” Maria gave Tess a small smile. She wanted to hug her, but she waited for Tess’s reaction to her words before moving.

“You know, when you told us that you were pregnant…I was so thankful that I wasn’t in your shoes. Now…I’m envious of you. I know that everything hasn’t been perfect for you or anything, with Brody being a scumbag and everything, but I can’t help it. I just…I wonder what would have happened if I had taken Kyle back sooner. Maybe I would’ve gotten pregnant before my ovaries decided to stop doing their job.” Her voice had taken on an edge that was decidedly bitter on that last sentence.

“Tess, when I found out that I was pregnant, I didn’t wanna be in my shoes. I love my daughter. I wouldn’t trade her for anything in this world, but if I could have waited a few more years before becoming a mother, I would’ve. You didn’t take Kyle back, because you weren’t ready. If you had taken him back before moving out here, he would’ve never gone through everything that he needed to go through to change and be a better person. And, if you’d have taken him back when he’d first started asking you out again, you still wouldn’t have been ready to have children.” Maria reached out and took Tess’s hand giving it a gentle squeeze. “Nothing that I say is going to make you feel better. But you will eventually feel better. On the bright side, we know where your insane mood swings were coming from.” Tess actually laughed at that.

“I’ll tell you one thing, PMS doesn’t even come close to comparing to menopause.” The two shared a laugh before lapsing into silence for a few minutes. Tess sat on the couch, staring at Bailey. The little girl was trying to rip off one of the toys on the bouncer that her mother had placed her inside of. She had such a determined look on her little face that Tess couldn’t help but smile.

“I’m afraid that Kyle’s gonna leave me.” Maria looked startled at the admission. “I know that he isn’t the same guy that he used to be, but he isn’t totally different. He’s more thoughtful now, but what if he tries to stay with me out of some misplaced loyalty, and then realizes that he can’t handle it. I’m gonna have to take medication, and then there are the mood swings. There are other things too; things that are gonna affect our sex life. I’m at a higher risk for certain types of cancer. I feel like I should just break-up with him now, and save us both all of the hurt feelings later. I know that he wants kids one day. I see the way he looks at Bailey, and I can’t give him that.” That dark cloud was just refusing to let up.

“Tess, Kyle loves you. He isn’t gonna bail because of this.” If this had happened two years ago, Maria wouldn’t have been so sure. But, Kyle had changed a lot. After she and Tess had moved to San Francisco, he’d been partying and drinking to the point that he’d almost lost his job. And then, something weird happened. He had discovered Buddhism. He had begun meditating, and chanting, and he would even quote Buddhist teachings to her over the phone. It was strange to see him cursing at the television during a football game one minute, and talking about inner peace and tranquility the next.

“I wanna believe that he’ll be there, but we’ve got a history. You know what the say about history.” Tess sounded doubtful.

“Maybe you should get a second opinion.” When Tess remained silent Maria decided to try a different angle. “Tess…okay…say that this is a permanent condition. What makes you think that Kyle won’t be open to adopting children with you?”

“It’s not the same, Maria.”

“Yes it is! For a lot of people it is exactly the same. I happen to know for a fact that my mother loves Kyle as if she gave birth to the big idiot. And my dad, even though he didn’t have anything to do with me being here, just sees me as his little girl.” Maria knew that Jim Valenti would do anything for her. He had become her father before he’d ever married her mother, and she was a huge daddy’s girl.

“Maria, I know that your parents love you guys, but it still isn’t the same. Jim already had Kyle; your mom already had you. It was easier for them to accept children that weren’t biologically theirs because they had already had their own children. I may never have my own child.”

“So, are you really worried because you think that Kyle can’t accept a child that isn’t biologically his, or because you think that you can’t?” By the look on Tess’s face, Maria knew that that was the real issue. “Tess, maybe right now, you aren’t okay with the idea of adoption. That doesn’t mean that you’ll feel the same way six years from now. This is a huge thing that you’re dealing with right now. Learn to adjust to this, and then, you can consider your options with having children. This whole thing could reverse itself in three years.”

“Yeah, or it could take thirty.” That thought made Tess shudder.

“Can you imagine being fifty and feeling like you’re going through puberty again?”

“Oh God! That would totally suck. Who wants to start getting pimples again when they qualify for a senior discount?” They both started to laugh again. It felt good. “I love you Maria.”

“I love you too Tess.” Not to be left out, Bailey started making loud gurgling noises from her spot in the living room.
Chinkyeyes
chinkyeyes45
Enthusiastic Roswellian
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Re: Complications( Adult, A/U, M&M, K&T, some M&L & A&I) 11/4/10

Post by chinkyeyes45 »

Hello All! I'm sorry this took update took so long to post. I'm dealing with some personal things right now, and updating got put on the back burner.







Chapter eleven:

Michael was standing in the tux shop waiting for them to tell him how much he’d have to pay for the damaged shirt. When the man at the counter had taken the garment bag from him and seen the shirt that was torn and missing half of its buttons, the look that he’d given Michael was priceless. He really liked Maria. She wasn’t like any of the women that he knew. She was smart, funny, passionate, and gave as good as she got in every situation. He was different when he was around her. He liked being able to make her laugh. He liked pissing her off too, cause when she was pissed, she got this look in her eyes that made her even hotter. If that was possible. He liked the fact that she wasn’t asking him to be anyone, or do anything. That part was weird though. Last night, when she’d said that she couldn’t go out with him on Saturday because she wanted to spend the time with her daughter, he’d been disappointed. He understood that she was a mother before anything else. That was another thing about her that made him want to know her more. She seemed determined to keep him separate from other parts of her life, and that was the one thing that he didn’t like.

“Sir,” the clerk’s voice brought him out of his reverie, “that’ll be fifty dollars.” There was no way in hell that that shirt was worth fifty bucks, but whatever. Reaching into his wallet, Michael pulled out his credit card; when he went to hand it to the clerk something fell from the wallet onto the floor. Bending to pick it up, Michael saw that it was a condom.

“Oh Shit!” Michael hissed. It occurred to him that he’d had sex several times recently with a very fertile woman. Okay, this wasn’t a problem. He knew that he didn’t have anything, and he was fairly certain that she didn’t either. Now he just had to ask her if she was on birth control. He really had to start thinking clearly when he was around her.

“Sir?” Michael looked up at the clerk handing him back his card. He thanked the man and left the shop. He could just call Maria and ask her about it, but he didn’t want to have an awkward conversation with her over the phone. He wasn’t really looking forward to having one with her in person either. He hoped that she was on birth control, because he really wanted to have sex with her again, and the thought of having anything between them was appalling. He decided to call her. Pulling out his phone he tried to dial her number; he saw the dark screen staring at him. The damned thing was dead. Face to face it was then. Michael decided to finish up the rest of his errands before heading over to Maria’s apartment.

Two hours later, Michael stood outside of Maria’s apartment, trying to force himself to ring the doorbell. This was stupid. They were adults. They could have a conversation about condoms or the lack there of. The problem was that whenever he was around her with clothes on, he couldn’t control the things that came out of his mouth. Last night at the wedding, he’d managed to talk to her and joke with her, but there were other people around. It was easier to have a conversation with her about nothing when he was surrounded by his family and friends. But in her apartment, where they’d had sex on various surfaces? He wasn’t sure that he could keep himself focused. Taking a deep breath, he cracked his neck, and rang the bell.

When Maria heard the doorbell, she was putting Bailey to bed. She figured that it was Kyle, since Tess was still sitting in the living room. No one else really came by. She didn’t stop what she was doing because she knew that Tess would get the door, and she wanted her and Kyle to talk. Lying Bailey in the crib, Maria turned on the sea dreams lullaby soother that was attached to the railing. She looked up when her bedroom door opened, expecting to see her brother. Tess was standing there.

“You have company. Michael’s here.”

“Oh. Okay, I’ll be right there.” Tess turned and left the room, and Maria switched on the baby monitor at her bedside. Picking up the handheld, she made her way into the living room. She saw Tess and Michael standing awkwardly in front of the couch.

“Hey.” Michael looked up at the sound of her voice.

“Uh…hey.” Oh God it was already starting. Tess looking at the two of them, decided to leave.

“I should go. I’ve got some things that I need to study for and…yeah. Maria? I’ll call you.” Tess didn’t wait for a response. She wasn’t even sure if Maria heard her. All of her attention was on the man in the room. Tess grabbed her purse, and headed out of the door.

“So, what are you doing here? I mean, not that I’m not glad that you’re here. I just wasn’t expecting you. Would you like to sit down?”

Michael looked at the couch as if he’d just realized that it was in the room. Taking a seat, he waited for her to do the same. When she chose to sit next to him on the couch, he mentally rehearsed what he wanted to say before he began.

“Sorry to just drop by. I mean, your friend said that you were putting the baby to bed. I didn’t mean to interrupt…with that. Um…so, something came to my attention earlier, and I thought that we should probably talk about it.” She looked like he was making her nervous. He didn’t want that.

“Michael, what’s going on?” she asked hesitantly.

“Okay, I don’t wanna be offensive, or sound like a dick. But, we’ve been having a lot of sex lately.” She blushed a little, but didn’t avert her eyes. “Unprotected sex.” He let the last sentence hang for a minute, and watched as her eyes became the size of saucers.

“Oh my God!” she was gonna have a panic attack.

“Does that mean that you aren’t on any type of birth control?” considering his reaction when he realized they’re negligence in the contraceptive arena, he probably should have been freaking out. He had never been calmer in his life.

“What? Of course I’m on birth control. That doesn’t solve every issue that comes with unsafe sex. Oh god.” She had stood up from the couch and was pacing back and forth. Michael stood up and gently placed his hands on her shoulders to stop her movements.

“Maria? You need to relax.” The look that she gave him would have terrified him if he didn’t think that she was so cute right then. “Take a breath. I’m clean, okay. No STD’s or viruses of any kind. If you want, I’ll let you take me to the nearest clinic and I’ll take every test known to man.” With any other woman, he’d be offended. It surprised him that he wasn’t offended in this situation.

“Okay. Okay, alright, fine.” Maria began taking deep breaths. “Are you hungry?”

“What?” he wasn’t exactly expecting her to offer him food.

“Are you hungry? I have some left over lasagna in the refrigerator that I was gonna heat up for myself. I haven’t eaten yet. Tess and I were talking, and then I fed Bailey and gave her a bath before putting her to bed, so I didn’t get a chance to have dinner. You wanna eat with me?” Maria had no idea what she was doing. She was way more involved with Michael already than she wanted to be. But, she really liked spending time with him.

“Yeah, sure. I could eat.” She was confusing him, but he liked it.

“Okay, why don’t you make yourself comfortable while I heat up the food. Would you like something to drink?” She was pretty sure that Kyle had left some beers in her fridge.

“Soda?” he didn’t know if he should ask for anything with alcohol in it. Maria nodded at him and went to the kitchen. She pulled an Amstel out of the refrigerator and opened it. She had seen him drinking beer at the reception, so she knew that he’d only asked for soda to keep from making her uncomfortable. She heard the television being turned on in the living room, and made her way over with his drink. Michael looked up when she handed him the beer.

“Thanks.” He gave her that heart stopping smirk, and she lost herself for a moment. That was until the newscaster’s voice interrupted her thoughts.

“…..businessman and philanthropist Brody Davis being honored on Tuesday by the University of California at San Francisco for his many financial contributions to their cancer research center.” There was a picture of Brody on the screen with his wife and daughter. Maria wanted to vomit.

“Hey, you okay? You look like you aren’t feeling well.” Maria looked at Michael for a minute and debated how she should explain her reaction. Finally, she decided on the truth.

“You see that guy on the television?” They had cut to video of Brody at a press conference discussing his interest in cancer research. Michael looked at the screen and nodded. “He’s Bailey’s father. We were dating for two years when I found out that he had a wife and a daughter with leukemia. I found out I was pregnant a few weeks after we broke up.” She waited for the flood of questions that she knew was coming. Michael picked up the remote, and turned off the television.

“You want any help heating up that lasagna?” Maria was too stunned to answer, so she just nodded. Michael stood from the couch, and taking her hand, he led them into the kitchen.
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Kyle was sitting in his office on Friday staring at his desk. He hadn’t spoken to his girlfriend at any length since Sunday morning. He had called her everyday since then, and she always made an excuse as to why she couldn’t talk to him. He had spoken to Maria, and she’d told him that Tess had asked her to let Liz stay at the apartment with her and the baby, because she thought that she and Kyle needed time alone. Then why was she avoiding him? On Wednesday he’d asked her if she wanted to go out to dinner on Saturday night, and she’d told him that she would be studying for tests. When he’d asked her if she wanted him to come over and make her something to eat, she’d said that she thought he’d be a distraction.

Kyle knew that Tess was upset with the news she’d gotten from her doctor. He’d recommended that she should get a second opinion, but she just shrugged it off. She thought that he was gonna leave her. It hurt when he realized that. When he realized that she didn’t have enough faith in him to trust that he’d never leave her for something like that. Kyle knew that he hadn’t been the most trustworthy guy before they’d broken up, but he wasn’t the same person, and this wasn’t the same relationship. Tess had changed too. Gone were the days when she wouldn’t say no to him about anything. She used to let him have his way all the time, now…she wouldn’t give an inch where some things were concerned. They had both grown up a lot over the past two years. Despite all of the changes to both of their personalities, Kyle still knew her. She was gonna push him away. She would say that it was because of the possibility that she’d never have children, but he knew that it wasn’t the real reason. She thought that he was gonna leave her, or that the reality of the situation would get to him and he would cheat on her again. Better to be the dumper than the dumpee. He just needed to figure out how to keep her from breaking up with him. Fuck!

Kyle looked up when he heard someone clear their throat. Michael was standing in the entrance to his office. He looked like he’d been standing there for a while waiting for Kyle to notice him. Whatever. Kyle wasn’t sure he even wanted to talk to Michael. He knew that the other man had been spending a lot of time at Maria’s apartment over the past week, and he really wasn’t very happy about it. Maria seemed to like him a lot, and Kyle was afraid that his sister would end up getting hurt in the long run.

“What can I do for you, Guerin?” Michael came forward into the office, allowing the door to close behind him.

“I wanted to ask you a question.” Since he had started spending more time with Maria, Kyle had been a little annoyed with him. He really needed to get over it.

“No, you aren’t good enough for my sister.” Kyle gave him a smug smile, and Michael felt his irritation level rising.

“I’d get upset about that remark, but I already knew that. Besides, you are hardly in a position to judge anyone else’s worth as a boyfriend. You know, how is it that you have an issue with my past female encounters, when your own are less than stellar.” That statement had definitely touched a sore spot.

“Don’t talk about things that you don’t know.” Kyle hated to admit that Michael was right. The fact that the bastard that was sleeping with his sister was the one to point out his past mistakes was hard to take.

“You should take your own advice. Maria said that you’re a Buddhist. Shouldn’t you be less confrontational?” the sarcasm in Michael’s voice was clear.

“I’m a work in progress. What did you wanna ask me?” Kyle was ready to get this little discussion over with.

“Do you think that Bailey’s old enough to enjoy the zoo?” That question caught Kyle off guard. He was expecting Michael to ask him something work related.

“Why are you asking?” If Michael was involving himself with Bailey then maybe he really was serious about Maria. He knew that his sister had been keeping them separated because she didn’t want to put any pressure on Michael, and she didn’t want Bailey attached to some guy that she had just started seeing.

“Maria said that she likes to spend Saturdays with Bailey. I figured that it’s been warm out, and tomorrow’s supposed to be a nice day, so we could take Bailey to the zoo. You know, let her pet some animals at the family farm, and look at some penguins. It’s either that or the aquarium, and I’d rather save the aquarium for a rainy day.” Michael had been thinking about this since Monday. He’d stopped by Maria’s apartment before she’d had a chance to put the little girl down for the night, and he’d had a chance to spend some time with her. She was the busiest child he’d ever seen, and everything made her smile. He’d enjoyed himself.

“So, are you just spending time with Bailey so that you’ll look better to Maria?” if that was the case, then Kyle would have to find a way to put a stop to this little plan.

“No. Look, I know that you don’t wanna believe this, but I care about Maria. I’m not just sleeping with your sister. We actually do have conversations and stuff. Her daughter is really important to her, and I like the kid. I don’t want Maria to feel like she has to choose between spending time with me and being a good mother to her daughter.” Kyle stared at Michael for a minute.

“Make sure you pack a lunch. They overcharge for the food at the zoo. Bailey’s really into those gerber puff things that look like cheese doodles. Maria’ll probably want a salad. Bring bottled water too.” It took Michael less than a second to realize what was happening.

“Thanks, Kyle.” He turned to leave when he heard the other man’s reply.

“No problem, Michael. Don’t fuck this up.” Michael returned to his office with a smile on his face.
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Maria was sitting in her office Friday afternoon reviewing the history of the company that she was working on an ad campaign for when she heard her phone buzz.

“Ms. Deluca, you have a call from a Mr. Davis on line two.” Dammit! Maria knew that this was going to happen. She had let herself believe that since the week had gone by without him calling, that Brody would just slither back to Michigan without bothering her. She was all for him being a part of Bailey’s life, but he wanted more.

“Thank you, Leo.” Taking a deep breath, she picked up the call. “Hello, Brody.”

“Maria, you sound wonderful. I must admit I miss your voice.” She had once found his accent charming. Not so much anymore.

“Sorry I can’t say the same, Brody. What can I do for you?” he really needed to get to the point.

“Always spirited. I’m in town as you may have heard, and I wanted to invite you to dinner tonight.” She wasn’t even surprised that he didn’t immediately ask about his daughter.

“I’ve stopped eating dinner, actually. How’s your family? You know, your wife and other daughter?” if what he needed to see her about didn’t involve Bailey, then she saw no reason for them to meet.

“They’re well, thank you for asking. Sydney has been doing very well. She celebrated a birthday in February, she’s ten now. How is Bailey?” unbelievable. You’d think he was asking about his business associate’s kid.

“She’s fine. She celebrated her first birthday about a week before Sydney celebrated her tenth birthday. Did you want to visit her while you’re in town?” as selfish as it was, a part of her hoped he said no. It wasn’t as if Bailey even knew him. His name wasn’t even on her birth certificate, because he wasn’t there to sign the paternity affidavit when she was born.

“You see, I’m going to be very busy while I’m here. I’m leaving out late Sunday night. Literally as soon as the banquet that I’m in town for ends. I have a million meetings with share holders and investors in the area that are kind enough to have a conference with me on a Saturday. I’ve been doing press conferences and taking Sydney around to the different sites since I got here, so I’m afraid that I won’t be able to see her this time.” Typical, that was so typical. Even though she hadn’t wanted him to say yes, she was hoping that he would. It hurt that he didn’t seem to want to be a part of Bailey’s life.

“Then I won’t take up anymore of your time. After all, you are such a busy man. Enjoy your banquet Brody.” Maria hung the phone up less forcefully than she would have liked.

Not even thirty seconds later, her assistant’s voice was ringing through the office.

“Ms. Deluca, Mr. Davis is on line two. He says that he was disconnected.” She heard the skepticism in Leo’s voice and nearly smiled. Her assistant knew who Brody was, and so he knew that any disconnect hadn’t been accidental.

“Thank you, Leo. Put him through.” The last time this had happened, she’d told Leo to tell Brody that she was in meetings for the rest of the day, and he’d started calling her cell phone. Seeing the light flash on her office phone, she picked up.

“This is Maria Deluca.”

Brody voice came through the line sounding annoyed. “Did you hang up on me, Maria?”

“Absolutely. Why did you call back?” Maria really thought that sometimes Brody was delusional.

“There are things that we need to discuss.” She could hear background noise, cars and conversations. He must be on the balcony at his hotel. Wouldn’t want the family to know who he was speaking to.

“I really don’t think that there’s anything. At least, not anything that needs to be said over dinner. Look Brody, I’m at work and my time is limited. What do you want?” Maria began pulling up files on her computer while speaking to him.

“I can see that you aren’t willing to be flexible this time. I know that I hurt you, but I do miss you. Shelby and I are discussing a divorce.” He had to be joking.

“Brody, good luck with that. I really don’t see how it concerns me. The only thing that we have in common at this point is Bailey.” Maria could care less about Brody’s sham of a marriage. At one point, she had been hurt by it, but now…

“Maria, please. I realize that I haven’t been the best father for Bailey.” That was an understatement. “But, between Sydney, and my business, I haven’t had the time for anything extra.” Maria saw red.

“Extra? Extra! Did you just refer to my child as something extra in your life? Brody, extra is a type of gum. Children are not extra. God, I can’t believe that I ever had feelings for you, you are the most worthless…” Maria saw her assistant looking at her through the glass wall and realized that she was yelling. Taking a deep breath, she continued in a lower tone. “Brody, whatever we had is over. If you need to speak to me, do not call my work. Anything in your life that doesn’t concern my daughter doesn’t require my attention. Now, good-bye.” Maria replaced the receiver and tried to calm down.

Turning back to the files on her computer, she continued her work. Work was easy. You got out of it what you put into it. It rarely disappointed her.
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Liz Parker sat in the administrative office of Yale University’s Sciences Department filling out her transfer paperwork. She had been accepted to Berkeley University as a transfer student. She hadn’t told Tess and Maria yet, because she knew that they would ask questions. She should have told them, it would have been easier to lie over the phone. Handing the paperwork over to her counselor, she thanked the woman for her time and left the office. Liz still couldn’t believe that she was leaving the school. So much had happened since she had started the graduate program. At one point it time, Yale was all that Liz had wanted. Now, she couldn’t wait to leave.

Arriving at her apartment, she saw the man standing outside of the door and fought the urge to flee. She could face him. She was a strong person. She was smart, and independent, and she had already put the wheels in motion. Nothing that he could say would change that fact. Squaring her shoulders she walked to her door with her keys already in her hand. He turned when he heard her approach and gave her what she was sure he considered to be a charming smile. Liz didn’t feel charmed, she felt trapped.

“Excuse me. You’re blocking my door.” She heard the tremble in her own voice and wondered where her strength had gone.

“Liz, we need to talk.” He placed his hand on her shoulder and she flinched at the touch. She didn’t want him touching her. Not after what had happened a few weeks ago. She had avoided him as best she could. It wasn’t easy. They had classes and labs together.

“I think that there isn’t much that we need to say to each other.” She diverted her eyes to the floor. Her hands were trembling. She could pretend that it was from fear, but she knew that that wasn’t the case. She wasn’t afraid of him. She was disgusted by him.

“Don’t be this way. I brought you a present.” She watched as he pulled the bottle out of his pocket and shook it. She could hear the pills rattling around inside of it and had to clench her fists to keep from grabbing the bottle. Turning to the door, she shoved her key in the lock. She tried to hurry inside before he could follow but he pushed past her and went into the living room.

“I don’t want you here Doug.” Liz stayed near the door. She couldn’t believe that she had thought that they were good for each other. He laughed at her obvious discomfort in his presence.

“Of course you do. Liz, there are a lot of girls that would love to be in your position.” It was true. He was 6’1” with clear blue eyes and blond hair. He was athletic, and funny. He was surprisingly intelligent and came from old money. He was a girl’s dream. Except that Liz new that the dream was more of a nightmare for the unlucky female that got involved with him. She hadn’t dated all though her undergrad years, and when she finally did, she was in a relationship that was gonna destroy her in the long run.

“Find one of those girls then. I’m done. I filled out my transfer.” He didn’t look surprised.

“Yeah, I know. Casey told me. That’s why I’m here. Liz, this is stupid.” Casey was Liz’s roommate. Liz couldn’t really be angry at her for telling Doug what was going on, she didn’t know what their relationship had become.

“It’s not stupid. I’m sick. I need help, and so do you.” She knew that what she was saying was the truth.

“No you’re not. Neither am I. Taking a few pills to stay awake every once in a while doesn’t make you an addict. Taking a little pill at a party doesn’t make you sick.” She had been telling herself that for the past eight months. This year had been a lot harder. She’d had more coursework, and papers to write. Her thesis wasn’t nearly complete. She’d landed a difficult internship, and she was having trouble staying ahead. The pills really were only supposed to help her stay up for a little while. They were just to give her more energy. She had told herself that she would stop taking them after fall semester. But, then there were other classes that required more of her time, and she’d started to fall behind. She ignored the fact that she was more irritable when she wasn’t taking the pills. She didn’t sleep as well. She felt like she was dragging herself through the day. Her appetite was voracious. There were so many things that she tried to ignore. Then the party had happened, and she knew that she had to get away.

“I am sick! I can’t stay here.” She really didn’t have a choice anymore. She had told her parents of her decision to transfer. Her parents hadn’t been pleased. She couldn’t come out and tell them what was really going on. They would have been so disappointed. She told them that she just couldn’t cut it. The excuse hurt because she suspected that it was the truth.

“So you’re just gonna run away? Because of what happened at a party? Grow up, Liz! Nothing happened that you didn’t want to happen. Moving away doesn’t change who you are!” he looked like she was letting him down. She wanted to slap him.

“You need to leave. I’m going, that’s all there is to it. You don’t wanna admit your problems? That’s your business. Not mine. Get out of my apartment.” She opened the door and held it for him.

“Whatever. Why don’t you just keep these as a going away present?” He sat the bottle on the table and walked past her out of the apartment. Liz released the breath that she had been holding and closed the door. She would be fine once she was around her friends again. At least that’s what she was hoping.
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Tess stood in her apartment trying to pick up the phone. She was working up the courage to call her doctor. They said that because she was still menstruating, however irregularly, that she still had a chance of conceiving a child naturally. The problem was that no matter how badly she wanted to be a mother now that she new how limited her time was; she also knew that she wasn’t ready for motherhood. She was certain that Kyle wasn’t any more ready than she was to welcome a child into the world. Tess wanted to have someone hand her the answers to her problems. She was trying to make a decision about getting a second opinion. Kyle had her reading all this literature related to Buddhism. He said that it would help her understand the things that were important in life, like they had helped him. One of the sayings that had stood out to her was, “Believe nothing simply because you have been told it.” she was holding on to that quote for dear life.

Picking up the phone, Tess dialed her gynecologist’s number. She took deep even breaths as the phone began to ring. When she heard the receptionist’s voice on the other end of the line, she hung up.

“Damn it!” Tess ran her fingers through her hair and tried to calm herself. Her hands started to tremble, and she pressed them together in an effort to make them stop. Times like this, she wished that she had a mother to talk to. Tess’s mother wasn’t the most stable sounding board. She suffered from severe depression throughout Tess’s entire life. Add in that she had a husband that wasn’t exactly discreet about being unfaithful, and the result became more time spent in and out of mental institutions than time spent going to her daughter’s dance recitals. Tess had always relied on Amy Valenti to fill the mother role in her life. Amy had actually told Tess to break up with Kyle when she first went away to college. She told Tess that Kyle took her for granted, and that she needed to learn to stand on her own and discover herself before she lost herself in him. When she had walked into that bathroom and seen him cheating on her, that advice reverberated in her mind. She needed to talk to Amy. Amy would tell her what to do.

Tess picked the phone up again. This time her hand was steady when she dialed the number. Sitting on the sofa, she waited for Amy to answer the phone. It rang four times before someone picked up.

“Hello.” The deep timber of Jim Valenti’s voice floated through the telephone, and Tess couldn’t help but picture his son.

“Hi Mr. Valenti. Is Amy home?” that was a strange thing. To every one of Kyle and Maria’s friends, their father was either Mr. Valenti or Sheriff. But, their mother was always Amy. Just Amy, no special title of prefix.

“Tess? Is that you? You sound different. Are you okay?” She could hear the concern in his voice and tried to reassure him.

“I’m fine. Really. I…can I speak to Amy, if she’s at home?” Tess knew that she didn’t sound fine. She sounded as if she were about to burst into tears.

“Tess, I’m sorry but Amy isn’t in. She’s out of town at her sister’s. She’ll be gone until Sunday. Do you know her cell number?” Tess felt her heart sink at that information.

“No, no that’s alright. I’ll give her a call when she gets back.” Silent tears had begun coursing down her cheeks. She didn’t know what to do.
“Okay. Well I’ll be sure to tell her you called.” He sounded unsure as to whether he should press her for information or not. Tess hurried off of the line before he could give in to his instincts and ask questions.

“Thank you Mr. Valenti. Goodbye.” After hanging up the phone, she sat there trying to make the decision about getting a second opinion. She knew that she should. Doctors could get things wrong sometimes. But, what if she got her hopes up and nothing changed. What if it was exactly what her doctor said it was? That would be worse. It would be like having all her hope taken away. But what if it wasn’t? Wiping her eyes, Tess picked up the telephone to call her doctor. This time, when the receptionist answered, she didn’t hand up.

“Good Afternoon, Dr. Morrow’s office.”

“Good Afternoon, I was in your office last week and I received a diagnosis that I would like to get a second opinion for. Would it be possible for the doctor to recommend someone?” Tess was gripping the table just to stay upright.

“Hold please.” The line was silent and Tess was afraid that she had been disconnected. She prayed that she hadn’t been, because she didn’t think she could do this again. After about five minutes of very low background music, the line was once again picked up.

“This is Dr. Morrow.” The man had such a calming voice.

“Hello Dr. Morrow, this is Tess Harding. I was hoping that you could refer me to someone about getting a second opinion on your diagnosis of my premature ovarian failure? It isn’t that I don’t trust you, I just need it for peace of mind, you know?” She had to bite her tongue to stop herself from babbling. God, she sounded like Maria.

“Don’t worry, Ms. Harding. It’s perfectly fine, and often recommended that you receive a second opinion on these things. I can refer you to a specialist, there’s a very highly recommended doctor that works with cases of POF in the area. I can give you her number, and she can conduct a more thorough exam for you. I will say that it may take a while for you to get an appointment. Highly recommended also means busy. Her name is Dr. Lanya Okur. I’ll transfer you back to the nurse at the desk, and she’ll give you all of the information that you’ll need. I don’t want you to worry if you have to wait a while for an appointment Tess. You are showing early symptoms, and still ovulating. This doctor that I’m referring you to is the best in San Francisco. She is worth the wait. Okay?”

“Okay. Thank you Dr. Morrow. This has been a tough week.” She could wait for the specialist’s diagnosis before making a decision about her relationship with Kyle.

“I’m sure it has. But don’t worry. If Dr. Okur agrees with my diagnosis, that is still just a bump in the road for you. You’ll be alright. Hold for my nurse.”

“Thanks again.” She heard an mm hmm, and then a click. Five minutes later, she was writing down the information that the nurse at the doctor’s office was giving her. When she called Dr. Okur’s office for an appointment, she was told that the earliest appointment that they could give her was for June third. That was a month and a half away. She took the appointment, and noted it in her planner. She would have to call her doctor to ask them to release her medical records to Dr. Okur a week before her appointment. Tess decided to ask Maria to go with her to the appointment. Making those phone calls had been hard. Not as hard as she’d thought they’d be, well the second one wasn’t. Tess sat on the couch staring at the picture of her and Kyle that was sitting on her end table. That was a decision that she still needed to make.
Chinkyeyes
chinkyeyes45
Enthusiastic Roswellian
Posts: 16
Joined: Tue Jun 15, 2010 1:09 pm

Re: Complications( Adult, A/U, M&M, K&T, some M&L & A&I)12/30/10

Post by chinkyeyes45 »

Thanks everyone so much for reading and for leaving such great feedback!

Alien_Friend:Brody is an Ass! He really only sees Bailey as an unfortunate result.
Michael is a good guy and he really wants to be in Maria's life. He's trying to make her realize that she doesn't have to choose between him and her daughter.
Liz really has had a tough time without her friends. No one would have ever expected her to change the way that she has. Doug was definitely a problem.


Killjoy:Glad that you're liking the K/T in this fic! Sorry that its usually the guy that's the cheater in these, but like you said, Tess did take him back. Tess's line of thinking will be an obstacle, but Kyle is anticipating it.

keepsmiling:Really good move for Liz, but will it be enough?




Chapter twelve:

Maria stood in her kitchen on Saturday, cleaning strawberry jam off of Bailey’s face. Tess had called her the night before and asked if she’d come with her to an appointment with a specialist that she had scheduled for June 3rd. Tess seemed to be handling things better now than she had been when Maria had spoken to her on Sunday. She had been quieter than usual, but that tinge of bitterness was missing from her voice. Maria really hoped that Tess was actually doing better, and not just pretending. A knock at the door caught her attention, and leaving Bailey in her high chair she went to answer it.

“Michael? What are you doing here?” She wasn’t expecting to see him. She was clear about the weekends being her time with Bailey.

“I know that you said you wanted to spend time with you daughter today, and I completely understand. I just wanted to make a suggestion.” Maria moved out of the entranceway and allowed him to enter. He followed her to the kitchen and watched as she took the baby out of the chair. While she had been gone, the child had managed to stick a piece of jam covered toast to her hair. She looked at Michael and gave him a smile that showed her newly acquired front teeth.

“Hey curly girl. You got some teeth now huh?” he laughed when the little girl started banging on the table.

Maria reached over to pick the toast out of her daughter’s hair. “Ugh. Bailey, the food goes in your mouth.” Looking at Michael, she could see that he found the whole situation funny. “What’s your suggestion?”

Michael looked at her with his eyebrows raised, “What?”

“You said that you wanted to make a suggestion. What is it?” he seemed to snap out of whatever daze he was in.

“Oh, right. I wanted to suggest that you and Bailey spend the day at the zoo with me.” He held his breath and waited.
“I don’t know, Michael. I mean, are you sure you wanna spend your Saturday at the zoo with us?” She felt like they should get to know each other better before they started to do things like that together.

“I like the zoo. I’m very in touch with my inner child. And, I even packed a whole back pack full of food. This is the first time that I’ve needed a back pack since college. I’m very committed to this zoo idea.” She was wavering. He could see it.

“What kind of food did you get?”

“Well, we’ve got some gerber veggie puffs, graduates lasagna, which looks suspiciously like noodles with tomato sauce, but whatever, and apple juice for Bailey. For you, I got bottled water and gummy bears. I figure that I’ll get you an overpriced salad from one of the strategically placed cafés at the zoo, since you probably won’t want to eat a warm one. If not, then I’ll happily share one of my pb&j sandwiches with you.” He gave her a smile and wiggled his eyebrows at her. Maria couldn’t help but to laugh.

“Peanut butter and jelly, huh? Very gourmet.”

“I try. It was either that, or lunchables. The ones with the chicken nuggets in them. It was a very tough decision.” He said it in such a serious tone that Maria found her self beginning to laugh again. Michael was a breath of fresh air.

“Okay, we’ll go to the zoo with you, but only if you’ll buy me a cotton candy.” Maria tried to keep the smile off of her face and failed.

“Too much sugar. You’d drive me insane in under an hour. How about we compromise with an italian ice?” He stuck out his hand for them to shake on it.

Maria took Michael’s hand, and shaking it, felt the need to inform him, “I’ve already had three cups of coffee today.” Michael just pulled a face. “Let me get Bailey cleaned up and pack her diaper bag, and we can go.” Reaching over, she took the baby out of the chair and started to leave the room.

Michael hoped that this zoo trip went well. Bailey was the first baby that he’d ever actually been around. He’d never dated a person that had a kid, and none of his friends were parents yet. A few of his cousins had families, but they had started when Michael was away at college, and by the time he met those children, they were already out of the baby phase. Michael said a quick prayer under his breath and waited for Maria to come out with Bailey so that they could leave.
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Tess pulled herself away from her laptop when the sound of someone trying to break down her front door garnered her attention. She had turned off her cell phone, and unplugged her home phone. She had been reading up on premature menopause and illnesses mistaken for it ever since she’d gotten off of the phone with Maria the night before. Instead of making her feel better, it was making everything worse. She was actually hoping that her doctor’s initial diagnosis was right. The sound coming from the door became more insistent, and she finally got up to answer it. She was only mildly surprised to see Kyle standing there. She figured that if he came over, he’d let himself in. The fact that he had knocked, or pounded, on the door gave her pause.

“Kyle? What are you doing here?” Tess looked a mess. She hadn’t showered since Thursday, and she was wearing a pair of Kyle’s sweatpants and an old t-shirt. She thought that her hair probably looked like there were birds nesting in it. And, she didn’t care.

Kyle looked at her for all of three seconds before he asked her the question that was on his mind. “Are you breaking up with me?”

Tess was speechless. That she didn’t immediately respond was glaringly apparent.

“Right. So what, you were gonna move in with me, go to the couples’ retreat, and then dump me? Why get my hopes up by making me think that we were gonna be okay, if you were just gonna be biding your time?” he had tried. He really had. He’d wanted to give her space, and be understanding, but he knew without a doubt that she was gonna run from everything that they had together. He knew that it was his fault that she had doubts about them, but that didn’t make it any easier to watch her throw their relationship away.

Tess noticed one of her neighbors looking out into the hall. “Kyle, why don’t you come inside?” At first she didn’t think he would, but after what seemed to be a very intense internal debate, he walked past her into the living room. She closed the door and tried to think of something to say.

“Tess, what do you want? What do you really want? Cause I know what you’re gonna do to us. I know that you’re gonna pretend to be working out whatever our issues are, and then you’re gonna make some excuse about why we can’t be together anymore. I know that you’re gonna tell yourself that it’s what’s best for me. You’ll say that I should be with a woman that’ll be able to give me a family. But that’s all bullshit, and you know it. So, what do you want?” Kyle was looking at her so intently that she couldn’t hold his gaze.

Tess wasn’t prepared for this. She knew that Kyle was right. She was gonna leave him in the end. She hadn’t expected him to call her on it though. Tess couldn’t remember Kyle ever being so perceptive. She didn’t always give him credit for maturing. She figured that he would be oblivious to what was really going on, and that when she ended things with him, he wouldn’t see past the reasons that she gave him. She had made her decision about breaking up with him early this morning during what felt like her fiftieth hour of research.

“Kyle, can you even understand what I’m going through?” she looked everywhere but at him when she asked the question.
His answer surprised her. “No. and, I’m not gonna pretend to. That doesn’t mean that I don’t understand you. Tess I love you. Can you understand that?” he couldn’t lose her again. Kyle didn’t know if he could handle losing Tess again. The first time had been his fault. He’d taken her for granted, and she had deserved so much better than him. She still did. But he knew that there wasn’t a person on the planet that could love and appreciate her as much as he did.

“I know that you love me. I do. But, what happens in a few years, when you’re ready to be a father, and I can’t give you what you want? I don’t know if I’ll want to adopt a baby. What then? Right now, I can have kids. I’ll probably be able to for three more years, but I don’t know if I’m ready for that right now. There are so many things that I wanted to do before I became a mother. Is it selfish of me not to want to give up on everything that I’ve been working for in school? Cause I see what Maria goes through. I know that she wanted to go to grad school. She was supposed to take night classes, but she can’t because of Bailey. She’ll probably never get her MBA. I don’t want that to be me.” Tess felt like a horrible person. She didn’t want to sacrifice her possible children for a career, but she didn’t want to sacrifice the career that she’d wanted since she was fourteen either.

“But you don’t mind letting me go? It’s okay for me to be dropped from whatever the future picture is gonna be?” That hurt. When he heard what she was saying, Kyle felt like there was a vice squeezing his heart.

Tess’s eyes grew wide at his questions. She realized how what she’d just told him had sounded. “Oh God no! Kyle, I don’t want to lose you, but I don’t know if it’s fair for me to ask you to stay with me.”

“Who’s saying that you’d have to ask? I’m not sacrificing anything by being with you.”

“Yes you are! Why can’t you see that?” Tess was trying not to cry. She was so sick of crying.

“What I see is that you’re so insecure that you can’t trust that I want to be with you. You can’t believe that I’m gonna stick around.” That comment hit a bull’s eye and Tess became angry.

“Are you fucking serious?! If I’m insecure Kyle, it’s because you made me this way! God, I can’t believe you. Suddenly, Buddha has give you some enlightenment and you just know everything?” she felt like throwing a lamp at his head.

“I am willing to admit that I was an asshole. You deserved a lot better than me, and the best thing that you ever did for us was breaking up with me. I know that. But do not pin all of you insecurities on me. Damn it, Tess. Since we got back together I’ve felt like I’m swimming against the tide. It’s been six months; all I’m asking for is a little faith. Just a little. I promise that you won’t regret it.” Tess wanted to believe him. She just didn’t know how to.

“That’s a lot to ask from me right now. I’m really short on faith at the moment. I know that I love you. I know that I don’t want to lose you. But I don’t know if you’re strong enough to stick with me through this.” There it was. The plain and simple truth. Kyle had been weak in the past, and Tess was afraid that he’d show that same weakness in the future.

“Okay. Look, Tess, I know that I haven’t really given you too much reason to have faith in me. We’re talking four years of bad versus six months of good. But we’ve both grown up. You took a huge chance by going out with me again, and I have no intention on doing anything to make you regret that decision.” He saw her start to retreat into herself and he knew that he was losing this fight. “Tess, Buddha says that there is no sorrow like separation, no sickness like hunger of heart. When we were apart, it felt like I was grieving and dying all at once. It never stopped. I learned how to live with it. But until I was able to be around you again, it didn’t start to fade. I know that I won’t fail you. I know it! I wish you knew it too.” He looked at her for a few more moments before turning to leave.

Tess was uncertain as to what to do. This felt wrong. Watching him walk away felt wrong. She knew that if she let him walk away now, she wouldn’t ever be with him again. Her pride wouldn’t let her beg forgiveness from him, and he had put the ball in her court. She made a decision that she prayed she wouldn’t regret.

“Kyle.” He turned toward her with his hand on the knob. “Do you wanna go out for something to eat? Maybe see a movie?” she saw him visibly relax, and for the first time in days, she really thought that things would be okay.

Kyle gave her that heart stopping smile of his. “Sure, but you should probably brush your hair first.” Tess stuck out her tongue at him and went to take a shower.

When Tess disappeared down the hall, Kyle sat on the couch and buried his head in hands. He had to fight the tears of relief that threatened to fall. That had been too close. The scary thing was that he knew this wasn’t over. They’d go through this again. Maybe not right away, but eventually. While Tess got ready to go out, Kyle sat in her living room praying for strength to fight this battle again.
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It was after seven when they got back from the zoo. Maria had been surprised that Bailey didn’t fall asleep at all until the car ride home. When they’d left the zoo, Michael had insisted on going to Bill’s Place for burgers. Bailey had been introduced to the french fry, and Maria had eaten the best hamburger that she’d ever had. Michael was practically singing the told-you-so song by the time they’d left the diner. Michael was holding a sleeping Bailey and her diaper bag while Maria tried to unlock the front door without dropping all of the gift shop purchases. Michael had gone a little nuts on zoo merchandise. Finally getting the door opened, Maria practically fell inside. Dropping the bags near an end table, she took Bailey from Michael, and went to put her to bed.

When Maria got back to the living room, Michael was sitting on the couch looking through the zoo purchases. “You have no self control.”

Michael looked up from the bag he was digging through when he heard her voice. “I happen to be a veritable font of self control.” Maria just raised an eyebrow at him and pointed to the sippy cup in his hand. It was hot pink and green, with giraffes and trees decorating it, and it read ‘Bailey’ in bright yellow print.

“I will have you know that this is a work of fine craftsmanship. And Bailey picked it out.” He tried to hold an innocent expression.

“After you put it in her hand. You are worse than Kyle.” Michael had spent nearly two hundred dollars in that gift shop on stuffed animals, bath toys, t-shirts, and zoo dining ware. It was ridiculous.

“Now that was just mean. You’ve gotta admit that this stuff is cool. You picked out a shirt and a gorilla too!” like that women’s small was for Bailey.

“After being in that shop for an hour things started looking good.” Maria had almost bought a set of accent tiles with elephants on them.

“I’m sorry. Next time I’ll restrain myself.” Maria gave him a look of disbelief and Michael rethought his claim. “Okay, I’ll give you my wallet before we go into the gift shop.” She laughed at him.

“Look, Michael, you don’t have to buy her stuff. We already like you.” Maria didn’t want him to feel like he had to do things for Bailey and give her stuff for her to want him around.

“I know that. Really, but I couldn’t help myself. Besides, I think that Bailey’s affection for me was pretty much secured with the french fries.”

Maria was trying not to smile. “It’s amazing how greasy food can do that, isn’t it?” She sat next to him on the couch and took the sippy cup that he’d been holding from his hand.

“Admit it, the greasy food got you too.”

“Michael, I was a goner by the time we left the petting zoo. There’s just something about a man that’s willing to bottle feed a baby cow.” Maria gave him a smirk. He was so cute today.

Michael nodded at her. “I have a way with children of any species.”

Sitting the cup on the table, Maria climbed onto Michael’s lap, straddling him. His hands rested on her waist, and she rested her forehead against his.

“What else do you have a way with?” Touching her cheek, he brought his mouth to hers’. God he loved her mouth. He hadn’t really thought that they’d end up on her couch making out at the end of this day. It was a definite bonus. He tightened his grip on her waist, bringing her into closer contact with his lower body. It was amazing how things between the two of them could go from zero to three hundred in less than six seconds. He felt her hand slip under his shirt and her fingers begin to trail lightly across his stomach. He began to shift them so that she was lying on her back with him above her, when her phone began to ring. He started to move off of her, but she tightened her grip on him. The answering machine picked up on the fourth ring, and a very male voice with an accent drifted through the apartment.

“Maria, pick up. Listen, I know you’re in, please pick up the phone. I wanted to talk to you about Bailey. You were right about my treatment of her, and I wanted to discuss a few things with you.” Michael lifted himself off of Maria and watched as she picked up the phone. The ex calling was a definite mood killer.

“Brody, I’m busy right now.” Michael listened to her end of the conversation, and he felt himself getting upset. “No, I don’t think that’s a good idea…Because Bailey is already in bed…So then stay an extra day and you can see her on Monday…probably…Then I’ll see you tomorrow. No, we’ll meet you for lunch at one o’clock. That’ll be fine. Goodnight.” She hung up the phone and for once they were engulfed in an awkward silence.

She was gonna meet with Bailey’s father tomorrow. Michael knew that he shouldn’t feel jealous, but he did. This guy was her ex. They shared a kid, and no matter what had happened between them, that wasn’t going to change. He stood up from his position on the couch.

“I should go.” Maria watched helplessly as Michael looked everywhere but at her.

“You really don’t have to leave.”

“Yeah, I do.” Maria didn’t know what to say. Brody ruined everything.

“Michael, I had a really good time today. I really like being with you. I don’t want you to think that there’s anything going on with me and Bailey’s father.” She knew that he probably wouldn’t believe her, and she wasn’t sure how to convince him.

“I did too. I just need to think about a few things. Okay?” she just nodded at him. At least he was looking at her now. “I’ll call you.” She followed him to the door.

“Sure you will.” Maria didn’t believe for a second that he’d be calling her anytime soon.

“I will. Tomorrow night. I promise, okay?” there was too much going on in Michael’s head at the moment, and he needed to sort it all out.

“Okay.” Maria gave Michael a small smile. Reaching up, she kissed him lightly on the lips before watching him walk out the door. “Damn it Brody!” she hissed.
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By the time Maria arrived with Bailey to Perry’s downtown restaurant for her meeting with Brody, she was beyond pissed. Brody had taken absolutely no interest in his daughter for over a year, and suddenly, just when she meets someone that wants to be involved with her and her daughter, Brody decides to come out of the woodwork. When she got to his table, he was engrossed in whatever was on the screen of his laptop, and she had to clear her throat loudly to even garner a look in her direction. He startled when he saw her standing there, and quickly rose to his feet. He gave a slight look of distress at Bailey before regaining his composure and holding out a seat for Maria.

“I see you decided to bring the baby?” he didn’t even try to hide his displeasure.

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t you say that you wanted to see her when you called me?” Maria barely controlled her temper. She knew that this was a bad idea. Turning to the waiter, she ordered a greek salad and a pelegrino. Brody waited for the man to leave the table before speaking.

“You’re right. I’m sorry.” He continued when he saw Maria relax slightly. “She’s gotten big since I last saw her.” Bailey was giving him a curious look.

“A lot can change in a year.” Maria knew that she should try to be civil, but it was very difficult. She tried to inject politeness into her voice with her next question. “How’s your daughter?” she really didn’t bear the child any ill will.

“She’s fighting a losing battle I’m afraid. She seems to have come to terms with it all. We’ll be returning to Michigan tonight. Sydney will have a day of rest at home before she begins treatments on Tuesday.” There was a tremble in his voice when he spoke of his daughter.

“I’m sorry to hear that. I was hoping that things were going well for her.” Maria couldn’t imagine what she would do if that were Bailey.

“Are you really? I know that you certainly don’t wish me any well being or good will.” He was feeling her out and she knew it.

Maria kept her voice even. “Yes, well Sydney isn’t you. She’s a child. Children can’t control the parents that they’re born to.” Maria really didn’t want to discuss Sydney’s illness. When she’d had Bailey tested as a possible donor for Sydney, she really had hoped that her daughter would be a match. Sydney didn’t deserve to suffer despite Brody’s sins.

“That is true. Speaking of which, I was hoping that we could come to an agreement regarding Bailey.” He was speaking of the child in her arms as if she were a company that he had an interest in.

“What sort of agreement?”

“I feel that it is unfair for her to be denied a father. I still cannot devote all of my spare time to the two of you, but I am willing to compromise. I can purchase a home here for you, and when I can, I could come here to spend time with the two of you.” He seemed to think that there was nothing wrong with what he was suggesting.

“And we would be what? Your secret family? They make lifetime movies about things like that Brody. I told you before that I’m not interested in having a romantic relationship with you.” This guy just became more of a douche bag the more time passed.

“I told you that I’m getting a divorce. Shelby and I think that Sydney is old enough to understand. And besides, our relationship is strained; the discomfort in the home is taking a toll on Sydney’s health.” Did he really think that Maria had been sitting in this town just waiting for him to come back to her?

“And I told you that that isn’t any of my concern. I have a life here that has nothing to do with you. The door to Bailey is open to you Brody, but the door to me is not.” He really needed to get that through his head.

“Why? I made a mistake two years ago. I realize that, but I was thinking about what was best for my daughter at the time. Why can’t you understand that? I still love you. There isn’t a day that I don’t think about you. Can you really say that your feelings for me have disappeared? ” He did look sincere, and a part of her wished that things could have been different.

“Brody, decisions have repercussions. You decided to be there for one child, and to check out on the other. How often do you think of Bailey? Do you think of her everyday when you’re thinking of me? Or do you only think of her when you mail that check every month?” Maria stood up to leave. This had been a huge mistake. Brody stood up when he saw that she was about to leave.

“Maria…I was just trying to be good father to Sydney.” He looked helplessly at her.

“You are. You are an amazing father to Sydney, but you are a horrible father to Bailey. I hope that Sydney’s treatments go well. If you decide to make trips here to be able to see Bailey, I will be happy to agree to visitation for you. I agree that she shouldn’t be denied her father. Contact me when you’ve made a decision.” Maria turned to leave at the same time that the waiter returned to the table with her food. Looking at her daughter in her arms, she felt her heart warm at the sight of the smile on the child’s face.
*****************************************************************************************************************

Liz Parker woke up and felt a sense of wrongness settle over her. Looking around, she didn’t recognize her surroundings. A shifting to her left made her aware of the fact that she wasn’t alone. Sliding silently from the bed, she was conscious of a slight soreness between her legs as she tried to locate her clothing. Spotting her pants she hurried into them. Her shirt was thrown over a floor lamp, and she just barely managed to get it down without knocking the lamp over. There were two purses on the table, and she quickly grabbed the one belonging to her. Picking her shoes up from their position near the door, she left the room as fast as she could. It was ten in the morning. When she left the building that she’d woken in, she tried to locate her car on the street. Fuck! It wasn’t there. She must have left it at the club. Hailing a taxi, she got in and gave the driver the address of the place that she hoped her car was. Leaning her head back into her seat, the events of the night before came rushing back to her.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Liz looked around the club searching for Casey. The other girl had convinced her to come out after saying that they’d probably never see each other again after Liz left for Berkeley. She tried to squeeze through a group of people when she bumped into an all too familiar person. Doug was standing in front of her with his hand up some girl’s shirt. When she bumped into him he’d smiled at her, and snaked his free hand around her waist.

“Are you looking for me, Alice?” he’d began calling her that after she started taking the pills. He thought it was clever.

“No. Get off of me. I need to find Casey.” Liz tried to move away, but he released the other girl so that he could tighten his hold on her.

“Casey’s a big girl. Stop pretending that you aren’t happy to see me. I have something for you.” He was speaking in her ear and Liz felt a shiver run down her spine. She knew she should have stayed in. She had managed to resist taking any of the pills that he’d given her yesterday. She had wanted to flush them down the toilet, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it.

Bringing her hands between them, Liz tried to push him away from her. “Doug, I told you to stay away from me, and I meant it.”

He just smiled at her. Grabbing the other girl by the hand, he kept Liz pressed to his front and moved toward a dark corner.

Liz felt herself beginning to panic. It was one thing to avoid Doug on campus, or to stand up to him in her apartment in broad day light. It was something else all together to say no to him in this environment. When she felt her back being pressed into a wall, Liz thought that her heart would explode through her chest. She should yell for help, or knee him in the groin, or do something, anything to keep what was about to happen from happening. She was frozen instead.

Doug put his hand in his pocket, and brought out a small baggie. The little white pills practically sang her name. It wasn’t what she usually took. No, this was something else, something scarier. The silhouette of the naked woman that was etched into the surface of the pills was barely visible, yet still enchanting. Liz wanted to cry. She heard his voice in her ear again.

“You remember these from our last outing, don’t you honey? You were amazing that night. The things that you did, admit it, you loved every second.” Doug saw the panicked look in her eyes and hurried to calm her. “Don’t worry. No other guys this time. Scout’s honor. Just you, me, and my new friend here.” Liz looked toward the other woman pressed into Doug’s side and wanted to refuse. She wanted to tell him to go away. She wasn’t into women. But, she did remember the last time. She remembered feeling free, and happy. Every touch had felt like heaven. She had loved everything that she was doing, and everything that was being done to her in return. Until she had woken up the next morning not knowing where she was and only recognizing her boyfriend among the four naked men in the room. The fact that she was the only female was hard to miss.

Liz had immediately woken Doug and made him take her home. She’d sent him an e-mail telling him that she didn’t want to see him again that night. Liz had applied to Berkeley as a transfer student at the beginning of the semester when she’d first suspected that the pills were becoming a problem for her, and she had been relieved when she’d received an acceptance two days after the incident.

He brought one of the pills up to her mouth, and she felt her lips begin to part almost against her will. Once the pill was on her tongue, she felt herself swallow. Her skin began to crawl when she saw Doug pulling the other woman into a kiss. Soon after, she started feeling those carefree sensations and couldn’t remember why she had been fighting against it. They left the club together
.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Liz paid the driver when they pulled up to the club. She spotted her car on the mostly deserted street and fumbled through her purse for her keys. Liz finally climbed into the driver’s side of her car and rested her head on the steering wheel. Her stomach began to churn when a picture of herself from the night before forced itself into her mind.

Liz saw herself kneeling on a strange bed, her face buried between the legs of a woman that she didn’t know, while Doug pounded into her from behind. Opening the door, she barely got her head clear of the interior before she began to vomit. She prayed for the strength to last the next two weeks until she could leave this place.

Liz heard her cell phone ringing from its place in her purse. She knew who was calling her without even looking at the evil device. Doug was awake. He’d probably gotten annoyed when he’d found her gone. Pulling the car onto the street, she slowly made her way home. Liz hoped that Doug wouldn’t be waiting for her there. She knew that she would have a better chance of avoiding him if she drove faster, but her head was pounding, and her vision was a little shaky. She felt wretched.

Casey was sitting in the living room when she walked through the door. Liz’s room mate was 5’7”, with red hair and freckles. She had these really clear green eyes, and would have been drop dead gorgeous if it weren’t for the extra hundred pounds that she carried around. Casey was a stress eater and she’d been battling with her weight since she was thirteen. Currently, she was on the couch with a gallon of rocky road ice cream. This was a clear sign to Liz that something was very wrong with her friend, but in her current state, she couldn’t manage to care. She barely managed a token ‘hey’ before rushing to the shower.

Liz stood under the scalding water and tried to get clean. She barely felt human. She could hear her phone ringing from the spot near the toilet where she’d dropped her purse. Liz ignored the trembling in her hands and stayed under the pounding water until it went from scalding to freezing. Climbing out of the shower, she wrapped a towel around her thin body and sat on the closed toilet trying to compose her self. She could hear the sound of bells chiming that indicated a picture message was being left on her phone. It was impossible to explain the morbid curiosity that led her to check the message.

The twenty second video of her naked and kissing the woman that she’d met with Doug the night before had her hitting the delete button. There were three other videos waiting to be seen. Liz deleted them without looking at their contents. The trembling in her hands grew worse, and she rushed to her room. Digging through her bottom drawer, she found the bottle that she had been looking for and quickly swallowed one of the pills before she could talk herself out of it.

Slowly, she felt the trembling subside. Lying on her bed, she tried to imagine how she’d gotten to this point. She could still hear her phone mocking her from the bathroom. He hadn’t done this last time. There was no video evidence of her first night of rolling. If there had been, she was certain that he’d have sent her a copy. She hated him. She’d hated him for months. His touch made her skin crawl, and yet, something about him touched that sick part of her. There was a part of her that knew that he could provide what was needed to get her through her days, and she was willing to do anything to get it. No one ever imagined that the quiet little science geek would end up on meth. Liz laughed out loud at the thought. If they could see her now…

She needed her friends. Her real friends. Everything would be alright when she got away from Doug. Everything would be different when she started a new school. It was simple, she just needed a change in environment. Liz knew that she was smart enough to beat this sickness. All those studies that she’d read had said that addiction was a disease. Once a disease was identified, it could be treated. Liz wasn’t convinced that she needed to be in some drug treatment facility, she didn’t think that she was that far gone yet. She just needed a change.
Chinkyeyes
chinkyeyes45
Enthusiastic Roswellian
Posts: 16
Joined: Tue Jun 15, 2010 1:09 pm

Re: Complications( Adult, A/U, M&M, K&T, some M&L & A&I)1/16

Post by chinkyeyes45 »

Hello, I'm sorry it took me so long to post this, but RL got very busy.

Alien_Friend: Liz knows that she has a problem, but she isn't ready to admit that she needs help.
Maria is in a difficult position. She can't stand Brody, but she feels that her daughter has a right to know her father. Poor Sydney is right.
Tess has a hard road, but she has very good friends that will be there for her.
Michael knows how important Bailey is to Maria and he wants her to know that he understands that.

nibbles2: Brody will get worse.
Liz will get worse before she gets better.

(I was nominated for an award?)

keepsmiling7: Liz is on the right track, but it'll still take her some time to get better.



Chapter thirteen:

Michael was standing in his parents’ basement playing pool with his father. He had come over to the house as soon as he’d gotten out of bed that morning because he needed to speak to his father. Yesterday had been great. The zoo had been a lot of fun, and then the diner afterward had been a pleasant experience. He’d always seen people in restaurants with children that were screaming and throwing food. Bailey had been quiet and more focused on getting as many french fries in her mouth as possible than she was on throwing anything. And then, the phone call had happened. Something in his head told him that he should walk away now, before things started getting too intense. The problem was that things were intense from the moment he first laid eyes on Maria, and he knew it.

“Michael, are you going to play the game, or just stare at the table? There’s more to this than just holding the cue, you know?” His father’s voice startled him out of his thoughts.

“Pop, I need to talk to you about something.” His father gave a slight nod and laid his cue down on the table. Michael followed him to the bar set-up, and took a seat on a stool while the old man went around the bar to lean against the wall on the other side.

“Tell the barkeep what’s bothering your mind.” This had been a standard practice since the first time Michael had started dating. They would come down to the basement, play pool, and then his father would serve him a coke on the rocks while Michael talked about his current issue. Michael had missed this since he’d moved away and was happy to have it back.

Michael sat on the stool trying to organize his thoughts before speaking. “It’s Maria.”

Patty gave him a knowing look. “Ah, yes. The one from the wedding. Your mother’s been going on about her all week.”

Michael felt trepidation creeping in. “What do you mean, going on about her?” This couldn’t be good.

“It seems that the young Mr. Evans informed your mother that the woman you are currently dating is a never-before-wed mother. She’s been lighting candles at the church ever since.” His father seemed to find this funny. Michael was failing to see the humor.

“Wait…what? Why is she lighting prayer candles? She called Maria a ‘good girl’. Hell, she invited her to dinner on Easter.” That’s it, his mother was whacked.

“Well, she liked her during the reception. But, then she asked Max about the baby’s father when the two of you left, and Max mentioned a gentleman by the name of Brody Davis. I blame the internet for this. Ever since that woman learned to use a computer she’s been nothing but trouble. Alex taught her, you know. Anyway, so she googled him, and found out that he’s married and has a sick kid. Eileen’s after thinking that you’ve become involved with a heathen home wrecker.” His father poured some scotch into a glass and slid it to him. Michael quickly downed the shot and seriously considered grabbing the bottle.

Michael started banging his head on the bar and groaning. His mother. On a computer. Googling Bailey’s father. If there was ever a person that should be kept away from any devices used to find information, it was his mother. He was gonna break Max’s neck.

“So, now mom doesn’t approve of Maria? That’s just great. That’s just what I need right now. Does she realize that I’m a grown man?” the fact that Maria was meeting with the married father of her child right at that moment wasn’t making Michael feel any better.

“Your mother loves you. She wants what’s best. Besides, it doesn’t really matter whether we approve or not. Your sister proved that. Marrying a protestant that knows nothing about sports. Thank God he’s employed gainfully or your mother would’ve had a heart attack.” His father opened a bottle of guiness and took a drink.

“Pop…Alex is a good guy.” They’d had this conversation before. Not that it mattered.

“I’m sure that that’ll be a comfort to him while he’s roasting in hell.” Michael almost laughed. This was a man that hadn’t seen the inside of a church in years. He didn’t even believe in God. Michael pointed that out to him.

“Pop, you don’t even believe in God.”

His father looked at him as if he were insane. “That doesn’t mean I stopped being a good catholic.”

Michael couldn’t even begin to argue with that twisted logic. He slid his glass back toward his father for another shot.

“Anyway son, what is the problem that you seem to be having with your lady friend?”

Michael sat sliding the glass back and forth between his hands on the surface of the bar, watching the scotch slosh around the inside.

“Her daughter’s father called yesterday while I was at her place, and she agreed to meet with him today.” He kept his eyes trained on the glass.

“I would imagine that she’d have to have some dealings with the man. They share a child.” Patty was speaking in a calm reasonable tone now, but Michael still felt himself becoming angry.

“They don’t though. They don’t share anything. He hasn’t seen Bailey since she was a month old. What kind of father is that?” Michael quickly tossed back the shot.

“Then, if they don’t have any type of relationship, why are you upset that she’s meeting him? Did she tell you that she still has feelings for the man?”

Michael took a deep breath. “No. She said that they were finished. But, they have a kid together. What happens if he moves out here? How do I know that they’re gonna stay finished?” Michael finally looked up at his father and met his eyes.

Patty shook his head at his son. Young people were so set on wasting time. As if it would last forever. “You don’t know. You can never base your decisions on what another person feels, only on what you feel. When I asked your mother to marry me, it was because I knew how much I loved her, and I hoped that she loved me just as much. When your sister agreed to marry Alex, it was because she knew how much she loved him, what your mother and I felt wasn’t important. And who knows, maybe they’ll be able to have conjugal visits between hell and purgatory.” Patty tipped his beer toward Michael before taking a drink.

Michael sat back on the stool and studied his father. He thought about his feelings for Maria. They were new, but they were strong. He knew that he wasn’t in love with her yet, but he also knew that he could fall in love with her easily. She was amazing. He actually smiled when he was with her. And that was rare.

“Thanks, Pop.” Michael stood to leave. He’d promised Maria that he’d call her, and he’d rather do it from his own home.

“No problem, Mikey. Oh, and be careful. I think your mother will be meddling very soon. But, you be sure to bring Maria and the baby for Easter. That girl is really easy on the eyes.” His father gave him a smirk, and Michael waved at him before he laughingly made his way out of the house. His mother was at afternoon Mass, so thankfully he’d be able to avoid a conversation with her.

He hadn’t really discussed this Brody guy with Maria. He saw the picture on the news, so he knew that the guy had a family, but he didn’t know any of the details about the relationship that Maria had had with him. She wasn’t really the type of person that would date a married man, but he didn’t know what kind of person she’d been before becoming a mother. Parenthood tended to change people. They were gonna have to have a very serious talk about things that he was certain that he didn’t want to know. He had intentionally not asked her anything about Bailey’s father since the night of Isabel’s wedding, because just thinking about the man made him angry. He decided to wait until tonight to speak to Maria. He wasn’t always the best at the verbal thing and he needed to think about what he wanted to say. Pulling away from his parent’s house, Michael made the drive home.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Tess reached over Kyle and tried to grab the remote before he could stop her. They had spent the entire morning lounging in bed, and had finally come out into the living room simply because the television was out here. They’d ended up at Kyle’s apartment after they left the movie theater the night before. Things were comfortable between the two of them, but Tess knew that there were still rocky times ahead.

“Tess, leave the channel alone.” Kyle was trying to reach the remote from where he was with her leg holding him away from her.

“You are watching reruns of sporting events. Kyle, that’s just wrong. Reruns are for sitcoms and talk shows.” Tess really couldn’t watch another basketball highlight from the previous season.

“Honey, just let me have another twenty minutes and I’ll stop.” Tess looked at him skeptically before handing back the remote.

Five minutes later, she was bored out of her mind. Crawling closer to her boyfriend, she started running her hand up and down his leg. It occurred to her that they hadn’t had sex since she told him about the menopause. She shook her head to clear it before her mind could venture to unpleasant thoughts. Tess could feel Kyle’s muscles tense as she slid her hand closer to his groin and she smiled to herself. She was only wearing one of his old football jerseys with a pair of underwear. Access really couldn’t get much easier.

Tess slid her hand that was playing along his thigh upward to feather lightly against the back of his neck. Finally, she climbed onto him, straddling his lap.

“Tess…” Kyle’s voice was strangled.

“Sshh. I’ve got you.” Tess leaned forward and ran her tongue along the pulse that she could clearly see beating along the side of his neck. She slid her hands up his shirt to pinch the flat nipples of his chest lightly and she reveled in the groan that rumbled though his chest. Kyle’s hands began to slide up and down her back slowly and she loved the feeling of his rough hands against her smooth skin. When Kyle felt her raising his shirt, he released her to help remove it. As soon as the shirt was gone, he returned his hands to their place on her back. Brining his hands to the front of her body, Kyle began to gently massage her breasts.

The need to see what he was feeling became nearly overwhelming, and Kyle quickly stripped Tess of the football jersey that she was wearing. He loved her in his clothes. He had no idea where the shirt landed when he tossed it away from her body. Kyle was mesmerized by the sight in front of him. She was gorgeous, a pocket Venus. He felt her hands at the waistband of the sweats he was wearing, and he lifted his hips slightly so that she could lower them. When they dropped to the floor, Kyle used his feet to take them completely off. Tess wrapped her hand around his erection, and adding the slightest pressure, began sliding her hand up and down on him. Kyle had to force his eyes stay open.

Slipping his hand into her panties, Kyle slid two of his fingers inside of her, thrusting easily into her waiting body. Her whimper was his undoing and he hastily removed her panties. Tess guided Kyle into her and bit down on his shoulder when she felt him begin to move in a painstakingly slow rhythm. When she tried to speed their movements, he tightened his grip on her waist effectively controlling the tempo. She felt like crying. He was killing her.

As his movements became more forceful, Tess could feel herself beginning to fall apart. The sound of Kyle’s voice in her ear sent her over.

“Tess, God baby. I love you. I love you. You are so beautiful.” At the feel of her muscles clamping down on him, Kyle felt himself explode into her. Tess was biting down on his shoulder so hard that he was certain that she’d drawn blood.

Leaning back, Tess looked into Kyle’s eyes and felt her heart stutter in her chest. “I love you Kyle.”

He smiled at her before brining his mouth to hers in a kiss. He was gonna marry this woman. “I think that we should start moving your stuff in this week. That way we’ll have more than enough time and we won’t need to rush. I can come over tomorrow after work and help you start packing.”

Tess was actually looking forward to living with him. For the first time since he’d asked her to live with him, she realized that she wanted to live with him because she loved him. That was really the only reason. Some things were simple. “Okay.”

Kyle stood from the couch with Tess still wrapped around him, and began making his way to the bedroom. Television was over rated.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Maria had just finished putting Bailey to bed when she heard the doorbell. Grabbing the baby monitor, she made her way to the door. She’d had the most hellish day imaginable. After lunch with Brody, she went to pick up her clothes from the cleaner and found out that strained peas were now a permanent fixture in her favorite blouse. They hadn’t fixed the zipper on the dress that she’d worn to Michael’s sister’s wedding, and the heel on her shoe had broken when she was stepping out of her car. When she’d gotten home, Bailey had thrown up all over her, and her washing machine had broken during the spin cycle. The wonderful people at Maytag told her that they would be able to send a repairman out to assess the problem next week. She was less than thrilled. She wished that she’d been able to afford the LG washer that she’d wanted in the first place, but when she’d first moved in, her funds were limited.

Opening the door, she was surprised to see Michael standing there. He’d said that he was going to call her, not stop by. She was standing there in a pink terry cloth robe and bunny slippers. This day was just getting better and better.

“Hey.” Michael attempted to stifle his laughter at the pink bunny slippers that were peaking out from the bottom of her robe.

“Hi.” Maria was pretty certain that the twinkle in his eye was at her expense. “Did you want something?” she tried to sound annoyed.

Michael managed to get his inner laughter under control. “I was hoping that we could talk.”

Maria stepped aside and motioned for him to enter.

“Were you about to go to bed?” It was only eight o’clock. His parents didn’t even go to bed that early.

“No, I gave Bailey a bath, and she decided that I was too dry.” In the end, there was more water on Maria than there had been in the bathtub.

“So are you naked under there.” Michael leaned forward and pretended to attempt a peek.

“I’m always naked under my clothes, Mr. Guerin. What about you?” Maria really liked teasing him. He was adorable when he was flustered.

“I find that it’s kind of unavoidable. How was your day?” he was trying to build up to the questions that he wanted to ask.

“It sucked. How about yours?” There really was no need for her to go into detail.

“I went to my parents’ house today.” Michael tried to relax, but he could feel the tension beginning in his shoulders and by the look on her face, he knew that Maria could sense that something was going on.

“Really? How are they?” This was the opening that he needed. He really hoped that he didn’t fuck this up.

“My dad’s good. My mom’s a little stressed though.” His mother was always stressed about something. Most times it was small things. Insignificant issues that no one else even cared about.

“Oh. Um…what happened?” Michael’s mother was a little scary. Maria couldn’t imagine a situation that would stress her out.

“She googled Bailey’s father, and found out that he’s married with a kid, and now she’s a little concerned about our relationship.” That totally made him sound like a mama’s boy. “Not that it matters, I mean…I …we never really talked about your…um…did you know that he was married when the two of you started dating?” you would never know that he gave presentations all the time to a room full of businessmen. That was so pathetic.

Maria really didn’t know what to say. She was definitely offended. He thought that she’d knowingly sleep with a married man? “You think I’d do that? Sleep with a guy that already had a family? I’m suddenly Susie Homewrecker?”

Michael wanted to kick himself. “No, I don’t think that. I just…I don’t know who you were before. I’m just getting to know the person that you are now.”

“And the person that I am now seems like the kind of person that would have once slept with a man that was already married. With a child that has leukemia, no less?” wow! How could he think that about her?

“I’m not saying that. Maria…come on. We’ve never once talked about you and Bailey’s dad. I just wanna know what happened.” Michael had no idea how to get himself out of the hole that he was in. He could feel his own anger beginning to rise. If he was going to be in a relationship with her, and Bailey’s father was going to just be popping up all the time, then he deserved to know some things. “Why are you getting so upset if you didn’t do anything wrong?”

“We were together for two years. I didn’t know about his wife and daughter. They were living in London up until three years ago. I followed him one night, caught him with his family, and we were over. Are you happy? Now you know. Leave my apartment.” She had spoken through clenched teeth. She really just wanted to be alone at the moment.

“Maria…” Michael really didn’t want this to be it.

“The thing is, that I was gonna tell you about it. It’s pretty hard to avoid with him being on the news and me meeting with him today and talking about him possibly getting a place here, so I was gonna tell you. But you come in here, demanding to know things and accusing me of being some immoral slut. What about you? Have you always been a perfect gentleman in your relationships? Have you only ever dated good catholic girls with solid careers and sparkling reputations? Have you always treated women the way that you’d like for men to treat you sister?”

Michael felt her eyes boring into him and he couldn’t speak. He couldn’t give a single affirmative answer to any of the questions that she’d thrown at him, and he felt like such a hypocrite for ever asking about her relationship with Bailey’s dad.

“Maria…I’m sorry. I didn’t mean…”

“I want you to leave. Just leave.” Walking over to the door, she held it open for him. Michael stood looking at her for a second before walking out of it. He heard the door shut firmly behind him and the lock slide into place.

“Damn it!” he raised his hand to the door before lowering it and walking away. He needed to figure out a way to fix this. He needed to talk to Isabel. She’d be getting home in the morning from her honeymoon. Fucking Max and his big mouth!
Chinkyeyes
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