In The Course Of A Lifetime (CC, AU, Adult) COMPLETE 3/10/13

Finished stories that feature the characters from the show, but there are no aliens. All fics completed on the main AU without Aliens board will eventually be moved here.

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Double Trouble
Obsessed Roswellian
Posts: 925
Joined: Tue Dec 16, 2008 9:47 am

Part 111

Post by Double Trouble »

Natalie36: Thanks for reading!

Earth2Mama: Yeah, it’s taken them quite a while to finally find their way back to each other, but they’re finding their rhythm again.

Those two do like to melt the screen, lol.

begonia9508: Thanks!

Lol, boys will be boys regardless of age.

Double Empire does have a much darker theme, but the characters will really bring it to life.

keepsmiling7: Lol, thanks!

The meeting between Sam and Kendra does need to happen at this point and we’ll see how that goes soon.

Did most of us listen at that age? Lol.

mary mary: Everyone’s happy... nice to see. ;)

We’ll see that meeting soon.

Michelle in LA: Andy’s still a work in progress.

Lol, looked like they were both happy for Kyle to be back home.

There is the possibility that Sam could end up getting hurt during or after this meeting with Kendra. Sam’s grown up without Kendra’s presence in her life and she has a father who’s always been up front and honest with her about her absent mother. Hopefully Kendra won’t do more harm than good by meeting with Sam.

Alien_Friend: Those two do stand out, don’t they?

Hopefully Uncle Kyle’s advice will stick with him.

Max and Liz, those two thrive on that craziness, and you’ve just gotta love them for that!

Thanks!

Healerfan: Thanks for reading!

We’ll be getting to that meeting soon. Anything can happen in the Evans household, lol.





Part 111

Michael and Maria sat on the back deck enjoying the quiet evening and putting off the inevitable goodbye. Chrissie had volunteered to clean up and give them some time alone and when she had finished she had disappeared.

“I really should get going,” Maria said, hearing the reluctance in her own voice. She tugged on his hand, letting him know that even though she’d like to stay longer she did need to start making her way home.

“Um-hmm,” he agreed lazily. He smirked in response to the smile on her face and forced himself to get to his feet.

She laughed quietly as she watched him, getting up and following him back inside the house so she could gather her things.

“Next time we should set this date on a Saturday when Andy’s away for the weekend,” Michael joked and came up behind her when she neared the front door. He wrapped his arms around her and pressed her back against his chest.

“Um-hmm,” she mumbled. “I doubt that’ll happen anytime soon though… not sending my son away.”

Michael snorted. “That would be mean, wouldn’t it?”

Maria turned in his arms to look at him. “We will get to the point of spending the nights together even with Andy around,” she said quietly as her fingers played with the buttons on his shirt.

“I know,” he agreed softly and watched the movements of her hands.

“Even though he’s reached a point where he can deal with us being together he’s just not ready for that yet.”

He nodded and reached up to cup her face. “We’ll get there. He’s doing good, accepting the changes in our relationship.”

She smiled. “Yeah, that’s a miracle in itself.”

“I could walk you home,” he offered, not wanting the evening to end just yet.

“Probably not a good idea,” she said smiling. “Andy’s back home and I know with you it’d take forever to get there.”

He nodded. “Call me to let me know you got home okay?”

“Sure... not that’s really a long way,” she teased and stood on her tiptoes to kiss him briefly.

“Maybe not,” he said with a smile.

“When will I see you again?”

“Is tomorrow too soon?”

“Not for me.”

“We could go out for pizza, take Andy along.” He chuckled. “Unless that’d be totally uncool and he’d rather crawl under a rock than be seen out in public with us.”

“Asking him wouldn’t hurt, huh?”

He shook his head. It would be a good thing if Andy was willing to go along and have dinner with them outside of his comfort zone. “Think he’ll consider it?”

“I don’t know and I really don’t wanna rush him on this, but we could at least ask.”

“Alright.” He shrugged one shoulder and grinned. “If he’d rather not we can always order in and watch a movie or somethin’. I’m good with whatever makes him comfortable.”

“I’ll call you,” she agreed.

“I’ll be waitin’.”

“I should go, and you know, I almost forgot about my dog.”

“While Theo’s welcome to hang out you probably shouldn’t do that.”

“No, the poor dog.”

“I’ll get him.” He walked around to the side of the house and leaned over the fence that separated the backyard from the front, whistling loudly and calling for the dog. He opened the gate, turning them loose in the front yard while Maria went to retrieve Theo’s leash.

“Seems like he respects you; he doesn’t listen to just anyone.”

“You like me. That makes a difference.”

“Maybe,” she looked up at him and smiled.

Michael watched her leash Theo and he snapped his fingers to call his own dog over. Mojo sat down beside him and leaned against his leg, looking up at him and sighing happily when he earned a satisfying scratch behind his ears.

“So I’ll see you tomorrow then?”

“Tomorrow for sure,” he agreed.

“Okay,” she tugged on the leash and guided the dog towards the street while Michael followed her. “Sleep well.”

“I don’t know how well,” he chuckled, “but I’ll sleep.” He closed the gate behind her and leaned forward, resting his forearms on it. “Be careful.”

Maria chuckled. “Just a few streets, Michael.”

He made a face at her. “Humor me.”

“Gimme a good-bye kiss,” she ordered gently and leaned forward.

He complied, giving her a couple of short kisses before his mouth settled over hers for a deeper kiss. He didn’t linger too long knowing it would only make it harder to let her go.

“G’night,” she breathed after a minute and stepped back.

“Night,” he murmured, his eyes following her.

*****

Tess sat on one of the unopened crates as she studied the assembly instructions for the equipment she had strewn around the shop. She frowned as she turned the page. “Well, this would be just perfect if I spoke Chinese, French, German, Spanish, or any of half a dozen other languages,” she muttered. Where the hell were the damn English directions? She jerked and nearly upset her precarious position when she heard Kyle holler followed by the sound of pounding on the stairs.

“What’re you yelling about?” she asked, turning her head to look at him when he barreled through the door.

Kyle wrapped his arms around her and lifted her up off of the crate, swinging her around in a dizzying circle as he kissed her. “That was the director on the phone!”

“The director of what?” she asked, laughing in response to his odd behavior.

“My boss, Director Powell. He wants me to fly back tomorrow morning.”

“Why?”

“The final interviews have been set up for this week and he wants me there tomorrow so we can go over some things before I meet with the committee.” He watched her for a minute as she thought about what he was saying. “Interviewing now means I won’t be called back over the holidays.”

“Oh, well, that’s a good thing then, huh?” She frowned. “But what if it takes longer than expected?”

“There’s no reason to think it’ll take longer than this week. If I’m lucky I’ll be back by the weekend but I wouldn’t count on getting back until Monday.”

“One week without you?”

He grinned. “Come to Atlanta with me.”

She made a face. “I can’t leave this week. There’s still so much to do…”

“Oh. I can’t put the interviews off. The holidays are too close and putting them off could cost me the position at this point, so I’m gonna have to go.”

“Yeah, I know... guess we’ll have to split up, huh? So soon again.”

“Once this’s over with I’ll be able to officially meet with the current head of the field office here and begin taking over his duties. Then there won’t be any more separations that involve so much distance.”

“I hope this works out, Kyle.”

“Me getting the position?”

“Yeah.”

“It’ll work out. The director says it’s just formality at this point. The field office here is mine.”

“I’m very glad we seem to be lucky about this. Who’d have thought we’d both settle in Roswell, huh?”

“Yeah, it’s not somethin’ I ever would’ve imagined when I was younger.”

“I wouldn’t have imagined it just a few months ago.”

“There’s somethin’ to be said for comin’ home again, ya know?”

“Yeah?”

He nodded. “When I was a teenager getting away from here was all I could think about.” He chuckled at her disbelieving look. “Okay, it wasn’t all, but it was near the top of the list. When I found out I had a shot at this position I couldn’t believe it. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to get a chance to head up a field office at my age. As much as I wanted that kind of advancement I wasn’t sure I wanted the Roswell field office until I came back here. Being with you, spending time with our families, being in the middle of all the chaos... I know now this’s where I want to be. It’s where I want us to put down our own roots and maybe one day raise a family of our own.”

She smiled sadly. “Would you have accepted it without me here?”

“I don’t know. It’s a big deal to head up a field office and a lot of agents never get that opportunity. It would’ve taken a lot more thought if you hadn’t been here.”

“Your family can thank me then,” she teased.

“Our families can both thank us. Now they’ve got a couple extra babysitters close by.”

“I have the feeling Liz is the most happy about it, considering the new baby.”

He smirked. “That’s okay. We’re easily the coolest aunt and uncle in the family.”

“That’s true. And I have the feeling Maria will need our help sooner or later too.”

The smirk eased into a smile. “Yeah, I’m glad things are going well for her and Michael. They both really deserve it.”

“Yeah, true.”

“Andy seems to be doing okay with it.”

“I think his girlfriend distracts him a lot, so he’s not putting too much thoughts on the rest,” Tess snorted.

“Could be the best way for him to get used to the idea of his mom dating.”

She hugged her arms around his hips. “When will you leave?”

“He wants me to fly back tomorrow.”

“Good,” she smiled, “that way you can help me carry all this heavy stuff to the right places today.”

“Carry the heavy stuff?” he snorted. “I’m gonna be gone for possibly a week and you have nothin’ better in mind for me to do than carry heavy stuff?”

“Well, I do, but that has to wait.”

He shook his head. “Why wait? Seven days, seven nights... that’s a lot of alone time. We have three nephews who can move all this crap around for you.”

“You’re so horny.”

“And you’re not?”

“I can at least control my hormones.”

He moved closer to her, crowding her back against the crate she had been sitting on. “My hormones are completely under my control.”

“Ungh, couldn’t you have set up a warning sign?” Maria made a face when she stepped in the shop and overheard her brother’s comment.

He growled under his breath. “Since I’m not an exhibitionist I suppose we’ll have to put this off for now.” He took a step back and sighed. “Alright, what do you want me to move?”

“Thank God,” Maria muttered.

He stuck his tongue out at his sister. “How’s it goin’, Maria?”

“Good, now that I know I’m not gonna see your naked ass.”

“Sure about that?”

“Ungh, Kyle,” she shook her head and walked over to the cartons.

He grinned. “Ladies, get your list of things together that you want me to do. I’m runnin’ to the shop over on the next block for donuts and coffee.”

“Best idea you’ve had today,” his sister said and looked at Tess with a wink. “At least in my opinion.”

“Not my best idea,” he disagreed, “and Tess doesn’t think so either.”

“I’ll take the donut with the white chocolate on top,” she told him sweetly.

He rolled his eyes. “Uh-huh,” he said and glanced at Tess. “Babe? Whatcha want?”

“Same.”

“Coffee?”

“With milk,” both women said at the same time.

He shook his head. “Alright, I’ll be back in about 20 minutes.”

*****

Maria and Tess sat on the floor facing each other as they sorted through equipment. They were breaking to check out a crate of smaller supplies that had come in early and Kyle had made his escape, going to get lunch while they were otherwise occupied. He had spent his morning moving equipment around and no matter how hard he tried neither of them were taking pity on him.

“Got another catalog,” Maria said, pulling it out of the straw packaging and waving it in the air.

“Add it to the pile for Kyle to take out for recycling,” Tess mumbled absentmindedly.

“You sound distracted. What’re you thinking about?”

“Oh, just thinking how quickly things can change.” She smiled and shook her head. “I was over at Max and Liz’s yesterday, dropping Kara off after keeping her the night before, and she’s so in love with those puppies.”

“I know. Can you believe Max really thought they’d just find homes for them and she’d give them up without a fight?” She laughed. “Men.”

“True.” She straightened up to stretch her back. “What would you think about us taking them on?”

“You and Kyle? It takes some work to imagine my brother with a dog the size of his foot but I guess if you can convince him…” She frowned when Tess shook her head. “No? What?”

“No, I meant what would you think about you taking one and me taking the other one.”

“Me? Tess, I have a dog. A very large dog that’s used to being the baby of the family.”

“I know, but, they’re very tiny dogs so they wouldn’t take much room. I thought maybe they could be like the shop mascots.” She shrugged. “It would really help Liz out and if we had them Kara would be able to see them whenever she wanted to.”

“Shop mascots.” The laughter was evident in her voice. “Sure, why not? If you can convince Kyle to take one of them on I’ll take the other one.”

“What’re we convincing Kyle to do?” the man in question asked as he shouldered his way into the shop. He set the drink carrier and two takeout sacks on one of the crates and then shrugged out of his jacket.

Tess gave him a sweet smile when he leaned over to drop a kiss on her lips. “Just taking on one of Kara’s puppies.”

“No.”

“Kyle!”

“Tess, babe, have you seen the size of those things? They only qualify as real dogs if you’re a four-year-old girl, a bubble-gum-popping teenage girl, or a woman. If you want a dog we should get a real dog. Akita’s are nice.”

“It would only be one because Maria will take the other one.”

“Uh-huh, it’s still a no.”

“It’s for your niece,” she cajoled. “If we don’t take them they’re gonna have to go to some other family and she might not get a chance to see them. This way works best for everyone.”

“Everyone except the guy who’s gonna be trippin’ over them all the time.”

“Him, not them,” she corrected. “Just one puppy.”

He handed the drinks out and then sat on one end of the crate to sort out the food. Taco salads for the women and steak fajitas for him. None of that rabbit food on his plate. He dug into his meal as the discussion turned to hair dryers and other stuff they needed for the shop and he relaxed when the topic of ankle biters seemed to be forgotten.

Tess waited until he was nearly finished with his lunch before she brought it up again. “Now, back to the puppies,” she said, giving him a big smile. “Kyle, if we take one of them Maria will take the other one. I think that’s more than fair.”

“Well, yeah, but… you don’t even like dogs, Tess. Lucky licks your hand and you act like you’ve caught the plague.”

“The puppies don’t leave a gallon of slobber behind. Besides, they’re so tiny and they make the cutest outfits for them.”

He winced when her voice went higher with her excitement. He was going to be saddled with an oversized rodent with a wardrobe and painted nails. An oversized rodent she would expect him to walk and be seen in public with. She would probably want to parade the damn thing all over town. He was putting his foot down because there was no way in hell he was going to agree to this. No way.

“Kyle…”

“No.”

“It would mean so much to Kara. Your niece. The little girl who loves you so much and who you’d do anything for.”

“Layin’ it on a bit thick, aren’t you?”

She shrugged and grinned. “Is it working?”

“Not really seeing what I’m getting outta the deal.”

“Man’s best friend.”

He snorted. “It’s a prissy little rat.”

“Fine, if you won’t do it for Kara, do it for me.” She lowered her head and looked up at him through her eyelashes.

He groaned when she gave him that look that never failed to get her whatever she wanted. The very same look that said if he gave in she’d show some serious appreciation. “Alright, but I’m not walkin’ that thing or carrying it around in public.” He snorted. “You’re gonna dress it up, do its nails, and probably stick little bows all over it. That is NOT a man’s dog, babe.”

Maria shook her head at them. She supposed she should count herself lucky that the sexual teasing going back and forth wasn’t being verbalized.

“That’s just silly, Kyle. They’re boy dogs.” Tess’ eyes widened. “Ooh, do you think offering a service like that would go over well around here?”

“No. We’ll keep one of the pups but no doggy manicures or pedicures or whatever you’d call them.” He shook his head and finished off his fajitas. He grabbed the bag and tossed it to her. “Here, got those pastry things you like with the cheesecake filling,” he said, hoping to distract her from her current line of thought.

“Oh, my God, these are so good,” she murmured as she pulled them out. “Maria, have you ever had them?”

He settled back when the women started discussing desserts and before long they were making plans for the upcoming Thanksgiving dinner. He was content to let them converse about that because it kept them occupied and away from expanding the business to cater to pampered pooches. He rolled his eyes and glanced around, wondering what the chances were of convincing them to cut out early. Probably not that out of the realm of possibility, he decided. They’d already put in a good afternoon of work and he was leaving the next day. Besides, he was in the mood for a little appreciation and Tess had already indicated that she was in the mood to show a little gratitude for his suffering the indignity of housing the rodent.

He grinned to himself. Yep, give it another hour, two at most, and he was going to make sure they called it a day.
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Fics: A Xmas Story - A Merry Mt. R. Xmas - Cupid's Revenge - Double Trouble - Double Date - Double Dare - Double Empire - Double Xmas Wish - In The Course Of A Lifetime - Mountains So High - Not A Question At All - Surrender - TIC TAC - Two Double Dates at Xmas
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Double Trouble
Obsessed Roswellian
Posts: 925
Joined: Tue Dec 16, 2008 9:47 am

Part 112

Post by Double Trouble »

Natalie36: Tess does know how to get her way, lol.

begonia9508: Thanks!

Lol, Chihuahua’s are tiny dogs... and definitely not the breed for everyone. But Kyle will suffer the indignity of the miniature pet to keep his girlfriend and his niece happy.

keepsmiling7: So true of pretty much any teenager, huh?

The puppies have found new homes with Maria and Tess.

Earth2Mama: And isn’t that the truth?

Good point, and Kara’s likely to agree with you.

Alien_Friend: Lol, just the image of Kyle dressing up one of those tiny dogs...

Kyle’s been waiting for this moment and it’s finally arrived. If there’s one thing he’s ready to uproot his life for, it’s Tess.

Lol, Andy might not be that excited to be seen in public with them.

Cardinal: Lol, well, Kyle seems to think Tess is that good, and let’s hope he’s right because now he’s saddled with one of those little ankle biters.

Michael and Maria are finally able to move forward without all of the opposition.

sarammlover: These two are getting back on track. We’ll see more of Kyle and Maria in this part.

Rodney: Lol, well, looks like Kyle’s violating the sacred MAN LAW.

Uh-huh, wouldn’t you cave too if she gave you the look?




Part 112

“You sure you don’t want me to stay here and wait for you?” Alex turned off the engine in front of the little café on Roswell’s main street. It was Tuesday afternoon and the sun was still shining brightly. He had picked Sam up from school a few minutes before to drive her to the meeting he had set up with her mother and he could tell Sam was nervous about it.

“No,” Sam denied and wiped her sweaty palms on her jeans. “I guess I have to do this on my own and I don’t want you to sit out here and wait because I really don’t know how long it’ll take.” Could be over in a few minutes or it could last for hours, she thought, feeling confused.

She had gone back and forth, trying to decide if it would be safer to bring Dad with her to the meeting, but somehow she knew that going alone was the best way to deal with it.

“Alright, just call me if you need to be picked up, okay? I’m gonna run over to the shop to talk to Max, but if you need…”

“Dad,” she placed her hand over his and smiled nervously. “I know. I’ll call if I need you. Otherwise I’ll see you at the basketball game at school tonight, okay?”

“Make sure you get good seats for us,” he leaned in to kiss her forehead. “If I get there first I’ll grab the seats.”

“Alright,” Sam sighed and looked out at the plate glass window of the café that faced the street. “Guess I should go.” Was she already inside, waiting?

“Don’t worry. Nothing will change if you don’t want it to, remember that,” Alex said and watched his daughter climb out of the car. He didn’t know what to say to make her feel better because no words could take the nervousness away – hers or his own.

“I just want to get it over with,” she said honestly as she stood on the sidewalk and looked back at him. “I’ve been living on the edge of nervousness since we set up this date and no matter what, I believe I’ll feel better afterwards.”

“You will,” Alex agreed and waved when she closed the door of the car and waited for him to leave.

Sam stared after the car until it turned onto another street and disappeared from view. “Showtime,” she muttered to herself and turned to look at the café again. Her feet felt heavy, as if weights were pressing down on them while she walked towards the entrance. Had it been stupid to choose the day of Andy’s first real game for this meeting? What if she totally felt down afterwards and wanted to hang out with him? He wouldn’t even have the time today.

The little bell over the entrance rang, bringing her back to the present and she looked around the little café to see if any of the women looked like the woman who had given birth to her. The smell of freshly brewed coffee hit her nose while the clattering of dishes could be heard from the kitchen behind the swinging door on the right side.

Her heart was pounding in her chest when she turned around to look. Maybe she wasn’t here yet? But she was already five minutes late. Sam bit her lip as she tried to decide what to do. What if her mother had regretted her decision and wasn’t even coming now?

“Samantha?” a quiet female voice asked.

The teenager turned her head slightly and saw a woman standing by a small table near the window. Her dark hair was short and styled in a modern way, her clothes decent but also pretty modern. She narrowed her eyes to see more since the sunlight coming through the window behind was making it difficult to see.

“Hey,” the older woman said and walked towards her cautiously until she came to a stop right in front of her. “Oh my God, look at you,” she whispered and her green eyes filled with tears. “You’re a beautiful young woman.”

Sam didn’t know what to say as she stared into her mother’s eyes for the first time in her life that she could remember. The situation was so unreal that it was hard to describe her feelings. “Hi,” she greeted quietly. She didn’t know what to do with her hands, so she hooked the index fingers in her belt loops.

“I thought we could take this table over here, but if you want a different one…”

“No, it’s fine,” she agreed and walked past her mother to sit down on the opposite side. “I don’t think I’ve ever been here before. Weird, huh?”

“It’s nice,” Kendra nodded and looked around while she tried to come up with a good way to start this talk. She had wanted the meeting so badly, but now that it was finally happening, there didn’t seem to be a right way to start it.

She was a beautiful woman for everything she had been through, Sam thought as she watched her. Were there any similarities between the two of them? She had gotten her eyes from Dad as well as her lips. It was hard to say about the hair since it was so short.

“I can’t believe how much you look like your dad,” Kendra finally said and smiled. “You definitely got your good looks from him.”

“Yeah, people say that a lot,” Sam said shortly.

Okay, Kendra thought nervously and sipped her coffee, this was not going to be easy.

“Can I get you something, Miss?” The waitress appeared next to them and gave Sam a friendly smile.

“I think I’ll just have a Coke,” she replied and watched the woman leave again. This was so awkward, she couldn’t even describe it. Was she supposed to say something? No! She wasn’t the one who had asked for a meeting.

“I don’t really know where to start,” Kendra finally admitted after a few more seconds of silence.

“Why don’t we just start with the most important question in the room?” Sam said and it sounded snippier than she had intended. “Why’d you leave me an’ Dad when I was only a few days old?”

Wow, that was direct, her mother thought, but on the other hand there was also a bit of pride in her. Obviously her daughter could be pretty self-reliant if she wanted to be. “Okay,” Kendra agreed calmly and breathed in deeply. She looked into the girl’s eyes directly while she tried to explain her situation back then. “I wasn’t ready for it at that point. I thought I would be and everyone kept telling me I would just be a great mother once you were there, but the feeling of being a failure rather than a good mother became stronger when you were born. I just couldn’t imagine taking care of you the way you should’ve been… the way you deserved to be taken care of.”

“So you thought leaving us would be so much better,” Sam snorted derisively.

“Maybe it sounds wrong and maybe it was,” Kendra shrugged helplessly, “but at the time I thought you would be a happier kid with just your dad, than with a mother who couldn’t give you the full attention a kid needs. I had so many doubts about my own life that I didn’t know how I could ever be a good mother to you, Samantha.”

“And now you think you can?” The teenager crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back, nodding in thanks when the waitress brought her drink. The waves of mixed feelings like hurt, anger, happiness, and sadness, confused her and it was hard to decide how she really felt about her mother.

“I’m not here for that,” Kendra said quietly.

Sam frowned and took her drink to sip on it. “What?”

“Look, I know you don’t see me as a real mother,” the woman started and lifted her hand when her daughter was about to say something, “and believe me, I can understand that. I might be your mother biologically, but in reality… I know I failed as a mother and there’s no way to sugarcoat it. You asked me why I left,” Kendra continued softly and reached out to put one hand over Sam’s on the table, “and I know you were hoping for a reason that would explain it all and make the situation more reasonable, but the truth is… there’s no really good reason to leave your kid behind, so I can’t offer you any.”

She looked at her daughter sadly while a few tears rolled over her cheeks. “I know I can’t make up for the past and there’s no way to catch up with what I’ve missed all these years while you were growing up. I’m not trying to suddenly be your mother again, because I know that’s not gonna work and to be honest,” she smiled a bit proudly, “from what I see you don’t even need a mother. You’re already a young lady and from what I’ve heard from your dad you can be proud of yourself.”

Sam retrieved her hand from under her mother’s to wipe a single tear away. “So what do you want here, Kendra?” She couldn’t call her mom, it just didn’t feel right.

“I’m here for two reasons,” she said and pulled her hand back to wrap it around the hot coffee mug. “First off, I’m here to make sure you know that nothing that happened had anything to do with you. It’s not your fault that I wasn’t ready for the life I had and when I look at you now, I know your life has been happy so far and at least one decision in my life was right.”

“Which one?”

“To keep you when I found out I was pregnant. Even though I wasn’t really ready for a baby, abortion was never an option for me and now I can see it was the best decision I ever made.”

Sam didn’t know what to say. The situation hadn’t had time to sink in and there was probably no right way to feel now anyway. “You said there were two reasons you came here… What’s the other?”

Kendra smiled in relief; at least her daughter was still talking to her and hadn’t run off yet. It had been her worst fear the last few days. “The other reason is a lot of more scary for me,” she admitted quietly.

“Scary? Why?”

“Because I really can’t do anything if you say no,” her mother continued and looked down at her coffee. “As I said, I’m aware of the fact that the past can’t be caught up between the two of us, but…” She looked up to meet her daughter’s eyes, which matched her father’s perfectly. “I was hoping that maybe I would get a chance to get to know you… the person you are right now.”

Sam stared back at the woman in front of her, swallowing a few times when her heart seemed to be stuck in her throat, pounding like crazy there.

“More as a friend than as a mother right now…” Kendra explained further. “The illness I’ve been through made me realize a lot of things and for the most part, it made me realize what’s really important in life.”

The teenager felt the tears in her eyes again while she listened to what her mother had to say. She opened her mouth slightly to breathe when her nose wouldn’t let any air in anymore.

“Sam, I’m sorry for what happened in the past,” the woman whispered with a shaky voice while she ignored the slight river running over her cheeks. “But maybe I can be a better person in the present, if you’ll let me.”

Neither of them cared about the strange looks other people in the café were giving them. They were too wrapped up in their own way of dealing with their feelings.

Sam wiped her tears away and breathed in deeply before a wry smile lifted her lips briefly. She reached over the table to take her mother’s hand in hers and nodded imperceptibly. “Okay.”

*****

“Oh, hey,” Maria looked up from the catalog of equipment for the shop when Andy walked through the back door of their new house. “Thought you weren’t coming home after school or before the game?”

“Hi, Mom,” he kicked his shoes off quickly and ran through the kitchen and upstairs. “I just forgot my basketball shoes,” he called and a moment later he came back again with the shoes in his hands.

“Nervous?” she asked when she noticed the look on her son’s face. It was his first official basketball game as part of the team, so it had to be a special day for him.

“Do I look nervous?” he asked, horrified at the possibility, and walked to the refrigerator. The school lunch had been really bad, but maybe there was a little snack he could eat.

She chuckled in amusement. “There’re some sandwiches on the top shelf. I made them for tonight since we’ll be getting home late, but if you want one now…”

He groaned in excitement and went through the different kinds, going for the one with ham and cheese. “You’re the best, Mom.”

He didn’t even know how good that sounded, she thought with a slight smile, but didn’t say anything. “So when should we be there tonight?”

“We?” Andy asked with a frown.

“Um-hmm, I talked to your aunts and they’re coming as well. Max has to work late today and your Uncle Kyle went to Atlanta to settle things with his job transfer here, so the girls are alone and we wanted to come watch you together.”

Okay, now he was nervous. “Mom… there’s something I need to talk to you about.”

Maria frowned at the sudden serious tone in his voice and she nodded. “Sure, sit down.”

He swallowed down the bite of sandwich and leaned on the kitchen counter, hands resting on either side of him at the edge. “I’d rather stand.” Okay, how was he going to do this without hurting her? His gaze was focused on the floor when he started. “I know I said I’m good with you an’ Michael…”

She swallowed when he started the conversation like that, fearing that he suddenly wasn’t okay with it anymore and things would get complicated again.

“… an’ I still am, really.” He looked up to meet her eyes. “It’s just… the whole school will be there tonight and Michael’s the coach.”

“You don’t want Michael and me to show we’re together,” she said, pretty sure that was what he meant.

“Well… yeah.” He scratched his head. “No! I mean, I’m okay with you being together, but I just… Everyone will be focused on me tonight because I’m the new player on the team and I don’t want them to think I just got the position because my mom and the coach are together.”

“I can understand that,” she agreed.

“But…” he started, but then realized what she had said and looked at her in surprise. “Really?”

“Um-hmm,” Maria got up and walked over to him, placing the catalog on the counter. “I was a teenager once too, and I can see your point here, so… I’ll talk to Michael.”

He nodded in relief and hugged her. “Thanks, Mom.” That had gone a lot better than he had expected it to and she didn’t seem to be hurt at all.

Maria smiled when he released her again. Oh, yeah, now he looked a lot of more relaxed. “Guess you should get back for warm-up, huh?”

He looked at the clock on the wall behind her and then grabbed his things and the sandwich again. “Yeah.” With long strides he walked back to the front door and opened it. “Oh, you should be there at seven.”

*****

“Have you heard back from Kyle yet?” Maria asked. She was sandwiched by Liz and Tess as they walked down the empty streets of Roswell towards the high school gym. She checked her cell once more to see if Michael had maybe left a message, but there was nothing. She had wanted to talk to him before they actually met to let him know what Andy had asked her for.

“Yeah, he called a while back,” Tess nodded. “The weather in Atlanta sucks, he said.”

“Gotta love the weather back east,” Liz commented and rummaged around in her bag for something. “Here, look at this flyer. It’s a dancing group and they’re gonna be in Santa Fe this weekend. Max got tickets plus an overnight stay in a hotel from the manager since he’s repaired his car more than once. Anyone interested in going? The only catch is that we just have six tickets and my husband’s already planning on inviting Alex.”

Tess glanced at the flyer and waved her off. “I saw them back in LA, so I’ll pass. Kyle won’t be home for the weekend anyway and I’m not gonna hang with a bunch of couples,” she said with a sweet smile.

“Well, in that case, I think I’d like to go,” Maria said, snatching the flyer out of her friend’s hand. “I have to talk to Michael first though.”

“Oh, please, as if that man isn’t horny and this’s the perfect opportunity to have you to himself.”

“Uh-huh,” Maria blushed slightly. “But so is my son and I’m not sure if he could be left alone at home with his girlfriend just a few blocks away. Especially when the girlfriend’s dad is going to be out of town as well.”

“Max and I thought about asking our neighbor to look after the kids. Kara loves Mrs. Salt and she’s very good with kids. Maybe you could send Andy over for the night?”

“Um, hello?” Tess said, waving at both of them. “What about me? I can watch the kids too.”

“Well, I thought after last weekend with Kara and the dogs you might want some time off?” Liz said. She had already thought about asking Tess, but had tossed it away again, considering what was going on in the woman’s life.

“Oh, please, I love your kids and they love me. So let me spend the night with them. You can tell Alex to send Sam over as well.”

“But...” Maria protested.

“Chill out, chica, I’ll watch the teenagers. And this’s better than him sneaking away, isn’t it?”

“Oh, yeah, having the two of them under one roof will be so much better.” Liz chuckled. “You think Kara and the puppies kept you busy? You’ll really have your hands full with just the two of them.”

“Yes, but I have the benefit and wisdom that comes with having been in their shoes.”

“Think you can remember that far back?” Maria asked with a smirk.

Tess rolled her eyes and smacked her friend’s arm. “Unlike the two of you I haven’t gotten to the point where I’ve forgotten what it’s like to be a teenager.”

Liz just chuckled and shook her head. “I remember perfectly well, thank you, and your brother did his best to convince me that sneaking out every chance we had was a good idea. And believe me, he could be very convincing.”

“That must be something that runs in the Evans genes,” Maria said with a laugh. “Andrew was the same way.”

Tess groaned. “Girls, please! I don’t need to hear about my brothers and what they got up to in high school with the two of you.”

Liz stuck her tongue out at her sister-in-law. “Then I’ll spare you the details.”

“Thank you!”

“You really want to spend an entire evening watching four teenagers, a four-year-old, and two puppies?” Maria asked. Stop before you talk her out of it! An overnight trip with Michael was too good to pass up and she had a feeling he would be happy to go. Even if it meant sitting through some dance group thing that would probably bore him half to death.

“I think I can handle them. And by the way, while I’m busy watching Andy and Sam, the twins can look after Kara,” she smirked. “Don’t worry about it, girls, I’m brave enough.”

Liz and Maria exchanged a look and shrugged. “Oh, well, if you insist…”

They walked a few minutes in silence before the gym came into view. “So, how nervous is Andy?” Liz asked, remembering how the twins had acted before their first football game.

“He played it pretty cool, but his eyes told a different story,” Maria said, amused. “Although I think most of it’s excitement. He’s waited so long for this and I’m glad that he’s finally at the point where he can allow himself to play, even though he knows his father was never really into it.”

“Andrew was pretty demanding about football,” Tess nodded.

“Yeah,” Maria sighed, “and Andy really tried to make him proud, but it just wasn’t his sport.”

“He would’ve supported him if he had played on a basketball team.”

“No doubt. I’ve told Andy that too.”

“Hey, isn’t that Michael?” Liz pointed at the entrance of the gym.

“Yeah,” Maria said, smiling. “Hey girls, I need to talk to him for a moment, I’ll be back with you in a minute, okay?”

Michael was going over the roster and mentally preparing himself for the game ahead. He knew the boys were ready. They operated well as a team and practice had been going well. He didn’t normally feel so jittery before a game so he chalked it up to nervous anticipation for Andy. He wanted the boy’s first game with the team to be a good one. He glanced up when someone called his name and he smiled when he saw Maria walking towards him.

“Hey,” he said with a smile.

Maria returned the smile as she joined him, keeping a respectable distance between them. “Hi. All ready for the game?”

“Yeah, think so.” He rested the clipboard against his hip and looked at her. “Nervous about tonight’s game?”

“A little bit. It’s such a big moment for Andy. He’s overcome so many obstacles to finally be here and I just want it to go well for him.”

He nodded. “He’s ready for this, Maria.”

She nodded. “I know… and speaking of him….”

Michael tipped his head back, trying to figure out what she was trying to say, when her expression became a bit more serious. “Get it out,” he said gently when she hesitated.

“Alright.” Maria breathed in. “I talked to Andy after school. He stopped by the house because he forgot his shoes and he asked me to do something. Us,” she corrected herself.

“I can see where this’s going,” he mumbled and smiled encouragingly.

“He’s not ready to show the whole school, Michael. And he has a point when he says that some people might say stupid things like he just got the position on the team because of us.”

He shoved his left hand in his pocket to keep from reaching out to her. “I can understand where he’s comin’ from. And God knows,” he said with a quiet laugh, “you could tempt a saint.”

“Whatever,” she said, unable to stop the light blush that was creeping into her cheeks.

The urge to reach out, touch her, was strong and Michael’s right hand clenched around the clipboard as he nodded at the women she had been walking with before she had come over to him. “I guess the three of you will be sitting together? A safe distance away from the court so I don’t forget we’re keepin’ it low-key,” he said with a teasing wink.

Maria chuckled. “Yeah, a safe distance is a good idea.” She shifted and bumped his arm before settling back in place. “For both of us.” She glanced over at the girls for a moment before looking at him again. “Are you busy this weekend?”

“With you I hope,” he told her with a smirk.

“Liz’s husband got tickets for a dance show in Santa Fe. It’d be an overnight trip, but if you could get away for one night…”

Tess bit her lip to keep herself from saying something about his goofy look the moment her friend said the word ‘overnight’.

“I think I can get away…” he agreed, trying to hide his excitement in front of her friends.

Maria smirked. “We’ll talk about it later, okay?”

“Later’s good,” he said with a grin. “I guess I’d better get to the locker room. Gotta run over some of the plays, give the guys one of those short inspirational speeches, and get them out on the court.”

She nodded and took a couple of steps back. “Good luck tonight.”

Michael could’ve stood there and talked to her for hours but he had a locker room full of teenage boys wired for the game. “I’m sure the kids will go out to celebrate after the game. Maybe I can catch up with you then.”

She smiled. “Just remember it’s a school night.”

“Come on,” Tess rolled her eyes and gave Maria a slight shove to separate her from her boyfriend. “You two behave like teenagers. You sure you’re not the ones who need a chaperon this weekend?”

Liz snorted and then laughed. “We could keep an eye on them.”

“I don’t need anyone to watch me,” Maria said when they entered the gym. The teams weren’t in sight yet and the bleachers were only half full.

“Hey, there’s Alex,” Liz said, pointing to the bleachers on the right, third row. “Maybe we could join him?”

“Sure, why not,” the other girls agreed and followed her.




A/N: Next week we will post one part for every fic (TIC TAC, Double Empire, ITCOAL) since we are going into hiding in July. (Steffi is making a big US-trip through the country, so we won't have much time to update.)
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Fics: A Xmas Story - A Merry Mt. R. Xmas - Cupid's Revenge - Double Trouble - Double Date - Double Dare - Double Empire - Double Xmas Wish - In The Course Of A Lifetime - Mountains So High - Not A Question At All - Surrender - TIC TAC - Two Double Dates at Xmas
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Double Trouble
Obsessed Roswellian
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Joined: Tue Dec 16, 2008 9:47 am

Part 113

Post by Double Trouble »

Natalie36: Thanks for reading!

Earth2Mama: Maria definately made the right call there.

Oscar will be happy to stay home, lol. And Tess... well, she’s very optimistic.

Sam and Kendra are getting along and that is a good thing. Hopefully Kendra is being upfront about her desire to get to know her daughter and that she won’t take off.

keepsmiling7: Thanks!

Sam wasn’t going to wait to get that one out of the way.

Maria will always listen to Andy’s concerns and do what she can to ease them.

Alien_Friend: Sam’s had the advantage of growing up with a father who’s made sure she’s secure.

Lol, chances are good that poor Tess has no idea what she’s letting herself in for.

Andy being able to talk to his mom like that shows a lot of progress for him.

Michelle in LA: That is a possibility, but we’ll have to wait and see.

There is no way to make up for walking out on her daughter, and Kendra does know that. All she can do is go forward and try to be there for Sam if and when she wants that.

Kendra isn’t likely to pose much of a threat to Alex and Isabel’s relationship.

Lol, Tess really has no idea what she’s in for!

Eva: No apologies! We’re always glad to hear from you... when time permits. ;)

begonia9508: She’s taking on a major challenge! Keeping that group under control is gonna take some serious work, lol.

Thanks!

sarammlover: We will look into more for Sam & Kendra today!

M&M get away could be interesting, huh? Tess will have her hands full with the kids, hehe.

Thanks, we will miss you guys and we have three extra long parts today for you.

mary mary: Welcome back! ;)

Yeah it would suck, but we don’t plan to make Kendra evil. ;)



As promised, we are updating all three fics today – and the parts are all extra long. ;)

Our summer break will be a bit longer than normally (blame Steffi), so we hope you guys will have a wonderful July and we will be back on August, 5th.

Take care!

Angel & Steffi




Part 113

Kendra watched her daughter as she finished off the pie she had finally relaxed enough to order. The girl had a strong sense of self, she was comfortable with her place in the world, and she was secure in her father’s love. She wasn’t afraid to express her opinions, she said what she thought, and she made no apologies for either. Alex had done a wonderful job raising Sam and it was obvious they had a strong bond. She smiled when Sam pushed the plate back and finished off the glass of milk that had accompanied it.

“Would you like to take a walk?” she asked.

“Sure.” Sam set the empty glass down and smiled at the waitress when she came by to collect the dishes and leave the check.

“I’ll take care of it,” Kendra said as she reached for the slip of paper. She glanced at the total, absentmindedly thinking how it was considerably less than it would’ve been in Chicago. She placed a couple of bills on the table and set the glass on top to keep them from being blown to the floor.

The sun was hanging low in the sky and the air had a crisp bite to it as they stepped outside. The sky was streaked with color and leaves danced across the sidewalk in the slight breeze that picked up for a moment.

Kendra tugged her jacket tighter around her and smiled as she inhaled deeply. She could smell the smoke from a nearby chimney and the cold that was just waiting to descend after the sun went down. “When I was your age I just loved this time of year,” she said with a smile.

Sam shrugged. “I like summer better.”

“Not when you live in a huge city like Chicago, believe me.”

“Do you like it there?”

Kendra nodded. “Roswell has its own charm I guess.”

Sam looked around the town she had grown up in. “Yeah, it does.”

“I have to admit, at your age I always wanted to live in a big city. I hated Roswell, but it’s different now.”

The teenager shrugged. “I love Roswell. I mean, I can’t wait to get out and really see what a big city’s like, but I figure I’ll do that when I go to college.”

“Big cities are nice to visit and pretty exciting for the moment, but in the end you’re always pretty lonely there,” Kendra shrugged.

“You an’ Dad went to college in a big city... were you lonely there?”

“Well no... But it’s different when you’re with someone, I guess.”

Sam bit her bottom lip as she contemplated whether or not she wanted the answer to the question rolling around in her head. “If you hadn’t gotten pregnant with me would you have broken up with Dad?”

Kendra bit her lip while she thought about the question for a moment. “Your Dad and I were pretty different. He wanted to have a steady life with a house and a job, while I wanted to see other cities and try different things, so I’m pretty sure we would’ve gone our separate ways sooner or later.”

“So Dad’s always been pretty steady, huh? Really...” What was the word Grandma used? “Grounded.”

“Oh yeah, he was,” she chuckled.

She smiled. She liked that about Dad. “So are you like dating anyone?”

“No,” Kendra denied. “Not right now.”

Sam nodded. “Guess that’s gotta be lonely. I mean, bein’ sick and not havin’ anybody to be there with you.”

“It was a hard time. There were moments where I wished that I had someone to lean on. And then there were times where I was glad I was alone so no one had to suffer through all that because of me...” She glanced at her daughter and tried to smile bravely. “There were ups and downs.”

She wasn’t sure how to respond to that. She glanced up and saw the high school up ahead. “Do you like basketball?”

“I prefer baseball, but yeah.”

“My boyfriend’s playing his first game tonight.” She glanced at her watch, something that wasn’t necessary since the school parking lot was packed with cars. “The game will be starting soon. You know, if you wanna go.”

Kendra looked at her daughter in surprise. “You’re inviting me?”

The girl shrugged. “Yeah.”

“I’d like to,” she nodded. “Bet your boyfriend’s a real cute one.”

Sam grinned. “Yeah, he is.”

“I can’t wait to meet him.”

“I was supposed to get good seats but Dad’s probably already here.” And probably worrying because he had gotten there first.

“You sure he’ll be okay with this?”

“Yeah, I’m sure.” She bit her lip. “Isabel’s gonna be with him though so if you’d rather not go...”

“I’m okay with her, if she’s okay with me.”

She thought over her recent conversation with Isabel before smiling and nodding. “Isabel’s cool with you visiting.”

“Let’s go then.”

“Cool.”

Kendra followed her daughter to the gym. She was surprised at how nice and easy the meeting with her daughter had turned out in the end.

Sam opened one of the double doors and stepped inside. “The gym’s not that far, just down the hall.”

“It’s been a while since I set foot in a high school.”

“Probably hasn’t changed much since you were here last.”

“Oh, I’ll bet there were a few changes, Sam.”

Sam wrinkled her nose. “I don’t know. It hasn’t changed much that I can remember.”

“Maybe not while you’ve been here,” Kendra said and glanced around.

“Yeah, I guess it’s different when you haven’t seen it in years.” She turned her head when someone called her name.

“Hey, Sam,” Justin said as he caught up with them. He glanced at the woman standing beside her. “I was wondering where you were since the game’s about to start and I hadn’t seen you yet.”

“Justin, this’s my mother,” she introduced him and turned to Kendra. “This is one of my best friends, Justin.”

He studied the woman for a moment before checking on his friend to make sure she was okay with what was going on. “Hey,” he said finally.

“We were just about to join you. Are there any seats left?”

“Yeah, of course. When do we ever NOT save you a seat?”

“Cool. We should go then.”

“You talked to Andy today? I never got a chance to catch up with him, wish him luck for his first game.”

“I talked to him during our lunch break.”

He nodded. “Saw your dad come in earlier,” he said as he fell into step beside her. He lowered his voice. “Principal Russell’s with him.”

“You don’t have to whisper,” Sam said, amused.

“Oh, right.” He grinned sheepishly and shrugged.

Kendra smiled at the teenagers and followed them quietly. It was good to see that Sam had such good friends in her life.

They could hear the hum of hundreds of conversations as they neared the gym. The double doors at both ends were propped open and several of their friends called out to them as they walked past the bleachers.

“Hey, what took you so long?” Nick hollered when he saw them. He frowned at his brother’s empty hands. “What happened to the snacks?”

Sam glanced around and saw her boyfriend and a bunch of other players at the other end of the court where they were getting ready for the game. He didn’t notice her yet, so she glanced around to look for her Dad. “He’s up there,” she told her mother.

“Yeah, it’s a full house,” Nick said with a nod at his own parents. “I think the entire family came out for this game.”

“Wanna go sit with Dad?” she asked Kendra.

“Sure.” This was going to be uncomfortable, she could feel it.

Alex looked up when he saw his daughter enter the gym. “There she is,” he said in relief, and a moment later he realized who was walking behind her.

“Guess she brought someone, huh?” Isabel asked.

“Looks like it. That must mean things went well.”

“Relax,” Isabel squeezed his knee. “You don’t have to feel uncomfortable because of me, alright?”

He nodded. “I know you shouldn’t judge someone based on past actions, but it’s hard not to when my little girl’s the one who’ll pay for it if she just disappears again.”

“We’ll see, and whatever happens, Sam knows she has you.”

“I just hope Kendra doesn’t make me regret letting her into Sam’s life. So far it looks like things are going okay though. I know,” he said with a shake of his head, “I need to be positive.”

Sam smiled uncertainly when she approached Dad and Isabel. “Hey,” she greeted, “um, I brought someone…”

“We’ve got plenty of room.” Alex smiled and stood up, giving his daughter a hug. He was relieved to have her back in his sight so he could see for himself that meeting with her mother hadn’t damaged her in some way. “I was starting to think you were gonna miss the start of the game,” he said as he nodded at Kendra.

“Nah, I can’t miss Andy’s first game,” she told him and greeted Isabel before she took the seat between her parents.

He nodded and rubbed her shoulder before he turned his attention back to the court. “You guys have a good visit?” he asked.

Sam glanced and Kendra. “Yeah, I think so.”

“Good, I’m glad.” He glanced at his daughter’s mother. “I never did ask what you’re doing now as far as a career.”

“I’m publishing my first book next week,” she told him.

“Really? You finally got that book written?”

“Yeah, who would’ve thought it, huh?”

Sam glanced between them. “You’re a writer?”

Kendra nodded. “I always loved to write, I was just too sidetracked when I was younger.”

“So what’s it about?”

“It’s about a woman who grows up through suffering from cancer and realizing how selfish she’s been in her life and the things that’re really important,” she said slowly, not sure about the reaction she would get.

Sam frowned as she realized what her mother was saying. “Your book’s being published next week? But you didn’t know the ending.”

Kendra chuckled. “I went with the ending I was hoping for.”

“Did you write it like an autobiography or more like a novel? Like a fictional story?”

“It’s a novel,” she told her daughter. “It’s not really my story, I just leaned on it.”

“Oh. Did you use stuff about me and Dad in it? Like for inspiration?”

“I think you’ll able to find yourselves in the book,” she nodded.

Sam looked at Dad to gauge his reaction. “When do we get to read it?”

“Whenever you want,” she said.

“Cool.”

Music could be heard as the cheerleaders took the floor before the game. Andy stood at the door, leading to the locker room and glanced over the audience. He located his Mom with his aunts and rolled his eyes when all three of them waved at him. His gaze wandered further until he finally found his girlfriend sitting in the first row on the right side. She was talking to a woman that he didn’t recognize and could only guess that it was her mom.

Michael moved through the guys crowding the entry into the gym and paused next to Andy. “Pre-game jitters?” he asked.

“I’m good,” the boy denied.

He nodded and glanced around the gym. The bleachers were packed and the buzz of conversation had lowered when the cheerleaders took the floor. He found himself seeking Maria out without consciously thinking about it but he caught himself and forced his gaze back out onto the court. He nodded when he was given the signal and he turned to the team, letting them know it was time to take the floor.

“Which one is he?” Kendra bumped her daughter slightly when the teams came onto the court while the crowd was cheering.

Sam pointed Andy out. “Number 17, he’s the new shooting guard for the team.”

“He is cute,” her mother teased.

She grinned and waved at him, rolling her eyes when he looked embarrassed by the attention. “Yes, he is.”

“That boy’s gonna be the death of me,” Alex muttered.

Isabel patted his leg in a consoling gesture. “Just play it cool, Alex.”

Kendra chuckled. “I bet you two give your Dad a hard time.” She knew this age all too well and if her daughter was anything like her, then Alex was in for some trouble in the next couple of years. Girls at this age just didn’t care what parents said when it came to hanging out with their boyfriends.

“I never give Dad a hard time.” She leaned against him and gave him a smile. “Do I?”

“Guess I shouldn’t complain too much,” he shrugged with a smirk.

She laughed and hugged him. “You’re just saying that because it’s true.”

****

“Someone’s tired,” Max said with an amused smile. Kara was sitting in his lap, yawning widely before leaning back against his chest again.

“No, Daddy,” she denied, but her voice was already sleepy.

Liz turned from her conversation with Maria and smirked. “The game only has two minutes left. I guess we can make a quick escape then.”

The crowed groaned when the basketball rolled along the rim of the basket before slipping away and missing its goal. Kara made a face at the loud sounds and snuggled further against Daddy. “Yeah, we’d better,” he said and wrapped his arms protectively around his little girl.

“She’ll be out before we get her home.” She ran her hand over her daughter’s head and smiled at Kara’s peaceful expression. Only someone her age would be able to sleep through all the noise around them.

“I bet she’s really excited about the new baby, huh?” Maria smiled as she watched them.

“Yeah, and she’s decided the baby should be a girl.” Liz glanced at her husband before looking at Maria again. “Max has swung his vote her way too.”

“A girl would be nice,” the blonde agreed. “We have a shortage of girls in the family.”

“That’s true. The Evans genes do seem to produce more boys than girls.”

“Maybe Maria will be bringing some Guerin genes into the mix,” Tess said quietly with a wink at them. She hated to pity herself for her situation, so she decided to just be happy for the others.

Maria glanced at Michael where he was moving back and forth at the sidelines, his attention focused fully on the game. “Well, based on his parents’ record it looks like a 50/50 chance that we would have a girl,” she said with a smile.

“You’ve already talked about it?” Liz asked, surprised.

“Well, we’re not kids and we know what we want so why beat around the bush?”

“It would be nice if our baby had someone her or his age,” Liz said with a smile, her hand wandering to her stomach automatically.

“Her,” Max said absently as he leaned forward as much as Kara would allow. “It’s gonna be a girl.”

Liz rolled her eyes at him, not wanting to agree yet. She would love a boy or a girl and so would Max.

They all cheered with excitement when the game finally ended and the home team won with a short lead. “Loud,” Kara complained and held one hand over her ear when the screaming woke her up.

Max rubbed her back and shifted her closer. “It’s okay. It’ll quiet down here pretty soon.”

Liz looked around for their stuff. “I think we’d better get her home. With getting ready and all she’ll be getting to bed a lot later than normal.”

He nodded and helped Liz maneuver Kara into her coat before standing up and settling her against his side. “Not much longer, baby girl,” he murmured and kissed her head.

“I’ll let your boys know to be home soon,” Maria said when she saw the brunette glancing around for the twins.

“Remind them it’s a school night,” Liz said as she helped Max into his own jacket while he carefully worked around Kara.

“Don’t worry about it,” Maria agreed.

“Make sure you tell Andy he played a great game,” Liz said as she gave Maria and Tess a quick hug.

“Yeah, I know that’s not the position he’s played in the past but he did a helluva job,” Max said.

“Come on, Mommy,” Max said with a smile and nodded at the others before he made his way through the crowd. Once they stepped out into the cold silent night, he sighed slightly. “I think I’m getting old. That noise is almost unbearable.”

“Old, huh?” she said with a teasing smile.

“No less sexy of course,” he teased.

Kara giggled at Daddy’s words. “What is sexy, Daddy?”

He winced. Damn, he had thought she was asleep. “Sexy means someone looks good.”

“Sexy,” she said, trying the word out. “Mommy’s sexy, huh, Daddy?”

Liz rolled her eyes at him, giving him the see-what-you-did look. “Yeah, she is,” he agreed with a smirk.

She giggled again and buried her face against his neck when the wind picked up for a moment.

“What?” he asked when his wife just shook her head.

“Um-hmm, you know what,” was all she said.

He chuckled. Yeah, he knew he would have some explaining to do with that one. If Kara stayed true to form she would add the word to her vocabulary and use it at every opportunity. “Andy played well tonight, don’t you think?”

“Yeah, you can see he loves the game.”

“It drove Drew crazy that his own son wasn’t interested in football beyond a pickup game on weekends. He was trying to understand though and he even admitted that his boy was skilled on the basketball court.”

“He’d be very proud of his son,” Liz agreed with a sad smile.

“I just wish he’d had the time to tell him.”

“They spent a lot of time together, Max. I’m sure Andy knows.”

He shook his head. “Drew could be stubborn when he wanted to be and sometimes that meant withholding acceptance and praise. He never meant it maliciously and he sure as hell never meant to hurt anyone with it, but he still did it.”

“Don’t we all do that now and then?” she asked quietly.

“I suppose, but it would’ve meant a lot to Andy to know that he had his dad’s support to play the game he loved.”

She didn’t know what to say to that. They both knew there was no possibility of bringing Andrew back for that or anything else. “He’s getting along better than he was in Miami.”

“Yeah, he is. He finally seems to be settling down and finding his way again.”

“It was a good thing for them to come here,” Liz continued and hooked her finger in Max’ belt loop. “The family’s finally together here in Roswell. We all needed it, I think.”

“Yeah.” He smiled tightly. If only he and Andy could get past the rift that had opened up between them the day Drew died.

Liz noticed his uneasy feeling. “One day the boy will get past his reservations with you, Max. He just needs time to accept that no one’s responsible for his father’s death.”

“Yeah.” It was no one’s fault, he reminded himself.

****

Andy high-fived one of his teammates as they went their separate ways as they left the locker room and he looked around to see if anyone was waiting for him. A couple of the guys came out behind him, intentionally bumping against him as they passed him.

“Hey, good game tonight, Evans,” Pete Dawes said as he hooked the strap of his bag over his right shoulder.

“Yeah, Masters makes it back next season he’s gonna have some serious competition on his hands,” Derek Jansen agreed.

Sam came around the corner as Andy grinned and shoved the guys and she wondered why guys did that. She smiled when he looked up and noticed her and a moment later he broke away from his teammates and they took off towards the exit. “Hey, that was a great game,” she said when he came towards her.

“Not bad for my first game, huh?” He smirked and dropped his bag to the ground.

“Not bad at all,” she agreed.

His hand reached out to take hers, pulling her towards him to steal a kiss.

Sam reached up to rest her hand against his chest. She loved the way she felt when she was with him.

“How was the visit with your mom?” he mumbled against her lips.

“She’s still here,” she murmured. “She wants to meet you.”

“Me?” He pulled away a bit and looked at her in surprise.

“Well, yeah, I mean, if you don’t mind meeting her.”

He had planned to meet the guys at the café for a few burgers to celebrate their win, but he knew telling Sam no would be something he would regret. It meant a lot to her and just leaving her now after she had taken that big step would really make her mad. “Okay…”

She glanced at him skeptically. “You don’t have to like spend hours with her or anything.”

“Where is she?”

“She’s waiting for us near the exit.”

He took her hand in his larger one. “Let’s go then.”

“Okay.” She didn’t know why she felt nervous about him meeting her mother. “Don’t say anything that isn’t nice, okay?”

Andy rolled his eyes. “I’m not totally dumb, you know?”

“I didn’t say you were.”

“Then don’t tell me things that’re obvious,” he said and hugged one arm around her shoulder to drop a kiss on her head.

She snorted. “Sometimes guys need to hear the obvious. Not because you’re dumb but because you’re... well... guys.”

“Whatever,” he snorted and released her again when they neared the exit and he saw the woman next to the door.

“Okay,” she paused and turned to face him, running a hand over his tee shirt to smooth it.

“Sam,” he stopped her hands, “I don’t think that’s necessary, is it?”

“Um... no, I guess not.” She turned her hand over under his and took a deep breath. “C’mon.”

Kendra smiled when the teenagers approached her. Her daughter’s boyfriend was a handsome boy and she could only imagine the heart attacks they were giving Alex.

Sam stopped and looked at her mother. “This’s my boyfriend, Andy. Andy, this’s my mother, Kendra.”

“Hi,” the boy said shortly.

“Hi, Andy, it’s nice to meet you.”

“You too,” he nodded. “Are you gonna hang around Roswell long?” He winced when Sam elbowed him hard. “I just meant we’ve got another game comin’ up in a few days if you’re gonna be here.”

The woman smiled at his comment. Oh, yeah, he wasn’t really a shy one. “I think I’ll be there,” she told him and looked at her daughter. “If you keep me company.”

“Really? You’re gonna hang around a while?”

“I think so,” Kendra nodded.

Sam smiled. “That’ll be nice.” She glanced up at her boyfriend. “She wrote a book that’s about to be published, isn’t that cool?”

Andy nodded and shoved his hands into his pants pockets. “Sounds cool.”

“So, do you guys have plans for the night?” Kendra asked. She knew she had distracted her daughter long enough for one day and she was pretty sure the teenagers would like to celebrate the victory of the game.

“Yeah, well, the team’s gonna meet at the café for burgers and a little celebration before we go home,” the boy scratched his head.

“Guess that means I’m out,” Sam said and noticed her boyfriend’s look to check and see if she was mad about it. “So maybe we can take a walk home,” she offered her mother.

“That sounds nice,” Kendra agreed.

Andy glanced between the two of them as he tried to make sure Sam was cool with him hanging with the guys. Some girls got all upset if they weren’t invited along but she wasn’t usually like that. But with the whole ‘mom’ situation he just wanted to be really sure before he took off.

Sam rolled her eyes when she realized her boyfriend was trying to gauge her reaction. “You’re free to hang out with the boys, Andy.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“Uh-huh, I can tell.”

Kendra smiled and nodded off to the right when she caught her daughter’s gaze. “Why don’t I just go wait over there for you?”

“Okay, I’ll be there in just a minute.”

“Andy, it was very nice to meet you.”

“Yeah…” he said, “nice to see you too.”

Sam waited until her mother had left, before she turned her full attention to her boyfriend. “Told ya you’d get out of it quickly.”

“You’re not mad, right? Because you know I really can’t bring my girlfriend on my first…”

“Andy, shut up okay?” she told him and leaned in to kiss him short but proper. “Go and do those guy’s things you do after you win a game.”

He nodded, glad that she was cool about it. “I’ll call you later an’ you can tell me about the meeting with her, okay?”

She smiled when he still was attentive enough to offer to listen to her later. “Lookin’ forward to it.”

“Talk to you later then,” he said gently and pulled her towards him for another short kiss. His lips rested against hers a while longer than planned though. Maybe it was because he felt a bit bad about leaving her after what had probably been a totally crazy day for her.

“Hurry up now,” she said and shoved him slightly before she turned to walk back to Kendra.
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Fics: A Xmas Story - A Merry Mt. R. Xmas - Cupid's Revenge - Double Trouble - Double Date - Double Dare - Double Empire - Double Xmas Wish - In The Course Of A Lifetime - Mountains So High - Not A Question At All - Surrender - TIC TAC - Two Double Dates at Xmas
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Double Trouble
Obsessed Roswellian
Posts: 925
Joined: Tue Dec 16, 2008 9:47 am

Part 114

Post by Double Trouble »

begonia9508: Thanks!

Lol, chances are good Kara will do just that.

Cardinal: Max really hasn’t given up on his nephew. Andy will get to that place.

Lol, isn’t that the way with kids?

keepsmiling7: Vacation was great and we missed you guys too.

The puppies haven’t moved just yet, but it’s coming soon.

Lol, it’s gotta be awkward!

Earth2Mama: There’s no doubt that M&L still have it!

mary mary: Lol, well, we were pretty happy about it... seemed to fly by though.

Rodney: Lol, we’ll see. Pretty sure she’ll keep them away from the train tracks.

Depends on the person. Some people are strong enough to do something like that.

So true, lol, but in Max’s defense he thought she was sleeping.

Lol, good to know you guys were good!

Alien_Friend: Max and Liz are getting back on track and it’s a beautiful thing.

Sam has had the benefit of growing up safe and secure.

Lol, Andy’s done some growing since the beginning.

Rest assured, Max and Andy will get there.

Thanks, and we’re glad you’re still enjoying ITCOAL!



A/N: Hey, so we are back after our long summer break and we are updating all three fics today. As for the future update schedule: We are going to update two of the three fics each week.




Part 114

Maria walked along the quiet halls, deserted once again by students and parents alike. After the game ended people had poured from the gym, eager to escape the confines of the building and make their way home. The lights were on in the halls as she followed them to the offices that ran along the side of the building. She saw the dim light on in the second office and she knocked lightly on the partially open door.

She gave it a nudge when she heard a murmured ‘come in’ and she walked inside and pushed it closed again. The overhead lights were off, the only light provided by a small lamp on the file cabinet next to the window. She glanced around, her eyes settling on the man who occupied the office. “Hey, shouldn’t you be out celebrating?” she asked as she leaned back against the desk next to his outstretched legs.

Michael smiled up at her. “Just gotta wind down a bit. It always feels good to play a good game and even better to win but I just need a few minutes afterwards.”

She started to straighten up. “I can leave you alone, let you – “

He reached out and stopped her with one hand on her hip. “No. I didn’t say I needed to be alone.”

“Your team played a very good game tonight.”

“Thanks.” He smiled. “Andy looked good out there. He’s fitting in with the other guys, he’s opening up, and he’s becoming more cooperative.”

“I know. I saw him for a few minutes after the game before he went to the locker room and he told me he was going out with the guys for a celebratory burger.”

“They always do that,” he nodded knowledgably. “Don’t worry, they won’t be home too late.”

“Not worried,” she denied. “It’s good to see him happy and making new friends. I was afraid he’d have a hard time making new friends here since people in Florida are so different than they are here, but obviously he’s done a lot better than expected.”

“He had an attitude when he came here because of his loss, but he’s a good boy and he seems to be making a positive impression on his teammates.”

“Guess a lot of that’s thanks to you,” she told him with a smile.

“I didn’t do that much and there were times I felt really bad about this whole situation… ya know, my attraction to you.” He looked up at her and smirked. “Thank God those times are over now.”

“Whew, yeah,” she laughed when he got up to crowd her, making it impossible to get away from the desk again. “I really couldn’t go back now if my life depended on it.”

Michael’s dark gaze moved over her face, the intensity of it feeling like a physical caress. “Guess we’re lucky you don’t want that.”

She was drawn into his eyes, amazed by the way he made her feel. “No, it’s time to move forward and I’m ready for it.”

He leaned forward, his hands braced on the desk on either side of her. “That makes two of us.”

Maria reached up, her palms resting on his chest for a moment before sliding up to settle on his shoulders. “That’s good.”

His eyes followed the movement of her hands before they locked with hers again. Did she have any clue how beautiful she was in his eyes, he wondered. “So besides your son doin’ a great job, did ya have fun tonight?” he asked in a whisper.

“Was pretty good so far,” she answered with a slight nod. “But the night’s not over yet, is it?”

“No,” he agreed, his lips almost touching hers while he spoke.

“Teasing much tonight?”

He smiled and she couldn’t help but think how beautifully his eyes lit up when he did. “Depends… do you like?”

“I like most things that include you,” she answered with a smirk.

He had to remind himself where they were. “Wanna tell me more about this weekend?”

“Hmm, well, it includes you… me… and a hotel room.”

“One room?”

Her index finger wandered along the collar of his shirt while she nodded. “I think so.”

It didn’t even matter why they were going out of town. “Sounds like a good plan.”

She pressed her lips against his instead of saying more. It sounded like a real good plan and it made her feel like a nervous teenager before that all-important first date.

He ran his hands over her thighs as he deepened the kiss and when she moved against him he slid his hands over her sides and around her back.

“Think we’re safe in here from interruptions?” she mumbled.

“Fifty/fifty chance at best,” he growled.

“Not too bad,” she decided as she moved her hands down his back and below the shirt he was wearing to feel his warm skin.

Well, he rationalized when her skin met his, it wasn’t like it was the middle of a school day. “Huh-uh, not bad at all.”

Maria dug her nails gently into his back and ran them down again, smiling against his lips when he made a soft sound in response to her touch. His reaction to her was always so open in his features and body language, and she liked that very much.

The feel of her touching him spurred him into action and without giving it a second of thought he tugged at the hem of her shirt, needing the contact of skin on skin as badly as he needed his next breath.

The kiss broke as she giggled when his impatient moved to get her shirt free failed. “Sorry, stuck pretty good in my jeans huh?”

“Just determined to make me work for it, aren’t you?” he asked with a shake of his head.

“Well, I hadn’t counted much on this for tonight, so you can’t blame me at all.”

He smirked. “I’m a guy who loves a challenge but it’d be okay if you wanted to make it just a little less challenging.”

“How about I wear a dress this weekend?”

He groaned. “You’re gonna be tempting and I’m not gonna be able to think about anything but what’s waiting for us at the end of the evening no matter what you’re wearing.”

“And that’s the way it should be,” she smiled.

He chuckled. “Good answer.”

His smile warmed her heart and she hugged him while placing her cheek against his upper body. “You make me very happy.”

Michael sighed quietly, the feeling of peace seeping into his pores at her admission. His arms tightened around her for a moment before relaxing again. The next three days were gonna be the longest of his life.

“Are you joining the rest of the team at the restaurant?”

“Nah, it’s usually just the guys on the team, not so much the coaches.”

“Too old, huh?” she teased.

“For some things,” he agreed with a wink. “Not for everything.”

“Whew,” she sighed, playfully relieved, “thank God.”

He laughed outright at that.

“So since ya don’t have anything to do.... wanna come to my house to snuggle up in front of the fireplace for a while?”

“That’s not gonna take a lot of thought on my part.” He paused to consider for a moment. “Yeah, see? Not long at all.” He leaned back to hold his hand out to her. “Let’s go.”

“Think it’s safe to go out together at this time? The students should be gone, huh?”

“Yeah, this place empties out pretty quickly after a game. If you’d rather go separately to be safe, I’ll understand.” As much as he wanted to just say to hell with what anyone else thought they were on school property so there was more than one reputation at stake.

“Just don’t want Andy to feel threatened by it, ya know?” She made a face. “He’s okay with us, but I can understand that he’s not comfortable sharing it with people other than his friends.”

He nodded in understanding. “Why don’t you head out first and I’ll give it a couple minutes and catch up with you.”

“Okay,” she leaned in for a quick kiss and walked to the door. “I’ll be waiting for you, Mr. Guerin.”

“You won’t be waitin’ long,” he said with a smile.

*****

Max made a face when one of his employees slammed the hood of a Dodge Ram shut, the sound echoing off the walls of the garage. “Damn it, could you be any louder?” he snapped and rubbed his forehead. He hadn’t slept well, nightmares keeping him awake most of the night and to cap it off, he could already feel a migraine on its way.

“Sorry, boss.”

“Yeah,” Max mumbled and continued on his way to his office, already trying to come up with a plan for today. There was a bunch of work to do inside and outside the office. He was still waiting for a few shops to report their current orders and the first thing he was going to do was call and remind them he was waiting for what felt like the tenth time already.

“You’re here early for a Wednesday,” Alex said, greeting him with a nod when Max came into his office.

“And you shouldn’t be here at all, should you?” Max frowned, trying to remember if he had forgotten a meeting with his friend.

The other man chuckled. “I’m on my way out, just forgot a file here the other day.”

“Oh, alright…”

“Missy called just a few minutes ago.”

“What’d she want?” Max asked while he got rid of his jacket and threw it over the chair in front of his desk.

“She just said she’d be here soon to talk to you.”

She should be in Oklahoma, Max thought, a little bit worried though he didn’t say anything. “Alright, thanks.”

Alex grabbed his things and stood to leave again. “There’s fresh coffee,” he pointed to the pot on the desk. “You look like you could use some.”

Max followed his movement with his eyes and nodded. “Didn’t sleep well. Thanks.” He waited until the other man had left before he sat down in his chair and sighed deeply. Man, he hated days like this.

Missy pulled up in front of the shop and before she could reach for the handle to open the door someone pulled it open for her. She squinted against the bright morning sunlight and smiled up at Josh when he quickly wiped his hand before offering it to her. “Hey, handsome.”

He grinned. “Thought you were gonna be here later?”

She chuckled. “Needed to talk to the boss about somethin’ in person and I had the day free so I made a last-minute decision. He in?”

“Yeah, just got in a little while ago. Kinda has that hungover look. Not that he’s been drinkin’ or anything, just got that morning after look.”

She nodded in understanding. “Alright, let me catch up with him and then maybe we can get lunch?”

“Sure, lemme know when and I’ll have Jamie cover for me for a bit.”

She walked inside and through to the office in the back, knocking quietly as she peered around the open doorway.

Max looked up when he heard a sound and he managed to smile a bit when he noticed the woman in the door. “Come in, Missy.”

“Hey, boss, you’re looking a little rough this morning.”

“Yeah,” he wiped his face with one hand. “Ya know those nights where you can’t sleep for no particular reason at all?”

“Ungh, yeah, painfully familiar with that kinda night.”

He gestured to the seat in front of his desk. “Guess you’re not here for a courtesy visit?”

“Much as I’d like to say yes, no, I’m not.”

“Got any answers about the situation in Oklahoma?”

“We’re close to having that tied up. Our suspect was out for a couple of days and while he was gone I had surveillance equipment installed in the office. He got back yesterday, and I let it slip that I wanted to visit a friend who was going to be around for the day and he generously offered to handle some of the end of month stuff for me. So I played it, let him think he was doing me a huge favor... I suspect he’ll incriminate himself and give you all the evidence you need tonight.”

Max chuckled. “Very well done, Sherlock.”

“Thanks. That’s not the only reason I’m here though.”

“What else?”

“Well, I know Alex has discussed closing some of the shops with you in the past and I was wondering if you’ve given that any serious consideration?”

Ungh, Max thought, not really a topic he was in the mood for today, but he couldn’t use his headache as an excuse. “I was waiting for some reports from the other shops to make some comparisons. So far it’s a pain in the ass to get all the necessary information.”

“I spent some time with Walt recently discussing some of the changes he’s interested in making. I don’t think you really have any interest in continuing to expand, increasing the number of shops you own, right?”

“Um, well, no.” He leaned back in his chair as his eyes wandered over his desk to a photo of his family. “I’ve got a new baby on the way so spending more time here than at home is nothing I’m interested in right now.”

“Have you put much thought into selling the shops that’re farther out? You’ve got quite a few back east and selling them would release some of the pressure on the business right now.”

“Yeah, as I said, I’m waiting for some results to make a decision. The people there probably already suspect what I’m up to, so they’re taking their time.”

“I’ve been doing a little research into Walt’s business idea... opening up a bay or two to handle big rigs. You’ve got quite a few shops that service areas that’re on direct trucking routes. Add that kind of service and you’d increase your profits.”

Max had to smirk at her enthusiasm. “Sounds about right and it could work.”

“It would work. I’ve been running the numbers, researching the time and cost of getting the shops equipped to handle big trucks versus the amount of time before you would turn a profit, and I’ve also run a cost analysis for...” she trailed off when she caught the look of amusement on his face. “What?”

“You’ve spent a lot of time thinking about it, huh?” He chuckled and waved his hand. “Go on.”

She leaned over to pick up her bag where she had dropped it on the floor when she took a seat. She opened it up and pulled out a file to hold it out to him. “I’ve included everything in my research. I thought you could look it over and if you’re interested I can always do more research into it.”

He took the file from her and set it in front of him on the table. “Since you’ve been so busy. How about you help me collect the results from the other shops so I can finally start to look it over and I promise I’ll read what you have as soon as this other stuff is done...”

“You have a list of contact names and numbers?”

“Sure,” he nodded. “Let me go through the current mail though. I don’t wanna call a shop to remind them about the results if we’ve already got them here.”

“Okay.” She could easily get the information he wanted. She had a way with people and most, if not all of the shop managers were men, so that made it even easier.

He nodded and pressed the button on his laptop to start it. “How about a coffee?”

“Sure, you want one?”

“Alex already made it,” he motioned to the pot on the corner of his desk and made sure there was still enough for both of them. “We just need mugs.”

****

Tess swallowed hard as she stared at the front of the small brick building that housed a handful of doctors in specialty practices. She had made the appointment for a day when she had known Kyle would be out of town to save him from the agony of tests and waiting for results. She had no idea what tests the doctor would want to do and she didn’t know if she was going to have to wait days for results but he had enough on his plate with his final interviews and getting his apartment all packed up for the move. He had been supportive and she knew he was trying to avoid doing anything that might put pressure on her about children. It wasn’t a secret that he wanted children and deep inside, slowly pushing its way past the pain of loss, was the spark of hope that one day they would have children of their own.

This appointment was for both of them because they needed to know the reality of their situation. Was it possible that the miscarriage was nothing more than a stroke of bad luck? Was it nature’s way of stopping a pregnancy that wasn’t viable? Or was it something more serious? What if it was something that was likely to repeat itself if she got pregnant again? That terrified her. That loss had been unlike anything she had ever experienced and she knew now that dealing with it by burying it so deeply inside herself and not telling anyone what she was going through had only made it worse.

“You okay, Tess?”

She turned her head to look at Maria and she forced a tight smile. “I’m a nervous wreck,” she admitted. She had called her sister-in-law for support and Maria had offered to go with her. “I really appreciate you coming with me.”

Maria shook her head. “I’m glad you said yes when I asked.”

They walked inside, checked the board on the wall for the correct suite number and went down the hall to the third door on the right. The office was decorated in cheerful colors and they were greeted by a pleasant woman seated behind the reception counter. They settled down in a couple of chairs while Tess gripped the clipboard and a dozen forms that needed to be filled out in a white-knuckled fist.

“I hate all the paperwork,” she muttered as she started to fill in the blocks with her personal information.

Maria rubbed her shoulder supportively. “I know, it’s a hassle. Were you able to bring any of your old records with you?”

“Yeah, I remember years ago listening to you and Liz discussing keeping copies of anything medically related and I started doing that.” Her hand shook slightly as she filled in her reason for the visit. She finished the paperwork and Maria took the clipboard from her, carrying it to the woman and then returning to her seat. “She said it’d just be a few minutes.”

Tess jumped when the door that led back to the examination rooms opened and the nurse called her name. Which was just ridiculous, she thought nervously. She and Maria were the only two people there at the moment and it should’ve been painfully obvious which of them was there for a visit with the doctor. “Okay, this shouldn’t take long, right?” she said to Maria as she stood up.

“I wish I could tell you.”

She took a deep breath to calm herself. “It’ll be fine, right?”

“You’re gonna be fine, Tess,” Maria assured her. “You’ll have a better understanding of what you’re looking at once this is over.”

“I hope you’re right.”

“Liz says Linda’s the best and after what she went through with the twins she has reason to be confident in her abilities.”

Tess nodded and glanced at the open door at the other end of the room. “Alright, I’ll be back.”

Maria smiled encouragingly and leaned forward to pick up a magazine that she knew she would only flip through without reading.

“Hello,” Tess greeted the doctor who was sitting at her desk, looking at the computer screen when she entered the room and closed the door behind her.

Linda stood and offered her hand. “Hi, I’m Dr. Linda Martinez.”

“Nice to meet you,” Tess said and smiled weakly. Guess there’s no need to introduce myself, she thought.

“I’d like to start with an examination, run a few tests, and then compare the results to those from your previous doctor.”

“Okay, sure,” she agreed nervously.

“Did your previous doctor do a sonogram?” she asked.

“Yeah, but I think that’s been over a year now.”

Linda nodded. “We’ll go ahead and take another one. Was your doctor able to give you any information regarding the reason for the miscarriage?”

Tess snorted. “Pretty much just said that it happens now and then.”

“Unfortunately, that’s true, and we don’t always have an explanation for why it happens. Were you under any stress at the time? Involved in any strenuous activity?”

“Not that I know of, no. I was pretty much living my normal life and didn’t feel stressed out or anything.”

Linda nodded and made a notation in the new chart she had lying open on her desk. “Tess, was it your first pregnancy?”

“Yes, it was.”

“There are several causes for miscarriage for someone in your age range including hormonal problems, an infection, lifestyle, the egg may not have successfully implanted, and there’s the possibility that it could’ve been a chromosonal abnormality.” She smiled supportively. “That all sounds scary, but because it was a first pregnancy and considering your age there’s a good chance that you’re not looking at a recurring problem.” She closed the folder and stood up. “Why don’t we get the exam out of the way first and see how things look?”

“Okay,” Tess smiled nervously. “Sounds good.”

“May I ask if you’re considering another pregnancy?” Linda asked.

“Well, I…” she paused when she started to stutter and shrugged.

Linda shook her head and reached out to touch her patient’s arm. “Have you spoken with anyone about losing your baby?”

“My boyfriend and a few of my friends and family, but… just recently. I wasn’t able to talk about it before.”

“That’s good. Talking about it helps and so does having that support.”

“I know,” Tess nodded. “It was a mistake to hide it from everyone for so long and I probably just made my fear worse over the time.”

She chuckled. “That’s probably true, but we have a tendency to do that to ourselves, don’t we?”

“Seems like.”

“Don’t you worry, we’ll get these tests out of the way and get you some answers. That should put your mind at ease.”

“Okay. I think that’s a good start.”

Linda nodded and led the way to an examination room. “I’ll leave you to get ready and I’ll be right back.”
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Fics: A Xmas Story - A Merry Mt. R. Xmas - Cupid's Revenge - Double Trouble - Double Date - Double Dare - Double Empire - Double Xmas Wish - In The Course Of A Lifetime - Mountains So High - Not A Question At All - Surrender - TIC TAC - Two Double Dates at Xmas
User avatar
Double Trouble
Obsessed Roswellian
Posts: 925
Joined: Tue Dec 16, 2008 9:47 am

Part 115

Post by Double Trouble »

Earth2Mama: If the tests come back with good news, Kyle will be elated, but we’re pretty sure he won’t make that assumption.

Lol, they are pretty anxious.

Thanks!

sarammlover: Those two are pretty cute. Tess is taking control of the situation. We’re glad to hear that they’re one of your favorite couples in ITCOAL! Thanks!

keepsmiling7: Max knows where his priorities are and he’s doing everything he can to keep things together.

We won’t wait very long to get her results back.

Natalie36: Thanks! Max is pushing everything he hasn’t dealt with in regard to Andrew to the back of his mind and focusing on the current situation. That’s gonna give him more than one sleepless night.

Alien_Friend: Tess is taking control, seeking answers so she knows how to move forward.

Missy is going to be important to the family business. ;)

Thanks, vacation was great and we’re glad to be back!

mary mary: Tess wants those answers so she knows exactly what her options are.

Thanks!

begonia9508: Thanks!

Missy is going to be a big help to Max.

We won’t have to wait too long for Tess‘ results.





Part 115

Tess pulled her clothes back on, feeling nervousness creeping into her fingertips when she ran them over her shirt to straighten it. What had Linda found out? she wondered and looked at the door that led back to her office. Should she have waited until Kyle was back? What if the results weren’t that good and she had to deal with it alone?

Linda knocked on the door and waited for Tess to respond. She smiled at the nervous call and opened the door. “C’mon inside and have a seat, Tess.”

“Sure,” she walked over to sit next to the desk and crossed her legs tightly.

“Everything looks good so far. Physically you’re in perfect health and I don’t see anything that suggests the reason for the miscarriage was physical. It’ll take a couple of days to get the results back for your blood test to determine if there’re any hormonal or immunity issues that need to be addressed.”

“Okay,” Tess nodded, feeling just a bit relieved.

“There’s a very good chance that you won’t experience another miscarriage. Nearly 20 percent of first pregnancies end in miscarriage, and that’s only what we know from documented cases. Women often miscarry before they even know they’re pregnant.”

“It was just scary because I’ve read the most miscarriages happen pretty early, like in the first three month and I was already in my fourth…”

Linda nodded sympathetically. “It’s a scary thing to go through. We really don’t have an explanation for why first pregnancies are so vulnerable to miscarriage. I wish we did because it’s hard not to have an answer and to put yourself through the risk of trying again.”

“Yeah,” Tess agreed with a sigh.

“I expect your test results by Friday and once they’re in I’ll review them and call you personally.” She smiled at the surprise on her patient’s face. “Small towns. Makes it easier to keep in contact with your patients.”

“I see. Great advantage.”

“I think it is. And don’t hesitate to call me if you have any questions.” She eased back in her chair. “If and when you decide to get pregnant again, there are tests that can also be administered to your boyfriend or husband to help determine any risk factors that may exist.”

“There’re tests for Kyle?” Tess frowned.

“Of course. Men can carry chromosonal abnormalities as well. That’s usually something we look for when a woman experiences more than one miscarriage with the same partner but if it would put your mind at ease and he’s willing to undergo testing it is something that could be pursued.”

She had always thought she was the problem, but what if her ex had been the real reason? “Um, well I’ll discuss it with him.”

Linda smiled and nodded. “Would it be better to reach you on your cell when the results come in?”

“I think so.”

“The lab’s pretty good about getting back to me as early as possible so as soon as I’ve reviewed the results I’ll call. I won’t keep you waiting any longer than necessary.”

“Thank you,” Tess smiled and it came naturally this time. “You’re very kind. I really see now why Liz is so relaxed with this pregnancy.”

Linda nodded. “She certainly is doing well, isn’t she?”

“Yeah, especially considering her last pregnancy.”

“I know the waiting can be nerve-wracking but try not to let it overwhelm you.” She paused a moment. “Liz mentioned you’re opening up a hair salon?”

“Yeah, a beauty shop to be more exact. Me an’ Maria Evans, you might know her.”

“We’ve met, yes. It seems like your whole family’s coming home.”

“Yeah,” the blonde nodded. “Since my brother died a lot’s happened and we’re all finally realizing that we need each other.”

“Family can drive you crazy but they can also be the thing that saves you from yourself.” She chuckled softly. “Mine’s big and loud but I love them.”

“Big and loud, huh? Add crazy and you’ve got mine.”

“Crazy is sometimes what you need to get you through the day.”

Tess collected her things together with a laugh and got up. “Right. So I guess I’ll hear from you soon then.”

“By Friday afternoon at the latest. If there’s any delay, which I don’t foresee, I’ll call you to let you know.”

****

“Hey, Mom,” Justin hollered as he ran into the kitchen. Nick was right behind him and the noise their football gear and backpacks made as they hit the ground and collided made her wince. He pulled the refrigerator door open and started moving things around.

“Get out of that refrigerator, right now,” she said, shaking her head at them.

“But we’re hungry,” Nick complained.

“Have a piece of fruit. Dinner will be ready before long.” She motioned to the things they had piled on the floor. “And take your things up to your room.”

“Aww, Mom.”

“Don’t give me that.”

Nick grabbed a banana and started peeling it as he leaned on the counter beside her. “So what’s for dinner?”

“You two go put your things away and get cleaned up for dinner,” Max said as he came in through the back door and tossed his keys on the counter. He held Kara in his arms and she had her arms wrapped tightly around his neck.

“What’s up, Dad?” Justin asked, tipping his head to one side to get a look at his sister’s face. She looked like she’d been crying.

“We were just out taking Happy and Loopy to their new homes.” He rubbed his little girl’s back as he leaned over to give his wife a kiss. “She’ll be fine,” he murmured when she reached up to stroke Kara’s hair.

“C’mon, Kara, let’s go get ready for dinner an’ you can tell us how the pups like their new homes,” Nick said as he took her from Dad. “Justin, you can get our gear.”

“Yeah, thanks for that, bro,” he muttered and rolled his eyes. He glanced back at Mom after hefting all of their gear up. “So, like, half an hour for dinner?”

Liz chuckled at his hopeful tone. “Half an hour and you guys are on dish duty tonight,” she said, sensing that Max had something on his mind. She looked at her husband once the kids were on their way upstairs. “You wanna go get cleaned up too? I’ll be all yours after dinner.”

“Hard to resist an offer like that.” He leaned in for a longer kiss this time, reluctantly pulling back a few minutes later. “I’ll be quick and then I’ll give you a hand with dinner. I do have some things I’d like to discuss with you once we’ve got the kids fed and occupied with dishes.”

“No hints?” she asked, giving him a playful pout.

He growled under his breath and couldn’t resist kissing her again. “No hints.”

Liz smacked his backside as he passed her and smiled to herself as she went back to work. It felt good to have her family finally getting back on track.

After dinner was finished and the kids were embroiled in the never-ending battle of who was washing and who was drying the dishes she and Max made their escape. They settled down in the den, sinking into the soft cushions of the overstuffed couch.

“Alright, you’ve kept me in suspense long enough, Mr. Evans. Time for you to spill.”

He laughed and stretched out, propping his feet up on the coffee table and linking his hands on his stomach. “A while back Alex tried to talk to me about selling off some of the shops and I handled his suggestion poorly.” He bit his bottom lip as he thought for a moment. “I’ve been doing some serious thinking about that though.”

“And what came out of all this thinking you’ve been doin’?” his wife asked, admittedly surprised that he had brought the subject up on his own.

“Well,” he scratched the back of his head, “Missy came by today and she’s been runnin’ the numbers for possibly expanding part of the business to handle big trucks. What she’s put together so far’s pretty solid and it would allow us to focus on the shops closer to home.”

“Wouldn’t expanding mean more time at work?” Liz asked skeptically.

“Not for me, no. What I’m considering is selling off the shops east of Texas and concentrating the expansion for the shops in Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico.”

She chewed on her bottom lip while she thought about what he was suggesting. Expanding always meant a risk, but she knew Missy was doing her job pretty well. “Did you talk to the shops you want to close?”

“Hey, the expansion’s a risk, but the numbers are solid. We wouldn’t be losing our current customer base; we’d just be opening up new bays to handle the rigs. Missy’s already got a proposal she’s working up to contact companies and set up contracts to do the work on their trucks.”

“Nice way of not answering my question, Evans,” she teased slightly and bumped him with her foot.

“Not yet.” He shrugged. “I know Alex had some buyers expressing interest in purchasing some of the shops to expand their own business and that’s a possible option. I’m sure there’s a way to make sure the majority of the employees are able to maintain their jobs after the sale.”

She nodded absentmindedly before her gaze focused on him again. “I think I like the idea.”

“Whether we go through with this or not, I’d like to offer Missy a promotion, let her take over the majority of the traveling. There would be the rare occasion where I’d be required to handle something personally, but for the most part I’d be right here. We talked about it a while back and she’d like to handle that part of the business.” He quirked an eyebrow. “Whatcha think?”

“Especially like that last part.”

“Yeah? I know Andrew wouldn’t have approved. He wanted to continue expanding but I’ve never wanted the business to get so big it couldn’t be maintained by our family. I think keeping it in just the three states allows us to maintain better control.” He paused. “Do you think Maria will understand?”

“She was never really involved in the business, Max.” Liz leaned forward to take his hand. “I doubt she’ll have anything against any decision you make concerning the business.”

He nodded. “You’re right. I think it’s the right thing for our family and it’ll be easier to manage this way.”

“Andrew knew you always had a different opinion. And you’re not him. He loved the travelling and stuff, you don’t.”

“Yeah, I just never understood the attraction. I mean, okay, if I was single, maybe it’d be more interesting.” He thought about that for a moment. “Yeah, it probably would be.”

“You two were very different in a lot of things,” Liz smiled. She had never understood how Maria and Andrew’s marriage had lasted for so long since the man had been more away then with his family sometimes.

“True. I never understood the draw of all the traveling.” He draped his right arm around her shoulders to pull her closer. “I like bein’ able to come home every night, listening to my kids talk about whatever’s on their minds, makin’ love with my wife when the mood strikes,” his eyes traced over her features, “and sleepin’ next to her every night.”

“Seems like we have something in common then,” she smiled.

“I’ll give Alex a call tomorrow, see if he still has the information on the company that was interested in picking up some of our shops.” His thumb grazed her belly. “I love that we’re getting another chance at this.”

“Me too,” the corners of her lips quirked a few times, before she smiled widely.

He reached up to brush his thumb over her lips. She was so beautiful and she still took his breath away. “I love you, Liz.”

“You better,” she teased and kissed his hand. “Love you too.”

That made him smile. “I guess we’d better start thinkin’ about makin’ more room before she gets here.”

“She, huh?”

He shrugged. “What can I say?”

“I hope Kara won’t be disappointed if she gets another brother.”

“She’ll be excited either way since she’ll finally get to be the big sister.”

“How bad was it when you dropped the puppies off at Maria’s and Tess’s?”

“She was okay until we had to actually leave them there. It just about broke my heart watchin’ her.” He rolled his eyes when she gave him a knowing look. “Okay, yes, there was a moment when I wanted to tell her I’d changed my mind and the puppies could come back home with us.”

“I think she’ll be fine in a few days. Maria and Tess live close by and she’ll see the gremlins often enough.”

“Yeah, I think so too. You know what it’s like when she just gives you that look and those big brown eyes fill with tears.” He thumped one fist over his heart. “Just about kills you.”

Liz chuckled. “I’ll bet Andy’s look when he found out about their new dog was priceless, huh?”

“He wasn’t home, but I’m sure it will be.”

“How was Tess doing?”

“Good. She saw Linda today and from the sounds of it things went well. She’s just waitin’ on some test results that should be in on Friday.”

“I’m positive the tests will be fine. It was probably…” she made a face, “just bad luck the first time, ya know?”

He nodded. “Miscarriage is pretty common for first pregnancies, isn’t it? Not that it makes it any easier, but it doesn’t necessarily mean there’s anything wrong that’ll prevent her from getting pregnant again or causing another miscarriage.”

“Right,” she snuggled closer against him. “She just needs to deal with her fear first.” The door opened slightly and Kara stood there, holding her big stuffed animal against her side.

“Mommy, I miss my Happy and Loopy,” she said and started crying immediately.

“C’mere, sweetie,” Liz said and scooped her up in her arms when the little girl ran across the room. She cradled her close and rubbed her back while reaching over to pat her husband’s thigh. “She’ll be fine,” she mouthed when she caught his expression.

Max ran his hand over Kara’s head and nodded at his wife’s silent words. He knew she was right and that Kara would bounce back from this but it just killed him to see her so upset.

“You’ll see them again tomorrow, sweetie,” Liz promised. “I need to discuss a few things with Aunt Maria about Thanksgiving and you can come with me.”

Kara sniffled and thought about that for a moment before looking up at Mommy, wide-eyed. “We can go see them tomorrow?”

“Yeah, at least we can see Happy.”

She smiled and wiped the back of her hand over her eyes. “Okay.”

Liz exchanged a relieved look with her husband when the girl had calmed down sooner than expected.

“Can Happy and Loopy come over for Thanksgiving too?”

“We’re going to celebrate over at Maria’s house, sweetie. I bet Aunt Tess will bring Loopy as well.”

“Can Lucky go too?”

“I doubt he wants to, Kara.”

“But there’s gonna be turkey and Lucky likes turkey.”

“Yeah, but there’ll also be a lot of other animals and Lucky prefers to be on his own, right? We can bring him some leftovers.”

“And Ari too?”

Max chuckled and ruffled her curly hair. “We’ll discuss this when Thanksgiving gets here, little girl.”

“Happy chased Mojo, Mommy.” She laughed. “He made him run around the house and then he tried to hide under the table.”

“Mojo was there too, huh?” Liz grinned at Max.

“Yeah, guess they wanted to introduce everyone at the same time,” he said with a soft smirk.

“Are Maria and Mr. Guerin are getting married?” Kara looked up at her parents. “I saw them kissing…”

Max glanced at his wife. Probably better to let her handle that one.

Thank you, Liz mouthed to him and looked at her daughter. “Well, they’re just getting to know each other, you know? Maybe in the future… we’ll see.”

Kara frowned and stroked the stuffed animal she held. “If they get married will he be my uncle?”

Well, not technically, since Maria wasn’t a blood relative, Liz thought, but that’d really be too much to explain to Kara. “Well… in some ways, yes.”

“He’s nice and he has Mojo too so it’s okay if they get to be in our family.”

“Yeah,” Liz agreed, “I think so too.”

Max dropped his head back against the couch and chuckled quietly. The guy had a dog Kara was in love with so it was alright if he became part of the family. The way kids viewed things was priceless.

“I think someone’s getting tired,” Liz said softly as she watched her daughter’s eyes start to close more often.

“Huh-uh,” Kara denied slowly.

“Why don’t I take her up, get her ready for bed? Then I’ll come back and take her Mama to bed.”

“Sounds good,” Liz smirked.

He grinned and kissed her as he leaned over to pick their daughter up. “Don’t go to sleep on me.”

****

“Did you hear the news about our parents spending the weekend in Santa Fe?” Andy asked his girlfriend as they walked towards his house. He had been at the basketball court after school and then Sam had met him so they could spend some time together and maybe also study for the math test the next day.

“Yeah, my Dad told me when I got home from school,” Sam nodded and squeezed his hand, grinning.

He looked down at her while they walked and grinned as well. “Think he’s gonna put a chaperon on you?”

“Nah,” she waved him off, “I’m old enough. I’m positive he’ll be okay with me stayin’ alone.”

“Yeah,” he opened the gate at the front of the house and led the way to the door. Before he opened it he pulled her in a hug though and leaned down to whisper in her ear. “Think you’re brave enough to sneak out of your empty house to join me over here?”

Sam shivered slightly as his words, whispered in a deep tone carried to her. “Guess there’s a possibility,” she answered with a slight smirk. Although she wasn’t sure about how soon they would go…. further in their relationship, she trusted him to not do anything she didn’t want.

Andy wasn’t quite sure where this would lead, but he wouldn’t let the chance to hang out with his girl when everyone else was gone just pass by. He leaned in slightly and gently pressed his lips to hers for a brief moment. “We can order pizza and get some movies.”

“Or…” she moved slightly to wrap her arms around him, “…we could cook.”

He made a face. “You obviously know nothing about my cooking skills. The non-existent skills, actually.”

She chuckled and stole another kiss from him. “I’ll teach you.”

“As long as we don’t ruin Mom’s new kitchen,” he shrugged with one shoulder and grinned down at her.

Suddenly they could hear barking behind the door and it definitely wasn’t Theo. “Does your mom have a guest?” she asked. It wasn’t Mojo either; the bark was way too high for a dog of his size.

Andy fumbled with his keys and opened the front door, frowning when a little dog that looked like one of those rats Kara was taking care of, ran towards him and jumped up and down against his leg. “What the…” he knelt down and looked at the little tag hanging from the dog’s collar. “It’s Happy. Kara must be here.”

“Shouldn’t she be getting ready for bed by now?” Sam said and took the dog in her arms, laughing when it made a happy sound and licked her neck.

“Maybe she’s spending the night here,” he wondered aloud and walked further into the house. “Mom?” he called out.

Maria rolled her eyes when her son yelled through the whole house instead of looking for her. She wiped her hands on a towel quickly and walked from the kitchen to the living room. “You’re home late,” she stated. “Oh, hello, Sam, I didn’t know you were coming over.”

“Hello, Mrs. Evans.”

“The guys and I went to the court after school and it kinda took a bit longer than planned.”

“Kinda, huh?” she asked, amused. “Are you guys hungry? There’re plenty of leftovers from dinner since I expected you to be here. Michael was just putting them in the refrigerator.”

“He’s here?”

“Well, right now he’s taking Theo for a walk.”

“Oh, right. Well, I could eat something,” Andy said and looked at his girlfriend in question. “What about you?”

“No thanks, I already ate at home,” Sam answered and put the puppy back on the floor when Happy began to get impatient.

“Where’s Kara?”

“Kara?” Maria frowned and then remembered that she hadn’t had the time to tell Andy about their newest family member.

“The dog. It’s hers, isn’t it?”

“Actually, he’s ours now.”

“Wh – “ he swallowed. “Huh?”

“It was impossible for your aunt and uncle to deal with these little ones now that there’s another baby on the way and all. They needed new homes for them, so Tess and I decided to take them in, so your little cousin won’t be so sad about them leaving.”

“Aww, that’s very sweet of you,” Sam said, already excited about the idea of going for a walk with Andy’s newest pet.

“But Mom,” he whined. “Those aren’t even real dogs.”

“They are too,” Maria shook her head. “Just little ones.”

He snorted. “Theo will eat him for breakfast.”

“Actually they seem to get along pretty well. They played together in the backyard and I’m pretty sure Theo has just adopted him as his little brother.”

Just great, Andy thought. “I’m not going for a walk with that rat.”

“I will,” Sam said and immediately earned a glare from him.

“I doubt he needs a lot of exercise, Andy, and he’ll be with me in the shop most of the time,” Maria walked back into the kitchen to warm up dinner with the teenagers and one tiny dog following her.

“He’s not going in my room either.”

“You are so mean,” Sam complained and scratched the dog’s head. “Don’t listen to him, he’s just being mean.”

Two woman against me, Andy thought with an eye roll while Mom tried to hide her grin.

It was only a matter of time before Sam had him loving and accepting Happy into their home.
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Double Trouble
Obsessed Roswellian
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Joined: Tue Dec 16, 2008 9:47 am

Part 116

Post by Double Trouble »

Natalie36: Thanks for reading!

keepsmiling7: Thanks, we’re glad to be back!

Kyle would be willing to do whatever it takes if Tess can and is willing to expand their family.

Chances are good Kara will find a way to make visits, lol.

Earth2Mama: It might take Andy some time to figure that one out!

Max will get there.

sarammlover: It’s definitely taken some time, but Max and Liz are getting there. Lol, we think Sam can handle Andy and his attitude.

mary mary: Dogs are great and they certainly make life more interesting!

Alien_Friend: Andy disagrees, lol, but we’ll see.

Things are really looking up for the Evans family. It’s been a long, trying road but they’re getting there.

We’ll check in on Tess today.

begonia9508: Lol, it’s so true!

Rodney: Man rule... understood. Um, but not all women that own rat dogs are old or Paris Hilton, lol. ;)





Part 116

Kyle smiled at the woman seated at the desk outside of the director’s office, not surprised when she barely spared him a glance and told him she’d let the director know he was there before picking up the phone next to her computer. She was a no-nonsense woman who didn’t go out of her way to make small talk. She was efficient if not friendly; she was there to do a job and that was exactly what she was going to do.

He moved to stand near the bank of windows that looked down over the city. He shook his head at the insanity of the busy traffic that never seemed to slow down. Yeah, he enjoyed some of the things that a large city had to offer, but he missed the calmer pace of life in the small town he’d grown up in. The town he and Tess were going to make their home, he thought with a smile. He had been gone for most of a week already and he couldn’t wait to get back home. Most of his time had been spent in interviews, completing a mountain of forms – in triplicate of course, and now he was just waiting for the official word.

His evenings had been spent at his apartment packing his things up to ship to Roswell and boxing up stuff that he had weeded out and decided to give away. He would’ve enjoyed the process a lot more if Tess had been there to break the monotony but at the same time he knew there were things she would’ve found a way to get rid of. He smirked as he thought about the arguments that were sure to arise when he started unpacking and putting his things around the apartment… and the making up that would come after.

Jack had warned him that his things would end up in boxes in the garage or hidden well out of sight in a closet somewhere. He had just laughed at his friend and shrugged it off. A lot of his friends were married and most of the men’s pre-marriage things had been relegated to the basement or the garage but none of them really seemed to mind. What was the big deal? It gave a guy his own space and he couldn’t see a problem with that. Most guys ended up having their favorite chair tossed out for the trash pickup or their wife or girlfriend had it reupholstered to fit in with whatever color scheme they had chosen for the interior design. No way was his chair getting a makeover.

“The director will see you now, Agent Valenti.”

He turned from the window when the secretary spoke and pulled him from his musings. “Thanks,” he said with a nod as he crossed the room. He ran his palm over his tie and straightened his jacket before turning the knob and entering the office.

“Have a seat, Valenti,” Director Powell said and motioned to the leather chairs placed before his desk.

Kyle settled into one of the chairs as his gaze slid over the open folder lying on the director’s desk. “Everything finally sorted out?” he asked.

Steven Powell leaned back in his chair and linked his fingers over his stomach. “The Roswell field office is yours, effective January 2nd. You’ve met with Brian Edwards?”

“The man heading up the office currently? Yeah, I’ve met with him several times and I’ve spent some time reviewing his operations methods. He said he’d be willing to hang back a couple of weeks to make the leadership transition smoother.”

Director Powell nodded. “I think that’s a good idea. I have complete confidence in your ability to head up that office. If I didn’t I wouldn’t have recommended you for the position, but there will be some agents who balk at answering to someone your age so having Edwards onsite for a few weeks will help the situation.”

“I’m prepared for some opposition. Edwards said once my transfer was official we could go over any problem areas that’ll need to be addressed. I figure he knows his people best and any advice he can give me will be appreciated.”

“I do hate to lose you as an agent here in Atlanta.” The director chuckled lightly. “It’ll be a challenge finding someone new to partner with Jack. He gets along with just about everyone but the trick is finding an agent who can work with him. Not so easy to find someone that fits and who can balance out his personality. The two of you have given me some headaches over the years but you do damn fine work.”

“You’re a damn fine man to work for, Director Powell.”

They stood and shook hands.

*****

Tess stared at her freshly painted toenails, tapping the cap on the nail polish against her bottom lip thoughtfully. She was trying to stay busy so she wouldn’t be staring at the clock, waiting for Linda to call. The doctor had promised to call but as the minutes ticked by and the afternoon wore on she could feel her nerves stretching thin. Her attention was drawn to the side when Loopy rolled over and placed one tiny paw on her thigh, his head cocked to one side as he studied her.

“I’m just thinking,” she said. She reached out to straighten the little football jersey he was wearing. She had spent the morning in Albuquerque, wandering around the mall to distract her. She had managed to succeed for a while after discovering the sports store, losing herself in all of the gear available for dogs. She tugged on his collar, chuckling at the nametag shaped like a football. Kyle was a huge Bears fan and she figured it could only help Loopy’s case to outfit him with Bears gear.

“It’s nothing personal,” she assured him as she gave him a good scratch behind the ears. “Guys just prefer dogs the size of small horses. Between you an’ me? You’re a lot easier to clean up after and you don’t drool by the gallon.” She nodded when the puppy yawned widely and then wiggled around to settle in for a nap. “I can appreciate that.”

It was kind of nice having Loopy around. He was playful, he loved to snuggle when he was tired, and he made enough noise to let her know she wasn’t alone in the apartment. He was energetic and he loved toys that squeaked, something she knew was going to drive Kyle up the wall. The puppy wasn’t quite as noisy around the apartment as he was when he and Happy were together. When the two of them were underfoot they were into everything and chaos reigned.

She glanced at the clock. It hadn’t even been five minutes since the last time she looked. Loopy suddenly rolled over and got to his feet, growling quietly as he jumped down off of the couch and ran across the floor. He barked, the sharp sound making her wince. She got up and followed him, her eyebrows lifting when he stood on his hind legs against the front door. His tail was snapping back and forth as he danced around, nails clicking against the door as he barked happily. Before she could say anything someone knocked on the door. She leaned down to scoop Loopy up before turning the lock and pulling the door open.

“Loopy!” Kara shouted and held her arms out expectantly.

Max poked his daughter and gave her a meaningful look when she tipped her head back to look up at him.

“Oh! Hi, Aunt Tess!” She threw her arms around her aunt’s waist and hugged her tightly for a moment before quickly moving back and waiting for the woman to hand the puppy down to her.

“I would’ve called first but I got sidetracked convincing Kara she didn’t need ice cream as an after school snack.”

Tess shot a glance down at the baggie with sliced apples he was carrying and she wrinkled her nose in distaste. “I hope that wasn’t your big selling point.” She motioned for him to come inside and closed the door after him.

“Daddy, look at Loopy’s clothes,” Kara said, holding the puppy up.

“Yeah, that’s…” he tipped his head to one side to study the tiny football jersey, “…that’s somethin’, isn’t it?” He shook his head at his sister. “You’re dressin’ the dog up?”

“He’s cute and Kyle’s just gonna love it,” Tess defended the puppy’s wardrobe.

“Uh-huh, puttin’ his favorite team’s jersey on a Chihuahua, that’s gonna make the guy love him.” He snorted softly and scratched the puppy behind his ears. “Nothin’ personal, little guy, but you’re not exactly a man’s dog.”

Tess rolled her eyes. “That is such a stereotypical thing to say.”

“You went shoppin’ at some pet store that caters to sports lovers and you probably bought the store out.”

She crossed her arms over her chest as she dropped down to sit on the couch. “I didn’t buy everything they had, just certain things.”

“Uh-huh, sure.” He sat in the recliner and watched his daughter as she sat on the floor playing tug-o-war with Loopy. “Parading Loopy around with a Bears jersey and leash isn’t gonna make it any less humiliating for the guy to walk the dog.”

“Did you have a reason for dropping by besides ragging on my choice of accessories for the dog?”

“Yeah, just wanted to make sure you know what you’re getting into tomorrow night. One of you against five of them,” he shook his head. “And that’s not countin’ the pets you’re gonna have underfoot. You’re gonna have your hands full.”

“Max, I’ve got it under control. You just go out with your wife and the others and have a good time.”

He chuckled. “I’m not that excited about that whole dance group thing but a night away from the kids will be good for us.” He leaned back and stretched his arms over his head. “Liz’s parents are comin’ down next week. They were gonna be here this weekend but they ran into an issue with their head chef so it’s gonna be closer to Thanksgiving when they get here.”

“Yeah, Liz mentioned they were comin’ down. She’s really looking forward to havin’ them here.”

“It’ll be a helluva lot more relaxing than havin’ Mom an’ Dad drop in on us unannounced.”

Tess snorted. “Hell, when have Mom and Dad ever paid anyone a visit that wasn’t stressful?”

“Good point.” He smiled when Kara cradled Loopy like a baby and started rocking him. “Not a man’s dog, little sister.”

“Kyle’s gonna love him, you just wait and see.”

“Okay.” His tone indicated that he didn’t believe it. He turned his head when her cell phone rang and he called Kara over to him after he listened to Tess’ conversation and realized it was a supplier for her business. “Aunt Tess needs to take this call so we’re gonna get outta here and leave her to it.”

“We gotta go now?” she whispered loudly.

“We need to get home and get dinner started anyway, right?”

“Oh, yeah!”

“Alright, go take Loopy over to Aunt Tess and tell her goodbye. Quietly,” he reminded her before she could get away from him.

Half an hour later Tess was drowsily stroking Loopy’s head as he slept, his muzzle propped on her thigh. Her own eyelids were slowly slipping closed and she started when the phone rang again. She started to ignore it but she suddenly remembered that she was waiting for a call and she snatched it up, hitting the call button as she lifted it to her ear.

“Hello,” she answered, feeling nervous and scared and hopeful all at once.

“Good afternoon, Tess, this’s Dr. Linda Martinez.”

She swallowed with difficulty, trying to find her voice. “I’ve been waiting for your call.”

“The lab finally sent your results over, and I know the wait has been agonizing, but the results are good.”

“Good… they’re good. You’re sure?”

“I’m sure, Tess. Nothing in your results suggests that we’re looking at any physical or chromosomal abnormalities. If the time comes and you decide to get pregnant again we can certainly monitor you and the baby from the beginning to make sure that things are progressing the way they should. We’ll take the necessary precautions and make sure you’re comfortable with every step of the pregnancy.”

“Dr. Martinez, thank you so much. You don’t know what this means to me.” Or what it means to us, she thought as she hung up a few moments later. Just knowing that getting pregnant again was an option lifted a weight from her shoulders. She didn’t know if she could put herself through another pregnancy, if she could accept that there was a good chance that the next one wouldn’t end in a miscarriage. But at least now she knew it was an option with favorable odds.

*****

Kyle gave his apartment one last visual sweep, making sure he hadn’t overlooked anything. He had packed up his things and had them stacked in one corner of the living room, surrounding his favorite chair. He had let all of his furniture go with the exception of the comfortable chair he’d been hauling around since his first apartment after college. It was perfect for kicking back and putting his feet up, relaxing with a cold beer and an exciting game. It had been patched up a few times over the years and it had a tendency to lean to one side more than the other, but he refused to replace it with a newer model. And he already knew exactly where it would go once it was delivered to Roswell.

He nodded to himself and grabbed his bag before turning the lights out and leaving his apartment for the last time. He would drop his keys off with the building manager and the man would let the moving company in to pick everything up on Saturday morning. After taking care of that he got into his rental car and headed into an older downtown district, finding the shop he was looking for and parking nearby. He was spending his last night in Atlanta with Jack and Shayna, meeting them for dinner, and then crashing at a hotel near the airport.

He climbed out of the car and shoved the keys in his front pocket, pulling his jacket tighter around him and ducking his head against the rain. He ran up to the entrance of the shop and nodded at the uniformed man who opened the door to let him in.

“Welcome to Callahan Jewelers,” an elderly man said as he walked along the glass counters. He smiled when he noticed the younger man’s gaze searching the items on display. He was in the market for something specific. “I’m Dwight Callahan.”

“Hi, Special Agent Kyle Valenti,” he introduced himself and shook the man’s hand.

“You look like a young man who knows exactly what he wants.”

“I’ve got an idea what I’m lookin’ for.” He moved further down, his fingertips grazing the edge of the case. He crouched down and looked through the glass. He tapped his forefinger against the glass. “I’d like to have a look at that one right there.”

He unlocked the case and removed the velvet box. “She must be a very special lady.”

“Oh, she’s so much more than that,” Kyle murmured as he reached for the box. He paused, his hand poised over it. “May I?”

“Of course, please.”

He picked the box up and wiggled the ring free. He released the box when Callahan reached for it, freeing his hands up so he could examine the ring. He had spent quite a bit of time searching for the perfect ring and when he had been browsing the shop’s website he had been certain he had found it. It was white gold with three diamonds set into the band, perfectly balanced by the swirling design that embraced each diamond.

“Yeah, this’s the one.”

“It’s an excellent choice, Agent Valenti.”

Kyle grinned as he glanced at the man. “Thanks.” He spent a while longer studying the ring from every possible angle before he finally released it so the proprietor could ring up his purchase. He glanced up when the clock chimed the hour and he realized he was cutting it close for dinner with his partner and Shayna.

He thanked the old man and carefully pocketed his purchase before going back out into the rain, a spring in his step and his savings account significantly impacted.

****

The three couples separated from the crowd as they exited the exhibition center where the dance group had performed. The men were left out of the conversation as the women discussed the performance and debated the possibility of actually executing some of the moves they had seen the dancers exhibit. Max tried to hide a yawn and got an elbow in his ribs for his effort.

“Hey,” he grumbled.

“You should be well rested after sleeping through the last half hour of the performance,” Liz said with a roll of her eyes.

“It was like two hours of watching people in tights and ruffles leaping across the stage. And honey, guys in white tights like that? Sooo doesn’t leave anything to the imagination.”

“Yeah, I’m with you on that,” Alex agreed. “Couldn’t wardrobe have put some pants on that guy?”

Michael smirked at that as they took a right at the corner. They had discussed hanging out in the hotel bar for a while after the show but they hadn’t made solid plans so he figured they were just winging it. “Yeah, I’m not sure what’s up with those costumes. I wouldn’t be caught dead in somethin’ like that.”

“The three of you seemed to be paying attention to certain aspects of the show,” Isabel commented with a laugh.

“Hell, Iz, it’s not like you could miss it if you wanted to,” Michael said as he leaned forward to look at her. “Believe me, I’d have pulled that sleepin’ through that last act thing that Max did if I thought I’d have gotten away with it.”

“You should’ve just gone for it,” Max said with a grin.

He laughed and draped his arm around Maria’s shoulders when the wind blew. “I’m not an old married man yet.”

“Maybe not married,” Maria teased with a laugh.

Michael walked along with her for a while before he suddenly paused. “Wait, did you just call me old?”

Isabel snorted. “Took a helluva lot of time for you to figure that one out, Guerin. I think you really are getting old.”

“I’m in my prime,” he disagreed and looked at his girlfriend meaningfully. “Besides, you’re almost as old as me.”

“Just almost,” se told him with a wink and bumped his side.

“Come on, we are not that old,” Liz said.

“Our kids would certainly disagree,” Max chuckled and glanced at his watch. “Should we call Tess from the hotel to make sure everything’s okay?”

“They’re fine, Max,” his wife told him and squeezed his arm. “Besides Kara’s probably asleep.”

“I wouldn’t count on that with my sister sitting her,” he snorted.

Maria laughed. “You should’ve seen Andy’s face when I told him that his aunt was watching him.”

“Yeah, that was a very priceless look on his face,” Michael agreed with a smirk und winked at Alex. “Guess he had other plans.”

“Thank God for Tess,” the other man said, sounding relieved.

“Uh-huh, this morning you weren’t so impressed with the idea of Sam spending the night at our house either,” Max reminded his friend.

Isabel rested her head against Alex’s shoulder for a moment. “I convinced him that letting them spend the night under the same roof with Tess would be better than keeping them apart and having them sneak out.”

Max snorted at that. “You’re a braver man than I am.”

“You have years before you even have to think about worrying about anything like that,” Liz said with a laugh.

Alex lifted an eyebrow as he glanced at her. “As the father of a teenage daughter I’m gonna have to disagree with you. I started worrying about that long before she was old enough to start dating.”

“What about you, Michael?” Max asked. “I know it’s probably different, but you raised your sister so you had to sweat through the teenage dating thing.”

“I’m sure there’re some differences, but I also had Miss Know-It-All over there to help take some of the pressure off when Chrissie started dating.”

Isabel shrugged when Alex glanced at her. “Well, someone had to do something before the poor girl turned 25 without ever knowing what a date was.”

“I think we’d better change the subject,” Maria said, amused at the turn the conversation had taken.

Liz chuckled. “Yeah we’d better, before my husband starts thinking too much about maybe having another girl in the house.”

“Oh, imagine,” Maria laughed. “Just when he starts to get over Kara dating he’ll have to start worrying all over again about the next girl.”

“Hmm, I hadn’t thought about it that way. Think we can convince Kara she’d prefer a baby boy?” Max asked and scratched his chin.

“I doubt the baby cares about any of our opinions, Max,” she said in amusement and rested one hand over her belly.

“You know, I’d like a girl,” Michael whispered into Maria’s ear so that the others couldn’t hear it. “If she gets her beautiful mother’s looks.”

“Patience, Counsellor Guerin,” she told him with a wink. The thought of a new baby had never been far away and now that it seemed she had found just the right man, those thoughts were making themselves known again.

He kissed her temple gently. “Yeah, I know.”

She smiled and leaned into him when the wind gusted for a moment, using him as a shield against the dropping temperatures.

Isabel glanced over at her friend. He was finally happy and as long as she had waited for him to have that she knew he had waited even longer.

At the hotel the doorman let them in and the warmer temperature quickly made their coats unnecessary. The hotel was one of the finest establishments in the city and boasted a large comfortable lounge with live music most nights.

“Anyone still interested in grabbing a drink?” Max asked. “Kick back for a while before we call it a night?”

Alex checked with Isabel before nodding. “Sure, we’re in for a little while.”

“Yeah, let’s have a drink,” Maria and Michael agreed as well. As much as they were looking forward to spending their first night together, it was also just a bit nerve-wracking.
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Fics: A Xmas Story - A Merry Mt. R. Xmas - Cupid's Revenge - Double Trouble - Double Date - Double Dare - Double Empire - Double Xmas Wish - In The Course Of A Lifetime - Mountains So High - Not A Question At All - Surrender - TIC TAC - Two Double Dates at Xmas
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Double Trouble
Obsessed Roswellian
Posts: 925
Joined: Tue Dec 16, 2008 9:47 am

Re: In The Course Of A Lifetime (CC, AU, Adult) Part 116 8/2

Post by Double Trouble »

Earth2Mama: Lol, they just might be.

Lol, they are cute.

Oh, Kyle has something in mind.

sarammlover: This group has certainly been through some rough spots but the light at the end of the tunnel is finally visible.

Natalie36: Lol, pretty sure the kids won’t put a damper on those future thoughts... although they’re likely to make it an interesting night.

mary mary: Lol, Aunt Tess probably could use a drink right about now. But maybe she’ll get some help from a different source.

keepsmiling7: How about some more Kara and Loopy? And a little Happy too!

Cardinal: So true, that was the best news she could’ve gotten.

Lol, yeah, but that won’t stop her from trying.

Alien_Friend: Kyle does have something up his sleeve. ;) Lol, they could go rounds over that chair.

Max is a lovable character and he’s come so far in this story.

begonia9508: Thanks! Nah, one way or the other he’ll have his stuff around.

Lol, Kyle’s not that impressed with that smartly dressed doggy.

Kara agrees with you!

Eva: Welcome back!!!

Rodney: Lol, well, that won’t be enough to convince Tess to stop trying.





Part 117

“Alright, I think Kara’s finally asleep,” Tess whispered and looked at the couch where the little girl was snuggled up between Loopy, Happy and her brothers. “Now, how do we get her upstairs without waking her up again?” The little girl had refused to go to bed sooner because her dogs were here and she wanted to make sure they went to sleep before her. It had been a lost battle, but she had given it a shot.

Nick moved and carefully got up without disturbing his sister. “She is well off in dreamland,” he said when his movement didn’t even make her shift in her sleep.

Both dogs sprang from the couch when everyone started moving around and Andy and Sam grabbed them before they could make any noise. “We’ll take them out in the backyard.”

“Uh-huh,” Tess said, amused. “Just the backyard and stay in the light.” Teenage hormones, she thought. They had both been pissy about their parents’ decision to leave them with a chaperone, but at least the adults had agreed to let them sleep in the same house.

“Stay in the yard,” Andy muttered as he led the way back through the kitchen to the back door. “I can’t believe my mom has my aunt babysitting us!”

As annoyed with her own dad as she had been at learning about their chaperone, Sam was having a hard time keeping a straight face as she watched her boyfriend. “At least they let us stay in the same place.”

“Oh, yeah, that was a huge concession on their part,” he snorted as they turned the puppies loose. He glanced over at Mojo where the big dog was lying under the table on the deck. “We’re surrounded by dogs and people.”

“Well…” she walked over to him, “just the dogs at the moment and I don’t think they’re gonna say anything.”

Andy forgot why he was complaining when her hands slid up over his chest to rest on his shoulders.

“One day we’ll get the chance for more privacy,” she promised him and stood on her tiptoes to give him a short kiss.

He reacted quickly and wrapped her arms around her, turning the kiss into more than just a brief one. She was probably right, but it still felt odd to be babysat at his age. Andy kissed her gently, but with a hint of impatience as well. Who knew how long they would be left alone on the deck?

“Mh.. mhhh,” Sam mumbled, giving him a slight squeeze until he backed away slightly. She gasped for air desperately. “Hey, ya wanna choke me,” she teased.

“Nah, I guess not,” he said with a smirk and glanced at the yard. “Where’re the little rats?” he asked with a frown when he couldn’t see either Happy or Loopy.

Sam squinted as she looked around the backyard. “Uh-oh,” she said with a laugh when she saw one of the puppies trying to squeeze under the fence. They were too far away to tell which of the puppies it was. “Looks like they’re tryin’ to make their escape.”

Andy snorted and jumped down off of the back porch so he could cross the yard. When he reached the fence he crouched down and felt around the puppy’s neck so he could figure out how he was caught. The puppy squirmed around, making him grumble under his breath when it pushed the back of his hand up against the piece of broken wood the puppy’s collar was caught on.

The puppy barked happily and scampered off to chase Lucky as soon as he was freed. “You’re welcome, you little rat,” Andy muttered. He started looking around for the other puppy and jumped back when a little wet nose poked through the opening beneath the fence. He tried to make a grab for the animal but he barked and bounced back out of reach. “Damn it, come back here.”

“You’re doin’ it all wrong,” Sam said with a laugh. By now he was practically lying on the ground, his arm shoved through the hole at the bottom of the fence.

He rolled his eyes and stretched his arm further under the fence. He could feel the puppy’s fur with his fingertips but he couldn’t get close enough to get a hold of the animal. “Oh, really? I suppose you could do it better?”

“Well, maybe,” she said in amusement and knelt down next to the fence. After looking around for a bit, she found a small stick in the grass and started to poke the animal lightly in a teasing manner. She smiled in satisfaction when the puppy did just what she wanted and started to go after the stick.

In no time Loopy was distracted and moved closer to the fence, his focus on the annoying little poking thing. “Now get him,” Sam whispered to her boyfriend.

Andy just snorted, but did what she had requested and was able to get a good hold of the puppy. “Ha! Now I’ve got you,” he said triumphantly when the puppy wiggled around in an attempt to get away.

“Pull him in carefully, we don’t want to hurt him.”

“Ya know, you don’t have to tell me the obvious,” Andy rolled his eyes and pulled the little rat back inside, using his other hand to protect his little head when it came near the broken wood.

“What’re you guys doin’?” Justin asked as he approached them.

“Tryin’ to escape,” Andy said dryly. “What’s it look like we’re doin’?”

“No clue.” He took a big bite of the sandwich in his right hand and shrugged. He tipped his head to one side when Loopy wiggled free of his cousin’s hold and scampered past them.

“The rats found a spot big enough for them to squeeze through.” He frowned at Justin when he mumbled something around the food in his mouth. “Say what?”

“There’s some boards in the garage,” he said when he could talk freely again. “Get one of them and stake it against the fence. Give you a couple minutes outta sight.” He grinned and sauntered back up to the house. Of course, they’d either have to take the puppies with them or put them in the house… and putting them in the house would just make Aunt Tess suspicious.

“Should we?” Sam asked with a grin.

Andy snorted and put a foot next to the open spot in the fence where Loopy was already sniffing around again. “Yeah, lemme get it and prevent the dog from escaping again.”

“I can get it too,” she said and didn’t wait for an answer before she left.

“Great,” the boy muttered and looked at the dog when it stepped on his shoe and started to chew on the lace. “Don’t do that,” he grumbled and looked up when he saw movement on the back deck out of the corner of his eyes.

“What’re you doin’?” Tess asked, frowning at her nephew.

“There’s a hole in the fence. We need to fix it or the little rats are gonna keep trying to escape.”

“The dogs aren’t rats, Andy,” she said and shook her head. “Speaking of… get them inside. Kara woke up and refuses to sleep without them.”

He rolled his eyes and picked one of the annoying furballs up. This night was going just great.

Sam came around the corner of the house just as Andy walked through the back door with the dogs. “Hey, where’re you…” She nodded when she saw his aunt standing on the deck. “Oh, right.” She leaned the board up against the house when the woman motioned for her to go inside as well. “We weren’t doin’ anything,” she grumbled.

“And we’re gonna keep it that way,” Tess said with a smirk.

Nick was sitting on the couch smirking when Sam walked into the living room. “Shut up.”

He held his hands up. “Hey, I didn’t say anything.”

Justin laughed and stroked Happy when the little dog bounced across the couch cushions to hop into his lap. Kara was right behind the puppy and as soon as she had the animal cradled to her chest along with Loopy he scooped all of them up. “I think we’d better get you up to your room.”

“Yeah,” Tess agreed and sighed. “I’d appreciate that.” Sitting this bunch of kids was a lot more exhausting than she had expected, she thought with an eye roll but smiled to herself. She wouldn’t trade them for anything though.

“What kinda story do we read today?” Kara asked when her brother carried her upstairs.

“Did you look at the clock, young lady?” Tess asked when she opened the door for Justin. “It’s way past your bedtime and we agreed you’d go to sleep as soon as you had the dogs.”

The girl made a face and looked at her brother for help.

“Uh-uh, don’ look at me, sis. You heard what Aunt Tess said and she’s right, you’re up much later than you are with Mom an’ Dad.”

“But…” Kara started to protest and they all went silent when they heard the front door downstairs.

“I’ll be right back,” Tess said and made a quick escape, ready to herd Andy and Sam back inside before they could sneak away. “You little teenager hormones,” she cursed under her breath when she ran downstairs. She was so sidetracked by her thoughts that she didn’t even see the other person on the first step and almost bumped into him. “Kyle,” she said in surprise when she raised her head and looked into her boyfriend’s beautiful blue eyes. “What’re you doin’ here?”

He grinned at her frazzled appearance. “Busy night with the kids?” he asked instead of answering her question.

“A little bit, yeah.” She lowered her voice. “Andy and Sam are both here and I know they’re just waiting for the right moment to sneak off together.”

He tried not to laugh and ended up snorting instead. “I seem to recall the two of us sneakin’ off on more than one occasion when we were teenagers.”

“It’s not funny, Kyle.”

“No,” he agreed, “it’s hormones.” He pulled her into his arms and lowered his head, his lips brushing hers. “Got some of those myself and they’re raging right now.”

“I didn’t expect you to be back until at least Monday,” she said quietly and let him kiss her.

“Things went a lot faster than I thought they would,” he mumbled.

“You got everything settled for the transfer to Roswell?”

He nodded and smiled widely. “We’re good. Everything went as planned.”

Tess winced when Kara appeared at the top of the stairs, her voice high-pitched. “Untel Tyle!!!”

“Well, at least on your side,” she mused with a smirk. “I’m having trouble getting her into bed tonight. She’s just so full of energy.”

Kyle chuckled. “Need some help?” He turned to his niece and lifted her up in his arms when she stumbled down the steps towards him. “Hey, little lady. Thought you’d already be asleep.”

“No,” she said with a smile. “Happy an’ Loopy aren’t sleepy.”

“Is that so?” He pretended to think about that for a moment. “I think maybe they need a bedtime story.” He lifted his eyebrows as he looked at his niece. “Ya think?”

She nodded enthusiastically. “Oh, yes, but it has to be a good one!”

“You’re right,” he said, his expression remaining serious. “Hmm, a good one. What story’s your daddy been reading?”

Her eyes widened and she smiled. “Daddy reads all the Disney princess stories an’ he makes the funny voices.” She shifted and rested her arm on Uncle Kyle’s shoulder. “In Little Mermaid he can sound like Sebastian and he sings Under the Sea too! Oh, you can read Lion King if you want, but you gotta sing the Hatuna Matata song, Untel Tyle.”

“So, any Disney story has to be accompanied by a song?” He chuckled when she scrunched up her nose at the unfamiliar word. “You want me to sing a song?” He rolled his eyes and glanced at Tess when their niece nodded her head enthusiastically. “And again, your brother sets the bar too high for the rest of us mere mortal men.”

She snorted. “You’ve obviously never heard him sing.” A yawn escaped her mouth while they walked back up the stairs with Kara.

“Someone’s tired,” he mused and looked at his girlfriend with a warm smile. “You kids did a good job exhausting your aunt, huh?”

“Hey, Uncle Kyle,” Justin greeted when they met in the hallway. “I think Andy and Sam are mostly to blame.”

Tess waved them off. “I just didn’t sleep well last night.”

“Something wrong?” Kyle asked with a slight frown.

“Everything’s fine,” she gave him an encouraging smile. It wasn’t the right time to talk about the news Linda had given her yesterday. Last night had been short because she had been thinking way too much about it.

“Speaking of Andy and Sam, where’d they get off to now?”

Tess paused at the top of the stairs, turning her head so she could hear any movement downstairs. “Damn it,” she muttered when she didn’t hear anything. “I’m gonna kill the two of them.”

Kyle chuckled. “Want me to go get them?”

“No, no, I’ve got them.” She rolled her eyes. “Maria and Alex may both be childless before this night’s over though.” She hurried to go back downstairs, grumbling under her breath the whole way.

“Wha’s wrong with Auntie Tess?” Kara asked, oblivious to what was going on.

“Andy and Sam are just playing hide and seek with her,” Kyle chuckled.

“Oh, can I play wif them?”

“Uh-uh, I think it’s time for you to sleep,” he said with a slight shake of his head. “And Aunt Tess is gonna tell the others to stop as well,” he hurried to say when she grimaced as if she was going to start crying. “So, what about that story we wanted to read?”

“I’ll show you in my room,” she said and pointed at the door in the hallway.

Kyle sighed in relief. Thank God such distraction tactics still worked at her age.

****

Max slid his cell phone back into his pocket as he joined his wife and the others again. He smiled and shrugged when she rubbed his arm and rolled her eyes at him. He sat down next to her and reached for his beer.

“So?” Amusement colored her voice.

“So, they’re driving Tess crazy but otherwise they’re all fine.”

“Um-hmm.”

It was his turn to roll his eyes. “Just like you said they were.”

“And…?”

“And you were right. Kara was still awake and she said Uncle Kyle can’t sing the songs right so I sang one of the songs for her.” He took a drink of his beer. “And got a few strange looks from people passing by.”

“It’s a good thing your daughter’s tone deaf,” Alex said with a laugh.

Liz chuckled. “When did Kyle get there?”

“Only about half an hour ago or so,” he shrugged. “My sister was saying something about him surprising her.”

“Yeah,” Maria snorted, “my brother’s always full of surprises, isn’t he?” She leaned forward towards Max. “How’s Andy behaving?” she whispered so Alex wouldn’t hear her.

“Like a horny teenager,” he said with a wink and earned an elbow from his wife. “Hey...”

“You aren’t helping.”

“She asked, I answered,” Max said and glanced back at Maria. “Tess said they’ve tried to sneak away off and on, but she’s got everything under control.”

“Right,” Maria said slowly. She did trust Andy, but he was a teenager full of raging hormones, so that complicated things.

Michael used one hand to rub her back. “I think the kids will behave.”

“They’d better.” It was a hollow threat, at least at the moment. She knew she couldn’t protect Andy from everything and teenage hormones were at the top of that list.

“Everything okay?” Alex asked as he reached for his beer.

“Yeah, just kids bein’ kids.” Max shrugged one shoulder. “Tess has it under control and she’s got back-up now.”

Isabel rubbed Alex’s shoulder, silently telling him to relax.

“Back-up’s good,” he agreed, making an effort. Yeah, it was all good unless your child was one half of that teenage couple and she was the half that could end up pregnant. He knew Sam was aware of the repercussions of her actions, but it was so easy to lose sight of that in the heat of the moment. And out of everyone sitting at the table he was the one who knew that reality better than the rest.

“Little children little sorrows, big children…” Max started.

“Big sorrows,” Liz completed with a smile.

“And you’ll have four of them,” Maria teased. “I mean, we shouldn’t complain considering that you’ll be going through this several times.”

“Oh, just wait”, Liz smirked. “I don’t see your offspring-planning already at the end here.”

She glanced at Michael and just smiled. No, it really wasn’t. Just give it a little more time so Andy wouldn’t totally freak out on them. “You’re not getting an answer to that one, Liz.”

“Oh, I don’t need one,” the other woman said, amused.

Michael couldn’t help the smile on his face. Things were finally heading in the right direction and knowing that the future with a family was in his grasp just made life that much sweeter. He felt like he’d been waiting for as long as he could remember for her to show up and now that she was there he had no intention of letting her slip away. They had taken it slow, and that was as much for Andy’s sake as theirs he supposed.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when the conversation turned to business and he listened to Max and Alex as they discussed repair shops, property values, and profit margins. It wasn’t a subject that really interested him but he could hold his own in a conversation so he jumped in to be sociable. Isabel was involved in a conversation with Liz and Maria, debating different plays for the drama club’s final production at the end of the school year.

Alex shifted to pull his cell phone out of his pocket when it buzzed and he smiled at the short goodnight message from his daughter. Yeah, she was growing up too fast for his taste, but moments like this reminded him that she was always going to be his little girl. He thumbed back a quick message and sent a quick prayer heavenward for her to behave herself overnight.

Max leaned back and stretched, yawning widely and making a show of trying to cover it.

Liz rolled her eyes at him, wondering if he really thought anyone was buying that little act. It was a good thing he had never gone out for drama because he wouldn’t have made the audience believe him. On the other hand, she mused, they had the entire night to themselves and it was such a rare occurrence.

“Wow, it’s getting late, huh?” her husband said with a meaningful glance at his watch.

Alex smirked. “Yeah, wow,” he played along. “Who knew, huh?”

Liz rolled her eyes in amusement and laughed. “You guys are nuts.” She turned to look at her husband. “Should I take you to bed?”

“Yes ma’am,” he grinned and got up immediately.

Michael leaned in to his girlfriend and whispered something in her ear. “Their way of telling us they want to be alone?” he guessed.

She nodded with a smirk.

“Man, and I tried to come up with a not-so-obvious reason for us to get away from them,” he teased and waited until their eyes met before he made a slight movement with his head towards the hallway that lead to the elevators.
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Fics: A Xmas Story - A Merry Mt. R. Xmas - Cupid's Revenge - Double Trouble - Double Date - Double Dare - Double Empire - Double Xmas Wish - In The Course Of A Lifetime - Mountains So High - Not A Question At All - Surrender - TIC TAC - Two Double Dates at Xmas
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Double Trouble
Obsessed Roswellian
Posts: 925
Joined: Tue Dec 16, 2008 9:47 am

Part 118

Post by Double Trouble »

Earth2Mama: Lol, most of us would probably prefer that option to dealing with that mix.

sarammlover: More Michael and Maria you say? Well... looks like you’ll get your wish today!

Natalie36: Thanks for reading!

begonia9508: Lol, that’d certainly keep them busy.

Cardinal: Lol, you’re right. They haven’t quite got that figured out just yet. Blame it on the hormones.

keepsmiling7: Yeah, Tess definitely has had her hands full!

True, but they signed on for the lifetime commitment, lol.

mary mary: Lol, yeah, we have a feeling you’re right about that.

Gotta love those little moments.

Alien_Friend: Lol, the things a dad will do to make his little girl smile.

Yeah, those little guys certainly keep life interesting. Bet Tess is happy about that too! Lol, you know, you’re probably right about that!

Eva: The two of them will find a moment amidst the insanity. ;)



Part 118

Kyle flopped back on the couch and stretched his arms over his head. “You know, I don’t remember bein’ that much work when I was a teenager,” he commented when Tess dropped down beside him.

She snorted. “That’s because you weren’t a parent at the time. Trust me, you were worse than Andy.”

“Whatever.” He grinned after a moment. “Okay, that’s probably true.”

“Yeah, probably,” she said with a roll of her eyes. They had finally gotten all of the kids and animals down for the night, with Andy crashed out on the couch in the den, and Sam bunking in with Kara. It wasn’t perfect, but it put a floor between them. “So, how was Atlanta?”

He made a face. “Rainy. It rained the entire time I was down there.” He rolled his head along the back of the couch to look at her. “What about you?”

“It wasn’t rainy here, not all the time at least,” she said with a shrug.

Kyle made a grunting sound and tugged her closer. “I wasn’t asking about the weather, y’know.” He didn’t want to push the subject, but he knew that she had gone to see his sister’s and Liz’s doctor for a checkup earlier in the week and she should have received an answer by now.

“I know,” she bumped his side slightly and sighed. “Still hard for me to talk about it, ya know?” Tess looked at him and a bit of calmness settled over her when she saw the understanding in his eyes.

“Whatever you found out, it won’t change anything between us. You know that, right?”

“I’mtotallyfine,” she mumbled quickly.

“Huh?” He frowned while repeating what she had said in his head a few times. “You’re fine?” The words and the excitement in them were out before he could stop himself.

Her teeth sank into her bottom lip for a moment before she looked up at him. “I’m fine, Kyle.” She inhaled deeply. “I saw Linda a few days ago and she did an examination, ran some tests, and went over my medical history. She called to let me know that everything’s fine and if… when,” she corrected herself, “we decide we want to start a family we shouldn’t have any problems.”

“And everything’s fine.” He was relieved. He had done some research and even though he hadn’t read anything that had led him to believe she was facing some sort of health threat he was thankful the doctor hadn’t found anything like that.

“Yeah, she didn’t find anything to indicate the potential for future miscarriages.”

He frowned at her clinical description. “Tess, you know this isn’t somethin’ we have to decide on immediately. Even knowin’ that everything’s okay there’s still stuff to work through. There’s no need for us to rush into anything.”

In response to his supportive behavior, she felt like a total bitch. He had tried to hide his happiness and relief when she had told him she was okay, but Tess hadn’t missed the spark of hope in his eyes. How could she let her own fears and worries about what could happen in another pregnancy destroy his dreams of having a real family one day? Even though he had said he was okay with whatever decision was made in the end, wouldn’t it always be something that stood between them if she decided to not risk it a second time?

“Tess, really,” he interrupted her thoughts, “I don’t want you to feel under pressure about it. We don’t even have to talk about it right now.”

“I’m sorry, I’m not trying to avoid the subject or anything…” she started, “I’m just confused and I don’t really know how to see things from here.”

“We’ll figure it out together,” Kyle promised.

She looked into his dark eyes. “You seem so sure about it.”

“Because I am.” His tone was confident. “It’s taken us a long time to get to this place in our lives but I think we’re where we’re supposed to be. It feels right.” He shrugged. “We’ll have kids one day, Tess. When the time comes and we decide we’re ready for that we’ll do what’s right for us.”

“It’s not the same though.”

“What?”

“You want kids of your own, Kyle. A little boy or girl that’s part of both of us.”

He shifted to tip her chin up so he could look into her eyes. “So do you,” he said gently. “But what we want can’t be put ahead of what we’re ready and willing to risk.”

“Maybe it’s stupid to run over this issue again and again,” Tess said with determination and shook her head. “I mean if every woman who had a miscarriage decided to never try it again, where would mankind be?” She brushed something invisible from her jeans and went on, rambling. “Sometimes it happens, so what? They go on, try again, and they’re happy.”

Kyle wasn’t sure if she was just saying all of this to convince herself or if she really actually believed it. “It’s not stupid.”

“Look at Liz,” she ignored him and went on. “She’s been through a problematic pregnancy and yet she seems to be totally comfortable with her new condition. How’s that?”

“People react differently and it’s not the same situation at all,” he tried.

“No, you’re right,” she agreed, “it’s not the same, it’s probably worse and I feel like a big wuss compared to Liz.” She looked at him and forced a smile but it ended up a grimace. “If I knew how to get over this stupid fear…”

He took her face in his hands and brought her gaze back to him. “Tess, this isn’t some kinda competition. Babe, you’ve already taken several huge steps. You’ve opened up to me and to your family, and you went to see the doc to find out what kinda options we have. That took a lot of courage.”

She shook her head. “No, what Liz – “

“Hey, there’s no question that goin’ through with this pregnancy after the difficulties they experienced the first time around is a very brave thing. But what she went through and what you went through, Tess, they can’t be compared.”

“I do want it, Kyle, but it terrifies me. Going through that again… I don’t know if I could survive another loss like that.” Her eyes welled up with tears. “I wanted her so badly.”

“Maybe it wasn’t to be at that time,” he shrugged, not knowing what to say to make her feel better about it. Though he had a slight idea how much something like that would hurt, you never could tell if you weren’t the one experiencing it.

A slight smile ghosted over her lips. “Maybe it was a sign that I wasn’t with the right person at this time.”

He breathed a sigh of relief when she was able to lighten the mood just a tiny bit. “Could be,” he agreed with a wink and kissed her lips.

They were both silent for a few moments, enjoying their company and pushing away the dark thoughts in both of their minds. Kyle stretched out a bit and brought her closer to his body. “Where’re you supposed to sleep?”

“In the den,” she made a face, “but since we had to get Andy away from Sam and banished him there, I guess it’ll be the couch.”

“Yeah, no way we are gonna sleep in Max and Liz’ bed.”

“Ungh no!” Tess laughed. “That’s so not gonna happen. And they’d kill us.”

“I’d kill ‘em too, if someone slept in our bed.”

“Should I tell you that Loopy slept on your side last night?”

“Who’s…?” He frowned but then got it. “You’ve already adopted that little rat, haven’t you?”

“He’s not a rat,” she smacked his thigh loudly. “He kept me company while you were gone.”

“Once we have a house, we’re getting a real dog like Theo.”

“A house?” she asked and leaned back to look at him.

“Yeah,” he glanced down. “Don’t get me wrong, babe. I love the apartment but I need a yard, a grill, and a pool at some point.”

She rolled her eyes and settled into his side when he started going on about the importance of barbequing, sports, and male bonding. She smiled to herself, only half-listening to him as he rambled on without realizing that she was already half-asleep.

*****

“Alone at last,” Michael murmured against Maria’s neck as he helped her out of her coat. He used his free hand to close and lock the door before going to put her coat away. He shrugged out of his own coat and hung it in the closet next to hers. She had moved across the room to look out at the city below, but he could sense the nervousness in her. He crossed the room, pausing at the mini bar to pull out the bottle of wine he had ordered and had sent up to their room earlier. He filled a couple of glasses and carried them over to her.

Maria turned her head to look at him, smiling as she took the glass he held out to her. “Thanks.”

“You know we don’t have to – “

She reached up to press her forefinger to his lips, silencing him. “It’s just nerves.”

“Because this’s the first time since…?”

“Yeah, that’s part of it.”

“They say it’s like riding a bike,” he offered with a crooked grin.

She took a sip of her wine and rolled her eyes at him. “The mechanics may be the same but even then every bicycle rides a little differently.”

He snorted at her explanation. “Well, I can assure you our parts are fully compatible.” He set his glass down and moved to stand behind her when her gaze returned to the scenery beyond the window. “But this makes you nervous,” he said as he lifted his hands to her shoulders, kneading them to help ease her tension. “Tell me why.”

“Andrew and I were together for a long time, Michael. When you’re with someone like that you get used to certain things, y’know? You know there are imperfections but in time you begin to overlook them because they’re just a part of that person and you accept it.”

At this rate she was gonna tie herself up in knots, he thought. “Maria,” he murmured as he brushed her hair aside and lowered his head to kiss her neck, “are you tryin’ to tell me you’ve got three breasts?”

His comment was so unexpected that she nearly choked on her laughter. “You’d just love that, wouldn’t you?”

He forced a note of feigned disappointment into his voice. “So… no third breast?”

She sobered as she turned to face him. “You’re making it easy to forget what I’m trying to say.”

“You’re worried about somethin’ that has no place here.” He shook his head and lifted his right hand to cradle her cheek. “Not between us.”

“You’re so sure you know what I’m thinking.”

“Maria, you’re a woman…” he smirked when she gave him a droll look. “And I’m very happy about that fact, don’t get me wrong. It’s just, I think we’re both mature enough to understand and accept that neither of us is perfect.”

“I suppose you get a pass since you’re right.” She wrinkled her nose. “This time.” She took care of herself but there were changes that time and motherhood had made that were irreversible.

“I’m right and I’ve got plenty of ideas about what we could be doin’ instead of worrying about scars or wrinkles or stretch marks or whatever else is goin’ through that beautiful head of yours.” He took her hands and pulled her up against his body before releasing them to wrap his arms around her.

Maria brought her hands up to his shoulders, running her palms over them before sliding down to trail her fingertips over his biceps. Her eyes lifted to his when he tipped her chin up and she watched him as he traced her lips with his thumb.

“I don’t want perfect, M’ria,” he murmured as he leaned in to brush his lips against hers. “I just want you.”

She melted into him, returning the kiss when he deepened it. Yes, the words were beautiful but it was the sincerity in his voice that resounded in her heart. There was something to be said for maturity, she decided when his hand followed the line of her back as he smoothly maneuvered them across the room.

Michael’s hands moved over her sides as the kiss gained intensity and he growled low in his throat when he felt her tugging at his shirt. He shifted to give her more room to work and her moan of satisfaction when she succeeded in freeing the material from his waistband to slide her hands against his skin ignited the fire that had been simmering in his blood all day.

Maria squealed in surprise when he suddenly picked her up and set her on the dresser, but it quickly became a groan of approval when he pushed her dress up so he could insinuate himself between her legs. She kicked her heels off and shifted to accommodate him when he unzipped the dress and pulled the material out from under her, lifting her arms so he could take it off of her.

He dropped the dress behind her and ran his hands down her arms, taking her hands in his and holding her arms away from her body. He released her long enough to reach for the clasp of her bra, undoing it with a flick of his wrist. He tossed it aside and took her hands again, lifting them up and pinning them to the mirror behind her as he looked his fill. “So beautiful,” he whispered reverently.

She felt the heat creeping up over her chest and into her face. It wasn’t embarrassment; it was the flush of pleasure, of excitement, the feeling of pride knowing that her lover was pleased with what he saw. “I think it’s time for you to lose some clothes,” she said, her voice hushed.

“I suppose there is a bit of inequality.” He grinned and shook his head after a moment of feasting his eyes on her. “I’m perfectly happy with the way things are at the moment though.” He released her hands and ran the backs of his fingers over her fair skin, smiling to himself when he saw the gooseflesh erupt beneath his touch.

He leaned in and pressed his lips to her neck, placing nibbling kisses down over her shoulder before slowly moving back to suck the tender spot between her neck and shoulder. Her head fell back as he began tracing a path along her collarbone, capturing her wrists and keeping them immobile as he finally reached his goal. Her back arched and her breath hissed in sharply when he gave her nipple a gentle bite before sucking it between his lips.

Maria’s fingers were itching to touch him and the need only intensified the longer she was denied what she wanted. “Michael, please…” she begged breathlessly when he suddenly freed her wrists to grab her hips and pull her against him. Her hands flew to his shirt, fumbling to undo it and popping a couple of the buttons off in her haste.

He reached up to grab the back of his shirt, pulling it over his head and tossing it aside. He rocked his hips against her as her lips mapped his chest and her fingers fought to free his belt. The growl resonated deeply within his chest when she succeeded in unbuckling the belt and undoing his pants to slip her hand inside to caress him through his boxers.

Michael kicked his shoes off, toed his socks off, and stepped out of his pants when they hit the floor. When her legs locked around his hips and she started to rub against him he leaned into her and took her mouth in a hot, hard kiss. He picked her up and turned, carrying her over to the end of the bed and lowering her down to the mattress. He pressed his left palm flat on the mattress next to her head and ran his right hand over her side and down to trace his fingertips along the waistband of her panties.

His hand flattened against her and he slipped his hand beneath her panties to cup her ass as he continued to push his erection against her wet center. Her whimpers were turning into moans as the friction increased and her hips were in constant motion, seeking deeper, more intimate contact with him. He shifted back, breaking contact between their lower bodies and he hurried to remove her panties, dropping them to the floor as he hit his knees. He rubbed his palm over her stomach and then moved up to fondle her breasts as he pressed kisses to the tops of her thighs.

Maria whimpered in protest at the loss and her hands fisted in the blankets on either side of her in frustration. She whispered his name raggedly and groaned in relief when he pushed her thighs further apart and parted her wet folds to run his tongue over her needy flesh. She reached behind her to grasp the bedding and her hips rocked up and down in search of release. She threw her head back, tossing and turning and biting her bottom lip as she felt his fingers teasing her entrance. She moaned loudly when he slid one finger inside, testing and stretching before adding a second. He set up a steady rhythm, working her into a frenzy before flicking her clit with his tongue and then sucking on it in earnest. The force of her climax had her arching off of the bed and as she fell back against the mattress, breathing hard and shaking.

Michael quickly retrieved a condom and rid himself of his boxers, squeezing the base of his dick to keep himself in control when he turned to look at her. She was spread out on the bed, her body twitching in places as orgasmic tremors flooded through her. Her hair was spread out around her and her breasts were flushed and heaving as she tried to catch her breath. She was perfect and the most beautiful woman he had ever seen and he wanted her so much it was a physical ache.

Maria pushed herself up on her elbows and wiggled back on the bed, further messing up the covers and resting against the mountain of pillows behind her. Her breath was still coming in shallow pants as she gave him a look full of need and want. Her eyes traced over him, pausing to take in his impressive physique and she shook her head when he started to unwrap the condom. Her right leg was lifted and bent at the knee and she swayed it back and forth, giving him teasing glimpses of glistening pink flesh. “You have something I want,” she said, her voice a sexual growl as she crooked her finger at him.

He crossed the room and braced his fists on the bed as he crawled up over the mattress. He settled on his knees between her legs and gave her the condom, expecting her to remove the wrapper and put it to use. He frowned when she set it on the nightstand and hooked her legs around him, flipping him over on his back and looking down at him with a sexy grin.

“You’ve had your turn to play,” she whispered huskily. “Now it’s mine.” She let her gaze roam over him for several long moments before she leaned forward to run her hands and lips over his chest and abdomen. She took her time tracing over ever ridge, dip, and hollow of his sculpted torso, licking and nipping as she learned what he liked and what made him absolutely crazy.

Michael closed his eyes and pressed his head back into the pillows, inhaling sharply when her breasts brushed against his erection. He tried counting backwards from a hundred when she moved further south, running her fingers over his length before wrapping her hand around him and giving him several experimental strokes.

She watched him, taking in the expression on his features, the contradiction of the conflicting emotions racing across his face. She lowered her head to swipe her tongue over his length, letting the tip dance along the underside and smiling when she saw his hands clench on the headboard. She swept her tongue over his balls, sucking them in her mouth for a moment before releasing them and nibbling her way back up to his tip. It was glistening with pre-come and it was obvious he was getting close.

He nearly came up off of the bed when he felt her mouth surround him, her tongue swiping over his tip before she gripped the base of his dick and sucked as she moved up and down on him. He swore gruffly and the wood under his hands made a sound of protest as his grip threatened to snap it in two.

Maria reached for the condom and tore it open, tossing the packaging aside and releasing his erection long enough to roll the latex over him. She straddled him and her eyes locked with his when his white-knuckled hands dropped from the headboard to grip her hips and guide her. She took his erection in hand, giving him one more firm stroke before holding him steady and lowering herself onto him one achingly slow inch at a time. She was enjoying teasing him, knowing from the look in his eyes and the leashed power she could feel in his taut frame that as soon as he was fully sheathed inside of her he was going to take control.

Michael’s hands clenched, his fingers digging into her ass for a moment as their bodies met in the most intimate of embraces. They were as close as two people could be, connected heart, body, and soul, and he let the feeling wash over him for the time it took him to make sure he had himself in control.

Even though she was expecting it, she gasped in surprise when he suddenly reversed their positions and his weight pushed him even deeper. “God, you feel good,” she whispered as she reached up to touch his face.

He mumbled something that might have been a “You too,” but the strength of the need in his body suddenly took over and he withdrew almost completely before pushing back into her. He could hear her moans, feel her nails biting into his back, and every sound and touch pushed him closer to the edge.

Maria could feel the tension coiling tighter in her belly as his hips pumped into her. Sweat dripped off of him, mingling with her own and causing their bodies to slide together. Her fingers slipped on the slick skin of his back and she inhaled sharply when he angled his hips just right and she pushed up into him in encouragement.

Michael felt her pleasure in her surprised gasp, in the way she tightened her hold on him, and the muttered words she was chanting in his ear. She was meeting him thrust for thrust, her body reaching for that feeling once more and his eyes traced over her flushed face as he reached between them to touch her. He could feel his muscles tightening, could feel his balls drawing up tight against his body, and he knew he was moments away from a blinding orgasm.

Her head fell back and her mouth fell open in a silent scream as her body bowed up off of the mattress. Wave after wave rushed through her and the feeling intensified as his movements became faster and more erratic. She reached down to gently tease his balls, knowing they were sensitive, and smiling in satisfaction when his breath hissed between his teeth and he thrust hard two, three more times, and came hard.

He remained suspended above her, his weight braced on his forearms as his heart raced and every breath was ripped from his chest. He was vaguely aware of Maria pushing against his chest and he obediently followed her directions, holding her tight against him and shifting over onto his back without breaking contact between their bodies.

Maria braced one elbow on his chest, unconsciously rubbing the skin over his heart as he fought to bring his breathing under control. His skin was flushed, damp with perspiration, his hair was a wreck, and he was probably going to fall asleep in the next five minutes, but as she lay there watching him she felt her heart balancing on that fine line, taking her dangerously close to the edge, and knowing she was falling in love with him.

“Don’t try to stay awake on my account,” she whispered, amused by the expression of sated drowsiness in his features.

“Give me half an hour to recharge,” he murmured as his fingers brushed softly against her cheek. “We’re definitely gonna do that again.”

She chuckled and leaned down when one of his large hands wrapped around her neck, urging her closer and bringing their lips together in a long, sweet kiss. A kiss filled with satisfaction, filled with contentment, and filled with the overwhelming sensation of finally finding something that had been missing in both of them.
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Fics: A Xmas Story - A Merry Mt. R. Xmas - Cupid's Revenge - Double Trouble - Double Date - Double Dare - Double Empire - Double Xmas Wish - In The Course Of A Lifetime - Mountains So High - Not A Question At All - Surrender - TIC TAC - Two Double Dates at Xmas
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Double Trouble
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Part 119

Post by Double Trouble »

mary mary: Lol, it really didn’t!

keepsmiling7: Yeah, lol, he agrees with you.

begonia9508: Thanks! Definitely so true!

sarammlover: Tess and Kyle are gonna be great! Lol, glad you enjoyed that. ;)

Earth2Mama: They’re definitely on the right track!

We’re pretty sure Kyle’s gonna do his best to minimize the overthinking. He definitely wants them to go at their own pace.

Alien_Friend: Thanks! Well, lol, they did have to wait for 1,124 pages. Michael really does have a way of putting Maria at ease.

Kyle does know how to support his woman.

CandyliciousLovah: Lol! Maria got her hands on the review page and while she agrees that a cold shower is in order she was insistent that you stay away from Michael. Nah, Tess is finding her way and with Kyle at her side she’ll navigate those waters just fine.

Cardinal: Kyle is handling the situation well. He may fumble at times, but he’s sincere, he loves her, and he’ll always do his best by her. No matter what she decides she has people around her to provide support and love.

Lol, we agree!

Perfect song and your comment had us laughing!



Part 119

Sam blinked a few times when she heard a door being closed and it took a while before she realized that Kara had just slipped out of the room they had shared overnight. She yawned widely and stretched to get her watch from the nightstand above her. She had been camping out on a mattress on the floor and somehow it had been very comfortable. “Wow,” she mumbled when she saw that it was already after 10am.

Soft murmurs could be heard from downstairs as well as the noise of dishes knocking together now and then, but she was pretty sure it was only Kara, Kyle, and Tess who were up. The boys would sleep forever if nobody came to wake them and after last night she doubted Tess had any intention of disturbing their sleep as long as it lasted.

She sat up slowly and ran her hands through her hair until she felt it wasn’t a total mess anymore. Should she use the opportunity to sneak down to see her boyfriend? she wondered. Until now she hadn’t had a chance to see him in the morning, right after getting up. It could turn out bad if he was a total anti-morning person, she thought.

Curiosity won out over sanity after a very poor battle and she swung herself up. “Not all that bad for a morning,” she whispered when she gave herself the once-over in the mirror. Her night outfit had been decent with a black tank top and a pair of black hot pants since she hadn’t known if Andy would cross her way or not while she wore it. And how embarrassing would it have been one if she had been wearing one of her nightgowns that said “Princess” and other neat stuff.

The door opened with a slight squeak and she winced when it was louder than expected. She held it still for a moment, listening carefully to determine if anyone else was around. The floor was empty and she stepped out of the room, her bare feet making little noise on the cold floor. She turned to her left and walked in direction of the stairs. A smirk appeared on her lips when she saw Kyle, Tess, and Kara all in the backyard through the window.

“Sneaking off?” Justin said, amused when he watched Sam taking careful steps on the stairs.

She whirled around. “Justin,” she said, her voice hushed.

“Why’re you whispering?”

“I’m not,” she said, but she was.

He grinned knowingly and walked past her to go downstairs. “I’ll distract them, so if ya wanna go to the den, do it now.” Rolling his eyes he took off and was amused by the huffy sounds she made behind his back.

Sam hurried down quickly and turned right, while he went in the opposite direction. Her feet carried her quickly through the hall to the den and she didn’t think about knocking, slipping inside quickly when she heard someone coming back inside the house.

Andy rolled over and quickly shifted to resume his previous position when the bar beneath the mattress dug into his side. The stupid sofa bed was usually a lot more comfortable, he thought as he punched his pillow into shape and resettled against it. He could probably blame it on trying to sleep with his girlfriend under the same roof.

He had tried sneaking up to see her during the night and Uncle Kyle had somehow known because he had managed to beat him to the stairs. But he had played it cool and the man had let him off with the lame story he’d given him about going to get a drink. He had a feeling Uncle Kyle hadn’t bought it but he hadn’t given him any grief about it.

His ears snapped to attention when he heard the door open and quickly close again and he slowly rolled over to grin at his girlfriend. His mouth went dry when he got a look at her and he forgot to wonder where their chaperones were.

“Hi,” Sam whispered and felt her cheeks turning red when she noticed his roaming eyes. It only got worse when he sat up and the blanket slid down along his skin, revealing his bare upper body to her.

I haven’t even seen him in trunks yet, she realized and liked what she saw so far. He wasn’t as skinny as the twins used to be – and she would probably be killed if they ever found out she thought they were skinny. Andy’s upper body was still tanned from the sun in Florida and showed off some nice muscles in all the right places.

He smirked at her after noticing her reaction towards him. “Can’t sleep?” His voice was still a little husky from sleep.

“It’s already after ten, goofy.”

“So? I was still sleeping!” Okay, technically he had been in the progress of waking up, but she didn’t need to know that. He waited to see what she would do next, but realized that she was doing nothing at all, besides staring at him. “Well, did ya come to wake me up?” he asked with an encouraging smile. Please say no!

No not really, but could she tell him?
Somehow it had been a lot easier to imagine her plan in her head than it was to actually go for it.

“Wanna sneak in?” He lifted the blanket just a bit on one side when she was still quiet.

Sam chewed on her bottom lip as her mind bounced over at least half a dozen different things. Two kept repeating over and over. Was she ready for this? What if they got caught? She shook the questions off. It wasn’t like they were gonna really do it. Not with half his family just a door away from them.

Andy watched her, wondering how long she was gonna stand there staring at him. His arm was getting tired holding the blanket up and if this was all they were gonna do, he could probably sleep for another half hour at least.

Should she do it? She took a hesitant step forward and felt her confidence spike when she saw him grin at the small movement. That was all it took and the decision was taken out of her hands.

“I don’t bite,” Andy teased when she sat down on the edge of the bed slowly, already feeling the warmth radiating from his body. He knew it was risky to hide out here in the den while the others were out and would sooner or later look for them, but Uncle Kyle and Aunt Tess were pretty cool and maybe they would be distracted for a little bit longer.

“You sure about that?” She glanced over her shoulder with a shy smirk and turned to stick her legs under the blanket next to him.

“Hmm...” he leaned forward until his mouth touched the bare skin of her shoulder next to her tank top. “No,” his teeth dug into her flesh lightly before he backed off again.

“Of course you would do that,” she rolled her eyes at him, even though the movement had made her stomach feel weird.

Andy waited until she had relaxed a bit before he brought himself closer again. They were still in a sitting position, so he used his right arm to steady himself on the mattress right behind her. He leaned his bare chest against her side just slightly and used his free hand to touch her chin and guide her head to the left until she was facing him. “You gotta breathe, Sam,” he teased.

“Sorry,” she said and took his advice. “Just tryin’ to listen in case anyone’s outside.” She pointed at the door.

He shrugged. “It’s not like we’re doin’ anything forbidden, do we?”

Not yet, she thought. “No…”

His hand dropped down to rest loosely on her thigh, but it was enough to send shivers through her body until the small light hairs there stood up in response. Andy made an amused sound when he recognized the goosebumps under his hand and lifted his eyes to hers again. He couldn’t resist running his fingertips over the bare skin of her thigh again until the effect he obviously had on her body increased.

Sam’s heart was pounding madly and she wondered if he could feel it. She had never felt anything like this and she wanted to see where it would lead. She knew their time was limited with the houseful of people. His fingertips moved, lightly dragging across her skin and fresh goosebumps erupted. On the other hand, she decided, they weren’t actually doing anything wrong.

Andy’s breath caught in his throat when she shifted slightly, turning just enough so that she was facing him. Yes! His gaze dropped to her lips when she licked them and he unconsciously mimicked the movement. He froze for a moment as a thought suddenly occurred to him. She had caught him just as he was waking up so he hadn’t had a chance to brush his teeth yet.

She frowned when he just sat there, his brow furrowed as he stared at her. “Um… Andy?”

“Huh?” he mumbled. Damn it, now that he’d had that thought he was feeling self-conscious. What if he had major morning dog breath? That wasn’t the kinda thing a girl would forget.

Sam waved a hand in front of his face. “Hello?”

“I’m here,” he told her and tried to push the thought away. He couldn’t do anything about it now. If he went to brush his teeth, Uncle Kyle and Aunt Tess would see him and there was no way he could get back to the den without interruption.

“Well...” she said impatiently. One minute he was totally into this and the next he seemed to be so distracted. Men!

Maybe I should just not kiss her on the mouth, Andy thought. Although it was kind of a stupid plan because she’d get suspicious. Worth a try, he told himself and leaned in again, dipping his head down to brush his lips against the soft skin between the tank top and her neck. He considered leaving a little mark there, but then thought about that girl the other day in school. The one who had that huge hickey on her neck; it had been ugly to everyone but her and her boyfriend. Ungh no, he wasn’t letting Sam walk around with such a thing in public.

Sam breathed deeply to suppress the groan she was sure would come if she didn’t watch it. Her hand wandered up his bare arm to rest against the side of his neck while her fingertips played with the soft ends of his hair. For a couple of years now she had wondered how a woman knew how to react in such situations. When to moan? When to touch? Where to touch? But she realized now that it wasn’t a thing you could learn from movies and magazines. It came just automatically.

Andy’s thoughts were centered on his next move, focusing on what he should do with his hands and basically thinking of little else.

“That tickles,” she giggled when he let his fingertips wander down her side.

His lips curled up into a smile as he brushed them against her shoulder again.

“You like that, huh?” she asked knowingly and leaned back against his other arm that was still behind her, resting his weight on the mattress.

He made a sound of agreement and nuzzled her neck. He could hear the racket the twins and Kara made as they came into the house but he did his best to ignore the noise. He rolled his eyes when one of them came down the hall to beat on the door to the den before retreating again.

Sam glanced at the closed door, disappointed. “I’m not sure how much longer we have.”

“Yeah, that was probably a warning knock,” he said, reluctantly pulling back.

“Probably.” Nick and Justin had always stuck beside her and they had always had her back. Even if they hadn’t approved of Andy or vice versa they would’ve been there to warn them so they wouldn’t get caught.

Andy stared at her. “Our parents are gonna be home today but maybe we can go out this afternoon?”

Sam smiled and her right hand came up, her fingertips brushing over his lips. “Maybe.”

He groaned slightly and nipped at her fingers.

She watched his reaction to her touch in awe and leaned forward to brush her lips against his without thinking twice. “I’d better go.”

He nodded and watched her leave, his gaze focused on her ass in the short pants and he was glad that the blanket was covering his lower half when she turned and winked at him. Damn, he thought and fell back on the mattress when Sam closed the door quietly, this girl was gonna be his end.

****

Maria woke to the sensation of being watched. She lay still for a moment, trying to get her bearings and unconsciously smiling as she remembered the night before. She could feel the heat coming from the man lying beside her and she rolled over, opening her eyes to look at him.

“Mornin’,” she murmured sleepily.

“Sleep well?” His voice was low and gruff and it was easy to tell he hadn’t been awake for very long.

“Better than I have in a long time.” She reached out to run her fingers over his bare chest, tracing over the well-defined muscles. “What about you?”

“Okay for a night in a bed that’s not mine.” He winked at her cheekily. “Refused to close my eyes ‘cause I still can’t believe I’m so lucky to have this beautiful woman next to me.”

“You should believe it,” Maria said and propped her head up to rest it in one hand so her golden hair fell around her face. “I’m here and I’m not planning to go anywhere anytime soon.”

“Think Tess could handle Andy for a while longer?” he asked, deliberately misunderstanding her.

“While that’s not what I meant, I think she’ll be ready to hand the kids over again. Can you imagine all five of them together?” She laughed and shoved him lightly, pushing him onto his back and following him to rest one leg over him.

“I know that’s not what you meant,” he said gently and wrapped his arms around her loosely.

“Of course, if she could I wouldn’t turn the offer down.” She smiled and traced her fingertips over his shadowed jaw, loving the rasp of it against her skin.

He grinned. “You’re not alone there.”

“Last night was wonderful.”

“Um-hmm,” he murmured, his eyes moving over her face. “Have I ever told you how much I enjoy mornings?”

She bit her lips in an effort to control her amusement when he shifted, but failed when she felt the reason for his enjoyment of mornings. “Hmm-mm, tell me more.”

“How about I more SHOW you?” he teased and rolled them both over until he was on top of her, settling between her legs.

“Impressive,” she told him in a husky tone.

Michael liked the way her eyes darkened when he pressed his lower body against her for a second. She was beautiful all the time, but after last night he had officially fallen for her. Lowering his head, he took her mouth in short but hot kiss. “And we’re just getting started,” he teased. “I’d love to wake up like this every morning from now on.”

“Every morning, huh?” She liked that thought.

“Well, maybe every mornin’ we spend together from now on. I know we gotta take it easy on Andy.”

She nodded thoughtfully. “Yeah, but he’s at the place where he’s at least accepted that we’re seeing each other.”

He chuckled and nosed one of the red tank top straps off of her shoulder. “We’ll take things at the right pace.”

Maria combed her fingers through his hair, shivering slightly when his breath brushed against her skin. Her fingers inched down to trail over his neck. She rested her hand on his shoulder and shifted to hook her leg over his hip. “I think we should take advantage of the time we have while we’re here.”

“Smart woman,” he grumbled and then looked up to wink at her. “I like the way you think.”

“And I’ll show you more to like,” she teased and gave him a tug with her legs. “If you let me, that is.”

“I hope you weren’t looking for any complaints from me.” With a quick move he maneuvered them on the bed until his back was on the mattress and she was straddling his thighs. Though he had all intentions of laying back and enjoying her promise, he had to raise his upper body and bring her closer for a heated, wet kiss.

“Hard for you to give up some control?” she asked breathlessly when he backed off again.

“Not at all. It’s your fault; you’re too damn sexy.”

She smiled at the compliment, loving the way his words, his tone, and the way he looked at her made her feel. He made her feel sexy. Her hands moved over his upper body, tracing over the muscles that were so well-defined. He made the softest growling sounds when she lightly rasped her nails over his nipples and she couldn’t resist leaning forward to swipe at them with her tongue.

Michael felt his heart rate speed up when she started to trace over the ridges of his muscles with her lips and tongue, pausing occasionally to nip or suck his skin. His fingers threaded through her hair, insistently guiding until she gave him a warning bite that made him relax his grip. It didn’t take long to realize that she didn’t need his guidance and he inhaled sharply when she blew a heated breath across his dick.

“M’ria,” he warned gruffly.

“Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing,” she said with a throaty chuckle.

“’s not about you knowing what to do,” he mumbled and his eyes rolled back in his head when he felt her tongue sliding up his length painfully slow. “Just the speed…”

“You want it slower?” she teased and repeated the move.

He moaned and tried to force his body back on the mattress. The last thing was to choke her. “You are so not right for that.”

“I’ll make it all right,” she promised and took him in her mouth fully, enjoying it when she felt his whole body tensing at her touch.

He mumbled something unintelligible that could’ve been a prayer or a curse. With the electric sensations shooting through his body even he couldn’t have said which it was. It was taking an effort to control the natural instinct to thrust, especially when she took him in deeper. His fingers clenched in her hair and he nearly lost it when she slowly slid back up his length to look at him.

“I think maybe something else is in order for this mornin’,” she said as she crawled up over him, her body brushing against his and making him groan.

“Somethin’ else would be…” his eyes darkened further when their lower bodies lined up, “mutually satisfying,” he growled.

“Mutual satisfaction,” she purred as she rubbed against his erection. “It has such a beautiful ring to it, doesn’t it?”

“No doubt,” he agreed easily and lifted his hips from the bed to tease her more. He smirked when he got the reaction out of her that he had been looking for.

“Next time we should get away for a few days, just the two of us,” she said a bit breathlessly.

“Yeah? Any requests?” he asked and used her lack of attention to roll them over until he was on top again.

“I don’t care as long as it includes a comfortable bed, nice food, and you.”

“In that order, huh?” He quirked an eyebrow.

Maria giggled. “Hmm, not necessarily, no.” She brushed her fingers through his hair. “I’d take you with a couch as well.”

He snorted and looked around the room, nodding towards the small open kitchen area at the other end. “I work well on counters too, ya know.”

She turned her head and quirked an eyebrow at the possibilities. “And I look forward to exploring every possible location with you. But I’m happy with our current location,” she said as she lifted her hips to tease him.

He chuckled gruffly and levered himself up so he could grab one of the foil packets lying on the nightstand. “Adventurous, huh?”

Maria took the condom from him and discarded the wrapper. “I can be.” Her fingertips danced over his length, earning another low moan before she rolled the condom over him. “It’s not so much the location as it is the players though.”

“Um-hmm,” he murmured, not really focusing on her words as he much as her guiding movements.

Sounds could be heard from the room next to them and she grinned. “We’d better hurry, I doubt it’ll be long before the others start to knock and call.”

He snorted. “Not Isabel. I doubt she an’ Alex are up yet.”

“Maybe not, but I know Max. He’s always in a hurry to get back home when they’re traveling without the kids.” She grabbed his hips tightly and brought him down to herself, sighing heavily when he sank into her.

“He should focus on his wife,” Michael breathed against her lips and started to move his hips slowly.

“Agreed,” she whispered and bit his bottom lip, pulling on it slightly.

A slight frown appeared on his forehead when he heard a door open and close and a moment later a few people started to talk in the hallway – voices that sounded like their friends. “Sorry, but I think you’re right about making it quick,” he said and started to move against her faster, but still gently.

Maria ran her hands over his shoulders and back, loving the feel of his slick skin against hers. He was an incredible lover; he was attuned to her needs and knew how to give and take. The sound of a phone ringing barely registered at the edge of her senses and another skillful move from him had her completely forgetting about it.

Her legs came around him, hooking around his waist and meeting him thrust for thrust. She could feel herself nearing the ledge, could feel the telltale signals in his body that let her know he was just as close. She brought one hand up to rest against his jaw, meeting his gaze for a moment that lasted for what felt like forever as she brought her lips to his.

“You’re so sexy,” he growled against her lips and rolled his hips against her.

Maria groaned into his mouth, kissing him while the waves of her orgasm rolled over her unexpectedly fast and intense. She didn’t realize her tight grip on him was as her nails sank into his skin and would probably leave a slight mark that lasted for a few hours.

A phone started to ring as well, but Michael ignored it and pushed into her a few more times until he felt himself slipping over the edge. He bent down and rested his forehead against the side of her neck to enjoy the moments of pleasure until they faded, leaving him breathless. His arms were shaking and he was having trouble keeping his body from falling and burying her under him.

“Relax,” she told him gently with a nod and let her hands wander over his biceps. “C’mere.”

Michael let himself collapse into her embrace, taking a few moments as his heart started to calm and he brought his breathing under control. When he had slightly recovered he rolled them onto their sides and he brought his left hand up to cradle her cheek. “Do you know how hard it’s gonna be to go back to sleepin’ alone after this?”

She smiled and combed her fingers through his hair. “We’ll figure it out.”

He shifted, folding his arm and resting his head on it. He was just about to say something when the phone rang again. He chuckled and shook his head. “He’s insistent, I’ll give him that.”

“They enjoy getting away but they can’t wait to get home to the kids again.” She nodded with a smile. “It’s true and I can understand it. Of course, Andy’s older now and there isn’t a four-year-old waiting at home so that makes it easier to stay out a little longer.”

“Guess he’s not gonna give up,” Michael rolled away from her and stretched to get her cell from the nightstand.

“Doubtful,” she said, amused. Nothing could really bother her right now. Last night had been perfect and so had been the morning so far, so there was no reason to change her mood because of Max’ impatience.

“Here ya go,” he turned towards her again and handed her the phone.

She smirked at his little pout and picked it up. “Max,” she greeted her caller.

“Hey… you’re up?”

Maria rolled her eyes at his way too innocent question – he knew no one could be asleep after the constant cell ringing. “We are now.”

“Um, yeah, sorry ‘bout that, but we kinda wanted to leave soon. The boys have a game this afternoon and we’d like to be there in time.”

“Alright, give us 15 minutes and we’ll be down.”

“We’ll be in the dining area, grabbing coffee.”

“Thanks for the wakeup call, Evans,” Michael said loud enough to make sure Max heard him.

Liz turned away from the mirror and set the hairbrush down as she glanced at her husband. He had come back inside after pacing the hall for several minutes and she was certain he had made more than one call. “You’ve succeeded in disturbing them?”

He rolled his eyes and threw himself down on the bed. His fingers plucked at the comforter absentmindedly for several seconds before he pushed himself up on his elbows to look down at the bed. “Did you make the bed?” He shook his head. “They pay people to do that, ya know.”

“There’s no reason to leave the place a mess, Max.”

“Don’t want anyone to know the old married couple still knows how to tear the sheets up?” he teased.

Liz snorted at that and made one last check of the room to make sure they weren’t forgetting anything. “If people are that hard up for news I couldn’t care less if they know what we get up to on an overnight trip.” She slapped his leg as she passed him. “Did you run into Alex and Isabel while you were harassing Maria and Michael?”

“Yeah, they were on their way downstairs for coffee.” He smirked. “Pretty sure he’s just anxious to get home to make sure his little girl’s innocence is still intact.”

“Enjoy your amusement, Max, because in another 11 years or so you’re gonna be in his shoes and I have a feeling you aren’t gonna think it’s as funny when Kara starts dating.”
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Fics: A Xmas Story - A Merry Mt. R. Xmas - Cupid's Revenge - Double Trouble - Double Date - Double Dare - Double Empire - Double Xmas Wish - In The Course Of A Lifetime - Mountains So High - Not A Question At All - Surrender - TIC TAC - Two Double Dates at Xmas
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Double Trouble
Obsessed Roswellian
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Joined: Tue Dec 16, 2008 9:47 am

Part 120

Post by Double Trouble »

begonia9508: Thanks!

Lol, there are one or two things that would make that a time to experience again. ;)

mary mary: There’s very little in life that doesn’t seem to straddle the fence of double standards.

Trips down memory lane are always nice.

Lol, Max is ready to get back home

CandyliciousLovah: She really did, lol. She said she’s not sharing and when we told her that you’d take Brendan she just gave us a strange look and said, “Who?”

Natalie36: Lol, yeah, he’s definitely gonna pay for that one day.

keepsmiling7: Well, these choices are important, lol.

We’ll pass that along to Max.

Earth2Mama: We think now that they’re finally together Michael and Maria will keep things moving at a good pace. And we may just get a glimpse of Andy in this update.

Lol, think Max is gonna be worse, huh? Good luck, Kara!

Alien_Friend: We’ll definitely be seeing them in an epilogue that takes us down the road a spell.

There is something about that first love...

Michael and Maria have definitely been through a lot to get to this point in their lives.



Part 120

“Mornin’,” Andy said when he entered the kitchen half an hour after Sam had left. He glanced around and noticed that everyone was there but her.

“I thought you weren’t gonna get up,” Tess said in amusement as she turned the pancakes in the pan. Making breakfast for five kids and an always hungry boyfriend was harder than she had imagined.

“Yeah, what took you so long?” Nick teased, grinning from ear to ear.

Shut up, Andy mouthed and rolled his eyes. “I like to sleep late, blame it on Mom.”

Kyle snorted when he placed the bacon on the table. “It’s true. My sister used to sleep all day back in high school if nobody came to wake her up.”

“Tan I go to wake up Sam?” Kara asked, holding her cup of milk with both hands.

“Sure, but do it gently,” Tess agreed. “We don’t wanna startle her.”

Sam was staring at the ceiling when she heard the doorknob turning slowly. She had figured Kara would show up to wake her long before now but the little girl was suddenly exerting an unexpected amount of patience. She was being overly cautious but she didn’t want to do anything that would have Dad pulling rank or putting her under house arrest because she had been caught making out with her boyfriend.

The door finally opened and the puppies ran in ahead of Kara, pouncing on the air mattress and barking happily as they started to wrestle. The little girl was close behind them and she knelt on the mattress, bracing one hand next to her knee as she leaned over to peer into Sam’s face. “Hey, Sam?” she whispered loudly. “Are you awake?”

“No,” Sam whispered back.

Kara pulled back and she stared at Sam for a moment. “You are too!” She laughed when Sam suddenly shot up, grabbing her and tickling her.

“Stop, stop, stop,” the girl yelped after a few moments, giggles turning into laughter as she wiggled to get free.

The older girl grinned and finally let go of her. “So everyone’s up, hmm?”

“Yes,” Kara nodded and rolled from the bed. “We have lots of pancakes an’ other stuff. You come?”

“Oh yeah,” Sam said and got up too. “I’m just gonna go to the bathroom quickly, so make sure the boys leave something for me, okay?”

“Otay.” Kara scampered out of the room and the puppies quickly followed behind.

The teenage girl smiled to herself as she flopped back on the mattress. She stared at the ceiling for several long minutes, listening to the voices filtering in through the open door and easily picking Andy’s voice out of the mix. He was arguing with Nick about some play from a recent football game they had watched and she rolled her eyes and got to her feet. If someone didn’t put an end to that conversation and soon, they could spend hours going over it from every possible angle.

Less than ten minutes later she joined everyone else in the kitchen, taking the chair next to Andy as she said her good mornings.

“I saved you pancakes,” Kara said as she got up on her knees and pushed the platter she had been protecting across the table. “Justin was gonna eat all of them but I told him no.”

“You’re my favorite Evans kid,” Sam winked and slipped the last two pancakes on her plate.

“You know, I’m an Evans too,” Andy grumbled.

She looked at him, amused. “I know, but did you save me any breakfast? I don’t think so.”

“I was about to make fresh ones for you.”

“Yeah, sure,” she snorted.

“I have to defend my nephew on this one,” Tess said. “He really did consider it a few minutes before you came downstairs.”

“Thanks, Aunt Tess,” Andy leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest while he looked at his girlfriend with a satisfied smirk.

Sam smiled and leaned in to kiss his cheek. “Thanks,” she said aloud. “I’ll show my appreciation later,” she added quietly.

Damn it, he thought and shifted on the chair. They definitely had to watch themselves when the adults were around.

*****

“Are they here yet?” Tess glanced up from the magazine she was reading at the kitchen counter when Kyle came in.

“Not yet, no.”

“Wonder how Liz managed to keep Max away for this long,” she snorted. “You know how he is with the kids at home while they’re gone.”

“Where’re Andy and Sam?” Kyle asked when she mentioned the kids. “Weren’t they in the living room a few moments ago?”

“Yeah,” she agreed.

“Well, they’re not there anymore.”

“Damn it,” she muttered under her breath. “You should consider one or both of them for possible recruitment to the FBI when they’re old enough. With their ability to sneak away and hide they’d be an asset to the Bureau.”

He chuckled and looked down when Kara ran in through the back door. The puppies darted around her, yapping loudly and heading for Ari when they saw him lying in a sunny spot on the floor. The cat jumped to his feet, hissing loudly and running out of the room. A loud bark echoed through the kitchen when Lucky came in behind them and took up the chase. Seconds later angry growling could be heard along with the sound of high pitched yapping and deep barking amidst several things being knocked over.

Tess rolled her eyes and shook her head. “We managed to make it all day yesterday and all of last night without breaking a single thing, but now that we’re probably minutes away from the parental flood all hell’s broken loose.” She smacked Kyle’s arm when he just leaned on the counter and laughed. “You wanna go find those two walking hormones or go break up the zoo in the living room?”

He leaned back out of reach and held his hands up. “Babe, I’m not sure I’m qualified for either one of those jobs.”

“Kyle,” she groaned.

“Alright,” he gave in and pointed at the yard. “I’ll take the teenagers.”

“Good luck with that,” she patted his shoulder and went to separate the animals.

“Yeah, you too,” he muttered and made his way through the door that led him out onto the porch. “Andy, Sam,” he yelled, knowing it wouldn’t work. “I want you to get your asses back in the house before your parents get home and kick MY ass.”

“Why would they kick your ass Untel Tyle?” Kara asked curiously when she showed up next to him.

He winced at her words. “You always hear what you’re not supposed to hear, huh?”

“That’s a bad word,” she informed him in a stage whisper.

He glanced at her speculatively. “Uh-huh, then why’d you repeat it?”

She smiled and shrugged. “It’s a funny word too.”

“Yeah, well, I think you shouldn’t say it anymore because your parents will kill me for bein’ a bad influence on you if they come home and you’ve turned into a little potty mouth.”

She tipped her head to the side as she thought about that. “Wha’s that mean?”

He cleared his throat. How was he supposed to explain that to a four-year-old? “It means we need to find Andy and Sam and you need to forget that word.”

Her smile turned mischievous. “They’re playing hide-an-seek wif me.”

Kyle groaned slightly. The teenagers were totally taking advantage of Kara’s innocence and were probably hiding somewhere together making out. “Any clue where they could be?”

“I think they are somewhere in the house,” she whispered.

“Alright. How ‘bout we look for them together, huh? You look downstairs with your aunt and I’ll go upstairs.”

She agreed, happy that her aunt and uncle were participating in the game. “Otay.” And with that she was running back inside, shouting for Tess.

He followed her, his steps slower, and took the stairs outside the kitchen that led to the second floor. Okay think, where would you hide of you were a horny teenager?

He started checking rooms as soon as he hit the second floor and he frowned when he came up empty each time. There were too many options. Bedrooms, bathrooms, closets… they could be anywhere. He glanced out through the window and growled under his breath when he saw that the others had returned and was in the process of walking up the driveway. Great, the parents were back and he had no clue where the kids were.

His head jerked to the right when he heard something and he held his breath, straining to hear it again. He was just about to shake it off as nothing when he heard it again. He tipped his head back to stare up at the ceiling and he nodded to himself when he saw the trapdoor there. He moved to stand under it and reached up to grab the short rope to pull the door down. Uh-huh, of course they would discover anything that might give them an advantage over the adults charged with keeping an eye on them.

He hurried up the wooden steps and into the attic, narrowing his eyes as he looked around in the muted light. “Gotcha,” he muttered when he noticed the open window at the end of the room. He moved around boxes and other stuff to get to it, bracing his hands on the sill and leaning out to look around.

“Lookin’ for us, Uncle Kyle?” Andy asked, his tone laced with amusement as he watched the man. He and Sam were sitting on part of the roof that looked down over the backyard.

“You’ve got some nerve,” Kyle grumbled. “Your parents are just getting back and if you don’t want me to tell them the two of you were so horny you couldn’t be left alone in one room, then you’d better get a move on.”

The teenagers looked amused for a moment, but when they heard the honking of one of the cars from the front of the house, they didn’t waste another second and got up.

Kyle smiled to himself when they obeyed without another complaint. Oh yeah, that’d been the right thing to say. There was no way they wanted their parents to know about their hormones. He closed the window behind them with an eye roll and followed them downstairs. Finally he had an idea about what he had put his parents through when he was in high school.

“Andy,” he called his nephew before he could get too close to the others.

“What’s up?” The boy stopped halfway down the stairs to the first floor.

“You know, my car seriously needs to be cleaned. How about this afternoon? You can even bring Sam if you want.”

Andy made face. “You’re really gonna make me wash your car? Seriously?”

“Well, I could just tell Sam’s dad how she sneaked into your room this morning.”

“How do you…” The boy fell silent for a moment. “Fine, I’ll do it.”

Kyle grinned and gestured downstairs. He was proud of himself for bluffing his way through that one and calling it right. And Andy had just revealed the truth. Teenagers!

Sam leaned on the banister at the bottom of the stairs and glanced back over her shoulder when she heard Andy coming down behind her. She wondered what his uncle had stopped him to say but when she caught his gaze he just rolled his eyes and shook his head. She almost laughed but the front door opened and her attention was pulled to the adults coming inside.

“Daddy!” Kara ran across the room, her arms held high.

Max dropped the bags on the floor and scooped his little girl up in his arms, kissing her cheek loudly as he straightened back up. “Looks like you guys have kept Aunt Tess busy,” he said, smirking at his sister where she stood in the center of the living room. She was holding the cat up in the air while the puppies and Lucky bounced around her feet, demanding that she release their prey. He winced when Liz released an ear-splitting whistle right next to him and silence suddenly fell over the room.

“Out, Lucky, let’s go,” she said as she reached for his collar and guided him to the kitchen and pointed at the back door. “Justin, let him out in the backyard.” She leaned down and picked up the puppies, crossing the room to hand one to Kyle and then turned to hand the second one to Michael.

“Yeah, uh, this isn’t my dog,” Michael muttered.

Liz smiled sweetly. “Isn’t he?”

He made a face but didn’t correct her. He supposed he was just going to have to accept that Maria came with an ankle biter.

Kyle sighed and looked down at the rat he now held, lifting the puppy and turning him around to look at the collar and tags hanging from it. No, she did not, he thought when he saw his favorite team’s name emblazoned on the collar and tags. This so didn’t make the little rat any less of an embarrassment.

“Isn’t that just the cutest thing?” Tess asked as she moved to stand beside him. “Just wait till you see the rest of his gear when we get home.”

Ungh, she had probably emptied out the store and now he was not only gonna be stuck with the dog impersonator, he was gonna have to endure the humiliation of the thing running around decked out in Bears’ gear.

“Did my little girl behave?” Max asked with a grin and tickled Kara, who was still in his arms.

“I was, Daddy,” she answered without hesitation.

“Yeah,” her aunt agreed. “We were a great team, right?”

Kara nodded. “And we just broke one vase.”

“Just one, huh?” Liz said, amused as she looked at Kyle and Tess. “Well, if it’s just one, then I guess it’s okay.”

“Sorry about that,” Tess muttered.

“What about the older ones, huh?” Maria asked and looked at her son meaningfully. “Hope they didn’t stress you guys out too much?”

“Oh, not too much,” Kyle said as he settled the puppy in the crook of his arm and moved down the last few steps. “Before I forget though, Andy’s offered to come by and clean my car.”

“He… offered?” she asked slowly.

Andy shrugged and slouched against the banister across from Sam. “Well, yeah, Mom,” he said with a wide grin, “I mean, Uncle Kyle said he’d pay me twenty bucks to do it.”

Why that little… Kyle gritted his teeth and forced a smile.

Her gaze bounced back and forth between them. “Uh-huh, well, if that’s the story you two are sticking with, I suppose I’ll leave you to it.”

Alex’ eyes were moving up and down his daughter while he tried to decide if she looked any different today.

Sam noticed the frown on his face and shook her head with an amused smile. She walked over to him and gave him a quick hug. “Did you guys have fun?”

“We did,” Isabel agreed when Alex didn’t say anything.

“Good,” the girl replied and looked at her dad. “You can relax now. Kyle and Tess did a good job with the chaperoning.”

“Not worried about it,” he lied and forced a smile. Damn, she was growing up too fast.

“Hey, Dad,” Justin spoke up as he came into the room, eating a sandwich. “Mom, Rick called a while ago and said his parents are gonna barbeque at the city park after the game and they’re inviting everyone.”

“Well, that sounds nice.”

“So, can we go? I mean, like everyone’s gonna be there, Mom. The whole football team, you know… everyone. And he said we could invite whoever we wanted.” He gestured around the room. “So we could all be there.”

“Yeah,” Nick added, “and pretty soon it’s gonna be too cold out for barbequing.”

Liz looked at Max. “Whatcha think?”

“Sure,” he shrugged and turned to his son. “Give him a call and tell Rick we’ll bring potato salad and chips. We can’t let his parents do all the work for a hungry football team.”

“You know you’re gonna need to make a ton of it, right?” Tess lifted her eyebrow.

Liz waved her off. “He’s done it before and even with the mass he makes it still tastes delicious. I don’t know how he does it.”

Max grinned. “I’m just that good.”

“So, are you guys coming to the game?” Justin asked no one in particular.

“If we’re goin’ your car’s gonna have to wait, Uncle Kyle,” Andy said smugly.

“No problem, the dirt’ll wait one more day.”

The teenager rolled his eyes as he turned to look at his mother. “Mom?”

Maria nodded. “Sure, why not? Justin, you can tell Rick to let his parents know we’ll bring a few cases of soda with us.”

“Okay.”

“I suppose we’ll be going,” Alex said and glanced at Isabel. “How’s a barbeque in the park sound?”

“Sounds like fun,” Isabel agreed.

Sam gave her boyfriend a subtle nudge and ignored the look he shot at her in favor of lifting an eyebrow at him. “Wasn’t there something you wanted to add?” she asked quietly but insistently.

He cleared his throat. “So, Michael, maybe you wanna go with?”

“Well,” he tried to hide his surprise and looked at Maria quickly. She gave him a slight nod with a smile on her face. “Yeah, I’d like that,” he agreed. “Maybe I can convince Chrissie to make her famous marshmallow muffins.”

“Marshmallow muffins?” Kara’s eyes grew wide just at the thought of it.

Max groaned. Now if Michael’s sister didn’t make them they’d never hear the end of it. And if she did make them, Kara was going to be on a sugar high all night.

“I guess we have some things to prepare then,” Maria said and ruffled her son’s hair. “Let’s get moving.” She was so proud of him, and the fact that he had willingly asked about Michael joining them showed her how much progress he had made in the last months. A lot of the credit for that probably went to Sam.

“Mom!” he hissed as he ran his hand over his hair to fix it.

She just rolled her eyes at him and gestured to the front door. “C’mon, you can see each other in just a few short hours.”

“I’ll walk out with you, Andy,” Sam said with a smile at her dad. She grabbed his arm as she passed him, pulling him close when her boyfriend walked out the door to wait for her on the porch. She lowered her voice to a whisper. “Dad, y’know I love Isabel, but barbecues are supposed to be fun so don’t let her cook any of that health food she likes to make.”

He cleared his throat and tried not to laugh at his daughter’s request. “I’ll do my best.”

“Daddy?” Kara plucked at his collar as she waited for him to look at her. “Daddy.” She tugged more insistently.

“What is it, baby girl?” Max asked.

“Are you gonna kick Untel Tyle’s ass? ‘Cause he said you might.”

Max frowned and glanced at the man in question. “Really?”

Kyle coughed slightly and rolled his eyes – the kid was way too attentive at times. “It was just a slip of the tongue.” He lifted his hands. “Totally don’t know anymore what that was all about,” he lied.

“Uh-huh,” the other man said. “We’ll talk about it later.”

“I’m surprised the house is still in one piece. Watching all the kids at the same time must’ve been torture,” Liz said and squeezed Kyle’s shoulder. “Thanks.”

“No problem,” he shrugged and took Tess’ hand. “So guess we’re leaving as well now?”

“Sure,” she agreed and looked at the other woman. “There’re still leftovers in the fridge if you’re hungry.”

“You managed leftovers with the boys in the house?” Max asked doubtfully.

She stuck her tongue out at him. “Yes, and it’s not because my cooking is that bad either.”

“Yeah, it’s really not, Dad,” Nick said with a grin at his aunt. “Pretty sure you can’t mess up takeout.”

“Hey, that was NOT takeout!” Tess insisted.

“Sure it wasn’t,” Justin teased.

“Some delicacy from the depths of the freezer case at the supermarket no doubt,” Max said and laughed at the look of annoyance on his sister’s face.

“We’ll see you guys later,” Kyle said as he herded his girlfriend to the front door.

“I may not be able to cook a lot of things but I’m not that bad,” she said as he succeeded in hooking her bags over his shoulder and getting her out the door.

Kyle smirked. “I say we take a couple dozen eggs and plaster your brother’s truck with them at the picnic.”
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Fics: A Xmas Story - A Merry Mt. R. Xmas - Cupid's Revenge - Double Trouble - Double Date - Double Dare - Double Empire - Double Xmas Wish - In The Course Of A Lifetime - Mountains So High - Not A Question At All - Surrender - TIC TAC - Two Double Dates at Xmas
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