Roswell Fanatics

Healerfan: Thanks!

By staying home Max is eventually going to have to face what happened with Andrew.

Thanksgiving will be a crazy, busy time.

Natalie36: Lol, nothing like planning holiday events for the family.

Earth2Mama: It’s a big step for Max to reach this place. He and Andy will get there too.

We’ll get a bit more M&M in this part.

Kyle couldn’t leave Tess alone right now.

begonia9508: Thanks! We’ll have to wait and see what happens with Tess.

Max making the decision to be home with his family is the best things.

keepsmiling7: Looks like those puppies have found a home.

Liz definitely has some concerns about the pregnancy, but Max will be there to support her and help her.

mary mary: A big Thanksgiving is a wonderful thing! What’s better than having a houseful of family and friends? It’s the best way to enjoy the holidays!

Alien_Friend: Who knew this idea would turn into a fic of this length? Lol, we had a great idea to work with though! We’re less than 10 pages from hitting page number 1,000!

Thanksgiving Day... promises to be a great scene!

Lol, Kara will be happy to know she has someone else hoping for a girl.

Liz would be a great help to Tess if only she’ll open up to her.

Eva: Things are moving along for everyone and you can count on Thanksgiving being a great time!



Part 101

“Sounds like a full house.” He polished off the sandwich and took a drink of his coffee. “We’ve got a lot of work to do if we’re gonna have the kitchen ready for cooking a Thanksgiving feast.”

“You’ll help?” she asked, surprised.

He snorted. “If I’m helpin’ out I’m spending time with you, right?”

Maria blushed slightly, not used to the flirting going on. “Yeah.”

“We’ll all help a bit,” Liz suggested.

“See? We’ll all help out and it’ll come together smoothly.” He nodded and watched Liz chowing down on lunch. “That must be good,” he mused at her enthusiasm.

“It is...” she nodded.

Michael glanced at Maria. “That a pregnant thing?” he murmured. He’d had the chili dogs from the café and he didn’t think they were all that great.

“Totally, she normally doesn’t even like it spicy.”

Liz just shrugged. “I’m blaming it all on my husband.”

“Always the man’s fault, huh?” Michael chuckled.

“Without men we wouldn’t get into these situations.” She grinned. Not that she’d change it for anything in the world.

“An’ she’s already got twins,” Maria explained. Her eyes danced with amusement as she rested her back against his chest.

“True. Although I’ll be perfectly content with just one this time.”

“Twins are a lot of work, huh?” he asked with a smile and wrapped an arm around his woman.

“Not just twins,” Liz corrected. “Twin boys... a lot more than twice the work.”

“Justin and Nick, right?”

She smiled brightly. “Yes.”

“Good boys.”

“Thanks. They can also be major pains when they put their minds to it but for the most part we don’t really have any trouble with them.”

“Yeah, I don’t think you should complain about them,” Maria agreed.

“No, I really don’t have anything to complain about.” She chuckled. “Of course they’ve both just started dating so I’ve got my fingers crossed.”

“Girls are probably worse that age.”

Michael snorted at that. “That’s no lie.”

Maria turned to look at him. “When do you have to be back in school?”

He checked his watch. “Soon. I should probably get outta here in the next ten minutes or so.”

“So soon, huh?” She pouted.

“Um-hmm. I could ditch the rest of the afternoon but that sets such a bad example for the kids,” he said with a laugh.

“I guess... Not good for Andy.”

“No. Although you can bet I won’t be out hopping on a moving train if I’m ditching class.”

“Oh, please, don’t remind me,” Liz said.

“Dangerous for sure but we all did stuff like that when we were younger.” He shrugged one shoulder. “I know I got into all kinds of stuff that my parents never knew about.”

“Oh, Maria knows all about annoying her parents,” Liz winked at her friend.

“Hey!” Maria complained.

“Sounds like you’ve got more stories I should hear about,” Michael growled, his lips brushing her ear.

“Oh, yeah, Maria was the reason we all were damned to detention more than once.”
Liz laughed at the memories.

“Um-hmm, so you were a bad influence, huh?”

“That’s not true at all,” Maria denied.

Liz rolled her eyes. “You are so lying.”

“Shut up,” the other woman laughed.

“Alright, as much as I’d like to stick around I’d better get back before the bell rings and Principal Russell discovers I’m not in my office.”

“We don’t want that, huh?” Maria got up from his lap again and pulled him up as well.

“Nope, she might put me in detention after school.”

She walked him over to the door and wrapped her arms around his hips for a moment. “Wanna come over for dinner tonight?”

He stared into her eyes and thought how easily he could get lost in them. “I’d like that.”

“Come over about seven?”

He nodded. “Practice should be over by six so that sounds perfect.”

“Okay,” she got up on her tiptoes to kiss his nose. “See you tonight then.”

He tipped her chin up to give her a real kiss before taking a step back and grinning at her. “I’ll see you at seven,” he said with a wink and slipped out through the door.

Maria stared after him before she turned to Liz again, a big wide grin on her face.

“Sooo...” Liz said, drawing the word out. “Care to share?”

“Well... what do you wanna know?” She walked back to the chair and sat down, taking the coffee Michael brought for her.

She chuckled and shook her head. “I know you said Andy was okay with you and Michael dating but when did all this happen?”

“Pretty quickly. The next day Andy talked to Michael and he came over that evening...” Maria smiled brightly. “I’m just getting used to having a new boyfriend.”

“You look happy,” she observed with an approving smile.

“I am. I don’t think I’ve been this happy in a very long time.”

“I’m glad. You deserve it, Maria.”

“As well as you and Max,” she said and reached over to squeeze Liz’s hand. “I’m convinced the baby is a good thing.”

She sighed and brushed away a happy tear. “Yesterday he told me he wants the baby. He’s happy about it but he’s also scared and I totally understand that.”

“Being scared is a normal thing. Hell, Liz, I’d be scared too even though my pregnancy with Andy went normally. I’m sure you two will manage this and the baby girl will just as healthy as the rest of you.”

Liz brushed her hands over her stomach. “I think so too. We just have to be positive.”

*****

Andy ducked into the cafeteria at lunchtime, hurrying through the line and ignoring the other options as he headed for the end so he could get a couple of cheeseburgers. He made a face at the potato wedges because they still had the skins on them and asked for a couple bags of chips instead. He handed his lunch card over, waited for it to be swiped, and shoved it back in his pocket before taking his tray and pausing when he realized Sam wasn’t at their usual table.

He glanced out through the windows that walled one side of the lunchroom and frowned when he saw her sitting at a picnic table in the far corner of the quad. He backed the line up when he pocketed the drinks and chips before wrapping the burgers in napkins and taking off for the door. He crossed the quad and quickly reached her, sitting down next to her and putting everything on the table.

“Hey, not that I mind sittin’ outside but it’s kinda cold,” he said. Luckily the wind wasn’t blowing, but the air still had a bite to it.

“I guess,” she said, picking at the hamburger bun when he slid one of the burgers in front of her.

Andy took a big bite of his own burger, sinking his teeth into it and chewing heartily. While he wasn’t all that excited about most of the lunchroom offerings he did like the cheeseburgers. They were actually pretty good and he was hungry. He looked at her when he realized she wasn’t eating and he quickly swallowed the bite down. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

She shrugged and pulled the bun apart, tossing a couple pieces out to a bird that was hopping around nearby searching for something to eat.

“I actually brought this for you, ya know...”

“Huh?” She shook herself and turned to look at him. “Oh, sorry, Andy.” She forced a smile. “Thanks.”

He sighed, wondering if this had anything to do with her mother’s appearance. His gaze wandered between the food and her, before he shoved the rest of the cheeseburger in his mouth, wiped his hands on his jeans, and moved to sit behind her. His arms came around her waist, tugging her closer.

“I talked to my dad last night after you left,” she started haltingly.

“About your mom?”

She nodded and settled a little more deeply into his embrace.

Andy took the cheeseburger out of her hand and slapped it together again before holding it directly in front of her mouth, waiting to see if she would eat a bit.

In spite of her stomach grumbling she pushed his hand away and let her head rest against his shoulder.

He sighed and took a bite of his own since he was still hungry. “So what’d you talk about?”

“My mom.” She paused. There were so many emotions rushing through her that she couldn’t keep track of them. It just made her head hurt.

Okay, something was really wrong, he thought when he heard her cracked voice. He placed the food aside and tugged her closer. “Hey...”

“She’s got cancer, Andy.” She reached up to brush the tears away with the heel of her hand.

Damn, this wasn’t a conversation for a short lunch break. “That’s why she’s coming to look for you?”

She shrugged. “I guess. Dad said she’s in remission and maybe after goin’ through that comin’ back here isn’t as scary as it was before. Somethin’ like that anyway.”

“She’s in remission? That’s good, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. If it lasts. But what if she’s just like making up for stuff ‘cause she got sick and not really ‘cause she wants to see me?”

“Why would she come to see you just because she was sick?” he asked gently.

“Maybe getting sick like that just made her feel really guilty. Maybe she made a deal with God that if she got better she’d come see me. I don’t know.”

“Ya know,” he took one of her hands in his and looked down at it while his fingers caressed over hers. “Maybe the cancer is the reason why she’s looking for you now, but I don’t think she made a deal or whatever. It probably made her realize the more important things in life.”

Her gaze locked on his fingers and she turned her hand over under his. “Yeah, maybe. I was reading up on it and if you have a female relative like a mom who’s diagnosed you have like a 13% chance of getting it. That doesn’t sound like a big number, but you’re still twice as likely to get it than someone who doesn’t have a relative with it.”

“Yeah, but now you know and you can take the necessary precautions, right?” He buried his nose against her neck.

“I know it’s not like I’m gonna get it just ‘cause she’s had it, but...” she shook her head. “There’re all kinds of factors and precautions and things you can do to help prevent it. I’m just... I’m mad at her, Andy!”

“Because she left you alone and now she’s back with bad news?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never had to wonder if I was loved or it I was wanted, ya know? Dad’s always been there and he’s always made sure I knew those things were never in question. And he’s always been great about answering the questions about my mom when I know they had to be hard on him. Especially when I was younger.” She sighed. “And now here she comes and it’s just really confusing.”

“Yeah, but she’s still your mother I guess.”

“That doesn’t just give her the right to suddenly come in and upset my entire life.” She turned her head to look at him. “Don’t you understand that?”

“She’s not forcing you to meet her, right?”

“No, of course not. Dad said it’s up to me whether or not I meet her.”

“Yeah, well,” he scratched his head, “I guess your mom isn’t really in a winning position right now. Either way you’d be mad at her.”

She sat up straighter and shifted so she was facing him. “Are you... are you taking her side?”

“What?” He frowned. “No. It was just a fact.”

She sighed and shook her head. “You don’t understand.”

“No, I do understand, Sam,” he protested.

“Then why does it matter what her position is?”

“Because she’s your mother, that’s all. Look, I was just saying that after the mistakes she made it’s hardly possible for her to contact you again without you being mad at her.”

“Yeah, well, I have every right to be mad at her if I want to be,” she grumbled.

Andy sighed, not knowing what to say. “Yeah, alright.”

Sam played with the bag of chips he had put in front of her. She didn’t even know why they were fighting over this.

“Hey, Evans,” a boy called out to him. “We’re heading over to the gym, ya coming?”

He looked at his watch and moved to get up. “Yeah.”

She frowned and glanced at her own watch. “I guess I’ll see you later.”

“Yeah, probably,” he looked at her uncertainly for a moment, trying to decide if he should kiss her, but then he just walked off.

Sam bit her bottom lip. It just felt wrong to let him walk away without settling things. She wasn’t really mad at him, it was just the whole situation. She leaned back against the table and took a deep breath. “Andy?”

He turned to look at her. “What?”

She shrugged. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to take it out on you.”

“I’m okay, Sam,” he told her and shoved his hands into his pockets. “See you later.”

If it was okay why hadn’t he kissed her? “Yeah, okay.”

*****

Michael glanced up when the old gym door creaked in protest as it was opened, the sound slightly louder than the whistle he was blowing to call a foul. He smiled when he saw Andy walking in, both hands shoved deep in his pants pockets.

“Hey,” the boy greeted him.

“Hey, Andy,” Michael said, “are you in for a game?”

“If you’ll let me?” the younger man asked hopefully. He knew Michael had said he would be welcome again, but yet he wasn’t so sure about it.

Michael nodded. “Any chance you’d wanna suit up and get out there?” He nodded at the sidelines where Troy Masters was sitting. “Our shooting guard took a bad fall last game and he’s gonna be out for a few weeks.”

“You serious?” Andy asked, checking the man’s face.

“Um-hmm, but if you’d rather not I understand. No pressure.” He could see the light in the boy’s eyes and he hooked his thumb over his shoulder. “Masters won’t be on the court with that injury.”

“Well... I guess maybe I could replace him... as long as he’s out?”

Michael grinned, knowing that between the injury and rehab Masters would likely sit out the rest of the season. “I think that’d be great and it’d really help the team out.”

“I don’t have anything to wear though.”

He pulled keys out of his pocket. “Locker room office, you’ll find uniforms in the box on the desk.”

“Is he joining the team, Coach?” one of the guys asked.

Michael glanced at Andy, letting him know the answer was up to him.

“If I’m good enough,” the teenager shrugged.

“Get suited up and let’s find out,” he said and slapped the boy on the back. “Two man drills, guys.” He blew the whistle. “Let’s go!”

*****

Kyle pulled off of the interstate and followed the service road around to the gas station, turning into the parking lot and driving up to the fuel islands. He parked next to a pump and checked on Tess before getting out to fill the tank. She had been sleeping for the past hour and he didn’t want to disturb her since she hadn’t slept much the night before.

He leaned back against the truck while he waited for the tank to fill and he squinted against the sunlight reflecting off of a nearby car window. His attention was pulled away by a woman coming out of the station, a baby in her arms. He watched her cross the lot, heading for a station wagon that was loaded down with luggage. As she approached it she smiled and he followed the direction of her gaze to watch the little boy excitedly talking while he used a squeegee to wash the side windows.

He chuckled and shook his head when he realized that the little boy wasn’t really doing much more than getting the windows wet. The pump clicked off without him noticing it and he stood there watching as a man emerged from beneath the open hood and the little boy called for him to come and see what he’d done. He shook his head and replaced the nozzle before putting the cap back in place and giving it a final twist. He checked on Tess and locked the doors before going inside the station.

He browsed the refrigerated cases and grabbed a couple of sodas then walked over to fast food restaurant that took up half of the building. He put in an order and then wandered over to look over the items for sale. He picked up his order when they called his number and on his way out stopped by the register to make an impulse purchase.

He settled back into the drivers’ seat, making room in the center console for the box of chicken and fries, opened his drink before setting both cans in the cup holders, and leaned over to place his purchase on Tess’ lap. He turned the key in the ignition, changed the station when the one he had been listening to blasted out a burst of static, and locked his seatbelt into place as he shifted around to get comfortable.

He pulled back out on the interstate and pressed on the gas until the needle on the speedometer was in the right place. He set the cruise control and reached for a chicken strip, biting into it and tapping his thumb against the steering wheel in time to the music. He was halfway through the second strip when Tess started to shift restlessly. He shoved the rest of it in his mouth and wiped his hands on his jeans before reaching over to rub her arm.

She had been suffering from nightmares off and on since she had told him about losing her baby and he wished he could do something to make them stop. Part of him wished he had never found that sonogram picture even though he knew at some point the truth would’ve had to come out. He wrapped his hand around hers when she reached for him and he pulled his eyes off of the road for a moment to glance at her. “Hey, you okay?”

Tess nodded as she pressed her bare feet against the floorboard to push herself into a more upright position. “Sometimes when I’m asleep I can hear her,” she said quietly. She shook her head and looked outside. “I know that’s ridiculous because that never happened. She never had the chance to…”

“It’s not ridiculous. It’s just your minds way of trying to find a way to cope.”

“Maybe. For a few minutes I feel such a connection to her but then it’s like I remember what happened and it’s gone.” She smiled at the single red rose lying in her lap.

“I wish I knew what to do to help you with this.”

She shook her head and lifted his hand to rest her cheek against it for a moment. “You are, Kyle. You’re doing everything you can do and I love you for that.” Her fingertips brushed against the velvety soft rose petals and she smiled. “Actually, I love you for so much more than just that.” She glanced over to watch him for a moment and she saw the gentle smile that settled over his features. She dropped her gaze to the food he had wedged into the console and she reached down to rest the backs of her fingers against it to see if it was warm enough to eat. She picked up one of the chicken tenders and pulled it in half before taking a bite. “You must’ve stopped pretty recently.”

“Um-hmm, figured we’d need to fuel up one more time. We’re about three hours from home but I went in to get us somethin’ to drink and the chicken just smelled really good so I grabbed an order of the tenders. Don’t care for the fries so much but it would’ve been kinda hard to eat the mashed potatoes and drive.”

“Good point.” She leaned over to offer him a bite and laughed when he took it and then captured her hand to press a noisy kiss to her knuckles. “You’re gonna make me all greasy.”

“Think of how great you’ll taste,” he said with a teasing grin.

“Eww, Kyle,” she said, her laughter turning into a snort. “There’s nothing even remotely sexy about smelling or tasting like old takeout. Especially if it’s chicken.”

He laughed heartily and reached for another tender. She was right about that, not that it mattered. The only thing that mattered was the goofy conversation had chased the shadows from her eyes. It had made her laugh and put a smile on her face and for him that was the important thing.

Earth2Mama: Lol, she’s just having a moment.

We’ll be seeing more of M&M soon.

Tess will deal with what happened now that it’s come out.
begonia9508: Sam definitely has a reason to be upset.

Maria and Liz have been friends for a long time, but over time they had sort of drifted apart.

Cardinal: Yes, it’s good to be past that age, lol.

Without that certain obstacle blocking their way Michael and Maria can now really move forward.

Hmm... the next shoe dropping? Well...

sarammlover: Andy and Sam have had a lot to deal with but they’ll come out stronger for it. We’ll be seeing more of M&M soon. Thanksgiving should be an event.

mary mary: Sam will get there with a little help from some of the others.

Lol, apparently the risk of heartburn was worth those indulging in those chili dogs.

killjoy: Chili cheese rocks on just about anything!

Kyle will have to go back to Atlanta at some point... Tess will likely handle it better next time around.

Alien_Friend: Maria and Michael have come so far in this story. They’ve had a bumpy ride so far but hopefully things will start to smooth out now.

Oficially over 1,000 pages now! We tipped over the threshhold this past week while writing. We’ve had a lot of fun with this fic.

Sam’s having a rough time but she’ll get through it with help from those around her.



Part 102

Sam leaned in the kitchen doorway, watching her dad and Isabel as they worked together to make dinner. They had invited her to join them but she had declined, insisting that she had a ton of homework that she needed to get started on. She had stayed in the living room for a while, staring at her laptop while listening to the low murmur of conversation between them. It hadn’t taken long to realize that Isabel was aware of the situation with her biological mother and that had drawn her back to the kitchen.

She saw Isabel move to one of the cabinets, move something around and then tell Dad that she couldn’t find the ingredient she needed. It wasn’t until Isabel caught her eye that she realized that the woman knew she was watching and she was giving her the chance to point out the missing item. She was being given the opportunity to have a little time alone, to talk she was sure, but only if she wanted to. She nodded slightly.

It took a few minutes but that was all that was necessary for the woman to get Dad moving and out of the house on his errand. After he was gone Sam walked into the kitchen and settled on one of the barstools at the island.

“So,” Sam started, coughing slightly when her voice felt too weak. “Dad told you about my mother, didn’t he?”

“He did,” Isabel nodded. “It’s not only on your mind all the time, Sam. He’s thinking about it a lot too.”

“Yeah, I know. I guess it was pretty unexpected for both of us.” The younger girl picked at the cover of a magazine lying on the counter. “She wasn’t here for all my life and now she suddenly appears…”

“I can imagine the roller coaster,” Isabel wiped her hands on a towel next to the sink and stood on the other side of the counter. “It’ll take time to get used to the new situation, but you’ll both manage it fine.”

Sam looked at her intently. “What about you? Does it bother you?”

Isabel considered the girl’s question, giving it honest thought before answering her. “My relationship with your dad is still new and while I’m not worried that he still has feelings for your mom, it is a little uncomfortable.”

“Because of me?”

She smiled and shook her head. “Not because of you, no. Sometimes people who haven’t been together for a long time meet again and they have something in common that reminds them why they were together in the first place.”

“Yeah, I guess that could happen sometimes,” Sam said as she folded one corner of the magazine before smoothing it out again. “But that’s not gonna happen with Dad and my mom. I mean, he’s totally into you and even if they were happy once, she left us and he would never go back to her.”

Isabel smiled at the girl’s conviction. “How do you feel about it?”

“It’s weird. I know I’ve always had a mom but I’ve never had anyone to call mom. I mean, am I supposed to call her that? Do I call her by her first name?”

“That’s something only you can answer.”

Sam rested her chin in her hand, her gaze locked on the magazine as she put the next question out there. “What would you do?”

“I can tell you what I did do,” she said with a small smile. She nodded when the girl’s head snapped up. “I was raised by my grandparents because my parents didn’t want the responsibility of a child. I was three years old when they took custody of me and I rarely saw either of my parents when I was growing up. They came around when I was about 13 and they expected me to treat them like parents.” She shook her head. “I couldn’t get the words out. Calling them mom and dad just felt wrong so I chose to call them by their first names.”

“Were they mad?”

“Not mad,” Isabel said, thinking about a better word. “I guess they just expected me to see them as parents, but they quickly learned and accepted that they weren’t. Not to my way of thinking anyway.”

“Did you get along with them or did they just… Ya know, disappear again?”

“They tried to keep contact with me, but somehow it was always a bit of a superficial relationship between us.” Isabel smiled at Sam. “I guess that was my own fault, too. I never really let them in because they didn’t want me first.”

“It’s hard to trust someone who left you at a time when you needed them so much.” Sam stared at the magazine in front of her and shoved it away before she completely ruined the cover.

“It is,” the older woman agreed. “The best way is probably to not think too much about it. The situation will develop on its own, regardless of what you plan to do or say.”

“Easier said than done,” Sam looked at her with a half-smile. “I tend to over think things. And then I hurt the people around me…”

“Speaking of someone in particular?” Isabel asked with a small smile, almost expecting the answer.

The girl laughed a bit. “You know it… right?” She blew her hair out of her face. “Andy, I was a bit grumpy with him during the day and I think now he’s mad at me because of it.”

“He’ll get over it.”

“Yeah,” she slipped from the stool and went to get a drink out of the refrigerator. “I mean, how many times has he reacted like a total ass and I tried to be there for him? I think I’ve earned the right to be a bit grumpy now and then without him being all sulky.”

Isabel smiled to herself at the girl’s rambling but let her go on. At least she was talking and that could only be good for her.

“You know on the other hand, he was really sweet last night. I called him after Dad dropped the Mom-news and he came by without me asking him to…” Sam closed the refrigerator door halfway and looked at the woman across the room, realizing that she had just gone off topic and it felt like she was talking to a friend.

“He’s a good boy,” Isabel nodded.

Sam smiled. “Yeah. I’m not sure I’m ever gonna convince Dad about that.”

“Your dad’s coming around. It takes time for men to accept certain changes, especially when it concerns their little girls.”

“So you think it’s just gonna take some time?”

Isabel smiled. “Sam, when I first started dating I thought my grandfather was never gonna accept my first boyfriend. Of course, my grandfather was considerably older than my father was so there was also a generational thing.”

The girl laughed. “That had to be kinda tough, huh?” She rolled her eyes. “My grandparents are cool but Grandpa does kinda see things differently than Dad does when it comes to some things.” She snorted. “Last time we were over for dinner I was telling them about Andy and Dad and Grandpa got into this big discussion about whether or not I was old enough to date. I was so glad when Grandma told Grandpa to mind his own business.”

“You know, I think technically parents and grandparents know that times change and you can’t treat your kids like you were treated by yours. But it’s hard to actually change their way of acting and men tend to take a bit of more time for that.” She chuckled. “But Alex isn’t the worst, believe me. I talk to a lot of parents at school.”

“Yeah, I guess I can’t complain at all, huh?”

“No, definitely not.”

Sam nodded absentmindedly while she looked out of the window into the garden, laughing when Oscar went after a leaf. Sometimes he really acted like a cat or a dog. “Can I ask you something else, non-parent related?”

“Sure,” Isabel went to the oven to check the main course for dinner before she turned to the girl again, hands resting at her sides on the counter.

“I asked Dad a while back about going the pill… ya know… just in case, but he’s gonna freak out when I really do start using it.” She bit her lip. “Do you think it’s too soon to tell him I think I’m ready?”

Isabel nodded. Wow, this seemed to be a night full of different talks. “I don’t think it’s too soon. If you explain it to him the right way…”

“Yeah, see there’s the problem,” Sam started, “I think when I bring it up, he’s gonna be kinda… I don’t know. It’s not like I’m planning anything with Andy right now, but…”

“Precaution can’t hurt?” Isabel helped when the girl fell silent.

“Yeah. Whenever I’m ready I won’t need to worry about that anymore then. It would take a bit of the pressure off…”

“Do you feel pressured?” Isabel asked carefully.

“Oh, no no, that probably came out wrong. And whenever it happens I know the pill alone won’t be enough protection for other stuff…” Damn, what was she getting herself into now?

Isabel nodded, careful not to push for information. Sam was opening up to her by her own choice and she wanted to encourage an open relationship with the teenager. “If you’d like, and if your dad agrees, I’m sure we could get you in with my gynecologist.” She and Alex had talked about it recently and she knew as much as he hated the idea he wanted his little girl to be safe.

“Yeah?” She wrinkled her nose. “When I kinda suggested it before Dad actually suggested that he could ask around to find a good one. And I love my dad, but I really don’t want him to do that. I mean, I’m glad he’s willin’ to do it but…”

She laughed. “There are just some things a girl doesn’t want her dad to do for her.” She winked. “I totally understand that.”

Sam rolled her eyes. “It was bad enough when I first got my period. Grandma was on vacation so she and Grandpa were out of town and Dad decided to handle it himself. And I know he was bein’ helpful and all but when he started asking this woman in the store about tampons and pads I wanted to die.” She snickered. “He was just concerned and tryin’ to get all the information so we could make an informed decision but…”

“No, he did not.” Isabel made a sound of sympathy. “I think that makes it official: Your dad shouldn’t be anywhere in the vicinity when you have your first appointment.” She patted the girl’s arm. “It might be safer all around if he isn’t even around when you make the appointment.”

“Well, I think he finally realized I was about to die of mortification just about the time the twins’ mom happened to show up at the store.” She smiled. “It’s at least a little funny now but at the time I couldn’t imagine ever laughing about it.”

“I wouldn’t have either.”

Sam glanced at her watch. “I think I’m gonna try to call Andy. Maybe he’s willing to talk to me now.”

“Do that,” Isabel glanced at the doorway when Alex appeared. “You’re here just in time, honey.”

“Yeah?” he asked skeptically.

“Um-hmm,” Isabel smiled.

Alex looked at his daughter when she left the room… happy? Well, at least she seemed to be in a better mood now than she had been when he left to run to the store. “What’d you do?”

“We just talked,” she shrugged.

“That must’ve been a good talk.”

“It was,” she agreed. “Girl talk, you know? She’s just a bit confused, Alex. Other than that I think she’s taking the news better than we thought.”

He set the grocery sack on the counter and leaned in for a kiss. “Things are okay then,” he said, curious about what they had talked about but deciding maybe it was best left between them.

“I think so, yes.”

“So where’s she off to now?”

“She and Andy had a…” she smiled, “disagreement earlier and she’s decided it’s time to talk to him.”

He nodded. He had known something was up from the way she had been moping around the house since getting home from school. “I wondered if there was more to her mood than just Kendra showing up.”

*****

Max finished shredding the chicken and added it to the vegetables to sauté together in the frying pan while Liz coated the bottom of a baking dish with enchilada sauce. She glanced up when the puppies ran through the kitchen chasing Ari and seconds later Lucky pounded across the floor in pursuit. Nails scrambled for purchase on the linoleum as they rounded the island and instead of heading back into the living room they made another pass around the island.

Liz swore under her breath when large paws trampled on her bare feet before she could move out of the way and she shot a look at her husband. “I believe you said you would handle this since it was your bright idea to bring two puppies home with you.”

“All I said was – “

“Max.”

That wasn’t the tone to argue with. He turned the heat down and wiped his hands on a dishtowel before leaning over to catch Lucky’s collar as he passed him. He patted the dog’s side and led him over to the hall before pushing him towards the living room and calling the kids.

“What’s up, Dad?” Nick asked.

“Do you see this?” He pointed at the puppies jumping up and down against the wall, attempting to get to Ari where he had perched on the windowsill.

“Well, Kara was supposed to be watchin’ them.”

“I don’t care who’s supposed to be watching them. There are three of you, find a way to manage it. Now get them outta the kitchen or you’re gonna be eating sandwiches for dinner.”

Nick glanced over at the counter where Mom was still working on dinner and made a face. “Well, why would you make us eat sandwiches when you’re already makin’ chicken enchiladas?”

“Nicholas,” Liz said, her tone telling him there would be no further discussion.

“Alright,” he grumbled, “but Kara was supposed to be watchin’ them.”

She shot a pointed look at him. “Remind her of that.”

Nick picked the puppies up and left the room without another word but as soon as he crossed into the hallway he started hollering for his sister.

“Great idea, Max.”

“What?” he shrugged his shoulders and went back to dinner. He chuckled to himself and changed the subject. “You were gonna tell me about your day earlier before we got sidetracked.”

“Don’t think I don’t know what you’re doin’,” she said, amused.

“I’m just askin’ about your day.”

“To distract me,” she pointed at him with the knife in her hand. “But I’ll give you a pass... for now.”

He grinned. “And I’ll take it.”

“I was at the shop this morning to meet Maria.”

“How’s she doin’?” he asked as he added a few more seasonings.

“Oh, I think she’s doin’ just fine,” Liz said, amused as she remembered the morning.

He paused to look at her over his shoulder. “What’s that look for? What’s goin’ on?”

“You know Michael Guerin, don’t you?”

“The counselor over at the high school, right?” He glanced at her for confirmation. “Yeah, I know who he is.”

“Seems like they’re interested in each other...” Hopefully he wouldn’t think it was too soon, she suddenly thought.

Max thought about that as he stirred the chicken and vegetable mixture, heating it through and making sure it was evenly coated with the seasoned sauce. Maria and Michael? That would take some getting used to but she had a right to move on with her life and Andrew wouldn’t have wanted her to be alone. “That’s good,” he said slowly. “You think they’re serious?”

“Seemed serious,” Liz nodded. “She really needs someone in her life again, ya know? And it looks like he’s looking for somebody as well.”

“So, you don’t think it’s too soon, right? No,” he said when she looked at him with a raised eyebrow, “I know everyone grieves and moves on differently, I just wouldn’t want her to move on too fast and get hurt.”

“No, I think she’s thought about this very well.”

“Maybe we should invite them over for dinner or something. You know, make an effort to get to know him?”

“Looks like that’ll happen on Thanksgiving.” Liz dipped her little finger in the sauce and nipped on it. “Hmm, tasty... anyway, Maria’s invited us all over to her new house.”

“All of us?”

“Um-hmm, including my parents.”

He nodded and moved to warm the tortillas in the microwave for half a minute. “Cool. When are they gonna be down?”

“A few days earlier they said.”

“That’ll be good.” He pulled the tortillas out and tossed them from one hand to the other to avoid burning himself. He dropped them on the counter next to her, dipped the first one in the bowl of enchilada sauce, and placed it in the pan so he could fill it with the chicken. “Weekend before the holiday?” he asked with a knowing smirk.

“Yeah,” she smiled back. “Probably. I miss them.”

“Have you already told them about the baby?” He doubted it because at least one of them would’ve already hopped a plane to come down to check on her.

“No,” she bit her lip. “I wanna tell them when they’re here. No need to worry them when they’re so many miles away.”

He nodded as he rolled the last filled tortilla, poured more sauce over them, and topped them with cheese before sliding the pan into the oven. “It won’t be long before they’re here and we can tell them.”

“Yeah, and they won’t be so worried if they can see with their own eyes that I’m doing good.” She looked at him. “We don’t really need to tell them about my little slip the other day.”

He smiled. “No?”

“You know them... they’d start calling me every day... twice a day.”

“I don’t know,” he mused as he checked the pot of Spanish rice. “That might not be such a bad thing.”

“Uh-huh...”

“I’m kidding,” he said, holding his hands up at the look she shot him. “Besides, Thanksgiving over at Maria’s house means you won’t be able to overdo it.”

“Yeah, I imagined you’d like that.” Her eyes sparkled. “The house will be full of people. That’ll be lovely.”

“It’ll be good to have the family together for the holidays,” he agreed. He stirred the rice and set the spoon aside before putting the lid on again. “It’s been a while since we did that.”

They both winced at a sound coming from upstairs that sounded like something heavy falling on the floor and breaking. A moment later Kara screamed and started to cry before Justin yelled something unintelligible.

“I know, I know, I’ve got it.” He nodded at the oven. “Ten more minutes and dinner’s ready,” he said as he headed for the door.

“This was your idea,” she reminded him again with a smirk.

He rolled his eyes as he started up the stairs. He had known that was going to come back to bite him on the ass.

Natalie36: Thanks for reading!

begonia9508: Lol, well, Max did get himself into this mess.

Yeah, and most of the time who does that responsibility end up falling on? Mom!

Sam will really benefit having a woman around to talk to.

mary mary: Lol! Yeah, it’s a houseful alright!

Earth2Mama: Oh, and don’t forget the cat! The puppies may be facing a move.

Sam will benefit having a woman around to talk to.

sarammlover: Thanks! Sam’s really learning that there’s more than one good thing about having Isabel around.

Healerfan: Thanks!

Sam will benefit from having Isabel around to talk to... and she’s finally getting to a place where she really sees that.

keepsmiling7: Lol, yeah, and who ends up with that responsibility? Mom!

Sam’s reached a place where she now sees that having Isabel around isn’t just good for her dad, it’s good for her too.

Eva: That conversation was a very good thing for both Sam and Isabel. It really gave them some common ground and allowed them to open up to each other.

Cardinal: A very important building block.

Lol, that is weird, we agree! The two men would benefit from a friendship and that’s a possibility.

Alien_Friend: It’s a little bit crazy at times, but the Evans are a happy family.

The conversation between Sam and Isabel really gave them some common ground and gave them a place to really start building a relationship.

Thanks!




Part 103

“You’re late,” Maria said when Andy came through the back door, entering the kitchen loudly and throwing his backpack into the first free corner.

“Good evening to you too, Mom,” he said.

She rolled her eyes and opened the oven to put the chicken inside. “Since when do you care about these formalities?”

He snorted and sat on one of the barstools at the counter in front of her. “Guess Michael’s coming over for dinner?”

“Huh?” She looked at him. “Well, yes.”

“Figured. Normally you don’t cook in your best clothes, Mom.” Okay, it wasn’t really her clothes that had brought him to the question. Furthermore he already knew because Michael had told him after practice.

“These are not my best clothes,” she denied, but checked to see if there was any food spilled on them.

“Still kinda dressed up for dinner.” He shrugged one shoulder and leaned forward to snag a bag of chips that were sitting on the counter.

“Hey, we’re almost ready for dinner.”

“Oh, yeah, about that, Michael asked me to tell you that he’ll be a bit late,” he grinned when she looked at him with that ‘I-knew-you-knew-something’ look.

“So you did meet with him, huh?”

“After school. You know, helpin’ with the coachin’ thing.” He munched on a couple of chips before wiping his right hand on his jeans. “I played tonight.”

“Yeah?” Maria asked in surprise. “How’d it go?”

“Good.” He bit into another chip and smiled to himself. “Great, actually,” he admitted quietly. “Kinda tried out for the shooting guard position.”

“Sounds important,” she made a face. “I should probably read up on the game.”

“Well, it’s not my usual position but I still did pretty good.” He pulled out a handful of chips. “I got the spot.”

“Congratulations,” she smiled and could truly see the excitement in her son’s face.

“Yeah, I’ll get to play until Masters comes back from his injury.” He got up to get a drink. “Talked to him after practice and he’s pretty sure he’ll be out until season ends.”

“Guess that’s your chance then?” she asked and poked her finger into the salad dressing before nipping on it to taste it.

He paused. “You’re sure it’s okay, right?”

“Of course, the position has to be taken anyway, right?”

“Yeah, you’re right.” He grinned. “And I was good. I’ll have my first game next Tuesday night.”

“Tuesday night? Is it an open game for public?”

“Yeah, it’s not a practice game.”

Maria walked over to the calendar, hanging next to the refrigerator. She took a pen from the board next to it and marked Tuesday night. “I’ll be there.”

Andy smiled as he settled on the stool once more. It felt good to be able to play the sport he loved and having Mom’s encouragement meant a lot. “Cool.”

“Bet Sam’s pretty excited about the news too, huh? Girls love boys who are into sports.”

“Well, I haven’t had a chance to tell her yet.” He shrugged. “We kinda had a fight at lunch... I think. I’m not even sure what it was,” he muttered with a frown.

“Well, misunderstandings happen now and then…” Maria tried, leaving it to him if he wanted to share more.

“She’s just...” he shrugged one shoulder, “her mom like took off when she was a baby and now all of the sudden her mom shows up and wants to see her. She’s freaking out about it. One minute she’s calm and wants to meet her and the next she can’t decide what she wants to do.”

“Wow, that’s a tough situation,” she said and turned the temperature on the oven down. “That must be hard for her.”

“Yeah, but wouldn’t it be easier if she’d just make up her mind about meeting her mom? I mean, if I had a chance to meet Dad I’d take it, no questions asked.”

“The difference is your dad was always there for you, Andy.”

“I guess.” He sighed and hooked his feet on the bottom rung of the stool as he leaned his right elbow on the counter and looked at her. “Her mom’s been pretty sick.”

Maria looked up and met her son’s eyes. “What’s wrong with her?”

“Cancer. But she said it’s in remission, so that’s a good thing, right?”

“Yeah, it means they didn’t find a hint for new tumors or anything with the last tests.”

He nodded. “Well, I said that her mom really wasn’t in a winning position no matter what she chooses to do and Sam got pissed at me and accused me of takin’ her mom’s side.”

“I’m sure she’s just really confused right now. Give her some time.”

“Yeah, I guess. She apologized, said she was sorry for takin’ it out on me, but by then I was pissed too.” He took a drink of his water and tapped it against the counter. “Maybe I should call her.”

Maria nodded. “Yeah, maybe. I doubt she wanted to hurt you and maybe she just needs someone to listen.”

“How long before dinner?”

“Depends on when Michael gets here I guess.”

Andy rolled his eyes. “Dude probably had to shower, shave, get dressed, debate over cologne, and who knows what else.”

Maria tired not to giggle like a teenager. “He’s not like that.”

He snorted. “I don’t know, Mom. He’s got a dinner date and you are pretty, you know, for a mom.”

She laughed. “Thanks, my pretty son got that from me too.”

“Ungh, Mom!” he made a face at her. “Guys are NOT pretty.”

“No? What are they?”

“Handsome or... rugged or somethin’, but not pretty!”

“Um-hmm, maybe I should ask Sam her opinion when she comes by again.”

“Mom,” he groaned. She wouldn’t actually do that, would she?

She waved him off. “Go get ready for dinner. I’ll call you down when it’s ready.”

He nodded and got to his feet, making his escape before she changed her mind and wanted him to do something. Or teased him some more. He smiled to himself as he took the stairs two at a time. Mom was goofy sometimes but it felt good to joke around with her again.

In his room he threw himself on his bed and pulled his phone out of his pocket, staring at it as he pulled up Sam’s number. His thumb brushed over the call button for several long moments before he pressed it.

Sam stared at the cell in her hand while she lay on her bed. She had tried to figure out what to say to Andy. Was an apology necessary? She had already tried to make it better, right? Her heartbeat increased when the cell buzzed and she cleared her throat before answering. “Hi.”

“Hey.”

She waited a moment and frowned when the line stayed silent. Wasn’t he supposed to speak when he called?

Andy scratched his neck and stared at the ceiling. “So... what’s up?”

“Not much. Isabel and my Dad are downstairs cooking, so I’m hanging in my room.”

“Cool. Mom’s downstairs cooking and Michael’s comin’ over for dinner.”

She snorted slightly. “Our parents are whipped.”

“Yeah. I went to practice after school today.” He closed his eyes and shook his head. Like she doesn’t know you’re talking about today, you idiot!

“Guess you’re talking about basketball?”

“Well, duh,” he said. “I wouldn’t be tryin’ out for football or drama club.”

“No? I heard the drama club’s good,” she teased.

“Yeah, sure, if a guy’s willing to give up his dignity and prance around on stage in a pair of tights.”

“So since ya choose basketball instead... How’d it go?”

“Went okay,” he said with a slight shrug. “Made the team.”

“Yeah?” She smiled and sat up. “That’s cool. That way I can get out to see more sports during the week.”

“First game’s on Tuesday night.”

“Guess I got plans for Tuesday now,” she said and leaned back against the wall.

He took a deep breath. “Earlier at lunch, I’m sorry I didn’t get what you were sayin’,” he said quickly.

“I wasn’t being fair and rational.” She shook her head. “Are we good again?”

He felt relief flood through him. They didn’t have to talk about it. “Yeah, we’re good,” he assured her, glad to have that over with.

“Okay, good,” she sighed. “I don’t wanna think about that mom stuff now or anymore today.”

He was fine with that. “So you figure out what you’re gonna do all weekend?”

“Don’t remind me,” she groaned. “Miss you, maybe?”

He grinned. “No big girls’ weekend planned yet?”

“Nah, not yet. I guess I might as well ask the girls since you guys will all be gone.” She gnawed on her lip. “Hmm, thinking about it, I could make them all jealous and brag about my boyfriend.”

“Think so?” He could brag all he wanted but he didn’t really think Justin or Nick really cared one way or the other.

She smiled. “I know a few who think you look good.”

That caught his attention. “Yeah?”

“But of course you don’t care about them, right?” Sam asked, half-teasing, half-serious.

The big red danger sign started to flash in his mind and he backpedaled. “Nah, I got the only girl who matters.”

She snorted. “Very good save, Andy. But I don’t believe you.”

“I don’t care about them, Sam.”

She slipped further down on her bed and rolled over, smiling while she thought about her boyfriend and glad that her thoughts were finally distracted. “Think you could sneak out of the house after dinner for a while?”

His eyebrows lifted. “Mom’s gonna be distracted so I think I’ll be able to get out. Where ya wanna meet?”

“I don’t know. Not too far from my house. I doubt Dad’s paying much attention right now.”

“The park? Our spot?”

“Okay. Send me a text when ya leave the house.”

“Cool.” He was silent a moment so he could listen when he heard something downstairs. “Sounds like Michael just got here.”

“Good, so your mom’s gonna be busy,” she giggled. “I’m looking forward to later, Andy.” Oh God, was she flirting? she suddenly thought, horrified.

He sat up and grinned. “Yeah, me too.”

“Think you could bring a blanket?”

Sneak out of the house with a blanket? He was gonna look like a fool if he ran into anyone he knew. “Sure.”

“Cool. Later then…”

“Later, Sam.”

“Andy?” Maria called from downstairs. “Dinner’s ready.”

He got to his feet and went to wash up before heading downstairs, mentally preparing himself to see his mom and Michael together.

****

“The chicken was good, how’d you make it?” Michael asked and got up, taking all their plates to the sink.

“That’s a secret,” Maria smiled. “Nobody but the women in my family knows and it’s staying that way.”

Andy reached over to grab the last crescent roll out of the basket and pulled it apart, shoving one half into his mouth and watching his mom. She had flirted with Michael over dinner but it hadn’t been anything serious enough to make him wanna puke.

“How were things at the shop? Did the deliveries arrive?” Michael asked while he ran water into the sink.

“All but one.” She rolled her eyes as she carried a couple of glasses over to the sink. “And it had to be rescheduled for tomorrow.”

“It’s always one, huh?”

“Always,” she agreed. “It seems like it’s one thing after another holding us up. We allowed for enough time to compensate for these issues so it shouldn’t create any problems for our anticipated opening, but it’s still annoying.”

“I know. When I moved here there were countless things that went wrong with the delivery companies,” Michael agreed.

Andy slouched down in his chair and tore the remainder of the roll in half. “Mom, what’s for dessert?” He was going to bang his head against the table if they kept talking about deliveries.

“I tried a new recipe. It’s vanilla ice cream, deep-fried with corn flakes and topped with a chocolate sauce.”

Okay, it sounded kinda weird but he was willing to give it a try. “Cool, is it ready now?”

“In a minute,” she said and placed the three corn flake covered ice cream balls in the deep fryer. “Get the chocolate sauce.”

Michael glanced over to watch her for a moment. “Dabbling in new recipes?”

“Dabbling?”

“Yeah, you know, tryin’ out new things.”

“Um-hmm, thought it fit for tonight.”

He nodded as a quiet smile played over his lips. “I don’t think I’ve ever had fried ice cream.”

“I had it once in a restaurant, but never made it on my own. So there’s no guarantee that it’ll really taste good.”

He looked at her again and his eyes settled on her lips. “Oh, I think it’ll taste better than good,” he murmured.

She winced a bit when the deep fryer beeped and she turned around quickly to get the dessert out, well aware of her son’s eye roll.

“Chocolate sauce,” Andy said and slid it on the counter next to Mom. He silently congratulated himself for not making a single gagging noise out loud.

She cleared her throat slightly and poured it over the fried ice cream. “Thanks, and here you go.”

“I’m gonna take mine into the living room so I can watch TV,” he said as he scooped it up, hoping she wouldn’t say no.

“Fine, but don’t spill any of it on the new couch,” she demanded.

“Mom,” he complained, “I’m not a little kid.”

She snorted. “Can’t hurt to remind you.”

He just rolled his eyes and made his escape.

Michael dried his hands on a dishtowel and laughed quietly as he turned to face her. He could remember his mom doing the same thing and it had driven him up the wall back then.

“I'll remind him next time when it comes to cleaning his room or putting his washed clothes into the closet,” she rolled her eyes but smiled and ducked her head slightly when he slid his arms around her from behind, watching her prepare their dessert.

“Um-hmm,” he murmured and pressed his lips to her neck.

Automatically, she leaned her head to the side to give him better access. “Andy told me he’s on the basketball team now…”

“Yeah, one of the boys got hurt in the last game.” He nosed the neck of her shirt aside and kissed her shoulder. “I didn’t know if Andy would go for it when I asked if he wanted to play.” He retraced his path and nuzzled the soft skin below her ear.

“I think he’s finally past the hesitation of playing because his father didn’t like the game,” she breathed slightly.

“Makin’ progress,” he said, nipping her earlobe.

“You’re not makin’ it easy to concentrate on dessert,” she said, amused.

“It’s got all my concentration,” he said, his breath gusting against her skin when he laughed.

“I see,” she turned around carefully and held his little plate out for him.

He reluctantly released her and accepted the plate before reaching around her to pick up hers as well. He leaned in even closer for a brief kiss and then backed away to carry the plates over to the table.

“Seems like dessert is still interesting,” she chuckled and joined him at the table.

“As good as this looks I’d happily forego it if it meant we could enjoy dessert of another kind,” he said with a wink.

A shiver ran down her spine just from the thought of it. “We’ve got a teenager in the next room, so you better behave.”

“I can behave... for now.” He took a bite of the ice cream and nodded in approval. “It’s good.”

She imitated his move and nodded. “Yeah, the evening couldn’t be better.”

“I’ll second that,” he said, lifting his spoon. “You get your plans hammered out for Thanksgiving?”

“I still have to talk to my parents. Oh, and I have to call Mr. Whitman. We didn’t have the best start, so maybe the invitation can be a peace offering?”

“The guy must be okay if Isabel’s dating him. How’d you guys get off on the wrong foot?”

“Let’s say he wasn’t all too pleased by the fact that Andy’s dating Sam, but I think he’s past that now. It’s not like you can do anything anyway, right? If teenagers want to see each other, the worst thing you can do is forbid them to see each other in my opinion.”

“Yeah, and in my experience that usually only encourages them to sneak around behind their parents’ backs.”

Maria nodded. “I know Andy wouldn’t if I told him to stay away from her, so there’s no point. Besides, I don’t think that it’s bad that the two of them got together.” She smiled while taking a bite of her dessert. “Guess Alex Whitman sees it a bit differently though.”

“Well, his kid’s a girl so he definitely sees it differently,” he said with a laugh.

“Yeah, I would too if I had a daughter.”

“I’d probably be insane if I had a teenage daughter. I mean, I’d like to think I could play it cool, but hell, I was 15 once so I’ve got pretty good insight into the teenage boy’s mind.”

“Um-hmm. Like to share?”

“I could probably demonstrate a lot better,” he said and grinned. “But since we have a little chaperone it might be a little difficult to do.”

Right at that moment Andy walked back in, hesitating a moment when the adults grew silent, before he walked to the counter to put his empty plate away. “Tasted good, Mom. Maybe a good dessert for Thanksgiving?”

“That’s a good idea,” she agreed. “Not traditional, but who cares?”

“Right,” the boy scratched his eyebrow. “I’m gonna take Theo for a walk, so you guys can do…” he fumbled around with his arms and made a face, “…whatever ya wanna do.” At least he was pretty sure his mom would agree to this and he wouldn’t have to sneak out of the house secretly to meet Sam.

Maria glanced at the clock and nodded. “Alright, just be careful, honey. Don’t stay out too long and make sure you take a jacket, it’s cold outside.”

“Mom,” he rolled his eyes but obeyed before he left.

She looked at Michael when the boy had left. “Wanna bet he would’ve forgotten about his jacket if I hadn’t said anything?” She sighed. “Knowing him he’s probably meeting Sam again. He said they had a little disagreement today.”

“Well, at least he didn’t sneak out.” He snorted. “Pissing off your teenage girlfriend, that’s enough to make a guy risk getting into hot water with the parents.”

“Obviously. I wouldn’t want to wait another day to settle things again either, though.”

“Uh-huh, does that mean you snuck outta the house a time or two when you were a teenager?”

“No comment,” she grinned and walked over to the counter to wipe it.

“Sounds like a yes to me.” He pushed his plate back and smiled. If things had been different and he’d lived here he knew he would’ve been tempting her to sneak out after hours. He got up and carried the plate to the sink. “I’ll bet you drove your parents crazy.”

“Yeah, there were times when my mom and I didn’t get along that well,” she admitted.

“Really? Because of the boyfriend?”

“Well, Andrew was my first and only boyfriend. He was several years older when we got together in high school. That alone didn’t really help my relationship with my mom.”

“Ah, yeah, that can create some major tension.” He washed the plate and set it in the drain. “Did things get better after you got married?”

“It got better when Andy was born. My mom thought I was too young and inexperienced to have a baby, but she loved him the first time she held him. I guess she just didn’t want me to repeat her mistakes. She had me very early and I had just turned 20 when Andy came. I was in the middle of college and it was probably not the best timing, but well…” she shrugged, “I was stubborn and didn’t listen to her at the time.”

“You’ve done a great job with him, Maria.” He dried his hands and then draped the towel over his shoulder. “Do you think you’d ever want more kids? I mean, Andy’s gonna be going off to college in a couple of years and you’ll be free to do whatever you want.”

begonia9508: Lol, most teenage boys probably go through that stage.

They’ve waited a long time to be free to pursue a relationship and it looks like they’re moving along at a good pace.

Earth2Mama: That could be an interesting reaction.

Andy’s showing some signs that he’s maturing and we’ve all waited a long time for that!

Natalie36: Thanks for reading!

Healerfan: Thanks!

Finally, he’s growing up enough to understand that it isn’t all about him.

Alien_Friend: We’ll find out what she says in this part. Andy would need to adjust to that situation, but if he keeps working on it he’ll get there.

He’s come a long way since the beginning, hasn’t he?

They’ll learn as they go.

keepsmiling7: Thanks for reading!

mary mary: We’ll find out in this part what Maria has to say in answer to that question.

Cardinal: Lol, got a bad feeling, huh? We’ll see!




Part 104

“Andrew and I tried to have more kids, but it didn’t happen,” she shrugged sadly, remembering that part of her life. “Now I think it was good that it didn’t happen. Our relationship was already non- existent anymore at that point and going through all of this with two kids… I don’t know if I would’ve survived it.”

“Yeah, that would be tough.” She hadn’t really answered his question and he wondered if she didn’t want more kids. Or maybe she did answer your question and she can’t have more kids, he mused silently.

“I never was a career woman at all. Taking care of my family was always first priority once Andy was born,” she continued. “Maybe it was wrong because it made me pretty dependent at the time but I hate those families where the kids grow up with a nanny instead of a mother.”

Michael shook his head. “I don’t think that's wrong at all. I wouldn’t want my kids raised by a nanny either. What’s the point of havin’ kids if you’re just gonna hand ‘em off to someone else to raise? I wanna spend time with my kids, play with ‘em, teach ‘em things, tuck ‘em into bed at night and read ‘em a story, have them tell me about their day.” He shook his head. “I wouldn’t wanna miss out on any of that.”

She looked at him with a weak smile on her lips. It was so obvious that he wanted kids in his life. Of course he would always treat Andy right and maybe someday he could be like a father figure for him, but it wasn’t the same as seeing your own kid grow up.

He reached up to cradle her jaw in his hand and brushed his thumb over her lips. “You’re so sexy,” he murmured.

“Ditto,” she replied and placed a hand over his.

He smiled slowly and leaned in for a kiss, wrapping his arms around her when she melted into him.

Maria wrapped her arms around him and kissed him back intensely. Was it possible to feel so connected to a person in this short a time? “Hey,” she mumbled against his lips, knowing there was still something unspoken between them and he needed an answer. “Ya know that recipe for the chicken….”

He groaned at the interruption. Now she wanted to reveal the secret recipe? “Yeah?” He shifted his attention, trailing kisses along her jaw.

“It’s at risk of dying out if there’s no female descendant….” she started slowly. Somehow it was easier to get the words out when he was distracted and wasn’t looking at her directly. “… so maybe we can work on that someday…”

He paused as her words sank in. “So no chance I’m getting my hands on that recipe unless we happen to produce a female heir to the DeLuca lineage?”

“If it was a boy we’d have to force him to tale cooking classes,” she teased.

“Well, giving up isn’t somethin’ I’m very good at so I guess we’d have to keep tryin’ until we got it right,” he said with a grin.

She snorted and it turned into a laugh. “I’m not a baby machine, Michael.”

He laughed in response to her carefree laughter. “Better get it right the first time then, huh? Or at least the second time around.”

Her arms tightened around his neck and she leaned her forehead against his while she got serious again. “I can’t promise you anything, Michael. After it didn’t work the last time we went both to a doctor to check everything and they said everything’s right on the physical side, but…”

He stroked her back with broad, sweeping strokes of his hand. “I know, Maria, and I’m not askin’ for the impossible. I would love to have kids but I’m open to other options.” He looked into her eyes. “Would you ever consider adoption?”

“If the other way didn’t work?” She smiled slightly. “Sure. Kara’s adopted and it feels like there was never a time when she wasn’t part of the family.”

“See? Easy fix.” He smiled wryly. “Don’t get me wrong, I know that process is difficult and it can be frustrating but I’d go that route if we couldn’t have a child of our own.”

“I guess a bit more time should pass before we do that though,” she said. “I know we’re not getting any younger and if I wanna get pregnant again then each day I wait will make it more difficult at my age, but I doubt Andy could live with that much change just now.” Funny how I’m not worried about the short amount of time I’ve known Michael, she realized.

He chuckled at that. “Haven’t I already proved to you that I can be patient?” He sobered for a moment. “I know women can have children well into their thirties, but I also know there is risk associated, so if it came down to that and we find out there is a significant risk... I swear to you I’m fine with adoption.”

“We’ll figure things out,” she breathed against his lips. “Maybe before talking about having children… we should actually move slowly into the territory where kids are made.”

“I’m good with that. Matter of fact I’m really good at that part,” he whispered and deepened the kiss.

“Let’s go to the living room,” she suggested and sniffed his neck. “We can make a fire in the fireplace. The kitchen can wait.”

He tried to hide the shiver when her breath brushed against his skin. He took her hand and led her into the living room, releasing her so he could get the fire started.

*****

Andy hooked the leash around his wrist and zipped his jacket up, glad he had grabbed it on his way out of the house. He had almost forgotten the blanket and had to run back upstairs to grab it before getting Theo and leaving the house without Mom discovering it. He held it tucked under his left arm and so far he had managed to slip through town undetected. He could just imagine if one of the town’s busybodies saw him and called Mom to tell her he was sneaking around in the dark carrying a blanket.

He entered the park and followed the path that led around to that one secluded spot amongst the reeds that they had discovered. He reached the spot and glanced around, disappointed when he realized that Sam wasn’t there already. He looked around and since no one was out he unhooked Theo’s leash and turned him loose, letting him get some exercise while he shook the blanket out and spread it out over the ground.

He sat down and leaned back on his hands as he stared up at the clear night sky. The stars were out and there were so many of them here. Not like back in Miami where most of the stars were blocked by the lights of the city. He turned his head when he heard the reeds rustling and he smiled when Sam slipped into the clearing. “Hey, you have trouble getting outta the house?”

“Nah, dinner just took a really, really long with Dad talking the whole time,” she rolled her eyes and approached him. “Hey…”

He got to his feet reached for her hand to pull her closer. “Hey,” he whispered again and kissed her.

“How about you? Was your mom suspicious?” she asked when he released her too soon for her taste.

“Hell, no. Michael was at the house for dinner so Mom’s kinda preoccupied.”

She chuckled. “See, you’re getting a lot of advantage out of this too.”

“Yeah, I guess so. It’s kinda weird seein’ her with someone who’s not my dad but... she seems really happy.”

“And that’s the most important thing, right?” She watched him getting back down on the blanket and then followed him, sitting down between his legs, her body sideways to his.

“Yeah, I know it’s the most important thing,” he grumbled. “Just, watchin’ them flirt is really weird.”

“You don’t have to watch,” she said.

“No, but I still know they’re doin’ it.” He made a face at the unintentional double meaning. “Ungh, now THAT’s gross!”

She laughed. “You think they’re having SEX right now?”

“God, I hope not!”

“Ya know, maybe you should distract yourself from that thought for now,” she said, leaning against him while her hand moved over his side.

“I’m not thinkin’ about that,” he denied as he concentrated on her.

“What are you thinking about?” she asked while her hand kept moving over him.

“You,” he said, his thoughts centering on her hand where it was touching him.

“Yeah?” She smiled playfully. “That’s good because I think about you a lot too.” It was the only way to keep her thoughts from wandering back to her mother.

“So, if I’m thinkin’ about you an’ you’re thinkin’ about me...” he nudged her chin up and dipped his head to kiss her neck.

“Think that’s a good start,” she mumbled.

He hummed a response and started to suck on her skin before running his tongue over the spot.

Sam didn’t think when she slipped her hand under his jacket and tee shirt to touch the warm soft skin of his side. “You’re pretty warm considering the cold weather,” she whispered.

“You’re not,” he said and hissed when her cold hand settled on him.

She laughed quietly. “I am. Just not my fingers.”

“Yeah, but that’s the only thing touchin’ me.” He slowly lifted his eyes to hers.

Her eyes went back and forth between her hand on him and his gaze on her. After a few moments of hesitation, she turned to face him completely, settling her legs over his and behind him on the ground before she pulled on her hand slowly until he released it.

Andy’s heart started to pound and his breathing increased as he stared at her. His hands rested on her thighs, rubbing them unconsciously. He smiled at her. “That’s better.”

“Much better,” she agreed while her fingers wrapped around the high zippered collar of his jacket to pull him closer and into a kiss. The cold metal of the zipper brushed against her index finger and she took it in her hand to pull it down.

He shifted slightly and his arms came around her. His right hand slipped under her jacket and tugged at her shirt so he could rest his palm against her skin.

“Whoa,” she shuddered slightly, but smiled. “Your hands aren’t the warmest either.”

He chuckled and slid the other one under her shirt to press against her warm skin. He laughed when she squirmed around.

“Andy,” she shrieked and finally managed to pull his jacket completely open. Her hands pushed the sides apart before running them along the belt on his jeans and beneath his tee shirt.

“Damn, your hands are cold!” He sighed when her hands finally started to warm up as his skin started to cool down. He pulled her closer and stared into her eyes.

“Better?” she asked and nipped at his lips, but pulled away again before it turned into a deeper kiss.

“Um-hmm,” he murmured, following her when she backed off.

She avoided him playfully, leaning to the side to bring her lips in contact with his neck instead. “You smell good,” she mumbled when she inhaled his scent.

He made a sound deep in his throat and pulled one hand free to bring it up to her chin, lifting it and guiding her mouth back to his.

This time she let him have his way and not only kissed him back, but deepened the kiss while sliding her arms closer around him under his clothes.

His hand slid down to settle against her neck and he wondered how far she would let him go. Probably not as far as he’d like to go since they were outside and it was kind of cold out.

Sam didn’t know where it was coming from, but she felt adventurous tonight. Did it have anything to do with the recent events? she wondered but pushed the thoughts away again.

Andy didn’t question it when she didn’t pull away or slow down. He followed her lead and lost himself in the kiss as his right hand shifted further up her side.

She leaned into his touch, while automatically moving further against him without really intending to. Her body was longing for his warmth and the nearer she got, the more she could feel the heat turned up in her own body.

Andy groaned when she moved against him and he shifted his hold on her as he slowly started to lie back on the ground, taking her with him.

“Hey,” Sam giggled and wiggled around. “My legs are not THAT stretchy.” She freed her hands and used them to steady herself on his stomach while she moved her legs to his side until she was sitting on his thighs, her legs bent at the knees and her lower legs on the ground.

Andy bit her lip when she moved around to get more comfortable without even realizing which body part she was pressing against… even if it was just slightly. He came up on his elbows to breathe deeper, trying to not show the feelings in him that she was causing with her movements. “Ready now?” he asked hoarsely when it felt like it had taken forever for her to get in a cozy position.

She immediately looked up at the tone of his voice, a bit shocked but also excited by what she found in his features. His mouth was slightly open to breathe, his lips swollen from kissing, and his eyes darker than she had ever seen them. “Think so,” she nodded slightly and leaned forward, resting her hands on either side of him on the ground.

He was going on pure instinct, his hands coming up to reach for her again when something came crashing through the reeds. They scrambled to get upright, breathing heavily at the prospect of being caught, and laughing nervously when they saw it was just Theo.

“No, Theo!” Andy growled when the dog shook his head and water droplets flew everywhere.

Sam hurried to put Andy between her and the dog when she realized he was soaking wet.

The dog ignored him and continued to shake, putting his whole body into it. Judging by the amount of water coming off of his coat he had to have been in the pond.

“Ungh, that’s gross,” she muttered. “At least Oscar wouldn’t have done that.” She reached up to brush her fingers against her cheek when she felt a drop of water sliding against her skin.

“You really suck, Theo,” Andy said and wiped his face when the dog finally stood still again. He turned to look at his girlfriend, who was still hiding behind him. “Sorry.”

Sam laughed when she saw his wet front and reached out to wipe some of the drops off of his face. “Guess he thought we needed to cool down?”

He smirked. “Probably.” Not that he had been hoping for the interruption.

“Maybe next time we’ll leave the pets at home,” she winked at him.

“Yeah.” He couldn’t believe Theo had just ruined what had been a perfect moment. Damn dog! He grabbed a corner of the blanket to dry his arm off.

Sam reached over to take his arm and check the time on his watch. “I guess we should probably think about getting home.”

“I guess,” he said and it was obvious that he was reluctant to leave.

“Better to get home before our parents discover that we’ve snuck outta the house. Well,” she amended when he just smirked, “before Dad discovers that I snuck outta the house. Since Theo here provided you with the perfect excuse to get out for a while.”

“Couldn’t use Oscar for the walk excuse?”

She snorted. “I do take Oscar for walks, but Dad never would’ve bought that story this time of night.”

“Think he’d be suspicious if my Christmas gift for you was a dog?” He chuckled and got up, taking her hand to pull her to her feet as well.

“I doubt he’d be suspicious,” she laughed. “He’d be too busy being pissed at you for giving me another pet.”

“Doesn’t he like dogs?”

“Oh no, he’d just think it’s too much to handle and well a pig and a dog…”

“Okaaaaaay,” he stretched, “I guess no gift for you then.”

“Hey,” she smacked his arm. “That was not what I said. Just no dog.”

Andy laughed. “Hmm, not sure if I can think of anything better, Sam.”

“Well, you’re gonna have to put your brain to work then ‘cause dogs and pigs aren’t a good combination. It’s cute in movies but in reality…” she shook her head.

“In reality Oscar would be snack food?”

That earned him another smack. “Andy!”

“What?” he laughed. “I’m just makin’ sure I understand what you’re tellin’ me.” He bent over to grab the blanket so he could roll it up.

Sam rolled her eyes and took it from him, shaking it out and then folding it up properly and handing it to him.

“Want me to walk you home?” he asked, accepting the blanket from her and grabbing Theo’s leash from the ground as well.

“Nah, it’s not that far and if Dad’s waiting on the porch, I can come up with a story like I needed some air or something.”

He snorted. “Think he’ll buy it?”

“Probably not.” She made a face.

“Then I guess I’m walking you home.” He called out for the dog and put the leash on him before he reached out and took Sam’s hand without really thinking about it.

Her gaze wandered to their joined hands and a smile broke out on her face. Sometimes small gestures are so much better than words, she thought.

Andy wasn’t sure what her look meant, but at least she seemed happy, so he squeezed her hand slightly and winked at her when their eyes met again.

*****

“You have to give me the recipe for this one,” Tess said and shoved the last bite of cake in her mouth. “It tastes so good,” she mumbled.

Kyle lifted one eyebrow at her. “Are you sure you wouldn’t just ruin the kitchen, babe?” he teased ad laughed when he got smacked. “It’s no secret that your cooking skills have just recently started to develop… Like very recently.”

“Shut up.”

“Oh, it’s easy,” Liz said and laughed. “Even Max could do it and he’s not really that good in the baking area either.” She winked at her husband.

“I have other qualities,” he said with a shrug and got up to carry their plates and cups to the sink.

It was a sunny Friday afternoon and the truck was already packed with camping gear and other stuff that he was pretty sure of no one needed for a weekend out in the woods. Kyle and Tess had stopped by a bit earlier for coffee and small talk before picking up the boys.

“Oh, hey,” Liz walked over to the refrigerator. “I need to run to the store for milk. We don’t have enough for the weekend and since you need to go back to work for a while later I’d have to load Kara and the puppies in the car. And I’ll happily avoid that,” she rolled her eyes. Ever since the puppies had arrived their daughter had been hyperactive.

“I’m blocking you in. I need to move the truck first,” Max said.

“Hey, I could drive you,” Kyle offered. “I need to gas up before we leave and the truck’s right in front of the house. I can drop you at the store, gas up, and pick you up again.”

“Sure, let’s do that,” Liz agreed.

“You sure?” Max looked at Kyle.

“Yeah, this way we don’t have to take the detour to the gas station later,” he got up, kissed Tess’ cheek and grabbed his keys from the counter. “Come on, Mama,” he said and winked at Liz.

“Okay,” she gave her husband a quick kiss and followed Kyle out of the room, just to run back a moment later to get her money.

“Yeah, better take this with you, huh?” Max teased her.

She made a face at him and left again, leaving the siblings alone in the kitchen.

“So what’s on the agenda since you’re on your own for the weekend?” Max asked as he looked at his sister.

“I don’t know. I’ll probably work in the shop a bit. Maria told me some things got delivered but she hasn’t had the time to unpack everything yet.”

He nodded and frowned at a coffee ground stuck to the side of his cup. “Yeah, I heard she’s been seein’ the guidance counselor over at the high school,” he said as he stuck his thumb in his cup to remove the offensive ground.

“She is? Latest news I had was that they were trying to avoid each other because Andy wasn’t really happy about it.”

“Apparently that’s changed. I guess the boy’s startin’ to make some progress.”

“Guess me an’ Maria have some catching up to do,” Tess said with a little smile.

“The guidance counselor, he’s a friend of Kyle’s isn’t he?”

“Yeah, they went to the same college, I think.”

Max nodded. “I know who he is as far as his position at the school but other than meeting him a few times I don’t really know much about him.” He shrugged one shoulder. “But I guess it’s a good thing for her to be able to move on.”

She nodded. “I’ve only heard good things about him, so I guess there’s nothing to worry about. And Maria was really interested in him from the start.”

“Yeah.” He took a sip of his coffee and looked at her. “How was California?”

Immediately her mood sank and her expression revealed her inner turmoil. “Pretty tough,” she admitted quietly. “Brought up a lot of old memories.”

He frowned. From her tone it sounded like she was talking about something painful. “You okay?”

Tess looked up into her brother’s eyes and suddenly felt the need to tell him the truth. How long had she carried this secret all alone? Why did she suddenly feel the need to open up? “There’s something I want you to know, Max…”

“Sounds serious,” he said as he straightened up. “I’m here for you, Tess. You know that, right?”

She nodded and wiped her face when tears started to run down her cheeks silently. “I don’t know why I need to tell you now and if it’s even a good idea to tell you or not, but I ….” She swallowed. “I don’t know, I guess I’m just tired of being scared that someone will find out.”

He set his cup down and crossed the room to crouch down in front of her. “Tess, you don’t ever have to be scared of anything like that with me. I’m your big brother, remember? I know our past history hasn’t exactly been stellar, but we’re doin’ better now. Whatever it is, you can trust me with it.”

“Do you remember my last boyfriend? Ya know, you met him once when Liz and you were in California for a visit.”

“Jason, right?”

“Yeah,” she nodded and looked at him. “I was pregnant with his child.”

mary mary: Lol, Theo has very good timing.

Tess will discover that it’s easier to deal with if she shares with the people who care about her.

Natalie36: We’ll find out in this part how Max reacts to her news.

Earth2Mama: A very big step for Tess. She and Max are both learning to open up.

Lol, it’s been a long time coming. Yeah, Andy might not be ready for that one.

We hope Andy and Sam don’t head down that path as well.

sarammlover: Lol, we’ve had this very discussion before during the writing process. Tess is making some good progress and talking to Max is a really big step.

begonia9508: Thanks! Maria and Andy are finally both doing well and it’s a good thing after the rough road they’ve traveled.

Having a brother to talk to and confide in is a great thing!

Alien_Friend: We’ll get to see how the conversation goes between Tess and Max in this part.

Things are going well in Candy-land.

Theo has great timing... and getting sprayed with cold pond water certainly cooled things down.

Thanks, more on the way!

keepsmiling7: Tess is taking a big step talking to Max and we’ll get a chance to see them interacting in this part.

Cardinal: It’ll help quite a bit to have the support of her family and friends and Tess will realize that.

Theo has good timing and also provided a bit of a cold shower.

Lol, definitely a little bit of putting the cart before the horse there, huh?

Healerfan: Thanks!

That was a big step for Tess and we’ll get to see more of the two of them in this update.

Michael and Maria won’t rush it, they’re both just so happy that they can be together and see a future that they can’t help but talk about the possibilities.



Part 105

It took everything Max had to keep his expression under control. “You were pregnant?” he asked, trying to keep the questions from rolling off of his tongue.

“I was,” she whispered.

He could see how much pain she was in and his stomach knotted. His hand rested on her arm and he swallowed hard. “You lost the baby?”

Her eyes filled and the tears spilled over when she looked at him miserably and just nodded.

“I’m so sorry, Tess,” he murmured as he dropped one knee to the floor and pulled her into a tight hug.

“Sorry I kept it from you for so long,” she whispered against his chest after a while.

“Don’t be. If our relationship had been stronger maybe you could’ve told me.” He rubbed her back. “Was Jason there for you?”

“He tried I guess,” her eyes lifted to meet his. “We broke up though and I blamed him. Looking back now, I’d say I was probably the problem.”

“I’m sorry you were alone dealing with that. I know how close I came to losing the boys so I can only imagine your pain.” He was silent for a minute.

“I don’t know what to do, Max,” she admitted. “Kyle wants a family and I really wanna give him one, but I don’t know if I can take the risk again.”

“What’d your doctor say about having more children?”

“The one in Cali said I was still able to…”

“So physically you can have children, it’s the emotional and mental fear of going through that loss again,” he said.

“Yeah…”

He nodded. “I can understand that believe me. Only from the father’s perspective, but I do understand that fear.” He looked at her. “It’s not as simple as just accepting a new pregnancy, is it?” he asked knowingly.

“No,” she shook her head.

“It’s a risk, Tess, and it’s hard to take it when you’ve already dealt with something so painful. Knowing you could go through that again, it’s pretty terrifying. I can’t tell you what to do but I can tell you that no matter what you decide you’ll have the support of your family. I can tell you that if you decide to give it a shot and you guys have a baby,” he smiled, “there’s nothin’ like it in the world. And that’s just from a dad. I can only imagine the connection that you’d feel as a mom.”

She straightened up and wiped her face again. “I wish I was brave enough to look at it more rationally.”

“Emotions are never rational. Hell, look at me! I’ve been a nervous wreck since I found out Liz is pregnant again.” He shook his head. “I’m just getting to a place where I’ve accepted it and I can admit that as much as it terrifies me I do want this baby.”

“I just don’t know how healthy it is for the baby if the mom starts a pregnancy with this fear…”

“You know what might help?” he asked gently.

“What?”

“If you’re comfortable with it you should talk to Liz. We didn’t lose the twins, but we came close. And as much as she’s always wanted another baby I know this pregnancy scares her too.”

“I thought about it too,” she nodded.

“It could be good for both of you. And it might help ease some of your fears.”

“Maybe she could suggest a good doc here too.”

“Linda’s the best in the county,” he said with a smile.

“Sounds good,” Tess managed to smile as well.

He rubbed her arm. “At least around here you wouldn’t have a shortage of babysitters.”

“No doubt,” she snorted, glad that her brother was able to lighten the mood again.

“And speakin’ of babysitters... if you just have nothin’ to do tonight you can always take Kara for the night. Of course, she comes with a couple of little companions,” he said with a laugh.

“Are you trying to get a free night?” she asked, amused.

“Do you know how hard it is to get a night alone with my wife when I’ve got three kids, three dogs, and a cat underfoot?”

“Four kids before long,” she reminded.

He snorted but couldn’t hide the smile. “Yeah.”

“Well, you guys always wanted a big family.”

“It was a lot less scary when we were younger and thought it was just a matter of getting pregnant and havin’ a houseful of kids. The reality’s a little bit more terrifying.” He winced when he heard Kara screaming at the boys about something and moments later her feet pounded across the porch and the back door was ripped open.

“Daddy, Nicky’s bein’ mean!”

Max rolled his eyes and turned to look at the teenager. “Nick, what’re you doin’ now?”

“Nothin’, Dad! She started it. She was goin’ through my pack pullin’ stuff out an’ I told her to stop.”

“See? You could have this insanity,” he whispered as he got to his feet and kissed his sister’s head. “Kara, I don’t think Nick needs any help with his gear.”

“Somebody forget somethin’?” Kyle asked as he came in through the back door with a gallon of milk in one hand and the puppies cradled in his left arm.

“Justin, how many times have I told you to make sure that back gate’s closed?” Liz yelled when she saw it too late to stop Lucky from shooting through the opening.

“Nick did it, Mom!” he hollered back.

“Nicholas, Justin, go get that dog!”

“Oops, better go do that,” Nick said and took off for the front door to avoid Mom on his way out. He nearly knocked his aunt and cousin over as he ran outside. “Hey, Aunt Maria! Andy, c’mon an’ give us a hand!”

“Gosh, those kids will be my end one day,” Liz said but smiled when she walked into the kitchen, carrying a few other things she hadn’t really planned to buy.

“Just needed milk, huh,” Max teased.

“Never leave a pregnant lady alone,” Kyle teased and closed the refrigerator after he had put the milk inside. He looked at his girlfriend and it was easily noticeable that she had been crying. A frown settled over his face. Had she told Max about it?

Max snorted. “I could’ve told you that.” He poked through the bag. “Uh-huh. all purely necessary things.” More like mommy munchies, he thought.

Tess forced a smile when she caught the concerned expression on Kyle’s face and mouthed an ‘I’m fine’ to let him know everything was okay.

“The dog’s back in the yard,” Maria said in amusement when she joined the others in the room. “Hey everyone,” she greeted, her good mood apparent.

“Somebody’s awfully happy,” Tess observed.

“Must be a good reason,” Liz teased.

Max glanced at Kyle. “You know what’s comin’.”

“Oh, yeah. I talked to the other half this morning.”

He lowered his voice. “And was he this goofy?”

“You two, stop it,” Maria rolled her eyes. “How was Cali?”

“Beautiful weather for this time of year,” Kyle said.

“You guys are in luck. The weather forecast for this weekend is good here too.”

“Yeah, I caught the forecast this mornin’,” Kyle said as he helped himself to a cup of coffee. “Nights will be cold but the days promise to be perfect for camping and hiking.”

“Make sure the boys don’t come down with a cold,” Liz told him with a serious look. “No sleeping outside the tent.”

“Mom,” Justin complained when he came inside in time to overhear the ‘Mom orders’ being handed out.

“Don’t mom me,” she demanded.

“We’re guys, Mom,” Nick chimed in. “You don’t have to baby us.”

“Well, then I’d advise you to not act like babies sometimes,” Max said with a smirk.

The boys rolled their eyes and ignored Dad’s comment altogether. “We’ve already got Andy’s gear loaded,” Justin said as he nosed around in the refrigerator. “How soon before we can go?”

“We’re just waiting for Jack to arrive,” Kyle said.

“And for Andy to take his tongue out of his girlfriend’s mouth,” Nick rolled his eyes when he looked out in the backyard just as Sam arrived.

Max smacked the back of his son’s head for the comment. “Do somethin’ constructive while you’re waitin’ to leave.”

Maria glanced out of the window, watching as her son greeted his girlfriend by wrapping his arms around her hips and lifting her feet up from the ground while kissing her. It reminded her of her own young love. “Teenage love,” she sighed.

“It’s such a wonderful time,” Liz said as she watched her nephew and his girlfriend for a moment.

“Probably not for Alex,” Max grinned.

“Oh, speaking of Alex,” Liz poked him to get his attention. “We wanted to invite him and Sam for Thanksgiving.”

“Yeah? That’d be cool,” he agreed, “he’s done a lot for us this past year.”

She glanced at Maria. “I suppose we can let Alex extend the invitation to Principal Russell.”

“Now that’ll be fun,” Kyle grinned.

“Why?” Max asked.

“Oh, whenever Michael and Isabel are together something funny always happens.”

“Yeah, you seemed to be right in the middle of things last time we were all together,” Maria said.

“Hey…” he protested, but got interrupted when a car horn honked outside, announcing Jack and Shayna’s arrival.

“Looks like the gang’s all here,” Liz said and smiled when the boys nearly knocked each other over in their hurry to be the first one out the door.

“Let’s get outside,,” Max suggested. It was getting narrow in the kitchen with all the people.

Liz took his hand and walked outside with him. “I haven’t had a chance to talk to Maria about taking Kara. She has a date tonight so maybe one day this weekend.”

“Got it covered,” he winked at her. “Tess will watch Kara tonight.”

She bumped her hip against his. “Good job.” She glanced over her shoulder at the other couple. “Kyle seemed a little... I don’t know... quieter than normal maybe? Is everything okay with them?”

“They will be,” he nodded.

“Okay.” She didn’t question it further. “Are you ready for an evening all to ourselves?”

“So ready,” he growled into her ear.

She shivered and leaned against his side as she slipped her arm around his waist. “Me too.” It had been way too long since they had spent an evening alone.

*****

Everyone came together on the deck when Jack and Shayna entered the backyard. “Ready to roll, City?” he hollered.

“Been ready, Country. Even had time to run to the store while we were waitin’ on you.”

“I really don’t know what’s so great about sleeping in the wilderness,” Shayna made a face and greeted the others.

“It’s obviously something we have in common,” Tess said. “Because that’s the last thing I have any interest in doing.”

“You women just have no appreciation for nature,” Kyle complained.

Sam made a face at their words. “Sure you don’t wanna stay here?” she asked her boyfriend.

“Are you kidding? And miss all the fun? No way!”

“Hey, you’ll miss out on fun here too,” she complained playfully.

“Yeah, but have you ever been camping and fishing and hiking?”

“No, my Dad isn’t into stuff like that either,” she shrugged, “and the twins always said it’s a guy thing, so…”

“Well, you don’t know what you’re missing.”

“I’ll just miss you,” she said and hugged him.

He cleared his throat. It was one thing to say stuff like that when they were alone but right here in front of his family? “Yeah, um... you too.”

She snorted at his comment. “Whatever, Andy.”

“What?” He lowered his voice. “You know what I mean.”

Sam glanced at the others and when she was sure the rest were pretty busy talking, she took his hand and dragged him away a few feet until they were out of sight. “I want at least one real goodbye kiss, Evans.”

He smiled and pulled her into his arms. “I can do that.”

“I know you can,” she countered.

He bumped his nose against hers and kissed her slowly.

Sam slung her arms around him and let him take the lead. Andy was a good kisser. Not that she had much to compare him to.

He nipped her bottom lip before giving it a lick and then deepening the kiss. For just a moment he wondered if maybe staying home would be more fun than spending a weekend with the guys.

“Andy,” someone called out, “we wanna leave.”

He growled at the interruption. “Guess I’ve gotta go,” he said in between lighter kisses.

“Gonna call me in case ya get a signal?” she asked, resting her forehead against his.

“Yeah, I’ll call.”

“Okay,” she didn’t want to let go and she had always rolled her eyes on girls who cried over not seeing their boyfriend for a weekend.

“It’s just a couple days, Sam,” he said with a grin. “I’ll be back Sunday night.”

“Make sure you come over when you do,” she said and finally dropped her arms.

“You could always be here when we get back.”

“C’mon, Evans,” Justin complained.

“Jeez, do you guys mind?” he grumbled. “Just because your girlfriends didn’t bother to come say bye to you you’ve gotta bust my... chops?” he asked, quickly switching word choice when he caught Mom and his aunts all watching him.

“Alright go,” Sam said, “before this gets more embarrassing.”

You think it’s embarrassing for you?! he thought but wisely didn’t voice. “Okay, I’ll see ya Sunday night.”

“Bye, Andy,” she said.

“Bye, Sam,” the twins called out together before Andy shoved both of them.

*****

“Shhhh,” Liz whispered and lifted her bare feet up on the couch, shoving them between her husband’s thighs and the couch cushions gently to warm them up.

“What?” he frowned and looked up from the magazine he had been reading.

She smiled. “Can’t you hear it?”

He held his breath and concentrated, but other than a few sounds the wind made outside, there was nothing to be heard. “I don’t hear anything, darlin’.”

“Right,” she told him excitedly. “Isn’t that amazing? I can’t remember the last time the house was so quiet.”

He chuckled and put the magazine away, shifting slightly to pick one of her feet up to massage it. “Pretty nice, huh?”

“We deserve it.”

“Think we should’ve warned Tess about taking Kara AND the puppies for the night?”

“Hell no, she never would’ve agreed if we’d told her it’d probably mean little sleep.”

Max laughed and squeezed her foot slightly. “That’s my wife.” He let his fingers wander higher over her calf softly, digging into the flesh with enough pressure to make her moan a bit. “So whatcha want for dinner? We could go out…”

“I don’t know… I’m not really in the mood for getting dressed up an’ all.”

He grinned. “We could order something in?”

“You know it,” she agreed with a nod and exchanged one leg with the other. “So what was up with Tess earlier? She seemed upset when Kyle and I got back. Is everything okay?”

“I’m not sure,” he answered honestly. His eyes followed the movements of his hands as he thought about what his sister had confided in him. “She might come talk to you about it.” His hands paused for a moment. If Tess did decide to talk to Liz about it he didn’t want her to be blindsided by the sensitive subject.

Liz frowned when he fell silent. “Max?”

“You remember that guy she was seein’, Jason somethin’-or-other?”

“Yeah, he seemed pretty nice. I mean, we only met him the one time that I remember.”

“That’s him. She got pregnant when she was with him but it didn’t…” He sighed. There was no good way to say something like this. “She miscarried and the relationship wasn’t strong enough to survive it.”

“He wasn’t able to deal with it?”

“No, I think it was the other way around. Tess said she blamed him and I got the feelin’ she probably pushed him away.” He winced. Unfortunately it was a trait they had in common.

“It’s good that she opened up to you about it,” Liz said, rubbing her free foot against his thigh.

“Yeah.”

“Is it a safe guess that it has to do with her and Kyle getting so serious?”

“I guess,” he scratched his head. “Sooner or later the discussion about having a family and kids comes up, right?”

“True,” Liz nodded. “Did Kyle bring it up?”

“I don’t know. We didn’t really have time for details, but I think she’s of two minds right now. On the one hand she wants kids and on the other she’s so afraid.”

“Well, that makes sense. Losing a child...” she swallowed hard. “Even coming close can make you think twice before deciding to take a risk like that again.”

“They’ll find a solution. I doubt Kyle would leave if she decides against it.”

“No, probably not.” She picked at the edge of the throw pillow she was holding against her stomach.

He touched her knee gently. “Maybe you could help ease her fears a bit.”

“Maybe.” She reached up to trace her fingers over the back of his hand. “Do you think she’ll talk to me about it?”

He shrugged. “I think she’s finally realized that her family’s there for her and that hiding things isn’t a solution, so you never know. Kyle will be gone for the weekend, so she has plenty of time to think.”

“True. Being alone can give you time to think.” Sometimes more than you wanted, she thought.

“But hey, we can worry about this later.” He looked at her and wiggled his eyebrows. “Remember, we’re all alone…”

She laughed and shoved him with her feet. “And did you have something in mind?"

Earth2Mama: A talk between those two could definitely be beneficial for them.

Hmm... all alone... what could they get up to?

begonia9508: They’ll definitely enjoy their time alone!

That talk between Max and Tess did both of them a world of good. The talk with Liz will happen a little later.

No, if she decides to attempt another pregnancy she definitely won’t be alone.

Natalie36: Thanks! They will talk in an upcoming part.

mary mary: Thanks for reading and fighting the internet gremlins to post!

sarammlover: They’ve worked long and hard to get there. There were times when they really seemed like they might not make it. That talk was good for Max and Tess both. Tess will be talking to Liz in an upcoming part. They’ve all been through the wringer and they’re coming out stronger.

keepsmiling7: Time alone is hard to arrange with the full house they have, lol.

They may just make it through the night without any major interruptions.

Cardinal: We’re glad you enjoyed it!

This group is finally coming full circle and it’s good for them.

Alien_Friend: That was good for both of them, they needed that moment. Tess and Liz will talk in an upcoming part.

Tess has her hands full with Kara and the pups, lol.

The guys should have fun but we’ll check in on them just to make sure.

Rodney: Nah, they’ll be doing more than just camping. Fishing at the very least.

That talk was a good thing for both brother and sister. And that second opinion is a good idea – it certainly couldn’t hurt.





Part 106

“Hmm, I’m not quite sure…”

She snorted and gave him another shove.

“I’ve got a violent woman,” he complained playfully and rubbed his skin where her foot had hit him.

“Yeah, because I’ve even shown you violent yet.”

“Is that a threat?”

She chuckled at the question. They both knew better. “Um-hmm, such a big threat.” She wiggled her eyebrows and shifted her foot in his lap.

He grabbed her foot in his hand tightly when it ran over the hard bulge in his jeans. His eyes locked on hers and it easily raised the temperature in the room a few degrees. A slight tug on her was all she needed to get up from the couch and straddling him.

She smiled and rested her forearms on his shoulders. “See? Not so much a threat.”

“No, looks more like a promise,” he said with an amused smile and lifted his hips up from the couch just for a moment.

“Feels like a pretty impressive promise,” she responded and shifted against him.

“Any doubts about that?” he asked and took her lips in a short, but heated kiss.

She melted against him. He knew better than to think she had ever had any doubts about that. She massaged the back of his neck and urged him closer for another kiss.

“You sure this is safe?” he asked huskily between kisses and let one hand wander over her stomach protectively. “For the baby I mean…”

“Linda said there’s no reason to think the baby’s at risk. Yes, she wants me to take it easy and manage my stress but I can assure you I’m not feeling a bit of stress at the moment.”

“That’s good,” he whispered.

“Um-hmm,” she said, her tone matching his, “it’s very good.”

“You know, this couch hasn’t been initiated.”

She snorted. “And whose fault is that?”

He laughed. “Yours if I remember right.”

“I think you must be mistaken.”

“Um, no. Remember a year and a half ago? We came home from your mom’s birthday party and the kids stayed there since they were on summer vacation.” He snorted. “You said something like: No, Max, no, not on the new couch.”

She made a face at him. “Sometimes I hate that you have such a good memory.” She sighed when his hands settled on her hips and tugged her closer. “And sometimes I love it.”

“Mostly love it I hope,” he said and fumbled around to get the first buttons of her shirt open, grunting in frustration when they didn’t cooperate as fast as he wanted them to.

“Some things never change,” she said in amusement. “Funny how you can be patient with the most mundane things but in situations like this your patience level resides around zero.” She brushed his hands aside and made quick work of the buttons.

He smirked and leaned back, arms crossed behind his head. “I was just hoping you’d take over so I can enjoy the view.”

She smiled and shrugged the shirt off, dropping it to the floor and leaning back to watch him as his eyes darkened and followed her every move.

“You’re definitely as beautiful as you were in high school,” he muttered

As long as they had been together it still amazed her when he said things like that. She cradled his face in her hands and brushed her thumbs over his lips before leaning in to capture his mouth for a hot kiss.

His arms hooked around her safely when he stood up and took her with him.

“Thought we were gonna deflower the couch...” she teased.

“We will,” he smirked and lowered her to the ground slowly. “But since it’s hard to get rid of the stupid clothes this way, thought we’d do that first, huh?”

“You’re such a smart man,” she said with a teasing smile. She let her hands slide down over his chest before catching the hem of his tee shirt and pushing it up.

“That’s why you married me, remember?” He lifted his arms and helped her to get rid of the clothes. As soon as his upper body was bare he reached for her again and tugged on her belt, pulling her body towards him.

She hissed when their bare upper bodies came into contact. “Um-hmm, that’s why I married you.”

“And for many other reason of course,” he added and with a quick move he had her pants open and was pushing them down.

She smirked. “Yeah, so many other reasons.” Deciding he was ridiculously overdressed she went to work on his jeans and quickly rid him of them.

He pushed his boxers down as well and smirked when she looked at him in surprise. “Just helping you.”

“Well, thank you. What about mine?”

His gaze wandered down over her body and rested a few seconds on her belly. It wasn’t evident that she was pregnant yet. Maybe there was a small swell, but it wasn’t visible for anyone who didn’t know. It would be soon, he thought with a weird feeling in his stomach.

“Max?”

“On my way, darlin’” he said and reached for her panties.

She wondered where his mind was but before long she was more focused on where his hands were and what they were doing.

“Time to get comfortable again,” he decided and sat down again, pulling her over him until they were back in their former position.

She ran her hands over his chest, occasionally dipping lower to tease him. His quiet groans when she would brush against him made her smile.

He leaned forward slightly and brushed one of her arms away to clear the way to her delicious well-formed breasts. He took a nipple in his mouth briefly and then blew on it, grinning when it hardened.

Liz inhaled sharply at the sensation and she felt need and want curling tightly in her belly. She used the hand he hadn’t moved out of his way to take him in her grasp, stroking him the way she knew he liked.

“You know if you keep doin’ that we’re not gonna spend much time on foreplay,” he growled against her skin.

She tightened her hand around him. “Who said anything about extended foreplay?” Using her free hand she guided one of his in between her legs. “I’m more than ready for you.”

His breathing quickened as he touched her and felt how wet she was. “You always are,” he murmured against her lips. “I suppose there’s time for more foreplay next time.”

“Agreed,” she nodded and lifted herself up to move over him, teasing the tip of his length with her entrance.

He lifted his hands to cup her breasts, balancing their slight weight as he leaned forward to run his tongue over her flesh.

Liz groaned in frustration when his touch kept her from sinking down on him. “Max,” she complained slightly between moans.

“Forgive me,” he murmured with a smile. He dropped his hands to her hips, forcing his grip to stay relaxed.

“We’ll see,” she sighed quietly when he let her move again and with a quick move she took him inside of her.

Everything felt right when they were together like this. “You’re perfect,” he whispered and ran his hands over her sides.

*****

Michael checked his reflection once more and nodded to himself before turning away and heading down the hall. He grabbed his wallet and keys off of the table, shoving the first in his back pocket and holding the second in his hand. He leaned over to give Mojo a pat before walking outside and locking up behind him.

He slid in behind the wheel of the truck, starting the engine and glancing over the interior he’d detailed that afternoon. They had dinner reservations at seven at the nicest restaurant in town. The only fault he could find with it was that it had a dance floor. Hopefully Maria would remember that he was inept at dancing and give him a pass.

He pulled up in front of her house at 6:15pm sharp. He was a little early but he figured early was better than late. He had chosen a restaurant that was casual dress so it wasn’t too dressy and it wasn’t too casual. He got out of the truck and followed the front walk up to the porch. Standing there, his hand poised to knock, he inhaled a deep calming breath. He rapped his knuckles against the door and took a step back while he waited for her to answer.

Maria whirled around and glanced at the clock behind her when she heard the knock. Was she late? How much time had she spent in the shower?

No, she wasn’t late, she thought in relief and then frowned. Then who was at the door? Checking her appearance in the mirror, she quickly walked out of her bedroom, the matching earrings to her necklace still in her hand and not in place yet. A quick spy through the little window next to the door gave away that Michael was already there. She chuckled and opened the door with a charming smile. “Impatient, handsome?”

“Hey…” he stuttered out, speechless at the sight of her in the tight olive colored dress she was wearing. WOW, he thought.

“You can’t show up at a woman’s door 15 minutes early, Michael.” Her tone wasn’t serious and she took a step forward to kiss him lightly. “You look good.”

“Yeah, so do you,” he said, stepping inside when she moved back and motioned for him to enter. He hooked his arm around her waist and pulled her closer for a proper kiss.

Maria melted against him for a moment before taking his arm and turning him to the living room. “Go. Sit. I’ll be ready in just a few minutes.”

Back in her bedroom she stood before the mirror once more as she put her earrings on. The light caught the diamond in her engagement ring and she lowered her hand to look at it. She reached over to caress the rings for a moment, biting her lip as she twisted them around her finger. Even though she and Andrew’s relationship had been strained towards the end she knew Andrew wouldn’t have wanted her to spend the rest of her life alone.

He had been a good man; a loving husband and father. He hadn’t been perfect by any means, but they had loved each other and for the most part they’d had a good life together. She slipped the rings up, twisting them to work them over the joint. For a moment she felt a sense of loss but it was tempered by acceptance and eased by the sense of promise as she thought about the man waiting for her downstairs.

She opened the little drawer on the jewelry box and gently placed the rings inside, letting her fingers slide over them before she closed it again. Andrew was her past and even though he was gone he would always hold a place in her heart. But now there was Michael, a man whose presence had helped her find peace with her past and made her realize that there was plenty of room in her heart for him as well. Her future resided with him and finally she was able to not only accept that, but embrace it.

She lifted her head to meet her gaze in the mirror and she smiled at her reflection. There was no reason to keep her future waiting, she thought as a feeling of excitement and anticipation washed over her.

Michael watched her walk away, enjoying the view, before going to sit down as she had suggested. He sat on the couch and rested his elbows on his knees, hands loosely clasped as he looked around the room. The corner of a photo album on the coffee table caught his attention and he reached for it without thinking.

He flipped through the protected pages, his gaze moving over the photographs that chronicled Andy’s growth. He smiled at a photograph of Andy and Scrappy, baseball bats resting against their shoulders and baseball gloves hanging from their left hands. The caption below listed their age at 9 years old and if he was making the rest of the scrawled words out it had been taken at a Fourth of July picnic. It was easy to see that Andy had grown up happy, secure in his place in the world. He replaced the album when he heard footsteps on the stairs and he stood up just as Maria paused at the room’s entrance.

“I’m ready,” she smiled at him.

“Didn’t think you could look better than usual, but you do,” he muttered and walked towards her. A wide black belt sat below her breasts now, giving her plain olive dress just a bit extra to make it look sexy and special. Long silver earrings framed her face while her hair was bound together loosely at the back of her head. The black pumps she wore made her legs look long and sexy. He shook his head in amusement and grabbed both of her hands, resisting the urge to kiss her since her lips were glistening with a fresh application of gloss. “You make me look totally underdressed.”

“Shut up,” she laughed slightly and squeezed his hands. “You look good and there’s no one I’d rather go out with tonight.”

Michael smirked. “Good answer. Are you ready to go?”

“Sure,” she nodded and let go of him to grab her coat, which was hanging over the backrest of the couch. “I’m starving,”

“Me too.” He held her coat while she slipped her arms into the sleeves and then grabbed the door, holding it open for her.

The drive to the restaurant took less than ten minutes and after checking their coats at the door they moved to sit at the bar while they waited on their table.

“I haven’t been here before,” she commented as she took a seat. She smiled. “It wasn’t here when I left Roswell.”

He nodded. “Isabel says it’s the best Italian food in town.”

She smiled. “I love Italian.”

“I know,” he said, his grin holding more than a hint of smugness.

She shoved his shoulder lightly. “And which of your sources revealed that little bit of information?”

He nodded when the bartender placed their drinks on the counter before them. “A good investigator never reveals his sources.”

“It was Kyle, wasn’t it?” Maria asked with an amused smile.

“My lips are sealed.”

“Your table’s ready, Sir,” the waiter approached them.

“Thanks,” he nodded and got up, taking Maria’s hand in his and guiding her through the restaurant to the table the other man showed them to. It was at the very end of the room, a bit separate from the rest of the dining area, so that they were hidden from most curious eyes. A candle was already flickering on it, making the atmosphere comfortable and warm.

Michael walked around the table and held the chair out for her, waiting until she sat before he took his own seat.

“Wow, it looks even better here than from outside or at the bar,” Maria said and glanced around, amazed by the great atmosphere of the restaurant.

“It’s definitely Rowell’s sleeper,” he said with a slight smirk.

“Do you come here often?”

“Not often,” he denied. “Came here once when I first came to Roswell. Isabel invited me over and it was summer so we sat out on the terrace.”

“They have a terrace?” Maria asked, surprised.

“Yeah,” he pointed at the double glass doors at the other end. “Over there. It’s very nice and quiet since it’s faces away from the street.”

“Well, consider it my birthday wish to take me out here then,” she said with a wink.

“Yeah?” He liked that thought. “When’s your birthday?”

“May 14th.”

“Consider it done.” He liked the idea of making future plans beyond a few days or weeks.

The waiter placed the menus before them and then asked if they were interested in the specials. When the couple nodded he smiled and recited the list that changed from one day to the next.

Michael slowly shook his head. Shrimp primavera, grilled shrimp something-or-other, and a shrimp and crab tortellini were the specials and he would gladly pass on any of those options. He glanced at Maria, gauging her reaction before glancing up at their waiter. “I think we’ll have a look at the menu.”

Maria giggled a little when the waiter nodded and bowed slightly before suggesting they take a few minutes to look over the menu. “I think he was disappointed that we didn’t jump on one of the specials.”

He made a face. “I love Italian food but I’m not that excited about seafood.”

“Me either.”

He browsed over the menu, scanning over the choices and leaning towards the section that listed the beef and pork selections. “Has it been a while since you’ve had a weekend to yourself?”

“Well, I was alone a lot back in Florida,” she admitted and he could easily see the small shadows on her face, which disappeared after a few moments again. “When Andrew went to the hospital and later died Andy wasn’t very open with me as you know. It was me as well…” She shook her head. “Anyway, he spent a lot of time with his best friend, so on the weekends it was usually just me. This’s different though,” Maria said and smiled at him.

“Sorry, I didn’t want to ruin the mood,” he apologized, not meaning to turn the conversation into anything too serious. It was supposed to be a nice evening.

“No, Michael, it’s okay. I can talk about it now and it’s a part of my former life. I’d rather tell you than you think I’d hide something from you.”

“I don’t think that.” He reached over the table to place his hand over hers.

She looked down at his touch and turned her hand over beneath his to caress him. “I trust you and I’m a lot of more confident now than I was back in Florida.”

He smiled. “It’s gotta feel a little more normal having him all excited about getting out and doing things that’re more, well, normal.”

“It does. He’s constantly changing and he’s finally changing in ways that’re more productive.”

“I can imagine that’s a relief. Getting him out on the court to play basketball was a big win in my book.”

“I think that was more than just a win,” she said. “He’d deny it if I ever mentioned it but when he told me about making the team he just lit up.”

He nodded and slid his fingers through hers. “I think you’ve both made some incredible changes since arriving here. That first day we met in the park I had the feeling that you were gonna change my life and then I saw your wedding band.” He shook his head. “Talk about your highs and lows.”

She chuckled. “I left you pretty hot an’ cold that day, huh? I told you I was married.”

“Huh-uh, you told me your kid was waitin’ for you and then made sure I saw the ring.”

She lifted her hand to him. “It’s gone now.”

He captured her hand, his thumb brushing over the white line where the ring had protected her skin from the sun. “Yes, it is,” he mused with a smile.

“The past is in the past and that’s where it belongs,” she said softly. “I loved my husband and I wouldn’t trade the time with him for anything. I know he would’ve wanted me to look forward though. He never was a ‘what if’ person either, he never looked back and craved the past and I’m not doing that anymore either.”

“That’s a good way of lookin’ at things.” He glanced up when their waiter returned to see if they were ready to order.

“Oh, um…” Maria looked down at the menu.

Michael chuckled. “I think we still need a few minutes.”

The waiter nodded. “Of course.”

“They oughta have a buzzer or somethin’ at the tables so when you’re ready to order you just push it and the waiter comes out to the table,” he commented when the waiter disappeared again.

She laughed. “I hope it’d be a quiet buzzer.”

“Well, it’d be quiet out here. I don’t know about back in the kitchen area.”

“Since we don’t have that great invention yet, maybe we should focus on the menu just for a second, huh?”

“Sounds like a good idea. Otherwise that poor guy’s gonna walk a hole in the floor between our table and the kitchen.”

It only took her a few seconds before she had chosen her meal. “I’ll have the lasagne.”

“I think I’ll go with the grilled chicken and switch the asparagus,” he made a face, “out with mashed potatoes.”

“Not a fan of asparagus?” she teased.

“Yuck. No way.”

“I have it in my garden and I will make you eat it.”

“Huh-uh, nothin’ you say or do could make me eat that stuff.”

“We’ll see,” she told him mysteriously and leaned back in her seat with a smirk.

He snorted at that. “Yeah, we’ll see alright.” There was no way in hell he was eating that nasty stuff, not even for her.

“So tell me something about you that I don’t know.”

He started to put his elbows on the table and then thought better of it. She already knew about his parents, Chrissie, that he’d gone to college with Kyle and Isabel... what else was there? So much of his identity was tied up in those things. “Did I tell you I played football in college?”

“Hmm, no, I don’t think so.”

He nodded. “Helped pay for college and I enjoyed it but I didn’t really have the time to put everything into it.”

“Because of your family situation?”

“Yeah, Chrissie was just in the second grade when I started college, so she needed me to be there as much as possible.”

“I think your choice of job fits you very well,” she said and leaned on the table. “You could always wear a football jersey for me though.”

He chuckled. “Got a thing for the guys in jerseys, huh?”

“I doubt there’s a woman out there that’d say no to that question.”

“Maybe one of these Saturdays a bunch of us could get together for a picnic in the park or somethin’... guys are always ready for a game of football.”

“Maybe we’ll wait until it gets warmer,” she chuckled, “and concentrate on watching football on Thanksgiving. Not sure how that’ll go since there will a LOT of people.”

“You never know, a game of front yard football could break out before dinner.”

“Just don’t break any windows, will ya?”

“Well... never intentionally,” he said with a grin.

She rolled her eyes. “That does not sound all that convincing if you ask me.” Her eyes wandered to a table next to them, where a busboy was just leaving with empty plates. “Wonder if they forgot about us already?”

“Well, the best I could do is promise to try to not break any windows. Although it’s usually the neighbor’s windows that get busted.” He leaned back to see if he could find their waiter and he nodded when he locked eyes with the man. “He’ll be here in a few seconds.”

begonia9508: Thanks!

Nah, we can’t think of any reason it shouldn’t.

Earth2Mama: Michael and Maria seem to like that too.

Eva: Took a while for them to get there, lol.

Alien_Friend: Thanks! They’ve definitely had to work hard to get to this point. But now there’re here they’re gonna work hard to keep it.

Max and Liz have also had quite an uphill climb throughout this story but their love is strong and they’ll fight to save their marriage and their family. Those highs and lows can be something else, but they’re gonna make it.

sarammlover: Michael and Maria have waited a long time to get to this point and they’re gonna do their best to start off on the right foot. Max and Liz were pretty happy about it too.

keepsmiling7: Lol, Cupid must have been watching out for them... maybe?

Time alone is so important and they needed that time to connect with each other.

That was pretty a momentous occasion and it’s taken a long time for Maria to reach this point.

mary mary: Its been a long time coming and it’s a good thing.

Cardinal: Lol, yeah, that fire’s still there. And the Candy couple... yeah, for sure.




Part 107

The headlights swept over the darkened campground and Kyle rolled his eyes when the boys all groaned. He could hear them scrambling to get out as he threw the gearshift into park and he held his hand up when Jack started to speak.

“Jeez, Uncle Kyle, we should already have camp set up,” Justin grumbled as his feet hit the ground.

“Yeah, how could you get lost out here?” Andy chimed in. “I thought you said you’d been campin’ out here before.”

Nick snorted and reached into the bed of the truck to start pulling their gear out, grabbing a flashlight and sweeping it over the supplies as he searched for the lanterns. “Guess we can set these up around the site and use the headlights until we get a fire started,” he said as he finally found what he was looking for. “Since now we’ve gotta set up camp after dark.”

Kyle rolled his eyes. “Hey, it was an honest mistake and I didn’t see any of you pointing out that I had taken the wrong turn.”

“You city boys couldn’t find your ass with both hands,” Jack said with a laugh as he dropped down to the ground and started grabbing gear.

“Hey, I said we were goin’ the wrong way,” Justin said as he dropped an armful of gear on the ground and started scouting around for firewood.

“Yeah, twenty minutes after I took the turn,” Kyle countered. “Not exactly helpful, kid.”

“Ever put up a tent in the dark?” Andy said, frowning at all the gear in front in him.

“City boys,” Jack muttered. “C’mon, let’s get that campfire goin’ and get to work on those tents. It’s easy enough to do.”

“Easy enough to do,” the boys mocked.

He shook his head at them. “Go collect firewood and I’ll get started on the tents.”

Andy snorted, but did as he was told. He disappeared into the dark, waiting until he was far enough away before he pulled his cell out to punch in a message for Sam.

Sorry, we arrived late but we’re finally at our camp for the night.

Justin frowned when he saw something small light up in the darkness and after a moment he went looking for it. He laughed when he came up behind his cousin and startled him, making him jump. “Whatcha doin’, Cuz?”

“Just trying to see something out here,” he lied.

“Uh-huh, sure you are.” He gave his cousin a shove and swung the beam of his flashlight over the ground before leaning over and snatching up more wood.

“None of your business anyway,” Andy grumbled and picked up wood as well. He winced when his cell beeped loudly through the quiet landscape.

Justin just smirked and reached for the wood Andy had just picked up. “Tell Sam I said hey,” he said and headed back to camp.

He ignored his cousin and checked the text, smiling when she told him she had begun to worry.

“What’s he doin’?” Nick asked when he ran into his brother.

“Texting Sam,” he said and rolled his eyes for effect while making a mental note of the spot for later.

“Lovebirds,” the other boy mocked and complained when the back of his head suddenly was hit by his passing cousin.

“You two should probably ask yourselves why your girlfriends are totally okay with the fact that you’re gone for the whole weekend.”

“Sarah’s gonna be outta town visiting her grandparents for the weekend,” Nick said with a shrug.

Andy glanced at Justin. “Jenny?”

Justin reached up rubbed the back of his neck. “Jen’s gonna be doin’ somethin’ with her folks tomorrow and Sunday,” he shrugged. “She’s goin’ to the movies with some friends and she said she’d see me when I get back.”

The other guys frowned at him. “Did you guys have a fight or something?”

“What? No.”

“Guys, if you’ve got enough wood get your asses back here,” Kyle hollered.

“Can you guys believe he got lost comin’ out here?” Nick muttered as they headed back to camp.

“Put the wood in this spot,” Jack pointed at the ground where he had set a few stones in a circle.

The boys dumped the wood and stepped back, leaving space for Jack to start the fire.

“So, I thought you were gonna put the tents up?” Justin said when he noticed the only one set up so far was Jack’s.

“We decided real campers should try on their own,” Kyle told the boys with a smirk.

Andy shrugged but made a face as soon as he turned his back to them. “Yours isn’t up yet either, Uncle Kyle.”

“It’ll be up in no time.”

He grabbed his gear and started to assemble his tent. He had done it so many times he could easily do it with his eyes closed. “Or in the dark,” he mumbled under his breath.

Justin elbowed his brother and nodded towards their tent. “Come on.”

Nick nodded and followed him. “So, it’s kinda too late to go fishin’, Uncle Kyle,” he said as he grabbed the poles for the tent. “What’re we gonna eat tonight?”

“Plan B,” the older man said and pulled a cooler out of the bed of the truck with a smirk.

“Plan B?” Andy asked out of curiosity.

“Steaks, sausages, and potatoes.”

“Okay, I like that better than fish,” Nick said as he drove the stakes into the ground.

“Hell yeah,” his brother agreed.

Jack made a sound of agreement as the fire sparked to life.

It took the men another thirty minutes before their camp was finally settled for the night and everyone sat around the fire. Kyle took a look at his phone and cursed when he saw he had missed a call from Tess. He typed in a quick message to let her know they were okay and he would call her later.

Jack chuckled when he caught his friend’s actions. “Your girl gonna survive without you a couple nights, City?”

Kyle snorted. “It’s hard but she’ll survive.”

“No tellin’ what they’ll get up to while we’re away.”

Andy looked up at that. “What do you mean by that, Jack?”

The man glanced up at the boy while he shifted back to pull a package of jerky out of his front pocket. “Nothin’ really, Andy.”

“Nothin’,” the boy muttered.

“Shayna, she’ll spend a couple days enjoying her space but when I get back...” he grinned. “She’ll be glad to see me ‘cause she’ll remember just how much she missed me.”

“Remember we have teenage boys here, Jack,” Kyle told him with a wink.

“Hey, I’m not sayin’ anything inappropriate,” the big man protested.

“Don’t worry, Jack. We know what you were talking about,” Andy said with a grin.

“You’re still a young buck,” Jack said with a chuckle. The boy thought he knew what he was talking about but he had no idea. Oh, he had no idea.

“I’m pretty glad I’m not as old as you,” the boy countered and high fived his cousins.

“Um-hmm.” He bit off a piece of the jerky and settled back to lean on a log. “So what’re your girls doin’ while you boys are livin’ off the land?” he asked. “Seein’ as I can’t remember far enough back to recall what teenage girls do when their boyfriends are away.”

“They meet other high school guys,” Kyle teased.

Nick snorted. He had no worries on that account. “Yeah, that’s true, huh?”

“Sam wouldn’t see any of those losers,” Andy said confidently.

“That’s true,” Justin said with a smirk. “I mean, Sam wouldn’t go anywhere with someone like... hmm... Scott Davidson, would she?”

“Davidson?” he asked with a snort. “No she wouldn’t!” Would she?

Nick leaned back on his sleeping bag that was still rolled up and linked his hands together behind his head. “She went to the dance with that asshat.”

“Yeah, and the jerk didn’t even notice her,” Andy muttered. “And just for the record, she just went with him because I couldn’t.”

“Because you wouldn’t,” Justin corrected with a roll of his eyes.

“Whatever. Fact is, by the end of the night she was with me and not with that asshat.”

“Yeah, that’s what matters,” Nick said and reached over to punch his cousin’s arm.

Kyle looked at Jack with a lifted eyebrow. “They grow up so fast.”

“That they do.” He used his thumb to tip his hat back. “Just makes ya want a houseful of these little rugrats underfoot, doesn’t it?”

The other man smiled but it faded quickly. “Yeah.”

Jack lifted an eyebrow but didn’t question it. He knew his friend well enough to know he would talk about it if and when he was ready. Maybe he’d bring it up again after the boys hit the sack.

****

Michael hugged his arm around her tighter when Maria shivered slightly from the softly blowing wind outside. “I really don’t know how the boys think camping outside when it’s cold can be any fun,” she said with a slight laugh.

“Have you heard back from Andy or Kyle?”

“Yeah, they sent a message earlier tonight.” She leaned against his side, enjoying their time together and the fact that she didn’t have to worry about who might see them out on the streets. They had decided to take his truck back to his house and then walk to hers. “Somehow with these shoes the walk seems to be a lot longer than normal.”

He glanced down. “I can imagine. Want me to carry you?”

She chuckled. “No. I don’t want you to throw you back out or anything.”

Michael snorted and with a quick move he had lifted her up, her back resting against one arm and the back of her knees over his other. “Michael,” she squealed.

He looked down at her with a soft smirk on his face. “You’re a lightweight.”

“That’s not very mature,” Maria laughed.

“Do you care?”

Their eyes met and she shook her head. “No… no, I don’t.”

He smiled. “It’s not like I’m carryin’ you across town or anything.”

“I bet this would be just the kinda thing the gossips in Roswell are waiting for.”

“One of these days we’ll really give ‘em somethin’ to talk about.”

“Uh-huh, you wanna tell me what that is, Mr. Guerin?”

He thought about it for a second before shaking his head. “Nah, but one of these days I’ll show you.”

“I hope so,” she leaned her head against his chest and inhaled his scent.

“One day,” he promised with a smile.

“One day,” she repeated. “Sounds like an eternity from now.”

“Nope, now that we’ve gotten past our biggest hurdle, time’s on our side.”

They reached her house in no time and he put her back on the ground. “Ungh, I definitely have to get rid of my shoes first thing once we’re inside.”

“New shoes?” he asked.

“No, but it’s been a while since I wore high heels like this.”

He smiled, silently acknowledging what she was saying. His gaze dropped to the shoes she was getting ready to rid herself of, his dark eyes roving over her shapely legs appreciatively.

“So,” she bit her lip, “you wanna come inside for a bit? It’s still early.”

He nodded. “I’d like that.”

Her hands grabbed the doorknob after turning the key in the lock. “Come on then.”

He followed her inside and closed the door, leaning back against it while she took her shoes off. The house was quiet, the only sounds those she made as she moved around.

“Damn shoes,” she muttered when one of them got stuck on her foot. She pulled with more force and lost balance when it finally slipped free. “Uh….” Her hand came up to grab the first thing she could reach… Michael’s chest.

His hands shot out to catch her before she could fall and he found himself staring into her startled eyes. “Hey,” he murmured with a slow smile.

“Sorry,” she couldn’t hold back the laugher.

“Don’t be sorry on my account.”

“At least they’re finally gone now,” she whispered and stood on her tip toes to steal a kiss. “Makes it harder to kiss you though.”

“Not all that hard,” he said, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her up against him.

“Right,” her arms wrapped around him as well.

He smiled against her lips and kissed her slowly.

“Why don’t we get further inside first, hmm?” she mumbled between kisses. “We could light up the fireplace and I can get us something to drink.”

“I’m pretty handy with the fireplace,” he said. He laughed quietly. “But I suppose I’ve already showed my abilities off there so it won’t be much of a surprise.”

“Never hurt to show me again,” she smiled and took a step back. “Would you mind if I change into something more comfortable? This dress isn’t made for snuggling in front of the chimney.”

“No, not at all.” He waved at the hallway. “I’ll get that fire goin’.”

“Okay, I’ll be right back,” she said and left before the temptation of kissing him again kept her in place.

He watched her go and shook himself before he could follow her. Fireplace, Guerin, he reminded himself and shrugged out of his jacket. He hung his jacket up and after a moment of thought kicked his own shoes off and went into the living room.

It only took a few minutes before Maria came back, carrying two glasses of red wine. “I hope you like,” she said and walked towards the couch. She had changed into a comfortable pair of jeans and a tee shirt, hoping he would be okay with it.

He turned from the waist up, his hand on the mantle above the fireplace. He whistled long and low before shooting a grin at her.

“I meant the wine, goofy.”

“Yeah, the wine’s nice too.”

Maria set the glasses on the coffee table and got comfortable on the couch. She tapped her palm on the empty spot next to her.

He settled down beside her and shifted around to get comfortable. “You know, I’ve really enjoyed tonight.”

“Me too,” she agreed. “It was really nice and the food was delicious.”

“Think maybe the company made it all better than it was.” He smiled at her.

“True,” she leaned over to take his hand in hers. “The company was definitely a great plus.”

He reached up to cradle her cheek in his hand, his thumb stroking over her jaw. “Yes, it was.”

No words could describe the feelings he caused in her these days, she thought. It was like she had waited for him for so long now and he had been right here in Roswell, ready and waiting to turn her world upside down. What if I had never agreed to come back here? she thought. Things would probably still be bad between me and my son and the loneliness would’ve gotten worse.

“Penny for your thoughts,” he said gently when he could practically see her brain working behind her beautiful eyes.

“Just thinking that life’s turned out pretty good,” she said and it wasn’t a lie at all.

“That goes for both of us,” he agreed and leaned in to kiss her slowly and gently. His soft lips brushed over hers in a whisper before he turned it into a proper kiss.

Maria shifted slightly, turning her body towards him for a more comfortable position. Her right leg moved higher on the couch, resting halfway in his lap. She made a sound of surprised when one of his huge hands wrapped around her ankle and shifted her leg even more to bring it behind him outstretched. He let go again and grabbed her other leg, pulling it up on the couch as well and over his legs.

What was supposed to be a romantic light kiss became more intense than either of them had expected. He let his hands wander to her hips to bring her closer to him as his thumbs brushed lightly against her skin where the tee shirt had ridden up.

Maria lost herself in his kiss, reveled in his touch, and for several long minutes she ignored that little voice at the back of her mind that was trying to remind her that they were supposed to be taking this slow. It was easy to brush that reminder away, to focus on him and the way he made her feel. It wasn’t until his hands slid under her shirt to settle against her sides, moving further up before retreating and then retracing his path once more that she shifted.

Michael growled quietly when she put space between them even though it wasn’t a significant distance. He smiled at her flushed features and he reached up to brush his fingers over her cheeks. “I know,” he whispered and kissed her briefly, “time to slow down a little.”

She chuckled breathlessly and nodded. Her fingers tangled in the hair at the back of his neck as she looked into his eyes. “As much as I want to say no…”

He nodded. “It’s been a while,” he said in understanding.

“Yeah.”

“Guess we should be able to wait a while longer then, huh? Since we have so much practice waiting,” he teased.

She groaned slightly but smirked and slapped his shoulder playfully. “Thanks for the reminder.”

“Sorry,” he stole another kiss from her and then grabbed her leg to pull it in front of him until both lay across his lap. He slumped a bit deeper into the couch and rested his head against the soft fabric. His fingers started to massage her feet slightly without even noticing it.

“That feels good,” she mumbled and wiggled her toes. “Especially after wearing those shoes.”

Her words encouraged him and he concentrated on his touched more. “I can imagine. Never understood how women can walk in those things anyway.”

“Yeah,” she sighed dramatically. “Us women… we don’t have it easy.”

He laughed. “This is why guys have like two pairs of shoes at any given time.”

Maria snorted at that and pushed her heel into his hand when his movements stopped. She sighed happily and settled further into the cushions when he followed her direction. “I suppose you have a point. But there are sooo many shoes…”

“And so little time,” he finished and shook his head.

“Exactly. And you just never know where you might be going.”

“I guess. I’ll stick with my small selection of footwear.”

“Do that,” she agreed, “and let me have the fun. And just for the record: not all men only have two pair of shoes. I know that Kyle has a huge closet full of them.”

“Really?” He looked up in surprise with a smug grin on his face when the many ways of teasing his friend about that little fact came to mind.

“Yeah, never noticed the color of his shoes almost always matches the color of his shirt?”

“No.” Michael frowned. “But I can’t say I’ve really ever looked at him that way.”

“Bet now you will,” she laughed slightly.

“Ungh, yeah.” He made a face at her. “Thanks for that.”

She shrugged one shoulder and tried to keep a straight face. She could just imagine Kyle’s expression next time Michael ran into him and he automatically checked to see if what she had said was true. And he would, she just knew it.

“You’ve done an amazing job with the house,” he said as his gaze roamed over the room. “It’s always amazed me how quickly some people can unpack after moving and get the new place looking like home.” He snorted. “I lived out of boxes for weeks after I moved into my new house.”

“It feels good to be settled into a home again. There’s something to be said for being surrounded by your things.” She smiled and stretched one leg out, nudging the photo album on the coffee table. “To be surrounded by good memories.”

His eyes followed her long slim legs to her feet and for a moment he felt a rush of guilt about looking through it earlier. “Good ones, huh?”

She looked at him intensely, trying to decide if she wanted to share her memories. Did he even want to see them? she wondered. The photos would show a lot of family portrayals that included Andrew. “You can look at them…” she said quietly. “Only when you want, I mean. I can understand if you’d rather not since there’ll be pictures of…”

“I’d like to,” he nodded. “Maybe you can show me and tell me the stories behind them?”

“Sure,” she sat up again and brought her feet to the ground. “Hand me the album.”

mary mary: Thanks!

Healerfan: Thanks, things are finally moving forward for most of our characters.

Earth2Mama: Yeah... there’s a shortage of Michaels out there.

begonia9508: Thanks!

sarammlover: Lol, they’ll get there. Kyle and Tess will resolve their issues.

keepsmiling7: Thanks!

Cardinal: Backroad country navigating is a bit different than city navigating... looks like Kyle may have forgotten that for a minute or two.

So far Jenny’s given no indication that she’s about to give Justin trouble but we’ll keep an eye on her.

We’ll find out in this part.

killjoy: Definitely not much fun and so much easier to get lost out past the city limits.

Michelle in LA: Very true!

Lol, we’ll keep an eye on Jenny to make sure she’s on the up and up.

Alien_Friend: Lol, if only there were enough Michaels to go around!

The guys are pretty funny and they’re so different in their approaches.


Part 108

Michael leaned forward and grabbed the album, placing it in her lap. “It’s pretty heavy.”

“Well, it contains a few years,” Maria said, her fingertips brushing over the cover of it gently. “I found it the other day and looked at it, but somehow it feels lonely to do it alone.” She glanced up at him. “I’m okay with you.”

He raised his arm and draped it over her shoulders when she shifted to lean against his side. She opened the cover of the album, letting it rest against his thigh and brushing her fingertips over the first page. “His first picture?” he asked, looking at the shot of Andy as an infant.

“Yeah, he was so little,” Maria said quietly, remembering the day of his birth so easily. “Well, not by all meanings. For a baby, he was pretty huge.”

“I can imagine.” He glanced over the pictures when she turned the page and he paused at one of a man holding baby Andy, his expression a mixture of awe and the slightest hint of fear. “Poor guy looks terrified,” he said with a laugh.

“Yeah, Andrew was just a bit nervous the first few weeks,” she chuckled.

“I’m sure he was. I know I would be. I mean, it’s gotta be incredible knowin’ you helped create this little life but at the same time there’s all this responsibility.” He chuckled. “Nothin’ like a little pressure.”

“It looks a lot more terrifying than it really is,” Maria said. “I mean, this little person needs you to survive, but their needs are pretty simple. Feed, clean, sleep. It gets exhausting when they start to walk though, I can tell you.”

“I remember when Chrissie started walkin’. I was...” he thought back, “I had to be 13 or 14, and it drove me crazy because she was into everything. I couldn’t keep her outta my stuff.”

“Yeah, you better pack everything really important or valuable pretty high on the shelves.”

“Good grief, if she wasn’t into things she was trying to put everything in sight in her mouth.” He rolled his eyes.

Maria laughed. “Yeah, pretty exhausting time. It gets slightly better later I guess, but in the end... the bigger they are, the more complicated the problems are.”

“Guess the problems aren’t necessarily any easier to solve as they get older.” She turned the page again and he pointed at a picture of Andy at two or three being held by another man. “Your brother-in-law, right?”

“Yeah, Max.”

“He and Andy were close before the accident?”

Maria nodded. “Whenever Andrew had the time, the boys went out camping and fishing.”

“Andy has some pretty good memories of those times. I’m glad he went through with the trip this weekend. It’s a good move and it’ll help him.”

“I hope so. He’s dealing with things. Much better than Max right now, I think.”

He smoothed his hand over the next page when she turned it. Andy looked surprised and his face was covered in patches of what looked like flour. “What’s the story here?”

“Well, we tried to bake Christmas cookies.”

He laughed. “Did you actually make any cookies? ‘Cause it looks like the kid’s wearin’ more of the ingredients than you actually used.”

“You obviously never baked with a four-year-old, huh?”

“No.” He scratched his chin. “Although I did try it with a seven-year-old... and after making a colossal mess because neither of us knew what we were doin’ we went to the store and just bought cookies.”

“At least at seven they can use their hands in a more adequate way.”

“That’s true. She thought throwin’ the dough at me was a lot more fun and I can assure you at seven she was a lot more coordinated.”

Maria turned the page and pointed at a picture of Andy eating a huge cookie, his small hands both wrapped around it. “We did actually have something edible in the end.”

“It’s like one of those... what do they call ‘em?” He snapped his fingers. “Those cookie pies you can get at the mall.”

“Yeah, Andy insisted on baking a cookie that huge.”

“And from the looks of the mess he made of himself it must’ve been chocolate chip.” He turned his head and nuzzled her neck. “Have I ever told you I love chocolate chip cookies?”

She leaned her head to the side to give him better access. “You’re lucky. They’re one of my best.”

“Think I could convince you to whip up a batch one of these days?” he asked and nipped her earlobe.

“Christmas is close. You just have to wait until then.”

He cupped her chin and tipped her head back so he could kiss her. “Gonna make me wait that long?”

“Um-hmm,” she mumbled against his lips.

He smiled and deepened the kiss for a few moments before easing back again. Slow, Guerin, he reminded himself. “Pictures,” he muttered after a moment.

*****

Liz opened her eyes and looked around, yawning and stretching. She winced at the muffled grunt when her hand smacked against the side of Max’s head and she shifted to brush her fingers over the spot she had just clobbered. “Sorry,” she murmured. She smiled when he just mumbled a response and made a face before his features smoothed out and he dozed off once more. They had spent the morning lying on the couch, enjoying the rare moments of peace and quiet together.

She was closing her eyes when she heard barking and a moment later she realized what had awakened her. “Max.”

He grumbled at the disturbance and the arm around her waist tightened. “Sleep, woman. We don’t get this very often.”

She chuckled. “Yeah, and our little break from reality is over.” She grabbed his shoulder when he tried to turn and bury his face in the cushions. “Hear that racket? That is your daughter and two very rambunctious puppies that you thought you should bring home.”

“Temporarily bring home,” he countered.

“Either way, they’re back and we need to get up.”

“Let’s just let Tess keep her over the weekend. I’m sure we can bribe her.”

“The poor woman. She’s probably glad to hand the bunch over again,” Liz chuckled and stood.

“C’mon, Liz,” he whined and tried not to grin, “she’ll be fine for another day.”

“After what you told me, she probably needs some time to think and we both know that’s hardly possible with our daughter and the gremlins around.”

He snorted. “Yeah, I guess you’ve got a point,” he admitted grudgingly.

“Mommy? Daddy?” Kara’s high-pitched voice could be heard as soon as they entered the house through the back door in the kitchen.

“In here, baby girl,” Max called out as he forced himself to a sitting position.

“Seems like your parents weren’t expecting us back so early,” Tess said with an amused smile when they entered the living room and saw their still tired faces.

“Mommy, look!” Kara ran over to Liz and showed off the puppies she was holding.

Max made a face. “Are they wearin’... sweaters?”

“Aren’t they pretty, Daddy?” she asked. “And look... Aunt Tessie got collars for them and I picked out the little tags.” She shifted Loopy. “See? They look like little bones!”

“You kept Auntie Tess on a run, huh?” Liz asked in amusement and kissed her daughter’s head.

“We went to the pet store and we were there a loooong time! We found lots of pretty clothes!” Her eyes widened. “Daddy, they got little boots so their feet don’t get wet when it rains!”

“Maybe we’ll leave those to their future owner?” Max suggested carefully. “You know we can’t keep them forever, right?”

Her bottom lip jutted out. “But they like it here, Daddy.”

“They do,” he agreed. “But we already have a dog and a cat.”

“Well, but... I want them to live with us.”

“They can stay until we find another home for them,” Liz said. “But we can’t keep them forever.”

Tears pooled in the little girl’s eyes and she tipped her head back to look up at her aunt. “Can they live with you an’ Untel Tyle?”

“I’m afraid that’s not possible sweetie. Your uncle and I work a lot and we can’t leave them alone in the apartment all day.”

“Daddy...”

“Why don’t we go out back with them?” he asked and lifted her up, trying to find a way to convince his daughter that the puppies couldn’t stay forever.

“I told him bringing those puppies home was a mistake,” Liz sighed. She motioned to the couch. “Wanna sit down? I’ll bet you’re exhausted.”

“Not exhausted,” Tess denied. “I love her, Liz. I’ll watch her whenever you need me to, okay?”

She smiled. “So the two of you went clothes shopping for the puppies, huh? Now that they’re fully accessorized I can imagine they’ll be harder to hand off.”

“I’d take them in if we had a house, but with the apartment two puppies just isn’t possible, Liz.”

“I appreciate that.” She rolled her eyes. “Part of me wants to say the hell with it and just keep them. For the most part she’s been doing well with them, making sure they’re fed and walked...” She’d never hear the end of that from Max.

“But it probably won’t help minimize the stress level, huh?”

“Oh, I don’t know.” She leaned back. “I mean, they do keep her occupied.”

“How big will they get?”

Liz shook her head. “They’re Chihuahuas, so maybe five to six pounds. That’s what the vet said when we took them in for a checkup and vaccinations.”

“Well, that’s not too big I guess. Maybe I could talk to Maria and kinda take them on as our shop mascots,” Tess laughed.

“Um-hmm, and they would live where? With you?”

“One for me and one for her.”

Liz laughed. “So she’ll have a German shepherd, a Chihuahua, and if things work out with the counselor, he has a Rottweiller. Talk about your full house.”

“I don’t know if a Rottweiler and a Chihuahua would work out,” Tess made a face.

Liz laughed. “I don’t know. That day we spent over at his house the dog seemed very well behaved.”

“True,” Tess leaned back. “I can talk to Maria about it if you want.”

“Well, if you want to I won’t say no. At least if the puppies stayed in the family I know Kara would be able to see them regularly and it would make letting them go a little easier.” She smirked. “Although, you might have to convince Kyle since Chihuahuas aren’t exactly the dog one pictures for a man.”

“No, but men usually do things that make their girlfriends happy.”

Liz smiled. “Well, that’s true.” She turned her head to look at her sister-in-law. “How’re things going with Kyle?”

“It’s going good... really good. I think this time we have a real chance.”

“How was the trip to California?” she asked.

Tess narrowed her eyes at the other woman. “He told you, didn’t he?”

“Yeah, but only because he’s concerned, Tess.”

“I’m okay now. Really.”

She nodded. “I just wanted to let you know I’m here if you wanna talk or anything.”

The blonde leaned back against the couch and stared down at her hands. “There’s not much to talk about. I... I really envy you for your bravery though.”

“Me? Why?”

“Because you’ve accepted this new pregnancy and it seems like you’re not afraid of it even after what you went through with your first.”

“Oh, Tess, as much as I want this baby, going through another pregnancy is scary. What we went through the first time was rough and there’s no way to minimize that.” She smiled. “But I’ve always wanted another baby and I wouldn’t miss this chance for anything.”

Tess smiled sadly. “That’s what I mean, Liz. I’m not brave enough to try again.”

“Maybe not right now. Maybe not ever,” she said with a reassuring smile. “But if you do ever decide to try again you know you have an amazing support system here.”

“I know, it’s just...” she sighed, “I don’t even know. I really wanna try for Kyle because I know he wants a kid of his own, but...”

“I know you love him, but this isn’t something you should do for him.” She reached over to place her hand over Tess’. “You’ve talked to him about it, haven’t you?”

“Yeah.”

“How’s he feel about it?”

“I guess he’ll support whatever decision I make.”

“He’s a good man.”

“I know... I hope it’ll be enough, you know?”

“Yeah.” She held her hand over her stomach and smiled. “I know how scary this is for me so it must be even worse for you.”

“Your baby will be fine, Liz,” Tess said, placing her hand over the other woman’s.

“I believe that. I have to believe it. Anything else would just make me crazy.”

“I know that feeling. It’s good that you’ve dealt with it. A new baby in this family will be so exciting and I think my brother’s really looking forward to it.”

“He is,” Liz said with a soft smile. “He really is. I know this pregnancy scares him because there is the possibility of unknown risks, but, he wants this baby. I know after losing Andrew this wasn’t what he wanted to hear, but I don’t know, maybe it’ll help him to deal with that somehow.”

“Yeah, at least it’ll be a wonderful distraction.”

“It will be and he really needs it.” She shifted and rested her arm along the back of the couch. “Back on topic,” she said, nudging Tess. “Have you found a doctor since you’ve been here?”

“No, not yet. Maybe you can give me some advice?”

“I have the best doc in town. I’m biased of course, but I’ve been seeing Linda since the beginning. She’s a big part of the reason we have two healthy boys today. Last time I was in for an appointment she was taking new patients.”

“I’ll call her and see if I can get an appointment then,” Tess agreed.

“I think you’ll like her, Tess. She’s wonderful and she won’t treat you like a number.”

“Guess that’s a pro for small towns, huh? My doc in LA really wasn’t all that great, but you had to be thankful to get an appointment at all that didn’t make you wait for months.”

Liz snorted. “There’re a couple of docs in that field here and I know at least one of them has no personality to speak of.” She made a face. “Linda’s your best bet and she’ll make you very comfortable.”

“Sounds good.”

“I’ll get her number for you and when you’re ready you can give her a call.”

“Thanks, Liz. Maybe she can give me some advice about how to deal with this situation.”

“I’m sure she’ll be able to help. She was able to ease Max’s mind a little bit and that right there was a major undertaking.”

“I’m somehow hoping she can take my fear away, but I think that’s just my wishful thinking,” Tess said with a sad smile.

“That might be a lot to ask, but she’ll probably be able to help.” She bit her lip. “Did your doctor ever give you a reason for the miscarriage?”

“Not much more than: It happens to many women, Ms. Evans.”

Liz frowned. “Sounds like she had all the empathy of a damn ice cube.”

“It was a him, and yeah, he wasn’t really heartwarming. I know a lot of woman have miscarriages, but you really don’t wanna hear that right after you’ve had one.”

“No, you don’t. What an ass. Well, I can promise you that Linda isn’t anything like that.”

“That’s good.”

“If you do decide to try again we’re all here for you, Tess. It really sounds like you went through that alone.”

The other woman looked at her with a slight shrug. “I choose to be alone at the time, Liz. Now I know that it wasn’t the smartest decision, but back then I wasn’t able to tell anyone.”

“Well, one good thing about being surrounded by family and friends is that it’s hard to be alone.” She chuckled. “Okay, sometimes it can be a bad thing too, but for the most part it’s a good thing.”

“It makes things easier in the end,” Tess agreed.

“It really does.”

****

Max sat beside his daughter on the top step and watched the puppies run around the backyard. He tried not to smile when she sighed heavily and leaned forward, her elbows resting on her knees. He shifted to mimic her pose and he clasped his hands loosely in front of him. “You know, we’re gonna find good homes for them.”

“They like our house, Daddy,” she pointed out reasonably.

“Yeah, I know they do.” He lifted his right hand so he could rest his chin in his palm. “And they’re great little guys but we’ve already got Lucky and Ari.”

“Is it ‘cause we’re gonna have a new baby?” She turned her head to look up at him. “Is that why they gotta go to new homes?”

“Well, that’s part of it. Puppies are a lot of work, Kara, and they’re definitely worth the work, but we’re gonna be pretty busy with the holidays and the baby coming.” He nodded when her eyebrows lifted in interest. “Thanksgiving’s coming up pretty soon and Grandma and Grandpa Parker are gonna be here for the week. We’ve gotta get the house decorated; get all the outside lights put up and go pick out a Christmas tree. Then there’s Christmas shopping, making Christmas cookies… going to see Santa.”

“But they’ll be good.”

“Baby girl, Loopy and Happy are good puppies but it’s not fair for us to keep them when we can’t really give them the attention they deserve.” He leaned over and scooped Loopy up when the puppy ran up the steps. “These little guys are full of energy and they need a lot of training.”

Kara giggled when Happy joined them, pushing his wet nose against her arm and crawling into her lap when she shifted to accommodate him. “Can we give them to Grandma an’ Grandpa Parker? It could be for Christmas.”

“No. You should never give someone a puppy as a gift unless you’re absolutely certain that person wants a puppy. And I don’t think Grandma and Grandpa Parker want one puppy much less two. They spend a lot of time at the restaurant and they wouldn’t be able to let the puppies come to work with them so they’d be at home by themselves all day.”

“Oh.” She stroked Happy and hugged him. “They would be sad.”

“We’ll find good homes for them, Kara.”

She turned her head to the side, her cheek resting on the puppy’s head as she looked at Daddy. “Promise?”

He nodded. “Promise.”

“Can I go see them when they go to their new home?”

“We can ask and see if the folks who take them mind if we visit the pups once in a while.”

“Okay, Daddy.” She scooted over to lean against his side.

Max hugged her and dropped a kiss on her head. “I know it’s not what you were hopin’ for, Kara, but it’s what’s best for the puppies and us too. Maybe when Mommy and Aunt Tess are done talkin’ we can all walk over to the park for a while, how’s that sound? The puppies too,” he said when he saw her look at them. “Little bit of exercise will be good.”

“’Cause the baby will make Mommy fat?”

Max cleared his throat as he glanced over his shoulder. “Well, Mommy will gain some weight with the baby but we don’t call that getting fat.”

Kara scrunched her nose up as she tipped her head back to look up at him. “But her tummy’s gonna get really big. Tommy said his daddy said his mommy was as big as a house before his baby sister came.” Her eyes widened. “That’s fat, Daddy.”

“Tommy’s daddy was exaggerating, baby girl. It’s just a way of saying something, or in this case someone, is really big. And that’s not a very nice thing to say about anyone anyway.”

“But she was really big, Daddy. I seen her one time when she came to school when Tommy got sick.” Her eyes widened as she nodded her head. “She was really big.”

“Well…” he scratched his chin thoughtfully. “Okay, you remember when we ran into Mrs. McKay at the grocery store and she had her baby with her?”

“Yeah.” She smiled. “He was really pretty.”

“Um-hmm, you remember how big he was?”

“He was little, Daddy.”

“Right, he was, but he was just a few days old and before he got to ride around in a car seat and be carried and stuff he was growing in his mommy’s tummy. See, Mommy’s tummy has to get bigger so the baby can get bigger.”

“So when the baby comes will she be as big as Mrs. McKay’s baby?”

“She might be.” He shrugged one shoulder. “She could be smaller.”

“Like Nicky an’ Justin were?”

“No, not that small.” He refused to consider the possibility of another premature birth. Linda kept reassuring them that everything was progressing normally and there had been no sign that anything was threatening the pregnancy so he was going to remain positive. “But no matter how small or how big the baby is, we don’t want to call Mommy fat, okay?”

“’Cause that would be mean, huh?”

“It would be very mean and it’d hurt her feelings. See, when Mommy’s pregnant her emotions are really close to the surface so sometimes things are said that she would normally ignore but because of the baby those feelings are more intense.”

“What’s that mean, Daddy?”

“It would make Mommy really sad if someone called her fat.”

“I don’t want Mommy to be sad.”

“Me either.”

They both turned their heads when the screen door opened, smiling when they saw Liz standing there.

“Okay, what’re you two up to?”

Kara got to her feet and put Happy down so she could run over and throw her arms around Mommy. “Daddy was tellin’ me ‘bout the baby. Nobody’s gonna call you fat, Mommy,” she assured as she petted Mommy’s still flat belly. “An’ if they do I’ll tell ‘em you’ve got a baby in your tummy and you gotta make room for her.”

Liz squeezed her daughter, hugging her tightly as she leaned over to kiss her head. She laughed when she saw Max shaking his head, lowering it to press his forehead against his palm. “Daddy explained that to you, did he?”

“Um-hmm. Do you wanna walk to the park? Daddy said we could go and take the puppies. I’m gonna go ask Auntie Tess, okay?”

“Okay, she’s in the kitchen getting a drink.” She sat down next to her husband and bumped her shoulder against his. “Good job with that explanation, Daddy,” she teased.

“That wasn’t exactly what I said.” He looked at her. “Tess okay?”

“She will be. Opening up and talking about it really is an important step to healing.”

He nodded. “I’m glad. That’s a helluva lot to go through. Especially alone, regardless of whether it was by choice or not.”

“Yes, it is. But she’s not alone anymore and she knows it.” She slipped her arm through his and rubbed the puppy when he squeezed between them to crawl into her lap. “Between you and me… Tess is gonna talk to Maria and the two of them might take these little troublemakers off of our hands.”

“Really? That’d be perfect.”

“Yeah, we should know before too long.” She pointed at the doghouse across the yard. Lucky was lying inside, just his nose visible from the opening. “I think Lucky’s felt a bit put out since these little guys moved in and Ari’s taken to hiding to avoid them.”

“He’s just pouting because they’re getting more attention than he is.”

“That’s how any male is,” she said and rolled her eyes. She laughed when he snorted at her comment. “Please, you do the same thing.”

“I do not.”

“You so do. But I love you anyway.” She rested her head against his shoulder, soaking up the feeling of peace and togetherness.

Max smiled and turned his head to brush his lips against her forehead. “Love you too, darlin’.”

Earth2Mama: They’ll be discussing that soon.

Max did pretty well with that one, lol.

We’re in agreement with your assessment... civilization couldn’t handle such a thing.

Alien_Friend: We’ll be finding out soon!

Those moments are some of our favorites. Thanks, we were blown away by the noms and the wins!

Michael and Maria may just get there.

This story has been another epic ride with a lot of ups and downs. We’ve enjoyed writing it very much.

mary mary: Lol, chihuahuas can make life interesting and a lot of them have no idea just how small they are.

Great story about Pompie! Sounds like he was a real sport about things, lol.

Cardinal: Lol, sounds like you and Max are in complete agreement there.

Tess is making progress on that front.

Now there’s a picture that’s too good to pass up. Although, Mojo and Kyle may both disagree.

keepsmiling7: Let’s hope Maria and Tess decide to take the pups otherwise... yeah, we’ve gotta agree with you, Kara does have Daddy wrapped around her little finger and the Evans household will be considerably larger.

Thanks for the compliment!

begonia9508: Thanks! Oh, Kara knows just how to work it.

Eva: Kara is old enough that she can grasp some of the concepts and understand. Lucky for Max, lol. Kids are sweet and so inquisitive about a new baby.

Healerfan: Thanks! Max tripped over himself a few times, lol, but in the end he got the point across in a way his little girl understood.

We‘ll look in on the boys in this part

Clari: Aww, thanks! Updating now!




Part 109

“Man, I’m totally beat,” Andy stretched his arms over his head and yawned widely. It had been a long exhausting day out in the woods with long walks, fishing, and hiking. His feet and arms hurt like hell, but it was kind of a good and satisfying pain.

“Yeah, same here,” Justin agreed. “I think I’m gonna crash.”

Nick had already left a while ago, calling it a night earlier than the others.

“These young men aren’t used to anything,” Jack chuckled. “You should toughen them up a bit more, City.”

“G’night,” the boys said with an eye roll and disappeared.

“I’m just their uncle,” Kyle defended himself. “Blame their mom’s, not me.”

“I’m gonna tell Mom what you said,” Andy called from his tent, grinning when he knew his uncle was wincing at the threat. “She won’t be happy about it.” He crawled into his sleeping bag and sighed when he was finally able to rest fully. For a moment he thought about texting Sam a good night message, but a second later he was already drifting off to sleep.

Jack laughed and turned the little sausage he was roasting over the fire. “So wanna tell me what was on your mind all day?” he started after a moment, his voice lowered so the boys wouldn’t hear him.

Kyle sighed and leaned back against a fallen log. “You want kids, Jack?” he asked after a few minutes of silence.

Jack chuckled. “I like you an’ all, City, but I’ve already got a girl.” He sobered after a second and shook his head. “In all seriousness, we’ve talked about it and we wanna have a houseful of rugrats runnin’ around underfoot one day. Right now I’m still in the field and that can be dangerous. She’s enjoyin’ her own career and we’ve agreed that when we’re ready for kids we’re gonna make some changes with our jobs.”

“But what if Shayna gets pregnant before then?”

The other man shrugged carelessly. “Then we’ll be movin’ our timetable up a bit, won’t we?”

“Jack, what do you think would happen if she couldn’t have kids? I mean, you’re a pretty family-oriented guy. What if you decided you were ready to settle down and have those kids but you found out you couldn’t for whatever reason? How important is it to you to have kids that’re biologically yours?”

Jack frowned at his friend’s question and looked at him, but Kyle was just staring into the fire. “That’s a tough question,” he started. “Guess I hadn’t even thought about that, but it’s a possibility of course.” He scratched his neck while he thought about it a moment longer. “Adoption’s an option, but I can’t honestly tell you if we’d go that route or not. I guess you can’t really tell until you’re in a situation like that. There’re lots of kids who need a home, but you always have to consider that one day they might wanna get to know their real parents and that won’t be easy.” He chuckled. “But biological kids are never easy either.”

“Yeah…”

“What’re all these questions about, City? Is there a problem with you an’ Tess having kids?”

Kyle glanced up to meet his partner’s eyes without moving his head.

It was enough to tell Jack that the answer to his question was yes. He nodded slightly and waited to see if his friend would explain their situation more or not.

He tipped his head back and stared up at the sky for several long minutes before running his hands over his face and sighing loudly. “Just between me an’ you…”

“Understood,” Jack said with a nod.

“She miscarried when she was with the last guy she was seriously involved with and it left her with some pretty serious emotional and mental scars.”

“That’s understandable.” He grabbed a stick and leaned forward to push the logs around in the fire. “My cousin went through that. Poor thing suffered three miscarriages before deciding she just couldn’t go through it anymore. Doctors never could seem to figure out a direct cause for it.”

Kyle bit his bottom lip as he thought about that. He couldn’t ask Tess to go through that kind of pain just so they could have kids of their own.

“You can’t do much more than support her and let her decide though, can you?” Jack asked. He could see in his friend’s face that the subject was painful and it bothered him a lot.

“Yeah… I don’t want her to feel like I’m pushing her or anything.”

“Maybe talking about it’s the first step to comin’ to terms with it.”

“Maybe,” Kyle agreed and shifted his position slightly. “I should probably avoid the topic for a while and let her decide what she wants, but it’s just hard when it’s always at the back of your mind, ya know? I hate uncertainty.”

Jack chuckled. “That’s probably a curse of our job.” He looked at his sausage again and finally decided that it was ready. “Would she consider adoption?”

He nodded. “Yeah, she’s open to that option.”

“But…?”

Kyle shook his head. “She wanted that baby, Jack. It was in her voice, in her eyes…” The look of pain in her eyes at that loss had hit him like a physical blow.

“She’s gotta be ready to take that risk again, buddy.” He took a bite of the sausage and chewed thoughtfully for a few moments. “The mind’s an amazing thing but it can also be your worst enemy.”

“Yeah, that’s true.” He leaned forward, using his sleeve to protect his hand as he grabbed the coffee pot and filled his cup. “I know we’ll figure this out. It was a little rocky at first but we got through it and we’re solid.”

“Lookin’ at it without all the pressure is probably the best thing you can do,” Jack agreed and wiped his hands on his jeans after finishing his sausage.

“Maybe Liz will be able to help her a bit. She’s been through a very dramatic pregnancy with the twins and she’s pregnant again.”

“Not all people are the same. Some take the setbacks worse than others.”

“Yeah, I know.”

Jack rested a hand on his partner’s shoulder and squeezed is lightly. “You guys will figure it out, and until then you get your head outta your ass and have some fun out here, Valenti.”

Kyle smiled at his tone and nodded in agreement. “You’re right.”

*****

Alex looked up from his morning paper and coffee on Sunday morning when he heard movement on the stairs. He had breakfast ready to roll as soon as she made an appearance, knowing that she wouldn’t want to eat as soon as she got up.

Sam dragged herself down to the kitchen, sliding onto one of the barstools at the counter and dropping her head on her folded arms. She mumbled a good morning and turned her head to look at her dad. He had tipped his paper towards him so he could watch her and she gave him a sleepy smile.

“Figured you’d sleep in this mornin’,” he said as he picked up his mug and took a sip of his coffee. He knew she had been up late, using movie night as an excuse to wait for a text from Andy.

“Huh-uh.” Well, she would’ve slept in but her phone had awakened and she’d nearly given herself a concussion trying to get to it before it stopped ringing. It hadn’t been Andy though. It had been a friend leaving a message about getting together that afternoon. She really hated morning people, she thought with an internal growl.

“Hungry yet?”

“No,” she dragged the word out. “What about a hot chocolate though?”

He smiled and folded his paper over, setting it on the table and getting up. “Comin’ right up.” He kissed her temple as he passed her and started pulling out what he needed. “Sleep well?”

Sam sighed. “Could’ve been better.”

“Got somethin’ on your mind?”

She looked at Dad for a moment then shrugged. “The usual here lately. Mom... school... Andy.”

He nodded. “Anything you wanna talk about?” he asked as he mixed the cocoa and added a splash of vanilla the way she liked it.

“Guess it’s not really any interesting or deep stuff, Dad. Just waited for a text of Andy and it didn’t come, which made me wait even longer, which brought my thoughts to Mom after a while and... yeah...”

“Well, the boys are probably busy and reception’s pretty hit-and-miss out there.” He topped the hot chocolate with whipped cream and set it on the counter in front of her. “So you’ve been thinking about your mom?”

“Yeah, it happens when I have too much time and nothing to do,” she said dramatically.

“I’m sure.” He refilled his coffee mug and sat down again. “Have you given much thought to meeting her?”

Sam draw circles with her fingertips on the counter while she thought about it. “Yeah... I think I just wanna get it over with so I can finally stop wondering about it.”

He nodded. “If you’re sure about it then I can make arrangements with her.”

“Okay, let’s do it,” she decided spontaneously.

“Would you rather wait until next weekend or just tackle it as soon as possible?”

“The last I think. Another week of waiting sounds like an eternity.”

“I’ll call her this afternoon and get everything arranged.” He flipped the paper around to show her the movies showing locally. “Wanna catch a movie this afternoon?”

“Sure, why not?”

He smiled when she accepted his offer. “I’ll even let you pick,” he said generously. He would most likely regret it but he would gladly suffer through whatever she picked out. As she got older they didn’t spend quite as much time doing things together and while he knew it was to be expected it was nice on the occasions when it did happen.

“I think we’ll go see the new movie with Channing Tatum.”

He rolled his eyes and sighed. “Well, I guess if that’s the one you want...” He laughed and set the paper aside when she made a face at him. “That’s what we’ll see.”

“Um-hmm, the guy’s eye candy, Dad.” She chuckled. “Not that you’d understand any of that.” Maybe, I should’ve saved the movie for later to go with Jenny, she thought.

“Eye candy,” he muttered. “That doesn’t mean I’m gonna be surrounded by a theater full of teenage girls who are all there for the same reason does it?”

“No comment.”

“Uh-huh, that sounds suspiciously like a yes to me.”

“Well, you let me pick, so it’s your fault, Dad.”

“I suppose.” He got up and stretched before moving to start breakfast.

“Oh, hey...” she looked up, “tell Mom we’ll meet in the park, okay? I kinda don’t want to meet her here in the house.”

He nodded. “Alright. Do you want me to be there?”

“Maybe, I don’t know yet, Dad. I think that really depends on how I’m feeling right before the moment.”

“Okay, whatever you’ll be more comfortable with.” He opened the refrigerator and glanced inside. “Bacon or sausage?”

“I think I’ll just go with cornflakes for now.”

“Have some toast or at least a piece of fruit with it... let me maintain the illusion that you’re eating something healthy.”

“Fruit.”

“Thanks.” He gave up on a hot breakfast and settled for a bowl of cereal as well. “So,” he said once breakfast was served, “Andy will back later today?”

“Yeah, sometime in the evening he said.”

“Do you have plans to see each other when he gets home?”

“Yeah, if it’s not too late...” she said and accepted a bowl from him.

He nodded and sprinkled some sugar over his flakes. “Is he still doing okay at school?”

“Yeah, I think he just had a rough start, but he got over it.” She took a bite of her cereal and chewed on the crunchy flakes. “He had a lot of grief buried in him and it was just picking him apart.”

Alex listened to her as she talked about her boyfriend in between bites of cereal. Sometimes it amazed him how grown up she was. “Has he found a way to deal with losing his dad?”

“I think talking about it helps him and he has his family around here, too.”

“Good.” He watched his daughter as she pushed the flakes around the bowl. “Are you nervous about meeting your mom?”

“Like hell.”

“I can understand that. Given the situation I’m a little nervous about it too.”

“Yeah... it’s not like I’ve ever even seen her.”

“I’d be surprised if you did,” he said with a chuckle. “You were just a couple days old the last time you saw her. You were so tiny, Sam.”

“Dad,” she made a face.

“Well, you were. And a little bit intimidating too,” he said with a teasing smile.

“How can a small helpless baby be intimidating?”

“Do you have any idea how much responsibility it is to care for an infant? Yeah, yeah, I know, I’ve always been the responsible guy, but having a baby relying on you for everything... wow.” He reached over to pat her arm. “Not that I’d change it for anything.”

“Well, thank God.”

He snorted and nearly choked on a cornflake. “That’s not funny,” he said with a watery glare when she laughed at him.

“It is, Dad.” She shook her head.

He looked down when Oscar peered around the door before coming into the room. “Looks like somebody else is hungry.”

“I’ll feed him when I’m done.”

“He’ll be glad to know that.” He turned his head when he heard a phone ringing and after a second realized it was his. “I’d better get that. Be right back.”

*****

The smell of fresh grilled fish wafted through the air when Maria and Theo neared Michael’s house. He had called her that morning to invite her over for dinner to finally meet his sister Chrissie officially. It was still a bit embarrassing, considering that she had thought she had been his lover, but on the other hand it made Maria happy to go over to see him for another date.

She could hear voices from the back of the house and after a moment of thinking she walked around the side and found Michael and his sister outside on the porch arguing over where to set the table. It was warm for a November day in Roswell and with a jacket there was no problem having dinner outside as long as it was someplace that was shielded from the wind.

Mojo, who was lazily lying on the porch in front of the steps looked up when she came into view. “Relax, Theo,” she said quietly when she could feel her own dog responding to Mojo.

Maria held her breath when Michael’s pet suddenly got up and came down the few steps and crossed the yard towards them. Okay, she knew Mojo was like a tame kitty cat, but his big, muscled appearance was still just a bit intimidating.

The Rottweiler ambled over until he was just a few feet away and he dropped his big body to the ground. After a moment he crawled closer and then rolled over. Theo tipped his head to one side, his dark eyes watching every move the other dog made.

“Well, we won’t have to worry about which one will be the Alpha male,” Michael said as he stepped down off of the porch and crossed the yard to join them. He had spent some time around the German shepherd so he knew the dog was well-trained and wasn’t aggressive. “You can turn him loose if you want.” He smiled and leaned in for a kiss when he reached her. “Hi,” he murmured against her lips.

Maria smiled and returned the kiss. She leaned back after a moment to look up at him. “Hi yourself.”

Chrissie stood on the porch, unabashedly watching her brother and his… girlfriend? Wasn’t he too old to have a girlfriend? She had no idea what the correct term was but whatever it was it was obvious he was happy with the woman. She smirked to herself. It would be pretty hard to miss just how happy he had been for the past few days and really, that was the most important thing in her opinion.

“I think they’re getting along pretty good,” Maria noticed when she unleashed Theo and the two dogs started to play with a stick in the grass.

“Mojo’s very easy to get along with,” Michael said and took her smaller hand in his, loving the feeling of protectiveness washing over him. How long had he waited to feel something like this about someone? She was the right woman for him; he knew it already and there was no doubt for him that this could ever change. “Ready to meet the rest of my family officially?”

She nodded and smiled, though she thought it was sad that his family only contained one more person.

“Our family’s pretty small, but believe me when I say we’re a lot of work,” he said with a smile as he accurately read her mind.

“Oh, I really have no doubt about that.”

“Speak for yourself, big brother,” Chrissie said with a roll of her eyes. Okay, yes, she could be challenging but there was no reason to point that out first thing.

“I’m not alone there,” Michael said when he heard her annoyed tone. “There’re two of us and we both have our difficult moments.”

There was no arguing that point. “True, but that’s really something you could bring up later.”

Maria smiled when the two of them bickered back and forth. She wondered if it had taken time for them to reach a point where they could act like this with each other. It had to have been difficult at times, she thought. He was 12 years older than his sister and he had raised her. That was bound to have altered the normal sibling relationship.

Chrissie squeezed the other woman’s hand with a tight but comfortable grip. “It’s nice to see my brother isn’t totally incapable of a relationship,” she said, amused. “I was worried it wouldn’t happen at all.”

“Didn’t you want to make a salad or something?” Michael grumbled.

“Um-hmm and you should watch those steaks on the grill,” she pointed behind him and laughed when he hurried to turn the meat. “He’s totally distracted when it comes to you, Maria.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” she said with a smirk and followed his sister inside to the kitchen to help.

“I was just kidding. I know my brother’s waited for someone worth his time and feelings and I think he’s finally found everything he was looking for in you,” Chrissie admitted while she washed some tomatoes under the running water. “I guess you’ll be very lucky because he’ll do everything for the woman he loves,” she joked.

“I’m very lucky for so many reasons,” Maria agreed and looked out the window, chuckling when Michael burned his hand on the grill slightly and made a face at it.

“So’s he. I’ve waited a long time for him to be happy.” She studied Maria as the woman watched Michael through the window. “I know he gave up a lot to raise me. He’s never said anything about it and he’s certainly never complained, but I know he did. He got out and did stuff. Thankfully he had Isabel and Kyle to drag him out once in a while.”

“The three of them have a great friendship.”

“Yeah, they do. They would push him to date or go to a party once in a while but he never really dated seriously. And then after college he started working with kids and between his work and me he didn’t have a lot of time leftover for stuff like dating.”

Maria glanced at the younger woman. “You don’t blame yourself for that do you?”

“Oh, no, he made sure I knew better than to ever think that. I don’t really remember much about our parents so Michael kinda became my parents and my brother all rolled up in one.

“He’s a great man for so many reasons,” Maria agreed and smiled at his younger sister. “I know you probably disagree after meeting my son the one time, and it wasn’t nice, but Michael really has found a way to get through to Andy. I’m still not sure how he did it actually, but somehow it made things at home easier for all of us.”

“I don’t think badly of your son,” Chrissie said and earned a doubtful look from the other woman. “Well, okay I thought he was a little brat at first, but I talked to my brother and with all the background… Ya know I was a lot like him when I was younger. Rebellious, angry sometimes… and I know it’s normal, especially when life circumstances change, so don’t worry about it.”

Maria smiled, relieved. “Guess we had a bit of a bad start too and I’m really completely and totally embarrassed about it. Still.”

The girl laughed. “Oh, I’ll bet my appearance in his jersey was anything but suitable in that moment, so I would’ve probably thought just the same if I were you.” She waved it off. “We’re past that now, right?”

“Definitely,” Maria nodded. “And boy, am I really glad you’re his sister.”

“I’m glad I had brother like him.”

“Already gossiping about me?” Michael asked when he walked inside to get some barbecue sauce from the refrigerator. He hadn’t heard anything, but he was pretty sure the two women in his kitchen had been talking about him.

“Oh, I am just putting out some warnings about you,” Chrissie replied sweetly. “You know, like you always leave your socks in front of the shower or that you tend to make weird sounds when you sleep.”

“You do?” Maria asked with a smile and a lifted eyebrow.

Michael groaned and stood in front of his girlfriend, taking her cheeks in both of his hands. “Do not ever believe what she tells you. Fifty percent of it is totally made up.”

“Uh-huh, so I should believe at least half of what she says then.” She smiled. “So, do you really make weird sounds when you sleep?”

“I wouldn’t know,” he said with a smirk. “I can’t hear myself when I’m asleep.”

“I can assure you she’ll know the truth sooner or later,” Chrissie said as she hopped up on the counter.

“Aren’t you supposed to be doin’ somethin’?” he asked with a sideways glance over his shoulder.

“Probably… but at least I’m not the one in charge of the meat that’s in danger of burning to a crisp.”

“Ah, damn it,” he muttered, giving Maria a quick kiss before grabbing the barbecue sauce and hurrying back outside.

“Men,” Chrissie rolled her eyes.

“We’d better make a good salad to go with the burnt meat,” Maria laughed.

Earth2Mama: Jack’s got some pretty good advice for his buddy.

We won’t have too long to wait before Sam and Kendra meet.

mary mary: Thanks, we’re glad to be back! Now that Kyle’s got that off his chest he’ll likely start to relax.

Alien_Friend: Thanks! Looks like Maria and Chrissie will get along. Michael did a great job raising his little sister. He’s finally at a place where he can have the kind of relationship he’s been waiting for.

Sam will feel a lot better once she has that meeting under her belt.

Kyle’s smart to not bottle up those feelings and he’s lucky to have Jack to talk to.

keepsmiling7: Lol, it’s a labor of love.

For now we’ll hold onto one fic per week and maybe in time get back up to our regular rotation.

We’ll see Sam and Kendra getting together soon.

begonia9508: Lol, Michael had better look out, huh?

Tess will get more information soon.

sarammlover: It’ll be a good thing for Sam to get some answers. They’ve been a long time coming. We’ll see more of Michael and Maria soon. Kyle and Tess, you can be sure they won’t give up without a fight.

killjoy: Lol, well, he had a different background and that kinda changes things.

Jack’s his best friend and he’s glad to lend an ear.

Healerfan: Hey!

Thanks, we’ve got more coming right up!




Part 110

“Boys,” Kyle complained and glanced in the rearview mirror. “Could you be any louder if you tried?” His ears were hurting from the loud words Andy, Justin, and Nick had been throwing at each other for the past hour now.

“It’s an important game,” Justin said, glancing up from the iPad he was holding since he had taken the middle seat between the other two.

“The Giants won the game,” Jack sad dryly.

All three teenagers stared at the back of his head, perplexed. “Why’d you tell us?” Nick asked.

“Great, now you ruined the game for us, Jack,” Andy groaned and slouched down in his seat. “You know we wanted to watch the game.”

“Yeah, and your uncle’s trying to drive, which is nearly impossible with all the shouting going on from the backseat.”

Kyle looked at his partner and grinned, well aware that he was earning death glares from the backseat. “Thank God it wasn’t me who told them,” he said, amused, and turned onto a smaller street. At almost 10 pm they were finally reaching Roswell again and he didn’t know which feeling outweighed the other… The relief that he was finally able to get three chaotic boys back to their parents or the anticipation of seeing Tess again.

“And I thought you guys were cool,” Justin grumbled and crossed his arms over his chest, suddenly not interested in the game on the little screen in front of them anymore.

“Yeah, that was pretty much the uncoolest thing ever,” Nick agreed. “Dad would’ve never revealed the results of a game like that.”

“Well, you can be happy that you’re back home then, right?” Kyle asked and turned into the driveway of the Evans family.

The twins hurried to unfasten their seatbelts and got out of the car to grab their stuff. The front door of the house opened immediately. “You guys are pretty late,” Max said and shook Kyle’s hand when he got out of the car.

“We had a late start and the highway was backed up.”

“Dad, can you imagine this? Jack and Kyle just told us the results of the Giants game from this afternoon when we were watching it in the car,” Justin complained and hugged his father briefly.

“They were getting on our nerves with all the shouting,” Jack explained, but stayed in the car.

“I so can imagine,” Liz chuckled as she joined them and nodded in greeting. “It’s probably your own fault boys. I know how you are when you’re watching a football game.” She turned to look at Kyle. “I can imagine your relief that you can hand them off again.”

“Ah, well, they weren’t that bad,” he grinned and went to help to get the twins’ stuff out of the car before climbing back behind the steering wheel. “Hope you two enjoyed your time off this weekend.”

“You can count on it,” Max winked and put an arm around his wife. He was about to say he’d find out on his own once he had kids, but at the last second he realized how tactless that would be considering the current situation, and he bit his tongue.

“Thanks for getting them outta town for a while,” Liz said and took a step back when Kyle started the engine again.

“Nothing to thank me for,” he winked at her and then let the car roll backwards.

Max dropped his arm again and turned to look at his sons, taking a few bags from them. “Alright, let’s get inside, boys.”

“First thing you make sure everything’s ready for school tomorrow,” their mom reminded and followed them, hoping that Kara wouldn’t wake up from all the noise. It would be nearly impossible to get her back to sleep afterwards if she did. “And be quiet so you don’t wake up your sister.”

“Mom,” both boys complained at the same time.

“You two listen to what your mother said,” Max replied and opened the front door, followed by some groaning from the boys. “Didn’t you just miss them so much?” he asked his wife teasingly.

She laughed slightly and kissed each of her boys on the cheeks. “Leave your stuff in the kitchen, we’ll unpack it tomorrow. I want you to get washed up and ready for school.” From the look in the twins’ eyes, she could tell that they’d had a great but exhausting weekend.

“You’re not expecting us to tell you every detail about the weekend, are you?” Justin asked.

“No,” Liz said and saw the relief in her boy’s eyes. “Not tonight anyway. We’ll have lots of time for that tomorrow.”

Max smirked when Nick and Justin were about to complain again, but decided that it wasn’t worth the energy at the last minute. He waited until they had rushed upstairs before he spoke to Liz again. “They look beat.”

“Oh, yeah, but they’d never admit it,” she chuckled and placed one of the smaller backpacks on the stack of other things in the corner.

“As long as they had a good time,” he wrapped his arms around her. “I’ll miss the quiet.”

“Yeah,” she sighed. “But let’s be honest, we’re not really made for a quiet life, are we?”

“No,” he said and settled his hand on her belly. “And it’s probably a good thing with our fourth kid on the way, huh?”

*****

“Should I drop you off at Michael’s house?” Kyle asked, glancing at Andy in the passenger’s seat after they had dropped Jack off at the hotel Shayna was staying at.

“Ungh, no,” the boy made a face. “I’m not interested in watching Mom and Michael during her date. Just take me home. I texted Mom already that I’m at home now.”

“Alright,” Kyle agreed and was glad he didn’t have drive to Michael’s house as well. The sooner he was alone, the sooner he could get back to Tess and see how she was doing. It had probably been bad timing for the weekend trip after everything that had happened during the week, but he knew the boys would’ve been disappointed if they had cancelled it last minute.

Andy looked down when his cell buzzed and smiled slightly when he read her message.

Dad’s out on a date with Isabel, we could meet for a goodnight kiss?

“Your girlfriend glad that you’re back home?” Kyle asked knowingly. The goofy grin on the boy’s face could only mean that the text he had gotten was from Sam.

“Sure, who wouldn’t,” Andy said back with a smirk.

“So this’s something serious with you and the Whitman girl?”

“Uncle Kyle, do you really wanna have this conversation right now?” The boy made a face. He was really not in the mood to talk about his girl, he was more anxious to visit her.

“I’m just asking if you like her.”

“We wouldn’t be together if I didn’t like her,” Andy countered, indirectly answering the question.

Kyle nodded, knowing all too well how he had been at that age. “Just asking. You know, I was your age once, believe it or not. And at your age we just don’t like girls because of their nice character… It’s more like…”

“Whoa, first you guys ruin the game for us and now you’re giving me the sex lecture, Uncle Kyle?”

“Well,” the older man scratched his head. Somehow he felt the need to talk about sex with the boy since his father couldn’t and Michael wouldn’t yet. He was sure Maria had already discussed this subject with Andy, but he knew from experience that talking to a man about things was different then talking about it with your mother. “I’m just saying that physical attraction’s a big part at your age.”

“And it’s not at yours?” the teenager asked doubtfully.

Kyle laughed. “Oh, no, it still is. Believe me when I say that’ll never be over but with time you learn to deal with it more rationally than you do in high school.” He waited to see if Andy had anything to say, but when he stayed quiet he started once again. “I made some pretty bad hormone-driven mistakes back at that age and while I know every young man has to make his own experiences and mistakes, I’d like to see you do better than me.”

“Like not cheating?” Andy asked, knowing that there was an issue with him and Aunt Tess way back when they had been in a relationship in high school.

“Yeah, that and other stuff.” Kyle turned into the driveway of his sister’s house and stopped the car before looking at the boy. “We tend to put the physical part first and the thinking and feeling part way after that and I know it’ll sound stuffy to your ears, but most of the time that comes back at us, because once the rush of the moment is over we’re actually able to think and sometimes with that comes the regret, so….”

“Long story short, you’re telling me to think before I have sex, right?”

The older man looked at him, surprised. “Well… yeah.”

Andy rolled his eyes. Why didn’t adults just say what they really wanted to say? “I’m going inside now, Uncle Kyle.”

“Sure.” They climbed out of the car and got the teenager’s things out. “Want me to help carry it inside?”

“Nah, I’m good. Bet Aunt Tess is already waiting for you to get home, so…”

“Okay,” Kyle agreed and boxed the boy’s upper arm slightly. “Take care. The weekend was fun.”

“Yeah,” he said with a grin. “Until you told us about the results of the game anyway.”

“That was Jack.”

“Whatever.” Andy smirked and lifted his hand when his uncle climbed back into his car and drove off.

He waited until he was sure he was out of sight then grabbed his stuff to throw it over the little fence that framed the backyard. He pulled out his phone and punched in a short message for Sam.

I’m on my way.

*****

Kyle turned the key in the lock and pushed the door open wide so he and his gear from the weekend would fit through it all at once. He winced when one of the bags brushed against the huge white floor vase Tess liked so much and the thing tipped to one side, then to the other before it crashed to the ground.

Damn, he dropped his other things and hurried to see if it was damaged. Thank God, it was still in one piece.

“What – “ A soft mumble came out of the depths of the room.

Kyle turned around in the semi-dark room and saw Tess sitting up on the couch, looking like she had been in a deep sleep. “I’m sorry, babe, I didn’t mean to wake you up.”

“What time is it?” she asked, still disoriented. How long had she been asleep?

“Almost 10:30,” he said quietly and closed the door before he hurried to her on the couch. His arms settled around her in a soft grip after sitting down and he couldn’t help but think how gorgeous she looked all sleepy and only dressed in one of his jerseys. “Wasn’t expecting you’d already be asleep,” he buried his face against her neck and breathed in the mixture of sweet perfume and her own scent. “Long day?”

“Yeah,” she finally woke up enough to realize the situation and climbed into his lap, straddling him with her full weight. “I missed you.” Images of her former dream flashed through her mind and reminded her of what it had been about – it hadn’t been anything G-rated.

Kyle kissed her neck briefly and then licked over the spot. He sensed the sudden change in her behavior and felt his own mood going from happiness to incredible horniness in a heartbeat. His grip around her loosened and his palms rested on her bare thighs. He stretched his fingers out on her soft skin before moving them upwards slowly.

“Missed me too?” she whispered playfully, knowing he was right there with her. Her lower body moved forward while she used most of her weight to press herself down into his lap.

“You gotta ask?” he croaked out. Damn, he’d have probably skipped the formal talk with his nephew as well as some of the red lights to get to her sooner if he’d known what was waiting for him at home. His hands pushed the jersey higher until he reached her hips. Only now he recognized that she wasn’t wearing anything else and it made him hard as a rock beneath her.

Tess smiled when she recognized his reaction towards her and gripped a handful of his short hair to make him look at her. They were both already breathing heavily when their eyes met and it got worse when Kyle used his hands on her hips to push her down on him, while his hips pressed in the opposite direction. Their lips crashed together in a heated passionate kiss while she fumbled with his belt.

Somewhere back in his mind, Kyle suddenly thought about how ridiculous his speech to Andy was with what was going on here. He quickly pushed those thoughts aside and lifted his hips up from the couch so Tess was able to push his jeans and boxers down. It only worked for a few inches, but it was all they needed right now.

Her small hand wrapped around his length firmly and she wasted no time going slow at first. “God,” Kyle gasped breathlessly and let his head fall back against the couch to keep himself in control as much as possible.

His hands flexed on her sides a few times, teasing the soft skin there, before he ran them down again, his thumbs stretching out as far as possible to rub along her mound. Her deep groans as well as the bucking of her hips showed him how much she liked the move and it encouraged him to let one of his hands wander further to the center of her body. His palm rested flat against her mound, pressing against her with different intensity each time while his thumb wandered further down to rub the wet slightly swollen flesh there.

The fact that she was so ready for him after this short time turned him on even more and he hurried to stop the movements of her hand on him. “Let’s do it right,” he mumbled against her lips hoarsely and waited until she had removed her touch from him.

His hands once more changed positions, going back to her hips to place her right above him. As soon as he felt her wet opening against his tip, he pushed her down hard and bucked his hips up to get inside as deeply as possible.

“Kyle,” she gasped and wrapped his arms around his neck tightly.

He groaned against her shoulder from the overwhelming feeling and bit her skin though the jersey while his grip didn’t allow her to move. He concentrated on the feeling of being inside her for a moment longer before his hands sank lower until he reached her ass and pushed her down on him firmly, but gently.

He repeated the move until they both fell into a fast and intense rhythm. Their arms were wrapped around each other tightly, faces buried against each other’s necks while they just enjoyed the feeling of being joined so closely and intensely.

Tess pressed her lower body harder against him, rubbing herself against him wildly to get the much needed release. He noticed her desperate moves for more friction and leaned forward. “Hold onto me tightly,” he instructed shortly and when she did as he had asked, he moved them both forward from the couch to the coffee table right in front of him.

His knees hit the ground hard, but he ignored the pain as well as the shattering sound of a few things that were wiped from the surface when he pressed his girlfriend down on the table. His hands moved to the backs of her thighs and settled in the space between her knees to pull her against him.

“Oh God,” she gasped and used both hands to grab the edge of the table above her head to encourage him.

Kyle spread her legs further apart and bent over her, letting his hips roll against her and making sure that he was adding pressure to her clit with each move as well. Yeah, this was the right position, he thought when he saw the concentrated look on her face. A very good sign that he was touching the most important parts of her body and that she was close.

The speed of his movements increased again and it wasn’t until sweat dripped from his forehead that he noticed the intensity of it. With one hand he reached up to loosen Tess’ hand from her tight grip on the table. He intertwined their fingers and squeezed them tightly when he could feel his orgasm getting close.

“Love you,” she pressed out and set one of her feet on top of the table while the other stayed on the ground.

“Love…too,” he answered breathlessly and used his free hand to push her raised leg further towards her own body so he could sink in even deeper. He pounded into her again and rolled his hips to add pressure when he suddenly felt her body stiffen. Her inner muscles contracted around him while she squeezed his hand painfully.

His eyes stayed focused on her face when she came until the wave of his own orgasm hit him hard and made him lose feeling of time. Their bodies moved uncontrollably against each other for a few seconds until they calmed down just enough to remember to breathe. “I don’t think I’ve ever felt anything as intense as that,” she panted, her legs and arms still tingling from the sensation.

“Yeah,” he agreed with a smirk, his own arms wobbly when he steadied himself on the surface of the table surface so he wouldn’t crush her. “I’d go away for the weekend more often if I always get a greeting like this.”

She laughed slightly, the sound in his ears the most amazing thing. “I’m afraid they call these moments a stand alone.”

“Too bad,” he kissed her nose gently. “My knees hurt so I’d better get up.” Slowly he backed away from her and winced when something crunched underneath him.

“Did you just break my grandma’s bowl?” Tess asked. alarmed.

He looked at her with an apologetic grin. “A minute ago you didn’t seem to care.”

*****

Sam smiled when she noticed Andy in front of her house through the window. She glanced down at herself, wondering if she should’ve changed into something more decent then her grey sweatpants and a snug tight black pullover, but it was probably too late for that now. Opening the front door, she walked outside on the porch and down the steps, her heartbeat increasing with every step as she got closer to her boyfriend. It was really amazing how much the anticipation of meeting again could grow over a weekend.

“Dressed up for me?” he asked with a smirk while he waited for her. His hands were hidden in his pants pocket as he leaned on the fence in front of the house.

She couldn’t help but think how good he looked this way and he probably didn’t even know it. “Yeah,” she answered and turned around, arms stretched out away from her body. “Do you like my new style?”

Andy snorted and reached out to her with one hand to tug her close against him. “Works for me.” He bent down to give her a brief kiss on the lips. “Planning on goin’ to school this way tomorrow?”

“Who knows… maybe.”

“Alright, make sure you tell me so I can wear my jogging suit as well. I heard the partner looks are totally in lately.”

“Seems like someone found a new sense of humor over the weekend,” Sam said and wrapped her arms around him.

“Out with the twins and my uncle? You gotta have a lot of humor to survive that,” he answered, not really meaning it though. His arms came around her while he rested his chin on her head.

“Did you have fun?”

“It was cool,” he agreed. “Didn’t have a good signal for the cell, so… Yeah, that’s my reason for not calling you.”

She laughed slightly. “Don’t worry about it.”

“What’ve you been doin’?”

Sam rested her head against his chest while she thought about it. “Hmm, I met up with Jenny and Sarah, went to the movies with my Dad to watch the new Channing Tatum movie.”

He cheered internally. Now he wouldn’t have to go with her to watch that ridiculous good-looking guy every girl was drooling over.

“You’re happy about that, huh?”

“Very, yeah!” Andy didn’t even try to hide his relief.

“I have the feeling Dad was pretty happy when it was over too,” she snorted and lifted her head to look at him. “I’m meeting my Mom this week.”

He lifted his eyebrow. “Yeah? When?”

“Not sure yet,” she sighed. “I’m totally nervous about it.”

Well, she had every right to be nervous, he thought. She had never really met her mom before and there was a lot of expectations, but also a lot that could disappoint. “Don’t worry about it too much.”

“I’m trying.”

He used one hand to raise her chin up to kiss her more properly this time. The dialogue between him and his uncle came to mind all of the sudden and he damned Kyle for bringing that subject up tonight.

“Everything okay?” Sam asked when she felt his hesitation.

“Yeah, just…” he shook his head, “thinking about something my uncle said.”

“What was it?”

Andy smirked. “You don’t wanna know,” and kissed her again. Evans, relax, it’s just kissing.

Sam let it go for now and stood up on her tiptoes to deepen the kiss. She had imagined this all weekend and now he was finally back.

“When will your Dad be back?” he mumbled against her lips.

“Soon.” She sighed. “And yeah that means you should probably go before he catches you here. He’s been kinda cool about us lately, but I doubt he’d appreciate late night meetings.”

“Probably not,” he agreed and stole another brief kiss from her before he pulled away. “Want me to pick you up for school tomorrow?”

“Sure,” she agreed.

“Alright. Get some sleep an’ I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Ok, bye for now.” Sam grinned and leaned in for another kiss before she walked back up to the porch and watched him leave.




We will start to post our new fic "Double Empire" next week (AU with Alien). Here is a little trailer:

DOUBLE EMPIRE