Love Conquers All
by Dani
CHAPTER ONE
"I can't believe this is happening to me. How could he do this to me,
Mom? I thought he loved me." Meg sat, crying, in her parents home back in
Ludlow. She'd been there for several hours since her flight, but she had
been crying the entire time. She had thought she would be mad at Ben for
doing this to her, but how could she? She loved him, as much as she hated
to admit it at this point, after the situation they were in now. She was
broken hearted. Why couldn't he put Maria behind him? Meg thought that he
loved her, not Maria, after their night in the cave, but now she was having
some major second thoughts.
"Mom, I just don't understand it. The whole time I thought we were
falling in love he was just using me as a replacement for her. How could he
do this to me?"
Joan took Meg in her arms and tried to comfort her the best way a
mother could. "Meg, honey, I'm sure everything is going to be alright."
"Meggie, I'm going to take care of that man if it's the last thing I
do," Hank injected, doing his best to make his daughter feel better.
"I think I just need a little time to myself to sort all of this out,"
Meg said as she stood to go to her room.
"I'll be in the kitchen if you need me for anything, sweetie," Joan
said.
In her room, Meg lay on the familiar bed, in the familiar surroundings
of the place she had grown up. "I gave myself to him. I thought we loved
each other. How could he just use me? I thought he was different. I
though he was my soul mate..."
Meg tried to find an explanation for Ben's behavior to no avail. She
just couldn't let him by with this. There was no excuse for his actions.
He had called her Maria and she couldn't stand for that. He was supposed to
put her behind him, but he had obviously never forgotten her.
Meg stayed in her room for an entire week. She wasn't sure if she
wanted Ben to come find her, but she had thought he would. He hadn't made
it yet, though, and she was surprised, to say the least. She had hardly
eaten anything the last few days, although her mother had been insistent on
a few meals. She was physically sick everyday and she couldn't understand
why. Joan finally convinced her to see a doctor, and now, here she sat,
alone, waiting.
"Ms. Cummings, the doctor will see you now," the receptionist piped
cheerily from her little desk by the door.
"Right this way, honey." A nurse led her to the examining room.
Several minutes later, the doctor arrived.
"Good afternoon, Ms. Cummings. I understand you aren't feeling very
well."
"If I were feeling well, I wouldn't be here right now, so I guess you're
right," she snapped. After she realized what kind of attitude she had, she
quickly apologized. "I'm sorry. I just haven't been feeling myself
lately."
"I understand, Ms. Cummings. What kind of symptoms have you had?"
"I've been sick every day for the last week. I've been nauseous and
dizzy, but I think it's just all of the stress I've been under lately. I'm
only here because of my mother. She insisted I come."
"You could be right, but is it possible that you are pregnant, Ms.
Cummings?"
Meg looked at the doctor inquisitively. What was he thinking? She
couldn't have a baby now. She had only been with Ben and she just
couldn't...
"I suppose it's possible, but it was only one time."
"Then it could have happened. I'm going to run a pregnancy test, just
to be sure. I'll have the results in a few hours," the doctor said.
Later that evening, Meg was still waiting for the doctor to call. She
sat in her room, thinking about the possibility. "I can't have a baby now.
I just can't. Ben and I are... No. I'm not pregnant. I've just been
under a lot of stress. Yes, that's it. Stress. The test has to be
negative."
RING!! RING!!
"I'll get it, Mom," she called down the stairs. She picked up the
phone in her room, nervously.
"Hello?"
"Hello. This is Dr. Jones. May I speak to Meg Cummings, please?"
"This is Meg, doctor. Do you have the results?" she asked, uncertain
about what she was about to hear.
"Yes, I do. Ms. Cummings, you are undoubtedly pregnant."
"What?" she asked, ready to cry.
"The test was positive. You are definitely going to have a baby," the
doctor replied.
Through her tears, she managed to utter a polite "Thank you" and hung
up the phone. She immediately let the tears go and eventually heard her
mother at the door.
"Meg, honey, are you alright?"
"I'm fine, Mom," she called through her sobs.
Joan pushed the door open slightly and asked, "Can I come in for a
minute, sweetie?"
"Sure, Mom," Meg replied as she wiped the tears from her cheeks and pur
a fake smile on her face.
"Who was that on the phone?"
"No one important. It was nothing," she lied.
"Meg, you have a visitor. He seems very insistent on seeing you."
"I'm not in a very good condition for visitors right now, Mom."
"Honey, I think you really need to talk to him. I'll send him up."
Before Meg could reply, Joan was on her way down the stairs to fetch
the visitor.
"Oh, Mom. I can't do this right now." She clutched her stomach and
began to speak to the baby growing inside her. "I'm so sorry, little one.
I wish you didn't have to come right now." She began crying again. "I'm in
no condition to be raising a baby alone. You deserve so much better than I
could ever give you. You would have loved your father. I did."
Meg had to cut her conversation with the baby short when she heard
footsteps in the hallway and a gentle knock on the door. "Come in," she
called hesitantly.
She watched as the door slowly opened and she was shocked when she
saw...
"Ben..."
CHAPTER TWO
"Ben..."
"Meg, please don't throw me out. I really need to talk to you. I know
that you have a very good reason to be angry with me, but please, just let
me try to explain this whole thing to you."
Meg tries to regain her composure to listen to Ben, but has a difficult
time allowing herself to stop crying. "Alright. I'm listening."
"Thank you, Meg. I don't exactly know where to start. About the
cave-in... Meg, I'm sorry that I couldn't remember. I was out of it, but I
loved you then and I love you now. Nothing could change that."
"Ben..."
"Please, Meg, let me finish. I had no idea I was calling you Maria all
of that time. It was all Annie's fault..."
"Ben, I know she is a real pest, but you can't blame EVERYTHING on
her."
"But this WAS Annie's fault. She planted a post hypnotic suggestion in
me that made me call you Maria. I had no idea I was doing it. She and Tim
were working together."
"Tim? I knew he was scum, but..."
"He's worse than just scum, Meg. He and Annie tried to destroy the
love that was growing between us. We simply can't let them win. I love
you, Meg Cummings. I don't want to lose you. I want to spend the rest of
my life with you. There has never been anyone in my life that has made me
feel the way you do. My life is so much better now and it's all because of
you. I'm sorry if I'm being selfish, Meg, but I'm NOT going to let you go."
After Ben's speech, Meg bursts into tears. "Ben, I love you, but how
am I ever going to be able to forget about what happened?" Meg can't help
but think that she'll never be able to forget it because of the life inside
her. She absentmindedly clutches her stomach.
"We can get through it, Meg. There's nothing we can't do - together."
"Ben, you just don't know what has happened since I left. I don't know
how to tell you everything I know now. To be honest, I don't know if I even
WANT to tell you, but I know that you deserve to know everything."
"Then, please, Meg, tell me. You can tell me anything."
"Ben, I'm pregnant..."
CHAPTER THREE
"Ben, I'm pregnant..."
Ben looked at her, shocked. For a moment he had no idea what to say.
He kept thinking about how he had forgotten about making love to Meg. How
could he have forgotten the night his child was conceived?
"Pregnant? Meg, how could you be... I mean, we only... I don't see
how... Meg, it was only one time. How could you be pregnant?"
Meg began crying again. She sobbed as she answered Ben. "I think you
know exactly how I got pregnant, Ben Evans. One time is all it takes. I
thought it was impossible, too, until the doctor called half an hour ago."
"So you're absolutely positive that you're pregnant?"
"Yes, Ben, and I don't know what I'm supposed to do now. I definitely
wasn't planning this. I wasn't even planning on that night. I can't raise
this child alone and I can't keep him from you. I just don't know what I'm
going to do about this..."
"I know exactly what you're going to do. You're coming back to Sunset
Beach with me, Meg. I love you, even though you are denying that fact. I
didn't know it then, but I loved you when I first met you as Dorothy. I
loved you when our eyes met the first day you were in Sunset Beach. I loved
you when our child was conceived. And I love you now, Meg. I told you that
nothing can change that. You may not see it clearly now, but I will do
everything in my power to make you believe me. We are going to raise our
child together, Meg. I love you and I love that baby. You are the only
woman I want to be the mother of my children. You are the only woman I want
to be my wife..."
"Ben, please stop. I can't do this right now..." she cried.
"Meg, I'm not finished." He lowered himself to one knee by her bed.
"Meg Cummings, I love you. Would you please be my wife?"
"Ben, I can't. I just can't... Please leave, Ben. I can't talk to
you right now. I shouldn't have told you about the baby - not now. Please,
Ben, just go." She continued weeping as she watched Ben stand. She could
have sworn she saw a tear in his eye as he walked away...
"I WILL be back, Meg. I'm never going to leave you." His voice
cracked. "I really do love you, you know..."
Meg watched as her soul mate left her little bedroom in Ludlow. She
listened to each of his footsteps as he descended the stairs. "Why does he
have to do this to me? Why is he making it so hard for me to stop loving
him?CHAPTER FOUR
The next morning, Meg awoke to a beautiful day. The sun was shining,
the birds were singing - the perfect day in Ludlow, Kansas. She looked out
the window and saw her parents at the barn. "Working as usual, I suppose,"
she thought aloud. Meg reluctantly got dressed and went downstairs.
"Oh, no, not again. Not so soon..." she uttered under her breath as
she walked into the living room to see Ben waiting for her.
"Meg. Did you sleep well? How are you feeling, darling?"
"Ben, I thought I asked you to leave," she sighed.
"You did ask me to leave, Meg, last night, but I told you that I would
be back and here I am."
"Ben, I need some time to think. I can't talk to to you right now. I
need to sort this mess out on my own before I bring you into this."
"Meg, you brought me into this when you told me that you are carrying
my child."
"I know, but please just give me a few hours alone. I promise you that
we will talk, but later. Come back in a few hours and we'll talk then."
"Alright. If that's what you want, I'll go. I'll see you in a few
hours." He headed towards the door and then turned back to Meg. "I love
you, Meg."
Meg watched as Ben walked out the door. She went into the kitchen,
found a pitcher of fresh orange juice, and poured herself a glass. She
walked outside and sat on the porch swing, watching her parents in the
distance. "Oh, Dad, what are you going to say when I tell you about the
baby?" She placed her hand on her stomach and began crying. "This isn't at
all what you had expected of me, is it, Mom? I'm supposed to be the perfect
little farm girl from Kansas. I'm sorry, but I've ruined that now."
She finally stopped crying and went inside. Her parents would be out
for hours and she needed that time to think. By the time she heard Ben
drive up, she knew exactly what she was going to say.
"Hi, Meg. Is it alright if I come in?" he asked when Meg opened the
door. He noticed that she seemed to be a little more in control than she
had been the night before and earlier that morning.
"Sure, come in." She led him to the living room and motioned for him
to sit down. "Ben, I've thought about this a lot and I think I'm ready to
talk about it."
"Okay, let's talk then."
"First of all, Ben, I can't accept you proposal."
"What? Why?"
"Because I know the reason that you asked. You had no intention of
proposing marriage last night until you found out that I'm pregnant, did
you?"
"Well, no, I didn't, but Meg I love you and if I hadn't asked last
night, I would have asked sooner or later. I didn't ask you to marry me
because of the baby, Meg. I asked you to marry me because I love you and I
want to spend the rest of my life with you."
Listening to Ben pouring his heart out to her, Meg lost it again. "Oh,
Ben, I just don't see how we're going to make it through this. There have
been so many things thrown against us. How are we ever going to survive
this?" she cried.
"I don't have all of the answers right now, Meg. All I know is that I
love you and I think that you love me." He paused, realizing he was no
longer sure about Meg's feelings toward him. "You do love me, don't you,
Meg?" he questioned.
"Ben, I DO love you. I DO want to spend the rest of my life with you.
I DO want to marry you, but..."
"No buts, Meg."
She ignored him. "But, Ben, I don't want to force you into something
you'll regret later. If I hadn't told you that I'm pregnant, you wouldn't
have asked me to marry you. You said that yourself."
"I also said that had I not proposed last night, I would be proposing
sooner or later. What is it going to take to convince you that I love you?"
he asked, frustrated.
"I want to believe you, Ben, but how do I know that you're over your
dead wife?" she challenged.
"That's just it, Meg. She's DEAD. She can't hurt our love for one
another. And I NEVER loved her as much as I love you..."
Meg sat beside him on the sofa and leaned into his chest, finally
weakening. "I'm sorry. I've been so stupid about this. I love you, Ben.
I'm just not exactly sure about all of this right now."
"I know, darling, I know. It's been a lot for you to handle," he
comforted, stroking her hair.
"I really am glad that I'm having your baby, Ben. I know it wasn't
planned, but..."
"But you must admit that it's pretty amazing that after only one
night..."
"I know. Maybe it's meant to be... I'm so sorry, Ben."
"I told you, Meg. I understand. We're going to be just fine... I
love you, Meg Cummings." He kissed her forehead tenderly.
She rose to look into his eyes. "And I love you, Ben Evans."
He took her chin in his hand and kissed her. It felt so good to feel
her lips on his again...
"I promise you, darling, everything is going to be just fine..."
CHAPTER FIVE
For hours, Meg rested quietly in Ben's arms, forgetting about their
troubles for that short, peaceful time. Later that afternoon, Meg's parents
returned to the house.
"Hi, honey. Hi, Ben. Good, it looks like the two of you have kissed
and made up," Joan observed.
"I don't know if that's such a good thing, Joannie," Hank injected.
"Hank, let's not start right now," she replied. with the ever popular
'behave yourself' look. Joan then returned her gaze to Ben and Meg. "Is
everything alright between the two of you?"
"I think we're going to be alright now, Mom." Meg smiled, hoping she
was right. "We still have some things to talk about, though, right Ben?"
"Absolutely. We have a LOT to talk about," he smiled. "As a matter of
fact, I'd like to talk over dinner tonight. What do you say, Meg?"
"Okay. Why not?" she replied.
"I'll pick you up at seven," he continued. He kissed her and
whispered, "I love you," and stood to leave.
"Ben, I'd like to talk to you for a minute, if you don't mind." Hank
looked angry.
"Of course, Mr. Cummings."
"Let's step into the kitchen, Meg. I need you to help me with
something." Joan led Meg into the little kitchen, knowing that the scene in
the living room was not going to be pretty.
"What did you want to talk about, Mr. Cummings?"
"Ben, you certainly did have Meg upset about something. She wouldn't
tell us everything, but I could definitely see that you were the cause of it
all. I don't appreciate it when someone hurts one of my children, Ben."
"Mr. Cummings, when I hurt Meg, I really didn't realize what I was
doing. I can make this promise to you. I would NEVER hurt Meg
intentionally. I love her and the - uh, I love her more than life itself."
"I certainly hope so, because if you EVER hurt her again, you can
expect to hear from me and it won't be a friendly chat either."
"I understand."
"What's going on out here?" Meg asked as she returned to the living
room.
"Nothing, Meggie. Ben was just on his way out."
"Yes, I was. I'll see you at seven, Meg." He kissed her softly and
then left.
After he had gone, Joan questioned Meg. "Honey, are you sure
everything is alright?"
"If something's wrong, Meggie, I'll take care of it for you," Hank
added.
"No, everything's great, but there's something I need to tell you..."
CHAPTER SIX
"Prgenant?!? What the - When did this happen?" Hank asked angrily.
"Did Ben do this to you? I'll kill him..."
"Hank, calm down," Joan said as she tried to soothe Meg who had begun
crying.
"Dad, it takes two. It wasn't just Ben, you know..."
"Meg, how could you do this? Never in a million years would I have
expected this from you." Hank began to soften when he finally let the last
week sink in. "So THAT'S why you've been so upset. You left him because
you were pregnant."
"No, Dad, I didn't find out about the baby until yesterday afternoon."
"Then why were you so upset before? What did he do to you, Meg?" Hank
asked, beginning to become upset again.
"I really don't want to talk about it now, Dad," Meg responded. "Ben
will be here in an hour and I've got to go change." With that, she rushed
up to her room, tears still in her eyes.
Meg hurried downstairs when she heard Ben at the door. "I'l get the
door, Mom," she yelled.
"Hi, darling. Are you ready to - "
"You idiot! How could you do this to my daughter? A baby - She
doesn't need that right now. She's too young to be raising a child," Hank
shot out at Ben.
"Why don't you let Meg and I handle this ourselves? We're both mature
adults and can make our own decisions..."
"I'll bet you were pretty happy when you decided to sleep with my
little girl, weren't you?"
"Daddy, I already told you. Please don't snap at Ben. It's not
entirely his fault, you know, and I'm NOT a little girl anymore. I'm a
grown woman and I can handle this myself. Don't wait up for me." She took
Ben's hand and led him out the door to his car. "I can't believe this. I
thought he was okay with it when I told him."
"Meg, listen to me. Your dad is just upset right now. I'm sure I
would be, too, if our little girl told us she was pregnant and not married.
Now let's just enjoy this evening and forget about your father." He looked
over at Meg in the passenger's seat and reached to wipe a single tear from
her cheek. "Meg..."
"Ben, I lied to my father."
"What do you mean, darling?"
"I told him that I could handle this myself and I just can't do it,
Ben."
"Hey, we talked about this, remember? Everything's going to be fine.
I'm not going anywhere. We can make it through this. I promise..."
CHAPTER SEVEN
After dinner, Ben drove to a secluded spot he had found earlier. Meg
noticed how beautiful the green meadow was and questioned Ben.
"Where are you taking me, Ben? she asked.
Ben looked at her and smiled mischeviously at her as he stopped the
car. "You told your parents not to wait up for you, didn't you?"
"Yes I did, but what are we doing here?"
He stepped out of the car, walked over to the passenger's side, opened
Meg's door, and helped her out. "I thought we'd just gaze at the stars for
a while. You don't mind do you?"
"Of course not. It's beautiful out here tonight. I always loved
coming out and just laying under the moon when I lived here in Kansas." she
smiled.
Ben opened the trunk of tha car and pulled out a blanket. Then he took
her hand and led her to a cozy spot. "There now," he said as he finished
spreading the blanket out on the ground. "How is that?"
"This is great, Ben," she replied as she sat down on the blanket.
Ben sat beside her and took her in his arms. "I hope we stay like this
forever. I love holding you in my arms, Meg."
"And I love being in your arms and I hope we stay like this forever,
too."
Meg lay down on the blanket beside of Ben and looked up at the clear
night sky. "Isn't it beautiful, Ben? The stars look so bright tonight."
Ben joined her by laying down beside her and putting his arm around
her. "Yes, it is beautiful, and so are you. You're a beautiful pregnant
woman, Meg."
Meg looked into his eyes and smiled. "Ben, what do you really think
about this baby?"
"Meg, I love you and the baby. Even though we weren't planning this
right now I know there has to be a reason for this baby to be here. There's
a plan for him. Maybe he's supposed to bring his mother and father closer."
"I guess you're right. I know that this baby is here for a reason and
I love him, too." She smiled at him and gave him a peck on the lips. "And
I love you, too."
They lay in silence for hours. Both of them eventually fell asleep and
they spent the night in each other's arms, under the stars...
CHAPTER EIGHT
"Good morning, Meg," Ben whispered to his beloved, who was still by his
side after an entire night of peacefulness in one another's arms.
"Mmm... Good morning." Meg rubbed her eyes and finally really awoke.
"Morning? Are you saying that we've been here all night long?"
"Exactly. It was pretty nice having you in my arms for an entire
night." He smiled and rubbed her arm gently. "Did you sleep well,
darling?"
"Well, I usually don't sleep outside on the ground, but I actually did
sleep well. It must have been having you next to me. I like it." She
smiled at him as she sat up. "My parents are probably ready to kill me."
"I don't think your dad would have had any problems killing me last
night. He was rather upset. I don't see why. I'm looking forward to
having a little one around. I've never been called 'daddy' before... I
like the sound of that." He patted her stomach and then bent down to kiss
her stomach. Then he looked up at Meg, finally realizing what was
happening. "There's a baby in there. Our baby... Meg, I'm so excited
about this. I can't believe that you and I are this lucky."
"Lucky? I don't call it luck when our lives are almost completely
ruined because of Annie Douglas. They tried to tear us apart."
"I can't wait to see what they do when we tell them about the baby.
Won't they be surprised?" Ben laughed.
"You'd better believe it," she replied. "But let's not tell anybody
about this right now. I'd like to wait a while - until we get everything
settled down again. I don't want anybody trying anything again."
Ben looked at her, listening to and lingering on her every word. "I
love you, Meg Cummings. I know that I already asked this last night, but I
think I'm going to try it again. Why not?" He took her hand in his.
"Ben, I don't want to -"
"Shhh..." He paused. "Meg, will you marry me?"
"Oh, Ben. I was trying to say that I don't want to hurt you. I'm
going to have to think about this, Ben. I'm not thinking clearly right now.
I need some time before I give you an answer."
"Of course. I should have thought before I asked again. Take all the
time you need. I'll be waiting..."
Meg decided to change the subject. "I think that you'd better take me
home unless you want my dad to come after you."
"You're right. Like you said, he's probably ready to kill me for
keeping you out all night."
"He'll get over it. He's going to have to learn that I'm a grown woman
and I can make my own choices."
"Well, let's go then. Shall we?" he asked as he stood and helped her
up from the ground.
"We shall..."
Ben took Meg to the car and they pulled up to the Cummings household
much too soon for either of them...
CHAPTER NINE
"What the - " Ben looked towards the Cummings household in awe as he
saw his two worst enemies - for the moment - walking towards the door.
"What are they doing here? I thought we left those two back in Sunset
Beach."
"Yeah, so did I. They're the last thing we need right now. Your Dad
is probably already lurking in the bushes, waiting for the perfect moment to
strike after I kept you out all night. We've got to get rid of them - send
them back to Sunset Beach - as soon as possible," Ben said as he opened the
car door and stepped out. Meg did the same and they walked hand in hand
toward the dastardly duo.
"Annie, Tim. Nice to see the two of you," Ben said sarcastically as
they met on the front porch.
"Yeah, great to see you, too, Ben." He noticed that Ben and Meg were
holding hands. "Get your hands off her. She doesn't need you after
everything you've done to her." Tim tried to pretend he'd done nothing to
hurt Meg, but he failed miserably.
"Tim, just shut up, okay. Ben's already filled me in on what you and
Annie did to him - and to me. I knew you were dirt, Tim, but I thought you
did your worst when you slept with Connie on our wedding day. I guess
anything you do shouldn't surprise me. You're scum, Tim. You know, you and
Annie are a perfect match. I'm glad you found each other. Now get off this
property. You're not welcome here."
"Oh, shut up yourself, Dorothy. There may be 'no place like home,' but
that doesn't mean you own the place. I've got just as much right to be here
as you do and I came to take Ben back with me. You don't deserve him,"
Annie growled.
Ben quickly defended Meg. "Mind your own business, Annie. You should
have never come here. You lost the right to interfere with our lives when
you planted that post hypnotic suggestion in me. I don't know why I ever
befriended you, Annie. Now get out of our way."
Ben pushed Annie and Tim aside and led Meg to the door of the little
farmhouse. He quickly led her inside, closed the door, and was met by Hank,
on his way to 'greet' them.
"Where have you two been? Isn't it enough that you got her pregnant,
Ben? Couldn't you at least bring her home at night?"
"Dad, I'm not in the mood to listen to this. I'm sick and tired of
hearing you bash Ben. I love him, Dad, and if you love me, you'll let me
make my own decisions about my life," Meg exclaimed, obivously upset about
what she and Ben had met when they got home. "You know, if this is the way
you're going to be, maybe I shouldn't have come home after last night.
Maybe I should have just left - gone back to Sunset Beach. I didn't come
home to listen to your complaints about how I've chosen to live my life. I
came home for you and Mom to comfort me but all I've heard since I told you
that I'm pregnant is rude comments about the father of my child and
commandments on what I should do. I'm not a little girl anymore, Daddy.
Why can't you understand that?"
"Meg, please stop before you say something you'll regret," Ben said as
he rubbed her shoulders. He tried to ease the tension between Meg and her
father by interrupting them.
Joan came into the room during the arguement and decided to cut in as
well. "Honey, your father is just trying to do what he thinks is best for
you. You've got to understand that, sweetie. In our eyes, you ARE still a
little girl and we're your parents. Our job is to protect you, and that's
what your Dad is doing - trying to protect you."
Meg looked at the three people in the room - three of the people she
cherished most in the world. "All I'm asking from you is your faith in me -
the faith that I can do what's right for myself. Daddy, I know you think
you're helping, but you're not. You're just making things worse. Mom,
you've been so patient through all of this and I thank you for that. I
think you're the only who has remained sane through this whole ordeal. And
Ben... We'll work this out. I just need time, and thank you for not
pushing me. I would just really appreciate it if you'll all stop arguing.
I can't stand this anymore. Dad, you've got to leave Ben alone, okay?
Please just let us do this."
"Hank, I really do love her," Ben added as Meg finished her speech. "I
told you that I wasn't going to hurt her, and I meant it. I love her - AND
the baby - too much to do that to her."
Ben and Meg stood together in front of Hank. Joan kept her distance as
Hank began talking again.
"Alright. I still don't approve of this, but I think that I can handle
it if this is what you want, Meg."
"Daddy, this IS what I want. I've told you that time and time again.
I guess you just weren't listening."
"Your Dad can be a little stubborn at times, Meg, but he loves you all
the same," Joan said.
Hank kissed Meg's forehead lightly. "I do love you, Meggie. I'm
sorry. You can make your own decisions about this mess. I'll try to stay
out of it." He shook Ben's hand hesitantly. "Let's call a truce, Ben. I'm
going to trust you with my little girl, Evans. You'd better take good care
of her and my grandchild." He paused. "Joannie, we're going to be
grandparents... I'm not old enough to be a grandpa," he smiled slightly.
A tear flowed down Meg's cheek as she listened to and watched her
father. "I love you, Daddy. Thank you," she cried.
CHAPTER TEN
"So you'll be here at three?"
"Yeah, three. The plane leaves at six, so that will give us plenty of
time to get there and be ready after saying good-bye to your parents."
"Alright. That sounds great. So I'll see you at three. Bye, Ben."
"Wait, Meg. Are you still there?"
"Yeah, I'm still here. What did you want?"
"Oh, I just wanted to tell you that I love you."
"Is that all? Oh, I'm just joking, Ben. I love you, too. Now, I've
got to go. I have some more things to pack before you get here."
"Alright. I'll let you go then. I'll see you at three. Oh, and
Meg..."
"What is it now, Ben?"
"I really do love you, you know."
"Of course. I love you, too. Now, please. I have to go. Bye, Ben."
"Bye, my love."
CLICK.
It had taken another week for Meg to finally make her decison. She
chose to go back to Sunset Beach with Ben after much arguing on his part,
although Meg knew she would have gone back with or without his influence
sooner or later. Now they were hours away from their flight back to
California and a new life.
At three, Meg was waiting in the living room with her mother and father
for Ben. They had already begun their good-byes and Ben had promised Meg's
parents that he would have them flown in to see their daughter any time.
Hank was thrilled with the idea, and it somehow comforted him to have seen
Ben and Meg together over the last few days, obviously very much in love.
Ben arrived at the Cummings household ready to take his beloved back
with him. Meg finished her good-byes and left the little farmhouse behind.
She knew that her future was in Sunset Beach with Ben, and she planned to
make it as bright a future as possible.
"Are you comfortable, Meg? Can I do anything for you?" Ben asked as
they sat on the plane, well on their way to Sunset Beach.
"I'm fine. I think I'd like to take a nap, though. Mind if I use your
shoulder for a while?"
"Of course I don't mind. You can lean on me anytime," he smiled.
Hours later, they arrived at their destination. On the drive home, Meg
fell asleep in the passenger's seat and when they arrived at Ben's house, he
gently shook her to wake her.
"Meg, darling, wake up. You're home now..."
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