TITLE: Picking Up The Pieces-Chapter
Ten
SETTING: Nov. 23, 2001-Dec.
2, 2001
AUTHOR: CTL (AugieSwan2@AOL.com)
SUMMARY: Mike and Jill strive
to give each other a second chance while Thomas prepares to go into the
Marines.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've been given
the job of putting Mike and Jill back together again, kind of like the
King's soldiers in 'Humpty Dumpty.'
Friday-Nov. 23, 2001
Jill woke up to the sound of
jungle drums pounding in her head. After several minutes she realized that
it was the piano being furiously played in the den. She staggered out of
bed and pulled her robe on before walking toward the sound of the music.
She stood in the doorway of the den watching Mary Kathryn furiously pounding
on the keys, her brow knotted in concentration. Usually the more light-hearted
of the two girls, when stressed, she had the tendency to take it out in
her piano playing, when she would play either 'Exodus' or 'Fur Elise' endlessly.
At the moment, it was Beethoven's 'Fur Elise.' Jill walked over and sat
down on the piano bench beside her daughter and tried to straighten out
her waist length curls.
"Where's Pete? Surely he's not
sleeping through all this racket," Jill smiled.
Mary Kathryn stopped playing
and looked at her in irritation. "He's outside helping daddy and Eddie
with some important project dealing with the wedding."
"Mary Kathryn, medical technology
changes all the time. You're only 24 years old. You still have plenty of
time before you need to worry about your biological clock ticking," Jill
tried to reassure her daughter.
"Mom, it isn't fair. You and
I both know that Michelle doesn't really want this baby. She's just having
it because Thomas wants it," Mary Kathryn complained.
"How do you know Michelle doesn't
want this baby? Did she tell you that?" Jill asked.
"No, but she did tell me when
I was here in September that Thomas wanted to have a family and she wasn't
sure if she was ready," Mary Kathryn answered slowly as she stared at the
piano keys. "I want one, mom," she whispered plaintively.
"Look, wait a few years and
then you can see other doctors," Jill advised as she hugged her daughter
close. "Maybe by that time you'll be ready to stop traveling and then you
can devote your time to a baby. Besides, it's more important to find the
right person to have the baby with."
"I think I've already taken
care of that part. Anyway, I also talked to Patrick this morning and I'm
going back to London after Christmas. Apparently they're doing some kind
of Prince's Trust concert to benefit the British citizens who died in the
Trade Center attack and Patrick said that Prince Charles called him personally
wanting me to perform."
"Mary Kathryn, that's wonderful!
Do you know who else is going to be there?" Jill asked excitedly.
"Just your usual British artists.
Sting, Eric Clapton, you know, those guys," she replied as she got up and
started walking out of the room.
"Mary Kathryn, how can you act
so nonchalant about this?" Jill asked as she followed her to the kitchen.
"They're just people, like you
and me," Mary Kathryn reminded Jill as she poured a glass of juice.
<><><><><>
Mike and Pete were out back
setting huge posts into the ground. "Can I ask you a question?" Pete asked
as he held a post level.
"They're for a tent," Mike said
while he anchored the post to the ground.
"Was it a difficult decision
to adopt two older children?" Pete blurted.
"Once we made the decision,
it wasn't difficult," Mike answered carefully as he stared at Pete.
"Did it take them a long time
to adjust?" Pete pressed.
"I don't think Michelle ever
adjusted," Mike admitted. "Savannah was never a problem. I feel for Thomas
because he has his hands full with Michelle.".
"Well, he's been living with
her for three years. I think he'd realize that by now," Pete told Mike.
"She has a lot of unresolved
anger. We had both girls in court ordered therapy before we adopted them,
but as soon as we signed the papers, Michelle flat-out refused to go back.
It wasn't worth the effort to force her, but there are times when I wish
we had," Mike angled his head back to make sure the pole was straight before
they moved to the other side of the patio.
"Do you worry about her with
the baby?" Pete asked in an anxious voice.
"No. I think she'd hurt herself
before she'd hurt a child. So, what's with all of the questions about Michelle
and Savannah?" Mike asked.
"I was talking to Mary Kathryn
last night and. . ." He broke off.
"She told you about herself,"
Mike surmised. "What they told her mother and me was there was a 90 percent
probability that Mary Kathryn would never be able to have a child. I read
that as saying there's a 10 percent chance that she could," Mike returned
his attention to their work.
"Does Mary Kathryn know? About
the 10 percent thing, I mean?" Pete followed Mike as he went to anchor
the third post down.
"She knows, but she reads it
like her mother does. It's never going to happen," Mike commented as he
glanced at the sky. "We'd better hurry. It looks like it might storm soon."
"You seem happy about that,"
Pete noticed.
"It's history, young man. Stay
with my daughter and someday, you'll create your own," Mike told him.
Pete shook his head as they
walked toward the house.
A short while later Pete was
looking at the framed pictures on the living room wall when Jill walked
in with a basket of laundry in her hands.
"Mary Kathryn's in the den,"
she told him as she set the basket on the sofa and began folding clothes.
"Who's this lady in the pictures
with the lieutenant?" Pete asked curiously as he automatically walked over
to help Jill, who looked at him in shock. "I'm used to helping with laundry
at the fire house."
"Thanks. The lady was Eddie's
wife, Mary Kate. That's who Mary Kathryn's named after," Jill explained.
"You must've thought a lot of
her to give a child of the 70's a name like Mary Kathryn," Pete grinned.
"We never knew her. She died
long before we even met Eddie," Jill told Pete.
After finishing folding the
clothes, Pete wandered into the den where Mary Kathryn was staring glumly
at the piano keys. "You were up early this morning," he remarked.
"I couldn't sleep," she explained
as she began leafing through her music book as the phone rang in the background.
"Mary Kathryn, telephone!" Jill
called.
"Tell whoever it is that I'll
call back later," she shouted back.
"It's Michelle," Jill said as
she appeared at the doorway with the cordless phone in her hand.
Mary Kathryn reluctantly took
the phone. "Hello?"
"Mary Kathryn, I have the day
off and I was wondering if you wanted to come over and go shopping with
me for a dress," Michelle went on breathlessly.
"Michelle, you're getting married
in eight days. Please don't tell me you don't have a dress," Mary Kathryn
responded in irritation.
"I have a dress. I just thought
that maybe you'd need a dress. Come on, Mary Kathryn. Daddy always said
you were the sensible one," Michelle pleaded.
"Oh, yeah. That's me, the sensible
one. I'll get Pete to drop me off, but you'll have to bring me back to
the house."
"Why don't you just drive yourself
over?"
"Because I don't drive in New
York and I no longer have my California driver's license. I'm the sensible
one, remember?" Mary Kathryn answered in a reasonable voice.
"You don't have to get so nasty.
Anyway, come over and we'll shop and have lunch. Please?" Michelle begged.
"Okay, I'll be there in an hour,"
Mary Kathryn promised as she hung up the phone.
"I'm not sure I can find their
house," Pete told her.
"That's okay. I'll see if my
dad can take me over there. I think he was going to Willie's to pick up
the kids, anyway," she said as she walked towards the door.
<><><><><><>
Michelle drove them to Century
City Mall where they shopped until they couldn't hold any more bags. It
was mid-afternoon when they stopped to get something to eat.
"Mom told me she's going out
with daddy tonight," Mary Kathryn said as she took a bite of her hamburger.
"Do you think they're going
to get back together?" Michelle asked curiously.
"I don't know. Maybe," Mary
Kathryn replied mysteriously.
"Do you think my getting married
is a good idea?" Michelle suddenly asked.
"Why? Are you having second
thoughts?" She asked as she almost choked overa sip of her soda.
"Second thoughts, third thoughts,
fourth thoughts. You do get where I'm going with this, don't you?" Michelle
asked.
"I think the person you should
be talking to is Thomas, not me," Mary Kathryn informed her sister with
a nod.
"I've already talked to him,"
Michelle sighed. "He says I've just got cold feet. Maybe he's right. All
I know is I keep thinking of the fact that I'm going to be stuck here taking
care of a baby while he's off doing God knows what in the Marines."
"Do you want the baby?" Mary
Kathryn asked.
"That's a stupid question! Why
do you think I wouldn't want the baby?" Michelle accused.
"I'm sorry. I just know how
ambivalent you felt about getting pregnant," she explained as she played
with the straw in her drink.
"Yeah, well, I want the baby,"
Michelle spat back bitterly.
"Michelle, you'd better decide
what it is you want to do. I mean, don't you think you're getting a little
old to be playing these wishy-washy little girl games?"
"I'm not being wishy-washy,"
Michelle snapped as she shot daggers at Mary Kathryn. "Daddy told me to
stick with a major so I stayed with pre-med. Thomas wanted to us to move
in together so I did that. He wanted to have a baby so I'm doing that.
And he wants us to get married . . ."
"I get the picture," Mary Kathryn
interrupted. "Michelle, has it ever occurred to you to do what you want
to do for once in your life? I mean, you do have a mind of your own."
"I don't want mom and dad to
be disappointed in me. Remember how upset they got when Savannah got pregnant?
I have enough anger and disappointment from the Raeford's," she sighed
as she absently picked up a french fry.
"They're not going to be disappointed,
Michelle. They just want us to be happy," Mary Kathryn assured her sister.
"Are you happy? With Pete?"
"Yeah, I'm happy with Pete,"
Mary Kathryn answered back with a grin. "Michelle, the person you should
be talking to is Thomas."
"Yeah, I guess you're right,"
she once again sighed.
<><><><><>
That evening Jill was in her
bedroom getting dressed when Shelby walked in and sat down on the bed.
"Where are you going?" Shelby
signed as she watched Jill put make-up on in front of her mirror.
"Papa asked me out to dinner,"
Jill told her.
"Are we all going?" She wanted
to know with a frown.
"No, Pete and Mary Kathryn went
to rent some videos and get a pizza. You and Michael are going to have
a great time," Jill assured her.
"I don't want pizza. I want
whatever you and Papa are having," Shelby signed petulantly.
"Shelby, please don't do this,"
Jill signed with a sigh. "You're going to have fun with your aunt Mary
Kathryn and Pete. I bet if you play your cards right, you might even get
to stay up late," Jill promised her.
Shelby stared at the ground
unhappily.
"Why don't you go play in your
room so I can finish getting ready?" Jill shook her head as the little
girl slowly walked out of the room. She knew that part of Shelby's behavior
was her fault. Since her birth, she'd kept her to herself almost exclusively,.
She heard the front door open as Pete and Mary Kathryn returned from the
video store. Jill was about to go greet them when Mary Kathryn walked into
her bedroom. "Can I talk to you for a minute?" She asked.
"What's on your mind?" Jill
asked.
"Michelle'sthinking about calling
off the wedding," Mary Kathryn blurted out after she'd closed the door
and sat on the edge of Jill's bed.
"I was afraid this was going
to happen," Jill sighed as she sat down beside her daughter. "Has she talked
to Thomas?"
"Not yet. I told her she needed
to talk to him," Mary Kathryn told her mother about her conversation with
Michelle at the mall.
"Do you think this has anything
to do with Thomas joining the Marines?" Jill queried.
"No, I think she's been thinking
about this for a while. I think it really has a lot to do with Michelle
being selfish," Mary Kathryn spat out.
"She's confused," Jill protested.
"She's not confused," Mary Kathryn
interjected, not buying her mother's comments. "She's selfish! She always
has been and she always will be! And I'll lay money down right now that
says that you'll probably be raising her baby, too!"
"Look, I know that you're upset,"
Jill agreed. "Let me talk to daddy and we'll see if we can talk to Michelle
and hopefully, drum some sense into her thick skull."
Half an hour later Jill walked
over to the tiny travel trailer that Mike had been sleeping in since her
return. She knocked on the door and then came inside,noticing an untidy
stack of text books stacked by the computer. "Are you going to school?"
She asked curiously as she looked at the titles of the books.
"Yeah, I'm taking some college
courses over the internet," he admitted. "I'm trying to get my degree in
social work. Remember a while back when you suggested I do that?"
"How long have you been doing
this?" She asked with a smile as she watched him try to tie his tie.
"Almost two years. Is everything
okay at the house?" He asked, changing the subject.
"Not exactly. We might have
a problem with our oldest daughter," Jill told him as she sat in his computer
chair.
"What kind of problem? Is she
thinking of leaving Thomas at the altar?" He queried.
"She told Mary Kathryn this
afternoon that she's having serious second thoughts about this wedding.
Mike, if she's having doubts, maybe she's right to wait. Mary Kathryn was
really shook up," Jill told her ex-husband.
"If she was having doubts she
should've spoken up a lot sooner than a week before the wedding," Mike
commented as he walked over and sat down beside his x-wife. "Eddie and
I have done a lot of work trying to fix the place up for the wedding, not
to mention the money we've spent for caterers."
"I told Mary Kathryn that we'd
talk to her and try to find out what's going on. She also suggested to
her that she'd better be talking to Thomas about this," Jill told Mike.
"Oh, we'll talk to her, all
right. What I'd really like to do is take her and shake her until her teeth
rattle," Mike shook his head in irritation.
<><><><><><>
Michelle was pacing frantically
around her North Hollywood living room awaiting Thomas' return from work.
She didn't know exactly what she was going to say, but she did know she
couldn't go through with the wedding. It wouldn't be fair to her, Thomas
or their unborn baby to be in a marriage she didn't want. She jumped when
she heard his car pull up in the driveway.
"Hi," he greeted her when he
walked in a few minutes later.
"Hi. Thomas, we need to talk,"
she blurted.
"Can I take a shower first?"
He asked.
"If I don't say this now, I'm
never going to say it. Thomas, I can't marry you," she blurted.
"Do you mean next week or never?"
He asked as he stared at her in disbelief
"I don't know. I've been watching
the news, and the way they've been talking you'll probably be going to
Iraq or Afghanistan or some other place I can't go. I'm going to be stuck
here with the baby. I figure if things are going to be that way, then what's
the point of us being married," she concluded in a teary voice.
"How can you say that I'm not
going to support you and our baby?!" He demanded furiously as he walked
towards her. " If you need more time we can postpone the wedding. We can
even get married once the baby's here. Don't do this to me, Michelle,"
he begged.
"Thomas, I'm sorry. I don't
want to hurt you. I just can't do this. I don't know if I'll ever be able
to do this."
"What about the baby?" He shouted.
"What about it?" She asked in
confusion.
"Who's going to take care of
the baby?" He asked.
"I am. Who did you think was
going to take care of it?" She wondered out loud.
"Is this the way you've felt
all along? About getting married, I mean? Because, if it is, I really wish
you'd told me when we first moved in together instead of stringing me along
like your own personal little puppet. Do your parents know about this?"
He asked.
"Probably," she answered as
she bit her bottom lip. "I talked to Mary Kathryn this afternoon. Thomas,
please believe me when I tell you that I never meant to hurt you. I'll
pack some things and go to my parents house tonight."
"How can you tell me you never
meant to hurt me when you knew this would? And, as for leaving, I'll go.
This isn't over, Michelle. Not by a long shot," he warned as he stalked
towards their bedroom.
<><><><><><>
Mike and Jill discussed Michelle
and Thomas' situation over dinner. "She has problems, Mike. She's probably
always going to have problems," Jill pointed out as the wine steward brought
their wine over.
"Well, the only person I see
getting hurt in all of this is Thomas. Maybe we can get them together with
Willie
and Jen and try to figure out what to do," he sighed as he took a sip of
his wine.
"Mike, nothing that we say or
do is going to make any difference. I think the best thing that all of
us can do is give them some space. It'll either work itself out or it won't."
"Were you as unsure? When I
asked you to marry me?" He asked curiously.
"No," she answered with a faint
smile as she took his hand. "I knew I wanted to marry you. I loved you
very much."
"Past tense, huh?" He looked
at her with such intensity that she had to look away.
"I still love you, Mike. I'm
always going to love you. Things are just so different now," she removed
her hand from his, picked up her wine glass and took a sip.
"So, do you think that's what's
going on with Michelle? She really doesn't love Thomas?"
"I don't know," she answered
honestly with a shrug of her shoulders. "It's probably a good thing that
she's having misgivings now. Divorce is ugly...especially when there are
children involved."
<><><><><>
Willie and Jennifer were watching
television with Natalie and Eric when the front door opened and Thomas
stepped inside, carrying a duffle bag over his shoulder, which he dumped
unceremoniously in the middle of the floor.
"Oh, this doesn't look good,"
Natalie commented as they all looked at Thomas.
"Michelle's called off the wedding,"
he announced in a wooden voice as he collapsed into a vacant chair.
"Called off the wedding? Why?
I thought everything was going so well," Jennifer exclaimed in stunned
disbelief.
"I don't know what's going on,"
Thomas sighed. "I came home this afternoon and she threw this bombshell
at me. She said she worries about taking care of the baby when I'm going
to be God knows where. I told her that we could postpone the wedding or
even wait to get married after the baby's born but she doesn't want to
do that. Nothing that I say or do ever makes her happy."
"What're you going to do about
the baby?" Willie asked in a low voice.
"What do you mean, what am I
going to do?" Thomas repeated in confusion. "I'm going to support our baby."
"That's not what I'm saying,"
Willie clarified in a patient voice. "Think about it, Thomas. Michelle
works ungodly hours at the hospital. Jill's already taking care of one
grandchild. Do you really think she's going to want to take care of another
one? I think you should seriously consider getting custody of the baby.
After all, do you really think Michelle really wants this baby? She's always
been adamant about not wanting children. The health and safety of
your child could be at risk."
The entire family stared at
Willie in disbelief.
"Dad, I don't even know where
I'm going to be after basic," Thomas explained. "I won't sue for custody
and then leave it with you and mom. That's not fair to the baby and it's
not fair to you. At least Michelle will have a support system here. I'd
like to try to work things out. It's not too late for that. Maybe we can
all get together and talk. Until then, I'm going upstairs," he concluded
as he picked up his duffle bag and headed for his bedroom.
<><><><><>
Mike was sound asleep the next
morning when he heard someone banging on the door of the trailer. He staggered
out of bed and walked to the door. He opened it and found Lt. Ryker impatiently
getting ready to pound on the door one more time.
"Danko, I need you to drive
to San Diego," Ryker ordered gruffly.
"Now?" Mike asked in a blank
voice as he stepped aside to let Ryker enter.
"No, Danko, next Tuesday!" Ryker
snapped. "Of course, now! I got a call from the San Diego P.D. that Brian
Mills was spotted up there with his kids. We need to get him before he
makes another run."
"Can't you send Willie or Trap?"
Mike suggested as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. "I wanted to spend
some more time with Mary Kathryn before she has to fly out."
"Willie has a crisis of his
own and Trap's on another case. Here's the information on where Mills was
spotted," Ryker informed him as he thrust some papers onto Mike's lap.
"Keep me posted," he called over his shoulder as he left.
Mike sighed as he checked the
battery on his cell phone. Brian Mills was involved in a custody dispute
with his wife, who had hired Eddie's firm after Mills had disappeared with
the kids following a visitation weekend. They'd been on his trail for almost
three months, but Mills had always managed to stay one step ahead of them.
Mike started to pack and thought that maybe he'd stop by the hospital and
talk to Michelle before heading to San Diego.
Jill was getting Thomas ready
for the school bus when Mike walked into the house. "I have to drive to
San Diego and I'm not sure how long I'll be gone. Is Mary Kathryn still
asleep?" Mike questioned as he entered the house.
"I think she's out back with
Pete. He said something about changing their reservations so that they're
leaving tomorrow or the next day," Jill informed Mike as she helped Thomas
with his backpack.
"I figured as much. Let me tell
them goodbye now in case they're not here when I get back," he mumbled
as he walked out the back door where Mary Kathryn and Pete were sitting
and drinking coffee on the patio. "Aren't you too young to drink coffee?"
He commented drily as he sat down beside his middle daughter.
"Just don't tell me it'll turn
my toe nails black. That was always mom's line," Mary Kathryn bantered
back.
"Mom said you guys are heading
out soon," he told her.
"Tomorrow morning," she confirmed.
"Patrick's having a fit about concert schedules, so I guess I really should
get back."
"I have to drive out to San
Diego this morning. I might be back later today, but I wanted to tell you
goodbye in case I'm not. I'm sorry everything fell apart so crazily," he
apologized.
"It wasn't your fault, daddy.
But, if you see Michelle, tell her that we're not coming back out here
to see her married until we have an invitation in our hands. Why are you
going to San Diego?" She asked.
They all got to their feet and
slowly started walking back inside the house.
"It's a parental kidnaping case
we've been working on. The guy's had us on the run for almost three months
now. Hopefully, we're going to finally nail him. If I don't see you before
you leave, have a good flight and be careful. Call your mother when you
get back home. I love you," he choked out as he hugged her tightly before
releasing her to shake Pete's hand.
"I love you, too, daddy," Mary
Kathryn said in a tearful voice.
When Mike left, he drove to
UCLA Medical Center and took the elevator up to the cardiology ward where
he had Michelle paged. Fifteen minutes later she strode into the waiting
room and gave her father a look of disgust. "Let me guess. Thomas sent
you," she complained as she threw herself into a nearby empty chair.
"Thomas doesn't know I'm here.
I'm on my way out of town and thought I'd stop by here to try to find out
what the hell is going on," Mike told her.
"There's nothing going on. I
just changed my mind. Wouldn't you rather that I change my mind now instead
of being stuck in a miserable marriage for three or four years? I thought
I'd be doing everybody a favor," she tried to reason.
"This isn't about the fact that
you changed your mind, Michelle. This is about the way you've been thinking
during this whole engagement. Did you ever have any intention of marrying
Thomas?" Mike wanted to know.
"I don't know. I don't think
I ever gave it any serious thought. I don't feel the way about him that
all of you think I'm supposed to feel. I never have," she responded in
a quiet voice.
"How are you supposed to feel
about him, Michelle? Tell me so that I'm in the loop here," he shot back
sarcastically.
"You and mom think I'm supposed
to be over the moon about him," she retorted in an icy voice as she threw
her hair over her shoulder in defiance. "One of those can't eat, can't
sleep, ball hit over the fence type of thing. I don't feel that way about
him and I never have. That was you and mom, it was never me."
"Michelle, number one, you've
seen entirely too many movies. Number two, your mother and I never expected
you to feel the same way about Thomas that we felt about each other. But,
this isn't just about you and Thomas any more. Now, you've involved an
innocent baby in all of this. Don't you think that this baby deserves two
parents?" Mike pleaded..
"With Thomas in the Marines,
this baby wasn't going to have two parents to begin with. Let me guess.
You and mom don't think I'm capable of taking care of a baby, either,"
she accused.
"You want my honest opinion
on that one?"
She nodded hesitantly.
"No, I don't. Michelle, you're
a cardiac surgical resident. You work 36 hours on and 24 hours off. Who's
going to take care of the baby while you're on duty? And don't even suggest
your mother. She has her hands full taking care of Michael and Shelby,"
he warned her.
"I'll hire someone. I won't
be making a pittance forever. Once I finish my residency, I'll be able
to establish myself and my salary will go up considerably. Besides, I'll
be getting child support from Thomas," she reminded him.
"You've got this all figured
out, don't you?" Mike snapped as he tried hard not to lose his temper
"I thought I had it all figured
out, but I forgot that I'm not the always brilliant, sensible Mary Kathryn,
a.k.a. your real daughter!" Michelle shouted back.
Mike winced. "Michelle, how
long are you going to play this game? The day your mother and I signed
the adoption papers for you and Savannah, you became our real daughters...
every bit as real as Mary Kathryn. You need to move past all of this anger
or your child is going to lead as miserable a life as you are. I'll talk
to you later," he got to his feet and left the room, slamming the door
behind him.
<><><><><><>
Jill was lying on the sofa that
Friday night watching the late news. staying She was about to doze off
herself when the newscaster announced a story that grabbed her attention.
She sat up and turned the volume up as she listened.
". . . . San Diego police today
arrested a man in connection with the kidnaping of his two young children.
37-year-old Brian Mills was arrested at a San Diego hotel after police
received a tip that he was staying there with his nine-year-old son and
seven-year-old daughter, who were safely recovered and returned to the
custody of their mother in Los Angeles this evening. In other news. . .
." The newscaster droned on as Jill smiled and turned the volume back down
just as she heard a knock on the front door. When she opened it, she was
surprised to find Mike standing there.
"Hail the conquering hero,"
she smiled as she motioned for him to come in.
"Well, at the moment I don't
feel very heroic. I just feel tired," he grumbled as he walked into the
house and collapsed on the couch.
"I just heard on the news about
those kids being found and returned to their mother. They said it was due
to a tip. Was that tip from you?" She asked.
"I found him and called the
San Diego police and that's all I want to say about this case. Are the
kids asleep?" He questioned as he looked around.
"Michael is spending the night
with a friend and Shelby's been asleep for a long time. Oh, Michelle called
right after you left and informed me that she isn't speaking to you. Would
you mind telling me what that's all about?" She asked curiously.
"I went to the hospital before
I drove to San Diego and read Michelle the riot act. She told me that she's
never been 'over the moon' about Thomas -- the way we all think she's supposed
to. I worry about the baby, Jill. Talking to Michelle reminded me that
she hasn't always been the most stable person in the world," he sighed
as he once again closed his eyes.
"Maybe I could talk to her and
convince her to go back into therapy," Jill suggested.
"I don't think it'll work. She
hated it before," Mike reminded her.
"I know, but if it's a choice
between therapy and having the baby removed from her custody, I think she'll
take therapy," Jill told him cryptically.
"Would you really do that? Take
the baby away from her?" Mike asked.
"If you worry about the baby,
I would," she answered honestly. "Besides, how's she going to juggle taking
care of a baby and working?"
"Oh, she's got that all figured
out. She's going to hire a nanny with the money she'll make once her residency's
finished and child support from Thomas. I forgot what it felt like to be
26-years-old and having all the answers," Mike groaned at the memory of
his conversation with Michelle.
"I still don't think I have
all the answers," Jill smiled.
"I came by here to see if you
wanted to go out tomorrow night. This time, kids are off limits as topics
of dinner conversation," he warned her with a grin.
"I'll have to get a sitter,"
she reminded him.
"I'll talk to Eddie in the morning.
I'd better go before I fall asleep on your sofa," he said as he stood up
and stretched. "I'll talk to you in the morning."
Mike walked out of his trailer
the next morning and smiled at the sight of Shelby playing with her dolls
in the backyard. He walked over and sat down beside her.
"How many days until Christmas?"
The little girl wanted to know.
"Twenty-four," Mike told her.
She frowned. "Are we going to
go to the parade?"
"What parade?" Mike asked in
confusion.
"We always go to the parade,"
Shelby insisted.
"I'll have to ask your Nana
if she wants to go," he hedged decided it was best to placate the little
girl since he had no idea what she was talking about.
"Nana said Michael and I are
going to stay with Eddie tonight. Why?" She asked.
"I'm going to take your Nana
out to dinner," Mike signed to her as she watched him.
"Are we going to go get a tree?"
Shelby asked, stunning Mike with how quickly she could change the subject.
"I'll tell you what. You and
I will go get a tree tomorrow. Is that okay with you?" He asked as she
weighed the thought in her mind before nodding.
<><><><><><>
Jill got into Mike's car at
six o'clock and buckled her seat belt before Mike put the car in gear and
pulled out of the driveway. "Shelby was telling me that you two have a
date tomorrow to go get a Christmas tree. She's very excited," Jill informed
him.
"She was asking if we were going
to the parade. I don't have a clue what she was talking about," Mike admitted.
"San Antonio has a Christmas
river parade. I took the kids the last couple of years and they really
enjoyed it. I'll have to explain that they don't have anything like that
in L.A.," Jill said.
At the restaurant, they were
shown to their table where they continued making small talk for several
minutes before Mike finally revealed what had been on his mind for several
months. "Michael told me that you had been seeing someone in San Antonio,"
he blurted out.
"Yeah, a doctor I worked with
at the hospital," she replied as she stared at him with wide eyes. "It
didn't work out," she said. "Why are we talking about my love life or lack
thereof? Are you going to sit there and tell me that you weren't seeing
anyone?" She accused.
"No, I was 'seeing' someone.
She didn't like my friends," he admitted with a twinkle in his eye.
"Didn't like them or didn't
like the fact that they are always around?" She commented knowingly.
"I think it was a toss-up. So,
what happened between you and your doctor?" He wanted to know. "Let me
guess. He wasn't nearly as charming as I was."
"He saw the scars on my wrists
when we were out one night and I made the mistake of telling him how I
got them," she answered after a lengthy silence. "He also didn't care for
the fact that I was 'saddled down' with two young children."
"I'm sorry, Jill," Mike said
in a sympathetic voice.
"It really doesn't matter. Michael
couldn't stand him, so it wasn't going to go much further, anyway," she
confessed.
"Dance with me?" He asked as
he got to his feet and heldout his hand.
"Mike, what's going on?" She
questioned suspiciously.
"At the moment, nothing. Dance
with me, please?" He asked her once again as she placed her hand in his
and he helped her to her feet.
"Okay, then, what's going to
happen later?" She asked.
"That's going to depend on how
charming I can be," he teased as he guided her out to the dance floor and
he pulled her close to him.
"Do you want to know that main
reason why I couldn't stay with him?" Jill asked in a soft voice as she
rested her head on his shoulder. "He could never make me laugh."
"Neither could I most of the
time. The guys always could make you laugh more than I could," he reminded
her.
"Maybe, but at least you didn't
turn tale and run the minute I told you about my past," she whispered.
"But you thought I would," he
remembered as he pulled her closer.
"Where is this going, Mike?"
She asked.
"Where do you want this to go?"
He hedged.
"I don't know where I want this
to go, but I know where you want this to go. Mike, at the end things
got ugly . . . " she began ..
"I don't want to talk about
the end," he interrupted firmly. "I don't want to get into a debate about
who said what to whom and whose fault everything was. I was stupid and
that's all I'm going to say about it. I love you, Jill."
"I love you, too. I was miserable
in San Antonio and I think I made the kids miserable, but I was so angry
at you for so long. Then I came back here and it was as if I'd forgotten
all of the bad times," she concluded.
"So, do you want to take this
back to your place?" He whispered into her hair.
"As long as this is forever.
I won't let you out of my life a second time. There never should've been
a first time," she blinked back tears.
He leaned down to kiss her.
"I think this is definitely going to be forever," he promised her as he
pulled away. "Come on, let's get out of here."
When they pulled up in the driveway
a while later, Jill took a deep breath to try to calm her shaking nerves.
It wasn't like she'd never had sex with Mike before. As she remembered
it, things had been wonderful until after the events of Savannah's death.
It was only then that everything fell apart both in and out of their bedroom.
Her hands were shaking slightly
as she unlocked the door leading from the carport into the house. Turning
on the living room lights, she turned toward Mike. "Do you want something
to drink?" She asked as she walked toward the kitchen.
"It looks like we're both pretty
nervous," he observed.
"I'm beginning to think that
we've lost our minds. I mean, what is everybody going to think if all of
a sudden, we're a couple again?" She asked as she changed her mind about
the kitchen and wandered into the living room.
"Do we really care what everybody
thinks?" He asked her as he followed her into the living room and sat down
beside her on the sofa.
"No, I guess not. Before you
ask, I didn't sleep with him," she blurted.
"I don't think that's any of
my business, but I have to admit that I'm relieved," he admitted with a
half-smile. "Was that another reason why you ended the relationship?"
"Yeah. I didn't feel comfortable
having him in the house with the kids there. He had trouble understanding
that. So, can I ask you about your friend?" She asked.
"I slept with her, if that's
what you want to know," he answered. "But calling her by your name was
definitely not cool," he grimaced.
"Oh, no! You didn't!" Jill laughed.
"Yeah, I did. Look, why are
we talking about people who don't even matter anymore? All I want to talk
about right now is us," he whispered huskily as he drew closer to her and
kissed her.
<><><><><>
Mike woke up early the next
morning and smiled at the sight of Jill soundly sleeping beside him. The
night before had been wonderful and something that he never thought would
ever happen again. He had felt incomplete for such a long time and unsure
of how to get that feeling of completeness back. Seeing someone else hadn't
been the answer, although he had enjoyed her company. But there had been
no feeling of history with her and as he'd told Jill, she'd never been
that crazy about Willie, Terry and Lt. Ryker and worse than that, she'd
never warmed to Michelle. Another of the reasons why he'd ended the relationship
was that he couldn't spend the rest of his life with somebody who didn't
like his children. He'd told her about Mary Kathryn and Michael, but fortunately
she'd never met them. He never got around to telling her about Savannah.
He never saw the point. He didn't want a lot of questions and he wasn't
sure he could stand the pity. Shaking thoughts from the past from his brain,
he rolled over and wrapped his arms around Jill, planting kisses across
her shoulders and back.
"I've missed having you beside
me," she mumbled sleepily as she rolled over toward him.
"What time is Michael due home?"
He asked as he covered her mouth with his own.
"Later this morning," she murmured
in between kisses. "What are we going to tell everybody?"
"I'll tell them that you seduced
me and took advantage of my vulnerable state," he teased her.
"From the feel of things, you
are not in a vulnerable state right now," she teased back as she slowly
stroked him.
"Well, that depends on your
point of view. You don't play fair," he groaned.
"I never have, remember?" She
reminded him as she wrapped her arms tighter around him.
<><><><><><>
Later that morning, Mike made
good on his promise and took Shelby with him to go buy a Christmas tree.
While he was gone, Jill called the guys and asked them to come over for
dinner that evening. She was in the midst of getting things ready when
Michael came stomping through the door. "What're you doing?" He demanded,
dropping his duffel bag by the bar and perching on a bar stool.
"The guys and Eddie are coming
to dinner. You were supposed to be home an hour ago," she reminded him.
"Jake and I were playing with
his Xbox. Can I have one for Christmas?" He begged.
"Michael, you already have a
PlayStation," she sighed. "You don't need another expensive video game
system just to want the next better one that comes out. I need you to put
your things away, come back and unload the dishwasher for me," she instructed.
"Where's Shelby?" He asked as
he picked his bag up off the floor.
"She went with your dad to look
for a Christmas tree. They should be back any time. Put your bag away,
Michael, and help me," she told him once again.
Jill was still waiting for Michael
when the front door opened. She smiled as Willie, Jen and the boys came
walking in.
"What's the occasion?" Willie
asked as he put two loaves of French bread on the counter.
"No occasion. I just thought
it would be fun to get together like we used to. Thomas, Michelle isn't
going to be here. I told Mike I didn't want to make things awkward and
besides, she's on duty tonight. I checked," she told him.
"Where's Michael and Shelby?"
Jennifer asked as she walked into the kitchen.
"Shelby's with Mike picking
out a Christmas tree and Michael is supposed to be in here unloading the
dishwasher. Michael, get in here, now!" Jill shouted toward the direction
of his room. "He came home late from his friend Jacob's house telling me
that he wants an Xbox for Christmas."
"Cool, I love new toys," Willie
grinned.
"Buy it for him and I'll kill
you," she hissed.
Mike came home an hour later
and walked into the house with Shelby, followed by Terry. "I found this
guy wandering around outside and figured the least I could do was bring
him in so we could feed him," he teased. "I figured he could also help
me bring the tree into the house."
Terry followed Mike out to his
Montero and helped him untie the tree. "So, what's going on?"
"I might be back with my ex-wife,"
he grinned as they lowered the tree to the ground.
"You're kidding! That's great!"
Terry congratulated his friend as they carried the tree to the house.
Meanwhile, in the house, Jennifer
followed Jill into the kitchen to help her carry chips and dips into the
other room. "So, what's the occasion?" She whispered as Jill looked at
her.
"Who said there has to be an
occasion?" Jill whispered back.
"Jill, I might not know you
as well as Terry and Willie, but I do know you well enough to know when
something's going on. So, spill. What's going on?" She asked.
Jill pulled her to one side
and whispered, "Mike and I went out to dinner last night and . . . "
"And what?" Jennifer prompted
eagerly. "Oh, my God! He stayed the night?" She loudly whispered as Jill
tried to quiet her. "Is everything okay? I mean, are you sure this is what
you want?"
"Jen, this is what I've wanted
since I walked out the door. He's been part of my life since I was 19 years
old. I don't know how to live my life without him in it. I mean, everything's
far from perfect, but I know we can at least work things out now," she
remarked.
"I'm glad he's back. Have you
told Michael?" Jen asked.
"Not yet. Mike says he's not
ready for that so we're going to play it by ear for right now. How's Thomas
doing?" Jill asked, changing the subject.
"After we eat, there's something
we want to talk to you and Mike about. Terry and Eddie are welcome to stay
because we might need their input, but I don't want the kids being in the
room," Jen said mysteriously.
"We'll send them up to Eddie's
to watch DVD's. Is this about Michelle?" Jill asked.
"Yeah, but it'll wait until
after dinner," she told Jill as they got the snacks and walked back to
the other room.
After dinner Jill sent Eric,
Michael and Shelby up to Eddie's house so that the adults could talk. Willie
and Jennifer looked at Thomas, who took a deep breath before he began.
"I want to see about getting sole custody of the baby," he blurted out
as everybody stared at him in shock.
"How are you going to take care
of a baby and be a Marine at the same time?" Mike demanded.
"My mom and dad have offered
to take care of the baby until I finish basic and get stationed somewhere.
I can get day care on base. I just worry about Michelle's mental and emotional
state," he concluded.
"Thomas, Michelle isn't going
to just voluntarily sign custody over to you and it's difficult to prove
she's an unfit mother when you're talking about a baby that isn't even
here, yet," Mike told him.
"I just wanted all of you to
know that I'm going to do what I have to do," he warned them.