“Excuse me,” Sarah frowned, looking up at an angered Cori who just exploded on Diego. “Did you just call me a bitch Cori?”

“What’s wrong? Not comfortable with someone calling you what you truly are?” Cori questioned, feeling Diego grab her hand in his tightly. “What? Don’t you even begin to stand up for her. You know just as much as I do that she isn’t a good person.”

“Stop it now Cori,” Diego demanded, looking up into Cori’s dark eyes. He glanced over the table at Sarah before shaking his head slowly. “Sarah is having a few troubles in life, that doesn’t make her a bad person. She is a good person with a good heart.”

“And what makes you think that Diego?” Cori questioned, looking down at Sarah as Diego tugged on her hand to make Cori look at him again. “She is just trying to get you, just like Heather did. She is trying to get you away from me.”

“Cori,” Diego frowned, trying to come up with something to say to try and explain what was truthfully going on right at this moment. It really wouldn’t matter anyways because something told him that Cori wouldn’t end up believing him anyways.

“You don’t need to explain anything to her Diego,” Sarah cut Diego off before he could go any further in trying to explain what was going on. “If you haven’t noticed, Kyle is in the hospital because he almost died last night. I am upset about Kyle and Diego is here trying to make me feel better.”

“That’s funny you are upset about Kyle,” Cori folded her arms out in front of her chest, getting a disapproving look over her face. “Sarah, I haven’t seen you with Kyle in a long time and from what I heard--you aren’t even going out with him. Maybe I should drop by to see how Kyle is doing.”

“Don’t you even go near him,” Sarah snapped, going to stand up but the look on Diego’s face made her sit back down. “Kyle didn’t do anything and neither did the two of us.”

“Well, I know you two say that, but maybe Kyle would like to talk a little bit,” Cori pondered, simply shrugging her shoulders as she looked down at Sarah. “Pass some things by his mind. We could have a little chat.”

“You know what? Stop it,” Diego pleaded, looking up at Cori knowing that Cori was really getting on Sarah’s nerves. “Kyle doesn’t need to have a little chat with anybody. He is busy enough as it is trying to help his friends.”

“I think he may need to know what it going on,” Cori began before hearing Sarah snap out, not allowing her to continue.

“Nothing is going on Cori,” Sarah repeated once more trying to get the scene over with. “There are people in the cafeteria and I don’t think they want to see a scene, so why don’t you just stop right now?”

“I don’t care if they don’t want to see or what they do want to see,” Cori shook her head slowly watching the way that Sarah tried to keep her anger in a different area.

“Listen, you’re being the bitch right now,” Sarah pointed out, her dark eyes meeting Cori’s as Diego went to say something, but Sarah cut him off. “You need to grow up and not start something when something isn’t going on.”

“I’m a bitch?” Cori repeated, nodding slowly before walking behind Sarah to the next table, grabbing the man’s tray and bringing it over towards Sarah and dumping it over her head. She saw the way Sarah jumped up when the soup ran down the front of her face along with the pudding. “I guess I am--aren’t I?”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Let go of me you son of a bitch!” Russell shouted causing more of a commotion as Brant’s goons pulled him out into the hallway away from Avery’s room. Russell kicked and struggled raising his voice with protest not caring whose attention he captured in the process.

“What the hell are you doing?” Kyle questioned rushing over to the scene after he’d stepped away for a moment to speak with Shannon. He saw the three oversized men that had Russell and were carrying him out and immediately his anger boiled, “Let go of him right now!”

“I’m having him escorted out,” Brant explained smugly motioning to the third security guard, “and while you’re at it, take his friend with him.”

“You touch me and I’ll break your nose,” Kyle warned the man who had taken a step forward. With his eyes narrowing, Kyle spoke up in a low roar aiming his animosity at the two men that had a hold on Russ, “And you, I’m giving you both until the count of three before…”

“What’s going on here?” Grady rushed over to the scene pushing one of the men away from his brother. It must’ve been a moment when the man was worried about whatever Kyle would do because the man released Russ almost immediately. The second man did the same simply because he too seemed to fear what could happen.

“I’m sending your brother out of here,” Brant replied in a cold, detached voice.

“The hell you are,” Kyle spun around to knock Brant right square across the face sending him flying across the hallway. Brant slammed into the wall with a loud impact and the security guards stepped in towards Kyle. Kyle spun around to face them with a sneer, “You want to test me? Go ahead because I can promise you that you won’t like it.”

“Russ, are you okay,” Grady asked his brother seeing the anger that spilled over his features.

“No, I’m not okay. This son of a bitch is trying to keep me from Avery. He’s made up some bull about how she’s not my wife,” Russell shouted his eyes still full of venom and wanting to tear Brant apart piece by piece. “It’s not going to work Ashford. I’m not going to bend against your manipulations.”

“You don’t have a choice,” Brant spat out at him, blood pooling at the corner of his mouth where Kyle had hit him. Don and Hart helped Brant off of the ground as Brant boldly stomped forward, “Whether you like it or not, Avery’s my wife and there isn’t a damn thing you can do to change that.”

“The hell she is,” Russ jumped forward only to feel Grady pull him back.

“He’s not worth it Russ. Trust me,” Grady tried to reason with his brother, “We both know it’s a lie and…”

“See for yourself,” Hart motioned to the discarded envelope on the ground.

Grady followed his gaze and bent down to pick it up. He began to pull the papers up off of the ground as Russell snapped back at Brant.

“You might think that you can run everyone in this town, but I see through you Ashford. I know what your kind is all about and I won’t let you keep me from Avery. She loves me! She and I belong together and even if it drives you mad, that’s not going to change!” Russell shouted, catching more attention from those in the hospital.

“Don’t worry Russ. He isn’t going to do that. He has nothing to go on and I can assure you that you’re not leaving here. Avery wants you to be with her and that’s not going to change. He’s full of shi…” Kyle started only to hear Grady gasp.

“I don’t believe this,” Grady’s jaw dropped in astonishment.

“What is it man?” Kyle glanced over his shoulder at his friend.

“He’s not lying,” Grady looked up at his brother horrified, “Avery really is his wife.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

JT walked out of his bedroom seeing Valerie camped out in front of his television eating a half gallon of ice-cream. A scowl spread over his lips as he glared at her.

“If you even get a drop of that on my couch, then I’m going to have to murder you,” he warned making his way into the kitchen.

“Like it would make a difference seeing as this couch is a piece of junk anyways,” she rolled her eyes at his comment digging out another spoonful of rocky road into her mouth, “Besides given all the stains that are on it, you simply wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.”

“Believe me I’d know and so would you when I booted you out on your ass,” he answered flatly returning to the living room with a carton of milk. He slapped her leg urging her to scoot down before taking a seat beside her. “So what are you watching?”

“Who knows?” she shrugged her shoulders, “More importantly who cares?”

“Well since you’re not all that involved in it, give me the remote. There’s a good game on today,” JT reached across her to grab the remote control.

“I didn’t say I wanted to be annoyed,” she snatched it out of his hand with a scowl, “but rather that I wasn’t all that interested in this show.”

“Yeah well last time I checked I was paying all the bills and that’s my television, so eat it up baby,” he leaned back on the couch taking his remote control with him to turn on a football game.

“You really are an ass. I hope you realize that,” Valerie glared at him, finding herself less than impressed with him.

“Yeah, well last time I checked too that was my ice-cream as well,” he mouthed pulling it out of her lap without so much as a warning. He stole her spoon and started to eat some himself when she let out a pinched squeak.

“I really hate you. I hope you realize that,” she hissed in response anger flashing behind her eyes.

“So move out. It won’t bother me in the least,” JT shrugged his shoulders focusing on the game in front of him, “It’ll just free up my apartment for company when I want to entertain.”

“The kind of trash you entertain wouldn’t give you the time of day,” she rolled her eyes at his remark, “so why don’t you just get over yourself and give me my ice-cream back?”

“My ice-cream,” he glanced over at her with a bored expression, “and no.”

“Why not?” she curled her lip in a pout, “JT, come on. I was enjoying that.”

“Hmm, well I’m rather enjoying it myself,” he shrugged his shoulders, eyes on the television in front of him, “If you like it so much, then maybe you should be smart any buy yourself some.”

“You’re a jerk,” she pouted before glaring up at him, “I mean really would it hurt you to be nice for a change?”

“Gee, look who’s talking here,” he rolled his eyes at her, “In fact, why don’t you go do something useful for a change instead of getting fat on my couch?”

“I wasn’t getting fat and I want my ice-cream back,” she reached out for it only to feel him pull it out of her reach. Clumsily her hand fell into his lap, over the center of his pants and she took in a small breath.

“I think you misplaced something,” JT didn’t even bother to look at her feeling her fingers settle in over his body.

“I believe you have something that belongs to me,” she couldn’t resist the urge to be wicked as she squeezed her fingers around his masculinity eliciting a pinched hiss from his now parted lips. She noticed he was turning a nice shade of blue and she smiled at him icily.

“Valerie,” he screeched her name feeling her clamp harder on his body.

“It’s going to be really hard for you to find a date tonight if I don’t let go, isn’t it JT?” she challenged with an arched brow, “So why don’t you just make this easy on yourself and give me back my ice-cream?”

“The hell I will,” he groaned his eyes rolling back into his head at the pain she’d started to inflict upon him.

“Fine, then I can sit here all day doing this,” she shrugged her shoulders looking to the television in front of her. She heard him cry out and in a matter of seconds she felt the ice-cream return to her lap. She glanced over at him seeing that his face was most certainly a pale blue mixed in with a hot red in his cheeks and she eased up her grip on him. “See now was it so hard to be nice?”

“I can’t believe you did that,” he cried out rubbing his palm over the center of his pants, “Do you have any idea how much that hurt?”

“No more than all of your insults,” she scooped another mouthful of ice-cream between her now parted lips. “You really should work on your manners.”

“Give me that,” JT reached for the ice-cream carton again placing it over the center of his pants. He dropped his head back onto the top of the sofa and closed his eyes hoping that he’d go numb from the chill instead of focusing on the pain that Valerie inflicted upon him.

“You are such a big baby,” she shook her head at him stubbornly, “It wasn’t that bad.”

“The hell it wasn’t,” JT cursed under his breath trying to ignore the pain that echoed in his mind after her attack. “You’re such a bitch. After all I’ve done for you…”

“Oh would you stop your whining,” she curled her lip in a frown, pulling the ice-cream off of his lap and looking down at him. She couldn’t help but giggle before she dropped her fingers in over the zipper on his jeans pushing it down before slipping her hand inside.

“What are you doing,” JT gulped his heart pounding furiously in his chest, fear sweeping over him as her fingers made contact with his body.

“Proving to you that you’re being a baby,” she mouthed popping open the button on his jeans to free him up to her gaze. She set the ice-cream aside using her fingers to part his pants before she leaned forward to inspect the very part of him that she’d nearly ripped from his body seconds earlier.

“Get away from me,” JT tried to scoot out of her reach feeling her fingers curl around him. “Let go of me.”

“Oh would you just relax,” she shook her head at him before leaning forward to take him between her lips. She felt him tense up, but his body sprang to life as she began to taste him.

“Valerie stop it! Stop!” JT instructed finding himself thinking less about pain and more about the way she felt over him, the way her mouth was still chilled by the ice-cream and yet there was a warmth that. No, no. He wasn’t about to let her bite it off. He had to make a move to get her to go away.

“Relax JT,” she whispered over his body causing a low groan to build inside of him. He was terrified, yet completely aroused with what she was doing. Still at any moment in time he knew full well she would attack and he’d no longer be able to stake his claim in the male part of the human race.

“Valerie stop,” he pleaded with her, his fingers tangling through her dark hair in an attempt to keep her from finishing what she’d started. However, with every urgent movement she’d made over him, he found himself thinking less and less about how she’d nearly castrated him and more about what it was she was doing. Pain was irrelevant at that moment in time until he found himself no longer holding back on denying himself the pleasure she’d provided him.

He sank his head back onto the couch feeling himself come crashing over the edge in a moment that was nothing short of bliss. He felt her move away from him and between the racing of his heart, the pounding of his body at her unexpected manipulations, he felt himself overcome with a moment of relief knowing that she was no longer in the perimeter to cause him any harm.

“See, I told you that you were fine,” she wiped at the corner of her mouth before chomping on another hearty spoonful of ice-cream.

JT turned to look at her finding himself at a loss while his fingers quickly fixed his jeans putting them to right. He just eyed her with an astonished expression before he sprang up off of the couch shaking his head at her, “You’re insane. I hope you realize that.”

“Yeah, well whatever,” she waved her hand at him dismissively, “You’re a whiner and I honestly don’t know what Diane sees in you.”

“I almost feel sorry for Seth,” JT shook his head at her, “I would hate to be stuck with someone like you in my life.”

“Yeah well, whatever,” she rolled her eyes at him, “You only wish you could have something as wonderful as me.”

He let out a small laugh buttoning up his pants, “Only in your dreams.”

“You seemed to be enjoying me well enough a few minutes ago,” she tossed back at him with a wicked smirk remembering only too well how he’d succumbed to her charms.

“Well, I won’t argue that you have some notion of what you’re doing there, but truth be told I’ve had better--much better and chances are so has Seth given that he’d rather be with just about anyone else than you,” JT quipped staggering back to his bedroom and slamming the door behind him.

“Why you,” Valerie tossed a pillow over in his general direction before slumping back onto the couch now more determined than ever to prove JT wrong once and for all. She would have Seth back and nothing was going to stop her. Absolutely nothing!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Blake felt a strong arm wrapped around her as she lay underneath the blankets. While she knew she shouldn’t be so excited, she couldn’t help but reveal the smile that tugged at the corners of her lips upon feeling Seth’s mouth move in over the back of her shoulder.

“You awake,” he questioned lazily his body sliding in closer to hers.

“Only if you swear that this is a dream come true for us,” she tilted her head back to look at him before turning in his arms.

“It’s our dream Blake,” he promised dragging his thumb over her bottom lip lovingly, “I want to wake up every morning with you just like this.”

“There’s nothing that I could want more than to share this with you for each and every day for all the days of my life,” she revealed with a wide grin thinking about how last night was their first dive into happily ever after with one another. “I feel very hopeful about what the future has in store for us.”

“So do I,” he mouthed tipping down to kiss her tenderly, “I think we have a lot of promise between us.”

“And maybe that promise will lead to something more for us,” she whispered her words vibrating against his lips, “Maybe last night we took the first step in making a baby together. In fact right now I could be on the road to being pregnant.”

“Yes you could,” he nodded unable to contain the happiness that the thought of her having his child brought to his dark eyes, “Before you know it we could be on the road to parenthood with one another.”

“And I can’t wait,” she squealed excitedly, “I can’t wait to feel your child growing inside of me--to know that our love created a miracle in itself.”

“It’s going to happen for us Blake,” Seth touched her cheek lightly, “and when it does, I’m going to enjoy every single second of it.”

“And when it does Seth, well truth be told I was thinking about this after you went to sleep,” Blake confessed snuggling in closer to him, “I think if we have a little girl we should name her after Jade. I mean I know that sounds kind of silly, but I think we should honor her somehow and I can’t think of a better way to do it then to name her niece after her if we have a girl.”

“I think she’d love that,” Seth kissed the top of her head thinking about the possibilities for the future when he heard the doorbell.

Blake eyed him with a curious expression before speaking up, “Were we expecting company today?”

“Not that I’m aware of,” Seth replied hearing the bell once again, “but maybe I should check it out.”

“You think it could be important,” Blake inquired still holding onto him.

“If it’s not, then I’ll get rid of them,” he promised giving her one last kiss before sliding out of bed and pulling on a pair of pants. He walked out into the living room and opened the front door only to discover Ria standing before him.

“I was starting to think you weren’t here,” Ria explained making her way into the living room, “I mean I know it’s kind of later in the afternoon so I didn’t think that you’d be sleeping and…”

“Blake and I sort of had a long night,” Seth revealed thinking about Blake waiting for him in the bedroom. Still he wasn’t about to turn a friend away, “What’s going on?”

“Well I was just out with Trisha earlier and then she met some guy,” Ria waved her hand around in the air, “You know how she is. Nothing stops her or holds her back when it comes to men. I mean yeah I know she went through the whole Bruce thing, but she seems to have bounced back pretty well. She met this guy while we were out and…”

“And what?” Seth arched a curious brow.

“Am I bothering you? I mean is this a bad time?” Ria eyed him suspiciously seeing he didn’t have a shirt on.

“No, not at all. Just give me a second to get Blake and then we’ll chat,” he promised making his way into the bedroom knowing that while he and Blake were eager to get going on trying to have a baby, they had to also take the rest of the world into consideration too. Since Ria had stopped by, they’d spend some time with her and get back to the attempts at baby making later, which was something that gave Seth something to look forward to throughout the day.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Angela sat in the middle of the lab looking at the figures she’d put together before coming down here. While she hadn’t been seeking out an answer to her little problem, she was starting to see the big picture. It was so very close to her reach, yet she’d been distracted for far too long. Now that her love life was in the dumps and the world around her seemed to suck she had this instinctive feeling that she was going to crack the code and figure out what was going wrong with the assignment Cameron had given her.

“Angela,” a voice pulled her from her work. She looked up to see one of the lab techs watching her closely, “you have a phone call.”

“I though I said I didn’t want to be interrupted,” she frowned back at the wiry man.

“I know what you said, but it’s Cameron,” he explained with a solemn expression catching her look.

“Okay,” she finally nodded, “I’ll take it in the back. Just give me a second and take a look at these when you can.”

The man nodded eagerly as Angela set her pages aside. She walked over to the small office area and closed the door behind her ready to share her discovery with Cameron. She took a seat in the chair and reached for the phone greeting her brother cheerfully.

“Well hello Cameron, how are you?” she smiled sinking back into the chair and putting her feet up on the desk.

“My you sound rather elated today,” Cameron noted curiously, “Dare I ask what prompted this bright spot?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” she teased before sitting up straighter, “and since you asked, well why don’t you let me tell you what I’m working on today?”

“I’m all ears little sister,” Cameron laughed lightly, “Why don’t you share it all with me now that the floor is yours?”

“Well since you put it that way I think I’ve done it. I mean I’m not entirely certain, but I’ve been working on this project here and I think I may have cracked the code,” she blurted out excitedly thinking about her perspective find.

“You mean you’ve figured out what was wrong?” Cameron’s voice grew with enthusiasm as well.

“I’m not exactly sure I’ve got it perfected just yet, but I got to thinking about what your research team out there sent me and something was missing. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but then today in my office I had an epiphany and I think it hit me.”

“Which means that you’re going to make me proud, aren’t you,” Cameron’s voice cheered over the line.

“I’m going to try Cam,” she blurted out excitedly, “Of course when I do this I fully expect to be pampered for a job well done.”

“When aren’t you pampered?” Cameron tossed back at her, “Given how spoiled you are Angel, well I think it’s safe to say that if I did nothing else for you, you’d still have it all.”

“I don’t know if I’d go that far, but it’s a start,” she shrugged her shoulders before looking out the window, “Though if all goes well I think we can take this to the next level. If I’m right on in my suspicions here we’re about to make a medical breakthrough.”

“And when we do, it’ll be all because of you. Because on top of beauty and talent, you’ve got more brains than most men that I know,” he joked lightly thinking about the situation, “In fact when you crack the code, I think a celebration is in order.”

“What do you have in mind?” she asked thinking about the possibilities ahead of her once she figured out the trick to making this miracle drug she’d been working on a reality.

“I’m thinking that you fly in to Coral Valley to see me,” Cameron suggested out of the blue catching her off guard.

“Coral Valley,” she repeated with a pause her gaze dropping down to her abdomen. “Cameron I don’t think that’s such a good idea. You kept telling me that you didn’t want me there and…”

“And I changed my mind. I want my sister around. No I take that back. I need my sister because the truth is that I think I want to bring you here to show the other idiots I have working for me what true brilliance looks like. So what do you say?” he awaited her response to his proposal.

“And leave the island and the beauty of the tropic behind?” she blurted out grasping for straws on the matter, “Never.”

“Come on Angel. You know it’s been far too long and besides I miss you. I’ve been thinking about setting up a place for you to work at not far from town. I mean sure I know I had reservations about you being in Coral Valley, but each day you’re there and I’m here I feel like I’m missing the best part of me. You’re one of the few people in this world that I can truly tolerate,” he revealed with a heavy sigh.

“Or rather one of the few that can tolerate you,” she tossed out at him with a tiny smile, “Cam, you don’t need me there.”

“Yes, I do. I really do Angel. If you’re as close to making this breakthrough, then I want you here to share the moment with me. I want to capitalize on this as a family--together,” Cameron explained proudly, “since I think it’s been far too long for our family to finally be able to claim this kind of victory.”

“I’ll think it over, but no promises,” she decided after a long pause, “There’s a lot we do need to talk about, but right now…”

“We can do that when you come out this way. We’ll take time away from everything else and just concentrate on getting back in touch with one another,” he suggested awaiting a response from her, “What do you say?”

“I say that I’ll think about it although I have to ask. Why the sudden change? You didn’t want me there before, but now, well now you sound like you absolutely want me there,” she noted curiously.

“Let’s just say that something made me realize how important my family is to me and how I’d do anything I could to keep it in tact. Other than JT, you’re all that I have left and he’s not much for any kind of company since he’s got his own agenda,” he explained with a heavy sigh.

“Like you’re not,” she jabbed at him with a tiny smirk, “but seriously Cam, give me some time to think about it. If I’m ready, then maybe I’ll consider coming out there.”

“I promise you won’t regret it and if you do, then I would gladly let you go back to the island if need be,” he promised her in an attempt to give her more assurances about his intentions.

“Okay, then I’ll think about it, but no promises,” Angela reminded him once again wondering if maybe it was time to leave the island behind to start a new life somewhere else. This place had a great many wonderful memories, but at the same time there were a lot of things here that she’d just as soon forget. Maybe moving to a quiet little out of the way small town like Coral Valley would be all she needed to get that fresh start after all.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Michelle? What in the world are you doing here?” Ken questioned, slightly shocked to see the last woman he ever wanted to see right in front of him.

“Good question,” Michelle smiled, nodding over towards Wendy before looking back up at Ken. “I would like to ask you two the same exact question. Are you stalking me Ken?”

“Pardon me?” Ken laughed shaking his head slowly, looking back at Wendy for a moment. “I think you would be the last person I want to see right now.”

“Is that really true? I mean, what are the chances that you would be in the same place I am?” Michelle asked herself, thinking it over for a moment before shaking her head. “It’s not really possible you know.”

“It’s possible,” Wendy stood up from the table, tired with the woman that had broke Ken’s heart in the past. She took a step in towards Michelle, resting her hands on her hips. “The biggest possibility of the three of us being in the same place at the same time is probably because you would be following us. It wouldn’t be us following you.”

“And I am just supposed to believe that?” Michelle smirked as she looked away from Wendy and back to Ken. “Why would I believe something like that?”

“I would have thought you would believe that when I left you behind in the church and never came back,” Ken answered with a small smile, reaching his hand out to Wendy’s. “I have someone I love, you were just a gold digging witch.”

“And she isn’t?” Michelle snapped, pointing at Wendy angrily as she saw Ken grab Wendy’s hand in his tightly. “She shows up one day and it takes you not even two minutes to think you are in love with her.”

“That’s because I have loved her my whole life. I thought she left me, but I found out there were certain things that happened and I think they happened for a reason,” Ken began taking in a deep breath, realizing that he had nothing to tell Michelle because it was none of her business, but he couldn’t help but go on. “I realize now that no mater who was in my life, Wendy was always the woman I loved the most. She’s the woman that I have longed to have my whole life and you--well, you’re just a mistake Michelle. And your husband you told me about, I’m almost positive that he probably left you because of who you are. You’re nothing but a liar Michelle and you are going to be alone in life.”

“How dare you talk to me like that,” Michelle poked Ken in the center of the chest roughly, shaking her head slowly. “You didn’t know my husband. He could have been the worst guy in the world and you would never even know.”

“He could be a bad guy,” Ken swiped Michelle’s fingers away from his chest before shrugging his shoulders, “but something tells me that you have been screwed up for a quite a while--probably long before you met your ex-husband. So, I think everything you told me is bull and I give the man a hand for leaving you. It was the best choice he probably ever made.”

“Come on Ken, we don’t want to stay here any longer,” Wendy tugged on Ken’s hand lightly, seeing his eyes meet hers as he nodded slowly. “We have nothing else to say to Michelle.”

“You wait just one second,” Michelle snapped, grabbing onto Ken’s sleeve before he could walk away. “We have a whole lot more to talk about and you aren’t leaving just yet.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“You really didn’t have to bring me back here,” Dean began watching Deidra slip the key into his front door.

“Yes, I do,” she nodded glancing back over her shoulder at him, “it’s the least I could do after everything that’s been going on.”

“None of that was your fault,” Dean pointed out with a small frown.

“Your being stabbed was certainly my fault,” she reminded him feeling a tiny shudder rise up over her, “but we’re going to work on changing that. I want to help you get back on your feet again and maybe in the process we can take the time to start this the right way between us.”

“You mean that?” Dean’s eyes lit up at the possibility of what she was proposing to him.

“Yeah, I think I do,” she paused pushing open the door to his apartment, “That is if you don’t mind trying to find it in your heart to forgive me for what I did to you back when I thought that you…”

Dean leaned forward placing his finger over her lips to silence her, “I haven’t thought twice about it,” he paused catching her look, “Okay so maybe I have thought about it a bit there, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t forgive you because I brought it on myself. I never should’ve lied to you and I’m sorry that I did.”

“I’m sorry that I couldn’t trust in us enough to believe in you,” she replied helping him over to the couch. She urged him to take a seat on the cushion behind him, “However, I want to work on changing that. I think starting now we should take the time to get to know one another without any lies or secrets about who we are or what our agenda is all about.”

“Well in that case,” he reached out for her urging her to take a seat beside him, “I think I should start by being bluntly honest with you right about now. The fact to the matter is that I would like to really take the time to have a clean slate. Obviously there’s a lot that we don’t know about one another, but I’d like to change that. I’d like you to know the man I am.”

“I think I’d like that a lot,” Deidra replied unable to repress the smile that carried over her, “because despite the ups and downs that we’ve had leading up to this point in time, I find myself intrigued by the man that I see beside me. He’s someone that I’d really like to get to know better.”

“Better than you already have I hope,” he smiled at her leaning in closer to her.

“Much better than I already have because I have a feeling once I know the whole story, I’m going to find there’s a lot more to enjoy,” she murmured leaning in closer to him, her lips finding his in a soft, tender kiss as the thought of finally starting over again filled her head with hope and promise of a future for them with one another.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Don’t you touch me,” Ken pulled his arm away from Michelle, letting go of Wendy’s hand to face Michelle. He took a step in closer to Michelle his eyes glaring into hers. “You can’t touch me.”

“Ken,” Michelle went to speak up once more before Ken cut her off without even letting her continue.

“I don’t ever want to see you again,” Ken declared with a small scowl, folding his arms out in front of his chest. “I don’t like you Michelle and I know I never will. I don’t want to deal with your crap, so just leave me alone.”

“Ken,” Michelle frowned, seeing him turn around and face Wendy. She was trying to come up with something to tell Ken before he could walk away and nothing would be said between the two of them. “Can you give me just two minutes?”

“How much would I have to pay you for that?” Ken questioned with a small smirk, shaking his head slowly. “I don’t want to talk to you anymore. I don’t think I need to.”

“Let’s go,” Wendy held her hand out to Ken’s, taking it in hers tightly as they started to walk away from Michelle. “Don’t let her bother you.”

“I think I’m over it,” Ken informed her with a small sigh as he looked over his shoulder at Michelle seeing her standing there shocked. “She will never bother me again because I have you.”

“I’m glad I got her away from you,” Wendy squeezed his hand in hers tightly as they reached the car. “I don’t even want to imagine what would have happened if she did marry you.”

“Well, that’s something we don’t have to worry about,” Ken pointed out, helping Wendy into the car before walking to the other side and getting in. “You’re here with me now and that’s all that matters. My life would have been horrible if I married Michelle. It would have been a disaster.”

“What did you even see in Michelle anyways?” Wendy wondered, looking over at Ken as he started the car up before looking over at her. “Was it her looks?”

“I don’t really know what it was,” Ken explained, simply shrugging his shoulders as he tried to think of an answer to give her. “I was blinded by my pain--I was too stupid to realize she was never in love with me.”

“You weren’t stupid Ken,” Wendy reached out to place her hand over his gently. A small smile appeared over his lips as he looked up into her eyes. “You were just confused about everything.”

“I was, but now I can look forward to things because now I know that I have you,” Ken replied, leaning forward to kiss her forehead gently. “Now onto our next stop.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“No that’s not possible!” Russell argued refusing to believe the lies that Brant was spinning to everyone. “Avery has been and always will be my wife, not his.”

“Read it and weep Russ because the fact to the matter is that you aren’t her husband and you’re never going to be,” Brant mouthed icily snapping his fingers for security to resume kicking Russ out of the hospital.

“Touch him and you’re asking for trouble,” Kyle warned glaring at the man who had been brave enough to step in closer to Russ. Kyle’s gaze returned to Brant and he frowned, “I don’t know where you and your two idiots cooked up this scheme, but it’s not going to work. No one here is buying what you’re saying.”

“Grady knows it to be true,” Brant motioned over to where Grady stood with the papers in hand. “Ask him.”

“This all looks legit Russ,” Grady blurted out feeling horrible for his brother knowing how much Russ had fought to find his way back to Avery. Now that the possibility that their reunion would be cut short was lingering in the air Grady had to react. He shoved the papers back in the envelope, “These don’t matter Brant. Avery loves Russ and we all know that.”

“Avery loves the idea of a man who she once cared for--a man who wouldn’t fake his own death to find time to run away from her,” Brant added with a huff, “You don’t belong here Russ. You should’ve stayed dead.”

“I’ll show you dead,” Russell launched forward ready to attack Brant now that his anger rushed over him in a wild, untamed whirlwind.

“He’s not worth it Russ,” Kyle stepped in reaching out to stop Russ from doing something that would land him in jail. “Besides this can’t hold up. I don’t care what he did, but that restraining order doesn’t mean anything. You’re Erin’s father and you have every right to be here. He can’t stop you from being with Erin or Avery.”

“Actually yes he can,” Hart piped in taking a small step forward, “That restraining order isn’t a joke. If he doesn’t leave the hospital, then Brant will have no choice, but to press charges.”

“Which would mean that Russ can find himself a new girlfriend in jail,” Don added with a huff folding his arms in front of his chest. “Then again he might like that.”

“Shut it Leveski or I’ll make sure that you wind up in jail with a new boyfriend of your own,” Kyle snarled at him, “Or better yet I’ll just let Shannon know what kind of jack-ass you’re being. That should do the trick.”

“Bite me Houston,” Don rolled his eyes at Kyle, “Like I’m really afraid of someone like you.”

“If you aren’t, you’re an idiot,” Kyle continued to warn Don, giving him a glare that had Don take a small step backward. Kyle let out a small triumphant sound, “Yeah that’s what I thought. Back off.”

“You back off and take your little missing in action pal with you,” Brant interrupted the spat taking place between Don and Kyle. “He has no business being here.”

“You can’t keep him from Avery. Look Brant, I realize that right now you’re feeling threatened about a lot of things, but we both know that Russ is the best thing for Avery right about now,” Grady tried to appeal to his rival hoping that Brant would stop with the anger and think about what was best for Avery. “She needs Russ here with her.”

“What she needs is people like you two out of her life,” Brant explained with a condescending tone. “She needs someone who loves her and can give her the kind of life she needs. That someone is me and I’m not about to let either one of you idiots near her to destroy her again.”

“Brant, you’re wrong about this. You have no idea how wrong you are,” Grady continued with obvious agitation.

“Oh he knows how wrong he is, but he doesn’t care. It’s just another example of an Ashford trying to throw his weight around this town, but it’s not going to work. You’re not going to keep me away from Avery or Erin,” Russell shouted not giving a damn who was listening to him now that his future was on the line.

“Oh yes I am,” Brant flashed him an icy smile, “and now that you mention it, about Erin…”

“Don’t you go near her. Don’t you dare think about doing something to my daughter,” Russell yelled back at him seeing a hint of amusement behind Brant’s eyes.

“Your daughter,” Brant let out a cold, amused laugh, “Funny you should mention that considering that Avery and I have a history with one another--a history that goes back to a time before she decided to waste her time with you. In fact I’m surprised that you forgot about all of that, but considering that you forgot to let anyone know for all this time that you were alive it doesn’t surprise me. However, let me enlighten you.”

“What the hell does that mean?” Kyle snapped at Brant.

“It means muscle man that while Russ thinks that Avery’s wanted to be with him and only him,” Brant rolled his eyes at the very mention of Russ once again, “she was far from being dedicated to just him. In fact if he thinks long and hard, he will remember a time when he and his partner in crime busted into a hotel room when Avery and I were making love.”

“You weren’t making love,” Russ shook his head at Brant’s words. “She didn’t make love to you back then.”

“Maybe not at that hotel, but that night when we returned to Coral Valley, you had her so fired up on the plane. She was drunk and she had me take her home,” Brant watched the expression on Russell’s face change. “I take it this rings a bell to you. Well, then you shouldn’t be surprised with the conclusion when I tell you that night at her apartment we made love. We had our way with one another and it was great. You weren’t even an afterthought to her. She was enjoying herself and with the one man she wanted to be with--me!”

“You lie!” Russ lunged forward ready to attack as Kyle held onto him.

“Oh no. You see Russ, while you think that Erin is your daughter, the fact to the matter is that she’s mine. She’s always been mine from the moment that Avery and I made love at her apartment. No matter how hard you want to believe that isn’t the case, the reality of the situation is that Erin belongs with Avery and with me--with her real father,” Brant finished with a smug expression watching Russ shake with fury needing both Grady and Kyle to hold him back.

“You’re a liar! She didn’t sleep with you! Erin’s my daughter!” Russell shouted ready to tear Brant apart piece by piece.

“Russ, don’t give him a reason to kick you out of here,” Kyle pleaded with his best friend. “Don’t give him that power.”

“That’s right Russ. Listen to that good buddy of yours and leave,” Hart mouthed seeing Grady do his best to calm Russ down. “There isn’t a thing you can do to change things, so just accept it.”

“I’m not going to accept anything,” Russell hissed in response.

“You don’t have to and while I won’t let you kick Brant’s ass because I don’t want you away from Erin, there’s nothing from stopping me from doing you the favor,” Kyle announced clenching his fist at his side before releasing Russ and turning around to lunge at Brant knowing full well there was no way in hell that Russ would be taken from his family again.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

JT opened the door to his bedroom hearing strange slamming sounds coming from around the area of his kitchen. While he wasn’t at all compelled to step out of his room after Valerie tried to drive him insane earlier with her bipolar madness, he knew that he had to see what was going on before she destroyed his kitchen. Tentatively he walked out only to discover her holding a cake in her arms. He glanced at her outfit seeing she was in a slinky black dress with her makeup all done up like she was ready to go to another photo shoot or to walk the streets to pick up a potential client for the night.

“So where do you think you’re going,” JT questioned leaning in the doorway arms folded in front of his chest, “To the circus?”

“I’ll have you know that I’m going over to Seth’s,” she wrinkled her nose at him, “He and I are going to have a romantic night together and before you know it, I won’t be living here any longer because I’ll be moving in with Seth.”

“Yeah well as much as I’d love to see that happen, we both know that Seth isn’t at all interested in you. Even with you trying to take advantage of his losing Jade, he’s not going to bat an eyelash at your getup,” JT gave her a very long once over, “Then again why would he want to even bother noticing you when he’s got someone as sexy as Blake Ashford with him? Now she’s someone I wouldn’t mind getting to know a bit better given that she’s blonde, beautiful and has a body that could drive any man wild with desire.”

“Shut up!” Valerie snapped at him, her eyes narrowing to a dark glare, “I’m not going to play second fiddle to Blake. Seth is my husband and we will be together. I just have to prove to him how right we are with one another.”

“If what you tried to pull with me earlier was any indication of your method of proving it to him, you might want to try another approach since that one kind of fell flat,” he mouthed with a bored expression issuing a yawn for full effect, “You are seriously lacking in that seduction department Val and I don’t think you come even remotely close to what a woman like Blake could give him there.”

“Blake is nothing in comparison to a woman like me. I have everything Seth wants,” she argued with him further.

“Val, I hate to break it to you, but um just about any other woman could offer what you’re attempting there with Seth and they’d make it all the more appealing than you would,” JT stated bluntly.

“You’re just jealous because I want him and not you,” she shook her head at him waving her hand at him dismissively.

“No actually I’m being honest with you because the truth to the matter is that men want a woman with integrity. A woman that looks at them like they’re the only one and the same kind of woman who means that. They don’t want someone that’s fake and shallow and is as insincere as they come,” he continued giving her another once over, “I mean yeah sure the packaging you have is nice, but deep down you really have nothing of substance to offer a man. That’s where Blake’s got you beat hands down. That’s why no matter what you pull she’ll always win.”

“And you’re just one to talk on romance there,” she grumbled at him, “seeing as you can’t have the one woman that you want.”

“Oh I can have her, but right now she’s set on being stubborn,” he shrugged his shoulders thinking about the last time he’d seen Diane. There was still a spark and a fire in her kiss and he could sense that she still longed for him like he did for her. “I’m just not trying to come off as desperate as you are. Eventually Diane will remember what’s good for her and come back to me. Seth on the other hand, well you’d just better hope that Blake doesn’t get annoyed with you and try to run you over with her car, which by the way would be totally justified,” JT checked the time on his watch before offering a small wave, “which by the way brings me to my departure. I’ve got to run.”

“You won’t be missed,” Valerie shouted out after him hearing the front door slam alerting her that he’d left. Regardless of what he said, she would get Seth back. She’d made his favorite dessert and she was prepared to pull out all the stops tonight. One way or another she would be back in Seth’s good graces soon enough and there wasn’t a thing that Blake Ashford could do to stop it!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“So tell me about this date Trisha is on,” Seth decided returning to the living room to see her seated on one of the sofas.

“Oh I don’t know. His name is Chase and she only met him a short while ago, but he seems nice enough and is kind of cute,” Ria explained noting the magazine on top of the coffee table. She reached for it holding it up to show it to Seth as she arched a curious brow, “What’s this?”

“It’s nothing,” Seth took it from her as he noticed the cover.

“What to Expect When You’re Expecting?” Ria noticed the headline on the cover and she eyed him again. “Seth are you and Blake pregnant?”

“Well, no not yet, but well, we’ve been working on it,” Seth replied sheepishly deciding to let his best friend into the loop about the situation. “We’ve decided to go for it and just work on seeing where fate takes us.”

“Well I suppose that’s a nice idea Seth, but don’t you think that you’re pushing it a little too fast here,” Ria couldn’t help but frown up at him, “I mean you’re still sort of married to Valerie and with Jade just dying…”

“Ria, I know what I’m doing. Blake and I both do,” Seth cut her off abruptly, “We want a baby and I’ve realized that life doesn’t wait for you to get things timed as perfectly as the rest of the world leads you to believe that you should do.”

“I understand that, but…” Ria started again as Blake walked out of the bedroom with a bright smile.

“Hi Ria,” Blake waved, “It’s good to see you. When Seth told me you were here, I was all excited because I figured that meant you’d decided to take us up on that breakfast offer.”

“Well actually it’s not really breakfast time and…” Ria started to explain to her then thought twice of it, “Yeah something like that.”

“That sounds great,” Seth grinned at the idea of spending the day with his best friend and his love, “but then again we promised Kevin that we’d wait for him to have our big pancake celebration.”

“Pancakes,” Ria repeated with a small gulp her face growing red at the memory of the last time she’d had pancakes with Kevin.

“That’s right,” Blake nodded casting a glance over at Ria. Immediately her gaze fell to the ring on Ria’s finger and she let out a gasp. “Oh my.”

“What is it?” Seth questioned tipping his head back to look at her.

“Nothing,” Blake shrugged her shoulders, “I just had a thought about what I could make for us if we wanted to stay in here, but if you’d rather we go out…”

“It doesn’t matter,” Seth replied turning his attention to Ria, “Do you have a preference?”

“Other than our going out to find Kevin and have a party with him,” Blake wiggled her brow catching the scathing look from Ria.

“You know it is strange that I haven’t heard from him lately,” Seth thought aloud remembering his cousin’s quick exit. He glanced over at Ria, “You haven’t heard from him lately have you?”

“No, not since he left town,” Ria lied feeling guilt sweep over her features, “Why do you ask?”

“No reason,” Blake blurted out unable to contain her amusement, “We were just so tickled pink by the idea of him being in town there that it’s just not the same without him around. Isn’t that right Seth?”

“Huh?” Seth snapped out of his daze he had seemingly popped into for a moment.

“Pink,” Blake repeated knowing full well that Ria had caught onto what Blake had observed, “We like pink, don’t we?”

“Yeah pink is okay I guess,” Seth shrugged his shoulders before smiling at Ria, “I think Blake is trying to drop hints that she’d like for us to have a girl.”

“Oh I’m trying to drop hints alright, but more so I think it’s about…” Blake began again all smiles at Ria.

“I could really use a drink right now. Seth, do you think you could get me some water or something?” Ria questioned focusing on her best friend. “My throat is scratchy and…”

“And I’m sure I can do that. I’ll be right back and you two think about what we’re going to eat,” Seth decided making his way into the kitchen as Blake let out a squeal practically leaping off of the couch to inspect Ria’s ring.

“That’s a pink diamond. I know it’s a pink diamond because I happen to be an expert on diamonds,” Blake reached for Ria’s hand before Ria could protest. She eyed the ring approvingly before grinning up at Ria, “and that pink diamond wouldn’t happen to be from a very sexy, very adorable Adonis now would it?”

“Shh!” Ria warned a worried expression crossing over her face, “I don’t want to get into this right now Blake.”

“Why not? Seth would love to hear that you and Kevin have fallen in love with one another. Obviously it’s pretty serious too judging by the size of that rock on your finger,” Blake added with a grin, “And that’s good news. We need good news around here so why not say something?”

“Because Kevin and I want to wait and we would be waiting still if you keep your mouth shut,” Ria tossed out a warning glance at her.

“I won’t say anything, but well, I have to say congratulations. You have no idea how awesome that is there. I’m so happy that you two are so very happy. I just love the idea of two people being in love,” Blake added taking a step back just in time to see Seth return.

“Okay, what am I missing in here,” he asked eyeing the both of them suspiciously.

“Nothing,” Blake lied with a shrug, “Ria and I were discussing just how much she loves pancakes there.”

“Just like Kevin,” Seth chuckled, “That’s pretty funny to see how much you two are alike there.”

“Yes very funny indeed,” Blake winked at Ria once more.

“You know I was thinking maybe we’d hold off on the pancakes and just go out for a while and pick something up. What do you both say?” Ria suggested hoping that Blake would stay true to her word and keep her mouth shut about Kevin--at least until Kevin was back and they truly had something to be official about with one another. Until then she just hoped that she didn’t let the world believe in something that still hadn’t happened yet. Although with any luck the waiting wouldn’t be too long now that she remembered Kevin’s promise to make all of her dreams come true. Now as she touched her ring on her finger listening to Blake and Seth toss out places they could go to for food, Ria realized that she couldn’t wait until that day with Kevin was a reality.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“So, what’s on your mind kid?” Martha questioned, watching Kevin run a cloth over her bar top to try and help her clean up a little bit. “You seem a little quiet today.”

“I’m always quiet,” Kevin replied with a small glance up at Martha before going back to cleaning the top of the bar. “There isn’t much of a difference.”

“Okay, so you just showed up out of the goodness of your heart?” Martha wondered, seeing Kevin look up at her and throw the towel he was using over his right shoulder. Martha saw Kevin nod slowly before she let out a small sigh. “I’m sorry kid, but I don’t believe that. What happened with you and Angie?”

“What makes you think something happened with Angie?” Kevin leaned back against the bar, watching as Martha walked behind the bar with him. “I could be having problems and they could have absolutely nothing to do with Angie.”

“Yeah, they could,” Martha agreed, folding her arms out in front of her chest before letting out a small frown. She looked over at Kevin and saw the look in his brown eyes that she knew very well, the look she had seen in his eyes so many times in the past. “Kevin, you always come here with me when she does something. So what happened?”

“I don’t know, I just don’t understand her anymore Martha,” he declared, simply shrugging his shoulders knowing that he couldn’t lie to Martha. Plain and simple, she was the only one of this island that could help him with any problem he had. “It’s like one moment I’m the most important man in this world to her and then the next it’s like…”

“You feel like you’re nothing,” Martha finished up seeing Kevin look away from her before nodding. There were so many times that they had this talk in the past, but there were only certain circumstances he would come to her. “You are always going to be her best friend Kevin.”

“Am I?” Kevin looked up at her before shaking his head. He tried to think of something to say, running his hand through his short hair. “I don’t even think she would consider me her best friend anymore Martha. She keeps things from me--you never keep things from your best friend. Your best friend is supposed to be the person you tell everything. But she keeps everything away from me. She treats me like--never mind, I don’t want you to deal with my problems.”

“Kev,” Martha frowned, reaching down to squeeze his hand in hers lightly. Kevin’s brown eyes met hers as she shook her head slowly. “You can talk to me, I never want you to feel uncomfortable around me. Just go on.”

“I know you are here for me Martha and I appreciate that. I always have,” Kevin frowned, taking in a deep breath trying to think of a way to explain how he was feeling. There were so many things that he wanted to say right now and he knew that Martha would be the only person that he could tell everything to because she was the one person that would understand the most. “I just can’t believe her. She has become so impossible lately.”

“How so?” Martha let go of his hand as he folded his arms out in front of his broad chest. There was an obvious feeling Kevin was having about telling her what was going on with him and she didn’t want him to feel like that at all. “Kevin come on--you can tell me everything. Everything that is said right here, right now won’t leave the bar. So go on.”

“I just think I have the right to know the name of the man that got her pregnant,” he explained, pulling himself up to sit on top of the bar. “I mean, I’m her best friend--I should be able to know this stuff.”

“Maybe she doesn’t want you to kill him,” Martha suggested seeing Kevin look up at her with a small frown. “Come on Kevin, you know just as much as I do that you would find every guy in this world that hurt Angela and kill every single one of them.”

“That’s because I don’t want her hurt and every time she is with a guy she always ends up hurt,” he pointed out with a small shake of his head. “I always end up having to be there for her and I have to be the guy she falls on over and over again. I have to see her die all the time in my arms. I’m the guy that feels her tears against my skin.”

“And why is that Kevin?” Martha stopped Kevin in the middle of his sentence, seeing Kevin become stuck on answering the question. “You’re always the guy that is there for her because you are still in love with her, aren’t you?”

“I don’t want to be anymore Martha,” Kevin stated, getting off the bar and walking around it. Kevin turned to face her as he threw his hands up in the air. “A part of me wishes that I never met Angie. Sometimes, I just wish that I would have never met her because if I didn’t I wouldn’t always be stuck. Stuck hoping that one day, she will just fall back in love with me. Every time I think I have a chance, I get hurt. I’ve been hurt so many times that I don’t think I have a heart to break anymore.”

“Kid, It’s okay,” Martha tried to get him to calm down, seeing the expression that spread over Kevin’s features. Kevin held his hand up in the air, stopping her from trying to convince him to do anything else.

“It’s not okay Martha. When Angie got pregnant, my dreams ended. I knew that once she got pregnant with this guy, I would never have a chance again and I was right because she’s still in love with that asshole,” Kevin snapped, grabbing the towel from his shoulder and clenching it in his hands tightly. “More than half my life has been dedicated to her. I have almost died time and time again for her and three days with this loser and he automatically wins her heart. If you understand that Martha, please explain it to me because I really don’t understand.”

“I don’t know what Angela is feeling Kevin,” Martha pondered an answer, seeing Kevin pulling at the towel as she tried to think of something to say.

“No one can, not a damn person can understand what is going through her mind. Martha, when Angie got pregnant--I wanted like hell to be the father of those babies. I wanted to be everything that I couldn’t be before. And it killed me when I knew that those babies were some other mans,” Kevin tried to explain to her all the pain he had held up inside of him for months. “So what do I when I find out the babies she is carrying belong to some man that‘s not me? I go and I try to be there for her. I try to show her that I could be a substitute of a father. I try to show her that I can be everything she has ever wanted in her dreams and it doesn’t even matter. Nick washes up on shore and then I get pushed into the corner again. I give my every breath to help her and what do I get? Oh thanks Kevin, see you later. I’m off with my next boy toy.”

“Kevin, I know she cares about you,” Martha tried to state the fact before Kevin cut her off once more.

“Oh yeah, she cares about me alright,” Kevin smirked, shrugging his shoulders as he pulled harder on the towel. “I mean, you know what happened every time she got sad about another guy? Like Chris, Cary and all the others--you know where she always ended up? She ended up in my bed every single time. And what do I think I do? I’m dumb enough to believe that every time she comes back to me, that she realizes I’m the man that’s willing to give up everything for her. I’m the man that has done so many things for her that she can’t even begin to understand. Is it true what I believe? No, far from it. I’m just used to make her feel a little bit better.”

“It’s probably a little bit more complicated than you are making it sound,” Martha suggested seeing Kyle shake his head slowly before loosening his grip on the towel. “I’m sure when she does--things with you it’s more than just a get and go to feel better.”

“Then how come every time it happens, I’m always the one that says I love you? How come I never hear her say the words right back to me? She says she does, but she says it because I’m here,” Kevin muttered, rolling his left sleeve up, pointing to the tattoo on his arm. “What am I supposed to do about this Martha? I have her name on my arm? I have something permanent of her on my arm.”

“Well, it is in some different kind of writing,” Martha pointed out trying to lighten the subject as she saw Kevin frown. “Didn’t you get that tattoo when she was seventeen?”

“She got me drunk, yeah,” Kevin nodded slowly before shrugging his shoulders as he spoke. “Hell, she even has a tattoo on her lower back with my…”

“I know, I have seen it,” Martha informed him with a small nod seeing Kevin roll up his other sleeve to show his other tattoo. “You both did it together.”

“Every tattoo I have on my body, I got it because of her,” Kevin reminded Martha with a small shake of his head as he tried to get past the disbelief he was having at the moment. “I have her name on my body twice--what am I supposed to do about that?”

“I don’t know,” Martha became stumped, trying to give him an appropriate answer, but finding herself coming up with nothing. “Well, most people can’t read the writing.”

“That’s beside the point Martha,” Kevin frowned, resting his hands on his hips as he shook his head slowly. “I have been trying to get her off my mind, but I know it will never work. I’ve tried to be with different girls like Claire, Marie, and even Michelle. I know that no matter how hard I try to forget her, it will never happen. I learned that when I was twenty-one.”

“She was a booger back then,” Martha laughed, seeing Kevin nod slowly as she walked out from behind the bar and over towards him. “I remember what you were like when she married Cary. I know how hard it was for you.”

“You mean to give it away just like that?” Kevin questioned, feeling a lump growing in the back of his throat as he tried to continue without stopping again. “To have her walk down that isle and the man’s hand she was holding wasn’t mine. To be the one to pass her the ring, not that man that was slipping the ring on her finger and promising her my love, my heart--everything I was willing to give just to be with her. It killed me inside Martha. I let it happen because I wanted her to be happy. I married Michelle to try and get past her Martha, but I couldn’t. And then I found out…”

“I know,” Martha hushed, placing her finger over his lips gently as he went to speak up again. “You don’t need to bring it up Kevin. It’s alright.”

“Is it really?” Kevin wondered, grabbing Martha’s hand in his as she lightly lowered it. “I’m surprised you don’t hate me for everything you know. For me being in love with Angie this long and...”

“I knew from the first moment I saw you Kevin that you were in love with her,” she pointed out with a small shake of her head, knowing Kevin’s feelings had always been tied in knots. “What happened with you and Angie doesn’t make me hate you Kevin. It just proved you would do anything for her.”

“I wish she understood like you did because I loved her for so long. So very, very long,” Kevin whispered, shaking his head slowly as he spoke. “I wished for so long that everything would be a dream, that the day I was going to ask her to marry me--she didn’t break up with me. That the day she was having my baby, I should’ve been there. I should seen my child. I shouldn’t have…”

“Kevin, don’t think about it now,” Martha reached out to touch his face as he turned away from her and placed his hand over his stomach. “You don’t want to think about it.”

“How can I not think about that Martha? My own flesh and blood,” Kevin bit down into his bottom lip as he felt the pain build up behind his body. “Even that should have kept her with me Martha. The fact that we lost our child. She left me after that Martha, how could you do that to someone? How could you let a broken heart, get ripped out even more?”

“Kevin, she must have had a reason. It was hard for the both of you,” Martha pointed out as Kevin shook his head slowly.

“It’s that and everything else that's been bothering me. In the future she got with me again and the second time I was going to ask her to marry me, she did the same thing she always does to me. I had the ring in my pocket, the moment was planned perfectly and then she just broke my heart again--tore it right in half. She makes me feel worthless like I am nothing. I never understood what her problem was. I tried to give her everything I could. I was everything she said she wanted in a man. I was perfect for her, how come I wasn’t good enough for her? Why did she always want me to be hurting? Why?”

“Kevin,” Martha frowned, trying to reach out and touch him as he pulled away from her again.

“I tried so hard to move on Martha--I keep trying so very hard. I’m through with it, I have someone who loves me for me and I am so stupid because I still live in a fantasy world where I still love Angie. I don’t want to love her anymore, I want it to go away. I don’t want to hurt anymore Martha. I want it to be gone,” Kevin bit down into his bottom lip as he clenched the towel in his hands tightly. “The other night, I told her exactly what I felt. I told her that I would love to be the father of those two babies. I told her all those things, I gave my heart to her and she said what she always does.”

“I saw it Kevin,” Martha frowned, seeing the way that Kevin seemed to be breaking more and more. “You looked like you had your heart ripped right out of you.”

“I did,” Kevin whispered, looking away from Martha as he tried to come up with something to say. “Even my best isn’t good enough for her. I want to stop hurting Martha. I want to be able to have a future with happiness in it. I need to stop loving her before I can’t find it in me be happy anymore. She’ll never let me be happy Martha. I just don’t want to feel this pain anymore.”

“You don’t have to hurt Kevin,” Martha tried to calm him down as she saw the moisture behind his eyes as he ran his shaky hands through his hair slowly.

“Did what we have mean anything to her? I mean, she runs off with that guy on Christmas. Christmas of all days she does this to us,” Kevin muttered, trying to hold back the anger and pain he had inside of him. “Martha, I was gone visiting my dau…the life we should have had. Of all times, she shouldn’t have done it on Christmas. Did it mean anything to her?”

“Come here kid,” Martha reached out to grab Kevin in her arms, feeling him rest his head against her shoulder lightly. She patted his back lightly, hearing his heavy breathing in her ear. “Love works in mysterious ways. Believe me--I know. I know just the thing to make you feel better.”

“Oh yeah?” Kevin leaned back from her, feeling her slip out of his arms and walk to the back of the bar before returning with two beers in her hand. When she handed him one he let out a small laugh as he wiped at his eyes. “This is going to help me feel better?”

“Hell, it works,” Martha shrugged, seeing Kevin look down at the bottle before taking a sip of it. “I know it’s hard kid, but you have to be strong like you always have been. That’s the best thing about you Kevin--you’re heart is bigger than your whole body. It’s just really tender.”

“Well, it’s trying to toughen up,” Kevin smirked, feeling her hand on his shoulder as he tried to put all of his thoughts aside. “It may not work, but it’s trying.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“That’s it,” Sarah threw her hands up in the air, feeling the goop slide down her face. She raised her hands up to push some of it away from her eyes before taking a bold step towards Cori. “I am not going to put up with your crap anymore.”

“Don’t you even think about fighting you two,” Diego got up slowly, seeing Cori’s eyes on him as he stepped in closer. “We don’t need to start a scene.”

“I won’t start a scene unless she does something to make me start a scene,” Cori promised, looking away from Diego and towards Sarah. “So, is that food mild or is it hot?”

Sarah said nothing as she looked down towards the ground before raising her hand and bringing it across Cori’s face.

“Sarah,” Diego gasped moving forward as he saw Cori turn her face away from the two of them.

“Thank you,” Cori whispered turning towards them with a smile over her features. Cori quickly brought her hand across Sarah’s cheek, making Sarah take a step back from the blow.

“That’s it, no more being nice,” Sarah grabbed Cori by the shoulders and pulled her forward. She grabbed Cori by the hair and pulled on it roughly. “You need to be taught a lesson.”

“Get off me you bitch,” Cori snapped, pushing Sarah back and watching as Sarah fell to the ground in a thud. “You can’t over power me Sarah. You never will be able to.”

“Cori, stop it,” Diego demanded, trying to help Sarah up off the ground as Sarah pushed him away and tried to get up on her own. “Leave Sarah alone Cori.”

“She was the one who hit me first,” Cori reminded Diego with small shrug as Diego gave her a tiny glare. “Diego, I told you I wouldn’t start a scene unless she started something with me.”

“Sarah,” Diego gasped seeing Sarah going to punch Cori, but before Sarah could come close to hitting Cori, Cori had caught Sarah’s fist in her hand.

“Do you want to keep starting a scene?” Cori questioned with a small laugh, shaking her head slowly as she twisted Sarah’s wrist slightly. “You want to keep playing this way? I can tell you one thing--you can’t take me down Sarah.”

“Let go of her,” Diego yelled seeing the red beginning to spread over Sarah’s features. Sarah fell to one knee as she tried to get her hand free from Cori. “If you break her wrist…”

“Fine,” Cori frowned letting go of Sarah’s wrist before walking away. “She tried to hit me Diego. Are you missing all of this or am I just the only bad person in your eyes?”

“I’ll get you down,” Sarah scowled grabbing the metal lunch tray off the table and walking over towards Cori. She brought it back quickly and swung it forward, but Cori saw it coming and ducked.

“What are you doing?” Cori questioned with a small gasp as she saw the metal tray hit Diego in the center of the forehead making him fall back to the ground. “You are crazy.”

“Oh crap,” Sarah dropped the tray to the ground and bent down next to Cori to make sure Diego was okay. “I didn’t mean to hit him, I didn’t think I would hit him.”

“You were trying to hit me,” Cori pointed out with a frown as she touched Diego’s face, lightly tapping the side of his face. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind that Diego was out cold and he wouldn’t be up anytime soon. “Come on Diego, wake up honey.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

“Let him go Kyle,” Don yelled, grabbing Kyle’s arm and trying to pull it away from Brant. Kyle had his hands tightly wrapped around Brant’s throat as he lifted Brant up against the wall so Brant’s feet were dangling in the air.

“Let him go,” Hart tried to get Kyle off by pulling on Kyle’s other arm as he saw Brant’s face start to turn even more red by the minute. “You are going to kill him.”

“Oh no, that might be a bad thing,” Kyle bit down on his bottom lip as he tightened his grip even more on Brant’s neck. “We wouldn’t want Brant to die now, would we?”

“I swear to god Kyle, if you don’t let him go,” Don began, watching Kyle’s angered eyes meet his as Kyle dropped Brant to the ground.

“You’ll what Don?” Kyle questioned, seeing Don raise his fists up to get ready to fight with him. “What are you going to do Don? Beat me up. Go ahead, give me your best shot.”

“Fine,” Don nodded, seeing Hart kneeled down to check on Brant who was now holding onto his neck as he tried to gain back the breath he had lost. “You asked for it.”

Don went to punch Kyle, but Kyle caught Don’s fist in his hand and brought his left palm up into Don’s nose making Don fall back to the ground.

“Oh shit,” Don fell to the ground, feeling his own blood against his fingers as he saw Kyle stand in above him. “I think you broke my damn nose.”

“You tried to hit me,” Kyle pointed out with small shrug as he saw Don pull his hands away from his nose to see the blood before placing them back over his nose. “That will teach you something.”

“You jerk,” Hart jumped on Kyle’s back and wrapped his arms around Kyle’s neck. Hart squeezed at Kyle’s neck as tight as he could as Don got up from the ground and punched Kyle in the stomach.

“Get off me you idiot,” Kyle groaned, quickly punching Don square in the jaw and watching him fall to the ground. Kyle flipped Hart over his head and on top of Don before shaking his head slowly.

“I think they've had enough Kyle,” Grady pointed out, taking a step forward as Kyle looked down to Brant who was now to his hands and knees.

“He hasn’t,” Kyle shrugged, bringing his foot up into Brant’s stomach to see Brant fall back to the ground in a thud. Kyle brought his foot up into Brant’s stomach again, seeing Brant arch his back up off the ground in pain.

“Kyle, you don’t want to go to jail,” Russell pointed out, knowing that he shouldn’t be standing up for Brant--hell, he wasn’t standing up for Brant. He was just making sure his best friend didn’t go to jail for someone so stupid.

“You’re right,” Kyle glared down at Brant before turning towards Russell and Grady. “I don’t want to kill a loser like him.”

“He’s not a loser,” Don yelled, bringing his fist into Kyle’s wounded thigh making Kyle fall to the ground in a thud. “You’re a loser. A big, mean loser.”

“You asshole,” Kyle growled out in pain as he wrapped his arm around his leg, feeling his face go red. Grady and Russell bent down to aid him as he placed his hands over his thigh.

“That was low,” Grady snapped, glaring up at Don with an angered glance seeing the smug smirk spread across Don’s features. “You think someone who got wounded saving Erin’s life is funny? You think using their wound against them is funny?”

“That was low man,” Hart pointed out, finally helping Brant up off the ground as he saw the frown spread over Don’s features. “You should have hit him in the stomach or something. That was about as low as it gets.”

“What?” Don gasped, throwing his hands up in the air as he saw Grady and Russell finally get Kyle up off the ground. Grady held onto Kyle, knowing Kyle put his weight on his leg. “You have to be kidding me.”

“Forget it,” Kyle snapped, pointing over at Don before looking over at Brant. “What he said about Erin is bull shit. You know Erin is Russell‘s flesh and blood.”

“You know she is Don,” Russell’s eyes met Don’s as he saw Don wipe blood away from his nose slowly. “You know she is mine.”

“Fine, if you don’t believe it--then there is only one way to settle this,” Don shrugged, looking over at Brant before looking back at Russell. “A paternity test.”

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

...to be continued...