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To Live is to Die
Topic Started: March 5, 2008, 12:49 am (59,967 Views)
Metalicious
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Blackened
[ * ]
LOL - the smilies you use always make me giggle!

...yeah. Pregnant. I told y'all it was a soap opera. :biggrin

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maisy blue
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Some Kind Of Monster
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YIKES!!! Pregnant?!

Of course, my first thought was- who is the daddy? Charlie's been... uh... "courted" by three men all in the same time period. I hope it's James. But vasectomies are also 99% percent, so...

Of course, I'm also freaking out about the effects the sickness had on her and her drinking and smoking up and... YES, I know it's fiction! I swear I am aware of that fact! But I'm clearly very emotionally invested in this story.

I hope it turns out okay, but I'm terrified for her. And James BETTER NOT pull anymore shit.


*stressball*


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Fade_To_Black
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Bad Seed
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Yaaaayyy!! I loved that part! Although the fever sounds pretty scary, i really hope things will be ok for Charlie and James!!! :nanner:

:biggrin Love it!
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Mina
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Morgenstern
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Pregnant? Wow, now I'm really surprised.
I really hope that James is the father and that everything's going to be alright between him and Charlie at LAST. I really want her (and him) to be finally happy. Happy together. They both deserve it.


Can't wait for more, I'm so goddamn hooked, really
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Metalicious
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Blackened
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Thanks everybody. :D

*****************************************

The next day flew by as I did all the errands on my list. I picked up a selection of pregnancy books from Barnes & Noble, ordered a ton of food online to be delivered, cleaned the house from top to bottom and made up the room across from mine for James. I had afternoon tea with Mrs. Deanez and called Jan to invite her for dinner the following week. By seven p.m. I was lounging on the couch, with the fire lit to stave off the chill outdoors. Duke was curled up behind my knees and Fire was crashed under the coffee table.

By eight p.m. I was channel surfing, too distracted by James’ absence to watch anything, and by ten p.m. I was wandering around the house, wondering if he’d changed his mind.

At eleven, I let the dogs out for a brief run, and settled them in the lounge before locking the doors and heading up to bed feeling sad and alone. James had apparently come to his senses and decided not to stay with me. Which I couldn’t fault him for. He had to do what was best for him. I could understand that, even if I didn’t like it. I brushed my teeth slowly, stopping every few seconds thinking I heard a car in the driveway. When I’d finished rubbing the body oil into my skin, I turned out the lights and crawled under the covers. I’d only been in bed a few minutes when I heard the front door open and close, and then James’ voice as he quietly greeted the dogs.

I closed my eyes as I listened to him coming up the stairs. The last one creaked under his weight and he cursed softly. “Charlie?” he whispered as he pushed my door open wider.

“Hey,” I sat up, pulling the blankets around me.

He sat on the bed, and I moved my knees up, wrapping my arms around them. “Sorry I’m so late. Lars and I stayed late at the studio and when we finally went to leave, my tire was busted so I had to get Lars to drive me back to the ranch so I could get the other truck, and I wound up having an argument with Fran, and…anyway. I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine. I said to come anytime.” I rested my head on my arms, still feeling a little hurt.

“I know you did, but I wanted to be here at seven, and I should have called. I just kept trying to get here, thinking I wouldn’t need to call cause I’d be here soon, and then… I wasn’t. Didn’t want you to think I wasn’t coming,” he smiled. I didn’t respond. He sighed, dropping his head. “You thought I wasn’t coming, didn’t you.”

I spoke slowly, trying to plan my words carefully. “It just, sorta, seemed like a hasty decision, you wanting to stay with me. I thought maybe you’d… had a better offer, or just realized it wasn’t what you wanted.”

He moved up the bed towards me, pulling me gently into a hug. “This is exactly what I want. I want to be here, with you. And you,” he said, lowering his head to talk to my stomach. “Now…I believe we had a deal? I stay here in exchange for giving you a massage of some sort?”

I smiled as he took my hands, lacing his fingers through mine. “It’s late, you don’t have to do that. You can have the first night off, I’m sure you wanna unpack and stuff.”

“Nope. I can do that tomorrow. Take your pick, woman, before I decide for you. Back, belly or feet.”

The thought crossed my mind to ask him to rub something else, and I blushed at the thought. He raised an eyebrow and I shook my head. “Nothing,” I lied, looking down at the covers.

Leaning in, he touched his forehead to mine. “I have no doubt that we’ll get to the ‘nothing’ soon enough, darlin’. But like I said last night, I don’t wanna rush you. So for now, let’s stick to the agreed upon body parts, hmm? Though given how good you smell, those’ll probably get me all hot and bothered anyway,” he said quietly, giving me a quick sniff and laughing as I yelped.

“You really are part wolf, aren’t you,” I said, narrowing my eyes at him. “Back please.”

I rolled over and he lifted my tank top off from behind, pressing a light kiss to my shoulder, chuckling when I jumped. “Easy, Tyler. I won’t bite. Got any more of that oil you use?” I directed him to the cupboard in the bathroom and he emerged a minute later, rubbing his hands to warm the oil. Sighing with pleasure as he slowly pushed his hands up my back, I relaxed into his touch, squirming slightly when he tickled my sides. He talked quietly about the day at the studio, and the tracks he and the guys were working on. I felt myself falling asleep and barely noticed when his hands stopped moving.

I did notice when he started to roll me over, and I slung an arm across my breasts, blinking sleepily at him. “Thank you,” I mumbled, barely able to stay awake.

“Welcome. Sweet dreams,” he kissed my forehead and then like the night before, kissed my stomach, tucking the blankets around me. “Night Charlie,” he said softly as he shut the door.

I murmured a reply as sleep claimed me. “Night James.”

I woke at noon to find James had already gone, but a note on the table told me he’d be back in the evening and we could watch the A’s game if I was interested. His cell phone number was written on the sheet of paper, with a big block arrow and huge writing saying “call me if you need me”.



I put the dogs in the truck and took them to the hills for a long walk. We got home a couple of hours later and there was a message on the phone from Jackson. Letting the dogs out back, I took the portable phone with me and rang him at the office.

“Mizz Tyler,” he chuckled into the phone when his secretary put me through. “Good to hear your voice, doll. Good trip? Glad to be home? Can’t wait to get back to work?”

“Yes, yes, and no. You’ll have to come round later this week for a full briefing,” I smiled. “What’s up? Miss me already? Desperate for me to come back? Can’t handle things without me?”

He laughed. “Yes, yes, and no right back atcha. I do miss ya, but we can manage until…next week is it? But John asked me to remind you that the charity gala casino night is tonight. I know you just got back, but the partners want as many of us as possible to attend. Any chance you could throw on a party dress and come out for a few hours this evening?”

I sank into one of the kitchen chairs, exhausted at the very thought of dressing up and schmoozing with clients all night. Still, it was for a good cause. All the proceeds from the evening went to a variety of local charities, and it was excellent publicity for the firm. I’d been to one the previous year and had an excellent time. “What time does it start? Eight?”

“Seven, but you could show up at eight. Leave at ten or eleven? Please, Charlie? I told John I’d find a way to talk you into it.”

I glanced at James’ note, knowing I should really go to the event, but disappointed that I’d be missing out an evening with him. “Two hours. If John gives you a hard time over that, tell him I’m recovering from Dengue Fever and if he wants me to stay longer he’ll have to provide me with somewhere to sleep. “

“Perfect, you’re an angel, doll. I’ll come by at 7:30 and you can fill me in on the illness thing, and we can arrange for a cab to take you home. I gotta run, I’ve got four thousand meetings to get through before tonight. See ya!”

He hung up before I could say goodbye, and I trudged upstairs to find something to wear. The event was black tie, the more formal the better. Pulling out a black full length gown, I laid it on the bed. “After you,” I told the dress, “I am not wearing anything other than jeans and tee shirts for the next two weeks.”



The groceries I’d ordered the day before were delivered at three, and I took my book to sit out in the sun for a bit after I’d put everything away. Going inside at six, I took the portable phone with me into the bathroom and ran a bath, adding a good measure of bubble bath. I’d left a message on James’ cell earlier, and wasn’t surprised when he rang as I finished filling the tub. “James Alan Hetfield, how’s your afternoon going?” I smiled as I sank into the water.

“Hello, Charlotte Elizabeth Victoria Tyler. My afternoon was great. We’re just finishing up, thought I’d give you a call. So you’re out tonight?”

“Only for a bit,” I said quickly. “Jackson’s picking me up around 7:30, and I shouldn’t be more than a couple hours. I should be back for the last two innings of the game, hopefully. Can you hold on for a second?” I put the phone down beside the tub and piled my hair on top of my head, sinking farther into the water and leaning back. “Sorry about that. Yeah, so… how are those tracks coming along? Did Lars get the drum fills done?”

I listened to him talk for a few minutes, just enjoying the sound of his voice. “Look, sweetie, I’m gonna pack up, but I’ll see you in about an hour. Do you need me to get anything for you on my way h…um…over?”

“Nope. Food came today, so we’re all set. I’ll see you when you get here.”

“Okay, I’ll be there soon. Uh…and I wanted to mention, you know that dinner party that we’re having with Pep and Trish and a few others? I kinda asked Lars to come too, he’s really anxious to see you. Are you okay with that?”

“Of course, James, that’s fine,” I lied. I was so nervous about seeing Lars, especially since James would be around too. Awkward much? “I’m anxious to see him, too.” Or…just anxious. “I’ll see you soon.”

“Okay, bye sweets.”

I hung up and groaned in frustration before sliding down in the tub, sinking beneath the water completely.

Climbing out of the tub half an hour later, I dried off and wrapped myself up in the worn pale pink cashmere robe that had belonged to my mom. Turning off the blow dryer as I heard a car door slam, I walked to the top of the stairs. James came in a minute later, much to the dogs’ excitement.

“Hey fellas,” he chuckled, getting on one knee to greet them. Glancing up, he saw me and stood up. “Hi.”

“Hi. I need to finish getting ready, but there’s a ton of food in the fridge, so help yourself. If you need a hand finding anything, gimme a shout.” I smiled as Fire repeatedly held up his paw, begging for attention. “Looks like you’ll have company, anyway.”

I went back into my bathroom and started curling my hair. I could hear James talking to the dogs, and smiled to myself. Putting on my Joss Stone cd, I sang along as I repeatedly burned my fingers on the hot tongs.

“Need a hand?” James asked from the doorway.

“Uh…no. I’m fine.”

He leaned against the counter, watching as I twirled my hair around the wide metal barrel and held it there for a count of ten. “So who’s gonna be there tonight? All your buddies from work?”

I nodded as I let the curl slip loose. “Yeah, and a couple hundred of the corporate clients. The money goes to the local boys and girls clubs, stuff like that, so it’s worthwhile. I went last year. Lost some money at the roulette table, had a little too much champagne and passed out in my dress when I got home. No worries of that happening tonight,” I smiled, putting a hand on my stomach. “I’ll behave.”

Finishing with the curling iron, I unplugged it and pulled half the curls back, securing them with a slim clip, letting a couple fall around my face. James watched, amused, as I applied my makeup. “How do girls learn what to do with all this stuff?” he picked up the bottle of foundation, then the powder blush, and looked horrified as he picked up the eyelash curler.

“Trial and error,” I explained. “I used to play with my mom’s stuff. And girlfriends experiment on each other,” I shrugged, laughing when he shot me a huge grin. “With makeup, you pervert.”

Rolling the slim tube of lip gloss over the counter with his finger, he looked at me in the mirror. “You wearing the cherry stuff tonight?”

I smiled and shook my head. “Nah. Tonight’s more of a dark pink lipstick night. It’s prettier but it tastes gross.”

He smiled a little, looking down. “Shame.” The doorbell sounded and Jackson yelled his arrival from downstairs. “I’ll go down and keep him company til you’re ready.”

I closed the door to my bedroom when I’d finished my makeup, and untied my robe, throwing it over the closet door. Stepping into the dress, I looked in the mirror. Halter style, it had a vee in the front that dipped to my stomach, with two slim straps of material across the front. The back was equally low, and the heavy material fell straight down from my waist, pooling on the floor at the back, even when I had heels on. Tying my ribbon heels on, I fastened the bracelet Pep had given me around my wrist, and changed my silver hoop earrings for diamonds. Carefully navigating the stairs so as not to fall on my ass, I saw James and Jackson on the playstation.

“Dude…you are SO gonna die. Watch this…no…wait…SHIT!” Jackson threw his hands up as James beat him.

“You suck at this game, buddy,” James laughed.

They looked so cute sitting side by side, James in his tee shirt and jeans in sharp contrast to Jackson in his tux. The tux jacket lay on the back of the couch and Jackson had rolled his sleeves up. I leaned against the wall, wishing we could stay home and hang out, playing Mortal Kombat all night instead of going to the gala. “Sure we can’t skip the party?” I asked and they both stood up, turning to face me.

Jackson let out a low whistle. “You clean up good, kid,” he grinned, coming over to hug me. “How’re ya feelin’?” he asked quietly when he’d let go.

“I feel great, all things considered. Ready to go? Cause…the sooner we get there, the sooner I can run away.” I smiled.

“Ahhh, Cinderella. Gotcha. You turn into a pumpkin at midnight, do ya?” He winked, tucking one of the stray curls behind my ear. “I’ll go start the car, you can say goodnight to the man who’s been cheating his ass off for the last ten minutes. Shameful, dude,” he shook his head at James in mock sadness. “Just shameful.” He grabbed his tux jacket and headed out the door, leaving it open for me.

James walked over, taking my hands in his. “You look beautiful. I know you’re not planning on staying long, but don’t feel you have to rush back. I’ll be here all night, right? So you should stay if you’re having fun. But,” he looked suddenly serious. “If you need me to come get you, or if you start feeling unwell… you call me, okay? Promise?”

“I will. I should get going,” I said softly. He nodded, but neither of us moved. Finally, Jackson beeped the horn and James let go of my hands. “See you in a couple hours.”

“Have fun,” he smiled, brushing his lips across my cheek lightly. I turned to go and made it as far as the doorway before turning around and walking back to him, slipping my arms around his waist and hugging him tightly. He cupped the back of my neck, kissing the top of my head. “You okay?” he murmured into my hair.

“Yup. Just needed a hug from Big Daddy Het before I left. I’m fine now. See ya,” I winked and he laughed.

“Crazy woman.”



The party was extravagant and very glamorous, and the first hour flew by as I chatted with colleagues and a few of our clients. I sipped cranberry juice and managed to avoid explaining why I wasn’t drinking. I’d have to tell the partners soon enough, but I was happy to leave it for the time being.

By 9:30, I was itching to go home. I’d won fifty bucks at the blackjack tables, and promptly lost it again at roulette. I really needed to stop playing that game. I tried to find Jackson to tell him I was leaving but he was nowhere to be seen. I got roped into a game of three-card poker with two of the partners, and didn’t manage to extract myself from that until shortly after ten p.m. I finally found Jackson at the bar, knocking back tequila shots with the senior partner and one of our biggest corporate finance clients. “I’m leaving,” I whispered in his ear.

“You are NOT!” he gasped and whirled around, nearly knocking me off balance. “We just got here!” he exclaimed, trying not to fall over. “Why would you leave? Party’s just getting started, Charlie. Where’s your drink? The Charlie I know would be three sheets to the wind by now.”

I took him by the wrist and led him away from the bar. He was hammered, but I knew he’d still be able to keep a secret. “I’m two months pregnant. I’m not drinking. I’m tired, and I wanna go home. I’ve been here more than the requisite two hours, so I’m takin’ off. I’ll explain to John if you need me to. I don’t want you to get in shit because I left.”

His face lit up as he absorbed what I’d said. “You’re pregnant?” he whispered loudly. I nodded. “I’m gonna be an uncle?” he grinned, still whispering.

Laughing, I nodded again. “Sure, you can be an uncle. But, I need to go home and lie down, sweets, I’m really tired.”

Stepping back, he yanked off his jacket and laid it on the floor, making a grand gesture with his hands. “Ahhhhh…” he said proudly. “I made you a bed. Sleep here, and then get up later and we can keep partying!”

“Thank you, no.” I kissed his cheek. “I’ll see you next week, I’m gonna grab a cab home.”

He waved and headed back to the bar, and I left the building to find a cab. The ride home didn’t take long, and I tipped the driver generously, getting a receipt so I could bill the firm. Unlocking the front door, I heard the ball game announcers from the tv, and stepped into the lounge, stopping as I saw James fast asleep on the couch. I tiptoed over and shut off the tv, crouching down to scratch Fire’s ears as he whimpered in his sleep.

Sitting on the edge of the couch, I rested a hand on James’ chest, feeling his heart beating under my palm. Leaning over to place a kiss on his cheek, I noticed the book he’d been reading had slipped down between the couch cushions. I pried it out, nearly dropping it when I saw it was Cliff’s journal. Cursing under my breath, I put the book on the coffee table, feeling guilty just for having touched it. I knew Jan had given it to me with her blessing to read it, but James had been so upset when he’d seen it in my possession, I’d given up any hopes of seeing what Cliff had written.

I looked at the worn cover of the book, wondering if James would ever be comfortable letting me see it, or if he would always consider it too private. Still, I was Cliff’s daughter. I was the one who could speak to him and see him. Surely it wasn’t wrong for me to see his personal thoughts.

I must have stared at the journal for a good five minutes before I picked it up, opening it carefully. I read the first page slowly, examining his handwriting to see if it looked like mine, noting the way he used the ampersand symbol instead of ‘and’, the way he drew little pictures in the margins and added words after, like he’d proofread his entry. I scanned the second page, smiling as I read about a gig where someone had thrown a shoe at James. I’d read an interview about the incident years later, but Cliff’s account was funnier. A few pages on Cliff had written “Ozzy!!!” in huge letters, signifying the start of their tour with him. I read through a couple entries and then skipped to the last few pages of the book. James’ infamous skateboard incident was recorded, with Cliff commenting that Marshall had done a kickass job of filling in on guitar. Running a fingertip over the black ink, I looked at the date, noting it was the end of July, 1986. Roughly two months before Cliff’s death.

“How was the party?”

I jumped off the couch, dropping the journal on the floor. “I’m…I’m sorry,” I stammered. “I was just…I know you didn’t want me to read it, but I thought if I could just look at a couple of pages…I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have touched it, I had no right. I didn’t even know him, I-I know.” Shaking slightly, tears streaming down my face, I bent down and picked up the journal, handing it to James.

“Charlie…” he frowned and started towards me, lifting his hand. I’m sure he only wanted to stop me from backing away, but I flinched nonetheless. The pain in his eyes only made me cry harder. “Shhhh, baby, c’mere,” he gently gathered me in his arms. “I’m sorry, Charlie. So sorry. Of course you can read Cliff’s journal. I never should have said otherwise. Shhh, sweetie. Please stop crying, you’re gonna hurt yourself.” Picking me up easily, he carried me upstairs, putting me down when he reached my bed. Crouching in front of me, he carefully untied the ribbons around my ankles and slid my shoes off. Putting his arms under my legs and back, he moved me up the bed and then curled up behind me, slipping an arm around my waist. “This okay?”



I made a noncommittal noise and closed my eyes as he stroked a hand over my hair. We lay there for a few minutes until I’d calmed down, and I realized I should probably take off my makeup and change out of my dress. I started to sit up and James rolled over. “I need to wash my face and stuff, put my pajamas on,” I explained, rubbing my eyes.

He watched from the bed as I pulled out my blue silk pajama pants and a tank top. I went into the bathroom to change and came back out to hang up my dress. Fiddling with the clasp on my bracelet, I sighed in frustration when I couldn’t get it undone. James came over and opened it easily, laying the bracelet in my palm. “Music?” he asked softly, pointing to the cd player.

“Sure. You pick.” I went back into the bathroom and took my eye makeup remover out of the top drawer, smiling when I heard what he’d chosen. Catching his eye in the mirror when he appeared in the doorway, I raised an eyebrow. “The Indigo Girls?”

“I thought you’d like it…” he looked panicked and started to turn to change the cd.

“I do! I do…it’s just…I didn’t think you’d like it.”

He came and leaned against the counter, watching as I swiped at my mascara. “It’s not always about what I like, or what I want. Anyway, they’ve got some cool stuff. I dig this song,” he said as the girls sang the chorus of Galileo.

Taking the clips out of my hair, I swept it up in a high ponytail and scrubbed my face, taking the towel James handed to me. “Thanks.” Remember to change my earrings, I took out the diamond ones and put the little hoops back in before unscrewing the little tub of moisturizer.

James moved to sit on the side of the tub. “The Yankees won tonight. Randy came through with some strong pitching. And Giambi had some good hits, from what I saw of the game highlights.” He continued to chat about the game, picking up the different bottles of bath oils and bubble bath, smelling each one. I turned and leaned against the sink, and he looked up at me. “What?”

“Nothing. I was just thinking how nice it is having you around. And I’m sorry about earlier. I didn’t mean to freak out like that.”

He got up and stood in front of me, gently placing his fingers to my mouth, shaking his head. “It’s my fault you freaked out. I made you feel like that.” Hoisting me up on the counter, he rested his forehead against mine. “I’m the one who should be sorry, baby. For so many things.” I buried my face in his neck and hugged him, breathing in his scent. “I promise things will be better,” he said firmly, rubbing my back. “Do you want some tea? I noticed the four thousand and twelve different kinds you have when I made some earlier. Might help you unwind.”

I nodded. “Yeah, that’d be good. I’ll meet you downstairs in a minute, just gonna…” I waved the bottle of body oil at him.

“Okay. Anytime you want me to help out with that, just let me know,” he shot me a grin.

“Tea, James,” I smiled, shooing him out of the bathroom and closing the door behind him.

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Metalicious
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Blackened
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When I went downstairs a few minutes later, he was sitting in the lounge watching more game highlights. His eyes still on the screen, he shifted sideways on the couch so one leg was stretched out and one was on the floor, and gestured for me to come sit. Sitting with my back to him, I leaned back and rested my head against his chest. One of his hands was playing with my hair while the other lightly rubbed my belly. Every so often his fingers would dip just below the waist of my pajamas, causing my breathing to hitch. “Relax, Charlie,” he murmured in my ear, only adding to the butterflies in my stomach. “I won’t do anything you don’t want, baby.”

“Please…” I whispered, lifting my hips up as his fingers danced over my skin. He undid the silk ties, allowing his hand more access, and I watched, holding my breath, as his fingers disappeared under the dark material, stroking me gently. “Please, James…” I said again, aching for him.

“What, baby? Tell me what you want.” He ran his tongue over my earlobe, nipping it lightly with his teeth, letting out a low growl when I bucked against his hand. “Tell me, Charlie. Tell me what you told me in your dream. When we were on the island. What do you want me to do?” His fingers were still touching me lightly, and no matter how much I tried to rub myself against them, it wasn’t enough.

“More,” I gasped. “Touch me more. Harder, James. Make me come. Please…” I arched against him as he finally thrust his fingers deep inside me, hard and fast, moving his other hand down to rub his thumb over my clit, which immediately sent me over the edge.

Slumping against him, I closed my eyes, my body still tingling. Turning me so I was lying sideways against him, he pressed his lips to mine, and I realized he’d licked his fingers clean as I tasted myself on his mouth. “Still need that tea to unwind?” he asked, a devilish glint in his eye.

I shook my head, kissing him again. “I’m good. Entirely unwound.” I started to undo his belt, intent on returning the favor, but he stopped me, shaking his head.

“Not til you’re all better. When you’re a hundred percent well, then I can devote several days to wearing you out again.” He looked like he’d made his mind up, but I cupped him through his jeans and he thrust into my hand briefly before shaking his head again. “I’m serious, sweetie. You were really sick, and exhausted, and I’m not taking any chances. I don’t wanna do anything to jeopardize your health, or the baby’s.”

“So…until I’m all better, we’re just gonna be all about me?” I asked, amazed that he’d be okay with that. He nodded like it made perfect sense. “I could be sick for months,” I mused. “Months and months of orgasms just for me…” I stared off into space and he laughed, pulling me back against him.

“Rest, darlin’. You’ll need your strength for when you recover.”

I snuggled against his chest and closed my eyes. “Can’t wait.”



I awoke the next morning to find James had left for the studio already, and wouldn’t be back until late that evening. Dressing quickly in jeans and an old tee shirt, I drove over to Benny’s to hang out for a while.

“Hello darlin’,” he called as he came out to greet me. “Long time no see. Thought you’d forgotten all about us.” Pulling me into a bear hug, he lifted me off the ground. “Come on back and see Mikey. He’s working on a custom piece right now, but he’d love to see ya.” I followed him out through the garage to the back and hugged Mike, who promptly yanked off his shirt and thrust out his arm proudly. He’d had an entire sleeve done of hot rod and flames tattoos.

“Wow…” my jaw fell open. “That looks amazing. That’s a serious amount of ink, buddy. How long did it take to get done?”

“Four days,” he said proudly, a huge smile on his face. “Hurt like a bitch,” he said happily, and Benny swatted him with his hat. “I mean, it was really painful.”

For the next few hours, I hung out with the two of them, helping Mike put the finishing touches on a sweet little hot rod he was fixing up for his girlfriend’s dad. We were lifting part of the hood on when I suddenly felt woozy, and let go of my end of the piece, sinking quickly to the ground.

“Charlie? Charlie!” Mike was gently patting my face, trying to get me to drink the bottle of water he was holding up to my mouth.

“Whoooo… sorry. Guess that was heavier than I thought,” I tried to smile. “I’m fine, just gimme a minute.” I guzzled half the bottle and leaned back on my elbows, trying to shake off the dizziness in my head.

Benny came over and crouched next to me. “Get up, darlin’,” he said, taking my arm. “I’m taking you to the hospital.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” I scoffed, pulling my arm away. “I’m fine. I just need a minute. I’m just a little hot. Lemme finish the water, and maybe if you ventilated your workspace a little better…” I muttered.

“Get in the car, Tyler,” Benny said firmly. “’Ventilate my workspace’, she says,” he grumbled as he helped me into the front seat of his convertible. “It’s a fuckin’ outdoor garage. Jesus.”

We got to the hospital in under ten minutes, and I filled out the paperwork while Benny flipped through a Reader’s Digest. “Thought Het was exaggerating when he said you’d been really ill recently,” he said quietly, not looking at me. “Guess not.”

“You talked to James?” I put the clipboard down, confused.

“He’s been dropping by almost weekly since he came by with his son that time. We do a lot of work for him. Mentioned you’d been ill on your trip, said you were still feeling a little weak, and I should keep an eye on you if you stopped by. Guess I should have done a better job of it.”

I glanced at him, knowing he was just pulling a guilt trip to make me see I should be taking better care of myself. “You know full well it wasn’t your fault. I should be taking it easy this week, not trying to lift heavy pieces of cars.”

The receptionist called my name and I went in, leaving my bag with Benny. Ten minutes later I came back out, with strict orders to stop lifting heavy stuff, and to not do anything strenuous until I’d had full clearance from my doctor. “What about sex?” I’d asked her.

She thought for a minute. “Will it be strenuous?”

“I certainly hope so.”

She laughed. “Then make sure you do it lying down. And stop if you feel lightheaded. In a bad way. It’ll probably be fine. You mainly need to avoid intense exercise, standing for too long, and lifting things that weigh more than twenty kilos. For now, anyway.”

Benny drove me back to his place, and followed me in his own car back to my house. Once he was convinced I wasn’t going to try to lift my piano or swim laps, he left me alone, promising to call later to check on me. I’d specifically asked him not to call James. I wanted to tell him myself when he got home.

I ate lunch outside in the shade, and changed into my bikini to relax by the pool for a bit, taking one of the pregnancy books out with me. I got about three pages into it before I fell asleep. I woke up a short time later to the doorbell ringing repeatedly. Wrapping my sarong around me, I jogged back into the house to answer it. My heart jumped into my throat when I opened the door and saw Francesca standing there, with all three little Hets.

Fran pushed them all forward, and they filed into the house silently, each carrying a small backpack. “Sorry I didn’t call,” she said, not looking sorry in the least. “James said he was staying here for the time being.”

I stared at Fran for a moment, not sure if I should invite her in, or ask her what the hell she was up to. “Did you wanna…” I gestured back into the hall and she shook her head quickly.

“God, no. Something came up and I have to go out of town for the night, I’ll be back the day after tomorrow. I would have taken them to the studio but the band is meeting with management all day and the kids can’t hang around there. I wouldn’t have brought them here,” she said slowly, “but there was nowhere else to take them. Nowhere,” she emphasized.

“It’s fine, Fran. I’m sure James will be thrilled to spend some more time with them. I’ll get him to call you when he gets in, you can arrange a time to pick them up when you’re back.” I started to close the door and she pressed her hand against it.

“It won’t last,” she said softly. “He’ll leave you, too. He’s incapable of loving anyone.”

“Have a safe trip, Fran.” I closed the door, locking it, and went to find the kids. They were all sitting on the couch, and looked up at me as I came into the room. “Hey, guys,” I smiled. “Did you all pack your bathing suits?”

I called Mrs. Deanez while the kids were changing, and asked her to come over and help me supervise, in case I felt faint again. Helping Cella into her adorable little red suit, I grabbed some lemonade and cookies, and took them out to the deck.

“Charlie, watch me!” Castor yelled as he took a running leap off the deep end, cannonballing into the water. Mrs. D. came through the backyard and hugged me tightly, before introducing herself to the kids.

We spent the rest of the afternoon outside, and I finally called them out of the pool when I realized they’d turn into tiny little prunes if they stayed in any longer.

“I dun wanna get out,” Cella pouted from where she was holding on to a big, inflatable dolphin. She still had sunscreen on her nose from where I’d reapplied it several minutes ago.

Cali came up behind her and paddled her over to the side of the pool. “Maybe we can swim tomorrow, Cella. Right Charlie? We just need to take a little break?”

I nodded, guiding Cella over to the shallow end so she could get out without me lifting her. “We need to eat dinner, dudes. So why don’t we all get dressed again, and then… order pizza?” I knew I should be trying to feed them something nutritious, but I didn’t feel up to cooking. Castor nearly knocked me over with a hug as he got out of the pool.

“I love pizza,” he said seriously, looking up at me. “Can we help pick what goes on it?”

“Definitely. Let’s go inside, and then we can all meet in the living room and decide what kind to have, okay?” I herded them in, hugging Mrs. Deanez before she left, and then assisted Cella as she kept up a running monologue while I dried her off. “All set?” I asked when she was fully dressed again, her hair still pretty damp, but untangled after I’d combed it out.

“Yup!” She grinned at me and ran into the living room.

“Be right back guys,” I called as I walked upstairs to change. Braiding my hair quickly, I threw on some jeans and a tank top and ran back downstairs, just in time to head off an argument about pineapple. “Hey…easy, guys, no yelling. I figured we could get two pizzas, and that way we can get different stuff on each. Or some stuff on half of one, and other stuff on the other half. So we could have four different types. Oooh, one half for each of us.”

They seemed fairly happy with that decision, and I called in the order a few minutes later. Castor was a meat lover like his dad, Cali was experimenting with vegetarianism, and Cella wanted whatever I was having. I rummaged through the fridge and cut up some carrots, green beans, a red pepper and washed some cherry tomatoes. Tossing some plain yogurt in a bowl, I threw in some dill and some lemon juice, hoping it would pass as dip. Spreading an old table cloth on the floor, I laid out the veggies and dip, and held out two movies. “Monster’s Inc.? Or Ice Age?”

Monster’s Inc. was the chosen flick, and I popped it in the DVD player, heading back into the kitchen to pour everybody a drink. The pizzas arrived after I’d handed out the heavy tumblers, and I passed around the plates, finally settling back against the couch with a slice of double pepperoni.

An hour later, the four of us were stuffed. All the veggies were gone, as was almost half the pizza. Sitting in a little half circle on the floor, Cali was drawing, Castor was engrossed in the movie, and Cella was curled up on my lap, with me leaning back against the couch. I’d lit the fire earlier, and the dogs were sprawled beside Castor. I paused the movie when I heard the front door open, and all three kids jumped up as James appeared in the hallway.



“Papa!” Cella reached him first and squealed as he lifted her up, a mixture of happiness and confusion evident on his face. “Hi! We had pizza! And went swimmin’! And we’re watchin’ a movie!” She kept her arms around his neck as he crouched down to hug Cali and Castor, and he shot me a quizzical look.

“Hey, guys, we never had dessert. Wanna grab some of that watermelon?” I stood up slowly as the kids raced into the kitchen. Brushing pizza crust crumbs from my lap, I gave James a tentative smile. “Hey. You’re early. Um…Fran dropped them off earlier today. Said she had to go somewhere? They had their suits, so we pretty much hung out in the backyard all day,” I found it hard to meet his gaze. “I put sunscreen on them. No, um, no sunburns.”

“Charlie! Cali’s taking all the big pieces,” Castor hollered from the kitchen.

I smiled. “You snooze, you lose, buddy,” I called back, and then realized that wasn’t very good to teach a kid. “Or, um, you guys should share.”

James snorted. “If you can get them to share, I’m thinking they better hang out with you more.” Putting a hand on the small of my back, he guided me into the kitchen and we took the kids, and the watermelon, out to the backyard. James started a fire in the fire pit, listening as Cali and Castor told him all about our day together. Cella climbed back into my lap, and I stroked a hand over her hair while I tried to think of a way to tell James about my fainting spell at Benny’s.

“Okay, bedtime for everybody,” he declared about an hour later. There was much sleepy protesting from Cali and Castor, but Cella had fallen asleep already. I handed her over to James and went upstairs with Cali to show her into her room. I figured each kid could have a room, James could stay in mine, and I’d crash on the couch. “You’re the oldest, sugar, so you can take your pick of these two. I figured we should put Cella across from my room. That cool?”

“Yup.” She looked up at me for a moment. “Is papa staying in your room?” she asked quietly, glancing over her shoulder as if she were afraid James would hear.

“He is, but I’m staying downstairs. That way everybody can have their own bed. He usually sleeps in the room Cella’s gonna stay in. See all of his stuff?” I pointed at James’ clothes and shaving kit that were scattered on the dresser and chair in his room.

“Okay,” she said softly. I turned down the bed in the blue room for her, and showed her where the bathroom was.

“I normally leave the hall light on, and the bathroom light, too. Think that’ll be too bright for you?”

She shook her head quickly. “No, that’s good. Castor has a nightlight at home sometimes. He doesn’t like the dark a lot. Neither does Cella.”

“I do NOT have a nightlight,” Castor argued as he reached the top of the stairs. “Only sometimes if it’s really dark. I’m not scared, I just don’t like when I can’t see stuff.”

“Me either,” I ruffled his hair and smiled at him. “Can’t have you guys walkin’ into walls and stuff if you get up to use the bathroom. I’ve done that,” I added. “It hurt.” He giggled and ran into the room across from Cali’s, diving onto the bed. “Done that, too,” I told him, tossing the decorative pillows on the floor.

I said goodnight to both of them, and left James to finish tucking them in, while I took my pajamas and some sheets downstairs so I wouldn’t disturb them later. James came down a short while later, shaking his head. “You’re not sleeping on the couch,” he said firmly. “You need a good, solid eight hours, Charlie. You won’t get that in the lounge. I can stay here, you stay in your room.”

“James, that’s sweet, but-”

“No, Charlie. No arguing.” He looked awfully serious, so I simply nodded and mumbled that I had to go let the dogs out. Coming back inside, I heard him on his cell phone in the lounge. “…just so damn irresponsible,” he said quietly, but I could hear the anger in his voice. “I just…it’s ridiculous. It’s like she doesn’t even care about them. This is so different from their normal routine, I’m worried it’s gonna mess with them…” he turned and saw me standing in the kitchen. “I’ll call ya later, buddy. Yup…thanks.” Hanging up, he walked over to me, running a hand over my hair. “Hi.”

“We had vegetables,” I blurted out.

He looked at me blankly. “Okay…”

“And we ate them before we had pizza, and we had milk to drink, and I didn’t let Cella go in the deep end, and if I’d known they were coming I would have organized something better to do than just swimming, but they seemed happy with that, even though I know it’s not really an educational activity, and I didn’t have any other kid-friendly movies, so I let them watch that one, but probably we should have read a book together or something.” I blinked back the tears in my eyes, feeling so inadequate, and was confused when he drew me into a hug. “I’m sorry,” I mumbled against his shirt. “I can do better.”

“You did great,” he murmured. “Why are you so upset? They had an awesome time with you today.”

“But you said…on the phone…” I wiped at my eyes, completely confused.

“I said Fran was irresponsible for leaving the kids with you. She knows you’ve been ill. She also knows that if there’s an emergency, she’s to call Gio and leave them with him. But I just talked to him, and he didn’t hear from her at all today, so apparently she forgot that plan and figured she’d make a new one.” Sitting in one of the kitchen chairs, he pulled me onto his lap. “I got a call from Benny on my way home. Said you stopped by earlier today.”

Sighing, I nodded. “I felt bad for having bailed on him this summer after I’d promised to help out regularly. Figured I could swing by and put in a few hours.”

“How’d that go?” he asked softly.

“I fainted.”

He stood up quickly and I almost wound up on the floor. “What?”

“Only for a minute. It’s just cause I lifted part of the piece we were working on, and it was a little heavy, and apparently I shouldn’t be lifting heavy stuff. James?” He’d bolted out the back door. I followed, coming up behind him by the fire pit. “Het?” I said quietly, not wanting to anger him further. “I just…I didn’t know I was that weak. But it’s fine. I won’t do that again. I talked to the doctor, so I know what’s okay and what’s not.” I shoved my hands in my pockets. “So…yeah.”

Turning quickly, he gripped my shoulders, the firelight flickering in his eyes. “You need to be so careful, Charlie. You could have died on the island, and your body’s still really weak.” Cupping my cheek, he gazed at me intently. “Promise me you’ll call me if anything like that happens again?”

“You were in meetings all day! I’m not gonna call you out of work just because I had a dizzy spell. That’s silly.” I wanted to tell him he was overreacting, but the look in his eyes stopped me.

Leaning down so he could rest his forehead against mine, he said firmly, “Your health? And the health of the baby? Not silly.” Putting a hand on my stomach, he kissed my forehead. “You’re both important to me, Charlie. Please do this for me? Promise me?” There was still an undercurrent of anger in his tone, and I nodded silently. “Good.” He sighed. “I’m gonna go for a swim. Long day.” Kissing my forehead again, he went back into the house. I sank into one of the deck chairs and lay back, looking up at the evening sky. Staying there until James reappeared in his shorts, I watched him do a couple of laps and then went inside to tidy up.



He was still swimming when I’d finished cleaning the lounge, and I realized he hadn’t brought a towel out with him. Taking one of the huge navy ones from the downstairs bathroom, I greeted him with it as he stepped out of the pool. He made no move to take it, so I wrapped it around him, rubbing his arms and back.

“Thanks,” he murmured, bending down to kiss my cheek, and then brushed his lips over mine. I ran a hand down his still damp chest, and felt his arms go around me, pressing me to him. Sliding his hands under my shirt, his hands caressed my bare back as his lips traveled down my neck to my collarbone. Seconds later, both of us were on the grass. I planted both feet firmly on the ground as he started grinding against me, kissing me fiercely. Grabbing his ass, I arched my pelvis up, gasping with pleasure from the friction between us. “That’s it, baby,” he panted against my mouth. “Come for me.”

“James…” I breathed his name as I tensed under him, moaning as my climax hit me.

He cupped a hand under the back of my head as I lay back, breathing heavily. “You alright?” He looked worried, stroking his other hand over my cheek. “You’re really warm.”

I chuckled. “Think maybe it has something to do with our little tussle on the grass?” I sat up slowly, letting him pull me close. “It’s not fair that you keep doing this for just me, James. I feel like I’m being selfish.”

“Don’t be silly,” he chided, wrapping his arms around me and resting his chin on my head. “I like doing that for you. You look so beautiful when you let go like that.” He nuzzled my neck briefly, his warm breath sending shivers up my back. “We should probably head inside.”

I reluctantly followed him to the deck, shaking the grass off my jeans once I’d reached the deck. Smiling, he brushed more grass out of my hair. “Bet your jeans are gonna be grass-stained on the butt,” he grinned, peeking around behind me. “Yup.”

“Good,” I raised an eyebrow. “I hope they stay that way after I wash ‘em. Otherwise I’ll have to drag you out there again for round two.” Standing on tiptoes, I pressed a kiss to his neck. “Are you sure you won’t stay upstairs? I don’t mind the couch.”

“No deal. You sleep upstairs. It’s just for one night, the kids are over at Lars’ tomorrow. He’s got a sitter, cause he’ll be here.”

I’d forgotten about the dinner party. “Right… he’s here having dinner. And they’re staying with Myles and Layne? Cool.” I turned to head upstairs, suddenly feeling anxious about Lars coming over.

James caught my arm and pulled me backwards, hugging me to his chest. “Stop stressing. Everything’ll be fine, I swear. Besides, aren’t you excited to see Pep? And Trish?” I nodded. “See? It’ll be great. So you should try to get a good sleep so you’re not too tired tomorrow night.”

“Okay, smart guy,” I smiled. “Sleep well.” I leaned my head backwards and got an upside down kiss and a pat on the ass. “Night James.”

I woke shortly after midnight, unable to place what had woken me, but also unable to get back to sleep. Getting out of bed, I checked on Cella first, and then Cali, and finally Castor. All three of them were sleeping soundly. Tiptoeing downstairs so I wouldn’t wake James, I nearly had a heart attack when he suddenly sat up on the couch. “Can’t sleep?”

“Can’t breathe!” I put a hand over my chest, my heart pounding. “God!” Recovering from the fright, I walked over and stood beside him. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“S’okay,” he said quietly, pulling me down to sit on the couch. “Bad dream?”

I shook my head. “Nope. Just feeling wide awake. I’ll go back up in a minute, I just came down for…I dunno what I came down for.”

He looked at me for a moment and then leaned forward, cupping the back of my neck as he kissed me gently. “Did you come down for that?” he murmured when he pulled away.

“Maybe,” I whispered. “But I feel a little weird about doing this while the little Hets are upstairs.”

Nodding, he scooped me up and grabbed a blanket, heading outside. The fire was down to a few embers, giving off a faint light. Putting me down, he spread the blanket on the ground, gesturing for me to join him on it. I stretched out beside him, snuggling against his side in the cool night air. “Cold, baby?”

“Little.” I tossed another couple pieces of wood on the coals. “That oughta take care of it.” I caught the look in his eyes. “Unless you wanna warm me up?” He smiled and slid his hand down my hip, sliding it back up and under my shirt. I closed my eyes when he cupped my breast, and felt his lips on mine, his tongue seeking entrance to my mouth. Sliding a leg between his, I moaned when I felt him rubbing his groin against my thigh. I started to move down so I could touch him, and he pinned me to the ground, shooting me a wicked look.

“Not yet,” he said in a half-growl. Hooking his fingers in my pajama bottoms, he pulled them down and pushed my legs apart, laying between them. I shivered again, not from the cold, but from the feral smile he was giving me. “Easy, baby,” he murmured when I jerked under the touch of his fingers. The mix of the cold air and his hot mouth on my skin was overwhelming, and I tangled my fingers in his hair, pulling him harder against me.

“More…harder…don’t stop,” I whispered, begging him to continue. Licking me slowly, he looked up at me, eyes dark. “Please…” I whimpered, and he gripped my hips, biting and sucking til the pleasure was too much, and I sobbed his name, writhing under his mouth.

Covering me with his body, he kissed his way back up to my neck, and hovered over me. “Think you’ll be able to sleep?”

“Yup.” I propped myself up on my elbows, kissing him lightly. “Thank you.”

He rested his forehead against mine, looking like he was about to say something. Apparently deciding against that, he passed me my pajama bottoms and waited while I pulled them on, before taking my hand and leading me into the house. Gently touching a hand to my stomach, he pressed a kiss to my cheek. “Night, Charlie. And baby,” he added, looking down.

“Night, Het.”

Cella woke me the next morning, climbing in beside me and peering at me with her big eyes. “Hi!” she whispered. “Can I go see the doggies?”

I rubbed my eyes and sat up. “Sure, darlin’.” I glanced at the clock and saw it was just after six. Wow. “Um…the doggies might still be sleeping. Maybe we should wait a little while?”

“Okay,” she giggled and settled in beside me, snuggling against my hip.

Cali appeared in the doorway, with Castor behind her. “Morning,” they both whispered. I smiled and waved them in, and they piled onto the bed.

“Did you guys sleep okay? Must be kinda weird waking up in a strange bed.”

“I forgot where I was,” Castor grinned. “But then I ‘membered. Can we go swimming today? Papa said that we could, maybe, if it was okay with you. Cause G’s comin’ to get us at lunch. And then we’re gonna go to see Myles and Layne and play at their house.”

“Sure, we can go swimming. Might be a good idea to wait til it warms up a little though. I’m not sure how warm it is at…” I looked at the clock again. “Six fifteen.”

Cali and Castor tucked themselves under the end of the blankets and we discussed what we could do until Gio arrived. We’d decided on swimming, playing basketball, making cookies and teaching the dogs how to do tricks, when James appeared in the doorway. “Morning, guys,” he smiled, still looking sleepy.

Cali hopped off the bed and hugged him. “Morning, papa. Can we help make breakfast?” She looked up at him, and then glanced over at me. “Can we?”

“You bet. I think we’ve got the stuff for French toast, and maybe we can make smoothies, too?” I kissed the top of Cella’s head as she wriggled against me, and pushed the duvet down so she could get out. The kids ran downstairs and I looked up to see James watching me intently. “Morning.”

Moving so he was standing in front of me, he tilted my head up, and kissed me softly. “Morning,” he murmured. “Did you sleep well? Before the wake-up crew arrived, I mean?” he smiled.

Sliding my arms around his waist, I kissed his chest, nodding. “Slept great.” I moved back for a second, listening. “Okay, that’s the blender. We should probably get downstairs.”

James tidied up after breakfast and headed over to the studio, promising to be back around five. Gio would be over at noon to pick up the kids, and everyone coming for dinner was supposed to arrive after six. The kids and I went for a swim, with Cali on co-lifeguard duty. James had made the four of us promise to stay in the shallow end, and had mentioned to Castor and Cali that I’d been ill recently, so we weren’t to do anything too rambunctious. I refereed a game of basketball while Cella played with the dogs, and we’d just finished pulling the last batch of cookies out of the oven when Gio showed up.



I made a quick call to Jan to ensure she was still coming for dinner, called Mrs. D. to do the same, and went upstairs for a nap. I woke up to the phone ringing. “’lo?”

“Hey. Did I wake you?” James sounded concerned.

“Yeah, but it’s good, I should probably get up. What time is it?” I rolled over, trying to find the clock.

“Four-thirty,” he told me, laughing when I shrieked. “You’ve got plenty of time to get ready, Charlie. Don’t panic. I just wanted to call and let you know I’m leaving the studio. I’ll pick up the food and see you in half an hour or so. Need me to get anything else?”

“Um… ice cream? To go with the pie?”

“’kay. What kind, pistachio?”

I smiled, loving that he knew my favorite kind. “Sadly, no. Pep’s allergic.”

He was quiet for a minute. “He is?”

“Yeah. Not deathly so, but enough that his tongue swells up and… well, it’s pretty painful. But anything other than that would be great. You pick it out.”

“Okay.” He sounded a little sad, and I was reluctant to hang up.

“James?”

“Yeah.”

“Hurry up and come home, okay? I…um…the dogs miss you.” I smacked my forehead, feeling like an idiot.

He laughed. “Do they? Well, you tell ‘em I’ll get back as soon as I can.”

We hung up, and I padded into the shower, still feeling fuzzy from my long nap. The hot water and grapefruit body wash woke me up, and I was getting dressed when James hollered his arrival from downstairs. Slipping a thin, black sweater over my head, I pulled on a dark pair of skinny jeans and put on my bracelet from Pep, and my silver necklace. I went downstairs and found James in the kitchen, standing in the middle of the floor, looking slightly panicked. “Hi.”

“I don’t know where anything is,” he said. “Serving dishes and stuff. Otherwise I could get all this ready and on the table. But if you tell me where I can find-”

“Everything’s in the dining room. But you already helped a lot, why don’t you go relax until everybody gets here? I can do this.” Noting his unimpressed expression, I laughed. “James, none of this stuff is gonna weigh more than twenty kilos. I’ll be fine.”

“Should I go change?” He looked down at his outfit and I shook my head. He was wearing jeans and a white tee, with a dark blue plaid button down overtop. The sleeves were rolled up, exposing his tats and the big leather wrist cuff watch he sometimes wore. “Maybe I should go see the dogs?” he smiled. “Since they missed me so much.”

“Jackass,” I muttered, feeling my face grow hot. I started towards the dining room and found myself trapped in a half nelson, with his other arm around my waist. “Hetfield…”

“Tyler…” he growled in my ear. Licking a path from my neck to my ear, he sucked my earlobe into his mouth, biting it gently. “Did you miss me?”

I squirmed, trying to break free, but his arm kept me in place, and his teeth kept nipping at the skin on my neck. “No,” I lied, giggling. “Not even a little.”

“Liar,” he growled again. His fingers slid up my sweater, and under my bra, pinching my nipple lightly. “Tell the truth, baby,” he warned as I arched into his touch. The doorbell rang, startling us both. He let go of me quickly, pressing a quick kiss to my neck. “I’ll get it.”

“Hey,” I called after him, and he looked back over his shoulder. “Missed you today,” I grinned and he laughed.

The door swung open and Pep and Trish attacked James with bear hugs, both talking at once. He backed slowly into the lounge, sinking onto the sofa. Trish sat beside him, and Pep looked up and saw me in the kitchen. Leaving James and Trish to talk, he wandered in, hands in his pockets. “Hi, baby girl,” he said softly. Reaching a hand out to touch my stomach, he glanced at me. “Can I…?”

“Course,” I smiled. “Not that you can feel anything yet, but go nuts.” I put my hand over top of his, feeling tears well up as he kissed my forehead. “Missed you, Keenan.”

He slid both arms around me, pressing my head against his chest. “Missed you too, darlin’. Het taking good care of you?” I nodded, and he rubbed my back. “And are you taking good care of you? Making sure you take it easy and stuff?” I nodded again, not wanting to let go of him yet. I saw Trish heading towards us and I held out an arm for her, pulling her into the hug.

The doorbell went again and James got up to answer it. I heard Lars’ voice and backed away from Pep and Trish. “You seen him yet?” Trish asked quietly.

“Nope. Not since Boston.”

“Hmmm. Hetfield!” she yelled.

“Yes ma’am!” James barked back at her.

“C’mon outside with me and Pep.” She dragged them both out to the deck, leaving Lars and I alone in the house.

“Guess they think we need some time to talk,” he said softly, walking over to stand beside me.

“Guess so.” I wanted to hug him, to take away some of the awkwardness, but the last thing I wanted was to have James come back in the kitchen and find Lars holding me. “I hear the little Hets are hanging out with the little Ulrichs tonight,” I smiled. “You must have a very energetic babysitter.”

He chuckled. “I do. Two of them, actually.” Brushing his thumb over my cheekbone, he stepped forward, stopping when I stepped back. “Sorry…I didn’t mean to…” he looked incredibly sad. “I guess things are different now.” He started to turn away and I took his hand. Turning back, he gave me sad smile. “Sweetie, it’s fine. I understand.”

“No, you don’t,” I said softly. “Yeah, things are different, but I don’t wanna lose you, Lars. I know we hurt each other a lot, but…fuck!” I swore as tears started rolling down my cheeks. “I’m sorry, this has nothing to do with you. Apparently I can’t control my damn emotions anymore.” I wiped at my eyes and he smiled, brushing the sleeve of his shirt over my cheek. “Thanks. I just…I don’t wanna lose you,” I repeated. “Jeg elsker dig,” I whispered.

He wrapped me in a fierce hug, holding me tightly. “Love you too, Charlotte Elizabeth.” Kissing my cheek, he brushed a hand over my hair. “I’m sorry…for everything. For New York, for Boston,” he hugged me again. “Can we try again? Being friends? I don’t wanna lose you either.” Cupping my face in his hands, he kissed my forehead. “Specially since there’s a new member of the Metallica family on the way.”

I felt my knees start to buckle, and grabbed his shoulders for support. “You know? Already?”

He nodded, guiding me into a seat at the table. “James told me. He didn’t want me freaking out in front of you. I’m happy for you, sweetheart. If this is what you want, and I think it is, then I’m thrilled.”

Bursting into tears, I wrapped my arms around his waist while he made soothing noises, rubbing the back of my neck. I heard the door to the deck open and looked over to see James standing there. “Did you make her cry?” he demanded.

“No!” Lars jumped back, holding up his hands. “She’s just a little emotional, right sweetie?” Hearing the doorbell, he patted my cheek gently and turned. “I’ll get that.”

James came over and crouched in front of me. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” I sniffed, wiping at my eyes again. “He wasn’t… I mean, we weren’t… fuck!” I stomped my foot just as Jan came in the kitchen.



“Hello, sweetie,” she smiled. “Having a little bout of tourettes, are you?” She pulled up the chair opposite mine and placed a bottle of wine on the table. “Shall I pour you a glass, honey?”

I closed my eyes, realizing I hadn’t told her yet. “Actually, I kinda need to talk to you about something. Could we go outside?” She nodded, and I stood up, leading her to the deck. “Be right back,” I told James. “Um…I’m not really sure how to tell you this,” I said as we sat by the fire pit. Sighing heavily, I took her hand. “I’m pregnant. The baby is James’, and I’m keeping it. I hope…I hope you’re not too disappointed in me. No, no, no! Don’t cry!” I protested as she dabbed at her eyes.

She chuckled, pulling a tissue out of her pocket. “I’m an old woman, sweetheart. I’m allowed to get a little weepy when my only granddaughter tells me she’s having a baby with the man she loves.” My mouth fell open and she laughed again. “Old, sweetie. Not blind.” Hugging me, she took both of my hands and squeezed them. “Are you happy?”

“Contrary to what it looks like,” I smiled, brushing away more tears. “Yes, I am. I’m still not entirely sure what’s gonna happen with James, but I know he supports my decision, and he’s been wonderful so far.” I put a hand on my stomach, still in awe of the fact that there was a tiny life growing in there. “And I’m pretty excited about the baby.”

“Charlie? Honey? You need some lights back here, sugar, I’m gonna fall on my behind any minute now.” Mrs. Deanez approached from the back of the yard, carrying something that smelled like bacon. “Hello, you must be Jan,” she smiled when she reached us. “I’m Ruth Deanez, Charlie’s neighbor.”

“Charlie’s surrogate grandmother, from what I hear,” Jan smiled warmly. “That looks delicious,” she glanced down at whatever was in the basket. “Let’s take it inside, I’m sure the boys will want to sample it.”

Walking between them, I linked my arms with theirs and we walked up to the house. Kirk threw open the door and held his arms out. “Three of my favorite girls,” he grinned. “Lucky, lucky me. C’mon inside, ladies.” Ushering us into the kitchen, he took the basket from Mrs. D, and I watched as they wandered into the lounge, immediately chatting like old friends.

“How’d she take it?” James asked, wrapping his arms around my waist from behind.

“Very well. Do Kirk and Rob know, too?” I looked up at him and he nodded, looking slightly worried. “Good. I’m glad you told them.” I rubbed my hand over his larger ones, leaning back against him.

“You and Lars get things worked out? Looked like you guys were doing okay before I came in.”

I tensed, scared that he’d gotten the wrong idea when he saw us. “Yeah, I mean, we’re fine, or we will be, but it’s just… I mean, he and I are just friends, right? I just figured it’s for the best that we try to get along again, go back to how things were…before. Right? I mean, he’s your best friend. Imagine how awkward it would be if your best friend didn’t get along with your girl…with your… with me.” Jesus!

“Baby girl!” Pep yelled from the dining room, with perfect timing. “C’mere and tell me what dishes you want.”

Extracting myself from James’ arms, I hustled into the dining room. “Blue dishes, sugar.”

Rob and Pep inserted the extra leaves in the table, making enough room for the nine of us, and Trish helped me set the table before James and Kirk carried in all the food. The bacon-wrapped scallops that Mrs. D. had brought over were devoured before they even got out of the basket, but the rest of the food made it to the table safely. Once we were all settled in around the table, Jan said a lovely grace, and we tucked in to the food.

“How are you feeling lately, Charlie?” Jan asked from across the table.

Sipping at the enormous glass of milk Lars had poured for me, I smiled at her. “Great. A little sleepy, and I’ve had a couple of dizzy spells, but other than that…”

“You make sure you get lots of rest, sweetie,” she advised. “Don’t wear yourself out. Are you going back to work soon? I think you mentioned you start back in September.”

“You’re going back to work?” Lars sounded incredulous. “Don’t you wanna take a bit more time off? Just to make sure you’re totally healthy before you start pulling the long hours again?”

I lifted one of the soft-shell crabs off its serving plate and ripped off a claw, looking up when I heard Mrs. D. gasp. “Sweetheart, don’t eat that. Pregnant women shouldn’t have shellfish.”

“Damn. I knew that, too,” I muttered, smiling as Pep immediately took the crab for himself.

“No peanuts either, right?” Jan chimed in. “Or sushi, smoked meats, things like that.”

“Or soft cheese,” Lars said softly as I reached for the salad.

“I’ll eat around the brie,” I assured him. “So, Keenans,” I looked at Pep and Trish. “Are you house-hunting this week?”

“Yep. We’re meeting with a couple of real estate agents tomorrow to get the ball rolling,” Trish said. “Pep’s busy the day after tomorrow though. Wanna come with me? One of the guys has already lined up a couple of brand new places for us to check out.”

“Oh honey, you be careful if you go,” Jan warned. “If they’ve cleaned or painted it recently those fumes could be bad for the baby.”

“And you should up your calcium intake,” Mrs. D. smiled as I drank more milk. “Even with foods. Milk is good, but things like broccoli, spinach…”

“But no salmon,” Jan interjected. “Never know what the mercury levels might be.”

“And obviously,” Mrs. D. pointed out, “no more drinking.”

“Or smoking,” Jan added quietly. “But especially be careful with the alcohol, sweetie. I know you have all those work functions with the champagne and the martinis,” she smiled. “All the more reason to stay home from work a little longer.”

“Weren’t you just at a work function the other night?” Lars asked and I saw Rob elbow him in the stomach. “Ow!”

“Charlie!” Jan scolded. “Honey, you’ve got to start thinking of the baby, now, not just what you want to do.”

I swallowed hard and pushed my chair back. “Would you excuse me for a moment? I can hear the dogs barking, I’m just gonna go let them in.” Doing my best not to bolt from the table, I walked as slowly as I could manage into the kitchen and out the back door, not stopping til I’d reached the fire pit, where I promptly burst into tears again.

“Charlie?” James voice was soft and low. “Darlin’, you alright?” He came up behind me and put his arms around me, tucking my head under his chin.

“No!” I wailed. “I’m gonna be the worst mother ever! If I can’t even take care of my baby when it’s still inside me, what am I gonna be like when it’s born? I haven’t read all the books yet, and I still don’t know what I can and can’t eat, or how much I’m allowed to exercise, and I NEED to go back to work, James, I’ll go crazy if I have to stay home all the time. I can cut back on the hours, and work a little from home, too, but…God, I’m so bad at this,” I whispered, miserable at the thought that I was failing at this already.

“Shhh, sweetie,” he said gently as I turned and sobbed against him. Tilting my chin up, his eyes searched mine. “Want me to get Pep?” he asked quietly.

I sniffed, trying to clear my head. James took my silence as a yes, and turned to go inside. “Wait…” I called after him, and he came back, tracing my tears with the back of his hand. “Don’t get Pep. Just…can you stay out here with me for a minute?”

“Yeah. Course I can.” He sat in one of the chairs facing the fire and pulled me onto his lap. “They love you, you know,” he said, stroking his hand over my hair as my tears slowed. “They think they’re helping.”

“They’re not,” I pouted.

He chuckled, kissing my temple. “I know, baby. Now, what’s all this about books and exercise?”

I told him about the books I’d purchased. I hadn’t actually made it all the way through any of them without falling asleep. “I just get all dozey when I start reading lately. Maybe if I got a books-on-tape one, I could listen to it while I sleep and retain the information that way. I used do record my lectures in school and listen to them at night… stop looking at me like that, I’m not a nerd.” I glared at him.

“Ya kinda are,” he grinned. “And don’t sweat the reading thing too much. You’ve got a table full of well-informed people inside,” he pointed out, and I smiled. “Wanna get outta here?” he murmured.

“I’d love to,” I leaned against him. “But I’ve got a table full of people inside, and well-informed or not, it’d be kinda rude to take off suddenly.”

“I told them we were leaving.”

Looking at him curiously, I nodded. “Okay. Where’re we going?”

Smiling, he took my hand and led me into the garage, handing me my helmet. “Just a little drive along the coast.”



Several minutes later, he pulled his bike up in the driveway of an enormous house overlooking the ocean. I removed my helmet and stared at the gorgeous structure. A few lights were on inside, and I wondered why we were stopping here. “Friends of yours?” I asked, gesturing to the house.

“Not exactly,” he smiled. Taking my hand, he led me to the front door and fished out a key from his jeans pocket. Swinging the door open, he motioned for me to go in. Closing the door behind us, he led me straight back to the kitchen, which overlooked the backyard and the ocean view. I was so busy admiring the view that he had to turn me slightly so I’d look at the kitchen.

“Holy shit, Hetfield. Who lives here, a professional chef?” The room was beautifully kitted out, with a large stove, complete with six spider burners. There was a double oven, and a gleaming sub-zero fridge and freezer. The island in the middle of the room had tons of cupboard space and was topped with marble. The whole space was warm and bright, and I couldn’t get over the size.

“Wanna see the rest of the house?” Taking my hand, he led me into the lounge, and then the more formal living room, which led into the dining room. Going into the main hallway again, he opened a door and flicked a light, leading me slowly down to the basement. It was fully finished like the rest of the house, and I looked up at the vaulted ceilings.

“Lots of space…good acoustics.” It finally dawned on me. “Are you buying this place?”

He nodded, smiling. “Yup, picked up the papers today, droppin’ ‘em off tomorrow. Agent said I could move in anytime.”

I was speechless. I was thrilled that he’d found such a great house, but the thought of him moving out of my house, just when things seemed to be going so well… I pushed those thoughts out of my head. No sense being selfish when he was so happy. “It’s beautiful, James. Really spacious, and right on the ocean, that’s a great location.”

Leading me back upstairs, he guided me to the upper floor, where I counted five double bedrooms, two with en suites, and one large bathroom for the rest of the bedrooms. “The attic’s fully finished, too. But check this out.” Pushing open the door to the room beside the master bedroom, he flicked another light switch. A pale yellow, the room had the same ocean view as the kitchen and the master bedroom. Opening a door to what I thought was a closet, he showed me the master bedroom again. “Adjoining rooms. I thought… this might make a cool nursery.”

I smiled, forcing back the tears that threatened. “It’s lovely, James. The whole house is. I’m sure the kids will love it, too. All this space… and you could make the attic into a play space for them, and with the basement as it is, it’s perfect for a music room.” Looking around the room again, I rested my hands on my hips, trying my best to look happy for him. “It’s perfect.”

“Yeah? You like the kitchen?” he smiled. I nodded, not trusting myself to speak. “And that front room…think it’s big enough to maybe house a library? Cause Cali’s really into reading lately, and I’d love to encourage that more.”

“It’s perfect for that. Was there a fireplace in there?” I tried to remember.

“Yup. Cozy, hmm? There’s one in the master bedroom, too. Here, look.” I sighed as he pushed me gently into the main bedroom again, pointing out the fireplace. “And the big walk-in closet, how cool is that?”

I hadn’t noticed that the first time. “Jesus. It’s more like you have your own dressing room.” I smiled at that. “Guess you kinda got used to that over the years, hmm?”

He laughed, laying an arm around my shoulders. “So, you like it?”

“Yeah. It’s perfect, James. This is what you wanted, right? Somewhere with a lot of space, lots of room for the kids, and for you? It’s…really great.”

“Could you do me a favor? Could you look over the papers with me? I didn’t have a lawyer with me today, so I just wanna make sure I didn’t miss anything.” He jogged downstairs and I followed slowly, taking in the moldings and the delicately crafted woodwork on the stairs. God, the place was gorgeous. He handed me a stapled document when I reached the kitchen and I leaned against the island, skimming it quickly.

“It’s fine, Het, but you need to sign on the third and fourth pages as well. Everything else looks good.”

“Oh yeah? I didn’t think that was my name on there. I thought somebody else had to sign,” he said, and I could see him trying not to smile.

Checking the words beside the blank spaces, I felt my heart stop and my hand flew to my mouth. “That’s my name,” I whispered through my fingers.

Grinning from ear to ear, he leaned his elbows on the island and rested his chin on his hands. “I know. Did I spell it right?”

“You want me…you want me to buy the house with you?”

He shook his head. “I’m buying the house. But I want you to live here with me. And have your name on the deed. Please, Charlie?”

“I…need to sit down,” I whispered.

Coming around the island quickly, he lifted me onto it, keeping an arm around my waist to steady me. “Are you alright? Dizzy? Faint? Do you want some water?”

I shook my head. “I’m okay. Just kinda in shock. James…you don’t have to do this. I told you, I’d never keep the baby from you. I already know you’re a wonderful father, you don’t have to ask me to move in with you.”

His expression went from worried to mildly annoyed. “Woman,” he growled. “I am not asking you because I think I have to. I’m asking you because I want to. Huge difference.”

“James, I just don’t know if this is a good idea. I mean, things are great right now, but I don’t want you to feel like you owe me anything. If things don’t work out with us,” I felt my stomach flip as I entertained that nasty thought. “I just… I don’t want you to be stuck with me. Specially since, I mean, I know you care about me and everything, but I… we don’t… you don’t…”

“Please, sweetie. Finish a thought. I don’t understand what you’re trying to say,” he said gently.

I looked down at my hands, feeling awkward and shy and stupid. All at once. Lovely. “I just mean that you probably don’t feel about me the way I feel about you so moving in together permanently is probably a mistake cause I don’t really wanna get hurt later on when I find out for sure that you don’t feel the same way I do cause it’ll hurt regardless but if we’re living in the same house and I have to see you every day and there’s nowhere to go to escape that…well, that’d suck.”

Looking faintly amused, he cocked his head to the side. “You talk more than Lars.” Pushing my legs apart so he could stand between them, he took my chin in his hand. “How do you feel about me?”

Ohhhhhhhhh boy. I had to tell him. It wasn’t fair to either of us not to tell him. Best to get it over with. On the count of three, I told myself. Muttering softly under my breath, I counted slowly, and then blurted out, “I love you.”



He didn’t look all that surprised. “What, um, what was the first bit of that?” he narrowed his eyes.

“I?”

He laughed. “No, before that.”

I blushed, feeling like a complete idiot. “I counted to three.” I started to hop down off the counter and he stopped me. “James…”

“One two three,” he said quickly, not letting me move. “I love you, too.” Seeing the disbelief that must have been written all over my face, he smiled. “I really do, Charlie. And I really do want you to live here with me. I know you love your house now, but I also know you wanna live by the sea.”

“How…”

“I talked to Lars, Lars talked to Sully, Sully talked to…some woman that you guys visited in Salem.” He shrugged.

“Can we just, um, go over the other part?”

“One two three?” he smiled.

“Yeah.”

Bending down, he kissed me softly, teasing my lips apart with his tongue. I opened my mouth to him, sighing as his hands slid up my sides to cup my breasts before moving upwards to gently caress my neck. “I love you,” he repeated as we broke apart. “I’ll understand if you wanna stay where you are. We can find a way to work around that. But I’d really, really like you to live here. With me.”

“And the dogs?”

“And the dogs.”

“And all my stuff?”

“All your stuff.”

“And you?”

He smiled. “And me.” Lifting me off the island, he took my hand and led me out through a side door to the yard. “Plenty of room for the dogs, and we can have a fence put in so nobody, dogs or children, goes over the side. And there’s a really good set of steps built into the cliff for easy access to the beach. And I was thinking, we could have a pool put in if you wanted, but for now…” he pointed to the side of the house and I saw that the porch actually wrapped around three sides of the house. And a hot tub was in one corner.

“I can’t use that,” I pointed at it. “I read that chapter,” I smiled proudly.

“Not right now, you can’t. But later you’ll be able to. And you can dangle your legs in the water. I read that chapter, too,” he kissed the top of my head.

I took a deep breath. “Okay. I wanna live here. With you.” He picked me up and I instinctively wrapped my legs around him, resting my head on his shoulder. “Where are we going?” I asked as he carried me inside the house and upstairs.

“Thought we’d take another look at the master bedroom,” he grunted as he set me down. The room was empty, devoid of any furniture, and I wondered if he meant to consummate our relationship on the hardwood floor. I started to sit and he grabbed my arm, pushing me up against the wall. Kissing me hard, he wedged his leg in between mine, rubbing his thigh against me. Even with two layers of jeans between us it felt amazing. Grabbing my ass, he worked me harder against his leg, and I clutched at his shirt, moaning as he increased the pace. “Is that good, baby?” he panted in my ear. “Do you like that?”

I moaned his name as I came, dropping my head forward against his chest. Panting heavily, I was relieved when he sank to the floor, taking me with him. “I’m not…supposed…to do that…standing up,” I gasped.

“Sorry,” he chuckled.

“Don’t be,” I shook my head. “That was amazing. And since we’re lying down now,” I said slowly, catching my breath again. I started to undo his belt and he laid a hand over mine. Sighing, I pulled my hand back and stared at the floor. “James… if there’s something wrong, I’d much rather you talk about it with me rather than avoid it.” Summoning the courage to look at him, I glanced up. “I understand that you’re probably still upset about Lars, and Sully, and maybe it’d be best if I had some tests done. Before we sleep together. Would that make you feel better?” I knew that both Lars and Sully were clean, and it hurt to suggest that James didn’t want to be with me because he thought I wasn’t, but it was a valid concern.

“Charlie, it’s not that.”

“No, really. It’s fine, James. I don’t want you to be uncomfortable or worried about this. I should have done it sooner, I’m sorry I didn’t think of it. I mean, I talked about it with them beforehand, and I know they’re both… but yeah. It’d be good to get it done anyway. Just for peace of mind, right?” I felt like an idiot for not realizing this before. Of course he wouldn’t want to be with me after I’d been with Lars and Sully. Cursing myself for being so stupid, I stood up and shoved my hands in my pockets. “I have an appointment with my doctor tomorrow anyway, I’m sure she could do the test for me then, and the results wouldn’t take that long…”

“Would you stop?” He sounded so frustrated that I did just that. “It’s not you, Charlie. It’s me.” Resting his head in his hands, he sighed so heavily that his whole body seemed to sag. Looking up at me again, he held out a hand, and I took it, sitting opposite him on the floor. “I don’t deserve you,” he said softly.

“Bullshit.”

He looked startled. “What?”

“You heard me.”

“Charlie, c’mon. I’ve been such a dick, and put you through so much…”

“And I’ve been a bitch, and put you through a lot, too. Can’t we just let each cancel the other out?”

He shook his head. “I don’t think that’s how it works. I just…I feel so awful for how I treated you. I want you to be happy, but right now I’m not sure I deserve the same thing.”

Scooting forward, I lifted my legs over his, moving so we were inches apart. Linking my arms around his neck, I rested my head against his. “I love you. And you said you love me. Take me home and show me.”

He looked at me for a long moment before kissing me. A long, lingering kiss that left me breathless. “So…you really one two three me?”

“Dork!” I yelled, hitting his shoulder lightly. “I was psyching myself up, there’s no need to continue to poke fun at me,” I laughed, letting him pull me up. “And yeah, I do.”
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Lucifer's Angel
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Heavy Metal Seanchai
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Those chapters were so sweet :heart: I liked how Charlie hung out with the kids, she sounds like she could be a cool stepmom :horns2 I hope it starts working out, finally :rolleyes:
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Fade_To_Black
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Bad Seed
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Such a cool chapter!!! :nanner: Love the 'one, two, three' part :biggrin
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Mina
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Morgenstern
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Oh, that was really wonderful :heart:

I hope that everything works out for them, but I've got this nagging feeling that something's gonna happen, maybe that James is not the father, I don't know...

Can't wait to read more! :)
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maisy blue
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Some Kind Of Monster
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These were definitely some of my favorite chapters so far. The chemistry between Chariie and James is hot and sweet and ... perfect. :wub:
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Metalicious
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Blackened
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Morning everybody! I have a delicious vanilla latte, work is very chilled today, and I've almost recovered from last night's Queens of the Stone Age gig. What better time to update? :biggrin

***************************************************

The drive back to my house seemed to fly by. I didn’t want to let go of him when he pulled up in the garage, but I got off the bike and handed him the helmet. “If they ate all the dessert, I’m gonna cry.” He shot me a look, and I laughed. “Fine, so I’ll probably cry regardless. Stupid hormones.”

“Aww, darlin’. You can blame the hormones all you like, but we both know you cry at the drop of a hat anyway.”

I stopped as we reached the basketball court. “Oh yeah? Well, four five six, buddy.”

He laughed. “Lemme guess, that means the opposite?”

“Hey!” Pep called from the deck. “Just in time for pie and ice cream. And decaffeinated tea,” he said, sounding less than convinced that the tea would be nice. “James show you the house?” he asked quietly as I reached him.

“Yup.”

“Gonna do it?” he slung an arm around my shoulders, opening the door with his other hand.

“Yup.”

“Good girl. Now go see your grandmother, she’s dying to see you so she can apologize for freaking you out earlier.”

I found Jan in the library, chatting with Mrs. D. They both looked up as I entered the room. “Honey,” Jan started. “We’re sorry. We didn’t mean to come across as overbearing ogres. We just want to help in any way we can.” She smiled. “I remember having almost every woman I met when I was pregnant try to give me some advice. It was very annoying.”

“You’re not annoying,” I assured her. “You’re both wonderful, and I’m really grateful to have two amazing, experienced women around to help me. I think I just got a little overwhelmed is all. I really wanna do this right. I’m already sort of… behind, I guess, cause of the drinking, and, um, smoking, before I found out I was pregnant.”

“You’ll be fine, sweetheart,” Mrs. D. got up and hugged me. “And we can lay off the lectures for now. But if you need anything, all you have to do is ask.”

We chatted a little longer, and James escorted Mrs. Deanez back to her house. Kirk offered Jan a lift home, and Rob left at the same time, hugging me tightly. “Think you can surf while you’re pregnant?” he asked as I walked him to the door.

“Probably not right now. But I can lay on the beach and watch you two fall off your boards,” I grinned.

“Wicked! Next week?”

“You betcha.” I kissed his cheek and hugged Kirk, and Jan, watching the three of them walk out to their cars.

“You alright, sweetheart?” Lars came up behind me, leaning against the doorframe. “Sorry about earlier.”

“Don’t be. I overreacted.”

“No, you didn’t. I remember when Sky was pregnant with Myles, fuckin’ everybody was coming up and touching her belly, telling her not to eat this and that, and one woman even knocked a glass out of her hand when she had her first glass of red wine in six months. We were celebrating our anniversary. I just about decked the bitch.” He rubbed a hand over my back. “I shoulda thought of that first. I know you’ll figure it out. You’re fairly intelligent,” he said and I could hear the smile in his voice without turning around.

“Thanks, Lars.”

Turning me around to face him, he looked puzzled. “No more ‘Danish’?”

I shook my head. “New start, new names. Besides, there’re a lot of Danish people in the world. There’s only one you.” I slid my arms around his neck and hugged him. “Thanks for coming tonight. I missed you.”

“Missed you too, sweetie. I’m gonna head out, but I’ll call you in the next couple days, we’ll do dinner or something. Milk and broccoli or some shit like that,” he grinned.

James returned from next door in time to see Lars off, and we retired to the living room with Pep and Trish. The three of them sipped coffee while I drank the mug of herbal tea Pep had made for me. They left a short time later, promising to call the next day so I could check out houses with Trish later in the week.

Watching them drive off, I leaned against James. “Bedtime?” I asked quietly.

“Yup. You head on up, I’ll finish tidying.” I started to protest and he laid a finger over my lips. “I won’t be long.”

Relenting, I went upstairs, stripping off my clothes. I retrieved the body oil from the bathroom, and lay back on the bed, under the covers. James appeared a few minutes later, stopping in the doorway. “Are you sure about this?”

“Mmmhmm,” I nodded.

He sat on the edge of the bed, taking the oil from me. Pouring some onto his hand, he set the bottle down on the bedside table. Warming the oil in his hands first, he slowly rubbed my stomach, making small circles with his hands. I dropped my arms by my sides, inviting him to move higher, and he slid his hands up to my breasts, rubbing the oil on each one. Teasing my nipples with his thumbs, he let out a low moan when I pushed into his hands, wanting him to touch me more. Stretching out alongside me, he cradled me with one arm and rested the other between my legs, stroking me lightly.

“Please…James…” I lost the ability to speak as he plunged his fingers deep inside me, twisting them with every thrust. Sliding down the bed suddenly, he sucked my clit into his mouth as his fingers sped up, driving me over the edge. When I managed to open my eyes again, he was gently lapping at the slickness between my legs. “I thought we were gonna take care of you tonight?” I smiled, feeling very relaxed and happy.

“We are,” he rested his head on my thigh. “It’s just so much fun to take care of you, I thought we could do that first.”

Shifting so I was sitting up, I motioned for him to come closer. I undid his watch strap first, laying the heavy leather cuff on the table beside the bottle of oil. His plaid shirt was next, and I dropped it on the floor. Pushing his arms up, I lifted his tee shirt over his head, and then told him to get up. He stood between my legs as I sat on the edge of the bed. I kept my eyes locked with his as I undid his belt, and the top button on his jeans. Slowly pulling the zipper down, I pulled his jeans and boxers down at the same time. He stepped out of them, kicking the pile across the room.

Resting my forehead against his stomach, I closed my eyes. He ran a hand over my hair, tangling his fingers in it and lifting my head to look at him. “You don’t have to do this,” he said softly.

“I want to,” I told him. “Please?” He nodded slowly, and I dipped my head lower, taking him into my mouth. He hissed slowly, fingers tightening in my hair as I slid my mouth down his hard length. I moaned around him, jerking back slightly when he started to thrust into me, and I heard him pant an apology. Looking up at him, I shook my head slightly. He didn’t need to apologies. Trying to relax my throat, I slid my mouth down farther until he was almost totally inside.

“Fuck… Charlie… baby…” he moaned, thrusting faster and faster. I slid a hand between his legs, touching the soft skin there and he came with a shout, filling my throat. Swallowing quickly, I gave him another few gentle licks, and pulled back. He went into the bathroom and returned with a glass of water. “Drink, sweetie,” he instructed, and I washed down the salty taste of him.

“We can sleep if you’re tired, Charlie. We don’t have to do anything else,” he said softly, tucking my hair behind my ear.

Moving my hand down to touch him, I found he was already hard again. “Damn shame to let this go to waste,” I smiled, stroking him slowly.

He pushed me backwards gently, rolling me so I was on my back. Propping himself up on his elbows, he gazed down at me. “Can you put me inside of you, baby?”

Knowing I was getting wet just from hearing him say the words, I slid my legs up, spreading them wider, and reached a hand between us, guiding him into me. He closed his eyes as he slid inside me slowly. Biting my lip to keep from crying out, I blinked back tears.

“Am I hurting you?” he stopped moving, and I shook my head quickly. “I can stop…”

“No! Please don’t, James. You’re not hurting me. You’re just…bigger than I remember. Please don’t stop, you feel so good inside me.”

Moving slowly, he slid further inside, stopping to kiss me before pulling back out again. He kept up the slow pace for several minutes, watching me intently with every thrust. I knew he was trying to be careful for my sake, so he wouldn’t hurt me. I slid my legs up farther, wrapping them around his waist. His eyes narrowed. “Charlie…”

“You won’t hurt me,” I assured him. Tracing my thumb over his lips, I pulled him down for a kiss. “Please, James? I need you like this.” I wasn’t sure how to explain it. I wanted to be claimed, wanted to feel like I was his, like I’d always be his. “Make me yours,” I whispered, feeling silly and vulnerable as soon as the words left my mouth.

Bending his head, he bit the juncture between my neck and shoulder. “Like that?” he asked in a low moan.

“More,” I begged, raking my nails up his back.

He started thrusting harder, biting and sucking at my skin, leaving marks on my neck and breasts. Grabbing one of my legs, he lifted it over his shoulder, pounding into me faster. “Mine,” he growled fiercely, kissing me so hard I knew he’d drawn blood. “Say it, Charlie,” he whispered. “Say you’re mine.”

“Yours,” I whimpered. “Only yours, James.”

Slamming into me a final time, he shuddered against me. “God,” he panted. “Fuck,” he added. “I think you killed me, woman.” He rolled off me, pulling me against him as he stretched out on the bed. “Mine, huh?” he said softly.

I nodded. “I mean, technically, no, I don’t belong to anybody, but…yeah.”

He laughed. “Actually yeah, you do. Those papers? At the house? You actually signed yourself over to me. I dunno, sweets, for a lawyer, you seemed to miss a crucial part of the contract,” he joked.

I rolled my eyes. “Big freak,” I muttered.

“Yeah, and you love me. What’s that make you?” he chuckled, pulling the sheets over us.

“Happy,” I said softly. “One two three, baby.”

Wrapping an arm around my waist, he kissed the top of my head. “Love you too.”



I woke early, with James pressed against my back, his arm curled around my waist. Extracting myself slowly so as not to wake him, I sat up, rubbing my eyes. Not even six a.m. Damn. Bending down to lift his plaid shirt off the floor, I was hit with a wave of nausea. Cursing softly under my breath, I wrapped the shirt around me and walked quickly to the bathroom, closing the door quietly. Fighting back the urge to vomit, I knelt by the toilet, taking shallow breaths. “Fuck,” I muttered, clutching my stomach as I heaved into the bowl.

Leaning back against the wall a few minutes later, I looked up to see James in the doorway, clad in his boxers. I hadn’t heard him come in. “You alright?” he said gently, coming over to crouch beside me. Touching my forehead, he smiled. “You don’t feel warm. Morning sickness, maybe?”

I nodded slowly, the nausea having eased off. “I’m okay. I didn’t mean to wake you. It’s still early, go back to bed.”

Helping me stand, he rubbed my back while I brushed my teeth. “It’s fine, I’d be getting up in half an hour or so anyway. This way I have time to help you shower,” he grinned at me in the mirror, reaching back to turn on the hot water tap. I set my toothbrush down and he turned me to face him, undoing the two buttons I’d done up on the shirt. “I don’t get why my clothing looks better on you than on me,” he mused, cupping my breasts when the shirt fell open. I shrugged it off, letting it slide down my arms to the floor.

Reaching around him, I hooked my fingers in the waist of his boxers and pulled them down, smiling when I saw how hard he was. “Good morning!” I grinned up at him and he laughed, lifting me into the shower. I leaned against him as he reached for the fruity body wash I used in the mornings. “You gonna clean me?”

“Yup,” he squeezed the bottle and rubbed the citrus-smelling gel over my stomach. “Cause you’re dirty,” he chuckled in my ear as he slid his other hand down between my legs. I spread them wider without thinking, dropping my head back on his chest as he plunged his fingers deep inside me.

I gasped, riding his hand hard. “Please, James. Do it now.”

Turning me around to face him, he lifted me up. “Put your legs around me, baby,” he instructed, pushing me against the tiled wall. I wrapped my legs around his waist and moaned as he slowly lowered me onto him. Kissing me roughly, he gripped my hips harder, lifting me almost all the way off him before slamming into me again. “God, baby. You feel so good…so tight…love being inside you,” he murmured, burying his face in my neck as I came, clenching tightly around him.

Catching my breath, I rested my forehead against his. “It’s not that I’m tight, it’s that you’re hung like a-” He cut me off with a kiss, and I could feel him smiling against my lips. “Love you,” I mumbled into his mouth.

Pulling back slightly, he gazed at me as he thrust into me slowly. “Say it again.”

“I love you,” I repeated, closing my eyes.

“Again,” he murmured.

“Love you,” I chanted, scoring his back with my nails as he thrust into me faster.

He came seconds later, and set me down, holding me close. I could feel his heart beating against my cheek and I moved my head to kiss his chest. “Love you too, Charlie,” he said softly, kissing the top of my head. “So much.”

I looked up at him, sighing as he traced his thumb over my lips. “Can we do this again tomorrow?” I asked.

He laughed. “Bet your ass. Hungry?” He rubbed a hand over my stomach, kissing me gently.

“Starving. I think I’ve got bacon… and maybe some eggs. And fruit,” I added, not wanting him to think I’d deprive the baby of proper nutrients.

“I’ll get it started,” he offered, grabbing a towel from the rack. “Take as long as you need in here. When’s your appointment?”

I watched, distracted as he wrapped the towel around his waist, water glistening on his skin. “I’m sorry, what?”

Smiling, he bent and kissed my forehead. “Your appointment, woman. What time is it at?”

“Oh. Um… three pm. But you don’t have to come with me, James. It’s nothing exciting, just a bunch of check-up stuff. The sonogram’s just gonna be a little dot. They can’t even tell if it’s a boy or a girl yet.”

“I want to come with you,” he said firmly. “And it IS exciting. It’s OUR dot, so I wanna be there to see it.”

“James, come on. I know you’re busy today. A dot is a dot. You went through all this with Cali and Castor and Cella. I don’t want you to go out of your way-”

“Charlie…” his voice was low and serious. “Stop arguing with me. I wanna be there.”

I considered pushing the issue and decided against it. “Okay. I want you to be there, too.”

Kissing me again, he wrapped a towel around my shoulders. “Get dressed, and I’ll start the bacon.”

By the time I’d dried off and decided on what tee shirt and skirt to wear, he’d made bacon, fruit salad and oatmeal. He winced as I dipped the bacon in the small pool of maple syrup I’d poured on my plate. “Cravings are starting, huh?”

I laughed. “It’s not a craving, I just like it this way. I’m from New England, Het. Maple syrup’s practically its own food group over there.”

“Nasty,” he grimaced. “What else have you got going on for the rest of the day?”

“Um…some reading, couple of phone calls to make to work and stuff, and then hopefully meeting up with Trish later. Or she might come over tonight. Why?” I popped a piece of honeydew in my mouth.

“What kind of work phone calls?”

I shrugged. “Just about when I’m going back, stuff like that.” He frowned and I licked my fingers. “What? I have to go back sometime, James. I’ve been off for almost three months.”

Sighing, he cleared our plates and loaded them into the dishwasher. “Fine.”

I stood up and slid my arms around his waist. “Obviously not fine if you’re going all quiet on me. You don’t think I should go back to work either, hmm? Scared I’m not up to it?”

He turned around and hoisted me onto the counter. “I know you’re up to it. Mentally, anyway. But I know you’d hate to give anything less than a hundred percent. Kirk mentioned you do really long hours, and I’m just not sure it’s a good idea right now. You still need a lot of rest. How’re you gonna get that if you’re working sixteen, eighteen, however many hour, days?”

I stared down at the floor. I loved my job, and the thought of cutting back, or even taking a longer break was upsetting. “I’ll think about it,” I said quietly. “I don’t want to endanger the baby any more than I already have, but…” I sighed. “Yeah. I’ll think about it.”

Lifting me off the counter, he set me back on the floor and kissed my cheek. “I didn’t mean to upset you, Charlie. I’m behind you whatever you decide.” Pulling me into a tight hug, he nipped at my earlobe. “So…Trish is coming over tonight? She gonna be staying late?”

“Probably not,” I squirmed as he flicked his tongue out. “Why? Got something planned?”

“Yep,” he breathed on my neck. “Monster Garage special’s on tonight. Starts at ten.” He laughed as I yelped and swatted him with a dish towel.

“Jackass. Get outta here,” I laughed, failing miserably as I tried to look annoyed. “I wrote the doctor’s address on the post-it. See you at three?”

“Wouldn’t miss it,” he smiled, bending to press a kiss to my lips. “Bye, Charlie.” Crouching in front of me, he lifted my tee shirt and kissed my belly. “Bye, tiny dot.” I slid my fingers through his hair and he kissed my stomach again, dipping his tongue in my bellybutton. I dug my nails into his scalp and he let out a low moan. Reaching his hands around, he unzipped my skirt and yanked it down, ripping my thong in the process. Burying his face between my legs, he licked at the wetness there, lifting one of my legs over his shoulder.

Bracing myself against the counter for support, I pushed my hips out, desperate for more contact. “Harder, James, ple-ease,” I begged, panting rapidly. He slid his fingers inside me and sucked hard at my flesh, bringing me to orgasm instantly. Catching me as I sank to the floor, he propped me up against the cabinets, kissing me deeply, letting me taste myself on his tongue. Holding his face in my hands I licked slowly at his mouth, sucking my juices from his lips. “Not bad,” I smiled when I pulled back. He suddenly looked crestfallen, and I laughed. “No, sweetie, I mean me. The taste of me. It’s not that bad.”

“Ahh,” he nodded. “Not bad at all. In fact,” he leaned in and kissed me again. “You’re downright delicious,” he grinned. “I’ve gotta get going. I’ll see you this afternoon?”

“Mmmhmm,” I nodded, yawning.

“Go back to bed,” he chuckled. “You’re gonna need your rest for later.” Squeezing my butt as he kissed me, he ruffled my hair and headed out. “One two three,” he hollered over his shoulder as he left.

“Back atcha, baby,” I yelled back.

I went upstairs and showered again before wrapping up in my robe and climbing back into bed. I set the alarm for noon and curled up under the covers, dozing off easily.

I somehow managed to sleep through the alarm, and didn’t wake up until twenty past two. “Jesus, Mary, Joseph and a camel!” I shouted, seeing the time. Throwing the covers back, I tossed my robe over the closet door and dressed quickly, pulling on a pair of jeans and a hoodie. Not what I’d planned to wear, but it would have to do. I grabbed the keys to the truck and headed to the hospital.

James wasn’t there when I arrived. Nor was he there ten minutes later when the nurse called my name. “Is your partner with you today, Miss Tyler?”

“No,” I sighed. “He’s running late, I guess.”

“Well, let’s give him a few more minutes, see if he shows up before we get started,” she smiled. I thanked her and went to sit down again.

“Charlie!”

I whirled around at the sound of Pep’s voice. “Hey…”

“James can’t make it, sweetie. He asked me to come instead. He’s unbelievably sorry, he really wanted to be here.”

”Where is he?” I tried to keep the whine out of my voice, but it came through anyway.

“Last minute meeting thing he had to go to with Lars. He couldn’t get out of it, baby girl, I swear.”

I felt like crying. I’d planned on attending the appointment alone anyway, I didn’t know why I was getting so upset. “It’s fine, Pep. I’m glad you’re here. Thanks for coming.” I pulled him down to my level and kissed his cheek. “Lucky me, getting to see you two days in a row,” I smiled as he sat beside me.

“Lucky me, you mean, getting to be here for this.”

The nurse reappeared. “Miss Tyler, if you and your partner would like to come through now, the doctor will see you.”

I opened my mouth to correct her but she was already gone. Pep guided me into the room, taking a seat beside me. “Hi Charlie,” Dr. Stewart greeted me as she came in the room. “And you’re the father of the baby?” she gestured to Pepper.

“No,” he said quietly. “I’m the best friend. The father…is a dick for not being here.”

“Pepper!” I gasped, and burst out laughing. “Honey, that’s not nice.” I could see Dr. Stewart trying not to smile. “He’s usually much better behaved than this,” I assured her.

“It’s fine,” she assured me. “If you’d like to get into the gown there, you can behind the screen. I’ll give you a minute.”

She stepped outside and I ducked behind the screen, changing into the thin cloth gown. Tying the straps, I came out and got on the padded exam table. “Ahhh, it’s so great being a girl,” I sighed, kicking the stirrups. “You boys are so lucky, not having to go through this stuff. People poking and prodding with cold instruments.”

“Two words for you, sweetheart,” Pep said absently, glancing around the room. “Prostate exam.”

I laughed and sat up as Dr. Stewart came back in the room. “Okay. Let’s get started.” She checked my blood pressure, and I hopped off the table so she could weigh me. “Are you having cravings? Or any aversions to food?”

“Not really. I’ve been trying to eat more, though.”

“Good,” she smiled. “Keep it up. Pregnancy is different for every woman, so you might not have cravings. But if you do, it’s okay to give in to them. Your body asks for certain things for a reason.”

“Syrup on bacon?” Pepper asked, holding up his hands when I glared at him. “I know, I know, you’ve always liked it. But Het wanted me to ask.”

Pulling the sheet over me, Dr. Stewart hitched up my gown and prepped me for the sonogram. “Ready to hear your baby’s heartbeat?”

I reached out for Pep’s hand, pulling him over to stand beside me. He leaned against the table, kissing my forehead. “Yeah. I’m ready.”

She coated the transducer with gel, moving it over my stomach, putting pressure on my bladder. “Okay. See the tiny shape right there?” She pointed to something miniscule on the screen. “That’s your baby.”

“Aww, darlin’…congratulations. You’re having a peanut.” Pep stroked my hand, ducking as I swatted at him.

“Okay, Charlie, everything looks really good. You’re almost nine weeks along. We won’t be able to tell the baby’s sex until around the eighteenth week, but for now…” she flicked a switch on the machine and I held my breath, listening to the soft thudding of my baby’s heart. Tears welled up in my eyes and I closed them, wishing James were with me.

“Shhh, baby girl,” Pep murmured, kissing my hair. “Don’t cry. It’s a very nice looking peanut. I bet if we got him a little cane and a top hat…” he trailed off and I giggled despite my tears.

“I’ll give you a few minutes,” Dr. Stewart said, closing the door behind her.

Something buzzed in the room and Pep and I both jumped. “Your ass is vibrating, honey,” I told him, seeing the outline of his phone in his back pocket. “And you’re really not supposed to use mobile phones in hospitals.”

He ignored me, flipping the phone open anyway. “’lo?” A smile came over his face and he handed me the phone. “Peanut Senior,” he grinned.

“James?” I whispered into the phone.

“Yeah,” he whispered back. “Wait,” he said in a normal voice, “why are we whispering?”

“Not supposed to be on a cell phone in the hospital. What’s up?” I asked, trying to be nonchalant.

“I’m sorry I’m not there. I completely forgot Cliff was coming by to listen to some of the stuff, and…that’s a horrible excuse. I should have asked him to wait. How’s everything going?”

“Everything’s fine. Peanut looks healthy, apparently,” I smiled at Pep, who grinned like a fool, happy I was picking up the nickname.

“Peanut?” James repeated.

“Pepper says the baby resembles Mr. Peanut. I think he’s kinda right. Ooh, and we heard the heartbeat. Actually, hang on a sec…” I put the phone up to the speaker and yanked it back as it crackled with interference. “Um…James?”

“I’m sorry, I can’t hear you. My eardrum just busted,” he said quietly.

“I’m sorry, sweetie,” I laughed. “I gotta go, I think I just broke the sonogram machine. Thanks for calling, though. I’ll see you tonight?”

“Yup. Love you.”

“One two three,” I said softly, and hung up. “I TOLD you cell phones weren’t allowed in hospitals,” I hissed at Pepper as the doctor came back in. “Pepper broke the machine,” I said quickly.

She smiled. “Well, he’s in a rock band, right? I’m surprised he didn’t trash the whole room and throw the machine out the window or something.”

Pepper stared at her, eyes wide with shock. “I didn’t…”

“I know,” she waved him off. “Kidding. Okay, Charlie. Now comes the fun part.” She held out a plastic container. “We’ll check your urine for sugar and protein, and get the results back to you in a couple of days. You can take this into the bathroom over there. Did you want to wait outside?” she glanced at Pep, probably assuming he didn’t want to wait around while I peed in a cup.

“Nah, this is old hat by now,” he smiled at me. “I’ll wait right here for her.”

“Honestly, the number of times he’s seen me wandering around with a jug of pee,” I told her. “Pep was with me in New Orleans,” I said slowly, knowing she’d clue in immediately, having seen all my medical records.

She was quiet for a moment. “You’re fortunate to have such a good friend.”

“I tell her that all the time,” Pep smiled.

I left the two of them chatting and went into the bathroom, emerging a couple of minutes later. Handing the container to Dr. Stewart, I washed my hands again and she told me I could get dressed. “Did you have any questions, Charlie? Anything you wanted to ask? Pepper tells me you’ve been doing some reading. I hope it’s all fairly straightforward. There’s a lot of literature around, it can get a little confusing.”

I shook my head “So far, so good. I’m still trying to get a handle on all the stuff I should be eating, or avoiding, but most of it’s making sense.” Thinking back to earlier that day, I paused. “Um…I actually do have a question.” I thought about asking Pepper to wait outside, but figured that would only hurt his feelings. “Since this is a fairly high-risk pregnancy, should I be careful about, um, sex?”

Shaking her head, she smiled. “No. You’ve got several more months before you need to worry about that. And you’ll probably be able to remain sexually active right up until the birth.”

“Really? So I don’t need to worry about…frequency, or, say, intensity?”

Pepper’s mouth fell open and I tried not to smile.

“No, both of those are fine. You might find that your sexual appetite drops off, or increases, and either one is totally normal. Either way, you’ll probably want to discuss it with your partner, to make sure he’s aware of how you’re feeling. There are going to be a lot of changes, Charlie, to your body and to how you feel, and talking to,” she checked her chart quickly, “James, will make it a lot easier on both of you.”

Nodding, I went to go change, mulling over what she’d said. When I came out in my jeans and hoodie again a few minutes later, Pepper had gone. I scheduled another appointment for three weeks’ time, and found Pepper pacing in the hall. He was silent as we walked out to the parking lot. “You okay, Keenan?” I asked as we reached my truck. “Wanna come back to my place for a bit?”

“Yeah, alright.” He kissed me softly and told me he’d meet me at my house in a few minutes.

He left first and I assumed he’d be at my house when I arrived, but he didn’t appear until half an hour after me. I handed him a cold beer and poured a glass of lemonade for myself, and we took our drinks out to the deck. “Talk, sweetie.”

He shrugged. “I’m fine. Nothin’ to talk about.”

“Pep…please?”

He sighed and put his beer down, drawing me into a hug. “I’m sorry, baby girl. I just feel a little out of sorts, seeing you go through all this stuff. It’s a big adjustment. I know that sounds selfish, since you’re the one having the baby, but…”

“Please don’t be sad,” I mumbled against his neck. “I want you to be a part of this. I love that you came with me today.”

“You wanted James there instead,” he said softly.

I leaned back, frowning at him. “Of course I did. It’s his baby, too. But if I’d had it my way, I’d have had you, him, Trish, Woody, Rob, Kirk and Lars, and anyone else we could squeeze in there, all in the room with me.” I hugged him again, wondering how I could make him understand. “I love you, Pep. It means the world to me that you’re around for this stuff.”

He was quiet for a moment. “How come you counted to three when you hung up the phone?”

I dropped my arms, turning away from him. “It’s nothing. Just some silly thing we started doing.”

“You don’t have to tell me, Charlie,” he said from behind me.

Still facing away from him, I crossed my arms over my chest, and told him about the night before, at the house James had bought. I felt silly telling him, but would have felt guilty keeping it from him when he’d asked. Worse still, I felt guilty for sharing it with Pep when it had started out as a private thing with James. Reading my mind as usual, he wrapped his arms around me, pulling me back against his chest.

“That’s sweet. I didn’t mean to force you to tell me.” Kissing my temple, he rubbed my arms. “I know things are different now. And I’m happy that Het’s treating you properly. Like you deserve to be treated. Saves me a lot of time since I don’t have to kick his ass anymore.”

I turned around and started crying. “I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I hate having secrets from you, but I don’t know how to do this. I don’t know what I’m supposed to tell you, and what’s supposed to just be for James and me. I never had to think about this stuff before.”

He sat on one of the deck chairs and pulled me onto his lap, letting me sob against him for a few minutes. When I started to calm down, he tilted my chin up. “You do what’s best for you, first. Then do what’s best for you and James. Then worry about everyone else. I know you have trouble doing it sometimes, darlin’, but this is a time when you need to put yourself first. I’m sure I didn’t help by getting all moody, but I’ll try to be more understanding. Okay?”

I nodded, sniffling. “Okay.”

“You hungry, doll? You slept through lunch, didn’t you?” We went into the kitchen and he made grilled cheese sandwiches, watching in amusement as I polished off three of them. “More?”

“No, thanks,” I grinned sheepishly, polishing off the glass of milk he’d set in front of me. I went in search of dessert and had to settle for chocolate pudding, since I seemed to have forgotten to order anything more decadent. I finished it in seconds and tossed the empty plastic container in the garbage, looking around for something else.

Pep leaned over, resting his forehead to mine. “Still hungry?”

“No…not hungry. Just kinda wishing I had the makings for a banana split. Or some pickles. Not together,” I laughed when he backed away in horror.

“C’mon, let’s go get you some food,” he said, pocketing the keys to my truck. “Pickles and bananas,” he muttered as we walked to the driveway. “Could you be more phallic about your food choices?”

We went to the Stop n’ Shop near my house and Pepper had me laughing the whole time, picking up every long, slim shaped food item he could find. Waving around cucumbers, carrots, sticks of salami, and a particularly long baguette, he finally stopped teasing me and took the shopping basket from my hand.

We made it back to the house by dinnertime, and he laughed as I threw leftover pizza in the oven, whipped up a salad, and ate about six dill pickles at the same time. “Don’t let me have any more,” I warned him. “Too much salt. You gonna stay for dinner? Your wife’s supposed to be coming over later. Any idea if that’s still the plan?”

He slapped his forehead comically. “Shit. I was supposed to tell you. She’s gotta see her folks tonight, it’s her grandmother’s last night with them. I’m sorry, baby girl. I totally forgot. I’d stay, but I promised Kirk I’d go to some club with him.”

“No worries,” I smiled. “I didn’t really get anything done today, so I can catch up tonight.”

He left a half hour later, promising to call the next day to make plans for the four of us to have dinner together. I ate in record time, polishing off four slices of pizza and all the salad. I rang Jackson from the library and had him fax over some things from the office. He put me through to Richard’s secretary after we spoke, and she managed to book me in the next day, so we could discuss my workload, and the possibility of cutting back slightly on my hours.

I changed into my pink Juicy pants and a white tank top, hauled the duvet from my bed, stretching out in front of the fire with a bunch of pillows. Piling my hair on top of my head, I slid a pen in to secure it, and went through the case notes, highlighting points I wanted to check on later, feeling happy to be using my brain again. I was so comfortable lying there that I dozed off, not waking up again until James nudged me. I rolled over on top of all my papers, and smiled up at him. “Hi!”

He didn’t smile. “Working already?”

Watching as he glanced around at the mess of files and paperwork, I thought for a minute. “Only a little bit. And, I’m on my back! See?” I saw a hint of a smile, and tugged on his jeans pant leg. “I can do lotsa stuff on my back…”

Kneeling down beside me, he bent his head to mine, kissing me gently. “I know you can, baby.”

I fumbled with his belt buckle and he stood up, slowly undressing in front of me.

“How was the rest of your day?” he asked, shooting me a lazy grin as he pulled his shirt off.

“Um,” I swallowed hard. “It was fine, thanks. Y-you?” I made a move to get up and he quickly shook his head.

“Good. Finished laying all the tracks. Stuff’s getting sent to New York next week for mastering.” He pulled his belt all the way off and dropped it to the floor.

“Great,” I murmured, watching as his hands slowly undid the button on his jeans.

“Yeah, it is. And then we gotta have some meetings about album titles – you should hear the one Cliff wants to use, it’s awesome – and cover art and stuff. But it’s all coming together really nicely.” He pulled down the zipper and slid his jeans down over his hips. Stepping out of them as they pooled at his feet, he kicked them across the floor. Standing in front of me in just his boxers, he put his hands on his hips. “I’m kinda hungry. Did you eat all the leftover pizza?”

I stared at him in disbelief. “Swear to God, Hetfield, if you don’t get your ass over here and do me this minute,” I paused as he burst out laughing, “I’m gonna kick your ass so hard you won’t be able to sit for a week.”

He lay down beside me, pulling me into his arms. “What if…” he murmured in my ear, “I do you so hard that YOU can’t sit for a week.”

I giggled. “Okay, but can we stop calling it ‘doing me’? Cause that’s just making me laugh.”

He slid his hand under my tank top, rubbing his thumb along the underside of my breasts. “I like it when you laugh.” Sucking lightly on my neck, he chuckled, “I’m gonna do you…”

I couldn’t help the laugh that escaped. “Stop saying that!”

“You started it,” he pointed out, pulling my top off. Holding my breasts in his large hands, he sucked first one and then the other nipple into his mouth. “I don’t wanna hurt you if they’re sensitive,” he glanced up at me. “Tell me to stop if it hurts.”

I nodded and pulled his head back to my chest, sighing with pleasure as he sucked harder. His right hand slid down to rub my over my pants, stroking me at a leisurely pace. I lifted my hips, trying to get him to speed up, and he ignored me, shooting me a wicked look instead that plainly said we were taking this at his pace. “Tease,” I muttered, and he laughed again. Slipping his hand inside the waistband, he looked up at me in shock.

“Commando?”

I shrugged. “They’re like pajamas. I don’t wear anything under my pajamas.”

“As I recall, darlin’, you don’t even wear pajamas if you can help it.” He yanked my pants off and swatted my hand away when I reached for his boxers. “In a minute, Speedy Gonzalez.” Resting on his elbow, he slid his other hand over my skin, tracing little circles over my belly before sliding his fingers lower, inside me. “I…” he said softly, “am gonna doooooo you,” he drawled, and I cracked up.

“Enough!” I sat up and pulled at his boxers, kissing him while I worked them down his legs. Tossing them over my shoulder, I settled back against the pillows. “Okay, baby. Do me,” I said, biting my cheek to keep from laughing. He smirked and moved so he was lying between my legs. Guiding himself inside me, he leaned forward and kissed me, his tongue exploring my mouth slowly while he thrust into me. His hand moved between us, stimulating my clit, and I moaned into his mouth. “Roll over, James,” I said softly.

Looking surprised, he did as I asked, and I straddled him, taking him inside me quickly. “I like it like this,” he murmured, cupping my breasts. “I can touch more of you.”

I placed my hands on top of his, rocking back and forth on him, watching the changes on his face as he started breathing faster. His eyes stayed with mine, and he bucked under me, moaning when I clenched my muscles around him. “Yours,” I whispered.

Flipping me over, he pounded into me relentlessly, tangling his fingers in my hair as he attacked my mouth with his own. “Mine,” he growled when he finally came, shuddering against me. He slid halfway off me, curling up to my side, and kissed me tenderly. “Think we should sleep on the floor tonight? I’m not sure I can make it to the bedroom.”

I slid an arm around his waist, licking at the base of his throat. “Bedroom. I’ll carry you.”

Chuckling, he stood up and held out his hand. I stretched slowly and got to my feet, squealing when he scooped me up. Carrying me upstairs, he set me down on the bed, getting in beside me and pulling the sheets around us. “Love you, Tyler,” he murmured, curling his body around mine. Stroking my belly, he chuckled softly. “And you, Peanut.”

I’d only been sleeping for a couple hours when I awoke to find James still pressed up against my back, kissing my neck. I turned my head and kissed him, moaning when his hand slid down between my legs, stroking me gently. Wordlessly, I shifted so I was on my back, linking my arms around his neck as he moved on top of me. We’d fallen asleep with the blinds open, and moonlight streamed through the window, casting a glow on his skin.

Dropping his head, he slid inside me, brushing his lips over mine. I opened my mouth, letting his tongue dip inside, teasing me. I lifted my hips, arching up as he moved his mouth down to my breasts. He traced circles around my nipple with his tongue, and suddenly looked up at me, stilling his movements. I tilted my head and ran a hand over his hair, wondering why he was stopping. Holding up his hand, he lifted one finger, then another, and then a third, shooting me a lazy grin.

I took his hand, kissing his fingers. “Love you too, baby.”

He rolled over so I was on top, and held me close, guiding my hips up and down, providing perfect friction for me. Once I’d collapsed against him, he rubbed my back, murmuring his love for me. Once my breathing had slowed, he lifted me off him, and propped a pillow under my hips, entering me again. I was still too limp and loose to participate much, resting my hands on his ass while he pistoned in and out of me slowly, watching me with half closed eyes. I cupped his face with one hand, brushing my thumb over his lips, and shivered when he sucked the tip of it into his mouth. His tongue glided over my skin, and I pulled him down to me for a kiss.

Feeling like my mouth was fusing with his, I opened my eyes, startled to find him watching me. He pulled away slightly, panting. I pulled my knees up, and he pushed them back against the bed, getting even deeper inside me. Whispering my name when he came, he buried his face in my neck, breathing heavily while I stroked his hair. Rolling over a few minutes later, he kept hold of me, pulling me against his chest, and I fell asleep listening to the steady beating of his heart.

James had set the alarm for seven, with the aim of being in the studio by nine. I found myself being dumped unceremoniously in the shower after hitting the snooze button three times, and stopped cursing when James started “cleaning” me the same way he had the day before. Wrapping me in a huge towel, he set me back down on the bed after, and headed down to start breakfast. Still too sleepy to get dressed, I pulled on my robe and went downstairs to find James feeding the dogs.

“Morning, boys,” I smiled as I came into the kitchen.

“Morning, baby,” he kissed me, handing me a glass of calcium fortified orange juice. I looked longingly at the coffee pot and he laughed. “You want the decaf stuff?”

I shook my head sadly. “It’s not the same. Ooooh!” I perked up. “Bacon!”

He was out the door by 8:30, saying he’d be back around mid-afternoon. I told him I’d start organizing things for the move, swearing up, down and sideways that I wouldn’t lift anything heavy. I spent the morning wandering around the house, making notes of things I could give away. James was insistent that we start fresh at the new house, but also said that anything I wanted to keep from my house, any pieces I wanted to keep, was absolutely fine by him. I’d be taking pretty much everything from the library, a few things from my bedroom and the dining room, but that was about it.

I had a quick lunch and went upstairs to finally get dressed for my meeting at the firm. Laying my favorite skirt suit on the bed, I put on a black satin lingerie set, and fastened the garter. I always felt a little more powerful knowing I looked like sex on legs under my business-like suit. Pulling on a pair of sheer stockings, I zipped up the skirt and slid the suit jacket on. It was cut low, but designed to be worn without a shirt under it. I left my hair loose and tucked my phone, daybook and Blackberry in my handbag, carrying my stilettos downstairs.

My phone rang just as I headed out the door. I answered, and Jackson greeted me happily. “Josie tells me you’re coming in today. Stop by after your meeting, I’ll run out with you to get a coffee or something. Milk? Whatever you’re drinking these days.”

I laughed. “Sounds good, sweetie. I’ll see you in a bit.”

I hit play on the stereo as soon as I started the truck, and sang along to AC/DC as I drove. Parking my truck in the firm’s lot, I waved at the security boys as I went inside. Taking the lift to the tenth floor, I stepped out and Josie got up from her desk to give me a big hug.

“Richard’s just finishing up, sweetie. He’ll be with you in a few minutes. You’re looking well. Coffee?” She bustled around, shuffling papers and flicking the switch on the espresso maker before I could stop her. She answered a handful of phone calls, assisted two other partners who stopped by in a panic, signed for three packages and finally placed a steaming latte in front of me, all without breaking a sweat. “Decaf,” she winked. “Jackson’s sworn me to secrecy, but he was dying to tell somebody.”

I thanked her and watched as she continued to run Richard’s life effortlessly. I knew he paid her about three times what any other secretary in the firm made, but she was so obviously worth it. Richard had five children and two ex-wives, and Josie made sure he never forgot a birthday or holiday, and each child was scheduled in for dinner with their father once a month. It may not have seemed like much compared to most families, but it was actually amazing, considering the man spent most of his hours, waking or sleeping, at the office.

“Charlie,” he boomed as he stepped out of his office. “Come on in. Josie’s cleared my schedule for the next two hours, so I’m all yours.” He wrapped a big arm around my shoulders and guided me into his office. I took a moment, as I always did when I came to see him, to take in the sleek, clean lines of his space. As the founding and managing partner, he had the best suite in the building. A trio of meeting rooms, which he occasionally used simultaneously, a huge office housing all his files and books, another room he’d transformed into a personal space with a bed, bathroom and wardrobe for the nights he worked straight through, and the best view on the block.

“Some day this will all be mine,” I sighed, and he laughed.

“I heard you might be moving into Marcus’s office. Something about a rugby game…? Should I tell him to move his stuff out soon?” he joked. He gestured for me to sit in one of the leather chairs opposite his desk, and he sank into one beside me, turning so we were facing each other.

“I actually wanted to talk to you about that. Not his office, but about when I’m coming back. I’m sure it’ll sound ridiculous, given that I’ve just had the summer off, but I’m considering cutting back on hours, and I need to know if that’s even a possibility.”

He looked at me for a moment. “You know Josie keeps all the records of who’s doing what? Who puts in x amount of hours, and when, all that. She tallied them up two weeks ago. Not counting the last three months, you came fifth. In a firm of three hundred associates, Charlie, that’s quite a feat. Tire yourself out?”

“Knocked myself up,” I answered. We’d had an open, honest friendship since I’d started with the firm, and I knew he wouldn’t balk at my bluntness.

He drew a long breath, and exhaled slowly. “And I gather you’re keeping the baby.”

“Yes.”

He smiled. “Well then, congratulations are in order. I imagine Josie already knows?”

“She does,” I assured him.

“Woman knows everything before I do. Josie,” he pressed the intercom on his desk. “Would you be so kind as to bring in something festive for Charlie and I to drink? Bearing in mind her current… state.”

I really wanted an answer to the ‘may I cut back my hours’ question, but knew better than to rush him. And if I had him for the next two hours, waiting five minutes wouldn’t hurt. So I stayed quiet while he waxed philosophically about fall, and fresh starts, new seasons. Josie arrived a few minutes later, poured each of us a glass of sparkling white grape juice, and left again, closing the huge double doors quietly behind her.

“Alrighty. How many hours are we talking?”

I set the glass down on a coaster and crossed my legs. “I’m not sure. I thought we could work out a figure together. I was hoping I could do some of the work from home. I have a fax, I can have my voicemail routed to my cell phone, and I can dial into the system from home too. It’s mostly client meetings and events that I’d need to…”

“Skip entirely?” he prompted.

“Some of them. I just need to have less nights where I stay til midnight, or later. I’m supposed to be getting an extraordinary amount of rest. So I’m told, anyway.”

He looked at me for a long moment. “Charlie, is there something you’re not telling me? It would be best if I knew all the facts. I can make a much more informed decision with you that way.”

I wasn’t sure of the best way to explain it. “It’s a high-risk pregnancy,” I sighed. “And I need to be careful. Very careful. Which is why working from home for part of the time is necessary. But I’d still be able to get everything done,” I said quickly. “And if I were needed in the office, I could always come in.”

“What about the possibility of taking more time off?” He said it slowly, knowing full well I’d object. “Just until the baby’s born, and both of you are in good health. I don’t want to risk your well-being any more than you do, Charlie. Work is work, no matter what the location. It’s still going to be highly stressful and very busy. This way, you could take a sabbatical, and we’d get someone in to cover your work until you returned.”

I tried to remain calm, keeping my voice steady. “Richard, with all due respect, I think you’re overreacting. I’ve never had a problem keeping up with the fast pace of the work, and I’m not about to let anything slow me down. Much.”

He stood and began pacing. “Charlie, you know I admire your determination. It’s part of why we hired you. But to risk your health, and that of your baby, for your job… it’s just ridiculous. Now, I’m well aware that taking a sabbatical won’t affect you in the least, financially, so it can’t be that that’s worrying you. And if you’re thinking we won’t take you back after the time away, we can have a contract drawn up. I know how much you like contracts,” he winked at me, and I couldn’t help but smile. I’d drafted five separate ones with him when I first started, trying to work out the best terms.

“I don’t want to stop working. I miss it already. It’s been three months, Richard. I can’t take any more time off, I’ll go nuts!” I stood as well, and walked over to his bookcase, staring up at the family photos, awards, and the multitude of law volumes he kept there. “Couldn’t we work out some sort of part-time schedule? Maybe three days a week?” I felt his hand on my shoulder and I turned around.

“When Marcy was pregnant with our first, she was fine for the first month. And then she could barely breathe without throwing up. After the first trimester was over, her morning sickness switched to night sickness. And God forbid I ever bring anything with meat into the house. I once took home a cheeseburger and she threw my grandmother’s collection of teapots at me, one by one,” he chuckled. “Pregnancy is unpredictable, Charlie. You might be feeling fine today, but if the doctor has suggested bed rest or near to it, then you’d be well advised to follow that. I’d never forgive myself if something happened to you or the baby because you were working too hard. And I know you,” he said softly. “You WILL work hard.”

I felt tears gather in my eyes and cursed my hormones. “I won’t. I can take it easy. Please don’t say I can’t come back, Richard. I need to work. I miss it here.”

“Work will be here when you get back,” he said gently.

“No, it won’t!” I almost stamped my foot in frustration. “Half of my cases have been wrapped up over the summer, Jackson already told me. The other half will be done in the next six months. Cases that had me working my ass off, pulling all-nighters, and now somebody else gets to wrap them up? You’re being ridiculous,” I said, my voice much louder than it should have been. “I’m absolutely fine to work, and I have no intention of taking a damn sabbatical!”

And then I blacked out.

I came to with Josie patting my face with a damp cloth. “So…” Richard said dryly. “Sabbatical it is, then, hmm?”

“Bastard,” I muttered and he laughed.

“Yes, but one with your best interests at heart. I’ll get Daniel to work up an agreement for you and we’ll courier it to you tomorrow. I took the liberty of having Jackson call James. You’re in no shape to drive home.”

I could practically feel the blood draining from my face. “You called James?” He nodded and I closed my eyes. “You told him what happened?”

“I believe Jackson did, yes. He said he’d be here immediately.”

I opened my eyes to see Jackson standing in the doorway. “Hi,” I whispered.

“Hey, Charles.” He came over and helped me up. “James is on his way. He sounded pretty worried.”

“I bet.”

“Guess we’ll have to grab that drink another time,” he smiled. “You feeling alright now?”

“Yeah. Fine.” Except for being terrified of what James would say.

I hugged Josie and Richard, promising to come back and visit when I was feeling up to it. Jackson escorted me downstairs and waited with me in reception until we saw James’ Lincoln pull up.

“Call me soon, sweets.” Kissing my temple, Jackson took off to go back to work. I envied him. I’d much rather pull a sixteen hour work day than face James right now.

Stepping through the revolving door, I was greeted with stony silence. He took my bag from me and opened the passenger seat, tossing my bag in. I got in and buckled the seatbelt, staring straight ahead. He started the car and peeled out of the lot, squealing the tires. I hated the silence between us but didn’t dare say anything, and he left the stereo off. The drive home seemed impossibly long, and when we finally pulled up in my driveway, he jumped out first, slamming the car door. Coming around to my side, he barely waited for me to undo the seatbelt before pulling me up and walking me to the house, his hand firmly around my arm.

“Go upstairs and go to bed,” he said quietly when we got inside. I rubbed my arm where he’d been holding it and started to protest. “Go, Charlie.” I stood in front of him for another few seconds. “Do I have to carry you?”

“No,” I said softly. Not bothering to take my shoes off, I went upstairs slowly, feeling his eyes on me the whole way. Sighing as I reached my bedroom, I closed the door behind me and looked in the mirror. “You? Are an idiot. Not only do you throw a tantrum in your boss’s office, but you actually manage to faint while doing it. Way to go, jackass.” I stared at myself, shaking my head. “You look great, though.” Heh. I took off my jacket and opened the closet to hang it up. The bedroom door opened and I felt the knot in my stomach get bigger.
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Lucifer's Angel
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Heavy Metal Seanchai
[ * ]
Wow, that was hot there :drool I hope Charlie is going to be all right, she's got to worry about the baby :blink: James is being a sweetie to her, I hope they don't fuck this up :)
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Mina
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Morgenstern
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YAY, a new update and I was the first to read it! (Not comment, though xD) :)

The sex scenes were goddamn hot, as always :drool

I'm a bit worried 'bout James' reaction, but I guess it'll be okay..



Can't wait for more, hooked hooked hooked :heart: :heart: :heart:
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maisy blue
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Some Kind Of Monster
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I read this update and seriously had to go into the pool to cool off. Holy sh*t! That was the hottest thing I have ever read in my life. :drool


I don't know how Charlie's even walking after all that amazing sex. :blink: LUCKY GIRL.

I'm not surprised that she went back to work and pleaded to stay on, but I'm surprised James is Mr. Ice again. He needs to be checked for manic-depression, because he is so high and low, it's almost scary. I hope he takes it easy on her. If he does get his boxers into a twist, I hope Charlie tells him to fuck off. The smallest things set him off. He needs to learn how to back off.

I'm worried about the coming exchange between Charlie and James. I hope, for Charlie's sake, James doesn't turn into Mr. Ass once again.
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Metalicious
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Blackened
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-1 of 2-

**********************************************


“I brought you some juice.”



I crossed my arms in front of me, trying to cover my exposed upper half. “Thank you.”



“How are you feeling?” he sat on the edge of the bed, still looking pissed.



“Alright. We decided I’d take a sabbatical. The agreement is being sent over tomorrow.”



“Good.” Now he sounded relieved instead of angry.



I didn’t know what to say to that. Yeah, James, it’s great that I won’t have a stressful job to go to every day. But how the hell am I gonna fill my time? Somehow I didn’t think he’d care to answer that. I turned and stood in front of my closet, arms still crossed in front of me, biting my lip hard in an effort not to cry.



“I know how hard this is for you, Charlie.”



Somehow I doubted that. Nobody had ever told him he wasn’t allowed to go to work. “Okay.”



I heard the bed creak, and he came to stand behind me. His hands rested on my shoulders, and then slid down my arms until he was hugging me. “I mean it. I know it’s hard. But look what happened when you went in for one hour. Charlie, you need to take a break.”



I nodded, not trusting myself to speak as he turned me around. Tilting my face up, he kissed me softly, his lips gentle, tentative.



“Want me to make you some tea or something? I’m done for the day. Thought maybe we could make some dinner, watch a movie, you could rest…”



I nodded again, sliding my arms around his waist. “I’m sorry I worried you. I only went in to see Richard. I didn’t think I’d get so stressed. I just hate that I’m so unable to control my body right now. One minute I’m fine and the next I’m on the floor. It’s not fair,” I whispered.



“I know, sweetie. It’ll get better. Hey,” he lifted my head to look at him. “It’ll be fine, okay? Taking more time off could be really good for you.” I closed my eyes as he brushed his lips over mine, moaning as he sucked lightly at my bottom lip. Pressing myself against his body, I started to lift off his tee shirt and he stopped me. “I think we should wait a while, Charlie. You were in a dead faint about half an hour ago.”



I dropped my hands by my side. I totally understood his point, but that didn’t ease the desire that was coursing through me. “You don’t want me?”



“That’s not what I said. I said we should wait.”



He didn’t sound entirely sure of himself. “I don’t wanna wait, James. Please? I can just lay back on the bed, and you can do all the work.” I moved back from him and unzipped my skirt, shimmying out of it til it fell to the floor around my ankles. Stepping neatly out of it, I stood in front of him in my lingerie, garter and stockings, and heels. He shot me a wary look and started for the door. “James…please?” I got there first, and leaned against the door, willing him not to leave. “I need you.”



“You need a nap,” he said in a low growl, not looking at me.



“Yeah, but, you know what would help me sleep? A quickie!” I grinned and I saw the corners of his mouth turn up. I moved closer to him, running a hand up his chest. “Please, James?” He still wouldn’t make eye contact and I realized the begging thing wasn’t working. “It’s just…” I shrugged. “You feel so good inside me. So big, and so hard…I’m amazed I can even take all of you inside me. And the way you touch me,” I closed my eyes, cupping my breasts, and heard him moan softly. “Your strong hands all over my body, being so careful and gentle with me…” I pinched my nipples, licking my lips at the same time. “You don’t always have to be gentle though. Remember when we were at the cabin? And you held me up against the wall? Grinding against me until you came?”



“Get on the bed,” he said suddenly, his voice low and gravelly. I started to take my shoes off and he held up his hand. “Leave them on.” I climbed onto the bed, watching as he undressed quickly. Laying beside me, he ran a hand down my thigh before suddenly rolling me over. “Get up on your hands and knees,” he instructed, his breath hot on my ear. I did so, and moaned when he pulled my thong aside, sliding his fingers deep inside me. “Is this what you want, Charlie? You want me like this?”



“Please,” I moaned. My arms nearly gave out on me when he pushed his cock inside, swearing under his breath. “More,” I begged as he gripped my hips firmly. “Harder, James. Please don’t hold back.”



I felt him pull out almost all the way, and then he slammed back into me. I put one hand on the headboard, pushing back against him as he sped up, thrusting faster and harder each time. One of his hands moved down to stroke me, and I cried out his name as I came. He climaxed after a few more thrusts, and sank onto the bed, pulling me back against his chest.



"So," he murmured in my ear, rubbing a hand over my arm. "That was a nice little dialogue you did before I jumped on you. You think about this stuff often?"

I turned over, slinging my still stocking-clad leg over his. "James...it's you. I think about this stuff all the time."

Chuckling, he kissed the top of my head. "Keep this up and we're gonna have to build an addition to the house just for my ego. How're you feeling?"

"Very satisfied," I snuggled up closer.

"What about up here?" he traced a finger over my forehead. "How're you feeling about work and stuff?"

I thought for a moment, trying to put it into words. "Anxious. Nervous. A little scared. The last time I had this much time on my hands, I was staying with Pep, recovering. I'm not really sure what to do with myself."

Rolling over on his back, James drew me against his side. "Wanna know what I think you could do?"

"Yes, please."

"Well, we've got a new house that needs organizing. I'm not saying you need to do it all. You don't have to do any of it if you don't want to, but if you do... it's yours for the taking. You can spend more time with Jan, if you wanted. I know she'd be thrilled. You can come to the studio with me sometime, if you're interested. I know the other guys would love for you to come and hang out. Bob's been asking to meet you. You'll find a routine, sweetie. It'll just take a while." Kissing my forehead, he sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. "I'm gonna shower down the hall while I run you a bath, and order some dinner." Leaning backwards, he tilted his head back. "That sound like a plan?"

I bent down and kissed him upside down. "Great plan."



Finally removing my shoes, I finished undressing and dropped the lingerie and stockings in my laundry basket of things to be hand washed. Wrapping up in my robe, I went into the en suite. James had poured in some of my peach bubble bath, and lit candles along the bath's edge. "Holy spoiled, Batman," I murmured.

I soaked until my fingers started to get wrinkly, and dressed in an old pair of jeans, and stole one of James' hoodies. Rummaging through my closet, I fished out my favorite pair of slippers, super comfy ones that looked like cut-off Ugg boots. Sweeping my hair into a ponytail, I went downstairs to find James.

He had the fireplace going in the lounge, and was watching a documentary on penguins on the Discovery channel. Holding out his arm, he waited til I'd curled up beside him before pulling me closer. "Comfy?"

"Mmmm," I sighed.

The doorbell rang a short time later, and James hopped up to get it, returning with two huge bags of Chinese food. "You can eat this," he said quickly, seeing my face. "I checked." He took the food into the kitchen and came back out with veggie spring rolls, chow mein, sweet and sour chicken and beef and broccoli stir fry, all on one plate. "Et voila," he said grandly, setting the food in front of me.

"Merci bien," I grinned, taking the fork he handed me. I managed to put away almost all the food he'd given me, and settled back on the couch when I'd finished.



“Did you leave room for dessert?” he asked, taking our plates into the kitchen.



“Do we have dessert?” I asked, flipping the channel to MTV. I heard the unmistakable sound of whipped cream in a can, and wriggled in anticipation.



James reappeared with two bowls, and handed one to me. “No nuts,” he said, “but everything else should be there.” I stared down at the enormous banana split, complete with pistachio, strawberry and vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce, strawberry sauce and whipped cream. Topped with fresh cherries. “Are those okay? I know you can’t eat the candied ones…”



“Best dessert EVER,” I said, swiping some of the cream off the top and licking it off my finger. I caught James staring at me. “What? You said I could eat this, right?”



“Yeah, nothing. Just, um, thinking. About…other things to do with whipped cream.”



I smiled. “The banana splits can wait…”



He laughed. “No, eat. Pep said the doctor mentioned your weight’s a little on the low side for where it should be right now. Anyway, bananas are good for you. And so is, um, ice cream.” He thought for a minute. “Milk, ice, sugar…milk…calcium! See?”



I nodded, not wanting to talk with my mouth full. “Delicious,” I said when I’d finished the spoonful. “Hey! How come you get peanuts on yours?”



He feigned looking hurt. “Don’t yell at me. It’s in honor of our baby. Peanut.” He pointed his spoon at my stomach.



“Nice try,” I grinned. “We’re not actually naming the baby Peanut, James.”



“Excellent! Peanut James! That way it’s named after me,” he sighed happily, and I giggled. “Or…maybe… Montana. You know? Cause he was conceived there?” I threw a cherry at him and he ducked, laughing. “No? What about Brutus. Very strong, very manly-”



“Very Latin for ‘stupid’,” I added and he looked shocked. “I’m serious.”



“Fine. You pick one. But I still think Peanut is the way to go.” He set our bowls on the coffee table and stretched out on the couch.



“Okay,” I nodded. “I’ve been thinking, if it’s a boy, we could call him Jesse.” He looked pleased with that suggestion. “ And if it’s a girl…Princess Sparkle.” James waited about four seconds before tackling me, pinning me to the couch and tickling me while I screamed with laughter. He finally let me up, and I pushed my hair out of my face, redoing my pony tail. “Fine, so I haven’t thought of any good names yet. But we have seven months to come up with something.”



“Don’t need to come up with anything,” James shook his head as he took the bowls into the kitchen. “Peanut James!” He clattered around and I heard the kettle click, and he returned with a steaming mug of mandarin tea. “So…when that dude said ‘Et tu Brutus’, he was actually saying ‘And you, stupid?’”



“Yup.”



He chuckled. “Cool.”



I giggled. “Okay, Beavis, can we watch a movie now?”



He laughed and got up to put in Bullitt, one of my favorite Steve McQueen movies. “Awesome car chase,” he noted, sitting back down on the couch with me.



“I know. When I first moved here? I rented a Mustang like Bullitt’s and reenacted it.” I laughed at the shock on his face. “Yeah. Four speeding tickets and I lost the security deposit.”



“Okay…never driving my car,” he muttered, hauling me backwards so I was laying on his chest.



I shifted around until I was comfortable, and in a semi-upright position so I could drink my tea. I made it through half of the movie before putting my mug on the floor and stretching out beside James.



“Goin’ to sleep?” he murmured.



“Yup. Wake me up when it’s over.”



He didn’t wake me up when it was over, nor did he wake me up when he carried me upstairs, undressed me and put me to bed. I slept straight through the night, only waking up when the alarm went off at seven. “Morning, baby,” he mumbled, kissing me before padding off to the shower. I briefly entertained the thought of joining him, but I was so comfortable and warm in bed. “Half day today,” he announced when he came out, smelling all delicious and fresh. “I’ll be home at noon if you wanna do something this afternoon.” I watched as he pulled on clean boxers and jeans, and then sniffed a tee shirt. He looked over when I giggled. “What?”



“Nothing. Just laughing at you bein’ a boy.”



He frowned. “I’m sorry…did you just call me a ‘boy’?” I backed up on the bed, giggling when he moved closer. “Cause I’m pretty sure I’m not. Guy, maybe. Dude…sure. Boy?” he crawled onto the bed and hovered over me. “I don’t think so, baby.” He yanked the sheets down and held my hands over my head, kissing me fiercely. I arched up under him, opening my mouth automatically to his. Holding both of my hands in one of his, he slid the other one between us. “You should sleep naked all the time,” he grinned, bringing me to orgasm with his fingers. “Faster that way.”



I lifted my head off the pillows to kiss him. “Consider it done.” I reached for the button on his jeans and he shook his head.



“No time, sweetie. I’m already kinda late. We’re starting early so we can be outta there early. But you can have your way with me this afternoon. Deal?”



“Works for me,” I smiled, snuggling back down under the covers. “Have fun. Give the guys hugs for me.”



He slid off the bed and pulled on a black long sleeve tee. “See you later,” he kissed me quickly. “Love you.”



“One two three,” I mumbled, already falling back asleep.



*I got up at nine, unable to sleep any longer. No sooner had I opened my closet door, than I was hit with a tidal wave of nausea. “Oh, for fuck’s sake,” I muttered, stumbling into the bathroom. It was blessedly brief, and I climbed into the shower after, preferring to sit on the floor than stand. Finally reaching up to turn off the hot water, I got out and attempted to pick out some clothes again, this time without vomiting.



The weather was poor, and I came downstairs to find James had let the dogs in. They were sleeping peacefully in the kitchen, and Duke whimpered as I walked by. I scratched behind his ears and he automatically flipped over so I could rub his belly. “Aww, who’s a good doggie? Hmm? Such handsome boys,” I cooed over the two of them.



I stayed in the kitchen for the rest of the morning. I tossed five pop cds in the stereo and sang along to Britney and Christina, praying nobody would drop by when the Ashlee Simpson disc was on.



James came back at one and found me cleaning the four thousand pots and pans I’d managed to dirty in the span of a few hours. “Wow. What’s the occasion?” He stood behind me, surveying the scene as he kissed the top of my head.



“I had ingredients. Felt like using them.” I’d made two lasagnas, one veggie and one meat, a pot of chili was simmering on the stove, beside a large pot of chicken soup, and there were two more pies waiting to be cooked with the one in the oven was done.



“Who’s it for?” His hand absently rubbed over my belly, and I leaned back against him, practically purring under his touch.



I thought for a minute. “I dunno. I was gonna say it’s for us, but I kinda made a lot. I guess we could freeze it. Know any hungry people?”



Half an hour later, James and I pulled up outside of Bob Rock’s apartment building. I was sure that neither the lasagna nor the pie weighed more than twenty kilograms, but James insisted on carrying both, and he looked so damn cute holding the basket I’d put them in, that I didn’t bother to argue. “Are you sure…” I started and was promptly cut off.



“Charlie, the man has been away from his family for weeks. He’ll be thrilled. Anyway, he’s been bugging me to bring you by the studio to meet him.”



“This isn’t the studio,” I pointed out. “This is where he lives.”



James gave a long-suffering sigh and turned to the elevator attendant. “Homemade lasagna and apple pie. Would you turn it down?”



“Not a chance,” the man smiled. “Smells divine.”



We got out on the top floor, and stepped into a small hallway. The door in front of us swung open and Bob appeared, a huge smile on his face. “What, you don’t see enough of me at work? You gotta harass me at home now, too? What’s up with the basket, Little Red Riding Het?” I giggled, and his gaze turned to me. “Charlie?”



I nodded. “Hi.”



He held out his hand and I took it. “Great to finally meet you. Come on in, sweetie.” Guiding me into the apartment, he waited til James was inside and then shut the door.



“Sorry to just drop by like this, but James swore it was okay, and I really wanted to meet you and plus we had all this food cause I just couldn’t stop cooking today and I didn’t want it to go to waste. And I know you’re kinda far from home right now and James mentioned something about your questionable cooking skills so we figured that you wouldn’t mind if we came by and then the dude in the elevator said he thought it smelled good so if you don’t like it we can, um, give it to him.” I took a breath, shoving my hands in my pockets, aware that both of them were staring at me in amusement. “So…um, nice place.”



They both burst out laughing and Bob took the basket from James. “Make yourself comfy, James. Charlie, c’mon with me into the kitchen, show me whatcha made. It smells amazing.”



I saw he was barefoot, and I toed off my sneakers before following him into the spacious kitchen. He lifted out the pie and set it down on the counter before sticking his head almost completely in the basket to smell the lasagna. “It’s got spinach in it, so you can pretend it’s healthy,” I informed him. “But it’s also got a hell of a lot of bad stuff.”



He reached into the dishwasher and pulled out two clean forks. “I think we should test it. You in?”



I nodded quickly, realizing I hadn’t eaten lunch, and was about to stick my fork in when I pulled back. “Should we…cut a piece out? Or just dig in?”



“I think we should just go for it,” he winked and I nodded solemnly, following his lead. Both of us ate a small bite and I giggled when he pretended to swoon. “Oh my God, that’s delicious. But…I don’t think I tasted any spinach. So we should probably have another bite. Just to make sure it’s in there.”



“Absolutely.” I ate another bite, and then a third, and whirled around, my mouth full of cheese, when James cleared his throat behind us. “He made me,” I pointed my fork at Bob, covering my mouth.



“I bet,” James laughed, taking the fork from me and stealing a bite. “Is that…pepperoni?”



I nodded, and Bob handed me another fork. “Family recipe, Grandma Tyler’s ‘Heart Attack on a Plate’. Not bad, eh?”



Several minutes later, we’d finished nearly a third of the pan, and I convinced them both that we should probably stop before we ate the whole thing. Bob put a pot of coffee on for himself and James, and brewed me some herbal tea. Feeling a little chilly in my short-sleeved tee shirt, I rubbed my arms, and Bob disappeared from the room for a minute, coming back with his skull sweater. “Yay! I love this, it’s so cool!” I gushed, pulling the sweater over my head. It was a little big, only my fingertips showed. “Thanks! Don’t let me forget to give it back before we leave.”



We took our mugs into the lounge area, and I stretched out on the couch, taking in the gorgeous view of the bay. James sat in the chair to my left, running a hand over my hair. I turned to Bob and saw him watching me with a smile. “So, what do you think of this guy runnin’ off to New York for the weekend?”



I tried not to let the shock show on my face. “I’d say…it’s great. Leaves me free to go party it up at the bars. Drinking and dancing and-” I caught the look on James’ face and laughed. “And bubble baths and no heavy lifting. Relax, Hetfield.”



We stayed for another hour or so, before James announced that we should leave, so he could pack for New York. I got a bear hug from Bob and remembered to give him back his sweater while James called the lift. “You call me if you need anything while this guy’s outta town,” Bob told me. “Specially if you need somebody to help you eat like a dozen lasagnas or something.”

I smiled and said I would and waited in the elevator while the two of them hugged and said goodbye.

“Did he like it?” the lift attendant asked quietly.

“Loved it,” I nodded. “I’ll bring two next time, you can have one.”

“Excellent.”

James waited until we were in the truck to speak. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner about this weekend. I told Lars ages ago I’d go with him for the mastering of the album, and I tried to get out of it, but-”

“James, it’s fine. It’s just the weekend, right? I’ll be alright on my own.”

He looked at me for a moment and then turned away, revving the engine. “You won’t really be alone…” I raised an eyebrow at him. “I, um, called Pepper. To ask if he could stay with you.”

“So, let me get this straight. You’re leaving town for about forty-eight hours, and you’ve arranged for somebody to baby-sit me? Are you serious?” He nodded, watching the road. “James, that’s ridiculous. I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself, and as much as I’d love to spend the weekend with Pepper, I’m sure you’re dragging him away from some other commitments by asking him to stay with me. When we get home, we are calling him and canceling.”

“Trish is in LA for a fashion thing. He’s got two appointments to go check out some houses, and that’s it. I did think to ask, Charlie.”

“Didn’t think to ask me,” I muttered, staring out the window.

We didn’t speak for the rest of the ride home, and I went straight into the kitchen to put the rest of the food away. James came up behind me, wrapping an arm around me and kissing the top of my head.

“When’s your flight?” I asked, tilting my head back to look at him.

“Tomorrow morning. Jet leaves at nine.”

“’kay.” I looked out to the backyard. “I might go for a swim. I haven’t done any exercise in ages.” I smiled up at him again. “Did you wanna call a lifeguard to come over and watch me?”

He slapped my butt and walked away. “I think I can handle it. You swim, I gotta pack.”

I did about twenty laps at a steady pace, taking care not to go to fast, and to rest when I got tired. James came out as I was hauling myself out of the pool, and wrapped a towel around me. “Thanks,” I shivered. The pool was heated but the late afternoon air was chilly. Jogging upstairs, I stripped out of my bikini and hopped into the shower.

I finished drying my hair and found James sitting on the bed when I came out of the bathroom. “What’s up?”

“I gotta go to the house.”

I nodded, pulling a pair of jeans and a white sweater from my closet. “Your house?”

“New house. I moved some of my stuff there, including my Leadfoot jacket. I won’t be long; I just left it in the hallway. Figured I’d drive the Beast over, drop off a couple things, pick up the jacket and come right back.” He watched as I fastened the button on my jeans. “Unless you wanna go get it?” He dangled the keys and I grabbed them.

“Really? You’re gonna let me drive the Beast?”

He laughed. “Only to go there and come back. And only if you promise to obey the speed limits and not do any off-roading on your way.”

“I’ll be careful,” I promised.

“No Steve McQueen stunts,” he laughed.

“Deal. Anything else you need me to pick up while I’m out?”

“Looking for reasons to drive around some more?” he grinned and I nodded. “Nope, just the jacket. Take your phone though, and call me if you need anything, or if you don’t feel well.”

I drove the speed limit the whole way over. Parking the Beast in the massive driveway, I wandered around back. The hot tub was covered, and I could see James had already hired someone to start work on a fence around the cliff. Letting myself in the back door, I saw James’ jacket lying on the counter. He’d brought over a number of boxes already, and they were strewn over the floor in the main hallway. I locked the front door behind me when I left, and took a deep breath of salt air, wondering if Pep would be up for helping me move some more stuff over on the weekend. We’d be hiring movers for all the big stuff, but I wanted to get started as soon as possible.

Arriving back at home, I grabbed the jacket and locked the Beast, startled to see three complete strangers dressed in chef whites leaving the house. “Good evening, Miss Tyler,” they each greeted me, and I smiled blankly, having no idea who they were.

“James?” I called when I stepped inside. I dropped his jacket over the banister and turned to the lounge, stopping in my tracks when I saw it. The whole place was alight with dozens of candles. The fire was going steadily, and soft music was playing. An irresistible aroma was wafting from the kitchen, and I heard James calling from the dining room.

“Hey,” he smiled when I reached him. “Good timing.”

The table was set with linen and china that I hadn’t used in, well, years probably. A beautiful arrangement of lilies and orchids rested in the middle of the table, and a bottle of Perrier was chilling in an ice bucket. “I…have an ice bucket?” I said slowly, still not sure what was going on.

“No,” he laughed. “Caterers brought that.” Walking over to me, he kissed me softly. “Thanks for getting my jacket.”

“I can’t believe you did all this in under an hour!” I looked around at the room again. “And what’s in the kitchen? It smells incredible. And the lounge looks…amazing.”

He shrugged. “Just wanted to do something nice before I take off tomorrow. I ordered a bunch of different stuff from Market Street. There’s some Thai, some Greek, and some Indian.”

I hugged him, touched that he gone to all this trouble. “And…dessert?” I asked, running a hand over his chest.

“Chocolate sauce.”

“…and?”

“You,” he grinned.



I grinned at him and tugged on his belt loop. “How ‘bout we have dessert first?”

He reached behind me to glass cabinet and pulled out a squeeze bottle of chocolate syrup. “Strip.”

“What?” I’d been kidding…sort of. Surely he didn’t expect me to get naked in my own dining room.

“Thirty seconds, Charlie. Unless you wanna get chocolate all over your clothes.” He flipped the top of the bottle open and squirted some on his finger, licking it off slowly. “Twenty-five seconds…”

I yanked off my shirt and pushed my jeans down, standing in front of him in the green bra and knickers set I’d put on earlier.

“Very pretty,” he nodded. “Take it off.” I hesitated and he reached one hand around me, deftly unfastening the bra. I removed it and stepped out of the matching panties. “Now,” he started, shooting me a very evil grin, “get on the table.”

I glanced at the antique embroidered tablecloth. It had been in my family for generations, passed down from my great, great grandmother, who had-

“I’ll buy you a new one,” James interrupted my thoughts.

Good enough. I hopped up on the end of the table and James pushed the chair aside, standing in front of me. Drizzling chocolate syrup on my left breast, he lowered his head and licked it off before doing the same with the right one. His teeth grazed my nipple, and he pulled back, pouring more chocolate on it before sucking it into his mouth and flicking it with his tongue.

He stood back suddenly. “Lay down,” he ordered. I leaned back, resting on my elbows, and he shook his head, pulling the chair back to the table and sitting in it. “All the way.”

I did as instructed and he hauled me forward so my legs were dangling off the table. Spreading them wider, he squeezed the syrup on to my inner thigh and I held my breath, waiting for his mouth on me. Instead, he poured more syrup on my other leg. “What are you doing?” I squealed as he drizzled a little pattern just below my naval.

“Charlie Sundae,” he chuckled. Wrapping his arms around my thighs, he licked first one, then the other leg, ignoring the place where I most wanted his mouth. Pulling me even closer to him, he licked and sucked the skin on my abdomen, and glanced up at me. “Where should I go next? Here?” he gently bit my left hipbone. “Or maybe here?” he said, licking a path to the other one.

I shook my head. “Please…” I whimpered. “Please lick me.”

He looked up at me, his face a picture of innocence. “I thought that’s what I was doing.”

“Nooo,” I whined. “Not there…”

He sucked at my inner thigh, hard enough to leave a small purple mark on my skin. His mouth hovered over me, close enough for me to feel his warm breath.

“Please,” I begged, lifting my hips off the end of the table. “Please, baby? Need your mouth on me, feels so good…” I felt his fingers gently spreading me wider, and his tongue darting in to taste me. “More,” I pleaded.


He drew the sensitive bud into his mouth, sucking on it steadily while his fingers pumped into me. I fisted a hand in his hair, pulling him against me harder, bucking against his face. Panting his name as my orgasm washed over me, I went totally limp, his arms around my legs keeping me from sliding off the table. Moaning softly as he continued to kiss the insides of my thighs, I closed my eyes, not caring even a little that if anyone were to walk into my backyard, they’d be able to see me spread eagle on my dining room table with a man feasting on me.

Pulling me up to face him, he brushed the hair off my face. “Think we should clean you up for dinner?”

I nodded slowly. “I don’t think I can walk though. Legs…wobbly,” I muttered.

He looked at me for a moment and then hoisted me over his shoulder, patting my naked butt as he strode out of the room and up the stairs. “Lazy woman,” he chuckled.

“Yeah, but I have the best view of your ass from here,” I giggled.

He put me down in the shower and turned on the water. “I’m gonna go blow out some of the candles and put dinner in the oven to reheat. Back in a minute.” He kissed me quickly.

“Don't want dinner,” I mumbled to myself. “Just want another helping of dessert.”



I leaned against the tiled wall, closing my eyes as the hot water cascaded over me. Hearing the bathroom door open again, I smiled as James stepped into the shower with me.

“All clean?” he murmured in my ear.

“Yup. Just in time for you to dirty me all up again,” I grinned, sliding my hand between his legs to stroke him.

Several minutes later, we both dried off and I stole one of James’ plaid shirts, rolling up the sleeves to my elbows before pulling on a pair of black satin shorts. He moaned, and I glanced up, wondering what was wrong. “Don’t do that,” he sighed.

“Excuse me?”

“You know, look all adorable and sexy in one of my shirts so I have no choice but to ravish you immediately,” he smiled, nuzzling my neck.

“Sorry,” I practically purred as he gently sucked on my earlobe. “Hungry, baby?” I stepped back from him, tugging on the waist of his jeans. “The food smelled amazing. Maybe we should actually eat some of it.”

He nodded, kissing my forehead before leading me downstairs. He’d laid out a blanket on the floor and told me to get comfy while he brought the food over, pressing ‘play’ on the stereo as he headed into the kitchen.

I leaned back against the couch, reveling in the warmth from the fire and the sated feeling being with James always left me with, and smiled when the first notes of Song for a Winter’s Night began. “Wouldn’t have pegged you for a Lightfoot fan, Hetfield,” I said over my shoulder. “You been diggin’ through my cd collection again?”

He shot me a grin as he came back with two enormous plates of food, setting them on the coffee table. “Some of it. I stopped when I reached the, um, Sugababes?”

I giggled. “Yeah, probably not your style. Ohhh, samosas! Awesome.” I reached for one and polished it off in three bites. “What?” I shrugged as James watched in awe. “I’m hungry, okay? You should know by now, I can eat. A lot. Easily.” He nodded, looking slightly scared, and I laughed. “Yeah, boys are usually surprised by how much I can put away. First time I ate with Pep, I polished off about three burgers and half a chicken.”

“I’m glad you’re eating. Peanut needs the nourishment,” he winked.

“Mmmhmm. Lotsa nourishment in samosas, I’m sure,” I giggled.

“Yeah. Maybe have some salad, too. And some…” he stopped abruptly and looked apologetic. “I’m sorry, Charlie. You know what you should be eating. I don’t wanna sound like everybody the other night, telling you what to do.”

I shrugged, nibbling on a chicken wing. “S’fine. I know that’s not what you’re doing. And the salad looks awesome. Did you order it or make it?”

“Made it,” he said simply. “Nobody else had spinach and dried cranberries as a combo on their menu,” he added. “You little weirdo.”

“Hey,” I laughed. “That’s an awesome combo. You should try it. Anyway, spinach is ridiculously high in, um, iron and vitamin A. I think.”

“Uh huh. I always find it tastes like dirt.” He made a face. “Think I’ll let you and Pep have the salad. There’ll be plenty left over for when he gets here tomorrow.” Stealing a piece of red pepper from my plate, he popped it in his mouth. “Given any thought to what you guys are gonna do for the weekend?”

I nodded. “Eat a lot, talk a lot, watch a lot of movies, and eat some more. Jealous?” I grinned at him.

He narrowed his eyes at me, and I could see him trying not to smile. “I wouldn’t normally trust another man to take care of my woman. Pep only gets the job because I can’t get out of going to New York, and cause I know I can count on him to look after you. He’s been doing it for so long now I figure he must be pretty good at it.”

I smiled at him, nodding. “He’s got the hang of it, yeah. Haven’t really needed him around much lately, now that you’re here.” He looked surprised at that, and I laughed. “What? C’mon, James. Who needs anyone else with Big Daddy Het in the house?”

He stared at me, a half-smile playing on his lips and I suddenly felt stupid for what I’d said. “Charlie…”

“No, forget it. I was just joking around. I mean, obviously I can take care of myself, I don’t need anybody to take care of me. I was just being silly.” I picked at the food on my plate. “Hey, look, chicken!” I took a small mouthful and struggled to swallow, feeling James’ eyes on me. “So, um, New York. Mastering the album. That’s pretty exciting. Kirk and Rob aren’t going?”

He didn’t answer right away, and I knew he was reluctant to let go of what I’d said. “No, they’re not. Why are you staring at your food?”

I kept looking down and blushed. “I’m not. I’m just concentrating on not looking at you.”

He laughed and took my plate from me, putting it back on the coffee table with his. “C’mere, woman.” I scooted over and curled up on his lap, resting my head on his shoulder. “I’m glad you think I take good care of you. I know you can take care of yourself, but I like to help, okay? And I know, for a long time, Pepper was the only one you’d let help you. So it means a lot to me that you let me do that, too.”

I turned and straddled him, burying my face in his neck as he wrapped his arms around me in a tight hug. “Okay.”

“One, two, three?”

“One, two, three,” I assured him. I still couldn’t seem to stop the tears that were welling up, though, and wiped quickly at them.

“Are you…” he pulled back so he could see my face. “You’re crying? Why?”

“I don’t know!” I wailed. “Cause I’m a stupid girl who can’t control her freaking emotions?”

He chuckled and pulled me close again, rubbing my back. “You’re not stupid. I mean, I did question your general sanity when I came across your Bon Jovi collection,” he said quietly and I choked out a watery giggle. “But you’re not stupid.” Kissing my cheek, he slid a hand up the back of my shirt. “We might have to burn those cds, by the way,” he added. I wiped my face with the shirt and he slid his knees up, letting me lean back against them. “Better?”

I nodded. “Yes.”

“And we can burn the cds?”

“No.”

“Dammit,” he laughed.

I ran a hand over his chest, leaning forward to kiss him. His mouth opened to mine, and I felt both his hands slide up my shirt, pressing me harder against him. Sucking my bottom lip, he bit it gently, and I scraped my nails over the back of his neck in approval.

“We should really finish dinner,” he said slowly a few minutes later, when we finally stopped to catch our breath.

I reluctantly slid down off his lap, lifting my plate off the coffee table. “Can’t believe you still wanna move in with me after finding the Bon Jovi stuff,” I smirked at him.

“Yeah, it was touch and go, but you also have Sabbath and Aerosmith, so it all sorta evens out. Think you can talk Pep into helping you take some of your things to the house this weekend? All my stuff’s gonna be there by Sunday.”

I nodded. “Probably. The big things like the piano and the bed from my room – we wanted that for one of the bedrooms, right?” I looked at him and he nodded. “That’ll have to wait for the movers, but we can probably take most of the books and my personal stuff over.” I held up a hand as he opened his mouth. “I won’t carry a thing.”

“Good. But I was gonna say, think about whether or not you want the piano on the main floor in that library-type room, or downstairs in the studio with all my stuff.”

“Okay. Probably the basement, though. Be nice to keep it all together. There’s enough room, right? For all your stuff and the piano and the cello and…everything?”

“Definitely. There’s a drum kit too. Castor’s learning.”

“Awesome. Hope he’s got a better sense of rhythm than his dad,” I said quietly and got nailed in the forehead with a balled up napkin.



“Don’t start with me, Hetfield,” I grinned at him.

“Shakin’ in my boots, Tyler,” he raised an eyebrow and held up a forkful of basmati rice.

“Okay, okay, I give. No rice on the floor, please.” I stood up and took our plates into the kitchen. “Can’t believe you were going to start a food fight in my house,” I said in mock horror as I sat back down. “Such manners. I hope you don’t behave like this when we move into the new place.”

“Oh yeah? Think we should lay some ground rules?” he asked, looking amused as I snuggled up on his lap again, running my fingers through his chest hair.

“Yup. Rule one – you must always be shirtless, like this. No! You must always be naked.” I waited for him to stop laughing before I continued. “Rule two – nah, that’s it. Just you, naked.” I hooked a finger in his belt. “I think that rule should be instigated right now.” Standing up, I motioned for him to do the same, and made short work of his belt and jeans, dropping them around his ankles in seconds, followed by his boxers. “On the couch.”

I whipped off the satin shorts I’d been wearing and straddled his legs. He moved forward slightly and I put my hands on his shoulders, exhaling slowly as I sank down onto him. He dragged the tip of his tongue across my lips. “Take off the shirt,” he said in a low voice.

“I like the shirt.”

He put both hands up the front of the shirt, cupping my breasts. “Fine,” he growled, sliding his arms around me and standing up so abruptly that I squealed. “Relax,” he murmured in my ear as he headed for the stairs, his hands under my butt as I linked my ankles behind his back. “It’s not like you’re going anywhere.” Every step he took drove him farther inside me. I dropped my head onto his shoulder, whimpering and moaning his name. We got about halfway up the stairs when he turned suddenly, pressing me up against the wall. Ripping the front of the shirt open, he squeezed my breast, kissing me roughly as he thrust into me. I heard fabric rip and I dropped my arms, letting the shirt fall off me, shivering at how cold the wall felt against my skin.

He finally stilled his movements, carrying me upstairs to the bedroom, where he sat on the edge of the bed. His kisses became softer, less fierce, and I moved off him to lay back on the bed. Resting between my legs, he entered me again and the pace was much slower, his eyes never leaving mine. Moving his hips in circles, he waited until I arched under him, tensing as my climax rolled through me, before gently turning me over, fucking me slowly from behind.

Collapsing on top of me, he whispered in my ear. “We are SO burning those cds,” and chuckled when I whacked him with a pillow.

We lay there in silence for a few minutes before he spoke again. “Gonna miss me this weekend?”

The tone was light, but I knew it was probably a serious question. “Absolutely.”

He kissed the top of my head. “Good answer.”

“Well, yeah. I mean, Pep’s a lot shorter than you are. Who’s gonna get stuff off the top shelf in the kitchen for me?”

He was silent for a minute. “You can’t see, cause it’s dark, but I’m holding up a finger. Any idea which one it is?”

I giggled and snuggled up to him. “Course I’m gonna miss you. Question is, are you gonna miss me? Or are you gonna be too busy hanging out with Lars in New York? Hey, maybe he’ll get you tickets for the Yankees…” I trailed off as I realized what I was bringing up. “Sorry. Shouldn’t have mentioned it.”

“S’okay,” he murmured. “I’m gonna go blow out the candles downstairs, baby. I’ll be right back, okay?”

“’kay.” I wandered into the bathroom, brushing my teeth and washing my face before grabbing the vanilla oil and taking it out to the bed. James came back upstairs a short time later and turned out the hall light. “Are you all packed?”

“Yup.” He got in beside me, pouring several drops of oil on his hands. “You’re not gonna let Pep help with this part while he’s here, are you?” he smiled.

“Nope. I’ll do it myself. It won’t be as nice as when you do it,” I sighed as he gently rubbed the oil onto my skin. “But it’ll have to suffice.”

Getting under the blankets when he’d finished, he rolled onto his back, waiting until I’d wriggled into a comfortable position beside him before putting an arm around me. “I’ll call you tomorrow night, okay?”

“Okay.”

“I set the alarm for six, in case you wanna help me shower.” He kissed the top of my head.

“Sounds good. I AM gonna miss you, ya know.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. But…” I paused. “I think Mrs. Deanez has a step-ladder I can borrow, so I should be okay.” I giggled and pushed away the pillow that he swatted me with. “Night, James.”

“Night, baby.”

The alarm went off at six, as promised, and I rolled over, wrapping an arm and a leg around him. He cuddled me against his chest. “I gotta get up.”

“I know,” I sighed, not moving.

He hit the snooze button and we stayed like that for eight more minutes. “I gotta get up,” he said again when the beeping started.

“Yup.”

He pressed the snooze button again and pulled the duvet over our heads. I dozed off only to be woken by the incessant beeping again. “Fuck this, they have showers in New York.” He reset the alarm for seven thirty and burrowed under the covers with me again. I started to slide my hand down his hip, and moved my hand to cover my mouth as I yawned. He laughed, tucking my head under his chin. “Go back to sleep, baby. We’ll catch up on the nookie when I get back.”

I mumbled a response and fell back asleep, waking again when he got up. Tucking the duvet around me, he told me to stay in bed. I complied, watching him through half-open eyes as he threw some clothes into a bag and brushed his teeth. Sitting on the edge of the bed when he was ready to leave, he brushed a hand over my hair. “Call my cell if you need anything. Or if you don’t need anything. Call anytime. If I can’t take the call, I’ll make sure I call you back as soon as I can. Okay?”

“Forty-eight hours,” I smiled. “I’ll be fine. We’ll talk tonight, yeah?”

He nodded, bending to kiss my forehead. “Have a good time with Pep.” Ducking his head under the covers, he kissed my belly and sat up again, pressing a gentle kiss to my lips.

“Did you use all the chocolate sauce last night, or is there some left?”

He smirked at me. “There’s some left. Why, you want more dessert when I get back?”

I leaned forward, whispering in his ear. “I’d like to cover you in chocolate and lick it off slowly..."

He made a strangled sound and I giggled, kissing his neck. “Woman,” he growled. “Are you trying to kill me?”

“No. Just trying to give you something to look forward to.”

“It’s working.” He kissed me hard, pushing me back against the headboard. “If I didn’t have to-”

He was interrupted by the doorbell, and both of us sighed. “See you tomorrow night,” I hugged him tightly.

He held on to me for a minute. “I don’t wanna go,” he murmured. Finally pulling away, he kissed me again. “Love you, Tyler.”

“You, too. Safe trip.”

I watched him turn and leave, listening until I heard him close the front door behind him. I lay staring up at the ceiling for a few minutes, trying to go back to sleep. My cell phone buzzed and I looked at the number. “Yes?” I smiled as I answered.

“Miss me yet?”

“Are you gonna think I’m sad and pathetic if I say yes?” I laughed.

“No. Makes me feel a little better about missing you already. I can’t talk long, I gotta sort some stuff out with Lars, but I wanted to call and say hello. And goodbye. Again.”

“Okay, sweets. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

We hung up and I rolled over, pulling the duvet over my head.
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