Family Business (L&B Sequel) (EDITING)

|9| Like Father, Like Son

Natasha was laying in the hospital bed hooked up to an IV. She thought the damage with Landon was minimal. Turns out, he'd done real damage. The concussion he gave her was enough to get him locked up on assault, violation of probation, and violation of a restraining order. He would be back in prison longer than he thought.

The doctors kept a close eye on her, making sure she didn't fall asleep for another six hours. She was beyond exhausted and didn't know how she'd make it, until they told her she could possible slip into a coma. She was up and wandering her room most of the hours. Her parents and Tjay were by her side.

They'd called Naris multiple times and got no answer. Luckily, Synyai, Juan and Junior were with their aunt Kea. Shayy was worried about Natasha. She didn't want her brothers and sister to see her this way. She felt helpless looking at her baby have to go through this emotional and physical abuse again. She didn't know how Natasha would react to it this time.

"Mama, I'm not going to counseling." Natasha looked at her.

"But, I didn't even say it." Shayy looked at her.

"I know that you're thinking it." She responded. "Mama, it's the last time this is happening. I'm not going to let him abuse me ever again. If he decides to be stupid and approach me again-"

"I'll handle him." Tjay stepped in. "I refuse to let myself or another man hurt you. Last time, I didn't know this stuff was going on in your life. Now that I do, this is the last time he'll get away with hurting you."

"You two stop getting worked up. He's going away for longer than before." Shayy said holding Natasha's hand.

"So, he will come back angrier than before Mama." Natasha started crying.

"Look at me." Tjay gently turned her face to his. "I swear on anything that I love, you're going to be safe with me. He won't get to hurt you again. If he comes near you, I'll kill him with my bare hands. Got that?"

"Yeah." She nodded. "I love you."

"Not as much as I love you." He smiled.

"So, when did you plan on telling me that the two of you were...a thing?" Nigel asked. Shayy tensed up in his arms and he looked down at her. He would deal with her later. Right now, his focus was on hearing this from his daughter and the man she'd professed her love for in front of him.

"I was planning on telling you soon. I just...I was scared, Daddy. I didn't want you to blow up on Tjay for being a good man." Natasha explained.

She knew how to get to her dad and keep him from blowing off the handle sometimes. She was definitely afraid that this wouldn't be one of those times. The daggers he was sending Tjay with his cold eyes seemed to touch her too.

"Mr. Rodriguez, I should have been man enough to explained to you I had feelings for your daughter-"

"Have."

"Huh?" Tjay looked at Natasha, who'd interrupted him.

"You said you had feelings for me, when you actually meant that you have feelings for me; present-tense." She smiled up at him.

"Right. I'm sorry." He chuckled but his expression returned serious when he directed his attention back to Nigel. "But as I was saying, I should have gotten your permission. But, before I knew it, I was in love with this girl."

"So, the girl you brought to the house the other night?"

"It was to make me jealous because I was using him and not admitting my true feelings to him." Natasha interjected. "Trust me, I deserved that. He should've made me jealous because I wasn't treating him the way he needed to be treated. But, now, there's no doubt at all concerning my love for him. I didn't have this with Landon or Malcolm, and I feel safe with Tjay. He's been nothing but the perfect gentleman and he breaks his neck for me. I didn't make good choices in relationships when I was younger but going through that definitely taught me a valuable lesson about the kind of man I should be with. Daddy, Tjay is a lot like you. He's respectful, he's caring, rough around the edges, a complete sucker for a little bit of puppy eyes and he loves me.

I see what you and Mama have and that's all I've ever wanted for myself. I know you're not thrilled of a third relationship in my life or the fact that your daughter has another man to lean on, but Daddy, I'm not a dumb little girl anymore. I'm an adult and I think that I should be able to continue my life without having to be scared that every man I come across will hurt me in that way."

Nigel said nothing right away, but Shayy snuggled closer to him. He could see the huge smile plastered on her face and the tears streaming down her cheeks. Just as Tjay wiped tears from Natasha's eyes, Nigel had taken care of Shayy's. He kissed her temple and looked at his little girl, only to realize, she wasn't a little girl anymore. She was a capable adult. He stood and kissed her forehead then extended his hand out to Tjay.

Tjay took a hold of Nigel's hand and damn near fell to the floor with the grip that Nigel put on it. Natasha flinched at that pain she knew Tjay had to be going through.

"Daddy..." Natasha pleaded.

"Nigel, he get's it." Shayy stood and placed her hand over her husbands', causing him to release his hold on Tjay.

Even being mad at her, she found a way to keep him under control. He sat back down and pulled her onto his lap. Tjay stood up and tried to move his hand but Nigel put a crushing on it. Natasha sat down on the bed to baby him.

"Thank you for being there to protect my daughter as best you could." Nigel said to Tjay. "Don't do anything stupid, like get yourself landed in jail. I don't need my baby girl crying because you got locked up. But, I sincerely want to thank you for taking care of her. But let's make this clear, there better not be any babies pop up before she has a ring and your last name." Nigel frowned as Tjay agreed with a slight smile.

"I will always be your princess, Daddy." Natasha smiled.

"Aw, I'm happy for you two."

"I'm still dealing with you when we get home." Nigel looked at his wife. She gave him a look of guilt with a hint of excitement at how he was going to handle her. She knew it involved hair pulling and ass smacking. She squirmed in his lap and caused a low groan in his throat.

Later that night, Shayy had helped Natasha clean herself and get back into bed. She tried to stay awake afterwards but the long day finally took a toll on her. The doctor's had given her the okay to sleep if she wanted to. Natasha all but pushed her parents out the door and told them she'd be fine overnight with Tjay. Nigel wasn't too happy about the idea but Shayy reminded him and herself of the punishment he'd promised and it took no effort to get him home.

Walking into the house, they had their hands all over each other. He got in the house and closed the door behind them. He turned and reached for her but stopped when he saw her staring at their son and his half naked girlfriend.

"Ma, Pops, heeey." He awkwardly said standing in his boxers with Christina hiding behind him.

"Hi Mr. and Mrs. Rodriguez." Christina pipped up.

"Hi." They responded.

"I see you took your old man's advice." Nigel smiled and pulled Shayy closer to him.

"Yeah, thanks Pops." Naris smiled.

"Come on baby." Nigel pulled his wife passed the naked couple and up the stairs. "I'm pretty sure you have the guest house available..." He directed to Naris. "Take the key and get lost. Your mother and I have some things to go over. It might be loud."

"Aw man." Naris shook his head. "I don't need the image of my parents having sex in my head."

"We didn't need the image of our son and his girlfriend having sex in our heads." Shayy responded, happily following Nigel upstairs.

"Get out Naris." Nigel warned before getting to the second floor with a gentle grip on his wife's hand.

"Don't be mean to my child." Shayy said laughing.

"Want your child to see me do some very explicit things to you?" He gave her a look that made her legs weak. Still, fifteen years later and he had this effect on her.

She didn't too much want to think about her children having sex but she'd hope they got to experience love like what she had, if not better. She wasn't so sure love got better than what she and Nigel shared.