Up In Flames

Chapter 3

"I didn't."

"Then why did you say you would? Why did you go there then ditch me?"

"I didn't want you to hate me or the baby if I decided to keep it and I didn't want to hate you either."

Happy turned his back on her unsure of what to say. "I never said you had to."

"I didn't, Hap."

"You didn't?" He turned to her, jaw open, and repeated the question. "You didn't get rid of it?"

"Her. I didn't get rid of her."

"Fuck." The word was a hard, breathless whisper.

"I'm sorry." She said confidently, never doubting her decision but apologizing for the way she handled it all. "I had her three months ago, she was late."

"A little girl?"

Rory smiled at that, his nickname for her, but felt herself crumbling from the horrid display between them. "Yeah, her name is Emma Eloise."

Happy took a few stumbling steps backward toward the door. "I'm not... You know, I can't-"

Raising her hand, Rory stopped him from going any further. "That's what I thought but it wasn't my decision to make. It's yours. I just didn't want to rob her of her father if you actually wanted to be in her life. You should go." Rory said coldly, angrier than she thought she'd be. "She'll be up soon for a bottle."

"She's here?"

"In the bedroom." Rory's eyes flashed with joy at the minimal interest he showed. "She looks like you but without the creepy killer eyes."

"Poor kid."

Rory shoulders slumped as she turned and grabbed the bottle from the fridge. Running the hot water, she placed it in the sink and looked back at Happy.

"I'm sorry for everything." She said defeated. "I just couldn't do it. I didn't want to. I'm not forcing her on you at all but I want you to know I love you and I never wanted it to end like this."

"I never wanted it to end at all."

Rory let out a stifled sob, his rare and fleeting vulnerability cutting her. Awkwardly, he put an arm around her, it was stiff and almost off putting like the entire beginning of their relationship. "Did you really want me to have an abortion, I mean really?" She asked, the words muffled by his chest.

Happy shrugged. "I didn't actually think about it. It was the first, easiest option so I went with it."

"Do you want to see her?" Stepping away, she reached for the bottle as Emma started to whine.

"I don't know." He said grateful for the distance as Rory walked to the bedroom.

Nodding, she left the door open in hopes he'd join her. Happy watched as Rory scooped the little wiggling blob into her arms and silenced her with the bottle. Bobbing around the room gently, Rory smiled and cooed as she fed her daughter. Happy took slow, measured steps toward the threshold catching glimpses as Rory danced. She turned and stopped, shocked to see him still there let alone so close.

"This is her," she whispered walking closer.

"Jesus Christ." Happy groaned feeling the tiny, olive skinned bundle reaching into his chest and tugging at his heart. "I can't do this, Ror."

"Oh," she was actually surprised by his reaction to seeing her. "Okay."

"She's...beautiful but," he stopped unsure of what to say.

"It's fine." She turned away as if to shield the child from him. "I don't need money or anything. You can go."

Happy closed the bedroom door behind him but didn't leave. He listened to Rory speak softly through the monitor as she told Emma how much Mommy loves her no matter what. Every noise and word he catalogued and memorized, even the baby's little burp.

When Rory managed to get Emma back to sleep, she snuck quietly out into the living room again. She stopped, gasping, looking at Happy expectantly.

"Jesus, what are you still doing here?"

"That scares me." He pointed to the bedroom. "The way you used to."

"She'll probably break my heart; I've come to grips with that. Most kids do. Look, Hap, you don't have to feel guilty. This is not something you wanted and I told you I would take care of it. I'm still doing that just not the way we originally planned. You don't have to do anything, I don't expect anything either. I just want you to know I'm sorry and I can easily say I have never loved another person the way I love you, except for her."

Happy charged at her, pinning her against the wall, and kissed her again with passion. Neither one of them knew what was happening but there was nothing more natural than when Rory and Happy were physically intimate. Their bodies moved perfectly together, even after all that time, and there was no need to become reacquainted with each other because they never forgot.

"Are you sure?" She asked, moaning, as he fondled her breasts and shimmied her cotton pajama shorts to her ankles before making quick work of his belt.

Picking her up, Happy sat her on the edge of the table and leaned her back, cradling her head gently. "You don't ever have to ask that." He whispered, sliding into her with unprecedented gentleness. "Shit." He growled, his voice vibrating from his chest. "I missed you." He spoke, burying his face in her neck as he thrust, slowly increasing his speed.

Rory hooked her ankles behind his back and lifted her hips wanting every inch of Happy inside her. As he moved hard and fast, causing the table to squeak across the floor, Rory tried desperately to stifle her pleasure filled cries. The act itself was short, the intensity of their relationship and the tense angry build up proved too much for either of them to hold out as long as they wanted.

Trembling beneath him, Rory smiled sadly. "I've waited over a year for that."

"Clean up." He said, helping her to stand with weak, wobbly legs. "We'll sleep on it."

"Really?" Not waiting for an answer, she moved carefully to the bathroom and when she came back out Happy was waiting by the bedroom door. "We probably won't wake her, she's a heavy sleeper, but just be really quiet."

Sneaking in they slipped under the covers and much to Rory's surprise, Happy offered his arm to her as he always had before. They both knew this was far from the beginning of some happy home life but they'd fought and made up, she thought, so Rory hoped that next they would actually talk.