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Post by Jen on Apr 3, 2004 12:33:18 GMT -5
Gus and Harley led Tony into the interrogation room.
“Do you want some coffee, Tony? This might take awhile,” Harley asked and got only a nod from Tony. She left the room to get everyone coffee and to set the tape in the observation room to record the questioning.
Knowing what she was doing, Gus and Tony were silent for a few minutes until he was sure the tape was recording. He sat down across from Tony.
“Maybe you should call your lawyer, Tony.”
Tony shook his head, “No. I don’t need to.”
“Okay, if that’s what you want.”
Harley returned juggling three cups of coffee and set one down in front of Tony and handed another to Gus.
Harley and Gus spent the next couple of hours asking Tony when the last time he talked to Marah was, what they talked about, if she said she was going anywhere, and other questions. Tony didn’t know much. He had seen Marah Thursday evening, but they ended the night on a bad note. They had been at Infierno and another customer was flirting with her while Tony was in the office, but he saw it and got angry. He admitted to Gus and Harley that once again his temper had gotten the better of him and he kicked the guy out and roughed him up a little bit, and Marah got angry and they fought, but he didn’t hurt Marah, he would never do that, he said. She went home and he hadn’t heard from her since.
“What did you do after she left?” Harley asked him.
“I was working at the bar, I was at Infierno the rest of the night. Danny was there too, he can vouch for me,” Tony told them.
Another officer came into the interrogation room and whispered to Gus that they had found Marah’s roommate Sunni and brought her in for questioning. He asked if they wanted to question her. Gus told him yes and he left.
Harley looked at Gus, both of them knowing they couldn’t keep Tony without any evidence and the autopsy wasn’t complete yet.
“Alright, Tony, I’m going to call Danny to come get you. Don’t leave town, we might need to talk to you again,” Gus warned him.
Gus led Tony out to call Danny and leave him with another officer while Harley went to bring Sunni into the interrogation room. By the time Gus had gotten Harley and himself another coffee and returned to the interrogation room, Sunni was nearly hysterical.
“Sunni, we’re not arresting you, we’re not even suggesting that you had anything to do with this,” Harley said trying to calm her down, “we just want to find out what Marah was doing, who she might have been with, that’s all.”
They asked Sunni pretty much the same questions they had asked Tony, and came up empty. Sunni could barely calm down enough to answer any of their questions and when she could, she talked so fast they couldn’t understand. About three-quarters of the way through the questioning, Sunni began to sob uncontrollably.
Harley handed her a box of tissues and excused Gus and herself, they left the room and went to the observation room to talk.
“She doesn’t know anything Coop, no way could she kill anyone. Heck, living with her, I’d be surprised if Marah didn’t kill herself,” Gus joked half-heartedly.
Harley was watching Sunni sob through the window and didn’t hear what Gus said, “What?” she asked him.
“I said I don’t think she knows anything, let’s just let her go home and calm down.”
“Oh, yeah, I don’t think so either,” Harley replied. “What do we do next?” she asked him.
“Wait for the autopsy. Maybe there are some clues there.”
While they were talking, they saw the Chief enter the interrogation room looking for them, soon he was in the observation room.
“Anything from the girl or Santos?” he asked them.
Gus shook his head, “She pretty much hysterical and I don’t think Tony has anything to do with it. He’s pretty shaken up. I think we just need to wait for the autopsy,” Gus answered.
“Well, the M.E. is doing it tomorrow morning. She’s in the middle of one now that’s going to take all night, so send this girl home and then you two go home and get some rest. It’s been a long day and tomorrow’s going to be longer.”
“We’re just supposed to go home and forget about it until tomorrow?” Harley asked quietly.
Chief looked at Gus who was obviously concerned about his wife, “I guess so. You can’t do anything else until you have the autopsy report.”
Harley walked back into the interrogation room to tell Sunni she could leave and gave her the same warning not to leave town as they gave Tony.
Franklin and Gus stayed in the observation room.
“Is she okay?” Franklin asked Gus.
“It’s just a little close to home, you know. She keeps thinking it could have been Susan, you know. And she used to be really close to Marah,” Gus explained.
“That’s gotta be hard. Take her home and take care of her, alright?”
“I wish I knew how to make her feel better,” Gus said.
“Just be there, Aitoro,” Franklin answered, although Gus was just wondering out loud.
They walked back out to the main part of the station where Harley was showing Sunni out. Gus got Harley’s purse from the desk drawer she always kept it in and met her at the door.
He put his arm around her, “Let’s go home,” he said as they left the station.
Harley wanted to stop at the Lewises and keep them informed, they told them they had questioned Tony and Sunni and neither knew anything. Once again Reva asked them why they hadn’t arrested Tony. Harley explained that they had no evidence that Tony was involved and they were keeping a close eye on him. Josh told them they were planning the funeral for Thursday of that week.
After they left Josh and Reva’s they had to pick up Jude from Company. Zach had been at home with the sitter since he got home from school, but Buzz was watching Jude for the day. They ran into Eden at Company.
“Eden,” Gus said, “I thought you’d be back in Chicago by now.”
“Well, I decided to stick around for a while, if that’s okay,” she replied.
“As long as you don’t cause any trouble,” he warned as she walked out of the restaurant.
By the time they had gotten home, they were both exhausted and it was time to give the boys their baths and put them to bed.
After they put the boys down, Susan came home and they had a long talk with her about Marah and asked her when the last time she had talked to her cousin was. She hadn’t talked to her since last Wednesday, so she knew even less than Tony or Sunni. Susan went up to bed since she had to get up for school the next day and Gus and Harley followed her up.
They finally got settled into bed and were almost asleep when they heard their door creak open. Zach was standing in the doorway rubbing his eyes.
“Mommy, I had a bad dream, can I sleep with you?” he asked sleepily.
Harley nodded and patted the bed between her and Gus and Zach jumped in between them. Harley wrapped her arms around her little boy and held him tight, thankful that she had him.
“Mommy, you’re squeezing me!” Zach giggled and struggled free of her arms.
Gus laughed and Harley looked up at him and smiled. He was glad to see her smile, especially after the day they had. He knew things were just going to get worse.
“Go to sleep, Zach,” Gus said, stopping him from moving around trying to get comfortable.
“Okay,” Zach replied as he finally got under the covers and closed his eyes.
Gus reached over Zach and grabbed Harley’s hand, and watched her fall asleep with Zach in her arms.
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Post by Jen on Apr 3, 2004 12:34:01 GMT -5
The next morning, Gus woke up with Zach still sleeping between him and Harley. He rolled over just enough to see that the clock said 6:25. Buzz would be there in 5 minutes to watch Jude and get Zach to school, and he and Harley were supposed to leave soon after that. The autopsy was starting at 7:00 sharp and they both wanted to be there. He sighed and rolled out of the bed. He picked up Zach and carried him back to his own bed, then he headed downstairs to start a pot of coffee- they were going to need it. As he flipped the switch on the front of the coffee pot to ‘on’, the doorbell rang. He rushed to the door to see Buzz standing on the other side.
“Are you going to work like that?” Buzz joked when he saw Gus standing there in only pajama bottoms.
Gus laughed and explained, “We slept in. Harley’s still sleeping, so are the boys and Susan should be up soon. I’m gonna go get Harley up and get ready. Thanks again for coming.”
“Sure,” Buzz replied as Gus started back up the steps, “Hey Gus- how is she?”
Gus looked at his father-in-law, “She’s okay. It’s hard, you know, but of course she insists that she has to work on the case. You know Harley…”
Buzz nodded as Gus disappeared up the stairs.
Before waking Harley, who was still sound asleep, he went into the bathroom and turned on the shower, then he went and woke his wife with a kiss.
“Hey, beautiful- wake up, we’re gonna be late.”
Harley groaned and rolled over, but Gus stopped her, “Uh uh, come on, I know how to wake you up,” he said slyly and he pulled her to her feet and led her into the bathroom. When they got in there the mirror was already fogged up. Gus stripped himself of his pajama pants then got rid of Harley’s silk pajama set just as quickly and pulled her into the steamy shower.
With the hot water flowing over them, Harley wrapped her arms around Gus’s hard body and rested her head on his chest. Gus sighed to himself, knowing what she was thinking about, he kissed her head, determined to keep her mind off of the gruesome case while they were away from the station.
All Harley had to do was look into his dark eyes and feel his kisses on her skin to immediately feel better. He had that amazing talent the moment his hands would cradle her face and his lips were touch hers, all brain activity would cease. Every doubt, fear, or bit of nervousness would disappear from her mind. All she could think about was Gus and the way his lips felt on hers. It had been that way since their first kiss, and his kisses today were no different. She made a contented sound and pulled away from his kisses to grab the bar of masculine-smelling soap Gus used. Lathering up her hands, she helped him wash his body. When she was finished with the most important parts, and Gus was washing his hair, she lathered up her hands again and flung the suds at an oblivious Gus. When the suds hit his face, he stopped and flung some shampoo suds at Harley, beginning what would quickly turn into a soap war between the two. Harley shrieked and turned away from Gus like she was trying to run away, but she didn’t get very far in the small shower before Gus grabbed her and pulled her back against him.
“Where do you think you’re going?” he whispered in her ear as he lightly nipped her lobe, “It’s your turn,” he continued as he reached for her vanilla scented body wash. With his soapy hands he scrubbed her from head to toe. He ran his slippery hands over her flat stomach and paused, tracing soft circles in her skin as he thought back to the night at the Taverna in Greece when he first thought of bringing up the subject.
“Harley, I want to…” he said, but didn’t finish his sentence.
“You want to what, Gus?” Harley asked.
Gus changed his mind about what he was going to say to her, “No, it’s nothing. Nevermind.”
“Oh, don’t do that- what?” Harley begged.
Gus leaned over the table and silenced her with a kiss. She smiled at him and went back to her dinner. Gus sat back in his chair and sighed. He couldn’t tell her what he wanted. Not right now, he would have to feel her out a little more before he told her his wishes.
He would love nothing more than to have a child with Harley, a child that was theirs, one they didn’t have to send to the other parent’s house every other weekend or holiday, but he also didn’t know how Harley would feel about having another baby, especially with two boys under the age of five running around the house. He didn’t want to pressure her, and would be willing to go along with whatever she wanted. But, in those few moments standing in the shower with his wife with her children all nestled sound asleep in their beds, he decided that was enough for him. He loved Zach and Jude like his own, but still knew full well they had fathers of their own, and while it was a different situation with Susan, they had developed a close relationship that more than satisfied him. Did he really have any right to ask or even wish for anything more? When just two years earlier he was alone and miserable, chasing after the family that killed his father, and now he was surrounded by so much happiness and love? Gus smiled to himself, and silently thanked God once more for bringing Harley into his life. He decided not to bring up any talk about a baby, at least not for awhile.
Harley noticed Gus’s silence and leaned her head back against his shoulder, “Whatcha thinking about?”
Harley’s question brought Gus back to reality and he kissed her cheek, “I was just thinking how much I would love to stay in this shower with you all day long, but we should get to the station.”
“Yeah, I guess we should,” Harley replied, dreading the long day ahead of them
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
After they had gotten dressed and ready to leave, they snuck into the boys’ room to kiss them goodbye, then headed downstairs. Buzz and Susan were sitting in the kitchen. Buzz was reading the morning paper and Susan was finishing a bowl of cereal.
Buzz looked up from the paper when they walked into the kitchen, “Well, it’s about time you get up,” he teased.
“Morning,” Harley replied as she kissed her daughter and father, “I need coffee.”
“Here,” Gus said as he handed her a travel mug of coffee, “we’re already late for the …” he paused remembering Susan was there, “we need to go,” he covered.
“Yeah,” Harley replied, “Thanks for coming over so early, daddy. Susan, are you sure you want to go to school today?”
Susan nodded, “Yeah, at least it will keep my mind of it, well, maybe,” she answered and Harley kissed her on the top of her head.
“You guys are gonna catch whoever did this, aren’t you?” she asked sadly.
“You bet we are,” Gus quickly assured her and then followed Harley out of the house.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
They made it to the station in record time and were in Franklin’s office by 7:15.
“Anything new?” Gus asked Chief when they sat down in the chairs across from his desk.
“Not a thing. The forensic team has been out since 5:00 searching the girl’s dorm room and the beach- not a single piece of evidence- not even a hair, whoever did this knows what they’re doing.” Chief answered.
“We were going to go down and talk to the M.E. if that’s okay,” Harley said.
“Yeah, that’s fine. Hopefully she will come up with something on the body.”
Gus and Harley left Franklin’s office, and headed downstairs to the morgue. They each put on a pair of rubber gloves and grabbed a mask to shield the strong odor of formaldehyde.
“What do we got?” Gus asked as they watched the M.E. continue her examination almost oblivious to the detectives that just invaded her space.
“Multiple stab wounds to the chest, facial lacerations and bruises. No evidence of any sexual assault. The victim has cuts on her fingers and palms, like she was trying to grab the weapon in defense. Blood alcohol level .21, traces of Lorazepram in the blood,” the medical examiner answered matter-of-factly.
“.21? That’s twice the legal limit, so she was drinking before she was killed, was she drinking with her killer?” Gus wondered out loud.
“What’s Lorazepram?” Harley asked.
“It’s a tranquilizer, depresses the nervous system. The effects are increased with alcohol consumption.”
“Maybe the killer was drinking with her and slipped some in her drink…” Gus began.
“…Then took her somewhere else and stabbed her,” Harley finished, the two of them completely in detectives mode, working off of each other like always.
“So this could have been just a random killing. Maybe she was at a bar, and some sicko decided he needed to kill, so he picked the pretty blonde who just had a fight with her boyfriend, drowning her sorrows in some hard drinks,” Gus said.
“The forensics team hasn’t found the weapon?” Harley asked the M.E. although Chief never mentioned a weapon.
“Not that I know of,” she answered.
“How many drinks would she have had?” Gus asked as Harley moved closer to the body lying on the table and went to smooth down a patch of wild hair, but stopped before she touched it.
“For that level, about 4 or 5 in an hour.”
“Coop,” Gus said, wanting to get her out of there and away from the body, “let’s go get people out asking if anyone saw Marah at the local bars, and maybe Forensics has more for us.”
Harley nodded, “Thank you,” she directed at the M.E. as she followed Gus back upstairs.
“Detectives- guess what Forensics just brought back for us,” Chief said excitedly when Gus and Harley reappeared upstairs, “a weapon. A knife. A hunting knife, covered in blood and fingerprints. So much for our killer being smart, huh? Forensics is testing it now. Should have our suspect, no, our killer in a few hours,” he finished as he sat in his chair and put his feet up on his desk.
“Well, that’s good news, right?” Gus asked, looking back and forth between Franklin and Harley.
“Yeah, great,” Harley said, then turned and walked out of the office.
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Post by Jen on Apr 3, 2004 12:34:20 GMT -5
Three hours later, Harley and Gus were looking over the shoulder of Dr. Cameron Sanders, one of the department’s forensics scientists, who was busy trying to match the fingerprints found on the knife to a suspect.
“Well, the blood found on the knife was undoubtedly the victim’s and only the victim’s. I’ve ran these prints through the files we have here, and I haven’t gotten any matches, next is Clayton and some other towns around here, then if there’s still nothing, then I’ll move on to Chicago’s files,” Dr. Sanders told the detectives.
“Okay, well, we’ll just hang out here until you find a match if that’s okay with you,” Harley said.
“That’s fine, just don’t touch anything,” he replied.
Gus grabbed a book off of one of the shelves and leaned against a table, almost knocking a microscope over, Harley pulled him back and steadied it before it toppled, then shot Gus a look to kill.
“Sorry,” Gus apologized quietly, then took over a missing scientist’s chair and relaxed.
After no matches were found from the Clayton station, Dr. Sanders moved on to Chicago’s records.
“Aha!” he proclaimed, victorious, “got a match!”
Harley stopped pacing and looked at the record on the screen in front of her as Gus got up from his chair to see what was so exciting. Harley gasped at what she saw and covered her mouth with her hand. Gus came up behind her and saw what she was gasping at, and found himself too shocked to respond.
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Post by Jen on Apr 3, 2004 12:35:23 GMT -5
“Oh my God,” Gus breathed as he sunk into the nearest chair. He couldn’t believe what he saw on the screen. No, he thought to himself, he could believe it, he just didn’t want to. On the screen in front of him was the record of Eden August, the same one he got a year ago before she came to Springfield.
“How accurate are these things?” he asked quietly.
“I’ve never been proven wrong,” Dr. Sanders answered, finally realizing who the person in front of him was.
Gus sat in shock with his hand covering his mouth, he soon realized he had stopped breathing and gasped for air.
“Gus-“ Harley began.
Gus shook himself back to reality and looked at her, “We need to get a warrant,” he said as he shakily rose to his feet.
“Gus, you don’t have to be the one to do this.”
“No, Harley- I’m the only one who can do this,” he replied as he took the evidence report from Dr. Sanders and headed back to Franklin’s office.
“Well, this just keeps getting better and better,” Harley said sarcastically to no one in particular as she hurried after Gus.
Gus threw the report on Franklin’s desk, “Get us a warrant and we’ll take care of it.”
Franklin looked the report over, “Wait, isn’t this…” he trailed off.
“Yeah, it is,” Gus replied angrily, “How fast can you get it?”
“I..I’ll go right now. I’ll be right back,” Franklin stammered and closed the door of his office as he left.
Gus fell into a chair and put his face in his hands. Harley knelt in front of him, not knowing what to do, so just stayed there with her hands on his knees, there if he needed her.
After a few moments, Gus reached down, grabbed her hands and bent over in the chair. She kissed the top of his head and held him until he pulled away and got up from the chair.
“Gus,” she urged, “talk to me.”
Gus looked at her, but remained silent.
“I don’t know what to say, Harley. I can’t say I don’t believe it, because I do. And it’s my fault. This is all my fault,” he replied.
“What? Why would you think that?”
“It’s my fault that she’s the way she is. I was supposed to protect her, Harley.”
“And you did-“
“Yeah and I did such a great job. So good that she murders someone. Again?”
“Oh, Gus, honey this is not your fault. You are not responsible for what she does. She is a grown woman, she makes her own choices and she chose to…” Harley stopped, choking up.
“Baby- I’m so sorry,” Gus apologized.
Harley went over to Gus and hugged and comforted him like he had done so many times for her in the past few days.
Franklin knocked quietly on his office door and heard Harley’s voice, “Come in.”
When he opened the door, he saw the couple in a close embrace.
“Oh sorry, I’ll come back,” he apologized.
Gus pulled away from Harley and wiped his eyes, “No, that’s okay, did you get it?”
Franklin held up the warrant for the arrest of Eden August, “I got it. And I’m sending Davis and O’Donnell out to bring her in.”
“No, Chief. No- I’ll do it. I have to do it,” Gus protested.
“Look, Aitoro, I really think it’s best if you two are off the case from now on. It’s a huge conflict of interest.”
“And where do you think you’re going to find her? She’s not still in town, she had to know we were close- she’s bound to be gone by now.”
“Well, where would she go?”
“Chicago? She could be anywhere though. Let me find her and bring her here,” Gus pleaded, half for himself, and half for his sister.
Franklin hesitated, “I don’t like this.”
Harley took this opportunity to give her opinion, “Chief, finding her is one thing, getting her to talk is another. Believe me, Gus is the only person she’ll talk to.”
“If you’re on this case, you’re going to have to testify in court. And not as her brother,” Franklin explained.
Gus nodded, “I know.”
Franklin conceded, “Fine- you two go find her and bring her in, then I’ll decide who talks to her.”
Harley took the warrant from him and she and Gus rushed out of the station.
“Where do we start?” Gus asked as they approached the car.
Harley took the keys from him, “I’m driving. Let’s check out the hotel first. Maybe she’s still there.”
The car was silent on the drive to the hotel except for the occasional static or APB from the scanner.
When they got to the hotel, they got out of the car and Harley squeezed Gus’s hand tightly in support.
He took a deep breath and exhaled, “Just like any other arrest, right?” he asked as he released Harley’s hand and started into the hotel.
“No,” Harley replied quietly to no one and she quickly followed him.
“I need the room number for Eden August,” Gus asked the front desk clerk.
“I’m sorry, sir, I’m not allowed to give you that information, I could call her room and you can speak to her.”
“No,” Gus said as he looked at her nametag, “Sandy, this is police business. I need her room number, please,” he asked politely, but impatiently as he held out his badge.
The clerk quickly typed something into her computer then looked at Gus apologetically, “I’m sorry, sir, Ms. August checked out already.”
“Dammit,” he cursed under his breath and looked at Harley, “When did she leave?”
“Uh, early this morning,” Sandy replied.
“Did she leave any information, a forwarding address? Anything?”
“No, sir, she didn’t…”
“Thank you for your help,” Harley said as she smiled at Sandy, then grabbed Gus’s arm, “Let’s go to Chicago.”
An hour later, they were walking up the stairs to Eden’s apartment in Chicago.
As Gus put his hand up to knock on the door, it opened revealing Eden with a suitcase in her hand and a shocked look on her face.
“Going somewhere?” Gus asked as he pushed his way into the apartment.
“Nicky. What…what are you guys doing here?” Eden asked worriedly.
“I have to leave town to visit some friends.”
“Friends? Or are you trying to run from what you did?” Gus asked.
“What are you talking about?”
“You know, following Marah Lewis to a bar, drugging her, then stabbing her to death on the beach…” Gus accused.
“Gus-“ Harley stopped him.
Eden looked at them cautiously, “I don’t know what you’re talking about- I have to go,” she said as she rushed towards the door.
Harley beat her to the door and blocked it, “You’re not going anywhere Eden, except with us. We have a warrant for your arrest.”
She looked at Harley wide-eyed, then looked back at Gus who had his handcuffs out, “Nicky!”
“You’re under arrest for the murder of Marah Lewis. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law…”Gus advised as he pushed Eden out the door and outside into the car.
The car ride back to Springfield was quiet for the most part. Every so often Eden would whine about what Nicky was doing to her. Gus called the Chief and told him they were on their way back, and he called Buzz to make sure he could stay with the boys for awhile.
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Post by Jen on Apr 3, 2004 12:35:44 GMT -5
When they returned to the station, Harley took Eden into the interrogation room and left her with another officer while she joined Gus in Franklin’s office. When she got in there, Gus was trying to convince the Chief to let him question Eden.
“Alright. Fine. You can do it. But you better do it right- by the book. Like any other case. If anything is different, the commissioner will have my head.”
“Absolutely. Thank you.”
“I can’t understand why you want to do this. If it was me, I would want to stay as far away from it as possible.”
“Well, it’s not you,” Gus replied as he left the office.
Franklin looked at Harley waiting for an explanation.
“He blames himself. If he’s the one who questions her, maybe he can understand why she did it. It’s for him as much as it is for her,” she responded.
Franklin shook his head and led Harley out of the office, “Now, aren’t you glad you came back to town?”
Harley shot him a look and followed him into the observation room.
“What are you doing- You’re not going with him?” Franklin asked as he started the tape recording.
Harley looked through the two-way mirror as Gus joined Eden and her lawyer in the interrogation room, “No. This is something he needs to do himself.”
Gus sat down across from them and started the interrogation like any other. After getting no response to most of his questions, he stopped and sat back in his chair.
“What are you doing, Eden? You’re not helping yourself by keeping quiet.”
Eden looked at him indignantly, “I didn’t do anything, Nicky.”
“Eden, stop it. We have the weapon. A knife with Marah’s blood on it covered in your fingerprints. We have a bartender willing to testify that he saw you with Marah the night she died. Make it easier on everyone by telling me why you did it.”
Eden was silent, but after a few minutes she spoke up, “He was mine.”
“Who?”
“Tony. She had been horrible to him since I got back to town. She was always bugging him about his business. He was getting sick of it, and he wanted to be with me, but he didn’t want to hurt her. That night they had a big argument and he was really upset, so I followed her to tell her to leave him alone, and I put the drugs in her drink just to scare her and get her out of our hair for awhile. I was going to leave her at the beach, but she woke up too soon and started fighting with me. Telling me Tony was just using me, that he loved her. I didn’t mean to kill her, Nicky. I just wanted to scare her, but she started struggling and I didn’t have any other choice than to do it. But I never meant to kill her, I swear. Nicky, what’s gonna happen? I can’t go to jail.”
“You should have thought of that before putting that knife in her chest. I can’t protect you on this one, Eden,” he replied as he pushed his chair back and left the room angrily.
Harley left the observation room as Gus left and met him in the hall.
“Did you get it on tape?” he asked.
Harley nodded in response, “Yeah, we got it. Guess that’s it, huh?”
“Yeah, except for watching them haul her off to jail, that’s it.”
Franklin joined them in the hall, “Okay, we got it Aitoro. Davis is gonna book her and take care of everything,” he told them as Davis entered the interrogation room.
“I think you guys should go home,” he added as Davis hauled Eden out of the room and headed down the hall with her.
“Nicky!” she pleaded, but Gus had already turned his back to her and ignored her cries.
Harley saw the pain in Gus’s eyes, “Come on, let’s go.” ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Harley opened the door to their house and almost immediately Zach was wrapped around her leg.
“Hi Mommy!”
“Hello sweetie- did you have a good day at school and with grandpa?” she asked him as she gave him a big kiss.
“Uh huh,” he said, then went back to his coloring book on the coffee table.
“Where’s Gus?” Buzz asked as Harley greeted Jude who was sitting quietly in Buzz’s lap.
“He’s getting the mail,” she replied, then proceeded to explain what happened without saying too much in front of the boys.
As if on cue, as soon as she finished her story, Gus came in the front door.
“Gus!” Zach exclaimed as he ran to him like he had just done with Harley.
“Hey buddy,” he said as he lifted Zach into the air, “What are you doing?” he asked.
“Coloring. Come color with me,” Zach urged pulling Gus down onto the floor beside him.
Buzz got up from the couch, placed Jude on the floor by Gus and headed over to the door.
“Thanks for watching them Dad,” Harley said as she opened the door for him.
“No problem. I’ll see you guys later,” he said towards Gus and the boys who were too busy laughing and playing to notice.
“Bye, Dad.”
Harley went back into the living room and joined them on the floor. Gus looked at her over the boys’ heads, smiling.
“They just make everything better,” he explained.
“I know,” Harley smiled as she leaned over to kiss him, then got up to get some dinner ready for her family.
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Post by Jen on Apr 3, 2004 12:36:28 GMT -5
Chief Franklin had taken Gus and Harley off Eden’s case permanently unless they had to testify at her trial. Since there weren’t any cases that needed their immediate attention, they took the Wednesday and Thursday off of the week they had found out Eden killed Marah. The funeral was scheduled for Thursday afternoon.
When Harley woke up Thursday morning, she found the other half of the bed empty. It was just after sunrise and she didn’t know where Gus could be, so she got up to look for him. She went to the boys’ room first and found them both still sound asleep. When she went back into the hallway, she heard Gus and Susan laughing and saw the window at the end of the hall was open. It led out onto the roof that covered one side of the house. Susan went out there a lot to think and she and Harley had some of their best talks out there under the stars. Harley looked out the window and to the left sat Gus and Susan. They had been laughing about something but now they were silent, each staring out into the view.
“There you are,” Harley greeted, poking her head out the window.
“Good morning,” Gus replied as he smashed the butt of his cigarette into an ashtray.
“Hi, Mom,” Susan said, then turned to Gus, “Thanks.”
He put his arm around her and pulled her in for a hug, “I’m so sorry,” he said quietly.
“You shouldn’t be,” she smiled, then got up and climbed back into the house.
Harley saw that Susan’s eyes were red from crying and she asked worriedly, “Are you okay, sweetie?”
Susan looked towards the window, “I am now. I’m gonna go back to bed for awhile.”
Harley looked at her strangely, “Okay…” she responded as Susan went back downstairs to her room.
Harley climbed out the window and sat down by Gus just as he was lighting another cigarette.
“Morning,” she said as she snuggled up next to him and kissed his cheek.
He smiled at her, “I found a pack, figured I shouldn’t let them go to waste,” he joked.
Harley nodded, “Right. Are you okay? Is she okay?”
“Yeah, I couldn’t sleep, so I was just walking around and noticed the window was open and saw that Susan was out here. We just talked. She was telling me this story about a joke that she and Marah pulled on Reva…” he trailed off. “I think it was good for both of us.”
“Good.”
“I know I told you I would go with you to the funeral, but I really don’t think I should. I doubt Josh and Reva want me there and I would feel horrible being there,” he explained as he blew out a puff of smoke.
“Honey, they don’t blame you,” she comforted, “I would like you to be there with me, but if you don’t want to go, that’s fine.”
“I just think it would be better if I kept my distance for awhile.”
“Okay. So are you up for good, or are you gonna come join me back in bed until the boys wake up?”
“No, let’s do that- what you said. Let’s go back to bed,” he answered with a smile as he put out his cigarette and got up.
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That afternoon, Harley and Susan entered the small church for Marah’s funeral. Reva and Josh were greeting people in the foyer, so Harley and Susan approached them.
Harley hugged Josh while Reva hugged her granddaughter.
“Thank you guys for coming,” Reva said wiping tears from her cheeks.
Josh looked around the foyer, “Where’s Gus?” he asked.
Susan looked at Harley who explained Gus’s absence, “Um, he didn’t come. He didn’t think you two would want him to be here. So he’s at home with the boys.”
Josh touched Harley’s arm and assured her, “Harley, he knows that we don’t blame him, right?”
Harley nodded, “Yeah, he does. He just wanted to give you space.”
The minister came up behind Harley and announced to Reva and Josh that it was time to begin. Everyone went into the church and sat down while Josh and Reva placed flowers in the casket.
While the minister greeted the group and began talking about Marah’s life, someone slipped into the pew next to Harley. She looked over to see that it was Gus.
“Hey, what are you doing here?” she asked quietly.
Gus put his arm around her and answered, “Thought I would pay my respects.”
She leaned over and kissed his cheek, “Where are the boys?”
“I called Kristen to come over. They’re fine.”
The funeral continued with Josh, Shayne, Cassie, and Tony giving small eulogies. After the funeral had ended, everyone silently left the church and headed back to Josh and Reva’s house.
Gus and Harley stood in the living room with Blake and Ross while everyone wandered around making small talk. Gus put his arm around Harley’s waist and leaned in close to her.
“You’re not planning on yelling at me this time, are you?” he asked quietly.
“And I hope you’re not planning on breaking your other arm, either,” Blake added.
Harley laughed and assured them she would do neither one. She reached for Gus’s hand, “Come here, I want you to meet someone,” she said as she pulled him into the dining room.
“Dylan,” she greeted him with a hug. “Dylan, this is my husband, Gus Aitoro. Gus this is Dylan, Susan’s father.”
Gus stuck out his hand and Dylan accepted it, “Gus, it’s nice to finally meet you. Susan talks about you all the time.”
Gus smiled, “She’s a great kid.”
“She sure is. Hey- congratulations you two. I’m sorry I couldn’t make it out for the wedding. Things are really busy already, and it’s not even summer.”
“Oh, thank you. How are Bridget and Peter doing?” Harley asked.
“Oh, they’re great. Peter just turned 10.”
“Wow. They grow up fast, don’t they?” Harley replied.
“They sure do.” He answered. The three made small talk for a while until Susan came over and said she was ready to go home. They said their goodbyes and headed back to their home.
When they got home, Kristen told Gus that Chief Franklin had called for him and he was supposed to call him back. While Harley paid Kristen, Gus called Franklin to find out what was up.
Harley watched as Gus nodded and said ‘okay’ a lot through the phone, then he hung up and looked at Harley.
“Eden’s trial starts Monday,” he explained, “We don’t have to testify. Davis is going to do it.”
Harley nodded, “Okay. So what do you want to do? I mean do you want to go, do you not want to go?”
“What do I want? I want to go back and have Eden never listen to any of my messages and not come back for the wedding. I want to make it so that she didn’t go to Infierno that night. I want to go back and never have her set foot in this town to begin with. There’s a lot of things I want, baby. Going to my sister’s murder trial is not one of them. But I have to.”
Harley nodded and held him tight, “You can do this. We can do it together, okay?”
Gus pulled back and looked into her eyes as he stroked her hair, “What would I do without you?”
“Well, you don’t have to worry about that,” Harley assured him with a gentle kiss.
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Post by Jen on Apr 3, 2004 12:37:01 GMT -5
Monday morning, Gus and Harley got ready and headed to the courthouse. They rode the elevator up to the 5th floor and when they got off, they were bombarded by reporters.
“Detective Aitoro, do you have any comments about your sister’s trial?”
“Oh my goodness,” Gus exclaimed as he and Harley tried to get through the mob of reporters, “I didn’t even do anything,” he joked quietly.
“Will either of you be testifying during the trial?”
“No, we will not. Detective Davis has that honor,” Gus answered.
As they got to the open door of the courtroom, a reporter shouted out one last question, “Detective Aitoro, do you think your sister killed Marah Lewis?”
Gus looked at Harley then coolly answered the question, “If that’s what the evidence says,” he answered coolly as he turned around and guided Harley into one of the benches in the back of the room.
“Gees oh man. Why do I feel like I’m on trial?” Gus asked as he looked towards the front and caught Eden’s eye. He looked away quickly and leaned into Harley, “I hope this is the shortest trial of the century,” he whispered as the judge entered the courtroom and the trial began.
For the next three days, Eden’s murder trial continued. Tony Santos, Josh and Reva Lewis, the owner of the bar who saw Eden with Marah that night, Detective Davis from the SFPD were put on the stand along with some other witnesses, including a psychiatrist who had thoroughly evaluated Eden. Obviously, things weren’t looking good for Eden. All the evidence pointed to her and only her as the killer, and the psychiatrist affirmed that she was in her right mind when she did the action.
On the third day, right before the closing statements, the judge asked Eden’s lawyer if he had anymore witnesses.
“No, Your Honor,” he answered, but was interrupted by Eden whispering in his ear.
“Uh, Your Honor, I would like to request a small recess before I decide not to bring up any other witnesses,” he continued.
“No recess. I’ll give you 5 minutes,” the judge answered.
Eden’s lawyer looked back at Gus and motioned him to come to the front where he and Eden were seated.
Gus looked at Harley and sighed, “I’m sure I’ll regret this,” he said as he got up and went to the front of the room.
“What?” he asked impatiently.
“Nicky, I need you to testify for me,” Eden pleaded.
Gus shook his head, “No. Eden, you do not want to get on that stand believe me.”
“Come on Nicky, you know me, you know I would never do something like this on purpose.”
“Are you kidding me? Eden, you told me exactly what you did and why you did it. I told you before I cannot help you this time, and I won’t do it. I wish I could say that I knew you. I wish I could get up on that stand and say, ‘no, Your Honor, my sister would never do something like this. Not my little sister.’ But I can’t do that Eden. Not anymore. Not after everything you’ve done. I have tried time and time again to try to help you, but it never works, you always do something you shouldn’t. Always. And I’m done with it. I can’t help you anymore,” he said angrily, trying to be quiet.
He turned away from Eden and got in the face of the lawyer, “Don’t put me on that stand. You do not want to hear what I have to say,” he finished as he went back to sit with Harley.
“What was that about?” she asked him.
“She wants me to testify. For her,” he said, shaking his head, “she has no clue.”
“Is he going to call you?”
“If he does, he’s gonna have more charges than first-degree murder on his hands.”
They watched as Eden’s lawyer answered the judge, “we have no further witnesses, Your Honor,” and sat back down.
Both sides gave their closing statements and the jury left to deliberate. They returned with a verdict after only 30 minutes.
The foreman began, “We the jury, find Eden August guilty of murder in the first degree.”
The judge went to call the room to order, but there was no one making a fuss.
He gave the sentencing, “Eden August, you are sentenced to life imprisonment. Eligible for parole after 25 years with good behavior. This court is adjourned.”
At the reading of the verdict, Gus sunk into the bench and Harley squeezed his hand tight. He watched, motionless, Eden being led out in handcuffs by two guards as she looked back at him for help. They sat there until the last person was gone from the room.
Gus scoffed at what just happened, “Should’ve saved ourselves some time and put her in jail a year ago, huh?” he joked quietly, his eyes filling with tears.
Harley wrapped her arms around his neck, pulled him close and let him cry for the sister he had just lost for good.
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Post by Jen on Apr 3, 2004 12:37:35 GMT -5
One month later, mid-June, Gus still feels a little responsible for Eden’s actions and hasn’t exactly been in the best of spirits the past month. He puts on a good show for work and the boys, but Harley knows better. Harley, Blake and Cassie take some time out to have lunch together and catch up on what’s been going on in their lives… ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“Here you go, ladies,” Buzz said as he set down plates of Buzz burgers and fries in front of Harley, Blake and Cassie.
“Thanks, Dad,” Harley said as she pushed the plate away.
“What’s wrong? Too good for Buzz burgers?” Buzz asked jokingly.
“No, I’m just not that hungry anymore, sorry,” she answered apologetically.
Buzz nodded and walked away, leaving the girls to their gossip and bonding.
“So, Cassie, how are things going with the Beacon?” Blake asked.
“They’re going good. Olivia and I are actually getting along. Well, we’re being civil, at least,” she said with a slight laugh, “The museum is doing great, it’s everything I imagined it would be.”
“Good,” Harley said with a smile as she reached for the pickle on the plate she had pushed away.
“So, let’s not talk about me. Let’s talk about you and your new husband. How are you enjoying married life, again?”
“It’s good. I mean, we haven’t had a lot of time to enjoy ourselves with everything that’s been going on, but I guess I couldn’t be happier, considering,” she replied as she munched on the pickle.
“How is Gus? I bet it’s hard for him,” Blake asked sympathetically.
“He’s doing pretty good. It’s hard, but he’s dealing with it. He just feels so guilty.”
“Oh, Harley, he has nothing to feel guilty about. None of this was his fault. Nobody blames him,” Cassie assured her.
“Well, he blames himself, that’s bad enough.”
"Has he gone to see Eden, yet?" Cassie asked.
Harley shook her head, "No. Not yet. Part of him wants to forget about everything that happened, including Eden, but the other part of him is dying because his little sister's in jail. He just doesn't know which part to listen to, I guess. And of course, she doesn't make it any easier on him- she calls him every chance she gets, but he won't talk to her, which makes her angry and she does her normal 'You're picking Harley over me' whining which just upsets him more. It's a mess."
“Sounds like you have your work cut out for you getting him back to normal,” Blake teased.
“Normal? When has Gus ever been normal?” Harley joked, laughing.
“When have you ever eaten pickles? I thought you hated pickles,” Cassie wondered.
Harley looked down at the half-eaten pickle in her hand puzzled, “I don’t eat pickles. That’s weird.”
“Not even at the Bauer Barbeque?” Blake asked, eliciting confused looks from Harley and Cassie.
“What?” Harley asked.
“There just seems to be an abundance of pickles there. Rick is always shoving them down my throat,” she explained.
“Oh, well, he knows I hate pickles, I only eat them when I’m-“ she stopped suddenly.
“When you’re what?” Cassie asked.
“Oh my God,” Blake replied, “Are you pregnant?”
Harley shrugged off the suggestion, “No. NO.”
“Are you sure?” Blake asked.
Harley dropped the pickle back onto the plate and sat back to think, “Well, I guess it’s possible, I just haven’t really thought about it. My gosh, you would think I would know by now!”
“Oh my God!” Cassie squealed.
“Shhh…Cassie. Don’t say anything. I don’t even know if I am. Oh my gosh, this is so not a good time for this if I am.”
“Why not? Maybe this is just the thing to get Gus out of the funk his sister has put him into,” Blake suggested.
“Yeah, maybe. And maybe he doesn’t even want to think about having kids. I mean, he just gained three step kids as it is.”
“Yeah, three kids that he adores and that adore him. Harley, tell him,” Cassie urged.
“No, I can’t. Not yet, anyways. I want to find out for sure first, God, I cannot believe this never even occurred to me,” she said as she got up to leave.
Cassie touched Harley’s arm, stopping her, “Honey, are you happy about this?”
Harley was silent for a few moments, thinking through what her best friend had just asked her, she fell back into her seat and sighed, “I don’t know. Do I want to have a child with Gus? Yes. Absolutely. Do I want to have one right now? I don’t know.” Harley shook it off and got back up, “Guess I need to go pay good old Dr. Sedgwick a visit. Bye girls. And don’t say anything, please?” she pleaded.
“Of course not,” Blake assured her, “call me.”
Harley nodded and left the restaurant. On the porch she ran into Gus, literally.
“Hey, honey, where are you running off to in such a hurry?” he asked.
“Oh hi,” she greeted hesitantly, “umm, I have to go do something for Blake. It’s a girl thing, you don’t wanna hear about it,” she covered with a smile.
“You’re right, I probably don’t,” he teased, then pulled her in for a kiss, “I was hoping I would catch you for lunch.”
“Oh, I just kinda ate with the girls and I really have to go do this thing, you know, for Blake. But I’ll be home in a few hours. And the boys are both staying at Rick’s for the evening and Susan has practice, so we will have the house all to ourselves for a few hours,” she suggested.
Gus smiled at his wife and pulled her in for a long hug. He pulled back and put her face in his hands and caressed her smooth cheeks with his fingertips, “God, I love you.”
Harley smiled and took his hands into hers.
“I love you too,” she said as she leaned in for one last kiss, “I’ll see you in a little bit,” she finished with a smile as she left him on the porch of Company watching her walk away, wanting more.
Gus watched Harley get into her car and head off to do whatever Blake had asked her to. He sighed and turned to go into Company. He had fully intended to slide into the booth at the back of the room, but his plans were ruined when he saw Blake and Cassie in that booth. He waved politely at them, and took a seat at the bar with his newspaper. Buzz came out of the kitchen and went behind the bar when he saw Gus sitting there.
“Hey, stranger. Where you been hiding?” he teased.
“Hey, Buzz. Yeah, well, you know,” he tried to explain.
Buzz nodded, “I know. Hey- you just missed Harley.”
“Oh, actually, I just saw her outside. For like 2 seconds.”
“So what can I get you? You like you need something a little stronger than coffee today.”
Gus let out a little laugh, “I’ll just take an iced tea, thanks.”
“Anything to eat?”
Gus shook his head, “No, thanks Buzz.”
“Gus Aitoro turning down food, I don’t believe it,” he teased as he set the iced tea down in front of Gus and went back to the kitchen.
While Gus was reading his paper, Cassie and Blake plopped onto the stools on either side of him.
“Hey Gus. How you doing?” Blake asked cheerfully.
“Well, I’d be a lot better if my wife was here with me instead of off on some crazy errand for you,” he replied jokingly.
“What?” Blake asked, then covered when Cassie shot her a look, “oh right. It shouldn’t take her that long.”
Gus looked strangely at Blake and then turned towards Cassie, “How are Josh and Reva doing?” he asked with concern in his voice.
“They’re…they’re doing. Gus, listen, no one blames you for what happened,” Cassie replied sympathetically.
Gus gave her a half smile and got up from his stool, “I think I’ll wait for Harley at home. Have a good day, ladies.”
“Maybe you should pick up some pickles for her on your way,” Blake joked quietly as Gus got up to leave, but he heard her.
“Blake,” Cassie reprimanded.
“Why? Harley hates pickles. The last time she ate a pickle was when she was pregnant with Jude,” he said nonchalantly.
Blake just looked at him while Cassie shook her head.
Gus looked at Blake in shock, “Wait- where did Harley really go, Blake?”
“Oh no…you can’t tell her I said anything,” Blake pleaded and Gus looked to Cassie.
“She went to the hospital,” Cassie answered him and he was soon out the door.
“Harley’s gonna kill me,” Blake whined and Cassie agreed.
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Post by Jen on Apr 3, 2004 12:38:12 GMT -5
“Harley!” Gus greeted when he saw her wondering the halls on the third floor of Cedars.
Harley turned around shocked that he was there and went over to him, “Gus, what are you doing here? How did you know I was- Blake,” she answered knowingly.
“Why didn’t you tell me where you were going?”
“Well, I didn’t know how you would react, and I just wanted to know for sure before I said anything to you,” she replied.
“So- are you? Are you pregnant?” he asked carefully.
“I don’t know. I’m waiting for the results.”
Gus exhaled the breath he was holding, “Wow.”
Harley looked at him not quite sure of what he was thinking. She began pacing again and mumbled nervously, “I know we haven’t really talked about this, and we certainly didn’t plan this, but…”
Gus grabbed her arm to stop her pacing, “Stop that- you’re making me crazy,” she said as he turned her to face him and held onto her hands, “What are thinking about this?” he asked quietly.
“Well, at first, I didn’t really know what to think, but now,” she replied, “I’m thinking I really want to have a baby with you,” she finished and smiled up at him.
He returned her smile and ran his fingers down her cheek, “I was thinking the same thing.”
He pulled her into a tight embrace that was soon interrupted by a nurse.
“Mrs. Aitoro? Dr. Sedgwick is ready for you.”
Harley broke the embrace, “thank you,” she said to the nurse, then turned back to Gus, “Come on,” she said as she grabbed his hand and led him into Dr. Sedgwick’s office.
“Can I go in there?” he asked, afraid what strange medical gadgets he might see.
Harley smiled and assured him, “Yes, it’s just her office.”
“You must be Harley’s husband,” Dr. Sedgwick greeted and offered her hand to Gus when they entered her office.
“Yes, Gus Aitoro,” he replied as he shook her hand.
“Margaret Sedgwick, nice to meet you, please, sit down.”
Gus joined Harley on the bench opposite her desk and put his arm around her.
“Well, Harley, your test results are back, and…” she began, with Harley looking at her and Gus looking at Harley, “Congratulations. You are going to have another baby.”
Gus smiled broadly when he saw Harley’s face light up at the news, she looked towards him and he leaned over and gave her a gentle kiss on her temple.
“I assume this is good news?” Dr. Sedgwick wondered.
Gus looked at her and responded, “Very good news. Surprising, but good,” and Harley nodded in agreement.
“Well, good. Harley, from our discussion earlier, my guess is you are about 6 weeks along. I’m completely filled up until about 2 weeks from now to examine you and everything, so I’m going to get you some prenatal vitamins and you’ve done this before. You know what to expect and what you should eat and do and what you shouldn’t. Now, are there any health problems on either side that I need to be aware of?”
Harley shook her head ‘no’ and Gus added, “No. Not that I know of,” he replied never taking his eyes off of his wife.
“Okay, good. Do either of you have any questions?”
Again, Harley responded with a ‘no’ and looked at Gus, who also didn’t have any.
“Okay, well you know where to find me if you do. I have another appointment right now, so I have to go, you two stay here as long as you like, just make an appointment on your way out. Congratulations, again,” she finished as she went through another door to the exam room.
Harley stood and pulled Gus up with her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a long kiss that he returned lovingly. He held on to her for a long time and let everything sink in.
“So we’re gonna have a baby, huh?” he whispered in her ear.
Harley pulled her face away and looked into his eyes, “Yes we are,” she smiled. “I’m so glad you were here with me,” she said as she hugged him again.
“Me too,” he replied as he kissed her cheek and stroked her hair, “maybe you should cut Blake some slack and not kill her yet,” he suggested.
Harley laughed and nodded, “Maybe.”
“So now what do we do?” Gus asked.
“Now, we go home because the house will be empty until late tonight when Susan comes home,” she replied, her eyes shining.
“Oh, yes, we do have some celebrating to do, don’t we?” Gus said as they left the office and headed home.
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Post by Jen on Apr 3, 2004 12:38:50 GMT -5
Harley had Gus pinned up against the front door, kissing him while she was trying to unlock it. The door finally opened and Gus backed into the house, almost tripping, pulling Harley with him. They were laughing at each other but stopped when they heard the TV blaring some horrid rap music.
“Susan!” Harley said surprised, “I thought you had dance today.”
“I do. Ashley’s picking me up in ten minutes,” she replied, although she was sitting on the couch painting her toenails.
“Well, don’t you think you should be ready by now?” Gus asked.
“It’s quick-dry. I’ll be ready in plenty of time,” she assured them and sat back to watch the music video that just started.
Gus looked at Harley, “Ten more minutes,” he mouthed.
Harley smiled at him, and then went to clean up some of the mess Susan had scattered around her.
“Where were you guys? I thought your shift ended hours ago,” Susan asked.
“Uh yeah, we just had some other stuff to work on,” Harley covered and got a curious look from Gus.
She put the pillow she had just fluffed back on the couch and went over to where Gus was standing.
“I know what you’re thinking,” she whispered, “I just don’t want to tell anyone yet, okay?”
Gus nodded, “Okay, whatever you want.”
Harley gave him a quick kiss then turned to Susan, “What time did Rick get the boys?”
“About noon. Oh, yeah- he has to go into work early so he has to drop them off around 6 instead of 8. He said if that was a problem to call him.”
Harley looked at her watch, “Okay, thanks,” she replied as Susan got up and went into her room to finish getting ready.
Gus plopped onto the couch and turned off the TV.
“I must be getting old, I can’t stand that noise,” he joked.
“You’re not getting old, you just don’t want to punish your ears. I don’t know how she can listen to that stuff,” Harley replied as Gus grabbed her arm and pulled her onto his lap. He reached down and unbuckled her strappy shoes and slipped them off of her feet. She loosened his tie for him, and ended up untying it altogether. He kissed her, soft, little kisses at first, teasing her with his lips, then deeper, longer kisses until the doorbell interrupted them.
“Can someone get that? I’m not ready yet!” Susan yelled from her room.
Gus looked at Harley, “She is definitely your daughter,” he said as he slid her off of him and got up to answer the door.
He opened it to reveal a petite teenager with brown hair.
“Hi, Detective Aitoro, is Susan ready?” Ashley asked.
“Ashley, how many times have I told you to call me Gus? And she’s almost ready, come on in,” he replied as he moved out of the way so she could go into the living room.
“Hi, Ashley,” Harley greeted as Gus joined her on the couch and pulled her legs up across his lap.
“Hi. Where are Zach and Jude? It’s so quiet,” Ashley joked.
“I know. Isn’t it nice?” Harley replied, laughing, “They’re with Jude’s dad for the day.”
Susan came out of her room, “I’m ready now. I’ll be home around 7, then I might be going out with Sam, I’m not sure yet.”
“Okay, have a good rehearsal,” Harley said as Susan and Ashley left the house.
After she was sure they were gone, and wouldn’t be coming back for forgotten ballet shoes, Harley stood up, pulled Gus with her and led him upstairs to their bedroom.
When they got to their room, Gus’s hands went to work unbuttoning Harley’s suit jacket and blouse as his lips went to work on hers. He let her jacket drop to the floor as his kisses moved to her neck. Since his jacket and tie were already off, she busied herself unbuttoning his shirt. Within seconds, Gus’s shirt and pants and Harley’s jacket and blouse were tossed on the floor.
Gus moved his hands down to the zipper on Harley’s skirt and slid it down her legs. She stepped out of it and rushed back into Gus’s arms. With one swift move, he unhooked her bra and tossed it away. His lips caressed hers and then moved down her body. He covered her neck and chest in light, teasing kisses. He knelt down on the floor in front of her and placed kisses all over her stomach. For the first time, it hit him that it wasn’t just Harley he was kissing but their baby as well. He brought his hand to her stomach and let his fingers and lips trace random patterns on her soft skin. He looked up at his wife’s face and for the first time, the two connected over the miracle they had created. Harley leaned down and thoroughly kissed his soft lips. His fingers hooked around the sides of her bikinis and he slid them down her legs following them with kisses over her thighs. He rose to his feet again and pulled her into him, their bare chests against each other. He swept her up into his arms and carried her the small distance to the bed, laying her down on the covers gently. Harley’s hands ran down his back and tugged at his black briefs. Gus quickly stripped them off and rejoined Harley on the bed. He took his finger and ran it along her cheek and over her lips. Harley parted her lips slightly and took Gus’s finger into her mouth, lightly sucking on it, sending warm shivers through his body. Gus pulled his finger and away and placed his mouth over hers. Soon, Harley’s tongue worked its way through his lips and they kissed passionately.
They were interrupted by the phone ringing loudly beside them.
“Ignore it,” Harley insisted, pulling him back down to her mouth, but Gus pulled away after another ring.
“What if it’s Rick?” he asked as he reached over and answered it breathlessly.
“Gus, it’s Blake-“ the voice on the other said.
“Blake, she’s gonna have to call you back,” Gus interrupted before hanging the phone up and tossing it on the floor with their clothes.
Harley laughed at the sound of the phone hitting the floor and pulled Gus back to her. He went back to worshipping her body with his hands and mouth. With his finger, he traced circles around her nipples, teasing her, making them hard and begging to be taken in his mouth. His lips moved to her right breast and he stroked her nipple with his tongue. Harley settled into the bed, enjoying everything he was doing to her body, he would get her close to climax, then back off until she was begging for more.
“Gus,” she said hoarsely, almost pleading, pulling him back up to her.
He moved her down on the bed and entered her slowly. She wrapped her legs around his body, holding him tight to her reveling in the amazing feeling of him inside of her. She loosened her grip on him and he began thrusting in and out of her, slowly, lovingly, each of them fully enjoying the feel of the other’s body against theirs.
Harley used all of her strength to roll over until she was on top of him. She took his hands and threaded her fingers through his, pinning him to the bed. She moved above him, alternating kisses between his muscular chest, his neck and his full lips. Right before her orgasm, she placed a deep kiss on his lips then lifted her head, looking in to his dark, hypnotizing eyes, “I love you so much.”
“Harley-“ was all he could manage to whisper before he climaxed with her.
He moved her back down to the bed beside him and held her close. When they had both recovered, he kissed her long and tenderly.
“I love you too,” he finally finished as she fell asleep in his arms.
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Post by Jen on Apr 3, 2004 12:39:22 GMT -5
When she woke up a little later, she looked up to see Gus propped up on one arm watching her. She reached over and kissed him.
“Whatcha doing?” she asked.
“I was just watching you sleep,” he answered.
“Do you do that often?”
“Sometimes,” he replied, “You always look so peaceful. And sometimes you get this smile on your face, you must be dreaming, and then I wonder what you’re dreaming about. You know, if it’s about the kids, or me, or just some random weird dream,” he continued with a smile.
She smiled shyly, and he reached over and lifted her chin with his finger. “That’s the smile I’m talking about,” he said then he kissed the tip of her nose playfully. “Maybe you should call Blake back,” he said.
“She’s such a pain in the butt,” she joked as she reached over the edge of the bed to grab the phone off of the floor then she dialed Blake’s number. Ross answered on the second ring.
“Ross, it’s Harley. Is big-mouth there?” she asked.
“Ah- what has she done now?” he asked, “hold on one second, Harley,” he finished and called Blake to the phone.
“Harley! What’s going on? What happened?” Blake asked frantically.
“What happened is that you have a big mouth!” Harley answered, pretending to be angry.
“I know. I’m sorry! Did Gus go to the hospital?”
“Yeah, he showed up. Right before Dr. Sedgwick told us that I was pregnant,” Harley answered, smiling at Gus, who leaned over and kissed her.
“Oh Harley! I’m so happy for you! I mean, are you happy? Should I be happy?”
“Yes. We’re very happy,” Harley replied.
“Good. So why couldn’t you talk to me earlier?” Blake asked like her usual nosey self.
“We were…celebrating,” Harley said.
“Oh that’s nice. Oh! You mean- oh gosh, I’m sorry! Well, what are you doing talking to me? Get back to your husband! I’ll call you later. And sweetie- congratulations.”
“Thank you Blake. And please don’t tell anyone. We just don’t want everyone to know yet, and we want to be the ones to tell them when we do decide to tell people. Okay? And that includes Ross,” Harley warned.
“Absolutely, I won’t tell a soul,” Blake assured her.
“Hmmm…where have I heard that before?” Harley pondered, “Maybe this afternoon?” she teased.
“Okay, okay, I mean it this time. My lips are sealed.”
“Thank you. I’ll call you later,” Harley finished, then hung up and turned her attention back to Gus. “For once, I’m actually glad that Blake opened her mouth.”
“Me too,” Gus said as he pulled her next to him and they laid in each other’s arms.
Gus looked at his watch, “Rick’s going to be here soon. We should get up.”
Harley crawled over Gus and climbed out of the bed.
“Come on, let’s take a quick shower before we get dressed,” she said pulling him to his feet.
They took a quick shower together and got dressed. They were walking down the steps when the doorbell rang. Gus opened it up and Zach and Jude bounded in with Rick trailing behind them.
“Hey guys! Did you have fun?” Harley asked as she hugged her boys.
“Uncle Rick took us to the zoo!” Zach exclaimed.
“He did? And did you buy you all those animals too?” Harley asked.
“Uh huh,” Zach answered.
“Uncle Rick, you’re spoiling them,” Harley said to Rick as he unloaded the stuffed animals onto the couch.
“Yeah, that’s my job,” Gus said as he picked up Jude and threw him up in the air, causing the toddler to giggle uncontrollably.
“Mommy, I’m hungry,” Zach whined.
“Yeah, sorry about that- we didn’t get a chance to eat,” Rick explained.
“Oh that’s fine. Don’t you have to be at work?” Harley replied.
“Yeah, I do actually,” Rick said as he reached for his son to say goodbye.
“What do you want to eat, Zach?” Harley asked.
“Hmmm…hot dogs!”
“Hot dogs, again? You always want hot dogs. Maybe Gus can cook them on the grill and we can have a picnic outside. Would you like that?”
“Yeah!” Zach said as Harley grabbed his hand and headed into the kitchen.
“Thanks Rick,” Harley said over her shoulder as she and Zach disappeared into the kitchen.
“Alright- I am going to be late. Bye Jude. I love you. Bye Gus,” Rick finished as he opened the door.
Gus and Jude waved to Rick as he left, then Gus took Jude’s hand, “Let’s go see what Mommy and Zach are doing.”
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Post by Jen on Apr 3, 2004 12:39:49 GMT -5
Two weeks later, Harley and Gus were back at Dr. Sedgwick’s office for her first visit. They had decided not to tell anyone she was pregnant until they were past the first trimester, just in case. Of course, Blake and Cassie knew, but somehow they had managed to keep their mouths shut.
Gus sat in a chair in the hall reading some parenting magazine while Harley was being examined. He had just turned to an article on breastfeeding and was relieved when Dr. Sedgwick approached him and invited him into the exam room. When they re-entered the room, Harley was dressed and sitting on the exam table. She smiled broadly at Gus when he walked in the room.
“We thought you would like to see the sonogram,” Dr. Sedgwick explained.
Gus nodded as Harley laid back and exposed her stomach. Gus looked strangely at the weird goo Dr. Sedgwick has squirted onto her stomach. Harley grabbed Gus’s hand and pointed to the screen when an image popped up.
“Look- that’s our baby’s first picture,” she said excitedly.
Gus peered at the blurry screen and didn’t see anything that looked like a baby, “Where?”
Dr. Sedgwick pointed out where the baby was to Gus.
“It’s so small…” he thought out loud and he suddenly heard a thumping sound. He looked up at Dr. Sedgwick, “What is that?” he asked.
“That’s the heartbeat,” Harley answered, smiling.
Gus looked at the screen, then at Harley in amazement, the look of any parent, but especially a new parent at the sound of their child’s heartbeat.
Harley stroked Gus’s cheek and pulled his face down to hers for a quick, but loving kiss. “I love you,” she breathed, looking deep into his eyes, their faces still close.
“I love you too,” he replied and kissed her forehead. He had never felt closer to Harley than he did at that moment, with their baby’s heartbeat in the background and the rest of their lives ahead of them.
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Post by Jen on Apr 3, 2004 12:40:09 GMT -5
Harley and Gus ran from the car to the house, huddled under one umbrella. Gus struggled to open the door and stepped in the house. As Harley shook out the umbrella out the door, Gus saw a frightening sight in their living room.
“Uh, honey. When you got Zach back, was Phillip moving in part of the deal?” he asked as he pointed to the couch where Phillip was stretched out and sound asleep.
“Are you kidding me?!?” Harley replied as she went over to the couch and nudged Phillip’s arm with her knee. He jumped awake and looked around confused.
“What are you doing here?” she asked impatiently.
“Uh- I came over to see Zach,” he answered.
“Where’s Kristen?”
“I paid her and sent her home. I told her I would stay until you got home. I guess I fell asleep,” he explained.
“Yeah, I guess so,” Gus said sarcastically as he crossed the living room, picked up a case folder from the coffee table and sat down.
Phillip looked at him, “That’s a very…weird case you have there,” he said pointing at the folder in Gus’s hand.
“You shouldn’t have looked at this,” Gus said.
“Well, you shouldn’t have left it out.”
“Do you get some sick pleasure from looking in files you have no right to?” Gus asked.
“Okay!” Harley interrupted before Phillip could respond. “Are the boys- those boys, not you boys- are they asleep?”
“Yeah,” Phillip answered, “I guess I can go now,” he said as he got up and headed for the door.
“Wait, Phillip, you can’t go anywhere. All the roads are blocked off because there are trees down everywhere from the storm. You’ll never make it back to the mansion,” Harley said.
Phillip sighed impatiently, “Well, what am I supposed to do?”
Harley looked at Gus, then back at Phillip, “I guess you’re staying here,” she answered hesitantly.
Gus and Phillip both let out an ironic laugh.
“Great,” Phillip said.
Harley faked a smile, “Well, I’m going to check on the boys. Play nice you two. Gus, will you call Susan, please?”
“Sure,” he answered as she headed upstairs and he got up to get the phone to call Susan.
He got her cell phone and told her to stay at Frank’s for the night. When he hung up and went to sit back down, he saw that Phillip had made himself comfortable on the couch. He already had the remote control in hand and was flipping channels.
“Make yourself at home,” Gus offered.
“Well, you know it was my home,” Phillip retorted.
“Well, it’s not anymore.”
“You know Aitoro-“ Phillip began.
“No- I’m not doing this. I’m not in the mood. You’re stuck here for the night, so why don’t we just try to stay off each other’s nerves for a few hours?”
“Fine,” Phillip replied as he moved to the end of the couch farthest from Gus.
“Fine,” Gus said as he went back to the case and Phillip turned his attention back to the TV.
When Harley came back downstairs, she walked in to a room that was silent except for the TV and the rustling of Gus’s papers, but full of tension.
“Well, the boys are still sound asleep. I don’t know how they can sleep through all that thunder,” she said trying to ease the tension. She sat down on the other end of the couch closest to Gus and took some papers from him.
“Oh, you can stay in the guest room upstairs. It’s all ready,” Harley informed Phillip.
“Oh good. Then I’ll be close if Zach needs me.”
Gus rolled his eyes and Harley appeased Phillip, “Right. Do you want a drink or anything?”
“To get through this? About a fifth of whiskey,” he answered.
Harley smiled, “Well, we don’t have any hard stuff in the house. But we have wine, milk, and Mountain Dew,” she offered.
Phillip waved it off, “No. I think I’ll just watch TV here for a little bit.”
“Okay, well, I want some food, so why don’t we take this stuff into the kitchen?” she suggested to Gus as she grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the chair and into the kitchen.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Gus threw the file on the table and headed to the refrigerator. “God, if there was ever a time to whiskey in this house,” he said exasperated as he pulled out two bottles of water, “do you want anything in here?”
“Celery,” she replied as she pulled the jar of peanut butter out of the cupboard and joined Gus at the table. “It’s only until morning. I think we can handle it.”
“What is with us with bad luck lately?”
Harley got up and sat in his lap, “Well, we don’t have all bad luck,” she said as she kissed his cheek.
He smiled at her, “No, you’re right,” he said as he kissed her long and deep.
“I’m always right. Haven’t you learned that yet?” she teased.
Gus smiled lovingly at her, “You know I still have trouble believing it. There’s really a little you and me in there.”
“I know,” she agreed. “I still can’t believe it either. I think that’s because it was such a surprise.”
“Honey, do you remember that night in Greece when I started to tell you something but stopped?”
“Uh- not really.”
“Well, I was going to tell you that I had been thinking about us having a baby,” he explained.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I guess I really didn’t know how you would feel about having another baby at all, let alone so soon after we got married and with the boys being so young.”
Harley thought for a moment before saying anything, “I think that if you had told me that then, I probably wouldn’t have known what to say. I mean- I’ve always kinda thought we would have a child of our own one day, but I hadn’t really thought about it all that much lately. That night, I probably would have told you that I wanted to wait awhile, but since it happened anyway… I really think it’s the perfect time,” she assured him.
“I think so too,” he agreed, “I just…I can’t wait,” he finished as he kissed her again.
“Me too.”
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Post by Jen on Apr 3, 2004 12:40:34 GMT -5
After spending a few hours working on the case in the kitchen, Gus and Harley were ready for bed. When they left the kitchen, they saw Philip still sitting on the couch. He had on some sleazy talk show and quickly changed the channel when he heard them enter the room.
“Oh, you’re still up,” Harley said as Gus went to lock the front door, “we’re going to bed,” she finished as she started up the stairs.
Phillip got up and followed her, “Yeah, I guess I might as well too.”
Gus followed them up the stairs and stopped in the hall while Harley checked on the boys.
“Is he okay?” Phillip asked from the door of the room.
Harley nodded and joined Gus and Phillip in the hallway, “Yep, I can’t believe this storm hasn’t woken them up yet.”
An awkward silence came over the trio as they stood in the hall, not sure of what to do next.
Harley was the first to speak, “Well, you know where everything is. Good night,” she said as she grabbed Gus’s hand and headed down the hall.
Gus turned back to Phillip, “Do you want some pajamas or something?”
“No thanks, Gus. I don’t think your pants would be big enough for me,” he said with his trademark smirk as he shut the door of the guestroom.
Harley wrapped her arms around Gus’s waist, pushed him up against the wall, and kissed his neck, “Wouldn’t he be surprised?”
Gus’s eyebrows raised and with a smile he pulled Harley into their bedroom. He kicked the door shut as he moved her to the bed, their lips never parting. He laid her down gently and climbed on top of her, kissing her all over. Her hands searched for his and she threaded her fingers through his as their tongues teased each other’s mouths. Harley moaned softly in response to his kisses and that was Gus’s cue to stop while he could. They both knew any clap of thunder could send Zach flying into their room and the mere knowledge of that Phillip was in the next room was enough to kill the mood. Gus rolled off of Harley and they laid in each other’s arms, catching their breath.
Harley let out a heavy sigh as she got off the bed, “Hold that thought until tomorrow night,” she said with a kiss as she went into the bathroom.
Gus got off the bed and called to Harley in the bathroom, “Hey, it’s too bad our bed isn’t on this side of the room. We could really drive Phillip nuts- you know, bang the headboard against the wall,” he said, laughing.
“Don’t you dare!”
By the time Gus had changed into some pajama pants, Harley was already changed and washing her face. Gus stood in the doorway of the bathroom, admiring her. She was in a short, baby-blue, spaghetti strap nightgown, with her hair pulled back in a ponytail. He could see her sensual curves with every movement. He came up behind her and ran his fingers lightly up and down her sides as she rinsed off her face then reached for a towel.
“This is not a good thing to wear when I can’t rip it off of you,” he teased, “is this new?” he asked playing with the straps.
“Uh huh. You like?” she asked.
“Oh yeah,” he said as he turned her around and lifted her onto the counter. He teased her neck and chest with his lips as she ran her hands up and down his bare, muscular back. Her fingers moved to his hair as his mouth met hers in loving desire. They were soon interrupted by the sound of their bedroom door creeping open and Zach’s tiny voice, “Mommy?”
Harley jumped off the counter and they went back into the bedroom where Zach was standing. Harley sat down on the bed and Zach climbed into her lap, “What’s wrong, sweetie?” she asked.
“The thunder scared me,” he whimpered.
“Oh, I know baby, shhh,” she comforted as she rocked him back and forth, “do you want me to come sleep with you until you fall asleep?”
“I wanna sleep with you and Gus,” he said, adding some tears for effect.
Harley looked at Gus, “you are so spoiled,” she said to Zach, “get up there.”
She climbed into bed with him and Gus joined them. Zach was asleep in a few minutes, and Harley picked him up and carried him back to his room. Zach woke up as she was carrying back to bed, so she laid with him until he fell back asleep, then she snuck back into her room and climbed into bed with Gus who was reading one of his detective magazines.
Harley shook her head as she pulled back the covers and slid in next to him, “You and those stupid magazines.”
“Hey, I don’t make fun of your trashy romance novels.”
“I don’t have any trashy romance novels- well, except for Blake’s, but that doesn’t count,” Harley replied.
“Ha! Come here,” he said as he threw the magazine on the floor and pulled Harley over to him and kissed her.
“Are you sure you don’t want to mess with Phillip’s mind just a little?” he asked.
“No! Can’t I just mess around with you?” she asked with a naughty sparkle in her eyes as she slid down on the bed and pulled Gus on top of her.
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Post by Jen on Apr 3, 2004 12:41:08 GMT -5
When the alarm went off the next morning, Gus rolled over to shut it off. He and Harley had the day off, but Zach had karate class in the morning. So much for sleeping in on our day off, Gus thought. When he rolled back over to wake up Harley, he saw that she wasn’t there.
“Coop,” he called out, wondering if she was in the bathroom.
When he found the bathroom empty, he went to go wake Zach up. When he got to the boys’ room, Zach was already awake and on the floor playing with his fire truck.
Gus sat on Zach’s bed, “Hey buddy, you are wide awake, aren’t you? Why don’t we go downstairs and play so Jude can sleep?”
Zach nodded in agreement and jumped on Gus’s back. As they made their way down the stairs, they saw Harley sitting on the couch watching the morning news.
“Hey,” she said when she saw them, “two of my favorite guys.”
“Good morning, baby,” Gus said as he came behind the couch, “let’s give Mommy good morning kisses, Zach.”
He bent down so Zach could kiss Harley and he ended up falling off of Gus’s back into Harley’s lap. When Zach scrambled to the floor to play, Gus leaned over and gave Harley a kiss that would make even the worst morning good.
“How long have you been up?” he asked.
“A few hours,” she answered. “It’s just kinda weird with you-know-who you-know-where. And my morning sickness hit me extra early this morning.”
“Are you okay? Can I get you anything?” he asked as Jude started crying.
“Will you get Jude, please?”
“Sure. No problem,” he replied as he kissed her forehead and headed back upstairs.
When he returned a few minutes later, he had put a shirt on and was comforting Jude who was still whimpering.
Harley looked up from the book she and Zach were reading, “What’s wrong with him?”
“I don’t think he likes waking up alone. Neither do I,” Gus teased.
Harley smiled, “No he doesn’t. How about some breakfast?” she asked. “Jude, do you want some Cheerios?”
Jude’s tears turned into a smile at the mention of his favorite food. The four of them went into the kitchen and Gus put Jude in his highchair, then went to get out the Cheerios and milk as Harley put bowls and spoons on the table. Gus poured a bowl of dry Cheerios for Jude and a bowl with milk for Zach.
“Was there any damage from the storm?” Gus asked.
Harley looked up from making coffee, “None in the front, but I didn’t check the backyard,” she answered.
“I’ll go check,” Gus said as he went out the kitchen door to the backyard.
A few minutes later, he returned.
“The P-O-O-L was stuck on the fence with a nice big whole in it,” he said, “maybe they won’t miss it.”
“Yeah, right,” Harley said, “they spend their life in that thing. We’ll get a new one later. They are so spoiled,” she joked.
Gus went and joined the boys at the table and opened the newspaper.
Soon, Phillip wandered down the stairs and came into the kitchen. He stood in the doorway unnoticed, watching Gus try to persuade Jude to eat more Cheerios by making funny faces at him.
Harley was the first to notice him standing there. “Good morning,” she said, “do you want some coffee? It’s almost ready.”
“Hi daddy,” Zach greeted, surprised by seeing his father.
“Hi buddy,” he said, giving Zach a kiss, then turned to Harley, “Uh yeah, thanks,” he replied as he took a seat by Zach across the round table from Gus.
Harley poured two cups of coffee and took them over to Phillip and Gus. After she set them down, she took a seat on Gus’s lap since the only empty chair was by Phillip.
“Can I take him today?” Phillip asked.
“No.” Harley replied, “he has karate at 10 and then we’re going to Cassie’s for the day so the kids can play. You can take him tomorrow after the barbeque like we agreed,” she said sharply, but nicely since there were little ears in the room.
“Fine,” Phillip agreed grudgedly.
Gus wrapped his arms around her and gave her a squeeze. She watched as he took a drink of coffee then set his cup back on the table.
“I miss coffee,” she said quietly to him.
Gus smiled and kissed her lightly then buried his face in her neck while she looked at the paper. Phillip watched the couple as Harley sat on Gus’s lap. He remembered all too well the feel of Harley’s lips on his and the smell of her hair. He couldn’t help but feel jealous of Gus. He could be sitting in Gus’s place if he wasn’t so stupid as to mess up what he had with Harley. That was part of the reason he fought Harley so hard over custody of Zach. He knew he messed up and he knew Gus was the better man for Harley and he hated it. He couldn’t stand that Harley was in love with this man when she wasn’t willing to make it work with him. And he couldn’t stand that Zach adored Gus. The entire time he was living with Phillip, all he talked about was Mommy and Gus, not that Phillip would ever admit that. He was brought back to reality when Harley got up from Gus’s lap and got a pill bottle out of the cabinet. He watched as she swallowed a few of the pills with a glass of water.
“What are you taking medicine for?” he asked.
“Oh, they’re just some vitamins,” she replied as she caught Gus’s eye.
“May I get down?” Zach asked politely.
“Are you finished?” Harley asked him.
“Yes.”
“Then yes you may,” Harley responding causing Zach to practically jump off the chair.
He scrambled into Gus’s lap, eliciting a shocked look from Phillip. Like every morning when Zach climbed into his lap, Gus turned to the comics section of the newspaper and the two of them searched for Waldo.
“Is that him?” Gus asked pointing to a spot on the paper.
“No! That’s a lollipop, silly!” Zach giggled.
“Oh my goodness!” Gus played along, “I think I need glasses.”
Zach looked up from the paper and pondered the situation in front of him. “Does daddy live here now too?” he asked.
“No!” Harley, Gus and Phillip quickly answered in unison.
“Daddy just stayed her because of the storm, sweetie,” Harley replied.
“Did the storm scare you buddy?” Phillip asked.
Zach shook his head, but Harley answered for him, “A little bit.”
“I got to sleep in Mommy and Gus’s bed!” Zach exclaimed.
“You should have brought him in to me,” Phillip said. “Why? He was with us. And after he fell asleep he went back to his bed for the night,” Harley said as she came to get Zach’s bowl off of the table.
When she turned back to the sink, Gus saw Phillip’s eyes following her.
“Ahem,” Gus cleared his throat, snapping Phillip back to reality.
He tried to recover, but ended up sputtering out, “I’m going to see if the roads are cleared yet.”
“Yeah, why don’t you go do that,” Gus said shooting Phillip a dirty look.
Phillip quickly got up and left the kitchen.
“What was that about?” Harley asked.
“It appears someone other than me thinks you look really hot in that robe,” Gus explained.
“Oh. Looks like I still got it,” Harley said, doing a little dance.
“Yeah, you got it, but he ain’t getting’ it,” Gus responded.
“Zach, honey, why don’t you go upstairs, I’ll be up in a minute,” Harley said to Zach as she kissed the top of his head.
Zach jumped off of Gus’s lap and ran upstairs. Harley stood behind Gus and wrapped her arms around his neck.
“Guess what? It’s morning and we survived.”
“Yeah, somehow,” Gus teased.
“Come on, we have a long day ahead of us,” Harley said as she kissed his cheek and pulled him out of the chair.
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