Falling Stars (51 page)

"You
ready?" I grabbed her hand. She took a deep breath and then nodded. The
door opened before we took one-step onto the large wraparound porch.

"Christopher,"
Gwen cried. She hurried to me with open arms. I held tightly to Mia's hand and
used my other arm to squeeze Gwen. She kissed my cheek and hugged me tighter.

"I
missed you too, Gwen." With a smile, I kissed her forehead. "Gwen
this is Mia, Mia this is Gwen." I motioned between the two of them.

"It's
nice to meet you," Mia put her hand out toward her. I chuckled under my
breath knowing Gwen wouldn't stand for that. Gwen grabbed Mia into her
trademark mamma bear hug.

"Oh
it is such a pleasure to meet you Mia," she leaned back and looked into
Mia's face. "Thank you so much." Gwen pulled her close again for
another hug. I refused to let go of Mia's hand, so they had to work around
that.

"Gwendolyn,
let them in before they freeze," Nicholas chuckled from the doorway. Gwen
pulled us into the house.

"I'll
be right back. I'm gonna grab our bags." I kissed Mia on the temple and went
back to the car. When I returned, I placed the bags at the bottom of the stairs
and followed Gwen's voice. They were in the sitting room. Nicholas and Gwen
were across from Mia on the other couch. I took my place next to Mia.

"So,
Christopher, I was surprised to get your call. We usually don't hear from you
too much." I shrugged and Mia looked a little confused.

"Well,
I guess the impromptu visit would be because of something that I, I mean, we
wanted to tell you." Nicholas sat up straighter and Gwen's face lit up.

"Are
you getting married?" Gwen beamed. I could see the place cards, guest
list, and seating charts in her eyes.

I
shook my head and chuckled, "No."

Out
of the corner of my eye, Mia seemed become as pale as a ghost does.

"Are
you okay?" I cupped her face and pulled her to look at me. She just nodded
and half smiled.

"Then…please
continue Christopher." Nicholas was trying to mask his nerves.

"Umm…"
I rubbed the back of my head. "Well, we're having a baby." I looked
at Mia – who put her face in her hands, Nicholas looked angry, and Gwen looked
like she would faint from excitement.

"Oh,
Christopher!" Gwen hurried over and pulled me into a hug. "Mia."
Gwen had tears in her eyes as she sat next to Mia and tried to calm her. "Mia,
don't be upset. I'm so happy for –"

"Christopher,"
Nicholas's voice was stern.

There
was no fighting the scowl forming on my face. This tone was too familiar, his
disappointment evident.

"Are
you sure this is…I mean, can you…are you going to be able to handle this?"
Fear laced his words.

"Nicholas,"
Gwen hissed. "We can talk about that later." She joined me in
scowling.

"There's
no need to talk about it at all," I said sharply. "I can and will
handle everything."

"I'm
sorry," Nicholas said quickly. "I didn't mean to sound so…I didn't
mean to offend. Congratulations." Regret had moved in.

Gwen
continued to talk with Mia about her due date, if she knew what she was having,
names, etc. Mia looked a little uncomfortable at first, but soon loosened up
with Gwen. However, she didn't have many answers to the questions Gwen asked. I
was just happy to have her here with me. To be honest the more I thought about
having her in my old bedroom the happier I was to have brought her here.

We
talked to Nicholas and Gwen for most of the evening in the sitting room. Over dinner,
Nicholas couldn't control his killjoy attitude any longer.

"So,
how have your sessions been?"

I
narrowed my eyes at him. "Fine," I lied.

"Really?
Because I spoke with your doctor and –"

"What
are you trying to get at?" The sharpness in my voice caused Gwen to
flinch.

"Christopher,
you can't just stop your sessions. You need to keep at it."

"Wait,"
Mia's broke into the discussion. "You stopped your sessions?"

"I've
just taken some time away so I could focus on more important things." I
glared at Nicholas.

"Whoa
there, are you talking about me?" She pushed back from the table roughly,
looking intent. I grabbed her hand.

"I'll
go back, but I just wanted some time for us, uninterrupted by schedules and
appointments." My explanation wasn't hacking it, anger formed in her eyes.

"No,
Chris, you need to keep seeing Doctor J. It's important." She looked like
she was going to burst into tears.

Growling
low, I shot Nicholas one last glare.

"I'll
go back after the holidays." Mia put her hands on my face.

"You'll
call him tomorrow." The look her face dared me to argue.

"Okay,"
Conceding, I couldn't argue with her or be the one to make her cry.

"Damn,
I love this girl." Gwen laughed and tossed her napkin on her plate.

"I
think it's time to retire for the evening." Nicholas stood and took his
plate to the kitchen.

After
saying good night, we headed up to bed. Showing Mia to my old room, she walked
around and examined everything. I never had much stuff, just CDs, DVDs, books,
and some pictures. Mia stopped when she came to the one picture hanging over my
desk. She turned to me, her finger extended toward the picture.

"Is
this…?"

"Yes,"
I whispered.

"She's
beautiful Christopher." Moving to her side in three quick strides, I
wrapped my arms around her waist. We looked at the picture of my mother. "And
that's you?" I nodded. "You were cute."

"Were?"
I turned her around to look at me.

She
laughed and nodded.

"Yeah,
I don't know what happened." She giggled and tried to walk away. I wasn't
having that.

"Where
do you think you are going?"

"To
get my pajamas," she said as if it should be obvious.

"You
won't need them." I smirked and pressed my lips to hers.

"Christopher,"
she said against my lips. "You're," she paused "Gwen and
Nicholas."

"Are
on the second floor, at the other end of the house." I smirked again and
claimed her lips passionately.

She
opened her mouth to me and our tongues began their lustful dance. Mia's pants
and shirt were off within the four steps it took to get her on my bed. Her bra
and underwear quickly removed. Having her in my bed, bare and open to me, was
astonishing. I made sure our first time in this bed erased any other moments we'd
shared.

*
* * * *

Christopher
having to put up with John was one thing I wasn't looking forward to. I knew
how he behaved with the boys I'd dated growing up. He liked being Chief of
Police; however, he basked in the glory of it when he got to use scare tactics
on the guys Serena and I dated. At least the evening went well.

Christopher
wanted to go and see Gwen and Nicholas to tell them about the baby. I was a
ball of nerves. Unsure how this was going to go, I'd never met Gwen and was
unsure how well she would react to this kind of news. Pulling up to the house,
I was completely surprise by the size of it. It was a gigantic old Victorian
house and it was beyond beautiful.

Gwen
met us at the door and I was a little surprised. I hadn't expected such a
welcome. It was clear she loved Christopher very much. She was still welcoming
us on the porch when Nicholas arrived and ushered Gwen to let us come in out of
the cold.

When
Christopher walked back out to get the bags, Gwen grabbed both my arms and
squeezed me again. She looked directly into my eyes.

"You
have brought him back to us my dear. No small feat where Christopher is
concerned." She smiled brightly and kissed my cheek.

"I
didn't do anything really. He did it."

"Nonsense,"
she argued. "If it weren't for you, Mia, he would still be in that
miserable place that this Christopher was locked away." She took one of my
hands and led me to a large sitting room. The furniture was plush and
luxurious, but it was also very eclectic.

"She's
right, Mia," Nicholas agreed as he sat across from me with Gwen at his
side. "You seemed to get through to him when no one else could."  A
warm blush colored my cheeks.

I
was thankful when Christopher finally arrived and sat next to me. That was
until he felt the need to jump right into 'spreading the news'. I couldn't help
covering my face with my hands. He just blurted it out. Embarrassment didn't
even come close.

Nicholas
was shocked and angry. I could tell he was holding back. Gwen was thrilled and
proceeded to question me about everything that I didn't have an answer. I
suddenly felt extremely unprepared. After more conversation, we gathered in the
dining room.

It
was a very informative dinner too. I couldn't believe he'd stopped going to his
sessions. And the fact he was using me as the reason pissed me off. I knew
there was absolutely no way we could do this without him working with Dr. J.

Christopher
showed me where his room was. My curiosity took over, examining everything in
his room. There wasn't much. He was definitely a minimalist; CDs, DVDs, books,
and pictures about summed it up.

I
paused when I saw the picture of him and his mother on the wall. I almost
cried. My heart ached, taking in his happy childhood face holding hands with
his mother. She looked down to him lovingly and proud. Christopher's arms
brought me out of my thoughts. His lips and body brought me to his bed where he
took his agonizingly slow time sending me over the edge multiple times until we
fell asleep wrapped in each other's sweaty limbs.

I
woke up early with my stomach churning in an all too familiar way and hurried
toward a door in his room, praying it was the bathroom. I lucked out. After
getting sick twice, I climbed into the shower and got dressed. Walking out of
the bathroom, I noticed Christopher wasn't in the room. Heading down the first
flight of steps to the second floor, I could hear raised voices. I tried not to
listen, but I just couldn't help it.

"Damn
it, Christopher, you aren't thinking clearly at all." Nicholas shouted. "You
have JUST started to make progress and now you've thrown another thing into the
mix you aren't ready for! Have you even thought of that?!"

"Of
course I thought of it! Jesus, Nicholas, why can't you just be happy for me?
Why is it that when it comes to me it has to be about the bad or how much worse
it can be?" Christopher was shouting back.

"I
don't want to think that way, but I've seen so many things push you off track
so many times. What if this ends up being one of those times?" Nicholas
had gotten quieter but I could still hear them.

"It's
not," Christopher growled. "I love her and there is nothing that can
mess this up for me, not even ME. This baby wasn't planned but it's a part of
her and a part of me. There isn't anything I could want more. Can't you
understand?"

I
didn't want to hear anymore. I felt guilty for listening. Entering the kitchen,
I ran into Gwen standing at the stove. She heard me enter and turned.

"Good
morning dear," her face looked stressed.

"Good
morning." I forced a smile.

"Don't
let it worry you," she turned back to the skillet on the stove. "I've
never seen Christopher this way and I'm sure you are the world to him. So is
your baby."

I
swallowed hard and fought back tears. Damn hormones.

Gwen
placed a plate of eggs, bacon, and toast in front of me.

"Thank
you," I sniffed, still fighting the tears.

"Oh
dear, what's the matter?" Gwen dropped the spatula and came to my side.

I
shook my head. "Hormones," I sniffed again.

She
laughed.

"When
I was pregnant with Jackson, I cried over all the milk being gone." She
giggled at her memory.

I
smiled and inhaled a deep breath. That's when Christopher entered the kitchen.
He locked his eyes on me and rushed over.

"What's
wrong?" His eyes scanned my face and body.

"Nothing,
just hormonal." I shrugged.

"Are
you sure?" He held my chin in his fingertips. I nodded. He kissed my nose
and then looked at my untouched food. "Aren't you hungry?" He looked
worried now.

"Yeah,
I am. Gwen just put them there before you came in."

"Oh,
sorry. Eat, please" He moved, taking a seat next to me. Gwen put a plate
in front of him.

I
picked up my fork just as he traded me plates.

"What
are you doing?"

"Mine
will be warmer," he turned to what used to be my plate and started eating.

I
looked away from him, but caught Gwen's small smile.

We
spent a week at Gwen and Nicholas's house. He showed me the music room where
Gwen had gotten him to start talking and playing piano.