Author's Note: I own no one other than my characters...this is a work of fiction, written in fun! No harm was intended to anyone depicted in this fic..SO PLEASE DO NOT TAKE IT SERIOUSLY...The characters (other than Mr. Mathers, his friends and family, that I craftily borrowed) are mine and mine ALONE, the text, dialogue, descriptions, ideas and anything else you find in this fic are also MINE!! I have never nor do I intend to ever allow or give permission for anyone to borrow, steal, pilfer or otherwise use any of my work, it is MINE, I poured my heart and soul into every word and I would expect that you would have enough respect for me and my work to leave it alone..
NOTES: I’m actually sad right now <excuse me while I cry> it’s always weird when I finish a story that I have spent countless hours pouring so much of myself into but I actually liked this one <sobs> It was a great ride, I tell you...I went all over the map with this fic, challenging the fuck out of myself, to see if I could handle something other than a straight romance...it was hard at times but I think I lived up to the challenge...doesn’t matter really, I had a kick ass time trying...I know I always say it but who cares I’m gonna say it again...all of you give me the motivation to carry on, your feedback fuels me, so without all of you there would be no me...thank you...Amy, Faith, Taz, JennyS, Kathy, Tine, Gia, Short Stuff, RaeRae, Dusti, Jenn, Sky, Gem, Rana, Brittany, Cho, SteCMC, lushkin, Diamond, Afterglow (Mary Grace), Mandy, Jae, tiff600, Thaly-Ann, mememe, crackedporcelain, Mary, Stephanie, Kai, Emma, TennisGirl0487, Phreakyy, chels, Lilshorty2140, Cassidy, rach, Taccora, AmandaFae and Kate (who’s review for the 222 contest touched me more than she will ever know!!)...I love you all...~Chapter 16~
Morgan sat across from Taylor watching her listlessly stare into space, the steady drumming of her perfectly manicured nails against the smooth wood of her desk was driving Morgan fucking crazy. Taylor hadn’t said a word in at least five minutes. She’d slipped into that far away place that she’d been traveling to quite often the last couple of weeks...
“We can talk about it, you know?” Morgan said breaking the silence.
“Talk about what?”
“Don’t play coy with me Taylor..” Morgan snapped, “you know damn well what I’m talking about!!”
“Temper, temper” she tried to tease, “look Morgan, I just don’t want to talk about it anymore..there’s really nothing to say..it’s over..”
“It’s not over Taylor” Morgan shook her head, “look at you”
“Look at what?” she asked narrowing her eyes, “I look the same as I always have..”
“No you don’t” Morgan sighed, “and you talk a good game, you wear the mask to near perfection but you forgot one very important thing here..”
“And what’s that?”
“I KNOW YOU”
“Well, if you ‘know’ me so well..then you’d know that everything is fine..”
“Ok, so let me ask you something Taylor...if everything is ‘fine’ , then I take it that THIS” Morgan said tossing a magazine across Taylor’s desk, “doesn’t bother you?”
The magazine landed cover up directly in front of Taylor and her normally rosy skin turned ten shades of white, “Where the fuck did you get this?”
“I got it at the news stand just down the street” Morgan said, “but I’m figuring you could get it just about anywhere..nice pic by the way, very flattering..”
“Shut the fuck up” she said with no real menace dropping her head into her waiting hands, “Jesus..”
“You want to talk now?”
“What’s there to say?” she asked looking up at Morgan, “it’s all right there in black and white.” she shoved the magazine back across the desk.
“I’m figuring that there’s more to this than that piece of crap” Morgan said gently, “and definitely more than you’ve told me..”
“Well the title’s pretty catchy..” she said trying to find some light at the end of the tunnel she’d been trapped in for weeks.
Morgan glanced down at the title and tried to control the smirk that wanted to cross her lips...
IT’S ‘LOVE ON THE ROCKS’ FOR EMINEM AND HIS X-RATED VIDEO QUEEN
“That it is..” Morgan agreed finally allowing the smirk she was holding back to break free.
“Ha, ha...very funny” she said rolling her eyes, “you’re a fucking riot”
“Did he really fuck that bitch?” Morgan asked looking over at Taylor.
“What bitch?” she asked scrunching up her brow, “give me that...what the fuck’s it say?”
“The bitch that I’m referring to is the one who caused this nasty little piece of trash article” Morgan filled her in while handing her the magazine, “she basically said that she was Marshall’s lover and you finally caught them..”
“Marshall’s lover, my ass” she mumbled flipping through the pages, “I was Marshall’s only lover and this bitch..”
“You sure about that?” Morgan asked cutting her off.
“Of course I’m sure, you think I wouldn’t know if he was fucking someone else...this is all bullsh...” she trailed off looking up at Morgan, “very clever and I fall for that shit every time, don’t I?”
“Yep” Morgan smiled, “so if you’re so sure that you were his only lover, then what’s the problem Taylor?”
“What, are you his cheerleader now?”
“No, I’m yours” Morgan said gently, “and you love him..”
“Yeah but...”
“No buts’, either you love him or you don’t, either you trust him or you don’t..it’s really that simple..” Morgan said seriously, “do you trust him Taylor? Do you love him?”
“Yes,” she said softly, “but Morgan, he was kissing her and..”
“And what?”
“And he probably would’ve fucked her if I hadn’t walked in when I did..” she said allowing a tiny tear to escape.
“You don’t know that..” Morgan shrugged, “and sitting around here zoning your way through life isn’t going to do you any good, if you love him Taylor, then you need to talk to him...”
“Listen to you, you don’t even like him...”
“It’s not that I don’t like him Taylor...I just think that he’s a dick for the way he treated you” Morgan smiled, “I love you Tay...you’re my best friend and he treated you like shit but for some convoluted reason that I can’t comprehend these last few months he’s made you happy..he made you happier than I’d seen you in a very long time..”
“I don’t know if I can get past this though Morgan..”
“It’s the trust issue, Tay...if you trust him, then you can get past almost anything” Morgan said pointedly, “have you spoken to him at all since this happened..”
“No, but..” she trailed off...
“But what?” Morgan prodded. ‘God, getting her to talk was like pulling teeth sometimes’
“Well he came to my house that night, after all that shit happened but I wouldn’t answer..he just stood there on the other side of the door and talked, he just talked..”
“And did he say anything remotely interesting..” Morgan prodded some more.
Taylor gave her an abbreviated version of the things that Marshall had confessed and professed to the thin piece of wood separating them...
“And you didn’t open the door?”
“I was hurt...”
“Yeah but shit as hard as I am, I don’t think I would’ve made it through all that without throwing the door open and hopping into his arms..” Morgan said, “he basically said that he loves you Taylor, did you realize that?”
“Yes, no...I don’t know?” she sighed, “I don’t know what to think..”
“Well then maybe it’s time to face him..” Morgan said meeting Taylor’s eyes, “if you don’t, then you’ll never know...”
~*~
Marshall flung the magazine across the room with a vicious snap of his wrist, ‘That bitch’ he muttered, ‘I don’t even know the fucking bitch’ . His mind reeled, his eyes glazing over in a deep red hue, distorting his vision. He couldn’t fucking believe it, ‘How dare she insinuate that we were lovers?’ He was seconds away from calling that fucking filth rag and blasting the stupid fucker who had the balls to print that piece of shit. Taylor... her name passed through his mind and stuck there to torment him like it belonged there. ‘I wonder if she’s ok?’ he mumbled thinking about the damn title of that bullshit article. He silently cursed the phone vibrating in his pocket as he yanked it out, flipping it open...
“What?” he bit out.
“Marshall, Marshall, Marshall...you do realize that I am wanted by the law, don’t you?” Kim said sighing.
“Well, duh...” he calmed at the sound of her voice, and couldn’t resist teasing her, “and what do I owe the honor of this lovely call?”
“Well, duh..” she shot back.
“I take it you’re not too far out of the loop” he smirked, “if you still know what the fuck’s goin’ on around here..”
“Marshall, I could be in fucking Timbuktu and still know what the fuck is going on with you!”
“They get news out there?” he snorted.
“Aren’t you just a barrel of laughs today?”
“Oh yeah, all laughs..” he said sarcastically.
“What the fuck were you thinkin’?”
“I wasn’t..”
“Obviously..”
“Ouch” he whimpered, feigning hurt.
“You deserve to have your balls nailed to the wall for this” she said dryly.
“That’s harsh..”
“And no less than you deserve” she said seriously, “why’d you do it?”
“I didn’t do shit” he said passionately, “well not all of it anyway..”
“And that cryptic statement means?”
“I didn’t fuck her dammit!!!” he said annoyed, “Shit, I don’t even know her..”
“But you did something” she tossed out, “I saw Taylor’s picture, the hurt was unmistakable..”
“And I’ll live with that everyday but what am I supposed to do?” he sighed, “she won’t even talk to me!”
“Why? WHAT DID YOU DO?”
“I just kissed the bitch and shit..” he mumbled.
“And shit??” she prodded.
“Maybe I touched her a little but that’s it..”
“And Taylor walked in on you?”
“Yeah..” he sighed.
“And if she hadn’t?”
“I dunno...I was drunk..” he said, “I think I would’ve come to my senses but I just dunno?”
“Do you love her?”
“Who? Taylor?”
“Yeah, you fuckin’ numbnut!!!” she laughed, “I’m certainly not talking about the bitch who sold herself to that shit rag..”
“Yeah..”
“Yeah, what?”
“Yeah, I love her..”
“Have you told her?”
“No, I tried..” he explained, “she wouldn’t open the fucking door.”
“And you just gave up?”
“What the fuck was I supposed to do?” he asked getting annoyed again, “turn into her own personal fucking stalker?”
“That would have been better than just giving up!!!”
“Out of all the things I miss” he teased, “it’s your sparkling wit, I miss the most.”
“I’m being serious asshole” she practically growled.
“I know you are, I’m sorry”
“Don’t apologize to me” she said exasperated, “ apologize to HER!!!”
“I just told you, she won’t talk to me!!”
“GOD, YOU ARE SO FUCKING THICKHEADED” she yelled, “GO TO HER, FORCE HER TO LISTEN DAMMIT!!!! DO I HAVE TO COME BACK THERE AND RISK GETTING MY ASS THROWN IN JAIL JUST SO I CAN STICK MY FOOT UP YOUR ASS TO GET YOU MOVING???”
“No” he laughed.
“This shit ain’t funny Marshall” she said seriously, “if you love her, then fucking fight for her and stop being such a pussy..”
“I ain’t no fucking pussy” he pouted.
“Could’ve fooled me” she snapped back, “GO TO HER, WORK IT OUT!!!”
“Kim..”
“No, I’m serious” she sighed, “please, I gotta go..I can’t stay on the line much longer...just please Marshall, go to her, tell her how you feel..I saw pictures of you and her and Hai..” she whispered, “God, Hai looked so happy, you looked happy...don’t loose her over something so stupid..”
“I won’t..” he whispered.
“Promise?”
“Promise”
“Ok..” she smiled on the other end of the line, “be happy Marshall...always..I miss you..”
“I miss you too...” he whispered but all he heard was the flat sound of the dial tone.
Kim was right, he knew it. It’d been three weeks and he’d been stalling because he knew how bad he’d hurt Taylor but it was time to start fighting. It was time to get her back. He scooped up his key’s, storming through the foyer like he was on a mission. He yanked open the front door and smacked straight into the woman he was hellbent on finding...
"Taylor..."
~Chapter 17~
“Taylor” he whispered again.
It was a feather soft sound that trickled out through his lips and fluttered across her face, causing a tightening in the pit of her stomach. She wanted to say something, just open her lips and say all the things that were spiraling through her mind or more simply just hold him, pull him into the shelter of her arms and hold him but she did neither...
They stood flush against each other. The material of their clothing the only barrier separating her buttery soft skin from his. He could feel the heat radiating off of her body in scorching waves, ‘Has it really only been three weeks since I’ve touched her?’ his mind tormented him, ‘It feels like years..’ He reached up, running his thumb across the soft skin covering her jaw and she jumped back like she’d been stung...
“I’m sorry” he said dropping his arm to hang limply at his side.
She stood back looking at him. There was so much that needed to be said on both their parts, “I wish that none of this happened Marshall” she whispered, “but it did, you hurt me..”
“I know, I just...”
“Why?”
“Why..” he repeated confused.
“Why did you hurt me?”
“I wish I had an easy answer for that Taylor but I don’t..”
“So, that’s it?” she asked letting her temper slip, “ ‘I wish I had an answer for why I ripped your fucking heart out and spit on it but I don’t, so let’s move on?’ ”
“No, that’s not what I’m saying..” he said.
“Then why?”
“Shit Taylor, I wish I had a solid answer, it was just a combination of things...I was drunk, I was confused, I was hurt and I did something stupid, I fucking wish to God that I could take it back, you have no idea but I can’t Taylor, I can’t!”
“You were hurt? I don’t understand...”
“Yeah, I needed you Taylor” he whispered, “that night I was a mess inside and I needed you so fucking bad but you weren’t there..”
“I’m sorry” she whimpered letting go of some of the bottled up emotions she’d been holding back, “I was running late and I..”
“Shhhh, don’t” he whispered reaching out to catch a sparkling tear drifting down her cheek, “you don’t have to explain, I fucked up..”
“We’ve really done a number on each other, haven’t we?”
“Well, we certainly haven’t been honest...”
“I was always honest with you..” she countered.
“Were you?”
“Yeah, I..” she trailed off, taking a deep breath before continuing, “well maybe not completely but..”
“Hey, it’s ok” he smiled, “I wasn’t honest with you either..”
“So what do we do now?” she asked, “where do we go from here?”
“Maybe we should start by being honest with each other...”
“You think?” she asked with a watery smile.
“Yeah, I think..”
“Well, who goes first” she smirked, “wanna flip a coin?”
“Nah..” he smiled at her, “as appealing as it’d be to let you take the lead, I think I’ve been weak long enough..”
“Ought oh” she sighed, her stomach flip flopping around. She could clearly remember everything that he’d said on the other side of her door that night but standing there facing him she was afraid that maybe it had been nothing more than an illusion, a trick of her mind, “do I wanna hear this?”
“I don’t know, do you?”
She took a deep, calming breath, “Yeah, yeah I do..”
“Not out here, come on” he said backing up through the still open doorway and into the house. He held his hand out, palm up, “it’s your choice.”
She stared down at his hand, ‘This is it, Taylor..it’s now or never..you put your trust in him or you don’t..’ She reached forward, sliding palm against palm and slipping her fingers tightly between his, “Let’ go...”
He released the pent up breath he’d been holding and tightened his grip on her hand.
It was so surreal, walking through the foyer, she thought she’d never be here again, in his house. Three weeks ago, shit this morning she was hellbent on never speaking to him again but here she was gripping his hand like her life depended on it, walking through the hollowed hallways of his home. She expected him to turn right and lead her down the long hallway toward his bedroom but he didn’t. Instead he cut left and lead her into the empty family room.
“Where’s Hai?” she asked trying to distract the critters having a grand ole time in her stomach.
“School”
“Oh” she muttered, stopping just inside the entryway and letting go of his hand.
He walked over to the big, comfy couch situated against the wall in front of a large picture window, “Taylor..” he whispered reaching out for her again.
She felt like such an asshole, her nerves were sizzling, it was insane. She’d been more intimate with him then she’d been with anyone else in her entire life but yet she felt shy, even scared all of a sudden, ‘Come on Tay, suck it up’ she scolded herself, ‘make those feet move..whatever he has to tell you can’t be that bad!’ but in reality, that was the major problem, what if it was? What if he wanted things to go back to the way they were? She didn’t honestly think that she could do that, not now. When she’d seen him touching that bitch, it’d practically ripped out her heart and to go back to what they were, would put her in the position to be hurt like that again, she couldn’t do it, she wouldn’t..
“You’ll never know what I’m going to say if you don’t trust me enough to come over here” he said like he’d been able to read her mind.
“I’m scared” she admitted and wanted to smack herself for that weak, girly admission.
“Don’t be”
“Easy for you to say..”
“Not really” he said holding her eyes, “I gotta put myself out there Taylor and hope that you accept it..”
She nodded her head, digging down and finding that extra bit of strength that she needed to be able to take the steps that would bring her to him. She stopped in front of him and he reached forward, grasped her hips, spun her around and pulled her down into his lap.
“Be gentle..” she whispered, “please..”
“Shhhhhh” he leaned forward, rubbing his lips against the nape of her neck, “I won’t hurt you again, I promise.”
She couldn’t fight the moan that slipped past her lips. She dropped her head forward, it landed heavily on her chest and the tremors started, “Stop, please” she practically cried, “I can’t think straight when you do that..”
“Taylor” he trailed his lips up her neck to whisper in her ear.
“Uh huh” she whimpered, trying to fight the liquid heat that was wreaking havoc within her body.
“I love you” he whispered, soft as the air, gentle as the sea...
Time froze or at least she thought it did. Her breath backed up in her chest, her limbs froze, her heart exploded and she broke out in big gusty sobs. She cried so fucking hard her whole body wracked with the force of it.
He pulled her back into his arms, turning her so that her head was pressed against his chest, “Ok, so I wasn’t expecting this” he murmured softly, cloaking her in his arms, “I was expecting some yelling, I thought maybe you’d call me a liar, possibly hit me but not this...”
“I’m sorry” she said from somewhere in the confines of his shirt where her face was buried.
It was pretty muffled but he heard it, “What’re you sorry for?”
“THIS” she yelled through her tears.
“No need to be sorry, I think..”
“This is so fucking embarrassing” she said brokenly, the sobs were winding down and all that was left was a mass of sniffles, “I don’t do this shit, dammit!! I don’t cry and blubber like a fucking pussy, what the fuck is wrong with me?”
She felt him shrug, “I dunno?” he said at a loss, “but if I knew telling you that I love you would have this affect, I might not have done it..”
“Oh God, I’m sorry” she whimpered, fresh tears soaking into his shirt, “I’m so sorry..”
“Stop apologizing” he said pulling her face out of his shirt and forcing her chin up, “and tell me what’s wrong, why are you crying?”
“Because y..you said you love me..” she stuttered dropping her head back down to lay on his chest.
“And that makes you cry?”
“Y..yes..”
“Why?” he asked, “ I don’t understand...you don’t want me to love you?”
“No..no..”
“You don’t..?”
“No, I..”
“No?”
“Yes, I..”
“Yes?”
She lifted her head, stared him straight in the eyes, “Dammit Marshall, I fucking love you too...” she pulled his head forward and fastened her lips to his, “I love you so much..”
~Chapter 18~
NOTE: This chapter is dedicated to Gem...
~*~
Marshall had known that Taylor loved him, it'd been so evident in her eyes the night he'd almost lost her but to hear her say it, to hear the words pass through her lips and flutter across his left a whole kaleidoscope of emotions running through him...
"So..." he smiled against her lips, "you love me, huh?"
She pulled her face back and scrunched up her nose, "Maybe just a little.."
He brought the pad of his thumb up, gently swiping it across her cheek to catch a stray tear, "You're beautiful Taylor, have I ever told you that?"
"Oh God Marshall please don't go getting all romantic on me now" she smiled shakily, her eyes misting over, "I'll get all weepy again."
"We wouldn't want that, now would we?" he teased leaning forward to rub his lips against hers again, "I love you.."
"Oh shit..." she sniffled.
"Ok, ok I'll stop" he winked, "soooooo has anyone ever told you that you look HOT AS HELL in these sexy little lawyer get-ups you always have on?"
"Hot, huh?" she laughed crawling up so that she was straddling his hips.
"Oh YEAH"
"How hot?" she teased.
He grabbed the lapels of her prim business jacket and pulled her to him, fastening his mouth to hers, "I can't find the words, I'd rather show you.."
"Yeah.." she moaned into his mouth..
"Yeah"
"Ok.."
"You sure?" he asked breaking this kiss to look at her.
"Fuck yes.."
He slid his hands underneath her ass, hiking her skirt up higher around her waist and stood up, heading for his bedroom.
She wrapped her legs around him and leaned forward to graze her mouth across his, "I’ve missed you so much.."
"I’ve missed you too.."
It seemed to take years to get to their destination. Every step felt like a mile, another precious moment gone by.
"I want you.." she whispered leaning in to lightly nip at his neck.
"Taylor" he groaned, she'd snaked her soft tongue out to lave at the skin just beneath his ear and it was causing a full mental melt down, "Jesus.."
"Hurry...please.."
He picked up the pace turning the corner and bursting through the door like demons were hot on his trail. He walked across the room and laid her down on the bed. She scooted back, her legs still wrapped around him, pulling him into the center of the bed with her. She arched up, reaching down between them, hooking her thumbs in the waistband of his pants and began working them down over his hips.
"Taylor..wait.."
"No, please.." she begged, "I need to feel you, inside me...please, God..I missed you so much"
He gently pushed her down on her back and grabbed her panties, sliding them down her hips, she unwrapped her legs from around him and he backed up to slide her panties the rest of the way down her legs. He tossed them aside and worked his pants down enough to free himself before crawling back between her parted thighs.
"Marshall, I want.."
"Shhh" he whispered pushing forward gently so that just the tip was pressed into her.
"Fuck baby.." she whimpered.
He pressed in a little deeper and froze. Her heat was scorching him, tormenting him. He'd been with a lot of women in his life but no other woman affected his body the way that she did. It was like she was consuming him, sucking him into her. He could get completely lost in her and it wouldn't matter, he'd relish in it. She lifted her feet digging them into his ass to push him deeper inside of her..
"Christ.." he hissed, her inner walls were snuggled tightly around him, hot and wet, "it's like you're burning me alive.."
He pulled back gently sliding out of her and pushed forward again imbedding himself fully inside of her and she cried out. He repeated the action, picking up speed with every thrust. She was writhing beneath him, lost in that hypnotic trance of pleasure that always overtook her whenever he was buried inside of her.
"Taylor..gonna cum baby" he panted, "can't stop it..you feel too good.."
She nodded her head, lifting up to grasp his shoulders, pulling his lower body roughly against hers, he reached around grasping her ass to increase the pressure of their lower bodies rubbing together. The friction was incredible, a few more thrusts and they both came hard. She clutched his shoulders, digging her nails into the material of his t-shirt while her orgasm skyrocketed through her. He had his head buried in her neck and his fingers were pressing so hard into the sensitive skin of her ass that it'd probably leave marks but both of them were oblivious to anything but the pleasure they'd found in each other..
~*~
A little while later they laid there snuggled in each others arms, somewhere along the line they'd managed to shed their clothes.
"You're so soft" he murmured, trailing a finger across the curve of her hip.
"Mmmmm" she whispered pushing her ass back against the hardness that laid between them, his cock slipped between the gap in her thighs, the tip rubbing against her slick opening, "and you’re not.."
He snickered, "Taylor when I'm with you baby, I rarely am.."
"Marshall?" she whispered questioningly.
"Mmmm Hmmm.."
"Make love to me.."
She dragged her hand down the front of her body, stopping between her legs, grasping his hardness in her hand and guiding him inside of her.
He leaned his head forward between the arch of her shoulder blades and moaned, "Shit, Taylor...you make me feel things...I can't explain it..I just...God, I love you..."
"I love you too.." she whimpered, he'd begun moving, just a slight push and pull of his hips and it was lighting fires in places she didn't know she could burn..
"I wanna feel you cum" he whispered into her hair, "make yourself cum for me, baby.."
She moved her hand away from where they were joined together, placing her fingers teasingly over her aching clit. She started off slow, working herself lightly, increasing the pressure as he increased the depth of his thrusts. Her breathing became heavy and a fine sheen of sweat glistened her body..
“That’s it baby” he panted in her ear, “let go Taylor...cum for me..”
And she did. Her walls contracted, tightening around him, pulling him deeper into the heat of her core..
“Oh fuck Taylor...” he grunted and she felt his cock spasm inside of her.
~*~
They stood in the kitchen puttering around. She was hungry as hell but the pickin’s in this house were certainly slim. They’d finally had to leave his bedroom or they would have eventually physically killed each other. As it was Marshall kept eyeing the table with a mischievous gleam.
“Don’t even think about” she snorted when he sauntered toward her with that ‘Come Fuck Me’ look in his eyes.
“Spoil sport” he pouted walking over and flopping down in the chair
“Stop pouting...it’s so unbecoming..”
“Whatever” he mumbled like an angry little boy and then his face lit up, “Oh, I almost forgot, someone else missed you, besides me...”
“And who would that be?” she asked arching her brow dramatically.
“Hai” he smiled, “she missed you a lot.”
“I missed her too” she said, her voice going soft, “so much..”
“I’m sorry Taylor, I..”
She walked over and stopped in front of him, lifting his chin up until their eyes connected, “It’s ok Marshall...you made a mistake” she smiled for a fraction of a second before her face distorted, her eyes turned evil, “but if you do it again they’ll be scraping your balls off the ceiling, got it?”
He swallowed hard, “Uh huh”
“Good” she nodded, “Now I’m hungry let’s go get something to eat..”
“I gotta pick up Hai” he said standing up.
“When?”
He looked down at his watch, “I should be in the car...ummm about 5 minutes ago..”
“Very nice” she scolded him, “you were busy trying to get a piece of ass 5 minutes ago!! What were you gonna tell Hai, Huh? ‘Oh sorry I’m late baby but Daddy was busy gettin’ some?’ ”
“It would’ve been a quickie” he shot back as his lame defense.
“Come on” she sighed, “let’s go get Hai and then we’ll all eat.”
“She’ll love that” he grinned pulling her into his arms.
“Me too” she said reaching up to trail fingers across his cheek.
~*~
Dinner had been fun. They’d decided to pick up a pizza and take it back to Marshall’s. The three of them had camped out in the family room, sitting on the floor munching on pizza and watching a movie. As soon as the credits rolled around Hailie jumped up and craftily conned them into a bout of night time swimming. The swimsuit issue had been a problem but Marshall successfully nipped that in the bud by tossing Taylor a pair of his boxers and a t-shirt.
“You’re gettin’ me all hot and bothered in that outfit” he purred in her ear, they were trailing after Hailie in her quest to get to the pool first.
“Huh?” she asked looking down at the clothes she was wearing, “let me get this straight...me in a pair of men’s boxers and a men’s t-shirt gets you all hot and bothered?”
“No, you in MY boxers and MY t-shirt gets me all hot and bothered” he reiterated, winking at her.
“I think you need to seek serious mental counseling but it’s ok, I’m here for you babe..I’m here!!!” she giggled grabbing him by the shirt and pulling him to her for a smacking kiss.
“Ha ha, smart ass ” he sneered snaking his arm around to palm a handful of ass.
~*~
They’d splashed around in the pool for what felt like hours until a droopy eyed Hailie finally confessed to being sleepy so they’d all trudged out of the pool, dried off and headed into the house, parting ways in the hallway.
Taylor stripped down and hopped into the shower in his bathroom. She was just rinsing off when she felt his hands grasp her hips as he stepped in the shower behind her.
“Hey” she whispered leaning her head back against his chest.
“Hey” he cast his eyes downward watching the water run in rivulets over the slope of her breasts, “you staying tonight?”
“Can’t” she sighed, “court..”
“Oh” he frowned leaning his head down to place a soft kiss on the tip of her nose, “I’ve missed waking up next to you.”
“Me too” she smiled, “tomorrow night...I’ll stay..”
“Promise?”
“Promise” she turned around to face him, leaning up to press her lips gently against his chest, he brought his arms up, wrapping them around her while they stood there letting the hot spray beat down over them..
~*~
Taylor was tired and cranky and she desperately needed to get the hell out of this over packed courthouse. She was starting to feel closed in and she didn’t like it. They’d just handed down a ‘Not Guilty’ verdict for her client and there was an intense war going on inside of her. On one hand she was happy that she’d won the case, the case had been tricky and it looked good for her from a lawyer’s perspective that she’d won but on the other hand she was hurting because this case had been brutal and it’d caused a lot of innocent people to get hurt. Her heart ached thinking about how just two short days ago she’d had to completely discredit a grieving father who only wanted vengeance for his son’s death. She didn’t deal with murder cases that wasn’t her area of expertise but unfortunately this case indirectly involved the death of a young man who was just starting his venture up the corporate ladder and because of her clients greed that young man had put a pistol in his mouth and proceeded to blow his brains out.
“Taylor?” Morgan asked tapping her on the shoulder, “you alright?”
“Yeah” she whispered, “I just need to get the fuck out of here.”
“I know” Morgan said rubbing her shoulder in a comforting gesture, “just a few more minutes.”
“I can’t go out there with him” she sighed, “how the hell am I supposed to stand there and face the media? I got him off Morgan, that kid is dead and I basically just helped his killer walk away!”
“Taylor, you can’t blame yourself for this” Morgan said soothingly, “you just did your job!”
“I know but...”
“Mrs. Hughes..”
Taylor’s words were cut short when her client placed his hand on her other shoulder.
She slowly turned toward him, “congratulations” she said trying to hide the bitter tone in her voice.
“It’s all because of you” he beamed, “you’re a genius..”
“I wouldn’t call it that, I just..”
“Oh stop being modest” he cut her off, “now come on..let’s go let the press snap a few pictures of the winning team and then we’ll go our separate ways.”
“I really don’t think..” she muttered but he was already moving toward the front entrance of the courthouse.
She ambled after him, her stomach tied in knots. She turned back to quickly gaze at Morgan before stepping outside into the feeding frenzy of journalists and camera crews. She got down the first few steps and had to put a hand up to shield her eyes from the millions of flashes going off around her. Her client turned toward her extending his hand in an obvious photo op, she reached out to shake it when she heard the first shot ring through the air...
~*~
“TAYLOR...”
Marshall jerked upright, sweat beading his brow, his breath coming in short gasps. He looked around groggily trying to get his bearings. The dream was starting to ebb away, fizzle out but the fear in the pit of his belly was still there. He looked around again noticing that he was in the family room. He shook his head to clear away some of the cobwebs left over from sleep and it all started coming back...
He’d had a free day, no studio time, no meetings, nothing. Just some free time. He’d gotten up to take Hailie to school and came back home to piddle around but he’d been so tired so he’d laid down on the couch to catch a quick nap.
He looked up at the clock, “1:00 pm??” he muttered.
He got up off the couch intending to go to his room and hop in the shower but pieces of the dream started cycling back through his brain. He dropped back down on the edge of the couch. His stomach hurt, it was burning, ‘What the fuck?’ his mind raced, ‘Get a fuckin’ grip, it was just a dream!!’
~Chapter 19~
“TAYLOR”
Morgan started forward but she was met with a wall of resistence that she just couldn’t push through..
“Ma’am” one of the harried looking security guards said pushing her back away from the doors that led outside, “you need to stay back!!”
“Please” she whimpered, “Taylor..”
Another security guard, one that Morgan recognized, turned toward her, “Look” he said in a soothing tone, placing a hand on her arm in a comforting gesture, “I know that you and Miss Hughes are more than law buddies and I know that you’re scared for her BUT there is a man out there shooting at people and until we get this situation under control, I CAN NOT let you out there, I’m sorry!”
~*~
Marshall stopped on the way to the shower and picked up the phone. He punched in Taylor’s cell number and sat on the edge of the bed waiting for her to answer..
“Voice mail..” he mumbled to the empty room, “I hate that fucking shit!”
He left a brief message before disconnecting. He laid the phone down on the bed and walked into the bathroom, stripping off his clothes before stepping into the shower, ‘She’s probably still in court’ his mind rationalized, ‘No big deal..’ He flipped the water on and stepped under the hot spray. He didn’t know why he felt so uneasy but the feeling just wouldn’t go away. Pieces of the dream kept snapping through his mind, that was the problem. It was so disjointed, none of it fit together in any recognizable pattern but the parts that he could get to snap into place weren’t pretty. He closed his eyes trying to bring the pieces of the dream that he could remember back into focus...There was blood, a lot of it and Taylor, she was there, smiling at him...her face was so alight with happiness, he started walking toward her but suddenly everything changed, her face went hazy, fading out until all he could see was blood, it was everywhere, he looked down at his hands and they were covered in it but when he looked down again he noticed that it wasn’t his hands. His eyes snapped back open and his heart was racing, ‘What the fuck is going on with you Marshall?’ his mind screamed at him. He took a steadying breath and reached for the soap...
~*~
There was a huge commotion near the front doors of the courthouse and everyone started rushing forward in a frenzy. People were panicked, they had friends and loved ones that might be trapped outside with a madman taking shots at people and they were frightened. Morgan blended into the crowd piling out the doors. She finally pushed through stepping outside, the bright light momentarily blinding her. She looked to her right and about 15 feet away they had a man pinned to the ground a gun a few feet away from him. Her stomach lurched, ‘Taylor’ her mind silently screamed and that’s when she saw her, that silent scream bursting through her lips and piercing the air.
“Oh My God..” she whimpered, tears streaming down her face.
She rushed forward, dropping to her knees, the rough concrete of the steps scraping her flesh, blood rose to the surface seeping out of the wounds on her knees but she didn’t notice it.
“Taylor” she whispered, pulling Taylor’s limp head into her lap, “Taylor, please..”
She looked down and her whole body went cold, blood, there was so much blood, it was seeping from somewhere on Taylor’s chest...
“Jesus baby” Morgan whispered her hand automatically moving to cover the wound on Taylor’s chest.
“Ma’am...ma’am” someone was saying to her but she was having trouble focusing, her mind had flipped, closed up on her, “ma’am please, we need to help her!”
Someone began pulling at her, lifting her up into the cradle of their arms. She looked around but her eyes were fogged over, “Taylor..” she whispered through the shock clouding her mind. She looked down at her hands, noticing the blood, Taylor’s blood and a mind numbing scream raged through her, passing through her lips and filtering through the air...
~*~
‘It was only a dream’ Marshall told himself for the millionth time, ‘Get a fucking grip!!!’
He’d tried calling her again but it’d gone straight to her voice mail. He was just about to throw the phone down when it rang in his hand, startling him..
“Taylor?” he answered hopefully.
“Marsh”
“Paul?” he asked confused.
“Marshall” Paul said trying to mask the urgency in his voice.
“What?” he asked, he’d picked up on something in Paul’s voice that made him uneasy.
“You haven’t seen the news?”
“No, why?”
“Marshall I need you to relax and just listen to me..”
“Fuck that” he bit out walking into the family room and flipping on the TV, he caught the latest news report midway through...
....Prominent business man Reginald Briggs found ‘NOT GUILTY’ mere moments before the shooting occurred was pronounced dead at the scene. His attorney Taylor Hughes, best known for her association with Detroit’s own infamous rapper EMINEM was also shot down, Miss Hugh’s present condition is unknown....
The reporter rambled on for another minute before they switched to the scene outside the courthouse and Marshall watched the whole thing from beginning to end unfold before his eyes...
“MARSHALL, YOU THERE?” Paul was yelling frantically through the phone.
“Jesus, they got it on tape?” he mumbled grabbing onto something for support, he felt sick, “Oh God...”
“Look Marshall, I know you two had something together a while back..”
“I love her..” Marshall mumbled, cutting him off, his eyes were burning and he was having difficulty talking over the pain, “Oh fuck Paul..is she..she’s not..?”
“I dunno?” Paul said softly, “they aren’t saying.”
“I gotta go..where is she?”
“Marshall, you can’t go down there” Paul stated firmly, “the press will eat you alive..”
“I don’t give a fuck about that Paul..I’ll take a couple guys from the gate” he yelled, “where the fuck did they take her?”
Paul rambled off what little he knew, “Marshall, I’m serious you can’t..” but it was no use finishing his statement, Marshall was gone and nothing but the loud shrill of the dial tone remained on the other end.
~*~
Morgan was slowly working her way out of the shock that had seized her. Her mind had blanked out a huge portion of the days events but she could clearly remember the horrid parts, the parts she’d rather forget! Taylor’s blood still stained her hands, another horrible reminder of what had transpired...
“Ma’am”
She looked up blanking trying to focus in on the man standing above her, “Yes?” Morgan whispered softly.
“These belonged to your friend” he said softly, handing her Taylor’s cell phone and briefcase.
“Where is she?” Morgan pleaded, “How is she?”
“I have no information on her condition” he said with regret, “I’m sorry..”
“Thank you” she said numbly staring down at Taylor’s cell phone.
“Is there anything I can do for you?” he asked gently, “get you something to eat? A drink maybe?”
“No, no..I’m fine”
“Ok but if you need anything, please let one of the nurses know..”
“I will, thank you..”
“You’re welcome” he mumbled feeling inadequate, he wished that he could tell her that her friend was all right, that she was going to make it but he couldn’t. He stared down at her for a few more seconds before walking away.
She held Taylor’s cell phone tightly in her trembling fingers. She was caught between a smile and tears when the memory of Taylor walking around with the damn thing practically glued to her ear flashed through her mind, ‘Oh God Taylor..’ she whispered softly. She looked back down at the cell phone, noticing two missed calls and flipped it open to retrieve the messages, ‘Marshall’ she said numbly snapping the phone closed. She wondered if he knew what happened?
She’d had a problem with their relationship from the beginning but after she’d talked to Taylor yesterday she’d realized that though he hadn’t admitted it, he actually loved Taylor, so she’d conned Taylor into admitting her feelings and going over to talk to him. She had no idea what happened between them because they’d had to rush into court this morning and there was no time to talk but she sensed that whatever happened was good because Taylor had seemed so happy this morning, that light around her that had gone dim was bright again...
She stared back down at the phone, she didn’t want to be alone and he needed to know what had happened. She flipped the phone back open and scrolled through the address book until she found his name and punched send..
~*~
Marshall’s phone vibrated in his pocket, he yanked it out and stared down at the caller ID. His heart froze in his chest, maybe he was stuck in some horrible dream after all..
“Taylor???”
“Marshall” Morgan whispered, her voice sounded so fragile.
“Who is th...” he trailed off, ‘No, this isn’t a dream’ his mind screamed at him, “Morgan?”
“Yeah..”
“Where are you?”
“The hospital..I didn’t know if you’d heard and I just, I don’t wanna be..” she trailed off.
“What Morgan?” he asked trying to sound soothing while he desperately fought the nausea clawing at the insides of his stomach, “what do you need?”
“You” she said on a sob, “please I don’t wanna be alone..”
“Almost there” he assured, “just hang tight baby, I’m almost there..”
“Thank you..” she whimpered..
~*~
Marshall stepped on the gas, turning into the hospital parking lot no more than five minutes after hanging up with Morgan.
He turned to the three guys sitting in the SUV with him, “Just do whatever you gotta do to cover me because I’m going in and I’ll take out anyone that get’s in my way.”
They all nodded. The two in the back got out first, followed by the guy sitting in the passenger seat, they all covered the drivers side door as Marshall exited and flanked him as best they could while he ran for the automatic sliding glass doors of the ER entrance.
It was chaos, they recognized him immediately, camera flashes went off from every direction and his name was being screamed so many times, that one voice washed out another until they all blended in together. One reported tried to get close enough to stick his microphone in Marshall’s face but was brushed off and knocked back by one of the men surrounding him. He burst through the ER doors and stopped short, catching sight of Morgan looking so fragile and small in one of those uncomfortable chairs set up in the ER waiting room.
Morgan heard the commotion outside and jerked her head up, catching sight of Marshall as he ran through the doors and stopped short. She jumped up racing across the small expanse of the waiting room and launched herself at him. He caught her in mid air and she wrapped herself around him, burying her head in his neck and sobbed like a baby...
~Chapter 20~
Morgan clung tight to Marshall, her head buried in the crook of his neck, her tears soaking into the soft cotton of his t-shirt. It was crazy but she felt like he was somehow her only link to Taylor..
“Shhhhh” he whispered against her hair, “she’ll be ok baby, she’s strong.”
After the words left his mouth, it struck him as ironic that he should really practice what he preached because in reality he was scared too death..
“I didn’t really like you, did you know that?”
It was muffled against his neck but he’d heard her, “Yeah, I know and honestly, I don’t blame you..”
“I thought you didn’t care about her, I thought that you were just using her” she pulled back to look at him through tear ravaged eyes, “but you really lover her, don’t you?”
“Yeah, more than I realized..”
Morgan looked down and the position they were in suddenly hit her, “Shit, I’m sorry” she said unwrapping her legs from around his waist and sliding down till her feet hit the floor, “just what you wanted, huh? A blubbering woman throwing herself at you..”
“It’s ok” he smiled his hands still grasping her hips, “you’re hurting..”
“And you’re actually very sweet” she smiled bringing her hand up to cup his cheek, “thank you.”
He nodded bringing his hand up to cover hers, “How is she? She’s not..” he trailed off unable to finish the sentence.
She flipped her hand around on his cheek and wound her fingers through his, “No, I don’t think..I mean they haven’t said but...” she trailed off a fresh set of tears burning her eyes.
He dropped their woven hands from his cheek to hang between them, “Come on” he said moving toward the nurse at the triage desk.
The nurse looked up at them stoically, “May I help you?”
“Taylor Hughes” he said looking down at her, “she was brought in a while ago and I need to know her condition?”
“Are you family, Sir?”
He opened his mouth to speak but he heard Morgan’s voice break in, “Taylor doesn’t have any family, only him” she said looking up at Marshall, “he’s her fiancé”
‘Her what?’ his mind absorbed. The nurse was mumbling something to him but he hadn’t caught it, “Huh?”
“I’m sorry” the nurse said again sincerely, “I’ll see if I can find out any information on her condition.”
“Thanks” he muttered as she turned away from him to grab the phone.
Morgan studied him, he looked a little shell shocked, “I’m sorry..” she whispered.
“Sorry?”
“For the whole fiancé thing” she looked at him sheepishly, “I probably just got you in a world of shit with that one but I was afraid they wouldn’t tell you anything..”
“No, no it’s aight”
“You sure? You look a little spooked” she assessed.
“You just caught me off guard, that’s all..”
She released her hold on his hand and backed up to study him intently for a few moments before her face cracked into a smile, “Oh God, you’re really afraid of marriage, aren’t you?”
“Well I don’t have the best track record” he sighed.
“No, I suppose not but from what I hear you’re ex-wife isn’t as bad as she appears to be..”
“No, she’s not” he smiled, “WE were just bad for each other..”
“Makes sense” she said lifting her hand to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear.
He grabbed her hand when she went to drop it back down to her side, “What’s this? Were you hurt too?”
“Huh? Oh no” her breath caught looking down at the blood still staining her flesh, “it’s Taylor’s”
“Jesus..” he said on a deep breath, nausea rising up to lodge itself in his throat.
He couldn’t break his gaze away from Morgan’s blood stained hands. The dream entered his mind again, flickering through in slow motion, the bloody hands that were his but then they weren’t...
“Excuse me Sir..”
They both heard the nurse calling him at the same time and he let Morgan’s hand go before they both jerked their heads around to look at her..
“Yes?” he whispered.
“Miss Hugh’s is in surgery” the nurse said softly, “I really don’t know any other details, I’m sorry. The doctor will come down and speak with you as soon as he can!!”
“Thank you” he mumbled softly.
That hadn’t been enough, he needed more!! He needed to know that she was ok, that she was going to make it. His thoughts were interrupted by the vibrating going on in his pocket..
“FUCK” he growled yanking the phone out and flipping it open, “WHAT?”
“Marsh?”
“Paul” he said calming a bit, “sorry.”
“It’s ok, what’s goin’ on? She ok?”
“I dunno” he said bringing his free hand up to rub over his face, “shit Paul, I’m fucking scared..”
“She’ll pull through” Paul said with conviction, “I’ve only met her a few times but that’s all it took to figure out that she’s tough!”
“Thanks..”
“No need to thank me, I meant that shit”
“I know” he sighed, “I’m just all fucked up inside Paul..I just told her last night that I’m in love with her and now there’s a possibly that I could lose her? I’m having trouble dealing with that..”
“You ain’t gonna lose her, have some faith Marshall” Paul said genuinely and decided he’d try and steer the conversation a bit, “soooooo you told her that you’re in love with her and she didn’t laugh at your ass?”
“Nope” he smiled for the first time in hours, “it turns out that she’s in love with me too smart ass..”
“Damn and I actually thought she was smart..” Paul snickered.
“Fuck off” he grumbled and then a thought hit him, “Oh, you should probably know something, I mean even though the nurse looked harmless enough, some other people aren’t going to be so harmless and chances are it’s gonna leak to the press but we kinda told them that I was Taylor’s fiancé...”
“Come again?”
“We told the nurse that Taylor and I are engaged, you know? Getting married..”
“Whose WE and why on earth would you do that?”
“We is, Morgan and I and how the fuck else was I supposed to get them to tell me anything?”
“What about her family?”
“I dunno?” he shrugged, “Morgan told the nurse she doesn’t have any family, I’ll have to ask her about that..”
“Yeah, definitely do that and who the fuck is Morgan?”
“Taylor’s friend..”
“Ahhh, ok” Paul said before releasing a huge sigh, “fuck Marshall, how the hell do you want me to spin this, if it leaks?”
“I don’t care” he said shrugging, “just ignore it.”
“Ignore it? Are you fucking kidding me?” Paul laughed, “I’ll have every fucking media hound in the world demanding a statement..”
“Use that whole ‘We can neither confirm nor deny’ bullshit” he snorted.
“Yeah, I’m sure that’ll fly..”
“Aiight listen, I gotta go” he said abruptly cutting the conversation short, “I’ll call you as soon as I know anything!”
“Ok...and remember what I said ‘Have some FAITH’ ”
“I’ll try” he said seriously before disconnecting.
He noticed that sometime during his conversation with Paul, Morgan had wandered over and sat down in one of those uncomfortable chairs. He walked over and sat down next to her..
“Can I ask you something?”
“Sure..”
“What did you mean when you said that Taylor doesn’t have any family?”
“Well Taylor didn’t know her father” she sighed, “he cut out before she was even born and her mother died of an overdose when she was 17, so she’s basically alone..”
“An overdose?” he asked confused.
“You seem surprised”
“Yeah, I just always assumed that she had a set of jolly parents hidden somewhere..”
“No, not at all..” she laughed but it was tinged with bitterness, “I’m not going to get into her whole sad story but Taylor had a rough road, everything that she is today, she achieved on her own merit, there was no one holding her hand, no one in the background supporting her, she worked her ass off to be somebody and she did a damn good job!”
“Yeah, she did..” he whispered.
A silence fell over them and they both kind of drifted off into thoughts of their own..
Marshall’s mind reeled. He’d always thought that Taylor was a product of a happy home with very loving and very rich parents. He’d never imagined that the extravagant house, the fancy car, the expensive law degree, the pristine manors and the gracious soul she’d gotten all on her own. If he wasn’t already in love with her, that would’ve been a big push in love’s direction. He’d already respected her so much for her tough spirit. She gave as good as she got and sometimes worse but knowing that all that spirit and all that fight came from a woman who had no one behind her, no one loving her made him realize that there were facets of her that he had no idea about, facets that he longed to explore, facets that he was going to explore. Death wasn’t going to rob him of that, no way in hell..
Morgan closed her eyes and silently prayed. It’d been too long since they’d taken her away and there was still no word, she was a smart woman, she knew that wasn’t a good sign. She took a deep breath and opened her mind, letting her thoughts radiate through the air..
Taylor...sweetheart if you can hear me, please fight...please...I can’t do it without you baby...I can’t...we’ve been a part of each others lives for so long that I can’t imagine living in this world if you’re not in it...I know how much you’ve struggled, God, I do but you have a real reason to fight now...he’s here you know? Sitting right next to me and I can feel his pain, Taylor, I feel it...he loves you, I hope he told you that...if you leave him now it’ll devastate him, a part of him will die too...don’t ask me how I know that? I just do...God, Tay I love you...please come back to us...please...
“Excuse me Sir...”
The sound of a man’s voice broke through Morgan’s thoughts and her eyes popped open as Marshall came to his feet...
“Yes”
“I’m Dr. Almeida” the doctor said extending his hand.
Marshall reached out with a trembling hand and grasped Dr. Almeida’s, shaking it loosely before releasing it. The doctor was still dressed in surgical scrubs, traces of blood stained the front of them and it sent jolts of pain rocketing through Marshall...
“Taylor?” he whispered.
“Let’s go somewhere more private” the doctor said with no trace of emotion before turning around and heading down the intimidating corridor.
Marshall reached a hand out for Morgan and she clutched it, hanging on for dear life as they took a step forward, following the doctor who held their life as they know it in the palm of his hand...
~Chapter 21~
The corridor seemed to stretch out for miles, every step forward seemed to bring them farther from their destination. Marshall's fingers were numb from the intense grip Morgan had on them and his heart was pounding so loudly in his chest that he could hear the constant vibration ring through his ears like the sound of bass drum...
"Right this way" Dr. Almeida said rounding the corner and pushing through the door of a tiny little room.
They stopped at the precipice together, both afraid to cross that fine line that would lead them to the answers they sought yet equally afraid not to. Air filtered through their lungs and passed through their lips in ragged heaves, blending together as if theirs together was merely one breath. Their heads turned toward each other and their eyes met, a silent question bouncing between them, a squeeze of the hand was all the answer that was needed before they crossed over that fine line together...
"Please, sit down" Dr. Almeida said motioning to the chairs set up in the middle of the tiny room.
The room should have been hot, stuffy, closed in but it wasn't, it was ice cold. Marshall rubbed his arms idly with his free hand to stave off the chills and fought the urge to shiver as he sat down.
Once they were all seated Dr. Almeida looked back and forth between the two of them before settling his eyes on Marshall, "I'm going to be straight with you Mr.?"
"Mathers"
"I thought I recognized you" Dr. Almeida said in passing before moving on, "Ok, I'm not going to sugar coat this for you, it was a very tough surgery, there was an enormous loss of blood, some fairly serious damage to her upper chest and we encountered some complications. We fought hard but...."
The gasp that escaped Morgan's lips was so audible that it echoed off the walls and bounced back smacking against them like angry fists..
"Look, I know you're both very upset" Dr. Almeida said soothingly, "but please just listen to me before you get yourselves worked up, ok?"
Marshall's heart was lodged in his throat and he felt like he was going to be physically ill. He opened his mouth to speak but he couldn't get his voice to work so he simply nodded.
Dr. Almeida turned toward Morgan placing a comforting hand on her knee before turning back to Marshall and continuing, "As I was saying, it was very touch and go, we honestly thought we'd lost her, her heart stopped beating and..."
‘Oh God PLEASE..NO, NO...this isn’t supposed to be happening!!’ Marshall's mind cried. His eyes burned fiercely with unshed tears, the nausea was pushing it self up in desperate need of escape...
"...we were ready to call it BUT something pulled her back" Dr. Almeida said staring at Marshall.
Marshall's breath shuttered out unevenly..
"I've never seen anyone fight like that" Dr. Almeida said honestly, "Taylor didn't want to die Mr. Mathers, she wanted to live.."
Marshall's heart tripped in his chest, "She's alive?" he asked his voice cracking.
"Yes, she is" Dr. Almeida said with a hint of a smile, "there is something here on this earth that she desperately wants to live for, whatever that is, she wants it so bad that she clawed her way back from death..." he studied Marshall intently before adding, "if it's you that she fought so hard to come back to and I have a feeling that it is, I hope you make her fight worth it.."
Marshall’s breath poured out in a steady whooshing sound and he bent forward hanging his head between his knees in an attempt to diminish the lightheadedness that had suddenly come over him.
“Are you alright?” Dr. Almeida asked reaching over to lightly tap Marshall’s back.
“Yeah, yeah..” he whispered, “I just need a minute..”
Dr. Almeida turned to Morgan who was stuck somewhere between laughter and tears, “I know I laid a lot on you two tonight and I wish I could say that it’s smooth sailing from here on out but it’s not, do you understand that?”
Morgan bobbed her head up and down as the tears beat out the laughter..
“There’s always a chance that she won’t make it through the night BUT” Dr. Almeida added catching Marshall’s eyes when his head snapped up, “if I had to bet, my money would definitely be on her but you two also have to know that things aren’t going to be easy! You need to be prepared to be there for her because she can’t get through this on her own..”
“I’ll do whatever she needs” he said, “anything..”
“Yeah, I suspect you will” Dr. Almeida smiled before turning to Morgan, “she’s going to need you too..”
“She’s got me” she smiled through the tears that glittered down her cheeks “always...”
Dr. Almeida sat with them for a while longer explaining what they should expect to face in the coming months. It was going to be a rough road for all of them but looking at the two sitting in front of him, he had a feeling that they’d make it through just fine...
“All right, I have to get back to work” Dr. Almeida smiled, he got to his feet extending his hand to Marshall again.
Marshall grasped it in his and this time his grip was strong, “Thank you..”
“It was my pleasure” Dr. Almeida said sincerely, “I love saving lives, it’s why I do what I do and unfortunately I can’t play God so not all of them make it but when someone with as much fight as Taylor comes along, it somehow makes those losses a little bit easier..”
“Can we see her?” Morgan asked softly.
“Normally I’d say no but I’m feeling good right now” Dr. Almeida laughed, “so you can go up and see her BUT only for a few minutes and then I think you two need to go home and get some rest!!”
Marshall and Morgan opened their mouths to protest at the same time but Dr. Almeida cut them off...
“She’s not going to wake up at all tonight, I promise you. We’ve got her so heavily sedated that it’ll be a miracle if she opens her eyes at all before tomorrow afternoon and you both need some rest, remember what I told you about being strong for her? How can you do that if you’re on an emotional overload and nearly dead on your feet? You CAN’T so go up there, visit for a few minutes and then go home!!!” with that said Dr. Almeida turned on his heel and left looking much lighter than he had when he’d arrived.
Marshall and Morgan stood there in silence for a couple minutes, processing everything that the doctor had told them before turning toward each other...
“She’s going to ok!” he said.
“Yeah, she is!” she said and for the second time that day she launched herself into his arms...
~*~
Taylor felt like she was floating somewhere high above the clouds, there was a nagging sense of pain radiating through her body but it was so light that it was no more than a slight tickle. She desperately wanted to open her eyes but they were so heavy that she finally just gave up and her mind began to drift...
She felt pain, God, there was so much pain, it felt like someone was ripping apart her chest from the inside out...
And fear, the gut wrenching fear that seized her, Oh God, it clogged her lungs, enshrouding her until she couldn’t breathe...
Morgan, she could hear her voice breaking through the wall of pain and fear but she couldn’t answer her, she wanted to answer her but everything had suddenly gone dark...
Her eyes popped open and she felt light, like she was hovering...she looked down and she could see herself, the sight sent pricks of terror coursing through her veins...she was lying on an operating table, surrounded by strangers...there was so much blood, it was everywhere, flowing like lava from a flowering hole at the top of her chest...she peered around the cold, lifeless room, her eyes landing on the tons of machines monitoring her vitals...FLAT LINE??... “NO” she screamed closing her eyes tight, “PLEASE, HELP ME..PLEASE..” but no one heard her, she was already dead...
Her eyes popped open, ‘Where the hell...” she trailed off, her eyes landing on Marshall and Morgan wrapped in each others arms in the middle of some room she didn’t recognize, there were other people there but she didn’t see them. She could hear the guttural sobs emanating from somewhere deep inside of Morgan and Marshall... “Oh God Marshall...” she cried out reaching for him but all her fingers met with was cold air, “I love you...PLEASE...I don’t want to die, I don’t want to leave you...PLEASE...” she closed her eyes again, tears fighting their way through her tightly closed lids.
She’d moved on, she could sense that she was somewhere different now and it ached, she wanted to go back to Marshall, she needed to go back to Marshall. She slowly opened her eyes, desperately afraid of what she’d see and more afraid of what she’d never see again...she was back in the operating room but this time she wasn’t hovering...
“We’ve got a pulse...hearts beating again, God, her hearts beating..” someone said in wonder...
~*~
The elevator ride up to ICU felt like it took a lifetime. Marshall felt raw, ravaged on the inside. He’d almost lost her but she’d come back. Was it really for him? Did she actually love him that much? The doctors words kept playing back through his mind... “if it's you that she fought so hard to come back to and I have a feeling that it is, I hope you make her fight worth it..” He’d make her fight worthwhile, he’d spend the rest of his fucking life making it worth it. The elevator dinged and the doors slid open, he reached for Morgan’s hand winding his fingers tightly between hers and they stepped out together...
They entered her room together, a united front ready to do battle for her, they’d both do anything for her...
Taylor laid so still on the rickety hospital bed that made her look so small and fragile. She was deathly pale. Dark circles had formed around her eyes and her lips look chafed, parched from so much loss of blood...
“Taylor” Morgan whimpered brokenly. Marshall released her hand so that she could walk over to the side of the bed, “I love you Tay..” Morgan whispered, reaching out to touch her skin, “she’s so cold Marshall..”
“We’ll make her warm again..” he said coming over to stand on the other side of the bed. He reached out, trailing his fingers across her pale cheek.
They stood there together flanking her like a protective shield until the nurse stuck her head in and informed them that Dr. Almeida insisted they go home, NOW!
Morgan grabbed one of Taylor’s hands bringing it to her lips and gently pressing a kiss on the cool flesh before looking up at Marshall, “I’ll be waiting in the hall...”
He nodded in answer, his eyes never leaving Taylor. Once the door had closed he leaned in until his breath was close enough to flutter across her face, “I love you Taylor, I didn’t realize how much until today and I feel like I’ve wasted so much time, I don’t want to waste anymore baby...” he pressed his lips gently against hers, leaving them there until his heart felt steady again, until his world clicked back into place...
~*~
“You ok?” Morgan asked as they walked hand in hand through the parking lot flanked by Marshall’s three security guards who had faithfully waited around for their employer.
“Yeah, you?”
“Yeah, I am...she’s alive..”
He stopped at his SUV and turned toward her, “Thank you..” he whispered leaning down to brush a soft kiss across her cheek.
“For what?” she asked wrapping her arms around him and pulling him close.
“For seeing more in me than what I show the world..” he said honestly.
“Once you stepped through the door today, it wasn’t hard to see..”
“Yeah but I think you knew already..”
“Maybe, a little bit” she smiled backing away from him, “all right I gotta go back in there and call a cab, I’ll see you tomorrow”
She turned to walk away from him but he grabbed her arm, stopping her, “You are NOT taking a cab..come on..”
“It’s ok” she smiled, “I’m fine. I don’t want you to have to go out of your way..”
“God, you two are so fucking stubborn” he smiled shaking his head, “you are not taking a cab and I am not gonna go outta my way because you’re coming home with me, you can sleep in one of the numerous empty rooms that litter my house..”
She opened her mouth to argue but the stubborn look in his eyes stopped her. She smiled, ‘I think Taylor’s finally met her match...’
~*~
Marshall and Morgan dragged through the front door and were immediately bombarded by a very distraught little girl...
“Daddy?” she asked, tears welling up in her eyes.
“Taylor’s fine baby, don’t cry” he said dropping to his knees so he could be at her level.
“Really?”
“I promise” he whispered pulling her into his arms in a gesture that soothed them both.
Proof stood back off to the side watching them. It’d been tough trying to explain this shit to Hai, he was hellbent on skipping it all together but someone had said something in school and Hailie had been in tears when he’d gotten there..
“Hey” Morgan said coming over to stand next to him, “it’s Big Proof” she smiled breaking the ice, “if this hadn’t of been such a shitty day I’d probably be all giddy right now..”
He looked down and smiled at her, “Giddy, huh?”
“Oh yeah, you should’ve seen me the first time I met him” she laughed, “he walked into the office looking for Taylor and I was so fucking flustered I almost swallowed my tongue, it was a real bitch trying to be mean to him..”
“Ahhhh so you’re Morgan” he smiled, “I’ve heard all about you!”
“Ought oh” she grimaced, “that doesn’t sound good..”
“Nah, he was just convinced that you hated him..”
“Well, I”ll admit I wasn’t to fond of him..” she laughed.
“You hungry?”
“Starved”
“Well then let’s go round up something to eat for everybody..”
“Aiight” she said with a wink.
They linked arms and headed off to the kitchen, leaving Hailie and Marshall comforting each other...
~*~
They’d all sat down and had dinner together. Both Proof and Hai were concerned about Taylor and wanted to know what was going to happen, would she be all right? When was she coming home? Where was she going to stay? The list of questions went on for miles, so they’d tried to answer their questions as best they could. After dinner Morgan and Marshall both made some necessary calls before Marshall showed Morgan to her room and they bid each other goodnight...
~*~
Marshall stood in his bathroom staring at his reflection in the mirror..
I look in the mirror and do you know what I see?
All I see is the image of the man that I pretend to be..
The real me, the one that’s locked deep inside..
He’s too afraid to come out because I’ve forced him to hide..
To hide from the hurt that I’ve dealt with all my life..
From betrayal and deceit to the destruction of my pride..
I’ve been hurt so many fucking time’s that my mind’s become jaded..
The scars covering my heart and my soul are completely serrated..
I don’t want to be like this..angry, hurt, hidden..not any more..
Because I’ve found someone that I know in my heart is pure..
I want to love her, give her all of myself, give her me..
Not the hollowed out shell that I let everyone else see..
He reached out, running his fingers over the reflection in the mirror before turning around and sliding to the floor. He pulled his legs up against his chest, wrapping his arms them and for the first time that day he cried...
~Chapter 22~
Marshall and Morgan were trying to scarf down a quick breakfast before heading to the hospital when Paul walked in. He had an unusually light spring in his step and was a bit too jovial for Marshall’s liking..
“What the fuck’s with you?” he asked suspiciously.
“Not a thing” Paul smiled, “Good Morning” he said, turning his charm on Morgan.
“Morning” Morgan smiled brightly.
“Cut the bullshit” he said pointedly, “you’re never this fucking cheery, EVER, so what the fuck’s going on?”
“Why’s something gotta be wrong, huh? Can’t I just be happy?” Paul asked, his smile turning to a frown.
“No” he shrugged looking up at Paul and noticing his frown, “ahhhh, that’s more like it!!”
“Fuck you” Paul snorted, “and since you’re being such an asshole this morning maybe I won’t give you the little present I brought..” he pretended to mull it over for a few seconds, “Nah, I think I’ll go ahead and give it to you anyway...” he laughed tossing something on the table..
It slid across the table, landing in the middle directly between Marshall and Morgan and they both leaned in together to look at it..
“Oh for fuck’s sake” he grumbled.
Morgan merely snorted, practically choking on the bite of cereal she’d just shoveled into her mouth.
It was a full cover spread and the title that splashed across the top, big and bold read..
EMINEM ENGAGED TO HIS X-RATED VIDEO QUEEN??? OR IS HE??? WE’VE GOT THE REAL ANSWER INSIDE...
Underneath that obnoxious title was a very clear picture of Marshall and Morgan wrapped together in what would appear to be an intimate embrace in the middle of the ER waiting room...
Marshall reached for it, scrunching it up as he grasped it..
“Hey” Morgan snatched it back from him, “don’t ruin it, I need it for my scrap book!”
“Your what?” he asked trying his hardest not to laugh.
“Oh shit” she blushed, “did I say that out loud?”
“Uh huh” he snickered.
He reached for the magazine again but she pulled it back. He finally managed to get a hold of it and an interesting game of tug-a-war began with Marshall, after intense effort, the victor..
“If you ruin that, I’ll hurt you” she warned with an evil glare.
“Oooo I’m so scared” he teased opening it up to flip through the pages.
Paul stood back and quietly watched the two of them bickering with each other. The tragic events from the day before had obviously created some kind of bond between them. They were easy with each other, friendly, like they’d known each other for years. It was extremely interesting to watch because in all the time that he’d known Marshall he’d rarely ever seen him become so open with someone this fast, with the obvious exception of the woman who’d ultimately caused Marshall and Morgan to cross paths...
Taylor...Marshall’s relationship with her had been different from the start. Paul just figured that Marshall had been entirely too hardheaded to see it. They’d been too easy with each other from the get go and in all honesty Paul was pretty sure that it’d scared the shit out of Marshall. So instead of facing it, he’d just brushed it off and tried to keep it casual, merely based on sex but that had blown up in his face and he’d almost lost her...
“So what else you got in that scrapbook of yours?” he teased.
“Wouldn’t you like to know” Morgan said rolling her eyes
“You’re not gonna share??”
“Uh uh”
“Afraid?”
“WHAT? AFRAID? ME? Are you kidding?”
“Nope”
“Fuck off” she mumbled turning her nose up.
“Pouting now?” he laughed, “how cute”
She mumbled something under her breath while he continued flipping through the magazine. He finally landed on the article and skimmed through it...
“Very nice” he commented looking up at Paul.
“What?”
“Your ‘Official Statement’ ” he rolled his eyes, “wonder where you got that well thought out response from..”
...when questioned about the supposed engagement between Marshall Mathers III B.K.A. EMINEM and Taylor Hughes, Paul Rosenberg, Mr. Mathers Manager and close personal friend said that he could neither confirm nor deny that rumor and refused to answer any other questions regarding the relationship between Mr. Mathers and Miss Hughes...
Paul shrugged, “It was your idea smart ass”
“Mmmm Hmmm” he chuckled, “tell me why it is again that I pay you the big bucks?”
“Ha ha” Paul said dryly.
“You ready?” Morgan asked interrupting them.
“Yep” he tossed the magazine at her, “for your scrap book darlin” he said with a wink as a he got up.
“I’m gonna hurt that smart ass little fucker one of these days” Morgan said looking up at Paul.
“You and me both sweetie” Paul said laughing.
~*~
The trip to the hospital went much smoother then the day before. There wasn’t that nagging sense of dread that had plagued him the day before. The only time he’d felt remotely uneasy was when he’d dropped Morgan off at the courthouse to pick up her car. Just seeing the courthouse steps had caused the scene to replay in his mind.
“You gonna meet me at the hospital?” he asked as she got out.
“Yeah” she smiled, “I’ll be right behind you.”
“Ok”
He watched her amble over to her car and get in before he put the SUV in drive and pulled out.
He’d been guarded yesterday but today the only person covering his back was Paul..
“You think the hospital’s cleared out?” he asked.
“Probably not” Paul shrugged, “we’ll deal with it..”
“I’m not worried about myself” he laughed, “but you on the other hand..”
“You’re just chock full of witty comments this morning, aren’t you?” Paul said dryly.
They pulled into the parking lot and were immediately met by the swarms of press still camping out. Marshall revved the engine a bit and they parted but didn’t diminish.
“Just pull up at the emergency entrance and make a mad dash for the doors” Paul said, “I’ll park and handle the press on my way in..”
“Aiight”
He pulled up in front of the emergency entrance, opened the door and made a run for it. Questions bounced off of him like bullets and he answered them by simply raising his finger in the air and flipping them off.
~*~
He stood in the waiting room and waved teasingly at members of the press while he waited for Paul. It was actually funny watching them try and divide their attention when they caught sight of Paul making his way to the door. Paul brushed them off like a pro and came strolling through the door a few minutes later.
“You ready to go up?” Paul asked him.
“Nah, we gotta wait for Morgan”
“Oh shit Marshall, they’ll eat her alive out there” Paul fretted.
“She can handle them” he said confidently.
“Probably” Paul smiled, “but you go on up and I’ll make sure she gets in here, in one piece..”
“Aight, thanks..”
“Anytime..that’s why you pay me the big bucks” Paul said sarcastically.
~*~
Marshall stepped off the elevator and practically smacked into Dr. Almeida..
“You look better today” Dr. Almeida appraised.
“I feel better” he assured him, “how is she?”
“Doing remarkably well, she’s a strong woman” he said with a wink, “oh, she was asking for you earlier..”
“She’s awake?”
“No” Dr. Almeida smiled as he walked away, “in her sleep...”
“In her sleep?” he called out, unable to control the smile that crept across his face.
“Yep..” Dr. Almeida nodded as the elevator doors slid closed.
~*~
He pushed through the door of her hospital room and crept as quiet as he could toward her bed. He didn’t want to disturb her. She’d been through a hell of a lot in the last 24 hours and no matter how bad he wanted her to open those beautiful eyes of hers and just look at him, he knew that what she needed more than anything was rest.
She looked better today, some of the color had come back into her cheeks. Her breathing was deep and even, not hallow and raspy like it’d been the brief time he’d been in here with her the night before. He sat down gently next to her on the bed trying his best not to disturb her and reached out to gently brush his fingers across her jaw line. It felt like massive volts of electric had shot through him, he pulled his hand back like he’d been stung.
“Hey” she whispered in a gravelly voice, the sound startling him.
“Hey” he whispered back meeting her eyes and the electricity intensified.
~Chapter 23~
Crystal blue clashed with golden cinnamon as their eyes collided. It felt like the breath had backed up in his chest, clogging his airways but he couldn’t turn away from her, couldn’t break the silent stare that said more than words ever could.
“You ok?” he asked, emotion causing his voice to ground out just as gravelly as hers.
“I think so” she said, her lips quirked up at the corners in a small smile.
“I missed that” he reached out to trace the line of her smile with his fingers.
“What?”
“Your smile..”
“Oh” she curved her lips wider in an attempt to fully smile but the pain was holding her back, “it hurts..”
“I’m sorry” he whispered.
“Not your fault”
“I know but...”
“No buts, ok?”
“Ok”
She tried to turn into him and winced as the pain shot through her chest, “Shit Marshall, I feel like I’ve been run over by a fucking semi”
“Then don’t do that” he said stilling her movements, “just relax, ok..”
“I just wanna be closer to you” she whispered softly, a light sprinkling of tears misting over her eyes.
“Oh baby” he whispered, leaning in to rub his lips against hers, “don’t cry, I’m right here..”
“But I wanna hold you” she couldn’t stop the tears that leaked from her eyes, tracking down her cheeks.
“I wanna hold you too” he said brushing her tears away, “but I’m afraid I’ll hurt you..”
~*~
“Don’t you wanna go in?” Paul asked watching Morgan let the door quietly close as she backed out.
“Not yet, let’s give them a few minutes” Morgan smiled even though her heart ached, “do you think maybe we could find the doctor?” she asked looking up at him, “there’s something I want to ask him..”
“Sure” Paul said extending his hand, she grasped it and he gave it a compassionate squeeze.
“Thanks” Morgan smiled at him.
“No problem...come on..”
They headed over to the nurse’s station situated smack dab in the middle of the floor, like a beacon leading the lost to safety. On their way over Morgan noticed the eery quiet that surrounded them. There were no signs of life on this floor, no happy sounds, nothing, just the sound of their shoes squeaking on the over polished floor.
The nurse looked up at them as they approached, “You need something?” she asked honing in on Morgan, “Miss Hughes ok?”
“Yes, she’s fine” Morgan assured her, “it’s just that I..I’d like to speak with Dr. Almeida if he’s available..”
“Sure” the nurse smiled, “let me page him for you, it’ll just be a minute.”
“Thanks”
The nurse nodded as she picked up the phone and the sound of her voice paging the doctor filtered out around them.
Morgan and Paul waited together in silence for the doctor to arrive. She appeared to be lost in thought and Paul didn’t want to disturb her. As much as Marshall was hurting, Paul imagined that Morgans hurt somehow went deeper. Morgan and Taylor had known each other for ages and he figured that their friendship was a staple for both of them, something that held them together when all else failed.
“Morgan” Dr. Almeida said interrupting her thoughts, “is everything all right?”
“Oh, yes..I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to alarm you..” Morgan said apologetically, “it’s just that I was going to go in and see Taylor but Marshall was in there with her and..” she trailed off.
“Yes..” Dr. Almeida prodded.
“Well I overheard their conversation and I just, I mean she wants...” Morgan took a deep breath before spitting it out, “she wants him to hold her Dr. Almeida, Taylor wants Marshall to hold her, just hold her but he won’t because he’s afraid he’ll hurt her...”
“Ahhhh, I see” Dr. Almeida smiled.
“Do you think there’s any way..” Morgan trailed off for a few seconds before picking it back up, “it’s just that it means so much to her, she was crying and..”
“I think we can work something out Moragn” Dr. Almeida said placing a hand on her shoulder, “don’t worry, ok?”
“Ok” Morgan smiled, “thanks.”
“Anytime” Dr. Almeida said with a wink.
Dr. Almeida headed off towards Taylor’s room leaving Morgan and Paul standing alone in the quiet corridor.
“That was very sweet” Paul said looking over at her with a grin on his face.
“I love her” Morgan said simply, “I can’t stand to know that she’s hurting..”
~*~
Dr. Almeida strolled into the room nonchalantly, “Well, hello Taylor” he said with a smile spreading from ear to ear.
“Hello” she said returning his smile through the sheen of tears covering her eyes. She remembered him, from her dream. He’d been there in the OR fighting to save her, he’d fought the hardest.
“How are you feeling?”
“Ok” she said shrugging, “it hurts..”
“It will for a while” Dr. Almeida said soothingly, “but it does eventually get better, I promise..”
“When exactly is eventually?” she asked with a hopeful note in her voice.
“That really depends on you” Dr. Almeida said honestly, “but if you keep doing what you’re doing, you’ll be feeling yourself in no time..”
“I hope so..”
“So” Dr. Almeida asked meeting her eyes, “why the tears? Is it the pain?”
“Yes..No..”
“Was that a Yes or were you leaning more towards No?” Dr. Almeida asked with a smirk.
“Yes, it hurts pretty bad but No, that’s not what upset me..” she said honestly.
“You want to tell me what up set you?” Dr Almeida asked, “maybe I can help?”
“This is going to sound pretty foolish to you” she said softly, “but I...it’s just that..I mean I know that I should be taking it easy but I just..I want him to hold me, I need to be in his arms..” she finished looking over at Marshall.
“That’s not foolish” Dr. Almeida smiled, “not at all..I think in your place, I’d want the same thing..”
“Really?”
“Yeah, really” Dr. Almeida winked, “and I think that I just might be able to help you out..”
“Yeah?” she asked smiling.
“Absolutely” Dr. Almeida said walking over to the side of the bed, “it’s going to hurt quite a bit while I get you adjusted and settled in” he said looking up at her, “are you sure that you still want to do this?”
“More than anything” she whispered.
“All right, then let’s get you two settled in” Dr. Almeida said.
Dr. Almeida went to work, getting them settled in together. He tried to make it as painless as possible but there was ultimately going to be some pain no matter how gentle he tried to be. Taylor was a trooper though, other than a few winces and a couple mild whimpers she went through the entire process without complaint.
“Better?” Dr. Almeida asked stepping back away from them.
“Much” she said dreamily, her head cushioned against Marshall’s chest and his strong arms enveloping her.
“Good” Dr. Almeida said studying them, “all right I have to run, I’m going off duty soon but if you need anything and I mean ANYTHING just push the call button on the bed rail and the nurse will come in to help you..”
“Thanks..” they both said together.
“It was my pleasure..” Dr. Almeida said turning to go.
They silently watched him leave. When the door closed behind him Marshall leaned down and kissed the top of her head..
“You ok?” he whispered into her hair.
“Never been better..”
“Really?”
“Actually no” she smiled against his chest, “but I’m much better now then I was a few minutes ago!”
“God, I love you Taylor”
“I love you too” she whispered, “more than you could possibly imagine..”
“Don’t do this shit again, you hear me?”
“Yes Sir” she brought her hand up to mock salute him, “I will do my absolute best to never get shot again..”
“You better” he smiled gently, “I don’t think I could handle going through it again...”
“Oh, don’t be so modest, I think you could handle just about anything...”
“I’m not so sure anymore” he whispered, “losing you just might be the one thing that’d break me...”
~*~
“You wanna go in yet?” Paul asked looking over at Morgan.
She was getting antsy, she’d begun pacing a few minutes ago and it was beginning to make his brain hurt.
“You think they’ve had enough time alone?” Morgan asked nervously, coming to a halt.
“Yeah” Paul smiled, “besides they’ll get plenty of alone time later..”
“You think?”
“Yeah, I do...come on, let’s go see your friend..” he held out his hand to her again.
“All right” she smiled, linking her fingers with him before they headed for Taylor’s room...
~Chapter 24~
Time for Taylor seemed to drag by at a snail’s pace. One week turned into two and two was slowly working it’s way into three, she’d had enough!! She couldn’t take being trapped in this bed like an invalid anymore. She quickly sat up and winced a little at the pain that still shot through her, it was certainly better but it was still there. They’d stuck her with a physical therapist last week and though he was helping her, he insisted on treating her like she was a piece of fucking fine china, delicate and easily breakable, it was beginning to piss her off. Aside from her limited physical therapy they continued to wheel her around the damn hospital like she’d shatter into a million tiny pieces if they actually let her stand on her own two feet, she wanted to stand on her own fucking feet, she needed to walk. She gingerly worked her legs over the side of the bed until they met solid ground and pushed herself up into a standing position. She took two slow, measured steps forward before her legs started to buckle...
Marshall pushed through the door of her hospital room and his heart rate skyrocketed. He was across the room within seconds and caught her in his arms mere moments before she hit the floor..
“What the hell are you doing?” he asked scooping her up into his arms and heading back towards the bed.
“NO” she practically screeched, “I don’t want to lay down dammit!! I’m tired of laying down...please” she said much softer.
“Taylor” he whispered leaning his forehead against hers, “I know you’re frustrated baby but..”
“No buts Marshall...please” she pleaded, “I have to get the fuck out of here, I want to go home..”
“I know you do baby” he said softly, “but they wanna make sure you’re strong enough first, that’s all..”
“I’ll never be strong enough Marshall” she whimpered, the first sprinkling of tears leaking from her eyes, “they won’t even let me get out of bed..”
“Oh God Tay, don’t cry” he begged, “I can’t take it when you cry..”
“Shit, you goin’ soft on me Mathers?” she smiled up at him through the tears flooding her eyes.
“Heaven forbid” he teased, nipping her bottom lip with his teeth.
“I love you, I truly do” she whispered, “but I NEED to go home”
She steeled herself for the fight of her life, as much as she teased him about going soft, she knew that in reality he was anything but...
“Ok” he said softly.
“Huh?”
“Surprised you, didn’t I” he laughed.
“Uh huh”
“Yeah, I surprised myself too”
~*~
“Ought oh” Dr. Almeida smiled looking over at Marshall, “this looks serious”
They were sitting across from each other in Dr. Almeida’s office and Marshall’s face was completely void of emotion. After he’d gotten Taylor settled in again he’d gone off in search of the good doctor. He’d been playing it cool from the beginning because he respected Dr. Almeida and in his mind, he was the main reason that Taylor was still alive. So he’d been careful not to push the limits, he hadn’t thrown his weight around, he hadn’t pushed his status in anyone’s face but he was afraid that if the doctor wouldn’t heed this request, then he’d have to pull out the celebrity card and he’d have to push it hard...
“Yeah” he sighed, “it is fairly serious”
“Well don’t be shy Mr. Mathers” Dr. Almeida smirked, “because we both know that you’re not so just spit it out..”
“Taylor’s ready to go home” he said simply looking up at Dr. Almeida, “she needs to go home..”
“Ahhh, I see” Dr. Almeida said rubbing his chin, “I expected this, I’m actually surprised she waited this long..”
Marshall nodded, “I’m not sure if this is the best decision for” he said pausing for a second, “but she’s unhappy here..”
“I understand that” Dr. Almeida said simply, “Can I ask you something Mr. Mathers?”
“It’s Marshall” he corrected, “sure, go ahead”
“Are you prepared to push your career aside for a while to help her get back on her feet?”
“I suppose I’ll have to do whatever it takes” he said simply.
“Where is Taylor’s home” Dr. Almeida said, “with you?”
“Are you asking if she lives with me?”
“Yes”
“No, technically she doesn’t” he answered honestly, “but that can change..”
“It’ll have to”
“Ok”
“Ok? Just like that?”
“I said ‘whatever it takes’ , didn’t I?”
“That you did” Dr. Almeida smiled, “you really love her, don’t you?”
“Yeah, I do..”
They sat for the next hour working out the details of Taylor’s release from the hospital. Dr. Almeida explained what needed to be done to ensure that Taylor made a full recovery, he even offered to continue seeing her if that’s what they wanted...
“I think she’d love that” he said smiling, “she feels comfortable with you..”
“Then I’d love to do it” Dr. Almeida smiled, “she’s quite a remarkable woman”
“Yeah, she is..”
They worked out a schedule and then proceeded to argue over money. Dr. Almeida insisted on seeing Taylor for free but Marshall was having none of that.
“You’re a doctor, it’s your job” he reasoned, “and you deserve to get paid for it besides I am fairly sure that I can afford your fee so whether you like it or not, you’re getting paid!”
“How about we work out a compromise?”
“What kind of compromise?” he asked skeptically.
“You take whatever fee you were going to pay me and donate it to whatever charity you choose here in Detroit” he said seriously.
“You serious?”
“Absolutely”
“That’s a very noble thing to do” he said with admiration.
“Yeah, well you won’t take no for answer” Dr. Almeida smirked.
~*~
Marshall headed back towards Taylor’s room. He was taking his time because he had a lot of details that needed to be worked out in his head. They’d been keeping any outside news from her because they didn’t want her getting needlessly upset so there was a lot of shit that he’d need to explain before she was thrust back into the real world, starting with their phony engagement. He stopped outside of her room, idly staring at the door, he put his hands on the door to push it open but stepped back, there was some shit he needed to work out before he saw her...
~*~
A few hours later Marshall walked through the door of Taylor’s office in search of Morgan.
“Hey” she called out, sticking her head out of one of the offices in the back.
“Hey” he called back smiling.
She motioned him forward, “What’re you doing here?”
He closed the door behind him and walked across the office the stand in front of her, “Taylor’s being released tomorrow..”
“She is?” she smiled, “that’s great..”
“Yeah..” he muttered.
“You don’t sound too happy, what’s goin on Marsh?”
“I dunno” he sighed, “I’m just...fucked..I’m so fucked Morgan.”
“Huh?”
“I was out wandering around, trying to clear my head and I bought this..”
He shoved the package at her like it was a bomb ready to explode.
She gingerly took it, opening the package to take a peek, “WHOA” she said, “what the fuck are thinking?”
“I have no fucking clue” he said honestly.
“Paul’s gonna be pissed” she smirked at him.
“I don’t give a fuck what Paul thinks” he laughed, “I’m more concerned with what you think..”
“I don’t know what to think” she said honestly, “are you sure about this?”
“Yeah” he said looking up at her, “I think I am..”
~Chapter 25~
Marshall had it all worked out in his mind, it was a perfect set-up, really. He wasn’t actually asking her to marry him, NO FUCKIN WAY, he didn’t want to get married again, EVER!! He was merely carrying out the facade that had been set in motion when Morgan and him had falsely told the nurse that Taylor and him were engaged. ‘It all makes sense, doesn’t it?’ his mind assured him questioningly. After all they were going to be living together while she recovered and the whole world thought that they were engaged already so it was only right that they played their parts to the fullest. ‘Yeah right, keep telling yourself that Mathers and you might actually start to believe it!’ he mumbled to the empty room.
He plopped down on the couch in his family room, trying to work up the nerve to get up and go get her. He’d gone back to the hospital yesterday to let her know that Dr. Almeida would be releasing her today but he’d chickened out on the rest, seriously chickened out. ‘Well it’s now or never Mathers’ he said pushing up off the couch and heading towards the door. His cell phone vibrated in his pocket, startling him...
He yanked it out and flipped it open, “Speak”
“You really need to work on your communicational skills” Kim informed him dryly.
“Yeah, bite me” he said flippantly.
“I would” she giggled, “but I believe you’re already taken.”
“Ha ha”
“I wanted to get in touch sooner” she said switching topics, “but I couldn’t risk it, Taylor ok?”
“Yeah, she’s aight” he assured her.
“What about you?” she prodded, “you aight?”
“I’m just peachy, thanks..”
“Did I sense some sarcasm woven in there?”
“NNAAHH” he sighed, “where’d you get that idea?”
“Just psychic, I guess” she tossed out before turning serious, “What’s a matter baby???”
“Nothing, I’m just..I dunno...I’m just fucked, that’s all..” he trailed off.
“Marshall” she said softly, “we’ve known each other forever and I know when something’s not right with you, tell me what’s goin’ on..”
“I’m about to do something so completely fucking stupid that I can’t even comprehend myself why the fuck I’m even considering this shit..” he sighed leaning back against the wall in the hallway.
“And that completely fucking stupid thing would be?” she prodded.
“I have a ridiculously expensive ring in my possession” he sighed, placing his hand over the bulge in his pocket, “and I’m actually thinking of giving it to her.”
“I thought you two were already engaged?” she asked puzzled.
“Huh?” he asked and then it him, the phony engagement, “Oh No...that was a fluke, she doesn’t even know about that, it was the only way we could get the hospital to release information to me and someone leaked it.”
“Oh, I see” she said catching on, “but now you wanna make it real?”
“Yes, no...SHIT, I dunno...”
“It’s either yes or no Marshall” she said softly, “there’s no in between...”
“You’re not fucking helping, ya know?”
“I’m sorry baby” she whispered sadly, talking about this was hurting her but she loved him and she’d do anything to make him happy, in the end that’s all that really mattered, “I’m just being honest..”
“I know, it’s just...it’s all fucked up..”
“Do you love her?”
“Yeah, I do” he smiled, “I think I already told you that but loving her is a hell of a lot easier than marrying her Kim, you know that..”
“She’s not ME, Marshall”
“I know that but...”
“No buts” she cut him off, “if you love her and you wanna marry her, then be a man and ask her..”
“Yeah but that’s just it” he said confused, “I don’t know if I wanna marry her Kim, I just don’t know if I wanna go through all that again..”
“Then why’d you buy the ring?”
“Fuck, your guess is as good as mine..”
“You know why you bought it Marshall” she said seriously, “now you’ve just gotta be man enough to admit it!!”
“You never pull any punches, do you?” he said laughing, “that was one of the things that I loved most about you, your uncanny way of telling it like it is..”
“Awww, you’re too sweet” she said smiling, “but seriously, I gotta end this conversation Marshall, I’ve let it go on too long already” she sighed, “I miss you and Hai, hug her for me, will you?”
“You know it”
“Thanks” she whispered, “take care of yourself, ok?”
“I will, I promise..”
“And if you love her, don’t let her go” she said abruptly, “DON’T LET HER GO..”
“I won’t” he said but she was already gone.
He flipped his phone closed and stuffed it back into his pocket, ‘It’s SHOWTIME’ he said walking out the door into the impossibly bright sun..
~*~
The hospital was swarming with press, they’d somehow gotten the word that EMINEM’s fiancé was being released from the hospital today and they weren’t going to miss that parting scene for anything in the world.
He pulled up in front of the hospital entrance and exited the SUV flanked by security guards, it pissed him off that he was never able to come here and see her by himself, he always had to guarded by the goon squad surrounding him.
‘Would that bother her??’ he wondered idly, ‘Would she hate being guarded constantly? Unable to take a piss without someone walking her to the bathroom and then standing guard outside the door? Would she resent him for the intrusion into her personal life? Would she hate the fact that every normal thing she’d ever known in her life had suddenly changed?’ he didn’t have the answers to those questions and trying to come up with suitable answers on his own wasn’t going to get him anywhere...
He loved her, that much he knew and in some crazy part of his heart that he thought he’d closed off a long time ago, he wanted to be with her ‘forever’ but was forever too much to ask of her? He didn’t want to fuck up her life! He didn’t want to change the remarkable woman that she was by caging her into the kind of life he had to live! Her career would be ruined, there was no way she could go on practicing law if they were married, the press would hound her incessantly and she couldn’t exactly charge into court armed with big, bulky security guards at her side. It was a no win situation and if he was a smart man he’d leave her the hell alone and keep things simple.. ‘But I love her, DAMMIT’ his mind screamed, ‘I fucking love her!!’ So what the hell was he supposed to do??
The elevator dinged and he stepped off onto her floor. The guards all filed back, letting him walk to her room by himself. He stopped in front of her door and stood there staring into space..
“Marshall” Morgan said pulling him out of his haze, “you all right?”
“No” he said honestly, stepping away from the door and turning toward her, “I’m not..”
“What’s wrong?”
“I can’t do this to her” he said defeated, “I can’t ask her to marry me, it just wouldn’t work..”
“Why?”
“Because she has a life Morgan, she has a fucking life and with me she’d have nothing..”
“She’d have you” Morgan said simply, “and believe it or not, I think that’d be enough for her..”
“So I’m supposed to go in there and ask her to give up her career, her life, just give up fucking everything to be with me?”
“Sure, she’d have to make sacrifices, she knew that when she got involved with you” Morgan said honestly, “but you’re not giving her enough credit here Marshall!! Taylor’s a strong woman, stronger than you think and if she loves you and I know that she does then she’ll do what she has to, to be with you, if that’s what you want!!”
“But it isn’t fair to expect her to give up everything while I give up nothing..”
“You gotta do what you feel is right, in here” Morgan said touching the spot over his heart, “but while you’re tossing it all around in your head just remember one thing, ok?”
“What’s that?” he asked meeting her eyes.
“Just remember that she LOVES you, when it all comes down to it, that’s the only thing that really matters..”
She leaned in and brushed her lips across his cheek before pushing through the door to Taylor’s room, leaving him out in the cold, lonely corridor.
He took a deep breath and leaned back against the wall, sliding to the floor. He wanted to believe that love conquered all, that love was the tie that binds, that love could overcome anything but if he was truthful with himself, really truthful, he didn’t believe that. He’d loved Kim with a ferocity so strong that he thought he’d never feel anything that deep again and they’d practically destroyed each other. Kim’s words played back through his mind.. “She’s not ME, Marshall” . She was right about that, Taylor and Kim were as different as night and day but even with all those differences could they really survive what his lifestyle would do to them? Could she accept him for what he was and be happy with that? He just didn’t know?
“Marshall?”
He looked up to see Dr. Almeida standing over him, “Hey” he muttered, getting to his feet.
“Everything ok?”
“Yeah” he pasted on a phony smile, “everything’s great..”
“Your ladies going home today” Dr. Almeida smiled, “and let me tell you, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a happier woman in my life..”
“I bet” he smiled, “she was ready to claw her way out of here yesterday.”
Dr. Almeida laughed, “She sure is a feisty one.”
“Yeah, she is...”
“I’m bringing in her discharge papers now” he said motioning to the papers clutched in his hand, “then she’s all yours!”
“Thanks”
“My pleasure” he smiled putting his hands on the door, “you coming in?”
“In a minute” he mumbled.
“All right” Dr. Almeida smiled and disappeared through the door.
Marshall stood outside her door for a few more minutes collecting his thoughts. He turned toward the door, ready to go in when Kim’s voice rang through his head again... “If you love her, don’t let her go, DON’T LET HER GO..” ...
~Chapter 26~
Marshall blocked out the voices in his head and the feelings in his gut, along with the worries, the doubts, the insecurities, just all of it, he basically blocked out EVERYTHING, except his love for her, that remained steadily in place. The rest of the shit bogging down his mind would have to wait. He put his hands on the door to her room and gave it a strong push, crossing over the threshold with his mind clear and when the door shut behind him all that fucked up shit was helplessly trapped on the other side.
“Hey” she smiled at him, her face lighting up.
“Hey” he answered back with a wink, “you ready to blow this joint?”
“You know it baby!!”
She looked so damn beautiful just sitting there on the edge of the hospital bed, biting at the bit to get the fuck out of there. Her face was flushed with anticipation, she was practically glowing. Seeing her so damn happy did crazy things to his heart.
He’d never wanted to fall in love again, not with anyone. After his marriage to Kim, he pretty much figured that it wasn’t in the cards for him, he’d become so firmly grounded in reality that he didn’t believe in all that fruity happily ever after shit but she did something to him that he just couldn’t explain. She made him feel things that he’d never felt before.
He’d tried to keep things simple with her. Convincing himself that it was all about sex, all about the pleasure that they gave each other but somewhere in the back of his mind he’d known all along that it was more than that; she was more than that. The woman that she is had called him out, summoned him and no matter how hard he’d fought it, he couldn’t ignore her call.
And it terrified him...
“Marshall?” she said in a questioning tone.
“Huh?”
“Where’d you go just now?”
“Go?”
“Yeah, you seemed a million miles away” she studied him, “you ok?”
“I’m fine baby” he smiled at her, “you ready to go?”
“Yeah” she laughed, “more than ready!!”
“Then come on, let’s get outta here..”
“I thought you’d never ask...”
He walked over to the side of the bed where she was sitting and helped her up, “You want a wheelchair?”
“Hell NO” she snorted, “I’m gonna walk out of this place on my own two feet dammit”
“That’s my girl” he smiled, putting his arm around her shoulders so that she could lean into him.
Dr. Almeida walked in front of them, opening the door, he stood there holding it open until they passed him, stepping out into the hallway with Morgan bringing up the rear.
“You take it easy” Dr. Almeida warned, “you may think that you’re fit as a fiddle but you’ve still got some healing to do!!”
She turned slightly to face him, “I will, I promise” she reached out a hand and he grasped it, “thank you” she whispered, “I know what you did for me and I will never in this lifetime be able to repay the debt that I owe you..”
“Just be happy” he smiled sincerely, “that’s repayment enough for me..”
“I can do that” she smirked, “I’ll see you soon??”
“Yes, you will”
She leaned forward and brushed a baby soft kiss across his cheek before turning back into the shelter of Marshall’s arms.
They began the slow journey toward the elevator, walking at a snails pace. It hurt a bit but Taylor was a trooper, she wasn’t going to let a little pain hold her down.
~*~
Morgan followed them, keeping a good enough distance, that she was able to see and hear them but she wasn’t right on their heels.
She studied them intently, her gaze landing on Marshall. She wondered what the hell was going through his mind?? She knew that he had the ring in his pocket and she thought that their talk had eased his fears but she just wasn’t sure??
It would be a big transition for Taylor but she was pretty damn sure that Taylor would walk over hot coals to be with him so that really wasn’t a problem!! The only problem, as far as she could see was him and his hardheaded, stubborn sense of fairness and pride.
‘Fuck all that hooey’ her mind silently ranted at him, ‘if you fucking love her then be a man and ask her to marry you, give her the fucking ring and sail of into the blasted sunset already!!!’
~*~
They came up to the elevator and Marshall’s security team crowded around them, closing them in. He watched her for any sign of distaste, any sign of resentment or nervousness at being flanked by these men, who were basically strangers but he didn’t see anything but the bright, radiant smile that crossed her lips.
One of his guards leaned in to whisper something in his ear and he frowned. ‘FUCKING VULTURES’ his mind screamed. The press was still hoarding the exit to the hospital and it pissed him off. He wanted to get her out of here with as little fan fare as possible!!!
She still didn’t know about their phony “engagement” , as a matter of fact she didn’t even know that the “home” she was being taken too, to recover was his and not hers. He should’ve explained all that shit to her already but after he’d impulsively bought the ring that was currently weighing down his pocket, his mind had taken a fucking leave of absence.
“Taylor” he whispered as the elevator started it’s descent to the bottom floor, “before we go outside, I gotta warn you that the press is all over the fucking place..”
“I can handle them Marshall, don’t worry about me, ok?”
He couldn’t help but smile. She was just so fucking simple. She wasn’t going to put up a fight about camera’s being shoved in her face and questions being hurled at her during a time when anyone else would want nothing more than to be left in peace.
“I love you” he whispered, brushing his lips across her cheek.
“You better” she teased, turning her face up so that his lips were now brushing hers, “I love you too...”
~*~
He certainly hadn’t been kidding, the place was fucking swarming with members of the press. From the big wigs all the way down to the lowly guys who were basically no names. The questions were flying through the air, bouncing off of her right and left but she ignored them. A couple of the ballsier ones tried to shove camera’s and mic’s in her face but there was no way in hell they were getting through the fortress of Marshall’s security.
She heard a couple of them ask her about their ‘engagement” and she couldn’t stop the laugh that bubbled up!! ‘Where the fuck do they get this shit??’ she wondered.
They finally made it to the line of SUV’s with blacked out windows parked at the curb and were quickly hustled into one of them.
When the doors closed behind them Taylor looked around, “Where’s Morgan??”
“In the car behind us” he smiled reassuringly, “don’t worry I wouldn’t abandon her, even though she’d probably love it” he laughed, “another memory to add to her beloved scrapbook..”
“She told you about that??” she asked in a state of shock.
“Yeah but I don’t think she meant to” he snorted.
“You two got pretty close, huh?”
“Jealous??” he teased.
“Well if I didn’t know Morgan like the back of my hand, I might be” she said simply, “she’s a beautiful woman..”
“Yes, she is” he smirked, “but I only have eyes for YOU”
“Oh God” she giggled, “you’re too damn cute, you know that?”
“OF COURSE” he winked.
They settled back for the ride. They were about halfway there when it hit her that they weren’t headed in the right direction.
“Marshall” she asked, looking over at him, “where are we going?”
“Home” he said simply.
“But this isn’t the way to my house” she said confused.
“No, it’s not”
“But I thought you said we were going home...”
“We are..”
“But..”
“Shhhh” he whispered, placing a finger softly over her lips, “I’m taking you to my home, which is now your home, so I guess that makes it our home..”
“Marshall..” she started to protest.
“Don’t argue with me Taylor” he said cutting her off, “you’re coming home with me, doctor’s orders..”
“Yeah but..”
“NO BUTS!!!”
“Marshall, you can’t go rearranging your life for me!!”
“I’m not rearranging anything”
“Really??”
“Really!!”
“Ok” she said staring him down, “then who’s gonna take care of me, huh??”
“What the hell does that have to do with anything??” he asked confused.
“It has a hell of a lot to do with everything” she said, “is it you?? Are you the one who’s planning to nurse me back to health or have you hired someone to do it??”
“No I didn’t hire anyone!!” he said, “why the hell would I hire someone??”
“Because you have a career that doesn’t allow you to sit around taking care of me 24/7" she reasoned.
“Taylor..”
“NO Marshall” she stopped him, “you say you’re not rearranging your life for me but yet you’re planning to sit around and take care of me, it’s bullshit..”
“No, it’s not bullshit” he said getting slightly angry, “I am NOT rearranging anything, I had nothing to rearrange at the moment BUT” he said staring into her eyes intently, “if I did then I would have canceled it, shrugged it off, skipped it, rescheduled it...whatever I had to do, I fucking love you dammit!!!”
“Marshall..” she said softly.
“What?” he snapped at her and immediately regretted it, “I’m sorry baby..”
“No, I’m sorry” she whispered laying her head on his shoulder, “it’s just that I don’t want to be a burden to you..”
“You are not a burden to me” he said strongly, “I want to take care of you, I want you with me..”
“Oh yeah?” she teased.
“Yeah”
“You’ll get sick of me before the week is out” she laughed, “I’m a horrible roomie..”
“Nah, I don’t think so” he said, bringing his hand up to rub her cheek.
“Oh you will trust me” she smiled brightly, “I give it two weeks tops and you’ll be driving me back to my house yourself..”
“I give it a hell of a lot longer than that” he said softly.
“You think so?” she teased, “exactly how long do you think you’ll be able to put up with me before you wanna toss me out?”
He didn’t mean to say what he said next, it wasn’t intentional but it just slipped out, he couldn’t stop it, “Forever...”
~Chapter 27~ Final Chapter~
The air around them crackled and sparked with electricity. Taylor’s breath was backed up so far in her chest that she was fairly sure she was going to suffocate from lack of oxygen.
She couldn’t say anything, she wouldn’t say anything. What the fuck was she supposed to say?? Forever?? FOREVER?? Had he really meant to say that?? She didn’t think so, it’d probably just been a slip of the tongue.
“Taylor” he whispered studying her, “what’s going on in there?” he tapped the soft area just over her temple.
“I..just, that’s not what...shit...”
“I meant it” he said softly.
‘Ok, so it wasn’t just a slip of the tongue’ her mind processed, ‘Oh shit..’
“Marshall, I..”
“Shhhh” he said placing a finger over her lips, silencing her, “just hear me out before you say