418Here you go new chapter! Read and review! Enjoy!
Chapter 54
Week 27
Tris walks around the hospital, feeling rather uncomfortable. The baby kicks her in the ribs again, and again, and again. It was only a few weeks ago the baby wasn't moving, and now the kid is like playing soccer or something. Today he's been a lot more active than usual. It's probably because she's been a lot more active today. Her patient is late, very late. And he is perfectly capable of walking around himself. He has been for the last six months. When one of her patients is late, that makes her late, and it throws off her tightly packed schedule.
Cursing to herself, she turns the corner, hoping her patient is there now. His room is well past set up. She had to do all the work herself, and that's when the baby became really active. The waiting room is empty and Tris sighs. The nurse that is behind the counter doesn't look too happy either. "I heard there was a bad accident on the freeway. Traffic is not allowed to go past the hospital. So it looks like it is going to be a slow after for us. Ryan has been helping me rearrange appointments. Oh, by the way, Ryan is looking for you."
Tris rubs her back, and sighs. Ryan's office is on the other side of the unit. "Okay, thanks. I'll go find Ryan now."
The walk to Ryan's office took a lot longer than it should have. The baby has made her a lot slower than what she used to be. Tris honestly can't wait to have it so things can be somewhat normal again. When she gets there, she finds Ryan on the phone, he sees her waiting in the doorway and waves her in.
She sits in one of the red leather chairs in front of his desk. Her eyes seem to go everywhere while she's waiting for him to finish his phone conversation. On the book shelf behind him there is a picture of him and his wife. Another is a picture of their dogs. They have no children themselves. His wife was diagnosed with cancer, and it was no longer an option for the two of them. Two years ago, his wife was found cancer free. Then last year, Ryan mentioned something about adopting. Either they decided against it or they're in the process of adopting. Though, she suspects the former because he never mentioned anything more about the subject.
He finishes up his phone call and then smiles at her. "How's it going?"
She shrugs, "not bad. You?"
He stretches and his smile grows wider. "Everything is perfect. You'll never guessed what happened."
She raises an eyebrow, "your right. I'll probably never guess. So go on tell me, I know that you can't wait to spill the news."
"I just managed to get another grant for the department. You know those machines that we dreamed to buy back in the days where we worked together? We could get them. Just help me put together a list of things that we need, and I'll get them."
Both of her eyebrows raise, this time it is in shock. "No, you're kidding."
He shakes his head. "I'm perfectly serious. Oh, and I have another surprise for you. Come on."
Ryan sits up and starts for the door. Tris groans a bit, but it isn't a serious groan because a smile lies on her face. "You know that I literally just sat down? Not that I don't love surprises, I just also love sitting down right now too."
Ryan rolls his eyes, and holds out a hand for Tris. "Just follow me. I promise I'll make this worth your while, and I promise that I'll let you sit down after we're done."
They stop in front of the gym. It's been closed for the past week because they've been updating benches and repainting the walls. It was in bad condition up until today. "Madame, your new gym awaits." Ryan throws open the doors, and the two walk in. It's like a therapist's dream in there. It's clean, updated, and there is quite a bit of new equipment set up throughout the room.
An excited squeal escapes Tris's lips. A noise that usually comes out whenever Tobias is around, but a brand new gym makes her just as excited. Also, her husband has been gone all summer, anything will make her happy. Ryan laughs at her, "I want to be different from any of our old bosses. I'm finally working to improve our department. As you can see, most of the equipment in here is new. A lot of the other stuff was outdated, and you and I both found out, they aren't always the fastest ways to help a patient recover too. Oh, and I purchased some medicine balls that aren't older than us. Honestly, that was the first thing that I chose to buy. Look at some of these treadmills." He points over to the corner with a huge grin on his face.
Tris walks around the gym and marvels at everything. "I feel like one of the hospitals that gets a lot of state funding. Ryan, this is amazing. Thank you."
He scoffs, "well I decided that we could no longer be the laughing stock of all the city's therapy departments. Enough, was enough. This is what we needed."
"God, I could hug you, but you're all the way over there." She laughs and turns around to marvel at the weight rack in the corner.
Ryan walks up to her and wraps her in a hug, Tris laughs again, this time it's a lot louder. "Feel better?"
"Just a litte, but the baby doesn't. I don't think he likes you squishing him." Ryan breaks the hug, and Tris looks over his shoulder. A man with curly brown hair and a beard stands in the doorway. Next to him is another man, dark skin a shaved head and a five o'clock shadow. The other man looks around the room and nods, he looks amused with everything around him. The man with the curly hair looks at Ryan with jealousy. Though there is no mistaking those dark blue eyes. They're the same eyes that she loved waking up in the morning and seeing. They are kind and understanding as well as tough and fierce.
Tris melts away from Ryan. This day could not get any better. "Tobias?" She runs towards him. He breaks away from the doorway, and meets her halfway. He doesn't have half of her enthusiasm, because his eyes are still on Ryan. Though, Tris ignores that. It is something that they can deal with later. Tris is just happy, the man that she loves is home. "You're home! I thought that you weren't going to be home until tomorrow. Never mind that, I'm just so happy to see you."
He grabs her arms to look at her in the eyes. A small smile creeps onto his face. "We managed to get a flight a day earlier. We took the chance to come home earlier. I didn't want to stay another day away from you."
Tobias grabs her by the neck and kisses her. His thumbs slips under her chin like he's trying to get as much of her as humanly possible. He's the first one to pull back, the look Tris sees in his eyes isn't just love. It's also jealousy. Is he jealous of her and Ryan? Nothing is there. They were just hugging. It was like hugging her brother. He straightens up and offers a smile to hide his other emotions. "What's going on in here? The entire ward is dead. Usually it's pretty busy."
"There was an accident of the freeway, most of our appointments can't come in until later. A lot had to be rescheduled. Ryan was just showing me the new gym. It's been closed off for a week because they were redoing most of it. We got a grant. Were getting new equipment. I'm just so happy right now. Especially because your home. I've missed you so much."
"Yo, Tobias, aren't you going to formally introduce me?" The other guy says from the doorway.
Their attention turns to the other person. A small smile creeps onto Tobias's lips and he looks down at Tris like he is proud. "Tris that's Mike, you've seen him before. Mike, this is my wife Beatrice and her co-worker Ryan."
Tris turns back to Ryan. He stands in the corner of the room awkwardly.
Mike smiles and walks over to give Tris a big bear hug. It throws her off guard. She rarely receives affection like this. "'Bout damn time I get to meet you. Tobias has been hiding me from such a pretty lady. Meredith is going to be excited to meet you."
"I'm glad," Tris bites her lip, "when do I get to meet Meredith?"
Tobias takes that cue. "Mike is going to stay with us for the week. Meredith is in New York right now on a book tour. She is supposed to be here soon. Mike is planning on finally proposing."
Tris raises her eyebrow and looks at Mike. Even though this is her first time meeting Mike in person, she feels like she knows him well. Mike smiles and blushes like a school boy. "Well, after 16 years of being together, and having four children, I think it's about damn time we make it official. Am I right? I think I'm right. Now, Tris, I need a real woman's opinion. I mean, Tobias's was rather close, but I know your's will be better."
Tobias scoffs and mutters, "don't be so sure."
"Don't be such a baby." Mike takes a step back like he's addressing the whole room. "Okay, picture this. Wait, before you pick this I need to give you a back story about Meredith and I. I met her eighteen years ago in a book store. I was trying to chase some tail, and pick up some nerdy chicks because I desperately wanted some sex." Tobias was right, Mike is blunt and to the point. But he is just as funny as Zeke. "I have Starbucks in my hand because, hey, I like coffee. I turn the corner and run into this table, and I spill my coffee all over it. And covered with hot coffee is this hot piece of ass. Like damn, I still dream about that ass and it has gotten finer with time. Okay, but that's not the whole point of the story. I came across this sassy writer who was pissed at me, and is always pissed at me.
"I try to apologize and offer her money for dry cleaning, cause I mean I'm an ass, but I know my limit. I can't really give you the entire conversation that we had because we are in a private place and little ears are around," he gestures to Tobias with his head. "But let's just say I was trying to pick her up and the whole mess ended up with her throwing coffee in my face because I didn't know that she was actually a famous writer, who just got all set up for her book signing.
"Okay, so now that you know that, I want your opinion on this. Imagine, this, Meredith is at her reading, and right in the middle I crash it. She's at the most romantic part of her book, and I get down on one knee, profess my love, and bam! A year later were walking down the aisle." He laughs and looks at Tobias, who just stands there with his eyebrows raised.
Tris nods a bit, and Tobias chimes in. "I approve, but I know them better than you do. Though, no one can usurp my proposal. It was just too good."
Mike rolls his eyes, "yeah, fire flies, mason jars, all really overdone you pansycake. This is something that reflects our story. Not yours."
"I have to admit it's pretty good." Tris says nodding.
Tobias rolls his eyes, "whatever. When are you done here?"
"Five."
Ryan, whom everyone forgot about, chimes in. "Just go, no one is coming. I got this."
28 Weeks
"I've defused bombs, you'd think that putting a crib together would be easier than this." Tobias hold up the dark wood in his hands. "How the hell does part L fit into part M?" Tris sits in the glider, and laughs at him. She needed a break from all of this. Mike stands in the doorway, laughing at the idiot on the floor.
"None of it fits together, no one knows how it is supposed to actually work. Meredith and I just hoped the crib didn't break on the kids." Mike says.
Tobias's face falls as he looks down at the mess by his feet. He doesn't want to hope that the crib won't break. He wants to know that his craftsmanship is reliable so he can sleep soundly at night knowing that his child is safe. So instead, he goes back to work, starring at the instructions. Mike walks out of the room and starts laughing again. It's a good thing that Mike's mocking laughter makes him even more determined to get this thing done.
Mike returns to the room ten minutes later, this time he doesn't look amused, he actually looks a little scared. Tobias has only seen this expression on him once, and that was when they were knee deep in swamp water and they thought that they were both going to die soon. Tris asks him what is wrong, he replies: "Meredith's book signing is in an hour and I'm freaking out. What if she says 'no.'? What if she laughs in my face? What if she throws something at me again?"
Tris laughs this time. "I highly doubt Meredith will say 'no.' She loves you doesn't she? The two of you have kids together. I'm pretty confident that she will say yes. She's a pretty lucky lady to have a guy like you."
Mike blushes like a school boy, "man Tobias, where did you find this chick? She's amazing and you definitely do not deserve her."
Tobias looks up from the crib. "Just go to the hospital, they're everywhere. They'll be mean to you at first but then they'll fall for charm and the rest is history."
Mike and Tris scoff, "you know Tobias I think it is the other way around," Mike says. "I mean the first part is right because you're a pretentious asshole so of course Tris isn't going to fall for your shit. But you definitely fell for her charm because Tris a genuinely a good person and she wants to do what is best. And you just realized that is what you like and now you bend to her will because you want to impress her."
"I don't bend to other people's wills."
Mike scoffs again, "you do to Tris's, and it is entertaining as hell. Name another person you would be building a crib for. Or well trying to build a crib for. I think the directions are in Japanese but I really can't tell."
"You got me there," Tobias says sighing and grabbing what he thinks is another leg to the crib.
An hour later Tobias and Tris walk into the private book reading together. They left Mike at the front of the hotel to talk to the manager about the last minute details and to go over some of the stuff he has planned. Meredith has no idea that any of the crew is here. Tobias and Tris are the only ones in the crowd that know that is going on and what is planned. Soon Meredith begins reading her book and Tris is captured under her spell.
The book is about her love story with Mike. It starts off with the two as young college students in a the school library. Mike-or Alexander- meets up with Meredith-or Hailey- by accidentally spilling his coffee all over her brand new computer, which holds her countless drafts and ideas for stories that she wants to write. Alexander, who was a complete jerk about it at first ends up buying her a new laptop and getting all of those documents back for her. Then the story skips forward to their senior year of college, Hailey finally lets her guard down around Alexander and the two get wild one night. A few weeks later, Alexander gets drafted for war and is forced to leave Hailey behind. However, Hailey hides a secret from him. She is pregnant with his child.
She has the child, names her Beth-in real life the child is named Makenzie- and the two go on living their life. When Mike returns from war he goes out to find her. When he finds out about the child, his first thought is that it was some else's, so he immediately left. Then only to realize that he can't live his life without her because he loves her. He then decides to win her back. Hailey tells him the truth, but she held another secret. She was engaged to a man named Sean-or Gideon. Alexander fights for Hailey and Beth to be back into his life. Sean obviously did not like the intrusion. So then Sean ends up trying to spoil Hailey's mind about Alexander. Sean tries to set Alexander up, but thanks to Alexander's friends the truth is able to come out on the day of Sean and Hailey's wedding day.
Alexander objects to the marriage, he and his friends explain the entire situation and Sean is forced to tell the truth. Hailey, who is hurt by both men, leaves the wedding and takes Beth to a different state. Alexander gives her time to herself before he tries to find her, because he wants to get to know his daughter. He was lucky that he gave Hailey that time, because she realized that he was the only man for her. The two lived together in a small house in Iowa. He farmed and she became a school teacher, but she did not leave her writing behind.
One day, a publisher office contacts her about one of her short stories that she posted on the internet. Alexander encourages her to turn in all of her drafts and the publisher loved every single one of them. Hailey was forced to leave the small Iowa farm so she could be closer to the publisher in New York. Alexander was reluctant to leave Iowa because they rooted a lot of their life there. They had two more kids, all of them were well in school. They had their friends, and their families were close. The news and the reluctance started an angry fight between the two passionate people.
Hailey decided that it was best to be in New York, so she took their three daughters their with her, leaving Alexander behind. It was because they were still not married that she was able to do this so easily. A year later, when Alexander came to visit his family for Christmas was when he decided to stay. He left Iowa and never looked back. Five years later, Hailey became a published writer. Mike worked odd jobs to come up with money to support his family. They now had four girls that they had to support. When things were just starting to look up financially was when Mike was called to war again. He was forced to leave while Hailey was in the middle of her book tour. A family member stayed behind with the children so Hailey could live her dream.
The story ends with Hailey at a book reading. She is looking back her life and all of the wonderful things that she has. A wonderful family, friends, her dream job, her soldier, her amazing daughters, and her writing. Meredith is just about to conclude the book when the doors in the back burst open. Meredith, who is naturally stern looking, looks at the back of the room startled.
Mike walks in the room. He wears his dessert camo. "Sorry to intrude, I just couldn't miss this amazing writer finish her story. She told me that I would have to wait until the story is published to hear the ending."
Meredith shakes her head and her eyes glance around the distraught crowd. "I thought you said my books were mushy-trash that only women liked."
Mike continues to walk forward and Tris is forced to grab Tobias's hand in the excitement. He sits down in the front row, and crosses one leg over another and leans back in a chair. "I particularly like this story. My family and friends are big fans of your writing and they seem to got me hooked on this one."
The crowd looks around, some seem angry. The story has only been released online for people who bought the version without the ending. This ending is supposed to clear up a lot of confusion for the fans.
Meredith looks around like she's uncomfortable. "Well, I guess your just going to have to be patient for a little longer. I'll read the ending for you in a just a second."
"I think you are going to have to rewrite the ending of your story."
Now the tension in the room is high. Many of the fans are angry at Mike for what he is saying about their favorite romance writer.
Meredith raises an eyebrow, "and why is that?"
"Because the ending is trash." Mike states in plainly, and people start shouting at him. Meredith glares daggers at him.
"Can I talk to you about this after the reading, please?" She says. She practically growls it at him. Next to Tris, Tobias chuckles in amusement.
"No, I want to talk about this now. You see, my daughters and I are very unhappy with the story. The whole cliffhanger, eh, it's been used a bunch of times in writing. Is Alexander going to die or not? It's been used plenty of times. As you and I can tell, Alexander is clearly living. My daughters seem to agree too. That's why we decided to help you to come up with an alternate ending to the story. If they would just come in we could show it to you."
Meredith looks furious. "Michael, I can't believe you are doing this to me. If you didn't like the ending to the story you should have just told me earlier. Now you are getting our daughters involved? What are you thinking?"
"Aren't you happy to see me at all? I've been away for months and you act like you don't care." He stands up and their daughters come in smiling.
"Mom we think you should really see Dad's ending to the book, we think you are going to like it." Makenize says smiling.
By this time, the fans are starting to settle down. Some seem to have put two and two together. Though, Meredith is too furious to figure this out, just like Mike had figured.
"Fine, what is it? Maybe we can get on with this after."
Mike smiles, "okay, is everyone listening? Because this is everyone's one and only chance to hear what I have to say about Alexander and Hailey's story." Mike gets down on one knee and Meredith starts to catch on. "Meredith, you and I have been through hell together." He turns for a second to face the crowd. "Everyone can read about it in The Soldier Story-excellent story by the way. Amazing writer. Get your copy next week for $15.99." He turns back to Meredith for again. "And you have had control most of the story. Which is fine because you are the hardest working woman I know. And probably one of the most stubborn women I know. Though, just like Alexander, I cannot imagine my life without you. That's why I'm asking you to finally say 'yes.' and become my wife. So how about it, Meredith. Will you marry an ol' tired soldier like me?"
Meredith look at him like she's considering the offer. "I don't know, will you take out the trash every Thursday night?"
"Yes."
"Take Madelyn to ballet on Wednesdays, Meghan to soccer on Tuesdays, pick Marie up from day care, and teach Mak how to drive?"
"Don't I already do all of that now?"
Meredith raises an eyebrow.
"Yes."
She comes off the stage smiling. "You know I'm just messing with you, you old fart. Of course I'll marry you. I've been waiting for you to ask for years."
"Well I've been waiting for a moment like this for years." Meredith kisses him, everyone applauds and their girls shriek in delite. When they pull back they can hear Mike ask, "so will you admit that my ending is better?"
"Yes, I will. But I won't be able to change in my book."
Mike shrugs, "I guess you will just have to write another one."
Just like that, the soldier got his author just like the king got his queen.