Adult-FanFiction.org : Movies

More Than Darkness	By : SaMe Category: M through R > Once Upon A Time In Mexico Views: 4638 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own the movie that this fanfiction is written for, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 1-1
- 2-2
- 3-3
- 4-4
- 5-5
- 6-6
- 7-7
- 8-8
- 9-9
- 10-10
- 11-11
- 12-12
- 13-13
- 14-14
- 15-15
- 16-16
- 17-17
- 18-18
- 19-19
- 20-20
- 21-21
- 22-22
- 23-23
- 24-24
- 25-25
- 26-26
- 27-27
- 28-28
- 29-29
- 30-30
- 31-31
- 32-32
- 33-33
- 34-34
- 35-35
- 36-36
- 37-37
- 38-38
- 39-39
- 40-40
- 41-41
- 42-42
- 43-43
- 44-44
- 45-45
- 46-46
- 47-47
- 48-48
- 49-49
- 50-50
- 51-51
- 52-52
- 53-53
- 54-54
- 55-55
- 56-56
- 57-57
- 58-58
- 59-59
- 60-60
- 61-61
- 62-62
- 63-63
- 64-64
- 65-65
- 66-66
- 67-67
- 68-68
- 69-69
- 70-70
- 71-71
- 72-72
- 73-73
- 74-74
- 75-75
- 76-76
- 77-77
- 78-78
- 79-79
- 80-80
- 81-81
- 82-82
- 83-83
- 84-84
- 85-85
- 86-86
- 87-87
- 88-88
- 89-89
- 48
- 49
- 50
The sun was going to go down soon. If Salida had been feeling any better, she
would have been upset, but she didn't have the energy for that right now. After waking to find herself alone and
shaking from a dream she could barely remember, she'd relocated from the bo
ao
a patch of sunlight. That had
been... She wasn't sure how long ago
it'd been.
Jeffrey moved
slowly into the room where his wife sat, not saying a word as he watched her.
He hadn't wanted to come back just now, but Sands had left him with little
choice. And now that he saw that she was awake and probably had been for awhile
from the looks of it, he wanted to be here even less. He didn't know why, and
he hated not knowing, but for some reahe fhe felt awkward and uncomfortable
around her. As if she were about to turn and attack him at and second. Or
worse, that he was about to do the same to her. If it really hadn't been him to
attack her like she believed, then he hadn't seen whoever it had been coming
and still didn't. And if it had been him as he was inclined to believe more
often than not as atchatched her, then there was no safety for her and he
should leave.
He hadn't left
before, however. Not really. He had just kind of�drifted. Sands had taken
advantage of that fact and snuck out to do something or other, he didn't really
know what. He didn't even know how long it had been since he'd been gone or
what Sands had been doing in that time. Only that his lack of anything except a
pair of boxers for clothing and that while his jaw still throbbed, it had
dulled minutely; enough to tell him that some length of time had passed.
Salida heard the
door open, but she didn't turn. It
didn't matter who'd come in. She didn't
want to talk to either Sands or Aida, and Jeffrey had proved that he didn't
mind fighting with her, but he wasn't going to fight to stay with her. Even when she'd asked. And asked nicely.
Jeffrey took a seat
on the foot of the bed and waited for her to turn her attention to him and say
something. When she didn't after a handful of minutes later, he began to grow
impatient. When she still didn't another handful of minutes after that, his
impatience shifted to irritation. Why was she doing this? He hadn't chosen to
leave her. "What are you doing, vixen?" he asked suddenly, unable to
stand the oppressive silence any longer. It was what had troubled him before,
that silence, and now it was doing it all over again but worse. Why wasn't she
saying anything? Couldn't she tell he didn't like the silence?
"I like the
sun," she murmured. "It only
goes away when forced."
"I like the
dark. It creeps in and envelopes everything," he responded, not knowing
what else to do.
"We're
different." Too different to really
make a marriage work? Salida didn't
know.
"In some ways,
yes."
"In all
ways."
"That's not
true."
"How is it
not?"
"We're both
passionate about everything we do. We're both survivors." Why was it so
hard to think of similarities between them? Were they really that different? He
didn't believe that, and yetcoulcouldn't come up with very many ways in which
they weren't.
"Is that
enough?" she murmured.
"It has to
be," he murmured to himself softly. "If it's not, then I'll make
compromises. Being different doesn't mean anything, vixen."
"There's such
a thing as being too different."
"I don't
believe that applies to us, vixen," he said firmly.
"Oil and
water," she muttered. "Sun and
shade."
"So I like the
dark. That's one difference. I haven't heard the others, vixen."
"Death. Control.
Children." She stopped,
kng shg she'd gone too far, but not sure how to take it back.
"What do you
mean?" he asked guardedly.
"Nothing,"
she backpedaled. "You're
right. Just one difference."
"No, you
didn't say one. If it was just one we wouldn't be having this conversation
right now, Salida. What are the others?"
"You said
one. Light and dark. Just one."
"Yes, but you
had others. Death. Control. Children," he recited back to her. "What
did you mean by that?"
"Nothing. I was just mumbling."
"No you
weren't. You had reasons or you wouldn't have mentioned them. You don't say
something without having a purpose behind it, Salida. That wasn't mumbling.
That was reasoning. What did you mean?"
"Nothing!"
she yelled as she pushed herself farther away from him.
"Not
entitled," she whispered to herself.
"Bad wife. Bad." Why wasn't it going away. "Stop," she muttered, clutching her
head. Or stolen off a
neighbor's porch.
"I'll be right
back then," he said as he moved into the kitchen to order the pizza she
had wanted, ordering a second just plain cheese pizza. While he was definitely
a carnivore at heart, for some reason or another he couldn't stand meat on
pizza. He didn't know why and he didn't try an figure it out, he just ordered
cheese instead. He returned after the order had been made and took a seat on
the couch next to his wife.
"My doctor's
appointment is tomorrow," Salida announced after several moments of
silence. "At one."
"What's this
one for?"
"It's with Dr.
Osborne."
"Yeah, well do
you know what is going to happen during this appointment? Or is it just a
general check-up? That's what I meant, vixen."
"Oh. Well, the doctor will probably want to talk,
considering the promising reon Ion I
had to the news. She'll give us numbers
of support groups for parents expecting multiples and all that rot. Then she'll want to take another sonogram,
and we'll find out if the pregnancy has progressed long enough to tell the sex
of the children - which is what we wanted.
Right?"
Jeffrey nodded.
"Yeah, I want to know. Do you? If you don't and would rather wait, that's
ok. But I'd like to," he said with a shrug. He then grew thoughtful.
"I kind of steered things in the last visit, so�if you want to meet with
the doctor by yourself and ask your own questions�that's ok with me."
"No. I want you to come. Just in case I get overwhelmed again. I need you there to support me."
"Then I
will," he said simply, pulling her towards him a little so that she was
pressed against his chest gently.kisskissed the top of her head and whispered,
"All you have to do is ask."
"I want you to
come. I do. I want us to find out together what our
children are. I didn't mind the way you
asked all the questions last time because I couldn't really think anytanything. My mind was too blank. But if you're there, you'll remember
everything she says, and you can remind me."
"Just consider
me your personal note-taker, wife mine," he said with a fond smile, glad
that she wanted him there with her. The doubts that still lingered in shadowed
corners of his mind after their fucking fights were beginning to melt away.
Well, they had been anyway� "What happened earlier, vixen? What made you
almost lose control like that?" he hadn't wanted to bring it up, but he
didn't want it to happen again either, so that meant talking about it. Or at
least, trying to. Unless it was a problem that couldn't be solved by simply
talking it over� He'd burn that bridge when he came to it.
"I don't
know," she whispered. "I think
it was just facts, and fiction, and fears all swirling together. Everything was battling, or feeding off each
other like vinegar on baking soda; building up and building up, but there was
no where for it to go. I know now that I
couldn't have really felt anything,
but...but I thought I did.that weird, vixen. Lots of people like cheese pizza."
"But you're
the one that likes to masticate on raw cow!"
"Not raw,
rare. Restaurants wouldn't serve it to me raw. They'd be worried I'd get food
poisoning and sue them or something. I fail to see your point, vixen. I don't
just "masticate on raw cow" as you so charmingly put it. I have been
known to eat other things than just red meat, you know."
"Not
often," she muttered, taking a bite of pizza.
"That's just
because I tend to prefer it to other food, vixen. But I do like other things."
"Ilikelike
you're not acting like yourself."
"It's food,
vixen. I'm eating it. There's not much acting involved."
"I don't
know..." she sighed. "I'm
sorry to make a such a big deal of this.
You just took me by surprise."
"I don't mind
really. It's rather amusing," Jeffrey said with a slight smirk. "I
also like fruit. Blueberries especially. I hate seafood and while I like
waffles and other breakfast things like that, I'm perfectly happy with cold
cereal."
That wasn't exactly
what she'd meant, but there was no way she was going to turn it into a
debate. If Jeffrey knew just
how...unbalanced she was still, how uneasy from the events of just that
morning, he'd be hurt. And she didn't
want to hurt him. He might get angry,
and despite her own protests to the contrary, she wasn't sure he wouldn't hurt
her again.
"Was there
anything else you wanted to know about
my eating habits, wife mine?" he asked with a gentle smile. " I
didn't mean to surprise you. I just prefer cheese, that's all. It's
simple."
Salida shook her
head and contemplatively ate her food.
Jeffrey pursed his
lips at that and furrowed his brow, but didn't say anything because he honestly
didn't know what to say to her right now. With that confusing thought in mind,
he settled back to follow his wife's example and ate his food in silence. When
he had finished, his hands immediately went to his pockets for his cigarettes,
but then remembered that she hadn't wanted him to smoke any more. He really
fucking wanted one, but he would do this for her. He settled on absently
gnawing the edge of a fingernail instead.
"You can go
outside and smoke," she said, noticing what could develop into a nervous
habit. "It's just not a good idea
for you to smoke around me."
"I wasn't
going to smoke in here," he murmured, still chewing on his fingernail, not
really noticing he was doing it. "You told me not to. Bad for me. I've
been good, I haven't smoked. C say say the same for Sands, but I haven't."
"I said that
you should cut back, not that you had to stop."
"You
sure?" he murmured around a new finger.
"Yes. Now go before your fingers start to
bleed."
"What?
Oh." He noticed what had had been doing and lowered his hand. "I'll
be right back." He gave her a kiss on the forehead and walked out onto the
porch, digging his cigarettes and lighter out of his pockets as he did so. Once
the door was closed behind him, he took a seat on a battered deck chair and
quickly lit a cigarette and took a long drag, relaxing a little as the nicotine
buzzed through his system. While he probably should have been hurrying back to
his wife, he took his time smoking his cigarette, blowing lazy smoke rings up
into the night. He didn't often like to smoutsoutside when it was dark like
this - the cherry of his cigarette was as good as a shout out to his
surroundings letting everyone know where he was - but this was a special
circumstance, and he wasn't about to waste it. When he had sighed out his last
exhalation of smoke he pinchef thf the burning edge of his cigarette butt and
tossed it into the yard. He then stood from his chair, breathed in the night
for a brief moment, and made his way back inside to his wife.
Salida had used her
husband's absence to make her painful way upstairs. She hadn't wanted him to see as she slowly
climbed the staircase. It wouldn't do
anything but send him into bouts of guilt, and she couldn't handle that right
now. Despite everything - or perhaps
because of it - she was already eager to return to bed. She was still tired.
When he didn't find
his wife downstairs where he had left her, he sighed and put the remaining
pieces of pizza into one box and into the refrigerator before making his way
upstairs. "Vixen? Are you alright?" he called out gently upon
entering their room.
"Yeah. Just tired." She smiled softly at him.
Jeffrey nodded,
moving into the room slightly. "Did you want me to let you sleep?"
"Is there
something you wanted to do?" If he
wanted her to stay up for awhile still, she would.
He shook his head
slowly. "It doesn't matter. You can sleep. That's more important."
"No. It does matter. Everything about you matters to me. What did you want?"
"I've been
just feeling a little stir-crazy lately. It's nothing."
"You can go
out," she said. "I'll be
fine."
"I don't like
the idea of leaving you here by yourself, vixen," he said with a slight
frown.
She shrugged. "Lock the door when you leave. I'll be fine.
You don't have to watch me every minute of the day."
"I won't be gone
long, and I'll take my phone with me, alright? I just�I need to get out of here
for awhile. Not away from you, if you wanted to come you could, just�here. This
house. I like it and all, but I don't know�" he murmured.
"Go," she
said gently, rolling herself in her covers.
"Wake me when you get back."
"Are you sure?
It might be late. I don't know."
"I can go back
to sleep afterwards. I'll just want to
know that you got back safely."
"Alright, I
will." He walked over to her side of the bed and laid a few gentle kisses
on her cheeks, forehead, and her lips. "I love you Salida. I won't be gone
long."
"It's up to
you. I'm not your warden."
"I know you're
not, vixen. I just�I don't like being away from you."
"You're
addicted to me. Is that what I'm
hearing?"
"Unbelievably
so," Jeffrey answered without hesitation.
"Once upon a
time didndidn't even know I existed. You
didn't need me. What
happened?" Damnit, why couldn't she
see addiction in a positive light? Why
did she have to make this difficult for them both?
"I met you. I
spent time with you. I married you. I love you. I've loved you. Choose any and
all of the above, Salida."
"You shouldn't
be dependent on me," she said softly.
"Salida, I'm
your husband. I thought that came
standard with the ring. And visa versa," he said with a frown.
"Not to the
point of addiction." Her voice was
a mere whisper, and she was tensed, prepared in case she upset him too much.
"I don't
understand you. What is your problem with this? I love you, Salida. I like spending time with you. I tell you this
and you make it sound like I'm running to you for my next fix."
"I don't have
a problem," she said quickly.
"I'm sorry. I guess I'm just
tired. I don't have a problem. Really."
"Then why do you sound like you're
trying very hard to convince one or the other of us of that?"
"I'm just
tired," she repeated.
"And...and hormonal. It
happens."
Jeffrey sighed,
wishing she didn't have such an effective catch-all reason she could use on
him. The bitch of it was, that he couldn't tell if she was telling the truth or
not; if she really was being fucked with by her hormones or if there was
something deeper at play here. His instinct leaned toward the latter, but he
wasn't going to accuse her. He wasn't going to start a fight. Not now. Not ever
again. "Alright. I'll�wake you up when I get back. Until then, get some
rest."
She nodded. "I love you."
"I love you
too." With a final look in her direction, seeing that she had already
rolled to a side and had her eyes closed, he grabbed his knives and keys and
made his way out into the night.

Jeffrey walked. He had parked the Porsche�somewhere, he'd
remember where later when he needed to, and walked the streets of New
Orleans at night. Bourbon
Street had no particular interest for him at this
time of night because it was teeming with people: drunks coming and going from
the bars, and horny old men and perverts flooding into the street's numerous
strip and dance clubs. None of this held any interest for him. He didn't want
to be around the people. He just wanted to be left alone until he decided he
didn't want to walk anymore or couldn't, and turned and headed back home.
He avoided the
cemeteries as well, as night tours by idiots dressed up as vampires and witches
were givightightly. He had no interest in such things. The only vampires he
knew of were the metaphorical kind, and witch was just a slightly kinder word
for bitch in his book. And still he wandered.
you think about it."
"I don't like
the idea of telling someone else our problems. But�that doesn't mean I won't if
that's what you want."
"That's
okay. I'm not sure how wet'd t'd work
anyway since we can't actually tell half our problems to anyone."
"We could
always just kill the doctor afterward, v. No. No witnesses, remember?" he
said with a little sigh.
"That seems to
be a waste. Anyone who could actually
help us probably deserves to live," she tried to joke.
"Maybe,"
Jeffrey murmured, not even cracking a smile bse sse smiling hurt at the moment
and he wasn't really in a mood for laughter right about now.
"I'm
sorry. I won't bring it up again."
"Why are you
sorry?" Jeffrey asked, confused by her comment. "You have nothing to
be sorry for."
"I didn't mean
to imply that we...that we couldn't sort through everything by ourselves. We don't need anyone else. We never have."
"Right,"
Jeffrey said with a weak smile. "I'm not upset with you for suggesting it
though, vixen. I'm not," he assured her.
"It was a
stupid idea," she muttered.
Jeffrey shrugged.
"Maybe. I don't know. Desperate times�" He frowned at his own
statement. "Are we desperate, Salida?" he asked softly.
"I think we
passed desperate ever so long ago."
Jeffrey didn't
argue that, however much it hurt. "What do we do about it?"
"I don't know
anymore," she whispered. "I
can barely even think straight."
"Then�maybe
you're right. Maybe we should talk to someone who can," he responded in a
defeated tone. "How did we get like this?" he asked more to himself
than to her. He didn't have any answers. "I love you, Salida. More than
anything. You may liy life worth fighting for every day just by being here at
my side. Without you�I'm nothing. There's no point. You once said you would
never leave me unless it was for my own good," he whispered. "But
what I'm more worried about now is you leaving for your own good. Not mine."
"I thought
about it," she admitted softly.
"Today...after you'd left. But I couldn't."
Jeffrey crumbled a
little inside, but managed a nod and a whispered question. "What stopped
you?" It was probably a bid masochistic of him to ask, to pick at the
wound she had just dealt him even though he had deserved it, but he couldn't
help himself.
"I love
you." For such a tender sentiment,
it didn't sound as if it caused her any joy.
"And if I say that I'd never kill you, then I can't leave either
because that'd be tantamount to pulling the trigger."
Jeffrey didn't deny
it. He didn't say anything. He just held her in his arms tightly as if worried
that she would float away from him if he didn't keep her grounded. "I love
you too, Salida. Enough�enough to do whatever's necessary. To do what I have to
do to make things better. Like they were." Were they better? Of course they were. Weren't they? There had been
love and devotion and vows and laughter�where had it all gone? Who had stolen
it away from them? All fingers pointed back to him and his face became etched
with a few more lines of grim misery.
"We need to
stop fighting." That was the first
thing that came to mind. "We need
to forgive each other. For everything. If we don't, we're never going to make
it. We're both too hotheaded and
impulsive. We have to start thinking
before we act."
Jeffrey nodded.
That made sense to him. "Alright, so what? We start from the beginning
again with the introductions? It's a little late for that, vixen. But�it's a
good idea. Salida, I officially forgive you for everything. No matter what it
was. It doesn't exist anymore. It's forgotten. And I promise to start using my
brain before my mouth in the future instead of the other way around. Is
that�what you had in mind?"
She nodded. "And I forgive you, for everything
you've done or think you've done. I
don't blame you for anything. I promise
to start keeping a tighter reign on my mouth and my temper. I love you, and I can't imagine doing any of
this without you."
"You won't
have to, vixen. I'm not going anywhere," he said with a soft smile. This
felt good and clean somehow. Like pressing the restart button. There was no
knowing if any of it was going to last or not, but he refused to let himself
think about that. Fuck pessimism or realism or whatever the fuck he so
constantly felt. He was resolved to make this work. He wasn't an optimist, he
probably never would be, but he was fuckingermiermined. "I love you, wife
mine," he whispered, laying his chin on her shoulder despite the pain. He
just wanted to be near her.
"I know." Now emotionally drained, she sighed. "I know you do, and I don't what I'd do
if you didn't."
"Don't think
about it. Don't worry about it. You'll never have to. Just get some rest,
vixen. We'll deal with everything else in the morning."
"Don't leave
me," she breathed, closing her eyes.
Two tears escaped when she did.
"What? I'm not
leaving you, vixen," Jef sai said in a clearly worried voice. "Do you
feel my arms around you? They haven't moved. I haven't moved. I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying right her
beside you. Where I belong."
"That's what I
meant. Don't leave me during the
night. I want to wake up next to
you."
"I won't. Even
if I have to stay awake all night telling everyone else to go to hell. I'm not
leaving you, vixen. You'll wake up tomorrow and I'll be right where you left
me. I swear it to you."
"Okay." Sighing again, she let her thoughts drift and
she quickly fell asleep.
Jeffrey was as good
as his word. Although he was tired, he stayed up ent entire night and just watched
her sleep, reminding himself firmly of the promise every time he felt himself
start to drift off. He would be tired tomorrow, but that was nothing compared
to a promise. A little lost sleep could be dealt with. Broken promises weren't
as easy to fix.

Once again, Salida found herself on an examination table,
her shirt flipped up to reveal her bulging belly. She held on to Jeffrey's hand tightly, trying
to keep calm. It wasn't every day that
they would find out what their children were.
Jeffrey brought her
fingers to his lips and kissed them gently, giving her a small smile that he
hoped was reassuring. The smile wasn't all that hard to give though, as he was
amused by the site of her rounded belly. He found the sight stirred something
in him. Not arousal necessarily, something more like fondness and amusement. Or
love. "Everything is going to be fine, Salida. You'll see," he
whispered to her.
"I know, but
I'm still holding you to that," she whispered back. The doctor was taking her own sweet time
about this and that annoyed Salida.
"Feel
free," he responded back to her with another smile before beginning to
grow annoyed with the doctor as well. Couldn't she see that they were both
becoming irritated at the delay? What the hell was taking so long?
Dr. Osborne glanced
over when she heard one of the two expecting parents sigh. "Let me just say this in my defense -
you have the most obstinate children I've ever seen. Each of them is turned just enough to make my
job difficult." She smiled. "Give me a moment."
Jeffrey felt oddly
proud at that for some reason and quirked a small smin San Salida's direction
as a result.
"Figures,"
she muttered. "They'd better get
over that before coming out because I'm certainly not going to let them get
away with it."
Jeffrey's smile
just broadened. "I know you won't, vixen." He kissed her hand again.
"Alright, I've
got something . . ." the doctor murmured finally. "The one to the far left is a boy."
"Oh I'm sure
he'll be a handful. A stubborn handful And a lady-killer of course,"
Jeffrey said with a smirk before frowning at his unintentional pun.
"That's not what I meant, vixen. I'm sure he'll-" He cut himself off
when he remembered the doctor was with them and able to hear everything he said.
"I'm sure he'll be fine," he continued slowly.
"He certainly
looks fine," Osborne agreed, moving her wand around. "Now, let's see if I can get anyone else
to tell."
Jeffrey turned to
gauge his wife's reaction but turned his attention back to the screen when she
wasn't saying anything. There would be plenty of time to talk later after this
was finished.
"Oh, there we
go. Looks like a girl. Now come here you," she muttered at the
screen.
"Even if she
only half looks like you, she'll be more than beautiful, Salida," he said
softly.
"Sweet-talker,"
she accused without taking her own eyes from the screen.
"Sweet though
it may be, it's still the truth," he returned. "I hope she has your
eyes."
"I just hope
he doesn't look like h..." she stopped herself. "Like my father." Salida shuddered at the thought.
"She won't,
Salida. She'll look just like you. You'll see."
"I'm not sure
I could stand the competition," she teased while thinking, I wish the bitch would hurry up.
"There will be
no competition," he said softly, bringing her hand to his lips once more.
"You'll always be my wife. My first love." His voice dropped down to
a whisper so only she could hear it. "You taught me how."
"Do you two
want the good news or the bad news first?" the doctor interrupted.
After the initial
worry had worn off over what she was going to say, Jeffrey grew angry with the
doctor's lack of candor, and muttered. "Just tell us. Don't make us dance
around the room first."
"Alright. Good news is, the baby is healthy. Bad news is that I can't be more than ninety
percent sure that the third child is a boy."
"Why is that
bad news? And why only ninety percent?" Jeffrey asked with a frown.
"Like I said,
you have very stubborn children. I can't
get a clear enough view to know what I'm looking at, but I'm reasonably sure
its a boy. I should be able to tell next
visit."
"Two sons and
a daughter�" he said slowly, attempting to process this. Two boys�fuck. He
desperately hoped that they wouldn't end uke tke their father. He himself had
no real regrets for anything he did, but he never wanted to have to see one of
his children on America's
Most Wanted. That was an occurrence that was not going to develop into family
tradition.
Salida's take on
things was a bit different however. All
she could think about were the people involved in this and the cruelties of
fate. If she thought it about it too
much longer, she was going to freak right out.
"Are we
finished here, doctor?" he asked suddenly, feeling a need to get out of
here. After a quick glance towards his wife he could see it was the same for
her.
"You don't get
to leave without a prescription for your pre-natal vitamins this time, but
yes. Other than that you're free to
go."
Jeffrey told the
doctor to write out the prescription and then released Salida's hand briefly so
that she could get-redressed. "Is this it?" he asked, taking the
prescription from the doctor when Salida didn't.
"I'd like you
to come back next week. In these s
os
of pregnancies, its best to check the progression of things often. Remember that you can call anytime you hve
questions."
"Alright.
We'll call if we think of something," he murmured, offering Salida a hand
and helping her off of the examination table. "Thank you, Dr.
Osborn," he said with a small nod in the doctor's direction. "Let's
go, Salida."
She went willingly,
her eyes a little blank. It was only by
blocking out nearly all thought that she was able to keep from screaming her
hysteria to all within hearing range. A
scene was the last thing she wanted to cause right now.
While Jeffrey had
reached the car after a seemingly endless journey through the hospital with her
following silently at his side, he didn't stop there, instead moving on to a
park across the street and up a block. He moved slowly, not wanting to tire
her, and finally stopped when he had found a sunny park bench and directed her
to take a seat. He sat down next to her and gave her a look. "You don't
have to hold it in any longer, vixen. We're alone. Say whatever you want;
whatever you need to. I'm listening and we're pretty much alone right now, so
go ahead."
"You'll be
upset with me," she whispered.
"I'm being silly."
"Let me be the
judge of that, vixen. Come on, lay it on me. I want to know what you're
thinking."
"Two boys and
a girl?" she asked, her voice quivering.
"Apparently
so. Keep going," he asked gently.
"We can't eat outside,"
she pointed out.
Jeffrey nodded.
"Another place then." He cast another glance around the pink restaurant,
noticing another thing: there were no female waiters. Not a one. "Come
on," he murmured as they turned and left the restaurant and continued on.
Salida moved closer
to her husband as they walked, wrapping her arm around his waist and leaning
her head against his shoulder. It was
nice to simply be walking with him with no particular destination or outcome in
mind.
Jeffrey managed to
enjoy her company for a few blocks before coughing again into his right hand
away from her. "Sorry," he murmured. "How about this
place?" he asked gesturing up to the small caf� they had come to when he
had stopped to cough. "They've got outdoor dining." He took a step
towards the restaurant and read the laminated menu posted on the door. "Italian.
Sound good? Or something else?"
"I'd really
like Mexican," she said apologetically.
"That's fine.
This is a fairly large city. A port even," he teased gently. "There's
d tod to be a Mexican restaurant here somewhere. We'll find it."
She smiled,
relieved. "Thank you."
"Don't worry
about it," he said with a smile and another cough. "Damnit, this is
getting irritating," he murmured. "Not you, I don't mind finding a
Mexican restaurant for you if that's what you want, it's just this cough�"
He coughed again and scowled.
"Told you it
was a cold," she murmured.
"It's not a
cold," he insisted stubbornly as they began to walk again.
"So I've heard
you say. I don't believe it yet. Just how close did that woman get last
night?"
"Close enough
to have ruined a perfectly good shirt," he muttered with a scowl.
"But not close
enough to give you a cold?"
"I don't get
colds."
"That's not an
answer to my question. Did she get close
enough to give you something?"
"I killed her
with my knife. I didn't throw it. She was a prostitute who came on to me. Does
that answer your question?" he murmured, coughing again and scowling again
as he did so.
"Why are you
refusing to give me a straight answer?" she asked, keeping her voice
light.
"Sorry. I didn't
mean to. Ask me a straight question and I'll give you a straight answer."
"Did she get
close enough to give you a cold?"
"Yes, but I
don't get-"
"Colds. Yes, you've said it and I don't believe
it."
"But I've
never had a cold before. I've never even been sick before as far as I know. Why
would I get a cold now?"
"I don't know,
but that doesn't mean you can't."
"Alright fine.
I'll still maintain that I don't have a cold, but I'll withhold further
judgment until all the facts are in," he murmured. Looking up he noticed a
small stucco building off in the distance. "I may be wrong, vixen, but I
think we've found your Mexican restaurant."
The place he�d
pointed out had a stucco fa�ade. The
building was white while the trim was red and green, and the Mexican flag was
hung over the door. �This looks like a
good place,� she agreed.
"You can tell
all that from the outside, can?&qu?" he teased gently before coughing
again and cursing under his breath. "Don't say it."
"Are you going
to stop being stubborn so I don't have to?"
Jeffrey thought
about it for a moment as they walked into the restaurant. "Not
likely," he said at last.
"Fine. Then you have cold." There was a sign saying that they should seat
themselves, and after Salida spied a small courtyard, they did.
"I don't have
ld. ld. People get colds in the wintertime. It's probably a 100 degrees out
today, vixen."
"You've never
heard of a summer cold?" she asked as a waitress came out with water and
menus. "Gracias," she murmured
to the woman.
"De nada,"
the womanmuremured back.
"If I say I
have a cold, will you stop asking me about it?" Jeffrey asked after a
considering frown, opening the menu flat in front of him and gazing down into
its contents.
"Yes. As long as you don't ignore it and take care
of yourself."
Jeffrey grumbled at
that. "What do you mean, take care of myself? It's a cold. What can you do
to it besides wait it out?"
"Take vitamin
C, get plenty of rest, drink plenty of fluids, was your hands often so you
don't give it to anyone else -"
"What, you
don't want my cold? I'd think it'd be romantic," he interrupted dryly.
"Sharing Kleenex boxes, reminding the other to take their vitamins. It
would be a load of fun."
"It could be
bad for the kids."
That brought any
further sarcastic comments he might have made up short. "Alright. No
sharing of the cold for vixen. Got it."
"And make sure
Sands gets it through his head that he's got the cold too. Grant's got no white blood cells. She can't afford to get sick right now."
"Why? What
would happen?" Jeffrey asked with a frown. "It's just a cold. It's
not like I'm deathly ill or anything."
"But she has
no immune system at the moment. A simple
cold could turn into pneumonia."
Salida looked up from her own menu.
"Chemo is nasty business."
"It certainly
sounds like it," Jeffrey murmured with a frown before closing his menu
with distaste. "I don't know what to get. I don't often have Mexican food.
Any suggestions, vixen?"
"Hmmm...."
she scanned the menu. "I was
thinking abouvingving taquitos for an appetizer and a chicken enchilada."
"That sounds
good, I suppose, but that doesn't help me
vixen," he teased gently.
"Well...do you
want an enchilada? They come in chicken,
pork, beef ..."
"Sure. Beef.
Or pork. No, chicken." He cursed softly. "This shouldn't be so
difficult." He opened the menu again. "Beef enchiladas. Good enough.
Oh yeah, they come with other things� With�lettuce, tomato and cheese." He
closed the menu again and a hand strayed to his cigarettes before he stopped
himself. "Sorry. Something about eating always makes me want to
smoke." He shrugged and coughed again into a hand.
"We're
outside.< sty style='mso-spacerun:yes'> You can smoke if you want. It'll just aggravate your cough
though." The waitress came back -
this time with chips and two kinds of salsa - and Salida ordered rapidly in
Spanish.
&an>"I
think the only fair way to do this is to trade off until one of us misses. What do you think, lover?"
"What happens
when one of us misses?" he asked, leaning forward as she had and opening
his mouth.
"That's when
you lose," she grinned, easily tossing the grape into his mouth.
"Lose, huh? I don't
like losing," he murmured as he chewed the grape. He picked a blueberry
out of the bowl and was about to throw it when she moved back a little. When
she informed him that she couldn't make things eas easy on him he simply
snorted and threw the small fruit, managing to get it into her mouth despite
all. "Your turn," he said with a smirk.
She picked up
another grape and tossed it. It grazed
his lip, but still got in.
"That was a
close one, vixen," he said with a grin. It was his turn to pick up a grape
this time, but unfortunately for him, the second he had been about to launch it
into the air, the very second, he had
had to cough into his arm. As a consequence, the grape bounced off her nose and
landed on the table. "Aw fuck," he murmured. "Sorry, but that
wasn't fair. Stupid cold," he grumbled. "Alright, I guess you win.
Congratulations, vixen."
"No, that one
doesn't count. I don't have a cold, so
you can go ahead and try again. This is
your one do-over though."
"How gracious
of you," he said with a small smile and a bow of his head before selecting
another raspberry this time, having determined grapes were bad luck. Once he
was positive he wasn't going to cough again, he let the small fruit fly, and it
landed directly into her mouth as he knew it would.
"Have you
given any more thought to names?" his wife asked as she tossed a grape -
her fruit of choice - into his mouth.
&qn>"Now that we
know what they are, you mean?" he asked, letting another blueberry sail
into her mouth. "Yeah, I've thought about it a little I guess."
"And what have
you thought?" This time she merely
looked at the fruit instead of throwing it.
"Katelyn.
Vittorio. Korbin. Aiden. Merric. Anita. Mia." He shrugged. "I don't
know. I'm not good with names, remember?"
"Vittorio?"
she asked with a raised eyebrow. "I
don't think so. Where did you even hear
that name in the first place?"
"Don't ask
me," he said, raising his hand in defense. "It's Italian, I know that
much. Blame Sands' over-education."
"Yes well,
we're not using it. Katelyn is nice
though. I wouldn't mind naming our
daughter that."
"Well there's
one. What about you? Did you think of any new names?"
"No. But we could buy a baby book or
something."
"I suppose
that works," he said with a shrug, popping a blueberry into his mouth and
chewing it thoughtfully.
The waitress came
with their food, interrupting their discussion and their game. Not bothering to start talking again, Salida
immediately dug in, humming as she approved of the food.
Jeffrey smiled a
bit at her reaction and started in on his own food since it was obvious she
wasn't going to be talking any time soon. The enchiladas he had gotten were
surprisingly good, although they needed a little salsa so he added some from
the small dish he had been provided. When the now salsa-hot food was met with
satisfaction, he began polishing off the rest of his meal, taking the time to
cough or take a sip of water every so often between bites. "So maybe I do
have a cold," he muttered after a round of coughing into his napkin left
him a little hoarse. "I should kill her again."
"Colds take
more than a few hours to start showing symptoms," she murmured. "You probably got it from somewhere
else."
"How long do
they take? Maybe I can blame this on Sands," he muttered.
"Two days,
perhaps a week, depending on how strong your immune system is."
"Great. It
could have been from anything then. I think Sands went out a few days ago,
there was the hospital before that, and before that? Who the fuck
remembers?" he said with a sigh. "I don't know how strong my immune
system is. I've never gotten sick. I can remember Sands getting the chickenpox
or something when he was younger though. That was a load of fun," he said
dryly.
"I have no idea
whether Tess gets sick easily or not, although since I can't remember ever
being sick except for the morning sickness, I'd be inclined to say she
doesn't. Or is that I don't?"
Jeffrey shrugged.
"It's your life now. Might as well use the proper pronouns," he said
with a smile before warding off a cough by another sip of his water.
"Yes, I
suppose it is."
"There's no
supposing about it, vixen. It's yours. If it wasn't, this marriage would get
very complicated."
"You mean more
complicated." Salida picked at her
food.
"Yeah, I
suppose any marriage where there are two wives for one man, different
personalities or not, in a society were polygamy is illegal, is
complicated," he said with a shrug. "Have we learned to manage, you
think?"
"How do you
mean?" There were some things they
managed well, but others they still had a difficult time with.
"Oh, I don't
know. I don't argue as much with Sands over when he gets to see kitty and when
I get to see you. We've got an imperfect system, but it seems to be
working." He felt an urge to knock on wood just then.
"Okay...that's
the part I thought you meant. And yes,
that's working well."
"Don't ask me
how the kid's going to fit in if he ever decides to show his face again, but
for now we all seem to fit in an albeit twisted kind of way," he admitted This was all only one element of their
marriage though. But I don't want to talk about depressing topics, she mused, taking
a bite of her rice. "Yes, I suppose
we do."
"And that's
something, right?" he asked giving her a small smile that let her know
that it was a safe bet that his thoughts had been running in the same circles
as hers had.
"Yes. Its a very big something to not have to worry
about that."
"Yeah,"
he said, and it was his turn to pick at his food now.
"What?"
she asked, setting down her fork to touch the back of his hand lightly.
"I didn't say
anything," he said as he looked at her with a confused turn of his mouth.
"You're
picking at your food. Did I say something
wrong?"
"No, I'm just
not really hungry anymore. My throat kind of hurts," he murmured i qui quiet voice, waiting for her to tell him 'I told you so.'
"Alright. I've had enough. We can go if you want."
"Are you sure?
This is for you, vixen. Not me. I wanted to take you out into the sun," he
said with a slight shrug.
"I can sit in
the sun at home too."
"Yeah, I
suppose you can. Do you want to?"
"If you're
ready to go." She smiled
encouragingly.
Jeffrey frowned a
little at that and coughed a little more, but nodded. "Alright. Stay here
and I'll go pay the bill. I'll be right back," he said, rising to his feet
and laying his napkin down on his plate.
She stayed,
nibbling on fruit as she did so. When
Jeffrey returned, he found his wife absently staring into space.
"What? What is
it?" he asked, casting his eyes in the direction hers seemed to be looking
in. He didn't really see anything of interest.
"Hmmm?" She looked up. "Oh.
Nothing." Her brows crossed. "Nothing at all."
"That wasn't a
'nothing' look, vixen. That was a 'something' look. What were you looking at?
Or thinking about?" he asked with a small frown. "Or do you not want
to tell me? It's ok if you don't."
"No...I want
to tell you. I just don't remember. I don't remember thinking about
anything."
"You don't
remember?" Jeffrey asked, beginning to grow a little worried. "Was
this just a simple daydream kind of moment or something else, vixen?"
She shook her head
and murmured, "I don't know."
After letting out a long sigh, she said, "Perhaps I'm just
tired."
Jeffrey looked at
her for a moment. �You practically slept the whole day�never mind. You want to
go home and take a nap? That�s fine with me. Let�s go.�
"I don't feel tired," she complained confusedly
as she followed. "Maybe I wasn't thinking
of anything, and that's why I don't remember."
�If you weren�t
thinking of anything then you wouldn�t have had anything to forget about.� He
paused and examined that statement. �You
know what? Forget it. It doesn�t matter. Did you have a nice lunch at least?�
he asked, slowing a little so that he was walking beside her rather than in
front of her.
Salida nodded.
"They had good food. I wish I'd found them a few weeks ago. Did you like
it?"
Jeffrey shrugged.
�I like that you liked it. But yeah, I had fun at least. Wait a second, did we
figure out who won the fruit throwing contest? If not, then we�ll only have to
come back again for another rematch. It�s only fair.�
"What's your
definition of winning?" she asked suspiciously. "Because neither of
us missed, but you had more turns than I did."
Jeffrey had to stop
and think about that. �I don�t know. I guess I�ve never thought about it. Maybe
we should keep score or something next time,� he said with a smirk. �Based on
difficulty, distance, and choice of fruit.� He nodded. �Yeah, I think that
could work.�
Salida had to
smile, and more than that, she had to stop him right in the middle of the
street for a kiss. Using gentle movements, she drew his head down to hers and
then slowly brushed her lips against his.
Once they had
pulled away, him being too surprised and admittedly touched by her gesture
despite everything they had gone through lately, he had to ask softly, �What
was that for, vixen?�
"I wanted you
to know how much I enjoyed today. And your company."
Jeffrey gave her an
almost bashful smile. �I�m glad, vixen. We don�t have days like this often
enough. I�m sorry for that.� They walked a little further, with him trying to
hold his coughing back as to not spoil the mood. �You know we don�t have to go
back just yet if you don�t want to. Today doesn�t have to be over just yet.�
"But Sands
would probably like to see Grant," she said softly. "I've been
occupying a lot of your time, and while no one has complained yet, I'd like to
keep it that way. I don't want to lose you yet, but I don't see that we have
another option."
Jeffrey sighed.
�That f�um, that sucks big time,� he managed with a slight smirk despite dis disappointment. �And no, I did not say �fum,�� he said wryly. �But you�re
right. Keeping the peace and all that.�
"You know I'd
rather be selfish, don't you?" she asked quietly, worried that he might
think that she was simply trying to get rid of him using the most reasonable
excuse.
�I know it,� he
said withmilemile, reaching down to take her hand in his and bring to his lips,
all the while his eyes never left her face. �We can just as easily be selfish
later.�
"I don't know
if I can..." She stopped mid-confession, blushing in shame. How could she
say she didn't know if she was ready to be intimate after the afternoon they'd
had? After they'd ed ted to work through everything? It felt like a massive
betrayal, and while she could feel tension building in her at the thought of
making herself so vulnerable, she tried to force the feelings to go away. The
internal conflict kept her from finishing her statement.
Jeffrey frowned a
little at her reaction, but not for the reasons she might have thought. �Hey,
don�t do that,� he said, gently raising her chin with a single finger so that
she was looking at him again. �Everything is about you. Not me. If you�re not
ready, that�s alright.� It went against much of his character to say such
things, but he couldn�t help himself after seeing her reaction to his
unintentional innuendo. �I�d much rather be close to you because you want me to
be rather than you think you have to. Savvy? We�ve got all the time in the
world to work things out. I�m not going anywhere.� He let the hand that was
holding up her chin drop to his side. �Don�t think that you�re doing something
wrong by wanting to wait, vixen. You�re not. You�re doing what you feel is
right and that�s all that matters.�
She absorbed this
for several long moments before giving him a trembling smile, a whispered
"Savvy," and a tight hug. There were times that Jeffrey utterly
knocked her off her feet, and this was one of them. "I love you," she
whispered, burying her head in his chest. "So much I love you."
Jeffrey just wrapped
his arms around her and hugged her back. �I love you too, Salida. Enough to do
anything for you. All you need to do is ask,� he said softly. They were earning
stares by passers-by, but they didn�t seem to notice.
"Your patience
is more than enough," she assured him.
- 48
- 49
- 50
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

More Than Darkness