Fiction: Serving Up Trouble (Chapter 15)
First let me say, that I just read there might be a Saved By The Bell reunion. *grin* I loved that show when I was a kid...hell I still watch it when I can catch it. I'm so excited by the thought of the Bayside group being together again. *giggles* I had such a crush on Zach. *la sigh* Second, sorry for the delay in chapters. I've been working on and off on this part, but it took me a while to really gel and be okay with the result. I'm not too thrilled with the beginning or the middle or really the end. *laughing* I think it kinda sucks, but it's a bridging chapter that had to be written. Any and all feedback is appreciated. Thank you to all that have commented on previous chapters. It means the world to me.
Title: Serving Up Trouble
Author: Jailynn
Rating: PG-13
Warning: I can't edit to save my life. Please forgive all mistakes. Talk of violence
Disclaimer: Not mine
Fandom: Y&R/GL
Type: Crossover, romance, friendship, humor, drama, angst, AU
Author's Note: Chance doesn't even notice Chloe much at all. He only has eyes for Ashlee. And Phillip is still not around yet. It just goes to show how Alt-Universe my story really is. *laughing*
Feedback: Please and thank you
Word Count: 4208
-[]-
The room is completely silent after Chance carries Ashlee up the stairs and away from the mess Jill brought into their home. Nina waits a second then really looks at Grady. His appearance sets her teeth on edge. There is something off about him. Like David Kimble off. She suppresses a shiver at the thought of her ex. David has been out of her life for over fifteen years, but inside he still lurks. Her mistakes always do. With him it is worse though. He was around her son. He held Chance in his arms, touched him and for that she will never forgive herself. Knowing how dangerous he was and that she let him into their lives, makes her sick as does how she dealt with it. The spirit of a mama bear is often more fierce than anything else in the world. Five shots to the chest...he deserved and got worse, but she will always remember how it felt to hold and shoot that gun. Sometimes she can still vividly remember the weight in her hands.
If Ashlee went through something like that then Nina feels so sorry for her and angry at Jill. From the blonde's reaction to seeing the ghost of ex's past, she believes something truly horrific took place at his hands. In fact it might be worse than the David Kimble experience. She narrows her eyes at him and his black eyes glint back at her. She glares at him, unimpressed by his expression. She moves over to the couch as if he isn't standing there, all the while keeping her ears open for any movement. He didn't scare her, she seen scary, but that didn't mean she trusted him.
Once she is seated, she takes in all the reactions around her. Esther isn't in the room any longer so Chloe is standing by herself in the corner of the room. Her keen eyes watching for anymore excitement to take place. Nina recognizes the trouble maker in her and rolls her eyes. The girl has a lot to learn. Katherine is walking towards Jill like a woman possessed. Nina's eyebrows shoot up. Another round in the Kay vs Jill fight is about to take place. To her left, Mac stands quickly. Nina reluctantly pulls her attention from the older women to see what the sweet, but dull girl would do. Mac starts to intervene, which Nina finds to be a really stupid move- no one interrupts those two, when Billy takes her hand in his to stop her. The younger brunette looks down at her lover then to Chloe before returning to Billy. He shakes his head slightly at her and she physically pauses. Her indecision is written clearly on her face. Finally she sits back on the couch next to him. Nina inhales deeply. She returns to Jill and Kay, hoping that they didn't do anything to make the creep next to Jill think he is worth anything but her son's foot up his ass.
-[]-
Jill pulls her purse in front of her before Kay can reach her. She can feel the contempt aimed at her. If she is completely honest, she would admit that even she isn't thrilled with what happened just a few minutes ago. All she could see was Ashlee out of Chance's life. All she could see was her grandson free of that gold-digger. Now when she thinks about everything all she can see is Chance's eyes fill with anger and hurt. It happens in slow motion in her head. The way he moves while she introduces Grady, the way Ashlee's face drains of color, her body tipping and falling to the ground, Chance's arms wrapping around her- holding her up. This isn't what Jill wanted and now she has to figure out a way to change the outcome.
It was a misstep and now she needs to reevaluate what to do. She pulls a wad of cash out of her wallet and turns quickly to Grady. The man stares at her in quiet rage. His dark eyes are glittering with black emotions and Jill had a feeling some of them will be directed at her grandson for his words and actions where Ashlee is concerned. Crumpling the paper bills in her fist and without looking at how much it is, she shoves it into his palm. “You need to leave now,” Jill hisses to him.
Grady pockets the cash but doesn't move from his position at the bottom of the stairs. His eyes focus on the top and Jill watches his left hand curl into a tight fist. The veins underneath his skin ripple with repressed emotion. “I don't think I'll be leaving without Ashlee,” he turns to face her. “That is why you brought me here isn't it?”
A rush of shame mixed with annoyance sails through her. Somehow she knows, and is relieved by the fact, the annoyance is what shows on her face. She'll have to deal with the shame later...when she deals with everything else and tries to get Chance to understand. She opens her mouth to yell at him to leave when Kay finally speaks. “I believe two people have told you to leave, young man,” her blue eyes spark with knowledge and warning. A warning Jill is almost certain Grady didn't hear or if he did he brushed off. Most don't realize how much power really resides in the older body of Mrs. Katherine Chancellor Murphy, but Jill did. “If you don't leave my home within the next two minutes, I'll have you arrested for trespassing and anything else I can think of.”
An indulging smile, with bitter undertones, creeps slowly across his lips and his eyes tighten. “The rich always think they can do whatever they want to the poor.” Grady moves from the stairs and comes to stand in front of Kay. His height giving him some advantage, but she doesn't back down at all. Katherine didn't make her millions by being afraid. Its one of the things Jill actually admires about her. Its one of the things that made her want to be around Katherine when they first met. “Hm,” he takes a step back then turns toward the door. He places his hand on the knob, standing there for a second before turning back to them. “Tell Ashlee that I'll be waiting for her. We really have a lot to catch up on.”
Jill watches the door close behind him. After counting to ten, she prepares herself for whatever Kay is going to say. Shaking back her hair, she faces the woman she once thought was her mother- God that still hurts. She twists the large beads around and around on her wrist. “I'm not going to apologize to you,” she tells the older woman making it a point to start out strong. “I'm not going to apologize for wanting everyone to see what kind of person Ashlee is. Do you know that she had that guy arrested for doing nothing.”
“Nothing?” Katherine crosses her arms over her chest and levels Jill with a disbelieving look. “She didn't have him arrested for nothing.”
“How would you know, you old bat,” Jill walks past her toward the drink cart, carefully avoiding all the eyes on her. The group was watching the fight with a renewed interest. She fills a glass with ice cold water then turns back to Katherine, who moved over to the couch. She pointed her finger at Katherine. “I bet you didn't even do a thorough background check on her. If you did you would know exactly who you hired.”
“Oh Jill, stop being so stupid.” Katherine scoffs. “Of course I know who I hired. I knew all about Grady before you brought him here or even before Ashlee told me about him today. The question is, do you know the full story or did you only hear what you wanted to hear when his name and her past was revealed to you?” Katherine walks out of the room and heads up the stairs. Jill turns back to the wall and tries to get her wits back.
“Well,” Chloe breaks the silence of the room. “That was exciting. Anyone want to know what the hell just happened here?” Jill looks that the girl along with everyone else still in the room. Everyone's expression was similar- annoyance and disbelief. Her son's wife really has no tact. “What?”
-[]-
Chance runs his thumb over the drying blood on her lower leg. Her pale skin, soft to his touch, is red around the small gash. He watches her breathe, in and out, waiting for her to come back to him. He needs to see her eyes before he can go back downstairs and deal with the fall out of his grandmother's bombshell. Rage simmers under his skin, licking flames along his bones, as the face of Ashlee's ex comes into view. The fist of the hand not touching her clenches and his jaw tightens. Out of all the thoughts he had about how Grady looked, nothing came close to the person he saw in the foyer. The picture in his head...well the person-he refused to call that bastard a man- was more like Jason or Michael Myers. He was faceless, a demon wrapped in mystery, wrapped in fear.
The jerk that stood behind his grandmother is weak. A person- a monster- that couldn't handle being useless to the world and took his anger out on the angel in Chance's bed. He didn't understand why or how someone could do that. He just knows that he will never let him do it to her again. Grady Foley- he swallows the bitter taste thinking of him brings to Chance- will never harm this woman- this beautiful, smart, sexy woman again. He scoots up on the bed and wraps his arms around her, pressing his nose into her hair and his lips to her ear.
He breathes in time with Ashlee, slows his heart rate so that the beat of his matches the beat of hers. He wants to connect with her. He wants her to know that she is safe, even while passed out because of the jackass downstairs. Her hand moves on her stomach where its resting then her eyes slowly open. She inhales deeply for a moment. He waits until she calms down to speak. Her head turns slightly and their eyes lock. Her gaze is filled with apprehension, regret, sadness, and fear. “Hey,” he whispers to her.
“Hey,” she says haltingly. Her eyes shift down and she moves away from him on the bed. He holds himself still even though all he wants to do is pull her into his side and comfort her. This has to be on her terms. He knows that. “I'm..uh...I just...” she sees the cut on her leg and sits up quickly. Her finger traces the jagged, angry line and the red, puffy skin around it. “How...”
“You accidentally cut it on a piece of glass,” Chance sits up as well. She nods slightly to herself as if slowly processing the information. “Ashlee,” she turns to face him with more anxiety in her eyes. “Did you want to...” The rest of his question is cut off by a knock at his door. Ashlee's expression pulls and she visually shrinks in size. Chance has to swallow back his concern, knowing instinctively she isn't ready for that yet. He climbs off the bed and walks to his bedroom door. “Who is it?”
“It's Katherine, Chance,” he opens the door and lets his great-grandmother in. She looks at Ashlee, who jumps from the bed and rolls her hands together.
“I'm so sorry, Mrs. C,” her voice shakes even as she tries to infuse it with strength. “I had no idea Jill knew about him. I would have left before...I'm sorry about that platter. I know it was expensive.”
Katherine holds up her hand to stop the flood from continuing. Chance takes a place on the bed again, feeling so far away from Ashlee that it is starting to hurt. “It isn't you fault, Ashlee. Jill...well Jill doesn't always think or look before she acts. I'll deal with her.” This didn't make Ashlee relax any. “I just wanted you to know that Grady isn't downstairs any longer.” Ashlee's shoulders loosened with the news. “I can't say that he has left Genoa City, but I can guarantee he will not be back on his property again. You're safe here.” She looks over at him and their eyes lock. “You're safe with Chance.” Before she opens the door, she turns back. “Oh and Ashlee, the platter isn't worth as much as you do. I hope you know that.”
Ashlee smiles slightly, “I know and thank you.” Katherine nods and leaves them alone. Ashlee walks over to the window once the door closes behind his great-grandmother. She holds the long light green drapes to the side and looks out onto the pool. He has always loved having that view. When he was a kid he would look toward the east, where the family plots were and say a prayer for his dad. He also got the feeling that his dad's spirit watched over him...now, now he didn't know what to think. But at the moment he didn't really want to contemplate that. He wants all his focus on Ashlee and what she needs. “Why would you want to be with someone that is as screwed up as me?”
“Who isn't screwed up,” he asks from his position on the bed. He longs to touch her and for her to know that he didn't care about her past. He only wants her, all of her.
She turns to face him, a small smile on her lips. It didn't reach her gorgeous blue eyes and that made him sad. He swallows back another round of emotions. “You didn't answer the question.”
“Neither did you,” he counters, treading carefully through this minefield. She inhales sharply and he decides to take a different approach, one that fits them. “Twenty questions, you get ten,” her smile grows a little at the memory of their last game. “And I get ten.”
“Only two personal questions a piece?” She asks coming to sit on the far corner of his bed.
Chance takes the movement to be progress and tries to keep his excitement to a minimum. He really didn't want to scare her. “You got a deal. I'll go first?” She nods, pulling her legs up and folding them into an Indian style. He weighs his options in his head, trying to figure out if he wants to start heavy. Looking at her guarded expression though makes the choice for him. “Did you ever cook and serve something absolutely awful to anyone before?”
Her eyes get wide in surprise and then she smiles genuinely. “Yes, when I first went to culinary school we had to make something that was out of our comfort zone. And I decided to really impress my teacher and everyone by making homemade Baklava. My best friend's grandfather is Greek and makes the best baklava in the world, goodness I miss Buzz's food, anyway the recipe is actually fairly simple...when you don't mix up the sugar with the salt.” She shakes her head and sighs. “It was horrible, but I had no time to remake it, so I had to serve it. Needless to say, I got a big fat F on that one.” She scoots a little closer to him on the bed, just a half a centimeter, but he nearly cheered. “Have you ever done karaoke?”
His nose wrinkles in embarrassment. “Once. Some friends and I went to a bar before our unit was called up to go to Iraq and after a couple beers or maybe a few more than just a couple, I got up and sang or really butchered the Journey song, 'Any Way You Want It'. I didn't remember my performance, but my friends taped it with their phones so I could relive the moment.”
“That was nice of them,” she laughs. It's such a musical sound to him. He takes it in himself and cherishes the fact that he is the one to make her chuckle.
“Yeah, real nice,” he leans forward and asks his next question, still taking the light and fun route for right now. “Do you play poker?”
“Yeah,” she hedges. “I can play poker. I'm not great at it though.” Chance narrows his eyes at the tone of her voice but doesn't question her about it. She picks at string that is coming out of his blue comforter. “Do you regret going to Iraq?”
“No,” he tells her honestly. “It was something I had to do and something I'm proud I did. I might not always agree with the reasons we went or why we stayed, that isn't my decision, but I have never regretted serving my country.” She reaches across the bed and takes his hand in hers. He holds her fingers tightly and prepares himself for his first serious question. “What really happened between you and Grady?”
She looks down, but not before he sees the shame in her eyes. Ashlee rolls her tongue over her lips and straightens her shoulders. “Grady was my first boyfriend. We started dating in our senior year of high school, but we had been friends for years before that. I really thought he was a good guy. I mean he didn't start out hitting me. I guess that's why when it first happened I didn't believe it. When we first started dating he was sweet and attentive. Looking back on it, I can see that he was too attentive. He wanted to be everywhere I was, he wanted to know who I was with, he gave me things and wanted me to wear them all the time.” She drags her teeth over her full bottom lip then bites into it. “After about six months he started getting really jealous of any guy I talked with or even just knew in passing.” Ashlee swallows, looking toward the window. “I was actually flattered when he would get upset. I thought, wow he must really love me if just talking to someone else made him insane. It was almost a year and a half before he hit me for the first time. I remember being completely stunned and wouldn't talk to him for a week. Eventually he convinced me that he didn't mean it, that he was sorry,” she looks into his eyes and says, “he sent me wildflowers.” He sucks in a quick breath and she looks away again. “It steadily got worse. Sometimes the violence would be accompanied by sex. He always got turned on by hitting me...” She snaps her mouth shut, seemingly to realize what she is saying and to whom. Chance wants to ask if he raped her, but he is almost scared of the response. Shaking her head and shrugging her shoulders, Ashlee wipes a tear from her cheek. “We were together for almost five years. You know how I got him out of my life.” She shakes her body to shake the memories and smiles her fake smile again. “Who was your first television crush?”
He struggles to get his emotions under control and get back into the silly mind set she needs. Cracking a smile, Chance forces himself to laugh. “My first television crush was Kelly from Saved By The Bell.” Ashlee's mouth drops open then she giggles. “What! Saved By The Bell was the best. Every Saturday morning, I'd get my bowl of Apple Jacks and turn on the TV to watch the Bayside group deal with the hardships of being a squeaky clean teen.”
“Jessie got addicted to caffeine pills once,” Ashlee reminds him.
“Uh huh, so you did watch!”
“Of course,” she grins. “Who didn't from our generation?”
He shrugs, laughing with her. “Okay same question. Who was your first television crush?”
“It was a tie.” She moves a little closer to him and stretches her legs out on the bed. “Dylan McKay from Beverly Hills 90210 was always a guy I liked and Zach Morris from,” she laughs at his grin. “Saved By The Bell.” She leans back with her elbows supporting her body. “Have you ever played seven minutes in heaven before?”
“Yes, but it's been a long time.” He rolls his body toward hers, but keeps some distance between them. “I wouldn't mind playing with you.” She blushes. “Would you like to play with me sometime?” He wags his eyebrows at her.
She falls back laughing. Getting a hold of her giggles she rolls over onto her side to see him better. “Yes, I would.” He removes some blonde hair from her face and she gently pushes her cheek into his palm. “Name one song you are embarrassed to admit you know all the words to.”
Chance rolls his eyes, “Ice- Ice Baby by Vanilla Ice,” she starts laughing again. He jumps on the bed and starts singing at the top of his lungs into his fist. “Ice, ice baby, ice, ice baby; All right stop- collaborate and listen; Ice is back with my brand new invention; Something grabs a hold of me tightly; Then I flow like a harpoon daily and nightly. Will it ever get stop? Yo I don't know; Turn off the lights and I'll glow. To the extreme I rock the mic like a vandal. Light up the stage and wax a chump like a candle.” Ashlee starts cheering at his performance. He bows deeply then falls back to the bed. She bounces from the force, rolling toward him. “Okay- now,” he inhales through his laughter. “What is your favorite time of year?”
“Fall,” she tilts her head to the side. “I love watching the leaves change colors. It always looks so magical and bright.” She takes his hand in hers again. “What sport is your favorite to watch?”
“I love to watch football. Fall and winter is the best time of the year.” She rolls her eyes but continues to smile. “Do you watch sports?”
“Yeah,” she shrugs. “Buzz, my best friend's grandfather, used to hold football parties at his bar. I worked there for a long time so I got used to them and then I really started to enjoy the excitement of the games. The best are when it's down to the wire and your really have no idea who will win. Does that answer make you happy?”
He nods, “I think you are just about the most perfect woman in the world.” She blushes because he is only slightly kidding. He means those words completely. “What is your favorite song right now?”
“Love-Games,” she grins cheekily. “Its so dirty but so catchy at the same time.” Chance can't deny that so he just smiles at her. “What came first the chicken or the egg?”
“I've always believed it was the chicken but I'm always willing to hear other points of view.” He takes a deep breath, knowing that he is getting close to the end of his questions, but he didn't want to use his last serious question yet. “Which Muppet did you like the most?”
“Miss Piggy,” she answers immediately. “She's the ultimate strong, independent woman. Hear her roar.” Her shoulder nudges his. “Who was your favorite?”
“Kermit,” Chance says, resting his cheek on the crown of her head. “And since Kermit and Miss Piggy were together and in love, I guess that means we are perfect for each other, huh?”
“Is that your last question or are you sneaking another one in?”
“It was rhetorical,” he presses his lips to her head and waits a second then finally asks the question he has been both dreading and dying to ask. “Did Grady ever rape you Ashlee?”
Her whole body stiffens, but she doesn't move away from him. He counts the seconds until she answers. He reaches fifty-eight. Ashlee sighs brokenly then says, “No. I never told him no.”
“Ashlee-”
She cuts him off, “For it to be rape, I'd have to say no. I never did. I just never said yes either.” She looks up at him with shame in her eyes again. “Are you sure you want me still?”
“With everything inside of me,” he holds her face in his hands and kisses her lips gently. “I want you more than anything in this world.”
TBC>>>