Nice To Meet You: Chapter One
Title: Nice To Meet You
Author: Allie
Summery: Matt receives a phone call that changes his life forever. How will Harriet take the news?
Rating: R
Characters or Pairing: Matt/Harriet, Jordan/Danny
Disclaimer: I don't own them, I wish I did =)
I decided to write a new story, so please REVIEW and let me know what you think of it. I am also working on “Facing It Alone” and “Baby Steps” right now; so keep checking back for more updates.
Nice To Meet You: Chapter One
Matt yawned as he dragged his feet along the quiet corridors of the studio. It was Friday at 6 a.m., and he’d been working all night, trying to get the show finished in time for the first run-through of the day.
“Why didn’t you wake me?”
A smile spread across Matt’s face. He and Harriet had been back together for the past 6 months. He promised himself that this would be it for them; no more messing around, no more stupid arguments, and no more breaking up. They’d been together for a total of 6 years, but it was more like 5, as they’d spent a little over a year of that broken up.
“You looked so cute lying there asleep on the couch; I didn’t have the heart to wake you.” He smiled, kneeling down to give her a kiss.
Harriet pouted a little. “But I promised to stay awake and keep you company.”
“You did.”
“How? I’ve been asleep all night.” Harriet pointed out, looking at her watch to emphasise her point.
“Just listening to you make all those cute little sounds while you were asleep kept me going.” He grinned.
“Where are you getting all these cheesy lines from? Have you been reading my Cosmo again?”
“What? I told you I don’t read them… I just take the quizzes.” He told her quietly.
Harriet laughed. “I think you actually brought that yearly subscription for yourself and not for me.”
“Maybe I did, maybe I didn’t. I have learned a lot from reading them, though. I swear they should hand these out to guys in college, it would help them understand women a lot more.” He joked, standing up and stretching.
“Did you get everything finished?”
Matt pointed to the jam-packed pin board in the corner of his room. “Yep. We have some pretty good stuff for tonight’s show as well.”
“I know it was my choice to take a year off from the show, but I do miss it.” Harriet confessed, walking to Matt’s desk, and sitting on his lap.
“Do you regret it?” He asked, snaking his arm around her waist.
“No. Some days I wake up and think ‘shit, what have I done?’ but then I remember why I’ve done it. I needed some time out, but I’d also love to get the chance to work on another movie… Plus, I think the time apart for us is healthy.”
“God, Harriet. Whoever is fortunate enough to write a movie for you is going to be one lucky bastard.” Matt groaned, as he slowly nibbled Harriet’s neck.
Harriet turned around quickly. “Do you really think so?”
“Are you kidding me, Harri? I’d love to write a movie for you. You’re so versatile, it’s unbelievable.”
“Would I happen to be naked for a majority of the movies you’d write for me?” She teased.
“Of course.” He grinned, pulling her in for another kiss.
XxXxX
“It’s weird, but she does look like me. Don’t you think?” Danny smiled, as he lifted Rebecca out of her carrycot.
“She’s a baby, Danny. They all look the same.” Matt said, scrunching his nose and looking at the child in Danny’s arms.
“I know most babies look the same, but not Rebecca. You can tell she’s going be special.”
“She is cute, I’ll give you that. Can I have a cuddle?”
Danny threw an arm around Matt’s shoulder, while he delicately cradled Rebecca in the crook of his remaining arm, lulling her to sleep.
“Not with you, you moron, with the baby.” Matt laughed quietly, taking Rebecca from Danny.
“Aww, she likes you.” Danny said, seeing the small smile appear on Rebecca’s face.
“Mmm, no… I definitely think its just gas.” Matt said, carefully holding the baby at arm’s length with his nose wrinkled before placing her back in Danny’s arms.
XxXxX
“Tom, Sim, I have a sketch idea for you.” Matt said, jogging towards them while they were reading through their lines later that afternoon at the side of the stage. “A 70-year-old shoplifter tries to escape being taken into custody, by biting an arresting officer, before realising he'd left his dentures at home.” Matt laughed, as he took a seat next to Tom. “So, what did you think?”
“It’s funny.” Tom told him, grabbing the paper from his hands.
“We just need a small sketch to fill the last couple of minutes at the end. I was thinking you could the elderly man.” Matt grinned, looking directly at Tom. “And Sim, you can be the police officer.”
“Why does Simon get to be the police officer?”
“Because I look more like one than you do.”
“No, you don’t.”
“Yes, I do. I have a better physique.”
“No, you don’t”
“Yes, I do. Tell him, Matt. Tell him I have a better body.”
“I am staying out of this one.” Matt laughed, walking away, leaving the two of them to bicker amongst themselves.
“What the hell was that about?” Danny asked, as Matt sat down with him, Harriet and Jordan in front of the stage, to watch Dylan, Sam, and Jeannie rehearse a sketch.
Matt leaned over and squeezed Harriet’s hand. “You really don’t want to know.”
They sat watching the rehearsals in silence for a while. The ringing of a phone caused them all to jump.
“Sorry about this guys.” Danny mouthed, to the cast who were busy running through sketches on stage as he picked up the phone. “Hello… Yeah, he’s right here. Oh, okay, I’ll send him up right now.” Danny said, as he hung up the phone. “That was Suzanne. The police are on the phone for you.” He told him seriously.
“What? Did she say what they wanted?” Matt asked slowly, slightly confused.
Danny breathed in sharply. “They told Suzanne that it was to do with Rachel White…”
Matt got up quickly. “I haven’t seen her for ages. I wonder what they want?” He muttered to himself, standing up and making his way to his office, taking the stairs two at a time.
“Hi, this is Matt Albie.” Matt said, keeping his voice low. “How can I help you?” Matt listened carefully to the voice on the other end. “Yeah, I knew her… We dated for a while about four years ago… Really? God, that’s terrible. I have to ask, what does this have to do with me? I haven’t seen or heard from her since we broke up…Okay, I’ll be right down.” He said, hanging up the phone.
“Is everything okay?” Suzanne asked, causing Matt to jump.
“God, I didn’t see you there.” He said, turning around to face her. “Apparently an ex-girlfriend of mine has died. I haven’t seen her in years, but the police have asked me to come down to the station and bring some I.D along.”
“Do you want me to tell anyone?”
“Nah, it’s okay; thanks, I’ll do it.” He told her, as he walked out onto the balcony that overlooked the stage. “Hey guys.” He called down to Danny, Jordan, and Harriet. “I have to run down to the police station. I shouldn’t be long.”
“What do they want?” Danny called up at him.
“Remember Rachel? She died…”
“But what does that have to do with you?” Danny interrupted, sounding shocked.
“They wouldn’t say what they needed me for over the phone. I should be back soon.”
“Is everything written for the show tonight?”
“Yeah, everything’s done. Can you just get people rehearsing their sketches?” He called down, as he searched his coat pocket for his car keys.
“Do you want me to come with you?” Harriet shouted up at him from the stage floor.
“No, I’ll be fine, babe. Are you okay to stay here and help people run through their lines?”
“Okay, drive carefully.” She said, as she sat back down next to Jordan.
“Okay, so who the hell is Rachel White?” Jordan whispered to the two of them, once she was certain that Matt had gone.
“Just some tramp that he dated while we were broken up.” Harriet said through clenched teeth.
“Harri, come on, that’s not fair. The poor woman’s just died. Plus, you did dump him for Luke Scott. What was he meant to do? Sit around and watch one of his ex-best friends screw around with the love of his life?” Danny sighed, pushing his glasses up his nose with his index finger.
Harriet took the red pen from Danny’s hand and began doodling little hearts onto the sheet of paper in her lap. “I wonder why they want to talk to Matthew though. He hasn’t seen Rachel in years.” Harriet mumbled.
“Who knows? Don’t worry, he’ll call us as soon as he knows what’s going on.” Danny assured her.
XxXxX
Matt made the short drive to the West Hollywood police station in his silver BMW M6 Convertible. Pulling into the parking lot, he leaned his head back onto the headrest and closed his eyes. He was nervous about what the police wanted to talk to him about; like he’d mentioned over the phone, he hadn’t seen Rachel in years. He slowly climbed out of the car, nervously checking his pockets for his driving licence and passport before slowly making his way up the stairs that led to the police station.
“Hi, my name’s Matthew Albie. Someone called me earlier and asked me to come in.” He told the officer at the desk quickly.
“Okay. Take a seat and someone will be with you in a minute.”
“Thank you.” Matt replied, as he sat down, anxiously drumming his fingers on his legs.
He’d barely been there two minutes, when a friendly-looking police officer called him into a side room.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Albie. My name’s Chief Superintendent Woodward. I spoke to you earlier, regarding the death of your friend Rachel White.” The officer said, rummaging through the notes in front of her.
Matt swallowed hard. “What happened to her?” He asked.
“She died from breast cancer.”
“I haven’t seen Rachel in years. What does this have to do with me?” Matt asked quietly.
“It has a lot to do with you Mr. Albie. When Miss. White died, she clearly stated in her will that she would like Molly to live with you.”
“Okay…” Matt interrupted.” Wait, who’s Molly?”
“Molly is your three year old daughter.” She explained, showing him the birth certificate with his name on it. “I take it by the look on your face, you had no idea she even existed.” She said softly.
“God, why didn’t she tell me?” He asked, but was talking more to himself than the police officer in front of him.
“We can offer you an instant DNA test, if you’d like?” The officer explained. “We’re one of the only stations in the United States to offer such an accurate result within an hour.”
Matt nodded his head. “That would be great. It’s not that I don’t believe she’s mine, it’s just… I’m still in shock.”
“I understand.” The officer smiled sympathetically.
Matt watched her stretch the white rubber gloves over her hands and produce a tall cotton swab out of a plastic tube.
“Open wide.” She said as she collected DNA samples from the inside of his cheek. “We’ve already taken Molly’s DNA in case you required the test. We’ll send these off to the laboratory now.”
“Thanks.”
“Would you like to see her?” The officer asked, as she gently placed the swab back in the plastic tube, and sealed it carefully.
“I, uh, I don’t know if I should.” Matt sputtered.
“It will only be through the one-way observation mirror.” She assured him. “She won’t be able to see you. To her, it looks like an ordinary mirror.”
“Oh, okay.” He said, standing up and following Chief Superintendent Woodward into the room next door.
“There she is.” She smiled, pointing to the small child lying on the floor, playing with her teddy bears. Matt’s face lit up; he was already utterly mesmerised by her. He knew just by looking at her, that she was his; she was a perfect mixture of both Rachel and him. She had his brown hair and blue eyes, and Rachel’s wavy hair and short stature.
A small lump formed in Matt’s throat. “God, she’s beautiful.”
“She knows all about you.” The officer explained.
“Really?”
“Yeah. I believe her Mom prepared her for this. She’s been clutching your photo all afternoon.”
“I can’t wait to meet her.” Matt said, unable to take his eyes off of his daughter, smiling when she ran to the mirror and pulled silly faces, unaware that anyone could see her.
An hour or so later, there was a soft knock on the door.
“Come in.” Chief Superintendent Woodward called out.
“I have the DNA results for you.”
“Thank you, Robert.” She said, taking the sealed white envelope from him. “Are you ready?” She asked, once Robert had left the room.
“As ready as I’ll ever be.” He said, anxiously running a hand over his face.
He watched as she hastily tore open the envelope and pulled out the sheet of paper, which held the results on that could change his life forever.
“Matthew, the test has come back positive. You are Molly’s father.” She informed him, as she took a seat across from him at the table. “How do you feel?”
“Shocked, excited, proud, confused, emotional… you name it, I feel it.” He explained. “I just can’t believe I have a daughter.”
“Would you like to meet her?” Her voice softened as she stood up.
Matt stood up nervously, cracking his knuckles. “Yeah.”
“Follow me.” She said, as she made her way out of the door, and into the small room next door.
“Molly, sweetheart, look whose here to see you.”
Molly looked up at Matt and smiled shyly, covering her face with her brown teddy bear.
“Hey, Molly.” Matt said as he crouched down to her level. “It’s nice to meet you.” He held out his hand and smiled when she timidly placed her small hand in his and shook it lightly.
“The cat seems to have got her tongue.” A female police officer that had been sitting with Molly teased. “She’s been excited about seeing you all day, haven’t you, Molly?”
Molly nodded her head and one again covered her face with her teddies.
“You have lots of cool teddy bears. Are they all yours?” Matt asked, as he sat down on the floor next to Molly.
Molly nodded her head eagerly.
“Can I see them?” He asked, hoping that would get a sound out of her.
Sticking her thumb firmly in her mouth she stood up and plonked herself down on Matt’s lap, dragging her teddies behind her.
“Wow, isn’t this one really pretty?” He said, picking up a brown bear with fairy wings and a tutu. “I bet your favourite colour is pink, huh?”
Molly giggled and nodded her head. ”Mine too.” He teased, causing Molly to laugh.
“Matthew, all you need to do is sign some of these papers, and you and Molly are free to go.” Chief Superintendent Woodward explained.
“Okay.” He said standing up with Molly in his arms. He smiled broadly, as he felt her wrap her arms and legs tightly around him. It was such an amazing feeling, a feeling that he’d never felt before, knowing that his daughter felt safe in his arms.
He took a seat at the table, with Molly still happily sitting in his lap as he signed the necessary paperwork.
“We’re all done, Molly.” He said, smiling at the sleepy child in his lap.
“I’ll have some of the guys help take her stuff to your car.” The officer said, smiling at Matt and Molly.
“Thanks for everything.” Matt said, as he made his way out of the door to his car.
He carefully placed Molly into her car seat and strapped her in.
“Are you comfortable, sweetheart?” He asked, stroking her arm with his finger.
Molly nodded her head, and let out a little yawn.
“She’ll probably fall asleep in a minute.” Chief Superintendent Woodward smiled. “My children always fall asleep in the car. It’s a good tip if you’re ever struggling to get her to sleep.”
“Thank you again.” Matt said, as he climbed into his car.
He buckled his seatbelt and placed the key in the ignition. He quickly glanced at Molly, and smiled when he saw her eyes stubbornly refusing to close. “Go to sleep, sweetie.” He told her, as he pulled out of the police parking lot.
A couple of minutes later, he looked over and saw that the officer was right, Molly was fast asleep, sucking her thumb and cuddling her favourite teddy, Booboo.
He stopped at a red light and pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, calling the only person he knew who could help him.
“Hey, it’s me.”
TBC