by Bella Bennet
* * *
S teve walked into the HR offices and found Bob right away. Bob waved him in and told him to close the door. Oh boy. Steve sat down and tried to relax. No one should know about them, they had been very careful. He wondered if the no intradepartmental dating was the problem here or if something else had gone on. He decided to not say anything and wait to see what Bob had .
"I'm sorry to call you down here, but this couldn't wait. Uh, we got a letter in the mail today, pertaining to you ."
Steve frowned trying to imagine what patient would write what had to be a negative letter. He thought back over the past several months and couldn't think of anytime in which his patient was not satisfied with their surgery. He could not for the life of him, figure out what was going on .
"It's... odd. I want you to read it ."
Steve leaned forward and took the letter from Bob's hand. It was a normal looking letter, but when he read it, he paled and then got furious. He wanted to crumple it up, burn it, stomp on it, call his mother and scream at her. How dare she! How dare she try to ruin his life like this !
"I can see by your reaction you've read the entire letter. I must admit I was shocked that your mother would write something like this. Have you been having problems with her and... as HR I can't ask questions but I wonder if your mother has been diagnosed yet ?"
Which was a nice way of saying his mother was bat shit crazy. That he already knew. He shook his head and chewed on the inside of his cheek. He wanted to stand up and pace, pull his hair, scream but he was stuck in this chair in HR so he had to stay calm and calm himself down. That psychotic cow. He didn't know what else he could do. Get a restraining order? Who got a restraining order against their mother ?
"Yes, that's my mother and yes, it comes as a surprise. I didn't know she would stoop that low to go after me where I worked. She's been like this my entire life. Calling professors in college, calling roommates to ask what time I went to bed, etc." As Steve was talking, Bob's eyebrows hit his hairline and his eyes got wider .
"I know, it sounds unreal, like no one could be this crazy outside an institution, but I swear to you, it is all true and I have references to all events you could call. The professors she contacted, my roommates, my past relationships, all of it. I am surprised she's this upset about me cutting her out of my life ."
Steve stopped and ran his hand through his hair. He wished he had ginger ale to drink right now. He felt like puking .
"So you cut her out of your life ?"
Steve nodded his head. "Yes. At my sister's wedding several weeks ago. Before that I wouldn't let her know my home address because she'd stop without notice too many times and it was hard to get her to leave without rearranging my cabinets. I'm serious, ask my exes. She is something else. Anyway, she confronted me at the reception when my date and I were sitting at our table. Then my date and I snuck out early so she couldn't start in on me after most of the guests had left ."
Steve ran his hands down his face and shook his head. What an ordeal. "Oh, also I got a letter mailed here from her. I kept it in my desk drawer in my office ."
Bob frowned. "Why didn't you tell us ?"
"Because it's embarrassing when it's your mother doing the harassing. And I hoped that was the only thing she would do. Turns out I was optimistic ."
Bob sighed. "If you could bring that down, we'll make a copy of it. But what she says in the letter, not the homophobic ranting, but you're dating someone from work? Is that true ?"
And here it comes. Steve was so mad. This would not only affect him, but now his alpha, Ned. Damn her. She didn't want him to ever be happy, did she ?
"Yes. He was my blind date to the wedding as I needed one last minute. We hit it off and didn't realize we both worked here until the next week." He hoped Bob didn't ask how that was possible. Steve didn't want to tell the guy they were busy with other things than talking .
"I cannot believe your mother is the one behind this, but she signed her name, and with your admission of her past behavior and another letter you received... I'm sorry you have to deal with this ."
Steve nodded his head. He wanted to cry now. Steve went from being so irate he could light fires with his eyes, to wanting to curl up in a ball and cry. Crazy pregnancy hormones. He wished Ned was here. On second thought, he was glad Ned was not. This was embarrassing and hard enough for him to get through, but to drag Ned into it? Beyond embarrassing. What if he decided Steve was too much of a pain with his mother this way? Now Steve was tearing up .
Bob was looking at him. It looked like today was the day for revelations .
"I'm not normally so emotional. I would like you to keep this quiet, but I'm pregnant ."
Bob was surprised. He congratulated Steve and then asked is his mother knew .
"No. And I don't want to even think of what she would do if she found out. I don't know if I can get a restraining order against her. Or even if I could get a psych eval to stick when only one of her kids thinks she needs one ."
Bob's eyebrows couldn't go any higher. "My sister is almost like her. She sees mother as overprotective but nothing crazy. Mom hasn't done her crazy crap with my sister, and whenever she rips into me, it's not with anyone from my immediate family around ."
Bob sighed and shocked his head. "What a kettle of fish. Well, you are a brilliant surgeon, and we don't want to lose you. Let me know about anything else odd and send me a copy of that letter you already got. And as for your partner, do you work in the same department and has he gotten anything from your mother ?"
Steve shook his head no, but stopped. "I don't know. I could see him hiding something just to not upset me. That wedding reception was hard enough to deal with. We both work in surgery ."
Steve didn't want to lie to HR, especially if they would keep his mother away or whatever they would do. But this wasn't good they were both in the same department. What would happen now? Would Ned be so irate he left Steve ?
Chapter 12
N ed wasn't pleased. He wasn't happy with Steve's mother trying to get Steve in trouble or whatever her cockamamie idiotic plan was for that letter to Steve at the hospital. He was furious with her. What a piece of work. Now their relationship was known by HR so they had to be careful with post surgery stress relief. But that was fine since Steve hadn't felt up to it. All due to the pregnancy, caused by those hormones in the first place .
Ned smiled and waved to people he knew in the hallway. Pretending like nothing was wrong. They had gotten done with a meeting in HR. Steve found out about the letter on Ned's car the day after the wedding. He wasn't happy Ned kept it a secret from him. And Ned found out about the letter Steve had gotten, which he wasn't happy that Steve had kept a secret from him. Then HR wasn't too happy that they continued to date knowing they were violating a hospital policy. Just an all around miserable meeting .
Ned grabbed his stuff out of his locker and was glad he rode his bike today. He needed to ride off some stress and think. He was also pissed, that everyone in the meeting, even Steve, assumed that Ned would be the one to get a different job. Yes Steve was a surgeon, yes he had more skill, yes he made more money and was harder to replace than Ned, but still. Ned was just in a terrible mood. He finally had gotten to the day shift and now he had to start at the bottom of the totem pole somewhere else .
Ned walked out to his bike thinking. He could get a job in another department, but he wasn't specialized for the OB surgery floor and they didn't have surgeries all the time there. Plus he didn't think there was even an opening. He could work on the cardiac floor, but again he needed more training. So Ned had to leave the hospital. He was pissed .
He put on his helmet, put his backpack on, and took off for home. There were a lot of other hospitals in the area. Specialized cardiac hospitals, cancer, surgical centers, plastic surgery, b
ut he didn't care for any of that. He liked being a general surgical nurse as he got to assist with a wide variety of surgeries. Plus those cardiac surgeries lasted a long time. He didn't want to deal with that .
Ned pedaled harder and tried to pay attention to the traffic. He didn't want to get run over and killed just because he was mad at everything coming down at once. He took some deep breaths and tried to focus on the muscles pedaling, the wind against his face, the burn in his thighs. Anything to keep him from focusing on the shit show that was his life .
The only good thing he had to look forward to right now was Henry and David's wedding that weekend. Maybe they would have some ideas. But then again, he would not pester David for legal advice on his wedding day. And he wasn't sure they were even getting married, but that was the only conclusion he could come up with. Ned sighed again and kept on pedaling .
* * *
S teve had noticed Ned's bad mood earlier this week. It was obvious what the cause was. That he had talked to HR. Now they knew about their dating and Ned had to find another job. He felt like crap but didn't know what else he could do. Especially when his own mother had mailed a letter to HR. It's not like they could pretend that didn't happen .
So Steve had tried to not upset Ned, tried to give him a massage which Ned turned down because Steve was pregnant, tried to make dinner which Steve stopped him because he was pregnant and so on. He was about ready to climb the walls with Ned's mood and him stopping Steve from doing anything. They needed to have a talk .
But right now was not the time. Maybe tonight after Henry and David's thing or tomorrow morning. Maybe he could make French Toast and get Ned to open up. He would not apologize, he didn't choose his mother, but he was sorry for how she had messed up their lives already. And they had only just gotten together! It was enough to make you bang your head against the car door .
"Are you feeling ok ?"
Ned reached over from the driver's seat and squeezed Steve's thigh. Steve held his hand and looked over at Ned. The sun was coming through the windows, highlighting the blond streaks in Ned's hair. It was gorgeous. Steve was amazed again that Ned had never been a model. Ned had been approached though, but wasn't sure the people were from a legit agency. At least that's what Ned told him. He believed Ned, but that still would be something to point to an ad and say 'that's my man '.
"I'm feeling fine. Just thinking of my mother and all her bullshit ."
Ned squeezed his hand. They continued to hold hands and sit in comfortable silence as they drove to Henry and David's .
* * *
T here were quite a few cars in the driveway and street. Steve wondered how many people were invited to this get together. He also wondered if Ned was right that it was a wedding in disguise. Steve half wished it wasn't, so he could ask Henry about his pregnancy and hold their baby. But then half of him wanted a nice wedding, one he could enjoy .
There was a sign on the door to go to the backyard, so they followed the arrow to the side, crossed the little Japanese wooden bridge, which was adorable, and into a rose garden. There were several people already in the backyard. He recognized Henry and David from their Facebook profiles. They were both in suits with David carrying the little baby .
He spotted Penny holding her arms out, trying to convince David to let her hold the baby .
"Hey, what is the name of their baby?" He glanced over at Ned who was smiling at the couple. Ned turned to look at Steve. He felt warmth and happiness looking at Ned. Steve was so content .
"I don't know. I don't think they had a name when I visited Henry in the hospital. I'm sure they have one now though." Ned grabbed Steve's hand, and they continued walking towards the couple holding hands .
Steve noticed a buffet set up along the back landscaping. There was even a portable bar set up with a bartender. Wow, this had to be a wedding. He was glad they wore slacks and not jeans or shorts like they had planned .
"Ned! Steve! I'm glad you could make it!" Henry gave them each a hug, but a longer one for Ned. He knew Ned had helped get them together, but he didn't know the whole story. Maybe he introduced them ?
Penny came over for a hug too. "You look so happy and content. You're glowing too. Are you pregnant ?"
Steve couldn't hide anything from Penny. He blushed and nodded his head. Penny yelled and gave him another tighter hug. He laughed as they rocked back and forth .
Ned put his arm around Steve's shoulders and looked at Henry and David, who had wandered over after Penny's scream .
"We've got something we'd like to share. Steve and I will be parents soon ."
Steve was surrounded by people he didn't know. All were congratulating him, hugging and patting his stomach. He didn't like random people touching his belly, like being pregnant made him community property? He stepped half behind Ned and whispered in his ear that people kept rubbing his belly. Ned wrapped an arm around Steve's belly and one around his shoulders. That should keep them away, right? He hoped so .
Finally, it had cleared out and they could see David and the baby. He was itching to hold the baby. He didn't know what it was, he'd blame it on pregnancy hormones like anything else these days, but he was crazy for babies. David handed over the little bundle that was sleeping and Steve just stared at the little eyelashes, eyebrows, button nose, little lips. She was so cute .
Tears were welling in his eyes. He felt so much love for the baby growing inside of him. He had a piece of Ned inside him. It overwhelmed him sometimes .
"What is her name ?"
"We named her Elizabeth Pat Bianchi, after Henry's parents ."
That was so moving. And there goes the tears running down his face. He looked at Ned, but he was ready with a corner of the baby blanket, wiping away Steve's tears. Steve looked down at the little angel and sniffed her head. Such a clean, baby smell. He couldn't wait for their baby to arrive. He knew it would hurt coming out, but he was so ready for his own little angel .
"She is just the cutest thing ever ."
"Thank you." David was near Steve, not crowding, but watching baby Elizabeth. Steve smiled and then handed the baby back, to ease David's concerns. He could even see the tension leave David as he held Elizabeth again .
Steve put a hand on his own belly and held it there. He knew Ned would be just like David, protective and wrapped around their baby's finger. He looked over at Ned and tried to keep his tears from welling over. Stupid hormones .
Ned reached out and grabbed Steve's hand without even looking. He loved that that they were so close they couldn't bear to be apart. He squeezed Ned's hand and smiled when Ned looked over .
"You two are the cutest couple I've seen. Besides David and I ."
They all laughed. "Don't tell Penny that or it will get to her head ."
They had all been helped out by Penny's amazing knack for bringing people together. She knew she was hot stuff, and didn't let David forget it, as she was his secretary .
"I wonder who she will pair up next ?"
They all shrugged their shoulders. David leaned over to Henry and said something. Henry smiled and set his beer down on a rock lantern in the garden. The couple walked over to Penny and handed the baby to her. She was pleased to be holding little Elizabeth. Steve squeezed Ned's hand again. He couldn't wait for their baby .
"Attention everyone. Thanks for coming to our shindig. We had an ulterior motive." Henry grabbed David's hand and looked forward again. "We're getting married !"
Everyone cheered and clapped. Except for a loud "What?" which was quickly shushed by the big Italian looking guy. A minister walked off the deck at the back of the house to where the happy couple was standing. Ned was right, they were getting married right now. He felt full of love and happiness at that moment. He hoped he'd get his happy ever after too .
The group gathered around the couple as t
he minister performed the wedding ceremony. Penny held Elizabeth near the couple, but was back far enough to still be part of the crowd. As the couple kissed the crowd let out huge cheers. Except for one voice "I can't believe you didn't let me know! Your own mother!" Steve flinched and moved back. That was too close to what his mother was like. Ned put his arm around Steve's back and squeezed .
"That's David's mother. She loves him and would do nothing to hurt him. She goes overboard in loving and smothering him ."
Steve nodded his head and watched the Italian woman, David's mother, squeeze his face with her hands and then give him a big sobbing hug. She did the same with Henry. And tried to do the same with Elizabeth but Penny wouldn't let her squeeze her cheeks. And then David's mom had her hands on her hips telling Penny that she was the grandmother and had more of a right to hold the grand baby than she did. Oh boy. Penny handed Elizabeth to David and stalked closer to David's mother. The look of terror on Henry and David's faces would have been comical if this wasn't their wedding. Henry jumped between the women and pushed Penny back. The Italian man, that must be David's father, pulled David's mother back. Hopefully they would keep to their respective corners of the backyard for the night .
"Wow. That was a close one. Now I know why David said he keeps Penny and his mother far apart ."
Steve shook his head. He couldn't believe it was all over just like that. And people stood up to them and pulled them apart! It was a different world than what he was used to with his family. But a much better one .
"Time to toast the happy couple. Do you want anything other than a ginger ale ?"
