"Tabitha!" Bobby screamed out as he watched her and his old friend Sam kissing. He couldn't believe that his fiancé was kissing some complete stranger in front of all of his business partners. She'd tarnished his good name for the last time. Roberto's eye got as cold as ash, "Tabitha, come back now and all will be forgiven."
"No." Tabitha whispered into Sam's chest in fear that if she let him go he'd disappear. Sam was her freedom from Bobby' s chains; Sam was the answer to the prayers that she'd whispered in silence over the years. Her trembling hands turned to nerves of steel, she could be strong, would be strong, Sam was here now, and Bobby couldn't touch her ever again. "No. All will not be forgiven." she shouted hugging Sam close to her.
"Tabitha. This is your last warning." Bobby warned her folding his arms against his chest.
"Don't worry he can't do nothin' to you." Sam assured her. He started to lead her towards the door, but again Bobby's voice screamed out in a calm way.
"Tabitha, do not make me come and get you from that man for a third time."
"Stay away from me!" Tabitha screamed turning only her head around. "I can't stand this place and I hate you! I hate all of this. The expensive rings, dinners, and all the things that you hide behind to make yourself to feel like a man! Because you know that a man would never hit a woman, and why don't you tell them why I only get top of the line make-up ?" Tabitha screamed out.
"Becuase I love you." He side, the cathedral was silent. No one even dared to breathe. Tabitha grabbed the edge of the dress she hated and wiped off the thick clots of counselor, revealing a dark purple bruise that covered the side of her face.
"This isn't love Bobby. Some body out to lock you up, but I'm the one who's done the time!" Tabitha turned to face Sam; his mouth dropped in shock. He gently turned her face to allow him the full view of Bobby's "love".
"Damn you Da Costa." Sam spat out before taking Tabitha by the hand and walking out of the empty church.
"Oh, no." Bobby whispered to low for any one to hear "You've just damned yourself."
"I want it long." Tabitha replied happily to the store clerk. It had been over a week since she left Bobby and only four more months till she became Mrs. Samuel Guthrie forever. She left the life of money, not taking one single thing. She wanted nothing to do with Bobby in the slightest; she even went as far as to forbade pink from her wedding.
"Hey Tab, you get it yet?" Sam walked into the small boutique where he had left her over three hours ago. He sat down beside her and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.
"Always so impatient Guthrie?" Tabitha asked as the next dress was put on display for her. "I like it but the train is not long enough." Sam rolled his eyes. He still had to sit through the preparations of a single day for the next few months. But it would be worth it to him, after so long he finally got the one thing in life he wanted, so long as he got the girl. One thing still made him nervous. How would he tell her about the other people in his life? How could he tell her about what had happened?
Would she understand what was going through his mind? It was a mistake but not one that he would take back, not for the world. But the other one he hated. He hadn't been home to see them in close to three weeks, and Paige would only be nice about this for so long. He had to tell Tabitha soon, or he feared that he'd end up just like Bobby, standing at the alter.
"Tabitha, *ahem* There's somethin' Ah gotta to tell you." Courage don't fail me now. Sam pleaded with himself.
"What is it? If you say you want me in pink I'm leaving right now." Tabitha joked, but Sam didn't smile. This was too serious to him to be funny. Her concern increased as he started to say something, but then seemed to quickly change his mind. "Sam, what is it?"
"It's just, that, well after the time Ah caught you with uh--Bobby, Ah guess you can say Ah went crazy." It didn't sound much like a opening, but it was better to let her down easy so he didn't end up with a time bomb down his pants.
"You didn't kill anyone did you?"
"No, in fact, it's kind of the ---Well let me start at the beginning. After that night, Ah was reckless with everything. With drinking, with muh money, and with---women." He waited for her response before continuing. Tabitha swallowed hard and shook her head for him to say whatever there was left to say. "And well, Ah was too reckless with two of the girls and, well--" He couldn't even get it out. His eyes started to water up again. Why couldn't he just get it out?
"Sam if you don't tell me what you're talking about I'll call the mansion and find out."
"Ah'm a Dad." There he'd said it, it was out there, and the ball was in her court now. Tabitha's face went white, Sam could imagine his was doing the same. She turned away from him, she didn't know what to think, what to do, or what to say to a bomb like the one he had dropped in her lap. She was scared that if she said the wrong thing, he'd take it the wrong way, and he'd leave her.
"I don't know what to say." She whispered. "Where's the mother?" she asked before her mind could check it before her mouth spoke. She cursed herself for not thinking about what she just said.
"Dead." Much to Tabitha's dismay she felt better that the other woman was out of the way. But the kid was still an issue. What was she going to do knowing that this kid, whatever it was, wasn't hers and his? Just his, his and another woman's baby that she would take part in raising. "And there's somethin' else. But it can wait." he smiled and picked up her hand in his, interlacing their fingers. "Right now let's get your dress."
"Any calls?" Roberto Da Costa asked over the speaker, the new secretary wasn't as good as Alice, but he didn't have much of a choice but to get whatever he could. People, his "friends" had stopped talking to him after his wedding incident. They were all taken back by Tabitha's hidden abuse, and not willing to do business with any one that cold hearted.
"No sir. None." He released the button. That made four days since a meeting and two since any one called. His name was being shamelessly thrown into the tabloids, with graphic pictures of Tabitha leaving the building and the bruise that colored her face. It was her fault that he hit her like he always did. If she would have just behaved given him the respect he deserved, none of that would have happened. But how did Guthrie know? he wondered.
Tabitha asked to send him an invitation but Bobby had flat out refused to have the "hick" at his wedding. Someone had to have sent him an invitation, maybe possibly Alice. Alice had always favored Tabitha over him, and Bobby couldn't stand that his secretary/mistress would do that to him. Bobby shook his head, he couldn't think about that situation at the moment, he had a business to run.
Picking up the stock reports his mind quickly went black with a thick hate. His stocks were at rock bottom, and he was in trouble. All because of Sam and Tab being in love. I've got to break them up, or kill them trying.
"Stop fidgeting." Sam said cooly as the cab pulled in front of the Westchester mansion. Tabitha barely recognized it; the ivy had worked its way up to the roof and the gardens were twice the size they were when she had last seen the place. Two children came running out of the door and ran around the side of the house, then three X-Men came tumbling out the door, Bishop, Scott Summers, and Julio Richter.
"Jean's going to kill us if we lost Rachael again." Scott stressed, looking at Sam for help. Sam pointed to the right as he got out of the car, and Scott and Bishop took off in the direction. Richter stood were he was mouth open, which quickly turned to a smile as he ran up to Tabitha and hugged her as soon as she shut her door.
"Tab it's been such a long time! Where you been? " Julio shouted as Sam took her side once she was released. "Can you wait a sec? I have to go catch someone." Julio said running the way that the second little girl ran off to.
"Well, umm...that was different." Tabitha whispered. Sam paid the taxi driver and picked up their bags as he took the lead and walked towards the door. "Care to explain?" Tabitha asked taking his arm, walking along the side of her future husband.
"Well you remember Scott and Bishop, and that little red head in skates was Rachael. "
"Mmmhmmm. And what of her little friend the one that Ric took off after?"
"That's his little girl. Remember that bad stuff with Christy* all those years ago? " Sam looked down in as the sad memory came over him. Tabitha hadn't stayed with the X-Men through Christy's whole ordeal. A tear rolled down Tabitha's face, true she didn't know the complete story all she knew was that it tore up people, some didn't recover.
"Well, where is yours?" She asked trying to keep off a painful subject. At the mention of his child Sam's eyes brightened again and a smile broke through his frown.
"They'll be along in a while."
"They'll? You never said there was two!" Tabitha stopped dead in her tracks. She could barely believe Sam had one child but two?
"Sorry. One boy One girl. Both brats." He added with a smile opening the door, he waved Tabitha in with an after you gesture.
"Well, look who finally decided to show up." Tabitha looked up the staircase to see her future sister-in-law standing there, eyes like ice, and face of stone. Tabitha shuttered to think of the event two years ago when Paige came close to killing her. She descended down the staircase like a princess at a ball her icy eyes never leaving Tabitha's face. A cold hate, the death look, any name you gave it, it was the look that shot through one's soul.
"Where's Michael and Darcy?" Sam asked, Paige didn't answer but just stood next to Tabitha staring. "Paige! Where's muh kids?"
"Daddy!" A high pitched voice rang out, Tabitha thanked God that Paige took her eyes of her face. Tabitha let out an unnoticed sigh of relief. Paige took of her stony mask for her niece's sake. Sam threw his bags in the nearest seat and scooped up his daughter, hugging her tightly to him. Tabitha couldn't help but smile at the site. She always knew that Sam would be a great Dad, he loved kids and he showed it with out shame to his little girl.
"Micheal Wayne Guthrie! You come back here this instant!" Elizabeth's voice screamed as a blur of blond hair and denim ran out of the kitchen.
"Micheal in trouble again!" The little girl said throwing her arms up in the air. Sam smiled and put her down, just in time for him to tackle his son.
"I didn't do it!" The boy screamed once he realized that he was caught. "I was framed!" Michael continued to squirm, until he looked up at the face of his captor. "Daddy!"
"What did you do now boy?" Sam asked pretending to be upset. Michael shrugged his shoulders as eggs splattered on the floor. Sam looked at his son and then the mess of eggs.
"How'd those get there?"
"Ah'll deal with you later, right now Ah want you to meet someone that is joining our family. Ah'd like you to meet Tabitha." Both heads turned and the little girl grabbed her father's leg, as the little boy grabbed the other one. "Well come on Tab, meet the twins. Darcy's the girl and the guilty one is Mike."
"Glad to meet you two." Tabitha tried hard not to remember her baby that Bobby thought it necessary to kill. A little boy, only one week from being delivered and Bobby decided it wasn't the right time and drugged her, then took her to that hell sent clinic. She started to fell the sting of tears behind her eyes as she walked closer to Sam's obvious pride and joy.
"Who you?" Darcy asked. But before Tabitha had time to answer the front door was filled with noise. Turning around, the two girls that had run out of the house when they first arrived were now screaming and giggling in the arms of their chasers. Rachael, being held up side down by a dirt covered Scott, started to turn as red as her hair. Bishop staggered in through the door with his hair frizzed out in an Afro. Richter was the next to come in, Feleana giggled as she was being brought in over her Father's shoulders, Julio sloshed in and kicked off his soaked shoes.
"Ric would did you do jump in the lake?' Tabitha asked almost unable to control her laughter.
"Feleana thought it would be funny to dump one of her hand made water bubbles on me." Tabitha stopped laughing almost instantly. Richter didn't look up as he drug his daughter up stairs.
"Don't worry Tab, that thing is never comin' back. Christy took care of it."
"It looks gorgeous on you!" Rhane shouted as she walked around examining Tabitha. The dress was exactly what she'd always wanted. Long, white, and simply breathtaking.
"For what Sam paid it should!" Tabitha said as enthusiastic as her friend did.
"What went wrong with Bobby though Tab? Not that I'm sayin' I don' want ta see you an' Sammy together I'm just curios, you two were together so long." Tabitha took off her veil and sat down on the window seat looking out on the lawn, as if he knew, Sam was out playing with his kids.
"A lot of things Rhane, I didn't love him, he beat me, killed my baby, you name it and he did it." She said quietly. Rhane started to sit on the bed. She couldn't believe that Bobby would do that to anyone. " And--he also fixed it permanently that I could never have children."
"I'm sorry tha' I brought it up."
"She looks like an angel doesn't she?" Sam asked looking up into Tabitha's window were she sat looking out.
"Yeah, sure man. How'd she take the news?" Richter asked. Picking up his sleeping daughter as they headed towards the house. Sam looked away to avoid the guilty glare. "You didn't tell her did you?" Richter raised his voice slightly in anger.
"How can Ah tell the woman Ah just got back from that monster of a man, the woman that Ah love, that Ah'm dying?"