A NEW PANIC
A week later, the snow had melted and Tulsa was alive again. Isaac was especially happy to be back in the real world after the time he'd spent being shut up in Zac's house. He was reminded of why he remained single: while he loved his niece and nephews, spending nearly a week on lockdown with the three small, bored children made him ready to lose his mind.
Mostly, though, he'd enjoyed himself. He enjoyed the quality family time he'd gotten to spend and he was especially proud of the Lego metropolis that he and Shepherd had managed to complete before Abe decided he was Godzilla and destroyed their work in less than a fraction of the time it had taken to complete it. Zac had gotten plenty of pictures and video of it, though, and Shep seemed to be okay with that and Isaac was grateful to not have to experience the temper tantrum.
Back at 3CG, he had been ready to get down to business. Staying out of the bars and keeping the women out from underneath him had opened his eyes in a way that they hadn't been opened in a long time. He was content being with his family, focusing on his work, and looking forward to the upcoming tour overseas. He wasn't, however, entirely thrilled with the amount of time Taylor spent outside of the studio dealing with wedding stuff, baby stuff, and real estate stuff. He wondered if perhaps the newlyweds hadn't quite thought everything through when they decided to have their impromptu, snowed-in wedding, romantic as they must have found it to be.
If Taylor wasn't off talking to their attorney, or when he wasn't whisking Zac to the courthouse to put the finishing touches on the marriage license, he was at a doctor's appointment with Winn, on and off the phone between her and the movers to get her moved into his house, or playing phone tag with her mortgage company to get her house paid for. Then there was the sizing of the wedding rings they'd ordered, the mad dash to get Winn a passport in time so that she could travel on tour with them, and all the legal mess he had to go through with adding her to his accounts, adjusting his will, and everything else that went with it. Isaac gathered that Taylor spent maybe three hours per day in the studio rehearsing and dealing with tour business and the rest of the time was spent dealing with the personal life that he'd all of a sudden found himself with.
"Slow down," Isaac told him. "Take your time you don't have to be in such a rush."
"I just want to get it all done," Taylor kept replying, over and over. Isaac guessed he could respect that, but they sure picked one hell of a time to elope if this was what was going to come out of it.
A week and a half into their marriage and six weeks into Winn's pregnancy, Isaac approached Taylor as he concentrated a little too hard on changing a guitar string on the acoustic he balanced on his knee. Isaac pulled up a chair and sat across from him. "Tay," he said quietly. "It's been over a week now. Don't you think it's time you let the cat out of the bag?"
Letting out a breath, he looked up at Isaac. "I told you how it went with her parents," he said. "I'd really like to avoid round two of that."
"You can't avoid it forever. It's gonna get out."
"I know. I just--I need a way to ease into it..."
"Invite everyone over for dinner or something. The bigger a deal you make out of it, the more stressful it's going to be for you. And I'm not trying to start anything, but you've been kinda absent in the studio this week and we really need you. We can't afford to fall behind right now."
Taylor looked back at him, his expression displaying his obvious nerves. In his eyes was certain apprehension. Isaac sighed. "I'll take care of it. I'll just--I'll give Mom some kind of sob story about missing the family and spending time and see about getting everyone together. Then you can drop the bomb and get it over with."
"Seems a little dramatic, don't you think?"
"You got any better ideas?"
Taylor sighed as he finished changing the string and snipped off the excess. "Thanks, Ike. I, uh, I really appreciate that."
*****************
And that was how Isaac ended up with Abe perched on his arm at his parents' house as the pair stood back and watched the madhouse that was their large family. Abe was a sweet kid. A total hellion at home, but shy and quiet in crowds, even amongst family, he was pretty good company when the madness and the chaos that was the Hanson family got to be too overwhelming. As Abe watched the scene, wide-eyed, with a finger between his teeth, Isaac looked over at him and gently pinched his pudgy belly. "Not much for conversation these days, are we?" Then he sighed and surveyed the scene. "Can't say I blame you, though. It's okay, you're safe with me, kid. I wouldn't voluntarily throw you to the wolves."
At that, they heard the familiar squeal that belonged to Abe's older sister and, upon hearing it, the toddler jumped, startled, and then looked back at his uncle, wide-eyed. "I'm sorry you gotta live with that every single day, kid," Isaac mumbled to him.
As Isaac carried his little buddy further into the room, he observed what he suspected was the source of Junia's squealing: Taylor and Winn had arrived and together, no less. Hand-in-hand, they entered the house, only breaking contact long enough for Junia to ignore her favorite uncle and make a beeline straight for Winn. Isaac's heart began to gently pound in anticipation of his brother's big news and apparently, walking in the house with his fingers intertwined with Winn's was already causing enough buzz.
Sitting around the dinner table was like Thanksgiving all over again, except this time Taylor and Winn were showing real affection toward each other and it would have warmed Isaac's heart had he not been so nervous for the two of them. He wasn't sure why he cared so much, anyway. It wasn't his news he had to deal with. It wasn't his marriage, it wasn't his baby, it wasn't going to be all eyes on him, demanding details. But then again, maybe it would be. It was no secret that he and Winn had something going on there for a short while. They went on public dates, they didn't try to hide it. So, maybe, in a way, some of the scrutiny WOULD be on him. Maybe that had something to do with his nerves.
As a whole, however, dinner was enjoyable. The mood was merry and everyone was having a good time, Isaac included. There were jokes made and stories told and an abundance of laughing and smiling and Isaac was beginning to feel more at ease. This would be easy. Taylor would tell everyone his news and everyone would be thrilled because everyone loved Winn, loved the fact that they were finally an item, and all were in a generally good mood.
With dinner nearly over, and chatter starting to calm down, Taylor made his move, standing up at the opposite end of the table. Isaac, sitting next to their mother, who sat at the head, felt his palms begin to sweat. Then he braced himself.
"So, um, while we're all here," Taylor started. "I have something that I, uh, wanted to say to everyone." He glanced down at Winn and she nodded encouragingly. Taking a deep breath, he looked around the table and put on his best smile. "I'm really happy that we could all get together so soon after Christmas. I know it's hard to get us all together and I really appreciate everyone making the effort. We should, uh, we should do this more often." As agreeing murmurs floated down the table, Taylor locked eyes nervously with Isaac for a moment and Isaac nodded his support at him. Taking in another breath, Taylor continued. "I'm also happy that you've all been so accepting of Winn. Things, um, things have been a little, um, complicated with us, I guess, but it feels good to say that we were able to work it all out and, uh, find each other amidst everything that the both of us were going through individually. Some things take time and we appreciate the support that we've gotten along the way from this very table." He paused to take a deep breath and Isaac thought he was going to faint, as he grew slightly pale. Next to him, Winn quietly reached over and slid her hand into his. Finding his courage again, Taylor straightened his spine and he delivered the blow. "I don't really know how else to go into it so I guess I'll just say it. Um, Winn and I recently got married and...we're having a baby."
You could have heard a pin drop. Isaac swallowed hard as his heart raced. While he knew what was going on, knew this was coming, and being perfectly fine with it having been working on moving on to bigger and better things, a small part of him still felt the sting as he heard the words out loud.
Married. They were married. Husband and wife. The thought dizzied him a little.
Isaac looked over at his mother, expecting her to cry tears of joy. What he didn't expect was the daggers she shot across the table at her son. "Excuse me?"
Taylor was so nervous. Isaac felt for his brother. "It's, uh, it's true. We love each other. And--and we talked about it and...well, turns out the feelings have been there all along. After all this time. Crazy, right?"
Still silence. Nobody dared respond.
"Um, anyway," he continued. "I, um, I asked her to marry me and she said yes and we didn't want to wait, so--"
"So you eloped," their mother finished, cutting Taylor off.
Taylor looked down at Winn and then back at his mother. It was obvious that this wasn't the reaction he was expecting, it sure wasn't the reaction Isaac was expecting, and it was likely that this wasn't the reaction he'd prepped his new wife for, either. "Uh...I mean, if that's how you want to look at it..."
"It's not about how I look at it, it is what it is. You eloped. Here we all sit, with NO idea the two of you were even in a relationship until tonight, and then all of a sudden, you're married? AND she's pregnant? Is it even yours?"
Taylor's jaw dropped and Isaac looked over at their mother. "Mom, you didn't need to--"
"It's a legitimate question," Diana retorted as she looked back at Isaac. "It's no secret she was involved with you all this time and then all of a sudden she turns up pregnant and they have, what, a shotgun wedding?"
"Mom, she's sitting RIGHT HERE," Taylor said. "Don't disrespect her and talk about her like she's not here."
"Fine," she said. Then she looked across the table at Winn. "Forgive me, Winn, for not acknowledging you in this conversation, but is that Tay's baby? Or do you even know? Or does it even belong to either of my sons?"
Isaac watched the tears spring to Winn's eyes as she looked back at Diana in horror, shocked at the verbal assault. Surprisingly, Isaac found himself growing as increasingly angry with their mother as Taylor looked. "That is UNCALLED for!" Taylor barked. "How dare you?"
"Mom, there is a LOT going on behind the scenes that you don't know about. You're being completely unfair to them," Isaac said.
"Am I?" She replied. "How do YOU feel about it? How do YOU feel about your girlfriend sleeping around behind your back and marrying your brother?"
Taylor and Isaac exchanged desperate glances with each other and Winn hid her face in her hands as the muffled sobs escaped through her fingers. "You're getting it all wrong--" Isaac started.
"How could you?" Diana said to Taylor. "You two barely know each other--"
"Are you serious?" Taylor squeaked incredulously. "YOU'RE the one who said to my FACE that love didn't know time. YOU told me to tell her how I felt. And that was two months ago!"
Isaac's eyes widened at this news and he looked over at his mother. "You encouraged Taylor to pursue her while I was still seeing her? Because you're totally not being a hypocrite right now..." Reaching in front of him, he turned up his drink that he now desperately wished contained alcohol.
Diana ignore Isaac, her anger and her energy completely focused on Taylor now. "I DIDN'T TELL YOU TO GET HER PREGNANT AND ELOPE WITH HER! I believe in marrying for love, I don't believe in marrying for convenience."
Winn continued to sob and Isaac's heart went out to her. She didn't need this. He already knew breaking the news to her parents went bad and she didn't need this on top of it. Especially not with being pregnant.
"It's not convenience!" Taylor said, his voice growing louder. "I LOVE HER. We would have gotten married even if she wasn't pregnant, regardless of what ANYONE had to say about it!"
"How could you be so stupid and so selfish?" Their mother sneered.
"You know, you're the ONE person that I expected to be happy about this," Taylor said. "I know it's sudden and I know it's a shock, but I am HAPPY. WE are happy. We were hoping that you guys would be happy for us, too."
"I'd be happy with a paternity test," Diana shot back.
"WE SLEPT TOGETHER ON CHRISTMAS EVE! Okay? Are you happy now? There it is, our private sex life, right here on the table! She's six weeks along, do the math! And Ike's right, you DON'T know what went on behind the scenes! Jumping to conclusions isn't fair. You can say anything you want about me, but the implications you're making about my wife are COMPLETELY out of line. I am thirty-one years old and I'm about to start my own family and when our child comes to us someday and tells us that they've married the person they love, you're damn right we're going to be happy for them. This is one parenting trait that I will NOT be taking from YOU." Then he took Winn by hand once more and stood her up. "Come on, sweetheart," he said to her calmly. "We don't need to take this anymore. I'm sorry you're upset."
And then, with one last parting glare, Taylor led his pregnant, sobbing wife out the front door.
There was silence again as Diana looked around the table at everyone. "Well," she huffed. "Let's try to finish this meal in peace, shall we?"
Suddenly, Zac's voice came quietly from the end of the table that Winn and Taylor had been on. "Mom, my children are here..."
Everyone seemed to have forgotten about the three children at the table, who had seemed to stay quiet during the entire exchange. Even more heartbreaking than three pairs of bewildered eyes, were the silent sobs that came from Junia.
Diana looked at her and her own face fell with regret. "Oh, sweetheart--"
"You made my Aunt Winnie go away," Junia sniffed quietly.
"Baby, that was grown-up stuff and I'm sorry you had to hear it," Diana replied gently.
Isaac looked around the table. It was hard to read how everyone actually felt about Taylor's news, but their eyes looked accusingly back at Diana and their father looked extremely uncomfortable. If Isaac had to guess, he would bet that their father was happy for--and maybe even proud of--Taylor, but he was obviously torn between his own feelings and his wife's.
Diana looked around the table, wide-eyed. "So, what, is EVERYONE mad at me now? Am I the enemy?"
"He could have done a lot worse," Mac spoke up.
Hesitantly, Avery put in her two cents, as well. "I, um, I really like Winn..."
Diana looked over at her husband. "Well? What do YOU think?"
Walked looked back at his wife and swallowed. "To be honest, I'm kinda proud of the boy. I think that woman has finally made a man out of him. What he just did was ballsy and I have to respect him for it. And Mac's right, he could have done a lot worse."
She turned her head and looked at Isaac. "What about YOU?"
Isaac looked down the table at Zac and cleared his throat. "Um, I already knew about it."
"Is that so?" She retorted.
"Yeah," he replied carefully, glancing at Zac again. "Zac, uh, witnessed the license and I offered my full support."
"Uh-huh," she said curtly. "So you both knew about this. You knew they were married, you knew that she's pregnant--"
"It wasn't our place to spread the news," Zac said. "My brother asked me for help and I helped him and I used my most sound judgment in agreeing to it. If I didn't think that he was happy, or if I thought it was something he was really unsure of, I wouldn't have witnessed it. But, Mom, he practically begged me for it. And I had some of the same apprehensions you have. But he REALLY wanted this and he is REALLY happy and, to be honest, I couldn't be happier for him. MY family loves Winn. My daughter worships the ground she walks on, she's a great role model. I know I did the right thing and I'm going to stand behind them one hundred percent."
Diana stared at Zac for a moment and then she looked around again. "So that's it, then. I'm the bad guy here."
"Honey, nobody's calling you a bad guy," Walker said to her. "I think you just simply reacted without thinking."
"They got married without thinking!" She replied incredulously. "What about the prenup? And her house? And she has no job anymore--"
"Mom, please," Zac spat with disgust.
"What I'm saying is, did they go through this with ANY plans made? Any discussions, anything?"
"We don't know!" Isaac said loudly, his frustration having reached its limit. "None of that is any of our business. All we can do now is accept them and love them and support them. And if nobody at this table is actually willing to BE a family, well I'm sure as hell glad that at least Zac and I are." He threw his napkin in his plate and stood up. "Thank you for dinner, Mother, but I gotta get out of here."
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Taylor got Winn to the truck before he wrapped her in his arms and let her cry. As he stroked her hair and let her bury her face in his shoulder, he replayed the events that had just taken place. He had never, in his entire life, been so angry at his mother. He was hurt and he was mad and he was confused. He knew that if ANYONE at that table was going to support them and be happy, it would be his mother. Hell, even Isaac was happy for them.
He pulled away from her and wiped her tears with his thumbs. "I love you," he said to her. "That--that did NOT go as planned in there. And had I known it was going to be like THAT, we'd have never come here. Okay?"
"I don't want your family to resent the baby," she sobbed. "Everyone is against us, Tay!"
"Who cares about them? We love each other. And WE are happy, right? That is ALL that matters. You're all I need. You and our baby are ALL I need. Just--please don't regret marrying me."
She shook her head and sniffed, attempting to dry her tears. "I don't regret it. I'm happy."
"Good. That's all we need."
"You need your family," she sniffed.
"YOU'RE my family now. Both of you."
"But, Tay--"
"Let's go home," he said gently.
"Can we stop for ice cream on the way?"
"In thirty-two degree weather..."
"It'll be warm in the truck."
Taylor smiled and nodded. "Yeah. Absolutely."
Helping his wife into the truck, he felt like he was at her mercy after the onslaught he put her through at dinner. At this rate, she could have anything she wanted as long as it made her happy. She wanted ice cream in the dead of winter? So be it. Would she want to stay up late tonight and watch trashy reality TV and give Taylor the full commentary as he dozed off to sleep? Most likely, and tonight he would stay awake and listen to every painstaking word. Did she want to adopt a rabid wildebeest from some random African organization? He'd snuggle right up with it in the bed alongside her. He didn't care. Anything she wanted. Anything at all.
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By the time Winn had consumed a double-scoop, double chocolate waffle cone in less than the amount of time it took Taylor to finish his much smaller version, the newlyweds had made it home and she didn't feel any better about the evening. The sweet, creamy flavor of cold chocolate on her tongue was only a temporary fix--and by temporary, that meant for the few measly minutes it took her to finish the cone.
Now at home, Winn had wasted no time changing into a pair of Valentine's Day-themed pajamas, red fuzzy socks, and throwing her thick red mane on top of her head. She wanted nothing more than to mope and pout. She didn't want to talk about any of it--she didn't have the energy. All she wanted was to go straight to bed.
Shamelessly, however, she found herself in the kitchen with the refrigerator door open, staring mindlessly at the contents. She didn't really want anything. She just wanted to keep her mouth and her mind occupied.
From behind her, Taylor wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder. "You want me to paint your toenails for you?" He offered quietly.
She couldn't help but smile, remembering the night he first did it and swore never to do it again. She'd had a bad night and he'd brought her a bag full of goodies to help her feel better. Now she felt bad because Taylor had had just as bad a night as she had, if not worse.
"Maybe I should paint yours instead," she whispered.
He chuckled lightly and she closed the refrigerator door. Turning around in his arms, she wrapped her arms around his neck and held him tightly. "Tay, I'm so sorry. I never wanted things to turn out this way."
"I know," he said into her hair. "It'll, uh, it'll blow over eventually. I mean, it has to, right?"
She pulled away and she ran one of her hands through his hair and pecked his lips lightly. "I'm sorry I don't have a bag of goodies for you for this," she said quietly. "But how's this for a plan? How about we make ourselves a little nest on the couch, put on some crap TV, and you can paint my toes while I massage your feet and we can forget about everything that happened tonight and talk about the possibilities of a honeymoon."
"Oh my god," he groaned with a smile. "That sounds amazing, I would love that."
"I love being your wife," she whispered.
"And I love being your husband," he whispered back to her.
She grinned at him and let out a quiet giggle. "You want to pick me out a color or two and meet me in the living room?"
"Absolutely," he grinned. "You wait. When I'm done, there's gonna be a masterpiece on your feet of, like, Leonardo da Vinci proportions."
She giggled louder now, genuinely amused. "I expect no less."
Parting ways, Taylor bounded upstairs and Winn walked over to the couch and gathered throw blankets and adjusted the pillows. After turning the same pillow over for what may have been the thousandth time, she heard a knock at the front door. She thought she may have been hearing things, as the knock was quiet against the heavy door, but it was a knock, nonetheless.
It was after nine now and, against her better judgment in answering the door alone after dark, she walked into the foyer and peeked through the peephole anyway. Surprised, she opened the door to find Isaac standing there with his hands shoved in his pockets. "Ike. What, um, what brings you here?"
"I'm sorry. I, uh, I would have rung the bell, but I wasn't sure if either one of you was asleep. Listen, can we talk?"
Winn's body braced itself with apprehension. She swallowed hard and stood out of the way of the door. "Um, of course. Come in, it's cold out there."
Leading Isaac from the foyer and into the living room, Winn's heart sank a little. She'd been excited to forget the entire night and spend quality time with Taylor. She wasn't sure how she felt about the fact that Isaac wanted to talk. He didn't ask about where Taylor was. He didn't ask if he could talk to the both of them. He specifically said to Winn, "Can we talk?" Admittedly, she was growing extremely nervous.
As if on cue, Isaac stopped in the room and looked around. "I gotta admit, it's weird getting used to the idea of you living here."
"Yeah," she agreed, looking around with him. "Me, too. But it's home. There are aspects of it that I love. Some I'm getting used to..."
"I always felt like that little lake house was perfect for you."
Winn took a breath and let it out, attempting to stay upbeat, nervous about where he was going with his words. She thought everything was worked out. Done and over with. She didn't need this...this...wherever this conversation seemed to be headed. "Well, we're keeping the lake house. I tried to sell it, but he wasn't having any of it. It'll be our little getaway, maybe a summer home. He wants to get a boat and house it there and--well, I always wanted to be there during the summer, so. How could I object, right?"
"Yeah," he nodded. "That sounds logical, I can see that."
In that moment, Taylor's voice rang out behind them, concentrating on the words on the bottles in his hands. "Okay! So we have...Sex Kitten Pink and...Electric Blue. Let's see what kind of masterpiece I can whip up with THAT!" He stopped and his face turned red as he saw Isaac standing in the living room and, instinctively, he shoved the bottles of nail polish into each of his pockets. "Uh, Ike. Hey..."
Winn had to drop her head and snicker. She couldn't help herself.
Isaac looked as uncomfortable as Taylor did all of a sudden. "Hey, um...did I interrupt something? Because if I did, I can--"
"Um, no, it's okay," Taylor said. "What's up?"
"I was hoping we could talk for a few minutes."
Winn let out a sigh of relief. Her heart rate began to calm and her knees nearly turned to jelly as the tension left her body. Both of them. He wanted to talk to both of them. Brilliant. Fantastic. She could have hugged his neck.
"Yeah. Absolutely," Taylor answered. "Come sit down, make yourself at home. I shouldn't have to invite you to do that. You want a beer?"
"No, thanks," Isaac answered.
Taylor pulled a bottle of nail polish from one of his pockets and offered it to him. "Wanna paint a toe?"
"TAY!" Winn scolded him loudly.
Isaac laughed, turning red, and Taylor's eyes widened as he shrugged his shoulders and shoved it back in his pocket.
"You know what, I'm intruding," Isaac said once he'd calmed himself. "I'm gonna go, we can talk later--"
"No," Winn said, taking him by the arm. "We'll talk now. Don't mind your brother, he's...late nights do things to him..." She glared at her husband as she walked past him to lead his brother to the couch.
As Taylor and Winn sat across from Isaac on the couch, he took a deep breath and looked at each one of them. "Look, I'm really sorry about tonight," he started. "I'm just--I feel ashamed of how everything went down."
"Well, it's not your fault," Winn said. "It's not--I mean, we DID drop a bit of a bombshell..."
"Still," he said. "I didn't, in a million years, expect our mother to react that way. You didn't deserve that. Neither of you did."
"My mother didn't take it well, either," she said quietly. "I can't really say I'm surprised that yours didn't--"
"But some of those things that she said--I'M ashamed of the things she said. I'm ashamed of--of all of it. That isn't our family, Winn. That's not normal. And I don't want you to come into it thinking that it's always going to be that way."
Behind her, Taylor sighed. "Ike," he started. "Listen, I--I've been going over what she said in my head since we left the house. I feel--Winn and I--maybe it wasn't clear then, but--that night, Christmas Eve--we didn't set out to hurt you. Okay? I just--one thing led to another...and it felt natural and we went with it and...and I guess the truth is, we did you wrong. And I never meant to hurt you and I know Winn didn't--"
"Hey," Isaac said. "I didn't even know it had happened until I found out Winn was pregnant, much after the fact, so--I mean, no harm, no foul, right?"
"But it still happened," Winn said. "It's the principle of it. And--and your mother's right, what she said is exactly what happened and--" She felt the tears spring to her eyes and her lip began to quiver. "Ike, I respect you and you're a great friend and I never meant to hurt you, I never meant to be that person." She hid her face in her hands as she cried a few tears and then she wiped her face in a desperate attempt to suck them back. "I'm sorry, I'm--I'm so hormonal lately--"
"It's okay," Isaac pressed. "I've told you before, I'll say it again, it's okay. We weren't in a committed relationship, we both knew that. And, yeah, maybe the only ones who understand that are the ones sitting right here. I know you loved each other then. Something like that was bound to happen, I'm sure. I can't--I can't blame you for--for messing around on me because you technically didn't. Okay? Both of you. I mean it."
Winn sniffed back her tears as she felt Taylor's hand squeeze her shoulder. "I'm afraid," she started, sniffing again. "I'm afraid that when your family looks at me, that's the only thing they're ever going to see. They're going to look at me and they're going to know that I--they're going to look at the baby and they're always going to wonder...they're gonna look at it and scrutinize it to figure out who they think it looks like because nobody trusts me--"
"That baby is gonna look so much like Tay, there isn't gonna be any question," Isaac offered.
"It doesn't matter," she whispered. "That stigma's gonna follow us for--"
"It isn't," Isaac said. "After you left, it was pretty apparent that Mom's the only one who was upset about it. Nobody wanted to say anything in light of her outburst, but--I just wanted to come here and let you guys know, you HAVE support. I'll be honest, I'm a little angry at Mom right now, but she'll come around eventually. I know she will. But you at least have me. And Zac and Kate. Avery, Mac...pretty sure Dad, too. Just give it a little time, and everything will be okay.
The three of them were silent for a moment, neither one of them knowing what to say. Winn appreciated Isaac coming over to help. It was nice of him. But she supposed that maybe she and Taylor would need a little time the same way that Diana did. Maybe everyone, her parents included, needed a little time to chew on everything.
Taking a deep breath, Winn turned her head and said to Taylor quietly over her shoulder. "I bet Ike could paint a better toe than you. We could, like, have a contest or something."
Isaac laughed as he stood up. "Oh, no. No, thank you. I don't know what kind of...freaky activity I walked into, but I assure you, I want no part in it. Anyway, I just came by to...further offer my support, I guess. And to let you know not to worry. Also, it might be a good idea to pay Zac's kids a visit tomorrow..."
"Shit," Taylor whispered in realization. "We were sitting right by the kids, too..."
"Yeah," Isaac said. "Junia cried. And then the argument went on again from there."
"Oh, no," Winn said, regretfully. "Tay, we have to apologize to Zac and Kate--"
"I know," he said."
A few minutes later, Winn and Taylor saw Isaac to the door and closed it behind him. Winn turned around and looked her husband, unsure where to start. "I don't--I don't really know what to say," she said.
"I say we go back to our regularly scheduled program," he said. "To be honest, I'm kinda done with this shit tonight. We can revisit it tomorrow. But for right now, I have nail polish burning holes in my pockets and I could really use the foot massage. So let's just be a happily married couple for a few hours and forget tonight ever even happened."
A small smile crept across her face and she found herself blushing. "Tay," she said. "We're gonna be a happily married couple for longer than just a few hours."
"Oh," he said, taking her by the hand. "How about until tomorrow morning, then? Maybe we'll go upstairs after we're finished down here and spend all night rolling around in the sheets. We'd REALLY be a happily married couple then."
She giggled as she allowed him to lead her back to the couch. He was her best friend. Her husband. Her love. And she looked forward to many, many happy hours with him.
A week later, the snow had melted and Tulsa was alive again. Isaac was especially happy to be back in the real world after the time he'd spent being shut up in Zac's house. He was reminded of why he remained single: while he loved his niece and nephews, spending nearly a week on lockdown with the three small, bored children made him ready to lose his mind.
Mostly, though, he'd enjoyed himself. He enjoyed the quality family time he'd gotten to spend and he was especially proud of the Lego metropolis that he and Shepherd had managed to complete before Abe decided he was Godzilla and destroyed their work in less than a fraction of the time it had taken to complete it. Zac had gotten plenty of pictures and video of it, though, and Shep seemed to be okay with that and Isaac was grateful to not have to experience the temper tantrum.
Back at 3CG, he had been ready to get down to business. Staying out of the bars and keeping the women out from underneath him had opened his eyes in a way that they hadn't been opened in a long time. He was content being with his family, focusing on his work, and looking forward to the upcoming tour overseas. He wasn't, however, entirely thrilled with the amount of time Taylor spent outside of the studio dealing with wedding stuff, baby stuff, and real estate stuff. He wondered if perhaps the newlyweds hadn't quite thought everything through when they decided to have their impromptu, snowed-in wedding, romantic as they must have found it to be.
If Taylor wasn't off talking to their attorney, or when he wasn't whisking Zac to the courthouse to put the finishing touches on the marriage license, he was at a doctor's appointment with Winn, on and off the phone between her and the movers to get her moved into his house, or playing phone tag with her mortgage company to get her house paid for. Then there was the sizing of the wedding rings they'd ordered, the mad dash to get Winn a passport in time so that she could travel on tour with them, and all the legal mess he had to go through with adding her to his accounts, adjusting his will, and everything else that went with it. Isaac gathered that Taylor spent maybe three hours per day in the studio rehearsing and dealing with tour business and the rest of the time was spent dealing with the personal life that he'd all of a sudden found himself with.
"Slow down," Isaac told him. "Take your time you don't have to be in such a rush."
"I just want to get it all done," Taylor kept replying, over and over. Isaac guessed he could respect that, but they sure picked one hell of a time to elope if this was what was going to come out of it.
A week and a half into their marriage and six weeks into Winn's pregnancy, Isaac approached Taylor as he concentrated a little too hard on changing a guitar string on the acoustic he balanced on his knee. Isaac pulled up a chair and sat across from him. "Tay," he said quietly. "It's been over a week now. Don't you think it's time you let the cat out of the bag?"
Letting out a breath, he looked up at Isaac. "I told you how it went with her parents," he said. "I'd really like to avoid round two of that."
"You can't avoid it forever. It's gonna get out."
"I know. I just--I need a way to ease into it..."
"Invite everyone over for dinner or something. The bigger a deal you make out of it, the more stressful it's going to be for you. And I'm not trying to start anything, but you've been kinda absent in the studio this week and we really need you. We can't afford to fall behind right now."
Taylor looked back at him, his expression displaying his obvious nerves. In his eyes was certain apprehension. Isaac sighed. "I'll take care of it. I'll just--I'll give Mom some kind of sob story about missing the family and spending time and see about getting everyone together. Then you can drop the bomb and get it over with."
"Seems a little dramatic, don't you think?"
"You got any better ideas?"
Taylor sighed as he finished changing the string and snipped off the excess. "Thanks, Ike. I, uh, I really appreciate that."
*****************
And that was how Isaac ended up with Abe perched on his arm at his parents' house as the pair stood back and watched the madhouse that was their large family. Abe was a sweet kid. A total hellion at home, but shy and quiet in crowds, even amongst family, he was pretty good company when the madness and the chaos that was the Hanson family got to be too overwhelming. As Abe watched the scene, wide-eyed, with a finger between his teeth, Isaac looked over at him and gently pinched his pudgy belly. "Not much for conversation these days, are we?" Then he sighed and surveyed the scene. "Can't say I blame you, though. It's okay, you're safe with me, kid. I wouldn't voluntarily throw you to the wolves."
At that, they heard the familiar squeal that belonged to Abe's older sister and, upon hearing it, the toddler jumped, startled, and then looked back at his uncle, wide-eyed. "I'm sorry you gotta live with that every single day, kid," Isaac mumbled to him.
As Isaac carried his little buddy further into the room, he observed what he suspected was the source of Junia's squealing: Taylor and Winn had arrived and together, no less. Hand-in-hand, they entered the house, only breaking contact long enough for Junia to ignore her favorite uncle and make a beeline straight for Winn. Isaac's heart began to gently pound in anticipation of his brother's big news and apparently, walking in the house with his fingers intertwined with Winn's was already causing enough buzz.
Sitting around the dinner table was like Thanksgiving all over again, except this time Taylor and Winn were showing real affection toward each other and it would have warmed Isaac's heart had he not been so nervous for the two of them. He wasn't sure why he cared so much, anyway. It wasn't his news he had to deal with. It wasn't his marriage, it wasn't his baby, it wasn't going to be all eyes on him, demanding details. But then again, maybe it would be. It was no secret that he and Winn had something going on there for a short while. They went on public dates, they didn't try to hide it. So, maybe, in a way, some of the scrutiny WOULD be on him. Maybe that had something to do with his nerves.
As a whole, however, dinner was enjoyable. The mood was merry and everyone was having a good time, Isaac included. There were jokes made and stories told and an abundance of laughing and smiling and Isaac was beginning to feel more at ease. This would be easy. Taylor would tell everyone his news and everyone would be thrilled because everyone loved Winn, loved the fact that they were finally an item, and all were in a generally good mood.
With dinner nearly over, and chatter starting to calm down, Taylor made his move, standing up at the opposite end of the table. Isaac, sitting next to their mother, who sat at the head, felt his palms begin to sweat. Then he braced himself.
"So, um, while we're all here," Taylor started. "I have something that I, uh, wanted to say to everyone." He glanced down at Winn and she nodded encouragingly. Taking a deep breath, he looked around the table and put on his best smile. "I'm really happy that we could all get together so soon after Christmas. I know it's hard to get us all together and I really appreciate everyone making the effort. We should, uh, we should do this more often." As agreeing murmurs floated down the table, Taylor locked eyes nervously with Isaac for a moment and Isaac nodded his support at him. Taking in another breath, Taylor continued. "I'm also happy that you've all been so accepting of Winn. Things, um, things have been a little, um, complicated with us, I guess, but it feels good to say that we were able to work it all out and, uh, find each other amidst everything that the both of us were going through individually. Some things take time and we appreciate the support that we've gotten along the way from this very table." He paused to take a deep breath and Isaac thought he was going to faint, as he grew slightly pale. Next to him, Winn quietly reached over and slid her hand into his. Finding his courage again, Taylor straightened his spine and he delivered the blow. "I don't really know how else to go into it so I guess I'll just say it. Um, Winn and I recently got married and...we're having a baby."
You could have heard a pin drop. Isaac swallowed hard as his heart raced. While he knew what was going on, knew this was coming, and being perfectly fine with it having been working on moving on to bigger and better things, a small part of him still felt the sting as he heard the words out loud.
Married. They were married. Husband and wife. The thought dizzied him a little.
Isaac looked over at his mother, expecting her to cry tears of joy. What he didn't expect was the daggers she shot across the table at her son. "Excuse me?"
Taylor was so nervous. Isaac felt for his brother. "It's, uh, it's true. We love each other. And--and we talked about it and...well, turns out the feelings have been there all along. After all this time. Crazy, right?"
Still silence. Nobody dared respond.
"Um, anyway," he continued. "I, um, I asked her to marry me and she said yes and we didn't want to wait, so--"
"So you eloped," their mother finished, cutting Taylor off.
Taylor looked down at Winn and then back at his mother. It was obvious that this wasn't the reaction he was expecting, it sure wasn't the reaction Isaac was expecting, and it was likely that this wasn't the reaction he'd prepped his new wife for, either. "Uh...I mean, if that's how you want to look at it..."
"It's not about how I look at it, it is what it is. You eloped. Here we all sit, with NO idea the two of you were even in a relationship until tonight, and then all of a sudden, you're married? AND she's pregnant? Is it even yours?"
Taylor's jaw dropped and Isaac looked over at their mother. "Mom, you didn't need to--"
"It's a legitimate question," Diana retorted as she looked back at Isaac. "It's no secret she was involved with you all this time and then all of a sudden she turns up pregnant and they have, what, a shotgun wedding?"
"Mom, she's sitting RIGHT HERE," Taylor said. "Don't disrespect her and talk about her like she's not here."
"Fine," she said. Then she looked across the table at Winn. "Forgive me, Winn, for not acknowledging you in this conversation, but is that Tay's baby? Or do you even know? Or does it even belong to either of my sons?"
Isaac watched the tears spring to Winn's eyes as she looked back at Diana in horror, shocked at the verbal assault. Surprisingly, Isaac found himself growing as increasingly angry with their mother as Taylor looked. "That is UNCALLED for!" Taylor barked. "How dare you?"
"Mom, there is a LOT going on behind the scenes that you don't know about. You're being completely unfair to them," Isaac said.
"Am I?" She replied. "How do YOU feel about it? How do YOU feel about your girlfriend sleeping around behind your back and marrying your brother?"
Taylor and Isaac exchanged desperate glances with each other and Winn hid her face in her hands as the muffled sobs escaped through her fingers. "You're getting it all wrong--" Isaac started.
"How could you?" Diana said to Taylor. "You two barely know each other--"
"Are you serious?" Taylor squeaked incredulously. "YOU'RE the one who said to my FACE that love didn't know time. YOU told me to tell her how I felt. And that was two months ago!"
Isaac's eyes widened at this news and he looked over at his mother. "You encouraged Taylor to pursue her while I was still seeing her? Because you're totally not being a hypocrite right now..." Reaching in front of him, he turned up his drink that he now desperately wished contained alcohol.
Diana ignore Isaac, her anger and her energy completely focused on Taylor now. "I DIDN'T TELL YOU TO GET HER PREGNANT AND ELOPE WITH HER! I believe in marrying for love, I don't believe in marrying for convenience."
Winn continued to sob and Isaac's heart went out to her. She didn't need this. He already knew breaking the news to her parents went bad and she didn't need this on top of it. Especially not with being pregnant.
"It's not convenience!" Taylor said, his voice growing louder. "I LOVE HER. We would have gotten married even if she wasn't pregnant, regardless of what ANYONE had to say about it!"
"How could you be so stupid and so selfish?" Their mother sneered.
"You know, you're the ONE person that I expected to be happy about this," Taylor said. "I know it's sudden and I know it's a shock, but I am HAPPY. WE are happy. We were hoping that you guys would be happy for us, too."
"I'd be happy with a paternity test," Diana shot back.
"WE SLEPT TOGETHER ON CHRISTMAS EVE! Okay? Are you happy now? There it is, our private sex life, right here on the table! She's six weeks along, do the math! And Ike's right, you DON'T know what went on behind the scenes! Jumping to conclusions isn't fair. You can say anything you want about me, but the implications you're making about my wife are COMPLETELY out of line. I am thirty-one years old and I'm about to start my own family and when our child comes to us someday and tells us that they've married the person they love, you're damn right we're going to be happy for them. This is one parenting trait that I will NOT be taking from YOU." Then he took Winn by hand once more and stood her up. "Come on, sweetheart," he said to her calmly. "We don't need to take this anymore. I'm sorry you're upset."
And then, with one last parting glare, Taylor led his pregnant, sobbing wife out the front door.
There was silence again as Diana looked around the table at everyone. "Well," she huffed. "Let's try to finish this meal in peace, shall we?"
Suddenly, Zac's voice came quietly from the end of the table that Winn and Taylor had been on. "Mom, my children are here..."
Everyone seemed to have forgotten about the three children at the table, who had seemed to stay quiet during the entire exchange. Even more heartbreaking than three pairs of bewildered eyes, were the silent sobs that came from Junia.
Diana looked at her and her own face fell with regret. "Oh, sweetheart--"
"You made my Aunt Winnie go away," Junia sniffed quietly.
"Baby, that was grown-up stuff and I'm sorry you had to hear it," Diana replied gently.
Isaac looked around the table. It was hard to read how everyone actually felt about Taylor's news, but their eyes looked accusingly back at Diana and their father looked extremely uncomfortable. If Isaac had to guess, he would bet that their father was happy for--and maybe even proud of--Taylor, but he was obviously torn between his own feelings and his wife's.
Diana looked around the table, wide-eyed. "So, what, is EVERYONE mad at me now? Am I the enemy?"
"He could have done a lot worse," Mac spoke up.
Hesitantly, Avery put in her two cents, as well. "I, um, I really like Winn..."
Diana looked over at her husband. "Well? What do YOU think?"
Walked looked back at his wife and swallowed. "To be honest, I'm kinda proud of the boy. I think that woman has finally made a man out of him. What he just did was ballsy and I have to respect him for it. And Mac's right, he could have done a lot worse."
She turned her head and looked at Isaac. "What about YOU?"
Isaac looked down the table at Zac and cleared his throat. "Um, I already knew about it."
"Is that so?" She retorted.
"Yeah," he replied carefully, glancing at Zac again. "Zac, uh, witnessed the license and I offered my full support."
"Uh-huh," she said curtly. "So you both knew about this. You knew they were married, you knew that she's pregnant--"
"It wasn't our place to spread the news," Zac said. "My brother asked me for help and I helped him and I used my most sound judgment in agreeing to it. If I didn't think that he was happy, or if I thought it was something he was really unsure of, I wouldn't have witnessed it. But, Mom, he practically begged me for it. And I had some of the same apprehensions you have. But he REALLY wanted this and he is REALLY happy and, to be honest, I couldn't be happier for him. MY family loves Winn. My daughter worships the ground she walks on, she's a great role model. I know I did the right thing and I'm going to stand behind them one hundred percent."
Diana stared at Zac for a moment and then she looked around again. "So that's it, then. I'm the bad guy here."
"Honey, nobody's calling you a bad guy," Walker said to her. "I think you just simply reacted without thinking."
"They got married without thinking!" She replied incredulously. "What about the prenup? And her house? And she has no job anymore--"
"Mom, please," Zac spat with disgust.
"What I'm saying is, did they go through this with ANY plans made? Any discussions, anything?"
"We don't know!" Isaac said loudly, his frustration having reached its limit. "None of that is any of our business. All we can do now is accept them and love them and support them. And if nobody at this table is actually willing to BE a family, well I'm sure as hell glad that at least Zac and I are." He threw his napkin in his plate and stood up. "Thank you for dinner, Mother, but I gotta get out of here."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Taylor got Winn to the truck before he wrapped her in his arms and let her cry. As he stroked her hair and let her bury her face in his shoulder, he replayed the events that had just taken place. He had never, in his entire life, been so angry at his mother. He was hurt and he was mad and he was confused. He knew that if ANYONE at that table was going to support them and be happy, it would be his mother. Hell, even Isaac was happy for them.
He pulled away from her and wiped her tears with his thumbs. "I love you," he said to her. "That--that did NOT go as planned in there. And had I known it was going to be like THAT, we'd have never come here. Okay?"
"I don't want your family to resent the baby," she sobbed. "Everyone is against us, Tay!"
"Who cares about them? We love each other. And WE are happy, right? That is ALL that matters. You're all I need. You and our baby are ALL I need. Just--please don't regret marrying me."
She shook her head and sniffed, attempting to dry her tears. "I don't regret it. I'm happy."
"Good. That's all we need."
"You need your family," she sniffed.
"YOU'RE my family now. Both of you."
"But, Tay--"
"Let's go home," he said gently.
"Can we stop for ice cream on the way?"
"In thirty-two degree weather..."
"It'll be warm in the truck."
Taylor smiled and nodded. "Yeah. Absolutely."
Helping his wife into the truck, he felt like he was at her mercy after the onslaught he put her through at dinner. At this rate, she could have anything she wanted as long as it made her happy. She wanted ice cream in the dead of winter? So be it. Would she want to stay up late tonight and watch trashy reality TV and give Taylor the full commentary as he dozed off to sleep? Most likely, and tonight he would stay awake and listen to every painstaking word. Did she want to adopt a rabid wildebeest from some random African organization? He'd snuggle right up with it in the bed alongside her. He didn't care. Anything she wanted. Anything at all.
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By the time Winn had consumed a double-scoop, double chocolate waffle cone in less than the amount of time it took Taylor to finish his much smaller version, the newlyweds had made it home and she didn't feel any better about the evening. The sweet, creamy flavor of cold chocolate on her tongue was only a temporary fix--and by temporary, that meant for the few measly minutes it took her to finish the cone.
Now at home, Winn had wasted no time changing into a pair of Valentine's Day-themed pajamas, red fuzzy socks, and throwing her thick red mane on top of her head. She wanted nothing more than to mope and pout. She didn't want to talk about any of it--she didn't have the energy. All she wanted was to go straight to bed.
Shamelessly, however, she found herself in the kitchen with the refrigerator door open, staring mindlessly at the contents. She didn't really want anything. She just wanted to keep her mouth and her mind occupied.
From behind her, Taylor wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder. "You want me to paint your toenails for you?" He offered quietly.
She couldn't help but smile, remembering the night he first did it and swore never to do it again. She'd had a bad night and he'd brought her a bag full of goodies to help her feel better. Now she felt bad because Taylor had had just as bad a night as she had, if not worse.
"Maybe I should paint yours instead," she whispered.
He chuckled lightly and she closed the refrigerator door. Turning around in his arms, she wrapped her arms around his neck and held him tightly. "Tay, I'm so sorry. I never wanted things to turn out this way."
"I know," he said into her hair. "It'll, uh, it'll blow over eventually. I mean, it has to, right?"
She pulled away and she ran one of her hands through his hair and pecked his lips lightly. "I'm sorry I don't have a bag of goodies for you for this," she said quietly. "But how's this for a plan? How about we make ourselves a little nest on the couch, put on some crap TV, and you can paint my toes while I massage your feet and we can forget about everything that happened tonight and talk about the possibilities of a honeymoon."
"Oh my god," he groaned with a smile. "That sounds amazing, I would love that."
"I love being your wife," she whispered.
"And I love being your husband," he whispered back to her.
She grinned at him and let out a quiet giggle. "You want to pick me out a color or two and meet me in the living room?"
"Absolutely," he grinned. "You wait. When I'm done, there's gonna be a masterpiece on your feet of, like, Leonardo da Vinci proportions."
She giggled louder now, genuinely amused. "I expect no less."
Parting ways, Taylor bounded upstairs and Winn walked over to the couch and gathered throw blankets and adjusted the pillows. After turning the same pillow over for what may have been the thousandth time, she heard a knock at the front door. She thought she may have been hearing things, as the knock was quiet against the heavy door, but it was a knock, nonetheless.
It was after nine now and, against her better judgment in answering the door alone after dark, she walked into the foyer and peeked through the peephole anyway. Surprised, she opened the door to find Isaac standing there with his hands shoved in his pockets. "Ike. What, um, what brings you here?"
"I'm sorry. I, uh, I would have rung the bell, but I wasn't sure if either one of you was asleep. Listen, can we talk?"
Winn's body braced itself with apprehension. She swallowed hard and stood out of the way of the door. "Um, of course. Come in, it's cold out there."
Leading Isaac from the foyer and into the living room, Winn's heart sank a little. She'd been excited to forget the entire night and spend quality time with Taylor. She wasn't sure how she felt about the fact that Isaac wanted to talk. He didn't ask about where Taylor was. He didn't ask if he could talk to the both of them. He specifically said to Winn, "Can we talk?" Admittedly, she was growing extremely nervous.
As if on cue, Isaac stopped in the room and looked around. "I gotta admit, it's weird getting used to the idea of you living here."
"Yeah," she agreed, looking around with him. "Me, too. But it's home. There are aspects of it that I love. Some I'm getting used to..."
"I always felt like that little lake house was perfect for you."
Winn took a breath and let it out, attempting to stay upbeat, nervous about where he was going with his words. She thought everything was worked out. Done and over with. She didn't need this...this...wherever this conversation seemed to be headed. "Well, we're keeping the lake house. I tried to sell it, but he wasn't having any of it. It'll be our little getaway, maybe a summer home. He wants to get a boat and house it there and--well, I always wanted to be there during the summer, so. How could I object, right?"
"Yeah," he nodded. "That sounds logical, I can see that."
In that moment, Taylor's voice rang out behind them, concentrating on the words on the bottles in his hands. "Okay! So we have...Sex Kitten Pink and...Electric Blue. Let's see what kind of masterpiece I can whip up with THAT!" He stopped and his face turned red as he saw Isaac standing in the living room and, instinctively, he shoved the bottles of nail polish into each of his pockets. "Uh, Ike. Hey..."
Winn had to drop her head and snicker. She couldn't help herself.
Isaac looked as uncomfortable as Taylor did all of a sudden. "Hey, um...did I interrupt something? Because if I did, I can--"
"Um, no, it's okay," Taylor said. "What's up?"
"I was hoping we could talk for a few minutes."
Winn let out a sigh of relief. Her heart rate began to calm and her knees nearly turned to jelly as the tension left her body. Both of them. He wanted to talk to both of them. Brilliant. Fantastic. She could have hugged his neck.
"Yeah. Absolutely," Taylor answered. "Come sit down, make yourself at home. I shouldn't have to invite you to do that. You want a beer?"
"No, thanks," Isaac answered.
Taylor pulled a bottle of nail polish from one of his pockets and offered it to him. "Wanna paint a toe?"
"TAY!" Winn scolded him loudly.
Isaac laughed, turning red, and Taylor's eyes widened as he shrugged his shoulders and shoved it back in his pocket.
"You know what, I'm intruding," Isaac said once he'd calmed himself. "I'm gonna go, we can talk later--"
"No," Winn said, taking him by the arm. "We'll talk now. Don't mind your brother, he's...late nights do things to him..." She glared at her husband as she walked past him to lead his brother to the couch.
As Taylor and Winn sat across from Isaac on the couch, he took a deep breath and looked at each one of them. "Look, I'm really sorry about tonight," he started. "I'm just--I feel ashamed of how everything went down."
"Well, it's not your fault," Winn said. "It's not--I mean, we DID drop a bit of a bombshell..."
"Still," he said. "I didn't, in a million years, expect our mother to react that way. You didn't deserve that. Neither of you did."
"My mother didn't take it well, either," she said quietly. "I can't really say I'm surprised that yours didn't--"
"But some of those things that she said--I'M ashamed of the things she said. I'm ashamed of--of all of it. That isn't our family, Winn. That's not normal. And I don't want you to come into it thinking that it's always going to be that way."
Behind her, Taylor sighed. "Ike," he started. "Listen, I--I've been going over what she said in my head since we left the house. I feel--Winn and I--maybe it wasn't clear then, but--that night, Christmas Eve--we didn't set out to hurt you. Okay? I just--one thing led to another...and it felt natural and we went with it and...and I guess the truth is, we did you wrong. And I never meant to hurt you and I know Winn didn't--"
"Hey," Isaac said. "I didn't even know it had happened until I found out Winn was pregnant, much after the fact, so--I mean, no harm, no foul, right?"
"But it still happened," Winn said. "It's the principle of it. And--and your mother's right, what she said is exactly what happened and--" She felt the tears spring to her eyes and her lip began to quiver. "Ike, I respect you and you're a great friend and I never meant to hurt you, I never meant to be that person." She hid her face in her hands as she cried a few tears and then she wiped her face in a desperate attempt to suck them back. "I'm sorry, I'm--I'm so hormonal lately--"
"It's okay," Isaac pressed. "I've told you before, I'll say it again, it's okay. We weren't in a committed relationship, we both knew that. And, yeah, maybe the only ones who understand that are the ones sitting right here. I know you loved each other then. Something like that was bound to happen, I'm sure. I can't--I can't blame you for--for messing around on me because you technically didn't. Okay? Both of you. I mean it."
Winn sniffed back her tears as she felt Taylor's hand squeeze her shoulder. "I'm afraid," she started, sniffing again. "I'm afraid that when your family looks at me, that's the only thing they're ever going to see. They're going to look at me and they're going to know that I--they're going to look at the baby and they're always going to wonder...they're gonna look at it and scrutinize it to figure out who they think it looks like because nobody trusts me--"
"That baby is gonna look so much like Tay, there isn't gonna be any question," Isaac offered.
"It doesn't matter," she whispered. "That stigma's gonna follow us for--"
"It isn't," Isaac said. "After you left, it was pretty apparent that Mom's the only one who was upset about it. Nobody wanted to say anything in light of her outburst, but--I just wanted to come here and let you guys know, you HAVE support. I'll be honest, I'm a little angry at Mom right now, but she'll come around eventually. I know she will. But you at least have me. And Zac and Kate. Avery, Mac...pretty sure Dad, too. Just give it a little time, and everything will be okay.
The three of them were silent for a moment, neither one of them knowing what to say. Winn appreciated Isaac coming over to help. It was nice of him. But she supposed that maybe she and Taylor would need a little time the same way that Diana did. Maybe everyone, her parents included, needed a little time to chew on everything.
Taking a deep breath, Winn turned her head and said to Taylor quietly over her shoulder. "I bet Ike could paint a better toe than you. We could, like, have a contest or something."
Isaac laughed as he stood up. "Oh, no. No, thank you. I don't know what kind of...freaky activity I walked into, but I assure you, I want no part in it. Anyway, I just came by to...further offer my support, I guess. And to let you know not to worry. Also, it might be a good idea to pay Zac's kids a visit tomorrow..."
"Shit," Taylor whispered in realization. "We were sitting right by the kids, too..."
"Yeah," Isaac said. "Junia cried. And then the argument went on again from there."
"Oh, no," Winn said, regretfully. "Tay, we have to apologize to Zac and Kate--"
"I know," he said."
A few minutes later, Winn and Taylor saw Isaac to the door and closed it behind him. Winn turned around and looked her husband, unsure where to start. "I don't--I don't really know what to say," she said.
"I say we go back to our regularly scheduled program," he said. "To be honest, I'm kinda done with this shit tonight. We can revisit it tomorrow. But for right now, I have nail polish burning holes in my pockets and I could really use the foot massage. So let's just be a happily married couple for a few hours and forget tonight ever even happened."
A small smile crept across her face and she found herself blushing. "Tay," she said. "We're gonna be a happily married couple for longer than just a few hours."
"Oh," he said, taking her by the hand. "How about until tomorrow morning, then? Maybe we'll go upstairs after we're finished down here and spend all night rolling around in the sheets. We'd REALLY be a happily married couple then."
She giggled as she allowed him to lead her back to the couch. He was her best friend. Her husband. Her love. And she looked forward to many, many happy hours with him.