The Russel home

[Esme Russel]

"Your mom is here because... I feel like you guys need to start communicating because.... because I know that it's hard having a mom who hates you and clearly your mom doesn't because she came here and that's something we both know my mom would never do." Esme stepped closer to Jonathan and planted a kiss on his forehead and lowering her tone significantly so Elizabeth wouldn't hear what she was saying, "Your mom doesn't know about Cici or Pea or.... us being married." She was hoping that they could tell his mother in just the right way but she realized that they didn't get to decide when she heard Cassidy starting to cry. "I'll get her, okay?" She smiled weakly in Elizabeth's direction and motioned towards the taco stuff on the counter, "Serve yourselves if you're hungry!"

She stepped slowly into the hallway and tried to calm her nerves about Elizabeth meeting her first granddaughter and not approving of her existence. "Hi baby girl! How's mommy's special little fairy?" She lifted her crying daughter up and changed her diaper and put her into a 'I heart my grandma' long sleeved cream onesie which she had got for her own mother but it would work for Jon's and she paired it with a matching red glittery Tutu and little red infant sandals. She looked adorable but that wasn't really new - she always looked adorable. She took her time getting her daughter ready and put a little bow in her hair and pecked her on the forehead... She was really just stalling to give Jonathan and his mother some time alone together.

She finally emerged from the nursery after about fifteen minutes. She was holding Cassidy in her arms but their darling nine month old was fighting to get down to play on the ground with Riley and Willow. She set her sweet daughter down in the center of the living room on the fuzzy white faux fur rug; both dogs rushed over to her and laid at her side like the protective creatures they were. She never doubted that they would be gentle and safe with her so she didn't even see this positioning as odd. "Um.... Mrs. Russel... Ma'am..... Do you want to hold her? She's really quite sweet."

How could anyone not want to hold Cici when she literally looked like a precious angel of happiness? "I know that.. I didn't tell you about... her... Ma'am.... Master? Madam....? But um... Jon and I have a baby together... She's our.. baby... We didn't um.. steal her... Um.. I gave birth and um... Pregnant again... Married." She looked helplessly over to Jonathan - she was basically drowning.

[Jonathan Russel]

Jon's heart dropped when he heard the sound of his baby girl crying, then turned back over to his mother, who had stood up from the couch looking up at him, caught off guard by the sound of the baby. Please God, why me? Jon bit his lip in frustration turning away from the woman and looking down, running a hand through his hair, silently cursing himself. Why was she here? Why did she come here? He wasn't angry, anxious, fearful was more like it. His mom was probably judging him right now, she probably disapproved of his children, and once she found out he was married -- the way she'd reacted when the police called his home the night after the crash, that was definitely not good.

"Jonathan?" Elizabeth edged slowly towards her son, pursing her lips, hesitant to reach out and touch her own son, but placing a hand on his shoulder anyway so that he would turn to her.

"Mom, I can explain--"

"I'm not here to judge you, alright? I'm not, please," she blinked, trying to find the right words, "I... I came her to apologize to you." She waited a moment, to look at Jon, examine his expression, before continuing, "I never meant any of those cruel, harsh things I said to you after your... when your father passed." she clasped her hands together, her words jumbling up as she tried not to stutter, "You have to understand, that, when he was gone, I wasn't mentally capable of handling it, and then finding out about Michael and his mother, I..." Elizabeth let out a breath, "Jon, I love you, and I know I never said that, I know I never took the time out to show it, I know I said that I didn't I just--"

Jonathan turned to her now, "Mom, I blamed myself for so long for everything," he looked down, "and you putting it on me too, that... that was hard... and when I needed you the most, you weren't there, at least not fully--"

"And I know that, I know that, but I promise you," Elizabeth shook her head, "it's not like that anymore."

Jon pursed his lips, "Mom... you've just... you've missed out on so much--"

"And that's why I'm here!" Elizabeth insisted, reaching over to grab one of Jon's hands, looking into her son's eyes, trying to find that little boy inside of him that she sure knew a whole lot better than the man standing in front of her, "I don't want to miss out on anymore..."

Jon looked down, staring at their hands, then looked up at her, "Mom, I..." he lifted his left hand up to show her his wedding ring, "That girl I'm living with? We're married," he chewed on the inside of his bottom lip, "and that crying you heard earlier... that," he blinked, "that was our baby daughter."

Elizabeth only looked up to her son in shock, until Esme reappeared in the room with baby Cici in her arms, wearing that cute 'I heart my grandma' onesie. Her heart sunk into her chest as she looked at the child, and she turned her head to Jon, as if to ask permission to hold her own granddaughter, then turning to Esme, her eyes welling up as she took the small baby into her arms, "Hi, baby," she scrunched her eyebrows, rocking the little girl lightly, smiling down at her, her eyes glassy from the tears she was trying to keep from escaping, "She's... she's beautiful, Jonathan," she looked up to Esme, "and, you... I," Elizabeth let out a breath, beginning to feel slightly overwhelmed, in a good way, "thank you, for taking care of my son."

[Esme Russel]

Esme felt like there was a ball of nerves in the pit of her stomach when she watched Elizabeth with Cici. What if she was judging them? What if she wasn't happy to meet her first granddaughter? She glanced from her daughter to Jonathan and reached down to rub Willow's belly. It wasn't that she was a stereotypical overly protective mother but she still worried when her daughter met new people because she had some trouble trusting that they always had her best interest at heart. She smiled and felt the ball loosen up when Elizabeth thanked her for taking care of her son. "It's really more Jon taking care of me and Cici... He's a great man and you should be very proud of how he has stepped up and married me and been there every step of the way in parenting and pregnancy.... I have never met a better guy in my life." She smiled over at her husband before standing up and starting to fix a plate of tacos for Jonathan.

She got his plate set up with three tacos, rice and beans before handing it to him and gesturing him towards the couch to sit down. "Sit, baby ... and put your feet up.. You work so hard." This wasn't a show of good wife behavior for his mother's sake - she did this every day when he got home from work so he knew how appreciated that he was. She spent most of her day at home with Cici now so it really wasn't fair to expect him to immediately jump into his role as father. He helped her at night, of course, but she wanted to let him relax first so he could actually enjoy time with Cassidy and not see his day as one big long struggle. "Do you want something to drink? Water? Tea? Soda? I went to the store this afternoon so we have anything that you could really want." She pecked him on the lips gently before stepping back into the kitchen to set up a plate for his mother and one for herself, "Mrs. Russel, are you hungry? I made a ton of food." She always did - she had a small addiction to what Cooper called 'over cooking'.

She spotted the candy apple that Jonathan had brought home and grinned like a kid in a candy store. "God, you're the best husband in the world." She opened the package and pulled it out in such a hurry that it seemed like she had never ate in her life. "I have been craving a candy apple all day... This baby is a little sugar monster! All that she wants is full of sugar and it's all going straight to my stomach." She didn't really mind if it all went to her bump since it was making it more obvious that she was pregnant and not just letting herself go. She didn't want people to look at her and think that she was just letting herself get fat when she spent more time than the average person to ensure that she never gained too much weight and never once looked anything near obese though she did see herself that way more often than not which her new therapist was apparently all in her head.

What if Elizabeth is looking at me thinking how fat that I am? What if she's thinking how her son could find someone so much prettier to have children with? What if .. What if she didn't think that he had met someone who was deserving of his affection?

No, she couldn't let herself think that right now! She needed to think about the fact that the only opinion that should matter to her should be Jonathan's and he obviously believed that she was attractive since he could barely keep his hands off of her at night after Cassidy finally settled down and went to bed. "I can take her if you want to eat, Mrs. Russel." Was that offensive to call her? She really didn't know what else to call her! Elizabeth seemed too casual and ma'am seemed far too formal.

[Jonathan Russel]

Elizbaeth looked down at Cici, smiling down at the little bundle of joy, in complete awe that she had a granddaughter, she had more family... her son, his wife, and how young their little family was didn't matter to her at that moment. All that mattered is that she was with family. Already, she felt welcomed, and though she wasn't completely sure of how accepting Jon was of her, she felt much more at ease seeing him now, knowing he hadn't turned her away, or asked her to leave.

She smiled dearly at Esme, and the way she treated her son, through the little things they did for each other, how Jon immediately called out for his wife upon coming home, bringing her a candy apple, and Esme's generosity, cooking dinner... bringing her over here. When Esme asked if she wanted to eat she glanced to Jon, "Oh, I couldn't--"

"No, mom," Jon protested from where he sat at the table, "sit. Stay for dinner," he insisted, "please."

Elizbeth pursed her lips, then blinked, "I, I would like that." she nodded, looking down at Cici, then letting out a sigh, "She is the perfect combination of the two of you," she tried a half-laugh, walking towards Esme to carefully hand back her daughter, then looking to Jon, who had stood up to pull out the chair next to him for his mother, smiling at her, "Thank you, Jon."

Jon merely smiled in retort, taking his seat back down at the table, "You did a wonderful job on dinner, baby," he looked to Esme, blinking, then mouthing, "thank you, for," He tilted his head in the direction of his mother, then looked back down at his plate, sheepishly.

[Esme Russel]

Esme was actually really pleasantly surprised that this was going so well! She had expected at least a little tension considering Jonathan's relationship with his mother but it felt like maybe everything was going to be okay afterall. It was actually kind of sad for her that she was watching their reunion but couldn't have the same experience with her mother. Well.. why not try calling? She adjusted Cici on her hip and dialed her mother's cell phone number into their home phone since her iPhone was currently dead. She always forgot to put her damn phone on the charger even though they had one in the living room and two in their bedroom - one on his side and one on her's so they could both charge their phones.... well not that she ever did.

She waited very patiently and nearly peed with excitement when her mother answered the phone, "Hi mom! I just called to...." "Whore." Her mother's one harsh word directed at her made her heart sink and then she realized she'd been hung up on. How could the one woman who was suppose to love her be so unbelievably cruel to her simply for having children at a young age. She pursed her lips and took a minute to compose herself before looking back to Jonathan and Elizabeth. "Um... Mrs. Russel, do you need... anything... Um we ...." She stopped in the middle of her sentence to take a breath and calm herself once again. "We have a guest bedroom in the basement if you need somewhere to stay." She nodded quickly and stepped over so she was standing behind Jonathan's chair.

It was silly and immature but being so close to Jon was a big comfort for Esme. She had a hand gripping his shoulder and her other arm was holding their daughter close to her body. She lowered her tone but she didn't doubt that his mother would overhear her. "Jon... I called my mom.... She called me a whore and hung up ... I guess she's still angry about the whole baby." She pulled a chair next to his and rested her head on his shoulder.

Cici was in her lap and she realized that they really did have everything that she could ever need yet she wanted a mother. She wanted a big female role model and all that she had was a woman who called her a whore. She didn't expect her to be ecstatic about the new baby but she could at least not be a bitch about it.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Russel for that little... emotional thing... But you really can stay if you'd like. I'm sure Cici would love to know her grandmo ---" Her voice cracked and she shook her head, "You."

[Vinnie Giovanetti]

Vinnie wasn't really sure if Esme's house was the place to go. He knew he wanted to talk to her.. fuck, he needed to talk to her. He needed to talk to someone, and she just seemed like the right person. They didn't call her mama Es for nothing. But he also didn't want her to take this the wrong way. And he bet anything that she would.

He'd been in his PJ's originally, it being about eight o'clock at night. But he'd put on a pair of jeans and pulled on his red and black plaid hoodie before leaving. All he'd yelled to Cooper was "going out. bye babe." and then just left. He didn't really think he needed to offer an explanation or anything.

Standing at Esme's front door, Vinnie knocked lightly before running his hand back through his hair. It was getting longer.. almost about an inch now. He'd only just cut it! Wow, did it grow fast. From the back of his head, Vinnie pulled his hand down and ran it over his face. He flinched a bit when his fingers ran across the welt under his eye. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and let his hand fall to his side. "C'mon, Es, I told you I was coming. Answer the door," he huffed, letting his head hang.

[Esme Russel]

Esme had been expecting Vinnie to come over but she hadn't been expecting to be overcome with the incredible need to.vomit right as he knocked on the door. She knew that he was probably wondering what in the world that she was doing that was taking so long to answer the door but it wasn't exactly like she could hurry puking her guts out up. She had a gut feeling that the poor guy was being beaten by his boyfriend and she couldn't just sit down and let it happen. She knew the appeal to staying and trying to fix or change the abuser but that rarely works.

People who beat their partners rarely stop and it usually gets worse. She had been hit for a year by her first boyfriend and that was traumatic even now! She still had issues with fear and men getting a little too angry with her. She didn't want Vinnie to finally meet the right guy and be as paranoid as she was now over Jonathan hitting her or Wyatt or Dallas... any of them. She cleaned herself up so she looked fresh and lovely before opening the door with a wide smile. "So Vinnie... I have seven different typies of Brownies on the counter for you." She pointed with a nod as she stepped aside to let him in.

What was she suppose to say? "You know... I had a boyfriend hit me... he left me with bruises and cuts and ... I was humiliated that I was a victim to someone else but... you shouldn't be because it's him so if Cooper hit you then tell me right now because domestic abuse is never okay. I don't care if you are his goldfish while his mom sucked your dick... it's never okay to hit your partner."

[Vinnie Giovanetti]

Vinnie smiled when Esme opened the door and took a step inside. He remained quiet while she spoke and lead himself to the brownies. They were already cut and everything. Even placed on cute little plates. Vinnie smirked at the effort she'd made to make him feel better. He took one of the smaller pieces.. one of the regular chocolate flavor. Turning, Vinnie took a bite and listened as she immediately jumped to the conclusion that Cooper had beat him. He snorted. Since he'd been standing by the brownies, his face was clearly illuminated by the kitchen lights and the reddish-purple welt was clearly visible beneath his eye. He wasn't going to say Cooper hit him though. He'd let her figure that out.

"Its not abuse," he said with an awkward smile, his head tilted slightly to the side as he took another bite of the brownie. "These are good," he said, not really meaning to change the subject. But he knew she'd take it like that the minute he said it. After finishing the piece in his hand, Vinnie reached for a different flavor.

[Esme Russel]

Esme didn't think that it was jumping to conclusions when Vinnie was standing in front of her with a welt under his eye. How much denial could he be in? She smiled weakly as he tried to change the subject with compliments. "Look.... I get it that he probably says he loves you and he apologizes, huh? He... makes you feel good on the inside and you feel special because he's this great catch and .... he doesn't love you not one bit and he will hit the next guy once he's done with you and your life will never be the same by that point because you don't forget. Um .. Jonathan is one of the sweetest guys in the world, you know?"

She smiled genuinely when she spoke of her husband as usual, "But I flinch... when we argue or he seems angry... and he'd never hit me or even think of hitting me. He's so calm and so gentle but I still do it and he's so perfect that he understands it's not him... I don't want this for you... you shouldn't be afraid of a perfectly good person turning on you because you did something dumb like tell people you're dating when you aren't suppose to." She had stepped into the kitchen while she was talking to grab an ice pack from the freezer but they only had a bag of frozen penises so it'd have to do.

She tossed it to him with a heavy sigh, "Ice under your eye, okay? And now make excuses for Cooper hitting you because everything is an excuse when it comes to this kind of thing and none of them are valid."

[Vinnie Giovanetti]

Vinnie smiled when she spoke about Cooper. She was right, he did make Vinnie feel special. He made Vinnie feel the happiest he'd ever been. He was busy reminiscing when the point of view switched, though. How dare she say Cooper didn't love him. He started to cry. Slowly, and not very noticeably.. but a tear feel from both eyes. "Esme.." he squeaked, clearly upset as he shook his head at her. That hurt. A lot.

He took the bag of pees and placed it under his eye. The salty tears melted over top of it as he leaned on his elbows. He kept quiet while she talked about Jon.

"I hit him back, you know," he said weakly, picking the crispy edges off of a brownie. "Its not like I'm some sack he just kicks around. He was mad. People get mad." The tears didn't stop as he dug a hole into the brownie. They only got stronger. He looked down. "I love him, Esme. And he loves me. I've no doubt," he said through what were becoming ugly sobs. He was heaving as he leaned over the brownie and dropped the bag of pees onto the counter. Running his sleeve over his face, he winced after placing too much pressure on his eye. "Fuck," he hissed, flying up from the hunched over position and spinning around to catch his hands on the sink. He heaved hard, tears smeared across his face.

"People get mad," he repeated through the heavy breaths. "He just.. got mad. But he loves me."