Winchester Legacy 2.0

RECAP: First baby of the legacy was born, Toni realized that she would never love Gordon the way that she should and instead ended up falling into bed, and in love, with the current Chief of Staff Dane. Gordon was finally working his way up the corporate ladder which gave Toni more time to sneak around with Dane.  Oh yes, at the end of the last chapter she realized that she was preggo once again…but couldn’t be sure who her baby’s daddy was.

Dane was a lifesaver.  He would come over and take care of Neil whenever the elderly nanny had doctor’s appointments. This second pregnancy was a killer. I was exhausted most of the time and when I wasn’t sleeping I was throwing up. I had to call  off of work several times, thank goodness for vacation days. I had told Dane that I was pregnant but I wasn’t sure who the father was.

“You were sleeping with him while we were sleeping together?” he had demanded a hurt expression on his face.

I had taken his hand in mind. “Dane, I am his wife. The times were few and far between. I didn’t want him to get suspicious.”

He threaded his fingers through mine. “I shouldn’t be jealous but I am. You should be with me not with him. It should be my ring on your finger. Never his.”

“Dane…” I trailed off when he looked at me.

“I love you Tonya. When are you going to leave him?”

“Dane, I-I love you too. I will leave him. I will. But I can’t leave him now. Not knowing if the baby is his or not.”

“Tonya, you can’t have your cake and eat it too. You need to make a choice. Him or me. I won’t wait for you forever.”

I was sitting on the couch with a  grin on my face as I listened to Dane talking to Neil.

“Hey little guy, you’re a cute little thing huh? Your mom says you looked like a crackhead when you came out but I don’t think so. No, no I don’t. “

Between his cooing I could hear Neil’s soft gurgling. Because of Gordon’s hectic schedule I was afraid that Neil wouldn’t know him and go to Dane instead. As if me thinking of him conjured him up Gordon appeared in the doorway.

“Hey babe, how are you feeling?”

I shot a nervous glance at the nursery door. I hadn’t expected Gordon home for at least another half an hour which explained why Dane was still in the house. I tried to keep those two as far apart as possible. Dane was just looking for a fight .

“I feel alright. I just woke up.”

“That’s good. I’m going to peek in on Neil.”

“Gordon, I-”

“Dane isn’t it? You sure are here a lot aren’t you?”

“The nanny called off again and your wife is tired. I would suggest that you get another one.” I didn’t know if Dane meant another nanny or another wife.

“I would suggest,” Gordon said in such steely tones that I was off the couch and across the room before he finished, ” that you stay away from my wife and son. Don’t come here again when I’m not home. I’m not as stupid as you think.”

“That remains to be seen. Have a good afternoon Gordon.”

“You as well Doctor.”

Dane brushed his hand against mine as he walked out the door.

“Gordon, was that really necessary?” I demanded.

He stared at me in silence for a long moment before turned and bending over the crib gently touched Neil’s cheek. “I don’t know Latonya. You tell me. Was it?”

Not knowing what to say I didn’t say anything at all as I spun on my heel and walked back into the living room.

Work was going great for me. I had a funny feeling that Dane was helping me with my promotions and it made me slightly uneasy. The last thing I needed was for there to be gossip at work saying that I had slept my way to the top. Most of the time I was on the top but I wasn’t sleeping. I had to laugh at that thought as I got out of the car. However, me being with Dane had nothing to do with my job. I hurried into the house. The lab coat hid most of my pregnancy but it was starting to get too confining. I knew I was going to have to take a maternity leave sometime soon but I couldn’t bear the thought of being at home with Gordon all day. Ever since that day a few weeks back things had been tense between us.

As I was closing the door to the house I heard shouting coming from the nursery.

“Didn’t I tell you to stay away from my family?”

“Maybe you shouldn’t worry so much about me.”

“Latonya and I were happy before you came along. Now, because of you, my wife barely talks to me. It’s like staying with a stranger in your own home.”

“How is that my fault?” Dane demanded in a calm tone.

“How is your fault? How is it YOUR fault? Do  you think I’m stupid? I see the way you look at my wife. As if she’s a banquet and you’re just waiting to sample a morsel. She’s not-”

I quickly went into the room and not paying attention tossed on some clothes before walking into the nursery.

“I’m home! How is-”

I stopped when I saw Gordon with his face buried in his hands. His shoulders were shaking and with a start I realized that he was silently crying.I looked at Dane to see him staring at me.

“Gordon?”

“Why?” he sobbed.

I frowned as I took a hesitant step into the room. “Why what?”

“Why won’t you love me? I would give you anything Latonya. Anything.”

Guilt ate at me as he continued to sob. This was the last thing I wanted. He was the last person I wanted to hurt but I couldn’t tell him the truth without hurting him even more. Rubbing a hand over my face I took a deep breath.

“Gordon, I-”

“Why don’t you man up?”

I eyes widened when Dane snapped out that question and Gordon stopped in mid sob.

“Excuse me?” he demanded in slightly nasally tones.

“I said man up! Don’t stand there bawling! Stop acting like a pussy and grow a pair. You-”

“You son of a bitch!”

I let out a little eep when Gordon threw a wobbly punch and before I know it the two of them were rolling around on the floor. Neil started to cry at all the noise. Picking my way over to them I snatched Neil out of his crib and rushed out of the room. I stood in the doorway and watched the two men fight.

They were grunting and cursing and the sound of fists hitting flesh seemed loud in the room. The fight seemed to last way longer than it really did. Finally Toni tried to reason with them.

“Dane, think about your hands! Gordon, your fighting in front of your son. What kind of example are you setting?”

My mistake was yelling. Dane looked over at me to make sure I was alright and Gordon sucker punched him. While Dane curled an arm around his stomach Gordon crowed in victory.

“Now who needs to grow a pair huh? That’s what I thought punk! You want to take me on again? Be my guest. But let me ask you this….do you feel lucky punk? Well, do you?”

Oh…my…god! No, he did NOT just go there! I had to bit the inside of my cheek to prevent myself from laughing. Dane shoved himself up from the floor and while he had a scowl on his face I saw the amused glint  in his eyes. It suddenly hit me that he had let Gordon win that fight. Was it possible for me to love this man anymore? Turning I walked into the kitchen. It was time for Neil’s birthday.