SIX: There's Got to be a Morning After

After Charity had spent the night drunk and in Bruce's arms, she had gone to sleep with a smile on her face. When she woke up in her hotel room at the Mandalay Bay, she actually had trouble remembering how she'd gotten here. What was even stranger was that Bruce was holding her from behind, his head resting against her shoulder with his hand comfortably on her hip as if it belonged there. She remembered all they'd done the night before, but couldn't believe she'd been so reckless. They'd been in this situation before and each time it had ended with her heart breaking all over again. She couldn't do it again, couldn't lose herself in pining for him. It had been almost three and a half years since the last time they'd been together and, in that time, she'd learned that he wasn't coming back to her.

Climbing gently out of bed so that she didn't wake him, Charity walked into the bathroom to shower. There was so much confusion running through her head as she washed the smell of cheap whiskey off her. After thirty minutes of soaping up, shampooing, and conditioning, she got out of the shower. Nearby she had a cream-colored robe that she threw on after drying off. Combing through her wet hair, she walked back out into the room and saw that Bruce was awake. Giving him an awkward smile, she walked over to check her phone.

"Hey, I don't know if you're hungry, but I can order you something. Room service started serving an hour ago." The best thing she felt she could do was keep her distance. "If you wanna take a shower, you're free to – plenty of hot water left."

He stretched lazily, moving to his feet and letting the blankets drop. Completely nude, he walked over to the window and fussed with the curtains, closing them to blot out the morning sunshine that was making his headache a thousand times worse. "Mornin' to you too," he murmured, turning to look at her. "How's the head?"

"Not bad." She took a seat on the bed. "Some pounding, but nothing I can't handle." There was an awkward tension in the air, something that hadn't ever happened to them. "Do you want some Tylenol?" Getting up from the bed, she was already going to get him a glass of water. "I've got some."

"Yeah," he replied, "that'd be marvie. Head's fit to burst."

It was rare for him to be up this early these days. He generally slept until noon or later, depending how much he'd indulged the night before. Today he actually felt decent other than the headache. He watched Charity move, accepting the pills and the water without comment because he wasn't sure what to make of the energy in the room. The night before, they'd been wild and uninhibited, making all sorts of promises their bodies were more than happy to keep. He swallowed the meds, letting her take the empty glass back. There wasn't an ounce of shame in the fact that he was still stark-naked, despite the fact that she'd already spent so much time in the shower that it had started to feel like a message being sent to get the fuck out before she finished. He hadn't been able to bring himself to do it, clinging to that hope that maybe he was reading signals wrong. 

"So," he murmured, idly scratching his balls before starting to look around for his discarded clothes, "guess I'll just gather up my things. Get out of yer hair."

"No." The single word came out before she had a chance to stop it. "I mean, you don't have to." She crossed her arms against her chest and shrugged her shoulders. "I was gonna order some breakfast." She had told herself in the shower that the smart thing would be to let it be a one-night stand. However, now that she was with him, her heart was calling the shots. "Sam's off spending time with a guy and I don't like to eat alone." It was such a stupid excuse, but she wasn't thinking cleverly. She was just thinking that she didn't want him to walk out that door. Not yet. Maybe not ever.

He knew her too well and he could see right through the flimsy charade. Bruce shrugged, pulling one of his socks off the lampshade by the bed. "Sure. Order something, then." He dropped it on the floor with its mate and glanced in the direction of the bathroom. "Seem tae recall a certain someone regaling me about the sheer dimensions of that shower just last night," he chuckled, "or was it this morn? Either way... jus' a little disappointed tae be left out." He was teasing her, trying his best to dispel the weird tension building between them.

Her cheeks flushed as a smirk crossed her face. "You were sleeping and I didn't want to wake you. Seemed like you needed it." Some of the tension was starting to lessen. "Besides, I'm staying in Vegas for the next week. You have all the time in the world to try it out." She could feel herself falling back into their patterns. "Room's big enough for two people. Dunno if that's something you'd be interested in."

"Well now, that's an offer I can't refuse." He grinned and then turned away from her, heading for that oh-so-inviting shower. He knew he smelled bad, like a dirty old drunk. "Order something, Cherry. I'll be back in two shakes of a lamb's tail." Slowly, he sauntered into the room, giving her a great view of him from behind. He only closed the door partially and a moment later she heard the shower come on.

Exhaling, Charity got on the phone to room service and ordered them both a big breakfast. The redness in her cheeks hadn't gone away and she was tempted to go join him. Instead, she picked up the room and made the bed. It was more or less just to keep her hands busy.

Bruce had started off humming as he lathered up, and the warmer the water got and the more his headache started the fade, the more that volume increased until he was actually singing at the top of his lungs. Danny Boy came out loud and clear, from start to finish and then he launched into Sugar, Sugar while he scrubbed all the grime from his hair. He had no idea how much it was echoing, how loud it actually was in the other room. He was overflowing with joy, feeling like a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

His singing brought an amused smile to her face. It reminded her of when they'd been together. She could hear him sing all day, but she was interrupted by a knock on the hotel room door. Opening it up, one of the hotel employees wheeled in the cart with their food and beverages on it. The employee left as Charity started uncovering the various platters. Before Bruce came out, she changed into a matching cream-colored bra and panties set under her robe. She was playing with fire and she didn't care.

He came out of the bathroom a few minutes later in nothing but a towel knotted around his waist. His hair was slicked back, looking darker brown rather than silver since it was still wet. Immediately, he looked at the spread of food and then made a beeline for her instead. Chuckling, he pulled her into his arms and planted a kiss on her lips – he wasn't worried about it now that he'd actually cleaned up and brushed his teeth. "About last night," he murmured when the kiss broke, cocking his head to study her reaction.

She didn't fight him, unable to resist that pull of his that was just like a magnet. Returning the kiss, Charity's hands rested on his face. "Good shower?" It felt so amazing to be in his arms, even though she wasn't sure where they were going from here.

"Lived up tae the hype," Bruce nodded, kissing the tip of her nose with a soft laugh. "We'll need tae go back later – tae the bar, I mean. Can't leave the bike there forever. Mean, likely could since I own the place-"

Her eyes widened at the revelation. It actually made perfect sense, given how the place seemed to be a time capsule, perfectly preserved just as she'd remembered. She wanted to ask him what that meant but given the fact that he was here right now with his arms wrapped around her, it wasn't hard to assume.

"…those hooligans know better. Besides, the Sons'd give 'em grief if they did." He grinned at her, shaking his head, "don't trust 'em as far as I could toss 'em... the regulars, I mean. The Sons're fine. They use the back room for club meetings." She'd almost forgotten that he'd been a member of the Sons of Odin motorcycle club back when they'd first gone to Vegas. It seemed like he was still one after all this time. "Yeh'll give me a ride back?"

"Yeah, of course." Her arms went around his neck as it felt like no time had passed between them. "After you get the bike... then what?"

"Dinner? Dancin'? Those blue fools next door at the Luxor?" His eyes twinkled with happiness as he looked at her, "depends what my girl wants tae do."

My girl? It melted her heart to hear him say that. God, how she loved him so much. "So, I'm your girl... what made you decide that?"

His smile faded slightly as he considered the heavy question. Had she ever really stopped being the one? Even when he'd been with someone else, as briefly as it lasted, every moment was spent comparing his new reality to what he'd had with Charity. "Cherry," he shook his head, "you've always been. Just been too daft tae see it."

Hearing him say that, Charity hugged him, resting her head in the crook of his shoulder. "You aren't with anyone else?" She hated asking this, but after the last, it felt like a good question.

"Nobody." He closed his eyes, remembering how bad it had been the last time they'd come together at their daughter's graduation. Three days of passionate reunion had ended in tears. "Been divorced for over a year. It was a slow crumble. After..." he hugged her close, running his hands down her back as of trying to assure himself that this wasn't a dream. He didn't know if Sam had ever told her that she'd called him about the ectopic pregnancy a few years ago. He didn't want to bring it up if she hadn't. "There's nobody else but you. My Cherry girl, Babylove."

Charity closed her eyes, savoring this moment between them. Breathing him in, her nose rested against the side of his neck, something had done countless times over the years. Everything between them was so natural, that's what happened when you had almost twenty-four years of history. Pulling back, Charity looked up at him. What she was going to bring up next caused her to pause. She continued, though.

"I know you sent me flowers when I was in the hospital a few years back. I know Sam called you." Leaning in, she placed a soft kiss on his lips. "Before we make this official, we gotta talk about the other stuff. Get everything out on the table. Baby, I don't want this past shit to fester."

"Am all for a little honesty." He murmured, pulling back slightly. "But the food's getting cold."

"How about we eat and talk?" She knew they had to do this. Given everything that had happened in their past, they had to put things to rest. "I just want us to have a fresh start." As she spoke, she led him over to the table where she'd put the food. "You can ask me anything."

Bruce chuckled as he pulled his breakfast platter closer, realizing how ravenous he actually was. He shoveled some scrambled eggs into his mouth, chewing thoughtfully before washing it down with a huge gulp of fresh orange juice. "Wouldn't even know..." he broke off, shaking his head, "did yeh know? About..." He cleared his throat, glancing up at her. "Wasn't even a wee one yet... just a collection of cells. Did the math. Couldn't have been that far on. Did yeh know?"

She shook her head, grabbing herself a piece of toast. "No, I had no idea." Grabbing some butter and a knife, she spread it over the bread. "I was late, but I just figured it was stress." Taking a bite, she sighed. "If I had known, I would have told you." She looked at the man across from her. "I was going to tell you, but I wanted to wait until I was out of the hospital. It didn't seem like a conversation we should be having over the phone." She didn't mention that it was also awkward because he was married to someone else at the time.

"By then, I already knew." He shrugged, picking up a piece of bacon, crunching it loudly. "Wish I'd heard from you."

"I'm sorry, Bruce." She put the toast down and got up from her chair. Walking around the little table, she took a seat on his lap. She wanted to be close to him. "I guess I passed out in the bathroom and when I woke up, I was in the hospital. By the time they knew what was wrong, they were prepping me for surgery." She turned and looked at him. "I wanted you there... I'm sorry I wasn't the one to tell you."

"It is what it is." Bruce forced a wan smile around another mouthful of food. "Can't change it now... wishes an' horses, love. It doesn't matter. Jus' would've liked tae..." he gestured at her with a breakfast sausage, shaking his head. "Fair play. Anything yeh wanna ask?"

When she'd found out about him being married before, she really hadn't asked him questions about the other woman. "Do you still love Grace?"

He stared at her as though she'd gone insane, nearly choking on that mouthful of meat. "What? Yeh think I'd be wallowing in that dive if that were the case... moonin' over lost loves?"

"I guess before I jump into this, I wanna make sure there aren't any loose ends." She leaned in and kissed his cheek, her hand resting against his chest and when her fingers caught the damp links of a chain, she looked down and saw the answer to her own question. The wedding ring he'd made for her hung from those old silver links that were tarnished with age. It still looked the same as it did the day she'd given it back, since it had the day he'd slipped it on her finger in the first place and she realized the love she felt for him hadn't dwindled since she was sixteen. "You and I," there was a quiver in her voice now, "I want this more than I have ever wanted anything. If we do this, you're stuck with me, forever."

Oblivious to her revelation, Bruce licked the grease off his fingers, chuckling under his breath. "It's a cross I'll just have tae bear, then."

A smile crossed her face, a warm and genuinely happy one. "Did I happen to tell you about the huge bathtub in this room? I know I went on about the shower, but it's nothing compared to that tub."

He'd seen the huge marble monstrosity of a tub when he was in the bathroom but he shook his head, feigned surprise all over his face. "Don't believe yeh did." He was relieved that whatever had been bothering her seemed to have been resolved. "Tell me more."

"It'd be easier to just show you." Her smile widened into a grin as she got off his lap. Grabbing his hands, she pulled him up and led him to the bathroom. Charity felt happier than she had been in years and knew without a shadow of a doubt that this was it. All the years of pain and struggle were worth it because they'd led her back to Bruce, stronger in the end.