TWENTY-ONE: Father's Day [FLASHBACK]

Even though their baby wasn't due until the beginning of November, Charity had gotten the idea to surprise Bruce for Father's Day – the only trouble with that was that he'd had his own surprise that day when he'd taken her to the studio. She'd let a couple weeks pass in the hopes that the idea would prove to be silly and go away but it was still there in the back of her mind. She wanted to honor him, especially since he'd been so supportive since he'd found out she was pregnant. Granted, at first, he wasn't on board at all but his attitude had completely changed and now he was excited about the impending arrival. She'd had a day planned for them that they'd spend at Coney Island followed by a picnic on the beach. The plans had been dashed a few days before when it came out that Bruce was going to be stuck at the studio, editing videos. The idea to surprise him later in the day had come to her and she'd said nothing to him about it. Not only was she going to bring him the dinner she'd planned but also a gift that she thought he would want to keep in his office.

It was just starting to get dark out as Charity walked up to the building where Bruce worked. In hand she carried the picnic basket that had been used the night he'd proposed and inside of the basket was the carefully wrapped package for him. She'd dressed in a cream sundress with spaghetti straps and a royal blue floral pattern on it. The dress reached just above her knees and showed off her baby bump. On her feet were a pair of matching sandals and her blonde hair was partly pulled back with a barrette. The only piece of jewelry she proudly adorned was the custom engagement ring that Bruce had had made for her out of his beloved necklace. Not only was she proud to wear the ring, she was proud to be his future wife. Whether he believed it or not, he could have had his pick of numerous women, but he wanted her and only her.

Smiling to herself, Charity opened up the studio's doors and made her way inside. She'd been there a few times and knew where Bruce's office was. She walked up to the doorway, fully expecting to see him at his desk, editing away but the room was empty. She went inside and set the basket down on the red velvet couch that was in his office. The young woman then heard a set of voices – Bruce's being the first while the other made her skin crawl and her hands instinctively clenched into fists.

It wasn't long before she found the location of her fiancé and Shirlea Frost. They were on the set where Bruce had taken her pictures just a couple weeks before. Seeing the blonde sprawled on that couch they'd enjoyed made her want to bolt from the room and vomit but she forced herself to move closer, watching as Bruce snapped photos in silence. He wasn't talking, wasn't giving directions or encouraging her in any way but it didn't seem to matter as the blonde writhed and shifted, showing off her body. The outfit she had on was sheer and when she moved, it was easy to see everything she owned – she was wearing far less than Charity had been for her shoot.

She knew this was part of Bruce's job, she just hadn't expected to see the manipulative bitch as the subject of his photos. Bruce realized they weren't alone when he saw Shirlea's sleepy look harden, eyes narrowing into a glare. He wasn't sure who he expected to see, but when he turned around to the sight of Charity in a dress that perfectly accented her changing body, he couldn't help the warm smile. His body language changed completely as he lowered the camera, letting it hang from the strap around his neck as he held out his hand to her. "Cherry-love… what a pleasant surprise."

Charity couldn't stop the smile that crossed her face as she made her way over to where he stood. "I'm sorry to interrupt; I thought you were just editing tonight." She didn't even look at Shirlea, deliberately ignoring the woman as her focus stayed on Bruce. "I brought you dinner."

Reaching out, he took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze, "how thoughtful. Means I don't have tae order in."

Shirlea made a rude noise, rolling her eyes as she continued to lounge on the couch, everything on display. She made no effort to cover up, almost as if she was daring Charity to look and be jealous.

Bruce glanced back at Shirlea, shaking his head, "this was last-minute. Shuffled the schedule around, thankfully most of the edits on the new project're almost done anyhow. We're almost done here, too."

"How about if I let you finish up and I'll wait in your office?" She wanted to stick around and make sure the other woman didn't try anything funny, but that would have shown how insecure she was. The last thing she wanted to do was give that sick bitch any ammunition. "I can set up the food." Leaning in, she gave him a soft kiss.

"Mmmm," it was more a sound of contentment than a real sort of agreement as he nodded. "Just a few more minutes. We'll have this wrapped up an' then I'm all yours." The fact that she wasn't making a scene was surprising and it actually made him feel much better about where they stood now than the night they'd had that terrible fight and had almost broken things off for good.

"Barf," Shirlea muttered under her breath before lifting her hand in a wave. "Toodles, Doodles…"

"Can't wait." Charity kissed him again before leaving him to finish up the photo shoot. It had taken a multitude of self-control not to run over and deck Shirlea in the face thanks to her surging hormones, but she'd managed. Once she was in Bruce's office, she took a seat on the couch as she pulled out containers that held homemade macaroni and cheese. She'd made it for him before and he'd loved it. She also had some slices of Boston cream pie. That was more for her as she'd been craving it. With the food out, she waited for him to return.

It was maybe twenty minutes before he came into the office with his camera in hand. He set it down on his desk and let out a groan, stretching so his back cracked. "Thanks," he murmured as he turned to lock the door, giving them the illusion of privacy. "Needed a little distraction in the worst sorta way."

Standing up, she walked over and put her arms around him. "Then I guess I got here at the right time?" Smiling up at him, she hugged him close. "Hope you're hungry, I brought you some mac and cheese, I even made it from scratch – baking it in the oven."

"That's my girl," he hugged her back, chuckling softly. "Did yeh do it with the bacon the way I like?"

"The bacon is the most important part." Pulling back, Charity grabbed his hands and led him to the couch. "I know that our little one isn't here yet and it's a little late but I thought maybe we could celebrate Father's Day?"

"Never too early for another holiday. Or late, neither." He replied, letting her pull him along to the couch. He sat down with a sigh, looking down at the spread she'd laid out on the table. "Goodness, love… who're we feedin'? An army?"

"You've been working all day and I wanted to make sure you have enough." Truth be told, she liked taking care of him and she knew when the baby came, she'd like being home with their little one. She handed him a plate after she'd loaded it up. It was burning on her tongue to ask about Shirlea. "So… how long…" she took her own bite of food, trying to sound casual. "Has Shirlea been working here?"

"That I can't answer," he shrugged, pausing before he started to shovel the delicious macaroni into his mouth. "Just found out today… told them it was a mistake, that she's a loose cannon but she's a big draw, I guess. She's got a followin' already from the strip club – they figger it'll translate into big sales when they put her on screen. Told me I had tae play nice."

Charity chewed on her food thoughtfully, a knot forming in the pit of her stomach. She hated the jealousy she felt and hated what she was about to ask him. "Bruce? I gotta ask you a favor…"

"A favor?" He was distracted by his favourite meal, utterly oblivious to her train of thought. "What's that, hmm?"

It looked as though she were nervous as to what she was going to ask him. Exhaling, she started playing with strands of her hair, twisting it around her fingers. "I need you to not be alone with Shirlea. I trust you. I really do." Her eyes pleaded with him for understanding.

"I know yeh do."

"It's just… the thought of her trying to touch you or anything? It makes my skin crawl. I fucking hate it, Bruce. If there's someone else that could take her pictures? Just, please." There was desperation in her eyes as well as self-loathing.

He dropped his fork as his head snapped up, eyes fixing on her. "There's nobody else right now," he shook his head slowly. "The work's done as is. Made sure there are enough that I won't have tae do it again any time soon. Four outfits. Spent a good hour an' a half…" the disgust was on his face as he lifted his hand up to rub the back of his neck, "I know… doesn't really ring true when a man who enjoys a good roll in the hay as much as I do says he's not turned on by the sight of that one without a stitch on… but here we are. It's true. She's…" he almost shuddered, shaking his head. "Stay tonight if yer worried about it? Wouldn't mind."

"I'm sorry…" She got up and moved to his side of the couch. Instead of sitting next to him, she knelt down. "I hate being this insecure… I know you love me and you wouldn't hurt me." She leaned forward and rested her forehead against his knee and felt on the verge of tears. "I'm sorry, Baby. Please don't be mad."

"The way you two fought the last time?" He ran his hand through her hair gently, an almost wistful smile on his face, "not surprised yeh feel that way. Could let yeh loose on her… film it if we were into snuff – now I bet that'd really generate some revenue."

Looking up at him, she let out a bit of a laugh. "She wasn't worth the busted nose and she's not worth that." Letting a sigh, there was a warm smile on her lips as she pushed herself back onto the couch. "I have something for you." Reached into the basket, she pulled out a rectangular wrapped gift. "It's not much, but I figured you could put it on your desk."

"A gift?" One brow quirked as he took the wrapped item, unable to hide the curiosity even as he shook his head. "See, now… didn't have tae do that."

"I wanted to." The smile on her face widened as she waited to see his reaction to the gift.

He opened it slowly, eyes and grin widening as he realized what it was: a framed copy of the ultrasound photo. Chuckling, he looked up at her, obviously delighted. "This is marvie," his tone radiated warmth that was reflected in his eyes.

"I thought you'd like it." Her smile matched his as she leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. "I figured this would be a placeholder until our little one gets here."

"Oh aye. Once she comes, gonna pick up some stock in Kodak film." He chuckled, "we'll have so many photos we won't know what tae do with 'em."

Her heart swelled with love, almost feeling like it was going to burst as she wrapped her arms around him, hugging on tight. "I love you."

His hand rested against her baby bump, almost protectively. "Love you too… both of you." He kissed the top of her head, feeling a strange sort of pride – he was going to be a father and he was going to do everything he could to be the best one. He owed them both that much.