Chapter 32 - You Live For The Fight

"How are you feeling?"  The doctor asks Beth as he helps her sit up on the exam table. She just had her staples removed and steri - srips added, "Your incision looks great."

"I feel great." she tells him ,straightening her shirt.

"I hear the twins are doing good."

"They are the best."  Jon joins in the conversation.

The doctor leans against the counter and jots notes down in Beth's chart.  "How's the breast feeding?"

"They are doing good, I need to wake them up so they finish, but they are doing great."  Beth tells the doctor, hopping off the exam table.  "Are we done here?"  She looks up to the doctor, "We left the twins at home with a sitter, and they haven't had a bottle yet.  I want to avoid nipple confusion if I can."  She leans over and picks up her purse.

"We are done here."  He clicks his pen closed and slides it into his white coat breast pocket, "Since you are breast feeding, stay on your vitamins, okay?"

"Okay."

"Do you have any questions?" he reaches for the door handle and just about gets out when he hears Jon says, "Can she travel?"

Beth looks at Jon, feeling a little irked by what he asked, but then she quickly considers the source.

"She can travel, still no heavy lifting and no driving for 4 more weeks," he looks at Beth, "I mean it, no driving."

She holds up her hands, "I won't, I won't."

"I'll see you in 2 weeks.  Those strips will fall off, when they start to dog ear do not pull them off."

"I've been through this before, doc."

"Then you know, no sex for 4 more weeks."

Jon laughs, "Yeah, we know."

"I'll see you in 2 weeks."  The doctor leaves the two of them in exam room. 

Jon smiles at Beth as he walks into her, taking her in his arms, "No heavy lifting, no driving and no sex - you might as well come on the road with me so I can help you."

"You?" she chuckles at him, biting his chin, "Or do you mean your people?"

"Me Beth, I would help you." he felt a little offended by that.  He would never bring in another stranger into their life to take care of anyone.  He had a problem leaving the twins with Gloria while he took Beth to the doctor, but Gloria has been with Beth at the vineyard since the beginning.

"I want to stay home.  If I need any help, I have Gloria."

"I know you do, but I would feel better if you were with me." he admits to her, knowing that she knows exactly how he feels about it.

"Can we go?" she takes his hand and they leave out the backdoor of the doctors office.

They are in her car, her Cadillac that he bought her a couple of years ago.  "Do you want to stop and get something to eat, or go right home?"

Beth cups her breasts in her hands and says, "You can take me home and then go get something, or we can order from the kitchen.  I need to feed them or pump."  She laughs.

"We can order from the kitchen, that's fine." he reaches over and takes her hand, she looks up at him, "Thank you."

She crosses her eyes and makes a funny face at him, "For what?"

"Just for being you."

"But I drive you crazy."  She takes his hand, laces her fingers with his.  

"You do, but I'd rather be crazy with you than miserable without you." he pulls her hand to his lips, kissing her fingers.  "I believe that this is our umteenth chance, and we should really get it right this time."

Beth rests her head on the head rest and rolls her head to look at Jon, "We had babies, that doesn't mean that we're in a relationship, Jon."

Without trying, she took his breath away.  Her sucker punch, was a direct hit to the heart.  "What do you mean?"

"Things are no different between us, other than we are parents together."

"But we've talked about me coming back every few days to see you."

"And you can.  That doesn't make us in a relationship, I would never tell you that you couldn't come see the twins."

He adjusts himself in the seat, resting his elbow on the door.  He lets go of her hand and rubs his face, "What has the last two weeks been?"

"It's been us spending time with our children, did you think it was more than that?"  she turns in her seat to face him, wanting him to know that she's listening to him.

"We have slept in the same bed.  We have made love and been a family."  he's stunned.  He was sure that they were well on their way to happy family.  "We have showered together, shopped together and held one another at night."

"That doesn't make a relationship Jon."

"You told me that you love me."

"I do love you Jon, I will always love you."

He's angry now.  Here he thought that they were headed in the right direction and now they are definitely headed backwards.  "Why did you let me believe that we were okay, or that we were going to be okay?"

Beth looks at him, blankly.  "How was I to know what you were thinking, or what you believed?"