FicWad

Author Note -- I am reposting this chapter. For some reason this chapter showed up in the wrong spot. It should come after "The King". I would have changed it on my account page but it shows up in the right place there. Confused? Me too!! Anyway thanks to those who have e-mailed me and let me know about this. Especially Caitydidsworld. Hope this turns out right now. Love to you all - SanDee XOXO

Carla was standing on the front porch of the house when they pulled up. Gerard had gotten the directions from her by phone on their way back to Belleville. It was a new construction designed to look like a Victorian house.
"Gerard, I haven't seen you in years" she greeted him as they walked up the small flagstone walkway. "And this must be Monica. Donna speaks so fondly of you."
After exchanging greetings they walked inside to view the house. It had three bedrooms that were quite small, as was the kitchen. The family room was strangely shaped which would have made arranging furniture difficult. Monica and Gerard exchanged a look that Carla noticed.
"Not for you." She smiled, "Please don't feel you can't speak freely in front of me. I really didn't think you would be impressed with this house but on short notice I could only show two you two houses today." They walked out and she locked the door. As they started down the walkway she added, "The other house is just a few blocks from here. I don't think it is what you are looking for but we can take a quick peek."
It turned out she was right. The second house wasn't what they were looking for at all. Gerard expressed his desire to find a home with four bedrooms and a separate room he could use as a music room. He wanted a place where the other band members could come over and work on songs without disturbing Monica and the girls.
"So is tomorrow good for you? I have quite a few more properties for you to view." Carla said as they were returning to their cars after doing a quick walk through of the second house.
Gerard shook his head, "No, tomorrow won't work for us. Actually we are going out of town for a few days but Friday morning would be good."
"I will make sure my calendar is clear and line up as many homes to show you as I can" Carla told them. "We will find the right house for you."
They parted after making plans to meet at her office on Friday morning at eight. On the way home Monica brought up a subject she knew they needed to discuss "Gee, I know we are buying a house in Belleville for now so the girls can finish high school here but what about after Kelly graduates? Do you want to stay in Jersey?"
He frowned, "I'm not sure. Where do you want to live?"
"Anywhere you are." She told him with a smile, "I remember reading in an article that you said you wanted to live in Portland Oregon. Is that really where you would like to live?"
He thought a moment, "It's a great place."
"I'm sure Portland is nice but wouldn't it be hard to live so far away from the rest of the band members?"
Gerard signed, "Probably, I don't know Jersey has always been home but I'm not sure I want to live here my whole life." He kept his eyes on the traffic, "Hey, we don't have to worry about his now. We've got several years to figure it out."
"You're right. I just want you to know that we don't have to stay here as long as we are together that's all that's important."
They drove in silence for several minutes. Small raindrops began to splatter against the windshield. Monica leaned her head back and drifted off to sleep. She didn't wake until Gerard pulled in front of the house and turned off the engine. Almost immediately Kelly and Kara ran out of the front door.
"Is this my car?" Kara asked Gerard excitedly.
He tossed the keys to her, "It's all yours. Be very careful when you drive it. I'm not concerned about he car, I want you to promise me to always drive safe." He looked over at Monica and added, "and always wear your seatbelt."
Kara smiled, "Thanks Gerard, this car is rad." She circled around it getting a good look from all sides. He watched her with an amused look on his face. "Bob is coming over tonight and I can't wait to take him for a ride."
Kelly had already crawled in the passenger seat that Monica had vacated a few moments before. "Can we take it for a test drive?"
Kara slid in the drivers seat, "Is it OK, Gerard?"
He leaned down to the driver's window. "It's your car, Kara. If you want to take it for a test drive you don't have to ask me."
"You are the best," she told him. "Kelly and I will be back in about twenty minutes." She started the engine, adjusted the radio to her favorite station, then carefully pulled away from the curb.
"You're her hero." Monica said linking arms with him.
His eyes were following Kara's car as it traveled down the road, "They're being followed." He saw the dark blue sedan pull out from a side road. "I called Brain and told him about Kara's new car so he could pass on the information." His eyes scanned the neighborhood, "the house is being watched too."
Monica grew angry "I just hate it that my children have to be watched because of their aunt. And now you mom's house has to be watched all because of me." She slowly started towards the house with Gerard rushing to keep up with her. "I know it's wrong to hate, Gee but I can't help it. I hate that woman." He reached the front door and swayed slightly.
"Monica, are you OK" he grabbed her around the waist to steady her.
"I just have a headache," she said sadly. "Too much hating, I guess."
He opened the door and led her inside. "You've done too much today when you should have been resting. I want you to go downstairs and take a short nap before dinner."
She was going to argue with him but her head was pounding and the thought of a nap seemed like a good idea. "OK but will you tuck me in?"
He gave her a heart-stopping smile, "Oh honey, you know I will." Once downstairs in his old bedroom he led her to the bed. She sat down and he removed her shoes. "Now nap until dinner" he said while pulling the bedspread over her, "Don't forget we have a big day tomorrow." He leaned down to put a chaise kiss on her lips.
With lightening fast speed she reached up and pulled him down. Her lips claimed his in a deep, passionate kiss. He moaned and broke free. "Woman, stop that. You need to rest."
She smiled at him, "I love you"
He stood and looked down at her, "Not as much as I love you."
Monica closed her eyes and soon fell into a deep, dreamless sleep. The sleep of the dead her grandmother had called it.
Two hours later she heard her name being called and she was being shaken. Opening her eyes she saw Gerard kneeling down by the bed. His expression frightened her. "What's wrong?" she asked sitting up.
He pulled her into his arms, "Monica you scared me. I came in and you were so still. I knocked first up you didn't answer." He hugged her so tightly she had to remind him of her bruises.
"Shit, I'm sorry I forgot. I'm just so fucking happy your OK." He sat back and looked at her closely, "You are OK aren't you?"
"Gee, I'm fine. I was just sleeping. I guess pretty soundly." He had turned on the light and she noticed it was dark outside. "What time is it? How long did I sleep?"
It's after seven, I thought you needed to sleep so I didn't wake you before now. I kept your dinner in the oven, are you hungry?"
She smiled, "You kept my dinner in the oven, that makes it sound like you made dinner yourself."
He stood. "Actually, I did make dinner. Of course Mom wouldn't leave the kitchen. She was sure I was gonna set the house on fire."
"OK obviously I'm still sleeping cause I'd swear you just said you made dinner." She pushed back the bedspread and stood. "Honey I've seen firsthand your culinary skills."
He looked at her and frowned, "I did cook dinner just to prove I could without anyone needing to call the fire department. I'm a man of many talents, Monica."
The look on his face was so adorable it was hard not to giggle, "I agree you are quite talented. So you really made dinner?"
He took her hand and led her upstairs. "Go on in and say hi to Bob and Kara. They're watching T.V. I sent Mom and Kelly to the grocery store." He moved over to the oven, "I'll get your dinner ready."
"OK" she said thinking how adorable he sounded. He "sent" his mom to the grocery store, that was funny. She wondered why suddenly he had a take-charge attitude.
In the living room Bob and Kara were definitely not watching T.V. Kara was sitting on his lap and they were lip-locked. She stood a moment then cleared her throat.
"Hey, Monica how are you feeling" Bob asked looking up quickly.
"I'm feeling better, thanks." She glanced at Kara who had slid off his lap and was now sitting beside him.
Bob shifted away from Kara slightly. "Gerard made a pretty good dinner, I gotta admit. At first when Kara told me he had cooked I thought she was joking."
"Monica, your dinner is ready" Gerard called from the kitchen.
She took one last look at the couple on the sofa. "Well, you two carry on."
Kara burst out laughing and Bob blushed.
The kitchen table was now set for one. Gerard had put down a place mat on which he placed her plate of food. He has even attempted to fold the paper napkin into a shape she couldn't identify. He pulled out her chair.
Monica looked down and was surprised to see a very delicious looking slice of meatloaf, a baked potato and green beans. "This looks great." She told him.
He smiled proudly, "The meatloaf is grandma's recipe. She used to make it at least once a week for Mikey and me. Do you want sour cream or butter for your potato?"
"Sour cream, please" she watched him open the refrigerator, grab the container and return to the table. "I'm impressed, Gee."
"You haven't even tried it. For all you know it could taste like crap." He sat down next to her, "Go on, take a bite"
She did and was pleasantly surprised, "This is very good. Thank you."
He nodded and watched as she took another bite. "See I can cook if I try."
She looked at him, "Gee, why did you cook and not Donna?"
He realized he hadn't gotten her a drink. "Milk, ice tea or water?"
She chose water. After he sat the glass down she asked again, "What's up with you cooking?"
He grinned, "Guess I'm just trying to prove I'm good husband material. I don't want you to think that when we get married that you have to do all the cooking, I will help out."
"I know you will and I already think you are good husband material. I love you just the way you are." She noticed she had already eaten most of the meatloaf. "This really is delicious."
As she ate they talked about tomorrows trip and the wedding. Gerard told her they would need to leave by 3:00 am. He also told her he was going to toss Bob out at 10:00 cause he needed to get to sleep at a decent hour. "That's gonna be fun" he told her gleefully.
"Gee, you are bad." She giggled then polished off the rest of her dinner. "Thank you, dinner was excellent"
He looked down at the table, "I have to tell you something. There was supposed to be desert too, I had a little trouble."
Monica tried not to laugh but the look on his face was priceless. "What happened?"
"Well I tried to make a chocolate cake. Just a plain fucking chocolate cake." He frowned, "The recipe said the cake needed to be put into a glass 11X13 cake pan. I was following the directions and they said to heat water to boiling and pour it into the glass pan. Shit, I thought I would save myself a step and heat the water in the glass pan on top of the stove. So I did and put the next ingredient. The fucking glass cake pan exploded. Mom ran back in the kitchen and man, was she pissed." He thought a minute then smiled. "But hey, nothing caught on fire."


Authors Note - Gerard really did say he might like to live in Portland Oregon in a recent interview. Just thought you might want to know.