TONI POV:
"Cheryl please I need sleep." I say barely being awake. JJ was up all night with a throwing up. She nods. "Yeah." She walks out. I finally lie on the bed and sleep.
I walk into the kitchen. JJ has his head on the table looking sick. "Bud put your head up at the table." He looks up at me. "I really don't feel well." I look over at Cheryl. "I know but still." I sit next to him. Cheryl walks over with a bowl. "Try to eat ok?" He nods and starts eating slowly. He quickly stops and pushes the bowl away. "No!" He says shaking his head frantically. Cheryl picks up the spoon with food in it. "One more." He moves away and throws up. "Ok we're done." I pick him up and bring him to the bathroom. "Stay here I'll be back in a minute." I run out. I go down stairs. "Thank god he threw up on the mat." Cheryl laughs.
"I just realized something." I look a Cheryl. "Your supposed to me in bed. Resting." I shake my head. "I'm fine." I walk over to her, she gently places her hand over my wound. I winch in pain. "Ok maybe I'm not." She cups my face. "You need to rest, and stop picking our kids up. I'll take care of JJ." I kiss her slowly, she kisses back. "Ew." We both laugh looking at Mary. "I'm going to bed." I walk into our room and lie down.
"JJ, feeling better?" I ask sitting on his bed. "Yeah." I rub his cheek. "Hey, I was thinking about what you said the other day, mom and I never really explained to you what happened to me, your a little to young to know what actually happened. but I was in the hospital for a few days, and I am lucky to be alive but I'm ok now and I will be ok." He sits up and looks at me. "So your not going anywhere?" I nod. He still hasn't grasped the concept of what happened. "Your stuck with me. Forever." He laughs. "Toni." I look back . "What?" She sits on the bed. "Time for bed." She kicks me out, I go into Mary's room. "Hey sweetie." I knock on the door. He looks at me and I walk over. I sit on her bed. "Are you ok?" I ask softly. "No." The weird thing about our kids is their either really honest or not at all. "What's wrong?" I tuck her into bed. "Mom explained what happened to you but I still don't get what happened." She looks up at me. It's weird, Neither of them actually get what happened. It's been a while since, but clearly it's effected them badly. "I got hurt and ended up in the hospital. But I'm ok now." She nods. "Ok. Book." I smiles. She hands me the book. "Ok."
"Goodnight." I kiss the top of her head and walk out. I go into our room. She walks over to me and raps her arms around me. "I love you." I smile. "More." She kisses me softly. "We both know JJ is your favorite kid right?" I look at me. "No! He's my favorite son." I tell her. She cups my face. "Your so silly." I pull her into a kiss. That kiss quickly deepens, I pull away. "Wait." I lock the door. "Ok continue." She smiles and kisses me.
"Toni, wake up." I look over. "What?" She gets up. "The first day of freedom for the first time in a while." I She gets up. "What?" She looks over at me. "Twins, school." Oh right. I get up and go to JJ's room. "Hey bud it's time to get up." I walk in. "No." He rolls over. I sit on his bed. "Come on. It's the first day nothing can go wrong." He looks at me. "You don't know that." I nod. "The first day nothing happens." He sits up. "What about you and mom?" I look at him confused. "We're going to be here." He shakes his head. "No." I pick him up. "No, no." He hits my back. "You have to go." Some how I manage to get him to change. I get him down stairs. "No." He sits on the chair. "What's up? Why do really not want to go?" He shakes his head. "No!" He yells. I look at Cheryl.
By the time we get him to school he is in tears. I walk over to Cheryl who is by the car. "20 minuets. Mary took 5." I look at her. "I think JJ is having some attachment problems after I got shot." We both get in the car. "You think?" She ask driving off. "Yeah." She looks taken back my this. Once we get home and walk inside. My phone rings and pick it up. "Hello." I walk into the kitchen. "Hi I'm Mr. Matthews, I'm your son Jason's teacher." Oh god. "Hi, Everything ok?" I ask knowing it's not. "Not really he's refusing everything, and is currently in with the school nurse having a panic attack worried about you and your wife. Do you know why this might be happening?" I'm not going to tell him I'm in a gang. "Yeah, something happened to me a few weeks ago and it kinda effected him." Cheryl walks in. "Everything ok?" I shake my head. "Ok just called to tell you that he might come home upset." I nod even though he cant see it. "Ok, thank you for telling me." I hang up. I shake my head. "Yeah totally not having any trouble coping." I say sarcastically. "Toni, I didn't think it was bad." She walks over to me. "He is sensitive kid. And he gets effected by the smallest things you and I both know this." She looks down. "Your right." Her hand trails up my body. "But no kids to stop us." She pulls me closer to her. "Maybe we could go upstairs and make the most of no kids." She whispers in my ear seductively. Without any thought I pick her up and we go to our room.
She rides my slowly. I hold her hips. She moans softly. I kiss her neck, still holding on to her. "Toni I'm- oh." She slows down getting off her high. She lies down on my chest. I take off the strap on and hold her. "I love you." She says out of breath. "More." I kiss her forehead. "Remember when the kids were talking about getting a dog?" I ask softly. "Yeah." She rubs my chest. "Maybe it would help JJ. He's having a hard time with everything it wouldn't hurt if we did." She shakes her head. "Yeah it will. I'm allergic to dogs. Maybe a cat." I nod. "Yeah I would prefer that."
CHERYL POV:
It's time to pick the twins up from school, Mary again is fine but something is up with JJ. When I get there he is still in the nurses office asleep. "JJ." I get down to his level. He slowly opens his eyes. "Bud, what's going on with you? You've been acting out for a while now." He sits up slowly. "When Mommy was gone." He is really having a hard time with this. Wow for the first time in a while Toni is right. "Hey, she's ok now. Are worried something bad is going to happen to one of us?" He nods slowly. "Jason, nothing is going to happen to her or me." It's rare that I call him Jason, I only do it when I need to be serious with him. "Really?" He ask slowly. I push some hair out of his face. "Really." I pick him up. "Mary stop playing with the water fountain." I say walking out. I reach for her hand and she runs over. "We're meeting mom at Pops, we have something really important to talk about." I tell them. It's really not that important, but we think it's funny to make things seem bigger than they are. Actually no, it's more serious than important but is important. If that makes any sense.
We get to Pops and JJ admittedly goes to Toni. "Hey buddy." Toni picks him up and sits down. Toni gives me a look. "Your right." I confess. She smiles at me and mouths 'i love you.' I smile and blush softly. "More." I love this girl with all my heart. "What is the important thing?" I look at Toni. "Remember when we were talking about getting a dog?" Both their faces light up. "Wait are we getting a dog?" I shake my head. "No, only because I'm allergic. But we were thinking about a cat." Both of them smile. We get interrupted by Toni's phone. She looks at it. "It's Jughead It's probably important." She gets up and walks outside. I look over and see the panic in JJ's eyes. "Will she be ok?" He ask looking at me. "Yes." I feel so bad for him, Toni almost dying really messed with him. You can tell. Toni walks in. "I have to go." She goes to my ear. "Everything is fine, just serpent meeting." She whispers in my ear. I look at her. "Toni." I cup her face. "I'll be back as soon as I can. It can't be long." She kisses my cheek and walks out. I look over at JJ and you can just see his face fall.
"Stop!" I yell as he tries to kick me. "You don't kick people especially your parents!" I stop his hands. I rap my arms around him and rub his back. "Stop." He starts to calm down. He's been crying since we were at Pops, that was 3 hours ago. I pick him up and bring him to his room. "Do you want to lie down for a little?" I ask. He nods. "Only if you stay." We both lie down in his bed. I rub his back as he goes to sleep. I hear a roar of a motorcycle pull up and the door open, she places her helmet on the floor. "Hey sweetheart." She comes upstairs. "Where's mommy?" There is a moment of silence. I look over at the door. "Cheryl, we need to talk." She whispers. "When your done of course." She smiles awkwardly. To this day she still is nervous around me, I don't blame her I still get butterflies when I kiss her.
"Wait, say that again." I say pacing the room. "Jug said I'm now in charge of the serpents." I shake my head. "And I was thinking you could rejoin and help." I stop and walk over to her. "I left when the twins were babies. I'm not rejoining the serpents!" I whisper yell. "Shh. Please for me." She gives me the look and can never say no to. "Fine. If, we keep the twins out of this until their are 18 unless we have no choice." She nods. "Deal."
