Until the Very End

Chapter 50

The next week was actually a quiet one for the Gummers. They didn't leave the apartment. Dr. Abbott came over a few times to check on them, while they were doing well, they still had a long way to go. With the trial against Don coming up soon, Meryl was worried about Don testifying and Don was worried about Meryl testifying due to their health thanks to Raymore, but Dr. Abbott assured them it was fine. He just didn't want them to overdo it. Neither Don or Meryl wanted any of the kids there, it was hard for Louisa as she was back at school, but she promised her parents that she would stay in Poughkeepsie and focus on her studies. Mamie and Grace were working, which their parents told them they needed to focus on, though Mamie and Grace wanted to be there. What Don and Meryl didn't know, was that Henry and Suzie were going to be there along with Maggie and Mike who insisted on coming for the trial, even though Don and Meryl didn't know that either. Neither Don or Meryl had spoken to Jane but were, of course, keeping Brad updated. They knew how much Brad wanted to be there, but they told him the best thing he could do for them was to continue to fight his cancer. Meryl didn't want her brothers there, and they told her they would respect that. Things were still shaky with Dana and he didn't want to push it. Third had talked to Don privately, and Don had promised to call him if he thought Meryl could use the support. He knew Meryl was so tired of all of this, and just wanted as little attention on them as possible, which he understood. He knew she held a lot of guilt over all of this, and he didn't want her to know how scared he was. He didn't blame her at all, not in the least, and he wouldn't change how he handled things. His wife and children were safe, and that was all he ever cared about; however, he hoped that by trying to protect his wife and children that he wasn't taken from them in the process. Not only was he terrified of that possibility, but he was also terrified of what would happen to them if he wasn't there to protect them. He was doing everything he could to think about that. He just couldn't let that happen.

***

"Baby?" Don said to Meryl as he walked into the bedroom they were staying in downstairs from the en-suite bathroom. "Are you ready?" Don noticed she didn't move. As he walked around to the other side of the bed where she was sitting, he noticed that she was staring at a picture of him and the babies on her phone. It was a picture from only a few days ago as he was trying to feed them their first taste of baby food. Don noticed how the tears were just streaming down her face as she wouldn't take her eyes off the picture. Don sighed as he carefully knelt down in front of her, ignoring the pain that caused in his chest, and pulled the phone away slightly. "Baby, they will be fine. Lizzie is going to be in Larry's office with them. They will be right down the hall. They will be safe."

It was at that moment, when she heard her husband's voice, that Meryl realized she wasn't alone. "And you? What about you?"

"What do you mean what about me?" Don was trying to play it cool, not wanting her to know how absolutely terrified he actually was. "I'll be with you and Larry, guards will be all around. I won't let him get to you."

Meryl shook her head as she threw her phone down on the bed. "It's not me I'm worried about. What about you? It is YOU he is going after. It is YOU that he is pressing charges against. Yet, you act like we are just going down to the courthouse to pay our fucking personal property taxes or something!"

"What?" Don asked as he stood up. "What are you talking about?"

Meryl sighed as she flashed angry eyes at him. "I'm talking about YOU. I'm talking about you not fucking caring if you are taken away from us. What, do you WANT this to happen? Is that why this hasn't seemed to phase you one fucking bit? I am a mess and yet you are acting like this is no big deal; like it is no big deal that this monster is going to separate us, your wife and children, from you forever."

"WHAT?" Don was shocked. "Are you just trying to pick a fight? How can you even say that to me, Mary Louise?"

Meryl threw her hands up in the air. "For the past week, you have been acting like it's no big deal. Like you don't care something could happen to you and take you away from us. Like it's what you want. Do you not care what that would do to me? To our kids? Are you only thinking about yourself?"