Every Road Leads Back to You

Welcome Wagon

"Honey, the movers broke my grandmother's teapot." Viv whined from in the kitchen as FP situated the living room furniture. They'd managed to mess that up too.

"I'm sorry, babe. That moving company will be getting a piece of my mind." FP raked a hand through his hair as he walked into the kitchen, finding Viv sitting on the floor in front of a cardboard box, the spout of the tea pot in one hand and the rest in the other. She had a small pout on her face, trying to downplay how much it upset her.

FP made his way over to her, taking the pieces from her hands and setting them on the counter before taking a seat next to her on the floor.

"We'll see if we can get it fixed. Besides, focus on everything we're gaining through this move. I can't wait to raise our baby in this house." FP wrapped an arm around Vivian and she let a wide smile cross her lips.

"You're right. Nothing else matters except our future family." She leaned up and kissed his cheek. "Are you excited to go to the orphanage tomorrow?"

"Excited, and nervous." FP sighed. "But mostly excited."

He wanted to be a dad more than anything else in the entire world, but this was getting very real, very fast. He couldn't help but have doubts in his own abilities to be a father.

"Me too, but you're going to be such a good dad, FP." She reassured him before pulling away. "Now, come on. Let's go grab the last few boxes so you can take me to this "Pop's" I'm hearing so much about."

Viv popped up and grabbed hold of FP's hand, pulling him up and out towards the front door. FP wrapped his arms around her from behind as Viv pulled the door open, letting out a giggle.

Their laughter was cut off by the sound of arguing across the street.

"Because I was the only thing keeping that newspaper afloat, Hal!"

FP looked over and saw Hal Cooper standing on the front porch of his own house, hands on his hips and yelling at his wife. He stopped Viv in the doorway, wanting to see what was unfolding between his new neighbors.

"It's ridiculous, Alice. We cannot possibly work together again!" Hal shouted.

"What's ridiculous is you not being able to make the full child support payment because you're too vindictive to admit that I was better than you!" Alice hissed back, closing the door behind her to keep the girls from hearing the argument. She wrapped her sweater tighter around herself, crossing her arms and staring daggers up at her ex-husband.

"We'd rip each other's heads off and you know it." Hal sighed.

"Who said you had to be there? You've had your chance to run the Register by yourself. Maybe it's time you let me take over." Alice said smugly, her voice condescending and antagonizing.

"Not a chance in hell, Alice. That newspaper has been run by Coopers for nearly a century and you made it very clear, that you didn't intend on being a Cooper for much longer." Hal said angrily before turning on his heel and stomping down the porch steps to his car.

"Glad you're letting your ego get in the way of your daughters' ability to eat!" Alice called after him, her chest rising and falling more rapidly as she felt herself becoming more upset. It was easy to channel everything into anger when he was in her face, but she felt that melt into sorrow and disappointment as he drove away.

Alice watched his car disappear down the street with stinging eyes before she caught a glimpse of the couple standing on their porch across the street. Her breath caught in her throat, not only at the sight of FP but with the knowledge of what he'd just witnessed.

She stood still for a second, swallowing hard as she decided that turning around and running inside would just make her look even more pathetic. Instead, she plastered a smile on her face and started to make her way across the street.

Viv looked to FP in confusion, shocked that the woman they'd seen in such an intense argument would want to talk to them now. FP smirked though, shaking his head slightly and leading her down the steps to meet Alice at their mailbox. He knew she needed to spin that story in whatever way would make it look the most normal. She'd say what she needed to convince them it had been nothing. Viv wouldn't know any better, but FP did.

"Well, I guess they let just anyone buy houses on the Northside nowadays." Alice said teasingly as she reached them.

"They let you in, didn't they? Or maybe it was loophole with the house being in Hal's name?" FP shot back with a squint of his eyes and a devilish grin. Alice wasn't quite amused. She narrowed her eyes before looking to Viv.

Alice gave her a once over, disappointed to find that she was even prettier than their wedding announcement had let on. Her dark hair was flowing down her back in messy waves and she stared back at Alice with light brown doe eyes, completely unaware of the history she had with her husband.

"You must be Vivian, I'm Alice." She reached out her hand for the FP's wife to shake, deciding that by the looks of it, this woman was harmless.

"It's good to meet you. I'm guessing you two went to school together." Viv smiled, glancing at FP nervously.

"Actually, Alice and I go way back to Sunnyside Trailer park." FP said smugly, watching Alice's iron resolve falter at the mention of her past.

"And that was your...husband?" Vivian asks, needing the clarification as she sensed the history that seemed to exist between this beautiful woman and her own husband.

"Soon-to-be-ex-husband." Alice correctly, her cheery voice catching Vivian off guard.

"Finally stopped letting him buy you things as apologies?" FP let slip from his mouth before really thinking about it. Viv looked at him like he was crazy. Alice's mouth quirked up in a sly grin.

"Well—"

"Mommy! Come look at what I drew for you while I was Daddy's!" Betty's little voice cut her off before she could respond. Alice turned around to see her five-year-old poking her head out the front door with the cutest little smile on her face.

"I'm coming, sweetpea!" Alice called back before turning to FP and Vivian. "I better get back. Good luck settling in."

"Thank you, Alice." Viv said with a smile, and FP gave her a small nod. The look in his eyes said that he had much more to say, but he just smiled and let her go back to her daughter, pulling his wife to his side.