The Monroe Legacy - G.2. Chapter 12 - I'd Do Anything

The next few weeks were perfect. Movie montage with a Hall and Oates soundtrack perfect. 

As both Hallie and Cai worked from home they spent their days in and out of bed, completely shut off from the world. Hallie only left to go with her family to meet little Christopher, Oscar and Marisol's new baby boy.

Hallie felt like a completely different person the moment she let Cai in. There was a side to her, a wild, artistic energy that she'd harnessed as a teen to create her street art and crushed into a corner to please Brian. Cai revelled in it. 

Hallie painted him, sculpted him, painted on him and talked for hours with him about whatever popped into her mind.

But all honeymoon periods come to an end and as the next payment on the house remodel came in Hallie knew she needed to get back to work. Cai's novel was almost due and so, with a heavy heart, he packed up to return to New York to finish the book and fulfil his commitments.

Before he left, he and Hallie sat down and had their first serious talk about their relationship. Since the fire it had been all heat and happiness but they had never really discussed how they were going to make it work. 

Hallie was a little worried, Cai knew everything about her situation with the legacy but she somehow had never asked where he stood on marriage and kids and all those important things. 

In their years if friendship she'd deliberately avoided such subjects in case it had blurred the wobbly line they'd been walking between friendship and more. Now Hallie wished she knew.

As she sat across the table from Cai she felt sick. Hallie knew he loved her, but she didn't know whether he wanted the same things from that love as she did. Her stomach churned as he began speaking.

'Whilst I'm in the city I thought I would pack up all my stuff and sub-let my place. I'll get all my things shipped down to arrive and unpack when I'm back, I figured they could just wait in the study.'

Hallie was overcome with relief and strangely emotional, she felt tears in her eyes and blinked hard to clear them.

'Hallie what's wrong,' Cai worried, moving round the table towards her. 'Don't you want me to move in? I can rent someplace in town if you like, I just figured-'

'No I want you here!' Hallie interrupted. 'I was just scared you were going to go back to New York for good and it wouldn't work out or that we'd have to go long distance and I need you with me. I love you and I want you to stay.'

She cuddled tightly under his chin and could feel him smiling into her hair.

'Hal, you really are an idiot sometimes, you know me, you know that I know that your life is here and I'd never ask you to change to be with me. All I want is you, always, and I'd move to Antarctica or Iraq if that's where you were. I love you more than any city or thing.

Hallie just gave him a goofy grin as the butterflies in her stomach changed from nausea to desire.  That night their lovemaking was tender and reassuring. Their words and actions promised that they would forever belong only to one another.

Hallie lay sleeplessly in Cai's arms all night, anticipating the pain that the morning's separation would bring. As dawn broke the nerves increased until finally the ache in her stomach turned to a rolling sickness. 

Untangling herself from Cai's possessive arms Hallie ran for the bathroom and threw up the remains of last night's dinner.

She felt much better afterwards and after a quick shower she went downstairs to make Cai his favourite breakfast. By the time he came down to eat she'd forgotten the vomiting episode and they made the most of their last hours together, lying on the sofa and talking.

When the moment to say goodbye came, Hallie clung on until the cab driver was pounding the door and shouting that they'd miss the flight. She was dreading the weeks alone in the big empty house. 

Cai had made it a home.

Promising to return the second he was able Cai drive off leaving Hallie listless in the house. 

She was moping in her studio looking at her sketches of Cai when Luna arrived. Barging straight into the room by the side door she stopped short when she saw the rather naked picture that Hallie had been admiring.

'Oh thank GOODNESS' Luna sighed dramatically! 'Tell me you two finally admitted you're meant to be together? I was beginning to think you'd both die miserable and alone!'

Hallie blushed and gave a short version of the story knowing she'd have to go over the gory details later anyway.

Luna seemed content to give her a pass for now, though a glint in her eye assured Hallie that she'd have to spill eventually, and flopped on the sofa declaring,

'If I'd known it would take a fire to bring you together I'd have torched the dorm three years ago and saved us all the drama!' 

The girls spent a pleasant evening watching movies and stuffing popcorn and until she left, Hallie almost forgot to miss Cai. 

When bedtime arrived his absence was keenly felt and Hallie was staring at his empty pillow when her phone rang.

'Hey Hal,' came Cai's rumbling voice down the phone, 'You in bed?'

'Mmhmm, I miss you, come back?' She whined.

Cai chuckled, 'I wish I could baby, but as soon as I can I'll be back where I belong. Now go to sleep, just don't forget to dream of me'. 

Cai whispered to her until she fell asleep and as she drifted off, Hallie could almost feel his warmth by her side and imagine him home.

Determined to get on with life and help time rush by, Hallie spent the next day lining up jobs and catching up with her family. 

Belle was singing with a band in Sweden, Georgia was enormously pregnant, Oscar was busy absorbing his baby son before heading out for a tour in the Middle East and Lola was back at work having just been promoted to Resident and juggling the hours with her fast growing brood!

Hallie couldn't believe how much Zander looked like his grandma Marlie!

Whilst hanging out with Georgia, Hallie suddenly felt the bile rising in her throat again. Rushing for the bathroom she vomited and emerged a short while later to a concerned sister.

'Are you okay Hallie, there's that nasty virus going around still?' Georgia asked.

'I'm fine, I just ate something funny,' Hallie guessed, though now she thought about it, two days in a row was concerning.

Georgia seemed reassured laughing, 'Ah well just wait until you're pregnant. My first trimester was worse than eating a dodgy shellfish buffet on a ship in stormy sea. I have never been so sick!'

Even as Hallie laughed she inwardly panicked. She couldn't be. They'd been so careful and she was meticulous with her birth control pill. Nonetheless when she dropped Georgia home Hallie stopped at the chemist and bought a pregnancy test, just take ease her mind.

To her complete mortification the pharmacist, who had known her since she as a baby, winked and said,

'About time Miss Hallie!'.

She got home and followed the instructions, pacing the room until the three minutes had passed.

She peeked.

And checked again.

Impossible.

The two lines said pregnant and the time estimate said 6-8 weeks. That would mean she'd gotten pregnant the first couple of days that Cai and she had been physical. She had been extra careful those first few days with her pill.

And then she remembered the day of the fire.

The stomach virus would have stopped it from working properly.

Hallie felt the blood drain from her face.

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Find out how Cai takes the news in The Monroe Legacy - Gen. 2 Chapter 13 - Moments of Perfection.

The Monroe Legacy - G.2. Chapter 10 -.You've Got a Friend In Me

Hallie returned to Appaloosa Plains refreshed and optimistic. A month in rural Italy, a holiday romance and a lot of wine had helped her to see past the tragedies and missed opportunities of the past two years.

As the taxi pulled up in front of her rebuilt home Hallie's jaw dropped. She'd seen the plans but never imagined it looking this good. From the floor to ceiling windows in the sun room to the purpose built studio, it was more than she'd dared to dream of.

Walking slowly to the door through the bowery walkway she'd personally designed, Hallie felt a lump forming in her throat. She knew that this was the home in which she'd create the family her parents dreamed she would have.

The next morning as Hallie whipped up breakfast in her shiny new kitchen she heard a knock at her door. 

Shutting off the hob she rushed to the door, expecting a welcoming committee of family members. The visitor was more unexpected but no less welcome.

'Luna', Hallie shrieked, dragging her best friend in for a hug. 'I can't believe you're here, come in!'

As the two women began to catch up, laughing at the activities of their university days and trading gossip on their old course-mates, Hallie noticed a change in Luna. Her laugh was just as ringing, her gestures as animated, but there was something missing in her eyes.

Sensing that hers was not the only bruised heart in the room Hallie boiled the kettle and as the coffee brewed she looked Luna in the eye and gently asked what was wrong.

Luna's eyes filled with tears which she angrily scrubbed away only to have fresh ones take their place as they ran down her face.

'Bryce broke up with me. He's moving out'.

Hallie was horrified, Bryce and Luna had been a solid couple since before university. He'd seemed a nice guy the times she had met him and last she had heard, they were shopping for a ring.

'What the hell Luna!Why didn't you call, I couldn't have come back weeks ago to be here. I owe you for two years of Brian related moaning after all. Oh, I could kill Brice, castrate him! What happened?'

Luna flushed and hid behind her hair.

'We couldn't have a baby,' she muttered. 'We'd been trying, I wanted a kid so bad, seems stupid now, I'm only 26 after all. But anyway, we'd made up our mind and started trying. After six months with no luck, I went to the doctors, they ran checks, end result is I can't have a baby.'

Hallie paled and clutched Luna's hand as she continued.

'I was so angry when I found out. I made myself impossible, I made Bryce miserable. He tried to convince me we could be happy without children or adopt, but I wouldn't listen. Just pushed him away and screamed and shouted, I didn't care that his dream had been crushed as well as mine. After a few months we were barely speaking, let alone sharing a bed.

Her name was Kylie. Kylie from marketing. He was drunk, she'd always had a thing for him and one night after a leaving party he cracked. He came straight home and told me, begging to be forgiven, we probably would have been okay if she hadn't got pregnant.

Bryce said he couldn't abandon his baby. I understand why, I would have done almost anything for that chance. But now I'm alone and I can't make rent and I just needed to get out of Boston.'

Hallie didn't have the words to comfort this kind of heartbreak so she just let Luna sob until she was out of tears. 

After a bath and a glass of wine Luna was calmer and Hallie had a plan.

'Luna, move out here. I could use a friend, this house is too big for just me so you can stay here 'til you find a place of your own. What do you think?'

By the end of the week Luna's stuff had been freighted down by an apologetic Bryce. Hallie fulfilled her best friend role and threatened him with grevious bodily harm if he tried to contact Luna again and the girls settled in to a new routine.

Luna got a job at the local paper and Hallie was working her way up as an architect. While she preferred the artistic end of her work she was good at the structural stuff too and soon built a reputation for herself - especially for her trademark handmade sculptures which she created for each individual client.

As Luna's heart began to heal the girls also took to hitting the best only local bar on Friday nights. Reliving their college days the pair would drink, flirt and dance the night away.

Despite the relatively low population of attractive, single men in the area, Luna often disappeared for the night and returned the next day in the same dress. Hallie had as many offers, but every time she closed her eyes and went in for a kiss, Cai's face would pop in to her mind. She tried to dance it off but he was always there.

(Hallie rocks out to Vogue)

Whilst Hallie enjoyed partying with her friend, she couldn't escape the fact that she wanted more from her life than what she had. She dated a little without success, unable to muster any enthusiasm when things began to turn serious. 

It didn't help that Luna would update her on Cai's life, unaware of what had happened since graduation, updates which kept the wound open. Single life was exhausting and Hallie was ready to settle down if only she could convince her heart to settle for anyone else.

After a particularly messy night (Hallie had found out that week that both Lola and Georgia were pregnant and Marisol was due any day) Hallie found herself using Luna's phone to call the forbidden number.

Whilst the conversation that followed was largely Luna and Hallie screaming Mariah Carey's Touch My Body down the phone at a dazed and freshly awoken Cai they somehow managed to invite him to visit. Shockingly he accepted and when the next morning and the call history reminded Hallie of what they had done she clutched her aching head in her hands and promised herself it was the last time.

Cai arrived a week later to find Hallie alone in the house. Luna had finally found a flat and rushed off for a viewing, assuring Hallie she'd be back in plenty of time. She wasn't.

To defuse the tension Cai pulled out a game he'd designed and they decided to give it ago. The awkwardness ebbed as they fell in to their old patterns of competition and playful banter.

Cai won which Hallie deemed cheating as he'd invented the game and they retreated laughing to the house. When Luna eventually returned she was in a frenzy of excitement, the flat was perfect and what's more, the landlord was HOT. She hugged Cai and sat chatting but after an hour of watching her fidget and look longingly at the stairs they sent her off to deal with all the formalities and pack.

The evening passed quietly with the occasional squeal and thud coming from Luna's room and Hallie and Cai shared their lives, skirting around any potentially dangerous areas; romance, Brian and their shared history were definitely off limits.

Cai was writing another book, his first had been modestly successful and reading between the lines Hallie surmised that his girlfriend of their previous encounter was no more.

When Cai asked if he could stay a few days to write in the peace of the countryside, Hallie didn't hesitate to agree.

She missed him and after all, their past was behind them, they were nothing more than old friends now.

Weren't they?

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Find out what happens next in The Monroe Legacy - Generation 2 Chapter 11 - Out of the Ashes

The Monroe Legacy - G.2. Chapter 4 - Red is the Colour of...

Disclaimer - This chapter contains some adult language and as such is rated PG-13.

As the plane touched down in Boston Hallie felt a surge of excitement. No longer some naive fresher, this term promised new heights of excitement, rebellion and maybe even romance - as long as she could keep her grades up!

Cai welcomed her back to the dorm in his usual informal fashion though he told her with a grimace that he'd broken up with his girlfriend over Christmas. She hugged him consolingly and was relieved when their new dorm mate barged in after he held on for a little too long.

Luna was taking Hanna's old room next door and was as quirky and pleasant as Hanna had been bitter. Hallie revelled in having a girl to chat to again and after an initial warm-up period as Cai got territorial the three of them became a gang of hell-raisers on campus.

Having witnessed  her sisters happiness Hallie was determined to find a suitable candidate to give her heart to and had resolved to put all thoughts of Professor Petersen out of her mind. 

She went on a few dates with other students but had yet to find anyone who gave her the kind of butterflies that the Professor's handshake had caused. Still, Hallie figured there was plenty of choice, especially if the crowd of co-eds who found excuses to share the bathroom with her was any indication!

Her love life was not helped by Cai behaving like a protective brother and chasing off anyone he deemed unworthy - that seemed to be everyone! Hallie started trying to set him up with Luna so he'd give her a bit of peace. 

Half way through the term at a faculty/student mixer a hand on Hallie's elbow undid all the work she'd been doing to forget a certain pair of green eyes. 

'Did you have an enjoyable Christmas and term so far?' Professor Petersen enquired with a smile, 'I'd hoped to see more of you around campus'.

Forcing down the butterflies in her stomach Hallie replied politely, 'Wonderful thank you sir. Are your family well?'

Professor Petersen looked a little surprised by the formality of her answer, apparently taken aback that the giddy stuttering girl he'd impressed before Christmas was gone. He soon collected himself and plowed on.

'I wonder if I might speak to you for a moment outside' he asked, sounding a little nervous. 

Despite Cai looking daggers at her and her own conscience telling her not to let him in, Hallie found her feet taking her away from the safety of the crowd and out in to the evening.

'Listen Hallie, I hope this isn't presumptuous of me but I've seen your work around the place and I'm so impressed by your talent. I was wondering if you'd consider painting me something I could give my parents as a gift for their ruby wedding anniversary?'

Hallie felt a little deflated, 'No that's not presumptuous' she replied - she'd been hoping he might be a little more presumptuous in fact! 'When would you need it by?' 

'It's not for a couple of months. It can be anything - but maybe include red - it's the Ruby one after all! I'll pay you for it and maybe we could meet occasionally to discuss your progress.'

Hallie found herself agreeing and promised herself that she'd paint his parents something so unforgettable that even if he never saw her as more than a student he'd think of her kindly when he viewed it.

Inspiration flowed easily, she found herself sketching ideas constantly and was soon ready to put brush to canvas, so she called in on the professor to discuss her concept.

As Hallie talked him through her idea she could feel his eyes on her, his breath close to her ear as they bent over her sketchbook. His hand was inches from hers on the table and she inhaled sharply as a waft of crisp aftershave reached her nose. 

As they stood up Hallie looked him dead in the eyes and saw what looked like desire, but it was quickly masked by regret and then a blank look as he stepped away and forced a smile.

'These look marvellous Miss Monroe,' he said stiffly, before excusing himself and leaving poor Hallie blushing and uncertain in the quad.

Confused and a little embarassed Hallie called up Cai and Luna and the three of them decided to attend a rowdy protest that night. After a few cups of juice and with her friends cheering her on Hallie leapt up on the podium and delivered an impassioned speech about social divisions and how stupid they were. She couldn't help hoping that the video got back to Professor Petersen.

This developed in to a pattern. Hallie met with Professor Peterson weekly to discuss his commission. It would go well until the mood changed, she'd look up to find him staring at her mouth, or he'd slip and ask her something personal before clearing his throat and making an excuse to leave.

Hallie had no idea how to handle it, she knew she wanted him like she'd never wanted a man before and sometimes it seemed like he wanted her too, but she couldn't understand why he didn't either step in and claim her or leave her alone.

She could only talk about it with Luna, Cai had made it clear he thought her little crush was ridiculous and that he thought Professor Petersen was an ass for many reasons. But soon even Luna tired of the drama and Hallie had to find other distractions.

Her coursework improved - she even took up a life drawing class and found Cai's form surprisingly pleasing to sketch - even if he was a little too keen to strip off for her!

But when her classes were done Hallie looked for more extreme thrills. She, Cai and Luna would hit the craziest parties and pull extreme pranks. 

The next morning Hallie would recognise that maybe she was looking to shock a certain someone into noticing her and vow to be better. But as soon as the juice was in her system she just wanted to feel the burn of danger which masked for a few hours the longing in her heart.

Soon even Cai was trying to talk her out of some of her ideas, but she carried on alone and pushed him away. The day after Hallie was arrested for streaking during the finals for Science and Medicine she finally drew a response from Professor Petersen.

He stormed into the juice kegger she was holding in her dorm with a look of fury on his face.

Hallie pointedly ignored him. She was done with the drama, she just wanted to have fun. She turned her back on him and started talking to Hanna, her face showing just how unimpressed she was to see him.

Cai watched suspiciously as Professor Petersen stared daggers at Hallie and the keg. The professor uttered a low growl and grabbing Hallie by the hand he dragged her aside. Cai followed, unseen.

'For fucks sake Hallie!' the professor exploded. 'Are you TRYING to drive me crazy and get yourself killed. What the hell are you playing at. Getting arrested? Vandalising school buildings? You are this close to getting kicked out of school! Is that what you want?'

'HOW DARE YOU JUDGE ME!' Hallie screamed back, turning on her heel and storming out into the twilight. Professor Petersen followed her out and blocked her escape.

'Hallie I am not judging you. I'm worried. You were doing so well, what changed? Why are you doing this?' he reasoned.

'Why the fuck does it matter to you! You don't care about me!?' Hallie came back angrily. 'Half the time you wont even look at me.'

'Is that really what you think' he replied looking straight at her with sadness in his eyes.

'Yes! No! I.... I don't know!' said Hallie and unable to stop herself she reached out and laid her hand on his cheek. 

He tensed but he didn't move.

'Hallie... we shouldn-'

'Don't speak' she whispered and without waiting for an argument she pressed her mouth to his.

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Next time on the Monore Legacy - What happens next. How will the professor react? How will Cai react? 

Find out now in The Monroe Legacy Generation 2 - Chapter 5 - Grey Areas