Legal Prejuduce 3 - Lessons In Life

Chapter 22

A couple of weeks later Allie had finally settled Emmie and Rose for some sleep on the flight over to the UK. Daniel had been up late the previous night clearing some other cases before the trip. As a result, after a few drinks he had fallen asleep quickly. Allie left a sleeping Emmie and bent to gently kiss him. Max and Margie were dozing but as Allie stood up to return to recline her own seat into a bed she noticed Chris was sitting at the small bar area in the first class cabin.

She crossed over and grabbed a water taking a seat next to him and rubbed his back. She said quietly, "You okay? Not tired?" Chris turned and smiled, "Not yet. How about you?" Allie said softly, "I always struggle to sleep on a flight, even with a bed." Chris leaned into her and sipped his tea, "Dan doesn't seem to have any problem." Allie laughed quietly looking over at her husband lovingly, "In his defence he was up late clearing some work before we left." Chris sighed, "I don't think I'll ever have what you guys do." Allie put her arm around him, "Don't give up Chris, it could be just around the corner. You know before I moved to LA I'd been completely alone for years and I never expected to meet anyone. I couldn't have imagined having one husband let alone two." Chris looked at her and asked, "What was he like, your first husband?" Allie smiled and pulled out her phone swiping through the cameral roll before turning it to show Chris. It was the selfie they took in the pub when Michael had come over to the UK to find her and take her home. She smiled and said, "He was just so funny and gorgeous." Chris looked up and said, "So strange to see you with someone other than Daniel. Do you miss him Allie?" She looked wistful, "Grief's a strange thing Chris. Every now and then I'll remember something, or see something, or smell something, it'll just floor me and I'll miss him so much. I know the same happens to Dan. He and Michael were like the closest brothers. It's hard to explain, Dan and I always loved one another, but he was in the middle of his break up with Carrie when we met. Max could see there was a massive attraction and he put some distance between us before anything could happen to try and protect us and Emmie. What he didn't know is that we'd already talked and agreed we couldn't be more than friends. I met Michael really through Susan, and we just had this connection that took both of us by surprise I think. He wasn't who the world thought he was. Lots of stuff about the documentary was hurtful, the twisting of deeply private things, but the most devastating part to me was the way Michael was misrepresented." She sighed and Chris looked fascinated as she continued, "Thing is Chris I was abducted by a partner at the firm, I'm sure you know, Max couldn't keep it completely out of the press and people talk." Chris said softly, "I did know." Allie gave him a small smile, "Michael and Daniel between them worked out what had happened. I would be dead without either one of them. Michael and John got me to the paramedics just as I stopped breathing. It changed everything. Michael abandoned his I want to date you, do it all properly approach, took me from the hospital to his apartment and I never left. He and Dan were friends anyway and after an experience like that it pulled the three of us together." Chris took her hand, "God I'm sorry Allie, I didn't mean to dreg stuff up for you." Allie shook her head, "It's okay, it's actually nice to talk about him. God I loved him. We'd been through so much, clawed our way back to happiness and then suddenly Michael was gone. I've never experienced pain like it. Apart from Dan I also leaned a lot on Jem because he doesn't see me as lawyer Allie, he's the one person who really knows completely broken Allie who lost the only baby she'd ever carry. Eventually I had a total breakdown and Daniel was there for me, he never left. I knew I was in love with him, but I needed to be in a better place you know before I could change things between us forever." Allie looked over fondly at where he was sleeping, "What we have is so deep, so intense, it's magical. We talk about Michael sometimes now, show Rose and Emmie pictures of them with him and tell them stories so they know him."

Chris wrapped his arms around her and said, "Allie, I want you to know I don't remember much about the night you guys took me to the hospital but I do remember you held me, made me feel loved and safe. I haven't often felt like that in my life, and that was the moment I needed it most. I'm so grateful for it." Allie pulled back and kissed his cheek, "I think we're all products of some sort of family dysfunction, Michael, Daniel, Jem, Robyn, me, you. I think we gravitate to Max, Margie John and Susan because they offer the love and stability we were all missing. I suppose I just wanted to make sure you knew you were safe and loved because you're part of our family. That's what we are Chris, however odd or different it might look to the outside world." She touched his face, "Listen, I'm going to try and get some sleep and you should too." Chris nodded with a smile and Allie moved back to her seat. Max had been listening to the last part of her conversation with Chris and he grabbed her hand as she past, pulling her to sit on the edge of his seat. He sat up to embrace her and whispered, "I heard what you said Allie, you're so damn precious to me. Get some sleep sweetheart, the thought of you driving on the wrong side of road using a shift stick terrifies me already without adding no sleep to the equation." Allie buried her face into his shoulder to stifle her laughter, then kissed him and headed back to her own seat.

When the alarm went off at two Allie woke and looked out of the dormer window across the countryside with its grey, cool sky. It was late May but Barry and Judith had left the heating on for the night before guessing they would all feel the chill when they arrived in the early morning. Daniel stretched and smiled at her, "This bed is definitely cosy." Allie laughed as they were in a standard double bed in the third floor guest room having given the master to Max and Margie. That room had a king size with a large en suite and since Max complained that everything in the UK was too small Allie couldn't imagine what he'd say if he saw the third floor. Daniel pulled his wife on top of him and she laughed, "Stop, Max and Margie are right underneath us, they'll hear!" Daniel grinned, "It's not like they don't know what we get up to Allie." He tickled her and she tried to muffle her shrieks into the bed clothes as he lifted her underneath him. Margie lay in bed and laughed at her husband, "Listen to those two Max." He smirked, "I know. I need to warn him to let the girl get some sleep before we do the meetings." Margie shoved him grinning, "Don't you dare."

Chris' alarm went off on his phone in the room Jeremy had used on the last trip, and he momentarily couldn't work out where he was. Stirring properly he opened the curtains, looked out over the rolling green fields dotted with trees and gasped, having not even noticed the landscape when he'd fallen into bed as they arrived. He used the bathroom and came down to find he was the first to emerge. He took the opportunity to look around the ground floor properly. He was looking out through the sun room windows when Daniel appeared pointing at the kettle. Chris came back into the kitchen area and nodded, "Yeah, coffee'd be great." Daniel got busy and said, "What do you think?" Chris looked around, "Of the place?" Dan spooned the ground coffee in the cafetiere and said, "Yeah, is it what you expected?" Chris shrugged, "I wasn't sure what to expect. I mean I know everyone said it was a big place and it is, but I wasn't expecting the outside. It's like something out of an English film you know?" Dan laughed, "Susan said she felt like she was in one of those period dramas being here." Chris nodded enthusiastically, "That's exactly what it's like!"

Noises from upstairs indicated Allie had woken Emmie and Rose up and within minutes they were charging down the stairs and bursting into the kitchen trailed by Allie. They squealed seeing Chris and Rose jumped up and down until he scooped her up, "You're in England Chris. We're going to show you everything." Chris laughed, "Are you guys going to be my tour guides." Emmie laughed and said, "Yeah, I've been lots of times." Rose wrinkled her nose, "What's a tour guide?" Daniel left the coffee resting and came to plant a kiss on her head, "It means someone who can show Chris around." Rose looked annoyed at her sister, "I've been loads as well Emmie." Allie intervened before things got heated, "You can both show him. Do you guys want cereal or do you want bacon and egg with the adults?" By the time Max and Margie came down the breakfast was almost ready and coffee flowing. Daniel helped Allie put everything out on the large kitchen table and she said, "I was thinking we could walk up to the village after this, and the two tour guides can show Chris the vast amenities of the village before we get back here to relax then up to the pub for dinner. How's that sound?" Max nodded and said, "Works for us." Chris looked surprised, "Is it a big place this village then?" Everyone laughed and Allie took pity on him, reaching across the table to rub his hand, "British sarcasm Chris my lovely. It's tiny, park, pub, church, chemist shop and a post office. That's about it." Chris laughed, "Right, I'll make sure I tell Tom when we get back you're not just scary and British over here, but sarcastic as well. By the way Max, I'm with you, the driving's freaking me out." Max nodded, "I know yeah! She's yanking the shift, weaving in and out of the traffic, and as if being on the wrong side wasn't bad enough the roads are all so goddamn narrow! I fear for my life every time Chris." Allie grinned, "Well you are very welcome to go with Dan in the automatic." Max pulled a face, "Jesus you're even worse Dan." He leaned forward to Chris, "He's trying to follow NASCAR racer here, no clue where he's going and liable to float to the correct side of the road." Allie rolled her eyes trying not to laugh, "I'm not taking the bait Maxy, clearly the correct side of the road is the left." She smiled at Chris, "Anyway, no need for cars today, it's a ten minute walk. Tomorrow we'll take you into the city, show you the Roman remains and we can call into the supermarket to stock up on proper chocolate to take home. Max winked at her as she added, "We need some Crunchies for your new neighbour.

On Sunday night with the children in bed Max, Daniel and Chris ran through the materials for the meeting the following day. Allie was curled up at Max's feet, he glanced down at her and Chris saw his face soften. They headed to bed early, still jet lagged and needing to be firing on all cylinders the next day.