Marjoreece - Date Night

The Aftermath

Mia didn't want to leave, Charlotte ended up dragging her out. Marjorie looked at Reece and said, "I'll just make sure she leaves the key." Before following them out towards Mias car. She needed more information if she was going to try and help Reece.

"Mia, you know him better than anyone. What am I dealing with here? I've never seen him like this. How do I support him?"

"Marjorie, I honestly don't know. I've never seen him like this either. I think this time I really broke him. I didn't mean to, I thought I was protecting him all these years. Fucking Roger!"

"What happened tonight? What's caused this?"

Mia sighed, looking from Charlotte to Marjorie. "Roger insulted Marjorie, saying you'd be cheaper to buy off to betray him than I was, then he started on Autumn, that set him off first, he didnt seem too bothered about the weak, disappointment jibes he threw at Reece, but then he told Reece that the only thing that could have been worse than Autumn having Winter's baby would have been if I had had Reeces when I got pregnant instead of getting rid of it."

"Mia, you were pregnant?" Charlotte asked.

"Yes. I mean, we were together a long time, and we had a lot of sex. It makes sense that there would have been the odd slip up over the years. One time, I ended up pregnant. I was terrified. I knew our relationship wasn't real even if Reece didn't, did I want to bring a baby into that? Could I watch as Roger got his claws into another innocent life in his hunt for a worthy heir? I knew all Reece ever truly wanted was a real family. I knew he'd propose, and that would ruin his chances of finding real happiness when we could get out from under Roger. I genuinely thought I was doing the right thing for both of us when I went to Roger. I knew Reecey wanted a family, but I thought he deserved to have a real one, with someone who loved him the way he deserves to be loved. Not with me lying to him."

Marjorie tried to take in everything Mia had just said and process it so she could work out how to best help Reece. "So do we think he's most upset about what Roger said about Autumn, the baby, or the fact you went to Roger instead of him?"

"Marjorie, I'm so sorry, I really don't know. I've never seen him like this. For once I don't know where his head is."

Charlotte looked up. "You must have some idea. When he threw that punch, you never even flinched. It's like you knew exactly where it was going to land. Surely that's a sign you're inside his head?"

"He'd never hurt me. It doesn't matter how angry he gets, I know that man well enough to know that he's too terrified of becoming his father to ever lay hands on a woman or anyone that didnt really deserve it. He'd hurt himself before he did that any day of the week. I know he's got that Piranha side, but that's when it's justified. He does it to protect the people he loves because that's what he feels he needs to do. Whether that's to prove he's not Roger or because that's what he thinks he needs to do for them to love him or stick around, I don't know. Roger did make some digs about Reeces 'white knight' tendencies, though. Bringing me back is a prime example. He didn't speak to me the whole drive, and he's never looked at me that way before, I think that was hatred. He brought me back because he couldn't hurt you, Char. Another example of no matter how much he's hurting, he can't hurt the people he loves."

"So what you're saying is, I'm on my own." Marjorie sighed, looking at Mia.

"Sorry, Marjorie, but I think this time you are."

Marjorie said goodbye to them and took the key off of Mia so at least Reece could see that had been done. Charlotte said she'd check in on them later. Marjorie walked back into the house and grabbed the first aid kit. She figured before she tried to get him to open up, she'd clean up his hand. When she entered the kitchen , he sat on a stool at the breakfast bar with his back to the door. As she walked around to be in front of him, she saw he didn't really seem to be aware of his surroundings. She sat down opposite him and took his hand in hers. He flinched at her touch and pulled away. "Reece my love, I just want to look at your hand, OK?"

He seemed to register the sound of her voice as he looked up and made eye contact. She reached for his hand again, and this time, he allowed her to take it. She looked at the cuts, grabbing some tweezers to try and remove the ceramic shards in the cuts. "This hand's taken quite the battering recently, my love. Your dad's face, Adam, your office wall, your dad again, and now the kitchen wall. I'm surprised you haven't broken it."

"Hmm," was all Reece responded with.

She carried on cleaning his hand, applying steri-strips to the deepest cuts before carefully bandaging his knuckles. She let go of his hand to pack everything away. "It's late, my love, I think we should go to bed."

There was no acknowledgement of what Marjorie had said at all. She took his hands in hers, and as soon as she did, he looked up at her. "Let's go to bed, my love." She tried again. She gently pulled on his hands, Reece stood up as she did. She wound her fingers around his and led him up the stairs. It was as if he was so defeated her energy passing through their touch was the only thing impelling him forward. When they reached their bedroom, she started undressing him. She pulled the duvet back before manoeuvring him into bed. She took off the tracksuit bottoms she was wearing and climbed into bed with Reece in just the t-shirt of his she'd borrowed. As she did, he rolled over into her arms, his head resting on her shoulder. His 6'3, muscular frame had never felt so small as she wrapped her arms around him, one hand tangling in his hair, her nails gently scratching his scalp in an attempt to comfort him. "Reece, my darling, I can't even begin to imagine what you're thinking or feeling after tonight, and I don't even know the whole story. Just please know that whenever you're ready to talk, I'm here for you, and it might help you to talk, but I won't make you if you don't want to OK. Just please remember, whatever he's told you, tonight or ever, you are the man I've waited my whole life to find. Yes, you are imperfect, just like everybody else in this world, but you are perfect for me, and I love you. All those things you or your dad think are negatives, I love you because of them, not in spite of them. They're what makes you you. Please try and remember that." She pulled him into a slightly tighter embrace and placed several kisses on his head where she could reach in this position.

He still hadn't spoken since Mia and Charlotte had left. She thought she felt her t-shirt get slightly damp under where his face was resting. His body wasn't moving apart from with his breathing so if he was crying like she suspected, it was the kind of silent tears you just can't stop from falling no matter how much you try or want to. She knew how he felt about crying and how he'd been raised to see it as a sign of weakness, so she chose to ignore it and just continue to hold him in silence. Eventually, she heard his voice, slightly gruffer and quieter than normal. "Marjorie?"

"Yes, my love?" She said, planting another kiss on his head, not wanting to push him too far too fast.

"I love you. Please don't leave."

Marjorie had to really fight not to cry as he finished speaking. The fact that whatever had happened that night had him thinking he would lose her broke her heart, but she knew she had to he strong for him. "I'm not going anywhere, my darling. You're stuck with me. I'm still gonna be annoying you when we're old and grey. You don't have to worry about that."

He raised his head so his lips could meet hers. There was an intensity behind his kiss she hadn't been expecting. She could feel just how much he needed this in this moment, how much he needed her for support. She moved the arm that had been wrapped over his up so her hand was on his cheek, gently scratching at the 5 o'clock shadow that had formed since he'd shaved that morning and returning the kiss with what she hoped was the same intensity so he would know she was there for him and not going anywhere.

When they finally broke the kiss, he snuggled back into her neck, taking in her scent and wrapping his arm around her waist underneath her t-shirt. She could feel some of the tension he'd been holding leave his body as he relaxed into her more. She could tell he wasn't completely there but was relieved that he seemed to have made a start. She knew this was going to be a long road, but she was determined to be there for him the way he had been there for her so many times since they met.