Tied Down

Chapter Ten

Luke and Jesse were playing rock, paper, scissors to see who would be lucky enough to give Zoe her bath. After a long day of doing nothing at Michael's house, she was all wound up and excited to get home. Zoe didn't like Violet getting all of the attention, especially not when Luke and Jesse got to hold the baby.

"Yes! I win!" Luke raised his arms in victory, ending their childish game.

Jesse shook her head, then flipped her hair over her head so she could pull it up in a bun. She pointed one skinny finger at her husband, "Just this time, Hemmings."

"You say that now, Hemmings." Luke fired right back, pointing a finger at her in the same way. They both laughed, then Luke jerked his chin towards Zoe's room. "Better hurry before the monster gets loose and runs around the apartment in her birthday suit."

Jesse nodded, knowing he was right. She waited for Luke to bend down and kiss her cheek before going to her daughter's room. She knocked, "Zo? You ready for your bath?" The giggles from the other door made Jesse open the door. Her daughter was sitting on her bed, already in her pajamas. "What are you doing?"

"I'm tired, Mommy." She leaned back against the stuffed animals that were on her perfectly made bed that Jesse had put together this morning.

Jesse sighed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Zoe, you have to take a bath tonight."

"No."

"Do you want to tell Daddy that you don't want to take a bath?"

That made her pause. Zoe looked around the room, mouth open like she was ready to answer. "Daddy?" Jesse nodded, then Zoe sighed, "Okay. Bath time."

So, together, the mother/daughter duo walked out in the hallway, waving to Luke who was watching TV in the family room, then into the bathroom. After stripping Zoe down, Jesse placed her in the water and wasn't expecting the reaction that she got from her little girl.

As soon as Zoe's big toe made contact with the water, she jerked back, "Shit, Mommy!"

Jesse froze. Thinking, What did my daughter just say? She looked at Zoe. "What?"

"It's hot, Mommy."

"What did you say? That word?"

"I said, 'shit, Mommy.' " Zoe said, still smiling like nothing was wrong.

Still not sure what to do in the situation, she just drained the water, then told Zoe to get her pajamas back on. "Go to bed, sweetie. We'll wash you tomorrow... And promise Mommy that you'll never say that word again."

Zoe clapped her hands, then went to get dressed while Jesse went out to the main room to see her husband. "Uh, Lucas...?"

Luke looked up, seeing the worried look on his wife's face. "What's wrong? You only call me 'Lucas' when something bad happened."

She turned towards the bathroom, furrowing her eyebrows together like she didn't know how to explain what happened. "Um, your daughter... She, uh..."

Putting his hands on her shoulders, Luke stared into Jesse's eyes. "What? What about her? Is she being a pain for not wanting a bath?"

"No, it's not that."

"Then, what?"

"She said a bad word."

"See? I told you that would happen if she spends too much time with Michael." Luke just took his hands off her shoulder with a chuckle.

"That's it?" Jesse looked at him like he had lobsters coming out of his ears. "You're not going to say anything?"

"Well, you told her that it was bad, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then, don't worry about it." He kissed her temple, then went back to his show.

Jesse just stared at him, expecting a different reaction. She, quiet frankly, was pissed that she didn't get the response she thought. But, without giving it a second thought, she went to Zoe's room to read her a bedtime story.

Michael had a big grin on his face as he prepared for what was going to happen. Ruby was breast-feeding Violet on the couch next to him, while they watched TV. It was pre-recorded show that Ruby said she didn't want to miss, so they watched it now that it was almost time for Violet to sleep.

There was a commercial for a jewellers store and Ruby snatched the remote from Michael's hand before he could fast forward past it. It was talking about the diamonds rings that were on sale from the usual price of $20,000 that could be bought at the bargain of only $16,000. Ruby looked up to see Michael's face, but he was too busy looking at his daughter to notice.

Of course, this has been happening for weeks. Michael had been noticing all the different ways that Ruby had been hinting on wanting him to propose. But, she didn't know that it was working.

So, tomorrow while Ruby stays at home, Michael decided to drag Ashton along with him, hoping that his opinion could help find the perfect ring for Ruby.

Michael kissed Ruby's temple, then got up to get a beer. "Do you want something to drink, babe?"

"No, but some food would be nice."

"What do you want?"

"I don't know. Surprise me."

Michael rolled his eyes, but did as she said. He poured a bowl of Cheez-its in a bowl and brought it out to her. He rested it on his knee for her so she wouldn't disturb Violet's feeding. Once Ruby decided that her baby had enough to eat, she fixed her shirt and threw a blanket over her shoulder and began burping the baby, slightly bouncing back and forth.

He stared at the girls next to him, not believing that they were real. His life couldn't have been more perfect. Beautiful girlfriend and healthy baby girl.

The next day came fast. Before Michael knew it, he woke up to a familiar ringtone singing to him. It was Ashton. Michael rubbed the sleep away from his eyes and his voice was groggy as he spoke. "What do you want?"

"I'm at your fucking door, asshole. Let me in." Then, he hung up.

Trying his best not to disturb Ruby, who tossed to her other side when Ash called, then got dressed real quickly. He settles on some black jeans and a sweatshirt with his usual combat boots. Then, he went to the door after swiping his keys off the coffee table. "Alright, let's go before she wakes up and sees I'm gone."

So, they went to the jewellers and it took Michael two hours to find the perfect ring for Ruby. Even with it in his hand, he wasn't sure.

Ashton felt like banging his head through one of the glass showcases. "Yes, for the love of Pete. It's beautiful — perfect, even — she'll say yes, ok? Now, let's buy it and let's go."

He tilted his head to the side, admiring every angle. "I don't know if I should get gold or silver." Then, he brought his attention to the worker. "Do you have this in silver?" A nod came from the young lady who was helping him. She was about to move, but he spoke up again. "What about platinum?"

Ashton sighed, then addressed her. "Sorry about him. He's just really nervous."

"It happens more often than you think." She smiled at Ash, then went to a different showcase.

Michael turned to Ashton, "Silver or platinum?"

"Platinum."

"Okay. I'll take this in platinum." He put the gold ring down on the glass, then was given the platinum.

 They walked up to the counter to pay, when Michael bit on his lip. "Can I see the gold again?"