All My Life

Chapter 75

"Oh my God!" Don sobbed when he saw his wife standing near the kitchen doorway, and he realized he could have hit her with a plate. He would NEVER hurt her; that made him as bad as Mann. He immediately collapsed in a puddle on the floor as he buried his head in his hands and continued to cry. "I'm so sorry, baby; I'm so damn sorry. I haven't protected you. I have failed you over and over. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry."

Meryl's heart hurt more than it had during this whole ordeal; she was more worried than ever about her husband. This was not like him, to smash dishes. She immediately ran over to him, sitting down next to him and pulling his head to her chest. "You did NOT hurt me. I'm here, baby; whatever is going on we will get through it together."

"I threw a fucking plate at you." Don was continuing to break down more than he had. "I didn't know you were there, Meryl, I didn't know you were standing there. I never would...I'm sorry...I didn't...I wouldn't..."

Meryl pulled away when she could his breathing was becoming more erratic and she was terrified he was going to hyperventilate or have a panic attack. She took his head in her hands and pressed her forehead against his. "Don Man, I have no idea what's going on; but I'm right here. The babies are safe. We talked to the other kids and they are all safe. I need you to take some deep breaths for me, my love."

"Babies okay?" Don was breathing hard. "Promise I didn't hurt you?"

Meryl placed kiss after kiss on his lips in hopes of getting him to calm down. "I promise, sweetheart; we are all perfect, you always make sure of that. Baby, I need to make sure YOU are perfect. I need you to stay with me."

"Not going...anywhere.' Don breathed. "Understand if you leave...didn't protect..."

Meryl knew how him kissing her calmed her down whenever she was reeling like he was; and she hoped it would do the same for him. She climbed up on his lap, straddling him, while mindful of his scars and bruises from Rebecca. She immediately bent her head down, slanting her lips over his and kissed him with all the love she had for him. She started to calm down once her husband was responding to her tongue thrusts, his hands running wildly over her back; and she felt him spring to life under her telling her he wanted her. She wanted him, she wanted him badly, but she knew it was too soon; his emotional and physical health were much more important to her than making love to him at the moment. Once she felt him calm down she pulled away and pressed her forehead to his. "You listen to me Donald Gummer, the absolute love of my life, and you listen to every word I say. I would NEVER EVER leave you. You are such a part of me, Don Man; it is hard for me to know where I end and you begin, and vice versa. You are my home. You are my center. You are not only my lover, my confidante, my partner, my husband and the father of all of our amazing children; but you are also the best friend I have ever and will ever have. You protect me and all of our babies like NO ONE ever has or ever will. My God, Don Man, how many times have you almost died because of your love for us? You protect us every single day in ways I don't think you even realize. I need you to know that I will NEVER EVER leave; I can't begin to tell you how important that is to me."

"I love you so god damn much." Don choked as he couldn't keep his lips off hers; after they broke apart from their kiss he looked around and realized what happened. "Oh my God, you promise I didn't hit you or the babies with a plate?"

Meryl wiped away his tears as she, too, couldn't resist his lips. "I promise, baby; as soon as you saw me you stopped. Sweetheart, I can't even begin to tell you how worried I am about you."

"I'm okay." Don tried to dismiss what happened as he looked around at Meryl's Fiesta Ware dishes she loved so much; and he knew how expensive they were. "Your dishes; I am so sorry. I know how excited you were when you found all the pieces you wanted."