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Post by Zachary Scotts on Nov 7, 2008 23:23:48 GMT -5
Zachary faltered at this. He wasn't sure Susie really wanted him. He'd been tongue-tied and unsure of himself upon seeing her, and he was still afraid that, once she knew what he'd done, she wouldn't want him. And he had abandoned her once, although that hadn't been entirely his choice.
"It will take some work to win back her trust," he admitted in a softer tone. "But, Thatcher... I want this. I want her. I've never felt like this before... don't you have any faith in me at all? Or do you really hate me that much?"
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Post by Thatcher Scotts on Nov 7, 2008 23:31:51 GMT -5
"I don't hate you," Thatcher said catching his brother's eyes. "Far from it, Zach. No matter what you do, you're always my little brother. But no... you've never given me reason to have faith in you, so I don't. Can we sit back down and talk theoretically for a minute?" He didn't soften, persay, but he wasn't yelling and that was a step in the right direction.
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Post by Zachary Scotts on Nov 8, 2008 0:50:45 GMT -5
Zachary eyed his brother warily. He was suddenly exhausted, as the pressure from the evening's events began to collapse in on him. "Fine," he said, his voice still angry. "We'll talk. But if I don't like the way the conversation's going, then I swear... I'm gone."
He closed his mouth quickly, then walked back and resumed his earlier seat. He picked up the abandoned glass of brandy and drained its contents almost desperately.
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Post by Thatcher Scotts on Nov 8, 2008 0:56:36 GMT -5
Thatcher sighed and returned to his seat as well.
"Let's just say the child is yours, and her fiance finds out. The fiance that sent you running in the first place. What then, Zach? You want me to listen to you as an adult? Fine, but you better have this figured out."
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Post by Zachary Scotts on Nov 8, 2008 1:48:01 GMT -5
Aye, that was the rub, wasn't it? What exactly was he planning to do? How was he to convince Taylor to give her up and allow Zach to marry her? He could pay off the debt, but would that be enough? And why did it feel suspiciously like he would be paying for his fiance? He wanted her to have a choice in this. And he wanted her to choose him. But Taylor, damn him, was still there between them.
"I don't know," he admitted. "I thought to pay off the debt that I owe him... but I'm not entirely sure that will be enough. Of course, it's possible that he might not want her when he finds out she's pregnant with someone else's child. He's a proud and a powerful man. I don't know if I see him being so willing to raise another man's child."
He paused and rubbed his head tiredly. "But, Thatcher... I'm willing to do whatever it takes. Your solution... what you said earlier... the old me would have jumped at the chance. But it's taking the easy way out, and I don't want to do that anymore."
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Post by Thatcher Scotts on Nov 8, 2008 21:04:03 GMT -5
"And you think a man that proud will okay with the idea of giving up his fiance to the man who stole her, and lost a bet to him? Somehow, I think he'd like that a hell of a lot less than pretending your kid is hi..."
Thatcher trailed off. "That would be his punishment, Zach. I mean, if it were me, how better fitting that to require the payment of a debt as your unborn child?" He looked at it now, and realized that no matter what, Zachary lost this round. Even if Thatcher did try and help him... if her fiance ever found out...
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Post by Zachary Scotts on Nov 9, 2008 0:59:17 GMT -5
This thought hadn't occurred to Zach. And as Thatcher said the words, he felt a sick feeling in his stomach. It was exactly the sort of thing Taylor would do. And that left Zach out in the cold.
Squeezing his eyes shut, he rubbed his forehead between his eyes. "So what you're saying is, this is hopeless." His voice was flat, as he felt the fight draining out of him.
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Post by Thatcher Scotts on Nov 9, 2008 1:08:37 GMT -5
"I think that depends on how badly you want to fight," Thatcher said. "A man gets an idea like that in his head, and it's awfully hard to buy him off with money."
What he had ever seen from his brother told him that Zach didn't have it in him. "It's just a girl, Zach. I need you to be very sure that she's worth all of this."
"This is only, of course, if the child is yours. If it's not, she goes back to California."
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Post by Zachary Scotts on Nov 9, 2008 1:22:07 GMT -5
Zachary didn't say anything for a few minutes. He was exhausted, he was frustrated, and he was emotionally battered. After years of meaningless affairs and dodgy dealings, Suzette had been a ray of light for him. He'd felt strangely... alive... for the first time with her. At the time, he hadn't realized what that meant, but she had put thought in his head that had never been in there before. Thoughts of marriage, of weddings and flowers and happily ever after. He hadn't been lying about his idea to propose to her; he'd looked at rings.
When he'd left her, he'd spent a few weeks in some godforsaken town in--Arizona, was it?--drinking himself into oblivion. Then he'd spent a few weeks in New Orleans, trying to return to his old lifestyle. He'd found it severely lacking. It was then that he had realized just how deeply he had fallen for her. That was when he had returned home.
"She's worth it," he said, his voice breaking slightly. He looked up and met his brother's eyes. "I'm tired of running away, Thatch. I want to stand up and fight for this one. I just don't know how."
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Post by Thatcher Scotts on Nov 9, 2008 11:46:11 GMT -5
Thatcher nodded. He didn't believe Zach... years of having no passion had made Zach lose his faith in his brother. But if Zach thought he wanted to fight for this one... well, no one outside of the family was going to deny a Scotts.
"Then I'll help, you Zach. But you're going to need to come up with a way to deal with the scandal, as well. And we need a plan for her fiance. But make me a deal, Zach. If it's not yours, she goes back. If it is yours, we'll fight for it."
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Post by Zachary Scotts on Nov 9, 2008 12:20:52 GMT -5
Zachary really didn't like the idea of willingly sending her back to Taylor under any circumstances. But if the child was Taylor's, then his brother was right... the man did deserve the chance to raise his own child. Besides, Zach felt with a strange certainty that the baby Susie was carrying would turn out to be his.
Zach nodded. "OK. Fair enough. If the baby is his, she'll go back to California. And I'll... I'll deal with it. You can even marry me off to someone else, I don't care." The words slipped out, but he was surprised to realize that he meant them. If Susie's baby was not his, then it wasn't meant to be. But either way, Zach was sure he couldn't go back to the way he had been before. "But I hope it's mine. I'll figure out what to do about the scandal... and whatever you can do to help me with her fiance, I really appreciate it."
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Post by Thatcher Scotts on Nov 10, 2008 15:52:44 GMT -5
Thatcher looked at Tanya. Dealing with the girl's fiance could be as simple as killing him. Death Eaters were all around lately anyway, were they not? No one had to know it was him. Of course suspicions would link it to them, unless they could catch it before any kind of scandal broke out.
"We'll wait to see what kind of a man we're dealing with, if we have to deal with him... but if the child is yours, he will be dealt with. And the girl, Zach... will you tire of her?"
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Post by Zachary Scotts on Nov 10, 2008 16:24:02 GMT -5
Zachary sighed. It was a fair question, given his track record. "I don't think so," he said quietly. "Yes, it's true that I've been with a lot of women in the past. I don't deny that. But I never cared about any of them... some of them, I don't even remember their names. She's the first one that mattered to me... the first one that I missed after I left her. I know you probably still don't believe me, and I can hardly blame you for that, after all that I've done. But this one's different."
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Post by Tanya Scotts on Nov 11, 2008 9:30:29 GMT -5
Tanya continued to sit there listening, she'd had no reason to interrupt with Thatcher at the helm so to speak. The conversation was going as she wished and Zachary was making the right choices for once in her eyes. She had about as little faith in him keeping them as Thatcher did, but for once she hoped that he might actually live up to the stubbornness of a Scotts in this choice at least.
She still didn't say anything but she had noticed the look from Thatcher and her mind was already turning in thought of ways to remove Taylor from the equation. She had a few close friends, family really that were easily capable death eaters that she could trust to handle it, not to mention herself who would enjoy the moment... Emma, Kara and Tyra would certainly do as necessary to help her get rid of the man. That is if Thatcher didn't take care of it first. Yes, she was already planning how to save the disgrace on her family before it became an issue.
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Post by Zachary Scotts on Nov 14, 2008 13:24:18 GMT -5
Zachary turned to his sister, noticing but not understanding the meaning behind the look his two siblings had exchanged. "You've been awfully quiet," he remarked. "Am I to assume that you have as little faith in me as he does? All these years, you've tried to get me to settle down and now that I actually want to, you have nothing to say on the matter?"
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Post by Tanya Scotts on Nov 14, 2008 15:46:26 GMT -5
Tanya looked up, her heated gaze just about burning holes into him.
"I've wanted you to settle down with a big, public wedding and a girl that everyone would look at and recognize for her status and wealth... I wanted for you what Thatcher achieved, and what we're hoping his children will achieve as well. Wat you actually managed to do was lose all of your money... a poor poker face, I can only imagine... maybe impregnate some other man's fiance that no one's ever heard of, and then leave her so that she comes running to you and disrupting all of our lives. So you'll understand if I'm not celebrating."
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Post by Zachary Scotts on Nov 14, 2008 16:04:54 GMT -5
Zachary sudden;y very much like the poor relation; the black sheep that no one wanted to be associated with. He'd always felt that way with Thatcher, but he'd thought Tanya would be different somehow. She had her cruel streak, but they ahd always been close, and she'd forgiven him for a lot of things in the past. Not anymore, it seemed.
But with Tanya he couldn't be angry, not like Thatcher. Just as he was still a baby brother in Thatcher's eyes, Tanya was still his little sister. Even if sometimes he felt like the roles were reversed.
Sighing, he looked away from both of them. "Her family is very prominent in both France and the States. If you research it, you'll see it dates all the way back to before the French Revolution. Not that it matters. You don't approve of the way it happened, so you're probably both closing your minds to her. I honestly don't even care if either of you approve, as long as you help me. Whether you believe me or not, I really am serious about this. I've never been more serious about anything in my life."
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Post by Thatcher Scotts on Nov 15, 2008 3:40:22 GMT -5
Thatcher gave Tanya an odd look as well. She and Zach had always been the closest. Thatcher didn't envy it. He had been the oldest, so naturally he took it upon himself to take care of them before befriending them. But while Tanya was hard and cold to everyone else, she had a soft spot for Zach. Had Zach finally done enough in her eyes to lose it?
Maybe it was just the baby. Babies complicated things more than was strictly necessary.
"I'll do what I can, Zachary. We'll do what we can. If the child is yours... her fiance won't be a problem for long."
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Post by Tanya Scotts on Nov 15, 2008 3:44:08 GMT -5
Tanya frowned. Was she closing her mind off to the girl without really looking at her? Did she even care? It was little miss Suzie Q, who showed more balls and brass than she had any right showing, and she was claiming she was pregnant... they knew nothing about this girl!
"Zach, answer me this. If you think really hard about the timing, is it even possible that the child is yours? Or can you at least concede that she might be lying, trying to get something ou of you? Maybe she's here on her fiance's behalf, trying to collect your debt."
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Post by Zachary Scotts on Nov 15, 2008 14:50:40 GMT -5
Zachary felt a flash of anger at the suggestion that Susie would lie about something like this. But he realized that his position with both of his siblings was precarious, to say the least, and he didn't want to push it any further. "Yes, it's very possible," he said. "I don't know precisely how far along her pregnancy is, but I left her just under a month ago. The last time I slept with her was the night before I left. We spent a great deal of time together before that, and it was virtually impossible for her to be seeing anyone else during that time. And as far as I know, the one time with her fiance was just about the only time she was with him. Of course..." he added faltering slightly. "She did sleep with him more recently than with me. But not by much."
He stood up and walked over to help himself to a refill of brandy. He poured the glass and gulped down half of it before he turned back to them. "I realize this situation is not ideal, and I don't blame either of you for being angry with me. But I've been unhappy for a very long time... and she changed that. All I ask is for you to give her a chance. I'm certain that if you had met her under better circumstances, you would have liked her very much."
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