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Post by Derek Burke on Dec 10, 2008 10:45:50 GMT -5
"Sleeping, and with the stunt you pulled I'm surprised they haven't erased your name from the family tree yet, although I suppose it's more fun torturing you instead of releasing you." he sighed offering his friend a place to sit, " How could you get into it so badly Zach?" he asked rubbing his neck and shaking his head.
Perhaps if Derek had felt it was necessary he would have told Zach what had happened to him long ago, if he didn't feel that he was due some privacy, now it appeared that his story might have done his friend some good, might have made him more careful.
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Post by Zachary Scotts on Dec 10, 2008 13:52:20 GMT -5
Zachary let out a sigh. "I didn't know she was pregnant when I left," he said. "And I didn't want to leave."
He ran a hand through his hair, looking frustrated and tired. How many people did he have to explain his actions to? His behavior hadn't felt wrong at the time. He'd romanced Susie, and somewhere along the line, he'd fallen for her. That seemed to be the part most people were giving him grief about, and yet, that was the part that he could not regret. The bet, the fight with Taylor, and the fact that he'd given in... those were the things he regretted. But he couldn't regret that he loved her, and he couldn't regret the baby.
"Yes, she's the one I was talking about the other night. And yes, I love her. Call me a fool if you wish, but I actually hope that baby is mine."
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Post by Derek Burke on Dec 17, 2008 7:10:20 GMT -5
Derek smiled faintly, "You're a fool my friend." he said it in a way however that almost sounded as if he were wishing Zach luck. The man would need it if anything in Derek's past had taught him, it was that women were tricky creatures. You had to be twice as tricky and devious to avoid their many snares and traps, although he supposed that getting pregnant in general wasn't just the woman's fault.
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Post by Zachary Scotts on Dec 20, 2008 18:19:30 GMT -5
Zachary nodded quietly. "Maybe I am. Or maybe I was before. I don't know." He looked at Derek for a moment, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. A lot of the crazy thoughts he'd been thinking since Susie had showed back up in his life were things he didn't know if he could tell to Derek. Somehow, love had managed to avoid striking Derek with its poison arrow, so he could do nothing but look at Zach and even Edmund's situations with scorn. Zach could now see that, all along, this was what he'd been looking for in all of his travels. That he'd been lonely and bored all this time, and suddenly now, the chaos that Susie had brought into his life was a welcome change from what had honestly become a dull routine of a life. But Derek couldn't possibly understand that. He wasn't even sure Edmund would understand it, since he was still denying the depths of his feelings for Claire.
"I regret that we had to impose on you last night," he said, changing the subject. "I hope you weren't inconvenienced too much."
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Post by Derek Burke on Dec 21, 2008 1:02:11 GMT -5
Derek shook his head, " Not at all." he smiled, " She was a delight." he lied through his teeth, but he was a brilliant liar, which was probably why he excelled at cards, that and he didn't play all too often and only with what he knew he had to spend. "But...well... she is sleeping now. Can I get you something to drink? Eat?" he asked remembering about polite structures of society, not to mention with Tanya and Thatcher breathing down Zach's neck it would be a wonder if his friend had eaten anything.
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Post by Zachary Scotts on Dec 22, 2008 0:56:59 GMT -5
Zach wasn't entirely sure when he'd last eaten, but he shook his head. "Just a glass of brandy, if you've got it," he replied. "I don't want to put you out anymore than I already have." He sighed tiredly. "As soon as she wakes up, I'll take her out of here and bring her to a hotel until she's ready to go back and have the test done. I don't want you to feel like you have to help clean up my mess.. it's bad enough I have to have Thatcher and Tanya involved."
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Post by Derek Burke on Dec 23, 2008 0:24:21 GMT -5
Derek laughed once, " What are friends for?" he asked while getting up to get his friend some brandy, he thought he should water it down since he could tell his friend probably hadn't eaten, then again Zach could hold his liquor and it wasn't as if Derek wasn't going to be called by whatever hotel Zach put her up in to ensure that he was okay.
He frowned for a moment however considering that, " Will you be able to stay with her?" he asked, "At the hotel I mean, are Tanya and Thatcher actually giving you a moment of peace?"
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Post by Zachary Scotts on Dec 23, 2008 23:00:13 GMT -5
Zachary sighed. "Well, I'm supposed to check back in with Thatcher and Tanya at noon. We're all looking for Susie... the official story is she escaped from the hospital last night while Justin was indisposed. I could just not go back. Hell, that's what they expect of me. I never stick around... I run away when the going gets tough..." A look of disgust marred his handsome features. "Is that what everyone thinks of me, Derek?"
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Post by Derek Burke on Dec 25, 2008 16:10:28 GMT -5
Derek wasn't about to fulfill Zach's validation need, especially since there was a multitude of psychological issues with him and his siblings that probably needed to be sorted out. "No Zach, that's not what everyone thinks of you, but if you run off again I wouldn't be surprised if that's what they did start thinking of you, but then again who cares?" he asked, " You've never needed Thatcher's approval before, you don't need it now. Take Suzie and run."
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Post by Zachary Scotts on Dec 29, 2008 12:23:30 GMT -5
Zach smiled slightly. "I should. Maybe I will. It's just..." He let out a sigh. "There's more you don't know. It's the reason I left her. I kind of... owe her fiance a lot of money. He tricked me into a bet, and I'm almost positive he cheated. When I couldn't pay, he had me beaten and then ordered me out of town. I never thought I'd see Susie again... except that she came after me, because of the baby."
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Post by Derek Burke on Dec 30, 2008 5:09:04 GMT -5
Derek pinched the bridge of his nose when Zach started talking about money then sighed, "How much?" he asked, he was tired from the day before but now it seemed as if the weight had really impacted him. The more he heard, the more Susie seemed to be subconsciously winning him over. He could be angry at Zach for a moment or two while he thought of this young girl obviously believing herself to be in love with Zach, and Zach of course for charming her, then seducing her, then leaving her to face the consequences, not very well done of him.
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Post by Suzette Rousseau on Jan 1, 2009 1:41:31 GMT -5
It was the voices that woke Suzie up, sooner than she wanted to be woken up, anyway. The one voice, distant but so familiar is what finally caused her eyes to flutter open. She lay in bed for a little while, adjusting and remembering where she was, what had happened, and she wanted to go right back to sleep when she knew for certain that she heard Zach's voice.
He hadn't run. She thought he had run again, and was truing to figure out how to deal with that. But he was here.
A moment later, she was leaning against the wall in the hallway. Zach's back was turned to her.
"You came back."
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Post by Zachary Scotts on Jan 1, 2009 1:48:16 GMT -5
Zachary turned, a tentative smile on his face. "You thought I wouldn't," he said quietly. It wasn't a question; he knew it to be a fact. Hell, he didn't even blame her. What had he ever done to make her believe in him? In fact, if she was smart, she would run away from him before he did it himself.
"How are you feeling?"
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Post by Suzette Rousseau on Jan 1, 2009 1:53:25 GMT -5
Suzie glanced at Derek, raising her eyebrow a little accusingly before she looked back at Zach, not commenting on whether or not she thought he would come back for her.
"I'm tired," she answered honestly. She was tired, her feet hurt, and her back was sore. She didn't list all of this off for him, though, and stayed where she was. "How did it go with your brother?"
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Post by Zachary Scotts on Jan 1, 2009 2:02:35 GMT -5
Zach sighed. "Well, we nearly killed each other at first," he said. "He was prepared to pay you off and send you home. I wouldn't allow it. I want to do things differently this time... I want to stay with you and our baby. He'll help me... but if it turns out that the baby is Taylor's, you have to go back to him."
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Post by Suzette Rousseau on Jan 1, 2009 2:10:26 GMT -5
Suzie shook her head. "I don't want any money," she said this almost miserably. "I just thought I should tell you it might be yours... I don't want anything from you, or from your family."
She was trying to convince Zach, and emotions got the better of her again. To her credit, she wasn't crying. "I don't want to play the politics of this Zach..."
Her eyes trailed to Derek again, and she trailed off. She felt like she and Zach were going in circles. She wanted him to love her, with or without the baby.
She closed her eyes. "There's no baby."
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Post by Zachary Scotts on Jan 1, 2009 2:20:56 GMT -5
Zach stared at her for a moment, unsure of how to react. His first thought, curiously, was that if there was no baby, that would certainly explain why the test didn't work.
But his second thought was disappointment, mixed with a strange sensation of hope. If there was no baby, then there was no chance that the baby was Taylor's. Which would mean he could be with her, as soon as they dealt with Taylor. But Taylor was still an obstacle.
"Run away with me," he said. It was the only answer he could think of. He wanted to run away, like he'd always done... but this time, he wanted her there with him. Maybe it was cowardly, maybe it was wrong... but it was all he wanted.
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Post by Suzette Rousseau on Jan 1, 2009 2:25:23 GMT -5
Her eyes shot up and she looked at him, not expecting the response she was given at all. She was lying, of course... she was undeniably pregnant, and had a gut feeling it was his.
"Did you not hear me?" She asked, her eyes hardening. "I'm not pregnant. There's no baby. You have no ties to me, Zach."
And her eyes, once again, trailed to Derek. He really had no right to be present for this. "Zach, can we talk?" She asked, nodding towards the bedroom she had come from.
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Post by Zachary Scotts on Jan 1, 2009 2:34:46 GMT -5
Zach's head was spinning. Did she not want to be with him? Why was she turning him down? She confused him in the worst way.
He nodded numbly. "OK, we'll talk." He took her by the arm and fairly dragged her into the bedroom. "Suzie... you came all this way to find me. You say there's a baby, now you say there's not... You say you don't want anything from me... why are you here? Tell me what it is you want me to say, because I'm lost."
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Post by Suzette Rousseau on Jan 1, 2009 2:41:42 GMT -5
Suzie pulled away from him and went to sit on the bed.
"There's no baby," she repeated. "Think about it, Zach. We were so careful to make sure I wouldn't get pregnant. Why do you think the test results were inconclusive? I told you in California, I wanted you to take me back with you. I thought if I told you I was pregnant, that you'd finally fight for me. But I see what it's doing to you and you're family, and it's wrong. I'm sorry."
She almost cringed at her own story, and that was perhaps the one flaw in it. Suzie would never lie or beg to get a man to love her. She was stronger than that.
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