Baby Just Say Yes

As Brian watched Rayleigh walk up the stairs angrily, he couldn't help but feel worried for her. He knew that she had every right to be pissed at him, but it didn't make him feel any better, even knowing that. A part of him felt guilty for having kept the fact that her father was out of prison from her, but yet the other part of him couldn't help but think that maybe he'd been right by withholding that information from her. After all, she had just had Cayden and Jaimee, who was just starting to come down with something, making herself and everyone around her miserable. Jimmy walked down the stairs cautiously, stepping to the sides as Rayleigh stormed past him, and then looked first to Brian, and then back at Ray, who was turning the corner to go to their bedroom.

"Is it just me, or did you two just have a fight?" He asked quietly, not wanting to piss Rayleigh off even more than she already was. He knew that with her temper, it was likely to happen anyways, but he wanted to keep the risk of it to a minimum. No one liked to be around her when she was angry, because she was like spitfire.

"Yeah," Brian nodded, sitting down on the couch. He knew that for awhile, Rayleigh was going to want to be alone, and he didn't want to be the person she flipped out on. She'd already done that once today, and he didn't feel like making it twice.

"What about?" Jimmy asked. When Brian didn't answer right away, he sat on the couch. "You don't have to tell me, but it might help, you know. I have lots of insightful advice."

Brian scoffed, and then started shaking his head. "Yeah, Jimmy. You're just full of insightful advice."

"I am. It's true." He laughed. Then his face got serious, and he looked at the floor. "No, seriously, Bri. What'd you two fight about?"

"I never told her that her father was still out of prison. She saw it on the news and then just went absolutely ballistic." Brian admitted. "And I know I should have told her, but--"

"You didn't tell her because you're trying to protect her and stop her from worrying." Jimmy said knowingly. Brian looked at his friend.

"Yeah. Exactly, Jimmy. And it's like she doesn't want me to protect her, or worry, or--"

"Brian, my friend. I have news for you. Women just want you to think that they don't want you to worry and protect them, that they have everything under control. I think Ray is just too stubborn for her own good and doesn't realize that you weren't trying to keep information from her."

"Do you have some secret degree in psychoanalysis or something?" Brian asked with a smile. Jimmy started laughing, and shook his head.

"No. But I am married, you know. I know what I'm talking about when it comes to wives. You want me to go talk to her?"

"Why would she talk to you and not me?" Brian asked. Jimmy laughed again.

"Because I'm not the one who pissed her off in the first place." Jimmy replied, getting up and walking up the stairs.

-x-

A few minutes later, Rayleigh heard someone knocking lightly on hers and Brian's bedroom door, and she sighed angrily. "Brian, if that's you, go a--"

"It's not Brian, Ray. So chill." Jimmy said, opening the door. "Can I come in or what?"

Rayleigh sighed, not wanting to see anyone, yet not wanting to take her aggression out on one of her best friends. "Sure, Jimmy. What the hell."

Jimmy walked over to the bed, where Rayleigh sat near the headboard, her knees pulled up to her chin, her hair covering her face, and sat next to her. "You wanna talk about it?" He offered with a smile. She shook her head, and he could tell that she either was crying, or had been crying.

"No," she said with a muffled voice, as if she was trying to stop it from cracking.

"What did he do this time?" Jimmy sighed. "And I know you want a hug?"

She laughed a little bit, and then looked at him, her eyes red-rimmed and her face with little rivers of black mascara running down her cheeks. "Why didn't he tell me, Jimmy?" She asked in a weak voice, leaning against his shoulder. She already knew that Brian had told Jimmy about the fight; they were best friends, after all, and he told the tall man everything. He hugged her and smiled at her.

"He doesn't get why you're so pissed off at him, Ray. He's just plain confused. He doesn't see what he did wrong," Jimmy told her, telling the truth.

"He should have told me!" She choked, hugging him tighter. He rubbed her back in a friendly manner.

"Would his telling you have done anything to change the circumstances?" Jimmy asked her. She gave him a confused look.

"What do you mean, Jimmy?" She asked.

"If he had told you, would it have magically put your dad back in prison, or would he still be out anyways?"

"Well, yeah, but--"

"And you wouldn't have had to worry about something you couldn't change."

"So, youre saying that Brian really did care about my best interests?" She asked in a small voice, feeling like an idiot. Jimmy nodded.

"Yeah. He just thought you already had a lot on your plate, and he didn't want to add something else that you can't control onto that pile. That's how we men think, you know," Jimmy added with a smile.

"But he called me selfish," Rayleigh said with a frown. "And he went and saw Michelle without letting me know."

"She's always going to have ties to the group, Ray. I mean, she is Val's sister. And in a way, Brian's always going to care about her as a friend because she was there for him when he couldn't be there for you."

"What do you mean?" She asked him. Jimmy sighed.

"Bri made it clear to Michelle from day one that the only person he loved was you." He told her. "And Michelle accepted that...for awhile, anyways. And she was there for him through every meltdown he had. And then somewhere along the line, she started to fall for him. Only, he didn't fall for her. He's always loved only you."

"So Brian's not cheating on me with her?" She asked in a small voice. Jimmy shook his head.

"Nope. He's never cheated on you once. He never even had sex with her," Jimmy said, proud of his friend for being able to say that. She sat up on the bed.

"Thanks, Jimmy. I better go talk to him. I hope he forgives me."

Jimmy laughed, and shook his head. "He's not mad. He wants you to forgive him." He laughed.