Fighting for Her

Riley weaved the black tie around Tommy's neck into a knot and gently smoothed it over the long sleeved white shirt that fit snug around his chest. He looked down at her with a small smile.

"Where'd you learn that?" He asked, his eyes full of adoration.

"My dad. He always made me knot his ties before a case. Sort of became a ritual." Riley smiled at the memory and absentmindedly put a hand on her stomach. Her mind drifted at the thought of their own child, and what kind of memories they would create. She still hadn't told Tommy, for no reason other than fear of rejection, she kept it bottled in for now.

"So what does he do now?" Tommy broke Riley's train of thought.

"Huh?" Her mind was brought back to reality and she stared at Tommy with a puzzled look.

"Your dad. Who ties his ties?" He sat on the corner of Riley's bed and watched her slip her shoes on.

"Oh. My mother, I guess." She shrugged. Riley stared at herself in the mirror and smiled. Her cheeks were rosy, bruises somewhat gone thanks to Tommy's arnica cream and her eyes were green and bright. She felt happy, loved and a tinge of excitement flowed through her body. Tommy's broad shoulders hovered behind her own as he stared at her reflection as well.

"I don't know what I would do without you, Ri." Tommy said in a gentle voice.

Riley turned and smiled, "I know. Who's going to tie your ties?" She giggled as he pulled her close.

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm talking about." Tommy leaned his head down and kissed to top of her bare shoulder. The door creaked open and Anna poked her head in.

"Hi, sorry to interrupt, but we're going to be late." She smiled, and added, "You know how Momma B is with tardiness."

Riley rolled her eyes. "Yeah, please don't remind me." Dinner with her parents wasn't exactly helping her stress levels, but she was glad Anna and Noah were tagging along. She stared at Tommy sympathetically. Her mother was going to eat him alive.

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The Omni Hotel brought back unwanted memories of Ryan nearly accosting her at the valet parking station, but Riley held on to Tommy's hand and pushed the memory far into the back of her mind.

"You okay?" Tommy whispered into Riley's ear as they entered the restaurant. She nodded her head and nibbled on her bottom lip nervously. She scanned the restaurant for any sign of her parents but couldn't find them.

Maybe we really aren't ten minutes late... Riley thought.

"I'm fine, why."

"Because you're squeezing the hell out of my hand." He said laughing.

"Oh, shit. Sorry." She let go of his hand and stuffed her own into her pockets.

"Riley Mae! The language, please." Elizabeth, arched a skinny brow at her daughter. Riley reached for Tommy's hand again and squeezed.

"Hi Mom." She hugged her with one arm because she refused to let go of Tommy's hand.

"Hello darling. How are you feeling? You look much better, I must say." She smiled, and patted down some of Riley's hair. Turning to the rest of the group, she spoke like the matriarch that she was. "Hello, Thomas. Anna, Noah. Good to see you all again."

"Hi, Mrs. B. Sorry we were late." Anna pressed her lips together in a smile.

"Yes, well. I am quite used to waiting..."

Riley cut her Mom off, "Where's Dad and Jack?"

"They're waiting in the private room. Right this way." Her mother walked with such poise and posture, that Riley often questioned where she got her own mannerisms from. But then remembered listening to her father curse at his colleagues on the phone and his bad habit of cracking knuckles.

"Well that went better than expected. Now if we can survive the next two hours." Riley said to Tommy, low enough so her mother couldn't hear.

"Two hours?" Tommy squeaked, loosening his collar a bit.

Riley laughed. "I'm sorry, I'll fake something so we can get out of this if you want."

"No, its good. I'm good."

"You're good?" She smiled.

"I'm good." And he was, for the first few minutes. Everyone was busy contemplating what they were going to eat and drink, then the topic of Anna and Noah's wedding came up. Eventually though, Elizabeth found her way to include Tommy into the conversation.

"So, Thomas. Tell us about this tournament you're in." She smiled as the waiter poured some red wine into her glass.

"Oh, well its the first weekend of March in Atlantic City."

"Atlantic City, huh? Must be a huge event." Riley's father, Henry sounded impressed.

"Yeah. Its a weekend long tournament, winner takes all." Tommy said, shaking his head as the waiter offered him wine. "No, Thank you."

The waiter continued on to Riley who shook her head with a blank face. "No thanks." Tommy looked at her surprised.

"You're saying no to wine?" Jack looked at Riley with the same surprised expression as Tommy. "Who are you? And what have you done with my sister?"

Riley looked at him with pursed lips. "Very funny. I just don't feel like drinking tonight. Is that okay with you?"

Anna quickly changed the subject to avoid even more unwanted pregnancy attention. "Uh, so we've decided to go to the Bahamas for our honeymoon."

"Alright, alright. Calm down there, sis." Jack laughed and raised his arms up in surrender.

Completely ignoring Anna, Elizabeth continued with the conversation. "So this tournament, how many men are entering?"

"16 fighters, including me."

"And when you beat all these other men, what will you win?" She was persistent, not leaving much time for anyone else to jump into the conversation.

"Five million dollars." Tommy was just as quick.

"And what do you intend on doing with this five million dollars?"

"Mom!" Riley interjected, but Tommy put a hand on her lap as a calming gesture.

"Well, most of it is going to my best friend's family. He passed away while we were serving together in Iraq." He swallowed hard, the memory was still a painful one. But he didn't want to hide anything from Riley's family.

"I didn't know you were in the service." Henry spoke up before Elizabeth could. But she was taken aback by his answer, that she was currently at a loss for words.

Tommy nodded, "Marines." He looked over at Riley who was silent, her mind else where.

Before anything else could be said, the waiter arrived with their dinner.

A perfect plate of steak and potatoes was set in front of Riley who was looking a little pale. While everyone else began to comment on how good everything looked, she sliced into her steak. As the blood from the rare steak ran onto the white plate, her nostrils flared. The smell was bitter and she tried to choke back her nausea. She closed her eyes, setting her fork down with a clatter. Tommy jerked his head towards Riley, and immediately grabbed her face.

"Are you okay?" He searched her face for an answer, but she gave none away.

Anna knew, though. She threw her napkin down and grabbed Riley's hand. "Come on." She pulled her up with the intention of ushering her into the bathroom.

"What's wrong?" Elizabeth was at Riley's side in a snap.

"I-" As soon as she opened her mouth, it was out. She threw up all over her mother's feet.

"Oh shit..." Anna said, holding back a laugh. Elizabeth stood in horror, again at a loss for words.

Riley cupped her mouth a little too late. Tommy ran over to Riley with his glass of water.

"Drink this." He watched her until she took a couple of gulps and then switched his gaze over to Anna who was still trying to fight her laughter.

"I'm sorry Mom, I just haven't been feeling good." Riley said sympathetically.

Elizabeth was out of her shoes, sitting in a chair, wiping her feet with a napkin. Her face was unreadable. "Its fine. If you didn't want to have dinner with us, you should have said so. And not have gone to such great lengths to get out of it."

Tommy kept a strong hand on Riley, and wondered if that's all this was.

"Mom, really?" Riley let out a long breath and walked over to the table, dragging Tommy along with her. Grabbing her clutch, she said her goodbyes to her father and brother, who both sat at the table puzzled by the whole scene. And without saying goodbye to her mother, she stormed out of the dining room.

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The car ride was silent once they dropped Noah and Anna off. Riley stared out of the window, completely embarrassed and wanted to erase the last twenty minutes from her mind completely.

"So, should I be taking you back to the hospital? Or..." Tommy broke the silence.

Riley looked at him with a flat stare and for some reason, hysterics came over and she began laughing uncontrollably.

"Or to the funny farm?" He couldn't help but smile at the vision of her laughing.

"Fuck." Finally catching her breath. "Did you see my mom's face?"

"Uh, yeah. Was that all just to get out of dinner? It really wasn't that bad, Ri."

Riley didn't say anything. She just kept her eyes forward. The light rain that started to fall, hit the windshield with a low patter. As Tommy pulled the car in front of Riley's apartment, he waited to see if she would say anything. He killed the engine and sighed.

"You know, you're lucky you still have a mom to have dinner with." He opened the door, letting the rain in for a moment, before slamming it behind him.

"Tommy, wait." She yelled after him. As she left the coverage of the car, the rain quickly soaked her hair and dress. He stopped in the middle of the walkway and turned to her. She took in a sharp breath as the rain soaked his white shirt, his tattoos becoming more and more visible through the now sheer fabric. When she reached him, she took his fingers in hers and put them on her stomach.

"I'm pregnant." Her voice was tiny, a mere squeak in the echoing rain. But she knew that he heard her. She saw it in his eyes and as his full lips turned up into a smile, she smiled back. His large fingers sprawled against her flat stomach, then he slid them around her back and pulled her towards him.

"Are you saying that I'm going to be a dad?" The rain poured down his face, making his dark hair stick to his forehead. She nodded with a growing smile on her face.

"And you're going to be a mom?" He leaned forward, placing his forehead on hers.

"Mhmm." She closed her eyes as he kissed her. She giggled against his lips. He slid his hands down her sides and picked her up, twirling her around in circles. He laughed at the top of his lungs, swinging Riley around until he pulled her tightly into his arms.

They were both soaked, dripping wet as the rain poured down on them. But they were elated with joy. Happy and in love.

They were good.