Status: All finished! :)

One More Night

Chapter 25

Marc let out a long, quiet breath as the plane began its descent to Thunder Bay. He’d finally got a hold of Robyn last night, and if she could be held to her word the agreement and documents would be signed today, and that would make him a single man again. Not that the papers changed much at this point – he’d stopped wearing his ring as soon as he’d asked her for the divorce, and he had stopped thinking of her as his wife the same time.

No, this time Marc was on his way to his hometown as a free man, and this time he hoped he’d be leaving with Bree in tow – he wanted to spend as much time with her as possible, as if it would help make up for the time he’d lost with her romantically as well as in regards to the pregnancy. He didn’t want to miss another moment. Unrealistic, he knew, but that’s what he wanted nonetheless.

“Marc!” his cheeks heated up right to his ears when he saw Bree waiting in the airport for him. He’d assured her it was okay – seeing as the last time he’d seen her in person the whole public thing was an issue – but he guessed she’d ignored that.

“Hey Bree – how are you?” he asked, pulling her into a soft hug, the bump of her stomach pressed against his abdomen and bringing an unexplainable feeling of comfort. He pressed a quick kiss to the top of her head as well, and could only grin when her face turned a shade of violet and she ducked beneath his chin to hide the tinge.

“Good, good. How are you?” she asked, beginning to shuffle him and his bag out of the airport toward the parking lot. He gave her the quick rundown of the season and practices and the court meetings, skipping over most of it so as to get the painful part over with. He was nearly able to ask how the last doctor’s appointment had gone when his cell began to ring.

“I’m sorry – I have to take this. It’ll just be a second,” he assured her, and Bree nodded, slipping into the driver’s seat of her car, starting it up and turning up the heat while Marc took a few steps to the passenger side and connected the call.

“Mr. Staal?”

“Speaking,”

“Mr. Livingston here – I just wanted to inform you that Robyn came into the office today and I received all of the documentation signed and dated. It appears you are no longer married,” Marc knew that the slightly smug tone wasn’t meant as a congratulations – he’d learned quickly that this lawyer was all about getting his name out to ‘A list’ clientele. He probably figured Marc would talk him up seeing as he’d helped him settle the divorce as painlessly as he thought possible.

“Thank you for the news! I’ll see you in a few days then,” Marc responded, and disconnected the call to retreat to the warm interior of the car. The Ontario winter was colder than the mild New York ones he’d become accustomed to.

“Everything all right?” Bree asked.

“Perfect. I’m officially divorced,” he grinned, and saw Bree’s eyes light up a bit as a small smile graced her face.

“That’s good Marc – congratulations. You’re a single man again,” she told him, patting his arm lightly before she put the car into gear and exited the lot. She was too quiet, Marc realized, and then ran through her words again.

Single. Not divorced – single. The thought gave him a glimmer of hope; maybe the thought of him being single didn’t make her happy. Maybe she did want to give him another chance.

“Well… hopefully not single,” he finally sputtered, and saw Bree raise an eyebrow at him through the rearview mirror.

“What? Wasn’t that the whole point of getting divorced?” he knew she was teasing him; the way one corner of her mouth lifted ever so slightly as she spoke and the slight giggle in her voice gave it all away for him.

“Well you see, there’s this girl…” he started, hoping she wouldn’t get upset with him and that he wasn’t crossing any lines. “I met her a while ago and kind of messed it all up. Not even messed it up – fucked it up. Royally. But… but she still means the world to me and even though I’m being ridiculous and selfish I still hope I’ll get a second chance.”

Bree stopped the car in her parking space and sat there. The silence was becoming intolerable, yet Marc couldn’t bring himself to say anything else. He’d put himself on the line, and he knew it, but that wouldn’t make the sting of a rejection from her hurt any less.

“Really?” she finally whispered, and it was then that Marc saw tears rolling down her cheeks. His heart all but melted, and he reached over to gently thumb them away.

“Really really,” he affirmed, and she turned to him with a small smile.

“Good. Because I don’t want to go through losing you again Marc,” her voice trembled and her lip quivered but her eyes told him that she meant the words with ever fiber in her body.

“You won’t have to,” he promised, and pressed his lips to hers.
♠ ♠ ♠
Ta-Da!

I know this isn't an all-encompassing ending, but I thought that with how tumultuous the story was for them, something sweet and simple was more their style. Thank you so, so much for your support and comments for being with me through this story! (Still tossing and turning over an epilogue... let me know haha!)

- Hayley