Broken Angel

"I can not believe you told him I'm his father," Taylor hissed at Erin as he followed her into the small apartment after the afternoon spent in the hospitals blood bank getting tested and typed.

"Well what was I supposed to say when he started noticing other kids had two parents?"

"Oh I don't know, maybe, anything else?!"

"Why shouldn't he know that you're his father Taylor?" Erin asked nearly yelling.

"Because it might not be true!" Taylor yelled back and winced when her hand came across his face.

"How dare you? You know it's true. I've never, ever slept with anyone other then you," she told him seriously and tossed her purse on the couch.

Taylor rubbed his cheek and glanced in the hall mirror grimacing, "That's gonna leave a mark you know."

"Good. I hope it does," she shot back and opened the fridge letting the cool air run over her for a moment. "Do you want a beer?"

"Love one," he muttered back and threw his jacket onto the top of the couch before joining her in the kitchen.

"Cheers," Erin said and held out a bottle to him.

"Cheers."

They both stood staring at each other sipping from the bottles before Erin shook her head exasperatedly and asked, "So what now?"

"Now we wait to see if I match," Taylor said sitting down at the kitchen table and watching Erin begin to move around the kitchen. "What are you doing?"

"I'm hungry. I want dinner. Don't you want dinner?"

"I could eat."

"Good, then we eat. Now what were you saying?"

"Mom's already calling all our relatives to get themselves tested. With the way my family reproduces there's gotta be someone," Taylor joked.

Erin smiled stiffly and grabbed a box of pasta out of the cabinet, "Did you tell Natalie yet?"

"No," Taylor answered quietly while peeling the label off his beer bottle. "I didn't want to stir that pot until I had to."

"Right," Erin said. "I guess if you or someone else in your family is a match that means we don't have to tell her at all. And Declan and I can once again disappear and leave you to your picture perfect existence as the consummate young, married father who manages to balance his life as a rock star and keep a family."

"Erin, that's not fair. I didn't know," Taylor said and Erin felt a twinge from the pain and longing she heard in his voice. "You know what I was planning on doing, if you had just told me things would have been so much different."

"Yea, but would you ever really go back knowing what you know now?"

Taylor was silent and shook his head, "I love my kids."

"And you should. Kids are amazing. I wouldn't change a thing if it meant for some reason I wouldn't have Declan and I would never wish for you to not have your brood. I just wish you didn't seem like you were gonna write Declan off as soon as this is all over."

Taylor sighed and rubbed his temples, "I don't know what's gonna happen yet Erin. If I could do that I'd be a lot wealthier then I am."

Erin chuckled and stirred the boiling pasta, "Yea and we all know how much of your savings you sunk into that record label."

Taylor nodded seriously, "No shit."

"So, how many of your fans think you're rolling in dough?"

"Try like all of them. Broke as shit girl."

"Figured as much," Erin replied testing a piece of pasta and nodding. "Drain that I gotta pee."

Taylor laughed and got up to finish the meal while Erin left the kitchen. He set out two plates of pasta and sauce, grabbed two more beers from the fridge and located forks before rinsing the pots and sitting down.

"Wow?"

"What did you think I was just gonna throw it in the strainer?"

"Yes, I did. Last time I saw you you were eighteen and quite useless," Erin told him honestly but winked to soften the blow.

"Useless huh? I don't remember you complaining much."

"Awe baby that's just cause you were really good in bed. Lord knows you couldn't do much else," Erin said and laughed when Taylor coughed and started laughing.

"I can't believe you said that," Taylor gasped out wiping his face with a napkin.

Erin shrugged, "I tell it like I see it. Remember when you tried to do laundry? Two words Taylor, Pink Underwear."

"That was one time!"

"One time yes. But you freaking put a red sock in with your whites. That my dear is more then enough to make fun of you for life."

"I was seventeen," he mumbled.

"Most seventeen year olds can do a load of white wash," Erin said raising an eyebrow.

"No they can't!"

"Well they can't when they've got your mother. I love your mom, but I swear you boys would still be living at home if you hadn't gotten married."

"Probably," Taylor admitted. "But hey, I married someone even more useless then I am. I married a southern belle from Georgia, she even had a debutante ball."

"You're kidding?" Erin said her jaw nearly hanging open in shock. "I knew she was like old school, deep south, but seriously Tay? You married a Georgia Peach?"

"I did. She asked me what the housekeepers name was when we moved into the new house," Taylor said blushing and Erin almost fell out of her chair laughing.

"What did you say?"

"Natalie," Taylor admitted.

"God, I missed you," Erin gasped out grateful for one small moment to be able to push the constant terror aside and just sit and laugh with the one person who had always made her feel the most like herself.

"I missed you too Erin," Taylor said softly and grabbed her hand from across the table. "We're gonna figure this out. I promise."

Erin nodded and sighed, "Let's not think about that tonight. Let's just sit and eat and try and remember why we were friends for a year before we dated."

Taylor nodded, "We were weren't we?"

"We so were. I regularly kicked your ass at everything we ever did too...sooo, that's something I'm more then happy with starting again."

"Bitch," Taylor said laughing and taking another bite of his dinner.

"You love it. We were fabulous together and I was always a bitch," she pointed out.

"Maybe."

"Oh don't lie, you love it. Me being a bitch always made you all sortsa hot and bothered," Erin said smirking.

"Yea it did, so maybe you shouldn't be doing it now?"

"Why?" Erin smirked.

"Cause I can turn anyone but you down," Taylor admitted bringing the light tone of the conversation to a screeching halt.

Erin stood up silently and placed her plate in the sink and turned off the main kitchen light.

"I'm going to bed," Erin said softly and began walking out of the kitchen before she paused and poked her head back in looking Taylor straight in the eyes. "Are you coming?"