Date: Tue, 28 Jun 2011 07:35:55 -0700 (PDT) From: Trish Riddle Subject: A Voice From the Past Chapter 17 *Authors note: I want to apologize for taking so long in getting this chapter posted. Work has been crazy; I've been working a lot of overtime. Warning: This story is fiction - all names were made up. So if there is anyone out there with these names, I don't know them. If you do not like the idea of male relationships, then you should not read any further. Some of the places that I mention, while they are real, I know no one who lives there. This being my first story, I appreciate the feedback that I have received so far. Please add the story title in the subject line. Good or bad,I would like to know that you are reading my story. With the next few chapters, some things may happen faster than they normally would, but for story line purposes this is how things will go. I want to thank Joe, for his encouragement to write my first story, and to get it posted. I also want to thank Jere for editing the story for me. Now, get comfortable, read the story, and I'm hoping that you enjoy it! A Voice from The Past Chapter 17 As the evening passed, Mark and Andy had just returned to work; they had to pull an all-nighter, so after they had supper with the family, and Daniel was taken back to jail, it was back to work. Andy was sitting behind his desk, when Mark came in and shut the door. "Hey, Andy, you have a second?" Mark said, kind of nervous. "Sure Mark, what's up? You seem nervous," Andy said. "Well, Andy, I have wanted to talk to you about something, but I didn't think it would go well with the way things have been between you and Tony," Mark said, pausing for a minute. "Mark, buddy, come on, just tell me what's on your mind," Andy said. "Well....things between you and Tony are good, right?" Mark asked, twisting his hand together. "Mark, you are about to jump out of your skin. Please talk to me," Andy said, getting up and walking around to where Mark was sitting, and putting a hand on his shoulder. "Okay, Andy, I'm...gay, and have had a crush on Tony since I have met him, but I knew how you felt about gays, and I didn't dare say anything; but you seem to be okay now, so I don't want to hide it anymore," Mark said. "You're gay!? You have a crush on Tony? You know he is getting married, right?" Andy said. "Yes, Andy, I'm not going to try anything. I know how much he loves Jason, and I'm not coming between them. In fact, I want to keep this between us; please don't say anything to Tony about this. I would just like to hang with them, and maybe then I can find someone," Mark said, blushing. "Mark, we're getting together tomorrow night, so why don't you come with us and go from there. I promise I won't tell Tony about your crush, and I'll hope Jason don't find out, because he may kick your ass," Andy said, laughing. "Okay, enjoy yourself at my expense," Mark said. "Let's get the rest of this work done, so maybe we can get out of here early," Andy said. ------------------------------ Jason sat there while the babies slept, with many ideas going on in his head. He always knew he wanted a family with Tony, but they are not even married yet. Could they make it work raising these two? Bringing these two little babies into their family would be a big change. But getting Tammy and Tyler meant losing his best friend; how could someone like Mary, who was a good person, and had always wanted a family, have it taken away from her so soon. Tammy started to move around on the bed, so Jason walked over to make sure she was okay. She looked up at Jason, smiling like she didn't have a care in the world, but being only two-years-old, her biggest care was getting her diaper changed for the moment. "What's wrong, baby girl? Mommy will be back in a bit; she went to get some things, because y'all will be staying with Tony and me," Jason said, just as the door bell rang. With Tyler still asleep, Jason made sure he had pillows around him, and took Tammy with him to open the door. Jason stood there at the door, not believing who was standing there. "What are you doing here?" he asked. "I came to see my son; is that so bad? Oh, who do we have here? She is beautiful," Beth said. "Mom, you can't just come here without calling first. I'm busy, and I don't have time for this; so you can just leave," Jason said. "Jason Jacob Williams; you will not talk to me like that! Do you understand me?" Beth said. "Mom, please; why are you here? I have a lot going on now, and I don't want to fight with you," Jason said. "Jason, I'm not here to fight. I want us to get back to the way things were," Beth said. "Mom, why did you let dad kick me out of the house when he found out I was gay?" Jason asked, sitting in a chair with Tammy on his lap. "Jason, Charles was my husband; I had to go by his wishes," Beth said. "Well, I was your son; you could have fought for me; you could have told dad that I was family," Jason said. "Jason, you have to understand that I had to go along with your father. I hated that you had to leave, but what could I do?" Beth asked. "I don't want to talk about this; you need to go before Tony gets home," Jason said. A knock was heard at the door, and then it opened. "Jason, honey, where are you?" Carol asked. "In the living room, Mom," Jason said, seeing the look on his mom's face. "Hey, Jason. Oh, I didn't know you had company," Carol said. "That's okay, mom; she was just leaving," Jason said, just as his mother spoke. "I'm Jason's, mom," Beth said, reaching out to shake Carol's hand. "Oh, nice to meet you, I'm Carol, Tony's mom," Carol said, shaking her hand. "Well, I need a moment with my son, if you will excuse us," Beth said. "Mom, Carol is not leaving; you are. I don't want to talk about this now; I need to talk with mom," Jason said. "I'm not leaving, Jason....." "I think you will leave now! Jason has been fine, since you told him to leave; he now has a family with us. So why don't you leave, and maybe he will talk to you later," Carol said. "You can't tell me what to do; I want to talk to my son......" "NO!" Carol said. They stood there arguing back and forth, and Jason just sat there and listened, not knowing what to do, when Tony and Mary came in. "What the hell is going on here?" Tony yelled. Everyone stopped and looked at Tony. "Mom, what are you yelling for?" Tony asked. "Jason asked his mother to leave, and she won't leave," Carol said. "Well, you need to stop this in front of Tammy. Jason, why don't you take your mom into the kitchen and talk with her for a minute, while I talk with mom. Mary, if you will take Tammy and go upstairs, you can get some rest, okay?" Tony said. Everyone went their separate ways. "Mom, what are you doing fighting with Jason's mom? That is not going to help matters," Tony said. "Well, she can't come in here and think that just because her husband is gone, Jason will take her back into the family. She threw him out, and now she wants him back," Carol said. "Mom, that is Jason's mother; this has to be his decision; so please stop fighting with her," Tony said, hugging his mom. "Tony, do you remember his face when he came to my house after his father died? He was heartbroken, and I can't just let her hurt him again," Carol said. "That's fine mom, but we will do what Jason wants to do," Tony said. ******************** "Mom why are doing this?" Jason asked. "I told you I want us to be a family again," Beth said. "I know, but now is not the time. If you will leave, I will get with you in a couple of days," Jason said. "Okay Jason, I will go for now, but I will be back, and we will discuss this further," Beth said. "Great; I'll walk you out," Jason said. "Jason, I do love you, and I want us to be a family again," Beth said. "Mom, why don't we just start with this; if you want, you can come to the wedding. If things go well, then we will see about getting back to being a family," Jason said. "Okay, I'll take that. We will be at your wedding." Beth said. ************************ Everyone was sitting around the living room after Jason's mom had left. Mary was upstairs resting with the babies, when Andy had stopped by. "Andy, what are you doing here this late?" Tony asked. "Just finished working, so I wanted to stop by and see if we were still on for tomorrow night. I'm bringing my partner, Mark along with me, if that is okay?" Andy said. "Sure that's fine with me. How about you, baby; you mind if Mark comes along," Tony asked. "That's fine." Jason said, looking at Andy with a weird look. "Great! I'll tell him that it's okay," Andy said. "Andy, can I see you in the kitchen?" Jason asked. "Sure," Andy said. *************** "What's going on Andy?" Jason asked, as they walked into the kitchen. "What are you talking about? Nothing is going on," Andy said. "It just seems like you are up to something, with Mark coming with us tomorrow," Jason said. "No, we were talking, and I asked him to come along. Is there a problem with him coming?" Andy said. "I guess not, as long as you two are not up to something," Jason said. "What's going on you two?" Tony asked, walking into the kitchen. "Nothing, baby; I was making sure that Mark coming tomorrow wouldn't be a problem," Jason said. "Well, there shouldn't be; the more the merrier. I'm celebrating my love for you, and I would like the whole world to be there," Tony said, kissing Jason on the lips. "Okay, you two need to get a room. I'm heading home. See you guys tomorrow," Andy said. ******************* After everyone had left, and Mary was still lying down, and Jason and Tony were in the living room, sitting on the couch, holding the babies. Tyler had taken to Jason, so he was holding him while they were talking. "Tony, honey, they are beautiful babies. I would love to raise them with you. So what do you say? Lets tell Mary we will take them," Jason said. "Yea, let's do this. You want to have it done before we get married?" Tony said. "We can; that way we can have our son and daughter in the wedding," Jason said, leaning over, kissing Tony, and Tyler giggling. "I think this little guy has taken a shine to you," Tony said. "Seems that way. Hey there, little guy; how are you?" Jason said, kissing all over his face. Tyler was giggling, causing Tammy to giggle as well. "What are you giggling at little girl?" Tony asked, holding Tammy up, and blowing on her belly. "You four look like a beautiful family," Mary said, from the doorway, with tears in her eyes. "Mary, what are you doing up?" Tony said, getting up, and handing Tammy to Jason. "I'm fine. I don't want to lie in the bed all day, if I can get up, because soon enough all I will do is lie in the bed. How are my babies?" Mary asked, both of them looking up and smiling at her. "They are fine. Come sit down; we want to talk to you," Tony said, helping her to sit. "Tony and I would be honored to raise Tyler and Tammy," Jason said. "That's wonderful! I know they will have a happy home," Mary said, and she began to cry. "Mary, I want you to know that I hate this more than anything; that in order to get the babies, we have to lose you; it is breaking my heart. But no this... they will know that you were their mother. So what do we need to do?" Jason asked. "Well, I was hoping that you would agree, so I have already started things with my lawyer, but you can have your own lawyer go over things," Mary said. "Not a problem; we can have Dad go over things. I'm marrying into a family full of lawyers," Jason said, kissing Tony's cheek. "Okay, well, my lawyer is Calvin Winston," Mary said. "Calvin! That's great! He is a great lawyer," Tony said. Jason stood and took the babies and put them in Mary's lap. She got all teary eyed again, and began talking with her children. "Hey there, sweetie; mommy hates to leave you like this, but I have no choice. God needs mommy, so I will be going away; but don't worry; I'm leaving you here with Tony and Jason now. They will be your daddy and poppa." Mary looked at the two, and they nodded their heads. "Dadda," Tyler said, pointing to Jason. "Poppy" Tammy said. Everyone laughed, and cried at the same time. "Yes, my angels; that is Dadda and Poppy," Mary said, hugging them tight. "I will call Calvin tomorrow, Mary, and we will get this started. We would like to have it done before we get married. I also hope you don't mind, but Mom will watch them while we are on our honeymoon, and you are more than welcome to stay with her while we are gone," Tony said. "Oh, Tony, your mother won't want me around; I can find somewhere else to go," Mary said, crying again. "Mary, I don't want to hear another word; you can stay at mom's," Tony said. Mary was so happy that she had found Jason, even after so many years. She didn't know what to except, and here they were, taking her into their home, and willing to raise her children. She was so afraid that they would have been put in foster care. Still holding her children, Tyler reaches up to Jason and said, "Dadda" Jason walked over and picked him up, his little arms going around Jason's neck, hugging him tightly. "Hey, little guy, are you Dadda's little boy?" Jason asked. "Dadda boy," Tyler said. "Oh my; I can't believe I have a son!" Jason said, with tears in his eyes. "Dadda no cry," Tyler said. Jason just started crying harder, hugging Tyler to him. Mary and Tony were crying, as well. "Well, I'm going to start supper; does anyone want anything special?" Tony said. "I'm not really hungry; I'll just have some soup," Mary said. "That sounds good; how about some soup and grilled cheese?" Jason asked. After a quiet dinner, everyone turned in for the night. They had gotten Tyler's and Tammy's cribs set up in the room with Mary, and all three were sleeping peacefully. Tony and Jason were just getting into bed, climbing in from each side, meeting in the middle. "Oh, honey, there are going to be some painful weeks to come. Do you think we should postpone the wedding?" Tony asked. "No, Mary won't hear of it. Let's just go on as planned and, in three weeks, you will be my husband, and I'll be Mr. Jason Jacob Williams-Cooper," Jason said, kissing Tony. "So that will make me Anthony James Williams-Cooper," Tony said. The two fell asleep, with Jason spooned behind Tony, his left arm wrapped around Tony's stomach. ************** Everyone was gathering around the local restaurant, where they had booked the private room for their party. Tony and Jason was the first to arrive, with Mary staying home with the babies. William and Carol were next to arrive, and Heather and Bobby was with them. Then Andy and Melinda arrived, as well as Jimmy and Ben. They got a babysitter for Steven and Rebecca. Then Mark arrived, looking nervous, and Andy walked up to him. "Hey, buddy, glad you could make it," Andy said. "I'm not sure I should be here, Andy. This is a family thing, and this is just wrong for me to be here. I don't want to cause any trouble," Mark said, as Jason watched him from the other side of the room. "Mark, please don't be that way; stay; you know everyone here," Andy said. "Okay," Mark said, hesitantly, as Jason walked up to them. "Mark, right? I'm Jason," Jason said, shaking his hand. "Hi, Jason; I hope it's okay that I came tonight," Mark said, his sights on Tony. Jason moved his eyes to see what Mark was staring at, and he saw Tony. Getting angry, he turned to Andy. "Andy, I need to see you outside, NOW!," Jason said. "What? Now, Jason? I'm....." "What the hell is going on here? Why is Mark here? I see the way he is looking at Tony. I want him gone," Jason said. "Jason, calm down; it's not what you think. Mark told me something, and asked me to keep it quiet," Andy said. "I don't care; I want to know what is going on?" Jason said. "Okay I'll tell you," Both Andy and Jason turned to look at the door, to see Mark standing there. "Okay, please tell me what's going on?" Jason said. "I told Andy that I was gay, and had a crush on Tony," Mark said. "Oh my god! I can't believe this! You bring him here knowing he has a crush on Tony?" Jason yelled. "Jason, it's not what you think. I don't plan on saying anything to Tony. I know you two are getting married, and I'm not here to get in the way," Mark said. "Your damn right! I want you to leave!" Jason said. "Come on, Jason, this is a celebration; let's go back inside and enjoy the evening, and Tony won't know anything," Andy said. "Tony won't know anything about what?" Tony said, standing at the door. To be continued........