Fic: Wishes, Chapter 4

[cloversworld]

Title: Wishes, Chapter 4
Author: clover71
Pairing: Cook/ Archie
Rating: PG
Description: This is the sequel to Regrets and its companion fic Sentiments
Summary: When Archie found out that the son he'd been raising wasn't gestated through surrogacy as he had believed but was naturally conceived, he concluded that Cook had an affair and made a rash decision to file for a divorce, leading his children caught up in a web of ugly consequences brought by the divorce process.
Disclaimer:
1) Please note that this is purely fiction and none of the contents are real except for some of the characters used in this story.
2) Most characters used are based on real people but the details within do not purposely imply occurrences in real life; thus, anything here that concurs with real events may be completely coincidental.
3) This fic is created based solely on the imagination of the author and for non-profitable purpose.


Previous parts: Masterlist


Author's notes:
- It's been ages since I last updated this fic and I sincerely apologize. RL got in the way. And although I have the plot laid out, I lost my muse somehow. I think I got my muse back. This part had been sitting half written in my hard drive for about 10 months or so. I'm sorry if the flow is somehow distorted or if this part doesn't make sense, but continuing a fic after almost a year proved difficult. I'll do my best to get back on track.
- This part was not beta'ed. Please forgive me for any mistakes.
- Some of you might roll your eyes at the way this fic was written. The one shots this was based on were both written in second person POV. When I wrote 'Sentiments', I didn't think I'd be writing a companion fic and a sequel thereafter. But I did, and someone advised I had to stick with the 2nd person POV style, which I find rather difficult and inappropriate. I don't want to give up the story though.
- This chapter was written in Archie's POV.

Chapter 4
Archie's POV

~ start ~


“So…” The lawyer's voice brought you out of your stupor. You hadn’t meant to space out but… but… oh gosh. Not even once in your life did you imagine you would sit in a lawyer’s office and discuss divorce process and child custody. “Do you have any questions?” Attorney McKrane asked, tilting her head to peer into your face.

It was too surreal, like most of the things that had happened in your life. There was this small part of you that hoped this was nothing but a nightmare. You hoped that you’d soon wake up to see that this had never happened, that Cook never cheated, that Brenda never existed.

“Is it…” You paused, not really knowing what it was you meant to ask. Racking your numb brain didn’t help. You couldn’t recall a single word the lawyer had said. Glancing at the document in your hands, you let her words swim in your head. “No. No questions.”

“I have one for you, Mr. Archuleta, if you don’t mind,” the lawyer said, a gentle smile fell on her lips. She calmly leaned back on her black leather chair and brought her hands together, her fingers twiddling. It seemed she was waiting for you to let her know if she could proceed. You looked at her with a bit of apprehension because you had no clue what the lawyer would ask.

There was this sort of intimidating aura that wrapped around her that made you want to just bolt, but you nodded, curious to hear what she had to say. “You’ve been married for five years, right? And how old were you then? Nineteen?”

Attorney McKrane didn’t say anything else. You waited for her to go on, but she looked like she was expecting you to respond, so you cleared your throat.

“Uhm… We uhm… We were planning to wait. Really. But uhm…” It was the same old story you had told a thousand times, especially after you and Cook went public. People wanted to know why you decided to marry at a young age. “When the uhm, the ban on same-sex marriage was lifted in California back in 2010, Cook wanted to take advantage, said it was probably the only chance we’d get since… well, we weren’t sure if the ban would be like lifted forever.”

It was the truth. You remember how hesitant both your families were. But they all stood by both of you. What can you say? You were really blessed.

“And your parents? They were okay with it?” The lawyer asked and you couldn't help but wonder what this had to do with the divorce.

“Well they were uhm, shocked, ecstatic and worried at the same time.” A smile formed on your lips. You remembered the day Cook spoke to your parents to let them know what his intentions were. The look he had on his face was priceless. You've never seen him so pale, except the one time he got really sick.

Cook was so nervous that he had to drag Beth along with him. What Cook didn’t know at the time was Beth called ahead to warn your mom and dad about their purpose. You later learned she did that to lessen the shock she was certain your parents would receive.

The lawyer leaned on her table, propped on her elbows while she watched you. You wished you knew what was going through her mind.

The corner of her lips curled up. “I can just imagine how it was,” she said none to authoritatively, her voice kind and caressing. “I’m curious though, why was it that you were the first one to surrogate a child? Not that there is a rule about it or anything. Let's just say I'm a fan, and when I found out about you and Dave, I actually expected it would be Dave who would father your first child.”

You weren't quite sure if this was relevant to whatever you were discussing earlier. Maybe the lawyer was trying to figure out how to work around the child custody thing. But what the heck, she vowed to confidentiality.

“Cook did uh… he tried to do it first. He actually tried three times but uhm, he was under medication for his high blood pressure? So his uh…” The idea of discussing one of the most private parts of your life somehow felt awkward. But you did your best to look straight at her while you told her the rest of the story, told her how Cook wasn't healthy enough to fertilize but you both really really wanted to have a child then.

“So you decided to father your first child?”

You were already nodding before the lawyer could utter the last word.

Her dark green eyes fell on the documents lying on her table. Then she looked back up at you, sighed and said, “You do know divorce is just one of the many options you could go through, right?”

Guilt suddenly struck you and for probably the hundredth time, you wondered why the heck you were sitting across a divorce lawyer and discussing the legal dissolution of a marriage. “Gosh yes. Of course, I know.”

Divorce was probably the last thing that would have crossed your mind. You only agreed to meet with the Attorney McKrane because your friend Gavin insisted you did. He said something about ‘doing the most sensible thing’ or somewhere along those lines. And you didn’t think he’d shut up if you didn’t give in.

The vibration against your thigh startled you. It was then you remembered you forgot to turn off your phone and thought it would be pretty rude to pull it out while the lawyer was talking about marriage counseling. Thankfully, it stopped before you could even consider fishing it out of your pocket.

Barely a minute had passed when you felt your phone vibrate again, persistently this time if that made any sense. There was this nagging feeling that was prodding at you, as if the voice at the back of your head was telling you that this was something you shouldn't ignore.

“Uhm, sorry,” you told the lawyer a bit sheepishly before pulling the dang phone out of your pocket. Your heart began to pound when you glanced at the caller ID and saw it was Karissa’s school calling. “I uh… I have to take this, I'm so sorry.”

A thousand thoughts swam in your head. The school rarely called you unless it was an emergency. They usually just sent emails if they wanted to remind you of a school activity or if they felt like commending Karissa for a good job she'd done. Your hand trembled as you brought your phone up against your ear.

“Mr. David Archuleta?” a female voice spoke. When you had confirmed who you were, she added, “We’ve been trying to reach you. It’s about you’re daughter.”

After the call ended, you threw a quick apology and mumbled, "I have to go," before you hurriedly left Attorney McKrane’s office. You were surprised to see Gavin at the waiting room. Before he could even get on his feet, you asked, “What are you doing here?”

Gavin got up, but instead of answering, he asked in return, “How did your meeting with Attorney McKrane go?”

The phone call was still running through your head so you chose not to waste a minute and raced out into the hallway, Gavin at your heels. “It was okay. She just explained how the divorce process would go and suggested that we go through marriage counseling first.” Those were the bits and pieces of the conversation that you could remember.

“Marriage counseling?” You weren’t entirely in the mood to talk about it, talk about anything at all at the moment but Gavin wouldn't give it a rest. He said, “David, please tell me you’re not considering going through that… that marriage counseling," when you both stepped inside the elevator. "He cheated on you. Last thing he deserves is a second chance.”

That was hardly the point. It had been almost a month since you moved out and you had done a lot of thinking… and crying… that you were in fact starting to realize walking out of this marriage was probably the most stupid thing you could have done. “I don’t know Gav. Divorce is such a complicated step and I don’t think that’s what I want right now.”

“Hey.” He placed a hand on your shoulder and you didn’t miss the way he squeezed it lightly. “I’m just looking out for you, my friend.”

“Thanks,” you said before stepping out of the lift and rushed across the basement parking area. “I appreciate it.”

“Do you wanna grab an early lunch?” Gavin followed you all the way to your car.

“Oh.” You weren’t certain whether to tell him where you were headed but you had to come up with an excuse to turn him down gently. “I’m actually on my way to pick up Karissa from school,” you said, slipping into the driver seat.

“I see.” It didn’t look like Gavin was going to back down though, and you really needed to leave. “Maybe we can pick her up together then go somewhere for lunch? I sure would love to spend some time with little Kari,” he wheedled just as you felt the buzz in your pant pocket.

“Oh, that’s really sweet,“ you said and without looking at your phone, you pressed the button to answer the incoming call.

“David?” Cook.

It was as if the floor slipped out from under you. Hearing his voice made you feel lightheaded. “Hey,” you said, suddenly forgetting where you were.

“The school called me.” Cook's voice was tinged with worry.

“I’m on my way there.” You flicked the keys and started the engine.

You didn't expect to hear Cook say, “I’m almost there,” but it didn't surprise you either. That was what you loved about Cook. He would often drop everything and put your kids first. He had always been a good father.

“Thanks Cook. I’ll see you there” was the only response you could offer. Gavin still stood outside your car, bracing the door, eyebrow raised inquiringly. “I have to go,” you told him and practically yanked the door from his hand when you pulled it close.

There was no time to explain where you were going or why you were just on the phone with Cook. It wasn’t like you were obliged to tell Gavin. He was just a friend and you knew he was only trying to help. But you felt rather uncomfortable with the way he’d been meddling with your life, with your marriage even.

The odds of sailing through the Los Angeles traffic with ease were thankfully not against you. You reached the school in no time and parked at the first empty spot you saw. The principal’s office was near the main entrance so there wasn’t any need to go through a lot of hallways.

This wasn't the first time you were called to come to school. Karissa had separation anxiety during her first week, so you and Cook took turns to come and get her. Sometimes you'd go together. This was Karissa’s first year. You wondered how many more visits you would need to do until the school year ended. Not that you minded, anyway.

Cook was already inside Mrs. Wilson’s office with Karissa curled like a toddler on his lap. “Sorry I’m late” were the first words out of your mouth.

When Karissa heard you, she leaped from her daddy’s lap and ran into your open arms. “Hey princess,” you cooed, rubbing circles across her back. Her lack of response baffled you and your heart sagged then. You could already tell something was wrong.

“Darlene,” Mrs. Wilson, the school principal, called out to her secretary. “Why don’t you take Karissa with you while I talk to her fathers.”

Karissa held on to you a bit longer before she let Darlene usher her out of the room. With leaden steps, you walked toward the chair beside Cook after Mrs. Wilson had asked you to take a seat.

Old habits were indeed hard to break. Cook took hold of your hand, fingers curling around yours. You held on to him, the warmth of his hand calmed you.

“I don't remember telling you this and I don't know if you've noticed,” Mrs. Wilson began, shuffling papers that were arranged in stacks on top of her desk, “but Karissa is a gifted child.”

“Gifted?” It wasn’t what you really expected to hear, and apparently so did Cook. Of course, you could not disagree. Parents would surely love to hear their child was gifted. But being 'gifted' could mean so many things, so you didn't know if she meant good or not so good.

The expression Mrs. Wilson wore was somehow unreadable and it made you twitch. Cook must've sensed this because he squeezed your hand and leaned closer.

“Her teacher had observed that her level of comprehension and way of thinking are somewhat more advanced,” the principal said. Her words sounded like riddle to your ears. “But that’s not what I called you in here for.”

She fell silent for a while, but her eyes remained on you and Cook, like she trying to consider her next words.

When she said, “Do you mind if I ask something personal?” you felt the sharp twist in your belly. You had a feeling you knew where this was going. Cook must've nodded because she went on, asked, “Is there any problems at home lately? Perhaps something to do with your relationship?”

Paranoia jumped at you like a hungry predator. You couldn't help but wonder if the media had set her up for this.

The lies were at the tip of your tongue, the practiced story that you and Cook had somehow agreed on in case the news about you moving out of your house broke out into the uncontrollable current of the media. But the way Cook’s grip tightened stopped you.

The principal must have read your mind, or maybe you were too transparent, because she said, "Don't worry, whatever we talk about will stay in this room." Then she pulled out some sheets of drawing paper from underneath a pile and held them out. It was Cook who got up to take them.

The one on top had drawings of four stick figures and two houses. Karissa's. You'd recognize her works of art in a heartbeat. She had written 'Daddy and Ethan' on top of two stick figures drawn in front a large house on one side of the paper. On the other side, she wrote, 'Papa and Me' on top of two other stick figures in front of what probably was your apartment building.

The other papers had similar drawings, but the last sheet made your heart sink. It still had four stick figures, but this time, Karissa had written 'Daddy and Brenda' on top of the two figures on one side and had shaded the one labeled 'Brenda' with black crayons. 'Papa and Gavin' were written on top of the figures on the opposite side and she had crossed out the one she had tagged 'Gavin' with a red crayon several times. And there was a line drawn in the middle of the paper.

Cook crumpled the last sheet, threw it on the floor as he sprung from his seat. "Fuck," he muttered under his breath but his voice still floated across the silent room.

You, on the other hand, wanted to melt in your chair. "Uhm" was all you could utter, unable to string anything coherent at the moment.

Then Cook turned to you, his eyes soft, shrouded with traces of hurt. "Gavin?" he said, voice barely above whisper, and you feel your heart grow heavy in your chest.

"He's just a friend," you blurted, a thousand other words weighed on your tongue. You wanted to tell Cook that you weren't seeing anyone, that you weren't even dating Gavin, that you didn't know why Karissa thought you were, that – but then you remembered Brenda.

The pain and anger came rushing back to you. Now you wanted to tell Cook you didn't owe him any explanation, but the words died on your lips when you saw the glimmer of unshed tears on Cook's eyes.

Cook looked away, cleared his throat and said, "I guess it would be pointless to hide the truth." You weren't sure if he was talking to you or to Mrs. Wilson. But Cook went on explaining your current situation and Mrs. Wilson nodded at him.

"Mr. Cook," she said, raising a hand as if to stop Cook from talking. "You don't need to explain in details. My only concern is how your relationship is affecting Karissa and her performance at school." She told you and Cook about the small changes Karissa's teacher had noticed, how she'd often withdraw in the corner of the classroom and how she started a fight earlier. It broke your heart to pieces. You've been too focused on dealing with your own pain that you forgot your daughter's feelings.

"I feel like the worst parent." You hadn't meant to say it out loud, only realized you did when Cook sat back down beside you and pulled you close.

"I think we need to talk," Cook said, his breath warm against your cheek.

"I think we need help," you told him, leaning your head on his shoulder.



~ tbc ~

=========================================================
Comments will be greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading.

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Comments

[rajkumari905.livejournal.com]

\o/\o/\o/ FINALLYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

[clover71.livejournal.com]

IKR? sorry for the late response. RL's been impossible.

thanks for reading!

[pleia1204.livejournal.com]

Aww, the angst! This broke my heart. I hope they can still fix it... Oh, and I don't like Gavin <:(

[clover71.livejournal.com]

sorry to break your heart. we'll see if the boys can fix this, we'll see.

i don't like gavin either.

thanks for reading!

[forever-rebel2.livejournal.com]

*sniffles* Oh...

I think I'm being an angst whore today. This? This was amazing, bb! Of course, I had to go back and read chapter 3 because I'd missed it. *shifty eyes* It's breaking my heart in the most beautiful of ways.

Also... Gavin? GTFO! I don't like him. At all.

FIX IT!

Yubu. Mishu! :D

[clover71.livejournal.com]

*hands you a tissue*

there'll be more angst from this story. so i apologize in advance for breaking your heart bb.

thanks for reading!

[honeybeemmw.livejournal.com]

So. Here's my reaction to the notice I received that you updated this: *stares at email and says out loud in office* "Whut?" *stares more* "What!" "This can't be an update. She must be arranging her masterlist." *clicks on link leading to LJ* O_O *sees it's a new chapter* *FLAILING commences* True story - as embarrassing as it is. :P

Chris, you know how much I love this angst-ridden story and I am thrilled that you updated. Gavin can GTFO. I do not believe he has Archie's best interest in mind here. The Cook/Brenda thing remains a mystery to me still so that being resolved would be glorious.

Poor bb Karissa. She shouldn't have to deal with this and I hope the boys get to a marriage counselor or something before there is no repairing the damage this mess is doing to their relationship - not to mention the toll its taking on their kids.

Please to be updating again soon? ♥

[clover71.livejournal.com]

this comment is made of win. made me grin all day bb.

hold on to your heart, because there'll be more angst to come. and i agree that gavin can gtfo, but he'll stick around more to stir trouble to our married couple.

karissa will play a big role in this story. i can't wait to get to that part.

will update soon, working on the next chapter now (along with moonlight garden).

[cadt.livejournal.com]

OMG!!!!!!!!!
YES!!!!!!! I never thought I'd see this fic finished. It is one of my favorites even though it breaks my heart. This chapter continues to be as awesome as the rest and continues to break my heart. I adore your writing style and you paint a perfect portrait of both Davids. PLEASE say you will continue on with this. (on knees begging for more).

[clover71.livejournal.com]

i probably won't be able to live in peace if i don't finish this story. thanks for letting me know you like it, even if it's angsty. i will continue with this, the problems might not be resolve in this series but there'll be another one to follow, which will most like be written on 3rd person POV, we'll see where my muse will lead me.

thanks for reading!

[jehane-writes.livejournal.com]

I haven't read this one, bb, and man, I so want to smack them now! Which was possibly what you were going for, heh ;)

[clover71.livejournal.com]

you got it bb, the boys are being stupid and think they're mind readers that they know what the other's thinking and too blind to see how their actions were affecting the kids. thanks for giving this a chance. and thanks for reading!

[asweetdownfall.livejournal.com]

a,fdlldsgldsgldsa Oh boyssss. Stop hurting my soul, please. It cannot take any more. Ow.

This part was wonderful as always :D AND YOU BETTER NOT TAKE AGES FOR THE NEXT PART. Ahem. That is all.

ETA: OH. And Gavin can kindly gtfo, thanks. :P

[clover71.livejournal.com]

omigosh i'm so so sorry. *hugs your soul*

working on the next part bb. let's hope RL doesn't get in the way too often. i'm dying to see this finished.

i'll send gavin your way so you can beat him up, how 'bout that?