The next morning after making love again Brooke was snuggled in Jason's arms. She hadn't felt this safe in a long time and it felt so good. All the pain and depression that had been eating away at her since Edmund left her was beginning to recede. Jason made her laugh and forget about her problems for awhile. And he was going to help her solve her biggest problem, what to do about the baby she was carrying. If Jason claimed to be the father then Edmund would never find out that he was really her baby's father. She sighed.
"What?" Jason said, looking at her.
"I feel happy," she said.
"So do I Brooke. Last night was better than I could ever have imagined. You're incredible!"
She laughed and he kissed her long and hard. Then he said, "Why don't you go take a shower and I'll make us some breakfast. I'm starving."
"That sounds great," she said grabbing her robe and heading for the bathroom. Jason lay back on the pillows and sighed. He was happier than he'd been in ages and it was all because of Brooke. She was everything he had ever wanted in a woman; smart, independent, loving and vulnerable, and she was beautiful and sexy too. He would be happy to raise Jamie and this baby as his own. Ever since he and his wife had split he'd been feeling his life was missing something and he thought Brooke would be able to fill that void.
While he was lost in his reverie the phone rang. He didn't know whether to answer it or not and finally decided it might be Jamie, so he answered. "Hello, English residence," he said.
There was silence on the other end for a few seconds and then he heard Edmund's voice. "Is Brooke there?"
"Yes," he said. "Brooke's in the shower. Is this Edmund?"
"Yes, Jason?" He asked.
"Brooke's tied up at the moment, can I give her a message?" He asked happily.
Edmund was fuming on the other end of the phone. He could feel his anger rising and for a second he couldn't respond. Finally, he said, "This is important I need to talk to her. Have her call me as soon as she gets out of the shower," he said angrily.
"I'll give her the message, just as soon as she comes out," he said and hung up.
"Arrogant bastard!" Edmund said as he stared at the dead phone in his hand. He slammed the phone down just as Maria walked up.
"Who? Brooke?" She asked.
"No, not Brooke. That guy she's been hanging out with, Jason. He just hung up on me."
"Oh," she said knowingly. Edmund was jealous and pissed off not because Jason had hung up on him, but because he was answering the phone at Brooke's early on a Saturday morning. That could only mean one thing, he'd spent the night at Brooke's.
"I'm going to pack. If I don't hear the phone, call me as soon as Brooke calls," he said angrily and headed up the stairs.
Maria hated what she was thinking, but it was obvious her husband still had feelings for the woman who had a hold on him that went back years. She thought about when she first met Edmund and he had been pining after Brooke, who was married toTad at the time. She never thought she had a chance with Edmund because of the intense love he had for Brooke, but Brooke had blown it with Edmund and Maria had been lucky enough to marry him. Now it looked as though even all these years later he was still harboring feelings for Brooke and Maria didn't know how deep they went.
When Brooke got out of the shower Jason had breakfast made and was sitting in bed with a tray. She came out in her bathrobe and he motioned for her to sit next to him.
"It smells delicious and I'm starving," she said kissing him.
"Well, sit down here and let's eat."
The food tasted delicious and Brooke realized how hungry she was. Being pregnant made her ravenous if she didn't eat frequently and now she was starving. The food was delicious and she told him so. She could get used to being spoiled by him.
"Edmund called while you were in the shower," he said. He noticed the flicker of something, he wasn't sure what, cross her face. He hated that the mere mention of Edmund's name caused such emotions in her, but there was nothing he could do about it. Obviously, they had a long, complicated relationship that was kept alive by the fact that they were business partners. He was going to have to get used to it.
"What did he want?" She asked.
"He wants you to call him right away," he said.
Brooke went to the phone and dialed. Maria answered and Brooke asked to speak to Edmund. At one time she and Maria had made peace and been friends, but now they were uncomfortable with each other.
After a minute Edmund picked up the phone. "Brooke. Thanks for calling right back. Something's come up and we need to go to Washington, DC. I've already booked our flight. I'll be by to pick you up in an hour," he said.
"What's this about? Why do we both need to go?" She asked.
"This is big Brooke. It's a breaking story about corruption in the military involving the attack on Iraq. We both need to go because there are going to be a lot of leads to follow and people to interview. I've already contacted our DC reporter and she's on the story as we speak. You don't want to miss out on the biggest story this year, do you?"
"No," she admitted. "Pick me up in an hour." She felt her pulse racing and her adrenaline flowing. God she loved a big story and especially working with Edmund. They were both good and together they were the best. She looked at Jason and saw the disappointment in his face.
"One of the disadvantages to dating an investigative reporter is that sometimes I get called out of town unexpectedly. It's great for collecting frequent flyer miles, not so great when you're just starting a new relationship. I'm sorry Jason," she said.
"That's okay. I was looking forward to more of what we started last night, but I guess it'll have to wait," he sighed.
She leaned over and kissed him. It was a warm, sensuous kiss that went on and on. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her down on the bed. He rolled her over on her back and kept kissing her. She finally pulled back and said, "I've got to get dressed and packed. Edmund's picking me up in less than an hour."
"Bummer!" He said and they both laughed.
Edmund was packing and thinking about Brooke. He was excited about this story and working with Brooke on it. They'd worked on so many stories together over the years and were a perfect team. He couldn't imagine working with anyone else and hoped that day would never come. Through all their ups and downs the one thing that remained strong was their business partnership.
He was also thinking about Jason. He had suspected a long time ago Brooke and Jason were sleeping together but he hated having it confirmed. Especially the way it had happened. He had been caught off guard by the phone call. He hadn't expected Jason to answer the phone and it was not a pleasant surprise. Jason had acted like a jerk hanging up on him and he still got angry every time he thought about it.
"Do you need any help?" Maria asked, jarring him out of his reverie.
"Nope. I've gotten pretty good at this after all the years I've been doing it, but thanks for offering, " he said kissing her.
"Do you know how long you'll be gone?" She asked.
"No idea. It depends on how big the story is and how many people we have to interview to get all the facts." She looked disappointed and he felt bad.
"I'll get home as soon as I can. Okay?" He asked.
"I know you will. This is just something I have to get used to. I love you."
"I love you too. I'll call you tonight," he said.
He went and said good bye to Sam and Maddie and Maria walked him to the front door. He kissed her goodbye and went to pick up Brooke.