What We've Been Fighting For

Another side story apart from "The Bridesmaid" series

 

“And remember, she needs a feeding at three in the morning, can you do that?” I said, hovering over Jasmine in Darrell’s arms. Barry leaned against the doorway of Matt and Darrell’s apartment.

 

“She’s stayed overnight before, we know the drill, and Matt’s making her bottle right now,” Darrell said, gesturing to the kitchen. “We’re stocked with extra formula, diapers, baby powder, the works. You have nothing to worry about. Um, Angela? Do you have to lean in that close to Jasmine like that?”

 

“I’m just trying to make sure she that little mark on her head is starting to go away,” I said, inspecting Jasmine’s head very closely. She had this red bump on her head, and I don’t know what that doctor was thinking telling me that it was normal.

 

“Babies get those kinda bumps as infants, it’s normal and the doctor said so, now relax,” Matt said, bringing Jasmine her bottle. I felt Barry tug me by the arm and gave me a reproving look before I playfully glared back at him.

 

“We better hurry,” he said, looking at me, making his point known. “We wouldn’t want to hit traffic.” I sighed and looked at Jasmine before stroking her cheek.

 

“Bye, bye, baby, be good for your uncles ok?” I said, holding her little fist. Almost as if in response, Jasmine cooed softly. Barry shook his head with a smile before taking Jasmine out of Darrell’s arms and holding her to his chest.

 

“Bye, Jazzy,” Barry said, calling Jasmine by her new nickname before adding in softly, “Daddy loves you.” My hand was on my chest.

 

The love I felt for Barry Donnell had never been as strong as the moment he called himself Jasmine’s daddy.

 

As we walked out, I turned around and saw the way Darrell and Matt doted over Jasmine. I blinked my eyes softly.

 

They looked like they could handle something like this on a permanent basis.

 

                                    *            *            *            *

 

“Ange, not again,” Barry said annoyed. I dialed the number anyway.

 

“Jackson, you better have checked that water heater, you know Matt and Darrell’s apartment is right next to it,” I snapped into the phone. Barry sighed deeply and decided to keep his eyes on the road.

 

“Why don’t you just call the fire department and just tell them to keep a look out until we come back,” Barry said sarcastically.

 

“I don’t give a damn!” I yelled. “My baby is in that building and you’re the manager, so as far as I’m concerned, you’re just as responsible for her as my friends are!” Barry grabbed my cell phone before chucking it out his window. I gaped and stared at him.

 

“You can’t F*****G be serious,” I said, my voice breaking. “You did NOT just toss my damn cell phone out the window!” Barry shrugged.

 

“You’re the one who was always complaining about how much that service cost anyway,” Barry said nonchalantly. I slapped his shoulder.

 

“You’re putting our baby in danger!” I yelled.

 

“If that water heater breaks, Matt and Darrell know to run like hell,” Barry said. “Just like that once they decided to toss a cherry bomb into the toilet and then they forgot to flush it.”

 

“Morons,” I muttered. My eyes widened. “What if they do that again?”

 

“With our baby in the apartment? I doubt it,” Barry said, once again, his focus on the road. “And it was a long time ago. Like, high school. Hell, probably before those idiots knew they were in love.” I looked out the window thoughtfully before I turned back to look at Barry again.

 

Barry was still concentrating on the traffic, so he didn’t have a lot of time to look my way. I thought back to the past few months we had been together. I remembered how Barry took me back, despite the fact that I had cheated on him almost a year before. I remember the first time he held Jasmine, despite the fact that he would probably never know if she was his child or not. I remember how he took me out of that God awful apartment I was barely making a living in and let me stay with him until we found a new place together that would house all three of us. I remember the first night we were settled into the new apartment and Barry got up in the middle of the night just to hold Jasmine.

 

Barry was really making an effort to take care of Jasmine and me. And for what? I wasn’t sure. It never seemed fair to me that Barry was doing all of this work for me, and in addition, taking on the parental responsibilities for Jasmine when he shouldn’t have to. What the hell did Barry get out of this? What did he get out of taking care of a cheating girlfriend and a baby without a father named on her birth certificate?

 

I had no answers to these questions. Sometimes, I still wonder. All I knew was that somehow, someway, I was going to make him understand how much I appreciated all he’s done for me. I was going to find a way to become worthy of everything he gave me that I never deserved.

 

I wanted him to see how much I love him.

 

                                    *            *            *            *

 

“What road were we supposed to take?” Barry asked me, rubbing his eyes. It had been a three-hour drive, and the instructions we had were starting to look a little blurry to me too.

 

“Um,” I said, reading the instructions. “I can’t tell. The ink’s smudged.”

 

“Give me that,” Barry said, grabbing the instructions and squinting at them. My eyes widened and I grabbed the wheel before Barry could run the car into the side of the tunnel we were entering.

 

“Barry, for God’s sake, just watch the road!” I yelled. Barry shoved my arms away, still reading. The car began to swerve dangerously from side to side, pissing off other people in the tunnel. I grimaced as we finally exited the tunnel, and several elderly people in their big, bulky Cadillacs were flipping us off.

 

“Barry Donnell, give me the damn instructions, you’re going to get us killed!” I yelled, snatching the paper from him. Barry had such a tight hold on the paper that when I grabbed it, the paper tore.

 

“Damnit, Angela, those were our instructions!” Barry yelled, turning to me with his angry Irish green eyes. I was about to yell back when I noticed our car was heading for the ditch on the side of the road.

 

“BARRY!” I screamed. Barry put his eyes back in front of him, realizing that we were swerving to the side, but the car took a dive into the deep ditch, and as the car hit the dirt, smoke started to pour out of the hood. I shook my head.

 

Women’s goal was to get to the destination in one piece, and men’s goal was to get to the destination, no matter what “detours” had to be taken.

 

                                    *            *            *            *

 

“For the last time, it was NOT my fault!” I screamed, yanking the last of our bags out of the trunk and slamming it down. “And if you hadn’t thrown my damn phone out the window, we’d be able to call Triple A!”

 

“If you had just let me read the damn instructions, we’d be there right now!” Barry yelled back at me, slamming the passenger door closed after pulling out a flashlight.

 

“If I had let you read the instructions, we’d only be there in spirit!” I yelled back, pulling the strap of my gym bag onto my shoulder and beginning to walk forward.

 

“Where the hell do you think you’re going?” Barry yelled at me as I pushed past him.

 

“I’m going to the damn hotel, where else?” I snapped, adjusting the strap on my shoulder.

 

“It’s like, twenty miles away, moron!” he snapped back. I threw him an ugly look.

 

“I’ll take my chances with that attitude!” I yelled back beginning to walk. I heard Barry’s hurried jogging, along with his bag rustling beside him as he grabbed me by the shoulders.

 

“Barry, what the hell!” I screamed.

 

“You’re staying with me,” Barry said, glowering at me. I almost wanted to spit in his eye.

 

“Like hell I am,” I said, trying to shrug him off.

 

“You’re NOT leaving me, and that’s an order!” Barry barked. I socked him in the stomach.

 

“F**k off, drill sergeant,” I spat, starting to walk again. I shrieked when Barry tackled me to the ground. I fell face first into the ground. I didn’t realize how muddy it was until my nostrils were filled with it.

 

“I am NOT afraid of dragging you back to that car and tying you down, Angela Monroe,” Barry said coldly before flipping me over onto my back.

 

“How kinky,” I sneered at him. Barry narrowed his eyes at me.

 

“You’re not leaving me,” he said determinedly. I tried to push up but I stopped struggling so much when amid his angry face, I saw two frightened, frustrated, tired, and terrified eyes. My breathing began to slow. I remembered when we were in high school, most of the time when Barry was this forceful with me, this same look was in his eyes. When I was in high school, I usually responded back with the same hostility because I too was so angry and frustrated.

 

How could I have missed that look in high school and not realized he was in love with me then?

 

I sat up enough to kiss Barry and Barry pulled back, wiping the mud off his face. My eyes shifted from side to side. I tried to come up with an apology.

 

“I thought you liked chocolate,” was all I could manage to say.

 

                                    *            *            *            *

 

“You should sue your car dealer,” I said, reaching into my bag and pulling out a shirt from the back seat. Barry smirked.

 

“Why’s that?” he asked. I huffed.

 

“He sold you this SUV, saying it was spacey,” I said, almost hitting my head on the ceiling. “I’m cramped back here!”

 

“I thought there was enough room back here,” he said amusedly. I lifted an eyebrow.

 

“Oh yeah?” I asked. “And what were you judging that on?” Barry moved closer to me, his eyes darkening.

 

“We don’t usually stand up in a car anyhow,” Barry said, pulling the new shirt out of my hand. I blushed deeply.

 

“Barry,” I said, worry filling my voice.

 

“What, baby?” Barry asked, his index and middle fingers walking up my chest. I tried to control a moan.

 

“Barry, someone might see us,” I said worried. Barry pulled me closer before toying with the clasp on my bra.

 

“Don’t you wanna make your car fantasy come true?” Barry whispered in my ear. I began to protest that I didn’t want to get caught before I stopped.

 

“Since when did you know I had a car fantasy?” I demanded. Barry chuckled softly into my ear, turning me on more than his touch just did.

 

“Would you kill me if I tell you that you sleep talk sometimes?” Barry whispered, kissing the outline of my ear and making me moan. I held Barry close to me. I hoped the feel of my chest on his made him feel exactly the way I did.

 

I heard the click and my bra loosened before Barry began to slide it off. I wanted to moan before he could do anything. Just knowing the man I loved was about to make me feel pleasure like no one else had ever given me was enough. Barry kissed up and down my neck.

 

“I wanted this to be a romantic getaway for us,” Barry said in a low, disappointed voice. “This isn’t what I planned for us.” I pulled away and grabbed Barry by his face.

 

“I don’t want anything else,” I said, tears filling my eyes. “You’re more than I deserve.” Barry looked at me sternly.

 

“How many times do I have to tell you this?” Barry said exasperated. “You deserve me. I wouldn’t take a woman in that I didn’t feel deserved me. You deserve me, Angela. Nobody else does.” Barry leaned in to kiss me, his usual routine when we had this talk.

 

“But why?” I asked, the tears rolling down my cheeks and I began to sob. “What did I do to deserve you? What did a cheating slu—”

 

“Stop it, Angela,” Barry said, grabbing me by my arms. “Stop talking about yourself like that! You think I don’t know what you did? I know what you did! I know God damned well what you did and where you’ve been! Why are you doing this to yourself Angela? Why are you doing this to me?”

 

“Doing what?” I asked.

 

“Why do you make me so miserable for loving you?” he asked, tearing falling down his face too. “Don’t you understand, Angela? You hurt me every time you say you don’t deserve me. You make me feel like I should be ashamed for loving you because you think you’re such a piece of trash. You’re not doing me any favors by trashing yourself. All you’re doing is making it harder for me to love you the way I know you want me to.”

 

I pulled away from Barry and curled up on the seat, against the door. I couldn’t bear to look into Barry’s face. I couldn’t stand to think that I had been hurting him all this time; and far worse than when I cheated on him.

 

“I just didn’t want you to think that I was taking advantage of you,” I managed to get out. “I didn’t want you to think that I was just using you to get by the way Arianna did to Darrell.” I buried my face in my hands, my childish hope wishing that Barry would disappear as long as I couldn’t see him.

 

Barry pulled my hands away from my face and lifted my chin to make me look at him. Barry shook his head before smiling so lovingly at me.

 

“You don’t even munch on any of the junk food in the apartment,” Barry said. “You live in a nice apartment with a man who wants nothing more than to make love with you every night, but you refuse to eat more than necessary, you clean up messes that you didn’t even make, and hell, I’ve never lived in a cleaner home before you. But what you don’t understand Angela is that you’re what I look forward to most about coming home. You don’t need to do anything special or to be Super Woman. You don’t have to bend over backwards or to be my house slave to make me appreciate you. All you have to do is be the one I come home to. That’s all I want, Angela. I want you to be happy, Angela, even if that means you’re not home when I get there. Just as long as we’re together at night, so I can hold you. I want you to be the last person I see before I dream. I don’t understand why I love you Angela; I just thank God that I do.”

 

Barry’s eyes shot open when I pounced on him. I began to rub his chest, loving how it was hard and soft at the same time. Perfection, just plain perfection he is. Barry tried to reach up to rub my chest until I pinned his hands to the seat and kissed him passionately. This was all for him. It was all about him, and I loved it.

 

I ground against his hips, feeling the familiar hardness in his jeans. I moaned loudly, loving the feel of his body under me. Barry always took care of me; now I wanted to take care of him.

 

I peeled his shirt off of him, kissing his pecs, and working my way down. Barry was fighting not to scream in the car, and I took a risk and let go of his hands so I can hastily get his jeans and boxers down far enough so I could have him. As I got his jeans down, followed by his boxers, Barry and I were fighting for control when we playfully tried to keep each others’ hands out of the way—he fought to keep my hands to my side with I fought to get his hands pinned back onto the seat. I leaned down to him.

 

“The more you fight me, the longer it’s going to take to get what you want,” I whispered seductively into his ear. Barry purred.

 

“What makes you think I want this to end quickly?” he whispered back. I felt a tingle throughout my whole body. There was nothing I wanted more than for what we had to last forever.

 

“What’s better than the high I wanna give you?” I asked, thrusting forward. Barry groaned, but he looked like he was fighting to keep his mind in check so he could say something.

 

“The only thing better than this kind of high,” he got out in short breaths, “would be the high you’d give me if you marry me.” I could stop most things in my body. My heart stopped on its own free will.

 

“Barry?” I asked weakly. “Tell me…tell me I just heard…what I thought you…?” Barry’s eyes filled with tears again. I knew in that moment that I would always hurt every time he cried.

 

“That’s why I brought you out this weekend,” he said, holding my hands to his chest. “I’ve waited over ten years to be with you. We had some really s****y times, and you know that. I know I left you when I found out you cheated, but leaving made me realize how much I wanted to make things work with you. You showed me you can take care of yourself, Angela. Yourself and another person. You’ve made me so happy just being with me. I don’t want to be alone anymore, Angela. I don’t want to be without you anymore. I don’t want to live knowing that I could have everything I’ve ever wanted but not getting it because I didn’t stay with you. If you want this…if you want…if you’ll have me…I think it’s time. We’re ready. So it’s up to you. Angel…will you marry me?” Barry looked up at me, pleadingly. I could see in his eyes that he was ready for a rejection.

 

“Yes,” I managed out finally. I couldn’t believe he thought he even had to ask me that. “Yes, Barry. Oh my God, yes.” I fell on top of him, hugging him then kissing him passionately. Barry leaned back and away from me for a second.

 

“Barry?” I asked worriedly. “Oh God, what’s wrong?”

 

“Nothing, I was just wondering something though,” Barry said quietly. I held Barry’s hand.

 

“Tell me,” I said gently. Barry sighed shakily.

 

“I want to be named as Jasmine’s father on her birth certificate,” he said quietly. My eyes widened.

 

“Barry, we don’t even know if she’s yours, at least not biologically,” I said. “Barry, why? Why would you need to do that? You’re Jasmine’s father in the sense that matters most. There’s no real reason why you’d need to put your name on there; it wouldn’t change anything.”

 

“Only that I want the world to know in every way possible that she’s my daughter,” Barry said. “I don’t care if none of her DNA is mine. I’m her father, Angela. Matt’s a good man to her, but I’m the one she cries for at night, not Matt. I’m the one who would die for her in a heartbeat if she asked me to. I’m the one she recognizes when I pick her up. I’m the one she’s going to call ‘Daddy’—not Matt. Bottom line. And I don’t want Jasmine having one inkling of doubt that she’s mine. So if that means I have to scribble my name on there myself, my name’s there. I belong on that certificate. Please Angela…in addition to being your husband…will you let me be our baby’s daddy?” There were cars passing by us right now, and I bet many of those people would have seen us in there and only seen this horny couple who couldn’t control their hormones on the side of the road.

 

I couldn’t be happier that nobody could have Barry the way I have him.

 

I pulled Barry up and held him, crying for joy. Then I shut my eyes tightly when a beam of light shone through.

 

“This is CHP, and you two are under arrest for indecent exposure,” the officer barked through the window.

 

                                    *            *            *            *.

 

“I really hope they didn’t use the instructions we used,” I said, lying on my cot in the cell. Barry was in the cell next to me, shaking his head.

 

“They’re not going to want to baby-sit for us for a while after this,” Barry said, standing up with his hands in his pockets. “They’re gonna hate us when they sign the check for bail.”

 

“We’ll owe them,” I said sighing. I heard a door open outside, and Matt and Darrell walked in, bringing in the baby seat.

 

“Hey guys,” I said sheepishly. “So, did Jasmine like the ride up here?” Matt rolled his eyes.

 

“Told you that you should have left tomorrow instead of today,” Matt said, sighing. Darrell smirked.

 

“What a way to spend your birthday,” Darrell said. Barry almost flipped him off until he saw the officer standing nearby.

 

“Yeah, Happy Fourth to you too,” Barry grumbled. Darrell rolled his eyes.

 

“Well, the bail’s paid, your asses owe us for that,” Darrell said. “And your car’s at the towing place in town, we’ll drive you to the hotel and then you can call the tow place tomorrow when they open.” The office opened our cells and let us out. I wrapped my arms around Barry as we walked out of the station. Matt turned the baby seat towards him to make googly faces at Jasmine before he looked at her thoughtfully. Then he turned and made eye contact with me for a full minute. I lifted an eyebrow.

 

“What?” I asked.

 

“Your eyes are brown, right, Angela?” Matt asked. I squinted.

 

“Yeah?” I said. “Why?” Matt looked down at Jasmine.

 

“Is she nine months now?” he asked. I nodded.

 

“Just about,” I said. “How come?” Matt held her baby seat up so I could see Jasmine.

 

Barry’s Irish green eyes gazed back at me from the baby seat.

 

I almost fell to the ground and Barry almost came down with me when he saw what I was seeing. Barry was able to pull me back up after a minute.

 

“So…now do you believe me when I say I belong on the birth certificate?” Barry asked. I looked into Matt’s auburn eyes. I didn’t feel jack. And I couldn’t help a smile.

 

 

 

Reviews

[turtlegirlluver]

I really liked this! I love the change of emotions throughout the piece. It's so sweet how Barry still loves her even though she has made mistakes. I like the eye color of the baby. I also like how you added a background story to the characters as well as told the story going on at that moment. Good write!

[Tay Mo :)]

I love this. :)
I voted for it in the Got Romance? contest. I love how, above all that she's done in the past, Barry still loves Angela.
Great Job! The end of the story was great. You ended it nicely, although i don't have words to explain it just yet. Haha. Sorry.
I will say it once again. GREAT JOB! :)

[Carissa H.]

^^ Awwww. That was sweet. Barry's so awesome... forgiving her after she cheated on him and calling himself Jasmine's daddy even when they weren't sure... although it's kinda strange that Angela seemed to have forgotten her baby's eye color. :/ Oh well, it worked wonderfully. The ending was very smile-worthy.
Thanks so much for reviewing Pants! ^^ You made my day.

[sutoraika]

well well well, it's Barry's after all. Great side story! Very satisfying.

[DarkAngelWriter]

"I'm just trying to make sure she that little mark on her head is starting to go away,"
"She" isn't needed.

"he asked, tearing falling down his face too."
"tears"

"and I took a risk and let go of his hands so I can hastily get his jeans and boxers down far enough so I could have him."
"could" not "can" cause you changed to past tense

"The office opened our cells and let us out."
"Officer"

""So�now do you believe me when I say I belong on the birth certificate?" Barry asked. I looked into Matt's auburn eyes. I didn't feel jack. And I couldn't help a smile."
Can Barry whisper this instead? And do you mean "I couldn't help BUT smile"?




Mk, now that that s***s outta the way:
awwwwwwwwwwwwwww!
Angela & Barry forever ^_^

Totally love that you added this in!