When You Know Ch. 03

"I respect you Vic, I do; you're great at your job. I just don't respect all the clients you represent," he replied. "And I can tell you don't really either."

"You know what, call me Vicky, and how dare you!" she replied angrily. "You've known me all of what, 5 days, and you have the gall to tell me what I do isn't respectful!"

"I'm sorry Vicky, I really am," he said, turning away from her and getting up toward the bathroom. "You're right, I probably have no right, and I haven't known you long. But I feel like I have, and like it or not, I do think that most of what I just said is the truth."

"It all comes from a place of caring, for you," he added. "I know you probably don't want to hear this now, but I just want the best for you, whatever that may be. I'm going to shower, if you want to head back after this I'll understand."

Vicky continued to seethe as she heard the water beginning to run in the shower. Perhaps the biggest reason she was upset: Joe was more right than she ever would admit to anyone. She had always dreamed of teaching law when she was young, at least until her senior year in high school.

But when her parents, especially her father, realized she actually was serious about teaching, they flipped. "Academics are nothing but alcoholic, washed up wannabes who couldn't hack it in the real world," her father told her over and over again.

After a while, she saw it his way, and changed her focus to his preferred corporate law. She always told herself, and others, it was what she wanted, but in reality, she did it so her father wouldn't be mad at her. Her teenage dreams never included innumerable hours of sifting through endless documents, handling depositions and negotiating settlements. Just because you're good at something doesn't mean you love it.

And honestly, as she sat here and really thought about it, she WAS tired of representing the bad guys. Occasionally her firm took pro-bono cases, as they were required to do, and she always volunteered for them. She liked helping people get justice for wrongs done to them, a hell of a lot more than she liked representing polluting chemical companies. So why exactly was she about to commit her life to doing exactly that for the next 30 or so years?

Vicky realized that the carefully controlled Mullen success plan had a fatal flaw; she didn't really want to follow it to its conclusion, at least not anymore. And right at the moment when she was within earshot of earning the ultimate goal of the plan, she thought ironically.

These thoughts were always in the deep recesses of her mind, but she never verbalized them to anyone. Not Richard, and definitely not her parents. She even laughed off Emma's attempts to tell her the exact same things she just heard, and even Emma, of all people, never felt comfortable to push it further like Joe just did.

She realized he was speaking honestly; he felt she was unhappy and just wanted to help her. Nothing more than that, and nothing less. Somehow he had gauged her correctly and figured all this out without ever really talking to her about it before.

She also realized he was being truthful in another respect, he really must love her, because he was willing to risk her pushing him away to force her to face an uncomfortable truth. And push him away she did, she thought with sadness. So she set out to fix it.

"Couldn't just keep your mouth shut, Joe," he berated himself as he washed in the shower. "Always have to tell the people you love what you think they need to hear. Idiot." A few seconds later, he heard the curtain open behind him.

"You're not an idiot," the voice from behind said softly. Vicky put her arms around him and hugged him tightly. "You do know me, better than I cared to admit." She began to kiss his back and slowly move her hands down his chest.

"I didn't mean to offend you; you worked so hard to get where you're at and you should be proud...oohhhh," he moaned as Vicky continued to caress him, before he focused on his words again. "I just want you to do something that makes you happy; promise me you'll always do that, whatever that is."

"No more talking about my job OK," Vicky breathed into his ear.

"Vicky," he began to moan.

"Vic, please call me Vic," she quickly replied. "Don't ever stop calling me Vic." Her hands made his way to his penis and she began to lovingly stroke him.

"Vic, Vic, that feels so good," he chanted as she brought him to life down below. She moved her way to face him, and reached up to kiss her man.

"I need you inside me baby, right now!" she said desperately as she placed him near her entrance and rubbed his penis against her.

"Let me get a condom," he moaned.

"No, don't worry about it," was her instant reply back.

"Are you sure Vic?" he questioned.

"Yeah I trust you," she answered.

"Are you on the pill, you know just in case?" he asked further.

"No," she answered. She had gone off it right before she thought Richard was proposing, she figured they would start trying for a baby as soon as they got married. When he broke it off, she felt better off it and decided not to start again. After all, it wasn't like she had an active sex life; she had only been with one man, who was currently pushing his way inside her unprotected for the first time.

"Don't worry," she assured him. "It's a safe time for me."

"You're positive?" he asked one more time, even as he felt euphoric about the thought of being inside her bare for the first time. The last thing he wanted was to mess things up by getting her pregnant by accident. He suspected he would never win over her parents then. Despite his jokes, he desperately wanted their approval.

"Baby, I have two degrees from Yale, I think I have a good handle on my menstrual cycle," she laughed. "Just do it please, stop trying to talk your way out of something I know you really want."

He finally took her advice, and slowly began to move in and out as he pinned her against the shower tiles, kissing her the entire time as the water cascaded on both their heads. For most of the week, they had sex, now they were making love. They could almost each feel the other's heartbeat as they continued their dance under the water.

Quickly, Joe began to feel that familiar rumble in his testicles. He was close; being inside her like this, with nothing between them, felt way too good. But he still wanted to warn her.

"Vic, I'm really close, do you want me to pull out?" he moaned.

"No, I'm close too, it's OK," she replied, grabbing his backside and denying his exit. "It's safe, I promise. Just hold on for me a few more moments baby."

"I'm trying, I'm trying," he groaned. He thought of anything to hold off his eruption. The continued struggles of the Giant offense; the civil war in Syria; his third grade teacher. The thought of little old Mrs. McDonald was the magic one to hold him off for the required time.

"Now, baby now, do it!" Vicky cried out as she felt her whole body tingling. "Come inside me, I want to feel it!"

"Vic!" he bellowed, then unloaded deep inside her, up against her cervix. If she was wrong about her cycle, they were both in trouble.

"Oh, yes baby," she sighed as she held on tight to him. "That felt really good. We have to do that more often."

"So you're comfortable with the equipment now?" he smiled at her.

"Yeah, but we'll still make sure," she replied. "I swear, if you did just give me something, you won't have to worry about Emma chopping your nuts off. I'll do it myself."

"No worries," he said, hugging her tight as he softened inside her. "No worries..."

They went on to enjoy the rest of their week alone, then got ready to face the real world, for the first time, as a couple. For the most part, everyone was happy for them. Most of Vicky's work colleagues didn't care who she dated, they were happy because she was happy, and now much less likely to snap at them.

Her true friends, people like Rebecca and Emma, were over the moon for her, and Joe quickly charmed the pants off Emma (he passed the name test a few minutes into the first meeting). Joe's Dad and sister were also excited as well, and only fell in love with her more when she did come and visit a few weeks later for Annie's graduation.

The only people who Vicky worried over were her parents. As the weeks stretched into a few months (Vicky knew her cycle as she promised and wasn't pregnant), she continued to delay the meeting of Joe and her parents.

She was being pressured on both ends; Joe wanted to meet them because he wanted to win her parents' approval of their relationship. Her parents wanted to meet him, to size up this mystery man who had stolen their only daughters' heart. And no doubt seek to undermine and ruin her happiness, she feared, all because he didn't quite meet their impossible and meaningless standards.

It was during a get together with Emma that she realized she couldn't put it off any longer. Jack and Joe were engrossed in the Caps/Flyers playoff game in the living room (somehow Jack and Emma had forgiven Joe for his ultimate betrayal of being a Rangers fan).

Vicky was helping Emma put the kids to bed, when she asked her closest friend for advice. She was deeply worried her parents would do something to ruin her relationship with Joe, whether intentionally or unintentionally.

"You can't hide him from them forever, Vic," Emma told her friend. "I mean you could, if you didn't want to deal with them, like I don't with my parents."

Emma's folks had cut her off when she was young and flitting about around Europe, thinking she would come running back home with her tail between her legs and behave properly. But it only strengthened her resolve to live her own life, and she succeeded on her own without begging for their help.

Their relationship had never really recovered. They were at best passing presences in her life, in her kids' life. She was sad about that, but it was what it was. If her parents wouldn't accept who she was, she didn't want to accept them in her life.

But she knew her friend was different. All her life, Vicky craved the approval of her parents, especially her father, even as she steadfastly claimed she didn't care at all. It often led to nothing but sadness for her, but she knew Vicky could never change. And that made Emma deeply uneasy, because she worried about much the same things as Vicky; she also feared the Mullens would figure out a way to break Vicky and Joe up.

And by now, Emma knew Vicky was hopelessly in love with Joe Chambers. Even if she hadn't come to terms with it fully herself, it was plastered all over her goofily happy face. Emma loved seeing her best friend like this; it was everything she ever wanted for her. But she was worried what would happen if it didn't work out with Joe. Emma wasn't sure Vicky could handle it, and would go running right back into her parent's clutches, just as they wanted.

So she gave the best advice she could, the only advice she knew her friend really wanted to hear. She could only hope it worked out; that Vicky and Joe's love was strong enough to survive the destructive force that was Caroline and Henry Mullen.

"So, I should just rip the band aid off and let them met?" Vicky asked her friend.

"You're stuck, Vic," Emma replied. "It has to happen. Who knows, maybe he'll charm them like he did me?" she added hopefully.

"They're a much tougher nut to crack, believe me," Vicky said ruefully. "But I have no choice, Joe is so desperate to prove to them he's the one for me."

"God bless him," joked Emma, trying to lighten the mood. "The ignorant babe knows not what slings and arrows he is about to subject himself to."

The next day, Vicky ripped the band aid off, in a metaphorical sense, by placing a call to her father. This particular conversation would be better run through him. Despite everything, she had an infinitely better relationship with him than her mother. She even was a little confident he might be OK with this in the end. After all, Joe wasn't much different than he was at the same age. Surely, her father will realize that.

"Hi Dad, it's Vicky," she said when he answered.

"We almost gave up on you, Victoria," her father replied. She was always Victoria when she was doing something to displease him. "After about 1,000 phone calls, even your mother was ready to throw in the towel."

"Yeah, well, I needed some time, to find out what I really wanted," Vicky answered.

"I'm taking this phone call means you finally figured it out?" her father asked. "I assume it has something to do with that boy."

"His name is Joe, Dad, and yes it does," Vicky started. "I want you to meet him, he wants to meet you. All I'm asking is you give him a chance. I know you'll really like him if you take the time to get to know him."

"Of course, dear, don't I give all your boyfriends a chance?" he replied. "Even the ones that are awful fits for you."

"I mean it Dad, he's different." Vicky warned. "Dad, I love him, I really do." Somehow, she was able to tell her father something she hadn't even verbalized to Joe (well except for that one time). She vowed to change that as soon as she ended this call.

"OK dear, I promise," Henry replied, hiding his deep unease carefully. "Why don't you bring him over next weekend."

Never had he heard his daughter utter that word, the l word, about any of her boyfriends. He and his wife had always just assumed this was a casual fling that would peter out on its own over time, without them having to lift a finger. For the first time, Henry Mullen realized things were much more serious than they imagined.

"Fine, we'll see you then," Vicky replied. "Goodbye dad." After hanging up, she left work to head home, and talk to Joe. By now, he had practically moved into her place as he studied for the bar exam next month. Her house never felt as alive before, and she never wanted it to change.

"Hey, baby, I'm home," she said as she walked in.

"In here, Vic," he called out from her study, all manner of law book opened as she walked in. Her two cats were in there as well (they had quickly grown as attached to Joe as she had). "How was your day?" he asked.

"The usual," she replied kissing him. "How's studying going? I'll help drill you later, I know how much you've come to enjoy my little 'incentive' program for correct answers," she laughed.

"Believe me, it's the only reason I even study," he joked. "I love getting drilled."

"Listen, I wanted to let you know I did it, what you asked," she started. "Next weekend, we'll go to my parents. You finally get your wish to meet the Mullens."

"Great, listen it'll be fine, trust me," Joe said. "It might take time, but they'll see you're happy. In the end that's all that matters."

"Sure," she replied sweetly, but she didn't share her boyfriend's confidence. He was going off the example of his father, and other...normal families. The Mullens were anything but normal.

"I wanted to tell you something else, too," she started, putting her arms around Joe and staring deep into his eyes. "Something I've wanted to tell you for a while. I said it once, but I want it to say it again now for real. I love you Joe Chambers, with all my heart."

"I love you too, but you knew that already," Joe said excitedly as he kissed her. "I've known you've loved me for a long time; I knew it was true when you said it that night at the beach house. But I'm glad you finally realized it yourself."

"How did I get so lucky to find you," she said as she kissed him back. "I can't imagine not seeing every night when I come home now."

Vicky had begun to imagine a life beyond even this now: marriage, kids, everything. She wanted everything with Joe. And that included the approval of her parents. Their road would have been so much easier if both of them didn't care about that.

"She really said that, she loves him?" Caroline Mullen said to her husband with raised eyebrows, at the same time a few miles away.

"That's what she told me," Henry replied. "She said it with such conviction too. I can't remember her ever saying that before either."

"This is an issue, Henry," Caroline warned. "I'm sure he's a perfectly nice young man, but this is not a suitable match for her; he's a decade younger and what's his future? Some guy from the DA's office is not good enough for our Vicky. I was perfectly willing to follow your plan when it just felt like a harmless fling, an early mid-life crisis. But this is serious now."

"Let's meet him next week and see, dear," her husband replied calmly. "Maybe he'll surprise us. If not, then we can figure out the best way to nip this relationship in the bud."

Henry would feel bad having to do that do his daughter. He truly wanted his only child to be happy both professionally and personally. No doubt she'll fight for this boy like his own wife did for him all those years ago.

But there was no way this boy was like him, and she'd see that soon enough. It might take time, but his Victoria would see it. She kicked and screamed at times, but in the end, she never disappointed her father for long.