The Center (Houdini and Nurse_K)

Brendan blinked a few times, regaining a respectable amount of vision. "I don't feel like I'm hungry, but come to think of it, maybe I am," he theorized. "I feel a little better now," he told Elsa. "Sorry to be a tease, baby," he said with a grin, remembering where they were when he started to lose it. "We'll do that again sometime," he promised.
 
"We never ever have to do it again if it makes that happen to you," she said severely before giving him another peck. Then she nearly leapt off of the bed and finished pulling her jeans on. She grabbed a sweatshirt and pulled that over her head and headed towards the door, grabbing her sliding room key. "If Gui wakes up just rock him until I get back. I should only be a few minutes."
 
"Nooo," Brendan protested with a smile. "I can start back up right now if that's how you're going to be," he joked, feeling better, but his muscles still sore. "I'll keep an eye on Gui," he promised. When Elsa left, he propped himself up on the bed, back up against the headboard. Gui wasn't really crying, but he stirred and began whimpering a little bit. Brendan decided to get up and investigate. Just then, Elsa's phone began ringing. She hadn't brought it down to breakfast, so he picked it up from the little table and saw the ID. 'Carlos'. His heart began racing anew, but he decided to ignore it. It wouldn't do him any good talking to Carlso now. Then, a minute later, the room phone rang. He didn't pick that up either, walking over to Gui and rocking the crib slowly until Elsa returned.
 
Elsa went down to the breakfast lounge without any knowledge that her phone was ringing. She got a little basket thing and put it a few bagels, a banana, an apple, some grapes, a couple of things of yogurt and some cream cheese. She also snagged a couple of bottles of orange juice. Then she headed back up the stairs and slid her key in the room. She beamed when she saw Brendan rocking Gui's crib. "You look cute like that," she mused at him.
 
Brendan smiled at her, standing at the crib in just a pair of boxers, no shirt and messed up hair, as he kept tending to Gui. She'd really brought a nice spread, there was a lot to choose from, and it looked good. Very kind of Elsa. "Oh yeah? So you'd think I could actually be a father?" he answered with a soft smile. "By the way, I think the actual father is trying to reach you," he told her, nodding towards her cell phone.
 
"Of course you could be a father!" she exclaimed at him as she set down the basket. She was about to lean in and give him a kiss when he mentioned the phone. "Shit," she muttered and ran to it, grabbing it and dialing Carlos right away. If he was trying to get in touch with her she might have to get Brendan out quick.
 
Brendan took a bottle of juice and a bagel, and started to put cream cheese on it when she dialed up Carlos. He would have tried to be polite and give her some privacy, but there was nowhere to go except the bathroom, and he didn't feel like eating his bagel by the toilet. So he stood over the crib as he began breakfast, and kept rocking the crib.

"Hey," Carlos called out into the phone when Elsa picked up. "How you and my boy doin?"
 
"Hi!" she chirped to Carlos as cheerily as she could when he picked up. She went over to the bed and sat down on it, glancing over at Brendan still rocking Gui and couldn't help but smile. "Sorry I didn't answer before, I was in the shower. And we're good. He's a little fussy, I don't think he likes being in the hotel. It's too small for him."
 
"He don't like bein' in the hotel?" Carlos repeated with a frown. He'd just woke up at home, his first time alone in his house for quite a while. Since she'd given birth to the baby, actually. Obviously, his first thought was that the bed was missing something, so he decided to call Elsa. "I gotta lay low for a little bit more," he lied. "It's related to them fuckin' cops that been snooping around," he explained. "Can you think of any better place to go, beside my place?" he asked, a little concerned about what she said about Gui, but knowing Brendan was probably lurking too, ready to make his move, if he hadn't already.
 
She paused when he asked her if she knew of any better place. She swallowed and looked away from Brendan, knowing what she was about to say would probably really piss Carlos off. "The only place I can think of...would be Brendan's." she murmured softly, her voice obviously strained.
 
Carlos was surprised she'd say that so brazenly. He gulped, unsure of what to say. According to what he'd agreed to, he couldn't stop her from going to Brendan's. But he wanted to stop her. "Brendan's?" he asked with some shock in his voice. When Brendan heard her mention his name, he paused what he was doing with Gui, and gave his attention to the call, forgetting that he was kind of eavesdropping. Carlos finally spoke again. "You wan to go there for Gui, or for you?" he pressed.
 
She furrowed her brows when he pressed her, "Where else can I go, Carlos?" she asked him a little heatedly. "You told me not to go back to my old apartment. I don't have friends that I can stay with. Gui doesn't like the hotel. I can't go back to you. So where else is there for me?"
 
Carlos bristled a little when she lashed out at him. "I told you before not to go back to your old apartment," he pressed. "That was when it was safe to stay with me," he reminded her. "How about if I meet you somewhere to talk," he suggested, eager to throw a wrench in Brendan's plans. "It's too dangerous to meet at the house or the hotel. How about somewhere else?"
 
She sighed a little dramatically and actually raised a hand up to her face in frustration. "And how am I gonna get there? Now you're okay with me taking the bus?" she paused again and shook her head at Brendan as if to tell him that it wasn't going well. "Fine, I'll meet you. Where?"
 
"You said you wanted to stay by the mall," he almost shouted. "I thought that was 'cause it was easy to get to the mall. It ain't like somebody gonna jump you on the bus in that part of town," he complained. "Meet me by the Chinese food place right outside the mall," he requested. "At noon. We'll eat," he told her.

Brendan frowned, a little annoyed that Carlos was trying to make up his own rules, when he'd already been blackmailed, fair and square.
 
She'd sort of forgotten about the mall part, and now she was angry at him. "Fine," she growled at him and hung up the phone. She threw it across the bed and stood up, grabbing her hair brush and beginning to tear through her hair with it. "I have to meet Carlos at the mall," she mumbled in irritation, "At noon." she glanced at the clock hanging on the wall, it was ten thirty. "Guess there's nothing much else for us to do here," she said with a little shrug. "I still think you should see a doctor, Bren."
 
Brendan frowned at her, walking over to Elsa and beginning to rub her shoulders gently. "It's okay," he told her comfortingly. "Let's force his hand. He agreed to let you go and allow you to stay with me," he reminded Elsa. "Tell him that you need a man to stay with. He'll understand that kind of thinking, that a woman needs a man. Tell him it's him, or you'll have to turn to me," he suggested.

"I'll try and see if I can find out what was wrong with me while you're gone," he promised, leaning in and kissing her neck before he headed for the shower.
 
She nodded when Brendan presented his hand to her. That was a good plan. She leaned up and turned his face from her neck to her lips just before he moved to get in the shower. While he was showering she brushed her hair and put a little make up on. She rearranged the bags she'd ripped open and got Gui set up to go. Eventually it was time for Brendan to go home and for her to get on the bus to meet Carlos.
 
Brendan gave Elsa a little peck goodbye, and instructions to call him as soon as she could afterward. Carlos, meantime, was at the Chinese restaurant early, and took the liberty of getting a table in the dark, sparsely filled eatery for the three of them. He waved her over when she peeked her head inside. "Yo sugar," he called out for her attention.
 
Elsa glanced over and smiled a little when she saw Carlos. Then she frowned at his location. Way back in a dark corner like he was some escaped convict. She held Gui close to her and walked back to the table, sitting down opposite Carlos with Gui in her lap. "Hi baby," she said softly, holding Gui close to her with one hand and extending the other to Carlos.
 
Carlos took her hand and squeezed it across the table. He leaned over next and touched Gui's cheek. "I'm workin' on a plan to get us back home," he told Elsa. It ain't nice sleepin' at night without you, mama," he complained. "So I was hopin' you could hold tight a little while until I can figure things out."
 
"What's a little while, Carlos?" she asked him gently, squeezing his hand tighter. "Listen...you know I wouldn't have admitted this before....but..." she took a deep breath and looked away for a second as if this was hard for her to say. Then she slowly looked back at him, still squeezing his hand, "I can't be by myself. I realized...I need a man to be with me. I need someone to support me and help me. And you know I want it to be you, daddy," she threw in the name just to make it seem even more genuine, "but with the mess you're in, we know that can't be right now. And Brendan...." she paused again, looking away almost in shame, "He called me. And he said I could stay with him."
 
Carlos frowned, letting go of her hand, and rubbing his chin. "You should just be patient. Tell him you already got a man that's ten times the man he is," Carlos told her proudly. At the moment, his best bet would be talking Elsa into turning Brendan down. "What can he do for you? He ain't your baby's daddy. He can't provide like I do." He leaned in across the table and whispered. "I don't even have to ask. I know he can't make you moan like I do, sugar," Carlos insisted. "As far as I'm concerned, that ain't even considered bein' with a man. That's like rooming with another woman," he added scornfully. A moment later, the waitress showed up, and Carlos placed his order.
 
Elsa mumbled an order to the waitress and used Carlos' last statement to her advantage. "Then what's the problem, honey?" she pressed, "If it's like rooming with another woman, then why isn't it okay? Just until you get everything cleared up. Then you know I'll be right back in your bed, snuggled all up to you and giving you that sweet mama loving." she gave him a grin and reached for his hand again.
 
Carlos knew that Brendan wanted Elsa, and his hand had been forced in that regard. But Elsa's feelings for Brendan, he wasn't so sure about. He couldn’t think of many redeeming qualities of Brendan’s. And Carlos had always known Elsa to be honest. Even when she was sleeping with Brendan while he was still locked up, she'd admitted it to him. So he felt more okay with the whole thing if he knew that Elsa was really his all along. He believed her when she said she’d come back to him. Besides, he could always exert some ‘pressure’ if needed. Grinning, he squeezed her hand. "Okay, sugar. It ain't gonna be long before daddy bring you home," he told her as his pork lo mein arrived.
 
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