Who: Felicia and Hailey What: Dinner, discussions, and decisions. When: The evening after [this] Where: Red Rock Villas; Their apartment Warnings: Other than the very loud alarm bells going off in Felicia's head? None.
There were conversations that Hailey did not want to have in her life, and this was one of them. She knew Felicia was going to be disappointed in her and her choices. Granted, she wasn’t going to tell Felicia everything - she didn’t need to know that Miguel was a criminal. And really, did she need to know that he had been married? She knew that it was only a matter of time before he left his wife for her. After all, he was just waiting on his wife to move out of the new house. He spent most of his time in their home on Phoenix. She was lucky that he had put that house in her name. It would help her buy a new house in Las Vegas.
She had stopped for Chinese takeout, and brought home Felicia’s favorite. She also ordered extra egg rolls and crab wantons. She set it all out on Felicia’s kitchen table, along with the purchase orders she needed signed. No matter her personal issues, she was taking running the garage very seriously. Things were a bit of a mess in Hailey’s opinion and she was going to put in extra hours to make sure that she did a good job for her sister.
Felicia was barely spending any time as herself these days. Things with Loki had forced her to spend more time than ever as Pepper. Not even the 24 hour limit could compel her to take a break considering clean up was still underway and Stark Industries needed someone running it. She was glad that Pepper was no longer CEO because that would’ve meant far more time missing from Las Vegas. With her three younger siblings to look after, Felicia couldn’t afford to be spending so much time as Pepper. As a compromise, Pepper and Felicia agreed that Felicia could take Pepper’s lunch hour in Las Vegas, which was exactly when she’d talked to her sister.
The revelation that Hailey was pregnant, which came after she alluded to wanting an abortion, startled Felicia quite a bit. Having a child was a huge step and considering Hailey’s...boyfriend? Felicia still wasn’t exactly straight on their relationship, but considering he was dead, well that meant that baby was the only person that could be a link to the man her sister loved. That had to count for something, didn’t it? Personally, Felicia knew she would never be able to have an abortion, but her sister had the right to choose for herself. She just wanted Hailey to be aware of every last possibility she had before her.
Pepper promised to let Felicia back into Vegas promptly at 6pm and from there, Felicia drove to her apartment instead of going to the garage like she’d planned. Part of her was still uncomfortable that Silver was looking to move out of the garage, but that was something to focus on another time. Right now, Hailey was important. She let herself into the apartment and dropped her bag on the floor along with her keys and her phone. Whatever anyone needed, it could wait. Silver’s phone had a different ringtone, so she’d know if it was him, but she didn’t think he or Tony would need to speak with her for the evening. “Hey,” she greeted, and she looked tired. Maybe tonight she’d get a decent amount of sleep. “Thanks for getting dinner. So...wanna fill me in?” There was a trademark big sister tone in her voice that indicated she wasn’t all that thrilled that she hadn’t been in the loop to begin with.
This was an awkward moment for Hailey. Even that tone from Felicia made Hailey think she had already disappointed her big sister. This was part of why she ran so far away from her family - because it was easier to be a disappointment from 12 hours away. She would punish herself, do the dishes, do whatever she had to do to somehow make herself feel better for intruding on Felicia’s life.
She gave her sister a weary smile when she came home. She could clearly see that Felicia was exhausted, and she didn’t want to make things worse, yet here she was. Things were only going to be more complicated if she had this baby. What if Miguel’s wife found out? Or worse, the people who shot and killed her lover? Would they come after her? Would they come after her? She tried not to let her worries come through as she greeted Felicia. “You didn’t seem to have time to cook, and well, I am lousy at it.”
“I haven’t touched those pots and pans in months. I just haven’t had the time.” Thankfully, she didn’t need to worry about eating too much because Pepper kept a very strict schedule for meals as well as a fairly strict diet. When she found herself at the garage, she usually just had food delivered. It wasn’t the best system, but it worked for the moment. “I haven’t had Chinese in awhile though.” She took a seat and began to fill her plate. “Look sweetie, I’m not mad at you. I’m a little upset that you didn’t say anything sooner. I mean, would you have told me if you hadn’t planned on moving out here?” It hurt a little, especially when Felicia had prided herself on being there for all of her siblings.
Hailey started filling her plate, but the food that had sounded so good an hour ago now just looked horrible. Stupid hormones kept messing with her taste in food, her ability to keep it down and her desire to do anything but nap. She looked up at Felicia and shrugged. She didn’t know how to answer her sister’s questions. She was very good at being in denial. It was how she had survived the past few years. “I haven’t known that long. And with Miguel’s death, I just thought that I was all out of whack. But... it happened. And it’s hard to think of doing this without him. He has other kids. They would never want to know this child.”
Felicia’s heart broke for her little sister. She just wanted to promise that everything would be okay, but she couldn’t do that. Not realistically. All she could do was support Hailey as best she could and they’d figure out a way to make it work. Felicia reached for her sister’s hand and gave her a gentle squeeze before going back to eating. “He had other kids?” That was a bit surprising. “Can you just...start from the beginning? How long have you been with him? What’d he do? That sort of stuff.” That would be a good starting point and hopefully she’d get some information out of her sister that way.
Hailey wasn’t sure what to share. There were secrets that Felicia didn’t need to know. So she did a bit of creative editing. “Migeul was older, a Cuban refugee who built a huge business of import and export products. He had married when he was young, and had two sons who were teenagers. I only met them once. I met him because he needed a mechanic to work on his cars - they were gorgeous, Felicia. He let me drive them, too.” She smiled briefly, remembering the first time she’d taken the Porche 911 out. It had been a dream come true. The car was like driving an orgasm. “We lived in Miami for a while and business moved us to Phoenix. He died a few days before you called me. His business partner shot him... he was embezzling or something.” The last part was a lie - it was a rival crime family. But Felicia had enough to be disappointed in her with, she didn’t need to know about her ex-lover’s criminal past.
Felicia ate while she listened and it was obvious that her sister genuinely cared for Miguel. Import and export sounded fishy, especially when Cuban was a descriptor, but she tried not to be judgemental about her sister’s dead...boyfriend? Father of her child? Labels would have made it so much easier but nothing quite seemed to fit. “Did the police find the person responsible? Surely he left something in his will for you then, if you two had been living together. Or did he not have a will?” Miguel was obviously older though, if he had two full grown kids. The chances of him not having a will were probably slim.
Hailey winced at the thought of a will. How did she explain the complications of being a mistress. Well, truthfully, he had left her a few things. She had no idea if she was mentioned in his will, to be truthful. “I don’t know. With a complicated estate, things have to be probated, debts settled. But the house and car was in my name alone, and I have a bank account with some savings from working but not really having expenses.” If things got bad, she could sell her jewelry as well, but she wanted to hold onto it, for sentimental reasons. “And the man who shot him fled to Mexico, or at least south. I doubt the cops will ever catch him.” Granted, there were cops likely on the family payroll, so crimes of this nature tended to go unpunished.
The wince didn’t go unnoticed but that, coupled with Hailey’s answer, left a bad taste in Felicia’s mouth. She focused on eating, taking her time to digest the information more so than the food. All in all, it didn’t sound good exactly, but Hailey was flesh and blood. Felicia would never turn her back on her. “Alright well, I did some research and I think we can handle having a baby around here. Rough estimates put the cost at about seventeen grand a year for the first eight years. Seeing as you don’t have to pay rent here and your salary is more than that, you’d be able to afford your child all on your own. I’ll be here to help though, and Kieran works at a free clinic so we’ll be able to keep the doctor costs down. I pay for my own health insurance and you’ll have some coverage with the plan I have in place for employees at the garage.”
Felicia gave her sister a long, hard look. “This is all on you though, Hailey. If you want your child, you know I’ll support you the entire time. So will Kier and Amy. We’ll make it work, you know that. If you don’t want him or her, that’s fine too, but there are other options than just taking care of it,” she said, and she was very careful to keep any kind of judgement out of her voice. “Whatever you decide, you’ll get through this, alright? I promise.”
Hailey was not the least bit surprised Felicia had run the numbers. She had always been the responsible one, the nurturer who made sure the rest of them weren’t jumping off the roof or getting their hearts broken. Meanwhile, Hailey was the wild one, who wanted to take everything apart, see how it worked, and not always put it back together the same way.
She gave her sister a weary smile. “Thank you, Felicia. We can do this right? Plus my house should sell for around a million, so that will help.” The house would be a good nest egg for her, and maybe she and Felicia could buy a bigger place. That way she did not feel crowded in the future.
“Of course we can, sweetheart. That’s what I’m here for, remember?” Nevermind the myriad of complications this was going to cause. Felicia was worried mostly because of the amount of time she spent as Pepper, but if it became a problem, she trusted that she could step in and take control instead of just handing Pepper the reigns willingly. She’d have to give Silver a head’s up - again - and she wondered what this bit of news would do to their friendship. That thought was enough for her to decide to keep it a secret for as long as possible. It wouldn’t hurt anyone if he didn’t know and it wasn’t as if Pepper was going to stop showing up to work now.
“That much?” Felicia sounded as surprised as she looked, but again. Cuban. Import-export business. Older kids. Expensive cars. There were so many alarm bells ringing in her ears that she was surprised Hailey couldn’t hear them. “Well, that’ll definitely help. We can set aside money for schooling and college and other expenses.” It didn’t dawn on her that Hailey would want to move so she didn’t even consider it a possible option. It would be tight, considering Amy lived there as well, but Felicia was hardly ever home. Maybe she’d move into the garage if Silver did go through with moving out. “So, who’s this doctor you’re going to see? Have you talked to Kier yet? Or Amy. Probably Amy first since she’s living here too.” A glance around indicated that the youngest Fulton wasn’t around. “I wonder where she is. Anyway, give me the name of the doctor and I’ll check her out or Kieran can probably recommend someone for you.” And that, at least as far as Felicia was concerned, was that. There was going to be a little baby Fulton running around in eight months.
There would be time for them to figure out all the details later. Right now she wanted to eat and go to bed. Being pregnant was exhausting. Why did gestating a baby have to be so much work? There was still a part of her that wanted to have the abortion. However, she knew that it would let down Felicia, and really the whole family. Hailey had done enough of that already. Maybe this child would be a new start for her - a chance to be responsible, and to have someone love her and her love them.
“I was going to Planned Parenthood, so I think I’d rather wait and see who Kieran can find for me. After all, he’s the one with the brains. Best let him pick the doctor who is going to ensure this little Fulton comes into the world right.” She gave her sister another smile and finished her food. “And please don’t tell Mom yet. Let me at least make it past the first three months, that way if something happens, Mom’s not upset for nothing.” She didn’t even know if her mother would support her or be angry. It was much easier to avoid it. She was good at avoiding things.
“I’ll call Kieran after dinner. You should probably get some sleep. In one of the rooms please. I didn’t make that a bedroom for you to sleep on the couch,” Felicia replied with just a touch of sternness in her tone. Sleeping on a bed would be better for Hailey and the baby, and that was something her little sister was going to have to start thinking about from now on. “I wont tell mom. That’s your news, not mine.” Not that Felicia had been able to do much more than trade emails with their mother since this whole Doors business started. “Come on, eat up. I’ll take care of clean up after.” From there, the conversation turned to the garage and that seemed to cheer Hailey up a bit. They’d make it through this, just like they got through everything else; together.