Stopping upon the sidewalk at a corner of two intersecting streets, Brian needed to pause and catch a breath. His lungs burned and his legs felt like flimsy rubber ready to give way beneath him. He didn't know how long he had been running, nor how far, but when he looked around it dawned upon him where he was. He hadn't had any destination in mind when he left his house, but somehow he had ended up outside the apartment building where Samantha lived. In the back of his mind Brian knew at some point he would have to confront her.
Wiping the short sleeve of his sweat-soaked tee across his forehead, Brian approached the apartment's entrance. He stared at a call-button he had pressed many times before while dating Samantha, contemplating how badly he wanted to push it.
"Brian?" said a high-pitched voice from behind.
Brian spun to see a short girl with dark tangled hair, several strands of it falling across her thick-rimmed glasses. "Sam," he swallowed, "hey."
"What are you doing here?" she asked, taking note of Brian's sweatpants and the way his grey shirt clung to his torso from sweat.
"I was out for a run," Brian replied. "I guess I've wanted to talk to you, because somehow I ended up here."
Sam dug in her purse for apartment keys as she approached Brian and the door, "You shouldn't be here. My attorney advised me that I shouldn't have any contact with you or Charlie."
Brian stepped out of the way of the door. "Why are you doing this?" he asked bluntly.
Sam held the keys in her hand and looked at Brian, her eyes softening. Despite her best efforts, she still cared for him; still wanted him in her life. She realized it was over between them but had regretted her attempt to come between him and his girlfriend. She hoped some day they could be friends again.
"Wasn't it bad enough that you faked a pregnancy in an attempt to break me and Stacy up? Now you're trying to ruin my comic book?"
"I'm not trying to ruin it," Sam murmured without conviction. "I just want what I'm entitled to."
"What does that mean?" Brian wondered, maintaining a calm tone. "You're suing Charlie and me for intellectual property, but we created Captain Darkness when we were in high school -- long before we ever met you."
"I had a lot of input for the initial twelve issues, your first story-arc," Sam argued. "When you and Charlie were at his apartment every day last summer working, I was there a lot too!" She sniffled, trying her hardest not to cry, "A lot of those story ideas were mine, Brian, and you and Charlie just cut me out after we broke up. I bet my name won't even be mentioned in the credits of your comic."
Brian blinked, unable to refute Sam's words.
"I'm not disputing you and Charlie's ownership of Captain Darkness," Sam continued explaining. "I would just like to be compensated for the first twelve issues Marvel commissioned you for. The issues I helped craft."
Sam lifted her keys to open the apartment's entrance, having spoken her mind, "I'll see you in court, Brian."
"Wait," Brian blurted. "Sam, wait."
Sam sniffed again, pausing against her better judgment.
"What if we gave you a third of the profits from the first twelve issues? Plus, I'll make sure you're credited in each issue as a co-plotter."
Sam gave Brian's words a disbelieving stare.
"We never meant to cut you out," Brian explained. "I never... I never meant for any of this to happen, with the book or between you and me. I'm sorry I cheated on you, I'm sorry we broke up... I'm sorry about all of it. You're right, you deserve credit for your story ideas."
Sam contemplated Brian's offer for a moment, "Will Charlie agree?"
"He's in Mexico on his honeymoon right now," Brian noted, "but yeah, I'm positive he won't have a problem with it. You know Charlie, he's a fair guy."
=====
Miley stamped her bare foot on the floor, "Charlie, you're being completely unreasonable!"
"But I want to go to the beach," Charlie complained, facing Miley within their hotel room. "We've already done it twice today, and it's not even noon yet."
Miley folded stern arms across her bikini top and made a dejected expression, "How am I going to get pregnant if you don't make love to me? We've been trying for weeks and I'm still not knocked-up."
"You're going to wear me out, you know that? What's the hurry, anyway?"
"I want to be a mommy," Miley pouted cutely.
Charlie sighed and approached his wife, wrapping her into his arms.
Miley clasped him and pressed the side of her face against Charlie's tee-shirt-covered chest, "Do you think there's something wrong with me? You've been pumping me full of your stuff ever since we decided to get pregnant, but nothing happens."
Charlie caressed his hand through Miley's mass of dark curls, "There's nothing wrong with you, we just need to be patient and let nature run its course."
"Maybe I should see a doctor just in case," Miley suggested sagely. "Do you think there are any fertility doctors here in Cancun?"
"We're not seeing a fertility doctor in Mexico," Charlie stated firmly. "It'll have to wait until we get home next week."
"Fine," Miley reluctantly relented. "But I want to take one more pregnancy test before we go to the beach."
"You're becoming obsessed," Charlie warned.
"I have to pee anyway," Miley noted, padding in bare feet into the adjoining bathroom. Various bikinis hung from the shower rod and wadded-up beach towels littered the floor. Miley made a foul face at the mess, "Geez, when does housekeeping come?"
Charlie followed her and snorted, "Reminds me of our apartment." He opened a small travel bag on the bathroom counter and found a box of drug store pregnancy tests.
Unbuttoning her skimpy jean shorts, Miley pushed them down her legs to sit on the toilet. She wasn't wearing underwear and her mons had been recently shaved free of pubic hair.
"This is the last one," Charlie remarked, pulling a wrapped stick out of the box. He tore open the wrapper to remove a white-colored stick of plastic.
"Already?" Miley sounded mystified.
"You've been burning through about a dozen of these things a day," Charlie reminded, offering her the test.
Miley glanced at the stick briefly before lowering it between her thighs. "I hope being pregnant makes my boobs grow," she said, unconcerned with how many tests it took.
"But then you'd have to buy all new bras," Charlie joked.
Miley giggled, "I'll need a whole new wardrobe once I'm pregnant. You know - clothes that'll fit around my baby bump."
The tell-tale tinkling sounds came from the toilet beneath Miley and both of them went quiet with anticipation. Neither of them truly expected different results, but hope is sometimes a difficult flame to quench. When she was done, Miley lifted the test stick and stared at a small indicator window. She asked, "What color do we want?"