The Phoenix and the Ice Queen Pt. 03

"All your doing, my dear husband, through your teaching and understanding." Then shaking her head, she smiled at him and said, "I still can't believe that not only do I have a husband, but that he's so much more incredible than I could ever have dreamed of." She kissed him, "Thank you for being patient with me and for marrying me, I love you so much babe."

Brandon smiled, "I love you too darling, you were absolutely worth it all and more, and thank you for marrying me. I really am the luckiest man on earth."

She just kissed him, cuddled closer to him, before saying goodnight, and falling asleep in his arms. It was back to reality tomorrow, but he knew that with this woman by his side, he would be fine, they could handle anything as long as they were together.

Chapter 7

After spending almost a month in Puerto Rico, it was back to reality for the new Mr. and Mrs. Metcalf. Brandon went back to his projects, and Mel went back to her task of cleaning house at Alliance. With only a few departments left, they hoped to have things finished, if not by year's end, certainly soon after.

That timeline turned out to be very fortunate for Mel. Her discovery of sex on their honeymoon, combined with her not being on birth control, had produced the usual result of constant unprotected sex. The happy couple found out a few weeks after they got home that they were expecting in mid-January and they, along with their family and friends, were ecstatic. Mel's mom especially was excited to finally be getting a grandkid to spoil. Not too long after the happy announcement, they found out it would be a girl, and Brandon could see the relief on Mel's face at the news. He knew she was nervous about how she would feel about a boy.

The expecting parents navigated their new tasks, while keeping up with their work. Brandon could tell that Lee had proven to be a great help, and despite Mel's initial concern, he could tell she had seen a difference as well. He assured them that he and his team were closing in on the issue for Michael, and hoped to have the matter resolved around March of the following year.

In January Leah Kelly Metcalf was born, and despite her being headstrong from the start, she was the love of both her parents lives from the second she emerged. Mel, despite her worries, turned out to be a great mom. Not that Brandon was worried. Kelly did stay in town for the first month, down the street at a hotel at Andi's suggestion and insistence, to help Mel get the hang of things. The arrangement worked out well. Kelly was close enough to help, but not on top of Mel and Brandon all the time. When her month was up, Kelly just could not stand to live so far from her granddaughter, and decided to move permanently to be closer. She had been thinking about it anyways, not really having a ton to hold her in Boston anymore. Now with her daughter and new son-in-law permanently located there, Leah was just the last straw. Andi later admitted it was why she had put Kelly up in the hotel, in order to give Kelly a trial run at being down the street. It worked, Kelly loved Chicago, and loved being close to her daughter and her growing family.

Also not hurting matters was the fact that Kelly had hit it off with a single grandfather who had been at the park with his granddaughter at the same time as Kelly was there with Leah. Several prearranged park trips later, Leah had a new friend, and Kelly had a new man in her life.

The result of this move by Kelly was that by the time Mel's leave was up they were able to split care between Brandon working part of the week out of the office, Mel's mom, and Brandon's parents. It turned out between the three they had no need for formal daycare.

When Mel's leave was up, so was the housecleaning. All of it, including the portion Lee had been in charge of. It had been nasty, but in the end Michael got his way, and the Genotech loyalists were sent packing without a huge payday. Something everyone was relieved about. Soon after Mel returned she and Brandon were pulled into another meeting with Michael and Fred, once again wondering what this one meant.

Michael wasted no time, he first congratulated the pair on their new arrival, as this was the first he had seen either since Leah had been born, and Mel on yet another job well done.

"Which brings me to the point of this meeting. As I recall, our little deal had about a year left, but I have something in mind that will keep Mel busy for quite a while. If she accepts of course. As you know Fred here is set to retire soon, though he does not want to say just when yet. Further, after all my efforts to save Alliance and Proud Stone from the vultures, I'm not willing to sell it just yet. Thus, I am left in a bit of a tough spot if Fred retires, and I decide to keep Alliance, I will need someone to run it. Now, before you object I do not mean you. You have made your ambitions with your little company quite clear. However, I would like your assistance in identifying an appropriate internal candidate to replace him. Given Fred's yet undetermined retirement date, and the number of candidates, it will take quite some time to find his replacement. So, I'd like to get a head start now. If you accept, your full-time job will be to shadow Fred, and other key members of Alliance management, in order to best assess who is fit to replace him."

It was a generous offer. Mel would spend from now until Fred retired basically learning the ropes of his job, without the pressure of doing it. It would also give her ample opportunity to shadow other key leaders at Alliance. In other words, it was the best 'on the job training' Mel could have dreamed of before starting Phoenix.

Mel was speechless, but graciously accepted, and genuinely seemed thrilled at her new role.

As they went home that night, Brandon could not believe the opportunity they had been presented with. He later held Mel that night, and counted his blessings. He had a job he loved, a wonderful talented wife in Mel, and an amazing daughter in Leah. He was truly a lucky man, and could not wish for anything more. He smiled, well he could think of one thing, but for now, life was good.

Chapter 8

Nearly two years later they were in the hospital again, Mel gripping his hand hard, as she strained and screamed out, while a nurse told her to push. The monitors went back to normal, as the contraction subsided, as much as they did subside in the final stages of labor anyways. As Brandon readied himself to help her weather the next one, his mind recalled back months ago, to when they found out what they were having.

The ultrasound technician came in, and spread the familiar gel on Mel's stomach. "Ok Mrs. Metcalf let's see what we have today." She then searched around with the wand, quickly finding the baby and running through the various checks to make sure the baby was developing ok. "Do you want to know the gender?"

Mel grabbed Brandon's hand, he could tell she was nervous. "Yes, we do."

The technician nodded, then searched around for a while, and smiled. "Looks to me like you two are going to have a little boy."

Brandon smiled, nodded, and looked at Mel, scared she would be disappointed. His fears were unfounded though, she was smiling, with tears of joy in her eyes. The technician finished up, and they proceeded to the rest of the appointment. When they were finished, and on the way home, Brandon asked her if she really was happy.

"Yes, I really am. It surprised me too, I thought I only wanted girls, but, he'll be your son. So that means I know I'll love him. The world needs more men like you babe, I'm proud to bring one into the world."

Brandon snapped back to the present, where Mel was doing just that. A few more hard pushes, and their son was out. From the moment they gave him to Mel, Brandon knew he had been replaced as Mel's favorite guy, and he didn't mind it one bit.

The family came in soon after and were introduced to Jacob Andrew Metcalf, named for Brandon's middle name, and of course Andi. Andi claimed that this was a diabolical trick to get her to like the boy, but they could tell he was doing fine with that on his own. Despite her joke, she was extremely touched and honored, by their choice.

Leah met her brother soon after, and the new big sister, who was now nearly two, and Kelly swore was the spitting image of Mel at that age, red hair and all, was positively thrilled to meet Jacob. She clearly took to being a big sister right away.

Things settled into a state of normal, or as normal as lives get with a newborn, for the next few months, and Mel returned to work just before the end of the year. She was just in time for Fred to make a big announcement, that he would retire at year's end. This of course meant it was time for Mel to reveal the findings of her now nearly 2-year long project to find Fred's replacement.

However, to exactly no one surprise, Michael met with her soon after Fred made his announcement, to tell her the job was hers if she wanted it. He understood if she was still committed to her pet project, but he would love to keep her in the fold. She simply was, in his mind, the best candidate for the job. Mel was flattered, but told him she would think on it.

"So, what do you want to do Mel?" Brandon asked her after she told him about it. "Both are good options, Phoenix is ready to fly, or you could keep working with Michael and run Alliance. I'm behind you, no matter what you decide."

Mel looked at him, "Even if it's neither?"

"Yes, of course. Like I said I'm behind you whatever, but I don't understand, if not one of these two, then what?"

Mel sighed, "Andi is going to kill me for saying this, but I kind of want to step back. At least for a little bit. I've barely had any time with Jacob, and I know, once I become head of a company somewhere, I'm not really going to have time for our kids. The business will be my life, it'll have to be if I'm going to be successful at it. I just don't want that, not right now. I kind of want more time to be a mom for the next few years until the kids are in school at least. I know it's horrible. I mean, I'm on the cusp of everything I've worked for. We've worked for these past few years, and now that I have it, I just want time with my kids. Is that awful, do you hate me?"

Brandon smiled at her admission. "Mel no matter what you do, I can never hate you, so long as you are true to yourself. Nor am I ever going to resent you for wanting more time with our kids Mel. Don't worry about Phoenix. We'll get there when you're ready. In five years' time there will be all new 'it' technologies I can draw up for us to build on, and I can spend the next few years working toward that. Heck we can sell off what we have, invest the money in our new company, and maybe college money for Leah and Jake, and regroup under a new name in 5 years' time. I think I know just the people to consult on this, and just the guy who might be able to help you, going forward."

"Thank you for understanding, I hoped you'd be open to this. After pushing you into Phoenix I thought you'd be furious."

"We still have time Mel, after all we just turned 30 like a year or so ago. This can happen for us still, and we're better equipped now than we were 4 years ago when we approached Clay and Amber about this. Our little venture will live on, I won't let you give up on it darling."

Later that week they met with Clay and Amber to discuss the future of Phoenix Software. The pair agreed with Brandon, that if she wanted to wait a few years, it would be best to sell off Phoenix and start over. So, when Mel next met with Michael to discuss his offer, she declined it, and to his surprise offered him Phoenix. Michael was sad to hear her decision, but jumped at the chance to acquire the programs that Phoenix controlled, and bring them into Alliances portfolio.

"If you don't mind me asking Mel, what will you do now?" Michael asked, "I mean I did not really expect you to accept my offer, but I cannot say I saw this even remotely coming."

"Honestly, I didn't either. I was all set to take Phoenix public, but it just felt like the wrong move right now. As for what next, not sure. I still want to work, but in a stepped back position, at least for a few years. I feel like I'm throwing away a ton of hard work, but I think if I do not step back for a few years, I'll regret it someday. Brandon does not think so though. He's going to go back to work with Clay and Amber, they're starting a new custom software division. As for me I just want to be a manager of something for a while. Enough that I feel engaged on a daily basis, but something I'm not working late hours. Maybe I'll go back to HR work, I enjoyed the employee interactions, and such."

Michael shook his head and smiled. "Did you hear Debbie was leaving?" Mel shook her head, "Well she is, so as of yesterday, I need a new head of HR here at Proud Stone. As far as I'm concerned, the job is yours, if you truly want something like that."

Mel left saying she would think on it, but soon after accepted, and just like that Brandon and Mel's company entered a sort of limbo. How long it would be that way was unknown to either of them.

Chapter 9

Several years later, Brandon smiled at Mel's grumbling while they walked down a school hallway and passed a paper sign that said, 'Welcome Fields Elementary 4^th Grade parents!'

"I hate these things babe, they are such a waste of time, like we need an open house by this point. Nothing useful can come from this."

"I know Mel," he said, as he located a sign directing them to Mrs. Davidson's classroom. "But it means a lot to Leah, and she really likes this teacher. So, it's certainly worth some of your time tonight Mel. After all, you were the one that deferred being a business owner to be a parent. Well, this is normal parent stuff Mel."

Mel grumbled some response, as they searched for Leah's work. When they found it, a small blonde woman was also admiring work on the table, and talking with a tall brunette with a Fields Elementary nametag, that surely meant it was the teacher, Mrs. Davidson.

Brandon thought the blonde looked familiar somehow, but he could not place it. He went to ask Mel about it but, despite her reluctance to come, she was locked in on admiring what Leah had worked on.

"Speaking of Leah's parents Claire, if I'm not mistaken, these are them." Then looking at them she introduced herself to Brandon, "Ashley Davidson, you must be Brandon Metcalf?" Brandon nodded and shook her offered hand, and then Ashley turned to Mel. "So that must make you," but she did not get to finish that sentence, because just then the blonde gasped.

"Mel?"

"Yes, Claire, that's correct, but I have Melissa down," she said looking at a roster. Then seeing that both women were staring at each other, before Mel finally found her voice.

"Katy, is that you?" Sure enough, hard as it was to believe, there was their wedding planner standing in the last place they would have expected to run into her, at their daughter's fourth grade open house. It was clear Katy had not been expecting this either.

"I'm sorry have you two met? I think I'm missing something here."

Mel smiled and replied, "I'd say so. This woman, Claire is it now?" Katy nodded and Mel shrugged, "planned Brandon and I's wedding what seems a lifetime ago. She promised to keep in touch, but never did. How have you been Katy, and what brings you to this classroom?"

Brandon and a bemused teacher listened as Katy, or Claire as she was now known, told her story. She and Andi had had a misunderstanding with some detail about payment, or a review, or some nonsense that Claire could not even remember. Regardless, she had been too mad to call Mel. Then when she got over it, she thought it had been too long to bother calling, and moved on with her life. It was around that time, that things kind of fell apart for her. It turned out Alex came out of the closet about a year after Mel and Brandon's wedding, when he fell in love with a man, and did not want to be untrue to himself.

So, Claire moved to Chicago, having fallen in love with it while planning the wedding, and started going by her middle name, for a fresh start. With Alex's help, she even found a new husband, whom she now had three other kids with. Thus, her second marriage clearly did not have the problem the first had. As to what brought her there she had a daughter, Kara, also in Ashley's class. Kara was clearly from her first marriage, she was born the November following Mel and Brandon's wedding. In fact, she had just found out she was pregnant with Kara a few days before said wedding.

As Claire shared those details, Mel exchanged a curious look with Brandon. She then asked about Katy's new husband, and whether Alex was involved in Kara's life, noting that Kara had Claire's second husband's name.

Katy responded that her new husband was great, and that Alex had never really been a big figure in Kara's life. Since Kara had been born, she was always more Claire's focus than she had been Alex's. Her second husband doted on Kara so much, that it was doubtful Kara did not realize he was not her father. She might realize one day, but for now she was content with the father she had.

As to why she was at this table, it seemed Leah and Kara had worked on a few projects.

"We just moved here before the school year, so we haven't had a chance to get to know anyone. I knew Kara had made a friend, I was hoping to meet her parents today to connect up. I didn't know her last name until just now. From what Kara has told me about her friend, I might've guessed she was yours though, she seems just like you Mel. Kara raves about your Leah though, now that I know she's yours, I'm so glad they get along."

"Yes, I've rarely seen two friends take to each other so quickly, it was a fortunate day when Leah volunteered to help the new student. It's like their sisters, they're near inseparable," Ashley interjected. "In truth, this project was supposed to be individual but, as I was telling Claire here, your daughters just would not be convinced. They do everything together. I've met siblings and twins with lesser bonds."

The four continued to talk for a while, and Ashley had good things to say about both Kara and Leah, before she excused herself to talk to some of the other parents. Mel spent the rest of the evening catching up with Claire. Before they left, they exchanged numbers, and this time, Mel promised to do the calling.

On the way home Mel shook her head. "So weird running into Katy, I'm sorry I mean Claire, at that open house."

"Yeah, small world." Brandon said chuckling.

The car went quiet for a while before Mel said, "So, when are we going to deal with the elephant in the car?"

"Which is?"

"Um, Kara, I know you can do the math the same as me babe. There's a good chance you're her real father. It explains why Katy really disappeared, and the timing works."

"Could be, or she used those days she was gone right before the wedding to get IVF, or something. She would not be the first woman who hoped a baby would save a marriage. That's a big assumption to make Mel, besides you heard her, Kara has a dad. So even if you're right, there's no need for me to complicate a perfectly happy nine-year-old girl's life. Which is exactly what telling her the dad she's grown up with, isn't her dad, would do. We only know that that girl is probably now our daughters best friend, and that's enough for me."

"Yes, exactly! You heard the teacher, 'like sister's' she said, because they are babe!"

"First off, no she didn't, and did it occur to you they are friends because they're like their moms, who happen to be really friendly?" Seeing Mel was still not convinced Brandon sighed and said, "Look, I'm not saying you're wrong. The thought occurred to me as well, and as much as I'd want to help if she is mine, it's not like Claire came to us for help, or even needs it. Kara seems to have a good life without me. If I am the father, and Claire comes to me with it someday, then I'll decide what role I want then. Until then, I'm just going to leave things be, and try not to cost my daughter a friend by spouting crazy nonsense to that friends' parent based solely on your hunch, fair enough?"