Title: Yesterday to Tomorrow: Chapter Seventy-five, Shape of the Anvil
Rating: NC-17 [violence, swearing, nudity, sexual situations]

Summary: Chris and Alyssa return home to very bad news concerning Toni and Nick.

Previous Chapter Playing with Euphoria

Current Chapter Shape of the Anvil

Next Chapter Little Angels on Earth

She couldn't help it... she was crying. And she wasn't a crier so it bothered her even more. Who cried because they were leaving their honeymoon to return home to their kids? That was just plain ridiculous. She missed the kids and knew they missed her. But there she was, standing in the bathroom, tears running down her face as she attempted to pack up their toiletries.

"Baby?" Chris's voice sounded from behind her, his eyes meeting hers in the mirror. "Is something wrong?"

"No," she muttered, wiping her tears.

"Then why are you crying?" his arms wrapped around her waist, his chin on her shoulder.

"I don't know," she admitted. "But I can't seem to stop."

He kissed her earlobe, "I realize leaving paradise is sometimes hard, but real life does exist and it's not all that bad."

"It's not that... it's just... I don't know, Chris," Alyssa stated. "Everything's going to be so different when we get home."

"How so? Because of these rings on our hands?"

She shook her head, "We're being sued, remember?"

He sighed, "I'm being sued. You're not."

"Whatever. This is going to get ugly. Because it's about me. And what we did do," she argued.

"You said you never told anyone."

"I didn't."

"Then there's no reason to worry. Only you and I know. It's nothing to worry about."

"It's going to effect Lily."

"I know. It already is. Did you see how she didn't want to leave?" he replied.

"What if Vicky suddenly decides to take away Toni and Nick?"

"Baby," he kissed her ear again, "don't worry yourself over these things. We're not going to lose our family."

"But you don't know that. The world could have changed in these past two weeks we've been here," she pulled out of his arms to face him.

His hands left her waist, framing her face, "Trust me, my love. The world hasn't changed that dramatically."

"But what if you're wrong?"

Chris kissed her, "I'm not. Believe."



Only a few hours into the flight back to LA, Chris pulled Alyssa into the bathroom. Hoping to ease her tension by joining the Mile High Club, he frowned when she seemed hardly any less tense when they returned to their seats. Which meant he had to resort to desperate measures.

"Here, take these," he held out a pair of pills to Alyssa and a bottle of water.

Her eyes went to his hand, "What are they?"

"Just take them."

"Where did you get them?"

"Alyssa, just trust me. They'll make you feel better."

"Oh no. I don't think so, Chris. We're not—"

"Two pills provided to me by the flight attendant for your anxiety."

"I'm not taking—"

"Baby, please," he pressed the pills into her hand. "It's completely safe. You need to relax or this flight is going to be unbareably long for you."

"But—"

"Baby, please."

"Fine," she relented, popping the two pills in her mouth before accepting the bottle of water. "If I die from this, its your f—"

"You're not going to die from a sleeping pill," Chris countered.

Alyssa frowned, "I thought after all we went through when you did rehab, pills would never—"

"It's not something I promote. But you're going to work yourself into a frenzy before this plane gets halfway home. Sex didn't help so I had to do something," he claimed. "It's a one time thing."

"Uh huh."

He leaned over and kissed her forehead, "It is."

"Chris, I have a bad feeling about this. Really, I do," Alysa stated.

"Everything's going to be fine," he assured her, kissing her once more. "Just relax."



By the time the plane touched down in LA, Chris was starting to get nervous. Alyssa had managed to sleep about eight hours from the pills, stirring awake not long before the plane started to descend. Her nerves started to rise again, her hand clutching his. He knew her well enough to know if she was dreading something, in all likelihood something bad was going to happen. Keeping a happy and calm face about it all was not easy. Not in the least.

As neither had their phone charger with them on their honeymoon, neither cell phone worked much longer after the initial call to the kids. Chris hadn't even thought of calling into their voicemail from their villa phones while honeymooning. But now that they were on land, in their home city, he found it foolish to not know what was in their voicemail boxes, thinking something in those very things would prepare them for whatever waited.

Gathering their luggage, Chris tried to distract Alyssa by purposefully missing her suitcase. With her attention focused on watching it go around the carousel once more, he was able to glance around for any hint as to the shape of the anvil hanging over their heads. Seeing nothing, he slipped his arm around Alyssa, heading towards where their car had been stored the past two weeks.

"You feel it too," Alyssa muttered as they neared the car.

"Feel what? That lovely LA sun? Sure do," he replied.

"Something's wrong," she declared. "Least the car will have a charger in it."

He hadn't considered that, but was instantly relieved at that tiny bit of information. Alyssa jumped into the passenger side, plugging her phone into the car jack while he loaded their luggage into the trunk. He couldn't see her face as she listened to voicemails, his vision blocked by the trunk until he closed it, but his heart arrested at a glance of her body language. Rather than move to slide into the drivers seat, he moved to her open door.

"Lyssie?"

She closed her phone, turning to pull his out of his pocket. Plugging it into the other available jack, her eyes slowly rose to meet his. He wasn't sure how to read the emotions playing in the chocolate orbs looking up at him.

"Get in the car, Chris."

Not even questioning her tone, he quickly rounded it and closed his door. He fumbled to insert the key into the ignition. Alyssa's hand covered his, keeping him from turning the key.

"I'm going to fucking kill her," Alyssa muttered.

His eyes met hers again. He said nothing, waiting for her explanation.

"Vicky is keeping the kids."

"What!? Why!?"

"From Judith's short message the best I can tell is that Susan talked with her," she claimed.

"Fuck," he muttered, breaking eye contact. "Fuck, fuck, fuck."

"We need to get home. And we need to call Judith," Alyssa stated. "We're getting the kids back."



Sending Chris upstairs to unpack in the eerily quiet house seemed to be a good idea to Alyssa. It would give her a minute or two to figure out what she was going to do, what she could do.

It wasn't that odd that the house was empty of kids on their return. Vicky hadn't been comfortable with staying in their house during her week with the kids, so planned to have them at the hotel. Alyssa and Chris would pick them up the day after their return, giving them a little bit to get over the jet lag. But that was all different now.

And it was another moment where Alyssa wished she still drove. Feasibly she could, it's not like one forgets how to drive in what.. six years? She just wasn't licensed anymore. Hadn't been since leaving Seattle. She'd have to remedy that after fixing the kids issue, get a California drivers license.

Until then, she'd have to have Chris take her to the hotel. Or call a car. Knowing Chris he would want to go and would likely follow her into the hotel, demanding his kids back. And probably ruin any chance Alyssa had at resolving the issue sanely. She needed to go alone.

Hanging up the phone just as Chris stepped off the last step, Alyssa smiled wanely at him. She could feel his pent up anger and frustration, probably more than he thought. Going to his side quickly, Alyssa's arms wrapped around his neck and she kissed him gently.

"I'm going to get our kids back," she declared. "No doubt about it."

"You have a plan?" he asked, arms looping around her waist.

"Kinda. I need you to stay here. And call your lawyer," Alyssa stated.

"Where are you going?"

"To the hotel to get the kids," she answered.

"I'll drive," he started to pull away.

Alyssa held him fast, "I already called a car. I need you to stay here."

"What? Why?"

She kissed his mouth again, "Because, my love, I need you to stay here. I don't need you to get overly emotional and do something stupid at the hotel."

"But—"

"I realize these are your kids we're talking about, which is precisely my point. I don't know how this is going to work out. I don't need a stray bullet flying," Alyssa declared.

"But—"

"Call your lawyers, Chris. I'll go get the kids."

"But—"

"Trust me here, love. I managed to get us partial custody of Lily before. I can get them back."

He sighed, "Fine, fine. I'll stay. But I want you to call me as soon as you know anything."

"Of course," she kissed his mouth once more. "Everything will turn out all right."

"I hope so. We haven't much time to fix things. We're supposed to be in New York day after tomorrow."

"I know," Alyssa kissed him once more before pulling away from him. "And we will be. With our family. I'll be back soon."



Sitting in the car, Alyssa's chocolate coloured eyes stared at the hotel. She had no clue what she was going to say to Vicky at all. Or how she was even going to get up to see Vicky. Hotels generally didn't let just anyone up to a guest room. But Alyssa was pretty certain she could charm the desk agent.

"Do you need me to wait, Mrs. Cornell?" the driver asked when Alyssa finally opened the car door.

"Uh... yeah. I shouldn't be too long. If you would please," she replied.

"I will."

Stepping out, she ran her hand through her hair and headed into the hotel. Confidently heading up to the front desk, she flashed an easy smile at the young woman.

"Good evening," she greeted. "I'm here to pick up my kids. Can you direct me to Vicky Karayiannis's room?"

The girl looked down at her computer screen, "I'm sorry ma'am. I can't give you that information, but I can call up to the room and you can speak with her."

That alone relieved Alyssa. At least it meant Vicky was still there, having not fled with the kids.

"No, no. That would wake the kids. And it's better if I wake them with a kiss," Alyssa declared. "Especially Nick. He's quite the screamer when woken incorrectly. Could probably wake up the entire floor."

There was a momentary flash of panic in the desk girl's eyes. Alyssa barely managed to hide her triumph, happy that she had pegged the girl as new and probably unexperianced.

"She's in room 1124," the girl declared in a soft voice.

"Thank you."

Heading back to the elevator, Alyssa's pulse quickened. When she got to the room, what was she going to do? How did she demand the kids back when Vicky was their biological mother? How was she going to force Vicky to stay to the custody agreement she had signed after Chris and her divorced? Should she just wait for the lawyers to figure it out? Would Vicky leave the country with Toni and Nick if Alyssa didn't do anything?

Stepping out of the elevator, she glanced at the sign before turning in the direction of the sought after room. With each step, Alyssa's heart pounded louder against her chest. What was she doing?

Knocking gently on the door, she waited, prayed for it to open. If only to hold her babies again, just for a minute.

The door slowly opened. Vicky gasped, obviously not expecting Alyssa to be the one on the other side of the door. For a moment the two women stared at each other.

"I'm here for—"

"I know what you're here for," Vicky cut her off. "And they're not going with you."

"Too bad Chris and I have full custody of them," Alyssa stated.

Her eyes narrowed, "I will not have my children—"

"Funny, you gave up that claim over a year ago, Vicky," she pointed out.

"That was before I knew the nature of your relationship with Chris."

"The nature of my relationship with Chris? What? That I'm in love with him? That he loves me? What's wrong with that?"

"You ruined his relationship with Susan. You ruined his relationship with me."

"I did nothing of the sort. Maybe if you had actually talked with him when he was your husband you would know that," Alyssa countered. "And none of that matters anymore. I'm married to him. And I have full legal custody of Toni and Nick. Therefore I am taking them home."

"You will do nothing of the sort."

Alyssa arched an eyebrow, "Are you challenging me, Vicky?"

"Hardly. I don't see someone who convinced a man to marry her by pretending to be a cripple for a year a worthy adversary."

Had the kids not been in the hotel room behind her somewhere, Alyssa would have belted Vicky at those words. But she wasn't about to use violence when her kids were that close.

So instead she fought back the other way she knew how, "TONI! NICK! MOMMY'S HOME!"

Vicky instantly moved to close the door. Unfortunately for her, Alyssa had been expecting that and her foot and body was already wedge in way of the door closing. She called once more for the kids, pausing to hear a reply.

"MOMMY!" Toni shouted back. "MOMMY, WE'RE IN HERE. COME GET US."

That request turned Alyssa's backbone to steel and she pushed the door open. Her eyes glanced around the suite. A few toys were scattered about the room, but it was mostly clean. Papers were stacked on the desk, whether Vicky's work or some foolish legal attempt to keep the kids, Alyssa didn't bother to look. She wanted her kids.

Her gaze fell on the two little angels. And she suddenly understood why they hadn't come barreling towards her when she called the first time: they were both confined in a pack-and-play. That angered Alyssa but she wasn't going to pause and chew out Vicky for that. Instead she stalked over and pulled Toni out, then Nick.

Vicky reached out to grab Toni, as Nick was already nicely settled on Alyssa's hip. But Alyssa reached out and slapped the older woman's wrist. She then scooped Toni up onto her other hip, stalking towards the door. Luckily for her, Vicky hadn't presence of mind to close the door and trap Alyssa in the room. Prying it further open with the toe of her shoe, she carried the kids towards the elevator, Nick's face buried on her shoulder, crying. Alyssa heard Vicky's voice on the phone, just before the elevator doors closed. The elevator descended much too slowly. She needed to be out of the elevator and in the car before whomever Vicky called arrived.

Striding pass the front desk, she ignored the young girl who called for her to stop. Determined she hurried out to the car, thankful the driver opened the door quickly so she could scoot in with the kids. Both silently clung to Alyssa, obviously afraid of what was happening.

The driver asked no questions and headed back to the house.

Ushering them into the house, Chris paid the driver and thanked him for his services. Waiting until the car was out of the drive, he entered the house, looking for his wife and children. Not surprisingly he found them in his and Alyssa's room, Alyssa worriedly looking over the kids.

"Lyssa, what happened?"

"Are your lawyers on their way over?" she asked, kissing Toni's forehead before moving over to Nick to check him.

Chris barely managed to not swear at her question, "Yeah. Is it bad?"

"Yes," she answered, tickling Nick slightly to cure his tear-driven hiccups. "How about a bath in Mommy and Daddy's bath tub?"

Toni who had remained quiet, eyeing Chris cautiously, nodded slowly before reaching for Alyssa. Not understanding why the girl didn't want her father to hold her, Alyssa scooped both kids up again, carrying them into the bathroom. Their reaction to him concerned him as well, but Chris wasn't going to spend time worrying about it just yet. Instead he left the room to fetch clean clothing for his children, foreboding still clouding his soul.

Leaning on the doorframe, Chris watched the kids splash around in the tub, soaking Alyssa who giggled right along with them. For a moment he wanted to freeze that innocent minute forever, keeping everyone involved just as happy and sweet. But the doorbell ringing interrupted that, pulling Chris away from the window of domestic bliss.

With the kids smiling and giggling once more, Alyssa relaxed some. She had a feeling the night wasn't going to get any better, that whomever rang their door wasn't Santa Claus. But she wasn't going to let the kids see or feel that. Instead she towelled them dry, tickled both a few more times, and carried their freshly washed and freshly pj'ed selves to her and Chris's bed. Both seemed delighted to get to sleep in the big bed, choosing their spots quickly.

Completely expecting it, Alyssa stretched out between them, both of the children snuggling up against her. Only then did Toni feel safe enough to speak more.

"Mommy?"

"Yes, sweetie."

"You no leave again."

Alyssa understood it wasn't a question, "No, baby, I'm not going to leave again."

"I don't wanna go France."

"Who said you were going to France?" she asked, smoothing the little girl's damp hair.

"Ofer lady who says she's mommy."

Alyssa tried to not frown, "Your daddy and I won't let her take you anywhere."

"Daddy's not bad?"

Her restrained frown deepened, "Of course he's not. Why would you think he is?"

"The big peoples said so. They says he was bad when they was wedding-ed. They says he was bad and drank bad things. They says he was bad and did ofer bad things," Toni explained. "And dat Daddy will be bad always. Dat me and Nick stay from Daddy. I don't wanna leave Daddy."

"You won't have to. I promise. You'll stay forever with us."