Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

T hank goodness the rest of the day went well. Molly hadn't even seen Lester after his talk with Steve. She didn't understand why some people saw their position as one of power while others saw theirs as a place of service. It was such a different viewpoint.

Before pushing the door open, she scanned the parking lot. Instead of seeing that car from the morning commute, she spotted Faust relaxed on his bike. Popping through the door, she practically skipped across the parking lot to greet him.

"Hi!" she said, feeling shy after all their passion from the previous night.

"No kiss in the church parking lot?"

"Can I give you two later?" she asked, looking around.

"Five and you have a deal."

She couldn't help grinning at him. "Deal."

"We need to go grab some groceries for you," he stated.

"I do. You don't have to go with me."

"We're both off work. We want to spend time together. While I'd rather be buried balls deep inside your sweet body instead of in the store, it's important you have something to eat other than crackers for lunch."

"Faust!" she protested, looking around.

"No one can hear me, Little girl. Do you know someone who drives a dark sedan?" Faust asked, reciting the license plate from memory.

"That sounds like the car that kept following me this morning."

The look on his face scared her. "There was someone following you and you didn't call me?"

"No, silly. You were at work. I tried a few things like running through a drive-thru for coffee and making a few strange turns. He drove past when I pulled into the church parking lot."

"Whether I'm at work or not, you call me if anything like this ever happens again. Immediately."

He held her gaze captive until she agreed. "You know you're not responsible for me."

"What do you think being your Daddy means?"

"Faust. Shhh!" she urged, looking around to make sure the parking lot was empty. Her eyes landed on something blue on her windshield. "Oh, you left me another sucker."

"We're not finished with this discussion, Pixie, and what sucker?"

"There was a lollipop under my windshield wiper this morning. I thought you'd left it there."

"Did you eat it?" he demanded, swinging his leg over his bike.

"No." She shook her head frantically. "What's wrong? You didn't leave it?"

"I'll never leave anything where people could mess with it, Molly. That's not safe."

She trailed after Faust as he walked the short distance to her car. He grabbed the candy with his gloved fingers, holding it carefully as he looked it over. "You don't think it's just a lollipop, do you?"

"No, Pixie. I don't. I'll get this to a friend of the club to see what it is. Let's go to your house to get your stuff."

"I was going to stop and pick up something for lunches," she reminded him.

"The clubhouse has lots of stuff you can take each day. If you don't mind leftovers, Gabriel will put a meal in a container for you to microwave or I'll make you a sandwich."

"That's way out of my way to stop each morning at the clubhouse," she pointed out.

"It won't be when you're rolling out of my bed each day."

"You want me to move in with you?"

"There's no want about this. You are moving in with me. Someone's targeting you. They know where you live and work. No one's going to mess with you or your car on Shadowridge Guardian territory."

"That's frightening, Faust," she said, trying to keep from panicking.

"It's scaring the crap out of me, too."

That made her swallow hard. "You're not afraid of anything."

"I'm afraid of someone hurting you."

"Okay. I'll come stay with you," she whispered.

"Your leather-wearing, tattooed boyfriend is going to scare people away, Molly. You should consider who you hang out with. It reflects on you."

Faust calmly put the candy in his pocket before turning to face the assistant minister who stood by his own car a couple of spaces away. "I thought churches welcomed anyone to attend."

"Don't challenge him, Faust. Nothing I do is going to be right in his eyes," Molly urged, wrapping her hands around his arm to hold him back.

"I'll call the police on both of you if you threaten me," Lester threw out as he jumped in his car.

They heard the click of the locks before he reversed out of the space and squealed his tires to get away.

"That guy needs to be careful with his tires. If he gets a flat, who's going to help him?" Faust commented dryly.

"He's a jerk."

"And a minister?"

"He's done all the study. He just missed the point of a few passages in the bible," Molly suggested. "Come on. Let's go get my stuff."

"I have an appointment for you first at a clinic I trust. Follow me over there and honk if you see that car. I want to talk to him."

"Now? I'm not ready, Faust." Her mind raced with the embarrassment of one of those exams. She hadn't shaved her legs this morning and they'd just made love last night. Would the doctor be able to tell?

"You're fine, Pixie. I'll be there with you."

"Really, can't we go another night? There's so much to do tonight."

"No, Little girl. You'll just worry, and it will get harder another time. Follow me."

He held her gaze until she dropped her head down slightly. "I'm worrying now."

"I'll be there with you, Pixie. I promise it will be okay."

"You're kinda bossy," she accused.

"Exactly. Let's go. In the car. Follow me."

"Yes, Sir!"

"Daddy."

"Faust!" Molly looked around again to make sure they were still alone. Relaxing a bit when she saw the coast was clear, she unlocked her car to allow him to help her inside.

In a few minutes, they were off. Molly was sure Faust had to feel like a grandma driving slow enough for her to follow him. She was the exact opposite of a daredevil behind the wheel. To her surprise, they didn't pull into a seedy clinic but into the parking lot of a sleek, modern facility. She parked and jumped out of the car.

"I don't know if my insurance will cover me here, Faust. I can go back to the free clinic I went to before," Molly told him.

"Let's get your purse and close your door. Trust me, Little one."

Molly looked back to see her door standing wide open and her keys still in the ignition. "I'm an idiot." She rushed back to follow his instructions.

When she had it all together, Faust took her hand and led her into the building. He gave their names at the reception desk and guided her to two empty seats in the corner when they were checked in and given forms to fill out.

"Do you need help with the forms, Pixie?"

"I can do it." Trying to block out the feel of Faust next to her, she filled in the first bits of information. When she got to the more private questions, she peeked over at Faust. He was looking at something on his phone. She leaned a bit closer to see he was reading what looked like a novel.

"Are you reading a book?" burst from her mouth.

"Are you assuming I don't know how to read?" Faust asked with one raised eyebrow.

"Oh, I didn't mean anything bad like that. I just expected you to be watching…" Molly leaned forward and whispered, "porn."

"I don't need to watch porn now. I have you," he said in a normal voice.

An older woman got up and moved to the other side of the waiting room. "Look. You made her move," Molly hissed, waving a hand in the woman's direction.

"She got up all by herself, Pixie. Do you need help with those questions?" Faust asked.

"No. I've got this."

Turning back to the forms, Molly watched out of the corner of her eye to see Faust return to reading. Quickly filling them in, she took the clipboard to the receptionist. As she handed it over, Molly asked, "I don't know if you take my insurance."

"We take almost everything. Let me make copies of your insurance card and your ID."

In a minute, the receptionist handed them back with a brochure. "Here's all the services we provide. If you don't have a doctor you prefer to see, Dr. Rhodes is taking new patients."

"Oh, I don't have a doctor. My insurance doesn't pay for much, so I don't go. This was important."

"Talk to the doctor. Basic care like a physical, preventative inoculations, etc. are covered here at no cost."

"Thanks."

Molly didn't believe that. The insurance the church provided for the ministers, herself, and the janitor was the barest minimum. She was just glad she had some.

When she sat down, Molly stowed all her cards away and sat quietly. She didn't pull out her own phone. She'd spent enough time on her computer during the day. Faust held his hand out and she linked her fingers with his. He squeezed her hand.

"You're okay," he told her quietly.

"What is this place? It looks brand new. Much different than the clinic I went to. You don't have to come back with me," she blurted at the end of her stream of thought.

"I'll come back with you and will leave any time you want me to."

"They're going to weigh me in and do all the doctor stuff."

"You've been in my arms, Little girl. I know how much you weigh. Numbers on a scale don't mean anything to me. Nor does your weight."

She looked at him in astonishment. Molly hadn't considered he already knew what she weighed. One glance at his biceps told her she could eat all the dessert she wanted, and he wouldn't have any problems. Letting out a small sigh of relief, Molly let go of all the things rumbling around in her head.

"Hey. Let's try this game."

Faust levered his phone in front of him so she could see the display. It counted down from five to one before displaying a word.

"What do I do?" she asked.

"Say other things to get me to guess that word," Faust explained. "We want to get as many words guessed right as we can."

"Really? Okay. Black. Legs. Hairy. Web."

"Spider."

"A kind of one of those," she said, leaning forward a bit.

"Tarantula," Faust guessed.

"Yes!"

He tilted his phone toward her and then back straight. Tarantula disappeared and another word appeared. Molly blurted the word out and then blinked up at him.

"Did you say the word?" he asked with a hint of a smile that erased some of his usual fierce expression.

"Sorry!"

"No problem. Try again."

This time she contained her urge to say the word aloud and started to describe it. This time, it only took Faust two words to figure out the right answer. This was fun.

By the time the nurse called her name, Molly had stopped fretting about where she was. She was having fun with Faust.

"That's you, Pixie," Faust told her gently as he stood up.

"Oh. Sorry!"

Molly walked to the door and stammered, "Is it okay if Faust comes back with me?"

"Of course," the nurse said without any hesitation.

In a few minutes, she was in an exam room and was amazed that her blood pressure had been in the normal range. Usually, she was too nervous when she went to the doctor. When the nurse left, she didn't even ask Molly to take all her clothes off.

"Hi, Molly. I'm Dr. Rhodes. It's nice to meet you."

"Hi, Dr. Rhodes. This is my…" she paused, unsure how to introduce Faust.

"I'm Faust, Molly's partner," Faust volunteered.

That sounded permanent.

"Molly, are you okay with Faust being in the exam room with you and hearing our conversation?" Dr. Rhodes asked.

"Yes. That's fine. I'd tell him everything anyway."

"Okay. So, I see you don't have a regular doctor and you're here for birth control?"

"Yes, please. Do I have to get undressed?" Molly said apprehensively.

"Probably not. Let me ask you a few questions to see how healthy you are and if you fit any risk categories for birth control that would entail a more invasive exam."

Molly nodded. She liked how the doctor listened to her answers and did an efficient exam to listen to her heart and lungs. She felt like Dr. Rhodes cared while being skilled and practical.

"You're young and in good health. You don't have any conditions that would make me hesitate to prescribe birth control pills—no smoking, diabetes, stroke, cancer, etc. I think we can start you on a prescription today."

Dr. Rhodes paused and looked at each of them. "Birth control won't protect you from communicable diseases. You've both been tested after your last partners?"

"Yes," Molly told her.

"Yes, Doctor," Faust confirmed.

"I like that you're here together. I don't see that often. Molly, here's your prescription and a pamphlet on birth control. Read it carefully so you take it correctly and use a second form of birth control until you've taken an entire pack of pills to be fully protected. You do need a physical including a pelvic exam if you are sexually active. I am accepting new patients if you'd like to make an appointment with me."

"Thank you, Dr. Rhodes."

"She'll do that, Doctor."

"Molly, I think you've got a good one here. Let me walk you up to the front to check out."

When they reached the parking lot, Faust pulled her into his arms and hugged her. "Let's go get pizza. We can drop your prescription off at the pharmacist first and it will be ready when we finish eating."

"Faust, I need to wait until I get paid. I'll have to budget for this."

"Not happening, Little girl. It benefits us both. I'll pay."

"But it's my medicine."

"Only because they don't have birth control pills for men. When they do, you can buy them for me," he suggested. "For now, you can go with me to get pizza."

"I am hungry," she confessed. "Am I really moving in with you tonight? Are the Guardians going to be okay with some random woman moving in?"

"You're mine, Pixie. There's nothing random about it."