3.12 Shock, Excitement, Fear.

The car ride was mostly silent. Nobody knew what to say to each other, even Lynette was tight lipped. "I'm sorry, Ambrose, for freaking out on you earlier." Lynette bit her lip.

"You didn't freak out, so don't apologize to him," Apollo said calmly.

"I'm trying to please your family, Apollo. They're all wonderful people, I want them to like me, especially Ambrose."

"I do like you," Ambrose spoke up. "If I didn't, I wouldn't really be living with you guys, would I?"

"I guess not..." Lynette let a small smile form on her lips. "I was being irrational."

"You're always irrational when you're around Apollo."

"I guess I am. He makes me crazy in the best way possible. I'm so happy to have met him."

Apollo gripped the steering wheel tightly, resisting the urge to spill what was on his mind at the moment. He wanted to tell her about how he didn't feel any sparks, he was perfectly sane around her and he was thinking about someone else the entire car ride. He wished she would just stop talking, he loathed the affection she had towards him. He hated how complicated she had made things in his life even if it really wasn't her doing. He was calculating how easy it would be to break up the relationship. Apparently the wedding was only a few weeks ago, and the honeymoon was the past weekend. Was it too soon? What would be the damage? To make things worse, Ambrose was really rooting for them and it made things so much harder.

"How did the house hunting go?" Leia asked.

"Fantastic," Apollo said before heading to the kitchen to raid the fridge.

"Oh come on babe!" Lynette called out. "He's been acting strange the whole day. At first he seemed a bit standoffish, and then for a second I saw the Apollo I knew, but then when we got back to the car he became disconnected again."

"He was like that this morning too," Ambrose agreed. "He was acting like he didn't remember anything."

"Maybe he really doesn't remember," Lynette offered.

"That doesn't make any sense. He wouldn't just lose his memory out of nowhere," Leia said cautiously. She thought back to when she had to help Noah retrieve his memory. It was caused by some guy trying to destroy the future. She had suspected as much. She now knew that her father was the time keeper and Noah's family was involved with the future somehow. She had feared the day would come where her children would be targeted. She had to keep her suspicions quiet in front of Lynette and Ambrose. She didn't know what exactly was going on, but she wouldn't doubt it if Apollo had lost his memory.

"I guess you're right. I'm just a bit paranoid. I don't want anything to happen to him," Lynette admitted.

"He'll be fine. Don't worry about it. Now, do you have a place to stay tonight?" Leia turned to her.

"Well..." Lynette rubbed her neck nervously. "I've just been staying at a hotel since the honeymoon. I haven't had my things brought here yet. I wanted to wait until we found an apartment."

"You're not paying money to stay in a hotel if your husband is here. Definitely not. You can stay in Apollo's room. It's like a separate apartment up there." Leia figured if Apollo spent some time with Lynette it would knock some sense into him, at least she hoped it would be that easy.

"Apollo!" Leia called to him.

"Hmm?" Apollo walked into the room with a waffle in his mouth.

"Lynette is staying here until you guys find an apartment."

"Is she staying in the guest room?" Apollo asked in between chews.

"Idiot..." Ambrose mumbled. "She's staying in your room numskull! She's your wife!"

"Right...ok," Apollo nodded. This was going to be difficult to get used to.

Apollo nervously sat on his bed. He didn't want to sleep next to Lynette...but they were married. He pondered if he should keep the charade up or if he should just tell them everything he knew. Would they believe him? Especially Lynette who used to date Mason? She would think he was nuts.

"I know I've asked this about a dozen times today, but are you really sure you're okay?" Lynette asked.

"I'm fine..." Apollo muttered, turning to face the wall.

"No, you're not. Stop pretending like everything is okay just to humor me! If something is bothering you, you need to tell me, I'm your wife. We promised to work things out. Don't tell me because of some rings, you're getting nervous. We're already married and it doesn't change what we both promised each other while we were dating."

"I don't want to talk about this right now, Lyn. Please," Apollo begged.

"Apollo...what happened to being open with each other?" She looked intently at his back. He showed no signs of turning to face her.

"I am being open right now. I don't want to talk about it. It's complicated. That's it. End of story!" Apollo snapped.Lynette leaned over to stroke his back, causing Apollo to flinch. "Just...stop." Apollo stood up and began to pace the room. "Enough, why can't you just leave well enough alone?" He didn't know why he was getting so mad at Lynette. He was frustrated and he was taking it out on the person who he apparently promised to cherish for the rest of his life. It was weird even to think about, Mason skipped passed his time in university. That meant he was now 21 years old...and married. Who in their right mind would commit at such a young age?

Lynette turned around sharply and began to walk away. "I'm going to change into my pj's. I'm sorry for bothering you." The deflated tone in her voice cut right through him.

Apollo closed his eyes but he couldn't fall asleep. he wanted to vanish before Lynette could return. He wanted to just hide away from the world and live in solitude. To think this was the girl he had made such a big fuss about leaving university. He hated thinking this, but right now he wished she was in Twinbrook and Tommy was in his bed.

"Apollo...I'm sorry," She mumbled, climbing into bed next to him.

Apollo opened one eye only to see her tear stained face. "Are you crying?"

She nodded slowly. "I just...I thought married life would be so much different."

Apollo rolled over so both of their bodies were practically touching. He held her shoulders firmly and looked her in her eyes. Even if he was in a rotten mood today, it was no reason to take it out on Lynette. They were friends before all of this happened and he hated seeing her upset. "Don't apologize to me. I'm the one being an asshole." He placed his head against hers and listened to her steady breathing. It was soothing to have someone to hold onto, even if it wasn't who you wished for.

"No, I'm being too pushy."

"I'm being terrible to you because I'm upset. It's not your fault. I have no right to be cruel to you."

He didn't know how it happened, but he felt her warm body being pressed against his. His heart was beating uncontrollably. Her lips trailed from his chin to his neck and then back up to his lips. His head was swirling. He needed this more than ever, for someone to show him that he mattered in the midst of all hell going on around him. He allowed his hands to snake around her back. he didn't know if he was enjoying this or if he was just giving in to temptation. His hand played with her shirt strap while she tugged at his shirt. 

"Damnit..." She whispered in between kisses. "I wish we weren't in your parent's house right now. Otherwise we'd have a repeat of our honeymoon." She furiously kissed him and Apollo, unbeknownst to himself kissed her back with full force. Finally she pulled away and lay next to him panting heavily. "I meant what I said about being in your parent's house. Otherwise all clothes would have been off."

Apollo lay next to her, panting just as heavily. What did he just do? If she hadn't of pulled away...would he have been able to resist the urge? He didn't understand it all. One minute he was thinking of Tommy, the next, he was enjoying a passionate makeout session with Lynette. He was about to turn away from Lynette once again when she grabbed his arms and snuggled up to him. "Apollo...do you remember our honeymoon? It was the first time that we explored each other's bodies. It was magical. You made me feel so incredible. I opened myself up emotionally for you. I bared all. I just...I just want you to know that you're the only guy for me. I'm in love with you Apollo Gray." 

Apollo shifted uncomfortably and rolled over so he was facing the wall yet again. "I like you a lot too..." He couldn't bring himself to say "I love you." He had thought he was sure about his feelings t one point and he thought they were exclusive to Tommy, but right now he wasn't sure. He leaned over to the lamp and shut the light. "Goodnight, Lynnette." Lynette watched him, hurt filling her eyes. She had poured her heart out to him and all she got was a "like". She had thought she was finally getting through to him today. She pulled the covers closer to her and shut her eyes, hoping Apollo wouldn't be like this in the morning. 

"How was your sleep last night?" Leia asked casually as Lynette practically plopped onto the couch next to her. 

"Terrible. I mean, not because of your house, but because of Apollo. He's still acting weird." Lynette buried her head in her hands. "I feel like such a fool." 

"Hold on sweetie, what happened?" 

Lynette had always found it easy to talk to Mrs. Gray. She was always so open-minded and kind. "Well at first we were fighting, and I apologized to him and he told me he was being a jerk. After that we were kissing passionately. I thought everything was back to normal. I felt what I felt on our wedding night. I told him how I felt, opened my heart to him and all he said was that he likes me a lot. Not love. Mrs. Gray...we're married! He should be saying I love you!" Lynette cried out.

Leia placed a hand over her shoulder and rubbed her back soothingly. "I think you might be misreading the situation. Apollo has always been shy. You know that." Leia's suspicions were shared by Noah. She had approached him about it and he agreed that he felt something was off. He couldn't get a hold of Emit as easily as he would have before. Something was different and all Leia could do was divert Ambrose's and Lynette's attention while Noah thought of a solution to the problem.

"I know...I just thought because we were married now that he'd open up just a little more."

"He's got a hard time expressing himself. He went to that therapist a few years ago, remember?" 

Lynette closed her eyes but nodded. "Maybe I'm overreacting, it's just that I want him to be excited for us. I want him to jump for joy when I tell him that he's going to be a father, not aloof and uncaring."

Leia nearly choked. "Lynette...are you pregnant?"

"Yeah..." She bit her lip.

Leia's eyes widened. She felt shock, excitement and fear all at the same time. Lynette being pregnant would make the whole situation harder, she didn't know how but she had a bad feeling. She was shocked because her son was only 21 years old. He had just graduated college. She had been accepting of the marriage because Lynette was such a sweetheart and Apollo had begged for his parent's approval. On the other hand, she would be a grandmother which made her heart swell. It was just a lot to take in. "You didn't use protection?"

"We just...didn't think about it I guess. We did on our wedding night, but when we were on our honeymoon, things got a little crazy...if you know what I mean."

"He's still my son, Lynette."

"Yes," She agreed quietly.

Leia stood up and walked toward's Lynette's seated figure. She leaned over and kissed her forehead. "Lynette, you'll always be a part of this family no matter what. I trust that you and Apollo know what you guys are doing. I just have to face the facts that my son is no longer a child."

"Mrs. Gray...thank you so much. You don't know how much this means to me," Lynette wiped a tear from her eyes. Now she had just had to get Apollo's approval.