Author's Note: All that is needed to be known:

Jacky Twist II: Jerry Lewis

Stephan Del Mar: Dean Martin

This is a Martin & Lewis fic.

Chapter Uno

New York City

It was always unfair when it came to sharing a birthday with a family member who loved the opera. That was how Jack Twist II felt as he pulled at the collar of his tuxedo, sitting there in the stuffy opera house. He and his family had just gotten seated. He leaned forward and saw that his family took up a row and a half where they were sitting. His cousin, Laney, was the birthday girl and was sitting on the front row with her family. Which was just a few rows up from where Jacky was sitting with his parents, his brother and sister, his other aunt and uncle, and the grandparents. Plus a few friends who had come along. He shifted in his seat for the hundredth time it seemed like and tried to settle in for what he knew was going to be the worst night of his life.

Turning nineteen shouldn't be this dull, he thought, sending a glare at the back of Laney's head before the lights dimmed and the show started. He looked around, knowing he'd need something to occupy himself with, but he would just have to do with watching the opera. He crossed his arms as he sat there.

Sure, he had had the rest of the day to celebrate his birthday. The opera was only an hour and that was all Laney had for her own birthday. They would also go out for dinner, but Laney and her parents didn't expect everyone to go where they were going. After all, the more people who went, the more expensive it got. And Laney's dad didn't particularly look happy about taking all of these people to the opera. It was the money out of his wallet that was paying for it. And just the three of them was expensive enough.

"Jacky." The quiet voice got Jacky's attention. He turned his head and saw his mom leaning toward him, handing over her phone. She reminded him to be quiet as he took the phone. He didn't have a phone of his own. He wouldn't get one until he got a job. He had gotten a job interview last week, so it was only a matter of time before he was able to get his own phone. He slouched down in his seat as he played on the phone, turning the brightness all the way down so he wouldn't distract anyone from watching the opera.

The music and the singing was starting to lull him to sleep after the first twenty minutes. He yawned a bit loudly by accident and everyone near him scowled at him. He slouched in his seat more and glanced over at his mom, who was hiding a smile. She and dad were always on his side. He didn't have a best friend in the world. He had his parents. And he didn't need anyone else. He was fine with the way his life was going. Even if he did, unfortunately, share a birthday with the one cousin he most despised. And the feeling was mutual.

Jacky got out of the game when he was starting to fall asleep and just started exploring the many apps on the phone. He started from the beginning and opened up each one, playing them as they time went by. He paused when he opened the safari app and saw an Ancestry page open. Mom had been trying to put a family tree together to paint in the hallway of their house, so this didn't surprise him. In fact, it made him curious also about where their family had come from. He looked through what Mom had already found out.

She obviously hadn't been doing it for too long because she hadn't tracked back too far. As far as she had gotten was Jack Twist, the man Jacky was named after. His great-grandfather. It was known that a lot of family members hadn't liked Jack Twist and only because that hatred had gotten passed down from his great-grandmother, Lureen Newsome. But others, like his parents and grandparents, thought the best of Jack Twist. And probably only because everyone else hated him for no apparent reason at all.

He was a bit startled when the lights came on. He put the phone down and sat up, seeing that the show had ended already. He checked his watch. An hour had gone by faster than expected. He smiled then handed his mom her phone then stood as everyone else did, giving the actors and singers a standing ovation. He clapped along with everyone else even though he had no idea what for. He shrugged and clapped, just glad it was finally over.

Jacky followed his family out as they walked single file to the exit. It was a lot cooler out in the lobby and a lot of people hung around talking. The place was up-class enough to have waiters walking around with drinks. Jacky fidgeted from one foot to the other as he stood there, hearing his parents talk with some friends they had spotted. He shoved his hands into his pockets and looked around, bored out of his mind. He was ready to go outside. Even though he could see through the large windows at the entrance that it was raining outside. Part of him wanted to go out and play in the rain. No matter how old he got, he was still going to be a kid at heart when it came to certain things.

Laney certainly wouldn't do such a thing. Which is why she's such a drag. It was obvious to everyone that Laney was the most mature person around, next to her parents. They were sophisticated and rubbed that into everyone's faces. The family didn't mind because they were used to it, but it was a bad first impression to everyone else.

"Jacky, we're going," Dad said, gesturing for his son to follow. Jacky hurried his pace, heading toward the entrance behind his parents. His brother and sister were staying behind. They would get a ride with grandma and grandpa. His brother, Clark, was twenty-five and lived with their grandparents to take care of them. His sister, Dianne, was twenty-four and lived with her boyfriend. Jacky was the only one still living with mom and dad and so far, it looked as if that would never change.

They stopped just inside the door. Dad headed out to go get the car and pull it out front so they wouldn't have to walk through the rain. Mom was grateful for that, but Jacky went back to his fidgety state. Mom noticed it and hooked her arm through his. Jacky looked at her with a smile and she returned it.

"I'm sorry we couldn't do a lot for your birthday this year," she said, patting his arm with her other hand. "This is just a busy year for us all. And since this is Laney's last birthday before the move..." She didn't finish the thought. It was a bright light ahead for Jacky, knowing that Laney was going to be going to college soon and moving out of New York completely. And hopefully for good. She was planning on becoming an actress and move to California. He had wished her luck when she had announced that earlier this evening, but didn't think anyone in Hollywood would like her enough to put her in their movie or whatever.

"It's okay," Jacky said. "I'm a little disappointed, but I'm gonna have a lot of birthdays after this one, so no biggy." He gave her another big smile then looked forward when he saw the car pull up outside out of the corner of his eye. Dad got out, carrying an umbrella then headed for the entrance.

Jacky walked forward and opened the door as Dad walked in, opening the umbrella. He held it for Mom as they all headed out to the car. Jacky climbed into the backseat, pulling off his tie and coat. He jumped the items on the floor and un-did the first few buttons of his shirt, already feeling more comfortable. He couldn't wait to get back home and into actual comfy clothes.

He leaned forward in his seat as they headed off, away from the opera house. "Do you think I could help you out with your family tree project?" he asked, looking at his mom. She looked over her shoulder at him and actually looked pleased. But, for him, it wasn't hard at all to please her. He was, and always would be, Momma's Boy.

"Of course you can, honey," she said. "If we have nothing planned for tomorrow, we can start working on it in the morning."

Jacky smiled then leaned forward and pecked her on the cheek. "Great!" he said, excitedly then leaned back in his seat and looked out the window, watching the rain.

Riverton, Wyoming

Stephan Del Mar, twenty-two years old, had lived on a ranch his whole life. His parents had inherited it from their grandfather, KE Del Mar and Steve got it when his parents died in a car accident when he was seventeen. He had run everything on his own for a while, but after getting admitted to the hospital from massive exhaustion and a touch of heat stroke, he hired some help. He didn't have any other family, so he just hired strangers. Strangers who quickly became some of his closest friends. They worked together, after all, and his ranch had become the main export of milk, wheat, eggs, and beef for the town of Riverton. They were bringing in a lot of money, but that money was going back out quickly to pay for everything. They only had enough money to get by.

Steve stepped outside, glaring up at the clouds that were forming overhead this morning. He wouldn't be able to take the horses out for an exercise. The horses didn't do anything when it started raining. If they were out, they would only try to get back in the barn. He would have to close up the barn then open the stalls to let the horses move around.

"Gonna have a rough storm," co-foreman Emily Aguirre murmured as she walked up beside him. She leaned against one of the posts that held up the porch roof and watched the clouds in the sky. She was the toughest woman Steve had ever met. She had scared off many a man. She had come to work with Steve because she had gone through a bad relationship and had wanted to run away from her problems. Steve had welcomed her to the ranch and knew he'd never find someone better to work with. Both of them knew nothing romantic would come out of this, which was why they worked so well together. She was dating someone else, anyway.

She looked at him. "Want me to go let the horses out?" she asked.

Steve checked the sky once more then nodded his head. "If it starts rainin', they'll go back inside," he said then looked at her. "Want me to help ya out?"

Emily smiled at him, stepping off the porch. "I got it covered, Steve," she said then headed off to the barn.

Steve stood in the spot she had vacated and looked around what he could see of the ranch. It had grown considerably the last five years. It was a fine establishment. There was about 100 acres of land, so there was enough solitude for anyone who just wanted to get away. There was a great view of the mountains and some of the best sunrises and sunsets to be seen in the country. When his great-grandfather KE owned the place, the house and barn had been rundown and decrepit. KE hadn't been able to do much work before his death. Steve's parents had fixed up the place when their parents didn't want anything to do with it. They had all come from ranch folk, but Steve's grandparents hadn't. They had been an odd couple and very secluded.

He sighed when the rain started coming down. He looked toward the barn and saw Emily standing there, waving him over. He put his hat on his head then stepped off the porch and hurried across to the barn to help her close it up and let the horses out. Thankfully, these days were the only types of bad days here on the ranch.

He wouldn't trade it for anything.

to be continued

Author's Note: I had planned on making Steve Ennis' great-grandson, but decided to go with KE instead. Ennis is Steve's great-uncle. Just to fill in anyone who was curious about Ennis not being mentioned.