Passed Down

By: Riley

SummaryThere are certain traits parents give to their kids. Big Time Rush's fathers made that more evident than ever. Four drabbles (all in one entry) that follows the boys and the good and bad they've encountered with their fathers.


Kendall got his father's tenacity.

Whether on or off the ice, once Kendall set his sights on something he went after it. Despite his rough upbringing with a single mother who did everything to devote her time to raising her son and daughter, Kendall was determined to make the best out of a bad situation. So he blocked out the memories of his father's abuse…he wasn't sure if he would call it that or a nasty side effect of his father's determination. Kevin Knight wanted nothing more than for Kendall to realize his potential with hockey and got frustrated when it wasn't adequately shown; there were many times Kendall was forced to skate around until he collapsed.

But hockey was the one thing that kept him to his father. They watched games together, they practiced together, Kevin cheered on every game and no matter how much bigger or older the other players were compared to him, Kendall continued to play as hard as he could. He pushed harder, skated faster, fed off his teammates' drive into his ultimate goal of winning.

Then one day Kevin was gone and he was left to start his new life as a family of three. That didn't deter him, he continued to do what he always did; take what life gave him and worked with it. He got a job at a grocery store, he studied hard in school, he spent time with his sister, he did as much as he could to make things better for his mother.

He was determined to make the best out of any situation that came his way.

That's why he vowed to continue working hard whether or not his father was in his life.


James got his father's driven personality.

Not to be outdone by Kendall's outward determination, James's drive is seen when he finally comes to terms with what he wants. The two things he sticks to being of his singing and acting, it was all he wanted in life. His father taught him that since he was young, when he had been a bit of a chubby child. James used to look up at his father's physique in awe, wondering what it was he was doing wrong and why he had so many kids picking on him for being so big. Then Paul had noticed his son's stares and took him aside, teaching him how to live healthy and how to work out. He wouldn't say he blamed his mother for it, but their divorce when he was young didn't help.

His mother wanted to prove she could be a working Mom and do it all, keeping custody of James and doing the best she could. However he best was putting in long hours as the 'Estee Lauder of the Midwest' and gave James anything she could think of when it came time for him to eat, which wasn't always the healthiest. Paul, despite having gotten remarried quickly and to someone much younger than his ex-wife, did his best to make time for James—the two worked out together a lot.

And as James lost the weight, having reached that goal, he set his sights on the one that would being him fame and fortune and allow him to do what he loved for the rest of his life; singing and dancing. It became his life and all he talked about when not playing hockey. His friends poked fun at him for it, but he continued on with his dream, his father pushing him when he expressed his doubts. Still, James felt himself pulling further and further away from his father when he saw how much his antics of pushing his devil-may-care attitude to the forefront—whether it was from his new wife James wasn't sure—James decided to focus on his career.

Besides, becoming rich and famous was much more important than being in a committed relationship that was bound to end, right?


Carlos got his father's love of life.

No matter what the circumstance was, Carlos always managed to have a smile on his face. Despite Gustavo's screaming at him, his friends exasperated at his childlike demeanor to everyone that came his way, or his girlfriend Stephanie's teasing eye rolls at his never ending excitement he smiled. His father passed it on to Carlos nearly as soon as he was born. Papi Garcia had a tough job; being a police officer was not an easy thing to go through. There were cases that left him with a sour taste in his mouth, with darkness that haunted him, following him around as he finished a shift and went home. But as soon as he was back to his family, he was all smiles once more.

Carlos watched his father continue to become bogged down with the things he saw at crime scenes and took back with him and vowed to make his Dad smile when he got home. As soon as his father stepped through the door he sang a song or did a dance to make him smile and laugh. Even as he grew older the first thing he did whenever he saw his father was tell a joke or make him smile in some way. He inflicted the same sort of passion to his friends. When James and Kendall were arguing about going to LA after having been fired from Rocque Records only a few days after starting their band, he wanted to keep the peace. When BTR had 'ended' before their first concert he was the first one to make the others try to feel better.

Okay, so maybe his dream of becoming a superhero was far-fetched but it was something he had held onto since he was a kid and it made him happy. Even if he was made fun of for such a childish dream he could see that his friends were amused.

It was all he cared about. To see them smile.

Just like he wanted to make his father proud.


Logan got his father's patience.

Not did his long hours studying and learning as much as he could attribute to his patience, but so did dealing with the strange experiences being in a band brought. How long could he handle Carlos's antics, James's selfish tendencies, and Kendall's troubles with authority when it came to Big Time Rush? Just as long as he could handle the pressures of wanting to become a doctor. But even working with the guys was more fun. Things weren't going to come easily for them, no matter how much exposure and success they got with their albums, they still were there and he knew it was going to be a long time until he got there. But he could wait.

His father, Charlie, had been the same way. A carpenter who spent many of his days on whatever construction project came his way; working long hours in the blazing Texas sun to provide for his family without a complaint. And he did it for years, bypassing college to work on as many construction sites that would take him. He was so patient about the windfall he was going to get that he started to interact more with his co-workers, of which who weren't great for him. Soon Charlie found himself dealing drugs on the side of construction. When he was taken away, Logan was told his father went to take care of an ailing relative and that he wouldn't be able to talk to him as much.

That was fine, Logan buried himself in his studies, his father telling him over and over again that his way out, his way to having a good life would be through his education. It took a lot of hard work so he dedicated himself to knowing every book given to him front and back, to get top marks in his classes, to understand the judicial system once he was told the truth about his father—warning his friends of their fates whenever they got in trouble. Of which he put into his work in Big Time Rush. And he did it all with a smile, ready to learn as much as he could about it.

He didn't learn as quickly as the others, but he was willing and ready to learn no matter how long it took.

How else was he supposed to bide his time while he waited for his father to get out of jail?

..

.

Despite their successes and failures, their positive traits and negative traits, and how their actions affected their sons' lives, the fathers of Big Time Rush managed to instill something their four sons all managed to take on.

They were best friends.