Title: "Laws of Nature"
Rating: T
Genre: adventure, drama
Character(s): Leo, Donald, Chase
Pairing(s): Donald/Tasha, but only briefly
Summary: AU. Leo's life, for years, has been going well. Raised by his single mother, he's making definite strides towards the big world with her and his best friends by his side. However, everything takes a sharp turn when he accidentally gets involved with the bionic humans while out one night. Soon, he finds himself reeling from the effects of his decision—and fighting a battle that was never his to start with.
AlienGhostWizard14's notes: Hey to everyone reading this. musicnotes093 and I have been working on this for some time now so hopefully you'll all like it. Enjoy.
musicnotes093's notes: What AGW said. *grins* Seriously, though, I'm always looking to expand my portfolio in writing, and a collab piece is one of those things I've always wanted to try. You know what I've learned? Collabs are fun, especially if you find a co-writer(s) who's great to bounce off ideas with!
There are a lot of things in store so I won't hold you up. Hope you enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed writing it!
Chapter One.
No matter how hard she tried to focus on the letters and the words, nothing made sense to her. Tasha had been going over the menu for a while now, but she was finding it hard to concentrate. It wasn't the price of the food there, although that in itself was shocking. Her mind was just divided. She still hadn't made up her mind whether this date was something that she should enjoy or dread. Her date was very charming and pleasant. He was definitely good-looking. She just felt…guilty.
Maybe that was it. She wasn't enjoying the date because she was feeling guilty.
It had been more than a decade since she'd ventured for a relationship, but for some reason this act of going on a dinner with someone who she may come to like later seemed like a betrayal. Her son had assured her over and over again that she deserved to find a special someone if she was ready. He said that she deserved to be happy, and if his father was there he'd say the same thing, too. She had found comfort in that, and it was actually what pushed her to go this afternoon despite her hesitation.
However, the longer she sat there in that restaurant, the more she doubted the soundness of her decision.
"Are you okay?" Her date, a man named Donald Davenport, smiled at her when she looked up.
"Oh, um, yes. Yes, I'm okay," she said nervously. She forced a small smile on her face to show him that it was so.
"Are you sure?" he asked. "Because if this place is making you uncomfortable, we can find somewhere else to go. I'll let you pick."
"No, no, it's—Believe me, we're fine right here," Tasha told him politely.
Donald nodded although he was not fully convinced. "Alright," he said. He sat up straighter. "You can order whatever you want. Don't look at the prices. I'd like to pay for our dinner tonight."
Tasha smiled sincerely as his kindness slowly melted some of her anxieties away. "Thanks. That's really nice of you," she said.
"You're very welcome. And I'm more than happy to do it. It's not every day I get to meet a person I've been talking to online and show off," Donald said with a grin.
Tasha laughed.
As her short burst of laughter subsided, the waiter came up to the table, ready to take their order. "Have you decided on what you would like yet?" he asked, having a bit of an Italian accent, which fit nicely in the Italian restaurant.
Donald looked at Tasha, seeing if she had made her decision. Putting her menu down, she smiled kindly up at the tall waiter. "I'll have the Baked Ziti, please." One of her favorite dishes, and fairly cheap compared to some of the other items on the menu.
The waiter turned his attention to the other person. "And for the gentleman?"
Doing one last quick glance at the menu, Donald finally said, "I'll take the lasagna, if you don't mind." At the mention of lasagna, Tasha's smile faltered slightly. Leo's favorite, she thought.
Taking their menus, the waiter left the two alone again. A strained silence came over them, lasting only a bit until Donald spoke. "You know, I'm really glad you decided to come out tonight." Snapping Tasha out of her thoughts, he continued, not noticing her change in demeanor, "I honestly didn't even want to do this online dating thing. Only reason I did was because my...employee finally talked me into it. And I can't be happier I did." Tasha smiled, either not noticing Donald's slight pause or deciding it probably meant nothing. She felt a bit guilty, hearing this man talk about how excited he was about a simple date while she was having an internal debate on whether she should even be here or not.
Deciding to be half-honest with him, she said, "I'm glad I came too. I haven't been on a date in 10 years, actually, so I was nervous about tonight, but that nervousness is now gone since I'm here with you." Okay, make that a quarter-honest.
Donald smiled. "So, uh, tell me a little bit more about yourself," he prompted. "From your profile I know that you work at the news station, but you've never really said why you chose that career."
"It just came from a fascination I had when I was little," Tasha explained. "I always woke up to my dad watching the morning news, and – I don't know. I guess I just really liked what reporters do." She chuckled before adding, "Me and my sister would go into my mother's closet every weekend to borrow her blazers, and then we'd wear them and pretend we're doing a news report."
"That sounds fun," Donald said with a grin.
"Yeah, until my mother caught us," Tasha said, laughing.
"So you have a sister?"
Tasha nodded. "Yeah. A younger one. Her name's Janice."
"Oh, okay. You mind if I ask how far apart in age you are?"
"Three years," Tasha said. "What about you? Do you have any siblings?"
Donald steeled, but only for a moment. With a small smile, he said, "My family life's a little complicated."
Tasha stared, panicked and unsure what to do after having struck a sensitive topic. "Oh. Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't—"
"No, it's okay. Don't worry. You didn't do anything wrong," Donald assured her sincerely.
Tasha looked away in embarrassment; the date was only getting worse.
"So, besides work, is there anything else you like to do?" Donald asked, reinitiating their conversation.
Though still reeling from her blunder, Tasha answered. "From time to time I go out to dinner with my friends. Sometimes I like going to the movies."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. But to be honest, most of the time, when I'm not at work, I just stay at home. I have a thirteen year-old son, and he can be quite a handful."
"Oh, yeah, I remember you mentioning something about a son in your profile. What's his name?"
"Leo, after his grandfather." She smiled warmly, the thought of her son again giving her that pang of guilt. "I think you would really like him. He's always messing around with technology, taking it apart and seeing how it works." She let out a laugh. "I remember one time when he was seven and he messed around with the fuse box. I tell you, it's not every day you report the story of your own house getting set on fire."
Donald let out a small grin. "Sounds like a curious kid you've got there."
"Yeah but he is also brilliant. Only thing he has never gotten an A in is gym." Tasha's smile slowly became more and more strained. "Unfortunately, people don't care about brains at his age. Only thing they care about right now are the athletes. It can be hard for him at times. He doesn't have a lot of friends, so really it's mostly just me and him. I try to be there for him, but like I said, it's hard."
Donald chuckled a bit, making Tasha look up, wondering what was so funny. "Sounds like me at his age. I was also the short, scrawny kid that no one liked. It was hard, I'll admit, but look where being the smart kid gets you." He reached across the table and grabbed her hand, causing her to flinch slightly at the sudden contact. "My parents weren't around often when I was a kid. I had to deal with all the teasing and punching all by myself. But, I can tell you will be there for Leo, no matter what." Hearing the billionaire's words, Tasha got a bit glassy eyed, touched by his words. Which made it all the more painful since she felt even more guilty not being with her son right now.
Seeing the look on her face, Donald decided to lean away so as not to make her any more uncomfortable. "If there's one thing you can do with your son, what would it be?" he asked. When Tasha looked at him, he added, "It could be anything. Could be expensive, cheap, whatever. What would it be?"
Tasha thought about it for a while before she remembered a wish she'd had for a long time. "I want to take him to different countries," she said.
"Different countries?" Donald repeated, both intrigued and impressed.
"I know," Tasha said. "It sounds excessive but, I just want him to know that there's more to the world than he sees here. California's already filled with different types of people, but I want him to see and experience firsthand the different cultures and sceneries and food and languages out there. If I allow him to think that this city's as big as it gets, then his understanding will be limited."
Then, she added a bit sadly, "I also don't want him to become like those children who talk down on him and hurt him because they don't understand him. It's important that he learns not to fear difference, because if he's not afraid of the fact that we're not all the same, then he can build good relationships with people. It'll make him a good person, and that's all a parent ever wants for their child. To be good and happy."
Something in what she had said moved Donald into thinking. Though it was evident through his expression, Tasha didn't see it, because she was too preoccupied with her own thoughts. Donald was a lovely man, and she had yet to find any fault in him. Their short time together had only further proved that he was kind and generous. He was also very funny. What she liked the most about him was his ability to empathize with her son.
He was wonderful. He was perfect.
However, it came to her that cultivating a relationship at that moment was not the best step to take. Her and her son's lives were too unstable to introduce more instability to it. Pursuing whatever could be between her and Donald may provide her the company and help others say she needed, but what about her child? Being grafted into a stepfamily would not be easy for him. That would put more things on his plate, and – she couldn't do that to him.
Tasha took a deep breath, finding peace of mind as she reached a decision. She smiled, which didn't feel forced that time. "Donald?"
"I know," Donald said, reciprocating her smile. He understood and wasn't hurt. "You're not ready for a relationship right now."
"I'm sorry."
Donald shook his head. "Don't be. You want to do what's best for your kid. Who am I to tell you not to?" he said. I would do the same thing for mine, he thought but didn't say. He sat up. "Can we still have dinner together, though? As friends?" he asked.
Tasha nodded, chuckling. "Of course," she said.
With the burden of guilt off her shoulders, she was actually able to enjoy that afternoon.
. . .
Donald came home that evening, his mind heavy with what his date, Tasha, had said. He couldn't say he wasn't disappointed in what happened tonight. Ever since he adopted Adam, Bree, and Chase, he hadn't had much time for dating. Having three genetically engineered bionic superhumans kept him pretty busy at times. This was actually his first date in over 16 years, and he had been so excited. So it was a bit painful when Tasha admitted she wasn't actually ready for a relationship. Donald understood, of course, but it still was sad to think about.
So, instead he thought about what she said. About how all she wanted was the best for her kid. How she wanted him to embrace difference instead of being afraid of it.
It's important that he learns not to fear difference, because if he's not afraid of the fact that we're not all the same, then he can build good relationships with people. It'll make him a good person, and that's all a parent ever wants for their child. To be good and happy.
He knew that his kids were the most different people on the planet. And, so that they would be safe, he hid them away, training them for when they were ready to go into the outside world.
But maybe he had been going about this all wrong. If there was one thing he learned tonight, it was that keeping his kids hidden might actually be hurting them more than helping them.
If I allow him to think that this city's as big as it gets, then his understanding will be limited.
No matter how egotistical Donald may seem, he truly only wanted the best for his kids. And maybe it was time to try something better.
As the elevator opened to reveal the lab, he chuckled at what he saw. Chase was running after Adam, who was laughing like a madman, holding Chase's laptop in his hands. Bree was off to the side, taping the whole thing with a camera Donald gave her.
His chuckling alerted the siblings of their father's presence, causing them all to freeze in place. Instead of the angered look they were expecting, Donald just smiled a small smile.
"Hey, Mr. Davenport," Bree greeted cautiously. "Back so soon?"
"Yeah. I thought you'd be out late?" Adam added, discreetly hiding the laptop behind him. "Did the date go well?"
"Of course it went well. I helped him set up his profile. Everything was perfect," Bree told her brother.
"Correction: we helped him set up his profile," Chase pointed out. "It was a group effort. We all wanted him to go on a date, remember?"
Bree only crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. Meanwhile, Adam eagerly asked, "So, how was it?"
Donald decided not to acknowledge the question for the time being. Instead, with his new decision in mind, he said, "Guys, I think it's time for some changes around here."
to be continued.