Rick sighed as he poured his sixth cup of coffee that morning into his favorite mug; his nerves were beyond his control. Hank sat in the chair opposite him, he gave his friend a concerned look,
"What's the matter partner? You ain't doin' your kidneys no favors drinking like that. What's on yer mind?"
He was hesitant, "Nah, I don't really wanna talk about it, appreciate the thought though, mate."
"Sure, that's what friends are for."
Rick downed the rest of the steaming concoction and set his mug gently on the table as Cassandra sleepily walked into the kitchen.
"Good morning, Hank," She slipped her arms around the Australian's neck and kissed his cheek, "And good morning to you, sweetheart."
The bushman smiled and stood up from his seat, enveloping her in a meaningful hug, "Mornin', love."
He broke the embrace when Cassandra's stomach began to growl in the usual morning hunger. She responded by going over to the fridge, pulling out the butter and setting it on the table as Jewels made her appearance.
"Mornin' everyone!"
"Well good morning, Jays! Did you sleep well?" Cassandra asked her best friend sweetly, toasting bread, grabbing the cinnamon and sugar from the cupboard, and setting them beside the butter.
"Yes, I did, thanks so much for asking! SO are you making enough Cinnamon Toast for everyone?" Jewels asked anxiously, earning a loud throat clearing from her teacher and father figure. "What's the first part of the creed, Little One?"
She huffed, "Be Polite...Cassandra, can you PLEASE make some toast for me?"
She giggled, "Of course, Jays."
She busied one of her hands getting more bread and the other trying to rid the toaster of the finished toast that just popped up. Rick walked over, taking out a butter knife from the nearby drawer, and took the toast gently from his wife's hand.
"Aw, thanks so much for your help, dear."
"Sure, love. I'm always willing to butter your bread.."
She blushed, and Jewels just laughed, "Geez, Dad, I think I should be asking YOU what the first part of the creed is.."
They both chuckled, "I was only joking, love."
Hank pushed his chair back, and stood up, "Wow, this is just a tad awkward..Think I'm gonna go find Lance and we're gonna build something, not sure what-"
Jewels gasped, "Ooh! Build something that'll allow me to fly-"
"NO, Jewels! I already told you, we can't do that! Neither one of us can afford that!"
She crossed her arms and turned away from him, "HMPH!"
Hank sighed, and moved his goggles so he could rub the bridge of his nose. "Goodnight, Irene.."
She turned back to him, "It's morning, and my name's NOT Irene!"
Cassandra and Rick by now have got a pretty good pile of Cinnamon Toast going, and she walked up, grabbed her 3, thanked her parental figures for the breakfast and rushed out of the kitchen.
"It's not like I don't TRY to get her ticked at me, it just always seems to happen..The thing is, neither Lance nor I know how to build a machine that's SAFE enough for her to get in, if anything happened to her, I would be heartbroken, and Lance-"
"Yeah, we know all about how fond he is of her..Don't worry about it Hank, I'm sure she'll be okay after a few minutes."
He walked towards Cassandra, hugged her briefly, then rested his arms on her shoulders, looking deeply into her eyes. "Thank you, Darlin', you're always lookin' out for others, keepin' them in good spirits.."
She nervously cleared her throat, "Heh, well I try.."
He gently tightened his grip and leaned in, Cassandra froze.
As his lips neared hers, he smirked, releasing his grip on her shoulders to reach for his 3 pieces of toast, and taking a quick bite, "Thanks for breakfast, sweetie." He, too, left the area, leaving Cassandra and Rick alone. She caught her breath, "Well, that was awkward.."
He laughed, "Yeah, but he's just messin' with ya, Love."
Her blush faded, "I know but sometimes.."
"Don't worry, if I think he's gonna do anything, I'd stop him, one way or another. Those lips are just for me to kiss.."
He pulled her closer and kissed her passionately, her eyes widened and she made a sound as if she just remembered something, she released herself from it, as much as she didn't want to.
"Honey, did you give any thought to what I asked last night?"
The smile that was across his face receded, "Ah, Love! Can't we just forget about it?"
"No, Rick! It's not going to go away if you ignore it, that actually makes it worse!"
"You don't think know that! It's not that I don't want to see them, it's just..Remember what I told you when we first met?"
"I do.."
"Well, I don't think anything's changed.."
"Well no, but it won't ever have a chance to if we don't do something about it..Please can we go? I called the airport last night and they said a flight there and back leaves this afternoon, and I had them reserve tickets, but I haven't bought anything yet."
The Sniper sighed, "You're not missing much but, if it really means that much to you, I guess you can call the airport and tell them we'll be on that plane.."
Cassandra squealed, "Yey, thank you so much for this, Honey! Come on, let's go pack!"
He stood up, but the overdose of coffee hit him hard, and his legs started shaking.
"Rick? Are you okay?"
She rushed over to him in time to be what he landed on instead of the floor, they crashed down.
"What's wrong, why did you start shaking?" Cassandra was on the verge of tears, he sighed.
"Don't worry, just had a little too much coffee this morning.."
It was only then he realized where he had fallen, he cleared his throat, "Appreciate the cushions, Love."
Again she blushed and plainly, "Yup, you're just fine.."
Jeremy, the BLU sniper, appeared in the doorway, "When's it gonna be my turn?"
"GO AWAY JEREMY!" The annoyed couple said in unison.
"Okay!" And he was gone as quickly as he showed up.
"That Jeremy..His perverseness exceeds anything I ever thought humanly possible.." She gently helped her sniper up, wrapping one of his arms around her for support. "We don't have to go if you don't feel up to it."
He shook his head, "Nah, I promised, didn't I? Besides, if it makes you happy, well I don't wanna miss out on a chance to make you smile."
Cassandra smiled and planted a kiss on his cheek, "You're so good to me, I don't deserve it."
He chuckled, "You're right," She opened the door to their bedroom and helped him on the bed, "You deserve so much more."
After Rick began feeling better, they began packing their bags.
"It's only a day so we don't have to pack much." She turned to him to make sure he'd heard what she said, and her mouth dropped open slightly when she saw the bag he was packing. "What the-Are you still queasy? Didn't you hear me?"
"Loud and clear, Love. Just a day trip."
"Then why are you using that bag? It's big enough to fit a leprechaun or two!"
"It's the only bag I got, and it's the only one I need."
Cassandra sighed quietly, "Alright, well we're both packed, and I already called the airport, so I guess we can get going!"
"You sound really excited, Cassandra.."
She grabbed his left arm and rested her head on his shoulder, "Oh, I am! Thanks so much for doing this, Rick.."
He put his free arm around her and hugged tightly, "Sure, Love, anything for you.."
When they opened the front door of their door with bags in hand, they were seen off by all their friends, all but Jewels, who Jake said he hadn't seen since breakfast. Cassandra bit her lower lip,
'I wonder where she went, surely Hank didn't offend her that much?'
When the taxi approached, Rick grabbed all the bags and started loading them inside, Cassandra hugged all her friends and went to join him, she heard a long drawn out sigh from the marksman, and grabbed his arm.
"I know you're nervous, but I'm sure it won't be as bad as you think." She kissed him lightly on the cheek, then they both entered the cab and the driver sped off into the distance.
The airport wasn't too crowded, which made everything run rather smoothly, and they were in their seats before they knew it.
"Wow, I had never gone through a terminal that swiftly."
"Well, we didn't have much baggage to check, plus they know us here from last time we were here, so all our information was current, and not to mention the lines, or rather the lack thereof, it was definitely in our favor."
Cassandra wrapped both her arms around one of his, the bushman looked down at his wife, "How can you be so calm, Love? Aren't you a bit nervous?"
"Well, a little, but not as much as you seem to be.."
He gently sighed, and laid back in his seat, trying to get comfortable, Cassandra letting go of his arm as he did so, he closed his eyes.
"It's gonna be a long flight, Love, not long enough, of course, but gives us time to think about what we're going to say, at least."
"I'm just going to be myself and hope for the best."
"Good luck, Love."
They shared a brief laugh together, then Rick stared out the window as the plane began to take off,
'So this is really happening, I almost can't believe it. She has convinced me to do something I told myself I'd never do again..I don't know what to expect..'
Cassandra leaned against his shoulder, he looked down at her, "Yes, Love?" He said when she saw her staring into his eyes, her smile appearing much brighter, which calmed the man's nerves slightly.
"Just wanted to thank you again, this means more than the world to me."
He rubbed his fingers through her soft, maroon hair, "I know it does, Love. No problem."
Several hours passed, and the couple had long since fallen asleep. Rick's eyes shut tighter from a stray of sunlight that shone in on the sensitive organs, he opened them, grumbling to himself when the reality of his situation hit him. He turned to Cassandra, his uneasiness melted with his heart as he saw her, head slightly tilted in his direction with her mouth slightly agape, sleeping. He reached over and shook her shoulder like it would've shattered with any extra strength, her beautiful green eyes fluttered open.
"Sorry, Love, hate to wake ya, you looked so peaceful, but we're about to land."
She stretched and yawned at the same time, "No, I'm fine, dear. I'm so excited, I can't until we touch down!"
Rick laughed, "If that's how you feel, you have noidea what you've gotten yourself into, love"
"Oh, you're exaggerating, Rick."
"Alright, suit yourself."
The plane eventually descended, and the two grabbed their bags, eager to feel ground under their feet and stretched their legs. Cassandra noticed Rick was struggling with his one lightly packed bag, so when they exited the airport, she turned to him, "You seemed to be having trouble, you didn't pack much of anything, so why is it suddenly so heavy?"
"Dunno, was just thinking about that myself," He set the bag on the ground, knelt down, and started unzipping it, "Now, what in the bloody hell's in here.."
"HI, RICK!"
The bushman let out a startled cry and fell backwards into a sitting position. The petite girl fixed her gray baseball cap, and crawled out of the bag, Cassandra gasped in surprise.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you, Dad."
He stood up and put a hand on his chest to try to slow down his pounding heart, "Nah, that's okay, Little One, glad to see ya."
Cassandra went over to Jewels and hugged her tightly, "Oh, I'm glad to see you! I was so worried about you, I-Wait, we were just on a 14-hour flight, how in the world did you survive in there?"
"I left it slightly open to ventilate the air, obviously."
"Okay, fair enough, but what about food? Did you eat?"
Jewels walked over to Rick's bag and pulled out various snack food wrappers and threw them away in the nearby trashcan, then she pulled out 5 bottles, all full, and threw them away, too.
"Why did you do that? That was perfectly good water!"
Jewels blushed slightly, "Um, that wasn't water..Well it used to be.."
Silence, then Rick burst into heartfelt laughter, "That's my girl! You learned well, Little One."
She cleared her throat, "Well, I try, and as you can see, I can take care of myself!"
Casandra just smiled, "So I see."
"It's just like ya to pull something like this, poor Hank was having a heart attack when he thought you ran away because of him!"
"Nah, of course not, him and I always joke like that, I thought he'd known that by now."
"Well does any of the group back home know where you are?"
She hesitated, "Um, maybe?"
Rick sighed, "Call them, please."
"Yes, sir."
She reached into her pocket for her cell phone, which just barely has service, and dialed Jake.
"Hello, honey? Yeah, it's me, I just wanna let you know I'm with Rick and Cass, so relay the message, would you? What, it's hard to hear you, you're breaking up," Suddenly, loud crying could be heard by the couple from the earpiece. "No Jake, I didn't say we're breaking up, you are, like I'm hearing lots of static? Yes, I'm okay. Alright. Love you, too, bye."
She pressed a button on her phone and replaced it in her pocket,
"Slight misunderstanding at first..Poor guy was actually in tears."
"We heard, that was actually really touching."
"Yeah, who would've known the Twitchy Hooligan was so sensitive?"
Cassandra smiled at him, "Same could be said about you, Rick.."
He cleared his throat nervously, "Right, well, we should get going.."
He picked up his bag, which was much lighter now, and zipped it up just as another taxi stopped in front of them. They filed in, and Rick told the driver where to go. The address left his lips feeling numb the instant it passed between them, because, after all, it was the one place he NEVER wanted to return to, It was the address of his Parent's, and once his own, home.
When the cab slowed to a stop at the front of the 2 story rural house, Rick's heartbeat increased. The three exited the car with their belongings and neared the front door, the Aussie looked like young child at their first Haunted House, but he exhaled slowly, and gently knocked on the door. Cassandra could see he was visibly shaking, so she gave him a supporting hug and kissed him on the cheek.
"Don't worry, just remember, we're in this together, and we always will be."
The door opened, and an elderly lady wearing a long pale pink dress with her white hair just barely shoulder length, stood before them. It was quiet, then Rick smiled, "Hi, Mum! How have ya been?"
Her smile grew instantly miles wider as realization finally struck her, "Oh, my sweet Ricky! You're home!"
He opened his arms, and she immediately reacted with a hug.
"Oh, I 've missed you so much, dearest, you have no idea! Please, come in!"
The two girls thanked the woman for entry, and she closed the doors behind Jewels. Cassandra took a seat beside Rick and Jewels sat in the next fluffy chair near them. The woman happily sat in the rocking chair in the corner of the living room, where she could easily see everyone, her smile appeared to be painted on her face, "so, who are these nice looking young ladies?"
Rick cleared his throat, "Oh, Mum, that there's Jewels, I taught her how to use a rifle, she was an excellent student, and I consider her my daughter."
"That innocent looking young lady over there shoots guns? My, I never would've guessed!"
Jewels laughed, "Yeah, I get that a lot! And you're quite young yourself, maybe I can teach you some of what Rick's taught me!"
Everyone laughed, "No, thank you dear, I'm alright, and who is that sitting beside you, Rick?"
"This is Cassandra, another one of my best friends, and my wife of 5 years." He put an arm around her, and she snuggled into it and smiled, the elderly woman's eyes widened, "Wha- Why didn't you phone us, dear?"
"Well, I didn't think about it, I mean considering.." He trailed off
"Oh yes, well, did you at least have a nice wedding?"
"Well, we just had a party with all our friends, that's about it."
The woman smiled at her, "Well, better to have met you now rather than never. My name is Mary-Anne, you can call me Mary. It's very nice to meet you, and thank you for keeping my Ricky company all these years!"
Cassandra sat up, "Oh the pleasure's all mine, Mary! It's nice to meet you, too, and you have such a lovely home!"
"Why, thank you, dear. She's awfully sweet, Rick, Where did you meet her?"
As he started his sentence, they all heard the front door forcefully swing open then being slammed shut.
"I'm back, Mary!" He entered the living room, and visibly froze, "Well, well, well, look what the sickly cat threw up on our couch.."
Rick smiled up at him, "Nice to see you, too, Dad."
His father's face remained stern, he was at least a foot taller than Rick! He turned to the girls and pointed an uncaring finger in their direction, "So, who are they? More women from the street you'll have us feed then take them up to your room to do lord knows what to them?"
Cassandra's mouth dropped open as she glanced up at Rick, his father laughed.
"It was a joke, girlie. No, he never brought anyone home, and, to be honest, I thought he was gay and keeping his boyfriend at school and away from us. He would always claim he was going to the firing range and not letting us go watch him, so we thought something was up."
Cassandra interjected, "Excuse me, Sir, but did you not believe him? I mean, he's a fantastic shot, and one doesn't just get that great overnight. And, if he was gay, would you love him any less?"
He glared at her, "Well, I don't know where you come from, girl, but around here people like that are greatly frowned upon by everyone, love is meant to be between a man and woman, anything else is an abomination! I told him that, too, I would've disowned him had that been the case."
Her eyes darkened, "I see, to each their own."
Jewels and Rick knew how pissed she probably was on the inside, some of her best friends, Ian, Sydney, Hanz, and Pavel, are all gay, and when you talk negative about her friends, all Hell breaks loose, 2 times. Rick held her close, and whispered in her ear, "Love, I know you're probably pissed, come one, we can go rent a motel or something.."
She shook her head, "No, your mom looks so happy to see you! I'm not going to let some stray comment set me off."
"Alright then." He hugged her tighter, and his dad laughed.
"Wow, he actually did it; he found someone who isn't repulsed when he touches them!"
Rick felt Cassandra tense up, he sighed, "Dad, please.."
"What kind of man says that word? What in the HELL have you been doing to soften up so much! When you left, well first off you promised you'd never come back, and I was looking forward to it, but you were also a emotionless machine, now look at you! If you coming back wasn't depressing enough, you brought people you probably care about! Where's the man I raised?"
Cassandra absolutely couldn't believe what she had just heard! Rick sighed, "I apologize, Dad.."
The man acted like he was a God, "Well, I guess you couldn't help it, though it was your own stupidity for leaving in the first place.."
"I was 18, dad, plus you had kicked me out, I-"
"DO NOT raise your voice to me in my house!"
Silence, Cassandra stood up, looking at Jewels, who was near tears at the sight of being powerless to help Rick, and then Rick himself, poor man, she had had enough!
"Listen to yourself! Saying you'd be more proud of your son if he was a 'emotionless machine' than what he is right now! You might not approve of his profession but you should be happy he at least HAS one, and not living on the street! And how did he get his job? By being the BEST! If I were his father, I'd be pretty damn proud! I-"
"That's enough, Cassandra..Please, no more yelling.."
She stopped and look at her husband, looking completely broken up, she sat down beside him, "I'm sorry, I just.."
Mary sighed, "She's right, Harold, given he hasn't told us much about his job, we should be happy for him, and regardless of what happened in the past, he's here now, and he's trying to tell us how his life has been. It's a long flight from where they live, so please just let him speak!"
Jewels looked at Cassandra and they were both thinking the same thing: Mary is the Dennis of Australia! Harold sighed, "Well, we know that one's name, what do you call that one with the odd hair color?"
"That's Jewels."
She smiled at him, "Nice to meet you, Sir."
He said nothing, "Where did you meet them?"
"We were waiting for a delayed flight to the same destination."
"Where were you all going? What could all three of you have in common?"
In unison, they replied, "A love for artillery and being the best at what we do!" The elderly couple both inaudibly gasped, then Mary sighed,
"As long as you're being safe, guys," Sudden interest entered her voice, "Oh, Cassandra, you never told me what kind of weapon you prefer."
"I enjoy working with and setting up explosives, I specialize in demolition."
"Oh, I see, well whatever makes you happy."
Rick stood up suddenly, "Well, I'm going to go put our bags in my room, be right back."
"Need any help, honey?"
"Nah, sweetie, thanks though." They kissed briefly, then he went up the creaking wooden stairs. She sat back down and faced Mary, completely ignoring Harold. "If you don't mind me asking, why does the talk of guns seem to bother you so much?"
She smiled at her daughter-in-law, "It's not that it bothers me, it's just I've had a life full of weaponry, and I thought I was finished with it, until Ricky decided he wanted a Sniper Rifle for his 18th birthday instead of a vehicle. They just bring back some memories, you see, I-"
Harold cut her off, "Mary, even now, we promised you wouldn't discuss that to anyone!"
She brushed him off, "Oh, she can get over it, I won't say too much. I trust you'll kepp this secret, but Harold and I used to work for this secret organization, and things didn't go the way we wanted, so things became really difficult for us, until one day, he decided to take me and a few of his good friends with him to elope, we never saw the place again, and we're not even sure if it's still in operation, but it was extremely bad for me, I had to hide my gender the entire time..it was difficult.." She looked at Jewels and Cassandra, their face full of empathy. "I'm sure that made absolutely no sense but I had to keep it vague."
The girls nodded and grinned, "Oh, we understand."
Cassandra rose to her feet, 'Well, I'm going to go check on Rick, be back soon!" She quietly went up the stairs, leaving Jewels to converse with the Mundy's, and she did.
"Well, I'm also married, his name is Jake, he.."
Cassandra heard boxes being rummaged through when she reached the top, making his room easy to find, making his room easy to find. She knocked on the door as she slowly opened it. "Hey, hey. I was wondering what was taking so long. How are you doing, Rick?"
He looked up from the bed he was sitting on and smiled, "Oh, I'm fine, Love. I came in here to unpack, then I found my old boxes of thing I hadn't seen in years. I guess I got lost in the memories, sorry."
"No, it's okay, I'm glad you're actually trying to enjoy yourself." She sat beside him and started looking through the contents of the box with him, old pictures. He handed her one of him with a good amount of people in front of his high school, her smile widened, "Wow, you had so many friends, why does your dad think you were a loner?"
"I never invited any of them over, I was always the one being invited. Almost every day I went over to someone's place, they were a good group, I imagine they still are. So when I had some free time, I would go home, see my Mum, then go to the Firing Range with my sniper rifle, it was the perfect way to wind down and end the day.."
Cassandra sighed, "I'm sure you were popular with the ladies, weren't you?"
"Yeah, but they all wanted to get with me for the status boost, none of them loved me for who I was, but I'm grateful I finally found someone that does."
They snuggled closer, and continued to look through the photos, Cassandra noticed a pattern forming, "Um, honey? Not that I'm complaining, but I don't see your dad in any of these.."
His voice became solemn, "The man wouldn't take any pictures with me, I guess he didn't wanna associate with me. I've heard several stories form Mum, but the one that hurt the most was that he never wanted any children, but since I came around, he treated me worse than a slave. I remember this one summer, he took me to the Doctor's for an annual check-up, and he told my father I was starting to come down with the Ross River virus. So he took me home and beat me, saying no man is weak enough to get sick, he also doubled up on my chores, and he didn't tell my mum what I had, so when I almost died, she had no idea why until I told her, then we promised not to talk about it again, but he found out somehow, and kicked me out the following day, which also happened to be my birthday."
Cassandra absorbed the information quietly, holding his hand tightly, "I'm so sorry to hear that, Sweetheart, I just couldn't imagine.."
"Yeah, he's made it obvious he's hated me from the beginning. The same summer, when the virus was at it's worst, he was outside digging, Mum asked him why and he said, right beside my window, 'Need a hole to put the dog in, because I sure as hell ain't paying for no funeral.'" Rick had choked up on the words and was sobbing quietly, Cassandra held him close, letting some of her own tears fall from her face, "That's just horrible! I'm so sorry I made you come back here!"
"It's alright, Love. I just wish once in my life, he'd say he was proud of me, or even acknowledge the fact that he has a son.."
Suddenly, a knock sounded gently on the door, "Are you two alright in there? Dinner's ready!"
"Okay, Mum! Be right out!" As he got up to leave, his wallet fell out of his vest pocket, Cassandra grabbed it and opened it to the card slots, Rick chuckled, "Are you checking to make sure it's still there?"
She nodded and giggled when she saw it, "Ah, my amazing scorecard, it shows all the kills, dominations, assists, and captures I had, I'm at the top, just barely though."
Rick wrapped his arms around her waist, "You're the best Demoman out there, even if you were at the bottom of that list.."
"You're so sweet, Rick.." She kissed him briefly, then headed for the door, "I have yours with me, too, I always do."
"Oh, one more thing, Cassandra."
She turned from the door, "Yes?"
He smiled the realest smile since he's been there and simply said, "Thanks for loving me."
Again she kissed his cheek, "No problem, Rick, and for the record," She pointed at the box full of pictures, "If you ever grow your hair that long again, I'll smack you. It doesn't fit you."
He chuckled, "Well it was longer than that the day before we first met, you know."
She just laughed, opened the door, and descended the stairs to the kitchen where Jewels was still talking!
"And this one time, Jake, you remember him right? Well he bought me this awesome baseball bat.."
Mary chuckled, "My, you sure have lots of stories to tell, young one!"
Harold scoffed, "Which is her way of saying 'Where's the Off switch'?"
"Nonsense! Her stories are very interesting, they remind me of us back in the day.."
"These kids have no idea what kinds of hell we went through!"
Cassandra muttered, "Speak for yourself, Jerk.." under her breath, Jewels smiled at her,
"I know, right?"
It got silent, until Mary brought up a certain subject, "So when do I expect grandchildren?"
Cassandra and Rick both cried out in unison and, had they anything in their mouths, it would've went flying. Rick started to speak, but his father interrupted him, "They already have children, their weaponry! You heard them talking about how much they love their guns! It's actually fortunate, the last thing this world needs is a miserable gun-happy failure to have offspring.."
"ACTUALLY, we checked with a doctor, and neither one of us is capable to have children because of prolonged exposure to a certain chemical dust that causes infertility, thank you VERY much."
The two looked at each other a second time, the same stupid look on their faces as before, Mary stared both of them down, "Where exactly were you?"
"Oh, location's not important, Mary, it's not going to change anything."
"That's true but.." She trailed off, "Nevermind, I'm sorry, you two.."
"Nah, it's fine, Mum, we have Jewels after all."
Cassandra's smile brightened, "Yup, and she's more than enough for us!"
Jewels laughed, "You better believe it!"
Mary wiped her mouth with a napkin, then said, "Oh, yes, Rick, You'll never guess who called me a few weeks ago. Robert, he was looking for you! When I asked him where he had been, he also talked about the irrelevance of location.."
Jewels gulped, "How do you guys know Robert?"
Mary gasped, "so it is what I thought.."
"What do you mean,Mum?"
"I knew that pledge you guys said earlier sounded familiar! You know Robert, which means you guys were in.." She stopped her sentence there, in case she was wrong. Rick sighed,
"Go on, Mum, I'm certain what you're thinking is correct.."
"You were in the..war?"
The trio nodded, "Yeah we were, but how did knowing Robert give it away?"
Mary sighed, "It wasn't just that or the pledge, but I was also given the same infertility diagnosis you two were when I got back home but," She motioned to her son, "As you can see, the Doctor wasn't exactly correct, not that it was a problem with me, but for Harold it was difficult," When they turned to him, he was already in the living room, reading the newspaper. Mary took the dishes from the table and set them in the sink as everyone remained seated, anxious to hear more of her story.
"He had trouble keeping food on the table and a roof over just our heads, so when the unexpected happened, he was forced to get another job on top of the 2 he already had..it was really hard, and since we ran away from the war we didn't have any help from them. But enough about that, how is Alison, or you may only know her as the Administrator."
Jewels perked up, "She's okay, I guess, well she was until she caught and almost killed us.."
"Why would she do that?"
Cassandra shifted her weight nervously, "We also ran away, but it was..more noticeable than when you guys did..both teams left.."
Mary looked astonished, "What you were caught? How are you still alive?"
"Dunno, something Cassandra did, all she said she did was accept her fate and kept saying she was willing to die for what she believed in.."
Mary gasped, "Just like me..I was a BLU medic and Harold was a RED Soldier, he was always getting himself badly injured, and their teams medic was always busying himself with their Heavy; you know how that is.." The three nodded and she continued, "I would secretly keep him safe, I would heal him every chance I got, and after he found out I was hiding my gender, we just kind of fell in love, but eventually-"
Rick unconsciously cut her off, "The risk was just getting too great, you knew if someone saw you helping someone from the opposite team, you'd get both yourself and the person you love in trouble, so you decided to run away because you figured you were just holding the team back anyway, am I right?"
"Yes, son, that was exactly what was going through our minds..So you went there, ran away, and survived Alison? That's impressive!" She turned on the sink and began washing the dishes from everyone's meal, and Rick appeared puzzled.
"That name sounds so familiar, is there someone in our family with that name? Someone you were always talking about, Mum?"
Without turning around, she replied, "Yes, my sister, but we're still talking about the same person."
Rick stood up from his seat, "WHAT! Then that means..Robert is my-"
"Cousin, yes. I'm sorry I should have told you earlier, but when she became all shady and I saw Robbie was starting to act the same way, joining that war..I just didn't want him pressuring you into going and you getting hurt, or worse.."
"Nah, don't even worry about it, it's okay."
Jewels cleared her throat and her smile returned, "Well, I was a BLU scout, but then Rick showed me how to be a sniper, so I could be both."
"Hang on, let's have this conversation in the living room, sweetie, I need to rest my feet."
The group made their way into the den, all sitting back into their previous spots, and Jewels resumed her statement, "And Cassandra here was an amazing BLU Demoman, and then theirs Rick, he-"
"I was the Sniper for RED."
Harold perked up, "Really? Were you any good?"
Rick smiled at his father, "Was I any good? Couldn't put up my bloody scope without some idiot putting their head in my crosshairs! I was the top of the charts the entire time I was there!"
Cassandra reached into her pocket and pulled out his scorecard, she handed it to Rick, who then handed it to Harold. The card listed the same stats that Cassandra's did, except his also kept track of the Headshots he obtained, which was well into the three digits. Rick was at the top with a formidable lead, and as Harold's eyes glanced over the card, his mouth formed a smile, he gave the card back to his son, wrapped him in a bear hug, and said, "That's my boy, and here I was thinking you weren't doing anything with your life, but you were. You were proving that years of practicing something you love will get you far. I'm glad you didn't die out there, I'm proud of you as a person, I'm sorry I wasn't the father I should have been and that you deserved, and I love you son, I really do."
After the shock wore off, Rick returned the hug, "I love you too, dad."
Cassandra, Jewels, and Mary-Anne just smiled, thankful those two finally were at peace with each other.
"Well, you guys, bedtime! We all had a long day today!"
Harold laughed, "Okay, Mary. Hey son, you know what was so awesome? When you catch an enemy standing still, whether their reloading or just think their alone, and you get that perfect rocket shot or headshot!"
"Yeah, that was the absolute best!"
Mary cleared her throat loudly, "Now you two, that's enough war talk, it's time for bed!"
Rick chuckled, "Alright, Goodnight Mum, Dad, I love you both so much!"
"We love you, too, son. Goodnight."
As the three ascended the stairs, Mary and Harold made their way to their own bedroom, which was downstairs and connected to the living room. "They probably only survived because Rick was with them.."
"I don't know, that Cassandra could have reminded her of you, she had the same attitude you did back then. You haven't talked to her in years, maybe you should give her a call sometime."
"Yeah, that's a good idea, I'll call her tomorrow."
The elders opened the door to their room and closed it silently.
Rick and Cassandra fit comfortably on the bed, and Jewels insisted on sleeping on the floor when they said they were fairly certain she could fit up there with them, too.
"No, thanks, it would be weird because you guys are married, and EWW!"
Cassandra got comfortable under the covers, "Wow, what were the odds of your parents being in the same war that we were? And that stuff about Robert and the Admin? What a day you must have had, sweetie.."
Rick put both his hands behind his head, "Yeah, but me and my dad are okay now, and he said he was proud of me, so that alone made the entiretrip worth it. Thank you so much for suggesting we visit my parents,I love you.." He started kissing her neck, and she giggled.
"See why I decided to sleep down here?"
All three laughed, then Rick shut off the light, "Don't worry, we're not gonna do anything..Goodnight, girls."
"Goodnight, Rick!" They said in unison, then quickly drifted off to a peaceful sleep.
The next day the entire house was awake early and sat down for a quick breakfast.
"Sorry we can't stay longer, but our plane will be leaving in a few hours, plus we had an unexpected surprise in our luggage.."
Jewels smiled proudly, "Yeah, I kinda miss my Jakey.."
Rick's parents looked at the group with admiration, then nodded, "It's alright, we completely understand, good luck with everything, you three, and thanks so much for stopping by!"
Cassandra shook Mary's hand, then wrapped her arms around her, "No problem! I'd love to come back!"
Harold stood up, "Excuse me, Cassandra? I know I kind of pissed you off yesterday, I'm sorry about that."
"Oh, no, that's fine, don't even worry about it!"
"I think you deserve a hit on me."
Both Jewels and Rick's mouths dropped open.
"No, Sir, that's okay! Trust me you don't want me to do that.."
"I insist."
"I really don't think.."
"Come on, woman! Show me what you got!"
Without thinking, she threw her fist back, and into the nose of the man, who was just as surprised as everyone else. He pulled out a handkerchief to catch the blood trickling down his face.
"Oh, my, I'm so sorry, sir!"
The man just laughed, "Nice shot, Cassandra! I'm proud to call you my daughter-in-law, and though it doesn't really matter, you guys have my blessing."
The bushman put his arm around Cassandra, "Thanks, Dad. It means more than you think."
"Yes, thank you, Sir!"
Mary also gave Jewels a hug, "And who could forget you, Little Cutie? You will always be like a granddaughter to us!"
Jewels blushed slightly, "Thanks, Grandma!"
a horn honked outside, their cab had arrived.
"Well ,we have to go now! See you later!"
"Goodbye, have a safe trip!"
They grabbed their bags, which rested beside the front door, and closed it behind them, saying their final goodbyes as it shut. Mary made her way to the kitchen, where the phone was, "Well, I guess I'll check up on my dear sister." She was almost inside the doorway of the dining room when she heard Harold say, "Our son has grown into a fine man.."
Jewels decided she wanted to ride in the duffelbag again, so nobody stopped her, everyone was in such a good mood the entire flight home.
When the last cab pulled up next to their house, everybody was outside waiting for them. Jewels ran into Jake's arms, and they kissed passionately for a long while. After an hour or so after their return, hank hesitantly approached her, "Um, Jewels? Hey, I'm sorry 'bout the little spat we had, I feel really bad 'bout snappin' at ya.." He reached into the left pocket of his overalls and pulled out a ticket and held it out to the sniper, she blinked and gently took it from him.
"It's a ticket to the Hot Air Balloon Festival coming up next week, and it's also good for a free ride. So I can't build ya a flyin' machine, but I can take ya on one."
Jewels smiled at the man, and hugged him tightly, "Oh, Hank! Of course I'll go with you!"
"Well good! I look forward to it!"
Rick kissed Cassandra on the cheek, "What was that for?"
"For badgering me to go see my folks, Love, I really enjoyed it, and for having my Class Card with you, if it wasn't for that, I don't think my dad would've believed me.."
"No problem, I enjoyed it, too!"
The house calmed down a few hours later, the three were so worn out from the trip, they decided to turn in early. The RED sniper laid down beside his BLU Demowoman and put a gentle hand on her cheek, "I love you so much, Rick."
"I love you, too, babe. I am the luckiest man in the world.."
"Why do you say that, Hon?"
He pretended to think, "Let's see, I live with all my best friends, I made up with my parents, and I have the most perfect woman in the world to call my wife..I never thought my life could be this good."
She leaned over, and turned the lamp off, "Yeah, we are pretty lucky.."
The couple slowly drifted off to sleep, grateful to be back in their own home, eager to meet the morning, and excited to spend the day that follows it with all their housemates, because everyone that lived under this roof was considered more than friends, they were family.
END