HEROES - Visiting Ours

Characters: Matt P, Maury P, and Mrs. Parkman.

Disclaimer: I own NUTTINK! Even tho I named Mrs. P!

Chapter One: Left Behind

Matt was banging away at his drum set when he heard the phone ring. He glanced to the chair in the other corner.

The man sitting there made no move, eyes glued to the television, even though Matt knew he couldn't hear a thing over the racket he was making.

He glanced at the figures chattering away on the TV screen and didn't even try for the headache that this "closed captioning" would give him, even though it was the only way his father could be following along to whatever was going on with The Cos or whatever show he was watching.

He sighed. He crashed his cymbal hard, getting the man's attention. "Dad! Phone!"

Maury Parkman was startled by the crash, and looked to his son who pointed at the phone with his drumstick. He nodded his head and got up to answer the ringing, motioning to his 13 year old son to stay quiet for a minute. Maury cast him a sidelong glance, as he wondered why Matt always seemed to know who the call was for, recently. No, let the boy stay a boy as long as he could, probably just a coincidence or ten. He grimaced and banished that thought from his mind once more as he picked up the receiver.

"Parkman residence? ...yeah. yeah, no, I understand. Sure, I can catch the next flight tomorrow morning. ...No, it's not a problem, I'll see you tomorrow afternoon."

With a heavy sigh, he hung up and glanced over at the inquiring look from his son. "What? I have a job to do, Matty. Keeps a roof over your head and food in your belly."

Matt grimaced as his mother came out from the bedroom where she tried to escape Matt's nightly racket "with my sanity intact!" she always teased him. "Who was that on the phone?" she asked.

"Work," Maury answered her, going to her and placing a kiss on her forehead. "I have to leave tomorrow for New York, again. Something came up they need my help with."

"I thought that's why we moved out here to LA, to get away from all these 'emergencies' that keep taking you away," she replied.

Matt could hear the weary anger in her voice whenever his father mentioned his 'work'. He still wasn't sure what his father did, and it was never really discussed. He sat idly at his drum set while he waited for them to 'discuss things', once again.

"Don't start, Ruth," Maury warned, heading to the fridge and pulling a beer out. "I'll be back in a few days, nothing to worry about."

She gave him a weary sigh and returned to the bedroom.

Maury took a swig from his beer and glared after her, rolling his eyes. He glanced at Matt and saw he was trying not to be upset. Again.

"Don't you have school, tomorrow, Matty?" he asked.

Matt knew what that meant. Go to bed so the parents can "talk". He grabbed his sticks and headed off to his bedroom. He silently hoped his parents would have a quick fight, as he could hear them from his room.

"Hey!" Maury called after him.

Matt turned to face his father. "What?" he said, trying to keep the annoyance from being too obvious.

Maury went to him and gave him a quick hug. "I know you guys don't like me gone all the time, but it can't be helped, sometimes, Matty, ok?"

Matt nodded and Maury ruffled his hair.

"Now go to bed, we'll try and keep it down," Maury told him, which caused Matt to give him a double-take. "But no promises," he winked.

Matt blanched as he realized his father wasn't talking about their upcoming argument. He rolled his eyes and tried not to slam his door. He heard chuckling getting softer and his parent's bedroom door close.

Matt threw himself on his bed and pulled his pillow over his head. "I hate my life," he grumbled and hoped for a sound sleep to come early. (but first! he grinned as he pulled his father's magazine out from under his mattress.)

In the opposite bedroom, Maury tried to make his wife see reason. "You know they wouldn't call me unless it was a real emergency they need my help with!"

Ruth glared at him. "Maury..."

"No, Ruth," he cut her off, "I have to go, if I don't there could be consequences. Not just for the Company, but for us as well as the world. I've told you this before."

Ruth sighed. "I know, Maury, I know. You've tried explaining it to me before, but the whole 'Top Secret' stuff doesn't really help, you know?"

He sat next to her on the bed, hugged her to him. "Then you remember that the less you know, the safer you are?"

She reluctantly leaned into him. "yes," she sighed, "I know it's better not to know." He had confessed his abilities to her after she became too suspicious and confronted him several years back.

"I'm sorry," he kissed her head. "You know I'm trying to protect you by keeping you away from them." She nodded without looking up. "I'll be home as soon as I can, you know that, right?"

She nodded again without looking at him. He rubbed her arm as he placed his other hand in her lap, lacing his fingers with hers. His thumb slowly massaged hers and then began inching up.

"Maury!" she giggled.

"Ruth!" he chuckled back, pushing into her so she was laying under him.

She looked up at him and smiled a sad smile. "You know this doesn't let you off the hook, right?"

He eased down and put his head between her legs. "oh yeah? What about this?"

"Maury!" she screamed, laughing.

-

Matt heard his mother cry out and hoped it was in anger. He tried to concentrate on the centerfold. Damn, too late. Not tonight, Matt. Thanks, mom!

-

Maury paused, licked his lips. He glanced over his shoulder and chuckled. Ruth grabbed his ears and pulled him back in.

"Sorry, I thought I heard something."

--

The next morning, Maury was all smiles as he mussed Matt's hair once again, entering their small kitchen, dropping his suitcase by the front door. "Morning, Matty!"

Matt hoped his father washed his hands this morning. Maury chuckled as he pulled out the orange juice and took a swig.

"When's your flight?" Matt asked, making idle conversation.

"Couple hours, plenty of time for me to drop you off at school," he answered, knowing it would embarrass the boy.

True to form, Matt gave his father the meanest glare he could muster that morning as he took another spoonful of cereal.

"So when will you be home, again?" Ruth asked as she entered the kitchen and kissed Maury. Matt ignored them in embarrassment.

"Shouldn't be any later than tomorrow night, I think."

"Good, I'll be waiting with bells on," she teased.

Matt almost choked on his cereal at the sudden mental image. Coughing, he left the table and went to grab his books for school.

Maury and Ruth shared a mischievous chuckle. "Anything you want when you come home?" she asked.

Maury gave her an evil grin. "You," he teased. Matt audibly gagged from his bedroom.

She rolled her eyes. "No, for dinner, dummy!" she slapped him.

"Surprise me."

"There's a sale on brisket down at Ralph's this week?"

"Sounds good to me," he kissed her, then turned toward Matt's room. "Matty? Train's pulling out!"

Ruth broke into giggles again, sending him a mental image. He grinned and kissed her once more as Matt entered the kitchen.

"Geez, get a room, you two!" he groaned.

"Get in the car, young man," his father ordered. "See you later, baby," he kissed her again before following his son out the door.

Ruth locked the door behind them, then sat at the kitchen table. She couldn't help but worry what 'emergency' Maury would find himself involved in this time.

"You ok, Matty?" Maury asked as he drove his son to school.

"Yeah, dad," Matt mumbled. He waited a minute, Maury could hear the question forming in his young mind. "What exactly are you going away for, this time?" he finally asked.

Maury hesitated. He didn't like lying to his son, but it was a necessity in his life to protect him. "Paper emergency."

Matt looked at him. Yeah, I totally buy that.

Maury frowned. "I'm sorry, Matt," he glanced at his son. "You know I wouldn't leave you guys if I didn't have to, right?"

Matt shrugged.

Maury sighed. "Relax, Matty, I'll call you guys tonight, and I should be home tomorrow afternoon or so, ok?"

Shrug.

Maury sighed again as he pulled into the school parking lot. "I'm trying, Matty. I'm trying," he confessed.

Matt reached for the door, then glanced back at his father. "See you tomorrow, I guess."

"Behave yourself, son," Maury said, patting Matt on the shoulder as he turned to get out of the car. Love you, boy.

Matt paused, "yeah, yeah," barely glancing back before closing the door.

Maury sighed and drove to LAX, wondering how long he would really be away this time?

As promised, he called home that night. Matt let his mother get it, then returned to his drumming. She tried to tell him to give her a minute, but he ignored her.

Maury got the picture, his son was mad at him for leaving again. Ruth took the phone in her bedroom, but Maury said it was still hard to hear over Matt's drumming. Even more so as he decided to practice on his cymbals soon after she shut the door. They finally gave up any chance of holding a conversation like that and he promised to call back after Matt had turned in.

Ruth came back into the living room, glaring at her son. He pointedly ignored her as he continued drumming. She finally grabbed his sticks away. "What's wrong with you?" she demanded.

Matt glared at her defiantly. "Nuthin'."

She returned his glare and he finally looked away, sulking.

She simply turned around and went back to her room, drumsticks still in hand. "Don't start with me, Matthew."

Matt sat at his kit for another ten minutes before stomping back to his room and throwing himself on his bed. His head hurt. It had been hurting off and on the last few weeks, and didn't help his schoolwork which his parents already knew he struggled with because of his dyslexia. The only upside to that was his parents didn't force him to learn the Semitic script, as he complained the English letters were hard enough to read without adding a second alphabet. So he didn't get a bar mitzvah on his last birthday, big whoop. Rabbi Blumenfeld would get over it.

He didn't even realize he fell asleep until he woke from a dream. Something about his father and his friends fighting someone, like scenes out of one of his comic books or movie but scarier, still flashed in his mind's eye. Among his father's allies, was a stern looking woman, pale of skin and dark of hair caught his eye in a familiar way. She seemed to know that he saw her, a small flicker of...what, solemn bemusement? He thought he recognized her from somewhere. He shrugged it off, went to the bathroom for some aspirin, then undressed and crawled under the covers. He'd have to ask his father about it when he got home tomorrow night. He hoped.

--

Matt and Ruth barely spoke the next morning. "Are you going to Temple with me this weekend or do you have other plans?"

Matt grunted over his scrambled eggs.

Ruth sighed, "Fine, be that way, but you're not moping around the house all weekend, either."

"Going to the beach with friends," he mumbled.

"Don't forget your lotion, then," she advised. Matt cringed. "Fine, be a lobster, then. See if I care," she teased, as always.

At least he rolled his eyes at that. She was pretty sure he smirked, too.

Matt came home that night to raised voices as he entered the apartment. "It's too dangerous!" he heard his mother yell.

"I have to!" his father shouted back.

He grimaced, if he crashed at Brad's he could call later say and he forgot the time, could he stay there? Then again, that brisket and baked potatoes did smell good, and it was already on the table.

He started to back out the door when his father marched out of his bedroom, suitcase in hand. He stopped when he saw his son standing at the door.

"Matty? (damn)" he asked, caught off guard. "Matty, I'm sorry, I have to go away again."

"Maury, please," Ruth called after her husband, crying.

Matt could tell his father was really upset. He glanced behind the man to see his mother gripping the bedroom door. "What did you do to her?" he accused.

Maury was taken aback. "Matty--? I'm sorry, I have to go."

He reached for his son, but Matt pulled back.

He paused to kneel before his son. "Matty, you may not understand now, but I hope you can forgive me later."

Matt glared at him, accusing eyes making Maury wish he could hide them all away for their own safety. He stood, hung his head in shame, and put his free hand in his pocket. He felt the money clip. He tried to recall how much it was, at least a hundred, hundred and twenty? The clip itself was gold, thanks to Bob Bishop's power. It wasn't much, but it was all he had on him at the moment.

He stood up. "Fine, Matt, hate me for doing this, then," he said as he shoved the bills into Matt's front shorts pocket and patted him on the head. Matt didn't feel his father's lips brush through his hair. Maury was then pushing past his son into the hall. "I'll be in touch if I can," he called over his shoulder.

Matt ignored this and stood holding the doorknob until he heard his father's heavy footsteps disappear. He locked teary eyes with his mother. He found himself running to her and they hugged until they were cried out.

She finally broke free and pushed him into his chair at the table. "The food's getting cold. You need to eat, Matthew."

They never really discussed what had happened that night. Another part of his father's life that he wouldn't understand for over two decades, four decades, really, and even then, he was amazed at the complexity of it all.

Matt decided that night, he wouldn't be a bastard like his father. He would be a good guy. He forced himself to pour over his homework, no matter how much his head hurt. He was smarter than all those mixed up letters and he would prove it to everyone.

His mother even worried that he hardly played his drums any more, and he almost didn't complain when she asked if she could donate them, declaring he hadn't touched them in over six months. He tried to organize a couple guys from school into a band, but that idea fell apart as soon as the guys became more interested in girls than their music.

He had no idea what he wanted to do when he grew up, but it certainly had nothing to do with "paper", like his father. It didn't occur to him until a months later when he and his mother were watching TV and he realized he really enjoyed the way those cops on TV, "Hill Street Blues" and "Miami Vice" made it seem cool to help people. That was realistic enough for him to help people, wasn't it? He knew he couldn't make it through law or even medical school, like on "LA Law" or "St Elsewhere", so he would be a cop and help people every day.

Yep, he could see it now: LAPD Officer Matt Parkman. It actually had a nice ring to it. Heck, he might even make detective if he was lucky. Yeah, right.

To be continued...

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