Growing Pains

by Kadi

Rated T

Disclaimer: It isn't my sandbox, but I do enjoy it so!

Chapter 3 – Nicole

The sound of deep, rumbling laughter echoed across the backyard. It reached her ears a second before it was joined by a high-pitched child's squeal. Nicole looked over, smiling as her youngest was lifted up and thrown across her father's shoulders as if the boy was little more than a sack of flour. She shook her head as the child was left hanging, upside down, from her father's shoulder, laughing and squealing his delight.

They had spent most of the day away from home. Dean had gotten tickets to a baseball game. The Dodgers were at home, playing the Giants, and they had made it a family event. Her brother, Charlie, had joined them for the day, and of course she had asked her father. When he asked if he could bring a date, Nicole had only smiled knowingly and handed over the extra two tickets. It was, she told him, supposed to be a family day. She and Dean had accounted for the fact that he would want to bring Sharon, and they wouldn't think of leaving Rusty out.

It was supposed to be a fun day, and for the most part it had been. As Nicole's gaze moved across the yard and landed on the boy who had been intent on being silent throughout most of it, she wondered if maybe they hadn't over-thought the event. Or at the very least, rushed it a little bit. Truthfully, she didn't know him very well, and the teenager had not been outwardly rude, but he had not seemed to enjoy himself. He was quiet, but would respond when asked a direct question. He just didn't seem all that motivated to engage anyone on his own. Nicole didn't remember him being like that at Christmas. He had been a little bit shy with them, but had not seemed withdrawn.

At first Nicole wondered if it was the number of people that were present that he didn't know, but she had put that thought aside when she saw the looks that he was casting at her father and Sharon. Nicole would not say that they hadn't noticed it, but they didn't seem affected by it. Nicole was actually fairly certain that Sharon had caught him rolling his eyes at them, if the way she had looked at him in that moment was any indication. She had not, Nicole noted, moved away from where she was leaning against her father's side. Instead, Sharon had simply sent Rusty to get some drinks.

Her dad had noticed, however. Nicole had tried not to be obvious about watching them as he had leaned in to whisper something in Sharon's ear while looking concerned. She couldn't hear it, not ever the sound of the crowd and especially the boys. That didn't seem to matter, though. Sharon had only shaken her head at him and laid a hand on his knee. She kissed him quickly before settling in to enjoy the remainder of the game. Whatever was going on, Nicole had realized in that moment that Sharon wasn't worried about it, but her dad was.

She had watched the situation a little more closely after that. Rusty had taken a while in coming back from his drinks errand. When he had, he continued to be quiet and cast wary glances at the couple. He just hadn't realized that his behavior was being witnessed.

The plan for the day had included coming back to the house for dinner. Her husband and brother had fired up the grill and were putting together a barbecue while the boys played. Her father seemed to have no problem keeping them occupied, and since Sharon seemed equally involved in keeping an eye on him, Nicole made her way over to where Rusty was sitting. He had found a quiet spot in the shade and seemed to be pretending to focus on his phone.

Nicole sat down beside him and offered a tentative smile. "Hi."

He turned his phone over and looked at her. "Hey."

"So," Nicole decided not to worry about small talk. She was too much like her dad in that way, she knew. She got down to the point quickly. "Has my dad done something to upset you? Is there something that I should know about?"

Rusty blinked at her. He shook his head. "I'm sorry?" He looked around quickly. Rusty shifted in his seat and looked a little nervous. "Why are you asking me that?"

"I don't know," Nicole said. "Maybe you should tell me." She smiled at him. "I thought we were on the same side here, Rusty. Now all of a sudden they've figured out that they're dating and you don't seem to be a very big fan of it. The only thing that I can think of is that my dad has done something to change your mind. If that's the case, I think that I really deserve the right to know, don't you?"

"I don't…" Rusty wasn't sure how to answer that. He didn't even really know why she would think that the Lieutenant had done anything wrong. Wasn't she supposed to take her dad's side? If she thought something was gong on, shouldn't she think that Sharon was the problem? "The Lieutenant is okay, I guess," Rusty said. "They don't even fight, so everything is fine."

"Is it really?" Nicole arched a brow at him. "Because if everything is so fine, Rusty, why are you giving them such a hard time?" Nicole leaned closer to him in the chair and lowered her voice; she didn't want her dad or Sharon to hear her. She didn't think either of them would appreciate her interference, but maybe someone needed to get involved on their behalf. "I don't know you, and I know that you don't know me," she said, "but the person I do happen to know is my dad. He's not a perfect person, Rusty. Not by far, but I've seen how he is with Sharon. I've had as long to see them together as you have, and I cannot even begin to tell you how happy it makes me that now they can see it too."

"I guess." Rusty shrugged. He slumped down in his chair. He didn't want to talk about it. The subject of Sharon and Flynn was not a favorite one of his. He looked over at where they were laughing together, with Nicole's kids, and sighed. "It's fine, really. I don't have a problem."

"You're a really terrible liar," Nicole shook her head at him. "Which is not great for someone who wants to be a journalist." When he cast a surprised look at her, she smiled. "What? Am I not supposed to know that? Rusty…" Her face softened and her smile warmed. "My dad told me about it. You know, it's not just Sharon that he talks about. He cares a lot about you too, and that's not something that's new. I knew a lot about you even before I met you, and I'm not talking about the bad things. I have no idea what happened to you in the past, dad wouldn't talk about it; he said that it isn't his place, and I respect that. I'm talking about everything else. How well you did in school, in spite of everything that was happening to you. How worried he was about you and Sharon during all of that horrible letter writing business, and when that guy escaped… Rusty."

She was shaking her head at him. He rubbed his hands against his shorts. Rusty shifted in his chair again. "What?" He stared back at her. He knew that the team all cared about him, that wasn't anything new, but why was Flynn talking about him to his family? Why would he do that? "He talked about me?"

"Yes," she smiled fondly at him. "Why wouldn't he? Rusty," she laughed. "I thought we were on the same page here? The only people who didn't know that our parents were dating were our parents. Remember? Of course he talked about you, you're his girlfriend's son, and he cares about what happens to you." She leaned against the arm of her chair so that she was closer to him. "Dad almost made himself sick because he was so worried about you and Sharon. I don't know what is going on with that now, but it all seems to have been resolved, and I have never seen dad this happy. I know that sounds incredibly corny, Rusty, but it's true. I mean, look at him." She waved a hand at where he had one of her sons hanging from his arm like a football. The other was looped around Sharon's shoulders. They were talking to Dean and Charlie and acting as if nothing at all were out of the ordinary. "Have you ever seen such a big goofball?"

Rusty followed her gaze. He looked across the yard and stared at the group of adults that were standing near the grill. The Lieutenant put Jake down so that he could run off and play with his brother. They couldn't hear what was being said, but he watched Sharon laugh and shove Flynn away from her. His brows drew together. Whatever was going on, they were obviously teasing one another. That was something that they did a lot of. Flynn pulled her back to him and wrapped her in a tight hug that seemed to make the other two men laugh as he proceeded to pretend to grovel. Rusty sighed. "I guess not," he conceded. He cast a glance at Nicole. "It's not really him. It's just…" He shrugged. "He's always around," he admitted. "Way more than before."

Nicole offered a sympathetic look. She thought that maybe she understood now. There was another guy encroaching on his territory. "When I met Dean, Michael didn't like me much," she explained, describing the early days spent with her husband and his eldest son. "He thought that I was trying to take his mother's place. He had to get used to me. It wasn't easy," she admitted, "but we figured out how to make it work. Michael and I are okay now, more than okay, actually." Nicole shrugged. "There was a time when Dean and I almost broke up over it, because no matter what, those boys were more important than us. They came first, and that was how it should be. Rusty," she touched his arm, but when he seemed to grow stiff at the contact she drew her hand back. "Your mom is always going to put you first, no matter what. My dad understands that. But I will let you in on another little secret." Nicole looked toward where her father was standing with his girlfriend. "He loves her. Because he loves her, he's going to do what is best for her. If that means walking away, because she needs for you to be happy, he'll do it."

"But I'm not asking him to do that." Rusty sat up in his chair and stared at her. "I never said that I wanted that." Suddenly he felt all sweaty. His heart was beating rapidly. Rusty shook his head while his stomach clenched. "He can't do that, if he hurts her—"

She watched his eyes dilate. Nicole touched his arm again, and this time she didn't withdraw. "He isn't going to hurt her, Rusty." He seemed close to panicking so she moved her hand up to his shoulder. "I promise. My dad isn't like that. He made a lot of mistakes when I was little, but the one thing that I never had to worry about, was if he would hurt me. He wouldn't, and he won't hurt your mom either. Rusty…" She rubbed his arm and smiled gently. "Look at them. Don't think. Just look."

He let her direct his wide-eyed gaze back to the other side of the yard. They were still standing together, but this time Flynn had his hands resting on her shoulders. She was leaning back against his chest. She was gesturing with her hands while she spoke, and he was just standing there, rubbing her shoulders. Like it was the most normal thing on the planet. Rusty supposed, for them, it was. At least, it was now. While he watched, Flynn said something against her ear. He saw Sharon smile and nod. When she looked up at him, the look on her face took Rusty by surprise. His jaw dropped open. He shook his head slowly. "She loves him." When had that happened, and why hadn't he noticed?

"Yes." Nicole agreed. "And if you keep at this, she's going to give him up, because at the end of the day, she is always going to love you more." Nicole stood up, but smiled down at him again. "Maybe you should think about that? My dad isn't going to hurt her, Rusty. But right now, I think you might be. I mean, think about it. It's not easy to love someone when the world seems to be against you. Is it?" Nicole gave him a pointed look and left him with that thought as she made her way across the yard to rejoin her husband and their children.

Rusty slumped back in his seat. His thoughts turned inward while he considered everything that Nicole had said. He continued to watch Sharon and Flynn throughout the day, but with none of the previous wariness that he had expressed. Now it was curiosity. He was studying them, watching for all of the little tells that he had missed before. The way that they smiled at one another, or touched one another, he had largely ignored that before. He didn't want to think about it, and he didn't want any of the details of their relationship. In ignoring it, he missed a huge piece of the puzzle that was the two of them and how they fit together. Rusty had not realized that they were not just screwing around because it was convenient, but that they genuinely liked just being together.

Later, when Flynn dropped them off at home, he told them that he was going back to his place. It had been a long day and he was tired. Rusty winced when Sharon's smile seemed to falter. She had simply agreed that she was tired and kissed him goodnight at the door. Rusty sighed. He was standing in the kitchen contemplating the contents of the refrigerator because he had been so wrapped up in his own thoughts that he hadn't eaten much at Nicole's, and now he was genuinely hungry. He could hear them at the door, still talking quietly, and he didn't know what they were talking about, but the conversation was hushed. He pushed the refrigerator door closed and shoved his hands into his pockets.

He walked around and stared at the pair. They were saying goodnight, but seemed reluctant to actually part. Rusty rolled his eyes at them, this time at how obvious they were, rather than to disparage what he was seeing. "You know, as long as you promise that I never have to see you half-naked, like, ever, you don't have to sneak around and pretend that he's not spending the night every other night." Rusty shrugged at them and walked over to pick up the hoody that he had dropped onto the couch earlier. "I mean, you don't have to toss him out at five in the morning anymore either. I hate to be the one to break it to you, but everyone already knows you two are a couple, so what is with all the sneaking around anyway?" He cast a half-hearted smirk at them, "Not like anyone here is married… anymore."

Sharon blinked at him. Once again, one of her sons had managed to catch her by surprise. She shifted where she stood and straightened. "Rusty, I do not sneak."

Andy snorted a quiet laugh. "Sweetheart, you're an expert on the subject." He tugged on a lock of her hair when she glared at him and just smiled crookedly. "Come on, we've got it down to a science now, and you know it."

Her brow arched at him. "Obviously not if Rusty knows about it." She folded her arms across her chest. "I told you to keep it down when you leave."

"Oh, that's not the problem." Rusty grinned. "But next time you don't want me to know that he's here, you might want to make sure you don't leave his jacket lying around out here. Not to mention the fact that his car is parked in front of our building is a dead giveaway, but what do I know. I've never tried to sneak a boyfriend into the apartment in the middle of the night. I'm learning a lot, though."

"First of all," Sharon pointed a finger at him. "There will be no—"

Andy drew her back against his chest. "Rusty," he jerked his head toward the hall. "Red alert. Strategic retreat. You're nearing Darth-Con-3," he warned, of the system that he and Ricky had come up with to gauge their mother's rising ire.

Rusty took one look at Sharon and then took a step back. He nodded once and turned. Narrowed eyes and pursed lips; he booked it toward his room just as quickly as he could. Maybe later, if she was less irritated or otherwise occupied, he would see about getting something to eat.

On the subject of her dating, he wasn't completely okay with it, but Rusty resolved to try harder. No matter what, he didn't want to be the one who caused her to get hurt. She was happy, that was what he had realized that afternoon. As long as she was happy, and they weren't being weird about it, he could try to be as okay with them being together as Ricky and Nicole were. He didn't know how long that would take, but he was going to stop being a jerk about it. Obviously it wasn't up to him who Sharon dated, and if his life had taught him anything, it was that she could really do a whole lot worse. The real question was could she do better?

As he entered his room, Rusty could hear the sounds of her mood being turned on Flynn. She was admonishing him for encouraging the teenage antics. He couldn't hear all of the response, but Rusty could still make out the low, rumbling tone of Flynn's voice. A second later, he heard her laughing again. If she was at all irritated, she had already forgotten it. Rusty was wondering if the answer to his question was no, maybe she couldn't do better. He thought perhaps, if he was more watchful, he would find out.

-TBC-