The Next Gen of Sloanes IV

Sloane Manor had been as silent as a tomb after the blowup, in the safety of his room, Tommy had tried to sleep but it was fitful at best and filled with strange dreams. His contacts were bothering him more than usual so he was forced to take them out and wear his glasses.

The only comfort was that no one could see him wearing them.

He tried to watch TV but it just blurred to nothing, leaving him unfulfilled.

An attempt at reading a Hardy Boy's book failed miserably.

Even a glance at internet porn which normally was good for a wank or a laugh did nothing for him and he gave up after a few minutes.

He tried to sleep again but only managed an hour's worth before giving up.

A rumble in his belly told him how long it had been since he had eaten.

"Aw screw it!" Tommy said to himself while getting out of his bed, his dark green silk pajamas hugging his massive muscular frame, he walked to his door barefoot and sighed before undoing the lock and venturing forth into the dark like a thief in the night.

His feet knew the path to the kitchen, even at night, but when he reached the dining room there was a light spilling forth from under the doorframe.

"Tommy Sherman hopes it's a servant." he thought before taking a moment to compose himself and strode through the door.

There he found his father in a bathroom eating a slice of apple & cinnamon pie with whipped cream.

An expectant pregnant pause filled the room, Tommy shuffled his feet and managed a, "Uh... Hi Dad."

"Hungry?" Tom Sloane asked his firstborn son and when he nodded, gave him a small smile and pointed to the fridge, "There are still a couple slices of Maria's finest pie in there."

Tommy grinned at that and made a beeline for it while the getting was good, once he was sitting next to his father at the island with his own slice of heaven, he waited for whatever was to come.

His father took a drink of milk and cleared his throat, "Son..." he began quietly, "About the fight tonight, I just want to say that I know your mother can be difficult to deal with."

Tom laughed, "Trust me on that one."

Tommy said nothing, staring at his now half-eaten pie with an unreadable expression on his face.

"But she does love you Son," Tom said more firmly while putting an arm around his boy, "And right now she's hurting badly."

"Love..." Tommy Sloane said without any inflection or emotion, "Tommy Sloane honestly doesn't remember the last time she told him that word, or shown him that she cares at all."

Tommy then struggled not to speak in the third person, "He... I didn't just say that to hurt her, I... I don't think she's ever given a crap about me."

The last sentence was said in pure monotone, which combined with his looks and the glasses caused his father to flash back to the past when he first met Daria.

"Tommy looks just like her," Tom thought to himself, "Except for the eyes, he has my eyes."

But out loud Tom Sloane gave his son a hug and tried to reassure him that she did love him, and added, "And I love you Son." Tom said with fatherly pride,

"I know you just wanted to sow your wild oats a bit, but your mother is scared that you'll overdo it and hurt yourself and your prospects for life."

He then gave Tommy his best stern look and added, "And you're going to have to talk to her."

Then when his son looked rebellious gripped his shoulders for emphasis, "You and your Mother are going to have to sort this out, it won't be perfect but it will be a start."

Tommy Sloane was quiet for a long time, feeling himself want to wilt under his father's gaze before saying, "Ok Dad... Tommy Sloane will talk to her."

He then added, "He just doubts it will do any good."

"It will Son," Tom replied gently, "Trust me."

He then embraced his son in a powerful hug, which after a moment was returned and almost knocked the wind right out of him.

"Sorry Dad..." Tommy replied sheepishly once he let his father get some air.

"It's ok," Tom Sloane wheezed, "You're just stronger than me."

Tommy gave him a small content smile and replied, "Only physically, Dad."

The beaming smile of pride that his father gave him at that was worth more than gold as far as Tommy Sloane was concerned.