Thanks to LRW, Mickey12Boo, and AGW for your reviews! I think I sent out Thank You notes. I think...
Anyways, here's a new one. Again, please keep in mind that we're constantly time jumping ('cause it's fun!)
Normal Lives and How to Keep Secrets
"Grandpa!"
"Boys! Oh, I'm so glad you guys are here. I feel like I haven't seen you in a while. You two look like you got taller."
Douglas and Janice smiled as Bill held both Leo and Oliver in his embrace. The five year-olds chuckled at their grandfather, the fishing hat piquing their interest.
"Where you going, Grandpa?" Leo asked.
"Uh, well, it's not just me that's going, Lion. It's gonna be you, Bear, grandma and me," Bill said.
"Where we going?" Oliver asked.
Bill smiled secretively. "It's gonna be a surprise," he said. "You guys like surprises?"
"Yeah."
"How about…boats? And fishes?"
"Yeah," Leo said, while Oliver only thought about it.
Bill chuckled. Looking up at Douglas and Janice, he said, "Hello, you two."
"Hello, Bill," greeted Janice.
"Hey, Dad," said Douglas. "How's it going?"
"Well—" Bill got up slowly and carefully, groaning as his knees cracked loudly. He grinned wearily. "It's going," he said. "How about you two? D'you speed up here?"
Douglas shook his head. "No, I thought the kids might not like that very much," he said. "Leo gets a little S-I-C-K, and Oliver gets S-C-A-R-E-D. We flew."
"Ah, okay."
"Where's Mom?"
"Upstairs, laying down. She thought you're not coming until after lunch."
"We're sorry about this, Bill. I know this whole thing's already unexpected, then here we are coming too early," Janice apologized. "It was really my fault."
Bill waved it away. "Oh, it's not a big deal. We're actually really excited to have them both come over, especially since Bear's officially a part of our family now. Plus, we haven't had them stay the weekend in what, six months now?"
"Sorry, Dad. It's just been busy," Douglas said sincerely.
"I know, son. I know. Your face and your brother's have been on the news so many times, you're practically the ones delivering the news."
Janice laughed. Meanwhile, Douglas, albeit with a smirk, asked, "You sure you and mom are up to keeping them? We don't want you both getting too exhausted, especially Mom. We don't want her to get worn down."
"There you are again with that, Douglas Orville. We told you all it's okay. We want the boys to stay," Bill said as he headed to the kitchen.
Janice tried to stifle her laugh upon hearing her husband's middle name. Leo, however, openly snickered. "He called you Orville," the five year-old said.
Douglas huffed when his son, influenced by the reaction of both his mother and cousin, began grinning. "You know your father's middle name is Tiberius, right?" he told Leo. "You're the son of Donald Tiberius Davenport."
Leo laughed a bleary laugh. "Heh heh…Tibe'ius," he repeated.
Oliver giggled along.
Bill's brows hitched as he saw the strange reactions of his grandsons. He frowned at the couple.
Janice held her hands up. "They're just sleepy, trust me," she said. "It was a long flight, and we all woke up pretty early."
Bill slowly nodded. "Good. I was wondering why they're kinda acting like they're both D-R-U-N-K," he said. He turned around then retrieved two bottles of chocolate milk from the fridge. "So no trip to the lake for us this morning then, huh."
"I'm afraid not until after a good long nap."
"Oh, alright. We'll just reschedule it tomorrow," Bill said. "Now, I know you guys need to leave as soon as possible for your assignment, but do you think you'd be able to stay for lunch?"
Douglas shook his head. "Sorry, Dad," he said with a sad smile. "We really gotta jet."
Bill sighed. "Okay. I'll tell your mother," he said. Then, he wagged an index finger at them. "When you pick your little ones up, though – we expect you four to join us for dinner. Your mom and I had done a lot of preparations for it."
"We'll be here, Dad. I promise," Douglas said.
"Alright."
Janice knelt down and threw her arms open. She hugged both boys tightly when they came to her, but most especially her five year-old. "You two behave, alright? Don't give Grandpa and Grandma a hard time, okay?"
Leo nodded. "Okay."
After her nephew detached from her to give his uncle a hug, Janice kissed Oliver on the forehead. "Be a good boy, okay? Daddy and Mommy love you," she assured him.
"Love you, too, Mommy," Oliver told her.
Janice ran a hand through the five year-old's hair, smoothing it down. Then, she stood up.
"Call us, alright?" Bill said as he and the boys watched the couple exit the front door.
"We will, Dad. We'll try," Douglas promised his father. Janice waved goodbye at the three as her husband held the door open for her. Douglas did the same after she walked out. Soon after, the door closed.
Bill took in a deep breath contentedly. He still couldn't believe it. It didn't seem like it had been that long since he and his wife had been dealt the terrible news that they wouldn't be able to have children. They had been so devastated and quite hopeless; they really wanted a family. Then came the opportunity to adopt two boys rescued from some inhumane research facility. The children weren't normal, they were told. They were Gifteds, but in a different way.
He and Alice didn't really care, quite honestly. From the moment they met their sons, Subjects A-01 and B-01 then, they knew they were theirs. To them, they were the most normal and most lovable children they had ever seen.
Overturning the callous, self-deprecating mentality that had been instilled in them had taken some work, but now it was clear that it had been worth it. Donald and Douglas had gained enough confidence throughout the years to want, have, and care for their own families. They even have children now that looked at them with the same admiration and wonder they had in their eyes when they looked at him years ago.
Bill smiled. He was happy that his sons were happy. They deserved love and contentment.
"Grandpa?" Leo yawned, rubbing his eyes. "I'm hungry."
"Um, how about we go upstairs first?" Bill offered as Oliver yawned, too. "Grandma and I fixed up your room. It's really nice in there. We have tents and stars and everything. Wanna check it out?"
"Okay," Leo mumbled. He took one of the hands that his grandfather offered, Oliver doing the same with the other.
"I have a good story for you two, a new one, about fireflies in the woods. Wanna hear it?" Bill said as the three of them ascended up the stairs.
The boys replied with incoherent mumbling.
Their grandfather tried not to laugh. Sleep is inevitable and inescapable for the boys at that point.
X
Bill would never tell Donald and Douglas about it, but he had to ask for help on the third day of his grandkids' visit. It had been way too long since he and his wife had spent time alone with the boys that they forgot how energetic, curious, and fast they could be. Because Alice was still recovering from her surgery, she couldn't help him much. He had to take care of the two mostly by himself.
He thought he did well. At sixty-four, having children around and keeping up with them was not a very easy task. Still, he accomplished it for a few days.
Today, though, he had to admit defeat. Help was available, so he had to take it.
The daughter of his wife's friend had come over as promised. Giselle was her name. Giselle Vickers. She was a roboticist who loved consulting with Alice regarding some of her project ideas. She would visit once or twice a year to speak to her about things Bill couldn't really comprehend completely (his wife was an absolute genius, and he was proud that she had chosen to grow old with an average Joe like him). Both women also spoke about other things, like their lives, career (for Giselle), and being retired (for Alice).
Bill was having difficulty keeping up with Leo and Oliver that afternoon, and seeing him struggle Giselle had offered to keep the boys busy. Though nearly at his wit's end, he declined, saying he didn't want to impose. "Oh, it's really no problem, Bill," Giselle had said, smiling. "I was just telling Alice that I really wanna meet the boys. She tells me so much about them. Plus, I have this rock collection in my car I'd love to show them."
Bill didn't think it was a good idea, mostly because it seemed embarrassing to relegate babysitting duties to a visiting friend. But Giselle seemed so eager to help, and the boys were looking at him pleadingly to see the rocks. Plus, Alice had assured him, "It's alright, Bill. The four of us will be out here by the garden. You do what you need to do."
With that rock solid offer, how could he have refused?
Giselle left a few hours later after they had dinner. The woman had initially declined the offer, but upon their insistence she finally decided to stay and eat. The boys had been very pleased. After spending an afternoon with her, looking through different fascinating rocks, picking through the small ones for their favorite, and making their own necklaces out of it, they had begun viewing her as their friend.
Giselle found their enthusiasm adorable, and she told the couple so during dinner. She had high praises for both children, but she seemed particularly fond of Leo. "He's such a special little boy," she had commented once. "I'm sure his father is very proud of him."
That stuck out to Bill for a moment, but he eventually forgot about it. However, he was quickly reminded by it later that evening, when his wife received a puzzling call close to midnight, hours after the boys had fallen fast asleep between them. "What do you mean?" his wife said, a worrisome frown on her features while the caller continued to speak. She looked at her husband. "But, you were just here… Okay, no. No. It's really nothing that should concern you, sweetie. …Yes, I'm sure. Thank you for calling and letting me know. I'm really sad to have missed you."
"Who was that?" Bill asked later after his wife hung up the phone.
There was a thoughtful, nervous look on Alice's face before and when she looked at him. "Giselle," she finally said.
"Oh. Did she forget something?"
Alice shook her head, and the expression she had reminded him of when she was still an active agent and something troublesome had happened. "She's calling to apologize and reschedule her visit. She said she's at a convention in Sweden to give a lecture at one of the universities there. She's been there all day and will be there until Tuesday." The crease between her brows deepened. "Bill—who did we just let inside our house and play with our grandsons?"
Bill could say nothing. He only glanced at the sleeping five year-olds then stare blankly at his wife.
Another thing Bill and Alice would never tell their sons: they had let an impostor in their house to spend time with them and befriend their grandchildren.
X
"Oh, look at you. You're so cute in your little outfits!"
Bill chuckled as his wife beamed at her grandsons affably. "Why, thank you, honey," he joked. "It's been a while since you've called me cute."
Alice shot him a look. "I'm talking about the boys, Bill," she said, grinning. She stood up from gardening then gave him a peck on the lips. "But you're good-lookin', too," she whispered to him.
Bill chuckled at that. "Please, Alice," he said in a low voice. "Not in front of the children."
Alice laughed.
"Look, Gra'ma!" Oliver opened the small cooler they had. "We caught fish!"
Alice peered down at the basses swimming around inside with approval. "Wow, nice job!" she commended.
"I caught – caught one, too, Gra'ma," said Leo.
"That's awesome! Great job to you both!"
"Did the boys call you while we were gone?" Bill asked his wife as Leo and Oliver kneeled down by the cooler to pet the fishes.
Alice shook her head with a smile. "Janice probably would send a transmission soon, though." She chuckled. "That woman loves her son."
"Mm-hmm. Now with Bear finally calling her Mommy, she'll probably take whatever opportunity she can to hear him say it," Bill commented.
"That just reminds me of the first few years after we got Donald and Douglas," she said. "What did they call us again?"
"Agent Davenport and Mr. Davenport. It took a while before they start calling us Mom and Dad. Those poor boys," he replied, recalling the memory fondly. He frowned. "By the way, that scientist from the facility that vanished. Did the agency ever find her?"
Alice shook her head solemnly. "Estelle said they're still on the lookout for her, but it's not likely she'll be found," she said. "Why'd you ask? You think she'll be interested in coming after the boys and Tasha?"
"I don't know. I just don't like it that she's still out there. She needs to pay for what she did to those kids. And she seemed unstable to me, from what I've read from the files. She was so devoted to that Techno Renaissance mumbo jumbo mentality that the facility promoted. I'm sure she's harmless against the Gifteds and even you, but I don't know what she'd pull out of the bag if she's given the chance." He watched Leo shriek in laughter after Oliver splashed him with water. "I'm worried about our grandkids, too, Alice. That scientist is the only one who may know the key to bringing down Donald, Douglas and Tasha. And if she finds out about our grandkids, especially Leo? Who knows what she'd do?"
"We'll cross the bridge when we get there," Alice assured him.
Bill grinned. "Why do I have the feeling that you're gonna come there fully loaded?"
Alice smirked. "I may be retired, honey," she said, "but in no way am I incapable of fighting for my children."
Bill chuckled. Looping an arm around her waist then squeezing her close to him, he gave her a peck on the cheek. "What did I do to deserve you?" he said adoringly.
Alice only smiled at him.
Oliver shot up from the ground laughing when Leo successfully caught one of the fishes. Leo drew closer and closer to his cousin, chuckling. Oliver drew back slowly, grinning, his eyes only on the fish. When Leo suddenly moved, he screamed.
Bill and Alice covered their ears from the extraordinarily loud sound. They have heard their grandson let out a deafening scream before, but it hadn't been like that. It hadn't left their ears throbbing in pain, and it had definitely not shattered multiple glass windows.
The couple was left gazing afterwards at the wreckage the little boy's scream had caused. Meanwhile, Leo only teetered as he put the fish back in the water. Oliver followed his cousin, asking him to let him catch one.
Bill and Alice looked at each other, both shocked speechless. "Bill?" Alice said. "Is Bear…? Are they…?"
For the second time that visit, Bill was completely stumped.
When their sons and their wives came that night, bearing a distressing warning about keeping Leo's and Oliver's origins sealed airtight, Bill and Alice decided not to tell about the incident. They were realistic about what happened. There was a clearer evidence now that Oliver may be a Gifted, too. Still, they were also discreet about it. That information would only prove to be additional stress to their children, to Douglas and Janice, especially.
So, until they were sure, the knowledge of the five year-old's potential and the disturbing visit from an impersonator would have to wait.
Any guesses on who "Giselle" is?
Reviews are certainly appreciated. :)
