Chapter 8, family matters
"Honey we're home!" Lance Hunter called before three kids and two adult kids burst onto the FitzSimmons property with barely a warning. Fitz was already beaming, being a fan of the unplanned visits, but Jemma just rolled her eyes and laughed. A little blond girl ran over to Jemma and hugged her.
"Aunt Jemma are you pregnant?" The little girl asked with big eyes that looked like Lance's.
"Yeah baby doll. Cam's gonna be a big brother."
"Is it a baby boy or a baby girl?"
"He or she is a surprise. You'll find out in a few months."
"Can I name he or she?" The little girl begged.
"Sorry Liz. Fitz already claimed naming the baby." Elizabeth pouted while Lance and Fitz reclined on the couch and Bobbi gave her middle child a small lecture.
"Let's see, the youngest is Elizabeth, right?" Fitz asked, knowing, but liking to tease Lance about having three kids.
"Yep."
"After the Queen?"
"No, after an actress that looks like Jemma. Of course after the Queen!"
"Long live the Queen."
"Where's Nick?"
"Nicolas, now, says he refuses to be called Nick because it sounds, and I quote, 'Common.'" Fitz burst out laughing.
"Don't laugh. It's your fault mate. You got him drinking tea and now he thinks he's proper. Speaking off, he's in the kitchen stealing your decaf leaf water."
"You sound just like my seven year old."
"Good, that boy's smart. Just like his Uncle Lance."
"He's nothing like you." Fitz laughed.
"Where is Cam?"
"Hiding from Bobbi and Jemma's who's the better parent war. Bobbi is going to say Roberta can snap a man's neck in half and Jemma will say CAm is a genius. I've been trying to let her ease up on him, but it's been hard."
"Trouble in paradise?" Lance asked.
"A little. But we're working on it."
"That's good. I'm trying to get Bobbi to ease up too. She's hardest on Roberta, but she's hard on all of them." Lance sighed, and the two fathers said at the same time,
"They should be kids."
"Jinx." Lance said sadly. Cam peeped around the door frame and immediately little Elizabeth ran over to him and gave him a hug. He hugged back timidly.
"Cam play with me!"
"Okay, do you want to draw Liz?" He asked with a smile. She nodded and he got out his colored pencils and paper. The two plopped down on the ground and Nicolas crept over to the couch.
"Uncle Leo?"
"Yeah Nick?" The boy sat down wordlessly. Lance frowned.
"I thought it was Nicolas now."
"Uncle Leo can call me whatever he wants to." Nick said defiantly. Lance laughed.
"Alright, I'm just your ride home, you can like him better." Lance got up and went over to Bobbi, trying to get her to stop scolding Roberta.
"What's that about?" Fitz asked his "nephew".
"Mom is sour because at martial arts today Bertie beat me."
"Your mother is upset about that?"
"My mother takes it out on Bertie because she's mad at both of us. She's mad at me for losing, she's mad at Bertie for being better than me, she's mad at me for not wanting to fight, she's mad at Bertie for being so good at it but still not being like her."
"That's a lot to be mad at."
"I know."
"You don't want to fight?"
"No."
"What do you want to do?" Nick glanced down at his cup of tea. He opened his mouth, closed it, and then pulled his legs up on the couch.
"Do you believe a cup of tea could change a person?" Fitz hesitated then smiled.
"Yeah. Let me tell you a story." Nick settled in for said story while Roberta crept away from her mother and joined Cam and Liz on the ground, drawing. Bobbi and Jemma went into the kitchen to chat and Lance kept a lazy eye on his children. And Fitz began his story.
"When Jemma and I were in the academy it took awhile for us to click. We were both shy and young and didn't feel like we really belonged at Academy since we were basically the youngest. So we got paired up for a project, and it was the most awkward thing ever. I was petrified I wouldn't talk to her at all, basically imagine the most socially awkward person imaginable... And you know how we bonded? She brought me a cup of tea. And, if I remember right, a sandwich. Became my favorite type of tea and favorite sandwich. We clicked after that. WE bonded over who we were and how similar we were." Nick nodded.
"I thought so. I'm gonna open a tea shop. Get into people's lives. Help change them. My mother doesn't want that okay? My mother wants me to be a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and be at least as good as her and my sister and... I don't want that. I want to see people change because something I put my soul into." Fitz nodded.
"I get that. I've been trying to pour my soul into my family." They sat for a moment.
"You go by Nicolas now?"
"Yeah."
"Nicolas Sherlock?"
"Oh goodness no no no no."
"I think Cam is going to be an Artist." Fitz commented.
"Which Jemma is going to learn how to accept."
"You think my mom is going to accept me not wanting to fight?"
"I think your mom just wants you to be able to protect yourself." Fitz said gently.
"I have a sister for that." Nick laughed, and took another sip of his tea.
"Good luck with your tea shop." Nick nodded and glanced around.
"Thanks Uncle Leo. Good luck with your family."
"Hey, you know you've got a pretty good family of your own right?"
"Yeah, I know."
"And you'll always be part of ours too." Nick grinned.
"Thanks."
Hey guys still no word on the name! I wish I could tell you but it's a surprise! However if you still want to contribute names please do, and if you'd like to do some homework before the next chapter maybe read Failure and Mother May I, and if you really want to do homework skim Shame which isn't that great... Thank you!
And if you'd like to drop a comment on... Anything I wrote, just please...
