A/N: Thanks for the kind reviews, Give us Peace, Trinitystargazer3, and Brian!
Ok, since both Give us Peace and Brian asked - I decided to take a little freedom here, and call Tippy's baby 'George Clint Doss'. Reason? I like it better, and if I ever decide to write another story in this little universe, it's quite possible George C. Doss would come up more often, in which case it would just be confusing to have two Clints. Besides, he's still named after Clint. ;) Hope that explains it.
Enjoy the next chapter!
Chapter 9
The door bell rang, and Jack straightened from his position at the kitchen counter, where he'd been talking to Sue and Lucy as they walked around the kitchen to get drinks set up. "I'll get that," he said. Levi walked with him.
"Hey, come on in," Jack greeted the couple, immediately hugging Nancy and shaking Clint's hand.
"Jack, how're you doing?" Clint asked, as he took Nancy's coat.
"Fine. You?"
"Just great," Clint replied with a smile, as he put his arm around Nancy's shoulders.
"Guess married life is working out for you?" Jack grinned. Nancy tried to glare at him, but had to laugh at the same time, so the effect was somewhat diminished. They continued on to the kitchen, where Sue was greeted enthusiastically, and Lucy was introduced. Lucy and Nancy hit off immediately, leaving Sue to breathe a little more relaxed. She'd been a little afraid the two similar personalities might clash, but it was quite the opposite apparently.
A few minutes later, Demetrius and his wife, Donna arrived, but before they could be properly introduced, there was another knock on the door.
"We've got food, food, and I believe Myles might have some food with him too," Bobby said, walking in with a couple of plastic bags, followed by Myles and Tara.
"And, I decided to bring some food," Tara said, presenting her two plastic bags.
"Sounds good to me," Clint said. "But what will ya'll be eating?"
For a moment there was silence. Then the whole group burst out laughing, and Bobby walked up to the country doctor. "I already like you. Name's Bobby Manning."
"Clint Cassidy. And don't worry 'bout the food, I don't mind sharing."
"Yeah, you just need to grab it before he's finished eating everything," Nancy said, affectionately prodding her husband with her elbow. "Nancy Cassidy, nice to meet you."
The Australian chuckled. "Likewise… and it's nice to meet you too."
Nancy rolled her eyes. "Oh great. I hope no one else is hungry 'round here."
"I'm sure we'll manage." Jack smiled.
"Myles Leland the third," Myles said as he stepped forward to introduce himself. As soon as Tara, D. and Donna were also introduced, they all moved towards the living room, where they found a seat. Sue prayed out loud, before everyone started passing out plates, food and drinks.
It was almost like any team night, just with some extra people. Myles was sitting on the couch, talking to Lucy who sat on a chair next to him. Next to Lucy lay Levi, with Sue sitting next to him on a pillow. Jack sat next to her, followed by Tara, who sat a little bit in front of Bobby's chair. Bobby and Clint were talking about farming, having found out they both grew up on a farm. Sometimes someone else would pitch in. Nancy sat on the chair next to Clint, talking with Donna who sat on the couch with Demetrius, and Myles.
"Bobby, want some crisps?" Tara asked, offering the bowl of crisps. They'd long since finished eating, had cleared most of the wrapping material away, and had moved on to some drinks and crisps.
"Thanks Tara," he said with a smile, as he took some crisps. Tara smiled back, and continued to chat with Sue, leaning against Bobby's chair.
After a while, Jack and Sue went to walk Levi. Demetrius and Donna had gone home already, since the kids were home alone, and they didn't want to leave them alone for too long. Tara, Nancy and Lucy went to the kitchen to do the dishes, leaving Bobby, Myles and Clint to their own devices. Myles and Clint had engaged in a discussion about the pros and cons of a 'country-style-bed side manner', and Bobby occasionally added his insight.
At some point though, the conversation turned towards a different topic.
"So, what made you decide to pop the question?" Myles asked Clint.
Clint chuckled, shaking his head. "I was going to ask when she was about to leave for Indonesia. But before I could ask her, she told me she'd thought for a long time there could be something more between us, but that that time was over."
Both listening men raised their eyebrows. "Well, something must have happened, 'cause look where you are now."
"Oh yes. Tippy happened. She's a receptionist at the clinic both Nancy and I work for, and she's a lot like Tara in a way. She told me I had to tell Nancy how I felt about her, despite what she'd just told me. I thought about that for a while, realised I couldn't imagine a life without Nancy anymore, so searched her out and proposed."
Bobby blinked. "That certainly went fast. Didn't you… date first?"
"Oh, we'd known each other for more than four years, and lived in the same building during the larger part of that time. We've been 'dating' for years, just without the official stuff. We've seen each other at our best and at our worst, yet stuck together through it all. Besides, once she accepted, we went to Indonesia for almost a year, and only got married when we came back a couple of months ago."
Bobby seemed lost in his thoughts, and Clint regarded him for a moment.
"So, either of you have a special someone?" Clint asked, although he had his own ideas from what he'd seen tonight. Bobby's eyes flitted towards Clint's. Myles remained quiet.
"Nah, not really," Bobby said finally.
"What about Tara," Myles asked quietly, but he looked at his friend with a steady gaze. Bobby returned the gaze, then sighed.
"It's not like I'm not interested… it's just… I have done some things in my past that I'm not exactly proud of," he admitted. "I don't want to burden her or any woman with that." He thought about his gambling addiction. He still visited the counselling group, but he couldn't bear the thought of Tara's disappointment when or if she found out.
Clint watched him for a while.
"We've all done things we're not proud of, things we shouldn't have done… But keeping those things hidden from someone you love can only bring pain. Most often we think we're protecting them from our ugly side, but we don't realise that if someone loves you, they'll love you despite your faults."
He waited for a moment. "Jesus does the same. And He knows all of our faults, sometimes even more than we ourselves are aware of. But He loves us despite of them. God loves us so much, He let His own son die for our sins. And you know the funny thing… He knows all our sins, yet asks that we tell Him about them, and ask for His forgiveness for them. And He promises that if we do that, they are forgiven."
Bobby watched the cowboy. He'd sure given him some things to think about…
Myles kept silent. Clint's words had hit a chord. He'd never considered himself a really religious man, not because he didn't believe in God, but rather because he had tried to hide from Him, knowing he had so many faults. And here this country doctor from Montana kicked away the illusion of his hiding.
Seeing his words impact both agents, Clint said a silent thanks for God's guidance. Deciding to lighten it up, he asked, "So, what's up between Jack and Sue?"
This brought the two men out of their pensive states, and they told him all about the 'non-relationship' Sue and Jack had.
The women were soon done with the dishes, and had returned to the living room, when Jack and Sue also returned with Levi. The night continued for a while longer, but then it was time to leave. Goodbyes were said, and promises made to drop by whenever they were in the area.
TBC
