S1E11: Backwards Day
Disclaimer: I do not own Flashpoint or any of its characters.
"I was thinking about what you said. I'm gonna take Clark and Soph and head up to the cottage for the weekend."
Ed knew he had pleased Greg as his boss smiled in relief and nodded his head in acceptance. "Good. That's good, Eddie. I hope you have a good time."
Ed paused, wanting to say something more; wanting to go over what had happened today. But he could sense that right now wasn't the time to talk about it—the day had ended without anyone dying, so they were going to count it as a win and end there. There was no need to bring it up again.
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"Are you serious?"
Ed couldn't help but grin at his son's enthusiasm. "Unless you really want to go to school tomorrow, yeah, I'm serious."
Clark scoffed. "Yeah—wanting to go and sit in a boring classroom for seven hours or go to the cottage? Tough choice, that one."
"All right wise guy. Go pack."
With one last grin the fourteen-year-old bounded up the stairs to get everything he would need for the next three days.
Ed slipped an arm around Sophie's waist and pulled her close, kissing her softly on the crown of her head. Together, they walked upstairs to their bedroom at a much more sedate pace.
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Ed Lane leaned back and smiled, thinking over the past weekend. It had been good. He should have done something like this earlier.
He and Clark had bonded more over this past weekend than the past six months combined. He had taught his son how to hunt, how to track, and how to clean and prepare an animal. He and Sophie had taken walks and talked about anything under the moon: his job, her job, Clark's school, even their favorite movies and TV shows and the pros and cons of each. There had been no arguments between him and his son, though they did talk about classes. They even spoke of a girl that Clark liked and tips on how to approach her.
"She probably doesn't even know my name."
"Did you ever introduce yourself to her?"
"Well…kind of." Ed grinned and shook his head. "We had a group project together. She's really popular, though. Everyone likes her."
"Clark, you won't know until you try."
His son groaned and flung himself dramatically to the ground, laying on his back, fishing pole abandoned at his side. "Easier said than done, dad."
"Well, you could always find a topic you both like."
Clark propped himself up on his elbows. "Like what?"
Ed threw up his hands. "How should I know? I don't even know her name!"
"Amber."
"What does Amber like to do?"
"Reading, I guess. She always has a book."
Ed shook his head, trying not to laugh. "Well, that's it then. If she likes books, you're screwed."
Clark threw a patch of dirt at his dad's shaking shoulders, hitting him dead-on, and flopped back down.
"Just kidding. But I'm serious, Clark. Find something that she likes to do that you like to do too, and go from there. See if she's in an after school club that you're interested in."
Clark eyed his dad suspiciously. "Are you telling me to stalk Amber?"
He grinned. "Just call it educational surveillance."
Overall, it had been one of the best weekends of his life.
Now as they drove back, he turned to the rearview mirror and watched his family sleep. He knew that he was lucky to have them, just as he knew that the one-on-one time spent with his son was going to be fewer and shorter as the years passed by. His son was a teenager now, and spending time with his dad was probably low on his list of things to do. So he resolved to himself that he would find more time for Clark and for Sophie. Whenever his son wanted to be with him, he would allow it, he'd make it work—who knew how many more times he would have?
Glancing back at the road ahead, he grinned and turned the music down, being sure not to wake his family. They needed to do this more often.
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