I wish my muse would warn me before she decides to come visit. I was dry at the end of Birds and Bees. Then an odd comment triggered this little gem. How would Auggie react if his son appeared to be following in his father's womanizing ways? Told mostly from Christopher's POV.
Mandy's had her say.
I don't own anything (new) of Covert Affairs.
Christopher Austin Anderson pulled his car to a stop beside his mother's vehicle in the driveway of their McLean, Virginia home. After turning off the ignition, he pulled the key out and unbuckled his seatbelt. He didn't immediately exit the vehicle, but sat for a few moments steeling his nerves for the lecture he was sure to get when he set foot inside the house. It was after midnight and well over an hour past his curfew on a school night and it didn't matter that there was no school the next day.
He briefly rested his forehead on the steering wheel, then, with shaky resolve, opened the door and exited his car. Halfway to the backdoor he punched the button on the fob and the short honk from his horn told him his car was locked. And would probably remain that way for the next week – the probable length of time he'd be grounded for. Christopher regretted the evening's activities even more now. He thought that he'd had fun with Gabby Grey, but now wasn't sure the 'fun' was worth the ire his father was sure to heap on him. A deep sigh escaped him as he opened the back door and entered the dark house.
As he locked the door behind him, Christopher wondered where his father was. He seriously doubted that he was asleep in his bed. Was he waiting in his office? Or was he just a few feet away in the family room?
Christopher had taken but two steps away from the door when his father's voice came at him from the family room.
"Was the fun you had worth losing your car for a week?" Auggie Anderson asked from where he sat in his recliner in the darkness to Christopher's right.
"Not really," Christopher replied. "Thought that it was at the time, but now realize that it wasn't. On my way by I'll put my keys on your desk in your office."
"Don't bother," Auggie said softly. "I'm not grounding you. This time. You understand what you did. But … come in here and sit down. I do want to discuss something with you." His father's tone of voice was serious and Christopher knew better than to argue with him.
"Why?" Christopher asked as he moved to take a seat on the sofa. He didn't bother to turn on the lights. Like his father, he didn't need light to navigate his home. Besides, he didn't want to see the disappointment on his father's face.
"Why what? Why I'm not taking your car? Or why I want to talk to you?"
"Both, actually."
"Already told you why I'm not grounding you – you understand that you broke curfew and regret it. Why I want to talk to you will become clear in a few minutes. I am extremely disappointed in you right now."
"I know," Christopher said softly. "I'm rather disappointed in myself. I know better. I know it's no excuse, but time just got away from me. When I realized what time it was it was already too late."
"You could have called."
"And risk waking you up if you were asleep and I could sneak in and …"
"You know that I'd hear you no matter how asleep I am. And that I'd check the time. You know you can't sneak past me."
"Yeah. I know. Never have been able to put anything over on you. Did Mom a few times, but I never got away with anything when you were around."
"And this evening is no different," Auggie began. "I had a feeling that you and Gabby were 'gardening' before you even came in just now. Now that you are sitting here with me, I know that you've been 'gardening' with her. You do not know just how disappointed in you that I am right now. I thought that I raised you better than this. Thought that I'd made it clear that you need to control your Anderson libido."
"What makes you think that Gabby and I had sex tonight?"
"A father knows these things. I wasn't sure until you got closer to me. Sex has a particular odor afterwards. I hope that you used protection," Auggie said firmly.
"We did. I'm not stupid in that arena, Dad. I'm not ready to be a father."
"Then you should not be having sex," Auggie blurted out. "I thought that I'd made that clear to you repeatedly. Ever since you were little I've tried to impress that on you. Apparently I have failed in that. With that I'm going to bed," he said as he began to rise from his chair. Christopher couldn't help but notice the hint of disgust in his father's tone.
"Dad, I'm sorry I've let you down. It's hard to not give in to those feelings. Especially when the girl is the aggressive one. And Dad, I'm a bit upset with myself right now."
Christopher's father sat back down on the edge of the chair he'd just risen from. "Why are you upset with yourself? About now you should be beating on your chest and celebrating your conquest."
"I'm not. I'm feeling used. Like I'm just another notch in Gabby's belt. I didn't want to believe that about her, but something she said after gave me no choice but to believe that what was being said about her was true."
"What's been said about this young woman?"
"That she wants to have slept with every guy in our class by graduation. She's a sweet, quiet girl. I didn't want to think that was true. For whatever reason, it seems to be. I'm starting to feel sorry for her. There's something more than hormones going on with her, I think. I'm going to go take a shower and go to bed. May I sleep in in the morning? We don't have school."
"Yeah. You can sleep in. Unfortunately I can't. Good-night, son. I'm still a bit disappointed in you, but, since it doesn't seem it was all you, not as much as I was earlier. I'm not sure that I want you to follow in my footsteps in this area. Be careful."
"I will Dad. And I'll try not to let you down again," Christopher said as he rose to follow his father out of the family room.
In front of him his father paused, turned around and, with an accuracy that always surprised Christopher, touched him on the arm. "Christopher, I have set high standards for you and your sister. Perhaps too high; but, like most parents, that's because I only want the best for you two. You are bound to fall short of my lofty goals at one time or another. That you do not do so more often sometimes surprises me; when you do it's up to me to determine why. Were my expectations really too high? Or did you actually screw up? Tonight seems to be a bit of both, but you seem to have done the best you could."
In the dim, shadowy light of the hallway, Christopher could just make out his father's features. He looked weary; and a moment of guilt washed over Christopher. Even though his father would not realize it, Christopher looked into his father's sightless eyes, "Try to get some sleep, Dad. I'm sorry I've kept you up."
"Get yourself to bed as soon as you get your shower. Try not to wake your mother and sister when you do."
"I'll try to be as quiet as I can. G'night Dad."
Without another word Auggie turned and padded down the hall to the door at the end of it. Christopher stood where he was and watched as his father walked away from him. He was now totally confused. What the hell had just happened? He'd expected to get chewed out and grounded. He hadn't gotten the later and wasn't quite sure about the former. It was no secret in the family that his father had bedded more than his fair share of women in his day. Christopher had the definite feeling that he'd just been chewed out – if he'd even been chewed out – for starting down that same path; a path that – this evening for sure – was not one of his deliberate choosing. With a confused sigh, Christopher headed toward the bathroom feeling even dirtier than he had when he entered the house.
