Disclaimer: I don't own anything here (except for Al and TJ) and am just doing this for fun and to pass the long months until Season 4.
When Tim told Billy the he and Al were giving him the land to build a house, he watched emotions flip through his brother's eyes like the fruit symbols in a slot machine. In the end, brotherly love and gratefulness won out as Billy happily, graciously accepted the offer and the two brothers started planning the new house.
The builder Jason and Tim had both used was available to start right away and had a set of plans for a six-bedroom, two-story house that would ensure a bedroom for each kid. If all went well, Billy could move into his new home by mid-June. When Tim had awkwardly approached the matter of financing, assuming that Billy would have to sell his house first, his brother waved him off, mumbling something about life insurance money.
Over the next few weeks, Tim helped Billy clear out his house to get it ready to sell and make it easier for Billy to spend time there. In addition to Mindy's things, the brothers uncovered artefacts from a past life: papers and letters from their parents as well as shoeboxes of keepsakes that neither had realized their mother had bothered to save. Tim was surprised to find he could finally think of his parents and feel just a sense of detachment, like he was looking at a black and white picture from someone else's life.
Back in his own life, things were going smoothly. He was still loving looking after the kids. Cody had his first birthday and was still threatening to walk without entirely being able to follow through on the threat. Nicky seemed like he could zoom past his slightly older cousin on the way to that milestone, since the baby had gotten quite adept at pulling himself up and his legs just seemed stronger than Cody's.
TJ and Billy's relationship had been repaired nicely. The boy still had moments when he slipped and seemed on the verge of losing his trust, but he was able to pull himself back. Al privately told Tim that he was the reason TJ had forgiven Billy but Tim had just blushed and shrugged, insisting it was the live bait that had won the boy over.
Billy was doing most of the parenting now – taking the older kids to school, coming over for dinner nearly every night, helping with homework, putting the kids to bed. Tim and Al agreed it was time for the weekend visit. Billy picked the kids up after work on Friday and planned take the older ones to school on Monday and then drop the younger ones off at Tim's house.
When Al got home from work Friday night, the house was strangely, eerily empty. The day had been rainy and shortly after sunset, powerful storms moved through in angry waves. When the electricity went out, they lit candles and enjoyed the fact that they could have open flames in the house without worrying about Hurricane Jack burning the place down. She and Tim had dinner and then played with Nicky until the boy could barely keep his eyes open.
Tim scooped Nicky off the floor, kissed his forehead and handed him over to Al. "You want to put him to bed and I'll get a fire going?"
It was chilly enough for a fire and they hadn't had a chance to have one since before Nicky was born. Al nodded and headed back to their room while Tim went into the garage to get logs, matches, and kindling.
Kneeling in front of the fireplace, he set the raw materials up methodically, making sure they would result in a good, strong fire that would catch quickly and burn steadily. He struck a match and lit the kindling, waving air toward the flames to help fuel them. Soon, the wood caught fire. Tim put the gate back in place and then scooted back from the fireplace to sit with his back against the couch, legs stretched out in front of him.
He was watching the flames dance and thinking about Billy and the kids when Al returned from their room. She laid down on the couch so she could rest her head on Tim's shoulder and watch the fire with him. After a few minutes, she kissed his neck, then pulled his shirt aside so she could kiss his shoulder.
"Damn but you're tense tonight, Timmy. What's wrong?" she asked, her husky voice low, her warm breath tickling his ear.
He shrugged. "Guess I'm just wondering how Billy and the kids are doing. Amber's afraid of thunderstorms and TJ's tooth is going to come out any time now. I was kinda looking foward to being the tooth fairy.
Al rubbed his shoulders. "It's OK, Timmy. This needs to happen. They need Billy and he needs them. They're a family."
"Yeah, I know. It's just.....I can't help feeling like something horrible could happen. Like Billy could kidnap the kids, take them to South America and we'd never see them again."
"Timmy," said Al, half-joking and half-scolding, "have you been watching those Lifetime made-for-TV movies again?"
Tim looked down, a sheepish grin playing across his lips. "Maybe.
He twisted his torso so he could look at Al. He brushed back her hair and let his hand rest on her neck.
"Timmy, I've warned you about those."
"I know, I know. But they're so damn compelling."
Al grinned. "Insidious is more like it. Billy is not going to kidnap his kids. He needs you too, you know?"
"Yeah, I guess."
"C'mon, Timmy. No brooding allowed. Not on a Friday night when we have a whole, empty, nearly kid-free house for the first time in months."
"I don't know..."
"Don't worry, I can distract you," said Al, giving him a wicked grin before she kissed him.
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Later, they lay on the couch in a sweaty, exhausted tangle. Tim reached up to grab the decorative quilt from the top of the couch and drape it over them before Al could catch a chill. She lifted her head from his chest and gazed at him, still breathless and slightly dazed
"You okay?" he asked, his voice a deep, soft rumble.
"Very."
"Okay, you just seem a little dazed or something."
She smiled. "I'm fine, Timmy. More than fine, in fact....It's just....it's been a while since you've been that....aggressive."
Tim started to apologize but she put her hand over his mouth.
"It was an observation, not a complaint. Believe me, I got nothing to complain about. I missed that part of you."
"I just don't want to hurt you," he said, running his hands though her hair.
Al groaned and pressed her forehead into his shoulder. He felt a kiss followed by a sharp nip that didn't hurt exactly but still made him jump. "Ow, you bit me. What'd you do that for?"
"To prove a point. I'm not some delicate little thing that you gotta worry about all the time. I'm very tough. Practically unbreakable."
Tim smiled and squeezed her hand. They drifted into silence for several minutes, then Al tried to sit up but Tim stopped her.
"We're relaxing here. What's your big rush?"
"Just thinking we should go to sleep soon. We've got a big day tomorrow."
"Do we? That's news to me," he said, one eyebrow raised.
"Well, I only got the call this afternoon. We've got to go to Midland to visit with a nice lady from West Texas Big Dogs Rescue. I'm thinking we could go early and get back before your tee time."
"Why are we meeting this lady?"
"To get our new dog, I hope."
Tim looked at Al in disbelief. "But I thought you said 'no puppies'. In fact, I'm sure you said 'no puppies'. Repeatedly. All the time."
"Yes, no puppies. But I never said anything about fully-grown adult dogs. This is where I got Bruno and after he died, I called them to let them know. The woman asked at the time if we'd want another dog and I'd said yes, just not right away."
"And now you've found a dog you want?"
"Well, more like the dog's found us. They got this dog in recently and the woman thought he'd be perfect for us. His owner was an elderly woman, a grandmother who watched her grandkids, so we know the dog gets along well with kids. The woman died and none of her children could take him, so he ended up at the rescue."
"Is he a Great Dane?"
"Yep. Four years old – Harlequin."
"I don't like that name," said Tim.
Al smiled. "It's not his name – it' what they call his coloration pattern. White with black splotches. His name is Angelo."
"Angelo," repeated Tim, smiling. "I can live with Angelo."
"Don't get any ideas, Timmy. He's going to be my dog and go to work with me. I miss having Bruno at work, especially when I have to open up early by myself."
"Yeah, who knows who you might find sleeping in there," said Tim with a smile, reminding her of how they met.
Al returned his smile and kissed his collarbone. "Well, that turned out pretty good. Maybe they could make a Lifetime movie out of it."
"Not a chance," said Tim, shaking his head and grinning, "Not enough danger."
