It was a warm Sunday afternoon, the cool breeze blowing every so often as the sun shone brightly. Rick and Drew were laying on a pair of sun lounges with a huge umbrella over them in the backyard overlooking the pool, dressed only in board-shorts and sunglasses, they had a cooler tub between them filled with their favourite type of beer, a table with a charcuterie board with all different types of gourmet meats and crackers with classic rock playing softly in the background. They didn't usually get much downtime, let alone get to spend it together so they were taking advantage of it.
They heard the backdoor of the house open, lazily looking over they spied Bri walking towards them with Major following behind her. The German Sheppard beelined for the platter which Rick quickly defused with a stern 'NO' before taking a piece of ham and throwing it behind him onto the grass much to the dog's delight. Bri arrived in front of them with her arms crossed over her chest, she stood there in a pair of white cut off high waisted denim short, a black high neck bikini top (her fathers' choice) with a black tropical kimono over the outfit as she had finished swimming for now. The men looked at their 17-year-old daughter expectantly, Drew reached in the ice bucket, pulled out two beers and handed one to his husband; it looked like alcohol would be needed for this conversation.
"Yes, sweetheart?" Drew asked curiously.
"So, a friend is going to come around after school tomorrow," Bri started.
"Jasmine?" Rick asked, undoing the screw top of the beer and throwing it at his husband's face who flipped him off.
"No."
"Who?"
"His name- "
"His?" Drew asked, taking a swig of his beer.
"His name is Ben," Bri continued as she ignored the interruption. "He needs help with a Science assignment and he is going to come over to study."
"Study your anatomy I bet," Drew grumbled into his beer, Rick's face scrunching up in disgust.
"Now I need you to be… cool," Bri began. "he's a friend."
"A friend, friend or friend that you want to be more than friends with?" Rick asked with interest.
"It doesn't matter!"
"The second one," the two men said in unison, smirking at each other with knowing looks.
"I need you two to behave," Bri stressed, ignoring the indignant looks on their faces. "No intimidating questions, no threats, no MMA or fight talk, no army talk or anything that will ruin my reputation! Don't even think of doing that stupid Bad Boys bit I know you want to do."
"So… say nothing?"
"Yes!" Bri said in exasperation, "Ok?"
"No problem," Drew assured, grinning widely at her. Untrusting, she stared him down hard before calling out to Major and both of them going back inside. The doctor picked at the label on his beer before turning to smirk at his husband. "When was the last time you cleaned your rifle?"
Laughing loudly, Rick reached over and clinked their beers together before taking a sip; that kid didn't know what he was in for.
Drew sat at the dining table; a plethora of weapons splayed before him. The doctor had gone out to the garage where their gun safe was kept, grabbing a few weapons that they had collected over the years and took them inside. In the safe were a few rifles for when Rick would go deer hunting with his father and brothers, two semi-automatics that they were given in the early days of their army life, a few handguns that were more collectible than functional and an empty spot for Rick's service pistol he used at work. They were smart with the guns, both of them seen too many incidents through the army and their line of work not to be; the safe was always locked and kept out of the house for that reason.
On the table, Drew had his cleaning kit, rags, brushes, solvents, oils, his M4 Carbine rifle disassembled in front of him; he had taken extra precaution to make sure there weren't live bullets or one still in the chamber. He had a few hunting blades for decoration mostly, only ever used them when he was fishing and then it was only to cut any tangled fishing line. He had a set of brass knuckles that Rick had taken from lock-up that had sat there for years and were going to be melted down to scrap. Lastly was a large bullet belt, it had no live shells but it still looked threatening, it wasn't a good idea to leave live ammo laying around.
The doctor had taken a photo when everything was set up and sent it to his husband who was still at work, it couldn't have gone better when he received a phone call seconds later with Rick laughing hysterically telling him that Bri was going to be so furious with him, if not kill him.
He could see a shitty run-down Ford truck stop outside the entry window followed by Bri pulling into the driveway, she had inherited Drew's old 2010 black Jeep Wrangler when he had traded up vehicles, both fathers wanted her to have a reliable but tough car that wouldn't break down on her.
The doctor smiled wickedly to himself as he picked up the scope of the rifle and began cleaning the lense. A few minutes later he heard the front door open, the sound of steady conversation following soon after. Bri walked into the room, stopped dead in her tracks when she saw the dining table covered in weaponry.
"Are you serious, right now?" Bri hissed quietly, glaring daggers at her father. Drew tried to look innocent as he looked at the teenage boy standing in the doorway, the doctor held the scope up to his eye and stare at him through the lense.
"Hey honey, how was your day?" Drew asked nonchalantly, placing the scope on the table when he saw the teen gulp.
"Fine until I got home," Bri fumed furiously. Taking a calming breath, she turned to Ben and did a quick introduction before walking to the fridge and started looking for a snack for them.
"So, Bryan- "
"Ben," Bri corrected, taking two cans of coke from the fridge.
"Bryan," Drew carried on as if he hadn't heard, "Bri said you need help with a science assessment."
"Y-yes Mr. Alister."
"It's Dr Alister," Drew told, relishing in the annoyed groan from his daughter. "And as a doctor, I'm quite good with science, I know how to kill a man and make it look like an accident."
"Dad!"
"Um, Bri where's the bathroom?" Ben asked nervously, the blonde told him the directions and he took off down the hall. Bri left her post in the kitchen and stormed over to the dining table, hands on her hips and seething with rage.
"I said no threats!"
"I didn't threaten him," Drew explained, "I just stated a fact."
"What's with all the guns? Are you going on a rampage?"
"Maybe?" Drew shrugged, fighting hard to keep the grin off his face as he started reassembling the rifle. The doctor tensed when he felt his daughter start repetitively hitting his shoulder.
"Why are you trying to ruin my life? Do you want me to be some old Mormon with no friends?"
"Stop," Drew told as he tried to hold her off, "I'm almost done ok? I'm just messing with him."
"Don't," Bri snapped, "I like him ok? You're making this so awkward, just… be normal. No more guns, no more threats or 'facts'," she said with air quotes. "Please for me, your daughter that you are supposed to love."
"Fine, I'll pack it all up when I'm finished cleaning them."
"Thank you, be nice," Bri instructed with one last final glare, going back to the kitchen as Ben walked back in looking much paler than before. The two teens made an assortment of snacks, hummus, chips, crackers, trail mix, chocolate- almost raiding the whole pantry much to the doctor's chagrin, he watched them curiously as he loudly reassembled his rifle much to Bri's horror.
The kid seemed ok, typical jock, tall, broad shoulders, slight stubble, golden-brown hair and a cute smile; if Drew was younger, he could see why Bri was interested in him. He seemed to be respectful of his daughter, not crowding her, helping her grab the items they needed from the top shelf, he might almost like him if he wasn't so interested in her.
They grabbed their snacks and started heading down the hallway.
"Hold it," Drew instructed, not looking up as he started reattaching the empty magazine clip into its correct spot, "where are you going?"
"To my bedroom?" Bri said like it was obvious.
"Not in this lifetime," Drew told seriously.
"Outside under the pergola?"
"No, lounge-room. I can keep an eye on you two there."
"Are you serious?"
"It's fine Bri," Ben assured her, hoisting his backpack on his shoulder while taking the tray of food in his hand as he walked to the couch. Bri stared at her father incredulously, mustering pure teenage rage before stomping after Ben getting out her textbooks.
Drew kept to himself, for the most part, placing the rifle back into its protective bag as he began to tidy up; now finished with the weapon maintenance. He was surprised to see that the kids were actually studying and not just watching tv or using their phones but he was sure if he wasn't supervising it would be a different story.
He quickly took everything to the garage and put it back in the safe, double-checking that it was locked. The doctor was stealthy as he moved back to the kitchen to spy on the teens, only to see that they were writing down notes and Ben hadn't made a move on his daughter, which for some reason was kind of disappointing.
For the next hour Drew endured some horrific Top 40's Pop music that was playing through the Bluetooth speaker which Bri insisted on playing while he started preparing dinner. It wasn't anything too fancy tonight, beef tacos with a heap of salad options to keep it healthy. As he was cutting up an onion he was going to sauté, he smiled as he heard them struggling with a question.
"Name the five layers of the epidermis," Ben quizzed as he read from the textbook.
"Um… I know they all start with Stratum," Bri replied, her brain hurting as she tried to remember the terms. "Basal… something about corn... corn cob? I give up."
"Bad Cops Get Sexy Ladies," Drew said from the kitchen, placing the onion in the frying pan.
"What?" Bri asked in confusion.
"It's a mnemonic," Drew explained, stirring the pan with a spatula. "The 5 layers of the epidermis, basal, corneum, granulosum, spinosum, lucidum. Bad Cops Get Sexy Ladies. I struggled with anatomy in med school and mnemonics helped a lot, just remember what they stand for because I remember the mnemonics well but forgot what they stood for."
"That… is actually helpful, thanks," Ben said earnestly, writing down the phrase in his notebook along with what each letter stood for.
"Do you have more?" Bri asked.
"You want my help?" Drew smirked, Bri rolled her eyes but remained silent. "I have a few but don't remember them all now since I'm not studying for exams. My favourite was one for remembering the cranium bones. Old People From Texas Eat Spiders, Occipital, Parietal, Frontal, Temporal, Ethmoid and Sphenoid."
"So, you use things you learned in high school in your daily life?" Ben asked with genuine curiosity.
"Mostly," Drew shrugged, placing some spices in the pan, "relearnt in college and med school but was taught introductory anatomy in high school and the basics of the human body. That is when I wasn't playing football."
"You were on the football team?" Ben asked with interest as he was starting to become fascinated by Drew.
"On the team?" Drew scoffed, "I was the team, Quarterback for Junior and Senior year. Took the team to State Championships too."
"So, you were popular with all the girls then?"
"Ha, I didn't notice," Drew laughed, smiling to himself while adding some stock to the pan.
"Oh right," Ben said sheepishly, suddenly remembering that the doctor was married to a man, "QB for two years? Wow, you must have had so many scholarships offers."
"How do you think I paid for Med school? That plus the army, the longer you are active in the army the more money they put towards your education. Been with the army since I was 18, also being a doctor in the army has given me a completely different education than I would have received if I just studied in the states. Injuries on the battlefield are something else, no textbook or professor can prepare you for. But I'm grateful for it, without the scholarships and army Rick and I wouldn't be able to afford a house like this in our thirties otherwise."
"Wow," Ben said again as he let everything absorb in before he turned smiling at Bri, "your dad's pretty cool when he's not trying to murder me."
Father and daughter laughed wholeheartedly, Bri mouthing a 'thank you' to Drew who smiled back at her.
"Staying for dinner Ben?" Drew asked casually, it had the desired effect when he saw his daughter's jaw almost hit the floor. Sue him, the kid was growing on him.
"S-sure," Ben said in surprise. "I'll call my mum and let her know I'll be home a bit later." The teen stood up and walked outside towards the entertaining area, phone held to his ear.
"Can you clean up the lounge room before your dad comes home?" Drew asked, adjusting the heat dial on the stove.
"Sure," Bri replied, still suspicious of her dad's intentions. The blonde put her books back in her bag, placed it against the wall in the hall to take to her room later then cleaned up the snacks that were now mostly eaten. Ben arrived back shortly and the pair sat on the couch and found something on Netflix to watch, Drew finished up cooking and tidied the kitchen. He let the teens be, sitting at the island bench on one of the stools with his laptop as he finished some charts, he hadn't had a chance to earlier.
Drew looked at the couch every so often, it was pretty tame. The pair sat close together, Bri slowly put her head on Ben's shoulder and he bravely put his hand on her knee, the doctor saw him place his hand on her thigh but quickly move it lowered when Drew gave him a pointed look.
At 5:30 pm Drew saw Rick's truck in the driveway before heading to the garage. Moments later Major was running on the front lawn after being freed from the truck. He heard the garage door open and close shortly followed by Rick yawing as he walked into the room, untying his tactical belt and placing it on the bench near Drew's laptop as he slumped into a chair next to his husband.
"Long day?" Drew asked, closing his laptop.
"You know that saying about how you can't teach old dogs' new tricks? Believe it," Rick told, leaning back against the table to crack his back and stretch.
"Major's training not going well?" Drew asked. Rick had adopted Major when he had failed as an attack dog for the force, failed because the dog didn't know how to hurt a fly let alone an attacker, no matter how much training he had. Still the dog was incredibly intelligent and had potential as a sniffer dog, specifically for illegal narcotics that would help Rick out in the field. Rick was working closely with Major but at two and a half years old it was late to start his training but the dog's willingness and charisma was enough for Rick to keep going.
"Yeah he still has the mind of puppy and is stupidly energetic it's hard to get him to focus," Rick sighed stretched his arms as he squinted at the couch, staring at the kid next to his daughter, "who the hell are you?"
"Dad!" Bri scolded, her hand hiding her embarrassed face, Drew chuckled as he stared at the other man.
"I'm Ben," he introduced from the couch.
"Well Ben," Rick started, cracking his knuckles for dramatic effect, "what are your intentions with my daughter?"
"I'm going to die alone," Bri mumbled pathetically.
"Um…" Ben stuttered, pure fear illuminating his face. Rick and Drew exchanged a smirk, they didn't think they would have this much fun torturing the poor kid. After a few moments of listening to the kid stutter, Rick stood up from the chair, stared hard at the teen before walking to the fridge and getting himself a beer. The doctor could hear the pair whispering to each other, Bri trying to do some damage control while Rick stood opposite Drew at the island bench, placing his beer down as he cocked his head in their direction.
"What's the verdict?"
"He's alright," Drew shrugged, picking up the beer and taking a sip, "bit anxious but doesn't seem like a bad kid overall."
The couple chatted about their day for a while, Drew groaning when he saw Major walk in from the backyard with muddy paws. The dog smiled at the doctor before lifting his nose as he sniffed the air catching the smell of the meat that was cooked earlier, he quickly put his nose to the ground as he tried to find the source of the scent.
"Bri it's your turn to feed Major," Rick reminded as he deterred the dog with his knee as he stuck his nose against the benchtop and cabinets.
Major would normally be running around excitedly at the mention of food but he kept his nose down as he walked along the floor aggressively sniffing. Both men watched curiously at the dog's strange behaviour, Drew looked at his husband for an explanation but Rick's focus was solidly on the German Sheppard, a calculating expression on his face.
Major approached the teens, Bri knelt to greet the dog only to be ignored as he walked past her to Ben. Major's breathing changed, he rapidly sniffed at his feet, his snout moving up the teen's leg before his nose zeroed in on his jean's back pocket. Major scratched at the pocket, breathing in deeply before he sat and barked loudly, looking at Rick with a proud smile.
"What is he doing?" Drew asked befuddled, Rick paid no mind to him as he moved forward to the teen, Major loud barking continued as he sniffed and scratched at Ben's pocket. The officer seemed to be having a telepathic conversation with the dog as they stared at each other, Major snuffled again as woofed deeply, pawing continuously at the pocket.
"Heal!" Rick commanded, everyone, jumping at the booming voice that broke the silence of the room. Major did as he was told, sat there patiently as he watched Rick for his next instruction. The officer glared at the teen, "turn out your pockets."
"Why?" for the first time that day, Ben's polite manner faltered as he sneered back at Rick.
"I'm not going to ask you again," Rick told emphatically when he made no attempt at moving Rick put him in an arm lock, slamming it harshly into his back and pinned him to the counter.
"Dad!" Bri cried in fear, Drew rushed towards her and wrapped his arms securely around his daughter, shielding her protectively as they watched the confusing scene unfold.
Major was by the officer's side growling lowly as Rick restrained him further into the bench with his knee, he reached into the teens pocket and pulled out his cracked black leather wallet. He flipped it open and looked inside, scowled at the contents. The officer reached for his belt on the countertop, pulled out a disposable plastic glove and used it to pull out two small clear plastic bags, one filled with a white powder while the other contained a green nugget.
"Holy shit."
Bri clutched tightly to her dad as she hid her tear-streaked face in his chest. Drew held her, soothing her the best he could as he tried to process the insane scenario in front of them; staring at Rick as he boiled with rage.
"How dare you bring drugs into my house!" Rick boomed, pushing the kid away from the bench and gripped the front of his shirt, holding him menacing.
"I didn't know the dog would be such a narc!" Ben said defensively. Rick took a shaky breath, flexing his fingers as he tried to quiet the voice within himself telling him to punch the kid in the face.
"Ok," Rick began, shoving Ben away from him as he didn't trust himself not to hurt him; a satisfied smirk forming on his face as the kid fell and landed on his ass. "I should call some other officers, get you arrested, thrown in jail for possession, intent to distribute, make sure you are tried as an adult and get locked away for 15 years. Minimum."
"You can't do that!" Ben protested, still sitting on the floor as he was too terrified to move.
"I can but I won't," Rick grunted, "I want you out of my house and for you to never come back. You will stay the hell away from my daughter, if I ever see you near her again, I will kill you."
"You can't threaten me."
"No threat," Rick said, picking up the wallet and dropping it on his chest, "it's a promise. Now get out!" Ben muttered to himself as he stood up and grabbed his bag. As he turned to leave, he looked torn as he scratched the back of his neck anxiously.
"Can I have the stuff back- "
"GET OUT!"
Bri sat on the couch, her head resting on Drew's chest as a few tears silently fell from her eyes. The doctor pressed a kiss into her hair as he held her tight. Rick had pulled an ottoman up in front of them, sitting on it as he wrung his hands together as he tried to figure out where to start.
"Are you ok?" Bri didn't answer, she just shrugged her shoulders. "I'm sorry that I scared you. You know I would never hurt you, right?"
"I dunno," she murmured.
"Bri," Drew scolded softly.
"Sweetheart," Rick breathed sadly, reaching over and wiping a stray tear from her eye. "I would never hurt you. Ever. I'm so sorry I scared you but I knew something wasn't right, Major" the dog lifted his head from a chew toy he was gnawing on before going back to it. "was showing signs of his narcotic training. I shouldn't have been so rough or loud but I couldn't ignore it."
"I've never seen you like that before," Bri mumbled, absently playing with the zipper of Drew's hoodie, not meeting Rick's eyes.
"I know," Rick agreed, "you shouldn't be exposed to it either. I'm sorry for putting you through that, I will make sure you are never put in a situation like that ever again"
Bri looked at him and gave him a week smile. "ok."
"Now I need to ask, did you know about the drugs?"
"No!" Bri said affronted.
"Alright," Rick said, hands up as he showed mercy. "I just needed to know, he never mentioned using or selling it before?"
"Not really," she shrugged, "most kids talk about smoking weed but that's about it. I've never heard Ben say anything though."
"And you've never smoked it before?" Rick asked, trying his hardest not to make this sound like an interrogation. It didn't matter however as his daughter turned a vicious glare on him.
"I have Cystic Fibrosis; I've struggled to breathe most of my life and have had a double lung transplant. What part of that would make you think I would want to ruin them?"
"I'm just asking ok?" Rick defended. "I love you and just want to keep you safe, having two wildly protective dads is just something you are going to have to live with." The blonde grinned at him, knowing that they would never change. "Can I have a hug please?"
Bri rolled her eyes before reaching over and hugging him, laughing when he lifted her in the air as he stood from the ottoman, her feet swimming in the air before he put her on the floor.
"Can I go to my room? I'm kind of tired."
"Sure honey," Drew said, standing at his husband's side, wrapping an arm around his waist. "I'll bring you something to eat ok?"
Bri nodded, enduring a combined hug from her fathers before she left and went to her room. Once they were sure she was out of earshot, Rick groaned long-suffering, his head falling to Drew's shoulder.
"Seriously, is there any way that could have gone worse?"
"I don't know, at least our daughter doesn't hate us."
"Give her time," Rick moped, he took a steadying breath which was interrupted by Major who was still waiting to be fed. The officer bent down on his knees, whistled and called excitedly for the dog, who ran over with his tail wagging all over the place. "And you, who's a good boy? Youse a good boy, yes you! You're the best boy ever!" Rick praised, roughing up the dog as he tried to pat every surface of him.
"You love that dog more than me," Drew muttered, crouching down himself as he joined in.
"Not true, it goes," Rick said as he made a list in the air with his hand. "Major then Bri then my truck then you. Wait maybe my phone than you."
"Piss off," Drew scold, pushing the other man as he fell on his side. Major sat between Rick's knees as he continued to praise him.
"I'm so proud of you boy, all our hard work! We are going to go to the store and get you so many toys and a new bed plus the biggest, meatiest bone they have. You can even eat it in the house!"
"Not gonna happen," Drew cut off.
"Yes, it will," Rick stage whispered. Major too wound up from the excitement took off and started running around before he headed outside.
Rick shuffled around until his back hit the couch, Drew joining him and wrapped an arm around his shoulder; resting his head on top of his husband's.
"What a shit show of an afternoon," Drew decided.
"Definitely, I can't believe you got out the guns," Rick laughed.
"They needed to be cleaned."
"Uh-huh."
"So, what are you going to do about the drugs?"
"Well," Rick sighed, the long day catching up with him. "What I assume is meth, I'll put it in an evidence bag, lock it in my truck and take it to work tomorrow. The last thing I need is the dog to get into it, be more of a pain in the ass then he already is. From there they'll probably test it to see if they can identify where it came from and then incinerate it, I assume."
"And the weed?"
"I was thinking, once Bri falls asleep…" Rick began, raising his eyebrows suggestively at the other man.
"No way, do you know how hypocritical that is?"
"Come on, live a little."
"God," Drew chuckled, shaking his head at his husband. "The last time I was high was at the shady hookah bar in Iraq. That shisha pipe was spiked with something other than 'plain tobacco' as advertised."
"Wow," Rick laughed, pressing his fist to his lips as the memory flooded back. "That was a good night, you stole 6 MRE's, woke up in the back of the Humvee covered head to toe in-what was it?"
"Sweet and sour meatballs, I've never been able to stomach them since."
"So…" Rick asked, bumping their shoulders together.
"Alright."
When Bri woke up the next morning, the house empty, she wandered outside to find her two fathers asleep, sharing a sun lounge, curled up together in the crisp morning air; leftover beef tacos slowly being devoured by Major who was close by. Her dads may be overprotective and crazy sometimes but they loved her and most importantly each other.
THE END
The ending is a little cheesy but I had a good time writing this.
Let me know what you think!
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