Part 2
Disclaimer: Daniel is mine, the story is mine, nothing else is mine.
Notes: Many thanks and apologies to all those who have been waiting. This is
still a work in progress.
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Continued from part 1.
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Carol made Daniel coffee, and they drank it on the dock
after she had put the babies to sleep. Tess was born 45 minutes before Kate,
Carol had told him, and they were his half-sisters. It felt strange to think he
was a
brother to someone, after being an only child for so long. It also felt strange
to think he had a stepmother, for that matter. It was even funny, in a way. In
his earliest memories, there was his mother, and his stepfather. Today he was
meeting his stepmother, and his father. That, too, felt strange.
Carol told him everything about Doug, everything she knew.
And she knew a lot! Daniel drank her words hungrily, despite knowing words
alone couldn't fully quench his thirst. Here or there, she would unconsciously
punctuate her recount with reassuring words. She said Doug was a good man, and
that he'd be happy to meet Daniel, but it didn't stop him apprehending that
fateful moment.
Daniel had told her a little about his life - that he'd
lived in Gary, IL, until his stepdad got transferred to Denver when he was just
5, that he played Basketball for the school team, and went to the movies a lot.
He didn't tell everything, though. That was not what he was here for, and he
didn't need her pity. Hers or anybody else's. But he listened, mostly. He
listened to the countless stories, happy and sad, and the portraits of him
Carol drew with words without knowing it. And so he learnt that Doug had few
friends but would walk through fire for them, that he had a strong personality
with a tendency to break the rules. That up until years ago he had been the
type to haunt bars and pick up random girls to spend the night with. That he
had wisened up since then and was a faithful husband. That he was a wonderful
father. That the two of them looked strikingly alike. Daniel was sure that
Carol never said a thing with the purpose of hurting him, but she was, through
no fault of her own.
It hurt him that his father didn't know him, wouldn't risk
his life for him, didn't love him. It hurt him that it wasn't his mother his
father had been a faithful husband to, that he wasn't the kid his father had
been wonderful with. That nobody had ever told him he looked the spitting image
of his dad. Yet he always wanted to find out more, and couldn't wait to see
him.
They talked for a couple hours which went by very fast, and
when she finished, Carol told him that Doug would be there any minute. Then she
went inside the house to attend to the babies, while he stayed there pacing up
and down the dock, filled with mixed emotions.
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Doug came home to the beautiful reflections of light
glossing over the lake. The surface was calm, the air was still and warm. Maybe
after dinner he and Carol could take the boat and raw a few yards from the
shore to
cancel out the awful day he'd just had at the hospital?
Unexpected visitors
notwithstanding, of course.
He strode toward the dock, where he thought he would find
Carol sunbathing. She only ever sunbathed in the morning or in the evening, to
avert bad burns. But Carol wasn't there, and he was most intrigued when he saw
the light in the background outline the shadow of a young man about his size.
But he didn't stop at that. Judging by the quick steps he was taking, walking
back and forth and going nowhere looking down at the dry wood
boards, Doug figured the boy was pretty anxious. Waiting for something, maybe.
But what, and why was he in his yard?
It all cleared up when he got close enough to distinguish
the boy's face - and stopped dead in his tracks. It looked way too familiar to
be a coincidence. Wow, talk about a surprise. Who would have thought? If that
was
possible at all, Doug felt excitement rise into him, and considerable amounts
of shame & guilt burdening, and weighing him down at the same time.
The kid - his son - hadn't seen him yet, but he couldn't
just stay there rooted to the ground mere feet away. He didn't want to anyway.
His old demons came back all at once, fighting so much in his head that he
couldn't
have thought straight if his life had depended on it, but for just a fragment
of a fleeting second, excitement had been on top of the battle. That's the time
he chose to step forward and walk closer again, looking down to avoid
eye-contact.
That's also when Carol came back out, but she thought she shouldn't
meddle in this, so she just watched from afar.
"Daniel? Daniel Morris?" Doug asked holding out
his right hand, still in disbelief, and looking far ahead into the water.
Daniel drew in a deep breath and stared at his father's hand
for a full second before shaking it vigorously. "It's Thomson... My mother
married."
"Of course," Doug did his hallmark head-tilt as he
amiably smiled. "Of course... So it's really you..." He said almost
to himself.
"Ah, yeah, I guess it is really me."
If he hadn't been so overwhelmed, Doug would've gladly
chuckled at this. The kid had wit, always a good thing.
"Doug Ross?"
"I am, kiddo. I am..." Their eyes crossed for
the first time and lingered there for a little while.
Suddenly, they became aware that they hadn't let go of each other's hand yet,
and both felt embarrassed. But Doug only tightened his grip around Daniel's and
pulled him into an awkward, but nonetheless warm hug. "I am." And his
eyes got all watery as he patted his son on the back. His son.
Carol smiled at the sight of them, she hoped they could get
along and work things out. She decided to leave them their privacy and went
back inside to give the twins their bath.
They awkwardly broke apart, and Doug grinned awkwardly as he
awkwardy said "I'm glad you came."
Daniel, who was looking down again, looked up and to his
father's face as he truthfully answered "I'm glad you're glad."
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"What? No, my son is *not*
gonna stay in a shabby motel when we have a perfectly good spare room! You're
staying here."
They appeared not to have picked
up on it, but it felt weird to Doug to refer to Daniel as his son, to say
it. Strange as it was, as the words spontaneoulsy escaped him, a sudden wave of
pride came over him. And it felt nice.
To hear it, Daniel felt warm
inside. Doug and Carol had been kind to him since he arrived, but this was
the first time he felt truly welcomed, and he almost felt like one of the
family as he surrendered. "Okay, fine. You win. But don't come to me in
the morning complaining about my snoring."
Carol smiled genuinely and Doug
chuckled. "You got it!"
Then he stealthily ruffled the
boy's hair before grabbing his bag and leading him to the guest room. And
as he entered it, it struck him as obvious that Daniel was not just any guest.
He was his son, and this room would become his if he wished. Of course,
there would be a much reluctant mother & step-father to contend with, but
this was a thought he definitely wanted to keep in mind.
"There. Suit yourself. Hope
you enjoy the view."
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~~~To be continued...