FacetheFacts

Disclaimer: I don't own anything 'In A Heartbeat' related whatsoever. I only own the story, and the characters that I made up. I'm leaving on Saturday for two weeks, so I hope this keeps you occupied until I return. Please read and review! Thanks to those who read this so far.

Parent Trap

Face the facts

Tyler went home immediately after he finished his shift. He was in a hurry to talk to his dad. From Alex's expression, he wasn't sure if he wanted to know what was going on.

"Dad!" he called out.

"I'm here in the office."

"That's William's office," Tyler told him.

"Who cares? It's not like he's going to do anything about it."

"Can we talk for a while?" Tyler asked as he dismissed his comments.

"Sure."

"I prefer if we talk in the living room."

"If you say so."

Once they reached the living room, Tyler's dad sat on the lazy boy.

"What do you want to discuss?" he asked.

"I think you know what I want to know."

"I have no clue what you're talking about."

"Come on, Dad. Stop playing around. I want to know what you were talking about at the station."

"Oh that," he said as his face grew serious.

"Is there something going on that I don't know about?"

"How would you like to come to Europe with me?"

"Europe?" Tyler asked.

"Just for fun. I want to spend time with you."

"But school is still going on."

"It's only for a week or so."

"Can't we do it some other time?"

"I thought you always wanted to do something with me?"

"I did."

Matthew Connell's expression saddened.

"I mean, I do, but I'm busy."

"It's the only time that I have."

Tyler was about to question the fact that his dad can take any day off as long as he wants. 'He owns the company for crying out loud.'

"Is there a catch?" Tyler asked.

"What makes you think there's a catch?" he said while avoiding Tyler's eyes. "Is there anything wrong with a father wanting to spend some quality time with his son?"

"I have to think about this," Tyler said.

"You have to decide soon. I already have the tickets."

"You have the tickets?"

"I was just being optimistic. I assumed that you wanted to spend time with me."

'OK, so he's trying to make me feel guilty. I want to spend time with him, but I have a feeling that there's a catch.'

"If it really means a lot to you…"

"It does," said his dad.

"I guess I can go."

"That's great. We're leaving in two days."

"Two days?"

"Is there a problem?"

"No," Tyler said. "I'm going to go to my room now."

Tyler shut the door and lied down on his bed.

"I guess it's fine to go. It's only for a week or so."

He turned to his calendar.

"There's basically nothing…" he started. "Except mine and Val's one month anniversary. How could I have forgotten? This is great. How am I going to explain this to her?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

School began once again, but not for Hank. For him, boot camp is about to start. He tried to let Jamie or Tyler sign up, but they deserted him.

"So much for friends," he said.

Hank was wearing the attire that they were assigned to wear: camouflage pants, a white shirt, and black boots. The attire was already picked out when they signed up. They just had to choose their appropriate size.

"Looking good, Beecham," kidded Jamie, who was followed by Marianne. "I guess it really pays off to be dating the genera's daughter."

"You just love twisting the knife, don't you Waite?" said Hank.

"You look good," said Marianne.

"Too bad you're dad is not judging us on looking good," Hank said. "He's going to pulverize me."

"Macerate!" said Jamie. "Hammer! Destroy! Annihilate!"

"Thank you for your words of encouragement, Webster," Hank told him. "Now quit it."

"Don't be nervous," Marianne said. "Daddy doesn't hate you."

"He made me join this, and then he said that he doesn't think I'm a perfect candidate," Hank almost screamed. "Is that something someone would say if they don't hate you?"

"Please Hank," Marianne told him. "Get a hold of yourself."

"Stop freaking out," Jamie said. "If he perceives you like this, he will unquestionably loathe you more and satirize you."

"Jamie," Hank said his name slowly as he gave him a smile.

"Yes Hank!"

"Shut up!"

"Yes Hank sir!" he laughed.

At the same time, Mr. McLemore approached them.

"Marianne," he said. "Don't you have to head to class?"

"I better go, Hank," she said as she ignored her father. "I'll see you later."

She gave him a kiss. Hank looked after her until she disappeared in the crowd. When he turned around, Mr. McLemore was looking at him with looks that could kill.

"Hello sir," he said. "I'm here for the boot camp training."

"I know," he told him. "And who are you?"

"Ja…Jamie Waite, sir."

"Are you here for the training?"

"I'm just here to support my buddy, sir," Jamie smiled uneasily.

"Well Waite, if you don't leave my sight, I'll drag you to this camp, and you'll be waiting in the hospital without a body to support what little brain you have!"

"Now that was uncalled for, Marshall," Jamie said as he pretended to be sad and put an arm around his shoulders as though they were longtime friends. "I'm deeply hurt."

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he asked angrily.

"Trying to promote good comradeship," Jamie said.

"You're cute, Waite," Mr. McLemore said. "But I'm not impressed. For your actions, Hank will have to do ten pushups."

"I don't think that's fair at all, Mr. McLemore," complained Jamie.

"Twenty."

"Wait a minute…"

"Thirty."

"Jamie, just stop talking and leave," cried out Hank. "You've done enough."

"I was just trying to help. This isn't fair at all. No wonder Marianne hates you."

Mr. McLemore just looked at Jamie with a hurtful yet unwavering look.

"Beecham," he said. "Do fifty pushups."

"Just because you hate me doesn't mean you have to insult my friends or hurt your daughter," Hank said. "And why do you dislike me so much? What have I done to you?"

"I don't dislike you, Hank," he said. "No wait, that's probably in another reality."

Hank just started at him without any trace of emotions on his face.

"I don't like to repeat myself, so do fifty pushups," he told him. "Now!"

"Yes sir!"

Hank stopped on his tracks and started to do the first of his fifty pushups. He had a determined look on his face. He wasn't mad at Marianne. He wasn't mad at Jamie. He was mad at him, and right now it's war.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jamie looked once again at his reflection on the mirror.

"This is not comfortable at all," he complained.

"You look great, son," said his dad.

"I'm still not talking to you," Jamie said.

"I'm sorry, James, but I'm afraid you just did."

Jamie glared at him causing a smile on his face.

"I love you, son," he said as he gave him a pat on the back. "Good luck."

"Bye mom," he said as she gave her a good bye kiss. "Dad."

Jamie left on his motorcycle. He had to admit that wearing a suit does not fit the description of someone who rides a motorcycle. He was grateful that he didn't get anything on his suit. 'I'll be a laughing stock if I did.' When he arrived, he was met by an inquisitive look from Caitie.

"What did you do to Jamie?" she asked.

"I turned him into a preppie," he said. "Did it work?"

"It sure did," Val said. "You don't look right."

"I know," he said. "I've seen myself in the mirror. It was such a painful sight."

"Well, as much as I hate to admit it, you look really handsome," said Caitie. "Even with the preppie clothes."

"Thank you," Jamie said. "I better meet with Lowry over there. I can't be late for the first meet."

"Good luck, Jamie," said Val.

"Thanks."

"Have fun with the other overachievers!" said Caitie.

"I'll try."

With that, Jamie ran to Mrs. Lowry's room.

"Am I late?"

"You're just in time," she said. "Nice suit."

"Thank you."

"Now head to the bus with the others," she said. "Let's beat Hamilton in their own game."

"Yes ma'am," he said before running once again to the bus.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jamie looked around when they arrived at Hamilton. It was a huge school. A little bigger than Kingsport, but it was obvious that they had a lot more funding. They headed to the auditorium to begin the competition. Jamie and the rest of team sat on the left side of the stage, while Hamilton's team sat on the right.

"Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the 27th Annual Academic Bowl," said Frank Liaison, who is the host of the event.

There was a huge round of applause. Jamie noticed that a lot of Hamilton students watched the event. 'What's the huge commotion about? These people need lives.'

"I would like for you to give a nice welcome to the team from Kingsport High School."

Jamie looked around and saw that most of the people who applauded were the grownups. He heard some occasional boos that were from the students. 'Gee, they're treating this as if it is a football game.'

"And why don't we give a round of applause to our very own Hamilton."

Jamie noticed that everyone was cheering for them. He shook his head. The speaker told both teams to shake hands with one another. Jamie approached the guy he was up against with. For some reason, he looked vaguely familiar.

"Have we met before?" the guy asked.

"I don't know," Jamie said. "I think we might have met at a football game in Kingsport."

"Oh yea, you're Jamie Waite," he laughed quietly. "Future school dropout."

Jamie laid off his comment with a smirk.

"And you must be Gregory Franklin," he said as he clenched his fists. "Future recipient of a black-eye."

"Guys, cut it out," said Anna Maeser from Jamie's team.

Jamie backed away as Gregory sent him an conquering grin that made his blood boil. 'We'll see who's the better man.' At the sound of the bell, the competition has begun. Each team answered each question thrown at them, and it was more of a race than an academic competition.

"This is the final question for Hamilton," said the host. "This one goes to you, Mr. Franklin. If by chance you miss this question, Mr. Waite will have one shot at the answer. If he misses, Hamilton will win."

There were a few cheers and gasps from the crowd.

"Here is the question: what verb of Yiddish origin means to complain, especially chronically? First, give me the name of the word. Second, spell it."

Gregory looked at Jamie, and Jamie gave him one of those smiles that intimidates people.

"Grouse. G-r-o-u-s-e. Grouse."

"Well, you spelled that one correctly."

Gregory smiled and sighed with relief.

"But you got the wrong word."

Sighs of frustration were emitted from the crowd.

"Jamie Waite, the question goes to you: what verb of Yiddish origin means to complain, especially chronically? First, give me the name of the word. Second, spell it."

Jamie smiled once again at Gregory, who was looking expectantly for him to mess up.

"Kvetch. K-v-e-t-c-h. Kvetch."

"Correct!" he said.

Jamie's teammates jumped for joy and gave him hugs. Mrs. Lowry followed and just extended a han a to him.

"Well done, Jamie," she said.

"Thank you, Mrs. Lowry. I couldn't have done it without you."

"It was all you, Jamie. It was all you."

Jamie smiled as he celebrated with this teammates. Even though it was only their first competition, he developed respect for the people who competed in these type of events, especially his teammates. For the mean time, he decided not to share his thoughts with anyone. After all, he had a reputation to maintain, and he wasn't just about to let his dad think that he was right, like he always was.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tyler drove over to Val's house to discuss his plans with her. He felt bad for the reason that it was their anniversary. It means a lot to him as much as it does to her, but he already told his dad, and he didn't want to hurt him. He figured that he'll see Val once he returns anyway, but his dad will be leaving soon.

"I'm sure she'll understand," Tyler said.

"Who?" asked somebody behind him.

"Val, what are you doing here?" Tyler asked.

"In case you haven't noticed, I live here," Val smiled.

"I know that, but I thought you were inside your house?"

"I was, but I decided to take a little walk."

"I need to talk to you."

"About what?"

"You know about next week right?"

"You mean my birthday?" Val raised her eyebrows.

'Now I'm in deep trouble. Her birthday falls on the same day as our anniversary. Great! How can I tell her that I won't be here? I hope she forgives me for this.'

"Well, that and some other thing."

"Oh right, it's our one month anniversary," Val said as she gave him another smile.

Tyler tried to smile back. 'Why does she have to look happy right now?'

"Do you have anything in mind?" Val asked.

"Actually, I'm here to tell you that I can't make it."

"Make it to what? We don't even have plans yet."

"I won't be here with you."

Val's mood suddenly shifted, and Tyler could immediately.

"Why not?" Val asked. "Are you moving?"

"Of course not," Tyler said. "I'm going to Europe."

"When?"

"Tomorrow."

"But why?"

"My dad wants me to come with him."

"Oh, your dad."

"He told me that he wanted to spend some quality time with him," Tyler began explaining. "He doesn't have any another time, and he even bought the tickets already. I didn't want to hurt him."

"I see," Val said as she turned to enter her house. "I hope you have fun then."

"Val, wait," Tyler said while he grabbed her hand. "I know that this means a lot to you. It means a lot to me, too, but my dad will be leaving soon. I have to be honest that I told him that I would go before thinking about you, but I did think about you, and making this decision is the hardest thing that I ever had to do. I hope you understand."

"Tyler, if it means so much to you, then go," she told him. "I don't want you to stay knowing that you'd rather be spending time with him. That would be selfish of me."

"And I don't want to go knowing that you're upset."

"I'm not. I'm just disappointed, that's all."

"I guess there's nothing left to say."

"I guess not."

"Will you see me off tomorrow?"

"Maybe," Val said before entering her house and leaving Tyler alone on her front porch.

"Thanks a lot, Dad," he said before leaving.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"FLIGHT NUMBER 437 WILL BE BOARDING IN FIFTEEN MINUTES!"

"Tyler!" called his dad. "Are you ready?"

"Yea, I'm ready," he said. "The school knows already, right?"

"I called them. Your mom will pick up your homework."

"Great!" he said.

He looked around when he spotted his mom, William, Alex, and Hank.

"Hey guys!" he greeted. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to see you off," said Hank. "It's going to be weird not having you around."

"Well, I'll see you in a week," said Tyler.

"Good bye, honey," said his teary-eyed mother as she enveloped him in a hug.

"Mom," he said as he broke the embrace. "It's only for a week."

"We're going to miss you at the house, Tyler," said William.

"I'm sure you will."

"And we'll miss you at the station while you're gone," Alex said. "Come back soon."

"I will."

"FLIGHT NUMBER 437 WILL BE BOARDING IN EXACTLY EIGHT MINUTES!"

"I guess we better get going, son," Matthew Connell said as he headed for the gate.

"I'll see you guys," Tyler said as he followed his dad.

Tyler halted on his steps as he went back to Hank.

"Could you do me a favor and give this to Val on her birthday?"

"Why don't you give it to her yourself?" Hank said as he pointed somewhere behind him.

Tyler turned and saw Val heading towards him.

"I thought you're not coming," said Tyler.

"I couldn't let you leave without saying good bye first," she said. "We didn't really end in good terms yesterday. I didn't want you to feel down while on this trip."

"I'll really miss you," Tyler said as he gave her a hug. "I know it's only for a week or so, but I'll still miss you anyway."

"I'll miss you too," Val said as she tried hard not to cry.

"I have something for you," he said. "You can open it now or later, but it's a present that I had with me for quite some time now. I'm sorry for not being able to give it to you in the right occasion."

"Thanks," Val said as she accepted the gift.

"Thank you for coming," Tyler smiled at her. "I really appreciate it! You mean the world to me, and I'm glad that you don't hate me or anything. I'll call you everyday."

"FINAL CALL FOR FLIGHT 437!"

"That's me," he said as he picked up his carry-on luggage. "See you in a week."

"Until then," she said before giving him one last kiss.

After Tyler was out of sight, Val felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Are you all right?" Hank asked.

"Yea, I'm fine," Val said. "I'll be OK."

They watched as Tyler's plane took off.

"Bye," Val whispered.

They all walked away, with Hank, Val, and Alex remaining for a few more seconds.

"Well, he's gone, for now," Val said as she walked away.

"Don't worry, Val," Hank said as he followed her. "He'll be back."

"I hope you're right, Hank," Alex said while still looking out the window. "Let's hope so. All we can do is hope."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That was twenty pages long. What did you guys think? As most of you know, I'll be gone for 2 weeks. I'll see you when I return. If I gain access to a computer, I'll try going online. Anyway, thank you for reading up to this part. I'll be back before you know it. ~ Scarlet182