Disclaimer: I don't own anything 'In A Heartbeat' related whatsoever. I only own the story, and the characters that I made up.

A/N: I don't mean to offend anyone by some of the words that I will use in this chapter, in particularly one. I just did it to make a point.

Parent Trap

Is Blood Thicker Than Water?

Tyler took down the banner and went inside the house. When he reached the kitchen, he saw his mother, who seemed to be waiting for him.

"What is this?" he asked as he held up the banner. "Did you have any idea about this?"

"Well, Hank came and asked me if they could."

"And you agreed?"

"It's a nice gesture, Tyler. You're friends really care about you."

"Well, I don't really need this right now. This is a huge decision for me. I've had enough from Val tonight."

"The truth of the matter is that…"

"What?"

"William and I want you to stay."

"I can't believe you're doing this, too. You guys are just like everybody. The reason I came home was because Dad was trying to bribe me. Now that I'm back, all of you are doing it, too. I'm glad he's due back tomorrow. I'll just go crazy listening to this anymore."

"We just said what we felt."

"I really appreciate it, but this is too hard and nobody is helping."

"Is Val coming?" she changed the topic.

"I don't know. I don't really know anything right now."

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Tomorrow came just like any other day, and like any other day, the sunrise turned into the sunset. Tyler waited outside the house for Val. Matthew Connell arrived a few hours earlier. It was already seven o'clock, but there was no sign of Val.

"I guess you've made your final decision," Tyler whispered. "Now I have to make mine."

He returned to the house and hoped that he'll get through the whole ordeal without any more drama.

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To his surprise, the dinner went by rather smoothly. No bickering came from either one of his parents. William and Matthew seemed to be getting along quite nicely. If it wasn't for the absence of world peace, he could have sworn that he just experienced utopia. Unfortunately, all of that does not matter when what he feels inside is complete chaos.

"Tyler?" asked Mrs. Connell-Jenks. "Are you all right? You seem to have spaced out."

"I'm fine," he said. "Really. I am. There's nothing to worry about."

A few minutes later, the feeling of bliss faded away from the room and every eye seemed to have focused on Tyler. He figured that this was his cue to announce his decision.

"I've done a lot of thinking over these past couple of days. It was not easy at all. First, my dad arrived in my doorstep after years of not seeing him. Then all of a sudden, a bomb has been dropped on me that I have to choose between my life and a life that I never thought I would have a chance to have. You wanted me to make my decision by tonight, and I did."

"So?" Mr. Connell asked patiently. "Tell us! We're going to support you on whatever you decide."

"I know that this will be hard for you, but it is harder for me…"

"Cut the crap and get over with this already," added Mr. Connell once again. "I haven't packed yet and you haven't packed yet."

"I'm staying, Dad."

"What?" asked his dad in outrage.

"I'm staying."

"Are you out of your mind? Why would you want to stay here?"

"Is that what you call support?" said Tyler.

"Damn right it is. I can't believe you're saying this. I just wasted thousands of dollars to come here for nothing. I mean, this house is nice and all, but you'll have a much better time in LA. You always told me how you hated living here."

"Times change after a number of years."

"Come on, it wasn't that long ago. Our house will be much bigger there."

"My decision has nothing to do with how big the house is or how much better my life might be if I went with you. I have my friends, my responsibilities, Mom, William, and my education in this town. My life is here."

"You mean those good for nothing kids at that station of yours. I've met them, and I must say that you don't really have much. You call that leather wearing punk and that gothic companion of his your friends. From the looks of it, I don't think they're such good influences. And what about the Negro kid? What was he doing in that station? Don't tell me that you're friends with him as well. And I assume you're on William's side as well. He's just a loser who had nothing better to do than marry your mom."

Tyler didn't know what had gotten into him but he stood up from his chair and started headed towards his dad. Daphne and William could do nothing but watch the whole scene unfold in front of them.

"And what about that blond bimbo that you call your girlfriend? Did she have something to do with this decision? You can do so much better than her."

"You know what, Dad? You should quit while…"

"I understand if you prefer blondes. Believe me, there are tons of them in LA. And I don't think they're as prude as your girlfriend seems to be. You can probably get some easier if you…"

"JUST SHUT UP!!!" Tyler shouted as he punched his dad right on his jaw and caused him to fall on the floor. "I don't care what you think!"

"Tyler!" cried Daphne. "Calm yourself down."

"I don't really care anymore, Mom."

Matthew Connell stood up and looked at Tyler in the eye.

"What was that about?" Matthew asked while keeping a hand on this jaw.

"You have no right to just come barging in on my life and telling me what to do. Jamie and Caitie are my friends, and they are so much more than what you think. You have no right to judge them. Hank is my best friend! He's one of the best and the brightest in the group. He's our team leader for goodness sake. And don't you ever refer to his by that word again."

He paused for a minute before continuing.

"As for William, well, at least he was there for Mom and for me. I might have disliked him in the beginning, but he tried to work things out between us. You might be my father, but he was a better father to me in these last few years than you ever were. And he's not a loser. If you want to call somebody a loser, why don't you look at yourself in the mirror?"

"Tyler, wait a minute here. I…"

"I'm not done yet!" he yelled at him. "And how dare you say those things about Val? I'm not with Val because I want to sleep with her. She's talented, she's smart, she's a terrific person, and I love her for that. She makes me happy, and she loves me. That's probably more that you can afford."

"Tyler, I love you. You're my son. We're family."

"You can say that we're family, and you can say that I'm your son, but you have no right to say that you love me," Tyler's eyes were now brimming with tears.

"But I do love you, Tyler."

"Well, you sure have a funny way of showing it."

Tyler wiped his eyes and headed for the door. The three adults followed him outside.

"Don't walk away from me, young man!" called out Mr. Connell.

"Why don't you just take yourself upstairs and pack your stuff. You're leaving tomorrow, remember? In fact, why don't you do all of us a huge favor and just leave now. Don't try to fix something that can't be fixed. You were never there for me, so why don't we just leave it at that. Just stay out of my life! I don't want you in it."

Tyler continued to walk away. He looked back and noticed that his dad's eyes were starting to water.

"You know, Dad. All I ever wanted was to hear you say that you loved me and that you cared about me."

"I do."

"It doesn't hurt to say it once in a while

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Only one/two more chapters to go. I hope you liked this one. Thanks for reading! I'll be back ~ Scalret182