XI

Matt approached the Bartlet family house to find Jed and Abbey still with their arms around each other, exchanging a combination of rapid-fire conversation and smooches as if the entire summer's worth had to be made up for in the next four minutes. He nudged the young man washing his car nearby who had to be Jed's brother.

"God, have they even come up for air yet?"

"I swear to God, they talk so much between kissing I'm surprised they can breathe." The kid was wearing the familiar disturbed half-smile shared by the brotherhood of those who were happy for their siblings in theory, but would rather not actually see them making out with anybody right there in front of them, thank you very much.

Ah, a kindred spirit. He extended a hand. "Matt Barrington."

"Jonathan Bartlet." He had as firm a handshake as his brother, and already Matt was forming his mental picture of a regimented, stiffly formal father who had rules about how 'real men' should act. "You're Abbey's brother, right?"

"Yeah. You know, it's not usually my job to take my sister places just so she can make out with people," he hastened to point out. "But dear God, anything to stop the moping."

Jonathan huffed a short laugh. "Tell me about it. You'd think he was missing a vital organ or something." He nodded at the oblivious couple somewhat incredulously. "Are they always like this?"

"What? No, sometimes they're affectionate. Hey!" He raised his voice to reach the two of them. "Less of the public groping, please."

Jed looked innocent, and given his choirboy tendencies there might even be half a chance he was. "Who, me?"

"No, her. Hands off, squirt, your chaperone is now on call."

Abbey gave him a look that was flatly unimpressed, but she and Jed disentangled themselves from each other somewhat and walked over, hand in hand.

"Thanks for coming out here, Matt," Jed said, so earnestly that he had to shrug in near-embarrassment. "Really, I appreciate it."

"Hey, gotta keep the sister happy," he pointed out. "She has violent tendencies." Abbey took a casual swipe at him, and he danced backwards. "See? See?"

"I mean it, man," Jed repeated, not prepared to let it go. Matt wondered awkwardly, why the kid couldn't just obey the unwritten manly code and just take shrugs and non-committal grunts as sufficient communication. Why'd he have to go around being all open and sincere all the time? It kept a body totally off balance. "I know there's no reason for you to come all the way out here just so we can spend some time together, and it means a lot to both of us."

"Yeah, whatever," Abbey mumbled. "He owes me."

"Do not," he refuted, pulling a face. Dammit, Jed just wasn't going to be satisfied with a slick evasion of his thanks, was he? "Look, she's my little sister, okay? I help her out. Because of some irrational and rather annoying social and biological ties, and because she would beat me to death with her medical texts if I didn't. Besides, I like you. I have no idea why, and, frankly, it bothers me. But, I like you."

Jed chuckled, and shook his head. He sought for words for a moment then just blurted "Thanks!" and moved to give him a hug. Matt rolled his eyes.

"Oh, for God's sake." But he accepted the hug and patted Jed briefly on the back.

Jed's brother was watching this with some incredulity, and perhaps the slightest flicker of envy. The Bartlet family was one, Matt was pretty sure, that frowned on being physically demonstrative. Jed's semi-adoption into the warmer climate of the Barrington home had been a whole new world to him, and he'd taken to it with all the enthusiasm of a duck who'd only just found out water existed, and had some lost time to make up for.

Abbey nudged him. "Hey. Cosying up to the wrong Barrington there."

Jed smirked. "Oh, well. Guess we'd better put that right." Cue another round of sickeningly cute nose nuzzling and little kisses.

Matt looked across at Johnny. "It's like we're not even here," he sighed.

Johnny glanced at his watch, and looked worried. "Jed... dad'll be back soon," he said, in a tone of voice that was definitely a warning. Matt watched Jed's eyes as he straightened up, and caught a flicker of the more solemn and serious boy who was always hidden behind the smile.

"Yeah," he said softly. "You guys should probably be getting back to your hotel, you must have a load of unpacking to do."

Abbey might not have been clued in by their father about the nastier little details of Jed's paternal troubles, but she was far from stupid, and she knew how to read subtext without prompting. "Sure," she agreed. "It's a little late in the day for introductions, and the last thing a guy wants is to come home and find unexpected visitors. We should get going."

"I'll walk with you a while," Jed offered, smiling again now that the stirrings of possible disaster had been averted. "Show you the sights along the way."

Matt raised an eyebrow pointedly. "You have sights?"

"Well, we have trees. And, you know, buildings. And... more trees. But I can tell you some interesting facts about the-"

He rolled his eyes heavenwards. "I'll bet you can." He took hold of Jed's shoulder and began steering the couple forwards. "Come on squirt, Captain Trivia, let's get going. John, nice to meet you."

Jonathan gave him a short, stern nod. "And you."

"Yeah, great to meet you!" Abbey, never one to be shy with a friendly gesture, surprised him with a quick kiss on the cheek. He looked completely startled, but not displeased. Matt gave her a look.

"One boy at a time, please. Now, come on. Let's get out of here before Jed's dad comes back and bawls us out for making the place look untidy."

Truth to tell, it wasn't just for Jed's sake he was itching to be away before the boys' father could return. Matt suspected that if he ever met the guy face to face, he might just be tempted to lay him out with a serious right hook.

Jed had meant to be true to his word and only walk with the two of them a little way, but he'd had so much to talk over with Abbey, and then it had seemed like only sense find out where they were staying, and then it had been only polite to stick around and help them unpack... Help Matt unpack, anyway - there had been stern injunctions laid against him spending any time getting acquainted with the more intimate items of Abbey's travel wardrobe. He was pretty sure that the end result was to have his imagination get him into a worse state than he would have been just sneaking a peek.

And after the unpacking, well... there he'd been, Abbey in his arms again after so long, and she didn't want him to leave any more than he wanted to go...

And somehow, afternoon had melted into evening, and evening had given way to night, and now it was pitch dark and he was making his way home and his father was waiting up for him.

"Jonathan tells me you've been with your woman," he said coldly. The way he pronounced 'woman', you could clearly hear the other words that were lurking underneath it. His father was good at using words like that.

"Her brother came with her to New Hampshire so she could visit me," he said, knowing that the delight in his voice would only infuriate his father further, but unable to keep it out.

"I will not have you running off to Manchester hotel rooms with young women! It's a disgrace!"

The clear implications of what kind of girl he thought Abbey was sparked Jed to white hot anger far faster than any attack on himself would ever do. "Dad! She had her brother there. We were just talking-"

The slap was not unexpected, but they always snaked out just a hairsbreadth too fast to anticipate. "Don't answer me back, boy." His father's fury was always icy, never spilling over into passionate words or posturing. His violence was never impulsive, always calculated. "I do not care what you think you can get up to in your spare time," he spat with perfect articulation, "but you will not bring this family's name into ill-repute."

Jed raised a hand to his stinging cheek. "Fine," he said shortly. "I'll do my best not to... disgrace you." He didn't care how strongly the thread of bitter sarcasm came through.

His father's eyes were cold. "I have given up trying to ask you to comport yourself in the manner a dutiful son should. But you will not see this girl at her hotel, you will not make a public spectacle of yourself, and you will not bring this family any embarrassment!"

"Abbey," he said, very softly.

"Don't even think about looking at the floor when you talk to me. Open your mouth, and look me in the eye when you talk to me."

He raised his head. "I said, her name is Abbey," he repeated forcefully.

The silence hung on for just a beat too long, and he wasn't ready in time for the blow that doubled him over.

"You're a worthless child. Go to your room."

His father turned around and stalked off, not waiting to see if his edict would be obeyed. Jed's breath wheezed in his chest, and for a moment he leaned heavily against the doorframe, trying just to recapture the rhythm of his breathing. Gradually, he straightened up. His muscles were still taut with the tension of his anger, and he couldn't really feel the pain that was sure to revisit him with a vengeance when he laid down for the night.

He stood. And breathed. And went to his room.