NOVEMBER

CHAPTER 4

[A/N: Whoa, definitely just got the Well Hungarians joke. Heh, Well Hung. Aw man that's great. *cough* Thanks to Kelby and elodie for the reviews!]

"So did you both eat?" Annie asked. She and Linda were finishing with the salad, adding tomatoes and olives to it.

"Yeah, we ate with Mark before," Roger said, grabbing a bunch of olives from the salad bowl. Linda slapped his hand away and Annie laughed.

"Okay Ma, we don't have to get violent over your precious salad." She grabbed the dressing out of the fridge and left to carry it into the dining room.

"They're all the same. My god, Jimmy and Joey were up here starting on the mashed potatoes at 10 in the morning," she said.

"That's what I get for raising boys," Sandra smiled.

"Don't know how Lindsey and Heather had the sanity to put up with the three of them when you were all growing up," Annie added, referring to Jimmy, Roger, and Joey.

"Four," Linda added. "They had your son Kyle too."

"Roger, can I talk to you for a second?" Sandra asked, setting down the potholders on the counter.

He nodded. "Yeah. Sure." He looked at Jen before leaving, who gave him a small smile.

"Jen honey, can you bring me the gravy?" Annie called over.

Roger and his mom entered the living room, where Sandra started to put away the piles of coats stacked on the end of the couch. "So how are you? Honestly."

He sighed and started helping her with the coats. "I'm okay Mom. I've been clean for almost three years."

"Good. That's what I wanted to hear for so long now."

"Yeah. I really owe it all to Mark."

Sandra smiled at this. She remembered all the late night phone calls she used to receive from Mark when Roger had been too stubborn to call her. "How is he?"

"He's good. Producing films and everything, so he's happy."

"And what about you? Are you happy?"

Roger nodded. "Yeah."

Sandra closed the closet door. "Good. So what's going on with you and Jen?"

"Nothing right now. We're just friends," he said.

Sandra laughed and hugged him again. "You could never be just friends with her. That's close to impossible for the two of you."

"I know," he said, smiling.

"Give it time." They started heading back towards the kitchen. "Your father called about you the other day."

Roger stopped and rolled his eyes. "What for?"

"I don't know. He wanted to see how you were."

"Is he coming here tonight?"

Sandra shook her head. "No, I don't think so."

"Okay."

As they entered the kitchen, Jerry was washing his hands over the sink. He turned around and smiled at Roger and Sandra before drying his hands with a paper towel.

"Jerry, look who's here!" Sandra smiled, noticing the look on Roger's face.

"It's good to see you Roger," Jerry said, giving him a hug. "Welcome home."

"Thanks," Roger added, looking back at his mom. Jerry and Sandra walked out into the dining room shortly after, and Jen came back in.

"Hey, you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, fine."

"Kids! Dinner!" Linda called out.

"Ooh time to mingle," Jen laughed, grabbing his arm. "Let's go Morris."

Roger stopped and looked at her. "What did you just call me?"

"Morris."

"You still remember that?"

"Of course I do. Don't you?" she said, laughing.

Roger rolled his eyes, pushing her towards the dining room. "Go Screech."

"Dork."

"Wow, that hurt right here," he said, placing a hand over his heart. "Pathetic."

"The only thing that's pathetic is you in bed," she said, cracking up at the look on his face.

"You've lost all speaking privileges for the weekend," he joked, picking her up and tossing her over his shoulder.

"ROGER! PUT ME DOWN!" she shouted, laughing as he carried her all the way into the dining room.

"Oh for Christ Sakes Roger, put Jen down," Linda said, laughing as she carried in a pot of stuffing.

"Sorry grandma." Roger complied and took a seat in the middle of the table. Jen sat on the other side of him as Joey filed in on the opposite. Annie walked in and whistled loudly, trying to get everyone's attention.

"Okay, everybody sit down and shut up for a minute," she said loudly.

"My god Mom, it's Thanksgiving, I'm hungry."

"Kyle!"

Everyone laughed and looked up at Annie. "First of all, I'd like to welcome Roger home—"

"Bring out the booze!" Jimmy hollered, clapping loudly. "He'll need it by the end of the night!"

"Do the chicks come with it?" Joey added.

"You're such a pervert, Joey," Lindsey added, smacking him on the side of his head.

"EVERYONE QUIET DOWN!" Doug boomed. Silence fell over the table. "Let your aunt talk," he added, smiling.

"Like I was saying, I'd like you all to be nice to Jen too. Roger's part of the family, you can be mean to him all you want," she added, laughing and giving Roger a hug from behind.

"Anyway," Sandra picked up. "I don't remember who you know and don't know, Jen, so let me just do a big introduction. At the head of the table is my dad, Doug, and next to him is my mom, Linda. Next to Linda is Jimmy and his wife Kim, then Lindsey and her boyfriend Rich. Across from Lindsey is Joey—" She shot Joey a reprimanding look. "Now then let's see…you know my sister Annie and her husband Russ. Their son Kyle is next to Joey over here, and that's my husband Jerry."

Jen nodded and waved at everyone, who all said his or her hellos.

"Did you put the kids down okay Kim? Lindsey?" Linda asked, bringing two wine bottles up from the cabinet by the window. Jimmy started passing out the beer at the same time.

"Double or nothing, little bro," he warned.

"You're on," Roger laughed, popping the top off of his beer.

"Aidan has a cold, so he should be out for the next few hours," Kim replied, as Jimmy poured her a glass of wine. "I think the terrible twos are almost over."

"Oh isn't that just so sweet," Joey said, batting his eyelashes. Kim laughed and threw a dinner roll at him, which was intercepted by Kyle, who instead of throwing it back, bit into it. Sandra rolled her eyes and took a seat next to Jerry.

"Cory's at my parents, so he should be pretty much entertained for the day," she added, taking a sip of the wine as Kyle grinned evilly at her from the other end of the table, waving the dinner roll.

"And Marissa's down for her nap," Lindsey added.

"All right then, let's eat!"

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"Okay, so one day, a little boy writes to Santa Claus, 'Please send me a sister.'" Joey took a sip of his beer and continued.

"How about you slow down on the beer son," Doug added, pouring some gravy on his own turkey.

"He's 21 now. Let him drink himself silly. It'll teach him a lesson," Sandra laughed.

"Anyway, so Santa wrote him back saying, 'Ok, now send me your mother.'"

Everyone looked at him funny until Lindsey started laughing a little bit, mocking him.

"Dude, you suck at telling jokes. I've got a better one." Jimmy called out, his arm wrapped around Kim's chair.

Roger laughed and looked at Jen, who was eating a little bit of the salad.

"Your momma is so ugly, when she was in labor the doctor asked which end!" Jimmy shouted out, as Joey and Kyle high fived each other and started cracking up.

Annie shook her head and started laughing as well, passing the potatoes down to Jen. "Are you sure you both aren't hungry?"

"Yeah, we just ate at Mark's," Jen answered as Roger shrugged and spooned some potatoes onto his plate.

"So what do you do now Jen?" Sandra asked, sipping her wine.

"Hey Lindsey, have you heard about the new mint flavored birth control pills you take right before sex?" Kyle asked, turning his heard towards her.

"Huh? No, why?" she asked, taking a bite of the turkey.

"They're called Predickamints!" he said, smiling.

"Kyle!" Russ shouted, trying to hold back his laughter.

Everyone—including Roger's grandparents, were cracking up by then.

"Okay, how about we take a breather from the jokes, boys," Sandra said. "So what were you saying Jen?"

"Oh, well I finished my degree at Quinnipiac after Abby was born and work for a fashion and celebrity magazine in the city now. It's good for me, because I basically just get an assignment and have a few days to work on it from home, this way I can spend more time with Abby and not have her stuck with a sitter all the time."

"That sounds interesting. Is it a monthly or weekly publication?"

"Weekly. Kind of like People or US Weekly. So basically it goes to press every nine days."

"I love those magazines," Linda chimed in. "So sleazy. Who's showed the most of what this week, Jen?"


Jen laughed and shrugged. "That's not my department," she said, laughing.

"Are you all up for the annual Davis family flag football game in the backyard tomorrow boys?" Doug asked.

"Hell yeah," Joey called out. "We're gonna kick your asses." He popped the top off his second beer.

"Yeah right." Jimmy laughed, rolling his eyes.

"What's the line up this year?" Annie asked, passing the cranberry sauce to Sandra.

"I've got…Lindsey, Russ, Roger, and Jen," Jimmy said, glancing down the table.

"Dude, who said you get Roger?" Kyle called out, giving Jimmy the finger.

"Nobody was talking to you," Lindsey added, laughing.

Roger shrugged. "You guys don't have to fight over me. I'd rather be on Jimmy's team anyway."

"Yeah, because Jen's on it," Kyle added, smirking.

"So what?" Jen asked, sipping her wine.

"No, because you really do suck Joey." Roger laughed, taking a piece of bread out of the basket.

"Whatever. I've got Kim, Rich, Jerry, and Kyle. We're still beating your asses," Joey added. "It's on tomorrow."

"Who's the ref?" Lindsey asked.

"I am," Doug added, pulling a whistle from out of his pocket.

"Grandpa's ref. Now you're all really going down," Joey said, high fiving Jerry over the table.

"I guess we better get the first aid kits ready," Sandra said, laughing.

"Good to know my nursing training's really going to come into play tomorrow," Annie replied, shrugging as she passed the olives down the table.

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"I don't remember any of our football games being that cold," Jen said, rubbing her hands together and waiting for Roger to open the door.

"Because they weren't, and you had me to huddle up against," he said, finally getting the door open, turning back to grin at her. "I think everyone's sleeping. It's after 11."

Jen shrugged and took of her coat, hanging it up in the closet. "Or maybe not," she smiled, as Sandra and Jerry came out of the kitchen.

"Hey guys. How was the game?"

"It was good. We won 21-0," Roger answered, hanging up his jacket next to Jen's. "Everyone still here?"

Sandra shook her head, taking a sip from her cup of coffee. "Jimmy and Kim left right after you did to take Aidan home and get Cory from her parents. Lindsey and Rich went back to their place with Marissa. Joey's either passed out in the basement with Kyle or they're watching the end of the football game. Annie and Russ went home, and your grandparents are asleep upstairs."

"Okay."

"I put sheets on your bed and added extra blankets to it."

"Thanks Mom," he said, as she gave him a quick hug and a kiss.

"Well, goodnight both of you. Sleep well," she added, following Jerry up the stairs.

"Night Mom."

"Night Mrs. Davis, Jerry."

Roger walked down the hall to his room, Jen following close behind. He flicked on the lights and yawned. "I'm beat."

"Me too."

"You can have the bed, I'll take the couch," he said.

"Forget it. We can both fit in it. I'm not making you sleep on the couch," she said, pulling her tank top and pajama pants out of the duffel bag. Roger watched her carefully, even though he had tucked the pills on the very bottom and her clothes were on top of his.

When she came back out of the bathroom five minutes later, Roger was already sprawled out underneath the sheets. She flipped the switch and turned the lights off. "Move over," she said, sliding in next to him. "Night," she yawned.

"Night," he said. She was asleep within five minutes, and soon enough, Roger was too.

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Jen opened her eyes, squinting as the sunlight streamed through the windows. She looked over and noticed that it Roger wasn't in bed and checked the clock. 10 AM. She couldn't remember the last time she had ever slept until 10. She was usually up by 8, maybe 9 latest, with Abby. She had just sat up when Roger walked into the room, fully dressed and rubbing his hair with a towel.

"Hey," He greeted, throwing the wet towel at her. "Sleep well?"

"Did I ever. I can't remember the last time I ever slept this late." She made a face and threw the towel back at him before standing up.

"Yeah, come to think of it, neither can I. Mark makes too much noise, and by this time people just keep showing up at our place non stop."

Jen smiled. "Aww, Marky keeping you up too late?" she teased, ruffling his hair as she walked by. "I'm taking a shower. Go get your game face on."

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Half an hour later, Jen and Roger entered the kitchen to find Sandra and Annie hovering over the stove, flipping pancakes.

"Ya think you could get up any later?" Jimmy teased. Kim was sitting on his lap, eating a piece of toast.

"Fuck off," Roger said, taking a seat next to him at the table, Jen on the opposite side.

"Roger!" Linda scolded, setting a plate of pancakes in front of both him and Jen.

"Sorry grandma."

Lindsey walked in a minute later with Rich and Joey, Kyle behind them. Her hair was up in a high ponytail, she had an old jersey on, and was wearing sweatpants, one pant leg up higher then the other. Joey pretty much matched her, except he had a black bandanna tied over his messy blonde spikes. Both were sporting black lines under their eyes.

"DEFENSE!" Kyle shouted.

"YOU KNOW!" Lindsey and Joey added, laughing.

Jimmy rolled his eyes as Rich threw him, Roger, and Jen old jerseys.

"Are you sure that's all you want to eat sweetie?" Sandra asked, motioning to the two pieces of toast on Kim's place.

Kim looked down and blushed. "Oh, yeah," she said, smiling.

"Geez, you're eating like you're pregnant or something," Joey said, sitting on the edge of the table and biting into an apple.

Jimmy and Kim looked at each other and laughed, grinning at everyone.

"Well actually, we were saving this for tonight, but because some people have big mouths," Jimmy adding, shooting Joey a look.

"Well that runs in the family," Annie added.

"We're Italian, what do you expect? " Linda said.

"What? Hey, I was only kidding."

"Oh my god!" Sandra said, running over and giving Kim a huge hug.

"Yeah, I'm pregnant. Again. Surprise!" she blurted out, as Annie and Linda hugged her at the same time.

"How far along are you?" Jen asked, pouring some syrup on her pancakes.

"Nine weeks as of the 23rd.  A little over two months," Kim answered, finishing her toast.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Linda added, rinsing out the pancake bowls in the sink.

Kim shrugged. "We wanted to make sure before we said anything. I'm going to the doctor on Monday for an ultrasound to hear the heartbeat and everything."

"Cool," Kyle said, grabbing the orange juice from the fridge and taking a sip right out of the carton.

"Kyle Harper! We're not at home!" Annie yelled.

"Oh. Sorry Aunt Sandy," Kyle apologized, shrugging. Sandra laughed and started drying the dishes in the dish rack.

"Are we getting this game started or what?" Doug asked, walking into the kitchen with Jerry and Russ.

"Now that Kim's knocked up, she can't exactly play, so we're one person short," Joey said.

"What? Kim's pregnant?" Doug asked, looking right at Jimmy. "Jesus Jimmy."

Everyone laughed at this. "Sorry grandpa. Shit happens," he said, as Kim rolled her eyes.

"When's the baby due?" Jerry asked, giving Sandra a kiss on the cheek as he poured himself a cup of coffee.

"July 15th," Kim responded. "I'll be huge for the 4th of July barbeque."

"Dude, can we play now?" Joey added.

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"Alright, now I want a nice, clean game," Doug said, walking into the middle of the backyard. Jimmy, Lindsey, Russ, Roger, and Jen were on his right side, and Joey, Rich, Jerry, and Kyle were on his left. "That means you too Joseph. No depantsing your brothers, and Jimmy, no wet willies. Captains, step out and get ready to call the coin toss." Jimmy and Joey stepped forward, Jimmy calling heads and Joey tails.

Doug flipped the coin and it landed in the grass. "It's tails. Joey, take it away."

"Okay. Rich is going to take the ball, and we get the goal near the pool. You guys defend for the first half."

Linda, Annie, Sandra, and Kim were sitting on the porch, drinking coffee and handling the kids. Cory was sitting on Kim's lap, Marissa on Sandra's, and Aidan was inside taking a nap.

"Anyway. The game runs for two twenty minutes halves, and a three-minute break in between. Blah blah blah, you know the deal, let's play ball." He stepped out and blew his whistle.

By the end of the first half, Joey and Roger had scored 4 times each, Jerry twice, and Lindsey once, bringing the score 48-30, Joey's team leading. Doug had called five penalties, twice for Joey, who had tried to distract Jimmy, then Roger, by pointing in the opposite direction like an idiot. Lindsey had tried and succeeded in depantsing Roger, Russ had made an illegal snap, and Jen for trying to hold Joey's arms behind his back while Roger swiped the ball.

Half an hour later, the game was completely over, with Joey's team winning 84-60. After he and Kyle made several victory laps, everyone either collapsed or went back into the house. Jen was sitting on the ground, pulling her sneakers off, when Roger came and grabbed her hands, pulling her up.

"You okay?" he asked, as they walked towards the house.

"Fine. My ankle kind of hurts, but I'm fine."

Roger sat down on the steps and pulled off his jersey, pulling Jen down next to him.

"What?" she asked, noticing him staring at her as she pulled her hair up into a loose twist.

"Nothing."

"Seriously, what?" she asked.

"I don't know."

She rolled her eyes and tried to stand up, but Roger pulled her back down. "What? You're so—" She was cut off as he kissed her, first lightly, but when she didn't pull away, he deepened it. She finally did pull away and stood up, opened the door, and walked inside.

"Jen!" he shouted, calling after her. "Fuck."

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