Nothing Changes like Time

Chapter 5

A/N: I decided to upload this one too....i might as well, its done. I hope you like...

"Come on Doug!" Jack yelled from the front door. He was holding Amy and waiting impatiently. Doug came down the hall and grabbed his coat on the way out.

"I don't see why we have to attend this stupid function," Doug grumbled and locked the door behind him and walked over to the car where Jack was strapping Amy in.

They were driving down the main road down to the high school. "I hate these days," Jack said adjusting the scarf Doug gave him for Christmas the previous year. "Capeside family day," he muttered, "Oh joy," he added sarcastically.

"We didn't have to come," Doug said. "Moreover, I could have stayed at home with Amy who's going to get cold and exhausted..."

"If I'm made to go, you're coming too," Jack said. "Anyway, its too late, we're 2 minutes away."

"But we're also 7 minutes away from a nice lazy Sunday."

"Don't make me regret this decision," Jack said grumpily.

Doug laughed. "I think you're already regretting it." He looked over at Jack and smiled warmly and rubbed his leg, taking a hand off the wheel. "It's not going to be absolutely terrible if you go there and try to enjoy yourself. Think of all the impressionable minds you'll have to instruct in future, manipulate, enjoy teaching even..."

"More papers to mark, exams to correct, numskulls to teach, delusional parents to deal with, more ridicule when the bloody jocks hear that I'm gay, a whole new group of smart-alecks to endorse and an entire generation of book burners..."

Doug laughed and parked the car. "Well, sweetheart, but on a brave face and it'll be over soon enough."

They got out of the car and Doug carried Amy on his hip into the building, leaving the pram in the car.

"I've got a couple of Amy's toys in my office," Jack said, "Lets go and bathe in boredom before I'm required to do anything remotely sociable..."

"Oh my god," Jack groaned as he and the rest of the population filed out of the school hall after listening to the principal blab on. "That man gets more boring with every year," he muttered to Doug.

"At least you didn't have to deal with a fidgety 18 month old baby," Doug said, still trying to keep her in his arms.

They walked out into the school grounds where a buffet was set up with tables and the students all flocking to feed, the parents trying to be polite, the teachers trying to avoid all eye contact. It wasn't long before they heard someone calling Jack's name. He and Doug turned around.

"Mrs. Andrews," Jack said, scanning for Cameron anywhere.

"Mr McPhee, you can call me Laura," she said and battered her eyelashes.

"Then you can call me Jack," he said.

Laura Andrews glanced over at Doug. "Hello Sheriff Witter," she said, "You off duty today?"

"Off civil service duty, but family duty calls," Amy kept struggling. "That's it! Jack, give me the car keys, I'm getting the pram."

Jack handed him the keys and he stalked off, back around the front of the school to their car.

"Oh Jack, ever since you became Cameron's English teacher she's really excelled in the subject—"

"She's incredibly smart, and she was doing just fine before she entered my class—"

"Yes, but she has so much drive, I never have to ask her about her homework anymore, she's always right into it and she sent off her Princeton Summit a few days ago. How do you think she'll do?"

"Ah," Jack looked around quickly for an escape route but couldn't find one. "I'm not sure, I don't think Capeside has had an entry into a college summit before, but it was very good, quite analytical and persuasive—"he was stopped when Cameron herself came up, with a shy smile.

"Hi Mr McPhee," she said. "How are you?"

Help me someone! He thought, what is taking Doug so long?

"Yeah good, thanks. I was just telling your mum how you're the first person who's entered a summit at Capeside," he felt someone stand next to him, assuming it was Doug, he held out his hand, waiting for the car keys.

When he didn't receive them he turned and did a double take. "My god, what are you doing here?"

"I was bored and I remember you telling me about this so I though....why not?"

Jack turned back to Cameron and her mum. "Um... sorry, where was I?"

He looked at Cameron looking at Tobey as if trying to see through him. Laura was called by another parent of one of Jack's other less capable students, she excused herself and left.

There was a silence and Jack looked back at Tobey then at Cameron.

"You were in Mr McPhee's classroom the other day," Cameron said, looking at Tobey.

"Yeah, I know," he said and looked at Jack who was staring blankly into the distance. "I'm Tobey Barrett."

"Cameron Andrews," she said shortly and looked at Jack, Tobey couldn't help but smirk. "Is Amy and Sheriff Witter here?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said. "Will you please excuse us Cameron?"

"Sure," she said.

Jack grabbed Tobey's shoulder and dragged him into the mosh-pit of all the people he didn't want to speak to. They cut across the crowd and made it through to the other side where hardly anyone was, grabbed two sodas and sat on the grass, leaning against the fence, enclosing the school grounds.

"Although I'm surprised that you're here, thank god you are to get me out of the Andrews trap."

Tobey laughed, "Anytime, you help me and I help you."

They clicked their cans and took a large swig.

"What do you think?" Jack asked. "Unbearable?"

Tobey laughed. "She was sizing me up, did you notice? Not very polite."

"She's probably jealous," he said and chuckled.

Doug pushed the pram out the back and Jack wasn't where he left him. He paused, looking for him, scanning the crowd.

"Sheriff Witter."

He turned around. "Cameron, how are you?" he tried to sound obliging.

"I'm good. If you're looking for Jack," she paused and he looked quickly down at her and her cheeks flushed with embarrassment of her Freudian slip, "I mean, if you're looking for Mr McPhee, he's over there," she pointed past the food tables and people to the back fence. "He's with the blond guy, the one with the glasses."

Doug stared at Jack and Tobey laughing and eating together. He stiffened and breathed deeply. "Thanks," he said stonily.

"Is there something wrong Sheriff Witter?" she asked, almost too eagerly.

Doug looked down at her, "No, Ms Andrews," he said rather unkindly. "Don't you have someone else to talk to other than either Jack or myself?" He pushed the stroller into the crowd to meet Jack and Tobey.

Cameron stayed where she was. Trouble in paradise, she thought to herself. Jack's having an affair, with that blond guy...Tobey.

Doug and Jack arrived home at 4:30 and the phone rang. Jack went to pick it up, but Doug got there first and hung up with out answering, then took the phone off the hook.

"What did you do that for?" Jack asked.

"Why was Tobey there today? Did you invite him?" Doug asked, trying to hide the hurt in his voice.

"I mentioned it and said if he had nothing else to do, to come along," Jack said.

"It was a little inappropriate, don't you think? It was a family day and you sat away from everyone with your mate," Doug practically spat the last word as if it was poison to his lips. "Family is Amy, family is me," he said. "Not Tobey."

Jack stood across from Doug in the kitchen, looking shell-shocked. "Inappropriate? Well I'm terribly sorry for my behaviour Sheriff Witter—," Jack responded sarcastically.

"Jack—"

"But you're not family Doug," Jack finished.

They stared at each other; there was silence for a long time. Doug's face softened, and he turned away to put breakfasts dishes in their cupboard. Jack stepped forward and slammed the phone back onto the hook and left the house, slamming the door behind him.

Unable to stand any longer; Doug stumbled over to their bedroom and lay down on their bed. He buried his head into their pillows as he began to cry from the pain of a crack forming in his heart.