Catherine Langford's House
January 28th, 2005
3:00pm
Alexia stepped out of the cab, warily. She really didn't want to face all of these people. Daniel got out of the other side of the cab and took their luggage from the cabbie, who had gotten it out of the trunk. He came to stand beside her, and she took her suitcase from him. "It'll be ok," he told her as the walked to the front door of the house.
Alexia nodded, and reached up to knock on the door. It was immediately opened by a man who appeared to be in his late fifties, "So you actually decided to show up," he said, addressing Alexia and ignoring Daniel, "Decided that you could tear yourself away from your precious job long enough to see your family."
"Hello, Father," Alexia said, stepping in the house, "this is Dr. Daniel Jackson, a friend of mine from work."
Daniel held his hand out to the older man, who simply looked at him and turned and walked away. Daniel lowered his hand, and looked at Alexia.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, as her father called out, "Catherine, your sorry excuse for a Granddaughter is here."
Catherine came into the room, "Alexia," she said, hugging her, "ignore your father. It's good to see you." She turned to Daniel, "Daniel, how are you?"
"I'm fine Catherine, and you," Daniel asked, hugging her, watching as a man around twenty-seven came into the room and walked up to Alexia.
"Just fine, just fine. So glad that you could make it. How's work," she asked, pulling him aside, "how is she doing really?"
Daniel glanced at Alexia, then turned to Catherine, "She's doing good, actually. She's very good at what she does," he said, wondering how much he should tell her.
Alexia watched her grandmother pull Daniel aside and hoped he didn't tell her too much. She turned her focus to the other man in the room. "Brandon," she whispered, as he captured her in a hug, "it's been too long, Brandon."
Brandon smiled at her, "You're right, it has," he said, letting her go, "how are you?"
Alexia grinned, "I'm fine, Brandon," she said, leading him over to where Daniel and Catherine were talking. "Brandon, this is Dr. Daniel Jackson, a very good friend of mine. Daniel, this is Brandon."
Daniel shook Brandon's hand, noticing his wary expression, "Nice to meet you Brandon," he said, "Alex has told me a lot about you."
"I wish I could say the same, Doctor," Brandon answered, looking at Alexia.
"Please call me Daniel," Daniel said, getting the feeling that he wasn't well liked by this man.
"Be nice, Brandon," Catherine said, and turned to Alexia, "you'll be in your old room, and Daniel can stay in the guest room next to yours, ok."
"Thanks Gram," Alexia said, and picked up her luggage. Daniel followed suit, and they made their way up the stairs. Alexia showed Daniel his room and put her stuff down in hers, when she heard a cold voice in the doorway, "Hey, Alexia."
Alex turned, stiffening, "Ethan," she said, trying to get passed him out of the room.
He wouldn't let her by, "Why did you even bother to come? You've never bothered before, miss high and mighty."
Alexia looked at him coldly, "Let me by Ethan," she said, and he moved out of her way. In the hall, she met Daniel coming out of his room. Daniel regarded the man and knew automatically that this must be Ethan. "Daniel, my brother Ethan, Ethan, my friend Dr. Daniel Jackson."
"Oh, so this is one of the people that are so important to you?" Ethan asked, his dislike for her apparent in his voice.
"Yes, Ethan," she answered, "he is."
Ethan turned his attention to Daniel, "Trust me, man, she's not worth it," he said, and walked away.
Daniel looked down at Alexia, "Why don't they like you?" he asked.
"Because I put them in jail," Alexia answered, "a long time ago."
"Because of your mother?" he asked.
Alexia nodded, "Yeah, they put her in the hospital, so I put them in jail. It helped that I was best friends with the sheriff's daughter," she said, and looked into his eyes, "Not all of my family is like them, though, I promise. My Aunt May and Uncle Charlie are great. So is my cousin Kaylee. They should all be here, too. I say we go find them." She took his hand and led him down the hall.
He squeezed her hand, "Oh, and just so you know, I don't agree with him," he said.
"What?" she asked, confused.
He stopped her and held her face in his hands, "I think that you are totally worth it."
"Thank you, Daniel," she said, kissing his cheek. She led him down to the kitchen, where everyone was gathered.
"Ali," a middle-aged woman yelled when they entered the room, and Alexia found herself trapped in a hug.
"Hi, Aunt May," she said, pulling away, and hugging the man that had come up, "Hey, Uncle Charlie."
"How's my favorite niece," Charlie asked.
"Ha, Ha, Uncle Charlie, we all know that I'm your only niece." Alexia said, stepping back by Daniel, once again taking his hand in hers.
"Well, that's just less competition for you," Charlie said, and then turned to Daniel, "Who's this you got with you Ali-Cat," he asked.
"Uncle Charlie, Aunt May, this is a friend of mine from work, Dr. Daniel Jackson. Daniel, my Aunt May and Uncle Charlie."
Charlie stuck out his hand, "Well, it's nice to meet you, Doctor," he said.
Daniel shook his hand, grateful that this was one person who did seem genuinely happy to meet him, "Call me Daniel, please," he said.
"Ok, Daniel it is," he said, as Catherine walked over to the group.
She stopped by Alexia, "Tonight we're going to Rossiti's for dinner. Be ready at 7:30 sharp," she said.
"Rossiti's, gram," Alexia groaned, "I didn't bring anything to wear to Rossiti's."
"Well, that just means we'll have to go shopping," a new voice rang out from behind them.
Alexia turned, "Hey Kay," she said, hugging the new arrival.
"Hey, Al," Kaylee said.
Alexia pulled back, "Kaylee, this is Dr. Daniel Jackson, a friend from work. Daniel, my cousin Kaylee."
Daniel shook hands with Kaylee, "Nice to meet you," he said.
"You, too," Kaylee answered and turned to Alexia, "So, I'm stealing you to go shopping. Dr. Jackson, if you'll excuse us. Mom, Gram, want to come?" she asked the other two women there.
"Nah, you girls have fun," May said, and Catherine nodded her agreement.
"Ok, looks like it's just us," Kaylee said, "Be outside in five minutes."
"Ok, Kay," Alexia answered, then turned to Daniel, "I won't be gone that long. Stay away from my father and Ethan, ok. They would like nothing more than to antagonize you."
Daniel nodded, and Alexia turned to her Uncle Charlie, "Watch out for him," she whispered, and then made her way outside to meet Kaylee.
By 7:15 that evening, Alexia was exhausted, sore, and ready to go to sleep. She really didn't know how she was going to survive the dinner. Kaylee had drug her around to about ten stores to try and find a dress. Then they had gotten their hair done. Alexia was glad to hear that Daniel and her Uncle Charlie had been getting along great and that Brandon seemed to be trying. Putting the final touches on her make-up, she started when there was a knock on the door.
Daniel knocked on her door, not wanting to just walk in, "Alex," he called, "you ready." He was unprepared when she opened the door, and the sight of her took his breath away. She was wearing a black dress that went just above her knees and hugged every curve of her body. It had spaghetti straps and a neckline that fell just below her neck. It looked wonderful on her.
"You like," Alexia asked, amused at his reaction.
Daniel looked into her eyes, "You look beautiful," he whispered.
"Thank you," she said, eyeing him in his black suit, "You look quite good yourself."
He nodded and took her hand in his, "Ready?" he asked.
"As I'll ever be," she answered, and they made their way downstairs.
The conversation was light throughout dinner, and with Catherine's help, Alexia and Daniel's job was brought up only twice. Everyone knew that she worked in Colorado, and that her job was classified, but that didn't stop them from asking questions. Alexia's father and Ethan avoided her the best they could, and she them. They didn't say one word to either Alexia or Daniel the entire time, which made the dinner a lot easier for everyone.
"So, anyway," her Aunt May was saying, "you really should visit more often. We miss you in Monroe."
Alexia sighed, "I know Aunt May. I'll try, ok."
Daniel knew that Alexia was being overtaxed by her family, so he stood up, "Alex," he said, holding his hand out to her, "Dance with me."
Alexia smiled at him gratefully and put her hand into his. He led her onto the dance floor, and took her into his arms.
Alexia put one arm around his neck, the other in his hand, and laid her head down onto his shoulder. It felt wonderful to be in his arms. "Thank you, Daniel," she said.
Daniel smiled down at her, "You looked like you needed a break."
"They just don't understand that I can't tell them. I mean Gram does, but she's the only one. The rest of them still see me as a child, and I am the youngest, but I'm not a child," she said.
"Shh," he said, "Just relax, and enjoy the moment."
Alexia sighed, content, "Why does this feel so right?"
"Because it is right," Daniel said, pulling her closer, reveling in their contact. They danced a few moments in silence before Daniel spoke, "Alex, can I ask you a question?"
"Sure," she answered.
"Why doesn't Brandon like me?" he asked.
Alexia lifted her head off of his shoulder, "It's not that he doesn't like you, Daniel," she said.
"Then what is it," he asked.
Alexia sighed, "Brandon's like an older brother. He very protective and feels that he has to approve of everything that I do," she said, and looked at him, "He's upset that I didn't get his permission. I finally did something without his approval and that's upsetting him."
Daniel nodded, "Ok, is that all?"
"Not exactly," she said, "he also thinks that you're too old for me."
"Ah," Daniel said, "how did I know that that was going to come up sooner or later while we were here." He looked at her, "Do you think that I'm too old for you?"
Alexia smiled, "Of course not, Daniel. While there is a big difference in our ages, I stopped noticing that a long time ago. We're both adults, our ages do not matter," she said.
"That's good," Daniel said, kissing her forehead, "because I'd hate to lose you because of something that stupid. What about the rest of your family?" he asked.
"Well, with the exception of my father and Ethan, they love you. You know Gram loves you, and she loves the fact that you can keep an eye on me. The rest of them just want to see me happy," she said, "I haven't been happy in a long while."
"Do I make you happy," he asked, running his hand up and down her back.
"More than you could ever imagine," she said, as the song ended.
Daniel let her go, immediately regretful that she was no longer in his arms, "You make me happy, too, Alex," he said, leading her over to the table.