Bleu Soliloqui
Chapter 12?
BleuWoulfe & Cobalt-Blue
Fair warning, Slash, A/U versions of some of our rangers. Rated R for language and angst.
Thanks to Cobalt Blue for the inspiration for continuing, and for contributing to this fic and to my growth as a writer. At this point, I'm naming him co-author… since we've collaborated so much on the last few chapters.
Kim, Billy and Jason enjoyed a quiet breakfast in Billy's room, without many words spoken until Billy got up to stretch and step out on the balcony for a moment. His sudden move away from them sparked Jason's habit of worrying about his little bro'. He stepped out on the balcony and stood next to Billy, to show him he was there if he wanted to talk.
Billy glanced over at Jason, smiled and turned back to his contemplation of the woods. He finally spoke up after staring a hole into the skyline. "I'm going to call Dad today, go talk to him and the step family. I need to go alone, but I do plan on telling him about us. I'd like to tell your family soon if that's ok with you, Love."
Jason swallowed, he didn't expect Billy to want to go public so soon and the fact that he had just called him "love" undid the burly young man who latched onto Billy and startled him.
"Sure Bill, whatever you think is best." Jason nipped at his earlobe and whispered in his ear. "I love you Billy." Before stepping back into the room, if Billy hadn't been so shocked by the display of affection he'd have noticed the thickness in Jason's voice. Billy went back to Jason, looked into his midnight eyes and smiled.
"You unravel me Jase, I don't know how or why but damn it all you do. I love you too, and I hope I always have a chance to tell you that, every day of my life. Now, I have to start mending fences, I just hope that I can control myself. I'll call you later ok?"
"Sure thing, I'll be at home or the Youth Centre if you need me. Bye love." Jason stood and turned to Kim to offer a ride back.
"Kim, you riding with me?"
She smiled and shook her head. She lifted an arm, and indicated her communicator.
"Nope, I'm riding the Ranger Express back home. It would be hard to explain to mom where I went and why you were dropping me off at this time of morning. It was already bad trying to avoid explaining my conflict with Tommy to her. I'll call that blockhead when I "get up" and see if he wants to meet for lunch. I should head out too; mom will be expecting me up soon."
"Bye Kim, catch you later. " Billy gave her a brotherly kiss on the cheek and waved her off as she disappeared in a stream of pink. He looked over to where Jason was shutting his pack and coming for a good-bye kiss.
"Please, be careful and keep your temper under control, Love. This won't be easy, but I know you'll be fine." Jason sealed his words with a kiss that stole the air from Billy's lungs, and made Bill reconsider leaving right away for his father' house.
"Kiss me like that again and I won't be going anywhere." He smiled at Jason and then made shooing motions at him, "Off with you before I call this off again. I'll collect on the rest of that kiss later, provided we can be alone tonight."
"Sure, Bill. I'll see you later, no matter what happens. Now, I'd better leave before I have my wicked way with you again." Jase chuckled and kissed Billy on the forehead then departed the room.
Billy looked at the phone, sighed and dialed his home; he hoped that his father would answer and not his new stepmother or stepbrother. Maybe Alex was there. At the thought of Alex, Bill felt a pang of remorse. He'd basically ignored Alex since that night at Jason's, seems he had more mending to do than originally intended. He's brought back as his father answers the phone.
"Cranston residence, Lance speaking."
"Um… hi it's me." Billy closed his eyes and hoped his father wouldn't hang up or flip out.
"Hi, I guess you want to speak with Alex." Cool detachment, as if he's resigned to me being a prat and hating him. Not good. Billy thought.
"No, I wanted to talk to you actually. I… I've been thinking about the situation and I'm ready to talk dad. I can't avoid you forever, and I won't be chased from my home. Can I come back and talk things over?"
The silence on the other end went on a little too long for Billy, who sat there with the phone in his hand, and wondered if he'd gone too far finally and wouldn't be allowed back home. Finally, he heard his dad calling his name.
"William, you there?"
"Yeah, I was worried that you were angry and were thinking of a way to tell me no, you screwed up, stay gone. Go-"
His piteous rant is stopped by Lance cutting him off. "Billy stop it, I'm not about to tell you any such thing. Get your tail back to the house; I'll be here when you get home. Besides, Alex is miserable without you here, so miserable he stayed over at Adam's last night. Your new stepbrother, Dante is, well a handful. We'll talk when you get home. I miss you son, and I still love you no matter what."
"Same here dad, see you in a bit, bye." Billy hung up, packed his things and bid his uncle farewell.
"I'm heading home, thanks Uncle. I appreciate your generosity, and if I can ever re-pay you for this--" Billy's cut off for the second time that morning.
"No need to thank me Bill. We're family and that's what we do." He leans over and whispers in Billy's ear. "Thank me by staying away from the moonshine till your legal."
If Billy hadn't been signing the register to check out, he'd have fainted. He looked up at his uncle with a shame-faced look that spoke of his guilt. "How did you know?"
"House keeping and the way Jason came tearing in here looking for you. Next time, come talk to me. Now get going. Lance is probably wearing a hole in the floor waiting for you. I'll be here if you need to come back. Hopefully I won't need to hold that room for you."
"So do I" Billy finished his check out, gave his uncle a brief hug and then headed home. On the drive back, he had plenty of time to calm down but he wondered what his father could have meant by his stepbrother being a "handful". While he made his way back to the house, Alex and Adam were meeting for breakfast at the Park's.
Alex missed Billy's call that morning and at that moment could've cared less since he was pleasantly engaged in some early morning tongue dueling with Adam before they went down to breakfast. What they didn't know is that Adam's little brother was watching them, not quite sure why his brother would be kissing Billy's brother. He snuck off as the boys broke for air and realized they needed to get downstairs for breakfast before Adam's parents call them down.
"We'd better stop it for now before your folks catch us." Alex said as he leaned into Adam to catch his breath.
"Yeah you're right. I'm surprised they let you stay in my room all night. Hell I'm not complaining though. C'mon, let's go before mom comes up to call us." Adam said after straightening his clothes and giving Alex a smoldering look. "Later, we can pick up where we left off."
"Excellent, lead on Park." Alex says as he enjoys watching the lithe form in front of him. They arrived at the table to find the Park's and Adam's little brother Adrian smiling wickedly at them. Adam dismissed it as they sat down to breakfast, and took the proffered mug of coffee.
"Coffee Bil- I'm sorry, Alex?"
"Thanks Mrs. Park, and don't worry about it. Dad almost slipped and called me Billy the other night. We're still adjusting to things." Alex said quietly, he was having a hard time, a lot harder than he was willing to admit. Adam said nothing, but vowed to speak with Alex alone when they had the chance.
Breakfast went well until Mr. Park asked Alex about school and settling in. "Alex, have you transferred to Angel Grove high yet?"
"Yes sir, I'm actually in a lot of classes with Adam. I have a couple with Billy, but I'm glad we're not in every class together. It hopefully will make things easier to adjust to."
Adrian snickered, he couldn't help it as he thought of something funny to say but debated whether or not Adam would kill him for it later.
"What's with you Adrian? What's so funny?" Adam asked, since Adrian was usually behaved around company he wondered what was up with his younger sibling.
"Nothing. I just thought you'd two have more time to kiss since you're together all day at school." Adrian's smile died on his lips as Adam went white in fear of what his parents would do, and Alex looked as if he could throttle the younger Park bare handed.
Adam slunk under the table as he heard his mother start to laugh, and his father reached under the table and hauled him back to his seat. "Son, you are not going to take up residence under the table now get up."
Adam got up and glared at Adrian, who looked as if he was in mortal peril from his brother and his brother's friend. "You are so dead Adrian; I suggest you sleep with your eyes open for the next week." Adam said as he clenched and unclenched his fists on the table. Alex had closed his eyes and was counting to ten to gather his composure.
"Mr. and Mrs. Park, I… I don't know what to say to you. We certainly didn't mean to have you find out like this. Adam, what's done is done. Nothing we can do about it now."
Adam quirked one side of his mouth before he jumped up and ran after Adrian, who had the good sense to run…while Adam tried to throttle his younger sibling, Billy had arrived at his home and was trying to locate his father.
"Dad, where are you?"
"I'm in the study Billy," his father calls out to him.
"Hello father. Are they here?
Lance stands up from the long library table they'd had put in the study a few years back. It was almost a genuine antique, being huge and made of solid maple. Sitting on the table was a warmer and two cups of coffee. "I thought we could talk in here, like we used to."
Billy nodded and made his way to the table, he let his fingers trail over the marks in the table. His fingers lingered at the deep gouges he had made the night his mother was killed, when he assaulted the wood instead of himself... before he succumbed to his grief.
"You've made coffee, thank you."
"I've noticed it sort of helps us communicate," his father said with a soft smile. Sighing he leaned back in the leather chair and looked at his son, "Look Bill, I've royally screwed things up. I'm sorry. I don't have anyone to blame but myself. I should have told you about Alex a long time ago, but I really didn't have the right. Part of it was David's decision too. As for Megan and Dante, well that one is ENTIRELY MY fault. I really don't know what I was thinking springing it on you like this." He looked down at the deep blackness of his coffee, "I guess I was afraid that you'd hate her. That you'd think she was trying to replace your mom."
Billy looked into his coffee, not sure how to respond without sounding like a recalcitrant child. "As far as Alex and I are concerned... you owe him a great deal of explanations as way of an apology. How do you think he feels knowing you kept me and not him?" Billy held up a hand..."Let me finish my thought. I was and still am furious about this lie I've lived. All the times I wished I had a sibling to talk to, especially when I came home from school after being picked on and mistreated, or when I came in to an empty house because you had to work. He was raised with the luxury of both parents, or so he was led to believe, and that's damn unfair to him."
"What's even more unfair is the fact that he attended his mother's funeral and didn't have a chance to properly say farewell. You and Uncle David owe him a price that can never be repaid. The fact that you all have to live with that deception is a price you'll pay in more ways than you can imagine, karma is a cruel mistress that won't forget this dad."
Lance looked over at his son, "I know, Bill. I know. We kept too much from you, and to be honest, there were times right after we moved here I wanted to tell you. Right after your mother died, I wanted to just pack you up, take you back to Chicago and tell you everything." He sighed, "You were so sad. You were like the walking dead, and I was caught up in my own grief, my own lies that I had no idea of how to help you." Some memory brought him a smile that reached his eyes. "Then you met Jason, and then Zack and Kim and Trini, and for the first time you weren't alone. I couldn't bring myself to take them, to take him away from you."
Billy looked at Lance sideways when he mentioned taking him away... "What did you mean, "To take him away from you?"
"Jason," Lance said. "Since you met him, there's been a light in your eyes that I thought had gone out for good. I could never take that away from you, not for all the relatives in the world." He shrugged, "So I stayed. I stayed and kept my mouth shut dreading the day it was all going to blow up in my face."
Billy fell silent. Had it been there the whole time? Was he the only one who had been blind to the love Jason had for him all this time? He looked down, not trusting his voice for the moment. He refilled his mug and sat down, his voice low and subdued. "I...thank you. Valiant as your reasons were, the cost was too high. It's going to take a lot to regain my trust, Father. I've been broken by all of this, and it's going to take a lot to make it right."
Lance nodded, "I know, Son. I shouldn't have lied to you. I'm not trying to blame anyone else or even avoid it. I'm simply trying to explain my reasons." He sipped his coffee, somehow finding the liquid less bitter than the truth he was swallowing now. "I do hope that you will give me a chance to redeem myself. And you'll give Megan and Dante a chance."
Billy looked at his father, not sure how he'd cope with a stepmother and brother suddenly in their home. As well as Shanna being back in their lives. Until a few days ago he'd believed her the scum of the earth, unworthy of redemption for any reason. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "That will take some work. I still can't believe you didn't have enough faith in me to tell me. Did you think I would throw a tantrum and pout like I did when I was thirteen? When I understood nothing nor cared that you needed someone in your life, did you think I'd be so shallow or unyielding?"
Lance shook his head, "No Bill. I realize what you were going through then. And I realize what you are capable of handling now. Lying had just become so easy. I hope you never find out how easy it can be to lie. How you might start out lying to save someone from pain, and before long you just lie because you don't know how to stop, because it's all built up to the point that you don't know what would happen if the truth ever got out."
Billy, to his credit didn't blink or give anything away... but his conscience slapped him pretty hard when his father's words sunk in. "I guess I can understand that."
"Like when Uncle Bradley beat me those times he watched me and I never said anything, until mom heard me crying and flipped out."
Lance looked down again feeling bad for yet another time when he hadn't been there for his son. Finally looking up at his son not knowing what really to say, he just sighed and told the truth. "I don't know if that's a good analogy or not, Bill. That was a time when you should have said something, when I should have known something..." he stopped and just dropped his head, a silent tear rolling down his face. "God, what a mess I've made of things."
Billy looked at Lance, really looked at his father for the first time since this whole debacle started. He wanted to stay furious at his father, but he couldn't do that any longer. He reached over and wiped away his tears. "Dad, Lance... please don't cry. Yes, you've made a mess of things, and now we have to work through it. I didn't react well, you didn't come clean in a good way and neither of us considered Alex it seems. The problem now is, how do we set things right?"
Lance looked up and smiled weakly at Billy. Billy knew that because he and his father never really touched that much, his friends sometimes wondered if he was really loved at home. But what he saw in his father's eyes removed any doubt. There was love there, it was just held at bay by what was sometimes called "The Cranston Way", a respectable distance. He smiled to himself and thought they'd been born in the wrong century; they should have been born in the nineteenth century. "I think maybe we sit down, all of us and work this out. It can't be easy on Megan and Dante either. Their lives are being rearranged too." He shook his head and smiled,
"What she must think of me?"
"It can't be too bad; she still married you after all. Did she know of Alex before or after you took her as your wife? She must think I'm an insufferable bastard considering how I've acted since her arrival."
"She knew. We all talked about it before telling you and Alex. It was sort of a dry run through. I asked Dante what he thought about how you would react; after all he's about your age." He laughed wanly, "Boy was that a bad idea. He didn't think you'd have a problem with it."
"Then he has no idea what it's like to be abused, lied to and mistreated for being who you are.
"Abused for being who you are?" Lance asked, then as the realization of what Billy meant sunk in he said, "Oh. I see what you mean." He shook his head, "No, I guess he hasn't exactly faced that. It was probably a mistake asking him for his opinion on how you'd react." He reached out and touched his son's shoulder. "I'm sorry Bill. I really should have given it more thought."
"So you've admitted dad. Now, let's work on getting things back to how they were, at least with Alex and me. You're our father and he's not coping as well as he'd like to let on, especially if he stayed at Adam's last night. I've done him wrong as well, by not being there for him. There's a lot of blame as well as lot of mending to be done. Just promise me that you won't ask Dante his opinion on something as emotionally delicate as this again please."
Lance chuckled, "You have a deal on that Billy." He grinned at his son, "So, did Jason stay at the cabin with you last night?"
Billy blushed furiously... he couldn't help it as he flashed back to the pleasurable way he'd been awakened. "Yes" was all Billy muttered as he smiled to himself.
"Good. I didn't like the idea of you being up there all by yourself, I knew he wouldn't let you get into any trouble," Lance said. "He's a good kid."
"Who's a good kid?" Megan asked from the door where she stood with her son Dante.
Lance looked over at his new wife and stepson. He was glad that they were finally getting the chance to have this conversation as a family.
"A friend of Bill's, Jason." He looked over at Bill and said, "Why don't you go call Adam's and ask Alex to come home. I think we all need to sit down and talk as a family."
Bill nodded and got up to grab the phone. He dialed the Park's number and was answered by Sienna Park, who sounded as if she was in the middle of laughing her head off. "Park residence, Sienna here."
"Um hi, is Alex still there? This is Billy, and I would like to speak with him if he is still there with Adam"
"Yes, he is Billy, hold on I'll get him for you." "Alex, its Billy for you."
"Yeah, Bro," Billy noted that even Alex had fallen into using the male Rangers' favorite nickname. "What's up? Is the 'rental unit still on the war path?"
"No, I'm actually here now. Dad would like you back here, so we can have a family discussion. For what its worth, I'm sorry for what I haven't done to help you with everything, and I'll explain myself later. When will you be here?"
"How about 10 minutes if I can get a ride back from Adam? See you all soon, and thank you. Bye bro'."
"Bye Alex." Billy hung up the phone, and turned to meet his stepmother and brother. "Hello ma'am, Dante."
Dante nodded to Billy and said, "'lo."
"Pleasure to finally meet you Billy, Lance has told me a lot about you, and Alex. Did we interrupt anything?"
Lance got up and went over to them and kissed his wife on the cheek, her chocolate complexion blushing at the so un-Cranston like contact. "Looks like you bought out the store." he grinned.
"Well, Dante is growing like a weed, and I wanted to get some things for Billy and Alex, if you'll have them Bill."
For some reason Meg didn't feel right calling the young man before her Billy... it didn't suit him for some reason, but calling him William was too formal in her eyes.
"I appreciate that ma'am. It was very kind of you to think of us on your excursion today." Billy stared at her, not sure what to call her... he'd be damned to the n'th level of hell if the word mom ever crossed his lips in reference to the woman standing in the doorway. Calling her Mrs. Cranston would be absurd, but he wasn't sure how she'd react to being called by her given name by her stepson either.
"Hello, Lance," Dante said as he eyed Billy up and down. "Yo' Bill."
"What's all this talkin' business? Since when do we sit down an' talk with other folk?" the youth asked his mother.
"Dante, mind yourself. There's a lot going on here, and amongst civilized folks people talk about their issues. Besides, you haven't been very cordial to Alex and I didn't miss the way you sized up Bill. Now behave yourself young man."
Billy said nothing as he observed the mild dressing down Dante had received and felt a little bit of sorry for the younger boy who had been thrust into the situation.
"Dante, there are things that need to be said if we are all to live together peacefully. I've been rather put out by the whole situation, as I'm sure you have. However, Alex does not deserve anyone giving him a hard time now, especially someone he has to live with."
"Yes ma'am," Dante looked over at Billy and then at his new stepfather. Now that was an idea he was going to have to get used to. His own father was never around, and now he had some new guy coming into his life to try and tell him what to do.
"Go on, put your things away. I'll call you when Alex gets home. No more back talk, you hear?"
"Look, it's going to take about ten minutes before Alex gets here," Lance said. "He looked over at Dante and asked, "Do you drink coffee Dante?"
Dante grabbed his things and headed toward the stairs. Looking back at the other man in shock he answered reflexively, "Never tried it."
Billy bit his tongue. He wanted to verbally crack the kid one over the head. Instead he sighed and poured a fresh mug of coffee. "Do you take coffee ma'am?"
"I do, and please call me Meg or Megan. Ma'am makes me feel old. I'm sorry about Dante. He's been like that since the divorce and it hasn't helped that we've moved a lot since then. He rarely sees his father and it's starting to show in his attitude."
"Here you go Megan. I can understand how he feels to a degree. He's younger than I am correct?"
"Yes, he's a sophomore. I take it you and your friends are seniors? I was hoping he'd do well once we moved from LA, but he's still a little ornery."
Lance smiled at that interchange. He knew that if Megan wasn't careful that she would fall into the same trap that most adults did around Bill, thinking of him as an adult instead of a teenager. Marjorie Scott once told him that she thought Billy was the most frighteningly self-sufficient young man she'd ever met.
"He'll get used to Angel Grove soon enough." He grinned at the woman, "At least the parts that doesn't include monsters attacking every other day." He shook his head,
"Nobody ever gets used to that part."
Billy caught his father's smile; he had a hint of what his father was thinking. "Yeah that part really sucks, especially when parts of town are shut down due to the attacks."
"Billy," Lance told him. "Find another word."
Billy blinked... "I'm sorry, what did I say?"
"I think you can find another word to use in front of your stepmother than sucks," he told Billy, but there was no real censure in his voice, only a gentle reminder of his manners.
"Okay..." Billy caught himself before he rolled his eyes. "Forgive me Megan; I didn't realize my choice of vocabulary would be considered so vulgar." Billy couldn't help but smile at his father.
"Either way, the monster attacks are an unfortunate fact of life here. Although you lived in Los Angeles, I'm sure stranger things have happened to you."
Lance chuckled to himself. It seemed that he and Billy had a lot farther to go than he thought. Of course he realized that there might still be a bit of orneriness in Billy too.
"Somehow I don't think that three hundred foot erasers attack downtown Los Angeles very often," he told his son. Pouring another cup of coffee for himself, he looked over at Billy. "Perhaps you can suggest some activities in which Dante could get involved? Maybe take him to the Youth Center and introduce him to your other friends?"
"I'll do that father... and I hope that 300 foot erasers attacking other towns isn't a common occurrence. If it is, I'm moving back to Chicago to finish school."
Lance chuckled again, "I might just join you, Son." Then turning to where Dante was arriving, "Want to try a cup of coffee?" Realizing that the boy probably couldn't pass up a challenge he added, "Of course I have to warn you. The way Bill and I make coffee, most people can't take it." He leaned in close to Megan and said… "Tommy once accused me of trying to poison him with it. He said it kept him up for three days with the coffee jitters."
Dante shrugged, "Sure I'll try a cup." He grinned over at Billy. "I'm sure it won't be too bad."
Billy smiled, sat back and waited for the fireworks to begin. He had witnessed the jitters Tommy had first hand, and waited to see what would happen to Dante once he sipped some of his dad's brew.
Meg sat back; leaned against Lance and smiled... she knew when her son had bitten off more than he could chew.
Lance poured the cup of coffee, and asked "Cream and sugar?"
The tall youth shrugged and said, "I'll drink it however he drinks it?" he nodded to Billy sitting there.
"Oh, boy," Alex's voice broke in. "This oughta' be good. I won't even touch the stuff he drinks. According to Adam, the Rangers use that stuff to power their giant robots."
Billy fell out of his chair with a thud.
Lance just shrugged but spooned in only one extra spoonful of instant to the brew, not Billy's usual three. Not even Lance made coffee strong enough for his son. He knew better than give the boy Billy's usual. "Here you go."
"What?" Alex asked.
Billy looked up at Alex. "Dante's trying dad's coffee, the way I drink it. Should be interesting."
Dante took the cup from Lance and smiled before taking a long draught. He turned the most interesting shades of brown as the fiery liquid burned a line to his stomach. Lance was impressed in that he managed to not sputter. Not even he would try to drink the coffee Billy made. Looking over at his other son he said, "I think we all need to sit down and talk Alexander. We're all going to be a family, and we might need to get some things out in the open."
"Yes sir," Alex told him. Turning to his stepmother, he said, "Hello, Megan."
"Hello Alex, would you like any coffee before we begin?" Billy asked innocently as he poured his umpteenth cup of the day.
"The stuff you drink?" Alex asked. "No thanks. I have no desire to climb the walls tonight." He grinned over at Billy, "If everything here goes well, I have a date."
"Oh really, what's her name?"
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Alex teased his brother. "If you wouldn't run off all the time, you might just figure out which one of your friends is taking me to the movies." Then turning to Megan and Lance he said, "If that's all right with you guys." Megan shrugged; she didn't see it as her place to tell them where to go and what to do.
"I would like to know, and I'll find out Alex. At the moment, we have more important things to discuss."
Alex grinned at his brother and slipped past him toward the other side of the table. Leaning down he whispered in his ear, "Here I thought you were the great intellect. Who said it had to be a her?"
He made his way over and sat down. Raising an eyebrow at Dante, and Megan he asked. "Am I the only person here who feels comfortable enough to sit?"
Billy glared at Alex, as he let his agile mind run over whom it could be and by process of elimination came up with one possible answer. "I'll join you bro... and once we're done here, you and I will talk."
Alex grinned back at his brother, "What's gotten into you Billy?"
"Never mind," Lance told both boys.
"Nothing that hasn't gotten into you Alex."
"Never mind what?"
"And you thought I was being rude?" Dante said to his mother.
"You were and so are they at the moment. Boys, your father is trying to talk to you."
The tall chocolate skinned youth plopped down into a chair next to Lance as his blood began to thrum from the coffee. He looked over at his step dad, grinned and offered a hand, "Hi, I'm Dante, your new stepson. Maybe if we start this, those two will get their act together." He grinned over at his mom, "Is that better?"
"Much better Dante, thank you." Meg smiled affectionately at her son, and laid a comforting hand on his arm.
Lance chuckled, took the boys hand and played along, "Pleased to meet you. I'm Lance, your new step dad." He raised an eyebrow and turned to the other boys.
"Which brings us to the first order of business. I know this has been sudden, and I apologize for it." He looked over at Alex, "And you and I really need to have a talk sometime soon Alex. I have a lot to apologize to you for too."
Turning back to the others he said, "Which brings us to the next order of business. "How will you guys refer to Megan and I." He looked at Billy, "I will understand and I'm sure Megan would too if you don't want to call her mom."
Dante broke in, "Isn't she good enough for them?" he asked defensively.
Lance shook his head and looked to Billy, "It's not that..."
"Dante, I'm not comfortable calling her mom... nor will I probably ever be that comfortable enough to call her mom. I don't expect you to call him dad either, but if you're not comfortable with that I respect that. I'm sure your mom is a wonderful woman, and its obvious dad loves her. Isn't that good enough for you?"
Dante looked at Billy, "Why not? Is it because she's black?"
Billy blinked... "Excuse me? What does that have to do with anything?"
Alex and Billy looked at each other in amazement, since they hadn't dealt with such thinking from anyone.
Lance reached out and put a hand on Dante's arm, "No, Dante," he told the boy. Giving his son a "forgive me" glance he said, "It's because Billy lost his mother. She died in a car accident when Billy was nine. Billy was there when it happened. It has nothing to do with your mom or her or your skin color. Do you really think your Uncle Clayton would have introduced us if that were the case?"
Billy held his tongue with all the restraint he could muster, and Alex put his hand on Billy's shoulder. He shook his head to negate whatever vitriol was about to issue forth from his brother.
Dante shook his head, "I don't know. I hope not." He looked over at Billy not really sure what to say. He realized he had jumped to conclusions, but it was what he was used to dealing with in L. A. He muttered a brief, "Sorry man."
"No problem, I know this is hard. Is your Uncle Clayton, Clayton Taylor, Zack Taylor's father?"
"Yeah, he's mom's brother." Dante said a bit surly. Then realizing what Billy was asking, he asked, "You know Zack? He's in Sweden or Switzerland or some place over in Europe now at some kind Peace Conference."
"He and I grew up together; he's one of my best friends. He's in Switzerland now, doing very well at the Conference last I heard from him."
"Cool," Dante said, his face brightening a little. Of course he didn't say that he and Zack were never THAT close but Billy didn't have to know that.
"So what do you want to call Megan?" Lance asked then turned to his wife and asked her,
"What do you want them to call you?"
Billy looked up from the table. "If it's ok, I'm fine with Meg or Megan as you requested. I'd prefer to be called Bill or William. Billy seems a bit... childish.
"You can call me Meg or Megan as I said. I hope my calling you Bill and you Alex is fine. I didn't expect you to call me mom, ever."
Billy smiled a bit...He and Zack were now related... funny how things worked. "Does Zack know of the marriage? This means he and I really are related now. I can't wait to tell him the news."
Lance shook his head, "Not unless Clayton has told him since yesterday." He turned to Dante, "Is Lance okay with you?" he asked.
The younger boy nodded and grinned, "its fine with me Pops."
Billy growled under his breath... he didn't like the flippant tone Dante took with his father, as if this was some game. Fortunately Meg beat him to it.
"Dante Fitzpatrick! Watch your tone with Lance. He's still your stepfather and my husband. You will respect him, am I clear?" She said in a tone that brooked no argument.
Dante looked abashedly at Lance and said, "Sorry Lance."
Lance just smiled, "That's okay. At least someone around here hasn't lost their sense of humor." Then turning back to all three boys. "As far as what we expect out of you, it's the same as always. Keep your grades up and keep out of trouble." He looked at Billy.
"And I expect you to show these two what to do in case of a monster attack."
"Will do, I wouldn't want anything to happen to my little brothers." Of course he really had very little idea of what to do in case of one except to run. After all, he was usually out there on the front lines fighting the blasted thing. "Now if I may be dismissed, I need to have a word with you about your "date" Alexander. "
"Not quite yet," Lance said. "We still have some other arrangements to work out. Meg and I have looked at another house." Seeing the concern in Billy's face, he said, "Not to worry, it's only a few blocks from here." He shrugged, "You'll be a little closer to Jason and a little farther from Kimberly." He grinned, "Which will probably make Tommy happy." He sighed, "There's plenty of room for everyone there, but until then, I think that maybe, Billy and Alex should share Billy's room and Dante can take the extra bedroom." He purposely avoided calling it the Guest Bedroom.
Billy arched an eyebrow... he didn't want to share his room. He really didn't; not even with Alex. It was going to make being a Ranger that much harder. "And how soon would this move take place?"
"As soon as we can close. Probably in a month or so," Lance told him. He grinned, "And there's a large extra building out back complete with water and electricity for your lab."
"Lab?" Dante asked. "You have a lab?"
"Yes... its one of my extracurricular activities." Billy caught the snarl that was threatening to mar his neutral demeanor. "I take it you bid on the house and are awaiting approval of the buy?"
Lance nodded, "Actually we have an option to back out, but we didn't want to lose such a large house. You know the really big one over on Crawford Street? The one with the pool?"
"Yes, its quite nice... I had no idea the former tenants had departed the premises. I wonder what made them move?" Billy drummed his fingers, his left hand finding that spot on the table without fail. He looked at his father with suspicion barely concealed, but said nothing else. "If you get the house, I'm sure it will be more than adequate for the family's needs"
Lance gave his son a careful look. He wasn't sure if Billy was retreating behind his walls again or not. He really didn't like seeing the boy hurting like this. He suspected that having to room with Alex as well as having his brother have a date with one of his friends was making him a little nervous. He smiled, "I'm glad you understand about this Bill. As long as it was just us, this house was fine, but with such a large family now, we need a bigger place." He grinned at his son and tossed out a comment he knew would get a smile, "Now you get a little taste of how Rocky must feel with his seven brothers and sisters."
"And I'm sure I'll adjust... after all it's only a temporary situation." Billy smiled, but not in the way that his father had hoped. It was a bitter smile, full of resignation about the situation.
"Well, if this discussion is over, I'd better make room for my brother."
Meg looked up with a smile...'Oh yes, your date... when do we get to meet the lucky girl Alex?"
Alex looked up at his step mom. He shrugged and looked over at Billy, "Oh well, in for a penny, in for a pound: Actually HIS name is Adam."
Billy did fall out of his chair that time. "WHAT!"
"Uh, yeah," Alex said. "He and I sort of hit it off after you and Jason went up to the cabin."
"How nice." Billy said as he looked like he was going to faint. "Do his parents know?"
"Actually yes, that's what was going on when you called. His parents took it quite well actually. His mom was still laughing since Adam was chasing Adrian around the living room for busting us."
"Busting you," Billy asked. "Just what happened?"
Alex nodded, 'Yeah, Adrian caught us kissing this morning and told his parents at the dinner table."
"Wait a minute?" Dante asked, "You're date is a GUY?"
"Adrian caught you kissing?" Billy asked.
Alex nodded and repeated, "Apparently he saw us kissing, and blew our cover... Adam looked like he was going to beat him senseless when he got his hands on the boy."
"Yeah, what about it?" Alex asked, all humor gone from his voice...
Dante shook his head and looked over at his mother, "That ain't right man."
"Why do you say that? Its not like you've never seen gay people, we did live in LA.," his mother asked.
"But I have to live with one. What are the brothers going to say?" He looked back and forth between Billy and Alex. "God made Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve."
Billy glared at Dante..."Watch it Dante... and you have to live with two." With that Billy left the table, slammed the door and went in search of Jason. Alex sat there with a nasty gleam in his eyes.
"Dante, I think you just made a very bad mistake. I don't know who died and made you king but the last time I checked you were still younger than us, new to this town and this home. I suggest you take some time and think about what you've said." Alex nodded to his father and took his leave of them.
Megan was furious...she hadn't taught her son to be so narrow-minded, and she would be damned if he was going to bring such disharmony to their new home.
"DANTE FITZPATRICK! Get your butt up to your room NOW, NOT A WORD... not one WORD."
Dante looked shocked at his mother but nodded, "Yes, ma'am."
Lance got up and looked over at Dante. "We'll talk later," he said and then headed out toward the front door to catch his son, "Bill, wait!" He called after him.
"No, I'm not going to wait. I will NOT BE SPOKEN TO LIKE THAT! Not in my own home... by a boy who doesn't know anything about the world."
"At least hear me out, Bill." Lance pleaded. "His reaction isn't mine. It's not Meg's either."
Billy rounded on him. "HOW dare he... that ... that child! First he speaks to you like you're his pal, not an adult or the man of the house then he starts with that religious bullshit. Thanks for marrying into such a wonderfully tolerant family!"
"Billy!" Lance said. "Wait a minute!" He stepped in front of his son. "Look, I wish you'd been able to tell me differently." He took a deep breath and blew it out toward his eyes, "Hell, I wish Alex would have been able to let me know differently, I know how hard on you this must be. But I love you. I support you." He looked down and then smiled, "I guess I sort of suspected anyway."
Billy swallowed his last comment with an audible click as his mouth snapped shut.
"Oh really? What did you suspect?"
Lance looked back at his son, "You, Jason," Lance looked over at him, "The way he looks at you when he thinks you're not looking. The way you two turn to each other." He shook his head, "It was just a matter of time before one of you made the first move." He chuckled and checked his watch. "Frank, Marjorie and I have been expecting this for quite a while."
Billy slid to the ground. "Well I've just won the award for most unobservant idiot of the century. How could I have missed it all this time?
Lance smiled and sat down next to his son, "Because sometimes we don't see what's right in front of us." He shrugged and put an arm around his son, "Because sometimes we are fighting so hard to see ourselves worthy of love, we don't realize we have it until it comes up and bites us on the nose." He chuckled and leaned over so that he was forehead to forehead with his son. "Adam and Alex huh? Now THAT was one I didn't see coming."
"Neither did I." Billy said as he stared at the ground, and hoped he could get up. He wanted to run to Jason and apologize for never noticing the looks, the obvious affection and the way in which Jason had treated him.
"Look, why don't you go in and see how Alex is holding up?" He got up to help his son to his feet. "Tell him I want to talk to him about..., about this, and everything else. Tell him I want to apologize, and tell him I can guarantee Megan doesn't feel like Dante." He raised and eyebrow, "As for Dante, I think it's time my stepson and I had a little man to man talk."
"Help me up please" Billy couldn't bring himself to stand. "Then may I go to Jason's? I need to talk to him."
Lance helped him to his feet. "If you feel you must, but I'd rather you go talk to Alex first. I think he needs it more right now."
"I know, I meant after Alex and I talk," Billy explained. "I'll talk to Alex and catch up with Jason later..."
Lance smiled, "Sure, you might want to warn Kimberly what to expect. Although I wouldn't be surprised if she didn't already suspect something was up too." He grinned at his son. "I take it, you and Jason "talked" at the cabin last night?"
"Yes, we did" Billy blushed again as they walked back to the house... "It was wonderful and beautiful dad. I love him, and I'll never ignore him again."
"Good," Lance told his son. "It's going to be okay, Billy. I promise, it's going to be okay." He stopped and thought for a moment and then a rather wicked smile came across his face. "You know something funny?"
"What's possibly funny about this?"
"Dante wants to be on the football team at AGHS. To do that, he's got to deal with the captain of the team, and that's?..." he suggested to his son in a conspiratorial voice.
"Jason," Billy said as he grinned evilly. "I'm going to enjoy this dad; I'm really going to enjoy the look on his face...when he find out my boyfriend is the captain of the team."
"I thought that might cheer you up some," Lance said. "Besides, give Dante some time. He may surprise you. I know his mother didn't raise him to be a bigot; it's just that this all is as big a change for him as it is for you, more maybe. Remember, he's used to being the man of the house, and now I sort of step in and he's suddenly the youngest of three sons."