"So, is your plan to be a stay-at-home father now, Boone?" Sabrina asked, looking at him in a slightly disapproving way. She was trying to hide it but she was so used to being direct that she's lost her touch at subtlety.
"Yeah, I think that's pretty much me set now," Boone replied. Maybe if he had sugar-coated that a little he wouldn't earn himself such a big lecture. No, Sabrina had probably been practising put-downs that sounded supportive all the way over in the car.
"You're just never going to work again?" she pressed.
"Mom, people work to get money. We have money. And we don't want our child raised by somebody else so I think this is a pretty good option personally," Boone explained calmly.
Sabrina didn't look pleased, but Boone guessed that was due more to his subtle allusion to his many childhood nannies than to the fact that he clearly had a point. She turned her attention to Jack. "And when are you planning to start back at the hospital?" she asked.
"Oh, I'm not sure yet. They're being pretty open with it but I think they'd prefer I return sooner rather than later," Jack explained.
"Best not to get out of practice I suppose," Sabrina suggested.
"Mom, he spent two and a half years on an island and that didn't put him out of practice, did it?" Boone stated. Sabrina was less subtle with her glare this time. "And you're making us sound like idiots for wanting to spend time with our child."
"Boone, you know that's not what I meant," Sabrina replied, trying to sound level. "And you know I've been more than a little supportive about things since you came back. And I'm glad to have you back and I'm happy for everything you have. I just want to make sure that you're making the right choices in life."
Boone rolled his eyes a little. He couldn't help it. He knew Sabrina meant well, in her own special way, but she was just coming off as irritating right now. And Boone was tired and so not in the mood. "I'm making different choices than you made, mom, that doesn't make them wrong."
"I suppose you have a point there," Sabrina allowed.
"Shannon stays at home with Zara all day, she gets along just fine," Boone pointed out.
"Yes, but that's Shannon, the girl's never had a job in her life," Sabrina stated.
Boone would have argued but technically it was true so there didn't seem like much point. "I'm happy, okay?" he said. "That should be what you want."
"That is what I want," Sabrina agreed.
"Then everyone's happy," Boone asserted.
Sabrina nodded a little and then the conversation died. She looked down at Noah in her arms as if she wasn't quite sure what to do with him. Boone almost felt sorry for her. She then looked back over at Jack. "It's very good of the hospital to be so understanding about things."
"Yeah, they're being pretty good about it. I think some of them are still a little wary of me since I came back to be honest so it wasn't really such a big deal," he replied somewhat distantly and Boone noticed that he was staring at the way Sabrina was holding Noah the whole time he was talking. "Do you want me to take him?" he asked.
"What?" Sabrina asked, clearly not following.
"Noah," Jack explained. "Do you want me to..." he stopped and decided, wisely Boone thought, to rephrase himself. "I think I might try and put him down for a nap."
"Oh, right," Sabrina said, unceremoniously holding Noah towards him. Jack quickly got up and took Noah out of her arms, cradling him gently.
"I'll be back in a minute," Jack said as he headed out of the room with Noah.
"He's good with him," Sabrina stated after he'd left the room.
"Yeah, Jack's the biggest natural around," Boone agreed. "And I mean at everything. Surely everyone should be bad at at least one thing."
"I'm sure he has his faults," Sabrina commented.
"I can't really see any," Boone continued.
"Love does that to you," Sabrina replied. "Things start to shine through after a while though."
Boone wasn't really sure what to make of that comment. Was Sabrina expecting them to fall out of love? It wasn't like that with him and Jack, it's not like he was some loved up teenager. This was an adult relationship and sure they had their problems but they worked through them, there was no way this was falling apart. There was no way Boone was letting this fall apart. And okay, him and Jack were a little stressed out right now what with adjusting to parenthood and all but once things settled down again they were in it for the long haul.
"You know that your job's still open for you, don't you?" Sabrina asked. "Strictly speaking Harry's been working the position for the past three years but if you wanted to come back I can always demote him."
"No, mom, please don't demote Harry," Boone replied, a little amused. "You know how I feel about that job. I'm happier staying here."
"Did you always hate the job?" Sabrina asked him. Boone noted that she didn't seem quite so upset by the prospect, more regretful, which was a huge step up from when he first told her he was handing in his resignation. Furious would have been an understatement.
"No, I don't think so," Boone admitted. "I don't think it was about hating the job, it was about never knowing what else I could do, never feeling like I had the option to find out. I felt a little stuck I guess. I think I kind of resented the position."
Sabrina nodded. "You could have turned the job down," she suggested.
"No I couldn't and you know that," he replied. "And I don't just mean because I felt forced into it. There was the whole money, status, girls thing going on too."
"Girls?" Sabrina asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Mainly," Boone shrugged and suddenly wondered where Jack had gotten to. He fleetingly thought that Noah might be causing him some trouble but he couldn't hear any crying. Which meant that Jack was just staring at him again. Sure Boone did his fair share of watching Noah sleep too, it was pretty soothing to get lost just looking at him, but Jack never took his eyes off the kid, like something terrible would happen the second he left the room or closed his eyes. And Boone knew why Jack did that, he clearly had some residual issues left over from what happened with Kimberley, but it was starting to get less cute everyday.
"How old were you when you realised you liked boys as well as girls?" Sabrina asked.
Boone looked at her, not sure he heard right. "What?"
"When you realised you were bisexual," Sabrina clarified. "How old were you?"
"Mom, I really don't think..." Boone began.
"It's a simple enough question, Boone," Sabrina cut in. "And there's really no reason to be embarrassed about it."
Right, of course not, except that he was talking about his sexual preference with his mother who never once asked him how a date had gone, unless it was of some benefit to her company.
"I don't know," Boone admitted. "I never really had a revelation that boys could be attractive too. I think the revelation was actually that most people only liked one sex."
"How old were you when you had your first boyfriend?" Sabrina asked and Boone kind of wished he was dead.
"Mom, why are you asking all this stuff now?"
"Because I have the chance. And I'm interested. I would have thought you'd be pleased that I was taking an interest," Sabrina stated, clearly not getting how this conversation might be making Boone feel uncomfortable.
"Okay, fine, but can't you take an interest in the house or Noah or Jack or something that doesn't involve sex," Boone requested.
"Your relationship with Jack doesn't involve sex?" she asked in a way that was rather reminiscent of Shannon he couldn't help but notice.
Boone rolled his eyes. "Not lately."
Sabrina looked almost concerned but Boone threw her a look that made her back off. "So when was your first boyfriend?" she pressed.
"Okay, I made out with a couple of guys in high school but I didn't have a proper boyfriend until college, happy?" Boone replied.
"Is that why you and Sapphire broke up?" Sabrina asked.
"No, mom, that was something else," Boone explained, getting irritated. "Rob wasn't until after that summer."
"So after you broke up with Sapphire you went out and got a boyfriend?" Sabrina surmised.
"It's not like I got my heart broken by a pretty girl and started going after boys instead," Boone stated. "Weren't you paying attention to the high school part?"
"Okay, fair enough," Sabrina replied.
"Now, can we please drop this?" Boone requested.
Sabrina nodded and busied herself adjusting the rings on her fingers. Boone guessed that the mini-interrogation was actually her trying to be a good mother but he had to admit that she wasn't really very good at it. He hoped his bonding with Noah wasn't going to be this awkward. But he had a head start on Sabrina in those stakes, like a twenty-eight year head start, so he guessed he'd be okay. And he was going to spend everyday getting to know the little guy as he grew up and found out who he was and Boone couldn't wait to find out right along side him. He kind of wished he had someone to find out who he was with back when he was a kid, maybe he wouldn't be so damn confused about everything right now if he had. But he had Jack who always encouraged him to have a sense of self and being with Noah made him feel like he had an identity too, like he mattered, like he made a difference in the world. So Boone was doing things a little late in life. Better late than never, right?