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Duke Universe: Jake meets Gabrielle

Sorry this took so long!

Warnings: alcohol/alcoholism mentions, infidelity mentions

Gabrielle stared uncertainly at the restaurant doors and then took a deep breath, for once wishing that she was like her college roommate, Steph, and that she smoked cigarettes. It would be nice to have something to do with her hands. It would be nice to have a reason to stay outside another moment and put off what was inside.

Because her mother's new boyfriend was inside.

Well, new might not be the right word. The man who had almost been her father. The man her mother had always loved. Gabrielle used to hear bits and pieces of it, when her parents were at their drunkest. They'd never had a big blow out fight that Gabrielle could tell - it had always been snide comments, half slurred under their breath.

The marriage hadn't been a happy one and Gabrielle remembered whining when she was in middle school that she didn't know why her parents just didn't get divorced already. Two Christmases had to be better than whatever they were doing now. Despite that, it was strange to think of her mother dating and her father living in New Jersey. The day after she'd gone to college everything had imploded and Gabrielle was left wondering how it had ever caught her off-guard.

She took a deep breath and walked into the restaurant. It was fairly busy for being a Tuesday and it took a moment of scanning to catch sight of her mother's blonde hair, tied on the top of her head in her signature messy bun. Gabrielle walked over slowly, making sure she had time to look at the boyfriend and evaluate him before they were face to face. The boyfriend - Jake, she did know his name - was short and muscled, his black hair streaked through with grey. He was holding hands with Mom across the table and that was enough to make Gabrielle do a double take. She could count on one hand the amount of times her parents had even kissed in front of her. Holding hands was completely out of the question. The other thing that caught Gabrielle off-guard was that Mom was laughing. Her mother so rarely laughed that Gabrielle wanted to run into the sound and curl up inside of it, like she was a child again. Jake looked up and she met his warm brown eyes, feeling like he knew who she was before she was even introduced.

Mom turned her head and then jumped to her feet, grabbing Gabrielle into a hug.

"I'm so glad you came," Mom said into her ear. "Thank you. It means so much to me."

"Of course, Mom. I'm here for you." And, admittedly, her own morbid curiosity.

Mom put her arm around Gabrielle's shoulder. "This is Jake. Jake, this is my daughter, Gabrielle."

Unsure of what to do, Gabrielle gave him a little wave, but he smiled at her so brightly and reached for her hand, holding onto it, but not in a way that made Gabrielle feel trapped.

"It's so amazing to finally meet you. Rose never stops talking about how amazing you are."

"Thanks," Gabrielle said, taking the seat between her mother and Jake. She felt awkward but she also felt like she should say something. "She seems pretty happy with you. I like that."

Jake looked over at Mom, beaming, with such a look of adoration on his face that Gabrielle felt momentarily stunned. Was this what it was really like when two people loved one another? She looked over at her mother, who was staring at Jake with the same sappy expression. What would it have been like to grow up in a house like that? Gabrielle was hit with a pang of nostalgia for something she'd never had.

"All I want is for her to be happy," Jake murmured and then he focused on Gabrielle. "And for you to be happy too. I want is to be able to be friends. To be a family someday. I know I'm never going to be your father or anything and I don't want to try to be. I just hope we can be friends."

"I think I'd like that too," Gabrielle assured him, feeling something inside of her relax.

This was going to be a new beginning, she could tell.