28)
JR had wanted there to be a nice calm reunion, something that wouldn't be too emotional or too much for his mother. And, like everything else in his life he tried to prevent, it didn't do any good in the end as everything went all to hell despite his best attempts. And, so, here he was, standing on the threshold of the Martin family home, watching in stunned silence as his mother was completely enveloped in a swarm of family members, all crushing her as they sought to see if she was real.
He understood it; god knew he had done the same multiple times since he'd first gotten the chance to hold her without having to worry about frightening her. She'd always seemed so big, so larger than life and now she was smaller than him, something that was strange to him and his memories of reaching up to wrap his arms around her waist.
Considering the fact that he was about to dive into a seething mass of hypocrites, JR was violently thankful that the pain pills he had taken before getting there were kicking in, soothing the beginning ache in the injury that he really did need to get fixed. Grimacing and swearing under his breath, JR checked that the door was locked before setting Cady down at his side and heading forward, shoving his way between Opal and Ruth to seize his mother's arm.
She shot him a slightly amused look of relief as he stepped between her and the group, who had realized that she was out of their collective hold and turned to JR with varying levels of annoyance, hurt and offence. Still, he was thankful to finally spot the tall woman who was standing at Palmer's side, staring at his mother with wide eyes.
She'd heard it over the phone, heard the words but, like JR, the full realization that Dixie Cooney was alive was only now fully sinking into her mind. Kendall's eyes finally left his mother, shifted to his and there was something off there, a silent, almost hidden flicker that almost looked like guilt.
Later… he'd get her alone and get to really talk to her later…
"Look," he snapped, gesturing with one hand towards the group and then jerking his head back to his mother, "I have no idea how all of you got here but I don't really care. However, I do care about the fact that you could have stampeded her which would have pretty much made her happy return to Pine Valley and her family a waste of time…"
He paused for a moment, stopped, watching as Tad, leaning back in the couch, stood and strode to the kitchen, letting the door shut behind him and JR hesitated in his words, knowing he and his mother were the only ones who had seen him even get up. Later, he'd worry about Tad later.
"My mother is home but I'm not going to let you all rip her to pieces just so you can get happy she's back. It's a lot more complicated than any of you think and it's been a very stressful week or so for both of us." He gestured slightly to the herd, shrugging and looking irritated as he once again backed her up a step when Opal darted closer a step or two, looking giddy and slightly psychotic.
JR really didn't like the look, not at all.
His mother, on the other hand, was attempting to get past him, attempting to apparently let herself get squashed like a blonde bug in order to see the people that she knew but apparently didn't know. That had to be confusing for her and he sighed, rubbing the back of his neck and regarding the people who had once been his family.
Uncle Stuart and aunt Marian, standing shoulder to shoulder and studying Dixie with broad smiles; Joe and Ruth whispering together, eyes on the little blonde girl who was currently humming to herself as she glanced around the Martin home; Opal with that psychotic gleam in her gaze and uncle Palmer scowling although his eyes, on his niece, were warm; Petey staring at the foot of the stairs as if something truly marvelous had gone flouncing up there…
And there was Dad and his presence brought an odd sort of certainty to feel of the room around him. He'd never trusted his father, never trusted that his father really loved him, even though his father said he did and Stuart said he did and his mother said he did, even if he wasn't all that good at showing it to JR because of his own problems.
Adam had sent him to Switzerland, had told him to trust his own instincts because he should, because they were strong and they were powerful if only JR knew how to use them… his father cared, he did, and he hadn't done what he had done with Miranda—Bess, Bess, I don't care what they say, she'll always be my beautiful Bess—because he wanted to…
It was a stupid moment to be weak, it was, but there it was, a dulled sort of acceptance as he felt his mother at his back as a kind of lifeline and his eyes on his father, Brooke at his back. His father was there, the only one who had stuck by him through Babe and Jamie and what all had gone on…
Kendall and his father were the only two who had stood by him, the only two who had cared enough, loved him enough to stand at his side, try to help him, share any kind of warmth with him as he mourned Bess and his little boy in the nursery of a baby girl that wasn't his but still felt like it.
JR cleared his throat, releasing his hold on his mother and working to relax himself as the smallest sense of contentment settled over him, staring at his father in silence, for the first time since Babe's had showed her true colors that his eyes and his face were open for all to see his weaknesses.
His father loved him. No matter how much Adam might hate Dixie or his baby sister or anyone else, he loved JR, he loved his son and had proved it, proven it when he told JR to get on the plane and follow the instincts that were pounding that there was something there waiting for him… instincts he'd felt for years and never listened to because there was no point.
Adam loved him.
How many years had he been waiting to see that, waiting to feel it as more than a gut reaction? He'd loved his father, hated that he loved his father because Tad was the one who cared right, Tad was the father who actually loved him so how could he hurt Tad by loving the father who only saw him as a means to an end?
Tad loved his mother, Tad loved his sister and Tad loved Jamie but Tad didn't love him; clearly, painfully, he had just been a way to sock it to Adam, a way to get his mother, who was the only one he really wanted. It was a painful ache inside him as he continued to stare at his father, as his eyes shifted to the doorway to the kitchen.
Tad didn't love him but Adam did… hadn't he always been afraid of that, afraid that he was just a way to get to his mother…? His father loved him even though Tad never had… his father was the only one he needed now… Adam and mom were the only ones he needed now…
He felt sated, not happy or joyful but sated as he stepped back, let Opal rush forward, tears in her eyes as she wrapped arms around her beloved daughter-in-law and Dixie awkwardly returned the motion, patting the older woman on the back as she shot JR a slightly giddy, amused expression.
JR was barely aware of it as he stepped around the mass, meeting his father's gaze for long moments as he moved, silent and slow. It was just a look, just a glance as they peered at each other, sounds of the joyful reunion going on around them fading as they met each other's stare with extra strength.
Brooke's head was moving back and forth between them when JR paused at the door, hand on it and still before he pushed through and let it swing shut behind him. Brooke glanced at Adam, arching an eyebrow as she studied him with a cracker of meat and cheese half-way to his mouth, hand having froze when his son put all his focus on him. "What was all that about?"
"You wouldn't know…" he mumbled roughly, looking away from her to set the picked-at plate on the nearby table and then strode away from her, passing the reunion and heading up the stairs, passing by Amy Cohen as she came down, stopping to observe the group of crying and laughing people with wide eyes.
One second Amy was explaining about how that Laundromat hadn't turned out to be all that good a spot for her shop and the next moment, she had streaked downstairs, insisting that she was needed. Micaela had rolled her eyes, knowing it to be one of Amy's strange quirks before standing, straightening her clothes and pushing hair from her face before heading for the door, opening it to be confronted by an agitated-looking Adam Chandler.
Was this one of his quirks?
"Mr. Chandler…"
"Yes, yes, of course," he snapped in quiet irritation and slipped into the room, effectively edging her back in at the same time. She studied him with narrowed eyes, intrigued by the odd glitter in his gaze as he stared at her, checking the lock by reaching behind him with one hand, jiggling the knob of Amy's door.
A hint of disdain as he gestured slightly around at Amy's décor, lifting eyebrows in amusement at Micaela before moving past her, kicking at the beanbag with one foot and casting the young woman a slight grin. "This is truly a fine little room, really." His grin broadened, jerking a thumb at the violent blue coffee mug filled with pens and mechanical pencils, a notebook lying beneath it. "Is she twenty-two or two, really?"
She just glared and he chuckled, turning full attention to her and observing her with eyes that were slightly hazy with humor at her friend's sense of decorating. Granted, Amy really did tend to be rather ridiculous when it came to her interior designing but still, Micaela didn't like him laughing at her.
It must have showed, for he sighed, rolling his eyes and finally regarding her with more intensity. "Has anyone ever told you that you carry too much stress for a young woman your age, Ms. Kincaide?"
"Bite me."
"No thank you… I'm currently hoping to be biting my ex-wife within a few weeks so I'll have to pass you up on your wonderful offer." At her look, he grinned, arching an eyebrow in pleasure and apparent delight at her attempts to scare him off. He was even more annoying than his son and she glared at him, setting her hands on her hips and then hurriedly dropping them when the sight of her slipping into mother mode made him chuckle.
"I'm just here to visit a friend so don't get all pissy with me for being here."
"Why would I be at all irritated by your presence, Ms. Kincaide? This isn't my house; hell, I don't even like being here. In case you can't tell, the Martins' idea of interior decorating is just as bad, if not worse, than this excuse for an adult woman's bedroom." A moment of pause, a slight smirk. "I just have to wonder, do you decorate better than Ms. Cohen of the Mystic Wonders?"
"How did you—?" she caught sight of what he was looking at, the crystals that hung in front of the window, casting prisms of light as they turned slowly, twirling and casting off flashes of bright reds and greens and blues. "Yeah, well, Amy's never been ashamed of her ideas… it's good, really, but sometimes it's tiring when she starts on a tirade against male oppression in early Christianity."
Adam Chandler grinned, yet again, and it made her work to keep from responding in kind. "There's something you should know, Ms. Kincaide… about our deal concerning the club of yours…" He paused for dramatic effect for a moment before opening his mouth and starting, only to be interrupted by Martin's blonde brat.
"Grandpa!"
Joe, hot on her heels, had a split second to shake his head furiously and wave his arms before, with a happy, joyful shriek, Cady/Kate/whatever-her-name-was launched herself forward, locking her arms around a startled looking Adam Chandler's leg, sighing and beaming up at him.
Joe Martin looked like he would have happily committed murder and Micaela bit back a sudden urge to point at the two older men and giggle mercilessly… she was, however, able to remain calm and stood, staring in amusement as Joe Martin crossed into the room, bent and gathered Cady/Kate/whatever-her-name-was, holding her close, giving Adam Chandler a lightly dirty look.
"That's not grandpa," Joe told her but the child frowned before pointing at Adam Chandler and once again insisting that he was, indeed, grandpa. "No, sweetie." He caught her small hand, held it to the chest before smiling brightly at her. "I am your grandpa and Ruth is your grandma."
The child just looked at him like he was crazy before offering a brilliant grin to Adam who rolled his eyes, muttering something about martin's spawn. Joe, for his part, had noticed how close Adam was standing to Micaela and he narrowed his eyes with disgust. "Oh, Adam, wasn't Dixie young enough for you?"
Micaela wrinkled her nose, eying Adam, who seemed to be unable to even believe Joe's suggestion about what he was doing in an empty bedroom with a young woman. "Don't worry, Pops, I ain't gonna be seduced by Mr. All-I-Want-For-Christmas-Is-A-Flesh-And-Blood-Heir," she offered, stepping away from the muttering Chandler and closer to Joe, who she suddenly actually recognized. "You would be the man who's given Amy a place."
"She's a lovely girl, really."
"Yeah, she's annoying as Hell." Micaela grinned slightly, lifting her eyebrows as she nodded her chin towards the inside of Amy's new little home. "I just want you to know how thankful I am over what you offered her, especially after that maniac went after her at the Pine Cone. And, may I ask, have the dork police in this town found the said maniac yet?"
"Not enough," the elderly man offered sadly and Micaela sighed, expecting as much.
"You really think I'd go after a woman this young!"
Both Kincaide and Martin ignored Adam, continuing their chat as Cady/Kate/whatever-her-name-was fought to get down. With a pained noise, he let her down, and she offered a wave and shriek of "bye-bye Grandpa!" before heading back down the stairs to the reunion.
Joe sighed, hanging his head in the quiet pain of not being accepted as the loved and beloved 'grandpa'. Micaela patted his arm in comfort, leading him out of the room. A few minutes later, Adam followed, not yet giving up announcing his news to Kincaide only to be dragged out of the Martin house by Brooke.
He hated family reunions, seriously… they always interfered with his precious plans.
Ruth hadn't cooked the food that was now sitting out in the living room but she had cooked breakfast earlier and Tad could smell it as he stared down at the counter beneath his palms. He studied it more intently, something he could focus on other than the woman out there who hated him.
Well, not yet… but she would, right?
Tad cleared his throat, letting out his breath as a sigh, focusing more forcefully on the table beneath his hands, something that would never hate him. Well, not unless he went after it with a buzz saw or something else like a buzz saw or something like that but even then, tables don't exactly hate, right?
No, as far as Tad knew, very few inanimate objects tended to hate people.
He jerked when the door swung in, JR stalking in and pinning Tad with a chilly look. Once again, it was clear without words that Tad meant nothing to him, not anymore and he eyed Adam Chandler's son quietly, who simply stared back with a shuttered gaze. No trust there, nothing other than a careful blankness that held nothing.
"What, you're hiding in here while your ex is out there being stampeded by obsessive family members?" Finally, there was an emotion there and it was irritation and anger, a perfect mix and it was like another blow to him, something that threatened to make him break.
"I'm thinking."
JR cocked an eyebrow, regarding him silently for a few minutes. Tad could just imagine what he was thinking right now, seeing the man who loved Dixie sooooo much in the kitchen, bitching silently about something or other. Didn't fit the profile of someone who loved Dixie the way he said he did and always would right?
Nothing really clicked anymore and he remembered how many times he had sat out there in the living room, playing with the puzzle with Joe while Ruth fussed over him. He remembered thinking that he wanted to complain about the spoiling except he hadn't wanted to… it was going to end soon anyway because things like that always did.
It hadn't ended; Joe and Ruth hadn't kicked him out on his Keister when they got tired of him. Tad looked away from Dixie's son, staring down at his hands for long moments, considering. "You're a Pin right, Martin—"
Lord, he sounded just like Adam, didn't he?
"—so why don't you do what you get paid or and ask a few questions for me, huh?"
Sounded just like Adam, looked like Adam as he stood there, head cocked and eyes frozen, in the stance and the way he spoke. Still, it was something to focus on other than his ex that—hey, happy day, by the way!—was standing right in the next room and the child he wanted to pick up and hug and never let go of because what if he lost her again, right? "What kind of questions?"
Silence and he didn't look up again, didn't want to, proud as he was of how mellow his voice had been when he had responded. "How about the fact that my mother has spent the last years thinking that was nearly killed in a car accident and had her face changed. However, there isn't a single fracture or break that I can see in her x-rays and, as you can no doubt see, there isn't any real difference in her face."
He heard the door swing, heard him vanish again and continued to stare down at the counter because it really was so very fascinating, you know? He could hear the talking and voices, hear the female child's shriek for 'Grandpa' and, swallowing, he left through the back door, fleeing to cower in whatever empty place he could find.
Vivianne James, sitting in the rental car provided by JR Chandler, studied the file on Janine Benson. There were quite a few things interesting about Janine Benson and she sat with her feet propped up on the dashboard, eyes scanning history and accomplishments, of which there were many.
She had qualified herself at an early age, escaping from an abusive father. Her brother had been arrested several times for drunk and disorderly conduct, one or two DUIs, and a few public intoxications just to even it all out. He looked like a real sweetie, she noted with a quiet amusement.
Thoughtfully, she shut the file, set it aside and selected another one, flipping it open and riffling through papers with actual interest. She found herself looking into public and medical records with a true fascination. She had done her job, gotten Dixie Cooney and Cady/Kate home where they were supposed to be but it seemed JR Chandler had the same thoughts she was having.
There was a period where, for all intents and purposes Dixie Cooney and baby Cooney had been no where but, of course, there was no such place as 'nowhere'. The first thing Vi had learned in her job was that everyone was somewhere and this, she knew, was no different.
So the question remained and it remained with a new job from JR Chandler and a very nice bonus. And the question was, of course, where was Dixie Cooney and her infant, premature daughter for nearly a week before getting to the hospital with baby Kate fine and dandy and completely healthy?
And why the Hell would they make her think she had changed her face when she hadn't?