Getting to know you
After watching episode 7600 and realising that we probably won't be getting any conversations like this on the show, I was inspired to write this one-shot.
After the events of episode 7574…
Chris returned from work to find Lucy feeding Anne. Despite it being a regular sight for him, he still smiled at the thought that this was his life now.
"Hey" Chris greeted, "How's your day been?"
Lucy sighed as she finished feeding Anne, "For me, pretty uneventful" she replied, "For my brother, however, that's a different story"
"Oh yeah? I'm guessing this is about Paul" Chris began, and Lucy nodded, "What's he done now?"
"Well, he's just found out that he has twin sons" Lucy revealed
Chris was astounded, "Are you serious? That's crazy!"
"I know" Lucy agreed, "It turns out that he slept with Scott's ex-girlfriend back in the mid-80's, and her sons recently went to Erinsborough to find him"
"Oh, that's low, even for Paul" Chris replied, then shook his head, "Wait, what am I saying?"
Lucy sniggered, "Well, he sounded pretty overwhelmed when he called me earlier"
"Is that really a surprise?" Chris questioned, "To find out after 30 years that your brother's ex-girlfriend had your children, that's enough to make even the sanest person freak out"
"Well, after everything Paul's been through, I kind of expected him to be un-shockable" Lucy remarked, "Especially as it seems like he has long-lost children showing up every few years anyway"
"It's strange to think that he and Gail had to resort to IVF to have kids in the first place, but now he has them popping up all the time" Chris pointed out
Lucy scoffed, "Well, fortunately we won't end up like that"
Chris snorted as he held his hands out for his daughter, "Yeah, no chance of me knocking up anyone else"
"I knew there would be an up-side to you being my baby-daddy" Lucy joked as she passed Anne to him
Chris chuckled and happily embraced Anne, "So, did Paul tell you much about these guys?"
"Yeah, their names are David and Leo Tanaka" Lucy began, "David's a doctor, and Leo is actually one of Paul's business rivals"
"Ah, that's awkward" Chris mumbled
Lucy nodded, "Yeah, they didn't get along very well before they knew they were related" she began, "It's even worse now, especially since Leo and Amy had started dating when they found out they were brother and sister"
Chris was shocked, "Wow, I can't even imagine what that would be like"
"I can" Lucy muttered, "Anyway, Leo doesn't really want anything to do with him right now, so Paul's focusing on getting to know David instead"
"And how's that going?" Chris asked
"They haven't had much of a chance to talk properly yet" Lucy began, "But Paul says he's a nice guy, smart, sensitive and caring"
"Woah, are you sure he's Paul's son?" Chris laughed
Lucy chuckled, "That's kind of what I thought when he told me" she replied before looking thoughtful, "Actually, Paul kind of suspects that David might be struggling with his sexuality"
"Really?" Chris questioned sympathetically, "That's rough, especially in your thirties"
Lucy nodded, "Do you think your dad suspected it about you, when you were younger?"
Chris shrugged, "Not really, I think dad had this idea of who I was supposed to be and didn't want anything to get in the way of that, so he wouldn't let himself suspect it" he mused
"I'm sorry" Lucy apologised sadly
"Don't be, we're past that now" Chris replied dismissively, "Anyway, mum said that she always knew deep down, so maybe Paul should trust his gut"
Lucy nodded, "Yeah, he said he noticed something between him and Aaron but he doesn't want to force the subject"
Chris nodded in understanding before looking puzzled, "Hang on, who's Aaron?"
"Oh, he's Mark Brennan's brother, apparently" Lucy replied
Chris looked surprised, "Oh, Mark never mentioned having a gay brother, or any brothers for that matter"
Lucy shrugged, "Well, he's a man of mystery, a hot man of mystery"
Chris looked offended, "Hey, I thought I was the only man for you" he whined
Lucy stood up to join them, "Always" she smirked as she gazed at her perfect little family.
xxx
After the events of 7581…
There was a lingering pause as David finished his drink. Sitting opposite Paul in The Waterhole, David enjoyed the comfortable silence. Although things had been awkward between them at first, they had bonded very quickly and fell quite easily into a friendly relationship. Growing up, David had hoped that everything would magically fall into place once he had met his father, but knew that it wouldn't really be that simple. Despite not expecting ruthless businessman Paul Robinson to be his father, David now wouldn't have it any other way. Paul had embraced his role and had surprised him with things that he had said and done. He just wished that Leo could accept him, but understood why he couldn't.
David was pulled out of his reverie by Paul's phone beeping. Paul smiled sheepishly in apology before picking it up.
David noticed Paul's smile change to an affectionate one as he looked at his phone, "Good news?"
Paul glanced up at him, "Uh, not exactly" he replied slowly, "It's just my sister, Lucy, she sent me a new photo of her daughter, your cousin"
David sat up in interest and Paul handed his phone to him, "Her name's Anne"
David looked at the photo and realised why Paul was smiling: the girl was beautiful, "How old is she?"
Paul did the maths, "About 18 months, I think"
David passed the phone back, "Well, she's gorgeous"
Paul shrugged, "Obviously, she takes after her mother"
David chuckled, "Do they live nearby?"
Paul shook his head, "No, in New York, actually"
"Wow, do you get to see each other much?" David asked
"From time to time" Paul shrugged, "Lucy runs Lassiter's in New York, and she sometimes visits to sort out the messes I've made here"
"I don't think that's true" David laughed
"You obviously don't know me well enough then" Paul joked
"Well, I'm looking forward to learning more about you" David replied
Paul smiled at him thoughtfully, "Same here" he murmured before clearing his throat, "But I haven't seen them for a while, it would be great if they could visit again and meet you guys"
David's heart leapt at the idea, "I'd love that" he responded before looking curious, "Wait, so the rest of your family know about us?"
Paul nodded, "Pretty much, they were all surprised at first, but they're also happy to welcome you guys to the family"
"That's great, and hopefully I'll get to meet them all someday" he replied happily before thinking to himself, "Though Lucy has an infant to look after and a business to run, so finding the time for her to visit might be difficult"
Paul shrugged, "Well, Chris usually covers things for her at the hotel if he has to"
"Sorry, who's Chris?" David asked in confusion
"Oh, Chris Pappas, he's Anne's dad" Paul replied before studying him, "Actually, you know, he should come back here too. He plays for your team and I think you guys would hit it off"
David was puzzled for a few moments before he caught on to what Paul was suggesting, "Hang on, if he's my cousin's dad, doesn't that make him my uncle?"
Paul considered this, "Well, he's not genetically related to me, nor married to Lucy – obviously – so, you're not related if you don't want to be"
David grimaced, "It would still be a bit weird, considering everything going on with Amy and Leo" he pointed out, "Besides, it says something about the gay community if I'm dating someone I'm technically related to"
"Ah, yeah, I see what you mean" Paul muttered.
David leaned forwards slightly, "But, just out of curiosity" he began, feigning nonchalance, "What's he like?"
Paul sniggered, "He's great, a really lovely guy" he replied, "I mean, he'd have to be for my sister to want to have a child with him"
David nodded in understanding, "So, did he come out whilst he was with Lucy?"
Paul shook his head, "Oh no, he was never with Lucy" he explained, "She knew he was gay when she met him, that's why they agreed to have a child together. Chris thought it would be his only chance to be a dad"
David was still slightly lost, so Paul continued, "Chris came out years ago, back when he was in high school" he explained, "He actually developed a crush on your half-brother, Andrew, which is why he came out in the first place"
"Wow, you Robinson's sure are irresistible, aren't you?" David joked
"I'd like to think so" Paul replied casually, "And you're technically a Robison as well, so you'd better take advantage of those genes"
There was a part of David that liked Paul referring to him as a Robinson, because it made him feel like part of the family. But he also felt slightly uncomfortable, considering that he had lived his entire life as a Tanaka. Now that David had turned a corner in his life, perhaps it was a good idea for him to embrace his new surname and leave his borrowed surname in the past, with his old life.
xxx
Sometime during episode 7599...
Chris was annoyed by his mobile phone ringing whilst he was trying to eat his supper. Everyone who knew him was aware that they should never interrupt him during a meal. He rolled his eyes and glanced at his mobile, and was surprised to see that Paul was calling him. Paul didn't contact him very often, which roused Chris' suspicions as he wondered what reasons Paul could possibly have to call him at this very moment.
Lucy noticed Chris' frown, "Who is it?"
Chris glanced up at her and showed her the caller ID, "It's Paul"
"Why would he be calling you?" Lucy asked, equally as confused
"No idea" Chris shrugged as he accepted the call, "Uh, hello Paul" he greeted uncertainly
"Ah, Freckles, glad I caught you" Paul answered, "I hope I'm not interrupting anything"
"Just dinner" Chris replied flatly
"Oh, sorry" Paul responded, not sounding at all apologetic, "Hang on, isn't it nearly midnight over there? It's a bit late to be eating, isn't it?"
"We've only just managed to get Anne to sleep" Chris explained, "Besides, why are you calling me so late?"
"There's something I wanted to ask you" Paul replied
"Is this business-related?" Chris asked, "Because you'd be better asking Lucy"
"No, it's not" Paul responded, "No offence, but I wouldn't have called you to talk business"
"Yeah, good point" Chris murmured, "So, what do you want to know?"
"It's about one of your exes" Paul began, "Will Dampier, do you remember him?"
Chris certainly did remember Will, but not for particularly good reasons, "The nurse? Yeah, I remember him, why?"
"Well, I think he's been making inappropriate advances towards David" Paul continued, "Sheila spoke to me earlier and told me that Aaron said that Will was flirting with him"
Chris wasn't surprised to hear 'Will' and 'flirting' in the same sentence, "Well, I wasn't there so I don't know what happened"
"I know you weren't there" Paul sighed, "But Sheila mentioned that you dated Will briefly, so I wanted to get your views on the guy"
Chris thought about this, "He's not a bad guy, otherwise I wouldn't have given him the time of day" he began, "But he is very forward and can be pretty defensive if he feels strongly about something"
"To be honest, I know quite a few people like that" Paul muttered, "And Sheila told me about the 'dog' thing"
"Yeah, that's what I meant by 'defensive'" Chris explained, "I still feel guilty about letting Bossy anywhere near Napoleon, especially since Will didn't seem to care"
"Well, I don't think canines are the issue here" Paul mused, "It's more about Will's bedside manner"
Chris smirked, "He's a decent nurse, but he does need a reminder about boundaries" he continued, "I was in a pretty difficult place back then, and there were a lot of things that I could have done differently, but Will should have been more professional"
"What do you mean?" Paul asked
"Well, it was probably my fault but it kind of felt like he was putting pressure on me" Chris admitted, "He knew I was in a relationship with Hudson, but he kept reiterating how he felt about me, which just made me feel guilty about what was going on, even though I wasn't really doing anything wrong"
"Oh, so he manipulated you?" Paul questioned in exasperation
"No, not really. And even if he did, he definitely didn't do it on purpose" Chris rushed to clarify, "Look, it's hard to explain, my situation was pretty complicated. What do you know about this thing with Will and David?"
"Not much" Paul replied, "Just that Will was buying him coffee and flirting quite a lot, and Sheila mentioned that he was a bit of a player"
Chris considered this, "Do you know if David's interested in him?"
"No, I have no idea" Paul responded, "They did know each other before this, because they've crossed paths during work, but David's been pretty besotted with Aaron since before he even came out"
"So, he's probably not even considered dating Will" Chris speculated
"Or anyone, really" Paul added
"Well, I wouldn't really want Will to be the first guy that my child dated" Chris admitted
"By the sounds of it, I wouldn't want him to date my child, full-stop" Paul remarked
"Look, I don't want to bad-mouth Will, because I did like him" Chris began slowly, "But if you're worried, you should do something about it"
Paul nodded in agreement, "Yeah, I will, thanks" he murmured, "Anyway, I'll let you get back to your food, or who knows what might happen?"
"Oh, you don't want to know, trust me" Chris chuckled, "I'm glad I could help, and give David our best wishes"
"I will" Paul replied, "Give Lucy and Anne my love, will you?"
"Yeah, will do" Chris responded, "Talk soon, maybe"
"Maybe" Paul chuckled, "Goodnight, Freckles"
"Goodnight, Moneybags" Chris quipped before hanging up
Lucy blinked at him, "Ok, so from what I gathered, Paul was asking you about one of your exes?"
Chris nodded, "It's a long story, and I'm now kind of worried that I might have made things worse"
"Well, if Paul has to ask for help, things are already bad" Lucy joked, "You probably couldn't have made it much worse"
Chris pulled a face, "I hope you're right"
"I always am" Lucy replied smugly, which reassured Chris slightly as he finished his meal.
Thanks for reading! Like I said, I was randomly inspired to write this recently, so I hope you all enjoyed it. To the 'Guest' who requested a Chris and David one-shot: it's still a work in progress at the moment, since I've had to make a lot of changes to it, but I am working on it. As always, if anyone has any ideas for one-shots, then please let me know. In the meantime, reviews are always welcome!