A/N: chapter 3 is finally updated. There was a small part of Donnie meeting Hawk and Josh that for some reason had gotten deleted on the fanfiction version although it was left unharmed in my original text. It was a pretty cute scene so nobody is stopping you if you want to go back and read it…
To my guest reviewer; I'm honored that my stories can bring some light out there in the world, I hope I lived up to your expectations with this extra-long chapter.
Unfair punishment chapter 5
"I'm done." Donnie announced after what felt like an eternity and carefully stretched his hands to get rid of the ache in them from writing.
"Good job." Chris abandoned his own writing to come and quickly flip through Donnie's writing. "Looks good kiddo. How about a break before we continue talking?"
"Sounds great." Donnie smiled relieved.
"I thought we'd head down to the local park for a while and get some fresh air. If you grab your ball, we could even play a little."
"Are you sure?" Donnie asked suddenly unsure.
"What are you really asking Buddy?"
"It feels like a reward."
"If you are thinking about last night it's forgiven and forgotten about. I don't mind you learning your lesson, but your punishment is over and done with. And I would love to play the sport you love so much with you."
"Thanks."
"Come on." There was something in Chris's tone, almost sadness, but Donnie wasn't sure what to make of it so he filed it away to ponder about later.
-Unfair punishment-
Chris watched the kid run around the basketball court totally caught up in and radiating of joy for what he was doing. It was a side of Donnie Chris had gotten to see too little of lately and he knew that in large it was his own fault. The last few weeks had been busy and the time they had spent together wasn't what Chris would call quality time exactly. Donnie took off at a surprising speed towards the basket, dribbling the whole way and ending the sprint of with a perfect shot. The kid was good, there was no question about it.
"Chris." Donnie now whined. "Come on, you promised to play with me."
"I already did." When the kid gave him his best puppy eye look in answer Chris sighed but motioned for the ball. He wasn't as good as the kid, but he could at least give the kid a run for his money. Chris bounced the ball against the concrete, carefully keeping an eye on the kid that slowly crept closer. As soon as Donnie was within reach of the ball Chris dribbled and took off to the left, only to all of the sudden feel the absence of the ball and seeing Donnie throw a basket from the three-point line. Chris was going to fake grumble a little bit but couldn't find himself to do so when the kid turned towards him, the joy and pride was evident on his face.
"Good job" Chris ruffled his hair proudly when Donnie returned the ball to him.
"Thanks."
"Ten more minutes then we have to go if we want to evade the lunch crowds."
"Okay." There was a hint of disappointment evident on Donnie's face that disappeared as soon as Chris promised:
"We'll have to do this again soon."
"That would be great!"
"Come on, we have time for a couple more baskets." Chris quickly stole the ball from Donnie and headed towards the basket. Once a little closer Chris tried to make a basket but missed by several feet causing Donnie to laugh out loud and score a point with the rebound.
"Show-off!" Chris accused without any real heat.
"You can't blame me for you getting old." Donnie teased.
"Who are you calling old, huh?" Chris advanced on Donnie who tried to run but was too slow. Chris took a good hold of Donnie's hands and pinned him under his arm. With his free hand he then started tickling Donnie until he begged for mercy.
"Stop Chris! Chris! Chris seriously I've got to pee."
"Too bad." Chris let go of him. "We still have to get lunch on the way home."
"Where from?" Donnie wondered.
"I think I know the perfect place." Donnie followed Chris curiously as the later just motioned him along and once out of the park turned down a street Donnie hadn't noticed before. It wasn't long before the pair stopped in front of a small Italian restaurant.
"Ooohhh Italian food"
"Mouth-watering Italian food" Chris corrected him. "It's crazy good." Donnie believed him the second the aroma inside the restaurant hit him. It was a cosy, really small restaurant with exposed brick walls and Italian music playing lowly in the background. The whole place could seat about 20 people Donnie guessed, but it was currently empty except for a waiter deeply engrossed in whatever he was doing.
"How come you haven't told me about this place before?" Donnie asked accusingly causing Chris to shrug apologetically.
"I guess it hasn't come up in our conversations. It's not like I meant to keep it from you."
"Ciao!" The waitress greeted them with a smile without looking up from the note he was scribbling down. "Give me just one second and I'll be with you."
"Dylan?!" Donnie and Chris realized who their waitress was at the exact same time.
"Donnie, Chris. What a nice surprise. It's good to see you both."
"It's good to see you too." Chris replied a little shocked. Dylan made it around the countertop and approached the pair smiling. Chris didn't hesitate to draw the younger man into a hug. "I'm happy for you."
"Thankyou." Dylan answered smiling. "Joe's a pretty good boss and I'm thankful that he offered me a job here."
"He isn't the only one who sees your potential." Donnie turned around at the unexpected voice and smiled when he saw Hawk and Detective Collingwood, or Josh as he usually called him.
"Hi." Donnie greeted once Dylan had let go of his Godfather, having shot into the older man's arms immediately.
"Hi kiddo." Josh greeted kindly and ruffled his hair fondly. "How are you doing?" Donnie smiled appreciatively at him for making it sound like a regular question and not hinting about last night.
"I'm doing good, thanks."
"Good."
"Are you sure?" Hawk asked him seriously once Dylan had sprinted back to the kitchen for something.
"Yes sir."
"So no more late night adventures for you then?"
"No sir." Donnie blushed. "Chris made sure of that."
"Good. I had to ask you know." Donnie nodded; he did understand that Hawk felt protective against him.
"What is AJ doing?"
"Keeping Steven on his toes most likely."
"Sounds like him."
"What's going on with Steven?" Chris asked curiously.
"He busted his arm during a raid last week, got two weeks of sick leave."
"Give him my sympathies. I know how challenging teen boys can be." Chris winked at Donnie.
"Hey! I'm usually not that bad." Donnie protested.
"Well…" Chris smirked. Thankfully Dylan came back to take their orders right then before Donnie could reply. And once they got their food their conversation turned to the amazing food. Dylan even got the chance to sit and eat lunch with them for his lunch break, which Donnie was happy for.
"How is Sean? I haven't heard from him for a couple of days."
"He is good, but grounded, oh so grounded. That's probably why he hasn't called you."
"Sean is grounded?! What on earth could get Sean grounded?!" Donnie asked incredulously. Sean was never flippant towards his adoptive parents or teachers, he rarely ever got in trouble at all.
"Mr. Messy didn't pick up his room when asked so Nancy decided to ground him for three days."
"Oh." That Donnie still could believe.
"Apparently friends are more important" Dylan teased.
"Of course." Donnie agreed smiling. The rest of their lunch hour passed quickly and Donnie was sad to have to say goodbye to the trio. Between school and practice there hadn't been a lot of time to hang out with friends lately. And with those friends came all the grownups that he was lucky to have in his life.
-Unfair punishment-
"I know you'd rather not do this, but at some point, we'll have to, so we might as well get it done and over with before King gets here."
"Okay." Donnie sighed, but sat down on the couch and reached for the notepad. "Do you want me to read it or do you want to…?"
"How about I read it and meanwhile you can read mine." Chris proposed.
"Your…?" Donnie asked confused.
"I wrote down everything from my perspective. I thought it might make it easier for you to see why I reacted as I did."
"Really?"
"Really." Donnie curiously reached for the notepad Chris held out to him and gave his to Chris instead.
It sounded like any old case when we first got the call, except it wasn't and it was a small miracle that we were called in. The victim was Nate's age and clad in civilian clothes. There was nothing on him that let on to the world that he was in the Navy, and that scared me. I was in the middle of making a first impression when a movement in the corner of my eye got me to turn around. Of all the things I expected, seeing Donnie wasn't one of them. Not with a killer still loose in the area, an area well known for all kinds of trouble. I didn't waste any time to stalk over there and order Donnie to my car. He was far from happy with me and I knew it, but back then I couldn't explain, I only needed him to stay safe. When I dropped him off, he would barely look at me. That's where I made my first mistake, I left with him still angry with me. Back then it made sense to do so. After all I had a murderer that I was desperate to find. But looking back I should have followed him inside and sat down with him, made sure he understood why I had done what I did.
-Flashback ending-
Donnie stopped reading for a minute and threw a quick glance towards Chris who was deeply engrossed in reading his version of events. He wasn't sure how he felt about what Chris had written and was torn between old anger and understanding. Sighing deeply, he decided to keep reading:
-Flashback-
"You can't be serious!" Chris growled in the middle of the poor cop's sentence. Without a thought of the cop's briefing Chris took off after the bike he only had gotten a glimpse of. The bike he would recognize anywhere.
"Donovan!" Chris shouted when he turned the corner only to see the kid turn another corner. Chris nearly gave up the hope of catching him when he became aware of a car behind him.
"Jump in" King called through the open window and came to a screeching halt next to him. Chris jumped into the car and barely had time to slam the door shut when King sped off to follow Donnie.
"It's Donnie!" Chris tried to breathlessly explain.
"What is he doing here?" King asked surprised, only having seen Chris suddenly take off down the street.
"No idea. Especially since I forbid him from coming back here."
"Coming back?" King asked in a dangerous tone.
"I caught him here last week when I first saw the crime scene. I stuck him in my car and gave him a lift home with a few words of warning."
"There he is." King muttered gravely and flashed the car's blue lights before pulling over next to the pale looking kid. "You've got some explaining to do Donovan James."
"I'm sorry." Chris jumped out of the car and wordlessly grabbed a hold of Donnie's bike and put it in the trunk before taking a hold of Donnie and firmly leading him to the backseat of the car.
"Get in. We'll discuss this later."
"You don't understand. I…" Chris shushed him.
"We'll talk later once I've calmed down."
"King?" Donnie tried.
"Chris will handle this. You specifically defied him."
"Chris?" Donnie turned towards his pissed of brother.
"I said that we'll talk later." Chris answered firmly, clearly trying to keep a hold of his temper.
"But."
"Donovan." King intervened sternly causing Donnie to look wide eyed at him. "You both need time to calm down first before you talk." King continued in a softer tone. But King was wrong, the car ride back home to Donnie's didn't make it better. Neither did their shouting match that ended with Donnie feeling way worse than before.
"You aren't even listening!" Donnie accused Chris with blazing eyes.
"Neither are you."
"Well you are older!"
"And wiser. I know more about that place than you Donnie. There is no reason good enough for you to be there after I forbid you, which I did for your own safety."
"I was perfectly safe!"
"You don't know that!"
"I do!"
"I have to get back to work and this conversation isn't leading anywhere. You are grounded for a week. That's all you need to know right now."
"What?! That's not fair Chris!"
"Life isn't fair."
"That's bullshit!"
"Donovan." Donnie clamped his mouth shut at the warning. He was getting the distinct feeling that Chris was nearing the end of his patience fast.
"Still…" Donnie muttered angrily before it suddenly occurred to him: "Wait a sec, you can't do that, I have my first game on Saturday. I've spent months practicing for it."
"May be but you are still grounded."
"From the game?!" Donne asked not believing his ears. "You've got to be kidding me. Chris!"
"Maybe missing your game will teach you to listen."
"That's not fair and you know it."
"I'm doing what I can to keep you safe Donnie."
"And destroying my life in the process."
"Now that's not fair. Look you are grounded until this time next week, including the game and that's final. I'm sorry you are missing it but you brought this down on yourself. I think it's best that I leave before either of us say something we'll regret." Chris tried to pull Donnie into a hug but he refused, instead shrugging Chris's hand off and angrily stomping up the path to the front door.
"Donnie." Chris tried softer, but Donnie ignored him and slammed the front door shut with a loud bang behind him.
-Unfair punishment-
"I hate you" Donnie's voice hurt Chris more than he would ever admit and in the moment he was so shocked that he could only stand there and watch as Donnie ran out through his front door. As soon as he got his bearings back Chris rushed after him but when he made it out onto the street Donnie was long gone. Sighing he dialled James:
"Hi Chris."
"Donnie took off…could you please call me when he gets home?"
"Took off?!"
"Out through the front door. He doesn't want to speak to me James. He is too hurt and angry."
"He will still need to do that at some point. "James said firmly.
"He knows that too but I'm giving him a good night's sleep first if you don't mind."
"I'll make sure he is ready to listen to you tomorrow morning. You can talk over here. He can't exactly storm off from his own home."
"Thank you, James."
"Try to stay calm Chris. I'm sure he'll be home within the hour. I take it you haven't tried calling him?"
"No."
"I think that's for the best. I'll speak to him tonight, try to get him to open up a bit."
"Nate told me he hadn't talked to you either."
"He shut us out completely but I have a few cards up my sleeve if needed."
"That's good." Chris was unwilling to let go of the comfort he felt radiating through the phone from James. Hanging up the phone would mean having to think through what Donnie had said and deal with it.
"Take a deep breath Chris and try to not take it personally, Donnie has made a habit of running when he feels cornered. A habit which we need to break. Your methods or you being though on him has nothing to do with his response in this case. He would do it even if it weren't you."
"I know that in my head."
"But not your heart. I promise you Chris that Donnie taking off wasn't your fault. Please try to believe that. Donnie would be miserable if he knew that you are blaming yourself for something he did. Once he calms down, he'll regret doing it, then you'll talk and he'll apologize." James sounded so certain that some of Chris's fear left him.
"Thankyou."
"I'll call you when Donnie gets home."
Chris ended the call feeling a little better. He stared hesitantly at his phone for a moment before unlocking it and making another call:
"Hawk."
"Hi Hawk, sorry for interrupting."
"It's fine. Did you want something?"
"Are you patrolling tonight?"
"Yes, with Collingwood, how come?"
"Donnie just took off and I'm not certain but I have a feeling he might do something stupid tonight, could you keep an eye out?"
"Even better I'll put out a word. Any special place he might head to?"
"He is pissed with me because I grounded him from his basketball game so probably a basketball court somewhere."
"We'll make sure to double check all parks in the area." Hawk assured him calmly.
"Thank you."
"No problem."
"I'm sorry to bother you."
"As I said it isn't any problem. My godson is the ultimate runner so I know how you feel."
"How are you guys by the way?"
"We are all fine. I have to go Chris, but don't hesitate to call me if you need anything. And we'll keep our eyes out for Donnie tonight, I promise."
-Flashback ending-
Donnie took a moment to collect his thoughts once he finished reading Chris's viewpoint of the events.
"I'm sorry. I can't say I didn't mean to hurt you cause back then I did, but I'm sorry I did it."
"I accept your apology." Chris moved closer to Donnie on the couch. "Are you ready to talk about it now?" Donnie tentatively nodded his head.
"Good boy." Chris praised causing Donnie to smile. "I read your account of what happened very carefully and I'm happy that you chose to be honest with me about how you've been feeling. And yes, I can tell when you are telling me the truth even in writing. I think I owe you an apology as well. Not for the grounding, but for the way I handled it. I'm sorry that I didn't stay and talk to you properly."
"I didn't exactly give you a chance to do so." Donnie intervened.
"Maybe not but I should still have stayed and talked it out with you. It would have saved us both a lot of hurt and I'm sorry."
"It's okay."
"What do you think you could have done differently?"
"Not stormed off." Donnie shrugged. "And kept my mouth shut."
"Partly, yes." Chris agreed. "But I would also have liked you to use your mouth more. Do you know when?"
"When I shut you out."
"Exactly." Chris sighed. "This isn't the first time we have talked about that and you know I hate it when you do so. You can always talk to me about anything. I might not like everything you have to say or see it the same way as you do, but I think we can overcome just about any boulder in our way as long as we can talk to each other." Chris let Donnie think about it for a minute. "Do you agree?"
Donnie nodded a bit hesitantly.
"And then there are things that I could have done differently. As I said I should have stayed and talked to you. And I should have made sure that you felt like I listened to you." Chris paused making sure that Donnie was listening. "My main point is that both of us should have communicated more with each other. Do you agree?"
Donnie nodded again.
"I know it's hard to talk about Buddy, but I do want you to use your voice."
"I agree." It had suddenly gone from feeling okay to talk about to being incredibly hard again.
"Was there anything you learned from seeing it from my viewpoint?"
"That it was hard for you too." Donnie answered instantly.
"Do you know what I learned from yours?" Donnie shook his head as Chris threw an arm around him and drew him close to his side.
"That you are a lot more like me than either one of us have realized."
-Unfair punishment-
The knock that sounded in the small apartment was welcomed, but still made Donnie feel nervous all over again. Chris simply raised his eyebrows at him and nodded towards the door.
"No sympathies here kiddo. Go open the door before he breaks it." Donnie slowly made his way over to the door and took a deep breath before opening it.
"Hi." He greeted shyly and carefully eyed his mentor through his bangs.
"Hi there, kid."
"You seriously aren't mad?" King sighed and lowered himself to better be able to look him in the eye.
"When do I ever say something that I don't mean?"
"Never."
"Then try to have a little faith in me. No, I'm really not mad at you. I was angry and disappointed when I heard from Chris that you had put yourself in danger, but that anger is long gone now." King drew him into a tight hug that Donnie readily returned. "Hear me well though. If you ever put yourself in such danger again, I will come down harder on you than ever before and that's a promise." King finished off his speech with one firm swat to Donnie's still kind of sore behind. "So please don't do it again, for both of our sakes."
"I won't." Donnie promised and rubbed his stinging butt with one hand. He knew he despite the stinging swat had gotten of lightly and he was grateful for it.
"Can you now please stop looking at me like you expect me to haul you over my knee any second?" Donnie grinned at him relieved and leaned in for another tight hug. He loved King's hugs that for him seemed to have the power to squeeze all the broken pieces back together. "I brought dinner." King told Donnie with a smile once he let go. "With a special something for you."
"What?" King put down the bags of food on the countertop and rooted through one that seemed to be from a bakery.
"This." King handed him a box of some sort that Donnie curiously opened.
"Peach cobbler." He realized with a smile. "How did you…?"
"Chris told me you love peaches so it wasn't hard to guess." Donnie excitedly hugged King first and then Chris.
"Thankyou." He told both of them seriously.
"You are welcome. Real food first though."
"Okay." Donnie didn't bother arguing, he was after all happy simply to be spending the evening with the pair and told them so.
"Is that your way of telling us we haven't had time for you recently?" King asked him gently.
"No!" Donnie instantly denied but was met with twin dubious looks. "It's not! I was just saying that it's nice to spend time with you guys."
"And we are happy that you feel that way, but I still think that we have been a little too busy lately, wouldn't you say?"
Donnie shrugged and focused on his food. It wasn't teenage rebellion from lack of attention. It wasn't!
"Donnie?" King prompted.
"Maybe." Donnie finally amended.
"Good boy." King praised. "It's been really busy lately but you know that it goes in waves. The case is finished and until something new comes up we have some additional free time to spend with you, does that sound okay to you?"
"More than okay" Donnie smiled. "Although I feel like a spoiled brat for admitting that. I know that what you do is important."
"You couldn't be a spoiled brat if you tried." Chris snorted. "So no risk of that."
"It still feels wrong to whine about it."
"Asking isn't whining. You can always ask us to come by for a little while if you feel like you haven't seen us. And we'll try to get better at stopping by your place uninvited."
"You are never unwelcomed." Donnie protested. "Uninvited sounds like you are."
"I'm sorry for my choice of words." King apologized. "I only meant that Chris and I should stop by even if you don't ask us to. And I think we should be firmer about you checking in face to face with us."
"Okay."
"And speaking of spending time with us, how would you feel about spending Saturday with us?"
"Really?"
"The whole day." Chris confirmed smiling. "So what do you say?"
"I'd love to." Suddenly life didn't feel so grim after all for Donnie Williams.
A/N: I hope it feels good to you guys. I've had some struggles with it and I'm really self-conscious about the result so feedback is even more welcomed and hoped for than usually. Oh and the story won't end here, you all still don't know what Donnie was doing there and you never know, there might be a few more surprises along the way