This chapter is set the day after the previous one.


Chris was thrilled to see his parents. It had barely been two months since he had left but it felt like a lifetime had passed. They had spoken on the phone regularly since then, but to talk to them in person was even better. As promised, George and Patricia brought over the last of Chris' items from home as well as some meals that they could freeze and eat later, which Chris practically jumped for joy about.

Lucy was uncharacteristically nervous about meeting Chris' parents. Although they had learnt a fair amount about each other over the past few months, finally meeting in person was a big deal. George and Patricia were going to be Anne's grandparents, and they were the closest Lucy was going to get to having her own parents around.

Prior to their arrival, Lucy had been rushing around her home, dusting the whole place obsessively. Chris had watched her with a combination of amusement and confusion on his face.

"Is this part of the pregnancy?" he eventually asked, "The sudden desire to clean?"

Lucy shook her head, "No, I just want this place to look good for your parents"

Chris chuckled, "They're not going to care" he assured her, "It's not like they're going to give us marks out of ten for cleanliness or anything"

Lucy shrugged, "They must have standards" she pointed out

Chris snorted, "They raised me, remember?"

Lucy glanced at him, "Ah, I see what you mean" she replied as she stopped dusting.

Just as Chris predicted, his parents were uninterested in the cleanliness of their son's new home. Instead, they were just concerned with his happiness and how he had settled into his life in New York. They were thrilled to finally meet Lucy in person and promised to do whatever they could to help both of them now and in the future.

Chris was more excited than nervous about his parents meeting Jem, and the interaction was pleasant enough. George and Patricia asked Jem an almost overwhelming number of questions, and Chris waited with bated breath in the hope that none of the questions would sound offensive: he knew that his parents would never intend to offend anyone, but since Jem's background was quite intense and complicated, they needed to tread lightly and be sensitive in the questions that they asked. Fortunately, Jem answered all of their questions politely and asked them nearly as many as they had asked him in return, because he was genuinely interested in getting to know his boyfriend's parents and he doubted that he would see them that often to talk to them much more.

After their evening meal, Jem offered to help Lucy clear the table and wash up, leaving Chris alone with his parents.

"So, are you happy here?" his mum asked at the earliest opportunity

Chris laughed, "I'm more than happy, I thought that was obvious"

Patricia nodded, "I was just making sure" she replied, "And now that you're staying here for good, we just want to know that you're ok"

"I am" Chris assured them

"Well you've made a good life for yourself here" George pointed out, "You and Lucy seem to be well-prepared for the baby, you've got some good friends here and a steady job so we-"

"And don't forget Jem" Chris interjected, "He's been incredible during this whole thing"

Chris noticed his parents glancing away uncomfortably and was confused, "What are those looks for?"

Patricia sighed, "As lovely as Jem is, we're not sure he's the kind of guy that you should be with, at least not right now"

"What are you talking about?" Chris asked in confusion, "He's amazing, why shouldn't I be with him?"

"Because he's in a wheelchair and he-" George began

Chris was outraged, "Wow, really?" he snapped, "You're really judging him based on a disability? Do you realise how horrible that is?"

"No, let me finish" George insisted, "His brother has Asperger's Syndrome and-"

Chris rolled his eyes, "And now you're judging Jem based on his brother's condition, that's so much better" he muttered

"Christos, that's not what I meant" George assured him, "Jem's a carer for his brother, he runs his own business and he's got a lot of baggage which we don't think you should be dealing with right now"

Chris let out a deep breath, "Well I appreciate your honesty, even if you do sound completely disablist" he began, "But Jem and I are happy together, we care about each other and I want to be with him no matter what anyone else thinks"

George and Patricia shared a look, "In that case, we're happy for you" Patricia replied

Chris was taken aback, "Really?" he questioned

Patricia nodded, "All we want is for you to be happy, and if this all makes you happy then it's fine by us"

Chris smiled, "Well I am, and I'd tell you if I wasn't" he assured them

"So it's official then?" George questioned, "This is your new home?"

Chris nodded, "Yeah, I'm staying here for good" he replied determinedly, "I've been reluctant to admit it before because, well, it's like closing a whole chapter in my life and it's taken so much for me to make this decision. I mean, I might go back to visit you guys, but it's not really my home anymore. This is my home now"

"Well I can't say I'm thrilled about you living so far away" Patricia began, "But you seem sure that this is what you want, so we're not going to argue with you or stand in your way"

"Good, because I doubt you'll want to do anything to affect your chances of seeing your granddaughter" Chris warned them teasingly

Patricia was about to scold her son but instead her face lit up, "You're having a girl?" she exclaimed

Chris nodded, "Yep, and we're naming her 'Anne Katherine Robinson-Pappas" he announced proudly

"Good, you've kept the Pappas name in there" George pointed out

"Yeah, I knew you wouldn't let me get away with not using the Pappas name" Chris chuckled, "And 'Robinson-Pappas' has a nice ring to it"

Patricia nodded before standing up and holding her son's hands, "We're so pleased that you're here and you're happy" she whispered, "And we're so proud of you for making this life for yourself, especially after everything you went through last year"

Chris nodded awkwardly and let himself be pulled into a group hug by both of his parents. Meanwhile, neither Jem nor Lucy could resist the temptation to eavesdrop on their conversation and were listening through the kitchen door. Jem had been touched by Chris standing up for him to his parents, but was confused about the reference to 'last year', and wondered what had happened that was so significant.

xxx

There was a long silence as Chris took Jem back to his apartment. Chris was reflecting on how much things had changed lately, whilst Jem was trying to respect Chris' situation. As they reached the front door, Jem suddenly turned to him.

"Look, don't get mad but I kind of listened in on your conversation with your parents earlier" Jem confessed, "I didn't mean to but Lucy and I could hear bits of it from the kitchen and we couldn't help ourselves"

Chris rolled his eyes and was annoyed that his boyfriend had eavesdropped on what he considered to be a private conversation, but realised that he had nothing to hide, "So how much of it did you actually hear?"

"Pretty much all of it" Jem replied, "And when you stood up for me and told your parents that you want to be with me, that was really sweet"

Chris shrugged, "It's the truth" he pointed out, "And I hope that you are happy with me, because I did tell my parents that"

"Of course I am" Jem assured him before hesitating, "But if you don't mind me asking, what happened last year that your parents were talking about?"

Chris let out a breath, "Late last year I was coward-punched by a neighbour of mine, Josh" he confessed, "I ended up with a brain injury and an arm injury, and I had to quit my apprenticeship as a mechanic which is how I ended up working at Lassiter's"

Jem grimaced, "I'm sorry you went through that" he murmured before glancing at him up and down, "But you couldn't tell just by looking at you"

Chris nodded, "I know, and I'm never taking my health for granted again" he replied, "It was life-changing, and I'm not sure whether I'll ever really be the same again but I've learnt a lot from it"

Jem nodded, "Well I appreciate you telling me that" he began, "And thanks for inviting me to meet your parents; apart from the discrimination thing they seemed like really nice people"

Chris couldn't help but laugh, "Yeah, I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions, they've never discriminated against anyone before so I was in the wrong to accuse them" he remarked

"Well I hope I'll get the chance to speak to them again before they leave" Jem muttered

"That would be good" Chris replied, "They're not staying for long, but hopefully it'll be long enough for you to get to know each other better"

"Well I'm looking forward to it" Jem told him before tugging on Chris' shirt so that he would kiss him, which he did

Chris pulled away "I'll see you tomorrow then"

Jem nodded, "Yep, goodnight" he replied before wheeling himself inside. Chris watched after him with a slight smile at how the day had turned out, then made his way back home.


Thanks for reading! Apologies if this chapter seems a bit disjointed; I was trying to cover quite a lot of different ideas and I was working on it bit-by-bit so I feel like it lacks a bit of flow. Anyway, the next chapter will be up in due course: I have a vague plan for the next few chapters, but if anyone wants to contribute their ideas for other points in the story, don't hesitate to let me know. In the meantime, reviews are always welcome!