Story: Hear Me Weep
Author: gddg3696
Disclaimer: I own nothing Switched at Birth
A/N: Who else freaked out during the season finale! I actually had to watch it THREE times, just to take everything in! Anyway, a couple things. I wanted to address, first of all, that I didn't mean to sound too arrogant in my last AN. This is a public forum, everyone posts their own work, and that's something I can respect. Next order of business, all bolds are in sigh language. If it's bold, it's sign. Italics are emphasis. Also, this chapter is short. Sorry, a bit of a filler. Anyway, please review? The encourage me to write more! THANK YOU READERS!
John
"Look, Dad, I know I've made a lot of mistakes lately, but I really think this will be good for me."
I knew there was a catch… There always is with these kids. I'd woken up to a beautifully laid out breakfast in bed, followed by a clean office. I should have known it wasn't just Toby in a good mood.
"I'll be responsible, just me and the band." I sigh and stand up from my chair. Sitting in it with Toby asking for something on the other side of the desk made me feel like my father.
"Alright Son. I'll let you go, but you have to prove to me you're mature enough to handle it until then. You know you've been on a short leash lately, and I'm proud of you for making this happen for yourself." I smile
"Thanks dad." He heads for the door, but I'm not finished.
"Hold up, Toby." He turns. "If everything goes smoothly and you end up heading out, I have three rules. No substances. That's drugs and or alcohol. No girls. That means friends or friendly girls. And, I think you should get a job. Because I won't be supplying you with any extra cash for this."
"What? Why not! Do you not have the money?" Even as the words came out of his mouth I could see he knew they weren't true.
"It's not about that son. It's about maturity. You keep talking about responsibility, so how about you show me some."
"But dad, I…"
"I'm serious Toby. I know in the way your mom and I have raised you and Bay… you must feel very entitled. And it's true that our family has been very fortunate, and has been presented with many opportunities. But privileges like these have to be earned. Got it?"
"Got it dad."
Ty
"So, thanks for picking me up" I say. Bay only nods. Obviously I hadn't expected a welcome home parade, but a smile and a, 'How was the army, Ty?' woulda floated my boat just fine. I would have taken a taxi. But where to? I didn't have any living arrangements and I'd sold my car.
"Why am I picking you up, anyway?" That's not to say Bay was out rightly mean about having to pick me up at the airport. She said hello, grabbed my bag and drove the car up front. Even being gone a few months I could tell something was off. I really had no right to ask.
"Um… because you're the first person I wanted to see when I landed?" I try that out. It's true, actually. After our bittersweet goodbye, I figured I would see her first.
"Oh, not Daphne?" Bay murmurs to herself, and then I know who was the trigger for Bay's sudden madness.
"Actually, you're right. But Daphne didn't pick up her phone, so…" I smile to let her know it's a joke, but she only gives me a grief stricken look. Shit, foot in the mouth. "I'm kidding." I clarify, because the last thing I want to do after leaving the warzone is to walk back to East Riverside from the highway.
"You're hilarious, a real stand up comedian." Bay sighs and pays the airport parking lot fee. "No, I meant I thought you were going to be in the service for longer. Why the sudden return" I raise and lower one shoulder. It was embarrassing, and not only that, but Bay clearly was in a mood to shoot passers-by with a shotgun, so I was keeping my talking to a minimum.
I was normally sort of quiet, but after spending so much time around military personnel, always screaming about their personal opinions on the war, the training, the uniforms, I'd learned to practically say all I needed to with one-word sentences. In the army it was a debate, in the format of a 'Who Can Yell The Loudest!' competition.
"They kicked me out." I said it as if it was a kick ass story to be told, something to be proud of. I glance at Bay as she switches lanes, and she actually cracks an amused smile.
"So we both screwed up then. What'd you do to get kicked out of the army?" Bay even chuckles as she says it.
"I crashed a helicopter." Bay immediately breaks the car, before restarting it again after the assault of car horns. Then she starts laughing.
"Oh God, I'm sorry. I know it meant a lot to you to help our country, I didn't mean to…"
"Bay, it's fine." Bay still has tired looking eyes, but I can see she's making an effort to supress a smile.
"How exactly, did you manage to crash land a copter?" Bay turns to me with anticipation. What was that saying about the best policy?
"I had a heart attack." The pretty smile she was sporting seconds ago immediately evaporates. "Yeah, at training, I sort of had a mini heart attack. I saw the doctor on the base, and he said that I had angina." Bay just sorta nods and stares ahead. "They said as long as I take my medication, I should be fine."
"Then… what was the issue?" I shrug.
"Not strong enough medication. It's also a little hard to take your pills every certain hour when you're in the field. I had a mini heart attack in the copter, and of course there were a few other soldiers there, but they hadn't really taken the quals. They all jumped out and grabbed me with them." Bay continues to nod as she pulls into her driveway. "Minor injuries to all of us, but the damage was done. They offered me a post at a desk, but I really didn't feel I was cut out for that."
"Well, I have to say I'm much happier to be welcoming you home than to be greeting you in the afterlife" I chuckle. There's the old Bay.
"I'm not too concerned. I just can't do things that are too risky for my heart." Bay smiles again.
"We won't go on any dates, then."
Regina
I look at some of the pictures I'd saved of Bay. One with her in the playground outside her little prep school, dressed in that horrible uniform. One with her friends sitting outside a restaurant.
"Regina, are you alright?" My mother walks in. I remember when I was Bay's age, and no matter what I did, what I said, she always stayed near, giving me what I needed. Bay wished that I had done that for her.
"I talked to Bay, ma." I wipe my tears away and put the photos away in a book. My mother sits next to me and hugs me. I should have done this for Bay.
"I'm so sorry."
"Everything she said to me ma… It was harsh, and blunt and devastating. And it was all true. I wanted to stand there… and… and… firmly deny it all. I couldn't." Like I'm four years old again, my mother just holds me. "I have no idea what I'm supposed to do. I love Bay, but I loved Daphne so much. I couldn't give her up. Kathryn wouldn't give Bay up even if I had contacted them. I did the right thing, didn't I?" Ma just whispers me comforting, meaningless words. I have no words at all.
Bay
"Uh, Bay I called the motel by my place old place in East Riverside, you didn't have to bring me here."
"Don't worry about it. We should get some food in you, and I'll ask my parents if you can stay in my studio until… we find a better living arrangement." Ty gives me a half smirk and gets out of the car, opening my door for me.
"As long as you promise this isn't a pity thing." I can hear the teasing tone and shake my head. "Good then." He verifies.
The truth was I didn't want to be alone. He wanted to see me. I wasn't his backup plan, his second choice, his plan b. He'd said I was the first person he wanted to see when he got off the plane from the army after suffering a heart attack and jumping out a crashing helicopter. An army helicopter.
I was being selfish, wasn't I? Was I? Was it selfish that I wanted to be around someone who wasn't so obsessed with Daphne? Was it selfish to be around the first person that had gotten a real laugh out of me in almost three weeks? Was it so selfish of me to wish that someone wanted me for me and only me?
"Here, I can just, unfold the couch… and I can get you some pillows and blankets. I'll be working in here during the day, but you can stay here during the night. I'll have to talk to my parents about the bathroom thing… and the food thing. But, other than that, mi casa es su casa." He nods.
"Look, Bay, in all honesty you don't have to do this. I already have a reservation, I can even take the bus there…"
"No, no! Look, Ty, I want to catch up, and you can't stay in a motel forever. Might as well stay here for a few days until we find you a place to live."
"We?" He says, questioningly. It's a little hard to tell this time, if the guy is kidding or not. Well ouch, then.
"I mean, I don't have to come with you, I just figured you might want to have someone, you know, help you pick something out, but if Daphne and Regina…" I ramble on, picking up paintbrushes and rinsing them out.
"Bay?" I turn, hands on the edge of the sink.
"Hm?" He smiles a handsome smile, and I realize in that moment a little that Ty really is a man. A man with a contagious smile.
"I'd love if you came with me to look for somewhere to live later."
Toby
Great musician, Great personality, Speaks French. I really am an all around guy, aren't I? I'll have a resume put together in no time. I told Wilke to be at the Café around 6ish, so I should get a move on. I've gotta run Dad's rules by him. I'm sure he'll choke on his coffee. I should go ask Bay if she wants anything from Café Paulette.
"Hey Bay, do you…" As I'm knocking there's talking in the distance. Probably Regina or Mom. It was weird, actually. You'd think with our 'mansion' the place would feel nice and roomy. But with so many people and so much tension we all ran into each other. All. The. Time.
"Do you want anything from Cafe Paulette?" No reply. I knock again. Dammit, I thought I was getting the girl to progress. Not convincing her to forever lock herself up in a dark room with melodramatic music blasting, crying on the tile floor with a tub of Ben & Jerry's.
If she thought we were all out when she broke down like that she must have been high. Once last week I was passing by to unload some equipment from my car. Adele was blasting so hard I was vibrating just standing too closely. I ran up to her door about to scream to turn it down. But I saw the kid sobbing on the couch.
"Bay?" I called one more time before opening the door. "Anybody home, sis?" I turned around. Bay had left. Wonder to where she wandered off. I checked out her latest creation. She'd left some fresh paint open. Whatta giveaway, shouldn't be too worried. Those were like her little babies; she wouldn't have left them out unless she was going to be home within the next two hours.
So where was she?
"Calm down Toby, since when did you go all mother hen…" I run back upstairs to grab my stuff. Bay was probably out getting food.
Alright, coat, check, keys, check, money… money, where'd I leave my wallet? On the bed… nope, on the desk, nada… I snap my fingers, windowsill, oh yeah!
I reach for it just in time to see Daphne and Emmett in the driveway… wait, what?
Are they lip-locking?
Daphne
I was smiling as I pulled away from his lips. I was smiling as I signed goodbye. I was smiling as I watched his back ride away down the road. I wasn't smiling on the inside.
I didn't understand.
We were perfect for each other. Weren't we? Emmett and I, we've always been Emmett and I. We've always been best friends. This is the natural course it should have taken. He's never been interested in anyone else and I…Well I'd dated one guy. One and a half? 'Don't confuse yourself thinking about what in the world Wilke was…', I think to myself.
Looking back, I'm grateful, kind of, that Bay asked us to break up, Liam and I. We would have never worked out. Emmett has always been right. Hearing people belong with hearing people. Deaf people belong with deaf people. Emmett's all I could possibly need.
We understand each other flawlessly. Communication is perfect; our history together has so much depth. There's nothing to dislike about Emmett. He's everything I need. Is he what I want?
It feels too… natural. When we hold hands, or cuddle while watching a movie, it feels just as it did before we were 'trying things out'. I could be holding my mother's hand and I would feel just as much as when I hold Emmett's hand.
Is it because we've known each other too long? Is there nothing else to learn about each other? We were doing exactly what we had been doing before.
With the occasional kiss. Even that, though. It was just… average. Average was never a word I would ever use to describe someone as extraordinary as Emmett, but…the first time we kissed, it was like neither of us knew what we were doing. I tried to deepen the kiss. Maybe if I deepened it I'd feel what I was expecting? What I was looking for? We just ended up bashing teeth more than once. The next time, we were cautious.
I've always loved Emmett. I just hadn't realized how much until now. Until my life was falling apart and he was the only gum holding it together. Was that all our relationship was going to be now that we've taken the next step? Sameness? Overly natural? Cautious?
Kathryn
"Perfect." I took out the cinnamon rolls from the oven, feeling proud that in this little kitchen, I was doing something right. Some things still made sense. There were still exact recipes, exact instructions with exact results. Structure.
My family's lives' seemed to be held up by a few strands of boiled noodles and I was powerless to do anything.
"Kathryn?" I turn, as I set down the plate of Bay's favourite snack.
I didn't know what I could do for her. Everyday I went in to see my beautiful daughter, and everyday she seems just as bad or worse than the day before. Everyday I sat, tried to make useless, idle conversation until she drove me out. Always before I left, though, I'd say, "I love you Bay. You're my daughter and I love you forever, no matter what happens."
I'd never get it all out. I'd finish saying I love you before she'd either slam the door or turn up the music so loudly I wouldn't be able to hear my own voice.
"Regina! Hi, how have you been?" Looking at her I could tell she hadn't been well. She had the same look in her eyes that I wore when I woke up in the morning after worrying all night about Toby or Bay.
"I've been… yeah, well, I've been…" I gave her a sympathetic look.
"That bad?" Suddenly a few tears escaped Regina's eyes. Never had I seen her so distraught.
While, and, right after revealing her little charade of never knowing about the switch, Regina looked very regretful to say the least. Full of grief and doubt in what she'd done that affected us all. These, however, were the first true signs of weakness I'd seen displayed in her.
The motherly instinct of mine took over and I wrapped her in a hug. She stiffened a bit, as I guessed she would. But Regina didn't pull away, and I was glad.
"Is it Daphne or Bay, or both?" I asked. I could offer different comfort for each.
"Daphne and I are… are fine. But Bay and I… we've never been so distant. She thinks I didn't want her."
"I know."
"She thinks we are all focused on Daphne, you and John desperate to know her and I… I…"I nod and let Regina cry there for a little before ushering her to the living room for some coffee.
"I just… don't know what to do. I was so sure in my decision. And although it was a huge revelation to find out that Daphne wasn't biologically mine… it didn't seem real. That I had a daughter that belonged to me out there. When I hired the investigator, the only thing he brought me at first was a list of names, address and phone number. As if he expected I would try and contact you." I give her a small smile.
"But you didn't." Regina's permanent frown deepened.
"I couldn't. I thought I was doing what was best for all of us." I nod.
"If you think about it. If you and I really think about it… it's not that you made the choice, it's that you had to. We shouldn't have had to choose… between our two daughters. As much as I love Daphne, as amazing as she is, I don't even know if I can call her mine. Bay is the one I've loved since the day I brought her home from the hospital, and she's my daughter." Regina nods enthusiastically, as if someone finally understands. I'm the only one who can understand.
Melody
"Emmett?" I sign. "Sweetheart, I need to talk to you."
"Sure, mom. I'm about to go see a movie with Daphne, what's wrong?" I look at my son as he sits on his bed, and I look at all he's accomplished. He's a proud artist, an amazing musician, and an excellent driver. He's reached goals above and beyond what I could have ever hoped for him. My son was even more mature that I was.
"I was wrong." Emmett looks at me, confused and starts to sign, but I cut him off.
"You've been accustomed to believe that hearing people are judgemental, and think of themselves better than deaf people… And that's because you've grown up in a deaf bubble. Your friends, your family, your school… We're all deaf. How could you, or I ever believe otherwise?" I take a deep breath and sit next to him, hand on his shoulder. "You were right. Not all hearing people are like that. I've raised you… in the image that hearing people are bad, mean, untrustworthy, unsympathetic. That may be a significant amount of hearing people… But not all hearing people are like that."
"I know that. Bay showed me that." Emmett signed this to me in a way that didn't tell me he was mad, or sad about them separating. He looked almost… defeated.
"Son, the truth is, there are bad, untrustworthy people everywhere. Both deaf and hearing alike. Regina is my best friend, and she's hearing. We get along great, because we both make an effort to understand each other. She learned to sign for years, and I make an effort to speak out-loud sometimes. There is such a thing as hearing-deaf relationships." Emmett half smiles to me and then gets up to leave.
"85% of deaf-hearing relationships don't last, you know." My son says teasing, as he heads for the door. I wave to recapture his attention.
"15% do."
Emmett
Was my mom right in her second thoughts? Or was she right the second time around? Did I make the right choice? Hearing or Deaf?
No, I wasn't truly choosing between hearing and deaf. I was choosing between two people, not two cultures. It sure felt like I was weighing in the options of dating a deaf vs. hearing girl. Not the options of dating Daphne or Bay.
Daphne is outside the Kennish driveway to greet me, and I remember. It doesn't matter what options I have, or had. The choice was made. It's done.
Bay… I hadn't seen her in over 2 weeks. Not that I was counting. I missed her so much, and everyday when I came to see Daphne she was 50 feet away. I couldn't bear bring up the courage to talk to her. 'Oh, come on, Emmett. It's not like she misses you. She broke up with you.' I shake my head as I sign Hello to Daphne.
Bay broke up with me, because Daphne liked me. If Daphne hadn't come forward, neither would Bay, I tried to reason with myself. The fact that I acted on what Daphne was feeling, though, meant that that wasn't true. Even if Daphne hadn't come forward, I might have decided I wanted to be with Daphne later on. And Bay would have nothing.
No, I couldn't possibly contact Bay. I felt all too guilty. Not talking to her after she walked out… Being with Daphne… It meant she was right. That every word she'd signed to me was spot on. Not that she knew I was with Daphne.
"Scary movie… popcorn… Regina…Bank" I was half watching what Daphne was saying and half watching Bay's garage.
Bay's empty, door-closed, lights-off garage. I'd been here nearly every day the last three weeks and never had I once seen that place empty.
"Sounds cool Daphne. Hey, where's Bay?" I search for her car, maybe she's inside the main house, but can't find the Thing anywhere.
"I was about to tell you. She texted me maybe an hour ago! She's out with someone special!" Special? Who could be seeing Bay that was so special?
"Even though it's for a bad reason that he's back in town, Bay really needs this, she's been really down lately." I frown. Partially because she's been down. Partially because a 'special' he was bringing her back up, and not me.
"Who? Who's back that Bay needs?"
"Ty's back in town!"
Ty.
Ty's back in town.
Ty's back. In town.
Ty.