A/N: I'm no longer going to even pretend I'm finished with this story. I keep thinking I'm done, and then...something happens and I have to write more. So...yeah. Here's more of my conception of Chase's backstory.
Growing Up Chase
By Rebel Yell
Subtitle: The Stepmother (age 17)
Part One
He wasn't entirely sure how to do this. It wasn't as though he was coming home. No, if he'd been coming home, there would've been someone to meet him at the train station. Instead, he'd taken a taxi this far. He'd almost, almost, had the taxi go to his mother's house. Something made him give his father's address instead. He'd "lived" here for all of three days, between the time his father announced that he wasn't going to be allowed to live on his own at his mother's house, and the announcement that he was going to seminary school. It wasn't home. He couldn't just walk in. But it was odd to knock as well. He opted to knock, desperately (insanely) hoping that his father would answer the door. He wasn't sure he could quite handle seeing his stepmother right away, without any time to recover from the long trip up from school.
" Robert? What're you doing here? And why did you knock? Why didn't you just come in?" He was pulled inside, bodily, by his younger stepsister, who seemed both surprised and slightly happy to see him.
" I'm on long leave from school. I left a message at Dad's office that I'd be on the train today. And I knocked because I don't actually live here. I mean, I've never lived here, I wasn't sure…."
" Are these all your things?" She nodded at his response, but sounded surprised that he had only one bag with him.
" Amazingly, the seminary teaches you to live very simply."
" I'd bet." Nicola agreed, laughing a little. She was pretty, with long dark hair and dark brown eyes, on the shorter side but with a nice figure and she seemed to smile a lot. She looked nothing like her mother, from what Rob could remember. "Do you remember where your room is? Mum did some redecorating when we moved in, so it looks different. But it's still got some of your things in it."
He hadn't left much, nearly all his 'things' were in his room at his mother's house, the house he grew up in. He followed his stepsister upstairs, glancing around to see if he could notice anything different. He didn't really remember much about the house from before, he hadn't been noticing much right after his mum died, and so he couldn't tell if Catherine had changed anything or not. At least, not until Nicola opened the door to "his" room, and he distinctly remembered having decorated this space himself in all different blues (like the ocean) but it was now what he could only call pale purple. The furniture was the same, but instead of the white finish reflecting the blues, it looked…like a little girl's room. At least to his eyes.
"This is my room? It was blue."
" Like I said, Mum did some redecorating. She didn't like it, so she changed it. Your dad didn't mind. We use it as a guest room sometimes and she thought the way it was too distinctive to a boy. I think. She and Melissa talked about it for ages, and I ignored them after a bit, sorry. You don't…dislike it? I told Mum she should try a different color, I mean, you're a seventeen year old boy, you don't want a purple room, but…I got out-voted."
" I don't…dislike it." He hated it, loathed it, abhorred it, those were closer terms for his feeling. It was purple and frilly and he noticed something else missing. He dropped his bag on the center of the bed, and began to dig through drawers quickly. It had to be here. Even his dad wouldn't let Catherine throw something like that away.
" What're you looking for?"
" The picture. The one I left on the bedside table. In a silver frame."
" Oh, the one of your mother." Nicola went to the closet, and disappeared into it for a moment, emerging with a small box. She dug through it, explaining as she did so, "Mum put it in here with a few other things. She said it would be weird to have guests waking up to some random woman staring at them. She didn't get rid of it though. See, here it is."
" She's not a random woman." Rob spat, grabbing the picture and clutching it possessively.
" Mum…I'm sorry, if it bothers you. But we don't exactly explain to people about you and your mum. It's a bit weird for Mum, having pictures of her husband's first wife around. You can understand that, right?"
" It's my room. It's my picture." Rob sighed, and cut himself off before he offended her on his first day at his father's house. He supposed it must be awkward, trying to explain the family situation to guests. It wasn't like his stepmother would just announce 'we got married the minute his first wife was in the ground, and we could ship her son off' to whomever was staying over . "I'm sorry. I'm just a bit…I miss her."
" I'm sorry. I can't imagine how I'd feel if my mum died."
" Isn't your father dead?" Rob asked, fairly sure the wedding announcement had mentioned something about Catherine being the widow of a very wealthy importer or something. It might've been a bit harsh to ask like that but he didn't know any other way to do it.
" I don't really remember him. He died when I was five. But if something happened to my mum, I'd be a wreck. You seem to be doing pretty well though."
" Yeah." They would think that. They didn't have to deal with him, his dad had made sure of that. Monsignor and Father Bennett and Father Kopec -- really all the priests -- would probably disagree with her. Colin too. Colin had to see him every day, and probably saw a lot more than Rob wanted him to do.
" Are you hungry? It's a long trip from your school. We can get Marita to make you a snack. Mum's having people over for some charity thing, so dinner's late tonight. I didn't really get to know you at the dinner we had at your school -- typical Melissa talked about herself the whole time."
" There's not much to know." Rob replied, resigning himself to actually sitting on the bed. He should've gone to his mother's house. At least there he'd have something that looked and felt like his own space. And he'd be in walking distance to Liz and Dan. But Liz had made him promise to give his stepfamily an honest try. Phone conversations with Liz were rare enough -- she'd had to call from Dan's house, since her parents still didn't want them to have anything to do with each other -- that he knew it was really important to her. She had a point, too. He only had his father left, really. So here he was, trying.
" How old are you? I mean, I think you're a bit older than me, but your dad didn't really say."
" I'm seventeen. But I'm due to graduate this year."
" Oh. I'm sixteen, but I'll be seventeen soon. I'm not in your year though. When did you turn seventeen?"
" June."
" What do you like to do? I like lots of things, but especially swimming. I'm on the team for my school. Mum hates it, says it's not very ladylike. Your dad's been great though. He even comes to my meets. When he doesn't have to work."
" That's nice." Dad never came to any of his matches, or his swim meets. Of course, he wasn't really very good, he only won on occasion. Nicola probably won first place every time. Dad liked it when people won. He wasn't as keen on second place.
" So? What do you like? You must have hobbies, not that you could tell from what you left here. I sort of…looked around. Sorry. I was curious, since we'd never met you and Mum and Rowan have been seeing each other for years. Rowan, I mean your dad, he said you'd been with your mum because she was so sick and you didn't want to leave her. That's really good of you. I could never be that responsible. So, hobbies?"
" I like football -- association football, I mean. I played rugby too, but I wasn't great. I'd spend all summer surfing if I could. I love the beach."
" I'm rubbish at surfing, I should get you to teach me."
" That'd be nice. We could go down to my mum's house in the summer, you can walk down the beach to a good beginner's spot not far away."
" Great! I have a few friends who'd probably like to join us -- just a couple, promise."
" I think I might have a few friends I could call as well." Rob smiled, thinking maybe his stepsister, at least, was going to be worth getting to know. She seemed very…happy. It was mildly contagious.
" Oh, I forgot. Are you hungry? We should really go down now, I mean, Marita will have the caterers in soon, and trust me, you don't want to talk to her when there are invaders in her kitchen. She's very territorial. Come on, let's get you something to eat. You're too skinny."
" I'm not skinny. I'm thin. Skinny isn't attractive. Thin is."
" Who told you that?"
" My mum. She was very strict about not getting skinny. Or fat. Fitness was first with her. We went running and things, all the time, before she got sick." Rob remembered, smiling at his early memories of trying to keep up with his mother, despite having much shorter legs. They'd finally learned that if he was skating, and she was running, it worked a lot better. He followed Nicola down the hall, in a different direction from where they came, and down a much narrower staircase. A few moments later, they were in a kitchen that looked like it belonged in a restaurant -- it was quite large and everything was steel.
"Nicola, what can I do for you?" Rob thought the woman looked Filipino, but she sounded pure Australian. She was small, but he also figured he didn't want to cross her, she just had that feeling about her, that she wasn't the type to back down from anything.
" Marita, this is Robert. He's hungry. I thought maybe we could get a sandwich for him?"
" Robert? A friend of yours, Nicki?"
" No. Uhm…"
" Robert Chase. Dr. Chase is my father." Rob extended his hand to her, picking up when Nicola trailed off. "I'm on holiday from school."
" Isn't that embarrassing? Of course, there's a picture of you in Dr. Chase's office, right on his desk. I'd just not heard your name. Well, it's a pleasure to finally meet you, Robert. I'm Marita, I'm in charge of the kitchen and the laundry. Have a seat, and tell me what I can make for you before the heathen hordes descend."
" Heathen hordes?" Rob leaned over to whisper to Nicola, as they took up seats on the stools Marita gestured towards.
" The caterers. She really doesn't like having other people in her kitchen."
" Well, son, what can I make for you?"
" Is there roast? A roast sandwich would be perfect." Rob asked, practically drooling at the thought.
" Of course there's roast. What sort of place do you think I have here?"
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" Marita, have you heard from the caterers? I'm expecting--what're you doing here?"
" He's home on holiday from school, Mum." Nicola replied, before Rob could even gather himself enough to open his mouth. He had been enjoying a nice, shallow, conversation with Nicola that mostly revolved around the girls in her school and who liked which boy who really liked yet a different girl. It was amusing.
" I can see that. I just wasn't expecting him to be here. Rowan made no mention of your arrival, Robert."
" I left a few messages at his office. He must've forgotten to tell you. He was always forgetting to tell Mum things--" He was babbling, he knew he was babbling, but he was incredibly nervous around Catherine. It was clear she didn't like him, and he couldn't figure quite why. She'd hardly so much as met him.
" Fortunately for all involved, my marriage to Rowan is absolutely nothing like your mother's. Well, there's nothing for it now. Marita, the caterers should be here at any moment. I'd appreciate it if you could stay late, and help them around the kitchen?"
" Of course, Mrs. Chase."
" She'd never leave anyone here unsupervised -- she's convinced it'd be destroyed or something." Nicola whispered, giggling a little and Rob couldn't help but smile.
" Nicola, I expect you to be downstairs, dressed appropriately, at seven o'clock. The donors will be here a half hour after that, and we'll need to make sure everything is ready. Your sister will be here as well, and Rowan should be back from the hospital any moment now. I'll be in the study, Marita, if there's any problems."
" Yes, ma'am." Marita waited until Catherine had left, and then turned to the two teenagers. "Out. If I'm about to be descended upon, I don't need you two underfoot as well. Robert, if you need anything at all, you just let me know. You could use a few good meals, if you ask me. Growing boys are always hungry."
" Thank you for the sandwich. It was wonderful."
" You're welcome. Now hurry along." Rob quickly swallowed the last of his sandwich, and followed Nicola back upstairs. She showed him to his room, and then said she had best do some schoolwork before she had to get ready for the dinner. He slipped back into 'his' room, and then realized he had nothing to do. He'd not brought much schoolwork, as he'd finished much of it before leaving just in case he'd decided to spend the break at home with Dan and Liz. His room faced the front of the house, and he opted to stare out at the stars, wondering if he was supposed to participate in this dinner or not. He'd not brought any of his better clothing over from his mother's, and the one suit he had at school he'd left there. He was still sitting in the window, grateful that the room had a window bench just like his room at home, when the door opened and Catherine stepped in. She hadn't knocked, and he thought idly that it was rather rude given that he might've been changing clothes or something for all she knew.
" I had hoped Rowan would discuss this with you, but he was held back at work." Some things, apparently, never changed. She stayed at the doorway, although she had shut the door itself behind her. "I want you to stay up here this evening, Robert. I don't have the time, or the inclination, to explain your presence to the donors who are coming. Marita will bring you dinner later. Also, I don't want you spending time with my daughter. She doesn't need to be exposed to the sort of trouble you're notorious for finding. If we must tolerate your presence for however long this holiday lasts, I expect you to be as quiet and unobtrusive as possible. Am I clear?"
" Yes, ma'am. You don't want any of those nice donors to know that you aren't some picture perfect family. They'd certainly think differently of you if they knew you'd been waiting anxiously for my mother to finally die so you could get married in the Church -- and imagine the embarrassment of admitting you had a stepson. What horrors."
" You're just as miserable and ungrateful as Rowan described. We pay your tuition to that school, don't we? I wanted Rowan to get a paternity test, prove that he had no responsibility to you, but he refused. For some reason, he won't make public what everyone already knows."
" What're you saying?"
" You really are quite thick aren't you? Rowan Chase isn't your father at all. He was just the poor man married to your mother when she got pregnant. You aren't any part of this family. Didn't you ever wonder why Rowan is so distant from you? If it weren't for some sense of guilt over your mother's death, he'd not bother with you at all."
" Get out." Rob spat, his fists curled tightly, shaking with the sudden need to hit something -- preferably his stepmother. "You don't know fuck all about my mum. You're just the cheap imitation Dad found to take her place. Not as pretty, not as young…second class in every respect."
" At least I'm not a drunk, who got pregnant with another man's child."
" At least when Mum was drunk, she had an excuse for being a bitch. Apparently, you're just naturally an evil whore." He'd never said anything so cruel, or so vile, to an adult in his life. He'd never even said it someone who wasn't an adult. But it was precisely what he felt at that moment, and he wasn't in the mood to censor himself. "I didn't want to be here at all, but Liz convinced me that I owed you a chance before I decided I hated you. I needn't have bothered."
" Yes, I've heard about Liz. She's the little tart you're sleeping with, isn't she? Just as easy as your mother, I'd assume. Then, whatever could I expect from someone raised as you were? Certainly not any friends of quality."
" Get out of my room."
" It's not your room, Robert. It's simply a bed that Rowan and I are allowing you, since he's still legally responsible for you -- unless I can convince him to get that paternity test."
" Get one. I'll gladly volunteer. But then, if you had the actual results, you'd not be able to lie to yourself about Mum and me. Then you'd have to feel guilty for ignoring her as she died -- and for leaving me to deal with all of that by myself! Get out, before I forget the little patience and forgiveness that the priests have managed to teach me and the manners my mum taught me. Before I decide to hit a woman for the first time in my life. You don't know fuck all about me or my friends, so just shut your fucking mouth and get out!"
" I'll talk to Rowan in the morning. This situation is not remaining as it is, I can promise you that!"
" Good." Rob bit out, as Catherine slammed the door behind her. So much for Liz's thought that he should give her a chance. She'd not given him one, had she? She just assumed he was horrid right from the start. He'd never heard anyone say such horrible, hateful things about his mother -- not even when she and Dad had been fighting so much at the end of things. Suddenly, the anger just dropped away, and he was sobbing, clutching his knees to his chest, trying to get her words out of his head. It wasn't true, he knew it wasn't true, his mother had been beautiful and happy and she'd loved his father, and she'd been sober, before he was born. Before the marriage started to fall apart. His father was just too busy to be interested in him. It wasn't true. None of it was true.
