Chapter Five!

We get to find out what happened after Dougie put his foot in his mouth. :P

Before that, though, I'd like to thank the various readers and reviewers that tend to hang around the fence. Sorry we can't let you into the universe anymore, but the fangirl war left us with tighter border control.

Gg180000: I laughed for a solid minute after reading this.

AllAmericanSlurp: Because I'm a jackass. :P

Pheonix: No fun. :(

Mia-Teresa-Davenport: "You'll get this back when you earn it."

Anyways, let's read on! Ysthry?

"Zara doesn't own Lab Rats or anything you recognize. If you don't recognize it, it's probably hers."

"Never forget the power of silence, that massively disconcerting pause which goes on and on and may at last induce an opponent to babble and backtrack nervously."

Lance Morrow

"Sometimes one pays most for the things one gets for nothing."

Albert Einstein

Adam

She was here. Adam's thoughts were racing. She was here, and I missed her.

Sitting in front of him, Douglas looked like he was trying to find a way to erase what he just said. He tapped his fingers on the arm of the chair and bounced his leg nervously until he finally seemed to think of something. He grinned, the expression appearing a bit desperate. "You know, I tend to say stupid things when I'm drunk tha' aren't true."

"But my mother's name is Sandra Pike," Adam countered. "If you weren't talking to her, then who were you talking to? Because you seemed pretty upset afterwards."

The smile dropped from Douglas' lips. "I'm not upset."

"You started drinking immediately after," Oly piped up, obviously wanting to see if an argument would break out if she prodded enough.

Douglas brought his fist down on the desk beside him, suddenly enraged. "A man can't drink withou' everyone wondering why? I thought America was supposed to be a free fucking country!" Almost as fast as it flared up, though, Douglas' temper faded as he leaned back in his chair, holding his beer bottle and muttering almost to himself in a way that made the word "resigned" cross Adam's mind. "Damned government's going to make slaves out of us one of these days."

For a second, Adam wished that he could charm people, too. He had no idea what mood Douglas would exhibit next. As Yahn climbed off of his shoulder, Adam decided to try again. "Douglas?"

Douglas just inclined his head as Yahn climbed into his lap and nudged his way under Douglas' free hand. As Douglas started scratching Yahn's back, Adam decided to just go for broke.

Asking directly had worked earlier, right? Why wouldn't it work again?

"I'm guessing that the Sandra from earlier is my mother," Adam began slowly. "So, if she was here, why didn't you introduce her to me? I kind of want to meet her."

Douglas' hand stopped on Yahn's back as he fixed a strange look on Adam. Adam fidgeted uncomfortably under the scrutiny. It was like Douglas was trying to mentally tear Adam apart to study every last detail of the thought process behind wanting to meet Sandra. Several long moments passed like this, a heavy silence covering everything in the room. Even Oly stayed quiet, looking from Douglas to Adam and back again repeatedly.

Adam wanted to withdraw the question, but he knew that he probably would never ask again if that happened. He had to do this now, before he lost his nerve.

Finally, Douglas broke eye contact. However, he took a long drink of the beer he had before saying anything, as if he could avoid responding if he finished the bottle fast enough. Then, he sighed heavily. "Why?"

Adam frowned. Of all the possible responses he thought Douglas would have - mostly angry ones - he hadn't expected to be asked for an explanation. He had honestly been bracing himself for a refusal. "What?"

Douglas leaned forward, forcing Yahn to move a bit to avoid having his wing crushed against him. "I asked why," Douglas growled. "She dropped you a' my door like you were nothing to 'er. Why the hell would you wan' to meet 'er?"

Good question, Adam thought. He hadn't quite figured out the "why," either. But Douglas was watching him intently, waiting for something. He needed to stall while he sorted out his thoughts, but how?

Yahn seemed to sense Adam's predicament. He pulled a bit on Douglas' shirt. "Why was she even here, Master?"

Thankfully, Douglas turned his full attention to Yahn. Fury crossed his face as he rolled his eyes. "Tha' bitch wanted to visit Adam," he slurred, the word "bitch" sounding more like "bish." "She vanishes for eighteen fuckin' years an' actually has the balls to come back asking about the kid she didn't want?" His voice turned into a tone that could only be described as "disgusted snarling" as he continued. "You can't jus' decide when you wan' to be involved in your kid's life. Either you're in or out. Picking an' choosing isn't an option!"

Adam nervously leaned away from Douglas a bit. Talk about a bitter ex-lover. He could understand the point that was just made, but it seemed a bit...one-sided. Sandra likely had a story, too, and it would be nice to know it.

Maybe that was why Adam wanted to meet her. He wanted to know why she did what she did. There had to be a reason. "I still want to meet her as soon as possible."

Douglas tilted his head, furrowing his brow. "Why is it so important?"

"It just is," Adam answered. He leaned forward. "Look, I get that you probably don't want to see your ex-wife, but don't I have a right to meet her?"

Douglas stared at Adam for a second before he broke into a fit of laughter. He covered his mouth with his hand, his shoulders shaking so much that Adam wondered fleetingly if Douglas was actually crying. The fact that he brushed actual tears from his eyes seemed to justify the thought. However, after a few minutes, Douglas finally regained enough control to speak a bit. "She's not my ex-wife! I was never married!"

Adam frowned. Weren't mothers and fathers supposed to be married? But Mr. Davenport had been single for the longest time, so maybe it didn't always happen like that. "Ex-girlfriend, then."

The statement triggered another laugh from Douglas, this one only lasting a few seconds. "Kid, she's not my ex-anything! I was drunk, found her drunk in a bar as well, and spent the night with 'er. You jus' happened to show up nine months after tha'. Same thing with Bree and Chase. Probably have a few more kids out there, but I've never met 'em."

Adam stared at Douglas, who was still giggling a bit. "I was an accident?"

Douglas shrugged, grinning. "A happy accident."

Adam nodded, but the revelation still stung. He hadn't been wanted at all. He just accidentally existed. All those years spent thinking that he had been specially created, wasted.

He ground his teeth as Yahn looked at him sympathetically. Now wasn't the time to think about that. He would have to do it later, when he had some privacy. "I want to meet Sandra," he insisted.

Douglas' amusement faded. He scratched between Yahn's wings as he responded. "No."

"Why not?" Adam pressed.

"Because I said so," Douglas snapped, his eyes narrowing.

Adam picked up Oly and held her out to Douglas. "Would you say no to this face?"

"What the hell?" Oly growled, struggling a bit.

"I say no to tha' face all the damn time," Douglas answered. He set his beer bottle down and took her from Adam's hands, cradling her against his chest with a smile as he cooed, "You're a mischievous little shit."

Adam rolled his eyes. Drunk Douglas was hard to deal with. "If you let me meet her once," Adam bargained, "I'll never bring it up again."

Douglas glanced at Adam thoughtfully as he placed Oly on his lap next to Yahn. Both imps hissed and shoved a bit at one another, competing for their master's full focus instead of sharing it like they were at the moment. "Stop it," Douglas ordered quietly, causing both to wince and go still. Douglas let out another sigh. "You're never going to let this go, are you?"

Adam shook his head. "I can't."

Douglas rubbed his eyes, a tired expression on his face. "Give me a couple of days to get 'er back here. But I'm only going to do this once. And don't expec' me to play nice."

Adam nodded vigorously, nervousness and excitement mixing in his belly. He was *finally* going to meet his mother, even if she hadn't wanted him!

Yahn raised his head. "You'll want to get that in writing, Adam. Master won't remember this in the morning."

"I'll 'member it," Douglas defended.

"Actually," Adam said, "I would feel better if you wrote it down."

Douglas rolled his eyes, but picked up a pencil and some paper. He hastily scribbled out a message and handed it to Adam. "There. Don't say I never did anythin' for you." He picked up his bottle and drank again before pinching the bridge of his nose. "Can't believe you're going to make me do this."

Adam read the barely-legible paper before nodding. "Thanks."

Douglas just grunted in response.

Meanwhile, hidden in the top corner of the room, two spiders clung to a new web, listening to everything that had happened beneath them.

So…who's ready to meet Sandy?

Anyone?

Wait, why am I asking you? You're going to whether or not you're ready. xD

So, until then, feel free to review. Or don't. Not a shit given. xD

And enjoy.

*Bows and exits*