Chapter Fifteen! All right!

Unfortunately, Kevin's probably not going to appear in Hazy again.

But he'll be back.

Just saying.

Anyways, before we get started, I'd like to thank me readers and reviewers for reading and reviewing. :3 (If you didn't read the last part of the sentence in an Irish or Scottish accent, I'm going to be sad.)

Mia-Teresa-Davenport: "Sure, why not?"

gg180000: Fine, but take it outside. We don't need his blood everywhere.

AllAmericanSlurp: Yes. Yes, he can. And yes, here goes a gay relationship. It's happening with or without your permission. Dougie and Kevin deserve happiness, too. That, and they kind of balance each other out a bit, which will pop up later.

RissA15: Like I told Slurp, you created that hype yourself. :P Hellcat would also like me to ask you not to molest him.

"And I'm not ignorant! I know what Tasha does! Doesn't mean that it crosses my mind. It's like a background fact now, especially when something shady is going on. She usually avoids it, so I just don't consider her."

…Thank you, Douglas…

Vampire Girl: Lol that caught fire faster than I thought it would. :P

So let's get to this. Hmm…Douglas?

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

"A strong gives forgiveness, but weak gives permission."

Santosh Kalwar, Quote Me Everyday

"…I'm a bitch, I'm a tease, I'm a goddess on my knees. When you're hurt, when you suffer, I'm an angel under cover…"

Meredith Brooks, "Bitch"

Adam

Hey, Adam. Want to do something today?

Adam sighed, closing Sandra's message. He had a thousand things that he wanted to tell her, but he was finding that English was a rather inadequate language. Of all the things he wanted to say, not a single one could be put into words.

Did she think that he was that stupid? Sure, he had admitted that he rarely watched the news, but she had to know that he would find out eventually.

Did she think he was naïve? Sure, he trusted too easily and often thought the best of people who continued to disappoint. And, of course, she had him fooled for a while by her charade. However, did she really think he wouldn't look into what she was saying at some point?

Did she think he was endlessly understanding? Forgiveness was something he was particularly good at. However, his capacity to forgive wasn't infinite. Especially when it came to people who targeted his family.

Even though he was usually optimistic, Adam understood that some people would never change. It was just how the world worked. It was upsetting to think that some people had the capacity for cruelty, but he grudgingly acknowledged their existence.

It took Adam a few minutes to notice that Tasha had sat down next to him on the couch, quietly reading the newspaper. To be honest, he really didn't want to talk to her at the moment. It wasn't that he was mad at her. He just felt incredibly guilty and mortified by what happened the last time he had seen Sandra. Tasha probably wouldn't want to talk to him, anyways. So, to avoid the awkward situation, Adam just watched Chase and Oly stare out the front window, both of their tails twitching impatiently.

That was another problem Adam had. He wanted to hug Yahn - it had been days - and talk to Douglas about the very thing that had started the whole mess nineteen years ago: His drinking habit. The only problem was that they left together yesterday and didn't come back. Chase had noticed first after a few rounds of chess with Leo, who had decided that he liked playing the game better than trapping Oly.

More predictable.

Anyways, ten in the morning saw Chase standing at the driveway from the window. Oly had scoffed at first, but noon saw her right beside him. It was a little unnerving that Douglas had just vanished, but Adam wasn't so worried that he was standing at the window with them.

Douglas was a clever guy. He could take care of himself.

Tasha suddenly grinned. "Bree," she called, separating a section from the paper as Bree arrived in a gust of wind. Tasha offered her the paper she had separated.

Bree skimmed it for a moment before squealing happily and zipping off to wherever she had been in the first place. As the breeze died down, Adam frowned at Tasha. "What's she so excited about?"

"Today's movie schedules," Tasha answered. "She wanted to go see something with Owen."

"What movie?" Chase asked, flicking his torn ear in their direction.

"Some new horror movie or something that came out today," Tasha answered.

Adam tilted his head quizzically. "But she thinks horror movies are stupid."

"She's not going for the movie," Tasha explained, smiling a bit. "She's going because she'll get 'scared' and have to hug Owen."

"Wait, that works?" Chase asked, now looking at them.

Tasha nodded. "Oldest trick in the book."

Adam nodded slowly, mentally storing the tidbit of information away like he would die without it. He let a few moments pass before he swallowed hard. "Tasha?"

Tasha glanced at him and hummed, letting him know that she was listening.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled, trying to put an hours-long conversation into those two words. If he said everything that was on his mind, they would be sitting there for a while. "I didn't mean what I said the other day."

Tasha smiled warmly at him and patted his shoulder, her eyes conveying forgiveness and affection. Motherly affection. "I know."

Adam smiled, feeling like everything that needed to be said had been said in the past few seconds.

Good thing, too, because he felt that English was inadequate in that situation, as well.

English was an extremely limited language. Who the hell invented it?

Oly suddenly started jumping around, chirping – actually chirping – excitedly. She went from the window to the couch and back again repeatedly. "Master, Master, Master-"

"Shut up, Oly," Chase hissed, pinning his ears. He spread his dark wings to stretch them out – his wing span was massive compared to him – since he had been holding them still for a while. He usually shifted them around every once in a while to keep them loose. He must have been really focused on watching for Douglas. By the time he pulled them back in, Douglas finally walked through the door with a strangely massive smile and a somewhat distant look in his eyes.

All that ended when Oly barreled into Douglas' chest, forcing him to snap out of whatever thoughts he had been having to catch her. "Where the hell have you been?"

"Watch it, Oly," Tasha hissed.

Douglas shrugged, cradling her a bit. "I spent the night with a friend."

Adam found himself frowning as Chase perked his ears. "What friend?"

Douglas narrowed his eyes. "You don't know –"

"We're not going to get a little brother, are we?" Adam blurted out.

Douglas shook his head, smiling slightly. "No."

"Then who did you stay with?" Oly insisted, poking him in the chest. "Some stranger?"

"Not a stranger anymore," Douglas said, smiling in that distant way again.

Tasha suddenly grinned. "I know that look. What's her name?"

"Kevin."

Adam frowned. "Her name is Kevin?"

"His name is Kevin," Douglas corrected, giving everyone a challenging look. It was like he was daring anyone to protest. "And he's very sweet, and I'm seeing him later."

"Seeing who later?" Mr. Davenport asked as he walked down the stairs, finally entering the conversation.

"His boyfriend," Chase cooed, smirking.

Mr. Davenport frowned, confused. "You're bi? When did you figure that out?"

Douglas frowned, appearing a bit annoyed. "High school."

Mr. Davenport gestured at himself. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Douglas shrugged while Oly climbed onto his shoulder. "You never bothered to ask, Don. You just assumed Chris was a girl."

Mr. Davenport nodded slowly. "Right. Sorry."

Tasha put the newspaper down on the coffee table and leaned forward, grinning still. "So, tell me all about this 'Kevin.'"

Adam stood up before both of them could get lost in gossip land. "Actually, could I talk to you first, Douglas?"

Everyone shot him a look, but Douglas nodded. "All right." He handed Oly to Chase and followed as Adam headed to the elevator, pressing the button. When the door closed them off from the rest of the family, Yahn finally poked his head out of Douglas' pocket as a mouse. Adam smiled at him, wanting to hold his friend, but he restrained himself.

He had to do something first.

Douglas yawned, rolling his weight back on one heel. He looked tired, like he had spent most of the night awake.

Actually, now that Adam was thinking about it, Douglas probably had been up all night doing who-knew-what.

The Lab was perfectly quiet, the most appropriate atmosphere Adam could think of for the kind of thing he was attempting. He wasn't the best at interventions, but he was going to try. Douglas sat down in the chair at the cyber desk and rubbed his eyes before he moved Yahn from his pocket and placed him on the desk. "What is it, Adam?"

Adam picked Yahn up as he changed into a gargoyle again and cradled the little imp against his chest for the first time in several days. He didn't know where to start. It wasn't helping that Douglas was watching him silently, frowning a bit. It was awkward as hell. Finally, Douglas sighed. "Adam, if you just wanted to hug Yahn, you didn't need to drag me down here to do it."

Adam glanced at Douglas, shaking his head. "No, that isn't it."

Douglas raised his eyebrow. "Then what is?"

"I don't think you should drink anymore," Adam blurted out.

Douglas chuckled a bit. "Adam, I'm not going to stop drinking."

Adam sighed. "Why not?"

"Why should I?" Douglas challenged.

Adam sat on the desk while Yahn climbed to perch on his shoulder. "Because you can't drink your problems away. Besides, it gets you in trouble."

Douglas rolled his eyes. "I get in trouble anyways. It's just more fun drunk."

"Fine," Adam hissed out between his teeth. "Then could you drink less?"

Douglas frowned, leaning forward a bit. "I don't drink that much."

Yahn shifted his weight a bit. "Master? Maybe you could make a deal to drink less in exchange for something?"

Adam nodded immediately. "Yeah, we could make a deal."

Douglas leaned back, lacing his fingers over his stomach and pursing his lips thoughtfully. Adam rubbed Yahn's chin while he waited for Douglas to say something. He had no idea what to expect. Douglas would probably ask for something very complicated just to ensure that he could still drink. Finally, he sighed. "How hard would it be for you to get an A in a class?"

Great. Now Douglas chose to be a dad. "Hellcat couldn't save me at this point," Adam admitted. "But what about passing?"

"You're not even passing?"

"Are you really surprised?"

Douglas sighed. "Guess not."

Adam watched Douglas warily as he asked, "Why?"

Douglas sighed again. "For every C, I won't drink for a day."

Adam shook his head. "A month."

"A week," Douglas bargained. "Aren't you in nine classes? If you pass them all, that's nine weeks sober."

Fucking school. It had to be fucking school. Retaining facts had never been Adam's forte. Studying was just so boring. "Is there anything else I could do?"

Douglas shook his head. "It's that or nothing, Adam."

"Why do you even care if I pass?"

"Because I want to see you graduate on time," Douglas answered. "And I want to see you go to college, and get a good job that you like."

Adam bit his lip. "I don't see you pushing Bree or Hellcat to succeed."

"Hellcat's probably going to inherit Davenport Industries," Douglas pointed out. "And Bree does just fine on her own. But no one seems to think that you're actually going to graduate."

"You make cracks about my intelligence all the time," Adam huffed.

"I know," Douglas acknowledged. "You make fun of my hair. We're even. Besides, you can be clever when you want to be. I'm betting that you could pass your classes if you actually tried."

"I do try," Adam protested.

"When you have as much free time as I do, you watch the security camera a lot," Douglas said. "You don't actually try. You open a book and go to sleep or find something else to do. You want me to stop drinking as much, and I want to watch you walk across the stage at some point. Pass your classes, and I'll drink less. Deal?"

Adam sighed heavily, but held his hand out. "Fine. Deal."

Douglas smiled a bit and took Adam's hand, shaking it. "Deal." He let go of Adam's hand and stood up. "Now I'm going to try to avoid Tasha so that I can take a nap."

Adam nodded. "Thanks."

Douglas waved the word away, mumbling something before he disappeared down the tunnel.

On his shoulder, Yahn smiled. "I missed you."

Adam rubbed behind Yahn's ear. "I'm sorry, buddy. I should've listened to you."

Yahn shrugged, tilting his head to let Adam scratch a larger area. "Everyone messes up, right?"

Adam nodded, smiling halfway. "Right."

Yahn shifted his weight a bit. "So, what are you going to do about Sandra? She probably won't leave you alone, you know."

"I know," Adam responded. "She apparently thinks that I haven't found out yet." He pulled out his phone and opened the message from Sandra, holding it so that Yahn could read it. "I don't know what to say to her."

Yahn shrugged. "How about 'no'?"

Adam opened his mouth to inform Yahn that that wouldn't work – 'no' wouldn't convey everything he wanted to – but found that he actually liked the idea. It was quick and easy, like getting a shot.

Yet another reason he had missed Yahn these past few days: The imp had good advice.

Within the next few minutes, Sandra had been blocked from contacting Adam in any possible way he could think of. He would have to get Mr. Davenport to block her phone number, but they had been emailing each other, anyways. It wouldn't make too much of a difference if he just sent a call or two to voice mail. He sighed a bit as he finally deleted Sandra's message, but not before responding to it in a way that he felt was almost poetic justice.

Hey, Adam. Want to do something today?

No. Never again.

Well, I'm not wholly pleased with how that turned out, but there it is.

Meanwhile, there's one more chapter of this. It's kind of an epilogue thing that will tie into that mysterious ending in Halloween, so you might want to read that if you haven't already. I don't know if it's going to be posted before or after the Thanksgiving thing, though, so we'll see.

Until then, feel free to review. Or don't. Whatever.

And, of course, enjoy.

*Bows and exits*