Disclaimer: I don't own anything here (except for Al) and am just doing this for fun and to pass the long months until Season 4.
Tim thought hard about what to say to Billy and how to say it, but when Billy came to pick up Cody and TJ after Amber's party, Tim found he couldn't say anything. It didn't help that Billy was in a rush and Amber and Jack were waiting in the minivan. Tim figured he could use a few more days to think about things, to watch Billy at work and see if he could pick up any hints of trouble.
He didn't mention it to Al, fearing that she would either push him into talking to Billy before he was ready or would just go talk to him herself. Tim didn't know which would be worse. A few days stretched into a week, then nearly two weeks. Tim still hadn't found the words, maybe because he didn't see evidence that anything was seriously wrong.
Sure, Billy seemed a little bleary-eyed most mornings, but he said that Cody hadn't been sleeping very well lately. And yeah, the kids' clothes sometimes seemed like they'd seen better days, but Billy said there was something wrong with the washing machine and he was going to either fix or replace it soon. So maybe sometimes Billy seemed like he was a million miles away and Tim still had to double-check the parts orders, but it was no worse than it had been when Billy was living with them.
All in all, it seemed like Billy was doing well enough. Maybe not perfectly. Certainly not anywhere near as well as when Mindy was alive, but he was managing to put one foot in front of the other and get through each day. Al always said that some days, that was all you could hope for.
*** **** *** **** *** **** *** ******* **** *** ******* **** *** ******* **** *** ******* **** *** ******* **** *** ******* **** *** ******* **** *** ****
Tim was at the garage, trying to fix a particularly difficult transmission, which demanded his full attention. He had started on it as soon as he got into work and had quickly lost track time. It startled him when D'Andre lumbered over.
"Lady's on the phone looking for Billy. Says it's really important," he said.
Tim looked up at the clock, surprised to see that it was already 10.30. "He's not here?"
D'Andre shook his head and Tim sighed, then wiped his hands on a rag he'd left on the roof of the car. "OK, I'll take care of it."
Tim went into Billy's office and sat down at his desk before picking up the phone and jabbing the button for the blinking light.
"Yeah?" he said.
"Mr. Riggins?" asked an unfamiliar voice.
"Well, yeah, probably not the one you're looking for. I'm his brother though, can I help you?"
"This is Cheryl, from the day care center. We just wanted to let you know that Jack and Cody have not yet arrived."
"Uh....sorry about that," said Tim, his mind spinning through the possible reasons that his nephews would not have gotten to day care. None of them were good.
"No need to apologize. We just like to verify that the children are okay. You know, tragedies can happen, like children left inside locked cars."
"Yeah, I know," said Tim grimly. "Look, Billy's not at work yet, so maybe one of the kids is sick and he just forgot to call you. I'll stop by the house and make sure everything's okay."
"That's fine. If you could please remind your brother to review our drop-off and call-in policies. Unless we hear otherwise, we will expect the children tomorrow between 7 and 10."
"Okay. Thanks." Tim hung up the phone and held his hands over his face, sighing deeply. Then he stood up, grabbed his jacket and walked quickly out to his truck, shouting out to D'Andre that he had something to take care of and would be back soon.
Tim had the truck halfway up the street before he'd properly shut the door or fastened his seatbelt. He drove quickly but tried to stay alert and aware. He didn't want to panic and make a stupid mistake, which could lead to getting stopped by the cops or worse. He made it to Billy's house in minutes and felt partially reassured when he saw the minivan still sitting in the driveway.
As he passed the minivan, he cupped his hands around his eyes and peered in the windows, carefully scanning to make sure all the seats were empty. He was relieved that he was able to check one major fear off his list. He covered the distance between the car and the front door in a handful of long, hurried strides. He knocked hard on the door and waited. He could hear the TV blaring and a baby crying.
Tim tried the door handle and it opened easily. He stepped into the house, his eyes struggling to adjust to the darkness after the bright sunlight outside.
"Billy?" he called out. He looked around the room, trying to locate the source of the crying. It was nearly impossible with the TV on so loudly. He could never remember where the button was on the television and he knew trying to locate the remote control would be a fool's errand at that point, so he just pulled the plug from the wall. There was a brief crackle and then the noise stopped. He followed the sound of the baby crying into the kitchen, where he found Cody strapped into his car seat.
He knelt down on the floor next to the car seat and struggled with the buckles while he tried to reassure the baby in a low voice. He cursed when his fingers slipped from the last buckle and he had to wipe his hands on his pants. He hadn't realized that they were sweating so badly.
The last buckle snapped open and Tim was about to lift Cody out of the seat when small cookies rained down on him. Confused, he stood up and looked around, eventually locating the source of the problem. Jack was sitting on top of the refrigerator, tucked up into the corner against the wall so that he was barely visible. He was alternating between eating fistfuls of Cookie Crisp out of the box and tossing them at Tim.
"How'd you get up there, Jack?" Tim asked.
"Climbed," said Jack with a shrug.
Tim secured Cody back in his seat. He stood in front of the refrigerator and reached up, but while his arms were still moving, Jack decided to jump. His weight hit Tim in the chest and he staggered, nearly tripping over the car seat. He'd been hit by two-hundred pound offensive linemen but nothing was ever as scary as having a small child plummet into him and knock him off balance.
Slightly out of breath, he put Jack on the floor, just hoping the kid wouldn't do anything else dangerous or stupid before he could find Billy. He bent down quickly and freed Cody from the car seat, wincing at the smell emanating from his diaper.
"What the hell is going on here?" he muttered as he walked back toward Billy's room. The door was closed and Tim knocked and called out his brother's name before pushing the door open.
The room was dark, the only light coming from the television in the corner of the room. Billy sat on the floor at the foot of the bed, half-dressed, leaning up against the bed with his face in his hands. Tim squinted at the flickering images on the television screen and realized it was Billy and Mindy's wedding video.
"Billy? What the hell is going on?"
Billy looked up, his eyes red and puffy. He opened his mouth, but couldn't seem to speak. Instead, he shrugged sadly and went back to staring at the television. Tim looked from his miserable-looking brother to his uncomfortable-looking nephew and struggled to prioritize.
He was saved from having to make any difficult decisions when he saw diapers, a changing pad and baby wipes in a basket on the floor. Tim kicked the basket over next to Billy and knelt down on the floor. He got started on changing Cody's diaper before he spoke.
"The day care place called. Wanted to know where you were."
Billy said nothing and gave no indication that he was even aware that Tim was talking to him. Tim took a minute to focus on the diaper changing, which was absolutely disgusting. He didn't know if Cody just pooped more than Nicky because he was four months older and a good bit bigger or if it had been a long time since his diaper had been changed. Then Tim was struck by a scary thought.
"Billy, where are Amber and TJ?"
Billy didn't respond, so Tim grabbed his arm and gave him a not-so gentle shake as he repeated the question.
"Uh....school?"
"Are you asking me or are you telling me?"
Billy considered the question for a long minute. "School. Must be school."
"Did you drive them there?"
"Uh....no. But I think Amber said not to worry about it, that they'd walk."
Tim sighed and went to run a hand through his hair, but then looked at Cody's diaper and thought better of it. He found a plastic bag, put the used diaper in it and then got up.
"Billy, watch him for a minute. Billy!" He stood there until Billy finally looked at him.
A few minutes later, Tim had disposed of the diaper, washed his hands and face and checked that Jack hadn't wrecked the place or hurt himself. Then he went back to the bedroom, where Billy was once again absorbed by the video and Cody had crawled half-way across the room. Tim scooped up Cody and put him in his playpen in the living room. When he got back to Billy's room, he turned the television off, then turned around and faced his brother.
It was heartbreaking to see him like this. Tim scanned the room, looking for empty bottles, but he didn't see any. He didn't know which would be worse – if Billy had gotten wasted this early in the morning or if all this falling apart had happened while he was completely sober.
"Today.....this was the day I asked Mindy to marry me. Do you remember? I was such a dumb-ass, it was just a spur-of-the-moment thing. No ring or anything. Everyone probably thought we'd be divorced within a year," Billy's voice trailed off and he looked down at his hands, his wedding ring still on his left hand.
Tim crouched in front of his brother, not sure how best to play this one. Coach said that sometimes, didn't matter what you did, the shot was headed for the rough. This felt like one of those times.
"Billy, how did Amber and TJ get to school?"
"They walked. They must have walked. It's only like a mile, right?"
Tim agreed half-heartedly. He wasn't worried about the distance. He was worried about a six-year old and a seven-year old alone, having to cross two major roads to get to school.
"Alright, look, I'm going to take Jack and Cody. And I'll pick Amber and TJ up from school. They're all going to stay at our house tonight and Al will bring them to school and day care in the morning. Then, if you've got your shit together tomorrow afternoon, you can have them back. It'll be like none of this happened."
Billy looked hurt, grateful and crushed. "Thanks, Timmy. I just need a day. I promise, I'll be better tomorrow."
Tim nodded and then stood up. He went into the kids' rooms and grabbed their pajamas and clothes for a couple of days. Then he got the keys for the minivan. He was about to leave the house with the kids when he felt pulled back to Billy's bedroom. Billy hadn't moved from his spot on the floor, hadn't turned the television back on. He was just sitting there, staring blankly at his hands.
"Hey, Billy?"
"Yeah?"
"Um, you going to be okay here by yourself? You know you could stay with us too," said Tim gently.
"Nah, Timmy. I'll be okay here."
"You promise?"
Billy looked up at Tim and nodded. "I promise."
Tim looked away and took a deep breath. "OK. We're going now then. See you at work tomorrow, right?"
"Yeah, Timmy. Tomorrow."
Tim took one last look around the room, trying to think if there was anything more he could do. But it seemed like giving Billy some time and space to grieve alone was the right thing to do.