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 found, to his surprise, that he enjoyed watching the kids that afternoon. The weather was nice enough that he was able to take them and George for a walk over to Jay and Lyla's house, where George scared one of the workers, which made Jack laugh hysterically.
He even got Jack to sit at the table and color pictures, which is what they were doing when Al arrived home with Amber and TJ. Nicky was in the swing, Cody was in the playpen, and the mood in the kitchen was relaxed and peaceful.
"Wow, I hate to say it, but I half expected to find the place wrecked," said Al with a smile as she came into the kitchen.
"Nope, we had a great time here. You get that transmission fixed?" Tim pushed his chair away from the table and motioned for Al to come over.
She sat in his lap, wrapped her arms around his neck and grinned. "In less than an hour."
"But that's because I did all the hard work first, right?" asked Tim, pulling her in for a quick kiss.
"Yeah, that's exactly it," she said, her tone and sarcastic smile indicating that she meant exactly the opposite of her words.
"You going to tell me what the problem was?"
"What? And ruin my job security? No way."
"I hate to threaten, but I will tickle it out of you."
Al slid off his lap and slipped away, ducking under his arms and twisting out of reach with a laugh.
"Hey," he said, his voice soft and concerned. "You get a chance to talk to Billy?"
She nodded, then looked at Jack before looking back at Tim. "Later, okay?"
"Oh, yeah, sure," said Tim, wishing she'd at least give him a hint or a preview.
Al stopped the swing and picked up Nicky, talking to him and telling him how much she missed him. Then she went back over to Tim. "I think it's going to be okay. I can't make any promises, but ...look, we'll talk later."
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Tim had managed to forget how much work it was to look after five kids. It seemed like every time he turned around, someone needed something. He and Al split up the bed time duties. She took care of Jack and Cody, then he took care of Amber and TJ. Amber ended up telling him some big long story he could barely follow, about her best friend Sarah and her second best friend Carrie and some mean boys from the second grade.
When Tim had finally escaped the never-ending story and gone to the living room, Al wasn't there, but the baby monitor was. He turned on the monitor and could hear that she was putting Nicky to bed. He smiled as he sat down on the couch. She really couldn't sing very well, but it never stopped her from trying. Listening to her on the monitor reminded him of the first time they babysat for Amber and TJ, the weekend that ended up sort of, in a weird way, being their first date.
A few minutes later, Al came out and stood behind Tim. She put her hands on his shoulders and started to give him a back rub, her fingers drawn to his sore spots like magnets. He could barely think when she did this.
"You tired?" he asked.
"Exhausted, but in a good way. It felt great to be back at work."
Tim smiled awkwardly. They hadn't really talked about what happened next in terms of Al and work. The plan before Nicky was born was that she'd go back to work when she was ready, whenever that happened to be. Al was ambivalent about day care, though, so Mindy had volunteered to watch him. (Another baby? No problem. He'll mostly sleep anyway. And when he's walking, he and Cody can chase each other around and tire each other out.)
"So, um, do you want to go back to work?" he asked. He knew he should probably ask her to stop with the back rub if they were going to have a serious conversation, but it felt so good, he couldn't.
"Not quite yet. Maybe after Christmas. We'll burn that bridge when we come to it. There was one thing I wanted to talk to you about."
"Billy?" he asked.
"No, not Billy. There's not much more to say about Billy, really. You can expect him at work tomorrow and can talk to him yourself then."
Tim nodded. "If this is something serious, then you probably need to stop doing that."
Al laughed and came around the couch to sit next to him. "Can I sit next to you? Or do you want me to sit over there?"
Tim put an arm around her and pulled her close. "You're fine right where you are."
Al held his hand and Tim could feel her fidgeting slightly, which was never a good sign..
"Just spit it out, whatever it is. We'll figure it out," he said as he kissed the top of her head.
"I want to go to Minnesota for a couple of weeks, over Thanksgiving, to visit my family."
"Okay," said Tim slowly, struggling to get his bearings. "Minnesota, I'm cool with that. Thanksgiving, family, no problems there. It's just....a couple of weeks? Really? Isn't that kind of a long time?"
Al shrugged. "Maybe not that long. I was going to get a refundable ticket so if I wanted to go home sooner, I could."
"But, if you wanted to stay longer, you also could?"
"Yeah, that's another way to look at it."
"Al, I know things have been tough recently, but they're getting better, really." Tim didn't understand why she wanted to leave.
"I know that. It's just I miss my family, you know? Charlie's going to be there for a few weeks before he takes a new assignment in Singapore. Mickey told me that Dad has a girlfriend, which is a first, so I need to meet her. And, you know, everyone wants to see Nicky."
It hadn't occurred to Tim that Nicky would be going too. He knew it only made sense, but it still made him sad to think how much he would miss them both.
"You can come too, you know? Everyone would love to see you too."
Tim shook his head. "Nah, I'm fine here. Billy might need me anyway."
"I'm sorry, Timmy, but I really need this." She leaned back and kissed his cheek, then pressed her forehead against his.
"I know you do. I'll be fine for a couple of weeks. I promise not to torch the place."
Al laughed.
"So, when are you leaving?"
"I was thinking the weekend before Thanksgiving and then probably coming back the weekend after. Is that okay?"
Tim took a deep breath and tried to sound as convincing as possible. "That's fine."
"Thank you. I'll miss you, probably so much that I'll come home early," she said softly as she kissed his neck.
"Well, I'll be at the airport waiting whenever you tell me to be there," he said, trying to think more about how nice it would be when she came home than about how hard it would be when she left.
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The next morning, Tim dropped Amber and TJ off at school, telling them that either he or Billy would pick them up in the afternoon. Then he dropped Cody and Jack off at the day care center. It was the first time he'd ever actually set foot in the place and he found it horribly depressing, especially the row of cribs lining one wall.
It was like a baby jail and it made him think that he really didn't want Nicky growing up there. But he knew that being a stay-at-home mom was probably never going to be Al's thing. He didn't understand why not – it seemed like a pretty good deal to him, getting to spend all your time with your kid, or even better, your kids. He wondered how hard Billy would laugh at him if he said he was quitting the garage to stay home with Nicky.
Billy came into work at 9am sharp. He was clean-shaven and clear-eyed. The first thing he did when he arrived was call Tim into his office.
Tim went back there hesitantly and stood awkwardly in the door way.
"C'mon, Timmy, get your ass in here and close the door behind you," said Billy.
Tim did as he was told, not sure if Billy was going to yell at him. Billy shuffled some papers around on his desk and then finally looked up.
"I'm sorry about yesterday. I know I probably scared the kids and you and I'm going to try hard to not let that happen again."
Tim blinked, unsure of what to say. "It's okay, Billy."
"No, Tim, it's not. I don't want that kind of life for my kids and you were right to get them out of there. That must have been hard."
Tim shrugged and felt incredibly uncomfortable. "Um, can I get back to work?"
Billy nodded. "Oh yeah, sure, I'm busy here too, no problem."
Tim stood up and walked to the door, turning back before he opened it. "I'm glad you seem better today, Billy and I'm really sorry that this sucks so bad."
"Thanks, Timmy. Your wife assures me that it will suck a little less, eventually. I hope to god she's right. I mean.....she seems like a smart girl and all, but then she went and married you, so I just don't know if I can trust her judgement.
Tim grinned and shook his head. Billy. Joking around. That had to be a good sign.