"I have never cared about the nature of your affairs, that is until now...now that it's interfering with my grandson. That I will not stand for!"
"For the last time, who I date has never been any of your business and it never will be."
Elizabeth shook her head as she drew back farther into the safety of the second floor. Tony had charged in no less than fifteen minutes ago, waving a fist full of magazines and tabloids, all of which she assumed had more coverage of Cruz's exclusive story. She had been upstairs when he sped into the driveway and decided her presence would not calm the situation down one bit. Judging by the constant level of yelling since then, she was sure she had made the right decision.
She wasn't about to pretend she understood the depth of animosity between Jess's father and Lucky. Some, she figured, was fueled by Tony's grief at Jess's death. But at times, like now, it felt more personal. As if Tony was holding Lucky accountable for some crime. If there was one thing she knew for sure about Tony Grimes, he had a spectacular talent for backing Lucky into a corner over Cameron. And when it came to his son, Lucky was going to come out fighting. It was a lose-lose situation for anyone to try to calm it down. Sadly, probably the only person who probably ever could stop it had died three years earlier.
"They're loud." Cameron's even voice startled her. Elizabeth turned around to see the three year sitting calmly on his bed, his curious eyes regarding her. His hand held the TV remote, more than likely with his finger on the volume to drown them out or startle them into silence.
"Yes they are." She took a cautious step into his room. They had been getting along better in recent days but Elizabeth still wasn't sure Cameron wasn't actively hating her. Normally they didn't spend time alone together, but neither one had a choice right now. They were the only sane people in this house right now. Lulu had left for a "study date" hours ago. Elizabeth hadn't the heart to inform Lucky that was probably code for a hook up in the library. "I'll bet they sound kind of scary sometimes." They sure were scaring her.
Cameron shrugged, unconcerned. "They're always loud." He explained matter-of-factly.
Tony's strident voice carried up the stairs. "Have you even considered the fact that your little flavor of the month probably doesn't want to deal with Cameron? Or the fact that Cameron doesn't need someone else in his life that will leave when fame comes calling?"
"Oh for the love of...you don't even know her!"
Elizabeth took a step further into Cameron's room, pulling the door shut behind her. Even if they were always loud, Cameron didn't need to hear any of that. "Well they are scary to me. Can I hide in here with you?"
Cameron shrugged again and returned his attention to the images on the screen. Elizabeth looked around, only somewhat looking for a voodoo doll of herself in the corner. The room was nice if a bit bland. It lacked the personality she knew the little boy had. "Did you help your daddy decorate your room?"
"No. He did it himself."
Elizabeth made a mental note to corral Laura and Lulu and give this boy a room more in line with a three-year-old. Sponge Bob on the walls. Trains. Something. Anything. Lucky clearly hadn't a clue what to do. No wonder he had been told explicitly he would only be helping set up furniture in Bobbie and Cruz's nursery.
Gingerly she sat down at the edge of the bed. So far so good. "What you watching?"
"Scooby Doo."
"I love Scooby. Can I watch with you?"
Cameron nodded and went back to watching the flickering images of the screen. Elizabeth took her lead from him and settled into watch, not commenting or asking questions. Looking over at him, she saw him concentrating on the characters the same way she had seen him look in class. Something was definitely running through his mind. As the episode ended, she opened her mouth to ask if he liked that one when Cameron surprised her.
"Daddy says Patty is Shaggy. But he doesn't look like it."
She fought against laughing. Robin would love to know about this one. "I think he was just being silly."
The muffled roar of voices clued them both in to the fact the argument downstairs was still going on. Elizabeth glanced at her watch. Forty five minutes. This had to be a record. Surely all the fights between these two didn't last this long. She glanced over at Cameron and gestured toward the door. "So they're always loud huh?"
"Since I was a baby."
"And it doesn't scare you ever?" She was amazed. If she had to live with this level of anger her whole life she would have been a basket case.
Cameron shook his head. "I not a baby. I not scared anymore."
"Of course you're not a baby." She had learned a long time ago to never disagree with a three or four-year-old when they declared themselves no longer a baby. "But it's ok to be scared you know." Elizabeth leaned closer and whispered conspiratorially to him. "They scare me you know."
Cameron looked at her skeptically. "Grandma says Daddy and Grandpa both love me."
"They do."
He looked quickly toward the door and then met her eyes again. Cameron's voice took on the tone children used when trying to explain things they didn't understand but they had been told the same explanation several times. "Grandma says they have their own problems and it has nothing to do with me."
"That sounds like a lot of big words to say they don't like each other very much." She could barely understand all the issues surrounding the two men. Elizabeth doubted a three-year-old who clearly loved them both had any more understanding than she did.
"Why?"
"Why what Cameron?" Elizabeth kept her voice soft. She didn't give it much thought but if she had, it was probably to force Cameron to concentrate on her voice and not the rising and falling volume outside the door.
"Why don't they like each other?" Cameron's serious eyes met hers, his voice deadly serious. He clearly wanted answers, careless reassurances wasn't going to satisfy him.
Elizabeth chewed her lip. Lucky was going to owe her so huge for this. Trying to explain what she was sure was years of anger to a there year old? Then again Cameron had asked her for the answer. That had to count for something. She had to at least try.
"I don't know for sure but I think your grandpa just misses your mommy so much. And he wants you to live closer to him so he can see you more often. And your daddy doesn't like to be told what to do any better than you do. So they argue." She paused and lifted her eyebrow. "Really loud."
Cameron offered a small smile and pointed toward the television, still showing the adventures of Scooby and the gang. "Wanna watch more Scooby?"
This was pointless. It was always pointless. He knew this would pointless from the second Tony started pounding on his front door. Lucky wasn't entirely sure how he knew from the other man's knock who was standing on his porch, but somehow he did. He chalked it up to years of the same never ending argument. They always followed the same script. He was an asshole who just chased fame and didn't care about Cameron. Tony was a controlling bastard who was obsessed with anything to do with his daughter.
Why he couldn't break out of this pattern was a question he asked himself after every encounter. He wanted Cameron to know Jess's family. No matter what else happened in his life, she was Cameron's mother and he needed to know about her. It would be ideal if he could get along with her parents. However with each passing year, Lucky was beginning to think it was probably impossible.
Lucky glanced at his watch. An hour? They had been going over this and over this for an hour? The longest they had ever argued in the past was thirty minutes tops. At this rate it was going to go all night. Lucky blew out an aggravated breath. "Look. I think you need to leave now."
"Why so you can bring your girlfriend of the second?" Tony sneered at him.
"For the last time her name is Elizabeth. And no. It's Cameron's bedtime and at the rate we're going we'll keep him up all night." His mother would more thank likely slap the backside of his head if she heard his tone, but sometimes sounding like a snotty teenager was the best way to stop an argument with Tony.
Fortunately using Cameron's name had been the right tactic to move. As many issues as Lucky had with Tony, he could never deny the other man loved Cameron with all his heart. Heading toward the stairs, Tony turned and looked Lucky dead in the eyes. "I will go tell my grandson goodnight."
Lucky rolled his eyes at Tony's retreating back. "As if I could stop you," he muttered as he climbed the stairs behind him. If by some miracle Cameron had fallen asleep, it was going to take a good hour to get him back to sleep after Tony woke him up. Not to mention what would happen if Tony accidentally spotted Elizabeth upstairs.
He thanked whoever it was who was watching over him. Uncle Tony. Aunt Mattie. BJ. Even Carly, if she had felt so inclined. Whoever it was he was grateful they had helped influence Elizabeth to stay upstairs and stay quiet. He was sure she had heard every word but at least she hadn't heard them flung in her face.
Following Tony into Cameron's room, he almost ran into the older man when he stopped suddenly. Biting back his urge to curse, he tried to look around Tony's shoulder to discover what had caused Tony's sudden stop. Following Tony's gaze toward Cameron's bed, he squinted his eyes in the flickering light of the television and felt his breath catch in his throat.
Both Cameron and Elizabeth laid on the small bed, apparently sound asleep. Elizabeth lay on her right side, her head resting on her outstretched right arm. Cameron was curled up on his left side, his small foot gently kicking barely missing Elizabeth's shin. Her left arm rested gently over his small body.
Lucky bit back his smile and felt an urge to find a camera that he immediately blamed on his mother. He wasn't quite sure what had happened up here tonight and he knew when he asked Elizabeth she would claim it wasn't anything big. But he doubted Cameron would glare at Elizabeth or be obviously uncomfortable in her presence again. At least until he convinced her eight thirty in the morning was entirely too early to be leaving on a Sunday. One battle at a time.
"Do you want to wake him up?" Lucky whispered, nodding his head in the direction of the bed.
"No," Tony shook his head gravely, his eyes dropping to his wedding band. There were few times in his life that left him feeling completely helpless, and this was nothing like those other times. He was sad, he was angry, he was lost, he was standing up but who knew for how long? Wanting to scream out loud but afraid of waking the only living memory of his only child, he closed his eyes and turned away from the scene that continued to drive a twelve-inch blade through his heart. "Will you tell Cameron I came by? And I'll call him tomorrow after school?" His voice was quiet, distant, and he was disgusted at the pleasure this must have brought Lucky.
"Sure." Wisely Lucky decided not to point out that Cameron more than likely was well aware of the visit already.
"I'll let myself out." Tony turned to leave, not wanting to see anymore. It was harder to dismiss Lucky's claims of this relationship being different than the countless other ones after witnessing this. This one really was different. And that scared the hell out of Tony.
Dillon studied the tape closely, almost as if he expected it to come to life. He had been in this same position for the last five minutes and, if Lucas hadn't known him as well as he did, he might have interrupted, but he knew it would do no good. Bobbie had made the mistake of questioning his expertise and he had banished her to the kitchen. "I think we should play it again."
"It's not the Zapruder film."
"I think we need to pay special attention to his tone. Do you want to make your mother feel worse just because you're an unfeeling ass most of the time?" Dillon shot back in a biting tone, shoving the tape into the answering machine.
"No but I would rather not pay for a new answering machine." Lucas mumbled under his breath. Now they were going to listen for Cruz's tone? He loved Dillon dearly but sometimes his obsessive attention to details was just too much.
It wasn't like he didn't want to know what prompted Cruz to leave such a message. He hadn't actually wanted to be right about the other man leaving. And with Dillon in full out proposal scene preparation, he had even started to come around to the idea of having a stepfather who was only a few years older than him. Lucas knew he would deny it until his dying day, but he had actually somewhat started to come around to the whole idea.
And then Dillon had accidentally played that answering machine message and now he was about to hear it for the fourteenth time.
"Are you questioning my skill?" Dillon's eyebrows arched in question.
"No. I'm questioning your sanity. Completely different topic."
"Shh." Dillon held up his hand. "Is your mother crying?"
Lucas listened and heard the distinct sound of female whimpering. He smacked his husband in the back of the head. "Maybe she didn't want to hear that message over and over again?"
"We are so discussing this abuse in therapy." Dillon narrowed his eyes in frustration. "And did you happen to think that maybe I was trying to make her feel better? It's obvious he's just staying away until she decides that she wants him in her and the baby's life. Men like Daddy Cruz are very aware of their pride and often avoid situations in which it can be attacked. It's as Joseph Gordon-Levitt said in 10 Things I Hate About You, 'Sacrifice yourself on the altar of dignity and even the score."
"And when we get to therapy we are also discussing you're justifying actions on Julia Stiles movies." Lucas rolled his eyes. "Mom you may as well come out. We can hear you crying in there."
"I think I'm going to head to the market. Do you boys want anything?" Bobbie called from the kitchen.
"No. Mom, sit down." Lucas pleaded with her.
Bobbie walked slowly into the living room, her eyes on her shoes. "Really, I don't know why we need to discuss this any further."
"Because you are obviously upset and you've been avoiding everyone for the past week." Lucas pointed out. The last person you talked to was Aunt Laura."
"She lets me talk. You're both trying to make me see your side like you're superior or something. It's exhausting." Bobbie sighed, taking a seat farthest from them.
"No we're trying to make you hear reason." Dillon argued.
"This situation is impossible to solve right this second. Besides, it's really not any of your business." She told them both, her eyes finally lifting to meet theirs.
"Your happiness is my business" Lucas argued.
"And mine. Cause when you're unhappy, he's unhappy and then I'm unhappy." Dillon chimed in.
"And our mood affects your grandson." Lucas chimed in firmly.
"I can't force Cruz to love me." Bobbie replied solemnly.
"Because he already does." Dillon explained, his hands waving in the air.
"No darling. He thought he did. You have to remember, he's never been in this kind of a relationship before. This is a lot more serious than anything he has ever dealt with. Look at your cousins because, up until last year, Cruz didn't know a way of life besides theirs." Bobbie whispered intently.
"Have you looked at Patrick's and Lucky's lives lately?" Lucas questioned. "Because I don't think that argument is going to hold much weight."
"Yeah." Dillon chimed in. "We've not only met Elizabeth and Robin we've met them several times. I even hear they do things like stay in on a Saturday night and rent movies."
Bobbie got to her feet as fast as she could in her current condition, her hands out in front of her. Shoving a long, curly strand of fiery red hair behind her ear, she folded her arms over her chest. "Then why isn't he here?" She challenged furiously. "Huh? He knows I love him, he knows I want him to be a part of our lives, and yet he's hiding behind his work. So you tell me what I should do, okay? Tell me what the right thing is, because you're both so much smarter than I am!" Picking up the answering machine with force, she chucked it across the living room, watching it shatter into a hundred little pieces. Let him try to reach her now! Let him try to leave another patronizing message on her now-broken machine. His voice made her angry every time she heard it; the way he had said he would let her go was downright pathetic!
"Mom..." Lucas stared haltingly. "Does he really know all that?"
When Bobbie turned to face her son, there were tears in her eyes. "I don't know if he does or not. And I'm really starting to wonder why I care so much."