Hello dear ones! Part two of Gavin and AJ's Excellent Summer Adventure continues below. Part on was on the East Coast with Kurt and Blaine; now join the boys on the West Coast with the O'Keefe clan.

Enjoy! Glee=not mine.

~oOo~

"Now!" Gavin shouted at AJ.

"Now?" AJ returned, hesitantly.

"Now or never!" Gavin laughed. While lying on his stomach, AJ braced his hands on either side of his chest and brought his feet up to a crouching position. From there he stood tentatively, gaining his balance as the wave he was about to ride crested. "You did it!" Gavin yelled. "Stay stead…" Gavin didn't finish his sentence because he wiped out, trying to make his boyfriend's first experience surfing the Pacific as successful as possible. While keeping an eye on AJ, Gavin's board twisted a bit, pitching him to the right. Moments later, he resurfaced, just in time to see AJ reach the shore, where he turned and realized he'd lost Gavin. A figure popped up from the water and immediately straddled a board. A wave of his arm let AJ know that Gavin was fine and would wait for another curl to ride to shore. The boys were reunited on the beach ten minutes later.

"You were amazing! I can't believe you've only ever surfed once before! You are a natural," Gavin said, clapping AJ on the back.

"Sorry to ditch you out there. What happened?" AJ asked.

"Well, I was just hanging out on my board, waiting for a perfect wave and instead, the most perfect, most gorgeous surfer I've ever seen went whizzing by me! I was so stunned by his beauty that I lost all control, lost my footing, and the rest is history."

AJ turned to his boyfriend, grinned, and said, "You are ridiculous. Really, what happened?"

"My board twisted and I got dumped," Gavin said. "You, however, were spectacular. If we had more time before dinner, I'd certainly take you out again." Looking at his watch, Gavin said, "As it is, we're probably going to be late. We'd best haul." They grabbed their gear and their boards and made their way back up to the O'Keefe's oceanfront home. When the boys hit the top stair of the beach stairs, they noticed Gavin's mom, Molly, bringing out plates and silverware.

AJ pulled ahead and said, "Let me help you with that!" as he took the stack of plates from Mrs. O'Keefe.

"AJ, you are such a polite boy. Someone else could learn about manners from you," she said, pointedly glancing in Gavin's direction.

"In Gavin's defense, my dads said told me that I could learn some manners from Gavin when we were in New York last month," AJ said. Gavin gave his mother a self-satisfied look.

"It's still no excuse, Mr. Gavin Tierney O'Keefe. Manners and home and …"

"…out in the world, I know Mom."

"Ooooh, you got your naughty name!" AJ whispered to Gavin.

"My what?"

"You know, your naughty name. First middle and last."

"You boys go get dried off. We'll eat in twenty minutes," Molly said. As both boys headed for the sliding door off the kitchen, Molly called out, "And by the way, Mary Beth just called and she'll be joining us for dinner."

Gavin stopped dead in his tracks. AJ bumped into him, causing both boys to stumble. "Oh shit. Oh no," Gavin said. He slowly turned to AJ and said, "AJ, I'm so sorry. I wish there had been more time to prepare you. Oh, man. This is not good." Gavin continued mumbling to himself as the boys made their way to the wing that contained the sleeping quarters. "Get changed and meet me in my room ASAP. We'll cram." Gavin said.

"Wait…we'll what?" AJ asked, thinking Gavin's reaction was a little strange and kind of funny.

"Seriously. If you value your life, you'll hurry up," Gavin said, leaving AJ at the guestroom door and continuing down the hall to his own room.

~oOo~

Not seven minutes later, AJ entered Gavin's room, just as he was pulling a polo shirt over his head. "Okay, explain. What's the big deal? Mary Beth is your older sister, right? The one who was going to join us for Christmas Eve dinner, but didn't?" AJ asked.

"The very one. You know in Harry Potter how Voldemort is referred to as 'He Who Must Not Be Named?' Well, that's our Mary Elizabeth. I have some words of warning for you and then I'm afraid you are on your own. Warning Number One: Mary Beth is always right. The only people who can tell her to take a flying leap are my mom and dad. The rest of us, not so much. Warning Number Two: since you are new AND dating me, she's going to test you, see what you are made of. As obnoxious as she is, she's also fiercely loyal when it comes to her family when someone from the outside is brought in. I watched her tear one of my older brother's girlfriends to shreds once, verbally, of course. This girl announced at dinner that feminism should go die in a hole and that women should stay home and cook and raise children. MB had a heyday with that one. All I can say is just keep your wits about you, avoid eye contact, stay away from controversy, and stay close to me." Gavin exhaled as he sat on the edge of his bed.

"Gav, thank you for the warning, but I'm sure everything will be just fine and I'll…" AJ was cut off.

"AJ, please, just listen to my warning. I…I…don't know any other way to explain this to you. Remember when you met my sister Mhyre at Christmas? And you commented that you thought she was sassy? Well take that sassy and multiply it by one-thousand and you have Mary Beth. My parents just shake their heads and wonder where she came from. Relatives from Ireland swear she is our Great Great Aunt Matilda, reborn. Ruled the family for decades and some say she still rules it from the great beyond. Just be careful tonight. Promise me," Gavin asked, earnestly.

"Okay, Gavin. I promise to be on my best Boy Scout behavior tonight, making no waves and smiling continuously. Satisfied?" AJ asked.

"Were you a Boy Scout?" Gavin asked.

"Uh, no way, They don't exactly approve of gay troop leaders, so coming from my family and all…" Again, AJ was cut off.

"Before we go out there, I want you to remember that I love you and that we will survive this, no matter what," Gavin said, hugging AJ and kissing him lightly.

"Gavin, AJ, dinner's ready," came 14 year old Mhyre's voice from the kitchen. "Quit your smooching and get your fannies down here."

"Did she…" AJ asked.

"No. She's just being a pain. Come on." Gavin lead AJ down the hall and down the stairs to join the O'Keefe family in the kitchen.

~oOo~

Six people stood around the kitchen, each talking to another or completing some dinner task. All discussion and movement stopped when AJ and Gavin entered the room. Over Christmas, AJ had met Gavin's younger siblings: Mhyre, Gavin's verbal sparring partner; Xander, a budding magician and family know-it-all; and Siobhan, age four and cute as a bug's ear. It was Siobhan who broke the silence, running to AJ and shouting, "AJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJay!" at the top of her lungs. She then jumped and lunged towards him, and AJ caught her expertly.

"Hi cute girl! How was your day?" AJ asked her.

"GREAT! I went swimming at the pool and I was a WHALE!" Siobhan threw her hands up in the air and everyone in the family threw their hands over their ears. For being such a small girl, Siobhan had a set of lungs on her. As her arms came down, they hooked together around AJ's neck and Gavin's little sister rested her head on AJ's shoulder.

"Well, I'm impressed," said a cool voice from the center of the kitchen. "Siobhan doesn't typically take to strangers so quickly.

"Mary Beth, stop that right now. AJ was here at Christmas, so Siobhan knows him already. You had different plans that day, remember?" Molly scolded.

"Of course, of course," said Mary Beth. "And since my little brother is being completely rude, let me introduce myself. I'm Mary Beth O'Keefe, older sister to Gavin, who I'm sure you already know?" a smile that could cut through concrete spread across Mary Beth's face.

AJ leveled her gaze, waited just a fraction of a moment and extended his hand and said, "Hello Mary Beth. It's is a pleasure to meet you. I was sorry you could not join us for dinner on Christmas break. I was looking forward to meeting you." AJ produced a smile that was a genuine as they come. Eye contact remained.

"Oooooh. Cute, charming, and he comes complete with prep school manners. I'm impressed," Mary Beth said.

"MB, knock it off," Gavin said, giving his sister the eye.

"I'm doing this for you, Gavvie. Nothing but the best for my favorite little brother."

"Hey, I thought I was your favorite little brother!" Xander exclaimed, breaking the tension a bit.

"Oh, sweetheart," Mary Beth said, running a hand over her youngest brother's head, "you are my favorite littlest brother! Come on, let's head outside and get good seats for dinner."

When the door between the kitchen and the deck closed, the family members inside gave a collective sigh. "Well played, AJ," Mhyre said.

"Boy, you handled her well," Patrick O'Keefe said, patting his son's boyfriend on the back.

"I'm not so sure what I did, but…thanks?" AJ said, looking baffled.

"Dude! You held you ground! You didn't let her intimidate you! Mind you, she's probably not done putting you through the ringer, but you made it through round one. Round two will probably consist of her bringing up a controversial topic and observing how you respond. Be ready," Gavin said, squeezing AJ's hand.

"Well, let's all head out for dinner, shall we?" Molly shooed everyone from the kitchen, bringing up with rear with the salad for the meal. AJ and Gavin sat next to each other and Siobhan tried to sit in AJ's lap. "Siobhan, dear, let AJ have his own chair. Why don't you sit next to him?" Molly said. Reluctantly, Siobhan move to the next chair over and the meal began.

~oOo~

"So, as you all know, the law firm has a matching funds program for gifts of philanthropy. Whatever I give to the cause of my choice, they'll match, dollar for dollar. My donation this year will be the biggest to date and I've decided that my money will go to the sponsors of Proposition 8, you know the one, right? That nice group of people who are working so hard to preserve the sanctity of marriages between men and women." Mary Beth stopped talking and looked coolly from face to face around the table.

Even sitting outside, next to the ocean, you could have heard a pin drop.

"Mary Elizabeth O'Keefe, you are out of line," Patrick said. "This stops right now. How dare you…"

"Oh, and now we're not allowed to have opinions? Is that it? I'm merely expressing what I believe to be true. Isn't that the basis of any dinnertime conversation. I'm sure everyone here at the table agrees with me, being we're from a good Irish Catholic family. That is…" Mary Beth paused and looked expectantly at AJ, "unless AJ here believes differently."

AJ lifted his napkin from his lap and wiped his mouth carefully. While he was shaking with anger on the inside, he knew that appearing to remain cool on the outside was of utmost importance. "Let me begin by making sure I have my facts straight, so to speak. Prop 8 is the movement, that if upheld, will deny marriage and the benefits of marriage to everyone except one man and one woman, correct?"

"You are," Mary Beth said. "Surely, you can agree that certain traditions in our culture create the foundations of our strong society. Mess with those and we mess with the very fiber of our being. Besides, what's next, people marrying pets…or buildings?"

"So, the people behind Prop 8 are preserving the sanctity of marriage. One man, one woman, right?" AJ asked.

"Correct. So glad to see you are on my side on this one," Mary Beth said, smiling sweetly at AJ.

"Not so fast. Let's put that sanctity of marriage idea up against the fact that over 50 percent of marriages in our country end in divorce. Let's consider people who get drunk, pull up to a chapel in Vegas, get hitched, and then decide the next morning that it was all a gigantic lark and they get their vows annulled. They seem to be entering their unions with sanctity of marriage on their minds, right?" AJ said.

"Well, of course there are always bad examples…" Mary Beth continued.

"Perhaps you missed the part about over 50 percent of marriages ending in divorce? How is there anything sacred in that? And back to your earlier idea about people marrying pets or…buildings, did you say? See, that will never fly because pets and people are not on equal footing. Pets don't have any say in their lives. People, however, do. Two adults, who love each other and want to be committed to each other, should not be denied the right to be married to each other. Legislating love is a slippery slope and personally, our country would be better off if lawmakers spend their time trying to solve poverty and homelessness than trying to dictate who marries whom."

"It doesn't stop there, you know," Mary Beth said, going in for the kill. "After marriage, there comes the idea of children. Children, raised by gay people? Those poor, poor children."

AJ continued on, cool under pressure, but feeling like he was about to explode. "You don't know me well, Mary Beth, so you may have missed that I'm being raised by two gay men. My dads are the best parents I've encountered. They take their vows seriously, and they take their responsibility to raise me to be a contributing member of society even more seriously. Do I appear to be "messed up" as you ascertain? Personally, I think I'm turning out just fine. I come from a happy home that is filled with love and support. That's a lot more than I can say for some of my friends, who come from homes with a mom and a dad."

A few moments of silence hung in the air. Mary Beth looked at AJ and smiled. "You pass," she said, a little less sharpness in her tone. AJ looked around the table and saw faces of relief.

Gavin rubbed his hand up and down AJ's back and whispered, "Good job."

~oOo~

The rest of the evening was spent playing old board games and telling family stories. AJ stopped counting how many times Gavin blushed in response to the stories his siblings and parents told. Siobhan fell asleep around 10:30. Molly and Patrick excused themselves to take her upstairs and put her to bed. Not long after that, Mhyre and Xander yawned and headed for bed too.

"AJ, walk me to my car, won't you?" Mary Beth asked. "I won't bite. Promise."

AJ stood and walked with Mary Beth to the front door and opened it for her. Stepping outside, she immediately turned to AJ and said, "Just so you know, I don't believe that garbage I was spewing in there. My little brother deserves to be happy and to marry whomever he chooses. I just had to see if you are good enough for him. If you repeat this I'll deny it, but Gavin is my favorite of all the siblings. I don't show it to him, but it is true. I know that a certain amount of his life will be a struggle because he's gay. I had to make sure you have the ability to stand up and hold your ground. You did so splendidly, by the way."

"I can see why you make a good lawyer," AJ said, laughing. "I did feel a bit on the spot and the whole time I'm thinking, 'This is going to turn out badly.' I'm glad you are looking out for Gavin. He's a strong person, but we all need lots of people on our side."

"Be that as it may, it is my duty as an older sister to let you know that if you break my little brother's heart, I will break you. Do you have any reason to doubt that?" Mary Beth asked.

"No ma'am. None at all. Don't worry. I'll be around as long as Gavin will have me," AJ said.

"Well, I'm not sure where you'll both end up in the future, but if the two of you are together, the world better just look out," Mary Beth said, pausing before opening her car door. "So no hard feelings AJ?" She stuck her hand out to AJ and he took it, pulling her into a hug.

"None. I'm glad I met you, Mary Beth O'Keefe."

"Good night AJ. I'm sure I'll see you before you head back to school."

"I sure hope so," AJ said. "We, uh, don't have to go through the fake confrontation thing every time we meet, do we?"

"Oh heavens, boy, no. Next time," Mary Beth paused and winked at her brother's boyfriend, " it's even more fun! Make sure you carb-load and get plenty of rest before my next visit. Good night!"

AJ laughed, but only half-heartedly. Mary Beth was just enough of a loose canon to be telling the truth. He waved to the car that was pulling out of the drive and headed back into the house to find Gavin.

~oOo~

It was after midnight and both boys were snuggled together on Gavin's bed, talking. Soon, tiredness overtook them and they began to doze off.

"Hey," AJ said, shaking Gavin lightly, "I'd better head to my room. Wouldn't want to break the rules and all.

"Hmmmmm. Stay. No one will know. I just want to sleep next to you," Gavin said through his state of near-sleep.

"I'd like nothing more, but I think we'd best play by the rules. It was pretty easy to sneak a night together at my dads' house because there were only two of them. There are too many people in this house who could easily find us," AJ said.

"Right you are!" Gavin chuckled. "Besides, I think Siobhan has AJ-dar. She hones in and finds you, no matter where you are, within seconds! I'm not sure how I'm feeling about being displaced."

AJ leaned over and kissed Gavin soundly, bringing his hand up to Gavin's jaw. After they broke apart, AJ whispered, "You'll never be displaced, my love. Or replaced, for that matter. You are stuck with me forever."

"Love you AJ."

"Love you too, Gavin. See you in the morning?"

"Most definitely."

~oOo~

Love these boys! I hope you do too. Until next time!

GirlFromTheWest xxoo