Disclaimer: I do not own Static Shock. I am not making profit from this story so no one sue me, please. Any characters whom are not from Static Shock are rightfully owned by me.
Summary: Virgil and Richie haven't been friends for nearly 20 years. They have gone their separate ways and lived their successful live through work. However, how have their personal lives suffered since their failed friendship?
"Chloé, what are you doing? Get down from there."
Chloé turned her head as she knelt on the counter. The corner cabinet was open and everything in it had been pushed to the sides. "I want to make cookies for Daddy, though."
Sharon sighed and walked over to her niece. Wrapping her arms around Chloé's waste, she hoisted her up and then set her down on the floor in front of her. "Honey, I don't have everything to make cookies," said Sharon as she closed the cabinet door. "Besides, I don't think your Daddy is hungry right now."
"Why is he not hungry? He hasn't eaten since breakfast yesterday, Aunt Sharon."
"Honey, your Daddy is upset," said Sharon. When she saw a look of devastation cross Chloé's features, she quickly added, "He'll be okay soon enough, Chloé. He just needs some time to think some stuff through, I think," she assured.
"I thought you said that it was good for Daddy to see Richie. If it was good for him, then why is he still sad?" Chloé asked, confusion wrinkling her forehead and nose.
"I don't know, Chloé. I'm sorry. I wish I knew what was going on inside his head, but I have no idea," said Sharon as she knelt down in front of Chloé to give her a hug which Chloé returned with just as much force. "How about you go upstairs and play with Chelsea and Rachael? I need to talk to you uncle, okay?"
Reluctantly, Chloé nodded. She would have much preferred to stay downstairs with her father, but she knew better than to argue with adults. Nodding again, Chloé shuffled through the living room to the couch where Virgil was still lying with his face in the cushion. Only twice had he gotten up since the previous night, and both times were to use the bathroom. Shakily, Chloé leaned in and placed a kiss on Virgil's cheek, to which he responded by wrapping his left arm around Chloé's waist and pulling her close. He rubbed a circle on her back before retracting his arm under his chest once again. Content, Chloé ran upstairs to join Rachael and Chelsea in their game of Barbie's.
Sharon turned away from the living room, where she had been watching Chloé's actions, in order to face Adam who had walked into the kitchen behind her. "Did you see that?" she questioned.
"See what?" Adam asked, leaning against the kitchen table with a sandwich.
"Virgil," said Sharon and she gestured her head toward the living room, "and the way he responded to the kiss Chloé just gave him."
"I didn't see," Adam replied and took another bite of his sandwich. When he swallowed, he followed up with another question. "What happened?"
"Virgil hugged her."
"So? She's his daughter; he's allowed to hug her if he wants."
Sharon shrugged and crossed her arms. She leaned against the doorframe and said, "That's the most response I've seen him give since last night. He's been lying like that for almost twenty-four hours. I've tried without success to get him to talk to me."
Adam raised an eyebrow as he watched his wife become flustered. Setting down his sandwich on the table, he approached Sharon and wrapped his arms around her and laid her head on his chest. He waited until Sharon responded by wrapping her arms around his slender body and relaxing.
"I just wish he would talk to me, Adam," said Sharon in a small voice. "I'm worried about him."
Adam sighed softly and peered into the living room. Virgil had still not moved. Gently, Adam pushed Sharon far enough away that he could lift her chin with his thumb and pointer finger. He smiled and placed a tender kiss on her forehead. "You're a wonderful person, Sharon," he began, "and I'm sure he'll talk to you when he's ready. Whatever happened last night; whatever emotions were triggered was obviously traumatic for him. He probably just needs time to work it out."
A warm gleam of a smile traced Sharon's lips. She leaned in to place a gentle kiss on his lips as she said, "I suppose you're right. I guess the only thing we can do is be here for him."
Adam nodded and smiled but didn't give a verbal response. Instead, he let Sharon go and went back to his original spot against the table and resumed eating his sandwich. "Besides," said Adam between bites, "your dad is coming tomorrow right? Does he know what's going on? Have you told him?" Not that he needed to ask, because if it pertained to family, Sharon was the first person to call Robert about it.
Sharon nodded and glanced into the living room. It was becoming something of a nervous habit at this point, checking on Virgil. "I called him this morning before you got up. He said to make sure Virgil stays here and he would talk to him tomorrow."
Adam nodded. "Well, I'm sure he'll be able to get through to him," he said and moved to put his plate in the sink.
Sharon shrugged. "I suppose.
"I found the phone for Rachael's dad in Virgil's coat pocket," she said and held up the folded piece of paper she had put in her jeans pocket after changing. "I was thinking of calling him so he could come get Rachael."
"That's probably a good idea," said Adam as he kissed Sharon's forehead and meandered into the living room and sat down on the coffee table.
"What are you doing?" questioned Sharon, her eyes narrowed, and her fist holding the paper resting on her hip.
Adam shrugged and glanced into the kitchen. "I thought I'd talk to my bro," he said and turned his attention back to Virgil.
Sharon nodded gently for a moment and eventually sighed. Regressing further into the kitchen, she sat down at the table and pulled her cell phone from her back pocket. "Okay," she said in a breath and dialed the phone number for the paper. It rang three times before there was an answer.
"Hello?"
"Hello, Francis?" questioned Sharon and she shifted in her seat. "My name is Sharon Evans," she said, having no idea what else say.
"Mm," Francis murmured. "Can I help you?"
Sharon hesitated momentarily, not entirely sure how to go about explaining why it was she was calling. "You sent your daughter, Rachael, to stay the night with Virgil, right?"
Sharon could almost hear Francis' eyes narrow. "Yes… Why? How do you know my daughter?"
"I'm Virgil's sister," said Sharon finally, kicking herself for not saying that in the first place. "Yesterday, Virgil brought Chloé and Rachael to my house so they could play with my daughter.
"Well… some stuff happened and I was wondering if you could pick up Rachael."
"What's wrong with my Rachael?" said Francis with rising concern in his tone. "What happe—"
"Nothing," Sharon interrupted calmly, soothingly. "Nothing's wrong with her; Rachael is fine. It's… Virgil," she said, not wanting to get into a lot of detail about her brother, but also wanting to soothe Francis' concerns about his daughter.
Francis' sniffed. "Where do you live?"
"I live in Dakota," said Sharon and she divulged her address.
"Okay," Francis said, "I'll be there in an hour," and the line went dead.
When the call ended, Sharon returned her phone to her back pocket and left the paper sitting on the table. She got up and walked into the living room where Adam was talking to Virgil about some music thing, except Virgil wasn't responding. The scene, Sharon noted, looked vaguely similar to someone talking to a coma patient; the coma patient never said anything and the person talking never shut up. Rolling her eyes with a small smile, Sharon walked through and went to Chelsea's room to get Rachael.
Exactly an hour later, there was a knock at the front door. Sharon and Adam were sitting on a loveseat in the living room that was sort of out of the way of the rest of the room.
Adam was the one to get up. "I'll get it," he said as he made his way to the door.
He opened it to a man wearing a long beige trench coat and black boots. "Hey, Francis," said Adam, stepping aside to let the man in. "Rachael, your dad is here!" Adam called as he shut the door. He turned his attention back to Francis and said, "You can sit in the living room with us," and headed back to the loveseat he had been sharing with Sharon.
"Thanks," said Francis and made his way to the living room. He took a seat in an empty chair next to the television and let his shoulders slump slightly. When he noticed Virgil lying face down on the couch, he questioned it. "So, what's going on with Virgil?"
"He's just—" Sharon began, but cut herself off quickly when she realized who she was talking to. "Wait. Aren't you Hotstreak?" she croaked.
"Mm," Francis snorted. "I kind of just prefer Francis now."
"I—" Sharon began once again, but was once again cut off, this time by Rachael running down the steps to the living room.
"Hi, Daddy!" Rachael exclaimed and wrapped her father in a hug.
"Hey, sweetie," said Francis and he returned the hug to his daughter. "Did you have fun with Chloé?"
"I did, Daddy!" exclaimed Rachael, beaming brightly. Then her smile faltered a little bit and she glanced back at Virgil and back at her dad. "Daddy, is it okay if Chloé comes and stays with us for a little while?"
"Um…" Francis smiled at Rachael and then glanced up at Sharon. "Well, since Virgil doesn't seem to be in much of a position to make decisions," he said, glancing down at the sleeping body on the couch, "what do you think?"
"I think that sounds great. I could probably do Chloé well to get away from stuff for a little bit," said Adam before Sharon could say anything. "Maybe Chelsea could come hang out, too, so she's not here with anyone her own age."
"Adam…" said Sharon warily.
Adam glanced at Sharon, noting that her eyes were darting between Francis and himself. He sighed and said, "Sharon, do you remember how I used to be a bad guy? Well, I changed, didn't I?"
"Well, of course," said Sharon as if Adam were being crazy.
"Well, obviously Francis has changed, too," Adam pointed out as he gestured his hand toward the man in question. "Just let Chelsea and Chloé go, Sharon. They'll have more fun with Rachael at Francis' house then they will here." He paused and then added, "Besides, it would be good for Chloé. She'll be back in more than enough time for Angelica not to worry."
Sharon sighed but then she nodded. "Alright," she said and got up from the couch. She made her way to the steps and called up to Chloé and Chelsea. "Girls, get some stuff together. You're going to stay the night at Rachael's." Just as Sharon was sitting back down, the house echoed of footsteps running down the stairs.
"We're ready," said Chelsea and the both of them held up their backpacks.
Sharon narrowed her eyes and raised an eyebrow. "Do you have a toothbrush?"
"Yes, Mom," Chelsea replied. "I have my toothbrush, toothpaste, clean clothes, and a comb. I have everything. I even have some extra clothes for Chloé since she didn't bring anything with her."
Sharon smiled and let out a content sigh. "Alright, then, have a good time girls," she said and got up from the couch to give Chelsea a hug and a kiss on the head. "When will you have them back, Francis?"
"Call me tomorrow," Francis replied with a slight smile and a nod. "We'll work out a time and I'll bring them back." He paused for a moment. "If that's alright."
Sharon nodded a couple times. "That sounds perfectly fine.
"Thanks, Francis," she said with a warm smile. "Thanks for helping out."
"No problem," replied Francis. He turned away from Sharon and said, "Come on, girls," as he headed for the door. Behind him strode Chelsea, Chloé, Rachael all talking excitedly about how much fun they were going to have that night.
Within moments, the door closed and the only people remaining in the house were Virgil, Adam, and Sharon.
Sharon groaned and laid her head back. "Christmas is always so stressful," she groaned.
Adam gave a low chuckle and pulled Sharon to him, laying her head on his chest. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head.
He was just about to speak when he was interrupted by Virgil rustling on the couch. Sharon and Adam both watched as Virgil pushed himself up off the couch and left the living room. They heard a door in the next room latch and glanced at one another. They watched the doorway Virgil had gone through intently until he came back fifteen minutes later.
Virgil sat down on the couch. When he didn't lay face down on the cushion¸ but instead stared off into space, Sharon got up and sat down next to her brother on the couch. Virgil glanced at Sharon just long enough for Sharon to realized how disconnect he looked. His eyes were lifeless and ashen, his face had gone pale, his lips were cracked and chapped, and his dreads were coming apart even more so than the previous day. He resembled a ghost and it made Sharon's stomach do a flip; she had never seen her brother so miserable, and with only three days until Christmas. It was at that moment Sharon realized just how much she was not looking forward to Christmas Eve because Angelica and Virgil always fought about something; she couldn't imagine what it would be like with Virgil in his current state.
Biting her upper lip, Sharon leaned in and hugged Virgil tightly. Much to her surprise, Virgil returned it unlike the previous night, so she tightened the hold. She noted that Virgil smelled like body odor and nicotine and upturned her nose to avoid smelling it. She figured that when Virgil was ready to worry about it, he would go take a shower. She just sort of hoped that would be soon, because it was pretty bad.
"Thanks, Sharon," said Virgil as he pulled away from the hug.
Virgil pulled his legs onto the couch and leaned against the armrest. Sharon took that as a sign Virgil wanted to lay back down, so she moved back over to the loveseat and let Virgil fall to his side, and he turned to face the back of the couch. He pulled his legs to his chest and fell back to sleep, which was made apparent by the light snoring that echoed throughout the living room.
After a few moments of watching Virgil sleep, Sharon turned to Adam and asked, with a smile, "What do you suppose he was thanking me for?" to which Adam answered with a simple shrug.
A/N: Meh. I'm not sure if I like this chapter, but Aintzane411 had a good point: I'm allowed one off chapter and I'm not getting paid for this, anyway. I'm just not sure I'm a fan of how much dialogue is in this chapter, but I guess, sometimes, you have to have a dialogue driven chapter.
For anyone that's wondering about Richie, I'm going to worry about him and what he's doing later. I promise it'll be fantastic. Just two more days until Christmas Eve and I PROMISE this whole adventure will come together. :D
Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter! Please, please review! I would seriously appreciate it! I'll even give a special shout-out to whomever decides to be reviewer number 10! =3