Bury the Past

Disclaimer: Don't own Victorious

A/N:

Chapter 14 (Two Fathers)

Martin was busy throwing everything he could into a suitcase while Gary paced behind him. He was eager to find his wife, and soon. "You know," Gary said with a calm voice, "Just because David is her real father doesn't mean I'm no less her father than he." Martin raised an eyebrow and turned his head. "I was her godfather, and for the last ten years, I took care of her."

"I guess."

"We never lied, she looked up to me like a father. For the last ten years, I may as well have been." He understood that now. Some areas were a little shady, but he knew she was still the woman he fell in love with. "I've always had her best intentions in mind, Martin; so she may as well have had two fathers and two mothers."

Martin's forehead crinkled and he turned around, looking with partial concern at Gary. "You were at that performance, right?" Gary nodded once and crossed his arms. "Did you have a chance to talk to the magician?" The elder man chuckled and slowly shook his head. Carol spoke up, having been a silent observer through it all.

"I talked to him after the performance." The men looked at her and Martin raised his eyebrows. "I ran into his wife outside the café just before he came to catch up with his family, and I told her what had been going on." Martin's jaw fell open and Carol nodded firmly. "She said Robbie didn't even want to stop in a small elderly community where he felt most of his audience would be sleeping, but she had a feeling to stop here and convinced him it was a good idea."

"So you pointed Martin out?" Gary turned his head to Martin, smirking further. "Did they end up talking to you, Marty?"

"Yeah…" Martin took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "They told me a lot, made me realize how stupid I was…and how close I came to believing Beck's words." Gary did a double take and his eyes grew wide as saucers. "This guy comes driving up a few days ago in a glass company truck and starts talking about her once I tell him who I am. He starts telling me all sorts of stories…"

"Beck Oliver?" Carol's voice trembled and her quivering hand rose to his chest. "Gary? Isn't he a suspect in that case Trina's investigating?" Gary snapped his head to the right and raised a finger to his lips.

"We are not supposed to discuss the details of a homicide investigation, Carol!"

Martin's heart began to sink and he started to see the situation he was in. Had he been approached by a suspect in Trina's murder investigation, then he was likely trying to get something to happen that might draw Trina's focus and attention away from the case.

That incident was attempted through the woman Beck said was his cousin, but it had failed. "Gary, I've called you 'dad' since marrying her, but you're her godfather…" Gary folded his hands over his stomach, tapping the surface of his hand with his index finger.

"You can call me 'Don', if you want." The man smirked and Martin started to laugh. "I'll tell you something." Gary put his hand on Martin's back, between his shoulders, and walked with him a few feet forward. "Trina. Your wife. She is everything you've ever known her to be, nothing she has done or said has been in an attempt to deceive anyone but to get away from a very toxic environment."

"I understand that."

"There are a lot of things I can tell you, and a lot of things you need to hear; but most of these things have to come from her." He nodded once more, agreeing with every word Gary said. "You made the decision to stand by her through it all when you married her. If it takes her a day, a month, a year or a decade to tell you everything…so be it…you stand by her side because that's what you do."

"I know. I was scared." Martin sat on the edge of his bed and ran his hand through his hair. "I made a snap judgment that I shouldn't have. I just…she has every right to slam that door in my face when I get to her."

"And she won't. You know why?" Gary leaned forward and Martin raised his head, pursing his lips and furrowing his brow. "Because she loves you, because she needs you." Gary motioned with his finger and narrowed his eyes. "Now her dad, on the other hand, is another story altogether." A sense of fear struck him and his shoulders fell like a mountain collapsing.

"Oh? He's tough?"

"You think I'm a grouch? Yeah, I'm a grouch from time to time, and I've got a pretty swift temper…but the storm that starts up when I get angry or protective of someone I care about looks like a tiny drizzle compared to him." Martin laced his fingers together and Gary shook his head. "To David, his daughter is his entire world. Even if he hasn't shown it, she's everything to him. He's always been proud of her, always wanted to see her happy and successful."

"Right."

"To him, right now, you are the one that hurt his daughter thanks to your foolish running away. He'll think of you as weak and unworthy, unless you step up and prove to him that you are everything Trina says about you." Gary folded his arms and hummed. "I can guarantee you she's told him everything about you by now." Gary raised his hand and poked his thumb into his chest. "I'm the dad you want to have fun with, I'm the easier father to please. David's been through a lot worse, so he's a lot tougher. He'll judge your every move if he has to."

Carol smacked her husband's arm, causing him to flinch. "Stop it, Gary. You're scaring the poor boy." Martin chuckled nervously as Carol walked over and leaned towards him. "Ignore him, Martin. David's not that bad, he knows when to step aside. Trina's his daughter, he loves her and will always want to protect her, so just show him you're going to be a good husband for her."

"I think my first impression didn't go over well."

"No it did not," Gary replied, "David thinks you're weak and spineless." Martin's jaw fell open and he started to groan. "He'll test you. You might not know it when he does, but oh he will. He and I want the same thing for her when it comes to marriage, that she has a husband who is strong and supportive. Someone that will love her no matter what, and will stand by her, holding her when she needs someone to hold her…the way you've been acting? You haven't been that person at all, but I know you can be. Why? Because I've seen it. David hasn't, and he will push if he doesn't think you're good enough."

"No he won't," Carol replied. "He'll just…" Carol's eyes moved sideways and the woman started sigh. "Constantly judge you, possibly glare at you and not approve of you at all."

Seemingly triumphant, Gary chuckled and put a strong hand on Martin's trembling shoulder. "Like I said earlier. Trina won't slam the door in your face, but David might."

"I don't care, I just want to see my wife."

"Then go be with her. She needs you, especially now." Martin closed his suitcase and stood up. "There's a reason she's with you, a reason she loves you. There was one guy she could have ended up with, but he had to move to another state and she couldn't bring herself to go with him." Martin jerked his head back, stunned by the news. "But if it was you, she'd go to the ends of the earth for. Keep that in mind and think about that next time you go wondering if she's ever lied to you."

"I know, I know…"

"I'll keep repeating myself if I have to, until it's embedded in your brain. She's always had a difficult time trusting you. Now her past life, that's not a matter of her not trusting you, Martin, that's something else entirely." Gary poked a finger at him, narrowing his eyes.

"That's her being afraid to talk about it. That's her not yet accepting or moving on from the things she's been through. That's where you should have supported her the most, and when it all came to light, you ran. Remember that, because that's what her father is going to see, that moment of weakness is what hurt Trina, and that's what we saw…that when you should have been at your strongest, you weren't. You had one job, be there for her at her weakest moment, and you didn't do that. That's what everyone sees."

He knew when he screwed up, and he knew where. The moment Trina needed him most, he wasn't there. Even if he was there now, they'd all remember how he messed up. "What would you suggest I do, Gary?"

"Stand your ground and show you will be there for your wife. I'm sure David will push a bit, stand firm and try not to be combative. He knows you have every right to be with your wife, so he's not truly going to stand in your way, but he'll probably want to see how far you can be pushed…"

"Okay. I'll keep that in mind."

Martin took the long journey to LA, practicing the words he could say. No amount of preparation could stop the nervous sweating or trembling of his hands, however.

When he arrived at the house Gary said he'd find David and Trina, he took a deep breath and held it for a great while. His eyes remained frozen on the door and the open window beside it. For a moment, he thought he saw the back of Trina's head at the window.

He stepped out of the jeep and made his way towards the door. Just before he made it to the porch, the door opened and David stepped outside. Martin's breath caught in his throat as the man stood like a mountain between him and the door. "What are you doing here?" David asked, as though he didn't know already.

"I want to see my wife," he stammered. David crossed his arms and Martin could feel the man's narrow eyes searching him-judging him. "I want to talk to her."

"After all this time ignoring her calls? Maybe she doesn't want to talk to you." David tilted his head and raised his eyebrows. His words stung, and Martin felt his heart beginning to drop. "You hurt my daughter, ignored her calls, and now you want to talk to her on your time?"

"It's not like that." He closed his hands and swallowed the knot in my throat. "She's my wife and I love her. I screwed up, I was wrong, and I'm only here to beg her forgiveness." His eyes drifted to the window and he saw Trina's head turn a bit. His lips curved into a tiny smile and the nervous tremor started to slow. "I'd like to take her on a date."

"A date? Do you know how busy she is right now?" Martin glanced back at the man. "Where are you staying?"

"Some motel…"

"You are not taking her to a motel."

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "Listen, please, I know I screwed up and I know you're protecting her. I am not going to hurt her again, but I need to talk to her. She's my wife and I love her very much. You're her dad, you love her too. We both want the same thing, to see she's happy, and right now I'm the one that caused her pain, and I want to fix that."

The tension in David's face started to soften, and the man's nostrils opened up a bit. "Listen to me Martin, and you listen well." Martin opened his eyes partially, remaining calm and silent. "My daughter is an intelligent, beautiful and strong woman. She could have had any man that she wanted, and she chose you."

Martin's eyes quivered and his heart began to flicker. "You hear me? She chose you. A shy, nerdy, skinny man reading a textbook on a park bench. Why? Because you made her smile, you made her laugh. You treated her right and made her feel something she hadn't felt in a very long time. She was happy, safe and secure, so she chose you. You didn't get to pick her, it didn't happen that way. I want you to bear that in mind."

"I understand, sir."

"She still wants you, she still needs you and loves you." David took a small step towards Martin, his shadow falling across the man in ominous form. "But if you ever hurt her, make her cry or do something incredibly stupid like your most recent stunt…I will see to it you feel as much pain, if not more, than the pain that you put her through. Are we clear?"

Seeing the seriousness in the man struck an odd kind of fear in his heart. "Crystal." He nodded once and brought his hand to his chest, feeling the rapid palpitations of his heart.

"You stood your ground, which I applaud, but I still think you're weak. I don't have a high opinion of you right now, but Trina clearly does…Treat her well and be a good husband to her, and we won't have any problems."

"Well, I hope that you'll see that I will be a good husband and that your opinion of me can improve…"

"It's not me you have to worry about." David leaned back and twisted to the door. "Trina, you have a visitor!"

"I know." Trina's voice radiated from inside, filling Martin with a sense of relief and euphoria. When she appeared in the door, he nearly screamed for joy. "Jesus Dad, could you try not to scare the shit out of my husband for the hell of it? I'm not a teenager anymore and this is a little more than a boyfriend."

David shrugged and grunted in reply. "Well. He needs to know where I stand as your father." Trina rolled her eyes and sighed as David made his way into the house. Martin's smile faded when David's face appeared behind Trina, and his watchful eyes peered out at Martin. "I'll be watching you, Marty boy."

Trina cleared her throat and shut the door behind her. "Damn, both my dads are protective as shit. I can't even be angry at you." Trina stepped forward, looking him in the eyes.

He could see the pain in them, hidden behind the tears welling up. Her lips started to quiver. "I'm sorry," he whispered, "I'm sorry I left you behind like that. "I love you, and I never meant to hurt you. I was confused, I was stupid."

"Yeah, you were, but you're here now…" Trina looked over her shoulder and Martin followed her gaze, feeling his blood run cold as he saw David standing in the window. At the same time, Trina's cell phone was going off to the ringtone she'd set for Gary. "We're never going to get to talk here." Her expression fell flat and she turned back to him. "You said something about a date?" She turned her cell phone off. "Let's go. Anything to escape my two dads…"

So we have that. What are your thoughts on this chapter? It's an interesting concept but you can see how Trina may view Gary like a father as well. He was a true father figure. Looks like both had quite a bit to say to Martin, now he's gotta mend things with the wife.