Thanks to everyone who read and to Ghostwriter, MelsieR, Callisto's Moon, and a guest for reviewing.
Still around, just very busy with real life.
Alex took a seat on the edge of Jamie's bed. He wasn't at all surprised that Jamie had refused to talk to him on the ride home and had made a beeline for his room as soon as they got here, but he was a little surprised that Jamie hadn't refused his request to enter. Then again, that would have required speaking. "You want to tell me what happened at Dr. Laura's?" he asked.
Vague movement from under the blanket that he strongly suspected was a head shake, and he bit back a sigh and changed tack.
"Aren't you hot under there?"
"'m fine."
It was a response, at least, even if not to the question that Alex actually cared about. "Are you sure? I haven't gotten around to turning on the air conditioning yet, and it's a little warm in here even without being buried under a blanket." Not that he was around much during the day, but he knew that this side of the house got most of the afternoon sun, and even if Jamie hadn't complained he probably should have thought to ask earlier.
Jamie muttered something even more incomprehensible and made no attempt to emerge.
Alex scratched Jamie's shoulder lightly through the blanket. "Come on, kiddo. I need you to at least come out long enough to give me your driver's license so I can get our plane tickets booked."
That finally got a real response as Jamie twisted enough to free his head. "You got the paperwork done already?"
"Hey, I am very good at paperwork. You should know that by now."
Jamie made a face.
"Could you sit up for a minute?"
Jamie hesitated but finally did as he asked, and if it was more a dislike of looking up at people from odd angles than willing cooperation, Alex would still take what he could get.
"We had a slow stretch in the ER this afternoon, and I was able to get Sonja on the phone. From what she said we're technically supposed to make all requests for out of state trips lasting longer than three days at least a month in advance, but since you don't have any visitations or medical appointments to reschedule—I did mention the therapy, but since it's private it apparently doesn't count—and school is out for the summer, we were able to fax the approval forms back and forth and get everything signed off as soon as we were done talking. She does want to talk to you at some point before we go, though, and since I wasn't sure about any plans of yours beyond your work schedule I expect you'll be getting a call or a visit in the next couple days."
Jamie scoffed, and considering how many times they'd had to reschedule her first visit just to get Alex's official okay to be Jamie's foster parent, Alex couldn't really disagree. But there was certainly no harm in her trying to meet with Jamie, especially after everything that had happened.
"You do have one medical thing coming up, though," he said before Jamie could decide to disappear again. "Or sort of medical, anyway. We both do, really, we're on the schedule at my dentist's this Friday." Alex had completely forgotten about his own appointment until he'd seen the email reminder this morning, but when he'd called to confirm and they'd said that the slot after his was open if he wanted to come in a little later...well, he'd been meaning to make Jamie an appointment anyway so it had only made sense to grab it. Unfortunately Dr. Ellis' partner wasn't working that day and it was her calendar that Alex would have preferred to get Jamie on, but considering that Dr. Ellis was in his sixties and most of the appointment would be spent with Catherine-the-hygienist anyway, hopefully it wouldn't be an issue.
"What? Why?" Jamie objected immediately. "I don't need to go to the dentist."
"Really? When was the last time that you had your teeth cleaned or x-rays taken?"
Jamie scowled.
"Quarter of nine this weekend, and we're both in the car and headed for the dentist's office," Alex said firmly. "Clear?"
"Clear," Jamie muttered, and then looked back up. "But I was going to go visit Grandma. I talked to Dr. Laura about it and everything."
"And I'm glad to hear it, and I'm sure that she'll be thrilled to see you. Sometime that's not Friday morning or one of the days—mornings—that you're not working. Right?" The high school squad was on tomorrow and Wednesday night as well as Saturday morning this week, plus Jamie had a couple admin hours at the station Thursday afternoon, but it'd rotate next week, especially since Tyler would be getting back that Friday.
Another mutter that could theoretically be interpreted as 'I guess,' and Alex let it go.
"Thank you. Now, how about you give me your license so I can go get our tickets booked, and while I'm doing that you can start dinner? I was thinking soup and grilled cheese. Unless you ate before you went to see Dr. Laura?"
As he'd expected, Jamie shook his head immediately, and a moment later he'd dug out his wallet and handed Alex the license. And then gave him a distinctly suspicious look. "You aren't going to ask about what Dr. Laura and I talked about? Or did she already tell you?"
"She didn't, and I can't say that I'm not curious," Alex admitted, "but how about some dinner first?"
Jamie hesitated again and then managed a shoulder roll that was half shrug and half nod.
"All right." Alex tapped a finger against the license quickly. "You start the sandwiches, and I'll get this back to you in a few minutes."
Fortunately even if summer travel was starting to ramp up, a midweek flight wasn't too hard to find seats on. After a little bit of back and forth as he figured out how to add a minor with a different name to his account Alex got he and Jamie ticketed for a flight to Denver and a rental car lined up at the airport. And a message sent off to Mom and Dad, although he'd call this weekend, too, just to make sure they got it on the kitchen calendar.
He put his own license back into his wallet and then headed out to the kitchen to return Jamie's. And since the grilled cheese was well in hand, he pulled down the soup pot. "We've got tickets booked for the Tuesday after next at noon, so we'll have to leave for the airport by about eight. Usually I don't bother to check bags and just take a carry-on, but do you think you can fit everything you'll need for a week in your duffel bag? I'm afraid your backpack will be too small."
"Yeah, sure, I can fit everything for everything in my duffel bag. But I don't need to take all my stuff, do I?"
"No, just a couple t-shirts, a couple pairs of jeans—jeans or shorts if you'd prefer, although I'd suggest at least one pair of long pants since it can get a little chilly in the evening—and a jacket should be plenty. There's nothing we'll need dress clothes for," not that he figured that Jamie would be in a hurry to pack dress clothes anyway, "and I guarantee that my mother will insist on doing laundry at least twice while we're there regardless of how much we bring. Oh, but swim trunks might be a good idea, there's a creek and a couple ponds on the property that the kids like to splash around in." He paused, trying to remember if it had ever come up. "Do you know how to swim?"
"Yeah, sure. Or at least in like seventh or eighth grade they bused all the gym classes to the YMCA for a week and taught us how to not drown. I wasn't any good at the fancy stuff, but I can float and doggie paddle and all that."
"Okay, good." Not that the creek was particularly deep, nor for that matter were the ponds, but it was worth asking. "And I know you've got boots, but do you have a pair of tennis shoes?"
"Maybe? I had to get a pair for last year's gym class, and I might still have them. Although I don't know if they still fit."
"Well, if they don't, think about picking up a pair to bring along, all right? The kids—and for the record, this time I'm talking about baby goats—will probably be at the bouncing all over stage, and tennis shoes are easier to move in. Or get drafted by my parents to help chase in, depending on the day, because goats are absolute escape artists."
Jamie looked over. "There's for real going to be baby goats?"
"Baby goats most certainly, and some chicks and ducklings too, although they tend to grow fast so they may be past the fuzzy and cute stage by the time we get there. And possibly a few calves or foals, but there were only ever a few cows and horses around the compound and I have no idea if this was a year for breeding or not."
There was definite interest in Jamie's expression, and Alex smiled.
"You'll see plenty of animals, I'm sure. But you might also want to stick a few books or magazines or something like that to occupy yourself on the plane and in the evenings into your bag. I'm sure we'll get together with Pete and Cathy and their families a few times, but that won't be every night, and while Mom and Dad do have a television, the reception is pretty limited." There were a few cabinets of odds and ends—puzzles, games, probably some books and models—that his parents had kept around 'for the grandchildren' after he and the others had left, but he had no idea if there was anything in the lot that would interest Jamie. And even if invited he wasn't sure that Jamie would be willing to borrow one of Dad's guitars. When he talked to them, he needed to remind his parents not to grab Jamie, even if they just wanted to hug him, too.
He snapped his fingers as the obvious occurred to him. "Oh, and don't forget your inhaler. I don't know that all the grass and hay out there will be the same stuff that triggers your allergies, but I don't know that it won't, either."
"If it's inconvenient, it probably will," Jamie said with a snort.
"Well, I'll take a spare, but just to be safe, if yours isn't at least half full, we'll get it refilled before we leave. And it stays on you while you're there, clear?"
He made a face but didn't argue. "I don't have to go back to the doctor, do I?"
"No, I can do that. Although that reminds me that I should probably call my doctor and make sure that I've got a refill on pain pills to put in my suitcase, just in case."
"Why?"
"Once or twice I've gotten pulled in to help with things I should have declined, and the painkillers they keep on hand aren't the kind of thing..." Getting into his parents' pharmacopoeia wasn't really something he wanted to do with Jamie who'd already come home smelling of marijuana smoke once, and he waved it off. "It's better if I take along what I've actually been prescribed, even if I don't plan to use it. And hope that Dad hasn't come up with any more brilliant ideas for irrigating the kitchen garden."
"Irrigating like watering? What's wrong with using a hose?"
The soup was starting to bubble, and since Jamie looked to be about done with the sandwiches as well Alex pulled down the bowls. "In my opinion nothing, but water conservation is a big thing on the compound, and they've been wanting to put in a system that pulls water directly from the duck pond rather than using the potable stuff out of the house for...well, probably since Pete and Cathy and I weren't around to haul buckets for them anymore. But since the pond is downhill from the house there's a lot of engineering involved, and on Dad's last attempt I somehow ended up spending a day swinging an ax to cut supports. And the next three lying flat."
Jamie gave him a disbelieving look, and he shrugged and took the filled bowls to the table.
"It's not high on the list of intelligent things that I've done since I hurt my back, let's just put it that way." Unfortunately Alex wasn't any more immune to the influence of his parents than anyone else when it came right down to it. He shot Jamie a serious look. "For the record, if anyone—my parents, siblings, whoever—ask you to do something and you aren't sure what they're talking about or aren't comfortable with the request, say so, all right? Farm stuff can be a lot more dangerous than it looks like at first glance, and there are things that even I won't touch after having been away for as long as I have. It's less likely to come up at this time of year, but just remember that you're allowed to say 'no,' and if anyone has a problem with it they can argue with me."
That got a quick nod, and a minute later Jamie shut off the stove and joined him with a plate of sandwiches. Alex wasn't about to say so, but he was very glad to see Jamie actually eating something rather than just pushing food around on the plate. So far it seemed like the Croms had been right and a change of scenery was a good direction right now.
"I did my usual and booked a car so we can drive up from Denver rather than mess around with connecting flights," he continued. "But I think that'll just be me since you're probably too young to drive a rental." Not that he'd looked at their rules, but he vaguely recalled some issues back when he'd been just out of undergrad and trying to figure out how to get to medical school.
"That, plus I'm not allowed to drive any cars on the road anyway," Jamie said around a mouthful of sandwich.
"What?"
"My license is just for motorcycles. I mean, I'm not going to crash your car pulling it into the garage or anything like that, I've been able to move them around in a shop or on a lot since I could reach the pedals, and the road rules are pretty much the same as for motorcycles so it's not like I don't know them, but you have to have a car to take the test at the DMV. I thought about asking Caitie's mom right after I turned sixteen, but..." He shrugged.
Alex hadn't even thought about that, nor had he noticed any specific restrictions on Jamie's license, but he'd been more focused on getting Jamie's name and birth date right and it did make sense in retrospect. "We probably ought to do something about that when we get back," he said after a minute. It hadn't come up yet, but he could see needing to ask Jamie to run out for groceries or something like that at some point, and if it was more than a few items or in inclement weather, the car had some definite advantages.
"I guess."
It was nothing that they needed to hurry on, so Alex let it go and told him a little more about Mom and Dad's house and what the farm had been like growing up, and when they'd both eaten their fill he stood. "What do you think about a card game after we've cleaned up?"