The plan was for Phil to greet his parents at the door and redirect them back outside before they could start asking questions, because apparently he hasn't told them about Claire, or that he's moved in with her, or that she's having his baby.
Claire's not exactly sure how to feel about that. She's a little hurt, even though they aren't dating-or planning on getting married-they haven't really made much progress when it comes to figuring out how all this is going to work-and knows she has no right to be given that the only reason her parents know is because Mitchell was there when she got the results and accidentally let it slip.
Phil's ready for the knock at the door; he's been watching for the RV from the window. He opens the door, smiles, and steps forward to greet his parents.
"Hey, Dad. Hi, Mom." Claire's not sure from where she's still sitting on the couch, but she thinks they're all hugging. "Good to see you."
He sounds genuinely happy, in spite of the fact that this visit is kind of a last minute, spur of the moment kind of thing. In fact, he sounds happier than she's ever heard him, except possibly for those few seconds when she told him she was pregnant, before he figured out that not only was she not happy, she was on the verge of panicking.
"Great to see you, son. Hey, any chance your mom can use your bathroom? We had to turn the water off this afternoon-one of the lines has a crack in it and was leaking pretty badly, and I haven't gotten a chance to fix it yet."
"Sure," Phil says without thinking, "Bathroom's that way, down the hall. Need any help with fixing it?"
"We stopped to visit, not to put you to work," Phil's mother says before heading down the hall. Claire, trying to decide whether she has a better chance of not being noticed if she stays where she is and keeps or head down or if she'd be better off hiding in the bedroom, doesn't move.
Phil is still standing in the open doorway, exchanging jokes with his dad, and Claire suddenly realizes that this is where the man got his dubious sense of humor. The two seem to be competing to see who can tell the worst joke, by the sound of things. They're both cracking up, though, and again it strikes Claire how happy the man seems to be to have his parents visiting.
It's a little weird; Claire can't remember if she's ever been this excited about seeing either of her parents.
Phil's mother returns; she almost makes it back to her son and husband, stopping at the last minute when she sees Claire. She smiles at Claire before turning back to her son.
"We're not interrupting anything, are we? If you have company-"
"I'm sure we're not interrupting, Grace, he knew we were coming." Nevertheless, Phil's father steps into the room to better see. He also offers Claire a smile, and a little half-wave of sorts. "Who's this?" he asks. "You don't have a date, do you?"
Phil looks distinctly uncomfortable. "No date," he says, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Mom, Dad, this is Claire. We-that is-we aren't dating, she just lives here-I mean, we live here together, but we aren't together. We-I, uh, well we met at a concert, and-we haven't really figured everything out yet, but there's still time before the baby-"
"Phil!" Claire snaps, far too late. His jaw clicks shut immediately, and his face turns bright red.
His dad looks from Claire to Phil expectantly. "Son?"
Phil's shoulders slump in defeat. "We're pregnant?"
His mom gasps, and the next thing Claire knows she's being pulled into a hug. Phil's father is congratulating them both, and no sooner does Phil's mother let Claire go than it's his turn to pull her into a hug.
"A baby!" Phil's mother says, still smiling. She takes Claire by the hand and leads her back to the couch. She ends up with one of Phil's parents on each side while Phil brings in a chair from the kitchen. "You must be so excited!"
"Well-" Some of Claire's panic must be showing, because the woman-Grace, if Claire remembers correctly-immediately reigns back some of her enthusiasm.
"You know, Phil was a bit of a surprise," she says, understanding in her eyes. "We weren't even sure we wanted children-a bit of an unusual view at the time, but we just didn't know if we'd be up to the task. Then suddenly he was on his way, and the decision was made for us. What a surprise it turned out to be, though-we never regretted it for one minute."
Claire takes a deep breath, trying not to freak out. This was not how she had planned to spend her evening, sitting with Phil's parents, trying to dance around the fact that not only were they not married when she found out she was pregnant, but they also barely knew each other.
"If you don't mind me asking, how did you two meet?" Grace asks, and she seems genuinely interested.
"At a concert," Claire tells her, before Phil can tell his parents she hit him with a car (twice).
"We-" Phil clears his throat "went out for drinks after and might have gotten a little carried away. We actually-ahem-we actually haven't known each other that long. It was kind of a one-time thing. Which is why I said we weren't together-"
"He's stepping up," Claire's not sure why she suddenly feels the need to defend the man. "He wants to be a part of the baby's life, so we moved in together-"
"We just haven't figured out what this means for us, relationship-wise," Phil finishes.
His dad doesn't seem worried by any of this. In fact, neither of his parents seem remotely fazed. "Well I'm sure you'll figure it out, son."
"Most of parenting is figuring it out as you go," Grace adds. "Don't hesitate to call if you need anything."
"Thanks, mom." Phil looks like he might cry. His dad doesn't seem to notice, but his mom shakes her head and stands, crossing the room to pull her son into yet another hug. She holds him for a minute or two before letting him go, and by that time the man seems to have pulled himself together.
From there the conversation shifts to other things: how Phil's pursuit of a career in magic is going, which leads to the confession that he's recently started in construction, how he likes his new job, where his parents are headed, and a number of other small, seemingly unimportant details that Claire's own parents would never even think to ask her.
Phil also seems to have a list of questions about trivial aspects of his parents' lives, things Claire would never think to ask her parents-or take much interest in, if she's being honest. There's a lot of Phil asking about neighbors, co-workers, friends, cousins, other family; at one point he even asks about the kid who used to deliver the morning paper, and his parents actually have an answer.
It's more like watching friends who haven't seen each other in years catch up than watching someone's parents drop by on short notice. The sight causes a funny feeling in the pit of Claire's stomach that she can't quite explain, and the more time they spend talking, the more uncomfortable that feeling gets.
At some point Phil gets up to use the bathroom. His dad takes the opportunity to step outside to check on something with the trailer, leaving Claire alone with Grace.
The woman offers her another warm smile-this family seems to be all smiles, and Claire hasn't spent enough time around Phil yet not to be at least a little weirded out by it-and scoots just a little bit closer.
"He likes you," she says, and while there's nothing critical in the statement, Claire still feels uncomfortable at the revelation.
"He still has a bit of a crush," Claire lies, and can immediately tell that Phil's mother knows better. She holds her breath, waiting for the woman to call her out on the lie, but it doesn't happen.
"Just be gentle with him. Phil has a big heart, and he gets attached easily," the woman offers the advice far too late, but at least the warning doesn't sound like a threat-and it would have been, coming from either of Claire's own parents. "He won't try to push himself on you, though. Won't ask for anything you aren't willing to give, no matter how much it hurts him."
Claire knows that. It doesn't really help her situation. "I never meant to put him in this situation," she admits. Grace pats her reassuringly on the arm.
"He's a good man. He'll make a great father."
"You know, I think he will?" Not that it eases any of the near-panic Claire's been living with since she found out. Or the guilt.
"And you two will figure out the rest. Some things just take time."
Phil returns then, smiling at the two of them talking, and his father comes back inside shortly after. The conversation takes on a lighter tone from there as the three start reminiscing, and Claire learns more about Phil's childhood-and upbringing-that evening than she ever wanted to know.
She learns that he broke his arm on Christmas Eve when he was six by falling off a roof because he was up there waiting for Santa after one of his schoolmates insisted Santa wasn't real, and that rather than taking the accident as evidence that the other boy was right, Phil had decided it was proof that he was, that Santa was real, and that sneaking up on the roof to try to catch the man in the act had put him on the naughty list that year. Whether or not he thought the broken arm was punishment for being on the naughty list was not entirely clear; neither was whether or not Phil still believed in Santa.
Phil regales them with story after story after story of what he calls 'the summer of way too many cousins to keep track of,' where apparently he spent the entire summer running wild with his cousins out in the country, barefoot and shirtless and without a care in the world, except for the time he stepped in a wasp's nest, or the time he stepped on a fishing hook, or the time he discovered that the neighbor's fence was electric the hard way, or the time he broke his arm (not the same one) falling out of a loft, or the time he got treed by a rooster, or the time he got lost in the woods for three days.
He gets a little quiet thinking about that last one, but perks up when his dad-Frank-starts talking about taking Phil to his first magic show, where he was invited on stage and got to experience his first card trick-and found his calling, apparently. By the way they talk, Phil views the construction job as temporary, something to tide him over until he makes it big in the magic world. The thought makes Claire more than a little nervous, but she doesn't want to spoil the mood, so she doesn't say anything.
They spend the rest of the evening talking, and the weirdest part of it all, at least to Claire, is how well the three of them seem to get along. Nobody says anything rude or insulting to each other, nobody yells at anybody else, and all three of them seem to genuinely enjoy spending time together.
Phil's parents also seem super supportive-not just with the whole baby thing, either. They listen when he talks, give actual consideration to his ideas rather than simply dismissing them, and appear to approve of what he's done with his life so far, even though, from what Claire's seen so far, it's nothing particularly impressive.
It's a complete one-eighty from what Claire expects based on her own experiences.
They talk late into the night; Claire eventually goes to bed, partially because she's tired, partly because she wants to give them some space, but mostly because the longer the evening goes on the more obvious the difference between his parents and her own becomes, and the more uncomfortable the revelation is.
It takes her a long time to get to sleep that night.
Disclaimer: Modern Family does not belong to me.
Author's Note: I can't tell if anybody else likes these or not, but I do, so I'm gonna keep making them.