Monday June 4th, 2018
Angel Grove, CA
Jason groaned and shifted. He felt stiff, his head was pounding, and his mouth was dry and tasted like cotton again. Slowly opening his eyes, he was confused to see he was in his living room on the couch.
"Good morning," a familiar voice said behind him.
Jason shot upright in surprise but had to clutch the couch for support as the room started spinning around him.
"Take it easy, Jason. You were out for a while."
Taking a deep breath, Jason finished sitting up and turned to look. To his great surprise, Tommy was sitting in the recliner next to the couch near where Jason's head had been. He was leaned back with a coffee cup in his hands. A black tablet sat in his lap.
"Tommy, what are you doing here?" Jason asked, frowning. "What happened?"
"Well, I stopped by yesterday to drop off a casserole," Tommy said hesitantly. "And then you got sick and passed out. If I hadn't caught you then you probably would have cracked your head on your kitchen table. I know you don't really want me here and I should have left but…"
He trailed off with a shrug, watching Jason for a reaction. Jason frowned, his head pounding as he tried to remember.
"I remember letting you in," he said slowly. "And I know we went to the kitchen but… the rest of it… I don't remember anything else."
"Well, you passed out only a minute or two after we walked in the kitchen, so I'm not really surprised," Tommy said.
He sat up, setting his coffee cup on the end table. Tommy hesitated, looking at Jason for a moment.
"How are you feeling?" he finally asked.
"I'm still deciding," Jason muttered.
Tommy sighed, then took a deep breath as he made a decision.
"Jason, have you been to a doctor about this?" he asked.
"No," Jason said. "I've started making an appointment a couple of times, but I've never actually gotten one set up. Something always seems to interrupt and then I forget about it again."
"You need to see a doctor, Jason," Tommy frowned. "Whatever is happening is not normal. There is no way this is just a stomach bug—not with what I've heard from our friends."
"I know," Jason sighed. "And I will go see a doctor. I promise. But can you please not tell the others about this one? They're already being paranoid and freaking out."
"Ah, sorry Jase," Tommy said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. "But they probably already know…"
Jason groaned.
"Tommy, why?" he asked.
"Well, I had to tell someone I wasn't coming home last night," Tommy said. "I couldn't just not show up. Plus, I needed someone to call the school for me to let them know I was going to be gone for a family emergency. So, I did call Kat…"
Jason grimaced.
"It's Monday," he groaned. "I'm sorry, Tommy. You shouldn't have missed school for me. I would have been fine. Where's Christine?"
"It's fine, Jase," Tommy said with a shrug. "It's not the first time I've had to miss school and it won't be the last. And Christine? Well, I assume she is still in bed. I haven't seen her since she and Will got back last night."
"Got back?" Jason frowned. "Got back from where?"
Tommy hesitated, not wanting to cause more problems.
"Well, after I got you on the couch," he said slowly. "We had a small disagreement over whether I should call for paramedics… and then they left me here to take care of you and went out for dinner…"
"Oh," Jason said.
They were both silent for a moment.
"Anyways," Tommy said, changing the subject. "Marc is with your parents for a few days until you are feeling better. And I already updated Kat last night to let her know I'd probably be sticking around a few days, so my sub is prepared to take my classes as long as necessary."
"Thanks, Tommy," Jason said. "But it really isn't necessary. I know you'd rather not be here…."
He trailed off and neither of them said anything for a moment.
"Is Marc alright?" Jason asked, breaking the silence.
"Worried, but he'll be fine," Tommy answered. "He's a good kid."
Jason nodded as Tommy stood up.
"Think you could stomach some oatmeal?" Tommy asked. "You really should try to eat something."
"Yeah, I think so," Jason said. "But Tommy?"
"Yeah?"
"What are you wearing?"
Tommy looked down to where Jason was looking. The sweatpants Tommy currently had on were several inches too short.
"Oh," Tommy said a little nervously. "I had to borrow a pair of your sweatpants. You threw up on my pants last night and I didn't have anything else clean to wear. So, I stole something out of your closet. I'm washing my stuff right now—it's in the dryer—in case I needed to stick around a few days. I hope that's alright…"
"Oh, yeah, that's fine," Jason said sheepishly as Tommy watched him closely. "Sorry about that…"
Tommy just shrugged when Jason didn't say anything else and headed for the kitchen.
"It's fine," he said. "I have a kid. I've had to clean up those messes before. Come join me in the kitchen if you think you can make it there without falling."
A little while later, both men were sitting at the kitchen table. Jason ate slowly while Tommy watched, eating his own breakfast.
"I guess I can take calling Rocky off the list of things to do this morning," Tommy finally said. "I was beginning to seriously consider it before you woke up. But I will have to call your mom and Marc in an hour or so. He'll want to talk to you before school. But I think 6a is still a little too early."
Jason glanced at the clock and nodded.
"And after you talk to Marc," Tommy continued. "You need to call the doctor."
"I will," Jason said.
"Good," Tommy said, taking a drink of his coffee. "Because I'm not leaving until you do. I want to make sure you are actually going to be able to see someone this time."
"I said I would!" Jason snapped. "Don't you trust me? Or do you think I'm lying to you? I know you don't actually want to be here."
Tommy visibly flinched and Jason blinked at him in surprise. Tommy took a deep breath before answering.
"It's either going to be I stay and make sure you get to the doctor," Tommy said calmly, eyeing Jason with some concern. "Or I will leave, and Tanya and Aisha are going to show up at your door and drag you there when they find out you still haven't seen someone. So, I can leave right now if that's what you want but…"
Jason didn't answer immediately, looking at Tommy and then rubbing a hand over his face. Tommy watched him silently. Closing his eyes, Jason took a deep breath.
"I'm sorry," Jason said, shaking his head. "I don't know where that came from… I'll call as soon as the office opens."
Tommy frowned, still watching Jason hesitantly. He glanced around the room while Jason was still collecting himself. An empty whisky bottle was sitting by the sink.
"Jason," Tommy said, his voice serious as he turned back to Jason. "Have you been drinking?"
Jason looked at Tommy in surprise.
"Well, yes," he answered hesitantly. "But not like that. Christine brought a bottle home last night and we drank it with dinner. It's not a regular occurrence."
Tommy raised an eyebrow.
"It's not!" Jason snapped again.
He grimaced, catching himself.
"I'm sorry," he said. "Ok. Maybe I shouldn't have finished the bottle."
"Probably not," Tommy said. "Maybe take it easy on the alcohol for a while?"
"You're probably right," Jason sighed.
Tommy stood to get more coffee. While he was up, the phone he had left on the table started ringing.
"Who is it?" Tommy asked, glancing over his shoulder.
Jason reached over and slid the phone closer to look at the caller ID.
"Resort?" he said.
"Oh," Tommy said, sounding surprised. "That one I do have to answer. It's really early, though."
Tommy quickly walked back over and grabbed his phone.
"This is Tommy," he said. "What's going on?"
He paused, frowning as he listened.
"She what?" he said. "How did she lose her ID between the airport and—never mind. It's fine. Listen, is Mark there? Ok. Have him verify that it is actually her. If it is, just put her in one of the rooms in the Ambassador Wing and I'll deal with the details later. They were supposed to be coming. Yeah. Thanks."
Hanging up, Tommy shook his head as he tucked his phone away.
"What was that about?" Jason asked curiously.
"Oh, Kim is in town," Tommy said, sitting back down.
Jason grimaced, losing his train of questioning at the thought of Kim joining forces with the rest of the women.
"Why?" he asked with a groan. "I thought she wasn't coming to California for at least another week yet."
Tommy shrugged.
"I didn't actually talk to her," he said. "But I'm sure you'll get a phone call as soon as she thinks it's late enough in the morning."
Groaning, Jason put his head down on the table as Tommy laughed quietly.
"This isn't working, Will," Christine snapped. "We've tried three times now and he still hasn't signed anything. And now he's gone off to the doctor—what if they find out about the drug?"
Will, sitting across the table from Christine, shook his head. They were currently alone in the house. Tommy and Jason had left about an hour before to see Jason's doctor. Christine had been freaking out since they left.
"Relax, sis," he said. "They aren't going to find it. First of all, he threw up not long after he took it this time. And even if they do take blood for blood tests, that's not what they are going to be looking for. They have no reason to suspect anything."
"That still doesn't solve the problem," she hissed. "I still can't access the accounts and Jason is bound to notice the cash withdrawals soon. I can't hide them forever."
"Patience, Christine," Will said calmly. "You almost had him last time."
"And then one of his stupid friends interrupted," she growled. "Why are they so nosy? Can't they just leave us alone?"
"I never told you this was going to be easy," Will said, shaking his head. "But this is what you wanted, so give it one more shot. We just have to time it a little more carefully. Think about how Jason schedules things—when does he do stuff with his friends? If you can figure out when most of them will be busy, then we will have the perfect time."
Christine scowled and rolled her eyes.
"How am I supposed to know any of that?" she said irritably. "Like I care about what they do with their sad excuses for lives."
"Just think, Christine," Will said soothingly. "First thing is to pick a time when Marc is at school or the dojo. If we do it while he is at the dojo, you know at least a couple of Jason's friends will be occupied. The Tommy problem is easy because he doesn't even live in town, he just visits. You heard him tell Jason he'd be leaving today. I doubt he'll be back for a few weeks."
"I guess," Christine said with a huff.
"So, let's wait til Saturday," Will continued. "That gives me time to get another batch. Marc has an extended class on Saturdays and most of Jason's friends should be busy at that time. Then just make plans ahead of time with Jason that he can talk about—that will keep the rest of them away. And with just a minor tweak to this new batch it should be a walk in the park to get him to sign that paperwork."
Christine glared at him for a moment.
"It's going to work," he said. "But remember, you were the one who wanted this. So, if you've decided you'd rather just stay here like it is…"
He trailed off, watching her expectantly.
"Fine," she snapped. "I'll get the money. But it had better work this time."
Wednesday June 6th, 2018
Angel Grove, CA
"Why are there so many cash withdrawals?" Jason muttered.
Jason frowned as he looked through the transaction history on the bank account he shared with Christine. He'd been catching up on the last couple of weeks when he noticed the balance was lower than he thought it should be. Then he saw the large cash withdrawals.
"She can't be shopping again," he said, continuing to talk to himself. "I would have noticed her bringing new stuff home—unless she's hiding it somewhere and hoping I won't notice. But I guess we can have that discussion later tonight when I ask her..."
Groaning, he leaned back in his chair. He was currently in his office at the mall. With how often he'd been sick the last two weeks, he had a lot of paperwork to catch up on. As much as he enjoyed heading up the mall security, part of him was thinking it would be so much easier right now if he was just a normal security guard. There would be so much less paperwork to deal with.
And he still didn't have any answers. He'd managed to get an emergency appointment with his doctor on Monday that Tommy had taken him to. They'd done a full exam and run some blood tests, but so far hadn't come up with anything that could explain his symptoms. At least not together.
Sighing again, Jason glanced at the pile still on his desk and then at the clock. Adam had picked Marc up from school to take him to the dojo, but Jason had promised he would get him after class. And he still had to make a quick stop at the grocery store.
"Guess I'm done for the day," he said. "Or Marc is going to think something is wrong again. Cause I still need to stop at the store before I pick him up…"
"You better hurry and make a decision, man," Henry chuckled. "Or we're going to get a call and you're going to be sad and hungry for the next couple of hours."
"Shut up," Rocky muttered staring at the shelf.
Henry sighed, leaning against the shelf next to him. They were in between calls, grabbing a quick snack from the grocery store before they headed back to the firehouse.
"Let's go look at the sandwiches…" Rocky sighed.
Henry rolled his eyes but followed. As they rounded the corner, however, Rocky froze and Henry nearly ran him over.
"I am telling you what you will do," a woman was demanding. "You will go in the back, look on the shelf, and get me the product you were too lazy to bring out earlier so that I could just pick it up and go."
Grimacing, Rocky slowly tried to start backing up as the associate responded.
"Ma'am, I'm sorry," he sighed. "But I already told you, we don't have that in stock right now. So there is nothing to grab from the back."
"Well, then what am I supposed to do for dinner?"
"What are you doing?" Henry asked as Rocky nearly tripped over him.
"Just go!" Rocky hissed.
But it was too late. He'd been seen.
"You! Wait!"
Rocky flinched and froze. She'd seen him and if he tried to walk away, he knew she'd just chase him. Henry was watching with a slightly amused look on his face now. So, Rocky sighed and turned around. Only to find himself face to face with Megan Callahan.
"You have to help me," she said, grabbing his arm and dragging him back over to the employee.
"Mrs. Callahan, I'm on duty—"
"Arrest them!" she announced, pointing at the employee.
Rocky, the employee, and Henry all stared at her in surprise.
"Wait—what?" Rocky sputtered.
"Arrest them!" she repeated. "He's discriminating against me."
Rocky blinked at her in surprise.
"Ma'am, that's not how it work—" Henry tried to say.
"And he's harassing me!" she quickly added in.
Rocky pinched the bridge of his nose in irritation as she continued to spout various things the employee had done. None of which he believed.
"Mrs. Callahan, we aren't police," he said, trying to be patient with her.
Though he had only met her in person a couple of times, he knew all about her from Aisha and Tanya. And that they avoided her as much as possible. He also knew she thought very little of his position as a public servant. Though she didn't seem to have a problem trying to use his job to her advantage right now.
"We are paramedics with a firehouse," he continued. "So, even if anything you've been spouting at me is even true, I still can't arrest him because that's not my job."
Megan scoffed, waving a hand at him.
"Same difference," she said. "You work for the city and I pay your salary with my taxes. That means you work for me. So, arrest him!"
The employee was looking more and more upset. Rocky sighed and looked at them.
"Why don't you go get your manager," he suggested kindly. "And let them handle this?"
The employee jumped on the suggestion, bolting before Megan could protest.
"You let him go!" she exclaimed, rounding on Rocky. "You were supposed to arrest him!"
Rocky was about to continue arguing with her when, to his surprise, Jason rounded the corner. He was still dressed in his work uniform, which gave Rocky an idea.
"Hold that thought, Mrs. Callahan," he said, interrupting her new rant. "I may have a solution to your problem."
She frowned as he jogged away.
"Jason!" he said, catching Jason's arm.
Jason, who had been focused on his list and hadn't seen Rocky and Henry, jumped.
"What—Rocky?"
"Hey, I need your help real quick," he said. "Just play along, ok?"
"Umm…alright," Jason nodded hesitantly.
He followed back over to Megan, who Jason was now watching with suspicion. He remembered their run-in at the mall with Aisha.
"Alright, Mrs. Callahan," Rocky said. "We just need a few minutes. Jason is going to go get the camera footage from the security office that we need as proof of the harassment. Once he gets—"
"Camera?" Megan squeaked.
"Of course," Rocky nodded. "I can't arrest that employee without proof since I didn't see anything."
"He's right," Jason quickly agreed. "It will only take me a couple of minutes—"
"I don't have time for this," she huffed. "Just forget it."
She immediately stalked away, leaving the three men alone. Rocky sighed in relief.
"Thanks, man," he said, clapping a hand on Jason's shoulder.
Henry was snickering.
"So, do I want to know?" Jason asked.
Rocky shook his head.
"Probably not," he said. "Oh."
The employee was coming back with their manager in tow.
"Is there a problem here?" the manager asked.
"Not anymore," Rocky said. "She left."
The manager frowned. Sighing, Rocky explained as Jason and Henry shook their heads.
Later that evening after Marc had gone to bed, Jason asked Christine if they could talk. He had printed out copies of their statements with the withdrawals and wanted to see what she had done with the money. Like he expected, the conversation did not go well.
"I just want to know what you were doing, Christine," Jason said, exasperated. "You've never just taken out cash before like this. You always just use the card. So, what changed?"
"Nothing," Christine said adamantly. "I just decided to use cash for a while. Is that a problem? I just bought some groceries and gas. Things like that."
Jason shook his head.
"That's a lot of cash in a short time frame for gas and groceries," Jason said. "Especially since I haven't seen you bring groceries home."
"Jason, you've been sick," Christine said. "You must just have forgotten, that's all."
"Maybe," Jason said hesitantly. "But why are you being so defensive? I'm just trying to understand where the money went. So just tell me the truth—did you go out with your friends?"
Christine scoffed and rolled her eyes.
"They aren't going to fly out here to go shopping at that tiny excuse of a mall in Angel Grove," she snapped. "And I think you would have noticed if I had gone to LA."
Jason took a deep breath, trying not to snap back.
"Then are you seeing someone else?" he asked after a moment. "Is that why you are using cash? So, I won't see where you have been?"
Christine gasped.
"How dare you accuse me of that!" she exclaimed. "How could you even think it?"
She started sobbing and Jason grimaced. He didn't want to accuse her of having an affair, but he really couldn't come up with many reasons as to why she would suddenly need to have so much cash on hand.
"Ok, I'm sorry," he said, trying to calm her down. "It was a stupid thing to say. But you've been so distant this last week while I've been sick and then all the cash withdrawals…And I know you didn't really want to come here and I made you…"
"I was just trying to give you space to recover," she sniffed. "I know you don't like it when I hover…"
"I'm sorry," Jason said again, standing up to walk around the table. "Can you just please at least keep the receipts if you are going to use cash? Just so I can keep track of everything. Please?"
He pulled her gently into a hug as she continued to sniffle.
"I'll try and remember," she said, gingerly hugging him back.
"Thank you," he said. "I'm going to head to bed now. I want to meet Adam at the gym tomorrow and I promised Kim I would meet her for lunch, so I want to make sure I get some sleep tonight. She wants to talk about something, but I don't know what it is. Are you coming to bed now?"
"I'll be up in a moment," Christine said, dabbing her eyes with a Kleenex.
Jason nodded and headed upstairs. Once he was gone, Christine dropped the Kleenex on the table and pulled out her phone to text her brother.
He noticed the cash withdrawals. It HAS to work this time. If it doesn't, I'm going to be stuck in this miserable place with him forever. Or I'll have to resort to something more drastic.
Thursday June 7th, 2018
Angel Grove, CA
"Jason, where are you going?" Christine asked, crossing her arms. "You already did your workout."
Jason paused in the middle of tying his shoe to glance up at his wife.
"Lunch with Kim," he said, going back to his shoelaces. "Remember? I told you yesterday. I'm supposed to meet her in ten minutes."
"Oh, ok. I'll grab my purse."
"Sorry, Christine," Jason said, straightening up. "Not this time. This is just an old friends' thing—Kim isn't even bringing Jake. She wanted some time for the two of us to catch up. No spouses."
Christine frowned. But before she could protest, there was a knock on the door. Jason turned to answer it. They hadn't been expecting visitors.
"Hi, Jason!" Kim exclaimed when he opened the door. "Are you ready to go?"
"Kim?" Jason said in surprise. "What are you doing here? I thought I was meeting you at the res—Kat?"
He had just realized Kim wasn't standing on his front porch alone. Kat was with her.
"Surprise," she said with a smile.
She carefully threw her arms around Jason and hugged him. He hesitantly hugged her back, very aware that Christine was behind him.
"Glad to see you up and around," she said, stepping back.
"Are you ready to go?" Kim asked. "I actually changed my mind on where I wanted to eat, so I figured I would just come get you. Though Kat actually drove since she has a car. I thought we'd go someplace fancy today for fun—my treat, of course."
Jason hesitated, glancing down at his jeans and t-shirt.
"Umm… Kim?" he said slowly. "How fancy are you talking? I'm not exactly dressed for—"
"Oh, don't worry about it," Kat interrupted. "No one will bother you about it."
"Oh. Ok," Jason said, glancing back over his shoulder.
Christine was watching him expectantly.
"Actually," he said, turning back to Kim. "Christine was just asking about our plans—"
"You can tell her all about it later," Kim said brightly, grabbing his arm. "We have to hurry. I made reservations for three in twenty minutes. We don't want to lose our table."
Without waiting for an answer, Kim started dragging Jason toward the car leaving Christine standing in the house glaring after them. Kat followed, shutting the door for Jason after waving goodbye to Christine. The three friends climbed into Kat's car.
"Kim, that wasn't very nice," Jason sighed as Kat started driving.
"Well, I did say no spouses," Kim said, shrugging as she turned to look at Jason from the front seat. "Besides, how can we actually enjoy catching up if we have to keep explaining things to Christine? She didn't grow up with us after all."
"Neither did Kat," Jason said drily.
"That's beside the point," Kim said, turning back around. "Kat shares experiences with us that Christine doesn't. Now stop complaining."
"I have a complaint," Kat inserted, flashing Kim a look. "I thought it was my turn to pay?"
Kim laughed.
"That was next time the two of us went out," Kim said. "But Jason is with us and I called it."
Jason shook his head, listening to the two women bicker playfully the rest of the trip to the restaurant. He was surprised when Kat drove them straight to the resort on the south side of town. They parked in front of a restaurant attached to the resort itself. Jason started to head inside while the girls grabbed their purses and locked the car. He paused and waited by the door for Kim and Kat.
He held the door open for them and followed inside. Inside the vestibule, the host looked up. He focused on Jason first.
"Sir, I'm sorry, but jackets are required here," he said, glancing at what Jason was wearing.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Jason apologized, glancing down at himself. "Kim—"
"Relax, Jason," Kat said as she and Kim walked around him.
"Hi!" Kim said brightly. "We have reservations."
The host looked at Kim and Kat in surprise. Kat nodded to him as Kim gave her name.
"Oh!" the host said. "Of course. Right this way."
To Jason's surprise, the host immediately led them to a private table without questioning anything else. There was already water on the table and dinnerware laid out.
"I'll have the kitchen start your first course," the host said. "May I get you something else to drink? Appetizers will be out shortly."
Kim and Kat both ordered, but Jason declined. He was going to stick with water.
"First course?" Jason said, looking at Kim.
"What?" she said. "You need to eat."
Jason shook his head, but let it go. Then he turned to Kat.
"So, what are you really doing here?" Jason asked. "I know you don't live in the area. And shouldn't you be in school? It's Thursday."
Kat laughed.
"I appreciate the concern," she said. "But I didn't have any students today and, since it is the end of the year, I don't have any lessons to plan. I'll just be helping with their exams next week."
"Oh," Jason said. "I guess I thought you had students every day. Isn't that how school works?"
"I teach special education," Kat explained. "So, I don't have a regular classroom, just regular students. We schedule around their needs so sometimes I have weird days off."
A waiter brought the drinks and appetizers, momentarily interrupting the conversation.
"So, you had a day off work to relax," Jason said after they left. "And you drove here to have lunch with Kim and I?"
"Well why not?" Kim said. "We're fun—or at least I am."
She smirked at Jason, who just rolled his eyes. Kat shook her head at them as they divided up the appetizers. Kim made sure to put some on Jason's plate.
"Ok, so maybe I'm not just here for lunch," she finally admitted. "I may or may not have come so Tommy would finally relax and focus on his exams. He won't admit it, but he's been worried. However, with exams next week he can't really justify coming down right now so I'm here to check on you in his place."
Jason frowned, a little confused.
"You drove here to check on me for—Tommy?" he said slowly. "Why?"
"Well, it's nice when my husband is able to calm down and focus once in a while," Kat said drily. "Especially at the end of the school year. He's already had enough trouble with that the last few months, he doesn't need a new reason to stress."
"Wait—your husband?" Jason repeated in surprise. "You and Tommy are married?"
Kim and Kat looked at each other in shock and then back at Jason.
"Yes, Jason," Kat finally answered. "For a long time now."
"How did you not know that?" Kim asked. "You've been living in California for almost two months. I know you've talked to Tommy at least once—not to mention Rocky, Adam, Tanya, and Aisha. Who all know."
Jason just shook his head.
"I honestly have no idea," he said. "I guess it just never came up. I mean, I knew you worked at the same school, but..."
He shrugged.
"Who did you think JJ's mother was?" Kat asked, taking a sip of her drink as she waited for an answer.
"I—I don't know," Jason answered, thinking about it. "I guess I hadn't thought about it. I only saw the kid once and he looks just like Tommy… I didn't think to ask about his mom."
Kat sighed.
"He does look just like his father," she sighed. "He's all Tommy."
"JJ might look just like Tommy," Kim said, patting Kat's hand. "But he's got your personality. He's sweet and kind."
"Thanks, Kim," Kat laughed. "But he is his father's son."
The first course came out and the trio started eating. Jason picked at his food. He wasn't really hungry, but he knew if he didn't eat something Kim and Kat would be all over him. It was still throwing him off a little bit that Tommy was even concerned enough to be distracted.
"I have a fantastic idea," Kim said, grinning. "I'm going to throw a party. It can be a reunion for all of us!"
"A party?" Jason said, raising an eyebrow. "For what? Are you really going to call it a reunion?"
"Umm…" Kim said, thinking. "Well, for… for—oh! I know! Tanya said the dojo's anniversary is coming up. We can celebrate that. And we can invite everyone, and it will be so much fun."
"Kim, do you really think that's necessary?" Jason asked.
But Kim didn't answer him. She was texting furiously on her phone in between bites of food.
"Let it go, Jason," Kat laughed. "You should know better than to fight it. Because there is no stopping her now."
And she was right. By the time the three had finished lunch, Kim had pretty much organized an entire party. Kat had helped a little while Jason just watched it happen. He took the chance while Kim was distracted to ask Kat more questions about her, Tommy, and JJ. After his big oops earlier with not knowing they were married, he wanted to know what else he may have missed with them. The couple of times he had seen Tommy they had avoided talking about their personal lives too much—or actually talking at all.
He continued to just pick at his food, though, much to the consternation of the two women. Kim made sure to have leftovers wrapped up for him to take home.
"So, make sure you plan to take the afternoon off two weeks from yesterday," Kim said as they pulled up in front of Jason's house. "That means two Wednesdays from now—the twentieth. Adam doesn't have any classes that afternoon. We will have the whole dojo to ourselves."
"I'll put it on my calendar, Kim," Jason said, chuckling.
Kat parked and Jason climbed out. To his surprise, both women followed him. He didn't argue as they walked him up to the house. He had accepted it was inevitable at this point. Unlocking the door, Jason led the way inside.
"I'll just put these in your fridge," Kim said, holding up his leftovers.
She had snatched them from the car before he could as an excuse to come inside. Kim didn't wait for an answer and headed straight for the kitchen. Kat followed. Jason trailed behind. When he reached the kitchen, Kim had the fridge open and was inspecting the contents.
"You don't have nearly enough food in here," Kim said, glancing over her shoulder at Jason. "We should go to the grocery store."
"Kim, that's really not necessary," Jason said, shaking his head. "I have enough groceries. I just went to the store yesterday."
"Just let it happen," Kat laughed.
She walked over to Jason's cupboards and started opening them, glancing in the fridge on her way past.
"Kim, he has lots of things in here," Kat sat, reaching up to check a few boxes. "So, he has food, it just needs to be cooked."
"Oh, perfect!" Kim said, checking the freezer. "We can cook some meals before we leave."
Jason sighed, sitting down at the table as the girls started comparing ingredients.
"It really isn't necessary," he said. "Really. I can handle the cooking. I just didn't bother today because we were going out."
"Oh, it's not a problem," Kim said, starting to pull a few things out of the fridge. "You just relax and let us take care of you for a little while. You shouldn't have to do everything while you're recovering."
Will wandered into the kitchen as Jason was arguing with Kim and Kat. He paused to watch before heading toward the cupboard where the glasses were.
"We'll just cook a couple of things and then leave you alone," Kat promised, reaching up to grab something off a top shelf.
"You don't need to, Kat," Jason said, shaking his head. "I'm perfectly capable of doing the cooking."
"You can cook for me any time," Will smirked, reaching over and smacking Kat on the butt.
Several things happened immediately.
Kat spun in anger, slamming the cupboard door shut as she did. Will just smirked and reached for a glass. Kim jumped when the cupboard slammed, turning to see what was going on as Jason leapt to his feet.
"Will!" Jason exclaimed striding toward his brother-in-law. "Why did you do that?"
"What?" Will said, turning around. "It was a compliment. You should be thanking me."
"A compliment?" Kat said incredulously. "Oh, I'll show you thankful."
"Kat, no," Jason said, catching her as she lunged at Will. "Will—shut up and get out."
"Why?" Will said, filling his glass with water from the sink. "There's no reason to be so touchy."
"Out!" Jason snapped. "That was not okay. Now leave or I'll throw you out!"
"Whatever," Will shrugged.
He sauntered out, still smirking. Jason took a deep breath, closing his eyes and clenching his fists for a moment before he turned back to Kat. Kim had joined them, glaring in the direction Will had gone with her arms crossed.
"Kat, I am so sorry," he said. "I don't know why he thought that would be ok. I promise it won't happen again."
"No, it won't," she snapped. "Just wait until Tommy hears about it."
Jason grimaced.
"Please don't," he said, rubbing his forehead. "I really can't deal with that right now. Can't you just hurt Will later?"
"No promises," Kat said, shaking her head. "But I think I'm going to go. Kim?"
"I'll call you later, Jason," Kim said as Kat stalked out of the kitchen. "But you might want to warn Will. Two hours isn't that far a drive…"
With a shrug, she hurried out after Kat. Jason sighed, dropping back into a kitchen chair.
Friday June 8th, 2018
Angel Grove, CA
"Sorry I'm running late, guys," Jason said, hurrying into the gym. "I was on the phone with the doctor."
Adam and Rocky both glanced up at him.
"It's fine," Rocky yawned. "We haven't started anything yet. You should probably stretch first though."
Jason nodded, raising an eyebrow as Rocky stifled another yawn.
"So, what did they say?" Adam asked.
"That they'll probably need to run some more tests if something happens again," Jason sighed. "They aren't sure of anything at this point…"
"At least you got them looking now," Rocky said, shaking his head. "I'd have dragged you there myself after the weekend if Tommy hadn't beaten me to it."
Jason chuckled.
"I wouldn't put it past you—or your wives," he admitted. "Though I was a little surprised that Tommy was so intent on making sure I was alright. I didn't really expect it…"
Adam and Rocky exchanged exasperated looks.
"What?" Jason frowned, catching their expressions. "I know Tommy doesn't like me—so why can't I be surprised by him helping me?"
"For the last time, Jason," Rocky snapped. "Tommy doesn't hate you!"
Jason and Adam both looked at Rocky in surprise, but he wasn't done yet.
"I'm tired of both of you avoiding even talking about each other like the rest of us aren't supposed to notice," Rocky continued, scowling at Jason. "Tommy doesn't hate you anymore than you hate him. If you would both stop being stubborn for thirty seconds and think about it you'd figure it out, but no. You're both just going to hold on to your assumptions."
"Rocky—" Jason tried to interrupt.
"No," Rocky snapped. "I'm over it. Even if I have to lock the two of you in a room, I'm going to make you talk it out. I'm tired of tiptoeing around trying not to make either of you uncomfortable. You used to be best friends, and this has gone past ridiculous. No one cares about what happened in the past—so you both just need to get over it so we can all go on without this stupid tension in our lives."
Rocky finally stopped, glaring at Jason as he waited for a response.
"Umm… I'm sorry?" Jason said hesitantly. "Rocky, are you ok?"
Rocky frowned at the question and then realized Adam was looking at him the same way Jason was.
"I'm sorry," Rocky sighed after a moment. "I just—I'm a little tired after working three shifts in a row. I didn't go home Wednesday because one of the guys still has a situation going on with his kid in the hospital… and then of course we were busier than usual for whatever reason in the middle of the week so every time we tried to relax there was a call and then I tried to take a nap this morning but…"
He shrugged.
"Why are you here instead of sleeping at home?" Adam asked, shaking his head. "You should have said something."
"Because Damien has an ear infection," Rocky grumbled. "I gave up sleeping after an hour and just came here."
Adam sighed.
"Alright, come on," he said. "Jason, I'll be right back."
Adam shoved Rocky toward the office, ignoring his protests and leaving Jason staring after them. A few minutes later Adam came back alone.
"Did you send him home?" Jason asked.
"Nah," Adam answered, shaking his head. "He wouldn't sleep there anyways. He's on the couch in my office. No one will bother him there. I'll wake him up in a few hours. And hopefully he'll be less irritable."
Jason nodded, hesitating as they turned their focus back to their workout.
"So… Tommy doesn't hate me?" he asked quietly a few minutes later. "I just thought with how he reacted when we fought—"
"No, Jason, he doesn't," Adam answered. "If anything, he was mad at me and Rocky for springing it on him. Not because he wouldn't have fought with you, but because he doesn't know how your fighting skills have changed and he didn't want you to get hurt if he wasn't careful. So that was mostly our fault."
"Yeah… I guess I kind of figured that out for myself later," Jason admitted. "And after spending the afternoon with Kat yesterday, I wouldn't hate getting to spend some more time with Tommy. It has been a long time…"
Adam grinned.
"I'm sure we can work that out," he said. "But for now, let's get our workout done so you can get back to work."
Reefside, CA
Climbing into his truck, Tommy fished his phone out of his pocket as he dropped his bags in the back seat. He dialed as he pulled out of the dojo parking lot to head home for the afternoon. It rang a few times before it picked up.
"Hello?" Rocky answered, sounding distracted.
"Hey, Rocky," he said. "I just had a quick question—"
"Ask Jason," Rocky snapped. "The two of you can figure it out."
Without another word or explanation, he hung up. Tommy frowned, staring at his phone for a moment as he considered calling him back. Deciding against it for the moment, he called Adam instead.
"Hey, Tommy," Adam answered.
"Adam, is Rocky ok?" he asked.
"He's supposed to be sleeping in my office," Adam answered slowly. "He just came off a triple at the firehouse. Why? Is something wrong?"
Tommy grimaced.
"No, nothing is wrong," he said. "Except I may have woken him up. I didn't realize he had pulled a triple. That would explain why he snapped at me—though not why he told me to ask Jason."
Adam sighed.
"Well, if it makes you feel any better, he yelled at Jason first," Adam said.
"Not really," Tommy muttered. "I wasn't even calling for anything important. I would have waited."
"What did you need him for?" Adam asked curiously.
"I was just checking to see if he worked tomorrow," Tommy explained. "I was going to bring lunch by from my mom's. Figured we could have lunch together while I was taking a break from Billy's lab if he wasn't on a call. Mom is making us lunch and said she'd make extra. I can drop something off for you, too."
"Oh, yeah," Adam said. "He does work tomorrow so I'm sure he'd love that. I'll tell him to call or text you when I wake him up."
"Thanks," Tommy said. "Do you know why he yelled at me to ask Jason though? That didn't make a lot of sense to me."
"Uh, well," Adam said slowly. "Rocky is just a little tired after three days in a row at work and then coming home to Damien with an ear infection."
Tommy winced on Rocky's behalf.
"Well, that explains why he's in your office," Tommy muttered. "But why Jason and not you?"
"Because Jason was here," Adam said. "And he said something about being surprised you helped him on Sunday… because he thought you hated him."
Tommy frowned.
"I don't hate him," he said. "I never have—where did he get that idea?"
"Probably the same place you got the idea he hates you," Adam countered. "That whole falling out in college. Which really just makes me think there was a big misunderstanding somewhere along the way. Something about the whole thing doesn't add up, Tommy. And Rocky is just frustrated that neither one of you will just talk to the other. It's fine."
Tommy was quiet for a moment as he thought about it.
"I'll work on it," he promised. "It's just… well, after this long, it's hard. But we're both coming to Kim's party in a couple of weeks and we'll figure it out."
He could hear Adam's sigh of relief, though he probably wasn't supposed to have heard it.
"Anyways," Tommy said a moment later. "I just wanted to make sure Rocky was alright. I'm almost home and it's going to be dinner time."
"I'll see you this weekend?" Adam asked.
"At some point I'm sure," Tommy answered. "I'll be in Billy's lab most of the day tomorrow helping him take things apart and then in Mariner Bay Sunday morning. But I'll come by at some point if I can. Talk to you later."
Kat briefly glanced up from the vegetables she was chopping when she heard the front door open and shut. She was currently in the kitchen making dinner while JJ was playing a game on her laptop at the table. A moment later, Tommy wrapped his arms around her and gave her a kiss on the cheek, dropping his keys on the counter.
"Welcome home," Kat said. "How was the gym?"
"It was good," Tommy said. "You got home late last night."
"I stayed later than I originally planned to," Kat admitted. "I was talking with Kim and we lost track of time. Can you get the pan down for me?"
Tommy let go of Kat and grabbed the pan she indicated. He started grabbing a couple of other things to help her finish getting dinner together so it could go in the oven.
"You were actually sleeping when I got home," she continued. "So, I was trying to be quiet."
"You didn't wake me up," he said. "Not really. How was the trip?"
Kat paused in chopping for a moment and then continued.
"Lunch was great," she said. "We had a wonderful time talking and catching up—even if I did nearly kill someone after. Did you know Jason didn't realize we were married?"
Tommy frowned as he took the vegetables she offered to him to add to the pan.
"Jason didn't know we wer—wait," he said, processing the rest of what she had said. "What do you mean you almost killed someone? Was this at the resort? What happened?"
Kat raised an eyebrow.
"Nothing happened at the resort," she said. "They would have called you yesterday."
"Then I'm going to need some more information," Tommy retorted. "Where else were you?"
Kat shrugged but didn't answer as they finished putting everything together and put the food in the oven.
"JJ?" Kat said, turning to their son. "Don't you have some homework to finish before dinner?"
He looked up from the computer.
"No," he answered. "I finished everything I was supposed to get done today."
"Okay," she said, crossing her arms. "How about chores?"
"Finished," he said.
"Well, then I guess it wouldn't hurt for me to give you some more?" Kat said, raising an eyebrow.
JJ stared at her for a moment and then finally got the hint.
"Umm… I think I'll go do more homework," JJ said quickly, closing the laptop. "Might as well finish tonight."
He quickly bolted from the room, leaving Tommy and Kat alone. Tommy was frowning. The fact that Kat wanted JJ out of the room concerned him.
"Kat, what's wrong with Jason?" Tommy asked as soon as JJ was gone.
"Jason is fine," she quickly assured him. "Really. He needs to eat more, but he's fine."
"Then what is going on?"
"It wasn't Jason I wanted to kill," Kat said slowly. "It was his brother-in-law, Will."
Tommy shook his head.
"He has always inspired that feeling," he said, shaking his head. "He needs to learn to keep his mouth shut."
"Oh, he needs to do more than that," Kat said.
"Kat, what happened?" Tommy asked.
Kat took a deep breath, not answering immediately. Tommy put his hands on her arms.
"Kat?"
"He… he walked up behind me and hit my butt," she finally admitted.
Tommy froze, staring at her.
"He what?" he said shortly.
"He hit my butt," she repeated. "And then had the gall to say it was supposed to be a compliment."
"I'm going to kill him," Tommy growled.
He let go of Kat, looking around the room. Realizing what he was looking for, Kat quickly snatched his keys off the counter before he could.
"Give me my keys, Kat," Tommy said, holding out his hand.
"No, I don't think I will," she responded, holding them behind her.
"I'm already going to Angel Grove tomorrow with Hayley and Billy," Tommy said. "I'll just leave tonight."
Kat shook her head.
"Kat, now please."
"No. You're angry and I don't think it's a good idea for you to drive right now."
"I'll be fine," he said. "I've had plenty of experience avoiding people while driving. Though admittedly mostly from avoiding the people chasing me while I was driving. I'll be fine. And two hours is plenty of time to decide what I'm going to do to him for touching you."
"Not tonight," Kat said firmly. "You need to cool down before you drive off. And you're acting like I can't take care of myself."
Tommy grimaced.
"I'm sorry. I know you can take care of yourself," he said, wrapping his arms around her. "I know that. But he shouldn't have touched you."
"No, he shouldn't have," she agreed, leaning into his hug and resting her head on his chest. "But that doesn't mean I want you driving off without a clear head. Talk to Hayley in the morning. Maybe you can convince her to spare you. Then you can go hit him for me."
Tommy sighed.
"Fine," he muttered, conceding. "I'll wait till tomorrow. But please tell me you at least hit him for it?"
"Almost," Kat grumbled into his shirt. "But Jason got in the way."
"Of course, he did," Tommy said, shaking his head.
Kat pulled back a little to look up at Tommy. He was clearly still agitated.
"Honey, don't take it out on Jason," she said. "He doesn't need that stress right now. And even if he did stop me from hitting Will, he did force him out of the room. And threatened to physically throw him out if necessary."
"I won't," he said. "I might be annoyed with him, but I'm not looking to make him sick again. I'll just wait until the next time we spar. I have a better idea of his level at this point so I can take out some frustration without actually hurting him."
Kat laughed.
"I think that's acceptable," she said. "Now, it's time for dinner. Go get JJ and I'll get everything on the table."