Jason Richards (leothedetective) wrote in supernextdoor, @ 2012-05-11 22:06:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | 10.07.11, chloe, chloe and jason, jason |
Why Does Life Have to be Confusing?
Who: Chloe and Jason
What: Father/Daughter conversations
When: Saturday, shortly after midnight
Where: The lion's den
Warnings: None
When they'd come into the house, Chloe had fully expected her father to be up and waiting for them. And he was, well at least waiting for them. He was passed out in his chair with his mouth hanging open and slumped nearly out of the darn thing. Chloe smiled and shook her head and nodded in the direction of the stairs. Charlie followed the nod and headed up to her room and Chloe hung up the keys to Dimitri's truck by the door. She left her father alone for the moment being and went into the kitchen to make sure everything was tidy before the following day.
She was a bit surprised to see everything was already cleaned. Apparently her daddy really liked this woman. The kitchen was in top notch shape and food had already been prepared for grilling and put into the refrigerator. "Wow," she said softly to herself as she closed the fridge and headed back out to the living room. Gently she brushed her father's hair away from his face and bent down to press a kiss to his forehead. "Wake up," she murmured. "Being a lion doesn't mean you should get to be lyin' around," she smirked.
It wasn’t just for Justice. Her son was coming over with his rich girlfriend and both of his daughters’ boyfriends. He didn’t want anybody thinking they lived like animals. Especially after seeing them eat. Yeah, definitely needed to mitigate that opinion once they saw them eat. As for the food, considering how much they needed to feed everybody and the fact Charlie had a game in the morning, prep work had to be done that night. It’d given him something to do while he talked to Grace about everything.
Jason rumbled as he started to wake up when Chloe brushed his hair out of his face and kissed his forehead. The purr turned into a groan at the horrible pun. “Where’s Charlie?” he asked as he looked at the clock. Yeah, it was before their curfew. Not that he’d expected them to be late. Yawning and stretching out, he looked over at his oldest daughter. “Hey.”
"Charlie's upstairs in her room. Dimitri stayed with Xander so I drove his truck home and we're both in on time and not in trouble, would you look at that, being all grown up," she smiled. Yes, her pun had been horrible, but it was funny. "You cleaned up," she commented. "My daddy's growing up," she teased. He cleaned, often really, but she had to give him a hard time a little bit. "You okay?" she questioned. "You didn't so much as roll over when we came in."
“I can see that,” he said about them being on time. “How’s Xander doing?” It was good of Dimitri to stay with his friend. But not surprising. He seemed like a good kid. Jason yawned again, trying to decide if it was really worth getting out of his chair to go to bed. He was pretty comfy. “Yes, I cleaned and got lunch ready,” he said. “And talked to Gracie about everything.”
Jason shook his head. “Just tired,” he said. “Been a long week.” Which was mostly the truth. It had been a long week.
"Crappy?" she said with a sigh, moving to sit in her father's lap like she often did when she wanted to talk to him. "He doesn't look so good, but I guess that's good because it means he's listened to you and isn't using anything," she said with a hopeful little shrug. She didn't really know if she wanted her sister going through all of this with Xander, but Charlie had the stubborn streak that ran in their family. "What did Gracie say?" she asked, curious.
Jason didn’t want Charlie going through this with Xander, but it wasn’t his or Chloe’s choice. Even if the kid wasn’t interested in Charlie the way he was, he couldn’t very well tell her not to be supportive of her friend kicking his drug habit. “It’s good Dimitri’s with him then,” he told her. “That’ll help.” He wrapped his arms around Chloe, settling back in his chair so she could be more comfy. “She’s happy,” he said. “She’s been listening Grandma tell her friends for years I need to get on with my life and date and find you girls a mother. I had a bad feeling that would be her reaction. I tried to warn Justice, but I am striking out in this whole talking thing. I managed to patch things up, but now she’s probably even more nervous about tomorrow.” Like they all weren’t?
Chloe wasn't sure how she felt about Gracie wanting a mother. She knew it was a typical reaction for an eleven year old that only had sisters and a grandmother growing up to give her feminine guidance, but she needed a mother. She was about to hit that teenage brick wall where it really started sinking in. It didn't, however, make her completely happy to think of Gracie getting attached to Justice for a few reasons. There were the selfish reasons that Chloe wasn't exactly thrilled about her father's new girlfriend, one being that she would be taking her father's time away from her and now another since it was likely her little sister would feel more drawn to a mommy figure than to her older sister who'd filled that role until then. But there were also the reasons that weren't so selfish, like not wanting her father - or Gracie for that matter - being hurt if Justice decided to walk out.
She let out a little sigh and nodded. "Yeah, Dimitri's a good guy. He'll make sure he's okay and they'll be here tomorrow for the barbeque," she smiled. "Charlie really seems to like this guy, hopefully he doesn't turn out to be a total ass." She hoped not, for all their sakes. "It's a lot to take in all at once," she admitted. "I feel like I'm being pulled in a billion different directions all at once."
Jason could understand the jealousy. God could he. Both of his daughters had found boyfriends within a few days of each other. Boys they liked enough to introduce to him. Hell, he was even a little jealous of Gracie’s reaction to the news he was dating. He knew all the girls were lacking a maternal influence, but for a second it made him feel like she didn’t think he’d done enough as a parent. The concern Justice couldn’t handle his family on top of her own with Lucas and Alanna and their situation was a real possibility. As much as they both wanted to give this a try, he really was worried it wouldn’t even really get started before something scared off Justice, no matter how hard he tried to prove to her he wasn’t like the guys she’d dated before. It could all blow up into a big mess in so many ways.
“He seems like it,” he said. “I’m glad you found yourself a good one, princess. You deserve that.” He kissed her cheek. It didn’t mean he wasn’t leery of the kid. He was still a teenage boy. But he was starting to realize Dimitri was a good kid. Xander seemed like a good kid too. “I hope so too,” he said. “You both deserve good guys.” He let out a soft, tired laugh. “You and me both, Chloe. I know that feeling way too well lately.”
Chloe felt like she didn't know what way was up most of the time. She was jealous and nervous and doubting herself and everyone around her on top of being a teenager in high school with classes and homecoming and cheerleading to worry about. Sometimes she just wished everything would slow down and it felt like lately all it had done was speed up. "How do I know if he's really a good guy?" she asked him. It wasn't that she thought Dimitri was bad, or anything close, but she couldn't help but wonder if his confession of love was a way of getting into her pants. She hadn't exactly had a lot of experience with guys considering most didn't make it past the front door. She wanted to believe him, and felt that he was truthful, but a bit of reassurance wouldn't hurt. "Do guys really say things to get into girls' pants?" she questioned, biting her lower lip as she let her head come to rest against her father's shoulder.
Okay, maybe he’d spoken too soon. Jason couldn’t completely stifle the growl that erupted at the idea that Dimitri might be trying to pressure Chloe into having sex. Not that he couldn’t understand the boy’s reason. His daughter was beautiful and the tiger was a teenage boy. Nice boys still had sex drives. “Yeah, they do,” he admitted. “Although in defense of the good ones, we mean the things we say when we do that.” Jason sighed. “Honestly, princess, if I knew how to tell a good guy from a bad one that easily, I might have an easier time convincing Justice I’m one. Sorry.”
Chloe let out a sigh. "So he probably is trying to get into my pants, but he still might be a good guy?" she asked. God men were confusing. "I mean he's not telling me he wants to have sex or anything or pressuring me but, I don't know," she shrugged. "He told me he loved me," she finally admitted after a brief moment of silence. "And I know you think it's fast and stupid or whatever but we've known each other since school started just haven't dated that long," she went on. God, why had she said all of that to her father? She wanted to crawl into a hole or something, but she just sat there and curled in more against him. "It's just all so confusing," she muttered.
Oh yeah, there was that growl again, although he felt better when she said he wasn’t pressuring her or anything. The whole ‘he told me he loved me’ was another what moment, but her explanation was all too familiar. “It scares me how much you’re like your mother sometimes,” he admitted. “Baby, I fell in love with your mother the second I saw her. I mean, I literally saw stars and started stalking her from that second. I’m surprised she didn’t call the cops on me for it. It didn’t take me long to ask her out, but yeah, I probably dropped that bomb on her just about as fast.” He sighed heavily. “And you know how that went. I wasn’t just saying it to get in her pants, but that was sure as hell part of my plans. It’s just the way teenagers minds work. It doesn’t mean we were ready for it. I know now we weren’t or everything that came after. But back then? No clue. You’re smarter than we were already, since you’re actually thinking about this stuff beforehand.”
"Dimitri accidentally walked into the girl's bathroom following the smell of me when I first came to this school," she admitted. "I think he's been sort of lovesick for me since then. Does history always have to repeat itself?" she questioned, laughing a little. "I'm not ready for a baby, or sex for that matter," she was quick to tell her father. "I want to go to college and I want to be married first before anything like that happens, but I don't even know how I'll know when it's the right time or the right situation. I know I care about him but I don't want to keep him waiting so long that he just goes off and finds it somewhere else," she muttered. God that would suck. She'd likely cry for the rest of forever if that happened.
Jason had to laugh at the bathroom story. Because that was hilarious. “Yeah, he’s got it bad,” he admitted. “Even I wasn’t that much of an idiot. And I did some pretty stupid things trying to get your mother’s attention.” He snorted at her joke. “It better damned well not.” He was relieved when she said that. “My knee jerk reaction is to tell you when you’re out of college, but reality doesn’t work like that. You’ll just know. Which I know sounds lame, but it’s one of those things like falling in love. It feels right. He might be in love with you now, but you might need time. And that’s fine, it’s his job to win you over. So make him work for it. It’ll distract him from the screaming hormones a bit.” He sighed. “If he really loves you, he can keep it in his pants awhile longer. It’s not going to be easy for both of you, especially with how the whole world keeps shoving sex at you nonstop.” Jason hugged her again. “I’m sorry, princess. There’s no easy answers here. And worse still, it doesn’t get any easier the older you get. I’m learning that the hard way now.”
She hoped that she would 'just know', but she didn't feel so much like she would, at least not yet. "I just don't want you to be disappointed in me," she admitted after a moment. "It was easier when the boys didn't make it past the front door. I never had to think much about it before. I could just pretend it wouldn't matter until I was already moved out, but the more time I spend with Dimitri, the more I like him and the harder things get and the more confused I become. And I feel like I'm trying to be everything for everyone and I'm not even sure how to just slow things down without falling over. Which sounds ridiculous, doesn't it?"
“Chloe,” he said firmly, lifting her chin so she was looking in his eyes. “No matter what happens, no matter what you do, I will never be disappointed in you. I am so proud of you, especially how well you’ve been handling all of the changes. You’re taking all of this better than I am. Don’t ever worry about me being disappointed in you, princess. You make me feel like I might not have totally screwed up this parenting stuff doing it on my own. Especially how much you’re thinking about all this stuff and not taking it out on everybody. That takes a lot of maturity. Don’t sell yourself short there.” He sighed softly. “I know and I always feel like I put too much on you. You’re always there to take up the slack for me, and I feel bad for that, no matter how much I appreciate it. It doesn’t sound ridiculous. It’s really kind of how things are right now.”
It made her feel better to know that he wouldn't be disappointed in her. The most important man in her life had always and likely would always be her father. Disappointing him just wasn't a fate she wanted to achieve. "Thank you," she told him firstly. "I wanna make you proud of me," she admitted. She'd always been hopeful that she could do things to make him proud of her. She'd never been the one that won sports trophies like Charlie or the baby like Gracie. She always felt a bit like the accidental pregnancy in high school and like that was all she'd ever be. She knew well and good that her father loved her, but it didn't make it any easier.
"You don't put too much on me, I want to help. It's just now I've got all this relationship drama and you're dating and I'm jealous and there's school and work and cheerleading and that doesn't even touch homecoming which is Friday," she sighed. "Ever just want to sleep for three days?" she laughed.
“Of course I’m proud of you,” he said. “Listen to you. On top of your cheerleading and your school, you’re keeping the peace in this family because I am doing a terrible job of it on my own so I can try to figure out how to date now and you have your own social life and you pick up my slack when I need you. I have no reason not to be proud of you, even if I now I’m worried more than ever that I’m asking too much of you.” He chuckled. “God, at least once a week.” Most of the time, Jason would take more than six hours of sleep. Three days would be heaven.
She smiled at her father and shook her head a little. "I'm your daughter as much as mom's," she reminded him. "I can multitask with the best of them like she could, but I can also handle a crapload of drama like you can, at least outside of the house," she teased. He dealt with more drama on a daily basis than she'd like to think of, especially now that he was dealing with homicides more than drugs and other such things of that nature. "I really just want to eat tomorrow and sleep the rest of the afternoon away," she murmured. "I don't have to work, so I think I just might."
Jason laughed softly. “Work is other people’s drama,” he pointed out. “It is easier to leave that at work than not bring home stuff there. Other people’s problems are always much easier to deal with than your own.” He chuckled softly. “Yeah, we can pretend to watch a baseball game or something. And all just sleep the rest of the afternoon. They all better get used to it anyway. We’re lions. We eat a lot and then nap.”
"Dimitri is going to be all wide-eyed when I eat more than him," she smirked. Likely she could. He might be a tiger, but she certainly had an appetite of her own and planned to thoroughly stuff herself. "You are making your famous burgers, right?" she asked him, already smiling at the thought as her stomach growled a little. "See, tummy is already prepared."
“If he can’t pack away food with the rest of us, I will be deeply disappointed in him,” he said. “I know at his age I was eating my parents out of house and home. Not that much has changed there.” Jason nodded. “Of course. I bought enough food for like twenty people. Which will hopefully be enough with seven weres, a teenage boy and a pregnant girl.” God, they were having a horde over tomorrow. It was kind of nice, really. Even if there was pressure every direction for everybody. Maybe the fact nobody was in this alone would help everybody.
"He's a pig," she assured her father. "I've been pretending I'm not just as bad pretty much every time we've eaten together since we started dating, but he's in for a surprise tomorrow. If he loves me, he can love me stuffing my face," she smiled. "Though I think you might frighten Justice away with your appetite, daddy," she teased.
“Damn right better,” Jason agreed. “He pulls the ‘are you really going to eat that much’ stuff on you and I will stick him on the grill.” He chuckled weakly at her joke. “If the thought of everything else hasn’t scared her off, my appetite won’t bother her.” Yeah, he was going there. “She’s scared Chloe. She’s already gearing up for the worst. She expects you girls to hate her. She expects me to, I don’t know, leave her or something. It’s just-” Yeah, he didn’t need to be dumping this on his already overburdened teenage daughter. “Sorry. It’s late. We should probably both get to bed.”
Chloe gave him the 'oh no you don't' look and did everything but fold her arms stubbornly across her chest. "I don't hate her," she said firstly. "I'm jealous of her, that much I can admit because she's coming in and you're way more interested in her than me and I don't really know her and Gracie is likely already in love with just the thought of a mommy figure when I've been trying to be as good a motherly figure to her as I could. But I don't hate Justice. I don't hate you for liking her. I'm happy that you've found someone and Gracie already likes her, so what's she really afraid of with us? Charlie will come around. She won't bite her head off because she knows that you care about her." At least she hoped not. "And she's got Xander to focus on now so that might help out in the long run," she shrugged.
"You won't leave her, and sooner or later she'll figure that out. You're not the leaving kind, Daddy," she pointed out. "You married Mom and you had two more kids with her and you stuck around even when she was sick and you've put your life on the backburner for us. If she can't see that you won't leave by just looking at us, then she's not right for you and you can do better. But if she's smart, and she ought to be because she likes you and is willing to come to the lion's den, then she'll realize that you're perfect for eachother and just what the other one needs." She blinked a little at her little rant and shook her head. "You're right," she sighed. "It is easier dealing with other people's issues than your own."
Jason couldn’t help but think uncharitably that Justice was also afraid of commitment to him and his kids, even if that was unfair since it had been less than a week since they met. Then Chloe went on the rant and he just kind of stared at her shocked. Not because she was out of line or wrong but because once again, his teenage daughter was giving him good dating advice. Twice in one week even. What the hell had happened to his world? He blinked a couple of times, then laughed. He couldn’t help it. This was just so crazy. “You’re right,” he told her. “I am probably making this more crazy than it should be. If you haven’t noticed, I’m a little prone to overcommitment.” He hugged Chloe again. “Where did you get so smart anyway? Because it certainly didn’t come from me.”
"You're wrong," she said as she hugged him in return, not really wanting to let go of him. "I did get it from you." She believed that fully. Her mother was intelligent as well, but her father was the one who'd raised her, she couldn't deny that. He'd rubbed off on her here and there obviously. "Relax," she told him. "I think that's what we both need to do. Stop thinking so much. I'm definitely your daughter when it comes to thinking way too much for my own good." The apple really didn't fall far from the tree. "I think after tomorrow is over and it goes by without even a hitch, everyone can breathe a sigh of relief and get on with just being normal."
Jason sighed. “We probably are,” he admitted. “I asked Justice to stay, if everything doesn’t blow up. I don’t want to keep running off to her place just to spend time with her. That isn’t fair to Gracie or you and Charlie to have to keep watching her. It feels like I’m trying to have two separate lives. Which I did before when I worked undercover. Never doing that again. Of course, if it turns out she can’t handle us, then it’s not an issue. But I wanted you to know. Since you’ve been so helpful and smart so far.”
She was a little mixed on her opinion of Justice staying. There were still the jealousy issues, but at least he wasn't running off to her house instead of just staying. "Okay," she said simply. "But I reserve the right to play loud music if you do anything that I can hear." Compromise, that was the best way to deal with situations like this. "Cuddle, please just cuddle," she teased, flashing him a smile. After a moment, she shook her head a little. "I'd rather you be here than over at her place," she admitted. "At least I know you're safe and that you ate dinner and that you're not needing for anything. Worrywart here, you know that."
The jealousy would take time for everybody to get over. He’d had at least time to come to terms with the fact someday his beautiful daughters would eventually attract boys he couldn’t scare off. They’d never had to even entertain the reality of him dating. “I’d rather be here,” he admitted. “In case you girls need me. And well, just because this is where I belong dammit. If she’s going to be part of this pride, she’s going to have to get used to the way we work. You girls will always come first, if she can’t accept that now, then that’s it.” He didn’t really think that was a problem, but he wanted Chloe to understand that. He snorted. “Yeah, after having eight people over and cooking and gorging myself all afternoon and Charlie’s game in the morning, I’ll be lucky if I’m awake when everybody leaves. I think you have nothing to worry about there.”
"I'm glad you found someone," she told him. "And she makes you happy, even if you are tired and stressed out from all the worrying. I can see that. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that. She's gotta be special if you like her so much." Her dad was a good judge of character and she firmly believed that he wouldn't pick a woman to bring into the fold that wasn't deserving of introduction. "Just promise me that you won't stop needing me?"
Jason smiled that dopey smile guys smiled when they were smitten. “She’s pretty awesome,” he admitted. “She’s got some issues with commitment, but her history with guys is pretty bad. Lucas’ father just up and left her and she was pregnant and alone.” His daughter would understand why that bothered Jason so much. “We have more in common than I realized until I started talking to her. She’s down to earth and practical and little wild still. But she’s been hurt badly by men and I think she’s more worried about me being just like the others than you girls not liking her.” He sighed and let out a little laugh. “You’re my daughter,” he reminded her. “I’ll always need you, princess. Who else is gonna help me screw my head on straight when everybody else is driving me nuts?”
"You're not like the others," Chloe told him. "She'll wise up and realize that. You didn't leave me or Mom. That's testament enough to your staying power and she'll realize that. I don't think she's a bad woman, or anything close to that. I feel bad for her that she's been through so much bad stuff, but that'll just make her appreciate you more once she overcomes it. I know I'm biased because you're my daddy but you're pretty awesome yourself. She's lucky to have you. And she's strong enough to handle you if she had to raise a kid by herself after a jerk knocked her up and left." Chloe was positive that her father was nothing like those guys that had hurt Justice and he would prove that to her in good time. "She won't be able to resist your awesomeness for long. Especially after she tastes your cooking."
She smiled at him and leaned in for another hug. "I love you, Daddy," she murmured. "Always."
Jason smiled softly. “Thanks, princess,” he said. “I love you too. Always. I think I’m just tired and overwhelmed and hoping throwing everybody together just to get this part over with isn’t the biggest mistake ever. I just feel like we’re all going in different directions and all afraid the others won’t approve and that needs to stop before it gets out of hand. So it stops now. If these people cannot handle us as a family, then they can’t be part of this family. Which is honestly what we’re all in this for. None of us want anything that won’t last here. So yeah, getting the dodging and uncertainty out of the way so we can get on for what passes for normal for us. Just like you said.”
She nodded a little. "I feel like that too," she admitted. "I want Justice to like us as much as she probably hopes we like her. I don't want to be part of the reason that she just runs for the hills and deserts you." Even if that meant pushing her own feelings aside a little. "We're not so bad, really, and if they don't like us then they don't like us. We're a pride. And maybe that means expanding to include a few more people if they're willing and accepting of it. The more the merrier, right?" At least she hoped so. She'd do whatever she could to make that possible.
He chuckled. “I think she’s going to be shocked how great you girls are and fold like cheap tin foil when you treat her so well,” he said. “And I will pretend like I was putting her on the whole time when I was worried about how you’d feel about her.” He nodded. “We are a pride. And if they want to be with us, that means all of us. Somehow, I don’t think anybody will be disappointed. So far Dimitri and Xander seem like good kids. So does Lucas. I haven’t met Alanna and hopefully she isn’t worried about us eating her or something. If she is, she’s in for a pleasant surprise.” Jason smiled. “It’s going to be okay. However it turns out. Because it doesn’t change the fact we are a family.” He hugged her again. “Okay, enough good dating advice from my teenage daughter. You keep this up and I really will start thinking I’m going crazy. You coming to Charlie’s game tomorrow?” If she didn’t, Gracie probably wouldn’t go either. Neither of them were much for sports.
Chloe was hopeful that the following day would go by just fine. And if it didn't, they'd pick themselves up from it and keep right on moving along just like they always did. "You know what, I think I just might," she said with a smile. "I think Charlie could use a little bit of my support and who's better to cheer for her than a cheerleader?"
Exactly. Jason chuckled again. “Yeah, I think we’ll all go,” he said. “Just don’t let me oversleep. I gotta pack us something to eat there. Since it’s over lunchtime. I think they do that on purpose.” Evil sports planners.
"I won't," she promised. "I better call Dimitri and let him know I made it home before he sends out a search party," she said with a little teasing roll of her eyes, despite the smile. "What time should I tell him and Xander to be over by?"
Aw, that was kind of cute that the kid would worry. “Yeah, before it gets too late,” he agreed. “I need to go to bed. Anytime after we get back is fine. So three or so. That’ll give Charlie a chance to shower and change and pretend she isn’t actually worried about her appearance and you time to sneak in and help her if she does while I get the food going.”
"Okay," she said with a smile, reluctantly getting out of her father's lap and leaning over again to get another hug from him. She pressed a kiss to his cheek and pulled back to smile at him once more. "Get some rest, Daddy. I'll make breakfast in the morning and then we can get out of here and go support our little slugger."
She got that hug. “Night, princess,” he said. He felt a bit better about everything now. At least one of his kids was on the same page as he was. That helped, considering Grace’s reaction hadn’t been any more comforting than Charlie’s. But for now, he was going to go pass out before he had to deal with another busy day.