Jonathan Reznick-Quinn (rezidentsk8er) wrote in tiberiusswann, @ 2012-03-21 22:36:00 |
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Entry tags: | rez, riley |
Sunday - April 19th, 2009
Who: Riley, Rez and npc River
When: Night
Where: The car and then Boston
What: More revelations
After being on the road for a while, Rez finally decided it was time to talk about what was going on.
"River's dying. Kidney failure. She uhm... has really bad diabetes, apparently, and.. having kids didn't help any so..." He exhaled a breath. "We gotta go get them. Ethan and Chloe." He fell silent for a second before he added, "I dunno how much stuff they have."
~~~
Riley didn't ask him any questions as they drove, he was just going to let Rez get around to it on his own time. When he did start however Riley was surprised. "Oh...god Rez that's awful, I'm sorry." He said softly and then bit his lip as he continued. "Are they both your kids?" riley asked. One he kind of expected but not two, Rez's life was about to change dramatically.
~~~
Rez shook his head softly. He would tell Riley the truth. Anyone else, he wasn't so sure about, but Riley would know better if he tried to lie about it just because he had been around back then. "She isn't. But... he's like me and they don't want him and he is scared and I don't... I don't want him to have to lose his sister and so..." He exhaled a breath, eyes burning with the threat of tears. "If they can't take him and love him and accept him then they don't deserve her either. Not at all." He shook his head. "So she's mine too. As far as anybody has to know, she's mine."
~~~
Riley understood as Rez spoke about them. The poor little boy must be terrified of what is happening in their lives. "Then as far as anyone knows I let you have that visit with River, you're right if they can't love him than they don't deserve to raise her." Riley swallowed hard, it was so sad and at the same time he was excited to meet them, see that little copy of Rez because he knew he just had to be.
~~~
"Right," Rez replied, nodding his head. "Right. I think... I think she'd be about the right age for that." He did the math in his head, or tried to anyway. He couldn't remember how old River said that the little girl was but... he'd figure it out. "She's not potty trained yet, she told me. I might need... help with that since.. I mean I don't know anything about that sort of thing but you've been there, right?" He glanced over at Riley. "And do you still have some of Mara's old things? She could probably use those." Speaking of Mara, he exhaled a breath. "She's gonna be so jealous."
~~~
"Well if not we will figure it out, make up a perfectly flawless cover story." He said with a smile and then glanced over at Rez when he said she wasn't potty trained yet. "Oh...fun. Okay yeah I can help you out with that if you want. Be prepared to have your life focused on bodily functions for awhile." He continued to drive, possibly a little faster now and looked back over at Rez for a second. "Yeah I do, you can have anything you want. I got Mara at age two so if anything fits go ahead." Riley chuckled and then bit his lip. "Oh yea she really is...but try to play it up, like she's the older one and this one needs her help and stuff."
~~~
"My life is already focused on bodily functions," Rez quipped with a bit of a grin. At least he could sort of laugh about things right now. He was putting a lot of effort into not freaking out, trying his best not to let this overwhelm him, at least not yet. "Right. Yeah, that could work. Almost like.. big sister, sort of." Mara would like that, actually. And since Ethan was a little bit older than her, he'd be like a big brother which would suit her just fine too. He hadn't worried about that, about a boy, just about the girl. But that would work. That would be okay. Everything was going to be okay.
"Fuck, what the hell am I getting myself into?" And he was in this on his own. He knew it. Lily wouldn't stay with him after this. She'd be out the door the second that he told her about this and he couldn't really blame her. And now Trevor was married to Charlie and would probably move into Riley's house and Adam was back on campus again and it would just be him and two small children. Fuck was right.
~~~
Riley snorted and took the exit off the highway to go into Boston. "yeah true but now you have to be serious about it." He chuckled and then chewed on his lip. "Yeah she'd love that, power trippin' all over the place." Riley snorted and then sighed. "She won't like sharing you at all but she will get used to it." He said softly.
"Um...a lot of work for the rest of your life. But with it comes all the good things...you're going to be great at this. And if they need help, you know with dealing with everything I'm here." He said as he reached over and squeezed Rez's hand.
~~~
"Oh I'm serious alright. I got my schedule memorized by heart." Rez smirked a bit. But a child, yeah, that was probably different. Chaotic even. Maybe he really was biting off more than he could chew. Maybe taking them both was a bad idea. But he had already said it, already made it clear that he felt convicted on this and he did. He really did. Hopefully he wouldn't fuck it all up too bad.
"Thanks," Rez said softly in reponse to the offer of help and the squeezing of his hand. He was quiet for a moment before he said in a soft voice, "She's really gonna leave me now." Lily, of course. "Not that I figured she'd be much help since she's like.. not maternal at all but...." He was still going to be going at this alone.
~~~
Riley rolled his eyes at Rez, the guy's humor really was horrible. He smiled at him when he thanked him. "No need to thank me, we are friends if nothing else and I would do anything to help you and your kids." Riley said before frowning at Rez's words. "Really I mean...you don't think she would stay since she didn't have to birth them or anything?"
~~~
"No," he replied honestly. "I don't." Fisher had left James after Devon had come into the picture. Why would this be any different? If anything, it would be worse. It was two kids, not just one. And Devon had been exceptional for a child his age, being rather self sufficient even way back then, not a young child who had to be potty trained and still wore diapers like the little girl was. This was going to be the end for them and he knew it. "I guess... if she can't tough it out with me when things are bad then... I deserve better, right?" Of course that didn't make the thought of her leaving him hurt any less.
~~~
Riley frowned at Rez talked about what Lily would do and then sighed. "I'm sorry that she will leave you because of these kids, I really am. But the fact that you are putting these kids before everything else in your life...tells me you're ready for this and you're going to be an awesome dad. And yes if she leaves because of this than you deserve better, but I don't know maybe she will want to try for you." Riley shrugged, he had no idea what Lily would or wouldn't do.
~~~
"Maybe," Rez replied after a moment though he didn't really believe that. But maybe he wasn't giving her enough credit. Maybe she would step up. He'd been surprised by things before. But the fact of the matter remained that Ethan was his son and therefore this was his responsibility, his duty, to care for him, and for his sister too even if she wasn't his. "Thanks," he said after another moment. "For having faith in me. It... means a lot.." And hopefully he was right, Rez was ready for this and he would get through it, and well. The last thing he wanted to do, to be, was a terrible father.
~~~
Riley glanced over at Rez and smiled before facing front again. "I do have faith in you, you're going to be awesome." Riley always believed Rez had more to him than he showed people, and he knew that he was going to do a great job. "Okay let me see that address because I think we are close." Riley glanced at it and turned down a street and headed for a block of all apartment buildings.
~~~
Already? Rez was nervous as fuck as he handed him the slip of paper with the address and then glanced out the window, looking around. It wasn't a terrible neighborhood at least. He'd been worried that she was living in a bad place around bad people or whatever with the kids and that would have been pretty terrible but... it was decent. He was starting to show his anxiety, sort of rocking and tapping a hand against his thigh. "I think this is it," he said when he saw familiar numbers. "The one down there with the like.. big wheels thing in the yard."
~~~
Riley looked at him and chewed on his lip as they pulled into the driveway. "okay...you ready to go in?" He asked as he turned off the car and took off his seatbelt. Riley's eyes swept over the place and then smirked when he saw a set of blue eyes under a mop of curly brown hair peeking out the window. "I think we've been spotted." He chuckled as he nudged Rez, motioning with his head to the window.
~~~
"No," he answered honestly enough, but then he laughed because, well, that was all he could do at this point. When Riley nudged him, he looked toward where he'd mentioned and... yeah, that was pretty much all it took. Those eyes and that head of hair... he couldn't deny that kid if he wanted to. "Fuck," he muttered under his breath. "This is really happenin', huh?" He was really here and he really had a son, suddenly and unexpectedly. "I guess he wouldn't go to bed," Rez remarked as he moved to climb out of the car. "Who's that sound like?" He asked with a soft laugh as he made his way up toward the door, lifting a hand to knock though the door was opening before he had a chance to.
~~~
Riley felt nervous for him, he knew what it was like to be introduced to your child instead of knowing them from day one. "It really is." Riley said softly and then chuckled under his breath when Rez made his comment. "Oh I really have no idea." He smirked at him as they walked up to the door.
When the door was swinging open Riley expected the little boy to be there but what he saw instead was a striking brunette, pale, and a little on the thin side...but then again he knew she was sick.
"Hi." She said softly as she opened the door for them. Not saying anything about Rez bringing someone, she didn't blame him. "Come on in." River said as she shut the door behind them. "My sister went to our parents tonight so that it wouldn't be more awkward." Ethan was hiding behind the stairs, peeking at Rez every once in awhile.
~~~
River looked... well sort of like he remembered but she was thinner now, paler. It was kind of shocking seeing her like this, looking so tired and weak. He was a bit taken back by it as he stepped inside, leaving room for Riley to come in behind him, his blue eyes seeking out the little boy who, just like River had said, was hanging back, observing. He smiled at him and then focused his attention on River once more.
He was going to say something, maybe hello or acknowledge what she had just said, something, but he couldn't seem to find any words. So instead, he hugged her, holding her tightly to him for a very long moment, fingers smoothing through her hair as he closed his eyes tightly to keep himself from crying because he felt like he very well might in that moment.
~~~
Riley just stayed quiet and out of the way, he wanted to stay as unobtrusive as possible. He watched the little boy who was obviously instantly fascinated by Rez, he was taking every bit of him in. His hair, his eyes, everything. The little boy's eyes went wide when Rez smiled at him and he hid behind the stairs again.
River was used to people's reactions to her but she wasn't expecting Rez's. "Hey...hush now it's okay." She hugged him tight, knowing he was feeling like crying. Even when he was fucked up on everything going, Rez was an emotional guy. "Hey, sit down let me get you guys some coffee, unless you want something cold?" She said as she pulled back from Rez a little with a smile.
~~~
"No," Rez whispered into her hair. "No, it's not." But crying wasn't going to make anything okay, so he took a breath and then he shook his head. "No. I can do it. Kitchen is..." he glanced around and then pointed. "There, yeah?" He looked back at River and smoothed hands down her hair. "Go sit down. I got it." He pressed a warm kiss against her forehead and then started off before he remembered. "Oh, this is Riley." He said, turning back to face them both. "The doctor. I hope you don't mind that he came, I just figured I could use the help."
~~~
River frowned at him but let him do it because honestly she was exhausted. She sat down nodded when he found the kitchen and then smiled at the kiss. "No I don't mind at all." She said hello to Riley and he sat down in a chair next to the couch and they chatted while Rez was in the kitchen.
Of course he wasn't alone in the kitchen, Ethan made his way in and watched him as he got drinks. "Can I have a chocolate milk? Mommy said i could when you got here." He said softly.
~~~
The small voice behind Rez caught him off guard. He wasn't at full capacity right now otherwise he would have noticed that the kid had followed him into the kitchen in the first place, but he hadn't. He sort of jumped a bit and then turned to see Ethan standing there, looking all timid and shy. He smiled. "Yeah... yeah, sure you can." He moved to open the cabinet doors, looking for the one with the cups in it and then he asked, "Do you have a special cup that you drink out of or anything?" He wasn't sure if he still used a sippie cup. Mara did sometimes but not always and they were about the same age so... it was questionable. He pulled out some coffee mugs while he was at it.
~~~
Ethan stuck his thumb in his mouth as he waited. It was a bad habit that his mother just couldn't break him of. He sucked on it as Rez looked and then pointed to the middle cupboard. "My cup is the toy story one." He walked over and pointed to the one with Woody. "But only fill it three....three...dimes?" He looked up at Rez and then continued. "Mommy says if it's full I will spill it...and straws are in the frog over there." His thumb went back in mouth, blue eyes watching Rez again.
~~~
"Toy story, huh?" Rez smiled. "I like Toy Story. You see the third one yet? It was kinda sad, huh?" He reached up and took the cup down and put it on the counter. "I spill stuff too if I fill it up too full." He grinned at him, filling the cup up about three quarters of the way before he grabbed a straw for Ethan and then held it out for him to take. "There you go. You wanna sit down at the table with it while I make the coffee? Then you can tell me where stuff is. Sound good?"
~~~
Ethan nodded and then had huge eyes for a second. 'I won't watch it again." He said firmly and then stuck that thumb back in his mouth. He gave Rez a suspicious look when he said he spilled stuff too. "Buh yore an ault." He mumbled around his thumb as Rez handed him the cup which he had to take with two hands. "i can sit here." He said as he pulled his legs up onto the chair with him and sucked on his straw. "Coffee is in the little cupboard over the machine."
~~~
"Yeah," Rez agreed with him. "I don't think I wanna watch it again neither." He smiled. That look was enough to make him grin and he gave a small shrug of his shoulders. "Adults spill stuff too." And Rez was barely an adult most of the time. He knew how to be responsible and shit, more now than he ever had in the past, but he was still clumsy and a bit wreckless now and then, liked to goof around and shit got spilled sometimes. "Ah, thanks." He grabbed the coffee and then got the pot ready, adding the water and turning it on to perculate. "So.. your mommy told you who I am, right?" He looked over at him, pausing for a moment before he asked, "How do you feel about that?"
~~~
Ethan just stared at him while he talked, it was obvious he wasn't sure about what was going on. "Mommy spills stuff all the time and she gets upset about it. I tell her it's not a big deal." He said before going back to the milk, chewing on the straw as he stared down in the glass at Rez's question. "You're my dad, she showed me your picture before...she said you were sick...and that I probably wouldn't get to meet you for a long time." Ethan lifted his head and looked at Rez for a moment. "But then when I...changed mommy said she was going to find you because...you did the same thing." The little boy frowned and then looked at him again. "I'm okay with it." He said with a shrug.
~~~
"Mommy's do that sometimes." He smiled and shrugged a little. "I say that as long as we have towels in the world, though, it'll be alright." Clearly he didn't know how sick River was. He wondered if she had told Ethan that he would be going to live with him or not. He'd need to ask her about that before he said anything about it. He nodded his head as he spoke. "Mmhmm, I was sick. And yeah, I do.. what you do. That was part of why I was sick. But then I found a place and they helped me learn how to... to be better so..." He pursed his lips in a bit of a frown and then smiled as he added, "I'm glad that you're okay with it. And I'm very glad to meet you, too. I wish I'd been able to meet you sooner."
~~~
"Mommy said she took me to meet you after I was born but they wouldn't let her in...said you couldn't handle it." He sighed and poked at his glass. "Mommy's sick now too." Ethan frowned and hugged his legs to his chest. "That's why she wanted to find you...and then I changed and she tried even harder to find you." He said quietly. "I don't know about that...i used to poop my pants ya know." He gave Rez a look so like his own it was a little unnerving.
~~~
"I know she is." Rez replied softly. "That has to be pretty scary, huh?" It was scary for him too and he wasn't five years old. He could only imagine how this had to feel for a child. Here he was freaking out and he was a grown up and this kid was going through the same thing he was right now. "Oh, well, glad you got that problem under control." Rez grinned, grabbing the mugs so that he could start pouring the coffee now that it had finished perking.
~~~
xc
~~~
Ethan shrugged and went back to his milk. He was scared but there was no way in hell he was admitting it to anyone. He laughed into his straw and blew bubbles in the milk when Rez joked back at him. "Yeah but now Chloe does it...it must be some family flaw of some kind." He watched Rez as he poured the coffee and brought his now empty glass over to the counter. "Why do adults like that so much, it's gross."
~~~
"Hmm, it might be. I used to do it too." He grinned. "So did your cousins. Trevor and Adam. They're teenagers." Rez made a face at that word. "Yuck." He exhaled a soft laugh. "You'll get to meet them soon. And Mara, that's Riley's daughter. She's your age almost. She's..." Well, what was she to them now? He paused as he thought about it. "I guess she's your cousin too now that Trevor is married to her mommy." The question about the coffee made him laugh. "I have no idea. It really is kinda gross." That was why he was only pouring one mug. He'd be having something else instead. "Do you know how your mommy likes it?" He had no idea, actually. "Want some more milk?"
~~~
Ethan scrunched his nose at all of it. "teenagers are stupid, all the ones around here do are kiss and act dumb." He said and then made a disgusted face, sticking out his tongue included, when Rez mentioned Mara. "A girl?! eww." He said as he crossed his arms, and then looked up at Rez. "Ummm six sugars and a little bit of cream." He said as he ran to the fridge to get the cream.
~~~
"Aww, come on now, she's a cool girl." Rez smiled. "She's not like those dumb ones that have cooties." He smirked a bit and then nodded his head when he told him how River liked her coffee. "Sounds like Riley." Sweet tooth from hell. He loaded both mugs up with sugar and then added the coffee. "Thanks," he topped them both with a spash of cream after Ethan handed it to him and then gave them a stir. "Okay. Done. So... more milk? I think I might have some too. And we can take this into the living room to your mommy and to my friend, Riley. Sound good?"
~~~
Ethan gave him a disbelieving look and then sighed over dramatically when he tried to make her sound better by saying she didn't have cooties. "Who is he?" Ethan asked, curious again because his mother hadn't mentioned someone coming with him. "Yes please." He answered when Rez offered him more milk and then nodded when Rez said his plan about taking it out to the living room. "I'll carry the milk, the coffee's too hot." He said as he came closer.
~~~
"He is... a very good friend of mine." That was the best way to word it. "He's actually a doctor. He helped your mommy find me so... he's a good guy." Rez smiled and then he grabbed another cup and poured them both some milk, filling both glasses only three quarters of the way full. "Okay, take your cup first," he waited until he had it in hand before he gave him the other. "You got it?" He made sure he wasn't going to drop it before he grabbed the mugs of coffee and started to follow. "Now let's hope I don't drop this so mommy yells at me," he said with a smirk.
~~~
Ethan accepted that and nodded, concentrating on holding his cup in one hand and then taking the other one. "I gots it." He said with a grin. "Yeah don't drop it, mommy is scary when she's mad." He said in a whisper and then he walked out to the living room where Riley and River were.
Riley smiled at the two of them when they walked out, that little boy was definitely Rez's son, he was a like a mini him.. "Thanks guys." He smiled at Rez and then glanced at River when she sipped her coffee.
"Thanks bud." She said and then looked over at Rez. "So um...anything you want to ask, Ethan knows everything."
~~~
Rez laughed. "Trust me, I know." He had seen River mad plenty of times. She was scary for sure. And hot. Then again, Rez was kind of a weirdo when it came to his taste in women, or so he had been told. But they both made it into the living room with both cups in tact. He handed River her coffee first and then Riley his before he took a seat and his cup of milk from Ethan, leaving enough room on the couch next to him for the little boy to sit down if he wanted. He wasn't going to push.
"Uhm.." he wasn't really sure what to ask. "So he knows that... that he's going to be staying with me?" That was good to know. At least then he wouldn't have to feel like he was walking on eggshells.
~~~
Ethan decided to sit crosslegged on the coffee table and watch everyone at once. He wasn't quite sure how he felt about sitting next to his dad just quite yet.
River sipped the coffee that she shouldn't be drinking since it was loaded with sugar, but she figured what the hell. "He knows, and he understands why. Ethan's not overly thrilled at the idea of leaving me but he knows it's the best choice." Ethan frowned at them from the coffee table and then got up and started for the kitchen again, he didn't want to listen to this.
~~~
That thought hadn't even crossed his mind, the sugar in the coffee. If it had, she would have gotten it black or not at all but.. he wasn't thinking all that clearly right now. Rez glanced up when Ethan stormed out of the room. He exhaled a sigh and then focused his attention on River. "So you said you'd.. tried things already? Like what? Have you seen any healers or anything? Maybe... I dunno. Did your family check to see if they were a match maybe? If they could give you a kidney or whatever?"
~~~
River set the coffee down and pushed her hair out of her eyes. "I've tried things yea...I...wouldn't even know where to go for a healer and my family was checked...my brother was a match but...he won't do it. he only got checked because my parents forced him to. He just says what if he needs it." She shrugged and bit her lip. "It's okay I'm...dealing with it. I'm sort of hoping he changes his mind but who knows." She cleared her throat and glanced towards the kitchen. "Even if I wasn't sick...he would need to live with you Jon...I don't even know how to begin with what's happening to him."
~~~
"You come to the school. Or I could bring one here. Wesley is.... pretty amazing. I'm sure he could probably, I dunno... slow things down at least." Rez frowned a little. "That's not the point, Rive. I mean I don't mind him coming to live with me. I'm.. you know, I always wanted kids anyway so it's not.. a big deal but..." He sat his glass down on the table and took one of her hands in his. "I want you to be okay, to be better, to be... his mom cuz.. you are so... he should still have you even if you can't... can't be what he needs to deal with what he is right now."
~~~
River looked at Rez as he spoke and smiled at him. "You have such a big heart...no one ever really leaves it do they?" She sighed and then chewed on her bottom lip. "Hey I don't want to die okay, if there is something that can be done I would be interested trust me. I mean I don't know what else is out there but obviously shifters exist so there must be more right?" She looked down at their hands and smiled at him. "I'm willing to try okay."
~~~
"Well you're kinda my baby mama now so... no." He smiled and shook his head softly then glanced toward the kitchen where Ethan had gone off too. "You think he's gonna be alright?" He asked, voice soft, already clearly worrying about the little one. He looked back at her and added, "Worse comes to worse, there's always vampirism." He gave a small shrug of his shoulders. "It's shit because you have to give up sunlight but... You never cared too much for tanning any damn way."
~~~
Riley just sat back and sipped his coffee, staying out of it unless brought in, they needed to talk this out.
River rolled her eyes and laughed. "Yeah I'm sure whatever girl you're with now will love this. Yeah he will be okay, he's....just a little upset about all of this." She said softly and then cleared her throat. "Vampirism? Really?" She laughed softly and then shoved her hair behind her ears. "You know a vampire that would do that?" She asked softy.
~~~
Rez sort of scoffed at that statement. "Lily doesn't exactly.. care much for children." He gave a small shrug of his shoulders. "But like I told Riley, if she can't stick it out with me when shit gets back then.. fuck her." That was paraphrasing but that was essentially how he had to look at it. "Not.. right off the top of my head but... we could prolly figure it out." He knew a few people that he could talk to already about this, healers first and then... "I mean maybe you could just... become a shifter, like us." He was referring of course to Ethan and himself. "We have crazy good immune systems and that could be enough to ward it all off, buy you a decent bit of time."
~~~
River nodded a bit and then chewed on her lip. "I didn't have patience for children before I was pregnant so I understand that but now all that matters are the children. Your other half, no matter who they are, they will come second." She sipped the coffee again and then looked at him curiously. "A shifter huh? Guess it just depends which one will save me." She said as Ethan started creeping back into the room."
~~~
"With Lil, it's a bit more complicated than that." Fisher had had very strong opinions when it came to children and Lily definitely shared those opinions and there was nothing to be done about it. Things were going to go to hell in a handbasket and quickly but... what else could he do. "We'll figure something out," Rez assured her in a soft voice, glancing over as Ethan started to creep back into the room. "Hey there, little man," he called out in greeting.
~~~
River smiled at him and then sighed. "Jon, your women are always more complicated than that." She glanced up when Rez spoke to Ethan and then motioned to the little boy to come over. She opened her arms and Ethan climbed into her lap and rested his head on her shoulder as he watched Rez, his thumb ending up in his mouth. "We will figure it out, I am getting that feeling."
~~~
"But this one takes the cake," he laughed, glancing over at Riley and smiling at him. He understood. He knew exactly what he was talking about. He looked back over at River when Ethan came over, watching the two of them there together and smiling. They made a pretty picture together and he captured a mental image before he asked, "Chloe sleeping?" He was excited to meet her too, but he could only assume she was already out for the night, as Ethan well should be by now.
~~~
Riley raised an eyebrow at him, oh that was definitely saying something. He thought to himself before smiling and hiding it with his coffee cup.
River stroked Ethan's hair and then smiled when he mentioned Chloe. "Yeah, she goes to bed without any fight at all. She loves bedtime. This one here." She poked at Ethan who grinned. "I practically have to tie him to the bed to get him to sleep." She said with a sigh. "I promised he could stay up to meet you though, he was going to be up anyways."
~~~
Rez smiled at the kid as he grinned. "I'm glad you did," he said softly. "But it is getting pretty late. Why don't you show me your room? Maybe I could... read you a book?" He asked, a brow quirking slightly. "Would that be okay?"
~~~
River smiled at him and then nodded in agreement. "It is getting late bug, why don't you show daddy your room okay?" She kissed his cheek and then nodded at Rez's question. "Yeah it's fine. " Ethan sighed overdramatically but grinned at his mom as he got down and motioned for Rez to follow him up the stairs. "I can show you Chloe too if you can be really quiet."
~~~
Rez smiled when Ethan agreed, though of course he was reluctant to do so. He mouthed the words "be back soon" with a smile and then moved to follow Ethan. "I can be really quiet," he informed him, leaving Riley and River to converse some more, perhaps, while he spent a little quality time with his son putting him to bed for the first time in his five years of life. He'd missed a lot and that thought made him sad but... better late getting here than never being here at all.
~~~
Ethan walked down the hall once they were upstairs and pushed open a door to reveal a crib, illuminated by a night light. "That's Chloe, she's kinda annoying but mom says i have to be nice to her." He said motioning to the little girl who was sleeping. Chloe was her mother, dark straight hair and pale flawless skin. "Come on before we wake her, you'll get enough of her in the car tomorrow." Ethan headed down the hall and into his own room and sat on the edge. "All my cool books are in my bags...so I have charlie and the chocolate factory."
~~~
"I bet she's not all bad," Rez replied, a smile forming upon his lips. When Ethan mentioned the car, it took him by surprise a little. Apparently River really had clued him in on everything. That would make things easier but... it seemed like a lot for a five year old to take in. But he didn't say anything just yet, following him to his room and then glancing around. "Looks like you're already mostly packed for the move, huh?" It was a bit heartbreaking to see the little boy's room all bagged and boxed up. "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory sounds good." He said, waiting for him to climb into bed before he moved to take a seat on the edge. "Are you on a certain part?"
~~~
The little boy shrugged and started to pull on his pajamas. "She's loud, she cries and did I mention she poops her pants?" He laid down on the bed and chewed on his lip. "Yeah Mommy had to get us packed up, She said she will send what's left but I just feel like it won't happen." He frowned and then glanced up at Rez. "Chapter five, we weren't far into it." He said as he hugged his pillow.
~~~
"Well, she's still a baby. They do that. She won't be so bad when she gets a little bit older." Rez smiled. Of course then he made that statement and Rez furrowed his brow slightly in thought. "What do you mean by that? That you... feel that?" Did he have another gift that they knew nothing about as of yet? That was the second time he'd made an odd sort of statement. "Chapter five. Okay. Got it. I can just start from the first of it then?" He asked, then cleared his throat once he got the go ahead and began to read.
~~~
Ethan shrugged and then tugged on a piece of his hair. "I guess so, mommy says that." He murmured and then looked at Rez confused when he asked him about what he meant. "Ummm I don't know it just pops in my head." Ethan pulled the blankets up to his nose and then bit his lip and then nodded when Rez asked if he could start from the first. "Uh huh."
*** bloodandlions signed on at 5:53 PM.
~~~
Rez made a mental note to talk to River about that before he started to read, using the silly voices like he always did when he read to Mara because he figured Ethan would like that too. He continued until the little boy finally drifted off to sleep and then he closed the book and got up, checking to make sure the baby monitor was on and turning the light off though he left the door cracked so the hall light would shine in. He wasn't sure if Ethan was afraid of the dark or not. Finally he headed back down the stairs, a smile forming as he spotted the pair in the living room. "He's out," he remarked. "I left the door open and the hall light on. I wasn't sure if he's afraid of the dark or not." He gave a small shrug of his shoulders and then moved to take a seat next to River on the sofa. "You feelin' okay?" She looked exhausted.
~~~
Ethan throughly enjoyed Rez reading to him, he giggled and made excited noises at some of the things Rez did. He finally crashed, snoring softly.
River smiled at Rez when he came back out and nodded. "Yeah he passes out as soon as he's in bed for a little bit. And that's fine, he pretends he's not scared of the dark but he is." She sighed and shook her head a bit. "I really am, you guys are free sleep in the spare room but you'll have to share the bed." River said softly as she started to get up.
~~~
Rez smirked. He was scared of the dark when he was that age too but he be damned if he would actually admit it. When River admitted she was tired and started to get up, Rez got up too. "Come on. Let me tuck you in too," he said with a smile. "Rye, you mind cleaning up the cups?" He didn't want to leave a mess for River to have to take care of later. And that would keep him occupied while he took the opportunity to have a few minutes alone with River.
~~~
River smiled at him and nodded. "Okay, I could use the help. " She got up and reached for Rez's arm to balance herself. She had known Rez her entire life, there was no one she trusted more, her family didn't understand that but they had been through a lot. River didn't remember a lot of it but she knew they were together for it.
Riley nodded at Rez. "Yeah I will clean up don't worry." He smiled at him and started to pick up the cups.
~~~
"Thanks," Rez smiled at Riley and then slipped an arm around River's waist to help steady her, walking with her toward the stairs. "You know, I really only offered to help you out as an excuse to see you in your knickers again." He was teasing her, of course, trying to make her laugh. She could use a little laughter in her life, he was sure. This had to be hard as hell for her and... Fuck, he was starting to feel all emotional about shit again. So he changed the subject, at least tried to anyway. "Chloe's beautiful. She looks just like you. Can't see any Casey in her at all." Thank fuck too. That guy was kind of a d-bag, and the fact that he had known and had taken off just made him that much more of a douche.
~~~
River snorted and then shook her head. "Yeah sure, not all that exciting at the moment." She let him help her to her room. River looked at him and smiled wide. "She is beautiful, I am so glad she looks nothing like that piece of garbage." She said with a frown and then opened the door to her room. "He wasn't my boyfriend really, he came by all nostalgic and shit...but obviously you know the rest there's Chloe and he's gone." River sat on the bed, took off her sweater, took off her tshirt, revealing some serious needle marks on her arms but they were from the dialisis. She pulled on a nightshirt that fell to mid thigh and stopped, more tired than she expected to be.
~~~
"You were always exciting, Rive. I doubt even illness could change that." He smiled at her, even went as far as to kiss the side of her head before he listened to what she had to say about how Chloe came to be. "He always was a flake," Rez remarked. "But, you know, you got a beautiful daughter out of it so it ain't all bad." Rez took her clothes from her as she worked to get changed and tossed them into the hamper before coming over to pull down the covers for her and shift her legs up onto the bed. "Hips up," he ordered once he'd unbuttoned and unzipped her jeans for her as she was too tired to do it for herself. He slid them down and off, remarking with a grin, "Been a long time since I did this." He then tossed them in the hamper as well before pulling the covers up and tucking them around her.
~~~
River laughed and then reached out and messed his hair. "Yeah sure, flatterer." She said with a yawn and then nodded at Rez's assessment of their old friend. "Yeah he really was, I don't think he will ever change." the woman shook her head and fell back into the bed, chuckling about him taking off her pants. "Hmmm almost six years ago now." She said with a smile and then squeezed his hand. He's so much like you and t hat's either going to make this really easy for you or really hard."
~~~
"Well fuck him. It's his loss." Rez wouldn't be pushed around by the guy either if he decided to show up all of a sudden and try to be a part of the little girl's life. He'd had his chance and he blew it. "That long, eh? Fuck.. that was a lifetime ago." He exhaled a laugh. "I noticed. He gets that... look." He grinned. "He's a mess. It's gonna be a mess." He climbed over her and settled beside her on the bed, deciding to stay for a bit so they could have a little more time to talk. "So what all do I need to know? Like.. allergies or.. medical problems... anything like that for either of them?"
~~~
River agreed, Casey was an idiot who was going ot miss out on an amazing girl. 'Yep it's been that long for us, so weird isn't it?" she asked and then watched him as he got onto the bed too. She smiled at him and then nodded. "OH does he ever get that look and he has your stubborn streak plus mine." River said as she shifted next to him. "Um, Ethan is good with everything, no allergies as of yet. Chloe...not sure. Casey had allergies and I don't so the doctor said it was wait and see but no food allergies so far. They are pretty healthy kids, nothing much wrong with them."
~~~
"Doesn't seem like it should have been that long." But he hadn't seen her since before he'd been committed and that was forever ago. There was a time when he rarely went all that long at all without bumping into her somewhere, somehow. He groaned a bit at that confession. "Dear god, help me." He laughed. "Nothing wrong with them other than having our DNA, huh?" He smirked a bit then fell silent for a moment before he said in a soft voice, "I'm sorry I wasn't around for.. everything. If I had known... things woulda been different."
~~~
"time just seemed to slip away it seems...crazy how that happened." She said softly and then laughed when he groaned. "You're probably gonna need it." She said with a grin. "Yeah we did give them that curse." She said with a yawn and then shook her head. "Hey...it's fine really. I know you would have been here and shit if you could have, you don't need to apologize to me.'
~~~
"I know but... I feel bad that you went through all of this by yourself." He couldn't help it. It wasn't like he chose not to be around. He had no idea that he needed to be. But if he had maybe tried to call her after he got out or something then at least he would have known before things had gotten so bad and maybe... "There's somethin' I should prolly tell you. Somethin' that I.. that I lied to you about.. before because... I dunno, I wanted to be all.. cool and shit." He exhaled a soft laugh.
~~~
River gave him a look, that had always told him to shut up before. "Look you didn't know, and I know you feel bad but that doesn't change anything. Let's just go with what we have now okay." She kissed his cheek and then sighed. "Oh boy, what did you lie about, tell me." River scrunched her nose at him and waited for him to continue.
~~~
"I'll try," And he would, but he couldn't really make any promises other than that. It was in his nature to feel guilty about the things he couldn't control. This was one of them. A sheepish grin formed upon his lips as she called him out on his little fib. "Well uhm.. you remember a good... what? More than a decade ago when you and I uhm..." He cleared his throat. "The first time?" They had both been incredibly young then, so young. It seemed like that was forever ago. "I uhm... I lied when I said I'd done it before." He exhaled a soft laugh. "Didn't want you to know that.. it was my first time and I was nervous as hell."
~~~
River knew him so well, he would continue to feel guilty about all this, even though it couldn't possibly his fault, it was Rez's nature. Oh...that grin, she knew that one, what had he pulled over on her? "Yeah of course I remember that." She fell silent and then squeaked at him before hitting him with a pillow. "You ass! I was so nervous and you were acting all like bitch it's nothing to be nervous about...freaking liar!" she was laughing as she thought of it. "Would have been nice to know I wasn't alone."
~~~
Rez took the hit in stride, laughing hard as she assaulted him with the pillow. "But.. but I had to be cool! I couldn't let you see me sweat. IK mean really, if I had been all nervous too thent hat would have made you that much more nervous and we would've never gotten it done with." That was his rationalization though. "I mean.. what girl wants to fuck a virgin. Really? It would've been so uncool." He grinned.
~~~
She sighed and looked at him with a shake of her head. "Yeah it probably would have made me way more nervous but still...little liar." She grumbled and then laughed at his last statement. "And you know heaven forbid you do something uncool back then I mean fucking hell." River covered her mouth and then yawned. "Okay...I am exhausted. Go talk to your boy so he isn't worried about you. Never would have thought you'd have one of those." She said as she pulled her covers slightly.
~~~
"I know, right? I was.. the epitome of hip." Rez smirked, knowing full well how utterly uncool it was saying something like that. He pouted a bit though when she told him she was exhausted. "Nooooo... I don't wanna leave you yet." He clung onto her, a grin upon his lips. "He's not my boy. Not... anymore. We're just.. semi-related now." He exhaled a soft laugh. "My nephew married his baby mama over the weekend, apparently. We'd just found out right before you called."
~~~
"OH yeah that you always are my love." She snorted when he clung to her and then looked at him with a surprised look on her face. "Really, you two seem very close for just friends. I mean not that you were doing anything it was just in the way you looked at each other." River was a bit surprised Rez voluntarily had sex with a guy but she said nothing about it. "Good choice though, if you're gonna have a gay ex...he should look like that." She giggled and then blinked at his connection. "Really...what soap opera did you just come out of?"
~~~
"Yeah, well... The whole... I dunno. It's still.. recent, sort of, and..." They'd made out the night before and probably would have done more than that if he didn't have a girlfriend but there was no need to bore her with all of those details. "He is pretty good looking," Rez agreed, then smirked as he added, "Though not nearly as hot as me." That was enough to even make him laugh. "Uhm.. yeah, the one that is my life." He exhaled a soft laugh. "Trevor is... I dunno. I guess... he and Charlie are in love so... Hopefully it won't blow up in their faces cuz.. that'd make things awkward."
~~~
<3
~~~
River smirked at him and then kissed him. "It's hot." She said before settling back in her bed. "Mmm I can't believe he was dating you." She teased and then blinked at him. "Of course not honey, no one is as hot as you." She patted his arm and then grinned. "yeah your life does sound like one." She said softly and then smiled at him. "Well hopefully they stay that way, they could surprise you."
~~~
"Hey!" Rez gave her a little scowl and a bit of a pout. And then she patted his arm all condecending and that only made him frown a little more. "You're so mean to me!" Of course he was trying not to smile. "I hope so," he replied honestly. "I mean.. somebody should find it, and keep it, and have it be.. for real." He exhaled a soft sigh and then shifted to wrap his arms around her. "Okay kid, eyes shut and go to sleep. I'll stay with you until you're out." He pressed a kiss against her temple and then leaned across her to flip off the lamp before settling down once more. Riley would keep for a bit longer.
~~~
"I am not mean I love you and you know it." She grinned at him before yawning and then starting to fall asleep.