[Fic] There's No Place Like Home [Part 6/?]
Title: There's No Place Like Home
Author: Jen - ladybug218 and Kym - kymscrazy
Fandom: hearts_andminds RPG - Future canon
Characters: Claire Bennet (Heroes), Cameron Mitchell (SG1) and Jon O'Neill (aka, clone!Jack, SG1)
Rating: PG-13, I guess
Author's Notes: I totally blame dontwantmeback and kymscrazy for this. It's a companion piece to their EPIC FIC, I Don't Think We're in Oz Anymore and Kym's sequel, I Won't Be Coming Home Tonight. There are also a number of ficlets and a soundtrack for this universe, which can all be found here.
Previous Chapters: Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five
It had been a busy week for Claire. Her boss hadn't been thrilled with her giving notice, but he bought the story she gave about a long-distance boyfriend that she finally decided she wanted to move to be with and told her not to worry about working the last two weeks. She, Jon and Cam spent a good deal of the week packing her belongings and renting a truck to drive back to Colorado.
Of course, she had to tell her parents that she was moving. And introduce them to Cameron and Jon. She had long since determined that the Noah Bennet she had known in the village was not the same one she knew at home, which meant he had no clue about his daughter's unconventional relationship.
Her mother took it well, at least. And her father controlled his temper in front of the boys, though his displeasure was obvious. He managed to pull Cameron aside and threaten him within an inch of his life if any harm befell his little girl. He was, however, impressed by Cameron's military experience and the manners that his momma had instilled in him from birth. Claire was just glad he hadn't managed to get Jon alone, because with Jon's attitude, the whole thing would have likely ended completely different.
There was also a fair amount of reunion sex that occurred throughout the week, despite Jon's constant bitching that Claire's bed was far too small for the three of them to fit in comfortably. She retorted that she never planned on having two guys in her bed and had no reason to buy a bigger one. Cameron reminded Jon that he would need to buy a bigger bed when they got back to Colorado Springs since they hadn't ever expected to be reunited with Claire, which led to a whole discussion about living arrangements and if Cameron's current apartment was large enough and how were they going to explain Claire to everyone who wasn't a Haurvatat alumni?
Most of those decisions were still hanging in the balance on Saturday morning when they piled all of Claire's belongings in the truck and pulled out of her parents' driveway, waving goodbye to the Bennets. Cameron insisted on driving and left Jon and Claire to squabble over what constituted decent road trip music. He only threatened to pull the truck over twice before they stopped settling their musical differences with tickling.
They stopped in Utah for the night, not wanting to drive straight through for sixteen hours. The desk clerk barely spared a glance when Cameron requested a room with a king size bed. Jon and Claire insisted on actually going out for dinner, even though Cameron wanted to order in and relax.
"Are you two always going to gang up on me?" Cameron asked with a mock groan. He would never admit it, but he knew they kept him young.
"When you two aren't ganging up on me with your accents," Jon retorted.
Claire laughed. "You two never seem to gang up on me."
"That's because Cam has manners," Jon teased.
"Yeah, well what's your excuse then?" Cam threw back at Jon.
"I don't want you to withhold sex," Jon replied.
At that, Claire thwapped them both again. "Can you two behave long enough for us to eat? I swear, I can't take you anywhere."
Cameron laughed and slung an arm around each of them, earning them a few long looks from other restaurant patrons, but no one made any comments.
They settled at their table and Claire waited until their drinks arrived before asking, "So, how's everyone else doing? Will I get to see Vala and Daniel and Sam and Jack?"
Jon shot Claire a look but she squeezed his knee under the table to indicate that she knew what she was doing.
Cameron looked taken aback for a moment, but quickly recovered. "Vala is driving Daniel crazy, as usual," he said. "But they're living together off base. Jackson was injured on a mission, so he's not going off-world anymore, but Vala still goes out sometimes. Sam followed Jack to Washington, D.C. but they visit a fair amount so I'm sure you'll get to catch up with them at some point."
Claire smiled. "That's good to know. And I'm guessing that means they all remember the village too?"
"Yeah, they do. Vala was pissed at Daniel for not telling her about it since he got pulled from way before she did," Jon said. "But she got over it pretty quickly. They actually got engaged a couple of months ago."
"Aww, that's sweet," Claire said.
Cameron snickered. "Yeah, as long as she doesn't take him broke planning the wedding. She got addicted to 'A Wedding Story'."
"She'll be thrilled to see you again," Jon said. "And she'll probably recruit you as a bridesmaid."
"As long as she doesn't try to stick me in a dress with a butt bow, I'm okay with that," Claire told them.
Their food came then and they were quiet while they ate. When they were mostly done, Cameron cleared his throat. Claire and Jon looked up expectantly.
"We still haven't sorted out Claire's living arrangements," he reminded them.
"She's living with us," Jon said.
Cameron gave him a look. "I think we need to let Claire decide that. She may want her own space."
"Why would she want that? She's moving to Colorado to be with us."
"She's sitting right here," Claire said, glaring at them. "And she's quite capable of making her own decisions. Yes, I would like to live with you two, but only if there's enough room."
"We can move," Jon said.
She sighed. "I know, Jon. But we also don't need to make that decision right now."
"We also need to figure out how to explain her relationship to us," Cameron said. "And I have an idea about that."
Jon gave him a wary look. There was something about the older man's tone that he didn't like.
"I think that Claire should be your high school sweetheart," he explained. "Put on a public front that you two are a couple and I just happen to be your roommate."
"Cam," Jon began, clearly displeased with this idea.
"No, Jon, I know what you're going to say, but trust me. This will take any suspicion that the brass has about our relationship away. We can't afford to lose my salary. And, frankly, as much as I love you, I'm not real keen on the idea of losing my job because of being with you," Cameron said. "And if I suddenly took up with a teenager, that would get me negative attention that I really don't want or need either."
Jon still looked like he wanted to argue, but Claire put her hand on his arm. "Cameron's right, Jon. You and I are close enough in age that it makes more sense. And in private, nothing would change. Hell, even with the team, we could all three be together. But to everyone else, Cameron is just our good friend."
Despite his misgivings, Jon knew that their relationship was a huge risk for Cameron career wise so he nodded. "Okay, fine. But it changes nothing when we're alone."
"Absolutely not," Cameron assured him, reaching over to cover Jon's hand with his own.
Claire rested her hand on top of Cameron's and the three shared a smile. "So, back to the hotel now?" she asked. "We've got a nice king-sized bed waiting for us."
Jon grinned. "Hell, yeah. Pay for our dinner," he instructed Cameron. "We'll pay you back."
Cameron laughed and suspected he was in for a long night. But no matter how much they wore him out, there was no way he was letting either of them drive the rest of the way to Colorado tomorrow.
Author: Jen - ladybug218 and Kym - kymscrazy
Fandom: hearts_andminds RPG - Future canon
Characters: Claire Bennet (Heroes), Cameron Mitchell (SG1) and Jon O'Neill (aka, clone!Jack, SG1)
Rating: PG-13, I guess
Author's Notes: I totally blame dontwantmeback and kymscrazy for this. It's a companion piece to their EPIC FIC, I Don't Think We're in Oz Anymore and Kym's sequel, I Won't Be Coming Home Tonight. There are also a number of ficlets and a soundtrack for this universe, which can all be found here.
Previous Chapters: Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five
It had been a busy week for Claire. Her boss hadn't been thrilled with her giving notice, but he bought the story she gave about a long-distance boyfriend that she finally decided she wanted to move to be with and told her not to worry about working the last two weeks. She, Jon and Cam spent a good deal of the week packing her belongings and renting a truck to drive back to Colorado.
Of course, she had to tell her parents that she was moving. And introduce them to Cameron and Jon. She had long since determined that the Noah Bennet she had known in the village was not the same one she knew at home, which meant he had no clue about his daughter's unconventional relationship.
Her mother took it well, at least. And her father controlled his temper in front of the boys, though his displeasure was obvious. He managed to pull Cameron aside and threaten him within an inch of his life if any harm befell his little girl. He was, however, impressed by Cameron's military experience and the manners that his momma had instilled in him from birth. Claire was just glad he hadn't managed to get Jon alone, because with Jon's attitude, the whole thing would have likely ended completely different.
There was also a fair amount of reunion sex that occurred throughout the week, despite Jon's constant bitching that Claire's bed was far too small for the three of them to fit in comfortably. She retorted that she never planned on having two guys in her bed and had no reason to buy a bigger one. Cameron reminded Jon that he would need to buy a bigger bed when they got back to Colorado Springs since they hadn't ever expected to be reunited with Claire, which led to a whole discussion about living arrangements and if Cameron's current apartment was large enough and how were they going to explain Claire to everyone who wasn't a Haurvatat alumni?
Most of those decisions were still hanging in the balance on Saturday morning when they piled all of Claire's belongings in the truck and pulled out of her parents' driveway, waving goodbye to the Bennets. Cameron insisted on driving and left Jon and Claire to squabble over what constituted decent road trip music. He only threatened to pull the truck over twice before they stopped settling their musical differences with tickling.
They stopped in Utah for the night, not wanting to drive straight through for sixteen hours. The desk clerk barely spared a glance when Cameron requested a room with a king size bed. Jon and Claire insisted on actually going out for dinner, even though Cameron wanted to order in and relax.
"Are you two always going to gang up on me?" Cameron asked with a mock groan. He would never admit it, but he knew they kept him young.
"When you two aren't ganging up on me with your accents," Jon retorted.
Claire laughed. "You two never seem to gang up on me."
"That's because Cam has manners," Jon teased.
"Yeah, well what's your excuse then?" Cam threw back at Jon.
"I don't want you to withhold sex," Jon replied.
At that, Claire thwapped them both again. "Can you two behave long enough for us to eat? I swear, I can't take you anywhere."
Cameron laughed and slung an arm around each of them, earning them a few long looks from other restaurant patrons, but no one made any comments.
They settled at their table and Claire waited until their drinks arrived before asking, "So, how's everyone else doing? Will I get to see Vala and Daniel and Sam and Jack?"
Jon shot Claire a look but she squeezed his knee under the table to indicate that she knew what she was doing.
Cameron looked taken aback for a moment, but quickly recovered. "Vala is driving Daniel crazy, as usual," he said. "But they're living together off base. Jackson was injured on a mission, so he's not going off-world anymore, but Vala still goes out sometimes. Sam followed Jack to Washington, D.C. but they visit a fair amount so I'm sure you'll get to catch up with them at some point."
Claire smiled. "That's good to know. And I'm guessing that means they all remember the village too?"
"Yeah, they do. Vala was pissed at Daniel for not telling her about it since he got pulled from way before she did," Jon said. "But she got over it pretty quickly. They actually got engaged a couple of months ago."
"Aww, that's sweet," Claire said.
Cameron snickered. "Yeah, as long as she doesn't take him broke planning the wedding. She got addicted to 'A Wedding Story'."
"She'll be thrilled to see you again," Jon said. "And she'll probably recruit you as a bridesmaid."
"As long as she doesn't try to stick me in a dress with a butt bow, I'm okay with that," Claire told them.
Their food came then and they were quiet while they ate. When they were mostly done, Cameron cleared his throat. Claire and Jon looked up expectantly.
"We still haven't sorted out Claire's living arrangements," he reminded them.
"She's living with us," Jon said.
Cameron gave him a look. "I think we need to let Claire decide that. She may want her own space."
"Why would she want that? She's moving to Colorado to be with us."
"She's sitting right here," Claire said, glaring at them. "And she's quite capable of making her own decisions. Yes, I would like to live with you two, but only if there's enough room."
"We can move," Jon said.
She sighed. "I know, Jon. But we also don't need to make that decision right now."
"We also need to figure out how to explain her relationship to us," Cameron said. "And I have an idea about that."
Jon gave him a wary look. There was something about the older man's tone that he didn't like.
"I think that Claire should be your high school sweetheart," he explained. "Put on a public front that you two are a couple and I just happen to be your roommate."
"Cam," Jon began, clearly displeased with this idea.
"No, Jon, I know what you're going to say, but trust me. This will take any suspicion that the brass has about our relationship away. We can't afford to lose my salary. And, frankly, as much as I love you, I'm not real keen on the idea of losing my job because of being with you," Cameron said. "And if I suddenly took up with a teenager, that would get me negative attention that I really don't want or need either."
Jon still looked like he wanted to argue, but Claire put her hand on his arm. "Cameron's right, Jon. You and I are close enough in age that it makes more sense. And in private, nothing would change. Hell, even with the team, we could all three be together. But to everyone else, Cameron is just our good friend."
Despite his misgivings, Jon knew that their relationship was a huge risk for Cameron career wise so he nodded. "Okay, fine. But it changes nothing when we're alone."
"Absolutely not," Cameron assured him, reaching over to cover Jon's hand with his own.
Claire rested her hand on top of Cameron's and the three shared a smile. "So, back to the hotel now?" she asked. "We've got a nice king-sized bed waiting for us."
Jon grinned. "Hell, yeah. Pay for our dinner," he instructed Cameron. "We'll pay you back."
Cameron laughed and suspected he was in for a long night. But no matter how much they wore him out, there was no way he was letting either of them drive the rest of the way to Colorado tomorrow.