[Fic] There's No Place Like Home [Part 8/?]
Title: There's No Place Like Home
Author: Jen - ladybug218 and Kym - kymscrazy - WITH SPECIAL BONUS section by dontwantmeback
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: Part of the EPIC AND UNENDING Oz-verse. All previous parts (and other stories in the verse) can be found at the master post of awesome that Kym made.
The unpacking get together quickly turned into a celebration, with Cameron putting a cake in the oven while the boys unloaded the truck and Claire and Sam sat with Vala, chattering about baby names and pre-schools. Jack and Jon squabbled over who got to man the grill; Jack arguing that he had more experience and Jon arguing that it was his place. Daniel stepped in and told them that if they didn't work together, he was going to take over and no one wanted that, so the two O'Neill's came to an agreement.
Teal'c and Cameron returned the rental truck and, by the time they returned, there was a feast on the table. Jon pulled out a bottle of champagne and they toasted to Daniel, Vala and the unborn baby. Vala pouted when Daniel wouldn't allow her to drink champagne.
It was a late night and by the time everyone left, Claire was yawning.
"We need to toughen you up," Jon teased. "The old guy should be the one yawning, not the baby."
"Hey, watch it," Cameron retorted, throwing a pillow at him. "None of us have gotten much sleep in the last week."
Claire smiled. "All I'll say is that it's a good thing I heal."
Jon laughed and wrapped his arm around her waist. "We can let you sleep tonight," he said.
"Gee, thanks," she replied.
"I think a night of sleep is a good plan," Cameron agreed. "And tomorrow we'll go out and buy a bigger bed."
"Which we'll need to break in," Jon pointed out.
Cameron and Claire both laughed and rolled their eyes as they headed into the bedroom.
*
Sunday was spent setting up the new bed and getting Claire settled in. There was also a fair amount of breaking in the new bed. When Monday rolled around, Cameron and Jon reluctantly left Claire at the apartment alone while they went back to work.
Truth be told, she was happy for the time alone. As much as she loved them both and was happy to be reunited, she needed some time to process everything that had happened. She also needed to figure out what exactly she was going to do in Colorado, because sitting around the house while the menfolk were off at work wasn't her style at all.
When the phone rang, it didn't occur to Claire that it might be a mistake to answer it. She assumed that it was either Cam or Jon checking up on her.
"Hello?"
There was a pause. "Is this Cameron Mitchell's residence?"
Claire tensed up. There was only one woman she could think of who would call Cameron that wasn't Vala or Sam. "Yes, it is," she said. "Can I help you?"
"You sure can," was the response. "You can start by telling me who you are and why you're answering my son's phone."
Oh, yeah, this was going to be so bad. "I'm Claire," she replied. "Jon's girlfriend. I just moved in with Jon and Cameron." It never occurred to her that Mrs. Mitchell knew about Jon and Cameron's relationship.
Another pause. A little longer this time. "Is that so? My understanding was that Jon and Cameron were quite happy together."
Claire groaned inwardly and wondered if maybe it would be best to hang up. "Look, Mrs. Mitchell, I think maybe you should talk to Cameron about this." Because she was all about passing the buck. She had dealt with her own parents.
"I would love to speak with my son, Claire. Is he available?"
"No, ma'am, I'm sorry. He's at work," she explained.
"Very well. I'll call him there."
Claire covered her face as the call disconnected.
*
Cameron was doing paperwork. He spent a good half of his time doing paperwork these days, but on the plus side it was safer and the worst that could happen was a paper cut.
He was surprised when his phone rang. He didn't think Claire would be calling up, and Jon was more likely to just pop in. That made the list of people who would be calling him pretty short and there weren't many in the way of good options. "Mitchell."
"Sir," the hesitant, Cameron would almost say scared, voice of the woman running the phones topside said, "I'm sorry to bother you. But, uh, your mother's calling."
Cameron manfully resisted the urge to bang his head against the desk. "Put her through." There was a muffled 'yes sir' and a click. "Hey, Momma. What's up?"
"Cameron Everett Mitchell, what in God's name is going on out there? I call and there's a girl answering. Claiming to be Jon's girlfriend. You're going to explain this, and you're going to do it right now."
Forget manful resistance. Cameron dropped his head against his desk. "Damn it, Momma, not a good time."
"Make it a good time, Cameron."
"I'm at work."
"Now."
"Momma, I promise I'll explain it to you. Just not right now, okay? I need to talk to Jon first, and I need to talk to Claire, but...nothing's changed between Jon and I. It's kind of just that Claire's around now, too."
A few moments of silence, then she said: "She seems nice. Claire."
"She is."
"I expect a call back tonight. Or I'll be coming for a visit and beating the answers out of you myself. And you tell that Jon I don't want to hear any of his excuses."
"Yes ma'am." The line went dead, his mother having said what she wanted to say and satisfied with the promise of answers before too long or too late. And Cameron banged his head on the desk again.
*
Claire had brownies and a fresh pot of coffee waiting when Jon and Cameron got home from work. Jon's glance shifted between them. "Okay, so which one of you is going to tell me what the hell is going on? Cameron's been in a foul mood and you are clearly trying to butter us up."
"I'm sorry, Cameron," Claire apologized, ignoring Jon's questions.
He shook his head. "It's not your fault, Claire," he said.
"What happened?" Jon demanded again.
"Momma called the house today," Cam explained. "Claire answered the phone."
Jon immediately walked over and put an arm around each of them. "Oh, man, guys, I'm sorry."
"How bad is it?" Claire asked.
Cameron kissed her forehead. "It'll be okay. Momma is going to love you."
"Especially when she realizes that it means she can have more grandbabies," Jon added with an impish grin.
Claire raised her eyebrows. "Oh it does?"
"Of course," Jon said, running his hand over her stomach. "We need to catch up to Daniel and Vala."
"No, we really don't," Cameron said. "At least not right now. Let's get through introducing Claire to the family. And deciding if we need a bigger place."
"And finding a job," Claire added. She wasn't expecting the looks from either man. "What?"
"You don't need a job," Jon said.
Claire sighed. "Yes, I know. But I'm also not going to be barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen. I like working and being useful."
It was clear that Jon wanted to argue, but Cameron held up his hand. "I don't think there's anything wrong with Claire getting a job if she wants to. Claire, obviously we aren't expecting you to help pay the bills. I've got that covered. And if you want to take some classes, you can do that too."
"I know," she said, kissing his cheek.
"Well," Jon said. "I think we should enjoy the brownies that Claire made."
Cameron frowned. "What about eating dinner first?"
"Life is uncertain, Cam. We should eat dessert first."
Author: Jen - ladybug218 and Kym - kymscrazy - WITH SPECIAL BONUS section by dontwantmeback
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: Part of the EPIC AND UNENDING Oz-verse. All previous parts (and other stories in the verse) can be found at the master post of awesome that Kym made.
The unpacking get together quickly turned into a celebration, with Cameron putting a cake in the oven while the boys unloaded the truck and Claire and Sam sat with Vala, chattering about baby names and pre-schools. Jack and Jon squabbled over who got to man the grill; Jack arguing that he had more experience and Jon arguing that it was his place. Daniel stepped in and told them that if they didn't work together, he was going to take over and no one wanted that, so the two O'Neill's came to an agreement.
Teal'c and Cameron returned the rental truck and, by the time they returned, there was a feast on the table. Jon pulled out a bottle of champagne and they toasted to Daniel, Vala and the unborn baby. Vala pouted when Daniel wouldn't allow her to drink champagne.
It was a late night and by the time everyone left, Claire was yawning.
"We need to toughen you up," Jon teased. "The old guy should be the one yawning, not the baby."
"Hey, watch it," Cameron retorted, throwing a pillow at him. "None of us have gotten much sleep in the last week."
Claire smiled. "All I'll say is that it's a good thing I heal."
Jon laughed and wrapped his arm around her waist. "We can let you sleep tonight," he said.
"Gee, thanks," she replied.
"I think a night of sleep is a good plan," Cameron agreed. "And tomorrow we'll go out and buy a bigger bed."
"Which we'll need to break in," Jon pointed out.
Cameron and Claire both laughed and rolled their eyes as they headed into the bedroom.
*
Sunday was spent setting up the new bed and getting Claire settled in. There was also a fair amount of breaking in the new bed. When Monday rolled around, Cameron and Jon reluctantly left Claire at the apartment alone while they went back to work.
Truth be told, she was happy for the time alone. As much as she loved them both and was happy to be reunited, she needed some time to process everything that had happened. She also needed to figure out what exactly she was going to do in Colorado, because sitting around the house while the menfolk were off at work wasn't her style at all.
When the phone rang, it didn't occur to Claire that it might be a mistake to answer it. She assumed that it was either Cam or Jon checking up on her.
"Hello?"
There was a pause. "Is this Cameron Mitchell's residence?"
Claire tensed up. There was only one woman she could think of who would call Cameron that wasn't Vala or Sam. "Yes, it is," she said. "Can I help you?"
"You sure can," was the response. "You can start by telling me who you are and why you're answering my son's phone."
Oh, yeah, this was going to be so bad. "I'm Claire," she replied. "Jon's girlfriend. I just moved in with Jon and Cameron." It never occurred to her that Mrs. Mitchell knew about Jon and Cameron's relationship.
Another pause. A little longer this time. "Is that so? My understanding was that Jon and Cameron were quite happy together."
Claire groaned inwardly and wondered if maybe it would be best to hang up. "Look, Mrs. Mitchell, I think maybe you should talk to Cameron about this." Because she was all about passing the buck. She had dealt with her own parents.
"I would love to speak with my son, Claire. Is he available?"
"No, ma'am, I'm sorry. He's at work," she explained.
"Very well. I'll call him there."
Claire covered her face as the call disconnected.
*
Cameron was doing paperwork. He spent a good half of his time doing paperwork these days, but on the plus side it was safer and the worst that could happen was a paper cut.
He was surprised when his phone rang. He didn't think Claire would be calling up, and Jon was more likely to just pop in. That made the list of people who would be calling him pretty short and there weren't many in the way of good options. "Mitchell."
"Sir," the hesitant, Cameron would almost say scared, voice of the woman running the phones topside said, "I'm sorry to bother you. But, uh, your mother's calling."
Cameron manfully resisted the urge to bang his head against the desk. "Put her through." There was a muffled 'yes sir' and a click. "Hey, Momma. What's up?"
"Cameron Everett Mitchell, what in God's name is going on out there? I call and there's a girl answering. Claiming to be Jon's girlfriend. You're going to explain this, and you're going to do it right now."
Forget manful resistance. Cameron dropped his head against his desk. "Damn it, Momma, not a good time."
"Make it a good time, Cameron."
"I'm at work."
"Now."
"Momma, I promise I'll explain it to you. Just not right now, okay? I need to talk to Jon first, and I need to talk to Claire, but...nothing's changed between Jon and I. It's kind of just that Claire's around now, too."
A few moments of silence, then she said: "She seems nice. Claire."
"She is."
"I expect a call back tonight. Or I'll be coming for a visit and beating the answers out of you myself. And you tell that Jon I don't want to hear any of his excuses."
"Yes ma'am." The line went dead, his mother having said what she wanted to say and satisfied with the promise of answers before too long or too late. And Cameron banged his head on the desk again.
*
Claire had brownies and a fresh pot of coffee waiting when Jon and Cameron got home from work. Jon's glance shifted between them. "Okay, so which one of you is going to tell me what the hell is going on? Cameron's been in a foul mood and you are clearly trying to butter us up."
"I'm sorry, Cameron," Claire apologized, ignoring Jon's questions.
He shook his head. "It's not your fault, Claire," he said.
"What happened?" Jon demanded again.
"Momma called the house today," Cam explained. "Claire answered the phone."
Jon immediately walked over and put an arm around each of them. "Oh, man, guys, I'm sorry."
"How bad is it?" Claire asked.
Cameron kissed her forehead. "It'll be okay. Momma is going to love you."
"Especially when she realizes that it means she can have more grandbabies," Jon added with an impish grin.
Claire raised her eyebrows. "Oh it does?"
"Of course," Jon said, running his hand over her stomach. "We need to catch up to Daniel and Vala."
"No, we really don't," Cameron said. "At least not right now. Let's get through introducing Claire to the family. And deciding if we need a bigger place."
"And finding a job," Claire added. She wasn't expecting the looks from either man. "What?"
"You don't need a job," Jon said.
Claire sighed. "Yes, I know. But I'm also not going to be barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen. I like working and being useful."
It was clear that Jon wanted to argue, but Cameron held up his hand. "I don't think there's anything wrong with Claire getting a job if she wants to. Claire, obviously we aren't expecting you to help pay the bills. I've got that covered. And if you want to take some classes, you can do that too."
"I know," she said, kissing his cheek.
"Well," Jon said. "I think we should enjoy the brownies that Claire made."
Cameron frowned. "What about eating dinner first?"
"Life is uncertain, Cam. We should eat dessert first."