When the Winds of Changes Shift
Spoilers: Vague through S4. If you're very spoiler-averse, you probably don't want to read this.
Author’s Note: Merry Christmas, leobrat . Very sorry that I couldn't deliver what you were hoping for most, but Juliago is a bit outside my wheelhouse. :)
Special thanks to khemlab , whose quick and thorough beta kept me honest on the voices. Any mistakes are my own because I was too stubborn to listen to her.
Finally, the title comes from the Bob Dylan song 'Forever Young'.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything here and am just doing this for fun.
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Tyra turned the key in the ignition. The truck’s engine spluttered a few times. She turned the key back, counted to ten and twisted it again, leaning forward this time like the force of her determination could cause the engine to catch. The engine groaned but kept running.
“Yeah, I know just how you feel,” muttered Tyra as she shifted the truck into gear and pulled out of the parking lot. This was not how she’d planned on spending her Christmas vacation: hunting down Tim Riggins.
But she’d asked Billy if there was anything she could do and his words now rang in her ears.....Find my jackass brother and bring him here.
She shook her head in disbelief. The way Billy had been carrying on today, you’d think no one had ever given birth to a baby before. Tyra didn’t know what Billy thought Tim could help him with, but since going on the errand meant escaping the cramped birthing room, she’d do it. Even if it meant dealing with Tim.
Tyra took her time, enjoying the silence in the truck, but soon she was pulling onto the street. She slowed and looked for the trailer. She’d been expecting a double-wide and was surprised that it was actually a kind of cute Airstream.
She parked her truck in the driveway and headed directly for the trailer, deliberately ignoring the twitching curtains in the house’s windows. Tyra rapped on the door impatiently and then tentatively tried the handle, not surprised when the door pushed open easily.
She was surprised that the space was fairly tidy. The clothes were at least in organized piles, even if they weren’t exactly folded. The small sink held only a single coffee cup, and she couldn’t see even a single beer bottle cap on the floor. Tyra eased out of the trailer and headed to the house. She barely had a chance to knock before the door opened.
“Is there something I can help you with or do you just always go around trespassing in people’s yards and trailers?” asked a curly-haired teenager who was wearing a shimmery pink evening gown. She had on too much makeup and it only served to make her seem younger, a child playing dress-up in her mother’s clothes.
“I don’t know. Do you always go around dressed like you’re on the way to Cinderella’s royal ball?” Tyra flashed her best catty smile and looked through the girl.
“If you must know, I’m practicing. The Miss Junior Texas finals are next week,” said the girl, standing up straighter and matching Tyra’s catty smile and stare-through look.
“Right, well, do you know where Tim is?”
“Why? Are you his girlfriend?”
“Are you?”
The girl fixed Tyra with a knowing smile and shrugged one shoulder. Tyra had to put the likelihood of Tim sleeping with this girl at 92%. At least.
“Whatever. I need to find him. Do you know where he is?”
The girl shook her head. “Haven’t seen him since he went to work yesterday. And he was supposed to help me practice my answers this afternoon and didn’t show up. He’s usually good about those things.”
Tyra had so many questions that she wanted to ask, but she didn’t want to give this girl the satisfaction. Tyra nodded and walked away, tossing a casual wave and goodbye behind her.
“Hey, he sometimes uses the weight room at East Dillon, he might be there,” the girl said, almost like an after-thought.
After striking out at the high school, Tyra knew where he was and nearly kicked herself for even bothering to go to his trailer. It was obvious that Billy and Tim had some sort of argument and there was only one place Tim went when he was mad: the cliffs.
When Tyra got to there, Tim’s truck was parked on the side of the road and he was up on a dune, silhouetted against the dusky rose sky. The only sound was the whistle of the wind through the utility wires and the whack of his golf club hitting empty cans.
Tyra paused for a minute, feeling like she was somehow existing in two places at once, the past and the present. She could close her eyes and hear the words he’d said to her, the words that had hurt her more than she let on. But those words, those feelings were gone. The wound was healed, the scar tissue barely visible. Almost like it never happened.
“Hey,” she shouted to him as she got out of the truck, resisting the urge to add “dumbass”.
He looked over his shoulder, surprise registering on his face. He drained another beer, set the can on the ground and then sent it flying off into the distance.
“Some things never change, I guess,” she said.
“No, I guess they don’t. Which means you must be here to yell at me for something.”
“Mindy’s in labor. Billy told me to find you. He said he needs you.”
Tim shook his head and let out a rueful laugh. “Billy’s made it perfectly clear that he doesn’t want me around. So I can’t really see why he’d suddenly need me now.”
“Tim, I don’t want to fight with you,” said Tyra, taking a few steps toward him.
“So don’t.” Tim kicked an empty can into place, lined up the shot, and swung.
“Look, this isn’t how I want to spend my time either. But Billy’s your brother and he needs you, so can you just forget whatever stupid shit has you out here and get your ass over to the hospital?”
Tim took a few sliding steps down from the ridge and went over to his truck. He dropped the golf club in the bed, leaned against the tailgate and folded his arms. Tyra held her ground, staring him down and feeling a childish thrill when he looked away first.
“Mindy....I mean, she’s okay, right?” he asked.
Tyra sighed, walked over to the truck and took up a spot on the tailgate next to him.
“Well, as okay as she’s going to be. Giving birth isn’t exactly the easiest process. In fact, I was kind of relieved when Billy told me to go find you. I wanted out of that room so bad.”
“He doesn’t expect me to actually be in there, does he?”
“God no. We’ll just stay in the waiting room.”
“You know I hate hospitals.”
“It would mean so much to Billy. He really does want you there.”
Tim shifted uneasily and Tyra could feel his resistance wearing down.
“To be honest with you, I’m not sure I should be driving,” he finally said.
Tyra held up her keys and shook them. “Let’s go.”
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Tim had lost all track of time, but it felt like they’d been in the waiting room for hours. Maybe even a lifetime. He wished he’d thought to bring the beer, although he doubted Tyra would have let him take it into the hospital.
He was sitting on the world’s smallest and most uncomfortable couch. He didn’t understand why hospitals always had the worst furniture, all straight edges and sharp angles. No one wanted to be in a hospital, why did they have to go and make it even more difficult and unwelcoming?
Tyra was sitting across from him, leafing through Cosmo. Her hair was straight and longer than when she’d left Dillon. It almost reminded him of when they first got together, but not quite, because she wasn’t the same girl.
The Tyra he’d dated had approached life expecting, sometimes even itching for, an argument. He had no doubt she could still handle herself in a fight, but she'd stopped acting like the whole world was out to make her life miserable.
“So, how’s college?” Tim asked, even though he knew the answer. Mindy never missed an opportunity to tell him how good Tyra was doing, how great UT was, how awesome her life was now.
Tyra looked up, surprised. She half-shrugged. “It’s okay, I guess.”
“Only okay? Mindy says you’re doing great.”
“Yeah, well, Mindy’s got a big mouth,” she said as she closed the magazine and dropped it on the end table.
“She’s real proud of you.”
“Yeah, I know... It was just a big change, you know?”
“Yeah. I get that,” said Tim.
“You regret dropping out? Never mind, that’s a stupid question. You’re Tim Riggins. You don’t do regrets.”
He smiled and brushed his hair out of his eyes. “You know that I never expected or even wanted to leave Dillon.”
“Yeah, I know. But isn’t it weird to still be here when nearly everyone else has moved on?”
Tim shrugged and stretched his legs out, thinking he’d probably feel better if he walked around but he was too tired to bother.
“What’s your life like now? Now that you’re not #33 anymore, not a town god?”
“You sound like Becky,” said Tim with a sigh, drawing his legs back as his shoulders slumped. He was getting sick of people reminding him of what was gone.
“She the beauty queen whose trailer you’re living in?”
Tim nodded.
“That’s a pretty sweet deal, Riggins. A nearly live-in girl without all the hassle. Nice,” said Tyra, her voice taking on an edge that Tim recognized all too well.
“It’s not even like that. We’re friends.”
“I’m sure you are.”
“No, really. I haven’t touched her.”
Tim looked up and met Tyra’s gaze, the all-too-familiar evil look designed to go right through him. She’d always been the human lie detector. The silence stretched between them, broken only by the squeak of nurse’s shoes on the floor. Tim didn’t look away.
“Why not? She seemed a bit....possessive of you when I was looking for you at the trailer.”
“She’s only 15 for one thing. And... I don’t know... it’s sort of feels like it’s not really me that she wants. It’s some idea of me and it’s a bad idea.”
“Tim,” objected Tyra, her tone equal parts gentle and exasperated. He shook his head, leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees.
“I used to be a really bad idea,” he answered, looking up with a half-grin. “No one knows that better than you... Now though, I’m trying not to be that guy. But she keeps following me around, bringing toast to the trailer, asking me to drive her to school.”
“Can’t you just tell her to leave you alone?”
“I guess I could... It’s just....her mom is unreliable. Her dad’s some deadbeat, god knows where he is. And that’s it. She’s got no one else. As bad as things were sometimes, at least I always had Billy.”
“Tim Riggins, surrogate older brother?”
“Sort of, I guess.”
“Good luck with that,” said Tyra. Tim looked up and was surprised to find her looking back at him with an open, honest expression. He smiled as he looked away, thinking that he may not have gone as far as Tyra had, but maybe he had changed too.
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Billy rubbed his eyes and yawned as he walked through the empty hospital corridor. He’d just spent hours in a windowless room, blinking against the glare of bright artificial lights. He had no idea what time or even what day it was.
He smiled to himself and shook his head. He’d known he was going to be father, but there was something so overwhelming about the reality of it. Holding his daughter, her head just about the size of his palm, Billy had finally understood the true meaning of responsibility. He was surprised to realize that as scary as it was, he felt ready for it, as ready as anybody could be.
Pushing open the door to the waiting room, Billy found Tim sprawled on a tiny couch, legs sticking off one end and arm dangling down near the floor. His neck was at an angle that was only going to cause trouble when he woke up.
Tyra was sleeping in a chair across from Tim, her head propped up on her hand like she was sitting through a boring lecture at school. She’d always been a light sleeper though and she startled awake then got out of the chair quicker than anyone who just woke up ought to be able to move.
“Everything okay?” she asked.
“Everything’s great. Go on back. Mindy and your mom are in there with the baby.”
Tyra smiled and pushed past him as he eased into the room. He went over to his brother, softly saying his name, then kicking at his arm until he finally woke up. Tim had never been much for mornings or waking up, so Billy sat down in Tyra’s chair and waited for him to show more signs of life.
After several quiet minutes, Tim groaned and managed to extract himself from the couch. He stood up, rubbing his neck and flexing his shoulder. A strange expression came over his face, as he remembered where he was and why he was there.
“So?” asked Tim.
“So, you got yourself a brand new niece.”
Tim put his hands on his hips, took a deep breath and then beamed at Billy.
“Congratulations, Dad.”
Billy stood up, cleared his throat and tried his best to get the words out without sounding like a sap or doing something stupid like crying.
“Look, Tim. I’m sorry. Those things I said. It was stupid. I was scared and nervous about the baby and just wasn’t thinking straight.”
“I know, it’s fine.”
“No, Timmy, it’s not fine.”
“Yeah, it is. Really,” said Tim with quiet yet firm authority.
Billy felt the need to say more, but Tim quieted him with an elbow to the ribs followed by a playful headlock.
“So, you going to let me hold your daughter, or what?”
“Yeah, you’re going to have a job wrestling her away from the women, though, I’m going to need your help,” replied Billy as he pushed Tim off of him.
“You know I’ll always help you.”
“I know.”
Tim stuffed his hands in his pockets and looked over at his brother. His expression reminded Billy of a hazy memory of a long ago night when they’d been drunk and had somehow wound up watching a PBS documentary on the cosmos.
“Billy... you’re somebody’s father, for real this time.”
“Yeah, I know. Hard to believe, right?” Billy managed a grin. He walked over to the door and held it open. “C’mon, Uncle Timmy. It’s time to meet your niece.”