Fanfic- Of Sisters and Daughters 2/2: Of Daughters
Title- Of Sisters and Daughters, part 2: Of Daughters
Fandom- Catch Me If You Can
Ship- Carl/Frank
Rating-PG
Genre- slash, established relationship, family, domestic
Warnings- unbetaed content
Wordcount: 3300 total
Disclaimer- I do not own Catch Me If You Can the movie, book, or play; furthermore, this is in no way related to the real person Frank Abagnale Jr.
Chapter Summary- Frank meets Carl's daughter Grace, and her little half-brother Daniel.
Overall Summary- Frank thinks about families, both his own and Carl's.
A/N- I'm not really happy with how this turned out, but I don't think I ever will be, so I'm just going to post it.
Part 1: Of Sisters
Grace and Daniel’s arrival in D.C. necessitated the cleansing of the entire apartment that Frank and Carl shared. Fortunately, since they had only moved in a year ago, the piles of random items under beds and in closets hadn’t had long to accumulate. There were two bedrooms, though typically the couple shared one, and if the siblings objected to sharing a bed, the large couch left over from during Carl and Anna’s marriage folded out into another.
The fridge and pantry were stocked with sweet cereals, chips, and sodas, all manner of food that children or teenagers might want. Frank was almost jealous of the reception the children were getting, since it certainly hadn’t been like this when he’d moved in, but he understood just how rarely Carl saw his only child and was willing to forgive it. To be honest, he himself was eager for their arrival, and the chance to meet the daughter he’d heard so much about.
Carl had gone to pick them up at the airport, while Frank stayed behind. He flitted around the kitchen nervously, adjusting stacks of FBI files that were tilted ever so slightly and checking yet again to make sure there was chocolate milk in the fridge. He almost jumped at the sound of the key in the lock, and went to the doorway of the kitchen to watch.
“And then maybe we can stop for lunch at this restaurant I know,” Carl was saying as he came in, a young woman at his side and a bag in his hand. Frank examined her closely from the kitchen. She had Carl’s brown eyes, but her hair was a red tinged brown, and hung in loose curls around her face. An eager smile played at her lips, and Frank was glad to see father and daughter enjoying one another’s company.
“I can’t wait to see the art gallery,” the young woman who must be Grace said eagerly as she and Carl walked further into the house, making way for a young boy, about eight or nine years old. He seemed to have been forgotten by the other two, and was dragging a child-sized suit case behind him. He had the same curly hair, though without the red tinge that Grace’s had, and his eyes were green rather than brown. He was looking around uncertainly, as though his didn’t know what to say or do, and Frank’s formerly high spirits dropped at the sight. This little boy must be David, the half-brother, forgotten in the exciting reunion of parent and child.
Grace spotted him first, as Carl went to put her suitcase in the bedroom and David shuffled in and closed the door behind him. ‘You must be Frank,” she said, coming over to stand in front of him. “Did you really steal millions of dollars? That’s so neat!” There was a glint of interest in her eyes, the sort of thing Frank might have taken advantage of as a conman, but now it made him step back and smile awkwardly over her shoulder at Carl, who had returned.
The look on Carl's face expressed clear disapproval, but Grace wasn’t fazed in the least. She gave Frank a little wave which he hesitantly returned, smiled at her father, and wandered off to inspect the bedroom, David trailing behind her after a second’s hesitation. Carl frowned as he watched her go.
“What’s the problem, Carl?” Frank teased. “Is it that your daughter is flirting with an older man? Or is it that someone’s flirting with your boyfriend?”
“A little of both,” Carl replied curtly, putting a possessive arm around Frank’s waist. Frank laughed at the protectiveness and leaned up to kiss Carl’s cheek before pulling away.
* * *
The week went by leisurely, with no new cases being sent to them. Carl and Frank spent most of their time showing the children around the city, taking them to the various sights that tourist books didn’t include. Although Frank had longed to get back to work before, he found that he was enjoying the little break, and spending time with the siblings.
Grace continued to flirt with Frank at first, which he turned down as politely as he could. Carl and Frank hadn’t told anyone about their relationship, especially not Carl’s family. Carl had been worried that if Anna knew, she would be even more against him being in contact with Grace. Frank wouldn’t risk that by telling Grace the truth about why he kept turning her down. Fortunately, after a couple days she seemed to lose interest in him, and spent most of her time enjoying her father’s company and the sights of D.C.
It was the night before Anna and her husband would be returning from Spain, and the family was sitting in Carl and Frank’s living room, watching a movie. Grace and Carl were curled up together on the couch, father’s arm around daughter’s shoulders, and Frank sat in the recliner off to one side. Daniel, he noticed, was sitting on the floor a couple feet back, where he could just see the television from between the recliner and the couch.
All week Frank had noticed Daniel hanging back from the rest of them. It was as though he didn’t think he fit with the group. Frank had to admit, he’d felt something like that too. Despite being Carl’s lover, he was in no way a surrogate parent figure for Grace, but neither was he an older-brother figure or a potential boyfriend. He, too, felt like he didn’t fit, but his gregarious personality and Carl’s effort to include him in the parent-child activities had kept him from being left out, for the most part.
Frank’s eyes went from Carl and Grace to Daniel, and he stood up, taking his plate to the kitchen. When he came back, he knelt next to Daniel. “Hey,” he whispered. “What’s wrong?”
Daniel shook his head without speaking, as if to say, “Nothing’s wrong.”
“Why don’t you go sit with your sister?” Frank pressed. “There’s room on the couch.”
Daniel frowned, looking at his hands. Then he learned up and whispered into Frank’s ear, “I don’t think Mr. Hanratty likes me.”
“What? No! Why would you think that?”
“’Cause I’m not his kid.”
Frank sighed, trying to think of a way to explain this so that a little boy would understand. Maybe Daniel wasn’t Carl’s child. Maybe the bond that Carl and Grace seemed to share didn’t exist between them. And maybe Carl had been slower to notice Daniel’s reluctance to join in than he should have. It didn’t mean Carl didn’t like him, or that he wanted Daniel to be sitting alone like this.
“Look, is Grace your dad’s kid?”
“No.”
“But he still loves her, right?”
“That’s different.”
“I know, but what I mean is, just because he’s not your father, doesn’t mean he doesn’t like you. Come sit next to your sister. Carl won’t mind.” Frank took the little boy’s hand and pulled him to his feet, then led him over to the couch. Daniel crawled up next to his sister, who smiled and wrapped her free arm around him.
Frank met Carl’s eyes, silently criticizing him for not noticing that the little boy was sitting by himself. Carl understood, as he always did. “Hey, there, Daniel. How you liking the movie so far?”
“I like it, Mr. Hanratty,” Daniel replied with a small smile, his posture changing to express more confidence. Frank smiled at Carl and nodded his approval.
He settled back and watched them. Father and daughter. Sister and brother. And Frank was Carl’s lover. They might not be a proper family, but they were all connected in some way, and that was enough. Frank sat back and smiled, watching the makeshift family, and knowing that in a few days, if their down time continued that long, he’d be on a plane to New York to see the other members of his family.