FanFic100: #058 Dinner
China is clanging in the kitchen and he can hear two boys’ voices chattering away while another female voice chimes in now and then to appraise one of the boys’ stories about their day or tell them where to put what. Hearing that makes him smile even though it’s still quite unfamiliar for him to hear such sounds coming out of his kitchen.
He hesitates a little before announcing his presence and walking into the kitchen because the animated babble from the kitchen tells him that Laura’s boys are really excited about surprising him. It makes his heart skip a beat because only three months ago… things had been a lot different. Those three months ago… Laura’s boys - especially Marcus, the eldest - had had difficulties accepting him in their mother’s life.
It has taken him these three months to convince stubborn Marcus and shy Andrew that he wouldn’t hurt their mother… or them. That had been a mighty piece of work, most of all because before that it had taken him another six months to get over his reservations and doubts and it had taken Laura these six months to learn to trust him and let him past the defenses that had made it possible for her to survive for over a year with her violent husband before bundling up the kids, driving through three states in as many days and finally standing before his door.
She’d taken up a posting at the SGC again, though not on a team because she was afraid her children would have to go back to her husband if something happened to her as long as her divorce wasn’t through. Step by step, they had become closer again, dancing around each other because of a million things… the kids, their professional situation - they weren’t exactly superior and subordinate but in an environment like the SGC you had to be careful with that kind of relationship in every position - their often mismatched schedules… But in the end, that had all been excuses to cover up his insecurities and the walls around her heart.
He smiles again, still listening to the commotion in his kitchen - it sounds a lot like Laura isn't only letting the little guys set the table but also doing some of the cooking - and also remembering the day they had finally overcome the obstacles others - and most of all themselves - had thrown in their way. It had been nothing big, no dangerous incident that had suddenly given them an epiphany or anything and - thankfully - no strange alien device, invasion or otherwise extraterrestrial influence… no, it had been an ordinary day.
He’d come into her lab, caught her arguing with some girl from the daycare facility where her sons were staying during her working hours about some thing or other. When she was done, she’d just growled and nearly thrown the phone into a corner, starting to rant about the whole daycare thing which had ended with her leaning her forehead on his shoulder in frustration… and in the next moment they’d been kissing, just like that.
Ever since then... they’d managed to make it work not only as friends, but as a couple, even with all the additional baggage. It still astounds him, though, that this actually happened to him. Of course he’d always had the vague notion that some day some woman would come along that would be more than “a casual date” and yeah, there also had been the vague wish to have a family some day but he’d never thought that suddenly he wouldn’t only find that this certain woman would be one Lieutenant Cadman but that she would also bring a family along with her already.
Suddenly… he’d found himself in a situation he hadn't been prepared for - not a father for the boys but not a stranger either. That had led to a lot of awkward and strained situations and he’d needed a lot of time to find his place with Laura’s sons… to find out if he was actually able to cope with having to share Laura with them right from the start. Also… yes, the thing that they were not his sons had played a role.
Not in that he had been jealous but that he had been afraid to make mistakes and that they would never accept him. He had also found himself wishing very fast that he couldn’t only make Laura see that he was nothing like her husband but also her sons that he wouldn’t hurt them. And he had also found himself wishing that they would see he wasn’t trying to be something for he simply wasn’t and they maybe didn’t want him to be, either.
He had, though, wanted to be the guy to make this little family happy again, be the one taking Laura to dinner and her sons to a Saturday afternoon game of baseball… or all of them on some day trip to the nearby mountains. For a long time, he even had been unsure if he could be that guy… and if they wanted him to be that guy.
However, the clanging and chatter and laughter from his kitchen tell him that… he became that guy indeed. It makes him smile again and reach into his pocket to close his hand around the little box he had been carrying around for two weeks now. Taking a deep breath, he finally announces his presence and walks through his kitchen’s doorway.
As the kids give him a pretty excited welcome, he makes a great show of being all surprised, ruffling hair and giving appropriate shouts of appreciation. After a few more excited moments, he finally finds the time to share a secret smile with Laura and sneaks her a quick kiss without the boys noticing. Then, before courage leaves him again… he reaches into his pocket and says after taking another deep breath, “Laura… there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you for a couple of weeks now…”
A/N #2: Yeah, go on kill me for not writing the actual proposal... ;)
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TBC in You Keep Moving On.