THE RETURN 30: Parker [Ensemble] PG
Title: The Return 30-Parker [The Breakfast]
Rating: PG
Word Count: 5,859
Characters/Pairings: Parker, Wallace, Duncan, Lilly the Second, Logan, Dick Mac (mentions of: Weevil, Veronica, Lilly the first, Piz) Mac/Dick
Spoilers: All episodes (from 1.01: Pilot to 3.20: The Bitch Is Back. Just to be sure) Although this is obviously AU and there are obviously going to be some alterations to events and especially some in the last couple of episodes.
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Literally, nothing. So don’t sue me over this, because you won’t get anything. It all belongs to Rob Thomas and if I had owned it when it was still on the last season would have been way different.
Chapter 1: Awake/ Chapter 2: Homecoming/ Chapter 3: Forgive/ Chapter 4: Arrival/ Chapter 5: Reconnect/ Chapter 6: Belong/ Chapter 7: Bets/ Chapter 8: Fight/ Chapter 9: Battle/ Chapter 10: Retreat/ Chapter 11: Push/ Chapter 12: Sound/ Chapter 13: Potential/ Chapter 14: More/ Chapter 15: Storytime/ Chapter 16: Understanding/ Chapter 17: Piggyback/ Chapter 18: Sinners/ Chapter 19: Drama/ Chapter 20: Dinner/ Chapter 21: Armor/ Chapter 22:Mingle/ 23:Bubbly/ 24:Awkward/ 25:Closing/ 26: Drunks/ 27: Logan/ 28: Wallace/ 29: Mac
The Return
30
Parker
~The Breakfast~
She’s the first one up. She doesn’t even have to leave her room to know that. It’s quiet in the house, she can hear the quiet echo loudly and harshly in her room. It’s the quiet that had settled over the house when everyone had left for the bar last night and the baby had been asleep and she had been standing alone in the foyer. Quiet and eerie with just a hint that she had somehow left reality and entered some bizarre horror movie. The quiet that had settled over her when last night’s poker game had ended and everyone had taken themselves off to bed and she lay, completely sober and alone, in her bed and listening to nothing for what seemed like hours before she finally drifted off to sleep. The quiet of a sleeping house, somehow inhaling and exhaling together with the synchronized beauty of sleep.
Parker is the first one awake, a distinction that she has had over the last few days. First to rise, first to bed. She is seemingly the only morning person amidst a house of night owls. It would seem boring to anyone else, even though it doesn’t to any of the friends currently residing in the same house, but she likes the fact that she’s always the first up. She likes that she has nearly an hour and a half to herself every morning. There are ten full grown people sharing a space that while big enough to accommodate that many was obviously meant for three or four people. It’s a large space that still could probably hold another dozen people comfortably and it feels beyond crowded with the ten of them. Eleven if you count the baby, but she’s hardly responsible for the emotional tension that seems to somehow expand to the size of a fifty person crowd packing itself into the room whenever there’s more than 3 people in it.
Taking her time getting up and ready for the day, Parker reflects on her own friends from high school. Sure there had been drama, no high school is immune to that, but there is absolutely no way that her high school drama could in any way compete with what went on in Neptune High. It’s curious that her friends could go through so much at such a young age and still seem normal. Then again, she has had a rather traumatic and life altering year and a half and she may no longer be a sufficient judge on what ‘seems’ normal any longer. That thought is driven home as she contemplates her shoulder length hair. She’s proud of it, of it’s length and it’s color and it’s shine and texture and weight. She’s proud of her hair in a way that she never thought that would be necessary and while pulling it into a simple ponytail seems like a waste she does it anyway, to get it off her face and out of her way. It’s not like there’s really anyone in the house to impress with full make up and hair and a cute outfit.
The beauty of the friendship she’s found with everyone here. You’re allowed to simply be you and accepted, because everyone else is who they are and they fit into the group however they fit. They fit. She fits. She was popular in high school. Parker Lee was a cheerleader and prom queen and voted the most likely to succeed, and her parents were proud and teacher sang her praises. But she didn’t fit. Not really, because being everything for everyone is exhausting and you don’t have time to find where you really belong while you’re trying so desperately to belong where people say you should. Now though, now there are no longer any pretenses. She’s still the most carefree of all her friends but she doesn’t have to happy and smiling all the time, it isn’t expected and she’s grateful for that, but not for the way she found it.
Packing up her things take a little longer than she expected, having unpacked into the room she and Mac were supposed to be sharing more than she realized. It takes twenty minutes to pack her things and move her bags down into the room she’d slept in last night, between Lilly and Logan and Veronica. It almost seemed pointless to move to a different room since they were leaving tomorrow and only had one night left, but the bed was comfier and she wouldn’t have to share a bathroom with anyone. It was worth it, even if the room did share a wall with Logan and Veronica’s bedroom.
~*~
By 8:30 Parker is dressed and moved and downstairs, staring at the mess left in the media room. She’d been planning on reading a book, the cabin had an excellent selection of non school mandated books and it had been so long since she’d read for the pure pleasure of it. Or there was early morning cartoons, it’d been forever since she curled up on a couch with a bowl of cereal and a remote and watched cartoons.
Her plan had been to curl up and do whatever she wanted in the glorious silence of being alone in a house full of sleeping people for another hour or two. She didn’t get any alone time these days, crammed into a dorm room with a roommate, whom she loved, but always seemed to be in the room when she was. She lived with Mac, they all went out as a group, study group, class, meals in the cafeteria. Always the same thing. Out with friends, home with Mac, classes and meals with hundreds, never alone and always together. There’s especially no alone time here, with everybody on top of each other and dealing with some issue or another. She’d just wanted to sit and watch some mindless television until her calm morning was interrupted by everyone else.
Parker stops in the doorway of the media room and freezes, staring at the mess that she can’t remember making the night before, but she’s the only one that can be responsible. Dishes and dvds and blankets and cups and popcorn are scattered everyone. Spoons from bowls of ice cream are sitting on the coffee table, stuck in a puddle of melted and dried mint chocolate chip ice cream. Crushed pieces of popcorn are strewn like confetti on the floor, and visible under the crooked couch cushions. A nearly empty bottle of Sprite lays on it’s side, obviously spilled by the sugar ring on the carpet. Crumpled napkins litter nearly every surface. There’s empty dishes from the leftovers that she and Duncan had hauled out late last night when they got hungry during Say Anything and hadn’t wanted something sugary or buttery. Empty bowls from before that, when they’d tried to watch Pretty In Pink and made sundaes. They’d taken the movie out pretty quickly when she remembered how much she disliked it. Duncan had made comments throughout most of the movies that they’d watched, and while it should have been annoying, she’d gotten a glimpse of what it must have been like hanging out with him and Veronica and Lilly and Logan in high school. The comfort in which they felt in their friendships that allowed them to joke and mock and laugh at movies during the funny parts and the non-funny parts. She and Duncan had laughed a lot and eaten their way through half the kitchen. They’d made a big mess but she’d gotten to hang out with someone that she was genuinely comfortable with, someone that was easily friendly and at ease in friendship in a way that she’d never learned.
“So much for relaxing.” Parker grumbles as she begins to pick up all the discarded napkins, along with the bigger chunks of popcorn. There’s no trash in the room so she has to take it into the kitchen. She brings a warm wash cloth back with her, cleaning up the mess from the sticky spoons first before she begins stacking dishes, washing beneath them and straightening the knickknacks that belong there. She’ll have to get the vacuum out to clean up all the popcorn on the floor and in the couch.
She could just leave it. A cleaning crew would be there on Tuesday, after they were all gone, to clean up the mess and close up the house until Logan makes time to come back again. She could just leave it all. She could even make a bigger mess and not have to worry about it because someone was already going to be there to clean it up… But no, of course not, she couldn’t leave a mess. No matter hw much she resented her mother, couldn’t stand her really, there was one thing that had been repeatedly drilled into her head that she just couldn’t ignore: Never leave a mess behind. So, with a sigh, Parker continued on, walking into the kitchen. She set the first pile of dirty dishes on the counter, the dishwasher was officially busted so she’d have to wash them by hand. It took a little while and a little searching, but she finally located the vacuum in a cupboard of cleaning supplies off of the pantry.
Parker vacuumed the floor and couch, straightened the cushions and scrubbed at the sugar ring made by the dried spill of Sprite on the carpet. She cleaned up the rest of the dishes, setting on the kitchen counter with the others. She cleaned up the media room systematically and later, if she couldn’t help it, she’d complain about it to someone when they asked how she had spent her morning alone.
She’d moved onto the dvds, nearly finished with the media room, when she heard someone descending the stairs. Setting the pile of movies down she turned just as Wallace rounded the corner into the room, peeking in as if he was curious who was there. He turned quickly, aimed at the front door in his running clothes.
“Where are you going?” She asked, her voice sounding abnormally loud in the quiet house. The sound was a bit of a shock to her. It seemed as if she’d gone days without hearing anyone, including herself, speak.
“For a run.” He answered, turning back towards her as she exited the media room and stood with him in the hallway that stretched from the front door to the kitchen.
She shook her head. He looked ill, most likely hung-over from the night before, and weak. He’d be sick, throwing up, by time he got to the main road and he’d be lucky if he made it back to the house before passing out from dehydration. She wrapped her hand around his wrist and frog marched him back to the kitchen. It didn’t occur to her that he wasn’t resisting, but she kept her hand firm on his arm until they were through the kitchen door. She released him as she retrieved a blue, plastic water bottle from the cupboard and filled it at the tap before thrusting it at him.
“No ice?” He asked as he reached for it.
“No, room temp is better on the stomach.” She replied, already busy with her next project of cleaning up the kitchen. She put the baggie of cheesy curls currency from last night in the cupboard. Empty water bottles that she’d forced on everyone last night in the recycling bin. Grabbing a clean wash cloth and soaking it in warm water from the sink, she wiped down the refrigerator and counters, erasing the orange fingerprints left mostly by her the night before.
“Okay, thanks. I’ll see you later.” Wallace shoved the water bottle into the front pocket of his hoodie and shoves the black, wraparound sunglasses down over his eyes, already walking to the sliding glass doors on the opposite side of the kitchen.
“Where are you going?” She asks before she can stop herself. Somehow she’s become the housemother. Babysitting while everyone goes out. Spending the night watching movies and binging on junkfood with the only actual parent of the group. Using her free time to clean up the house even though there’s a cleaning crew coming to do just that in a few days. “Don’t you want any breakfast?” She can’t seem to help herself now, the mothering is uncontrollable.
“For a run, hands down the best cure for a hangover. I'll eat when I get back. I shouldn't be gone long.” Wallace replies and is out the door before anything more can be said. Not that she can blame him. She has, for some reason, taken it upon herself to make sure that everyone is fed in the morning. There were jokes. She was being called the ‘Breakfast Nazi’, but she supposed there were worse things. Although jokes among friends never got old and she’d be hearing this one for the foreseeable future, possibly forever. However long their friendship lasted and however long it took for someone else to assume the breakfast responsibility.
Another half hour later and the kitchen was cleaned and the dishes were done and she stood there, admiring her work with a wry smile. She was hungry and people would be down soon and it was time for her to start breakfast. Time for her to make a mess of the kitchen she’d just spent so much time cleaning up. Plus with the dishwasher out of order she’d have to wash the pans and dishes all over again. Or someone else would. She could make someone else clean up, but they wouldn’t. Even though everyone was grown and living on their own, mostly, none of them seemed to be capable of cleaning up after a meal. Especially Duncan and Logan, who had proven that by breaking the one machine that could help.
Parker dug a large pot out of the cupboards and the big container of steal-cut oatmeal. She’d prayed for instant oatmeal as she rummaged through the pantry, listening as her stomach rumbled for food, but all that had turned up is an expensive and time consuming luxury brand that she’d never heard of before this trip. Luxury brand oatmeal. She’d never really understand the rich, no matter how much time she spent with their children. Studying the side of the container she tried to figure out how much she’d have to make for everyone in the house without having to make more. The guys all seemed to eat enough for two or three people, the girls did too for that matter. Little Lilly would probably require one serving to eat and one that she would purposely dump in her fathers lap for the amusement of watching him jump up and down. After deciding on the amount, measuring out and starting it over a medium heat she turned to the fridge. They’d need someone other than oatmeal for breakfast.
She fished out a package of sausage links and counted out two for each person, one for the baby and none for Mac. There was a small package of tofurkey sausage in there as well, and Parker separated two from it without wrinkling her nose. They were a funny color compared with the rest, but Parker tried not to judge her friend’s life choices. After all, Parker was sure that Mac had a very good reason for being a vegan.
Parker emptied a bag of brown sugar into a bowl, placing it and a pitcher of milk on the table. The sausages were making a comforting pop and sizzle sound in the pan while she sliced up strawberries when Duncan entered the kitchen, toting his sleepy eyed daughter on his hip.
“Could I talk you into making enough for me and Lilly?” Duncan asked, his voice rough with sleep and disuse.
“Already on it. Breakfast for everybody.” Parker replied without looking up from her strawberries. She dumped what was already cut up in another bowl before turning to check on the meat and oatmeal.
“Great. Thanks. Normally I’d give her some cold cereal with some sliced fruit, usually melon, and have the same. I would make pancakes once in a while, usually on the weekends. She’s going to be so spoiled after this week. Not that she isn’t already pretty spoiled. I never realized how easy it is to spoil a kid.” Duncan explained as he settled the baby into her seat and took the one next to her.
“I’m sure she’ll adjust back afterwards, you’ll get home and be feeding bowls and bowls of Lucky Charms all day long.” Parker stirred the oatmeal, looking up at Duncan and giving him a reassuring smile. I must be hard to be such a young single father. For a moment she wondered what happened to Lilly’s mother, and was a little shocked that the subject of Lilly’s mother had never come up between her and Duncan. Or her and anyone else for that matter.
“Yeah, just another thing she been spoiled about. Something she picked up…” Duncan trailed off, something in his face changing for a moment before continuing, “No, I won’t be. I’ll be in prison and she’ll be with my parents, on the receiving end of a gourmet chef’s breakfast every morning. Just like I was. I’ll be eating in a cafeteria. I wonder what kind of food they’ll have there.”
“I don’t know, I’d imagine it’d be like a high school cafeteria.” Parker assured him. Her high school’s lunches weren’t the greatest, but they were horrible either.
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure it won’t be like my high school cafeteria.” Duncan commented, his brow furrowing. These were probably questions he hadn’t really thought of, the day to day life in jail. Prison. The slammer.
“Why is that?” She asked, unable to help herself. The subject of Neptune High was fascinating to her. This mythical place where all but one of her friends had met before she met them. This place of rich and famous kids, drama and scandal and so many tawdry things she hadn’t been exposed to in her own high school.
“We had chefs and a vegan menu. Sushi once a week. Our food was amazing, or looked it anyway, I never really had any of it.” Duncan explained, getting up and leaning over the counter to see what exactly she was cooking.
“How come?” She placed the lid back over the oatmeal before taking to grease guard off the sausage. She turned them with a fork.
“I had enough Pirate Points to get my food delivered everyday.” It was an odd explanation. Pirate points?
“Are you sure you didn’t go to private school?” She was always confused why all these rich and famous people would send their children to public school. Didn’t they usually send them to private schools?
“No, just a rich one.”
“Anyway, I think in prison they call it a ‘mess hall’.” She replaced the grease guard and went back to slicing strawberries.
“I’ll have to remember that, any other jailhouse tips?” He was joking, but she could hear the brittleness behind it. Apparently this was something that he needed to joke about, laugh about it now before it became just a little too real and he was there.
“Yeah. Cigarettes are currency on the inside. And you should develop a ‘fight face’. I mean, make it look really mean and angry, so they won’t mess with you.” Parker informed him with the matter-of-fact tone of someone who had watched television shows set inside the big house.
“They?” Duncan raised his eyebrows in question.
“You know, the other inmates. Also, it might be a good idea to get into a fight with a big guy and beat him up. They night not mess with you then.” She suggested before continuing on innocently. “Pay him or something to take the fall. I mean, it’s not like you’re violent.” She was unaware of the sensitive subject she just touched on.
“Well, I wouldn’t exactly say that, but that might be an… interesting idea.” Duncan’s voice was quieter, almost considering.
“What? You get into a lot of fights in high school?” Parker asked jokingly, unable to imagine Duncan hitting someone.
“Not a lot, just memorable ones.” Duncan informed her.
“Oh, fights with Logan?” She asked, now completely focused on this topic.
“Some.”
“Weevil?” Parker asked.
“No.”
“Dick?” She supplied another name. She could see even the most patient person losing it with him sometimes. Except Logan. Logan seemed to always have enough patience for Dick.
“There were a couple over the years.” Duncan allowed, as if it was usual to fight with ones best friends.
“And now you’re all friends?” She asked incredulously, turning to get the plates and bowls down for breakfast.
“Yeah, I guess.” Duncan shrugged, like it was no big deal.
“Boys are so weird.” Parker shook her head in amazement, the few people she had fought with in high school had remained enemies until graduation, and they hadn’t even come to blows.
“I guess so.” Duncan agreed, standing to attention as she pulled out the silverware they would need. She handed it all to him and he began setting the table.
“So is there anything else you’re dreading in the next year?” Parker asked as she began transferring the cooked sausage to a paper towel lined plate. She set it on the far side of the counter so Duncan could transfer it to the table.
“Yeah, a lot. You know there are no doors on the cells? It really is just bars. How do you change clothes? Or worse, go to the bathroom?” Duncan asked in horror, putting the sliced bowl of strawberries and plate of sausage on the set table.
“I have no idea how to fix that one, but I’m guessing orange isn’t your color so the clothes thing is an issue too.” Parker joked, scooping the finished oatmeal into a serving bowl and placing it on the counter. She moved the pot and sausage pan into the sink, running warm water into the pot.
“Yeah, I look much better in blue. You think they’ll take fashion into consideration and allow me a different outfit?” Duncan, picked up the bowl of oatmeal and grabbed the serving spoon Parker held out and served his daughter before putting it on the table. He continued serving her, tearing the sausage into bite size pieces on her plate. Adding milk and brown sugar to her bowl and topping it off with a couple slices of strawberries.
“I don’t think so.” Parker replied as she started to get glasses out, and working in tandem with Duncan, they were set out around the table at the top of each place setting. She pulled the pitcher of orange juice out of the fridge and handed it to Duncan. “Maybe you should ask Weevil for some pointers.”
“Why?” He stood there, holding the orange juice, his eyebrows pulled together in confusion, as Parker fished a sippy cup out of the cupboard. She stood on her toes and reached for the cup that had been pushed to the back of the shelf. “Need help?”
“No, I got it. You should ask because he was in prison, last year?” She stretched a little more and felt her fingertips brush the cup and then again, she tipped it and grabbed as it fell towards her. This kitchen was built for tall people. “Before our freshman year at Hearst?”
“Weevil was in prison?” Duncan asked, amused, as he took the cup from her. “Can’t say I’m all that surprised really.”
Parker’s eyebrows shut up into her bangs, shocked at the statement. It was something she’d heard from Logan a lot last year. Logan always joking about Weevil, calling him ‘Paco’ all the time and making comments about the fact that he was working class, and so was his family.
“Why? Because he’s poor? Or because he’s Mexican?” Parker asked, annoyed with Duncan. Somehow it had been different on Logan, like he disliked Weevil for another reason other than his tax bracket and race, even though he sounded just as much a jerk saying it. She hadn’t known everyone as long as they knew each other, especially Lilly, Duncan and especially Weevil, but she’d always gotten the impression from Logan and Dick that the rich teens of Neptune looked down on the less than rich and white.
“No, because the last I knew he was the leader of the local biker gang and had committed a multitude of crimes, many of them felonies. I don’t care if he’s poor or Mexican. Enough of my friends and parents have gone to prison for felonies. And, if I’m not mistaken, most of them were rich and white. I’m kind of offended that you’d ask that.” Duncan poured orange juice for Lilly and himself, sitting down in his seat.
“Sorry, I guess it’s from hanging out with Logan and Dick and all their ‘Paco’ and ‘Cinderfella’ jokes.” Parker explained, taking her seat on the other side of Lilly and beginning to serve herself.
“Yeah, well, while those are… not creative at all, they’re still very Logan and Dick jokes. But on another note, Weevil makes jokes right back. It’s kind of their thing.” Duncan explained, the tension easing out of his shoulders.
“I’m sorry, okay?” Parker apologized, giving Duncan a smile as she passed the bowl of oatmeal to him.
“You know, maybe he’ll offer to show me how to make a shiv. Or explain what shiv is.” Duncan took the bowl and gave himself a large serving.
“Maybe you should netflix Oz. I hear it’s very informative t the prospective jailbird.” Parker suggested, the levity picking back up, but she purposely avoided the terms ‘inmate’ and ‘convict’.
“Hmmm… I’ll make a note of it, I’m not sure I’ll have the time for a whole series. I was thinking of renting that one with Elvis and all the rocking, but if you say Oz is the way to go…” He was full on joking now, the earlier upset forgotten.
“Yep, go with Oz. I think the jailhouse rocking went out in the fifties. But you never know, it might make a comeback.” Parker laughed, popping a strawberry into her mouth.
“And the Shawshank Redemption.” Duncan supplied, as if remembering another prison movie he’d seen or heard of.
“A shank. You might want to add that to your list of things to know.” She was full on laughing now, glad that they were having fun instead of one of those intense conversations everyone else was always having.
“Right. Maybe I should start writing them down.” Duncan agreed as he bit into his sausage.
Lilly finished her sausage and pulled her bowl of oatmeal closer to her. She picked off the strawberries and stuck them clumsily in her mouth. She didn’t bother with her spoon as she dove into her food. Duncan was trying to get her to use her utensils, but it didn’t seem to be sticking.
“She’s going to make a massive mess.” Parker said warily, wishing she’d sat a little further away from the messy child. She had already showered and dressed, she didn’t want to have to do it again so soon.
“Yeah, why do you think I didn’t bathe her yet? Preventative measure so I don’t have to do it twice and let her dirty up two outfits.” Duncan explained, leaning away from his daughter as she slammed her hand into her bowl.
Parker finished her sausage, eyeing the splatters of oatmeal on the table. Another fist pound into her bowl and Lilly had splatter her father’s face with oatmeal. She stood to get him a rag, understand that a napkin just wasn’t going to be enough.
“Good thing we’re the only ones up, huh? Otherwise I think Lilly would be trying to see how many people she could get with her oatmeal.” Duncan laughed as he wiped at his face.
“Yeah… Oh, no. Wallace is up, he went for a run though.” Parker informed, picking up her dish and moving it a little further away from Duncan and Lilly. “You don’t mind… right?” She asked as she watched Lilly pick up her bowl and dump it in Duncan’s lap before bursting into giggles. And Parker had to admit, the groan that Duncan let out was quite funny.
“Maybe I should make a little more oatmeal.” Parker suggested as she stood and went back to the sink to empty the water out of her pot. She wiped it out and then measured out more oatmeal. She could see Duncan eyeing the plate of sausage. “And some more sausage.” She pulled the package of sausage out of the refrigerator and the pan out of the sink.
~*~
“Well, I’m going to take Veronica’s breakfast up to her.” Logan said, finally loading a tray that he’d pulled from a cupboard with enough food for his girlfriend.
“Wow, breakfast in bed, what a lucky girl.” Dick commented, his voice taking on that joking quality that Parker had begun associating with the friendship of Dick and Logan.
“Oh, Dick, if you had let me know I would’ve brought you a bagel or something. Sadly, the bromance is over and you’re on your own now. In fact, I think the only breakfast in bed you’ll have is the one that you’ll be bringing.” Logan replied as he lifted the tray.
“Damn.” Dick called, shrugging as he dug into his oatmeal, the bowl literally filled to the brim.
“See you all in Neptune.” Logan called out over his shoulder, chuckling, as he made his way towards the stairs.
A few minutes later Mac entered the room, pausing to take in the scene before greeting everyone. “Morning.”
She moved across the room to take a seat next to Dick.
“Hey, you rushed out this morning.” Dick commented in a non-accusing tone, the look in his eyes concerned but not worried when he turned to look at his girlfriend.
“Yeah, I had to talk to Veronica.” Mac explained, her voice tender as she singled out her tofurkey sausage and transferred it to her plate.
“Get it all worked out?” Dick asked, picking up the serving bowl of oatmeal and scooping some into Mac’s bowl. Parker smiled at the sweetly domestic scene of her friend and her boyfriend together at the table. The conversation confused her, but she didn’t care. Mac looked happy and Dick was so sweet with the way he fussed over her.
“Hey, morning.” Mac repeated as she turned to Parker.
“Morning. How was your night?” Parker asked, seating herself at the table now.
“Great, thanks for breakfast by the way. I’m starving.” Mac told her as she began scooping strawberries onto her oatmeal. Dick stood up and walked into the kitchen proper, coming back with Mac’s soy milk.
“Your welcome.” Parker plucked a strawberry out of the bowl of whole berries behind her on the counter.
They sat there, the five of them, chatting a bit before Duncan stood with his and Lilly’s dishes, carrying them into the kitchen. He rinsed the dishes and placed them in the sink before getting a wash cloth and getting it wet with warm water.
“Okay, so Veronica and I were talking and since she and Logan are leaving today I thought that maybe the rest of us should follow. I mean, things have gotten kind of heavy and we could all use a little vacation from this vacation.” Mac announced, leaning in to take a bite of oatmeal and strawberry.
“That sounds okay. I should get home, I really don’t want to miss any classes, even if Veronica got me excused. It still makes me kind of nervous.” Parker agrees quickly, feeling the heavy tension that Mac was talking about.
“Really? You’re all going to leave early?” Duncan asks, completely shocked and disappointed at the news, Lilly balanced on his hip as oatmeal seemed to drip from her hair.
“Yeah, I think it’s time we all get home and take a little break before we kill each other…” Mac explains, looking up sympathetically at Duncan and understanding that he’ll be alone here.
“It’s not that bad… is it?” Duncan asks, leaning back against the counter.
“No, not yet, but Logan and Veronica are leaving today and as weird as it may be, they keep things a bit on the calmer side of life when it comes to the group here.” Mac explained to him.
“She’s got a point, DK.” Dick added, leaning back in his chair.
“I guess…” Duncan said thoughtfully before being pulled back to the matter at hand as Lilly bounced up and down, her soggy hair slapping against his face. “I’m going to take Lilly up for a bath and to get dressed. Let me know when you guys decided to leave though, okay?”
He turns and leaves the room before anyone can comment. Parker lets herself watch after him and feel a pang of guilt over abandoning him. He’ll be here all alone until Wednesday, which isn’t that long in theory, but probably seems like a lifetime to someone that know that when he leaves he’s going to be in prison for the next year.
“So, when do we leave? I’m dressed but I’m thinking a post-Lilly oatmeal debacle shower might be in order. So I’ll take a quick shower, change into clean and comfy clothes and bring down my stuff. I was moving into Veronica’s old room so it’s already all packed.” Parker moves to the sink and begins washing the dishes as she rambles on. “I’ll bring my bags downstairs. Who are we all riding with?”
“Dick and I will be in my car, you can ride with Wallace and Piz, I guess. I think Lilly will probably ride with you, but she might not want to. We’ll have to ask later, when they all roll out of bed.” Mac explains as she brings her plates to Parker at the sink.
“Oh, Wallace has been up for hours, he went out for a run and…” Parker began explaining to Mac, trailing off when she looks up and catches sight of the subject outside the window. “Oh, there he is now.”
Wallace bursts through the kitchen door, repeating what sounded like a phone number over and over. Instead of stopping to great his friends or sitting at the table for breakfast, he runs to the cabinets, opening and closing drawers frenetically, obviously looking for something.
“Can I help you?” Parker hedges, moving a little closer to him.
“Where the hell is the paper? And the pens?” Wallace asks, digging in a drawer full of wooden spoons.
“You mean that?” Mac answers him, pointing at the notepad and pen sitting on the counter, in front of him no less.
“Oh.” Wallace grabs the pen and writes down, presumably, the number he had been repeating before tearing of the sheet and shoving it in his pocket. After, obviously, achieving his goal, he looks up and grins. “Hey. What’s up?”
31: Duncan
Rating: PG
Word Count: 5,859
Characters/Pairings: Parker, Wallace, Duncan, Lilly the Second, Logan, Dick Mac (mentions of: Weevil, Veronica, Lilly the first, Piz) Mac/Dick
Spoilers: All episodes (from 1.01: Pilot to 3.20: The Bitch Is Back. Just to be sure) Although this is obviously AU and there are obviously going to be some alterations to events and especially some in the last couple of episodes.
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Literally, nothing. So don’t sue me over this, because you won’t get anything. It all belongs to Rob Thomas and if I had owned it when it was still on the last season would have been way different.
Chapter 1: Awake/ Chapter 2: Homecoming/ Chapter 3: Forgive/ Chapter 4: Arrival/ Chapter 5: Reconnect/ Chapter 6: Belong/ Chapter 7: Bets/ Chapter 8: Fight/ Chapter 9: Battle/ Chapter 10: Retreat/ Chapter 11: Push/ Chapter 12: Sound/ Chapter 13: Potential/ Chapter 14: More/ Chapter 15: Storytime/ Chapter 16: Understanding/ Chapter 17: Piggyback/ Chapter 18: Sinners/ Chapter 19: Drama/ Chapter 20: Dinner/ Chapter 21: Armor/ Chapter 22:Mingle/ 23:Bubbly/ 24:Awkward/ 25:Closing/ 26: Drunks/ 27: Logan/ 28: Wallace/ 29: Mac
The Return
30
Parker
~The Breakfast~
She’s the first one up. She doesn’t even have to leave her room to know that. It’s quiet in the house, she can hear the quiet echo loudly and harshly in her room. It’s the quiet that had settled over the house when everyone had left for the bar last night and the baby had been asleep and she had been standing alone in the foyer. Quiet and eerie with just a hint that she had somehow left reality and entered some bizarre horror movie. The quiet that had settled over her when last night’s poker game had ended and everyone had taken themselves off to bed and she lay, completely sober and alone, in her bed and listening to nothing for what seemed like hours before she finally drifted off to sleep. The quiet of a sleeping house, somehow inhaling and exhaling together with the synchronized beauty of sleep.
Parker is the first one awake, a distinction that she has had over the last few days. First to rise, first to bed. She is seemingly the only morning person amidst a house of night owls. It would seem boring to anyone else, even though it doesn’t to any of the friends currently residing in the same house, but she likes the fact that she’s always the first up. She likes that she has nearly an hour and a half to herself every morning. There are ten full grown people sharing a space that while big enough to accommodate that many was obviously meant for three or four people. It’s a large space that still could probably hold another dozen people comfortably and it feels beyond crowded with the ten of them. Eleven if you count the baby, but she’s hardly responsible for the emotional tension that seems to somehow expand to the size of a fifty person crowd packing itself into the room whenever there’s more than 3 people in it.
Taking her time getting up and ready for the day, Parker reflects on her own friends from high school. Sure there had been drama, no high school is immune to that, but there is absolutely no way that her high school drama could in any way compete with what went on in Neptune High. It’s curious that her friends could go through so much at such a young age and still seem normal. Then again, she has had a rather traumatic and life altering year and a half and she may no longer be a sufficient judge on what ‘seems’ normal any longer. That thought is driven home as she contemplates her shoulder length hair. She’s proud of it, of it’s length and it’s color and it’s shine and texture and weight. She’s proud of her hair in a way that she never thought that would be necessary and while pulling it into a simple ponytail seems like a waste she does it anyway, to get it off her face and out of her way. It’s not like there’s really anyone in the house to impress with full make up and hair and a cute outfit.
The beauty of the friendship she’s found with everyone here. You’re allowed to simply be you and accepted, because everyone else is who they are and they fit into the group however they fit. They fit. She fits. She was popular in high school. Parker Lee was a cheerleader and prom queen and voted the most likely to succeed, and her parents were proud and teacher sang her praises. But she didn’t fit. Not really, because being everything for everyone is exhausting and you don’t have time to find where you really belong while you’re trying so desperately to belong where people say you should. Now though, now there are no longer any pretenses. She’s still the most carefree of all her friends but she doesn’t have to happy and smiling all the time, it isn’t expected and she’s grateful for that, but not for the way she found it.
Packing up her things take a little longer than she expected, having unpacked into the room she and Mac were supposed to be sharing more than she realized. It takes twenty minutes to pack her things and move her bags down into the room she’d slept in last night, between Lilly and Logan and Veronica. It almost seemed pointless to move to a different room since they were leaving tomorrow and only had one night left, but the bed was comfier and she wouldn’t have to share a bathroom with anyone. It was worth it, even if the room did share a wall with Logan and Veronica’s bedroom.
~*~
By 8:30 Parker is dressed and moved and downstairs, staring at the mess left in the media room. She’d been planning on reading a book, the cabin had an excellent selection of non school mandated books and it had been so long since she’d read for the pure pleasure of it. Or there was early morning cartoons, it’d been forever since she curled up on a couch with a bowl of cereal and a remote and watched cartoons.
Her plan had been to curl up and do whatever she wanted in the glorious silence of being alone in a house full of sleeping people for another hour or two. She didn’t get any alone time these days, crammed into a dorm room with a roommate, whom she loved, but always seemed to be in the room when she was. She lived with Mac, they all went out as a group, study group, class, meals in the cafeteria. Always the same thing. Out with friends, home with Mac, classes and meals with hundreds, never alone and always together. There’s especially no alone time here, with everybody on top of each other and dealing with some issue or another. She’d just wanted to sit and watch some mindless television until her calm morning was interrupted by everyone else.
Parker stops in the doorway of the media room and freezes, staring at the mess that she can’t remember making the night before, but she’s the only one that can be responsible. Dishes and dvds and blankets and cups and popcorn are scattered everyone. Spoons from bowls of ice cream are sitting on the coffee table, stuck in a puddle of melted and dried mint chocolate chip ice cream. Crushed pieces of popcorn are strewn like confetti on the floor, and visible under the crooked couch cushions. A nearly empty bottle of Sprite lays on it’s side, obviously spilled by the sugar ring on the carpet. Crumpled napkins litter nearly every surface. There’s empty dishes from the leftovers that she and Duncan had hauled out late last night when they got hungry during Say Anything and hadn’t wanted something sugary or buttery. Empty bowls from before that, when they’d tried to watch Pretty In Pink and made sundaes. They’d taken the movie out pretty quickly when she remembered how much she disliked it. Duncan had made comments throughout most of the movies that they’d watched, and while it should have been annoying, she’d gotten a glimpse of what it must have been like hanging out with him and Veronica and Lilly and Logan in high school. The comfort in which they felt in their friendships that allowed them to joke and mock and laugh at movies during the funny parts and the non-funny parts. She and Duncan had laughed a lot and eaten their way through half the kitchen. They’d made a big mess but she’d gotten to hang out with someone that she was genuinely comfortable with, someone that was easily friendly and at ease in friendship in a way that she’d never learned.
“So much for relaxing.” Parker grumbles as she begins to pick up all the discarded napkins, along with the bigger chunks of popcorn. There’s no trash in the room so she has to take it into the kitchen. She brings a warm wash cloth back with her, cleaning up the mess from the sticky spoons first before she begins stacking dishes, washing beneath them and straightening the knickknacks that belong there. She’ll have to get the vacuum out to clean up all the popcorn on the floor and in the couch.
She could just leave it. A cleaning crew would be there on Tuesday, after they were all gone, to clean up the mess and close up the house until Logan makes time to come back again. She could just leave it all. She could even make a bigger mess and not have to worry about it because someone was already going to be there to clean it up… But no, of course not, she couldn’t leave a mess. No matter hw much she resented her mother, couldn’t stand her really, there was one thing that had been repeatedly drilled into her head that she just couldn’t ignore: Never leave a mess behind. So, with a sigh, Parker continued on, walking into the kitchen. She set the first pile of dirty dishes on the counter, the dishwasher was officially busted so she’d have to wash them by hand. It took a little while and a little searching, but she finally located the vacuum in a cupboard of cleaning supplies off of the pantry.
Parker vacuumed the floor and couch, straightened the cushions and scrubbed at the sugar ring made by the dried spill of Sprite on the carpet. She cleaned up the rest of the dishes, setting on the kitchen counter with the others. She cleaned up the media room systematically and later, if she couldn’t help it, she’d complain about it to someone when they asked how she had spent her morning alone.
She’d moved onto the dvds, nearly finished with the media room, when she heard someone descending the stairs. Setting the pile of movies down she turned just as Wallace rounded the corner into the room, peeking in as if he was curious who was there. He turned quickly, aimed at the front door in his running clothes.
“Where are you going?” She asked, her voice sounding abnormally loud in the quiet house. The sound was a bit of a shock to her. It seemed as if she’d gone days without hearing anyone, including herself, speak.
“For a run.” He answered, turning back towards her as she exited the media room and stood with him in the hallway that stretched from the front door to the kitchen.
She shook her head. He looked ill, most likely hung-over from the night before, and weak. He’d be sick, throwing up, by time he got to the main road and he’d be lucky if he made it back to the house before passing out from dehydration. She wrapped her hand around his wrist and frog marched him back to the kitchen. It didn’t occur to her that he wasn’t resisting, but she kept her hand firm on his arm until they were through the kitchen door. She released him as she retrieved a blue, plastic water bottle from the cupboard and filled it at the tap before thrusting it at him.
“No ice?” He asked as he reached for it.
“No, room temp is better on the stomach.” She replied, already busy with her next project of cleaning up the kitchen. She put the baggie of cheesy curls currency from last night in the cupboard. Empty water bottles that she’d forced on everyone last night in the recycling bin. Grabbing a clean wash cloth and soaking it in warm water from the sink, she wiped down the refrigerator and counters, erasing the orange fingerprints left mostly by her the night before.
“Okay, thanks. I’ll see you later.” Wallace shoved the water bottle into the front pocket of his hoodie and shoves the black, wraparound sunglasses down over his eyes, already walking to the sliding glass doors on the opposite side of the kitchen.
“Where are you going?” She asks before she can stop herself. Somehow she’s become the housemother. Babysitting while everyone goes out. Spending the night watching movies and binging on junkfood with the only actual parent of the group. Using her free time to clean up the house even though there’s a cleaning crew coming to do just that in a few days. “Don’t you want any breakfast?” She can’t seem to help herself now, the mothering is uncontrollable.
“For a run, hands down the best cure for a hangover. I'll eat when I get back. I shouldn't be gone long.” Wallace replies and is out the door before anything more can be said. Not that she can blame him. She has, for some reason, taken it upon herself to make sure that everyone is fed in the morning. There were jokes. She was being called the ‘Breakfast Nazi’, but she supposed there were worse things. Although jokes among friends never got old and she’d be hearing this one for the foreseeable future, possibly forever. However long their friendship lasted and however long it took for someone else to assume the breakfast responsibility.
Another half hour later and the kitchen was cleaned and the dishes were done and she stood there, admiring her work with a wry smile. She was hungry and people would be down soon and it was time for her to start breakfast. Time for her to make a mess of the kitchen she’d just spent so much time cleaning up. Plus with the dishwasher out of order she’d have to wash the pans and dishes all over again. Or someone else would. She could make someone else clean up, but they wouldn’t. Even though everyone was grown and living on their own, mostly, none of them seemed to be capable of cleaning up after a meal. Especially Duncan and Logan, who had proven that by breaking the one machine that could help.
Parker dug a large pot out of the cupboards and the big container of steal-cut oatmeal. She’d prayed for instant oatmeal as she rummaged through the pantry, listening as her stomach rumbled for food, but all that had turned up is an expensive and time consuming luxury brand that she’d never heard of before this trip. Luxury brand oatmeal. She’d never really understand the rich, no matter how much time she spent with their children. Studying the side of the container she tried to figure out how much she’d have to make for everyone in the house without having to make more. The guys all seemed to eat enough for two or three people, the girls did too for that matter. Little Lilly would probably require one serving to eat and one that she would purposely dump in her fathers lap for the amusement of watching him jump up and down. After deciding on the amount, measuring out and starting it over a medium heat she turned to the fridge. They’d need someone other than oatmeal for breakfast.
She fished out a package of sausage links and counted out two for each person, one for the baby and none for Mac. There was a small package of tofurkey sausage in there as well, and Parker separated two from it without wrinkling her nose. They were a funny color compared with the rest, but Parker tried not to judge her friend’s life choices. After all, Parker was sure that Mac had a very good reason for being a vegan.
Parker emptied a bag of brown sugar into a bowl, placing it and a pitcher of milk on the table. The sausages were making a comforting pop and sizzle sound in the pan while she sliced up strawberries when Duncan entered the kitchen, toting his sleepy eyed daughter on his hip.
“Could I talk you into making enough for me and Lilly?” Duncan asked, his voice rough with sleep and disuse.
“Already on it. Breakfast for everybody.” Parker replied without looking up from her strawberries. She dumped what was already cut up in another bowl before turning to check on the meat and oatmeal.
“Great. Thanks. Normally I’d give her some cold cereal with some sliced fruit, usually melon, and have the same. I would make pancakes once in a while, usually on the weekends. She’s going to be so spoiled after this week. Not that she isn’t already pretty spoiled. I never realized how easy it is to spoil a kid.” Duncan explained as he settled the baby into her seat and took the one next to her.
“I’m sure she’ll adjust back afterwards, you’ll get home and be feeding bowls and bowls of Lucky Charms all day long.” Parker stirred the oatmeal, looking up at Duncan and giving him a reassuring smile. I must be hard to be such a young single father. For a moment she wondered what happened to Lilly’s mother, and was a little shocked that the subject of Lilly’s mother had never come up between her and Duncan. Or her and anyone else for that matter.
“Yeah, just another thing she been spoiled about. Something she picked up…” Duncan trailed off, something in his face changing for a moment before continuing, “No, I won’t be. I’ll be in prison and she’ll be with my parents, on the receiving end of a gourmet chef’s breakfast every morning. Just like I was. I’ll be eating in a cafeteria. I wonder what kind of food they’ll have there.”
“I don’t know, I’d imagine it’d be like a high school cafeteria.” Parker assured him. Her high school’s lunches weren’t the greatest, but they were horrible either.
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure it won’t be like my high school cafeteria.” Duncan commented, his brow furrowing. These were probably questions he hadn’t really thought of, the day to day life in jail. Prison. The slammer.
“Why is that?” She asked, unable to help herself. The subject of Neptune High was fascinating to her. This mythical place where all but one of her friends had met before she met them. This place of rich and famous kids, drama and scandal and so many tawdry things she hadn’t been exposed to in her own high school.
“We had chefs and a vegan menu. Sushi once a week. Our food was amazing, or looked it anyway, I never really had any of it.” Duncan explained, getting up and leaning over the counter to see what exactly she was cooking.
“How come?” She placed the lid back over the oatmeal before taking to grease guard off the sausage. She turned them with a fork.
“I had enough Pirate Points to get my food delivered everyday.” It was an odd explanation. Pirate points?
“Are you sure you didn’t go to private school?” She was always confused why all these rich and famous people would send their children to public school. Didn’t they usually send them to private schools?
“No, just a rich one.”
“Anyway, I think in prison they call it a ‘mess hall’.” She replaced the grease guard and went back to slicing strawberries.
“I’ll have to remember that, any other jailhouse tips?” He was joking, but she could hear the brittleness behind it. Apparently this was something that he needed to joke about, laugh about it now before it became just a little too real and he was there.
“Yeah. Cigarettes are currency on the inside. And you should develop a ‘fight face’. I mean, make it look really mean and angry, so they won’t mess with you.” Parker informed him with the matter-of-fact tone of someone who had watched television shows set inside the big house.
“They?” Duncan raised his eyebrows in question.
“You know, the other inmates. Also, it might be a good idea to get into a fight with a big guy and beat him up. They night not mess with you then.” She suggested before continuing on innocently. “Pay him or something to take the fall. I mean, it’s not like you’re violent.” She was unaware of the sensitive subject she just touched on.
“Well, I wouldn’t exactly say that, but that might be an… interesting idea.” Duncan’s voice was quieter, almost considering.
“What? You get into a lot of fights in high school?” Parker asked jokingly, unable to imagine Duncan hitting someone.
“Not a lot, just memorable ones.” Duncan informed her.
“Oh, fights with Logan?” She asked, now completely focused on this topic.
“Some.”
“Weevil?” Parker asked.
“No.”
“Dick?” She supplied another name. She could see even the most patient person losing it with him sometimes. Except Logan. Logan seemed to always have enough patience for Dick.
“There were a couple over the years.” Duncan allowed, as if it was usual to fight with ones best friends.
“And now you’re all friends?” She asked incredulously, turning to get the plates and bowls down for breakfast.
“Yeah, I guess.” Duncan shrugged, like it was no big deal.
“Boys are so weird.” Parker shook her head in amazement, the few people she had fought with in high school had remained enemies until graduation, and they hadn’t even come to blows.
“I guess so.” Duncan agreed, standing to attention as she pulled out the silverware they would need. She handed it all to him and he began setting the table.
“So is there anything else you’re dreading in the next year?” Parker asked as she began transferring the cooked sausage to a paper towel lined plate. She set it on the far side of the counter so Duncan could transfer it to the table.
“Yeah, a lot. You know there are no doors on the cells? It really is just bars. How do you change clothes? Or worse, go to the bathroom?” Duncan asked in horror, putting the sliced bowl of strawberries and plate of sausage on the set table.
“I have no idea how to fix that one, but I’m guessing orange isn’t your color so the clothes thing is an issue too.” Parker joked, scooping the finished oatmeal into a serving bowl and placing it on the counter. She moved the pot and sausage pan into the sink, running warm water into the pot.
“Yeah, I look much better in blue. You think they’ll take fashion into consideration and allow me a different outfit?” Duncan, picked up the bowl of oatmeal and grabbed the serving spoon Parker held out and served his daughter before putting it on the table. He continued serving her, tearing the sausage into bite size pieces on her plate. Adding milk and brown sugar to her bowl and topping it off with a couple slices of strawberries.
“I don’t think so.” Parker replied as she started to get glasses out, and working in tandem with Duncan, they were set out around the table at the top of each place setting. She pulled the pitcher of orange juice out of the fridge and handed it to Duncan. “Maybe you should ask Weevil for some pointers.”
“Why?” He stood there, holding the orange juice, his eyebrows pulled together in confusion, as Parker fished a sippy cup out of the cupboard. She stood on her toes and reached for the cup that had been pushed to the back of the shelf. “Need help?”
“No, I got it. You should ask because he was in prison, last year?” She stretched a little more and felt her fingertips brush the cup and then again, she tipped it and grabbed as it fell towards her. This kitchen was built for tall people. “Before our freshman year at Hearst?”
“Weevil was in prison?” Duncan asked, amused, as he took the cup from her. “Can’t say I’m all that surprised really.”
Parker’s eyebrows shut up into her bangs, shocked at the statement. It was something she’d heard from Logan a lot last year. Logan always joking about Weevil, calling him ‘Paco’ all the time and making comments about the fact that he was working class, and so was his family.
“Why? Because he’s poor? Or because he’s Mexican?” Parker asked, annoyed with Duncan. Somehow it had been different on Logan, like he disliked Weevil for another reason other than his tax bracket and race, even though he sounded just as much a jerk saying it. She hadn’t known everyone as long as they knew each other, especially Lilly, Duncan and especially Weevil, but she’d always gotten the impression from Logan and Dick that the rich teens of Neptune looked down on the less than rich and white.
“No, because the last I knew he was the leader of the local biker gang and had committed a multitude of crimes, many of them felonies. I don’t care if he’s poor or Mexican. Enough of my friends and parents have gone to prison for felonies. And, if I’m not mistaken, most of them were rich and white. I’m kind of offended that you’d ask that.” Duncan poured orange juice for Lilly and himself, sitting down in his seat.
“Sorry, I guess it’s from hanging out with Logan and Dick and all their ‘Paco’ and ‘Cinderfella’ jokes.” Parker explained, taking her seat on the other side of Lilly and beginning to serve herself.
“Yeah, well, while those are… not creative at all, they’re still very Logan and Dick jokes. But on another note, Weevil makes jokes right back. It’s kind of their thing.” Duncan explained, the tension easing out of his shoulders.
“I’m sorry, okay?” Parker apologized, giving Duncan a smile as she passed the bowl of oatmeal to him.
“You know, maybe he’ll offer to show me how to make a shiv. Or explain what shiv is.” Duncan took the bowl and gave himself a large serving.
“Maybe you should netflix Oz. I hear it’s very informative t the prospective jailbird.” Parker suggested, the levity picking back up, but she purposely avoided the terms ‘inmate’ and ‘convict’.
“Hmmm… I’ll make a note of it, I’m not sure I’ll have the time for a whole series. I was thinking of renting that one with Elvis and all the rocking, but if you say Oz is the way to go…” He was full on joking now, the earlier upset forgotten.
“Yep, go with Oz. I think the jailhouse rocking went out in the fifties. But you never know, it might make a comeback.” Parker laughed, popping a strawberry into her mouth.
“And the Shawshank Redemption.” Duncan supplied, as if remembering another prison movie he’d seen or heard of.
“A shank. You might want to add that to your list of things to know.” She was full on laughing now, glad that they were having fun instead of one of those intense conversations everyone else was always having.
“Right. Maybe I should start writing them down.” Duncan agreed as he bit into his sausage.
Lilly finished her sausage and pulled her bowl of oatmeal closer to her. She picked off the strawberries and stuck them clumsily in her mouth. She didn’t bother with her spoon as she dove into her food. Duncan was trying to get her to use her utensils, but it didn’t seem to be sticking.
“She’s going to make a massive mess.” Parker said warily, wishing she’d sat a little further away from the messy child. She had already showered and dressed, she didn’t want to have to do it again so soon.
“Yeah, why do you think I didn’t bathe her yet? Preventative measure so I don’t have to do it twice and let her dirty up two outfits.” Duncan explained, leaning away from his daughter as she slammed her hand into her bowl.
Parker finished her sausage, eyeing the splatters of oatmeal on the table. Another fist pound into her bowl and Lilly had splatter her father’s face with oatmeal. She stood to get him a rag, understand that a napkin just wasn’t going to be enough.
“Good thing we’re the only ones up, huh? Otherwise I think Lilly would be trying to see how many people she could get with her oatmeal.” Duncan laughed as he wiped at his face.
“Yeah… Oh, no. Wallace is up, he went for a run though.” Parker informed, picking up her dish and moving it a little further away from Duncan and Lilly. “You don’t mind… right?” She asked as she watched Lilly pick up her bowl and dump it in Duncan’s lap before bursting into giggles. And Parker had to admit, the groan that Duncan let out was quite funny.
“Maybe I should make a little more oatmeal.” Parker suggested as she stood and went back to the sink to empty the water out of her pot. She wiped it out and then measured out more oatmeal. She could see Duncan eyeing the plate of sausage. “And some more sausage.” She pulled the package of sausage out of the refrigerator and the pan out of the sink.
~*~
“Well, I’m going to take Veronica’s breakfast up to her.” Logan said, finally loading a tray that he’d pulled from a cupboard with enough food for his girlfriend.
“Wow, breakfast in bed, what a lucky girl.” Dick commented, his voice taking on that joking quality that Parker had begun associating with the friendship of Dick and Logan.
“Oh, Dick, if you had let me know I would’ve brought you a bagel or something. Sadly, the bromance is over and you’re on your own now. In fact, I think the only breakfast in bed you’ll have is the one that you’ll be bringing.” Logan replied as he lifted the tray.
“Damn.” Dick called, shrugging as he dug into his oatmeal, the bowl literally filled to the brim.
“See you all in Neptune.” Logan called out over his shoulder, chuckling, as he made his way towards the stairs.
A few minutes later Mac entered the room, pausing to take in the scene before greeting everyone. “Morning.”
She moved across the room to take a seat next to Dick.
“Hey, you rushed out this morning.” Dick commented in a non-accusing tone, the look in his eyes concerned but not worried when he turned to look at his girlfriend.
“Yeah, I had to talk to Veronica.” Mac explained, her voice tender as she singled out her tofurkey sausage and transferred it to her plate.
“Get it all worked out?” Dick asked, picking up the serving bowl of oatmeal and scooping some into Mac’s bowl. Parker smiled at the sweetly domestic scene of her friend and her boyfriend together at the table. The conversation confused her, but she didn’t care. Mac looked happy and Dick was so sweet with the way he fussed over her.
“Hey, morning.” Mac repeated as she turned to Parker.
“Morning. How was your night?” Parker asked, seating herself at the table now.
“Great, thanks for breakfast by the way. I’m starving.” Mac told her as she began scooping strawberries onto her oatmeal. Dick stood up and walked into the kitchen proper, coming back with Mac’s soy milk.
“Your welcome.” Parker plucked a strawberry out of the bowl of whole berries behind her on the counter.
They sat there, the five of them, chatting a bit before Duncan stood with his and Lilly’s dishes, carrying them into the kitchen. He rinsed the dishes and placed them in the sink before getting a wash cloth and getting it wet with warm water.
“Okay, so Veronica and I were talking and since she and Logan are leaving today I thought that maybe the rest of us should follow. I mean, things have gotten kind of heavy and we could all use a little vacation from this vacation.” Mac announced, leaning in to take a bite of oatmeal and strawberry.
“That sounds okay. I should get home, I really don’t want to miss any classes, even if Veronica got me excused. It still makes me kind of nervous.” Parker agrees quickly, feeling the heavy tension that Mac was talking about.
“Really? You’re all going to leave early?” Duncan asks, completely shocked and disappointed at the news, Lilly balanced on his hip as oatmeal seemed to drip from her hair.
“Yeah, I think it’s time we all get home and take a little break before we kill each other…” Mac explains, looking up sympathetically at Duncan and understanding that he’ll be alone here.
“It’s not that bad… is it?” Duncan asks, leaning back against the counter.
“No, not yet, but Logan and Veronica are leaving today and as weird as it may be, they keep things a bit on the calmer side of life when it comes to the group here.” Mac explained to him.
“She’s got a point, DK.” Dick added, leaning back in his chair.
“I guess…” Duncan said thoughtfully before being pulled back to the matter at hand as Lilly bounced up and down, her soggy hair slapping against his face. “I’m going to take Lilly up for a bath and to get dressed. Let me know when you guys decided to leave though, okay?”
He turns and leaves the room before anyone can comment. Parker lets herself watch after him and feel a pang of guilt over abandoning him. He’ll be here all alone until Wednesday, which isn’t that long in theory, but probably seems like a lifetime to someone that know that when he leaves he’s going to be in prison for the next year.
“So, when do we leave? I’m dressed but I’m thinking a post-Lilly oatmeal debacle shower might be in order. So I’ll take a quick shower, change into clean and comfy clothes and bring down my stuff. I was moving into Veronica’s old room so it’s already all packed.” Parker moves to the sink and begins washing the dishes as she rambles on. “I’ll bring my bags downstairs. Who are we all riding with?”
“Dick and I will be in my car, you can ride with Wallace and Piz, I guess. I think Lilly will probably ride with you, but she might not want to. We’ll have to ask later, when they all roll out of bed.” Mac explains as she brings her plates to Parker at the sink.
“Oh, Wallace has been up for hours, he went out for a run and…” Parker began explaining to Mac, trailing off when she looks up and catches sight of the subject outside the window. “Oh, there he is now.”
Wallace bursts through the kitchen door, repeating what sounded like a phone number over and over. Instead of stopping to great his friends or sitting at the table for breakfast, he runs to the cabinets, opening and closing drawers frenetically, obviously looking for something.
“Can I help you?” Parker hedges, moving a little closer to him.
“Where the hell is the paper? And the pens?” Wallace asks, digging in a drawer full of wooden spoons.
“You mean that?” Mac answers him, pointing at the notepad and pen sitting on the counter, in front of him no less.
“Oh.” Wallace grabs the pen and writes down, presumably, the number he had been repeating before tearing of the sheet and shoving it in his pocket. After, obviously, achieving his goal, he looks up and grins. “Hey. What’s up?”
31: Duncan