A Cabin in the Woods
Title: A Cabin in the Woods
Author: flowersforchuck
Rating: PG/PG-13ish
Characters: LuRe, Pons and Medulla
Summary: Luke thinks a lack of distractions will bring them together, but Reid sorta falls apart.
Disclaimer: I own nothing
A/N: More sad; crap I must be blue. Ends a bit abruptly. Non-betaed. Written for Fun Fic Friday.
The cabin was Luke’s idea. Of course it was; three days of forced solitude would never be Reid’s idea of fun. He put on a brave face though; Reid was tired of seeing disappointment from the people he loved.
He glanced back behind him to see both kids sacked out. He couldn’t blame them; it felt like hours since he’d seen anything resembling civilization.
David, snug in his car seat, was suffering from what looked like a painful case of baby head. Reid went to unbuckle his seat belt, but a sharp look from Luke stopped him, so he reached back, as best as he could, to reposition the kid’s head.
Satisfied, Reid pulled back only for Medulla’s head to loll forward once again. He tried one more time before giving up and watched Pons for a few beats then faced forward. “You know when she’s asleep you almost forget…”
Luke didn’t let him finish his sentence before reprimanding him. “Reid.”
“What? You have no idea what I was going to say.” Luke gave him a side eye which caused Reid to smirk. “Okay, but still, you’ve got to admit that was over the top, even for her.”
Luke sighed and tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. “Yeah. Two more weeks.”
Reid laughed loudly at that, Luke’s never ending optimism was adorable, and then checked to make sure he didn’t wake the kids. Reid had spent 20 minutes that morning arguing with Beth on whether or not she had to use her booster seat.
“I’m not a baby!”
“Odd, because you sure are acting like one right now. It’s the law, now get in.”
“I’m eight in two weeks, what’s the big deal?”
20 minutes of that kind of back and forth, but in the end it was Luke who got her in the car with a set of puppy dog eyes, and a simple, ‘Please, Beth’.
Frustrating. It was the word that had now become synonymous with his daughter. Reid would have never characterized their relationship as antagonistic, but it was slowly growing towards it. Reid glanced back at her, and with her head slumped against David’s seat she looked peaceful.
It felt like a tight band across his chest and he quickly looked away from her, and focused on the road ahead. “Eight isn’t some magical number, Luke. She not going to wake up and…”, be the kid who would crawl onto his lap, only to sit quietly while he worked on patients files, just to be close; or the girl who, not only willingly, but eagerly grasp onto his hand while walking.
Luke kept telling him that it was growing pains; that their little girl was growing up, but Reid knew there was more to it. She was mad at him. He just hadn’t figured out why.
“I know, I know….I’m just trying to stay positive. This weekend is about being positive, team work.”
Reid rolled his eyes. “I’m not doing trust falls.” He leaned his head against the widow and watched tree after tree pass before finally asking, “Are we there yet?”
He heard a sharp intake of breath from the back seat, and mouthed the word ‘fuck’ before the screeching began.
“You said it! I heard you! Dad, Dad, you heard Dad, right?!”
Luke glanced into the review mirror long enough to make eye contact with Pons, and reassured her. “I sure did, baby.” He quickly caught Reid’s eye and smirked. “Rules are rules, Reid. I believe you owe each of us a dollar.”
Reid leaned his seat back and closed his eyes. “Peachy.”
&&&&&&&&&
The cabin was Chris’ and the idea was Katie’s. She said it really helped Chris and Jacob bond when they were going through a rough patch a year ago. Considering Jacob and Chris still didn’t get along, in Luke’s opinion, all that well, he was skeptical. A weekend of rustic living wasn’t Luke’s ideal, but it was all he had.
He watched his family gaze around the cabin, and crossed his fingers. Beth was the first to break the silence. “Where’s the TV?”
Luke put down a squirming David, only for Reid to immediately snatch him up and look dubiously at the floor. “Tell me you packed extra sheet.”
Luke nodded, “Yes, I brought enough sheets and some cleaning supplies.” He sat down on the ratty couch to be closer to Beth’s height and told her, “No TV, no cell service, no computers.”
Her eyes grew wide as she slowly began to shake her head, and whispered, “What are we suppose to do?”
“We’ve got board games, you brought books to read and color, and we’ll probably do a little hiking. There’s a lot we can do. Trust me, Bethy, you won’t get bored.” She was still looking at him dumbfounded, so he stood up and turned her toward the stairs. “Why don’t you check upstairs? Do some exploring?”
Beth grabbed her book bag and headed up the steps. Luke sighed, and then smiled down at David who was playing with oversized Legos.
He walked over to Reid who was starting to put away the food, “I thought you didn’t want us lying to the children.” He opened the refrigerator door and paused. “Luke? The refrigerator is warm.”
Was it lying if you weren’t completely up front about some things? It wasn’t like Reid inquired about the cabin’s amenities. “Yeah, I’ll go start the generator. It’ll be a couple hours, but we should have enough ice to keep it cool until then.”
Reid made a high pitched chuckle that was quickly choked off. “Oh my, God, you’re not kidding.” Luke watched as he pulled his cell from his pocket, and made a little whining sound.
“Reid, calm down...”
“Calm down?! These conditions are barbaric! Please, please tell me there’s running water…you know how I feel about defecating in a hole!”
Luke burst out in a fit of laughter that only got worse when Reid narrowed his eyes and looked at him affronted. “I’m sorry, but seriously, you’re worse then she is!”
Reid slammed the door and sniffed, “I’m not going to dignify that with a response.”
Luke leaned against the counter and watched as Reid walked over to David, looked around and grabbed a towel before sitting down, and joined him with his building. It was going to be a long weekend.
&&&&&&&&&
Surprisingly, it hadn’t been that bad. Once he found a toilet that flushed and Luke lit the pilot light for the hot water heater, things started to look brighter. They spent the first night playing Monopoly, and Luke found a fire pit where they roasted hot dogs and marshmallows. The kids took turns trying to attack them with sticky fingers, and Luke kissed the side of his mouth sighting ‘chocolate removal’.
David fell asleep in Reid’s arms, and Beth passed out while Luke was reading to them. It was a good night. It was a great night.
The next day started even better. Luke got up early to share a shower with him, just in case the hot water ran out.
Later they packed a lunch, and spent most of the day exploring trails. That wasn’t as much fun. Reid would never be confused for a nature lover, and there was a reason why. Nature attacked. If he wasn’t being bitten by bugs, he was running into spider webs, or being slapped in the face with branches.
Unfortunately, Beth didn’t fare any better. “Daddy, can we go back? I’m cold!”, or she was thirsty, hungry, or her feet hurt. Luke, as always, was patient. But between her complaining, and his constantly being assaulted, Reid’s teeth were on edge.
The sun was well into the west when the cabin came into view. Beth had a chokehold around his neck while Luke carried David and both the packs when Reid got a whiff of something ‘natural’.
“Eww! What is that!?”
Luke cringed, and Medulla looked a little ashamed. “That would be your brother,” Reid told her, and then he began to breathe through his mouth.
Luke set David back on his feet, and took a hold of his hand. “I’ll go change him if you two can grab some pine cones and twigs for a fire. It’s going to get chilly tonight.”
Reid nodded while Beth whined, “But, Daddy, I’m tired!”
Reid rolled his eyes, but was surprised when Luke said sharply, “Beth! Just, go help your father.”
Reid smirked; seemed Luke wasn’t as immune to her crabbiness as much as he thought.
With a huff, Beth joined him by a cluster of trees near the cabin. They foraged in silence for a minute, and then Reid pointed out a nice sized branch a few feet away. “Pons, can you grab that one?”
She replied with another huff and a snotty, “Don’t call me that. My name is, Beth.”
Reid’s hand faltered as he was picking up a pine cone, and Jesus Christ, it’d be easier if she just stabbed him and be done with it.
Reid had rules: mean what you say, don’t show fear, and remember that they are kids. There were others, but those were his main one, and Reid forgot every one of them. He spun around so fast that he lost his footing, and had to take a knee to keep himself upright. “What did I do to make you so pissed off at me?” He sounded broken and Beth looked shocked, and her lip started to tremble.
It was almost a full minute before she spoke. “Daddy says you’re the best. Everybody says you’re the best. You’re supposed to fix people. Why couldn’t you fix the baby?”
The sun had hit the horizon, bathing everything in a reddish purple hue, and Reid let gravity take him the rest of the way down, and he bit his lip while a tear slipped down. “I can’t fix everybody. Not everything can be fixed. Do you understand that?”
Beth seemed rooted in place, but she was able to nod. He needed her gone. Reid was about to lose his shit, and the last thing he wanted was for her to see it.
He quickly pulled off his jacket and filled it with the twigs and pine cones that were nearby, and handed the bundle out to her. “Here, take these to your dad.” She still did move and his hand was starting to shake. Reid wiped the tear from his face and barked out her name. “Elizabeth!”
She jumped at the use of her full name, and quickly grabbed the bundle from him, and ran to the cabin. He waited until he heard the door slam before crawling to the closest tree. He leaned against it, and sobbed out years worth of built up frustration, sadness, and fear.
&&&&&&&&&
It took Luke almost a half an hour to calm Beth down. She ran into the house and drop Reid’s coat onto the floor and started to cry. Terrified, Luke pulled her into his arms, and had to ask repeatedly if Reid was okay. After a few minutes she calmed down long enough to nod, but Luke’s relief was short lived.
“He yelled at me. He scared me.”
Luke was confused. He needed to talk to Reid, but he hadn’t come in yet, and he had to deal with their kid first. He kept up the mantra of ‘Daddy didn’t mean to scare you’ and ‘We love you, Baby’ until she finally stopped crying.
He gathered both of his children onto the ratty couch, and pulled out his emergency weapon: a fully charged tablet. He turned on the first children's movie he could find, and gave Beth strict instructions to watcher her brother. Satisfied that they’d be occupied, Luke went after his husband.
It was full dark outside, and the light from the cabin only reached so far. Luke cursed himself for not grabbing a flashlight. He was about to go back for one when he found Reid shivering against a tree. Worried, Luke crouched down next to him and pulled him into his arms. “She’s crying, you’re crying. What the hell happened?”
Reid pulled away, leaned his head against the tree, and laughed sardonically. “She figured it out. She realized that I’m a fraud.”
Confused, Luke furrowed his brow. “I’m...wait, what are you talking about?”
Fresh tears rolled down Reid’s face. “We’re like superheroes to her. We can do anything, we can fix anything. Now she knows we can’t...or at least I can’t.”
Luke stood up and did something, what most would consider, un-Luke like. He got pissed. “Are you fucking kidding me? OUR daughter was in there crying her eyes out, while you were out here licking your wounds because YOU realized you aren’t Superman? Newsflash, Reid, I was younger than her when I figured out my parents were fallible.”
Reid looked up at him and whispered, “I wanted to be better.”
Some of Luke’s anger seeped out, and he whispered back, “I know, and you are. She doesn't need a superhero; she just needs to know you love her, that you’ll always love her.”
“I do.”
“When was the last time you said it?” Reid faltered and Luke was back to being pissed. He grabbed Reid’s arm and pulled him off the grown. “You need to go in there right now and tell her, show her!” Reid didn’t move fast enough and Luke jabbed his finger towards the cabin. “NOW!”
Reid took off at a trot and Luke followed. He watched from the door as Reid asked Beth to talk. He held out his hand, and after a slight hesitation Beth took it, and they walked into the bedroom she was sharing with David.
David wiggled off the couch to follow, but Luke scooped him back up and settled on the couch with him. “Sorry, buddy. Daddy-daughter time.”
He held up the tablet with the animated animals, and David grinned up at him and said, “Oo-da-lally!”
Luke grinned back. “Yep, fortunes, forecasts, and lucky charms. Sometime I could use all three when it comes to your sister and dad.”
It was an hour later, the movie was over, David was asleep, and Luke hadn’t heard a word from Reid and Beth. He hefted his son on his shoulder, and peeked in the bedroom to find both of them asleep. Beth was draped over Reid, and Reid had a protective hand on her back. Luke took it as a hopeful sign, and crawled into their bed with David.
&&&&&&&&&
Luke didn’t ask and Reid didn’t share. The drive home was subdued, but Luke didn’t feel the slight haze of tension that was prevalent on the ride there. David was chattering away about how birds were cool because they could fly, and how he wished he could fly, but that it would be okay if they could get a bird instead...like a chicken.
Luke and Reid laughed, but in a snotty tone Beth told him, “Chickens can’t fly.”
David stuck out his tongue, and Reid told her, “It’s fine to tell him the truth, but don’t be a brat about it, Po...Beth”
It was quiet in the car for half a mile, and then Beth said, “Daddy...it’s okay if you want to call me Pons. Sometimes. When it’s just us?”
Reid glanced at her in the rear view mirror and nodded, “Okay, Beth.”
Luke saw her smile, and he mentally told himself, ‘ebbs and flows’; life was nothing but a bunch of ebbs and flows. He just hoped he could keep up with all of them.
Author: flowersforchuck
Rating: PG/PG-13ish
Characters: LuRe, Pons and Medulla
Summary: Luke thinks a lack of distractions will bring them together, but Reid sorta falls apart.
Disclaimer: I own nothing
A/N: More sad; crap I must be blue. Ends a bit abruptly. Non-betaed. Written for Fun Fic Friday.
The cabin was Luke’s idea. Of course it was; three days of forced solitude would never be Reid’s idea of fun. He put on a brave face though; Reid was tired of seeing disappointment from the people he loved.
He glanced back behind him to see both kids sacked out. He couldn’t blame them; it felt like hours since he’d seen anything resembling civilization.
David, snug in his car seat, was suffering from what looked like a painful case of baby head. Reid went to unbuckle his seat belt, but a sharp look from Luke stopped him, so he reached back, as best as he could, to reposition the kid’s head.
Satisfied, Reid pulled back only for Medulla’s head to loll forward once again. He tried one more time before giving up and watched Pons for a few beats then faced forward. “You know when she’s asleep you almost forget…”
Luke didn’t let him finish his sentence before reprimanding him. “Reid.”
“What? You have no idea what I was going to say.” Luke gave him a side eye which caused Reid to smirk. “Okay, but still, you’ve got to admit that was over the top, even for her.”
Luke sighed and tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. “Yeah. Two more weeks.”
Reid laughed loudly at that, Luke’s never ending optimism was adorable, and then checked to make sure he didn’t wake the kids. Reid had spent 20 minutes that morning arguing with Beth on whether or not she had to use her booster seat.
“I’m not a baby!”
“Odd, because you sure are acting like one right now. It’s the law, now get in.”
“I’m eight in two weeks, what’s the big deal?”
20 minutes of that kind of back and forth, but in the end it was Luke who got her in the car with a set of puppy dog eyes, and a simple, ‘Please, Beth’.
Frustrating. It was the word that had now become synonymous with his daughter. Reid would have never characterized their relationship as antagonistic, but it was slowly growing towards it. Reid glanced back at her, and with her head slumped against David’s seat she looked peaceful.
It felt like a tight band across his chest and he quickly looked away from her, and focused on the road ahead. “Eight isn’t some magical number, Luke. She not going to wake up and…”, be the kid who would crawl onto his lap, only to sit quietly while he worked on patients files, just to be close; or the girl who, not only willingly, but eagerly grasp onto his hand while walking.
Luke kept telling him that it was growing pains; that their little girl was growing up, but Reid knew there was more to it. She was mad at him. He just hadn’t figured out why.
“I know, I know….I’m just trying to stay positive. This weekend is about being positive, team work.”
Reid rolled his eyes. “I’m not doing trust falls.” He leaned his head against the widow and watched tree after tree pass before finally asking, “Are we there yet?”
He heard a sharp intake of breath from the back seat, and mouthed the word ‘fuck’ before the screeching began.
“You said it! I heard you! Dad, Dad, you heard Dad, right?!”
Luke glanced into the review mirror long enough to make eye contact with Pons, and reassured her. “I sure did, baby.” He quickly caught Reid’s eye and smirked. “Rules are rules, Reid. I believe you owe each of us a dollar.”
Reid leaned his seat back and closed his eyes. “Peachy.”
&&&&&&&&&
The cabin was Chris’ and the idea was Katie’s. She said it really helped Chris and Jacob bond when they were going through a rough patch a year ago. Considering Jacob and Chris still didn’t get along, in Luke’s opinion, all that well, he was skeptical. A weekend of rustic living wasn’t Luke’s ideal, but it was all he had.
He watched his family gaze around the cabin, and crossed his fingers. Beth was the first to break the silence. “Where’s the TV?”
Luke put down a squirming David, only for Reid to immediately snatch him up and look dubiously at the floor. “Tell me you packed extra sheet.”
Luke nodded, “Yes, I brought enough sheets and some cleaning supplies.” He sat down on the ratty couch to be closer to Beth’s height and told her, “No TV, no cell service, no computers.”
Her eyes grew wide as she slowly began to shake her head, and whispered, “What are we suppose to do?”
“We’ve got board games, you brought books to read and color, and we’ll probably do a little hiking. There’s a lot we can do. Trust me, Bethy, you won’t get bored.” She was still looking at him dumbfounded, so he stood up and turned her toward the stairs. “Why don’t you check upstairs? Do some exploring?”
Beth grabbed her book bag and headed up the steps. Luke sighed, and then smiled down at David who was playing with oversized Legos.
He walked over to Reid who was starting to put away the food, “I thought you didn’t want us lying to the children.” He opened the refrigerator door and paused. “Luke? The refrigerator is warm.”
Was it lying if you weren’t completely up front about some things? It wasn’t like Reid inquired about the cabin’s amenities. “Yeah, I’ll go start the generator. It’ll be a couple hours, but we should have enough ice to keep it cool until then.”
Reid made a high pitched chuckle that was quickly choked off. “Oh my, God, you’re not kidding.” Luke watched as he pulled his cell from his pocket, and made a little whining sound.
“Reid, calm down...”
“Calm down?! These conditions are barbaric! Please, please tell me there’s running water…you know how I feel about defecating in a hole!”
Luke burst out in a fit of laughter that only got worse when Reid narrowed his eyes and looked at him affronted. “I’m sorry, but seriously, you’re worse then she is!”
Reid slammed the door and sniffed, “I’m not going to dignify that with a response.”
Luke leaned against the counter and watched as Reid walked over to David, looked around and grabbed a towel before sitting down, and joined him with his building. It was going to be a long weekend.
&&&&&&&&&
Surprisingly, it hadn’t been that bad. Once he found a toilet that flushed and Luke lit the pilot light for the hot water heater, things started to look brighter. They spent the first night playing Monopoly, and Luke found a fire pit where they roasted hot dogs and marshmallows. The kids took turns trying to attack them with sticky fingers, and Luke kissed the side of his mouth sighting ‘chocolate removal’.
David fell asleep in Reid’s arms, and Beth passed out while Luke was reading to them. It was a good night. It was a great night.
The next day started even better. Luke got up early to share a shower with him, just in case the hot water ran out.
Later they packed a lunch, and spent most of the day exploring trails. That wasn’t as much fun. Reid would never be confused for a nature lover, and there was a reason why. Nature attacked. If he wasn’t being bitten by bugs, he was running into spider webs, or being slapped in the face with branches.
Unfortunately, Beth didn’t fare any better. “Daddy, can we go back? I’m cold!”, or she was thirsty, hungry, or her feet hurt. Luke, as always, was patient. But between her complaining, and his constantly being assaulted, Reid’s teeth were on edge.
The sun was well into the west when the cabin came into view. Beth had a chokehold around his neck while Luke carried David and both the packs when Reid got a whiff of something ‘natural’.
“Eww! What is that!?”
Luke cringed, and Medulla looked a little ashamed. “That would be your brother,” Reid told her, and then he began to breathe through his mouth.
Luke set David back on his feet, and took a hold of his hand. “I’ll go change him if you two can grab some pine cones and twigs for a fire. It’s going to get chilly tonight.”
Reid nodded while Beth whined, “But, Daddy, I’m tired!”
Reid rolled his eyes, but was surprised when Luke said sharply, “Beth! Just, go help your father.”
Reid smirked; seemed Luke wasn’t as immune to her crabbiness as much as he thought.
With a huff, Beth joined him by a cluster of trees near the cabin. They foraged in silence for a minute, and then Reid pointed out a nice sized branch a few feet away. “Pons, can you grab that one?”
She replied with another huff and a snotty, “Don’t call me that. My name is, Beth.”
Reid’s hand faltered as he was picking up a pine cone, and Jesus Christ, it’d be easier if she just stabbed him and be done with it.
Reid had rules: mean what you say, don’t show fear, and remember that they are kids. There were others, but those were his main one, and Reid forgot every one of them. He spun around so fast that he lost his footing, and had to take a knee to keep himself upright. “What did I do to make you so pissed off at me?” He sounded broken and Beth looked shocked, and her lip started to tremble.
It was almost a full minute before she spoke. “Daddy says you’re the best. Everybody says you’re the best. You’re supposed to fix people. Why couldn’t you fix the baby?”
The sun had hit the horizon, bathing everything in a reddish purple hue, and Reid let gravity take him the rest of the way down, and he bit his lip while a tear slipped down. “I can’t fix everybody. Not everything can be fixed. Do you understand that?”
Beth seemed rooted in place, but she was able to nod. He needed her gone. Reid was about to lose his shit, and the last thing he wanted was for her to see it.
He quickly pulled off his jacket and filled it with the twigs and pine cones that were nearby, and handed the bundle out to her. “Here, take these to your dad.” She still did move and his hand was starting to shake. Reid wiped the tear from his face and barked out her name. “Elizabeth!”
She jumped at the use of her full name, and quickly grabbed the bundle from him, and ran to the cabin. He waited until he heard the door slam before crawling to the closest tree. He leaned against it, and sobbed out years worth of built up frustration, sadness, and fear.
&&&&&&&&&
It took Luke almost a half an hour to calm Beth down. She ran into the house and drop Reid’s coat onto the floor and started to cry. Terrified, Luke pulled her into his arms, and had to ask repeatedly if Reid was okay. After a few minutes she calmed down long enough to nod, but Luke’s relief was short lived.
“He yelled at me. He scared me.”
Luke was confused. He needed to talk to Reid, but he hadn’t come in yet, and he had to deal with their kid first. He kept up the mantra of ‘Daddy didn’t mean to scare you’ and ‘We love you, Baby’ until she finally stopped crying.
He gathered both of his children onto the ratty couch, and pulled out his emergency weapon: a fully charged tablet. He turned on the first children's movie he could find, and gave Beth strict instructions to watcher her brother. Satisfied that they’d be occupied, Luke went after his husband.
It was full dark outside, and the light from the cabin only reached so far. Luke cursed himself for not grabbing a flashlight. He was about to go back for one when he found Reid shivering against a tree. Worried, Luke crouched down next to him and pulled him into his arms. “She’s crying, you’re crying. What the hell happened?”
Reid pulled away, leaned his head against the tree, and laughed sardonically. “She figured it out. She realized that I’m a fraud.”
Confused, Luke furrowed his brow. “I’m...wait, what are you talking about?”
Fresh tears rolled down Reid’s face. “We’re like superheroes to her. We can do anything, we can fix anything. Now she knows we can’t...or at least I can’t.”
Luke stood up and did something, what most would consider, un-Luke like. He got pissed. “Are you fucking kidding me? OUR daughter was in there crying her eyes out, while you were out here licking your wounds because YOU realized you aren’t Superman? Newsflash, Reid, I was younger than her when I figured out my parents were fallible.”
Reid looked up at him and whispered, “I wanted to be better.”
Some of Luke’s anger seeped out, and he whispered back, “I know, and you are. She doesn't need a superhero; she just needs to know you love her, that you’ll always love her.”
“I do.”
“When was the last time you said it?” Reid faltered and Luke was back to being pissed. He grabbed Reid’s arm and pulled him off the grown. “You need to go in there right now and tell her, show her!” Reid didn’t move fast enough and Luke jabbed his finger towards the cabin. “NOW!”
Reid took off at a trot and Luke followed. He watched from the door as Reid asked Beth to talk. He held out his hand, and after a slight hesitation Beth took it, and they walked into the bedroom she was sharing with David.
David wiggled off the couch to follow, but Luke scooped him back up and settled on the couch with him. “Sorry, buddy. Daddy-daughter time.”
He held up the tablet with the animated animals, and David grinned up at him and said, “Oo-da-lally!”
Luke grinned back. “Yep, fortunes, forecasts, and lucky charms. Sometime I could use all three when it comes to your sister and dad.”
It was an hour later, the movie was over, David was asleep, and Luke hadn’t heard a word from Reid and Beth. He hefted his son on his shoulder, and peeked in the bedroom to find both of them asleep. Beth was draped over Reid, and Reid had a protective hand on her back. Luke took it as a hopeful sign, and crawled into their bed with David.
&&&&&&&&&
Luke didn’t ask and Reid didn’t share. The drive home was subdued, but Luke didn’t feel the slight haze of tension that was prevalent on the ride there. David was chattering away about how birds were cool because they could fly, and how he wished he could fly, but that it would be okay if they could get a bird instead...like a chicken.
Luke and Reid laughed, but in a snotty tone Beth told him, “Chickens can’t fly.”
David stuck out his tongue, and Reid told her, “It’s fine to tell him the truth, but don’t be a brat about it, Po...Beth”
It was quiet in the car for half a mile, and then Beth said, “Daddy...it’s okay if you want to call me Pons. Sometimes. When it’s just us?”
Reid glanced at her in the rear view mirror and nodded, “Okay, Beth.”
Luke saw her smile, and he mentally told himself, ‘ebbs and flows’; life was nothing but a bunch of ebbs and flows. He just hoped he could keep up with all of them.