(no subject)
Title: Starting over
Rating: PG for now
Spoilers: Remember
Disclaimer: Not mine
Summary: Rex is still alive but living in Boston now and trying to get over Bree- just as she is trying to get over him and much more successfully - or so it seems.
Rex Van De Kamp opened his front door and found himself face to face with his daughter. “Danielle, what are you doing here?” His daughter flung her arms around his waist and Rex pulled her close to him, startled when she began to cry. “Sweetheart, what´s wrong?” “I ran away from home.” “What? What do you mean you ran away? Does your mother know where you are?” “No- is Andrew here?” “No, he´ll be back at around four- come on, we´ll make you a cup of tea and then you´ll tell me what has happened. And we´ll call your mother, she must be beside herself with worry.”
Rex ushered his daughter inside, closing the door behind them.
After his divorce Rex had decided that he could impossibly stay at Fairview, risking to see Bree wherever he went- he had begged her to take him back and she had refused and he needed to make a new start.
So he had looked for a new job and finally found one at a hospital in Boston, he had packed up his things, said goodbye to his friends and co- workers and told his children that they could come to stay with him whenever they felt like it.
The first few months had been hard, he had missed Bree so desperately he had hardly managed to get through the day and the occasional statements his kids made about her hadn´t made it any better.
He had listened to Danielle´s stories about his ex- wife dating and finally getting engaged to George Williams with a sickening feeling and he when he had heard that Bree had split up with the pharmacist he had been sure she would call him now and tell him she had made a mistake and that she wanted him to come back but she never did.
A few weeks later George had committed suicide and Rex had made a weekend trip to Fairview, convinced that Bree would welcome his support but she had told him to leave her alone when he had rung her doorbell.
Endless discussions with Andrew hadn´t kept his son from demanding to become emancipated from his mother and Rex had tried to call Bree and talk things over with her but every time she had heard his voice she had hung up and finally Rex had given up and concentrated on instead offered Andrew to move to Boston so Bree would at least not have to deal with their son on her own any more.
She hadn´t taken this well of course, she had turned up on his doorstep and when he had let her in screamed at him how he had ruined her life and her family and now her relationship with her son and then she had broken down completely and allowed him to hold her in his arms for nearly ten minutes while she sobbed into his neck. Finally she had straightened up and pressed her lips to his and after that it had only been a matter of minutes until they had somehow ended up in his bedroom with their clothes scattered all over the floor and afterwards Bree had fallen asleep in his arms and he had almost dared to hope that she would finally find a way to let him back into her heart. When he had woken up however she had left and his countless attempts to call her had been fruitless. He had briefly considered to simply go to Fairview and try and talk to her in person but he knew his ex- wife better than to think it would make a difference and so he hadn´t spoken to her ever since. He knew he should probably feel bad about having taken advantage of her fragile state like that but then he still loved her and he wanted to be with her and he had been sure she felt the same way about him but the more time passed the less certain he felt about Bree´s feelings for him- perhaps she had really just been in need of a strong man to comfort her and he had been the one who had been there and of course more than willing to give her what she was looking for.
And now Danielle was sitting at his kitchen table and obviously planning to stay here with him and her brother- and Rex wasn´t sure if Bree could take this on top of everything else. “So Danny, what exactly happened?” His daughter had dried her tears but was still looking pale and strained as she sipped her hot chocolate. “She´s cracking, literally, ever since Andrew left she´s been getting worse, she doesn´t sleep, she doesn´t eat- I reminded her that it was my birthday six weeks ago the other day.” “Danielle- we talked about this and you promised me not to say anything.” Rex had been shocked about that incident of course but then Danielle had spend the day at his place anyway and he had taken her out and bought her several new dresses and sweaters to persuade her to just forget about it and not mention it to her mother. “I know, I´m sorry but she was going on how she would become the perfect mother for me now and I just- she provoked me so much. Anyway, then she decided to throw me a birthday party and it was quite cool until one of my friend´s destroyed her perfect icing on my cake and she totally freaked- really, she began to scream at everyone, like crazy. No one will ever talk to me again, they must think I´m a total freak.” Rex felt his stomach contract, he had known that Bree was suffering from her son´s behaviour and that she was in a fragile state but he hadn´t known how bad the situation really was. “So you decided to just leave?” Danielle shrugged defensively. “Come on, how long am I supposed to keep up with it, until she burns down the house or something?” “She wouldn´t do anything like it, she only tries to-“ Rex´s voice trailed away. What exactly was it Bree was trying to do? Was she really trying to raise their children best she could or was she just beyond the point where anything mattered to her anymore? Was she perhaps so lost all she could try was to somehow not fall apart completely? “Danielle, I want you to call her and tell her where you are and that you´re all right.” “But Daddy-“ “No, I insist. You can stay here for the weekend if you want but you have to tell her about it first.” “Ok.”
Rex waited impatiently for Bree to pick up the phone. He had tried to reach her all day long and she hadn´t answered and he slowly was beginning to worry. He hung up and dialled another number, waiting impatiently until a female voice answered. “Scavo?” “Lynette? Hey, it´s Rex.” “Oh- hi Rex, how are you?” “I´m ok- listen, do you know where Bree is?” There was silence for a moment and Rex felt himself getting impatient. “Lynette, I know she´ll probably has told you not to talk to me about her but it´s important, Danielle is here and Bree doesn´t know about it, I just want her stop worrying about it.” “Well, actually I don´t think she´s worried- she called me earlier and asked me to look after the house because she´d go to a spa for a few days- what do you mean Danielle is in Boston and Bree doesn´t know about it?” “Apparently they had a fight and Danielle sort of run away- so doesn´t she have her cell phone with her? She´s not answering to my calls.” There was silence again and this time Rex was sure he knew what it was about. “You think she hasn´t answered my calls?” “Well, she- she´s not exactly-“ Rex wondered briefly if Bree had told her best friend about her disastrous night with him. “I must have called her about thirty times, she must know I wouldn´t do that if it wasn´t important. But maybe you could try- I just want her to know that Danielle is ok and that I´ll send her home on Sunday.” “Ok, I´ll try- Rex, I don´t want to be nosey or anything but I´m a bit worried about her, she´s so- I don´t know, I have the feeling she´s drifting further away from us every day.” Rex sighed, he knew exactly what Lynette was talking about. “Believe me, if there was anything I could do to make it easier for her I would- I would move back to town, I would remarry her tomorrow if she only said yes- I can´t even tell you how much I miss her- but she won´t even answer my phone calls, so what can I do.” “I know- ok, I´ll try and call her and I will tell her to call you back.” “Thank you, Lynette- I appreciate that a lot.”
“Can you please come in with me?” Danielle pleaded with her father and after a brief moment of hesitation Rex nodded. “Ok, I will- but if she tells me to leave I will, I don´t want to upset her anymore.” He walked up the garden path next to his daughter and rang the doorbell and after a moment the door opened and Bree was standing in the frame. Rex could do nothing but stare at her, she looked so beautiful in a green sweater and a wide swinging skirt with her hair down and a rare smile on her face. Something about that smile made Rex feel confused, it seemed familiar but he couldn´t really remember when he had seen it for the last time. Suddenly he knew- it was the exact same smile that had appeared on her face everytime he had picked her up for a date in college. Bree pulled Danielle close to her and hugged her, dropping a kiss onto her daughter´s hair. “Oh Honey, I´ve been so worried about you- thank God you´re ok.” She let go of Danielle again and their daughter hurried to get inside, obviously afraid that they would begin to fight at any moment. “Hi Rex- thanks for bringing her home.” Rex was taken aback at the pleasant tone of her voice, especially because last time they had seen each other they had ended up in bed and she had left without waking him up the next morning. “Well, I wanted to make sure she really gets here- you look gorgeous, Bree.” “Thank you.” The smile was still in place and Rex felt more and more uneasy about it. “Would it be ok if I came in for a moment? Andrew asked me to bring him some stuff from his room.” “Oh, of course, it´s all in the garage though, I´ve labelled the boxes of course so it shouldn´t be to hard to find what you´re looking for.” She stepped aside to let him in and then closed the door behind him before walking over into the living room without asking him to follow her. Rex heard her talk to somebody and then she laughed, that pearly carefree laugh Rex hadn´t heard in years. He followed her with a sense of foreboding and his worst nightmare came true when he entered the living room and found her sitting at the table with another man. Bree and the stranger both looked up and Rex took in his rival´s appearance, the handsome face with deep hazel eyes, dark hair and that expression that clearly told him that this wasn´t someone to mess with. “Rex, I told you Andrew´s things are in the garage- oh, Orson this is my ex- husband Rex Van De Kamp, Rex, this is Orson Hodge.” Orson Hodge smiled at him and got up from his chair, extending his hand and Rex shook it. “Nice to meet you.” Rex could tell that this was as much a lie as his own reply. “Nice to meet you, too.” It wasn´t nice at all, of course it wasn´t necessarily what it looked like but Rex didn´t like the idea of Bree with another man, even if they were just having a cup of coffee together- besides he knew that he was kidding himself, Bree wasn´t a woman who would invite someone in for coffee just for the fun of it and the way she was still smiling at her visitor only proved Rex´s suspicions to be true- this was more than just a friendly chat. “So I´ll go and get these boxes out of the garage then.” “Yes, ok.” Bree nodded before turning back to Orson who had sat down again and now was looking at Bree as though he had never seen a woman properly before. Rex could sort of see his point, he felt helplessly drawn to Bree himself right now. Neither of them paid him the slightest bit of attention anymore when he crossed the room to get to the back door and Rex wondered if that was the day he had feared would come ever since he had signed the divorce papers- the day he would finally loose Bree for good.
The phone rang and Rex picked it up. “Hello?” “Daddy?” “Yeah?” “Daddy, you have to do something, Mom went on a date with Dr. Hodge and I saw them kissing outside the front door.” Danielle sounded hysterical and Rex realized that up to now his daughter obviously had thought it impossible that her parents wouldn´t get back together anymore. Rex felt his stomach contract, he had hoped against hope that Bree and the dentist wouldn´t work out but the fact that Bree had let Orson Hodge kiss her on their very first date showed him that he had been foolish. “Danny, I´m sorry but what am I supposed to do? If she thinks he´s the right man for her you will have to live with it.” “But you still love her, I know you do.” Danielle sounded stubborn now and Rex shook his head, wondering how to get through to his daughter that even though love was meant to be eternal it often wasn´t after all, even if it hurt to admit it. “You´re right, I do- and I always will but that doesn´t change anything about the fact that I hurt her and that it obviously was enough to let her fall out of love with me.” “But-“ “Danielle, I´m sorry, but you´ll have to get used to the thought- maybe he´s not a bad guy after all, hm?” “But I don´t want another man in the house, I want you back here.” “I know Sweetie, but that´s up to your mother to decide- and she obviously has decided that she wants to be with Dr. Hodge.”
Rating: PG for now
Spoilers: Remember
Disclaimer: Not mine
Summary: Rex is still alive but living in Boston now and trying to get over Bree- just as she is trying to get over him and much more successfully - or so it seems.
Rex Van De Kamp opened his front door and found himself face to face with his daughter. “Danielle, what are you doing here?” His daughter flung her arms around his waist and Rex pulled her close to him, startled when she began to cry. “Sweetheart, what´s wrong?” “I ran away from home.” “What? What do you mean you ran away? Does your mother know where you are?” “No- is Andrew here?” “No, he´ll be back at around four- come on, we´ll make you a cup of tea and then you´ll tell me what has happened. And we´ll call your mother, she must be beside herself with worry.”
Rex ushered his daughter inside, closing the door behind them.
After his divorce Rex had decided that he could impossibly stay at Fairview, risking to see Bree wherever he went- he had begged her to take him back and she had refused and he needed to make a new start.
So he had looked for a new job and finally found one at a hospital in Boston, he had packed up his things, said goodbye to his friends and co- workers and told his children that they could come to stay with him whenever they felt like it.
The first few months had been hard, he had missed Bree so desperately he had hardly managed to get through the day and the occasional statements his kids made about her hadn´t made it any better.
He had listened to Danielle´s stories about his ex- wife dating and finally getting engaged to George Williams with a sickening feeling and he when he had heard that Bree had split up with the pharmacist he had been sure she would call him now and tell him she had made a mistake and that she wanted him to come back but she never did.
A few weeks later George had committed suicide and Rex had made a weekend trip to Fairview, convinced that Bree would welcome his support but she had told him to leave her alone when he had rung her doorbell.
Endless discussions with Andrew hadn´t kept his son from demanding to become emancipated from his mother and Rex had tried to call Bree and talk things over with her but every time she had heard his voice she had hung up and finally Rex had given up and concentrated on instead offered Andrew to move to Boston so Bree would at least not have to deal with their son on her own any more.
She hadn´t taken this well of course, she had turned up on his doorstep and when he had let her in screamed at him how he had ruined her life and her family and now her relationship with her son and then she had broken down completely and allowed him to hold her in his arms for nearly ten minutes while she sobbed into his neck. Finally she had straightened up and pressed her lips to his and after that it had only been a matter of minutes until they had somehow ended up in his bedroom with their clothes scattered all over the floor and afterwards Bree had fallen asleep in his arms and he had almost dared to hope that she would finally find a way to let him back into her heart. When he had woken up however she had left and his countless attempts to call her had been fruitless. He had briefly considered to simply go to Fairview and try and talk to her in person but he knew his ex- wife better than to think it would make a difference and so he hadn´t spoken to her ever since. He knew he should probably feel bad about having taken advantage of her fragile state like that but then he still loved her and he wanted to be with her and he had been sure she felt the same way about him but the more time passed the less certain he felt about Bree´s feelings for him- perhaps she had really just been in need of a strong man to comfort her and he had been the one who had been there and of course more than willing to give her what she was looking for.
And now Danielle was sitting at his kitchen table and obviously planning to stay here with him and her brother- and Rex wasn´t sure if Bree could take this on top of everything else. “So Danny, what exactly happened?” His daughter had dried her tears but was still looking pale and strained as she sipped her hot chocolate. “She´s cracking, literally, ever since Andrew left she´s been getting worse, she doesn´t sleep, she doesn´t eat- I reminded her that it was my birthday six weeks ago the other day.” “Danielle- we talked about this and you promised me not to say anything.” Rex had been shocked about that incident of course but then Danielle had spend the day at his place anyway and he had taken her out and bought her several new dresses and sweaters to persuade her to just forget about it and not mention it to her mother. “I know, I´m sorry but she was going on how she would become the perfect mother for me now and I just- she provoked me so much. Anyway, then she decided to throw me a birthday party and it was quite cool until one of my friend´s destroyed her perfect icing on my cake and she totally freaked- really, she began to scream at everyone, like crazy. No one will ever talk to me again, they must think I´m a total freak.” Rex felt his stomach contract, he had known that Bree was suffering from her son´s behaviour and that she was in a fragile state but he hadn´t known how bad the situation really was. “So you decided to just leave?” Danielle shrugged defensively. “Come on, how long am I supposed to keep up with it, until she burns down the house or something?” “She wouldn´t do anything like it, she only tries to-“ Rex´s voice trailed away. What exactly was it Bree was trying to do? Was she really trying to raise their children best she could or was she just beyond the point where anything mattered to her anymore? Was she perhaps so lost all she could try was to somehow not fall apart completely? “Danielle, I want you to call her and tell her where you are and that you´re all right.” “But Daddy-“ “No, I insist. You can stay here for the weekend if you want but you have to tell her about it first.” “Ok.”
Rex waited impatiently for Bree to pick up the phone. He had tried to reach her all day long and she hadn´t answered and he slowly was beginning to worry. He hung up and dialled another number, waiting impatiently until a female voice answered. “Scavo?” “Lynette? Hey, it´s Rex.” “Oh- hi Rex, how are you?” “I´m ok- listen, do you know where Bree is?” There was silence for a moment and Rex felt himself getting impatient. “Lynette, I know she´ll probably has told you not to talk to me about her but it´s important, Danielle is here and Bree doesn´t know about it, I just want her stop worrying about it.” “Well, actually I don´t think she´s worried- she called me earlier and asked me to look after the house because she´d go to a spa for a few days- what do you mean Danielle is in Boston and Bree doesn´t know about it?” “Apparently they had a fight and Danielle sort of run away- so doesn´t she have her cell phone with her? She´s not answering to my calls.” There was silence again and this time Rex was sure he knew what it was about. “You think she hasn´t answered my calls?” “Well, she- she´s not exactly-“ Rex wondered briefly if Bree had told her best friend about her disastrous night with him. “I must have called her about thirty times, she must know I wouldn´t do that if it wasn´t important. But maybe you could try- I just want her to know that Danielle is ok and that I´ll send her home on Sunday.” “Ok, I´ll try- Rex, I don´t want to be nosey or anything but I´m a bit worried about her, she´s so- I don´t know, I have the feeling she´s drifting further away from us every day.” Rex sighed, he knew exactly what Lynette was talking about. “Believe me, if there was anything I could do to make it easier for her I would- I would move back to town, I would remarry her tomorrow if she only said yes- I can´t even tell you how much I miss her- but she won´t even answer my phone calls, so what can I do.” “I know- ok, I´ll try and call her and I will tell her to call you back.” “Thank you, Lynette- I appreciate that a lot.”
“Can you please come in with me?” Danielle pleaded with her father and after a brief moment of hesitation Rex nodded. “Ok, I will- but if she tells me to leave I will, I don´t want to upset her anymore.” He walked up the garden path next to his daughter and rang the doorbell and after a moment the door opened and Bree was standing in the frame. Rex could do nothing but stare at her, she looked so beautiful in a green sweater and a wide swinging skirt with her hair down and a rare smile on her face. Something about that smile made Rex feel confused, it seemed familiar but he couldn´t really remember when he had seen it for the last time. Suddenly he knew- it was the exact same smile that had appeared on her face everytime he had picked her up for a date in college. Bree pulled Danielle close to her and hugged her, dropping a kiss onto her daughter´s hair. “Oh Honey, I´ve been so worried about you- thank God you´re ok.” She let go of Danielle again and their daughter hurried to get inside, obviously afraid that they would begin to fight at any moment. “Hi Rex- thanks for bringing her home.” Rex was taken aback at the pleasant tone of her voice, especially because last time they had seen each other they had ended up in bed and she had left without waking him up the next morning. “Well, I wanted to make sure she really gets here- you look gorgeous, Bree.” “Thank you.” The smile was still in place and Rex felt more and more uneasy about it. “Would it be ok if I came in for a moment? Andrew asked me to bring him some stuff from his room.” “Oh, of course, it´s all in the garage though, I´ve labelled the boxes of course so it shouldn´t be to hard to find what you´re looking for.” She stepped aside to let him in and then closed the door behind him before walking over into the living room without asking him to follow her. Rex heard her talk to somebody and then she laughed, that pearly carefree laugh Rex hadn´t heard in years. He followed her with a sense of foreboding and his worst nightmare came true when he entered the living room and found her sitting at the table with another man. Bree and the stranger both looked up and Rex took in his rival´s appearance, the handsome face with deep hazel eyes, dark hair and that expression that clearly told him that this wasn´t someone to mess with. “Rex, I told you Andrew´s things are in the garage- oh, Orson this is my ex- husband Rex Van De Kamp, Rex, this is Orson Hodge.” Orson Hodge smiled at him and got up from his chair, extending his hand and Rex shook it. “Nice to meet you.” Rex could tell that this was as much a lie as his own reply. “Nice to meet you, too.” It wasn´t nice at all, of course it wasn´t necessarily what it looked like but Rex didn´t like the idea of Bree with another man, even if they were just having a cup of coffee together- besides he knew that he was kidding himself, Bree wasn´t a woman who would invite someone in for coffee just for the fun of it and the way she was still smiling at her visitor only proved Rex´s suspicions to be true- this was more than just a friendly chat. “So I´ll go and get these boxes out of the garage then.” “Yes, ok.” Bree nodded before turning back to Orson who had sat down again and now was looking at Bree as though he had never seen a woman properly before. Rex could sort of see his point, he felt helplessly drawn to Bree himself right now. Neither of them paid him the slightest bit of attention anymore when he crossed the room to get to the back door and Rex wondered if that was the day he had feared would come ever since he had signed the divorce papers- the day he would finally loose Bree for good.
The phone rang and Rex picked it up. “Hello?” “Daddy?” “Yeah?” “Daddy, you have to do something, Mom went on a date with Dr. Hodge and I saw them kissing outside the front door.” Danielle sounded hysterical and Rex realized that up to now his daughter obviously had thought it impossible that her parents wouldn´t get back together anymore. Rex felt his stomach contract, he had hoped against hope that Bree and the dentist wouldn´t work out but the fact that Bree had let Orson Hodge kiss her on their very first date showed him that he had been foolish. “Danny, I´m sorry but what am I supposed to do? If she thinks he´s the right man for her you will have to live with it.” “But you still love her, I know you do.” Danielle sounded stubborn now and Rex shook his head, wondering how to get through to his daughter that even though love was meant to be eternal it often wasn´t after all, even if it hurt to admit it. “You´re right, I do- and I always will but that doesn´t change anything about the fact that I hurt her and that it obviously was enough to let her fall out of love with me.” “But-“ “Danielle, I´m sorry, but you´ll have to get used to the thought- maybe he´s not a bad guy after all, hm?” “But I don´t want another man in the house, I want you back here.” “I know Sweetie, but that´s up to your mother to decide- and she obviously has decided that she wants to be with Dr. Hodge.”