Middle Son - ANGEL the Series/NCIS/The OC - FRMA - General - Multiple Pairings

[angelfirenze]

Middle Son
By Angelfirenze

Disclaimer: Mutant Enemy, Bellasarius, College Hill Pictures, Inc , Wonderland Sound and Vision, Hypnotic (season 1), Warner Bros. Television, and all involved are the geniuses behind these characters. I just borrow them at times to manipulate them, much like action figures, before returning them slightly abused but generally in good shape.

The Decemberists. "Picaresque.". "The Crane Wife.". Hush, Rough Trade, 2005, 2006.

Summary: He stomped downstairs and threw open the door, only to freeze in shock.

Author's Notes: Tracy never existed. Minor Simpsons reference.

Dedicated: to mendenbar01.

Part XXVIII: Carried

Connor stalked down L.J.'s hallway and sidled up to Uncle Wes and Lilah's room. Briefly, he thought of calling her 'aunt' just to scare her, but then reconsidered since she was carrying his baby cousin. He wasn't there for her anyway. He was there for his other aunt, the one who'd threatened said baby cousin without a care. 

All of a sudden, a hand clamped down on his shoulder and pulled him backward into his bedroom. Connor whirled around to find his grandfather and, surprisingly, his sister watching him like a hawk. "What d'ye think yer doin', boy?" the elder Connor hissed as his sister shut his bedroom door. "Let yer father handle that harpy!"

"He's asleep!" Connor hissed back, irritated at being told what to do. "She'll probably sneak in and kill him!"

Connor watched his grandfather run a hand through his newly shorn hair and fold his arms, "Lad, I know ye mean well, but do ye trust yer father or not?"

Kaitlin walked over, took Connor's hand, and led him to sit them both on his bed, followed by their grandfather. "He's - "

"Strong," she said simply, giving his hand a squeeze. Connor sighed and allowed himself to look around his bedroom.

"I wish Mom was here. She'd take care of it."

Kaitlin leaned her head on his shoulder, "She'd say it'd be up to Papa, not us. Eve is his responsibility."

"Why? Because one part of him is an Old One?"

"Two. Angelus is, too."

Connor rolled his eyes and instead glared at his grandfather, "Why didn't you stay with Dad?"

The elder Connor took the glare in stride, "Because he's sleepin'. He needs to stay in bed an' you were off ter get in trouble. He woulda gone straight after ye, boy, I couldn' tarry."

"I had to take advantage of L.J. taking Billy out to see the treehouse of horrors."

Kaitlin objected, "Papa cleansed it, it's perfect."

"Well, I had to take advantage."

"As did I. Ye said Wesley has 'er contained, leave it at that for now."

Connor frowned, "I remember when Dad lost his memory. He talked about Uncle Wes being an English pig and said 'we never wanted you in Ireland' You don't like or trust anyone English."

Kaitlin huffed in annoyance, "You weren't supposed to hear that conversation."

"I can hear an argument going on two houses away, Kait, try again."

Connor, Sr., sighed again and Connor, Jr., laughed, "Now I know where Dad got his sighing habit from!"

The elder Connor frowned and looked into the distance, "I don' know what ye've learned abou' the way we were treated, an' I won' presume, bu' anyone who goes ter the lengths Wesley has ter protect my son an' grandson, even in massive error...anyone who treats my son with respect an' sees 'im as somethin' other than a monster...I won' hate them. Besides, he's Scots-Irish, ter, only English on 'is father's side an' 'e disowned 'is father when 'e 'imself was disowned. Shot 'im, even, ter protect the woman 'e loved. Same as Charles learned that no' all demons're evil."

"You mean 'evil-evil'," Connor, Jr., grinned, "Because in terms of that word, yes, all demons are evil. Anyway, now that you've distracted me, how do you suppose we keep Eve from killing Lilah or Uncle Wes or even Dad or Maman or Papa? I know Uncle Wes has her bound - "

"And you should trust that the adults in your life actually have everyone's best interests at heart," Laurence admonished gently as he and Colleen came into the room. "Trust that Wesley is powerful enough and will keep us safe. Keep you safe. Not everything has to fall on your shoulders, kiddo."

"So everyone knew my plan?" Connor made a face and folded his arms in annoyance.

"No, we just had a hunch," Colleen said lightly, running her hand through his hair before reaching down to kiss the top of his head. "You're not very subtle, sweetie. You weren't raised to be."

Connor scowled and got to his feet. "I need to go."

Laurence frowned, "You'll do no such thing. If you go out by yourself and something happens, Angel will hop right out of bed to follow you."

"Just outside. I'll even take my laptop, so I can go find a cafe or something. I need a break."

"We said no, Connor," Colleen said firmly. "We know you can take care of yourself. We also know Angel and Jethro will bring you right back here. We have too many problems to solve before we can do something..."

"Normal?" Connor groused, clenching his fists. "Ugh, I wish Seth was here."

"I know, baby," Colleen soothed. "But we don't even know if he or his family are alive."

"I wonder why we're from Newport," Connor mused. "Is it because I met Seth before?"

"Seth?" the elder Connor asked and his grandson blushed. "Um...my...boyfriend, I guess. My first. I dated girls, too, but...He got accepted to the Rhode Island School of Design, but then all this happened. He's...I love him."

Connor, Sr., shifted uncomfortably, "So...yer..."

"Gay, er...homosexual? Not really. I just...I don't know. I just know I love him. If you must know, I've been dreaming about...about the girl I killed, too. I think she was a Potential. Uncle Wes told me I got Called when my memories came back and that Dad's mate Buffy confirmed that the Activation spell found me. I'm a Vampire Slayer whose parents were and are vampires. I don't know what I am. I don't know who I'm supposed to be...again. Based on everything we've learned, I probably killed my wife...mate or something. Seth's all I have left. Can I go deal with Eve, please?"

"NO," everyone else said in unison.

Connor stood and shook his head, "Try and stop me."

He stomped downstairs and threw open the door, only to freeze in shock.

...Billy Liar's got his hands in his pockets, starin' over at the neighbor's knickers down...

"Seth! What're you doing here?"

He threw his arms around the other boy and immediately went to kiss him. Seth pushed him back. "Didn't I just see a kid on some guy's shoulders?" Connor remembered himself, "Sorry, I just never thought I'd see you again!" With that, he pulled Seth back into a hug. "Is Newport okay?"

Seth chuckled, "Are you going to invite me in, first?"

Connor smirked, "No, way! It's open, though, if you want to re-meet my maman and dads."

Seth blushed, "I forgot about that rule, and no, Newport's not okay. Huge earthquake. My parents and sister...didn't make it. Ryan is...somewhere. Meet your dads?"

Connor sighed and yanked Seth into Gibbs' house. "Maman, Papa, Seth's here!"

Colleen rushed down the stairs, followed by Laurence, and both threw their arms around Seth, checking him over for injuries before kissing him on the cheek. "Speak of the devil! We were just talking about you!" Then she realized what a state he was in. "Shower, then food. Connor, you are not allowed to follow him into the bathroom, nor is he to use yours."

"And no telling us you were just playing video games," Laurence said sternly. He eyed Connor beadily, "You're staying right here until Seth comes back. I'll take him to the bathroom."

They all heard a noise and Connor whirled around to see his grandfather goggling at Seth and he sighed heavily, "Why couldn't you just stay in my room, Seanathair?"

"This is...yer...b-b-"

Connor snarled, "Boyfriend, yes. As of last year on his birthday, or so the memories Vail gave me say. I guess he got his memories back, too." Connor wilted, then, and asked sheepishly, "You do remember how we met, right?"

Seth leaned into Colleen's arms before going and hugging Connor tightly, "I crashed my boat and you took me to where you were living at the time."

Seth was shocked to feel tears dripping onto his neck, then. "I'd have to die before I could forget meeting you." He said gently, returning Connor's hug with interest before kissing him.

"Boys," Colleen said, gently separating them. "Seth, you need a shower and to eat."

"How did you even find this house? My older grandson says it's under spells." Connor, Sr., asked, setting aside every other thought for the time being.

"I may have emailed him a few days ago and told him about us being in Washington, D.C."

"Really?" L.J.'s voice growled and Connor felt Seth pull away to see him standing in the doorway with Billy on his shoulders.

"I didn't tell him where, I'm not - "

"Stupid? Yes," L.J.'s voice ground out. "Yes. Yes, you are. Did you send that email to anyone? Else?"

"No. I don't give my email address out to people, L.J.," Connor ground out. "As for why he was able to find the house, you're on the internet. You work for the government. Anyone who can use a computer can probably find the house, itself. Real estate sites have exact addresses. Again, I'm not dumb."

L.J. carefully put Billy down, who immediately hid behind his legs. "Did you give it to Faith Lehane the Vampire Slayer or Willow Rosenberg or Dawn Summers?"

Connor huffed again, "No, though that would have been really useful." He sighed, "Seth, this is my older brother, Leroy Jethro Gibbs. He's a Marine and our asses are grass if we don't behave. Hell, he might even throw you out on your ass on principle. I put us all in danger by telling a computer literate person of human persuasion that we were moving to D.C. Never mind that we both went to the Harbor School and started college classes when we were sophomores."

Seth was about to respond when Laurence put a hand on his shoulder. "We can discuss this later. Jethro, the house isn't rejecting him and Connor didn't invite him in. He's not a demon or evil, just your brother's boyfriend. Colleen and I trust both him and Ryan, wherever he is, implicitly. I hear it's called a bro move. We just want them to be careful and keep their grades up. Seth, I'll take you to the guest bathroom."

Connor opened his mouth and Laurence looked at him like he'd grown a second head. "You're seventeen years old and while I trust you both in certain ways, that is not one of them. Seth is going to collapse, this conversation is over, Connor."

With that, Laurence steered Seth out of the room and Billy goggled at him and then Connor as Kaitlin came running down the stairs. "Mom, Dad's - "

Colleen smiled, "I know, sweetie, we'll be sorting all that out once Angel wakes up." She looked at Gibbs, who was leaning against the wall. "It's complicated."

"I'm not worried about that, honestly. I'm worried about a boy I've never met showing up on my doorstep and I only find out about it — "

"When we did," she assured. "Connor was trying to leave to go deal with that Eve woman and we were trying to stop him, but he started to leave and opened the door..."

"And his boyfriend was just standing on my doorstep because he sent an email?"

"Connor's tricky like that, son," Angel said quietly and Gibbs immediately stood at attention, followed by Billy doing the same before kneeling at Angel's feet, his forehead on the floor. "At ease, both of you," Angel said gently.

Gibbs relaxed and helped Billy stand back up. The boy saluted Angel before doing do, however. Angel was visibly discomfitted, but forced himself to ignore it. "Who told him I was in the Navy?" he asked in annoyance.

"You were in the Navy?" Billy asked excitedly and Connor snickered at Angel getting, if it were possible, even more uncomfortable.

Angel sighed and pulled Billy out of the salute he'd returned to. "At ease. During World War II. Jethro, I believe I told you to give him a room, remember? Did you have fun, kiddo?"

Billy's grin lit up his face and Angel felt his heart melting and breaking all at once. Connor's smile did the same thing. "Take him upstairs, son." Gibbs picked Billy up around the waist and smiled as he broke out in giggles. After they went upstairs, the conversation continued.

"Connor, leave Eve to me and Wes. Clear?"

"No. How are you even conscious right now?" Connor slumped into his seat at the table and tapped listlessly at his laptop.

"You'd be surprised. Eve is my responsibility. End of story." Angel tipped his head as Connor's expected objection reached his lips. "Laurence is right. You're seventeen and should not be worrying about this. You can't even get into the trunk, so it's a moot point. I would tell you to hang out with Seth, but most of us know where that will lead and he needs sleep. In his own room."

Connor looked at him earnestly, "We really were playing video games, Dad. Ask Papa."

"Is that what they call it now?" Gibbs asked offhandedly as he returned and Angel surprised everyone by smothering a smile as Connor scowled again. "No, I will not ask Papa because I'm trying to trust you. Look. I'm dealing with Eve and Lindsey now. If you'll behave, you can come with."

The comically delighted look on Connor's face made Angel's heart soar.

...Each feather, it fell from skin, til threadbare, she grew thin...

Wesley never tired of looking at Lilah, much less her belly. "Dr. Haswari will be doing the ultrasound, apparently. Dr. Mallard got pulled into an autopsy for another team." He tried to sound bored, but couldn't quite manage it. Lilah couldn't help but smile.

"You were always so bad at hiding your enthusiasm, Wes."

"Right, and you're a mistress at hiding how much you love both of us. Don't deny it, Angel will tell me everything."

"He's as bad as the little kid," Lilah muttered, trying not to roll her eyes. "Who's the new guy Ward Cleaver just paraded past?"

"Connor's boyfriend, Seth," Wes said quietly and Lilah raised an eyebrow, "I thought he was into older women."

"Jealous?" Eve asked and Lilah did everything she could not to make a flippant remark.

"I think I just threw up in my mouth a bit," a younger voice drifted from the bathroom down the hall. "The acoustics in this house really are too good."

"Let us know when you're finished," Laurence's voice answered and an affirmative was given.

"Not one word, either of you." Wes sighed and stood as he heard footsteps coming quietly up the stairs. Lindsey chuckled and Wes looked dispassionately at him. Lindsey swallowed nervously as Angel, Connor, and Gibbs came into the room, followed by Laurence.

"You can't make me - " Eve was cut off as Angel raised a hand, his eyes golden and silver once more.

"Let's try this again. I own a building two blocks south of here as of last night. It's a five bedroom brownstone and you will be living there with Lindsey and two others. It's lavishly furnished because — "

"It'll be fine," Eve sighed, looking to Lindsey. "Lindsey's the only reason I'm going to that hellhole voluntarily."

"Oh, how sweet," Angel deadpanned. "Does that mean you're not going to try and kill me on the way out the door?"

"Only because you're my brother, you infinitesimal shit."

"Yay! Let's go. Into the trunk. I can't have you - "

"She just said she was going voluntarily," Wes opined and Angel threw him a gesture of agreement, "Yeah, but she tried to sacrifice your child and all, plus she broke my back and legs."

"Oh, please, they were already broken," Eve snorted in a ladylike fashion as Gibbs brought in the trunk and slapped the lid genially before uttering the chant to open it.

"In you go," he invited, his white grin wide. Eve's eyes narrowed as she reluctantly picked Lindsey up, then stepped onto the staircase and descended it. Connor slapped the lid shut and picked it up.

"Don't shake it," Angel warned and Connor's face collapsed into disappointment.

"You ruin all my fun," he moped and Angel kissed the top of his head, followed by Laurence ruffling his hair before a voice called and Connor immediately perked back up.

"Uh-uh - go with me or see your boyfriend - can't have both."

"Seth," Connor picked instantly and Laurence clapped him on the shoulder while shaking his head. "You're really predictable sometimes, son. Go with Angel," he ordered while leading a towel-clad Seth into his new bedroom. Connor's was on the other side of the house.

"He'll be here when you get back," Angel said comfortingly and Connor sighed very quietly.

"Just don't lie to me, Dad."

"I promise. You've lost enough."

...We'll fill our mouths with cinnamon...

...TBC...