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A Stevens Family Dinner	By : IrenaAdler Category: M through R > NUMB3RS Views: 1363 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own NUMB3RS, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Part 3 � Open hostility

Min came out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on a
towel.� �You're leaving already?�

�Yes, Mother,� Will said.�
�Got work to do.�

Min gave him a curt nod then looked at Don with a regretful
expression.� �You seem like a nice
boy.� Too bad that you�re �� She waved
her hand.

Will snorted in derision.� �Can�t even say it,
can you, after all this time? Try it, �gay.��

Min�s lips thinned.� �I
see no need to dignify the evil by naming it.�

It was like a slap in the face.� Even after all his work and care, after the
great impression that Don had made, it all came back to this.� Will laughed
hollowly.� �So it�s evil to be happy
then?� I�m happy with myself, with my
life, but you can�t accept that, can you?�
You can�t just be happy for me.�

�It�s not wrong for a mother to want good things for her
son.�

�I have good
things.� I have an interesting, meaningful
job.� I�m healthy.� I have someone I love who loves me and I want
to spend the rest of my life with.� It
doesn�t get any better.�

Min simply raised her eyebrows, disapproval in every line of
her face.

Will saw red.� �I don�t know why I even came here, why I ever come here,� he snarled.� �Regardless of what I do, I�ll never fit into
your mold of a perfect son.�

�You�ve never even tried,� Min said coldly.� �You�ve shoved your lifestyle in our face all your life.�

�All I have ever done
is try.� But it�s
never good enough and it�s never gonna be
good enough.�� Will clenched his fists at
his sides.� �You know what?� I�m done trying.� Forget you, forget this family.� You can just take your bigotry and sh��

�Will!� Don snapped, his voice like
a gunshot.� �That�s enough!�

Stunned, Will gaped at him.�

�I apologize, Ma�am,� Don said to Min, who was also gaping
at him.� �I�m afraid that your son has a
bit of a temper.�� He grabbed Will�s arm
and propelled him towards the front door.�
�Thank you for dinner, Ma�am, Sir.�
It was nice to meet you.�� A gesture
of his head included Amy and Cindi as well.�
�Goodnight.�

Don opened the front door and steered Will outside.� Will finally found his
voice in the haze of white hot anger.�
�Bastard!�� Will hissed.�
�I thought you were on my side.�

�I am,� Don said but Will was already pulling away from him
and striding across the street.

Will reached his car, but his hands were trembling too much
to keep hold of his keys.� The keys slid
out of his hand, dropped to the ground and Will leaned against the hood of his
car, his eyes burning with tears.� Damn her, he thought helplessly.� Damn Father
for never standing up to her.� Damn me
for thinking that this would be any different.

He heard Don come up next to him and pick his keys up from
the ground.� Will squeezed his eyes
closed.

�Will?� Don said and tentatively touched his shoulder.� Will turned and pulled Don into a rough hug,
burying his face against Don�s hair.

Don hugged him back tightly and they stood there for a long
moment.

�I hate her,� Will mumbled at last.

�I know,� Don said softly.

�She�ll never accept me.�

Don sighed and pulled away a little so he could see Will�s face.� �Do you
remember what I said before we went in?�

Tears sprang back into Will�s eyes and he had to take a few
breaths before he could answer.� �That
we�re going in together and coming out together, and
nothing in between will change that.�

�Right,� Don said firmly.�
�Nothing has changed that or will change that.�

Will looked at his lover, trying to settle his ragged
breathing.� �What would I do without
you?� he murmured.

�Sorry to tell you this,� Don declared, �but you�re never
going to find out.�

�I can live with that,� Will said, then grimaced,
remembering some of the things he�d said to his mother. �Thank you for stopping
me from saying something even more stupid.�

Don gave him a small smile.�
�I�ve got your back, remember?�

�Will?� came a voice behind Don and Will
moved out of Don�s arms.� Cindi was
standing there, looking uncomfortable.�
�I know that I talked you into this and it seemed like it was going well
until ��

�Until Mother and I actually talked to
each other instead of around each other.�

�Yeah,� Cindi sighed.�
�But I�m glad you brought Don anyway.�

�At least one person is.�

�I am too,� Don said unexpectedly.� �Your sisters are nice and for the rest � it�s
good for me to be reminded how lucky I am with my family.� I tend to take them for granted.�

�Mom and Amy are going at it inside,� Cindi said wryly.� �Sometimes Ame argues with Mom on general
principles, but I think she�s really mad this time.�

Will blinked at her,
surprised.� �What are they fighting
about?�

�The weather,� Cindi said, rolling her eyes.� �You, silly.�

�Me?�� Will
asked.� Amy and he had never been close.� Why would she take on their mother for him?

�You,� Cindi snapped.�
�Do you really think that no one else in this family cares about you?�

Will hesitated too long and Cindi�s face grew dark.� �You do think that.� You�re a real jerk, you know that?�

�I�m sorry, Cee-Cee,� Will said.� �I know that you�ve always been on my side.�

�You bet your ass,� Cindi said, somewhat mollified.

�Seriously, though.� What
in particular are Mother and Amy fighting about?�

�Well, Ame said that if Mom wasn�t careful that she�d never
see you again.� Mom said that maybe
that�s a good thing if you think so little of your family to bring your filthy lover
here.� Then Ame said that Mom always had
this terrible blind spot about you, that if you weren�t the only son or were a
girl that Mom would be singing a different tune.� Mom said that wasn�t true, and Ame said who
does she think she�s kidding and then I left.�

Will stared at Cindi.� He couldn�t imagine anyone speaking to his
mother like that, even Amy.

�What did Father say?� Will asked, though he was pretty sure
he knew the answer.

�Nothing.� He just went and buried himself in his
office.�

�Of course, he did.�

Cindi eyed him.� �You
know, when Mom isn�t around, I�ve heard Dad tell people about how proud he is
of his son who catches bad guys.�

Will�s heart lurched in his chest.� �Really?�

Quietly, Don said, �Guess you�ve got more champions than you
thought.�

Will stared at Cindi, trying to process what she was telling
him.� He shook himself and put it aside
to think about later, when he was a less emotional.�

�Well, I�m going home myself,� Cindi said. �No desire to go
back into that maelstrom.�� She turned to
Don and said sincerely, �It was good to meet you, Don.� I�m really glad that Will
has someone with enough brains to keep him out of trouble.�

�No one has that many brains,� Don said, smiling.� �But I do what I can.� Will�s got his hands full trying to do the
same for me.�

�You betcha,� Will said, reaching over and squeezing Don�s
hand.

�And he�s cute too,� Cindi said in a stage whisper to
Will.� �You better hang on to him.�

�I plan on it,� Will said with a
watery smile.

Impulsively, Cindi reached over and gave Don a hug.� Don smiled and hugged her back.

�Whenever you want to see a Halos game,� Cindi said, �Let me
know.� The front office has their own luxury box, you know.�

Don�s eyes lit up.�
�I�ll take you up on that, count on it.�

�Good!�� Cindi hugged
Will.� �Don�t wait too long,� she said,
obviously meaning for baseball and for contacting her in general.� �See ya later.�

�See ya,� Will said and watched
Cindi walk to her car.

�Shall we go home?� Don said.� Will nodded and they got into his car in
silence.� Will took hold of the steering
wheel and forced a deep breath through his lungs.

I suppose it could have
been worse, he told himself.� There could have been actual bloodshed.

His breathing gradually quieted and the car filled with the
warm, comfortable silence that he had only ever shared with one person.� He looked over at Don, at the man he loved
more than he believed it was possible to love, and remembered the envy he�d
felt for Amy�s engagement ring.� I wonder ... Well, I can only ask.

�Don?�

�Yes, aein?�
Don said, reaching over to put his hand on Will�s right arm.

Will rested his left hand on top of Don�s and asked, �Have
you ever thought about getting your ears pierced?�
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A Stevens Family Dinner