xp_logs | [Alex, Mr. Dane Friday afternoon]

While watching the Dodgers game, Alex and Mr. Dane discuss a couple things. And yes, the shotgun is mentioned, but not in the same way.

Paul walked into the living room and tossed a soda to the blond boy on the couch. "How are you doing, Alex?" He glanced at the TV and was momentarily distracted by the game playing there. "Throw some strikes, Weaver," he chided the pitcher as he sat down in an armchair.

Catching the soda with ease, Alex glanced over to grin at Mr. Dane. "Just great, Mr. Dane, thanks." He popped open the soda as the batter hit a high fly to right field. "Ahh come on now!" The soda fizzed over and a few drops fell into his lap but went unnoticed as he watched the resulting play.

"Get under it!" Paul leaned forward, his own glass set aside in his intensity. "Yes! That's the way to do that." As the next batter stepped up, he relaxed again, "Excited about school? What was your major again?"

"More excited about going home for a while. Hawaii is such a great place to live, it's so relaxing and slower placed then anywhere on the mainland." He leaned back in the couch and finally took a proper sip of soda. "Geoscience, I wanna study the volcanoes that make up the Hawaiian islands someday."

"Ah, right. Yes, Lorna did mention that you were from Hawaii. Not originally though, I understand?" It had occurred to Paul that he knew very little about the boy's history, having focused more on getting rid of him than getting to know him. A careful man, Paul set out to correct that. "You were separated from your brother at a young age, if I recall."

Alex nodded though he kept his eyes on the game. Since getting Scott back, talking about the plane crash had gotten easier and easier. "Our father was an Air Force pilot and he had just taken a new post in California. Unfortunately, something happened and our plane exploded over Nevada, Scott and I as the only survivors. He manifested during the incident so for me 'safety' they separated us, sending me to a foster home without telling me what happened to him. I was eight years old and thought my parents and my older brother were dead...wasn't fun." Then he glanced over at the elder Dane, wondering how he would take the first half of his story, considering the second hit a bit too close to home...for both of them.

"It's hard," Paul said, after a moment, "with children. You want to do what's best for them. Protect them. Sometimes you make choices that seem like the right ones at the time and they turn out wrong." He took a drink of the pale amber liquid in his glass. "Sometimes you get to correct it. Sometimes you don't. It's one of those chances you take."

Closing his eyes now, Alex took a deep breath. "Yeah, I know. For ten years, I lived with those people's decision...Made what happened in my foster home so much harder...not to mention seeing Scott alive and well ten years later..."

"Made you feel cheated?" Paul grimaced, "We adopted Lorna after her parents died. Decided not to tell her and just raised her like our own. Dyed her hair once she was old enough. We didn't want her to feel any different. To protect her, you see." He sighed and looked at his daughter's boyfriend of two years, "That's all we've ever wanted to do for her."

Alex nodded slowly. "I understand sir. When I was adopted in Nevada, I lived fine with them until I was 12. Then I accidentally blew up half their living room. They were awesome about it, didn't blame me or anything...it was the neighbors and their friends that had the problem with me. So to protect them...I left. ran away to the airport and snuck aboard a plane which happened to be heading to Hawaii." Biting his lip, Alex finally looked straight at Mr. Dane. "She's part of *my* family now also...and as you can see, that's something I value quite highly after being robbed of it."

"I can see that, Alex." Paul looked him over carefully, seeing not the enemy who would steal his little girl but a young man who needed a family. And between one blink and the next, accepted it. "You can always count on her. Lorna's never been one to back down in the face of hardship. If you can promise the same," Paul smiled, "I suppose I won't need the shotgun any time soon."

He couldn't stop his blink of surprise. "No...no more shotgun?" Alex grinned brightly knowing exactly what Mr. Dane was saying. Lorna's Father was finally excepting him. He couldn't believe it. "And no sir, I've learned my lesson about running away. I don't plan on ever giving up so easily on the best thing in my life, ever again." He sat back on the sofa, a silly grin lingering on his face.

Paul nodded firmly, "See that you don't. " He looked back at the television and grimaced, "You call that baseball! What's wrong with you! Get him off the field!" Without even a ripple, he seemed absorbed in the game again, grumbling at the umpires, the opposing team and cajoling the Dodgers to victory.