"A word in your ear from father to son."

[newhorizon]

Who: Carter and Julian Beaumont
What: Father and son time
Where: Carter's home
When: Tuesday night

It wasn't late when the buzzer at Carter's apartment went, but it was after 5pm and he always had the doorman accept his visitors and call ahead to tell Carter who it was. As high profile as he was, you needed to be smart about security. Especially after what happened to Julian. He dragged himself out of bed and went over to the intercom, where the doorman told him Julian was here to see him. He had been asleep for a good portion of the afternoon. When he reached over to check his phone, he found some messages there from Julian which had gone unanswered. His kid was probably going to be worried he was dead.

He got up and went to get the door, gesturing to himself. "I'm still breathing. I told you, you don't need to worry," he assured his son. Julian always touched base with him. Every single day, whether it was a phone call or a text message, when they weren't at work. It had always been the way, but it increased even more after Julian was hurt because Carter was constantly terrified Julian would take a turn for the worst.

Comments

[bitchpls]

"I know, I know. Sorry, Dad. I just wanted to make sure, and Harley made you soup," Julian explained, holding out a large flask that contained basically the most awesome soup to ever exist. Harley was an amazing cook and when Julian had been at home and recovering, he made this soup because it was all that Julian could manage. "Plus, you're on you're own and you're sick, which sucks anyway. I know you said it was just a virus thing, but I also know you might be minimising it to protect me. I can't exactly bitchslap some sense into my dad, so I wanted to see with my own eyes."

He didn't need to wait to be invited in. He was already walking through the massive apartment, the home he grew up in, to the kitchen. "Harley's gone to see a psychologist to debrief about what happened to Lincoln. The cops have called him up as a witness, and he's not dealing with it very well. So, I'm here to keep you company until his appointment is over. I also want to know if Jared got in touch with you or if he's still being an asshole."

[newhorizon]

Carter just sighed, but it was with a bemused fondness. He never wanted Julian to change. He was proud of how he had grown up and they had become even closer since Carter's marriage officially and publicly fell apart when Julian was beaten and nearly lost his life. He followed Julian to the kitchen and gave him a soft pat on the back and then ruffled his hair. "I'm not minimising, son. You would be the first to know if I had any sort of health condition of concern. It's a virus. I'm just feeling ill and wiped out. It's been a big year, you know. I think it's all caught up with me..."

Emotionally too. The thing with Jared was exhausting, and the whole thing left him defeated. "Yes, he came to see me with the children," was all he said about it, hoping the subject would drop. "Harley didn't have to do that. He's a wonderful young man, thank him for me. I've been worrying about him with what happened. Is he going to be okay helping the police with their inquiries? I know he had an awful experience helping them when you were beaten, with the accusations he was involved."

[bitchpls]

"Do you want to try some soup now? Or I could make us a cup of tea?" Julian suggested. He used to be a big coffee drinker, but it wasn't the best for him now and Harley couldn't drink it at all because the caffeine picked up a heart rate. He had become a fan of real tea, being engaged to an Englishman. "Did Karla say it was a virus? Did she had to go to work? You do look pretty wiped out, Dad. Do you want to just go back to bed? I can chill and watch TV or something."

He looked at his dad for a few moment, waiting for more to come. It didn't. "How did that go, then?" he nudged, never one to really be discreet unless in a professional setting. "I don't know. That's what I'm worried about. But he made the choice freely to speak to the psychologist. He knows he was the one right there that it happened in front of him. I mean, he can't say no. He could be arrested for obstructing a police investigation. They said they would do all they can to ensure it's not a repeat of how he was treated last time. This time, he's not a suspect. It just might stir bad memories up for him. Honestly, Dad, I just want to get married to him," he said quietly with a sigh.

[newhorizon]

"Let's make some tea. I'll definitely try some of this later," Carter promised, taking the flask from Julian and setting it down on the kitchen counter. He filled the kettle and put it on to boil. "She said it was probably a virus, and yes, she had to work. It's okay, I can go back to bed when you go. I know you're worried about Harley, so I can keep you company until he's finished his appointment. I'm not going to keel over. Pretty sure I'll survive it, son."

He was looking in the cupboard for the tea Julian and Harley both loved. He was a coffee drinker himself, but tea was a lot more soothing and relaxing. "It was awkward and uncomfortable. The children don't know me, and I wasn't prepared to discuss certain aspects of the situation around them. They're old enough to understand what is being said. That is why I wanted to meet with Jared alone and somewhere quiet to discuss the situation between us as just that... between us. Maybe they proved a viable buffer for Jared, but they don't know me from Adam except I'm a name on an expensive Christmas gift, and that made me feel uncomfortable to." He just gave a shake of his head. He didn't really want to think about the whole thing right now. "Maybe we should sit down and look at dates, firm something up and really get the ball rolling now you know you want to get married overseas?"

[bitchpls]

Julian came up and gave his dad a small nudge out of the way. "I'll make the tea. You sit down and rest. You've spent so long recently helping take care of me, this is the least I can do when you're not feeling well, Dad. That, and I make it better than you," he couldn't help but add jokingly, giving his dad a trademark smirk. "Are you happy with Karla, Dad? Or is this just a bit of fun thing? Because you deserve happiness. No one's ever too old to try to find that. Just, the older you get, the less people want to hear about your sex life," he added with a laugh.

While they were waiting on the kettle, he studied his dad for a moment or two. He wasn't sure he had ever seen him this uncomfortable with something. Usually he just took everything on the chin and dealt with it, like an excellent CEO always should do. "You said he went to work instead of keeping the date you had. I don't know why he couldn't have just told them he had contagious diarrhoea or something. I don't know what he wants, Dad. He seems to be attempting to make all the right noises, but it's not translating into anything of substance. I don't even know what to say to him anymore. I'm sorry, Dad. I thought telling him you weren't feeling well might help him get his finger out. I don't know. I know everyone has family issues, but I don't understand why ours still are issues. I ran into his wife the other day at the store and it awkward. What was I supposed to say? 'Hey, thanks for you and your team catching the cunts who tried to murder me. Merry Christmas'? Yeah, we can look at dates. Hopefully us getting married just isn't forever jinxed."

[newhorizon]

"Bossy bitch," Carter said with a laugh, but he went to sit down at the breakfast bar so Julian could take over. He really wasn't feeling well. He was exhausted and achy all over, he didn't have an appetite, he was feeling warm and uncomfortable. He knew the next few days would probably be spent in bed or not very far from his bed. "I think I'm learning to be happy with Karla, yes. Happiness is a big thing to allow yourself to have when you've been hurt. You're always worried it might happen again, but you can't let that get in the way of it. It's unlike anything I've had before, so it's worthy of having the time taken to nurture it. But bringing two separate lives together does take time. And I promise I'll spare you information about my sex like," he added in amusement.

No matter how much Carter wanted the subject to drop, Julian wasn't ready to do that yet, so he had to push through it. Even if it hurt. "It is what it is, Jules. He didn't keep the arrangement, and the alternative made me feel uncomfortable. I'm not sure there is anything left to talk about with him. He wants what he wants on his terms, and I think it's just for the best if he goes about his business independently as he has forcefully done for many years now. Our terms are very different and they don't seem to co-exist very well. That's just where it all stands at the moment." He got up and got his calendar off the wall and brought it over. "When were you thinking about? Too soon and you may get bad winter weather, unless you go somewhere tropical. There is no way I'm letting you getting married be jinxed."