Chapter 27.

27...

Ian was just about to walk into the bathroom to take a shower when he caught Judy coming back out of her bedroom. "Morning," he said softly.

"Morning, honey," Judy replied. She studied him. "Jason said I'd be surprised, but� Yeah, that's a surprise."

Ian ran a hand over his bruised face gingerly. "It's not as bad as it looks."

"No?" She eyed him carefully. "Ian, why do you do this to yourself?"

Hearing Judy sigh at him like that made Ian feel sick. "I don't know. I'm sure Jason told you everything, huh?"

"Just a little."
Ian shook his head. "He needs to stop acting like he's my father."

"Ian, you know he's just trying to look out for you�Jason's very protective of you and Michal. You can't fault him for that."

"It's not like he's perfect."

"He would be the first one to agree with you, honey. But he knows what you're going through. He's just trying to help you out."

"Yeah, I bet�" Ian rolled his eyes. He tried not to get impatient. He was terrible in the morning, and he hoped she wasn't hoping for a real conversation right now. He'd be better after a long shower and some breakfast. Ma put a lot more faith into Jason than he did. He knew Jason was trying his best, but still, it didn't give him a right to be so patronizing.

Judy just raised her eyebrows at him.

"I�m sorry, Ma�"

"Will they mind you looking like that at work today?" she asked.

He shrugged. "Hope not. There's not much I can do about it, I guess. They shouldn't care. I can't help it."

"Very true." She paused. Ian knew she was trying to choose her words and just waited for the inevitable request. "We're going to talk about this later today, okay, Ian? This has got to stop."

He sighed. "Yeah, yeah� Fine."

"I mean it, Ian."

He nodded and gave her an earnest look. "I know. And we'll talk about it. I promise."

"Okay." She rubbed his arm and smiled at him. "It'll all work out� And don't worry about Jason interfering. Just give him a break and you'll see he means well. Okay? I'll see you later, sweetheart."

Judy sighed as she started downstairs and realized things would never be simple with her boys. But that was why she loved them.

She looked for Conner and Jason again before she left and found them in the kitchen. Jason was at the stove finishing up making scrambled eggs while Conner was sitting sullenly at the table, head resting in his hands. She noticed his flushed cheeks and remnants of tears and gave him the once over. He appeared okay�

"I'm leaving in a minute," she said, walking towards Conner first. He didn't even seem to notice her there. She reached over to run her fingers through his hair gently, but he didn't even look at her. "Conner?"

Conner rubbed his nose and blinked, looking up like he just realized someone else was in the room.

"You alright, honey?" she asked.

He nodded and said nothing.

"Okay, well I should be home a little early again today. I�m sure you'll have fun with the boys. Right, Jason?"

Jason looked up from the stove. "Yeah. Of course."

Judy gave Conner one more concerned look before walking over to give Jason a kiss on the cheek. "Bye, sweetheart."

"Bye," Jason answered, focused on his frying pan and shoving the scrambled eggs around with a spatula.

"Is everything okay?" she asked, eyeing him carefully.

Jason gave her a quizzical look. "With what?" He caught her concerned glance at Conner and shook his head. "Oh. Yeah." He rolled his eyes. "He's good."

"You sure?"

Jason nodded. "Yeah. We'll survive."

She studied him and then nodded. "Okay. Call me if you need anything."

"Yup."

Jason expected the day to be stressful. He expected more drama, more tears, more misunderstanding. But it went relatively well. Considering it mostly consisted of going to the grocery store, coming back, unpacking groceries, and driving Ian to work, he felt pretty lucky.
Conner was quiet throughout the day, offering a few words or responses whenever he was forced to give them. He followed Jason around, sometimes interestedly, and other times like he felt he had no other choice. In general he stayed in his own, quiet world. Jason tried to prompt him out of it a few times, but often he grew too impatient to keep trying. He figured Conner would come out of his shell when he wanted. He threw hints of boldness out every now and then.

Like when he refused to get out of the car until the song on the radio was done. When Jason ignored him and turned off the car, killing the radio, Conner just glared at him. After a moment, Jason realized that carrying Conner out of the car was not a mature option, and that he really wouldn't move, so he sighed and turned the key back in the ignition, waiting as patiently as possible and then cutting the engine as soon as the song ended.

"Happy?" he'd muttered, getting out of the car. But he thought Conner actually was, and could swear he almost caught a small, brief smile on the kid's face as he followed Jason out of the car.

The week went well also. It was busy and it seemed to fly by. Jason spent as much time as possible with Conner, having the persistent goal to win his trust and at the same time kind of enjoying the attention, although usually hidden, that he got from an impressionable and complicated kid. Conner was like a pet, something to take care of. He knew Ma hated when he called it a project, but in a way it was. It made Jason think a lot, and he was starting to realize more about why Ma had paired them together.
Conner went through the week blindly, understanding the stress he'd brought to the Mercers in their first few days together and kind of afraid of what the consequence of that was. Anthony's phone call scared him, and he really thought it had to do with his behavior, or some change in his placement. He tried to keep quiet and just follow instructions, and for the most part, it seemed to work. The week was so busy with random things that it was easy enough.

He knew he'd get restless in a little while, but he thought putting up a good front for a week would suffice. He could pretend he was trying to settle in. Although he still hadn�t unpacked.
Jason started to almost forget about the phone call from Anthony and the information Judy had shared with him. He spent almost all day with Conner, and sometimes his eyes drifted out, scanning the horizon and just wondering� But after a while he wondered if maybe the worry was futile.

But Jason was also well aware that things never stayed simple at the O'Riley household for long.

Author's Note

Ok, from here on out this story is no longer based on truth..what did you think of this chapter?