The Good and the Bad

Rhymes With Shout

Chapter Twenty-Two

*~*~*~*

A wide smile filled Jay's lips as he sat on the couch in Scout's living room, a cup of coffee grasped in one hand. His eyes took in everything as he watched Scout sit on the floor, busy listening to Maclean babble away as he teetered around the room. The one-year-old tried to grab everything within reach as he wondered around the space with the carefree nature only a child could possess.

"No, Mackie!" Despite trying to scold the toddler, Scout couldn't help but laugh as she quickly snatched the boy off of his feet when he tried to grab her own cup of coffee off the side table. "That's hot, sweetie. It's an owie."

"And here I thought it was an exaggeration when people said babies grab at everything." Jay mused as DJ came barreling down the stairs, his arms full of toys from his room.

"Oh no," Scout chuckled as she took a seat next to him on the couch, resting Maclean on her lap. "This one's not too bad, but DJ? Oh he was a little monster with everything. It wasn't until Mackie came along that he finally got better, afraid to hurt his little brother."

"I'm not bad," DJ frowned at his mother's words as he settled himself on the floor with his toys.

"Of course not, baby." Scout offered the boy a smile before turning her attention back to Jay. She used one hand to move her hair back before pointing at the thin white scar running down her right earlobe. "Ten-months-old, ripped my earring clean through my ear when I was distracted talking to Matt. I don't think I'd ever screamed so loudly."

"And he's five, right?" Jay glanced over at the boy on the floor. From the moment he had arrived nearly an hour earlier, DJ had taken every opportunity to ignore him. Between running back and forth from his bedroom and taking his time eating his breakfast, the two were rarely in the same room. It hadn't gone unnoticed by either of the adults, both noticing that he had started doing it every time Jay had come over in the last couple of weeks as they tried to pursue their new relationship. Both of them had come to the conclusion that despite how tired DJ had been the night Arthur came into the bar demanding money, the young boy hadn't failed to notice Jay coming in with him.

"Six in a couple months. New Year's Eve," Scout smiled down at her older son.

"Six?" Jay gave a small shake of his head as he turned his attention to the dark haired boy. "You better slow down before you get too old, man."

"It's just six." DJ rolled his eyes at the man's comment, his gaze fixated on the toy soldier in his hands. A small frown tugged at the corners of Scout's lips before she opened her mouth, prepared to offer Jay yet another apology for the boy's cold shoulder. Before she had a chance to get a word out though the man was already in action.

"Hey," Jay set his own coffee aside on the table before he moved to sit on the floor with DJ. "What do you got there?"

"G.I. Joe," DJ still didn't bother looking up as Jay took a seat beside him. "He's a soldier."

"Like your dad," Jay noted, remembering Scout mentioning the late Wheeler man's service.

"Yeah," DJ nodded.

"Can I let you in on a little secret?" Though Jay lowered his voice slightly, his whisper was still loud enough to reach Scout's ears as she continued to entertain Maclean on the couch. She still found herself glancing towards the pair, watching as DJ finally glanced towards Jay at the question.

"What secret?" DJ asked, curiosity gleaming in his eyes.

"I used to be a soldier too," Jay 'whispered' to him.