Family Ties

Part 22

For the next two days, Jackson sat watching romantic comedies to find ideas on what to do with Raymond on a date. So far, the only thing he'd learned was that he hated the genre with a passion. All that drama when everybody knew they were going to get together. He switched the TV off in disgust, looking at the copious notes that he'd made. If Cook didn't fall for any of these, then Eric must have been having a laugh at his expense.

Saturday, he knocked on Raymond's door, gently rocking on the balls of his feet in excitement.

"Jackson?" Raymond looked at him in surprise, his hands behind his back. "Come in." He mumbled, unsure of what was happening or why he was being graced with a visit.

"These are for you." He held out a bunch of flowers to Raymond with a sheepish smile. "And instead of going anywhere, I brought these for our picnic." He held up a laden picnic basket.

"Thank you." Raymond took the flowers with a bright smile, walking to the kitchen to place them in water. It was really nice of Jackson to bring him flowers. He had a soft spot for a guy who was romantic, he had to admit.

When he joined Jackson, the coffee table had been moved away and a blanket was spread out over the carpet. He watched as Jackson unpacked pastries, dainty sandwiches, and fruit, with sparkling wine.

"What's this all about? He sat down across from Jackson.

"Our previous dates were such a disaster, that I thought it'd be safer to stay in. Just the two of us." He handed Raymond a pastry.

"I doubt you could call those dates." He laughed. "Thanks, this is nice of you."

"I'm doing good so far, huh?" He asked suddenly bolstered. "Cook?" Jackson asked after a while of comfortable conversation. "I know that I'm probably prying, but how is it that Skye doesn't look anything like his mother's family?" He unconsciously held his breath, while Raymond seemed to consider the question.

"Because they are not related by blood. They are our adopted, family." He smiled nostalgically. "When things were getting really rough at home, Damon found me collecting garbage in the rain, for a few bucks."

"My sister was in an accident when she was pregnant with Skye. Her husband had basically run her off the road after an argument they'd had." He took a deep breath. A story for a story, right?

She was barely conscious when they got to her and by the time they got there, she was incoherently pleading for them to save her baby. Raymond and his dad watched as she convulsed and all hell broke loose in the hospital room, with her being rushed to the theatre.

After what felt like an eternity, the surgeon walked up to them with a sympathetic look on his face. It was that look that Raymond dreaded. She was declared brain dead but was kept on life support machines to give the baby a chance to be born.

"Is she suffering?" was all Jesse had asked, looking defeated. They took turns sitting at her bedside, his father reading out loud, even though he was told that she couldn't hear him.

While she was in the hospital, the bills started piling up. Jesse's savings had run out and he was dipping into his pension to try and break even, but there was never enough money to cover all the hospital bills. It was then that Raymond started taking on any job he could find that would pay. He didn't care what it was. Whether it was sweeping the streets or delivering take-away any time of the day he was free, any money that came in went toward the pile of bills that would appear every month.

On a rainy day, when Raymond was alone at home, a portly older man came knocking on the door. He introduced himself as Lisa's lawyer and he wanted to drop off a letter that she left for them. Shaking as he opened the enveloope, he read her words through streaming eyes. When he got to the last paragraph, he looked up at the lawyer.