Family Ties

Part 19

When Raymond got up the next morning, Jackson was still fast asleep on the couch, his head hidden under the blanket. Deciding to let him sleep on, he started getting coffee and breakfast ready. Pretty soon there was movement on the couch as Jackson's confused head popped up from under the blanket.

"Cook, what are you doing at my place and why does it suddenly feel so small?" His confusion was clear from the way his eyes darted about.

"You're at my place and because I can't afford any better, that's why it's so small. This qualifies for a bonus." He added for good measure.

"At your place? Sorry, I must have been too tired." He said sheepishly, sitting up straight, and moving the blanket to the side.

"That's okay, we had a rough day." He smiled brightly. "There are extra towels and a toothbrush in the bathroom. Your suit is hanging behind the door. Try not to get it wet." He warned.

"Yes, Dad!" Jackson grinned and loped off to the bathroom. Raymond sure did think of everything, he marveled. It must be because he has a kid that he's so organized.

"Why do you have a suit of mine here?" He asked as he buttoned up his shirt and slid into his jacket.

"I'm prepared for anything to happen in your life. So unless you decide to do musical theatre, I'm ready for whatever you're gonna throw at me." His smile was back in place as he automatically grabbed Jackson's tie to put it on him.

Without thinking, Raymond smoothed his hands over Jackson's jacket to straighten it out. When his hands started moving out of their own volition, slowly over Jackson's chest and back up to his shoulders, he immediately pulled away as if burnt when he came out of his daydream.

"Sorry. I was only checking that everything was okay, and it was, is, I mean." He rambled, blushing even more.

"I'm not complaining." Jackson grinned taking a step closer to him.

"What are you doing?" Raymond asked in a small voice, taking a step backward.

"Well, I think it's time for me to be repaid for the kiss." He murmured taking another step closer.

"No!" Raymond cried and clapped his hands over his mouth. "I can pay you back in any other way." He said from behind his hands.

"Any other way, huh? I will have to think about it. You stole my first kiss, so you should pay."

"Shut up and get out of here. There's a whole day of work waiting for you." He motioned toward the front door.

---

By Wednesday, Raymond was elbow deep in information on the abduction, the ransom, and the police reports. Half of it'd been redacted or sealed, but when he wanted something, there was very little that would stop him from getting it. And he needed more information to piece the puzzle back together.

"Watcha researching there?" Jackson came to stand in front of Raymond's desk, peering at the paperwork.

"How to hang a bell around your boss' neck." He snapped, embarrassed at almost being caught.

"Ouch, that hurt!" he frowned. "You're becoming very snappy these days, what's up with that?"

"I'm missing Skye and I'm making very little progress." He sighed, sliding the files off to one side.

"I don't know about you, but the progress you've been making in this job is nothing short of amazing. So don't beat yourself up about it." He reached out and smoothed his hand over Raymond's hair. "And anyway, let's go and visit the little man tonight. We can leave early." He dropped his hand, his grin in place again.

"Thanks, but it's not worth the drive, I'll video call him later." He sighed. The prospect of driving out to Damon's was really attractive. It was less than an hour away and he'd get to check up on Skye.

"We are going to get into the car now and drive to his grandparents." Jackson insisted. "I'm using my token for stealing my first kiss, or did you want to return your kiss with another kiss?" He prodded while Raymond was chewing things over.

That damn kiss was going to be the end of him! Why did he give in to his feelings at that moment? Jackson was making it so hard for him to say no to his advances. When Raymond nodded, Jackson went into his office again, coming back with a set of papers.

"Here, you need to sign these." He shoved the papers under Raymond's nose. "Come on, sign it, quick, so we can get out of here!" He insisted, shaking the pages in front of Raymond, who took them with a sigh. When he started reading through the first document, Jackson prodded him again.

"Just sign the damn documents Cook. We don't have all day for you to sign a piece of paper!" He snapped.

"Fine!" Raymond mumbled, signing where the arrows indicated and handing the documents back to Jackson. "I hope this isn't some sort of scam where I take the fall for everything."

"Just get the car, Cook. I don't think we need the driver tonight." He followed Raymond down to the parking garage, where a metallic blue sports car was parked.

"Catch!" Jackson threw the keys at him, getting into the passenger seat. Raymond immediately jumped into action, and with a huge boyish grin, he started the car. He'd enjoyed driving it before and if he weren't a dad, he'd maybe get himself one of these, he dreamed.

For the first fifteen minutes, Jackson was hitting the brakes on his side of the car in the hopes that it might help slow Raymond down. He seemed to be hell-bent on trying out all the features.

"Eh Cook, do you think maybe we can go a  bit slower?" He asked, nervously looking over at Raymond who immediately slowed down.

"Sorry, I got a bit carried away. Just dreaming about owning one of these." He chuckled, throwing a glance at Jackson.

"Well, the car is yours, so there is no point in dreaming." He turned to face Raymond.

"You... what?! What did you say?" Raymond had to press on the break to prevent him from hitting something. Steadying the car on the road again, he turned to Jackson. "What do you mean the car is mine?" He asked suspiciously.

"Well, like I told your friends, I bought you a boat and a car!" He said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Luckily they still had this one model I could get for you, but I didn't think you'd want the boat, so skipped over that."

"Jackson, that was a joke. We just said that to shut them up. It wasn't serious!" He exclaimed.

"Well, you signed the papers, so it's yours now. All you have to worry about is keeping the car in one piece." He smirked.

"This wasn't what we discussed and I'm not taking the car. What would I do with it anyway?" Jackson was taking things too far right now. Their little act was just to shut some people up, not so that he could get gifts out of the arrangement.

"This is what I've decided. I'm not going to lie about giving you things." He pointed out calmly. "And if you're not going to take them, then I will have to take something else." He threatened.

"You've already used up your token for the kiss." Raymond reminded him.

"But you kissed me more than once, so the payback price is much higher than just one token. Unless, of course, you want to return the kiss? I'm always open to suggestions." he murmured in a low voice.

Deciding not to argue, Raymond bit his tongue and drove in silence to Damon's.