Grandfathered: The Ties That Bind

The Meeting

"So," Sara said, stacking some papers that were on her desk, "how have the past... twenty-five years been?" Her gaze averted to Brian, who smiled and exhaled noisily in response to her question.

"Quite eventful, to say the least," Brian replied. "I've got three kids -- Kelly's twenty-three, Evan's twenty-one, and Taylor's eighteen, just sent her off to UCLA... My wife Cheryl died of cancer four years ago..."

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Sara said gently, quickly looking up from her papers.

Brian smiled wistfully. "It's alright," he said truthfully. "We've been doing fine, although we miss her everyday. How about you, Sara?"

"Oh, man, where do I even begin?" Sara laughed. "Well, you see, I have a son Gerald who's twenty-seven..." and with that, she explained the whole story about Jimmy Martino, and how she had been the one that got away, and how when she least expected it, Jimmy came back into her life and changed it in ways neither of them could have imagined.

"Wow, almost sounds like something you'd hear about on a TV show," Brian quipped.

"You could say that," Sara replied with a shrug.

"It sounds like Jimmy is a really special person to you," Brian added. He couldn't help but notice the sparkle that lit up in Sara's eyes, or the dimples that formed around her cheek whenever Jimmy's name was so much as briefly mentioned.

"He's learned a lot about family in the past two years, but I think I've learned a lot from him too," Sara said thoughtfully. A grin touched her face and a warm feeling swelled in her heart as she once again thought of her beloved Ponyboy.

----

In the meantime, the chefs of Jimmy's restaurant swarmed like bees in a hive as the minutes in the kitchen seemed to fly by. Oven timers were dinging and plates of food were being maneuvered everywhere. It was a good thing Jimmy had been born with a great sense of stealth, for if he had not, he probably would have knocked over at least three meals. How was it possible that Jimmy's restaurant was so busy on a simple Tuesday?

"Jimmy, man, you look beat," Ravi explained as he ripped off some plastic gloves and slammed them into the garbage.

"I know," Jimmy admitted with a huff, propping himself on one of the very few counters that wasn't occupied by a cook. "I can't believe how busy we are. I think I need to take a break." He could feel himself starting to get high-strung, and as much as Jimmy thrived in settings of hustle and bustle, he needed to just be alone in a quiet place for a little while. His mind then went to Sara, who was probably sitting in her office shrouded in boredom. A half-smile appeared on Jimmy's face, and he hopped off the counter ad quickly bid his chefs goodbye, beelining out the door.

Before going to Eagle Rock, Jimmy decided to stop at the florist to buy a bouquet of flowers for Sara. There was no particular reason, he just wanted to do it to remind her how much he loved her. He knew pink was Sara's favorite color, and that she adored tulips.

"Hi," Jimmy said to the florist at the front desk. "I'd like a set of pink tulips please." And then after a quick thought, "Actually, throw some reds in there too. Adds some variation."

So he grabbed the bouquet and took a whiff of it, heaving a contented sigh as he absorbed the citrusy scent of the tulips. Sara was sure to appreciate it. He then headed on over to Eagle Rock, and was able to enter without even needing to give his name, because by now everyone there knew Jimmy just by the sound of his voice. He made it to Sara's office -- second door on the right -- and leaned into the doorway, knocking lightly with a romantic half-grin.

"Special delivery," he drawled out, but he came to a quick halt when he saw another man standing in the room with Sara. The man was leaning against a desk with his arms folded, and he tossed a friendly smile Jimmy's way.

"Is this the Jimmy you speak of?" the man asked, throwing his head back in Sara's direction.

"I hope so," Jimmy quipped in reply before Sara really had a chance to say anything. However, Sara instantly took notice of the tulips behind Jimmy's back and let in a quick breath, rising to her feet and walking over to her boyfriend.

"My favorite flowers in my favorite color!" Sara gushed, planting a kiss on Jimmy's cheek. "You shouldn't have."

"Oh, I'll always spoil you, Sushi," Jimmy cooed, giving Sara's shoulder an affectionate squeeze.

Suddenly, a thick silence fell upon Sara's office as Jimmy and the other man stood with their hands in their pockets, and Sara holding the bouquet gently in her arms.

"Oh!" Sara exclaimed, looking up quickly. "Jimmy, this is Brian. Brian, this is indeed the Jimmy I speak of."

Jimmy extended his hand with a smile. "Pleasure to meet you."

"Pleasure's all mine," Brian said, giving Jimmy's hand an amicable shake.

"How do you know Sara?" Jimmy asked curiously, his glance shifting over very quickly to his girlfriend who was currently placing the tulips in a vase to give them water.

"Ah, Sara and I go quite a long way back..." Brian said with a sheepish laugh. Jimmy raised his eyebrows to this.

Sara then let out something of a nervous chuckle, slowly making her way over to in between the two men. "Brian and I dated in high school. He's now my new coworker."

Jimmy's mouth was slightly ajar as he took a couple moments to process the information. When he finally did, all he could get out was, "How funny is that!" Mentally he kicked himself for acting so skittishly. Cool it, Jimmy, he hissed to himself. You know Sara would never turn on you.

His face must have still looked nervous, he realized, when he spotted Sara giving him a warning glare that could melt ice. Jimmy took in a deep breath and loosened his muscles, flashing a contrite smile to Brian, who thankfully seemed unbothered by the whole situation.

----

Jimmy had gone back to work later that day, and the hubbub of the restaurant actually helped him to keep his mind off of the Sara and Brian thing, at least for a bit. Soon, nighttime fell upon Los Angeles and it was finally time to close. So the customers all finished their meals and trailed out of the restaurant, followed by the chefs. Jimmy stayed back for a few minutes to survey the place and make sure everything was spotless for the next morning, a routine he practiced regularly. He sank into the calm atmosphere after what was such a frantic day at the restaurant. It felt good for Jimmy to be alone with nothing but his thoughts.

However, the silence was quickly broken when he heard the sound of footsteps making their way toward the kitchen. Jimmy figured it was an employee who had just forgotten something, but upon turning around he was pleasantly surprised to realize that it was in fact Sara walking up to him.

"Hey," Jimmy said softly, a little surprised to see her there.

"Hey yourself," Sara said back. "I wanted to talk to you about...earlier today."

"W-What do you mean?" Jimmy stammered. "There's nothing to talk about."

"Get real, Jimmy," Sara said with a chuckle. "You looked so nervous around Brian today. Why is that? Is everything alright?"

Jimmy was about to brush it off, as he didn't want to wreak havoc over nothing. But then a thought hit him, and he went back to a year ago when they and Gerald had come up with a pact to not be afraid to tell each other things, because they could always go to each other about anything and everything.

"I-I dunno, I guess just seeing you with a guy friend kind of threw me for a loop for a second," he admitted carefully. "Especially, a friend that you used to date." He winced a little in anticipation for what Sara would say.

But then, he looked into her eyes and his features softened. "But I realize now, that I have nothing to worry about," he said truthfully, stepping towards Sara and taking her hands. He smiled and lifted her hands up to his lips, placing a soft kiss on them, and then she glanced up and smiled back. That smile was all Jimmy needed to see to know that all was well, and that they would always be Ponyboy and Sushi.

A/N: I just had to get a new chapter in today in honor of Grandfathered premiering 8 years ago today! Can't believe how fast time flies!