Not Expecting to Collide (COMPLETE) - ABP Fanfiction

Chapter 30 - Family

"Are you ready?" August asked. October nodded reluctantly. August and October started up the ramp to the ferry. Behind them was Birdie and Bam, who would accompany them as far as the airport. The rest of the Brown clan had travelled with them to say goodbye at the ferry in Hoonah.
October slid her arms around Bam's waist and leaned against him as they stood at the railing and waited for the ferry to leave. August and Birdie stood a little further down from them, talking and laughing and waving to the rest of the family watching from the dock below.
As the ferry pulled away, Bear let out a loud wolf howl. Matt, Gabe and Noah joined in as Rainy waved vigorously and Billy and Ami looked on.
October brought her head up to look at Bam, confusion in her eyes. "I thought wolf calls were only for family?" She questioned.
Bam smiled gently at her and nodded his head. "They are." He replied.

~*~

January brought about changes for October. Riding on the success of the gallery showing back in November, she had been getting several new contracts booked for the months ahead.
Despite the scandal of Jaime being abruptly let go from his position at the gallery amid a guilty plea to violent crimes, only rumours and hearsay rippled through the photography community. With no victim's name being released to the public, October managed to stay under the radar and continue to build her contacts and portfolio without that stigma following her around. Also, it didn't hurt that her brother was dating the man who supplied virtually half of the industry's equipment for the city and was ready to shoot down any rumour or misinformation that happened to be gossiped about in his establishment.

Robert and August were certainly becoming quite serious about each other. While August used to spend every second weekend at her house, he now spent less than one weekend a month there, and when he was there, Robert was too.  She was grateful for the warmth and company and laughter they brought to her house. She hadn't seen her brother that happy in ages. But she was also jealous of the time they were able to spend together and her heart ached in loneliness at the thought of Bam so far away from where she was.

~*~

The new year also brought new changes for not only Bam, but for the rest of the Brown family as well. Early in the month, they all packed up and headed down to the lower forty-eight to see specialists regarding Billy's on-going health issues.
The Discovery Channel cameras were back, following their every move to fill another season of episodes. Bam was worried about his dad, frustrated at the lack of privacy in front of the cameras and downright miserable that October wasn't by his side.
It was understood without saying that the family wanted to stay together but Bam was starting to feel crowded.
And he needed to find some work if they were going to stay in Seattle for any length of time. Sure, he got a paycheque from the show but it wasn't enough to get by on in a city and most of it went towards his father's mounting medical bills.
He loved his family but the desire to be his own, independent man was starting to shape his actions. At thirty two years of age, he knew he couldn't depend on his father to find him work. And being away from Hoonah and the Integrity, he knew he wouldn't be able to depend on hauling jobs to keep the money coming in. He was going to have to find a job.
And not some stupid-ass, scripted-for-the-camera job that the show's producers set up to make him look like a complete idiot. No, he needed a real job with real work for a real paycheque and the self respect that came along with it.