Not Expecting to Collide (COMPLETE) - ABP Fanfiction

Chapter 81 - Promises

When Bam and Rainy entered the main cabin, Gabe sighed dramatically. "Oh good, you're here! We can finally eat! I was about to die of starvation."
Birdie elbowed him in the side. "Yes, clearly you are wasting away." She replied sarcastically. Bear stood up from the chair beside Rosanna. "Supper smells awesome." He announced which prompted the rest of the family to start making their way to the kitchen table.
Bam's arms found their way around October where she stood at the stove stirring a pot of spaghetti sauce. "October makes the best spaghetti." He said and growled in her ear as he nuzzled the back of her neck. She sighed his name and pressed her back against his chest. Bear made a disgusted face and yelled across the room. "Do you two ever quit? Geez, I'm about to lose my appetite."
Bam looked at Bear from over October's shoulder. "I'm just making sure that I can't be replaced with a pack of double A's." He grinned. Both Rosanna and October dissolved into a fit of giggles while Bear gaped at Bam without a comeback.
Bam walked over to Amber, who was slicing loaves of garlic bread at the end of the counter. He put a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Hey." He greeted her like the friend that she was.
"Hey." She returned.
"How are you?" He asked, peering down at her curiously.
"I'm fine. How are you?" She replied without looking up from the cutting board.
"Why didn't you tell me you were sick?"
Amber let out an impatient huff. "Because I'm not. Did your older brother tell you that?"
"No." Bam shook his head. "Just concerned for a friend." Amber lifted her head to look at him. Her eyes crinkled at the corners and she smiled with a gentle eye-roll. "I'll tell you the same thing I tell your brother eleventy-kabillion times a day. I am fine. You can stop worrying." She tilted her head to the side and added. "You know, you and Matt are more alike than either of you realize." Bam openly scoffed at the idea. Amber placed the bread into a wicker basket and pushed it into his hands. "Make yourself useful and put this on the table."
Bam gave her a mock salute before taking it from her. "Yes, ma'am." He replied.
Amber picked up a large platter off the counter and nearly collided with Matt behind her as she turned around. "I'll take that." Matt informed her quickly before whisking the tray out of her hands and walking towards the table. Amber whispered over her shoulder to Bam. "Now, if you could get him to stop doting on me like a mother hen I would be forever indebted to you." Bam watched again as Matt set the tray on the table, then returned to Amber to slip his arm around her waist and take her hand in his. He led her to the table and pulled out a chair for her to sit down.

~*~

Once all the food had been passed and everyone had dished their plates, the conversation followed the normal pattern. Except Bam wasn't listening. He couldn't quell the feeling of guilt coursing through him. How could he have gotten so wrapped up his life that he missed what was going on with Rainy? How could he?  How dare he?
A simple solution would be for him and October to stay in Alaska, in Browntown, and remain close to the family unit. But he also knew how important it was to October to have their baby in Alberta, in her home. If it was important to her, it was important to him. Bam noticed Birdie and Rainy  whispering rapid-fire back and forth like they were having an argument. Bam cleared his throat. "Girls, everything okay?" Rainy nodded and dropped her gaze down to her lap.
Birdie shook her hair back over her shoulders and straightened her posture. "Actually, I have something to tell everyone." she paused for moment to make sure she had everyone's attention. "I got a job too."
"You got a job!" Bear repeated. "In Hoonah?"
"No." Birdie replied with a slight shake of her head. "I got a paid internship working on a grizzly bear research project in Banff National Park." She said scrunching up her eyes, preparing herself for the backlash.
"Where's that?" Gabe asked.
"It's in Alberta." October interjected. "Where my brother lives."
"That's right." Birdie replied. "I'm going to be staying with Auggie on the weekends."
A whole chorus of surprised chatter rose up from the table. Bam watched as his sister excitedly relayed every detail that she knew about this new opportunity that she had sought out for herself. Once he got over the initial shock, he couldn't help but feel pride well up inside his chest for Birdie. She had told him she wanted to see the world and now she was on her way. Suddenly he understood why she knew so much about filling out the paperwork for Canadian work permits - she had already done it once!
Bam watched Rainy out of the corner of his eye as she pushed her food around her plate with her fork. Suddenly, he also understood why Rainy felt like she was being left behind.

~*~

After giving Birdie yet another congratulatory hug and telling her he was proud of her, Bam and October returned to the shack for the night.
"That's quite some news about Birdie." October murmured as she started to undress. Bam shucked his jeans and socks and laid back on the bed with his hands behind his head. "Did you know about this?"
October held both hands up with her palms towards him. "I'm innocent! I didn't know anything about it. You'll have to take that up with Auggie."
"Yeah, I will." Bam said thoughtfully. "Does he think he can just whisk my little sister away, out of the country with promises of a new life?"
October's lips twitched into a smirk as her hands moved to unfasten the braid at her back. "You mean the same way you did to his little sister?"
Bam frowned. "This is completely different." He countered.
"Hmmm mmm." October replied as she ran a brush through her hair. "The only difference is Auggie and Birdie are not having sex."
"Ew!" Bam exclaimed and lunged across the bed to grab October by the waist. She shrieked and flung her arms around his neck as he pinned her underneath him on the mattress. "Please don't talk about my sister having sex."
October kissed the tip of his nose. "What are you going to do when one of them gets a boyfriend?" She quipped. Bam grinned evilly and glanced up toward the hunting rifles hanging on the opposite wall. October followed his gaze and then laughed. "You can't keep them from growing up." She chided gently.
Bam rolled onto his back and turned serious again. "But we've already determined that Rainy has a whole bunch of growing up left to do and with Birdie gone, it's going to be even more difficult for her."
October propped herself up on Bam's chest. "I've been thinking a lot about that. What do you think of asking Rainy to move to Calgary with us?"
Bam's eyebrow raised slightly. October continued. "Think about it. You would have part of your family with you there. She could enrol in public school and have friends - real friends, her own age. Birdie would only be an hour's drive away and they could see each other on weekends." The more she talked about it, the more it made sense to him.
"You'd do that for my sister?" He asked.
October nodded. "I'd do it for you - and for Rainy." She added. "My home is your home and your family will always be welcome."
Bam ran his hands down October's back and then pressed his palms to her bulging stomach. "I don't deserve you." He whispered and pressed his lips to her throat. October grinned and kissed his mouth. "There's one more thing to think about though."
Bam drew his head back to look at her. "What else is there?" He puzzled.
"You are neither Rainy's parent nor her legal custodial guardian. You can't just take a minor child across an international border. I don't want to create all these false hopes for Rainy. If you make promises about her being able to come with us, then you'd better be sure it is possible first." She paused and sighed heavily.  "You know what you're going to have to do, don't you?"
Bam closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. "Yes. I'm going to have to talk to my dad."