Moving Forward

Christmas and the New Year part two

Uncle's POV

"Do you know, I just realized that I don't know your first name," North looked startled by this. "You were introduced as Uncle and that is what everyone calls you."

"My name is Lucian; Luke was named for me by his mother since I took her to all her doctor appointments and was there when he was born." I chuckled, "it is also the reason why she left him on my front porch."

"Did you ever want kids of your own?" I could tell North was curious now.

"I had the Mumps when I was fourteen, it rendered me sterile." I answered honestly, "You and Luke are the closest I will ever get to having kids. While I wished better for you boys, it worked out well for me. I got two boys and no nagging wife to go with them."

"I thought you had a thing for Erica that you were waiting for her."

I laughed, I couldn't help myself. "Erica is a good woman, don't get me wrong, but she isn't for me. I have no interest in getting married and she is the type that will accept nothing else. Besides, she has a thing for Charly."

"Uncle," Luke bellowed as he rushed towards us at baggage claim. After a flurry of man hugs and collecting our suitcases, we moved through the crowd to the exit and the short-term parking lot. Luke opened the back of his jeep so we could toss our bags in. I took the front passenger seat and left North to set in the back. This amused me, my youngest nephew hated having someone else drive him and he disliked the back seat. As for Luke, he wasn't going to let his brother drive his car, not after North acted like the other Jeep was his. Not that I blamed him, it had been wrong on North's part, he hadn't had a Driver's License yet and shouldn't have been driving on his own. He was lucky that he wasn't caught, his Driving Permit would have been pulled and he would have to wait until he was eighteen to get his license. That was my one of my biggest problems with Owen Blackbourne; he had the boys believing it was okay to break the law.

The four kids went to the Frog Pond in the Boston Commons for ice-skating; I stayed at the house with James. I had no plans for broken bones and that would happen if I tried to skate, I wasn't that graceful on ice. I knew both Sven and Colt would keep them out of trouble. Both had played Hockey growing up and insured Baby Bird learned to skate, keeping her active as she healed. Phil had insisted they get her into as many activities as they could; he had wanted her to gain strength and flexibility. He and I used to laugh over every new activity that the team dragged her into, she used to hide under the table to sleep and one of them would have to crawl under there to get her. The Fox was smart, she made the males do it and she would sit there and laugh at them.

North's POV

Why the fuck did I decide I wanted to try ice-skating again? I was spending more time on my ass then I was on the skates, I forgot how slippery ice could be.

"Come on little brother," Luke helped me to my feet. "I will teach you how to skate and I promise not to play any tricks on you while you have skates on."

Yeah, as if I believed that, Luke does not prank me, never in a million years. The thing is, if we were going to be brothers, we needed to meet halfway and Luke was reaching out to me. I could ruin everything by being a dickhead and I didn't want that. We were family, a real one, not a pretend one. We would only get out of it what we were willing to put into it, Uncle, Luke had already done their share, and now I had to do mine. I had to show Luke that I was willing to trust him that I believed in him.

He took me to the wall and checked my skates. "They are too tight," he frowns, "let's get you a pair that actually fits." Ten minutes later, I was back on the ice in skates that he was happy with and they did feel more comfortable on my feet. "Okay, this is what we are going to do: The trick here is to get comfortable on skates. The more you're on your skates, the better your body adjusts to balancing itself. This is a learning process, so don't expect to be an expert right away. If you are wobbly walking around in your skates, focus on one point with your eyes and trust your body to get the balance right. Balancing is all about keeping your head steady and your eyes fixed on a point. The keys to skating well are relaxation and technique, so relax and try to keep your legs as steady as possible. Learning to walk will help give you ankle support and help you get used to the friction of the ice. Walk around the edge of the rink while holding onto the wall. This will help you get a feel for the ice. Start slow, it won't feel natural at first, but take things slow and move fluidly. You're not going to win any speed contests the first couple times on skates. Avoid jerky movements. If you'd like, pretend that you're a graceful animal moving through its natural habitat or a bird flying above the sky. You need to learn to maintain your balance. While you learn this step, remember to move slowly. Eventually, the faster you go, the easier it will be to balance. Therefore, if you can learn to balance yourself going slower, moving faster will seem easy. Start by holding your arms out at just below shoulder level to learn to balance by yourself. Try not to stiffen your body. It actually makes skating harder. Keep your body loose and relaxed and you will find it much easier to glide along. Bend your knees slightly and lean forward, not back. Knees should be bent enough so that you can't see your toes and your shoulders should be forward and above your knees. Try not to hold onto anything. The wall can become a crutch. You will fall a couple of times. Get back up, brush it off, and go back at it. Practice makes perfect!" He continued to teach, helping me up every time I fell, never once complaining when I took him down with me. We spent the day there and he had me skating before we left, while I wouldn't win any speed contests, I could now move slowly across the ice without busting my ass. He promised to bring me here every day, if that is what I wanted, that he would help me learn enough to satisfy me. I was finally seeing the Luke everyone else saw, the one that wasn't tainted by my jealousy.

I felt guilty about the Jeep and I confessed to him what I had done, knowing he would hate me now. I couldn't keep it to myself any longer, it had been wrong. He gave me a small smile and told me that he already knew about the Jeep. He went on to say, "It is obvious that the Jeep is important to you so Uncle and I decided you should keep it. You do need it, you shouldn't be driving your bike when it is storming or the roads are icy. Just don't ask to drive my Jeep and we are good." Just like that, he had forgiven me.

It was while we were eating dinner at the house that I learned what Luke's plans were. Yes, he was studying to be a Chef, but he didn't plan on working at a restaurant or catering, he wanted to write cookbooks. His goal was to create recipes for budget gourmet meals that anyone could afford and make. When I thought about it, it suited him a lot better than working at some fancy restaurant. He would hate being tied to one place, this way; he could take time off when he wanted to.

Once dinner was over with, we split up in families. Victor and his grandfather went to the music room; Raschel dragged Sven and Colt to where ever. Luke took us to the kitchen to get snacks, and then we went to watch the home theater. We spent twenty minutes deciding what movies to watch. Uncle chose 'Field of Dreams', Luke chose 'Step Brothers', and I chose 'The Cannonball Run'. While they were considered old movies but I found them to be interesting. 'Step Brothers' turned out to be funny; it reminded me of Luke and me in many ways. It surprised me, the three of us were actually having a good time.