The Ties of Family (RotG Fanfic)

Chapter 64

Jamie set down his luggage and looked out of the window of the ski lodge. A panoramic view of snowy peaks greeted him. It was a bit of a change from the holidays their mother usually planned for them which involved tropical countries most of the time. Despite his strong trust and belief in Jack, Jamie felt rather insecure around so much snow; it brought back memories of the blizzard and the fear and devastation it brought. However, as the vacation involved Kendra from college and her connection to the Winter Olympics, it ultimately dragged in Monty and the rest of them, and they showed up without their families. Not having seen each other for years, Jamie wasn't complaining.

"Where are the others?" Sophie asked, as she flopped down onto the couch facing the fireplace and began scrolling through messages on her phone, muttering something about bad reception. Jamie wished she would actually put it down for a moment and look him in the eye when they communicated verbally. He couldn't blame her, however; she had a two-year old to check on back in Burgess.

Jamie tentatively took a seat beside her. "So..." He trailed off, watching her. She wasn't looking up. "So, how's John?"

"He's good."

Jamie leaned forwards, peering at the dancing flames before him. "Do you think he'll let you come over to our place more often if you asked him? Mom misses you a lot."

Sophie looked up sharply. "She has to learn to live without me. She can't expect me to be around all the time." Sophie returned to her phone, looking slightly annoyed. Jamie got to his feet and left the lodge, not wanting to have the same conversation they had been having since his niece was born. Outside, he was immediately cheered up by the approaching figures of Claude and Caleb with about half a dozen bags.

"Claude! Caleb!" Jamie yelled at the top of his voice, startling several other vacationers hanging around the exterior of their own lodges. He took off across the snowy ground towards them, arms spread wide and a huge grin plastered on his face.

"You look good, man!" Claude remarked, avoiding Jamie's outstretched arms and slapping him on the back. "I read a lot about you in the newspaper! Still slogging through that novel of yours, though. Time ain't my best friend these days." He handed Jamie two bags. "Help us out, pal."

"Where's Sophie?" Caleb asked, as Jamie took the bags from Claude and began making his way back to the lodge. He noticed a slight change in Caleb's previously-cheerful expression. He couldn't quite interpret the new one, but it was somewhere between nostalgia and melancholy. And Jamie knew why.

"She's back at the lodge, on her phone, as usual," Jamie answered, the enthusiasm dissipating from his voice. "We'll be staying in the same lodge, so... I suppose you'll be seeing a lot of her."

"You mentioned she has a daughter?"

"She just turned two."

Upon reaching the door, the attentions of all three of them were redirected as a loud voice rang out across the snow, calling out their names and announcing their arrival. Jamie was overcame by a wave of nostalgia as he couldn't help noticing how little Pippa had changed. With her beanie and scarf, she still looked like that girl whom they had had a snowball fight with, the day of his exhilarating sledding experience. Monty looked a little more matured, and rather studious as well, what with his black-rimmed glasses and set face. Cupcake had been beaten in height by the rest of them. (Kendra, who came after, stopping every few steps to exchange words with the other vacationers, was starting to look like a man)

"You're finally here!" Jamie exclaimed, hurtling towards them. He flung his arms around Pippa and pulled her into a suffocating hug before turning to do the same to Cupcake but was prodded in the chest with a book by the older lady.

"Why do I get the feeling that your protagonist has been completely based off me?" she spoke in a demanding voice, but with a mischievous smile, flashing the book in his face.

"What makes you think so? Ooh, looks like someone's so full of herself," Jamie laughed, as Claude and Caleb came running up to the four of them, having entrusted their luggage to a reluctant Sophie. Many enthusiastic greetings were exchanged, as Jamie turned to Monty.

"Where's Kendra?"

"She's just gone to see a friend of hers who's participating in the olympics. Tough life," he responded.

"Do you think we can go skiing?" Pippa asked, as the gang entered the lodge next to the one the Bennetts and the twins would be occupying.

"Why not?" replied Claude. "And perhaps sledding and snowboarding!"

Everyone plunged into questions and answers about their current life and families as Jamie merely sat back and watched; people-watching, something he had been doing quite a lot of during his spare time, while seeking inspiration. He couldn't quite believe what he was witnessing. All six of them together again, and the best part, in a snowy area.

"Looks like you were wrong after all," he spoke up all of a sudden. The negativity of his statement attracted their attention, as they turned, eyebrows raised. "You were saying, years ago, that we might never be able to have such fun sledding again together? Or playing in the snow?" he continued. "Well now, we don't have only have that, but also skiing and snowboarding. Now all we're missing is Jack."

"Jack?" Pippa echoed. "Seriously, Jamie, do you still believe in him?"

Jamie turned sharply to face her, appalled. "Oh, come on, Pippa, not this again? This whole 'I-do-not-believe thing again? Why?"

Pippa forehead creased as a deep frown etched itself into her face. "It was just an innocent question, Jamie," she responded, snappily. "I've not been seeing him or the other guardians around anymore, but that doesn't mean I've lost my belief in them. Well, not entirely. But I'm not bringing up my children on fairy tales."

"They're not fairy tales!" Jamie countered.

"They make good bedtime stories and it's actually pretty good to incorporate a little fantasy into the kids' lives, so I don't think shutting the guardians completely out is a good plan, Pippa," Cupcake responded. "I still do tell them about the guardians and read Jamie's book to them before bedtime, and they love it, but I'll leave it to them to find out what's real and what's not on their own."

"Fantasy?" Jamie leaped to his feet. "Is that how you see the guardians, Cupcake? Seriously, what happened?"

"Calm down," Caleb said, cautiously but urgently, putting a hand on Jamie's shoulder. The gesture played no part in lessening the young man's sudden fury.

"We still believe, but just not as much," Monty stepped in. "We rarely see them anyway. I know they're guardians and they're supposed to be... watching over the children of the world, not the young adults or the children they were close to once but whom are already grown up. And now in this era, we still can introduce our kids to the guardians, but we can't keep telling them they're real."

"But..."

"The children will believe anyway," Monty continued. "We just can't encourage it too much, else their future could actually be jeopardized."

There was silence, as Jamie did not retort and no one else said another word. About two minutes passed, before Jamie spoke again, in a low, slightly-trembling voice. "I can't believe you."

He walked out.

Sorry if everyone seems a little OOC here. :-( As usual, thanks for reading!