FAMILY BOND

Chapter 11

"Oh, my God." Tim whispers as he looks up at the platform to which they have to climb up to.

"Are you alright?" Adam asks as he slips on his safety helmet.

"No, I'm not alright." Tim snaps as he begins to breathe heavily. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you. But I honestly don't think I can do this."

"Come on, Tough Guy. You'll be fine." Eddie chuckles as he pats Tim on the back before heading up the stairs leading to the platform.

"Oh, that makes me feel so much better. The fear of me falling to my death is completely gone. You're a miracle worker, Ed." Tim says with attitude.

"Bossman, they check these cables every day to make sure that they are fine." Chris says as he makes his way up the stairs.

"Well, if I'm gonna do this..." Tim says as he straps on his helmet. "I'm going before Eddie. Cause that big son of a b*tch is liable to break the cable." 

"Just don't look down, Timbo. We're pretty high up." Avi says as they start up the stairs.

"You're not helping, Sweet Cheeks." Tim chuckles nervously.

"Sorry." Avi smiles.

Tim watches as the employee makes sure that Chance and Austin's harnesses are secure before attaching the cable to them.

"On three?" Chance asks as he looks over at Austin as they step up to the edge of the platform. Austin smiles and nods. "One, two, three!"

"Oh, sh*t." Tim whispers as he watches his friends jump, possibly to their death.

"See, Tim? There's nothing to it." Chris says as he and Nate get harnessed up for there turn.

"Sorry if I don't share your confidence, Chris." Tim says as he hears Austin's screams of excitement.

"Next?" The employee asks after Chris and Nate take their plunge off the ledge.

"Come on, Sweetheart, you can do this." Adam says as he takes Tim by the hand.

"It might help if you close your eyes before you jump, Tim. I was petrified the first time I did it." Kirstie says. "And closing my eyes helped. The jumping is the worst part."

"And don't look down." Avi reminds him.

"Any time, Timmy Boy." Eddie smiles. He was getting a kick out of seeing his long-time friend actually scared.

"D*mn good thing I had my will redone." Tim says as he watches the man check his harness. "Cause you're not getting a d*mn dime, Edward."

"You're not going to die, Tim. It'll be fun, you'll see." Esther says.

"You're doing fine, Sir." The employee says as he attaches the cable to Tim's harness. "I've seen a lot of people actually have panic attacks up here."

"I'm not far from it, Buddy." Tim says, shaking his head.

Tim takes a hard swallow before slowly stepping toward the edge.

"On three?" Adam asks.

"No. Wait, wait, wait." Tim says shaking his head as he backs away from the edge.

"Take some deep breaths, Baby." Adam says softly.

"Baby sounds about right." Eddie laughs.

Tim slowly turns his head toward Eddie. The fear had left his eyes and replaced with anger.

"When we get done here, I will punch you in your face. I will promise you that." Tim says calmly with a raised brow. "Let's do this, Adam."

He takes Adam by the hand and steps back up to the ledge.

"Close your eyes if you need to." Kirstie reminds him.

"And don't look down." Avi says for the third time.

"On three?" Adam asks as he gently squeezes his husband's hand. 

Tim takes a deep breath and gives a slight nod as he stares straight ahead. He refused to close his eyes but definitely didn't want to look down.

"One......two...." Adam counted slowly as he watches his lover. "Three!"

With that, they both jump from the ledge.

"HOLY MOLY!! HE DID IT!!! I KNEW HE COULD!!!!" Avi shouted with excitement. He turns to Eddie and points a finger at him. "And you're getting a punch in the face!!" He laughs as he and Kirstie get ready to take their turn.

"Tim, won't hit me." Eddie says with a sneer.

"Oh, yeah? I've never known Timbo to go back on a promise." Avi says as he takes Kirstie's hand as they jump. "GERONIMO!!!!"

There were several platforms that they reached. Each time, Tim was becoming more relaxed. It was actually beautiful zipping through the rainforest.

"Well?" Chance asks as Tim and Adam take off their gear.

"It wasn't too bad." Tim says. "That first jump was almost more than I could take though. At least I can say that I faced my fear."

"Timbo!!" Avi shouts as he and his wife join the waiting group. He gives the hitman a quick hug. "I'm so proud of you."

"Thanks." Tim smiles as he returns the hug. "I don't know if I'd do it again though."

"I see you made it all in one piece." Eddie laughs. "See? You did all that whining for nothing."

As he and Esther reach the group, as promised, he is punched in the jaw by the slightly smaller brunette. The unsuspecting muscle man falls to the ground.

"WHAT THE HELL!!??" Chris yells as he grabs Tim and pushes him back.

"I love you like a brother, Ed. But don't you EVER make fun of me again!!" Tim says as he points around Chris to his friend laying on the ground holding his jaw.

"You know you asked for that, right?" Esther asks as she helps her boyfriend up from the ground.

"Yeah, I guess I did." Eddie chuckles as he rubs his aching jaw. "You have quite a punch, Timothy."

"Don't piss me off." Tim replies with a shrug as he looks at his bruised knuckles.

They all load back into the bus and head back to the hotel where they had left the van.

"We still have time to do something else if Y'all want to." Tim says.

"I hear they have an amazing zoo/aquarium here." Esther says. "It'll be more relaxing."

"That sounds good. But I would like to grab a bite to eat first and find somewhere to, uh, take my medicine." Tim says with a slight chuckle.

Adam drove to the restaurant so that Tim could take his 'medicine' to stop the pain that was beginning to throb in his shoulder.

~~

"Tim?" Esther says after Eddie had gone to the restroom. "I'm really proud of you for facing your fears like you did. We all have them, including Eddie."

"Really? That's surprising. To hear him talk you'd think he was Superman." Tim says as he munches down on a cheese stick.

"Mhmm, he has a huge fear of spiders. No matter how big or small, poison or non-poison." She says with a slight smirk.

"Interesting." Tim nods with a smile.

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