Declassified

Declassified Part 18 Genes and Geniuses

      Thalia couldn't get enough of Alex's pictures. The brothers had so many fun looking memories together. Sports and games, travelling and playing together. Every once in a while Maxim would come over to look at the pictures and comment on them. The Petrovs' love and pride in their boys was so evident in everything they did and said, and Thalia felt a warmth in her stomach just hearing them talk. 

      I wonder what it would have been like to have loving parents. Thalia thought as she looked at a picture of Laura with all of the boys hugging her.
      Laura pointed to Alex's face in one of the pictures. "He was always so handsome." She said proudly.

      "Aw. He was so cute." Thalia smiled at the picture of seven year old Alex. "He never went through that awkward stage?" She asked curiously.
      Laura shook her head. "No. Not really. He was very clumsy in late primary, early high school because he shot up so quickly, but he was always handsome. All my boys were."

      Thalia smiled at Laura's love of her sons. But, judging from the pictures, it was true. The boys looked nice in every shot. "Where in Russia is your family from?"
      Laura smiled. "My dad was from near St. Petersburg, and my mom's ancestors were from Siberia. I was born in Russia, but I grew up here in Fairfax."

      "Well, your genes with Maxim's genes make for some good looking boys." Thalia admitted, flipping to the next page.
      "You must have been adorable as a child." Laura said, looking at Thalia with a smile. 

      Thalia blushed, shaking her head as she thought about her childhood. "I was skinny and awkward." She admitted, making a face.
      Laura smiled, clearly not believing it. "Maybe next time you come over you can bring some pictures. Or maybe your mom and I can meet for coffee some time."

      Thalia didn't know what to say because she had neither childhood photos nor a mom to bring. But right before a family breakfast didn't seem like a good time to mention it.
      Especially since Dan is here. She realized. I don't know if I could handle him teasing me about that. Frowning, Thalia pointed to a picture of the four boys when Alex was about six. "What's that in Andy's hand?"

      Laura looked at the big eye dropper in her second son's hand. "Oh, it was from the school. Andrei had some fine motor skill challenges when he was a boy." She frowned. "It took us a long time to realize it. We thought he was just careless and messy."
      Thalia could tell it was a sore spot. "I imagine most little boys are." She said supportively.

      Laura nodded. "I suppose they are. The other boys were always anxious to get outside and play, so we just assumed that was Andy's problem too. He'd take forever to write things down, and they'd be so messy." She paused, flipping the page. "By the time we realized what the problem was he was convinced he just wasn't smart enough to do the work."

      "Oh." Thalia said, surprised, picturing little Andy struggling in school. From what Alex had said about his brother, Thalia knew Andy had gotten on the Dean's List in college so it was a surprise to hear that he'd struggled early on.
      "He was a very smart boy." Maxim added. "But it hurt his self esteem."

      Laura nodded. "He was always anxious, but I think that made it worse. The school gave us some tools to help him get better coordinated, but by then he already felt so bad about himself." She said, touching a picture of Andy in front of a birthday cake.

      "Poor Andy." Thalia frowned as she tried to imagine the five year old in the picture being anxious about anything. "He was adorable as a little boy." She said honestly. "Was he always bigger than Max?"

      "Yes, but he didn't realize that was unusual until he started school." Laura flipped a page in the album. "That definitely made his anxiety worse. Even in kindergarten older boys would pick on him because he looked like he was their age, but he'd react like a five year old."

      Thalia frowned, thinking about her childhood. Her experience had sort of been the opposite. She'd looked young—she still did—so people would expect her to act like a younger child. "Did Max stick up for him?" She asked, thinking about Alex's smiling older brother.

      Laura smiled. "He did. Max was always an easy child. Alex too. Both kind and well liked, and easy to get along with."
      Thalia smiled. They were still both very easy going and likeable. "What about Dan?"

      Laura thought about it. "He would stand up for any of his brothers, but sometimes he'd get frustrated with Andy for not standing up for himself."
      Thalia nodded. "I guess I can understand that." She said honestly. "I wish I could tell Andy to stop stressing about things but I know it won't help."

      Laura nodded. "I tried that for years. By the time I realized his stress wasn't going away and there was a real problem, he was old enough to refuse to go to the doctor's."
      Thalia nodded, noticing that in many of the pictures Andy had a worried look on his face.

      Laura frowned and exchanged a look with her husband. "We used to caution him all the time about being careful with others. I mean, I think most people tell their sons to be careful about hurting others, to not roughhouse too much."

      Thalia nodded, remembering what Alex had told her about Andy's anxiety. "Of course. I'm sure you were just being concerned."

      Laura frowned, flipping a page in the album. "He broke Alex's arm when he was, oh, maybe eleven, and Alex was nine. Completely an accident, but Andy felt horrible about it. Worse than Alex did." She shook her head sadly. "That's when his anxiety started getting really bad."

      Thalia's eyes were wide as she remembered what Alex had said about how guilty Andy had felt. "Poor Andy." She said honestly. Broken bones, she knew, healed. But sometimes the trauma of the experience lasted.

      "We didn't understand anxiety back then." Laura admitted, almost to herself. "We thought, why can't you just be like your brothers? Why are you so worried about everything?"
      Thalia nodded. "It's still not well understood." She admitted. "And there's a lot of stigma attached to it."

      Laura nodded, looking at her youngest son's girlfriend. "But you're friends with him, aren't you?" She asked hopefully, placing one hand on Thalia's slim arm.
      Thalia nodded. "Yes. Andy's the best." She smiled as Alex came in. "Other than Alex, of course."

      Alex grinned and sat next to Thalia to look at the album. "I am the best." He agreed.
Laura smiled broadly. "You are. But Andy's always been sweet. He always thinks about other people, even if he doesn't say anything about it."
      Alex smiled at his mom. "Thal does that too. I think that's why they get along."

      Thalia shook her head. "I don't do that." She said honestly, thinking about the stool. "I wish I were as thoughtful as Andy is."
      "No, you are." Alex told her, flipping the page. "You always try to see the best in people. You try to anticipate their needs." He kissed her forehead. "You don't try to force people to change, you just try to see the best in who they are."

      Thalia shook her head, not seeing it.
      "She likes Dan." Alex said to his mom, raising his eyebrows emphatically. "She thinks he's nice under the surface."
      Laura laughed at the shock on her youngest son's face.

      "He is nice." Thalia pointed out, laughing. "He just... doesn't always think before he speaks, and sometimes he hurts people's feelings unintentionally." She said, trying to convince herself that he didn't hate her.

      Alex laughed. "You should see Thalie standing up for Andy against Dan." He told his mom. "It's pretty funny to watch."
      Laura smiled at the petite woman and her husband spoke up from the stove. "It takes someone strong in spirit to stand up for others."

      Thalia looked at another picture of the boys with their grandparents. "It's funny to see Max without a beard." She observed, smiling at her boyfriend. "You look just like him."
      "I'm younger and better looking though." Alex joked, smiling at his girlfriend.

      Thalia smiled and shook her head at him. "You all look a lot alike." She noted. "Laura, does Max have green eyes too?" She asked, looking closely at a picture of Alex's oldest brother.

      "All four." Laura told the younger woman. "Just like their father." Thalia picked up a platter of blinis and followed Laura into the dining room. "Do you look more like your mom or your dad?" Laura asked as Alex went to get Dan and Andy.

      "I think my mom." Thalia said honestly. She didn't even know her dad so she had no way of knowing if they shared any physical traits. "I get my red hair from my mom."
      "And your fortune from your dad?" Dan guessed as he came in.

      Thalia opened her mouth, deciding to finally tell him she didn't come from money, but Maxim spoke up in Russian, shaking his head at his third son. "Daniil, you were raised with better manners than that."

      Dan shrugged. He didn't look repentant, but he stopped teasing her, which Thalia was grateful for. I should have told him from the start. Thalia realized. Maybe he would have stopped being mean to me if he knew I wasn't a rich kid.

      But it was too late for that. And now he was always so antagonistic towards her that she didn't think she'd ever feel comfortable talking about her background with him.
      "Are you excited to be going back to work?" Maxim asked Alex as they sat down.

      Thalia saw the smile flash across Alex's face before he answered. "It'll be nice to be back at work, but I'll miss being home too." He said, giving Thalia an apologetic smile.

      Thalia forced herself to smile back. She'd pushed that out of her mind. These past nine weeks have been so amazing with Alex. She thought, looking back to her blinis. I wonder what it will be like when he's back at work.

      Her eyes darted to Andy when she looked up, realizing that now they'd both be worrying about Alex while he was away.
      What if he gets hurt in the field? Thalia wondered, feeling her pulse kick up a notch. And what is going to happen to our relationship once we're apart?