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Chapter Text

Gabriel Reyes learned about soulmates in high school, when his sophomore year English teacher made his class read Plato's Symposium . He learned how in ancient times soulmates existed as one being. One body with two faces and four arms and legs. They were so powerful even the gods grew fearful of them, so Zeus split them down the center with his thunderbolt. Now humanity is forced to search the globe for their other half. Never feeling whole until they find the person who completes them.

It's a hokey story. Even for a hopeless, soft-bellied romantic like him. But for whatever reason, it stuck with him.

Gabriel's first encounter with Jack was brief. A two minute conversation as they walked in the rain. Jack joked how the food tasted like watery cardboard. He responded with a quip about how their drill sergeant looked like a walrus with his shiny, bald head and thick mustache. Jack's face lit up with a dimpled grin, and something new and thrilling stirred within him. That night as he lay in his bunk with his hands clutching his chest, he knew he was smitten. Head over heels, utterly helpless, shot in the ass with one of Cupid's arrows smitten.

Gabriel wasn't about to get his hopes up his crush would lead to anything. Jack was straight, he had to be. Except, he wasn't. But Gabriel still pushed his feelings away. Jack might like guys, but it didn't mean he liked him. Except, he did. This petrified Gabriel. He worried once Jack saw all his faults and flaws, he would change his mind. Except, Jack fell more in love with him the closer he got.

Gabriel stopped worrying. His thoughts of their future turned hopeful instead of heartbreaking. He dreamed of the wedding they would have, the house they would buy, the family they would raise. How they would grow old and grey together, and their love would remain unwavering.

He was one of the lucky few who found his other half.

Years later, after everything went wrong, he found himself asking Ana about her divorce. If she knew when she got married she'd leave her husband a few years later. She considered the question, swiveling her glass and taking a sip before answering.

"Hmm.... I was aware our marriage wasn't only about love. I was pregnant, and there was all this pressure from both our families. But I did love him. I wouldn't say I knew, but if you told me on my wedding day Sam and I weren't going to last, I wouldn't have been surprised."

Gabriel didn't know. He was blissfully unaware on his wedding day how much things would change not four years later. He thought after they got married he could stop worrying. They'd made it through the hard part. The falling, the feelings, the uncertainty. Now they could relax and enjoy their happily ever after.

But falling in love isn't the hard part. Staying in love is.

It wasn't right away, and it wasn't all at once. There wasn't one event he could pinpoint as the moment their marriage crumbled. It was slow and gradual, like continents drifting away a few millimeters a year until there's a whole ocean separating them. He and Jack woke up every morning a little less in love, until one day there wasn't enough love left to balance out everything else.

It would be easy for Gabriel to blame it on the time they spent apart. How the army would station them across the globe. How they could only communicate through phone calls and love letters. It would be easy, but it wouldn't be true. Even the days they were together, it felt like Jack was a million miles away. Gabriel could hold him close enough feel his heart beating, but his mind was somewhere else.

He thought when they de-enlisted and started doing all the things they planned, it would bring them closer. It worked, for a short while. The happiness they found was temporary. A band aid on a bullet wound, slowly bleeding out with no way to stop it.

They tried to ignore the growing rift. They pretended their arguments and their fights weren't part of a bigger problem. But it grew so large and uncomfortable they found they had no choice but to face it head on. Jack broke down first. He suggested a separation. He said they'd both benefit from some time apart to cool their heads. Gabriel found it funny, how he called it a suggestion. Jack already packed a bag and bought a plane ticket to Indianapolis. One-way. No return date.

It felt like a piece of him was ripped out of his chest as he watched Jack walk out the door.

Gabriel thought if he ended it himself, it wouldn't hurt as much. He took things a step further. He called a lawyer for the first time in his life. The one his cousin Francisco called "The best damn attorney in California". Two days later he's sitting in an office filling out the documents to file for divorce.

The proceedings were quick and simple. Neither he nor Jack wanted to drag this out or make it more complicated than necessary. They had to make a few tough choices, but they divided everything equally between them. A clean 50/50 split. Neither would walk away with more than the other. After an hour of negotiation at a long, glossy wooden table, they were once again separate halves. A few strokes of a pen, and soulmates were split.

When everything was all said and done, they shook hands. Jack gave him a small smile, those dimples he fell in love with still there. He returned it with a curt nod, and walked off in the opposite direction.

Now when Gabriel thinks about soulmates, he thinks that the gods were right. People are better off separate and alone.

Chapter Text

Lena Morrison didn't sleep a wink last night, but she's too busy buzzing with excitement to feel tired.

Today is an exciting day of firsts. It's her first trip on an airplane, her first excursion west of the Mississippi River, her first time away from Pa and the farm for longer than 12 hours. It's her first day of camp, and the start of what's bound to be the best summer of her life.

Lena steps off the bus and breathes in the fresh, mountain air. Not a whiff of fertilizer or cow manure. She's left the flat, bleary Indiana cornfields behind and traded them for wilderness. Real wilderness, with grizzly bears, pine trees, and enormous snow-capped mountains. She couldn't picture a more perfect, beautiful place to call home for the next two months.

A part of her still can't believe she's here. Two months ago she was stressing out about asking Pa to come here. She thought for sure he'd say no. There's always a ton of work to do on the farm, and if she left Pa would be on his own for the whole summer. But Pa said yes without putting up a fuss. He thought it would be good for her to get away and meet some new people. She nearly suffocated him hugging him in thanks.

Lena follows the crowd of campers over to the pile of luggage. The heaping mass is almost as big as the mountains in the distance. She spots her orange polka-dotted duffel bag and yanks it from out of the pile. She might have a lean, runner's build, but she's lugged around giant bags of chicken feed since she was a kid. She's got some serious muscles.

Someone taps her shoulder from behind. “Excuse me? Do you think you can help me with my bag?

“Of course! Which one is--” Lena stops mid-sentence, tongue tied. She locks eyes with this girl and she forgets how to speak. The sunlight makes her red hair glow golden orange, and freckles dot across her cheeks and shoulders like constellations.

Lena's heart is racing, her palms are sweating, and butterflies are fluttering in her stomach. She didn't sign up for camp to find a summer romance, but she won't lie and say the idea never crossed her mind. She was not however, expecting to get heartstruck by the first pretty girl she laid eyes on.

She mentally kicks herself to stop being a useless lesbian and lend her a hand.

"Uh… sorry. Which one is yours?” She says with the British accent she's spent the last couple weeks perfecting. She's now a dead ringer for Daisy from her favorite BBC show Dr. Why .

The accent was an idea she had. She could be anyone she wants here. No one would know she's lying. She could reinvent herself as a cool, suave girl from England instead of a nobody from a rinky dink farm town In Indiana.

The girl pokes a green suitcase at the bottom of the pile. With one sharp yank Lena tugs the suitcase out, and presents it to the girl. She smiles in appreciation, warm and soft. Lena feels her face flush, and she wants to melt into a puddle.

"Thank you Lena.”

“No problem! Wait-- how did you know my name?”

“Oh, uh… it's on your luggage tag. I'm Emily, by the way." Her cheeks tinge pink. She only looks more adorable when she's flustered. And Lena didn't notice at first, but she's got a subtle British accent.

“Lovely to meet you Emily. Hey, are you from England too?”

"Huh? No, I'm from San Diego. Well-- my Mum’s from Scotland, and when I was little I spent the summers in Aberdeen with my grandparents. But no, definitely not English.”

"Oh! You just have an accent."

She laughs, soft and sweet. "Yeah, I get that a lot. I don't hear it, but everyone else says they do. You uh… where exactly in England are you from?"

She's about to answer, but a short man with a clipboard shouts over them. The nametag on his chest reads Camp Director Torbjörn.

"Cabin five! Attention cabin five! I'm looking for Lena Morrison, Satya Vaswani, and Emily--" the man squints at his clipboard. "hang on, there's a smudge over your last name."

"Let me have a look." Emily peers over his shoulder and grins. "That's me!"

"And I'm Lena Morrison!" She says.

“Looks like we'll be living together.” Emily grins and grabs both her hands. Lena needs to sit down.

"Cabin 5 is just over that hill, with the yellow door.” Torbjörn points at a dirt trail to their left. "Use this time to set up, and report back here at five o'clock for dinner and the opening ceremony."

Another girl joins them-- tall and sophisticated, with long black hair and perfect posture. Satya, their other roommate. She and Emily say their hellos, and the three of them start off toward their cabin.

“Cabin six!” Torbjörn calls as they climb the hill. “Attention cabin six. I'm looking for Hana Song, Aleksandra Zaryanova, and Olivia Reyes!"

-

Olivia Reyes has been at camp for five minutes, but she's already used half her can of bug spray. This place is infested with gnats. She holds her breath out of fear one will fly up her nose. Better start her obituary now. She won't survive two months away from wi-fi, air conditioning, and the fro-yo shop two blocks from her apartment.

She can't fathom why all these girls are so eager to be here. Everyone has these huge grins. Moments ago she saw two girls holding hands and jumping up and down in excitement. Camp isn't that special. If she wanted to make macaroni art she could do it at home.

"Okay Olivia, we're here, now hand it over." Her older brother Jesse nudges her and holds out his hand.

She grins at him with her sweetest smile. "I don't know what you're talking about."

He rolls his eyes. "Very funny Squirt. You know full well your Dad said you could keep your phone until you got to camp. We’re here, so hand it over."

She scowls. It's not like she expected him to forget. She's lucky it's him and not Dad. He would have confiscated the phone before she even got out of the car.

It was Dad's idea to send her here. He thought it would be good for her to "get outside" and "experience nature". She had no desire to traipse around a forest and get poison ivy, and she told him so. Repeatedly. He was about to change his mind after she made the honor roll and managed to stay out of detention all semester. Then her middle school found out she hacked into the school network, and held her diploma.

It was total bull. They couldn't punish her after she already graduated. And she hadn't even done anything when she hacked in. She just wanted to see if she could do it. (She could, and it only took her about two minutes.) But the damage was done. Dad hit the roof when they got the phone call. She thought she was going to go deaf from all his screaming. Not only did he send her here as a punishment, he also took away her computer, and soon she'll have to kiss her phone goodbye.

Or so he thinks.

What he and Jesse don't know is she's got a secret, second phone stashed at the bottom of her suitcase. The screen is cracked and the battery dies after a couple hours, but she'd take a flip phone if it meant being connected to the civilized world.

"Aww… Jesse, can't we just pretend you took my phone? Dad doesn't have to know." She sticks out her bottom lip and flashes him big puppy dog eyes. She has to sell this or else Jesse will think something is up.

He lets out a dry laugh. "Nice try, but Gabriel will kill us both if I did that. As much as I'd love to do you a solid, I kinda like being alive so..."

"Olivia Reyes! I'm looking for Olivia Reyes!" A short, bearded man shouts.

"That's you Squirt." Jesse nudges her. She starts to walk off, but she only gets a few feet before he screams. “Wait! Phone!”

She rolls her eyes and fishes her phone out of her pocket. “Here, happy?”

Jesse grins. He grabs her by the shoulder and ruffles her hair, ignoring her protests to knock it off.

"Have fun. Be sure to write! And make one of those friendship bracelets for me!”

She approaches the bearded man with the clipboard. He introduces her roommates, Hana and Zarya, and points them in the direction of their cabin. The three of them hike up and down a hill until they reach cabin six. It's only a half mile walk, but a blister forms on the back of her heel, and her arm is heavy and sore from swatting bugs out of her face.

Their cabin is empty except for three identical twin beds. Olivia claims the one closest to the air-conditioning unit. They have a/c. Miracles do happen. She lugs her suitcase onto her bed and unpacks. She gropes around for her phone, but doesn't find it. Her pulse spikes. Frantic, she checks the side pockets without any luck.

"What are you looking for?" Zarya asks. She's turned away from her own unpacking to watch her dump the contents of her suitcase onto her bed.

"My phone. I swear I packed it."

Hana blows a pink, sugary bubble and shrugs without looking up from her video game. "It won't do you any good. The signal sucks out here."

Olivia purses her lips. Something isn't adding up here. She packed her phone, she's certain she did. She checks the bottom of her suitcase once more. Still no phone, but her hand sweeps over a piece of paper. It's a note.

Nice try Olivia.

-Dad

It takes everything in her not to scream.

-

It doesn't take Lena long to fall in love with camp. She throws herself into all the different activities, and grows closer to her campmates. She'd stay here forever if she could. There's only one thing she'd get rid of for it to be perfect-- Camp Director Torbjörn.

A little bubble of anxiety forms in her stomach whenever he enters the room. He's a cranky, no-nonsense disciplinarian. It's like the muscles in his face were never taught how to smile. Brigitte, one of the campers in cabin eight and his daughter, swears he's a nice, loving guy. Lena doesn't doubt her, but she's yet to see that side of him.

Lucky for her, her only real contact with him is during meals. She's not a troublemaker, so she isn't on his radar. She thinks she safe from his wrath-- until he comes storming up to her with a deep frown painted on his face.

She almost drops the canoe she's carrying on her foot. She thinks she's going to throw up. She's right next to the lake. Canoeing off to safety is a viable option.

"Olivia! I need a word with you!"

She furrows her brows. She looks behind for anyone else, but she's alone.

"I- Excuse me? Are you talking to me?"

"Don't play dumb with me Olivia. A pair of scissors has gone missing from the arts and crafts area. I've had several campers report they saw you slip them into your pocket. Care to explain?”

"I--I'm sorry sir. I'm not Olivia. I'm Lena. You know, in cabin five?"

He stares at her, not saying anything. Her heart pounds. She can't tell from his stern expression if he believes her or not.

At last, he sighs. "You're right. I always get you two confused. Carry on."

Puzzlement surges through her as returns to her cabin. This isn't the first time someone's called her Olivia. It isn't even the first time today. Since the beginning of camp no one can seem to get her name straight.

Her first thought is it's an honest mistake. Lena and Olivia sound similar-- sort of? They at least contain some of the same syllables. But they aren't getting her name wrong, they're confusing her with another camper named Olivia. Apparently Lena looks so much like her even Olivia's roommates get confused. Yesterday at dinner Zarya stared at her in shock and asked when she cut her hair.

The more she thought about it, the more this whole thing stunk of a summer camp prank. There was no Olivia-- people were just messing with her. It was kind of amusing, and in a way it was nice to feel included in the camp culture. But the charm wore off after the fourth or fifth time. Now it's stale and annoying. She was this close to snapping at the next person who called her "Olivia".

Except, Camp Director Torbjörn was the next person to call her Olivia.

She's now convinced Olivia is a real flesh and blood human being. Camp Director Torbjörn would not be in on any pranks. She's not sure he possesses a sense of humor.

Lena sends Olivia her sympathy. No one should have to face the wrath of Torbjörn. Plus, she's probably had to deal with people calling her Lena all the time.

"Hey have either of you met Olivia?" Lena asks her cabinmates after she flops onto her bed.

"Who?" Emily asks.

"Olivia… Ruiz or something? I think she's in cabin six. People keep telling me I look like her, but I haven't met her yet."

"It's Reyes." Satya says, looking up from her architecture magazine. "Olivia Reyes, and yes, she's in cabin six."

"So you've met her?"

She nods with a frown. "She was in arts and crafts with me yesterday. She was quite reckless with her glue gun, and I'm fairly certain she stole a pair of scissors."

"Do you think we look alike?"

She sets down her magazine and stares at her. "Hmm... aside from the hair, you two do share an uncanny resemblance."

Lena keeps her eyes peeled for her doppelganger. Whenever she hears the name Olivia, she scans every direction to no avail. This ubiquitous Olivia must be hiding from her. How else could they have not crossed paths yet? The camp isn't that big.

It's funny how you only find things when you aren't looking for them. As she's finishing her morning hike she hears her campmate Zarya call out for Olivia. She gets her stock response ready--“No, I'm not Olivia, I'm Lena”. To her confusion Zarya walks right past her. She watches as she greets a bored-looking girl leaning against the flagpole.

"Oh my God!"

Lena has to do a double take. She gets it now-- why people think they're the same person. It's a real life version of those online dress-up games where she drags and drops different hairstyles onto a photo of herself. They're literally different hairstyles on the same face. They have the same pointed chin and upturned nose. Same brown, lightly freckled skin. Same mahogany hair, though hers is much longer apart from the sidecut, and she's dip-dyed the ends of hers purple.

"Olivia! Hey wait up." Her true accent slips out as she shouts. Her brain is too distracted by her clone standing 10 feet away to remember how to talk.

Olivia stares as she runs over to her, her eyebrows scrunched in an expression she can't place. Confusion? Annoyance? Olivia must be freaking out too. This is the wildest thing Lena's ever experienced in her 14 years of living.

Up close there's some subtle differences between them. Olivia has a beauty mark under her left eye, her face is more angular and less freckled, and her natural hair is a shade darker. Her eyes are vibrant purple, but those have to be color contacts. Lena would bet all the money in her piggy bank her natural eye color is copper brown, just like hers.

"Uh… can I help you?" Olivia asks. She even sounds like her. Not a perfect match. Her voice is a pitch or two lower and she doesn’t share her accent, English or Midwestern. But she wouldn't have to adjust too much if she wanted to imitate her.

"Oh my god! I thought people were exaggerating but-- holy cow. It's like looking in a mirror!"

“Excuse me?”

“You and me. Look at us! We look exactly alike.”

Olivia gives her a cold look up and down. She clicks her tongue and frowns. "Mmm… I don't see it."

She blinks, confused. "You're kidding, right?”

"Nope. You need to get your eyes checked. I don't look anything like you." Olivia turns her shoulder and walks off, leaving Lena slack-jawed and dumbfounded.

Is Olivia blind? Has she never looked in a mirror before? There's no way she didn't see their resemblance. Is she only pretending to mess with her?

If so, she's doing a damn good job.

Lena didn't think it was possible to be more frustrated after meeting Olivia than before. How can Olivia be so dismissive of their resemblance when she's so curious? She's dying to get to know her. She wants to know where she’s from, what her hobbies are, what her family's like. She wants to know if she's adopted, like she is. This could be one of those crazy stories where they're twins separated at birth.

There’s seven weeks of camp left. Olivia can’t avoid her forever. Lena will wear her down. She'll force her to admit they look exactly alike if she has to.

Emily tries to distract her from her uncooperative doppelganger. That afternoon they take a dip in the lake. The water is cold and the seaweed at the bottom is slimy, but at least Emily is there to shiver with her. They swim until their skin turns pruny and the dinner bell rings in the distance.

Something isn't right when she goes to change. The locker she stashed her stuff in is empty. She tries the one next to it, but it's also empty. So is the next one, and the next one, and the one after that. Emily helps her search through all the lockers, but her stuff's disappeared into thin air. Emily loans her a towel, and she walks back to her cabin barefoot and in her swimsuit.

She finds her clothes the next morning-- waving from atop the flagpole. Her shirt, her shorts, her underwear, and the camp flag. She woke up starving and craving the mess hall's french toast sticks, but now she's lost her appetite. Who would do this? And why?

The answer to one of those questions smirks from under the flagpole.

"Hey Lena. Interesting flag today, huh?" Olivia scoffs and saunters off.

Lena sprints back to her cabin. She curls up in her sleeping bag, hugs one of her pillows, and fights the urge to cry. Sure, she's mortified the entire camp saw her underwear, but what hurts most is the betrayal. She thought she and Olivia could be friends. It turns out Olivia has her own agenda that doesn't involve being nice.

The door to her cabin swings open, and she sits up in bed. It's Emily, wearing a sympathetic expression. She sits next to her and rubs her shoulder.

"Don't take it too hard. People play silly pranks on each other all the time here. Everyone will have forgotten all about it by tomorrow."

"I know. It's just-- I haven't even done anything to her. Why would she be so mean?"

"I don't know. I'm sorry Lena. But-- you know what you have to do now, right?"

"What?"

Emily shoots her a devilish grin. "Get her back."

The opportunity strikes three days later. It's cabin five's turn to set up the mess hall for breakfast. When Lena prepares cabin six's table, she dumps out the sugar bowl and replaces it with salt and baking soda.

It's a gamble. Olivia might not use the sugar, or she might prank the wrong target. She'd feel awful if Hana and Zarya were innocent casualties in her prank war. But Olivia returns from the breakfast line with a steaming mug of coffee, and her cabin-mates with chocolate milk. Lena and Emily both stifle giggles as Olivia adds four giant spoonfuls of "sugar" too her coffee. She takes a sip, then sputters and spits it all over her breakfast. She and Emily burst out laughing. Even Satya, who claims to be above all this pranking nonsense, hides a tiny giggle behind her hand.

Olivia whips her head over to their table. There's murder in her eyes.

"Salt in the sugar bowl? Amateur much?"

"The look on your face doesn't say amateur." She smirks and high-fives Emily. She walks out of the mess hall feeling a foot taller.

The next morning she wakes up with a sharpie dick drawn on her forehead. How Olivia snuck into her room in the dead of night without anyone hearing is beyond her. At least Satya has some amazing make-up wipes and it only takes her a couple minutes to wash it off. In response, she sneaks into Olivia's cabin and stuffs her pillowcase with seaweed. Hana tells her the next morning Olivia spent a half hour in the shower rinsing the stench out of her hair.

Lena becomes hyper-vigilant. She peeks around corners for any signs of foul play and won't eat anything that doesn't come prepackaged. The whole camp is aware of their escalating antics, and are quick to stay out of their way. Even Emily is growing reluctant to help her out. Lena would love to put this whole thing to bed, but she can't be the first to raise the white flag and surrender. She can't let Olivia win, even if it takes all summer.

Tension between them is at its peak during the tug-of-war competition. It's all fun and games against the other cabins, but their match against cabin six is serious business. It's a dirty fight. Metaphorically and literally thanks to the mud from last night's thunderstorm. The three of them have enthusiasm, endurance, and determination. They put up a brilliant fight. But it's not enough to match Zarya.

"Good game you guys." Lena smiles and offers a congratulatory handshake to Zarya. "I had a really fun ti-"

Splat.

Something cold and grimy hits the back of her head. It drips in thick, gooey glops down her neck and under her shirt collar. She reaches behind her, and her hand comes back covered in mud. She searches the scene to figure out where the Hell it came from.

Olivia sticks out her tongue. Thick, cakey mud coats her throwing hand.

Lena seethes with rage. That was uncalled for. She's being a gracious, humble loser in the face of their victory. Plus, it's not Olivia's turn to retaliate. Lena hasn't gotten her back yet after she tied her shoelaces together under the table at breakfast this morning.

Lena reaches down and starts to form a mudball, but Emily is quicker to the draw. She hurls a fistful of mud at Olivia. Olivia smirks. She's expecting it. She sidesteps the mudball and it instead hits a confused Brigitte Lindholm square in the chest.

"Mud fight!" Someone shouts.

The scene devolves into utter chaos. People scream as mudballs fly in every direction. Satya dives behind a tree for safety, but not before getting hit in the shoulder. Zarya makes a massive mud cake and dumps it on Emily's head. Lena ignores the battle raging around her. She has one target: Olivia. They lock eyes and aim their clumps at each other. They throw at rapid speed. Her arm screams in protest, but she doesn't stop. She's going to keep at this until Olivia collapses in exhaustion.

"Stop!"

Camp Director Torbjörn looms over them. His beard drips with mud. Everyone freezes in place, and it's quiet enough to hear a pin drop.

"Who is responsible for this?" He asks.

Half the camp glares at Olivia, the other at Emily.

Torbjörn shakes his head. "Olivia, why am I not surprised you're involved in this? But I expected better from you Emily."

Emily stares at her shoelaces. She swallows, and it looks like she might cry.

"No!" Lena shouts. She's not letting Emily take the fall for this. It wouldn't be fair. This rivalry with Olivia is her mess. Emily is just a bystander who got dragged in.

"Lena, what are you doing?" Emily whispers.

"It's okay. I would have started it if you weren't so fast at making mudballs."

She smiles. "Thank you."

"Emily didn't start the mud fight, I did." She says, loud enough for Torbjörn and the entire camp to hear.

Torbjörn tsks and shakes his head. "Reyes, Morrison, follow me. We're going to discuss your punishment."

Chapter Text

Olivia didn't think she would find a disciplinarian stricter than her Dad. She still hasn't, but Camp Director Torbjörn gives him a run for his money. His face is a shade of angry tomato red she didn't believe was humanly possible until this moment.

"I should kick you both out!" He shouts, pointing a stern finger at them.

“I'm sorry Mr. Lindholm.” Lena says. Her bottom lip quivers.

Olivia almost feels some remorse. Almost. She never meant to hurt this girl, just mess with her a little. She was such an easy target, all bubbly and naive. Her over-the-top reactions were priceless. Still, Lena isn't a victimless angel here. This wasn't a one-sided prank war. Lena put seaweed in her pillow. She's still fuming over it.

"I should," he says again, "but I'm not going to. Brigitte insists I let you stay.”

The news lifts a weight off her shoulders. She's still not thrilled to be stuck in the woods with no wifi. But it beats the alternative: having to go home and explain to Dad she got kicked out of camp for bad behavior. She crosses her fingers Torbjörn won't notify him about this.

Lena grins, and she lets out an actual sigh of relief. "Thank you Mr. Lindholm! Thank you so, so much! I promise, I won't break any rules ever again!"

"You’d best not. You won't be getting a second chance."

“So, does this mean we’re not in trouble?” She asks.

Torbjörn lets out a dry laugh. “Absolutely not. Pack your bags and say goodbye to your cabin-mates. Tomorrow you're moving to the isolation cabin."

The next day at dawn Torbjorn leads them to their new cabin. The trail is rough and covered in foliage, and she's careful to watch her step for poison ivy. She worries Torbjörn has lost his way, until they stumble on a small cabin surrounded by trees. It looks like one strong gust of wind would knock the whole thing down. If this were a horror movie, this is the cabin she'd get murdered in.

“Uh… is this isolation cabin safe?” She asks.

“Of course. We err… haven't had to use it in a couple years, but it passed the last building inspection.”

"And how long ago was that?"

Torbjörn doesn't reply.

The inside is somehow in even worse shape than the outside. The few pieces of furniture are covered in a thick coat of dust and there's cobwebs everywhere. Faded posters of 90's Boy Bands and Leonardo DiCaprio in his Titanic days hang on the walls. A couple years? It doesn't look like anyone's lived here in decades.

"Let's go over the rules." Torbjörn says. "For the next week you're only allowed to visit the mess hall and the showers. If you can behave I'll allow you to participate in camp activities again. If not I'm sending you both home. Got it?"

"Got it." They say in unison.

She and Lena ignore each other as they work to make their new space habitable. It's silent aside from the creaking floorboards. While she clears away cobwebs, Lena draws a line with silver duck tape down the center of the cabin.

"That's your side of the room," she says, pointing at her feet, "and this is mine. You are not allowed to cross that line."

She rolls her eyes. The line is immature and unnecessary. They've already segregated themselves by pushing their furniture into opposite corners. And it's not like she has plans to get chummy with her English clone. It's bad enough they're stuck together for the rest of the summer.

"You do know the door is on my side of the room, right? Does that mean you're going to climb in and out through the window?"

Lena purses her lips and blows her bangs out of her face. "Okay fine, everything within three feet of the door is neutral territory, but otherwise, you stay on your side and I'll stay on mine."

"Three feet? I thought you Brits used the metric system?" Olivia raises an eyebrow and takes pleasure in watching Lena squirm.

"Err... yes, you're right. But... I used your American measurements since you uh… you don't understand the metric system."

"Right. Thank you for being so considerate."

They don't talk to each other for the rest of the day. Or the next day. They learn to communicate through angry glares. When Lena wants to turn the lights out, she'll glare until Olivia flips the switch over her bed. When she wants to head out for lunch, she stands at the door and glares at Lena until she's ready.

Olivia is bored out of her skull doing nothing. Olivia has one trashy magazine she's read cover to cover a dozen times now. Her fingers itch for her phone, not that it would do any good since Hana was right about this camp is a deadzone. Lena can't seem to sit still. She spends half the time pacing in circles and the other half playing with a deck of cards. She builds a house, knocks it down, and builds it again.

This summer can't go by any slower.

The silence breaks three days later when their air conditioning unit emits a loud, terrifying clunk. The machine's gentle hum and the feel of cool air flowing through the room disappear. It doesn't take long for their cabin to heat up like an oven. She's from Los Angeles. She knows hot. This is broiling.

"Maybe we should get Torbjörn?" She suggests.

Lena shakes her head. "We're not allowed to leave the cabin."

"Yeah, but-"

"I don't want to get kicked out of camp! I'm not leaving."

Olivia gives the a/c unit a hard whack, as if that will get it up and running again. It makes another clunk and some bolts rattle around inside. The room stays hot as ever.

Olivia opens her window as wide as it will go, but the outside air is still as stone, and no sweet summer breeze blows in. The afternoon thunderstorm brings no relief. She makes a paper fan out of a magazine page, but her arm tires from fanning herself. Dinner isn't for two more hours. She can feel herself cooking in her skin.

"Hey Lena?"

She looks up from her game of solitaire. “What?”

"Can you open your window?”

“No. It's raining outside and I don't want my stuff to get wet."

Olivia is going to melt. She can't stand any more of this heat. She decides to take matters into her own hands. She gets off her bed and yanks Lena's window open.

"Hey! You crossed the line!"

"Fuck the line. What are you gonna do about it?"

Lena glares daggers at her. She gets off her bed and shuts the window with a loud clang. Olivia opens it again.

"You're getting all my stuff wet!" Lena says as she shuts it once more.

"Then move your stuff." Olivia picks up her toiletry bottles and dumps them on the floor. She opens the window again.

Lena scowls. She struts over to her side of the room, picks up one of her dirty t-shirts off the floor, and chucks it out the window.

"Oh yeah, real mature."  

Lena throws more of her things. A flip flop, a bottle of sunscreen, a compact mirror. Well, two can play at this game. She picks up one of Lena's shampoo bottles and throws it outside. Lena grabs a wadded up bunch of her socks. She picks up a bar of her soap. Lena grips the teddy bear on her bed.

"Wait stop!" Olivia shouts.

If it were anything else she wouldn't care. Even if her phone was magically teleported here, she'd let Lena throw it out the window and into the torrential downpour before she threw her bear.

It was a gift from her Dad. Her other Dad. The one who left 12 years ago after her fathers divorced. It's stupid of her to hang onto it. She's 14, beyond the age of sleeping with stuffed animals. Dad's tried to convince her to throw it away dozens of times. But it's one of the few things she has to remember her other Dad with. Immature as it is, she's not ready to let it go.  

Lena’s face softens. She lowers her arm and places the bear back on her bed.

"Sorry, I didn't realize it was so important to you."

“It's fine. It's just sentimental to me, that's all."

"I get it. I've got something like that too." She crosses over to her side of the room and picks up a stuffed rabbit on her bed. "Not the bunny, the little hat it's wearing. My Dad made it for me when I was a baby. Obviously I can't wear it anymore, but I keep it around to remember him.”

It's a tiny knit cap made with yellow yarn and a bright blue pom pom on the top. It looks identical to those hats Dad knits in his spare time. That, coupled with how Lena looks freakishly like her, sends a shiver down her spine.

No, that's too weird. Too coincidental. There's millions of people who like to knit hats. Besides, Lena's British. While she doesn't know much about her other Dad, she knows he's not from England.  

Wait a sec, who is she kidding? This girl is as British as baseball and apple pie.

"So where are you really from?" Olivia asks.

Lena furrows her brows. "Excuse me?"

Olivia bites her lip. She could have worded that better. "Sorry. What I meant is-- you're not actually from England, are you?"

Lena scrunches up her nose, and her ears go red. Funny, that's what she does too when she gets embarrassed.

"What? Of course I am!"

"Lena, your accent sounds like you learned it watching that one TV show where they go time-traveling in a flying port-o-potty."

Lena looks scandalized. "It's a police box! And it's actually called The DARTIS, which stands for--"

"Lena, I literally don't care. The point I'm trying to make here is that your accent is fake."

Lena pouts and crosses her arms. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Hmmm… when your real accent slips you sound Midwestern. I'm going to guess you're from… Kansas?"

Lena doesn't respond.

"Okay, not Kansas. How about Iowa? Nebraska? Wisconsin? C'mon, I'm just gonna keep guessing until you tell me."

"Okay, okay fine." She says with her normal, midwestern accent. "I'm from Indiana. Unincorporated Bloomington, Indiana if you want to get specific."

"See, was that so hard?"

Lena sighs and looks down, studying the lines on her palms. "I just wanted people to think I was cool."

Olivia purses her lips. It was weird for Lena to lie about being English, but the lie was ultimately harmless. Which about sums up Lena. Weird but harmless. Olivia's struck with a pang of guilt at the way she's treated her the past week.  

"Okay, I'm not good at this mushy feel-y stuff, but Lena-- people here already think you're cool. You've got lots of friends and stuff, and they like you because you're ridiculously nice. So just be yourself-- or whatever.”

Lena gives her a small grin. “Thanks Olivia. I actually think you're pretty cool too. You're so confident and sure of yourself. It's a shame you always act like you don't want to be here.”

“It's not an act. I genuinely don't want to be here”

“Then I'm going to make it my mission to change your mind. When isolation is up I'm taking you canoeing, and you're going to have a blast!"

She smiles. "I might just take you up on that."

-

Olivia, it turns out, isn't actually that bad. Maybe it's because she's in a better mood since Torbjörn fixed their air conditioner, but she stops moping around and sighing every five minutes. They both apologize for their rocky start, and swear to do better. It's promising, but they've got a long way to go before they're making friendship bracelets and braiding each other's hair (well-- braiding Olivia's hair. Her pixie cut is too short for that.).

There's one perk that comes with living in the isolation cabin. They're so far away from the main camp no one will notice if they stay up after lights out. Camp Director Torbjörn does his final rounds at 10, and then he's back in his cabin where he's too far to see if they turn their lights back on.

They  don't take advantage of this their first few nights. Those days all Lena wanted to do was fall asleep and forget she was stuck with the camp menace for the rest of the summer. But tonight after everyone is supposed to be fast asleep, she and Olivia keep their lights on and play cards.

They sit on the floor in the center of their cabin, both still on their respective sides. Olivia suggests they play poker, but neither of them have any money-- or anything else worth gambling over. They settle on crazy eights. She shuffles the deck, letting Olivia cut the middle, and places the draw and discard pile on top of the sparkly duck tape line.

A comfortable silence settles over them. She loses count of the score after they finish a few rounds. It's not like when she plays cards with Pa or her friends on the cross country team-- where there's this charged but friendly sense of competition in the air. But there's no tension between them, and she doesn't have a strong in to win or one-up Olivia.

"Hey, can I ask you something kinda personal?" Lena asks, after she deals out a new hand.

"Sure, I guess."

“Are you adopted?”

"Yup." She nods, and places a four of diamonds of the discard deck.

"I knew it! So am I! We really could be twins separated at birth. When's your birthday?”

Olivia scoffs. “Lena, don't be stupid. That kind of stuff only happens in movies.”

"Well, I was born on December 23rd in Dorado, Mexico. Then I was adopted from Dorado Children's Refuge on May 5th. What about you?"

Olivia shoots her a bewildered look before frowning.  "Yes, that's my birthdate and my adoption date, and where I'm from. This isn't some kind of prank, is it.”

"No, I'm 100% telling the truth here. Holy cow! My Pa is going to flip when he finds out I've got a twin sister."

"Yeah, so is my Dad." Olivia smiles and lets out a breathy laugh. “Jeez… I wonder if my Dads knew about you when they adopted me. I can't imagine they’d want to split us up.”

“I dunno. I--” she pauses, “Wait, Dads? Like, plural?”

“Yup, I have two dads. Well-- had two dads. They divorced, so now I just have the one." Olivia squints at her. "You don't have a problem with that, do you?”

Lena has to stifle a laugh. “Hardly! I'm a lesbian, so it'd be super hypocritical of me if I did. It's just-- my Pa’s bi, and when he adopted me he was also married to a man."

“Well... your Dads are probably still together, right?"

She shakes her head. "They split up when I was really little. I think I was about-"

"Two years old?" Olivia finishes for her.

She nods, too stunned to speak. All she can hear is her heartbeat and the slow, steady rain pattering on their windows. The room is chilly from the excess air conditioning, but she doesn't think that's why goosebumps prickle up her arms. Maybe she and Olivia aren't twins separated at birth, but twins separated by divorce.

Olivia throws her hand on the floor. Their game is all but forgotten. “Okay, let's hash this out logically. Is your other Dad named Gabriel Reyes?”

"I don't know. My Pa's never told me his name." She bites her lip, and her ears burn red. Even toddlers know the names of both their parents. Yet here she is, unable to produce an answer.

Olivia scowls. "Damn it. I was hoping you'd know. My Dad's never told me either."

“It's freaky how they're so secretive about all of this.”

“Tell me about it.”

"I mean-- I used to think my other Dad died. You know, like how some parents tell their kids their dog ran away instead of the truth. I thought my Pa lied and said he moved away because he was too scared to tell me what actually happened. It explained why Pa got so sad when he talked about him. And in some ways, it was easier to think my other Dad died instead of up and leaving."

The words tumble out of her. She's never talked about this with anyone. Her friends at home, with their two loving parents, would never understand. But Olivia gets her in a way no one else she's ever met has.

"I used to search for my Dad online all the time." Olivia says. "I'd stay up until three in the morning sometimes searching through military archives and forums trying to find him. I stopped after my Dad caught me one night. I thought he'd get super pissed at me, but instead he was so... disappointed. And seeing him like that was worse than if he yelled at me.”

"Did you ever find anything?"

Olivia shakes her head. "It's impossible without a name. The only thing I have to go off is one crummy photo. All I know is he's white, in the military, and around my Dad's age."

"You know, my Pa's white and ex-military. I don't know how old your Dad is, but I have a feeling he's around the same age as yours."

"I have the picture with me if you want to see it. I wasn't kidding when I said it's crummy though. It's all crumpled up and ripped--"

"Ripped in half." She finishes for her. She's not sure if it's twin telepathy or because her photo is torn down the middle too.

"Do you have the other half?" Olivia asks.

She nods. "I think so. I have a picture of my other Dad. Tell me if this sounds like him: dark skin, black hair, hazel eyes, a long scar on--”

"On his right cheek?"

She nods. They have to stop finishing each other's sentences. It's getting creepy.

"Let me see the picture."

She rummages through her duffel bag for her photograph. Across the room, Olivia does the same. When they find their photos they turn to face each other. They walk with slow, deliberate steps to the center of the room, stopping at the line. She clutches her photograph to her chest. Olivia holds hers at her side.

"Let's show each other on the count of three?” Olivia says.

She nods. "On the count of three."

"One.”

“Two.”

"Three."

They hold up their photographs. Like perfect puzzle pieces, the halves fit together to form one whole picture.

“Holy shit, that's my Pa.” She says.

“And that’s my Dad.”

“Which means, we really are sisters.”

When the shock wears off, Lena laughs. She laughs so hard tears stream down her face. She's waited years for her Pa to break down and tell her about her Dad. She never imagined she could find him on her own. But thanks to the amazing twin sister she didn't know she had, she's found him at long last.

They tape the two halves together and hang the now complete photo on the wall. Lena rips the duck tape line off the floor and chucks the sticky ball into the wastepaper basket. They try to go to bed, but she can't fall asleep. Her mind is racing at a million miles an hour and it won't slow down. There's so much she wants to talk about with Olivia. Six weeks won't be enough time to ask all her questions about Dad.

"Hey, Olivia?" She rolls onto her stomach and props herself up on her elbows.

"Hmm?" She turns to face her.

"Has Dad gotten remarried?"

"Nah, he's never even come close."

"Neither has Pa. He's seen a couple people, but nothing serious."  

Pa's relationships, if she could even call them that, always fizzle out after a few weeks. Most never make it past the first or second date. He's never referred to anyone he's dated as his boyfriend or girlfriend.

A thin smile forms on Olivia's lips. "I'm not even sure if Dad's seen anyone. I can't remember the last time he had a date. He like, never talks about that stuff with me."

"Yeah, Pa barely tells me anything about his love life. He always says he's fine with being single, but sometimes I get the feeling he's lonely."

"Yeah, same. Dad claims he's too busy with work to date. Which to his credit-- he has been pretty busy-- but I'm sure he's just making excuses."

"Do you think they miss each other?"

She's asked Pa this question a few times before. She tried her best to sound casual, but she's pretty sure he saw right through it. Pa's response was always the same. He would frown, the stress lines showing on his forehead, let out a long sigh, and say something along the lines of “Don't be ridiculous Lena." . Then he would abruptly changed the subject.

"I don't know. Maybe?" Olivia says before yawning.

“Why do you think they kept us apart all this time? Do you really think they hate each other that much?”

“Lena it's been a long day. Can we psychoanalyze our Dads tomorrow?”

“Yeah, okay.”

She lies back down, but she still can't sleep. Her questions are replaced with worries. What's going to happen after camp is over and she returns home? Will she get to see Olivia again? How on Earth is she going to confront Pa about this? If she straight up tells him she met her secret twin sister, he'll have a panic attack. He never mentioned her, not once. Worst case scenario: he'll forbid her from talking to Olivia ever again.

Lena wants to see her other Dad so much it aches. Now that she knows who he is and where he lives, she wants to slip out of bed and run away to meet him. But she can't show up at his doorstep unannounced. He might freak out. He might slam the door in her face.

There's got to be a way for her to meet Dad, and for Olivia to meet Pa. A way that wouldn't upset their Dads. A way that could be a secret, and her Dads would never even know.

She looks across the room at Olivia, and gets a flash of inspiration.

"Olivia! I just came up with the best idea!”

"Huh?” She rolls over, and stares at her with a sleepy expression.

"We should switch places! You would go to Indiana and pretend to be me, and I would go to LA and pretend to be you!"

Olivia stares at the ceiling, no trace of emotion shows on her face. Lena’s a little disheartened by her lack of reaction. She thought she'd be just as excited as she is.

"I dunno if that's a good idea Lena. Dad's super perceptive, and he never lets me get away with anything. He'll probably figure out you're not me in like, three hours."

"What if we can teach each other stuff about ourselves to make it convincing? I'll tell you everything you need to know to be the perfect me."

Olivia's quiet. Lena thinks she's gone back to sleep.

“They'll still figure it out eventually." Olivia says. "We can't fool them forever. Then again, when they find out, they'll have to switch us back. Which means they'll have to meet again."

"And when they meet they'll fall madly in love with each other again."

Olivia laughs. "I think you're getting a little carried away there Lena."

"But this is a start."

"Yeah, it is."

Chapter Text

"Olivia! Hey, Sis! Wake up!” Lena grins to herself. Sis. She has a sister. She's never going to get tired of saying that.

Olivia doesn't open her eyes. She rolls over and mutters something about how her normal is more annoying than her fake one. Note to self: Olivia is not a morning person.

"C'mon it's time to go!" Lena shakes her shoulder in an attempt to pull her out of bed. Olivia groans even louder and rolls over so she faces away from her.

"Go where Lena? The friggin sun isn't even up yet."

"Out for a jog, of course. Me and Pa go running every morning. If you're going to pretend to be me, you have to get in shape. He's going to notice if I-- and by that, I mean you-- can't keep up."

"Ugh… that's why you woke me up at the asscrack of dawn? No thanks. I'm in good shape already."

She puts her hands on her hips. "Oh yeah? Then prove it."

Olivia rolls over and bores into her with an annoyed glare. She picks up one of her pillows and chucks it at her head. She's not quick enough to dodge it and gets whomped in the face. Lena huffs out a sigh. She's lost this battle. Time to throw in the towel and try again tomorrow. But Olivia is full of surprises. As she's leaving Olivia clambers out of bed and into her sneakers.

Olivia keeps up with her the first few minutes, smiling beside her with a smug grin. Her pace slows after they hit the half mile mark, and her breathing becomes more labored. She's a foot behind her, then two feet, then three, four, five, until she can't keep going anymore. She doubles over and rests her hands on her knees.

"Lena, slow down!" Olivia wheezes.

Lena jogs in place and gives her an encouraging smile. "Aww… don't quit yet! We just finished our first mile. Pa and I usually do two, sometimes three."

Olivia exhales and plops onto the ground. "Lena, I'm a sprinter. I'm not built for this distance-running crap."

"Sure you are! I happen to hold the school record in the 100 meter dash and the 10 mile run."

"Spare me the pep talk. This is fucking torture."

Olivia's skin is clammy and her complexion is a little green. Sweat glistens on her face. Lena bites her lip. She doesn't want to push her sister too hard, especially not on her first day. She  kneels next to her and offers her water bottle. Olivia grabs it and takes a long gulp.

"Hey, let’s just walk from here, okay? We can head for the mess hall. Breakfast should be ready soon."

Olivia nods and shoots her a small grin. Lena stands and grabs her sister by the wrists to pull her onto her feet.

They walk down the forest trail at a leisurely pace. Around them crickets chirp and mourning doves coo in the distance. The sun just pokes over the tree line. Lena. puts on the orange sunglasses clipped to her shirt collar. Olivia squints and holds a hand in front of her eyes. Her breathing has returned to normal.

"So... what's Dad like?" Lena asks.

"Hmmm…" Olivia rubs her chin. "Well, a lot of people think he's this hardass, tough guy, but he's actually a huge softy. Like, you know what he does in his spare time? He knits. His hats are kinda cool actually, but the scarves and mittens? We live in LA, we're never going to need them."

"You can send them to us! Pa always complains his hands are cold in the winter." She grins. "What else is he like?"

"Well, he plays guitar, but he sucks at it-- don't tell him I said that. He bawls like a baby during Disney movies. And he has a habit of rescuing stray dogs and cats off the street. Our landlord's threatened to evict us like a dozen times since our building doesn't allow pets.”

"Then he'd love it out on the farm. We've got sixteen barn cats and an old, fat Border Collie named Waffles.

"I dunno about that. Dad’s really a farm guy, and living in Indiana won't work well with his job."

"What does he do?"

"He's a costume designer. I hope you like Halloween because we go all out every year."

Lena's eyes widen. "Holy cow! Have I seen his work in anything?"

Olivia shakes her head. "Not unless you follow the LA theater scene. He only started doing TV and movie stuff a few years ago. But before I left for camp one of the pilots he worked on got picked up for a full season."

"That's incredible! Dad's like, a celebrity!"

Olivia laughs. "Maybe someday. Right now he's just a big ball of stress. So.. what does Pa do, besides grow corn and stuff?”

"It's soybeans, actually. We've grown corn in years past, but these last few harvests it's been soybeans, soybeans, and even more soybeans.”

Olivia’s expression is blank. Lena bites her lip.

“That’s… interesting.” Olivia says.”

"You don’t have to pretend. I know it's really boring. Even Pa thinks so. But in the wintertime he's the high school basketball coach and substitute teacher."

"Hey, that's pretty cool. Dad loves basketball."

"Pa's a die-hard Pacers fan. He has a bad habit of yelling at the TV when they aren't playing very well."

Olivia smiles. "Dad does the exact same thing, except with the Lakers. What else is Pa into?"

"He secretly reads trashy romance novels. He keeps a whole stash of them hidden away in the garage. He's also a pretty good cook, but he grills his steaks well done and eats them with ketchup."

Olivia scrunches her nose. "Eww… and I thought Dad’s pineapple pizzas were gross."

"Pa likes Hawaiian pizza too! Every time we order pizza it's either that or anchovies."

"Gross!"

"I know! Still, I can't help but love the guy. He's my best friend. I know that's kind of a lame thing to say about your dad, but screw it, it's true."

"It's lame, but I can't judge you too hard.” Olivia grins. “Dad’s probably my best friend too."

She and Olivia are the last cabin to arrive at the mess hall. They load up their breakfast plates and sit down at the isolation cabin’s table.

“Want to see some pictures of Pa?” Lena asks before taking a sip of her orange juice.

Olivia nods.

Lena takes out her phone and scrolls through her image gallery. She shares the story behind all her pictures of Pa. The one of him sitting on the porch swing and sticking out his tongue. Another where he's flipping a pancake and wearing the novelty apron she got him for his birthday. Her favorite, the one from their camping trip last year where he holds up the grimy, old boot he caught when they went fishing.

"And here's him with Ana." She says to the picture of the two of them standing in Ana's lecture hall at IU. “She's Pa's best friend and our next door neighbor. Well-- the closest thing we have to a next door neighbor. She actually lives a quarter mile down the road.”

Olivia's brows knit. "Hang on, I know her!"

"Really, how?" Lena stares at her, stunned and confused.

"She's one of Dad's old military friends. She visits him a couple times a year. I met her last summer. She seems cool."

"She’s the absolute cooliest! She and Pa go all the way back to his military days too, so I guess it make sense she's also friends with Dad."

The photo with Ana is the last before she loops back to the beginning of her album. To the picture of Dad waving goodbye as she boards the plane to summer camp. Olivia takes a bite of her cereal and she stashes her phone back into her pocket.

“Do you have any pictures of Dad?” She asks.

Olivia swallows and shakes her head. "My phone was… confiscated before I left for camp. I packed a few prints, but I forget if Dad's in them."

Back in the isolation cabin Olivia rummages through her suitcase for her photographs. She dumps most of its contents on the floor before she finds it sticking to the bottom. It's not of their Dad. Instead it's a young man, probably in his early 20's, with a scraggly beard and messy brown hair beneath a cowboy hat. He sits on a worn, leather sofa with two black cats snoozing on his lap.

"That's Chubbs and Kazaam, two of the stray cats Dad took in. And that's Jesse, my-- our brother. I like to think of him as the stray teenager Dad took in."

“Woah, I've got a brother too!” Lena grins. As far as siblings go, the more the merrier.

Olivia rolls her eyes. “Don't get too excited. Jesse's… interesting. Like, he wears that stupid hat everywhere, and even though he moved out last year, he comes over everyday and practically eats our entire refrigerator."

-

Olivia scoffed when Jesse gave her a stationary set before she left for camp. Like she was going to write him letters about her miserable summer. Now she's thankful for the pen and paper. She needs them to write down all the information Lena throws at her.

They pass the weeks teaching each other about their lives and mannerisms. It's an impossible task to explain all her inside jokes with Dad and Jesse. It doesn't help she's forgotten the origins of most of them. Olivia never realized how many tiny, mundane details there were to her life until she had to share them with someone else. Things like which chair she sits in at the kitchen table, and what drawer in the bathroom she keeps her toothbrush. If Lena's going to be her, and vice versa, they need to know that stuff.

She's prepared Lena to the best of her ability. Lena knows all the important stuff by heart. Like Dad’s crazy work schedule and the password to her laptop (which she will change the minute she returns home). In turn, she's ready to fill Lena's shoes. She has the names of all her barn cats memorized, and knows more about growing soybeans and Dr. Why than she ever cared to know.

There’s just two things left to cross off their to-do list: her contact lenses and her hair.

Olivia tried weeks ago to teach Lena how to put her contacts in, but she recoiled away in disgust. Every attempt afterwards Lena shut her down before she could even finish her sentence. Even now, with 12 hours left before her plane takes off, Lena whines like she suggested she shove a rusty nail in her eyeball instead of a contact lens.

"Ugh… do I have to?" Lena looks at the purple lens on her finger like it's a rotten piece of fruit.

"Yes! You have to! I had to beg Dad for months to let me get these contacts. He's going to think it's weird if I suddenly decide I don't want to wear them anymore."

Lena gulps. She holds her eye open with her fingers, just like she taught her. She moves the contact closer and closer to her eye, but at the last moment she flinches and pulls away.

They struggle for what feels like years. No matter how hard Lena tries, the contact doesn't want to stick. Adding to the time and stress, whenever Lena drops it on the floor, she makes her rinse it a dozen times before she even considers trying again. She wants to tear her hair out.

Olivia's about to suggest they pick this up again later when she witnesses a miracle. The contact goes in. Lena blinks a few times, then breaks out into a huge grin.

"Holy shit. I did it!"

"Great! Now you have to do the other one."

She groans.

Unlike her sister, Olivia puts on her big kid pants and deals with her haircut. Her thick, long hair always gets knotted and gnarled or flops into her eyes. Even before camp she contemplated going with a shorter style. Though, the thought of her sister cutting her hair makes her a little uneasy.

"Are you sure you know what you’re doing?" She asks.

"Don't worry Sis. I've seen Ana cut Pa's hair loads of times. How hard can it be?" Lena swivels the pair of scissors around her index finger. It goes flying off and smacks into the window with a loud crack.

Olivia winces.

Lena throws a towel around her shoulders as a makeshift barber's cape. She ties her hair into a loose ponytail, and hacks away at it. After a dozen or so cuts she's left with a choppy, chin length bob on her right side. Olivia runs her fingers through her newly shortened hair. It's unsettling.

Lena holds up a hand mirror and studies her reflection. She measures out the front strand on her own head first, then moves to hers. She pulls the hank taut, and makes the first real cut. Olivia flinches at the snipping noise so close to her ear.

"Don't worry, I'll go slow. Better to take off too little than too much, right?"

Lena continues cutting with tiny, patient snips, taking frequent breaks to gaze at her reflection. Olivia had no idea she could be so cautious and careful about anything. Her brown and purple hair lands in long clumps on the floor. An enormous pile forms at her feet.

"Okay, I've done as much as I can." Lena says, frowning.

"Oh no, is it awful?"

"No! You look fantastic! It's just-- your side-shave is shorter than my hair. I think you're going to have to shave mine."

Olivia fishes her buzzers out of her bag. She presses the power button and they come to life with a high pitched whirr. Lena offers her the mirror, but she doesn't take it. She's done this enough times on her own head she could do it in her sleep. Plus, she's a little afraid to look at Lena's handiwork.

It only takes her a few minutes to shave all the hair on Lena's left side. Lena's hair joins her own in the pile on the floor. Aside from the strands dyed purple, it's impossible to tell which hair came from which head.

"I love it!" Lena grins as she studies her reflection. "Here, come look!"

Olivia takes a tentative step towards the mirror. She gasps when she sees her reflection. She looks amazing. Lena did a spot-on job duplicating her hair. Their resemblance is twice as freaky now that they have the same hairstyle. If not for the beauty mark underneath her eye, they would be clones.

Olivia digs through her make up case for her black eyeliner. Lena takes it and draws a tiny dot under her left eye. It's not quite perfect. The solid black looks unnatural. But unless someone got up close and personal to study their beauty marks, it's damn near impossible to tell them apart.

"Do you have anything that's a closer match?" Lena asks.

She shakes her head. "We'll have to buy something tomorrow."

They scrounge up enough pocket change to purchase two dark brown eyeliner pencils from a duty free store at the airport. Lena takes one and dots a beauty mark under her eye. Olivia takes the other and dots a few extra freckles onto her cheeks, before covering up her mole with her concealer.

"Attention passengers, flight 2476 to Los Angeles is now boarding at gate B12." A voice says over the intercom.

"Well I'll see you soon Sis." Lena says, smiling.

"Not too soon hopefully."

Lena gives her a tight hug goodbye. After the gate attendant scans her ticket, she waves at her one last time before heading down the jetway. Olivia considers sticking around to watch her flight take off, but her plane is set to board in a few minutes, and her gate is at the other end of the terminal. As she makes her way down the long hallway, a blur of ginger hair chases after her.

"Hey Lena! Or-- Olivia? Or Lena pretending to be Olivia?" Emily shoots her a sheepish grin. "Sorry, your plan gives me a headache, and I can barely tell you apart now that you've cut your hair."

She laughs. "I'm Olivia, currently pretending to be Lena."

"Oh, is the real Lena around?"

She shakes her head. "You just missed her."

Emily's face falls. "Damn, I wanted to say goodbye before she left."

In all the hustle and bustle this morning, it must have slipped Lena's mind to bid her a proper farewell. Color Olivia shocked. Lena gushed about Emily nonstop all summer. Emily this, Emily that, Emily's so pretty I want to cry. Whenever Lena wasn't with her, she was glued to Emily's hip. Olivia feels like she already knows her, despite this being their first real conversation all summer.

"Attention passengers, flight 2318 to Indianapolis is now boarding at gate B1."

“I should get going.” Olivia points her thumb towards the end of the hallway.

"Ahhh… Indiana. So that's where Lena's really from."

"No, she's from England. You couldn't tell from her accent?"

Emily laughs. "Well, it was endearing to watch her try."

Olivia snorts. Endearing, that's one way to put it. She picks up her carry-on and continues down the hallway, but stops after a few steps. She spins on her heel towards Emily.

"Hey, you're from San Diego, right?" She asks.

Emily nods.

"Huh, it didn't hit me until just now how close you are."

"Uh… close to Indiana?" Emily tilts her head, confused.

"No, to LA. That's where I'm from. I've got a feeling Lena and I will be spending a lot of time together in the future. I bet she'd love it if you came to visit."

Olivia winks and leaves a furiously blushing Emily behind her.

Somewhere over Nebraska Olivia’s struck with a lightning bolt of nervous energy. One minute she's skimming through her Skymall magazine for the fifth time (What would Dad think if she bought the life-size bigfoot statue?) , the next her chest is tight with anxiety. Holy shit, she’s meeting her Pa for the first time in 12 years. Her stomach is queasy and uncomfortable the rest of the flight, and it's not because of the turbulence.

When the plane lands she has to take a few deep breaths before she's steady enough to stand. Her heart pounds as she walks up the aisle and down the jetway. She clutches her carry on bag like a lifeline as she navigates through the unfamiliar Indianapolis airport.

The passenger pick up area is crowded with people. She looks out at the sea of faces, and there he is. Tacky Hawaiian shirt, cargo shorts, and a bouquet of pink tulips at his side.

His smile is enormous and welcoming, and without hesitation she goes running into his arms.

-

Lena's eyes scan every corner of LAX for an older, living version of the picture she's kept at her nightstand for years. She doesn't find him. Instead, she stumbles on a young man wearing a mischievous smile and a wide-brimmed hat. There's a small corner of her disappointed it isn't Dad, but her face still lights up when she sees him. She bounds over and throws her arms around his middle.

"Woah there," Jesse laughs. "I've got your phone and I'm gonna give it back. You don't have to suck up to me."

"I'm not sucking up." She says, squeezing him tighter. "I'm just really happy to see you."

"So… no ulterior motive?"

"None whatsoever."

"Ahh... I missed you too Squirt." He ruffles her hair. "I'm diggin’ this new ‘do by the way."

"Thanks. Do you think Dad'll like it? Where is he?"

"He got caught up at work, but he'll meet us at home. He's picking up a pizza. C'mon let's get your luggage, but first, as promised." He reaches into his front pocket and pulls out Olivia's phone.

Lena thumbs through the phone as Jesse drives. Dozens of missed messages from Olivia's friends light up the screen. She forwards them to Olivia without reading them. Her thumb hovers over the button for her gallery. She could open it to see what Dad looks like now. Instead, she tucks the phone back into her backpack. Jesse's pulling into the parking lot of their apartment complex. Why ruin the surprise?

Lena drops her bags at the front door and kicks off her shoes. The apartment is just as Olivia described. Clustered but homey, and smelling strongly of tropical breeze air freshener to mask the pet odor. A calico cat rubs up against her ankle. She bends down to scratch behind its ears.

"Hey Gabriel, you home?" Jesse shouts.

"I'm in the kitchen." His voice is warm and soothing.

A single wall separates her from her Dad. She smooths out her shirt and walks into the kitchen with her head held high. There he stands. A familiar face, now with a few crow's feet and tired, black bags under his eyes. But when he smiles all the weariness vanishes.

"Woah, Jesse are you sure you picked up the right girl at the airport?"

"What?" She knits her brows. Olivia said he was perceptive, but this is uncanny. She hasn't even said two words yet.

He laughs. "I remember my daughter having long, purple hair when I sent her off to camp."

She lets out a breath, and hopes she doesn't sound too relieved. "A girl at camp cut it. Do you like it?"

"Yeah, now I won't be pulling hair out of the shower drain anymore." He puts an arm around her shoulder and kisses her forehead. "You look beautiful."

"Thanks Dad."

"Ready for dinner?" He motions to the pizza boxes on the table. "I got your favorite, Hawaiian."

She scrunches her nose.

"I also got cheese, for the members of my family with less-refined taste buds.”

"Great! I'm starving." Jesse grabs two slices from each box and plops onto one of the kitchen chairs.

Dad shoots him an incredulous look. "Don't you have food in your own apartment Jesse?"

"What?" He says with his mouth full of pizza. "I want to spend some quality time with my sister. I haven't seen her in two months."

Dad snorts. "So the free food has nothing to do with it?"

"Hey, two birds, one stone."

Dad steals one of the slices off his plate and sits down in the chair next to him. She grabs her own piece and joins them at the table.

Chapter Text

Before they switched places, Lena warned Olivia about the roosters. How loud and obnoxious they are, and how their cock-a-doodle-dooing will wake her up before the sun. Olivia, the naive city-slicker she is, believed her without question. When she arrived on the farm, she found they don't have any roosters. Olivia thought their prank war ended with the mud fight, but Lena, it appears, wanted to get the last laugh.

Instead what wakes her up in the morning is a soft knock on her door.

"Lena, are you awake?” Pa asks.

Olivia grumbles and sits up in bed. She's groggy and light-headed, and blinded by the morning sunlight streaming straight into her eyes. God, what time is it? It feels earlier than the 8 AM roll call at camp. In her opinion, no one should be allowed to function before noon.

“Yeah, I'm up.”

“Mind if I come in?”

“Sure.”

She glances at the mirror on Lena’s dresser. She's got a serious case of bedhead. Her short hair sticks up in every direction like she'd rubbed it with a static-y balloon. There's an enormous zit on her chin she doesn't remember having last night. And oh shit-- the beauty mark under her eye. Lena's not supposed to have that.

"You’re still in bed? I figured you'd be up already." Pa stares at her in concern. "Lena, is your eye okay?"

In hindsight, using her whole hand to cover her eye wasn't a subtle gesture. But she needed to get rid of her trademark mole somehow.

"Yeah, I'm fine. This is uh… it's a silly camp tradition. The best way to wake up is with one eye closed." She laughs nervously. Pa still stares at her, flummoxed.

"Okay, well I'm going for a run. Want to come with?"

"No thanks. I'm still kinda tired. All that travel wore me out." She yawns and stretches her arms over her head for emphasis. Olivia can keep up with him now. Lena made sure she got into proper shape. But just because she can run doesn't mean she wants to. Endorphins are stupid and working out sucks.

"Alright, but don't stay in bed too long. There's someone coming over later I want to introduce you to"

Pa shuts the door behind him as he leaves. She lets out a sigh before flopping back down and closing her eyes. It doesn't take long for her to drift back to sleep.

-

Lena's made pancakes dozens of times before. Buttermilk, chocolate chip, red velvet. She's a true pancake connoisseur. But she's always had Pa to guide her through the steps and catch any mistakes. She thought she could handle making them on her own. The smoke filled kitchen and blaring smoke detector tell her how wrong she is.

Lena curses under her breath. She turned her back from the stovetop for 30 seconds. How can so much go wrong in such a short amount of time? She waves away the smoke from her face, trying not to cough. Thank God she didn't start a fire. Olivia didn't tell her where they keep the fire extinguisher.

She shuts off the burner and turns on the overhead fan. The smoke clears up but the detector continues beeping. The three pancakes on the griddle are charred black as coal.

Lena sighs. All she wanted to do was surprise Dad with a home-cooked meal. He could use it. His fridge is full of take-out boxes and stale, leftover pizza. Instead she almost burned his apartment down. She's certain she's ruined his entire morning.

Heavy footsteps come running down the hallway. Dad rushes into the kitchen, still tying his robe around his waist.

"Olivia! Is everything okay? What are you doing?"

"I was making breakfast. I wanted to surprise you! I'm sorry!" Before she can stop herself, her throat tightens and her eyes well up with tears. She has to get a hold of herself. The real Olivia's too cool to cry over burnt pancakes.

"No, no don't be upset. I was worried you hurt yourself. I'm glad everything's okay, aside from some burnt pancakes." He looks at the mess on the counter. "It looks like you've got some batter left. Why don't you give it another go?"

She nods and wipes her eyes.

Lena scrapes the burnt pancakes off the pan and into the garbage. She lights one of the burners and ladles out three spoonfuls of batter onto the pan. Her eyes stay glued to the stove as they cook.

"So when did you learn how to cook?" Dad asks from the kitchen table.

"Uh… camp." She lies. "One of my friends gave me her Pa's secret pancake recipe."

"Well it can't be that secret if she taught you." Dad laughs.

The bottoms of the pancakes bubble up. Lena flips them over with ease. She lets them cook until they're a delicious golden brown. They smell like heaven. She places them on the plate with a spatula, adds a drizzle of maple syrup and a pat of margarine, and sets it in front of Dad.

"Are you sure you haven't been secretly cooking all these years?" He says, his mouth full of pancake. "These are too good to be your first try."

"Maybe I have." She winks.

Dad takes another bite. "Man, I can't get over how good these are. I can't remember the last time I had homemade pancakes."

"Was it... when you were married?" She asks. Now is as good of a time as any to prod him about Pa.

"I don't know, probably?"

"What kind of foods did Pa-- I mean, my other Dad make?"

"Hmm… hamburgers, mac and cheese, and pancakes of course.” He sighs and stares out the kitchen window. He's quiet, and there's a glazed off look in his eyes, like he's lost in thought.

“Do you miss having him cook for you?” She asks.

Dad snaps his attention back to her. "Hey I was thinking-- how about we spend the afternoon together? We could go to the beach, or catch a Dodgers game? Whatever you want to do."

Lena raises an eyebrow. The abrupt change of subject doesn't go unnoticed by her. She'll come back to it later.

"The beach sounds fun.” She says.

"Great, I'll pick you up after work."

"Or I could come with you to work!"

Dad eyes her strangely. "I thought you hated visiting the set."

"I want to spend time with you. I've barely seen you all summer. Plus it'll save you from having to drive all the way back here to pick me up."

Her Dad considers this. "Okay. Be ready to go in a half hour."

Lena cleans up the mess she made in the kitchen, throws on some clean clothes, and packs a beach bag. She paces in circles around the apartment while she waits for Dad to finish getting ready. When he emerges from his bedroom with his work bag they head for the parking lot. She climbs into the passenger seat and fastens her seatbelt.

"You remember the rules, right?" Dad asks as he merges onto the highway.

"Err…" She racks her memory for anything Olivia may have said, but she's drawing a blank.

"Don't go wandering off on your own, keep your backstage pass visible at all times, and absolutely no pictures. In fact, you should probably leave your phone in the car."

"Okay."

Dad raises an eyebrow. "Okay? You're not going to argue with me?"

"I don't want to get you in trouble."

He laughs to himself. "Maybe a summer away from your phone did you some good."

The set is a dysfunctional mess. Lena's never seen anything so busy and chaotic. Crew members hustle and bustle about in every direction. Stagehands carrying props or reading clipboards, and background actors half-dressed studying scripts. No one watches where they're going, and she witnesses half a dozen near collisions.

She stumbles on Jesse in the hair and makeup department. That's right, Olivia said he works with Dad. He applies the finishing touches to a woman with blue makeup all over her body. He looks up from his work and waves them over.

"Gabriel! Thank God you're here. Akande’s been asking for you all morning."

“Did he say why?"

Jesse shakes his head. "Just that it's something only you can help him with."

“Let me see what this is all about. Wait here Olivia.” Dad pats her on the shoulder before running off towards a large trailer.

"Olivia, what are you doing here?" Jesse asks. "I thought you hated visiting the set?"

She purses her lips. Why does everyone keep saying that?

"I just wanted to hang out with Dad." She says. She looks at the woman in the chair. Her eyes are closed and her breathing is soft and rhythmic. "Is she asleep?"

"Probably. This make-up takes forever to apply, and Amélie's gotta get up super early to-"

"Hey Olivia!" Her Dad shouts from the trailer's steps. He holds two suit jackets, one black, one white. "Which one?"

"The white one!" She replies. Jesse nods in agreement.

"Good choice." Dad grins. He hangs the black jacket back up, and slips the white one over the broad shoulders of the man she presumes is Akande.

Dad sets up a tall chair by his workstation for her to sit at. She's far enough away so she's not in anyone's way, but close enough so she can still see the action. After a few hours she can understand why Olivia hates visiting. Despite all the initial chaos, the actual shooting is dull as dirt. The cast and crew spend half their time standing around doing nothing. When the director does call action, it's to repeat the same scene or chunk of dialogue ad nauseum.

But Dad is a bright spot, always on the move. He carries a notebook under his arm he constantly references when he talks with the director and the actors. He makes sure all the clothes look the same in-between takes. From the main stars to the nameless background actors. He has a keen eye for detail, and all his colleagues seem to respect his opinion.

Lena smiles. Her Dad is freaking awesome.

-

Olivia doesn’t listen to Pa’s instructions, and sleeps until noon. Not on purpose. She really was whomped from traveling all day yesterday. She hides her beauty mark with concealer before tiptoeing down the stairs.

"Well, look who's finally decided to wake up." A woman's voice say from in the kitchen. It takes her a moment to place it as Ana. She stands over the stovetop, stirring a boiling pot that smells like roasting vegetables and spices. Olivia's stomach gurgles.

"Is that for us?" She asks.

"Nope, it's for the faculty potluck tonight.” She says. “My oven broke last week so your Father's letting me use his. He still owes me for that weedwacker he still hasn't returned.”

Olivia is on her own for breakfast. Cereal seems simple enough. She steps past Ana and opens up the pantry. At least-- she thought it was the pantry. It's filled to the brim with glasses and cups. She shuts the door and glances over at Ana to make sure she didn't notice her mistake. She's still tending to her pot. Olivia gets the cabinet right on her second guess, and finds the milk, bowls, and silverware without any snafus.

"So how was camp?" Ana asks as she pours cereal into her bowl.

"Good."

Ana purses her lips. "Okay. Are you going to elaborate on that? Or do I have to pry the details out of you?”

“What do you want to know?” She asks.

“Did you meet anyone interesting?"

"Yeah, I got really close with this one girl. Almost like sisters."

"That's nice." Ana looks down at her work and smiles quietly to herself.

Olivia hears laughter on the front porch through the open kitchen window. Two voices ring out: her Pa, and a woman she doesn't recognize. It can't be Ana, she's five feet away chopping carrots. Ana's daughter Fareeha? But Lena said she's in Washington serving in the Air Force. Lena didn't mention any other women-- unless she's the person Pa wanted to introduce her to. She'd been so groggy when he mentioned it she almost forgot.

She glances out the window. Pa sways on the porch swing with a woman Lena definitely did not mention. Olivia can only see the back of her head. Her hair is tied into a high ponytail, and it's so blonde it's almost white. Pa’s arm is slung around her shoulder. She giggles and rests her head in the crook of his neck.

Olivia wrinkles her nose.

"Ah... I see you've noticed Angela." Ana says.  

"What's her deal?"

"She's your Pa's… friend."

"I don't remember Pa having any 'friends' when I left for camp." She puts air quotes around the word friends.

"They met right after you left. Remember that sports medicine class Pa took at the University this summer? She was his professor. They've been inseparable ever since."

"Sports medicine huh? Are you sure he wasn't studying Anatomy?"

Ana swats at her with a spoon, though she can't hide her amused smile. "You better not let your Pa catch you talking like that."

"Catch you talking like what?" Pa comes stumbling in through the front door.

"Nothing." She says into her bowl of cereal.

"Thought I heard you come downstairs. Where have you been all morning?" Pa asks.

"Uh… sleeping. Sorry, I was really tired. "

He ruffles her hair. "When you're done with breakfast come on outside. I want to introduce you to a friend of mine."

Pa steals a carrot chip from Ana's cutting board on his way out of the kitchen. The door swings open and shut, and he returns back to Angela's side.

Olivia takes her time chewing. She lets her Captain Crunch go soggy and stick to the sides of her bowl. She eats them crunchberry by crunchberry until there aren't any left, then she slurps the remaining milk with small spoonfuls as if it were hot soup.

"Oh Lena, stop dawdling and go meet her. I promise she isn't that bad." Ana says at last.

Olivia expects to find someone older and scholarly on the porch swing. A woman with crow's feet and horn rimmed glasses. Instead the face staring back at her radiates youth. Less college professor, more college student.

"Lena, this is Angela." Pa says, even though she already knows full well who she is.

"Hello Lena." She says with a German-sounding accent. And she thought Lena's fake English accent was annoying. Angela sticks out a hand. She grabs it, and Angela nearly shakes her arm off in enthusiasm.  

Ana pokes her head out the front door. "Hey Jack, can you grab the bowl on the top shelf for me?"

"Sure thing. I'll be right back." He pats Angela's bare knee before getting off the porch swing.

Angela is still smiling. Olivia smiles back, a little unsurely. She isn't sure what to make of her infectious grin, or how she stares at her like she's some cute puppy she brought home from the pound

“I can't tell you how wonderful it is to finally meet you Lena! Your Pa gushed about you all summer long."

"Funny, Pa didn't mention you at all." She says.

"We wanted to surprise you, silly! Oh that reminds me-- I have a little surprise for you.”

Angela retrieves a gift bag from beneath the porch swing. Olivia tears away the pink tissue paper, and pulls out the box inside. She frowns. A doll? What is she, seven?

“See, it's anatomically correct, with removable organs. You can pretend to do surgeries on her. Just like I did when I was your age.”

“Uh… thanks.” She can tell Angela means well, but at the same time, she's never felt so patronized in her life. She's not a little kid. She doubts Angela was playing with dolls when she was her age. It’s going in the donation pile at the back of Lena's closet.

"So, you'll be starting high school next week, correct?" Angela asks.

She nods.

"What a magical time for a girl. Well-- not that I would know. I skipped high school and went to  University. I was 21 when I got my MD, the youngest in my school's history."

Olivia furrows her brows. For the life of her she can't tell if Angela is bragging or trying to make pleasant conversation.

"And uh… how old are you now, exactly?" She asks.

"Twenty four."

That's about what Olivia was expecting. There was always a chance she was a botox addict, but her youth is the natural kind that can't be duplicated in a lab. She does some math in her head to calculate her and Pa's age difference. The number she comes up with is too fucking much.

The front door opens and Pa plops back down between them on the swing. He puts an arm around both their shoulders.

"So how's it going?" Pa asks.

"Your daughter is an absolute delight Jackie. I can tell we're going to be the best of friends!" Angela grabs her shoulders and shakes her with a teasing grin. The porch swing rocks back and forth. Olivia resists the urge to gag from the sugar in her voice.

"Right. The best of friends."

When Olivia's sure neither of them are looking she scowls.

Chapter Text

Before this afternoon, Lena had never swam in the Pacific Ocean-- or any other ocean. She has been in the hurricane pool at the Bloomington Waterpark, which can make waves over two feet tall. Olivia said that didn't count.

The water is lukewarm at best, but it's still a relief from the scorching LA heat. The air around her smells of salt. Her hair drips and her eyes sting from dunking her head under the water. She's careful not to wander too far from the shore, as she isn't the most experienced swimmer. She's not entirely sure what a riptide is, but she isn't itching to find out.

Dad lounges on a beach towel in the sand. He flicks his attention between his book and herself. He wears a pair of reading glasses that tint in the sunlight. Sand sticks to her wet toes as she makes her way back to him.

"You looked like you were having fun out there." Dad says as she plops on the towel next to him. “Did I get a mermaid back from camp instead of my daughter?”

She laughs. "Nope. I'm definitely human.”

"There's something different about you though. The hair, the pancakes, the fact that you're willingly up at 7 AM. And you're not wearing those ridiculous color contacts. I almost forgot your eyes are brown."

"I… just forgot to put them." She bites her lip. This morning she struggled for 10 minutes to get them in before giving up. She hoped Dad wouldn't notice, but of course he did.

"Hey, it's okay to change. I'm just trying to keep up with you." Dad ruffles her hair and goes back to his book.

Lena grabs a juice box from their cooler before lying down on her stomach. She rests her head in her hands and kicks her legs in the air. The sound of the waves crashing onto the shore is soothing. Dad turns a page in his book. The sun and the sand are good for him. His shoulders are relaxed, and the bags under his eyes are less pronounced. He looks at ease.

"So.. random question: did you go to the beach on your honeymoon?"

Dad looks up from his book with an arched eyebrow. She smiles. She's trying to be sneaky with these relationship questions, but she's about as subtle as those seagulls squawking by the trash can. She's pretty sure he's picked up the hint.

“No. We didn't go to the beach."

"Then where did you go?"

"Europe."

“Where in Europe?”

“Italy.”

“Where in Italy? Come on Dad, don't make me beg.” She frowns. Pulling teeth is easier than getting details out of him.

He sighs. “Torino. Do you want to know the name of the ski resort we stayed at too?”

"No." She takes another sip from her juice box. “Was my other Dad a good skier?”

Dad shuts his book and squints at her. "Why are you so curious about my ex-husband all of the sudden?"

"He's not just your ex-husband, he's my Dad. His name is still on all of my adoption papers and stuff. I was thinking about it a lot at camp and-- it's so weird that I have this family member who used to be this big, important person in my life, and I know nothing about him. Don't you think?”

Dad gives her a soft, delicate expression. "You really want to know about him, huh?"

"More than anything! You always said you'd tell me when I'm older. I'm almost in high school now. Don't you think I'm ready?”

The " I'll tell you when you're older" line was a favorite of Pa’s. That, along with an irritated scoff and an abrupt change of subject, were his go-to responses anytime she breached the topic. Lena's not sure if Dad ever used it on Olivia, but he nods his head.

“Okay, you get three questions. Not his name, or social security number, or whatever else you'd use to track him down on your computer. But you can ask me anything else.”

She purses her lips and taps her chin. She's not going to waste her questions about Pa. She's lived with him 14 years, she knows all about him. Asking questions about Dad would look weird, and she can get most of her answers through observation. But Dad and Pa's relationship. She could fill volumes with her questions.

"Why did you guys divorce?"

Dad lets out a breath. "Wow, you're starting out with the hard ones, huh? There isn't really a reason. Your Pa and I-- we just fell out of love, and we decided it was best we end our marriage.”

"How come you never talk about him?"

"We agreed when we split to keep our lives separate. It's easier this way. For both of us, but especially me." Dad pauses. "He wasn't a bad guy if that's what you're thinking. He was actually a really great man. I think you would have liked him."

Lena takes another sip to hide her smile. If only Dad knew.

"Do you miss him?"

“Nope.”

"Really? Not even a little?"

He pokes her shoulder. "Sorry, you've used up all your questions."

"Aww…. come on Dad.”

He rolls his eyes. "Okay fine. No, I don't miss him. But… sometimes I wonder what things would've been like if we stayed together."

Dad goes back to his book, but she can tell he's more staring at it than reading the words. His eyes linger on the same spot. He wears a vacant expression. Lena would almost say he looks sad.

“Dad, You okay?”

"I'm fine." Dad stands up and brushes the sand off his legs. "It's getting late. We need to leave now if we want to beat the rush hour traffic.”

They find Jesse's let himself in to their apartment and helped himself to their leftover pizza. He grins at them from the kitchen table with chipmunk cheeks. Dad rolls his eyes, but can't contain his amused smile.

"You know that key I gave you was for emergencies only, right?"

Jesse shrugs. "I was hungry. And I wanted to go over something with you about tomorrow."

Dad and Jesse discuss the logistics of some big fight sequence they're filming tomorrow. Lena sneaks off to her bedroom. With the two of them distracted, she can call Olivia to gush about her day and not risk being overheard.  

"Thank God you called.” Olivia says. She picks up on the second ring. “Lena I have something really, really important to tell you."

"So do I!" She squeals. "Oh my God Olivia. Dad is so cool!"

"Lena, come on I--"

"I went to work with him and it was so awesome! Then we went to the beach and I got Dad to talk about Pa! Like, really talk about him. He told me about the divorce and stuff and-- Olivia I think Dad might still be in love with him."

"Well Pa is definitely not in love with Dad.”

“How do you know? Did you ask him?” She frowns. Why does Olivia have to be such a killjoy?

"I didn't have to. I know because Pa has a girlfriend."

Lena blinks. Pa has a girlfriend. Individually those four words make sense, but put together like that in a sentence? Olivia may as well be speaking a different language.

"Are you sure? Did he actually use the word Girlfriend ?"

"No, but--"

“Then it can't be serious. There's no way he could fall in love with someone in the span of two months."

"Lena, it's serious. She’s been over here all day long, practically throwing herself at him. They can't keep their hands to themselves. It's disgusting. I think we need to switch back to break them up."

"No! I've only spent one day with Dad!"

"I need help Lena. I can't handle this on my own. You know him better, you can talk some sense into him."

Her grip on her phone tightens. How could Olivia even suggest that? Pa's relationships never last. By next week he'll have forgotten about this so called "girlfriend". Olivia's overreacting, or exaggerating. She probably just wants to get out of Indiana and back to her computer.

"No, not yet. I want more time with Dad."

"But Lena-"

Before her sister can finish her sentence, she hangs up. Screw this. She's not switching back yet.

-

Olivia groans when her call clicks off. At least someone is having a good time. She'd love to run away from all her problems and have a fun day at the beach too. Instead she's stuck alone and miserable in cornfieldville with Dr. Barbie.

There's a soft knock on her door. Angela pokes her head in, all smiles. Speak of the devil.

"Sorry, am I interrupting you?" She asks.

"Nope. I was just talking to my… friend, but she hung up on me."

"So I heard. Err… do you always refer to yourself in the third person?"

"Not always." She mumbles.

"Let me guess, it's a silly camp tradition?"

"Yeah. Something like that."

Olivia runs through her conversation. How much did Angela hear? Without context their conversation wouldn't make much sense, but she needs to be more careful in the future.

"Anyway, your Pa and I are making ice cream sundaes. Do you want to join us?"

"No thanks."

"Ok, but if you change your mind we'll keep a bowl out. We have rainbow sprinkles." She sing-songs

Angela forgets to close the door again as she leaves. Olivia gets up, holds up her middle fingers to Angela's back, and slams it shut.

She can hear them laughing in the kitchen from her bedroom. She pictures the two of them feeding each other little spoonfuls of a shared ice cream sundae. She was forced to witness the two of them shamelessly flirting all afternoon. She wanted to barf. She's only had a few minutes alone with Pa, because she took up all of his time.

Olivia waits all evening for Angela to leave, but she never hears the front door open or her Volkswagon beetle pull out of the driveway. She goes to bed thinking she missed it. In the morning she finds Angela in the kitchen wearing a short, silky white robe. Apparently instead of leaving, she stayed the night. Olivia shudders, and mentally bleaches her brain of all the accompanying thoughts and images.

"Good morning, Lena." Angela says with a grin. She clearly doesn't see anything wrong with this picture. Pa, at least, has the good grace to blush.

Angela takes her sweet time eating breakfast and changing into her work clothes before she finally gives Pa a kiss goodbye and leaves. It would be perfect, if she didn't promise she'll be back in the evening for dinner.

The only saving grace of the morning is Pa doesn't ask her to run. It's pouring outside. The rain doesn't let up until the afternoon. By that point it's too hot to run, but Pa asks her to go out with him to check on a row of soybeans. Lena taught her a little about farming, but her lectures on the different types of soybeans went in one ear and out the other. Olivia's gardening experience doesn't go beyond the cactus on her desk she has to water once every three weeks.

Pa doesn't seem to notice though.

“So, are you excited for the camping trip?” Pa asks.

“What camping trip?”

He raises an eyebrow. “The one we take every year?”

And she remembers the annual back-to-school camping extravaganza. She feels like an idiot for forgetting. Lena must have mentioned it a dozen times.  

“Oh that camping trip! Yeah, I guess so.”

“What would you think if I invited Angela with us?"

“Err…” She bites her lip. If this were Dad and she were Olivia, she wouldn't be afraid to speak her mind. But Lena would be nicer, or more open minded, she thinks.

"It's okay. We don't have to invite her. It can just be our father/daughter camping trip." Pa smiles. "So...what do you think of Angela?"

"She's uh… she's very European."

He laughs. "Yes Lena, she's from Switzerland. But what do you think of her? Do you like her?"

Olivia weighs her options. She could say yes, but that's a bold-face lie. She could say no, but then she's a selfish, snotty teenager. It's a lose/lose situation.

The worst part of it is-- there isn't anything wrong with Angela. She'd feel more justified in her hatred if she were a cold-hearted bitch, but Angela is nice . Plus, she's a brilliant doctor and she looks at Pa like he hung the moon. The only things she's done are annoy her with her cheeriness and fall for a man way too old for her.

"I don't know. It's kinda hard to have an opinion when I've only known her a day.”

"Well how would you like to get to know her a little more? Angela is a really good friend of mine.”

Olivia coughs. Right, friend.

“She's important to me. I like her a lot. And I'd like you to like her too. So what do you say?”

"Sure... I'll try to get to know her better."

Emphasis on the try.

Angela makes good on her promise comes back over again in the evening. Olivia pretends she doesn't see the overnight bag she leaves by the staircase. Ana also comes over to use the oven again. Olivia latches onto her. She's the only sane person she's met so far.

"So… you never finished telling me about this friend you met at camp." Ana says. "It sounded like you two had a lot in common."

"Yeah, we do."

Olivia steers the conversation away from Lena,  instead telling her about her other friends. She gets so caught up in stories she didn't realize Pa and Angela left until the front door opens and shuts. There's a rosiness to their cheeks, and they're looking at each other all smiley and breathless.

"Guess what?" Pa asks. "Angela and I have some very exciting news. We wanted you guys to be the first to know."

"Well second, we already told my Uncle Reinhardt. But you'll be the first of Jackie's family."

She and Ana exchange incredulous looks. Olivia hopes the news is Angela's going back to Sweden, or wherever she's from. But they both seem too giddy for that. Angela better not be moving in. No, they wouldn't do something so reckless.

"Angela proposed." Pa lets out an excited giggle, and flashes a shiny silver ring on his left hand.

"We're getting married in October."

Scratch that, they would do something so reckless. Olivia's eyes almost bulge out of her head. This has to be some kind of joke, right? It's the only way for this to make any sense. Dating her is one thing, but marrying her?

Ana tries to hide her shock behind a smile. "Wow. This is-- congratulations to both of you."

“Thank you." Pa grins. "I'd like to ask you to be my best man. Err.. best woman.”

“Oh. I'd be honored.”

“And Lena. How would you like to be our flower girl?” Angela asks.

“No.”

She feels like she's going to be sick. She slams her hands down on the countertop, rattling Ana's cooking utensils. Her palms sting, but she's too angry to care.

Pa's brows furrow, and his smile falters. “Excuse me.”

“I said no." She scowls. Dad always says you need to call people out on their bullshit, so that's what she's going to do. She has a feeling if he were here, he'd be in her corner.

“Lena-- you're being a little rude, don't you think?”

She scoffs. "I'm sorry if I'm being a little rude in response to your stupidity. Pa, are you insane?! You can't marry her! I don't believe-- how? You just met her! She's the same age as Jesse."

"Who's Jesse?"

"No one." She says quickly. Pa doesn't know about Jesse, and Lena's not supposed to either. "It's just- she's too young for you. You can't marry someone who's practically old enough to be my sister.”

Angela clears her throat. "I'm… aware of our age gap, but I am an adult. I can make my own decisions."

Olivia scoffs. "Barely an adult."

"I've heard enough of this! Lena, go to your room!" Pa points hard at the stairs.

"Fine!" She stomps upstairs and slams the door behind her.

Olivia was never totally on board with Lena's dream to get their Dads back together. Too much wishful thinking for her liking. There was a reason they divorced, and she needed to accept that. Still, she always got the feeling Dad never quite got over Pa, and Lena got the same vibes from Pa about Dad. It goes to show she should never get her hopes up about anything.

She hears Angela's Volkswagen drive off. Pa and Ana talk on the porch swing. She can hear their conversation through her open window. She stays in her room, curled up in bed and clutching a pillow to her chest.

"I really thought she'd be excited when I told her." Pa says.

"This is a big change for her, Jack. And a sudden one too. I think we all need a little time to adjust." Ana says.

Pa sighs. "Is raising teenage girls always this difficult?"

"It's definitely no walk in the park. Why don't you let me talk to her?"

"Be my guest."

The front door swings open and shut. Ana tiptoes up the stairs and knocks on her door.  She's not in the mood to talk to anyone. Ana will probably try to convince her to say she's sorry. She's not apologizing. Pa's being stupid and rushing into this and someone has to call him out on it.

"Go away Ana."

"Open up please. We have some things to discuss, Olivia."

"I'm not in the-"

She stops, wide-eyed at the realization of what Ana said. She knows. Her heart races. She slams her window shut-- Dad can't overhear this oncoming conversation-- and opens her door.

"What did you call me?"

“Your name, Olivia. Or am I wrong to assume you and your sister switched places at camp?"

Olivia stares dumbfounded as Ana moves past her. She sits down on her bed, and pats the spot next to her. She sits down.

"How did you know?" She asks.

"I've had my suspicions since you got home from camp. But when you mentioned Jesse-- that's what gave you away.” Ana smiles. "Olivia, did you think it was just coincidence you and your sister ended up at the same summer camp?"

"I… hadn't thought about it really."

Olivia frowns. She never was satisfied with the explanation of luck or fate being the force that brought her and Lena together. It was too damn weird. She needed something logical, tangible. She finds her answer in Ana. Ana knew Lena was going to camp. Ana convinced Dad to send her as well. Ana made sure they met.

"I was hoping your fathers would meet when they dropped you off at camp. I thought Jack would physically take Lena there, and Gabriel would do the same with you. Instead he put her on an airplane and she flew there alone."

"And Dad was busy with work, so he had Jesse drive me."

"Yes, he told me. So that went bust. But there was always the hope that you two would find each other, and take matters into your own hands." She nudges her arm.

She laughs. "Yup… that we did."

"I'm sorry I haven't been able to make it down to LA as often as I'd like. And I'm sorry I never told you about your sister. I wanted to, but your Fathers forbid me from saying anything to either of you. I knew it was wrong, but I went along with it anyway."

"It's okay Ana."

"It isn't." There's a firmness to her voice. It almost sounds like she's holding back tears. "When Sam and I divorced, we made it work between us. Fareeha grew up with both of us in her life. It hasn't been easy, me living here, him in Vancouver, but we never pretended the other didn't exist. That's-- It's--"

"Stupid?"  She finishes for her.

Ana laughs. "Yes, stupid."

They decide it's time to update Lena on how dire the situation has become. Olivia dials her number. With any luck, Ana can talk some sense into her about switching back.

"Olivia Hi! I haven't talked to Dad much today. He's busy at work. But I visited the community pool today and-"

"Lena." Ana says with a soft smile.

There's a pause on Lena's end.

"Ana? What? Did Olivia tell you?"

"She didn't have to. You might be able to fool your Dads, but you can't fool me. Lena, it's time for you to come home."

-

Dad is running late from work. She's not sure if it makes her feel better or worse. On the one hand, it gives her more time to figure out what to say. More time to digest the news that Pa is getting married. She owes Olivia an apology. Apparently, she wasn't exaggerating after all.

On the other hand, she wants to get this over with. She can't stand not knowing what Dad's reaction is going to be when he finds out what she did. Her heart is in her throat and her hands won't stop trembling.

Soon, too soon, the deadbolt on the front door unlocks. Dad and Jesse enter the apartment,  talking about something that happened at work. Jesse holds a paper bag that smells spicy and delicious. It only tightens the knot in her stomach.

“Olivia! I got dinner.” Dad’s smile falters when he sees her pacing back and forth in the kitchen. “Olivia, what's wrong?”

"I need to talk to you." Her throat's gone dry. She wishes she had a glass of water.

"Is everything okay?”

"You were right. You got the wrong girl back from summer camp."

He laughs. "Olivia, what on Earth? I was only joking."

"Well I'm not joking. And I'm not Olivia. I’m--” She stops. She can't do it. ”Please don't be mad.”

Dad flashes her a concerned look. He puts a gentle hand on her arm. "Just tell me what's wrong. Whatever it is, I won't be upset.”

Dad’s expression is warm. Will he still look like that after she tells him the truth? She gulps. Its now or never.

"I'm Lena."

Dads eyes widen. He lets out a soft gasp, and covers his mouth with his hands. He doesn't say anything. He just stares at her. He looks like he's going to cry, but she can't tell what kind of tears they are.

"Lena? Are-- are you serious?"

She nods. She grabs a napkin off the table and wipes away the fake beauty mark.

"But-- how?"

"You and Pa sent us to the same summer camp. We met there and we switched places.”

"Ana." He says under his breath. "I knew there was a reason she wanted me to send you to that camp. Oh my God. It's really-- you're Lena."

She nods. "I'm sorry Dad. I know what me and Olivia did was dishonest, but I really wanted to meet you."

"No, no. Don't apologize. I should be the one apologizing to you. I'm so sorry Lena, if you ever thought I didn't care about you, or that I abandoned you. I love you so, so much." He cups her face in his hands. "Look at you, you're all grown up."

Lena shakes from how overjoyed she is. Dad loves her. Not her pretending to be Olivia, but her -- Lena. The floodgates are open. Tears stream down her cheeks. Dad can't hold back his sobs either. They throw their arms around each other.

"I guess you have to switch us back now?" She wipes her eyes.

He nods. "Legally I have to. Your Pa has sole custody of you, and I've got sole custody of Olivia.”

"When you switch us back, you're not going to disappear again, right?"

"No, we're never doing that again. Your Pa and I will work something out. I promise."

"So… I realize you two are having a moment here.” Jesse says from the doorway. “But when one of you wants to clue me in on what the hell’s going on right now, I'd really appreciate it."

Dad smiles. “Jesse… meet Lena. Your other sister."

Chapter Text

Gabriel is a costume designer. He's spent a solid decade studying fashion and clothes for all occasions. Need a wedding dress for an elven princess or battle armor for a race of alien warriors? He can do that in his sleep. But an outfit for seeing his 12 years estranged ex-husband to swap their daughters who switched places behind their backs? This wasn't a situation he prepared for.

He leaves for the airport in a half hour. His suitcase sits empty on his bed.

Gabriel's slipped into a comfortable bubble where Jack Morrison doesn't exist. He likes his bubble. Things are easy in his bubble. He doesn't like it when his children run at him with needles trying to pop it.

He didn't count on having a computer wizard for a daughter. He dreaded the day Olivia used her sorcery and found Jack in some dark corner of the internet. But in a plot twist Gabriel didn't see coming, it was Ana who spilled the beans. She was always vocal in her disapprovement of their arrangement, but she agreed not to say anything. In a way, she did keep her word. She didn't say anything. She set up the situation, pulling strings in the background to orchestrate their eventual reunion.

And it worked. Tonight he lands in Indianapolis, and tomorrow he'll come face-to-face with Jack Morrison.

So help him God, this whole thing is going to take one day. Get in, switch daughters, and get out. Against his better judgement, he splurged on two plane tickets with a flexible return date. He thinks about Jack and his stupid, magnetic smile and wants to pack his bags and become a farmer.

Gabriel lets loose a long, drawn-out sigh. Attraction is an instinctual response. He can't help it if Jack's combination of features throw his hormones out of whack. He can, however, keep his feelings in check so he doesn't go down heartbreak highway all over again.

Losing Jack was hard enough the first time, but twice?

There's a soft knock on his bedroom door. Jesse gives him an easy smile and holds up a shopping bag.

"I got all the air travel essentials: trashy tabloids, doublemint gum, and uh…" Jesse bites his lip, and shifts his weight from one leg to the other.

"Cigarettes?" He finishes for him.

Jesse furrows his brows. "Was this a test or something? After all the crap you gave me about smoking when I was a teenager, I couldn't tell if you were being serious.”

He frowns. "Did you get them or not?"

"Yes, I got them!" Jesse fumbles with his bag and tosses him the pack. "Jeez, I didn't even know you smoked."

"I don't. Anymore. This is the first cigarette I've had in 12 years." He holds a cigarette between his fingers, waving it at Jesse. "God, you see what this man makes me do?"

Gabriel fumbles through his nightstand for a lighter, and finds one buried under a mountain of old receipts. He inhales and nearly hacks out a lung. His chest is on fire. This isn't as satisfying as he remembers. He waves a cloud of noxious smoke away from his face.

Jesse laughs. "Serves you right for keeping secrets from us."

"I'm allowed to keep secrets from my kids, Jesse."

"Sure, stuff like 'I put broccoli in your mac and cheese to trick you into eating vegetables.' , not 'You've got a secret twin sister.' . You should have told us."

"Well, I didn't tell you because you would have told Olivia."

"I mean, you're right, but that's not the point. I don't know what your deal is with your ex Gabriel, but Olivia had a right to know."

Gabriel sighs, and with his free hand he pinches the bridge of his nose. He spent all night tossing and turning out of guilt. The last thing he needs is a lecture from his son. He takes another drag. It doesn't burn as much as the first, but he still has to fight to keep from coughing.

"Can I ask you a favor Jesse?"

He frowns. "Oh no, I am not taking Lena to Indiana in your place. You gotta face your demons Gabriel.”

"No, that wasn't what I was going to ask. Would you come with us? I'll pay you back for the airfare. I know you're probably busy, but--"

Jesse laughs. "Gabriel, I've already bought a ticket. I'll take you up on that reimbursement offer though.”

“Really?”

“You didn't think I'd miss out on this did you? I wanna meet this Jack guy. Lena's shown me a couple pictures. He's aged like fine wine."

"Jesse!"

He holds up his hands in defense. "I'm just saying. Definitely not my type, but I can see why you'd be into him."

Gabriel looks at the cigarette. He  extinguishes it in the glass of water on his nightstand. He needs to get packing.

"I used to think he was my soulmate." He says, before he opens his sock drawer. "He was the first person I ever fell in love with. Probably the only person I've ever been in love with. Jeez, how pathetic am I?"

"No, I get it. What is it they say about old flames again?"

"Don't let them burn you twice?"

Jesse rolls his eyes. "I was thinking something a little more optimistic: like 'they burn the brightest' or 'they never truly burn out'. What is it about Jack that scares you so much?"

Gabriel says nothing. He brushes past Jesse, and examines his closet. There has to be something in here to wear.

Jack doesn't scare him. Gabriel's scared of himself. He's scared when he sees Jack, he won't be able to resist running into his arms all over again. He's being a baby about this. He's had 12 years to psych himself up for facing his ex. If his feet were any colder, he'd have frostbite.

He's not a love sick kid anymore. He's older now, and he's supposed to be wiser. Didn't Einstein or someone say, "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results"? It would be easy to forget the past and throw caution to the wind, but there's about a million reasons why that's a terrible idea. The two of them are like oil and vinegar. They only mix for a short while before falling apart.

Jesse joins him at his side, and flicks through his closet with him. "Whatever it is, you're gonna have to get over it. Unless you plan on shuttling your kids between each other without ever meeting."

Gabriel groans. He hadn't thought ahead to their new custody arrangement. Or rather, he had thought that far ahead and elected to ignore it because it gives him a headache.

"God, don't remind me. How is this going to work? Have them live here every other weekend? We're already bursting at the seams with just the three of us."

"Uh... you know I don't live here anymore, right?"

He snorts. "Could've fooled me. Why do you even have that apartment when you spend all your time here?"

"I have to keep my belt buckle collection somewhere." Jesse laughs. "Well, when they visit we'll make room. Lena can stay in Olivia's room, and Jack can stay in yours, with you."  

"Jesse!" He thwacks him with a pair of socks, but it doesn't knock the shifty smirk off his face.

"Or… you've been talking about getting a house for years, maybe it's time to start thinking about it again?"

"Think about what again?" Lena comes bounding in.

"Just uh… nothing. You ready to go?" He asks. He shoves his mostly unpacked suitcase behind him.

She nods. "I just got off the phone with Olivia. We'll all be having lunch at the Hilton hotel in Bloomington tomorrow at 11:30."

"And Pa knows we're coming?"

"Err… yeah. Of course he does." She doesn't meet his eyes, instead fidgeting with the friendship bracelets on her wrist.

"Good. That's good. Hey, why don't you and Jesse go wait out in the front room for me?"

"Or we could help you pack since you seem to have no idea what you want to wear." Jesse says.

"Ooh! I wanna help!" Lena bounces up and down in excitement.

Lena and Jesse shove him away from his closet. Clothes fly through the air and land haphazardly all over his floor. Gabriel rolls his eyes and shakes his head, but he can’t help the smile creeping across his cheeks.

-

It was Lena's idea to look at wedding venues.

Jack takes it as a hopeful sign. He feared she’d never speak to him again after angry outburst. But last night after dinner she shows him all the research she's done. Venue brochures, sample menus, cost estimate spreadsheets. She even called one of them, The Hilton in Bloomington, and scheduled a tour for tomorrow morning.

Jack doesn't have the heart to tell her he’s not interested in such a lavish ceremony. He already had his so called 'dream wedding' 16 years ago. Dinner, champagne, toasts and well wishes from his family and friends, dancing under the stars with the man he thought was the love of his life.

He thought a lot of things back then.

Besides, he only has three people he wants to invite: Lena, Ana, and Fareeha if it works out with her military leave. Angela's only got her Uncle and a couple of work colleagues. It would be silly to rent out such a gargantuan wedding hall for less than a dozen guests.

But it can't hurt to indulge his daughter. She says the tour is free, and she's even willing to tag along with them.

She's not the only one. He phones Angela about their plans and she asks of she can invite her Uncle. He's visiting from Germany and by pure happenstance he's staying at the same hotel. Waffles paws at the door as they leave, poor guy doesn’t like being left alone. Lena pleads to bring him with, but he puts his foot down. Then Ana surprises him, walking up the sidewalk towards his house as he’s getting into his car.

“You really need to get that oven of yours fixed.” He laughs.

Ana shakes her head. “Actually, Lena invited me on your tour.”

"Well, okay, but you know you don't have to, right?"

She puts a hand on his shoulder. “Jack, I have a feeling by the end of the day you'll be glad I'm there."

He stares at her, quizzical. She doesn't elaborate, just smiles a knowing smile.

Jack stops Lena before she gets in the car. He puts on his serious “we need to talk” face.

"I want you to be on your best behavior today. No attitude around Angela and her Uncle, okay?"

"Of course Pa!" She shoots him a 1000 watt smile. But he wasn't born yesterday. Lena's been acting different since she got back from camp. More… snarky.

"I mean it, Lena."

"Ok ok, I get it. I won't run around stirring up trouble."

Angela and her Uncle stand next to the elevator in the lobby. He can't understand a word of what they're saying because they're speaking German. Ang warned him her Uncle was a big guy, but he wasn't expecting him to be so massive. He's at least a head taller than him and built like a Mack truck.

Angela lights up when she sees them. She grabs his hands and presses two air kisses to his cheeks.

"Everyone I want you to meet my Uncle Reinhardt. Uncle, this is my fiance Jackie and his daughter Lena."

"Hello!" His voice seems to boom through the entire lobby. He ruffles Lena's hair before pulling him into a bone crushing hug. His face softens to a goofy smile when he looks at Ana.

"And who might you be?" He asks.

"Ana. I'll be Jack's best man."

"It’s lovely to meet you, Ms. Ana." He takes her hand, comically small by comparison, and kisses it. In the nearly 20 years Jack's known Ana, this is the first time he's seen her blush.

"Well, shall we get started on the tour?" Angela asks. They all nod in agreement, and they approach the front desk.

Touring wedding venues is about as exciting as watching soybeans grow. He hopes their guide isn't insulted as their group drops like flies. They lose Reinhardt first, to the bar. Jack rolls his eyes. It's not even 11 yet. Must be a timezone thing, or a German thing? Then Ana spots some people in the breakfast area. A young guy in plaid pajama bottoms and an honest-to-goodness cowboy hat, and another person holding an upside-down newspaper. He can’t see their face, all he can make out are their hands, small and dainty with orange nail polish. Ana pours herself a cup of coffee and joins them at their table.

Somewhere in between, Lena's wordlessly slipped away. He could have sworn she was right next to him, then he turned around and she was gone. It's like she turned invisible and ran off. He hopes to God she's not getting herself into trouble.

“So… that's everything.” Their guide says as the tour concludes back in the lobby. “Did you have any other questions?”

“Yes actually,” Angela says. “one of my coworkers mentioned you hosted a medical research conference last year. Will that be happening again?”

“Oh, yes! I have the brochures in my office.”

Angela follows the guide to a room behind the front desk, speaking in medical jargon Jack doesn’t understand. He taps his fingers on the granite countertop, and looks around the lobby.

This is a beautiful hotel. Old, but well maintained. In a charming antique-y sort of way. It’s decorated with grand chandeliers, big impressionist paintings and wide open halls. It would make for a stunning wedding. For some other couple.

Jack fidgets with his engagement ring. He’s still getting accustomed to it. It’s been awhile since he’s had a ring on that finger. It’s funny, last time around he was the one to propose. Not that he wants to compare his two engagements, or even think about the disaster that was his first marriage. Today is about Angela and new beginnings. He's not going down the Gabriel Reyes rabbit hole.

Two loud laughs ring out from the sitting area in the lobby. It’s Lena-- and someone who sounds an awful lot like her. She’s talking to someone, grinning and gesturing wildly, but the back of the chair is facing him so he can't see who it is.

“Lena.” He heads over her way, but she shoots out of the chair and sprints to his side.  He squints. He seems to recall she was wearing a purple tank top earlier, now it’s yellow. And were her fingernails short and orange this morning?

“Pa!” Lena exclaims, and squeezes him around his waist.

“Where did you disappear to?” He asks.

“What?”

“The tour? You kinda just… vanished.”

“Oh! I uh… had to go to the bathroom.” She says it like it's a question.

“Who were you talking to over there?”

“No one! I wasn't talking to anyone!”

He knits his brows. His ‘My daughter is lying to me’ sense is tingling. “Lena, is anything go-”

"'Scuse me sir." It's that guy with the cowboy hat Ana was talking to. "Can you help me out? I'm looking for someone: a guy about your size with a black skull cap. He came down here for the continental breakfast about a half hour ago I think. Have you seen him?”

"Uh… sorry. Can't say I have."

"No worries. I'll find him eventually.  I'll see you around, Jack." It might be a trick of the light, but Jack swears he winks at him as he walks away.

"Yeah, uh… you too?"

It takes a few seconds to hit him all the things wrong with that conversation. He’s never met that man before in his life, yet somehow he knows his name. Not to mention the insinuation they'll be seeing more of each other. And the black skull cap. It was Gabe's signature headgear. Jack used to tease him how it was glued to his head. Jack's pretty sure he's showered in it on accident a couple times.

And he’s reading way too much into this. It’s not like Gabe was the only person to ever wear a black beanie. As for how this guy knows him: it’s probably through Ana. He must be one of her students, or one of Fareeha's friends.

"Lena, do you know that guy? Lena?”

He glances at his side, but Lena is gone. There's no trace of her anywhere in the lobby.

“I must be losing my goddamn mind.” He mutters to himself.

"But your hair is looking especially good today." Angela says. She stands behind him and runs her fingers through his hair. “I like this place. It's too bad they're booked solid until January. What about you?”

"I uh… I'm not sure.”

"Well, there is one place we haven't checked out yet."

"What's that?"

"The honeymoon suite." She whispers into his ear. She dangles a silver key in front of him.

Angela presses the button for The elevator. The door opens with a ding. He wraps his arms around her waist as they step inside. Out of the corner of his eye, he spots a man with a newspaper under his arm and a cup of coffee in his hand. He loosens his hold on Angela and presses the door open button.

His eyes are drawn to the black beanie. He must be the guy in the lobby was looking for. Then his face. He'd recognize it anywhere. High cheekbones, tapered jaw, hazel eyes he could get lost in. If it were just those that, he’d chalk it up to one eerie coincidence. But the scars. Jack was there they day he got them. He used to trace them with his fingers while he slept. He knows them in the most intimate of ways.

Jack has to be dreaming, or hallucinating, or on something. Because there is no other rational explanation why Gabriel Reyes is here, in as Gabe so eloquently called it when they were married, Bumfuck, Indiana.

The man catches his gaze. If this guy isn't Gabe, then he probably thinks he's a crazy man gawking at him. Then again if it is Gabe, he also probably thinks he's a crazy man gawking at him. He smiles weakly. The man's smiles back. It takes him a second to notice he's spilled his coffee on his shirt. He looks down, mouths what looks to be the word 'fuck' , and dabs at the stain with his newspaper.

Before Jack can react, the door slides shut. He pounds on the door open button, but the elevator is rocketing up to the top floor.

“Jackie, is everything ok?” Angela asks with a concerned expression.

“I uh… I think I left something in the lobby.”

When the elevator dings open again Angela gets off, but he stays on and goes back down. He searches the lobby, frantic, but the man-- Gabe?-- is nowhere to be found.

Chapter Text

This is not how Gabriel pictured their reunion going. This didn't even make his list of possible worst case scenarios he envisioned on the plane ride to Indianapolis. This is a fucking train wreck.

In Gabriel’s perfect, ideal reunion, He wouldn't wear his baggy, cat-print pajama pants when he sees Jack for the first time in 12 years. He would not gawk at him with his eyes bulging out of his head and his mouth wide open catching flies. He would not spill hot coffee on himself like a child learning how to use a cup for the first time.

If it were just that, he could live it down. Laugh it off. But that's not what killed the mood. In a perfect scenario, Jack would not drape himself all over a woman half his age.

It's not that Jack isn't allowed move to on, even to women far too young for him (Seriously, how old is this girl? She can't be much older than Fareeha-- and she was just out of diapers when they got married.) . Gabriel didn't come to Indiana expecting a love story. To rekindle their romance right where they left off. But the thoughts were there. He let himself get lost in a fantasy where he and Jack lock eyes, and nothing else matters.  

Mortification only begins to cover what he's feeling right now. He can't do this anymore. His stomach churns at the thought of seeing Jack again. He's tempted to grab Olivia, give Lena a note saying “Here's your daughter back. Have a nice life.” , and hop on the next plane to California.

"Jesse! Lena!” He shouts as he enters their hotel room. He's out of breath from storming up the stairs. Taking the elevator was, obviously, out of the question.

His kids want him to be happy. He can't fault them for that, for thrust all the blame for his emotion turmoil onto them. But it was no accident how they egged him on with all their talk about how "excited Jack was to see him.", and conveniently left out the fact that he has a girlfriend.

Lena and Olivia fight with the pull-out couch to fold it back in. He stops. It's the first time he's seen them together since they were babies. He used to be able to tell them apart just by their cries. Now he has to wait for them to face him to check for the mole under Olivia’s eye.

“Dad!” Olivia grins. She opens her arms to hug him, but stops when she sees his coffee-stained shirt. "Uh… what happened to you?"

"I ran into your Father in the lobby.”

And it's like all the air gets sucked out of the room. His daughters look like they both might choke on their tongues. Ana looks up from her book with a horrified expression. Jesse scrambles to shut the TV off.

“Oh. Did you guys uh… talk about anything?” Lena asks.

“No. He was a bit busy getting cozy in the elevator with a very, very young woman."

The silence hangs thick in the air. The four of them exchange guilty glances. He taps his foot on the carpet, waiting for an explanation.

"Does Jack have any idea I'm here?" He asks.

Lena stammers. "We uh… well--”

"Does he know that you two switched places?"

"We uh… we hadn't told him yet. But we were totally going to."

“It's just…” Olivia hesitates. “Pa’s been kinda distracted lately.”

He raises an eyebrow. “Distracted?”

His daughters launch into an explanation. They talk fast and over each other, getting louder and more distressed with each sentence. He can't make heads or tails of it. He catches the name Angela a couple times, and the words "too young" , and "two months ago" .

He holds up a finger to stop them.

“Let me get this straight. You two had time to plan matching outfits. But for some reason, you didn't have time to warn your Pa I was coming? Or warn me he had a girlfriend?”

"Ahhh… so you're interested." Jesse shoots him a smug stare. He returns it with a deep set frown that knocks it right off his face.

"Angela's not his girlfriend.” Lena says.

“Soo… Jack just hugs random women in elevators now?"

"No." Olivia says. "Angela isn't his girlfriend. She's his fiancée."

"What?" He stifles a gasp. It's like the wind was knocked out of him. He can feel the blood rushing to his face, making it uncomfortably warm. It's not his business. He shouldn't care who Jack loves now. But he's hit with the same overwhelming ache in his chest from seeing the two of them look so happy together.

His daughters begin another tyrade. “October wedding” , “mistake” , “stop him” . It's too much for him to process.

“Girls!” He collapses onto the fold-up couch and rubs his temples. His head is throbbing. He needs an aspirin, stat.

There's a knock on the door. In the hallway stands a gargantuan man Gabriel's never met wearing one of the hotel bathrobes-- and hopefully something underneath.

"Uh… can I help you?" He asks.

"I was looking for Ms. Ana." He says with a strong German accent.

Ana straightens up and approaches the door. Her face melts into a soft smile. "Oh hello, Reinhardt. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I was wondering if you would like to accompany me to the hot tub?”

“Sounds lovely.” She grabs her purse from the closet and steps out into the hallway.

“Well this was a fun little chat, but I'm gonna skedaddle.” Jesse stands and follows them out without any hesitation.

“Who was that?” Gabriel asks after they leave.

Lena shrugs.

“Don't ask.” Olivia says. She and Lena take slow steps backwards, creeping towards the entryway as if to follow them out.

“Oh no, You two aren't going anywhere.” He says.

They wince.

"I'm waiting for an explanation. You didn't tell your Pa about me. You didn't tell me about Angela. What's the meaning of all this secrecy?"

They glance at him, then at each other in apprehension. A moment passes before Lena takes a breath.

“We thought maybe… that if Pa saw you...he would… reconsider his engagement.”

His eyes widen as the pieces fall into place. This whole charade wasn't just so they could meet their dads. It was also a plot to get them back together. They wanted to reunite their family in more ways than one.

He lets out a nervous string of laughter. "Oh no. No no no. Your father and I are through."

“But Dad! Angela is all wrong for him!” Olivia says. “You're the only one who can talk some sense into him.”

“Lena, Olivia, I am not breaking up your Pa’s engagement. Not my circus, not my monkeys.”

“Dad please--”

“No, listen.” He gives them each a stern glare. “You two are going to tell your Pa what you've done. Your Pa and I will work out a new custody arrangement, then Lena you are staying here with your Pa, and Olivia you are coming home with me."

"But--"

"Got it?”

“Got it.” They both grumble.

-

Jack needs a nap.

He wants to go home and lie down, or rent a room and lie down, or at the very least, join Angela's Uncle at the bar. Except he can't because they have lunch reservations to try the food at the restaurant where they are most certainly not having their wedding.

He wanders out to the pool deck and flops down into one of the lounge chairs. The plastic straps are stiff and uncomfortable. His back will be screaming in pain tomorrow. But it's a mostly horizontal surface and right now he isn't picky.

When he closes his eyes, it's Gabe's face he sees. Dammit, he can't even relax without his ex seeping into his thoughts.

Of all the days for his ex-husband to fall back into his life, why did it have to be today? Why couldn't it have been last Tuesday? Or three years ago? Or any other day than the one he's looking at wedding venues with his new fiancée. He has a wedding to plan and a surly teenage daughter to keep in line. He's just about reached his breaking point, and he doesn't need this extra source of stress in his life right now.

Which begs the question: what on Earth is Gabe doing out here? Visiting Ana? A couple of times a year she flies out to visit a friend in LA, without specifically mentioning a name. She doesn't have to. He knows who she's talking about. But it doesn't fit for Gabe to visit her. The whole idea of the divorce was so they never saw each other again.

Could Gabe be here to see him? 12 years ago he dreamed Gabe would chase him to Indiana and say he was sorry and he loved him wanted to start over. He would say yes and take him in his arms and everything would be right again. He got over himself and stopped doing that long ago. If Gabe's here for that-- he's delusional, and also too late.

No, he's going crazy. It couldn't be him, there's no possible way. Of course he's thinking about Gabe. It's natural to be reminded of his ex-husband when he's getting married once again. But seeing his face in random hotel guests is taking things a step too far. Gabe is not in Indiana.

Except-- there he is again.

It's the same man from this morning, standing on the other end of the pool, something like 60 feet away. The man is too distracted by his phone to notice Jack's staring. It's Gabe. It has to be.

A war wages in his brain. He shouldn't pursue this. A little curiosity never hurt anyone. He has a fiancée. It's not wrong to think other people are good looking. Gabe is his ex husband, they lived together for six years. There has to be a rule about checking out your exes. What if it's not Gabe? Of course it's him. Unless he has a twin brother he never told him about.

Twins. Lena. Oh shit-- he has to keep Lena away from Gabe.

Jack was so caught up in his love-sick bullshit he hadn't spared a thought for his daughter. Lena has to know who this guy is. She looks at that photo of him so much her fingerprints have worn away the color. If she sees him and recognizes him, it's all over.

Is that why Gabe's here? To see Lena. Well-- if he wanted a new custody arrangement he should have called first instead of nearly giving him a heart attack, twice.

Someone taps him on the shoulder, interrupting his train of thought. He turns to see Angela looking stressed.

"Jackie! Have you seen my Uncle? He said he was going back to his room but he wasn't there, and he's not answering his phone."

"Uh… no. Sorry, I haven't."

Angela tsks. "I hope he's not still at the bar. Our reservations are in fifteen minutes. Would you mind helping me find him?”

"Actually, I need to do something really quick." He puts a gentle hand on her shoulder and pushes past her.

His footsteps get heavier as he approaches. Gabe's looked in every direction except his. Electricity surges through him at the thought of making eye-contact.

"Hey Ga--ahhh"

Jack trips. He stumbles over absolutely nothing inches away from the swimming pool's edge. Of course this is the moment his muscle coordination decides to desert him. His arms flail. He reaches out for a glass table but it's just out of his reach. He shuts his eyes and braces himself for the fall.

His hand makes contact with something strong, a sturdy shoulder. For a moment he thinks he's saved, but gravity just pulls him and the stranger down.

Splash!

The water hits him like ice. He flounders, trying to regain his bearings. He rights himself, opens his eyes, and swims for the surface.

"Sorry I-" His breath hitches when he locks eyes with the stranger. Because it's Gabe. Of course it's Gabe who ran to his rescue. And of course, like an idiot, he pulled him under.

Gabe doesn't look older so much as he looks tired. Up close he can see the dark circles entrenching his eyes. But he's still somehow handsome as ever.

"Hey Jack. Long time, no see, huh?" Gabe looks bashful, with that sheepish smile that used to make his heart flutter. Still makes his heart flutter.

"Yeah, no kidding.” He says. “Hey Gabe, no offense, but uh... what the Hell are you doing here?"

"I can explain. But why don't we get out of the pool first?"

They've made a spectacle of themselves. All the  pool-goers are staring at them. Even if there aren't that many people he can still feel their eyes on him. There's Ana sitting by the poolside with Angela's Uncle, and that same guy from earlier. An odd combination of people. Ana hides an amused smile behind her hand, and the man in the cowboy hat is busting a gut.

They clamber over the the edge. Gabe reaches the top first and offers him a hand, which he accepts. His wet clothes weigh him down like potato sacks. He takes off his soaking shoes and socks and follows Gabe over to a glass table with an umbrella.

"Uh… sorry about that.” He says.

"Don't worry about it. It's not the first time you've made a fool out of yourself in front of me." Gabe laughs. Charming and easy, just like he remembers. "And it's not the first time I've had to save your ass either"

"Well at least I didn't spill coffee all over myself this morning."

Gabe purses his lips and taps his fingers on the glass. So it was him in the hotel lobby.

"Uh… I'm waiting for that explanation. Are you here to visit Ana or something? Do you know the guy in the cowboy hat who's been stalking me all morning?"

He smiles. "Yes, I know him. And no, I'm not here to see Ana. I'm here to see you."

This grabs his attention. He tries his best to appear disinterested, but his heart is pounding. Gabe's not-- he couldn't be.

"Oh? What for?"

"I need to return something of yours."

Well-- this is unexpected. His brows knit and forehead wrinkles. When they split up they divvied up everything down to the underwear in their sock drawer. And for him to remember 12 years later, and to come all the way to Indiana instead of putting it in the mail? It doesn't make sense.

"Uh… sorry?"

Gabe laughs. "You probably haven't even noticed she's missing.”

“I-- she?”

“You also have something of mine, though if you want to keep her, be my guest."

"Hey I can hear you, you know?" Lena appears from behind them, once again wearing a purple tank top. "Oh my God! What happened to you guys?"

Gabe gestures at him. "He fell in. I tried to stop him, but he pulled me along for the ride."

The two of them laugh, sounding perfectly in sync. Gabe and Lena, the two people he's been trying to keep apart for the past 12 years, are standing a foot away from each other, laughing. He thought Gabe would be freaking out about this too, but he looks calm, almost amused. And Lena doesn't look all too confused either. She's not demanding an explanation from him. It's almost like she knew he was going to be here.

"Lena- I-"

"Pa, it's okay."

"No, I should explain.”

"Really, it's okay. And uh… I'm not Lena. I'm Olivia."

Now he's gone from confused to utterly bewildered. He also wants to cry ugly tears of joy and hug the daughter he hasn't seen in twelve years because she's grown up to be so beautiful. So that's what he does. He doesn't know what the fuck is going on, but he's so overflowing with love it doesn't matter.

“Ahh… you're getting me all wet.” Olivia says, but she wraps her arms around his middle.

Another set of arms flings themselves around his shoulders. “Pa! I've missed you so much!"

"What? Missed you? Didn't I just see you a half hour ago?"

"Have you told him yet Dad?" Lena asks.

"Told me what?"

Gabe crosses his arms. "I think it would be better coming from you two."

The two of them release from their embrace. They stand across from each other and share guilty glances.

"Go on, tell your Pa what you did."

"Olivia and I switched places while we were at camp." Lena says.

Olivia continues. “I’ve been living with you these past couple days, and Lena's been in LA with dad.”

“What? How--”

Gabe gestures to Ana and the cowboy hat guy, who are making their way over to them. "Thank Ana. She made sure we sent them to the same summer camp."

"Don't look at me. All I did was get them in the same place at the same time.” Ana says. “Anything else they did was all on them."

Jack wants to be mad at her. He's told her for years he doesn't want Lena to know about her father. But this reunion is nice. Aside from the soaking wet part, it's nice.

He points at the guy in the hat. “I'm still a little confused how you fit in the picture.”

"Jackie! I found my Uncle. Are you ready to-- mein Gott! " Angela lets out a horrified gasp. Her ponytail bobs behind her as she looks back and forth from Lena to Olivia.

"Ang, did uh… I mention that Lena is a twin?"

She glares at him. "No, you left that part out."

He gestures to the girl in the purple shirt. "This is Olivia, my other daughter. She lives in California with my ex-husband."

"Hi. I'm the ex-husband." Gabe waves casually, and holds out a hand for her to shake. "It's nice to meet you-- I'm sorry, I don't think I know your name."

Angela turns to him with a huff. Like, how dare you not mention me to the ex-husband you're seeing for the first time in over a decade.

"I was getting there. Angela, this is Gabriel. Gabe this is Ang."

"Nice to meet you Angela. Wow Jack, I didn't know you adopted another daughter.”

The girls and the man in the cowboy hat snicker. Ana rolls her eyes. He goes red-faced, and Angela looks less than amused. Angela's young, but she's not that young, is she?

"No! Gabe, Angela is my fiancee."

"Oh wow, I apologize. You just-- you look so young." He offers an apologetic smile, but he doesn't look all that sorry.

"So I've been told." She frowns at him. "Did Jackie invite you? Because he didn't mention it to me."

"No I didn't invite him. He--" He pauses. He's not sure how to explain this. He's had it explained to him and he's still not sure what's going on. "I'll tell you later, okay? It's kind of a long story."

"Why don't you tell me over lunch?” She turns to Gabe. “Would you like to join us? It would be rude of me not to invite you."

"We’d be happy to. I'm gonna change first though. Want me to grab you anything, Jack?" He looks him up and down. "It looks like we're still the same size."

Jack misses the days he had a double wardrobe. He was never more fashionable then when he was stealing his husband's clothes.

He shakes his head. "I'm sure I'll dry out soon."

"Lovely." Angela says in a pinched way that insinuates she doesn't find it all that lovely. "I'll tell the waiter to add two extra chairs to our table."

"Actually, better make it three. One more for my son, Jesse."

Angela curses under her breath in German. "A daughter, a son, Jackie do you have anymore secret kids I don't know about?"

“No! And I don't have a son, my two daughters are it.” He sticks up his palms in defense.

"Sorry Andrea, I should have clarified, Jesse’s just mine. He came into the picture years after we split up."

She narrows her eyes. "It's Angela."

"My mistake."

"Well it's nice to meet you both.” The man in the cowboy hat offers his hand. Finally this mysterious guy has a name, Jesse.

Jack goes cold when he shakes his hand. Jesse, As in " She's the same age as Jesse" . Guess it makes sense why Gabe thought she was his daughter. Angela and Jesse. The same age, but a whole branch apart on the family tree.

The age difference-- the thing everyone brings up-- hasn't bothered him before. Angela is a grown woman. She's a doctor, a college professor. She has a PhD for crying out loud. Jack didn't date her because of some mid life crisis. He doesn't go after pretty, young women to boost his ego or relive his youth. What they have is real.

Jack forces out a smile. "Uh.. Sorry, I hope you don't mind me asking, but how old are you?"

If there's a ghost of a chance Olivia was exaggerating, and Jesse is actually 17 but looks really mature for his age-- he is going to take it.

"Just turned 24, sir." He smirks, almost knowingly. “Why do you ask?”

"No reason."

At the very least, Angela didn't just turn 24, but her 25th birthday is still a ways away. A couple months doesn't do much to improve the situation. There is no way to improve the situation.

Without meaning to, Jack's become that guy .

Well, fuck.

Chapter Text

Jack has ruined two of Gabriel's outfits today. The pajama shirt he can forgive him over. It's ancient, with fraying edges he can't be bothered to fix, and it was kind of his own fault he spilled coffee on it. But that suit he was wearing when Jack dragged him under was custom made and dry clean only.

This has to be a sign from the universe telling Gabriel not to pursue this. Blinking red lights telling him: Turn Back! Disaster Ahead! And yet, here he is, buttoning up his one remaining dress shirt to wear to their family dinner.

"You look nice." Olivia-- it is Olivia, right?-- elbows his arm.

"We're going to a nice restaurant. What did you expect me to wear, my pajamas?"

"Yes, but you look especially nice. Is there anyone in particular you're trying to impress?" She raises her eyebrows.

He sighs. "Kids, your Pa is engaged."

"Yeah, to a woman half his age he met two months ago."

"He is still engaged. It's not my business who he chooses to spend his company with."

"But you think it's weird, right?" Lena asks.

It's weird. It's fucking bizarre. Yes, he was just being petty when he called Angela Jacks’ daughter, but damn if it doesn’t look like it. Gabe’s been hit on by younger men before. Never in his life has he felt more uncomfortable. He doesn’t get the appeal in dating someone who was learning their abc’s when he was learning how to shoot a rifle in the army, or thinks of the music he grew up listening to as ‘retro’.

"I'm refraining from making a judgement." He says.

Lena and Olivia have already cemented their distaste in Angela. He doesn't need to give his two cents and add more fuel to their fire. Someone has to be the adult in this situation.

Dinner is at a seafood restaurant on the other side of town. Gabriel’s expectations are low. Indiana is a landlocked state, how good can the fish here be? But Jack, Lena, and Ana all swear it's the nicest restaurant in town.

"Reservation for Reyes, party of five.” Gabriel says to the hostess when they arrive.

She looks over her list, pursing her lips. "Sorry, I don’t see you in the book. I have a Reyes for a party of two, could that be you?"

"No, it's definitely five. Is there anything under McCree?"

“Sorry sir.” she gives him an apologetic shrug.

Gabe sighs. "Jesse, I thought you put the reservations in.”

"I did." Jesse steps in front of him and smiles at the hostess. "He's one half of the Reyes party. His date will be joining him shortly."

He sputters. "I'm sorry, my what now?"

"Your date, with Pa." Lena says with a goofy grin. They may not be biologically related, but she definitely inherited it from Jack.

‘Again, my what?”

"Anyway, we're gonna head out." Jesse says. "We don't want to spoil your evening."

"And just where do you think you're going?" He asks, flashing them an unamused stare.

"Waffle House." Lena says.

"We'll meet back up with y'all in two hours."

"Bye Dad! You kids have fun now!” Olivia waves and props the door open with her foot.

"Girls! Jesse!" He shouts after them. If they hear him they don't acknowledge it. They laugh, wild and rosy-cheeked, as they clamber out the door and up the street. On their way out they brush past a very bewildered Jack.

Gabriel’s heart is in his throat. Jack’s dressed up for the occasion. A fitted button down shirt and dressy, dark wash jeans, not the kind he’d wear in the cornfields. And New Balance shoes. Sensible, but completely hideous. This is the man he fell in love with all those years ago.

"Uh… did I miss something?" Jack asks.

"The kids ditched us. For waffles."

Jack sighs. "They planned this, didn't they?"

"Yup."

“Uh... do you guys want the table or not?” The hostess stares at them with a look of confusion.  

"What do you say, for old time's sake?" Jack asks. And there’s that gorgeous smile again. An all too familiar warmth surges in Gabriel’s chest.

He nods.

They follow the hostess to a small, round table lit by candles. The ambiance is beautiful, but the dim light makes it hard to read the menu. He squints. $30.00 for a plate of shrimp pasta? This is why he only goes out to those fancy restaurants when it’s on the studio’s dime. Maybe it's a good thing the kids took off. Gabriel wouldn't be able to afford to feed them.

“So, we need to discuss our custody arrangement." Jack says as he looks over the wine list.

"Yeah, I guess we can't go back to ignoring each other now.”

“I’ve been thinking. What if we each keep one girl during the school year, and then we swap during breaks?”

“Could work… but when do Lena and Olivia get to see each other in this arrangement?"

“Damn, you’re right.” Jack taps his chin. “Hmmm… maybe once a month one of them could fly out to visit for the weekend?"

“That’s going to get expensive though.” Gabriel winces. His bank account hasn't stopped crying at he airfare for this trip.

“You're right. God, this would be so much easier if we didn't live so far away.”

"You could always move back to LA." He stops, feels his shoulders tense up. "Not back with me-- just, oh you know what I mean. I still don't know why you moved to Indiana in the first place. You hate it here."

“I don't hate it!”

“Okay, maybe you don’t hate it, but you don't love it either. You told me the reason you enlisted in the army was because you wanted to get away from all this nothing .”

Jack hesitates. "Gabe, I don't know what I'd do if I lived somewhere else. I don't have a whole lot of skills besides growing soybeans and corn."

"Bullshit. You’ve got a teaching degree. I remember sitting through that long ass graduation ceremony. And Lena tells me you coach the basketball team too. There's a lot of schools that could use a good coach Jack, LA and otherwise."

"I don't know Gabe. If it were just me… maybe I’d consider it, but Angela is hoping to get tenure at the University. Moving isn’t an option right now."

Angela. For a few minutes he’d forgotten about Jack’s wunderkind fiancee. God, why did he have to bring her up?  Gabriel hides his scowl behind his menu, then mentally kicks himself. He’s been hanging around with his daughters too much, their line of thinking has rubbed off on him. He needs to get a grip and stop thinking like he’s some bitter ex. He is not falling back in love with Jack.

"So, where is Angela tonight?” He asks.

"She’s out with her Uncle. I thought this dinner could be just us and the kids-- or just us, since the kids seem to have other plans.”

“So you didn’t invite her? Jackie, I am shocked.”

He rolls his eyes. “Very funny Gabe.”

"If I were young and pretty would you let me call you Jackie too?” Gabriel teases, batting his eyelashes at him.

“You're very pretty Gabe.” Jack says, then blushes tomato red. He makes an uncomfortable string of noises before taking a long sip of his water. “But no… you can't call me Jackie.”

A waiter comes around to take their orders. Gabriel gets the steak, even though it's overpriced. He's still uneasy about the seafood. The waiter scribbles it down, then places a salad plate in front of each of them. They both dig in. Gabriel's never been a fan of "rabbit food", but he's grateful for the distraction.

"So uh… what about you? Any special guys in your life right now?" Jack asks before dousing his salad in ranch dressing.

Okay, now he wants to go back to Angela. At least then there's something to talk about. He's hit a dry spell in his love life, to put it nicely. He hasn't had a ‘special guy in his life’ since Jack. He could lie. Drive Jack wild with jealousy over some fictional boyfriend. Would that actually work?

"Nope, I'm not seeing anyone. I am super single, as Jesse puts it. I can't even remember the last time I had a date. I'm uh… just trying to focus on my career right now." Gabriel stuffs a forkful of lettuce into his mouth. It was time to shut up about three sentences ago. He was going for cool and aloof, but came across as desperate.

"Trust me, I get it. Dating is hard, especially when you're a busy, single parent. I think Angela is my first serious relationship since-- well, you."

They circle back to discussing their new custody arrangement. By the end of their meal, they haven't come up with anything suitable. Everything is either too complex, too expensive, or results in them seeing each other too little. Gabriel doesn't bring up moving again, even though it's the easiest solution to their problem. Even though he wants to. His heart aches at the thought of leaving Lena and Jack behind again. Whoever said "Distance makes the heart grow fonder" must never have ventured too far from the people they love.

Jack offers to drive him back to his hotel, since Jesse stole the rental car. Jack taps the steering wheel along to the country song on the radio. Gabriel refrains from commenting on his shit taste in music. He knows if he does, Jack will retort with a comment on his shit taste in music.

“I guess we can iron out the kinks later?” Jack says as they pull into the parking lot. “Lena and I are going on our camping trip tomorrow, so I’ll be out of reach."

“Yeah, and I've got to get back to work tomorrow. I'll uh… have my lawyer call yours, or something?”

Jack nods. “Sounds good.”

Jesse’s sitting on one of the hotel beds when he gets back. He's watching some crime drama and eating leftover waffles from a styrofoam container.

"You were out late." Jesse says in an annoying sing-song voice.

"We had a lot to discuss." He kicks his shoes at the door. He looks around the room, and notices someone is missing. “Where's Olivia?”  

“Jack’s house. She and Lena wanted to have a sleepover." Jesse flicks off the TV. "So how was your date? Give me all the juicy details."

He frowns. “It wasn't a date.”

“Okay, okay. How was your evening at a nice restaurant with a handsome man?”

"An engaged, handsome man."

"You're still not answering the question. Did you have a fun time connecting with your ex or what?"

"Yeah, it was good."

A smile creeps across his face.

-

When they were married, Gabe’s mantra was “Early is on time, on time is late, late is unacceptable". Where did his punctuality go in their 12 year separation? Olivia’s flight back to LA leaves at 11AM. It’s a quarter to nine, and Gabe and Jesse are just now tearing up the road toward his house. They must be going 20 miles over the speed limit. They'll have to amp it up to 30 if they want to catch their plane.

"Olivia! Your Dad’s here!” Jack shouts.

Lena and Olivia come bounding down the stairs, wearing matching white tank tops and denim shorts. They both sport a beauty mark on their left cheek. Jack better return that father of the year mug. He cannot for the life of him tell them apart.

“Very funny girls.” Gabe says. "Now, go back upstairs and get your bags. We have to go.”

They don't move. The girl on the right crosses her arms, and they wear identical smirks.

"We have a deal for you." The girl on the left says.

Gabe scoffs. "You're 14, you don't get to make deals with us."

"We’ll tell you who's who-- but not until after we go on the family camping trip."

"I've got another deal.” Jack says. “You girls tell us who you are right now, or there will be no camping trip."

This wipes the smug look off their faces. They turn to each other, and seem to have a whole conversation with just their eyes.

“No deal." The girl on the right says.

Jack sighs. "Girls this isn't funny. We'll spend more time together soon, we promise, but your Dad is going to miss his plane.”

They don't say anything. The girl on the right bites her lip, but the girl on the left looks steadfast.

"We don't have time for this." Gabe turns to Jesse. "You're a makeup artist. Which one of those beauty marks is fake?"

Jesse squints at them and rubs his chin. "Hmmm… I don't know, they both look pretty convincing to me."

Jack is pretty certain he's truthful, then Jesse full on winks at them. The girls grin. Gabe smacks his forehead and shakes his head.

"Fine, Olivia-- whoever you are-- you can stay in Indiana if you want to go on this camping trip, but I have to get back to LA tonight, or I might lose my job.”

Jesse scoffs. “Are you serious? Gabriel, this is your daughter. You've barely spent any time with her for the past 12 years. Now that you have an opportunity you're blowing her off for work? No offense but that's really shitty of you.”

“Jesse, you know how tight a ship they run.”

"They aren't going to fire you for missing three days of work, Gabriel. Akande and half the cast would walk.”

“Jesse--

“No, you're staying. I'll go back in your place. If there's any emergencies, I'll call you. If I can't reach you, I'll reference your notebook. You are methodically organized, you know?"

Gabe's face softens. He seems to consider this.

"How long is this camping trip?" He asks.

"Two days."

"Dad, please?" The girl on the right says.

"Okay, I'll stay. Thank you Jesse."

"No problem. Now I gotta jet. I have a plane to catch. Lena's on the left and Olivia's on the right, by the way." He says, before he unlocks the car door and gets inside.

Jack grumbles as he clears out the back seat of his truck. He was so looking forward to Gabe being back on the other side of the country where he belongs. Now Jack is going to share a tent with him. He smiles and goes along with the change of plans, but he's falling to pieces on the inside.

His phone rings in his pocket. He looks at the caller ID. It's Angela. And for the first time, he doesn't want to talk to her.

“Morning sweetie. Hope you have fun on your camping trip this weekend.” She says, sounding chipper.

“Me too…”

“Is everything alright Jackie? You sound a little stressed.”

“Yeah everything's--”

“Hey Jack!” Gabe shouts from the garage. Ana can probably hear him from her house a quarter mile away. "Did you pack the sunscreen? You know you turn into a lobster without it."

He holds his hand over the receiver. "Yes Gabe."

"Jackie, was that your ex-husband in the background?” He can hear Angela's eyes narrowing over the phone.

“Uh….” His brain is a computer that divided by zero. He can't decide whether to lie or tell the truth, so he makes incoherent noises and shuts down.

“I thought you said he left this morning."

"He was supposed to, but uh… the plan changed and now he's-- well…"

"He's going with you, isn't he?"

"Yes… but it wasn't my idea. The girls invited him along, and I couldn't say no."

Angela's quiet for a moment. "I'm not sure I'm comfortable with this, Jackie."

"Ang, you don't have anything to worry about. Gabe and I are ancient history."

"Jack do you--” Gabe shouts again.

“Gabriel Reyes I swear to God, I am on the phone!"

"Oh sorry, I didn't realize." His head pokes out the door. “Is that Angela? Can I talk to her?"

Before he can say no, Gabe grabs the phone out of his hand.

"Hi Angela. It's Gabriel." Pause."No, no, I absolutely see why you're concerned. This is completely inappropriate. Which is why I insist you come with us."

"Gabe!" He shouts.

Angela. And Gabe. Together. Jack is going to combust.

"It'll be fun for all of us to get to know each other. After all, you'll be a part of the family very, very soon." Pause. "Oh? You can get out of your meeting this afternoon? Great!” Another pause. “Yes, I'm sure Ana won't mind keeping your Uncle company.”

Jack strains to hear what Angela says in response. Gabe turns his shoulder away.

“Okay great, we'll see you then!” Gabe taps the phone to end the call.

“So… is she coming?”

Gabe nods. “She said she's bringing her hypoallergenic sleeping bag.”

A half hour later Angela’s yellow beetle whizzes down the road. She has a dollop of bright white sunscreen on her nose and-- do her hiking boots have heels ? She pulls out an enormous black backpack and straps it to her shoulders and waist.

“Pa? What is she doing here?” Olivia asks. “You said she wasn't coming.”

“Your Dad invited her along.”

They both stare at him in disbelief and anger. It's as if he invited a fire breathing pigeon on their camping trip. Why is he the bad guy here? This was all Gabe's idea.

“Morning girls! I brought snacks!” Angela grins and hands each of his daughters a small, red box of raisins. When she isn't looking, Lena pretends to gag.

"Hey Ang. Thanks for coming on such short notice." He says, trying to keep his voice under control.

She grins. "Thank you for inviting me. I haven't been camping since University."

"So… last year?" Olivia mutters just loud enough for him to hear. Jack nudges her arm and glares at her.

Angela claps her hands. "Are we ready to get going?"

"Almost. We're just waiting on…" He stops. Where is Gabe? He disappeared after his conversation with Angela.

"Dad said he was going over to Ana's to borrow some camping supplies." Lena says. "We didn't pack any so..."

Jack nods, that makes sense. He looks in the direction of Ana's house. Lo and behold there's Gabe, walking up the street with nothing in his hands.

"Dad, where's your stuff?" Olivia asks.

“I've decided I'm going to sit this camping trip out." Gabe says.

"What?” The girls shout in unison. Olivia frowns at him. Lena looks crestfallen.

"Ana told me her oven is broken. I figured I'd offer a hand.”

“Gabe, did you get handier since we divorced?" He asks, smirking. "I seem to remember you nearly flooded the bathroom trying to fix our leaky sink."

Gabe sputters. "Well-- it can't hurt to take a look."

“But Dad-- I thought we’d get to spend time together.” Lena protests.

"We will, but you should spend some time with Angela too. Think of it as a good way to get to know your new step-mother."

So it's settled. They pack Angela's gear into the back of the pickup truck, and Gabe waves as they roll out of the driveway and down the road.

Jack is lucky enough to be blessed with two wicked pranksters for daughters. Every April Fool's Day he always has to watch out to make sure Lena didn't put rice in his shoes, or something similar. And Olivia-- pretending to be Lena-- told him about this escalating prank war she got into with another girl at camp. She played coy on the name, but he's almost certain it was with her sister.

It seems they've put their war aside to fight against a new common enemy-- Angela.

It starts out harmless enough. At their first rest stop they shut the lights off on her in the bathroom, leaving her in the pitch black darkness. Then they replace all her fancy imported spf 100 sunscreen with ketchup. They add extra rocks to her backpack. Gradual, so she doesn't notice the extra weight until she's five paces behind them struggling for breath.

Then things take an unexpected turn.

“Look out! Bear!” His daughters shout in unison.

" Was? There are no bears in Indiana." Angela says, but she still flinches and stumbles backwards off the trail and into a patch of poison ivy.

Angela came prepared with an entire hospital in her backpack. She slathers herself in aloe vera and moves on. She has the patience of a saint when it comes to his daughters. She doesn't yell or raise her voice. She smiles through it all. Though as the day wears on, it looks less genuine and more plastered, almost maniacal. She never lets the girls see they're getting to her. It’s not until, they're asleep (or at least, in their tent pretending to snore) that she releases all of her pent up frustration.

"I'm not sure how much more of this I can take Jack." She says before popping two ibuprofen and rubbing her temples.

"It was just some harmless pranks." He puts a reassuring half on her shoulder but she shrugs him off. He bites his lip. From the feral look on her face he knows he's said the wrong thing.

"Harmless! I'm covered head to toe in poison ivy and I'm almost certain my ankle is sprained."

“I doubt they did it on purpose.”

“They hate me.” She says. She doesn't look angry. She looks sad. She buries her head in her hands. “All I've done is be nice to them, and they still hate me.”

“Give it time Ang. They've only known you what? A week? I'm sure they'll get over this eventually.”

“It didn't take them that long to warm up to Gabriel.” She sounds like a child whining.

He frowns. “That's different! He's their Dad!”

“And I am their step-mother! I shouldn't have to beg just to get the smallest crumb of respect." She scoffs. "It doesn't help that he encourages them.”

"Gabriel does not encourage them!"

“You think he confused me for your daughter on accident? You think he didn't know this would happen? He doesn't me either.”

“Ang, you're being paranoid!”

She crosses her arms. "Of course you're taking his side."

"I'm not taking anyone's side!"

Angela's face is red. He's never seen her this angry before. He's… never seen her angry at all. This is their first fight, and they are engaged. It didn't hit him until now how much they're rushing into this. He thought he was embracing the mystery, but there's so much he doesn't know about her. Things he ought to know before he commits to the rest of his life with her.

“Ang, maybe we should slow things down between us.”

“Jackie!” She looks at him with hurt in her eyes.

"I'm not saying we should break up! I'm saying this is moving kind of fast, and it's a big change for all of us. I think we should call off the engagement for now, and we can try again in a few months or years when we're ready."

His words hang in the air. Angela looks away and bites her lip.

"Jack, there's something I haven't told you. It's about why I want-- need to get married so soon.”

“What is it Ang?” He tries to take her hand but she pulls away.

“You know I'm not a US citizen, right?”

He nods, though he's unsure how this fact fits into the conversation.

"Well… my visa expires at the end of the year, and there's some uncertainty if I can get it renewed.”

"So, this was just a green card marriage?" Anger and hurt fester in his chest. He loves Angela, and she's taken advantage of him in an unforgivable way.

"No, not at all." She cups his face in her hands. "I love you Jack. I've never lied about my feelings for you."

“Just your intentions?”

She hesitates, then nods. "I'm so sorry."

Tears well up in Angela's eyes. Jack's never seen her cry either. He can understand her motivation, but he can't go along with it. He takes off his ring and slides it into her palm. She stares at it, then balls her hand into a fist.

"I'm sorry Angela." He says.

“I understand. It was wrong of me to mislead you. I hope that you'll forgive me, and that maybe, we can still be friends.”

"I hope so to." He says with a small smile. He's tired of hating his exes. "Are you going to be okay, Angela?"

She nods. “I've been talking a lot with my Uncle and-- if it doesn't work out for me in America, it won't be the end of the world. I miss the mountains, and real Swiss chocolate. Your American chocolate is so sweet.”

He smiles. “I think this is for the best. We really were rushing things. This was fun though. I haven't connected with anyone like this since--” He stops.

“Since Gabriel?”

He nods. "Yeah, since Gabe.”

“You and Gabriel. I'm not asking out of jealousy or anything but--”

“I don't think about Gabe like that anymore." It's vague, but it's also a lie. He hasn't stopped thinking about Gabe in 12 years. Ever since he put a knife in his chest with those four words. I want a divorce.

Angela places her hands on his.

“Maybe you should start again.”

Chapter Text

Gabriel and Ana make a bet after Jack, Angela, and his daughters left for their camping trip. He thought Angela would last one day before the girls drove her so crazy she opted to end the trip early. Ana thought she would last less than one day. The next morning as they drink their coffee, they spot Jack's pick up truck driving by Ana's kitchen window.

Ana looks at her watch. "That's 22 hours and 43 minutes. Someone owes me 20 dollars."

After fishing through his wallet for his last $20 bill, they make their way over to Jack's house. Gabriel's jaw drops in shock. Angela is a sight for sore eyes. She's covered head-to-toe in sticky, blue lotion and has a makeshift splint on her ankle. She leans an arm on Jack's shoulder, and he supports her as she hobbles up the porch swing steps. He knew Angela and the twins were a recipe for disaster, but he didn't expect them to raise that much Hell.

"Jesus Christ, what happened to you?” He asks.

"Your daughters happened to me." She attempts to scowl, but she can't hold it and laughter escapes. Good, he was worried for a second she was genuinely angry. "I'll be alright. Just a few bumps and bruises.”

“So I take it the camping trip was a flop?” Ana asks.

“You could say that." Jack says with a grimace. "I hope fixing your oven went better.”

Ana shakes her head. “Gabriel and Reinhardt both gave a valiant attempt, but it's still broken."

"Yes, my Uncle isn't the most mechanically minded, though he likes to think he is." Angela laughs. "Well-- I ought to get going. I don't want to eat up any more of your time, Jack."

"Are you okay to drive with your ankle?" Jack asks.

She nods. "I'll be alright. Climbing the three flights of stairs to my apartment though… I might call my Uncle over to carry me."

"Let me know if you need anything. I'll call you later to check how you're doing."

Angela smiles softly. "Thank you Jack, for everything."

Jack waves at Angela as she pulls out of the driveway. Gabriel glances at his hand, moving back and forth in the air. He notices something-- Jack's engagement ring is missing.

Gabriel's pulse spikes and his chest heats up like a furnace. Holy shit , they broke up. No-- he shouldn't get excited over this. It's terrible form to lust after a guy who's heartbroken after breaking it off with his fiancée. Not that Gabriel is lusting after him. He is absolutely, positively, 100% not falling for his ex all over again.

Besides, there are lots of non-breakup reasons why Jack isn't wearing his ring. He stashed it in his backpack for safekeeping. Lena or Olivia stole it for some practical joke. It fell off in the woods somewhere. A bear ate it. A flock of turkey vultures plucked it off his finger and flew away.

Ana nudges his elbow. He hates the knowing smirk on her face.

Since the camping trip got cut short, Gabriel bumps up his and Olivia's return flight to tomorrow. This time they are going back to LA. No begging, pleading, or scheming from his daughters will delay them.

He and Jack could use this time to work out a new custody arrangement. They could, but they don't. Instead he calls Jesse, twice, to make sure everything's running smoothly on set. Both times he tells him it's fine, and he needs to stop being a worrywort. He lets Lena and Olivia lead him on a tour of the farm, not mentioning he saw it all before 18 years ago, when Jack brought him home to meet his parents. He plays with the barn cats and takes Waffles on a long walk. He eats the dinner Jack makes. Mac and cheese, and it's just as gooey, sharp, and perfect as he remembers.

After 12 years of daydreams and fantasies, Gabriel finally has his answer to "What would life be like if they stayed together?". It's lovely. There hasn't been this much laughter in his life in years. He's overjoyed he got a taste, even if it's only for one day.

The four of them wrap up the day in front of the TV, with a B-horror movie marathon. At the end of the third movie, his daughters dash up the stairs, giggling at some inside joke.

"Don't stay up too late." Pa calls after them.

"We won't!" They say in unison.

“I guess that's my cue to leave too." Gabriel says. He stands, and scans the room for his shoes.

"You're welcome to stay here, if you want." Jack says.

Gabriel considers. Yesterday he checked out of his hotel and into Ana's house, where he slept in Fareeha's room. A twin bed with sky blue sheets, and walls covered in basketball posters. It's amazingly awkward, but it's not costing him a dime. The couch is springy and uncomfortable. But it's dark outside. He has to walk back to Ana's house, a quarter mile away, to sleep in a teenage girl's bedroom.

"You really don't mind?" He asks.

He grins. "No problem. Wait here, I want to show you something."

Gabriel sits back on the couch, not sure where Jack expected him to go. Jack clambers up the stairs and comes down a minute later with an armload of shoe boxes. He plops them onto the coffee table and sits on the other side of the couch.

"What's all that?" He asks.

Jack grins at him, and takes off one of the lids. It's photos of Lena, boxes and boxes of them. A toddler tearing up the sidewalk on a tricycle, a second grader with two missing front teeth, a newspaper clipping of her recent track victories. All the things he's missed in the 12 years he spent away from her.

Gabriel takes out his phone and opens his gallery. He doesn't have much to show of Olivia. A few goofy selfies and a picture in a cap and gown from her middle school graduation.

“I've got more back home." He says. "If you visit I'll show them to you.”

“ When I visit." Jack pokes his arm. "Christmas in LA sounds perfect. Or Halloween. Can't wait to see what you've got cooked up this year. Have you already started planning your costume yet?”

He smiles. “You remembered.”

“Of course I remembered. Your costumes were amazing-- are amazing. Have I told you how fucking proud I am of you? You're out there living your dream.”

Gabriel fidgets with the band of his beanie, feeling shy. Jack can probably hear his hummingbird heart racing. He looks away from Jack and back into one of the boxes.

“Hey, what's that?” He points at a stack of envelopes at the bottom of the box.

“Oh! I forgot those were there.” Jack laughs and rubs the back of his neck. “Those are uh… the letters you wrote me, from back when we were in the army.”

“You kept them?” There's a knot in his throat. He's almost too stunned to speak.

“I… yeah. I haven't looked at them in forever but…”

“I still have your letters too. Hidden away in a safe where Olivia can't find them.”

They've been inching closer and closer to each other on the couch. Now their knees are touching. Gabriel pulls away.

“Hey… did you ever call Angela back?” He asks. It's not like he wants to talk about her, but he has to know before he lets his imagination run wild. He braces himself for disappointment.

“Oh shoot, I forgot." He sighs. "I'm sure she's fine, and I doubt she was waiting by the phone for my call, considering we broke up and all."

"Oh. I'm so sorry to hear that.” Gabriel does his best to sound sincere, but all he wants to do is jump for joy. Butterflies emerge in his stomach.

"Don't be. It was a pretty clean break. There was a little shouting, but we both agreed in the end it was for the best. We were kinda rushing into this."

He snorts. “Kinda?”

Jack rolls his eyes. "Go ahead, rub it in."

“You're dreaming if you think I'm gonna let you live this down Morrison. I mean really, engaged after dating for two months?"

"Seven weeks actually."

"What the Hell were you thinking?"

He smiles sheepishly and shrugs. "I thought I was in love. When have you ever known me to have good impulse control?"

Gabriel could spend the whole night chatting with him, but Jack needs to get up early tomorrow. They call it a night. Jack finds him a spare pillow and blanket, and leaves him alone on the couch in the dark family room.

Gabriel squirms around, playing tetris with his body to find a comfortable sleeping position. He can't stay still for more than a few minutes before his back or his neck gets stiff. He's too tall to lie straight down. His feet stick out over the side. But when he curls up his knees hang off the edge. He sits up and weighs his options. Ana's house is out. She won't appreciate him barging in at this hour. There's the old, worn armchair, or the porch swing outside, or the hardwood floor.

Or Jack's bed.

Gabriel bites his tongue to stop himself from laughing out loud. That is quite possibly the worst idea he's ever had. It's only been 24 hours since he broke up with Angela. Give him time to breathe or move on, or whatever he needs to do. And for the last time, he is not falling back in love with him.

He's not sure what force is guiding his feet up the stairs and down the hallway to Jack's bedroom. Which of them has the poor impulse control again?

Jack's socked feet are exposed from underneath the covers, and his shoulders rise and fall as he breathes. His nose whistles on the inhale. Gabriel remembers that happening when they were married. Gabriel shuts the door, tiptoes across the room, and slides under the sheets, quiet as he can.

"Gabe? Is that you?” Jack whispers. His voice is raspy.

“It's me. Do you mind? Your couch is lumpy."

"No, you're fine."

Jack inches away from him and closer to the edge, but Gabriel can still feel his radiating body heat.

"Hey Gabe?" Jack says, so quiet he's not sure he heard it.

"Yeah?"

"I've missed you."

Gabriel smiles, and cozies into the mattress.

"I've missed you too."

-

Jack was dazed and half asleep when Gabe snuck in at God knows what hour of the night. He was convinced he must have dreamed it. But the soft rustling of sheets wakes him. Gabe stands near the edge of the bed, his arms stretched up into the air. Sunlight shines through the blinds and makes his skin glow.

"You're up early. I thought your flight doesn't leave until noon." Jack says.

"12:16." Gabe says. "And I'm just going to go back down to the couch. I don't want the girls to see me leave your room and get the wrong idea."

"Oh, right." He says. It makes sense, but something about sneaking around in his own house feels wrong.

"You know they're trying to get us back together, right?" Gabe asks.

Jack nods. This isn't new. Lena's been at this for years, though far more subtle. It wasn't just Angela, she's never liked any of his dates.

“Hey Gabe? This uh… last night-- did it mean anything?”

“Do you want it to mean something?” He asks.

“I--” He's not sure he wants to answer that. “I just wanted to see what page you're on, that's all.”

Gabe doesn't give him a response.

Jack takes a quick shower and puts on his work clothes. Gabe is indeed back on the couch, his eyes shut, but not asleep. If he was he'd be snoring like a chainsaw. Jack distracts himself with work. He takes measurement after measurement and logs them into his notebook until the back of his hand is black with pencil lead. Hours later when he goes back inside, Ana holds a steaming cup of tea while Gabe and his daughters finish packing up.

"We were just about to get you Pa. It's almost time to go." Olivia says.

"No games this time?" He crosses his arms, but gives them an amused smile.

"You can test us." Lena says. "We can run a mile. The slower one is Olivia."

"Or we could not do that." Olivia says.

He laughs. "I don't think that's necessary, but if you two ever pull any stunts like that again…"

"We know." They grumble.

“It was good catching up with both of you.” Ana says. She gives Olivia a tight hug, and Gabe a kiss on the cheek. "I hope I'll be seeing you again soon."

"You will." Olivia says. "I'll make sure we visit all the time."

The drive to the airport is silent, aside from the radio playing idly in the background and the windshield wipers beating away the rain. Gabe sits beside him in the passenger seat, looking out the window or back at the girls or anywhere but him. Jack keeps his eyes focused on the road, and his thoughts focused away from Gabe and how much he wants to reach across and hold his hand.

The airport terminal is noisy as cars whiz by and families kiss their loved ones goodbye. Even though it's covered, they still get wet as they pile out of the car. Jack puts on his hazard lights, and helps heave their luggage out of the trunk.

Lena and Olivia hug on the curb. He can't tell if they're crying or if it's just the rain. It hurts, knowing his daughters will have to be separated again. He wants to visit, but the school year starts next week, then it's harvest season. And he doesn't know when he'll be able to afford a plane ticket.

Gabe holds out his hand. Jack takes it, and an all too familiar electricity runs between them.

"It was good seeing you again Gabe." He says.

"You too Jack."

There’s a honk from an impatient driver behind them. He and Lena get back into the car. Gabe and Olivia wave from the sidewalk as they drive away. There's a hollow feeling in his chest. It's like he's leaving a part of himself behind.

"Turn around." Lena says as they’re leaving the terminal.

"Lena I can't--"

"Turn the car around Pa!" She screams. She leans over, and he almost thinks she’s going to grab for the steering wheel. He screeches to the side of the road.

"Lena, what the Hell? You could have caused an accident."

"Pa, we have to go back!" There's a crazed, desperate look in her eyes.

"Why? Did you forget something?"

"No, you did! You have to go after Dad! You have to chase him down, tell him you still love him.”

He sputters. “Lena-- I’m not--”

"You're in love with Dad. I know you are. The whole time he was here you couldn't keep your eyes off him.”

Jack takes a breath to calm his nerves. He puts his hands on her shoulders and looks her in the eye. "I'm sorry Lena, but whatever you think you're seeing-- it's not there."

“I'm not the only one who sees it.” Angry tears form in the corners of her eyes. “Olivia sees it. Jesse and Ana do. Hell, Angela probably saw it too. You two love with each other, and you're the only one who doesn't see it."

“There is nothing going on between me and your Dad!" He shouts, not sure who he's trying to convince. "We are not getting back together. I don't love him like that anymore."

Lena narrows her eyes.

"I don't believe you."

He scoffs and shakes his head. He doesn’t know what to say to her, so he doesn’t say anything. The only sound on the drive home is the windshield wipers beating back and forth. When they get home Lena stomps up to her room and slams the door. Fine, if she wants to be immature about this he'll let her.

It's hours later when she speaks to him again.

"I got a text from Olivia." She says. "She and Dad made it home okay."

"That's good." He smiles. She doesn't reciprocate.  "Lena, we'll see them again in a couple months. I know it seems like a long way away, but the time will pass before you know it."

"That's not the point Pa."

"Look, Lena, I'm sorry, but I don't know what else to tell you. Your Dad and I don't want to get back together again.”

She glares at him one last time, before sulking back up the stairs.

Jack tries not to let it bother him, the sense that something is wrong . He tells himself he's fine as he eats cold, leftover mac and cheese at an empty kitchen table. He tells himself he's fine as he takes Waffles on an evening walk alone. He tells himself he's fine as he settles into his sheets. The smell of Gabe still lingers next to him. There's an empty space. In his home, his bed, his heart.

He's not fine.

Jack never bothered to put his boxes of photos away. They sit in a pile across from his bed. He turns on the lamp on his nightstand and reaches for the box with the letters.

Dear Jack,

I can't believe I got sent to Norway. I hope you're living it up in Hawaii, because I'm freezing my ass off here.

Jack reads them all. From the first one Gabe sent before they’d even started dating, where he pined after him from afar. To the last one sent to him here in Indiana. He relives their love story. The highs, the lows. The rise, the fall. Every paragraph, every line, every word. He's reminded of just what it was he lost.

I hope you decide to come home soon. Olivia is lost without her sister. We can talk this out, I know we can.

Yours,

Gabriel

Jack never wrote back to him after that letter. He hopes Gabriel doesn't mind his response is coming 12 years late.

"Lena, are you awake?" He says after knocking on her door.

Her sheets rustle as she turns to face him. She yawns, then turns on the lamp on her dresser and stares at him with a wide-eyed look of concern.

"What's going on Pa?" She asks.

"You were right. I made a mistake. We have to go after them."

Lena beams at him. He's grateful she doesn't say I told you so . She runs over and hugs him, standing on her tiptoes so she can wrap her arms around his shoulders.

They take the first plane out at six in the morning. Non-stop from Indianapolis to Los Angeles. Lena falls asleep on his shoulder, but he's too wired too sleep. He sends Ana a text, telling him he's taking an important trip and asks if she can feed Waffles. He doesn't elaborate, but in her response she seems to already know where he's off to and why. Then he sits back in his chair and tries to quiet his mind. He can't believe he's doing this. He also can't believe it took him this long.

They overpay for a taxi at LAX. Lena gives the driver Gabe’s address. He has the urge to jump out the window and run back. This is moving too fast. He's being reckless and impulsive again. He should have at least called before flying across the country.

There's a lead balloon in Jack's stomach. Fear surges through him. The fear of rejection. Gabe could tell him he's too late, or he just wants to be friends. But what scares him more is: what if Gabe reciprocates his feelings? And then like last time it's good for a while, but it ends when it blows up in his face. He'd almost rather Gabe turn him down than have to go through that kind of heartache again.

Lena squeezes his hand. “Breathe Pa. It'll be okay.”

Olivia buzzes them up to their apartment. His daughters smile and hug in the doorway.

"You got my message?” Lena asks.

Olivia nods. “Otherwise I'd be looking a helluva lot more shocked to see you two here.”

"Good! I tried to get ahold of Dad, but I haven't heard back from him."

"He's at work. He never checks his phone at work. But I got ahold of Jesse and he passed along the message. Dad is on his way."

They leave their suitcases at the door. Lena plops onto the floor and plays with a calico cat and a small dog with black shaggy fur. He stands in the entryway and twiddles his thumbs.

“Is there a bathroom I can use?” He asks.

Olivia directs him around a corner. He splashes cold water on his face and stares at his reflection. Why is it so hot all of the sudden? He has to calm down. His heart has to stop beating so fast.

The dog barks as the apartment door opens again.

"Olivia, is everything okay? Jesse said there was an emergency and I-- wait Lena, what are you doing here?”

It's Gabe.

Jack's hand goes cold on the doorknob. His wrist muscles have forgotten how to function. He takes a breath. He didn't come all this way to admire the wainscoting in Gabe's bathroom. Gabe’s eyes go wide as he opens the door and turns the corner.

"Jack?" He says. It's barely a whisper.

"Hey Gabe."

"What are you doing here?"

"I--" He starts, stops. Gabe looks at him. He wishes he would say something instead of just staring at him. Jack, looks down at his hands, looks back up. "I don't think I ever apologized to you. About how messy things got with us."

"Jack it's okay.”

"It's not."

“Yes it is. It was years ago, and I never apologized to you either."

"Well, I'm sorry. I want you to know how sorry I am that I let things get so awful between us. Because I love you Gabe. I've still got your phone number memorized, just in case you ever called me to tell me you changed your mind. I never wanted a divorce. I went along with it because I thought it was what you wanted, and more than anything I wanted you to be happy.”

Gabe stares at him, dumbstruck. He braces himself for impact. This is the part where Gabe tells him he's too late.

"I'm not happy, Jack. I was so insecure then. I thought if I didn’t end our relationship, you would. And you telling me you didn’t love me anymore-- it would have broken me.” A sob rises in his chest. "I love you too Jack. Then and now. It's always been you."

"I wish you'd told me, or that I'd gotten my shit together and went after you sooner. Then we wouldn't have wasted 12 years apart."

“We're idiots.”

“Yes, we are.”

They close the distance between them. He pulls Gabe's face into his hands, Gabe wraps his arms around his waist, and their lips collide, finding each other like long separated magnets. And they're kids again, falling in love for the first time. Gabriel Reyes is the only man he wants to kiss for the rest of his days, and he's a moron for not realizing it sooner.

Gabe pulls away.

"Stop. This is crazy! We can't just pick up like nothing's happened. Because things have changed. We have separate lives. We live on opposite sides of the country."

“Then I’ll move.” The instant he says it, he knows it’s the right choice. There’s nothing for him in Indiana. There never was. The only things in the world that matter are standing in this room.

"Really? You would do that?"

"Let me check one thing first." He turns to Lena. "How do you feel about moving to LA?”

Lena beans and gives him a thumbs up. "Yes, please, let's do it!"

“Then, it’s settled. First thing I do when I get home is put the farm up for sale." He caresses Gabe's cheeks. "What do you say, do you want to try again?”

"Yes." Gabe nods, and their lips find each other once more.

Their kiss gets interrupted by a high pitched sob. Jack turns to find Lena bawling her eyes out. Olivia pats her on the back, but he can see she's holding back her own tears.

"Are you alright?" He asks.

Lena sniffles and nods. "I'm sorry, I'm just so happy right now."

"Me too Lena."

He smiles, and takes Gabe's hand in his own.

Chapter Text

“Hey Pa? Now that we're in the neighborhood, do you think I can have a turn behind the wheel?" Lena asks.

Pa taught her how to maneuver their pick-up truck through the soybean fields. She's probably a better driver than some of these LA yahoos who honk at everything and never use their turn signals. But she won't be old enough to legally drive until tomorrow, her 15th birthday.

Pa gives her an unamused stare. "Absolutely not."

"But--"

"No, you can drive again after you get your learner's permit. Besides, we're already here."

Pa parks the truck on the street next to their new house. Lena gasps. She hasn't seen it yet in person until now. It's an old ranch with a wide porch and a stucco roof. The kitchen is on the small side, but there's four bedrooms. One for her, for Olivia, her dads, and a guest room.

A few weeks ago Olivia gave them a virtual tour. Pa nudged Ana when the guest room appeared on the computer.

She smiled and rolled her eyes. “You know it’ll probably just turn into Jesse’s room.”

“Oh no it won’t.” Dad said, over the phone. “It’s a guest room, not a freeloader’s room. If Jesse stays over more than a few days he's paying rent.”

Lena's been waiting for this day since August. If it were up to her, she would have said her goodbyes to Ana and Fareeha and move the next day. But nothing in life is that simple, and they needed to take care of a few things first. The house, for one. Buying this new one, and selling the farm. Plus, Pa needed to find a new job, and they have all this furniture they need to sort out.

They waited until after harvest season to put the farm on the market. Two weeks later they got an offer. A little less than they wanted, but more than enough for the down payment on their new LA home. Pa brushed up his resume, sent it out to dozens of schools, and got offered a position as an extended substitute middle school history teacher. If all goes well, the district might give him a full time position in the fall. They have an estate sale to get rid of their furniture. Most of it is old and not worth lugging across the country. What didn't sell they donate.

The barn cats were the hardest to let go. Lena wanted to wrap them up in her arms and pack them in her suitcase. Most of them were feral enough they'll survive fine without them, but there was one grey tabby cat who's a little sickly and needed some extra attention. Pa found a new owner for him, and Lena's eyes nearly bulged out of her head when a yellow, Volkswagen beetle pulled into their driveway. She wonders what parallel universe she stumbled into when Pa and Angela greeted each other like old friends.

After that, the only thing left to do was countdown to December 19, the day they pack the Uhaul and start their cross country move.

The front door to the house barges open. Jesse and Olivia come running out to greet her. Olivia’s grown out her hair into a shaggier pixie cut, and she’s dyed the tips fire engine red. Jesse, however, looks exactly the same as she left him, with his scraggly beard and cowboy hat.

“Lena!” They both shout seconds before they dogpile onto her. She has to steady herself to keep from falling onto the front lawn.

Dad follows out after them, grinning ear to ear. He presses a kiss to her forehead and scruffs up her hair before turning to Pa.

“Welcome home Sweetheart.” Dad says, then sweeps Pa up off his feet. They both giggle as he carries him through the doorway and into their new home.

“Okay, you’re heavy. I’m putting you down now.” Dad grunts, and practically drops Pa on the floor.

Pa laughs. “What's wrong old man? Throw your back out?”

“Me? Old man? I'm not the one with grey streaks in my hair.”

“Hey, I think it makes me look distinguished.”

Dad rolls his eyes, then kisses the top of Pa's head.

The five of them work on unloading the Uhaul trailer. Pa and Dad try to outdo each other with how many boxes they can carry at once. They're so distracted they don't notice Olivia slink off to the family room to play games on her phone. Lena convinces her to help unpack the boxes in the kitchen. It's a hodgepodge of kitchenware from Pa's house, Dad's apartment, and new things her Fathers purchased together online.

“So Lena, guess who’s stopping by to visit this week?” Olivia says as she pulls out some dishes packed in bubble wrap.

“Who? Ana and Fareeha?” She furrows her brows. She thought they were going to Vancouver for the holidays.

“Nope. Emily.”

Lena's face breaks out into a crooked grin. She and Emily have been texting non-stop since camp. San Diego is still a cruel distance away, but at least it's closer than Indiana. The two of them could explore the new sights together. Maybe… as a date. She thinks about asking Olivia for recommendations on places to take her in the city.

“Who's Emily?” Pa sticks his head through the kitchen doorway and quirks an eyebrow.

“She’s a friend from camp.”

“Just a friend or…”

“Pa!” She feels her face heat up.

“Hey, I’m just asking.”

“Oh Jack leave her be. Emily sounds like a good kid." Dad says.

"Yeah, you should see some of the characters Jesse’s brought home.” Olivia says.

They all laugh, but none of them harder than Jesse. Dad and Pa set the boxes they're holding on the floor, and help them out with unpacking.

"Woah, Olivia, I just noticed your hair." Pa says, and reaches out to stroke her head. "It looks good."

Olivia laughs. “You’re just saying that because now you can’t confuse me and Lena.”

“I could always dye mine red to look like hers.” She says.

“No.” Her Dads say in unison.

“Or I could cut mine all over again.” Olivia says.

“Absolutely not." Dad says. "You girls are never, ever allowed to switch places on us again.”

“Okay, but only under one condition. You two are never, ever allowed to divorce again.”

Pa rolls his eyes. “Well that’ll be easy, considering we aren’t married.”

“Yet.” Dad says.

“Huh?”

“Not married yet .” Dad takes a small box out of his pocket and opens it, revealing a silver ring. “I wanted to surprise you with this on Christmas morning. But since we’re on the subject...”

She and Pa look at each other, and burst into laughter. Because there was one other thing they had to do before they moved. They had to stop at a jeweler and buy an engagement ring. Lena helped him pick it out.

Dad tilts his head. “What's so funny?”

Pa grins, and takes his own ring box out of his back pocket. “Sorry I’m a little unprepared. I was going to figure out what I wanted to say tonight.”

“Don’t say anything, Jack. Just say yes.”

They both beam as they slip the rings onto each other’s fingers.

In the last box they unpack, Jesse finds a radio. He plugs it in and the house fills with Christmas music. Her father's slow dance in the middle of the room. Dad rests his head on Pa’s shoulder, and they sway in lazy circles. Lena's not sure if they've noticed they're dancing like that, all soft and romantic, to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra's version of Carol of The Bells .

Even though she's in southern California and it feels like summer outside, Lena makes herself a cup of hot cocoa. She takes her steaming mug and curls up on the sofa in between her siblings. Never before has she been in a room so overflowing with love.