RP/V: Thanksgiving

[Rebecca]

Although traditionally a day for Americans to give thanks to God for their blessings, to many Thanksgiving also represents an opportunity to gather with family and friends. In Boston, Massachusetts, the O'Connell family stands on shaky ground as they struggle to come to terms with the recent incarceration of one of their own and Laura Quinn must decide whether or not to defend her estranged sister. While the tide may be soon to turn for Shannon and Junior, Susannah is struggling to forget the life she left behind and Liam is facing the challenges of a new job. But Thanksgiving is, after all a time for union, presenting hope for new relationships and even old friendships...

Monday, 23rd November, 2116
"I hate landings. My ears always feel really weird," Jim Collins commented, unbuckling his seatbelt with a glance out of the window of the airplane into the runway of Newark Airport, "Home, sweet home. What d'you reckon, New York? Think you're ready to meet Kitty Stewart? She's from Boston, but don't hold that against her."

[Nicky]

"I'm not that different just because I was born a few miles up the coast," Kitty said resisting the urge to roll her eyebrows. "And since when can New York actually answer you?"

Thursday, 26th November, 2116

Laura was grabbing the stuff she needed to go to her parents for Thanksgiving dinner when she heard her cell phone go off. She found it and answered: "Hello Laura Quinn."
"Hello Laura its Steve," the voice said from down the phone.
"I've told you I'm having today off for a change," she replied jokingly. "You just caught me really as I am about to go to my parents."
"I know you have been really vocal about...."
Laura didn't give Steve a chance to finish. "Steve I am not defending my half sister, not only is it a conflict of interest really when I think she is guilty, I don't want to do it."
"I wouldn't be asking you. I know all that but we are deseperate for someone to take the case. Just think about it for me and give me an answer when you get back to work. You are the only person left, everyone else turned it down but we need to give her someone and if not you it will have to be one of the interns we have hanging around," Steve near enough pleaded.
"I'll think about it but my answer is still going to be no," Laura told him.
"Just think about it for me," Steve replied.
"Right I need to go now," Laura said quickly hanging up before throwing her cell phone onto the couch.
"What's wrong mom?" Megan asked from the dining table while she was waiting for her parents to gather their stuff together.

[Rebecca]

"I'm not that different just because I was born a few miles up the coast," Kitty said resisting the urge to roll her eyes. "And since when can New York actually answer you?"

"Not that different?! Kitty, let me explain something to you - having lived in both cities, I can tell you that it definitely makes a difference. I mean, I don't even watch sport and I still used to get grief whenever the Yankees or the Knicks lost to the Red Sox or the Celtics," Jim said, looking slightly startled that he'd managed to remember the names of the teams at all, "You mean Boston doesn't talk to you? What a sad existence you must lead."
Standing up too quickly, Jim lightly banged his head into the ceiling just above the chairs and muttered an 'Ow,' before he saw somebody in a Knicks cap who had been sitting right at the back push through the crowd of people stepping into the aisles.
"That guy's so rude," he added, as the man shuffled past their seat, "Wasn't he the same one who rushed to get on board the plane too?"

"Right I need to go now," Laura said quickly hanging up before throwing her cell phone onto the couch.
"What's wrong mom?" Megan asked from the dining table while she was waiting for her parents to gather their stuff together.

"Probably just your mom getting annoyed at somebody calling to try and sell us something," Oscar joked, but he narrowed his eyes at his wife in concern, "Is everything alright, Laura?"

[Nicky]

"Maybe it does talk to me but I am too used to it now. I think he was," Kitty said before stopping. "Hang on a minute isn't that Thomas?"

Laura pinched the top of her nose and took a deep breath. "Work want me to take the case," she said quietly. "I've got till when I go back to decide." She looked at Megan. "Mom is just being asked to do something she doesn't want to do but she might have to."
"You shouldn't have to do something that you don't want to do," Megan told Laura, before packing her stuff in her rucksack.

[Rebecca]

"Maybe it does talk to me but I am too used to it now. I think he was," Kitty said before stopping. "Hang on a minute isn't that Thomas?"

"No, it can't be. He said he wa—hey, that is Thomas!" Jim said, before bringing his fingers to his lips to whistle loudly, "What the hell are you doing here?"
Thomas, who for a fleeting moment had thought he might be home free, took a deep breath and turned around to give his brother a withering look.
"May I help you?" he asked sarcastically, "The flight attendant wasn't as hot as the one last time we flew here, was she?"
"I didn't notice, because I was far too busy looking at my girlfriend," Jim retorted, "Again, what are you doing here?"
"This was the only flight I could get that didn't make a connection in like Philadelphia. But Nadia's not coming, which means I'm going to show up at Mom and Dad's alone, which means we can't arrive together," Thomas explained, "And besides, somebody had to make sure nobody made inappropriate use of the bathroom."

Laura pinched the top of her nose and took a deep breath. "Work want me to take the case," she said quietly. "I've got till when I go back to decide." She looked at Megan. "Mom is just being asked to do something she doesn't want to do but she might have to."
"You shouldn't have to do something that you don't want to do," Megan told Laura, before packing her stuff in her rucksack.

"I can't believe they're coming at you with this stuff on Thanksgiving," Oscar commented, "They can't force you, Laura. Megan's right - you don't have to if you don't want to. I'd think it'd probably be best if you didn't, actually, given the circumstances."

[Nicky]

"I'd like to state that we have stayed in our seats all the way here so I don't think your guard was needed," Kitty replied.

"I would have taken it in the beginning if I wanted to do it," Laura replied. "I'd have to go against everyone else because they are all going to get dragged into this."

[Rebecca]

"I'd like to state that we have stayed in our seats all the way here so I don't think your guard was needed," Kitty replied.

"I know, Kitty. I could see you guys from back there - you were making everybody else on the plane slightly nauseous," Thomas noted, adding to Jim, "It's so unfair. The one year I haven't got anybody to bring to Thanksgiving, and you have to go ahead and bring somebody for the first time. Do you plan these things?"
"Since when do I plan anything?" Jim pointed out, reaching up to the overhead compartments to take out Kitty's hand luggage and hand it to her, "Mom and Dad aren't going to care that you haven't brought anybody, Thomas."
"That's exactly the point. All they're going to talk about is the fact that you did. Ten bucks says nobody's going to even ask me about my promotion," Thomas said, "The one thing I did right was give them a grandchild and she's not even here."
"I think you care way too much about what they think of you," Jim said, "What does it even matter?"
"That's easy for you to say. The bar's set so much lower for you. All you have to do is learn a new trick and they all clap at you, yet I'd have to preform a miracle to get some praise," Thomas complained, "So, like I said, we're not arriving together. Take Kitty to the Empire State Building or something."
"That's all the way over in Manhattan. We might as well have landed at JFK," Jim said, shaking his head, "Kitty, please tell Thomas to stop being a baby."
"This coming from you," Thomas retorted, rolling his eyes, "Kitty, please tell my brother he's an idiot and you're only going out for him because you feel sorry for him."

"I would have taken it in the beginning if I wanted to do it," Laura replied. "I'd have to go against everyone else because they are all going to get dragged into this."

"I know. The evidence we hear about at the station seems to involve more and more people by the day," Oscar commented, before picking up Megan's rucksack for her, "Come on, Megan, let's get going. Listen, best not mention any of this to anybody at your grandparents' house yet, OK?"

[Nicky]

"You would think you two are a pair of three year olds they way you are acting," Kitty said taking her hand luggage off Jim. "Jim stop acting like a baby and Thomas stop acting like an idiot and I did say that the right way round. I fancy going somewhere first but we need to drop our stuff off first. I am not carrying my suitcase around with me for hours."

"We don't want there to be an argument today," Laura said to Megan with a slight smile on her face. "You know how we all like to argue sometimes."
"Sometimes it is funny but sometimes it is really loud," Megan said climbing off the dining room chair. "I'll keep it a secret but as long I get a pressie."
"Megan that is called blackmail," Laura said with a little laugh. She picked up her phone from where she had thrown it onto the couch. "Right are we all ready then? This is hard enough for us with three of us, there is six of them at Junior's."

[Rebecca]

"You would think you two are a pair of three year olds they way you are acting," Kitty said taking her hand luggage off Jim. "Jim stop acting like a baby and Thomas stop acting like an idiot and I did say that the right way round. I fancy going somewhere first but we need to drop our stuff off first. I am not carrying my suitcase around with me for hours."

"You should probably get used to it, Kitty. Things change when we come back here," Thomas commented, leading the way out of the aisle, "I think it's something in the air."
"By 'we' he means just him, by the way," Jim noted, falling into step behind Kitty and talking over her shoulder, "If he's going to be grumpy like this I almost wish he'd stayed in Boston. Promise he's not going to stop us from having a good time no matter what? And if I'm a baby, am I at least a cute one?"

"We don't want there to be an argument today," Laura said to Megan with a slight smile on her face. "You know how we all like to argue sometimes."
"Sometimes it is funny but sometimes it is really loud," Megan said climbing off the dining room chair. "I'll keep it a secret but as long I get a pressie."
"Megan that is called blackmail," Laura said with a little laugh. She picked up her phone from where she had thrown it onto the couch. "Right are we all ready then? This is hard enough for us with three of us, there is six of them at Junior's."

"She's on her way towards following in her mom's footsteps. You'd better watch that one, Laura," Oscar joked, winking at Megan, "Will you settle for an extra present at Christmas? It's only a month away."

Meanwhile, elsewhere in Roxbury...

"Is everybody ready?" Junior called out, closing up the till in the hardware store as he glanced over the counter, "I'm coming over to make sure you are in just a second."
"This is so stupid," Clancy muttered under his breath to anybody who was listening, "Why does Dad always have to treat us like we're little kids?"
"I think it's kind of fun, actually," Cody remarked, glancing down at his younger sister and smiling at her. Like all of his siblings, he was standing in a line which went from youngest to oldest, smartly dressed specially for Thanksgiving at his grandmother's house. As his father walked by, nodding in approval of each of his children, Cody grinned and saluted jokingly.
"Daddy, Angus got his shirt dirty," Chevonne declared, "I told him not to eat a chocolate bar but he did it anyway."
"Did not!" Angus retorted, sulking and trying to cover his shirt, "It's not dirty at all, see?"
"Daddy, Chevonne's a tattletale," Sean said, shaking his head, "It's not nice to be a tattletale. Megan said so."

[Nicky]

"Thomas isn't being grumpy," Kitty told Jim. "You just both keep winding each other up. There is definitely something in the air. OK you wind each other up back in Boston but you are never this bad." She walked down the aisle of the plane following after Thomas.

"If I have to I think I will," Megan replied before walking over to the door and reaching up to open it.
"And I don't blackmail like that," Laura replied before winking slightly at her husband. "Right remember everyone no mentions about the case and now we are off."

Ella was beginning to regret turning down Ben's offer of spending Thanksgiving with him. Some part of her oven had decided to break in the middle of cooking everything. Isaac was still really weak from his latest bout of chemotherapy but at least he was out of the hospital now. He was strapped across her back in his carrier as she made her way to the nearest hardware shop. She was sure that there was one nearby that she had seen when she had come to properly look at the place. She was just hoping now that it would be open. If not it would have to be something she had in her cupboard already.
It came into sight and she was glad to see that it actually looked like it had at least opened today. She began to hurry towards it and hoped it was stilll open. Her hair was knotted away from her face but had began to work its way loose and she was sure she had some flour on her face too.

[Rebecca]

"Thomas isn't being grumpy," Kitty told Jim. "You just both keep winding each other up. There is definitely something in the air. OK you wind each other up back in Boston but you are never this bad." She walked down the aisle of the plane following after Thomas.

"Too late. He's already rained on everybody's parade," Jim muttered, following suit behind Kitty with a sigh. As terrible as it was, he couldn't stand his brother whenever he was in one of these kinds of moods, and that was something that hadn't changed since he was a kid. Plus, just like when he was kid, most of the time he couldn't even understand why Thomas was being like he was in the first place.

Some time later...

"I hope Jack's doing OK with O'Brien," Jim mentioned as he approached the door to his parents' apartment, "I mean, he gets really lonely when he's left all by himself."
"I still can't believe he agreed to look after him in the first place," Thomas added, stepping to one side and leaning against the nearest wall, "I'm just going to let you go first because Mom and Dad won't notice I'm there even if I walk in and announce that I'm gay."
"Don't be ridiculous, Thomas," Jim said, starting to grow considerably frustrated with his older brother. Nonetheless, he looked determinedly away from him and rung the doorbell, waiting until he'd heard footsteps before taking a step back and smiling broadly when his mother appeared in the hallway.
"Jimmy!" she said, reaching out to give him a hug, "It's so nice to see you. I was thinking about giving you a call, actually - you know you really should have called us from the airport, we'd have come to pick you both up."
"We're OK, Mom. I think I just about know how to get a cab in New York," Jim noted, before smiling at Kitty, "Mom, you've met Kitty Stewart."
"Yes, of course," Sally said, hugging Kitty this time, "It's so nice of you to come spend Thanksgiving with us, Kitty. How was your flight? What do you think of the city so far?"

Ella was beginning to regret turning down Ben's offer of spending Thanksgiving with him. Some part of her oven had decided to break in the middle of cooking everything. Isaac was still really weak from his latest bout of chemotherapy but at least he was out of the hospital now. He was strapped across her back in his carrier as she made her way to the nearest hardware shop. She was sure that there was one nearby that she had seen when she had come to properly look at the place. She was just hoping now that it would be open. If not it would have to be something she had in her cupboard already.
It came into sight and she was glad to see that it actually looked like it had at least opened today. She began to hurry towards it and hoped it was stilll open. Her hair was knotted away from her face but had began to work its way loose and she was sure she had some flour on her face too.

"I'm sure your grandparents won't mind if Angus has a little stain on his shirt, Chevonne," Junior told his daughter, before adding to Sean, "Calling other people names isn't nice either. Did Megan tell you that?"
"Hey Dad, I thought you'd closed up shop," Cody said, squinting towards the door, "Looks like there's somebody here."
"Yeah, I was just about to put the sign up, actually," Junior said, frowning slightly and making his way over towards the door. When he opened it, he was slightly taken aback by the dishevelled state of the woman who was standing just outside and tilted his head just a little at her, looking concerned.
"Are you OK, ma'am?" he asked, "We were just about to close up for Thanksgiving but if you desperately need something I'm sure we could help you out."

[Nicky]

Kitty had waited until she had been introduced. She returned Sally's hug. "The flight was fine and the city is pretty cool well from what I have seen as we came through in the cab," she replied.

"I need a new element tube I think," Ella asked relieved that she caught the owner just at the right time. She hadn't been looking forward to something that came out of a tin. "Thank you so much. I didn't realise it had gone until my turkey didn't really cook well." She tried to smooth her hair down slightly but failed at that.

[Rebecca]

"I need a new element tube I think," Ella asked relieved that she caught the owner just at the right time. She hadn't been looking forward to something that came out of a tin. "Thank you so much. I didn't realise it had gone until my turkey didn't really cook well." She tried to smooth her hair down slightly but failed at that.

"Sure, come on in and I'll find one for you," Junior said, holding the door open and waving her inside, "Will you be alright to install it yourself? Sorry, my sister Shannon would kill me for implying something like that, but those things can be kind of tricky."
"Aw, it's so cute!" Chevonne cooed, eyeing up the baby strapped across the back of the woman and running towards her, "Is it a boy or a girl? What's it called?"
"Chevonne, don't be so nosy," Cody remarked with a laugh, walking over to join his sister, "Sorry about my sister, miss - she's always been like that."

[Nicky]

"I think I can manage with that thanks," Ella replied. "This is my Thanksgiving and Isaac's first so I can do this by myself. I don't need my ex, I don't need Isaac's father and I don't need my dad either." She told herself firmly before looking at Chevonne. "It's OK. This is Isaac, a very tired and worn out Isaac but an alive Isaac."

[Rebecca]

"I think I can manage with that thanks," Ella replied. "This is my Thanksgiving and Isaac's first so I can do this by myself. I don't need my ex, I don't need Isaac's father and I don't need my dad either." She told herself firmly before looking at Chevonne. "It's OK. This is Isaac, a very tired and worn out Isaac but an alive Isaac."

"I believe you, ma'am," Junior said with a bemused smile, deciding it would be rude to ask her to elaborate, "Give me just a second then and I'll see what I can find for you. Sorry, I didn't catch your name?"
"Hi, Isaac," Chevonne said, standing up on her toes to get a better look at him, "I'm Chevonne. Why are you so tired and worn out, then?"
"Isaac's a funny name," Angus said with a giggle, but he fell silent when Cody raised an eyebrow at him and shook his head. Clancy, meanwhile, merely rolled his eyes and took out his mobile phone to send a message to one of his friends.

Kitty had waited until she had been introduced. She returned Sally's hug. "The flight was fine and the city is pretty cool well from what I have seen as we came through in the cab," she replied.

"Well, first impressions are very important. Don't worry, though, soon enough you'll hate it just as much as everybody else does," Thomas commented, stepping forward to hug his mother, "I'm fine, by the way, Mom."
"Hello, Thomas," Sally said, patting him gently on the back, "Where's Nadia? I thought you said she was coming to see us. Isn't she living in Boston now? I'd understand if she was still in Canada or wherever it was, but Boston isn't that far away."
"She's pretty busy with college, Mom," Thomas said, rolling his eyes behind his mother's back, "Your granddaughter's managed to get into Harvard, you should at least be..."
Jim stepped neatly past his brother into the apartment, taking hold of Kitty's hand and gently tugging on it for her to come with him.
"I'll show you where we'll be staying," he said quietly to her, "I wish I knew why he always seems to be miserable whenever I'm even remotely happy."
Leading the way through the modest living room, Jim peered into the kitchen to see if his father was around, but the apartment looked pretty empty. Shrugging, he made his way into the corridor and stopped when he reached the first door on the right, just opposite the bathroom. Smiling at Kitty, he edged it open and took in the familiarity of it - aside from the fact that the posters which once lined his walls were gone, the room had barely changed since it had been his. There was still a fishtank against one of the walls, still the same small television and the same shelves lined with the short stories he used to read when he was a child.
"Oh, hello. I wonder who these are for," he said, looking a little surprised as he spotted three neatly wrapped presents sat on his own bed. He picked up the larger of them, a reasonably heavy rectangular box, and glanced at the nametag.
"To Kitty Stewart from Ben and Sally Collins," he read out, before picking up the smaller, soft present and the even smaller rectangular one, "And there's one for me as well as one addressed to the both of us. Think we should open them now?"