"Jake?" Liz called when she heard the door open. "That you babe?"
"No, it's me babe." Tarek cracked as he walked into the kitchen all sweaty and sticky from playing basketball.
"Hi baby." Liz smiled at her son. "Have fun?"
"Would have had more fun if I had gotten an answer." He crossed his arms and leaned on the counter. "Can I go? Dad said he'd consider it but... I don't think he likes Mr. O too much."
"It's not that baby... They just never really got along when we were younger." Liz took a deep breath. Then she began taking things out for lunch. "I'm gonna make... sandwiches... that okay?"
"Let me do it." He shook his head. "Sit. I don't want Dad to yell at me when he gets home for making you stay on your feet longer than you have to."
"He's just worried is all." She obediently sank into a chair.
"Dad... he was talking to Mr. O last night. Said something about Mr. O knowing the obvious reasons that he didn't want me to go. Is it because of what we are? Does Mr. O know what we are?" Tarek began making several sandwiches at the same time.
"Yes." It was all she could say.
"That's it?" He counted the sandwiches and pulled out the paper plates. "He ate our stir-fry last night... not the one that you make for yourself."
"I know." She sighed. She knew where this was leading. "He's like your dad... like you."
"Really?" Tarek spun around in surprise. "I thought we were the only ones."
"No... We thought that M--... um... Mr. Omundsen was dead." Liz caught herself. She'd been slipping up too much lately, she'd have to watch herself better.
Tarek just stared at his mother before continuing the task of making lunch. "Can I go?"
"Means a lot to you, huh?" Liz smiled.
"Yeah. Mr. O's gonna be running the show. It'll be fun, I'll meet kids from all over the country who want to be physicists like me." He tried hard to sell her on the idea.
"You sound like me when I was your age. Did I ever tell you that I wanted to be a micro-biologist?" She grinned sheepishly. "Your father and I used to talk about stuff like that in biology. He was kinda afraid of it because of what he is. He was going to be a lawyer like his dad... He liked to be in control of the situation. Know all the angles and possibilities."
"Dad?" Tarek stared at her in disbelief. "Really?"
Liz's jaw dropped at the blunder she had just made. How was she going to get out of this one? She fidgeted a bit and her breathing picked up.
"Mom? Let me get you some water." Her son started to panic, his dad had warned him not to get her upset.
"I'm fine. I'm fine." She forced her breathing to normal and took the glass from his hand. She drank it slowly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."
She couldn't look him in the eyes. She glanced up and saw the reflection in the hall mirror. Max and Michael had just walked in the door. "Um... Tarek, I have something to tell you. Sit."
"What?"
"Just now, I wasn't talking about Dad... I was talking about your dad." She held onto his hand.
"What do you mean?" Then it hit him. "You mean that Dad isn't my real father?"
"Yeah." She nodded and hated that crushed look on his face.
"Who's my real father then? What happened to him?" Tarek started to ramble.
"He's here. He's alive." Liz whispered. "Mr. Omundsen is your dad."
A thousand emotions crossed Tarek's face. When his dad and Mr. Omundsen walked in the door, he stared at the both of them for five minutes before turning back to his mother. "You're serious?"
"Babe?" Michael turned to her. Her mouth opened and closed a few times. She glanced at Max before looking Michael in the eyes.
"I told him." She held on tighter to her son's hand. "You told him right?"
"Yeah." Michael whispered. He watched his son carefully. "Hey Chief... you okay?"
"Yeah Dad... fine... dandy..." Tarek stared at his dad then at the man just revealed to him as his biological father. "I need to process this."
Tarek pulled his hand out of his mother's grip and brushed past the two men to the staircase.
"We're going to have to explain to him." Liz whispered. Michael was by her side in an instant. "We have to tell him the truth."
"I know. I had kinda hoped that we wouldn't have had to." Michael kissed her softly.
"We have to let him go to the camp." Liz raised her voice and glanced at Max in the doorway. "Chris... you'd get to talk to him about everything. He really wants to go... and he already adored you. Talked about you all the time before we knew."
"I'd like that." Max nodded. "Should I go talk to him?"
"Better wait until he's ready... he's like you." Michael shook his head. "Stubborn as hell and in control of everything."
Tarek entered his physics class Monday morning and went straight to his seat. He hoped against hope that Mr. O wouldn't...
"Mr. Lawson. Can I speak to you please?" Max called as he sat at his desk. Tarek ignored the 'OOOOooohs' from his classmates and trudged up to the teacher's desk. "Have your parents talked to you yet?"
"What? There's more?" Tarek groaned.
"I guess not." Max let a half-smile out. "You have permission to go to the camp."
"Seriously?" His head snapped up. "Why? Does this have to do with..."
He took a deep breath and let it out. Max nodded and looked down at his hands. "Look I found out just an hour before you did. L-- your mother thinks it would be a good idea for the two of us to get to know each other."
"And what do you think?" Tarek asked cautiously.
"I think that I have always wanted kids... I just never knew that I already had one. I want to know about everything that I missed." Max sighed and glanced at the clock. "I'm going to tell you everything that your parents were afraid to let you know about. I've already talked to him about all this... We're going to have several long talks at camp. Now, get to your seat so I can start class."
"Yes sir." Tarek shook his head and grinned.
Liz bustled around getting her sons things ready against the protests of her husband. "Chrissy, go back to bed. He's a big boy, I'm sure he remembered everything. They even gave him a check list."
"Just making sure he's got enough Tabasco." Liz breezed by him like she weighed ten pounds instead of the extra twenty she'd just put on.
"Chris is not going to let him run out." Michael leaned on the back of the couch. "At least sit down. I know you're nervous but you've got to get your mind off of this."
"How do you propose I do that?" Liz sighed and sat on the couch.
"I've got a few ideas." He hopped over the back to sit next to her. He leaned in and growled in her ear, "Have you any idea how sexy you are?"
"Please, I'm huge. You can't mean that." She turned to him and he cut her off from speaking anymore with his mouth. He ran his hands over her body.
"You carrying my children is the sexiest thing in the world." He rasped out as they lost track of everything around them. They didn't hear the door open.
"Excuse me. I hope I'm not interrupting anything." Max's voice pulled them out of their make out session.
"Hi Chris." Liz pulled herself out of Michael's arms. "You're early."
"I was going to head out early to get things set up. I was hoping that Tarek wouldn't mind leaving earlier... I'm going to talk to him about... everything." Max shoved his hands into his pockets.
"Jake, could you go wake him up?" Liz gestured.
"Sure babe." Michael jogged up the stairs.
"You know, I was thinking... We had wanted to name our first born Chris... and we ended up as Christopher and Christina." Max chuckled.
"Yeah, huh." She smiled. "You aren't mad at me are you?"
"No... I mean... He told me everything. I'm happy that you're happy, that he took care of you and Tarek. He did what I would have wanted him to." Max leaned on the couch next to her. "You guys don't know where anyone else is?"
"No. We split for good." She shook her head and hugged him. Then Michael came downstairs with a sleepy Tarek.
"Are we ready to go?" Max clapped his hands together.
"Yeah." Tarek grabbed his bag and headed for the door.
"Aren't you forgetting something?" Michael cleared his throat. Out of nowhere, all the Lawson children were behind Michael and Liz. Tarek turned and kissed his mother, hugged his dad, punched Nick, gave Maxine a kiss, and hugged Karen, who was blushing madly at having Mr. Omundsen seeing her first thing in the morning. He headed for the door one more time. "One more thing. I can't believe you forgot."
Tarek chuckled and returned to his mother and knelt, putting a hand on her stomach. "Bye guys. Stay put until I get back. Wouldn't want to miss seeing my little brothers being born for the world."
"Boys? Really?" A grin spread across Liz's face.
"Yeah," he kissed her cheek again.
"Bye everyone." Max waved. He led Tarek out the door to his car.
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