Meet the Taylors...(Mama T)

>> "Eighteen…Relax, Jorge. They are my kids, not my parents."

He had to smirk at her comment and watched as she exited the car after her quick and reassuring kiss. It must have been quite the sight to look at the grizzly detective and see a man nervous to meet kids. The idea made Jorge chuckle to himself as well as he finally climbed out of the car to meet up with Gemma. He was sure she would comment on this later so it was only better that he steel himself up now.

The detective quickly caught up with her as they made their way into the airport. The place was an absolute madhouse, even worse than outside on the streets. People were everywhere, carrying suitcases, meeting loved ones, giving tearful goodbyes or arguing with ticket sellers about over-priced fares. Jorge had never traveled during the holidays, but he had been called to a couple of incidents at the airports around these times back in Miami. It was just as crazy everywhere. But he stayed resolute as he took Gemma’s hand and followed the signs that lead to Gate 18. Even if the plane had arrived on time, there was always a delay it disembarking.

It did not take them long to finally arrive near the gate and they paused while Jorge glanced over to see Gemma looking around for those two familiar faces.

>> ” They should be out here soon…The plane landed five mintues ago."

“Yeah, plane must be backed up, it looks like we’re not the only ones waiting,” he muttered as he looked around and spied that several people seemed to be waiting anxiously.

Seeing everyone made Jorge wonder about his own family and the holidays. He had told his family that he was too busy to head down to Miami for Thanksgiving…maybe for Christmas but not right now. Unfortunately there were still aftereffects from the whole Halloween incident that would keep him busy until tomorrow. People still missing, lawyers still being contacted, tears being shed and other still dead. It was a mess and they had finally made headway on the cases and caught up on non-Halloween related ones. But still, a case or two cropped up that demanded their full attention, which of course would leave the man with little to no time to buy a ticket. Jorge was lucky to get tomorrow and Thanksgiving day off the way things were going.

As he watched out over the sea of faces, he noticed that the plane was finally allowing people off. People reunited with one another, others looked irritated. He and Gemma searched and it was ironic that Jorge would be the first the recognize them. The girl looked exactly like her mother from the one picture Gemma had showed him prior.

He smirked as he gently pressed his hand against Gemma’s lower back. “There, I see them.” he said as he nodded a head.

Here we go… he thought silently and steeled himself up once again.

Jorge had not wanted to interfere so he simply stayed back a few steps as Gemma had her happy reunion with the kids. He had to admit…height definitely ran in her family. He had to smirk though, watching as this woman rejoiced in the presence of her kids. It must have been hard for her to be separated so far from them. But at least she knew to let them have lives without trying to force herself into them. Because of that, reunions like this were much sweeter and ones that would last in memories much longer.

As soon as he spied that both…Valerie and Lauret?...were there and greeted her, he slowly started to step forward, just to be close. It was a touchy situation. He did not want to interrupt, but he if stayed too far back, it might make it seem like he did not want to meet them. The rules of meeting family were definitely ones that required a lot finesse…a talent at times that Jorge could definitely use some help with.

But, as he stepped up and stood, watching with a warm smile on his face, the girl caught his looking. And there was that Gemma Taylor glare and question about who he was. She was quick take charge and appear before him.

>> "Excuse me, officer, but you are staring at my mother."

So…the Glare IS genetic Jorge thought to himself.

The detective found himself staring down at a smaller version of the his girlfriend, one who stared at him with a defiant look that challenged any authority he had. Part of him cringed, already a bad impression made, but one that also made him want to laugh as well. He could see Gemma written all over this young woman so he knew that Gemma’s mannerisms were also embodied in her. That meant he would have to deal with TWO Gemma Taylors while they were in town…great.

“Oh, hi,” he said with a gentle smile. “I did not mean to be rude. My names Jorge’s…and…I’m…kind of with your mother.”

He inwardly shook his head at his own words and felt the jingle of something around his neck. He looked down and saw that he was still wearing his badge and shook his head. He quietly slipped it off from around his neck, wrapped the chain around the badge and slipped it back into his jacket pocket.

“Sorry about that.” he said and held out his hand to her. “You must be Valerie and,” he looked past her to the boy that Gemma was hugging. “Laurent. Nice to meet you two, your mother has told me so much about the two of you. Welcome to New York.”

Why do I feel like I’m drowning? he thought ironically to himself. A water manipulator drowning…funny. With that he glanced to Gemma, praying for a little help.

Gemma had not said much yet. That could mean only one thing to the detective…she was having too much fun watching him wilt underneath the glaring look of her daughter. He would definitely pay her back for this later. But in the mean time, Jorge just had to sit back and try to go with the flow as best he could. The kids, from what he has seen so far and what she has told him, seem to have great heads on their shoulders. They were nice, polite but fierce defenders of their mother. He could respect that and he only hoped that before this time was through, he could at least make some impression that would lessen Valerie’s glare on him, at least to the point that he would not be so suspicious looking to her.

>> "The one and only."


>> "Nice to meet you too…Don't mind Val, she does to all the guys."

He nodded and graciously shook their hands. This was going to be hard but at least he hoped that he could make a good impression. The detective, one who stared death in the face many of time, was still a little nervous about these kids. They were important to Gemma so obviously he would have to be “in” with them for this relationship to go smoothly. Not that he would normally care what people thought, this was a different circumstance. These were her kids, they were her whole world so it would only be fitting that he could at least get along with them.

But…despite the misidentification that he was a some masher eyeballing their mother…he had a inkling that things would be okay. He liked them.

>> "That's about enough, you two…Let's get out of here, I hate crowds."

“Yeah, I know what you mean,” he joked as he headed over.

He carefully relieved Gemma of the burden from the luggage she helped the carry. Yes he knew she that was more than capable of carrying it. She was not an invalid and throughout her recovery there were many times where he knew she simply wanted to hit him because he kept doing stuff for her, but he was a gentleman after all and she was hurt. Besides, it was not like he would lock her up in a box to keep her from getting hurt ever again. The detective was not over protective. But a woman with a still healing arm should not be carrying luggage, he made sure to get a doctor’s note to prove that and showed it to her whenever she wanted to argue with him.

He then offered to carries Laurent’s baggage and walked with them out of the airport.

“How about, I take all you guys home so you can get settled in, then, if you like, I could treat you all to dinner tonight?” he asked as he led the way to his cleaned up Chevy Impala. The detective had the unfortunate habit of carrying around crime files to need while on his breaks in his car. But thankfully, he managed to slip into the corner of his trunk.

As they mulled over his question, he hauled their luggage over to the trunk and popped the lid to set it inside. So far things seemed to be going okay. They got the kids safe and sound, the airport traffic was dying down, all the prep stuff for Thanksgiving dinner was already bought and waited at the house. He could only hope that everything else would run so smoothly.

>> "So, Jorge. Tell us about yourself."

And the interrogation begins. What did he expect? They were Gemma’s children after all. As a matter of fact, considering how Gemma was, he was a little surprised that they took this long to get to the questions. He could only smirk inwardly as he drove on, finally away from all the mess and traffic that comes with holiday travelers and into a calm drive back to the city. It was still light out, but already the horizon was shifting into those soft colors that denoted that night would be approaching within an hour or so. There would be plenty of time to get them home so he could get back to his place and get things ready for dinner.

It occurred to him that ever since he met Gemma, this had to be the most has he cooked for somebody else. Usually it was always just him and Lizzie, even back in Miami he had rarely cooked for his sister or family unless it was a special occasion and they needed an extra pair of hands in the kitchen. But not, Jorge did not seem to mind in the least. Cooking was a talent few could claim to have and he was happy he at least had that.

After he maneuvered around a rather large truck that was taking up too much space and going far too slow on the road, he smiled at Valerie in the rearview mirror.

“Um, what would you like to know?” he asked with a grin. “Pretty open book actually. I was raised in California before I moved out to Miami when I was fifteen. I stayed there, went to college, became a cop, then…moved out here to New York. When I transferred out here the NYPD put me in the MRC Unit.” When he noted their curious looks he explained. “Um, MRC, Mutant Related Crimes. My unit deals primarily with mutant issues, either protecting good ones or bringing in the really bad ones.” he smiled a bit.

It was definitely a dangerous sounding job, but to Jorge it was a normal activity. He dealt with danger as a cop and now as a MRC detective, he dealt with even more dangerous criminals, but he was trained and knew what he was doing. Still, he had to wonder how Gemma’s children would deal with knowing that their mother was in the presence of a man who got on the bad sides of a lot of dangerous mutant criminals. Then again, he had to give them the benefit of the doubt. Maybe they would understand that you did not have to be scared of the job. Jorge was slowly learning that his position would not scare Gemma away. At least he hoped so.

“Anyways, almost a month after I moved here, that is when I met your mother, or I should say Lizzie did.” he smiled in remembrance. Now in the middle of the huge metropolis, Jorge expertly moved around traffic and calmly continued on towards the Mansion where Gemma and her kid’s would be staying. “And I’m still very thankful for that chance meeting.” he smirked a little sheepishly as he turned a corner. He knew he must have sounded so cheesy but it was the truth.
Their destination of the mansion was getting closer. In the distance Jorge could already see the trees of the park that the mansion was situated deep inside of.

“How about yourselves? Gemma has told me some but I’d love to hear from you two.” He was encouraging and interested. And he was right, he was an open book. Anything they wanted to know, they could simply ask.

>> "So we hear…Good to know someone's looking out for us."

>> "Mom always had a thing for mutants."

>> "Valerie, if I didn't know you, I'd say you were nine, not nineteen."

Jorge wanted to laugh out loud but instead he just grinned and chuckled. So…Gemma has had a thing for mutants. And here he thought she liked him for being him. He would make sure to file that away and save it for teasing later. After all, she did deserve a little payback for leaving him to defend himself against her daughter back there in the airport. She knew she would have it coming.

“I do what I can,” he said in response to Laurent’s comment. He was going to stay away from Gemma and Valerie’s little discussion.

>> "Well, as you can see, Val's a brat…She's a smart brat though…And she has a boyfriend."

>> "And Laure here is the genius of the family…Gonna be a doctor one day…And he doesn't have a girlfriend."

“Well it is excellent to meet you both. Hopefully New York will treat you good while you’re here. If not…well, I do have the power to arrest people.” he chuckled as he turned another corner. They had now entered the park.

Jorge smirked and nodded as he listened intently to the information that he was given. They really seemed like a close family, except for the fact that Gemma and her kids lived so far apart from one another. It must have been hard but at least it was not something that drove them apart. After so long of being apart, it took only a few moments of being together again to reconnect and fall back into old habits and conversation. He had to smile at this. He was happy to be allowed to take part, or at least bear witness to the reunion. He was the new factor though, so the detective would make sure not to overstep and cramp their time with their mother.

Listening to the chatter between Laurent and Valerie brought a flood of memories to him. It reminded him about his own sister Jayda. So many times they would have conversations, teasings, and arguments just like this but it was all in good fun. Well, except for all the times she made him help her with her ballroom dancing classes. He would still have to get her back for all those. He needed to call her. Maybe she would come up and visit him…course that means he would lose half of his apartment to her.

He filed that thought away too and decided that he would definitely call her.

As he drove through the park, the mansion slowly came into view. The rest of trip was very quick, consisting of small chatter and such. So far he seemed to be on the kid’s good side so he hoped he would stay that way. Not that he would do anything offensive on purpose or something, but he had that type of luck! Look what happened on he and Gemma’s second date…AND Halloween night! The last thing he needed was for some mutant Turkey to leap from his oven on Thanksgiving day and chase them around the apartment!

Jorge, that is just stupid. he thought to himself, but still held the fear that just maybe that could happen.

Finally, he drove up to the gate and waved to the security guard who was there.

“Well here we are,” he announced.

Jorge had left Gemma and the kids back at the mansion. They needed time to get settled in, to look at the place they would be staying at and get a feel for it. The detective was only so happy to give them time with each other. He did not want to intrude since they had not seen each other in awhile and had to subsist on talking over a phone line. So instead he simply let them go and would make sure to make them as good a dinner as he could muster up in the time he had.

He had smirked the whole time driving back to his apartment. Gemma’s words ”Don’t worry, it’ll get better…They like you.” still rebounded in his head. He hoped that they would. After all, he was in their mother’s life and they were important to her. It would be bad to be in a relationship with a woman whose kids hated you.

His whole time at home Jorge was a cooking storm. On the way there he had picked up a few more extra items from the grocery store as well as a store bought cake (while he could cook, he was horrible at baking). Once home, in no time his apartment was filled with the odious scents of cooking. Lizzie salivated as she eagerly seemed to dance, watching as the detective cooked over the stove. A pan fried, a pot bubbled, and a his oven warmed. His kitchen was going to get a work out come this Thanksgiving. But in a way Jorge was glad for it. He rarely did cook for a group, so he hoped that this would turn out well.

Once he was close to finishing the parts that took the longest, he only had to a couple of menial tasks to do once he brought them back. So once he got to that point, Jorge picked up his cell phone and dialed Gemma’s number.

“Hi Gemma, how’re things going?” he asked as he pulled a baking sheet from his shelves and lined it with foil. “That’s good! Sounds like a they’re having a good time. Are you ready for dinner?” he asked as he carefully laid cooked chicken breasts on a the pan and began to glaze them with a balsamic / honey sauce. A couple splashes of seasoning and he popped that into the oven the stay warmed and finish the cooking process. “Okay good. I’m heading out the door now…what? No of course I didn’t go over the top making dinner,” he chuckled as he stirred a pot of pasta he had boiling. He dropped that to as low as simmer as he could get. “Besides, I’m saving ‘over-the-top’ for Thanksgiving. Okay, okay, I’m coming. Bye hun.”

Jorge shoved his phone into his pocket and proceeded to head over to his bedroom to throw on something different. Lizzie watched him curiously, head tilted, as she sat at his doorway and scratched fitfully behind her ear. She panted as she sat there and watched Jorge pull on a black shirt with an unbuttoned blue shirt over that and jeans. He sighed as he checked himself in the restroom, glad to have found the time to shave when he got home. Though the sprouts of hairs were already coming back.

“Whatever,” he chuckled as he headed out and found Lizzie sitting on her dog bed in the hall, head up and looking at him. “You behave missy. Don’t you make a miss while I’m gone.”

Jorge scratched behind the bulldog’s ears and headed out to pick up Gemma and her kids.

***
The drive was quick and uneventful. Jorge arrived pretty close to the time he said he would and waved to the guard on duty. He was surprised that Gemma, Valerie and Laurent were already outside waiting for him. Thank god he was not late. If ever there was a day that he should not, this was it. He pulled his car into park, climbed out and exchanged the pleasant greetings. So far it seemed like everything was going to go extremely well and that he had survived the initial meeting. The awkward and probing questions were finally finished…or so he thought.

>> "So, Jorge. Do you have kids?"

Had he been drinking something he probably would have either spit it out or choked on it. He instead could only look back at Valerie, that “innocent” face, and he could only chuckle as he pulled the car back into the road. It was definitely going to be a long night, but he could understand where she was coming from. He was dating their mother…it was only fair she knew the details of his life right?

“Maybe. I’ll have to look into that one day.” he replied with a friendly smile. When he saw the look she had, he had to grin and just shook his head. “I’m only kidding. Unfortunately, I’ve never had the pleasure.”

Hey, he couldn’t spent the whole night being a nervous punching bag. A little joke now and then to show he was relaxing should at least keep the blood out of the water. He smiled over at Gemma and gave her a quick wink as he drove on. He liked them. He liked them all a lot. Hopefully his cooking would be adequate enough to prove some of that.