Chapter 445: Uncle Andy
In the end, nothing really came from the charges. Jenny had to pay a fine, because, well, she did beat up several people. But the court saw that what she did was in defense of those who could not fight for themselves. So, a slap on the wrist in a sense.
Andrew had mixed feelings about it, because it felt like she was getting away with it because she was rich, and also the fact that he was worried that the court was looking down on her for being an omega. It played to her benefit, so Andrew just dropped it.
The Proctor family?
They were pissed, but they couldn’t do anything. Kim was right, they needed her more than she needed them. She warned them that if they tried to push this more?
They were losing her, her company, her kids, everything. She wouldn’t go to their house and beat them up like her wife had and out them for being scum of the earth, but she wouldn’t hold her tongue. She would stop refusing to do interviews. She’d do tell all’s, like her nephew, Andrew.
That struck fear into them, and they backed down. It did mean things were tense between them, and the kids, Alyssa, stopped going to see her grandparents at their estate. Meetings had to be in public, and Jenny was there.
She was not going to let them hurt her kids more.
The reporters ate every time they saw the meetings, but it eventually faded from the minds of the public. Andrew tried to support them as much as he could, and so did the rest of the people who cared about them.
Luis and Thomas were supportive, publicly and in private, and when Mr. Dalton was randomly asked about if he was still aligned closely with the A & D Firm, he had laughed and said that he thought Jenny did the right thing. He might be a true alpha from a true alpha family, but his wife ruled their house, and he was glad for it.
He had winked, mimicking Andrew, and when Maxwell showed him the interview, Andrew felt his heart warm. He was glad that he had good true alphas in his life to prove that not all of them were trash.
Andrew, of course, was obvious about his support. He was often caught with Jenny when Kim couldn’t be with her, protective of the woman who had cared for him long before he even knew she was there. So was Leonardo.
The newly manifested omega was heavily protective of his Mom. It was adorable, and Leonardo had gotten into fights at his summer camps over what had happened. Well, it was more accurate that he used his voice to eviscerate the kids, and his totally-not-his-fated-pair-best-friend did the fighting. Andrew and Jenny had picked up the kids one day, because Andrew had a little more wiggle room compared to the others in his life right now, and found the kids not backing down. Especially when Jenny was part of the pick up crew.
Andrew knew that Jenny felt terrible that she was getting her kids involved in her issues, but Andrew knew exactly what the kids were feeling. He told them that what they had done was wrong, but what they had done wrong was getting caught.
He made sure no other adult was around to hear him say that. Leonardo had given him a hug, and so had his best friend. Andrew returned to the group and the kids did apologise, but no one believed them. Especially the parents who were trying to make a big deal over the whole situation.
The camp councilors were in a tight spot. Jenny and Kim were generous, often giving more to help with kids who couldn’t afford the camps that Leonardo and Alyssa wanted to go to in the summer. At the same time, the other parents were also big names in these circles. There were a lot of bruised egos, and it was hard to manage all of them.
Andrew felt sympathy for them, and made sure that they were out of the room as Andrew and Jenny spoke to the parents of the stupid kids. They clearly didn’t want to, but Andrew made sure that they had a full view of everything, and promised that nothing would actually transpire on the property. Andrew kept his promises.
Andrew let Jenny apologise up to a point, until he stepped in, smiled, and told the parents that the kids clearly had learned their behaviours from somewhere, and they should be worried that this was only the first lesson. That they should teach their children to be better now before they made it out into regular society, because when that happened?
Andrew wasn’t afraid of dealing with adults that didn’t know the rules. He was a brawler, and it was clear that the parents needed some sense knocked into them as well. He wasn’t afraid of making the kids realise that their parents weren’t gods.
He even cracked his knuckles with a smile.
He wouldn’t do it of course, but they didn’t know that. He used his tall height to his advantage.
The parents took that at face value, and Leonardo didn’t have any issues from that point forward. Jenny had chastised him for his behaviour, but he could tell that she appreciated him stepping in, even if it was a threat of violence.
She had patted his shoulder, looking sad, but Andrew had shrugged it off. He had no problem stepping in to help his cousins, even if it made him look like an angry black man. He was angry, but because of the kids running their mouths and their parents not nipping it in the bud.
The kids got it, and Jenny just sighed, shaking her head, before muttering that Kim was going to be mad at her for making Andrew stand up for her. Andrew knew that wasn’t fully true, but let her complain about it.
Things died out by August, which was good for everyone. Andrew was starting to get the wedding jitters as more things were finalized, and the kids were about to start school up again. They did have to have a meeting, Kim and Jenny, with the principal of the kids school, but everything worked out.
Andrew had a feeling that they, Maxwell and Andrew, would have to have those kinds of conversations with the principals of their kids’ schools. They would have Andrew genes, and Maxwell’s tongue.
If they had an ounce of Andrew’s protectiveness, he was going to have to be able to drop everything and get to the school. Or teach his kids that they needed to learn how to fight in secret.
Andrew caught himself smiling to himself about those thoughts, made notes of those moments, and told Maxwell about them and his therapist. It was a big moment for him. Having moments when thinking about his kids weren’t tinted with darkness and worry.
Didn’t make him feel like he couldn’t have kids because they would turn out like his father.
He knew most of this work was from Maxwell, his therapist, and the newest member of the Beckett family.
Mehar was the sweetest little baby that he had ever met. Just a bundle of joy, and he was there when she found out that she could smile and laugh. It had made his heart explode, seeing this sweet little baby and having Amir witness it was well.
Andrew had confided in Amir about his worries, having a feeling deep in his bones that he would know exactly what he was talking about. They didn’t speak about why Amir’s parents weren’t around. It was clear that they weren’t dead, and there was a reason why Amir’s grandparents still travelled between Amir, and the rest of the family.
Amir had looked at Andrew with such a depth of understanding that it had shaken Andrew to his core. Then, he placed his hand on Andrew’s shoulder, given it a squeeze, and handed Mehar over to him.
Andrew had stared down at the little baby, both of them had, and Amir had let out a heavy sigh.
"I understand why you are scared. I was scared, too." Amir admitted quietly. He hesitated, clearly wanting to say something. It took him a long time to speak, swallowing over and over, making small noises that sounded painful to Andrew but he didn’t interrupt. Amir needed to work up to whatever he was going to say. "I...I think that the reason I lost my first child was because they were going to turn out like my parents. My body rejected that. Wouldn’t let...that kind of evil exist. I know it’s a foolish thought, but that’s how I’m able to deal with the loss." Amir spoke softly, as if he was afraid the words he was saying Mehar was going to understand.
She couldn’t, of course, she was too young.
That didn’t mean that Andrew felt okay after hearing them.
He turned his gaze towards his soon to be brother-in-law and felt his eyes water.
"Does Ben know you think this way?" He asked, his voice rough. Amir swallowed and nodded.
"He’s devastated, of course, but I can’t convince myself of anything else. They were twisted, like them, and I think it was better to lose them then, then later in life. I can only pray that on their second round trying to come into the world that they had their impurities smoothed out." Amir said softly, staring down at his precious baby in Andrew’s arms.
"Amir, that’s..." Andrew trailed off, and Amir gave him a bitter, amused smile.
"Fucked up, right? I know. But we don’t get to choose all the time how our traumas affect us, and this is mine. Andy, I know that your trauma is affecting you because you’re worried about what is left of your father inside of you. As far as I can see? It’s just the colour of your skin, and your true alpha blood. For me? It’s the fact that I could be carrier for their fucked up genes, but I’m also a carrier for my grandparents. This is something you yourself will have to grapple with. You are as much of your Mom, who sounded like a great person, as you are for him. But you also have Kim in you, right?" Amir pointed out, and Andrew found himself nodding slowly.
"Yeah." He agreed slowly, and Amir smiled. He reached up, pinching Andrew’s cheek lightly.
"So don’t let them win, hmm? If you want kids, don’t let them take that from you. Or you’ll miss out on a Mehar." Amir said with warmth and kindness in his brown gaze. Andrew nodded slowly again, taking in Amir’s words and felt something wash off of his shoulders.
It was good to speak to others who...knew what this felt like.