Page 3 of Should the Sky Fall

The coffee machine beeps half a minute later, signaling it’s ready. One can’t expect any less from state-of-the art equipment.Calwouldn’t be satisfied with anything less. Patience isn’t his virtue.

He slides his empty mug under the two spouts, the smell of coffee reaching Dawson’s nose a moment later, drawing a rueful sigh from him. He loves when the smell fills the whole apartment. It’s as close as he can get to drinking coffee, since he’d found it triggers his migraines.

Opening the overhead cupboard, Cal pulls out a half-empty bottle of Paul John and pours an inch into the mug. The coffee has barely stopped dripping when he removes the mug and takes a sip. That’s how he likes it; steaming hot and black, unless the whiskey is supposed to smooth out the bitterness.

Leaning his hip against the counter, Cal gives Dawson an unnerving look.

“What time do you plan to get back?”

Dawson’s shoulders droop with relief. He does a quick calculation. “Uh, eight or nine?” When Cal just looks at him, he says. “Eight should be fine.”

When Dawson called Olivia to let her know he’d be there today, she insisted he stay the weekend. That could never happen. Cal would lose his shit, and even if he could somehow be convinced to let Dawson stay for that long, he’d keep bringing it up for months. Like when Dawson and Kieran flew over to Adelaide because Kieran’s dad was in hospital after suffering a stroke. It killed Dawson to have to fly back to the Coast the next day and leave his best friend to deal with that shit alone.

It wasn’t even two full days, but all hell broke loose when he got home. The upheaval happened mostly because Dawson had taken off without discussing it with Cal first, but he hadn’t had time for that. Kieran hopped onto the first available flight and Dawson happened to snatch the last ticket on the same flight.

Despite the shitshow that followed, he never regretted it. He’d do it all over again if he had to. He’d just rather…not. And since neither his sister nor his nieces are on their deathbeds, the few hours will have to do.

He looks at Cal expectantly, hope flickering in his chest when Cal seems to mull it over.

“Fine.” Cal walks away without another word.

The relief is overwhelming. The knot in Dawson’s stomach unravels, leaving him a little nauseous and unsteady. He has one foot over the threshold when he remembers Olivia’s present and dips back in to retrieve the gift bag.

He walk-runs to the lifts, worrying that if he’s not fast enough, Cal might catch up with him and say he’s changed his mind. It wouldn’t be the first time.

He’s still looking over his shoulder as he waits for the lift and doesn’t relax until he’s in his car and putting the key in the ignition. Even as he drives off, he can’t shake the feeling that he’ll hear about this when he comes back, and likely a few more times after that.

He sighs. It’s fine. He gets to see Olivia and the girls. He’ll worry about making this up to Cal later.

A normal person would probably feel ecstatic at the prospect of seeing their family after nearly half a year. To be fair, Dawson did see Olivia two months ago when she had to run some errands in the city, but he hasn’t seen his nieces for even longer. He forgets how quickly children grow. The last time he saw them they barely came up to his mid-thigh. Now, they easily wrap their deceptively strong arms around his waist as they ambush him the second he steps out of the car.

“Uncle Dee!” Chloe and Leia scream.

It’s not like Dawson isn’t happy to see them, but he could do without the guilt that pours over him like an avalanche.

Blinking rapidly, he musters a grin and kneels in front of the girls, spreading his arms wide to envelop them both. Normally, he’d grab and lift them up, do an airplane with them. But they’ve definitely grown, and Dawson had noticed a headache starting to form deep in his eye-sockets shortly after he passed Hatton Vale. It’s not too bad, just some annoying pressure and dizziness, but he’s not in any shape to play the fun uncle today.

The girls don’t mind; they throw themselves at him without hesitation, and god, two four-year-olds shouldn’t make him feel like he’s being hit by a lorry. He falls back on his backside with an amusedoof, making the girls laugh. They climb on top of him, giggling as they try to pin him down. Dawson lets them, ignoring the growing pit of guilt in his stomach. The world won’t implode if he enjoys himself for a bit.

“Do you need to be rescued?” comes an amused voice. Dawson lifts his head, finding Ray standing a few feet away and watching the ambush with a smirk.

“Yeah, I do.” He groans theatrically. “They’resostrong.”

The girls laugh, doubling down on their efforts to immobilize Dawson, but don’t resist when Ray comes to fetch them.

“Okay, goblins, leave your uncle alone. He just spent hours driving here.”

Two hours isn’t awful, but given his headache Dawson will happily take the excuse.

After he ushers the girls inside, Ray turns to Dawson, offering him a hand.

“Sorry about that. Liv has been running around all morning, so they’re a little bored. It’s good to see you.” He pulls Dawson into a lightning quick one-armed, back-slapping hug.

Dawson grins, patting his shoulder in return.

When Olivia met Ray, Dawson had already been living with Cal, so he never really had the chance to get to know his brother-in-law. This has resulted in their interactions being a little awkward and stilted, but he knows Ray is a good guy and Olivia won the lottery with him. His sister and nieces are happy, and that’s all that matters.

“Good to see you too. And don’t apologize. You know I adore them.”