Title: Explosive Fun
Rating: PG-13 [language, violence]
Word Count: 2234
Characters: Cameron, Summer, Will Crowe, Hayley Plant, and James Page, Jr, Audrey Hamilton, Lindsay Frehley


Summary: Cameron and Summer celebrate the 4th of July at home with their family and Summer's best friend, Audrey, and her daughter.  Everything seems to be going perfectly... a bit too perfectly.


 


July 4, 1996
Los Angeles, CA

Lounging by the poolside with Audrey while Hayley ran pass and jumped into the water, Summer laughed as Cameron quickly turned around in the water and wrapped his arms around the nine year old girl.  She wailed and flailed, but really was not trying to escape her stepfather.  A minute later, their six-year-old son swam over to attempt to rescue his older sister.  Jamie sat on the edge of the deep end, his feet playfully touching Lindsay’s as he swirled them around in the cool water.  It was a small, intimate holiday, but that was just how Summer and Cameron preferred, especially the more involved he got in his industry and the more her career grew.

“This is quite possibly perfect,” Audrey commented, watching as Summer tugged on her bikini top. “Though I do think it’s time for a new suit for you.”

Summer chuckled and sipped her iced tea, “This one is a few years old.  But I thought the stars were more… festive.”

The brunette looked at the navy blue top with white stars and chuckled, “I guess it is.”

“Moooooom,” Will shouted as he hurried over to the two women.

“Yes?” she glanced over her sunglasses at him. 

“I’m starving!” he declared emphatically.

She smirked, “Well then you better go tell your dad he needs to get to grilling.”

“Can I light the fire?”

“You ask Dad,” she instructed.

Watching as her youngest son hurried to tackle Cameron as he climbed out of the pool with Hayley, Summer shook her head.  Will quickly began to harass his father, who merely smiled and scooped the boy up.  Carrying the six-year-old under his arm like a sack of potatoes, he headed into the house while Hayley joined Summer and Audrey, sitting on the end of Summer’s lounge chair.

“Mom?”

“Yes, sweetie.”

“Can I put the whipped cream on the dessert?”

Summer smiled, “Of course you can, when it’s dessert time.”

Hayley grinned, “Can we have dessert first?”

She chuckled, “No, sweetie.  We gotta let Dad cook first.”

Her blue eyes went to Cameron as he exited the house with a plate of raw hamburgers, Will closely behind, “What if he burns them?”

“Has he ever done that before?”

“Well…no.”

“Then he probably won’t this time,” she looked over at Jamie as he kissed Lindsey, his hand slipping up from the girl’s stomach to cup her breast. “Jamie, why don’t you go set the table.”

Lindsey instantly blushed, unable to look up at her mom and godmother.

“Um… I thought we were just eating out here.”

“We are.”

“So…?”

“Go get the plates and napkins and all of that from inside, Jamie,” Summer rolled her eyes. “And Lindsey, you can help bring out the salads and watermelon.”

“I’ll help!” Hayley proclaimed, jumped up, and followed the teens into the house.

“Nice one,” Audrey muttered, smirking slightly.

“Figured it would be less abrasive that way,” Summer chuckled, reaching for her iced tea. “And Hayley tagging along means they won’t have a quickie in the kitchen.”

Audrey’s eyes widened, “Summer!”

She sipped her tea, but said nothing.  Shaking her head, Audrey stared at her best friend for a long moment.  It was already turning out to be an interesting holiday.



Looking up as Cameron sat beside her in the outdoor love seat, Summer smiled.  He quickly stole a kiss before settling back and slipping his arm around her shoulders.  She snuggled with him for a moment before returning her attention back to Lindsay and Hayley, who happily drew in the air with sparklers.  Their happy giggles were worth everything in that moment.  Happy children always made —

“Where are the boys, Cam?” Summer suddenly asked.

He shrugged, “No idea.”

“You don’t find that the least bit suspicious?”

“Not really,” he reached for his soda.

Before Summer could say anything else, a small explosion echoed off the house.  Without pause, she jumped up, heading to where she believed it came from.  Cameron, Audrey, and the girls trailed after her.  As she rounded the side of the house reserved for RV parking though they did not have one, she halted.  The boys laughed as they strapped something to one of Hayley’s Barbies, lit it, and took a couple of steps back.

Realizing what was going on, Summer barely managed to grab Hayley a moment before the plastic doll was blown into pieces.  The curly-haired girl instantly screamed and attempted to break free from her mother’s arms.  Cameron stepped between the boys and the crying girl.  Seeing Summer was losing her grip on Hayley, he quickly scooped up Hayley and headed back around the house with her, hoping that she would calm down once removed from the scene of the crime.

“James,” Summer spoke darkly, drawing his blue eyes to her, “what in the world possessed you to—”

“Wasn’t that AWESOME, Mom?” Will interjected. “We blew up a truck too!”

“James,” she ignored the younger boy, “I don’t know where you got those… whatever they are. But you are not to light another one.  Clean up your mess and go apologize to your sister.  Tomorrow you will take her to the store to replace her Barbie with whichever one she wants.”

“But—”

“This is not a negotiation,” she declared. “Give me your lighter.”

The older boy held out his lighter for her.  Glancing at Will, Summer turned and headed to help calm down Hayley, Audrey trailing after her.  Lindsay remained behind for a moment, watching the boys.  Deciding against helping them, she too turned away and headed back around the house.

With his arm looped around Hayley’s shoulders, Cameron assured her that everything was going to be okay.  He promised that the doll would be replaced and that Summer would certainly punish the boys.  Summer sat on the girl’s other side a moment later, calmly agreeing with her husband.  Her mouth opened to explain something, but her words were completely overshadowed by another explosion.

Her eyes flicked to Cameron, “Cam…

“I’ll handle it,” he declared, stood, and marched towards the boys.

Returning a minute later with a handful of modified firecrackers and another lighter, Cameron headed into the house to dispose of them.  As the patio door closed, yet another explosion echoed off the house.  Slamming the firecrackers and lighter down on the kitchen counter, Cameron swore and exited the house again.  Two steps towards the boys, he froze.  This time it was not a girl’s screams for a beloved toy filling in the air, but one of pain and anguish.

Panic instantly filled Summer and she jumped up, leaving Hayley with Audrey.  Though Cameron was closer than she was, her motherly panic bolted her pass him.  Seeing James kneeling next to Will, who lay on the cement, clutching his leg, Summer lost all thought.  Acting on instinct, she quickly squatted and embraced her youngest son.  Cameron barked at James to get the first aid kit while he tore off his own shirt and pressed it against the young boy’s leg.

The next few minutes were a blur of screams and cries of pain and two parents trying to calm down a young boy.  Sirens wailed down the street, ending in the driveway, before taking the young boy and his mother away.  With some preternatural calmness, Cameron organized the rest of the house into two cars and trailed the ambulance to the hospital.

As they pulled into a parking space, James looked over at his stepfather and muttered, “I’m sorry, Dad.”

“You better start thinking how you’re going to apologize to your brother and your mother,” he stated darkly before getting out of the car. “It’s bad enough that you traumatized Hayley.  This is… this is far worse.”

“I know,” he responded in a small voice before getting out as well. “I didn’t mean…”

“I’m sure you didn’t mean to blow your brother’s leg up, but that’s precisely what you did,” he snapped, before opening the back door to let Hayley out of the car. 

“Dad…”

Saying nothing more, Cameron turned and marched towards the emergency room, his pace making it difficult for Hayley to keep up.  James’s shoulders slumped and he stared down at the black pavement for a long moment.  He did not know what to think, what to do.  Part of him wanted to turn and run as far from the hospital as possible.  But he knew he could not.  His brother needed him, his mother needed him.  He just needed to face the terrible tune of music of his making.  Lindsey stepped up beside him, slipping her hand into his discreetly.  With a slight squeeze, she encouraged him to head towards the hospital, assuring him silently that he was not alone.

By the time Cameron found Summer, she had been pushed out of the emergency room and paced along the hallway.  Meeting his eyes as she turned in one of her paces, she quickly ran towards Cameron and embraced him.  As his arms enfolded her, Summer began to cry.  Though he did not know what her crying really meant, Cameron held her tightly, assuring her that everything would be okay.

“Mom?” Jamie spoke up softly.

Summer instantly pulled away from Cameron and turned to face her eldest son.  Everyone seemed to hold their breaths, perhaps expecting that Summer would react strongly to his presence.  Instead, her eyes quickly looked him over and she blanched.  The older boy instantly reached out to steady her.

“Mom?”

“…you’re bleeding too…” she muttered softly.

Suddenly realizing what she did, Jamie winched in pain.  Before he could object, the teenager was ushered into a room as well.  Summer refused to be shut out of another room and remained steadfastly by his side.  His wounds were superficial, a few scrapes and scratches and a single piece of plastic still embedded in his shin.  Once cleaned and disinfected, all Jamie needed was two stitches and a couple of bandages.

“Mom?” his blue eyes met hers as the nurse moved away after finishing her work. “Will…?”

She sat on a stool near the bed, scooting it closer and grabbing his hand, “All I know is they had to take him up to surgery to remove whatever was sticking out of his legs.”

“Oh god,” Jamie groaned. “It’s all my fault.”

She kissed her son’s hand, “I think he’s going to be fine.”

“Summer?” Cameron touched her back. “Jamie has been discharged.  Do you want to head upstairs to wait for Will?”

She glanced over her shoulder at her husband and nodded before asking, “Where’s Hayley?”

“Cafeteria with Audrey and Lindsay,” he smiled slightly.

“Let’s go find her and then go up.”

“As you wish.”




Rolling the wheelchair down to the exit, Jamie remained stoic even though his younger brother did not seem worse for the wear.  The young boy had a number of stitches and staples in his legs, the plastic shrapnel narrowly missing veins and arteries.  They did have to dig a piece out of his tibia, but everyone expected the young boy would have a full recovery.  Will actually seemed pretty pleased with himself.

“Dad!” he grinned as Cameron opened up the car door. “Guess what?”

“What, bud?” he forced a small smile.

“I’m going to have AWESOME scars.”

He smirked, “I guess you might.”

“Oh I will,” the young boy nodded, leaning on Jamie to transfer from the wheelchair to the back of the car. “But, Dad?”

“Yes, Will.”

“The doctor said I can’t swim until my stitches come out.  Does that mean I can’t have a swim party for my birthday?”

“Your birthday is a couple of months away,” Summer pointed out. “You’ll be fine by then.”

His eyes went to his mother, “Really?”

She nodded, “Of course.”

He glanced at Jamie, noticing his Band-Aids, “You get stitches too?”

Jamie ruffled the boy’s hair some, “A couple.”

“We’ll have matching scars!?” his eyes brightened.

The older boy chuckled, “Kinda, yeah.”

“AWESOME.”

As Jamie headed around the car to get in the other side, his eyes briefly connected with Lindsay’s as she waited for Hayley to get settled in the other car.  She smiled slightly, which in turn made him smile.  She mouthed something to him, but he did not quite understand so he just got in the car without saying anything.

“Seems our boy is quite hardy,” Cameron commented before briefly kissing Summer.

“I’m just glad he’s okay.”

“Of course he is.  I’m pretty sure you would fight off the world for him,” he stated.

“I would, but only because you would be fighting beside me.”

He smiled, “That I would be.”

The parents sat down in the car a moment later, both glancing back at the boys.  Will grinned happily, not at all fazed by what could have been extremely traumatic to most.

“Hey, Mom?” he asked as Cameron backed out of the parking space.

“What, Will?”

“Did we miss all the fireworks?”

Cameron chuckled, “Not quite.  I think if we hurry home, we can get a nice seat in the movie room to watch them.”

“But I want to see them in the sky!” the young boy declared.

Cameron glanced at Summer who wore only her bikini top with a pair of borrowed scrub bottoms, “It’s up to you, Summer.”

She shrugged with a smile, “Let’s go watch the safe fireworks.  The kids shouldn’t miss out on everything fun tonight.”