Title: Maybe
Characters: Summer Dylan, Jamie Page, Hayley Plant, Robert Plant, Cameron Crowe, James Crowe, Alice Marie Crowe
Rating: PG-13 (some innuendo)
Word Count: 1961
Summary: It's Christmastime, the first for Summer and Cameron, officially.  Yet Robert is a dutiful dad and actually around for the holiday -- hosted by Cameron's parents...



December 24, 1987
San Diego, CA

She really only expected the holidays to be one thing: awkward.  It had only been four months since she packed up her children and left Robert.  It had been a mutual decision and he vowed to spend every holiday with their infant daughter.  Summer really never expected that to come to fruition.

Yet there they were, in adjacent hotel suites in San Diego, getting ready to meet up with Cameron’s family for Christmas Eve dinner.  Robert was currently with Jamie, doing whatever ever it was boys did.  Nine-month-old Hayley slept in her portable crib while Summer attempted to get her blond locks to curl in an agreeable manner.  Yet even faced with the reality of what was occurring, she just could not wrap her mind around the fact her ex-boyfriend was going to be spending Christmas with her, her family, her current boyfriend, and his family.  It just did not seem… real.

Cursing as she slightly burnt her finger with the curling iron, Summer set it down and decided her hair was good enough.  She quickly ran lip gloss over her lips before unplugging her curling iron and leaving the bathroom.  After quickly pulling on a shimmering white dress, she headed over to her daughter.

“Why hello there, beautiful little girl,” she smiled down at the baby.

Grinning, the blonde-haired little girl wiggled and reached for her mother.  Lifting her out of the portable crib, Summer kissed the precocious girl before heading to change her diaper.  Once the little girl was bathed and diapered, Summer dressed her in one of her holiday dresses, covered her with kisses, and balanced her on her hip.  As she reached for the door handle, the door opened.

“Merry Christmas, beautiful,” Cameron chirped and kissed her quickly. “And you too, little one.”

The infant cooed and smiled at him.

“All ready to go?”

“We are.  I’m not sure about Jamie and Robert,” she responded, looking at the closed door across the hallway.

“Hopefully they are,” he led her out of the room and knocked on Robert’s door.

The door quickly opened, “ ‘Ello, Cameron!”

“Hello, Robert,” he spoke cautiously. “Are you and Jamie ready to head to my parents’ house?”

The blonde singer nodded, “We are.  Jamie?”

The young dark-haired boy peeked around Robert, “Is there gonna be pie, Cameron?”

“Jamie!” Summer quickly admonished.

Cameron chuckled, “It’s okay.  Yes, Jamie, there will be pie.”

“Yes!” he grinned. “And cookies?”

“Come on, buddy,” he motioned for him. “Let’s go find out.”



Sitting on the sofa, discreetly nursing Hayley, Summer smiled at Cameron as he sat next to her, slipping his arm around her shoulders.  Jamie tugged on Robert’s hand, bringing his attention back to the boy so they could play with the electric train set up around the Christmas tree.  With a chuckle, the singer stretched out on his side near the tree, waiting for the boy to start up the train again.

“You sure about him playing with that?” Summer asked softly.

“It’s fine,” Cameron responded. “That’s what it’s for.”

“He could break it…”

“And knowing him, he would put it back together again,” he commented.

“True…”

“Don’t worry, Summer,” he kissed her temple. “It’ll be fine.”

“Okay… you’re right.”

“What did Jimmy send him?”

She shook her head, “Toys that are at least two years too young for his age, four years too young for his intelligence.”

Cameron sighed, “Really?”

“Yeahhhh…”

“What are you going to tell him?”

“Same thing I do every year: we donated Jimmy’s gifts to the children who needed them.”

“That’s so… sad.”

Summer nodded, “It is.  But at least Robert is good with him.  And he adores you.”

“He’s an amazing kid,” Cameron nodded.

Once Hayley finished nursing, Summer shifted her over into Cameron’s arms while she readjusted her dress.  Robert noticed the baby was no longer hidden under the light blanket and excused himself from Jamie.  Without pause, he lifted the little girl out of Cameron’s arms and carried her into the bathroom to change her diaper.  Upon returning to the living room, he sat with her in the rocking chair, softly willing her to sleep.

“Maybe we should head back to the hotel,” Summer suggested, watching Robert and the baby.

Cameron glanced over at Jamie, catching the little boy yawing, “I think so too.”

Summer stood, “Hey, Jamie, I think it’s time to head to bed so Santa can come.”

The eight-year-old got to his feet, “But, Mommy, how can Santa come to the hotel?  We don’t have a fireplace.”

“Well,” Cameron’s father, James, spoke up, “luckily I wrote to Santa to let him know that we hung stockings here for you.”

“Really?” his eyes brightened.

The older man nodded and motioned to the fireplace, “Take a look for yourself, Jamie.”

The young boy headed over to the fireplace and inspected the stockings.  He counted each one and turned them, noticing initials on them.  Grinning he turned back to Cameron’s father.

“You did!  There’s even one for Mom, Hayley, and Robert!”

“We didn’t want anyone to be left out,” he smiled. 

Jamie hurried over to him and embraced him, “Thanks, grandpa!”

Both Summer and Cameron froze at Jamie’s utterance.  James merely hugged Jamie, happily patting the boy’s back.  No one thought it wise to interject and correct him.  Summer and Cameron had not been together officially for long, but if the boy was ready to call Cameron’s parents his grandparents, they saw no harm in it.

“Well,” Cameron put his arm around Jamie’s shoulders, “sounds like we better get back to the hotel and in bed then, huh, bud?”

“Uh huh!” he nodded. “I’ll get our coats!”

As they returned to the hotel, Robert pulled Summer aside before they entered the elevator, “Summer, why don’t I take the kids for tonight?”

She blinked, “Excuse me?”

“Well Jamie is already staying with me,” he pointed out. “Let me have Hayley for the night too.  Give you and Cameron some alone time.”

“That isn’t really necessary, Robert.  We—”

“She’ll be just across the hallway, Summer.  And if she needs anything I can’t provide,” he glanced down at her breasts, “I’ll be sure to come and get you.”

“Well…”

“You can have Christmas night.  Just give me Christmas Eve.”

Summer nodded, “Okay.”

Once the children were settled across the hallway an hour later in Robert’s room, Summer struggled to not pace in worry.  Cameron slipped up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist.  He kissed her ear gently and squeezed her.

“They’re going to be fine with him.  Robert’s a good father.”

“I know… I know.  I just… I haven’t really spent a night without them since Hayley was born.  And Jamie hasn’t really spent much time away from me either…” she murmured.

Cameron turned her around to face him, kissing her lips gently, “They’re just across the hallway.  Robert promised to come and get you if you’re needed.  Relax, sweetheart.”

Summer nodded.

“Let’s do something we never get to do with the kids around.”

Her eyes held his, a bit surprised he would be so blunt with sex talk.

“Let’s take a nice long bath together before going to bed.”

She quickly smiled, “Really?”

He kissed her again, “I’ll go start the water.”

Watching him walk away, Summer continued to smile.  That man… how could she have wasted years as just his friend?  Everything about him was just… perfect.  Certainly, she would not give up anything for her daughter, but she knew every other minute between that one right then and when they were pretending to be a couple in high school had been wasted.  She was never wasting another single moment with him again.

Hurrying to the bathroom, Summer stopped in the doorway, “I love you.”

Turning around, Cameron grinned at her, “I love you too, Summer.”

“No, I really, really love you,” she repeated as she approached him.

His arms settled around her waist again, “I really love you too.”

Pressing up on her toes, her lips touched his.  They kissed for a few brief moments before Cameron pulled away to turn off the bath water.  With a smile, he helped her out of her dress and into the water, before following her in as well.  They shifted around until she was straddling him, her lips upon his.

“Do you think this is what Robert had in mind when he volunteered for the night?” Summer asked, shifting on top of Cameron.

“I’m not really thinking about him at all, to be honest.”

“Oh really?”

“Really,” he kissed her deeply. “I think you can tell what I’m thinking about right now.”

“Mmmmm, and I agree.  You should definitely wash my hair for me.”

Cameron chuckled before kissing her again, “In the morning, I will.  But not tonight.  Tonight is ours.”

“Yes… yes, it is.  All ours.”



“Mommy!  Mommy!  Look!” Jamie hurried over to Summer. “Grandpa was right!  Santa did come here for me.”

“And your sister,” she smiled, glancing over at James and winking.

Cameron’s father nodded knowingly before handing a filled stocking to his son, “Santa came for everyone here.  Glad he got my note in time.”

Jamie returned to the older man and hugged him, “Thanks, Grandpa.  You’re the best.”

Cameron sat back down next to Summer, holding out a stocking, “This one is for you, Summer.”

Smiling, she leaned over and kissed his cheek, “Thank you, darling.”

“Oh I’m not Santa,” he quickly retorted.

“Oh I know.  I know precisely where you were last night,” she muttered softly.

A soft flush filled his cheeks, “Um, yes, of course.”

“Yes!” Jamie exclaimed as he unwrapped a Santa gift, drawing his mother’s attention back to him. “This is exactly what I asked Santa for!”

“Wow,” Summer commented. “Santa must have thought you were really good to get you a Nintendo.”

He grinned at her before opening another present, “And games!  Can I write Santa a thank you card?”

Her blue eyes glanced at Cameron’s father again, “Yes, of course you can, Jamie.  I’m sure he’d love that.”

The expanded family finished with Santa’s gifts before convening in the dining room for brunch.  Summer made a point to step aside with James, discreetly.  She hugged the older man and whispered her thanks for the wonderful morning they already experienced.

“Of course, Summer,” he responded with a smile. “You have always been like family to us.  I wanted this Christmas to be special for everyone.”

“You didn’t have to go out of your way, James,” she spoke softly.

“I know,” James nodded. “Cameron had a lot to do with this too, you know?”

She glanced over at her boyfriend, her eyes sparkling, “I do.”

“My son loves you more than I think even he realizes.  He’d move the world for you if you asked.”

“I never would.”

“We all know that, but he would all the same.”

“He’s a good man, a very good man,” her eyes returned to him. “He certainly gets that from you.”

“Thank you, Summer.”

“I only hope my son grows up to be such.”

“He will be.  He’s a remarkable young boy already,” he commented.

“That is certainly due to your son.  He’s been so great with Jamie and Hayley.”

“He loves your children.”

“I—”

“Okay, you two, break it up,” Alice Marie interjected. “You can have your serious conversations some other time. Christmas morning is not time for it!”

Summer chuckled, “Yes, Mother.  Merry Christmas.”

Joining the family at the table, including Robert, Summer actually felt like she was home, completely home.  All that was missing was her side of the family, but they had celebrated Chanukah with them before leaving LA.  Maybe next year… she could host everyone at her — and Cameron’s — home.  Maybe.