Fic: Overdraft 1/1

Author: Rifka

Subject: AU B/K and the kids in my little fantasy world but I think it's something most of us can relate to. I know I can because my hubby did this yesterday.

Posted: TS & TSXF

Beta Assist: Sandra skipping out on work in Seattle Feedback: Yeah, today I could use it.

Overdraft

"Chris, there's a $200 overdraft in the checking account! What did you buy that put us in the hole?" Toby raised his voice in extreme annoyance while looking at the screen of his laptop. "'I'm going to have to take away your ATM card and put you on an allowance."

"What do you mean there's an overdraft on the account? Aren't you watching it? Aren't you paying attention to it?" Chris yelled back at Toby as he put some things away in the kitchen. "It's not my job!" he mumbled not caring if Toby heard him or not. But out loud he added, "I'll be damned if I let you put me on an allowance!"

"I pay the bills online but what's stopping you from looking at it once in a while to see if there's enough money to spend. That's what a responsible person would do!" Toby said trying to keep his voice under control."

"I just bought groceries and some stuff for the kids, what's the problem? Gee, Toby, if you want to treat me like one of the kids you're doing a good job of it. Fuck, make dinner yourself tonight, I'm going for a walk!" Chris said grabbing his light jacket and leaving the house.

Toby was waiting for him to storm back in like he usually did but this time he didn't. He heard the garage door open and before he knew it Chris took off on the motorcycle. Toby transferred $500 from their money market account to their checking account to fix the debit and just to be on the safe side, he added a little cushion.

"Daddy, when's dinner going to be ready? I'm hungry!" Holly said as she bounded into the kitchen.

"Me too, I hungwy!" Harry said. Lately he started parroting everything his sister said much to the annoyance of the adults.

"It's going to be awhile yet. I have to figure out what to make." Toby said realizing it had really been a long time since making dinner was his job.

"Uncle Chris asks us and then we get to choose, don't you know anything daddy?" Holly said with her hands on her hips and her head cocked to the side just like Chris did.

Toby stared at his daughter, 'When did she start taking on his mannerisms?'

"Yeah, Daddy, don't choo no?" Harry chimed in.

'Uncle Chris let's them choose, how nice of him!' thought Toby. "Ok, what do you guys want to eat for dinner?" Toby said forcing a smile.

"What do we get to choose from?" Holly said knowing she was on top of the situation. She was a smart little girl taking after her father.

"Yeah, chooze."

Toby picked Harry up and settled him on top of his hip. "Well let's see what Uncle Chris has hiding in here." He tried not to be sarcastic but it was hard not to be.

"There's lots of boxes of macaroni and cheese, crackers, cookies, cereal, soup and little containers of applesauce, juice and peaches. Hey how 'bout p-nut butter sandwiches with grape jelly?" Toby looked at the kids hoping they'd approve.

Harry was shaking his head no and Holly said, "That's lunch food, not dinner food! And you have to use strawberry not grape jelly. Where's Uncle Chris? He knows what to do!" Holly started whining.

'Oh, fuck! I don't even know how to feed my kids. I don't know what they eat; I'm so far out of the loop. I'm pathetic!' Toby thought while pouting.

"Ok, how 'bout pizza? You can put what ever you want on it? And we can have our choice of drinks! That sounds pretty good to me." Toby hoped they would agree to that idea.

The kids looked at each other and made faces but said ok. Toby fished around for his cell phone and called Chris first.

"Come out, come out wherever you are. Chris, please come home. I'm ordering pizza. I really am sorry I blew a gasket over something that could easily be fixed. Love you." He wanted to call himself an asshole but not in front of the kids.

He ordered the pizza 1/4 cheese, 1/4 pepperoni, 1/4 vegetables, and the last quarter anchovies and black olives the way Chris liked it.

Toby had the kids get some paper plates and napkins thinking they would want some Coke or Pepsi to go with it but they wanted juice. 'Juice? Juice with pizza?'Toby wondered what the hell Chris had done to his kids... they weren't normal kids anymore.

Well, 15 minutes later the pizza arrived and still there was no Chris. Toby put the hot slices on the kid's plates then Holly yelled at her father, "You have to blow on Harry's so it won't burn the roof of his mouth and you have to cut it up for him in little pieces."

Toby glared at this young lady, the little girl that was the apple of his eye, the toddler that had him wrapped around her finger. Now Chris had all of that, when did this happen? He wanted it back, well at least some of it. The temper tantrums and loud screeches he'd leave for Chris.

Toby was always involved in 'busy work' after dinner; he hadn't paid much attention to what happened following their meals. He heard the normal noises in the background but always tuned it out. Now he really knew the secret; it was the way Chris played with the kids, having them help clean up, making games out of all the tedious chores that had to be done. The kids had already grown so much, how and when did that happen? Where had he been? When you came right down to it family was the most important thing there was, he knew it but somehow forgot.

Chris hadn't called him back. He knew if something was wrong some cop would come knocking on the door. Toby realized Chris was staying away on purpose to teach him a lesson. And he probably had it coming. Chris was smart like that. Sometimes Chris needed to slap the shit out of Beecher to wake him up but only in a literal sense, neither one would strike out against the other.

After dinner Toby filled the tub for the kids to take a bath. He asked Holly if both of them got in together. She said, "It 'pends on how busy Uncle Chris is. If he has lots of time we go by ourselves and that way we get to play more. But you do whatever you want, Daddy."

"Well, tonight we'll do both of you together and you tell me what games you play so I'll know for the next time, ok sweetie?"

"We play with a lot of baby toys so Harry can have fun too. Uncle Chris makes all these different voices with the puppets so it makes us laugh. But you don't know how to do that, do you?"

"Well, I can try. I used to do make believe voices with you when you were very little, like lion noises."

"You did?" Holly gazed at Toby with a look of surprise.

"I sure did!"

Toby finally got the kids into bed, and then turning the TV on in the master bedroom he flopped down on the bed. He was exhausted. Little did he know that Chris was outside watching and waiting for the lights in the kid's bedroom to go off and the light in their room to turn on. Earlier he stopped for a sandwich and a cup of coffee so he wasn't hungry. He also got Toby's phone call choosing to ignore it because he was going to teach him a lesson, 'No one fucks with Chris Keller and gets away with it!' He was getting cold waiting outside but wanted to give Toby a full half hour by himself so he could think... think how he took Chris for granted most of the time, not realizing how hard Chris worked with the kids and they were good kids all because of him.

After a while he figured Toby probably spent enough time thinking and the idea probably bounced around in that thick skull of his enough times, so he put his bike back in the garage, walking in and up the stairs. The bedroom door was open so he walked in and Toby said, "I'm so sorry, Chris. I take you for granted and I didn't... I mean I forgot how much work the kids are. I'll never do that to you again, I'll swear, make a vow, you tell me what to do. I learned my lesson."

"I hope so Toby but I was wrong to walk out like that. There are times I guess I should be more responsible and not think of you just as the breadwinner but the man I love. Besides I don't really need your money anyway. I can charge everything on Chester's credit card."

"The cat has a credit card?" Toby gave a "you-don't-really-expect-me-to-believe-that-bullshit do you' grin.

"Yeah, he's got a Visa and Dog has a MasterCard." Chris said it like the proverbial cat that ate the canary.

"What are you talking about?"

"You know the magazines we get? I put Harry & Holly's name on the subscriptions. Oh, the dog and cat too. They've all got credit cards in their names." Chris grinned while swaggering into the room.

"They don't have jobs, how did they get them? The animals don't even have social security numbers!"

"I lied on their applications." Chris grinned as he pulled Toby into a bear hug. "Yeah, the cat's job is pest control, the dog is in professional sports, Holly's a teacher and Harry's a youth counselor."

Toby couldn't help but wonder how he would explain the bogus charges when the "cat and dog" purchased something, but he decided to deal with it when and if the time came. He was almost glad Chris bounced that check; it was worth $200 to find out he needed to be more 'hands on' with his children.

As for Chris, Toby was going to be more 'hands on' with him as soon as they got in the shower... together.

The End