Love for You

Summer passed and the new NHL season started. James trained all summer long while balancing quality time with his family. There was a lot of improvement with Jo's health and she was starting to feel more and more like herself each day. She had an extra bounce to her step and her smiles were constant. James saw the old her especially when they witnessed Jackson taking his first steps on one lazy Sunday afternoon just a few weeks before the preseason started.

James and Jo felt very fortunate that they were able to settle down in a home in Nashville because of James' contract with the Predators. Even when he was away on long road trips, he didn't feel so far away from his family because he knew that he would be coming home to his wife and son. Jo had heard from some of the wives about their struggles of having to move from city to city and not really having anything permanent in their lives. Jo was forever thankful that prior to her marriage, James had already been traded to Nashville which meant that she only had to make one move when she left California. She couldn't imagine what her life would be like if her life was not as stable as it was. Their life in Nashville truly helped her with the process of getting better and really being able to live her life the way she wanted to.

When the holidays came around, James, Jo, and Jackson flew to Los Angeles to Jo's parents' home to celebrate Christmas Eve with them before heading over to Whitby to spend the rest of the holiday break with James' family. The whole trip across the country, James had been on the edge, his leg bobbing up and down, irritating Jo who was feeding their baby. He was nervous about going back to California and face her family aside from Leanne who had supported their relationship from day one.

When Jo told him that Rich would be at the dinner, James tensed up and kept his mouth shut from saying something that Jo probably wouldn't like to hear. He wasn't comfortable spending a second with him in the room especially when now that he was bringing Jackson with them. James swore that if he ever said something remotely bad about his son, he wouldn't give a damn about what anybody thought and wouldn't hesitate to wrap his hands around his neck.

When Jackson finally fell asleep on Jo's lap, Jo seized James' knee by placing a firm hand on it and gave him a look that said, I swear if you don't stop shaking your leg, I will punch you in the face.

"Rich will be there with his girlfriend so don't worry about it, OK? He won't even know you're there." Jo told him.

He shook his head, "It's not me I'm worried about. It's Jackson. What if he says something about him? You know I wouldn't be able to hold myself back if he even says one bad thing to him."

"Trust me, I'd be the first one to break his nose if he says something bad about my baby," Jo snuggled Jackson closer to her and kissed the top of his head. "But the last thing I heard about him was that he's a changed man. I believe my dad on that one. Maybe this whole girlfriend thing really worked out for him."

"I don't know Jo...I just have this gut feeling that something is not--"

"Stop. Don't even think about it. Nothing bad is going to happen." Jo said but she only prayed that she was right.

-

Awkward could not even describe how it felt to be sitting around Jo's family. Everyone was already seated at the table, not saying a word, and kind of just staring at one another. Every time James looked over to Anna, she would just smile. If he turned to look at Leanne, she would be looking at Daniel. Jo was upstairs putting Jackson to sleep since he had been fussy since they landed. It was almost 8:30 at night and Rich still hadn't arrived.

The ticking of the grandfather clock all the way in their living room filled up the whole and James' leg started to bounce in anticipation of who was going to crack and say something. A minute passed when someone rang the doorbell. Everyone, including James, immediately shot up from their seats and rushed to the front door.

"Richard!!!" Anna welcomed her son with open arms. John ushered him in with a big pat on the back. Everyone was chatting away, asking Rich how his trip was and everything. Jo heard the commotion downstairs and figured that her baby brother was finally home. She walked downstairs and immediately locked eyes with the person standing all the way by the front door.

"Uh hi?" She waved, causing everyone to stop talking to look at her. She looked at everyone and then back at the person standing by the door.

James was the first to turn around and raised an eyebrow which sparked the curiosity to others to turn around as well. There stood another guy who looked to be about the same age as Rich, holding a bouquet of flowers and a duffle bag in his other hand.

"Hi," he said shyly.

Anna weaved her way through the tiny crowed by the stairs and walked up to him.

"Hi..." She greeted hesitantly. "You are?"

Rich walked towards the door and spoke up, "Everyone, this is Mark."

Everyone continued to look at him like the stranger that he was.

"I'm his boyfriend." Mark finished and then a thud followed.

-

"Did you know about this?" Leanne asked her sister. "It's clear that mom didn't know about this."

Jo looked over to the couch where their mother was laying down with a cool wash cloth over her forehead. Rich was knelt right beside her, explaining what the hell was going on. Mark, on the other hand, was in the kitchen having a chat with John about God knows what.

"I had no idea," Jo said. "I never even got that vibe from him. Never in my whole life."

"Well you guys were never close enough to get that vibe," Leanne pointed out. "I kinda got this feeling that he was but I just pushed that thought aside because I was thinking that maybe that's just my imagination doing all the talking."

"We did used to play with my Barbie dolls when we were younger..." Jo recalled. "But I figured it was just the lack of action figures or something around the house."

"Well I'm happy for him. He seems happier and more like the old Rich. He doesn't have to hide anymore." Leanne said to which Jo nodded in agreement.

James, who was upstairs watching of Jackson with Daniel, couldn't believe the bomb that was dropped not even a half hour ago.

"Maybe that's why he was so damn hostile before," Daniel theorized. "He was just having a hard time trying to express his feelings because he couldn't be who he truly was."

"So that means that this girlfriend that Jo was talking about the whole time turns out to be a--"

"Boyfriend." Daniel finished.

James blew out the air he had been holding in. "Wow. All this time..."

"I know."

James and Daniel decided that it was safe to go back downstairs after an hour of the Perry family to talk about a long awaited discussion. By the time they got to their last step, all their heard was laughter coming from the dining room. Daniel shook his head and looked at his in-laws who were already digging in to their ham and mashed potatoes.

Rich stood up when he saw James and walked over to him to shake his hand. James still felt hesitant to reach out but did it anyway as he figured that Rich was only trying to make amends for the way he had treated him and Jo in the last couple of years.

As they sat back down, Rich explained to James and Daniel what they had missed out on. He told his story of coming to terms with his sexuality and breaking free from the fear he had with coming out to his friends back at the university. He said that meeting Mark was what gave him the courage to finally be his true self and how Mark continued to support him on his new journey. He later went on to apologize again to James for the mistreatment and expressed how he had always been jealous of Jo for all the things she could do that he wasn't able to do. Jo choked up when Rich talked about how proud he was of all her accomplishments and admitted that he kept up with her work ever since.

Anna also cried because she was so happy to see all of her children finally getting along. To her, it felt like having them all together under one roof was the true Christmas miracle.