David Helms :: "As Dangerous As They Come"

Los Angeles, California
24th May, 2020

The more he thought about the argument between his wife Regan and his daughter Jenni, the more David knew that he was going to have to say something about it to the younger member of the Helms dynasty to step between the ropes; he had calmed down considerably from how he had first taken the news when Regan told him about it, in fact he was in a much better place entirely in comparison to that night, but that didn’t mean he had forgotten all about the issue either. It wasn’t something that David felt he could leave unspoken, or an issue that he could leave to Regan to deal with, because he knew his wife better than anybody on the face of the planet and he was all too aware of the fact that she would do anything to keep her family together… upto and including making promises to sacrifice her own happiness in order to keep the peace. And while David loved her for her dedication among many other things that he loved about her, he wasn’t going to let her roll over and agree to Jenni’s request because as far as he was concerned, his daughter should know better than that. The worst part about it for David was that to him, it felt like a slap in the face for everything that Regan and he had done for Jennifer; fair enough, Regan was the one who had invested more time in Jen’s development and he wasn’t blind to the fact that it was the two of them who had the stronger bond where her two parents were concerned, but that didn’t mind that David had taken no part in her development as a wrestler and he had thought Jenni was better than what she appeared to be when she asked that of Regan. He wasn’t going to be angry, that wasn’t the best way to approach things… it needed tact, a softer approach. One that Jenni could understand without it feeling like she was being attacked or that she had to go on the defensive again, which was a distinct possibility if he went in all guns blazing, telling her how disrespectful her attitude had been or that she was simply out of line for asking her mom to step back from her dreams for the sake of her boyfriend.

It wasn’t as if David thought that Owen was a bad kid either, because he didn’t. If anything, Owen was a great kid, and the recent troubles he’d been having with Aaron were another source of annoyance, because he wanted to bang their fucking heads together and tell them to act their age, but while David had tried to talk to Aaron, it ultimately had to be his choice, much like the issue he planned to talk to Jenni about had to be hers too. That was all part of the softly-softly approach he planned, where Jenni was concerned; it may not work, but he wanted to try and show Jenni that she was wrong without it coming across as a lecture, without it sounding like he was lecturing her or making her feel bad. He understood all too well how difficult she had it trying to make her own way in the business, not just because of how tough it was in general but because of the connections she had to both him and Regan. Add in her young age - what teenager wasn’t hot headed after all? - and the fact that she was deeply in love with Owen and yeah, talk about a crazy ride of emotions. And he did understand her position too, even if he disagreed with it; it wasn’t that it was a simple case of him believing he was right and she was wrong, it was about getting her to appreciate all sides of the argument and not just her own. But that was the benefit of age, wasn’t it? Because in theory, with age comes wisdom, and David liked to think he was able to see all sides of an argument… but whether he could get Jenni to do that was another matter.

Regan hadn’t exactly been thrilled that he was still insisting on talking to Jenni when they finally spoke about it again. In fact, she hadn’t quite begged him not to do so and let her clear things up, but this had been one of those rare occurrences where the elder of the Helms family felt like he had to put his foot down and insist. That was probably why Regan had ultimately conceded and told him to do what he felt necessary, because it wasn’t often that David did assert himself in that way. He wasn’t the fragile type that had to assert his dominance or insist that he wore the pants, neither was he cowed and weak and did exactly as he was told. Any good marriage needed balance, and that was what David liked to think that he and Regan had with theirs, decisions made together, even if tempers may occasionally flare. But this time, David felt as if he had to insist, because no matter how he tried to rationalise what Jennifer had said, what she had asked for, he couldn’t convince himself that it was okay for her to do that. He made certain promises to Regan though, that he wouldn’t let anger cloud his judgement and that he wouldn’t make her feel like shit for thinking with her heart rather than her head. After all, hadn’t they done the same when they first got together? Dave and Regan were both seeing other people when they began to fall in love, and while things had ultimately worked out for the best for all concerned, and David had actually become great friends with the guy that Regan was dating at the time - Lucas Knight of all people - they had still made questionable judgement calls and hurt people when they began to fall in love. They weren’t innocent and they definitely made a few mistakes over the course of their lives and their careers. David knew all too well about making mistakes in his career, he couldn’t deny that one. It would be all too easy to cut David in his tracks when getting preachy by throwing the name Pinnacle at him and he knew that. Even if he justified himself by claiming he had more than made up for that whole shitshow in the years that followed. A million good deeds don’t erase a bad one, they just make it easier to forgive it.

And so, with promises made to Regan and assurances given that he wouldn’t go too far when he spoke to her, David climbed into his Audi and pulled out of the gates of their home, to take the short drive to the studio apartment that Jenni called home. He knew that there was a chance she wouldn’t be in, yet he hadn’t called ahead to check regardless; somehow, he just had a feeling that if he did, Jenni would claim to be busy anyway; David couldn’t shake feeling like Jennifer would know all too well that he would be disappointed in her for the attitude she took and while he did plan to keep his promise to Regan that he wouldn’t make her feel bad, he wasn’t going to let her off the hook completely, so if he had to wait outside the apartment all day until she returned then so be it. Fortunately he didn’t have to do so. “Dave!” Owen Cruze said as he answered David’s knock on the door of her apartment, bare chested and only his boxer shorts covering the lower half of his body. Owen seemed to realise this just a little too late for comfort as he half-stepped behind the door to cover himself up. “I… hey bro… um… what brings you here?” Owen asked, trying to play it off that everything was cool, and inwardly for David at least, it was. He wasn’t an idiot, he knew how teenagers were and he also knew what boys were like… he wasn’t going to get angry with Owen over the fact that he was probably sleeping with David’s daughter… but that didn’t mean he couldn’t have a little fun with it and the image he projected on the outside was far removed from the smirk that he wore in his own mind. Owen’s eyes were wide in horror as David arched one eyebrow and looked back at him with a deep look of disappointment and potential parental rage. He nearly laughed twice at the expressions that danced across Owen’s face. “One second...” Owen finally said after several seconds of awkward silence where David refused to speak, and he disappeared inside again, closing the door in David’s face and Dave could hear scuffling around inside for a moment or two before Owen finally opened the door again, this time wearing baggy basketball shorts that fell to his knees and an AnteUp t-shirt. A nice touch, David though, though a little ass-kissy. “Hey Dave, how you doing bro?” Owen finally asked, trying to play it off as nothing had happened, the door opened much wider now as he did his best to appear welcoming and not at all concerned over what had just occurred.

“Well, I was doing good until a few seconds ago, kid…” David said, and as he did, one of the highly charged summer thunderstorms rolling across the San Fernando valley would have come a poor second to the thunderous look across his face, which seemed to draw the colour from Owen’s face… but he couldn’t keep it up and he quickly started to crack, a soft chuckle escaping his through before he shook his head. “Jesus Owen, you should see your fucking face, kid…” he said, still chuckling to himself as realisation dawned on Owen that he was the butt of Dave’s joke and a nervous smile finally crept across his face.

“You had me Dave, I’ll admit it,” he said as he held his hand out and Dave slapped his own into it before they did a fist bump. “I thought you were about ready to whoop my ass just then, I’m not gonna lie.”

“The AnteUp t-shirt was a nice touch, trying to butter me up,” Dave told him, nodding down at Owen’s shirt and Owen looked down at himself before shooting the older man a cheesy grin. “So I’m guessing she’s home, given you’re here?”

“Oh, yeah, yeah she’s just finishing up her breakfast,” Owen said, taking a step backward to let David into the apartment.

It was kind of pokey, David had to admit, but it was in a decent part of the city and he had to admit that he was proud of his daughter for refusing his and Regan’s offer to help pay for something bigger because she wanted to use her own money. She was trying to stand on her own two feet instead of relying on that Helms cash and there was definitely a lot to be respected about that. “Dad?” Jenni asked as she spotted him walking into the apartment and she stood up from the stool she was sitting on at the breakfast bar, eating a bowl of cereal. “What are you doing here?” she said as she walked over to him and gave him a hug. “Is everything alright? Is it mom? Or Jay?” she asked as she pulled away from her father again and looked into his eyes, looking for some sort of sign as to the reason why he had turned up unannounced at her apartment. David tried to give her a reassuring smile as he held his hands up in an effort to calm her down.

“Everything’s fine kiddo,” He told her as he lowered his arms again, slipping his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “Why would you jump to the conclusion it wasn’t?”

“I dunno, I just…” she said before shrugging. “I just don’t see you here all that often and kind of assumed the worst I guess? I’m glad everything’s okay though, and it’s good to see you!” she added, as if she felt she had to say something nice after basically criticising him for not coming to visit often enough and she shot him a sweet smile that hopefully covered for the shade.

“Yeah will, I try to give you guys space unless you need me kiddo, you know that,” David told his daughter, though he did feel a pang of guilt for not visiting as often as he maybe should. That said, he saw Jenni at AnteUp regularly, and it wasn’t as if he was turning down invitations to do so either. “I don’t want you or Aaron to feel like I smother you, especially him given he’s still living in the guest house…”

Jenni grinned at the subtle dig at her brother, who still lived on the same property as David and Regan, albeit the separate guest house that was a few yards away from the main house. David didn’t begrudge him that and it wasn’t as if he was a layout; Aaron had taken on a job with AnteUp following his injury that took him away from the ring and he also had some big news in the pipeline from what he understood so who knows what the future was going to hold for him… but David did wonder if he was letting the kid be too comfortable by not encouraging him to spread his wings and find his own place. “Well, I appreciate it,” Jenni told him, smiling. “But that doesn’t mean I’d mind if you came to visit every so often, dad.”

David nodded his head. “And if I was perhaps invited over maybe I’d feel like I wasn’t invading your privacy, kiddo?” he said, ignoring the idea of subtlety. “It’s a two way street, sweetheart…”

“He kind of has you there, Jen…” Owen said, standing behind Dave and Jenni turned to scowl at him, before smirking.

“Suck up,” she said, grinning. “You’re just trying to stay in his good books because you answered the door in your underwear and now you’re worried he’s gonna be pissed off…” she added, pulling her tongue out at her boyfriend who couldn’t help but grin back at her.

“Dave already told me not to worry about it, right bro?” Owen asked, patting Dave on the shoulder. Dave winked at his daughter discreetly before turning to look at Owen.

His face was blank, and he remained deadpan as he responded. “And I can change my mind at any time, kid.” Dave stated, radiating a level of seriousness that caused Owen to take a step away from him. Dave continued the protective father routine until Jenni started laughing and Owen looked at her in surprise before looking back at Dave, who by this time was smirking, himself.

“Oh god dammit, again?” He said, nervously rubbing at the back of his neck before laughing sheepishly.

Dave threw an arm around Owen's shoulder and gave him a squeeze as he patted him in the chest with his other hand. “Never gonna get old kid, sorry.” he told Owen, struggling to hold back a chuckle as he let go of his daughter's boyfriend. “Alright Owen, do me a favour and give me a minute with my daughter, would you?” David asked, once he’d calmed down.

Owen looked at Dave then towards Jenni before back at David again. “Um, sure… no problem, I’ll just got… away I guess?” He finished lamely before shooting Jennifer a weak smile as he turned to head off and give them some space.

He went to the door of the apartment and stepped outside, leaving father and daughter alone. Jennifer watched as the door swung shut behind him, a mixture of puzzlement and worry on her face as she turned back to look at Dave, who nodded his head to the stool beside her. “You mind?” he asked, but Jenni instead stood up and left her breakfast where it was to walk over to the couch and David followed her to join her on it.

“Is everything okay, dad?” Jenni asked; it was obvious that she was worried about how the visit had taken a serious turn and David joined her at the couch, sitting sideways on it so that he could look his daughter in the eyes as he admitted why he had wanted to speak with her.

“Your mom and I had a conversation Wednesday,” he told his eighteen year old daughter, wondering if she would be able to guess at what that conversation was about. But this wasn’t about trying to convince Jenni to admit anything, so he wasn’t going to beat about the bush. “She told me about the request you made regarding Owen and the tag titles, that you’d like her to drop her dreams while Owen is holding the belts with Blake…” he explained and Jenni’s face fell as she realised what this was about. She had regretted the argument with Regan since it happened, she had tried to get Regan to stop when she walked out, and David could see the signs of regret in her face as he spoke, but he had a feeling that same regret was for the argument, not for making the request in the first place. “You can probably guess how I feel about that…”

Jenni nodded, and David could see the signs already that she was going on the defensive, or was expecting to need to do so at least. “Let me guess; you’re not happy about it?” Jenni asked and David nodded. “Then maybe she should--”

David held a hand up to both try and calm the situation and also cut her off before she could get going. He didn’t want tempers raising the minute the discussion began, because that wouldn’t be productive. “Kiddo, I didn’t come here for an argument, okay?” he explained as she did as he clearly wanted her to do by cutting herself off. “Regan didn’t really mean to tell me about it, it slipped out and she’s done nothing but beg me not to come here and talk to you about it since… but this was one of those things that I wasn’t prepared to stay quiet on Jenni, because I don’t think you’re looking at the big picture here and I wanted to have a chance to talk to you myself.”

“What big picture dad?!” she asked passionately before realising that her voice was much louder than it needed to be and she took a moment to take a deep calming breath, letting it out slowly before speaking again at a far more normal volume. “I understand mom has these goals or dreams that she wants to accomplish and that one of them is to become a Supreme Champion and I completely support her in that, she deserves it, maybe more than most do… but to continue doing so now that Owen holds the one belt that she needs is taking things too far in my opinion and I asked her to hold off until a time when it doesn’t mean she has to fight the guy I love. Why is that so wrong?” she asked her father and he smiled back at her reassuringly, hoping she would understand that he encouraged her to speak freely even if she thought he wouldn’t agree with her.

“Sweetheart, your mom has made no secret of this for months now. She’s spent the entirety of this year trying to chase down that dream,” David told her, keeping his own voice nice and calm, to avoid making this into an argument. “And she was talking about it long before the turn of the year too, you know that. Owen’s focus was on the world title when Regan made it more than clear what she wanted to do, and it was by chance that he and Blake were drawn to challenge Tommy and Kandis,” he continued, biting his tongue where Tommy was concerned, because there was a time and a place for that. “I understand you don’t want to see them fight… and I know that Owen and Regan have had their issues in the past, but that’s where those issues belong; in the past.”

“That doesn’t change the fact that I don’t want to see it though!” she said, shaking her head. He understood it to an extent, sure. But he also wished that she could see the bigger picture. “How would you feel if it was you?”

“Sweetheart, I’ve seen your mom and uncle Jason fight,” David replied, knowing it probably wasn’t the same thing in Jennifer’s eyes, but it should be. “I know that it can be hard to watch, but I’ve watched Regan fight people I care about. Hell, your mom and I have fought each other several times, you know that? It was only in week one of Fatal Fortunes that I faced Jason inside of a cage… but here’s the thing sweetheart, you’re acting like professional wrestling is about kicking ass and taking names, that it’s the fighting that’s important. And after nearly twenty two years in the business, I can tell you Jenni, for the most part? It isn’t.” he told his daughter, shaking his head for emphasis. He could tell from the look on her face that she wanted to argue, that this went against everything she believed in this instance, but as much as he knew his daughter had a bright future in the business, he also knew that she was still relatively green and did have a lot to learn. Things that he had spent two decades and many fights to pick up. “Are the wins important? Yeah, of course. And do you have to fight for them? Sure. But if you walk into that ring only caring about the win, then you’re going to fuck up. You either do something that you’ll come to regret, or you try and push the envelope and it costs you. This business was founded on the spirit of competition… and that’s what your mom understands now. Once upon a time, maybe she spent too much effort concentrating only on the result, and she still beats herself up when things don’t go her way… but she knows that it isn’t life or death.”

“And that means I should be happy that mom wants to take that title away from my boyfriend?” Jenni asked, and to her credit, she was remaining calm; it was a discussion, not an argument. That was what David had wanted; he knew that things could quickly go the other way, but he hoped that Jenni would be able to discuss things like adults instead of proving that her youth would dictate the ferocity of the conversation. “Because I’m not okay with that dad, I don’t want her to go after my boyfriend in the ring out of jealousy for what he has and she doesn’t,” she added, before grimacing slightly, having heard in her own head what she had said out loud. “I didn’t mean that…” she said, her voice barely a whisper as the guilt kicked in.

“You did,” David told her, but kindly where Jenni had expected him to be angry. Maybe a few days ago he would have been, but having thought about it, he knew where she was coming from now and he saw it as his job to show her the other side of the discussion. “And it’s fine that you did. You’re allowed to have your opinions about things, Jennifer… in fact, as the daughter of Regan Helms, I’d be amazed if you weren’t outspoken. But the freedom to express those opinions comes with a few responsibilities and one of them is to listen to the arguments when people don’t agree. And obviously I don’t.”

“Then explain to me why,” Jenni told her father, and the innocent expression on her face told David all he needed to know about whether she actually wanted to hear the counterarguments or whether she was just humouring him. “I wish I understood it, because right now all I see is the fact that mom wants to kick my boyfriend's ass and take his title.”

David gave her another reassuring smile. The crazy thing was that he knew full well that it may be a moot point after Wednesday anyway, if Tommy and Kandis regained their titles, but he didn’t want this hanging in the air over any of them either, so he wanted Jenni to understand why he thought she was wrong and hopefully give her the chance to see that she was asking a lot more from her mom than she realised. “Okay, I will... but I want you to actually give me the opportunity to do so, okay?” he asked and Jenni simply nodded her head. “I admit, your mom basically does want to take the title from Owen. But it isn’t specifically Owen, it would be the same regardless of who held it. She was at war with Tommy and Kandis until Fatal Fortunes happened, throwing a spanner in the works… and now it’s Owen and Blake that have them instead and of course, your mom realised that may be a problem. But one thing I definitely know about Owen from my part in his training, something I know to be true of you too, is that he understands that to be a proud champion, you face those who want what you have. Why else would you have demanded to face Willow and Vee when Yuyo got hurt? You want to prove yourself, as should every champion. Even someone like Bree knows that much is true. Following so far?”

“I guess?” Jenni said with a little hesitancy; it wasn’t that she wasn’t following what he was saying as such, because what David was saying did make sense, but she didn’t understand where he was going to go with it

.David had told Jenni that she wasn’t seeing the big picture, but so far he wasn’t showing it to her either. “We both know that Owen wouldn’t be happy if he knew you were asking your mom to back off,” David pointed out, and Jenni’s eyes flickered towards the door, which remained firmly closed as Owen gave the two of them some space. “No, I’m not going to tell him, and neither is your mom… but you know that he wouldn’t want you trying to dictate his booking, just as you wouldn’t like it if me or your mom tried to dictate yours in EMERGE now that we’re part owners. Owen is a great wrestler Jenni, he may even become one of the greats over time… but he’s not going to prove that if he doesn’t face the threats to his reign whenever he has a championship. And if Regan suddenly changed her plans now, how’s that going to look for either of them? She’s done nothing but talk about it for months and then suddenly her daughter's boyfriend wins and she’s backing off? And what about Owen? If your mom dropped the issue now, you know people are going to say that she was trying to protect him and do you think he needs that?” he asked and Jenni looked at him defiantly for a moment before her head dropped and she shook it, instead of answering him. His words were clearly getting through to her, she was starting to consider all angles, rather than just the one that she was most concerned with… but there was more, and this was the personal side of things that he needed her to understand too. “Hey, kiddo… look at me,” he said and Jenni looked up at her father again, visibly upset. For all her strength and confidence in her own career, she looked like this was getting to her. “Have you stopped to think why your mom wants to be a Supreme Champion so badly?” he asked, and Jenni’s brow furrowed for a moment.

“I mean… I’d have thought that was obvious,” she said, as if it was a stupid question. “She wants to prove that she’s one of the best the company has even seen and cement her legacy in the record books. Like we all want to do. Like you did!” she said, and David gave a small nod of his head.

Sure, that was part of the reason… but again, it wasn’t the whole picture. “On one level, sure, that’s what your mom wants to do. Regan is a hell of a wrestler and we both already know she’s one of the best to ever step foot in the ring, even without inclusion on the list...” he said, nodding again. “But it’s more than just a bragging right for her, she doesn’t only want to end up on that sacred list because it means she’s good at what she does and deserves the recognition that a spot on the Supreme Champions list brings…”

“Then what?” Jenni asked, wanting to understand why her father was making such a big deal out of this.

“Well, I guess I touched on it vaguely already,” David told her, sitting back on the couch and folding one leg across the other. “But in a roundabout way, it comes down to how you and Owen, you both hand your whole careers ahead of you. You’re eighteen, Owen’s twenty… you have so much ahead of you, and I know you think that one slip up now is going to end your career sweetheart, but honestly, the mistakes you make now, the big events that take place in the earlier years of your career? That’s what shapes who you become in the business,” he told her, unable to avoid thinking about his own career and the struggles in those early days. He was broke, working for piss poor money out of a bingo hall. It was difficult to say the least… but it was part of his journey and he wouldn’t change it for anything now, because it helped him become the man he was! “You’re already on top in EMERGE and you’ve had a lot of success early, but sooner or later there’ll be slipups kiddo, and when there are, it’s how you handle them that’s important.”

“But what’s this got to do with mom?” Jenni asked, a hint of impatience in her voice as she folded her arms across her chest, but David gave her a look that served as a reminder that she had promised to hear him out before trying to argue. “Okay, okay, but you’re dancing around it dad!”

“I just want to make sure you understand everything that I’m saying,” David told her, forcing himself not to sigh. She was young, impatient. He got it. But she’d need to learn to be patient if she wanted longevity, that was an important lesson, because there’d be times where she’d need to be. “What I’m saying… is that while your mom is still young, younger than I am anyway… she isn’t in the same boat as you two are. And it’s nothing to do with the fact that she turned thirty last year, it’s not really an age thing, but… well, it isn’t just about time ticking in the wrestling business if you know what I mean?” he said, hoping that what he was talking about would be fairly obvious, but Jenni looked at him like she had no clue what the fuck he was talking about and this time he did sigh before deciding to be adult about this. It wasn’t a child he was talking to, Jenni was eighteen. He didn’t need to wrap her in cotton wool and protect her. “Look kiddo, your mom and me, we’ve been married for five years now, and together for seven… and I know we already have three great kids in you, Jay and Aaron, but before you and Aaron came into our lives, we talked about what we wanted for our future. And despite that fact that you and Aaron did enter our lives, it hasn’t changed what we want. To have a baby.”

Jenni’s eyes widened as it finally hit home what her father was talking about, that he meant the clock wasn’t exactly ticking on her mom’s career, but it was ticking if she wanted to fall pregnant… and the only thing stopping her was that she wanted to finish her bucket list in SCW before she took the time out that she would need. “Are you… I mean, you’re not trying already, right?”

“No, of course not,” David said, shaking his head. “I’d like to think we’re more responsible than that, kiddo,” he told her with a laugh. “But the only thing that’s stopping us from considering it… well, the obvious…”

“Mom wants to become a supreme champion,” Jenni said, guilt beginning to crawl across her face as it truly sank in. “And me asking her not to try and fight Owen… shit… dad, I’m sorry. I didn’t know! If I’d… I wouldn’t…”

David reached out and grabbed Jenni’s hand. “I know kid,” he said, giving it a squeeze. “How could you? It’s not exactly something your mom and me have talked about publicly, is it? And it’s not exactly something you want to think about, is it? We’re your parents. I get it.” he said, grinning, as he let go of her hand. “But now you know why it means as much as it does to your mom to win the tag title. Why she’s busting her ass as tv champion right now. It’s the final accolade for her before she can think about putting her private life first for the first time since she made her debut all those years back. It means so much to her to be seen as a great in the company in some official capacity, but it’s also the monkey on her back, that’s keeping her from thinking about what’s next for me and her… and I’m not getting any younger either, kiddo; I turn forty this year. I don’t want to be one of those parents that’s old and gray, picking his kid up from kindergarten…” he said, grinning again, and Jenni finally cracked a smile.

Her eyes quickly flicked to David’s hair and back to his face again. “You’re getting there already,” she said with an impish grin. “Maybe not old and gray… but definitely salt and pepper…”

“Watch it kid,” David told her with a laugh. “I’m not just your old man, but technically your boss too. Remember that.” he added, not even a thinly veiled threat. Though she knew he was joking, all the same. “So… you still want your mom to avoid facing your handsome young man?” he asked, hoping that he’d convinced her to see some sense.

Jenni started to chew on her bottom lip; it was clear that she was still torn, but considerably less sure than she was when she had first asked Regan to back off… and despite the fact that her connection to Regan was much stronger than her connection to David, as she sat there looking at him, she started to realise that while she believed in her argument when she made it… it was unfair of her to ask that of Regan. “I should apologise to mom, huh?” she asked, looking slightly ashamed of herself. “I mean, I thought I was doing the right thing by asking, but…”

“But there’s always more to consider than one point of view, kiddo…” David said, shooting his daughter a warm, reassuring smile. “But you were doing what you thought was right and you didn’t know the whole story… and you know what kiddo? I’m proud of you for that. You did what you thought was best, standing up to probably the one person you care about most in the world, because you thought it was the right thing to do. That took guts.”

“It was selfish,” She said, sighing.

“It came from the heart, even if it wasn’t necessarily the right thing to ask for,” David said, moving to sit closer to his daughter so he could give her a hug. “Just… you know… keep the baby stuff to yourself, okay? I don’t mind telling you, but I don’t want it getting out beyond that. Last thing we need is the gossip sites to start speculating about it…”

“Won’t say a word, dad!” she told him, and he grinning before hugging his daughter again.

“Okay, I guess Prince Charming should come back in from outside now, huh?” He asked, smirking as Jenni nodded her head. David stood up and made his way to the door, opening it to see Owen stood a few feet away, flicking pebbles at a discarded coffee cup. “Alright kid, you can come back in now,” he shouted and Owen looked up gratefully before tossing away the handful of pebbles he had a hold of and walking back to the apartment door. David headed back inside and leant against the wall as Owen stepped back inside and it was obvious that the kid wanted to know what the deal was, but he clearly wasn’t going to ask and David wasn’t going to tell either. “Remember Jen, between me and you, okay?” David said with a wink and Jenni tapped the side of her nose conspiratorially with a finger.

“Oh I get it,” Owen said, grinning. “No questions, keep my nose out, that whole shtick, huh?” he asked and David nodded.

“Sounds about right,” he added, before going quiet as he looked at Owen, scrutinizing him for a moment. He thought about how he had spoken with Jenni just now and how he’d got her to see the bigger picture, and how it had solved that problem, but that wasn’t the only problem where his kids were concerned. There was another issue that had been going on for far too long as far as David was concerned, and one that involved Owen too. “But now you’re back, Jen, I need to borrow your boyfriend for a while,” he said to his daughter before turning back to Owen. “You ready to go out looking like that or you wanna get changed first?” he asked and Owen looked confused.

It was Jenni who spoke up first though. “Wait, what?” she asked, standing up. “What do you mean you need to borrow my boyfriend?”

“I’m taking him somewhere,” David said, turning back to his daughter again. “I’m on a roll… what with what we just talked about, and some other things, I think it’s time I fixed another little problem and I need Owen here to come with me in order to do that,” he told her. “Just trust me?” he asked.

Jennifer looked like she didn’t know what to do at first… but if there was anyone she could trust, it was David. And she conceded that. “Fine,” she said, frowning. “But I swear dad, this better be worth it, whatever is going on!”

“And do I get a say in this?” Owen asked, looking between David and Jennifer as both turned to look at him.

“No,” David said, smirking. “Grab your shoes, we’re taking a ride,” David told him before turning to Jennifer. “I’ll ensure he’s back soon enough. Or maybe you could come to ours and we’ll have dinner? Either way, this shouldn’t take long, kiddo. Drop me a text if you decide to swing by. Love you,” he finished before turning to head through the door, leaving Jennifer to shout after him that she loved him too. He was already at the car when he heard Owen walking after him and David didn’t say a word as he got into his Audi, waiting for Owen to climb in the passengers’ side before he hit the button to start the engine and slipped it into reverse. The drive must have been painful for Owen, because only one of them in the car knew where they were headed and it wasn’t him, but it wasn’t a long drive at least; they pulled into their destination less than ten minutes later, and it was convenient for David because it was the same destination he originally planned to go before dragging Owen with him: his own home. “Alright, here we are kid,” he said as the gate opened as he approached, the ANPR camera picking up his car’s registration number as he approached and David drove up to the garage before shutting off the engine.

“We’re at your place?” Owen asked, confused, as he turned to look at David.

And David nodded. “Perceptive, kid...” he said, with a smirk on his face, before he got out of the car and didn’t bother waiting for Owen to follow suit as, instead of walking to the front door, he started walking around down the steps at the side of the garage that led to the lower level where the pool and the deck were located. “So I dunno about you Owen,” David said as he heard Owen catching up to him. “But I’m getting tired of this bullshit between you and Aaron that’s been going on way too long, so I think it’s about time we did something about that, don’t you?” he asked, and Owen suddenly realised what was going on. “You’re being way too nice about everything and he’s being a stubborn douchebag about it… and I’m only going to have to try and talk to him for you again if we don’t sort this shit, so let’s get it sorted out,” he said as they reached the deck and Dave walked across the deck, looking into the kitchen to wave hi to Regan. She went to come outside before stopping at a hand signal from David as he nodded his head towards Owen and Regan realised he was there for the first time. They walked down the path to the guest house where Aaron, Scarlett and Elysia live, and David knocked on the door before standing back with arms folded to wait for someone to answer.

In truth, it could have been a dumb move as he had no idea whether Aaron was actually home or whether he was at the school, but given it was a Sunday and the twenty-two year old didn’t normally work Sundays, he figured it was a fairly safe bet. After around thirty seconds the door opened and Aaron stepped out onto the doorstep. “Oh fuck this,” he said the second he spotted Owen hovering just behind David, looking uncertain, and younger of the two Helms men turned to walk back into the guest house until Dave reached out to grab his arm. Aaron stopped and looked down at the hand before looking over his shoulder at his father, his eyes narrowed. “I’m not dealing with this bullshit right now, alright? So he can fuck off back to wherever he came from because I’m not interested,” he said before going to yank his arm away, but David doubled his grip and pulled Aaron around.

“Sorry kid, but yes you are,” David told his soon, slipping his hands into his pockets, continuing to look at Aaron with a serious expression written on his face. He had seen this go on long enough now, and it was bad enough that his own relationship with his best friend had gone to shit, he didn’t want to see his son throw his away over a stupid issue like this. There were far more important things going on in the world than Aaron being pissed off or butthurt because Owen had come to him to seek approval! “And if you try and walk in there, I’ll follow you in. I have a key kid, it’s my house. So we can either talk about this here, like adults, or we can follow you in and do this in front of Scarlett and little Elysia, assuming they’re also in there. Which is it to be?” he asked, making damn sure that Aaron understood they were his only options.

“Dave, I’m not sure that--” Owen started to say, sensing the tension and wanting to put an end to it despite knowing that David was actually doing something that may just benefit him, but David turned and wiggled a finger at him, cutting him off in his tracks.

“No.” David said, simply and without further explanation as he turned back to face his son, whose jaw was clenched tight as he glared back at David. “Look, I get it. You’re pissed off, you feel betrayed because Owen didn’t come to you for approval, which you feel betrays the bro code or whatever… and I also get how rich it is for me to do this, given my relationship with my best friend just turned to shit in the last few weeks, but if anything that just makes me more qualified to tell you to pull your head out of your ass kiddo, because the last think you want is to be like Tommy Valentine right now! Don’t be a Tommy Valentine, kid!” he said, hoping that it may cut the tension a little bit to make a joke out of it. It didn’t.

“You think this is just about the ‘bro code’ or some shit?” Aaron asked spitefully, scoffing at the idea. “It’s about respect, dad. It’s about Owen going behind my back, behind Christian’s back, all because he decided to shoot his shot!”

“Hey!” Owen said, speaking up again and David wanted him to do that. He didn’t want Owen to play nicely anymore, to give Aaron the space he needed or accept that he wouldn’t talk to him, he wanted him to fight and argue his point. “This is your sister, bro!”

“Don’t you think I know that?!” Aaron fired back, pointing an accusatory finger at Owen. “That’s half the fucking problem bro, but you don’t seem to care about that do you?!”

Owen went to speak again, but David cut over him before he could. “He doesn’t care?” he asked, his brows raised in surprise. “Have you not seen how he dotes on that girl, kid?! Jesus Christ, he worships the ground she walks on, anyone can see that!” David told his son, shaking his head in disappointment. “This isn’t anything to do with Jenni, it’s to do with you and your own ego. You’re pissed off because you feel like your opinion wasn’t important enough for Owen to want to consult you on it… but here’s the thing kid, opinions are like assholes, everyone has them and they all stink! He spoke to Christian, he spoke to me and Regan, and I don’t care how bruised your ego is by this kid, but that should be enough! Jesus Christ, what a shock that Owen would think his best friend would simply support him, anyway, right? Why would he think he needed to seek your approval as well?!”

“So now I’m the asshole?” Aaron yelled, before lowering his voice. Elysia was inside the house, he didn’t want her hearing the raised voices and grow concerned. “Over here,” Aaron said, nodding his head away from the guest house and he started to walk back to the deck, one level up. David turned to Owen and nodded his head for him to follow.

“Look bro, I dunno,” Owen said, looking at Aaron walking away before back to Dave. “I’m not sure this is the right thing to do…”

“You want this sorted out or not?” David asked, his exasperation showing to the point that Owen could only frown at him. “Look kid, you can ask me to talk to him all you want, and I have tried to do that for you as you know... but ultimately, it needs to come from you. You need to tell him what’s on your mind and he needs to get stuff off his chest too, and the only way that happens is if the two of you hash this out. You’ve not had that opportunity until now because he’s a stubborn dick at times… but now you do. So make the most of it, huh?” he suggested before once again nodding his head after Aaron. Owen looked at David for several seconds before his shoulders slumped and with a sigh, he turned to trudge after his slightly older friend, following him back up towards the house.

David couldn’t help but chuckle to himself as he watched Owen go; didn’t he see that they’d already won the first battle in this? Until now, Aaron had point blank refused to even talk about what had happened, but in the space of a couple minutes they’d gone from Aaron trying to walk away from the issue to walking away to discuss the issue. That was the first win! It did mean something though, even if Owen was still being overly nice by suggesting that they just let it go; David should have known all along that Aaron didn’t need an arm around the shoulder and an ear to bend, he needed a kick up the ass. It was about knowing the person and truly being able to read the situation. What had worked with Jenni earlier in the morning would never have worked with Aaron, because they weren’t alike. They had some stuff in common, sure, but they weren’t the same person and they needed their own approach to get through to them. He walked up the steps to see Aaron pointing at Owen as he said something but a smile fell on David’s face as he saw Owen give as good as he got. He didn’t even bother walking over to them, he felt like his work had been done. Anything he said now would serve no purpose, he just had to get them talking… and that was what he’s done. He may not have his own life on track at times, his own best friend may hate him now, but dammit, he was a good father and the least he could do was keep his family together. And that’s what he’d done that morning… helped heal his family just that little bit more and hopefully get everything back on track. Walking back into the house, he made his way straight over to Regan and gave her a kiss on the cheek, flashing an award-winning smile her way before he turned and slapped her on the ass. She glared at him for a moment before laughing as he winked and made his way to the refrigerator to grab a drink. He deserved a beer after this and he was going to make sure he enjoyed every sip of it. Maybe he’d even fire up the grill, if Jenni decided she wanted to come over for dinner. And if Owen and Aaron pulled their heads out of their asses for five seconds to things, maybe Aaron, Scarlett and Elysia could join them. A proper cookout surrounded by his extended family. And wasn’t that was most important in life, after all? Damn right it was.