Chapter Text
“Good morning, my darling,” Jack comes up behind Robby and wraps his arms around the slightly taller man, resting his head and against his shoulder.
“Good night, my love,” Robby says with a smile, quickly finishing up the last sandwich he’s making and turning around to pull his husband into his arms. “How was your shift?”
“Long, wild, weird,” Jack says. He pauses for a moment, just staring into his husband’s eyes. “But Lena and I were able to convince a young woman to press charges against her boyfriend after he assaulted her. It was the third time we’ve seen her in the last six months.”
“Then I’d say you did a pretty good job, babe,” Robby says, then he pulls the other man in for a kiss. It only lasts a few moments before they’re interrupted by three very distinct sets of footsteps as Frank, Mel, and Dennis all come into the kitchen.
“I was under the impression this house was rated G,” Frank says as he walks by them to grab his lunch.
“It was one kiss,” Robby chuckles, shaking his head. “Pretty sure that won’t violate standards and practices.”
“Actually, I might consider your comment to be homophobic,” Jack adds.
“Hey, I can’t be homophobic,” Frank argues. “My dad’s are gay.”
“That’s not how that works,” Mel interjects. “Also, we’re going to be late for school if we don’t leave in the next two minutes and twelve seconds.”
“Mel is right,” Robby says as he hands the younger two kids their lunches. “About both things. Go to school. Have a good day. Make informed choices.”
“It was one time,” Frank rolls his eyes, grabbing the car keys from the hook by the door.
When they kids are all out the door and they’ve heard the car pull out of the driveway, Robby glances over at Jack again. “How tired are you? Because I don’t have to be anywhere until a meeting at ten…”
Jack wiggles his eyebrows, grinning at his husband. “Are you suggesting some R-rated activities?”
“We’ve got the house to ourselves,” Robby says, leaning down to trail light kisses along Jack’s neck. “I’m thinking more along the lines of Showtime acceptable activities.”
Robby ends up needing another shower before he leaves for work, but it was worth it for some quality time with his husband. Working opposite hours has always been the routine of their relationship, and they make it work pretty well, but Robby won’t deny that sometimes he wishes they fell asleep together every night.
Of course, it was worse when they both worked full-time at the hospital. With Robby running the department and being the only attending on day shift, and Jack working nights, there were weeks where it felt like they barely saw each other. That all changed when Robby’s mental health finally reached a breaking point almost four years ago. If it hadn’t been for his husband and children, Robby isn’t sure he would’ve survived. Now he teaches full-time at the med school and works a few shifts each month at PTMC, just to keep up on his knowledge and skills. The flexibility of teaching has also been good as the kids are getting older and involved in more activities.
For instance, today being a Tuesday:
Jack is in the middle of a three-day stretch of night shifts
Frank volunteers at the tutoring center until 5:30
Mel has science club until 5
Dennis has soccer practice from 4:30-5:45
If Robby still worked day shift at the hospital, Jack would have to sacrifice sleep or they would need to rely on friends to piece together all the logistics. But since he only teaches one class today until four o’clock, it gives him just enough time to get Dennis to soccer, swing by the high school and pick up Mel, get home and make dinner so that it’s on the table just as Frank and Dennis get home, and they actually have time to eat together as a family before Jack goes to work.
What Robby didn’t expect to derail his carefully constructed afternoon was a phone call from Kiara, the social worker they worked with when adopting Mel and Dennis. Robby had also worked with her when he adopted Frank twelve years ago, so the two of them go way back.
”Hey Robby,” Kiara says when he answers the call just after he’s dropped Dennis at soccer. ”I hate to call like this, but I need to ask a favor.”
“A favor?” Robby asks, trying to figure out what Kiara might need from him.
”I have a teenager in need of an emergency placement,” Kiara explains. ”And I really think you and Jack might be a good choice for her.”
“Oh,” he responds, kind of at a loss for words. He and Jack had made the decision to keep their foster license open, even after adopting Dennis and Mel. They weren’t actively looking to foster, but wanted to be available just in case. And it seems like this might be one of those just in case situations.
”She had to be removed from her current placement last night,” Kiara continues. ”Because of a fight with her foster mother.”
“Kiara, I’m not sure we’re comfortable bringing someone violent into our home,” Robby says. He does have to think about his other kids, after all.
”She’s not violent,” Kiara quickly clarifies. ”The parents found out she has a girlfriend. That’s what triggered the incident. And it was more of an argument than anything. I promise you, she’s a good kid. She’s just had some bad luck.”
“So you think being placed in a more LGBT-friendly home would be good for her,” Robby says.
”I want her to be somewhere she knows is safe,” Kiara says.
“I need to talk to Jack,” Robby says. “Can I call you back in a few minutes?”
”Yeah,” she says. ”I’m not clocking out until I find somewhere for her to go.”
Robby pulls into the parking lot at the high school just as he hangs up the phone. He’s got fifteen minutes before Mel will be done with science club, giving him just enough time to call Jack and decide if they can handle this.
It doesn’t surprise him at all when his husband agrees to the placement.
”We have the space, we have the time, and if Kiara says she’s a good kid, I trust that,” Jack says.
Things move rather quickly after that. Robby calls Kiara, who says she’ll bring the teenager there within the next hour. Jack gets to work making sure the extra room is ready, and on the way home Robby has a conversation with Mel. He’s less concerned with how Frank and Dennis will react, but Mel struggles with sudden change.
“So,” Robby begins, glancing over at the fourteen year-old. “Kiara called me a little bit ago about a kid who needs an emergency foster placement. Papa and I talked about it, and we’re going to take her in at least until Kiara can find a permanent place for her. She’ll be here this evening. But papa and I are going to do our best to make sure this doesn’t change anything for you and the boys. What do you think about this?”
“How old is she?” Mel asks.
“She’s fifteen,” Robby says. “Her name is Trinity. I don’t really know much else about her yet.”
“Will I have to share my room?”
“No,” Robby shakes his head. “Papa’s getting the spare room ready for her.”
“Will she go to school with us?”
“Yes,” Robby nods. “We’ll be getting her transferred to the same high school as you and Frank.”
“What about the chore chart? Will we need to add her to it?”
“That’s something we’ll figure out more when we know how long she’ll be staying,” Robby says. “For tonight, she’ll be there in time to have dinner with us. We’ll give her some space, because getting a new placement so suddenly can be overwhelming. Nothing changes tonight except having one extra person around.”
“Okay,” Mel nods. “I can work with that.”
Trinity knows she fucked up. Not because she got into it with Sandra. That’s been brewing for the eight months she’s been in that house. No, getting herself kicked out was where she went wrong. Because now there's no one to take care of Vic. Trinity had one role, one purpose in this screwed up world she was born into, and now she's gone and fucked it all up.
“I think you'll really like Robby and Jack,” Kiara says as they drive through one of the nicer neighborhoods of Pittsburgh. It's not exactly a gated community, but it's definitely upper middle class.
“They’re doctors?” Trinity asks.
“Jack's an emergency room physician and Robby primarily teaches at the med school, but I think he still does some hospital shifts,” Kiara explains. “They’re good people, Trinity. It's a safe place, I promise.”
Safe isn't a word Trinity would use to describe any foster placement. Nine placements over the course of five years, nine new houses and new families, all with their own set of rules and expectations. Some were better than others. When she was twelve and stayed with the Hamilton's for four months, that hadn't been too bad. They were nice and their two kids treated her alright. The Crone's had been one of the worst. They were definitely only in it for the monthly stipend, and they treated their foster placements like free labor. That's where she was prior to moving in with Sandra and Hal. It's also the house where she met Vic.
She begged Kiara to take Vic with them last night, but Trinity wasn’t removed because of the shitty parents, she was removed because Sandra didn’t want a lesbian living in her home. So Trinity gets a new placement, and who knows what will happen to Vic.
They pull up in front of a modest-looking home with a huge oak tree in the yard and the kind of front porch that practically requires you to spend summer evenings hanging out as a family.
Trinity takes in a deep breath to steady herself, then gets out of the car and follows Kiara up the front walkway. She has her duffel bag clutched tightly in her hands, ready to fight anyone who might decide to inspect her stuff. It’s happened before. Kiara rings the doorbell and barely a minute passes before it opens to reveal a taller than average man with a well-groomed beard and what’s probably meant to be a friendly smile on his face.
“Robby, it’s good to see you,” Kiara greets the man.
“Good to see you too,” Robby responds as he opens the door wider and leads them inside. “And you must be Trinity.”
“Yeah,” Trinity nods, settling for a one word answer so she doesn’t come across as too sarcastic. Because, who else would she be?
“It’s nice to meet you,” he continues, seeming unphased by her brief response. “I’m Michael Robinavitch, but everyone just calls me Robby. I have to apologize, things can be a bit hectic here in the evenings,” he adds, just as two boys, one nearly as tall as Robby, and the other much shorter, come running past the living room and up the staircase with as much finesse as a stampede of horses. “That’s our older son Frank, and our youngest, Dennis. Oh, and here is our daughter, Mel.”
A girl around Trinity’s age, her blonde hair fixed in a braid, joins them. “Hi.”
“Hey,” Trinity says, quickly assessing the other girl and determining her to be much too meek to be a threat.
“Papa said to tell you dinner’s almost ready,” Mel says to Robby.
“Perfect,” Robby smiles at her, then nods toward the stairs. “Can you check on the boys?”
Mel nods, disappearing up the staircase just as quickly as she came in.
“Alright,” Kiara says, bring the attention back to Trinity. “I need to get going. Trinity, you can call me if you need anything. Understood?”
“Yep,” Trinity nods, feeling a bit like a broken record with the one word answers.
Kiara gives her a reassuring look, before turning back to Robby. “Thanks for this. I’ll check in with you in a few days, if not sooner.”
“Of course,” Robby says as he walks her to the door. “Happy to help.”
And just like that, Trinity is in her tenth foster home.
“Let me show you your room so you can put your things away before dinner,” Robby says, gesturing for her to follow him up the stairs. He leads her down the hallway, pointing out different rooms as he goes. “That’s mine and Jack’s room, the one next to ours is Dennis, Mel is across the hall, that door leads to the attic which Frank took over last year when he decided that turning sixteen meant he was basically an adult, and the kid’s bathroom is at the end of the hall. And this is your room,” he says, stopping in front of the doorway next to Mel’s room.
She hesitates for just a moment before crossing the threshold and glancing around at the space. There’s a light green comforter on the bed and a desk set up next to the window, the curtains the same light green as the bedding. A dresser sits opposite the bed, and there’s a small nightstand with a lamp in the same shade of green as everything else. Robby doesn’t seem like the interior decorator type, so maybe this mysterious Jack is responsible for all the matching items.
“It’s pretty basic,” Robby says, leaning in the doorway. Trinity appreciates that he’s giving her space, not feeling the need to come into the room with her. “We can get some things this weekend to make it a little more comfortable.”
“No, it’s fine,” Trinity quickly shakes her head. She doesn’t need these guys buying things just for her. She probably won’t even be around that long. “I don’t need much.”
“Fair enough,” Robby nods. “You can leave your stuff up here and we’ll head back downstairs for dinner.”
Trinity shrugs, tossing her duffel and backpack on the bed. She’d much rather hide in here all night, but it’s always best not to rock the boat in the first few days.
She follows Robby downstairs and through the living room, into the dining room/kitchen. The thing she’s noticing about the place is that it’s clean, but also lived in. There’s are books on the coffee table, a stack of mail on the table next to the front door, a jacket tossed onto a chair, just things all throughout the house that suggest that people go about their everyday lives here. Some of her placements have had very little skills in the way of housekeeping, or they’ve had homes so meticulous you’re afraid to even shift one of the throw pillows from it’s carefully constructed spot.
“Hi Trinity,” a man a little shorter than Robby, with graying hair and a bit more scruff than beard, greets her. “I’m Jack. We’re glad to have you here. You can sit next to Frank,” he continues, gesturing to the open chair next to the older of the boys. “We’re having lasagna tonight, but if you don’t like lasagna that’s perfectly okay, we can make you something else.”
“Lasagna’s fine,” Trinity says as she slides into her seat, hoping no one notices when she shifts it a few extra inches away from Frank. “I’m not picky.”
“Good to know,” Jack nods. “But still, if there’s something you don’t like, you don’t have to eat it. We’re not that easily offended.”
“Dad got so offended last week when I said I didn’t want mayo on my sandwich,” Frank chimes in. “Like, he actually told me I could make my own lunch if I didn’t like it.”
“And I stand by that,” Robby says, taking the seat at the end of the table closest to Trinity. “You’ve eaten mayo on your sandwich since you were five, don’t know why you’d stop now.”
“I’m a complex individual,” Frank shakes his head, making the other boy sitting across the table snort with laughter.
“Guys, maybe you should introduce yourselves,” Robby suggests, looking at both boys and then nodding in Trinity’s direction.
“I’m Frank. Oldest child. Original adopted kid. The entire reason the dad’s are even together.”
“Not true,” Jack mutters, but there’s a hint of a smile on his face as he takes his seat at the other end of the table.
“I’m Dennis,” the blonde boy sitting beside Mel says.
“Nice to meet you,” Trinity says, trying her best to sound polite.
Thankfully Robby must be able to sense her discomfort at being the center of attention, because he shifts the conversation while they pass the food around the table.
“Den, how was soccer practice?”
“It was soccer,” Dennis shrugs. “We ran. We kicked the ball. We didn’t use our hands.”
“A winning strategy if I’ve ever heard one,” Frank interjects.
“Frank, didn’t you have an econ test today?” Robby turns to his oldest child. “How’d that go?”
Frank pauses, putting his fork down and looking at Robby. “I had a winning strategy. My execution was perfect. My answers, not so much.”
“I’m not sure I understand how you can be so good at math, but struggle so much with economics,” Jack says. “It’s numbers.”
“I’m good at math, I’m bad with money,” Frank shrugs.
“Very true,” Mel finally chimes in. “We have seven juicers to prove it.”
“Five,” Robby says. “I gave Dana one for her birthday and we donated one to the hospital staff lounge”
“See, it was philanthropic,” Frank points out.
“It was you not understanding the one-click buying option on amazon,” Dennis says.
“And my mistake for letting you save my credit card information,” Robby adds. “Won’t let that happen again.”
Trinity does her best to keep up with the conversation through the rest of dinner, secretly relieved that no one is expecting her to say anything. Or asking her ridiculous questions like what her hobbies are or if she likes school.
“Alright,” Robby says when everyone is finishing up. “You three,” he gestures to Frank, Mel, and Dennis, “are on cleanup duty. I expect this kitchen to be spotless. Or at least clean enough to pass a health inspection.”
“Set the bar low, never be disappointed,” Jack comments, the turns to address Trinity. “Robby and I wanted to talk to you for a few minutes before I need to head to work. You can clear your own plate and meet us in the living room.”
“Okay,” she nods. She quickly rinses her plate and places it in the dishwasher, mentally preparing herself for whatever their spiel is.
In the living room, Robby and Jack are seated next to each other on the couch, so Trinity sits down on the loveseat.
“First, we want you to know that we’re happy you’re here and we want to make this transition as smooth as possible for you,” Robby starts. “Kiara did tell us some of what happened at your last home, but you can clearly see that’s not something to worry about here.”
“There’s just a few rules we wanted to go over, so you know what the expectations are in this house,” Jack continues, like they've rehearsed this speech. “We're pretty relaxed here. All we ask is that you pick up after yourself and we expect everyone to be respectful of each other. Let us know if you're going to be leaving the house. Help yourself to anything in the kitchen, you don't need to ask permission to get food.”
“And respect goes for us too,” Robby chimes in again. “Your room is a safe space. We won't come in without your permission unless it's an emergency. To be completely honest, it's been a long time since we've had someone new here, so we're probably a little rusty at this. If there's something you need, let us know. Or you can always ask one of the other kids if you aren't comfortable coming to us.”
“We know transitions can be overwhelming,” Jack says. “We're here to support you. If you feel up to going to school tomorrow, we’ll see about getting you transferred to the school the other kids go to. But we can also wait a day or two if you want more time to settle in.”
“I’ll go to school,” Trinity says quickly. She doesn’t want them to think she’s lazy or anything like that. Plus, staying home could mean additional chores. School is better. School has more predictability.
“Okay,” Robby nods. “But if you change your mind tomorrow morning, we’ll understand. For now, do you have anything you want to ask us? Is there anything you need?”
“I’m good,” she shakes her head. “Is… is it okay if I go upstairs now?”
“Of course,” Jack says.
Trinity doesn’t wait for any further response before she makes a break for it, trying not to make it look like she’s running away, but also wanting to get to the bedroom as quickly as possible. She closes the door, sinking down onto the edge of the bed. She grabs her backpack and digs through it for her phone. The battery is getting low, and of course she can’t find her charger. She could probably ask to use one, but she really wants to avoid interacting with everyone right now. Pulling up her messages, she sees a text from Yolanda.
Yolanda: missed you at school today. you good?
Trinity sighs, unsure how to explain what happened, or if she even wants to explain. Yolanda knows she’s in foster care, but it’s not something they’ve ever really discussed. Not that they really do much talking about anything, but this particular topic has always been kind of off-limits. But with switching schools, she figures she should give the other girl some kind of explanation.
Trinity: things went to shit at my house last night. got moved to a new placement today. probably transferring schools.
Yolanda: that sucks. maybe we could get together this weekend.
It’s not much, but she isn’t completely writing Trinity off, so she’ll take it.
Trinity: yeah, maybe. i’ll let you know if i can get away.
Yolanda: cool.
She sets her phone to the side and starts to go through her duffel bag to see what she actually has. She didn’t have much time to pack last night, so she did her best to grab everything that was hers, which still isn’t much. She’s sorting through her clothes to figure out what to wear tomorrow when she hears a light, almost timid, knock on her door. She goes over and opens it slowly, revealing Mel on the other side.
“Hi,” the other girl says, looking unsure of herself. “I just wanted to let you know that the bathroom’s available now, if you were planning to shower tonight. I usually shower at night, but Frank and Dennis shower in the mornings. You can do mornings too, I guess, but it might be hard to fit in three showers before school. Especially with how long Frank takes on his hair.”
“You mean it’s not naturally perfect?” Trinity jokes, unable to help herself.
“Uh, no,” Mel shakes her head. “He uses a lot of product. Anyway, I just wanted you to know about the showers. Also, if you need any… feminine hygiene products, there are some on the third shelf of the bathroom closet.”
“Thanks,” Trinity says, managing a hint of a smile. She’s still not sure what to think of the other girl, but it feels like she’s trying to be helpful. Which isn’t always the case when there are non-foster kids in a home. “Uh, do you have an extra phone charger? I think I might have forgotten mine and my battery’s almost dead.”
Mel nods. “We have… a lot of extra chargers. Frank and Dennis misplace things often. I’ll grab one for you.”
“Cool,” Trinity smiles a little more. “I’m just gonna go take a shower now. I’d rather not compete with the human Ken doll for time in front of the mirror.”
Mel gets a strange look on her face, like she’s trying to process what Trinity said, then her eyes light up a little and she smiles. “That was a Barbie joke?”
“Yeah,” Trinity nods.
“Good one,” Mel says, then heads back down the hallway.
Trinity gathers some clothes and makes her way to the bathroom as quickly as possible, wanting to avoid running into anyone else in the hallway. She’s careful not to linger too long in the shower, because as nice as everyone has been so far, she still doesn’t know all of the unspoken rules, like using too much water or hogging shared spaces. When she gets back to the bedroom, she can’t help but smile a little at the sight of a phone charger looped carefully around the doorknob. It’s an odd show of respect, Mel choosing to leave it there rather than going into the bedroom. She’s just about to close the door when she spots Robby coming down the hall, still with that friendly smile on his face.
“Hey,” he says, stopping a few feet away. “I just wanted to check in and make sure you don’t need anything.”
“I’m good,” she nods. “Mel gave me the rundown about morning versus night showers. I’m really tired, so I think I’d like to just go to sleep.”
“That’s understandable,” Robby says. “You’ve had a tough couple of days. Get some rest. If you need anything, I’m right down the hall.”
“Right,” Trinity says. There’s no way she’s waking anyone up in the middle of the night, except maybe if her hair was on fire. Maybe. “Good night.”