Meet the Parents

Jamie could feel his blood boiling in his veins as Kensi continued to explain to him how she felt about Melanie. He was trying to figure out whether it made more sense to continue to come to her defense in spite of the fact that Kensi had pointed out that he seemed blind to who Melanie presented herself as, or if he was better off defending himself against that accusation. Pacing the length of the living room, he sighed heavily, trying to keep himself from shouting at her anymore than he already had. 

"Someone like her?" He questioned angrily, "What is that even supposed to mean, Kensi? You seem to think that you have my sister pretty figured out but I think the truth is that you're blind to thinking that she could be anything other than how you've portrayed her in your head. You have no idea what she's really like or who she really is. And how dare you assume to know what sort of relationship she has with him. She's a fucking adult, Kensi. She can do whatever she wants. And I'm happy that she's happy." 

The truth was that he hadn't really been sure how he had felt about her relationship with Tripp, and he supposed that most of it had to do with the fact that he wasn't sure he entirely understood their relationship. The only one he had to compare it to was his own with Kensi, as well as his parents' relationship, and Melanie's seemed to sharply contrast both of those. And though he had no desire to ever know the details, he thought that it was pretty stupid for people to start jumping to conclusions about the nature of his sister's relationship based on some clearly asked-for bruises. 

Tripp couldn't remember if he and Melanie had ever been so outwardly affectionate like this before. It was different than the sort of affection that he normally showed toward her, in which he had a tendency to be a little more sexual in nature with her, using the public setting as a game to tease her and build them up for the moment in which they could finally take out all of their frustrations with each other in bed. This, the hand-holding and the encouraging smiles, this was different. And quite frankly, he wasn't sure if it was a good thing or not. It was different, that much he knew, and he had to admit that he didn't particularly mind it. 

"You'll have to give us your recommendations of places to visit then," he said politely. "I would love to take Melanie somewhere new. Though I suppose it might have to be somewhere without a lot of water at first," he teased her. In addition to a new sort of affection toward her, he supposed that he was acting a little differently, too. Wanting to ensure that he made a good impression on her parents, if only to remain on Melanie's good side too, he had been doing his best not to say or do anything that would have become problematic. And while things with her brother's little girlfriend had quickly gotten heated, he was pleased that James seemed to have taken the initiative to handle it before he had. 

Madison frowned as she heard her son tear into his girlfriend. She felt like maybe it was her place to go intervene, to tell them that here and now was not the appropriate location or time to be having this argument, but at the same time she wasn't comfortable with what the small brunette had said about her daughter. And so she decided to give them a minute before she stepped in, glancing quickly at the clock hanging on the wall she opted to give them five minutes before she said anything. 

"Thank you," she told her husband, giving him a small smile. If nothing else she was pleased that he had been on his best behavior tonight. Given the opportunity and the chance to get to know Tripp a little better, Maddy was able to admit why he had so quickly charmed Melanie. 

Jamie had enough of the conversation, and he had enough of defending his sister to someone that, in his opinion, had no business judging his sister for any of the things that she may have ever said or done. He was having a hard time remembering what it was that had driven him to think that a relationship with her was a good idea in the moment. Her quirkiness had always seemed like such a good thing in the past, something that made her different than everyone else in school and something that allowed him to step outside of his box with her, but the moment she started speaking about his family in this way, everything had come crashing down. "Kensi, I think you should leave," he told her firmly. "I just -" he hesitated, he had never broken up with anyone before and he wasn't sure what he was supposed to say to make it clear that he didn't particularly want to see her any time soon. "I don't think that I can be with someone who can say something like that about my family."

Tripp turned to Melanie and smiled, nodding his agreement that he might have to take time off from work. Admittedly, he already didn't have the best track record with putting Melanie before work, though he could say that he had been making a concious effort to be better at it recently. It was amazing how much he wanted to change things for her, to prove that he could be the sort of boyfriend that she deserved, regardless of the fact that she may not even know what it is that she deserved. "I think I could do that," he told her.

Maddy glanced up at the clock, realizing that her five minutes had passed. Just as she had made to excuse herself from the table and go to break up Jamie's argument with Kensi, she heard him tell her to leave. Instead, she sighed and remained in her seat, noting that she had yet to put her wine glass down. It was going to be a long night, she knew.

Jamie hadn't realized that he had been holding his breath after shouting at Kensi, but when the door closed behind her, he had let it out and had very suddenly realized the effects of everything that had happened already that night. He had been under the assumption that given the situation, he and Kensi would have been the least problematic of everyone that had been there, figuring that the problems that Melanie had been having with their father would have taken center stage. The expectation had been that they would have sat quietly through dinner, making polite conversation where necessary, and then they would have been free to do whatever they had wanted to do after dinner. He had never thought that dinner with his family would lead to an inevitable breakup with his first girlfriend. 

Standing in the middle of the room for a moment, staring at the door, he also had not been expecting the thought that he shouldn't go after her. He argued that there was absolutely no reason to do so, that he had been the one that had broken up with her, but he still felt that the gesture was part of the cliche. On the other hand, he was still angry with her. It was hard to wrap his mind around why or how she had expected him to side with her instead of with his sister. Sure, he wasn't blind to the fact that Melanie had done some truly terrible things in the past, and yes, he knew that he had played roles in things that he now seriously regretted, but hadn't things turned out for the best? Wasn't Melanie happy? 

Torn between wanting to head directly to his room and avoid any further confrontation with his family and feeling the obligation to return to the dinner table, he opted to avoid having to directly discuss any of what had just happened and turned to his bedroom. 

Hearing another door close, Maddy sighed and turned to Melanie. "Would you mind?" she asked, hoping that Melanie would somehow be able to get her younger brother to open up to her. The older Jamie became, the more difficulty Maddy had with getting any information out of him. She blamed it entirely on him becoming a young adult who apparently didn't need his mother anymore, but for whatever reason he didn't seem to have a problem speaking to his sister. "I'm sorry that this all took a very sudden turn," she apologized, mostly to Tripp. "I can clean up here if you two want to go have a drink," she suggested to her husband. 

Jamie looked up from the book that he had decided to use as an escape from the realities of the evening. Nodding at his sister, he placed a bookmark on the page and placed the closed book on the table beside him. From his spot lounging on his bed, he opted to move into a seated position, giving his sister room to sit beside him. He could remember all of the times growing up where they had found themselves in similar situations, Melanie coming to sit beside him and comfort him through something that had been bothering him. She had done it when he was young and didn't understand why she was going away to spend time with her other family, and she had done it again when she moved out for good, leaving him alone for the first time. It seemed silly to do it now in comparison, but he had to admit that he found comfort in the routine. Seventeen-year-old boy or not, he hated to admit that he was always going to love having a big sister that would take care of him. Though, telling her that was certainly not on his to-do list.

"I'm fine," he told her honestly. "I'm sorry she said those things about you. And I'm sorry for not coming back to dinner - I'm sure your boyfriend thinks I'm an ass. I just - Didn't want to talk about it, I guess." He nodded again and sighed. "I think that it's just weird because she was kind of my first girlfriend, you know? It's stupid."

Tripp nodded at Cooper, accepting his offer of scotch. Spending time alone with Melanie's father hadn't necessarily been one of the things he had been hoping to accomplish that evening though he supposed that if it afforded him the opportunity to help repair whatever issues he had caused in her relationship with her father, then he figured that it would ultimately be better for him in the long run. And worst case scenario, it provided the opportunity to set the record straight on particular aspects of their relationship. Smiling at Melanie's mother, he thanked her again for dinner before following Cooper Benson.

James supposed that it really shouldn't have mattered if any of the things that Kensi had said had any merit at all. The fact remained that it was his sister that she had said them about, and like Melanie had said, family came first. A lot of his friends growing up never seemed to have been particularly close to their siblings, having worked hard to find different friends, different interests, and ultimately come different people. And even those that were close to their siblings, such as the Tyler girls, still sometimes ended up being two dramatically different people. When he was growing up, he had struggled a little with the fact that he and his sister had been so close, simply because most of his friends either found the situation strange or because they found her be attractive in the way that preteen boys tended to get their first crush on an older girl.

Now, as he and Melanie continued to grow into full-fledged adults, he had to admit that he probably wouldn't have traded their closeness for anything. No matter what she said to anyone else, or what she did, he knew that she was always going to have her back as he had hers. "Is there anyone that you're ever going to think is good enough?" he teased. When she brought up her boyfriend again, he smiled at her. "Should I be more judgmental of him? I don't know if I'm missing some right of passage as your brother by not interrogating him properly."

Tripp accepted the scotch appreciatively, taking a seat in the comfortable seating of the study. He wasn't sure what he had been expecting of Melanie's parents, if anything, but having now managed to get through a dinner with them, he felt as though he was starting to understand them a bit more. Though he had to admit that Melanie had come from either of them. Taking a drink of the scotch, he had to admit that Cooper did have good taste in his drinks. But as soon as the older man commented about the argument that he had gotten into with Melanie, Tripp felt his defenses rising. "Certain aspects of our relationship?" He questioned calmly. "I'm not sure that it's any of your business."

Jamie wrapped his arms around his sister, hugging her tightly. Fuck Kensi, he thought. There was no reason to think that this version of Melanie couldn't also be the same one who could be fiercely defensive of her friends and family, to the point of maliciousness. And while there were some things that he knew he had a more difficult time excusing - such as the debacle at last year's Halloween party - but in the last year, she seemed to have come a long way. Whether that was through her own desire to grow and change into a different person, or whether it was because of the man that she had brought home that night, it truly didn't matter. "As long as you're happy, Mel, I'm happy. And he seemed fine." He paused for a moment, "Look, I don't know - and I don't want to know - what goes on with him at your apartment, but obviously it upset Dad. I'm not saying that you should stop dating him or whatever, I just want you to know that I'm on your side in this. I mean, Dad can't be blind to the fact that you do seem genuinely happy with him," he shrugged. "That means something to me. I like seeing you happy."

Tripp wasn't sure that he necessarily agreed with or understood what it was that Cooper Benson was trying to imply, but the reiteration that it was nothing against him personally made him wonder if the opposite might have actually been true. At this point, what exactly did the older man think that he knew about him? Just that he had bruised his daughter and wasn't worth her being in a relationship with?

"I can assure you that I am neither a distraction nor a hobby," he began. "And I don't plan on letting her become distracted by anything else either. I've made my intentions with Melanie very clear and we've reached an understanding about what exactly our relationship entails. Which, as it stands, still isn't any of your business. Melanie is an adult, she's old enough to make her own decisions and to indulge in her passions."

Jamie tried to move out of his sister's reach, laughing at her and trying to pat his hair back into any sort of normalcy. "I think Mom got you a birthday cake, honestly," he confessed. He remembered when they were younger, their mom had always seemed to go out of her way for both of their birthdays, taking nearly the entire month to celebrate in whatever way that she deemed appropriate. Since Melanie had moved out, the month-long celebration had lessened just slightly, but he knew that his mom had seen this dinner as the perfect excuse to pull out all of the stops. "But," he added. "I'm sure if we get out there before Dad notices we can probably just grab a couple of forks and attack it." He stood from his bed and grinned at his sister, heading back toward the kitchen.

Tripp stared at the glass of scotch for a moment, trying to piece together what it was that he was inferring from what Melanie's father was saying. It seemed that he was implying that the brunette woman he had met earlier in the evening perhaps wasn't Melanie's biological mother, but in the moment, he wasn't sure that it necessarily mattered. He knew that Cooper hadn't necessarily intended to continue to aggravate him further, but the more he seemed to try and explain that Melanie wasn't used to serious relationships, or rather any relationships like the one that they were engaged in, the more he felt that he needed to prove that things were different. "I'm not sure if you think that the relationship with me was the rash decision that she made, or if you think that she's likely to do something during the course of our relationship, but I will assure you that I'm not worried in the slightest. Melanie understands the rules and expectations of this relationship and I would be surprised if she did anything to violate that agreement. Though, I suppose that in a way I appreciate the concern."

Taking another sip from the glass in his hand, he looked back at the glass thoughtfully for a moment. "But you're right - I did come here tonight thinking that you have preconceived notions about our relationship. And I had - and still do - have every intention of informing you that I would never hurt Melanie in any way that she didn't ask for."