He Looks Just Like You
Warning? pure smarm
Buck sat on the bench, JD cradled in his arms, asleep. The Larabee and Wilmington household had decided to check out the Denver Zoo when the weather had turned sunny and warm just in time for the weekend, so they had packed some snacks and set out, cameras in hand. The mustached agent was looking forward to getting home and looking at the shots they had taken of the boys.
It had taken five hours but the kids had started to wind down around three o'clock, though, when it was announced that it was time to head home, both boys groaned, stating that they weren't tired. A debate on just how tired the two actually were was avoided as the two men proclaimed their fatigue and the need to go home and rest. That seemed to appease the boys and they agreed that going home sounded good. By the time they were halfway to the front of the park, JD was asleep on Buck's shoulder and Vin was clinging to Chris' hand to stay upright.
As they approached the front entrance, Vin whispered that he had to visit the little boys' room one more time, so Buck had said he would wait on the benches out front. And so, there he sat patiently waiting with JD cradled in his arms, at the front entrance of the Denver Zoo. That's when it happened. The attractive woman, dressed in mid-thigh length shorts and a sleeveless shirt sat down on the unoccupied end of the bench and glanced over at them.
"He's all tuckered out, isn't he?" She turned slightly, smiling. "He's a beautiful little thing, He looks just like you."
Buck's mouth opened in protest. He had no right to claim the boy. He wasn't his father. Oh, they resembled each other slightly, both having dark hair. But while his was wavy, JD's was straight. His eyes were dark blue while the boy's were hazel. And the boy was small, would remain that way according to the doctors while Buck was over six foot tall. He was tanned while JD remained fair no matter how much sun he got.
Wilmington hadn't contributed to the boy's gene pool. His intelligence came from some other man, or his mother perhaps. Buck really didn't know much about the woman herself. He knew that she died alone except for her five-year-old son. He knew that she loved the boy, that she took good care of him and trained him to be an inquisitive and loving child.
His mouth snapped shut as those thoughts whirled in his mind. He wasn't the boy's father.
No, the only thing Wilmington could lay claim to was falling under the spell of a bright-eyed waif who stole the heart right out of his chest. He could lay claim to bringing him into a loving home where it was warm and safe, where he had people to look after him and his best friend, where he could flourish and grow into the young man that his mother had started shaping and that Buck continued to mold.
He could lay claim to being part to the rescue of two young boys from the street, to loving and nurturing and protecting those boys. No, he might not have fathered the boy, but JD was his son. Yeah, his son. A brilliant smile split his face as he responded, "You think so? I always thought he favored his mama."
Seeing Chris and Vin approaching, he stood easily even with the weight in his arms. "Well, our ride's here. It was nice talking to you."
The woman sighed as the two men moved away, one carrying a child and the other walking hand and hand with another. "Why are all the good ones always taken?" she mumbled.