Chapter 303: Richard won’t let you put up a fight
Andrew felt the tension raise in the room as the silence dragged on before Ford finally spoke up.
"Andrew, Maxwell, while I appreciate what you are attempting to do, you don’t need to. We can figure something out that would work for him and help you adjust to his new life." Andrew tried not to let that hurt him. It wasn’t just that Ford was drawing a line in the sand, it was more about the fact that they were feeling protective of Richard. That was completely understandable.
It just hurt that his first reaction was to try to cut Andrew out of that process as well.
Richard’s sigh from the bed had everyone looking towards him. He was giving his Dad a disappointed look.
"Do you really think you two, hell, you four would be able to handle what could potentially happen? Do you? Andrew had an on-call Doctor, immediate visits, pheromones, drugs, everything that he could need at the tips of his fingers. That’s how he was able to get back his life, although somewhat changed, in about a month. That’s what I want." Richard said, not bending an inch. "I understand that you’re feeling overwhelmed, and hell, probably hostile, but it’s Andrew. Andy. The same asshole who hid all of my favourite comic books when I was a kid and didn’t tell me where they were until after I got Rose involved." Andrew’s lips twitched slightly at the reference.
Thankfully, Richard’s words had a big impact, and Andrew watched as the Gates relaxed. Ford and May were going to be the hardest to sell this to, but they seemed to deflate at Richard’s words.
May covered her face with her hands, looking ashamed, as did Ford.
"I’m sorry Andy. It wasn’t aimed at you. It was a knee jerk response." Ford apologised, sounding miserable. Andrew forgave him easily. While it had hurt, it had been fixed almost right away. No other feelings had been hurt since it had been cut off rather quickly.
Andrew felt a soft smile touch his lips and he sighed.
"It’s okay. I didn’t expect a good reaction when we announced it. We’ve been scheming, and schemes aren’t always viewed positively." Andrew said and Maxwell chuckled.
"Schemes are my forte." He said casually, but Andrew could tell that while everyone else had shifted, Maxwell had not. He was still a bit upset, but he wasn’t going to let it impact his conversation with them.