Victoria kicked over an empty box as she came into the foyer. It was in the way. Someone was going to trip on it and it was messing with her OCD. Victoria hadn't been this upset in years. At least not touching the anger scale of things. Now she remembered why they had moved away from this town. Things never changed. Small towns were known for this callous ways with one another. Suddenly she missed New York and badly. The box was soon crushed by the anger in her stomping.

The redhead didn't even want to bother with unpacking. "Odio tutto di questa città" (I hate everything about this town) she yelled; not realizing that the entire house was home. Vanessa and Crissy were fighting upstairs over something and Kevin had ran upstairs to his own room to play. The teens appeared at the top of the stairs. "Then why did you make us move here" Crissy's voice was not happy to be here. The 14 year old didn't wait for an answer as she disappeared. Vanessa wasn't happy about it either but she didn't pull a fit with Victoria. It simply wasn't worth it. "Is this town really that bad?" Vanessa asked.

"You have no idea." she whispered hoping that Vanessa wouldn't hear her. "If anything you should be mad at Dad's work, not yourself' Victoria thanked her daughter for trying but the teen had no idea what her mother went through here. She had this feeling the twins would soon learn their parents mistakes in the town. Right, well maybe Jamie and Travis actually taught their kids not to hassle others. Nathan was the same age as the girls. They would surely have to share classes. This was a bad move and a mistake.

Tag: Jason Robert Oxford

He heard the front door open and listened for his wife's footsteps as he played on the Ipad. A game his daughters had somehow got him addict to - Frozen Free Fall to be precise. It wasn't a bad way to kill few minutes. He was looking for his next move when Vicki's voice shouted. With a defeated sigh he closed the tablet by the cover and got to his feet slowly as his injured knee protested and grabbed the cane. As he ambled over he heard Crissy's comment before the teen had walked away. Ran his fingers through his hair and gave another sigh. But it was Vanessa's words brought a smile to his face.

His showdown with Noel wasn't what he had expected it to be. Travis...Bobby thought of his..and shook his own head. He had no relation with either men. But he wasn't facing the latter. And not want to punch him again. He gave a nod to Vanessa to go back to her room, "What happened?" he asked. The town was known for it's gossips and remarks that would and could borderline cattiness. He had swung by Miss Becky's for a coffee and only to be greeted by the woman coldly. As it appeared they weren't welcome. He was debating whether to move them to Rayton or not. Coast Guards had sent him here to be a desk jockey. Till his knee healed he couldn't exactly fly planes. A pencil pusher he had become.

Vanessa disappeared as she was asked. Victoria heard Bobby's voice and sighed. Of course he would ask questions but WHY was he up walking around. "Robert why are you up?" she was scolding him but her voice held more concern than being upset with him. The redhead put an arm around him. She had been taking care of him since his accident. Though seeing him made her day a little better. It was someone who loved her. They had not long after her father's death had a very long conversation about how she hadn't replaced Jamie. It was true that Jamie and Victoria had their differences but it was also true that Bobby and Victoria had fallen in love with each other the years.

Victoria figured that she should get around to answering his question. "Just a rough day" she started. Not that she was hiding anything but more than she was just upset and didn't want to spit it out. "I never thought I would say I miss New York.. but..." she trailed off. The last few years in New York had been spent rebuilding their lives and been reasonably enjoyable since they were able to be free from her father's expectations. Victoria sat down on the couch and patted the seat beside her. He was going to stay off his knee if she had to whack him in the head and drag him to the couch and they both knew the look she shot at him.

Jason Robert Oxford

Ignoring her scolding, he looked at her, "I hear you screaming," he stated, "Am I suppose to ignore it?" Plus he needed to move around as well every now and then. Other wise his knee was going to protest like a two years old tantrum. Over the injury he was still bitter at Galacio. He always had suspected it was a calculated shot. His pilot career was all but over.

Leaning on the wall he listened. Agreed that being here wasn't going to be easy. Taking a quick glance upstairs, "Want to talk about it?" he asked, as he walked over, and slowly sat down with a groan as pain was felt. He was starting to miss New York as well. But since Coast Guards had send him, all he had done was follow orders. It would have been easier to leave them in New York and come on his own. Exposing his children to their mistakes wasn't not fair.

"Stop looking at me like that," he told her, as he noticed something on her arm that was hidden, yet exposed. Taking her hand, he pushed back the garment, "Do I ask?"


<<Tag: Victoria Oxford >>

Victoria looked down at the floor as she took a moment before looking up again she buried her forehead in his neck. "I didn't mean to disturb you; but it's good to know someone doesn't ignore me" she half spilled her mind it was easy to talk to him. She could tell he was moving in pain as he did so; then again so was she. "Did you at least take your pain killers?" she offered as she walked with him to the living room.

The last thing she wanted to do was talk about it. "Not really, but if I don't the past hurts more right?" Victoria didn't sit beside him. She sat on the floor and gently began to massage his leg. It wasn't a permanent solution but she knew it would help. When he called her out on the look on her face her glance softened.

"I'll look at you whichever way I see fit. Don't like it, close your eyes" she teased him a little as her eyes traced him. Though she really had meant for him to go sit down. She was able to tease him because he had sense enough to listen. When he got hold of her arm she didn't pull away. "It's just a surface scratch" she told him. Great well that didn't answer his question either. "If you want an answer I can give you one; but I don't want to upset you with the response." she stated as she pushed her hair back and looked up towards him from where she sat still working on his knee on the floor.

<Tag: Jason Robert Oxford>

He sat down and she had her forehead in the curve of his neck, his arms went around her waist, "You didn't," he told her, "Pulling me away from the game girls introduced me to isn't a big deal." He was caught as she asked about the meds, and looked over at the table, where the meds and water were, "Kinda got absorbed in the game and forgot to take them." He didn't want to become depended on the meds to keep the pain at bay.

He frowned as she spoke, massage did help a little, "Past always hurts," he commented and knew it did. Memories around here were too painful to deal with, "there is no way around it."

He threw her a look, "Is that so?" he asked about her, as she teased him, "And we don't know where some of those look will land us." It was hard to intimate when your leg was all bandaged up. At her reply he rose an eyebrow, and looked at her the same way he looked at Kevin when the boy refuse to tell, "You can't expect me to buy that bull, spill it out Vicki."

<<Tag: Victoria Oxford >>

Victoria didn't mind being wrapped up around him by any stretch. "If you say so" she teased chuckling a bit as she did so. Her lips pecked the side of his neck up under his chin lightly. It was just one of her many ways of greeting him. Victoria was perhaps on of the most affectionate people that most people knew. When he mentioned forgetting his meds, she knew better. "Take half? Si" (yes) she knew he was trying not to take them so much but she also knew he was in pain.

"I know but I don't think that I am ready to face it. We have been here all of a few days and I'm already regretting so much of the past" she buried her head in his lap as she kept the massage on his knee.

When he teased her back it lifted her spirits for the time being. "I never heard you complain before" she reminded him with a smirk on her face. She could handle being teased without it landing them in bed. Victoria went to get ice for his knee and when she came back he was chiding at her about spilling her guts.

Hadn't she just told him that she wasn't ready to face their past? "Jamie..." she spit out. "I was only defending myself. There is no more to tell." she left it there. Eyes darted to the ground as she continued to tend his knee. It didn't matter how she felt about anything; she could tend to him in his angriest of moods.

<Tag: Jason Robert Oxford>

He leaned in slightly into her kiss; for security, for comfort, he wasn't sure. Since coming back here, too many memories cut right into him and them. They didn't want to be there; the town didn't want them here. But the damn Coast Guards did. Exhaling, he nodded, "Half," he agreed, "they taste horrible on top of that." Bitter as well.

Face the past? Not the past he wanted to face that was for sure. He could never think about it without wanting to grab a bottle of JD and get drunk till his own sense were to fuzzed out. It had been that habit which landed him in the hospital with poisoning. It hadn't helped deal with the screw ups he had made. Hadn't helped in trying to forget his father's words nor the betrayal he had been given from Travis. Swallowing hard he nodded, "We will never be ready." Even trying to be in that place wasn't easy to come by.

When Jamie's name left her lips, whatever he was going to about her comments on his lack of complaints left his mind. He had been forced to hurt her. Something he had never forgiven himself for. When he thought of her; guilt ate at him. But it was Vicki's tone that made him double take. Shutting his own feelings, "Something must have happened for you to defend yourself." He spoke rather calmly, maybe too calmly. "You can take your time in letting me know."


<<Tag:Victoria Oxford >>

Victoria's arms came around her husband. "I know but you are in pain" she reminded him. Her soft glances and her touch were in such a way that she was there no matter what. If they could survive going at each other's throats for years she was fairly certain that could make it through this. Though the last thing that she wanted was a repeat of the drinking.

No one wanted to face their pasts; at least not in the room right now. "No but bottling it up only ends badly." she reminded him. Her fingers laced with his. She held him despite what was running through her head. Sometimes it was all she could do. A kiss came upside his temple lightly again after a few moments. "Promise me you won't turn to drinking so much again Jason" she sounded concerned. The last place she wanted her husband was in the hospital and having to relive all of that again.

Right that name came off her lips and it was like the worst thing she could have said earlier about Jamie. Burying her head in his shoulder she realized they both needed to calm down. She went silent but the thought was there, she had brought up the one woman she was accused of replacing. Victoria just shook her head no from his shoulder and held him tighter. Though her hug was more scared in feeling right now than anything else. "I existed in the same walking distance." she forced out. Victoria's breathe quickened as her mind forcing her into a panicked state. Jamie had every reason to hate Victoria. Victoria had to force herself not to walk out of the room. No. Her husband needed her. Though the fear of being pushed aside remained.

Normally he tried not showing that his bothered him a lot of the times. When it got too much it then his face showed it. But the damn thing should be slowly healing by now and it wasn't. That annoyed him. He could take medical leave from CG, and not work, yet sitting at home would drive him up walls, "I hate being in pain," he really did. Getting pissed at a dead man wasn't going to help here and now.

He could only look at their after she had spoken, "Alright," he sighed, "no more bottling things up." Hadn't he been bottling few things. Noel's threads, along with the town members distasteful looks. If the CG orders sent him here there was little he could do for next few months before he could ask for a transfer out to another location, "I can try not hitting the bottle, but I'm not going to promise I would." Hopefully it would not be hard as the first round.

"Ah," he said like it made all the sense in the world. There was no point in doing what if's and what not's. "She will have to get use to it." If there was anyone he should be worried about; it was the girls. They were old enough to understand a lot. And the last thing he wanted to them to find out of their parents ugly past.

<<Tag: Victoria Oxford >>

Victoria didn't honestly think that anyone liked being in pain. The red head moved beside her husband and sighed hugging him close. "If you liked it, then I would deduce there was something wrong with you" she mentioned off hand. Kissing his neck softly she cuddled against him. It pained her to see what her father had done to their lives. Her kisses moved to his lips for only a moment. "Don't let this eat at you. We are stronger than this. Maybe not alone; but together." She drew her hand to cup his face.

"I refuse to let you drink yourself into the hospital again Robert. I'm here and dammit I'm not going away" she reminded him. "The good, the bad, the ugly Robert talk to me. You can't just hold onto it all. You have for so long and it's eating away at you" she replied. "If you prefer we move out to Rayton then I'm beside you. You want to stick it out here? Then I'm beside you. Anywhere else the CG wants to send you? I'm right with you" The red head searched his face for answers. There was a little bit of fear behind her own eyes but she didn't speak of it.

"I thought about going over there, but after today I'm not so sure she wouldn't have me locked up for as little as trespassing." Though Victoria would make things better or die trying and that was no secret. Always fought like hell for everyone but herself. "You still love her. I've always known that. Don't turn your back on her. She's happy. That should count for so much more than it does right now." It hurt Victoria to say those words to him. To tell her husband that he loved another woman and finally putting it into words. She had resolved a long time ago that she was sitting where Jamie should be.

<Jason Robert Oxford>

He chuckled as she decided to brand him mental if he liked being in pain, "Or I had grown a second head," he added for her, "either way you might take me to see a shrink. And I don't like them either." He didn't want his head poked and; situation picked apart and analysed. He held her when she cuddled up, sighed, when she cupped his face, "I can try, but getting pissed at Galacio is quite easy. Only if I had been quick to shoot him, then maybe..." he trailed off. He won't be dealing with fraked up knee.

Her fears over him landing in hospital again was evident in her words, "It won't be that way," he told her, but him and whiskey had a long deep understanding that they both loved one another. Talk? Words for him didn't come easy. Her words of 'hold onto it all' felt like a accusation, even when it wasn't. He had reasons for holding everything in. If Galacio had gotten a single hint of his true feelings, Bobby knew the Mafia Don would not have spared the three families. The Oxfords, the Brighton's and Andersons. He brushed his thumb over her cheek, "I had reasons to hold on to things I did."

"I'm considering Rayton," he admitted, "much easier travel wise for me at least. Staying here is easier for the twins when it comes to school. Guards won't transfer me out this quickly. I might give it few months before I apply for a transfer." He didn't want eyebrows raised by applying for a transfer already. Bidding his time might help. That way he could say that his kids weren't adjusting to new surroundings. It would also give the girls time to adjust.

He looked at her, "That would be a crazy move. Since she hates the sight of you, having you over would go really well. Not worth the risk." It would take hell freezing over before Jamie cooled her anger towards them. As well as he knew his ex, they would be waiting  lifetime. She spoke words he had never voiced or gave a hint of those feeling. Finding his throat dry, as emotions slammed, opened his mouth, when nothing came out he shut it, he did slightly look guilty, "I always will; to a degree. Being forced to hurt your own heart wasn't easy." His plans with Jamie hadn't included hurting her and in his cousin's arms. A painful exhale exited his mouth when Vicki advised about not turning his back on her, "Didn't I already do that? When I married you? Sealed that when we moved to New York?" He had mad peace with his situation, but had never forgiven himself for hurting the one who had meant everything to him once. "It counts, I have to keep reminding myself of that." But he didn't have to like it.

<<Tag: Victoria Oxford >>

Victoria couldn't contain her face as he said second head. "You have one of those..." her voice trailed off. Then she smirked. "You just tend to use it more than this one" she said tapping lightly on the side of his head. Then she promptly placed the most innnocent smile on her face that she could think of making. When he mentioned Galacio she just nodded. "I know but you can't just.." she sighed. "be angry all the time. You gotta let it go. You can't rebuild something if you are hanging onto the past" she reminded him. Of course she was one to speak she was just as guilty of it. " I really don't care if I sound like a hypocrite right now but I told you once, Non c'è modo di dimenticare veramente, There is no way to truly forget. I didn't mean to live in the past. The twins they are almost adults and hiding things for their sake only hurts everyone. Vanessa is like me; she feels everything. The tension everyone has is a mess. Crissy came home fighting from school. Teacher wants to know why she's beating up Travis' kid. I asked her about and he's picking on Vanessa. The girls hate it here, but Vanessa's too polite to say anything about it, but she's becomind depressed. Kevins confused because everyone's acting strange." she didn't mention the part where she wanted to go back to New York.

Vicki knew words didn't come easy for him. She had told him as much as he didn't need them sometime. The redhead closed her eyes as she felt his thumb over her cheek. "I love you and I'm scared to death of losing you" she whispered. She wasn't so sure he wouldn't start drinking heavily again. It was one hell of a way to fall in love with someone but it was another watch them go through that when you already loved them. "He's dead Robert you can let go" she whispered through her tears that had lightly started falling.

"I'm all for you putting in for a transfer. I'd go down to that office now if I thought it made a bit of difference." she replied leaning into her husband's arms. Dealing with her emotions in this town was harder than in New York. It was hard to deal with everyone else's on top her own. "I know what she would do, I just defended myelf from simply walking down the street." she pointed out. She didn't mention the part where she had called Travis shallow and ignorant.

Victoria knew the answer before it was already out of his mouth. She kissed the side of his face softly. "You know as well as I do, she's never known the truth. She's built up a whole lot of hate on a lie" she ascertained. Victoria had helped build that lie and so she was no less guilty than him for it. "At the time, it may have been the right thing to do; but doesn't she deserve the truth?" she pointed out. There was a long sigh. "All you can do is give them the truth. What they decide to do with it; that's out of your control." She looked towards him quietly. "You gotta start somewhere. Fix this one Oxford at a time. It's going to hurt but if you stand here and just let time go by its still going to hurt; but at least fixing it and hurting gets a better end result" she pointed out. She took out the fuzzzy hand cuffs out of the drawer to prove her point. She handcuffed his hands lightly behind his back. "You can either handcuff yourself" she stated before she undid the handcuffs and than attached one of the others to her own wrist. "Or you can reconnect one link at a time." she pointed out. So she had weird ways of pointing things out sometimes; but maybe they would go through that thick skull of his?

<Tag: Jason Robert Oxford>

He barked out a laugh at her reply about his second head, leaning to her ear, "I don't hear you complain about it being used more often." Keeping his voice innocent, "Unless of course, you prefer I use it less. Then don't blame me for it." He sighed at her words, "It only happens when something reminds me of my own screw ups." And he had many screw ups, "Not easy to let it go."

"Despite of having some of our past hanging over our heads," he looked towards the stairs, where the girls and Kevin were, "We build something. If you are trying to hint at what I think you are...." he shook head, but the whole reminder that his daughters few years shy of becoming adults, was not something he was ready for, "Crissy did what?" his voice sharper than he intended to be, he moved to call her down but Vicki's further words were like a hammer, "We are going to have to talk to them." He admitted, "I wasn't counting on this being this bad. Nor I was expecting Travis to teach his son to behave this way." It was a surprise coming from a man, Bobby had normally fought with bullies over. But the behavior from the boy stung. Little Bobby knew that Travis didn't teach the kid to be a bully.

When she reminded him about Galacio being dead, Bobby shook his head, "Not easy to drop the guard and break the wall I build to protect them. Don't ask me break that. I'm not sure if I can handle that." It was easier not to think about them being family. Nor how much he had missed them. Then there was a issue of 20 years that separated everything. He wiped the tear that fell then kissed her forehead.

"If she is anything like I remember her to be," he began, "It's might not make much of a difference to her if she knew now. She won't magically stop hating me." He knew better than to think that it was a magic pill for the pains. It wasn't going to fix everything. He listened, while what she had made sense, sounded like a dream, again he knew better what the outcome would be, "Too much time has gone past already. And it already hurts too much," he opened to his own feelings for the first time in ever and didn't realise it. "And I don't want...." he looked out for the girls, as he knew he had told them they his parents were dead, and lowered his voice, "the old man on my tail for talking to his family. He won't like it."

Victoria hung around her husband's neck with a smile on her face. He was at least laughing. That was a start. "No one said I was complaining. Merely making an observation" she informed him as she searched his face. "We all make mistakes Robert, babe" she took his hands and put them on her waist. "Look at me." she paused. "This is fixable but its going to hurt. Kind of like pulling out stitches without pain killer. But the wound heals. Callouses don't help" she added.

When his voice got sharp she didn't flinch. Years ago she would have scampered into the next room. "Robert stop it. We both know that neither Travis nor Jamie condone that kind of behavior. So stop being crass for the moment." she gave him a look. "I don't like being back in this town any better than anyone else in this family; but the husband I know never gave up on anything." Well except the one thing Vicki fought for; family.

"You don't take it down all at once" she told him flatly. "You gotta start somewhere Robert. Crissy, Vanessa, Kevin they should be laughing and playing and getting into trouble with Travis' kids. I'm not backing down from this." As he wiped the tears more fell. Her family was miserable and all she could do was fight to fix it and it hurt. That didn't matter, this was a battle she was going to fight with or without her husband's blessing.

"No but if it were me... I'd be civil enough to respect my husband and sometimes civility is the first step in healing." Victoria didn't express her other thought about not living up to Roberts expectation. Jamie had always been a sore subject with the redhead. When he mentioned it hurting she just shook her head. "You let me handle that. I'm not afraid of him." she stated quietly. Well she had been in the past. But she wasn't afraid of him alot had changed in a few years. She locked lips with her husband for a moment. "You have the strength to do this Robert. It's going to hurt but I think the children deserve you to at least try and fight it." she whispered softly as she wrapped an arm around him.

<Tag: Jason Robert Oxford>