Thanks for Nothing. Part I

Chuck stares at his reflection in the mirror. Water clings to his face, and drips from his hair. It was growing back quickly. Thoughts are racing through his head…as usual. The house was quiet. No voices. No sounds. A massive house just outside Chicago…it was big enough to comfortably accommodate a family of twelve. Tonight, it would house as many.

The faint sound of clicking, and something heavy smacked up against Chuck’s leg. He glances down to see Roger standing, smacking his head against Chuck’s hand, obviously looking for attention. Chuck smirks, and scratches the massive dog behind his ears.

Chuck Matthews: “Hey buddy.”

Roger’s stump of a tail wags fiercely. Chuck steps out of the bathroom, into the master bedroom. There’s his bed. It’s made, which is a pleasant change. Chuck had gotten a new bed a few weeks back. The old one was years old, and was starting to stiffen up. Besides that, Anna had told Chuck it would be a good idea. Chuck flops down on his bed, amongst the mass of pillows he often kept stacked at the head. Roger jumps up, and curls up in a ball next to him. Normally, Chuck would yell at Roger for jumping on the furniture. He let it slide.

Chuck Matthews: “Just you and me again, huh?”

Roger does some sort of army-crawl across the bed towards Chuck. Chuck scratches his ears again, staring at the ceiling.

Chuck Matthews: “It’s a weird feeling.”

Roger stares at Chuck.

Chuck Matthews: “Not that you care, right?”

Roger cocks his head to the side.

Chuck Matthews: “Talking to my dog about my personal issues. Now I know I’ve lost it.”

He’s silent for a moment longer. A crash is heard downstairs, followed by the shrieks and cries of a baby. Chuck groans, and sits up.

Chuck Matthews: “Better see what happened…”

He gets to his feet, and Roger immediately scrambles, leaping off the bed with a thud. Chuck heads downstairs, through the maze of hallways towards the kitchen.

Chuck Matthews: “Everything alright?”

Jessica spins on her heel, looking at him. She holds her hand over her heart.

Jessica Matthews: “Damn it, Charlie!”

Chuck smirks.

Jessica Matthews: “It’s nothing. I just dropped a pot. Alison took her to calm down. Can you kind of keep an eye on the twins please? At least until she gets back?”

Chuck shrugs.

Chuck Matthews: “Yeah, sure. Why not?”

Chuck looks over Jessica’s shoulder at the pot simmering on the stove. For the high-tech equipment in his kitchen, Chuck wasn’t much of a cook. He could make simple stuff…but nothing really fancy. Enough to keep himself alive and fed. Jess, on the other hand…she knew a thing or two.

Chuck steps into the next room to see two babies lying on the floor. The one in blue chews on a ring, while the one in pink pounds a rattle on the floor. Chuck takes a seat on the sofa. The babies look at him through their oversized eyes. Chuck looks back at them. He couldn’t remember their names. Was that wrong? He knew one was a boy and one was a girl…He knew they were twins. He assumed the girl was the one in pink, and the boy in blue.

Chuck Matthews: “Hmm…”

Alison Williams: “Chucky!”

Chuck turns to see Alison walk into the room, holding a baby. Chuck smirks.

Chuck Matthews: “Glad you could make it, Alison.”

Chuck had invited Alison to Thanksgiving dinner, following an argument she had with her brother. Apparently, she wasn’t on the best terms with her family, partly due to the baby, and wasn’t looking forward to having to spend Thanksgiving with them. Chuck had told her she was welcome to celebrate it with his family, provided she was willing to put up with the unpredictability of the Matthews family. She excitedly agreed.

Alison Williams: “I’ve never been to your house before.”

Chuck Matthews: “It’s new.”

Alison Williams: “It’s huge.”

She smirks, and glances at his jeans.

Alison Williams: “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised you like things big.”

Chuck shakes his head, smiling. Same old Alison. Chuck had never had any feelings for her, not in years. They had slept with each other a long while back, before even NLWF…then had hooked up for one night in 2009…which turned out to be a bit of a mistake for both of them. Since then, they hadn’t really acknowledged the other, generally ignoring each other until recently. Chuck had been given a call to do a movie, which he accepted…only to learn Alison was his co-star. Sex Sells was due to come out in January. On set, Chuck and Alison got to talking, and learned they actually had quite a bit in common. Alison was far smarter than people gave her credit for. Since then, they had become friends, which made it all the easier to allow Alison into Apex in Anna’s place.

Alison sits down next to Chuck, and sets Claire on the floor. She rests her head on Chuck’s shoulder. Chuck doesn’t think much of it. Alison was just that type of girl. If you were her friend, she wasn’t afraid to get close, to sit right up next to you like it was no big deal. To an extent, Chuck was the same way.

Alison Williams: “How you holding up?”

Chuck Matthews: “Fine.”

Alison Williams: “Nothing you wanna talk about?”

Chuck Matthews: “Nope.”

Claire crawls over to the baby girl, and snatches the rattle out of her hands.

Chuck Matthews: “She is definitely your daughter, all right.”

The girl flops onto her belly and wrenches the rattle right back from Claire, and smacks Claire with it.

Alison Williams: “That’s Corey’s daughter, right?”

Chuck shakes his head.

Chuck Matthews: “Unfortunately.”

Alison Williams: “That’s still weird to you?”

Chuck Matthews: “That I’m sitting here babysitting the children of Corey Casey? Yeah, that news is still sinking in.”

Alison Williams: “They never got married, right?”

Chuck Matthews: “She dumped him.”

Alison Williams: “That sucks.”

Chuck Matthews: “Depends on who you talk to.”

Alison laughs.

Alison Williams: “So he’s not coming, I assume?”

Chuck Matthews: “Nope.”

Alison Williams: “K good.”

The two of them watch the three babies in silence for a moment before the doorbell rings.

Jessica Matthews: “Charlie! Can you get that?”

Alison stifles a giggle.

Alison Williams: “Charlie…”

Chuck frowns, but stands up, heading towards the door. Why Jessica needed to tell Chuck to answer his own front door was beyond him. She had been staying at the house for the past week or so. The house was considerably bigger than where she’d been staying, and with Chuck bringing in far more money, he was able to help support his sister and her family now that Corey was gone.

Chuck opens the door.

Zack Matthews: “Uncle Chuck!”

Zack collides with Chuck, hugging him tight. Chuck smirks, and pats the kid on the back.

Chuck Matthews: “What’s going on, kiddo?”

Zack Matthews: “It was a long drive.”

Chuck Matthews: “I’m sure. Hey, why don’t you help your aunt in the kitchen?”

Zack Matthews: “Do I have to?”

Chuck Matthews: “Just for a little bit. We’ll play a game later, alright?”

Zack Matthews: “So you can get your ass stomped in NLWF III?”

Chuck laughs.

Chuck Matthews: “Why NLWF III, when you can play the new IWF game?”

Zack Matthews: “You got it?!”

Chuck Matthews: “Being a top star has it’s perks.”

Zack Matthews: “Challenge accepted.”

Chuck laughs, and pats his nephew on the back.

Chuck Matthews: “Good. Now go help your aunt.”

Chuck turns back to the front door to see Chris and Colleen, hauling their luggage up the porch steps.

Chuck Matthews: “Hey, Chris.”

Chris shakes hands with Chuck. Leave it to Chris Matthews to shake hands as a greeting for his own brother.

Chris Matthews: “How’s things, Charlie?”

Chuck Matthews: “Not bad. Come on in.”

Chris steps into the house, carrying his bags. Behind him, a young woman enters, dragging her suitcase behind her.

Colleen Meadows: “Hello, Chuck.”

Chuck nods his head. He didn’t want to admit that he’d forgotten her name.

Chris Matthews: “Jessie’s in the kitchen?”

Chuck Matthews: “Yeah.”

Chris takes Colleen’s suitcase, and begins trudging up the stairs as Colleen heads for the kitchen.

Chris Matthews: “Third door, right?”

Chuck Matthews: “Yeah. Should be all set up.”

Chris Matthews: “Thanks, Charlie.”

Chuck goes to shut the door, but is interrupted by yelling.

Amy Matthews: “Don’t you slam that door on me, young man!”

Chuck stops in his tracks. He turns around to see Amy Matthews slowly get out of Chris’s car, carrying her purse in one hand, and her cane in the other.

Amy Matthews: “Help me up these stairs. I don’t understand why you kids insist on having so many stairs.”

Chuck sighs, and helps his mother climb the porch steps into his house. She grabs her cane from him, hobbling into the house.

Chuck Matthews: “Do you need me to carry your stuff upstairs?”

Amy Matthews: “No, thank you dear. Where’s the rest of them?”

Chuck Matthews: “Jessie’s in the kitchen. Chris upstairs.”

Amy Matthews: “How have you been?”

Chuck Matthews: “Doing alright. You?”

Amy Matthews: “Oh…same old. Your poor old mother is getting old, Charles.”

Chuck nods. Chris had told him of his and Jessica’s intentions to put her in a nursing home. She had none of it. She was living in a tiny house in Decatur, Alabama. She lived a quiet life, away from the hustle and bustle of the city, and she liked it that way. She claimed to have close friends in her neighborhood. Somehow, Chuck got the feeling the only time she left her happy solitude was to see her family for the holidays.

Chuck Matthews: “Would you like to sit down?”

Amy Matthews: “Please. I’ve been on my behind for the last twelve hours. Let me stretch my legs a bit. They’re in the kitchen, you say?”

Chuck Matthews: “Yeah. Just down this hallway.”

Chuck leads his mother down the hall to the kitchen. The fun was about to begin.