welcome !

[TRAVIS SCOTT O'SHAY]

Travis parked his Toyota Tundra in the back parking lot of the hospital, not wanting his mammoth of a truck in the way of anyone else who would really need the parking lot closer to the front doors of the hospital. Now that he'd been to see Ryder and his father at the house, Travis wanted to see his mother whom at this point he was dying to see. Rolling his stiff shoulder, Travis made a mental note to put heat on it tonight before he crashed in his makeshift bed and then climbed out of his truck, his feet colliding with the pavement with a gentle thud. He'd been back in town for hardly even two days and even though his first day had been taken up by trying to get stuff moved into his crap new apartment, he already felt guilty for not visiting his mother first. It had to be the momma's boy in his heart. He'd hardly been in his new home for a day and he already hated it. It felt more like it had been built for Keebler Elves then a 6'5" former football player.

The man wasn't sure whether he wanted to ask his parents if he could crash in the spare bedroom though, considering he didn't want to rain on their quiet parade at the house. Plus he had Maya. Travis rubbed the back of his head, scratching the small hairs at the nape of his neck and let his long bow legs carry him towards the front of the hospital, trying to figure out the last time he'd visited home. It had to have been last Christmas. He'd still had the sling on his arm to help his healing shoulder. Ever since he'd taken that bad tackle at his last game and had to give up football, Travis had been focused on getting himself back into shape while his shoulder healed and it had, as well as he had. He was back at his former shape which he was hoping would make him eligible for the NFL draft next month, not that he was telling his family that yet. He didn't want to worry them.

Pushing those thoughts of his impending test of physical health away from his head, Travis focused back on seeing his mom and grinned, ducking in through the front doors of the hospital. Using his cell phone, Travis dialed the floor he figured she was on and asked the orderly on the other line to have Jackie O'Shay paged to come down to the lobby, that she had a visitor but Travis neglected to tell him who the visitor was. He wanted to surprise her and he figured this was the best way to do it. Grinning to himself as he waited for his mom to emerge, Travis pulled down the light gray thermal he had and pushed up the sleeves higher on his sculpted arms, feeling the need to straighten a bit just because she was his mom.

[JACQUELINE SUE O'SHAY]

It had been a relatively normal day for Jackie, with patients in and out, various medicines administered and cut back, and lots of smiles and tears. The way every day went, right down to the people who said nothing at all. Did nothing at all. Sometimes Jackie worried a little extra for those patients and their families. There was a lot of them on that day, so maybe, just maybe, the day wasn't going as well as she'd thought. The same as every other day, but one that was on the verge of dragging her down a peg or two.

Getting paged to the lobby caused a frown to crease the older woman's brow, the word 'visitor' repeating in her head without any confirmation or idea of just who that could be. She took a breath, straightening out her clothing before she went to the elevator, hoping it was someone with good news. Maybe Alan was being cheeky, showing up to say hey. Or maybe Ryder wanted to talk. Jackie pressed the button for the lobby, narrowly missing a couple who wanted to join her in the elevator, and hissing a little. "Sorry.." She said, as the doors closed, the others disappearing as the gap closed.

The guilt of not holding the elevator like a good, well-mannered person edged into Jackie's conscience a little, one hand coming up to rub at her frown as she stood alone in the elevator. She really should have held it. What had she tried to teach her children, for as long as they could retain information? Have good manners. Travis was to hold doors for women, Ryder was to keep her legs as together as she could without looking like a prude. And they were to both hold the elevator door for just about any stranger who needed the lifts. It was just common courtesy. Jackie sighed, shaking her head at herself before her mind drifted back to who she could be meeting. She thought she'd heard news of her son being in town, but she wasn't quite sure whether someone was having her on. Jackie thought she'd be the first to know. It had to have been a lie. Maybe someone who looked like Travis was around. That had to have been it, for him not to have come to see her.

When the doors slid open, however, Jackie's eyes were met with the sight of a giant man. Her giant son. She gasped a little, dodging an elderly woman being pushed in a wheelchair to move quickly to her son. She wrapped her arms around what she could wrap her arms around without straining herself, pulling him into a hug. "Travis!" She said, pulled her head back from him and chuckling. "What are you doin' here?" She smiled widely, hugging his giant form to her much tinier one and closing her eyes. She'd missed her son a lot more than she'd told anyone but Alan. Travis being out of her home was one thing, but out of the state, or even the town, hurt her. She'd definitely told Alan about her hardships of seeing her son leave the nest and make his own life, but she had never really told Travis, or even Ryder. "Are you staying..?"


i'm so sorry if this sucks, or was not what you wanted. i suck hardcore at posting right now.

[TRAVIS SCOTT O'SHAY]

Travis shoved his hands into the front pockets of his faded jeans as he waited for his mother to come down. He hoped suddenly that he hadn’t dragged here away from a patient or anything important as he knew his mother was a very established doctor at the hospital. He decided then that if he had taken here from something then he’d just meet her at the house tonight for dinner or something. Travis looked up at the elevator as it dinged open but it wasn’t his mother that walked out, it was a small elderly couple. He smiled politely as they made their way past him and the old woman stared at Travis as if she was waiting for him to tackle her and steal her handbag. Despite having no tattoos, no piercing and having a generally gentle disposition, the man was constantly scrutinized for his very tall, very broad form.

He offered the couple another friendly smile, trying to assure the woman that he wasn’t at all dangerous but watched them walk out without so much even a smile back. Quirking a dark eyebrow, Travis shrugged to himself and heard the elevator doors ding open once more. His brown eyes shot over to them and met eyes with a petite woman, compassionate looking woman. His mother. A bright grin tugged his lips upward, and he let out a hearty laugh at his mom who quickly scurried over to him and curled her arms around him tightly. Despite his size, his moms arms were crushing and he smiled, leaning down to her and wrapping his huge arms around her gently but snugly. “Hey Ma.” Travis greeted her back with a slight Texan drawl, his grin never leaving his face.

Travis pulled back a little bit, letting her look him up and down as if to check he was all there and then returned her embrace once more, tucking her head beneath his chin for a long moment and chuckling, his voice husky. “Well lets just say I’m gonna be back home for a while.” Travis replied and pulled his head back to look down at her. He’d always been close to his mother and had missed both her and his dad while he’d been gone despite the calls home as often as possible, especially after he’d gotten injured. “Yeah I’m staying.” He said with a smile and nodded his head. “The gym in Dallas opened up another one here and I took the transfer.” Travis continued, straightening his body up a bit more. He didn’t want to tell her about the NFL draft yet that he was hoping to make in the next town though. “I was missing you and Dad anyway.” He smiled.

( That doesn’t suck at all hun. Don’t worry about it )

[JACQUELINE SUE O'SHAY]

Jackie held onto her son as tightly as she could, her heart leaping in her chest as she heard him speak of staying. Back home, he'd said, in such a casual tone that she'd at first not believed it so serious. It had clicked in her head, though, not a moment later, that she'd definitely be seeing more of her eldest child. She beamed at him, pulling back from their hug and looking way up into his face. God, her son had grown tall. He'd always been far too tall for her to hug properly, and he hadn't drastically shrunk since she'd last seen him. She chuckled at the idea of hugging a Travis who wasn't the size of a house, knowing that it just wouldn't be the same. It could never really be the same. He had to be her big tall son. Just like Ryder was always going to be her tiny, baby girl.

"Travis, that's great.. I missed you so much." She replied, with complete honesty as she took an actual step back, her best attempt to look at his face without hurting her neck. She noted him straightening up under her watchful eye, and playfully slapped him on the arm, a more friendly gesture than anything. "Stop doin' that, you'll break your mother's neck, cranin' up there." She beamed up at him, frowning a little before she looked away, pointed at the nearest block of seats in the lobby. "Come, sit.. call this my lunch break."

She smiled again as she moved through the lobby of the hospital, straightening those age-old nurse's scrubs as she seated herself. The idea of her son missing her was something she'd always kept in mind as a desire in her life. To be missed by anyone was both happy and sad, but to be kept in the heart of a son who had long moved out of home held some merit in Jackie's heart. She loved her family like nothing else, and a falling out with any member would surely shatter her heart into pieces. She would never be able to handle it. Having Ryder so close, and keeping the bond with her had been an easy task. It was the long distance that always frightened her, with Travis.

A part of her knew that she could never stop Travis from sticking by his family. It was their way of life, as an entire family unit. They stuck by each other, they were very close. Whether it was a few blocks or a state border, nothing could tear them apart. Jackie kept her eyes on Travis as she crossed one leg over the other modestly, shaking her head and letting some drawl out. "My baby boy.." She said, tilting her head a little and letting out a small but relaxed sigh. "It's been far too long since I've looked at you.. you scrub up pretty darn good."

[TRAVIS SCOTT O'SHAY]

Travis let his lips slide into a huge grin, his arms curled around his small mother, hugging her snugly like he always had. Ever since he’d hit his growth spurt and shot up taller then his father, Travis had always been a little more careful when handling the smaller in stature woman in his family. He even remembered when he had in been in junior high and had shot up a foot taller. He’d felt insecure about his height, and it had been his mom who had dispelled the belief he’d had that he was a freak for his height. And now his height was an advantage, in sports and other aspects of his life. It just didn’t come in handy when he had an apartment that had smaller doors then him.

Watching as his news that he was staying at home click in his mothers head caused Travis to let out a hearty laugh before his smile faded just a bit, his brown eyes staying warmed. “I missed you too.” Travis replied truthfully to her and angled his arm away from his mom after she slapped him. “Sorry Ma. Should I get down to my knees?” He drawled, grinning jokingly at her and followed her gaze to the nearest area with seats. “I thought you couldn’t even take breaks…you work too hard to take breaks.” Travis said, sending an amused towards Jackie. Even he knew his mother was a hard worker, it was a trait that both her and his father had passed on to him and to Ryder. Something that he was incredibly proud of.

It had been hard, letting his family leave him to come to Lawrence back in the day but he’d made that he thought was best. Still the separation had it’s difficulties. Travis had missed his parents and his little sister all the time. They’d all always been close, and had a bond as family that Travis didn’t think would ever go away and he was thankful for it. He’d met guys on the team that didn’t have what he had and he didn’t envy that. Travis knew that all of his games, every single one he’d played before his injury, were being watched by his parents. Travis folded him self into the chair next to Jackie, pushing up the sleeves of his thermal once again up his arm, slouching in his chair out of habit. Looking back at Jackie, Travis didn’t see anything different about her. Same loving expression, and gentle demeanor.

“I do? Well I had to try this morning y’know…cuz I was seeing my mother.” Travis replied with a grin and shifted in the chair, propping his elbows on the arm of the chair. “But how have you been, Mom? That’s what I want to know.”